well if you cant afford the recharge sloting for MG>Smite>SL>Smite, throwing in SP as a filler attack is your best option and still a decent compromise
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Here's an SO leveling build that I put together for someone who was pretty much asking the same questions. The big piece of awesome behind it is that the builds mostly cover each other's weaknesses. I'd recommend against Burn though. It's... not that great... Plus it scatters mobs which isn't really in the best interest of your spawn destruction interests.|
Originally Posted by SlyGuyMcFly
The thing is, I 've never played FA and have very little experience with DM and resistance sets in general so I'm a little lost when it comes to actually building my toon. So I'd love to get some advice on the two sets, and how the combos plays in general. If someone could post a semi-cheap build on Mids I'd be very much obliged.
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Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
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Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Shadow Punch -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(3), Dmg-I(3), Dmg-I(5), RechRdx-I(5), RechRdx-I(7)
Level 1: Fire Shield -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(7), ResDam-I(9), EndRdx-I(9), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 2: Smite -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(11), Dmg-I(11), Dmg-I(13), RechRdx-I(13), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 4: Shadow Maul -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(15), Dmg-I(17), Dmg-I(17), Dmg-I(19), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 6: Healing Flames -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(19), Heal-I(21), RechRdx-I(21), RechRdx-I(23), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(25), Dmg-I(25), Dmg-I(27), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Plasma Shield -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(29), ResDam-I(31), EndRdx-I(31), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(33), Acc-I(46)
Level 20: Consume -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(33), Acc-I(46)
Level 22: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(36), Acc-I(36)
Level 28: Blazing Aura -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(36), Dmg-I(37), Dmg-I(37), EndRdx-I(37), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 30: Health -- Heal-I(A)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(39), Dmg-I(39), Dmg-I(39), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 35: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 38: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(42), EndMod-I(42)
Level 41: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 44: Tough -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(45), ResDam-I(45), EndRdx-I(45), EndRdx-I(50)
Level 47: Weave -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(48), DefBuff-I(48), EndRdx-I(48), EndRdx-I(50)
Level 49: Temperature Protection -- ResDam-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
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| Also, what are the better attack chains for DM? I've seen MG-Smite-SL-Smite mentioned, but I'm not sure I can afford a build that has that much recharge. Are there any other good alternatives? |
Thanks for the advice guys, it looks like this one is a keeper. I have a couple more questions after trying to get a basic IO plan, though.
What sort of bonuses should I go for? rech looks like a given, due to the number of click powers I'll have, as is a KB protection to skip Acro, but I'm not sure what else to go for. HP? Recovery to skip the fitness pool? Regen? Try to stack up a modest amount of defense, maybe focusing on E/N?
I'm a bit stumped because I'm used to defensive sets where you just stack up defense bonuses to the softcap and work from there. On /FA there isn't anything I can obviously stack up to large amounts. What should I prioritize, considering I don't have a large budget (I.E., no purps, no Big Threes, Steadfast and Perf Shifter being the upper limit) to work on?
Or maybe I could ignore sets outside of some +rech and KB protect and frankenslot the rest. Any ideas?
In my experience with this combo, there's no such thing as "something to focus on after recharge" because you can never have enough recharge 
The more recharge you have, the less you have to rely on separate endurance recovery. Heals are tied directly to recharge. Just recharge and recharge and more recharge! Extra HP tend to go well with resist sets, and there isn't that much good in terms of resistance bonuses to go around. You can get a modest amount of defense without much trouble (my DM/FA has around 15-18%), but it's all about the recharge!
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DM/Fire follows pretty much the same advice that I give to all */regen Scrappers (*/Fire in general does, but DM/Fire moreso than the rest because of DC, Siphon, and Soul Drain):|
Originally Posted by Aliana Blue
In my experience with this combo, there's no such thing as "something to focus on after recharge" because you can never have enough recharge
The more recharge you have, the less you have to rely on separate endurance recovery. Heals are tied directly to recharge. Just recharge and recharge and more recharge! Extra HP tend to go well with resist sets, and there isn't that much good in terms of resistance bonuses to go around. You can get a modest amount of defense without much trouble (my DM/FA has around 15-18%), but it's all about the recharge! |
1. Get more recharge.
2. What do you mean "enough"? I said more recharge.
3. Do I have to repeat myself again? More Recharge!
4. You're sure you can't get any more recharge without gimping your build? Are you sure? Okay, now stack as much defense as possible.
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Originally Posted by Umbral
DM/Fire follows pretty much the same advice that I give to all */regen Scrappers (*/Fire in general does, but DM/Fire moreso than the rest because of DC, Siphon, and Soul Drain):
1. Get more recharge. 2. What do you mean "enough"? I said more recharge. 3. Do I have to repeat myself again? More Recharge! 4. You're sure you can't get any more recharge without gimping your build? Are you sure? Okay, now stack as much defense as possible. |
OK, thanks for the advice. I'll see how miserly I can be while getting a passable amount of recharge.
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I beg to differ. Burn may not be all that and a bag of chips, and you're right to say it's not optimal for an end-game build, but the average player can't afford the kind of recharge and defense you're talking about until much later in the character's life, and until then burn is pretty handy to have as a damage mitigator for those times when Healing Flames isn't quite up yet and Siphon life didn't quite heal you for enough. The fact that it also does damage is something I consider a bonus.|
Originally Posted by Umbral
I'd recommend against Burn though. It's... not that great... Plus it scatters mobs which isn't really in the best interest of your spawn destruction interests.
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Admittedly it's not something you'll need for an eight person team, but it's saved my life many times solo and on small teams.
And yes, Midnight Grasp+Burn does take down a boss rather quickly. And if it scatters the minions while you're doing that, so what? They're not attacking you, I'm pretty sure you'd want to hit Soul Drain before attacking the boss, so scatter's not an issue there. Besides, the minions will be more than happy to regather around you after the burn patch has dissipated.
Hell, early on before I had MG I actually used it for immobilize protection and took air superiority instead of combat jumping to flip the boss before dropping burn.
But there's a reason it's in your secondary. Trying to shoehorn it into a consistent offensive tool is why so many players hate it. Use it for the mitigation that it is, and consider the damage something that gives it flexibility, and the power is fine. Situational? Sure. Skippable? Yup. But not worthy of contempt by any stretch.
The Scrappers' Guide to Dark Melee | Kheldian Binds and Strategies
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Of course, I would use the first half of your quote to explain why the second half is wrong. If it's a power that is highly situational and can be skipped with little to no drop in real performance, that's a contemptible power from where I'm standing. Sure, it's not like Resilience (5.635% s/l resist and stun protection on a melee AT that's available 10 levels after you get your mez toggle... are you serious?) or Revive (worst self rez in the game), but it barely warrants the power choice when you consider everything else you could pick up that would contribute more.|
Originally Posted by Smiling_Joe
Situational? Sure. Skippable? Yup. But not worthy of contempt by any stretch.
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I will admit that a lot of this feeling comes from having used it in its pre-nerf state wherein it was actually useful for dealing damage. It's a pale reflection of what it once was. It used to be taken because it was effective, and you were crazy for not taking it. Now it's just kinda of... there.
I still consider Burn useful, and I actually have it on my Spines/Fire. It's good against regular foes (minions, lieutenants and bosses) when I've spammed Spine attacks and thrown Caltrops to cap -Speed effects. It also much, MUCH improves my ST damage against big targets like AVs.
This is all from my perspective, though, and I find Burn synergizes quite well with Spines...
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Originally Posted by Umbral
Of course, I would use the first half of your quote to explain why the second half is wrong. If it's a power that is highly situational and can be skipped with little to no drop in real performance, that's a contemptible power from where I'm standing. Sure, it's not like Resilience (5.635% s/l resist and stun protection on a melee AT that's available 10 levels after you get your mez toggle... are you serious?) or Revive (worst self rez in the game), but it barely warrants the power choice when you consider everything else you could pick up that would contribute more.
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Skippable and situational don't necessarily equate to useless. It's skippable if you can afford the IO's to compensate for /Fire's relative squishiness. Otherwise there will be times when you need to scatter a mob and recover from a damage spike.
You could, by the late twenties, have picked up Boxing, Tough and Weave. Boxing is meh. Tough will mitigate a steady 17-ish percent(fully slotted) of s/l damage and weave will net you about 7% damage mitigation in the form of defense to all positions when slotted out. Aid Self gives you just over two hundred hit points back (again, slotted for heal) after a four second cast time.
By contrast, Burn gives you a brief and very quick 100% melee mitigation that lasts just long enough for you to hit a couple of inspirations, Healing Flames, or - for that matter - Aid Self.
Moreover, it does it with just one slot, whereas the others I mentioned had to be fully slotted just to get those numbers. Furthermore, if you do start stacking defense bonuses to go with Weave, then you'll need to have your powers fully slotted to get those bonuses, something not possible until you've already respecc'ed into your end game build anyway.
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| I will admit that a lot of this feeling comes from having used it in its pre-nerf state wherein it was actually useful for dealing damage. It's a pale reflection of what it once was. It used to be taken because it was effective, and you were crazy for not taking it. Now it's just kinda of... there. |
It didn't, before, and this IMHO has led to the misconception that it should be used offensively. It can be used offensively, but its primary function is mitigation, and I would still contend that it is a very effective mitigation tool despite its shortcomings. Its decrease in usefulness was mainly to its offensive uses.
The Scrappers' Guide to Dark Melee | Kheldian Binds and Strategies
I just rolled a DM/FA which on paper looks like a pretty nice combo, what with the two heals, the two end recoveries, the two Buildup powers, Midnight Grasp+Burn (and Ring of Fire in i16 for extra leverage)...
The thing is, I 've never played FA and have very little experience with DM and resistance sets in general so I'm a little lost when it comes to actually building my toon. So I'd love to get some advice on the two sets, and how the combos plays in general. If someone could post a semi-cheap build on Mids I'd be very much obliged.
Also, what are the better attack chains for DM? I've seen MG-Smite-SL-Smite mentioned, but I'm not sure I can afford a build that has that much recharge. Are there any other good alternatives?