New to the game, overwhelmed. Poison Ranged DPS Build? Other ideas?

commissarmike

Hey folks, I tried to get it all in one summary. I just came to the. I had played once before for a few days but didn't stick with it largely because I chose a bad character for my playstyle and just didn't have fun with it.

Coming back years later I wish I had just gotten some advice since im having much more fun. I leveled up a munitions build following a guide on another site. Now I am trying poison and want to do a ranged DPS. I am finding lots of hybrids and melee using search. Can anyone guide me on ranged dps?

I will be frank, this game is a lot more complex choice wise than most MMOs. This is a great thing but for a casual player like myself it is difficult to know what to do. I have a million character ideas but when it comes to strategy and understanding synergy I just have never been good at that even in simpler games. Any advice, ideas, build samples appreciated!

Pretty much if you wanna throw any other ranged DPS ideas thats fun to play Id be interested. I started trying a healer since its what I like in most games but found I died a whole lot in alerts since when the mobs attack me from healing aggro I did not get much help peeling them off :P

Anyway I know that's a whole lot so...hi..I'm Mike. I don't know what I am doing. Help and guidance is appreciated

flowcyto

Heya Mike. Yea, the Freeform system is great, but a bit overwhelming at first.

There's a few diff ways to dps well w/ Infernal SN atm- some are more gear/energy dependent than others. Since you're newer, I'll give you one that should have easier energy management in lower gear, to start off:

(Unnamed Build) - Freeform
v2.4.2-29

Super Stats
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Endurance (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)

Talents
Level 1: The Scourge (Con: 10, Ego: 10, Rec: 10, End: 8)
Level 6: Daredevil (Ego: 5, End: 5)
Level 9: Worldly (Ego: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 12: Amazing Stamina (Rec: 5, End: 5)
Level 15: Ascetic (Con: 5, Ego: 5)
Level 18: Boundless Reserves (Con: 5, End: 5)
Level 21: Quick Recovery (Con: 5, Rec: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Infernal Bolts (advantages)
Level 1: Infernal Blast (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Pestilence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Aspect of the Infernal (advantages)
Level 11: Venomous Breath (Rank 2, Paralytic Bile)
Level 14: Mephitic
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Will-o'-the-Wisp (Guide, Ghost Fire)
Level 23: Defile (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 29: Voodoo Doll (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Masterful Dodge (advantages)
Level 35: Lock N Load (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Fiery Embrace (advantages)
Adv. Points: 34/36

Travel Powers
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations
Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Relentless Assault (2/3)
Avenger: Preemptive Strike (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (2/3)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)

For single-targets, it alternates between charged Infernal Blast and Defile, while using Venom Breath's frontal cone for AoE (and stun). Wisp should be used when available for debuffing in any case. Resurgence and MD are your strong, long-cd defensive tools, and Conviction is your short-cd 'maintenance' heal. Lock N Load is your 'burst dps' cd. The self-res at the end could instead be something like a threat wipe, if you wish.

Gears mostly for Ego, w/ some Con (for health) and End + Rec (for energy).

magpieuk2014

What's the deal with Pestilence at the moment? I have a level 30 Toxic build character which is not doing the correct damage I'd expect - and the passive seems to be the cause. All my other mid level characters with Ranged Passives are getting around 70-80%; Pestilence is 43%, at R3. Is it bugged?

theravenforce

magpieuk2014 said:

What's the deal with Pestilence at the moment? I have a level 30 Toxic build character which is not doing the correct damage I'd expect - and the passive seems to be the cause. All my other mid level characters with Ranged Passives are getting around 70-80%; Pestilence is 43%, at R3. Is it bugged?

A very basic explanation is that because Pestilence has several other innate secondary effects to the Damage Boost, the damage boost percentage is lower than other passives which do not have as many secondary effects. Pestilence is pretty non standard in this IIRC.

flowcyto

Yea, Pestilence also lowers the target's resistance to Slashing_Toxic dmg per stack of Bleed_Poison, has a dmg DoT/Aura component, and it debuffs healing on anything hit by its DoT. These help make up for its lower innate dmg bonus.

magpieuk2014

Thanks for the confirmation. I did test out the other passives which boost Toxic daamge and I can confirm it's all working as intended, and overall Pestilence is best for Poisin. What wasn't working was my gear - I had that odd glitch you get sometimes where you have to un/re-slot gear before it takes the stat bonuses into account. Seems to be Q store primaries, most often - I have an Armadillo set of primaries on this character (which is unusual, becuase I normally slot them as secondaries) and they weren't being counted properly as the character levelled up.