Psionic/Regen - Mashing together things I haven't played

[Onlyasandwich]

Edit - Updated build.

 

Hello Brutonia! 

 

Brutes are a class that I have not given nearly enough love, and Regen is a set that I have literally only tried a couple times, all back in live days without IOs. I've been itching to try Psi melee somewhere as well - thus this build.

 

I'd love your input on my build in the context of the goals I have set forth:

 

• Proc 'dem attacks. Brutes seem a little proc happier, as ED is just a drop in the bucket compared to Fury/damage caps.
• Slow Resist. I have a fetish for this it's true, but it seems especially wanted on the very click-dependent /Regen.
• Pick up Recharge where I can, supported by FFback in both aoe and ST chains.
• My concept demands I spew awful things from my mouth, so Arctic Breath is a requirement. 🙂 It helps that the power itself is proc worthy and a nice debuff. School of Sharks is just present to get me there.
• Modest resists across the board. I don't feel the need to bend over backwards to try and make this into a tank. That being said, I don't want to be bait either.

 

Imagined strategy:

• Rely on superb regen and healing for the most part, but rotate three powerful survival steroids between Instant Healing, MoG, and Rune as needed.
• Otherwise just open with Arctic Breath and go to town. Enjoy the pink spam once my FFbacks start rolling.

 

Areas I am not sure about, or would like to buff if possible:

• I am well familiar with the power of a defense based IO strategy. It seems like it would sacrifice too much offensive potential in this sort of build for my taste. Is my survival strategy viable in your eyes? Finding a way to softcap in something meaningful would be nice, but it would be a long journey there.
• Psi damage taken - I just sort of eat it. My resist isn't actually the worst, and of course healing doesn't care about damage type. Would be nice to find a few extra slots to throw at it though.
• I love the baseline power enhancement and recharge bonus in Panacea for most of my healing powers. Do you think I would be better served by taking a recharge hit and picking a different set? I'm not super impressed with the other bonuses in this set.
• Power choice - anything you love to pick in either of these sets that I skipped? If so, why do you love it?
• Is skipping the Superior Brute's Fury set a dumb idea? The ATO proc in it seems unnecessary, and swapping it in would nerf the damage of whatever attack I swapped it into. I see that it would be neat for a 3 split S/L defense strat, but that's not my focus. Side note - Brutes really get shafted on ATO procs!
• Swap slotting on Tough and Rune maybe? 

 

For Alpha I went Vigor Core. Normally I'm a big musculature or musc radial fan, but the ED seems less impactful here. Vigor allows me to proc out more easily, and buffs my healing across the board. Would you go another direction?

 

I can't imagine going anything but Barrier on this guy.

 

Note that in the build, the FFback powers are toggled on, and damage buffs are toggled off when viewing totals.

 

The build:

Spoiler

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

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Psionic Melee
Secondary Power Set: Regeneration
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Sorcery
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Psi Blade -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(7)
Level 1: Fast Healing -- Heal-I(A)
Level 2: Reconstruction -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(9), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(11), Prv-Heal/Rchg(11), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(13), Prv-Absorb%(13)
Level 4: Quick Recovery -- PwrTrns-+Heal(A)
Level 6: Telekinetic Blow -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(A), TchofDth-Dam%(15), Hct-Dmg(15), Hct-Dam%(17), ExpStr-Dam%(17), FrcFdb-Rechg%(19)
Level 8: Concentration -- GssSynFr--Build%(A)
Level 10: Dull Pain -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(21), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(21), Pnc-Heal(23)
Level 12: Psi Blade Sweep -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(23), PrfZng-Dam%(25), Obl-Dmg(25), Obl-%Dam(27), Erd-%Dam(27)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(29), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(29)
Level 16: Integration -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(31), Pnc-Heal(31), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(31), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 18: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33)
Level 20: Resilience -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(33), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(34), UnbGrd-Max HP%(34), GldArm-3defTpProc(34)
Level 22: Boxing -- SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 24: Tough -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam(36), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(36), Ags-Psi/Status(36)
Level 26: Greater Psi Blade -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(37), PrfZng-Dam%(37), GldStr-%Dam(37), TchofDth-Dam%(39), UnbCns-Dam%(39)
Level 28: Instant Healing -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(39), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(40), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(40), Pnc-Heal(40)
Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-Def(42), Rct-Def/EndRdx(42), Rct-ResDam%(42)
Level 32: Mass Levitate -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Erd-%Dam(43), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Arm-Dam%(45), FrcFdb-Rechg%(45)
Level 35: Spirit Ward -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Moment of Glory -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RechRdx-I(45), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 41: Mystic Flight -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)
Level 44: Rune of Protection -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 47: School of Sharks -- Rgn-Dmg(A), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(48), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Rgn-Knock%(48)
Level 49: Arctic Breath -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(50), TchofLadG-%Dam(50), AchHee-ResDeb%(50), PstBls-Dam%(51), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(51)
Level 1: Fury 
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 -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A)
Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 50: Vigor Core Paragon 
Level 50: Marshal 
Level 50: Invader 
Level 50: High Pain Threshold 
Level 50: Born In Battle 
------------

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2022 by Onlyasandwich
More proc optimization

[Troo]

2 hours ago, Onlyasandwich said:

Rely on superb regen and healing for the most part, but rotate three powerful survival steroids between Instant Healing, MoG, and Rune as needed.

 

It feels like cheating.

I have simply cycled Rune of Protection, Instant Healing, Demonic Aura, & MoG. Every once in a while popping Dull Pain if I get to 1/2 health.

 

Building high debuff resist to Recharge and Movement is doable. I've seen 100%, but comes at a cost. Something reasonable should suffice.

 

Random Regen tips that you might already know:

• Regen and resists have nice synergy. Def can be useless at times due to no DDR. Soft caps can be a fools errand just to watch em melt.
  • (incidental def from sets adds up anyway)
• Use MoG more than other T9s, it has a nice +Recovery on top of everything else and no crash.
• Dull Pain is somewhat easy to perma, some like it that way. Great for max HP. Setting to auto can be inefficient though.
• You're gonna get hit. Accept this. Have a plan to get out of trouble and then play with near reckless abandon.
  • Have a heal available. If you don't have one available it may be prudent to back off a bit.

 

Im attaching a non dialed in build I used to test +4/8 runs. Maybe there's some help/confirmation in there.

Brute - Stone Melee - Regeneration.mxd

Edited April 29, 2022 by Troo

[InvaderStych]

Random thoughts:

 

MS might be a better choice on a Brute than PB.  PB's dpa is lower until 2 ticks of Insight damage kick in (based on the Boggled thread over in Guides), iirc.

 

SupEntomb +Absorb can be slotted into GPB.  I have not tried this yet, but the steady chance for Absorb might be interesting on a Regen Brute.  Or maybe not? Someone's gotta give it a go before we'll know! 😄 GPB already hits like a truck full of trucks, so losing one of the 3.5 %dmg pieces isn't going to be that much of a loss overall.

 

Vigor looks like a solid choice.  Heal, Acc, EndRdx.  Makes sense.

 

FotG %(-Res)  in PBS is useful to mitigate occasional mob psi resistance.  Mass Lev is another option for that piece.  Pairs nicely with the Achilles you have in AB.

 

This thread reminds me that I've been meaning to circle back to Regen Brutes. 😄

Edited April 29, 2022 by InvaderStych

[Koopak]

You are on the right track with the idea of focusing on high power, long recharge T9 like abilities to keep yourself up and not working to hard on defense. Defense is FAR stronger than resistance per bonus generally but only on paper because yeah DDR will make you hate life. DDR makes you hate life so hard that a +4 Silver Mantis can and will body you no matter how hard you try to tell her no. Woman is bad with consent I guess.

Your big worries are, still -Def because negative defense is a thing, -Recharge, and -Regen, in that order because you do have some Regen Debuff Resist in Fast Healing but its weak and -regen comes in two flavors, insignificant, and you don't get to play. For this reason Ageless Radial is a must, upside, between that, MoG, and other +recovery options you can often skip Quick Recovery on a lot of builds.

I would consider picking up Unrelenting or Unleash Potential, UP is the better of the two for raw durability, but Unrelenting gives you another way around the -regen out there. Additionally Burnout is highly underrated on Regeneration, Quick Recovery or other end tools make the end issues easy to mitigate and having the ability to double you big heals is important.

Talking about Psi, just a tip, the Insight mechanic IS worth engaging with, it yields about a 10% dps boost if used optimally, that being to do your optimal rotation until insight procs, then do everything EXCEPT GSB until the last possible moment in the 15 second window.

As for the build itself, some notes.

-Definitely get Fury of the Gladiator -resist in there, its a big overall damage bump.
-PBS is only at a 90% chance to hit against +3 enemies here (+4 diff setting with an alpha slot)
-Vigor is fine but if you can get Spiritual that's optimal for regen durability.
-Some people prefer to use Dull Pain as a heal rather than a buff, in theory this CAN be optimal if you are very twitchy with it. Ideally Dull Pain should be up any time you are pressed, ESPECIALLY before pulling hard hitting AVs
-Get your accolades asap, Max HP is life, not only does it raise your effective hp/s regeneration, it also is core to Regen's other big weakness, low EHP/Effective Health, you need that buffer to not get 1 shot and have a chance to regenerate.

-Consider Power Transfer procs in Stamina and Quick Recovery, like panacea because these are heals they bypass -regen and equate to about ~3.7hp/s on a Brute
-Don't worry about end to much, again Ageless Radial is core, if you can make your end bar reliable last between casts, then you have enough end, more is only good for resisting sapping which Ageless already helps with.

I think that is everything. I'm moving to updating the calculator in my signature to include a Brute page soon, once I have it setup ill see if I can spot any Brute specific quirks i havent caught before.

[Onlyasandwich]

Thank you all kindly for the feedback! I appreciate your time in reviewing the build.

 

A question for @Koopak

3 hours ago, Koopak said:

-PBS is only at a 90% chance to hit against +3 enemies here (+4 diff setting with an alpha slot)

Do you have Vigor Core toggled on here? I have Mids set to base 48 tohit in order to reflect +3's (so +4's shifted), and am comfortably over cap on hit chance on GPB (113%). No other temporary buffs are active - this is just with Vigor, 6% tohit from Kismet, and 9% global acc from IO bonuses. 

 

FotG is great for longer engagements, but I generally prefer up the up front punch of a damage proc. It's true that my hard targets will notice the difference, but I am a little biased against -res procs, though it is mostly a matter of taste. I do have my achilles in Arctic of course - it just feels right to double down on the baseline -res of the power. Some decisions are just based on subjective fun!

 

Although the faster cycles on my steroids would be nice, I'm not inclined to go Spiritual on a proc heavy build, as it will tank my proc chances across the board.

 

The feedback regarding Insight is quite welcome! I see so many people saying basically to ignore it, but it's nice to know there is a measurable payoff if I pay a bit of attention.

 

I'm not worried about -recharge at all, as my slow resist is at 95% 😄

 

@InvaderStych's point regarding Mental Strike is well-taken too. It looks like Mids goes ahead and incorporates Intuition damage into the readout, with no option to toggle it off as with other mechanics. How annoying! 

 

Very much agreed with @Troo here - I think softcap, particularly on melee ATs that attract a lot of attention, can quickly go to waste without strong DDR to back it up. Not denying the power of softcap of course, but I think using other tools for survival here will be both fun and suit overall build goals better.

 

 

 

 

 

[Koopak]

5 hours ago, Onlyasandwich said:

A question for @Koopak

Do you have Vigor Core toggled on here? I have Mids set to base 48 tohit in order to reflect +3's (so +4's shifted), and am comfortably over cap on hit chance on GPB (113%). No other temporary buffs are active - this is just with Vigor, 6% tohit from Kismet, and 9% global acc from IO bonuses. 

PBS not GSB

If you don't wanna use FotG that's your call but i can assure you that at least in terms of numeric performance, even on smaller fights, its worth it. Its a 20% multiplicative damage boost to any and all damage done after the proc, so a damage proc needs to outperform that, which it wont most of the time.

the proc loss for the recharge is not as bad a hit as its often assumed to be, but honestly there's a few options if you sort your accuracy without it. Just one of many little optimization choices that depend on your priorities.
 

[Onlyasandwich]

6 hours ago, Koopak said:

PBS not GSB

Of course! My tired eyes betray me at times. I'm not sure how I missed the lower than ideal totals in PBS as well - I need to dig in and adjust to fix.

 

You're right that the damage loss from +recharge isn't world-ending with Spiritual (10-30 damage per attack depending), but I couldn't maintain current levels of proc focus without the extra accuracy support. I could swap Epics for Focused Accuracy, or steal slotting from regen powers to mule out a couple purple sets, or just completely refocus the build.

 

 

[Onlyasandwich]

I did go ahead and update the build in OP to account for acc in Psi blade sweep. I stole the slots from Fast healing to mule a purple set in School of Sharks. This only loses a ~4.5 hps/sec, but solves the acc issue.

 

As a bonus, I get a little more recharge, and was able to drop a slot from Mog, maximize recharge in mog, and use the extra slot to shift a slow resist bonus elsewhere and optimize TK blow for better proc damage. I swapped in a Power Transfer heal proc too, which should make up for the lost regen from FH slotting.

 

Overall happy with the change, but if someone sees an obvious alternative for ~15 acc that wouldn't require a 5 slot mule in a power I don't anticipate using, I'd love to hear! I suppose that SoS might get some use here and there, so it's not too bad.

Edited April 30, 2022 by Onlyasandwich

[Onlyasandwich]

Edit: Consolidated some slotting. Lost a tiny bit of S/L res, but making better use of enhancement value in lotg set, while maximizing recharge in MoG - little extra defense across the board too.

 

@Koopak Thank you for suggesting Unleashed Potential! 

 

I didn't like the wasted enhancement value from muling school of sharks, so swapped around to see how UP might fit into the picture. With this, I can just double up on lotg acc bonuses for my accuracy, and am now enhancing powers in a valuable way while achieving the IO bonuses I want.

 

Given that I only had Rune at 1 slot previously, I feel like UP has comparable, if not perhaps better value. With it running, I can pop a small purple and basically be at softcap to all, and the uptime is roughly the same as Rune. I also like that it has a much faster cast time.

 

This does leave me with a few extra flex slots. I put them to use on Psi resist uniques for now, which is decent. However, I suspect there is a better use for these two  slots! Would love further suggestions about where they might be best spent. Do you think taking them both to close that last ~22% recharge in UP and MoG would be silly?

 

Here is the MK2 build with Unleashed Potential:

Spoiler

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

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Psionic Melee
Secondary Power Set: Regeneration
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Force of Will
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Psi Blade -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(7)
Level 1: Fast Healing -- Heal-I(A)
Level 2: Reconstruction -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(9), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(11), Prv-Heal/Rchg(11), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(13), Prv-Absorb%(13)
Level 4: Quick Recovery -- PwrTrns-+Heal(A)
Level 6: Telekinetic Blow -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(A), TchofDth-Dam%(15), Hct-Dmg(15), Hct-Dam%(17), ExpStr-Dam%(17), FrcFdb-Rechg%(19)
Level 8: Concentration -- GssSynFr--Build%(A)
Level 10: Dull Pain -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(21), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(21), Pnc-Heal(23)
Level 12: Psi Blade Sweep -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(23), PrfZng-Dam%(25), Obl-Dmg(25), Obl-%Dam(27), Erd-%Dam(27)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(29), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(29), Rct-ResDam%(42)
Level 16: Integration -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(31), Pnc-Heal(31), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(31), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 18: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33)
Level 20: Resilience -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(33), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(34), UnbGrd-Max HP%(36), GldArm-3defTpProc(34), ImpArm-ResPsi(36)
Level 22: Boxing -- SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(A)
Level 24: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), ImpArm-ResPsi(48)
Level 26: Greater Psi Blade -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(37), PrfZng-Dam%(37), GldStr-%Dam(37), TchofDth-Dam%(39), UnbCns-Dam%(39)
Level 28: Instant Healing -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(39), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(40), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(40), Pnc-Heal(40)
Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(34), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(42)
Level 32: Mass Levitate -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Erd-%Dam(43), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Arm-Dam%(45), FrcFdb-Rechg%(45)
Level 35: Mighty Leap -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)
Level 38: Moment of Glory -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RechRdx-I(45), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 41: Weaken Resolve -- AnlWkn-Acc/DefDeb(A)
Level 44: Unleash Potential -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(46), LucoftheG-Def(48)
Level 47: School of Sharks -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(48)
Level 49: Arctic Breath -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(50), TchofLadG-%Dam(50), AchHee-ResDeb%(50), PstBls-Dam%(51), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(51)
Level 1: Fury 
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 -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A)
Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 35: Takeoff 
Level 50: Vigor Core Paragon 
Level 50: Marshal 
Level 50: Invader 
Level 50: High Pain Threshold 
Level 50: Born In Battle 
------------

 

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by Onlyasandwich

[Koopak]

Optimizing recharge is never silly on Regan. Every second saved is closing your vulnerability windows. The key to excellence on Regen is maximizing uptime on your survival tools.

 

UP is, if I recall correctly from my calculator, the highest value pool power in terms of effective regeneration.

 

Ill take a look at the newest build in the morning and see if I have any other suggestions

[Koopak]

Last couple notes id make is you can afford to drop Quick Recovery all together, with this current setup with it you literally wont have your blue bar move, which while people often build for that, its just wasted potential. Ideally your end nearly runs out just as you have a tool to refit it come off cooldown or you end the fight. Other thing is, i highly recommend getting 1-2 recharge IOs in to Concentration, itll be more valuable than any procs you take the slots from.

[Onlyasandwich]

15 hours ago, Koopak said:

drop Quick Recovery

Definitely open to this, though the Power Transfer Mule is at least sort of nice, and I'd like to see how it rolls level before making a final decision.

 

I really don't want to rely on Ageless, as Barrier is such a powerful add to further cover my rotating defensive steroids.

 

If I do, do you have any suggestions for a one or two slot wonder? Revive might be neat, or maybe even Boggle with the purple proc. A 2 slot Perfect Zinger in Taunt wouldn't be too bad either.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Onlyasandwich

[Koopak]

Never bother with boggle on anything other than maybe stalker. Optimally used with perfect, and I mean perfect rotation and with a damage proc it is another 4-5% dps increase. If you are even one rotation element off though it becomes a 5-10% dps loss.

 

Revive will muel preventative medicine well and is often unfairly derided as only useful in a fail state. Admittedly many challenge TFs have a no death requirement but modern design is moving away from that. Outside that situation its better to think of revive as a 15 second invincibility buff.

 

I cannot caution you enough against skipping ageless radial, it isn't for the end, you'd go core then, it's for the debuff resist. I run barrier radial in teams for the rezes and fight turning power, but solo or when tanking ageless is mandatory. Regen is very powerful when played well but it has no solution to nearly any debuff in the game and harder content makes extensive use of debuffs.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Koopak

[Onlyasandwich]

29 minutes ago, Koopak said:

4-5% dps increase

The thought with Boggle was not so much for DPS but for occasional utility and shenanigans. I can see a LT level +aoe minion level confuse (with proc) being a neat trick to pull out here and there.

 

I love PM proc, but prefer the full set here in Recon for its superior bonuses. Revive would mostly be for any utility it provides in and of itself. I can see it being a nice bandaid for failure scenarios though! I've come to like Self-rezzes a bit more these days.

 

I get what you're saying on Ageless, then! I'm used to thinking it in terms of DDR, but as you say it provides other valuable debuff resistance as well - notably -regen.

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Onlyasandwich

[Koopak]

Boggle's confuse, even with Contagious Confusion is just not worth it imo. Boggles core function is to apply 'Boggled' a status that is applied regardless of if the target is confused. Hitting a Boggled enemy has twice the probability of triggering Insight. At its core Boggle is meant to give you more control over a mechanic often called 'to random to bother with'. Fact of the matter is though it just doesn't do it well enough to be worth the investment. If you are just infatuated with a confuse tool, knock yourself out, but I'd say its a very difficult argument to make that its worth a power pick over just about anything else.

-regen is honestly over focused on as a debuff for regen users. It isn't common, it comes in exactly two flavors, 90% of -regen is to weak to matter, and the other 10% blows through anything but 70%+ debuff resist. Additionally Reconstruction, Dull Pain, and Unrelenting bypass it. The real killers are -defense (negative defense exists and many fights can and will hit -100%+ defense) -endurance which quick recovery can only help so much against, and -recharge. Of these -defense is the real killer because the difficulty of getting to resist caps on Regen ensures that enough -def results in you getting 2-3 shot from big hits. With 3 times the 'resisted health' regen has access to you could simply shrug this off, but as it is, damage spikes are a death sentence and -def makes them much more likely to occur.

[Onlyasandwich]

1 hour ago, Koopak said:

-defense

If -defense is the primary concern, would the highly excessive defense of Barrier not perform a largely similar function, and also be more useful as a proactive tool in other contexts?

 

I am already at 95% slow resist, so that is not a concern.

 

I'm definitely not swooning over Boggle or anything - just considering what low investment powers might actually conceivably do something neat if I dropped Quick Recovery. In any case, I'm leaning towards Revive as a likely pick if I do.

Edited May 3, 2022 by Onlyasandwich

[Koopak]

11 hours ago, Onlyasandwich said:

If -defense is the primary concern, would the highly excessive defense of Barrier not perform a largely similar function, and also be more useful as a proactive tool in other contexts?

No, because Barrier will not prevent you from eating -100%+ def which will blow through barrier, it also has less duration on its 'effective' range in which those bonuses will help against mass -def. You can and will get defense cascaded through the barrier. Ageless in contrast remains effective at keeping your defense loses manageable for significantly longer while alos being an effective counter to the other components.

I actually recommend against hard pursuing slow resist in your build as its usually not worth the efficiency loss, unless your exempting and against heavy slow using enemies a lot, you just wont need it if you have Ageless. Granted, yes, getting 95% slow resist in your build means you don't need ageless for -recharge, but you still face -end, -regen, -to-hit and above all -def. You can try to use Barrier to plug the defense hole and it'll work in some situations but not all, as Cimerora Traitors and Silver Mantis as an AV will both show you.

Edited May 3, 2022 by Koopak