DP/EA Build Request/Help

[Dosidozi]

Hey Sentinels!

 

I've set upon myself the mission of having a fully specced up lvl 50 of every archetype. Sentinel is my last to do, and I'll admit the one I was least looking forward to. I've tried out a Sentinel a few times in the past and it's never really clicked... until now.

 

Dual Pistols / Energy Aura seems to be a pretty fun combination and fits a concept I had an idea for. Trouble is, I can't find much (or anything) in the way of builds online to either copy or use as a foundation for this character. I am no build master - believe me, I've tried.

 

Can one of you lovely folks help me out by either posting a build or giving me some pointers that I can use to hash out something my self? My character is level 34 now (I get to 50 the old fashioned way) and I'm starting to get more slots than I know what to do with without dipping into inventions. I'm completely lost without your guidance.

 

Any help will be very appreciated ❤️

[stryve]

I've done both DP and EA on Sentinels, though not together.  Both are solid sets, in my opinion.  In general you can make EA quite survivable without heavy investment, leaving more room offensive slotting.

 

I'll try to put together some more specific advice when I get home from work.

[Without_Pause]

I have a DP Blaster I am working on, but I don't know enough right now to cover that side. I did do Fire/ea and have taken EA to 50 four times across all ATs, so I'm far more comfortable there. Repelling Force is there for the LoTG. Same could be said for Link Minds. Granted, you nearly Def cap all types outside of T/P when using it. 

 

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[stryve]

So, to start off I don't consider myself an expert builder.  I do well enough, but there are plenty of folks around who can eke out a lot more from their builds.  In fact, I really got started reading through the old 'Collaborative Project: A guide To Sentinel' thread.  The thread is no longer stickied, but still has lots of great content.  You just have to be aware of what has been deprecated by the changes in Issue 27, Page 5 a couple years ago (mostly any mention of Offensive/Defensive Opportunity and the AT's low base damage modifier; Armor sets came out unchanged).

 

If you want a really in depth look at Dual Pistols, I highly recommend oldskool's post here.  He updated it in May of 2023, so it's fully compliant with the set as it currently exists.

 

For Energy Aura, Sunsette has a great writeup here.  That one was never updated, but the Armor set is unchanged.  I built my fist sentinel using that as a guide (BR/EA), and didn't need to change anything after the Sentinel balance pass Issue 27, Page 5.

 

I do have a few bits of advice from my own experience.  Most folks have their own build style and preferences;  I lean towards set bonuses over procs, and tend to prioritize Global Recharge, even if I often skip taking Hasten.  I also spend a lot of time Exemplared so I prefer builds that work all the way up, not just as a post 50 Incarnate.  For Sentinels specifically, I try to get a seamless three-power single target rotation.  

 

Dual Pistols:

Empty Clips is a cone but does decently in a single target rotation before Executioner's Shot is available, the the End cost is a bit steep.

Suppressive Fire works best when running one of the Swap Ammo toggles.  Using Standard Ammo (no toggles) at level 50, you do two single digit ticks of Lethal Damage, and a Stun.  Cryo and Incendiary Ammo both do around 200 Cold or Fire, while Chemical Ammo does around 100 Toxic.  They also swap the Stun for a Hold.  Here's a screenshot of the Power Details from my DP/WP Sentinel, confirmed in actual combat:

Piercing Rounds is very similar to Piercing Beam from Beam Rifle.  Extremely narrow 3 target cone, essentially a line.  In practice a single target power that occasionally gets 1 or 2 extras as a bonus.  High damage per hit, 9.6% Resistance Debuff, very long cast time.  Piercing Rounds  is actual worse on that last:  2.5 seconds as opposed to 2.33.  I like Piercing Beam but could never get into Piercing Rounds.  Guess that little bit extra Cast Time is just too much.

Hail of Bullets is a PBAoE, which is little annoying since everything else in the set can be used at range.  It does give a short Positional DEF boost, though.

Cryo Ammo gives a 33% Global Range Boost while toggled.  I am uncertain how that interacts with other Global Range Boosts (such as from the ATO sets, or from Bio Armor Offensive Adaptation), but it's still nice to have.

 

Energy Aura:

Like all Sentinel Armor sets, Energy Aura is a little different than on other ATs.  For instance, there is no Stealth built into the set.  However, different does not equal worse.

Kinetic Dampening is equivalent to Dampening Field, an auto RES power.  Trades END Drain RES for Negative, Toxic, and Slow RES.

Energize comes earlier than on other ATs, but is just as good.  Main thing is really the END Discount (60%), so I always try to get the recharge equal to the 30 second duration.

Entropy Shield is your Mez Protection toggle, but also provides DDR, End Drain RES, and a flat 20% Global Recharge Bonus.  Takes no sets, only Recharge and End Reduction enhancements, so slap a single End Reduction SO/IO in and call it good.  

Power Armor is an auto power that increases HP and resistance to all damage types.  Not huge amounts of either, but still well worth the pick.

Repelling Force is another auto power, this time for all Defense.  Again, not much, but still well worth it.

Power Drain is the only power in the set that requires being in melee with enemies.  Power Drain has no +DEF component, unlike Energy Drain from other ATs.  Strictly self +End, foe -End/Recovery.  Situationally useful, more so if your End Recovery can't keep up with expenditure. 

Overload is a typical old-school T9:  huge bonus, crippling fall-off, base recharge long enough to make even 50% uptime difficult.  In conjunction with Power Drain it is possible to manage the fall-off, but it isn't exactly recommended.  Skip or use as a mule for set bonuses/unique IOs.

 

Now, for actual builds, here's one I threw together tonight.  Not sure what your preference for travel powers is, but Combat Jumpin/Super Jump could be swapped for Hover/Fly without issue.  Really, everything past level 26 is a matter of preference, so don't feel obliged to hold to everything exactly.  Also, I usually get my Primary and Secondary out of the way first, but it wouldn't hurt anything if you wanted to shift things to get a travel power in sooner.

 

Pre-50 build:

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Post-50 build:

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[Without_Pause]

I went and used notes from stryve's build and mine. You can seamlessly combine both. Note, mine has better mitigation numbers and uses no purples versus using 17 of them. If someone wanted to make an ever sturdier version and is open to using the Sorcery pool, the option is there. Rotating RoP with the Melee Incarnate makes you practically unkillable as you are walking around with Incarnate levels of soft cap def with capping numerous Res. 

 

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