Melee DPS Bullet Ballet

criswolf09

Hello I am looking to retcon a freeform hero and with the recent changes I got a bit lost with bullet ballet and I'd like to play him as a melee dps

flowcyto

Okay, well here's an example of a BB dps build for ya:

(Unnamed Build) - Freeform (Melee Damage)
v3.43:35

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

Talents
Level 1: The Chiller (Dex: 10, Con: 10, Rec: 8, End: 10)
Level 6: Impresario (Dex: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 9: Amazing Stamina (Rec: 5, End: 5)
Level 12: Quick Recovery (Con: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 15: Accurate (Dex: 5, End: 5)
Level 18: Acrobat (Dex: 5, Con: 5)
Level 21: Boundless Reserves (Con: 5, End: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Gunslinger
Level 1: Burst Shot (Taking Names)
Level 6: Composure (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Form of the Tempest
Level 11: Killer Instinct
Level 14: Bullet Ballet (Rank 2, Not Without Incident)
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Lead Tempest (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 26: Thunderbolt Lunge (Nailed to the Ground)
Level 29: Holdout Shot (Stim Pack, Open Wound)
Level 32: Parry (Rank 2)
Level 35:
Level 38:
Adv. Points: 28/36

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 (2/3)
Warden: Slaughter (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (2/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (3/3)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

The open power slots can be for w/e ya want.

Puts up AP debuff and Furious w/ Burst Shot, and uses BB as its main attack. I added LT in case you wanted wider AoE for more scattered groups. Warden Mastery could also work well here, and you could use Brawler spec too, if you wanted to take advantage of Flanking. Gears mostly for Dex, w/ some Con and Rec.

squirrelloid

Bullet Ballet can also work as Str primary (I went Str/dex/rec). Could probably work as Int primary (stack dex) or Pre primary (stack dex) too.

I would recommend Arbiter instead of vindicator (i put all 10 points into the first tier of arbiter specs, ignoring the second tier), and Warden Mastery. Bullet Ballet is one of those rare comboes that it's worth investing specs into.

The core really is just bullet ballet and burst shot. I'd recommend one of Howl R2 or Lock 'n Load R2 to get to 3 stacks of furious, since BB will maintain it.

flowcyto

Eh, Arbiter spec is okay here, but I'd prob still take Warden, Vind, and/or Brawler over it. It does kinda depend on what you value, though, since Rend is an okay debuff for teams, Concussion could proc from BB's stun chance (guaranteed w/ new adv), and/or you could have some passive minor ally healing w/ its mastery. You could also make a CC/debuff-based build using BB's stun & root procs too, but that would obv be less dps-focused and more support-oriented.