Stone Armor/Dual Blades build.

[Sovera]

Was posting it on another thread but I was cluttering with my updates so made its own crib.

 

 

 

  

Imported the new values (including the recharge and recovery, did not add the toxic) into Mids, and assuming I did not mess up this is what I got:

 

 

Despite Mids not allowing Rooted with Combat Jumping/Hover it does work in game with an extra 200% regen which leads to 63 HP a second with (over)capped HP thanks to Earth's Embrace in turn leading to this beaut:

 

 

Obvious weakness: barely any slow resists. Yep. Not sure how to wrangle it but I'm somewhat tempted to let it be and go along with the large heap of defenses and a decent 52% DDR for the debuffs to even hit. Being able to Hover fight away from the auto hit slows like Tar Pits/Caltrops also helps.

 

This is with no Weave, but since I have a free power and no idea what to take I can grab Weave as a one slot wonder to have:

 

 

E/N resistances remain a weakness though there is room to mess around with the build.

 

The build is not as heavy as it looks at 2.63 even with Weave on since I did not bother to mess with Mids to also lower all the costs of the different powers as per the patch notes, but, even at 2.63 the 4.34 EPS not accounting for three Performance Shifter procs + Panaceia proc plus the hefty recovery -and- endurance debuff resist should be good enough.

 

 

I took Granite as a panic button, but with the way it turns off every armor and adds all the disadvantages there might be something to be said about not using it. But, it's a one slot wonder that can be detoggled once the panic has ended so it's grabbed.

 

 

 

 

Dual Blades was picked for a few reasons:

 

- I needed minimal power picks because of taking every single power in Stone Armor.

- Early AoE

- Nimble Slash is not a waste since it does the Empower combo which will be used all the way to 35 (30 if exemped).

- Can't take Claws <_<

Stone Armor is so forgiving that on top of those absurd numbers it also has Hasten near perma (121.7 seconds) despite having no FF procs slotted. I did hum and awh at not slotting a FF proc somewhere but to be honest Earth's Embrace and Hasten are the only clickies in the build.

 

The equally absurd recharge levels almost allow for a near perfect fabled Blinding Feint, Ablating Strike, Sweeping Strike, Ablating Strike. There is a 0.25 gap in there. Not enough for me to dismantle the build and try to add in another power and then five slots for it though.

 

Despite having slotted a damage proc in Ablative Strike and Sweeping Strike this is the one time I would probably go for the -res procs.

 

 

I considered Ice Melee but it's a defensive set which does not seem needed. I also considered Dark Melee for the obvious reasons, but again, strictly speaking other than the heal? Rad Melee is probably the best choice for those of you who can stomach the animations.

 

 

I'm not quite sure what Incarnates to pick. But I would probably still go for Barrier as a panic button or to protect my squishes.

 

 

Without having an altered Mids trying to import the build might not work, or might mess with the slotting, so I'll add a screenshot to the build to have an idea of what sets went where. The empty slot in Blinding Feint is for Gaussian. I juat don't slot it to not inflate my numbers in Mids.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

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 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Stone Armor
Secondary Power Set: Dual Blades
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Rock Armor -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(11), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(34), ShlWal-Def(36)
Level 1: Nimble Slash -- TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), TchofDth-Dam%(3), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(5), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(7)
Level 2: Stone Skin -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-Def(33), Rct-Def/EndRdx(34), TtnCtn-ResDam/Rchg(34), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(47), TtnCtn-ResDam(47)
Level 4: Ablating Strike -- Hct-Dam%(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(7), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Hct-Acc/Rchg(9), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(25), TchofDth-Dam%(27)
Level 6: Mud Pots -- SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg(A), SprGntFis-Dmg/Rchg(13), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprGntFis-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprGntFis-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprGntFis-Rchg/+Absorb(17)
Level 8: Rooted -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(17), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Prv-Heal/Rchg(19), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(21), Prv-Absorb%(21)
Level 10: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 12: Crystal Armor -- ShlWal-Def/Rchg(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(36), PrfShf-End%(42), ShlWal-Def(45), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46), PrfShf-EndMod(49)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 16: Typhoon's Edge -- ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(36), ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg(37), Mlt-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Obl-%Dam(39)
Level 18: Earth's Embrace -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(23), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(23), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(25), Pnc-Heal(11)
Level 20: Blinding Feint -- SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprMghoft-Rchg/Res%(27), SprMghoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), SprMghoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), TchofDth-Dam%(31), Empty(31)
Level 22: Fly -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)
Level 24: Evasive Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 26: Brimstone Armor -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Minerals -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-ResDam%(45), Rct-Def/EndRdx(45)
Level 30: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Granite Armor -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 35: Sweeping Strike -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Arm-Acc/Rchg(40), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Erd-%Dam(42)
Level 38: Focused Accuracy -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(42), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(43), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(43), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(43), AdjTrg-Rchg(48)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 47: Tough -- TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(A), TtnCtn-ResDam/Rchg(46), TtnCtn-ResDam(46), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(48), GldArm-3defTpProc(48), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(49)
Level 49: Weave -- HO:Cyto(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(31), Mrc-Rcvry+(33)
Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(33)
Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon
Level 50: Degenerative Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 50: Portal Jockey
Level 50: Task Force Commander
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion
Level 22: Afterburner
------------

 

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by Sovera

[Sovera]

Been leveling and the damage feels whittley. A year of doing only fire armor and having Burn at level 18 spoiled me. Then playing Brutes these past months and having Fury in the low levels also spoiled me. So now playing with neither and doing Posi 1 and 2 does feel a lot like whittling enemies. But there is a glimmer there, I can see the potential of DB and why people found it so damaging. I'm anxiously waiting for Brimstone.

 

As others said in the feedback thread why were the powers even shuffled to have the psi protection armor first instead of the fire and cold resistance armor? What psi damage is there in the 20s other than Lost if that?

 

 

Even unslotted I was already at 35% ish defense (with 5% from amplifiers). Did Posi 2 with about 37% mostly because I'm so starved for slots. Its mostly just whittling things while not taking enough damage to be worried.

 

The heal is indeed too small, but the interaction with Rooted can be felt with the regen pushing the green bar up. Recovery is a bit of a problem. Not a big problem, but the blue bar slowly dwindles. A Recovery Serum has recharged before this happens though. I definitely ought to consider slotting more recovery uniques but it's like the defense slots I'm scrounging: I have serums and I have purples, so I'm slotting attacks first.

[Sovera]

Alright, leveled the build to 38 but stopped at Citadel.

 

Brimstone definitely helped with the damage. It was noticeable, even if not biiiiig numbers. But it remained a sedate pace to solo Yin to test Brimstone. Ended with an 1:06h which is a good 15 minutes longer than usual with Fire Armor. This is why I stopped. I've made no secrets I'm very damage oriented and slowly whittling my way through the leveling experience was not my cup of tea. That said at 35 it picked up right away with the addition of Sweeping Strike. And I do mean a -large- picking up. When I went to solo Citadel to test Sweeping Strike the damage was -appreciably- higher. I mean, heck, trading a T1 doing 150 damage for a T8 doing 300 damage, and it's a cone? Who woulda thunk it the damage would explode? On top of using a second -res proc to further help it.

 

On the other hand, wow, such an easy leveling experience! Holy crap. Super Stunners ressurecting? I mean, sure my blue bar started dipping a little. Clockwork trying to get me? When they even managed to hit the endurance drain was not felt. Pulling two spawns at once? No need to bother with inspirations. In fact I tried to force this at Yin without inspiration use and despite standing in the middle of the ambushes there was no need for inspirations and my HP barely dipped. Makes sense since the build was softcapped (with amplifiers) despite still having not enough slots for everything.

 

Clamor managed to cascade defense me enough I had to use a purple for a buffer. This is a bit sad since using a purple to fight her is already what I do with Fire Armor, but since DDR scales with our level for reasons the DDR we have at that level is not enough to counter the massive -def her radiation attacks do. I also did not have resistances slotted, only defense.

 

 

Endurance was a slow problem. Even with Panaceia, Miracle and Numina slotted plus a Performance Shifter proc and endurance mod in Stamina and the same in Crystal Armor it still steadily dipped. This is partly because I was still using the T1 in my attack and even slotted it was crap damage. So I had to use more attacks than I really needed to kill things and with minimal pauses due to the super fast attacks it was an endurance drain alright.

 

The endurance costs got steeper from having Sweeping Strike but it was mitigated by needing to hit a lot less than before. I was still hovering on half a bar most of the time since the recovery could not keep up. This can be mitigated by turning off extra powers like Minerals (after all no psi damage in Citadel/Yin, but it comes with 15% recharge so...). I found the dip was so slow I could not even bother with a Recovery Serum for a long time and when the endurance finally dipped very low it was well past recharge and ready to be used again.

 

Later on with proper slotting this ought to be less felt but definitely level with Recovery Serums.

 

 

My personal verdict:  Radiation Armor may have met its match, and probably got displaced from best (second best if considering survivability alone) armor that has all the bells and whistles. It will still have much better endurance tools than Stone Armor whose 20% extra recovery cannot match the likes of Radiation Therapy and Particle Shielding. But solid DDR paired with easily capped defenses that allow to deflect damage and debuffs instead of eating them and from a very early level + a heap ton of resists that Shield could be envious of, and then a small passive damage buff unlike the three second animation, 30 second recharge, mini nukes Rad Armor has, put the new Stone Armor definitely on the top armors.

 

Easy to pick up, good out of the box, recovery, recharge, damage boost, damage aura, heal and regen all baked in, and only getting better with IO slottage.

 

 

[StriderIV]

22 minutes ago, Sovera said:

Alright, leveled the build to 38 but stopped at Citadel.

 

Brimstone definitely helped with the damage. It was noticeable, even if not biiiiig numbers. But it remained a sedate pace to solo Yin to test Brimstone. Ended with an 1:06h which is a good 15 minutes longer than usual with Fire Armor. This is why I stopped. I've made no secrets I'm very damage oriented and slowly whittling my way through the leveling experience was not my cup of tea. That said at 35 it picked up right away with the addition of Sweeping Strike. And I do mean a -large- picking up. When I went to solo Citadel to test Sweeping Strike the damage was -appreciably- higher. I mean, heck, trading a T1 doing 150 damage for a T8 doing 300 damage, and it's a cone? Who woulda thunk it the damage would explode? On top of using a second -res proc to further help it.

 

On the other hand, wow, such an easy leveling experience! Holy crap. Super Stunners ressurecting? I mean, sure my blue bar started dipping a little. Clockwork trying to get me? When they even managed to hit the endurance drain was not felt. Pulling two spawns at once? No need to bother with inspirations. In fact I tried to force this at Yin without inspiration use and despite standing in the middle of the ambushes there was no need for inspirations and my HP barely dipped. Makes sense since the build was softcapped (with amplifiers) despite still having not enough slots for everything.

 

Clamor managed to cascade defense me enough I had to use a purple for a buffer. This is a bit sad since using a purple to fight her is already what I do with Fire Armor, but since DDR scales with our level for reasons the DDR we have at that level is not enough to counter the massive -def her radiation attacks do. I also did not have resistances slotted, only defense.

 

 

Endurance was a slow problem. Even with Panaceia, Miracle and Numina slotted plus a Performance Shifter proc and endurance mod in Stamina and the same in Crystal Armor it still steadily dipped. This is partly because I was still using the T1 in my attack and even slotted it was crap damage. So I had to use more attacks than I really needed to kill things and with minimal pauses due to the super fast attacks it was an endurance drain alright.

 

The endurance costs got steeper from having Sweeping Strike but it was mitigated by needing to hit a lot less than before. I was still hovering on half a bar most of the time since the recovery could not keep up. This can be mitigated by turning off extra powers like Minerals (after all no psi damage in Citadel/Yin, but it comes with 15% recharge so...). I found the dip was so slow I could not even bother with a Recovery Serum for a long time and when the endurance finally dipped very low it was well past recharge and ready to be used again.

 

Later on with proper slotting this ought to be less felt but definitely level with Recovery Serums.

 

 

My personal verdict:  Radiation Armor may have met its match, and probably got displaced from best (second best if considering survivability alone) armor that has all the bells and whistles. It will still have much better endurance tools than Stone Armor whose 20% extra recovery cannot match the likes of Radiation Therapy and Particle Shielding. But solid DDR paired with easily capped defenses that allow to deflect damage and debuffs instead of eating them and from a very early level + a heap ton of resists that Shield could be envious of, and then a small passive damage buff unlike the three second animation, 30 second recharge, mini nukes Rad Armor has, put the new Stone Armor definitely on the top armors.

 

Easy to pick up, good out of the box, recovery, recharge, damage boost, damage aura, heal and regen all baked in, and only getting better with IO slottage.

 

 

I've never looked at Stone Armor due to the mobility negatives that come along with the set. However, that really seems to have become a non-issue with the changes. Dual blades does seem like it can pair well, since you only need minimal power picks for optimal attack chain. Great build Sovera! Might have to give it a shot.

I feel like Rad Melee could pair well with Stone, but after doing a Rad/Fire Brute and Shield/Rad Tanker, I can't bring myself to pick it again hahahaha.

[Sovera]

Just now, StriderIV said:

I've never looked at Stone Armor due to the mobility negatives that come along with the set. However, that really seems to have become a non-issue with the changes. Dual blades does seem like it can pair well, since you only need minimal power picks for optimal attack chain. Great build Sovera! Might have to give it a shot.

I feel like Rad Melee could pair well with Stone, but after doing a Rad/Fire Brute and Shield/Rad Tanker, I can't bring myself to pick it again hahahaha.

 

Yeah, zero downsides to Stone Armor now. I did my usual Hover fighting with impunity.

 

I'm looking at a Rad Melee build but ugh, just thinking about dem animations... But it would be silly. An armor that barely takes damage with a primary that heals it? And has a heal of it's own? Sadly Brimstone does not interact with Irradiated ground and the endurance heaviness of both sets might not mesh well. There's always Dark Melee I suppose, but defensive offensive sets with such a solid defensive armor set seems overkill.

[Sovera]

Energy Melee is probably the most solid set for Stone. Difficult to fit all the  powers though, and then there's that annoying gap that asks for a slow Energy Transfer where I usually drop Burn instead.

[StriderIV]

14 minutes ago, Sovera said:

 

Yeah, zero downsides to Stone Armor now. I did my usual Hover fighting with impunity.

 

I'm looking at a Rad Melee build but ugh, just thinking about dem animations... But it would be silly. An armor that barely takes damage with a primary that heals it? And has a heal of it's own? Sadly Brimstone does not interact with Irradiated ground and the endurance heaviness of both sets might not mesh well. There's always Dark Melee I suppose, but defensive offensive sets with such a solid defensive armor set seems overkill.

Yeah kind of the Invuln/Dark Melee set up. Is it unkillable? Yes, but almost overkill. Might as well get a primary that can dish out more damage. Dual blades seems like a nice mix of ST and AOE. Any other secondaries you think might pair well?

[Sovera]

46 minutes ago, StriderIV said:

Yeah kind of the Invuln/Dark Melee set up. Is it unkillable? Yes, but almost overkill. Might as well get a primary that can dish out more damage. Dual blades seems like a nice mix of ST and AOE. Any other secondaries you think might pair well?

 

It's a bit difficult to fit all the powers. Maybe Martial Arts since the damage is decent, it has an early AoE and the 10% defense will further ease slotting concerns. The AoE's a bit anemic but Brimstone will help some.

 

The trouble is fitting all powers.

[Marshal_General]

You can go into mids database and bring up rooted and turn off the travel power restrictions under the mutual exclusive tab.

[JStacy337]

13 hours ago, Sovera said:

 

Yeah, zero downsides to Stone Armor now. I did my usual Hover fighting with impunity.

I'm leveling a Stone/Axe currently and was wondering if both Hover and Rooted could be active at the same time. The protection Rooted gives stays active when you're off the ground? That's amazing news!

[Gobbledigook]

13 hours ago, Sovera said:

 

It's a bit difficult to fit all the powers. Maybe Martial Arts since the damage is decent, it has an early AoE and the 10% defense will further ease slotting concerns. The AoE's a bit anemic but Brimstone will help some.

 

The trouble is fitting all powers.

Having the extra defence does allow builds easier but it can also offer a buffer against defence debuffs. The epic pool can help with Martial Arts AoE also.

 

You have a good build but i do feel Rooted and Earth embrace are a little over slotted and the slots could be spent better elsewhere. Dropping Granite and removing a few slots could actually get you another attack or something if needed. Maybe something to consider.

 

Good old Super strength will do well with StoneA also. Just be careful during the crash. especially if you are fighting defence debuffers.

 

I also do not feel Granite is needed at all. The amount of times you will actually need it with a good build is not worth the slot space.

Edited December 10, 2021 by Gobbledegook

[Sovera]

38 minutes ago, Gobbledegook said:

Having the extra defence does allow builds easier but it can also offer a buffer against defence debuffs. The epic pool can help with Martial Arts AoE also.

 

You have a good build but i do feel Rooted and Earth embrace are a little over slotted and the slots could be spent better elsewhere. Dropping Granite and removing a few slots could actually get you another attack or something if needed. Maybe something to consider.

 

Good old Super strength will do well with StoneA also. Just be careful during the crash. especially if you are fighting defence debuffers.

 

I also do not feel Granite is needed at all. The amount of times you will actually need it with a good build is not worth the slot space.

 

Yep, Granite does not feel needed, and you're right on Rooted and Earth's Embrace, though wanting the recharge bonuses and slotting both is not bad either. It might just be too 'inside the box' though. I know by the time I was doing Synapse and then Yin I no longer used Earth's Embrace... but we can't downplay the large HP buff it brings. From 2.5k to 3.5k is pretty effing huge not to mention the noticeable impact it has on regen (45 HP per second to 63 HP).

 

 

1 hour ago, JStacy337 said:

I'm leveling a Stone/Axe currently and was wondering if both Hover and Rooted could be active at the same time. The protection Rooted gives stays active when you're off the ground? That's amazing news!

 

The description of the powers could do with an update. I had to ask over the forums as well because I just so happened to see one person mention in an older patch on how they could fly and keep Rooted's bonuses active.

[...]

On 12/9/2021 at 1:54 PM, Sovera said:

The equally absurd recharge levels allows for the fabled Blinding Feint, Ablating Strike, Sweeping Strike, Ablating Strike.

 

I don't think you have enough recharge for that attack chain.

 

You'd need to get the AS recharge to be lower than the SS cast time, ie less than 1.452 seconds. Your AS recharge time is near 1.76 seconds (my Mids doesn't have the +15% from mineral armor, can can't put LotG in Stone Skin). 

 

@StrikerFox states in this thread that you'd need 146% global recharge (incarnates allowed) to have that chain run seamlessly. My calculations agree. Unless both he and I are missing something.

 

In which case, please do share. 

[Sovera]

18 minutes ago, ... said:

 

I don't think you have enough recharge for that attack chain.

 

You'd need to get the AS recharge to be lower than the SS cast time, ie less than 1.452 seconds. Your AS recharge time is near 1.76 seconds (my Mids doesn't have the +15% from mineral armor, can can't put LotG in Stone Skin). 

 

@StrikerFox states in this thread that you'd need 146% global recharge (incarnates allowed) to have that chain run seamlessly. My calculations agree. Unless both he and I are missing something.

 

In which case, please do share. 

 

Mine does:

 

 

Saying 'not enough recharge' is a touch pedantic even on your example though. We are talking of a 0.3 second gap. Is that really what will put a damper on things? 😄 I wish my brain could process things like a 0.3 second gap.

[...]

1 hour ago, Sovera said:

 

Mine does:

 

 

Saying 'not enough recharge' is a touch pedantic even on your example though. We are talking of a 0.3 second gap. Is that really what will put a damper on things? 😄 I wish my brain could process things like a 0.3 second gap.

 

Well a 0.3 second gap might represent a fairly significant dps loss. Such that it may be better to pursue a different attack chain.

 

I suspect that BF to attack vitals would be higher dps at the recharge level you posted. Haven't worked it out tho, so I might be wrong. 

[StrikerFox]

2 hours ago, ... said:

@StrikerFox states in this thread that you'd need 146% global recharge (incarnates allowed) to have that chain run seamlessly. My calculations agree. Unless both he and I are missing something.

 

So weird. I didn't think anyone actually read my stuff. Haha!

 

2 hours ago, Sovera said:

Saying 'not enough recharge' is a touch pedantic even on your example though. We are talking of a 0.3 second gap. Is that really what will put a damper on things? 😄 I wish my brain could process things like a 0.3 second gap.

 

I know 0.3s doesn't sound like much but when trying to build for dps, it is. Take into consideration the chain length when run seamless:

 

1.452 (BF) + 1.188 (Abl) + 1.452 (SS) + 1.188 (Abl) = 5.28s.

 

The gap would occur twice in each cycle of the chain, so 0.6s. The gap would equate to a 11ish % dps loss. 

 

In 2 cycles of the chain, 0.3s gap would occur 4 times which equals 1.2s. The seamless chain is one Ablating Strike ahead of the 0.3s gap chain. Gaps add up over time and it's noticeable when fighting AVs, pylons and GMs.

 

Say a seamless chain can defeat a pylon in 180s. Adding 11ish % makes it 200s, but in that additional 20s, the pylon is regenerating. So that 200s turns into 210s. 

 

But since you're a tank, you're probably taunting or something to fill in those gaps. So it's probably fine.

[Sovera]

6 hours ago, ... said:

 

Well a 0.3 second gap might represent a fairly significant dps loss. Such that it may be better to pursue a different attack chain.

 

I suspect that BF to attack vitals would be higher dps at the recharge level you posted. Haven't worked it out tho, so I might be wrong. 

 

Well, it's certainly not a bible so you can try to find the room for one more power and then scrounge five slots from somewhere to make the AV chain. Still feels pedantic to me despite @StrikerFox's math, and a lot of hassle over a 0.25 gap.

 

Lets be honest and look at the game. A pylon is the only thing we hit for 2-3 minutes. AVs tend to melt under one minute. We never ever have the time to run a perfect rotation during regular gameplay since targets are constantly dying and we need to either move, reposition, or pick a new target.

 

But yeah, I'm just throwing a build in and then others can tweak according to their own play style.

[Gobbledigook]

4 hours ago, Sovera said:

But yeah, I'm just throwing a build in and then others can tweak according to their own play style.

That is what i do really. Players should tweak change any builds depending on how they play etc. Hopefully the builds give ideas for changes to their own builds. I know i use some aspects of other peoples builds.

 

Stone Armour has been reworked some so tweaking will be necessary. Gameplay is the real test of any build. What looks good in black and white may not always be the case in game.

[...]

5 hours ago, Sovera said:

 

Well, it's certainly not a bible so you can try to find the room for one more power and then scrounge five slots from somewhere to make the AV chain. Still feels pedantic to me despite @StrikerFox's math, and a lot of hassle over a 0.25 gap.

 

Well to be honest my first post was as much to check my understanding as anything else. Maybe there was something about recharge mechanics I didn't know, that you did. Seems not. 

 

Certainly my goal was not to offend. 

 

That said, I wouldn't say asking "what's the better attack chain at this level of recharge" is  pedantic. I mean, there are literally thousands of posts on this form about that topic. 

 

Then again, everyone has a line after which optimization no longer becomes fun. 

[Sovera]

1 minute ago, ... said:

 

Well to be honest my first post was as much to check my understanding as anything else. Maybe there was something about recharge mechanics I didn't know, that you did. Seems not. 

 

Certainly my goal was not to offend. 

 

That said, I wouldn't say asking "what's the better attack chain at this level of recharge" is  pedantic. I mean, there are literally thousands of posts on this form about that topic. 

 

Then again, everyone has a line after which optimization no longer becomes fun. 

 

Nah, not offended. I started amused by being called out on the 0.3 gap and then went on rambling like an old man. Strikerfox is correct that the gaps add up. But in my opening post I did say I picked DB because I need a set with few powers in order to fit all of Stone Armor. An extra power and somehow finding five extra slots because of a 0.3 gap runs contrary.

 

The extra power, sure, just switching from Flying to Leaping would free a power, but the five slots might be a bit harder, and at that point the build might as well be redone from scratch because no point in getting so much recharge when the BF - AV combo is so forgiving in terms of recharge needed plus one of the powers now taking a FF proc anyway.

 

 

In practical terms and outside of pylons which are one of the very few times we hit something for minutes, I don't see the need for a perfect gapless attack chain. In regular play which is 95% of the game we keep moving when a target dies, even repositioning so the cone hits more enemies.

[subbacultchas]

I feel the the same way. Maybe when soloing AV or particularly hard targets, a seamless attack chain might be more important. But even then, a .3 gap would not be too big of a deal to me, not versus changing around several slottings or trying to produce extra ones for. It's more a thing that's neat to consider in theory, but not often required in normal gameplay, if ever.

[...]

Curiosity/pedantism got the better of me.

 

BF to attack vitals does 354.06 damage in 6.732 seconds. This is unenhanced, no buffs, procs or misses. 52.59 dps over the chain.

 

BF > AS > SS > AS does 284.33 damage in 5.28 seconds for 53.86 dps over the chain, same assumptions. This is at gapless levels of recharge.

 

Obviously this is any incomplete analysis. But as a first approximation it suggests that the gains from the hyper-recharge gapless BF > AS > SS > AS chain are marginal. 

 

The major difference between now and live is that DB was changed to build the combo even with misses. 

 

EDIT: The great advantage of the BF > AS > SS > AS chain is that because it is so short, most of the chain is under double stacked BF buff. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by ...

[Sovera]

2 hours ago, ... said:

Curiosity/pedantism got the better of me.

 

BF to attack vitals does 354.06 damage in 6.732 seconds. This is unenhanced, no buffs, procs or misses. 52.59 dps over the chain.

 

BF > AS > SS > AS does 284.33 damage in 5.28 seconds for 53.86 dps over the chain, same assumptions. This is at gapless levels of recharge.

 

Obviously this is any incomplete analysis. But as a first approximation it suggests that the gains from the hyper-recharge gapless BF > AS > SS > AS chain are marginal. 

 

The major difference between now and live is that DB was changed to build the combo even with misses. 

 

EDIT: The great advantage of the BF > AS > SS > AS chain is that because it is so short, most of the chain is under double stacked BF buff. 

 

 

I'm not a hardcore DB fan so I miss on the nuances, but for the shorter attack loop to be touted as the best it has to be some nuance being skipped. Probably the double BF influence. But now with only 5% chance of a combo missing the gap between the two must have shrunk some.

[Onlyasandwich]

Any thoughts on the benefits of chasing incarnate defense caps vs doubling down on resists while hovering above normal softcap? Though mids is wonky right now for easy sharing, I have one build that hits at least 59 def in s/l/e/n/p, but has really weak e/n resist at 25ish.

 

I've modified it to now be at 50 def to everything but f/c, and boosted both psi and e/n resist to 50ish. Both builds have 80 sl resist, leaving room to benefit from the might ato proc, and fc resist is capped. It's really hard to chase en resist further without ruining damage.

 

There are other differences at play, but the pumped defense vs better resist spread is my main dilemma.

 

On another note, I've been running musculature radial with all end uniques, and perf shift proc plus 1 endmod in Stam and the armor. Even with focused accuracy running, I hold pretty steady on end, though it does very slowly go down when I'm burning full bore single target. It's no rad armor, but I'm quite happy with the end management overall!

 

[Sovera]

I'd aim for more resists as long as above softcap. This is a good enough approach for 98% of the game. When the slowly expanding difficulty options catch up to the rest of the game it will be common to bring buffers and then the middle-of-the-road approach will benefit more than over-the-cap-so-buffs-do-nothing.

 

IMO.