Fiery Heavy Weapons Build

alfinpogform

This is an idea for a fiery demon with a big weapon. Not really familiar with HW powers, so anyone who could take a look would be much appreciated. Please keep in mind this build would be for leveling.

PowerHouse   (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Behemoth
Level 6: Boundless Reserves
Level 9: Physical Conditioning
Level 12: Bodybuilder
Level 15: Quick Recovery
Level 18: Relentless
Level 21: Amazing Stamina

Powers:
Level 1: Bludgeon
Level 1: Cleave (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Eruption (Rank 2, Magma Burst)
Level 8: Defiance
Level 11: Thermal Reverberation
Level 14: Enrage (Giant Growth)
Level 17: Brimstone (Rank 2, Aftershock)
Level 20: Annihilate (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Vicious Descent (Relentless)
Level 26: Fire Snake (Trail Blazer)
Level 29: Fireball (Unstable Accelerant)
Level 32: Fire Shield
Level 35: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Immolation (Rank 2, Rank 3, Blazing Body)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Athletics (Rank 2, Rank 3, Versatility)
Level 35:

Specializations:
Strength: Swole (2/3)
Strength: Physical Peak (3/3)
Strength: Juggernaut (3/3)
Strength: Overpower (2/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Tenacious (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (3/3)
Mastery: Strength Mastery (1/1)

flowcyto

Ya don't necc need Eruption w/ adv to apply Clinging Flames, since Brimstone's adv can already do that.

For Fire-based HW, I'd pair Thermal Reverb and Brimstone (w/ adv) w/ R3 Annihilate and Arc of Ruin (w/ both special advs). Then Arc can both debuff and refresh CF, so ya only need to open w/ Brimstone to get CF up, and Arc can renew it from there. Brimstone can also be tapped 3x to get knock immunity on trash mobs, so Annihilate won't send them flying away from you. Cleave isn't strictly necessary for this, though it is nice early on as a leveling attack.

Aside from Arc, the build could perhaps use more defenses or heals, though that may also depend on the content ya plan to run, since most solo/mission stuff is pretty easy.

I'd also prob get Brutality instead of Overpower in Str PSS.

alfinpogform

Thanks for the tips. Any kind of defensive things in particular aside from an AD?

Edit: And is Rank 3 Annihilate more damage than the Clinging Flames adv?

flowcyto

From what I can tell, the 30% on the adv is a base dmg boost, so yea it will be more dps than R3, as long as ur keeping CF up and refreshed on ur target.

tykune

Hmm.. why behemoth over decimator?

flowcyto

tykune said:

Hmm.. why behemoth over decimator?

I'm not sure what ur referring to. Talents? Cause there's no 'Decimator' talent, and if you mean the Devastator's innate talent then that's really no different to the Behemoth's. The diff between one talent choice isn't that much regardless.

tykune

flowcyto said:

tykune said:

Hmm.. why behemoth over decimator?

I'm not sure what ur referring to. Talents? Cause there's no 'Decimator' talent, and if you mean the Devastator's innate talent then that's really no different to the Behemoth's. The diff between one talent choice isn't that much regardless.

Yeah, I was referring to the innate.

tykune

I have a freeform dragon hw fire build that is close to this that I would like to share since it is of the same topic, and would like both of your opinions on it. I am uncertain of whether recovery or endurance will benefit me at this point, unless it makes no difference? I was thinking about throwing Masterful Dodge in there somewhere, but I couldn't bring myself to remove any of the abilities that had been placed there, though I could probably stab myself in the leg and replace Defiance with it. Any advice there?

http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=13&n=Fire Drakkon&d=1137NAFEPQap000G000G205G4002800GC08G905G803GE05GG042D0524052700J503250710gw3bIm3bDM

flowcyto

Thermal Reverb scales mostly w/ End, so I'd prob take that over Rec SS.

Fireball's UA is kind of a lesser priority for this build; ya could drop that to make more room. ES/NM would also be a better AO than Immolation, but if ya want the latter for theme then that's okay. R1 Fire Shield also isn't adding that much to the build, and ya dun need to rank Firesnake for its debuff anymore. You'll want the 30% special adv from Annihilate as well.

tykune

flowcyto said:

Thermal Reverb scales mostly w/ End, so I'd prob take that over Rec SS.

Fireball's UA is kind of a lesser priority for this build; ya could drop that to make more room. ES/NM would also be a better AO than Immolation, but if ya want the latter for theme then that's okay. R1 Fire Shield also isn't adding that much to the build, and ya dun need to rank Firesnake for its debuff anymore. You'll want the 30% special adv from Annihilate as well.

What is ES/NM? Also, what 30% special adv from Annihilate? You mean Accelerated Metabolism?

nornsavant

Ego Surge with the Nimble Mind advantage, its in the telekinesis set and its a fantastic crit factory.

flowcyto

The 30% special adv on Annihilate is part of the new power changes, so its not updated on the Planner yet. Gives ya 30% final dmg bonus to Annihilate on targets w/ Clinging Flames on them (which is better than the 20% from a normal rank).

tykune

nornsavant said:

Ego Surge with the Nimble Mind advantage, its in the telekinesis set and its a fantastic crit factory.

I.. don't have ego.. how does Ego Surge help with this build other than Nimble Mind? Just seems like a waste.

flowcyto

Getting ES/NM isn't about the baseline power, but Nimble Mind. NM which gives ya a potentially huge boost to ur crit% that scales well w/ Con and is a flat% (so not affected by diminishing returns). Its the best AO for dps for any build using Con SS, and by a good margin.

tykune

nornsavant said:

Ego Surge with the Nimble Mind advantage, its in the telekinesis set and its a fantastic crit factory.

I.. don't have ego..

flowcyto said:

Getting ES/NM isn't about the baseline power, but Nimble Mind. NM which gives ya a potentially huge boost to ur crit% that scales well w/ Con and is a flat% (so not affected by diminishing returns). Its the best AO for dps for any build using Con SS, and by a good margin.

Hows this then?

http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=13&n=Fire Drakkon&d=1138NAFEPQap000G000G205G4002800GC08G905G803GE05GG042D04DM00K705J503EI0410gw3bIm3bDM

Also, where should I put the rest of my advantage points to put them to use?

flowcyto

Keep in mind that the VD adv on Ebon Void now costs 3 adv points (instead of 1). I'd rank up at least one travel power to R3 (2 adv points total). Other than that, ya can get R2 of ES/NM, and/or R2 of Vicious Decent.

tykune

Is there such a thing as having too much endurance and recovery from talents?

flowcyto

From talents? Not really. At least by max level gearing standards, talent differences don't amount to that much overall. I mean they help, ofc, but their boost becomes less and less relevant as ur gear improves. And even at low levels where talents mean more, ya typically have to end build much more, such that any extra Rec/End ya get isn't necc a bad thing.

I guess to make a quick comparison, trying to max Rec and End by taking Energized + Rec/End talents in a STR/Con/Int setup (just as an example- could be anything not using Rec_End as SS's):
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: Energized
Level 6: Tireless
Level 9: Energetic
Level 12: Amazing Stamina
Level 15: Paramilitary Training
Level 18: Quick Recovery
Level 21: Negotiator

Str: 5+3 = 8
Dex: = 5
Con: 5+3+5 = 13
Ego: = 5
Int: 5+5 = 10
Rec: 12+8+5+3+5+5 = 38
End: 12+8+5+3 = 28
(8, 5, 13, 5, 10, 38, 28)

vs. talents more catered toward the 3 SS's + Dex for crit (ie. no Rec/End talents at all):
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: Superhuman
Level 6: Covert Ops Training
Level 9: Physical Conditioning
Level 12: Body and Mind
Level 15: Healthy Mind
Level 18: Acrobat
Level 21: Coordinated

Str: 12+3+5+5 = 25
Dex: 5+3+5+5 = 18
Con: 12+3+5+5+5 = 30
Ego: = 5
Int: 5+3+5+5+5 = 23
Rec: = 5
End: = 5
(25, 18, 30, 5, 23, 5, 5)

33 and 23 stat diff between Rec and End each, which both combined is worth about one R6 mod of stats at lvl 40. For extra ref, PSS'ing a stat gives +80 of it, and SSS'ing a stat gives +40 to it. And this is looking at the more extreme ends of talent setups.

When I advise to talent for some Rec_End in most builds, I dun even mean committing this much to talents for them. Many of my builds that don't SS Rec_End function fine at a mere +15 to +25 added to either Rec_End alone (usually Rec and no extra End, to help w/ equilibrium) - usually cause they are built efficiently to not need many pure energy stats. Ofc, it depends on the build and things like spamming energy-heavy attacks can change that paradigm, and even w/o that having, say, 25 extra Rec_End more than you need isn't really going to hurt ur build.

tykune

Any chance I could get advice on what talents to take for this? I am not certain if these abilities are energy heavy, or if I can spare a few end/recovery for more strength, con, or dex. I am mostly just trying to squeeze out as much damage as I can without making myself suffer with lacking energy in the end game.

http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=13&n=Fire Drakkon&d=1138NAFEPQap300G000G205G4002800GC08G905G803GE05GG052D04DM00K705J503EI0510gw3bIm3bDM

flowcyto

I think that current talent setup is fine. Ya should be able to tailor ur gear mostly, or even exclusively, to Str and Con, and maybe some Dex for crit%. The End ya get from talents and SS-ing it should be enough to manage energy just fine, since ya already have Defiance energy on top of the EU and toggle (ofc, that's predicated on you getting hit constantly for Defiance).

The only potential trade off I'd consider is exchanging some Rec talents for Dex, but then you'd have to be okay w/ a lower resting equilibrium, and even then ur talking a diff of.. what, just 15 stat points either way? eh..

tykune

flowcyto said:

I think that current talent setup is fine. Ya should be able to tailor ur gear mostly, or even exclusively, to Str and Con, and maybe some Dex for crit%. The End ya get from talents and SS-ing it should be enough to manage energy just fine, since ya already have Defiance energy on top of the EU and toggle (ofc, that's predicated on you getting hit constantly for Defiance).

The only potential trade off I'd consider is exchanging some Rec talents for Dex, but then you'd have to be okay w/ a lower resting equilibrium, and even then ur talking a diff of.. what, just 15 stat points either way? eh..

True true. Thanks