For maxing out Fire, it's all about Conflag and stacking/timing the debuffs correctly in your rotation. You can also mix in Rimefire or Strafing Run for spikes during DPS checks.
Try following along with the advanced section of the guide to make the updates, post up your Fire and PA builds, and I'll be happy to help you tune them.
I've copied my proposed build below, but I feel as if I've got redundant debuffs in here or I've got too many going on. I'm particularly looking at Firesnake (since the change to it) since I do have access to the Engulfing Flames debuff.
These days I'd prob first take Incendiary Grenade w/ adv for a Fire debuff, since Firesnake is on a longer cd now and still has a build-up & travel time time, whereas the grenade makes No Quarter (and CF) pretty easy to roll. Ofc, you can get both debuffs if you have the room. Fire has a pretty good amount of options to support or boost up the basic Conflag + UA dmg now.
These days I'd prob first take Incendiary Grenade w/ adv for a Fire debuff, since Firesnake is on a longer cd now and still has a build-up & travel time time, whereas the grenade makes No Quarter (and CF) pretty easy to roll. Ofc, you can get both debuffs if you have the room. Fire has a pretty good amount of options to support or boost up the basic Conflag + UA dmg now.
It also appears to be a much more reliable source of clinging flames...looks like it might be something for me to look at.
I'm not a big fan of fire shield, and I'd probably cut down on the self-heals -- leave Conviction, replace Resurgence with Masterful Dodge (resurgence works after you take damage, masterful dodge works before, but you can't use resurgence if you're dead. For example, dinobaby breath on the dps will probably kill you through block unless you have a lot of hp or pop MD first), replace absorb heat with something else.
Below is what I would suggest. Reasoning: r1 Heat Wave - the debuff is awesome and lasts a long time. It's also refreshed on tap so in your rotation you'll only be tapping Heat Wave and it's not worth expending the points to rank it.
r3 Block - this is the biggest source of defense for anyone. Especially DPS. You don't want to die unless you mess up and miss a block. At rank 2, there are still a few attacks that will kill you through block. At rank 3, there are way fewer. Rank 3 basically ensures that "if I block, I'll live" unless you're standing near the tanks or something. Take rank 3 block on all of your endgame characters.
Eldritch Shield - provides the greatest level of defense vs. non-physical damage. Most ranged damage is non-physical.
Incend Grenade w adv - others already mentioned the reasons. But yeah it's fast and that's what you want from your debuffs.
r2 Ego Surge - makes Nimble Mind last longer. And yes you should keep Ego Surge even with no CON investment at all it adds 8.5% to your crit chance. But then what happens is that in a Team Up during cosmics you usually get at least one AoPM buff, which bumps up the Nimble Mind bonus a lot.
Lock N Load - Cost Discount + Crit Chance boost...great to rotate with Ego Surge.
r3 Flashfire - it deals decent DPS because it's a tap DoT and will likely be permanently on your target so if you have the points then put them here.
Masterful Dodge - the reasons panta mentioned. As a DPS, there is not much room to *recover* from taking damage because endgame damage values are so high. Instead what matters is avoiding damage altogether. If you still want that extra heal feel, put in heal pots into your device slots.
OVERALL - your DPS will be highly dependent on how much you can maintain Conflag. So any interruptions should be minimized. Debuffs applied quickly, minimal time spent blocking, etc....maximizing the amount of time you spend maintain Conflag will have the biggest impact on your dps in your rotation. Try to apply all of your debuffs together as much as possible and tap them when you can.
I'm not a big fan of fire shield, and I'd probably cut down on the self-heals -- leave Conviction, replace Resurgence with Masterful Dodge (resurgence works after you take damage, masterful dodge works before, but you can't use resurgence if you're dead. For example, dinobaby breath on the dps will probably kill you through block unless you have a lot of hp or pop MD first), replace absorb heat with something else.
Thanks for your comments!
I like Fire Shield...especially with this character I can't go too far out of her theme (yes I read the warning on the guide), so I might just upgrade it and keep it as is.
Good point regarding Resurgence, thanks. I was trying to go for something a little different but more often than not it hasn't worked out in my favor for this build. Resurgence works better on my other build I have it on.
I will replace absorb heat with something else, despite it being useful, it has been an annoyance at times due to it's mechanics.
r1 Heat Wave - the debuff is awesome and lasts a long time. It's also refreshed on tap so in your rotation you'll only be tapping Heat Wave and it's not worth expending the points to rank it.
Yeah, the main reason I ranked up Heatwave was to just grab a little extra hold time and possible the VFX as well...
r3 Block - this is the biggest source of defense for anyone. Especially DPS. You don't want to die unless you mess up and miss a block. At rank 2, there are still a few attacks that will kill you through block. At rank 3, there are way fewer. Rank 3 basically ensures that "if I block, I'll live" unless you're standing near the tanks or something. Take rank 3 block on all of your endgame characters.
Eldritch Shield - provides the greatest level of defense vs. non-physical damage. Most ranged damage is non-physical.
Yeah, I normally grab rank 3 blocks (because they are quite pretty), but there are some exceptions where I've built to be resistant enough or I have other ways to outlast stuff...Solaris does not fall into that category so I will be taking this on board! I might keep Fire Shield though, purely for theme. But Eldritch shield mechanically would be better.
r2 Ego Surge - makes Nimble Mind last longer. And yes you should keep Ego Surge even with no CON investment at all it adds 8.5% to your crit chance. But then what happens is that in a Team Up during cosmics you usually get at least one AoPM buff, which bumps up the Nimble Mind bonus a lot.
Lock N Load - Cost Discount + Crit Chance boost...great to rotate with Ego Surge.
I generally don't cycle AO's, not really something I'm looking to do. But I have been looking through each of the AO's and yeah Ego Surge (as usual) is looking the best at least for this build.
Masterful Dodge - the reasons panta mentioned. As a DPS, there is not much room to *recover* from taking damage because endgame damage values are so high. Instead what matters is avoiding damage altogether. If you still want that extra heal feel, put in heal pots into your device slots.
Mhm, I've often popped Resurgence thinking it was MD like I used to have so there's no hardship in turning back to it.
OVERALL - your DPS will be highly dependent on how much you can maintain Conflag. So any interruptions should be minimized. Debuffs applied quickly, minimal time spent blocking, etc....maximizing the amount of time you spend maintain Conflag will have the biggest impact on your dps in your rotation. Try to apply all of your debuffs together as much as possible and tap them when you can.
Mhm, to begin with I didn't really take on board how strong Conflag is but after several tests at OMs etc, I understand what I should be aiming for.
Thanks for your suggestions and comments! I'm redoing her build today and I'm working towards Justice so in the distant future I'll see how it all turned out.
EDIT: Update, just retconned into a build similar to my original one with a few changes to the build and rotation and my fireball damage alone has increased from capping at 8.3k on crit to: [Combat (Self)] Your Fireball deals 14486 (12050) Fire Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy C.
I think most of this stuff is kinda obvious to anyone who spent a decent amount of time in the powerhouse; things like knowing when to block are probably more important because dying a lot lowers your DPS
My time with Teleiosaurus and ultimately, Eidolon of Destruction, says otherwise.
I've gotten between 20 to 30 different people who've been inspired to change their build or even make new characters after reading this guide....esp the "Advanced" section. That's just people who've said something directly so there's likely many more that are acting on the information in here. If you consider that between 200-300 people run endgame content, with maybe 100 of those being regulars, it's a sizable % of people who want to improve already.
It's very encouraging!
While it will take a while to feel the effects in-game...like every Dino check passing or Eido being back on farm status...I think that with the right combination of information + incentive it will just be a matter of time.
This guide + the giant monster guide are some of the pieces that will cover the information side of that formula. One or two more pieces are coming. We'll have more on the incentive side as well.
I've gotten between 20 to 30 different people who've been inspired to change their build or even make new characters after reading this guide....esp the "Advanced" section. That's just people who've said something directly so there's likely many more that are acting on the information in here. If you consider that between 200-300 people run endgame content, with maybe 100 of those being regulars, it's a sizable % of people who want to improve already.
It's very encouraging!
That's excellent news for the community
POWERFRAME REVAMPS, NEW POWERS and BUG FIXES > Recycled Content and Events and even costumes at this point Introvert guy who use CO to make his characters playable and get experimental with Viable FF Theme builds! Running out of Unique FF builds due to the lack of updates and synergiesPlaying since 1 February 2011 98+ Characters (7 ATs, 91 FFs) ALTitis for Life!
quick update to the guide. I finally got around to retesting these powers since the Ego Surge nerf. As a result of that change, I need to revise the "advanced" range down to 4k to 6k instead of 4.5k-6.5k and Hurricane and Ricochet Throw are out of the running in general.
I think most of this stuff is kinda obvious to anyone who spent a decent amount of time in the powerhouse...
Plenty of people don't do that...
I do! I've been going at learning builds like I'm going for my PhD in it! LOL I like to analyze the builds that people post. I look at the stats, all the powers and try to understand all of the choices they made. Sometimes I notice things that don't really work together and make the corrections for myself.
I really appreciate all of the kind folks who take time to answer my questions. So if you see my name/posts popping up, I am trying to learn this stuff for myself and to share with others. My fear is that one of the other superhero games will come out and kill this poor, neglected red-headed-step-child of a game that we have grown to love (and hate) before I am become pro! T_T
Got a question on the "Ego Primary - gear for Ego" build.
Ego: Insight (3/3) Ego: Aggression (2/2) Ego: Follow Through (3/3) Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Why Sixth Sense instead of Exploit Opening? On ZE putting those 2 points in there would get me 2% more crit chance. On the other hand, Exploit Opening makes the next non crit after a crit do 20% more damage.
Everyone has to start with a reference, when I started playing with FF Builds years ago I used my experience with the ATs as we ll as the freeform-builds-directory as reference
eventually I got used to it
Got a question on the "Ego Primary - gear for Ego" build.
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Aggression (2/2)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Why Sixth Sense instead of Exploit Opening? On ZE putting those 2 points in there would get me 2% more crit chance. On the other hand, Exploit Opening makes the next non crit after a crit do 20% more damage.
Good point, Exploit Opening for maintained range powers is really good (not so much for charged ones however)
but I remember that the spec was bugged and didn't scale correctlywith your critical severity [citation needed]
POWERFRAME REVAMPS, NEW POWERS and BUG FIXES > Recycled Content and Events and even costumes at this point Introvert guy who use CO to make his characters playable and get experimental with Viable FF Theme builds! Running out of Unique FF builds due to the lack of updates and synergiesPlaying since 1 February 2011 98+ Characters (7 ATs, 91 FFs) ALTitis for Life!
Why Sixth Sense instead of Exploit Opening? On ZE putting those 2 points in there would get me 2% more crit chance. On the other hand, Exploit Opening makes the next non crit after a crit do 20% more damage.
Sixth Sense scales off of secondary superstats so it's true that in the "Ego prim, w Ego mods" setup Exploit Opening would be better if you are testing in the Powerhouse alone.
But given the meta at Cosmics you are almost guaranteed to have an AoPM buff on you. And when you test with a friend that has AoPM then they are adding about 100 points to each of your secondary superstats which is when Sixth Sense becomes the more optimal choice.
WIth the equivalent of 1 AOPM that gives 100 more stat points, that crit% contribution goes up to 4%. Another 147 points gets me up to 7%. Seems like it would then require at least multiple AOPMs for Sixth Sense to become the clear front runner and that's assuming that the 2nd and 3rd AOPMs don't get diminished stronger than this example, especially given that AOPM would also be buffing Follow Through and hence Exploit Opening...
WIth the equivalent of 1 AOPM that gives 100 more stat points, that crit% contribution goes up to 4%. Another 147 points gets me up to 7%. Seems like it would then require at least multiple AOPMs for Sixth Sense to become the clear front runner and that's assuming that the 2nd and 3rd AOPMs don't get diminished stronger than this example, especially given that AOPM would also be buffing Follow Through and hence Exploit Opening...
You might be right. I will run some tests and post up the results.
Ok here are some results. The difference is way smaller than I expected and could be user error or something else. The AoPM buff provided 106 stat points. I stand corrected...there is not a clear difference the way I would have expected.
so the test results basically ended up being: instead of sixth sense being a clear choice over exploit opening, it's now an either-or choice unless you're trying to record-set?
The thing about exploit opening is that it scales kinda oddly with crit chance.
The real damage increase for exploit opening is (crit chance) * (1 - crit chance) * 30%; it's best at exactly 50%. For characters in the normal range of crit chance for dps (30-70%), that's around +7%. The real damage increase for +x% crit chance is (x/100) * (crit severity). At typical crit severities for a high end ego dps build, you need to be getting about +6% out of sixth sense for it to beat exploit opening.
what exactly ARE typical severity values for high-end DPS builds anyway? i don't think any of mine have gone very far over 200%, even the ones i've redone following this guide
of course, i also haven't changed up my MOD loadouts on any of them yet, just what could be done through retcons
Hi Endgame DPSers, there's a new guide up with regards to using the parser. It's a great way to see what kind of DPS your build can put out before stepping out of the Powerhouse:
Based on this post, how would I make an endgame DPS based off Defile? I'll try it when I have more time unless someone else has it already. thanks. Drat I just accidently deleted the build on Hero Creator when trying to export it. gah...
Based on this post, how would I make an endgame DPS based off Defile? I'll try it when I have more time unless someone else has it already. thanks. Drat I just accidently deleted the build on Hero Creator when trying to export it. gah...
For Defile, I use Avenger set up
Apply Debuff with Will-o'-wisp
Get 5 poison stacks
Tap Infernal blast to refresh the poison stacks (including the debuff) and activating the Avanger Preemptive Strike
Fully charge Defile
that way the boss will permantly stuck at 5 stacks of poison, Pestilence debuffs will kick it and a single tap of your blast will power up Defile
POWERFRAME REVAMPS, NEW POWERS and BUG FIXES > Recycled Content and Events and even costumes at this point Introvert guy who use CO to make his characters playable and get experimental with Viable FF Theme builds! Running out of Unique FF builds due to the lack of updates and synergiesPlaying since 1 February 2011 98+ Characters (7 ATs, 91 FFs) ALTitis for Life!
Thanks for the guide, its been a fantastic help! Snowball's grown into a nasty little ice bomber, and we'll be seeing y'all out there hunting cosmics! Or maybe just mega-d's for the time being.
Thanks for the guide, its been a fantastic help! Snowball's grown into a nasty little ice bomber, and we'll be seeing y'all out there hunting cosmics! Or maybe just mega-d's for the time being.
Is there any mathed-out information in resistance reduction i.e. from Int primary SS and from various other sources, what the maximums might be (if any) and how they interact with each other?
Is there any mathed-out information in resistance reduction i.e. from Int primary SS and from various other sources, what the maximums might be (if any) and how they interact with each other?
Nothing comprehensive that I am aware of but here is some info that may be useful.....
Sources of Defense Penetration include: Depleted Uranium Core - a must-have for every min-maxer, this core allows your attacks to ignore 15% of the targets damage resistance. So if your target's damage resistance is 20% and you use the core then your attacks damage them as if they had 5% resistance.
Night Warrior passive - allows your attacks to ignore 10% of the target's resistance.. So if your target's damage resistance is 20% then with Night Warrior slotted, your attacks damage them as if they had 10% resistance.
Detect Vulnerability (INT Primary SS Spec Tree) - the highest possible scaling source of defense penetration. This is *the* spec that makes INT primary SS great for Endgame DPS. You get ~0.83% added defense penetration for every 10 points of INT in your build. So if you have 25% defense penetration, which takes 300 INT, and your target's damage resistance is 20% then your attacks damage them as if they had 0% resistance. If your target's damage resistance was 40%, then your attacks damage them as if they had 15% resistance.
Some attack powers and advantages have built-in defense penetration as well, but they are too specific to be included here.
Other sources: Dragon's Wrath (power) - halves final resistance...this one is unique so I'll list it here since nothing else does this
Spec tree debuffs: (debuffs can bring target's resistance below 0, damage penetration cannot) Expose Weakness - DEX spec tree Vulnerability - PRE spec tree Penetrating Strikes - Brawler spec tree Wither - Sentinel spec tree Trapped - Overseer spec tree Debilitating Challenge - Protector spec tree Rend - Arbiter spec tree Initiative - Vindicator spec tree Round Em Up - Avenger spec tree
Powers that debuff: too long of a list but maybe someone else will write this up....almost every powerset has at least 1 debuff for the damage type of that powerset.
To calculate final damage: 1. Bare-Base Damage 2. * (1+ Role Bonus{25%, 0%, -10%}) 3. * (1+ Rankup Bonus{20%}) 4. * (1+ Rankup Bonus{20%}) OR * (1+ Special Adv Bonus{30%}) 5. * (Variance for Power in question, you can ignore this) 6. * (1+(Sum of all AdditiveDamageBonuses%)) 7. / (1 + (Sum of all DamageDebuffs%)) 8. * (1 + (Sum of all SeverityDamageBonuses%)) 9. * (1 + BaseDamageBonus1%) *(1 + BaseDamageBonus2%)....*(1 + BaseDamageBonusN%) 10. * (100% - Avoidance%) 11. / (1 + Defense%) 12. / (1 + Block%) 13. * (1 + NegativeResistanceDebuff%) 14. - Flat Damage Reduction 15. = Solution
(mostly from this thread here but with a few updates and clarifications)
#1 - the base damage of a power on its own....without any other bonus being applied from anywhere #2 - damage bonus based on your role matching up with your attack power (ranged dps role + a ranged attack) #3 - going from rank1 to rank2 for a given power #4 - some attacks have advantages that increase base damage by 30% when certain conditions are met (ex. Massacre's Bloody Mess adv.) #5 - not important, but basically some powers have damage numbers that vary more than others #6 - this is the sum of your form bonus, passive bonus, AO dmg bonus, superstat bonus, and any other bonus in the general damage layer. #7 - damage debuffs applied to you the damage dealer. Afaik all damage debuffs are in the same layer #8 - this includes crit severity, damage bonus from Offense, damage bonus from Utility +damage mods #9 - this includes any other base damage buffs (ex. Finishing Blow from Brawler tree) #10 - avoidance of your target. If they do not dodge then ignore this. #11 - calculated mitigation of your target: incorporates their resistance & any buffs or debuffs to that resistance & any damage penetration applied by you onto the target #12 - if your target is not blocking then ignore this #13 - if resist has been pushed into negative values then specify them here. This can only happen after accounting for blocking + mitigation #14 - flat damage reduction effects that your target has (ax. Invulnerability's damage absorb) #15 - this will never go below 1
Also note that resistance debuffs have a cap against higher ranked targets, while resistance penetration does not. This is not a big issue for the most used resistance penetration (DUC), since the numbers are usually quite low. But for Dragons Wrath and Detect Invulnerability it makes a huge difference.
Also note that resistance debuffs have a cap against higher ranked targets, while resistance penetration does not.
This does not match my experience. I can retest, but last I checked it appeared that resistance penetration counted as a debuff and was subject to its normal diminishing returns for debuffs when used against high ranked targets.
6. * (1+(Sum of all AdditiveDamageBonuses%)) 13. * (1 + NegativeResistanceDebuff%) 14. - Flat Damage Reduction 15. = Solution
#6 - this is the sum of your form bonus, passive bonus, AO dmg bonus, superstat bonus, and any other bonus in the general damage layer. #13 - if resist has been pushed into negative values then specify them here. This can only happen after accounting for blocking + mitigation #14 - flat damage reduction effects that your target has (ax. Invulnerability's damage absorb) #15 - this will never go below 1
#6 - AdditiveDamageBonuses on freeforms and corrected ATs are subject to a diminishing returns formula which has never been accurately determined. #13 - I'm not sure what you comment means here. I don't believe that debuffs first reduce defense and then multiply, though it is somewhat difficult to tell as test dummies only have 20% resistance. #14 - note that bubble effects (protection field, mindful reinforcement, etc) are reduced by steps 10-13, meaning they effectively apply after step 9. If you get hit for 20,000 damage with +300% block resistance and +100% regular resistance, you would normally take 2,500 damage (20,000 / 4 / 2). If you're protected by an 8,000 hp shield, that shield will only stop 1,000 damage, leaving 1,500 damage against your hp. Flat reduction that lacks a bubble graphic (unbreakable, invulnerability, IDF) is generally not reduced in this way. Some flat reduction effects can reduce damage to zero (bubbles, unbreakable), others are capped at 95% (invulnerability, IDF). #15 - As noted above, can be reduced to zero by flat damage reduction. Unclear if minimum damage 1 is real or a display artifact, damage in combatlog.log appears to be a double precision float, not an integer, but displayed damage is an integer.
#13 - I'm not sure what you comment means here. I don't believe that debuffs first reduce defense and then multiply, though it is somewhat difficult to tell as test dummies only have 20% resistance
I'll need to re-test it out then. My experience has been that when a target falls to -20% resistance then I do 120% of my normal damage to them.
#14 - note that bubble effects (protection field, mindful reinforcement, etc) are reduced by steps 10-13, meaning they effectively apply after step 9. If you get hit for 20,000 damage with +300% block resistance and +100% regular resistance, you would normally take 2,500 damage (20,000 / 4 / 2). If you're protected by an 8,000 hp shield, that shield will only stop 1,000 damage, leaving 1,500 damage against your hp.
I left out the note about shields because I don't think there are any noteworthy mobs that use them. I will clarify that this reduction only references damage absorption from IDF/Invuln.
I'll need to re-test it out then. My experience has been that when a target falls to -20% resistance then I do 120% of my normal damage to them.
The question is whether a target with 20% damage resistance and -40% in defense debuffs takes 117% damage or 120% damage. Oh, also, there's diminishing returns to defense debuffs.
The question is whether a target with 20% damage resistance and -40% in defense debuffs takes 117% damage or 120% damage. Oh, also, there's diminishing returns to defense debuffs.
That is a better question.....in which case the line about negative resist should probably just fold up into the mitigation calculation. Or the mitigation calculation should be broken out into its component steps.
So, testing debuffs against powerhouse dummies (villain) No debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 8001 (8801) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy. Total damage taken: 91% (100/110) 15% in crushing debuffs (armor pierce): Your Haymaker deals 12792 (12236) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy. Total damage taken: 104.5% (115/110) 30% in crushing debuffs (armor pierce, no quarter) Your Haymaker deals 6999 (5922) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy. Total damage taken: 118.2% (130/110)
Now for DR on a supervillain type Your Haymaker deals 7500 (8999) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 83.3% (100/120) 15% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 9002 (9452) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 95.2% (114/120) 30% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 8961 (8553) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 104.8% (126p/120) 45% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 10243 (9169) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 111.7% (134/120) 60% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 18728 (16052) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 116.7% (140/120) 75% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 10413 (8627) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 120.7% (145/120)
night warrior: Your Haymaker deals 6010 (6611) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 90.9% (100/110) night warrior, 45% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 16296 (13372) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 121.9% (134/110)
However, it appears that some fraction of cosmic DR ignores defense penetration effects. It is probable that you can't actually get more than about 20% out of defense penetration.
So, testing debuffs against powerhouse dummies (villain) No debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 8001 (8801) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy. Total damage taken: 91% (100/110) 15% in crushing debuffs (armor pierce): Your Haymaker deals 12792 (12236) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy. Total damage taken: 104.5% (115/110) 30% in crushing debuffs (armor pierce, no quarter) Your Haymaker deals 6999 (5922) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy. Total damage taken: 118.2% (130/110)
Now for DR on a supervillain type Your Haymaker deals 7500 (8999) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 83.3% (100/120) 15% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 9002 (9452) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 95.2% (114/120) 30% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 8961 (8553) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 104.8% (126p/120) 45% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 10243 (9169) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 111.7% (134/120) 60% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 18728 (16052) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 116.7% (140/120) 75% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 10413 (8627) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 120.7% (145/120)
night warrior: Your Haymaker deals 6010 (6611) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 90.9% (100/110) night warrior, 45% in crushing debuffs: Your Haymaker deals 16296 (13372) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B. Total damage taken: 121.9% (134/110)
However, it appears that some fraction of cosmic DR ignores defense penetration effects. It is probable that you can't actually get more than about 20% out of defense penetration.
Comments
Solaris - Fire DPS - Freeform
Super Stats
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Endurance (Secondary)
Talents
Level 1: The Void (Con: 10, End: 10, Dex: 8, Ego: 10)
Level 6: Ascetic (Con: 5, Ego: 5)
Level 9: Daredevil (Ego: 5, End: 5)
Level 12: Boundless Reserves (Con: 5, End: 5)
Level 15: Energetic (End: 8)
Level 18: Enduring (Con: 8)
Level 21: Indomitable (Ego: 8)
Powers
Level 1: Throw Fire
Level 1: Heat Wave (Rank 2, Engulfing Flames)
Level 6: Fireball (Rank 2, Unstable Accelerant)
Level 8: Fiery Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Fire Shield (Rank 2)
Level 14: Thermal Reverberation
Level 17: Conflagration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Absorb Heat (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Flashfire (Rank 2)
Level 26: Fire Snake
Level 29: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Concentration
Level 35: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 38: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Adv. Points: 32/36
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)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Locus (2/2)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: 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: Ego Mastery (1/1)
Four points left over for my travel powers. Since I've got under 9k HP, I am not sure if Ego Surge is all that worth it.
My Characters on PRIMUS
[#]WeNeedHeroicFashion - <Aura Suggestions> - <CO Wiki (WIP)> - <Crowd Control Discussion> - <Telepathy in Champions Online> - How to review The Force Power Set - Join the Champions Online: On Alert Discord!
I am @RavenForce in game
__________________________
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Would you suggest any other changes?
My Characters on PRIMUS
[#]WeNeedHeroicFashion - <Aura Suggestions> - <CO Wiki (WIP)> - <Crowd Control Discussion> - <Telepathy in Champions Online> - How to review The Force Power Set - Join the Champions Online: On Alert Discord!
I am @RavenForce in game
__________________________
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
r1 Heat Wave - the debuff is awesome and lasts a long time. It's also refreshed on tap so in your rotation you'll only be tapping Heat Wave and it's not worth expending the points to rank it.
r3 Block - this is the biggest source of defense for anyone. Especially DPS. You don't want to die unless you mess up and miss a block. At rank 2, there are still a few attacks that will kill you through block. At rank 3, there are way fewer. Rank 3 basically ensures that "if I block, I'll live" unless you're standing near the tanks or something. Take rank 3 block on all of your endgame characters.
Eldritch Shield - provides the greatest level of defense vs. non-physical damage. Most ranged damage is non-physical.
Incend Grenade w adv - others already mentioned the reasons. But yeah it's fast and that's what you want from your debuffs.
r2 Ego Surge - makes Nimble Mind last longer. And yes you should keep Ego Surge even with no CON investment at all it adds 8.5% to your crit chance. But then what happens is that in a Team Up during cosmics you usually get at least one AoPM buff, which bumps up the Nimble Mind bonus a lot.
Lock N Load - Cost Discount + Crit Chance boost...great to rotate with Ego Surge.
r3 Flashfire - it deals decent DPS because it's a tap DoT and will likely be permanently on your target so if you have the points then put them here.
Masterful Dodge - the reasons panta mentioned. As a DPS, there is not much room to *recover* from taking damage because endgame damage values are so high. Instead what matters is avoiding damage altogether. If you still want that extra heal feel, put in heal pots into your device slots.
OVERALL - your DPS will be highly dependent on how much you can maintain Conflag. So any interruptions should be minimized. Debuffs applied quickly, minimal time spent blocking, etc....maximizing the amount of time you spend maintain Conflag will have the biggest impact on your dps in your rotation. Try to apply all of your debuffs together as much as possible and tap them when you can.
Here's the build with the changes cited above.
Solaris - Fire DPS - Freeform
Super Stats
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Endurance (Secondary)
Talents
Level 1: The Void (Con: 10, End: 10, Dex: 8, Ego: 10)
Level 6: Ascetic (Con: 5, Ego: 5)
Level 9: Daredevil (Ego: 5, End: 5)
Level 12: Boundless Reserves (Con: 5, End: 5)
Level 15: Energetic (End: 8)
Level 18: Enduring (Con: 8)
Level 21: Indomitable (Ego: 8)
Powers
Level 1: Throw Fire
Level 1: Heat Wave (Engulfing Flames)
Level 6: Fireball (Rank 2, Unstable Accelerant)
Level 8: Fiery Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Eldritch Shield (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Thermal Reverberation
Level 17: Conflagration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Lock N Load (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Flashfire (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Incendiary Grenade (No Quarter)
Level 29: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Concentration
Level 35: Masterful Dodge
Level 38: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Adv. Points: 36/36
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)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Locus (2/2)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: 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: Ego Mastery (1/1)
Other options to consider instead of Lock N Load:
- Rebirth
- Rimefire
- Strafing Run
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Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
I like Fire Shield...especially with this character I can't go too far out of her theme (yes I read the warning on the guide), so I might just upgrade it and keep it as is.
Good point regarding Resurgence, thanks. I was trying to go for something a little different but more often than not it hasn't worked out in my favor for this build. Resurgence works better on my other build I have it on.
I will replace absorb heat with something else, despite it being useful, it has been an annoyance at times due to it's mechanics.
Yeah, the main reason I ranked up Heatwave was to just grab a little extra hold time and possible the VFX as well...
Yeah, I normally grab rank 3 blocks (because they are quite pretty), but there are some exceptions where I've built to be resistant enough or I have other ways to outlast stuff...Solaris does not fall into that category so I will be taking this on board! I might keep Fire Shield though, purely for theme. But Eldritch shield mechanically would be better.
Mhm, the more I check this power out, the more my mind works to think if I want it or not, it's definitely something I have to try at least. I generally don't cycle AO's, not really something I'm looking to do. But I have been looking through each of the AO's and yeah Ego Surge (as usual) is looking the best at least for this build. Lack of INT and low CDR gear puts me back on this, but I do use it whenever I can.
Mhm, I've often popped Resurgence thinking it was MD like I used to have so there's no hardship in turning back to it.
Mhm, to begin with I didn't really take on board how strong Conflag is but after several tests at OMs etc,
I understand what I should be aiming for.
Thanks for your suggestions and comments! I'm redoing her build today and I'm working towards Justice so in the distant future I'll see how it all turned out.
EDIT: Update, just retconned into a build similar to my original one with a few changes to the build and rotation and my fireball damage alone has increased from capping at 8.3k on crit to: [Combat (Self)] Your Fireball deals 14486 (12050) Fire Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy C.
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Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
It's very encouraging!
While it will take a while to feel the effects in-game...like every Dino check passing or Eido being back on farm status...I think that with the right combination of information + incentive it will just be a matter of time.
This guide + the giant monster guide are some of the pieces that will cover the information side of that formula. One or two more pieces are coming. We'll have more on the incentive side as well.
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
I really appreciate all of the kind folks who take time to answer my questions. So if you see my name/posts popping up, I am trying to learn this stuff for myself and to share with others. My fear is that one of the other superhero games will come out and kill this poor, neglected red-headed-step-child of a game that we have grown to love (and hate) before I am become pro! T_T
Thanks all!
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Aggression (2/2)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Why Sixth Sense instead of Exploit Opening? On ZE putting those 2 points in there would get me 2% more crit chance. On the other hand, Exploit Opening makes the next non crit after a crit do 20% more damage.
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
eventually I got used to it
Good point, Exploit Opening for maintained range powers is really good (not so much for charged ones however)
but I remember that the spec was bugged and didn't scale correctlywith your critical severity [citation needed]
But given the meta at Cosmics you are almost guaranteed to have an AoPM buff on you. And when you test with a friend that has AoPM then they are adding about 100 points to each of your secondary superstats which is when Sixth Sense becomes the more optimal choice.
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
WIth the equivalent of 1 AOPM that gives 100 more stat points, that crit% contribution goes up to 4%. Another 147 points gets me up to 7%. Seems like it would then require at least multiple AOPMs for Sixth Sense to become the clear front runner and that's assuming that the 2nd and 3rd AOPMs don't get diminished stronger than this example, especially given that AOPM would also be buffing Follow Through and hence Exploit Opening...
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
The real damage increase for exploit opening is (crit chance) * (1 - crit chance) * 30%; it's best at exactly 50%. For characters in the normal range of crit chance for dps (30-70%), that's around +7%.
The real damage increase for +x% crit chance is (x/100) * (crit severity). At typical crit severities for a high end ego dps build, you need to be getting about +6% out of sixth sense for it to beat exploit opening.
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
of course, i also haven't changed up my MOD loadouts on any of them yet, just what could be done through retcons
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/championsonline#/discussion/1209292/parser-usage-guide/p1
^ check it outtt.
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
For Defile, I use Avenger set up
Apply Debuff with Will-o'-wisp
Get 5 poison stacks
Tap Infernal blast to refresh the poison stacks (including the debuff) and activating the Avanger Preemptive Strike
Fully charge Defile
that way the boss will permantly stuck at 5 stacks of poison, Pestilence debuffs will kick it and a single tap of your blast will power up Defile
Infernal DPS
v2.3.1-25
Super Stats
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Endurance (Secondary)
Talents
Level 1: The Scourge (Con: 10, Ego: 10, Rec: 10, End: 8)
Level 6: Shooter (Dex: 5, Ego: 5)
Level 9: Daredevil (Ego: 5, End: 5)
Level 12: Accurate (Dex: 5, End: 5)
Level 15: Amazing Stamina (Rec: 5, End: 5)
Level 18: Impresario (Dex: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 21: Worldly (Ego: 5, Rec: 5)
Powers
Level 1: Infernal Bolts
Level 1: Infernal Blast (Rank 2, Virulent Propagation)
Level 6: Mephitic
Level 8: Pestilence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Aspect of the Infernal
Level 14: Will-o'-the-Wisp
Level 17: Defile (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20:
Level 23:
Level 26:
Level 29:
Level 32:
Level 35:
Level 38:
Adv. Points: 12/36
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)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Surprise Attack (2/2)
Avenger: Preemptive Strike (3/3)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)
OMG thank you soooo much! Going to try to do that today or tomorrow. Everyone here is so helpful
i would guess the Ego primary - Gear for DEX one, since MP is a dexterity form, but i just want to make sure
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Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
Dragon's Wrath (power) - halves final resistance...this one is unique so I'll list it here since nothing else does this
Spec tree debuffs: (debuffs can bring target's resistance below 0, damage penetration cannot)
Expose Weakness - DEX spec tree
Vulnerability - PRE spec tree
Penetrating Strikes - Brawler spec tree
Wither - Sentinel spec tree
Trapped - Overseer spec tree
Debilitating Challenge - Protector spec tree
Rend - Arbiter spec tree
Initiative - Vindicator spec tree
Round Em Up - Avenger spec tree
Powers that debuff:
too long of a list but maybe someone else will write this up....almost every powerset has at least 1 debuff for the damage type of that powerset.
To calculate final damage:
1. Bare-Base Damage
2. * (1+ Role Bonus{25%, 0%, -10%})
3. * (1+ Rankup Bonus{20%})
4. * (1+ Rankup Bonus{20%}) OR * (1+ Special Adv Bonus{30%})
5. * (Variance for Power in question, you can ignore this)
6. * (1+(Sum of all AdditiveDamageBonuses%))
7. / (1 + (Sum of all DamageDebuffs%))
8. * (1 + (Sum of all SeverityDamageBonuses%))
9. * (1 + BaseDamageBonus1%) *(1 + BaseDamageBonus2%)....*(1 + BaseDamageBonusN%)
10. * (100% - Avoidance%)
11. / (1 + Defense%)
12. / (1 + Block%)
13. * (1 + NegativeResistanceDebuff%)
14. - Flat Damage Reduction
15. = Solution
(mostly from this thread here but with a few updates and clarifications)
#1 - the base damage of a power on its own....without any other bonus being applied from anywhere
#2 - damage bonus based on your role matching up with your attack power (ranged dps role + a ranged attack)
#3 - going from rank1 to rank2 for a given power
#4 - some attacks have advantages that increase base damage by 30% when certain conditions are met (ex. Massacre's Bloody Mess adv.)
#5 - not important, but basically some powers have damage numbers that vary more than others
#6 - this is the sum of your form bonus, passive bonus, AO dmg bonus, superstat bonus, and any other bonus in the general damage layer.
#7 - damage debuffs applied to you the damage dealer. Afaik all damage debuffs are in the same layer
#8 - this includes crit severity, damage bonus from Offense, damage bonus from Utility +damage mods
#9 - this includes any other base damage buffs (ex. Finishing Blow from Brawler tree)
#10 - avoidance of your target. If they do not dodge then ignore this.
#11 - calculated mitigation of your target: incorporates their resistance & any buffs or debuffs to that resistance & any damage penetration applied by you onto the target
#12 - if your target is not blocking then ignore this
#13 - if resist has been pushed into negative values then specify them here. This can only happen after accounting for blocking + mitigation
#14 - flat damage reduction effects that your target has (ax. Invulnerability's damage absorb)
#15 - this will never go below 1
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
#13 - I'm not sure what you comment means here. I don't believe that debuffs first reduce defense and then multiply, though it is somewhat difficult to tell as test dummies only have 20% resistance.
#14 - note that bubble effects (protection field, mindful reinforcement, etc) are reduced by steps 10-13, meaning they effectively apply after step 9. If you get hit for 20,000 damage with +300% block resistance and +100% regular resistance, you would normally take 2,500 damage (20,000 / 4 / 2). If you're protected by an 8,000 hp shield, that shield will only stop 1,000 damage, leaving 1,500 damage against your hp. Flat reduction that lacks a bubble graphic (unbreakable, invulnerability, IDF) is generally not reduced in this way. Some flat reduction effects can reduce damage to zero (bubbles, unbreakable), others are capped at 95% (invulnerability, IDF).
#15 - As noted above, can be reduced to zero by flat damage reduction. Unclear if minimum damage 1 is real or a display artifact, damage in combatlog.log appears to be a double precision float, not an integer, but displayed damage is an integer.
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
No debuffs:
Your Haymaker deals 8001 (8801) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy.
Total damage taken: 91% (100/110)
15% in crushing debuffs (armor pierce):
Your Haymaker deals 12792 (12236) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy.
Total damage taken: 104.5% (115/110)
30% in crushing debuffs (armor pierce, no quarter)
Your Haymaker deals 6999 (5922) Crushing Damage to Test Dummy.
Total damage taken: 118.2% (130/110)
Now for DR on a supervillain type
Your Haymaker deals 7500 (8999) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B.
Total damage taken: 83.3% (100/120)
15% in crushing debuffs:
Your Haymaker deals 9002 (9452) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B.
Total damage taken: 95.2% (114/120)
30% in crushing debuffs:
Your Haymaker deals 8961 (8553) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B.
Total damage taken: 104.8% (126p/120)
45% in crushing debuffs:
Your Haymaker deals 10243 (9169) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B.
Total damage taken: 111.7% (134/120)
60% in crushing debuffs:
Your Haymaker deals 18728 (16052) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B.
Total damage taken: 116.7% (140/120)
75% in crushing debuffs:
Your Haymaker deals 10413 (8627) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B.
Total damage taken: 120.7% (145/120)
night warrior:
Your Haymaker deals 6010 (6611) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B.
Total damage taken: 90.9% (100/110)
night warrior, 45% in crushing debuffs:
Your Haymaker deals 16296 (13372) Crushing Damage to Regenerating Test Dummy B.
Total damage taken: 121.9% (134/110)
However, it appears that some fraction of cosmic DR ignores defense penetration effects. It is probable that you can't actually get more than about 20% out of defense penetration.
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
PARSER USAGE GUIDE: click here for an easy how-to ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶
Spectre beats Eido in an SG run: VIDEO HERE
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
My Characters on PRIMUS
[#]WeNeedHeroicFashion - <Aura Suggestions> - <CO Wiki (WIP)> - <Crowd Control Discussion> - <Telepathy in Champions Online> - How to review The Force Power Set - Join the Champions Online: On Alert Discord!
I am @RavenForce in game
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