NEED HELP WITH MY PSYCHIC WILLPOWER SENTINEL LVL 50 BUILD.

[Nimoyy911]

Hello,

 

I just hit lvl 50 with my  Psychic Willpower Sent, and hope to get advice on a proper build.  Any advice will be much appreciated as this is my 1st and only hero so far.

[tidge]

Does you have any restrictions/desires? are there certain power pools that are "must haves" for you? I can sketch out what my baseline would be... but because of the Psi-damage-heavy focus on Psychic Blast it may not look precisely as you envision.

[Nimoyy911]

NOpe.  Just give me what you think would be a very successfull build.

[tidge]

OK! First, try to think of Sentinels as Scrappers that make ranged attacks. some folks think of Sentinels as "Blasters with Armor", but I think that paradigm hurts their performance.

 

I'll run down how I would approach powers, with some suggestions for slotting. I don't use MIDS, so you will want to play around to see what you may want to emphasize.

 

Primary Psychic Blast

 

T1 Mental Blast I'd probably skip this, in favor of

T2 Telekinetic Blast, because it has Smashing damage.

T3 Psychic Scream, I'd take this.

T4 Will Domination, I'm on the fence about this, as I don't think another single-target attack is necessary.

T5 Psychic Focus, I'd eventually want this.

T6 Psionic Strike, I want this.

T7 Psionic Tornado, I want this

T8 Scramble Thoughts, I want this

T9 Psychic Wail, I want this.

 

As for Slotting: For Psi, I always try to get %damage (of a non-Psi type) in the AoE, so Psychic Scream and Psionic Tornado. My typical experience with T9s is that they are better used to hold 5 or 6 slots of a single set. My typical franken-slotting for a (PB)AoE attack is at least 2 pieces of Accuracy/Endurance (or Accuracy/Damage/Endurance, because Accuracy/Endurance is rare) boosted to 50+5 (or equivalent, like Superior Winter) and no more than 4 %damage pieces. If the endurance cost isn't too bad and the base echarge is faster than 12 seconds I might just single slot Accuracy at 50+5 and 3 %damage. There is no substitution for testing, unslotters help with testing.

 

Sidebar: I have found that if a character is regularly using three AoE ranged attacks as part of an attack chain, it can be useful to include the Annihilation %-Res in each of them. The duration of the -Resistance is short, but it gets extended upon each application. Mileage varies here... because the damage type is so heavily Psi, it is probably better in the long run to use %damage (of a non-Psi type)  instead. I don't bother with %+Recharge pieces, we'll get a more steady and perfectly adequate global Recharge value through slotting.

 

My personal opinion about the Sentinel ATOs is that they are worth more 6-slotted than they are franken-slotted.  I'd put one of them in Telekinetic Blast, and then decide which other power wasn't taking a Purple set. It would probably be Psionic Strike, because Scramble Thoughts can take Apocalypse and Psychic Wail can take Armageddon. Note that those two Purple sets (Apocalypse, Armageddon) offer a 6-slot bonus to boost Psi/Toxic defenses/resistances significantly. I always consider 6-slotting those on Sentinels, because those can be annoying holes in Sentinels. This is something to look at IMO.

 

Psychic Focus is worth planning to try to 6-slot with the Gaussian's set, but can be pared back to 2-slots (%Buildup and an IO Recharge 50+5) if you need the slots elsewhere.

 

Secondary: Willpower <- this is an excellent set with many options. What follows is me 'shooting from the hip' as I don't have it on a Sentinel. There are certain sets (with bonuses) I really like... so I'm going to list them but with a caveat: It is important to take a look at the values being boosted in a power (e.g. Resistances, Defenses, Healing) as well as Endurance costs (if any) to make the optimal choice on which sets go where, as well as which pieces are best (i.e. Auto powers don't need Endurance reduction).

 

I honestly can't recall if the +10000% KB resistance eliminates FREEM! (20 points of KB, I'm going to assume it does. If it doesn't (or if the cancel-on-stun is affecting you), then you want to add an additional "more than 10" points of KB protection. 3 can come from Gladiator's Armor (3 pieces), 4 can come from Steadfast Protection, 4 from Karma, and 4 from Blessing of the Zephyr.

 

T1 High Pain Tolerance (auto): I would probably 1-slot this with Steadfast Protection (Res/Def) If another slot is available, it might be worthwhile to add a Health IO at 50+5. Because the resistance is to all damage, a resistance piece at 50+5 isn't a bad option here, but the extra resistance will be smallish. it depends on how the final profile looks.

T2 Mind Over Body: Minimally I would 3-slot with Gladiator's Armor, including the global) to boost Resistance (use 50+5). 3 pieces gets +3 points of KB protection.

T3 Fast Healing: This is an auto power that offers an interesting set of choices. Minimally, it should have 2x 50+5 Healing, but 5x Panacea is what I would plan for.

T4 Indomitable Will: As the earliest toggle you will always have on, this is a good place for Kismet +ToHit. Add a LotG Def/Recharge.  I'd probably add the Shield Wall global and Shield Wall Defense (or Defense/Endurance) at 50+5 here.

T5 Up to the Challenge: 6x Preventive Medicine. It is a good set and there is no better power for it in this plan, unless you want to boost the Panacea set and swap them, but I like the Panacea Global to be in an auto power.

T6 Quick Recovery: 2x Power Transfer (EndMod and the Global %Heal) because 2xPerformance Shifter is in Stamina.

T7 Heightened Senses: LotG Def/recharge, add 2 more slots to boost Defense and Endurance Reduction (I'd use attuned LotG to get the Health bonus for sentinels)

T8 Resurgence: Not strictly needed, but I rather like having a self-rez power because it means I don't have to sweat having "soft cap" defenses. If taken, a single 50+5 IO recharge is fine.

T9 Strength of Will: I'd only take this if I needed a power to mule a resistance piece. I generally don't mind these sorts of T9s on sentinels, but this one is pretty mediocre.

 

I'd also try to have 4x Unbreakable Guard slotted somewhere, for +HP and Melee Defense.

 

For pool powers, my #1 recommendation is:

 

Force of Will

Weaken Resolve: I slot with either Accuracy 50+5 or a Hami-O Lysosome. Could add the Achille's Heel %-Resistance I suppose this might help with the Psi damage

Mighty Leap: I Plan for 3xBlessing of the Zephyr, but otherwise a single slot is fine.

Wall of Force: This will be your third AoE cone. You won't need it for an attack chain, but you probably will want another AoE for the Sentinel. Follow 6-slot advice from above.

Unleash Potential: 6x Reactive Defenses, if that isn't used elsewhere. This isn't a bad power to frankenslot: 3xShield Wall (Global, Defense, Def/Recharge), LotG (Global), and Healing/Recharge. You absolutely want the Scaling Resistance piece.

 

I'd plan on the build using pool powers to get up to 5x LotG Global Recharge, but otherwise I don't think the build needs more. I personally don't like build that heavily rely on powers taken after level 40, so I will usually only go into Patron/Epic for thematic reasons or mules.

 

Another easy choice is Combat Jumping, but I want Wall of Force as early as possible (when I want it), so taking Combat Jumping early doesn't usually work with that idea. Don't sleep on a power like Infiltration being used as a mule for Slow Resistances. I almost never take Hasten.

[Nimoyy911]

Thank you very much for the advice.  I will most likely follow it to a tee.  One question though   What do you mean by the trems " MULE" and "FREEM" ?

[tidge]

FREEM! is a 20-point Knockback Attack that happens on 5% of Council hits. It can disrupt a player's flow, so if it is straightforward to get more than 20 points, I go for it. Willpower has a 10-point toggle, but that same toggle offer large KB resistance as well, so the extra KB protection from FREEM! may not be needed, or wouldn't be worth chasing.

 

A Mule power is one that can take a useful global piece, even if the power is never used. Defense powers are probably the most common mules for Luck-of-the-Gambler Global Recharge.