Proc'ed out Choking Cloud x3

[Story Archer]

Afternoon all 🙂

 

I'm putting together a build for three people to run simultaneously (Fire/Rad) and I was looking at the potential for Choking Cloud. Right now I'm looking at ultimately slotting it like this:

 

Basilisk's Gaze: Acc/Hold

Basilisk's Gaze: Acc/Hold/End/Rech

Neuronic Shutdown: Chance for Psi Dmg

Ghost Widow's Embrace: Chance for Psi Dmg

Gladiator's Net: Chance for Lethal Dmg

Unbreakable Constraint: Chance of Smash Dmg

 

Since we're planning on taking Greater Fire Sword from the Fire Mastery Epic Pool as well as proc'ing out Char in a similar fashion, we thought it might be a strong tactic to wade into melee with overlapping Clouds.  Would the damage from this be worthwhile, and would our Hold durations be too short to be effective against higher level content?

 

The plan would usually be to open with RI, then wade into melee with Clouds on. One of us pops an Inferno while the other two back him up with a couple of Fireballs; between that and the procs from Cloud, I figure we should thin out the mobs pretty quickly and we can cycle through Blaze, Blazing Bolt, proc'ed Char and Greater Fire Sword for the bosses, EB's or AV's that remain. I actually don't know if the Holds come into play at all unless it's just laginappe.

 

Also, do procs benefit at all from Scourge? We'll have AM x3 and Assault x3 up at all times and I'm pretty sure the proc's don't benefit from those, but they do seem to give us the chance of turning CC and Char into legitimate damage options.

[Parabola]

I wouldn't bother with the damage procs in Choking Cloud and slot it heavily for hold and end red instead. It ticks slowly so you need to ensure that the hold duration lasts until the next set of ticks, but it is autohit so you don't need to worry about that. Procs aren't fantastic in auras and toggles and you've got a whole damage set so there's little need to eek out more by proccing powers you really need for survival. Proccing out Char is a good idea though and it can become a serious hitter with its fast activation time.

 

Otherwise your basic plan is sound. Choking cloud is underappreciated in general, particularly when it can be stacked.

 

Procs also don't scourge and as you say they don't benefit from damage boosts.

[Sancerre]

choking cloud has a super low chance to proc on each critter.  that said, procs that activate if it procs on _any_ critter are valuable here -- and that is specifically the winter set's chance for absorb proc.  in a pack of critters you are getting the absorb shield proc'd off at least _one_ of the critters very often.

 

procs do not scourge, and scourge only works on the primary powerset, not the secondary (or epic/patron for that matter).

[Frozen Burn]

@Story Archer, I agree with @Parabola.  However, I would suggest adding in the Lockdown +Mag Hold proc.  This can be wonderful for critical holds on bosses.  Then if 2 or three of you are overlapped, you'll probably hold EBs critically as well.  And using Char from all 3 of you, the proc can only help you in potentially holding AVs as well.

[Story Archer]

Good advice from everyone, thanks.

 

5 minutes ago, Frozen Burn said:

@Story Archer, I agree with @Parabola.  However, I would suggest adding in the Lockdown +Mag Hold proc.  This can be wonderful for critical holds on bosses.  Then if 2 or three of you are overlapped, you'll probably hold EBs critically as well.  And using Char from all 3 of you, the proc can only help you in potentially holding AVs as well.

 

My original plan was to use the full Lockdown set. The additional defensive bonuses are always welcome.

[Doomguide2005]

     Yes with an Inferno and a pair of Fireballs going off each mob the mobs are going to vanish fast and generally while held with 3 overlapping Chocking Clouds locking them down.

     As for full Lockdown set a better range defense might be an investment in Fold Space.  Bring anything at a distance in to join the other statues 😜.   Don't overlook Rain of Fire either.  I'll second the idea of maxing out both Hold and Endurance Reduction in CC though stacked AM should eliminate most endurance issues (you're also rapid firing your attacks).  There's a thread in the Defender forums about a group running all RadEm/Fire with some posted builds that should be food for thought.

 

Edit:  Defender thread by @Bumguffyend of February 2023

 

Edited March 28 by Doomguide2005