Noah - Pets/Water build help

xaqchance

I've finally unlocked the Bubble Flight power and after struggling for a while to come up with a concept for a water themed toon, I thought maybe a pirate would be fitting. I'm open to any powers I can color blue and that look "watery." And I'm also looking for as many animal based summons I can add. I'd prefer a pet build where I have a few attacks myself, but I'm mostly boosting and supporting my pets, and hopefully by extension, my teammates. I play with a controller so healing is an issue for me and that's why I like Life Essence, but because I've been intimidated by healing I'm not familiar with the options.
The powers I prefer to keep are the summons, the vortex and the whirlpool. I wasn't sure what passive to use, if AoPM even boosts pets like I imagine it would. The EB I landed on fits the theme well and the adv adds to theme and might even be practical? But I personally like Radiance (even though I've never gotten it to heal for much) and even Steady Shot for costume options. I just stumbled upon the Fear aspect due to the Soul Vortex, but I am open to other options if it makes for a more viable pet build.
I've also struggled with the stats and talents and I'm not sure if the specializations are viable.
I greatly appreciate any help and advice. I hope I'm not asking too much by leaving so much out. Numbers have always intimidated me and I'm so thankful when I'm helped to bring a concept to life.

Cpt. Noah - Freeform (Ranged Damage)
v3.44:37

Super Stats
Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
Level 10:
Level 15:

Talents
Level 1:
Level 6:
Level 9:
Level 12:
Level 15:
Level 18:
Level 21:

Powers
Level 1: Force Bolts (Energy Refraction)
Level 1: Shadow Blast (Psychotic Break, Devoid)
Level 6: Shadow Embrace
Level 8: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Fear Consumption
Level 14: Command Animals (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Ritual of Primal Summoning (Rank 2, Unbound Ritual)
Level 20: Life Essence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Arctic Beast (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Circle of Primal Dominion
Level 29:
Level 32: Soul Vortex (Soul Drain, Fear Machine)
Level 35: Whirlpool (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38:
Adv. Points: 34/36

Travel Powers
Level 6: Bubble Flight
Level 35: Ooze Tunneling

Specializations
Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
Intelligence: Tactician (2/2)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
Commander: Evasive Action (2/2)
Commander: Multitasker (3/3)
Commander: Durable (3/3)
Commander: Savage (2/3)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Relentless Assault (3/3)
Avenger: Preemptive Strike (2/3)
Mastery: Intelligence Mastery (1/1)

Devices
Slot 1: Teleiosaurus Pheromones

flowcyto

Generally you don't want to rank up your energy builder, as you shouldn't really be using it that often (or at all) by high levels. Lifedrain would also mesh better w/ a setup using Fear/Devoid, while Life Essence is better for builds using poisons and Supernatural Power as the EU. Darkness is also a bit weird for the Water theme, but it can still work fine if you want to use it.

Pet powers aren't great for high-end content (they can have AI issues, crowd out melee, and die to AoE), but if you are doing more casual stuff then they can be fine, and yeah they will also be boosted by general auras like AoPM's (the aura effect on allies/pets will scale w/ Pres, as will your general healing bonuses). You also will want to be in the Supprot role if using AoPM (you could also use Hybrid role for more personal dmg, but this greatly weakens the aura affect on allies and pets). I would prob switch around some of your adv points, and prob add at least one normal ally heal as a backup (like Iniquity), since Lifedrain-style heals require an enemy target and being near allies to work as support. I would also add a block enhancer to the build, and prob an ally res if you want to be a support (though its use is more dependent on the type of content you run). Here's an example edit of it:

Cpt. Noah - Freeform (Support)
v3.44:37

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

Talents
Level 1: The Samurai (Dex: 10, Con: 10, Rec: 10, End: 8)
Level 6: Survival Training (Dex: 3, Con: 3, Pre: 3, Rec: 2, End: 2)
Level 9: Finesse (Dex: 5, Pre: 5)
Level 12: Shrug It Off (Con: 5, Pre: 5)
Level 15: Acrobat (Dex: 5, Con: 5)
Level 18: Lasting Impression (Pre: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 21: Quick Recovery (Con: 5, Rec: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Force Bolts
Level 1: Shadow Blast (Psychotic Break, Devoid)
Level 6: Shadow Embrace (Rank 2, Draining Shadows)
Level 8: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Compassion
Level 14: Lifedrain (Rank 2, Vampiric Sympathy)
Level 17: Spirit Reverberation
Level 20: Iniquity (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Ritual of Primal Summoning (Unbound Ritual)
Level 26: Command Animals (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 32: Redemption (Salvation)
Level 35: Force Shield (Rank 2)
Level 38: Whirlpool (Rank 2)
Adv. Points: 34/36

Travel Powers
Level 6: Bubble Flight
Level 35: Ooze Tunneling

Specializations
Presence: Repurpose (3/3)
Presence: Selfless Ally (2/2)
Presence: Moment of Glory (3/3)
Presence: Force of Will (2/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (2/3)
Sentinel: Wither (2/2)
Commander: Evasive Action (1/2)
Commander: Rapid Response (2/2)
Commander: Create An Opening (2/2)
Commander: Multitasker (3/3)
Commander: Durable (1/3)
Commander: Savage (1/3)
Mastery: Sentinel Mastery (1/1)

Devices
Slot 1: Teleiosaurus Pheromones

Uses charged SBlast to put up (and refresh) Fear and Devoid, while you can use Lifedrain to heal nearby allies (and yourself) and a deal a bit of dmg. SBlast can also put up Sentinel Mastery w/ its stun adv, for a bit more background healing. Iniquity can be used on tanks and/or allies that are too far away for Lifedrain to reach, and SEmbrace can be used as your main AoE attack. AoED is the best aura for dps (esp w/ pets), but AoPM is fine to keep as it's more versatile, and it will help you and your team's maxHP, crit rate, and energy a bit. Gears mostly for Pres, w/ some Con (and AoPM will be boosting all of the main stats a bit).

xaqchance

Thanks so much, Flow! I really appreciate your time. May I bother you for a suggestion on a Force focused build? I agree with your point on Darkness and being strange for the Water theme, I just kinda built around it because of Soul Vortex and how "watery" it looks. But if Soul Vortex doesn't fit efficiently I'm not at all married to the Darkness and Fear aspect. I'm also pretty casual of a player working full-time, so I don't mind not running all the content with this particular build (I'd find an end-game build and make a theme for it, I think) but it is disappointing to hear pet builds aren't as helpful as they could be.

Either way, I'd like to reiterate that I appreciate your efforts. I'm leveling Noah now because your build looks fun and fits the theme well. In fact I really like it. I'm just curious if something like Force would fit better?

flowcyto

Well, theme aside, Darkness is nice here cause of Lifedrain, assuming you wanted something like Life Essence (but as a better match for Darkness' mechanics). You could add Soul Vortex back in, but the issue is that you wanted a pet build w/ some support, and pets can take up many power slots (and adv points) that you could use for other things, so the build has to be pretty compact.

You could get rid of the block enhancer and/or the ally res to make room for Soul Vortex and/or the Arctic Beast, I suppose, but then I prob wouldn't take such a build to harder content like cosmics. For example:

Powers
Level 1: Force Bolts
Level 1: Shadow Blast (Psychotic Break, Devoid)
Level 6: Shadow Embrace (Rank 2, Draining Shadows)
Level 8: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Compassion
Level 14: Lifedrain (Rank 2, Vampiric Sympathy)
Level 17: Spirit Reverberation
Level 20: Iniquity (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Soul Vortex (Rank 2, Soul Drain)
Level 26: Command Animals (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Ritual of Primal Summoning (Unbound Ritual)
Level 32: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 35: Arctic Beast
Level 38: Whirlpool (Rank 2)
Adv. Points: 34/36

Soul Vortex's Fear adv isn't that strong because it's a 15% chance per tick, and it only ticks once every second, so you'll prob still want to use SBlast to reliably refresh Fear on bosses (and you're also using it for Devoid and Sentinel Mastery anyways). Soul Vortex does have a nice Dependency adv for extra healing, though, and the power also provides a healing rune.

-

As far as Force: it doesn't have a power like Lifedrain or Life Essence. Force is more about upfront Crushing dmg, knock(back)s, and some shielding powers. It can ofc work well for a 'water' look, but it's not going to play like the earlier build I gave you. Force Cascade (FC) is a decent option for dmg from Force, but it's also very expensive and prob not a great idea for a pet build (where the pets also give you an energy penalty when used). Here's a stab at it, though:

(Unnamed Build) - Freeform (Support)
v3.44:37

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: Diplomatic (Int: 5, Pre: 5)
Level 9: Shrug It Off (Con: 5, Pre: 5)
Level 12: Healthy Mind (Con: 5, Int: 5)
Level 15: Finesse (Dex: 5, Pre: 5)
Level 18: Coordinated (Dex: 5, Int: 5)
Level 21: Acrobat (Dex: 5, Con: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Eldritch Bolts
Level 1: Force Blast (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Telekinetic Burst (Rank 2, Sudden Impact)
Level 11: Compassion
Level 14: Will-o'-the-Wisp (Guide, Ghost Fire)
Level 17: Conjuring
Level 20: Arcane Vitality (Rank 2, Rank 3) * (or take Vala's Light)
Level 23: Protection Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Command Animals (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Ritual of Primal Summoning (Unbound Ritual)
Level 32: Arctic Beast
Level 35: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 38: Whirlpool (Rank 2)
Adv. Points: 34/36

Travel Powers
Level 6: Bubble Flight
Level 35: Ooze Tunneling

Specializations
Presence: Repurpose (3/3)
Presence: Selfless Ally (2/2)
Presence: Moment of Glory (3/3)
Presence: Force of Will (2/2)
Sentinel: Eternal Spring (2/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (3/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (2/3)
Commander: Evasive Action (1/2)
Commander: Rapid Response (2/2)
Commander: Create An Opening (2/2)
Commander: Multitasker (3/3)
Commander: Durable (1/3)
Commander: Savage (1/3)
Mastery: Presence Mastery (1/1) *

Devices
Slot 1: Teleiosaurus Pheromones

Since Force's AoE options are pretty flawed overall, I went w/ TK Burst for the basic AoE, since its visuals can also fit w/ re-coloring, and it's a decent general AoE besides. The Wisp can fit a water theme pretty easily, and it also has good overall utility as a cd in providing Illumination, applying some other debuffs, and procing Conjuring (it can keep Conjuring rolling in the background pretty easily). So you'll generally want to keep the Wisp up in combat here. Force Blast is just a basic single-target attack (if you don't want to KB trash that much w/ it, then you could tap-spam it and/or use TK Burst to build up knock immunity first). Arcane Vit can be your main heal (for you, allies, and pets), while Protection Field can be used to provide some shielding to help supplement the raw healing.

* Vala's Light could be taken as your main heal (instead of Arcane Vit). Vala's is on a short cd and is a charge-able heal, but it can heal in a wide area around you (or the target), while Arcane Vit has no cd and is a channeled AoE cone when used on others. Also, Either Presence Mastery or Commander Mastery could work here, depending on what aspect (pet dmg or your healing) that you want to help out a bit more.

Again, it's not really a build for the high-end, but it can still work okay outside of that. Gears mostly for Pres, w/ some Con and Int.

xaqchance

So, initially I just felt guilty for the content of my second post and while I still feel a bit bad for being so "asky," (if that makes sense) I am actually glad you responded. I get intimidated by the numbers and holding so much different information in my head, so the fact that you've taken time to post not only three different builds, but explain the pros and cons of each really helps me learn the mechanics behind the build. These posts have given a lot of life to Noah. Thank you sincerely for your time.

Edit: I really should apologize for my ignorance. I just noticed your tag area, with the links, and started reading up on pets.. You're so patient.

flowcyto

Eh, there's no need to feel guilty about anything 8) And it was more like two builds I gave you, since the 2nd Darkness one was just replacing a few of the powers from the 1st one I gave. Also, my old Pet guide was more for giving basic info on pets rather than pet build reviews. I hope it can help you w/ understanding pet powers a bit more, but don't feel like you needed to read before you got my help or anything.

Anyways, hope you like whatever build you end up using, but if there's issues w/ it then you can always come back for more help. Good luck out there, regardless.