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Archetypes and Endgame Discussion

riveroceanriverocean Posts: 1,690 Arc User
In about a week many of us will probably turn to using AT's more frequently than we did in the past. So it's probably a good time to discuss which AT's may be up to snuff when it comes to end game. I am by no means an expert. But I have played almost all the AT's in the game and do have a special love for them.

Most of the below are my based on my personal opinions. I'm hoping others will chime in with their expertise.


My Personal Favorite ATs


The Savage:
IMHO comprable to a well-built FF in just about every way. Nice damage, sturdy, and can apply a lot of debuffs. It's possible to tank with this with sufficient support. But also works as a melee DPS.

The Unleashed:
I still see players getting top leader-board spots with this AT (Dragon's Wrath). One of my favorite AT's for general PVE.

The Invincible:
Tanky, Great DPS, and versatile. Players solo elite lairs with this AT. I haven't pulled that off yet, mostly because I'm lazy!


The Void:
Sturdy & Versatile healer. Lifedrain + AOED makes this a nice AT for events and Cosmics. Energy management can be tricky.

The Witch:
Sturdy healer with good debuffs & crowd control. I've taken the Witch on Cosmic runs and events. Life Essence is an excellent heal. Plus the Witch can rez herself and others.


Any of the Ranged DPS AT's.
Ranged DPS AT's are in pretty good shape after the various revamps. With my favorites being the Icicle and the Telekinetic. I've seen people score top leader-board spots with DPS AT's.


As I stated previously, these are just my own biased opinions. There's a lot of knowledge out there about AT's and gearing them, that doesn't get shared. Mostly because in the past the game was very focused on Free-form. I have a feeling that's going to change, and significant number of players are going to rely on AT's more. So if anyone reading this wants to chime in please do. The community really needs good information about ATs (other than the tiring opinion that AT suck).
Questions About AT Play? Visit Silverwolfx11's Updated AT Guides!

Comments

  • nacito#6758 nacito Posts: 969 Arc User
    I can be up to give useful information regarding various ATs that I've tried​​
    Just another reptile lover, known in game as @nacito
    4hszgc1knoyo.png

    This is a big journey, so far if you're reading this, wish you a good day
  • thewinxfairythewinxfairy Posts: 70 Arc User
    My one AT is my Squall, and am waiting till Wind gets revamp (if it ever will) to turn her to FF. She can comfortably solo QWZ dailies, which I think that says a lot.
  • riveroceanriverocean Posts: 1,690 Arc User
    My one AT is my Squall, and am waiting till Wind gets revamp (if it ever will) to turn her to FF. She can comfortably solo QWZ dailies, which I think that says a lot.

    Wow.. that is impressive.
    Questions About AT Play? Visit Silverwolfx11's Updated AT Guides!
  • flagpole#4268 flagpole Posts: 38 Arc User
    Silver player here. I currently have a PA DPS freeform, a Blade, a Radiant, an Inferno (but we don't talk about that) and a Behemoth. I was hesitant for a while to bring any of my toons other than my FF into endgame because I felt like they'd underperform the others, but that didn't end up being the case. Needless to say that, yes, a good FF build will always trump over ATs, but that doesn't make them useless.

    Blade

    The Blade is a fun AT, especially after the revamp that gave it its much needed healing. He does fine in cosmics, and can usually rank up pretty high in the scoreboard (still only have heroics and purple secondaries). The biggest problem? Survivability. Kiga is manageable if I block the storms and keep BCR up. The other two are a bit trickier. Dino can be trouble during the baby spawn (breath) if you don't have your Masterful Dodge up. Other than that, due to the big number of melee, I still get hit by the tail every now and then. As for Ape, similar problems. Melee fire patches hurt, and then there's the risk of getting fireballed in the face. I've unlocked Eido with him, but haven't actually fought him. Tried him in TA once, died quite often to Gravitar's melee bubbles. Had to leave before I could finish the run.

    Radiant

    I think the Radiant is the one with the most disadvantages compared with FF healers but still has a few tricks up his sleeve. It has a good AoE heal and Rebuke is nice, but can be hard to time since it takes a while for the heal to go through. Nevertheless, it is very useful for healing the baby tank due to the 100ft range. It has a limited self rez (Circle of Radiant Glory) which serves as a decent "Conviction-type" heal (you can tap to move the circle and it heals anyone at the new location, as well as its old location). As for the rez part, you need to be in it to get rezzed but if you die again and that power isn't active, that's it. The cosmic that causes me the most trouble with my Radiant is definitely Dino, there's a lot of damage all the time and without things like Bionic Shielding and a proper self rez, I feel like you need to be extra careful with keeping yourself and others alive, especially during the baby's spawn. Divine Renewal is, honestly, crap. The advantage that makes it so you revive more than one person makes it take too long to be viable. Never tried him in the QWZ or in TA, the latter especially due to the lacking self rez.

    Inferno

    What can I say, I really dislike this AT in endgame so I rarely play him anymore.

    Behemoth

    My Behemoth is my pride and glory. I've dedicated a lot of my time and resources to gearing him up and have no regrets. It was awful at the start, that much is for sure. I could barely keep aggro, and when I could, it was probably because some of the top DPS toons weren't around. Eventually, I got my hands on a few Confronts and things went much smoothly from then on. He's now fully geared with R7 mods (which I still plan on upgrading in the future), and depending on the situation, I'll either use the Cosmic Fang of Wrath (Confront 5) or the Onslaught Gloves of the Defender. The former for when I absolutely cannot lose aggro or when heals are plenty that I don't need the shield from the Gloves, or the latter when heals are lacking, as well as solo situations. I've tanked all the cosmics, TA, all the QWZ bosses and even Eido with little to no problem. With Concussive Blow, you can either pull Kiga's dogs. I personally don't do it often, cause my timing is ****, but it's more than doable. Biggest disadvantages in my opinion? Lack of a decent self heal, and lack of Wardicator. To make up for it, I've gotten myself devices such as Inborn Tenacity, Voltanic Potential and the Elder Worm Humidity Dome but the low damage resistance is still pretty noticeable compared to Wardicator. Despite that, it's still a great tank AT and I'll even go out on a limb and say that it's the best tank AT, maybe losing only to the Rockstar.


    I wish I could try more ATs and see how they perform, but I only have a few character slots. I've also been tempted to make a CC with the Mind but CCing scares me so I'll hold off for now.
  • redcastle56redcastle56 Posts: 133 Arc User
    Funny, i was just asking about tanking with AT in another post.

    My original char was a Glacier AT. Still play it once it a while. Damage pretty slow until you get to avalanche. Then Energy becomes a bit of an issue as avalanche can drain your bar pretty quick. But has good specific mods for it. (kiga for damage, and specific ones to add threat, saving you on buying confronts.
  • riveroceanriverocean Posts: 1,690 Arc User
    The Behemoth is super awesome and the new confront mods helps it out quite a bit. I don't have a lvl 40 one, but I've witnessed people using Behemoth's to tank cosmics before!!!
    Questions About AT Play? Visit Silverwolfx11's Updated AT Guides!
  • riveroceanriverocean Posts: 1,690 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    So I'm going to throw in a vote for the Psychokinetic ranged AT as a good choice. Mine is currently sitting at level 38 and I'm a lot more impressed than I'd thought be.

    PROS:

    Great Single Target & AOE Damage: Telekinetic Barrage + Telekinetic Lance is especially nice for bosses!

    Fantastic Energy Management: Ego Leech reduces energy costs while also triggering the energy unlock (Telekinetic Reverberation), so energy isn't a problem.

    Good Debuff: The Stressed Out advantatge apples "Stress" which debuffs reduces enemies Ego dmg resistance for more DPS!

    Self-Healing: The Siphoning Strikes advantage on Telekinetic Barrage quickly replenishes health. Which is nice for a ranged damage AT.

    Excellent Block: R3 Telekinetic Shield + Telekinetic Reinforcement is one of the better block enhancers.

    Ego Surge: Not much to stay here, other than Ego Surge is an excellent Active Offense power for an Ego Damage user.

    CONS

    Lime most ranged damage AT's it lacks a self-resurrection ability and a convenient Active Defense. However, Master of the Mind could possibly fill in as combination AD/AO. MOTM's biggest Drawback is its long recharge of 3-minutes. While the Psychokinetic can heal itself, it lacks CON. So it's not as sturdy as it would be with CON as a Superstat.

    FINAL THOUGHTS:
    All-in-all, I'm optimistic about this AT at level 40 for end-game content. Gearing for extra HP and Con in Defensive Gear should make the Psychokinetic sturdier. Plus, Siphoning Strikes is really excellent for keeping the health bar replenished. TK Barrage + TK Lance is a perfect combo for ST damage when battling Cosmics. Ego/Rec/Dex is a standard stat combo for dps type builds. Also being in the ranged damage role with Avenger + Vindicator Specializations is very nice. IMHO this one of the better built AT's.
    Questions About AT Play? Visit Silverwolfx11's Updated AT Guides!
  • riveroceanriverocean Posts: 1,690 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    After fiddling around with the stats on my lvl 40 Void AT, I decided to take her on a few Cosmic runs. I was very surprised how well this AT performed. Hybrid AT's are usually frowned on at Cosmics, but Cassandra (my void) managed to earn a top 10 Spot more than once. The fact that she can off-heal probably helped with the score.

    I'm using the Tenebre build from this guide.

    The void is a really nice AT, and can be unlocked for free during the Nightmare Invasion event. The stats are a little odd (EGO/CON/PRE), so gearing in some recovery and endurance helps. As you can see below I don't really have the best gear, but I did get creative with mods. But she's running cosmics on basically Merc Gear, Purple Secondaries, and Rank 5's.

    My damage rotation for cosimcs was basically:
    1 Tap of Shadow Blast + 2 Full Blasts of Ebon Ruin

    My rotation for off healing was usually:
    1 Full Maintain of Shadow Embrace + 2 Full Maintains of Life Drain (Vampiric Sympathy)

    Kigatilik was the easiest of the cosmics for her to manage. Basically, I just repeated my damage rotation until the Snow Storm phase. During the storm I used Life Drain, as she has enough CON to withstand the storm.

    Qwijiybo and Teliosaurus were much harder for her. I mainly focused on damage dealing and only used Life
    Drain when necessary for self-healing.

    Cassandras_Stats.jpg
    Questions About AT Play? Visit Silverwolfx11's Updated AT Guides!
  • pwestolemynamepwestolemyname Posts: 978 Arc User
    I've also been tempted to make a CC with the Mind but CCing scares me so I'll hold off for now.
    Don't be afraid of CC, it's literally the best.

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    Used to be coach on the forums. Still @coach in game.
  • The tempest AT needs an electric whip instead of electric current. Electric current is like a waste of space in the power slot i don't even use that power, electric whip would be more effective when it can kill multiple enemies and set them on fire also and possibly heal the tempest AT too for the amount of enemies it has strikes this kind of ability would make the tempest AT very survivable for an AT with that has just 4599hp. >.>
  • kamokamikamokami Posts: 1,633 Arc User
    I wish I could try more ATs and see how they perform, but I only have a few character slots. I've also been tempted to make a CC with the Mind but CCing scares me so I'll hold off for now.

    Mind AT can totally CC Kiga and Ape. The way to make CCing not scary is to practice vs. the Kiga dogs on PTS.

    Per the latest news, silver players who purchase the Premium Pack get PTS access.
  • magpieuk2014magpieuk2014 Posts: 1,268 Arc User
    The new Samurai AT is worthy of a look. Not a 100% Dodge Tank but with the right specs (Arbiter Mastery) and gear (ignore Wardicator type set ups, go for Sentinel in offence, Gambler defence, Jack Fool in Utility), it's got a good mix of Tankiness and DoT which breezes through the Q Zone. Might be a good character to use if you're dabbling in Cosmics and Lairs, too - it gives you plenty of room to make mistakes, with a big health pool and self-heals.
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