Supporting: Bionic Shielding and Mindful Reinforcement?

williamkony

So, currently, I have a support build utilizing these key powers: Rebuke, Mindful Reinforcement, Aura of Primal Majesty, Ego Sleep, Inertial Dampening Field, Radiance energy builder, and Palliate with Absolve.

Other slightly-notable powers are Force Shield with Force Sheath, and Bountiful Chi Resurgence for self-healing.

I also use the Devices Become Doomlord and Draysha Gas Pistol.

Stat-wise, I stack Presence exclusively, and have the Presence Tree Mastery. Specializations lead me to having 25.7% critical chance with 75% critical severity.

Other powers and stats are, I believe, inconsequential except for the fact that they cannot be replaced.



I am considering changing out Rebuke and Bountiful Chi Resurgence for Bionic Shielding and Devour Essence to help a different aspect of my character. The problem is, this leads to Radiance being my only source of direct healing, aside from the infrequent 1188 healing from Become Doomlord's "Death's Embrace" ability.

Is this at all viable? Can Bionic Shielding and Mindful Reinforcement handle the task of keeping allies alive? I could potentially acquire Become Celestial instead, but is it potent enough to pick up the slack?

Another risky option is to remove Radiance and replace it with Psionic Healing, which has its pseudo-energy-builder functionality when tapping the power. I would then depend on forms and Force Shield for energy, with Become Doomlord/Celestial's energy builder available in emergencies. This could pose a problem when I am focused on dealing damage, as Concentration has an obnoxious tendency to be on cooldown when I hit middle of a maintain while at close range, thus skipping the energy burst from it. This could perhaps be prevented through more careful timing of my attack abilities, however.

Might anyone have input to offer? I am shooting for Rampage functionality.

jimhsua

AoRP + IDF = your team has instant Invulnerability.

Invaluable for a support build especially for low level alerts. With sentinel aura, even heals are optional. For rampages, you would obviously select the appropriate powers in its place.

flowcyto

Yeah AoRP is technically the best passive to bring to Rampages if the concern is minimizing healing needed to allies. AoPM's benefit in that respect is mostly adding a bit of extra health, which is nice but not as good a survival boost.

MF or PF (or both) are good enough in their own right to keep up w/ most damage. My only concern is being able to keep a Frosticus pug tank up using a shield and bionic shielding, if only because Bionic has an effective 15sec cd on healing that tank.

I wouldn't recommend IDF outside of 5-man content or solo stuff, just cause the small amount it shields is a drop in the bucket for the dmg Gravi and F&I can throw out. Compassion's boost to healing and its energy gains can help ya much more, potentially.

theravenforce

I'd stick with AoRP...however please be aware that shield layering (outside of PFF) is a bit messed up at the moment, with dodge not affecting shields, without some form of absorb mechanic.

(It's a very strange bug)

MR and PF are on the "same level" with MR taking damage before PF (IIRC).

Ego Sleep will not do much to aid you in any rampage.

If you want to be some form of Support/DPS Hybrid go to AoRP, get Sentinel Aura and Compassion.

With the amount of PRE you are stacking the damage buff should be good enough to allow you to do good ish damage whilst still providing hand to healing.

Just being around people whilst Sentinel Aura is ticking away is enough to allow Compassion to stack as well as any active healing you may be doing. This works especially well with AoRP.

I'd stay away from IDF unless you were running an AoED pet build.