Quote:
Oops, just saw this post. Agreed!
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Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
For what it's worth, my Dual Pistols Blaster is a CJ+Hurdle Blaster, so he can hop in and out quickly as needed. Works well for him, and seems to fit HoB better than hovering around.
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Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
That was hard to get Fighting in there. I gained lots of toggles, but I couldn't see any other way to do it other than drop Aid Self (medicine pool)!!!
BUT the good news is this build is far better for positional defense. Especially at Melee range. The down side is I lose a bit of Recovery, a lot of Regen, and a bit of Recharge.... all without a heal. Ouch.
++edit++
Ah I couldn't give up the heal for fighting..... so took an inbetween route and some slotting to get this.... this feels closer to 'final'. 
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.90
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Vhaz: Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Dual Pistols
Secondary Power Set: Energy Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Medicine
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Pistols -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(43), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 1: Power Thrust -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(11), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(42), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), T'Death-Dam%(50)
Level 2: Dual Wield -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(11), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 4: Empty Clips -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(7), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), Posi-Dmg/Rng(40)
Level 6: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(7)
Level 8: Bullet Rain -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(9), Posi-Dmg/Rng(15), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), Posi-Dam%(46)
Level 10: Swap Ammo
Level 12: Suppressive Fire -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(13), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(13), Lock-Rchg/Hold(21), Lock-%Hold(31), Lock-Acc/Rchg(39)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 16: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Executioner's Shot -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(25), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 20: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def(45), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(46), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(48), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(48), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
Level 22: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(A), GSFC-ToHit(23), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(25), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(29), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(31), GSFC-Build%(34)
Level 24: Super Speed -- Run-I(A)
Level 26: Piercing Rounds -- JavVoll-Acc/End/Rech(A), JavVoll-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(27), JavVoll-Acc/Dmg(27), JavVoll-Dam/Rech(31), JavVoll-Dam/End/Rech(37), JavVoll-Dam%(40)
Level 28: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
Level 30: Aid Other -- Heal-I(A)
Level 32: Hail of Bullets -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(34)
Level 35: Aid Self -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(36), Numna-Heal/Rchg(36), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Numna-Heal(37), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(37)
Level 38: Boost Range -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 44: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 47: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 10: Chemical Ammunition
Level 10: Incendiary Ammunition
Level 10: Cryo Ammunition
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(39)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(17), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(43), P'Shift-End%(43), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(48)
Code:
Totals:| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1619;768;1536;HEX;| |78DA8D94594F135114C7EF406BA17BA9DD684B69298B40071A45411F4C141E4C685| |2017950A019DB094C52A7B54B223EF9017C72C325B8C5F55971899FC9E545C575BC| |E79CDB96A42F4ED2FFEFCEB967EB5D267369D6CED895E34C729C2C2AD56AEE04D79| |A5AE9CAD46B4A4D2BE9A6E50DE5B28531161633B905455F570BF26C5D29E6B25AB5| |562A56071A738BF572B954A9C973BA5A59DFCC65145D2BD78B98C8734ADF502BAA5| |E931B036BB6542ACA8B65552DB87038AF2A05B552DDD0CAF6C67B59D3D71DF89251| |0B5A5ED3D5D05C59CBCB8D821925AF7281F166907739C57F2137138F61625B1CC3A| |CE336E11E62F40E62FC2EE2026BBA9BD9598E28B39EC399032B8455C21A229D43F4| |F222928892B639D2CC741F617D80187E88187F84483D46847954A768ADF31545BD4| |6ECDB410CBDA5E03788125733B94BE631F2234479228B286FA1445D94A88B123929| |839BF2A5DE21223CAA1BBB368C3E3EB6890CB6AF1D306DFF41D845ECFF8EE8FB891| |8FA8648F0A20ECA2039A81527E1225717E5632E32C578098F28E1A135EAA135EAA1| |C5F1D3E20469C522B4461E5EC24B25CC5E97848BE844A4AC88091BC18E48FB105E1| |EE51351BE17D8ABFF0922F80C11794E7FE72922FE1231C0A302A2E9400ACBF7F3A6| |43A2E9D07427987A67085388BEC388E411C47002E1E789C262A7C2BB78884463510| |BBC508968124BC47989982811FB8B8DF4FF26FC21FCA2260D02C312319E2821FE61| |E234E61E58202C129610C9338465448DFB0F8AF283B42D019E6844984646683FB86| |98C72B3B1389AAA5C65E1255360907B4D0AD32479454CCDCB0387CA30D87C9B256B| |6A5E1526A1250E3EE21CB61E3F9C4EF233827BC6813DE3FF78DEDB1B0D742F58B92| |E816441964156405641D6401490F3207910E34333DA350D5DCE801C053906E2836F| |CB55F0B4C0E5B181D8411C204E1017881BC40BD20BB20D6274B76EBFF191E790C48| |A4B74F23EED35D1BE7C6E992429891F9E213A435F5A3366E91A9E13F775BAB73710| |A3B7085B88899B88C9B6CD196DB3A4DB2C87DA2C07DB2CADF5FF0761312FB9| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
228.5% damage boost (plus Guasian's chance for build up)
And about 13, 12, 12 for Melee, Ranged, AoE.
Had to keep the heal.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Quote:
Guess it sure does. Though I can't underestimate 25 levels of difference.
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I soloed the incarnate intro arc with SOs on my DP Corr so my mileage has definitely varied.
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Elektro... you have a -kb IO in Combat Jumping, so why do you have Acrobatics? It gives you -2 mag hold, and more resistance to hold, but that -kb IO is taking care of most of the benefits Acrobatics gives you... and at no endurance cost.
And Weave is going to help you more than Maneuvers, so dumping Leadership for Fighting will help your endurance bar, and do more for your own survivability. And if you still want some from Leadership, you have Super Jump and Super Speed which is kind of superfluous (unless you really, really like the idea of it), and you can dump Acrobatics if you want something else more. I do debate getting Power Boost on my own Pistols Blaster, since it's mostly only going to help your Hold and Stun ability from Suppressive Fire. Might still be worth it, but I dunno.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
Quote:
Even the meager hold protection Acro offers is well worth the price of admission on a high-defense Blaster. It gives you some extra breathing room against what is, to me at least, bar-none the most annoying thing about playing Blasters at the high end. The KB protection in Acro is secondary, but it's also much, much stronger than a single KB IO will give you (12 mag versus 3?).|
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
Elektro... you have a -kb IO in Combat Jumping, so why do you have Acrobatics? It gives you -2 mag hold, and more resistance to hold, but that -kb IO is taking care of most of the benefits Acrobatics gives you... and at no endurance cost.
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Oh, and Power Boost enhances all of your DEF powers (but sadly, not Frozen Armor because it has a RES component). It's pretty easy to make a ghetto Super Reflexes Blaster with EM.
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Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze
Nice build
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The extra -Kb is a bit redundant....but is nice to have if you need it. Honestly, by the end I had no Ancillary pool I wanted, and nothing else looked hot. But if there was something better, I'd use it.|
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
Elektro... you have a -kb IO in Combat Jumping, so why do you have Acrobatics? It gives you -2 mag hold, and more resistance to hold, but that -kb IO is taking care of most of the benefits Acrobatics gives you... and at no endurance cost.
And Weave is going to help you more than Maneuvers, so dumping Leadership for Fighting will help your endurance bar, and do more for your own survivability. And if you still want some from Leadership, you have Super Jump and Super Speed which is kind of superfluous (unless you really, really like the idea of it), and you can dump Acrobatics if you want something else more. I do debate getting Power Boost on my own Pistols Blaster, since it's mostly only going to help your Hold and Stun ability from Suppressive Fire. Might still be worth it, but I dunno. |
Here's the big problem I'm having. Personally I think I can't softcap everything I need to in a blaster. I'll go nuts trying. Scrapper? Easy to do on mine at least.
So I figure be a total damage nut. I have a LOT of bonus damage in the build, and the Leadership pool gives me the accuracy, perception, (small) defense, and a really healthy 10% damage boost! Not to mention, I have a full set of Guassian's (including the 'Chance for Buildup') in Tactics (which will always have a chance to fire off!)
So my dilemma with this build is.... if I lose Leadership, I lose the perception bonus, my Guassian bonuses (they could fit in build up, but the 'chance for buildup' is going to suck there). And that extra damage is lost.
What do I get in return? A great defensive power that takes 3 powers to use. The only other thing I an think of is to lose the Medicine, Pool, or the Speed Pool. That's really hard to get my head around since the build only has two global recharges.... and Hasten to rely on (Some Posi's for speed too I suppose).
What about trading off the Leaping Pool for Fighting? I'm not sure it's worth it. Combat Jumping is so light and useful!
I agree Weave would be nice. For the life of me I can't seem to fit it in without destroying some other very useful aspects of the build. In some cases it's about more than removing the powers themselves. I'm also considering the global effects lost from some of the enhancements.
I transferred a set of Numina's and Performance shifters from another toon already (but haven't plugged them in.) I keep looking at the global bonuses I get from those sets... it's hard to give that up. My regen is really respectable, my End Recovery is excellent (even with Conserve Power).
I would love Weave though.....
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| Oh, and Power Boost enhances all of your DEF powers (but sadly, not Frozen Armor because it has a RES component). It's pretty easy to make a ghetto Super Reflexes Blaster with EM. |
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Quote:
I haven't had a chance to look over your build in Mids', but just a point of clarification:|
Originally Posted by _Elektro_
Totals:
228.5% damage boost (plus Guasian's chance for build up) And about 13, 12, 12 for Melee, Ranged, AoE. Had to keep the heal. |
The global damage bonus display can be misleading. There's no way you have +228% damage in that build. Mids' default position when you put a Build Up proc in your build is to toggle it on, so check to make sure the little green button in Tactics is off before checking your damage bonus.
Also, the latest versions of Mids' seem to start you off with 100% damage, which can be confusing if you're used to the old way of doing things (starting at 0%). I'm guessing you have Tactics toggled on (which adds the Gaussian proc's bonus as if full-time), which would put your actual global damage at 28%, which is definitely a nice boost, but keep in mind that Defiance by itself can give you a pretty consistent 40%.
The BU proc, btw, has a 5% chance to fire per 10 seconds, and the damage buff only lasts for about 5 seconds, which puts the over-time +damage benefit at something like:
(0.05 * 100 * (5 / 10)) / 10 = 2.5%.
That's not a net boost. That's an expression of base damage. Now, is it quite fair to quantify a random, heavy burst of bonus damage as an average over time? Probably not, but I would counsel against getting your hopes up too high. For that matter, I'd counsel against Gaussian's generally on a Blaster. You can boost ranged DEF, or you can boost S/L DEF (through Scorp Shield or Frozen Armor) -- you can even potentially soft-cap ranged/Smash/Lethal/Energy all at once if you're inclined to do that -- but going for any melee/AoE positional DEF seems like a wasted effort.
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| Ghetto SR... I like that. Thanks for the tidbit though, I was really wondering about what 'secondary' effects get helped... so that's a nice little bonus when needed I suppose. HoB is what... 9% to start with? |
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Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze
Nice build
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Quote:
Yup, I'm understanding of that. I actually do think the Gaussian set is made for blasters... I mean the Movement bonus, hit points, recovery, and especially the direct (high) defenses for Melee, Ranged, and AoE are really good for moderately priced set. I'm looking at the chance for build up as a bonus. The set bonus' to me are ideal.| The BU proc, btw, has a 5% chance to fire per 10 seconds, and the damage buff only lasts for about 5 seconds, which puts the over-time +damage benefit at something like: |
Scorpion's shield? I keep looking at it in mid's and it seems cruddy to me. Personally I'm not big on specific defenses, I prefer positional defense. I see no ranged, no melee, no aoe.. I'm just not liking it at all to be blunt. (Unless Mid's is wrong.)
Defiance is certainly great... it has a decent recharge, but combining Leadership, Defiance, Build up, +Guassian's Chance for build up, AND..... a decent amount of the set bonuses I've selected are +Dmg .... This guy should be very, very high damage. And I know from my Shield Scrapper, Damage is a decent form of damage mitigation.
I do see where you're going with the idea though.... I agree there are damage spikes available to a blaster, and therefore you could just work the defense angle (though I still don't get the Scorp shield).
In Leadership I get: Perception, accuracy, 10% dmg, and defense. In fighting I get a punch I don't want, a resistance that is situational, and then finally a good defense.
I guess that's why I can't justify it. My build is highly based on Damage, recycling. Then Ranged, Melee, AoE defense. After that it's about Regen, and recovery.
If I were playing conservative, that list might be different in order of preference. But I kind of like the hit hard, live hard, blaster style.
The only way right now I can think of crow baring in Fighting is without the heal. The Numians global, and unique bonus is sweet though (on the heal).
I'll probably respec this bugger this weekend and see if I can put my money where my mouth is, or fall flat on my face trying.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
You know putting a +KB enhancement in Acro actually boosts the KB protection, right?
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Saying that Sm/Le resistance is situational is like saying that the need to breathe is situational. You don't need to breathe all the time, but the situation where you do need to happens an awful lot. |
Originally Posted by _Elektro_
a resistance that is situational
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That is the same reason why Scorpion Shield is so good. Sm/Le defense will protect you from an extremely large amount of attacks, adding Nrg on top of that makes it even sweeter. If you go for range defense with IO bonuses as well, you will get even more Nrg defense, so getting very high defense to Sm/Le/Nrg/Range is very possible and very strong in gameplay.
That is not to say your build is bad, I am just pointing out that Sm/Le covers a large amount of the game.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
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Sorry my poor wording. I meant the "defense" of Scorpion Armour is specific to damage type. I prefer positional defense by a country mile to 'cold' or whatever defense. Just personal preference.|
Originally Posted by StratoNexus
Saying that Sm/Le resistance is situational is like saying that the need to breathe is situational. You don't need to breathe all the time, but the situation where you do need to happens an awful lot.
That is the same reason why Scorpion Shield is so good. Sm/Le defense will protect you from an extremely large amount of attacks, adding Nrg on top of that makes it even sweeter. If you go for range defense with IO bonuses as well, you will get even more Nrg defense, so getting very high defense to Sm/Le/Nrg/Range is very possible and very strong in gameplay. That is not to say your build is bad, I am just pointing out that Sm/Le covers a large amount of the game. |
No I wouldn't say breathing is situational, but Scorpion defense most certainly is. Not only that but the time I would rely on the armour the most (HoB) the built in defense doesn't do squat for that armour.
If I add that approximately 10% defense to my build of Ranged/Melee/AoE... it starts to look pretty decent. If I'm wrong, I'd probably go to Fighting before that armour. But I admit I'm a bit of a theme player too... and not really a fan of glowy stuff on my characters.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Quote:
Sometimes positional DEF is better than typed. Sometimes typed is better than positional. It's hard to say that one category is unreservedly better than the other, unless you're in a position (no pun intended) to soft-cap all three positions. Even then, both categories of DEF have weaknesses.|
Originally Posted by _Elektro_
Sorry my poor wording. I meant the "defense" of Scorpion Armour is specific to damage type. I prefer positional defense by a country mile to 'cold' or whatever defense. Just personal preference.
No I wouldn't say breathing is situational, but Scorpion defense most certainly is. Not only that but the time I would rely on the armour the most (HoB) the built in defense doesn't do squat for that armour. |
For Blasters, I'd rank the different positions/types of DEF (in terms of safety added over the full range of the game's content) in this order:
Ranged, Smash/Lethal, Energy, AoE, Negative -- and in a distant last place are Cold/Fire.
Scorpion Shield and Frozen Armor are the main reasons that capping more than one position/type is even feasible for Blasters in the general case.
What's important to understand about typed DEF is that it covers you against all three positions for that type. Smash/Lethal covers you against the plurality of the attacks in the game, and (particularly of interest to Blasters) it covers an awful lot of mez effects that might get through your Acrobatics' hold protection, and an awful lot of the debuff effects that a DEF-based Blaster has to worry about.
We're talking almost all grenades, missile attacks, machine gun fire (usually with DEF debuffs), gun fire in general, sword attacks (again, -DEF), Footstomp and Handclap, etc etc etc.
If you want to have a hybrid melee/ranged playstyle, and you can only choose one type/position of DEF to focus on, then Smash/Lethal is far and away the best choice. I say that ranged DEF is the safest singular option only because playing at range is intrinsically safer than dancing in and out of melee, and because ranged DEF allows you to stack DEF with a resistance shield from a patron/Ancillary pool.
Blasters are brittle, though. After having tweaked and retweaked my Blaster, after having spent and respent billions on it, it's clear to me that more DEF to more types (and/or positions) is better than any amount of (toggle-based) RES in most situations. Avoidance to debuffs and mez effects is just that important on our little AT. Blasters aren't about sustained survivability; they're about killing stuff as fast as possible.
That's why I'd ditch Medicine, btw, but that's just me. I'd definitely advise against an interruptible heal on a low-DEF character like the one you seem to want to build, but even with high DEF, Blasters can and should make full use of their inspirations. They want to keep moving, keep killing as fast as they can. It's easier and faster to use the occasional green than it is to stop and hit Aid Self. The fact that Medicine doesn't offer you any particular +DEF set bonuses only reinforces the point.
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| If I add that approximately 10% defense to my build of Ranged/Melee/AoE... it starts to look pretty decent. If I'm wrong, I'd probably go to Fighting before that armour. But I admit I'm a bit of a theme player too... and not really a fan of glowy stuff on my characters. |
And though I know I've rambled a novel already here, if you take anything away from this post, I hope it's the following: The Fighting Pool and Ancillary Armors are not mutually exclusive. They stack with each other. The main reason, IMO, to take Fighting is not for Tough (though Tough does give you a place to put the two unique +DEF IOs); Fighting for Blasters is all about Weave.
YMMV. You seem like a pretty laid back guy who'll like the character regardless. I'm just trying to give you some ideas.
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Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze
Nice build
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I acknowledge the slight benefits, but how great is mag 2 protection? Most holds in the game are beyond that (if any NPC ones are below that... I can't recall), so the hold resistance seems more beneficial to me. *shrugs* I was more questioning having both Acro and the -kb in the build, as you don't need both, in my experience. He also had a lot of toggles going, too, so adding Acrobatics on top of that seemed excessive.|
Originally Posted by Obitus
Even the meager hold protection Acro offers is well worth the price of admission on a high-defense Blaster. It gives you some extra breathing room against what is, to me at least, bar-none the most annoying thing about playing Blasters at the high end. The KB protection in Acro is secondary, but it's also much, much stronger than a single KB IO will give you (12 mag versus 3?).
Oh, and Power Boost enhances all of your DEF powers (but sadly, not Frozen Armor because it has a RES component). It's pretty easy to make a ghetto Super Reflexes Blaster with EM. |
For Power Boost... how much is it really going to help? Yes, it can boost Combat Jumping and Weave (and Scorpion Shield), but it's for a 15 second stretch... you can probably give it about 50% uptime with good recharge for it, but it seems like getting more out of other powers you pick or IOs is a better way to. I'm not saying you can't use it, and it's nice if you have room for it, but it's not a make it or break it power. It's all about making a build work overall (both for fun and performance).
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
Aid self out of the box is hard to use on a squishy with low defense but if slotted properly it can work in a pinch. If you don't have the slots to spare, I wouldn't bother with using Aid Self mid combat (just after the end of combat would be realistic).
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On my Blasters that only have a single slot on it, I usually use it between fights to recover faster, or retreat if a fight is really going south. Works pretty well, and I save green inspirations that drop for when I need them in a fight.
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Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
Aid self out of the box is hard to use on a squishy with low defense but if slotted properly it can work in a pinch. If you don't have the slots to spare, I wouldn't bother with using Aid Self mid combat (just after the end of combat would be realistic).
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Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
Quote:
Now that I think about it, DP could probably leverage Aid self in mid combat because of knockback it has, assuming swap ammo isn't used to change that.
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Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
On my Blasters that only have a single slot on it, I usually use it between fights to recover faster, or retreat if a fight is really going south. Works pretty well, and I save green inspirations that drop for when I need them in a fight.
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Adding another 2 mag makes you immune to the first hold that lands (most holds are mag 3 with a couple of very rare exceptions). That may not sound like much, but when you're dodging most everything that comes your way -- and depend on your toggles, in part, to keep you dodging -- having that extra breathing room is very very helpful.|
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
I acknowledge the slight benefits, but how great is mag 2 protection? Most holds in the game are beyond that (if any NPC ones are below that... I can't recall), so the hold resistance seems more beneficial to me. *shrugs* I was more questioning having both Acro and the -kb in the build, as you don't need both, in my experience. He also had a lot of toggles going, too, so adding Acrobatics on top of that seemed excessive.
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It's the same principle as layered mitigation, except now we're talking about layered mez avoidance.
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| For Power Boost... how much is it really going to help? Yes, it can boost Combat Jumping and Weave (and Scorpion Shield), but it's for a 15 second stretch... you can probably give it about 50% uptime with good recharge for it, but it seems like getting more out of other powers you pick or IOs is a better way to. I'm not saying you can't use it, and it's nice if you have room for it, but it's not a make it or break it power. It's all about making a build work overall (both for fun and performance). |
You won't have PB full-time without gobs of recharge (400% total, which isn't unachievable actually), but you can use it to help you absorb alpha strikes, much as Scrappers generally use Shadow Meld. On the other hand, if you're already at or near the cap to one or more positions/types, then Power Boost will give you a nice cushion against DEF debuffs.
Power Boost also improves movement speed buffs, ToHit buffs, heals and endurance mods on top of the various controllery effects.
Is Power Boost a make-or-break power? No, but then again Blaster secondaries aren't known for having many must-have powers.
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Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze
Nice build
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The vast majority of holds that NPCs throw at you will be prevented by Acro. The resistance will help prevent them from stacking holds to break through. Is it enough to face multiple Illusionists? No. A Gunslinger Boss? Yes. The Cocoon from a Bane Spider Executioner? Yes.
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Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
I acknowledge the slight benefits, but how great is mag 2 protection? Most holds in the game are beyond that (if any NPC ones are below that... I can't recall), so the hold resistance seems more beneficial to me.
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Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
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I forgot characters technically have a Mag 1 protection out of the box, so Acro gets you to Mag 3 (it's not exactly intuitive, so I forgot that I had learned this years ago). Thought it was just Mag 2 on its own. Anyway, I'll point out yet again that I was just saying it was overkill with an IO... I'd probably go for one or the other. Now that I have recalled that it gets you to Mag 3... I might try to fit it in on some builds, actually.|
Originally Posted by StratoNexus
The vast majority of holds that NPCs throw at you will be prevented by Acro. The resistance will help prevent them from stacking holds to break through. Is it enough to face multiple Illusionists? No. A Gunslinger Boss? Yes. The Cocoon from a Bane Spider Executioner? Yes.
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Obitus, like I was saying on Power Boost, it's a nice temporary thing, but 15 seconds isn't too long. If anything, on my Blasters I'm more nervous about a long fight with a boss or EB than the alpha strike from a mob, and PB is only going to help so much with that. Anyway, I wouldn't structure strategy around this too much, but use it as a nice boost when needed. I probably wouldn't use it for defense if you only have CJ as a toggle, too (good to think about what powers you have overall for this approach). Still, it's a fun approach that I haven't really tried much on my EM Blasters.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
I just gotta say 'wow'.
I've been getting into the 40's with the blaster, and he's been getting the top grade IO's I listed in my build, except I dropped the Javelin Volley which weren't crucial and turn out to be stupidly expensive. lol
Anyway, the recharge is really better than I thought I had it... he's got HoB up for almost every mob. The cycling is fast enough that I can pump out near constant AoE. The damage is extremely respectable on the AoE.
The downside? At this level the single shot damage...specifically damage per second seems bad.
Throw in that Aid Self and it's down right... uhg. There is some weird (glitch?) where you use aid self, put guns away, heal self, then there is this awkward pause where you wonder what is going on....? Did you press your next attack? Why isn't he doing anything? Then all the sudden he finally pulls the guns out and shoots.
For this reason, I am close to dumping Aid Self for Fighting. BUT with the full Numina's it's a BIG heal. It helps for that alpha that gets through.
I am now thinking the musculature Alpha, if it actually helps with the -defense from Piercing, then the follow up with Execution is going to be nasty! (Not sure if it will work that way or not...?)
No End problems at all. If I know I'm in for a stellar fight, I leave on Super Speed, hit Conserve Power and start the cycle.....
Teaming is excellent. AoE cycles very fast now, and the damage is there. The utility of Suppressive Fire with a set of Lockdown is a no-brainer for my build.
I'm still contemplating Alpha slotting. I've basically left my Dark Melee/Shield toon in the dark to go this far with my blaster. But after buying all the Posi's and finishing the higher end part of the build, I'm nearly broke and obviously went through a few hundred million (and that's after I already had Numina's and Touch of Death, KD proc, etc....)
The next few levels look to complete, and round out the defense, and global recharge of the build and then I can truly judge whether this guy holds a candle to my Scrappers... BUT I will say this... as a blaster, this guy is clearly great. You just gotta spend a lot of time massaging the build to your liking, and be prepared to spend out the wazoo.
I don't like building inferior toons, but I've teamed enough now, and done some hairy stuff to know when I'm over my head, and learn your power cycles properly.
At this point my biggest issues are definitely with the single target powers.
Anyway, looking forward to Alpha slotting.... for what? Not quite sure yet, but damage is addictive!
Also looking at dropping Medicine, but probably won't as it's saved my butt from the dirt nap a few times... Also I only have one Vet spec left.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Aid Self has a long animation/rooting time. Don't plan on attacking for awhile after you use it, as there is always going to be a lag with it. There's a reason for that: it's a pool power, and it shouldn't be as good/easy to use as heals from actually primaries or secondaries. Otherwise, what's the point of having heals in all those other sets? Anyway, I like Aid Self on Blasters. Helps to recover between fights, or when a boss fight goes south.
And if you plan on using any Purples, and especially PvP IOs... be ready to pay a lot of money. I needed three more stun Purples to get a set of five for a Dominator (this will be the first purples I'm slotting on a character for the bonuses, not just a damage proc... I really can't afford them: I'm really only doing this as the other 2 had dropped for me over the past year), and it cost about 110 mill each, other than the stun only recipe, which was about 55. Those aren't cheap. PvP IOs are on a similar scale, though most are worse than the stun sets.
I said this in the alpha slot thread, but I'm going spiritual on my Dual Pistols blaster. That way he can get a bit more of a heal out of Aid Self (he could only afford one slot), and have things like Hail of Bullets recharge faster.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
I'm still doing ok avoiding the fighting pool. The 400+ HP heal is great, but I'm thinking of making it handier by moving the Numina's full set to Health, and slotting something else into the self heal. I'll add an interrupt modifier too. At level 50 it should make a difference.
I don't mind popping the odd purple, and if I have to, ducking out for the heal.
As far as the Alpha I'm leaning towards the recharge now. I see the power in having heals, and severe damage up super fast. I am seeing HoB very quickly now... with the recharge Alpha I will see it even more so with the added help to Hasten.
As well it's nice to know that _less_ of the Recharge Alpha will go to waste since most of my attacks/heal aren't even close to the ED cap.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)
Five Doctored Wounds is always nice for Aid Self... it's reasonably cheap, has global +recharge and great enhancement values, and you have a slot open for an interrupt IO if you are planning to use Aid Self mid-combat without ducking behind something. (Unless you already have five 5% recharge bonuses, in which case you might frankenslot it to get multiple recovery or regen bonuses.)
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
Just wanted to "shoot" a big thanks to Elektro and every other pro DP poster on this thread. I made a new DP/MM blaster the other day. I usually prefer toons with a bit more protection, but the DP powerset is alot of fun. Not my first blaster (have an old 38 en/en), so I know I wont be able to run tips at 0/x6 like some of my other 50s, but I do have a build that I think will get it close to what I am looking for in an epic content toon (maybe 0/6 and no bosses?).
Right now my toon is level 23 and out of the resistance and into talos island. I usually stall out on a toon around 35 or so if I just dont see a lot of further power growth or worse they cant keep up with the mez heavy 35+ game.
I had no issues soloing the EBs in any of the warden resistance arcs the game threw at me (on default diff). I did die a few times, but all I needed was a few purples and it turned into an easy win.
Bots/Traps Guide for I19.5
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Sure I understand it's a forum and stuff gets over done. Sorry... for that I suppose. lol
But to be honest I have enjoyed the conversation. For a forum it has been really well behaved with respectful interaction on both sides.
Six slotting Aid self is also up for debate. I did it because I have toon with the +recovery Numina's, and the Ranged def is high, hitpoints and recovery are also welcome with this build... but again, if it's not maximizing the build I would dump it.
I am still leaning Combat Jumping over Hover/Fly.... just seems like a hard set to play while flying unlike some of my longer distance shooting blasters in the past.
Nekron: Beam Rifle / Poison Corruptor and Slayer of Evil!! (Exalted)
Intergalaktic: Fire / Time Corruptor (Exalted)