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I am... Ferrous Fellow!! 5.2k DPS PA
helbjorn
Posts: 678 Arc User
I've always loved the idea behind the Power Armor set, but never could seem to squeeze much in the way of decent sustained DPS out of it due to energy demands. After much number crunching and parsing (thanks, Mojo!) I've finally developed a PA build that can put out nonstop DPS in the 5k range (single target) and still take a beating as a suit of power armor should.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Crimson Paladin [DEX/PA]
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
Level 10: Recovery (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Disciple
Level 6: Coordinated
Level 9: Impresario
Level 12: Negotiator
Level 15: Investigator
Level 18: Amazing Stamina
Level 21: Field Ops Training
Powers:
Level 1: Force Bolts
Level 1: Tactical Missiles (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Mini Gun (Rank 2, U-238 Rounds, Infrared Guidance System)
Level 8: Quarry (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Concentration
Level 14: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Resurgent Reiki)
Level 17: Overdrive
Level 20: Micro Munitions (Rank 2, Alpha Strike, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 23: Energy Shield (Phalanx Defense System)
Level 26: Energy Wave (Hardened Particle Matrix)
Level 29: Unbreakable
Level 32: Masterful Dodge
Level 35: Electric Sheath (Rank 2, Matter Energy Union)
Level 38: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Jet Boots (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Athletics
Specializations:
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (3/3)
Dexterity: Power Swell (2/2)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Dexterity: Expose Weakness (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Surprise Attack (2/2)
Avenger: Preemptive Strike (3/3)
Mastery: Avenger Mastery (1/1)
One of the best things about this build is that it's accomplished with easily accessible gear. Silver Recognition primaries (Precision/Agility/Utility), Vigilante secondary (Critical), purple secondaries (CON/REC, INT/REC) and Rank 7 mods (INT x7, REC x1, END x1, Gambler's x2, Impact x1). No legacy devices are required.
Stats are important for the energy flow of the build. You need little DEX/REC but lots of INT. My breakdown (base) is DEX 149, INT 340, REC 176. Enough CON (34) to get 11% crit bonus out of Nimble Mind and about 84 END. AO/AD recharges are base 39 seconds but drop to 37 with Audacity. AO's have to cycle nonstop to achieve the numbers as advertised. Changing the CON/REC secondary to another INT/REC will drop your NM crit by 2% but will net you another second off your Actives.
Multiple other stat configurations were exhaustively tested, including EGO/REC/INT, EGO/CON/INT, DEX/CON/INT, STR/INT/END, STR/CON/INT, and STR/CON/REC. None were capable of the sustained DPS levels of DEX/REC/INT, though EGO/REC/INT was very close. STR/INT/END has a very "Iron Man" feel with the ability to toss heavy objects or melee if you choose and still have decent sustainability, but DPS was quite a bit lower (~ 3.5k) and the build was unable to benefit from Juggernaut, one of the main reasons to take STR Primary.
Base crit and severity are 33% and 95%. Offense and Defense values are not far from Guardicator levels at 8.4% and 32%. Base dodge and avoidance are 32% and 55%. Of course all of these could be improved with Justice or Legion gear, but I have no patience to farm for the materials to make a set and I won't buy keys on principle.
The Avenger spec and its Mastery are what make the DPS shine. AM can stack twice quickly and easily with your toggles running, which makes a fully charged Tactical Missiles practically a click power. In a typical run, TM will make up over half of your DPS, and Avenger Mastery helps that happen. Guardian complements Avenger better than Vindicator, as there is a noticeable DPS loss with the latter (even with the crit buffs).
I tried to work Chest Beam with its nice debuff in as well, but taps of CB actually throw off the energy cycle and result in a DPS loss.
The DPS cycle is simple: Active Offense, Mini Gun, Micro Munitions, and fully charged Tactical Missile spam. This can be maintained indefinitely with REC fueling Overdrive (and high INT giving a generous return from Concentration). The energy builder need never be turned on. High INT also ensures low power costs and rapid Active recharges.
Practically every other power has some defensive advantage built in, complementing Quarry's dodge component with readily cyclable shields and defenses. Energy Wave's shield maxes at 900 points (with three targets), and its knock back is also nice as a GTFO power. Electric Sheathe's shield is over 3500.
I hope you enjoy the build. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome, but hard data is appreciated much more than theorycrafting.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Crimson Paladin [DEX/PA]
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
Level 10: Recovery (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Disciple
Level 6: Coordinated
Level 9: Impresario
Level 12: Negotiator
Level 15: Investigator
Level 18: Amazing Stamina
Level 21: Field Ops Training
Powers:
Level 1: Force Bolts
Level 1: Tactical Missiles (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Mini Gun (Rank 2, U-238 Rounds, Infrared Guidance System)
Level 8: Quarry (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Concentration
Level 14: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Resurgent Reiki)
Level 17: Overdrive
Level 20: Micro Munitions (Rank 2, Alpha Strike, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 23: Energy Shield (Phalanx Defense System)
Level 26: Energy Wave (Hardened Particle Matrix)
Level 29: Unbreakable
Level 32: Masterful Dodge
Level 35: Electric Sheath (Rank 2, Matter Energy Union)
Level 38: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Jet Boots (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Athletics
Specializations:
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (3/3)
Dexterity: Power Swell (2/2)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Dexterity: Expose Weakness (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Surprise Attack (2/2)
Avenger: Preemptive Strike (3/3)
Mastery: Avenger Mastery (1/1)
One of the best things about this build is that it's accomplished with easily accessible gear. Silver Recognition primaries (Precision/Agility/Utility), Vigilante secondary (Critical), purple secondaries (CON/REC, INT/REC) and Rank 7 mods (INT x7, REC x1, END x1, Gambler's x2, Impact x1). No legacy devices are required.
Stats are important for the energy flow of the build. You need little DEX/REC but lots of INT. My breakdown (base) is DEX 149, INT 340, REC 176. Enough CON (34) to get 11% crit bonus out of Nimble Mind and about 84 END. AO/AD recharges are base 39 seconds but drop to 37 with Audacity. AO's have to cycle nonstop to achieve the numbers as advertised. Changing the CON/REC secondary to another INT/REC will drop your NM crit by 2% but will net you another second off your Actives.
Multiple other stat configurations were exhaustively tested, including EGO/REC/INT, EGO/CON/INT, DEX/CON/INT, STR/INT/END, STR/CON/INT, and STR/CON/REC. None were capable of the sustained DPS levels of DEX/REC/INT, though EGO/REC/INT was very close. STR/INT/END has a very "Iron Man" feel with the ability to toss heavy objects or melee if you choose and still have decent sustainability, but DPS was quite a bit lower (~ 3.5k) and the build was unable to benefit from Juggernaut, one of the main reasons to take STR Primary.
Base crit and severity are 33% and 95%. Offense and Defense values are not far from Guardicator levels at 8.4% and 32%. Base dodge and avoidance are 32% and 55%. Of course all of these could be improved with Justice or Legion gear, but I have no patience to farm for the materials to make a set and I won't buy keys on principle.
The Avenger spec and its Mastery are what make the DPS shine. AM can stack twice quickly and easily with your toggles running, which makes a fully charged Tactical Missiles practically a click power. In a typical run, TM will make up over half of your DPS, and Avenger Mastery helps that happen. Guardian complements Avenger better than Vindicator, as there is a noticeable DPS loss with the latter (even with the crit buffs).
I tried to work Chest Beam with its nice debuff in as well, but taps of CB actually throw off the energy cycle and result in a DPS loss.
The DPS cycle is simple: Active Offense, Mini Gun, Micro Munitions, and fully charged Tactical Missile spam. This can be maintained indefinitely with REC fueling Overdrive (and high INT giving a generous return from Concentration). The energy builder need never be turned on. High INT also ensures low power costs and rapid Active recharges.
Practically every other power has some defensive advantage built in, complementing Quarry's dodge component with readily cyclable shields and defenses. Energy Wave's shield maxes at 900 points (with three targets), and its knock back is also nice as a GTFO power. Electric Sheathe's shield is over 3500.
I hope you enjoy the build. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome, but hard data is appreciated much more than theorycrafting.
Post edited by helbjorn on
0
Comments
Probably the best defense this build has is fighting from 100ft.
You know what frustrates me? Given all the work and energy issues of using PA, you would think a build like this should be doing 7K DPS but top dps belongs to fire/ice type builds. I have also parsed Ego Blast/Mind Opener/Mental Storm at 6.3K (yeah just a 2 power attack!!!).
Anyways, if you want to up your DPS by another ~750 you can fight at 50 ft and add Mental Storm Rank 3 whose cooldown should match your toggle cooldowns nicely.
Yes, I'm certain I could Frankenbuild a bit more DPS out of it, but one of my goals is to stay as thematic as possible when building. I'm just not certain how I could justify adding Mental Storm to a PA build.
Also, are you implying that your PFF PA tank has similar DPS? If so, I'd love to see that build and gear-out.
Part of the reason Guardian may fare better than Vindicator is that Find the Mark can be much more easily maintained at 3 stacks w/ PA. Slower-hitting builds have a hard time keeping that buff stacked to any degree, from my experience.
Do people still think TC is a bad passive? Its really good after its buff and the general crit/dex rating nerf.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Instead of Tactical Missiles, I got Plasma beam and use Immolation/Lock N Load for the cost discounts. I had so much INT and cooldown that the basic rotation was activate both AO/AD and 2 cycles of toggles and repeat. But this build was prior to Crit/Dodge nerf.
What you could try testing out is a build with Vind/Guard with Tac Missiles taps vs. your current build and see the dps difference if any. Also Justice is going to be a nice boost to your DPS.
Been there, done that - the configuration you mention is vastly inferior DPS-wise. Guardicator really shines as an offensive/defensive compromise when you have extra Defense to feed into the loop, such as with Juggernaut, Locus or to a lesser extent Force of Will.
With decent blast powers, Avenger is really hard to beat now for full-on DPS.
As to the rest of your post, I'll take that as a very convoluted "no".
In Guardicator, I got 6K dps.
In Avenger/Guardian (no Surprise Attack), I got 7.1K dps! Mind you, this is the unlaggy PTS. In a real rampage, IMHO from experience the computer often forgets a toggle or misses an AO activation which is very frustrating and kills dps. (much more than other builds.)
With 28 sec cd on AO/AD, I had the AO's on all the time.
This is quite a glass cannon you here with just 5.5K hp. One other thing I hate about toggles is how you can't activate your ADs if they are running and the often fatal delay even if you stop them. I wish AO/AD could still be activated while they run.
Retested Quarry again and this time got 6K instead of 7.1K, pretty large variance there.
On my Shadow Blast build I went Ego/Con/Int with 3 ranks of Sixth Sense to maximize crit chance, so with an average of 75% Crit Chance, even if I miss the Mastery proc on one Blast-Ruin I can be sure the next pair will proc the mastery.
So far I've pushed the parse from 3.4k to 3.7k without DUC, which is still behind an effortless 2GM spam's 4.6k using the same SS setup for Crit Chance rather than Severity, but I think I can take Shadow Blast further, which is pretty impressive considering how far Shadow Blast and Ebon Ruin are behind 2GM.
Side note: Rec's Supercharged is incredibly laggy and really doesn't work out most of the time.
Anyway, I'm not too interested in playing a PA build on Live but I do have an idea I wanna try so I'll hop on PTS today and see what I can get.
Thanks for doing that testing. That's something to look forward to if I ever get the gumption to grind for better gear. If you were going to test the build with better gear, why did you change the AO's? That confounds things a bit.
One of the purposes of the thread was to show what could be done with Everyman gear. I've seen far too many threads crowing about DPS builds that included top-end gear and very expensive/rare legacy devices. This was to be a sample of something that the average player could aspire to.
The HP on my build is only 5.3k, but EHP should be a good bit higher with dodge and all the defensive advantages. You take some of that away by removing Matter-Energy Union.
That's the nice thing about PA, with two toggles going off and a half decent crit chance, Avenger mastery procs very reliably.
That Dork In The Suspenders, signing out.
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Yes, as you noted previously, timing AO's with toggles can give you a pretty wide variance. It's definitely not a consistent or precise process.