Advice Needed - Electric/Kinetics - Giving an old build a new spit shine

[LennyBusker]

Hey folks! I ran a Dark/Kinetics on Live a loooong time, but when I first played on HC back in 2019 I rebuilt her as Elec/Kin. I used the same bog-standard levelling build that worked great on Live, but dropped off playing before I ever gave her a fresh level 50 respec. Anyway I'm back for good now but I feel a bit lost with all kinds of crazy set IOs, event IOs, catalysts, boosters, and what not available, and while the build is working FINE, I'd love to push it to the max so to speak even if it means spending some big cash. This character also doubles as my bank/market trader, so money is basically no object (within reason), so let's say if you have 400-500 million inf, what sort of polish would you put on this build?

 

I'm having trouble getting Mids to export the text version, so I've got a screenshot here and attached the build file below. Note that the levels powers are taken at are total guesses, but as far as build advice goes I'm totally open to just shifting around powers picked at x level for TFs and Ouro arcs.

 

Appreciate any help!

 

 

Naomi Watts - Corruptor (Electrical Blast - Kinetics).mbd

[icehero]

This is my Fire Farm Build that solo's +4x8 easy and probably one my quickest farmers

Corruptor - Electrical Blast - Kinetics.mbd

[LennyBusker]

4 hours ago, icehero said:

This is my Fire Farm Build that solo's +4x8 easy and probably one my quickest farmers

Corruptor - Electrical Blast - Kinetics.mbd 44.75 kB · 2 downloads

 

Interesting! I'm definitely seeing some things that make sense. Do you ever roll this build out to normal content, and if so how does it perform there?

[icehero]

16 hours ago, LennyBusker said:

 

Interesting! I'm definitely seeing some things that make sense. Do you ever roll this build out to normal content, and if so how does it perform there?

Works great with a team environment but struggles if you trying to solo +4 other then fire dmg & S/L

[Wimbochismo]

You've got a build that should work in general but is missing some fundamentals. It needs more focus and direction. I would definitely take inspiration from @icehero's build. They just have more of a focus on their chosen content, you could modify it away from that. Probably by pulling back from full Winter sets. Take note of all the "unique's" they go after like Kismet +accuracy and Steadfast Protection 3% def. 

 

I'll try to tailor my advice towards someone fresh to building. The main issue you're up against is that Kin wants to be in melee where the action is. Your build right now has practically no defenses. You've got a couple options:

• 45 s/l defense (with baseline resists) - S/l damage is the most common and you can grab an Epic shield for it. This lets you be safer in melee. I've personally gotten away from pure s/l because I find it streaky, where it either works great or suddenly not at all. This is usually paired with Rune of Protection for cc protection.
• 45 ranged defense (with baseline resists) - I've had great success with ranged defense and Hover. You can Hover just above the heads of enemies/allies in melee and still be at ranged, while being well within the radius for FS etc. Ranged defense also prevents some forms of cc.
• No/Low defense - Boost resistances instead, take Rune of Protection for cc protection, boost your other forms of cc protection like slow resist. This makes you far more vulnerable and you have to be strategic.
• High ranged/s/l defense (with baseline resists) - Kin doesn't necessarily need perma Hasten to get buffs perma, so you can focus more on defense. Again, notice how @icehero's build layer's their defense. Go all in with it and take Rune of Protection to become tanky.

Baseline resists in this regard would be to run either Tough by itself, Charged Armor or another Epic resist shield by itself, or Tough + Charged Armor together. This along with Reactive Defenses +resist unique and Shield Wall +res unique in a defense power.

 

As a Corruptor ideally you're focusing on dmg while trying to maintain your most important debuffs. Probably the only thing you really need recharge for is Thunderous Blast, it's still a good reason to work in some reasonable recharge. Next bit of advice is focused around that:

• I consider the accurate healing sets to be almost like traps. Yes they boost the accuracy and healing that the power needs but the set itself isn't great unless you need e/n resistance. I almost always prefer 5 slot Panacea for the recharge bonus with 1 50+5 accuracy. Unless you have enough global acc to not need to slot acc at all.
• You could probably drop Acrobatics. Just slot a Blessing of Zephyr kb prot in your travel power and/or Steadfast kb prot.
• Voltaic Sentinel is nice passive dps. While you're hitting heals buffs etc., it's just plinking away. Try to fit it in if possible.
• Hasten just needs 2 50+5 recharges. Press + on numpad to boost them to +5.
• Siphon Speed is great for your own recharge, it just needs 1 or 2 slots. You can reasonably expect to maintain about 1-2 stacks without Hasten. So long as you're diligent about using it. You can toggle this on and adjust the slider in mids.
• Once you get Fulcrum Shift you're basically putting your team at dmg cap. At that point Siphon Power and Assault become superfluous. Drop Assault completely and remove all slots from Siphon Power except an accuracy. Siphon Power is still useful at lower levels when FS isn't available. Also it does -20 damage which against hard targets basically means +20 resist.

I take all of my planned Primary, Secondary, and Epic powers as soon as they're available unless it's a 1-off mule. They're typically the most impactful keystone powers. If you like a Travel power early, fit it in earlier. Otherwise at most I'll try to fit in one of my choice of Combat Jumping/Hover/Stealth and Hasten slightly earlier.

[LennyBusker]

Super appreciate the in-depth response @Wimbochismo! I'll address some points that I had considered and/or am definitely incorporating:

 

• Some of the picks are definitely holdovers from Live, and I'm talking like back in the i6 - i9 era. I also used to spend a decent amount of time in PvP which obviously isn't much of a thing anymore (I play on Indom). Anyway, that's why looking at the build now you're probably thinking that it's just totally outdated. It is!
• I had been looking at Sorcery, I see that's a popular pool for non-melee ATs to pick up for Rune of Protection. However the fact that you have to go 3 powers deep for it turns me off, and then I do like remaining somewhat on-theme. If this were still my old Dark Blast build, I'd take it for sure.
• I definitely see the value of Hover/Fly or using Sorcery for your travel but Super Jump is just a personal preference. I'll take if even it it means I'm less optimal. Sometimes you gotta play what makes you happy, you know?
• Absolutely hunting some more defense and boosting Resistances. I'm swapping Assault for Maneuvers since yeah duh, and dropping Siphon Power entirely for Weave since even when I'm exemplared down I find myself hardly bothering to use it. Generally I'd be in an Ouro arc for a badge hunt, in which case I've got difficulty turned down to basically nothing so I can blitz the mission objective. That gives me some spots for those nice uniques like Shield Wall %5 Res, Reactive's Scaling Res, etc.
• I also moved my Fulcrum Shift choice to an earlier level so it's online sooner for more exemp ranges.
• Removed some of the redundant slots  like accuracies and recharges that are already covered by global bonuses.

I haven't fully decided on sets yet, but I've been looking at the Winter sets. There seems to be a good amount of positional defense there, right? Would you recommend other purples over them or do they also perform well in general content outside of fire farms?

 

[Wimbochismo]

Spoiler

2 hours ago, LennyBusker said:

Super appreciate the in-depth response @Wimbochismo! I'll address some points that I had considered and/or am definitely incorporating:

 

• Some of the picks are definitely holdovers from Live, and I'm talking like back in the i6 - i9 era. I also used to spend a decent amount of time in PvP which obviously isn't much of a thing anymore (I play on Indom). Anyway, that's why looking at the build now you're probably thinking that it's just totally outdated. It is!
• I had been looking at Sorcery, I see that's a popular pool for non-melee ATs to pick up for Rune of Protection. However the fact that you have to go 3 powers deep for it turns me off, and then I do like remaining somewhat on-theme. If this were still my old Dark Blast build, I'd take it for sure.
• I definitely see the value of Hover/Fly or using Sorcery for your travel but Super Jump is just a personal preference. I'll take if even it it means I'm less optimal. Sometimes you gotta play what makes you happy, you know?
• Absolutely hunting some more defense and boosting Resistances. I'm swapping Assault for Maneuvers since yeah duh, and dropping Siphon Power entirely for Weave since even when I'm exemplared down I find myself hardly bothering to use it. Generally I'd be in an Ouro arc for a badge hunt, in which case I've got difficulty turned down to basically nothing so I can blitz the mission objective. That gives me some spots for those nice uniques like Shield Wall %5 Res, Reactive's Scaling Res, etc.
• I also moved my Fulcrum Shift choice to an earlier level so it's online sooner for more exemp ranges.
• Removed some of the redundant slots  like accuracies and recharges that are already covered by global bonuses.

I haven't fully decided on sets yet, but I've been looking at the Winter sets. There seems to be a good amount of positional defense there, right? Would you recommend other purples over them or do they also perform well in general content outside of fire farms?

 

 

 

No problem. There are many nuances to making a build and defining some outer parameters can help narrow focus. Winter sets are very strong defensively, I typically see them in melee builds or people trying to get slow resistance. However, building involves very specific puzzle pieces and too many Winter sets means you're probably sacrificing: recharge sets, ranged defense sets, accuracy sets etc. "Squishy" characters like Corruptor's, Controllers, Doms have a far easier time building ranged and s/l defense over melee and aoe defense, although it isn't impossible.

 

Rune of Protection isn't 100% necessary. It's more just the low hanging fruit you can grab to cover some contingencies. The worst thing as a squishy is to get cc'd and not be able to run away from the boss coming at you. Ranged defense covers a good bit.

 

Probably the easiest thing to do to become tanky is to take an Epic s/l defense shield. You would have to drop Charged Armor, but Scorpion Shield is visually acceptable. Make sure to use Tough. Then you could beef up with ranged defense sets and sprinkle in some recharge for Hasten.

 

In terms of defense numbers - ideally you want 45. Another reason the other build can work for normal content, not just Fire Farms, is the 33 ranged defense and 40 aoe defense it has. If you can get 30-35 defense, a purple shield inspiration will bring you to 45. This is why that build is more "good for teams" where buffs will cover you but not as great as "solo's +4."

 

Personally I'd just use Superior Winter's Bite (ranged defense), the others I would only use to increase s/l defense if you really need to. Purple sets featuring recharge are very strong. Also use the Corruptor ATO's. Otherwise, you'll probably be relying on Orange/Yellow sets. 

 

Edit: A good opportunity came up, check the Storm/Kin thread below this one. They didn't include the attachment but look at the pics @tricon posted. You can roughly port that or take ideas for Elec/Kin.

Edited February 19 by Wimbochismo

[Carnifax]

Here's two conversions of my DP / Kin corruptor into Elec / Kin and Rad / Kin. Trick here is to get as close to cap on positional defenses rather than typed. Then you can happily take whatever epic you like, you aren't forced into Scorp Shield. Ingame the numbers are slightly higher than Mids says (45.1 melee and 41 ranged) which, with a Defense Amplifier or someone on the team with Manoeuvres gets you softcapped. 

 

I think @StarseedWarrior was looking for the Rad / Kin version.

These are mostly a palette swap and some rejigging of my DP / Kin which I've also attached. 

 

Epic-wise since Soul Drain is changing you have the option of switching to Mu for the extra End Drain (although the build doesn't lean into that anyway, I think if you want a sapper go Kin / Elec cos Defenders are better at it) the best Resist armour available and a wee pet who gets you over the ranged cap. 

 

Aim and Charge Up are optional. DP doesn't get them so you could happily swap the slots back into Tactics for the 6 Gaussians and pick some other 1 slot wonder power (Vengie + lotg or a travel power slotted with KB protection for example). 

 

If you do decide to go with Dark anyway the new Soul Drain or whatever it's called will take 6 Artillery or 3 Artillery (or 3 Hami-Os) and 3 procs. 

Corruptor - Elec-Kin.mbd BulletTime_Final_respecced.mbd Corruptor - Rad-Kin.mbd