Sentinel's Ward and Opportunity Strikes

[MetaFusion]

I just learned from poking around in Pine's Hero Designer that Sentinel's Ward exists. Always discovering things related to this AT!

 

Does anyone know under what conditions Sentinel's Ward and Opportunity Strikes drop?

 

Also, being ATOs it seems they can be upgraded to Superior versions. Looking at the info about these sets (viewed at the Auction House), both the standard and Superior versions of each are labeled as Attuned. In the case of the standard versions of both sets, they run from level 10 through 50; which I believe means one could conceivably still get the set bonuses if exemp'd down to level 7.

 

However, the Superior versions of both sets state they are level 50 only, which implies that they really have no range in which they are attuned. By extension, I believe this would mean that the bonuses only remain in effect if exemp'd down to level 47. Does anyone know if this is in fact what happens in practice? Or does becoming Superior make the set enhancements act "purple" and extend their effects at all levels?

 

Thanks to anyone with knowledge to share on this subject!

[Sunsette]

I just learned from poking around in Pine's Hero Designer that Sentinel's Ward exists. Always discovering things related to this AT!

 

Does anyone know under what conditions Sentinel's Ward and Opportunity Strikes drop?

 

They do not drop from content. Archetype Origin Inventions (generally referred to as 'ATOs') are purchaseable in their basic forms from Merit Vendors for 100 merits apiece; don't do this, it's basically the equivalent of paying 30,000,000 for each one. The cheapest way to get them initially is to purchase them on the Consignment House, where they run roughly 5 to 10 million apiece. You can also get them by getting lucky buying special salvage packs, and while these are generally cost-efficient in the long run (they can drop more than one!), they require more initial capital to get going; if you start with a low amount of money, you risk heavy losses after a bad pack (that drops zero).

 

Also, being ATOs it seems they can be upgraded to Superior versions. Looking at the info about these sets (viewed at the Auction House), both the standard and Superior versions of each are labeled as Attuned. In the case of the standard versions of both sets, they run from level 10 through 50; which I believe means one could conceivably still get the set bonuses if exemp'd down to level 7.

 

However, the Superior versions of both sets state they are level 50 only, which implies that they really have no range in which they are attuned. By extension, I believe this would mean that the bonuses only remain in effect if exemp'd down to level 47. Does anyone know if this is in fact what happens in practice? Or does becoming Superior make the set enhancements act "purple" and extend their effects at all levels?

 

Thanks to anyone with knowledge to share on this subject!

 

Any set that is purple/very rare/level 50-only works at all levels, no matter what level you exemp to.

[oldskool]

Hope you don't mind, but I'd like to share some observations/experience with these.  I know you didn't ask for them but the thread title is generic enough others casually browsing may find it useful. ;)

 

The Ward proc hasn't impressed me on defense-based sets.  However, the full set has a lot of recharge within the enhancements themselves especially in the Superior version.  So the full 6pc set can bring down the cooldown of a T9, for example, pretty dramatically.  For sets not pushing a lot of defense the absorb may have greater value within in a regular attack chain.  You still may not want to put the full set into powers that make strong use of damage procs.  That's totally preference of course, but my observations have been this set works better for me outside of my single target rotations. 

 

The Strikes ATO proc gives you a burst of Opportunity which improves uptime on whatever mode you want (Offense/Defense).  You'll likely want that in your regular attack cycle.  Specific power choice is preference.  I happen to like this proc in my single target chain vs the Ward which sits in an AoE for me most of the time.

 

I'd love to hear how others uses these in their sets and what they feel it contributes to the playstyle.

[nihilii]

^ I'm unimpressed by both procs (although perhaps I undervalue what Opportunity Strikes does for me).

 

Sentinel Ward is somewhat disappointing because the absorb is affected by the purple patch. If you're fighting +4s, even levelshifted you end up getting a paltry +200 absorb when it procs.

 

And, yeah, it's either slot it in a long recharge power, typically your nuke, where you could have an Arma proc and Fury of Gladiator -res... or slot it in a normal attack and have it proc (relatively) rarely.

 

I mean... I'll take what little extra we get. There's just envy looking at game-changing boosts some other ATs get.

[oldskool]

^ I'm unimpressed by both procs (although perhaps I undervalue what Opportunity Strikes does for me).

 

I mean... I'll take what little extra we get. There's just envy looking at game-changing boosts some other ATs get.

 

I don't know.  I doubt "undervalue" is a fair statement to apply to yourself.

 

I hope I didn't come across as overstating it's use.  While the effects of Opportunity are better than nothing, did we really need an ATO to let us use the inherent slightly more often in the first place?  I think the criticism of it being underwhelming in comparison to other gameplay changing ATO's is absolutely fair. 

[Sunsette]

Sentinel's Ward proc is at its best on a moderate speed recharge AoE, since it both boosts that AoE's recharge time reliably and the absorb stacks. This is unfortunate because Posi's is such a great set for low pricing and PBAOEs have such amazing procs while ST ranged attacks have pretty bad sets after Apocalypse.

 

Opportunity Strikes... well, it exists?

[MetaFusion]

Any set that is purple/very rare/level 50-only works at all levels, no matter what level you exemp to.

 

Thanks, very good to know!

 

So, once Superior/lvl-50-only, the ATO set bonuses act the same those of Very Rare IOs, rather than following the regular rule for Attuned IOs. Do they become boost-able from Enhancement Boosters like Very Rare IOs, as well? Or is the set bonus behavior the only deviation?

[Sunsette]

Any set that is purple/very rare/level 50-only works at all levels, no matter what level you exemp to.

 

Thanks, very good to know!

 

So, once Superior/lvl-50-only, the ATO set bonuses act the same those of Very Rare IOs, rather than following the regular rule for Attuned IOs. Do they become boost-able from Enhancement Boosters like Very Rare IOs, as well? Or is the set bonus behavior the only deviation?

 

The Superior ATOs cannot be boosted. If you look at their stats, you'll see they're 25% better than the base ATO, and are mutually exclusive with the base ATO that gives the same bonus; in a sense, they are just the base ATO boosted.

[MetaFusion]

The Superior ATOs cannot be boosted. If you look at their stats, you'll see they're 25% better than the base ATO, and are mutually exclusive with the base ATO that gives the same bonus; in a sense, they are just the base ATO boosted.

 

Thanks, I just wanted to be sure (I'm planning out enhancements for my primary build). Since the Superior ATOs changed behavior in one way, thought it best to sure about this other respect as well. Your help is greatly appreciated!