John_Printemps
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Posts
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Joined
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Any */Regen you want to be survivable, you want to pack in Recharge; Recharge; Recharge; Health; and more Recharge, then worry about everything else. The primary attacks: Strike - Slash - Focus - Follow Up - Spin. Shockwave is really great against +4 when critters are resistant to Knockback and revert to Knockdown. Key IO's for Regen: Doctored Wounds in Dull Pain and Reconstruction. Trifecta of Numina's in Fast Healing/Integration/Health for set bonuses.
Try and also work in 32.5% Smashing/Lethal defense. 45% is far too difficult to successfully achieve, and 32.5% will put you one small purple inspiration from 45%. Additionally, Shadow Meld is a great PPP tool for pushing defense and alternating it's use around Moment of Glory to spend more time in high-levels of defense.
Here's a good example using no Purples/PvP/Hami-O's, and only carrying the Spiritual Alpha for Rech/Heal:
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Elevator? Why yes, I have one of those. It doesn't work these days though, not since the facility was abandoned and the power went on reserves. We did find a way in though, through the elevator shaft.
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Quote:Okay, so I have to ask. No Cardiac? At all? I get Resilient Core will give you 33% versus Cardiacs' 20%, but that's it. Cardiac still comes packing with a very beneficial Endurance Reduction across the board. A 4% difference in resistance totals really just doesn't seem a valid argument for the amount of blue-bar you'd save off of Cardiac. I could see the reasoning if the secondary had access to Consume or Power Sink, but it's TW/DA, Endurance Monger and viral consumer of all things Blue.Originally Posted by OneFrigidWitch
Ok, so my tw/da is at melee softcap with 1 application of def sweep (go hamio +lotg!), and my ranged is just flat out at soft cap. I only have 20% aoe def.
I have 2 power picks left. 47/49. I have _no clue_ what to take, since I can in no way afford slots to contribute to them. I have tough/weave/punch, cj/sj. I have _all_ powers from tw except confront. I have neither OG nor CoF. I cant really stand OG by itself, since it makes the mobs wander out of all my cones, and I don't think I can support CoF on just 1 slot of end redux. What is a good pick for those two powers that can work with just the one slot?
I am taking Resilience core at 50, and definitely not cardiac.
Additionally: Body Mastery - Conserve Power and Physical Perfection -
Felt compelled to put it together anyway, just to show it. It's a bit shy in a few areas (not quite 32.5% Ranged/AoE, and Hasten is 8/s shy of 'perma'), but without spending more time to tweak it, it's well enough to display the example.
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Quote:Actually, I might suggest an alternative to the Smashing/Lethal and instead attempt to pile in Ranged/AoE while using Defensive Sweep as a tool to keeping one's self alive rather than just shipping it off to the mule farm. Sweeps' ability to get Melee up to 45% on one or two applications is a very strong aspect to a TW/Regen's tool-kit. Assume Weave: 6%, Steadfast: 3%, Maneuvers: 3.5%, Combat Jumping 2.5%, Gaussian's Set: 2.5%, totals out to 17.5%. If afforded: PvP+Def for 20.5%. Come up with 12% to Ranged/AoE (three 3% Bonuses each, should be more than capable), and appropriate slotting in Defensive Sweep would put the build at 45% Melee and 32.5% Ranged/AoE. Along with using Sweep, the chance of piling up to 59% for iTrials also improves */Regen's survivability.Originally Posted by Infini
Would probably be easy to shoot for 32.5% s/l defense and then cram in as much recharge as you can. I can see using Kinetic Combats in your ST attacks and Oblits in the AoEs, but the Oblits would limit one of your regen powers from getting a DW set for the 5% recharge.
Elsewhere in the build, pick up Soul Mastery for Shadow Meld. Could keep Defensive Sweep as a LotG mule, too (just take it later in the build). -
Quote:In relative terms, Cloak of Fear requires a hefty endurance cost, comes with a lower inherent accuracy you have to compensate for, and the mez can be broken each time you hit anything.Originally Posted by OneFrigidWitch
Yeah, it seems kinda wonky in general. I am oping that with 30 melee 35+ ranged and resilience core (+barrier) I should be able to stand up. Content below 40 I do pretty reasonably against at low difficulties. I think I might respec out of OG, because it just isn't making me "feel" it. The stun is nice, sure. But I dont think it will work well at all at Incarnate levels. Anyone have any input on OG at Incarnate/40-50 levels? Is cloak of fear way better if I can run it?
Oppressive Gloom, on the other hand, has almost no endurance cost, easy to push Accuracy, requires no slots, and has a consistent mez. On the flip-side though, stuff may tend to wander away from you if you don't wipe out the immediate vicinity fast enough and the -Health can (and has) kill(ed) many a player when they're not expecting it.
The thing with the two powers, if you have the power choices, is that combined they're impressive. You stun the area, and then lock it down with fear, but it tends to ride as a bit of overkill and no one really takes both at the same time to try and counter-balance each ones complaints. If you're not packing something that quickly decimates the mob, or otherwise immobilizes them, Cloak of Fear is often the better choice. In terms of combining with Defense, I'd definitely take the Cloak over Gloom simply because it keeps things in one place, applies a -To Hit, reducing not only the amount of times something may attack you, but also its ability to actually do so. -
Quote:Best (Reasonably Self-Achievable) Chain: SB>BB>QS>SB>CSOriginally Posted by SuperT
Hi,
I'm trying to figure out what the best attack chain would be for kinetic melee when fighting AVs but I'm not having any luck... Although my first and only AV solo attempt so far was against Marauder, I couldn't make a dent in him.
I started spamming the first 3 KM attacks and hitting power siphon when it came up but that wasn't really doing much. Then I started throwing in concentrated strike since it is a hard hitter and has the chance to recharge power siphon but the attack is just too slow. I'm wondering if maybe I need to use focused burst... Anyone experienced with KM have suggestions?
I know Marauder has crazy high resistance but, as a scrapper, I would think KM would still hurt him... of course, not as good as fire melee would...
Hit Power Siphon, run the chain, keep Power Siphon cycled up as often as possible; do not break the chain unless something forces you to. CS will, with luck, help keep Power Siphon more consistent; but if you're running this chain, you'll most likely already have PS down to 30-34 seconds anyway which means you'll have your 10/s ramp up, 10/s saturated, 10/s decline which averages something like 80% damage bonus over 30/s.
The first three attacks of KM: QS>BB>SB only does ~170-180 DPS (if I'm remembering correctly), and with Marauder's Resists/Regen, you were likely doing so little comparative damage that you wouldn't have noticed. Concentrated Strike needs to be used and you'll need to get something like 150-160% Global Recharge (with Hasten) and either Spiritual or Agility for the +Recharge there too. -
Quote:Without really seeing honest Titan Weapons in that build, I can't really give a fair assessment of pairing TW with anything when it comes to IO's. I can say though, with the thought of trying to find +HP and +Regen, five trios of LotG's in combination with a trio of Numina's in Health/PP/Aid Self will both get you a considerable amount of +Regen and +HP (I don't know the Brute amounts offhand for +HP, otherwise I'd give more specific #'s). Anything further would probably be found in ToD's and Mako's at the three-of that are the easiest to get to.Originally Posted by Granite Agent
John & Werner -
You're both right. I think I'll play him some more but also think about SR. If you guys can look over the SR build above and provide any tips, that would be great. It was built for recharge but is light on HP and probably missing things like winters gift slow resist. -
Sets and combinations don't get old or become worthless, they just fall out of favor. Doesn't mean it isn't still good and worth playing.
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Quote:I think that really sums it up, Granite. I think (in my own review of your sentiments) that you may have been jumping into a bag full of cats expecting cuddly warm fuzziness and instead got shredded with malicious intent. One of the biggest proponents of Comboing */DA into +4/x8 content is how well you're familiar with what you're playing and how you manipulate the abilities of your primary and secondary. Titan Weapons hasn't been out for long, and for those who've gotten it to 50 so quickly may not be full in the grove of things yet. I know I'm not.Originally Posted by Werner
...you shouldn't expect Dark Armor to be flat out better than Shield Defense or Super Reflexes, as the secondaries are all supposed to be well balanced. All sets have their pros and cons...
I've been casually running up the ranks of my TW/DA (who currently sits at 32) trying to get a feel for the set, to understand it's ins and outs and seeing what I can do to maximize my up time and minimize my dead-time. As much as I may want to just slam him to 50 and kit 'em out, I know that's probably not the best plan. Before tonight I hadn't played him for three days and was so-so on survival. Tonight I got 31, tossed a few more slots in a couple powers and placed a bit more enhancement and balanced his Endurance Use a bit more. "Build Up" > Whirling > Defensive has been an awesome opener into a mob. Being cloaked as I stride in and laying the mob flat doesn't eliminate all of my alpha troubles, but it gives me a very large amount of time to get the first +Def in, pop Dark Regen to full, hit the next Cone and the next +Def so that by the time I'm facing any more viable damage I'm well protected against most casual mobs. Running around on teams doing +2 to +3 content and soloing mobs with liberal use of the inspiration tray has seen me pulling a lot of great "wow, shouldn't you be dead?" moments.
So, as Werner said, if you're not feeling the "Wow", the only thing I could suggest is reconsider how you're approaching the mobs. */SR and */SD have the freedom to pretty much walk wherever they want and deal with the implications after the fact. Resistance based sets have to think about the land mines before they step on them. Try adding a Mez Aura and re-evaluate your tactics in dealing with the mobs. If it doesn't click still ~shrug~ Reroll
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Quote:I feel obliged to help a fellow TW/DA, I must see this combination strongly enforced! I also wanted to reiterate some of what Werner mentioned with support from another actual build. I wont say that Cardiac is a "must have", but it is the most impacting Alpha on a Dark Armor with all the toggles most chase down. I have a Spines/DA Build with Soul Mastery instead of Body Mastery, and it works, but all for the pretense of getting Shadow Meld since it has the ability to Soft Cap me to everything, and iCap me to S/L/E/N Melee/Ranged. That can be a huge boon in preventing (note: not stopping) Cascading Defense Failure if you start to face it.Originally Posted by Werner
-You have no defense debuff resistance with Dark Armor.
-...defense debuffs are tearing you apart. It's to be expected.
-...uber happens...outside of defense debuffs.
-Consider slotting Obsidian Shield.
-Monitor...smashing/lethal defense.
If you're having endurance trouble, I'd consider swapping Musculature for Cardiac. I would much rather give up musculature than give up Barrier or Rebirth for Ageless on a build like this.
And yeah, consider picking up one of the mez auras. Cardiac would probably be enough to grab Cloak of Fear, but Oppressive Gloom might serve you as well or better. I'm not sure with this specific build.
Even if you are carrying 45% Defense somewhere, personally I would still take one of the mez auras. The entire objective of this play-style is to reduce the amount of incoming damage as much as possible, and then cram the rest through a strainer. Minions deal the bulk portion of damage you end up taking, so compare: 5% Chance of 10 Attacks doing 300 damage each versus 5% Chance of 5 Attacks doing 300 damage each. Then, of those two scenarios, strain that through your Resistances and see who's out on top. Money's on the later.
Of course, not everyone still feels the need to carry either, but Cloak of Fear also comes with -ToHit for those Minions if effects, increasing the window of your defense against them if you do get hit with a Debuff.
In regards to the Destiny, I think it depends on the needs of the build. Depending on what you may choose to try fixing would depend on the Destiny you run. In the case of having access to Shadow Meld, I'd sooner put Ageless to help keep that power up more often (as well as increasing the endurance management) and also keeping Dark Regen up far more often making it less necessary to have Rebirth. On the flipside though, Rebirth is a powerful tool to keeping you alive in conjunction with Dark Regen.
This is the Spindle build, to give some comparison (All planned on just the Alpha):
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Quote:Which is understandable, but it doesn't change the unfortunate aspects of seeing so many players all gravitating towards; especially given that so many people are doing so under the pretense that they're going to face endurance problems that Willpower so easily corrects. Further along those lines are also the assumption that--in full IO build terms--that the attacks in Titan Weapons are going to get burned on endurance slotting (too much focus on Obliteration) and the whole build will suffer. I know it's possible to slot a 45% Def S/L/Melee Spines/DA with only using two Obliteration sets; and that can easily transfer the same style of slotting into a TW/DA--and transversely */FA and */Ela as well. It feels like a lot of awesome secondaries are getting shunned because of Endurance fears despite "concept."Originally Posted by Kioshi
Well WP is hugely popular, especially for a primary with a gimmick lots of people will want a low maintenance secondary with it.
Anyway blame the devs not the players
I don't like WP very much and don't have one, but they managed to make a very well rounded armor set without significant drawbacks that also goes well with any theme - I'd probably have made a WP toon if I had bought StJ mostly for the theme (*mostly* because I have played my beloved /ELA and /DA to death and have a kat/regen leveling.. slowly).
Not all the 'Titans of Lore' are Powerful in Will, some of them just burn with fury or bend the darkness to their desires, filled with electric passion, standing tall with those mighty enough to never be struck but for a weak Achilles heel; others are so driven they fall and revive to fight forever. While the energies of the heavens may surround their ranks, there is no better shield than the brute strength of the Titans, so may their illusory invulnerability be demonstrated. -
Quote:Lack of Diversity. Plain and Simple. I've nothing against Willpower--don't get me wrong there--but when I log between three instances of Atlas Park and 250 out of 300 new toons are Titan Weapons, and only 10 out of that 250 are Fire/Electric/Dark?*Originally Posted by JayboH
Why is that a shame?
*Not literal numbers, but I ran Sewer Trials till 20 over the course of an hour and of the some 30 other people I teamed with, I was the only Dark Armor, and I only saw one Fire Armor, and a handful of Electric Armors. The mass majority was Willpower with a third sprinkling of Invulnerability. I know a good chunk of those will never make it to 50 on law-of-averages, but still. -
I'm glad to see other people finally considering TW/DA. I ran on Virtue off an on last night working up my own that I've been waiting to build on live since it hit Test, and not once did I see another Titan Weapon + Dark Armor amongst the throng of new characters swarming the three Atlas's. A lot of Willpower though, shame.
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Quote:QFT, Link for ClarityOriginally Posted by Vauluur
2.) In actual gameplay, you shouldn't need to have IH perma anyway (if you do, you're doing something wrong and/or should just play Willpower.) So while your idea MIGHT be playable, you'd be sacrificing huge amounts of endurance and possibly making your attack chain unsustainable to achieve basically the same results as a build which uses Rebirth. Check Werner's Kat/Regen thread for some builds that do so. They are very impressive...
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Quote:This isn't really a fair assessment of Spines against Claws.Originally Posted by NecroOmNomNomicon
Taking all this into account, and preaching about Claw/Fire Brutes for farming myself, I think Spines is a niche set almost not worth playing. Claws can do just about as much AoE dmg (in a smaller AoE) and still do epic single target damage, making it a superior choice in almost all situations.
To be fair and clear cut:
Spines has Spine Burst, Quills, Ripper, and Throw Spines for Cone/AoE.
Claws has Spin, Eviscerate, and Shockwave.
Spin > Spine Burst
Ripper > Eviscerate
Throw Spines > Shockwave
Quills > ??? (Claws doesn't have anything to compare)
In terms of Spin vs. Spine Burst, if you account for Quills running around the attacks as they occur, you're really getting comparable straight damage dealt in that time period. With Ripper vs. Eviscerate, Eviscerate may have a higher critical rate, but Ripper flat out does more base damage, knockdown, and slows that Eviscerate has none of--plus it animates slightly faster (go figure). When looking at Throw Spines vs. Shockwave, there's really not much contest here. TS does more damage, adds slows, and doesn't include the outrageous cast time. Even if I took the DPA of TS against SW: TS might have a slightly longer animation time but if I include the DPA of Quills during that time, they're the same DPA and TS doesn't scatter everything to the wind.
To add into all of that mess is the fact that most of the Spines attacks include a portion of their damage from Toxic, which is nearly unresisted in the game. I also want to throw in there that this set has not yet seen a fair balancing act like all the other attacks sets have so far. Whether that would prove to be good or bad had never been determined, but Spines is technically still an "old fashioned" set and hasn't received a nice tune-up like Claws did a couple years back.
This doesn't mean I'm advocating one way or the other, I just didn't think it was fair to try and throw numbers out there without including all of them. Spines is definitely not a single-target set, but it's also not meant to be; and in nearly all scenarios they are often paired with */DA, */FA, or */ELA for the damage aura in the secondaries which compounds on the AoE. Spines isn't bad, you just have to play to it's advantages. -
Quote:After a certain point, recharge only does so much. Once you start breaking the 150% Global mark and 95% Enhancement in the power itself, the return you see on each 10% additional starts to shrink tremendously. Now, your definition of "high recharge" isn't stated, but lets assume you mean 150-200% recharge as these are the "extreme" ends for any scrapper. For just about any power, once you start creeping up on the last 1/3 to 1/4 of it's original recharge, the benefits start shrinking down. Is it nice to have a "Perma Soul Drain"? Oh, definitely, but this often only works well with builds that can help cover other holes that you'd normally plug with IO's.Originally Posted by Blue_Centurion
Okay, I am really starting to enjoy Scrappers. Pretty survivable played smart, and wow the damage.
I have started to experiment with dark/dark. So many things I like. I understand from a recent guide I read these are pretty hard to softcap, and even if it was softcap'd dark has no defense debuff res.
I was thinking about going a different route for survivability. Big recharge build. The thinking being that Dark Consumption, Dark Regeneration, and Soul Drain would be up quite often as tools to enhance damage, mitigate alphas, and help solve endurance problems.
Is that a viable way to go? Has anyone tried that?
This does not, however, discount your own play experience, and you may find you like trying to live on the edge of massive recharge to pump out your build's own effects. However, a mid-line balance would be a good alternative too. Even if you can't manage 45% to anything, 32.5% is definitely viable, and also a good way-point when you include working with inspirations to help supplement defense, while still leaving you room to earn 100-140% Recharge pretty easily.
Edit: Thought I should add a note on building with Incarnate abilities in mind. Hasten+Spiritual shrinks down the amount of global you need to get Hasten "Perma" and is a solid way to help push all of your powers even further for recharge. Personally I'm more in the mindset that (in particular with a */DA) I like to try and go a different route and leverage Cardiac as it has a pretty nice impact on all the resistance numbers, as well as "trimming the fat" so to speak. Pulling a few points here and there out of everything helps streamline low-end IO builds. -
Quote:I have to ditto this. Compounding Defense on Resistance is far superior than compounding Defense on top of more Defense. With IO sets out there, you could easily use Parry or Divine Avalanche to get 59% Lethal/Melee for Incarnate content, and have a strong foundation of Resistance on top of that.Originally Posted by Microcosm
I have to disagree there. You get a lot more mitigation out of adding Parry onto a resistance or regeneration based secondary than onto a defense one. You can easily get parry to softcap your non-defense character to lethal/melee with two applications, and with some more investment you can bring it down to one application. /Electric also has a damage aura that should make up the dps lost by using Divine Avalanche/parry more in your chain.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Werner
The builds have moved on greatly from that point, but yes, enhancement boosters would probably make up the difference. The thread was from before enhancement boosters and before the Resilience buff. At this point, there would need to be some reshuffling of these builds to account for what's become available since then. I think I've personally given up on Katana/Regen for now, though, or at least if I'm going to spend some time in Mids' and rebuilding a character, it would probably be my Katana/Dark, who I think can be more drastically improved.
Off Topic:
Given that I had gotten my Spines/DA up to 45% S/L & Melee evenly back before I19, I could only be but greatly amused by seeing you revise the Kat/DA -
Quote:It only answers single target issues, but Confront would (via the -75% Range effect on a target) force targets back into Melee with you, but isn't necessarily something you want to spend all day doing. There's also the Presence pool with it's AoE Taunt you could look into; but the biggest difficult you'll face is either needing an Aura with a taunt component (Against All Odds/Invincibility/Rise to the Challenge), or needing to do more damage that keeps you in the hot-zone--with the latter of the two being more difficult. You also have to consider your own desires in wanting to continue playing a character, though, too. Scrappers can adapt to most situations, and you'll be looking at dealing with a necessity of ranged ability and probably wanting a good aoe or two that you can alpha a mob and break in some quick damage that the Nrg/Nrg can either finish on the follow-up, or break down significantly. Knockback can prove to be an effective protection tool on its own as well, so there's always that.Originally Posted by Blue_Centurion
The real problem is she chose a Nrg/Nrg blaster. Shes gonna be knocking peeps right offa me left and right. I'm not worried about her ST knocks, but when she cones she is gonna street sweep my herding. At least she'll be in the same room, so we can co-ordinate I guess. I'm starting to think Brute for better agro management, I want her to have fun. But you're right, Tank would be overkill. Kind of funny, but overkill.
Since you are running with a KB Specialist, I'd suggest considering Spines, Claws, or Electric Melee. The first two have additional Ranged components that can be effectively used both surrounded and spread out, while Elec Melee has an abundance of additional aoe, and an option to teleport into a mob with a bit of distance for an aoe buster.
As a heretical side note: You could also play a Controller. I know it breaks from your thoughts on playing a DA Melee, but most of the AoE Immobs have -KB in their secondary effects and better still is the factor that you'll not only have support compounding effects, but also--most combinations--ways to buff your Blaster partner.
P.P.S.: Time Manipulation (with Power Boost) can pump out Farsight in a way that you can bring the both of you up to 45% Defense across the board making a lot of your mitigation concerns a wash! I know, totally drives away from Melee
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Quote:I think you're forgetting the fact that the game existed without IO's for, what, four years? (I don't recall the official release date of I9, and Paragon Wiki is down at the moment). The concepts of the game were all designed around Single Origin enhancements. IO's are our "End Game Content" or "Loot System", they're not required but are instead a more immersive system provided by the developers to both keep the game fresh and expansive for all players and also giving them the opportunity to create harder content for players that step it up and power-game on occasion.Originally Posted by JayboH
Personally, I think one change and one change only would make Dark Armor a far more viable set, even for tankers - and don't point me to that one video of a Dark Armor tank that is listed in the owner's sig because we all know he is defense softcapped...
Cut the heal and end cost of Dark Regeneration in half. That's it. Oppressive Gloom can cause a person to use Dark Regen more often in certain situations and builds dependent on level and slotting if you think about it.
Leave the end cost of Cloak of Fear alone - everything in the whole set is balanced outside of dark regen. The heal is TOO HIGH and unnecessary which is the whole argument against the gigantic end burn, not even considering the tohit check requirement.
REMEMBER that we need the set to be viable to Freebies that only have access to SOs, and you need to weigh the cost of Acrobatics on top of everything else.
Remember that the Cloak of Fear issues and Dark Regen's values are not the only hurdles people need to make up for. Knockback protection is another big hole (yes, easily fixed, but still, we need to remember Freebies with their SOs.) The number one complaint even after the revamps years ago has always been end cost - always. The toggles are fine, even with Cloak of Fear, considering how useful that power is. Dark Regen is the true endurance destroyer, considering how often you need to use it with the low resistance values of the set. Cloak of Fear and Opressive Gloom are the tools that make up for those low resist numbers - and running them all, at all times, should be the main goal in my eyes, like every single other set in the game. It's Dark Regeneration, even fully slotted with level 50 vanilla IOs for end cost, STILL takes a big bite out of your end.
Thoughts?
Trying to say, now, seven years later, than one set doesn't work cause "oh noes, someone has to use SO's again?" There's no validity in that argument. Dark Armor is one of the most powerful secondaries available, and to change something for freebies would dinadvertently cause damagingly overpowered effects to those who are paying for the invention system. In either situation, and especially in the case of SO builds, things are more than compensated with proper slotting. Yes, Dark Armor does come with an abundance of toggles, but that is in part to its unique bag of tricks. DA is the only secondary that can walk into a mob and instantly reduce 50% of its potentially incoming damage simply by standing there.
But lets run some basic mental math here about Dark Regen in specific (since this is what you're nit-picking). Dark Regen can be reduced to 15-20 End per use, for a potentially 100+% Heal. Reconstruction hits for 5-8 end per use for a rough maximum of ~50%. DR can do a base of 40+% off a single target; and in terms of using only one target, 20 end is a steep price, but you're often not using in this circumstance. Is 20 end a fair price for an 80% heal? Its definitely better. 20 end for a 100% heal? Yes, actually, that's pretty darn balanced.
The sets not broken, and the Free accounts aren't getting a bad play experience, they're just getting the Pre-I9 Experience. -
Quote:I'm going to have to play on both sides of the fence, just briefly, on this note. In one hand, as Claws has mentioned, slotting for the Eradication set bonuses is applicable and reasonable to desire, but at the same time, your play experience may warrant a necessity for a more powerfully driven Dark Regen that performs off just one or two enemies. I myself prefer to rely on a single target for the Regen and expect the worse scenarios from it; slotting for as close or more to 50% heal and reducing the recharge down as far as I can to mimic more of a Reconstruction feel--and this can be done in just four or five slots depending on global recharge and global accuracy bonuses. In terms of the Theft of Essence proc, this is great for the specific reason that it can cover the cost of the power which is a major boon in itself. Can I get a free 50%++ heal every 12-15 seconds? I'll take that for sure, anything else is just gravy; and all it costs is a few (hundred) million influence and a slot in the power.Originally Posted by Gospel_NA
I agree with you, since he's paired this up with DM. Other than that I'd say that dark regeneration should be used whenever it's going to make the difference between you staying in the green or making a trip to the hospital. Without siphon life or another source of healing, being able to restore a significant portion of your health on a single target is very helpful.
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Quote:Yes, that is the right one. And to the best of my knowledge, is 99% identical in function (minus eye bleed).Originally Posted by Werner
On paper, my Katana/Dark can absorb 8381 DPS of enemy damage output at 50% to hit. I suspect I could get that over 10,000 with an I21 respec (it's an I19 build with incarnate powers thrown on top rather than designed in). Either way, the reality is FAR short of that due to the spikes and waves that characterize real world damage.
John Printemps tried to turn my personal spreadsheet into something usable (less eye-bleedy). Here is what I HOPE is the correct version.
Instruction Sheets:
Section One & Section Two
Not required extra reading, but Google Docs doesn't do pop-notes as I had intended while they are--and do come up on mouseover--not as easy to follow as a straight "here is here" guided shot.
And, just for kicks on the Dark Armor Bandwagon: My Spines/DA hits "8,438", which, to be fair, compared to Werner's Kat/DA that is literally the difference of 1% (60.5 vs. 59.29 to be exact) Resistance on ONE stat (I checked, I can literally manipulate mine down to 8,381) so I'd say its pretty fair to say Dark Armor in general is a pretty beastly powerhouse when you amp its resistances and then start giving it soft-capped numbers on defense. -
Quote:fix'tOriginally Posted by Werner
Take a Broad Sword/Shield Defense or Super Reflexes with a high recharge build that soft caps without Parry. Now Parry, Build Up, and crush your enemies while still soft capped. Repeat frequently.
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Quote:No, and no, you weren't looking at it right (and either way, I was just breaking it down to an example). Literally: First five seconds - 120% / 15%, Next five you'd drop to 80% / 10%, next ten 25% / No +To-Hit, Last ten seconds: No +Dam% / -10% To-Hit (30/s in total). The first ten seconds was literally just build up, splitting it to a front-loaded bonus to emphasize for Burst, and just tacking a % Bonus on for another ten seconds (So you get 20 seconds of some kind of overall +% scaling down over the duration). The 25% was just suggested as I have no idea what amount of +Dam could be added to Broadsword without making its DPS too far above Katana's as I wasn't going to spend that much time looking into it.Originally Posted by Vauluur
While I agree that measures would have to be taken to prevent the power from making Broadsword OP, I'm not sure this is the way to go. I'm reading these numbers as they'd be listed in game, which would mean the first 5 seconds would be a boost of 225% damage and 30% to hit. Is that what you meant? If so, that's way too much. If not, then the numbers you gave add up to 40 seconds, not 30. It would be better to just increase the recharge and remove the penalty.
So, yeah, you did inadvertently get what I was saying, you just presented it differently than I did.Quote:Originally Posted by Vauluur
So it would work like this:
30 sec duration, 120 sec recharge (need 300% recharge boost to make it perma)
When you click the power it gives you the following buffs all at once:
30 sec buff of +25% to Damage, +5% To-Hit
15 sec buff of +50% to Damage, +15% To-Hit
5 sec buff of +45% to Damage, +10% To-Hit
Thus, for the first 5 seconds after activating the power you have a buff of +120% Damage and +30% To-Hit. It's more powerful than standard Build Up but only gives you time to fire off one or two attacks. For the next 10 seconds you have a buff of +75% to Damage and +20% To-Hit. That's still a pretty hefty buff to your attacks. The final 15 seconds have the steep drop to only +25% to Damage and +5% To-Hit.
And, yeah, there has to be some kind of downside somewhere in there. Honestly, 20 end chunked out at the end is probably a lot more than -20% Recovery would've bitten, but might be less noticed, too.Quote:Originally Posted by Vauluur
The increased recharge makes it possible to get perma, but it's not easy. Part of me wants to say increase it to 150 sec recharge, but then you almost have to build for a massive recharge boost to get any use out of it. 120 seconds should be sufficiently long that only experienced/dedicated players will be running around with insane damage boosts all the time. Though, it could also be given an endurance crash like Hasten, where it takes like 20 endurance or something when it crashes. That would discourage stacking to avoid having the crash happen twice in a short period.