Fire/MA: the Brunker, and compilation of Fire Armor builds.

[StriderIV]

26 minutes ago, Sovera said:

I just want to say that I wanted a break and tried several Scrappers these past days.

 

Caveat: none were leveled to 50.

 

- EM/Shield. Went into it wanting Shield's DDR. Didn't have significant amounts of it in the low levels.

- DM/EA. DDR scales with slotting, so only 31%-ish by Posi 1. Defense was being stripped. Got bored by Citadel but more because of DM than EA.

- EM/Bio. Balls to the wall damage search. But so so very squishy (early levels, not enough slotting to go around).

- Kat/Rad. I know this combo is very good. Katana gets 45% defense to Slash/Melee out of the box and Rad has lots of goodies including Radiation Therapy. But the damage was terrible. Leveling with just a T1 and DA was frustrating. By Yin I had Soaring Dragon and it helped but I was already bored. The ability to chain cone, PbAoE, cone, was of little help with so low damage. I know the damage takes off once I could do DA, Soaring, Golden, but couldn't stomach the idea of exemplaring and returning to this.

- EM/Rad. Best of both worlds. Not as squishy as Bio. Not as low damage as Katana. Was actually pretty decent. Nice fat crits and TF hitting hard with two damage procs and chaining cone, PbAoE, cone, was nice to clear packs. But, in the end I duoed Yin and.. it was... so slow... One hour and ten minutes. I usually solo it on my Fire Armors on the 50 minute mark since Freaks are annoying with the ressurects and heals.

 

That was my last Scrapper. None appealed, all were squishy, damage was good but not great. Nice burst, but the Yin showed it was not sustained. This would change later with more slots and etc, but just, no.

 

 

So I returned to Tankers and made one of the last combos I had not yet done: Fire/StJ. StJ has a reputation for terribad AoE, but oh hey, izzat you Burn? Also the Tanker inherent increases Spinning Strike's radius by 50% which helps fixing the AoE problem StJ has on other ATs.

 

Oh god.. It's so good to be back. StJ does not get their PbAoE so I'm just using Burn for AoE. But it does have Build-Up and Build-Up makes up for that loss. It's so good to be back. Melting a pack of enemies is orgasmic after these past days. StJ also has very good animations (I could live off Rib Cracker alone) and an easy early rotation. I'm always pressing buttons which is very nice. In the early levels Rib Cracker, Initial Strike, Heavy Blow, Initial Strike keeps me busy instead of waiting for things to recharge.

 

I don't need to, but I've taken Heavy Blow because of the FF proc I can slot into it. My next ST with an FF proc comes only at 38 so for leveling and exemplaring purposes I am going to keep it. Once at 38 the rotation will fit in beautifully with Burn helping with Crushing Uppercut's awkward recharge. By then things will be Rib Cracker (1.6 animation), Shin Breaker (1.6 animation) Rib Cracker (1.6). Crushing Uppercut recharges in 7.7. So 1.6 + 1.6 + 1.6 = 4.8. There is a hole.

 

But, we have Burn. So 4.8 + 2.3 = 7.1 and that leaves half a second-ish.

 

Burn recharges in 7.7 and the same applies. 4.8 + 2.4 from Crushing Uppercut makes 7.2.

 

That means I will be able to: Build-up (get three combo points), hit Burn (BU + Gaussian), Crushing Uppercut a boss (Bu + Gaussian + 3 combo points) and then start on the above rotation. Substitute Crushing for Spinning Strike in AoE scenarios.

 

 

The hole in the rotation has always been a problem for me. I've done tricks like using Spinning Strike to fill it but they were not just not optimal but forcing piano play. CoH is not a piano play sort of game to be honest.

 

Overall StJ is behaving well but I have only just begun leveling it. Despite the lack of slots things are dying faster than I expected. Perhaps the sure -10% res from Rib Cracker is helping there. I expect the same sort of Burn pushing behavior MA does thanks to the FF proc in Spinning Strike. It does not get the defense boost though. According to Mids Crushing Uppercut's facility with procs (and ability to slot the purple hold damage proc) is what lets StJ push ahead of MA, but not by much.

 

I'll keep on leveling it and say more in the future.

Awesome breakdown man. I always thought of Street Justice as kind of MA’s sexier cousin 😂 love the animations.

 

I ran StJ/Bio as a scrapper myself. Had the same optimal  attack chain of RC, SB, RC, CU. Didn’t take spinning strike and I DO miss the AOE. Destroys single targets fast, but doesn’t do much in mobs.

 

Would love to see your final build when you have it! Would be great to work in spinning strike, especially since Tanker’s actually make good use of it. I’m sure the damage is pretty dang good as well.

[Sovera]

7 hours ago, StriderIV said:

Awesome breakdown man. I always thought of Street Justice as kind of MA’s sexier cousin 😂 love the animations.

 

I ran StJ/Bio as a scrapper myself. Had the same optimal  attack chain of RC, SB, RC, CU. Didn’t take spinning strike and I DO miss the AOE. Destroys single targets fast, but doesn’t do much in mobs.

 

Would love to see your final build when you have it! Would be great to work in spinning strike, especially since Tanker’s actually make good use of it. I’m sure the damage is pretty dang good as well.

This is the build I intend to use. Because of Spinning Strike's awkward 'targeted AoE' instead of 'melee AoE' I had to change things around and skimp here and there. I'm not sure how you managed to level without an AoE 😛

 

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Street Justice
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(47)
Level 1: Initial Strike -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(7), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Healing Flames -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(13), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(13), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(15), Pnc-Heal(15)
Level 4: Heavy Blow -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(9), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(37), FrcFdb-Rechg%(50)
Level 6: Fire Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(17), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(17), UnbGrd-Max HP%(19), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(19)
Level 8: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(21), Rct-ResDam%(21), Ksm-ToHit+(23)
Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(25), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(25), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(27), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(27)
Level 14: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(29), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(29), SynSck-Dam/Rech(31), SynSck-EndMod(31), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(31)
Level 16: Combat Readiness -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33), GssSynFr--Build%(47)
Level 18: Burn -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(34), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Arm-Acc/Rchg(34), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Erd-%Dam(36)
Level 20: Rib Cracker -- SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(A), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(37), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), TchofDth-Dam%(48), GldStr-%Dam(48)
Level 22: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), WntGif-ResSlow(39)
Level 24: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 28: Spinning Strike -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(40), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(40), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42)
Level 32: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Shin Breaker -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(42), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(43), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), TchofDth-Dam%(43), GldStr-%Dam(45)
Level 38: Crushing Uppercut -- GldStr-Dam/End/Rech(A), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(45), TchofDth-Dam%(46), Hct-Dam%(46), UnbCns-Dam%(46)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 47: Tough -- TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(A)
Level 49: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(11)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(11)
Level 1: Combo Level 1
Level 1: Combo Level 2
Level 1: Combo Level 3
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 4: Ninja Run
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon
Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Radial Superior Ally
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
------------

 

[StriderIV]

5 hours ago, Sovera said:

This is the build I intend to use. Because of Spinning Strike's awkward 'targeted AoE' instead of 'melee AoE' I had to change things around and skimp here and there. I'm not sure how you managed to level without an AoE 😛

 

  Reveal hidden contents

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Street Justice
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(47)
Level 1: Initial Strike -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(7), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Healing Flames -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(13), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(13), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(15), Pnc-Heal(15)
Level 4: Heavy Blow -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(9), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(37), FrcFdb-Rechg%(50)
Level 6: Fire Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(17), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(17), UnbGrd-Max HP%(19), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(19)
Level 8: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(21), Rct-ResDam%(21), Ksm-ToHit+(23)
Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(25), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(25), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(27), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(27)
Level 14: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(29), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(29), SynSck-Dam/Rech(31), SynSck-EndMod(31), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(31)
Level 16: Combat Readiness -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33), GssSynFr--Build%(47)
Level 18: Burn -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(34), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Arm-Acc/Rchg(34), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Erd-%Dam(36)
Level 20: Rib Cracker -- SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(A), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(37), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), TchofDth-Dam%(48), GldStr-%Dam(48)
Level 22: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), WntGif-ResSlow(39)
Level 24: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 28: Spinning Strike -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(40), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(40), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42)
Level 32: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Shin Breaker -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(42), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(43), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), TchofDth-Dam%(43), GldStr-%Dam(45)
Level 38: Crushing Uppercut -- GldStr-Dam/End/Rech(A), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(45), TchofDth-Dam%(46), Hct-Dam%(46), UnbCns-Dam%(46)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 47: Tough -- TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(A)
Level 49: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(11)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(11)
Level 1: Combo Level 1
Level 1: Combo Level 2
Level 1: Combo Level 3
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 4: Ninja Run
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon
Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Radial Superior Ally
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
------------

 

You know, I leveled with it and respec’d out at 50, thinking I could used Vorpal judgement as an AOE replacement... mistake on my part 😂 I love how you proc’d out some of the bigger hitters a bit in this build.

Edited March 22, 2021 by StriderIV

[Max Firepower]

I rolled one last week.  Since L23 or so, it has been quite impressive for damage.

 

I almost always team, and with 2-3 others (or more) this is a supercharged blowtorch.  Very impressive!

 

Now L37.

Edited March 30, 2021 by Max Firepower

[StriderIV]

23 minutes ago, Max Firepower said:

I rolled one last week.  Since L23 or so, it has been quite impressive for damage.

 

I almost always team, and with 2-3 others (or more) this is a supercharged blowtorch.  Very impressive!

 

Now L37.

Nice man! Which of the secondaries are you pairing with it?

[Max Firepower]

13 hours ago, StriderIV said:

Nice man! Which of the secondaries are you pairing with it?

I started with Fire/Claws a few months ago, ran that to L36, and then got distracted by another alt.

 

I was referring to Fire/MA above.  Fire/MA appears at least as fast, but the KB proc and KD potential in Dragon's Tail is a major plus.

[Sovera]

Another pleasant surprise.

 

I have never bothered with Axe. I did try WM. Was okay, hitting hard but slow animations. Tried it paired with Fire Armor but just on the test server and on a pylon (bad numbers).

 

But after re-leveling a character or two I started looking at Axe. Why not? Why shouldn't I?

 

Spoiler

 

 

The reason I had been looking at Axe was for the KD in Whirling Axe. The similarities with MA were obvious. Here was another set that would push more Burns out with two FF procs in the build.

 

As it turns it is a pretty damn combo. It *crunches*. It took on both Posis as if Kratos beating up a pantheon that owed him money.  It was safe, zero deaths (only x6 though but I could have upped it easily) and barely touching inspirations because unlike MA both ST attacks at that level spam KDs, the AoE spams KDs and.... unlike MA it has a low level Build-up. Surprising no one - or at least not me - an early BU + early PbAoE + Burn was a wrathful cleansing from old pagan deities.

 

 

Axe suffers a bit with exemplaring. Swoop only opens at Yin (finally giving something to fill that early gap), Cleave at Manticore (bai Beheader), but (butts), lets be honest, BU + Burn + Whirling and then five seconds more of BU. Nothing much will be left to mope up and thanks to the Force Feedback in Gash and Whirling Axe Burn is available often to help with said moping.

 

Beheader we need to take and Gash is part of the ST chain and those can be alternated with Beheader, Gash, Beheader, gap until Yin. At Yin we can start with Swoop then do the previous rotation. By Manticore It's Cleave, Swoop, Gash. There will be a small gap then, but nothing much to be done. I would not use Beheader to fill it since its slotting is barebones but it's a choice.

 

For AoE we can BU, Burn, Whirling Axe, Pendulum. Then fill the gap with Gash to proc the ATO and maybe get another FF proc. Swoop would have been better to use instead of Gash, and Cleave more so since I'm already using four Might of the Tanker IOs there. But I want the +res proc available even at extreme exemplaring. Replacing one of the ATOs in Cleave for it and replacing the +res proc in Gash for a damage proc is something that can be done.

 

 

Axe VS MA: MA is still more rounded. That softcapped Ranged defense deflects a lot of otherwise bad attacks be them psi or debuff carrying. On the other hand without DDR that defense does not last long against factions who bring it to the table. More KDs can sort of replace that mitigation with the soft CC. Axe has crunchier numbers for damage all around as befits a set with much heavier endurance and animation time. Dragon Tail actually does slightly more damage despite the much shorter animation time (1.87 VS 2.90 of Whirling Axe), but Axe has a second WIDE cone that double as mitigation. The early BU tips the scales for Axe for the players who want to examplar often be it doing arcs or lower level TFs.

 

Axe VS War Mace: WM is applauded as the better set though they are pretty close to the point of being near mirrors, but simply comparing my old WM build with this one Axe has better numbers in all attacks, sometimes as low as 30 damage more (Clobber 478 Jawbreaker 272 VS Swoop at 495, Gash at 317)  but more often 100+ extra (Shatter 366, Crowd Control 200 VS Cleave at 526, Pendulum at 342). On top of that what makes it more interesting to me is the FF proc in Whirling Axe which is an option WM does not have. Thanks to that single difference exemplaring is a lot more fluid as a FF proc in an AoE does not compare VS a single FF proc in a ST attack. I did the noobie thing of having Fiery Embrace turned on for Axe and not for Axe thus the damage difference. WM is actually slightly more damage, particularly Clobber where it goes near a hundred points more. Axe's FF proc in the AoE still makes for a more positive experience in AoE situations with more Burns and Healing Flames/Consume/Hasten.

 

 

The build is going to be pretty damn endurance heavy and it took some heavy juggling to fit Whirling, and Pendulum, and slots for everything, and reach 40% S/L defense, and the minimum to hardcap resistances with both ATO procs + Barrier, and get all the endurance possible from all angles (including Musculature 33%), and a decent Hasten (135 seconds).

 

Spoiler

 

 

The build:

 

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Battle Axe
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(3), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Beheader -- KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(7), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(9)
Level 2: Healing Flames -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(9), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(11), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(11), Pnc-Heal(13)
Level 4: Gash -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(13), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(19), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), FrcFdb-Rechg%(21), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(21)
Level 6: Fire Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(27), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(27), UnbGrd-Max HP%(29), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 8: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(23), Rct-ResDam%(25)
Level 10: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(33), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(33), SynSck-Dam/Rech(34), SynSck-EndMod(34), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(34)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(31), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(31), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(33)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(17)
Level 16: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), GssSynFr--Build%(40)
Level 18: Burn -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(37), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Arm-Acc/Rchg(37), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Erd-%Dam(39)
Level 20: Whirling Axe -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(23), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), FrcFdb-Rechg%(47)
Level 22: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), WntGif-ResSlow(42)
Level 24: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 28: Swoop -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(43), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(43), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Hct-Dam%(45), TchofDth-Dam%(45)
Level 30: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(36)
Level 32: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Cleave -- SprMghoft-Dmg/Rchg(A), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Erd-%Dam(48), Obl-%Dam(50)
Level 38: Pendulum -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(40), Obl-%Dam(42), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(45), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(47), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(48)
Level 47: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(49)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(15), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(15)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(17)
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 4: Ninja Run
Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Radial Superior Ally
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon
------------

 

If there is interest for it I can whip a leveling build.

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by Sovera

[Sovera]

To continue from my last post Posi 2 was soloed at x8. Vhaz was chopped to pieces (WHERE'S MY MONEY, BRO??). Since I'm waiting on a friend to do Synapse I've resumed my arc-running-as-alternative-to-leveling which I'm now running at +1x8 for the 15-19 bracket. The lack of an early travel power limits me a bit to the point I considered switching Hover for Super Jump, but Athletic Run and Sprint do we well enough to reach the next mission.

 

Having a low level PbAoE with early BU was a thing I did not knew I needed in my life but it has sparked that innocent pleasure of seeing a pack of mobs not even in my way, not even in a kill all mission, and running to them to share the word of our lord and savior Fire/Axe.

 

The early endurance consumption has been most gentle so far. Gash and Beheader are not the endurance guzzlers that Swoop and Cleave become and so even an unslotted Consume has kept up most handily that I've not even used a single Recovery Serum to date. No doubt the FF procs making it recharge faste has not hurt.

 

Switching Maneuvers for Combat Jumping in an effort to lower endurance consumption will also help since it is basically a free toggle.

 

 

My earlier advice to keep a row of inspirations 'free' to eat those who drop remains current. Keeping the rest of the inspiration tray for emergencies is fine, but one row free to eat the random insp drops multiplies the power of any build that is soloing at x8 since, paradoxically, the more mobs we are facing the more inspirations drop and the stronger we get (pseudo Brute like), so it is normal to go around with 1-3 reds, multiple yellows, purples, etc, to the point emergency inspirations are not even needed.

 

From one pack of mobs:

 

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by Sovera

[Aeroprism]

I'm still waiting for the day where you'll do Fire/Staff.  I really want to know what you think of it.

 

Or is it in there and did I miss it?  I'm pretty sure I read it carefully.

[Sovera]

10 hours ago, Aeroprism said:

I'm still waiting for the day where you'll do Fire/Staff.  I really want to know what you think of it.

 

Or is it in there and did I miss it?  I'm pretty sure I read it carefully.

 

I did, but just mentioned it in passing. I leveled a second one to max but it did not pass muster. Just like Elec Melee the single target damage just didn't please me, and, just like with Elec Melee, having lots of AoEs did not make the AoE-ing good.

 

That said it does have the sole defense stacking skill in the Tanker AT. Parry does not stack,  Divine Avalanche does not stack, Defensive Sweep does not stack.... but Guarded Spin does. So that's another 45% melee/smash added.

 

Skysplitter can be slotted with 5 Hectacombs + another damage proc, but the proc bomb adds nearly 200 damage.

 

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Staff Fighting
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(3), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Mercurial Blow -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(39), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(40), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(42), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 2: Fire Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(7), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(7), UnbGrd-Max HP%(9), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 4: Guarded Spin -- SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(13), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Erd-%Dam(17)
Level 6: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(19), Rct-ResDam%(19)
Level 8: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(31), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(31), SynSck-Dam/Rech(33), SynSck-EndMod(33), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(33)
Level 10: Healing Flames -- Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(21), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(21), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(23), Prv-Heal(23), Prv-Absorb%(25)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(27), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(27), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(29), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(29)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 16: Eye of the Storm -- SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(A), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(34), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Erd-%Dam(36), FrcFdb-Rechg%(36)
Level 18: Burn -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(25), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Arm-Acc/Rchg(37), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(37), Erd-%Dam(40)
Level 20: Staff Mastery
Level 22: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), WntGif-ResSlow(39)
Level 24: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 28: Serpent's Reach -- Apc-Dam%(A), FrcFdb-Rechg%(42), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(43), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Apc-Acc/Rchg(45), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(45)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(40)
Level 32: Boxing -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(43)
Level 35: Focused Accuracy -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(A), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(46), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 38: Sky Splitter -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(46), Hct-Dam%(48), TchofDth-Dam%(48), GldStr-%Dam(48), ExpStr-Dam%(50)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(A)
Level 47: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50), LucoftheG-Def(50)
Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(45)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(11), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(11)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(13)
Level 1: Combo Level 1
Level 1: Combo Level 2
Level 1: Combo Level 3
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 4: Ninja Run
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon
Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Radial Superior Ally
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 20: Form of the Body
Level 20: Form of the Mind
Level 20: Form of the Soul
------------

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Sovera

[Aeroprism]

Once again: you delivered,  Thank you so much!!

[Oysterhead]

Managed to gather up enough cash (using the character you helped me plan a build out for!) to do this as you laid it out, with all the IO sets along the way. Hot damn this is a fun combo. Just solo'd Synapse at x6 without a problem (well, until the king, needed to go buy some envenomed daggers to finish that off) at level 30. Very much enjoying this, thanks for the detailed write up!

[Sovera]

8 hours ago, Oysterhead said:

Managed to gather up enough cash (using the character you helped me plan a build out for!) to do this as you laid it out, with all the IO sets along the way. Hot damn this is a fun combo. Just solo'd Synapse at x6 without a problem (well, until the king, needed to go buy some envenomed daggers to finish that off) at level 30. Very much enjoying this, thanks for the detailed write up!

 

You should be able to solo most AVs, but other than for bragging rights Envenomed Daggers speeds things up greatly.

[Sovera]

I've been asked about a ranking on the different Fire Armor builds so I'll put it here:

 

- Fire/Martial Arts. The current Brunker. Amazing survival with Storm Kick. 45% to Melee/Range/AoE is so much better than just 45% to S/L. Dragon Tail provides good mitigation and is a great source of FF procs to speed everything up in AoE situations which is 99% of our game time. The only thing it lacks is an earlier Build-up. BU allows to overwhelm so much low level BS. It takes doing a Posi 1 and spend literally a minute seeing miss miss miss to appreciate how it allows to keep the train moving.

 

- Fire/Claws. Slightly less defensive with only 45% to S/L, more offense oriented with Spin doing twice the damage of Dragon Tail. It can achieve the same acceleration of MA by taking and using Shockwave but much much later in the game. Taking and using Shockwave would make it go past MA for most of the game but since I do not in my current build MA gets ahead thanks to this. Downside is that Follow-Up is not Build-Up and does not play well with the Gaussian proc. This prevents burst to get past low level BS.

 

- Fire/Ice. The recent changes have made this my personal favorite. But being unbiased about it Fire/MA still takes the Brunker spot. Regardless the recent patches shuffled things around.  Ice Patch going from 4 seconds to activate to something like 1.7 makes a world of difference allowing it to be casually cast during a gap instead of being a strategic decision whether to use or not. And then the change to Afterburner means that Evasive Maneuvers is less of a necessity and more of a QoL. This allowed me to take Ice Patch at 20, move Consume to 24 (thus still usable for Synapse which is where the heavy sapping starts), and move EM to 30 where it becomes available by Yin.

But with a low level BU allowing to power through low level BS, Frost being a worthy low level AoE, Ice Patch for defense (not super reliable in my experience, mobs can and do ignore standing on it partly because FT applies a -100% KB) and a medium level Freezing Touch available by Yin instead of waiting until 38 this combo can be pretty bursty.

I'm currently trying a build without Frozen Aura (don't ask me why but I don't like it. I can't explain why since it does comparable damage with Frost and has the same animation time, but, it is what it is) as well as non procced out Freezing Touch. I'm still unsure about the new FT slotting. It is a -great- vehicule for procs and not frankenslotting it lowers the damage by around 130 damage. The upside is that instead of FT, Ice Sword, Frost, Ice Sword, I can FT, Ice Sword, Frost. It may be better on the long run, but I'm missing the heavier Dim Mak heart exploding caress.

The downsides is not having any place to slot FF to speed things up. I have tried slotting Arcane Bolt but couldn't keep the defensive goals with it, and in any case would have to sacrifice a pool. Cross Punch is a possibility but I don't need a fourth attack and by the time I can pick and slot Cross Punch I am in my 30s which is too late for my exemplaring. Someone who doesn't care about exemplaring or who does not take Fly could probably remove Assault and fit Cross Punch by level 30 to then use the slots from Frozen Fists and rejigger things to find two more slots from somewhere.

 

 

This is my current Fire/Ice. I don't particularly recommend it since not taking Frozen Aura is a peculiar choice. It's just a peculiar choice adapted to my own playstyle though.

 

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Ice Melee
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(3), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Frozen Fists -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(7), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Ice Sword -- SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(23), TchofDth-Dam%(23), ImpSwf-Dam%(25)
Level 4: Frost -- Bmbdmt-Dam(A), Bmbdmt-Acc/Rech/End(34), Bmbdmt-Dam/Rech(34), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech(36), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech/End(36), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(36)
Level 6: Fire Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(11), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(11), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13), UnbGrd-Max HP%(13)
Level 8: Healing Flames -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(17), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(17), Prv-Heal/Rchg(19), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(19), Prv-Absorb%(45)
Level 10: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(31), Rct-ResDam%(31)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(33)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 16: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39), GssSynFr--Build%(40)
Level 18: Burn -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(37), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Arm-Acc/Rchg(37), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Erd-%Dam(39)
Level 20: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 22: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), WntGif-ResSlow(40)
Level 24: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech(25), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(27), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(27), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(29), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(29)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 28: Freezing Touch -- Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Hct-Dam%(43), UnbCns-Dam%(43)
Level 30: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(46), LucoftheG-Def(48)
Level 35: Focused Accuracy -- RctRtc-ToHit(A), RctRtc-Pcptn(40), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 38: Boxing -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(45), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(45), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Tough -- TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(A)
Level 47: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(49), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50)
Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(9), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(47), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(47)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(15), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(15)
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
------------

 

 

All the other combos have honorable mentions but have not passed muster. If it's not a solid start but a lame finish (Fire/Axe comes to mind where the very slow last attacks killed the flow (and pylon times)) then it's bad exemplaring (Fire/Katana, you could have been so good, but 35 and 38 to finish the ST attack chain is just plain bad in a game with exemplaring) or awkwardness (Fire/Super Strength with a super late AoE, and the set's linchpin only available at 28, who then proceeds to 'CC' us for 10 seconds on top of making us more vulnerable. Fire/StJ and Fire/Energy Melee both culprits in this where their linchpins have such awkward recharges that I couldn't stop from either using a T1 to fill the gaps or have to contort myself to follow a lengthy rotation, Fire/TW with attacks not usable because Momentum ran out and sometimes attacks becoming slow when expecting a fast attack), or they are just plain numerically bad (Fire/Psi. Fire/Fire. Fire/Kinetic Melee and Fire/Savage forced to use both T1 and T2 in their attack chain since Concentrated Strike/Hemorrhage was fixed to be bad on all ATs, Fire/Elec and Fire/Staff with bad single target and equally bad AoE despite boasting many of them, etc), and some are just... so close... (Fire/Stone (with bonus points for lava skins) with a nice ST but a single somewhat late and bad AoE).

 

Most of this is just my opinion and with a serving of min-maxed dollop smeared on top. They all can be made to work and some are worth it for the theme alone (Fire/Lava Stone, I wuvs you).

 

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Sovera

[Hjarki]

FIre/Dark is a fairly strong choice as well.

[Sovera]

13 minutes ago, Hjarki said:

FIre/Dark is a fairly strong choice as well.

 

It didn't do anything for me I confess. The bigger culprit is probably Soul Drain being a touch awkward with the long recharge. It can be made nearly perma but usually means I found myself deciding whether to whittle the rest of the mobs without using it again, or use it on the remaining 2-3 mobs instead of on the next fresh large spawn. Dark Consumption is not needed with Consume, Siphon Life is usually why DM is taken but its not needed and anemic anyway compared to Healing Flames. Shadow Maul should do twice the damage of Frost with the same animation time, but it does not feel it has the same oomph. Perhaps it is the 3y shorter range.

 

The new Touch of Fear is a bit of a non entity. If it at least spread the -ToHit in the AoE... The ST is pretty decent though it suffers for exemplaring if using Midnight Grasp. MG, Smite, Siphon, Smite works just fine but makes slotting Shadow Punch a waste. But then if we exemplar just Smite and Siphon leaves gaps.

 

 

Overall it's a good combo still and maybe I'm just too picky, just a pity it can't spread -ToHit in AoE other than with SM. It could be its 'ice patch' defense.

[StriderIV]

16 hours ago, Sovera said:

I've been asked about a ranking on the different Fire Armor builds so I'll put it here:

 

- Fire/Martial Arts. The current Brunker. Amazing survival with Storm Kick. 45% to Melee/Range/AoE is so much better than just 45% to S/L. Dragon Tail provides good mitigation and is a great source of FF procs to speed everything up in AoE situations which is 99% of our game time. The only thing it lacks is an earlier Build-up. BU allows to overwhelm so much low level BS. It takes doing a Posi 1 and spend literally a minute seeing miss miss miss to appreciate how it allows to keep the train moving.

 

- Fire/Claws. Slightly less defensive with only 45% to S/L, more offense oriented with Spin doing twice the damage of Dragon Tail. It can achieve the same acceleration of MA by taking and using Shockwave but much much later in the game. Taking and using Shockwave would make it go past MA for most of the game but since I do not in my current build MA gets ahead thanks to this. Downside is that Follow-Up is not Build-Up and does not play well with the Gaussian proc. This prevents burst to get past low level BS.

 

- Fire/Ice. The recent changes have made this my personal favorite. But being unbiased about it Fire/MA still takes the Brunker spot. Regardless the recent patches shuffled things around.  Ice Patch going from 4 seconds to activate to something like 1.7 makes a world of difference allowing it to be casually cast during a gap instead of being a strategic decision whether to use or not. And then the change to Afterburner means that Evasive Maneuvers is less of a necessity and more of a QoL. This allowed me to take Ice Patch at 20, move Consume to 24 (thus still usable for Synapse which is where the heavy sapping starts), and move EM to 30 where it becomes available by Yin.

But with a low level BU allowing to power through low level BS, Frost being a worthy low level AoE, Ice Patch for defense (not super reliable in my experience, mobs can and do ignore standing on it partly because FT applies a -100% KB) and a medium level Freezing Touch available by Yin instead of waiting until 38 this combo can be pretty bursty.

I'm currently trying a build without Frozen Aura (don't ask me why but I don't like it. I can't explain why since it does comparable damage with Frost and has the same animation time, but, it is what it is) as well as non procced out Freezing Touch. I'm still unsure about the new FT slotting. It is a -great- vehicule for procs and not frankenslotting it lowers the damage by around 130 damage. The upside is that instead of FT, Ice Sword, Frost, Ice Sword, I can FT, Ice Sword, Frost. It may be better on the long run, but I'm missing the heavier Dim Mak heart exploding caress.

The downsides is not having any place to slot FF to speed things up. I have tried slotting Arcane Bolt but couldn't keep the defensive goals with it, and in any case would have to sacrifice a pool. Cross Punch is a possibility but I don't need a fourth attack and by the time I can pick and slot Cross Punch I am in my 30s which is too late for my exemplaring. Someone who doesn't care about exemplaring or who does not take Fly could probably remove Assault and fit Cross Punch by level 30 to then use the slots from Frozen Fists and rejigger things to find two more slots from somewhere.

 

 

This is my current Fire/Ice. I don't particularly recommend it since not taking Frozen Aura is a peculiar choice. It's just a peculiar choice adapted to my own playstyle though.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Ice Melee
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(3), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Frozen Fists -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(7), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Ice Sword -- SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(23), TchofDth-Dam%(23), ImpSwf-Dam%(25)
Level 4: Frost -- Bmbdmt-Dam(A), Bmbdmt-Acc/Rech/End(34), Bmbdmt-Dam/Rech(34), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech(36), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech/End(36), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(36)
Level 6: Fire Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(11), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(11), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13), UnbGrd-Max HP%(13)
Level 8: Healing Flames -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(17), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(17), Prv-Heal/Rchg(19), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(19), Prv-Absorb%(45)
Level 10: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(31), Rct-ResDam%(31)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(33)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 16: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39), GssSynFr--Build%(40)
Level 18: Burn -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(37), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Arm-Acc/Rchg(37), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Erd-%Dam(39)
Level 20: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 22: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), WntGif-ResSlow(40)
Level 24: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech(25), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(27), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(27), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(29), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(29)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 28: Freezing Touch -- Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Hct-Dam%(43), UnbCns-Dam%(43)
Level 30: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(46), LucoftheG-Def(48)
Level 35: Focused Accuracy -- RctRtc-ToHit(A), RctRtc-Pcptn(40), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 38: Boxing -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(45), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(45), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Tough -- TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(A)
Level 47: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(49), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50)
Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(9), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(47), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(47)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(15), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(15)
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
------------

 

 

All the other combos have honorable mentions but have not passed muster. If it's not a solid start but a lame finish (Fire/Axe comes to mind where the very slow last attacks killed the flow (and pylon times)) then it's bad exemplaring (Fire/Katana, you could have been so good, but 35 and 38 to finish the ST attack chain is just plain bad in a game with exemplaring) or awkwardness (Fire/Super Strength with a super late AoE, and the set's linchpin only available at 28, who then proceeds to 'CC' us for 10 seconds on top of making us more vulnerable. Fire/StJ and Fire/Energy Melee both culprits in this where their linchpins have such awkward recharges that I couldn't stop from either using a T1 to fill the gaps or have to contort myself to follow a lengthy rotation, Fire/TW with attacks not usable because Momentum ran out and sometimes attacks becoming slow when expecting a fast attack), or they are just plain numerically bad (Fire/Psi. Fire/Fire. Fire/Kinetic Melee and Fire/Savage forced to use both T1 and T2 in their attack chain since Concentrated Strike/Hemorrhage was fixed to be bad on all ATs, Fire/Elec and Fire/Staff with bad single target and equally bad AoE despite boasting many of them, etc), and some are just... so close... (Fire/Stone (with bonus points for lava skins) with a nice ST but a single somewhat late and bad AoE).

 

Most of this is just my opinion and with a serving of min-maxed dollop smeared on top. They all can be made to work and some are worth it for the theme alone (Fire/Lava Stone, I wuvs you).

 

 

Thanks for all the work you put into these builds and your knowledge sharing Sovera! Thematically, you know I LOVE your Fire/Ice build. I, for one, willl be keeping Frozen Aura however 😂

[Dark Dove]

I've been running the Fiery Aura / Martial Arts version of this in the past few days, I really like it.  I worked off of the template and I did some tweaking for my tastes (pushed the Afterburner replacement to much later, pushed Fiery Embrace to 32 and moved Tough/Weave into the level 30 exemplar range, and replaced Assault with Taunt for endgame needs, some slotting and level changes for powers). I may try a respec moving Taunt and Fiery Embrace back into the sub-30 range instead of tough/weave too or moving fly to much later, I'm a taunty tanker player so I feel a little off without access earlier.  I really appreciate the exemplar-fu these builds have though, you've done some stellar work here @Sovera!

 

(My current version)

Spoiler

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Martial Arts
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(3), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(5), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(7)
Level 1: Thunder Kick -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(9), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mk'Bit-Dam%(11)
Level 2: Storm Kick -- SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(13), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), TchofDth-Dam%(15), GldStr-%Dam(17)
Level 4: Fire Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(19), UnbGrd-Max HP%(21), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(21), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(23), StdPrt-ResKB(23)
Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25)
Level 8: Healing Flames -- NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(25), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(27), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(27), NmnCnv-Heal(29), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(29)
Level 10: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(31)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- Ags-Psi/Status(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(31), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(31), Ags-ResDam(33), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 14: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(33), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(34), SynSck-Dam/Rech(34), SynSck-EndMod(34), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(36)
Level 16: Crane Kick -- SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), TchofDth-Dam%(37), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(37), FrcFdb-Rechg%(37)
Level 18: Burn -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Rchg(39), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Erd-%Dam(40)
Level 20: Dragon's Tail -- ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg(A), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(40), ScrDrv-Dam%(42), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg(42), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), FrcFdb-Rechg%(43)
Level 22: Fly -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)
Level 24: Kick -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 28: Focus Chi -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(43), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(43), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(45), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(45), GssSynFr--Build%(45)
Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(50), ShlWal-Def(50)
Level 32: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 35: Crippling Axe Kick -- Hct-Dam%(A), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(46), HO:Nucle(48), TchofDth-Dam%(48), TchofLadG-%Dam(48), GldStr-%Dam(50)
Level 38: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-ResDam%(46), Rct-Def(46)
Level 47: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 49: Warrior's Provocation -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(17)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(19)
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 4: Ninja Run
Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Radial Superior Ally
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Degenerative Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
------------

 

 

 

 

 

[Sovera]

13 minutes ago, Dark Dove said:

I've been running the Fiery Aura / Martial Arts version of this in the past few days, I really like it.  I worked off of the template and I did some tweaking for my tastes (pushed the Afterburner replacement to much later, pushed Fiery Embrace to 32 and moved Tough/Weave into the level 30 exemplar range, and replaced Assault with Taunt for endgame needs, some slotting and level changes for powers). I may try a respec moving Taunt and Fiery Embrace back into the sub-30 range instead of tough/weave too or moving fly to much later, I'm a taunty tanker player so I feel a little off without access earlier.  I really appreciate the exemplar-fu these builds have though, you've done some stellar work here @Sovera!

 

(My current version)

  Hide contents

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Martial Arts
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(3), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(5), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(7)
Level 1: Thunder Kick -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(9), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mk'Bit-Dam%(11)
Level 2: Storm Kick -- SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(13), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), TchofDth-Dam%(15), GldStr-%Dam(17)
Level 4: Fire Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(19), UnbGrd-Max HP%(21), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(21), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(23), StdPrt-ResKB(23)
Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25)
Level 8: Healing Flames -- NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(25), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(27), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(27), NmnCnv-Heal(29), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(29)
Level 10: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(31)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- Ags-Psi/Status(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(31), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(31), Ags-ResDam(33), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 14: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(33), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(34), SynSck-Dam/Rech(34), SynSck-EndMod(34), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(36)
Level 16: Crane Kick -- SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), TchofDth-Dam%(37), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(37), FrcFdb-Rechg%(37)
Level 18: Burn -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Rchg(39), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Erd-%Dam(40)
Level 20: Dragon's Tail -- ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg(A), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(40), ScrDrv-Dam%(42), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg(42), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), FrcFdb-Rechg%(43)
Level 22: Fly -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)
Level 24: Kick -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 28: Focus Chi -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(43), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(43), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(45), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(45), GssSynFr--Build%(45)
Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(50), ShlWal-Def(50)
Level 32: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 35: Crippling Axe Kick -- Hct-Dam%(A), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(46), HO:Nucle(48), TchofDth-Dam%(48), TchofLadG-%Dam(48), GldStr-%Dam(50)
Level 38: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-ResDam%(46), Rct-Def(46)
Level 47: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 49: Warrior's Provocation -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(17)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(19)
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 4: Ninja Run
Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Radial Superior Ally
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Degenerative Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kind words, Dove 🙂 It's mostly for me but I might as well post it so others can make use of it. This harkens from the early Homecoming days, forums brand spanking new, first page still... and so little information or builds being posted.

 

 

What you've posted seems to be in order. Changing the power selection is fine since it's you who is using the build and thus it is suited to your playstyle. I find I don't need Tough or Weave for the mid levels since everything is easy and little in the way of debuffs to threaten us. We run things at +1 tops so there is not this big level gap to make things threatening. That's why I keep Tough and Weave so far down the list since at 50 is when we push the difficulty and when the extra defenses are needed.

 

That's how I do it, but it doesn't have to be how you do it. That said you can burn a respec and see if you really notice a difference in survival by not having Tough and Weave.

 

 

Just as note you don't need the Kismet as long as you're running Focused Accuracy. With FA you're overshooting 95% by a comfortable margin (and the reason I take FA is mostly because it resists accuracy being debuffed (as well as the Blind protection)). This is against +3 which is where the T3 Alpha leaves us. For +1 or +2 enemies you don't even need FA to reach the ToHit limits so either way Kismet isn't adding much.

 

If you go into Mids' options, then 'Exemping&Base Values' you can change ToHit to 48 to mimic fighting a +3 enemy.

[Dark Dove]

8 minutes ago, Sovera said:

Just as note you don't need the Kismet as long as you're running Focused Accuracy. With FA you're overshooting 95% by a comfortable margin (and the reason I take FA is mostly because it resists accuracy being debuffed (as well as the Blind protection)). This is against +3 which is where the T3 Alpha leaves us. For +1 or +2 enemies you don't even need FA to reach the ToHit limits so either way Kismet isn't adding much.

 

If you go into Mids' options, then 'Exemping&Base Values' you can change ToHit to 48 to mimic fighting a +3 enemy.

 

Yep, I keep the Kismet just because I have a tendency to exemplar well over half of the time and I only tend to get access to Focused Acc a small amount of time.  I usually keep my Mids setting to 38 because after level 40 most teams will run at +4 due to the amount of incarnate saturation.  So mostly the kismet is for like, Positron and things like that where the bonus still helps out, although it is a wasted slot in the endgame I agree.

 

I'll sometimes do teams at +3/+4 (small four person-five person teams) for low level task forces with the intention of doing things the hard way, it really mixes up the low level TF's when you have a small group of exemplared 50's instead of full groups of underslotted low level characters and gives me something a little more challenging to do without dragging those underslotted low level characters through something that isn't fun for them at that difficulty.  Weave for the 20's task forces makes a difference for my "sometimes" play, but I do agree with your sentiments for almost all other play for sure.  Everyone has their ways, mine are just as weird as anyone else's!  I'm just glad you put your work up here for me to mangle for my own purposes!

[Sovera]

After some time trying to figure out what was better but coming up empty (Bopper I ain't) I decided to go for the true-d and tried: testing.

 

What is better?

 

- Five Hectacomb with purple Hold damage proc. This is the lowest damage option at 540, but the global recharge and accuracy are good and also the recharge baked in means more uses of FT since the rotation can go down to FT, Ice Sword, Frost with a 0.5 second gap.

- Frankenslotted Freezing Touch with no recharge (purple damage/endurance). Biggo damage increase. 700 damage. Booyah. A row of 90% chance procs. Downside is that the slower recharge forces a FT, Ice Sword, Frost, Ice Sword and still have a near one second gap.

- Frankenslotted FT with minimal recharge (purple damage/recharge). Middle way damage option at 675, and the recharge is just perfectly edged by the fraction for FT to recharge after Ice Sword, Frost, Ice Sword.

 

 

The tests were done without slotting -res procs since I've stopped thinking of them as important for other than pylon tests. I already know my 3 minute Fire/MA does it in 4 minutes without -res procs so that's my benchmark.

 

Without overthinking it too much:

 

700 damage FT with no recharge: 4:20 - 4:23

675 FT with minimal recharge: 3:51 - 4:10

540 FT with Hectacomb: 4:01 - 4:12

 

 

No clear answers unfortunately, but about as expected from similar tests in the past.

 

Full Hectacomb gives a bit more global recharge and accuracy which has its value. It's a 'DPS' option though, but having FT up more often is also nice. When the choice is Frost or Ice Sword it's nice to see FT up.

FT with minimal recharge is the best of both worlds. Having a perfect rotation does not matter as much since Burn messes with it every 7 seconds or so, but still it makes a difference as the testing showed.

FT with no recharge may not have given the best results but in a team setting it might still be the best choice. Anyone with Speedboost, or Accelerated Metabolism, or dropping an Ageless, and suddenly that gap isn't there anymore. It's the best burst with a row of 90% procs waiting to be unleashed:

 

 

But overall the difference is minimal. It is the reason I stopped frankenslotting Burn despite the omfg big burst, because with the difference not being large and me exemplaring a lot I prefer to have the attack up more often while garnering the extra global recharge and accuracy.

 

 

Testing Frozen Fists didn't show much better results. A quick respec to improve upon it and following FT, Ice Sword, Frozen Fists, Ice Sword:

FT with full Hectacomb = 4:07

FT with minimal recharging= 3:57

 

Same old. I will prefer to keep Frozen Fists minimally slotted as a mule and keep on doubling Frost for ST and AoE.

 

[Sovera]

Continuing from the previous post since it was 3 AM - as what had started as a quick test turned into multiple ones -  what I extract from these tests is that the value of procs go down as they cost something. FT at 700 damage should have blown FT at 540 out of the water, and yet casting fewer FTs ultimately caught up, and, in fact, surpassed it slightly.

 

Casting our heaviest hitters as much as possible is common sense but its good that testing backs this bit of popular knowledge

 

Look at Slash from Claws, for example. It fits perfectly within its rotation and requires no recharge to continue doing so, ergo loading it with procs adds something to the build at just the loss of a bonus set.

 

But looking at FT the extra damage comes at the cost of casting more T2 or T3 which are laughably behind it in damage.

 

 

So looking back at Ice we do have that one attack that fits perfectly in the rotation: Ice Sword. Even without any recharge slotted in it it recharges in 2.50 seconds... which is as long as Frost takes, so there is no loss in loading it with procs instead of aiming for IO bonuses.

 

- First test: 3:51. Better, but I'm dropping Frost from the rotation which means lower upkeep for the ATO +res proc.

- Tossed the four Might of the Tanker into Burn. The upkeep of the proc is now much better. Also 3:46. The differences are minimal so far though far from no-recharge-FT testing as I play with 5 Hectacombs.

- Testing with minimal-recharge-FT to improve FT's damage changed little: 4:01

- Frost takes too long to cast and I find that I'm either waiting 1-1.5 seconds to pass to use another skill or using Frost and having my better skills up while it's still animating. So time to bring back Frozen Fists with full-Hectacomb-FT.... and nope. 3:54

- Perhaps Frozen Fists + procmonstered Ice Sword with minimum-recharge-FT: 3:25 ...alright, we may be on to something. One more try: ....3:48. Or it was just a fluke.

- Everything fits perfectly with Hectacomb-slotted-FT, Frozen Fists, frankenslotted Ice Sword, Frozen fists.... but no, 4:10.

- Frankenslotting and adding lots of procs seems to have brought very little dividends. So what of the regular slotting but with the Frozen Fist spam? 4:01.

- Frankenslotted Frozen Fists: 3:40 - 4:10 - 4:06... how do we lose 30 seconds like this? It goes beyond just 'whiffing'.

- Everything slotted regular like but Frost as the procmonstered carrier: 3:56

 

 

We are back on the starting line. Adding a boatload of procs did not really affect things either way as the times are firmly stuck on the 4 minute average. Things I have learned: Frozen Fists 'feels' better to use for ST. Faster animating and less time choosing whether to use a power when I have 1-1.5 for Ice Sword/FT/Burn to recharge. Ultimately it does not matter either way so what feels better may be the better criteria. This is merely on the animation side of things as Frozen Fists is a pretty terrible power all around. Same animation time of the T2 but with the damage of a T1? Yuck. Same deal with Greater Ice Sword. It has the same animation time of Frost but is ST and hits for a whooping extra... nine damage.

 

Also, testing is as infuriating as ever with 30 seconds from one try to the next.

[Sovera]

So what if it's 2 AM? I managed to squeeze in Arcane Bolt into the build and of course I had to go test it. HYPE! Arcane Bolt is supposed to be a better attack now, and it allows to fit in a FF proc to help speed things up, so this will be go-... Nope.

 

5:20.

 

Second attempt, maybe something went horribly wrong *cry*: 5:00. ...guess not.

 

Final final attempt. Frozen Fists and big emphasis on shooting FT and Burn the second they are up: 5:02

 

 

Nope, Arcane Bolt is still crap that can't compete with Ice Sword. Maybe trying to fit in Ice Sword so it can alternate with Arcane Bolt though this will mess up exemplaring thanks to being forced to waste a power on Frozen Fists regardless.

 

I mean, Arcane bolt is still bad, but it can't be Frozen Fists bad, right? Right? Tomorrow will tell since it's nearly 3 AM again.

[Sovera]

9 hours ago, Sovera said:

I mean, Arcane bolt is still bad, but it can't be Frozen Fists bad, right? Right? Tomorrow will tell since it's nearly 3 AM again.

 

Narrator: But it could, and it was.

 

Grabbing Ice Sword and using it along with Arcane Bolt, no Frost used: 4:30.

 

For those paying attention it was 30 seconds behind the same slotting but using Frozen Fists, an already very mediocre power. Loss of Assault may have helped. This certainly tempers my interest in future wedging Arcane Bolt into a build.

 

For posterity I'll leave the Arcane Bolt build up:

 

 

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Ice Melee
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(3), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Frozen Fists -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Fire Shield -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(11), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(11), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(13)
Level 4: Frost -- Bmbdmt-Dam(A), Bmbdmt-Acc/Rech/End(34), Bmbdmt-Dam/Rech(34), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech(36), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech/End(36), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(36)
Level 6: Arcane Bolt -- Apc-Dam%(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(21), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), Apc-Acc/Rchg(23), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(23), FrcFdb-Rechg%(25)
Level 8: Ice Sword -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), TchofDth-Dam%(17), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(19), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(50)
Level 10: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-Def(13), Rct-ResDam%(31)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(33)
Level 14: Healing Flames -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(27), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(31), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(46), Pnc-Heal(49)
Level 16: Build Up -- RctRtc-ToHit/Rchg(A), GssSynFr--Build%(29), RctRtc-ToHit(39), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 18: Burn -- SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(A), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Erd-%Dam(39)
Level 20: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 22: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), WntGif-ResSlow(29)
Level 24: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech(25), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(27), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(40), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(46)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 28: Freezing Touch -- Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Hct-Dam%(43), UnbCns-Dam%(43)
Level 30: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Boxing -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(45), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(45), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 35: Focused Accuracy -- RctRtc-ToHit(A), RctRtc-Pcptn(40), EndRdx-I(45)
Level 38: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(48), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(48), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(49), ShlWal-Def(50)
Level 47: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Temperature Protection -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(9), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(47), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(47)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(15), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(15)
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
------------

 

 

 

[Marshal_General]

How well does fire do as a tanks for TFs and Incarnate stuff?

 

I made this build based on your Fire/DB build focusing a little more on resists.

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

FA DB: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Dual Blades
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fire Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(3), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(3), UnbGrd-ResDam(5), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(5)
Level 1: Nimble Slash -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(7), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Blazing Aura -- SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(11), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg(11), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(13)
Level 4: Ablating Strike -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(17), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(21), AchHee-ResDeb%(21)
Level 6: Healing Flames -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(23), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(23), Prv-Heal/Rchg(25), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(25), Prv-Absorb%(27)
Level 8: Combat Jumping -- Ksm-ToHit+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(27), Rct-ResDam%(29), Krm-ResKB(29), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(42)
Level 10: Taunt -- PrfZng-Dam%(A)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31), UnbGrd-ResDam(31), UnbGrd-Max HP%(33)
Level 14: Consume -- SynSck-EndMod(A), SynSck-Dam/Rech(17), SynSck-EndMod/Rech(34), SynSck-Dam/Rech/Acc(48), SynSck-Dam/Acc/End(48), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(48)
Level 16: Typhoon's Edge -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(34)
Level 18: Burn -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(36), ScrDrv-Dam%(36), Obl-%Dam(36), Arm-Dam%(37), Erd-%Dam(37)
Level 20: Blinding Feint -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(37), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), TchofDth-Dam%(39), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), GssSynFr--Build%(40)
Level 22: Super Jump -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), WntGif-ResSlow(40)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Vengeful Slice -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(42), TchofDth-Dam%(42), GldStr-%Dam(43), Hct-Dam%(43), FrcFdb-Rechg%(43)
Level 30: Kick -- Empty(A)
Level 32: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 35: Sweeping Strike -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(45), ScrDrv-Dam%(45), Obl-%Dam(45), Erd-%Dam(46), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(46)
Level 38: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(46)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(50)
Level 44: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50), LucoftheG-Def(50)
Level 47: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(13), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(15)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(15)
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon
Level 50: Pyronic Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
------------

 

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