Person34
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Posts
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Quote:The text in red means that enhancement diversification (ED) is in effect, which as Stolid points out is a type of diminishing return on the value: it's hard to get a value much over 100% on a power because of this. One of the things that the Alpha slot does that is so nice is a portion of its value ignores ED, based on the level of the slot (1/6th to 2/3rds).Originally Posted by Rintera
Awh so when it shows the damage nearly double from apocalypse it isn't actually doubling the damage? >< nuuuuuuu.
I was hoping I'd pop an 800 damage subdue xD
unf >_> I guess it's still worth it to get the bonuses from purple sets though if I have the extra money...
Also the purple sets aren't "must haves", you can build an awesome toon without them but they have three real advantages over the lesser sets. One is offer the biggest bonuses available in the game: 10% recharge, 3% health, 16% regeneration... whatever the set offers it is the largest available. Two is the procs happen more frenquently, 33% I believe compared to 5-10% for standard procs. Lastly, you retain 100% of their bonuses even if you exemplar to level 1. Other sets can lose a significant portion of their bonuses, but the purples do not. -
The reason I brought up hasten is it would open up a ton of new possibilities for your build. Making ML perma would suddenly become trivial, and you could dump the cheesy entropic chaos sets for the better decimation (if you want to keep the +rech) or the waaaay better devastations.
I see you have the heal procs slotted, I tried that route back in the day when I thought I wanted to play a fort and because of the randomness of the proc (coupled with the pathetically low heal amount) it added zero to my survivability. Carrying a few greens is a better option IMO as they have "use when ya need it" availability and are practically unlimited with the insp combine feature. Or just build for hitpoints/regen and you will have largely no heal issues (I have 27/sec on my NW and I solo pylons without needing greens, it works wonders).
Also, you have a lot of powers overslotted. Partly because of weak sets (entropic chaos I'm looking at you), partly because... I don't know really. The nucleos in static discharge and ball lightning make no sense since damage is ED capped. Also, taking tough and weave... they can both be left out if the build was reworked. If you were a NW or melee fort I could see having tough but playing as a ranged support toon it's just a needless end drain. And weave can be replaced too, but it would involve a build overhaul.
You obviously enjoy your fort, and I can see that you are investing some expensive sets in there, but you could honestly have a -seriously- epic toon if you reworked some things with the slotting and power pool choices.
Which comes full circle again as to why I (and others) keep suggesting it. Don't worry, I -know- you hate the power so no need to reply to this defending your stance on not taking hasten, I'm just rienforcing the idea that it could potentially alter your entire build and bring it to a whole new level if you considered it. I could even post a reworked build later today based on your power picks and you can see what hasten will improve. -
Quote:Foresight has 17.3% DDR, and is enhancable up to 41% if you 6 slot it with lvl 50 def IOs(my widow's is at 27% with 4 set IOs). Elude adds an additional 34.6%. So you could have about 75% for short bursts if you take elude and six slot forsight =)Originally Posted by Exxar
which is nice because you don't have any DDR.
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Hasten will drop the rech on psy wail by 22 seconds and dominate by 15 seconds. What do you have against it? Then minor end crash? One of the best powers in the game IMO. I'll say I myself find its "flaming fists" color annoying, but since I'm stealthed most of the time it's no biggie.
Also, you will only lose about 3.5% defense if you drop mask presence (depends on slotting of course, I think it's @ 3.8% on my NW). If you can stay softcapped w/o it then toss it, but it contributes to defense and allows you to position for controls w/o being seen. (personally... I say just roll a dominator if you're gonna skip MP, but that's just me).
Vengeance only works on players, not pets. It's situational, but nice to have if the situation arises.
As to how you should rework your build, I say take hasten and MP heh. If you can make it work without them and you enjoy the toon great but both powers will benefit the build IMO. -
[QUOTE=EricHough;3504445]pulverize actually beats anything in claws for DPA and shatter is nicely in the ballpark[QUOTE]
Lunge blows anything a bane has access to out of the ballpark... by a good mile. In less time it takes for a bane to use shatter a widow can fire off its two hardest hitting single target attacks (slash and lunge).
Banes aren't bad in general, but it's foolish to think they can hang with widows in the single target DPS dept.
Editted due to trying avoid another long bane vs NW debate... -
Here's a 210% fort build I just put together, which is capped to all positionals (mainly because I added forsight, which your build overlooked). It has all the same core fort powers as you, but I have left out a lot of the pool powers you chose and left them blank in the build.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.92
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 48 Natural Arachnos Widow
Primary Power Set: Fortunata Training
Secondary Power Set: Fortunata Teamwork
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Poison Dart- (A) Empty
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (A) Apocalypse - Damage
- (3) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (3) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge
- (5) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance
- (5) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
- (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance
- (7) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge
- (7) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (9) Red Fortune - Defense
- (11) Red Fortune - Endurance
- (17) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (9) Recharge Reduction IO
- (11) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
- (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
- (13) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
- (13) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
- (15) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
- (15) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Hold/Recharge
Level 16: [Empty]
Level 18: [Empty]
Level 20: Mask Presence- (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance
- (21) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge
- (21) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (23) Red Fortune - Defense
- (23) Red Fortune - Endurance
- (43) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance
- (46) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge
- (46) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (48) Red Fortune - Defense
- (48) Red Fortune - Endurance
- (48) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance
- (25) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge
- (25) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (27) Red Fortune - Defense
- (43) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
- (27) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
- (29) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
- (29) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
- (31) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
- (31) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
- (31) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
- (33) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
- (39) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Recharge
- (A) Absolute Amazement - Stun
- (33) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge
- (33) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge
- (34) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Recharge
- (34) Absolute Amazement - Endurance/Stun
- (A) Coercive Persuasion - Confused
- (34) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge
- (36) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Recharge
- (36) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Endurance
- (36) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion
- (A) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage
- (37) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (37) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
- (37) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
- (39) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
- (A) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
- (39) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
- (40) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (40) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (40) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Ragnarok - Damage
- (42) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
- (42) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (42) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge
- (43) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance
- (A) Malaise's Illusions - Accuracy/Recharge
- (45) Malaise's Illusions - Endurance/Confused
- (45) Malaise's Illusions - Accuracy/Endurance
- (45) Malaise's Illusions - Confused/Range
- (46) Malaise's Illusions - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
Level 2: Rest- (A) Empty
Level 2: Swift- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
- (A) Endurance Modification IO
- (17) Performance Shifter - EndMod
- (19) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
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Outside of massive recharge what are you trying to achieve with this build? Not trying to be critical, just you have some interesting slotting going on there (like slotting subdue as an immob rather than an attack).
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Quote:Any combo will do. Just pick a primary and secondary and roll with it. There are probably a few primaries better suited to "scrapping" (DM/ and NB/ imo) but most of pve (esp if you are grouping) is silly easy.Originally Posted by blacktomcat
I'm wanting to build a PvE stalker that can stick around after the initial strike and fight the rest of a group. What would be the best primary and secondary to do this with?
I'll have to say though that my favorite level 50 stalker doesn't scrap at all: my permahasten elec/elec targets a boss in a group, LRs into the frayand then executes a crit TS. He's a walking artillery piece and after his alpha there isn't much scrapping left to do (thanks goodness, as his single target damage outside of AS is laughable). -
OP: you mentioned a melee-centric fort, I have a killer build on my home computer I can send you if you are interested. It is meant for pure damage with double assaults, follow up, aim and +31.5% global damage. Also has 107.5% global recharge + 3 slotted hasten. It has controls as well and can perform multiple roles on a whim, the only downside is it is lowish hit points (1300ish w/ accolades vs. compared to my NW's 1650) and it's also pretty expensive: prob @ 6-7 billion by today's market.
It works well, I just prefer my NW so it doesn't see much use for me. -
Quote:I don't have an energy/ or /energy stalker yet, but have 7 other combos sitting at level 50 and I'll have to say some of them are nearly as tough as my scrappers (and can equal/exceed my much loved NW's abilities as well) in terms of survival and damage. My DM/nin, MA/regen and NB/WP all see a lot of playtime.Originally Posted by shaggy5
I have a few stalkers, but only one high level stalker. I got him to 50 because I wanted a level 50 villain when CoV first came out. I never play him, but them the WTF came out and I jumped on a Cuda SF last night. OMG, I realized how much I don't enjoy stalkers last night, at least on a team. I felt like I either had to play as an underpowered scrapper or I had to be out of the fight often to try to get "hidden". No wonder I don't play this toon!
Stalkers used to be known as a "hit and run" AT but times have changed, they can scrap it out quite well now. I'm having a lot of fun running mine through the incarnate content, the only downside I'm seeing with them is it has proven difficult to secure spots on these weekly strike forces (read: not one bite yet since it went live with the stalker toons).
Who knows, maybe they really are broken and really do suck and I just don't see it because I'm having too much fun with them =D. -
I wouldn't say they are the best, but probably the most well rounded. They are great at laying things to waste out of the box due to the ease at which they can cap defenses, their awesome status toggle and the monstous attack chains they can muster. But there's a lot of things my brutes/scrappers can do better, and unlike trollers and doms my widow will probably never be able to solo a LRSF (<--- that's an extreme example of course, but it's one reason why folks think these two are such powerful ATs).
Weakness to defense and recovery debuffs, no self heal, low hit points (my widow's at 1602 w/ accolades, or about what a stalker caps at), and an unreliable sliding resist mechanic is what keeps them from getting the "epic box" checked in my book. But yeah, very well rounded out of the box. -
Was toying with some builds on this toon now that he's lvl 50, my goal being high recharge and some defense. I was able to piece together a 45% S/L defense build with 88% global recharge, but as awesome as S/L can be I've discovered with my claw/fire brute that it is hit or miss: you'll be indestructable with some groups, but others will just shred you.
So messed with a second build using the soul PPP, and was able to add shadowmeld and also bump my global recharge to 102%. But S/L defense now sits at 40%.
Was wondering which build would offer the better return in survivability. With hasten I can chain shadowmeld/MoG/shadowmeld if things get really ugly, and all positionals are 45% or greater with just shadowmeld running. I don't like relying on it, but since it is a "clicky" build to begin with I guess I could get accustomed to it.
Which build should I invest in? Thoughts?
Thanks in advance guys.
EDIT: NM, figured out how to get the 45% S/L and keep the higher recharge and shadowmeld. Thanks for looking. -
I took shatter armor on my night widow. Took the immob and just placed in an acc IO, and only have shatter armor 3-slotted since it sees only limited use. Hits hard, has a 20 second -20 resist debuff, and is good to have around IMO for things like robot bosses that resist a widow's psi and lethal attacks (and take bonus damage vs shatter armor's smashing).
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I took psy scream on my night widow over dart burst. Spin and eviscerate are more than enough AE damage for me, so it really came down to this: which power could be used situationally to assist me best?
I decided that psy scream's -50% recharge debuff was better than the piddly -regen debuff burst offers. It isn't a part of my attack chain, but I use it occasionally if I'm getting overwhelmed to help neuter incoming damage.
Either will work, just my preference. -
I don't play forts but I have a solid NW that I've played since i12. Just my thoughts:
Foresight: take it, slot it, love it. It's an auto power that is 7.5% defense to all unslotted, and it contributes to a widow's scaling resists (one of two powers that does so). The scaling resists kind of the weak icing on the cake, they are nice as a passive but don't ever count on them saving you because they can be bypassed entirely if a boss hits you before they have become active (ever been hit by a KoA boss for 1600?).
I'll agree with Jibikao though... tough (and the pvp resist IO if you can afford) can make the S/L enemies cry when coupled with these scaling resists. You can actually hit the 85% resist cap for S/L this way... not that it would be a safe place to linger for any amount of time (read: you'll have maybe 5 hit points remaining). Question is do you need tough? You will need another power just to pick it up, personally I'd just rather have double assaults instead. Mmm... triple-stacked FU + double asaults + slash...
Damage: Yeah, a NW will out-burst and out dps a fort, by a large margain. I've played the fabled "melee fort" before, I've succumbed to the illusion that they blow away a NW in damage because they can stack FU and aim... but it isn't the case.
What folks don't mention is that to play a high dps fort you need to... play it just like a NW. No ranged controls or damage, just jump in and scrap it out. This is because it's the melee attacks that allow for this (FU specifically), so if you want to be a melee murderer just do a favor for yourself and pick up the NW path. Aim is nice and all, but it simply cannot replace slash + eviscerate.
What you are going to find with the NW is they kill sufficiently quicker than your fort. This is one reason I've never taken a fort seriously: NWs kill at a faster rate and I personally prefer killing than controlling (dominators are another reason I don't play forts anymore, but I won't go there). The one thing forts have that I am envious of is psychic wail... another reason I tried the melee fort idea heh. It's an insane power, but wasn't enough to leverage my opinion of the tree as a high burst/DPS powerhouse.
The one thing you will really need to think about is your choice of patrons. Widows get gloom, which rocks in so many ways. IMO though a better pick is shatter armor and here's why: it does more damage, it has a 20 second resist debuff attached and (best of all) it is smashing damage, which is a godsend as NWs are lethal/psy and robots laugh that off. But they'll stop laughing once you show them that big a** arachnos mace.
It'll cause redraw, but so will gloom so pick your poison =) just understand too that with my NW I don't employ shatter armor in my normal attack chain, it is reserved for bosses and lethal resistant critters. If you are incorporating a patron power into your chain they gloom would prob be the better choice. Better DPA, faster recharge, and way less end cost than SA.
Anyways, just my 2 cents. Build it like your fort (with forsight included), make it melee focused. Be sure to grab FU over BU, that's where the sweet DPS comes in. And lunge, slash and eviscerate are your bread, butter, and ... grape jelly I guess. Some folks don't like eviscerate, but it hits harder than lunge and is a cone. In fact, it's your second strongest melee attack, even accounting for single targets (in terms of raw damage anyway).
Lastly: pick up spin. Spin rules the universe.
There's lots of ways to build a NW, this is just the path I chose. Hope you enjoy the NW as much as your fort. -
This game literally bleeds defense - it wouldn't be tough to throw a decent build together. Mids even has a set bonus finder to make it easier.
Adeon gave you some good starting points, it's really just about how much inf you willing to throw at the build. But, luckily for us, this game bleeds inf as well so anything should be possible. Post your results later and folks will prob be more than happy to help you tweak it. -
Quote:Yeah a slotted darkest night would increase your survivability dramatically, esp if you get some S/L defense in your build. And what is nice is you have the tools in consume and dark consumption to effectively manage it.Originally Posted by Void Spirit
Thanks for the input. I am leaning towards Brute in order to take Darkest Night.
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[QUOTE=Auroxis;3407530]With that out of the way, when people say softcapping defense they don't mean softcapping all forms of defense, as that is impossible.[QUOTE]
If I'm not mistaken a stalker or scrapper can softcap to everything (Ranged/Melee/AOE + Smashing/lethal/Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative/Psionic), or come mightly close anyways, if they take and slot shadow meld from the Soul patron pool, weave, CJing, have both defense IO uniques. It would only be for fifteen seconds at a time, but it's doable.
Good thread BTW. -
Quote:Just curious how much time you have spent with /EA. Based on your ignorant response to the OP I'd say very little. It would be nice to have an explanation as to why you feel this way rather than just announcing "abandone all hope".Originally Posted by Derangedpolygot
I'm sorry Kusac, When it comes to EA, my only advice is to cut your losses and reroll with a different secondary. SR is available to brutes and it vastly outshines anything EA can do.
I have a 50 /EA and it can do anything my 50 /SR can... heck, maybe even more since he has unlimited endurance, can cap hit points and has access to two heals. He has 53% DDR, so if I get in a bind one purple is usually enough to fend off a defense failure. I've tanked Tin Mage with him on an all melee SF (read: no buff support) and routinely fight 8x spawn maps littered with PPD Khelds/ Malta /carnies and have not once had an issue.
Mind you, this is on a fully IOed build with 90% global recharge, softcapped all around (minus psi, which is at 22%) and just over 2200 hps. And if there's a dangerous opponent in the group I will tag them with DN (since /EA has the endurance tools to manage it). But it's as sturdy as any brute I've played outside of /stone or /invulnerability. /SR might inch ahead of /EA out of the box, but IOed I'd say /EA is equal or better in 99% of the games content... and is just a purple pill for being there in the other 1% (psi).
Just the opinion of someone who plays both a /EA and /SR at lvl 50. -
Yeah fiery embrace now adds a +45% fire damage boost to all of your attacks, which scales with fury. It can make for some intense moments as burn + FE + 70ish% fury does around 550 damage to the suckers dumb enough to stand by you. And with blazing aura's taunt component they'll -want- to stand by you. Paired with claw's spin (or any other amazing AE) you can tear through groups in quick fashion.
I have a lvl 50 claw/FA and even while at 45% S/L defense and a 12 second recharge on healing flames there are times I got owned hard. You will need to learn what enemy groups will give your toon problems and either lower your difficulty when facing them or just simply avoid them altogether. It is definitely a "good offense is the best defense" mindset here... and sometimes that won't even be enough.
Also, in regards to Rise of the Phoenix... it's hit or miss. Yeah it's a great rez and does good damage, but in my experience if the mobs can defeat me they will just plant my face in the dirt again after the rez. It delivers its damage in three ticks + does KB, so there will be a lot of occasions where mobs will take that innitial 111 damage tick and be knocked out of the range of the last two ticks. It stuns them too, but that really doesn't matter as you will have that untouchable state in effect (helpful for team mates I suppose tho).
Also, all of your toggles are down after you "Rise", and in your fifteen seconds of invulnerability you will need to determine one of the following: mop up the critters if only a few remain, spend that time retoggling, or run for your life. I'll admit though... it feels awesome to hit RotP and watch something actually die to it. Payback, /FA style!
Overall, the set isn't -bad-, just be offensive minded and know you aren't an invul, SR, shield brute and can't take the same licks that those defensive sets do (unless you are fighting mobs with lots of fire attacks). It's one of those things you'll probably need to determine for yourself, as some folks love it and some don't. My advice: get FE and burn before giving up on the set, those powers are what turn it into a massive damage powerhouse. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Silverado
Except for the fact that you won't be hitting stuff that's a couple steps away from you.
Never been a problem for me. 8' is plenty of room to pack 10 mobs in, and BA's hefty taunt ensures they stay put. -
Quote:Claws/fire, for brutes anyways, is a highly underrated AE combo.Originally Posted by Bright Shadow
Claws/Fire?! How would that be an AoE death machine? Last I remember Claws was very efficient in Single Target, but not so much in AoE (I'm not being snarky/sarcastic, I'm genuinely curious!).
Claws has -way- better AE than it does single target damage: spin is it's second highest damage attack right behind eviscerate (which happens to be a cone attack). At 70% fury spin hits for over 300 and it up every 6 or so seconds on a decently IOed build. Burn will deliver @ 240 upfront damage and another 50 or so in additional ticks at the same fury level. And blazing aura has a 13.5 second mag 4 taunt attached to it... so the mobs just pile up on you and happily melt away to nothingness as you slice and dice.
What's even nicer is when you hit fiery embrace and all 3 of those AEs get an additional 50% fire damage boost. Spin hitting for 450+, burn doing over 500 and blazing aura delivering 22 DPS is quite a site. And with decent recharge you can get 3 good spin/burn cycles in FE's 20 second window.
It's quite the AE machine. -
I don't play spiders anymore, but I love it on my widow. Yeah it causes redrawn but it delivers a damage type that benefits that tree (since some critters, like robots, laugh off lethal and psi damage), hits pretty hard and has the resist debuff to boot.
Probably -the- coolest PPP/APP power in game, IMO. -
Take care Castle, been great having you around.
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Quote:Yeah, the 8 spawn maps are great for both the candy canes and for incarnate shards I've found. There seems to be a ton of groups packed into that map.Originally Posted by Breog
I run Lady Winters at /x8 spawn. I get between 60-100 Candy Canes a run.
I like the Lady Winter one over Baby new years because thier seems to be more body count, or at least the lay out makes it easyer to quickly hit them all. *shrugs*.
However you need to be able to beat down Lady Winter solo if you plan to complete each mission for the 5 Candy Cane bonus. I do, but I know many were complaining they couldn't solo her.
Stacking 8 Crysatlize can kinda due that lol.
Last Night Candy Canes spiked to 600k each O_o
Only reason I was even farming them was to buy the badges I missed on this toon.
Also, for those who want to try Lady Winter solo and are having trouble, just clear the map on a high spawn setting and then drag her to the mission entrance point. There was a small army of those reindeer ally creatures standing by to assist with the beat down (set for x8). It was the only way my brute could solo her as an AV (I had the damage output to get her down, but her debuffs will stack and strips 10% from defense and resistance per application).
Great farm map.