What Procs are Essential?

[Scarlet Shocker]

This question's spun out of my Scaling Resist Damage thread - but I didn't want this question to get buried in that nor did I want that to become derailed by this.

 

Obviously LotG Global Recharge seems to be pretty important on most builds. I think many people want to slot about 17*.  I also go for a couple of others almost always these days. I invariably choose the Kismet: Accuracy +6% and the Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+3% procs

 

I will also go for Numina's Regen/Recovery as absolutely necessary and the Heal which isn't technically a proc but they almost always go in  my Health. I will invariably slot Performance Shifter: Chance for End in Endurance and if I can stick another somewhere I will usually give it a go because they are cheap boosts to End.

 

Optional Procs to me are Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP, Shield Wall +Res(Teleportation), +5% Res (All) and a few others.

 

A lot will depend on the capital in Inf or Merits I want to spend on a particular build. If I like it and will play it a lot it obviously gets a lot more love and attention than one that's gone to 50 and only comes out on high days and holidays.

 

I'm just interested in what the general sense is and how you, dearest reader, decide to utilise your builds for carrying procs - so my assumption here is that you have a significant emotional investment in the toon plus plenty of merits and inf to back that up with.

 

 

*don't be so bloody stupid!

[Snarky]

For me...

 

Recovery.  Recovery PROCs are better than EndMod enhancers in End powers.  This is due to the fact that EndMod can be debuffed to nothing,  The PROCs still fire.  90+% toons get Panacea, Numina,. and Miracle in Health,  Perf Shift PROC in any (and all) End Powers.  Then add EndMod slots as I can.  The Health PROCs might be shifted to other heal powers for set bonuses (toggles or always on only)

 

Defense.  Steadfast Prot and Glad Arm Globals.  +3% each.  +6 Global Defense for 2 slot investment is damn hard to walk away from.  Damn hard.

 

Kismet +6% +toHit in a defense power that is always toggled on.  (or a passive that is always on)  +toHit is King, worth way more than Accuracy.  Which is great, but +ToHit is just better. 1 slot investment in being much better.

 

After this it REALLY varies by Archetype and build goals.  (and how many slots I have "extra" ROFLMAO )

 

Doms and toons needing Rech will get as many LOTG Globals as possible.  (5 max)  Recharge from set bonuses is also VERY good.  All toons need BLUE in CoH/V and ALL benefit from Global Recharge.

 

The Defense Globals are priceless, but...  The Resist Globals are just less valuable.  Sorry, that is the way of CoH/V.  So, it is build/archetype/POWERSET specific.  On a Resist Melee toon I will 99% time be getting these. (Shield Wall/Reactive Defenses) As you are strong in 1/3 to half Resists but a lot weaker in others.  these start to bring the value up.  And Resist armor toons have little/no defense.  So, start pumping Resists everywhere.  On a toon with little to no resist, as sexy as they are... I need the slots elsewhere.  I could complete a set bonus, sneak in an extra build goal, enhance a power that otherwise might be meh.  2 slots is nothing to just blindly throw away.  

 

I find the build ups, chance for heal/absorb less useful in my builds.  This is partially due to chasing set bonuses and partially due to perception.  I may be under valuing them.  But they are not in my builds as much. 

 

Unbreakable Guard +max HP, along with set bonus Max HP works on CERTAIN builds real well.  Other places, near valueless.

 

Plan to stay alive.  Build set bonuses towards the goal.  I run a LOT of very ranged squishies and concentrate on Ranged Defense.  But...  NOT the only solution.  I run a Fire Fire Blaster that chased +Dam% in set bonuses.  Fire Blasters hit like a truck.  He hits like a fully loaded cement hauler.  Defense?  *cough  Why?  They all dead.  +4 or starred content.  RISE OF THE PHOENIX.  (and liberal abuse of Destiny Barrier by the team 🙂 ) 

 

Mez Resist % from set bonuses is valuable.  But it is something I smile when I get rather than chase.  

[Maelwys]

Always:
+ Panacea +Health/+Endurance
+ Up to five LotG +GlobalRecharges (depending on powers - I don't intentionally take additional Defence powers simply for the sake of getting 5 LotGs)
+ Preventive Medicine +Absorb
+ Unbreakable Guard +MaxHP
+ Winter's Gift +SlowResistance
+ Gaussian "Chance for Build Up" (typically in Aim or Build Up; occasionally in other powers like Invincibility or Shifting Tides or Tactics)
+ Damage Procs; wherever it makes mechanical sense to slot them in order to maximise average damage output.

Almost Always:
+ Miracle +Recovery
+ The two Steadfast and Gladiator's Armor +Def uniques
+ The two Reactive Defenses and Shield Wall +Res uniques
+ Power Transfer +Healing (love these on toons with no/little self healing; especially if there are multiple auto powers that can take them)
+ Achilles Heel -Res (at least one; ideally in a power that gives it a high activation chance + uptime)
+ Fury of the Gladiator -Res (again, ideally in a power that gives it a high activation chance + uptime)
+ The Pet +Def and +Res Aura Uniques (always on MM's and Controllers/Dominators/Crabberminds; occasionally on others with Epic/Patron pool summons)
+ Soulbound Allegiance: Chance for Build Up (always on non-Kin MM's and Controllers/Dominators/Crabberminds; occasionally on others with Epic/Patron pool summons)
+ Overwhelming Force KB>KD (in a power that deals KB, obviously. I've got a particular penchant for putting this in stuff like Rise of the Phoenix)
+ Rectified Reticle +Perception (on any characters that don't already gain +Perception via powersets or running Tactics. I HATE not being able to see stealthy enemies)
+ Blessing of the Zephyr +KB protection (on any characters that don't already have some KB protection either via powersets or a 3-piece Gladiator's Armor set bonus)
+ Celerity: Stealth (typically in Sprint)

Often:
+ Numina +Regen/+Recovery (after Panacea and Miracle; if I have enough slots left)
+ Annihilation -Res (depends on the power - and often another damage proc will provide a better average return)
+ Force Feedback +rech (I rarely stick this in Single Target attacks, but PBAoEs are fair game especially if the character has multiple long-recharge clickies)
+ Sudden Acceleration KB>KD (if I have multiple powers that inflict KB and I've already used a OF elsewhere)
+ Decimation "Chance for Build Up" (depends on the power - and often another damage proc will provide a better average return)

Seldom:
+ Kismet +ToHit (only if all the attacks aren't yet at 95% Hit Chance versus +3 foes AND using the slot elsewhere won't gain sufficient global accuracy via set bonuses)
+ Performance Shifter +End (only if I particularly need more Recovery AND I have surplus slots left. But I almost always go with 2x 50+5 Endmods in Stamina first)
+ Impervious Skin: Regeneration (only if I've a vast surplus of slots left or there is a specific use case/odd interaction e.g. Mastermind Henchmen upgrade abilities)
+ Regenerating Tissue: Regeneration (only if I've a vast surplus of slots left or there is a specific use case/odd interaction e.g. Mastermind Henchmen upgrade abilities)
+ Aegis: Psi Resistance (on some res-focussed Tankers/Brutes)
+ Impervium Armor: Psi Resistance (on some res-focussed Tankers/Brutes)

I'm sure there's a few more I've forgotten about.
And ATOs obviously depend on the AT (e.g. Scrappers always get them, but Brutes don't)
 

Edited April 17 by Maelwys

[tidge]

I tend to not use...

 

+Regeneration, except on Tankers/Brutes

Psi Resistance, unless it is a resistance-based character and that area needs to be shored up

+Perception, as I rarely have a power (with extra slots) that can use it

Force Feedback %+Recharge, as I find it to be an inelegant approach to MOAR RECHARGE and I almost always have a better use for the slot.

Achilles' Heel, unless the character is almost always on teams (so many powers can take this, but a significant portion of those have poorish %chances and/or are part of sets that don't offer great opportunities to capitalize on it... solo... when it does trigger)

[Demobot]

Performance Shifter and Panacea are standard on any character I plan to invest time in. You can slot Panacea really early on too. I'll slot Gladiator's Armor and Steadfast Protection on characters with defense-based powersets (e.g., Shield Defense), but I don't bother otherwise unless I'm working on and endgame build. 

 

There are some nice ATO procs, like the Stalker and Scrapper procs, that do have a noticeable impact on how they play and I find worth the investment. Others are going to depend on the quirks of a particular powerset (Theft of Essence in Dark Armor's Dark Regeneration is mandatory). 

 

I tend not to bother with most other procs while leveling a character because I feel like you get the most bang for your buck when they're used alongside IO sets in pursuit of particular build goals. Maybe an extra bit of damage or recharge would be useful, but it's not like the game is difficult to the point where the benefit derived is necessary for leveling up. 

[Uun]

Without repeating what's already been said,

• LotG +recharge, Steadfast +def, Gladiator's Armor +def, Unbreakable Guard +hp, Reactive Defenses scaling res, Shield Wall +res, Preventive Medicine +absorb (plus others) are globals, not procs. They don't need to be in an active power and will always be on.
• Numina's +reg/+rec, Miracle +rec, Kismet +acc, Panacea +health/+end, (plus others) are procs. While they don't have a PPM and are guaranteed to fire, they do have a 120s duration. They need to be in a toggle or an auto power.

[catsi563]

LotG +Global Recharge

Preventive Medicine +Absorb
Unbreakable Guard +MaxHP

 Winter's Gift +Slow Resistance

 Gaussian "Chance for Build Up

Miracle +Recovery
The two Steadfast

Power Transfer +Healing

 Blessing of the Zephyr +KB protection

Numina +Regen/+Recovery

Decimation "Chance for Build Up"

Performance Shifter +End

 Aegis: Psi Resistance 

Impervium Armor: Psi Resistance

Chaos blast chance for minus resist 

 

in no particular order of importance but nearly essential in most of my builds

[Scarlet Shocker]

Gaussian's Chance for Build Up is interesting insofar that I like to use it but I'm unclear as to where its best position is?

 

To put it in a Build Up/Aim type power seems... odd. If it activates when the power is used that seems strange - unless it gives double the damage?

[tidge]

22 minutes ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Gaussian's Chance for Build Up is interesting insofar that I like to use it but I'm unclear as to where its best position is?

 

To put it in a Build Up/Aim type power seems... odd. If it activates when the power is used that seems strange - unless it gives double the damage?

 

It works well in PBAoE armor toggle's that take it (for Melee characters, i.e. Invincibility). If I use it in a Build Up/Aim, these usually have a base 90sec recharge time so I either slot the whole set or back it up with at least one 50+5 recharge IO so as to get the most (on-demand) use from it.

 

It will work OK in Tactics, but only IMO if:

• the player will be surrounded by a large number of allies/henchmen/pets, and
• the AT doesn't have a very weak damage scale to begin with

The best case is IMO Crabberminds (they can have a lot of pets, the damage scales are respectable). It triggers a lot for a MM with a full suite of henchmen (plus pets) but the MM base damage scale is pretty bad compared to other ATs, so the benefits from the %BuildUp are not that great.

[Hedgefund]

Used 100%:

Shield Wall +res

Glad Armor +def

Steadfast Def/res

Panacea +hp/end

Perf Shifter +end

 

Used 90%

Reactive Armor 3% + scaling res

 

Used 75%

Unbreakable Guard +HP

 

Used 50%

Preventative Medicine absorb

 

Used 15%

Power Transfer +Heal (I like this more than my usage indicates)

Numina +regen/recovery

 

<1%

Miracle +rec (a character would have to be an endurance disaster for me to slot this [which has happened])

Kismit +tohit (Final builds tend to not have a problem hitting 95% against +3s and good enough is good enough).

 

Almost everything else is "season to taste" and based on what's needed what could be utilized well.  I have a Merc/Storm that has the FF proc active about 50% of the time so it's a no brainer for that character to use that.

 

Addition:

100% of anyone without native full invis gets a stealth IO.

Edited April 17 by Hedgefund

[Troo]

Less appreciated:

• Regenerative Tissue: +25% Regeneration
• Impervious Skin: +25% Regeneration
• Power Transfer: 5% Heal (3 ppm) (not unique)
• Theft of Essence: 10% Endurance (3.5 ppm) (not unique)

I guess my point is if someone has the slots and is really chasing something there are sooo many options.

[biostem]

I'd probably say the only "essential" ones are the Panacea and maybe some LotG's.  Besides that, it's more situational:  Building defense?  You'll want those 2 +3% global defense IOs.  Need more end recovery?  Miracle and Numina's are for you!  I've come to very much like Gaussian's in my aim/build up powers, but it's lower down on my priority list, and if I want my character to be a bit sneakier, then one of the travel power stealth IOs, (which I usually stack with stealth itself)...

Edited April 17 by biostem

[Maelwys]

2 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Gaussian's Chance for Build Up is interesting insofar that I like to use it but I'm unclear as to where its best position is?

 

To put it in a Build Up/Aim type power seems... odd. If it activates when the power is used that seems strange - unless it gives double the damage?

 

Both the Decimation and Gaussian procs trigger a power called "boost up", which grants a big chunk of extra damage and ToHit for several seconds. And with a Gaussian Proc slotted into either Aim and Build Up those powers can each take 70.35% local recharge aspect before it'll drop below the 90% activation chance limit... so yes, you will typically end up with Uberbuffed damage for a short period of time.

 

(There's a bit of a faff with Animation Time Before Effect and Arcanatime  which means the effective duration of the buff is a smidge over 6.25 seconds. So less than the duration of either Build Up or Aim but long enough to get ~2-4 attacks off!)

[TheMoneyMaker]

all the +End procs. Never enough endurance.

[Scarlet Shocker]

2 hours ago, Maelwys said:

 

Both the Decimation and Gaussian procs trigger a power called "boost up", which grants a big chunk of extra damage and ToHit for several seconds. And with a Gaussian Proc slotted into either Aim and Build Up those powers can each take 70.35% local recharge aspect before it'll drop below the 90% activation chance limit... so yes, you will typically end up with Uberbuffed damage for a short period of time.

 

(There's a bit of a faff with Animation Time Before Effect and Arcanatime  which means the effective duration of the buff is a smidge over 6.25 seconds. So less than the duration of either Build Up or Aim but long enough to get ~2-4 attacks off!)

 

Thanks for trying to explain it. I just didn't get what you're trying to tell me.

[Maelwys]

20 minutes ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Thanks for trying to explain it. I just didn't get what you're trying to tell me.

Try this then:

i) Take the "Build Up" power and slot a Gaussian into it.
ii) Open your "Combat Attributes" page and look at the value for 'damage bonus'
iii) Now activate "Build Up". 9 times out of 10 you'll see an extra ~80% damage on top of what Build Up normally grants you, which will expire after about ~6 seconds.

You can also slot a fair bit of Recharge into Build up and still keep the chances of that additional damage buff activating capped at "9 times out of 10".
1x Lv50+5 Recharge enhancement by itself won't do it (the sweet spot is 1x Lv50+1 Rech plus 1x Lv50+5 ToHit/EndRed/Rech).

The most important takeaway is that despite the wording on the Gaussian Proc, "Chance for Build Up" doesn't actually mean "Chance to activate the power named Build Up"... instead it just gives you a large passive damage + tohit buff for a short duration; which will quite happily stack with any other active damage buffs you already have from buffs/inspirations/whatever... a lot of the short descriptions on stuff in CoH are incorrect or at best misleading.
 

Edited April 17 by Maelwys

[Scarlet Shocker]

2 minutes ago, Maelwys said:

Try this then:

i) Take the "Build Up" power and slot a Gaussian into it.
ii) Open your "Combat Attributes" page and look at the value for 'damage bonus'
iii) Now activate "Build Up". 9 times out of 10 you'll see an extra ~80% damage on top of what Build Up normally grants you, which will expire after about ~6 seconds.

You can also slot a fair bit of Recharge into Build up and still keep the chances of that additional damage buff activating capped at "9 times out of 10".
1x Lv50+5 Recharge enhancement by itself won't do it; you can go all the way up to 1x Lv50 Rech plus 1x Lv50+5 ToHit/EndRed/Rech.

The most important takeaway is that despite the wording on the Enhancement, "Chance for Build Up" doesn't actually mean "Chance to activate the power named Build Up"... instead it just gives you a large passive damage + tohit buff for a short duration. A lot of the short descriptions on stuff in CoH are incorrect or at best misleading.

Thanks. That helps a lot!

 

 

[MTeague]

Obligatory:   Technically, absolutely no procs of any kind are "essential". You can build a decent character using only Single-Origin enhancements for the entire game, though you may be moree dependant on team buffs and inspirations during certain content. 

 

But if you're asking me "Okay wiseguy, which ones appear in over 90% of your characters?"    Welllll..... OK, you got me. 

• Panacea: Chance for +Health/+Endurance,
• Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
• Blessing of the Zephyr:  Knockback Protection   (unless already covered by an armor set)
• Steadfast Protection:  3% to all defense
• Gladiator's Armor:  3% to all defense

And then some conditionals: 

• melee's (and Sentinels) will also have the +Resist all uniques.
• anyone with an Aim or Build-up will have the Gaussian's
• anyone who doesn't have Tactics, but does get any other +ToHit power, will have Rectified Recicle, or perhaps Warp (if a teleporter), for +Perception
• LotG +7.5%'s are nice, but only nice.  I'm not going to take powers I'll never use JUST to mule them.  Still, they Do Not Suck, so I'll fit them where I can.
• generally most ATO's, because I like the set bonuses

Damage Procs, it depends a lot on the build and the powersets.  They can be very nice, but part of me always mourns the four-five-six set bonuses I have to choose to forsake to make room for proc-bombs.  Most of my characters don't use a whole lot of them. 

 

 

Edited April 17 by MTeague

[shortguy on indom]

• CONTAGIOUS CONFUSION

[Marshal_General]

I have put the Gaussian's proc in Invincibility so it would have 10 chances to go off. I have seen it stack three times. I have also seen it forget theat it is slotted for a while.

[BlackSpectre]

Preventative Medicine +Absorb seems to fire off mostly AFTER I've died and Rezzed! Piece of junk!  LOL