Part 1 Fire/earth lvls 1-25


beyond_CoV

 

Posted

Zig to Shark.

Hello out there! I started a fire/Earth assault dominator(my 3rd dominator) and I would like to share how my build went from 1-50.

Toon name-Fallen Rage
Server-Protector

Lvl 1-12 I used the x2 players difficulty and solo'ed. Also, I had brawl on auto, sands of mu and nem staff(which I hardly used due to KB effects)

I took Fire Control/Char and Earth Assault/stone spears(required) at lvl 1. I always skip the single target immobilize and its a good idea to keep your target held while you pummel him.

Lvl 2 was Earth Assault/stone mallet. This was a good choice as I needed more firepower.

Lvl 4 I took Earth Assault/tremor. As a PBAoE attack, it is a good way to whittle down mobs.

Lvl 6 I took fitness-swift as I always do with all my toons. Basically, getting ready for the other fitness pool powers.

Lvl 8 By this time, I was taking quite a few lumps so I need a defensive power. I took Fire Control/smoke which has to-hit debuff and -perception as I thought it would be good to use if I had to stealth a part of a mission.

Lvl 10 I took Fire Control/hotfeet and my idea here was to use it as a brute like damage aura however, the endo cost of 1.0/per second was too much to keep it on at all times. So, I ended up using it as a defense, as it causes enemies to flee.

Lvl 12 I took flight-Air superiority as I always do with all my toons. The extra attack came in handy.

At this point, I had to change the difficulty back to 0/0. I was barely able to survive and would run out of endo quite often.

Lvl 14 Flight-fly.

Lvl 16 Fitness-health

Lvl 18 I noticed that I could keep hotfeet on almost all the time, to use it effectively and keep foes immobilized, I took Fire Control/fire cages.

Lvl 20 was fitness-stamina

Lvl 22 I tried to beat the sea witch(orange EB) and was unable to solo her, I had to recruit help. Also, I took Fire Control/flashfire as an AoE opener, then hit them with fire cages and then let hotfeet and my attacks do the work. Thr combo worked well, but I died alot as well. I then tried flashfire, hide behind a corner, then immoblize and that was more effective.

Lvl 24 Earth Assault/Heavy mallet Was needed as my ability to finish foes was dwindling.

Lvl 25 Things were going great, up to this point, I was able to solo three EBs. Blue phaser(red) Golden sphinx(orange) and Leoknight(orange). Most mobs were easy to dispatch using tactics like hit and run, reverse pulls etc.

Stay "tooned" for Part two "When the Circle came to town"

B.


 

Posted

Not sure you were looking for a critique, but there are some errors in your build strategy that could be useful to others thinking to roll one of these:


Quote:
Originally Posted by beyond_CoV View Post
I took Fire Control/Char and Earth Assault/stone spears(required) at lvl 1. I always skip the single target immobilize and its a good idea to keep your target held while you pummel him.
No problems here. I would have done the same thing.

Quote:
Lvl 2 was Earth Assault/stone mallet. This was a good choice as I needed more firepower.

Lvl 4 I took Earth Assault/tremor. As a PBAoE attack, it is a good way to whittle down mobs.
Ditto with these 2 powers.

Quote:
Lvl 6 I took fitness-swift as I always do with all my toons. Basically, getting ready for the other fitness pool powers.
I would have went Hasten here. It's mandatory for doms IMO, and lvl 6 is when it's first available. That'd boost your control and damage capability and provide more utility than swift at this stage. You have only a few powers and need them available ASAP.

Quote:
Lvl 8 By this time, I was taking quite a few lumps so I need a defensive power. I took Fire Control/smoke which has to-hit debuff and -perception as I thought it would be good to use if I had to stealth a part of a mission.
Smoke is a neat power and the stealth is a nice ability, but the to hit debuff is negligible solo. It's not going to do much to protect you in a stand up fight, and you can't stealth everything. Here's where I would have picked up my first fitness power or taken something like Air Superiority. Regardless, smoke was a wasted pick IMO.

Quote:
Lvl 10 I took Fire Control/hotfeet and my idea here was to use it as a brute like damage aura however, the endo cost of 1.0/per second was too much to keep it on at all times. So, I ended up using it as a defense, as it causes enemies to flee.
This was another poor choice. HF is way too end hungry. I put it off until 22 after I have stamina 3 slotted with lvl 25 SOs. At this stage it's draining your end and giving you very little in return.

I would've went with either Hurl Boulder for another attack, or another fitness pick if I were planning to skip health which i often do. You're only level 10, so foes shouldn't be that tough and being able to get a lot of your pool powers out of the way early is nice.

Quote:
Lvl 12 I took flight-Air superiority as I always do with all my toons. The extra attack came in handy.

At this point, I had to change the difficulty back to 0/0. I was barely able to survive and would run out of endo quite often.
I would've recommended Flashfire here. That way, by level 15, you could have it 5-slotted with lvl 15 DOs or IOs. It would give you a solid, but brief group alpha mez. Also, following this plan, you wouldn't have the end problems you were and you'd already have Air Sup and maybe Hurl Boulder for 2 attacks to beat on your stunned foes.

Quote:
Lvl 14 Flight-fly.
Would have skipped this, too, as I would've run the 1st 2 mayhems and have those 2 temp travel powers. Also, you could buy the jetpack from GV for 10K. And you might even have the Gold Bricker jetpack if you ran Brass's arc. A true travel can be put off to your 20s easily.

Furthermore, fly would be the last travel for this build I would take. A lot of your powers require you to be on the ground to activate. Not good if in combat, you have to toggle fly on and off a bunch of times.

If stealth was an interest to you (as per your Smoke comment), I would've went with Super Speed if I needed a travel power at 14.

Long story short, I would have taken Health maybe from fitness, or another pool power like assault, or maybe even snagged Hot Feet here knowing I wouldn't actually use it til after 20.

Quote:
Lvl 16 Fitness-health
This is fine here, but based on my plan, I would already be 2 powers deep into fitness. Therefore, I would either take Power Boost to make my flashfire last longer, or grabbed more pool powers like tactics, air superiority. Heck, you could even have Kick and Tough from fight pool by this time if you wanted to be more brutish.

Quote:
Lvl 18 I noticed that I could keep hotfeet on almost all the time, to use it effectively and keep foes immobilized, I took Fire Control/fire cages.
Cinders would be my pick here. I'd put 2 more slots in it by 19, and plan for 5 slots by 25. Lvl 25 SOs in it by then. With hasten and maybe Power Boost, it'd give that extra control you're looking for. Also, it ties in nicely with your melee orientation.

Quote:
Lvl 20 was fitness-stamina
Yep.

Quote:
Lvl 22 I tried to beat the sea witch(orange EB) and was unable to solo her, I had to recruit help. Also, I took Fire Control/flashfire as an AoE opener, then hit them with fire cages and then let hotfeet and my attacks do the work. Thr combo worked well, but I died alot as well. I then tried flashfire, hide behind a corner, then immoblize and that was more effective.
This is where I think you made your biggest build error. I realize the standard choice for a fire dom is fire cages, but not in combination with /earth. Cages has a -kb effect and it neutralizes all the delicious knockdown your attacks have for 12 seconds. That knockdown soft control should have been you're saving grace this whole time as you were slotting up Flashfire and working on Cinders.

Honestly, I've kicked other doms off the /earth team we're running if they repeatedly use -kb when we're stacking knockdown with /earth and ice slicks and earthquakes.

Quote:
Lvl 24 Earth Assault/Heavy mallet Was needed as my ability to finish foes was dwindling.
This is solid here.

Quote:
Lvl 25 Things were going great, up to this point, I was able to solo three EBs. Blue phaser(red) Golden sphinx(orange) and Leoknight(orange). Most mobs were easy to dispatch using tactics like hit and run, reverse pulls etc.
So for me at this point I'd have my main controls Flashfire and Cinders 5 slotted. Hot Feet would have 3. My attacks and hold would have on average 3 slots. I'd also have the fitness pool, Hasten and maybe SS, and another pool like Leadership assault/tactic (end cost could be a problem) or Fighting kick/tough (brutish build).

There would be little problem soloing content up to 5-man team size I'd wager with such a build. Concerns would be endurance and getting mezzed. Domination would solve both of those and I'd have Hasten to get it up as much as possible.

At 26, I'd go with another pool power or maybe PB if I didn't have it yet. For pools, I could take vengeance (if I teamed a lot and was thinking about taking PB), or Weave from fighting. Or if I disliked those, I'd take my true travel power here (anyone I want as I'm a long time vet).

At 28, I'd go with Seismic Smash.

At lvl 30, I have another 'open' pick. So pool power or PB or maybe Bonfire or smoke.

At 32 it's the imps.

35 I could take mudpots if my end costs weren't bad and I was a pure meleer. Otherwise, I could take any of the 'maybe' control powers I mentioned before, or yet another pool power.

At 38, it's Fissure.

For my 40s, I'd probably look for an end recovery power from Mu or Soul. Probably a shield power as I'd be in melee a bunch. I'd throw in the AoE attack for more dmg goodness at close range. And top that off with maybe another pet, or soul drain/elec tier 9.


Please buff Ice Control.