Damage Auras

[Zepp]

I was playing my spines/regen scrapper, and got to thinking about damage auras...

 

Spines is the only Primary with a damage aura (5.16 lethal dps, -speed, -recharge), but there are five secondaries that come with damage auras... Was wondering if y'all would help me choose for my next Spines/* scrapper...

*Radiation Melee has a pseudo-aura (Irradiated Ground) which drops patches as you walk. I will add the dps when I go in-game, but it does have a -Def, which is nice.

 

Bio Armor actually has one Genetic Contamination (4.69 toxic dps, -damage).

Dark Armor has one, Death Shroud (6.26 Negative dps)

Electric Armor has one as well, Lightning Field (6.26 Energy dps, -Endurance)

Fiery Aura has the most damaging damage aura, Blazing Aura (6.88 Fire dps)

Ice Armor has one as well (6.26 Lethal dps)

 

So these are my choices... which one would y'all take? I am leaning towards a Spines/Bio to have two damage auras with lots of debuffs and buffs and decent recovery, but I wanna hear about anyone who has run with multiple damage auras, experiences, etc.

[Jaynen]

DNA siphon is not an aura its a clicky

[Zepp]

I just caught that and was correcting just before you posted. Sorry, my bad...

[Snakebit]

I have a 37 spine bio. The PBAOE is sick, the tough to kill is real.

 

Spines/Dark was something I tried on live and really enjoyed, but I don't think it quite holds up to Bio in toughness. The PBAOE toggle in dark comes much earlier, but doesn't have the -dmg of Bio. Negative versus Toxic is a wash, damage is similiar.

 

Cloak of Fear is good mitigation, but only against minions unless you dip into Presence for the stack. It works, but it's a pool. Bio's mitigation is targeted PBAOE but it will bring you back to full health and end with a click. Weak against strong ST enemy though, it's a crowd power.

 

You have the option of the self buff from Adaptation, either a very nice +recovery which will eliminate End issues assuming you can eat the damage, or self +dmg, or self +def. You can jump into a huge spawn with +def, Build Up+Burst+throw, toggle to +dmg for single targets, then switch to +recovery during the transition to the next spawn and roll again.

 

[nihilii]

/bio is undoubtedly king, first because you also have a -RES aura boosting both your auras and your attacks, second because you're the only damage aura secondary with a taunt effect meaning everything will stay nice and tight around you to be damaged. Then there's the fat damage buff from offensive. On brutes you can argue for different choices, but on scrappers /bio outclasses every other choice.

[EldritchDrake]

Rad melee has a damage aura, irradiated ground.

[Sir Myshkin]

Rad melee has a damage aura, irradiated ground.

 

Was just about to post on this myself. Wroth mentioning though that it isn't a typical "aura," the power drops a PBAoE pet every 5/s. This generally isn't an issue, but there is a potential delay in between mobs, or if the power drops during travel. However, I believe it's stronger than Quills.

 

[Zepp]

I didn't include it because it is a patch, not a PBAoE. It is useful, but won't have the effect I'm looking for unless I stand still... I'll have to look into DpS and effects later.

[Jaynen]

It's not as slow as you might think, it hardly feels like a patch because the "tick" time of the auras is still rather slow

[Sir Myshkin]

I didn't include it because it is a patch, not a PBAoE. It is useful, but won't have the effect I'm looking for unless I stand still... I'll have to look into DpS and effects later.

 

What effect, exactly, are you looking for? Effectively Irradiated Grounds will function and appear to act no differently than any other damage aura, it's just important to know that there are some slight differences in its actual functionality.

 

In regards to "standing still" I get why you might think that, but no, you don't really have to. If you jump into the middle of a mob and the patch drops, or by the time you get your PBAoE off and it drops, that mob is effectively stuck and/or clustered there already and it'll do its thing just fine, you can move around as you need to still and, eventually, it'll re-center on you. I'd dare say that it ends up being a more effective tool that Quills. Your damage auras require you to be in the group, IG lets you plant it inside the mob and walk away. It'll still tick just like any other damage aura, slot like any other damage aura, look like any other damage aura.

 

I'd say one of my biggest gripes when I ran Spines characters (Spines/DA and Spines/Elec), was that when I bounced around for positioning on Throw Spines, I was effectively loosing damage on the mob because my auras traveled with me. The ability to jump in, Burst, and then jump out while leaving behind one of my "auras" is actually pretty awesome.

 

[Zepp]

What I am looking for is the PBAoE damage aura stack. Having one following you and the other centered on you won't give you that stack.

 

It may be more effective for some playstyles, but it is not the kind of playstyle I was looking for (which is why it wasn't on the list). However, to keep it in the discussion, I will amend the OP with an asterisk when i have time.

[HelenCarnate]

I didn't include it because it is a patch, not a PBAoE. It is useful, but won't have the effect I'm looking for unless I stand still... I'll have to look into DpS and effects later.

 

What effect, exactly, are you looking for? Effectively Irradiated Grounds will function and appear to act no differently than any other damage aura, it's just important to know that there are some slight differences in its actual functionality.

 

In regards to "standing still" I get why you might think that, but no, you don't really have to. If you jump into the middle of a mob and the patch drops, or by the time you get your PBAoE off and it drops, that mob is effectively stuck and/or clustered there already and it'll do its thing just fine, you can move around as you need to still and, eventually, it'll re-center on you. I'd dare say that it ends up being a more effective tool that Quills. Your damage auras require you to be in the group, IG lets you plant it inside the mob and walk away. It'll still tick just like any other damage aura, slot like any other damage aura, look like any other damage aura.

 

I'd say one of my biggest gripes when I ran Spines characters (Spines/DA and Spines/Elec), was that when I bounced around for positioning on Throw Spines, I was effectively loosing damage on the mob because my auras traveled with me. The ability to jump in, Burst, and then jump out while leaving behind one of my "auras" is actually pretty awesome.

 

If you are in an open area target the mob closest to you. Then jump up 20 feet or so and hit throw spines. It is a 3 dimensional cone so at the end of the cone you have pointed down is a nice big circle.  Not so effective in buildings or caves but outside it works great.

[HelenCarnate]

If you are moving around enough to make IG unappealing then you will likely also be losing out on damage from your dmage auras as they only tick once every 2 seconds.

[Murcielago]

This is was my spines/dark scrapper a while back. I think I might re-roll him again but as a Brute.

 

Hero Plan by Hero Hero Designer 2.23

https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Spiritum: Level 50 Mutation Scrapper

Primary Power Set: Spines

Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor

Power Pool: Leaping

Power Pool: Fighting

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Leadership

Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

 

Hero Profile:

Level 1: Lunge -- CrsImp-Acc/Dmg(A), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx(3), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), CrsImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), CrsImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)

Level 1: Dark Embrace -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-End/Res(7), GldArm-3defTpProc(9)

Level 2: Death Shroud -- Mlt-Acc/Dmg(A), Mlt-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Mlt-Dmg/Rchg(9), Mlt-Acc/EndRdx(11), Mlt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), Mlt-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13)

Level 4: Spine Burst -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(15), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(15), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Obl-%Dam(19)

Level 6: Combat Jumping -- GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(A), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(13), LucoftheG-Rchg+(19), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(50)

Level 8: Impale -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(23), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25)

Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(25)

Level 12: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)

Level 14: Tough -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(27), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(27), ImpArm-ResDam(29)

Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- DctWnd-EndRdx/Rchg(A), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(29), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(31), Mlt-Acc/EndRdx(31), ThfofEss-+End%(31), TchoftheN-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(33)

Level 18: Quills -- SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCrtStr-Dmg/Rchg(33), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprCrtStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(34)

Level 20: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(36), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36)

Level 22: Cloak of Darkness -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(36), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37)

Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(37), RechRdx-I(40)

Level 26: Ripper -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(37), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(39), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Obl-%Dam(40)

Level 28: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)

Level 30: Murky Cloud -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(40), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42), ImpArm-ResDam(42)

Level 32: Throw Spines -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(42), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(43), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(43), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43)

Level 35: Build Up -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(45), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(45), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(45), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(46), GssSynFr--Build%(46)

Level 38: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 44: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(46), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc(48), PrfShf-End%(48)

Level 47: Oppressive Gloom -- EndRdx-I(A)

Level 49: Maneuvers -- EndRdx-I(A)

Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)

Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)

Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 1: Critical Hit

Level 0: The Atlas Medallion

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)

Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(48)

Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), PrfShf-EndMod(21), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc(50), PrfShf-End%(50)

Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)

Level 50: Agility Core Paragon

------------

[Sir Myshkin]

If you are in an open area target the mob closest to you. Then jump up 20 feet or so and hit throw spines. It is a 3 dimensional cone so at the end of the cone you have pointed down is a nice big circle.  Not so effective in buildings or caves but outside it works great.

 

Sadly, while a good technique, doesn't change the fact that it takes you out of aura effective range.

[HelenCarnate]

If you are in an open area target the mob closest to you. Then jump up 20 feet or so and hit throw spines. It is a 3 dimensional cone so at the end of the cone you have pointed down is a nice big circle.  Not so effective in buildings or caves but outside it works great.

 

Sadly, while a good technique, doesn't change the fact that it takes you out of aura effective range.

 

True, but normally it is only for 1 tick which you would lose anyway if you are jumping out of range to position and then potentially another tick as you are jumping back in depending on your timing.

[Errants]

Spines/Ice

 

Not that I'm biased or anything, but there's my recommendation. Don't forget, /Ice also gives you Chilling Embrace (more slows, and proc shenanigans if you want), Energy Absorption (fuel for the End Fire), and Icy Bastion (crashless Tier 9).

 

Lots of fun.