I want to make a "melee" sentinel, need help 🙏

[Hitback]

I tired of turning my ranged toons into hover blasters, I want to make a sentinel that stays in the middle of the mob and shoots bad guys in the face.

 

I would like some help picking powersets. I was thinking maybe SR secondary (and popping an orange here and then) or Rad (if I'm in the middle of the mob, I might as well throw in a second nuke), but really I'm open to suggestions. Just something that let's me stay alive in melee range.

 

But my real issue is the primaries. It's pure personal preference, but I don't like the feeling of flinging fireballs in melee range. The only primaries that feel good for that reason are the weapon-based ones, and Ele (somehow beams feel better than projectiles). 

 

I avoided weapon-based ranged sets before the redraw changes, so I have no experience with them, but I've heard that DP and AR got buffs. So between DP/AR/BR and Ele, could you tell me what to expect? 

[PeregrineFalcon]

The best powerset for a melee Sentinel is called "Scrapper."

[Wravis]

Yeah, why on earth would you want to make a sentinel to be melee? Make a scrapper. Or a blaster.

[FupDup]

DP can work fine as a melee-oriented blast set. Assault Rifle tends to favor range because it has so many cones in it. Beam doesn't have much reason to melee but it can if you want I guess. Electric rewards melee due to Short Circuit so that's another viable candidate here. 

 

One that you didn't mention is Radiation Blast. It comes with 2 PBAOE attacks, making it the most "blappy" ranged set available. 

[Hitback]

20 minutes ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

The best powerset for a melee Sentinel is called "Scrapper."

Flavour, I want to give the weapon sets a try, and mostly because I have enough melees already.

[ShadesofDawn7971]

Not sure how much this will translate to the Sentinel, but Dual Pistols on my defenders and blasters back during live always felt like they wanted to be in the melee mix.  Ninjitsu has a stealth ability to let you get a small boost to your alpha.  So, sneak into melee, alpha strike, then sit there and continue gunning them down might be a viable strategy.  I think I saw mention of that idea in the DP guide stickied here too when I was reading through them trying to decide on my primary set.
 

 

[StarseedWarrior]

Ele/ele is known for being more of a melee and ranged type from epic pool.

[Luminara]

 

[MonteCarla]

If you're looking for PBAoE's and targeted AoEs instead of cones, I guess Electric Blast and Radiation Blast spring to mind first. I've used them for Blasters and Defenders who I want to live in melee and its worked well for me.

Water and Fire both get a non-cone AoE and a rain/patch AoE which would work in melee.

 

Sentinels don't get damage auras, but Dark Armor has Oppressive Gloom and Cloak of Fear. No idea if CoF is worth putting damage procs in? It could take Cloud Senses and two Fear ones.

[Sovera]

I have to agree if you're intending to be in melee then make a melee guy.

 

That said we have petless MMs and whom am I to get in your way. So, lets think it over. You want a sturdy armor set, some CC to help staying alive. Hmm...

 

Stone Blast seems to be good for a primary. Lots of CC will help keeping you safe and you can spam your nuke betweent Stone's mechanics and slotting Force Feedback procs.

 

I would suggest my favorite as well: Storm Blast. It comes chockful with soft CC and debuffs and makes surviving easier.

 

 

For a secondary I don't think there's a particular reason to move away from Bio. Pop the shield before going into melee to nuke and you'll be soaking the damage with it while dealing the hurt, but I have been pondering Stone Armor lately since defense is superior and you do get some goodies like extra recharge, extra recovery and a damage proc.

 

But you could probably go with Fire Armor since Burn is not only more damage but the fear will make mobs run away... which you don't care since you're ranged and sitting in your patch of napalm.

 

Radiation Armor will give you a PbAoEs extra to toss at the same time you nuke. I haven't had good results with it myself but others have and got solid results in the trapdoor tests that testify to its effectiveness. A Storm/Rad is something I've considered as my next character since Storm is a bit light in AoE so throwing Ground Zero would help with that. Fire Armor has Burn, but Burn is tiny with 8f while GZ is 15.

 

GZ is, unenhanced, only 125 damage which is about half of primary nukes, but extra damage is extra damage.

[StarseedWarrior]

1 hour ago, MonteCarla said:

If you're looking for PBAoE's and targeted AoEs instead of cones, I guess Electric Blast and Radiation Blast spring to mind first. I've used them for Blasters and Defenders who I want to live in melee and its worked well for me.

Water and Fire both get a non-cone AoE and a rain/patch AoE which would work in melee.

 

Sentinels don't get damage auras, but Dark Armor has Oppressive Gloom and Cloak of Fear. No idea if CoF is worth putting damage procs in? It could take Cloud Senses and two Fear ones.

I personally prefer the range of the melee attacks themselves they get a bonus to attacks in the power pool to, also it may help to know ele mastery for sentinels have a dot on one of their aura and I think another one under bio may have one I do not rememeber.

Edited January 20 by StarseedWarrior

[FupDup]

47 minutes ago, MonteCarla said:

Sentinels don't get damage auras, but Dark Armor has Oppressive Gloom and Cloak of Fear. No idea if CoF is worth putting damage procs in? It could take Cloud Senses and two Fear ones.

Sentinels can actually get a damage aura in the Electric Mastery epic pool, as a slight correction here. 

[biostem]

I would go dual pistols and radiation armor, then pick from the fighting pool.  Use your pistols as needed, but focus on the melee attacks.  You also get another PBAoE from radiation armor that also heals your allies.  The electricity mastery APP also has a melee attack and a damage aura if you really want to ramp up the melee capabilities of your character, as well as an AoE immob and even a chaining heal.  Dark mastery also has a melee attack, a PBAoE click, and a toggle debuff that can really aid in keeping you in the fight.  I'm a bit partial to ninja tool mastery, though - you get a ranged version of caltrops, a ST sword attack, a PBAoE sword attack, a ranged ST hold, and even a PBAoE placate with some other debuffs attached, if you really wanted to maximize things...

[Uun]

Rad/Rad has 3 PBAoEs (including the nuke). Elec/ can abuse the heck out of Short Circuit at close range. Several of the epics also offer PBAoEs. 

[Grimm2]

My DP/SR/psi pretty much lives in melee. Pbaoe nuke, Cryo hold in Suppressive along with the stun/recharge debuff in Psy Shockwave cut down incoming attacks. Things will run away and come back while I'm working on the bosses. Rad Armor would increase the rate at which the minions are defeated, SR is tougher, I'd wager. 

[MonteCarla]

On 1/21/2024 at 8:46 AM, FupDup said:

Sentinels can actually get a damage aura in the Electric Mastery epic pool, as a slight correction here. 

 

Ooh! My new Elec/Energy Aura Sentinel is excited to learn this!

[BazookaTwo]

On 1/21/2024 at 12:36 AM, Hitback said:

I tired of turning my ranged toons into hover blasters, I want to make a sentinel that stays in the middle of the mob and shoots bad guys in the face.

 

I would like some help picking powersets. I was thinking maybe SR secondary (and popping an orange here and then) or Rad (if I'm in the middle of the mob, I might as well throw in a second nuke), but really I'm open to suggestions. Just something that let's me stay alive in melee range.

 

But my real issue is the primaries. It's pure personal preference, but I don't like the feeling of flinging fireballs in melee range. The only primaries that feel good for that reason are the weapon-based ones, and Ele (somehow beams feel better than projectiles). 

 

I avoided weapon-based ranged sets before the redraw changes, so I have no experience with them, but I've heard that DP and AR got buffs. So between DP/AR/BR and Ele, could you tell me what to expect? 

 

 

Archery. Seriously. It has a perfect mix of CC with it's damage. 

 

Or my latest favorite on a Sent... Seismic. Seismic *feels* like a melee set due to the "be on the ground" mechanic. 

[BazookaTwo]

On 1/21/2024 at 1:12 PM, biostem said:

I would go dual pistols and radiation armor, then pick from the fighting pool.  Use your pistols as needed, but focus on the melee attacks.  You also get another PBAoE from radiation armor that also heals your allies.  The electricity mastery APP also has a melee attack and a damage aura if you really want to ramp up the melee capabilities of your character, as well as an AoE immob and even a chaining heal.  Dark mastery also has a melee attack, a PBAoE click, and a toggle debuff that can really aid in keeping you in the fight.  I'm a bit partial to ninja tool mastery, though - you get a ranged version of caltrops, a ST sword attack, a PBAoE sword attack, a ranged ST hold, and even a PBAoE placate with some other debuffs attached, if you really wanted to maximize things...

 

Ninja Mastery let's you use two Achilles procs, and Lockdown makes the hold reliable on bosses, oddly enough. 

[Exqzr984]

I feel you.  You want that Visceral combat with your beloved Sentinel.  Count me in your club.

 

Let me put in an Argument for Water/SR.  (Totally biased).

 

That said, I play *forward* Midrange - about as close to close range as you can get.  This is essentially Melee in that if there is no tank, mobs are coming to you soon enough.  You just want to slow them down while there are trying.   IF you have a tank, its best to be just behind him and not beside him, unless he is having trouble taking the full aggrro and you need to take on some of it -which you can do.

 

The key is control.  Instead of all slotted damage, try Slow sets on Whirlpool, Debuff on Dehaydrate, extra knockback on Waterburst - whereever you can put it.  I also happen to have Chain fences (which I love).  Its always up and lasts a long time.  This skill alone changed the way I move around and really sets up for Geyser Whirlpool et. al.

 

These *soft sets* also give you additional defenses at the same time which lets your sentinel take a serious pounding.  This works even better with a fully slotted Heal Set on Master Brawler - such as preventative medicine (shout out to FupDup).  I had a fully slotted Havoc Punch with Hecatomb and took it out to get more control and D for that close in Tankiness.  Truth is you dont need to be *doing the most damage* if you play in an off tank style.  Most teams have plenty of offense and I think off tank play actually fits pretty much any team in a very solid way.

 

As you control the mobs, your AOEs are very satisfying at close range. - even in the middle of a group - as for example Geyser and Waterburst have a punch the ground animation - which feels like a melee animation.  Bonus points for sounds and animations all around on the Waterset.

 

Your Waterjet, Dehydrate and for me Paralyzing Blast rotatate to be always available to finish off whats left - which is not much.

 

IF you have to have a weapon in hand, my lean would go to Dual Pistols and again SR (the two fit thematically together - Gunkata?).  Maybe consider the entire fighting set to get a mean cross punch going.    I had a Dual Pistol Blaster with Martial and while shooting and kicking is huge fun - had to just stop playing it.  Died way too many times and I have a hardcore mindset  - 1 death is too many and I consider it a failed mission at that point.  I would say my Sent has 1 death per 100 missions and this average keeps improving.  Blaster is 1 per 3 or so (maybe im just really bad at Blasters).

 

Third, I have a Rad close range Sentinel - with EA .  Did ALOT of reading on this and EA is more recommended than SR and Rad has many fans.  So I thought match made in heaven, I will reach the Apex of In your face Sentinel Play.  Just did not pan out.  Does not feel as impactful and is LESS tanky.  Cant even tell you why, just how it worked out for me.

 

A Final note.  I had to the chance to play with a Water Sentinel Rad Armour for 6 hours as we went through the DA story lines from start to Finish.  Great Player and we had a blast.  But I noted he hit the floor about a dozen times.  SR keep me deathless and last alive several times.   Im sure he is a much better player than I am, so has to be the power set doing the job.  

 

Good luck and would love to hear what you chose and how its going.  

 

[Thraxen]

My dp/sr has flurry 5 slotted and doesn’t leave melee. 

[Harlequin565]

I'll put a word in for Elec/En/Elec.

 

I do like Elec on Blasters/Cors, and they do their best at close range with SC which is one of the defining powers in the set for me. Lightning field is really nice (although any Sent could get it as its epic). My build picks Havoc Punch and Paralyzing jolt for additional melee goodness. It's my first Sent. I've tried many others but ended up deleting them for blasters or scrappers instead. This is the first one where I feel like I can double as one or the other in a pinch. It's very solo friendly too.

 

[Gairian1974]

I have a Sentenal I set up in a similar concept. 

Dul Pistols/Willpower

For the Melee Side.

Brawl,  then from "Fighting" power st at 4+.

Boxing (stun/disorant) 3 Enhancements (accurcy/damage/stun)

Kick (Knock Down/Bavk) 3 Enhancements

(accuricy/damage/knock)

Cross Strike/punch -  3 Enhancements

(accuracy/damage/recharge)

Then from "Fly" the "Air Superiority" 3 Enhancements

(accuracy/damage/knock)

 

You could try this, might give you a "close to"

[Nemu]

Make a blaster, you'll be a better player after you go through that journey. Hopefully you will have picked up fundamentals in movement, line of sight, mob targeting priority, inspiration management, how to influence mob AI, etc... as you go through that journey. Most of which you probably took for granted and didn't pay attention to while playing a sentinel and other melee ATs.

 

If you can't fathom the notion of not having mez protection then you can also try a ranged scrapper. Kinetic melee and claw both have 2 ranged attacks and you can supplement those with more ranged attacks from the epic pools.

Edited February 1 by Nemu

[HelenCarnate]

3 hours ago, Nemu said:

Make a blaster, you'll be a better player after you go through that journey. Hopefully you will have picked up fundamentals in movement, line of sight, mob targeting priority, inspiration management, how to influence mob AI, etc... as you go through that journey. Most of which you probably took for granted and didn't pay attention to while playing a sentinel and other melee ATs.

 

If you can't fathom the notion of not having mez protection then you can also try a ranged scrapper. Kinetic melee and claw both have 2 ranged attacks and you can supplement those with more ranged attacks from the epic pools.

Like a Claws/Nin that throws shuriken and exploding shuriken.   That could be fun. 

[Frosticus]

My elec/nin/elec spends a lot of time in melee.

Very potent sapper. Pretty decent damage.