Breakerbot - A build review request for an Elec x 3 sentinel

[EnjoyTheJourney]

The build below is intended to put out good damage in a team setting, both while exemp'd down and in endgame content.

 

Damage:

Mob resistances can fall by up to 62.5%, with offensive opportunity engaged, interface at maximum stacks, and both -res procs active. There are better -res stacking characters out there. But, this still seems helpful for team or solo play.  A candidate single target damage chain could go zapping bolt, charged bolts, tesla cage, rinse and repeat. If in melee then havoc punch would be the opener because of its superior DPA, followed by the rest of the single target chain, inserting havoc punch whenever it was once again ready to use. The nuke recharges every 25 seconds and it would be used regularly on large crowds.   

 

Sustain:

Positional defenses were brought close to 20% overall. Global recharge sits at 168.8%, which brings back energize about every 26 seconds. Regen sits at 722% when energize is active. Rune of protection (RoP) caps most resistances and has fairly close to 50% uptime. The lowest resistance is toxic, which sits at a base of 8%, and which rises to 23.4% when RoP is active, and can go up to 9% higher when the scaling resist proc activates. 

 

As always, if somebody finds something helpful in here then that would be a welcome outcome. If somebody can help to improve this build, then that would also be welcome. 

 

Thank you in advance for any feedback offered. 

 

PS: The damage listed for ball lightning ignores all three damage procs. Thus, the damage total listed for ball lightning is probably quite misleading. In fact, it might be good enough to be included in the single target attack chain, based on its superior DPA. 

 

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!

Breakerbot: Level 50 Technology Sentinel
Primary Power Set: Electrical Blast
Secondary Power Set: Electric Armor
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Electricity Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Charged Bolts -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(37), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 1: Charged Armor -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(3), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(3), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(5)
Level 2: Ball Lightning -- Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(A), JvlVll-Dam%(45), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(46), PstBls-Dam%(48), Ann-Acc/Dmg(48), Ann-ResDeb%(48)
Level 4: Conductive Shield -- Ags-Psi/Status(A), Ags-ResDam(5), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(7), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(7)
Level 6: Zapping Bolt -- SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg(A), SprSntWar-Dmg/Rchg(21), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), SprSntWar-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), SprSntWar-Rchg/+Absorb(43)
Level 8: Charged Shield -- DctWnd-Heal(A), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(9), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(9), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(36), DctWnd-EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 10: Energize -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(11), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(11), Prv-Heal/Rchg(19), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(19), Prv-Absorb%(21)
Level 12: Tesla Cage -- SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprOppStr-Dmg/Rchg(13), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), SprOppStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprOppStr-Rchg/+Opportunity(17)
Level 14: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Static Shield -- GldArm-RechRes(A), GldArm-ResDam(17), GldArm-End/Res(45)
Level 18: Aim -- HO:Cyto(A)
Level 20: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(46), Rct-ResDam%(46)
Level 22: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25), RechRdx-I(25)
Level 26: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(27), GldArm-ResDam(27), GldArm-End/Res(36)
Level 28: Lightning Reflexes -- Run-I(A)
Level 30: Short Circuit -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Arm-Acc/Rchg(31), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Arm-Dmg(34), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(34)
Level 32: Thunderous Blast -- Rgn-Knock%(A), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(33), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(34), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(43)
Level 35: Power Sink -- PrfShf-EndMod(A)
Level 38: Chain Fences -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(40)
Level 41: Havoc Punch -- Hct-Dam%(A), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Hct-Acc/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Dmg(43)
Level 44: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(45)
Level 47: Spirit Ward -- HO:Golgi(A)
Level 49: Rune of Protection -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(50)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Opportunity 
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(36), Mrc-Rcvry+(37)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(37)
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon 
Level 50: Ion Radial Final Judgement 
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Storm Elemental Core Ally 
Level 50: Rebirth Radial Epiphany 
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment 
------------

 

Edited August 15, 2020 by EnjoyTheJourney

[oldskool]

20 hours ago, EnjoyTheJourney said:

The build below is intended to put out good damage in a team setting, both while exemp'd down and in endgame content.

 

Damage:

Mob resistances can fall by up to 62.5%, with offensive opportunity engaged, interface at maximum stacks, and both -res procs active. There are better -res stacking characters out there. But, this still seems helpful for team or solo play.  A candidate single target damage chain could go zapping bolt, charged bolts, tesla cage, rinse and repeat. If in melee then havoc punch would be the opener because of its superior DPA, followed by the rest of the single target chain, inserting havoc punch whenever it was once again ready to use. The nuke recharges every 25 seconds and it would be used regularly on large crowds.   

 

Sustain:

Positional defenses were brought close to 20% overall. Global recharge sits at 168.8%, which brings back energize about every 26 seconds. Regen sits at 722% when energize is active. Rune of protection (RoP) caps most resistances and has fairly close to 50% uptime. The lowest resistance is toxic, which sits at a base of 8%, and which rises to 23.4% when RoP is active, and can go up to 9% higher when the scaling resist proc activates. 

 

As always, if somebody finds something helpful in here then that would be a welcome outcome. If somebody can help to improve this build, then that would also be welcome. 

 

Thank you in advance for any feedback offered. 

 

PS: The damage listed for ball lightning ignores all three damage procs. Thus, the damage total listed for ball lightning is probably quite misleading. In fact, it might be good enough to be included in the single target attack chain, based on its superior DPA.

The bolded point below... You sure about this?  If you remove all the procs Ball Lightning has a DPA of 94 in Mid's.  Add the procs back and the DPA goes to 154.  The resistance debuff of -12.5% isn't accounted for though and that is a damage boost when it triggers.  

 

You've got Charged Bolts down to recharging within the animation of Zapping Bolt which is a decent way to go (Charged - Zapping - Charged).  Total animation time is 3.56 seconds which is greater than your current Tesla Cage.  You could run those 4 powers over and over without gap.  If you want to introduce Ball Lightning you could tack it on at the end or wherever.  It has a 5.95 second recharge which is 0.01s longer than that 4 attack sequence.  

 

Your initial end cost on BL is still pretty high to spam.  Energize helps offset this.  I think you could swap the Acc/Dmg of the two sets you used to Acc/Dmg/End (both sets have that) and then boost them if you wanted.  You'd still reclaim the 85% accuracy and get significant endurance costs on top of it.  The damage you're carrying is still largely focused on the procs.  

 

Since you may be looking at a 5+ second animation sequence you could consider gutting out the recharge of Tesla Cage and proccing it out.  You could dump the Thundestrikes in Charged Shot and put the Opportunity Strikes set there.  Since you're likely going to weave that attack as your filler the changes don't hurt you too much.  Plus, Opportunity Strikes isn't that great a proc, but firing it off more frequently might be an option.  

 

Tesla Cage could run just enough Acc/Dmg/End and then allow for at least 4 slots of damage procs.  Two of those procs can be purple sets (Apocalypse, Unbreakable Constraint) with a very high chance to trigger as long as no recharge is in enhanced in the power.  This moves the DPA from 129 (in Mids) to at least 241 with 4 procs.  A 5th proc would push it higher.  This also significantly increases your overall damage to a single target. 

You don't need to 3 slot Hasten if you opt to use boosters later.  

 

If you're only ever going to use the default slot in Aim, then may as well make it the Gaussian's Build-Up proc.  That is also significant damage burst every Aim cycle.  

 

I don't know if I'd bother with Rune of Protection, but to each their own.  You'd certainly get some boost out of it on the incredibly rare occasions where lots of negative or toxic damage was flying around.  Orange inspirations can also work for that in a pinch.  You've got the scaling damage resist IO planned.  It starts at a low %, but it builds toward a high number.  It'll cap your S/L resist making Rune of Protection a lot more limited towards two exotic damage types.  If it is worth the power lot for you to mule the set, then cool.  

[EnjoyTheJourney]

First, thank you for your detailed feedback. I'll address the different points raised as best I can. 

 

Regarding ball lighting procs, our character planner software seems to be different in some way. In the "configuration" menu I have damage showing as "average damage" and I see 112.1 points of energy damage listed for ball lightning, with both enhancement effects and set bonus effects toggled on, and alpha buffs included in popups. All damage procs can be added or removed as many times as I like and the damage listed never changes. As a further sign of the issue, the damage types for non-energy damage types does not even show up in the tooltip damage calculation figures (ie: no fire damage listed despite having a fire damage proc and no lethal damage listed despite have a lethal damage proc). Incidentally, toggling opportunity on or off also doesn't change the damage value reported in the "info" box for powers, even though damage reported marginally increases for charged bolts when toggling on opportunity.   

 

Procs do show up for other skills on my planner. But, I can't get them to show up for ball lightning. I have no idea why. 

 

I like the idea of acc / dam / end slotting ball lightning, and then boosting; it's a worthwhile investment. Thank you for the suggestion. I also agree about the single target chain and it seems to make the best that can be made of what's available. 

 

Hasten slotting is usually 3 boosted level 30 generic recharge IOs, rather than level 50 IOs. But, I don't know how to configure that, and so that's misleading. Which is unfortunate. 

 

Rune of protection (RoP) provides value to the build if the resistances added are viewed in terms of percentage of damage avoided, rather than absolute percentage points of resistance added. Thus, for example, boosting smash / lethal resistances from 68.5% to the 75% cap reduces incoming damage of those types by close to 25%, which is noticeable. Similarly, with RoP active incoming psionic damage drops by about 30%, incoming negative energy damage drops by close to 25%, and incoming toxic damage falls by about 15%. While it's true that orange candy could substitute for RoP for sentinels, given the baseline value for RoP of 12%, it's been my experience that orange inspirations are not always on hand when their use would be most helpful. YMMV, of course. 

 

Again, though, thank you for taking the time to offer feedback. 

 

If there was one topic that I'd be curious about considering further, it would be when it's best to turn either a ST or AOE power into a proc monster; ball lightning seems like a good candidate for electric because long recharge, short activation AOE skills can pack a lot of DPA into an attack chain when proc'd out, thereby moving both ST and AOE attack chains to a higher level. A key caveat is that all the extra endurance costs need to be looked after, of course. 

[CaptTastic]

Interesting build. Here are a few pointers I’d give, not on your build specifically but on building Elec Sentinels in general. 
 

I took my Elec*3 down a slightly different route. 
 

• Hasten: I usually take hasten as a staple in all my builds but I skipped it on my Elec sentinel. With Lightning Reflexes buff recharge can be enhanced to a good enough level. I found I didn’t miss hasten at all. 
 

• Tesla Cage: I have five damage procs in Tesla Cage as well as an Acc/Dam (gladiator’s javelin I think). Makes it hit incredibly hard. 
 

• Resists: There is often almost a weird pressure in CoH to aim obsessivly for the defence cap in something. But resists are your friend with Elec Armour, so that’s what you need to shine up. 75% resists for S/L/F/E/C/P is achievable and will serve you better than defence. Of course, that still makes you resist-reliant on a relatively low HP archetype, so...

 

• Layered mitigation: On any power set, not just Elec, you should always play to it’s strengths. Elec has two in-built damage mitigation tricks you can utilise. Firstly, sapping. No endurance, no attacks. No attacks, no damage. Get into melee and take their endurance before you do anything. The alpha may get dicey on occasion as they all hit you before you can floor their blue, but you have Energize up your sleeve to Regen you out of harm while they’re unable to attack. If you can throw in a 22-25% or so of defence too, all the better. 

Edited August 26, 2020 by CaptTastic

[Ankhammon]

Cap,

 

So what do you think is your average full to sapped time? we talking 3 seconds? more? less?

 

and have you played with energy manipulator proc to see if you can stun your way out of some of the alpha?

Edited September 22, 2020 by Ankhammon