Timing of Buffs/Debuffs with Orbital Canon

jaazaniah1

If one is going to use some AO or a debuff (e.g. Chest Beam) with Orbital Canon when is the best time to activate them, before starting OC, or in the seconds between when OC is activated and when it hits?

flowcyto

From quick testing, it seems like Orbital Cannon's upfront dmg doesn't get boosted if you use the AO after activation but before it lands (Anvil of Dawn doesn't seem to be boosted either way, I guess since its a separate entity). So, if you want to boost the upfront dmg then you'd have to pop the AO before activation.

For -resist debuffs, it doesn't matter the timing as long as the target has the debuff still up when it lands. Its different since your talking about a target debuff and not a self-buff like an AO.

jaazaniah1

Thanks. That's what it looks like to me too. So, fire Chest Beam, hit the AO launch OC and fill the time with PBR. It seems though that AoD can crit? At least I saw some hits from it that were 40-50 hp higher than others.

Along with every 9 AoD (ca. 270 average and ca 2400 hp total) I saw 22 hits of Plasma Burn for 22 hp each (total 480). So it seems like I can count on a consistent ca. 2900 hp hitting after the OC strike hits.

The tool tip for OC says it should apply Plasma Burn and hitting the target with Particle Smash should consume the Plasma Burn and then apply Disintegrate. Yes? I couldn't see any icon to indicate that Disintegrate was in effect though, and the Plasma Burn (as noted above) continued to apply damage over the course of the strike. Does Particle Smash just not work with the Plasma Burn applied by OC?

flowcyto

Well, after more testing.. its cause Orbital Cannon is buggy as ****, rofl.

Atm, R1 OC's upfront hit still only lands around you (instead of the target), though it does apply PBurn to any target hit. Conversely, it seems like R2 & R3's upfront hit doesn't apply PBurn, though they target properly.

Anvil's PBurn not working w/ Rupture is prob cause its a separate entity, and its stacks can't be Ruptured by you. That + R2 not applying PBurn upfront is prob why the PSmash combo isn't working w/ it (Plasma Cutter has the same issue). R1 OC w/ or w/o Anvil does allow you to rupture the one upfront PBurn stack (if you're in range for it to land and wait for lag to apply PBurn first).

What a mess

jaazaniah1

Well, if I use it it will be with R2 and AoD, so one thing not to worry about. Now I wonder what to do about Plasma Smash. On the one hand not getting Disintegrate is annoying, but it does free me from having to be at 25'. Keep it and hope that in the far distance future the mechanics are fixed to work as advertised. Of course maybe OC will be changed not to apply Plasma Burn at all, and then Plasma Smash is moot. Here's the build that I am testing in the PH. What to put in in place of P Smash? Another AO?

Star Sentinel 3 - Freeform
v2.4.2-29

Super Stats
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Recovery (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)

Talents
Level 1: The Scourge (Con: 10, Ego: 10, Rec: 10, End: 8)
Level 6: Ascetic (Con: 5, Ego: 5)
Level 9: Quick Recovery (Con: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 12: Worldly (Ego: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 15: Boundless Reserves (Con: 5, End: 5)
Level 18: Daredevil (Ego: 5, End: 5)
Level 21: Amazing Stamina (Rec: 5, End: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Particle Rifle (advantages)
Level 1: Pulse Beam Rifle (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Concentration (advantages)
Level 8: Telekinetic Shield (Rank 2, Rank 3, Telekinetic Reinforcement)
Level 11: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Particle Smash (Rank 2)
Level 17: Chest Beam (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 23: Imbue (advantages)
Level 26: Sonic Device (advantages)
Level 29: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Quantum Stabilizer (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Unified Theory
Level 38: Orbital Cannon (Rank 2, Anvil of Dawn)
Adv. Points: 36/36

Travel Powers
Level 6: Jet Boots (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Mach Speed (Rank 2)

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: 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: Ego Mastery (1/1)

flowcyto

Imo, Chest Beam's debuff is fine enough of a boost on its own. May also get Targeting Comp as the passive- esp if dropping PSmash.

Regardless, all of your AoE is on a cd, or is a tight cylinder. I may throw a wider AoE in there. Charges of Ricochet Throw w/ adv may be boring, but they work; could also take NW as the passive then, for some fun alpha strikes (Sneak + OC + Sonic Device + RThrow, which can all be done even from 100ft).

Oh, and Unified Theory scales more w/ End than Rec.

jaazaniah1

Hmm, I hadn't thought about Ricochet Throw or NW. The guy is an elite alien soldier and Sneak could be some nice cloaking technology. I like the idea of using that combo on the Qzone nasties. I'll leave the last slot for the passive and try out both TC (which I use a lot) and NW (which I haven't gotten much mileage out of yet).

I'm finding that with JG with high end cost discounts and Insight that 115 Rec and ca. 30 End (along with Concentration) give me good energy. UT is giving 21 and Concentration 66. The blue bar is almost always full.

flowcyto

Yea, PBR is pretty cheap atm, though that may change in the future w/ a revamp.

jaazaniah1

The revamp that will fix OC!

jaazaniah1

Interesting. OC does not take me out of Sneak. Another glitch?

jaazaniah1

I tried it on the test dummies and I stayed in Sneak the entire time while using OC, even when used with Sonic Device and Imbue.

flowcyto

Yea because its a summoned entity, it doesn't break stealth.

jaazaniah1

Huh, didn't realize that. Definitely a plus then

jaazaniah1

The combo of OC + Sonic Device + Imbue while in stealth worked great in the Q zone. Only thing that ever got me once was the helicopter. It did seem though, that once OC hit, the AoD hits did not do any damage unless I was standing next to the target (or maybe it just wasn't doing much damage, was not running a parser). That was not a problem for me, since I was Sneaking. I just flew up to the target and the AoD attack continued and did damage. Even though I was Sneaking all the other enemies would then cluster around the main target, apparently since that was where I was. That was perfect because then I would hit with a fully charged Chest Beam. What ever survived all that PBR finished off. Definitely a different style of play than what I am used to.

flowcyto

Sounds fun. Yea, the AI behaves a bit weird if you never reveal urself sometimes but do have a 'invincible' entity like the Anvil around, though I'd be careful of them resetting if you wait around too long.

pwestolemyname

jaazaniah1 said:

The combo of OC + Sonic Device + Imbue while in stealth worked great in the Q zone. Only thing that ever got me once was the helicopter. It did seem though, that once OC hit, the AoD hits did not do any damage unless I was standing next to the target (or maybe it just wasn't doing much damage, was not running a parser). That was not a problem for me, since I was Sneaking. I just flew up to the target and the AoD attack continued and did damage. Even though I was Sneaking all the other enemies would then cluster around the main target, apparently since that was where I was. That was perfect because then I would hit with a fully charged Chest Beam. What ever survived all that PBR finished off. Definitely a different style of play than what I am used to.

I had a character just like this for a while. Used Stealth and a bunch of pseudo-pets. Since none of them broke stealth, it was pretty much a cake-walk. I eventually retconned it because there was nothing really worth farming in the QWZ.