Proc Bombing for Defenders

[MonteCarla]

I know I'm a year or two late to the party at least, and talking about what some see as a despised flavor-of-the-month, but I've decided to try and build a super-proc-heavy Defender instead of focusing on set bonuses for recharge and defence.

The mission is this - go without set bonuses from my attacks like I usually do, and stuff them all with damage procs. Rely on set bonuses for accuracy and global recharge to make me a viable Offender.
(And as usual, I'm focussing on the levelling journey to 50 over the end-game.)

 

I chose Force Fields/Radiation Blast.
Why that?

 

Force Fields gives me slot-cheap global recharge (LotG uniques) and accuracy bonuses (4 slots of Luck of the Gambler) and decent -Res debuffs these days from Respulsion Bolt and Force Bomb. And there's bound to be somewhere to stick the Kismet +To Hit unique too.

Radiation Blast allows me to stuff the extra Lady Grey and Shield Breaker damage procs into all my attacks, as well as providing -Def to help with hitting the targets with my proc-stuffed, acc-light abilities. 
(Ice Blast is similar with Ice Mistral and Impeding Slowness, but Rad Blast has long recharges on the AoEs, which is a good thing in this case.)
I can also look at slotting Achilles Heel proc for some extra -Res debuff with Rad Blast.

 

I'd like to add in the Defender Archetype IOs. Defender's Bastion should go in a power where the heal will trigger reliably, and Vigilant Assault is getting split in two for the Recharge bonuses. 

So how does this jigsaw piece fit?
 

I made a spreadsheet of all the attacks and calculated their Area factor according to the equations here. I wanted to see how a Damage IO compared with a damage proc's average damage (assuming no recharge enhancement) in each case.
https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Procs_Per_Minute

 

The table below shows the chance of a standard 3.5PPM proc going off in the power with no recharge slotting, and compares the extra damage from slotting a damage IO vs the average damage from the proc IO, to give a "Proc Factor" ie how much more damage the proc does on average compared to a damage SO.
 

Power	Rate	Base Dam	Damage IO	Proc Dam	Proc Factor	#procs
X-Ray Vision	29.7%	36	12.6	21.1	1.66	3 (-Defx2, Glad Jav)
Cosmic Burst	70%	76	26.8	49.7	1.8	3 (-Defx2, Glad Jav)
P Volley (snipe)	78.7%	144	50.4	55.9	1.1	4 (-Defx2, GJ, Manti)
P Volley (quick)	78.7%	82	28.7	55.9	1.9
Irradiate	30%	32.4	11.3	21.7	1.9	5 (-Defx2, MAoEx3)
Electron Haze	49%	48.8	17.1	35.2	2.06	6 (-Defx2, RAoEx3, KB)
Neutron Bomb	31.6%	32.5	11.3	22.4	1.97	5 (-Defx2), RAoE x3)
Atomic Blast*	90%	144	50.4	66.0	1.29	5 (-Defx2, MAoEx3)
Force Bomb	56%	21	7	40	5.5	3 (KB, RAoEx2), and FF:+Rech

 

*The proc chance for Atomic Blast stays the same even with max recharge slotting, and having a nuke which also applies a Hold up as often as possible is a good thing!

-Def: Touch of Lady Grey (negative), Shield Breaker (lethal)

MAoE (Melee AoE): Scirocco's Dervish (lethal) Eradication (energy), Obliteration (smashing)

RAoE (Ranged AoE): Positron's Blast (energy), Bombardment (fire), Javelin Volley (lethal)

Electron Haze is a real winner, with each proc being equivalent to 2 damage IO's, so its effectively 12-slotted for damage! That's still using Defender base numbers, but it should do around 260 damage on average at level 50, so half an even-con minion health bar?

 

There are also up to 2 potential -Res procs we can slot in .
Achilles Heel with go in any attack (chance for 20% -Res debuff equal to the damage proc chances) and same for Fury of the Gladiator in MAoE attacks and Annihilation in RAoE attacks. Any of these can only apply once across the entire team, so our best bet is probably putting them in the  AoE's where there is space, and leaving it at that.
 

Global Recharge:
I'll be accumulating some decent global recharge through:
- 5 Luck of the Gambler uniques (37.5%)
- Two three-sets of Vigilant Assault (12.5%)
- Defender's Bastion (8.75%)
- P2W buffs (15%)
- Base Empowerment (20%)
- Hasten
- The Force Feedback +Rech proc is very tempting for Electron Haze and Force Bomb. I'm going just Force Bomb, since Electron Haze can be a 6 damage proc monster, and that's the primary mission here!

 

Global Accuracy and To Hit:
- Kismet +To Hit
- +9% Accuracy for 4 pieces of LotG (4 times in Bubbles, Dispersion and Manouvers)
- +11% from Defender's Bastion

- Tactics

- Aim

 

Defence:
- 16% from Dispersion Bubble
- 5.5% from Manouvers
- 5% from P2W buffs
- Kinetic Damper temp power as required for heavy S/L enemies
- 3.75% Ranged in Defender's Bastion
Around 30% base, close enough to being 1 small luck (or the Kinetic Damper) from the cap

I've chosen Proton Volley to forego the procs and hold the Defender's Bastion Set, because when used as an opener in snipe mode, the damage isn't that different between slotting and using damage procs.

The three part Vigilant Assaults went into Cosmic Burst (pieces that don't boost recharge) and Atomic Blast (pieces that do boost Recharge). 

Here's where I'm at at level 39, with much of the mission statement working.

 

 

Conclusions:
- It's been very expensive. I deal with 200 million inf emails, and had to use two of these to build this character.
- I don't feel like a completely broken damage monster by any means, but I'm quite viable, and soloing and teaming decently within my usual regime. (+2 missions and Task Forces). I still need to get the -Res procs in before really calling this though.

- I'm leaning on the P2W Recovery Serum when I don't have an end-boosting teammate. But I can live with that. 🙂

- Overall 6 or 7/10 for a fun experiment

 

(I'm keeping an Acc slotting in Irradiate for now as a source of reliable -Def to open with. Same with Neutron Bomb?)

 

Purple procs proc more often (4.5ppm over 3.5ppm) for more damage (107 over 71), so do 1.93 times the damage of the basic ones I used here. If I hit 50 and want to keep going, I can basically add them to Cosmic Burst and Irradiate maybe?

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 03:59 AM by MonteCarla
Fixed Electron Haze proc damage in table

[Carnifax]

One thing I'd suggest is getting Forced Feedbacks into Force Bomb and Electron Haze. You'll constantly be buffing yourself with little chunks of 100% recharge when lobbing them out. 

 

Really handy for getting your nuke back up. 

[Auroxis]

Looks like you're on the right path! Just keep in mind that while Proccing your attack chain is important, it's also important to get enough set bonuses in your build for near-perma hasten and 95% accuracy against +3 mobs and enough endurance sustain (one of the issues with FF). So you don't have to proc every attack, just the ones you intend to regularly use (t1 "must-picks" are usually a good place to use as a set mule).

 

Radiation Blast's main issue is the lack of strong ST DPS options. What I suggest in that instance is getting help from your Epic pool and/or Ancillary power pool. Fire Mastery gets you two good proccable ST attacks in Char and Greater Fire Sword, while other pools offer a good ST hold to use with some other attractive options. Psy mastery has a short animation high accuracy hold, Soul Mastery has power boost for better force fields and spirit ward, though the hold has a long animation. As for power pools, defenders can go for procced Weaken Resolve, though that isn't a great option for Rad/ as that has enough access to Achilles' already.

[MoonSheep]

hey fellow proc bomber, here's some thoughts as someone who's recently revamped their poison/fire defender after doing a lot of looking into numbers and playing around on beta to be even more proccy

 

Cosmic Burst: this hasn't got much going for it. 10s recharge and a 2.07s cast time. it's a candidate to skip and will explain why..

Electron Haze: looks cool but i'd live without it

Neutron Bomb: add an extra slot for bombardment chance for fire damage, a fifth damage proc - woo

 

Irridiate: its base recharge of 20 seconds and wide AoE makes it one of the best powers in the set, i would 6 slot it and have:

lvl 50+5 acc IO

4 dmg procs

1 lady grey -res

i would also consider having both the lady grey -res and the fury of the gladiator -res, i don't know if they stack though, would need to check on the beta server

 

Proton Volley: i think this will be one of your primary ST damage dealing attacks. its base recharge isn't spectacular for procs, but it's a better than a kick in the shins:

Apoc Dam

Apoc Proc

3 other dmg procss

50+5 accuracy

 

Atomic Blast: this follows a similar pattern to how i do most of my longer recharging powers

Arma Dam

Arma Dam/Rech

Arma dmg proc

3 other dmg procs

 

completing the attack chain.. this is where it's quite exciting. i'm a huge fan of power boost and it's almost criminal to not take it on a forcefield defender, but.. considering that you can stack shields between missions and the values on a defender along with dispersion bubble and manuvers means you'll be giving around +40% def anyway

 

fire mastery on defenders is now the primary pick for proccing after a lot of testing recently during my poison revamp

 

Char: has a 1s animation time and a base recharge of 24s, it's proc heaven - 5 procs!

Unbreakable purple dmg proc

4 other dmg procs

50+5 acc

 

Greater fire sword: many of the fantastic guides haven't been updated to reflect that GFS on defenders is now a very good power. cast time has been reduced to 1.37s, base recharge of 24 and base damage of 91. it's a respectable damage dealer and an amazing proc candidate. GFS, char and quick snipe proton volley will give you a fantastic ST attack chain

Hecatomb Dmg Proc

3 other dmg procs

Hecatomb Dam

Hami Acc/Dam

 

goodluck with the build and alt, looks like it'll be great fun

 

[shortguy on indom]

• FOR ANY DEFENDER PROC-BOMBER WOULD ADD THE FOLLOWING TO OVERCOME THE ABISMAL 0.55 DAMAGE FACTOR OF THIS AT.
• UNRELENTING
• AIM
• POWER BUILD UP
• PERMA HASTEN
• LEADERSHIP ASSAULT
• AS MUCH 'GLOBAL' RECHARGE AS YOU CAN GET

 

Edited Friday at 10:08 PM by shortguy on indom
forgo assault and added 'global'

[tidge]

Drive by observation on Force Fields for "Offenders": I like Force Fields because it is easy to delay/skip certain primary powers in order to lean hard(er) into the secondary attacks.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Radiation Blast, but I love my Force Field/Beam Rifle Defender.

 

Even with the HC changes to Force Bomb... I still don't like it. If you are trying to "proc-bomb" I absolutely would include a KB->KD piece in Force Bomb, otherwise the enemies get scattered minimizing the likelihood of another AoE attack's chances for %damage. I see why it gets a lot of love, but my dislike for Force Bomb has subtle motivations:

• I don't like the animation(s)
• Even though I opened this post with "skip/delay" FF primary powers, I mostly delay, but this one is a power I skip.
• If I really want an AoE %damage power that does "knock" for %damage, I'll probably lean into the Force of Will pool to get the cone Wall of Force earlier, even with the tradeoffs.

[MonteCarla]

Thanks for the advice, @MoonSheep
I've got my various -Res procs slotted now. Should have done that earlier!
I did take a look at Fire Mastery early on, but eventually settled on Energy Mastery for the Power Boosted bubbles and Total Focus.
TF has a 40 second recharge, which could be brought down considerably without lowering the proc rate, and an awfully slow animation. Hmm.. you've got me reconsidering.

My character's an amazon, using a sword is quite in character.
And like you say, power boosting my team's bubbles is probably not doing much considering the Defence boost they already have from me and their own abilities.
I like Cosmic Burst for the stun (say on Tsoo Sorcerors) but Char could take over there, and if I dropped one damage proc for a Lockdown +Hold proc it would hold bosses too.

 

@shortguy on indom - Yep, agreed on most points.
I'm not sure if the 0.55 damage scale is a huge problem here, since most of my damage comes from procs, which don't scale with AT. I'm not even slotting my attacks for base damage (ie foregoing +100% damage or so on them) so I don't think Assault is going to do me much good. It's good to have for the team as a flat +15% boost, sure, but wont budge my own performance much.

Similarly with Unrelenting, its 3 power picks for +20% damage on a very long cooldown. I do mean to try it sometime, but not today.

I've got Aim. I usually pop the Gaussian Build Up proc in there for a good +130% damage on tap before my nuke, but this time I'm dropping that in Tactics since I usually team, and it can then proc per teammate.

 

@tidge
Don't ever make a FF/Rad Defender - you can enjoy the "throw a beachball" animation twice with Force Bomb and Neutron Bomb 🙂

Force Bomb does knock-up by the way, so there is no scatter, and no need for a KB->KD. (City of Data doesn't say this, so I was quite surprised to find this out.) I'm keeping it as a solid opener for the knockup and the -Res
 

[shortguy on indom]

• JUST SOME QUICK NUMBERS TO ADD TO THE DISCUSSION:
• YOUR MATH IN THE CHART COLUMN WITH MULTI-PROCS IS A BIT OFF DUE TO THE WAY MULTI-PROC CHANCES IN A SINGLE POWER WORK AND IN ACTUALITY YOUR CHANCES ARE MUCH GREATER THAN YOU HAVE SHOWN.
• INTERESTING THREAD. TY FOR STARTING IT.
• SINCE POWER-BUILD-UP HAS SIMILAR +80% DAMAGE AS DOES LEADERSHIP/TACTICS/GUASSIANS PROC FOR BUILD-UP...
• THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS IN THE DURATION OF EACH POWER, PBU = 30 SECONDS, CHANCE FOR BUILD-UP = 1 PPM = 5.25 SECONDS.
• ITS A TOSS UP OF WHICH WOULD BRING BETTER BENEFITS.
• ADDING 'ASSAULT' AND 'UNRELENTING' TO WHAT YOU HAVE WOULD GIVE AN ADDITINAL 216 DAMAGE POINTS.
• PEACE.

• 			with
  			PBU %
  Base	with	with	or
  Damage	Assault %	Unrelenting %	Chance for Build-up %
  36	15	20	80
  76	15	20	80
  144	15	20	80
  82	15	20	80
  32.4	15	20	80
  48.8	15	20	80
  32.5	15	20	80
  144	15	20	80
  21	15	20	80
  616.7	709.205	832.545	1325.905

[MonteCarla]

Hey shortguy, fellow Maths-phile! 🙂

 

Thanks for continuing this conversation! 

 

The rate I listed in the tables were the chance for each individual proc to fire off. I've assumed that each roll is completely independent of the other proc rolls? Is that not right, by the sounds of it? What do you mean by "Multi proc chances in a single power"? I feel I may be missing something here?

 

Here's my line of thought in the original post:

Say I stuff six 3.5PPM damage procs into Electron Haze (which I have) then each one has a 50% chance of going off, or close enough. Doesn't that mean that I have like a bell curve of possible outcomes - out of the 64 possible outcomes, like flipping six coins:

 

No of procs firing	Probability
0	1/64
1	6/64
2	15/64
3	20/64
4	15/64
5	6/64
6	1/64

 

Since the procs do 71 damage at level 50, each proc in Electron Haze adds 35 damage roughly, so I'm adding 6x that - 210 proc damage on top of the base 48. Since +Damage buffs only affect the base 48, I'm not that fussed with chasing smaller +damage bonuses. eg Assault would take it from 48 + 210 to 55 +210, which is barely noticeable.

 

Those numbers in your table - the 616 is the total base damage I'd do firing off each attack in my list once, right?

And then the 709 is with just Assault, 832 with Relenting and Assault, and 1325 with PBU or Gaussian proc, Relenting and Assault active?

These numbers are still pretty small compared to the proc damage that's sitting on top of them.

 

Here's the base damage and total average proc damage if I stuff each power with 3.5PPM non-purple damage procs as much as I can:

 

Power	Rate	Num procs	Base damage	Avg. proc damage =rate*num*71	Base/Total
X-Ray Vision	29.7%	3	36	63	36%
Cosmic Burst	70%	3	76	149	36%
P Volley	78.7%	4	144/82	223	39%/26%
Irradiate	30%	5	32.4	106	23%
Electron Haze	49%	6	48.8	208	25%
Neutron Bomb	31.6%	5	32.5	112	22%
Atomic Blast	90%	5	144	319	31%
Force Bomb	56%	3	21	119	15%

 

That last column is the percentage of the total damage I do that comes from the power rather than procs, and thus the amount that's enhanceable by +damage buffs.