Need guidance for a illusion/martial assault build.

[Sky Silverwing]

Hello, I'm new to Dominators and I'm also new to mids but I spent some time learning how to use it and came up with... something. I don't think it's any good. I usually play Brutes, Scrappers, or Stalkers so trying to build a Dominator is beyond me. Also, I don't quite have a good understanding of PPM (procs per minute) so I'm most likely failing in that regard too. The thematic was to have a punchy/kicky Dominator with doppelgangers assisting which seemed like a fun idea.

 

From my research, given that Dominators' specialty is crowd control; I don't need to meet defense soft caps, right? Instead, I should be focusing on high recharge to keep enemies permanently locked down? Apologies for the dumb questions! Hopefully there's some Dominator experts out there who can guide me in the right direction. Thank you for your time!

 

I'm not sure how to format this but here's the build code:

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

[serxiom]

Hi! for some reason i cant get your build with the chunk code. Maybe you can share your *.mbd file as an attachment with us so we can look at it?

[Sky Silverwing]

7 hours ago, serxiom said:

Hi! for some reason i cant get your build with the chunk code. Maybe you can share your *.mbd file as an attachment with us so we can look at it?

 

Oh, sorry about that! Here's the file.

 

Dominator (Illusion Control - Martial Assault).mbd

[Snokle]

9 hours ago, Sky Silverwing said:

From my research, given that Dominators' specialty is crowd control; I don't need to meet defense soft caps, right? Instead, I should be focusing on high recharge to keep enemies permanently locked down? Apologies for the dumb questions! Hopefully there's some Dominator experts out there who can guide me in the right direction. Thank you for your time!

 

 

Just as a very high level idea on this for goals for the archetype Dominator, yes +Rech is one of the most important goals to achieve for as getting perma-domination changes the build greatly for a lot of the Control powers that the sets have to offer. Some people can correct me if I am incorrect, but you are looking for about 90% bonus rech outside of hasten to keep it going. Then getting some recharge resistance debuff is good. Usually you will see people just get perma dom, and not perma hasten as there is a lot of sacrifice to builds and efficiency  that make it harder than usual.

 

Then I would say you need some defense as well, and this does vary sometimes between what your build is, but I usually feel you do not need defense soft caps for the AT, but you do want some defense. The AOE controls will be a lot of you primary defense, but leveraging the amazing resistance numbers the APP give you with just the various defense bonuses you will get can make it have very nice layer approach to late game content.

[serxiom]

Ok @Sky Silverwing. First at all your build was a good attempt to achieve Permadom and was ok. Looks like you are fan of Procs IO which is fun, but Dominators have a tight build always.

 

So im placing here 2 builds you can aim to. Both builds are permadom, and ranged defense softcap. Is my preference Primal over Psy because Illusion is high end demanding and Conserve Power gives you the advantage in long fights. However you chose Psy and thats why i gave you a second choice.

 

Dominator (Illusion Control - Martial Assault) Psy.mbd Dominator (Illusion Control - Martial Assault).mbd

[Sky Silverwing]

4 minutes ago, serxiom said:

Ok @Sky Silverwing. First at all your build was a good attempt to achieve Permadom and was ok. Looks like you are fan of Procs IO which is fun, but Dominators have a tight build always.

 

So im placing here 2 builds you can aim to. Both builds are permadom, and ranged defense softcap. Is my preference Primal over Psy because Illusion is high end demanding and Conserve Power gives you the advantage in long fights. However you chose Psy and thats why i gave you a second choice.

 

Dominator (Illusion Control - Martial Assault) Psy.mbd 42.27 kB · 0 downloads Dominator (Illusion Control - Martial Assault).mbd 42.24 kB · 0 downloads

 

Oh wow, thank you for going above and beyond there. As for my Epic Power Pool, I actually didn't have one set in stone. I just picked Psionic Mastery because I was lacking slots to put more Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Global Recharge enhancements in. I heard you could have 5 of them on a build. 🙂

[Sky Silverwing]

Ah, I wanted to ask @serxiom, what incarnates do you recommend? I assume it's not quite the same as what a Brute or Scrapper/Stalker would take, right?

[serxiom]

1 hour ago, Sky Silverwing said:

Ah, I wanted to ask @serxiom, what incarnates do you recommend? I assume it's not quite the same as what a Brute or Scrapper/Stalker would take, right?

@Sky Silverwing for most of my dominators i chose Agility Core +def +rech +end mod or Musculature Radial if you decide full dps. Hibryd i go with Assault no questions. About Destiny i would say test your dominator endurance performance and then decide if going with Ageless or Rebirth.

[Random Axis]

I'm hardly an expert, but I just finished getting an Ill/Mart dom to 50 yesterday, and our builds are very similar. The only real difference is that I dropped spinning kick and put the slots into regular kick because I was sick of spinning kick missing, I also have force feedback procs in kick and cross punch that get phantom army almost permanent if I can stay busy whaling on mobs. In place of spinning kick I have caltrops slotted with the damage procs from Positron and bombardment plus the -res proc from annihilation. Along with a macro to drop them right in front of me, they're a nice damage boost.

[Sky Silverwing]

2 hours ago, Random Axis said:

I'm hardly an expert, but I just finished getting an Ill/Mart dom to 50 yesterday, and our builds are very similar. The only real difference is that I dropped spinning kick and put the slots into regular kick because I was sick of spinning kick missing, I also have force feedback procs in kick and cross punch that get phantom army almost permanent if I can stay busy whaling on mobs. In place of spinning kick I have caltrops slotted with the damage procs from Positron and bombardment plus the -res proc from annihilation. Along with a macro to drop them right in front of me, they're a nice damage boost.

 

I hit 50 as well and tried doing a +1/8 radio mission in PI earlier today to test the capabilities of my Dominator and there were a few things I noticed.

 

Since enemies spawn in clustered groups, the moment I summon my Phantom Army/Phantasm, they start blowing enemies away which causes them to disperse. Once dispersed, it becomes difficult to keep them all held or disoriented at once. They might even stop attacking my Phantoms and go straight for me. At that point I try to use Spinning Kick to defend myself but as you said, it misses.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to start my offense without meter too. I can't Dominate certain enemies without Domination and if I pull too many, I'll get overwhelmed. The Arachnos enemies love to cast the Blind debuff which made things very difficult. In this case, Spinning Kick did help a bit since I don't need a target to use it but trying to fight blind is no bueno.

[serxiom]

10 hours ago, Sky Silverwing said:

Since enemies spawn in clustered groups, the moment I summon my Phantom Army/Phantasm, they start blowing enemies away which causes them to disperse. Once dispersed, it becomes difficult to keep them all held or disoriented at once.

 

Hi @Sky Silverwing about the knockback issue with your Phantasm there is something you can do. Change the 4 Call to Arms set for the next IO,s: 

 

3 x Explosive Strike + 1 x Sudden Acceleration Knockback to Knockdown - Leave Soulbound Alliegance and Force Feedback +rech

 

This would fix the problem you commented above.

 

Here a small video on my Ill/Ice 54 x 8 Councils. Last seconds i left Phantasm attack alone so you can see how is not knockinback foes once you slot Sudden Acceleration KB to KD.

 

 

 

Edited February 14 by serxiom

[EnjoyTheJourney]

It might help to note that phantom army does knockdown against even con enemies that are not susceptible to knockback (ie: clockwork). It's phantasm that blows mobs all over unless "knockback to knockdown" IOs are used. 

Here's what seems to be a particularly relevant webpage from UberGuy's City of Data ...

https://cod.uberguy.net/html/entity.html?entity=pets_decoy_dominator

[Random Axis]

17 hours ago, Sky Silverwing said:

I'm still trying to figure out how to start my offense without meter too. I can't Dominate certain enemies without Domination and if I pull too many, I'll get overwhelmed. 

I overwhelmingly to team instead of solo, so YMMV. I haven't watched @serxiom's video, but it's likely good stuff. Do that if it's different from me.

I have dom as my auto power, so as soon as it fills up it goes off. I also only have phantom army, so no KB. The general sequence is

-Hasten if it's up. 

-Deceive. Multiple times if I think it's needed

-Summon dudes. 

-Caltrops macro. This is where stealth is lost. Here's the macro if you want it: /macro_image "MartialAssault_Caltrops" "Caltrops" "powexec_location forward:5 Caltrops"

-Gleam or flash or both.

-Start melee. As needed mix in mezz, trick shot, and exploding shuriken. 

 

17 hours ago, Sky Silverwing said:

trying to fight blind is no bueno.

If you pop a yellow, it cures blind just like break free does with stun, hold, etc.

Edited February 14 by Random Axis
Accidentally deleted the one after caltrops

[serxiom]

4 hours ago, Random Axis said:

-Caltrops macro.

 

Ok the downside of Caltrops is that will make foes run away (Council Wolves become Speedy Gonzales) dispersing more the entire group and making you chasing npcs anywhere. Thats why i respected out of Caltrops in my Plant/MA Dominator. I dont find caltrops useful for my playstyle.

 

10 hours ago, EnjoyTheJourney said:

It's phantasm that blows mobs all over unless "knockback to knockdown" IOs are used. 

 

100% accurate on this one. Phantasm is the KB guilty. As i said above just fitting Sud Acel IO KB to KD will fix this.  

[Sky Silverwing]

Thanks guys, I'll look into these enhancements and I'll try my best to get better with my Dominator! 🙂

[R jobbus]

On 2/12/2024 at 2:47 PM, serxiom said:

Ok @Sky Silverwing. First at all your build was a good attempt to achieve Permadom and was ok. Looks like you are fan of Procs IO which is fun, but Dominators have a tight build always.

 

So im placing here 2 builds you can aim to. Both builds are permadom, and ranged defense softcap. Is my preference Primal over Psy because Illusion is high end demanding and Conserve Power gives you the advantage in long fights. However you chose Psy and thats why i gave you a second choice.

 

Dominator (Illusion Control - Martial Assault) Psy.mbd 42.27 kB · 106 downloads Dominator (Illusion Control - Martial Assault).mbd 42.24 kB · 89 downloads

Hey, I am trying to look at these builds but everytime I open them in anything it's just jumbled and a really long notepad text file. Sorry I'm kinda new, is there any way I can view them properly? or do you guys use a certain program to view them. Thanks

[Snokle]

5 minutes ago, R jobbus said:

Hey, I am trying to look at these builds but everytime I open them in anything it's just jumbled and a really long notepad text file. Sorry I'm kinda new, is there any way I can view them properly? or do you guys use a certain program to view them. Thanks

 

You have to use a application called Mids Reborn. This is what people use to build character builds. There is a link on the forums, or you can Google for it. Also it might ask you for what database to use, choose Homecoming.