Issue 28: Page 1 Farming Microguide (Maps + Builds)

[crimson72]

Anyone got a rad/stone armor (I'm not too pick on the primary to be honest) brute build?  I got like a 200m budget.  Looking to get S/L def 45%, capped S/L resist, and rooted should get me plenty of regen.  Optimizing dps isn't that crucial on a 200m budget, I just need to be able to survive.  I'd prefer to not 'need' granite armor, the question is how easy (cheap) will it be to cap S/L resists without it.  I tried messing around on mids, but I don't possess the knowledge on set bonuses, and skills/slots to optimize those bonuses.  

Edited June 17 by crimson72

[crimson72]

 

 

AFK Brute.  

 

I came up with this, it's sorta budget (which is what I'm looking for).  If anyone has any improvements for this that doesn't involve slotting purples, I'm open to suggestions.  It needs 4 accolades, and I didn't set any incarnate powers.  It's defense cap, 35/s HP regen + procs.  Only thing I'm not 100% sure on is accuracy, but I believe nerve core should probably get me there.  Even without accolades, it's 46.53% def and 31.22/s HP regen, which might still work, but stamina might be an issue without the accolades, but I believe popping ageless core right at the start of the run should make it OK on a 5 minute farm (with performance shifter procs).  

Brute (Radiation Melee - Fiery Aura).mbd

Edited June 18 by crimson72
Updated set

[Stormangel]

On 6/4/2025 at 4:28 PM, Socrates Draft said:

This may be kind of off topic, but...what is the best way to level up say an AFK S/L Tank build assuming I have no other assets on the server? How do I get it to the point where I can actually start surviving on the designated farming map itself? Money doesn't seem to be an issue so far (making 1.5 million Insp per about 15 min farming on the Bads in Space map but the Exp is SLOOOOOW). Thanks in advance for your assistance.

I take it you are NOT 50 yet then?  Join tfs, especially ones that will get you your TFC accolade or the defeats needed for Atlas medallion.  Teaming is always the best option for leveling imho outside of getting to be in someone;s farm.  And more enjoyable.

[Maelwys]

On 6/18/2025 at 9:16 AM, crimson72 said:

AFK Brute.  

 

I came up with this, it's sorta budget (which is what I'm looking for).  If anyone has any improvements for this that doesn't involve slotting purples, I'm open to suggestions.  It needs 4 accolades, and I didn't set any incarnate powers.  It's defense cap, 35/s HP regen + procs.  Only thing I'm not 100% sure on is accuracy, but I believe nerve core should probably get me there.  Even without accolades, it's 46.53% def and 31.22/s HP regen, which might still work, but stamina might be an issue without the accolades, but I believe popping ageless core right at the start of the run should make it OK on a 5 minute farm (with performance shifter procs). 

 

(i) Swap the Numina Proc in Phoenix Rising for a Preventive Medicine Global; then swap the Heal/EndRed Numina IO in Physical Perfection for the Numina Proc.
The Numina Proc won't work in a clicky unless it gets used at least once every 120s... but the Preventive Medicine Global doesn't care if the power gets used or not.

I'd be very wary of deaths due to Spike damage - you're at the absolute bare minimum HP/Sec figure here even with accolades; and you don't have any Superior Unrelenting Fury +Regeneration proc activations to help take the edge off. So in addition to the above, I'd also recommend adjusting your Stamina slotting to fit in another Power Transfer proc (e.g. Power Transfer proc + Power Transfer EndMod + Performance Shifter proc). At a net recovery of ~1.15 End/Sec you'll also need to be careful of your endurance consumption; but even before getting the accolades clicking on Ageless and/or Radial Banished Pantheon at the start of the mission ought to take care of it.

(ii) Providing you run BOTH Tactics AND Focused Accuracy you'll be OK accuracywise without Nerve Core - Atom Smasher is just about reaching 95% hit chance vs +3 foes.

(iii) Finally... this slotting:


6x Damage Procs is fantastic for ACTIVE farming; when you have lots of different AoEs to procbomb and use one after the other without any gaps.
However for AFK farming you only have one single AoE that you can set to autofire, so you really want to be getting as much damage over time from it as possible.

Currently, best-case with 90 fury and T4 Musculature Core Alpha you can expect this to be doing an average of 609.1 damage every 19.168 seconds (31.78 DPS)
If you swapped to a Spiritual Core Alpha it'd be 486.2 damage every 15.218 seconds (31.95 DPS)

but with this slotting (which has the entire Obliteration set except the Acc/Rech, plus an extra damage proc):

You gain damage and recharge aspect and a +recharge set bonus; for 459.3 damage every 13.708 seconds (33.51 DPS)
By swapping the Musculature Core for a Spiritual Core, it becomes 418.2 damage every 11.878 seconds (35.21 DPS)

and with this slotting (which has Lv50+5 Dam/Rech IOs in the first 3 slots, plus damage procs in the last three slots):

With Musculature Core, 475.6 damage every 12.648 seconds (37.60 DPS)
With Spiritual Core, 435.5 damage every 11.478 seconds (37.94 DPS)

and if your budget can stretch to 2x Purple IOs (Armageddons - a +5 Dam/Rech and the Proc):

With Musculature Core, 533.4 damage every 13.568 seconds (39.31 DPS)
With Spiritual Core, 468.1 damage every 11.788 seconds (39.71 DPS)

Note that these last few examples have a net recovery of ~1.15 End/Sec before procs (~1.23 with the two Purples); and will be consuming ~1.76 End/Sec (~1.71 with the Purples) by spamming Atom Smasher. However the Panacea and Performance Shifter procs will add an average of ~0.625 so you should be fine even without Ageless.
 

Edited June 19 by Maelwys

[BeornOTNS]

On 8/28/2022 at 6:55 AM, America's Angel said:

**FEBRUARY 2023 SMASHING/LETHAL UPDATE**

Okay, so after a bunch of testing, the best active farmer is a Rad/MA Tank, and the best AFK farmer is an Elec/Rad Tank.

This means that smashing/lethal farming is now better than fire farming. (The difference isn't huge. It's probably not worth switching over from fire farming for most people.)

I've posted the guide/builds/maps in this post here:
 

 

Even though Smashing/Lethal farming is better, Fire Farming is still good. The rest of this post will explain how to fire farm with a rad/fire brute. (For those of you who don't want to switch over.)
 

***How To Fire Farm in Page 5***

 

ACTIVE FARMING

Build:

For Active Farming (i.e. you at your computer actively playing) use the attached build called "AA_ACTIVE_Page4"
(All the incarnates in the build are required. Alpha slot being T3 most of all...as this will stop you getting knocked down.)

 

Map:

#41794.

Settings:
+4/8 Difficulty
AVs set to on. (This will keep the helper alive.)

 

How to Play:

Empty slot in burn is for the perfect zinger proc.  Just spam your AoEs and everything will die. There's a helper in the map who will summon phantom army's to help you bunch up the mobs. (You can do the same with your banished pantheon lore pet. Although I'd reccomend saving the lore pet for when the helper NPC spawns too far away from the centre of the map.) You'll want to pick up the Increased Attack Rate base buff and Offense Amplifier P2W buff.

 

 

AFK FARMING

Build:

For AFK farming use the attached build called "AA_AFK_Page5"

(All the incarnates in the build are required. Alpha slot being at least T3 most of all...as this will stop you getting knocked down.)
 

Map:

For 5 min AFK farming use map #51289

For 10 Min AFK farming use map #38973

Settings:
+4/8 Difficulty

 

How to play:

Jump into middle of map. Hit assault hybrid +ageless as you leap. Put Atom Smasher on auto. Come back every 5/10 mins to reset. You will need the +HP and +end accolades, or the Survival Amplifier from P2W.

 

 

TRIPLE-BOX FARMING OPTIMAL SETUPS:

 

3x AFK farmers resetting every 5/10 mins = ~80 million inf per hour

 

1 x active farmer resetting every 3 mins + 2 x AFK farmers resetting every 5 mins = ~150 million inf per hour


MAKING YOUR OWN FARM

Not a fan of the meteor map? Pick whatever map you want and then give your mobs the following power selections:

 

Minions:

 

 

Lieutenants:

 

 

Bosses (Active):

 

 

Bosses (AFK):

 

 

 

HOW TO ACTIVE FARM

Here's a video of me running the build. Sorry for the jitteryness, my OBS-fu is weak:
 

 

 

HOW TO DAMAGE CAP YOURSELF WITH INSPS

 

Put the attached file "FarmPro.mnu" into your C:\Games\Homecoming\data\texts\English\menus folder. (Or whatever the path name is for your installation)

Then when you're in-game on your farmer, type the following into the chat and press enter:
 

/bind e "popmenu farmpro"

 

Then when you're in the farm, spam the "e" button to combine your inspirations into reds + eat them. (The "e" button will do both.)

AA_ACTIVE_Page4.mxd 5.56 kB · 3037 downloads

FarmPro.mnu 696 B · 2015 downloads

AA_AFK_Page5.mxd 5.66 kB · 2880 downloads

American Angel, I have a question, and if you have already answered this I apologize in advance, but...

 

Why no consume on your AA_ACTIVE build?

 

Thank you again!

 

~Beorn

[Soulsifter]

9 hours ago, Maelwys said:

(i) Swap the Numina Proc in Phoenix Rising for a Preventive Medicine Global; then swap the Heal/EndRed Numina IO in Physical Perfection for the Numina Proc.
The Numina Proc won't work in a clicky unless it gets used at least once every 120s... but the Preventive Medicine Global doesn't care if the power gets used or not.

I'd be very wary of deaths due to Spike damage - you're at the absolute bare minimum HP/Sec figure here even with accolades; and you don't have any Superior Unrelenting Fury +Regeneration proc activations to help take the edge off. So in addition to the above, I'd also recommend adjusting your Stamina slotting to fit in another Power Transfer proc (e.g. Power Transfer proc + Power Transfer EndMod + Performance Shifter proc). At a net recovery of ~1.15 End/Sec you'll also need to be careful of your endurance consumption; but even before getting the accolades clicking on Ageless and/or Radial Banished Pantheon at the start of the mission ought to take care of it.

(ii) Providing you run BOTH Tactics AND Focused Accuracy you'll be OK accuracywise without Nerve Core - Atom Smasher is just about reaching 95% hit chance vs +3 foes.

(iii) Finally... this slotting:


6x Damage Procs is fantastic for ACTIVE farming; when you have lots of different AoEs to procbomb and use one after the other without any gaps.
However for AFK farming you only have one single AoE that you can set to autofire, so you really want to be getting as much damage over time from it as possible.

Currently, best-case with 90 fury and T4 Musculature Core Alpha you can expect this to be doing an average of 609.1 damage every 19.168 seconds (31.78 DPS)
If you swapped to a Spiritual Core Alpha it'd be 486.2 damage every 15.218 seconds (31.95 DPS)

but with this slotting (which has the entire Obliteration set except the Acc/Rech, plus an extra damage proc):

You gain damage and recharge aspect and a +recharge set bonus; for 459.3 damage every 13.708 seconds (33.51 DPS)
By swapping the Musculature Core for a Spiritual Core, it becomes 418.2 damage every 11.878 seconds (35.21 DPS)

and with this slotting (which has Lv50+5 Dam/Rech IOs in the first 3 slots, plus damage procs in the last three slots):

With Musculature Core, 475.6 damage every 12.648 seconds (37.60 DPS)
With Spiritual Core, 435.5 damage every 11.478 seconds (37.94 DPS)

and if your budget can stretch to 2x Purple IOs (Armageddons - a +5 Dam/Rech and the Proc):

With Musculature Core, 533.4 damage every 13.568 seconds (39.31 DPS)
With Spiritual Core, 468.1 damage every 11.788 seconds (39.71 DPS)

Note that these last few examples have a net recovery of ~1.15 End/Sec before procs (~1.23 with the two Purples); and will be consuming ~1.76 End/Sec (~1.71 with the Purples) by spamming Atom Smasher. However the Panacea and Performance Shifter procs will add an average of ~0.625 so you should be fine even without Ageless.
 

 

It's nice to see at least a little confirmation on what I arrived at in regards to Atom Smasher on my tanker. I've been very happy with how it performs even if my Brutish (sic) counterparts are a bit faster 🙂 I'm just a tanker at heart. One thing I do that I don't see when I join FF teams is the KD in Mud Pots. I find it helpful in teams with a mix up "helpers". I give just that little bit of time for them to heal through spikes, unwanted aggro or general spats of over confidence. I taunt often too, for the same reasons. When I solo I run two identical tankers. I've been raising a Kin to see if my old bottom can run three at once but really, I likely won't ever do that 😄

 

If anyone is at all interested:

 

Crystal Cristal - Fire Farmer Final - Tanker (Stone Armor - Radiation Melee).mbd

 

 

 

Edited June 19 by Soulsifter

[SqidVishus]

I'm not exactly sure what changed, but my clear times for Electric Armor Radiation Melee on AFK maps has gone up by a couple of minutes.

Edited June 19 by SqidVishus

[Maelwys]

1 hour ago, SqidVishus said:

I'm not exactly sure what changed, but my clear times for Electric Armor Radiation Melee on AFK maps has gone up by a couple of minutes.

 

Assuming it's a Tanker, then that'll be primarily due to the effect of the new "Overcap" damage reductions.

 

The activation rate of Procs on AoEs with a base radius smaller than 15ft were also reduced a bit via the way they tweaked Gauntlet (moving the improved radius into each attack instead of treating it like a global buff).

 

Thankfully the reduction in base damage for Cones and AoEs didn't make it out of beta so the nerfs to Tanker AoE damage are not anywhere near as uneven and heavy handed as they could've been... but there's still a noticeable negative effect on clear times whenever their AoEs are fully saturated. Like on farming runs.

 

[SqidVishus]

44 minutes ago, Maelwys said:

 

Assuming it's a Tanker, then that'll be primarily due to the effect of the new "Overcap" damage reductions.

 

The activation rate of Procs on AoEs with a base radius smaller than 15ft were also reduced a bit via the way they tweaked Gauntlet (moving the improved radius into each attack instead of treating it like a global buff).

 

Thankfully the reduction in base damage for Cones and AoEs didn't make it out of beta so the nerfs to Tanker AoE damage are not anywhere near as uneven and heavy handed as they could've been... but there's still a noticeable negative effect on clear times whenever their AoEs are fully saturated. Like on farming runs.

 

Thanks for the head's up. It was indeed the tankers I have. I wonder what the new flavor will be?

[Maelwys]

7 hours ago, SqidVishus said:

Thanks for the head's up. It was indeed the tankers I have. I wonder what the new flavor will be?

 

Brutes and Tanks are roughly similar now (with Brutes having a slight edge in raw damage but Tankers having an easier time meeting the survivability thresholds).

 

For AFK farming I'd go RadMelee/Stone Brute.

 

For Active Farming I suspect the Epic pool attacks that already have a 16 target cap will become even more useful than before. Offensive set ranking is unchanged since everything has been nerfed equally. For Defensive set, Radiation Armor's been nerfed but Ground Zero is still better than what most other sets give you, might be a toss up between RA, FA and Stone.

[Maelwys]

FWIW, this is the sort of thing I personally would be recommending for an "AFK Farmer" now. 
(And it'd run versus Fire damage foes obviously, not S/L damage ones!)

zBrute RadMelee_StoneArmor (AFK Farmer).mbd

 

(Average endurance cost of sticking via Atom Smasher on Autofire should be ~1.643 End/Sec; the slight deficit is more than covered by Panacea procs)


As for "Active" Farming...? The playing field has been evened out a lot; so there's no clear runaway winner any more which IMO is a good thing.

Tanks and Brutes when both at the damage cap (via popping red insps!) will be pretty close performancewise. Tankers will find it easer to survive; but Brutes will have a slight lead on damage output. Realistically you could pick either. Or possibly even a Scrapper or VEAT (even more damage, even less survivability!) or something more exotic (I've been known to use Stalkers, Sentinels, Blasters, Masterminds, Kheldians and Dominators...)

In terms of Melee AT powersets; Martial Arts will likely still come top due to Procbombed Dragon's Tail. Radiation Armor has suffered now that Radiation Therapy isn't worth procbombing and Ground Zero hits far fewer hostile targets... but Beta Decay's +Recharge plus a toned-down Ground Zero is still better than what most other sets provide. Personally I'd put both Fiery Aura (Procbombed Burn and Fiery Embrace) and Stone Armor (Minerals +Recharge and Brimstone Armor damage Procs) up there as potential contenders; and both sets will be slightly more effective on Brutes than on Tankers because Burn ticks and Brimstone Procs are affected by Fury.
And Mu will still be the goto Epic/Patron Pool for Procbombed Ball Lightning and Electrifying Fences. At least on Tankers and Brutes.

[Edit: Slotting tweaked slightly after accounting for Mid's buggy handling of Brimstone procs - ought to be pretty optimized now!]
 

Edited June 25 by Maelwys

[SqidVishus]

3 hours ago, Maelwys said:

FWIW, this is the sort of thing I personally would be recommending for an "AFK Farmer" now. 
(And it'd run versus Fire damage foes obviously, not S/L damage ones!)

zBrute RadMelee_StoneArmor (AFK Farmer).mbd









As for "Active" Farming...? The playing field has been evened out a lot; so there's no clear runaway winner any more which IMO is a good thing.

Tanks and Brutes when both at the damage cap (via popping red insps!) will be pretty close performancewise. Tankers will find it easer to survive; but Brutes will have a slight lead on damage output. Realistically you could pick either. Or possibly even a Scrapper or VEAT (even more damage, even less survivability!) or something more exotic (I've been known to use Stalkers, Sentinels, Blasters, Masterminds, Kheldians and Dominators...)

In terms of Melee AT powersets; Martial Arts will likely still come top due to Procbombed Dragon's Tail. Radiation Armor has suffered now that Radiation Therapy isn't worth procbombing and Ground Zero hits far fewer hostile targets... but Beta Decay's +Recharge plus a toned-down Ground Zero is still better than what most other sets provide. Personally I'd put both Fiery Aura (Procbombed Burn and Fiery Embrace) and Stone Armor (Minerals +Recharge and Brimstone Armor damage Procs) up there as potential contenders; and both sets will be slightly more effective on Brutes than on Tankers because Burn ticks and Brimstone Procs are affected by Fury.
And Mu will still be the goto Epic/Patron Pool for Procbombed Ball Lightning and Electrifying Fences. At least on Tankers and Brutes.
 

I appreciate the thorough breakdown. Looks like I may need to level a new toon, which isn't a bad thing at all.

[Maelwys]

Also for any disgruntled Radiation Armor farmers... it might be worth keeping a close eye on Brainstorm.

They're currently trialling yet another tweak to Radiation Therapy - effectively raising the proc rate again (although it'll still only be about half of what it used to be prior to the i28p2 patch) whilst simultaneously also doing away with the diminishing return curve and turning it into a flat reduction.

The upshot is that this is good news if you're used to leveraging RT for AoE damage. As it'll likely become useful again; just not as overpowered as it was before the patch.
For my EM/Rad Scrapper it's allowing me to reach ~55.6% of RT's previously attainable AoE damage over time, compared to the ~35.2% I'm currently getting on Live.

So don't go rerolling just yet... 😉

(Ground Zero is likely going to stay as-is now targetcapwise; but we might be able to pester them into reducing its cast time a smidge...)

Edit #1: Turns out Damage Proc activation rate in "Ground Zero" appears to be bugged at the moment too; they're currently kicking in much less than they should be!  CP has confirmed the underlying cause of this has been found and fixed, so expect Ground Zero to start proccing properly again SOON^TM.
Edit #2: Ground Zero's proc rate is fixed again as of 8th July. It was missed in the patch notes but did actually make it in.
 

Edited Thursday at 11:12 AM by Maelwys

[Zvi]

On 6/20/2025 at 6:49 AM, Maelwys said:

FWIW, this is the sort of thing I personally would be recommending for an "AFK Farmer" now. 
(And it'd run versus Fire damage foes obviously, not S/L damage ones!)

zBrute RadMelee_StoneArmor (AFK Farmer).mbd

 

 

Do you have a rough idea of how much more efficient this is over the previous Elec/Rad Tank standard? I'm leveling a Rad/Stone Brute to test, anywho - but I'm curious!

By my own rough estimates (I preferred the 10-minute AFK farms and estimated things in 'sets' of two TF runs), I was making about 30 mil/hour (not counting recipe sales) per Tank before the patch. After the patch, that's been knocked down to 20-25 mil/hour per Tank - which isn't the worst thing ever, I suppose; but boy does it feel bad.

[Maelwys]

10 hours ago, Zvi said:

Do you have a rough idea of how much more efficient this is over the previous Elec/Rad Tank standard?

Assuming that you're referring to the build linked in the OP (AA's original 2023 "AA_AFK_SL_Page5.mxd" build here )

Very rough comparative ballpark numbers WITHOUT  Lore/Destiny/Hybrid or -Resistance debuffs factored in:

>>> RadM/Stone Brute <<<

Assuming 90 Fury (typical value when steamrolling)
(Note: @90 Fury Brimstone adds roughly 24*3 damage to Atom Smasher; with a flat 80% activation rate)

Atom Smasher (including average Brimstone Proc Dmg): 486.9/11.418 = 42.643
Mud Pots: 42.405
Irradiated Ground: 43.62

Total Average DPS = 128.668
 

Best case DPS (with all of the above being constantly applied to 10 mobs) = 1286.682

--------------------
 

>>> Elec/RadM Tanker <<<

Atom Smasher: 311.6/13.038 = 23.899
Lightning Field: 28.45
Irradiated Ground: 34.35

Total Average DPS = 86.699
 

Best case DPS "pre i28p2 patch" (LF+IR applied to 10 mobs. AS applied to 16 mobs, with all taking full damage) = 1010.390
Best case DPS "on Live right now" (LF+IR applied to 10 mobs. AS applied to 16 mobs, with the last 6 taking 33% damage) = 914.792


However it's important to note that this Tanker build really isn't min-maxed for passive damage output. Whilst it has two damage auras and a PBAoE... it's not running Assault or stacking Damage Set Bonuses. It doesn't have a Gaussian Proc in Tactics or Focused Accuracy. It's procbombing Lightning Field and Irradiated Ground and Atom Smasher rather than slotting them up for Damage and Recharge Aspect; etc, etc. However it's still a perfectly effective AFK Farming build because it hits the required passive survivability thresholds. AFK farmers don't really need to do high DPS, even if specific defensive sets have a lot more wiggle room than others and let you push the envelope a bit more.
 

Edited June 25 by Maelwys

[DaddyLee]

On 6/25/2025 at 2:34 AM, Maelwys said:

Assuming that you're referring to the build linked in the OP (AA's original 2023 "AA_AFK_SL_Page5.mxd" build here )

Very rough comparative ballpark numbers WITHOUT  Lore/Destiny/Hybrid or -Resistance debuffs factored in:

>>> RadM/Stone Brute <<<

Assuming 90 Fury (typical value when steamrolling)
(Note: @90 Fury Brimstone adds roughly 24*3 damage to Atom Smasher; with a flat 80% activation rate)

Atom Smasher (including average Brimstone Proc Dmg): 486.9/11.418 = 42.643
Mud Pots: 42.405
Irradiated Ground: 43.62

Total Average DPS = 128.668
 

Best case DPS (with all of the above being constantly applied to 10 mobs) = 1286.682

--------------------
 

>>> Elec/RadM Tanker <<<

Atom Smasher: 311.6/13.038 = 23.899
Lightning Field: 28.45
Irradiated Ground: 34.35

Total Average DPS = 86.699
 

Best case DPS "pre i28p2 patch" (LF+IR applied to 10 mobs. AS applied to 16 mobs, with all taking full damage) = 1010.390
Best case DPS "on Live right now" (LF+IR applied to 10 mobs. AS applied to 16 mobs, with the last 6 taking 33% damage) = 914.792


However it's important to note that this Tanker build really isn't min-maxed for passive damage output. Whilst it has two damage auras and a PBAoE... it's not running Assault or stacking Damage Set Bonuses. It doesn't have a Gaussian Proc in Tactics or Focused Accuracy. It's procbombing Lightning Field and Irradiated Ground and Atom Smasher rather than slotting them up for Damage and Recharge Aspect; etc, etc. However it's still a perfectly effective AFK Farming build because it hits the required passive survivability thresholds. AFK farmers don't really need to do high DPS, even if specific defensive sets have a lot more wiggle room than others and let you push the envelope a bit more.
 

Ron Popeil, "Set it, and Foreget it!"  "Do you Like Garlic?" 

[MirAdj]

What are the contenders for best active farm?  I'd like to see if I can retool something I already have.

 

For context, I had been using an AFK Rad/Elec Tank build to actively farm the Smashing/Lethal asteroid and usually cleared in under 10 minutes.  I tried last night and probably cleared 60% before the ten minutes expired.

 

If that is the new normal; fine, I will not change.  But if there is something else I can work with, I would like to.  I have several 50s lying around doing nothing.

[Maelwys]

On 8/19/2025 at 9:11 PM, MirAdj said:

I had been using an AFK Rad/Elec Tank build to actively farm the Smashing/Lethal asteroid and usually cleared in under 10 minutes.  I tried last night and probably cleared 60% before the ten minutes expired.

 

If that is the new normal; fine, I will not change.  But if there is something else I can work with, I would like to.  I have several 50s lying around doing nothing.

As mentioned above, AFK Farming kings are now Brutes.

The most efficient is a RadM/Stone (2x Damage auras, +Recharge and Brimstone procs. Rooted lets you easily hit >35HP/Sec HP; and Brimstone plus the +resist globals and a few Winter/Purple IOs will get you to the 90% Fire Resistance cap; so all you really need to worry about is Fire Defense and lots of global recharge!)

FWIW whilst maximum kill speed isn't really a vital factor for AFK farmers... my own current AFK RadM/Stone Brute (which is pretty close to the build I posted above - it really just swaps Proton Sweep out for Energy Torrent and Vengeance for Infiltration; then shuffles some enhancement slots around in order to gain a bit more recovery/regen and a mere +2.5% extra global recharge!) tends to clear all the nearby mobs on a +4x8 Asteroid map substantially faster than the 10 minute cutoff. I have a run open as I type this, and I watched just to check. I did what I normally do: Toggles on, Atom Smasher on Autofire; then entered the map + leapt into the middle of a few nearby groups of mobs. Triggered my Judgement Nuke; toggled on Assault Radial Hybrid; summoned my Banished Pantheon Radial Lore pets (using powexec_location) and hit my bind to shift the pets into Aggressive mode; then finally popped Ageless Core Destiny and waited. The last foe that was aggroed to my toon died with about 4:20 left on the timer (although there were still two roaming mobs on the far side of the map). They did get "lucky" and levelled up mid mission so a Large Red Insp was active for part of the run; but that wouldn't have had a major impact on a Brute because of Fury.
Edit: Second run, No level ups this time. All but one roaming mob deaded. 3:30 left on the timer. (No Base Empowerment/Temp buffs used to muddy the waters!)
Edit: Third run. This time I treated the AFK-farming-built toon as an "active" farmer by spamming insps (but not combining them into reds); using my Incarnate Clickies on cooldown; using Energy Torrent as well as Atom Smasher and actually moving around. Entire map cleared with 4:50 left on the timer.




For Active Farming; it's really now Brutes or Scrappers.

Brutes have a slight advantage due to getting 2x large high-DPA AoEs in the Mu Mastery pool. Rad Armor got hit with the nerf bat and needs its slotting adjusted to let Radiation Therapy be even halfway good; but /Stone and /Shield and /Fire are all still fine. You can make a very reasonable farming Brute with any primary that has a Knockdown AoE for Force Feedback proc slotting (Super Strength; for example) plus one of the aforementioned secondaries and Mu Mastery. Scrappers have difficulty getting enough AoEs to chain together; so benefit from a primary that has more AoEs/Cones (e.g. Battle Axe, Claws, DB, Savage, StoneM, TW, War Mace) and/or Burn from Fiery Aura.

I only have two Stalkers that can farm: an Electric/Shield and a Savage/Psi (and that's "Active" rather than "AFK" farming, obviously!). They perform decently in terms of kill speed, but the lack of a Taunt Aura can be very annoying... the Savage Melee one in particular becomes far more playable if I use Melee Radial Hybrid instead of Assault Radial Hybrid; which isn't ideal if you're after maximum damage output!

Tankers can certainly still farm; and they have a much easier time reaching the AFK-farming survivability thresholds than Brutes... but they're substantially slower than Brutes now. And Rad Armor ones in particular will likely need their slotting poked at a bit in order to stay at all competitive.

Also other non-melee ATs can still farm pretty well too. However Dominator efficiency took a major hit with the Plant Carrion Creeper Nerfs.

 

Edited Thursday at 12:51 PM by Maelwys

[MirAdj]

9 hours ago, Maelwys said:

As mentioned above, AFK Farming kings are now Brutes.

For Active Farming; it's really now Brutes or Scrappers.

 

Thanks for the fine summary.  I will have to check my toons to see what I can do.  I think I have a maxed Brute that can work.

[MirAdj]

I have a level 50 Rad/Fire Brute i can use for an ACTIVE farm.  Any changes you recommend? 

 

 

[Maelwys]

8 hours ago, MirAdj said:

I have a level 50 Rad/Fire Brute i can use for an ACTIVE farm.  Any changes you recommend? 

Without seeing the build stats...

(i) Atom Smasher should have more procs and an Achilles Heel -Res in it.
(ii) Burn needs some Accuracy aspect. Keep the Fury of the Gladiator -Res in it.
(iii) Irradiated Ground is pointless for procs on an Active build. Use it for Purple/Winter set bonuses unless you're already hitting your Global Accuracy and Recharge thresholds.
(iv) Electrifying Fences and Ball Lightning slotting look a bit wonky - ensure they've got 95%+ Hit Rate vs +3 foes. Positron's Blast, Javelin Volley, Bombardment are the three main damage procs. Elec Fences can take Trap of the Hunter as well, Ball Lightning should have an Annihilation -Res. That's 4x Slots each. The other two should be some combination of Accuracy, Damage and Endurance Reduction (typically Lv50+5 Acc/Dam Positron's Blast + Lv50+5 Dam Bombardment)

Personally I'd also lose the Leadership and Fighting Pools (you don't care as much about +Def on an Active build; and Concealment gives you more LoTG +7.5% mule opportunities); slot a full Preventative Medicine set in Healing Flames; and maybe take Wall of Force (procbombed + with a FF +Rech) from the Force of Will pool; depending on how your AoE chain is panning out with global recharge.

And if you're doing anything other than Asteroid map farming (e.g. where enemies come to YOU) then Combat Teleport may prove useful. I find Fold Space a bit overrated; but if you leave it unslotted for Accuracy aspect (so just 2x Lv50+5 Rech IOs) then it can help pull multiple far-away groups to you and keep your Burn patches packed.

Whilst Rad Melee isn't the most efficient powerset for active farming (ideally you'd want something with AoE KB to exploit Force Feedback +Rech); Burn + Mu Patron AoEs + reliable Achilles' Heel -Res activations will carry a lot of weight by themselves; and the second damage aura will at least tickle a bit. So you should be good there.

Edit: Also I noticed you didn't take Consume. Even if you're running Ageless Destiny (most do!) it can still be decent if you have a spare power pick - it increases your MaxHP by a decent chunk, keeps your blue bar topped up; and can be useful as a set bonus mule or an occasional AoE procbomb or even a one-slot wonder (Acc/Heal HO).
 

Edited Friday at 09:49 AM by Maelwys

[MirAdj]

Thank you so much, @Maelwys.  I thought I was starting with Angel's most current Active build, but I guess not.

 

I am going with Rad only because this Brute is already 50 with unlocked (and mostly filled) incarnate.  Else I would have taken your suggestion to use SS.

 

I will review and incorporate those changes tonight for another review.  FWIF, this toon will be exclusively for active asteroid farming.  I just need the toon to clear the map within ten minutes; my "active" farming is still pretty passive as I only sort of pay attention.  Even if I clear the map in nine minutes, I usually do not notice until the timer runs out.

[MirAdj]

Here is my updated attempt.

I am not certain how to tell if "they've got 95%+ Hit Rate vs +3 foes"; but they show accuracy of 104.7% against whatever level Mids is set.  I had to use three extra enhancements somewhere to make that happen.  So I did a full Power Transfer to also increase Recharge..

 

ps. Let me know if there is some other way I should be sharing/pasting my build.

 

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