Solo No Inspirations +4x8 MoITF

[Werner]

Thank you for the build and comments. Good to know about the Tanker damage buffs. And I gather Titan Weapons is due for "significant adjustments" on page 6, which sounds like code for "we're lowering the DPS because it is a clear outlier", at which point a DA/TW Tanker might not put out sufficient DPS for level 54 AVs. Maybe I'll hold off until until page 6 and see where things stand, rather than level up and IO out and incarnate and accolade a new DA/TW Tanker just in time to be nerfed back to something I'm perhaps no longer interested in playing. I do have my level 49.7 DM/SR Brute to finish up. I doubt he'll compare favorably to my main, but I want to finish his build and see how he performs out in the real world. There's a lot to be said for incarnate soft cap with 95% DDR. I suppose I should have an actual Tanker in my stable, though, for when my friends want one and nobody else is running one. Or maybe even if he doesn't have level 54 AV DPS, all the knockdown and AoE will be so satisfying I'll prefer playing him. Or maybe a TW/DA Brute. So much Dark. So little time.

[Frostweaver]

I just hope they don't mess with savage on tankers!
right now, my savage/shield tanker can outdamage most non-fire brutes... even at full fury.

I don't want to see them mess with nerfs that much.

[Lex Talion]

Did it with a Huntsbane today. Unfortunately I had to do what I normally refuse to do, namely reslotting a power specifically for a TF. Being a Huntsman means being a Dot on legs and I swear AVs start running on sight already. Had to cap Electrifying Fences for Immobilize and Recharge and spam it in AV fights just to have a chance to get damaging attacks in. Anyway, here goes:

 

 

[Werner]

29 minutes ago, Lex Talion said:

Did it with a Huntsbane today.

Nice! I'm pretty unfamiliar with Arachnos Soldiers and Widows, but it's great to see what a well-built and well-played Huntsbane is capable of. I think I have a Widow at level 11 or something? I really should play him more. He's... the stuff of nightmares. Kinda creeps me out just playing him.

 

[Lex Talion]

That's actually an excellent costume.

[nihilii]

I have never wanted to steal a costume so bad.

[Werner]

2 hours ago, nihilii said:

I have never wanted to steal a costume so bad.

Well, I don't have a backstory for the costume yet, so maybe there's a bunch of us, whatever we are. One of my friends is running the same basic costume but female. Max height, skinny as can be, widest shoulders, weird head shapes, just try to make all the proportions feel wrong. Very, very wrong. Beast run is creepy. Experiment with creepy emotes for standing around.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Werner

[Werner]

I turned up the crazy. Enemies buffed no inspirations no temporary powers no Lore no deaths +4x8 MoITF. As best I can tell, enemies buffed means a 1.5x accuracy multiplier, +50% damage, and 50% status resistance (2/3 duration).

 

 

I used a newer iteration of the build (at the bottom) based on my experience last time, though not specifically geared towards the ITF, just towards general survivability. I added Oppressive Gloom and 4 more points of knockback protection, now 14, hoping that would be enough for the final AV fight, and it was. I believe I lost some fire/cold resistance and some global recharge.

 

In mission 1, I made a mistake when I was only a few Sybils in where I aggro'd two groups when I accidentally hit R and took off flying with my damage and mez auras up. I hit Barrier as my defense went red. Dark Regeneration to get me back in the game. But most of the protection of Barrier expired while there were still far too many enemies around me debuffing my defense. I used Assault to try to clear them faster. I used Void to briefly reduce incoming damage. Red defense, down to orange or red health multiple times, Dark Regeneration recharging just in time to save my life over and over, and finally winning. Exhilarating! Yes! This! This is what I remember! This is what I've been missing! LOL

 

OK, yes, I should've run. Scrapperlock. Brutelock? I unbound R. I can't afford mistakes like that. No serious problems the rest of mission 1. I didn't kill much more than I had to, and I avoided triggering the ambush. No need to make things more difficult... than they had to... be... wait... did I really just say that?

 

Mission 2 went fairly well. It was mostly just slow and tedious, because I was being cautious, clearing each group guarding the crystal, clearing each ambush. There were a couple brief moments of terror when I wasn't quite fast enough with Barrier when I started getting debuffed by the White Nova. And once when I had two groups a little too close together, so I withdrew a little before hitting Dark Regeneration, and I guess I withdrew too far because I didn't heal a bit. But I'd already cleared half the group by then, probably, so I never quite got into the red. 

 

Mission 3 also went fairly smoothly. I started with the AVs, figuring if AVs had been buffed to where they could kill me, I might as well just get it over with. No problem, though. I think I used Dark Regeneration once on Romulus. I don't think I used Barrier at all. Then I took down the computer, fighting the first two waves, then just finishing the computer off at the end. The end bit was a little sketchy, involving Barrier and Dark Regeneration, but it never felt like I was in imminent danger of failing. Then it was time for the generals. I'd had trouble with wandering groups while taking down the generals before, so this time I killed the wandering groups first, then went after the generals one by one. Nothing major to report there. Some use of Barrier and Dark Regeneration, one time I got pretty low on hit points before I got Dark Regeneration off, but nothing too scary other than that.

 

And finally, mission 4 went pretty smoothly as well. I cleared the platform area, took out a few wandering groups to avoid interruptions, and then headed in for the AVs. This time, I remembered to hover so that I could take out the Nictuses... Nicti? The fluffies without worrying about defense debuffs or much damage from Romulus. They could outdamage my passive regeneration, but not by much, so my hit points dropped only very slowly. I used Dark Regeneration twice while killing the first Nictus, then didn't need it the rest of the fight. It was mostly just a slog through the fluffies. Romulus went smoothly. I've barely run the ITF, and never looked it up, so I'm still learning tactics on my own. When he spoke, I'd spam Divine Avalanche to prepare for the ambush, hit Assault once I spotted them, target the Surgeon, and then beat them down. On the first ambush, Romulus healed to full, but I expected that. I took it as an opportunity to take a short rest. Then I just did that a couple more times without taking rest, and he was down. After that, it was just killing a few more Cimerorans to meet quota. 

 

Updated build:

Spoiler

Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Alexei : Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Katana
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Gambler's Cut -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(7)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), GldArm-ResDam(7), GldArm-End/Res(9), GldArm-RechRes(9), StdPrt-ResKB(25), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(50)
Level 2: Death Shroud -- SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(11), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(13), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(15)
Level 4: Murky Cloud -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(21), UnbGrd-ResDam(21), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(23), UnbGrd-Max HP%(23)
Level 6: Hover -- Ksm-ToHit+(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(25)
Level 8: Divine Avalanche -- SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(29), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(29), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(31)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(31), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(31), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 12: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A)
Level 14: Tough -- TtnCtn-ResDam(A), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(33)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- FuroftheG-Acc/Dmg(A), FuroftheG-Acc/End/Rech(34), FuroftheG-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(34), Prv-Heal(34), Prv-Heal/Rchg(36), ThfofEss-+End%(36)
Level 18: The Lotus Drops -- SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(37)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(39), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(39)
Level 22: Weave -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(40), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(40), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 24: Maneuvers -- Rct-ResDam%(A), Rct-Def(42), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(42)
Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- Hct-Dmg/Rchg(A), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Rchg(43), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Hct-Dam%(43), AchHee-ResDeb%(45)
Level 28: Tactics -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(45), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- Arm-Dmg/Rchg(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(46), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Arm-Acc/Rchg(48), Arm-Dam%(48), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(48)
Level 35: Superior Conditioning -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 38: Oppressive Gloom -- HO:Endo(A)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Focused Accuracy -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(50), AdjTrg-ToHit(50)
Level 47: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 49: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
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: Fury 
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Prv-Absorb%(15), Prv-Heal(17), Mrc-Rcvry+(17), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(19)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(19)
Level 0: Born In Battle 
Level 0: High Pain Threshold 
Level 0: Invader 
Level 0: Marshal 
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany 
Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon 
Level 50: Degenerative Radial Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment 
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve 
Level 0: Portal Jockey 
Level 0: Task Force Commander 
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion 
------------

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Edited May 3, 2020 by Werner

[Caulderone]

Might I suggest a new caveat/limitation to make it more difficult?

 

Craft yourself a Tier 2 Cardiac Radial Boost (end redux and resist).  You'll lose 12% end redux, which isn't the point.

You'll lose the +1 level shift, making it so you are actually facing +4s instead of +3s.

[Werner]

23 hours ago, Caulderone said:

Might I suggest a new caveat/limitation to make it more difficult?

 

Craft yourself a Tier 2 Cardiac Radial Boost (end redux and resist).  You'll lose 12% end redux, which isn't the point.

You'll lose the +1 level shift, making it so you are actually facing +4s instead of +3s.

That would unfortunately make it literally impossible due to my inability to dent true +4 AVs after damage modifiers. But other than that, reading up on the purple patch and doing a little quick math, it looks like it would actually be slightly easier that way, assuming I didn't also select "enemies buffed".

 

It appears to me that a +3 has a 1.33x modifier for accuracy and damage. Enemies buffed is a 1.5x modifier for accuracy and damage. I'm unclear if the modifiers are additive or multiplicative, but probably then either 1.83x or 2.00x an even-level enemy. A +4 enemy is only 1.44x, so much less accurate and doing much less damage. However, dropping to tier 2 Cardiac would lower my resistance enough that I'd be taking significantly more damage for that reason. Lethal resistance would go from 84.2% to 79%, so 1.33x the damage getting through, so about 1.92x the damage vs. either 1.83x or 2.00x. Negative resistance goes from 87.4% to 83.1%, so 1.34x the damage getting through, so 1.93x vs. 1.83x or 2.00x. Enemy to-hit would be the same either way. So overall, roughly the same damage taken when hit, but I'm less likely to be hit with the normal +4s. (Edit: oops, was looking at T2 Cardiac Core with the range instead of resistance. Radial wouldn't lose as much resistance, so I'd take less damage from the +4s even when hit.)

 

My mez duration from Oppressive Gloom also looks like it would be about the same either way. It looks like a +3 suffers only 65% the mez duration, and enemies buffed gives 2/3 mez duration. I'm guessing these are implemented as additive resistance buffs of 54% and 50%, with a final mez duration of 49%. That's very comparable to a +4 at 48% mez duration. But maybe that's not how the math works.

 

I'd have lower accuracy modifiers against +4, but I'm running +25% global to-hit and +50% global accuracy, so I don't think it would matter.

 

I think I'm enough over sustainable endurance that dropping to tier 2 Cardiac wouldn't cause an endurance problem. I didn't try to calculate though.

 

I think the +4 defense debuffs would last a little longer, but I don't think that would be as big a factor as their reduced accuracy, so I suspect I'd have less rather than more trouble with defense debuffs. Hard to say.

 

What else is different between +3 and +4? I'm sure I've missed some things.

 

Well, I suppose instead of a bunch of theorycraft, I could try it, and just accept that I wouldn't get past the third mission's AVs. Thinking about it.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Werner

[xl8]

Congrats on your MoITF challenege! Very wd.

Just checked your KatDarkEnergy build out and wondered why you slotted so much for mez resist?

Also, why no build up? Slows the AC?

 

Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

[Werner]

Thank you, and good questions!

48 minutes ago, xl8 said:

wondered why you slotted so much for mez resist?

I was actually slotting for damage resistance bonuses. When you do that, mez resistance just comes along for the ride. So my high mez resistance is really just a result of my high damage resistance, rather than a specific build goal. I suppose it was nice to not be stunned for long after each Nictus went down in the Romulus fight, but since I was hovering out of Romulus's debuff range, it would have been very difficult for them to put me down while stunned regardless. In any case, I wasn't specifically building for it. A good IO to grab if I were building for it would be the Aegis 5% psionic 20% status resistance.

48 minutes ago, xl8 said:

Also, why no build up?

For Build Up, the damage buff can get so watered down on Brutes that it may end up not being worth it. I've not done the math, but I'm guessing it would only add something small to DPS, maybe 3%. There's also the to-hit buff, which is situationally useful, but I'm already running a 25% to hit buff, so the cases where even more would help are probably rare. So other uses of a power pick and slots were just more valuable to me. But I never did the math, so let's do it now. 

 

My DPS chain is Golden Dragonfly -> Gambler's Cut -> Soaring Dragon -> Gambler's Cut, with a two-tick (0.264-second) gap. The chain takes 1.98 + 0.924 + 1.584 + 0.924 + 0.264 = 5.676 seconds. Build Up is an 80% damage buff from base damage. Base damage for that chain is 95.09 + 35.03 + 75.07 + 35.03 = 240.22. 80% of that is 192.176. So while Build Up is active, it adds 192.176 / 5.676 = 33.86 DPS. Let's say I slot Build Up with two 50+5 recharge IOs. Hasten up, recharge is 27.52 seconds, Hasten down 35.17s. I have a gap. This is probably faster than reality, but to keep things simple, let's say Build Up averages a recharge of 28.68 seconds, plus 1.32 seconds cast, for a 30 second cycle. For 10 out of every 30 seconds, I do an extra 33.86 DPS, so over time, that averages +11.3 DPS. It's not much, but it's something. I do 280 DPS now, so that's a 4% buff to damage. Or it would be if Build Up itself didn't have a cast time. But it does. So now I'm doing no damage at all for 1.32 seconds. And in 1.32 seconds I miss out on doing 1.32 * 280 = 370 damage. 370 damage every 30-second Build Up cycle. That's 12.3 DPS I've lost from not attacking. So in the final tally, we would expect using Build Up to actually lower my damage output by 1 DPS! But I've ignored that some of my damage is coming from resistance and hit point debuffs. That'll make the Build Up damage be a little higher than I calculated. It might even draw ahead a little. But if so, we're still probably only taking one or a few DPS ahead. So for my specific build, it would barely help if it helped at all, so it seems a waste of a power pick and slots and clicking effort.

 

Hopefully I got all that right, or hopefully at least the meat of the argument is correct, even if some assumptions or calculations were wrong.

Edited May 5, 2020 by Werner

[xl8]

5 minutes ago, Werner said:

was actually slotting for damage resistance bonuses.

But surely after 4 slots used your close to if not maxed out?
 

 

6 minutes ago, Werner said:

So for my specific build, it would barely help if it helped at all, so it seems a waste of a power pick and slots and clicking effort.

I know you say your build, but would this apply to all brute's mid mob, fury maxed out?

[Werner]

29 minutes ago, xl8 said:

36 minutes ago, Werner said:

was actually slotting for damage resistance bonuses.

But surely after 4 slots used your close to if not maxed out?

I mean the set bonuses, damage resistance set bonuses, not the enhancement values in damage resistance powers. Let's look at Superior Blistering Cold in Divine Avalanche, for instance. One reason I took the set was for the 6% fire/cold resistance. However, taking the set also gave me 10% mez resistance to all. And that's true across most or maybe even all of the damage resistance set bonuses - they come paired with mez resistance bonuses. The build has +26% SL +42% FC +35% EN and +19% TP resistance from set bonuses alone. But in getting those damage resistance bonuses, I happened to pick up 150% of mez resistance bonuses. 

 

Edit: Or am I misunderstanding the question? Are you asking why I slotted 5 pieces of Unbreakable Guard in Obsidian Shield, my mez resistance power? The mez resistance of Obsidian Shield is actually unenhanceable. The enhancement values are for the psionic resistance. As far as why there are 5 pieces rather than fewer, that's mostly for the set bonuses. However, overslotting in this case is valuable even outside of the set bonuses. The least helpful enhancement is the resist/end/rech. If you unslot it, we don't just lose the 3.75% psionic resistance bonus. We also lose another 1% resistance from the enhancement value, despite being in the red on enhancement diversification, because the base value of the power is so high. And when you're approaching the hard cap on resistance, even 1% makes a big difference. It's an uncommon damage type, but still. But anyway, the main point was the set bonuses.

29 minutes ago, xl8 said:

36 minutes ago, Werner said:

So for my specific build, it would barely help if it helped at all, so it seems a waste of a power pick and slots and clicking effort.

I know you say your build, but would this apply to all brute's mid mob, fury maxed out?

Yes, the same argument would apply to any similar build up power on a Brute. The damage buff will be watered down, possibly even to the point of harming DPS rather than helping, and even when helping, it's probably usually very little help. There may still be cases where it's worth taking. The to-hit buff can be useful, for instance. The damage buff wouldn't be as watered down while leveling, or if a Tanker is grabbing all the aggro, or if you have no or little damage from procs and incarnate powers. But start piling on massive Fury and other sources of damage, and Build Up's luster quickly starts to fade. So it's a case by case basis, but in general, yes, I don't think Brutes benefit very much from this sort of build up power. It looks pretty impressive when you see +80% damage buff, but while that's technically accurate, it sure feels like false advertising once you see what it contributes overall in practice. On Brutes. I want to be clear. Brutes. Brutes are special.

Edited May 5, 2020 by Werner

[Troo]

 

 

24:34:55 holy molly

[Rathulfr]

2 minutes ago, Troo said:

24:34:55 holy molly

He probably logged off for awhile and came back to finish it.

[Werner]

25 minutes ago, Rathulfr said:

28 minutes ago, Troo said:

24:34:55 holy molly

He probably logged off for awhile and came back to finish it.

LOL, yeah, that wasn't all at once. I'm slow, but I'm not that slow. I did the first three missions Saturday morning, the last one Sunday morning.

[xl8]

2 hours ago, Werner said:

Or am I misunderstanding the question?

No. I was asking specifically why waste that extra slot when you don't need +1% res, but then you answered it with:

 

2 hours ago, Werner said:

despite being in the red on enhancement diversification, because the base value of the power is so high. And when you're approaching the hard cap on resistance, even 1% makes a big difference.

Thanks again.

[xl8]

3 hours ago, Werner said:

For Build Up, the damage buff can get so watered down on Brutes that it may end up not being worth it.

Is this also the case for Fiery Embrace? Rhyme not intended.

[Werner]

1 hour ago, xl8 said:

Is this also the case for Fiery Embrace? Rhyme not intended.

I think that Fiery Embrace is a different kind of beast. In Mids at least, it's applying a percentage of your already-buffed damage rather than your base damage as extra fire damage. If that's right, and I suspect that it is, then Fiery Embrace is multiplying your Fury, your enhancements, and most other damage buffs. Not procs, but maybe everything else? Maybe someone else can confirm. If so, it's a must have.

[xl8]

On 5/5/2020 at 12:16 AM, Werner said:

I think that Fiery Embrace is a different kind of beast.

Speaking of beasts... Have you played savage melee and would it be worth skipping Blood Thirst for the same reason?

[Werner]

36 minutes ago, xl8 said:

Speaking of beasts... Have you played savage melee and would it be worth skipping Blood Thirst for the same reason?

I haven't played it, so I'm definitely not speaking from experience. But a 33% damage buff to (apparently) base damage for 15 seconds with a 2.244 second cast sounds like a really bad idea for a Brute. However, it also gives you +5 Blood Frenzy. I do not know how useful that is, and it might make it worth taking. Building it through attacks I imagine would be the better option most of the time, though.

 

[InvaderStych]

Don't skip Blood Thirst.  Yes, the animation is long, and it doesn't work like build-up.  Best use is immediately after spending your stacks of Frenzy and thus locked in a state where regular attacks don't add any - ie immediately after hitting Rending Flurry at 5 stacks.  There's a (10 secs?) "Exhausted" delay before you can naturally build Frenzy again.  Pop Blood Thirst in that state and you get all 5 stacks.

 

Skipping Blood Thirst would be like skipping Rage, imo.

 

Wiki is way out of date on Blood Thirst.  Would be interesting to see how it played the "old" way.

Edited May 7, 2020 by InvaderStych

[Werner]

29 minutes ago, InvaderStych said:

Skipping Blood Thirst would be like skipping Rage, imo.

Which I skipped! LOL. But I didn't skip it for numerical reasons. I skipped it because I have more fun playing without it, which isn't at all the same thing. Rage is numerically good.

[InvaderStych]

52 minutes ago, Werner said:

Which I skipped! LOL. But I didn't skip it for numerical reasons. I skipped it because I have more fun playing without it, which isn't at all the same thing. Rage is numerically good.

 

LOL, fair enough.  Fun factor is top on my list of reasons for anything in this game anyway.  Besides, I don't really care for SS - that "fun factor" thing - it just seemed like a good example in the moment.

 

Still though, Blood Thirst: Take it, Slot it with Gaussian's Proc, Love it.

Edited May 7, 2020 by InvaderStych