Building an Earth/Energy Assault Dominator
By
DarkCurrent,
Posted on: 2011-10-31 20:46 in Dominators
How much influence do you have?
Do you have any preferred travel power?
Do you want perma-domination through high recharge, or high personal defence, or a bit of both?
Any preference for or against melee combat?
I dont use Mids, but I can give you the rough outline of my build when I get home, and why I made the decisions I did.
My influence is basically limitless now, with all the ways we have to get things. For this character, I'm leaning toward Teleport. And I'm thinking perma dom. I assume that with perma dom personal defense won't be as big of an issue since I'll be controlling everything.
I don't have a particular preference for being at range, but I feel that it may be more effective than melee for this character because Earth Control seems to be very good at keeping enemies away from you.
My problem with making the build was that I don't really know what sets to put into things like Quicksand and Volcanic Gasses and I'm not sure how procs behave in those powers.
@Rorn ---- Blue Baron ---- Guardian
Cool.
I'll post my ultra-expensive build tonight - permadom and good defence bonuses. The defence is mostly irreleavnt, but good for opening fights more safely or dealing with AVs, or even tricky bosses who've just killed me.
Some basic info:
I slotted Earthquake with just the Achilles proc. Its got a long activation time, and isnt part of my bread and butter fighting style.
Quicksand never got more than one Recharge off me, and I dropped it in my last respec, partly for the 3.1 second cast time.
Stalgmites got the whole Stupefy set, for Recharge and Defence bonuses. This does add knockback, so drop the proc if you aren't chasing defence.
Fossilize and Volcanic Gasses got 4 slots of Basilisk's Gaze. I have also had the Lockdown proc in VG and its very nice, if you can handle the visual of electric balls emerging from the gas. I couldn't, being a fussy roleplayer.
I skipped the single immobilise, and picked up Stone Cages much later. It got 5 slotted for Trap of the Hunter and eventually a purple set, with the hold proc.
The much-maligned Salt Crystals is a decent panic button because it activates very fast. I 5-slotted that as a recharge mule - Call of the Sandman and eventually the purple set.
Animate Stone got all six Expedient Reinforcment (+rech and +Def, but only 80% damage in the power). I compensated for this with Musculature Alpha.
Heres what I ended up with:
1 Power Bolt 9 17 17 23 25 Thunderstrike
1 Fossilise 3 7 15 Basilisk's Gaze
2 Bonesmasher 3 7 15 19 Crushing Impact/Hecatomb
4 Power Push 5 5 9 19 Decimation
6 Hover LotG +Rech
8 Stone Cages 43 43 46 46 Grav Anchor
10 Hasten 11 11 Rech
12 Stalagmites 13 13 25 27 27 Stupefy
14 Fly Zephyr -KB
16 Salt Crystals 37 37 37 40 Call of Sandman/Fortunata Hypnosis
18 Earthquake Achilles -Res
20 Whirling Hands 21 21 23 Eradication
22 Boxing Stupefy KB? 
24 Tough 31 42 42 42 43 5 Imp Skin + Glad Armour Def IO
26 Volcanic Gasses 29 29 31 Basilisks Gaze
28 Combat Jumping LotG 7.5
30 Weave 31 34 36 36 36 RF + LotG
32 Stone Golem 33 33 33 34 34 Expedient Reinforcement
35 Conserve Power Rech IO
38 Power Burst 39 39 39 40 40 Thunderstrike
41 Energy Torrent 45 45 45 46 Positron's
44 Explosive Blast 48 48 48 50 Positron's
47 Temp Invuln 50 50 +Res IO x2, Steadfast Res/+Def IO
49 Power Boost +Rech
This nets me +108.75% global recharge (very comfortable perma Dom with Hasten) and over 30% ranged defence in the air.
If you take Teleport I guess you could still take Hover, or Combat Jumping. I find I tend not to fight with Hover on these days, because it stops Stalagmites from working quickloy and properly, even with a bind to drop to the ground first, but Hover is very useful with teleport.
I never took Total Focus. The damage, activation time and endurance cost are all double that of Bonesmasher, so I figured I gained very little from it. I don't need the Stun like I do on my Blaster.
Power Push is brilliant. If you havent got Domination up and need space to deal with a boss, its 100% knockback with a 1 second animation time. I use it often in my attack chain, which is why it gets Decimation, for the Build Up proc.
Whirling Hands is underslotted for damage. But Musculature makes up for that. While levelling, you can replace the Acc/Rech with a damage IO if you like for better damage, as it will be your only AoE until epics.
I'll leave you to figure out what to do with the Psi epic pool, and what to replace Fighting with if you're not after personal defence.
Quote:
This is a really fun combo. Started one a few months back and he's 41. Went with Primal Forces mastery. Picking up Energy Transfer at lvl 35 is to die for.|
Originally Posted by Vauluur
He's currently level 2, but I like to have builds planned out well in advance. The concept limits my epic power pool to Psionic, as I am basing him on the Legacy Chain and Carnival of Light. I was going to post a build here for critique, but as I worked in Mids I found out that I really don't know anything about slotting control sets. I've been a melee player for so long that I just don't know what to do with non melee characters. So instead I'm forced to simply say...help. Please? :P
|
Bone Smasher, Total Focus and ET all by lvl 35. That's pretty much 3 dead minions in a row right there.
I'll throw in a vote for whirling hands as well. It's pretty solid damage and better range these days. Combined with the above stunning hits and stalagmites, it gives you lots of extra control.
You already have QS, EQ and VG. Toss in Stoney, plus the kb in your blasts and you have lots of control, lots of debuff and lots of damage.
Snagging Energy Torrent and the energy targeted AoE (name escapes me) with 41 and 44 picks for major dps boost.
I will take the smash/lethal resist just to have it, but really who needs a shield with all that?
Please buff Ice Control.
Yeah, Primal Forces complements this combo really well due to the low AoE in the actual sets. I feel this every time I exemplar.
One thing I found was that I had no endurance worries at all until I picked up Energy Torrent and Explosive Blast, at which point I was very glad to have Conserve Power as a precursor.
I havent tried Energy Transfer because I didn't have enough slots to dedicate to it. How did you find the endurance cost, DarkCurrent, and also how did you cope with the self-damage? Was that significant or did natural regeneration heal it back easily enough?
Quote:
I haven't found the endurance costs too bad, yet. But just got energy torrent, so not a full AoE chain yet. ET's end cost is high, but it's recharge is fairly long so you don't spam it anyway. Also, I'm building toward permadom with this guy, so domination fires often enough with the 50% rch he currently has that endurance gets filled regularly.|
Originally Posted by Dr Harmony
Yeah, Primal Forces complements this combo really well due to the low AoE in the actual sets. I feel this every time I exemplar.
One thing I found was that I had no endurance worries at all until I picked up Energy Torrent and Explosive Blast, at which point I was very glad to have Conserve Power as a precursor. I havent tried Energy Transfer because I didn't have enough slots to dedicate to it. How did you find the endurance cost, DarkCurrent, and also how did you cope with the self-damage? Was that significant or did natural regeneration heal it back easily enough? |
The self-damage is just part of the attraction. Considering I have no shield, it makes it even more fun. With the layers of control though, it's fairly safe. But I'm okay running from mob to mob in the orange for HP. Pop a green here and there seems to cover it.
For AoE in early levels, I've taken to crafting hand grenades, stun grenades and plasmatic tasers. The stun grenades stack even more with all the other stunning you have. Good stuff.
Please buff Ice Control.
This is the build I'm working on now:
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Swamp Gas: Level 50 Mutation Dominator
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Energy Assault
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Primal Forces Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize
- (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
- (3) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
- (9) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
- (17) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
- (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
- (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
- (7) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge
- (34) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (40) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage
- (7) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
- (9) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
- (34) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (43) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (5) Recharge Reduction IO
- (5) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Impeded Swiftness - Chance of Damage(Smashing)
- (17) Tempered Readiness - Endurance/Recharge/Slow
- (25) Tempered Readiness - Range/Slow
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (A) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage
- (11) Decimation - Damage/Endurance
- (11) Decimation - Damage/Recharge
- (34) Decimation - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
- (40) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (A) Stupefy - Accuracy/Recharge
- (13) Stupefy - Endurance/Stun
- (13) Stupefy - Accuracy/Endurance
- (15) Stupefy - Stun/Range
- (15) Stupefy - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge
- (A) Springfoot - Endurance/Jumping
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage
- (19) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
- (19) Touch of Lady Grey - Recharge/Endurance
- (25) Explosive Strike - Chance for Smashing Damage
- (A) Obliteration - Damage
- (21) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
- (21) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
- (31) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (37) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Obliteration - Damage
- (23) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
- (23) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
- (37) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (43) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (A) Lockdown - Accuracy/Hold
- (27) Lockdown - Accuracy/Recharge
- (27) Lockdown - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
- (31) Lockdown - Recharge/Hold
- (37) Lockdown - Chance for +2 Mag Hold
- (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage
- (29) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
- (29) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
- (31) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (48) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge
- (33) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage
- (33) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance
- (33) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage
- (36) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
- (36) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
- (36) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (46) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Knockback
- (39) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Knockback
- (39) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Knockback
- (39) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Endurance
- (40) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Endurance/Knockback
- (46) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Damage/Knockback
- (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
- (42) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
- (42) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
- (42) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
- (43) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
- (45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
- (45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
- (45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
- (46) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (A) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
- (50) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Recharge
- (50) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
- (50) Impervium Armor - Resistance
Level 1: Brawl
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Sprint
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
Level 2: Swift
- (A) Run Speed IO
- (A) Healing IO
- (A) Jumping IO
- (A) Endurance Modification IO
- (48) Endurance Modification IO
- (48) Endurance Modification IO
Please buff Ice Control.
Cool build.
If I may make a few suggestions:
1) I like the use of Kinetic Crash for the big recharge bonus. But wouldn't it be better off in Power Bolt, since it reduces the damage of the power its slotted in? Then again, maybe with the big two (TF +ET) you're not relying on Power Burst for damage like I do.
2) Volcanic Gasses could give you an extra +7.5% recharge if you slot it 4 Basilisks and the Lockdown proc. I cant quite remember what you'd be losing (+3% Damage?, some AoE defence?) but youre missing the big ranged defence bonus from Lockdown anyway, so I'd switch if it was me.
3) The Build Up proc in Decimation works kind of nicely as a replacement for the A/E/R piece in a blast you regularly use. You'll probably have enough end, recharge and accuracy anyway to skip it. I imagine it's even better if you have the big two (TF + ET) to fire off during the build up when it activates. I have my damage bonus on the combat attributes monitor and often notice it going off.
Quote:
I like the idea of moving the kb set to the lower dmg blast. I could do that pretty easily.|
Originally Posted by Dr Harmony
Cool build.
If I may make a few suggestions: 1) I like the use of Kinetic Crash for the big recharge bonus. But wouldn't it be better off in Power Bolt, since it reduces the damage of the power its slotted in? Then again, maybe with the big two (TF +ET) you're not relying on Power Burst for damage like I do. 2) Volcanic Gasses could give you an extra +7.5% recharge if you slot it 4 Basilisks and the Lockdown proc. I cant quite remember what you'd be losing (+3% Damage?, some AoE defence?) but youre missing the big ranged defence bonus from Lockdown anyway, so I'd switch if it was me. 3) The Build Up proc in Decimation works kind of nicely as a replacement for the A/E/R piece in a blast you regularly use. You'll probably have enough end, recharge and accuracy anyway to skip it. I imagine it's even better if you have the big two (TF + ET) to fire off during the build up when it activates. I have my damage bonus on the combat attributes monitor and often notice it going off. |
Basilisks were a bit pricey, and the Lockdowns are higher level. With the pseudopet hold (no domination or PB boost), I went with more powerful numbers than expensive less powerful set.
BU proc could work. Just going with better overall stats with that set was all. Dmg seems good enough as is without relying on the proc to boost it.
I could easily get more rch in there with more cash and some purps. The build was more an 'average man' permadom. It's fairly cheap and doesn't rely on any really crazy to get/buy sets. Most of this stuff could be had for reasonable prices as you level up to 50.
Please buff Ice Control.
My problem is I can't change the color of the powers in the APP. So I want to steer away from Primal Forces mastery. My character uses gold colors for his Energy Assault attacks in keeping with the Carnival of Light theme.
@Rorn ---- Blue Baron ---- Guardian
Quote:
I'm still waiting for the right combo to thrill me for it yet, but yes, ET on a dom is sex on legs.
|
Originally Posted by DarkCurrent
This is a really fun combo. Started one a few months back and he's 41. Went with Primal Forces mastery. Picking up Energy Transfer at lvl 35 is to die for.
|
He's currently level 2, but I like to have builds planned out well in advance. The concept limits my epic power pool to Psionic, as I am basing him on the Legacy Chain and Carnival of Light. I was going to post a build here for critique, but as I worked in Mids I found out that I really don't know anything about slotting control sets. I've been a melee player for so long that I just don't know what to do with non melee characters. So instead I'm forced to simply say...help. Please? :P
@Rorn ---- Blue Baron ---- Guardian