Storm Summoning/

[Hjarki]

Here is my Storm/Archery build.  Soft capped for ranged defense, 42.5 for Energy/Neg defense, about 31% for Melee and AoE defense and everything else.  Resistance cap for S/L/E.

I took Mu Mastery, as I currently have some End issues, and with a bunch of recharge having both Conserve Power and the Charged Armor sounded good... and another pet, why not?

The damage proc in lightning storm and tornado are just placeholders for the KB->KD sudden acceleration.

 

Is the Sniper attack so bad that you wouldn't include it in your single target rotation?

 

From what I can tell, you emphasize defenses (especially S/L resist) to the exclusion of damage. I think you'll also struggle with the problem I've yet to come up with a decent answer to - enemies that aren't subject to Location AE damage/control (fliers, highly resistant enemies, etc.). The ideal tool would be Mace Mastery's AE Immobilize - but it precludes grabbing a resist toggle (you can still slot resist in Steamy Mist, but you're left with very low levels of S/L resist).

[Obitus]

 

Is the Sniper attack so bad that you wouldn't include it in your single target rotation?

 

I thought the same, but I figure he has so much AoE that maybe he's ok with taking a big cut to single-target damage.

 

From what I can tell, you emphasize defenses (especially S/L resist) to the exclusion of damage. I think you'll also struggle with the problem I've yet to come up with a decent answer to - enemies that aren't subject to Location AE damage/control (fliers, highly resistant enemies, etc.). The ideal tool would be Mace Mastery's AE Immobilize - but it precludes grabbing a resist toggle (you can still slot resist in Steamy Mist, but you're left with very low levels of S/L resist).

 

The mace immobilize has absolutely terrible redraw too, IIRC.  I remember wanting desperately to love it on one of my blasters, back in the day.  On the other hand, Chongda does have Snow Storm, which can ground flyers, though I agree with your take (in a different thread) on how the power is clunky to use and not terribly effective 99% of the time.

 

It does look cool, at least.

[Chongda]

 

Is the Sniper attack so bad that you wouldn't include it in your single target rotation?

 

I thought the same, but I figure he has so much AoE that maybe he's ok with taking a big cut to single-target damage.

 

Correct.  I doubt I'll ever really solo with this character, and teamed will probably be set at x8, so I figured tossing in AoE between the summon powers has been working best.  I usually think of snipes as starting fights, and most fights I open with Freezing Rain.

 

From what I can tell, you emphasize defenses (especially S/L resist) to the exclusion of damage. I think you'll also struggle with the problem I've yet to come up with a decent answer to - enemies that aren't subject to Location AE damage/control (fliers, highly resistant enemies, etc.). The ideal tool would be Mace Mastery's AE Immobilize - but it precludes grabbing a resist toggle (you can still slot resist in Steamy Mist, but you're left with very low levels of S/L resist).

 

The mace immobilize has absolutely terrible redraw too, IIRC.  I remember wanting desperately to love it on one of my blasters, back in the day.  On the other hand, Chongda does have Snow Storm, which can ground flyers, though I agree with your take (in a different thread) on how the power is clunky to use and not terribly effective 99% of the time.

 

 

I have not taken the Mace since being back, but the redraw made me avoid taking it again after live.  Not sure how much worse the redraw is when you already have a weapon to switch from.  I was thinking about taking one of the other masteries with immobilize, but so far I thought I might need conserve power.  After I play a bit at 50 with a more similar build to this, I may find I no longer need it and switch to something like that.

 

The few times I'd had to deal with flying (mostly Cabal so far), I've used snowstorm to bring them down and slow them together.  Not perfect, but at least helped.

[Hjarki]

This is what I'm running right now (more or less):

 

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Defender

Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Secondary Power Set: Dual Pistols

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Flight

Power Pool: Leaping

Power Pool: Leadership

Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

 

Hero Profile:

Level 1: O2 Boost -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(3), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(3), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(5), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(5), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(7)

Level 1: Pistols -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(7), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(9), TchofLadG-%Dam(9), ShlBrk-%Dam(11), AchHee-ResDeb%(11)

Level 2: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A)

Level 4: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(42)

Level 6: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(13), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(13), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(15)

Level 8: Freezing Rain -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46)

Level 10: Swap Ammo

Level 12: Hurricane -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(43), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(43), DarWtcDsp-Rchg/EndRdx(43)

Level 14: Hover -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel(15), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(17)

Level 16: Bullet Rain -- SprVglAss-Rchg/+Absorb(A), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg(17), SprVglAss-Dmg/Rchg(19), PstBls-Dam%(19), ImpSwf-Dam%(21), ExpStr-Dam%(21)

Level 18: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(23)

Level 20: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx(42)

Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 26: Tornado -- ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(27), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(29), FrcFdb-Rechg%(29), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(31)

Level 28: Executioner's Shot -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(31), ImpSwf-Dam%(33), Apc-Dam%(33), TchofLadG-%Dam(33)

Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(34), Rct-ResDam%(34), Rct-Def(34)

Level 32: Lightning Storm -- SprDfnBst-Rchg/Heal%(A), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg(36), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37)

Level 35: Piercing Rounds -- SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprVglAss-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), PstBls-Dam%(39), Ann-ResDeb%(39), ImpSwf-Dam%(40)

Level 38: Charged Armor -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(40), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(40), GldArm-End/Res(42)

Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 44: Summon Adept -- ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(A), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(45), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(45), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(45), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(46), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)

Level 47: Tactics -- GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(48), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(48), GssSynFr--ToHit(48), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(50), GssSynFr--Build%(50)

Level 49: Suppressive Fire -- BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Hold(50)

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)

Level 1: Vigilance

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(25)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(23), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(25)

Level 10: Chemical Ammunition

Level 10: Cryo Ammunition

Level 10: Incendiary Ammunition

Level 50: Spiritual Radial Paragon

Level 50: Clarion Core Epiphany

Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement

Level 50: Diamagnetic Radial Flawless Interface

Level 50: Storm Elemental Radial Superior Ally

Level 50: Control Radial Embodiment

------------

 

The Dual Pistols does quite a bit of damage/debuffing, although the rotation is muddied a bit by the need to turn off incendiary ammo for Piercing Rounds and turn it on for everything else. I still haven't figured out a good macro structure for it - it's easy enough to de-activate Incendiary Rounds every time I activate Piercing Rounds, but there's a small recharge and turning it back on involves activating a power so I can't do it immediately afterwards.

 

Lightning Storm ended up muling the ATO simply because there wasn't a better place to put it. The fact that it activates on top of me is also helpful with the proc (although the proc only goes off on activation, so it's not a significant source of healing).

 

Suppressive Fire is a pure mule - I really don't ever use it. I took the Mu pet primarily for the set bonuses, but I normally bring it out on the "why not?" principle. It's extra damage.

 

Due to the extremely narrow cone on Piercing Rounds, the procs occur quite often. However, I'm more concerned with the ability to multi-stack the inherent -resist debuff on it. Coupled with Achilles' Heel in Pistols, I can debuff (single target) resistance about as well as Sonic can (which can't equip the procs I'm using). Bullet Rain and Tornado both tend to proc Force Feedback nearly 100% of the time, so I get a pretty good boost to global recharge there.

 

Conserve Power means the ordinarily heavy endurance demands of the build are (mostly) a moot point.

 

 

[Goblin Queen]

 

And that's assuming your Corruptor is willing to accept non-capped defenses (Defenders have ~5% advantage in defense over Corruptors) - if they're also trying to cap their defenses, it will inevitably come at the expense of damage.

 

I'm glad you mentioned this, as it's the main thing I've wrestled with.  The builds I've mocked up don't see a huge difference in damage output, but the Defender definitely has a little more room for sundries, and we do have a lot of attractive sundries these days - the absorb proc, the max HP proc, the scaling RES, the +5% RES global, not to mention the old standbys like Kismet, Miracle, Numina, Performance Shifter,  Panacea.  Those last four are borderline mandatory on a Storm build, given our endurance burden.

 

I think Fire is definitely a 'Corruptor set'. However, I think people often over-estimate its effectiveness. Back on Live, we knew that Ice was higher single target damage than Fire. It took me a while to remember why, but it was a byproduct of Frankenslotting attack powers. The ability of Ice to slot damage procs far outweighed the value of the additional burn DoT on Fire.

 

This is also a very good point, especially with regard to Defenders.  I doubt a soft-capped Corruptor can well afford to slot procs in his attacks, as a rule, with the notable exception of the Corruptor ATO set's damage proc.  A Defender might be able to do it.

 

Still, Fire is generally considered a top set because it combines high single-target damage with very high AoE.  Ice lags a bit in the latter, though it does have a really nice nuke.  (I prefer Blizzard, anyway, because it's ranged, and it has a good bit of Scourge synergy too.)

 

I appreciate the discussion.  Lots of food for thought.

 

I'll go ahead and post two Storm builds I've been wrestling with, just for reference, one on each AT.  Both have soft-capped Ranged DEF; both have roughly the same amount of global recharge (~80+%); both have perma Hover in the 40 mph range, nearly identical levels of recovery, and the same amount of +damage (not counting Vigilance).  Both have the all-important Sudden Acceleration KB-to-KD procs in Hurricane/LS/Tornado.  (These items loosely match my build priorities.)

 

I would have preferred to slot more procs, but you can see I didn't have much room.  The main differences are that the Defender has more DEF to other types/positions, a stronger and more useable +RES shield (better End reduction) and a couple more slots to play with, but the Defender also loses Afterburner because I couldn't skip Ice Bolt.  Likewise, the Corruptor had to make at least one weird slotting decision to keep Frost Breath slotted as I like (with plenty of range enhancement); the full Malice ATO set went in Ice Storm, though obviously I'd prefer to put it in something like Bitter Ice Blast. 

 

Based on these two particular builds, and your arguments, I'm actually leaning towards the Defender now, though it's hard to say for sure which is better:

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Corruptor

Primary Power Set: Ice Blast

Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning

 

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Defender

Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Secondary Power Set: Ice Blast

 

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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I really want to see the Defender version but every Mids and Pine's I've tried won't import the data. Maybe I'm using the wrong version.

[Obitus]

I really want to see the Defender version but every Mids and Pine's I've tried won't import the data. Maybe I'm using the wrong version.

 

Yeah unfortunately the data chunk method of importing doesn't appear to work with the current version of Pine's.  If you click on the datalink, though, you can download a copy of the build.  That's worked for me, anyway.

 

Looking over the Defender build quoted above, there are a couple of things I'd do differently now.  It's a good build, but some of the enhancement values are inflated, because for whatever reason Pines chose to set all of my enhancements to +3.  I prefer using Attuned enhancements for sets, to retain maximum Exemplared effectiveness, and using Boosters on things like generic Recharge enhancements in Hasten.  Anyway, at the very least I'd swap out the Recharge enhancement in Tornado for the Call To Arms End/Dam/Rech triple.

 

I believe the following, revised build is an improvement.  It loses a couple points of non-Ranged DEF, 1 point of S/L resistance, and a little Hover speed, but it gains 7.5% in global +recharge, a little extra max HP, and almost 40% in Energy Resistance.  It also gains two damage procs (one purple, one not) in Bitter Ice Blast, which should add about 85 points in average damage to the attack.  The procs in BiB are really the main thing here; if you were content to forego those (e.g. by swapping in an extra Thunderstrike set in Freeze Ray, putting the Defender 6-pc ATO set in BiB, and then putting the Apocalypse 5-pc in Lightning Storm), you'd gain a fair amount of flexibility.

 

As before, this Defender build loses Afterburner, relative to the Corruptor.  You could also drop Frost Breath if you wanted to; that'd gain you even more flexibility, but it's a very solid AoE option.  Or you could drop Assault.  Hard to fit in everything you might want, along with the Fighting Pool.

 

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Defender

Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Secondary Power Set: Ice Blast

Power Pool: Flight

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Leadership

Power Pool: Fighting

Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

 

Now, here's a version without the Fighting Pool.  This one gains 2.5 more points of global +recharge (total of 101.25% before Hasten), gains another 0.15 in EPS saved from toggle costs, keeps the two damage procs in BiB, and gains Afterburner plus Snow Storm (or a power of your choice).  The downside is that it loses ~4% of S/L/E resistance (Edit - the prior build can get much higher S/L resistance by using Tough, but I'm talking about the end-sustainable figures without Tough), and it loses the ToHit debuff enhancements in Hurricane, but i find Hurricane to be a highly situational tool anyway; I mostly just use it to keep mobs from attacking me in melee, where I have less defense.

 

On the whole, I think I like this one better:

 

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Defender

Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Secondary Power Set: Ice Blast

Power Pool: Flight

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Leadership

Power Pool: Leaping

Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

 

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|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

 

As before, you could gain a fair bit of flexibility if you ditched the damage procs in BiB.  For all of these builds, I've changed my mind about Musculature Alpha.  Now I favor Intuition Radial, which gives you 33% +damage, but also hefty boosts to slow, Defense debuff (Freezing Rain/Tornado), Range (huge for Frost Breath), ToHit debuffs (Hurricane/BiB/Blizzard), and Hold duration (Freeze Ray).

 

No matter what you end up doing, you'll have a lot of fun.  Dropping Blizzard + Ice Storm + Freezing Rain is just hilarious.

[Goblin Queen]

I get a readSaveData Failed error when I install the Mids from the link you posted then download the build and open it.

 

Error reading some power data, will attempt to build character with known data - Unable to read beyond the end of the stream.

 

Then it's all blank as it open. None of the powers selected.

 

Ah well. :)

[Obitus]

I get a readSaveData Failed error when I install the Mids from the link you posted then download the build and open it.

 

Error reading some power data, will attempt to build character with known data - Unable to read beyond the end of the stream.

 

Then it's all blank as it open. None of the powers selected.

 

Ah well. :)

 

Ah, ok, I think I get it.  The link to the installer is for Mid's.  I'm using Pine's (which I guess was never modified to change the default forum export link to the installer).  I got the app I'm using here:

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,6298.0.html

 

And actually, it looks like they've updated it since I downloaded mine.  I'll delete the link to cohplanner.com from my prior post.  Sorry for the confusion.

[Hjarki]

Looking over the Defender build quoted above, there are a couple of things I'd do differently now.  It's a good build, but some of the enhancement values are inflated, because for whatever reason Pines chose to set all of my enhancements to +3.  I prefer using Attuned enhancements for sets, to retain maximum Exemplared effectiveness, and using Boosters on things like generic Recharge enhancements in Hasten.  Anyway, at the very least I'd swap out the Recharge enhancement in Tornado for the Call To Arms End/Dam/Rech triple.

 

I'd view Force Feedback +recharge procs in Tornado/Lightning Storm as effectively mandatory on a Storm Summoning build. Between the two of them, you're probably looking at 50% or more extra global recharge over time.

[Coyote]

Looking over the Defender build quoted above, there are a couple of things I'd do differently now.  It's a good build, but some of the enhancement values are inflated, because for whatever reason Pines chose to set all of my enhancements to +3.  I prefer using Attuned enhancements for sets, to retain maximum Exemplared effectiveness, and using Boosters on things like generic Recharge enhancements in Hasten.  Anyway, at the very least I'd swap out the Recharge enhancement in Tornado for the Call To Arms End/Dam/Rech triple.

 

I'd view Force Feedback +recharge procs in Tornado/Lightning Storm as effectively mandatory on a Storm Summoning build. Between the two of them, you're probably looking at 50% or more extra global recharge over time.

 

Agreed. And if you're teaming, putting one in Gale is also useful, since it only needs to proc once on the entire spawn to get the buff.

[Obitus]

Looking over the Defender build quoted above, there are a couple of things I'd do differently now.  It's a good build, but some of the enhancement values are inflated, because for whatever reason Pines chose to set all of my enhancements to +3.  I prefer using Attuned enhancements for sets, to retain maximum Exemplared effectiveness, and using Boosters on things like generic Recharge enhancements in Hasten.  Anyway, at the very least I'd swap out the Recharge enhancement in Tornado for the Call To Arms End/Dam/Rech triple.

 

I'd view Force Feedback +recharge procs in Tornado/Lightning Storm as effectively mandatory on a Storm Summoning build. Between the two of them, you're probably looking at 50% or more extra global recharge over time.

 

I think you're probably right with regard to Tornado.  On my Corruptor I'm on the fence about Lightning Storm, because I don't use it as consistently, and slotting FF would cost me a purple set bonus (10% +recharge) which is on full-time, and a very strong damage proc in LS.  The Defender builds I posted earlier would probably benefit from swapping out the Decimation set in LS and replacing it with 3-4 pieces of Thunderstrike, and an FF proc.  (And then freeing up a slot or two elsewhere, thanks to the extra ranged DEF.)

 

Thank you for reminding me about the FF proc, though; I've been meaning to test it for awhile. 

 

Turns out that there is no lockout on the proc's buff, at least that I can see.  This is in contrast to both my recollection and the info I've seen posted around lately.  On the other hand, slotting FF in both Tornado and LS resulted in a significant drop in my Pylon DPS, probably due to a combination of increased end consumption and the loss of the proc in LS.  (Update: slotting FF in just Tornado resulted in a fairly large gain.)

 

To respond to Coyote, I don't agree on Gale.  Spending ~2.4 seconds in an animation for an ability that you wouldn't otherwise use in return for 5 seconds of a recharge buff isn't a great trade off, IMO.  Might be a decent low-level or budget option (if you're lacking recharge otherwise), but at this point it would just be a slot that sits there doing nothing for me, 95% of the time.

[Hjarki]

I think you're probably right with regard to Tornado.  On my Corruptor I'm on the fence about Lightning Storm, because I don't use it as consistently, and slotting FF would cost me a purple set bonus (10% +recharge) which is on full-time, and a very strong damage proc in LS.  The Defender builds I posted earlier would probably benefit from swapping out the Decimation set in LS and replacing it with 3-4 pieces of Thunderstrike, and an FF proc.  (And then freeing up a slot or two elsewhere, thanks to the extra ranged DEF.)

 

It wouldn't actually cost you a purple set bonus - you'd just need to find someplace else to put it. I don't think damage procs work particularly well with Lightning Storm (or Tornado) - they certainly can't take advantage of the disparity between inherent recharge and actual recharge like your click powers can.

 

Part of reason I slot my Lightning Storm with FF is to give me that recharge in long single target fights. In general AE fights, I've got AE attacks with FF that give me the same benefit.

[Obitus]

I think you're probably right with regard to Tornado.  On my Corruptor I'm on the fence about Lightning Storm, because I don't use it as consistently, and slotting FF would cost me a purple set bonus (10% +recharge) which is on full-time, and a very strong damage proc in LS.  The Defender builds I posted earlier would probably benefit from swapping out the Decimation set in LS and replacing it with 3-4 pieces of Thunderstrike, and an FF proc.  (And then freeing up a slot or two elsewhere, thanks to the extra ranged DEF.)

 

It wouldn't actually cost you a purple set bonus - you'd just need to find someplace else to put it. I don't think damage procs work particularly well with Lightning Storm (or Tornado) - they certainly can't take advantage of the disparity between inherent recharge and actual recharge like your click powers can.

 

I had thought the same thing, but if my numbers are right, the purple proc adds ~40% damage to Lightning Storm.  (4s recharge on the lightning strike, ~1s activation, so a 5s cycle time, divide by 60s and multiply by the 4.5 PPM to get a 37.5% proc chance, multiplied by 107.1 to give you ~40.1 extra damage per Lightning strike, on average.  The damage on the lightning strike without the proc is around 100 on my Corruptor; it'll be a little higher on a solo Defender.)

 

And sure, I could slot Apocalypse elsewhere, but the build's pretty tight as it is.  Here's a link to it if you care to look:

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 2.22

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Corruptor

 

I've also toyed recently with the idea of slotting more procs in Freeze Ray, but it looks like I'd have to drop Frost Breath to do it.  Arguably worth it, as you could add another 80+ average damage to Freeze Ray with two hold procs.  Or I could cave in and take the Fighting Pool again.  Only problem there (apart from the diminished power pick flexibility) is that I'd lose a little recharge, and toggle costs would go up a bit.  That build (with the Fighting Pool) follows:

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 2.22

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Corruptor

Primary Power Set: Ice Blast

Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning

 

Anyway, the other thing to keep in mind is that the FF proc really can't be straight up averaged in as if it were a passive +recharge bonus - even without the lockout - because there will be large gaps in your FF uptime, during which smaller powers (like single-target attacks) will derive zero benefit.  So you want to balance the desire for maximum possible +recharge on bigger, slower powers against the desire for a workable passive scheme for smaller powers.

 

My build already has just about perma-Hasten, so it's not like I'm dying for +recharge.  The FF proc in Tornado's a nice bonus, but I don't think an extra one in LS is that important.

 

Part of reason I slot my Lightning Storm with FF is to give me that recharge in long single target fights. In general AE fights, I've got AE attacks with FF that give me the same benefit.

 

Sensible.  Which AoE attacks are those?

[Hjarki]

Sensible.  Which AoE attacks are those?

 

I run Dual Pistols, so I've got a target AE and the ultimate which both have knockback (I believe the Cone also has knockback, but I don't take that). I could slot single target attacks for knockback, but this would take the place of a proc. I also don't have all that much time for single target attacks between Lightning Storm, Freezing Rain and Tornado activations - probably half (or more) of my available activation time is consumed with those three powers.

 

This is roughly what I'm running atm:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Defender

Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Secondary Power Set: Dual Pistols

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Flight

Power Pool: Leadership

Power Pool: Leaping

Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

 

Hero Profile:

Level 1: O2 Boost -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(3), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(3), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(5), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(5), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(7)

Level 1: Pistols -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(7), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(9), AchHee-ResDeb%(9), TchofLadG-%Dam(11), ShlBrk-%Dam(11)

Level 2: Snow Storm -- Slow-I(A)

Level 4: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(13)

Level 6: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(13), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(15), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(15)

Level 8: Freezing Rain -- SprDfnBst-Rchg/Heal%(A), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg(17), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg(17), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21)

Level 10: Swap Ammo

Level 12: Hurricane -- EndRdx-I(A)

Level 14: Hover -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 16: Bullet Rain -- SprVglAss-Rchg/+Absorb(A), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg(21), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), PstBls-Dam%(23), ImpSwf-Dam%(25), FrcFdb-Rechg%(25)

Level 18: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(27)

Level 20: Suppressive Fire -- Lck-%Hold(A), Lck-Acc/Rchg(27), Lck-Rchg/Hold(29), Lck-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(29), Lck-Acc/Hold(31), Lck-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(31)

Level 22: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 26: Tornado -- SlbAll-Dmg/Rchg(A), SlbAll-Dmg/EndRdx(31), TchofLadG-%Dam(33), FrcFdb-Rechg%(33), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(33), ExpStr-Dam%(34)

Level 28: Executioner's Shot -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg(34), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(34), ImpSwf-Dam%(36), TchofLadG-%Dam(36), Apc-Dam%(36)

Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(37), Rct-ResDam%(37), Rct-Def/EndRdx(37)

Level 32: Lightning Storm -- Thn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), GldJvl-Dam%(39), ExpStr-Dam%(40), FrcFdb-Rechg%(40)

Level 35: Piercing Rounds -- SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprVglAss-Dmg/Rchg(40), SprVglAss-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), ImpSwf-Dam%(42), PstBls-Dam%(42), Ann-ResDeb%(43)

Level 38: Hail of Bullets -- Erd-%Dam(A), Erd-Dmg(43), Erd-Dmg/Rchg(43), Arm-Dam%(45), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(45), FrcFdb-Rechg%(45)

Level 41: Charged Armor -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(46), GldArm-3defTpProc(46), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(46)

Level 44: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 47: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 49: Tactics -- EndRdx-I(A)

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)

Level 1: Vigilance

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(48), Prv-Absorb%(48)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(48), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(50)

Level 10: Chemical Ammunition

Level 10: Cryo Ammunition

Level 10: Incendiary Ammunition

Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon

Level 50: Ion Radial Final Judgement

Level 50: Reactive Core Flawless Interface

Level 50: Storm Elemental Radial Superior Ally

Level 50: Ageless Core Epiphany

Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment

------------

 

 

 

 

[Borias]

I love all this Storm Summing talk!

 

I was just in a group doing Mother Mayhem when we got proximity agro from all the mobs up on the nearby ledge. We had two tankers in the group, but no one was really doing anything but beating on the AV, so after a few moments of watching the mobs just stand up there on their high ground aiming their rifles at us, I decided to do what us Stormies do best! I threw out tentacles and start herding them all down to the kill zone. With about 20 seconds of work, the whole area was cleared and I was able to resume my deeps on the AV. Victory was had with fun for everyone!

[oedipus_tex]

Any thoughts about whether Energy/Storm plays better on Corruptor or Defender? I can see advantages for both. I'm playing Corruptor right now, on fence about switching.

[Sir Myshkin]

Got pointed this direction from the Pylon thread, and given the idea of sharing the build since it takes a different direction of certain aspects of play style, I figured posting it here was more relevant.

 

Edit: Wanted to add a mention that the build has Mystic Flight in there under the pretense of sliding Rune of Protection into the build. But I'm rather on the fence about whether I'd personally end up relying on it or not. A two minute down time (to me) translates that I'd likely learn to live without it at all, as I tend to dislike "panic buttons" and would rather have a more diverse plan of action before I'd need to panic in the first place. Likely going to just swap it out for the real flight pool and slide in another LotG 7.5%, possibly restructure one of the other defense powers to drop one for the inclusion of Afterburner (maybe... I'd be left with some kind of throw-away power, maybe even consider tossing Tactics in during teaming).

 

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[Obitus]

Got pointed this direction from the Pylon thread, and given the idea of sharing the build since it takes a different direction of certain aspects of play style, I figured posting it here was more relevant.

 

Thanks for posting your build, Myshkin.  Your posting here also reminded me that I owe Hjarki and Tex a response, so I'll get to those tomorrow if I'm not too swamped.

 

I like your approach.  As you said in the Pylon thread, it's very different from mine, and I think it's fairly novel overall.  I'll offer a few thoughts about your build, most of them pretty minor in the grand scheme.

 

• You may find that you miss having a KB-to-KD IO in Lightning Storm.  LS's KB can add a fair amount of chaos, but then again it also looks more impressive than the KD version, so it's certainly a valid approach.  The KD IO in LS certainly isn't as important as the one in Tornado, and none of this matters against hard targets, anyway.
  
• You reminded me of the Overwhelming Force unique, which may be a better fit than Sudden Acceleration in Tornado, so I definitely appreciate that.
  
• Tornado's an excellent spot for a Forced Feedback proc, as Hjarki's ably argued earlier in the thread.  Slotting it would crowd out your -RES proc though, so of course it's not an unambiguously superior option, depending on your play style.
  
• Ice Blast is better than Ice Bolt, both qualitatively and quantitatively, IMO.  The ideal single-target chain, afaik, is BiB -> Freeze Ray -> Blast, which requires BiB to get down to ~3.03s of recharge, which is very very difficult, but small gaps work too.  It's not like Storm will spend a great deal of its time spamming a single-target attack chain.
  
• Procs are better in longer-recharge powers, so I'd switch the sets in BiB and Freeze Ray.  Your Malice of the Corruptor proc adds 49.7 in average extra damage to FR; it would add an extra ~58.8 in BiB.  A small difference, to be sure, but I'm nitpicking :P
  
• Frost Breath really craves range.  At 44ft it's pretty underwhelming.  I'd consider slotting in some range enhancement, perhaps the whole of a Posi's blast set and swap the three Corruptor ATOs to Freezing Rain.  The added benefit there is that you'll be casting Freezing Rain as often as possible anyway, so you're apt to get more +end procs.  (The end proc is basically guaranteed in Freezing Rain, given its base recharge.  It'll proc a lot in Breath too, of course, but Breath isn't really spammable to quite the same extent that Freezing Rain is.)
  
• And that brings me to the subject of End.  One of the novel things I like about your build is that you really pump survivability stats and then take Ageless Destiny to address Storm's huge End issue.  This leaves you without mez protection (clarion), but with your extra DEF maybe carrying break frees would be a good alternative.  I'll have to give this some thought, as I was more-or-less proceeding from the assumption that I needed to take Conserve Power, based on long experience on the live severs with various Storm toons.  (Cardiac works too, but not slotting a +damage alpha, when Tornado and LS don't benefit from non-slot damage buffs, seems like a crime.)
  
• On the subject of Alphas, Intuition Radial does most of what Musculature does, but it also enhances just about everything else Ice Storm does, besides - slow, hold, defense debuff, range for your frost breath, tohit debuffs for Hurricane and Blizzard.  I don't mean to preach at you here; frankly I hadn't thought of Intuition until the other day myself and it was like a revelation.
  
• Finally, a little musing on the general subject of DEF on these builds:  I found that the Defender version can cap both Ranged and AoE without sacrificing too terribly much.  Given that you have Hurricane, and at least potentially, perma-Hover, a ranged+AoE DEF approach might offer even more practical survivability than a build with Scorpion shield and a high mix of ranged/AoE and resistance bonuses.  Since Defenders get near-equal-to-Corruptor damage when solo, they're definitely a viable and attractive option, more so than I would have initially thought myself.  Hjarki offers a lot of compelling arguments in their favor throughout the thread.
  

 

I very much look forward to hearing of your experiences with Storm.

[Sir Myshkin]

• You may find that you miss having a KB-to-KD IO in Lightning Storm. 
  
• Tornado's an excellent spot for a Forced Feedback proc...
  
• Ice Blast is better than Ice Bolt...
  
• Procs are better in longer-recharge powers... but I'm nitpicking :P
  
• Freezing Rain.  The added benefit there is that you'll be casting Freezing Rain as often as possible anyway, so you're apt to get more +end procs.  (The end proc is basically guaranteed in Freezing Rain, given its base recharge.
  
• On the subject of Alphas, Intuition Radial
  
• Finally, a little musing on the general subject of DEF on these builds.
  

 

• If I had the extra slot, I'd've probably considered doing the KB/KD in Lightning Storm, but I'm willing to trial it without given how tight slots got.
  
• So far I've trialed the FF +Rech on other toons in areas that it was supposed to be "significant," and been underwhelmed. At the moment those short 5/s bursts aren't anything that will significantly improve any one thing across the build (IMO) so I'm not making massive expectations to include it unless convenient anymore.
  
• I have every intention of making this capable of ST performance, but as it stands there's going to be a gap in Bitter Ice Blast. Bolt vs. Blast, there's very little damage difference to them per second at max slotting (~4 pts), and even with Procs I don't see them being dramatically different enough to make me forgive the wrist-flinging animation of Blast (hate the animation, and the alternative isn't any better, why couldn't it just be a left palm-blast... ). As it stands Bolt > FR > Bolt > BIB will theoretically be equal to (or marginally 2-3pts better for base line pending rech variations) Blast > FR > BIB with a gap. Granted there will eventually be Ageless in there, but in this build that final lull of 10/s wont be enough to shave the .3 down enough to make Blast a better option for me.
  
• If I use Mid's as my basic estimator (plugging the set with and without the proc into each power), it's only a 5pt difference. In-Game maybe this reflects as a different potential but... yeah that seems inconsequential to me. Easy swap of the sets though considering, so not a big deal. :)
  
• Freezing Rain and Sleet are identical powers, and I'm going to go out on a limb as assume the Devs just cloned one for the other. Given such, a friend and I did some excessive testing on procs in Sleet trying to see if/how/what would happen with that power given how many procs it can take. We plugged everything into it that we could (KD, -Res, Dam), nothing came back consistent. In the end we both decided that the best that power was ever going to serve in the current environment is its base values. Yes I planned a few specific procs in Ice Storm and Blizzard in hopes that the primary blast version of those powers would behave differently, and my intention was/is to try and get those both tested myself to see whether there is a difference.
  
• I had actually forgotten about Intuition having a Damage boosting component, so definitely swapped that.
  
• Ranged and AoE only represent 30% of the positional damage in the game. Lethal and Smashing represent ~75% of all typed defense, and Energy another ~5%. Of all Incarnate content (where this is most prevalent), nearly all Ranged damage is Energy typed, so having S/L/E at 45% covers 80% of my incoming damage concerns, and gives me an easy pad to eat a t2 purple and get to 59% for Incarnate content. As for the Defender side of that, despite having intentions to be ST capable, I'm likely never to actually solo any content unless for an intentional challenge, so there's absolutely nothing in it for me on going Defender. Although for those wanting earlier access to Storm, or with intention to Solo, it makes sense, but I want my Rains more than I want my Storms :)
  

[Obitus]

[*]If I had the extra slot, I'd've probably considered doing the KB/KD in Lightning Storm, but I'm willing to trial it without given how tight slots got.

[*]So far I've trialed the FF +Rech on other toons in areas that it was supposed to be "significant," and been underwhelmed. At the moment those short 5/s bursts aren't anything that will significantly improve any one thing across the build (IMO) so I'm not making massive expectations to include it unless convenient anymore.

[*]I have every intention of making this capable of ST performance, but as it stands there's going to be a gap in Bitter Ice Blast. Bolt vs. Blast, there's very little damage difference to them per second at max slotting (~4 pts), and ...

[*]If I use Mid's as my basic estimator (plugging the set with and without the proc into each power), it's only a 5pt difference. In-Game maybe this reflects as a different potential but... yeah that seems inconsequential to me. Easy swap of the sets though considering, so not a big deal. :)

[*]Freezing Rain and Sleet are identical powers, and I'm going to go out on a limb as assume the Devs just cloned one for the other. Given such, a friend and I did some excessive testing on procs in Sleet trying to see if/how/what would happen with that power given how many procs it can take. We plugged everything into it that we could (KD, -Res, Dam), nothing came back consistent...

[*]I had actually forgotten about Intuition having a Damage boosting component, so definitely swapped that.

[*]Ranged and AoE only represent 30% of the positional damage in the game. Lethal and Smashing represent ~75% of all typed defense, and Energy another ~5%. Of all Incarnate content (where this is most prevalent), nearly all Ranged damage is Energy typed, so having S/L/E at 45% covers 80% of my incoming damage concerns, and gives me an easy pad to eat a t2 purple and get to 59% for Incarnate content. As for the Defender side of that, despite having intentions to be ST capable, I'm likely never to actually solo any content unless for an intentional challenge, so there's absolutely nothing in it for me on going Defender. Although for those wanting earlier access to Storm, or with intention to Solo, it makes sense, but I want my Rains more than I want my Storms :)

[swapped to numerals to make my response easier to read - Obi]

 

1.  Cool.  Worth trying it the default way to see how you like it.

 

2. Yeah, I'm a little tepid on slotting FF as often as possible too, as you'll see from arguments in this thread.  Still, in Tornado, it's basically guaranteed to proc, and if you have the KB-to-KD IO in it, there's no reason not to cast it as often as possible.  If you cast it every ~20 seconds, then that's (0.9 * 100) * (5 / 20 seconds) = 22.5% average global recharge.  I was convinced to slot it in Tornado based on this reasoning, and based on the fact that my only set in the power (Expedient Reinforcement) takes only four slots.  YMMV, but I got a noticeable little bump out of that slotting change. (On the other hand, I found that removing my purple damage proc, and the associated purple set bonus, from Lightning Storm was a net loss.  This is probably due, in part, to the fact that you can't stack FF procs, and at least some of the time you'll want to chase Tornado directly with LS, so there are diminished returns on slotting FF procs, in practice, unless you feel like micromanaging the powers in question to occur in 5-second intervals.)

 

3.  Blast vs Bolt is a little subjective.  If you don't like Blast's animation, then say no more.  Personally, I found Ice Bolt's per-shot weakness irritating.  I can't tell you how many times I'd cast it at a minion with a sliver of health only to find that it didn't do the job.  So qualitatively, I prefer Blast, all else being equal.  Still, I like your reasoning on the slightly slower attack chain.

 

4.  Mid's doesn't do PPM correctly, which is unfortunate because otherwise it's super convenient for estimating damage output.  But you're right; in this case we're talking about a difference of not quite 10 average damage, not at all a biggie.

 

5. Yeah, offensive (i.e. target-affecting) procs in Sleet/Freezing Rain probably aren't that great, because of the area factor attached to the PPM formula.  But much like Force Feedback, the +End proc in the Corruptor ATO set is a buff to the caster, and since Freezing Rain is a pseudo-pet, buff procs in it don't care about the area.  My Corruptor gets his ~8.5 End back pretty much every cast (even with no targets), which diminishes the net cost of FR by something like two thirds.  You're absolutely right, though, that slots in FR would mostly be for set-mule purposes, and since you're planning on Ageless, the End cost of FR might not concern you, ultimately.

 

6.  Awesome :D

 

7.  I'm sure your estimate of the overall distribution of attack types is accurate, but Ranged and AoE could potentially account for close to 100% of the attacks you'd face on a character using Hurricane and Hover judiciously.  I do hear ya, and I'm not trying to tell you that your approach is wrong; just adding a different perspective.  Since I have what you might call a fetish for perma-Hover on ranged characters, I've come to appreciate the ranged-DEF approach for a number of reasons, most obviously because it allows more freedom in your choice of Epic Pool (and allows layering with an Epic +resist shield).  S/L DEF may be more effective across most of the game's content, but when damage types shift it can get really ugly.  Squishies don't take to average-damage-type modeling as well as sturdier classes, particularly if they don't have mez protection.  In your case, this wouldn't likely be a problem, because you also have your other vectors within a single Luck of soft-capping (or near enough) - so this is really just my rambling for the sake of rambling, not an argument specifically aimed at you.  I can say that my various experiments with a Blaster and S/L(/E) DEF on live were very uneven. 

 

Addendum to #7: Anyway, yeah, I spent a few minutes going over Defender builds, and it wasn't quite as easy as I recalled to soft-cap ranged and AoE.  It was doable, and the build would easily be playable, but my best attempts were forced to drop Breath and at least one of Afterburner, Snow Storm, or Aim.  Still, it's pretty remarkable how well Defenders take to soft-capping.

 

I also got a version of my Corruptor build to work with soft-capped Ranged and AOE DEF.

 

Highlights:

• Soft-capped to Ranged/AoE DEF, 42ish% to F/C/E/N, and 25% to melee/S/L/Psi
  
• ~35% S/L/F/C, ~48% Energy RES without running Tough (should be more or less end-sustainable with Conserve Power cycling)
  
• 81.25% in global recharge before Hasten or FF procs
  
• Picked up the Absorb proc in the default slot of O2 Boost
  
• Kept the Corruptor ATO procs in Bitter Ice Blast and Freezing Rain, the Apocalypse proc in LS, and the FF proc in Tornado
  
• basically the same global +damage of ~30%, and basically the same Hover speed

 

Downsides are that I lost ~20% in global recharge, lost Frost Breath, lost Snow Storm, and I also couldn't find a good way to cram in the Kismet IO, so I lost that.  (Actually I could cram it in, but it doesn't seem worth the trade offs, given the build's many DEF debuffs.)

 

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Kind of amazed that this build works at all, but in practice I'm on the fence.  With capped ranged DEF, perma-Hover, Clarion, and so much soft control, there are very few scenarios where you're really in any danger.  Adding AoE coverage would certainly eliminate what few dangers remain, short of auto-hit powers or unlucky cascade failures, though. 

 

Anyway, sorry for turning this into a novel.  You really got me thinking, thanks.

[Sir Myshkin]

So I felt like chronicling some of this journey with Ice/Storm to see if or when my expectations shift as the character develops. I do technically have some experience with Storm, but it was on a Nin/Storm MM that I got to 32 way back in like 2009 and PL'd the remainder just to get him to 50 and didn't really touch it after that. Given that, my biggest drive at the moment is trying to get back into those last few powers and really get some field work with them.

 

Another big thing that's driving my choice of an Ice/Storm is something I can carry on to MSR's for pets and patches to build V-Merits. Three patch AoE's and two active mindless AoE pets will grant a ton of coverage in that tiny fishbowl. I built up to 16 with two patches and Frost Breath to hit my first MSR to trial what kind of Merit building I could do for a team. Spiked up to 26. Since the team averages merits as a whole, I asked a few party members to keep track where they were, and even with the raid itself feeling a bitt slow on Rikti traffic, the team averaged 1,200, so gives me kind of a base line as I know an AoE light squad will struggle to get 1,000, and as I get more active recharge in the powers themselves, I'll have a pretty good idea whether this is going to get me closer to a consistent (and hopeful) goal of 1,600+. Now that I have Ice Storm I'm going to go out and drops some procs in it, see what sticks and what kind of information I can get back from that power. Just need to find something I can toss a power analyzer on that wont kill me :3

[Hjarki]

3.  Blast vs Bolt is a little subjective.  If you don't like Blast's animation, then say no more.  Personally, I found Ice Bolt's per-shot weakness irritating.  I can't tell you how many times I'd cast it at a minion with a sliver of health only to find that it didn't do the job.  So qualitatively, I prefer Blast, all else being equal.  Still, I like your reasoning on the slightly slower attack chain.

 

On the Defender, there's no real choice. On a Corruptor, I'd argue for Ice Blast.

 

Presumably you want Ice Blast/Bolt with Impeded Swiftness, Gladiator's Javelin and Apocalypse; Bitter Ice Blast with Impeded Swiftness, Gladiator's Javelin and Cloud Senses; Freezing Ray with Unbreakable Constraint (and pick two with options for Smashing, Psionic and Toxic).

 

On Ice Blast, those three procs are +162 damage on a 68 damage attack. Presuming you have 150% damage (or so) and accounting Scourge for an additional 10% damage, that would be ~350 damage per attack or ~190 damage per animation.

 

Ice Bolt slotted the same way would yield +82 damage on a 42 damage attack, which (using same assumptions) would be ~200 damage per attack or ~170 damage per animation.

 

That being said, there is an inherent (and difficult to quantify) advantage for Corruptors in having small, light attacks because they're more likely to Scourge. Not being stuck in animation might also be a decent reason to go Bolt > Blast.

 

5. Yeah, offensive (i.e. target-affecting) procs in Sleet/Freezing Rain probably aren't that great, because of the area factor attached to the PPM formula.  But much like Force Feedback, the +End proc in the Corruptor ATO set is a buff to the caster, and since Freezing Rain is a pseudo-pet, buff procs in it don't care about the area.  My Corruptor gets his ~8.5 End back pretty much every cast (even with no targets), which diminishes the net cost of FR by something like two thirds.  You're absolutely right, though, that slots in FR would mostly be for set-mule purposes, and since you're planning on Ageless, the End cost of FR might not concern you, ultimately.

 

I went with the same approach until I realized I was dedicating 6 slots to a power that, realistically, only needed 2. I'm currently fiddling with Storm/Water and I dumped the 6-set ATO into the Rain. You can do the same thing with Ice.

 

I'm still not sure on the math for proc-on-damage abilities in Rains, but I haven't had much luck with them. I'm playing around with Superior Frozen Blast in Freezing Rain to see if it's worthwhile (I haven't been able to find any information on this particular proc, so it's more a "does this work?" than anything else), but I haven't found any proc-on-damage abilities that are worth slotting in Rains.

 

7.  I'm sure your estimate of the overall distribution of attack types is accurate, but Ranged and AoE could potentially account for close to 100% of the attacks you'd face on a character using Hurricane and Hover judiciously.  I do hear ya, and I'm not trying to tell you that your approach is wrong; just adding a different perspective.  Since I have what you might call a fetish for perma-Hover on ranged characters, I've come to appreciate the ranged-DEF approach for a number of reasons, most obviously because it allows more freedom in your choice of Epic Pool (and allows layering with an Epic +resist shield).  S/L DEF may be more effective across most of the game's content, but when damage types shift it can get really ugly.  Squishies don't take to average-damage-type modeling as well as sturdier classes, particularly if they don't have mez protection.  In your case, this wouldn't likely be a problem, because you also have your other vectors within a single Luck of soft-capping (or near enough) - so this is really just my rambling for the sake of rambling, not an argument specifically aimed at you.  I can say that my various experiments with a Blaster and S/L(/E) DEF on live were very uneven.

 

I tend to agree. I'm basically immune to everything except AE attacks coded as pure AE (Rikti Pylons are an example) and ranged -defense debuffs. Given the combination of staying at range, massive -hit debuffs, knockback and hold, defense failures are mainly an issue of not paying attention.

 

As noted above, I shifted over to Storm/Water - and a lot of the slotting options are similar. I can't open your build (I linked mine complete - it's too complex to data link export and the copy/paste function doesn't work for me), but your description makes it sound like you're not pursuing the course I am (maximizing proc damage).

 

For solo'ing, I think either Leviathan or Electric pool is necessary to keep enemies in the Rain. I'm experimenting with Spectral/Frozen Blast to see if that's enough, but I'm not all that hopeful. For group play, I think embracing the chaos makes for an easier build.

 

Some things you may not have considered for your own build:

• Pacing of the Turtle in Snow Storm. I use a single slot in Snow Storm (which you mentioned you skipped) for E/R/S PotT since that's sufficient to cap Slow, so I might as well get the (minor) additional bonuses.
  
• Explosive Strike in Hurricane. Hurricane doesn't need to be slotted at all to work well. I've played around with 4-slot DWD, but I settled on 3-slot Explosive Strike because the +1.88% Ranged Defense is more valuable to me than the 6.25% recharge.
  
• Tornado slotting. I use 3-piece Soulbound Allegiance and triple procs here and it seems to maximize the value.
  
• Rise of the Phoenix. I use Flame Mastery so I can re-purpose Char into a single target attack (see notes above on how effective Holds are proc-slotting), which isn't something Ice needs to do. However, it also comes with a PBAoE attack that doesn't require you actually go into melee range - and can thus 3-slot Eradication. Besides, it's amusing to slot a self-rez for maximum damage.
  
• Tactics vs. Kismet. It takes roughly the same number of slots to reach the same +hit with Kismet vs. Tactics (at least on a Defender), so might as well give the bonus to the entire team.

 

In terms of the set selection, I've always liked Ice for Corruptors (my main on Live was an Ice Corruptor) due to the double Rains. However, the inability to effectively slot procs in Rains worries me with Ice. With Water, I get the same basic Rain (Whirlpool vs. Ice Storm) but my ultimate can pile on near-guaranteed procs. Since the bulk of the damage doesn't occur until after the procs, Annihilation can be used to ramp up the damage by 20% or so. Geyser is also a bit more time-convenient than Blizzard since it's up every spawn rather than every other spawn. Water Jet is one of the most proc-friendly attacks around since it has a 10 second cooldown, but can be used ~4 times every 10 secs or so without any internal recharge. Whether this is enough to offset the overall poor damage is a coin-flip.

 

I also think the proc-heavy approach yields more damage. As inferred by the numbers at the top, those procs can constitute ~40% of your single target damage even on a Corruptor.

[Hjarki]

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Defender

Primary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Secondary Power Set: Water Blast

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Flight

Power Pool: Leadership

Power Pool: Leaping

Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery

 

Hero Profile:

Level 1: O2 Boost -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), NmnCnv-Heal:50(3), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx:50(3), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg:50(5), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(7)

Level 1: Aqua Bolt -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg:50(7), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(9), ShlBrk-%Dam:30(9), TchofLadG-%Dam:50(11), GldJvl-Dam%:50(11)

Level 2: Snow Storm -- PcnoftheT-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow:50(A)

Level 4: Water Burst -- SprVglAss-Rchg/+Absorb:50(A), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(13), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg:50(13), ImpSwf-Dam%:30(15), PstBls-Dam%:50(15), FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(17)

Level 6: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), LucoftheG-Def:50(23), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(23), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx:50(25)

Level 8: Freezing Rain -- SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(48), RechRdx-I:50(48)

Level 10: Whirlpool -- SprDfnBst-Rchg/Heal%:50(A), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(17), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg:50(19), SprDfnBst-Dmg/Rchg:50(19), SprDfnBst-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(21), SprDfnBst-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(21)

Level 12: Hurricane -- ExpStr-Dmg/KB:20(A), ExpStr-Acc/KB:20(50), ExpStr-Dam%:20(50)

Level 14: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB:50(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx:50(45)

Level 16: Hover -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A)

Level 18: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-Travel:50(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx:50(43)

Level 20: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A)

Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A)

Level 24: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx:50(25), Rct-ResDam%:50(43), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(43)

Level 26: Tornado -- SlbAll-Dmg:50(A), SlbAll-Dmg/Rchg:50(27), SlbAll-Dmg/EndRdx:50(27), TchofLadG-%Dam:50(29), AchHee-ResDeb%:20(29), FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(31)

Level 28: Water Jet -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg:50(31), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(31), ImpSwf-Dam%:30(33), GldJvl-Dam%:50(33), Apc-Dam%:50(33)

Level 30: Tidal Forces -- GssSynFr--Build%:50(A)

Level 32: Lightning Storm -- Thn-Dmg/Rchg:50(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(34), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), GldJvl-Dam%:50(34), ExpStr-Dam%:20(36), FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(36)

Level 35: Char -- Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(A), Thn-Acc/Dmg:50(36), Thn-Dmg/Rchg:50(37), UnbCns-Dam%:50(37), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%:50(37), NrnSht-Dam%:30(39)

Level 38: Geyser -- SprVglAss-Dmg/Rchg:50(A), SprVglAss-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39), SprVglAss-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), PstBls-Dam%:50(40), Ann-ResDeb%:50(40), FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(40)

Level 41: Fire Shield -- GldArm-3defTpProc:50(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(42), UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(42), UnbGrd-ResDam:50(42)

Level 44: Rise of the Phoenix -- Erd-%Dam:30(A), Erd-Dmg:30(45), Erd-Dmg/Rchg:30(45)

Level 47: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit:50(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx:50(48)

Level 49: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), LucoftheG-Def:50(50)

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth:50(A)

Level 1: Vigilance

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End:50(A), Mrc-Rcvry+:40(46)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A), PrfShf-EndMod:50(46), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg:50(46)

Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon

Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement

Level 50: Ageless Core Epiphany

Level 50: Spectral Core Flawless Interface

Level 50: Assault Radial Embodiment

Level 50: Cimeroran Core Superior Ally

------------

[Obitus]

I really like your build, Hjarki. 

 

The way that you slotted Char is actually quite timely, because lately I've been experimenting with a Sentinel build that uses Dominate in a similar fashion (inspired by Nihilii's Sentinel).  Speaking of which, have you considered trying the Psi pool instead of Fire?  The main advantage there is that Dominate has half of Char's recharge - 16s instead of 32s, which is still long enough to max out most procs, but also short enough to make Dom a staple of one's attack chain.  The downside, of course, is that you'd lose Rise of the Phoenix, which is a very useful and fun power.  On the upside, you'd gain World of Confusion, which is a terrible power on its own, but it allows you to slot the purple Confuse set, which is one of the best sets in the game for Ranged DEF builds.

 

Just a thought.  Your build is about as good as it gets; anything I could suggest would be a trade off, not necessarily an improvement.  On the whole I think this thread has been a master class on Storm building.

 

I went with the same approach until I realized I was dedicating 6 slots to a power that, realistically, only needed 2. I'm currently fiddling with Storm/Water and I dumped the 6-set ATO into the Rain. You can do the same thing with Ice.

 

Very true.  To be clear, the only time I six-slotted Freezing Rain with the ATO set was the build in the previous post, which was more-or-less a thought experiment, to see if I could soft-cap AoE and Ranged DEF.  I was genuinely surprised at how little I had to sacrifice to achieve that goal, but I'm still not sure I'm going to play that build myself.  It does require the Fighting Pool, which means I'd lose out on things like Snow Storm, which I've come to regard as very useful.

 

As you point out, practical survivability with just Ranged DEF is pretty damn high, with all of our soft control and whatnot.  Still, capping AoE too would basically turn you into an SR Defender.

 

As noted above, I shifted over to Storm/Water - and a lot of the slotting options are similar. I can't open your build (I linked mine complete - it's too complex to data link export and the copy/paste function doesn't work for me), but your description makes it sound like you're not pursuing the course I am (maximizing proc damage).

 

Yeah, unfortunately version 2.22 of the Hero builder doesn't accept imports.  2.23+ does, though.  The updated version is in this thread.

 

At the moment, I'm mulling two builds.  One is the aforementioned AoE/Ranged DEF build, and the other is a slightly modified version of my current build that drops Frost Breath and picks up some procs in Freeze Ray.  So I guess you could say that I'm a little less proc-focused than you are, but definitely leaning more towards procs than I was before I found this thread.  You deserve a lot of the credit for that.

 

For solo'ing, I think either Leviathan or Electric pool is necessary to keep enemies in the Rain. I'm experimenting with Spectral/Frozen Blast to see if that's enough, but I'm not all that hopeful. For group play, I think embracing the chaos makes for an easier build.

 

I used to think that Storm needs an AoE immobilize, but I've changed my mind of late.  Yes, scatter can be annoying, but even with scatter, my Storm build doesn't solo large groups any slower than, say, the average Scrapper without a taunt aura.  It doesn't help that the Epic AoE immobilize powers available to Defenders/Corruptors aren't all that appealing - slow to animate (with high redraw, in the case of Web Envelope), and with a relatively small area of effect.  School of Sharks is the better of the two, but that requires cone positioning and I'm too lazy.

 

Slotted Snow Storm does a pretty good job of curtailing scatter.  Even when I don't use Snow Storm, usually the mobs who escape will find their way back, whereupon Lightning Storm/Tornado kick their asses.  It sucks to solo things that are KB and/or slow-immune, or flying critters that Snow Storm can't ground; those are more common than I'd like - but on the whole I think I've been judging Storm's AoE killing speed at too high a standard.  The build will never be optimal for farming; I've made peace with that.

 

And of course, teams will often have anti-scatter tools like taunt auras, immobilizes, or even more slows to stack with yours.

 

Actually, I just threw together

comparing the spawn clearing speed of the single-target-focused Storm build (the one without Frost Breath) vs the aforementioned Fire/Bio Sentinel.  I made a bunch of execution errors in the video, but I think it's a decent illustration of the kind of scatter that the average "soloist" build can face.  This game's AI just places a high priority on running away.

 

Superficially, the Sentinel kills the spawns a little faster, but that's misleading because the Sentinel had fewer bosses in his spawns, and one of the spawns he faced was lower level.  If you keep that in mind, the killing speed of both builds in the video is comparable.

 

On the whole, the Storm build is stronger, IMO, at least for my play style, which prizes consistency over peaks.  Although the Sentinel is much more durable in the average situation, it will struggle more in content with heavy enemy buff/debuff, whereas the Corruptor's more proactive mode of defense tends to have fewer hard counters.  (This is why I tend to think that Doms ultimately make the "best" soloers - best in my case referring to consistent strength against all factions.)  And of course the Storm build brings more to most teams.  That particular Storm build recorded 450 DPS against a Pylon.  The Sentinel can do about 350, less if you take away his melee attack (which isn't always practical to use).

 

On the other hand, the Corruptor's single-target DPS advantage is largely theoretical against anything that can run out of LS's range, and the Sentinel's a little more relaxing to play, generally.  And Sentinels do get access to some of the best AoE immobilizes in the game, via Epic pools, so if I wanted to I could spec that toon to elminate scatter almost entirely.

 

That's the beauty of this game; you can make an argument for the strength of pretty much any build.  The question largely boils down to playstyle preference.

 

Some things you may not have considered for your own build:

[snipped for brevity]

 

1. Ha, yeah, Pacing of the Turtle is something I put in Snow Storm just the other day; great minds think alike.

 

2. Explosive Strike in Hurricane's an excellent idea.  Only reason I've avoided that in the past is that Explosive Strike doesn't have any End reduction, but I don't use it very often either, so that's probably manageable.

 

3. I like the Tornado slotting idea.  I've been using the Expedient Reinforcement 4-pc, plus the FF and Sudden Acceleration procs.  How often would you say Achilles Heel procs for you in Tornado?

 

4. Yeah, as above, I'm a big fan of Rise of the Phoenix.

 

5. My only problem with Tactics is End; given that we Stormers have buttloads of -DEF debuffs and auto-hit powers, it's hard for me to justify investing a lot into ToHit, though of course you're right that it benefits the team.

 

Once again I apologize for the extreme length of my post.

[Sir Myshkin]

Storm Chronicles: Entry 2

 

I've hit 38 and picked up Lightning Storm and Tornado now, so I have everything out of Storm I need to start testing and experimenting with slotting. I took a handful of my V-Merits and cashed out some Converters so I could buy every conceivable proc I could excluding the ones that require me to be 50 (also skipped the Winter proc since its a 20 mill investment).

 

Trying to remember all of them off the top of my head: FF +Rech, Entropic +Heal, Explosive +Dam, Posi +Dam, Both -Res procs, and some lowball bids for Impeded Swiftness and Clouded Senses (so didn't have them there, but also didn't want to drop the 4mill a piece on those in the event that what I do have doesn't pan out).

 

Grabbed a pile of T2 Purples and greens, a power analyzer, and started knocking on Pylons.

 

Ice Storm with Posi and -Res: Positron's proc never went off in the combat logs, not even once over about 10ish drops (wasn't accurately counting, just watching the log). Annhiliation went off twice, but only as a blip. They lasted a whole of literally one second, and had I not been watching the Pylon's window next to the logs, I probably would've missed it. This seemed strange to me considering those debuffs are supposed to last 10/s.

 

 

Lightning Storm: Given the variety of procs that can be dropped into this, tried a few to see what impacts it would have. Entropic only triggered on drop. Kind of expected this, but still wanted to try it out. FF +Rech went off also every time I dropped LS, but I'm not really convinced that the 5/s of +100% every 30/s is worth it compared to the success of damage procs in the power. Dropped a damage proc in and the initial hit was always a proc, but I did notice some follow ups that didn't, but it appeared pretty regularly.

 

Tornado: Less options here, but I primarily wanted to know the regularity Achilles would pop up. I'd say it was somewhere between 2/3 to 1/2 the time.

 

 

As things stand at the moment, I know I'm at least in a position to shift around a few slots now that I know that putting anything proc-based in Ice Storm is pointless, and I'm scratching Blizzard off that expectation list as well which opens up another potential change up. Not dumping the powers, but I'm either moving their sets around, or just reducing them and seeing what other bonuses I can pull together. Curious if I could find a spot to putt another 7-13% Ranged defense and have that softcapped on top of S/L/E still.