Candidate endgame build for savage / stone / soul build - feedback requested

[EnjoyTheJourney]

Below is a candidate endgame build for a savage / stone / soul stalker. Looking to do good damage and survive relatively well in the majority of content. Not very experienced running stalkers and not sure about a fair number of things that may strongly affect performance, including ...

1. AT IO placement, especially the procs

2. Ageless core looks almost essential to run the build. Not really loving that, makes exemping harder (which I like to do with most builds). Maybe I'm missing something about endurance management? Would prefer barrier core or ageless radial if endurance proves easier to manage. 

3. A fair number of people recommend dropping hemorrhage. The slow nature of how damage accrues is a noteworthy drawback. Still, this build leans into keeping it and into trying to get 5 blood frenzy stacks built up to maximize its damage. Five stacks won't always happen and hemorrhage is clearly not optimal against mobs that would drop faster with more up front damage. Probably hemorrhage functions better for hard targets? Keeping hemorrhage does make it easier to take moonbeam and shadow meld from soul mastery. For a build with lower end defense debuff resistance and that seems to need some incarnate help for optimal endurance management shadow meld is appealing as a sorta-kinda replacement for barrier. Looking at harmonic mind suggested that it wouldn't be enough to replace ageless, but perhaps I'm wrong? 

4. The main holes seem to be fire / cold / psi damage, especially fire and cold damage. Not sure how concerned to be about them. 

5. Survivability against incoming energy / negative energy damage leans pretty hard on defense, as resistances aren't great for energy / negative damage. Could reduce smash / lethal damage resistances to boost energy / negative energy resistances by swapping in more shield wall IOs, having less LOTG IOs. Not sure how to best balance those resistances. 

6. Not sure how smooth the attack chain will be with recharge being where it is. 

By the way, rending flurry isn't accurately calculating proc damage. Damage would be a great deal higher than it suggests, perhaps about 200 damage higher per activation. 

Thank you in advance for any feedback offered. 
 

Stalker (Savage Melee - Stone Armor - Soul mastery).mbd

Edited May 20 by EnjoyTheJourney

[StrikerFox]

1. I always put the ATO1 proc in AS, and the ATO2 proc in the weakest power in the attack chain or in an AoE.

2. Build for some recovery. Slot Stamina and Crystal Armor for end. Add the Numina's unique in Health or Rooted. Savage provides an end discount for each stack of Frenzy. Mids' shows a 28.25% discount at 5 stacks.

3. I use Hemorrhage but I didn't make my Sav/ElA Stalker to be a top dps beast. 

4-5. Stone seems to have either good defense OR good resist to specific damage types, but not really both at the same time. For anything that fails, there's high regen and a heal to save yourself. Could try to patch up holes but may take away from the overall build. Losing damage or recharge for example. What's gained in one may be lost in another.

6. 5 stacks of Frenzy also provides a +rech bonus, +4% rech per stack. If Hemorrhage is skipped, it can make an attack chain more seamless if there are any gaps.

 

I would drop IO set bonuses that provide +HP like Reactive Defense in Maneuvers. Earth's Embrace is perma and puts the build well above the HP cap.

Set bonuses that provide knockback protection isn't needed (Gladiator Armor set in Stone Armor). Stone provides protection and resistance to KB already. 

Maybe drop the +rech IO in Build Up. It's shaving off 4secs but the ATO2 proc refreshes BU quite frequently.

I think if the Apocalypse dam IO was swapped out for acc/rech, the build could run AS-Hem-MS-Mb-MS-repeat seamlessly. If Hemorrhage isn't used, Savage Strike will probably be needed to make a good ST chain.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[EnjoyTheJourney]

Thank you for the thoughtful feedback. A fair number of changes have been made and the build looks like it will function better now. Endurance management, in particular, seems to be in a better place. Barrier has become the incarnate destiny of choice, rather than ageless core. Resistances have been reshuffled a bit and are (hopefully) a bit better balanced overall. The single target attack chain is smoother, as well, with acc / rech replacing the damage IO for the apocalypse set in moonbeam. 

After reviewing the role of tactics it was found that at least for +3 mobs it's not really needed. Swapping it out for super jump freed up a slot and made endurance management a bit easier. 

 

Gladiator's armor was left as is primarily because it exemps so well. Other choices are, of course, also reasonable in stone skin.
 

 

 

 

Stalker (Savage Melee - Stone Armor - Soul mastery).mbd

Edited May 21 by EnjoyTheJourney