Quote:
My Rad/Sonic has a team build and a solo build, both hitting Ranged softcap. The team build has perma-AM, and the solo has it down for a few seconds. So it's possible |
Originally Posted by Stelios
I have had a Rad/Sonic sitting on the shelf for sometime now that for some reason out of the blue I decided to dust her off for a LGTF and really enjoyed using her again. I started thinking about bumping her up in the list of toons I am trying to work on but the build I designed for her was made sometime ago and with a lot of misconceptions I had about how things worked in the game. I still have a long way to go admittedly but I was able to come up with an updated build that I think should be fairly sturdy. As I spend more time on the forums, I start to see how easy it is to overlook some things that should be obvious, so here I am asking for any critiques/suggestions. I fought the urge to just load her up on purple sets and recharge sets and tried to balance it as much as possible. I see her main purpose being late game TFs (ITFs, STFs, Kahn's and LGTFs) and built with those in mind. I was hoping to perma AM and soft cap her to ranged but fell just a bit short of both those but I am thinking it should be close enough. However, I do have a sneaking suspicion that the PvP IO slot in the build will remain empty for a LONG time if not permanently so that will knock 3% off the top. If the consensus is the 3% won't make much of a difference with the debuffs flying, I may move the slot to maybe one of the Basilisk sets for the status reduction bonus. Other than that, I may try to drop the set levels down (mostly in the sets that give bonuses for ranged def) from 50s so she will exemp better should that situation develop.
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I'd play with your powers a bit more before buying IOs, but the build you've posted is quite nice generally.
Unless you have a spare 3-4 billion, forget the PvP IO.
At 40% Def, you're getting hit roughly twice as often as you would be at 45% Def, so it's your call whether that extra 5% is worth it or not.
You get into a guessing game over how much your debuffs will influence that, since they'll debuff even-cons, EBs and AVs differently. And they only work once they're in place and the effect has spread out from the anchor.
I wouldn't bother with the fifth BG for status res since AM covers the important bases there.
While I do understand the fun of using Recall Friend on a dead team-mate, then Veng, Fallout and Mutation, I've found very few players willing to stay down that long. Since Veng and Mutation both work at an okay range, I dropped Recall and Fallout; I found that combo a time-sink when the team would be better served with my sonic debuffing, but YMMV.
I'm surprised that you skipped Choking Cloud, which is probably your best mitigation from Melee attacks (since you're not hover-blasting) and arguably the best AoE hold in the game. EMP stacks wonderfully with it, but I've found EMP alone to be just okay.
WoC, as Melee mitigation, is so-so. The general impression I've gotten from the boards is that most people think it's poor. I like it as a back-up to CC in "oh damn, the blaster just aggro-d a mob into the squishes" situations when I don't want the end plunge of EMP. But using WoC alone is something I do when I'm goofing off and enjoying the power without being seriously worried about mitigation.
I've found Assault to be a lot more useful than Tactics, esp. if you're looking at the end-game content. The majority of characters have their own Accuracy sorted out at that point and you're already casting RI, so if they can't reliably hit, I blame poor slotting on their part. Few people live at their damage cap though, so unless you have some good Fulcrum Shifts being thrown about, buffing everyone's damage by 20% is always a blessing.
Unless your attack chain is perfectly-smooth, seriously consider finding room for Scream.
Perma-AM + the Miracle Proc + Numina Proc + Vigilance covers my team build's Endurance needs. (I'm assuming you realise that you need to fire off RA at least once every two minutes to keep the Numina Proc up.) It runs tight during prolonged AV fights, but that's what insips are for.
If you need more Endurance, skip the Miracle Proc and two-slot Stamina with the Perf Shifter End Proc in the first slot, then the Perf Shifter EndMod in the second. If you really (really?) need more, then put a regular EndMod IO in the third slot and consider the Miracle Proc.
HTH
Thanks for all the input, it definitely got me looking at this more.
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OK I admit there was a certain fantasy factor there.| Unless you have a spare 3-4 billion, forget the PvP IO. |
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| I'm surprised that you skipped Choking Cloud, which is probably your best mitigation from Melee attacks (since you're not hover-blasting) and arguably the best AoE hold in the game. |
As far as hover-blasting that was my original intent but I could not fit it and Recall Friend in. Knowing how a lot of our TFs get run, Recall is a big bonus.
Quote:
| WoC, as Melee mitigation, is so-so |
So all of this brings me to the next version of this build.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Code:
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The build obviously got purpled out too, but fortunately was able to go for the less expensive sets.
Quote:
I think being able to add the additional Proc in there changed some minds. I've always liked it.|
Originally Posted by Stelios
I was under the impression that Choking Cloud was not good but most of my basis for that comes from Corruptors. Is there much of a difference between them or have I just been under the wrong impression?
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Stelios
As far as hover-blasting that was my original intent but I could not fit it and Recall Friend in. Knowing how a lot of our TFs get run, Recall is a big bonus.
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Also: There is no "perfect" build. If you play in a lot of TFs where you want to have RF, take the power. You'll probably enjoy it more than a few percent of Def
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Stelios
I dropped Fallout and Recall and picked up Hover for the added defense and LotG slot and picked up Choking Cloud and Scream as you suggested. I am hoping that CC and WoC will help getting to the dearly departed to rez them without having Recall. I am tetering on the edge though with Scream, and still am contemplating dropping it for Fallout (6 slotted Clouded Senses) as I really tend to like that power (situational as it may be). I am ok with my roll as Debuffer and not overly concerned with my damage output, so given the amount of recharge in the build I tend to think I can spam those 3 attacks for the -Res and don't necessarily need the 4th.
The build obviously got purpled out too, but fortunately was able to go for the less expensive sets. |
I use both CC and WoC situationally, and not constantly, as a hovering type. You might want to try the build with regular IOs to see how the powers work for you before investing in the sets.
My only real concern over your modified build is the Stamina slotting, but I already mentioned that.
You do know that half of Stealth's defense suppresses when attacked, do you? With it suppressed, you have around 40 ranged defense which is a bit odd. I think that if you want to build for defense and can't hit the softcap, a better option is to settle for 32.5 defense; this way you have good defense and can still eat a small purple inspiration when you really need softcapped defense, and have much more freedom to take powers you'll actually like and use. Also, any support set's ally +Def shields will softcap you.
Choking cloud is neither the best Hold (EMP) nor your best defense against melee (Hover, Rad Infection) and how useful you find it comes down to whether or not you often enter and stand in melee. If you often use Hover, or if you like to hang back and -res entire groups with Howl, it's of limited value.
Quote:
In my experience, almost none of this paragraph holds true. So test your play-style and see what works for you.
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Originally Posted by Laevateinn
Choking cloud is neither the best Hold (EMP) nor your best defense against melee (Hover, Rad Infection) and how useful you find it comes down to whether or not you often enter and stand in melee. If you often use Hover, or if you like to hang back and -res entire groups with Howl, it's of limited value.
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Quote:
Just a quick heads up. You are, effectively, at the softcap with only 40% Ranged defense. Even in the most extreme circumstances (other than defense debuffs), you will be just fine. I built my Rad/Sonic for AV soloing ability, and he is quite survivable with only 40% Ranged def.|
Originally Posted by Harkness
At 40% Def, you're getting hit roughly twice as often as you would be at 45% Def, so it's your call whether that extra 5% is worth it or not.
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If you don't believe me, here are the numbers!
lvl 50 AVs have 85% to-hit debuff resistance, lvl 52s have 86%
lvl 50 AV - RI reduced to 7.125% to-hit debuff
lvl 52 AV - RI reduced to 6.65% to-hit debuff
At 40% defense you should be over the softcap when facing AVs, so there should be no problems with "Average" game content.
~Alpha
"People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is
light from within"
Quote:
Anything that has a 50% chance of holding a minion isn't eligible for being considered the best AoE hold in the game. Period. CC is highly skippable for Rad/sonic due to the build's natural ranged playstyle because of Howl and Siren's Song. Now for Ice and Fire controllers...
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Originally Posted by Harkness
I'm surprised that you skipped Choking Cloud, which is probably your best mitigation from Melee attacks (since you're not hover-blasting) and arguably the best AoE hold in the game. EMP stacks wonderfully with it, but I've found EMP alone to be just okay.
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Quote:
I've read it a couple of times by the number-crunchers, but I'm not one of them, so all I can really say is that it works extremely well for me as a hover-blasting type, and it obviously isn't working as well with your variation of that play-style.|
Originally Posted by Amy_Amp
Anything that has a 50% chance of holding a minion isn't eligible for being considered the best AoE hold in the game. Period. CC is highly skippable for Rad/sonic due to the build's natural ranged playstyle because of Howl and Siren's Song.
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However, you're factually wrong that there's a "50% chance of holding a minion".
In PvE, the base power is:
+5.96s Held (mag 2) (50% chance)
+5.96s Held (mag 1) (80% chance)
And with the Lockdown Proc:
+8s Held (mag 2) (15% chance)
(This Proc fires off a lot more than 15% of the time, but that's anecdotal and subjective experience. The text says 15%.)
With the Lockdown set, the Hold duration is 11.5s, with it firing once every 5 secs at almost 130% Accuracy (excluding any additional set bonuses). While the individual component effects won't stack with themselves, within 5 seconds (after it fires for the second time), 75% of the mob has a Mag 3 Hold on them, and that percentage increases over time.
It's certainly not an always-on power (except on very particular maps), but as a situational power, I love it.
Quote:
Thank you. I knew that RI dropped radically on the AVs, but not the exact figures.|
Originally Posted by Alpha_A
Just a quick heads up. You are, effectively, at the softcap with only 40% Ranged defense. Even in the most extreme circumstances (other than defense debuffs), you will be just fine. I build my Rad/Sonic for AV soloing ability, and he is quite survivable with only 40% Ranged def.
If you don't believe me, here are the numbers! lvl 50 AVs have 85% to-hit debuff resistance, lvl 52s have 86% lvl 50 AV - RI reduced to 7.125% to-hit debuff lvl 52 AV - RI reduced to 6.65% to-hit debuff At 40% defense you should be over the softcap when facing AVs, so there should be no problems with "Average" game content. ~Alpha |
With 40% Def, you'd still only be at soft-cap to those foes affected by RI, but it's a totally valid point.
Hi all.
I have had a Rad/Sonic sitting on the shelf for sometime now that for some reason out of the blue I decided to dust her off for a LGTF and really enjoyed using her again. I started thinking about bumping her up in the list of toons I am trying to work on but the build I designed for her was made sometime ago and with a lot of misconceptions I had about how things worked in the game. I still have a long way to go admittedly but I was able to come up with an updated build that I think should be fairly sturdy. As I spend more time on the forums, I start to see how easy it is to overlook some things that should be obvious, so here I am asking for any critiques/suggestions. I fought the urge to just load her up on purple sets and recharge sets and tried to balance it as much as possible. I see her main purpose being late game TFs (ITFs, STFs, Kahn's and LGTFs) and built with those in mind. I was hoping to perma AM and soft cap her to ranged but fell just a bit short of both those but I am thinking it should be close enough. However, I do have a sneaking suspicion that the PvP IO slot in the build will remain empty for a LONG time if not permanently so that will knock 3% off the top. If the consensus is the 3% won't make much of a difference with the debuffs flying, I may move the slot to maybe one of the Basilisk sets for the status reduction bonus. Other than that, I may try to drop the set levels down (mostly in the sets that give bonuses for ranged def) from 50s so she will exemp better should that situation develop. Thanks for any suggestions you all may have. Its seems my list of people to thank continues to grow for all I have learned on here.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Raven Banshee: Level 50 Mutation Defender
Primary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Teleportation
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Psychic Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Radiation Infection -- HO:Enzym(A), HO:Enzym(17), HO:Enzym(19), Achilles-ResDeb%(27)
Level 1: Shriek -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 2: Accelerate Metabolism -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(7), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(7), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(23), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(31), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(46)
Level 4: Howl -- Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(A), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(5), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Ragnrk-Knock%(15)
Level 6: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(27)
Level 8: Radiant Aura -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(9), Numna-Heal/Rchg(9), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Numna-Heal(19), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(31)
Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11), RechRdx-I(11)
Level 12: Mutation -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(34)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Lingering Radiation -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(23), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 24: Shout -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(25), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(25), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 26: Recall Friend -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-ResKB(33)
Level 28: Fallout -- Cloud-ToHitDeb(A), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(33), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(33), Cloud-%Dam(45), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(31), LkGmblr-Rchg+(34)
Level 32: Tactics -- AdjTgt-ToHit(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(34), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(37), AdjTgt-Rchg(37), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg(40), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx(43)
Level 35: EM Pulse -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(36), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(36), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37)
Level 38: Screech -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(39), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(39), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(39), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(40), Stpfy-KB%(43)
Level 41: Dominate -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(42), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(42), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42)
Level 44: Mind Over Body -- HO:Ribo(A), ResDam-I(45), GA-3defTpProc(45), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(46)
Level 47: World of Confusion -- CoPers-Conf/Rchg(A), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(48), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(48), CoPers-Conf(48), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(50), CoPers-Conf%(50)
Level 49: Vengeance -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance