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Best Single Target Blaster Build


KaizenSoze

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My hesitation about Beam/Time are due to Hjarki's comments in the thread.

 

He often makes very good points. Is the relatively small at 50, -regen according to his numbers worth the DPS decrease?

 

Given that Beam/Ice/Fire seem like the best primaries. What secondaries would provide the best boots?

 

I personally am very fond of Force Feedback: recharge procs. So, atomic and martial have good KB or KD attacks that can add recharge.

 

Energy and Mental also have quick, not as proc friendly due to fast recharge, KB attacks.

 

Also, though plant's first immobilize power is mag 4. Some AVs and bosses, ITF for example, really like to run around. I end up spamming web grenades on my AR/Dev, so we do not get adds.

 

Finally, there are procs, which I do not think the blaster community has fully grasped full build potential. I certainly do not have my head wrapped around the possibilities.

 

My current thinking is ice/martial or atomic, both provide lots of potential recharge.

 

Martial has a nice teleport attack which chains beautifully into a PBAOE KD for high recharge proc rates.

 

Atomic also has a lot of hold powers to stack with ice.

 

Though the lack of snipe in ice since the introduction of quick snipe is a downside.

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Fire/Elec/Mace. Skip the redraw, your attack chain can consist of attacks that activate in 1 second or less. /Elec has two useful powers that can accept FF recharge proc and it also has above average crowd control and sustain. If you are shy about melee though /elec is not for you.

 

Ice/Elec works too but I favor Fireball over another ST attack.

 

Also against conventional wisdom that favor DPA, take Thunderstrike.

 

 

 

 

Liberty, Torchbearer, Excelsior, Everlasting

Jezebel Delias

Level 50 Fire/Elec/Mace Blaster

 

I am the Inner Circle!

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From a proc standpoint, Dark is seriously dangerous.
-res from achilles heels, -to-hit from all your powers and a heal to stay ALIVE against the very tough mobs, more proc goodness in tenebrous -rech, +to-hit (to damage boost your snipe), LOTS of set options for very rare and winter sets (great blaster Defense +-to hit in all attacks.) end management procs in life drain, kb +recharge proc) in torrent, several aoe's for fury -res and annihalation -res, and of course your blaster ATO's. Dark has an amazing proc toolset for maximizing your damage, -res and mitigation, which are key for fighting big bads that like to one-shot blasters.

BR offers similar (but slightly less mitgation) proc options, with some KD and -def and a broad variety of attack types plus it's own built-in -res. It's kinda ideal for maximizing your +recharge as well. Plus someone has a patch over in the mods section of the boards for dealing with it's awful musical fart sounds.

Water offers a lot of mitigation without suffering too much damage-wise. It benefits from damage procs more than some other sets, offers some +recharge slotting options, and allows you to slot tons of -res procs for smashysmashy steaming destruction. Many people take it off the board because of it's lack of snipe, but proc monstering a double water jet is absolutely terrifying.

 

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Here’s as good a place to ask as any, but how many and which kind of powers are you pricing out on a blaster?

19 hours ago, Frostweaver said:

From a proc standpoint, Dark is seriously dangerous.
-res from achilles heels, -to-hit from all your powers and a heal to stay ALIVE against the very tough mobs, more proc goodness in tenebrous -rech, +to-hit (to damage boost your snipe), LOTS of set options for very rare and winter sets (great blaster Defense +-to hit in all attacks.) end management procs in life drain, kb +recharge proc) in torrent, several aoe's for fury -res and annihalation -res, and of course your blaster ATO's. Dark has an amazing proc toolset for maximizing your damage, -res and mitigation, which are key for fighting big bads that like to one-shot blaster

 

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On 10/15/2019 at 3:41 PM, KaizenSoze said:

I am looking for suggestions for a GM/AV/Boss killer build.

This pretty much precludes all but  /mental

drain psyche is hands down the best -regen power available to blasters and probably the only one strong enough to comfortably allow blasters to take on a variety of GM's solo.

 

Probably pair it with fire, ice, or dark myself.

dark/mental would be what I lean toward. Not as high damage as fire or ice, but pretty decent with procs added and drain life will add a lot of survivability. 

 

If you take out the GM requirement then I'd vote for fire/atomic. You get fire blast's unreal damage with the extra bonus of achilies -res from negatron slam (or fist if you prefer) and +rech of accel metab+beta decay. Plus fire/atomic is one of the best choices for getting you to the AV/GM as it plows through spawns at an unbelievable rate. 

Edited by Frosticus
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bah, I just soloed Eochai in PI with Water/cold. Like 25 minutes ago. And I have soloed Jack, Babbage, two of the monster island DE's (stone and mushroom) and that gigantic robot that spawns in Crimson's chain.

admittedly, I have a fairly decent build... no real incarnates (T2 alpha, that's it) but well built.

You don't need psi to beat a GM, but you DO need a lot of patience and a fairly decent build (It helped that he couldn't touch me). controllers do it WAY better.

Edited by Frostweaver
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Generally any and all attacks that do not get 6 slotted with either ATO's or winter sets. Usually the 6th slot can be used for proc debuff goodness of some sort.

The best ones have -defense, kb/kd, or, if you have a snipe in the set, having others with -to-hit helps for the siphon insight proc to make your fast snipe do more damage. PBAOE's can slot fury of the gladiator -res, targetted aoe's can slot annihalation, your fastest ST attack takes decimation chance for BU. Most blaster sets except electric, fire, and sonic offer some very sweet proc options, and fire and sonic make up for it by just having so much badass in their own set that you don't NEED the proc options that much.

Edited by Frostweaver
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I'm just going to say, I would absolutely recommend taking Mental. 

 

Mental is an amazing secondary, the -regen, the good regen/recovery being far above all other sets (although you need to be in melee range to get benefit, it generally keeps you safe enough to do so).

 

The highest hitting ST is fire, ice is a close runner-up and sometimes slightly above. 

 

Fire/Mental I highly recommend. Inferno, Drain Psyche, Fireball, Psi Shockwave, etc.

 

Dark/Mental is also worth considering for the numerous proc options available to it as well as having a "life steal" component that would help should you take some heavy damage, this can be very nice for AOE too as you can proc monster Torrent with FF and basically spam it with continuous knockdown.

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No, /mental is not the be all and end all for solo blastering. It doesn't offer any defense or resist BUT big regen that ONLY helps when you are surrounded by mobs... which, against a GM or even an AV, you won't be. Oh, and a low-mag confuse which you really don't need because of said regen. Mental is absolutely top notch as a farmer, especially since it has insane recovery, but strictly middle of the road for soloing anything but minions and luts. It has some -rech, but doesn't add much in the way of damage compared to other sets. it's -regen is shared by /time, and /plant.

The reality is, Blasters just aren't very good GM killers. We can do it, sure, but  many scrappers, most brutes, a few controllers, quite a few stalkers, most soldiers, and the occasional odd duck defender or corrupter can just do a MUCH better job of it. What Blasters have always done best is cleaning up spawn after spawn... and until brutes came along and basically did everything better than everyone else, Blasters were the absolute best at it.

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I have to disagree... Mental may not be the end all for GENERAL soloing, but it's the best for AV/GM soloing. The other abilities that other sets bring are, defensively, not that much better than Drain Psyche even on a single target. Yes, they're better, but not tremendously better. Meanwhile, the huge -Regen brings effective damage against AVs that is unmatched by other secondaries, and is even stronger against GMs.
 

You can solo AVs without Mental. But it's far easier with Mental. Same for GMs, but double.

 

For general soloing, the  -Regen is less valuable, and so Mental is just a good set rather than the clear best. But against AVs, it's clearly unmatched.

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13 hours ago, Frostweaver said:

No, /mental is not the be all and end all for solo blastering. It doesn't offer any defense or resist BUT big regen that ONLY helps when you are surrounded by mobs... which, against a GM or even an AV, you won't be. Oh, and a low-mag confuse which you really don't need because of said regen. Mental is absolutely top notch as a farmer, especially since it has insane recovery, but strictly middle of the road for soloing anything but minions and luts. It has some -rech, but doesn't add much in the way of damage compared to other sets. it's -regen is shared by /time, and /plant.

The reality is, Blasters just aren't very good GM killers. We can do it, sure, but  many scrappers, most brutes, a few controllers, quite a few stalkers, most soldiers, and the occasional odd duck defender or corrupter can just do a MUCH better job of it. What Blasters have always done best is cleaning up spawn after spawn... and until brutes came along and basically did everything better than everyone else, Blasters were the absolute best at it.

No one said it was the end all be all, "absolutely recommend" is not saying "only" or "end all be all." I did not state this. Also, of course there will be better combinations suited for that, but that is not the point of the thread. The point of the thread was finding a good build to tackle on GM's/single targeting as a Blaster which is something that is do-able and honestly not something you "need" to go another AT for. Also, I don't really understand the point about other sets being used to kill "beyond luts and minions..." that's what your primary is for, you have a sniper and a high DPA (usually) 2nd hitter (e.g. Blaze) to deal with boss and above foes, also Mind Probe is not bad DPA either so I don't really know what's wrong with this? I've played plenty of Mental and love them, I think you are bashing it. You don't like the Confuse? Skip it, there's lots of highlights to Mental besides that.

 

As for your other post about /Time, no, it is not on the level of /Mental. Your only form of -regen is Time Wall (-25%... also not a great proc monster and has a 1.6s disruptive cast) and Time Stop (disruptive 2.17s cast... only -50% regen, only lasts 9.54s) neither of which are "strong" options. 

 

-250% regen for 30 seconds and only a 1.32s cast would be much less of a burden on a good ST chain (this is half of lingering radiation-level debuff...) (Mental)

 

/Plant is a decent option, it provides a toggle (Spore Cloud) -112.5% regen does not disrupt the chain at all, however, you pay the price with less than half the effectiveness of Mental Manipulation's Drain Psyche. However if a character fits this for a theme better or you personally prefer its attacks, by all means, go for it.

Edited by 3333053222
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18 hours ago, Frosticus said:

This pretty much precludes all but  /mental

drain psyche is hands down the best -regen power available to blasters and probably the only one strong enough to comfortably allow blasters to take on a variety of GM's solo.

You can use a butter knife to pound nails, but a hammer is simply better for the job.

And I am not 'bashing' mental in the slightest. I am simply letting the OP know that there are options that are just as good. and Flooring a GM's regen is not actually that hard. With a few exceptions (Lusca and, I believe, that one in DA) more than -200% is wasted... and in many cases, -heal is just as important (at least for the DE tree monsters). And a LOT of AV's have self heal, most specifically, Romulus is a bear if you don't dump a bit of -heal on him.

I have soloed a LOT of GM's. For stupid reasons usually, but mostly to see if I could.

This was the statement I was refuting. I understand you love mental. Hey, I love ice armor, but I understand that it's not the best in all circumstances. It was a hard lesson to learn.

But the statement that 'this precludes all but mental" was pure Fanboi bullsh**. To be completely honest, if I was making a pure blaster GM/AV Killer, I'd probably use plant instead... better personal defenses against a single target, and absorb is perfect for dealing with dps 'leakage' from a GM or av that busts your incarnates. Although, to be fair, I am a little pissed off that they specifically crippled it's ability to slot -defense sets. I guess it would have threatened Brute supremacy or something if it could slot achilles heel.

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1 minute ago, Frostweaver said:

You can use a butter knife to pound nails, but a hammer is simply better for the job.

And I am not 'bashing' mental in the slightest. I am simply letting the OP know that there are options that are just as good. and Flooring a GM's regen is not actually that hard. With a few exceptions (Lusca and, I believe, that one in DA) more than -200% is wasted... and in many cases, -heal is just as important (at least for the DE tree monsters). And a LOT of AV's have self heal, most specifically, Romulus is a bear if you don't dump a bit of -heal on him.

I have soloed a LOT of GM's. For stupid reasons usually, but mostly to see if I could.

This was the statement I was refuting. I understand you love mental. Hey, I love ice armor, but I understand that it's not the best in all circumstances. It was a hard lesson to learn.

But the statement that 'this precludes all but mental" was pure Fanboi bullsh**. To be completely honest, if I was making a pure blaster GM/AV Killer, I'd probably use plant instead... better personal defenses against a single target, and absorb is perfect for dealing with dps 'leakage' from a GM or av that busts your incarnates. Although, to be fair, I am a little pissed off that they specifically crippled it's ability to slot -defense sets. I guess it would have threatened Brute supremacy or something if it could slot achilles heel.

Words like probably, likely, comfortably... those aren't absolutes so stop treating them as such.

grats on your blaster build.

The new blaster secondaries likely never got a final balance pass. They are a mess for slotting sets.

 

If someone wants to hunt GM's the strongest -regen debuff they have access to is drain psyche. It is over twice as strong as the next closest. -regen makes solo'ing huge bags of hp a lot easier.

Feel free to do as you want though.

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1 minute ago, Frostweaver said:

You can use a butter knife to pound nails, but a hammer is simply better for the job.

And I am not 'bashing' mental in the slightest. I am simply letting the OP know that there are options that are just as good. and Flooring a GM's regen is not actually that hard. With a few exceptions (Lusca and, I believe, that one in DA) more than -200% is wasted... and in many cases, -heal is just as important (at least for the DE tree monsters). And a LOT of AV's have self heal, most specifically, Romulus is a bear if you don't dump a bit of -heal on him.

I have soloed a LOT of GM's. For stupid reasons usually, but mostly to see if I could.

This was the statement I was refuting. I understand you love mental. Hey, I love ice armor, but I understand that it's not the best in all circumstances. It was a hard lesson to learn.

But the statement that 'this precludes all but mental" was pure Fanboi bullsh**. To be completely honest, if I was making a pure blaster GM/AV Killer, I'd probably use plant instead... better personal defenses against a single target, and absorb is perfect for dealing with dps 'leakage' from a GM or av that busts your incarnates. Although, to be fair, I am a little pissed off that they specifically crippled it's ability to slot -defense sets. I guess it would have threatened Brute supremacy or something if it could slot achilles heel.

The part you're forgetting is that Drain Psyche is a scaling ability. It has two purposes: to make you tough against large groups of mobs, and as an AV/GM stopper with -regen. However, against large groups (beyond 4) there is no single Blaster ability that comes close to the amount of survivability it will give you (regen). 

 

Even still, 112.5% vs 250% is a large difference (by more than double), that's quite noticeable, you may really love /plant, but is it really *better* overall than mental for most scenarios? The thing I love about Mental is that it is Psionic damage without the commitment to being purely Psionic. You can crush those Minotaurs and Cyclops, a lot of the T9's in this game are nothing to you, and you get a great DPA attack in Mind Probe, all without having to pursue a Psionic-based primary that's heavily resisted to the majority of the game. I don't see why Plant would be considered so heavily over this other than the Toxins and Spore Cloud. The only thing I see a good argument for is that Skewer can be slotted with Achilles and has a decent DPA making it deal more damage for ST if your primary doesn't already fit an Achilles.

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Meh, I am not married to any secondary. I love Ice, but that's because I intimately understand it's Chilling Embrace clone, and I am very used to using it from my experience with ice armor melees... And I think that the fast-refreshing absorb mechanic is the best thing to happen to Blasters since they added a recovery ability to every set. I only have one, single, water/ice blaster though... compared to 2 Tactical arrows, a dp/time, a rad/mental, and a sonic/plant giant killer. and yes, I literally have the first 3 pages of excelsior filled with fully tricked out level 50's. I work nights as a streamer, so I have like 6 hours a day to kill.

I like pretty much all of them (except devices, but that's a whole 'nother conversation, and I haven't used it since they added field op)  but I don't like to see options closed off because one person is convinced that the set that they started with and played the most with is the 'best'. There are very few bests in this game, and none among blasters. Most blasters are, survival and damage wise, pretty standardised... even outliers like fire tend to equalize once people get fully IO'd and start to bang their incarnates into shape... -res procs and the like.

the 'best' farmer is a rad/fire brute (although spines is a VERY VERY close second). The 'best' GM killer is an Ill/rad or ill/traps controller, the 'best' at surviving most content is a stone tanker, the 'best' at holding aggro is an ice tanker. Outside of that, there are simply not a lot of bests.

There are lots of worsts, though.

Edited by Frostweaver
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Hmmm, so I guess the "general consensus" is that, basically - Fire, Ice, Sonic, or Dark (and about in that order) paired with /Mental is the way to go for this topic?? And trying to be "different" aside and prove that other sets can find a way to do it too....the absolute powerhouse best is...this?....or what?

 

 

I'm curious on this too...

 

Would Beam Rifle fit anywhere into this equation? It has some nice -regen and effects also..

Edited by kiLLaBiyte
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/mental is good and probably what you want, but I agree with the sentiment people might underestimate blasters as a whole.

You need about... 350? DPS to outpace a level 50 giant monster regen, and highend blaster builds can push 500+ DPS at range (I would build for range DPS if you want practical ST DPS, GMs aren't going to stand still without aggro control). GM hunting without -regen is definitely doable for blasters, provided they don't have high resistances to your damage type.

 

And what if they do? Well, we are talking about a level 50 Giant Monster here. So presumably you have Lore pets that should help you dish out the pain (or -regen, yay Longbow).

Under level 50, damage vs HP scaling works in your favor, decreasing the DPS requirement.

I'm leaning once more on Frostweaver's side in liking /ice or /plant for the nice little chunks of absorb they get consistently. It amounts to much more than the +regen you get from sustain powers (against 1 target, in the case of DP), it stacks on top of your max HP, and there's no need to jump in melee range. It's great to have some margin of error against tough targets.

Not required, of course, and players who need less comfort might get greater mileage out of a more aggressive build. I think there's leeway to build a blaster GM hunter in a variety of ways.

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How about instead of talky talky about sets, I SHOW you?



Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.5
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Dryad: Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Secondary Power Set: Plant Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Shriek -- SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(A), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(46), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(46)
Level 1: Entangle -- GrvAnc-Hold%(A), GrvAnc-Immob/EndRdx(48), GrvAnc-Acc/Rchg(48), GrvAnc-Acc/Immob/Rchg(48), GrvAnc-Immob/Rchg(50)
Level 2: Scream -- Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(3), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Dcm-Build%(9)
Level 4: Strangler -- BslGaz-Slow%(A), BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(5), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(5), BslGaz-Acc/Hold(7)
Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9)
Level 8: Shockwave -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), Ann-ResDeb%(15), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(17), Ann-Acc/Dmg(17), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Ann-Dmg/Rchg(19)
Level 10: Toxins -- GssSynFr--Build%(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(11), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(11), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(13), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(13), GssSynFr--ToHit(15)
Level 12: Amplify -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 16: Shout -- SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(31), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(31)
Level 18: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A)
Level 20: Wild Fortress -- Prv-Heal/Rchg(A), Prv-Heal(21), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(21), PrfShf-End%(23), PrfShf-EndMod(23)
Level 22: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(31), UnbGrd-Max HP%(33), UnbGrd-ResDam(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(34), Ksm-ToHit+(37), LucoftheG-Def(37), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(37)
Level 26: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 28: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 30: Super Jump -- BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel(34)
Level 32: Dreadful Wail -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(45)
Level 35: Vines -- BslGaz-Slow%(A), BslGaz-Acc/Hold(36), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(36), BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(36)
Level 38: Spore Cloud -- DarWtcDsp-Slow%(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(39), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(39), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(39)
Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- Rct-ResDam%(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Rct-Def/Rchg(42), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(42), Rct-Def/EndRdx(43), Rct-Def(43)
Level 44: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 47: Ripper -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), Obl-Dmg(50), Obl-Acc/Rchg(50)
Level 49: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Qck-EndRdx/RunSpd(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(25)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(25)
Level 50: Agility Core Paragon
Level 50: Void Radial Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Core Flawless Interface
Level 50: Longbow Radial Superior Ally
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany
Level 50: Melee Radial Embodiment
------------

 


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