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Thermal/Rad Build Help

Bob the Painter

By Bob the Painter
in Defender

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Bob the Painter

Bob the Painter

Posted
Posted

I've played a number of damage focused characters, but this is my first Defender. Feel a bit lost on the slotting. I found a few other builds that I synthesized together to get what I have. Any help, especially power choices and slotting, would be appreciated.

 

Why I chose Thermal/: I like that thermal is a generalist. The res shields seem like theyd be more beneficial than the def shields in other sets. Melt armor seems like the most important power in the set, but it comes late and has a long recharge. I really want to leverage as much -res in the build through procs and recharge, while hopefully staying alive.

 

Why I chose /Rad: I'm not a fan of fire. It is mechanically strong, but it doesnt do anything for me. I have an Ice blaster thats fun, but I want to try something new. I've tried water on a corruptor, but didn't dig it. I felt like the two choices left to me were Dark and Rad. I like the -def packed into rad for procs. I also read that rad in general is a good set for procs. No idea if thermal is in a strong enough place to be able to make the sacrifices necessary for more procs. Hopefully you all can help in that department.

 

Questions on power choices:

  • I like the res shields, but do they need to be slotted as much as I have them?
  • Do cauterize and warmth both have a place in lv 35+ gameplay?
  • I'm not usually a fan of rune of protection, but is it the best fit for this combo?
  • Right now I have S/L/E def caps, should I finagle the build to instead cap ranged? Whats the best way of doing that?

 

Build below:

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MoonSheep

MoonSheep

Posted
Posted (edited)

not sure why you’re building so much defense on a support defender? they are typically a support archetype and less involved in taking alpha, hand to hand combat etc. in my opinion a defender should focus on being able to support the team as much as possible

 

forge is one of your main buffs but it has zero recharge on it to ensure it can be applied to as many team members as possible. heat exhaustion has the same issue - needs 2acc/2rech.

 

i really wouldn’t worry about the current fad the game is experiencing where everyone builds every character to S/L cap, it’s a rather uninformed strategy and doesn’t benefit most characters. focus on being the best thermal defender you can, the other team members will take the aggro. in CoH teams shine the most when people play to the strengths of their AT

 

there’s some good advice in the recent kin/rad thread for proccing the hell out of radiation blast for maximum damage/debuff etc

Edited by MoonSheep

If you're not dying you're not living

Doomguide2005

Doomguide2005

Posted
Posted

     Defense vs Recharge question.

Pretty much zero need to be in melee range of foes with Thermal.  Your two big debuffs (Heat Exhaustion and Melt Armor) both have 70ft base range.  Rad Blast has Irradiate and Atomic Blast which require up close and personal.  For me stealth and inspires say I can choose when to get in melee ranges.  I generally just want to be close enough so my Leadership is reaching the melee combatants so when my offender lock isn't in charge I'll be ~ 30 to 40ft from the melee scrum.  So any defense I build is likely Ranged.  I also tend to want substantial global recharge and will generally prioritize that over defense.  I'm not very familiar with procs but yes they can be potent way of upping damage for Rad Blast and you need global accuracy and To Hit to ensure you hit up rank foes.

 

To be continued lunch over

 

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Bob the Painter

Bob the Painter

Posted
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Posted

Enjoying this combo more as I go on. Lv 40 now, and having a blast.

 

I took a look at the Kin/Rad thread thats currently nearby on the forum. I was able to steal a few ideas, but couldn't really proc it out to the same degree. I don't think Thermal, or really any powerset, can leverage procs as well as Kin. I did sprinkle them in where I could.

 

Moon, I get what you're saying about an over emphasis on survivability, especially on toons that are more support focused. I just dont want to melt any time I am slightly caught out, which has happened a few times.

 

Below is a slightly modified version of the build. Still welcome to any positive criticism. Let me know what improvements you think can be made, major or minor.
 

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Doomguide2005

Doomguide2005

Posted
Posted

      What difficulty were you running when you 'got caught out' and 'melted'?  There can be a big difference on a leveling build even at level 40 running as an sk at +4×8 (so you're seeing +5's) on a lvl 50 team and running at your lvl even vs +4's.   Second while great for capping def Scorpion Shield is a defense and you've no DDR.  You run into the quite plentiful defdebuffers and no resistances to speak of and it'll get ugly scary fast.

 

Back later

Hedgefund

Hedgefund

Posted
Posted

Bob, I give a hearty endorsement, looks good.  Your global acc + Tactics gives you 95% to hit against +3, which is my benchmark, for everything BUT Heat Exhaustion and Melt Armor which are at 91.38% (I turned off the Gauss proc). 

 

Your global recharge is so high you won't miss the 5% from Oblit in Irradiate.  I'd use a proc instead of 1 of the Oblits.

 

I see you +5d the LotG +7.5s in Maneuvers and Weave.  That means that recharge bonus won't exemp.

 

I would move the Def uniques that don't actually boost Def from Scorp Shield to CJ, that way you get the bonuses when you exemp lower and you lose nothing from SS.

 

Going in the other direction I would + the Def/End in Scorp Shield, more for the end than the def.

 

Again, because your global recharge is so high, you won't miss the 5% from Red Fortune and this gives an opportunity to go 4 deep into LOTG for the +9Acc.  This happens to put everything above 95%, including HE and HL.  This gives 2 slots to play with that I moved to a damage proc and the +7.5% HP from Unbreakable Guard.

 

Here's my chunk w/ modifications:

 

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Pzn

Pzn

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 8/19/2021 at 7:48 PM, Hedgefund said:

I would move the Def uniques that don't actually boost Def from Scorp Shield to CJ, that way you get the bonuses when you exemp lower and you lose nothing from SS.

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Shield wall and reactive uniques will still work even if the power isn't available.  They show up like set bonuses but kismet needs to be checked every 120 seconds like miracle or numina so definitely need to move that one

Edited by Pzn

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