Spines/Dark build, any glaring holes I missed?
By
Dechs Kaison,
Posted on: 2011-06-19 20:33 in Stalkers
Dang it! You just made me think up an Elec/Dark stalker concept I don't have any time to build.
Murphys Military Law
#23. Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
#46. If you can't remember, the Claymore is pointed towards you.
#54. Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity.
Looks pretty solid to me. I think you might have endurance problems during protracted fights that have you using your AoEs a lot, but there are ways to manage that. If you can afford a Golgi for Dark Regen you can push your endurance reduction to the ED cap.
The other thing you might want to consider is taking and slotting Cloak of Fear instead of Oppressive Gloom. You can squeeze 2 damage procs into the power while still getting decent values on the other important attributes. It won't knock your socks off but it's a decent extra source of a little AoE if you want it. I slot 1 Endoplasm, 1 Lysosome, 1 Enzyme, a Glimpse of the Abyss Acc/End, GotA proc, and Cloud Senses proc.
Obviously doing that would require pulling slots from elsewhere, and that would be up to you if you think it's worthwhile. I tend to skimp a bit on Energy/Negative defense which gives me a little more freedom.
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I admit the end recovery isn't amazing, but then again, I'm not running Death Shroud like all my other DA characters do, so I thought I should be fine.|
Originally Posted by Supernumiphone
Looks pretty solid to me. I think you might have endurance problems during protracted fights that have you using your AoEs a lot, but there are ways to manage that. If you can afford a Golgi for Dark Regen you can push your endurance reduction to the ED cap.
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I've heard Placate is buggy with Spines in particular, maybe I'll steal a slot from that and add the Numina proc. Should be plenty of endurance then.
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Originally Posted by Supernumiphone
The other thing you might want to consider is taking and slotting Cloak of Fear instead of Oppressive Gloom. You can squeeze 2 damage procs into the power while still getting decent values on the other important attributes. It won't knock your socks off but it's a decent extra source of a little AoE if you want it. I slot 1 Endoplasm, 1 Lysosome, 1 Enzyme, a Glimpse of the Abyss Acc/End, GotA proc, and Cloud Senses proc.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Supernumiphone
I tend to skimp a bit on Energy/Negative defense which gives me a little more freedom.
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Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
don'T attempt to read tHis mEssaGe, And believe Me, it is not a codE.
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I agree somewhat, and I do shoot for a certain amount of energy defense, but if something has to be sacrificed to achieve my other build goals that's one thing I'm willing to compromise on. Rikti are probably not the best example since all their ranged blasts have a smashing component, and therefore can be protected against with smashing defense. There are a lot of pure energy attacks though, especially in end game content full of Praetorian Clockwork.|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
I'm actually of the opinion that the E/N defense is more important than S/L for Dark Armor since energy resistance is such a hole. Otherwise things like Rikti tend to shred my characters. If I can't get 45% defense, I aim for 32.5% so that a small purple will be all I need to hit the cap from there.
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I work around it. As a Stalker being able to take a lot of focused fire is not as big a requirement as on other melee ATs. It's nice to be able to open with AoEs and not worry about return fire, but to me having to allow a Brute or Tank to open up first if I'm facing enemies with a lot of pure energy damage is a worthwhile tradeoff for getting the other things I want into my build.
That's a very personal value judgement though. Regardless of which direction you go, I think you'll really like that toon.
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Most Rikti have smashing or lethal (swords), but I assure you, the drones are pure energy. And they bloody hurt.|
Originally Posted by Supernumiphone
I agree somewhat, and I do shoot for a certain amount of energy defense, but if something has to be sacrificed to achieve my other build goals that's one thing I'm willing to compromise on. Rikti are probably not the best example since all their ranged blasts have a smashing component, and therefore can be protected against with smashing defense. There are a lot of pure energy attacks though, especially in end game content full of Praetorian Clockwork.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Supernumiphone
I work around it. As a Stalker being able to take a lot of focused fire is not as big a requirement as on other melee ATs.
... That's a very personal value judgement though. |
I also try to build my characters for even performance across the board. I intend to set my difficulty to the max I can handle, and I don't want to change the difficulty between missions because "this one has PPD kheldians." I don't like having a weakness, it's why I choose Dark Armor on so many characters. So few things can really shut DA down.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Supernumiphone
Regardless of which direction you go, I think you'll really like that toon.
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Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
don'T attempt to read tHis mEssaGe, And believe Me, it is not a codE.
Quick background: I've tried several stalkers and haven't kept any of them because of the lack of AoE damage. The best thing I had was an Elec/EA, which, while the AoE was great, EA ended up being way too squishy. I had a great run with a Ninja Blade/Dark Armor that died because Flashing Steel was not satisfying enough of AoE. Elec/Dark Armor would be the natural combo from what I've played so far... but I can't come up with an acceptable concept. So I go with Spines/Dark, RPing the spines as numerous blades and knives. Anyway, here's the build. Let me know if it looks like there's anything stupid I did.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.942
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Pharaoh's Assassin: Level 50 Technology Stalker
Primary Power Set: Spines
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Lunge -- KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(40), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 1: Hide -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(5), LkGmblr-Def(13)
Level 2: Spine Burst -- Erad-Dmg/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(9), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43)
Level 4: Dark Embrace -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(5), RctvArm-ResDam(11), RctvArm-EndRdx(13), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(46)
Level 6: Assassin's Impaler -- KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(9), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11)
Level 8: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 10: Shadow Dweller -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(17), Ksmt-ToHit+(19)
Level 12: Placate -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 14: Murky Cloud -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(21), RctvArm-EndRdx(23), RctvArm-ResDam(42)
Level 16: Obsidian Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(17), RctvArm-EndRdx(46), RctvArm-ResDam(46)
Level 18: Impale -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Dev'n-Hold%(27)
Level 20: Dark Regeneration -- Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(29), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Heal(31), Theft-+End%(31)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(31)
Level 24: Boxing -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(42), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(45), KntkC'bat-Knock%(50)
Level 26: Ripper -- Erad-Dmg/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Rchg(36), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37)
Level 28: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), RctvArm-EndRdx(33), RctvArm-ResDam(33)
Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34), LkGmblr-Def(34), LkGmblr-Rchg+(34)
Level 32: Throw Spines -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(37), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(39), Posi-Dmg/Rng(39), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- Acc-I(A)
Level 38: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 41: Dark Blast -- Dev'n-Hold%(A)
Level 44: Shadow Meld -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(45), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(45), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 47: Soul Storm -- BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(A), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(48), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(48), BasGaze-Acc/Hold(48), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50)
Level 49: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 0: High Pain Threshold
Level 0: Invader
Level 0: Born In Battle
Level 0: Marshal
Level 50: Spiritual Core Paragon
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Level 1: Assassination
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(3)
Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
don'T attempt to read tHis mEssaGe, And believe Me, it is not a codE.