So... My First Sentinel...

[tidge]

Let me get this out of the way: I've previously never considered a Sentinel. This personal bias is almost entirely due to a mild feeling of "did the game really need these?" with tiny bits of "but what do they do?". There have also been a LOT of things I wanted to try with the more "classic" ATs as well. I overcame my hesitancy because I've been on entirely silly project involving Beam Rifle. I was satisfied with my Beam Rifle / FF Defender, and was looking at the next possible AT and decided to pass on both Blasters and Corruptors (for now), basically because I'm too comfortable with those AT.

 

So... my first Sentinel is a Beam Rifle / Energy Aura character. The secondary set is also new to me, and is more-or-less a concept-driven choice. I've been playing it through 'normal' content (with XP boost) and it feels fine. I'm up to level 18 and I can see why this AT would be appealing... certainly in an earlier iteration of the game with fewer of the bells-and-whistles we have now, especially for covering shortcomings in other ATs. I feel like I'm damning with faint praise, as I rather like (at these low levels) being able to just stand in place and dish out the damage. I also like the inherent ability to toss a mild debuff. I am somewhat surprised I haven't seen this used more often when teamed with Sentinels.... could be perception bias I suppose.

 

I'm committed to seeing this character through to 50+... I don't have any reason not to do so. What do I have to look forward to? I'm not exactly intending to "tank mage at a distance" (as I enjoy melee), but I wouldn't be at all surprised that this is how the character develops. Any and all cheerleading would be appreciated, as well as any advice on the Epic/Patron/Ancillary pools I should be considering.

[lemming]

They're not the most flashy of ATs, but they're a nice ride.   I have a few Sentinels I like playing just as a low key run.

[Fire Chief]

Love me some Sents I do have a few but my fave is my fire/fire/psi the survivability is very nice I'm a big blaster guy and my Sents give me some wiggle room in that dept. (survivability) dig the inherent vulnerability clicky pointing at the baddie yeah I'm coming for you lol. Have fun with it, my fire/fire/psi guy is all tiered up with incarnates...assualt, ageless, pyronic (of course), reactive core, and cardiac. Those are my flava faves but you do you 😉 like I said have fun with it.

[Without_Pause]

I went with Psionic just because I didn't feel that great on the others and Link Minds helps further solidify my defenses. Slotting could be moved around to get Link Minds perma, but Incarnates will also help with that. This is what I did with my Fire/ea/psy. I've done EA across 4 ATs with only one not at 50 and they are at 45, so I feel rather comfortable in building one.  

Brian Blaze - Sentinel (Fire Blast - Energy Aura).mbd

[EnjoyTheJourney]

Beam for sentinels is well regarded and EA is a very solid pick for a secondary. The chain AOE in beam rifle is very good, as is the quick-recharging nuke. 

Psi is the "go to" mastery for many sentinels because of strong DPA for multiple attacks. But, if for thematic reasons that seems like an odd pairing for your first sentinel there are other good masteries. Mu mastery can give you a quick-recharging targeted AOE with good DPA and mag 3 immobilize if you'd like that, for example. 

Prepare to be pleasantly surprised with how effective your sentinel can be solo or on teams, especially after the build all comes together. 

[FupDup]

 

The main thing to look forward to is getting your nuke every 30 seconds or less once the build has sufficiently matured, and it's especially nice on Beam since the set is known for its extreme lack of AOE on every other AT. The ATO set bonuses for range also help with QOL a lot. 

[tidge]

40 minutes ago, FupDup said:

The main thing to look forward to is getting your nuke every 30 seconds or less once the build has sufficiently matured, and it's especially nice on Beam since the set is known for its extreme lack of AOE on every other AT. The ATO set bonuses for range also help with QOL a lot. 

 

I was initially somewhat meh on the ATO special effects, but I can't argue against the actual bonuses. I suspect that I will end up with a 6-slot Sentinel's Ward and 2x3-slot Opportunity Strikes.

[Ultimo]

I find them really versatile.  Most characters in the comics have a mix of some kind of defense (invulnerable, agile, or what have you), with some melee and some ranged capability.  Mix in a bit of Fighting or Flight pool melee attacks, and you can create characters capable of withstanding the enemy while dispatching them up close or at a distance.

 

I tend to make mostly homage characters.  My version of Iron Man is a Sentinel, but so is my Aquaman homage (Water Blast, Willpower and Fighting).  I like the class quite a bit.

[FupDup]

4 minutes ago, tidge said:

 

I was initially somewhat meh on the ATO special effects, but I can't argue against the actual bonuses. I suspect that I will end up with a 6-slot Sentinel's Ward and 2x3-slot Opportunity Strikes.

It's a similar situation as Brutes where the ATO procs are mediocre but the set bonuses are pretty swanky. 

 

As for Opportunity Strikes, I normally 5-slot that one for the 10% recharge (there are other places to get that, sure, but it's fairly convenient to finish off the set if you're already invested) and sometimes 6-slot if I need the extra defenses. Since Energy Aura is a typed defense set, the extra 5% E/N defenses at 6 slots might be useful to save slots elsewhere. 

[tidge]

I'm still noodling around with the order of taking powers, slotting options, etc... I am mildly annoyed at the reduced target caps for Sentinels, particularly Cutting Beam. On one hand I feel like this cone attack became a terrible power to try to leverage %damage, on the other hand it simplifies some of my eventual slotting choices.

 

Because of my (silly? definitely not min-max) approach to my Beam Rifle project... I will have 8 of the 9 powers from the primary... at this point I'm not even sure I'll be taking an Epic/Patron pool. I've gone this route on other characters when the Primary/Secondary is satisfying all the flavor needs, I don't have any obvious gaps in the build (aside from some min-max I suppose) that hold me back from the content I'll play, and I won't really have slots/power choices to go hard into an Epic pool. The work is in progress, as I level into that range I will probably pick one anyway to see what I can do with it. I can see why Psi would be a common choice.

[FupDup]

3 minutes ago, tidge said:

Because of my (silly? definitely not min-max) approach to my Beam Rifle project... I will have 8 of the 9 powers from the primary... at this point I'm not even sure I'll be taking an Epic/Patron pool. I've gone this route on other characters when the Primary/Secondary is satisfying all the flavor needs, I don't have any obvious gaps in the build (aside from some min-max I suppose) that hold me back from the content I'll play, and I won't really have slots/power choices to go hard into an Epic pool. The work is in progress, as I level into that range I will probably pick one anyway to see what I can do with it. I can see why Psi would be a common choice.

Yeah, Sent epics are a lot more "optional" than most other ATs. You aren't plugging in a gaping open hole like you are on other ATs (i.e. adding armor to an armorless AT or ranged attacks to a pure melee specialist).

 

The main thing Sent epics are there for is a strong ST melee attack (aka min-max). Psi also has the added ranged ST attack of Dominate, if you proc bomb it (without proc bombing it's not really impressive). If you have a primary like Storm or Ice, then maybe one of the immobilize powers would be useful too (because of the annoying afraid effect that patch powers create). 

[tidge]

1 hour ago, FupDup said:

The main thing Sent epics are there for is a strong ST melee attack (aka min-max).

 

I was surprised to see Sentinels with a Melee Damage Scale of 1.1, only to realize that I'd be leveraging Epic/Patron/Power pools to get them.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with %damage in single-target Holds... tending more to "hate" than "love" for characters that have damage scales of 1.0 (or better) with actual damaging attacks. I was eyeing Psi for Link Minds... but looking how it compares to the Dominator Epic Mastery version (it isn't just raw values being worse, but also that Dominators can take it at level 35 as a first pick in the pool) makes me somewhat meh on it. At least the target cap on the Sentinel's Psychic Shockwave is 16 (per City of Data). That's the power from the set that I would leverage for %damage.

[Luminara]

All of my sentinels are scrappers with extra range.  All of them.  I consider it a shameful waste to stay at range if I have damage mitigation and status protection.  I also like as much AoE as I can get, and the extra PBAoEs are often exactly what I need to feel satisfied with a sentinel's performance.

 

Ninja APP's melee and PBAoE attacks recharge quickly enough to use as part of an attack chain and can be slotted with Achilles' Heel procs.  Neither is mind-blowing, but they're functional and flashy.

 

Dark APP's melee attack recharges very quickly, and the PBAoE is usable every other cycle of an attack chain.  The -ToHit can help if you need some extra survivability.

 

Elec APP's Havoc Punch is the old Havoc Punch, with KB, but it hits hard.  Lightning Field is okay, I prefer not to run yet another toggle. 

 

Ice APP's melee and PBAoE attacks are decent, but their recharge times are a little too long to work into an attack chain.

 

Fire APP is, as far as I'm concerned, a bust.  Cremate's endurance cost is wrong, and Fire Sword Circle takes too long to animate.

 

I have Psi on my Rad/Elec now, but the only thing it's bringing to the party is Link Minds... and I really don't need it for that character, I just couldn't find anything else worthwhile.  I'll probably switch to another *PP (considering going back to Elec) when I revisit the character.

 

The PPPs all have a good melee attack, albeit with a long recharge time, and Mu's is Thunder Strike (so PBAoE), but none of my sentinels need any of the other "utility" powers, or more cones, nor am I interested in pets, so I don't bother with them.  If it weren't for the animation time, I'd spec into Mu more often for Thunder Strike.  Playing a human peacebringer, though, and having to sit through Incandescent Strike missing, has turned me off of that animation permanently.

[Uun]

In addition to Havoc Punch, I took Paralyzing Jolt from Elec to stack the stun with Cosmic Burst. Could work with Beam if you took Lancer Shot.

[drbuzzard]

In the ice pool, I just look at frozen aura as part of my sequence with PBAOE nuke from the primary and it's all good. It helps clean up the trash. I rarely find a set where I can't have a clean chain of single target from the primary. 

 

Though a random thing I've been thinking about. So for the Trapdoor challenge measurement of clear times, blasters (and corrupters) are allowed the defensive boost so they don't get mezzed all the time. Doesn't that kind of mean you're ignoring a key aspect of the ATs? What makes sentinels strong is the mezz protection and defenses. Mezzed blasters don't blast real well (t1 & t2 only). A more fair comparison would give the ATs with mez protection the offensive boost to be even handed. 

[twozerofoxtrot]

On 9/15/2023 at 12:53 AM, tidge said:

with tiny bits of "but what do they do?".

 

The revamp Sents underwent made them really nice team players with their higher damage and -Res on demand. Very handy for TFs packed with EBs.

 

I usually over-build my primary set at the expense of my secondary set. I've found it's a wasted effort to build a tanky Sent; I'll overkill fast enough solo and in teams even moreso.

 

One interesting pool power I dont see picked a lot but is really strong is Mace Mastery's Coordinated Targeting, which is a team version of Focused Accuracy. The cost is still high but hey, all Sents get some End sustainment, and you can't beat the amount of ToHit and Perception Resist you give to your team. No more whiffing against Arachnos or Circle of Thorns.

[tidge]

19 minutes ago, twozerofoxtrot said:

One interesting pool power I dont see picked a lot but is really strong is Mace Mastery's Coordinated Targeting, which is a team version of Focused Accuracy. The cost is still high but hey, all Sents get some End sustainment, and you can't beat the amount of ToHit and Perception Resist you give to your team. No more whiffing against Arachnos or Circle of Thorns.

 

I rather like Sentinel's Mace Mastery options, certainly for a build that has only a small number of slots 'left over' at the high levels. ToHit is never bad (especially if %damage is part of the build)... do any Sentinel primaries get an actual Snipe that could get a damage boost from +ToHit (when Fast)?

 

For 'minimal' slotting, I'd probably go with:

 

Web Envelope (@35) with Acc/Immobilize at 50+5 or HO Endoplasm at 53

Coordinated Training (@41) probably just IO Endurance Reduction

Summon Tarantula (@44) probably just IO Recharge Reduction

 

I'm not a great fan of the Patron pets, but sometimes I don't have a particularly good option... and with the standard sort of global Recharge I end up with the 'downtime' on them is on the order of just over 1 minute with no extra slotting.

[drbuzzard]

One other thing, when people say the sentinel debuff is weak, they are ignoring the fact that it ignores level differences. If you're running on a +4 team, then the debuff is better than a single corrupter debuff most likely. 

[Uun]

2 hours ago, tidge said:

do any Sentinel primaries get an actual Snipe that could get a damage boost from +ToHit (when Fast)?

Nope

[Sovera]

5 hours ago, twozerofoxtrot said:

 

The revamp Sents underwent made them really nice team players with their higher damage and -Res on demand. Very handy for TFs packed with EBs.

 

I usually over-build my primary set at the expense of my secondary set. I've found it's a wasted effort to build a tanky Sent; I'll overkill fast enough solo and in teams even moreso.

 

One interesting pool power I dont see picked a lot but is really strong is Mace Mastery's Coordinated Targeting, which is a team version of Focused Accuracy. The cost is still high but hey, all Sents get some End sustainment, and you can't beat the amount of ToHit and Perception Resist you give to your team. No more whiffing against Arachnos or Circle of Thorns.

 

I'm a big proponent of Focused Accuracy. I have no meleers without it. So of course I took it on the Sentinels in the beginning, but then I realised I don't need it. The same mobs that were a nuisance about this on my meleers were inconsequential on my Sentinel. All I really need is the perception unique slotted somewhere to get past smoke bombs.

 

This is more of something I noticed than a 'play it my way', but it's how I found out. And I -really- have not a single melee character without Focused Accuracy.

[twozerofoxtrot]

2 hours ago, Sovera said:

The same mobs that were a nuisance about this on my meleers were inconsequential on my Sentinel.

 

But they can still reduce your team's output by being annoying for the melee.

 

That's the unique benefit of Coordinated Targeting as an AOE buff.

[biostem]

8 hours ago, Sovera said:

I'm a big proponent of Focused Accuracy. I have no meleers without it. So of course I took it on the Sentinels in the beginning, but then I realised I don't need it. The same mobs that were a nuisance about this on my meleers were inconsequential on my Sentinel. All I really need is the perception unique slotted somewhere to get past smoke bombs.

 

This is more of something I noticed than a 'play it my way', but it's how I found out. And I -really- have not a single melee character without Focused Accuracy.

I almost always take tactics instead - it costs less, is available earlier, and benefits my teammates as well as myself.

[drbuzzard]

10 hours ago, biostem said:

I almost always take tactics instead - it costs less, is available earlier, and benefits my teammates as well as myself.

 

Yeah, I would always go with tactics instead. It's cheaper for a larger boost at that. 

 

Was just looking at the numbers, and oddly enough, sentinels get the corrupter/controller/tanker level number for tactics (10% to hit). The coordinated targeting is only 5%. 

 

For other ATs focused accuracy is lower in to hit bonus than tactics for more endurance. Of course you have to buy into leadership, but at the least maneuvers is a lotg mule. 

[Uun]

The reason to take Focused Accuracy/Coordinated Targeting over Tactics is the resistance to tohit debuffs (which Tactics doesn't have). It's only 48% on Coordinated Targeting, but FA provides 69% for scrappers/brutes/stalkers and 86% for tanks.

[Sovera]

As Uun pointed out the accuracy debuff is the real reason I take FA, even though the extra acc does allow to move some slots around. Tactics does not serve this purpose since the extra acc it provides just gets debuffed. A bit like Maneuvers.

 

*daydreams about a FA similar that provides resistance to defense debuffs*

 

Ahem... anyway, yeah, Focused Accuracy simply turns off all accuracy debuffs in the game which is a bit OP, but is not AoE as Twozero pointed out which makes the Sentinel's version even more OP.