How To Plan a Build/Respec By Example
By
Aurea_Sandria,
Posted on: 2005-05-02 16:30 in Player Guides
I wouldn't mind seeing your Fire/dev blaster setup with ED. Thanks!
How to Plan a Build/Respec by Example
Now with ED and Hami-Os!
I have been thinking about updating this guide for some time now, the builds are outdated due to ED and some of the powers/sets have changed. That combined with my desire to talk about how to plan builds given Hami-Os (Hamidon enhancements) prompted me to both respec Plasma Welder again (his current build works really, really nicely) and write about it.
So I'm going to talk about two primary things that are new with this guide beyond general creation of quality and fun CoH/CoV builds:
1. How to build with ED in mind (I'm coming to this party very late, so I won't spend much time here).
2. How to squeeze more utility out of your build when you have a critical mass of Hami-Os.
What Is ED
Enhancement Diversification, the short version is that you have very low improvement for SOs beyond three, so in general never slot more than three of the same SO in the same power. Easy enough.
What Are Hami-Os
The current end-game content for CoH is taking down the Hamidon, which lives in The Hive, a hazard zone located off another hazard zone, Eden, which is connected to Founders Falls.
The reward for taking Hamidon out is a Hami-O, which is an enhancement which works on two or more power stats at SO level. There are eleven different kinds of Hami-Os, I'll talk about some while describing the build and there are some excellent guides out there that describe them.
Approaching a Hami-ed Build
Approach One: Ignore Hami-Os, pretend you're doing a normal 1-50 character, and plan all powers and slots with that in mind. Once you get some Hami-Os, put them into the powers that make the most sense and use any freed up slots (I'll talk about this process soon) to make those powers more flexible or powerful.
Approach Two: Plan for your current inventory, and expect to use future free respecs to update the build with the new ones you get in the meantime. For the Hami-Os you start with you can squeeze every bit out of the powers you slot them in, and for the new Hami-Os you treat them as in Approach One. Often you will take some of the slots out of powers with Hami-Os into powers you were unable to spare slots for previously.
Approach Three: Plan for either the ideal set of Hami-Os you intend to get over time or a reasonable future set. You make the build as if you already had them, and then plug them in as they are available. You have "good enough" temporary slotting in the meantime.
Plasma Welder
Plasma is my main character, a level 50 Fire/Dev/Force Mastery blaster on Pinnacle. He's my main badge character at over 310, and I've done just about all the content in the game with him or tried. He's pretty strong in all PvE and PvP, especially with the right team.
I did a respec for him from the Flame Mastery EPP to Force Mastery at the same time I got him ready for ED, and although he deals less raw damage than he used to he's tremendously more versatile than before. Overall I'd say he's more fun to play.
This build is about squeezing the last few ounces of strength into the build by taking advantage of Hami-Os. I've already got quite a few on him, but I'm going to take Approach Three in this case and build it for the day when he has every last Hami-O I could want on him and list both what he's already got and what I plan to slot once I have them.
The actual structure of the build has not changed recently, I think this is pretty close to the ideal fire/dev. In this case I want to make him more effective for both PvE and PvP.
My basic Fire/Dev framework
1. Fire Blast / Web Grenade
Flares sucks, fire blast is a solid attack you never stop using.
2. Fire Ball
Fire blasters are by nature AoE blasters, so I get fire ball and fire breath ASAP.
4. Caltrops
Caltrops is very useful in more ways than I can describe: corner pulls, Anti-Stalker traps, keeping the enemy more clumped, quasi-control... the list goes on. If you're not using this is most battles you're not as effective as you could be.
6. Hasten
More damage faster, yes we all wish it was still perma but it is still very important to a blaster build, especially fire.
8. Fire Breath
10. Targeting Drone
Slotting TD is better than an SO of accuracy plus perception. Once you get this for new characters you can stop slotting attacks for accuracy until late game. More importantly this is a tohit buff rather than an accuracy increase, so it doesn't stack per se with accuracy enhancements and is great to have in addition.
12. Hurdle
Partially because it is fire, partially because it is a blaster, and more than a little because I take Hasten in this build, I need Stamina ASAP.
14. Super Speed
Super Speed + Cloaking Device is very nice stealth for PvE, and it is a fast travel power in general. I take SJ later in the build, and the combo is fantastic.
16. Health
Health has sleep resist, so there's now a clear reason to take it over the other beginning fitness pool power.
18. Blaze
Crucial for single target killing, again both PvE and PvP.
20. Stamina
Phew.
22. Cloaking Device
Provides defense as well as stealth, making moving around hazard zones much safer.
24. Aim
This buffs both tohit and damage!
26. Combat Jumping
Three reasons: First I want SJ, second I'm planning on doing some enhancing of Hurdle in this build so I can be more mobile in PvP and not be suppressed. Running CJ gives me jump control for that. I'll explain the third reason in a few powers.
28. Trip Mine
Again, useful in PvP and PvE, the Hami-ed version of this is hilarious and wrong.
30. Super Jump
Vertical movement!
32. Inferno
Ka-freakin-BOOM.
35. Acrobatics
I didn't want SJ just because it is a fun movement power, acrobatics makes being a late game blaster much nicer. Instead of spending most of my time flopping I'm actually up and fighting.
38. Blazing Bolt
The snipe is a bit situational, but in the right situations it is perfect. Combine that with the stealth of the Cloaking Device and you can have a lot of success with single pulls in places that doesn't seem possible, and sometimes you can get multiple snipes off before they can get at you.
Of course there's the standard /devices blaster soloing technique:
Find a corner, lay down 2-5 tripmines. Put down caltrops mostly in front of but also slightly covering the tripmine clump. Duck around the corner and pull (either snipe, fire blast, or fire ball depending on how many you want and how far away they are). Move out of sight and out of sight of the tripmine clump too. They come around the corner, get slowed into a pack by the caltrops so they're tight when they get close enough to set off the tripmines.
I really can't think of a good reason to move anything around, drop any of those powers, or move them around.
Epic Power Pool
Now for EPP levels, I went with Force Mastery. The three powers I'm using from this pool work exceptionally well together, and quite well in the context of the rest of the build. First, I get Personal Force Field. A nice "oh crap" button, and a decent way to deal with low end situations. In the middle of the combat, pop PFF and wait to get end back. It is possible for a blaster to stop attacking, just rare.
Second is Temp Invulnerability, with decent (around 30% slotted) resist against the two most common damage types. Definitely helps survivability.
Third is Force of Nature, essentially a stripped down version of Unstoppable. This gives endurance recovery but more importantly over 50% (slotted) resistance against everything except Psionic damage. Combined with TI above this means I'm capped for a blaster against smashing/lethal. Combine it with PFF and I'm incredibly hard to hit and it doesn't hurt very much when I am. It also falls and leaves almost no endurance and no end recovery, but it isn't as bad as Unstoppable or similar powers (because it isn't as powerful either).
In my previous build I took Whirlwind for my level 49 power because I wanted to see what it was like and if it fit the build. It didn't. Instead I'm adding Smoke Grenade back into my build for the first time since it was nerfed.
Lysosome Exposures are Hami-Os that buff accuracy and tohit/defense debuffs. It is a very good fit for Smoke Grenade, and there aren't many good uses for them, so they are easy to get. Additionally they made game changes for Perception that mean this power has much more PvP and PvE value than it did post-nerf.
Slotting
The hard part of builds is always getting the most out of slots. This is made easier with ED, where some powers that used to require 6 slotting such as Hasten and Stamina now can only reasonably take 3.
For my builds the big change is that I tend to spread initial slots across powers much more, and fill them out later in the build for powers that still warrant more than three.
With Hami-Os you're essentially getting 2 for 1 and in some rare cases 3 for 1 on your slots. A normal example is a Nucleolus Exposure, the most sought after Hami-O, it gives SO level increases for damage and accuracy. Normally people recommend one accuracy and three damage for damage dealing attacks, but if you instead put three Nucleolus Exposures in you get the equivalent of three accuracy SOs and three damage SOs for only three slots.
If I were to slot Fire Blast pre-Hami-Os, I would use:
ACC DAM DAM DAM RECHARGE RECHARGE
Accuracy: +33%
Damage: +95%
Recharge: +66%
Because it is a relatively low end cost attack. With this build I'm going to use two different kinds of Hami-Os: A Nucleolus Exposure plus two Centriole Exposures, which enhance damage and range. Now it looks like this:
Nucleolus Centriole Centriole RECHARGE RECHARGE RECHARGE
Accuracy: +33%
Damage: +95%
Range: +40%
Recharge: +95%
I gained three slots using this technique, and made this attack work from farther away (80 to 112) and come up more often.
Some people would only slot Nucleoluses (Nucleolusi?) here, but remember that I also have Targeting Drone so I'm getting another SO's worth of accuracy there, plus I have Aim and use it often. I hit a *lot*, even in PvP against defense-based opponents.
Level Power
3 Fire blast x 2
5 Fire ball x 2
7 Hasten x 2
9 Fire breath x 2
11 Targeting drone x 2
13 Fire breath, Fire ball
15 Fire ball x 2
17 Fire breath x 2
19 Blaze x 2
21 Stamina x 2
23 Cloaking Device x 2
25 Aim x 2
27 Blaze x 2
29 Trip Mine x 2
31 Trip Mine x 3
33 Inferno x 3
34 Inferno x 2, Blaze x 1
36 Fire blast x 3
37 Hurdle x 2, Caltrops x 1
39 Blazing Bolt x 3
40 Blazing Bolt x 2, Caltrops x 1
42 PFF x 2, Combat Jumping x 1
43 Combat Jumping x 1, Web Grenade x 2
45 Temp Invuln x 2, Acrobatics x 1
46 Acrobatics x 1, Health x 2
48 Force of Nature x 3
50 Force of Nature x 2, Smoke Grenade x 1
Full Build
With additional comments.
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Plasma Welder
Level: 50
Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Fire Blast
Secondary: Devices
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Fire Blast==> NucleExp(1)CentiExp(3)CentiExp(3)Rechg(36)Rechg(36)Rechg(36)
01) --> Web Grenade==> EndopExp(1)EndopExp(43)EndopExp(43)
Here I'm able to simulate a six slotted web grenade with a few late leftover slots. This would probably be nigh-Malta like annoying to fight against.
02) --> Fire Ball==> NucleExp(2)CentiExp(5)CentiExp(5)EndRdx(13)EndRdx(15)Rechg(15)
04) --> Caltrops==> Rechg(4)Rechg(37)Rechg(40)
Stack 'em like KoA!
06) --> Hasten==> Rechg(6)Rechg(7)Rechg(7)
08) --> Fire Breath==> NucleExp(8)CentiExp(9)CentiExp(9)EndRdx(13)EndRdx(17)Rechg(17)
10) --> Targeting Drone==> CytosExp(10)EnzymExp(11)EnzymExp(11)
Cytoskeletons and/or Membranes can go in here as you get them. This is an example of changing the build for Hami-Os. My standard practice for mid-range cost toggle powers is to stick one endurance reduction into the first slot and then three more for the effect of the power. In this case and for Cloaking Device and Temp Invuln below I will only three slot them, expecting to eventually slot a Cytoskeleton/Ribosome for endurance reduction. In the meantime the toggle cost isn't so high that it will be a problem.
Note that Enzymes are the same as Cytoskeletons as far as the game mechanics are concerned (they both affect defense/tohit), and it cant tell between buff or debuff, so use them interchangeably.
12) --> Hurdle==> Jump(12)Jump(37)Jump(37)
I'm three slotting Hurdle for Jump, which makes for fairly fast travel at high levels. Add to that CJ for jump control and you have a mini-travel power that can't be suppressed!
14) --> Super Speed==> MicroExp(14)
16) --> Health==> Heal(16)Heal(46)Heal(46)
18) --> Blaze==> NucleExp(18)CentiExp(19)CentiExp(19)EndRdx(27)Rechg(27)Rechg(34)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Cloaking Device==> EnzymExp(22)EnzymExp(23)EnzymExp(23)
Again, Cytoskeletons and/or Membranes, I would only use Membranes in powers that have a long recharge and I need to get back up and running fast in bad situations, but a mix can work.
24) --> Aim==> MembrExp(24)MembrExp(25)MembrExp(25)
Again like having this six slotted for the price of three once you get three Membranes.
26) --> Combat Jumping==> DefBuf(26)DefBuf(42)DefBuf(43)
I would only put Cytoskeletons/Membranes in CJ if I had absolutely no better use for them whatsoever, including trading. The recharge is instant and the end cost hardly exists.
28) --> Trip Mine==> NucleExp(28)NucleExp(29)NucleExp(29)Rechg(31)Rechg(31)Rechg(31)
+95% accuracy, +95% damage, +95 recharge. I can get around 20 of these down simultaneously. That makes for a big boom. More hilarious is the stalkers who wander into my caltrop + trip mine trap in a PvP zone... multiple times.
30) --> Super Jump==> Jump(30)
32) --> Inferno==> NucleExp(32)NucleExp(33)NucleExp(33)Rechg(33)Rechg(34)Rechg(34)
35) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx(35)EndRdx(45)EndRdx(46)
38) --> Blazing Bolt==> NucleExp(38)CentiExp(39)CentiExp(39)Range(39)IntRdx(40)IntRdx(40)
Because this power is situational I'd rather get more range and reduce the interrupt time than try to get it recharged faster. I rarely need it up as fast as I can get it, but I always want to hit from farther away, and I do occasionally get interrupted.
41) --> Personal Force Field==> EnzymExp(41)EnzymExp(42)EnzymExp(42)
Not a bad use of either Cytos or Membranes or a mix, of the two I'd probably lean towards Membranes since I'm not going to be attacking while it is up (so its end cost isn't a big concern) but it can be very critical to get it back fast.
44) --> Temp Invulnerability==> RibosExp(44)RibosExp(45)RibosExp(45)
Ribosomes are the Hami-Os that are in high demand because of these sorts of powers, they enhance damage resistance and reduce endurance cost. Mine go to my tank first, but someday I'll have three in this power as well.
47) --> Force of Nature==> Rechg(47)Rechg(48)Rechg(48)DmgRes(48)DmgRes(50)DmgRes(50)
The strength of the damage resist buff for this power isn't so good you can leave it unslotted. I am using it more and more often in normal big team combat and it really works well, not just for "oh crap" situations. If you have HeroStats or some other method to time when the power will drop, one fun technique is to always use Inferno just before this power drops. You're not going to have endurance nor end recovery for a little bit anyway, might as well have their downtimes at the same time.
49) --> Smoke Grenade==> LysosExp(49)LysosExp(50)
My new experiment in the build, should work well to debuff enemies, stack with Cloaking Device for perception, and could be even more useful for PvP.
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> EndRdx(1)
Ive found through experimentation in game and with various hero planners that the bang for the buck on slotting sprint is really poor, better to put an end redux in it and call it good.
01) --> Brawl==> Acc(1)
02) --> Rest==> Rechg(2)
01) --> Defiance==> Empty(1)
---------------------------------------------
Warcupine I7 ED/Hami-O Build
For most builds you need to make a clear slotting decision between whether you're building for Hami-Os (and thus can save some slots and move them elsewhere) or not. I discussed some of these tradeoffs in my I7 Plasma Welder build above.
For a /regen, however, that's not necessarily the case. Due to Quick Recovery, you can more easily get away with not slotting things for endurance reduction without significant effect. Once you put endurance reducing Hami-Os into those powers it helps, but the lack of them doesn't hinder progress.
Warcupine is my level 50 Spines/Regeneration/Body Mastery scrapper on Pinnacle. I respecced a while back for ED, this rebuild was done based on what I learned there and some desire to make him stronger for PvP.
I'll follow a similar format to what I did above with his I5 build.
Spines
I still believe my classification of powers is correct and relevant. Not much has changed for Spines.
Regeneration
Regen has changed significantly since my last build, and ED made a huge difference. Let's go through what it takes to do a solid /Regen build in I7.
Powerset Defining
- Integration: Still an uber power. Solid mez protection plus big regen boost. The end cost is a bit high, but you'll have...
- Quick Recovery: Significantly better endurance regeneration boost than stamina, with QR most regen scrappers do not even need to get stamina.
- Dull Pain: This is even better than it was before, now heal enhancements increase the number of additional HP this power gives to your max. The importance cannot be overstated, this power is still one of the most important in the set and now moreso with the DP anti-nerf.
- Reconstruction: I've bumped this power up because it is necessary for an effective regen build now. Regen is no longer purely about out-regenning the incoming damage, it is about out surviving your opponents. Having a quick popping self heal is very important in dealing with alpha strikes and those times when the bad guys get their lucky streaks.
- Instant Healing: Ignore MoG, this is the 'oh crap' power for the set, and you get it earlier than most sets. For a big fight but not huge, you can use this when Dull Pain is down for extra survivability. For a bigger fight, stacking them makes it incredibly hard to kill a /Regen.
- Resilience: With ED there are more slots to go around and the pure regen powers aren't quite as strong, having more resists (especially in an auto) is very nice.
- Fast Healing: Getting this three slotted eventually is more important with ED, since the other powers boosting health regen can't be slotted as much, and thus aren't as effective.
- Moment of Glory
- Revive
None, although some argue MoG is. Certainly against some opponents (like Rularuu) MoG is just an elaborate form of suicide, but it could be worse, against those opponents just being an /SR scrapper is a form of suicide.
Spines Build Skeleton
01) --> Lunge[/b]
08) --> Impale[/b]
26) --> Ripper[/b]
32) --> Throw Spines[/b]
Regen Build Skeleton
01) --> Fast Healing[/b]
02) --> Reconstruction[/b]
04) --> Quick Recovery[/b]
10) --> Dull Pain[/b]
16) --> Integration[/b]
28) --> Instant Healing[/b]
Power Pools
For this build I'm sticking with Hasten/Super Speed as my primary movement power, but I'm also going to add Teleport in there. TP is very strong with /Regen, since most of the time if a /Regen scrapper can get just a little bit of a break from combat they'll be back up to full and any progress opponents made against them is gone. If you can teleport away from trouble that's usually more than enough space to regen up to full while they're trying to catch up. It is very, very hard to kill a teleporting regen.
I'm still taking fitness, but from 44-49. I'm taking Focused Accuracy from the Body Mastery pool at 41, and the endurance drain of that power plus Quills is enough to start taxing QR a bit, plus there's nothing else really to get. Rather than get EPP powers I don't need or other powers that aren't useful, I'll get the fitness pool and have three slotted health for more health regen goodness and unslotted stamina to pay for FA.
Power Selection
01) --> Lunge[/b]
01) --> Fast Healing[/b]
02) --> Reconstruction[/b]
04) --> Quick Recovery[/b]
06) --> Build Up[/b]
08) --> Impale[/b]
10) --> Dull Pain[/b]
12) --> Hasten[/b]
14) --> Super Speed[/b]
16) --> Integration[/b]
18) --> Spine Burst[/b]
20) --> Quills[/b]
22) --> Resilience[/b]
24) --> Recall Friend[/b]
26) --> Ripper[/b]
28) --> Instant Healing[/b]
30) --> Teleport[/b]
32) --> Throw Spines[/b]
35) --> Revive[/b]
38) --> Moment Of Glory[/b]
41) --> Focused Accuracy[/b]
44) --> Hurdle[/b]
47) --> Health[/b]
49) --> Stamina[/b]
Slotting
This section has been made significantly easier. Many of the regen powers now only make sense to three slot, not six. Additionally, many powers can be brought up to decent usefulness with two slots the level after taking them, and then have further slots filled in later as they become available.
In some cases I'm taking powers early (like Quills and Spine Burst) not so much to use them right away but to have them when I RSK to that level or later.
3. Reconstruction x 2
5. Quick Recovery x 2
7. Reconstruction x 2
9. Reconstruction x 1, Impale x 1
11. Dull Pain x 2
13. Hasten x 2
15. Dull Pain x 2
17. Integration x 2
19. Dull Pain x 1, Impale x 1
Most of the slotting to this point has been defense with a little work on Impale, the best single target attack. Now that the defenses are in good shape more offense can be added.
21. Impale x 1, Build Up x 1
23. Build Up x 1, Impale x 1
25. Impale x 1, Spine Burst x 1
27. Ripper x 2
29. Instant Healing x 2
31. Instant Healing x 3
33. Throw Spines x 3
34. Throw Spines x 2, Ripper x 1
36. Spine Burst x 2, Quills x 1
37. Quills x 2, Lunge x 1
39. MoG x 3
40. MoG x 2, Lunge x 1
I like MoG most of the time, but it would be reasonable to delay these slots until later in the build and move some of the later slotting forward.
42. Lunge x 1, Focused Accuracy x 2
43. Quills x 2, Ripper x 1
45. Ripper x 1, Lunge x 2
46. Spine Burst x 2, Fast Healing x 1
48. Fast Healing x 1, Health x 2
50. Teleport x 2, Resilience x 1
This is the same slotting I would use without Hami-Os, too. There are a few differences in what I'd put into the slots (most attacks are 1 acc, 3 dam, 0-2 end reduction and/or 0-2 recharge reduction) but Hami-Os for this build are about making the slots more effective rather than freeing them up to be used elsewhere.
Full Build
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Warcupine
Level: 50
Archetype: Scrapper
Primary: Spines
Secondary: Regeneration
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Lunge==> NucleExp(1)CentiExp(37)CentiExp(40)Rechg(42)Rechg(45)Rechg(45)
01) --> Fast Healing==> Heal(1)Heal(46)Heal(48)
02) --> Reconstruction==> Rechg(2)Rechg(3)Rechg(3)GolgiExp(7)GolgiExp(7)GolgiExp(9)
04) --> Quick Recovery==> EndMod(4)EndMod(5)EndMod(5)
06) --> Build Up==> MembrExp(6)MembrExp(21)MembrExp(23)
08) --> Impale==> NucleExp(8)CentiExp(9)CentiExp(19)Rechg(21)Rechg(23)Rechg(25)
10) --> Dull Pain==> Rechg(10)Rechg(11)Rechg(11)GolgiExp(15)GolgiExp(15)GolgiExp(19)
12) --> Hasten==> Rechg(12)Rechg(13)Rechg(13)
14) --> Super Speed==> Run(14)
16) --> Integration==> GolgiExp(16)GolgiExp(17)GolgiExp(17)
18) --> Spine Burst==> NucleExp(18)CentiExp(25)CentiExp(36)EndRdx(36)EndRdx(46)Rechg(46)
20) --> Quills==> EndRdx(20)EndRdx(36)EndRdx(37)NucleExp(37)NucleExp(43)NucleExp(43)
22) --> Resilience==> DmgRes(22)DmgRes(50)
24) --> Recall Friend==> Range(24)
26) --> Ripper==> NucleExp(26)NucleExp(27)NucleExp(27)EndRdx(34)Rechg(43)Rechg(45)
28) --> Instant Healing==> Rechg(28)Rechg(29)Rechg(29)Heal(31)Heal(31)Heal(31)
30) --> Teleport==> Range(30)Range(50)Range(50)
32) --> Throw Spines==> NucleExp(32)CentiExp(33)CentiExp(33)EndRdx(33)EndRdx(34)Rechg(34)
35) --> Revive==> Rechg(35)
38) --> Moment Of Glory==> Rechg(38)Rechg(39)Rechg(39)DmgRes(39)DmgRes(40)DmgRes(40)
41) --> Focused Accuracy==> CytosExp(41)CytosExp(42)CytosExp(42)
44) --> Hurdle==> Jump(44)
47) --> Health==> Heal(47)Heal(48)Heal(48)
49) --> Stamina==> EndMod(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Critical Hit==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
---------------------------------------------
I reread this and realized that Spine Burst does not take range enhancements, so instead of the two dam/ranges I put in two dam/accs.
FWIW this build... really works. 
I have updated all these builds for I6/ED and don't expect many I7 changes, but let this thread die out. However, last night I played with someone on my non-primary server who had stolen Warcupine's name (and it looked like he had one of the older versions of the builds from this thread, slightly modified). That obviously got me thinking about this guide again.
Anyone want me to update for ED and so on? I also have some newer builds I could add. I'm happy to do it if there's demand I just don't want to put a bunch of time in and not have anyone benefit.