The issue with WoC isn't that its base confuse duration is only 2.5 seconds (which is what the Alpha slot would affect, if you went that route) - it's that it has too small a radius (8 feet) with too long a recharge between pulses (5 seconds) to consistently provide much in the way of melee mitigation. If a mob is charging at your toon, unless the timing is just right, they're probably going to get at least 1 melee shot off before they're affected. And if there's a lot of them, then it doesn't matter if they're affected after they hit - the first strike is going to take you out, anyway.
However, this can be partially dealt with by slotting the Coersive Persuasion purple proc. This gives you a 25%(?) chance of hitting EVERY mob within 20 feet with a 10 second Confuse duration. So, this means that it affects targets ouside the 8 ft. PbAoE zone, which in turn increases the melee damage mitigation. And, because the code checks for the proc on every target available, it's a lot more likely to happen when you really need it to happen (ie, when you get rushed by a bunch of targets.)
It also means that the confuse will last for at least one of the mob's attack cycles, which in turn means that they probably will attack each other at least once (with a 10 second duration), rather than just stand there and glare at each other before turning back to strike at you.
So - with that in mind, WoC also acts as a really good mule for damage procs or Coercive Persuasion IO's. There are 6 or so procs you could use, so arguably you could slot a whole bunch of procs if you cared to. But If you don't mind dropping 300 million on a set of 6 purples, you can get some nice bonuses. (the final, for example, is a 5% ranged defense bonus.)
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First things first, it's 33 % :P That said, do you mean that the proc works that way that it has a chance of either hitting every mob or none of the mobs?|
Originally Posted by Kevin_Schultz
However, this can be partially dealt with by slotting the Coersive Persuasion purple proc. This gives you a 25%(?) chance of hitting EVERY mob within 20 feet with a 10 second Confuse duration...
But If you don't mind dropping 300 million on a set of 6 purples, you can get some nice bonuses. (the final, for example, is a 5% ranged defense bonus.) |
And about purps, we've got Alignment Merits now ya know ;P
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Yes, it's a 33% chance to hit each foe in range per ten seconds. And because the confusion proc is itself a small AoE effect, you'll see the proc affect everything around you fairly often. In other words, the more mobs around you, the more likely all of them will be confused by the proc.|
Originally Posted by JanusFrs
First things first, it's 33 % :P That said, do you mean that the proc works that way that it has a chance of either hitting every mob or none of the mobs?
And about purps, we've got Alignment Merits now ya know ;P |
The proc is basically better than the power. Both together are pretty potent.
You can also a cheat a bit by waiting until you're in melee range with a spawn before activating the power. That'll give you a chance to proc immediately and on demand. Leaving WoC on full-time is, unfortunately, an exercise in frustration because any tiny mez will detoggle the power.
I would very strongly urge you not to try to buy a full set of Coercive Persuasion with Alignment Merits. 120 A-Merits are worth a whole heck of a lot more than the ~600ish million influence the set will cost you on the market. Buy something else with your merits and then sell it. Three or four LoTGs will net you enough to buy six Coercive Persuasions, for instance. That's 6-8 AMerits versus 120.
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Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze
Nice build
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Went back and looked at the power - the base duration is actually 1.5 seconds, rather than two. So, with a 6-slotted CP, you'll be looking at a 3 second duration. As it pulses every 5 seconds, that part of it simply isn't worth it.
It appears that I was confusing the proc with the actual ability of the power - which, as discussed above, simply means that yes the proc is better than the power, to the point where you really can't tell that the power is working.
So, I've been playing around with my blaster and WoC + CP - and to get the most out of it, I found I actually needed to change my style slightly. It works well if you have some sort of hard point - Tank/Brute/Scrapper - that takes agro that you can follow in on. Then, you can sit right behind them, and use WoC as a mitigator for the melee aggro that THEY have.
Solo? Well, it seems to work fairly well. I've got 35% Ranged defense (or will, once I slot the final purple), so I really don't get hit much at range. I've taken to just leaping into melee and blasting around, just to see if I can get CP to proc. It does, actually, enough to keep me alive on a regular basis. Of course, I've only been testing it on 0/x1; I should probably open up an AE farming map (+1/x6 no bosses, for my blaster), and find out if it helps in there as well.
And yeah - it tends to go down a LOT - makes me realize just how annoying toggle-dropping was, just a few issues ago.
Have more or less asked this question before, in form of discussing whether or not to use it in a blaster build. Nonetheless, I'd like to hear from the people who like the power. The reason I'm bringing this up again is that, as my character, an Ice/Psy/Ice Blaster, is considering (although that's not possible, I know :P) to be incarnated. Now, I'm thinking of giving her the nerve boost (Better Acc, stronger def, stronger holds); though, I realised that in the long run, better confuse will also be taken into account.
So, basic line: Can WoC be useful on a Blaster as a tool for mitigation, and which steps should be taken in order to fulfill this? Would prefer opinions from people who have had positive experiences with the power.
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