Radiation AV solo AT

Radiation Emission + Archery, for soloing AV's.
Defender or Corruptor? Why?

Lots of questions like higher base corruptor damage and scourge adding up vs +20% defender damage and higher -res value, if the difference in accuracy debuffs is tangible, which has more HP (and so heals themselves for more), etc. But I want to play the character tonight, so a straightforward answer and why is all I'm looking for. I'll research mechanics later when I'm in the mood for making a build or have down time at work.

I only got one person in /h that gave me a real answer, and that was corruptor. Supposedly scourge adds up to significantly more damage than the the differences in the powers.

I really like this combo and really want a character for this purpose.
Still looking for replies so I don't feel the need to reroll later.

Both the Defender and Corruptor versions *can* solo AV's and GM's. If you're solo, the defender will benefit from a 30% damage bonus via Vigilance and the naturally stronger debuff numbers that Defenders have vs. Corruptors. Scourge is only going to be helping you when your target is under the 50% HP mark. With all of this considered I want to say the Defender would be faster for your purpose.

After lots of tells in-game I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with anyone's explanation of DPS short of actually testing both myself so I will decide based on the other things, and the defender clearly wins at everything else. I even prefer the defender ATO set giving me constant healing without having to work the PBAoE heal into rotation.

Well DPS isn't the biggest factor in soloing AV's and GM's, especially on a support AT. Your -regen and -res debuffs and keeping them up will be the most important thing. Not that you can just toggle on your debuffs and stare at your screen until your target dies, but Archery on a Defender or a Corruptor probably isn't going to take down AV's on its own.

Basically you need to build for sustained recovery whilst running your Radiation toggles (and other toggles helping you survive the encounter) and build enough recharge to keep Lingering Radiation perma. You should be able to down AV's easily without having to worry about using EMP- Basically, you'll want to cast RI and EF on your target and then run an attack chain of Snap Shot>Aimed Shot>Blazing Arrow gaplessly, ED capped for damage, pausing to cast Lingring Radiation every time it's up and AM/RA every time you feel it's necessary. You'll also want to work in Aim every time it's up, but never use Aim in place of Blazing Arrow. Replace Aimed Shot for Aim in your attack chain every time you have the option to do so. Softcapping Ranged defense would probably be the most affordable and reasonable way to ensure that you have the survivability to accomplish your goal.

EDIT--
You know I just realized I may have made a big mistake with this thread and asking around. I want to solo GM's! I have been saying AV... Would anything here change if I said focusing on GM's?


Snap Shot? Really?
Seems like Aimed Shot and Blazing Arrow would do it with all the other things I have to work in. Aim, Lingering Radiation, AM, Hasten (If I need that.), plus time spent moving if the AV moves.

Or at least between all those other things I could use something slower like Fistfull of Arrows or Explosive Arrow as my third attack. I would want explosive capped out on damage/recharge anyway if I were to group with it -AV/GM solo IS primary focus, not backpedaling on you, just saying it's a perk.-

Yes this information is all equally applicable for GM's, though some emphasis might have to be adjusted.

yes, Aimed Shot and Snap Shot are both required. Every 1-3 seconds you will need to be doing something- A gapless attack chain is very vital. Sure, there are things you'll need to interrupt it for, but if you look at the cooldowns on those things- Hasten 120s assuming you perma it, Aim 90s base, ~25-30s w/ high recharge, LR 30s assuming you perma it, AM 120s assuming you perma it, these things are all on relatively long cooldowns (excluding Aim which should always be cycled instead of Aimed Shot or Snap Shot when it's up.) You'll still have enough downtime between click powers where having a gapless ST chain would be beneficial when it comes to speed and efficiently defeating your target.

Using AOE attacks in your ST chain isn't something I'd recommend. They can't be worked into higher DPS chains than your ST chain can, plus the end cost is 2-3x higher than Snap Shot on both Fistful and Explosive Arrow.

Thank you for the replies.

I really hate snapshot's animation, and before I got to this point people were telling me to use beam rifle. My main is FF/BR and I don't usually like to repeat sets, but I do like BR, you can customize the laser color, and there are lots of different rifles to pick from. The bow string going through my arm was already getting on my nerves again too...

Tell me about the -regen effect. If I am using Disintigrate constantly, can I skip Lingering Radiation, or would I still need that power in the solo build? The BR attack chain looks like it would be more complicated, but I don't mind any of the power animations so I would just go with whatever is optimal there.

Beam Rifle has better ST than Archery does with its native -regen, so if all you want to do is solo big game, yes it would be better... However, Archery paired with debuff- Especially a set like Rad- Can solo all the same big game. In other words, Rad/Arch can do all the same things ST wise that Rad/Beam can do, except Beam will be faster at it.

Now, if you're taking total package into account, you'll have to compare AOE damage also. Rain of Arrows can be used three times as often as Overcharge, and Explosive Arrow (combined with an AOE immobilize from a Patron Pool to alleviate the KB) can be cycled very often against large mobs, and takes a FF +recharge proc that will help to bring RoA up even more often. To summarize, Archery will provide substantially more AoE damage, while still being able to tackle all the same hard ST's as BR, albeit slower.

I would never advise skipping LR on a Rad build. Yes, Beam DOES -regen, but I don't think it's possible for Beam to consistently floor AV or GM regeneration on its own. LR will still make a noticeable difference in your ST killing speed regardless of which set you play.

And re: EJI's post, I was replying under the assumption that the OP was set on their powersets. if that's not the case, I'd recommend a Rad/Sonic Fender or a Fire/Rad Ruptor for this purpose, assuming that they are at least set on Rad Emission. If not, replace Rad with Cold in both cases.

Any thoughts on the dedicated AV/GM solo build Claws? (-or whoever)

I assume goals are softcap defenses, hover, gapless SnapShot-AimedShot-BlazingArrow and perma AM. Agility Core Paragon.

This was my first crack at it... The 'cast time' on snap and aimed add up to 3.37 if you round up. I have blazing at 3.41... .4 of a second away from gapless? I think I can live with that. Worried about my endurance though. I don't plan to run World of Confusion or Choking Cloud, but even without those I only have a little over 1.0 to work with while my debuffs are up. Think I need to free up a slot or two to put end mods in AM.

Click this DataLink to open the build!

This makes four characters (Bane Spider, Rad/Archery, TW/Fire, and FF/BR) in a row I love and I still haven't made any of the shield builds you've helped me with haha... I promise to use this one, Claws!



EDIT---
I wasn't set on power sets 100% but I was certain I wanted a weapon AR/BR/DP/Archery, but after trying out snap/aimed/blazing while hovering in my costume I have for this concept I'm very happy with archery. I never liked snap shot on the ninja MM with a wood bow, but somehow hovering with a vanguard bow and cycling more attacks it looks a lot better.

I am set on Defender now, because I prefer the ATO set with the heal proc giving me a constant stream of little heals, I used it on my FF/AR before I rerolled him to FF/BR and it served me very well.

Still not sure what to do with AR and DP. I want characters that use them but I'm not sure what. DP looks like it's made to pair with /MM on a blaster, but AR begs for build up as well. Think I'll just hold those two names and wait and see what new sets come out for a while. Plenty to do with my current few.

Updated I'll make a thread when I'm closer to 50 if no one feels like critiquing this here.
http://www.cohplanner.com/mids/downl...0F7F01ECACC04C