I've got my build... so how should I gear?

alisonkaufmann · April 2018

So my new fire DPS is level 40. My build is pretty good, I have EGO as my primary and Rec and Con as my secondaries. I am in Legion gear and Cosmic secondaries. My question now is... what should I be modding towards?

Is straight offense more valuable than crit, should I just be stacking Ego no matter what, should I have Dex in there, should I put anything into End or Recovery beyond what they have? I guess I am looking for something of a stat priority, or just numbers I should be trying to hit.

Right now I have about 8500 HP, 457 Ego, 286 offense, 32.5% crit, 119.9% Crit severity. I am saving up for justice gear, so I kind of want to have it all sorted by then.

I don't have any real fancy mods yet other than straight Ego 7s, a Qwyjibo's Fury 5 and a Soviet's Guard Res 5 in my secondaries. Should I be trying to get the Qwy's as high as possible? Am I missing any key, rare mods?

I am keen for help, thanks.

carrionbaggage · April 2018

Could you post the build? Some gear decisions/priorities can depend on build choices.

Also, what are your goals for the character? What sort of content are you building for, and how important is self-sufficient survival?

alisonkaufmann said:
Am I missing any key, rare mods?

I'd like to learn more about the build before giving a full gear rundown; but since this bit is time-sensitive, I'd recommend trying to obtain a Depleted Uranium Core (a mod that lowers an enemy's damage resistance, if they have some). It's a very rare drop from the Harmon Labs custom alert, which is active this week.

alisonkaufmann · April 2018

My main focus is cosmics. Self-sufficient survival is somewhat important since I love not being dead.

(Unnamed Build) - Freeform
v2.4.2-29

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

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

Powers
Level 1: Throw Fire (advantages)
Level 1: Thermal Reverberation
Level 6: Fire Shield (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Pyre (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Fiery Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Chilled Form (advantages)
Level 20: Incinerate (Rank 2, Rank 3, Burninator)
Level 23: Fire Snake (Trail Blazer)
Level 26: Lock N Load (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Immolation (advantages)
Level 32: Flashfire (Rank 2, Fan the Flames)
Level 35: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 38: Fiery Embrace (advantages)
Adv. Points: 36/36

Travel Powers
Level 6: Athletics (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Teleport (advantages)

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)

deadman20 · April 2018

I find Pyre an interesting choice, and with Fire I'd prefer Absorb Heat over Resurgence, but that's up to you. I think the build overall looks pretty good, I'd gear for a standard DPS.

Crit-Rating based Offense Primary with a DUC and then Gambler Gem when you get a piece with a second core slot.
Defense/Health based Defense Primary with a Growth (If taking Defense) or Impact (If taking Greater Health), taking both when you have two core slots on the piece.
Speed based Utility Primary with an Impact Core first and foremost. With a second core slot, look into Qwyjibo's Fury for additional damage.

As far as Enhancements/Armorings go, you should wind up with at least 4 of the 6 on your primaries being Pure Ego. The last two can be more Ego, or the newer Hybrid mods that split between Ego and Con if you need more survivability.

When it comes to secondary gear, you should look to get a Cosmic Fang of... Rage? I'm not sure, you want the one that boosts your Primary Superstat. That extra core slot you get should be for more Crit Chance or Severity depending on which is lacking.

Onslaught Tights of Fitness and Onslaught Mask of Speed are really good here as well, and you can add more Ego in for extra deeps. Or the Ego-Con mods to add a little extra survivability.

flowcyto · April 2018

Concerning the build- its mostly fine, though keep in mind that TReverb scales more w/ End than Rec. It prob won't matter too much if ur mostly gearing for Ego, either way. Could also consider re-ordering the build and using Conflag, Fireball, or Firebreath as the main AoE, but that's up to you.

And yea, I'd prob try to get the Qwy's Fury mod to R7, as well as any primary-gear Ego and crit/severity mods to R7 before ranking up any Rec_End, Con, or defense/maxHP mods (assuming ur prioritizing dps). I also prob wouldn't go out of your way to gear for Offense over crit, as you'll already be higher into Offense's DR if using Guardicator specs.

carrionbaggage · April 2018

Build looks good. With an eye toward Cosmics, you could consider swapping Immolation for Rimefire Burst. Even without a Chill to trigger its auto-refresh, it can still provide a useful burst for damage checks. If you do go with Rimefire, I would probably pull advantage points from Fire Snake (Trail Blazer isn't as valuable as it used to be, in my opinion, since Flashfire can refresh the debuffs) and yank a rank from one of Resurgence/Conviction/Flashfire.

I like the Pyre/Athletics combo. And I agree with superstatting REC over END in that setup, for alpha-strike Pyre jumps.

I would recommend the following gear. Aim for the highest-level mods you can afford. Rank 7s are a good, reasonably-priced goal. For the secondaries, I included a GCR/SCR alternative if you prefer to avoid the Onslaught grind:

All stat mods: EGO
You can add a bit of CON if you like, though I would go all-out on EGO to maximize damage. A good way to add a little CON for a reasonable price would be dual-stat EGO/CON mods in your secondary gear (if you're running Onslaught/Determination secondaries).

Primary Offense
Justice Gloves of Precision
Gambler's Gem (Critical Core)
Depleted Uranium Core (another Gambler's Gem otherwise)
Crit rating is subject to diminishing returns. But with little DEX influencing that curve, you'll get a lot of mileage out of stacking crit rating.

Primary Defense
Justice Tights of Fitness
Growth Amulet (Health Core) x2
With a relatively low health pool, the +health from Growth Amulets gives you more effective health compared to the Defense boost from Impact Prisms. Impact Prisms do offer a minor Offense boost from The Best Defense, but I'd prefer the Growth Amulets in a setup with an eye toward decent survivability.

Primary Utility
Justice Mask of Speed
Qwyjibo's Fury
The second slot can be whatever you like. A Gambler's Gem would give a nice energy discount; but if you feel that your energy is already stable, you could opt for an Impact Prism to stack more cooldown reduction. If you're a lifetime subscriber, a Veteran's Core of Might is a nice option.

Secondary Offense
Onslaught Gloves of the Sniper
This edges out the Cosmic Fang if you can stay beyond 20 feet from your target, especially if you're under the effect of an ally's strong AoPM (which pushes your crit chance further into diminishing returns by adding DEX).
*or*
Cosmic Fang of Wrath
Critical Core 5 or Soviet Guard's Might 5
With the Justice Gloves of Precision already adding some severity rating, the Soviet Guard mod gets hit with heavy diminishing returns. I would use the Critical Core if you're running a Depleted Uranium Core, and the Soviet Guard if you're using another +crit rating source in its place.
*bonus*
Onslaught Gloves of the Defender
The damage shield this provides is very helpful on a dps build running regular content, like alerts. Just make sure to take them off when fighting Cosmics, so you don't generate too much threat.

Secondary Defense
Onslaught Tights of Fitness
*or*
Cosmic Talons of Wrath
Health Core 5
*or*
Bolstering Heart of Determination

Secondary Utility
Onslaught Mask of Speed
*or*
Onslaught Mask of Efficiency
*or*
Bolstering Eyepiece of Determination
The choice here depends on preference. Onslaught Efficiency if you're uncomfortable with your energy management. If energy feels stable, I would go with either Onslaught Speed (slightly faster power recharges) or Bolstering Determination (a little extra health).

alisonkaufmann · April 2018

Alright, plenty of good info to work with here. I didn't even really about how good the Onslaught gear was, so I guess that's gonna be some work. And yeah I have changed my AOE a few times. Pyre more fits the theme, and it does hit hard, but I do like Fireball as well.

While I have some people looking at this, what is the general thought on sacrificing Constitution for a second DPS stat (Dex)? I'm apprehensive about it, but I manage my blocks well.

flowcyto · April 2018

Having a bit more HP for Cosmics prob won't save you if you fail to block for the big hits, but gives you some leeway otherwise. Imo, shaving off maxHP is kinda just up to your familiarity w/ the fights and how well you can react to block in time. As you get more experience you prob should be able to lower ur maxHP for more dps stats.

alisonkaufmann · April 2018

So just a follow up, I made some of the suggested changes. I swapped out Immolation for Rimefire burst, am testing Fireball as my AOE, and changed all my mods to Ego mods. Obviously I have to grind out the rest of the gear but I have definitely noticed a boost (with my ego being almost 100 pts higher now, and my Crit chance just 0.1% lower than it was with the Dex mods in).

I've got my build... so how should I gear?

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