ConeAnn the Destroyer! - Night Widow

[BitCook]

If you ever have been sitting around thinking, "Why did Cones go out in the 80's?"



Or better yet, "How can I make a character with most of their attacks greater than 2 seconds?" then this is the thread for you.

Homecoming, I present you, ConeAnn The Destroyer!

What is this?  If you clicked on this title hoping for some sage build advice and puns...  well you've mostly come to the right place then!  Maybe not quite as much on the sage advice, but certainly on the puns and concept!  I often like to tinker with builds and have hundreds on the Beta server.  I don't post very often because most of the time other people have likely done the concept and probably better.  Still, I do a lot of, "this probably won't work" builds, and usually they don't.  But sometimes... just sometimes... they surprise you.

 

Before I get into the details, let's lay out expectations.  This is probably NOT the best Widow design you can make.  However, if you are looking for a mid ranged puncher who sprays AOE like a "Material Girl" using a credit card on a shopping spree, then this might just be for you.

 

The Concept
The concept was simple, what would be an effective character who has maximum cone use?

 

The Solution
Night Widow.  It would work with Fort as well, but I wanted to keep it simple and the extra recharge that Widows get helps the build work.  While Night Widow only has 2 native cones, and power sets like Dark Blast smirk with their three... if you add in the Leviathan epic, you get access to three additional cones.  These cones are all 30 degree arcs and not like some of the narrow abominations that AR or Dark get!

The second thing to note is that not only does it add three cones, but two of them proc VERY well.  Which is why this build worked out far better than I expected.  Add that to the Global Unique Superior Spider's Bite for another bite at the proc barrel (only 12%) and you have a lot of cones doing a lot of damage.

Finally, you have all of the goodness of Widows.  Mobile.  High defense.  Good survivability.  High damage.  Stealth.

 

Like many builds I try, I always look to see who has done one first... and perhaps often times better.  In this case, I couldn't find one that matched what I was looking for.  People seemed to care about utility or survivability, or some crazy concept called a Fortunata...

 

The Build

View This Build In MRB


 

Build Notes:
Cone Proc Rates:
Bile Spray - 88% @ 3 Procs + 12.5% res debuff
Arctic Breath - 88% @ 5 procs + 20% res debuff
School of Sharks - 62% @ 4 procs +  12.5% res debuff
Psychic Scream - 47% @ 3 Procs +  12.5% res debuff
Dart Burst - 28% @ 3 procs 

That's a lot of procs, and they go off... A LOT!  Twelve of them in seven seconds at over a 60% rate, averaging 70+% rate.  If you wanted to tinker, you could remove one of the 12.5% procs, probably in school of sharks and replace it with another damage IO/proc since you're likely applying the 12.5% res debuff already.  

 

Without incarnates or counting the RES procs, the AOE chain averages over 100dps, which is enough to technically burn down an AV (95 dps overcomes regen).  Mind you, I wouldn't want to do this, your ST chain is SOOOO much better for hard targets.  Still, it's nice to know that you could do it if you wanted.

 

You have full stealth:
If you are sprinting, you have the celerity and mask presence going off and you can stealth just about anything.  This makes setting up positions very easy.

Mind Link is permanent without Hasten:
I like hasten for the cone chain.  But with five of them, should you decide to get rid of it, you can and Mind Link will still be up with five seconds to spare.  That would let you take fold space, or some other fun power.  Even without Mind Link, you still have decent defenses, sitting at 30-40% for every position.  I mean I have never said, "If You Forget Me" while in a Task Force and missing that Mind Link was sitting there, unused and "Waiting".  (Note: I lied.  This happens all the time.)

 

Range:
All of the cones have enhanced range.  I have played around with subbing out some of the Posi's for Detonation Damage/Range.  It makes the cones practically ranged attacks with some topping 80ft.  You can hit a lot at that range with a 30 degree arc.  I find that if I sit about 30 feet away from the mobs, I get a good combination of mobs hit.

Incarnates:
The choices are pretty straightforward. 

 

Musculature Core Paragon for the Alpha.  You don't need End and more damage is always useful. 

Ion, or which ever AOE you want. 

Reactive for the -RES proc.  Since you're a proc build, you leverage -RES far more than other toons.  This is a must.

Rebirth Radial for a nice heal and boosted regen.  This gives some sustain you are lacking when you do get hit.  Swap barrier for hard run.

Assault Radial for the double hits.  Great for when you want to burn down a EB or AV.

 

Exemplar:

You have a decent ST chain available as low as 13.  Anything in the 30s will be totally fine.  Ran a Citadel and felt like I was pulling my weight in a way that I just didn't on lots of other builds.  You still have three AOEs which cycle quickly and defenses to wander around without too much worry from 21 and up.  

 

Shakrnado:
Yes... I know that I am mixing references in a Madonna post with Sharknado.  However, I do have to say that this build allows you to target a mob that's above you and the animation has flying sharks.  If that is not a reason to play this, nothing else I can say will sway you!

Notes on Playing

The nice thing about a Widow build is that you have some space to do different things.  This build has a 5 power ST chain (of which you only need 4) and a 5 power AOE chain along with capped defenses.  The play style is to stealth your way up to a mob, position for maximum carnage and then open up with Cones of Destruction casting them "Over and Over"!  I always lead with School of Sharks.  Not only does it proc very well, but it keeps people bunched up for the remaining cones to unleash on them!

 

Combat Teleport is great as a melee user, but what about ConeAnn?  Well these binds will make your life a lot easier:
/bind SHIFT+W "powexeclocation forward:30 Combat Teleport"
/bind SHIFT+A "powexeclocation left:30 Combat Teleport"
/bind SHIFT+S "powexeclocation back:30 Combat Teleport"

/bind SHIFT+D "powexeclocation right:30 Combat Teleport"
(Credit to MistressOhm for posting them in the TP thread)

I find that I hit people with some cones, then as they start to swarm, I use SHIFT-S and jump back 30 feet and hit them again.  It's a wonderful power and for a character that relies on positioning, it's pure Gold.

Or if you just want to teleport to a target, then use something like this:
/bind MBUTTON "powexeclocation target Combat Teleport"
(Credit to Dr. Altair on Discord)

I like to have it bound to the middle mouse button, but change to taste.

 

When you do get swarmed, don't be afraid to back out, or conversely, use your melee attacks to beatdown anything that dares to get too close.  They have some nice DPA and you should be fine. Eviscerate is even more AOE goodness!  There does come a point where you have burned down the Lt's and Minions (Usually one round of AOEs) and you're left with a couple of bosses.  While you can cone them to death, don't be afraid to get in all personal.

 

While you CAN tank, if you have a tank on your team, let them run in.  You are there to be "Causing a Commotion", not stand in a pile of sweaty extras.  Trigger off the immob just as the mobs converge on them.  This build works REALLY well with tanks since they keep everything in nice neat little packages.  Then rotate through and things will vanish in no time.

 

Summary

Often, when you build something, you kind of have some hopes.  This one was a pleasant surprise.  I usually pass over cones for AOE that's easier to use.  However, when the character is built around that, it's not an inconvenience, just a playstyle.  All of these cones have similar arc and range, making it easy to use and set up and this build has FAR and AWAY exceeded my expectations.  No, it's not the best Widow build you can make, but it's a lot of fun and really seems to help teams out as well as solo just fine.

 

So if you're out in Paragon, and you see ConeAnn The Destroyer, you might have asked "Who's that Girl" but "Step by Step" she is going to "Turn It Up" and bring the "The Look of Love" with Cone's a plenty!

It doesn't have to be "Like a Prayer" since you have great defense which means you will always "Live to Tell" an never have to wory about "Til Death Do Us Part".

Edited May 30, 2023 by BitCook
No edit, just a laugh that this is my 100th post! Second edit because I forgot Sharknado!

[Nyghtmaire]

These puns/jokes win! And you know else likes cones? @Snarky likes cones!

 

This is a seriously fun concept. Slow leveling a widow so this gives some cool ideas. Thank you for sharing. You should certainly Take a Bow.
 

Would you consider switching your Alpha to Intuition Radial for the damage and range boost for even MOAR range (in addition to marginally useful boosts to slows and defense debuffs; the hold boost does nothing for you, sadly)

Edited May 30, 2023 by Nyghtmaire
Dropped word and meds just kicked in sheesh

[BitCook]

I would.  More range is more people hit.  I do want to run some tests to see if any range enhancers affect the proc rate.  That will be tonight or tomorrow.

 

Also, thank you for embedding songs into the thread! ❤️ I should politely request that anyone replying try to keep that trend 🙂

Edited May 30, 2023 by BitCook

[Snarky]

2 minutes ago, Nyghtmaire said:

These puns/jokes win! And you know else likes cones? @Snarky likes cones!

 

This is a seriously fun concept. Slow leveling a widow so this gives some cool ideas. Thank you for sharing. You should certainly Take a Bow.
 

Would you consider switching your Alpha Radial for the damage and range boost for even MOAR range (in addition to marginally useful boosts to slows and defense debuffs; the hold boost does nothing for you, sadly)

I seriously wish there were more Blasters with Cone Nukes

[BitCook]

Right?  

Take away the pun nature of the character, it works well.  When you dedicate yourself to positioning on a character that has great tools to position, it's not really a liability.  I have had a great time playing this because it's so different from what I normally do.

[Yomo Kimyata]

1 hour ago, BitCook said:

/bind SHIFT+S "powexeclocation back:30 Combat Teleport"

This bind (I use a macro and usually make it 10 feet) is gold for cone heavy power sets.  Also keep in mind that range enhancement effects do not reduce proc chances.

 

And well done on this guide!

nice material, girl!

Edited May 30, 2023 by Yomo Kimyata
Madonna

[Bopper]

Love the concept. I also came here to state you should use Intuition Radial for the range buff (and whatever else it enhances). The enhanced range will not affect procs.

[BitCook]

Awesome!  Thanks, I'll play around with it.  The increased range would probably be better than the boosted damage, but I'd have to run some Trapdoors to see the difference.

Also, totally want to thank you for helping me with my less fanciful Fort build.  You gave me wonderful advice on it and your threads are amazing!  Love this community.

[Bopper]

Anytime. Widows are my favorite AT to build. I'm working on something now that has over 90% Melee and AoE defense. Sadly Range only hits 83%. More of a controller than damager, so I doubt folks will be interested.

[BitCook]

Certainly some of us will.  Widows are so flexible, it's amazing what you can make them do.  Can't wait to see what you come up with.  I now have three builds on mine.  The one I started with.  The one you helped me with, and now ConeAnn 🙂 I just wish I could name switch when I build switch!

[Nyghtmaire]

2 hours ago, BitCook said:

Awesome!  Thanks, I'll play around with it.  The increased range would probably be better than the boosted damage, but I'd have to run some Trapdoors to see the difference.

I doubt the difference between 33% and 45% would be that significant once you consider the local damage slotting and ED. I’m on my phone at a bar so not in the correct space to do the math, but *eyeballs some hazy numbers* the difference looks small…

[tidge]

I am a fan of VEATs and Cone-heads, (Vogue-Enabled Attacks with Triangles?) so I approve this message.

 

Some rando experiences of my own with Cone-heavy builds:

 

As @Yomo Kimyata mentioned, if a build contains both PBAoE and Cone attacks, I will usually opt for Combat Teleport with a pair of macros (one to get into base contact with a selected target, one to pop back by 25 feet) and a mousebind (to teleport to a position).

 

Increasing range on cones is useful, but in my experience it is not as useful as:

• making sure the attacks have accuracy (for the %procs)
• trying to have the cone attacks have roughly the same range

High %proc rates that never hit is not useful. For %proc-heavy builds I used to slot for Accuracy/Range, often now I opt for Accuracy/Endurance. If I can get enough Accuracy from set bonuses (Hello Very Rares sets!) and/or slot the Kismet +6% ToHit into an always-on power, then Damage/Endurance is probably a good call on a character with a respectable damage scale (like a VEAT).

 

If I were to say what I think the advantage of extra-long-range cone attacks are: When PUG-ing, you can use them to get the attention of distant groups of enemies to speed up defeat-all times. This could be both a blessing and a curse, depending on content.

 

YMMV with cones of different ranges... I noticed on a Dark Blaster that I had one cone attack slotted such that it was completely disproportionate to all the other attacks.

 

For AT that don't get a ranged cone attack early enough for my taste, or don't get one at all, I recommend investing 3-picks in the Force of Will pool. I usually go Mighty Leap (one of the fastest travel powers, plus an occasional PBAoE Knockdown), Weaken Resolve (some %proc utility at low levels, IMO it is fine with just Accuracy on final builds) and then the cone Wall of Force (available at level 14).