Lanessar
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Posts posted by Lanessar
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Having played DM plenty, I know what it brings to the table. However I have never played WP. What does it offer that you can't get elsewhere?
"Old" (pre-i6) Regen was sort of "set it and forget it". With perma-hasten and perma-Dull Pain, it was good to go. WP seems to follow along these lines: All toggles, only one activatable power.
I found current regen too "finicky" for my tastes (after getting a DM/Regen to 50), so I'm exploring Willpower as an alternative.
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I'm going to warn you, there is a lot of advice to skip shadow punch. These are holdovers from old guides, from pre-I14.
I'll just leave the comment from Smilin' Joe from the old forums here:
Recently Castle and co. reworked the activation and animation times of this and other quick punch tier one powers to balance them out a bit. They made one number a little less and the other a little more, did some vaguely mystical algebraic falderall and tweaked the exponent. And carried the fraction. Or something. I don't know. The end result as near as I can tell is that Shadow Punch is a bit more skippable than it was before.What's that mean? Desdemona recently told me: "Shadow Punch did not become skippable because it got nerfed. It became optional becuase half of Dark Melee got better." Now Des was quoting either Werner or Sarratte, but I really liked the quote no matter who said it, and felt it worth including here. Whereas before it was considered absolutely essential as a proc-holder and buzz-saw build attack chain filler, now it's "just" a good attack. No, it doesn't do PHENOMENAL COSMIC DAMAGE, but I'll stand by my previous assertion that this is a very good power to have, slot and keep. Why? It has a fast recharge and a 5% debuff to your enemy's tohit roll, making it valuable as a damage mitigator.
Here's the kicker - it's CUMULATIVE, meaning that every hit reduces your target's chances of hitting you less and less. The duration on that tohit debuff is also twice as long as its recharge, so it's stackable to 10% out of the box with no recharge enhancements. In addition, this debuff is present in all the other powers in the set as well, and it stacks from power to power! So if a hit from Shadow Punch makes your enemy five percent less likely to hit you (and it does) then a hit from Shadow Punch combined with a hit from another Dark Melee attack makes the poor sap TEN percent less likely to hit you. A quick Shadow Punch/Smite/Shadow Punch attack can, with minimal slotting, nearly maintain a 15% debuff on your enemy's tohit.
See why I like it? With it's short activation and recharge, you can use it with your other attacks to stack the effect three and sometimes even four or five times over (with hasten) for a whopping TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT extra defense for you! And actually it's better than that because it debuffs ToHIT rolls, and not accuracy. Number crunchers far and wide will tell you that's waaaaay better, though I'm not comletely sure why. In the end, I just accept that it's awesome and roll with it.
If you're looking to skip this power, check your secondary first. If it's any other set besides Regen, skip away, but be warned - you'll miss its punchy goodess. If you're a Regeneration scrapper, though, you seriously should reconsider - anything that is this effective at mitigating incoming damage ought to be taken. I respecced out of it once on my DM/Regen, and immediately noticed the difference. Take it.
Slotting: Slot this power with at least two Accuracies, three Damage, and one EndRedux.
Invention Slotting: One complete set of Crushing Impact is what I use, but look for my advice on general IO considerations at the end of the guide.
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I haven't seen this mentioned in any forum, and I'm curious as to why (with the popularity of DM/Regen)?
I started up on this build and, at early levels, it seems like a pretty good fit. This is my build plan while leveling:
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Willpower
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Shadow Punch
- (A) Superior Critical Strikes - Accuracy/Damage
- (23) Superior Critical Strikes - Damage/RechargeTime
- (23) Superior Critical Strikes - RechargeTime/+50% Crit Proc
Level 1: High Pain Tolerance
- (A) Aegis - Resistance
- (3) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance
- (3) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
- (46) Numina's Convalesence - Heal
- (48) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
Level 2: Smite
- (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage
- (9) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
- (13) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
- (37) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (42) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
Level 4: Fast Healing
- (A) Numina's Convalesence - Heal
- (5) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance
- (5) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Recharge
Level 6: Mind Over Body
- (A) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
- (7) Aegis - Resistance
- (7) Aegis - Resistance/Recharge
Level 8: Shadow Maul
- (A) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage
- (9) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Endurance
- (15) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Recharge
- (15) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Recharge
- (45) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
Level 10: Indomitable Will
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
Level 12: Hover
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (13) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
Level 14: Fly
- (A) Freebird - FlySpeed
- (43) Freebird - +Stealth
Level 16: Rise to the Challenge
- (A) Dark Watcher's Despair - Chance for Recharge Slow
- (17) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff
- (17) Numina's Convalesence - Heal
- (40) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance
- (40) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Recharge
- (40) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
Level 18: Siphon Life
- (A) Theft of Essence - Healing
- (19) Theft of Essence - Healing/Recharge
- (19) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff
- (25) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/ToHitDebuff
- (25) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Recharge
- (48) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
Level 20: Quick Recovery
- (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod
- (21) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge
- (21) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy
Level 22: Dark Consumption
- (A) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage
- (34) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Recharge
- (45) Energy Manipulator - EndMod
- (45) Energy Manipulator - EndMod/Recharge
- (46) Energy Manipulator - Chance to Stun
Level 24: Boxing
- (A) Empty
- (43) Empty
- (43) Empty
Level 26: Soul Drain
- (A) Armageddon - Damage
- (27) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
- (27) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (34) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
- (39) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
Level 28: Heightened Senses
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
- (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
Level 30: Tough
- (A) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
- (31) Aegis - Resistance/Recharge
- (31) Aegis - Resistance
- (31) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
Level 32: Midnight Grasp
- (A) Hecatomb - Damage
- (33) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge
- (33) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (33) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge
- (34) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance
- (50) Accuracy IO
Level 35: Weave
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
Level 38: Hasten
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (39) Recharge Reduction IO
- (50) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 41: Focused Accuracy
- (A) Encouraged Accuracy - To Hit Buff
- (42) Encouraged Accuracy - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
- (42) Encouraged Accuracy - To Hit Buff/Recharge
Level 44: Afterburner
- (A) Kismet - Accuracy +6%
Level 47: Strength of Will
- (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
Level 49: Resurgence
- (A) Energy Manipulator - Chance to Stun
Level 1: Brawl
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Sprint
- (A) Empty
Level 2: Rest
- (A) Empty
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift
- (A) Empty
Level 2: Health
- (A) Preventive Medicine - Heal
- (37) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb
- (50) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance
Level 2: Hurdle
- (A) Empty
Level 2: Stamina
- (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
- (37) Performance Shifter - EndMod
- (48) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
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- (A) Superior Critical Strikes - Accuracy/Damage
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Here's the build that got me to 50 on Torchbearer. I didn't slot it, and it's probably not 1000% optimal, but I did solo all AV missions in PI with it:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962
Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Regeneration
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Teleportation
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery
Hero Profile:
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Level 1: Shadow Punch
(A) Empty
(7) Empty
(7) Empty
(33) Empty
(33) Empty
(33) Empty
Level 1: Fast Healing
(A) Empty
(3) Empty
(3) Empty
Level 2: Smite
(A) Empty
(19) Empty
(23) Empty
(23) Empty
(34) Empty
(34) Empty
Level 4: Shadow Maul
(A) Empty
(5) Empty
(5) Empty
(25) Empty
(31) Empty
(34) Empty
Level 6: Mystic Flight
(A) Empty
(45) Empty
(46) Empty
Level 8: Quick Recovery
(A) Empty
(9) Empty
(9) Empty
Level 10: Dull Pain
(A) Empty
(11) Empty
(11) Empty
(25) Empty
(43) Empty
(43) Empty
Level 12: Siphon Life
(A) Empty
(13) Empty
(13) Empty
(39) Empty
(40) Empty
(40) Empty
Level 14: Hasten
(A) Empty
(15) Empty
(15) Empty
Level 16: Integration
(A) Empty
(17) Empty
(17) Empty
(19) Empty
Level 18: Reconstruction
(A) Empty
(48) Empty
(50) Empty
(50) Empty
Level 20: Resilience
(A) Empty
(21) Empty
(21) Empty
Level 22: Recall Friend
(A) Empty
Level 24: Grant Invisibility
(A) Empty
Level 26: Soul Drain
(A) Empty
(27) Empty
(27) Empty
(36) Empty
(36) Empty
(36) Empty
Level 28: Instant Healing
(A) Empty
(29) Empty
(29) Empty
Level 30: Invisibility
(A) Empty
Level 32: Midnight Grasp
(A) Empty
(37) Empty
(37) Empty
(37) Empty
(40) Empty
(42) Empty
Level 35: Conserve Power
(A) Empty
Level 38: Focused Accuracy
(A) Empty
(39) Empty
(39) Empty
(46) Empty
(46) Empty
Level 41: Touch of Fear
(A) Empty
(42) Empty
(42) Empty
(43) Empty
(45) Empty
(45) Empty
Level 44: Moment of Glory
(A) Empty
(50) Empty
Level 47: Teleport Foe
(A) Empty
Level 49: Phase Shift
(A) Empty
Level 1: Brawl
(A) Empty
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash
(A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide
(A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick
(A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush
(A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge
(A) Empty
Level 1: Sprint
(A) Empty
Level 2: Rest
(A) Empty
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift
(A) Empty
Level 2: Health
(A) Empty
(31) Empty
(31) Empty
Level 2: Hurdle
(A) Empty
Level 2: Stamina
(A) Empty
(48) Empty
(48) Empty
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I think he's asking for a Dark Melee, not Dual Blades build.
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So, I keep seeing "Agility" as the Alpha recommendation, but after testing it out extensively, Cardiac gives you nearly twice the bang for the buck.
I even clarified this with M3z on one of his livestreams and he said "yeah, I was trolled when I made that video, you DEFINITELY take Cardiac in Alpha, no question."
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Just have to say as a level 22 SD/SJ tank, endurance is definitely a problem. So much so, that toggle-juggling is becoming a norm.
I have Stamina slotted with two Level 25 EndMod IOs, and fighting with more than three toggles (generally run DEF/BA/Cover in groups, and sub out AAO instead of cover when running solo, plus Combat jumping) has me popping blues as if I were an SS tank.
I'm not driving toward max level with this character, but I cannot imagine running tough/weave with this build as it stands, even with fully slotted IOs in Stamina.
Edit: I've slotted a third EndMod as well as one EndRed in each of the toggles, and the stamina drain is a bit more manageable.
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Just chiming in on the AE rewards.
I'm watching people level defenders and masterminds that they will literally not be able to play properly at Lvl 50. Reducing the XP for these is a welcome change.
Investigating a Dark Melee / Willpower build
in Scrapper
Posted
Gotcha. I've not gotten that far with the build yet, so I'm not entirely sure where to go with it.
The problem with this build isn't slots or powers, it's that it has too many (once the basics are slotted up). I can just take random powers like stealth or invis, but it's not really cohesive, for sure.