Seeking (Corruptor) Advice: Dual Pistols slotting

[tidge]

I'm getting close to a level 50 respec for my Dual Pistols/Cold Corruptor, and I haven't come to any firm decisions about slotting the offensive (primary) power set. Basically I am just looking for some discussion/suggestions. I'm not going to post a full build... here are some of what's in my mind:

• I'm not really trying to hit defensive softcaps (i.e. 25% - 30% is good enough for me)
• I really like Accuracy bonuses, but I may be over-doing it.
• The build doesn't include Hasten, I don't find myself using it as I level. I feel like the global Recharge I get from set bonuses has a relatively smooth attack chain. Long recharge powers would be great to have up ASAP, but (shrug).
• I'd like to balance (reliable) -Res into the (primary) attacks with some extra (reliable) %proc damage

 

Here is my current (sloppy?) thinking on the Dual Pistols primary:

 

Level 1:  Dual Wield 6x Superior Malice of the Corruptor. I feel like this set should be 6-slotted for the defense and recharge bonuses. The %proc rate stinks, but it is in a power used as part of the attack chain.

 

Level 2: Empty Clips 6xslot This is a cone that I will franken-slot with %procs. Any set bonuses will be negligible. I wasn't planning on any ATO here.

 

Level 10: Bullet Rain 6 slots, with a rough idea of 5xRaganarok with one Force Feedback +Recharge. I feel like I could "do better" with this power.

 

Level 18: Executioner's Shot 6x Superior Scourging Blast. This ATO feels like it could be split (either into 2-pieces or 3-pieces) but for the time being I thought I'd keep them together in a single-target power. The %PBAoE +End is a mystery to me. I wonder if instead I should use Superior Winter's Bite and  just drop this set in...

 

Level 26: Piercing Rounds 6xSuperior Frozen Blast. I was thinking to add a Winter set for extra Mez/Slow resists and the ranged/AoE defenses.  The cone is extremely tight, but I have been able to get multiple targets with repositioning and the use of my secondary.

 

Level 32: Hail of Bullets 6 slots with 5xArmageddon and one Force Feedback +Recharge. I have been leveraging the +Recharge in this PBAoE power because of the play style (and the generally poor positional Melee defense)... I have the long-recharge (patron) Soul Drain (with %procs) as part of a 1-2 PBAoE punch (or is it a 2-1-1 punch?)

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Carnifax]

Why the patron Soul Drain rather than the version in Dark? Dark version has half the recharge and Cold doesn't really need Power Boost.

 

I've found the Winters chance for kd is fab in Hail of Bullets (rather than Forced feedback). I do have FF in the cone and bullet rain.

[Meknomancer]

Not sure about the dp slotting, bullet rain always gets my malice set (you can't slot the ff+rech in there). Empty clips gets the 5 rags and ff+rech. I agree with the extra ff+rech in Hail especially if you skipped hasten (why lol? its a cold you want sleet/heat loss/benumb perma) and don't have capped def as the little bump it gives makes you more survivable. I don't like piercing rounds, a lot of dp animations are slow but that one is slow and looks silly. No hasten, you definitely want to split the scourging set (not exactly sure but i think the pbaoe+end means when it procs anyone near you benefits as well as yourself from the end bump) i try to get the proc in an aoe attack so it fires off more often as cold tends to be awful on the blue bar at low levels til you get heat loss, or maybe its just the way i build mine. I like pistols despite the poor damage it takes all sorts of goodies and animates fast. If you want -res in something other than sleet you can throw in achilles procs in some attacks, pistols/empty clips/executioners. Piercing may say cone but i've never seen it hit more than 1 target. Unless your going for power boost/soul storm/pet then go dark for larger radius faster recharge on soul drain, the toggles give the same benefits and you won't need dark consumption so oppressive can be a nice 1 slot pick.

[Carnifax]

Agreed on splitting the Scourging set for 2x10% recharge. My DP/Kin has it in the cone & rain, along with a Forced Feedback. That gives you 2 slots per power for a proc and a random Acc/Dam IO (on my Kin I only have them 4 slotted because Fulc + Soul Drain easily covers the missing damage). 

 

Hail of Bullets I actually have 5 Sup Winters + Armageddon but you could reverse that (5 Arms + the Chance to uppsy-daisy from Winters) or go with some other proc. Since the knockdown hits immediately it works nicely to keep you alive while you gunbreakdance. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

This is a great thought experiment, thanks!  I don't have this combination, but I would think it's a good one.

 

+Recharge is always going to be your friend when you are trying to get Benumb/Sleet/Heat Loss up as much as possible.  Personally, I'd work Hasten in, but I'm a real stan for that.  I also try to work in -res everywhere I can and in a few places I can't.

 

The FF +recharge proc, which I also love, doesn't stack I don't think?  But you could conceivably keep it up all the time.  It does, by the way, fit in Bullet Rain at least on my defenders it does.

 

For Empty Clips and Bullet Rain, I think I would go with FF proc, Annihilation proc, 3x Superior Scourging Blast (3,4,5 on Empty Clips, 1,2,6 on Bullet Rain), Nucleolus.

 

Hail of Bullets should pretty much auto-proc whatever is in there.  I wouldn't put a FF in there, but would probably use a Fury of the Glad proc and 5x Superior Avalanche for the melee d.

 

I think I'd 6-slot Superior Malice of the Corruptor in Piercing Rounds, especially if you are able to routinely get more than one target in the cone.  That proc is 5ppm!  I'd put it in an AoE if I could since it is going to trigger a fair amount.  It shouldn't be too bad in Pistols/Dual Wield either.

[tidge]

6 hours ago, Carnifax said:

Why the patron Soul Drain rather than the version in Dark? Dark version has half the recharge and Cold doesn't really need Power Boost.

 

I wanted Soul Drain as a first power pick. If I was only committing to level 50 play I can see the advantages of Epic Dark. I have other builds to use for that.

 

A @Yomo Kimyata wrote, the FF %+Recharge proc works in all(?) the Dual Pistol attacks because without Swap Ammo active they will do Knockback.

 

5 hours ago, Meknomancer said:

... if you skipped hasten (why lol? its a cold you want sleet/heat loss/benumb perma) and don't have capped def as the little bump it gives makes you more survivable.

 

This isn't a character I plan to play in a lot of solo +4/x8 content. I totally agree on trying to 'perma' Benumb, but frankly the to-hit requirement means that this isn't really going to be guaranteed (shakes fist at RNG). Likewise Heat Loss. My leveling build does include Hasten, so I can play with it a bit.

[Carnifax]

5 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

 

The FF +recharge proc, which I also love, doesn't stack I don't think?  But you could conceivably keep it up all the time.  It does, by the way, fit in Bullet Rain at least on my defenders it does.

 

Never stacks but also doesn't have the cut-off period of 10 seconds so can be chained over and over again extending the duration. Not that that's incredibly likely but it is possible. 

[tidge]

This character hasn't hit 50 yet, so I haven't reconfigured the primary (Dual Pistols) yet, but I've stuck with Soul as a Patron pool pick... I have the Hold (Soul Storm) which is a power I felt was missing from the Cold secondary... especially with the damage-over-time from the primary. As we know, Holds, especially those that can be slotted with damage sets, can hit like a truck with %damage.

[roleki]

On 11/9/2021 at 10:29 AM, Yomo Kimyata said:

The FF +recharge proc, which I also love, doesn't stack I don't think?  But you could conceivably keep it up all the time.  It does, by the way, fit in Bullet Rain at least on my defenders it does.

 

FF+Rech doesn't 'stack' per se (you won't get 200% +Rech if two hit consecutively) but they DO stack duration.  I've found that 3 FF+Rech in an attack chain will pretty much make it perma+100 during combat.  

[tidge]

I guess I should disclose that I am aware of how the FF %+Recharge works. This is not a piece I use in many builds; its presence in my plans for this character might explain why I am probably not going to keep Hasten in my final (solo) build. I've felt some twinges of Scrapperlock with this character, and have paid dearly for it!

 

The most difficult aspect of the character for me (so far, as I have been pacing the content I face) has been the need to keep a stack of Break Free inspirations. I've been going back-and-forth about whether or not to include the Aegis Status Protection piece in the build, but I still have a little way to go to get the Jailed badge.

[Carnifax]

Be aware that Aegis is a bit of Mez resistence, not protection. And it's only 20% (which I think = reducing mez times to 83.3% of their usual duration). 

 

Rune of Protection is likely your best overall option for "I want to break free". Squeezing it in may be irksome though (good place for the Resist unqiues though if you're thinking of skipping Fighting). 

[tidge]

I took some advice, and I rejected some advice

 

The advice I took was to fit Rune of Protection into the build, at a realtively low level (30). This required a second pick from the Sorcery pool, so I replaced Frostwork with Spirit Ward. It's not precisely the same power, but almost every time my teammates needed extra HP, the absorb was generally better. I didn't have extra slots for it to do much more than mule my own %absorb anyway.

 

The advice I rejected was to try to maximize global Recharge: no Hasten, no fifth 10% global Recharge set bonus, only three LotG pieces. I found myself at a pretty good balance of burning End, making attacks, moving and debuffing at a pace I like. Bullet Rain is not a reliable %proc (too much slotted recharge) so I will probably do some experimenting with it. Piercing Rounds does reliably %proc the %PBAoE +End, which is a nice bonus.

 

I kept epic Soul Mastery: I found myself liking Soul Storm too much to NOT have a hard-hitting Hold. It seems like every piece in it will always %proc (subject to the 90% ceiling), and I was using the +2 Mag piece in it while leveling. The second (boosted) piece from Unbreakable Constraint adds the extra hold time and makes the power more reliable in my solo play attack chain. The radius of Soul Drain is quite small, but I have gotten mileage out of it.

 

I'm on the fence about two slots:

• Aegis Psi/Status - this is just a placeholder for now, it's less important with Rune of Protection in the build
• Kismet +Accuracy (really +ToHit) - I like incorporating this piece when I have builds with %proc attacks, and I especially like it for running low level TF/SF at +4

My post-level 50 solo-play (no incarnates) build looks like:

 

Spoiler

Level 50 Natural Corruptor

Primary Power Set: Dual Pistols
Secondary Power Set: Cold Domination
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Dual Wield -- SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprMlcoft-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(3), SprMlcoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), SprMlcoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), SprMlcoft-Rchg/Dmg%:50(7)
Level 1: Infrigidate -- AchHee-ResDeb%:20(A), ShlBrk-%Dam:30(7), HO:Lyso(9), ImpSwf-Dam%:30(9), TchofLadG-%Dam:50(11)
Level 2: Empty Clips -- HO:Centri(A), HO:Centri(11), AchHee-ResDeb%:20(13), PstBls-Dam%:50(13), JvlVll-Dam%:50(15), EndRdx-I:50(15)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 6: Swap Ammo
Level 8: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB:50(A)
Level 10: Bullet Rain -- Rgn-Dmg:50(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg:50(19), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(21), Rgn-Acc/Rchg:50(21), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(23), FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(23)
Level 12: Glacial Shield -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(25), Ags-Psi/Status:50(50)
Level 14: Boxing -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc:50(A)
Level 16: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc:50(A), GldArm-End/Res:50(25)
Level 18: Executioner's Shot -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg:50(27), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(27), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(29), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg:50(29), SprWntBit-Rchg/SlowProc:50(31)
Level 20: Arctic Fog -- Rct-Def:50(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(31), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), Rct-Def/Rchg:50(33), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), Rct-ResDam%:50(34)
Level 22: Weave -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx:50(33), ShlWal-Def:50(34), LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(34), Ksm-ToHit+:30(36)
Level 24: Spirit Ward -- Prv-Absorb%:50(A)
Level 26: Piercing Rounds -- SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprScrBls-Dmg/Rchg:50(36), SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(36), SprScrBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), SprScrBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), SprScrBls-Rchg/+End:50(37)
Level 28: Benumb -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(39)
Level 30: Rune of Protection -- ResDam-I:50(A)
Level 32: Hail of Bullets -- Arm-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg:50(39), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(39), Arm-Acc/Rchg:50(40), Arm-Dam%:50(40), FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(40)
Level 35: Sleet -- Ann-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(42), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(43), Ann-ResDeb%:50(43)
Level 38: Soul Drain -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(43), GssSynFr--Build%:50(45), Erd-%Dam:30(45), Obl-%Dam:50(45), ScrDrv-Dam%:50(46)
Level 41: Soul Storm -- UnbCns-Dam%:50(A), Apc-Dam%:50(46), GldJvl-Dam%:50(48), GldNet-Dam%:50(48), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%:30(50), UnbCns-Acc/Hold/Rchg:50(50)
Level 44: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:50(46)
Level 47: Heat Loss -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(48)
Level 49: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Scourge
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I:50(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End:50(A), Mrc-Rcvry+:40(17)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A), PrfShf-EndMod:50(17), PwrTrsnfr-Heal(19)
Level 6: Chemical Ammunition
Level 6: Cryo Ammunition
Level 6: Incendiary Ammunition
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