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Energy/Martial/Force Blapper build (built in Page 5)


SableShrike

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Below is the build I finally finished last night on Live for Booster Girl, my knockoff Fusionette.  Faultline is the best zone blueside, fight me.

 

Anyways!  I was "tanking" +4 Devouring Earth in the Terra arc last night for a full team when I realized that maybe this had turned out well.  Figured I'd share, as this seems to be doing very well in the Page 5 state-of-the-game.

 

What it has:

1) tons of knockdown to juggle spawns/targets: Burst of Speed > Dragon's Tail > Nova will generally leave only the Bosses left on +3 or +4

 

2) soft-capped Melee Defense: with Page 5 this is proving handy versus things like Behemoths and Ice Thorns; enemy elemental melee cuts through S/L capped builds now (this build still has about 30% S/L)

 

3) capped S/L Resistance: this goes a long way to mitigating what few attacks are getting through as most melee is entirely S/L or has a S/L component; you need to know your enemy groups, though, as things like Ghosts in Croatoa can hose you if in large numbers

 

4) Defiant Barrage AND Inner Will: this level of mez protection combined with high Defense almost add up to playing an armor set with a mez toggle; if Slept or Held, often a single Power Blast is all I need to break free if Inner Will is recharging (this is why I'm using Power Blast; it fires even if you're mezzed)

 

That all being said, she is still a Blaster and can get into trouble that a real Tank would sail through just fine.  Nothing else plays exactly like /MC on any other AT, though, so it's a hard one to compare across archetypes.

 

Why no Ki Push?  I found that once my defenses started to really get up in %s it was causing me a lot of downtime.  This build WANTS things in melee, as you're safest there.  I dropped it for Energy Torrent's AoE and haven't looked back.

 

You won't need crazy Recharge values here; I've got a complete chain with the build's 85% global recharge bonus.  This isn't built for Pylon times, mind you, but the AoE I kick out on a x8 spawn is notable.  You'll always have an attack to fire, and never run out of Endurance to do so.

 

Throw Sand is kinda optional.  I liked it thematically so kept it, but you can EASILY swap it out for Maneuvers.  Fully slotted Maneuvers will squeak your S/L Defense values up towards that magic 32.5% number, too.

 

Cost wise, I got this done for about 450 mill.  You could probably do something similar for a fair bit less if you're willing to take your time and play the market game.  The Winter IOs were probably the worst to get a hold of.  They're about 20 million each if you're buying them.  I'm older these days and have a demanding career, so time saved was more important than influence spent.  Still, I probably "overspent" on a fair bit of the IOs I bought to finish this.

 

Cheers!  Hope it gives folks some ideas.  As always, don't do as I do!  It's better to understand why I did it!

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Mid's is being shifty posting build info; usually I can make it look nicer than this...

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Sable Shrike: Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Energy Blast
Secondary Power Set: Martial Combat
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery

Hero Profile:
------------
Level 1:    Power Blast            SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(31), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(37), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(37)
Level 1:    Storm Kick            TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(9), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(9), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(11), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), TchofDth-Dam%(13)
Level 2:    Energy Torrent            SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(34), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(39), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(40)
Level 4:    Reach for the Limit    
Level 6:    Combat Jumping            LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(7), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(7)
Level 8:    Boxing                Empty(A)
Level 10:    Burst of Speed            SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(43), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(43)
Level 12:    Aim                GssSynFr--Build%(A)
Level 14:    Tough                UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(15), UnbGrd-ResDam(15), UnbGrd-Max HP%(27), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(27), GldArm-3defTpProc(29)
Level 16:    Dragon's Tail            Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Obl-Acc/Rchg(17), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(23), Obl-Dmg(25), Obl-%Dam(25)
Level 18:    Weave                Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(19), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Rct-Def/Rchg(21), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Rct-ResDam%(23)
Level 20:    Reaction Time            PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(29), Prv-Heal(31), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(31), Prv-Heal/Rchg(50)
Level 22:    Super Jump            BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 24:    Inner Will            Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(33), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(34), Prv-Absorb%(43)
Level 26:    Nova                Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Rchg(36), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(36), Obl-Dmg(36), Obl-%Dam(37)
Level 28:    Throw Sand            RzzDzz-Acc/Stun/Rchg(A), RzzDzz-Acc/EndRdx(39), RzzDzz-Acc/Rchg(39), RzzDzz-EndRdx/Stun(40), RzzDzz-Stun/Rng(40), RopADop-Acc/Stun/Rchg(42)
Level 30:    Eagles Claw            TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(45), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(45), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(46), TchofDth-Dam%(46)
Level 32:    Maneuvers            LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 35:    Personal Force Field        LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 38:    Temp Invulnerability        UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(46), UnbGrd-ResDam(48), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(48)
Level 41:    Tactics                RctRtc-Pcptn(A)
Level 44:    Force of Nature            UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(48), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(50), UnbGrd-ResDam(50)
Level 47:    Vengeance            LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 49:    Grant Invisibility        LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 1:    Defiance    
Level 1:    Brawl                Empty(A)
Level 1:    Sprint                UnbLea-Stlth(A)
Level 2:    Rest                Heal-I(A)
Level 1:    Swift                Run-I(A)
Level 1:    Hurdle                Jump-I(A)
Level 1:    Health                Pnc-Heal/+End(A)
Level 1:    Stamina                SynSck-EndMod(A), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(3)
Level 22:    Double Jump    
Level 50:    Musculature Core Paragon    
Level 50:    Freedom Phalanx Reserve    
Level 50:    Portal Jockey    
Level 50:    Task Force Commander    
Level 50:    The Atlas Medallion    
------------

Edited by SableShrike
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Data Link, since the above build wasn't posting right.

 

https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1723&c=741&a=1482&f=HEX&dc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3 hours ago, SableShrike said:

It's better to understand why I did it!

Couldn't have said this better. I'd like to drill into this a bit more.

 

First I absolutely encourage people to explore other ways to build their characters. This game is so forgiving that there are a lot of possibilities for viable, off-meta builds and people can still be effective and have fun with them.

 

But I believe intent is an important starting point for constructing a build. Before we define our build goals, I think it's important to understand WHY those builds goals are important and worth building toward.

 

So this is not a critique of your build, but rather a cross-examination of the intent that led to your decision to focus on these build goals.

 

Obviously there's a lot of emphasis placed on melee range survival in this build. What led you to that?

 

Is the thought process "Martial leans heavily into melee and I want to make a build that allows me to survive in that range for me to take advantage of those powers" or "I specifically want to forego my ranged powers and only take melee powers whenever possible to make a true melee blaster"

 

Those two thought processes are very different starting points for a build. If your build is inspired by the latter then absolutely the build succeeds in what it sets out to do. However, if your starting point is the former then you've left a lot on the table evidenced by the omission of the snipe, your T3 blast and explosive blast.

 

Consider the following scenario:

You are fighting mobs with autohit PBAOE auras like envoy of shadows, nosferatu or the nictus AV in ITF. Your defenses does nothing, and S/L resists also doesn't help you survive against neg energy damage. You have no reliable self heal. Let's say the team is also light on healing support. What do you do? get a few licks in and then spam your T1/torrent until your health ticks back up? I suppose that could work, but you could also have a more streamlined ranged chain if you took those ranged attacks as well.

 

Perhaps your counter would be "but I have to take the melee/pbaoe attacks to slot touch of death/obliteration which gives me melee defense, there are no range/target aoe sets that give melee defense, so it is difficut to fit those powers in and dedicate slots to them" So let's examine the importance of melee defense.

 

You have no taunt aura, if anything reaction time will mess with mob AI and make them run away from you from time to time. Most melee attacks have a 7" range. So how many mobs realistically can you bunch up in melee range to have melee defense really work for you? On teams if you are standing next to the tank, I would imagine that gauntlet would have most mobs attacking the tank, so then what are you getting hit with that makes melee defense so paramount to build towards? Have you also considered how you'd manage mobs outside of melee range that are all too happy just to shoot at you, and a lot of those attacks have -def too. What about the other tools in your toolkit? How often do you knock mobs on their backs with your KB attacks? is it enough to chain KD mobs in melee range so you can do your thing? How fast do you kill? Dead mobs don't fight back, how long on average does mobs last in melee range against you and does that justify what you poured into melee defense?

 

Ultimately what is the ROI you are getting on your investment into melee defense?

 

Again, not a critique on your build. The build is fine, you obviously know how to stack set bonuses and you optimized according to the goals you set for the build. I just like to uncover the "WHY" behind setting those specific goals.

 

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Liberty, Torchbearer, Excelsior, Everlasting

Jezebel Delias

Level 50 Fire/Elec/Mace Blaster

 

I am the Inner Circle!

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Fair question!

 

Martial Combat is my favorite version of any Martial Arts on any AT.

 

So yes, I guess Ranged attacks are secondary to me playing the Martial side of things.  Blapper at heart, I guess.

 

That said, the two Ranged attacks I did take flow ridiculously well with the three Melee attacks from Martial.  They all animate fast enough and hit hard enough that you’ll kill-steal a lot on teams.

 

Numerically you can swap Eagle’s Claw for the Snipe and get better DPS.  I’d rather the big kick with a guaranteed Stun to detoggle stuff is all.  I like the utility Martial has, so built for that.

 

For clear speeds I’m sure layering more AoE on may help, but there is such a thing as too many attacks.  One, slotting more attacks pulls sets off armor or utility toggles.  Two, given each attack needs to animate there are only so many attacks you can fire per second.  Having eight slotted attacks won’t animate them faster than having five.

 

Yeah, you could mule the extra attacks with sets, but that’s still a lot of enhancement slots burned on something you’re not actually  using.

 

As far as kill times?  I’d say faster than a Brute, but slower than a Fire Blaster built solely for global recharge and procced AoE.  Knockdown is reliable enough to solo anything susceptible you focus on.  Storm Kick is guaranteed knockdown from that alone.  This is based on the teaming I’ve done; you bust hard targets fast after nuking the trash.

 

And again, this can survive really damn well in melee with the Tanks and Brutes.  You won’t replace them so much as fight back-to-back. Your Reaction Time helps melee ATs a great deal, as you snare things for them just by standing nearby.

 

My experience with Reaction Time has been it’s more of a Taunt than Fear aura.  It does no damage but debuffs, so 99% of the time stuff swarms me in melee provided someone else isn’t pulling aggro.  It pisses mobs off enough that you can herd the melee boys to the ranged mob you beat down first.  It’s all about positioning and target priority.

 

 I’d still go melee over range with Martial, you leave way too much of the power in the set unused if not in melee.

 

There are enemy-type edge cases like Praetorian Clockwork who are notorious for staying spread out and sniping, but again those are outliers not the norm.

 

I’d say a good 80% of mobs in-game will happily rush into melee and flail with futility as you beat them down.  Enemy AI has a range where even Council Marksmen, say, switch over and try to melee you instead of shoot.

Edited by SableShrike
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  • 1 year later
On 1/15/2023 at 12:31 AM, SableShrike said:

Mid's is being shifty posting build info; usually I can make it look nicer than this...

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Sable Shrike: Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Energy Blast
Secondary Power Set: Martial Combat
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery

Hero Profile:
------------
Level 1:    Power Blast            SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(31), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(37), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(37)
Level 1:    Storm Kick            TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(9), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(9), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(11), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), TchofDth-Dam%(13)
Level 2:    Energy Torrent            SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(34), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(39), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(40)
Level 4:    Reach for the Limit    
Level 6:    Combat Jumping            LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(7), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(7)
Level 8:    Boxing                Empty(A)
Level 10:    Burst of Speed            SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(43), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(43)
Level 12:    Aim                GssSynFr--Build%(A)
Level 14:    Tough                UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(15), UnbGrd-ResDam(15), UnbGrd-Max HP%(27), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(27), GldArm-3defTpProc(29)
Level 16:    Dragon's Tail            Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Obl-Acc/Rchg(17), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(23), Obl-Dmg(25), Obl-%Dam(25)
Level 18:    Weave                Rct-Def(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(19), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Rct-Def/Rchg(21), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Rct-ResDam%(23)
Level 20:    Reaction Time            PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(29), Prv-Heal(31), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(31), Prv-Heal/Rchg(50)
Level 22:    Super Jump            BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 24:    Inner Will            Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(33), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(34), Prv-Absorb%(43)
Level 26:    Nova                Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Rchg(36), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(36), Obl-Dmg(36), Obl-%Dam(37)
Level 28:    Throw Sand            RzzDzz-Acc/Stun/Rchg(A), RzzDzz-Acc/EndRdx(39), RzzDzz-Acc/Rchg(39), RzzDzz-EndRdx/Stun(40), RzzDzz-Stun/Rng(40), RopADop-Acc/Stun/Rchg(42)
Level 30:    Eagles Claw            TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(45), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(45), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(46), TchofDth-Dam%(46)
Level 32:    Maneuvers            LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 35:    Personal Force Field        LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 38:    Temp Invulnerability        UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(46), UnbGrd-ResDam(48), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(48)
Level 41:    Tactics                RctRtc-Pcptn(A)
Level 44:    Force of Nature            UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(48), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(50), UnbGrd-ResDam(50)
Level 47:    Vengeance            LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 49:    Grant Invisibility        LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 1:    Defiance    
Level 1:    Brawl                Empty(A)
Level 1:    Sprint                UnbLea-Stlth(A)
Level 2:    Rest                Heal-I(A)
Level 1:    Swift                Run-I(A)
Level 1:    Hurdle                Jump-I(A)
Level 1:    Health                Pnc-Heal/+End(A)
Level 1:    Stamina                SynSck-EndMod(A), SynSck-EndMod/+RunSpeed(3)
Level 22:    Double Jump    
Level 50:    Musculature Core Paragon    
Level 50:    Freedom Phalanx Reserve    
Level 50:    Portal Jockey    
Level 50:    Task Force Commander    
Level 50:    The Atlas Medallion    
------------

  im pretty new to the game, but you have some powers listed at 35/38 that i cannot find on my toon when i level.

 

where is personal force field and tem invulnerability from?

 

 

 

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