Most useful Defender build for current fast endgame?

[Peacemoon]

On 5/31/2020 at 4:45 PM, Substaticman said:

I've come to realize some Defenders builds aren't as useful (or at all) with how the game is played now. It's mostly blasters, brutes, and scrappers just face-rolling the screen. Like healing in general doesn't seem too useful. I've seen high praise for rad/sonic or cold/sonic on launch but now people say things die just too fast these days for that to be any help outside of some AVs. 

 

So which Defender builds pull the most weight in the current ultra fast teams, or even solo capability?  I have my eyes on Storm/X or Poison/X.   And if that is the most useful at the moment, what pairs best these it to get the most out of fast groups or soloing?  

 

I have not played a defender much but really want to go all in one. But I also don't want to basically be leeching in end game (cough empathy), or have a rough time soloing.

 

I would say generally speaking a good Defender these days brings some very potent buffs/debuffs (variety generally preferable than one thing done to death), and also focus heavily on attacks and damage.

 

I’d probably lean more to Storm than Poison, mainly due to Freezing Rain. It’s a very very powerful debuff with a fast recharge and a wide area effect. You can’t really go wrong with that power. Steamy mist will give you some stealth and extra resistances. The other powers are useful too.

 

For blast sets try to get a nice single target attack chain and as much AoE as you can get in. Try throw in as many procs as you can.

Char or Dominate at 35 can also double as an attack (use the Entomb proc if you do!)

The Defender ATOs are really good. The set with heal AoE proc is good to 6 slot for the 5% ranged defence and 10% recharge. 
The other ATO set can be split into two, with 3 slots in one power and 3 slots in another. This will give you another +20% recharge. Choose what specific enhancements go where based on what stats you need. 
The procs are really good in single target blasts you keep firing often. 
Also the Defender ATOs bring a lot of end redux in their sets. So it’s good for high costing powers, like snipes, if you try using them as a standard attack. 

Also I’d recommend leadership, particularly Assault as +18.75% damage constantly on is great, and stacks nice with vigilance when solo. Also the Assault hybrid incarnate, which gives another 10%.
 

So try to bring a good variety of buffs/debuffs, and bring as much damage as you can squeeze out and you’ll do very good in today’s fast pace style! 

[DreadShinobi]

On 5/31/2020 at 8:45 AM, Substaticman said:

So which Defender builds pull the most weight in the current ultra fast teams, or even solo capability?  I have my eyes on Storm/X or Poison/X.   And if that is the most useful at the moment, what pairs best these it to get the most out of fast groups or soloing?  

 

Poison is a really good choice for speedy content. You can lay down 85% -res in 1.5 seconds due to the toggle nature of venomous gas and then start blasting away. If you look at -res as "dps" or "-res per second" then certain things become very defining about poison, namely how quickly you can take full advantage of the strongest points of the set and then start contributing to your team's damage output as well. Poison/Fire and Poison/Sonic are both strong choices and also play very differently (I also played Poison/Rad but that's more for funzies, poison/fire, and poison/sonic are stronger), the former capitalizing more on it's own force multiplier for it's own damage, and the latter being played more as -RPS (-res per second) for team/league content. If you look at current endgame content >ms lib, rsf, apex/tin mage, hami raids, incarnate trials, poison does exceedingly well in all scenarios, especially due to the machine gun nature of envenom (you will be able to debuff every warwalker with envenom, you cannot debuff every warwalker with freezing rain or sleet for example). Just keep in mind that -res is only as effective as the amount of damage being applied within the duration of the debuff or until the kill threshold has been met. 

 

I've also been playing a storm/sonic because you can do some silly things to certain AoE AV fights with Burnout. Final LRSF mission, Final tin mage fight, Ms lib tf patrons, Hami raids (Monsters or Burn phase), and BAF to a lesser extent. Being able to Freezing rain, lightning storm, tornado, and dreadful wail and then do it twice is insanely good for killing multiple AVs at the same time. 2x Dreadful wails is aoe max -60% res (20+20+fury of gladiator), 2x Freezing Rains is 35+35 -res (you can 3 stack with burnout for -105% res), and a potential achilles heel in either FR or Tornado, then add on screech/shriek/howl debuffs. Great in these specific situations where you can unload everything, and things will actually live long enough for it to matter, even if you have 6 fire blasters on your team. Outside of these situations with multiple AVs, I feel the poison performs better, but dropping all your stormie cooldowns 2-3 times sure is fun.

Edited June 8, 2020 by DreadShinobi

[Rillion]

I've no applicable experience with this, but as much as Trick Arrow/Archery gets criticized and mocked, it IS meant to be good as a pure ranged AT combo.

 

I think it's a bit of a late bloomer- perhaps someone more informed can feed back? 

[Peacemoon]

11 hours ago, Rillion said:

I've no applicable experience with this, but as much as Trick Arrow/Archery gets criticized and mocked, it IS meant to be good as a pure ranged AT combo.

 

I think it's a bit of a late bloomer- perhaps someone more informed can feed back? 

I’m not as experienced with Trick Arrow as I could be, but I always think it’s a pretty good combo, but one that plays differently to other Defender support sets.

Most support sets have some form of ally buffs or heals. Even Storm brings o2 and Steamy Mists, and traps brings force field generator.

 

Trick Arrow is purely about shooting enemies with your bow. I imagine plays much more like a blaster, but instead of massive damage you get a boatload of debuffs. You don’t worry about your allies health and status as much as focusing 100% on crippling the enemies and killing them, and letting your allies look after themselves.
 

So I think it’s a good set, but you have to play it with a different mindset, to other support sets. 

It might be a set that benefits more from being a Corruptor, depending on the numbers, as people generally expect more ally support from a Defender (and I think it’s preconceptions like that which hurt Trick Arrow, more then the set itself).

 

It’s a shame in a way because you could easily attach an Adrenalin boosting syringe to an arrowhead, and shoot it into an ally’s neck to give them a buff! 🤪

 

Of course you could always dip into medicine a bit for some heals, and experimentation has a nice ally injection buff. If you were doing a tech/science theme and really wanted some extra support...

Edited June 9, 2020 by Peacemoon

[Hjarki]

On 6/9/2020 at 6:02 AM, Peacemoon said:

Trick Arrow is purely about shooting enemies with your bow. I imagine plays much more like a blaster, but instead of massive damage you get a boatload of debuffs. You don’t worry about your allies health and status as much as focusing 100% on crippling the enemies and killing them, and letting your allies look after themselves.

If Trick Arrow was like you imagine - all debuffs, but very good at debuffing - it would be a decent set. However, the 'good' debuffs in Trick Arrow generally aren't as good as their alternatives in other sets and the 'bad' debuffs in Trick Arrow are just as bad as they are in other sets.

[Peacemoon]

On 6/11/2020 at 1:53 AM, Hjarki said:

If Trick Arrow was like you imagine - all debuffs, but very good at debuffing - it would be a decent set. However, the 'good' debuffs in Trick Arrow generally aren't as good as their alternatives in other sets and the 'bad' debuffs in Trick Arrow are just as bad as they are in other sets.

TBH Trick Arrow’s niche should be it can bring pretty much every debuff possible, with the drawback being you can’t buff or heal allies at all. So some of the numbers should be improved to match other sets (like -res should be 30%), and one of the arrows should bring -regen. But that’s just my thoughts on the set.
 

My post was mainly about how you need to approach it with a different mindset to make it click. 

[CabooseCC]

I like Storm/WB for high end content, especially in teams.  You're a force of nature with AoE's and as long as you have KB-->KD slotted you're golden.

[r0y]

I like Dark Blast for defenders.  A Lot.  It procs up nicely and provides decent soft CC in the form of stun, knockdown, immob, and -ToHit.  Lots of AoE, damage is OK (it's DoT, so isn't realized immediately), the -ToHit from a defender really is helpful, so you don't need to be over softcap (but it's helpful if you can).  Nature is far more survivable, but Poison is more damaging (not just via debuffs, but proc'd out poison trap).  Lifesteal also provides a self-heal, so you can keep the tank topped off.  It hits decently hard, too.

 

I have a Nature/Dark...                                                                   and a Poison/Dark...

___

Edited June 12, 2020 by r0y

[Frosticus]

Disruption arrow is a nice big aoe and it gets out fast.

Acid paints tough targets similar to envenom in poison.

Oil slick is a great power. 

 

values could be a bit higher and I'm of the mindset that TA doesnt do other stuff well enough, but it can play pretty well on fast teams that are looking to play even faster.

[Ankhammon]

On 6/12/2020 at 11:09 AM, Frosticus said:

Disruption arrow is a nice big aoe and it gets out fast.

Acid paints tough targets similar to envenom in poison.

Oil slick is a great power. 

 

values could be a bit higher and I'm of the mindset that TA doesnt do other stuff well enough, but it can play pretty well on fast teams that are looking to play even faster.

Everyone always ignores the little piece of heaven that is Flash Arrow. With it's un-resisted nature and the fact that you can buff it to more than -21% tohit (Power Boosted with Clarion Total Radial mostly) while making the whole freakin team near invisible, it really shines in end game situations.

Oh yeah, it's auto hit and has a radius of 35 and causes no aggro.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Ankhammon

[Psyonico]

23 minutes ago, Ankhammon said:

Everyone always ignores the little piece of heaven that is Flash Arrow. With it's un-resisted nature and the fact that you can buff it to more than -21% tohit (Power Boosted with Clarion Total Radial mostly) while making the whole freakin team near invisible, it really shines in end game situations.

Oh yeah, it's auto hit and has a radius of 35 and causes no aggro.

I believe that Power Boost and Clarion no longer stack... if they do, I heard they are changing this.

 

but still, even with just power boost you're looking at ~16% tohit debuff

[Ankhammon]

30 minutes ago, Psyonico said:

I believe that Power Boost and Clarion no longer stack... if they do, I heard they are changing this.

 

but still, even with just power boost you're looking at ~16% tohit debuff

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Why would they do that? it's the saving awesome of many a Defender build.

 

Oh well, time to find other stuff to exploit. 😄

 

[Zeraphia]

As someone who is actually doing speed running and has actually broken records with their team (not #1, but top 5 times):

 

- Dark Miasma (due to Tar Patch bug), Sonic Resonance, Cold Domination, and Kinetics are the top tiers in that order for supports for speed running.

- Sonic Blast or Fire Blast are the most viable blast sets. Beam Rifle is serviceable, but vastly inferior due to its cast times to use with debuffs/buffs in comparison to Fire Blast that can do everything pretty much at a whim when needed.

 

Pure support - Sonic Blast. Pick Sonic Blast if you're going Defender.

DPS - go Fire Blast. If you're going DPS with Fire Blast DO NOT GO DEFENDER. Go Corruptor.

 

Most viable combos: Dark/Sonic (I will not recommend you make it, as Tar Patch will get fixed), Sonic/Sonic Defender, Fire/Cold Corruptor, Cold/Sonic Defender, Kin/Sonic Defender (this is the fastest one for regular teams overall *not everyone constantly popping Super Reds the entire TF*), Fire/Kinetics Corruptor.

 

Why is Sonic Resonance so high up? Because it can Cage. But why is that "troll" power good? Because you can cage things like towers in MLTF and make them not affect LR, you can also Burnout with these cages, and that means you can (with high dps and team coordination) actually skip all of the towers (ignore the Red Tower, actually not needed to be downed, neither does Blue) and you can shave minutes off of that TF due to this set. Sonic Resonance offers extremely high -res at a very quick amount of time, it is S-tier actually at speed running despite what people say.

 

So what about Dark Miasma? Tar Patch bug. -30% unresistable -res, that means you can actually debuff even immunities into nothing with this power, you can effectively nullify LR's immunity due to the Red tower against S/E with this power, you can turn Hero 1's T9 into literally nothing. You magnify damage at an absurd insurmountable rate, and you can abuse this by Tar Patch -> Burnout -> Tar Patch and then still have another Tar Patch to stack before the first two run out... That means you just did -90% unresistable -res... You have effectively NUKED everything's resistance in the game to 0. Expect this to get patched soon. Broken! Combine this with Sonic, and you have created your lovely "Wailing Banshee" of unresistable mayhem!

 

Cold Domination will take Dark Miasma's place AFTER the bug is fixed. It can shoot out Rain, Heat Loss, a good -res proc in Infrigidate (-30%, -24%, -20% = 74%) and you can double the Rains with high recharge (-94%). And for the massive DPS pushes you can unleash hell with Burnout to do this... Double FR, double HL, Infrig to give a whopping total of -128% -res and almost all of it in AoE, and this can be done with FIRE BLAST on a CORRUPTOR (you can put the -res (FotG) in proc in T9 blast for -20% more totaling to -148%)...  It also has Benumb which also... nukes AV regen! This set is god-tier, I'm sorry but the people who are saying Time > Cold are playing on teams that actually need these defenses (and really want to play it safe), Cold is much stronger due to its debuffing in speed running and just in general honestly.

 

Kinetics is amazing, but not the best at speed running. Some people are shocked at this, but you can theoretically (if your whole team is willing to do this, most will not) get everyone to swallow Super Red inspirations throughout the entire trial, at this point, kinetics only brings speed (not useful to team if team is already at max'd run speed) and recharge, which is not going to be enough to justify itself over Cold/Sonic/Dark's -res. Keep in mind, I said not the best at top-tier speed running, for "normal" speed running it is S-tier at this when the team does not just swallow Super Reds all the time.

 

-- Blast sets

 

Fire Blast: highest DPS of all overall and it fits well with its fast casts to still allow you to debuff, if you want the damage, go Corruptor for this. Fire/Cold and Fire/Kin are the most viable Corruptors overall for speed running.

 

Sonic Blast: pair this with any of the primaries. It is S-tier, far and away ahead of the other blast sets on Defenders on speed running teams. You can run a ST chain with Sonic Blast (Screech->Shriek->Scream->Shriek->Screech combo) that will neuter a hard target to -100% res from this set alone. Wail can take FotG proc for -40% res in a large aoe with damage, Anni proc in Howl is the same concept too. 

Edited June 26, 2020 by Zeraphia

[Ankhammon]

Wow. Love for my old Sonic/Sonic defender from back in the day. On behalf of Tulamore, we thank you for the lub. 🙂

[Tiklandian]

On 6/14/2020 at 6:55 PM, Zeraphia said:

As someone who is actually doing speed running and has actually broken records with their team (not #1, but top 5 times):

 

- Dark Miasma (due to Tar Patch bug), Sonic Resonance, Cold Domination, and Kinetics are the top tiers in that order for supports for speed running.

- Sonic Blast or Fire Blast are the most viable blast sets. Beam Rifle is serviceable, but vastly inferior due to its cast times to use with debuffs/buffs in comparison to Fire Blast that can do everything pretty much at a whim when needed.

 

Pure support - Sonic Blast. Pick Sonic Blast if you're going Defender.

DPS - go Fire Blast. If you're going DPS with Fire Blast DO NOT GO DEFENDER. Go Corruptor.

 

 

 
Some great info. As far as blast sets go, for Defender if I wanted to run Cold or Dark primary to help out teams but also Solo high difficulty when I can't find a team is Sonic still the go to blast? Or would it kill stuff too slow when alone.

 

 

[Doomguide2005]

48 minutes ago, Tiklandian said:

 
Some great info. As far as blast sets go, for Defender if I wanted to run Cold or Dark primary to help out teams but also Solo high difficulty when I can't find a team is Sonic still the go to blast? Or would it kill stuff too slow when alone.

 

 

My guts tell me (and good bit of solo play with /sonic defenders) it's too single target to be 'fast' at solo stuff.  Just look at the attack chain posted above.  Deadly yes but very single target.  Great on teams because 7 other characters also benefit from the large -resistance produced.

[killigraphy]

While Corr's have a stronger Fulcrum, Kinetics Def's, make sure you run through anything with SB.

 

Rad - classic for several reasons, besides being the original AV killer, it has a little  of everything, and one of  the strongest  debuffs in the game.

[Parabola]

9 hours ago, Tiklandian said:

 
Some great info. As far as blast sets go, for Defender if I wanted to run Cold or Dark primary to help out teams but also Solo high difficulty when I can't find a team is Sonic still the go to blast? Or would it kill stuff too slow when alone.

 

 

It is possible to make sonic do some aoe damage. It has three cones that can be procced out. The new bombardment proc is a massive help here so howl now gets three damage procs, shockwave can take four (but you will likely want a kb->kd and ff+rech so it's unlikely you'd fit them in) and sirens song takes three. All the -res you are pumping out will amplify the damage of the procs too.

 

It requires building a certain way to take advantage of the way procs function but it does work. One thing sonic has going for it in this regard is that the cones are fairly easy to use. Howl and shockwave are identical in range and arc and sirens song isn't that far off.

[Bopper]

8 minutes ago, parabola said:

It is possible to make sonic do some aoe damage. It has three cones that can be procced out. The new bombardment proc is a massive help here so howl now gets three damage procs, shockwave can take four (but you will likely want a kb->kd and ff+rech so it's unlikely you'd fit them in) and sirens song takes three. All the -res you are pumping out will amplify the damage of the procs too.

 

It requires building a certain way to take advantage of the way procs function but it does work. One thing sonic has going for it in this regard is that the cones are fairly easy to use. Howl and shockwave are identical in range and arc and sirens song isn't that far off.

Bombardment was a nice boost to sonic AoE potential. Not only does it provide an additional proc to slot, but also you can slot a Bombardment Damage (no recharge, keep the procs pure) to get a 2-set bonus of +5% range to help extend your cones. Or go the Hami route, if you have the funds. But eitherway, you can get a nice cycle of Howl (ragnorak KB proc thrown in for fun), then hit them with Shockwave (with Overwhelming KB:KD converter), then Siren's Song to sleep them. Cycle all 3 repeatedly and you'll just want the enemies tuck themselves into bed over and over again.

[Parabola]

8 minutes ago, Bopper said:

Bombardment was a nice boost to sonic AoE potential. Not only does it provide an additional proc to slot, but also you can slot a Bombardment Damage (no recharge, keep the procs pure) to get a 2-set bonus of +5% range to help extend your cones. Or go the Hami route, if you have the funds. But eitherway, you can get a nice cycle of Howl (ragnorak KB proc thrown in for fun), then hit them with Shockwave (with Overwhelming KB:KD converter), then Siren's Song to sleep them. Cycle all 3 repeatedly and you'll just want the enemies tuck themselves into bed over and over again.

I do exactly this on a sonic sentinel. It is a grinding process rather than burst but it's very safe and frankly feels a bit evil. Once you have them caught there isn't a huge amount they can do about it. If you have any kind of ability to limit their movement towards you to cover the moments when they aren't asleep or on the floor then you are set. Dark/sonic would work really well actually, tar patch to provide that extra safety (and -res), darkest night to pull them into it, fearsome stare can take a proc or two and is also a cone and then blast away. Cones require either good positioning on your part or the ability to position the enemy and dark would provide that. That's yet another alt I need to roll up at some point!

[Parabola]

And this is what I have come up with for a Dark/Sonic. It won't break any records for damage but it will be soloable while being exceedingly safe and will provide fantastic team support.

 

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!

Level 50 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Dark Miasma
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Twilight Grasp -- TchoftheN-Heal(A), TchoftheN-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(5), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal(7)
Level 1: Shriek -- SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), SprVglAss-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg(43)
Level 2: Scream -- SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg(43), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), SprDfnBst-Rchg/Heal%(46)
Level 4: Howl -- PstBls-Dam%(A), JvlVll-Dam%(7), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(9), Bmbdmt-Dam(9), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(11), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11)
Level 6: Darkest Night -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(34), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(34), DarWtcDsp-Rchg/EndRdx(34)
Level 8: Tar Patch -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33)
Level 10: Shockwave -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), PstBls-Dam%(13), ExpStr-Dam%(13), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(15), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(15), FrcFdb-Rechg%(29)
Level 12: Fearsome Stare -- CldSns-%Dam(A), CldSns-ToHitDeb(46), CldSns-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(48), CldSns-Acc/ToHitDeb(48)
Level 14: Super Jump -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Shadow Fall -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(17), LucoftheG-Def(17), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(19), GldArm-3defTpProc(19), GldArm-End/Res(29)
Level 18: Petrifying Gaze -- NrnSht-Dam%(A), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(37), UnbCns-Dam%(37), GldNet-Dam%(40)
Level 20: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(21), LucoftheG-Def(21), Ksm-ToHit+(25)
Level 22: Tactics -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(23), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(23), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(25), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(27)
Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 26: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27)
Level 28: Siren's Song -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), PstBls-Dam%(31), JvlVll-Dam%(31), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(31), CaloftheS-Heal%(33), Bmbdmt-Dam(33)
Level 30: Howling Twilight -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Dark Servant -- CldSns-ToHitDeb(A), CldSns-Acc/ToHitDeb(50), CldSns-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(50), CldSns-%Dam(50)
Level 35: Screech -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Apc-Acc/Rchg(36), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Apc-Dam%(37), GldJvl-Dam%(48)
Level 38: Dreadful Wail -- Arm-Dmg/Rchg(A), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Rchg(39), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Arm-Dam%(40), Erd-%Dam(40)
Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42), LucoftheG-Def(42)
Level 44: Amplify -- GssSynFr--Build%(A), RechRdx-I(45)
Level 47: Victory Rush -- EndMod-I(A)
Level 49: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Quick Form 
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 1: Vigilance 
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(3)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(3), EndMod-I(5)
Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon 
------------

 

[Ankhammon]

16 hours ago, Tiklandian said:

 
Some great info. As far as blast sets go, for Defender if I wanted to run Cold or Dark primary to help out teams but also Solo high difficulty when I can't find a team is Sonic still the go to blast? Or would it kill stuff too slow when alone.

 

 

The three cones in sonic work well together for solo life but two of them are control. one kback (or kdown with proc), one sleep (great with stealth) and one that adds a -res. 

NOTE: Clarion Radial does wonders for cones with the range increase. 

 

Adding the big blast at the end and the set is 'decent' at aoe. Would work well with a tar patch but damage is lower than you might hope so your mileage may vary with your procs.  🙂

[Hjarki]

4 hours ago, parabola said:

It is possible to make sonic do some aoe damage. It has three cones that can be procced out. The new bombardment proc is a massive help here so howl now gets three damage procs, shockwave can take four (but you will likely want a kb->kd and ff+rech so it's unlikely you'd fit them in) and sirens song takes three. All the -res you are pumping out will amplify the damage of the procs too.

 

It requires building a certain way to take advantage of the way procs function but it does work. One thing sonic has going for it in this regard is that the cones are fairly easy to use. Howl and shockwave are identical in range and arc and sirens song isn't that far off.

You don't actually need all three Cones - you can create a pure Howl/Shockwave rotation. For that matter, you don't even need Shockwave since it's basically the same thing as Wall of Force (which has a slight slotting advantage due to not needing KB -> KD).

 

Even then, I'd argue that slotting Howl purely as a debuff and just relying on an attack like Thunder Strike to deal damage makes a lot more sense in most circumstances. The same is true in terms of single target damage. Piling on the "maximum -res" rotation is useful if you're fighting alongside an entire team. But if you're fighting solo (or potentially with one another), it makes a lot more sense to have a third attack in your rotation that isn't Sonic so you have some form of pure damage to exploit that -resist rather than adding a bit more -resist.

[Ankhammon]

5 hours ago, parabola said:

I do exactly this on a sonic sentinel. It is a grinding process rather than burst but it's very safe and frankly feels a bit evil. Once you have them caught there isn't a huge amount they can do about it. If you have any kind of ability to limit their movement towards you to cover the moments when they aren't asleep or on the floor then you are set. Dark/sonic would work really well actually, tar patch to provide that extra safety (and -res), darkest night to pull them into it, fearsome stare can take a proc or two and is also a cone and then blast away. Cones require either good positioning on your part or the ability to position the enemy and dark would provide that. That's yet another alt I need to roll up at some point!

You got it right. I had a dark/sonic for a while back in the day and it was nice at all the above. Better still is when you get fluffy involved. Stealth over the mobs and he comes to engage them. they clump and you tar patch and cone em. great for outdoor fun. 

 

Fluffy does tend to ruin your DN herding though so be mindful of that. 

[Ankhammon]

6 minutes ago, Hjarki said:

You don't actually need all three Cones - you can create a pure Howl/Shockwave rotation. For that matter, you don't even need Shockwave since it's basically the same thing as Wall of Force (which has a slight slotting advantage due to not needing KB -> KD).

 

Even then, I'd argue that slotting Howl purely as a debuff and just relying on an attack like Thunder Strike to deal damage makes a lot more sense in most circumstances. The same is true in terms of single target damage. Piling on the "maximum -res" rotation is useful if you're fighting alongside an entire team. But if you're fighting solo (or potentially with one another), it makes a lot more sense to have a third attack in your rotation that isn't Sonic so you have some form of pure damage to exploit that -resist rather than adding a bit more -resist.

True enough and I eventually got rid of Shockwave. But you have to admit it's a lotta fun throwing a whole group of baddies against a wall to bunch em up for the big sleep. 

 

My old rotation on the Sonic/Sonic was to target the biggest trouble in the group, Howl/Cage/Sleep/clean out all but the worst and then single target him. Worked nicely with some ranged D on your side.

That was back in the day prior to resolving the end crash on nukes so slow but doable.