Axe/Shield build advice

[Duckbutler]

This is my axe/shield scrapper so far and I'd like to know if I'm making any glaring mistakes in the build. The build goals are to softcap defense, crank global recharge, and then take a well rounded approach to adding durability. I'm pretty much happy with the power picks, though I could take or leave One with the Shield.

 

Specifically, I'm looking at the placement of the scrapper ATOs. I'm also intentionally avoiding purples. True Grit and Phalanx Fighting are mostly carrying globals, and that seems like something that could be improved. I thought about mixing in the Winter enhancements and it didn't seem like I was getting a ton of mileage from replacing Multistrike with Avalanche, not as compared to the cost.

Scrapper (Battle Axe - Shield Defense).mbd

[Thraxen]

Here is mine I just leveled to 50.  Haven't respec'd yet.  Trying to find more slots for LBE to proc out.  Going barrier so that will get s/l to 75.  I'll check yours out as well in a few.

 

Sybil Unleashed - Scrapper (Battle Axe - Shield Defense) 3.mbd

[Thraxen]

Also, slotting kick with ff+rech is just pencil whippin a build.  No one actually uses kick one slotted.  And if they do, shouldn't.  

[Duckbutler]

Kick will get used when I exemp down for something like Posi 1 or if a buddy wants to run Frostfire, that's why I took it at level 4 despite not taking the other fighting powers until 47/49. I figure it won't matter if I've slotted it out or not at that level, but it will matter if I only have one or two attacks and a big gap in the attack chain where I'm sitting on my hands. Optimization aside, that'll annoy me!

 

The proc doesn't function like a set bonus the way globals do, does it?

[Thraxen]

No, it only fires when the attack is used, and when the proc actually fires.  I never put it in a build because mids likes to keep it on and it grossly overexaggerates your global recharge.  Even if you were to spam kick it wouldn't be on all the time.  Build is like 24 seconds away from perma hasten when you turn that off.  There could be some good pros from having perma hasten, but I haven't found a need for it on axe/sd.  It is end heavy as is and a hasten crash isn't gonna help.  Having Active Defense perma double stacked does help with DDR, which I would get on a Tank, but on a scrap, eh, its not end of the world only having it single stacked. 

 

My build isn't final, and I haven't respec'd to it either yet.   I may throw and extra recharge into AD if I can find slot.  Kinda want to get rid of an attack myself as kinda like new LBE and slotting/proccing potential.   

[Duckbutler]

I'm sorry, I misspoke. I meant to ask if procs deactivate more than 3 levels below their natural level and not to imply I thought Force Feedback was a global. I just swapped it for a damage proc, which might suit my purpose just as well.

 

Hasten is more conserve power, build up, shield charge, and just going harder on the attack chain. I feel like if I'm going to skip the T1 I'm probably going to want it and I'm probably not going to want much downtime on it. The guy on the brute forum was saying beheader was strictly inferior to chop and while I haven't crunched the numbers on axe, every other T1 vs T2 analysis I've done has shown the T1 powers to be about 75% as strong as the T2 powers, so I believe him.

 

I think you have the right idea with One with the Shield. It's not something I'm going to hit very often (I think I hit it once all weekend) and the resistance is superfluous once set bonuses are added. That may as well be a mule. I might have to steal the slotting on the Scirocco's Dervish set and go ahead with the full LotG sets, too. Looks like we agree on Obliteration for Shield Charge and 2x Mako's! So that's a win.

[Thraxen]

I just generally don't take hasten if it is gonna have that big of a down time.  Just end up having two different attack chains, one for when it is up and one for when it is down.  

[Thraxen]

T1 can be used after ato procs and still get off another attack. 

[Duckbutler]

This is kinda where I've come to with Hasten. It's never bad, pretty much any build except the more passive mastermind builds can be made better with it. It just isn't necessarily worthwhile if you aren't getting it at least close to perma. I'll have to see what I can do to get it closer, but not-quite-perma hasten may be the price of refusing purples.

 

Attack chain logic, in general, not necessarily here, seems weird. There was a thread about calculating the recharge necessary for a smooth chain and it really seemed to be advocating for a 123-123-123 type chain. I've always played this game as a priority system, 3>2>1, and maybe skip the big hit if the attack is something slow like axe's Cleave, the mob is at 10% health, and the attack is likely to ghost when someone else hits the target. My fire blast corruptor skips hasten and doesn't chase global recharge. She ends up taking Flares, which I think most people will tell you to skip, and her single target attack chain is 4 attacks, often falling into a rhythm where she's alternating the weak attacks as filler in between the bigger attacks. But she's never idle and she's never forced to use an AoE as ST filler.

 

Before I came here I was hanging out with the speedrunners and parsers over on FFIXV. Let me just tell you it is... a shift. Very different mindsets and standards.

[Duckbutler]

I need to give the build a pass on this next time I'm on. I was sucking a lot of wind on a Penelope Yin TF last night. Then again, that TF with the Freakshow is particularly punishing in that regard.