CORTEX: Ultimate Shield

raighn

I've been going through characters working on them a little here and there... and now I'm back onto my shielder... and I'm honestly not liking how her build has been coming along and would like to rework a few things...

There are a few powers that are absolute must haves for her build... so we'll just start with those as a base...

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Endurance (Primary)
Level 10: Presence (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Inventor
Level 6: Discipline Training
Level 9: Sniper Training
Level 12: Command Training
Level 15: Survival Training
Level 18: Field Ops Training
Level 21: Diplomatic

Powers:
Level 1:
Level 1:
Level 6:
Level 8: Aura of Radiant Protection (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Protection Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Redirected Force (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Force Shield (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Inertial Dampening Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Mindful Reinforcement (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26:
Level 29:
Level 32:
Level 35:
Level 38:

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Hover Disk
Level 35:

Specializations:
Endurance: Readiness (3/3)
Endurance: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Endurance: Power Overwhelming (3/3)
Endurance: Hardened (2/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (2/3)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Sentry: Precise (3/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Fortify (2/2)
Sentry: Reinforce (2/2)
Mastery: Endurance Mastery (1/1)

I'd like to include Support Drones, and I'm considering CoAP (though I'd prefer not to use it)... Her powers are Technology based (She's a sentient A.I. with a Holographic body projected by Nanites she can control)...

She's not meant to be a direct healer, though I know I'll need at least 1 direct heal... I'm not really sure which one to use anymore... and I have no idea what powerset(s) I should pull her offensive abilities from... Initially I was building her from the Force powerset, but I'm wanting to try and move her away from that...

flowcyto

Well.. since energy may be an issue here, I'd consider Iniquity as ur reg heal, but you'd want to supplement it w/ a good self-heal. CoAP prob will be needed to channel RF, regardless. I'd get Force Sheath on Force Shield too- a bit more energy from blocking.

The build will not be doing good dps w/ its current backbone, so ya may want ur attacks to be somewhat cheap and high base dps (ala TGM) for an easier time there. PBR or Exp Blaster could also work for the Gadgeteering theme, though not as well.

raighn

>.< oops that was supposed to just be force sheath, not R3 on the shield... (fixing that)

I'm kinda thinking about going with some Fire & Forget style attacks... looking at Sparkstorm w/adv and Flashfire primarily... both for their utility with 2 of the better energy unlocks in the game... not sure which would be the better option for her though, Thermal Reverb or Ionic Reverb...

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name: CORTEX

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Endurance (Primary)
Level 10: Presence (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Inventor
Level 6: Discipline Training
Level 9: Sniper Training
Level 12: Command Training
Level 15: Survival Training
Level 18: Field Ops Training
Level 21: Diplomatic

Powers:
Level 1: Electric Bolt
Level 1: Sparkstorm (Electric Personality)
Level 6: Lightning Arc (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Aura of Radiant Protection (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Protection Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Redirected Force (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Force Shield (Force Sheathe)
Level 20: Inertial Dampening Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Mindful Reinforcement (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Flashfire
Level 29: Conviction (Rank 2, Reverence)
Level 32: Iniquity (Rank 2, Justice)
Level 35:
Level 38:

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Acrobatics
Level 35: Hover Disk

Specializations:
Endurance: Readiness (3/3)
Endurance: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Endurance: Power Overwhelming (3/3)
Endurance: Hardened (2/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (2/3)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Sentry: Precise (3/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Fortify (2/2)
Sentry: Reinforce (2/2)
Mastery: Endurance Mastery (1/1)

rhymere

I am working on a similar build for my own AI Shielder, here is what I came up with. Hope it helps.:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name: Airica

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Mind
Level 6: Intimidating
Level 9: Showmanship
Level 12: Indomitable
Level 15: Energetic
Level 18: Daredevil
Level 21: Ascetic

Powers:
Level 1: Electric Bolt
Level 1: Lightning Arc (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Electric Sheath
Level 8: Bionic Shielding (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Aura of Radiant Protection (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Compassion
Level 17: Protection Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Ionic Reverberation
Level 23: Lightning Storm (Rank 2, Stolen Thunder)
Level 26: Force Shield (Force Sheathe)
Level 29: Mindful Reinforcement (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Palliate (Absolve)
Level 35: Ball Lightning (Rank 2, Triplicity)
Level 38: Resurrection Serum (Rank 2)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Distortion Superspeed (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Energy Slide (Rank 2)

Specializations:
Presence: Repurpose (1/3)
Presence: Selfless Ally (1/2)
Presence: Grandeur (3/3)
Presence: Moment of Glory (3/3)
Presence: Force of Will (2/2)
Sentinel: Eternal Spring (1/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (1/3)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Mastery: Presence Mastery (1/1)

raighn

changed to Int Primary, and opting for Ionic due to higher energy return... how's this looking?

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name: CORTEX

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
Level 10: Presence (Secondary)
Level 15: Endurance (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Inventor
Level 6: Discipline Training
Level 9: Sniper Training
Level 12: Command Training
Level 15: Survival Training
Level 18: Field Ops Training
Level 21: Diplomatic

Powers:
Level 1: Electric Bolt
Level 1: Sparkstorm (Electric Personality)
Level 6: Lightning Arc (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Aura of Radiant Protection (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Protection Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Redirected Force (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Force Shield (Force Sheathe)
Level 20: Inertial Dampening Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Ionic Reverberation
Level 26: Ball Lightning
Level 29: Conviction (Rank 2, Reverence)
Level 32: Iniquity (Rank 2, Justice)
Level 35: Mindful Reinforcement (Rank 2, Revitalizing Boost)
Level 38: Resurrection Serum

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Acrobatics
Level 35: Hover Disk (Rank 2)

Specializations:
Intelligence: Preparation (2/2)
Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (2/3)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Sentry: Precise (3/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Fortify (2/2)
Sentry: Reinforce (2/2)
Mastery: Intelligence Mastery (1/1)

flowcyto

Looks pretty good- judging just on paper. Although AoRP lessens the need for Con, ya still want to invest some in increasing ur max HP- esp if ur going to Rampages.

I'd prob get Triplicity on Lightning Ball, though, since iirc it makes procing Ionic Reverb from it easier. Energy would still prob be a bit of a hang-up, but that's worth testing out and maybe trying diff gear and SS setups for. Worse coems to worse, ya can always trade IDF for Compassion.

raighn

flowcyto wrote: »

Looks pretty good- judging just on paper. Although AoRP lessens the need for Con, ya still want to invest some in increasing ur max HP- esp if ur going to Rampages.

I'd prob get Triplicity on Lightning Ball, though, since iirc it makes procing Ionic Reverb from it easier. Energy would still prob be a bit of a hang-up, but that's worth testing out and maybe trying diff gear and SS setups for. Worse coems to worse, ya can always trade IDF for Compassion.

last time I tested Lightning Ball and Ionic Reverb I found it wasn't procing it... I believe it's because Ball Lightning is a separate entity... IDF will not be traded out on her build, it's a backbone ability for her... the idea behind her build is to reduce damage to the point that healing is rarely needed, and what little damage is taken the majority of the time is easily healed up passively...

flowcyto

last time I tested Lightning Ball and Ionic Reverb I found it wasn't procing it... I believe it's because Ball Lightning is a separate entity...

Seems to be working in the PH for me still, though I think the issue is that the attack doesn't always proc the NI debuff by itself, and it won't return energy if that's the case.

rykus83

for a build running Redirected Force Kenpo's got one on the proboards champions-online.proboards.com/thread/2992/shield-commander-general-mediiiiiiic here is his build I'm using it on one of my hero's ATM and is working out good

raighn

That build uses both CoAP & Compassion to do what it does... as I've already stated a couple times, I will not be changing her form away from IDF, and I'd like to avoid CoAP... that said, the build I have posted above has been performing great for me.

I did end up picking up Triplicity on her Ball Lightning and it does seem to be proc'ing Ionic Reverb now... I only wish it would proc it with every tick when it hits a target that has Ionic Reverb like it's supposed to like Lightning Arc does. With triplicity it would become every other tick due to the 3 times per second aspect of Ionic Reverbs non-consumption proc. And with Sparkstorm pulling in larger chunks of energy every time it consumes Negative Ions I'm able to maintain Redirected throughout entire battles. The only downside is having to stop to reactivate those powers every so often, but the 1 second it takes to do so has yet to cause any major problems yet.. When it comes to bosses where the AoE aspect of sparkstorm drops its energy return down to minimal I find Protection Field & MI on the tank make great energy buffers. If the boss uses AoEs frequently I'll spread PF to everyone in it's range and keep Force Sheath up while I maintain RD. Given how my build works I'm almost always up close and near the tank anyway so I'm highly likely to get caught in any AoEs myself, which ends up working to my advantage.

The only problems I'm really having with the build at this point are:
What am I losing an advantage point in to keep Triplicity?
Without a large health pool, Iniquity won't provide a very reliable heal when I do need it.
And questioning if Flashfire + Thermal might work better due to more reliable proc rates...

flowcyto

raighn said:

The only problems I'm really having with the build at this point are:
What am I losing an advantage point in to keep Triplicity?

Well, last I checked Revit Boost on MR wasn't working as well as advertised, so ya could drop that.

Without a large health pool, Iniquity won't provide a very reliable heal when I do need it.

Yea, that is somewhat true. Pres' Selfless Healer would help when dealing w/ the self-dmg from Iniquity, but otherwise it may not be much of an issue if ya use Conviction enough.. though for Rampages I would still consider trying to find a way to get more Con and/or MaxHP.

And questioning if Flashfire + Thermal might work better due to more reliable proc rates...

That can work- as can MSA if ur using Conviction enough. Kinda up to you and ur playstyle a bit.

raighn

Just thought I'd post an update with my finalized build after hitting lv40 last night


PowerHouse http://powerhouse.nullware.com/

Link to this build: http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=11&n=CORTEX&d=1468Uefghij40E1100013043G03O40336033C0337043F0317001A04J5047Q03FJ037U002WAL2M8C2M8G

Name: CORTEX

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
Level 10: Presence (Secondary)
Level 15: Endurance (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Inventor
Level 6: Discipline Training
Level 9: Sniper Training
Level 12: Command Training
Level 15: Survival Training
Level 18: Field Ops Training
Level 21: Jack of All Trades

Powers:
Level 1: Electric Bolt
Level 1: Sparkstorm (Electric Personality)
Level 6: Gravity Driver (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Aura of Radiant Protection (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Protection Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Redirected Force (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Force Shield (Force Sheathe)
Level 20: Inertial Dampening Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Ionic Reverberation
Level 26: Ball Lightning (Triplicity)
Level 29: Conviction (Reverence)
Level 32: Support Drones (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Mindful Reinforcement (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Resurrection Serum

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Acrobatics
Level 35: Hover Disk (Rank 2)

Specializations:
Intelligence: Preparation (2/2)
Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (2/3)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Sentry: Precise (3/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Fortify (2/2)
Sentry: Reinforce (2/2)
Mastery: Intelligence Mastery (1/1)

Figured I may as well take advantage of that crushing damage buff from Redirected so I swapped LA for Gravity Driver... Energy isn't really a major issue for me even with both IDF & Support Drones running and how energy hungry Redirected Force is, I'm able to maintain close to if not above equilibrium the majority of the time. The only time energy is problematic is on the rare occasions where people are taking excessively heavy damage that I'm unable to reduce to manageable levels.