Psychic Blast/ Dark Armor build - Need some advices

[serxiom]

Hello everyone! I have wanted to build a Dark Armor character for a while and come out with this Sentinel build below. 

I know most of the DA builds aim towards softcapping defenses more than  resist. Well i decided to softcap resist S/L/F/C/Psi. In order to sustain this character i choose 2 heals Obscures Sustenance and Warmth from Fire Epic. Also picked Steath + Cloack of Darkness to jump undetected in middle of npcs or skip in TFs (both running together give you invisibility right? i cant remember)

So let me know if im totally wrong approaching this way to DA or you think is a viable character for +50 content. 

Thanks for the help/advise!!

 

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 Sentinel
Primary Power Set: Psychic Blast
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Telekinetic Blast -- SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprOppStr-Dmg/Rchg(33), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprOppStr-Rchg/+Opportunity(34)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- StdPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(3), StdPrt-ResKB(3), GldArm-3defTpProc(5), GldArm-ResDam(5), GldArm-End/Res(7)
Level 2: Tenebrous Regeneration -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Absorb%(19)
Level 4: Murky Cloud -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam(7), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(9), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 6: Will Domination -- SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg(A), SprSntWar-Dmg/Rchg(34), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), SprSntWar-Rchg/+Absorb(40)
Level 8: Psychic Focus -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(11), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(11), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(13), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(13), AdjTrg-Rchg(15)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- Ags-ResDam(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(15), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(17), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
Level 12: Psionic Strike -- Dvs-Acc/Dmg(A), Dvs-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Dvs-Dmg/Rchg(42), Dvs-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Dvs-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Obscure Sustenance -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(21), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(21)
Level 18: Psionic Tornado -- Rgn-Dmg(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(19), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(23), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(43)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 22: Kick -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Tough -- Ags-ResDam(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(27), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(27), Ags-Psi/Status(29), ImpArm-ResPsi(43)
Level 26: Scramble Thoughts -- Tmp-Acc/Dmg(A), Tmp-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Tmp-Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- CldSns-Acc/ToHitDeb(A), CldSns-Acc/Rchg(29), CldSns-ToHitDeb(31), CldSns-%Dam(31)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Psychic Wail -- Arm-Dmg(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(36), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Arm-Acc/Rchg(37), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(37)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- AbsAmz-Stun(A), AbsAmz-Acc/Rchg(36), AbsAmz-Acc/Stun/Rchg(45)
Level 38: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(39), Rct-ResDam%(39)
Level 41: Cremate -- Hct-Dmg(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(46), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(46), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Hct-Acc/Rchg(48)
Level 44: Fire Sword Circle -- FuroftheG-Acc/Dmg(A), FuroftheG-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(45)
Level 47: Warmth -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(48), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(50), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 49: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Opportunity 
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(50)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PwrTrns-EndMod(23), PrfShf-End%(25), PwrTrns-+Heal(25)
------------

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[Underfyre]

I'm about to go to bed, but the first concern I have is that you've maxed resistance on S/L/F/C/P, but you have middling defense in your weakest resistances, E/N. I mean, all your defenses are middling, but I'm mostly concerned on the parts where you can't take the punch. But I dunno, I've been out of the game for a spell. Take the build to the beta server and see how it fairs.

[oldskool]

First off, I'm always impressed when people push the resistances on Sentinel Dark Armor up to 75%.  That said, I also think this build gives up some potential in the process.  

I'm not sure if Cloak of Darkness and Stealth work together like this.  A Stealth IO in Sprint, for example, absolutely does reduce your aggro radius though.  You're basically giving up the chance to run Weave for Stealth and that is absolutely baffling.  Then again you're not really gunning for defenses here, but still this makes little sense to me.  

I have lots of questions for you. 

How do you intend to use Telekinetic Blast slotted like that?  That ATO's proc is PPM 2 and if you're not planning to use TK Blast on cooldown then it doesn't have a great chance to fire off.  

You have some purples in this build, but you skipped Apocalypse.  Why?  Was it because you're at the 10% recharge cap?  If that was the case, then why use Ragnarok in Psionic Tornado?  Apocalypse has better bonuses and a damage proc for your single target chain.  There are decent sets within the targeted AoE category for recharge, i.e., Positron's Blast.  I guess this question is a bit rhetorical.  I can see the reason for these sets is to cap your Fire/Cold resistance.  Perhaps my real question is... why bother with this strategy at all?  The amount of fire and cold enemies of any real significance is pretty low.  So you're dumping resources into capping resistance for some niche content. Maybe I am missing something, so I'm open to hearing what the thought process is.  

Why value slotting in Psionic Strike over Scramble Thoughts?  The choice of which is better should be pretty obvious.  Since the game's actual animation times are different from the tool tip's representations Psionic Strike is worse than it looks.  Psionic Strike has a base damage that is lower than Scramble Thoughts but their actual animation difference is just over a quarter of a second.  This means Scramble Thoughts pulls ahead, but it already did even with your low investment to damage enhancement.  Scramble Thoughts just looks like an afterthought here of "Where can I get some more resistance... oh yeah! I haven't slotted Scramble Thoughts yet!".  

Warmth is a pretty crappy heal.  I guess it can heal others so that's kinda neat, but you have 1331 hit points in this build not considering accolade (So I guess it could be a bit better).  15% of that is just barely scraping 200 hp.  Even with Hasten running the effective healing per second is around 20-22 hit points (with HP accolades it'd be around 26).  Obscure Sustenance provides you with an additional 37hp regen within the first 10 seconds.  It will scale down from there for a bit, and scale down a third time for the remainder of its full duration.  Obscure Sustenance does last a full minute, but the actual effect degrades over time.  It is like a mini version of a Destiny Incarnate.  

 

Just some quick changes I'd make in order to smooth out damage.  

 

6 slot Scramble Thoughts and run Opportunity Strikes there.  That is the best power to make full use of that crappy ATO.  

Move Sentinel's Ward to TK Blast.  Who gives a crap if this goes off?  TK Blast is a great place for it.  
Use 5 to 6 slots in Will Domination with Apocalypse and just worry a lot less on capping all resistances with Dark Armor.  

Use whatever slots are left for Psionic Strike.  If you intend to use it, just make sure it is ED capped so it can hit hard.  Its general efficiency is pretty much crap, but its per target hit is still high.  

You can take or leave Cloak of Fear.  You have absolutely nothing to stack magnitude with and the to-hit debuff requires a to-hit check by the power.  Thankfully, the pulse is actually pretty fast which can make up for its abysmal accuracy but keep in mind that tick rate has no impact on the proc that is in that toggle.  That proc is bound by rules of how toggles trigger the effect which is about once per 10 seconds.  That proc also needs the power to successfully hit, and you're at 55% vs +4's.  Needless to say, you could totally live without that proc and never miss you ever had it.  

Oppressive Gloom is actually quite good with this combo since Psychic Wail (edit, p.s., and Scramble Thoughts) stacks magnitude.  Thankfully OG is good on one slot or several.  I'd probably prefer 5 slots here if you could swing it, but you do you my friend.  

Dark Armor can deal with having some lower defenses since the CC toggles remove the nuisance of minions.  This strategy doesn't really help you with tougher enemies that will ignore the fear and won't be stunned without Scramble Thoughts or Psychic Wail hitting first.  

I'd reconsider at least trying to see if you can get more of your defenses into the 20+ range and allow your resistance to focus more on smashing/lethal as it is most common.  Energy becomes a very common damage type, but increasing that to 75% through IO bonuses alone is just too big a mountain to climb.  You could swap things around and pick up Rune of Protection if having capped resistances was that big a deal.  Barrier Destiny can help as could one of your Melee options in the Hybrid Incarnate section.  

Cool thought experiment, but I think you'd enjoy this character more if you focus on the damage it can actually do vs pretending to be a tank it can never be. 

 

Edited June 11, 2020 by oldskool

[serxiom]

 @oldskool and @underfyre thank a lot for your feedback. Really helped a lot.

So i decided to start from scratch and discard the idea of softcap resists. 

The build below aims to reach softcap defenses Melee S/L + decent Resist S/L/F/C/N/Psy. Rech with Hasten is 150%. I also decided go with Cloak of fear and Dark Epic in order to bring my defenses up and get F/C resist to a decent percentage. I switched ATOs and Purps following @oldskool advices as well.

 

If there is any more inputs or ideas will be appreciated your comments. Thanks a lot!

 

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 Sentinel
Primary Power Set: Psychic Blast
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Dark Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Telekinetic Blast -- SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg(A), SprSntWar-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprSntWar-Rchg/+Absorb(19)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(7), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(9), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9), UnbGrd-Max HP%(11)
Level 2: Tenebrous Regeneration -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Absorb%(11)
Level 4: Psychic Scream -- Rgn-Dmg(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(13), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(15), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(15)
Level 6: Will Domination -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(7), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Apc-Acc/Rchg(17), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(19)
Level 8: Murky Cloud -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(21), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(23), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(23)
Level 10: Psychic Focus -- RctRtc-ToHit(A), RctRtc-ToHit/Rchg(25)
Level 12: Obsidian Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(50), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(50), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 14: Psionic Strike -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(31), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31)
Level 16: Obscure Sustenance -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(33)
Level 18: Psionic Tornado -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(36), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(37), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(37)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 22: Super Jump -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Kick -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(34), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(36), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 26: Scramble Thoughts -- SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprOppStr-Dmg/Rchg(27), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprOppStr-Rchg/+Opportunity(39)
Level 28: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(34), StdPrt-ResKB(34), GldArm-ResDam(39)
Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(33), Rct-ResDam%(46)
Level 32: Psychic Wail -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-%Dam(40), Obl-Acc/Rchg(42), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(42), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 35: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(36)
Level 38: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45)
Level 41: Cloak of Fear -- SphIns-ToHitDeb(A), SphIns-Acc/ToHitDeb(42), SphIns-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SphIns-Acc/Rchg(45), SphIns-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 44: Smite -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(46), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(46), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48)
Level 47: Netherworld Grasp -- UnbCns-Hold/Rchg(A), UnbCns-Acc/Hold/Rchg(48), UnbCns-Acc/Rchg(48)
Level 49: Combat Jumping -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Opportunity 
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(40)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(25), EndMod-I(40)
------------

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[Underfyre]

I was going to hop on the beta servers and poke around, but they're offline atm. Anyway, what I was going to do was get a real number to work with, but it's not super necessary.

 

Here's the numbers we're working with:

50% base hit chance. 95% is max avoidance, which is why everyone says 45%. You may or may not have known that.

Let's assume mobs are hitting for a bonkers number like 1000 dps for every type.

 

Type	Resist	Defense	Damage	Taken
S/L	62.4%	95%	376	18.8
E	38.3%	80%	617	123.4
N	60.4%	80%	396	79.2
F/C	58.3%	75%	417	104.25
T	33.8%	0%	662	297.9
P	66.9%	75%	331	82.75

 

Overall damage taken: 810.55

 

I measure damage taken against how often I'm going to be hit to get a feel for how well defenses are going to work. I'm not going to post the table for your first build, but it's number was a higher 981.57. By shifting from maxing out resists to padding in more defense, you've effectively lowered your damage taken over time. Do you really need to know this for every damage type? Probably not, but as a numbers man it's helped me out a bit to know where adding more resist is more effective than adding in more defense, or vice versa.

 

Edited June 11, 2020 by underfyre

[serxiom]

@underfyrethanks a lot for sharing so valuable info. Great job doing those numbers. 

So defenitly ill keep the second build and try it out. I was hoping coming with a different approach with Dark Armor but it s what it is and +Def is the way to go with this set. 

Thanks a lot for your great feedback.