Some questions about grav/martial "Magneto" Build.

[Frostweaver]

I am trying to create a Grav Martial Magneto build and I had some questions about the build/set, and requests for advice.

 

Is trick shot capped at 5 targets? what kind of aoe/how does it choose it's bounce targets?

is it worth it to get crush/crushing field? should I slot field as a poor man's aoe or an immob?

 

Is dimension shift just a 'tick off the team" power? Is Perma-hasten perma-dom kind of a default for dominators?

 

Is envenomed blades kind of like a build up? or is it something you can perma?

 

Is explosive Shuriken a waste of a power?

 

as a hoverer, should I try to get the fighting pool even though I will seldom be in melee range? should I invest heavily in the pools for acrobatics? (Knowing it will lower my primary picks)

 

Are there any sets/procs I should strive for, or craft at the earliest opportunity? Power pools? epic pools?

 

I have never played a dom before, and so far they feel like a fragile, low-damage blaster, so I really want this thing to work as I level up. right now I am level 22, and seem to spend half my life running back from the hospital. I keep hearing that it will 'get better', but did I just pick a loser build? I REALLY want it to work, since I love the theme.

[Rikis]

I am currently leveling up a Grav/Martial Dominator, but he has a natural telekinetic, martial artist vibe to him. As such, I did the opposite of you. I've taken all the kicks from Martial Assault and all three Fighting pool attacks (and weave of course for the LotG mule). I am having a blast with him, but I stay at melee and never leave melee since I have no cones I have to maximize. Grabbing a mob with Wormhole, then smacking them with Trick Shot, Dragon's Tail, and Spinning Kick. That takes care of all the minions (I usually play at minimum +0/x2 starting at level 22 with all my characters). But I still do have Cross Punch for any survivors (and the bonus, but inconsequential +10% recharge that grants). I don't plan on taking either the snipe or explosive shuriken as that doesn't fit my concept. I'll miss the snipe, since it is possible to perma Envenomed Blades and that grants a significant amount of ToHit, making Martial Assault one of the easiest sets to reach perma instant snipe with.

[Frostweaver]

That was...not helpful. At all. And did not answer even one of my questions.

[Coyote]

That was...not helpful. At all. And did not answer even one of my questions.

 

LOL.

 

The bounce from Trick Shot seems random to me, within the bounce range (I think about 15').

Envenomed Blades has a 40 second duration and 160 recharge, so with 400% Recharge, you still can't get it permanent since you have the animation time... but a perma-Dom build should have about 80% uptime on it, which is great.

I don't have Explosive Shuriken yet, so I can't say... but how useful it is depends on the % of its damage that is AoE. As a single-target attack it's usable but poor... if it's usable as an AoE, then it's a solid power.

 

As a Hover user, you shouldn't need Acrobatics: the midair flip from being knocked back while in Hover mode is not a big enough problem to make it worth going for Acrobatics.

 

Grav is a poor choice for a Dominator, its main strength is single-target ranged damage, but that's much more useful for Controllers than for Dominators who already have good attacks in the secondary. And its main defensive power, Wormhole for the AoE stun, comes at Level 26. So you did pick a rather poor combination, I'm afraid. At least at higher levels you'll be able to Wormhole spawns into a wall in front of you, to bunch up everyone for the AoE kicks.

 

There is a huge difference between running a perma-Dom build and one that isn't perma-Dom. Having constantly boosted controls is nice (less so for Grav, though, since it really only benefits Gravity Distortion and Wormhole).

 

I would take Crushing Field since Gravity needs defensive help, but its main purpose will be to use the ATO proc in order to generate as many Fiery Orbs as you can. They add AoE Stun auras that will help keep mobs from fighting back. It is an End hog, so you will want Accuracy and Endurance in it.

 

You can build for a good mix of Recharge and Defense in a Dominator... I have a couple of perma-Dom builds that also have 35%+ defenses to Melee and Ranged, and combined with mezzed mobs and mez protection, this works. But since you're depending on a lot of set bonuses to get this, plus Link Minds in an APP, it's a build that really matures in the 40s :(.

[Frostweaver]

Thank you very much for the extremely helpful advice. Considering it's Brutal pacing, lack of defense, and constant faceplanting, has kept him locked at 22 for almost 2 weeks, I think I will have to remake him... would mind be a decent alternatve, with a few more tools to stay alive? Or is it similarly painful with some of it's odd holds? Or perhaps Electric?

[Frosticus]

the issue with gravity for doms has already been covered more or less. I will add that controllers use propel and propel has a good aoe knockdown which gives them good soft control while they deal damage. doms generally dont need propel which just leaves you with a hold and lift as mitigation until wormhole and singy show up.

 

dim shift is generally skippable. When you need it the action is too chaotic for teammates to understand it and they just get mad.

 

I will say that wormhole with the kd IO can pack mobs very tight. So if you have small aoes it can be very beneficial.

 

grav is sufficient for doms but what it excels at (high single target damage and st control) isnt generally preferred by doms because every dom has high st control via domination and usually better attacks available.

[Coyote]

Mind is eminently survivable when soloing, because it has non-aggroing controls (Confuse & Sleep), so you can always limit the active threats against you. Even without the Sleep, having a Confuse AND a Hold, rather than a knockup and a Hold, makes a huge difference if fighting spawns with like 5 mobs. And, of course, it makes 3-mob spawns trivial.

 

Electric is also excellent, I think... it takes a different pace, but it should work well with Martial Assault. You Sleep the mobs (and their Endurance starts getting drained), then you run in the middle of them (draining more Endurance), and you Hold one and kick it and stick a shuriken between its teeth. By this time, the rest of the mobs are probably drained, and you can start with the AoEs... Dragon's Tail, Trick Shot, Jolting Chain, etc. BTW, Jolting Chain has low damage to start, but improves very nicely with damage procs since it's treated as a single-target attack with regards to proc %, while still hitting multiple targets. And if you think that Trick Shot is fun, going BOUNCE - BOUNCE - BOUNCE, add in Jolting Chain whose "bounce" visual is a mob going feet up as it gets knocked down.

 

I'm having a lot of fun with Electric/Earth, but it was a close call between that and Electric/Martial regarding which would be more fun to play in melee range, bouncing mobs that have no Endurance. I went with Earth since it has Power Boost, but Martial would do more AoE damage.