What support sets are best for Corruptors?

[Menelruin]

I often see mentioned in guides to different support sets how one or another is really better for Defenders, because the effects just aren't strong enough on Corruptors.  I know certain blast sets are best for Corruptors because of how they interact with Scourge, but what are the better secondaries?  I'm assuming Storm is one, since I see a lot of Fire/Storm Corruptors.....

[Seigmoraig]

According to the March 2020 stats, Kin would be the best support set for Corruptor by far. The new Electric set will probably throw a wrench in these stats down the road once it takes it's place but I doubt it will unseat Kin anytime soon

 

Edited April 11, 2020 by Seigmoraig

[Clave Dark 5]

That's not "best" but "most popular."

[Darkir]

Kinetics and cold are better on a corruptor. It is debatable if storm is better on a corruptor or a defender, but I think it's better on a defender by hair. Time is also debatable, but I think it is stronger in a corruptor.

 

The reason kinetics is better on a corruptor is because you can put yourself and your team to the damage cap on a Corr or Def, but the Corr has a higher cap and better damage scale. This equates to doing about 44% more damage than a defender with the same powers.

 

Cold corrs get sleet at the same -res value as defenders and can still softcap defenses and take soul drain without gimping the build. It is best paired with water for the AoE and heal (which cold lacks).

 

Storm corrs and defs get the same freezing rain, but the defender has an easier time dealing with endurance issues and has more slots to play with after softcapping. Most of the time your damage comes from your storm powers more than your primary (fire might be an exception where it would be a mix of both) and if I remember correctly, defenders primary storm does a little more damage than corruptor's secondary storm. 

 

Time has all the tools you want on a corruptor heals, defense, -res, and slows to keep the mobs close. Farsight is such a powerful buff that you can make a proc build with softcapped defense on a corruptor. It's also super fun to play. Time is a very powerful set and really shines on a corruptor with soul drain because you can perma it pretty easily with hasten and chronoshift.

[Hjarki]

5 hours ago, Darkir said:

Storm corrs and defs get the same freezing rain,

Defender Freezing Rain is -35%; Corruptor is -30%.

 

In terms of seeing Storm Summoning on Corruptors, it's less about it being good on a Corruptor than the sheer power of the set.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Hjarki

[Darkir]

4 hours ago, Hjarki said:

Defender Freezing Rain is -35%; Corruptor is -30%.

Oops, you are correct.

[kiramon]

I’m one of the 157 :3 

[Doc Ranger]

So AR/Traps would be a rare bird.

[Hjarki]

8 minutes ago, Doc Ranger said:

So AR/Traps would be a rare bird.

Most Assault Rifle builds would probably be better off as Beam Rifle - it's a legitimately weak set.

 

Traps has a lot of value, but it tends to be out-of-sync with the rest of the game. If you're solo and can proceed at your own pace, it's a nice set. But the moment you team up, it's tough to keep up and still get the full use out of your powers.

[siolfir]

15 minutes ago, Hjarki said:

Most Assault Rifle builds would probably be better off as Beam Rifle - it's a legitimately weak set.

 

Traps has a lot of value, but it tends to be out-of-sync with the rest of the game. If you're solo and can proceed at your own pace, it's a nice set. But the moment you team up, it's tough to keep up and still get the full use out of your powers.

Traps is better as a MM set where you can place the traps as you go while your pets are doing your damage for you. I've run a DP/Traps Corruptor to 50 and had no trouble keeping up with a team, but my damage output suffered because of the long animation times while placing traps.

 

To address the original question, I'd say the only runaway for "better on a Corruptor" is Kinetics due to the higher base damage and higher damage cap. Time is close due to the ease of softcapping, but Cold (specifically Heat Loss) was stealth-nerfed for Corruptors post-shutdown after it wasn't buffed when porting it to Defenders: it used to be -30% for Sleet and Heat Loss on Corruptors, now it's -30% and -24%. And if you're just taking Cold for Sleet and some defense, Dominators get it at the same level, get the same -resistance, and have plenty of controls to help their survival.

Edited April 16, 2020 by siolfir

[Obitus]

On 4/14/2020 at 12:10 PM, Darkir said:

Storm corrs and defs get the same freezing rain, but the defender has an easier time dealing with endurance issues and has more slots to play with after softcapping. Most of the time your damage comes from your storm powers more than your primary (fire might be an exception where it would be a mix of both) and if I remember correctly, defenders primary storm does a little more damage than corruptor's secondary storm. 

Re: endurance issues, after extensive testing I actually found the opposite to be true.  Corruptors get an excellent +end ATO.  Plop that in Freezing Rain and your FR spam can become nearly free.  I don't recall the exact numbers, but IIRC the builds I compared were looking at about an 8 point swing in terms of the cost of FR.  If you cast it every ~15 seconds (and why wouldn't you?), that works out to about 0.5 EPS.  For reference, unslotted Stamina is only worth ~0.42 EPS.

 

To me, this was a pretty big deal; it was the difference between my Ice/Storm Corruptor being able to run nonstop with just Conserve Power, and an otherwise analogous Storm/Ice Defender having to pace himself under the same conditions.  The former could take Clarion guilt free; the latter made me gaze covetously at Ageless.

 

The point being that there's room for argument on a lot of these issues.  Which AT will suit you better depends on your use case preferences.  For me, solo play is more important than team play; in team play, Vigilance might indeed pull the Defender ahead, in terms of average End usage, but that doesn't matter much to me.  On the other hand, if you're less picky than I am about using Temp powers, then you can work around endurance problems by visiting the P2W vendor every so often.

 

Can't go wrong with a Stormer though.  The AT doesn't really matter.  FWIW, I would caution aspiring powergamers away from the siren song (pun intended) of the Storm/Sonic Defender.  At first glance, this seems like a perfectly harmonious combination, and it is, in principle.  The problem is that Sonic does so little damage that the harmonious mechanics aren't enough to save it.  You end up with pedestrian single-target damage in a solo setting, an unnoticeable debuff advantage in most group settings (which are oriented around AoE), and yeah, every once in awhile you get to pwn an AV in a team setting - but what team can't already pwn an AV?

 

(Don't mind the rant.  I was just really disappointed with Storm/Sonic, lol.)

Edited April 16, 2020 by Obitus

[Uun]

On 4/14/2020 at 12:10 PM, Darkir said:

Time has all the tools you want on a corruptor heals, defense, -res, and slows to keep the mobs close. Farsight is such a powerful buff that you can make a proc build with softcapped defense on a corruptor. It's also super fun to play. Time is a very powerful set and really shines on a corruptor with soul drain because you can perma it pretty easily with hasten and chronoshift.

Alternatively, you can take Power Build Up instead of Soul Drain. PBU makes it easier to softcap defense with Farsight, and also buffs many of your other buffs and debuffs.

[Doc Ranger]

That has been nerfed.

[Uun]

41 minutes ago, Doc Ranger said:

That has been nerfed.

I know it's been talked about. I see nothing in the patch notes or the beta patch notes. Proof?

 

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by Uun

[Doc Ranger]

Whoops...I was thinking of Fade. Correctomundo....