Proposed Nature/Seismic/Soul Build

[oedipus_tex]

Hey all you cool cats and kittens, mind sanity checking this Nature/Seismic/Soul build? I've never played Seismic so I am not sure which powers are worth it. On paper it looks like a decently proccable set with a ranged nuke that should potentially combo well with Nature's +ToHit bonus in its T9 in order to enable some serious proc potential.

 

The theoretical version pasted here should be able to keep a pretty strong self Damage buff going, depending on how many enemies I can lure into Soul Drain range. I am not sure if the 343% number below includes damage from the +30% Defender global or not; I assume it does not.

 

 

The normal question of "Should this actually be a Corruptor?" applies.  Corruptors have a higher damage cap, and although I didn't actually hit the Damage cap for Defenders here, there might be some way I'm not levering all the tools available to me yet.

 

 

BIG QUESTION: Which alpha slot? Normally I'd just go with Musculature. But we're hitting pretty good damage numbers already. Should I triple down on that for even more damage? Or is there a case for a different Alpha slot?

 

My assumption is this is taking Clarion Destiny to avoid Spore Cloud/Entangling Aura detoggles.

 

 

 

 

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.2.17
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Nature Affinity
Secondary Power Set: Seismic Blast
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Dark Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Regrowth -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(11), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(11), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(13), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(15), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
Level 1: Encase -- SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg(A), SprVglAss-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3)
Level 2: Wild Growth -- TtnCtn-ResDam/Rchg(A), TtnCtn-ResDam(9)
Level 4: Rock Shards -- SprVglAss-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprVglAss-Rchg/+Absorb(5), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(7), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(7), PstBls-Dam%(9)
Level 6: Spore Cloud -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(17), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/Rchg(19), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(19)
Level 8: Corrosive Enzymes -- Acc-I(A)
Level 10: Entomb -- Apc-Dam%(A), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Apc-Dmg(37), ShlBrk-%Dam(40), TchofLadG-%Dam(42), GldJvl-Dam%(42)
Level 12: Wild Bastion -- DS:DSyncHealRech(A), DS:DSyncHealRech(13)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 16: Seismic Force -- GssSynFr--Build%(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(45), GssSynFr--ToHit(45), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(46), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(46), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(46)
Level 18: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Upthrust -- AchHee-ResDeb%(A), TchofLadG-%Dam(21), ShlBrk-%Dam(21), ExpStr-Dam%(23), PstBls-Dam%(25), FrcFdb-Rechg%(25)
Level 22: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(23), StdPrt-ResKB(43)
Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(50)
Level 26: Entangling Aura -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(27), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(27), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(29)
Level 28: Tombstone -- StnoftheM-Dam%(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(31), StnoftheM-Acc/ActRdx/Rng(31), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(31), GldJvl-Dam%(34)
Level 30: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Overgrowth -- AdjTrg-Rchg(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(33), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(33), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(33), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Stalagmite -- SprDfnBst-Rchg/Heal%(A), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg(36), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37)
Level 38: Meteor -- PstBls-Dam%(A), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(39), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(39), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(40), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(40)
Level 41: Oppressive Gloom -- Acc-I(A)
Level 44: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), HO:Ribo(45)
Level 47: Soul Drain -- Erd-%Dam(A), Erd-Acc/Rchg(48), Erd-Dmg/Rchg(48), Obl-%Dam(48), Obl-Acc/Rchg(50), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(50)
Level 49: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance 
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(43)
Level 1: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PwrTrns-+Heal(42), PrfShf-EndMod(43)
Level 1: Seismic Shockwaves 
Level 49: Quick Form 
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Edited April 9, 2022 by oedipus_tex

[oedipus_tex]

Sorry for replying to myself here. 🙂 I just did some more thinking about this build, and realized that with Seismic Force and the Guassian's proc in play, I'm actually exceeding the damage cap for Defenders:

 

 

 

So the big question here for me becomes "How often am I really hitting that cap?" and "How often am I maximizing interaction between Seismic Force/Guassian's and blast powers?"

 

I think the answer here is it's time to build this on a Corruptor instead, since they have a higher damage cap, and Scourge won't count against the cap. But I'm willing to hear opinions to the contrary. 

[Onlyasandwich]

2 hours ago, oedipus_tex said:

343% number below includes damage from the +30% Defender global or not; I assume it does not.

Excellent build, @oedipus_tex, as always.

 

Since you have Vigilance enabled in Mids for this build, it does indeed incorporate the 30% bonus for Defenders.

 

2 hours ago, oedipus_tex said:

How often am I maximizing interaction between Seismic Force/Guassian's and blast powers?"

Not all the time, as Gaussian is only 5 seconds. This won't really matter for your nuke, but the other powers in your rotation will appreciate the love. I'm not sure that Defender Damage cap is a huge barrier for you here.

 

I feel like this one could go either way between Defender/Corruptor! You can really make Nature supremely tanky on a Defender if you care to. I rather enjoy Rune on my own Nature/ Defender, as it lets me basically cap all my resistances 1/3 of the time with extremely little slot investment. If the Sorcery pool is at all thematically appropriate for this character, I would encourage you to consider it. This also provides a decent mez protection solution so you can skip clarion and pick up something more fun. Certainly rune isn't 100%, but you will be able to dodge a lot of mez, and keep a lot of it locked down with Entangling as well.

 

I wouldn't avoid Lifegiving Spores either! It's end positive out of the box if you stay within the radius, and is a really nice extra layer of mitigation and team happiness, especially when exemping. It also looks pretty. : )

 

Your proccing and attack choices are looking strong here. Just a small quibble - the Bombardment proc is a superior damage type to Shield Breaker in Upthrust. 

 

Of course my power recommendations above would require sacrifice elsewhere, and I don't see any really obvious drops. I think doubling down on self-buffs for damage is a strong path! No arguments here if you keep the focus as is.

 

I see that you have neglected both of the +res uniques here, perhaps intentionally. Even though you are at cap for S/L, I think the uniques would still be worthwhile for the other res totals, given that you have a pretty solid baseline across the board. One easy slot to drop would be the power transfer heal proc in stamina. Regrowth heals you as well as your allies, so self-healing is very well covered. Along this same line, some extra res slotting in Wild Growth would also be welcome. This extra S/L pad would also free you up to swap the Obliterations in Soul Drain for Ragnaroks instead, increasing the damage, pumping local totals, and buffing Fire/Cold res as well along with some additional recovery.

 

Even without any other changes, definitely move the Steadfast +defense/res IO to Wild growth. This gives you more res for no loss at all. Go ahead and shuffle the KB prot IO along with it to keep the bonus.

 

Given the damage cap situation along with the strong resist powers, I would probably go Cardiac Radial on this one. You don't really need the extra end redux from core, and the Absorb actually helps too! Stack all of my recommendations above, and you won't even need Rune to be hitting close to Resist cap on more than just S/L.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by Onlyasandwich

[Uun]

• I would devote more slots to Wild Growth. Not only more resistance, but enhancing the regen buff is also worthwhile.
• Entangling Aura is autohit and doesn't require accuracy. It does suck endurance like a Hoover. I frankenslot with 3x end/hold.
• Consider an epic with a ST hold (you could switch from Dark to Soul). Combined with Entangling Aura, it makes locking down bosses easy. 

[SeraphimKensai]

@oedipus_texdid you ever build this? I recently started one (last night) and have been theory crafting a couple variants. Incidentally I arrived at the same power pool choices, albeit slight variation in the power picks.

 

Mathematically the potential this kind of pairing is pretty solid.