Leveling Tri-Form Warshade

[Redlynne]

Well I mentioned this problem over on my Leveling Tri-Form Peacebringer build, but I can't exactly copy/paste (directly) what was needed from that build for use in a Warshade.

 

So ... I found that on my computer (at least), I can't use $$ in keybinds that also include the bindloadfile command because it BREAKS THE PARSER ... as in the entirety of the bind file will FAIL TO LOAD because the whole thing (before and after the offending line) just utterly "breaks" and fails to load correctly.  Needless to say, this did NOT make me a Happy Kheldian™ since it ultimately meant I needed to reconfigure my bind files in order to be able to play my Kheldians with ANY degree of competency.

 

This is the result of that effort ... an All In One™ bind file.

 

 

 

WS.txt

t "powexectoggleoff Dark Nova$$powexectoggleoff Black Dwarf"
y "powexectoggleoff Black Dwarf$$powexectoggleon Dark Nova"
g "powexectoggleoff Dark Nova$$powexectoggleon Black Dwarf"
tilde "targetenemynear$$targetcustomnext alive Quantum$$targetcustomnext alive Void$$targetcustomnext alive Cyst$$targetcustomnext alive Sapper"
1 "powexectray 2 2$$powexectray 1 2"
2 "powexectray 2 2$$powexectray 1 1$$powexectray 5 1"
3 "powexectray 3 2$$powexectray 2 1$$powexectray 6 1"
4 "powexectray 4 2$$powexectray 3 1$$powexectray 7 1"
5 "powexectray 5 2$$powexectray 4 1$$powexectray 8 1"
6 "powexectray 6 2$$powexectray 9 1"
7 "powexectray 7 2"
8 "powexectray 8 2"
9 "powexectray 9 2"
0 "powexectray 10 2"
right "powexecname Shadow Step$$powexecname Black Dwarf Step"
shift+right "powexecname Shadow Slip"
down "powexecname Shadow Recall"
shift+left "powexecname Nebulous Form"
lshift+lbutton "powexecname Shadow Step$$powexecname Black Dwarf Step"

 

For reference, I have the "q" key bound for "Follow" (only) as part of my standard default keybind set that I use on ALL of my alts.

This means that I can do a quick "tilde then q" while in Dwarf Form so as to emulate the Jackie Chan keybind manually (so to speak) without forcing my Human and Nova Forms to automatically Follow when using the tilde key to select the nearest/most dangerous to me $Target to attack.

[Jolin]

So I am wondering why Gravimetric snare instead of shadow bolt for the extra attack in dwarf form? I know the control is better, but it seems like the ranged attack would be good for pulling in dwarf.

 

Also why orbiting death? It even gets a slot. Is it that good?

 

Thanks!

[Redlynne]

So I am wondering why Gravimetric snare instead of shadow bolt for the extra attack in dwarf form? I know the control is better, but it seems like the ranged attack would be good for pulling in dwarf.

 

The build was posted before I started playing.  I've since rerolled to swap Snare for Bolt on my Warshade, in part simply so as to have a workable attack rotation worth a damn until reaching Level 6 and Nova.  I was also convinced to make the switch after seeing the difference in attack chain performance with my Peacebringer.  So this is definitely another instance of needing to PLAY the game in order to make the informed decisions that affect your builds (and learn from that experience).

 

The thing is, at Level 50 when fully slotted out, Shadow Bolt falls off in usefulness for a Human Form attacking, simply due to how much global recharge is floating around at full build, such that swapping to Snare makes more sense then.  The problem with Snare is that although it does more damage per activation, it's a DoT so it "takes a while" for that damage to stack up and out, resulting in wasted overkill factor.  Still, the Immobilize factor is what drew me to Snare over Bolt to begin with, but the time where that's really an advantage is a lot smaller of a window than I'd been thinking.

 

And then there's the Dwarf factor here on Homecoming, as you cite.

 

Also why orbiting death? It even gets a slot. Is it that good?

 

Because after having played "aura killers" like my Ice/Ice Tanker back on Virtue (and my Warshade, too) I found that Orbiting Death actually offered a surprisingly high return on investment value.  Your attacks will do more damage per activation, but Orbiting Death will deal more damage per endurance than almost anything else you've got (in Human Form) and it will do it nigh constantly while $Targets are around you.  If I had more slots to spare, I'd put them into Orbiting Death.

 

If you've got an aggro magnet on the team, wind up Orbiting Death and roll in close alongside them in Human Form to help them out by Scrapping with them.  Your Mire will boost the damage dealt by Orbiting Death and the "chunks" it takes out of piles of $Targets CHEAPLY in terms of endurance cost (relative to other options) is damage you don't need to produce "later" using more expensive attacks.  Even at low levels (4+) I use Orbiting Death a good deal so as to deal the coup de gras to $Targets that my T1+2 attacks don't finish off immediately.  I let Orbiting Death take off those last slivers of the health bar while I'm already moving on to the next target, rather than trying to burn them down to 0 with active click attacks.

 

So for the way that I play, Orbiting Death is a really good "support" damage power, either when soloing or when in a group.  So for me, at least ... yes, it is that good.

[Jolin]

Makes sense, thanks. I'm going to stick with bolt.

 

I like what you are saying about orbiting death. I moved some of your slotting around to accommodate the two At sets, but I will revisit to get some slots for OD. I like to play up close and personal as well. I have always mained (well since Issue 1, I wasn't there for launch) a Kin defender who's main defense is the massive heal and hoping it lands haha.

[Papaschtroumpf]

I posted my build in a different thread I started but it was heavily inspired by RedLynne's especially because I haven't realized you could buy attuned enhancements at the time and examplaring is important for my main.

I spend almost no combat time I human so I didn't take it for my Tri-Form but it was an important part of my Human build on Live so I agree it's a valid choice if your tri-form is going to spend significant time in human.

The one power I like in human is the hold (Gravity Well I think) as a quick hard hitting power while in human to finish off a threat, neutralize a Q while you approach him stealthed, et... (I slotted mine with damage rather than hold duration).

My other two human attacks are the ones that carry to dwarf or Nova and that you almost have to take.

Someone pointed out that Ebon Eye does more damage than the small Nova attack so when I respec I will swap their slotting.

 

I'm currently working on a 400mil corruptor and an 800.il corruptor alts (levels 41 and 7 currently) but when I'm done I will look at purples/Winter IOs for my warshade and decide if the difference is worth it. I love the franticness of a tri-form warshade and how powerful it is, but the fact that errors can get you to faceplant. It's CoH "hard mode" in the positive sense of the term.

[Maslow]

Considering that Mids/Pine builds are starting to diverge, meaning problems with interoperability of code hashes, it's not all that surprising that you can't code load into your copy to bring things up.  It's part of the reason why I'm hoping that PK will succeed with building a webpage that does the job that Mids has been relied on (for far too long!) to do and which can be provided via URL links to bring up builds in a web browser window.

Who is PK and is there a link to the project or somewhere to talk about it or look?

[justicebeliever]

Considering that Mids/Pine builds are starting to diverge, meaning problems with interoperability of code hashes, it's not all that surprising that you can't code load into your copy to bring things up.  It's part of the reason why I'm hoping that PK will succeed with building a webpage that does the job that Mids has been relied on (for far too long!) to do and which can be provided via URL links to bring up builds in a web browser window.

Who is PK and is there a link to the project or somewhere to talk about it or look?

 

Philotic Knight is the biggest poster on these boards...

 

He's also a desktop programmer who has built out a few tools to players

[kendo339]

very helpful guide Redlynne, definitely has me thinking of giving WS a try. 

quick question on the binds, as those always give me fits.

in an early post on that topic, you posted the following

 

In order to "launch" the system of bind files, all I have to do is be in Human form and copy/paste the following into the chat window:

 

/bindloadfile C:/Program Files/coh/binds/PBHuman.txt

 

do you need to enter that command every time you log into that character?  or does the system remember the most recent bind file you loaded for that character? 

 

 

[Redlynne]

On 8/13/2019 at 7:38 PM, kendo339 said:

do you need to enter that command every time you log into that character?  or does the system remember the most recent bind file you loaded for that character? 

Sorry for the late reply, I lost internet connectivity for the last 5 days.

 

Binds are saved server side, so they're kind of "set and forget" (so to speak) and will maintain continuity all by themselves between logins.  However, that only works if you've got a single bindloadfile for the character.  If you've got a setup with multiple bindloadfiles that get invoked by keybinds (so a Human file, a Nova file and a Dwarf file, for example) that arrangement will only work on your own computer, because the files that get called only exist on your computer.

 

So the system "remembers" your loaded keybinds for you.

I've just got things rigged on my computer such that I can, if needed, revert to a "factory reset" default, load a common to all my alts bindloadfile that does MOST of the work of getting my keybinds all where I want them, and then I simply have to run the bindloadfile that is personalized to each individual character I have.  This lets me not only have backups of all my files but also enables unique personalization of keybinds for each character.  You just "layer" the bindloadfiles on top of each other and the server will store those settings until you change them.

[kendo339]

curious why you have teleport bound twice in the all in one ws.txt file

 

right "powexecname Shadow Step$$powexecname Black Dwarf Step"
shift+right "powexecname Shadow Slip"
down "powexecname Shadow Recall"
shift+left "powexecname Nebulous Form"
lshift+lbutton "powexecname Shadow Step$$powexecname Black Dwarf Step"

 

are you using some combination with the arrow keys?

 

 

 

[Redlynne]

It's because of how I have those same keys bound on my Peacebringer.  On my Peacebringer I've got the right arrow key bound to Energy Flight ... and the counterpart Warshade power is Shadow Step (human form) or Black Dwarf Step (dwarf form).  So I have the right arrow key bound if I want to activate the teleport power but not use it "all in one go" so as to put up the rings and "test" if I can reach places with the teleport power(s).  That gives me a potential "range finding" option with the power that can be cancelled out of before actually teleporting.

 

The lshift+lbutton version of the same thing does it "all in one" so as to teleport to wherever my mouse cursor is on screen upon lshift+lbutton click.  This version completely skips the "show me the rings" aspect of the teleport powers.

 

So I've got the right arrow button bound to do Look Before Leap while the lshift+lbutton bind skips the "where do you want to go?" step and just GOES wherever the mouse cursor is during the click.  Different uses for different purposes when using those powers.  That way, if I try to teleport somewhere and CAN'T then I can at least use the alternative targeting version of the keybind to check to see if where I want to go is a legitimate destination for a teleport, since not all locations will allow you to teleport THERE (usually indicated by red rings when aiming there).

 

Hope that makes sense.

Yes it's redundant ... but it's redundant for a (what I hope is a good) reason.

[kendo339]

very good reasoning Redlynne, thank you for the detailed response.  really appreciate all the assistance you provide, I am constantly learning new things reading through your posts on the various forum sections

[Redlynne]

Yeah, well ... that's because I'm a share the wealth kind of Player, rather than a hoarder of the secrets knowledge type.  It ultimately means that I spend less time playing the game and more time playing the forums (oops).  Still, I have been ... rewarded ... from my Pass It On mentality a few times over already, so maybe I'm doing something right here.  ^_~

[xhaledk]

Might need some help with the keybinds.
Made a dir in my COX folder named "binds"

And when i type /bind_load_file E:/COX/binds/PBHuman.txt

I just get the message: Unable to read in keybind file: E:/COX/binds/PBHuman.txt

 

What am I doing wrong?

[Redlynne]

Try using:

/bindloadfile "./binds/PB.txt"

After the latest round of Island Rum/Tequila updates to the CoH client system, I found I needed to update how I referenced all of my bind files for loading.  Previously, I needed to use absolute pathnames (starting with drive letter all the way through .txt), but after the updates to the 64-bit enabled launcher(s) and client(s) all my bindloadfile commands broke, just like you described.  Switching to the above relative file pathname syntax solved that problem for me.

[xhaledk]

8 hours ago, xhaledk said:

Might need some help with the keybinds.
Made a dir in my COX folder named "binds"

And when i type /bind_load_file E:/COX/binds/PBHuman.txt

I just get the message: Unable to read in keybind file: E:/COX/binds/PBHuman.txt

 

What am I doing wrong?

Seems like it was a tad bit too late for me. Seems like I made a "dumb"!

This is a Warshade. The names is WS. Why did I not notice the names in the command is PB not WS. Sigh

[Redlynne]

That would do it too ...

[Redlynne]

Fair warning ... I'm going to be rebuilding/refactoring both of my Tri-Form builds for v2.0 rebuilds at some point this coming week.

[ColonelMustard]

Appreciate the build & binds, @Redlynne. Most of the builds I've seen focus on post-50 playstyles/content so yours has been very helpful as I level up.

 

Couple of questions for you:

 

1). What's the reason for taking Starless Step @ level 8? I feel like I'm missing something about this power pick.

2). Might be outside the scope of this thread but you mention the build 'evolves' at certain level ranges. Could you talk a little about what your playstyle was like at those ranges? Are you spending most of your 6-20s in Nova form, for example?

[Redlynne]

2 minutes ago, ColonelMustard said:

Appreciate the build & binds, @Redlynne. Most of the builds I've seen focus on post-50 playstyles/content so yours has been very helpful as I level up.

We make every pretense of competency around here ... 

3 minutes ago, ColonelMustard said:

1). What's the reason for taking Starless Step @ level 8? I feel like I'm missing something about this power pick.

It is simply THE best power for dealing with anti-Kheldian Foes (Quantum Gunners, Voids and Cysts) without necessarily needing to take on entire spawn groups all at once (while soloing).  Got a Q Gunner in that group?  Starless Step them away from their friends, preferably around a corner or other line of sight blockage from their original location, and take them down 1 on 1.  It turns them into a cakewalk for you, rather than a trial by fire.  The same applies to Malta Sappers, although they don't appear until the late game, where sometimes it's best to just Starless Step them out into a prepared "patch" of some sort (Trip Mines being an excellent example here) so as to "dispose of them safely" before engaging the rest of a spawn group.

 

Nemesis Lieutenants are obnoxious when they Vengeance buff everyone around them.  Pull them out of a spawn group and defeat them individually, so their Vengeance buff gets "wasted" and you can then defeat the rest of their spawn group MUCH more easily.  This kind of thing works even better on Snipers WHO CANNOT MOVE (their feet are nailed to the ground) and you can park them on ground that is advantageous to you and bad for them.

 

Granted, Starless Step isn't a power you're going to be using ALL the time ... but whenever you come up against a grouping that looks like it would be difficult to tackle either in place or "in parallel" due to positioning/aggro radius you'll be able to use Starless Step to "pick them apart" and defeat them in a location that is much more favorable to You (and anyone grouping with you) so as to take them down sequentially rather than in parallel.  And that's not even including doing things like using Starless Step to "drop" $Targets off buildings (outside) to soften them up for falling damage and so on.  I've even been known to select a particularly hard $Target, move some 150-200ft to a ledge above them(!), Starless Step them UP in the air (where they'd fall a LONG way), shift to Nova Form after using Starless Step and blast them on the way down to the ground while they're falling and then just mop up whatever is left of them after the splat, since falling damage CANNOT BE RESISTED ... and since I did damage to them I'll get the credit for defeating them, even if "environmental damage" was the majority of what took them out.  Remember, environmental falling damage can't defeat them outright in one hit, but if your $Target is at less than Max HP when they hit the ground then environmental falling damage CAN do the job of Finish Them! for you.

 

In other words ... Starless Step allows you to get VERY CLEVER in your engagement strategies, and gives you options that wouldn't otherwise be present when deciding how you want to deal with a particular $Target that would otherwise give you a lot of trouble.  I figure that's worth a One Slot Wonder power pick ... and since Quantum Gunners and Voids are a threat in the early going, I make it a point to get Starless Step to (literally) TAKE THEM OUT as "unfairly" as possible while soloing in the early going.

 

Your mileage may vary, of course.

22 minutes ago, ColonelMustard said:

2). Might be outside the scope of this thread but you mention the build 'evolves' at certain level ranges. Could you talk a little about what your playstyle was like at those ranges? Are you spending most of your 6-20s in Nova form, for example?

Well, from  Levels 1-5 you're limited to the Bolt and Eye attacks.

As soon as you hit Levels 6-19 you're going to be doing a LOT more Nova blasting, and the combination of T2 Human  plus T2 Nova will usually 2 shot most Minions, which is HUGE in the early going!

Once you reach Levels 20-42 and have Dwarf Form you'll have mez protection on demand by shifting to Dwarf form, but you don't finish out slotting Nova form until the early/mid-20s.  Once you've finished slotting out Nova Form you'll want to start slotting Dwarf Form, but with the Level 32+ Human Form powers taking priority it's likely you won't be finished slotting up Dwarf Form until the early 40s (Level 42 in the case of my new rebuild that I'm working on getting posted).

Finally at Levels 43-50 you can finish slotting out your Human Form powers and the whole thing comes full circle ... such that you started with Human Form and finally end your advancement investing in Human Form powers.

 

As for playstyle, it really depends on the demands of the context for the situation.  The key to playing a Tri-Former is to keep your mindset flexible enough to use the Right Tool For The Job™ that you're currently trying to accomplish.  So long as you remember that you are NOT a One Trick Pony™ you'll manage better.

[ColonelMustard]

11 hours ago, Redlynne said:

Lots of useful info about Starless Step

I soloed the Hollows arcs a couple of hours ago and was doing the Frost mission. Last room, there stands Frost surrounded by his buddies and a Quantum.  Lesson learned about Starless Step's usefulness!

 

It is a quirky power, though. Teleporting sometimes aggros the group and other times they'll happily stand still, completely oblivious to the fact that their pal is 100 yards away getting beat down. Lots of ins-and-outs to learn but that's part of the fun.

 

11 hours ago, Redlynne said:

Well, from  Levels 1-5 you're limited to the Bolt and Eye attacks.

As soon as you hit Levels 6-19 you're going to be doing a LOT more Nova blasting, and the combination of T2 Human  plus T2 Nova will usually 2 shot most Minions, which is HUGE in the early going!

Once you reach Levels 20-42 and have Dwarf Form you'll have mez protection on demand by shifting to Dwarf form, but you don't finish out slotting Nova form until the early/mid-20s.  Once you've finished slotting out Nova Form you'll want to start slotting Dwarf Form, but with the Level 32+ Human Form powers taking priority it's likely you won't be finished slotting up Dwarf Form until the early 40s (Level 42 in the case of my new rebuild that I'm working on getting posted).

Finally at Levels 43-50 you can finish slotting out your Human Form powers and the whole thing comes full circle ... such that you started with Human Form and finally end your advancement investing in Human Form powers.

 

As for playstyle, it really depends on the demands of the context for the situation.  The key to playing a Tri-Former is to keep your mindset flexible enough to use the Right Tool For The Job™ that you're currently trying to accomplish.  So long as you remember that you are NOT a One Trick Pony™ you'll manage better.

Thanks! Sounds like I'm on the right track:

1-5: Not many options at these levels, I relied on Ebon Eye and the p2w powers to mow things down.

6-11: Still only two attacks for human form so I'm only occasionally shifting into it to drop Gravimetric Snare on a tough enemy but otherwise blasting away in Nova form.

12: Sunless Mire looks like the next big bump in power.

Edited October 8, 2019 by ColonelMustard