Build Revision, an odd Sorcerer

ares · March 2019

This is the build I've arrived at, keeping in mind the goals I've set for my character, after a bit of testing. So the whole premise was to create a functional dps that could heal himself and others semi-efficiently by having a huge critical severity and critical chance and also just skipping energy-based secondary stats by using Circle of Arcane Power (Which incidentally provides an enchantment effect).

I get roughly 3k+ critical ticks on soul beam and have around 500 dexterity (17% Chilled Form, 99% Enchanter) and 120+ of my other stats, and can get some decent 2k+ conviction and rebuke healing crits (the reason I went with rebuke is because of it being 100ft. range, which minimizes the need for me to move after the person I want to heal). However, I'd like a bit of a rundown on where my stats should be, considering that each additional point of dexterity seems to not be granting me any significant bonuses now and just draining away my critical severity and damage bonus from secondary stats.

Also:
I'm thinking of just scrapping Star Barrage, considering the aoe range of the attack just seems to be so low, that most of the time I'm better off just using soul beam to kill single target things faster.

I'm also a bit iffy on Hex of Suffering or Will of the Wisp and what I should replace with Rebuke. First of all, Hex of Suffering honestly has some pretty decent damage for a dot and seems to be definitely worth using a gcd on, but it's 50 ft. range, which means that in some situations I'll be forced to reposition, which wastes an extra few seconds to recast circle of arcane power. For the same reason, I'm really not sure I need Hex of Suffering and Will of the Wisp both, but I'm also not sure which one is better. I had a thought that perhaps if I keep Will and Hex, and then take something like Dimensional Collapse which is boosted by Enchanter, that perhaps all these dots would have some form of benefit for the dps of the build.

Alternatively, maybe I just keep Will of the Wisp and forget about Star Barrage and those sweet dot numbers? If so, is there anything specific I could replace it with? Keep in mind, I don't have Crashing Incantation, so maybe something like a Rez and Inequity? Alternatively, my character has a bit of a technowizard theme, but I've never succesfully found a way to combine those themes, so maybe there's something there that could work or just be a useless but cool addition?

Then I'm also wondering if I'll really lose or gain a whole lot by replacing Presence with Ego, or even making Ego primary.

Some advice would be very much appreciated!

Ranged Damage
v3.29:31

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

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

Powers
Level 1: Eldritch Bolts
Level 1: Enchanter (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Eldritch Shield
Level 8: Circle of Arcane Power (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Chilled Form
Level 14: Killer Instinct
Level 17: Imbue (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Soul Beam (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Hex of Suffering (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Masterful Dodge
Level 32: Rebuke (Admonish)
Level 35: Will-o'-the-Wisp (Cursed, Ghost Fire)
Level 38: Star Barrage (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Adv. Points: 34/36

Travel Powers
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations
Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Dexterity: Expose Weakness (2/2)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

flowcyto · March 2019

Eh, you took Killer Instinct? There's aren't any Muni attacks in the build, and you're already taking CoAP.

For that build, I may keep everything that's 100ft range, since you're using CoAP and you want to minimize repositioning, and one of the ways to do that is to use long-ranged powers. Iniquity is a very good ally heal that can also be 100ft, but keep in mind that it can't crit, and you'd want something like Conviction (which can crit) to make up for the health loss.

I would normally just take Conjuring w/ Sorcery, since its such a convenient EU for the set, but it does scale w/ Int.. Maybe just have Iniquity, Ascension w/ Wisp's Guide, and an ally res for some minor support. For example:

https://aesica.net/co/herocreator.htm?v=31&n=&d=12430qbGMHPK000000M000MD03MH005800MK03OI0CK503MZ03K4039D01ON01KF057U011L000mUB3BIR2MGB50000000000&e=

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

Talents
Level 1: The Specialist (Dex: 10, Con: 10, Int: 8, Rec: 10)
Level 6: Covert Ops Training (Str: 3, Dex: 3, Con: 3, Int: 3)
Level 9: Acrobat (Dex: 5, Con: 5)
Level 12: Healthy Mind (Con: 5, Int: 5)
Level 15: Coordinated (Dex: 5, Int: 5)
Level 18: Quick Recovery (Con: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 21: Impresario (Dex: 5, Rec: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Eldritch Bolts
Level 1: Enchanter (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Conjuring
Level 8: Chilled Form
Level 11: Star Barrage (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Will-o'-the-Wisp (Guide, Cursed)
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Soul Beam (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Iniquity (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Energy Shield (Rank 2)
Level 29: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 32: Ascension (Rank 2, Judgment)
Level 35: Resurrection Serum (Rank 2)
Level 38: Thundering Return
Adv. Points: 34/36

Travel Powers
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations
Dexterity: Combat Training (2/3)
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (3/3)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Dexterity: Expose Weakness (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (3/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (2/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (2/3)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

Took Energy Shield, Res Serum, and Thundering Return for a bit of 'Tech' flavor. If you don't mind getting closer for AoE, you could use Skarn's Bane instead of Star Barrage, and maybe get its stun adv. Gears mostly for Dex, w/ some Con and Int.

ares · March 2019

My bad, it wasn't Killer Instinct but a different energy unlock, the name of which I can't remember for the life of me. Gave you energy when you channeled something all the way to the end, which I thought worked well with Soul Beam.

So, what put me off in Conjuring is that it says you have to be "near" a target with a curse on it without specifying exactly how close you have to be. I assumed "near" meant much closer than 100ft, which means I would have to reposition, which means I'd have to waste time casting Circle of Arcane Power again, and I do want to use it honestly. Something about making your own little circle of power which allows you to exceed your normal capabilities in magic appeals to me conceptually.

That said, as you've said before, it's not really obvious that an energy unlock is even required when you have Circle of Arcane Power, but it certainly won't be detrimental if Conjuring means that I can stay far away from my target to get its benefits.

Bearing in mind your suggestions, would something like this work out? Also, are there specific values I should look to hit with my superstats? As in, after what point does it become more beneficial to focus on secondary superstats over primary and etc. If possible, an approximation would help a lot.

Ranged Damage
v3.29:31

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

Talents
Level 1: The Gunslinger (Dex: 10, Con: 10, Ego: 8, Rec: 10)
Level 6: Acrobat (Dex: 5, Con: 5)
Level 9: Shooter (Dex: 5, Ego: 5)
Level 12: Ascetic (Con: 5, Ego: 5)
Level 15: Worldly (Ego: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 18: Impresario (Dex: 5, Rec: 5)
Level 21: Quick Recovery (Con: 5, Rec: 5)

Powers
Level 1: Eldritch Bolts
Level 1: Enchanter (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Conjuring
Level 8: Circle of Arcane Power (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Chilled Form
Level 14: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Imbue (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Force Shield (Rank 2, Rank 3, Force Sheathe)
Level 23: Will-o'-the-Wisp (Cursed)
Level 26: Skarn's Bane (Chaos Magic, Trance)
Level 29: Rebuke
Level 32: Soul Beam (Rank 2, Rank 3, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 35: Thundering Return
Level 38: Redemption (Salvation)
Adv. Points: 36/36

Travel Powers
Level 6: Teleportation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Jet Pack

Specializations
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Aggression (2/2)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (3/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (2/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)

On Inequity:

I can definitely see the design of lowering cooldowns of Conviction with intelligence, which allows you to gain more health and thus transfer more health to a target when necessary, as well as some of the other illumination stuff. I can't really heal myself with Inequity though, unlike Rebuke, so it's a little less all-purpose. After all this is about dps first and the support stuff is mostly there for self-sustain and to have something to offer someone I might be running a quest with, as well as the simple thematics of a spellcaster that can do... things.

On Star Barrage:

I guess I'll have to bite the bullet here. At the end of the day I still have an energy builder to keep me afloat, so Skarn's Bane is probably better. It also gives me the ability to CC groups of enemies with a bit of luck, although I would obviously prefer a knock down or something like that, since I don't really have any sort of bonuses to hold. If I'm also not mistaken, all that really matters at the end of the day is how much single target damage you can pump into the boss, rather than the mobs.

flowcyto · March 2019

Conjuring can proc from pretty far out- at least it works at ~100ft for me when hitting Regen dummies w/ the Wisp. Also, the new CoAP will disable energy gains from stuff like EUs, so I'd chose between getting a normal EU and CoAP (obv I prefer the EU to not be tied down, but its your choice as the new CoAP is pretty strong energy regen and isn't tied to any stat). Regardless, if keeping Conjuring, then you'll prob still want Int as an SS. You'll also want the Guide adv on the Wisp to give you an Enchantment and boost Soul Beam's dmg.

For stat-ing dps, you generally want to put as much into your toggle/form's main stat as you can (Ego or Dex w/ Chilled Form, for example), while still being good on energy w/ your normal rotations. You can also aim for a specific maxHP range to hit for Con and maxHP mods, and then allocate most the rest to the toggle/form stat, if you'd like that approach. Up to you, really.

Iniquity has very high hps for a heal, but if you also want a regular heal for yourself and allies then you can settle w/ Rebuke, though it'll be quite weaker hps.

AoE stuns are still pretty good on mobs as a dps, even if the effect is short (KDs are also brief anyways). The main boon to Star Barrage is the long range here, but its up to you if that's worthwhile or not. I may get the stun adv and R2 if using Skarn's instead.

Build Revision, an odd Sorcerer

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