Decent damage, decent survivability, and sexy high heals

aesica

Is this a lost cause?

So a few things about it:

1) I'd prefer to have Presence PSS and Constitution SSS for the sake of durability and solid self-healing. Not sure what the third superstat should be. Presence as a PSS seems to have some pretty fantastic bonuses to healing, critical hit chance, and good guardi/wardicator synergy.

2) I greatly favor maintains over charged powers due to the nature of this game's excessive knockback/stun mechanics. Partial damage of a maintain > 0 damage from a charge that was interrupted due to knocks & stuns.

3) The theme I'm going for is high-level, otherworldly/alien technology. It's a shame that most of the gadgeteering attacks suck balls at the moment.

4) The powers I have set already are powers I want. I can justify the darkness powers in particular as alien technology, (void shift as a short-range teleport, for example) but I'd like to stay away from darkness other than what I already have to avoid overdoing it. Dark Transfusion is pushing it, but there aren't a lot of self-hurting options for reliably maintaining Compassion, plus the energy spike + damage boost is pretty cool.

5) On the subject of Compassion, I love the healing bonus but I get that it may have to go due to the conscious maintenance required. I greatly prefer forms that just build on their own, such as Concentration, Chilled Form, Form of the Tempest, etc. The first two in particular would mean better damage, assuming I could realistically take a non-end/rec stat. This is why this game's stat system and the gamey nature of forms/eus/etc utterly infuriates me at times and generally feels like the biggest stumbling block for "building the hero I want."

6) In terms of what I'm hoping for, I prefer simple, bloat-free mechanics over "stack this, then use this, followed by this while maintaining this."

7) For AoE, I don't know where to go. I'd prefer either ranged sphere or pbaoe. Lightning Storm and Storm Summoner are both examples of the types of powers I'd like to use, but Lightning Storm is absurdly expensive and Storm Summoner has unplayably-bad damage.

- - -

So yeah, any advice is welcome, but I fully understand that what I'm trying to make might not be feasible. At least not until Gadgeteering gets some kind of much-needed attention.​​

flowcyto

Gadgets w/ Darkness.. bit odd of a mix. Guess I'm not really sure what sort of look you want for alien tech- CO prob doesn't have much that will fit it, though. A mix of blasters, plasma based attacks, futuristic melee weapons, tendril-like powers, some demonic powers, and/or Force? I dunno.

Also, how much do you want to focus on dps vs. survival and support? Like, whether you want to work around Compassion and Pres PSS or not will depend on how much ya value dps.

aesica

flowcyto wrote: »

Gadgets w/ Darkness.. bit odd of a mix. Guess I'm not really sure what sort of look you want for alien tech- CO prob doesn't have much that will fit it, though. A mix of blasters, plasma based attacks, futuristic melee weapons, tendril-like powers, some demonic powers, and/or Force? I dunno.

Also, how much do you want to focus on dps vs. survival and support? Like, whether you want to work around Compassion and Pres PSS or not will depend on how much ya value dps.

Little/no demonic powers. The shadowy stuff I have now is somewhat justifiable, but I don't want to pile more on top of it.

That aside, the rest is all pretty much up in the air since even though I value theme, I also value being effective. Plus, the way I see it, technology advanced enough can certainly appear to be magic to those less advanced. So blasters, plasma, force, and even magic is legit. The only sets I really want to avoid are things like infernal, wind, bestial, ice, and power armor (but only because I hate how clunky the PA toggles are). Fire and dark too, but only because I already have a solid fire/dark character.

As for support: Pretty much none. I don't mean it to be a support character at all, I just want the really big self-healing that comes with Presence PSS. Compassion is up for debate due to how tricky it can be to maintain when you aren't group healing or taking damage yourself.

So yeah, if what I'm trying to make is folly, feel free to say so. It's entirely possible I'm trying to make this character do too much as a jack of all trades, master of everything.​​

flowcyto

Pres PSS is lowering ur personal dps a bit, but it is good for self-healing, yea. You prob don't need to go as far as putting Compassion on top of that (though ofc the other SS has to support a dps toggle) if its stacking is proving annoying.

Something basic like this can cover ur single-target dps, energy, and self-healing venues:

(Unnamed Build) - Freeform

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

Talents
Level 1: The Witch (Con: 10, Int: 8, Pre: 10, Rec: 10)
Level 6: Healthy Mind (Con: 5, Int: 5)
Level 9: Shrug It Off (Con: 5, Pre: 5)
Level 12: Diplomatic (Int: 5, Pre: 5)
Level 15: Quick Recovery (Con: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 18: Negotiator (Int: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 21: Lasting Impression (Pre: 5, Rec: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Particle Rifle
Level 1: Pulse Beam Rifle (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Concentration
Level 8: Invulnerability (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 17: Soul Vortex (Rank 2, Soul Drain)
Level 20: Lifedrain (Rank 2, Vampiric Sympathy)
Level 23:
Level 26:
Level 29:
Level 32:
Level 35:
Level 38:
Adv. Points: 20/36

Travel Powers
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations
Presence: Repurpose (3/3)
Presence: Grandeur (2/3)
Presence: Moment of Glory (3/3)
Presence: Force of Will (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: 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: Presence Mastery (1/1)

Not sure what else ya want thematically, say, for AoE, CC, extra defenses, or w/e. So leaving it pretty wide open.

aesica

AoE is proving to be the hardest part for me. Forgetting theme for a moment and thinking strictly in terms of what would work best, any recommendations? Even if it fails the theme check, it would give me a starting point for roughly what this build would be able to support energy wise.​​

flowcyto

I tend to like AoE's w/ CC potential attached (usually via special adv)- like SEmbrace, Skarn's, Venom Breath, Wind Breath, Sonic Arrow, TK Burst, Tremor, Vengeance/Condemn, Hurricane, the Cyclone AoE's, Pyre, etc. For Tech, Ricochet Throw w/ adv and Sonic Boom Gen have decent coverage, but both are charged and have no CC, and most PA stuff is either a slotted toggle or has more limited coverage (thin cylinder or 10ft sphere). You could just go easy-mode w/ a large pbAoE like Lead Tempest or Shuriken Storm.

roughbearmattach

I would not use Compassion, and instead gear for some more Healing bonuses. With Presence as PSS, you'll be good to go.

Are boomerangs/throwing blades out of the question? Combined with toxic nanites or sonic device, can be super effective gadgets.