Sonic/Sonic/Dark

[Sweetcake]

I am looking for some feedback/improvements for my build.

It currently has capped melee def and s/l resists.

I am unsure if this is a good way to build as I've not played sonic before.

The idea would be to have Melee radial active and jump into the group (with 5 enemies it should softcap range) hit soul drain and the nuke and then just pick apart what's left.

If one of you kind folks could look it over and see if I am barking up the wrong tree it would be much appreciated.

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by Sweetcake
Deleted the build in case someone spends that much time/inf trying to use it.

[MoonSheep]

perhaps play a sentinel instead

[Nemu]

Not helpful, if you want to change the way people approach builds take the time to educate and enable them. Being bitter about the meta benefits no one.

 

@Sweetcake I looked at the build. A few questions to understand your thought process:

 

1 - Is this a solo build or are you looking to take it to teams?

2 - Are you looking to be effective only when you get melee radial hybrid? Do you understand that only last 2 minutes with a longer cooldown so without it what are you going to do?

3 - Let's say your melee defense allows you stay in melee for the 3 seconds you need to pop off soul drain, then what? What devastating attacks will you be unleashing on your poor victims to really take advantage of soul drain and what are you going to do in the next 27 seconds against a bunch of angry mobs shooting at you? How is your melee defense going to help you there?

4 - Why did you choose soul drain in the first place?

 

Bonus question:

5 - Do you REALLY need hasten? What's the thought process behind including that in your build?

 

 

[MoonSheep]

2 hours ago, Nemu said:

Not helpful, if you want to change the way people approach builds take the time to educate and enable them. Being bitter about the meta benefits no one.

 

 

 

looking at the build and comments posted by OP, the individual seems to be keen on playing a ranged defense:attack class rather than a support role, therefore a sentinel would be the best fit for their playstyle and experience

[Without_Pause]

1 hour ago, MoonSheep said:

 

looking at the build and comments posted by OP, the individual seems to be keen on playing a ranged defense:attack class rather than a support role, therefore a sentinel would be the best fit for their playstyle and experience

I would still play a Blaster over a Sent in that case.

 

Questions 4 and 5 answer themselves.

 

In short, the support side is criminally underslotted, so this is why the conversation has gone the way it has.

[MoonSheep]

29 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

I would still play a Blaster over a Sent in that case.

 

Questions 4 and 5 answer themselves.

 

In short, the support side is criminally underslotted, so this is why the conversation has gone the way it has.

 

i think things read quite harshly in text rather speech which is perhaps why nemu saw it as a strong response - more of a genuine suggestion than bitterness 😀

 

for me, i play my defenders as support as that’s what they’re best at - and what makes them the most enjoyable. the fun of being the only support on an 8 person team and keeping things going (or allowing a death for powerboosted veng)

 

i leave the aggro taking / tanking to the specialist ATs as that’s their natural ability

[Nemu]

29 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

Questions 4 and 5 answer themselves.

Do they? Paired with sonic blast? With the power selections that he chose?

 

To elaborate, the game plan seems to revolve around soul drain, hence the emphasis on melee defense and recharge. There is a tremendous amount of slotting dedicated to melee defense, at the cost of these other things you noted, which I see as well. I'm trying to get him to ask himself the question "is it worth it to build around that single power? Is it the right power to base a build around? Have you thought about worst case scenario with soul drain where you miss or hit only 1 target, if all this investment into melee defense worth it then?" You can't help people with builds unless you help them understand the thought process, assuming they want to get better and learn.

 

The OP asked for build help. I'm trying to get him to examine the reasons he made the decisions he made so he can learn something. It's easy to brush off a build and say play xyz instead. It takes much more effort to break the build and thought process down and offer constructive feedback that aligns with what the OP is asking for, which is build help, not "which AT should I play based on how you perceive my intentions." Intentions can be changed with the right coaching.

 

 

[Without_Pause]

Hasten is used to make Soul Drain perma or at least near it. We can all agree the intent of the build is an odd one.

[MoonSheep]

 

11 minutes ago, Nemu said:

The OP asked for build help. I'm trying to get him to examine the reasons he made the decisions he made so he can learn something. It's easy to brush off a build and say play xyz instead. It takes much more effort to break the build and thought process down and offer constructive feedback that aligns with what the OP is asking for, which is build help, not "which AT should I play based on how you perceive my intentions." Intentions can be changed with the right coaching.

 

 

 

i’m not sure i agree with this, looking at the post i’m not sure the defender AT will give OP the expected playstyle. sonic is one of the most laidback def sets, building it for combat and defence says to me “i want to play a scrapper, how do i make my defender a scrapper”

 

well, by playing a scrapper i suppose

 

support ATs shine the best when they are built to maximise the benefits of the AT. trying to turn a defender into a scrapper just makes something not as good as either

[Sweetcake]

 

7 hours ago, Nemu said:

Not helpful, if you want to change the way people approach builds take the time to educate and enable them. Being bitter about the meta benefits no one.

 

@Sweetcake I looked at the build. A few questions to understand your thought process:

 

1 - Is this a solo build or are you looking to take it to teams?

2 - Are you looking to be effective only when you get melee radial hybrid? Do you understand that only last 2 minutes with a longer cooldown so without it what are you going to do?

3 - Let's say your melee defense allows you stay in melee for the 3 seconds you need to pop off soul drain, then what? What devastating attacks will you be unleashing on your poor victims to really take advantage of soul drain and what are you going to do in the next 27 seconds against a bunch of angry mobs shooting at you? How is your melee defense going to help you there?

4 - Why did you choose soul drain in the first place?

 

Bonus question:

5 - Do you REALLY need hasten? What's the thought process behind including that in your build?

 

 

 

1 - I play on a low population server so it was for solo most of the time but incarnate trials when available. (I wanted sonic to boost resists for the team)

2 - I misunderstood the active component of it.  I was under the impression it acted like destiny with diminishing returns rather than 3 seconds and gone.

3 - The idea was that melee radial would give range softcap long enough to take the alpha strike and a large proportion of mobs have melee attacks which would make them close the distance.  I did just test that on the test server doing an ITF and enough of the first mob melted that the rest died shortly after, but as you said the incarnate wore off and when I reached the second mob I got swatted.

4 - I took it mainly as I had taken dark embrace to cap resists.  Also the lack of any decent AoE on sonic made me want to pump the DPS if I could.

5 - You're right, I could skip it but the faster Soul drain recharge was a strong lure for me. 

 

I do have multiple of a number of AT but I really don't enjoy hover blasting, hence the melee def.  (I don't feel particularly heroic flying 20 feet above and raining "arrest" down from above)

As I said, I've never played a sonic before so I'm not even sure on what powers are the best choices.

I'll bench him for now I think and try to make something more palatable later.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

 

 

Edited November 19, 2021 by Sweetcake
Missed a sentence

[Nemu]

You got most of the power picks that you should be getting per conventional wisdom from both sonic sets. I would make a case for clarity because mezzes suck and you can help fellow teammates without mez protection maximize their potential even if they go outside your bubble. Plus Clarity offers blind, terrorize, sleep, and confuse protection which your bubble does not. I would also make a case for dropping shout and picking up shockwave for a reliable source of active crowd control and another AoE.

 

I think some posters will point out your single slot of sonic haven as not really committing yourself to support. In all honesty if you just plan to solo and only team for incarnate trials you don't even need those resist shield buffs as one can sleep through any incarnate trial by virtue of other people spamming their incarnates. Your buffs don't matter when half the league is spamming barriers. If that is your thought process then I echo what others are saying, play another AT.

 

I'm more interested in pointing out your thought process and lack of synergy when you drew up your game plan around soul drain.

 

First of all, dedicating the entirety of your build just so that you can ensure 3 seconds of safety in melee is horrible return on investment. Learn to joust, that will help you minimize your exposure to melee and change the way you play the game.

 

Secondly, it's not lack of melee defense that will kill you. It's the other mobs taking potshots at you and softening you up at a distance. If you think you can just stand your ground and be heroic and derp it out with mobs that can debuff you and cause cascade failure then you will have a very tough time dealing with actual challenging content.

 

Third - Mobs are dumb, you are not, learn mob AI mechanics, use movement and leverage soft control and range defense, because you have the option to dictate how mobs engage you by moving. Use that to your advantage. Go read my posts in the blaster forums about how to play melee blasters. Survival is not just defense and resistance, it's how you use your toolkit and whether you have the right tools in your kit. Try out shockwave, put a kd proc in it if knockback bothers you.

 

Fourth -  does sonic blast really benefit that much even from a saturated soul drain? The blast set is low damage and takes time to ramp up, the AoE cones root you for more time than necessary if you took and used them. And sonic resonance doesn't really do much in the -res debuff department to really help you capitalize on the damage buff. Lastly what if you are fighting a single target like an AV? You just invested the entirety of your build to beef up melee defense just so you can have an 8% damage boost for 30 seconds. You say you want to cap resists but there are other armor epics that lets you cap S/L resists too, what about psy mastery? You can proc out dominate and drop shout for it, it's a vastly superior option that will give you some consistent ST punch.

 

My point is, consider the synergy, best case scenario AND worst case scenario when evaluating powers. Just because you have powers that need you to be in melee doesn't mean you need melee defense. Learn game mechanics and practice the art of movement.

[Sweetcake]

38 minutes ago, Nemu said:

You got most of the power picks that you should be getting per conventional wisdom from both sonic sets. I would make a case for clarity because mezzes suck and you can help fellow teammates without mez protection maximize their potential even if they go outside your bubble. Plus Clarity offers blind, terrorize, sleep, and confuse protection which your bubble does not. I would also make a case for dropping shout and picking up shockwave for a reliable source of active crowd control and another AoE.

 

I think some posters will point out your single slot of sonic haven as not really committing yourself to support. In all honesty if you just plan to solo and only team for incarnate trials you don't even need those resist shield buffs as one can sleep through any incarnate trial by virtue of other people spamming their incarnates. Your buffs don't matter when half the league is spamming barriers. If that is your thought process then I echo what others are saying, play another AT.

 

I'm more interested in pointing out your thought process and lack of synergy when you drew up your game plan around soul drain.

 

First of all, dedicating the entirety of your build just so that you can ensure 3 seconds of safety in melee is horrible return on investment. Learn to joust, that will help you minimize your exposure to melee and change the way you play the game.

 

Secondly, it's not lack of melee defense that will kill you. It's the other mobs taking potshots at you and softening you up at a distance. If you think you can just stand your ground and be heroic and derp it out with mobs that can debuff you and cause cascade failure then you will have a very tough time dealing with actual challenging content.

 

Third - Mobs are dumb, you are not, learn mob AI mechanics, use movement and leverage soft control and range defense, because you have the option to dictate how mobs engage you by moving. Use that to your advantage. Go read my posts in the blaster forums about how to play melee blasters. Survival is not just defense and resistance, it's how you use your toolkit and whether you have the right tools in your kit. Try out shockwave, put a kd proc in it if knockback bothers you.

 

Fourth -  does sonic blast really benefit that much even from a saturated soul drain? The blast set is low damage and takes time to ramp up, the AoE cones root you for more time than necessary if you took and used them. And sonic resonance doesn't really do much in the -res debuff department to really help you capitalize on the damage buff. Lastly what if you are fighting a single target like an AV? You just invested the entirety of your build to beef up melee defense just so you can have an 8% damage boost for 30 seconds. You say you want to cap resists but there are other armor epics that lets you cap S/L resists too, what about psy mastery? You can proc out dominate and drop shout for it, it's a vastly superior option that will give you some consistent ST punch.

 

My point is, consider the synergy, best case scenario AND worst case scenario when evaluating powers. Just because you have powers that need you to be in melee doesn't mean you need melee defense. Learn game mechanics and practice the art of movement.

To be honest the thought of the build was not around soul drain.

I originally was going to run with s/l range def capped via scorpion shield, however I wanted to try to cap resists to give it more damage mitigation when the def failure happens and by doing so I had a choice of either melee or ranged def.  I like to be in close as that was the majority of toons I played on live.

As I said, I've not played a sonic character before so from the starting levels and looking at the powers in mids I felt any time I needed to solo would be a terrible experience, so chose soul drain as it helped with my time def.

If I came across as disagreeing with anything in your last post I apologise, I agree completely, I was just annoyed at people saying play another AT rather than telling me what I'm doing wrong.  If someone is wrong, how can they learn without being told what the issue is.

If I have time to play I generally have time for a couple beers so popping in and out is a struggle 😄.  I wanted something that would benefit teams on endgame content but with the ability to solo.  I play on Reunion so 99% of the time nothing is happening.

 

As I said I will probably bench it at least for a while.

Thank you for explaining what the issues were, I will keep them in mind when I attempt to make another build.

[Nemu]

I can be harsh in my tone but I also try to be fair. If you perceive my message as unkind then I apologize. That is not my intention.

 

When you go with a resist epic you will simply won't have the luxury to shore up multiple defense vectors for survival. If you want a more casual playing experience with greater margin for error then perhaps scorp shield is the right call. With tough you can still get respectable S/L resist on top of your defenses. I don't think you will have any issues with survival on trials due to the incarnate spam, so if solo is your concern another approach if you stick with the resist shields is to use your toolkit, shockwave and sirens song are both effective ways to mitigate damage. They maybe boring, they may drag out the fight, but they are effective.

 

I still recommend shifting your emphasis away from melee defense to range defense if you had to choose. Just remember that range defense works whether you are 80 ft away or 10 ft away, as long as mobs can't swing at you. By constantly moving just slightly out of mobs melee reach you can still be in melee and make range defense work for you.

 

I would approach this build with psy mastery. 

 

1 - you get a resist shield which aligns with your plan.

2 - procced out dominate gives you a boost to your single target damage. You will never be an AoE all star with sonic blast, but you can do respectable ST damage, especially since the only way you can boost proc damage is through -resist.

3 - World of confusion is a great set mule for 5% range defense and 10% recharge.

[MoonSheep]

12 hours ago, Nemu said:

Third - Mobs are dumb, you are not, learn mob AI mechanics, use movement and leverage soft control and range defense, because you have the option to dictate how mobs engage you by moving. Use that to your advantage. Go read my posts in the blaster forums about how to play melee blasters. Survival is not just defense and resistance, it's how you use your toolkit and whether you have the right tools in your kit.

 

this should be auto displayed above every build in the various squishy AT subforums. you’ve articulated my “don’t try and play every AT like a scrapper” thoughts a lot better than me

 

i have a kin/sonic which i’ve played to around vet lvl 160 - no defense, does alright as i don’t take alpha/put myself in direct combat situations

 

and most importantly, the ever unaddressed question: what’s wrong with dying once in a while? there’s no value in ruining every build for the sake of the odd death, just pop a purple or a wakie

[Nyghtmaire]

7 hours ago, MoonSheep said:

and most importantly, the ever unaddressed question: what’s wrong with dying once in a while? there’s no value in ruining every build for the sake of the odd death, just pop a purple or a wakie

Inspirations really are the secret sauce of this game. Amazing things can be accomplished when eating a bunch of skittles. Also, @Nemu’s blaster guidance is spot on and useful for just about every AT (even scrapper/brute/tankers oddly enough). It certainly changed my gameplay across the board, and made playing the game more enjoyable to boot. 
 

Good luck with your experiments.

[Sweetcake]

Ok, so I gave it another go using some of your points.

Please let me know if it is now worth building or if I still need to work on it.

Capped ranged + S/L res.

Using psychic mastery as you suggested.

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.6.0
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Science Defender
Primary Power Set: Sonic Resonance
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Psychic Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Sonic Siphon

• (A) Accuracy IO
• (34) Accuracy IO
  

Level 1: Shriek

• (A) Superior Defender's Bastion - Accuracy/Damage
• (5) Superior Defender's Bastion - Damage/Recharge
• (7) Superior Defender's Bastion - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (7) Superior Defender's Bastion - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (9) Superior Defender's Bastion - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (9) Superior Defender's Bastion - Recharge/Chance for Minor PBAoE Heal
  

Level 2: Sonic Barrier

• (A) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
• (33) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
• (33) Impervium Armor - Resistance
• (33) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Recharge
  

Level 4: Howl

• (A) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage
• (11) Superior Vigilant Assault - Damage/RechargeTime
• (11) Superior Vigilant Assault - RechargeTime/PBAoE +Absorb
• (13) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
• (13) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
  

Level 6: Fly

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
• (21) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)
  

Level 8: Disruption Field

• (A) HamiO:Enzyme Exposure
• (34) HamiO:Enzyme Exposure
  

Level 10: Sonic Haven

• (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance
• (23) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance
• (27) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge
• (31) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 12: Sonic Dispersion

• (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance
• (34) Endurance Reduction IO
• (36) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance
• (37) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge
• (37) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 14: Maneuvers

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (15) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage
• (15) Reactive Defenses - Defense
• (17) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance
  

Level 16: Shout

• (A) Superior Winter's Bite - Damage/Endurance/Accuracy/RechargeTime
• (17) Superior Winter's Bite - Recharge/Chance for -Speed & -Recharge
• (19) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (19) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (21) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
  

Level 18: Boxing

• (A) Empty
  

Level 20: Amplify

• (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
  

Level 22: Tough

• (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
• (23) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
  

Level 24: Weave

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (25) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
• (25) Reactive Defenses - Defense
• (27) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance
  

Level 26: Clarity

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO
  

Level 28: Hover

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (29) Kismet - Accuracy +6%
• (29) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
• (31) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
  

Level 30: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (31) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 32: Liquefy

• (A) Artillery - Accuracy/Damage
• (36) Artillery - Damage/Endurance
• (36) Artillery - Damage/Recharge
• (46) Artillery - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (46) Artillery - Accuracy/Recharge/Range
• (50) Artillery - Endurance/Recharge/Range
  

Level 35: Dominate

• (A) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
• (37) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage(Toxic)
• (40) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage
• (40) Superior Entomb - Recharge/Chance for +Absorb
• (43) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (46) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
  

Level 38: Dreadful Wail

• (A) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
• (39) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (39) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
• (39) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
• (40) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage
  

Level 41: World of Confusion

• (A) Coercive Persuasion  - Confused
• (42) Coercive Persuasion  - Confused/Recharge
• (42) Coercive Persuasion  - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge
• (42) Coercive Persuasion  - Accuracy/Recharge
• (43) Coercive Persuasion  - Confused/Endurance
• (43) Coercive Persuasion  - Contagious Confusion
  

Level 44: Mind Over Body

• (A) Impervium Armor - Psionic Resistance
• (45) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
• (45) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
• (45) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Recharge
  

Level 47: Scream

• (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (48) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (48) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (48) Superior Vigilant Assault - Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
• (50) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (50) Superior Vigilant Assault - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
  

Level 49: Super Speed

• (A) Celerity - +Stealth
  

Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Vigilance 

Level 2: Rest

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[Psyonico]

I see just a couple of things I would change.

 

1. Disruption Field - Enzymes are expensive last I checked, no need to slot since the only thing they're doing is endrdx.  Just slow 2 level 50 Common End Reduxes

2. Scream - Unless you're already level 47+ and have no intention of ever exemping down, I would try to fit this in earlier.  Maybe swap Maneuvers for it?

3. Super Speed at 49 - Are you just taking this for full invisibility? you may be better off with Tactics or Assault in that slot.  That's just personal preference though.

[Sweetcake]

2 hours ago, Psyonico said:

I see just a couple of things I would change.

 

1. Disruption Field - Enzymes are expensive last I checked, no need to slot since the only thing they're doing is endrdx.  Just slow 2 level 50 Common End Reduxes

2. Scream - Unless you're already level 47+ and have no intention of ever exemping down, I would try to fit this in earlier.  Maybe swap Maneuvers for it?

3. Super Speed at 49 - Are you just taking this for full invisibility? you may be better off with Tactics or Assault in that slot.  That's just personal preference though.

Thanks for your response.

1. The enzymes aren't too bad, think they cost me about 8m each last I used them.

2. Yeah, I was just seeing what powers/enhancements I could fit in so the order would be completely off.

3. I would likely take it in place of flight for early on so I can stealth missions, I was considering swapping to tactics once it was 50.

Is there any other major flaws you can see?

[Nemu]

Good effort. 

 

Echo the comment about enzymes, they are better served in other builds because disruption field doesn't do any to hit or defense debuffs, A generic end redux IO works better in that.

 

I'm on the fence about shout. I can see the need for it to round out your ST chain early game but I hate the power with a passion due to root time and late damage delivery. I like shockwave as a fairly reliable soft control tool and I'd take that over shout, but you have some flexibility there to choose which one you want. I can certainly understand why you'd want to take shout instead though.

 

I also think you can defer disruption field later, it can be rough on your endurance early on and if you solo a lot it has no value.

 

Here's what I came up with. Normally I'm not a fan of wasting 6 slots on 2.5% defense but in this case I made an exception and stuffed 2 such sets in. I fit tactics in before level 30 and pushed weave back. I think for lowbie content, as long as you are not doing +3 or +4s, 37% range defense will still serve you well. 

 

Liquefy and Dominate are both loaded with procs, tactics is taken before those picks to ensure that they both have a 95% chance to hit against +4s.

 

It's not as endurance friendly as your build hence cardiac to boost both resistances and end redux. I figured that you can get the p2w serums and use those to help you get by, those are fairly cheap and won't break the bank.

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.6.0
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Science Defender
Primary Power Set: Sonic Resonance
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Psychic Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Sonic Siphon -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Shriek -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(11), SprWntBit-Rchg/SlowProc(11)
Level 2: Sonic Barrier -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam(9), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(13)
Level 4: Scream -- SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg(5), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), SprDfnBst-Rchg/Heal%(9)
Level 6: Super Speed -- WntGif-ResSlow(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(34), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(37)
Level 8: Sonic Haven -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam(27), RctArm-ResDam/Rchg(29)
Level 10: Howl -- Artl-Acc/Dam(A), Artl-Dam/End(13), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(23), Ann-ResDeb%(25), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(25), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27)
Level 12: Sonic Dispersion -- GldArm-End/Res(A), GldArm-RechRes(40), GldArm-RechEnd(42), GldArm-Res/Rech/End(43), GldArm-ResDam(43), GldArm-3defTpProc(43)
Level 14: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-Def(15), Rct-Def/EndRdx(15), Rct-ResDam%(17), Ksm-ToHit+(17)
Level 16: Shockwave -- SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg(A), SprVglAss-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(29), FrcFdb-Rechg%(48)
Level 18: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel(19), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(19)
Level 20: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(21)
Level 22: Disruption Field -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 24: Amplify -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(31), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(31), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(31), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(48), GssSynFr--Build%(48)
Level 26: Clarity -- Range-I(A)
Level 28: Tactics -- HO:Cyto(A)
Level 30: Kick -- Empty(A)
Level 32: Liquefy -- Rgn-Acc/Rchg(A), UnbCns-Acc/Rchg(33), TchofLadG-%Dam(33), CldSns-%Dam(33), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(34), PstBls-Dam%(34)
Level 35: Dominate -- HO:Nucle(A), Dcm-Build%(36), Apc-Dam%(36), GldJvl-Dam%(36), UnbCns-Dam%(37), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(37)
Level 38: Dreadful Wail -- SprVglAss-Rchg/+Absorb(A), SprVglAss-Dmg/Rchg(39), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Dam%(40), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(40)
Level 41: Mind Over Body -- RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42), RctArm-ResDam(42), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(46)
Level 44: World of Confusion -- CrcPrs-Conf(A), CrcPrs-Conf/Rchg(45), CrcPrs-Acc/Conf/Rchg(45), CrcPrs-Acc/Rchg(45), CrcPrs-Conf/EndRdx(46), CrcPrs-Conf%(46)
Level 47: Tough -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A)
Level 49: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(50), ShlWal-Def(50), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(50)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth(A)
Level 1: Vigilance 
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Swift -- HO:Micro(A)
Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A)
Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 6: Speed Phase 
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve 
Level 50: Portal Jockey 
Level 50: Task Force Commander 
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion 
------------

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[Sweetcake]

1 hour ago, Nemu said:

Good effort. 

 

Echo the comment about enzymes, they are better served in other builds because disruption field doesn't do any to hit or defense debuffs, A generic end redux IO works better in that.

 

I'm on the fence about shout. I can see the need for it to round out your ST chain early game but I hate the power with a passion due to root time and late damage delivery. I like shockwave as a fairly reliable soft control tool and I'd take that over shout, but you have some flexibility there to choose which one you want. I can certainly understand why you'd want to take shout instead though.

 

I also think you can defer disruption field later, it can be rough on your endurance early on and if you solo a lot it has no value.

 

Here's what I came up with. Normally I'm not a fan of wasting 6 slots on 2.5% defense but in this case I made an exception and stuffed 2 such sets in. I fit tactics in before level 30 and pushed weave back. I think for lowbie content, as long as you are not doing +3 or +4s, 37% range defense will still serve you well. 

 

Liquefy and Dominate are both loaded with procs, tactics is taken before those picks to ensure that they both have a 95% chance to hit against +4s.

 

It's not as endurance friendly as your build hence cardiac to boost both resistances and end redux. I figured that you can get the p2w serums and use those to help you get by, those are fairly cheap and won't break the bank.

 

 

Wow, I have not seen someone post anything procced out that much.

Is this DPS boost from procs vs 100% damage noticeable? (I've never built like that as I've never tested it)

If I was to run something like that would it be better to go ageless rather than cardiac?  Even with cardiac in there the recovery would be quite low and it seems to have fairly decent sleep/hold mitigation in already.

As you could probably tell from my original build, I have no idea what I'm doing so the power choices were more from experience with other powersets 😄

To be perfectly honest I won't be teaming with anyone till level 20+ so I would probably leave the external buffs until 14-20 (for Posi access)

Thanks again for your input.

 

[Nemu]

Cardiac also gives you end reduction on all your other powers, not just the toggles, that and the additional resist it gives to your resist shields has synergy that covers some holes in the build and reinforces some strengths. You can absolutely go ageless with a different alpha such as muscalature for a more offensive build out.

 

Liquefy is just a terrible power due to it's long recharge, might as well make it do more than debuff if you are going to use it every 90 seconds, hence the procs. And if you look at the damage numbers with dominate, procs add more overall damage than enhancing the power for damage to the ED softcap, which is around 95%. Since you are skimping on accuracy enhancements you need to make sure you have enough external ACC bonus or to hit bonuses to make sure that such powers hit, hence the kismet IO and Tactics prior to getting both powers. With a bit of thought you can actually PLAN your build to be effective throughout all levels, not just at 50.

 

There are a few procs that I will try to fit into every build if able: every -resist proc if the build has powers with decent base recharge (not terribly short recharge, not terribly long either, anywhere between 10 seconds to 90 seconds base recharge) that allows for them, and force feedback procs in suitable powers. The force feedback in shockwave is really a luxury item, I had debated where to put the last slot and while the proc rate won't be high in shockwave, you'll get a nice little boost when it does proc, so in it went.

[bigfashizzel]

IIRC Liquefy is very poor at utilizing Procs, FYI

[Doomguide2005]

     Folks often recommend the Amplifier for getting more endurance recovery (and it's a great way to do it) but if you have access to an SG empowerment station you can also get 90 min (not the 60 it states in the wiki) of increased recovery via a base empowerment buff.   Bit more tedious in terms of time and building but guessing even less cost than amplifiers.  And they stack as far as I know.

On 12/2/2021 at 6:54 PM, bigfashizzel said:

IIRC Liquefy is very poor at utilizing Procs, FYI

Also what I've been told ... but the base debuffs are already significant and if even one damage proc fires you're ahead on damage I'm thinking is the flipside to it.

[Destruye Arepas YV]

I grabbed this build to try something different and perhaps not very team friendly, but serves as a good starting point ... thank you for sharing ...