"Longfanged" Crabber

[Neiska]

Hey Forums,

 

So I had an idea for a new angle on Crabber. Not recharged focused, but neither is it focused on durability either. (Though it is pretty darned tough anyway.) I was thinking about an entirely different focus - +Ranged. The general idea is to play as a hover-crab, shooting and blasting things from afar while at the same time simply out-distancing the enemy. +Range is fantastic for cone attacks as they can cover an absurdly large area, and Crabbers can have quite a few cone attacks.

 

I have not actually done this in game yet but I thought I would share a new angle on Crabbers. But in theory, this might work "very" well. Here's a breakdown of the old vs new attack ranges (according to MIDS anyway.)

 

Channelgun  = 80ft -> 128ft

Longfang = 80ft - > 143ft

Suppression = 50ft -> 89ft

Venom Grenade = 80ft -> 143ft

Web Grenade = 80ft -> 112ft

Spirit Shark = 80ft -> 143ft

Bile Spray = 60ft -> 107ft

Arctic Breath = 60ft ->107ft

 

This is almost "double" the attack ranges than before. I cannot guess how CHONK those cones will be, but it should be "quite" a bit.

 

I tried to increase the ranges of all my attacks as much as I could by slotting 1 Centriole Exposure and 1 Microvillous, with (4) different sets of (2) Bombardment, (both for the 5% Range as well as the Fire damage proc.) Then I slotted Cardiac Core both for Reduced Endurance Cost, as well as the 20% Range bonus.

 

Here are some features -

1. Hover with Elusive Maneuvers - to keep at a distance as well as to protect from -fly. You will still get knocked down once in awhile, but not often. Even less than usual since you will out-distance nearly everything (I think.)

2. Longfang + Spirit Shark procs - to help with the traditional Crabber lack of ST damage. This build has as much AoE as you can ask for. Longfang also has the chance for buildup proc, as well as Aim with "another" chance of buildup. Coupled with as much Chance for Procs as I could in all the attacks, this build is better than most Crabbers at ST damage, with a "lot" of bonus range in the bargain.

3. Web Grenade - Mostly because I hate hate hate runners. And if you weave this into your regular cycle of attacks, it's fairly easy to keep everything nice and locked down.

4. Very Sturdy - With 41% Melee DEF, 47% Ranged DEF, 38% AoE DEF, and very good resists across the board, even managed to boost Psionic Resistance to 57.5%. (I also hate having holes/caps in defenses) And since you will be out-ranging everything (in theory) you should get even more effect from being tanky.

5. END Management - Unlike most Crabbers, this setup looks actually very END friendly. It has both Cardiac as well as Ageless, so END shouldn't ever be a problem. It's possible you might even be able to swap out Ageless for something else like Cardio for some Debuff protection.

6. Perma-Serum - With the FF proc, the recharge on this is exactly 199 seconds with a 120 duration.

7. Lots and lots of Damage Procs - With pretty much zero recharge slotted and so many cones/big area attacks, this setup actually damage procs very well and goes a long way to help makeup for the low base damage of the crabber attacks.

 

The Downsides - 

1. EXPENSIVE - A build like this is definitely an investment. The Centrioles are about 30m each. I would guess this crabber build will be roughly 800m or so in total. Not my most expensive build, but it's certainly up there.

2. Flying Enemies - Some enemies like Longbow, Goldbrickers, and Arachnos has quite a few flying enemies. So +range isn't a full proof strategy, but it will certainly work for most enemy types.

3. Maps with Ceilings - Lastly, many maps such as offices or caves have low ceilings. But that isn't a dealbreaker either since you are packing immobilize. You can always web things up and backup out of range of all of their attacks and still enjoy the same benefits.

4. Not a Crabbermind - With this setup, there really wasn't any space for power or enhancement slots for pets. You could in theory make a hybrid, but you would loose something doing so - either flying, or maybe the fighting pool is also an option. I may try to make a +Ranged Crabber at a later date, but at first glance this build has no where near the recharge needed to make Crabber-minding really strong. Plus when I have been running new difficulties with my crabber, the pets get absolutely thrashed anyway. At least when I am soloing, on Teams they are worth using.

 

But here is a pic of the build with the values for those who want a glance, and I also included the build itself.

 

 

 

Feedback/thoughts/input is welcome. Again, I haven't actually done or tried this yet in game. 

 

Oh, and Happy Holidays!

Longfang Crabber.mbd

Edited Tuesday at 10:19 PM by Neiska
wrong pick attached