I think I would probably take Mud Pots if I were you. It will wake up enemies you've slept, but by the time you grab it at 35 you'll have had plenty of time to slot up Conductive Aura with end mod. That and power Boost will have you draining enemies dry in about 5 or 6 seconds, which you can easily buy yourself with the knockdown from Jolting Chain and Tremor.
Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.
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So Mud Pots is really a good power for Earth Assault? The endurance cost is very high. |
Originally Posted by Vanden
I think I would probably take Mud Pots if I were you. It will wake up enemies you've slept, but by the time you grab it at 35 you'll have had plenty of time to slot up Conductive Aura with end mod. That and power Boost will have you draining enemies dry in about 5 or 6 seconds, which you can easily buy yourself with the knockdown from Jolting Chain and Tremor.
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It takes time to drain them dry and keep them dry (which is the key). Jolting Chain takes 2s and Tremor takes like 3s.
My little problem with Earth Assault is that I don't think the dps is high enough considering you need to be at melee range, and Mud Pots doesn't really add much to the equation, or does it? The radius is kinda small 8'? And if I am fighting just one single enemy like an AV, I may turn off Mud Pots to save end.
What's left is to normalize all Assassin Strikes and improve Stalker's old sets (Claw, MA and EM)! You don't need to bring back the missing PbAoE attack. You just need to make the existing ones better! For example, make Slice a WIDER and LONGER cone.
Damage auras are deceptively strong. They add quite a bit to your damage output once slotted up. It does cost a lot of end, so you will probably need some additional methods of end management to help out. Performance Shift procs, Miracle and Numina Uniques, and Power Sink from Mu Mastery all help. Power Sink also doubles as an additional source of end draining, like you've found.
Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.
I think it has pretty good dpa across the board for all the soft control it receives apart for some stinkers like stone spears, hurl boulder and tremor.
Your problem might be that its all smashing and /earth has no build up/aim.
I dont think its weak, but its also not going to win any awards for being outstanding. It's just simply average. I've got a plant/earth/ice dom thats just about my favorite char to play, but thats more for the plant and ice parts rather than earth assault.
I skipped mud pots and hurl boulder, and didn't put any slots into stone spears because I just dont like it with its long animation and less damage than my weakest mallet skill.
If mud pots had the 15 foot range of hot feet I would adore it, but that 8 foot range just limits it for my uses to supplementing single target damage vs bosses and up.
Tremor either needs a damage buff or a way shorter animation as its either bottom of the barrel, or very close as far as dom pbaoes go. If I didn't need it as a oblit set mule I would probably skip that as well. Fissure could use a bump to 15 foot, but its pretty good as it is.
I think when you consider the mitigation it provides in knockdowns/ups/stuns/holds it ups the value a bit, but if your wanting a set for pure damage/dps this probably isn't it.
I rolled up and kitted out an Earth Assault / Elec Control dom assuming it wouldn't be the damage monster that my Fire Assault / Plant Control dom is. I was right.
It's more about group mezzing, sleeps, and single-target smackdown with the 2 mallets and Seismic smash.
You want to see a weak set? Roll Icy Assault. Now there's a set with almost no damage at all combined with questionable utility.
Earth Assault kills things and kills things fast. And it gives you a second single target hold, in addition to everything else it does.
Tremor gets a lot of grief, but it's a very good power:
Tanker Foot Stomp:
Damage: 63.17
Range: 15'
Cast Time + Recharge: 22.1
Endurance: 18.5
Dominator Tremor:
Damage: 58.39
Range: 15'
Cast Time + Recharge: 21.3
Endurance: 16.8
Very competitive with Foot Stomp, widely considered one of the best powers in the game. It's only downside is its animation is about 1 second too long, but it recharges faster than FS, for almost the same damage with less Endurance.
One of the best, most solid sets Doms have IMO.
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I like Icy Assault! It has at least one very good range attack in Bitter Ice Blast and most of the attacks are pretty fast. Ice Swords are kinda slow but it has dual damage in Ice and Smashing. |
Originally Posted by Daemodand
You want to see a weak set? Roll Icy Assault. Now there's a set with almost no damage at all combined with questionable utility.
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My problem with Earth Assault is mostly when controls don't matter. My build is 90% melee and any serious aoe from an AV, I am almost dead. I do have decent S/L resistance but Dominator's health is still low. I question Earth's damage VS Fiery Assault. Maybe Fiery's dps is just too high after the buffs.
I don't have problem with Tremor but I have a bit problem with Fissure (even though I understand Fissure offers two mezz in knockdowns and stun). I just don't understand why Dom's version of Fissure seems inferior to Controller's Epic Stone.
What's left is to normalize all Assassin Strikes and improve Stalker's old sets (Claw, MA and EM)! You don't need to bring back the missing PbAoE attack. You just need to make the existing ones better! For example, make Slice a WIDER and LONGER cone.
All fire has is damage. You should actually look at the dpa of earths attacks, they are pretty good. Except for aforementioned stone spears, tremor and hurl boulder.
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Yes. To the extent there's a problem here, it's not with Earth Assault specifically. The problem is that the inevitable dictates of the game's design tend to make the very concept of a melee squishy squirrelly at best.|
Originally Posted by Jibikao
I like Icy Assault! It has at least one very good range attack in Bitter Ice Blast and most of the attacks are pretty fast. Ice Swords are kinda slow but it has dual damage in Ice and Smashing.
My problem with Earth Assault is mostly when controls don't matter. My build is 90% melee and any serious aoe from an AV, I am almost dead. I do have decent S/L resistance but Dominator's health is still low. I question Earth's damage VS Fiery Assault. Maybe Fiery's dps is just too high after the buffs. |
Sure, it's fun to get up-close-and-personal in generic content. It can even work against larger threats, provided you have enough support. But as the game moves more and more towards an end-game slant, more and more of the encounters that players feel are important (or build-definitive) heavily discourage people from getting in melee range without significant self-contained defenses.
None of that means that you shouldn't take and enjoy whatever melee powers you want; I just think that every set should offer a competitive ranged-attack posture for when the chips are down. That goes for Dominators; that goes for Blasters. What Earth has going for it is very good; it's just not always practically useful.
As far as Fire goes, you do give up utility to take Fire. Relative to Earth, Fire loses out on a lot of extra (albeit point-blank) control and Power Boost. It's not Fire's fault that Earth's ranged attacks suck, or that there aren't enough of them to make a decent ranged attack chain.
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Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze
Nice build
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I rolled a Elec/Earth/Mace (I LURVE PFF), and it wrecks face.
Its is honestly one of the easiest playing doms I have ever had the chance to play.
The elec with the drains, Powerboosted Aid Self, and deep SLE softcap make using the strong melee dps of earth a breeze to use. I dunno why people harp on Tremor and Fissure, but these AOEs are good enough and get the job done.
It is my Secondary Incarnate on Virtue After my Huntsman.
When something good happens to me, I can never enjoy it....
I am always too busy looking for the inevitable punchline...
BEHOLD THE POWER OF CHEESE!
I agree with Rat that Elec/Earth(/Ice in my case) seems OK to play. But it simply doesn't melt face in the aggressive, brutey way that my Plant/Fire/Fire does.
I think the knock for Fissure is that it should do more dmg for a Tier 9.
The knock on Tremor is the long activation time and relatively low damage -- you can't compare it to Foot Stomp (in a Tanker set!) as Foot Stomp is in a set with Rage and will always be Rage boosted.
I havent rolled a new dom in a while and I was looking at earth assault but couldnt decide on what to pair it with. I havent played elec/ yet but it looks too controller-y for me, maybe ice/earth? arctic air/glacier should go well with a primarily melee set and fissure might be nice with ice slick. I dunno for sure but I threw this build together and it looks ok:
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one question though for anyone who has earth assault experience: does fissure have reliable stun with permadom? even without the extra mezz it looks like a sturdy brute-ish build. softcapped s/l defense, almost perma hasten and hoarfrost and powerboosted aid self just tossed in for filler.| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1413;682;1364;HEX;| |78DA6593EB4E135110C7CF768B2D855A2AD0964B2DAD60B9B5B411438C26C6001FB| |854AB7C3031D1BA291B5903DBA6BB24E2FD1114BC268AE82BA8D107F1F2142AEA03| |D4D9F99F969ADDB4F9EDFECF9C993933730AB7E63A8578785628A1D975CDB24A739| |50DC3D4EC4ACD5FD8B435DBA898C227848837F5D26CC5B46B95F5EC42596FBC270E| |56CF5996B6B96E67E7B59ABDD6F80A2F986B7A4D37ED6CE32554AC908B655D5BD56| |BD69A510DF0F74A55D7573B1B4B55C3BC11E48F82BE6A940D53EF9FAF1A650E5CD0| |2C5BAF6D1DA41BA32447E97F5215F2A9ABE28B8732175D5F1947BE01DF192F824DB| |B36719BA4BC08DC6174DE05EE310EDF67743D604C937745EE521E298EE4790C6C33| |BC3BC01346E029E325C552E52EB5484889A317814BC00A63E8A670CC9325425A84A| |9EE6D1CACEE699B21785571A8C15E769C22139F34F14DF0663FD00F44C8A01D06A2| |1D7BE224752019D151A747749312849137B88B53BF638CEF016F1999378C57749A9| |07410429804790843F2862F70986491716C092800E719AFC943B7AC4737EAD18342| |F4A02C11D423827AE4518F1E0AD22BE3F6E22C3354D5A88C1BD538BBD875A0C4E8B| |FC6485E659C22F33E982B7DC83C0FEC52460332A301643488540691D8D07F1DCA6C| |E0383E679290519C4B79862224E4F425F639E8F05FC6D86FE00FE3B4EA78835D0A5| |33A8CF14C6358C730A57B94D788CC6BE43DC73EFE01F8087C62A43F035B1EA7B2B1| |30EE8273CE511C703C89B1A09509D9EA09746812FD9A5C06D0A80C1A3540E65998A| |B59397A530DA2055351C549344AA5C8C952E4B81483DEE605A39FA3A41C05DEEAE3| |AED59C4BC9BB94132E65DAA52CBB94A2B7796985C24A7B57F342D67F046855695DF| |DD5AA2C2ACEECFD7419ED1F28AAF29C9BEA7F8686EF30F2DB8C251AF4BC3CF4E580| |D311BC5F6979FF07F4C8FCCB| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
i recently built my fire/energy/ice as a similar type of build and really enjoy it, this seems to be able to do the same things safer and with quicker animations.
I really think Ice is a really weak set.
I was playing a Ice/thorns up to 36, finally packed it in and then rolled a Earth/Thorns in practially half the time.
When something good happens to me, I can never enjoy it....
I am always too busy looking for the inevitable punchline...
BEHOLD THE POWER OF CHEESE!
reason I looked at ice is because it has a debuff aura that causes the run away reflex in mob ai adding some damage mitigation on top of the defense and minor mezz.
I do agree ice is generally kinda iffy, I have an ice/psi, now retired that i used to have for pvp but it wasnt the best in pve. i prefer not to go earth/earth because i have an earth/fire in the mid 30s already and find it kind of boring and asthetically ugly to look at.
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Double slot end reduce for mod pots. It help, and I think this power is worth it.
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Originally Posted by Jibikao
So Mud Pots is really a good power for Earth Assault? The endurance cost is very high.
It takes time to drain them dry and keep them dry (which is the key). Jolting Chain takes 2s and Tremor takes like 3s. My little problem with Earth Assault is that I don't think the dps is high enough considering you need to be at melee range, and Mud Pots doesn't really add much to the equation, or does it? The radius is kinda small 8'? And if I am fighting just one single enemy like an AV, I may turn off Mud Pots to save end. |
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Originally Posted by Solo_One
reason I looked at ice is because it has a debuff aura that causes the run away reflex in mob ai adding some damage mitigation on top of the defense and minor mezz.
I do agree ice is generally kinda iffy, I have an ice/psi, now retired that i used to have for pvp but it wasnt the best in pve. i prefer not to go earth/earth because i have an earth/fire in the mid 30s already and find it kind of boring and asthetically ugly to look at. |
IMO the way to look at Ice is you get an aura on you with no real opportunity cost. I kept noticing my other Dominators dying a lot and wasn't sure exactly why. I eventually figured out it was because powers like Seeds and Volcanic Gasses aren't worth casting when you're up against a small group, winding down through a few leftover enemies, or (with Seeds) waiting for a group to assemble into a shape where you catch most of them. Caves, in particular, give some of my characters fits. This isn't to say Ice is "better" than other sets but it's not exactly a lost cause either.
Anyway, the Ice Dom definitely did his share of dying but he was (and still is) among the most survivable "squishy" characters I've played. However, I should add that I don't play that character at "melee range"--I do it from what I'd call "pole range." Creative use Arctic Air with Frostbite will keep enemies from catching you, and they will stop flop on Ice Slick. Also, I when things get crazy I don't stand exactly in the "middle" of enemies, but rather about 12-15ft in front of them with Ice Slick under the core group and Arctic Air overlapping them by about 50% to form a kind of "figure 8." That way they all in the same direction (toward me), hit the edge of AA, try to run back, and clump there.
Earth Assault is just fine, thank you very much. It deals very solid damage and can be downright nasty when paired up with the right primary. It IS a melee set, but I've found that both Electric Control and Earth Control work very well with toons that hop into melee, ESPECIALLY Electric control. Also, the animation time feels very quick compared to other sets.
Too many alts to list.
well i guess my first thought is, earth anything and weak should not be in the same sentence. (even tho i just did :P) earth assault can go head to head with any secondary. the big 3 ST attacks are amazing. and the 2 AOE's can be alternated literally back to back with enough recharge. earth/earth is a better combo imo
now to compare anything with fire in terms of damage is not really fair. especially seeing how fire's secondary effect is damage.
i do agree that fissure and mudpots should both be no less than a 15' radius. and in-terms of fighting AV's, well they're AV's. they're suppose to be hard.
I understand some sets can be "weak" but as long as they are "fun" and not too weak, it should be fine.
I am sure Freezing Rain will improve my dps if I use it.
I level my Elec/Earth to 50 finally but something is lacking. I really enjoy the different play style. I feel like a Brute but when my controls don't matter (against AV, ITF finally fight with soul drain), I feel my melee build is not effective.
I took Mu Mastery for Energy Drain to enhance my draining ability. I am not set on this patron though.
I use mostly +defense sets because I really need some defense to stay melee all the time. Well, I am not good at math but I also made my very first perma dom in Gravity/Fiery/Ice. I feel /Fiery assault does more damage AT RANGE than my all melee Earth. Yes, /Earth has better burst damage but dps-wise, I feel it's inferior and it's sad because I feel if I am taking more risk at melee range, I should deal more damage.
I didn't take Mud Pots because the last thing I need is to wake up foes that I put to sleep.
Has anyone does dps comparison for /Earth? I have a feeling it's on the low end. I tried to solo pylon and I have a hard time even taking down 10%. My endurance drain isn't strong enough on pylon.
The two range attacks Spear and Hurl are so slow. Spear is better because it's knock down but Hurl is only an 8s attack. I may use more if it's at least 10s attack.
What do you think? I enjoy Elec/Earth a lot but I am not so sure how he survives in Lamba/BAF. Those AVs can't be controlled and they hit hard.
A few things that I think can make Earth better:
1. Increase Hurl's recharge to at least 10s.
2. If the cottage rule stays, maybe they can add some -damage in Mud Pots?
3. Increase Fissure's radius to 15's. (Why is Controller's Earth Mastery has better Fissure than Dominator's lvl 38 power?
What's left is to normalize all Assassin Strikes and improve Stalker's old sets (Claw, MA and EM)! You don't need to bring back the missing PbAoE attack. You just need to make the existing ones better! For example, make Slice a WIDER and LONGER cone.