Which AT for high level/ultimate solo play?

[Without_Pause]

On 8/3/2022 at 1:13 PM, Infinitum said:

 

I second this - with the right build - this is the most optimized single target dps killer that is out.

Better than /shield? Does /ea's 20% +recharge win out? 

[Infinitum]

38 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

Better than /shield? Does /ea's 20% +recharge win out? 

 

That and also - even though Shield can output slightly more burst damage through AAO, EA is smoother because it has end/hp maintenance and shield does not outside of getting ageless core to fuel endurance - but still has no hp maintenance, whereas EA does.

[Infinitum]

2 hours ago, Neiska said:

@Troo @Infinitum

 

Thought of a question regarding your Energy Melee/Energy Armor Stalkers,

 

Why is Energy Armor and not Bio Armor higher ST damage? With the offensive stance and all, and I don't see any Damage Buffs from Energy Aura?

 

Just wondering!

 

Admittedly - I am still a novice with bio armor, but I remember when the new EM came out my EA was hitting faster pylon times than EM Bio stalkers others were using to compare and also test with.  That honestly may have changed.  But from the comparison EM seems to mesh the best with EA IMO because that attack chain I posted is lethal with no gaps - it maximizes the ATOs well to gain double focus and also double or triple build up in some cases.  And while Shield or Bio may occasionally out burst EA - neither feel as smooth to me in maintaining that effective attack chain which is key to being a ST killer.  If you wanted to maximize for AOE you would divert to a completely different chain but you rarely need to because you are literally one shotting just about everything not an EB or higher with that chain with the big guns FET, TF, and AS.

 

That reminds me also, another key is to leverage the ATO hide proc, to crit from hide to gain double focus for that chain to work by getting the double FET.

 

Having said all that I really don't think you could go wrong with EA, Shield, or Bio here.  EA is my preference because of feels 

[Troo]

6 hours ago, Neiska said:

@Troo @Infinitum

 

Thought of a question regarding your Energy Melee/Energy Armor Stalkers,

 

Why is Energy Armor and not Bio Armor higher ST damage? With the offensive stance and all, and I don't see any Damage Buffs from Energy Aura?

 

Just wondering!

 

Preference and maybe a little less herky jerky overall. If a player loves Bio or Shield, take em.

[Astralock]

Stone Armor is another great option, and what I'd personally go for, but again that's preference.  Bio, Energy Aura, Shield, and Stone Armor are all great.

[Ukase]

On 8/3/2022 at 11:32 AM, Astralock said:

Radiation Emmission Corruptor is your best bet.  Depending on your primary, you can solo most TFs, SFs, and GMs with ease.  I recommend a primary with good single target damage.  Fire Blast, Ice Blast, Beam Rifle.  Perhaps even Dark Blast, as its -to-hit debuff and additional self-heal would help with survival.

"Best bet"? No, not even close. No status protection, low Hitpoints? That's a character that can solo, but a brute or a scrapper would have a far easier time of it. 

[Infinitum]

9 hours ago, Neiska said:

@Troo @Infinitum

 

Thought of a question regarding your Energy Melee/Energy Armor Stalkers,

 

Why is Energy Armor and not Bio Armor higher ST damage? With the offensive stance and all, and I don't see any Damage Buffs from Energy Aura?

 

Just wondering!

 

I had to dig this up, but my best pylon time was 57 seconds with the EM EA - average around 1 min 26 seconds.  I believe the 57 had a lot of luck rolled in with it - if you use lore pets also you are dinging the pylon around 30-40 seconds.  I have taken out GMs and AVs before also frequently and fairly easily.

[Sanguinesun]

On 8/5/2022 at 1:27 AM, Voltak said:

Actions speak louder than words 

Deeds have heavier weight than rhetoric 

So I will just leave this right here. 

Now you find me another AT that has actually verifiably done ALL OF THE DEEDS BELOW  -- 
 

ABOVE --  That was a lvl 54 CARNIES AV, not only did the Dom clear the whole map using NO INSPIRATIONS at 54x 8, but then he solo'd the AV lvl 54 at the end as well. 
USING NO TEMPS, NO P2Ws, NO EVENOM DAGGERs, nada. 
DID NOT DIE one single time. 
 

ABOVE -  ITF 54x8 , solo, NO INSPIRATIONS allowed, NO TEMPS, NO P2W, no envenom daggers, NO DEATHS. 

 

ABOVE -  LR SF , SOLO , 54 x8 , NO INSPS, NO TEMPS, NO p2w, no deaths, no envenom daggers

The ONLY AT in the entire history of the game TO VERIFIABLY DO THIS.  
 

ABOVE --  SOLO Vs 54x8 Carnies , USING NO INSPIRATIONS, NO TEMPS, no P2W, no deaths 

 

ABOVE -- Soloing one of the most difficult AVs  while down in the lvl 20s 

NO TEMPS, NO ENVENOM DAGGERS, NO P2W

I can keep going but this will suffice. 

 

Could you share your build for this?  I'm intrigued.

[Voltak]

3 minutes ago, Sanguinesun said:

 

Could you share your build for this?  I'm intrigued.

I did post the build and it's in another thread.

Now, let me clarify, I have 3 builds and another one on stand by depending on wether I need it for some things. 

If you see the videos, not all powers are the same to do every thing I have posted. 
Some builds were identical, only some. 

[User]

31 minutes ago, Voltak said:

I did post the build and it's in another thread.

Now, let me clarify, I have 3 builds and another one on stand by depending on wether I need it for some things. 

If you see the videos, not all powers are the same to do every thing I have posted. 
Some builds were identical, only some. 

I really appreciate your sharing your knowledge. I've been looking at your post history though and I can only find your impressive earth/ dominator build. If it's not too much trouble would you help us all out? Those videos are very impressive!

[Sovera]

A Tanker. You can plod through content and kill the AVs without piano play or expensive builds. You do pay for that with lower damage but the right combo can shorten the gap. A Fire Armor/Energy Melee will mostly nullify the idea you're on a lower damage AT.

 

Brute will be squishier but do more damage. Any advice in this thread is good though and that's because you can lower the difficulty since you're not competing against others.

[Sanguinesun]

4 hours ago, Voltak said:

I did post the build and it's in another thread.

Now, let me clarify, I have 3 builds and another one on stand by depending on wether I need it for some things. 

If you see the videos, not all powers are the same to do every thing I have posted. 
Some builds were identical, only some. 

 

Thank you. When I have time I guess I'll try to go through your posts to see if I can find them then, though I'm not sure which of them then I should consider.  

[Voltak]

11 hours ago, User said:

I really appreciate your sharing your knowledge. I've been looking at your post history though and I can only find your impressive earth/ dominator build. If it's not too much trouble would you help us all out? Those videos are very impressive!

I will make a post and consolidate everything about that dom in one single place, along with all the videos. 

[Uun]

2 hours ago, Voltak said:

I will make a post and consolidate everything about that dom in one single place, along with all the videos. 

PSA: It's the driver not the car. Even if you replicate Voltak's build(s), don't expect to replicate his performance. 

[Voltak]

2 minutes ago, Uun said:

PSA: It's the driver not the car. Even if you replicate Voltak's build(s), don't expect to replicate his performance. 

I can certainly appreciate this, but I want to let other players know, anytime they want me to help them out playing, or practicing, the characters, just hit me up. Send me a message.  I can team with you, observe you, give you feedback or tips. 

All for the love of the game. 

[Voltak]

21 hours ago, Sanguinesun said:

 

Thank you. When I have time I guess I'll try to go through your posts to see if I can find them then, though I'm not sure which of them then I should consider.  

@User Here 

 

[Voltak]

On 8/5/2022 at 9:30 PM, User said:

I really appreciate your sharing your knowledge. I've been looking at your post history though and I can only find your impressive earth/ dominator build. If it's not too much trouble would you help us all out? Those videos are very impressive!

Posted above

[Neiska]

11 hours ago, Uun said:

PSA: It's the driver not the car. Even if you replicate Voltak's build(s), don't expect to replicate his performance. 

 

100% this. Skill matters a ton as well, as well as game knowledge and practice. A bad player will make any build fall flat, and a really skilled player might be able to make an AT do things that can surprise people. Personally, I also consider someone's skill at builds a factor. You can't just copy/paste someone's build from here or elsewhere and expect the exact same results. I consider myself a skilled Mastermind and Crabber player, and a passable Tanker player. I have experimented on other ATs, but not as much as those three. Some AT's I have yet to try out or even play one fully in action. I generally favor Pet classes or Tanky/Durable classes in games/MMOs. But that's why I was musing over Controllers and Dominators too. They aren't really "pet" classes per say, but they do have them, which still counts in my book.

[Sanguinesun]

On 8/7/2022 at 10:34 AM, Voltak said:

@User Here 

 

 

 

Thank you.  I had sifted a bit farther back in your posts and had found this thread and had been  trying to start to build from that one:

 

 

Both sets have different choices, especially in the later powers.  What constitutes the differences in those considerations between the two builds for you? 

 

[Voltak]

6 hours ago, Sanguinesun said:

 

 

Thank you.  I had sifted a bit farther back in your posts and had found this thread and had been  trying to start to build from that one:

 

 

Both sets have different choices, especially in the later powers.  What constitutes the differences in those considerations between the two builds for you? 

 

The build used for Hard mode LR SF and the build used for Hard Mode ITF are different. 

Different enemies different dangers different dmg types, among other things. 

Also, another thing to keep in mind. 

Everyone who ask me for builds is asking without the intent to solo these task forces in hard mode. 
They are players wanting to do the easy stuff in the game, which is radios, or regular contacts, story arcs, and doing full teams of of lvl 50 task forces and so on. 

That's the easy stuff in the game. 

TO do the easy stuff of the game which is what the vast majority of players do, the build requirements or considerations are different. 

You can do more proc have builds for the easy stuff. 

heavy proc builds is asking for constant face planting as you approach higher and higher difficulty levels or tasks. 

The more difficult things you seek to do in the game, the more defensive you need to be, as you get more defensive , then the less offense you may have in your build as a dominator.  

IN other words, proc builds will nerf themselves as you do harder stuff. 

None of my builds that I use to do the most difficult of things for my doms, none of them are proc heavy. 

[Sanguinesun]

4 hours ago, Voltak said:

The build used for Hard mode LR SF and the build used for Hard Mode ITF are different. 

Different enemies different dangers different dmg types, among other things. 

Also, another thing to keep in mind. 

Everyone who ask me for builds is asking without the intent to solo these task forces in hard mode. 
They are players wanting to do the easy stuff in the game, which is radios, or regular contacts, story arcs, and doing full teams of of lvl 50 task forces and so on. 

That's the easy stuff in the game. 

TO do the easy stuff of the game which is what the vast majority of players do, the build requirements or considerations are different. 

You can do more proc have builds for the easy stuff. 

heavy proc builds is asking for constant face planting as you approach higher and higher difficulty levels or tasks. 

The more difficult things you seek to do in the game, the more defensive you need to be, as you get more defensive , then the less offense you may have in your build as a dominator.  

IN other words, proc builds will nerf themselves as you do harder stuff. 

None of my builds that I use to do the most difficult of things for my doms, none of them are proc heavy. 

 

Thanks for the reply and forgive me for not still understanding somethings.   I recognize the depth and detail to which you meticulously make your choices between builds but I don't understand the direction your response took regarding the procs.  To me, from a person who is not at your caliber of play and just looking at the Tinman and the LR builds, I see relatively the same amount of procs.

 

Differences I noticed were the Tinman  build has considerable more resistance in most damage categories than the LR one and LR has more 12-20% more defense depending on the type.   

 

Tinman build too Smite,  grant invis, and phase shift over LR's build taking  living shadows, dark obliteration, and soul drain.

 

Your response  talks a lot about builds related to easy game play but the thread I thought was supposed to be about ultimate high level solo play so that has me confused too.  

 

Tinman's build looks more protective to a certain degree than that of the LR one from my perspective but its a 3 player cited run build while LR's cited as a solo one.

 

So I'm just trying to understand better.  Please do not feel my queries are any thing but trying to understand your thinking/considerations.   Thanks.

[Voltak]

1 hour ago, Sanguinesun said:

 

Thanks for the reply and forgive me for not still understanding somethings.   I recognize the depth and detail to which you meticulously make your choices between builds but I don't understand the direction your response took regarding the procs.  To me, from a person who is not at your caliber of play and just looking at the Tinman and the LR builds, I see relatively the same amount of procs.

 

Differences I noticed were the Tinman  build has considerable more resistance in most damage categories than the LR one and LR has more 12-20% more defense depending on the type.   

 

Tinman build too Smite,  grant invis, and phase shift over LR's build taking  living shadows, dark obliteration, and soul drain.

 

Your response  talks a lot about builds related to easy game play but the thread I thought was supposed to be about ultimate high level solo play so that has me confused too.  

 

Tinman's build looks more protective to a certain degree than that of the LR one from my perspective but its a 3 player cited run build while LR's cited as a solo one.

 

So I'm just trying to understand better.  Please do not feel my queries are any thing but trying to understand your thinking/considerations.   Thanks.

Not the same procs if not the same powers. 
Also, exactly what IOs are in build , well, that changes according to the builds and what numbers I am trying to reach. 

I can only fit procs if, and only if, I meet my defensive standards for the task ahead. 

I never use Living Shadows in any of my builds 

I will use the ST immob depending on build. 

Some builds for easy content, if not all builds for easy content, they can afford to assign slots for heavy use of procs. 

As the content gets more and more difficult, the room for procs, the slots for procs, well, they diminish. 

Makes sense now ?

Edited August 9, 2022 by Voltak

[Sanguinesun]

1 hour ago, Voltak said:

I never use Living Shadows in any of my builds 

 

 

This becomes even more confusing then because this is the build quoted from the other thread where you have Living Shadows in the build and the one I mentioned I was using:

 

Quote

 

Sorry for the late reply.  I took a looong break from the game.  I hope you find this useful. 

 

This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Proc build for dark dark dom: Level 50 Magic Dominator
Primary Power Set: Darkness Control
Secondary Power Set: Dark Assault
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Dark Grasp -- SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(A), SprAscoft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(3), SprAscoft-EndRdx/Rchg(3), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(5), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprAscoft-Rchg/+Dmg%(7)
Level 1: Dark Blast -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(7), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(11)
Level 2: Living Shadows -- SprDmnGrs-Rchg/Fiery Orb(A)
Level 4: Gloom -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(15), Apc-Dam%(17), CldSns-%Dam(17), CldSns-Acc/ToHitDeb(19), GldJvl-Dam%(19)
Level 6: Possess -- CrcPrs-Acc/Conf/Rchg(A), CrcPrs-Acc/Rchg(21), CrcPrs-Conf%(21), CrcPrs-Conf/EndRdx(23), CrcPrs-Conf(23), CrcPrs-Conf/Rchg(25)
Level 8: Fly -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)
Level 10: Fearsome Stare -- CldSns-ToHitDeb(A), CldSns-Acc/ToHitDeb(25), CldSns-Acc/Rchg(27), CldSns-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(27), CldSns-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), CldSns-%Dam(29)
Level 12: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(31), Ksm-ToHit+(31)
Level 14: Heart of Darkness -- Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Erd-%Dam(31), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(33), Arm-Dam%(33), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 16: Gather Shadows -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 20: Engulfing Darkness -- Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Erd-%Dam(34), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), CldSns-%Dam(36), ScrDrv-Dam%(36)
Level 22: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(36)
Level 26: Shadow Field -- UnbCns-Acc/Rchg(A), UnbCns-EndRdx/Hold(37), UnbCns-Acc/Hold/Rchg(37), UnbCns-Hold/Rchg(37), UnbCns-Hold(39)
Level 28: Life Drain -- TchoftheN-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(A), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal(39), TchoftheN-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-ResDam%(39), Rct-Def(40)
Level 32: Umbra Beast -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(40), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(40), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42)
Level 35: Moon Beam -- StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(42), StnoftheM-Acc/ActRdx/Rng(42), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(43), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), StnoftheM-Dam%(43)
Level 38: Midnight Grasp -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(45), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 41: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(46), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(46), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(48)
Level 44: Dark Obliteration -- Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(48), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(50), Rgn-Knock%(50)
Level 47: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 49: Soul Drain -- Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A)
Level 1: Domination 
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(11), Mrc-Rcvry+(13)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(13), PrfShf-End%(15)
Level 49: Quick Form 
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 50: Nerve Radial Paragon 
Level 50: Clarion Radial Epiphany 
Level 50: High Pain Threshold 
Level 50: Born In Battle 

 

Level 50: Invader 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Sanguinesun

[Nostromo21]

On 8/5/2022 at 3:44 AM, Neiska said:

@Voltak - Impressive, thanks for the videos! 

 

Seen a lot of suggestions and ideas. I think I am going to try an Illusion/Dark/Fire controller. I don't know if she will be capable of everything posted in this forum, but after talking with friends and on discord I hope it's what I am going for. Something that is good for both solo and team play, who doesn't rely on inspirations/outside buffs to perform, and who can fight AV/GMs if I want to. I might get around to trying the other ideas here, but at the end it was that I have never played a controller past level 10 or so before, certainly never had one fully kitted or slotted out. And Illusion looks really fun. I just hope the /Dark is strong enough on controllers to do what I want to do, but going from here and talks elsewhere it seems it will be. I hope to take Fire Mastery so I can get Fireball for some AoE, and Fire Shield for some S/L resistance. I don't have a build yet, plan on tinkering in mids when I get home. (Posting from work this exact moment.)

 

How did you go matey? Mine is almost 40 & virtually indestructible with all my pets, superior invis, all the debuffs & whatnot - very enjoyable solo play style indeed! 🙂

[moobiman]

I have 2 characters that have been pretty easy to solo and didn't slot enhancements for until 25+ and even then it was basic IO slotting. Dual Blade willpower scrapper and savage Regen brute. My altoholism has been keeping me from high end set slotted content though