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Dual Pistols/Super Reflexes


pyro32

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Hey all, so I'm a returning/new player (played a little before the server shutdown but wouldn't say avid...) Anyways I decided to run Dual Pistols because it was my favourite power before the shutdown and I picked SR as my secondary (couldn't resist sentinel after seeing the new archetype). But, I was wondering if I could get a little help with my enchantment slots? All I ask is that 3 goes to teleport cause I intend to take that as my travel power with the teleport enchantment set that grants stealth for a short time. 

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Hey Pyro. DP/SR is one of my fave toons. DP is probably my favourite attack set and SR is also my favourite Sentinel secondary (Nin a close second). 

Sent secondaries are extremely effective IMHO. that you don't need to 6-slot them. a lot of them can keep you alive with just 2, but I usually slot 3 or 4 to manage end consumption. Unless, of course, you're into the min/maxing thing, which I am not... that should leave you with enough slots for your travel power.

Also, take a look at Experimentation Speed of Sound. 1) it increases your speed a great deal. 2) It gives you Jaunt, which is a TP if you like TP, and its version of TP animates faster than Teleport or Mystic Flight's Translocation. Downside is, it guzzles end like there's no tomorrow. So I usually pick this up a little later in the game (15+). I slot Celerity Stealth + Celerity End (for a nice set bonus) and another end redux IO. With Speed of sound, you don't need to have Sprint on (which adds to your end consumption) and you can turn it off for escort missions which slows you down and makes you visible in one click... for those slow AF NPCs. 

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This is not a demanding combo on slots.  So you're in luck.  

Super Reflexes: 

Focused Fighting, Focused Senses, Evasion = At least 3 total slots.  Devote to 1 end plus 2 defense SOs/Common IOs OR a Defense, Defense/End, Defense/End/Recharge (or Defense/Recharge depending on how you feel on endurance consumption).  

 

Take 1 of Boxing or Kick (the choice doesn't matter).  Take Tough and at least 2 slot it.  Socket the Steadfast and Gladiator's Armor 3% to all defense uniques (+6% to all defenses!).  

Take Weave.  Slot it in the same manner as your SR toggles.  Do the same for Maneuvers.  

 

Dodge and Agile can be fine on just the default slot.  Both of the Sentinel Archetype Origin (ATO) sets offer boosts to melee and range defense.  So you can pick up the leftovers there and in other set bonuses.  

That'll get you 41.04% smashing and lethal defense with 45.1% AoE defense.  I'm not sure what version of Mids you have, but Evasion's true value can be higher than what some versions show.  Essentially, Evasion on Sentinels works the same as it does for Stalkers.  It is Evasion + Lucky (the passive power on Brutes/Scrappers/Tankers).  

Other powers... 

Enduring is essentially a stronger version of Stamina and you should consider slotting it with at least 3 slots (Stamina too).  With loaded common IO's these two powers offer you enough passive endurance to really not worry about running dry while attacking.  Malta Sappers can still drain you, but generally end isn't an issue for a lot of Sentinels.  

I highly recommend (as does most of the community) to take Master Brawler over Practiced Brawler.  You can devote as many or as few slots as you like.  

Dual Pistols: 


Core Powers - 

Pistols, Executioner's Shot, Bullet Rain, Hail of Bullets, Swap Ammo.   Everything else is preference, I promise.  

I recommend taking Empty Clips and Suppressive Fire. 

You may skip Piercing Rounds and Dual Wield if you like.  

If you take Teleport (you'll have enough slots for 3 slots easily), and Hasten (only 2 slot it) with Maneuvers plus Fighting Pool; you're done on power pools.  You could take all of the core powers from Dual Pistols, Empty Clips + Suppressive Fire, 6 slot ALL of them, and still have 17+ slots to spare.  

How you slot your powers on an individual power basis is largely preference too, and there are ways to add more damage via using procs (i.e., Lady Grey: Chance for Negative Damage in Pistols and Executioner's Shot) to improve damage beyond the baseline of the set.  If you're not sure about doing that, then that's OK.  Don't worry too much on it now, and just enjoy the ride.  If you'd like to know more, then feel to ask or I'm sure others will point out their individual preferences.  

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Thanks for the help guys, and ya I skipped dual wield thus far been going pistol > suppressive fire > empty clips rinse and repeat. 

 

EDIT: Mids' Reborn: Hero Designer v2.0.6.7

 

Edited by pyro32
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If you like flying, Mystic Flight offers a good combination of flight and teleport abilities. Speed of Sound, while faster with the TP, slows down your running/jet pack (from p2w lady) if you're attacked.

But my other melee toon has Speed of Sound's Jaunt in a macro that makes her tp from one target to the next. beats running after them. 😃 as long as they're unobstructed and in line of sight

 

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  • 2 weeks later

A little thing about Jaunt I've noticed the other night. I have it on a macro to select nearest target alive (beats running after them), so kill, jaunt to the next, repeat. but last time I used it on my melee toon, it would TP me away from the fight. I'd be in the middle, kill the creep, press the macro (see the next victim selected... with no obstruction between me and him... and boom I appear 20 feet away in a random direction away from where all the fighting is. happened several times in one night of playing. haven't played my toon since that time, so I haven't recreated the behaviour yet. could be my connection was laggy at the time??? could be my machine needing a restart. I don't know.

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This is my DP/SR 'cheap version'

It is designed to run MoITF's with a small team, and to do most of Maria's arc solo at +3/8.
It also does well in DA at +2/8 (more than that and you start missing too much)

 

This is a 'melee sentinel', meaning that most of it's utility is at point blank or very short range. When you click hail of bullets, your defense instantly hits incarnate softcap, and is at normal softcap most of the time. Mind Probe is a melee attack.

Brawler is up most of the time, and should be used at a little over half health. At that point, you are capped for resistance, capped for defense, and have a healthy absorb pool... that is your 'fighting level' and between that and enduring's power transfer heal you should be nice and toasty at 800 HP the whole time.
I personally happen to be fond of the superspeed-teleport thing, but you can swap if you want.  Mind link is basically perma, which is a nice buff for your teammates too.

If you feel the need, you can replace unbreakable constraint's proc with an accuracy IO. It drops the damage a bit, but might be worth it for +4 AV's

And like I said, it's cheap... only 1 vrare (proc hold damage) and 3 pvp in the whole build.

 

 

 


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!

Level 50 Science Sentinel
Primary Power Set: Dual Pistols
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: zn_Experimentation
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Pistols -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(3), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(3)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(5), Ksm-ToHit+(5), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(7)
Level 2: Focused Senses -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(7)
Level 4: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 6: Empty Clips -- SprOppStr-Rchg/+Opportunity(A), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprOppStr-Dmg/Rchg(15), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg(15)
Level 8: Speed of Sound -- Clr-Stlth(A), WntGif-RunSpd/Jump/Fly/Rng/EndRdx(17), Clr-EndRdx(17), WntGif-RunSpd/Jump/Fly/Rng(19)
Level 10: Suppressive Fire -- Dcm-Build%(A), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Dcm-Acc/Dmg(21), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(21), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(23)
Level 12: Bullet Rain -- SprSntWar-Rchg/+Absorb(A), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), SprSntWar-Dmg/Rchg(27), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg(27)
Level 14: Master Brawler -- Prv-Heal/Rchg(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(29), Prv-Absorb%(29), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(31), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(31), Prv-Heal(31)
Level 16: Enduring -- PwrTrns-+Heal(A), PwrTrns-EndMod(33), PwrTrns-Dam/EndMod(33)
Level 18: Swap Ammo
Level 20: Dodge -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(33)
Level 22: Executioner's Shot -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(34), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Dcm-Acc/Dmg(36), TchofLadG-%Dam(36)
Level 24: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(36), UnbGrd-Max HP%(37), UnbGrd-ResDam(37), GldArm-3defTpProc(37), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(39)
Level 28: Quickness -- Flight-I(A)
Level 30: Agile -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(39)
Level 32: Hail of Bullets -- Obl-%Dam(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(40), Obl-Dmg(40), FrcFdb-Rechg%(42)
Level 35: Evasion -- Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Rct-Def(42), Rct-Def/EndRdx(42), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(43), Rct-Def/Rchg(43), Rct-ResDam%(43)
Level 38: Weave -- RedFrt-Def/Rchg(A), RedFrt-Def(45)
Level 41: Mind Probe -- CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg(45), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx(45), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 44: Dominate -- GldNet-Dam%(A), UnbCns-Dam%(46), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(48), NrnSht-Dam%(48), GldJvl-Dam%(48)
Level 47: Link Minds -- GifoftheA-Run+(A), GifoftheA-Def(50), GifoftheA-Def/Rchg(50)
Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Opportunity
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 -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(9), Pnc-Heal/+End(9)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(11)
Level 50: Ion Total Core Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Core Flawless Interface
Level 49: Chemical Ammunition
Level 49: Cryo Ammunition
Level 49: Incendiary Ammunition
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon
------------

 

 

 

 

Edited by Frostweaver
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Great thing about SR is you can defense cap all positional defenses..  Which means you can do 3/8 easy.. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later
  • 5 months later
  • 9 months later

So I cobbled this together from reading tons of posts. I'm pretty happy with it, but I am under Def caps. If anyone has a recommendation where you would free up 2 slots for the T1,T2 defense toggles, I'm all ears. 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.5.9
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Slitherin Sidewinder: Level 50 Mutation Sentinel
Primary Power Set: Dual Pistols
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Ninja Tool Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Pistols -- SprOppStr-Dmg/Rchg(A), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg(7), SprOppStr-Rchg/+Opportunity(9), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(5)
Level 2: Empty Clips -- OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(A), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(11), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(13), FrcFdb-Rchg/EndRdx(13), FrcFdb-Dmg/KB(15), FrcFdb-Rechg%(15)
Level 4: Focused Senses -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(40)
Level 6: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 8: Swap Ammo 
Level 10: Master Brawler -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(17), Mrc-EndRdx/Rchg(17), Mrc-Heal/Rchg(34), Mrc-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 12: Bullet Rain -- Rgn-Acc/Rchg(A), Rgn-Dmg(19), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(19), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), FrcFdb-Rechg%(23)
Level 14: Kick -- FrcFdb-Acc/KB(A), ExpStr-Dam%(46)
Level 16: Tough -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(39), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(39), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(40)
Level 18: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42), LucoftheG-Def(43), Ksm-ToHit+(50)
Level 20: Suppressive Fire -- BslGaz-Slow%(A), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(27), SprEnt-Rchg/AbsorbProc(31), SprEnt-Acc/Hold(33), NrnSht-Dam%(33)
Level 22: Executioner's Shot -- Apc-Acc/Rchg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(25), Apc-Dmg(25), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Apc-Dam%(40)
Level 24: Agile -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(42), Krm-ResKB(46)
Level 26: Enduring -- PrfShf-End%(A), SynSck-EndMod(34), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(34), PrfShf-EndMod(37)
Level 28: Piercing Rounds -- Ann-Acc/Dmg(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg(29), ImpSwf-Rng/Slow(29), ImpSwf-Dmg/Slow(31), ImpSwf-Dam%(31), Ann-ResDeb%(42)
Level 30: Quickness -- Run-I(A)
Level 32: Dodge -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(45), GifoftheA-Run+(46)
Level 35: Hail of Bullets -- SprSntWar-Rchg/+Absorb(A), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg(36), SprSntWar-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), FrcFdb-Dmg/KB(37), FrcFdb-Rechg%(37)
Level 38: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 41: Evasion -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(43), ShlWal-Def(43)
Level 44: Maneuvers -- Rct-ResDam%(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(45), Rct-Def(45)
Level 47: Tashibishi -- OvrFrc-Dam/KB(A), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(48), OvrFrc-End/Rech(48), ImpSwf-Dam%(48), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(50), PcnoftheT--Rchg%(50)
Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Opportunity 
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(5)
Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PwrTrns-+Heal(3), PwrTrns-EndMod(3)
Level 6: Speed Phase 
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon 
Level 50: Ion Radial Final Judgement 
Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany 
Level 50: Assault Radial Embodiment 
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion 
Level 50: Task Force Commander 
Level 50: Vanguard Medal 
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve 
Level 8: Chemical Ammunition 
Level 8: Cryo Ammunition 
Level 8: Incendiary Ammunition 
------------

Edited by BazookaTwo
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7 hours ago, BazookaTwo said:

So I cobbled this together from reading tons of posts. I'm pretty happy with it, but I am under Def caps. If anyone has a recommendation where you would free up 2 slots for the T1,T2 defense toggles, I'm all ears. 

 

There are several decisions that I frankly don't understand.  

 

1) You're under on defense because you're not using the 3% defense to all uniques.  You could easily slot Tough with the 1 Steadfast that is Resist/End (for some sustain help) + the 3% defense to all.  The 3rd slot can be for the Gladiator's 3%.  That'll get you +6% to all.  You will lose some of the endurance reduction and the energy resistance. 

2) Point 1 leads me to this, I think you're chasing resistances at an expense for very little gained.  For Sentinels, the combo of having high defenses (at least softcap) plus Master Brawler's absorb is surprisingly durable.  You could even add another fun layer with Destiny Incarnates like Rebirth to heal whatever actually hits you later *or* take on Barrier.  Super Reflexes is a little glass cannon-y in concept but really the Sentinel version is fairly tough.  I'd suggest trying to focus on things like Recharge and Defense.  

3) I think some of the breaking up of sets like Overwhelming Force are also a bit of a waste.  You're getting 12% regen... 'meh' and 3% damage... 'double meh'.  Keep in mind how damage buffs work.  They buff your *base* damage.  You're looking at the possibility of stacking a bunch of small-ish damage buffs to fundamentally account for what is effectively less than the value of a regular damage enhancement.  Sure, this can add on once you've hit ED in slotted powers, but you're still only effecting the base damage.  In other words, you're looking at about 3 pts of damage if the base value of a power is 100.  This is why damage procs get spoken about so much.  If a proc has 30% chance to grant you 71 damage, then its average is 21 damage.  Hopefully, that adds some context on why people may slot for procs vs pushing that one extra slot for a 3% damage boost.  

4) The slotting of Hail of Bullets doesn't make a lot of sense.  First off, you're not going to be consistently running 257% global recharge.  MIDs, by default, turns on your procs.  Unless you're actually triggering all of those Force Feedbacks your actual recharge is going to be an average of your baseline plus the uptime of that proc.  That proc, as you have it, is going to rely on enemy density so there is a level attrition you may be missing (or maybe I am missing your intent).  The 5th slot of the Ward set would raise your melee defense to 44.7% easy-peasy.  The 6th slot would get you 10% more global recharge and work towards making you less reliant on Force Feedback (which you are heavily reliant on now).  There are a couple slotting options for Hail of Bullets that I personally like.  1) Use either of the full ATO sets.  The Ward set is better here than the Opportunity set, in my opinion.  2) For better damage, you could opt for 5pc Armageddon + Fury of the Gladiator -20% res proc *or* Force Feedback.  Armageddon gets you a nice purple quality fire damage proc that has a high chance to trigger given the base recharge of the power.  In other words, it should go off most of the time.  

5) Ragnarok in Bullet Rain is OK, I guess. Overall, Ragnarok is not a great set.  You're not in any danger of exceeding the 5 copies of the 10% recharge bonus.  So, you could dump that set and switch it for the Ward Set out of Hail of Bullets and include Armageddon that way.  Net gains, more damage for Hail, better defense to melee, and 10% more recharge.  

6) Empty Clips could keep the frankslotting you have, or you just put a set in there for some ranged defense if you like.  I don't see a lot of value in how you have it set up right now.  Additionally, you could slot the full Opportunity Strikes set in Empty Clips and do something different with Pistols.  Up to you.  

7) Do you actually use Kick in combat?  If you're looking for a slot to steal, that Explosive Strikes slot is one.  That is only going to add an average damage of 8pts.  That Force Feedback proc there is worth even less if you never actually use Kick but some folks love this strategy.  I don't even slot Boxing or Kick on my power bar and so I don't ever bother enhancing it with anything.  
8 ) You don't need the Karma KB protection in Agile.  Master Brawler should grant you enough KB protection. 

9) I'm not sure there is a lot of value in how you have Suppressive Fire set up.  The duration of the hold is like 2 seconds.  I don't find it worth enhancing.  I get the damage procs, do that, but the utility slotting doesn't make sense to me.  That said, I am very much for trying to end fights faster vs worrying about locking down enemies.  I personally don't find a lot of creative room to make utility powers in the Sentinels work because their base durations are pretty crappy.  I have other characters better suited to that kind of gameplay so I just avoid it here.  

10) I'm not fond of 6pc Apocalypse but I get it if you're worried about resistance.  Still, see my early comment on high defense plus absorb. 

11) Do you need Piercing Rounds?  Want, I can understand, but need it?  What is confusing here is that it looks like some of the slotting is going out of your way to make really strong powers suck and sucky powers even worse.  Right now, Piercing Rounds is your second highest damage attack.  However, your single target attack options aren't that coherent.  You could leverage a chain of just Pistols, Suppressive Fire (if it were slotted better for damage), and Executioner's Shot OR Pistols, Executioner's Shot and Piercing Rounds.  As it stands, you can't really do either without 100% uptime on Force Feedback (see the problem?).  In order for Piercing Rounds to make a gapless/comfortable attack sequence it needs to recharge in the time it takes to run Pistols -> Executioner's Shot -> Pistols.  That's 4.224 seconds, by the way.  You're at 5.1 seconds which creates downtime.  You're either going to fill this time with Pistols or Suppressive Fire which is a damage loss.  If you pushed more global recharge without Force Feedback, and leveraged procs better in Suppressive Fire, you could completely dump Piercing Rounds and average a slight damage gain.  This is because the current attack animation time of Piercing Rounds becomes a drag on Sentinel DPS in particular.  This is made worse by how Sentinel Piercing Rounds has less side benefit than it does on any other AT (its standard ammo mode is weaker than all versions that exist and it doesn't actually exceed the value of Incendiary Ammo; at least in solo play).  

12) You're past the 5 versions of 12% regeneration in set bonuses so the slotting of Master Brawler could use some work.  Also, you're missing out on the Numina Regen/Recovery proc in Health, so I'd look for a slot to include that too.  For Master brawler, you may as well go for one of the 3 sets that net you more recharge.  Either full 6pc Preventative Med, or 5pc Panacea or Doctored Wounds.  I get the stacking of resistance that appears to being achieved here, but again... see my early points.  

Obviously none of the above matters one spit if you don't care about whatever difficulty you currently feel happy with.  However, I do in fact play this power combo, and I can assure you it can add around 100 DPS to its gains with some significant changes.  Most of that change is really just a different focus.  That is, focusing less on trying to cover resistances, and more on building up the strength of the pair which is faster shooting.  In order to get faster you need more recharge and Super Reflexes can enable this in spades.  It is really good at both defense and recharge.  It is not good, at all, in stacking resistance.  

 

 

 

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On 8/29/2021 at 11:35 PM, BazookaTwo said:

So I cobbled this together from reading tons of posts. I'm pretty happy with it, but I am under Def caps. If anyone has a recommendation where you would free up 2 slots for the T1,T2 defense toggles, I'm all ears.

 

As noted by Oldskool above, you could make lots of beneficial changes.  If you want to achieve decent resists, too, it can be done to an extent.  Here is my build-plan to compare to.

 

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.6.0
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Sentinel
Primary Power Set: Dual Pistols
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Leaping

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Dual Wield -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:36(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg:36(3), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx:36(3), ImpSwf-Dam%:10(5), ExpStr-Dam%:10(5), GldJvl-Dam%:10(7)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx:50(A), ShlWal-Def/Rchg:50(7), ShlWal-Def:50(9), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(9)
Level 2: Focused Senses -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx:50(A), ShlWal-Def/Rchg:50(11), ShlWal-Def:50(11), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(13)
Level 4: Agile -- Rct-Def:39(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:39(50), Rct-Def/Rchg:39(50)
Level 6: Suppressive Fire -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(13), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg:50(15), NrnSht-Dam%:10(15), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%:20(17), UnbCns-Dam%:50(17)
Level 8: Swap Ammo
Level 10: Master Brawler -- Prv-Heal:39(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:39(19), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg:39(19), Prv-Heal/Rchg:39(21), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx:39(21), Prv-Absorb%:20(23)
Level 12: Bullet Rain -- SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprSntWar-Dmg/Rchg:50(23), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(25), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(25), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), SprSntWar-Rchg/+Absorb:50(27)
Level 14: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-Travel:39(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx:39(29)
Level 16: Enduring -- PwrTrns-+Heal:21(A), PrfShf-End%:21(29), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:39(31)
Level 18: Executioner's Shot -- Apc-Dmg:50(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Apc-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(34), Apc-Dam%:50(34), AchHee-ResDeb%:10(34)
Level 20: Dodge -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:39(A)
Level 22: Kick -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc:10(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(36), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:36(36), UnbGrd-ResDam:36(36), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:36(37), UnbGrd-Max HP%:20(37)
Level 26: Weave -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx:50(A), ShlWal-Def/Rchg:50(37), ShlWal-Def:50(39), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39)
Level 28: Quickness -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- Rct-Def:36(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:36(39), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:36(40), Rct-Def/Rchg:36(40), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:36(40), Rct-ResDam%:20(42)
Level 32: Hail of Bullets -- Arm-Dmg/Rchg:50(A), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Arm-Acc/Rchg:50(42), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), Arm-Dam%:50(43), FuroftheG-ResDeb%:10(43)
Level 35: Evasion -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx:50(A), ShlWal-Def:50(45), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(45), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:10(45)
Level 38: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit:36(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg:36(46), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:36(46), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx:36(46), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx:36(48), GssSynFr--Build%:21(48)
Level 41: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:36(A)
Level 44: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:25(A)
Level 47: Evasive Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+:25(A)
Level 49: Group Fly -- WntGif-ResSlow:10(A)
Level 1: Opportunity
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-EndRdx:39(A), Clr-RunSpd:39(50)
Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End:10(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+:30(31), Mrc-Rcvry+:20(31), RgnTss-Regen+:10(48)
Level 1: Stamina -- PwrTrns-+Heal:21(A), PrfShf-End%:21(33)
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon
Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface
Level 50: Assault Radial Embodiment
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 8: Chemical Ammunition
Level 8: Cryo Ammunition
Level 8: Incendiary Ammunition
Level 14: Afterburner
------------

 


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edit:  Just realized I misspelled Oldskool's name.  Corrected.

Edited by Caulderone
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21 hours ago, oldskool said:

 

There are several decisions that I frankly don't understand.  

 

1) You're under on defense because you're not using the 3% defense to all uniques.  You could easily slot Tough with the 1 Steadfast that is Resist/End (for some sustain help) + the 3% defense to all.  The 3rd slot can be for the Gladiator's 3%.  That'll get you +6% to all.  You will lose some of the endurance reduction and the energy resistance. 

2) Point 1 leads me to this, I think you're chasing resistances at an expense for very little gained.  For Sentinels, the combo of having high defenses (at least softcap) plus Master Brawler's absorb is surprisingly durable.  You could even add another fun layer with Destiny Incarnates like Rebirth to heal whatever actually hits you later *or* take on Barrier.  Super Reflexes is a little glass cannon-y in concept but really the Sentinel version is fairly tough.  I'd suggest trying to focus on things like Recharge and Defense.  

3) I think some of the breaking up of sets like Overwhelming Force are also a bit of a waste.  You're getting 12% regen... 'meh' and 3% damage... 'double meh'.  Keep in mind how damage buffs work.  They buff your *base* damage.  You're looking at the possibility of stacking a bunch of small-ish damage buffs to fundamentally account for what is effectively less than the value of a regular damage enhancement.  Sure, this can add on once you've hit ED in slotted powers, but you're still only effecting the base damage.  In other words, you're looking at about 3 pts of damage if the base value of a power is 100.  This is why damage procs get spoken about so much.  If a proc has 30% chance to grant you 71 damage, then its average is 21 damage.  Hopefully, that adds some context on why people may slot for procs vs pushing that one extra slot for a 3% damage boost.  

4) The slotting of Hail of Bullets doesn't make a lot of sense.  First off, you're not going to be consistently running 257% global recharge.  MIDs, by default, turns on your procs.  Unless you're actually triggering all of those Force Feedbacks your actual recharge is going to be an average of your baseline plus the uptime of that proc.  That proc, as you have it, is going to rely on enemy density so there is a level attrition you may be missing (or maybe I am missing your intent).  The 5th slot of the Ward set would raise your melee defense to 44.7% easy-peasy.  The 6th slot would get you 10% more global recharge and work towards making you less reliant on Force Feedback (which you are heavily reliant on now).  There are a couple slotting options for Hail of Bullets that I personally like.  1) Use either of the full ATO sets.  The Ward set is better here than the Opportunity set, in my opinion.  2) For better damage, you could opt for 5pc Armageddon + Fury of the Gladiator -20% res proc *or* Force Feedback.  Armageddon gets you a nice purple quality fire damage proc that has a high chance to trigger given the base recharge of the power.  In other words, it should go off most of the time.  

5) Ragnarok in Bullet Rain is OK, I guess. Overall, Ragnarok is not a great set.  You're not in any danger of exceeding the 5 copies of the 10% recharge bonus.  So, you could dump that set and switch it for the Ward Set out of Hail of Bullets and include Armageddon that way.  Net gains, more damage for Hail, better defense to melee, and 10% more recharge.  

6) Empty Clips could keep the frankslotting you have, or you just put a set in there for some ranged defense if you like.  I don't see a lot of value in how you have it set up right now.  Additionally, you could slot the full Opportunity Strikes set in Empty Clips and do something different with Pistols.  Up to you.  

7) Do you actually use Kick in combat?  If you're looking for a slot to steal, that Explosive Strikes slot is one.  That is only going to add an average damage of 8pts.  That Force Feedback proc there is worth even less if you never actually use Kick but some folks love this strategy.  I don't even slot Boxing or Kick on my power bar and so I don't ever bother enhancing it with anything.  
8 ) You don't need the Karma KB protection in Agile.  Master Brawler should grant you enough KB protection. 

9) I'm not sure there is a lot of value in how you have Suppressive Fire set up.  The duration of the hold is like 2 seconds.  I don't find it worth enhancing.  I get the damage procs, do that, but the utility slotting doesn't make sense to me.  That said, I am very much for trying to end fights faster vs worrying about locking down enemies.  I personally don't find a lot of creative room to make utility powers in the Sentinels work because their base durations are pretty crappy.  I have other characters better suited to that kind of gameplay so I just avoid it here.  

10) I'm not fond of 6pc Apocalypse but I get it if you're worried about resistance.  Still, see my early comment on high defense plus absorb. 

11) Do you need Piercing Rounds?  Want, I can understand, but need it?  What is confusing here is that it looks like some of the slotting is going out of your way to make really strong powers suck and sucky powers even worse.  Right now, Piercing Rounds is your second highest damage attack.  However, your single target attack options aren't that coherent.  You could leverage a chain of just Pistols, Suppressive Fire (if it were slotted better for damage), and Executioner's Shot OR Pistols, Executioner's Shot and Piercing Rounds.  As it stands, you can't really do either without 100% uptime on Force Feedback (see the problem?).  In order for Piercing Rounds to make a gapless/comfortable attack sequence it needs to recharge in the time it takes to run Pistols -> Executioner's Shot -> Pistols.  That's 4.224 seconds, by the way.  You're at 5.1 seconds which creates downtime.  You're either going to fill this time with Pistols or Suppressive Fire which is a damage loss.  If you pushed more global recharge without Force Feedback, and leveraged procs better in Suppressive Fire, you could completely dump Piercing Rounds and average a slight damage gain.  This is because the current attack animation time of Piercing Rounds becomes a drag on Sentinel DPS in particular.  This is made worse by how Sentinel Piercing Rounds has less side benefit than it does on any other AT (its standard ammo mode is weaker than all versions that exist and it doesn't actually exceed the value of Incendiary Ammo; at least in solo play).  

12) You're past the 5 versions of 12% regeneration in set bonuses so the slotting of Master Brawler could use some work.  Also, you're missing out on the Numina Regen/Recovery proc in Health, so I'd look for a slot to include that too.  For Master brawler, you may as well go for one of the 3 sets that net you more recharge.  Either full 6pc Preventative Med, or 5pc Panacea or Doctored Wounds.  I get the stacking of resistance that appears to being achieved here, but again... see my early points.  

Obviously none of the above matters one spit if you don't care about whatever difficulty you currently feel happy with.  However, I do in fact play this power combo, and I can assure you it can add around 100 DPS to its gains with some significant changes.  Most of that change is really just a different focus.  That is, focusing less on trying to cover resistances, and more on building up the strength of the pair which is faster shooting.  In order to get faster you need more recharge and Super Reflexes can enable this in spades.  It is really good at both defense and recharge.  It is not good, at all, in stacking resistance.  

 

 

 



First off, thanks for the detailed advice! I wasn't deliberately trying to chase resistance.
I do see how reliance on Force Feedback for recharge is a bit unstable. What's equally important to me is HP and regen, because with no heal besides Master Brawler (honestly the only clicks that aren't guns here are MB and Hasten) the extra HP seems to add a survivability factor.

I also was building to tweak overall range, because that combined with cryo ammo's sentinal range boost, means I can fire cones from the back of the team and still hit like a freight train... I'm not afraid to dive into the mobs either though and I tend to, using my AOEs in a stack.

Caltrops/Ionic, then Hail, Rain, and Empty clips. Most Minions and Lts are gone after that, and the great thing with the recharge is Hail/Rain/Clips are ready to go again, just in time for more caltrops. I can stack at least 3 applications of caltrops, so not much is trying to actually hit me while I'm standing on them... I watch things run away and pick them off with single shots after my AOE chain is done. 

I will note that the build I posted originally allowed myself and an elec/elec stalker to run an ITF by ourselves, at +2 or +3/8 (I'll ask the stalk what the diff was next time we bump into each other. I didn't *really* see the DPS value in single target chains until I was chopping down AVs with them. 

So, I made the tweaks suggested, and still under cap for some defenses... but considering my melee and ranged are already at 48% regardless, do the other defenses, really matter in the scheme of things? The tweaks you suggested actually dropped the recharge and damage bonus of the build. Regardless... the resistance hasn't dropped a bit from these tweaks. I really tried to find ways to lessen the resistance for more defense when I was building, but this seems to naturally lean into blowing over the res cap. 


Things I did so far...
I dropped Piercing Rounds, slapped more procs into Suppressive Fire.
Pistols has a 6 set of Thunderstrike now.

With the six leftover slots, I went 6 slots in Master Brawler, 5 in Tough, and the leftover 2 slots went into recharge in Burnout, because hey, why not?

I don't need Vengeance or Tactics after all. 

All this is just done in mids for now... it will take some time to tweak the build and respec in game.  

Edited by BazookaTwo
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7 hours ago, BazookaTwo said:

So, I made the tweaks suggested, and still under cap for some defenses... but considering my melee and ranged are already at 48% regardless, do the other defenses, really matter in the scheme of things? The tweaks you suggested actually dropped the recharge and damage bonus of the build. Regardless... the resistance hasn't dropped a bit from these tweaks. I really tried to find ways to lessen the resistance for more defense when I was building, but this seems to naturally lean into blowing over the res cap. 


Hmmm. Not sure how your non-Force Feedback recharge would have decreased.  When I made the suggestions your build's native global recharge of 140~% went up by 10 the first change I made.  There are a number of ways you can pile on native global recharge with Super Reflexes and still hit soft-cap defense.  So, I'm not sure why you're not capping, or getting real close, to all 3 positions either.  For context, my DP/SR has 195% global recharge without Ageless or Force Feedback (I don't currently use that in my setup at all; don't need it).  My lowest positional defense is AoE at 44.91%.  

The loss of global damage was expected, and predictable, but it shouldn't set you back much if you're optimizing procs in your attacks.  You could lose AoE through-put if you stop using a lot of Force Feedbacks, but that's just personal preference for me.  I don't think it makes a significant enough change to my gameplay to run Force Feedback, but for everyone else YMMV.  

HP and regeneration are a fun thing to talk about.  With Accolades you're looking at 16 hp returned to you per second.  If you managed to push HP upwards closer to 2000 you'd only gain around 4pts more health per second at a regen rate of roughly 240%.  That isn't worth doing in my opinion.  Power Transfer gives me 60 hp and Panacea gives me 65*.  These are procs but they are stable enough that they become significant contributors to my health return in between the times I am actually hit.  On top of that, Master Brawler gives me 400+ temporary health via the absorb.  I tend to find this is enough for much of what I do in the game.  I'm very against stacking regeneration for the sake of stacking regeneration.  There is merit in building up hit points, BUT there is an opportunity cost to that which needs to be weighed.  My Sentinel has roughly the same total HP as my Scrapper and Stalker.  Both of those are also Super Reflexes characters and they too survive pretty well.  However, there is a difference in having Master Brawler that I find noticeable.  Finally, Rebirth Destiny can ramp your base regeneration high enough that the health return becomes much more noticeable.  The ability to both dodge hits and absorb some hits allows Rebirth to pull a lot more weight.  That's why I recommend taking a look at it because it feels really underrated.  It can shine with some builds and Super Reflexes is one of those, in my opinion.  TL;DR, there are better ways to improve health return vs looking at set bonuses for regeneration. 
 

*I feel I need to explain something further here.  Yes, both Power Transfer and Panacea are procs and have a delay in their triggering.  However, they can average out over time to being considered along with my health regeneration.  So two procs grant me 6 health regen per 10 seconds.  It would take me a significant effort to pile on regeneration percentage in order to accomplish the same thing.  Additionally, it would take a lot of HP piling to get close.  In either case of the latter, this is going to come from set bonuses spanning multiple powers.  However, just two power slots with procs accomplish that kind of effort on their own.  That's my perspective on why they become significant contributors to health restoration over time.  The clarity here should help, I hope. 

Edited by oldskool
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So I took your suggestions again, and respecced. I do really like Rebirth Destiny sitting in my tray next to Master Brawler. My ranged and melee positional are now over cap, aoe is at like 38. 

 

I think there's a middle ground between my new build, and the previous one... I think my AOEs still would benefit from force feedback recharge, and a decimation build up proc needs to go into pistols, but if I slot those i lose defense. 

 

The overcapped resistance honestly felt tougher against AVs and GMs, but I am able to wade into a +3 s/l farm and clear the map without dying. 

 

It's a good thing there aren't too many clicky powers needed for survival, though, and the only time I get dropped is when I burn thru my end and my toggles drop. 

 

Caltrops really is the secret sauce though, as standing on a pile of them means I'm safely spamming AOEs until only bosses are left, and they're running across the map by the time I'm whittling at them with single target chain. I might look at more ways to stack -recharge into the build. Degenerative with It's - Max HP + -recharge are both things that are rarely resisted. 

 

Thanks again for the advice!

 

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2 hours ago, BazookaTwo said:

So I took your suggestions again, and respecced. I do really like Rebirth Destiny sitting in my tray next to Master Brawler. My ranged and melee positional are now over cap, aoe is at like 38. 

 

I think there's a middle ground between my new build, and the previous one... I think my AOEs still would benefit from force feedback recharge, and a decimation build up proc needs to go into pistols, but if I slot those i lose defense. 

 

The overcapped resistance honestly felt tougher against AVs and GMs, but I am able to wade into a +3 s/l farm and clear the map without dying. 

 

It's a good thing there aren't too many clicky powers needed for survival, though, and the only time I get dropped is when I burn thru my end and my toggles drop. 

 

Caltrops really is the secret sauce though, as standing on a pile of them means I'm safely spamming AOEs until only bosses are left, and they're running across the map by the time I'm whittling at them with single target chain. I might look at more ways to stack -recharge into the build. Degenerative with It's - Max HP + -recharge are both things that are rarely resisted. 

 

Thanks again for the advice!

 

 

I enjoy the dialog.  My Dual Pistols Sentinel is one of my favorite characters.  I always wanted to like the set before on live, but never did get into it (of course the animation times were worse on its release so...).  Since then, I've played the set on the other ATs too and actively play a Dual Pistols Defender and occasionally a Corruptor.  Its 'meh' on Blasters without blapping and that experiment get shelved for lack of interest.  Anyway... 

You don't *need* Decimation Build-Up proc and most definitely don't *need* it in Pistols.  There was a point where I found it a clever idea, from other discussion elsewhere, that Decimation can potentially be 'OK' *if* you're spamming Pistols in between other attacks.   So, Pistols -> Suppressive Fire -> Pistols -> Executioner's Shot -> Pistols, etc... and repeat into infinity and beyond.  Having this set up also means you need just enough total recharge (global and/or slotted in the power) in Executioner's Shot to have it recharge in 4.224 seconds.  Keeping in mind, this is also the exact same time constraint that Pistols -> Executioner's Shot -> Pistols -> Piercing Rounds has.  

Anyway, the point here is you spam Pistols in order to keep trying to roll the dice and check for that Decimation proc.  The proc itself does not have a very high chance to trigger and so that is why increasing chances is really just tossing more dice rolls.  Is it effective in actual practice?  No, no it isn't.  If you want it to be more reliable, then it should go in a power like Executioner's Shot.  However, Achilles' Heel is better there, in my opinion.  For more consistent damage in Pistols, I'd suggest running some procs and not using recharge in the power (it does not need it).  I personally, I like to use 3 each of Thunderstrike (acc/dmg, acc/dmg/end, dmg/end) and +5 each of them.  Then, I'll use Touch of Lady Grey's Negative Proc, the PvP toxic proc, and the Shield Breaker lethal proc.  Each one has a 28% or 30% chance to go off individually and should average around 19 to 20 damage.  Using the Thunderstrikes, like I do, pushes the enhancement effect from 73% (no enhancement boosts) up to 89%.  ED rolls in at 99%.  You're looking at a step up for a 4th enhancement slot from 89% to 99% or 10% difference on boost to base damage.  Pistols has 52 on its base damage.  What is 10% of this?  If you guessed "5" you'd be right.  So it seems to make some sense that at slot #4 putting an average 20~ damage proc here seems like a better step up than just going for more damage enhancement.  Musculature Core Alpha, the largest bonus enhancement for damage, will let you ignore some ED cap.  However, the strategy above will still get you into 126% total damage enhancement all things considered.  You'll start hitting ED cap again around 134%.  134 - 126 = 8... Still not a huge leap vs the proc.  

 

As I mentioned before, I have 195% recharge (I promise I'm not bragging, I have a point here) which gets me closer to having a seamless sequence of Executioner's Shot -> Suppressive Fire -> Pistols.  This is seamless at 3.03 recharge in Executioner's Shot.  I'm 0.3 seconds off this.  I'm older now, but human perception generally doesn't notice really tiny shifts in second delays like this.  Professional gamers can be an exception and as you get older it may change too.  So, in other words, my Boomer (OK, I'm not that old...) eyes don't really notice and I also personally don't mind.  

The alternative here, as has been shown in other builds, is to use Dual Wield to trigger other procs (Explosive Strikes, Impeded Swiftness, etc.) as an alternative.  This requires even less recharge and still does competitive damage.  Hats off to those that play that way.  I've always had consistently better results with Pistols than with Dual Wield, but again YMMV.  

TL;DR:  There is a specific trick to using Decimation Build-Up in Pistols and in the grand scheme of things it isn't worth doing.  I've found that my average DPS with that proc vs another damage proc has been roughly the same.  In other words, no appreciable benefit to running it vs not running it.  Who knows, your luck may be better than mine so give it a try if you like, but don't assume (like I sometimes do) it is better than it really it. 

Edited by oldskool
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I might diversify pistols a bit, as right now I'm just running a full set of thunderthighs. But really, this character feels godlike compared to pretty much anything I've ever played. I'm having a blast, and now playing ouro arcs for fun and rolling inf into boosters.

 

Last night me and a blaster took on 3 Paladins by ourselves. He died a few times, we killed one paladin, and then he hung it up as "too hard, not enough DPS or debuffs" but the thing is... We had already stood next to 3 angry GMs and killed one, so I felt it was totally doable. I don't need insps to survive at all, but yeah they're handy to have. I might just turn off res/def/breakers. 

I can't wait to T4 Muscular, Rebirth, Degenerative and Ion. 

 

Thanks again, and if you're ever on Reunion look up @hothouse tomato 🙂

 

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A Blaster died and didn't just automatically delete the target from existence by looking at them?  

Say it ain't so!

I tend to slot 3x Thunderstrike, as described above, in Pistols, Suppressive Fire and Executioner's Shot.  This leaves those three powers with 3 empty slots each.  Suppressive Fire can hold the purple Unbreakable Constraint proc, and two other damage ones of your choice (either psionic in hold powers or toxic in damage from the PVP).  Pistols I already described.  For Executioner's Shot I run it slightly differently.  I run the Apocalypse negative damage proc, Achilles' Heel for resistance debuff, and one damage proc (your choice but I like Toxic or Lady Grey for more negative).  I have enough recharge that Executioner's Shot doesn't need a full set and this is why I run the loadout I do.  

I use the ATOs in Empty Clips and Bullet Rain, all 6pcs of both, and Armageddon plus pvp resist debuff in Hail of bullets.  You could sub in a Force Feedback there for faster AoE recharge if that is your preference.  

My Defender runs Force Feedbacks in most powers even ones like Executioner's Shot and Dual Wield.  You can get real creative with the set and that is why I like it so much.  My slotting isn't necessarily the highest possible damage but it is a good balance of certain bonuses, enhancement, and procs.  

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