Water secondary help

[graeberguinn]

I'm stuck between WP and SR. What are pros/cons? And builds or slotting advice? 

[oldskool]

So these power sets are like talking apples and potatoes.  They are both good sets but their strengths are vastly different.  They both have areas where they perform well, or exceptionally so, and there is no indication at all as to what your playstyle or goals are.  Anyway, I'll give you a run down on how I view these sets and maybe that will give you some fuel to make a decision. 

 

I happen to like both, but if I had a bias for min-max in PvE I would pick SR over WP.   

 

SR:

 

Water Blast has a heal over time effect in Dehydrate which offers some synergy to Super Reflexes.  SR has the potential to soft-cap defenses with IO sets and extra pool powers.  You can also take an absorb shield with Master Brawler and then layer all of that with Dehydrate.  Quickness includes 20% global recharge which can make building for recharge cheaper if that is your goal.  Water Blast is also very friendly to damage procs in its powers.  Water Blast is not that strong on single-target damage (AoE is its strength) but damage procs can be a welcome improvement.  Since SR + power pools/Epics (Psychic Mastery) can cover your defense needs, you can explore better damage options in some of your powers.  SR has a weakness to some psychic attacks like Dominate and its RNG nature can be frustrating while leveling (before you become a fortress).

 

TL;DR SR Verdict:  SR is better for min/max content and long-term build designs.  It is, in my opinion, one of the top sets for those that plan long-term in PvE play. 

 

WP:

 

Willpower can increase hit points easier and can potentially hard cap its Smashing/Lethal resistance.  It is not easy, nor is it cheap, to soft-cap defenses with IO sets alone forcing you to try and stack more powers to cover the gaps.  You can push into the 30% defense realm without completely screwing yourself but you will not have as easy of a time making room for damage procs like SR can.  Willpower has no direct heal at all and relies solely on regeneration rate (its strong regen, but not THAT strong).  Dehydrate's heal isn't a waste.  Furthermore, Water Blast includes a lot of knockdown which has a lot of synergy with allowing you time to regenerate.  Willpower can feel a bit smoother earlier on due to Quick Recovery, but you will need more powers/planning to cover defense gaps.  Still, the knockdown elements of Water Blast are a form of mitigation in their own right that works well with the layered nature of Willpower.  Willpower has strong resistance to, and some moderate defense of, psychic damage.  However, Willpower does not have very high innate resistance to elemental damage types.  Instead it has high defense but not nearly as good as what SR can easily achieve.  There is no appreciable defense debuff resistance within WP to protect what it does have against debuffing enemy factions.  Due to the layered nature of Willpower, this set is less friendly to damage proc solutions to up your single target damage.  

 

TL;DR WP Verdict:  Willpower can feel more comfortable earlier on.  This is true especially for a more casual player.  Willpower responds well to the invention system but it requires some significant planning in order to maximize its effectiveness.   

 

[Andrewvm]

I took bio with water, was that a good or a bad idea? 

[oldskool]

1 hour ago, Andrewvm said:

I took bio with water, was that a good or a bad idea? 

I don't know why it would be a bad idea unless you hate playing the character.  

[Shoulung]

I went dark/wp on my tanker specifically for the heal to help cover wp’s lack of one. I personally like that wp doesn’t put all its eggs in one basket, as it were. As far as bio goes, haven’t made it past the thirties with the set yet, but should help you become an aoe powerhouse, or at least the sentinel equivalent.

[Mercurias]

I’ve seen a Water/SR Sentinel do some really cool stuff on Everlasting. He’s essentially a tank character. Softcapped defenses mean he rarely takes damage, and when he does, he has so much recharge in his build that he has no issue using Dehydrate to heal up rapidly. The added KD/KB in Water Blast also let’s him juggle enemies, which means they spent plenty of time in their backs rather than attacking.

[Andrewvm]

15 hours ago, oldskool said:

I don't know why it would be a bad idea unless you hate playing the character.  

He's only 11 , so i honestly can judge yet. Especially since water is an aoe set and I only have two. atm.

 

But yeah I was wondering since water seems to need a lot of -recharge and Bio is a set i just don't know at all.

[oldskool]

Just now, Andrewvm said:

He's only 11 , so i honestly can judge yet. Especially since water is an aoe set and I only have two. atm.

 

But yeah I was wondering since water seems to need a lot of -recharge and Bio is a set i just don't know at all.

Fair enough. 

Water Blast makes good use out of more recharge to smooth out the attack sequence.  Bio Armor also makes good use out of recharge to make your active defenses (Ablative Carapace, Rebuild DNA, Parasitic Leech) available more often.  So the powersets have a joint benefit in pursuing heavy recharge builds. 

Water Blast isn't very strong on single-target, but Bio Armor has an adaption that gives bonus damage to compensate a bit.  Water Blast has a lot of soft control (knockdown) which works very well with high regeneration secondaries (like Bio Armor can be).  So there are aspects of each powerset that help out the other to create synergy. 

 

It is a very good pairing when talking pure game mechanics but it could be a terrible combination for someone that didn't enjoy either set.  Hope that explains my initial reaction a little better.

[XaoGarrent]

22 hours ago, Andrewvm said:

I took bio with water, was that a good or a bad idea? 

Very strong pairing. I have one at 50, with a bunch of IOs and incarnates.

 

Bio and Regen are sets that benefit from being able to interrupt enemies in combat frequently, Water does this very well.

 

Water is an extremely AoE heavy set and spawn nukes well with Bio's Offensive damage buff.

[Bossk_Hogg]

On 10/2/2019 at 10:50 AM, oldskool said:

Fair enough. 

Water Blast makes good use out of more recharge to smooth out the attack sequence.  Bio Armor also makes good use out of recharge to make your active defenses (Ablative Carapace, Rebuild DNA, Parasitic Leech) available more often.  So the powersets have a joint benefit in pursuing heavy recharge builds. 

Water Blast isn't very strong on single-target, but Bio Armor has an adaption that gives bonus damage to compensate a bit.  Water Blast has a lot of soft control (knockdown) which works very well with high regeneration secondaries (like Bio Armor can be).  So there are aspects of each powerset that help out the other to create synergy. 

 

It is a very good pairing when talking pure game mechanics but it could be a terrible combination for someone that didn't enjoy either set.  Hope that explains my initial reaction a little better.

Water also has excellent slotting opportunities for the Fore Feedback 100% recharge proc in Water Burst and Geyser, allowing you to focus on other areas to layer Bio's defenses.