help with sonic/sonic - or am I wasting my time?

[schrodingercat]

So I leveled this character to 50 determined to make what feels like an underperforming support set good. It is good IF it has other support with it. Sometimes, when doing PUG task forces, I will get stuck with an all blaster team, which does not feel good.

 

A few notes: Liquefy is fun and good, but still needs a shorter cooldown. I frequently sit at 200% recharge and can't use it every spawn, which is silly. I would trade out the random hold chance that never seems to go off with a shorter cooldown because it is 1. pretty and 2. funny with repulsion going off. Mobs start breakdancing until they are arrested.

 

Sonic Repulsion DOES work as an aoe knockdown field when converted with sudden acceleration and DOES proc force feedback: chance for recharge frequently. In exchange, you get a power that drains 0.51 end/sec AND 1 endurance per mob it hits AND has a hit check that you can't enhance. So for the cost of insane endurance thirst, you get a fun and cool power, when you have high accuracy & to-hit.

 

This build is the aggro magnetiest build I have ever run, but can manage it if you are able to fire off howl/shockwave/siren song and chew inspires quick enough. If mobs are breakdancing, sleeping, or disoriented, they are partying too hard to hurt you very much.

 

So now that you know some details, here is how play generally goes: keep people shielded, and when able, amplify, liquify, wail. The standard fallback when waiting for the show to start is the standard howl/shockwave/sirensong (or in a team with no aggro control, shockwave/howl/sirensong) and do shriek/screech/shockwave on bosses that will live long enough after you sonic siphon (usually not very long if you have any dps on the team). Endurance management consists of victory rush/power sink/energize.

 

Here is what I need help with. I need survivability and endurance management. I use recovery serums and recovery buffs from base stations but I still  hurt for endurance. I have no real way to get my defense up to anything reasonable, either.

 

So could someone look over the build I've made and help me perfect Drop the Beat? Note that mu powers are standing in for power sink/energize since mids doesnt have them in there yet. Even with the fancy IO's ive slotted in here past the uniques I currently have, it still looks like a stinker of a build. I am not sure if the cost to make this would result in a character that can do what I want it to do: liquefy more, breakdance more.

 

If this powers weren't so pretty, I would probably play something else. I hope they do further refinement of sonic to bring it more into line with the effectiveness of the other power sets.

 

Defender (Sonic Resonance - Sonic Attack).mbd

Edited March 11 by schrodingercat

[Funkenstein]

Hi,

you seems to flavor your build for this KD funky theme.

Don't you feel Sonic repulsion + Liquify redundant ?

I'll say Sonic Repulsion is big part of your end and aggro problems. Victory rush/energize should help manage it, no ? Untoggle Sonic Repulsion when they're down ?

 

To me, spamming KD is not sonic/sonic primary force, but why not.

 

- with the res buffs, you make your team quite tanky, theorically tankier than you -> To them to take aggro/alpha ?

- if you're an aggro magnet, it's because of Sonic repulsion + spamming aoe i guess -> maybe, you could remove an aoe (Siren's song ?). Howl's recharging very fast +  Shockwave add KD/FF proc if wanted. Fill with Screetch/Shout and it's ok.

-Ask yourself if Sonic repulsion is perma mandatory .

 

 

-i play my Sonic/Sonic -res foccused.  Wail/howl for aoe debuff (with -res proc in each) then spam ST -res on hard targets, often targeting trough the boss hitter of the team to be sure i'll amp more its damages on the bosses/elites. 

-i kind of like the sorcery pool with sonic : Enflame on the Disruption field anchored add a nice damage aura (could fit an annihilation proc tho). Spirit ward absorb could help some squishie. Even with these,  I never have end problems.

 

 

[schrodingercat]

1 hour ago, Funkenstein said:

Hi,

you seems to flavor your build for this KD funky theme.

Don't you feel Sonic repulsion + Liquify redundant ?

I'll say Sonic Repulsion is big part of your end and aggro problems. Victory rush/energize should help manage it, no ? Untoggle Sonic Repulsion when they're down ?

 

To me, spamming KD is not sonic/sonic primary force, but why not.

 

- with the res buffs, you make your team quite tanky, theorically tankier than you -> To them to take aggro/alpha ?

- if you're an aggro magnet, it's because of Sonic repulsion + spamming aoe i guess -> maybe, you could remove an aoe (Siren's song ?). Howl's recharging very fast +  Shockwave add KD/FF proc if wanted. Fill with Screetch/Shout and it's ok.

-Ask yourself if Sonic repulsion is perma mandatory .

 

 

-i play my Sonic/Sonic -res foccused.  Wail/howl for aoe debuff (with -res proc in each) then spam ST -res on hard targets, often targeting trough the boss hitter of the team to be sure i'll amp more its damages on the bosses/elites. 

-i kind of like the sorcery pool with sonic : Enflame on the Disruption field anchored add a nice damage aura (could fit an annihilation proc tho). Spirit ward absorb could help some squishie. Even with these,  I never have end problems.

 

 

 

How could a power that is a toggle and always on be redundant with a power that has a 71 second cooldown assuming I get multiple FF procs in the cooldown period? That doesn't even make sense.

 

If you'll read why I use sonic repulsion, the knockdown aura is a damage preventative that also procs force feedback. The anchor target has 55% more resist to everything but psi AND now everything in melee is flopping around, with no aggro transferred to anyone but me if they are not a tank. Whoever goes into melee first gets it. Sometimes the tank navel gazes and a scrapper dives in first. Last night I ran my toggles on an elec/elec defender, which let her "tank" and stay in melee safely to leverage sapping.

 

Also, I'm glad that you like the sorcery pool, but I don't have problems with my team being squishy, so I don't need it.

 

I wasn't really asking for critiques of my play style. I was asking about how to meet specific goals in my build: endurance management and survivability.

[Zect]

The cost per enemy knocked back in sonic repulsion (edit: but not the cost to keep the toggle active, which is enhanceable) is not reduced by any endredux, same as most -end penalties in the game (like haste crash, rage crash and armor T9 crash). They are all flagged ignores enhancements and other boosts in the game engine, and neither energize nor cardiac will help when your toggle target walks into a x8 spawn and you instantly lose 16 end.

Edited March 12 by Zect

[Chronicler J]

I like to watch these people cast Ageless Core. It fills  me with joy to know they need it. 

[schrodingercat]

On 3/12/2024 at 10:57 AM, Zect said:

The cost per enemy knocked back in sonic repulsion (edit: but not the cost to keep the toggle active, which is enhanceable) is not reduced by any endredux, same as most -end penalties in the game (like haste crash, rage crash and armor T9 crash). They are all flagged ignores enhancements and other boosts in the game engine, and neither energize nor cardiac will help when your toggle target walks into a x8 spawn and you instantly lose 16 end.

 

That's fine, honestly. If all of my other powers are cheap to run and cast, I can keep up with an appropriately timed power sink.