Fire/Dark/Ice Corruptor.. need help!

[blaythesteuer]

Hey guys,

 

I tried to build this from the ground up as an exercise in learning. This character is my main, and I am ready to have my build evaluated and improved as I am sure there are some blind spots here. I also have an absolute load of merits on this character that I would like to use to make it better.

 

I am really liking what Ice Mastery is bringing to the table here with the Build Up, Hoarfrost, and Ice Elemental. I would like to keep those, but I am open to arguments against them. It's fun having the Dark Servant and Ice Elemental running about.. it gives a bit of different flavor to the build.

 

I know I am just short of the defense softcap, but I figured that all my -tohit from Dark Miasma would help there.

 

Thank you for your time!

 

Nekhbet - Corruptor (Fire Blast).mbd

[Wimbochismo]

Since you're learning I'll try to explain as much as I can so you can fiddle with it. The first thing I'll note is that it's entirely possible to increase ranged def even more without modifying other totals too much. Ranged is a bit stronger than s/l. Or you could instead increase slow resistance by picking 2 or 3 slots out for Winter sets. 

 

• Hoarfrost isn't going to be perma even if you fight for it. That makes the +hp portion variable in uptime. It's best use is as an emergency heal. For those reason's I don't feel it deserves a whole set, more like 1 or 2 slots for heal and recharge. Honestly with Twilight Grasp you could even drop it for Evasive Maneuvers and an easy LotG - you currently have 4 so you're missing 1.
• Build Up only needs 1 recharge slot. It may have niche uses but I don't think I've ever intentionally picked up the increased perception unique.
• Proccing out Howling Twilight is more of an - if you have the slots to spare kinda deal. Right now some of your attacks are underslotted so you need em elsewhere. You also want HT up more often both as a rez and -regen debuff. I usually run with 1 recharge.
• Take 1 slot out of Fly, it's kind of overkill unless you're going after aoe def.
• Darkest Night I usually just run with 1 end reduction. I mainly want it for the -dmg on particularly damaging targets. You can kinda view -dmg debuff as a +res party buff which cannot be modified. Fearsome Stare is my go-to -tohit debuff. But you can also keep the slotting and stack the -tohit together.

This should free you up to make some changes:

• Switch Touch of the Nictus set in Twilight Grasp for Panacea 5 set and an accuracy IO. Same slots better bonuses.
• If you +5 your IO's by pressing + on numpad when selecting the IO, you are currently at perma Hasten.
• Shadow Fall needs a full 6 slots. I usually do 3 LotG for defense and 3 of a resist set.
• Fire Blast could use 3 more slots. Could do Thunderstrike for ranged or a winter set. Possibly similar with Rain of Fire and Artillery.
• Place the Kismet accuracy unique in Hover.
• Might want to switch some the of the flat def LotG's in toggles to def/end.
• If you're willing to give up some procs, you could finish some of the Cloud Senses or Expedient Reinforcement sets for easy big ranged def.

That should give you some wiggle room to try out a few different things.

[Glacier Peak]

2 hours ago, Wimbochismo said:

Hoarfrost isn't going to be perma even if you fight for it. That makes the +hp portion variable in uptime. It's best use is as an emergency heal. For those reason's I don't feel it deserves a whole set, more like 1 or 2 slots for heal and recharge. Honestly with Twilight Grasp you could even drop it for Evasive Maneuvers and an easy LotG - you currently have 4 so you're missing 1.

I'd agree with all said.

 

2 hours ago, Wimbochismo said:

Build Up only needs 1 recharge slot. It may have niche uses but I don't think I've ever intentionally picked up the increased perception unique.

This version of Build Up can take 100% enhanced recharge (it's base recharge is 180 seconds) and will still proc 90% chance on Gaussians Chance for Build Up. If additional burst damage is being sought, this will help. Agree with the perception unique though, it may have been a miss select.

[blaythesteuer]

Wow! Thank you guys.

 

@Wimbochismo I have reworked the build based on your advise. I have dropped Hoarfrost as a glorified inspiration sounds... less cool to me. I now have Evasive Maneuvers as you recommended. I also love that Twilight Grasp slotting, I would have NEVER thought to try that. Plus the extra endurance proc in there will be nice I am sure!

 

I have 6 slotted Fire Blast now. I am interested in the 3 slotted Decimation to go with the 3 slotted ATO. This makes sense in my head as the random extra build up procs will probably be nice? Maybe I am undervaluing the 2% ranged defense I would get with the recommended Thunderstrike 3 slotting.

 

What are your thoughts on using 3 Annihilations in Rain Of Fire with the 3 ATOs? I know that pseudo pets do not proc super well, but the set bonuses looked good and I was running in to enhancement diversification limits big time with the Artillery set. Maybe again I am undervaluing 0.9% ranged defense.. but stacking this mildly inconsistent res debuff with Tar Patch sounds intriguing..

 

As for 6 slotting Shadows Fall... enhancing the resistance given that it is only Energy and Negative energy feels like a big slot tax. Am I missing something here? Or is that more valuable than I would initially think. I do love that power though, and I don't want to under-utilize it!

 

Quote

This version of Build Up can take 100% enhanced recharge (it's base recharge is 180 seconds) and will still proc 90% chance on Gaussians Chance for Build Up. If additional burst damage is being sought, this will help. Agree with the perception unique though, it may have been a miss select.

haha the perception unique was not a miselect.. it was definitely an uneducated-select though! And are you saying Gaussians should be here instead of in Aim?

Maybe it is user error, but +5ing IOs feels really inconsistent! I am struggling to make it do it when I want to haha.

 

Reading back over this.. it seems I am basically considering trading like 3% ranged defense total for more flashy enhancements. I certainly don't want to be squishy and dead all the time! Thank you guys for the guidance 🙂

[Wimbochismo]

15 minutes ago, blaythesteuer said:

Wow! Thank you guys.

 

@Wimbochismo I have reworked the build based on your advise. I have dropped Hoarfrost as a glorified inspiration sounds... less cool to me. I now have Evasive Maneuvers as you recommended. I also love that Twilight Grasp slotting, I would have NEVER thought to try that. Plus the extra endurance proc in there will be nice I am sure!

 

I have 6 slotted Fire Blast now. I am interested in the 3 slotted Decimation to go with the 3 slotted ATO. This makes sense in my head as the random extra build up procs will probably be nice? Maybe I am undervaluing the 2% ranged defense I would get with the recommended Thunderstrike 3 slotting.

 

What are your thoughts on using 3 Annihilations in Rain Of Fire with the 3 ATOs? I know that pseudo pets do not proc super well, but the set bonuses looked good and I was running in to enhancement diversification limits big time with the Artillery set. Maybe again I am undervaluing 0.9% ranged defense.. but stacking this mildly inconsistent res debuff with Tar Patch sounds intriguing..

 

As for 6 slotting Shadows Fall... enhancing the resistance given that it is only Energy and Negative energy feels like a big slot tax. Am I missing something here? Or is that more valuable than I would initially think. I do love that power though, and I don't want to under-utilize it!

 

haha the perception unique was not a miselect.. it was definitely an uneducated-select though! And are you saying Gaussians should be here instead of in Aim?

Maybe it is user error, but +5ing IOs feels really inconsistent! I am struggling to make it do it when I want to haha.

 

Reading back over this.. it seems I am basically considering trading like 3% ranged defense total for more flashy enhancements. I certainly don't want to be squishy and dead all the time! Thank you guys for the guidance 🙂

 

I'm running on melatonin but I'll try to give a quick response.

 

Don't put the Panacea endurance proc in a click power, it's best in an always on power like Health.

 

Decimation proc is almost never a good idea, especially in a power with a 4s recharge like Fire Blast. It just doesn't work out great.

 

Yup the 3 Annihilations could be good, you could drop it to 2 - that proc is usually pretty valuable even in a pseudopet.

 

It's more about stacking and accumulating the extra %'s of ranged def if you wanted to go that route. The 1.25 from Thunder, but then add 1 slot to Fearsome Stare for 3.75 from Cloud and you went from 30 to 35 ranged def total.

 

Shadow Fall is giving 15% energy/neg/psi resist, slotted its going 20+ that's pretty huge. Especially because they are "rare" resists, something like s/l is easy to get with Tough. The defense it gives is good enough to be slotted for as well.

[Uun]

I don't disagree with anything above, but do have a few more thoughts.

• Fearsome Stare needs more accuracy. I generally don't slot %dmg procs in it and focus on the debuff (which doesn't work if it doesn't hit). 
• I may be in the minority, but I don't bother taking Tough/Weave with Dark Miasma. I run with about 20% defense and just lean into the -tohit from Fearsome Stare, Darkest Night and Dark Servant. If you team, consider taking Leadership instead. You can slot the Steadfast Protection and Gladiator's Armor +def uniques in Shadow Fall or Frozen Armor. 
• I haven't tried Ice Elemental, but I would consider swapping it for Fire Breath. I know it gets a lot of hate because of the long animation time, but I like stacking it with RoF and Fire Ball, particularly if you've used RoF on top of Tar Patch (stacked slows).

Edited September 30 by Uun
typo

[blaythesteuer]

13 hours ago, Wimbochismo said:

Don't put the Panacea endurance proc in a click power, it's best in an always on power like Health.

 

Yup the 3 Annihilations could be good, you could drop it to 2 - that proc is usually pretty valuable even in a pseudopet.

 

Ahhh I put Touch Of The Nictus in because I can't read, so I meant the Nictus proc there. Panacea makes more sense for sure lmao. I will probably slot Nictus for now because it is so much cheaper, and then upgrade if desired. As for Rain of Fire, are you saying 5 slot it instead of 6 slot it?

 

14 hours ago, Wimbochismo said:

Decimation proc is almost never a good idea, especially in a power with a 4s recharge like Fire Blast. It just doesn't work out great.

 

Sad!!! It seemed so fun haha

 

3 hours ago, Uun said:

I don't disagree with anything above, but do have a few more thoughts.

• Fearsome Stare needs more accuracy. I generally don't slot %dmg procs in it and focus on the debuff (which doesn't work if it doesn't hit). 
• I may be in the minority, but I don't bother taking Tough/Weave with Dark Miasma. I run with about 20% defense and just lean into the -tohit from Fearsome Stare, Darkest Night and Dark Servant. If you team, consider taking Leadership instead. You can slot the Steadfast Protection and Gladiator's Armor +def uniques in Shadow Fall or Frozen Armor. 
• I haven't tried Ice Elemental, but I would consider swapping it for Fire Breath. I know it gets a lot of hate because of the long animation time, but I like stacking it with RoF and Fire Ball, particularly if you've used RoF on top of Tar Patch (stacked slows).

How much Accuracy would you say is needed for Fearsome Stare to work well? I do love that power.

 

I leveled using Fire Breath and it really didn't feel great to use. I know Annihilation proc works well in it, but as of now I will eschew it.

 

Thank you guys so much!

[Uun]

2 hours ago, blaythesteuer said:

How much Accuracy would you say is needed for Fearsome Stare to work well? I do love that power.

You have a base tohit chance of 48% against +3 opponents. For powers with 1.0 accuracy (like Fearsome Stare), I generally slot at least 40% in accuracy enhancements (on top of set bonuses). Cloud Senses is a lvl 30 set (which provides lower enhancement values) and you only have accuracy enhanced by 21.75%. If you swapped the Glimpse of the Abyss %dmg proc for Cloud Senses acc/rech, you would get up to 43.5%. Also recommend that you slot the Kismet +acc proc in one of your defense powers.

[Wimbochismo]

3 hours ago, blaythesteuer said:

As for Rain of Fire, are you saying 5 slot it instead of 6 slot it?

 

Yup, if you pick up Annihilation for the proc. The 3 piece set isn't anything amazing unless you need more res.

 

All the purple and pvp sets you can go with orange equivalents - Apocalypse for Decimation (without the proc), Armageddon for Obliteration. It saves money till you can afford em.

 

I'll also say I do have a bias for ranged defense. It's something easy to build towards that new players can cut their teeth on and is forgiving in gameplay. But you definitely have wiggle room in terms of building out a character here. I don't know how the -tohit debuffs stack up on AV's vs Bosses vs Lieut vs Minion, but theoretically whatever -tohit you apply from Fearsome Stare and Darkest Night is like giving yourself +def. You have to be diligent in applying them and have good battlefield awareness for what isn't debuffed, though. You can then drop defense and build out other tools like slow resistance. This will give you more build flexibility to try other things, but I'd categorize this approach more under "advanced building and gameplay interactions."

[blaythesteuer]

Hey yall,

 

Thanks for all the advice. This is where the build is at now, and unless there is anything else yall come up with I will get to building this in game. The only part I was really torn on was whether to take slots from Darkest Night (and just end redux IO it) or not. But the 7% extra debuff maybe will help? It is hard for me to tell due to lack of experience 😀

 

Again! Thanks so much. I learned a lot.

Nekhbet - Corruptor (Fire Blast) - Updated.mbd

[Uun]

3 hours ago, blaythesteuer said:

Thanks for all the advice. This is where the build is at now, and unless there is anything else yall come up with I will get to building this in game. The only part I was really torn on was whether to take slots from Darkest Night (and just end redux IO it) or not. But the 7% extra debuff maybe will help? It is hard for me to tell due to lack of experience 😀

Personally, I feel like the additional 7% is meaningful, but you could drop the chance of recharge slow proc.

[Wimbochismo]

7 hours ago, blaythesteuer said:

Hey yall,

 

Thanks for all the advice. This is where the build is at now, and unless there is anything else yall come up with I will get to building this in game. The only part I was really torn on was whether to take slots from Darkest Night (and just end redux IO it) or not. But the 7% extra debuff maybe will help? It is hard for me to tell due to lack of experience 😀

 

Again! Thanks so much. I learned a lot.

Nekhbet - Corruptor (Fire Blast) - Updated.mbd 41.83 kB · 1 download

 

I agree with @Uun. With the stats you're currently sitting at and overall bonuses it seems good to keep it. Maybe switch the slow proc for rech/end if you run it often.

 

Your endurance management may be sliiightly off even without Darkest Night running. Since you're already over perma Hasten at 117.8/120, the recharge from the Panacea 5 set in Twilight Grasp we were talking about is probably overkill. Keep the Theft 5 set for endurance proc or the Nictus 5 set for dmg proc. Drop the 6th accuracy slot and move it to Health for the Numina's +regen/recovery.

 

My personal preference is to toggle on all of my "in battle" powers sans Evasive/Fly/Sprint/Darkest Night bc I toggle them on and off between enemy packs. I try to get around 1.80-1.90/s net gain. Right now you're at 1.65 and the above should bump you to 1.84.

 

Switch the Annihilation acc/dmg/end in Rain of Fire to acc/dmg/rech to push it further.

 

Overall with the 40 s/l def and 31.5 ranged, that should mitigate most incoming dmg before debuffs are applied. If you start getting hit from a rando you could pop a purple inspiration which should get you close to ranged cap and then you can maintain range for a hot minute.

 

Looks really solid!

Edited October 2 by Wimbochismo