Pulse: Vibrations

raighn

Once again revisiting the build that has given me the most headaches over the years... my force build... only this time I've got a bit of a dilemma... I'd like to somehow get Open Palm Strike to work in her build... the power with it's advantage is absolutely perfect for her concept, I just gotta make it work >.<

So... here's the question... how would you make a force based build with Open Palm Strike?

flowcyto

Using OPS for single-target dmg and close-range, and Force to cover most other areas:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
Level 10: Intelligence (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Glacier
Level 6: Covert Ops Training
Level 9: Acrobat
Level 12: Healthy Mind
Level 15: Coordinated
Level 18: Quick Recovery
Level 21: Impresario

Powers:
Level 1: Force Bolts
Level 1: Force Blast (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Force Eruption (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Unstoppable (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Form of the Tempest
Level 14: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 20: Open Palm Strike (Rank 2, Focused Chi Blast)
Level 23: Force Geyser (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Masterful Dodge
Level 29: Force Shield (Rank 2, Force Sheathe)
Level 32: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 35: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 38:

Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations:
Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Dexterity: Expose Weakness (2/2)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Elusive (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (2/3)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

Force Blast taps and Geyser can build up knock immunity quickly, so OPS gets a KI dmg bonus and won't KB things for when ya wanna stay on top of tougher targets. Can also choose to tap or charge Force Eruption depending on whether ya want the KB or not; since ur using FotT instead of Conc, ya dun have to at least half-charge Eruption. Another option to consider is using Energy wave w/ Rev Polarity to suck mobs in the OPS, but then you may not need Eruption.

FC and special adv OPS kinda overlap in their effect- one is like a roided up brother of the other w/ a much heavier cost but long range. That bit of overlap is why I didn't have both in the build.

raighn

I played with the build a bit... Unstoppable seemed to provide minimal benefit overall... hardly any energy return from knocks due to having no Rec, and the damage bonus to OPS didn't seem to actually be very much at all... So I tried NW on her... as far as the tooltips go Unstoppable provides a much higher bonus, but in actual use they seem to be about even (NW only falling slightly behind with OPS but pulling way ahead with all other powers in her build)... anyways... this is what I've got now for her...

PowerHouse   (Link to this build)

Name: Pulse

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
Level 10: Intelligence (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Glacier
Level 6: Covert Ops Training
Level 9: Acrobat
Level 12: Healthy Mind
Level 15: Coordinated
Level 18: Quick Recovery
Level 21: Impresario

Powers:
Level 1: Force Bolts
Level 1: Force Blast (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Force Shield (Rank 2, Force Sheathe)
Level 8: Night Warrior (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Form of the Tempest
Level 14: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 20: Open Palm Strike (Rank 2, Focused Chi Blast)
Level 23: Thunderclap (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 29: Energy Wave (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32:
Level 35:
Level 38:

Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations:
Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Dexterity: Expose Weakness (2/2)

Thunderclap & Energy Wave make keeping MSA roling far more natural for her... no Conviction spam to force it... Thunderclap also opens her build up to some debuff spec options... I've actually been liking the performance of my debuff builds over the generic Guardicator/Wardicator builds lately... they seem to actually get better results for me in both survival and damage...

flowcyto

The issue w/ many of the spec the debuffs, though, is that the means to proc them are usually dps drops in themselves, as most stuns or CC powers aren't high dps, and many times you have to devote power slots to procing them. They are better for group play, though. Its mostly picking between selfish boosts and team boosts when it comes to the specs. Most prefer the selfish boosts cause its versatile (defense, offense, and crit) and w/o having any real stipulations for those boosts. As far as Brawler or Avenger, those can be strong for dps, but much more depend on the type of build and what ur prioritizing.

Yea, NW will work fine ofc, as could a number of other passives- depending on the role ya want. Also, I'd assume you want Rev Polarity on Energy Wave to setup TClap and OPS w/.

raighn

flowcyto said:

Also, I'd assume you want Rev Polarity on Energy Wave to setup TClap and OPS w/.

I've actually been going in and using Thunderclap to stun groups immediately, then full-charging an Ego Surge boosted Energy Wave... sure it scatters the group but it also seems to outright kill most henchmen, the survivors rush right on back and as soon as the first is in range I start to charge OPS usually finishing just in time to catch the rest of the survivors and repeat... But I do suppose Reverse Polarity might actually be a better plan... hm...

I have to say though... for the first time in years Pulse has actually been enjoyable to play again...