Blaster building for PROCs: please show me da way!

[DrCereal]

Hi all! After much help from people on these forums, I've now gotten my head around defense and recharge... and found out that the way to get those is through sets and set bonuses.

 

Oh, my dismay when I found out I need to break up those set bonuses so that I can properly Walk Da Way of the Proc. I've been reading the forums for as much as I can about procs, and why they are the way to maximize damage. I've come to understand that it is (perhaps?) the only way to build lower-damage-ratio ATs like defender for high damage.

 

My questions to you all:

 

1. How crucial is it for a high-damage AT like blasters to build for procs?
2. How much is it worth sacrificing (and to what degree) set bonuses like defense and recharge for them?
3. What are the "must have" procs?
4. I've read that there are some powers with "high procability", and others with crap. How do identify them? How do you decide which powers to slot for procs, and which not to?

 

Thank you all in advance! I've really come to love this community. Best and most helpful community in an MMO (or any online game) I've played in a very long while. 

[Nemu]

16 hours ago, DrCereal said:

Best and most helpful community in an MMO (or any online game) I've played in a very long while

Oh yeah? Git GUD!11!!!11!!

 

!!!11!!

 

How about now?

 

You don't need to build blasters for procs because their damage is pretty high already. Most of this applies to damage procs, but the one outlier that is useful for every build is the force feedback +rech proc because it helps with overall global recharge.

 

Having said that if you do want to proc then you need some synergies within your AT combo or via IO set bonuses. What you will need:

 

+Recharge - proc rates are not affected by global recharge bonuses, they ARE affected by recharge enhancements that you slot into that power and Alpha incarnate. For that reason most proc builds avoid agility and spiritual alphas. And since you want to avoid slotting powers with recharge, you need to get that from set bonuses/hasten.

+ACC - proc builds sacrifice enhancement values to make room for slotting procs, You need to make sure you have enough ACC to hit with the power

Endurance management - proc builds sacrifice enhancement values to make room for slotting procs, Heavily proceed powers have very little endurance reduction and you will be burning through endurance a lot faster.

 

This is what you need for proc builds as a baseline and that doesn't even cover the need for defenses/mitigation

 

In reality very few builds are able to go all out on procs without making major sacrifices. What you will see more often for blasters is there maybe one or two choice powers, usually holds, that are proc monsters, because ranged attacks that double as holds accept the most damage procs.

 

As for where to put procs, base recharge AND cast time matters. Each proc has a PPM (proc per minute), most damage procs sit at 3.5 which means the probability of them firing is once every 17 seconds. Don't bother focusing procs on a power that recharges in 8 seconds or less because it's just not good ROI unless you completed your other build goals and have a lot of extra slots to spare. 10+ seconds base recharge is where it becomes more enticing for single target powers, especially if the cast time is long as well. For AoEs the only rule I apply 90% of the time is that if it does knockback/down, I put a force feedback proc in it. Procs have a lower chance overall to fire in AoEs but they check per target. This is a nice way to help get perma-hasten without actually building for as much required recharge via bonuses. Many new players overlook this.

 

The more procs you use, the more you sacrifice in other areas. Generally there are 2 philosophies to building blasters:

1 - survival focus, generally via softcap defense

2 - hybrid, enough survival in the form of 32.5% defense so that a single luck softcaps defense, which makes more room for fitting in procs and other build goals such as recharge.

 

You can reference the builds/threads I posted in your other thread. The fire/elec build follows the 1st philosophy, the cyclone and patches and procs build follow the second.

 

All the academia on builds is good and all but if you want to really level up your game, learn the fundamental game mechanics - movement, mob AI, inspiration usage and combine, line of sight, target priority, positioning. Builds are 10-25% of what makes a blaster successful.

 

Also shoutout to @Sir Myshkin for documenting his journey on procs and ushering player adoption. I wasn't a believer at first but I have since adjusted my approach and adopted procs into my builds (in moderation). You can find some good reading here

 

 

Edited February 3 by Nemu

[DrCereal]

Thank you so very much! This is way more detailed than I could have hoped for. Off I go then, to git gud...

 

(Just a bit embarassed now, I posted a similar question in general, because this thread wasn't getting any traction, and second later I realize you've given me a whole treatise to sink my teeth into).

 

 

[Frozen Burn]

HI, I am not a proc master by any means - I don't believe in dumping a ton of procs in a power to sacrifice set bonuses, although, I know people do it and are successful with it.  ...It's just not my thing and don't feel like you HAVE to proc up your powers either because you've read some awesome posts.  ...you'll still do fine in the game.  With that...

 

1. No, it is NOT crucial to completely proc up your powers on a Blaster, but adding in one from a set or a second from another if you can afford the slot, can be good. 
2. As a Blaster, you're generally chasing Def and Rech set bonuses which require 5-6 slots, that can allow for a proc from the set you're using, and maybe room for another proc outside the set if you have the extra slot available.  To me, more Def and Rech is worth more than dumping a ton of procs in a power.  
3. To me, must haves are:
   1. Panacea (preferably) or Numina's
   2. Preventative Medicine's +Absorb
   3. Performance Shifter +End
   4. a single KB Protection (Karma or Steadfast Prot or Blessing of Zephyr) - more is overkill on a blaster.
   5. Both +Def IOs:  Gladiator's Armor and Steadfast Protection
   6. Both Shield Wall +Resist IO and Reactive Defenses Scaling Resistance
   7. As many as you can (up to 5 max) Luck of the Gamble Def/+Global Rech
   8. Unbreakable Guard +Max HPs
   9. Gaussian's +Build Up (generally in Aim)
   10. If I take Bonfire from Flame Epic, then I always use an Overwhelming Force KB>KD proc.
   11. (These probably weren't the type of procs you were thinking when you asked the question, but to me, these are the "must haves" for all characters - damage and debufff procs are added to taste preferences.)
4. The Above procs mostly, if you slot it you get the bonus even if the power isn't clicked, except #10 where it affects only that power it's slotted into.  For other types of procs (like damage or debuff procs), the longer the recharge, the greater the chance it will proc (so less likely in your T1 or T2 powers).  AOEs also have a great chance to proc on at least one or more foes as well.  So, those are your target powers for Procs:  longer Rech and AOEs. 
   1. Rain powers, Caltrops, Hot Feet, and etc have a chance to proc upon casting and then every 10 secs after until the power stops - so "meh" in those.  But with that, I have chance to KD in Caltrops and it's surpsing how often foes fall down in them - it's hilarious.

 

 

[Story Archer]

On 2/3/2024 at 10:32 AM, Frozen Burn said:

HI, I am not a proc master by any means - I don't believe in dumping a ton of procs in a power to sacrifice set bonuses, although, I know people do it and are successful with it.  ...It's just not my thing and don't feel like you HAVE to proc up your powers either because you've read some awesome posts.  ...you'll still do fine in the game.  With that...

 

1. No, it is NOT crucial to completely proc up your powers on a Blaster, but adding in one from a set or a second from another if you can afford the slot, can be good. 
2. As a Blaster, you're generally chasing Def and Rech set bonuses which require 5-6 slots, that can allow for a proc from the set you're using, and maybe room for another proc outside the set if you have the extra slot available.  To me, more Def and Rech is worth more than dumping a ton of procs in a power.  
3. To me, must haves are:
   1. Panacea (preferably) or Numina's
   2. Preventative Medicine's +Absorb
   3. Performance Shifter +End
   4. a single KB Protection (Karma or Steadfast Prot or Blessing of Zephyr) - more is overkill on a blaster.
   5. Both +Def IOs:  Gladiator's Armor and Steadfast Protection
   6. Both Shield Wall +Resist IO and Reactive Defenses Scaling Resistance
   7. As many as you can (up to 5 max) Luck of the Gamble Def/+Global Rech
   8. Unbreakable Guard +Max HPs
   9. Gaussian's +Build Up (generally in Aim)
   10. If I take Bonfire from Flame Epic, then I always use an Overwhelming Force KB>KD proc.
   11. (These probably weren't the type of procs you were thinking when you asked the question, but to me, these are the "must haves" for all characters - damage and debufff procs are added to taste preferences.)
4. The Above procs mostly, if you slot it you get the bonus even if the power isn't clicked, except #10 where it affects only that power it's slotted into.  For other types of procs (like damage or debuff procs), the longer the recharge, the greater the chance it will proc (so less likely in your T1 or T2 powers).  AOEs also have a great chance to proc on at least one or more foes as well.  So, those are your target powers for Procs:  longer Rech and AOEs. 
   1. Rain powers, Caltrops, Hot Feet, and etc have a chance to proc upon casting and then every 10 secs after until the power stops - so "meh" in those.  But with that, I have chance to KD in Caltrops and it's surpsing how often foes fall down in them - it's hilarious.

 

 

 

This is exactly right - any build you make will need these 10. After that, you can work for set bonuses to maximize defense and recharge or you can lean hard into damage proc's... both make effective characters. If you're soloing, defense and recharge, if you're teaming a lot, you can go the other way.