Pistol Build Advice

eatmores · December 2012

This my first crack at a pistol build so I would appreciate any feedback. Theme wise I want to stick with pistols for attacks and a bit of gadgetry.

By level 40 I'm aiming for around 200 dex/con, 250 int, and a few points in ego. Audacity stacks should put me over the ranged damage soft cap.

I'm also a bit unsure about Breakaway Shot here, is it any good?

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Marksman
Level 6: Coordinated
Level 9: Shooter
Level 12: Healthy Mind
Level 15: Ascetic
Level 18: Acrobat
Level 21: Academics

Powers:
Level 1: Gunslinger
Level 1: Two-Gun Mojo (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Concentration
Level 8: Breakaway Shot (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Quarry (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Resurgent Reiki)
Level 17: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 20: Lead Tempest (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 29: Evasive Maneuvers (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Masterful Dodge
Level 35: Implosion Engine
Level 38: Lock N Load (Rank 2)

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

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 (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (2/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (3/3)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

kallethen · December 2012

I personally don't care for Breakaway Shot. It's good in concept. Good for getting you out of melee quickly and deliver a parting shot at the same time. However, I think Evasive Maneuvers is better with the Dodge buff it gives and the Advantage to wipe out Threat and put you in brief stealth.

If the getaway isn't as important as dealing some quick damage, I'd take a look at Holdout Shot. It can deal extra damage on a Crit, has a lower cost if you are low on energy, and it's advantage provides a good Healing tick (that crits even). I currently use this power on my Pistol Tank build.

carrionbaggage · December 2012

If you decide to drop Breakaway Shot and free up a power slot, Sonic Device (w/ advantage) gives you a great alpha strike with Lead Tempest. Thematically, it can be special ammo.

theravenforce · December 2012

Breakaway Shot vs Evasive Maneuvers.

- Both are thematic/can be thematic.
- EM grants a dodge buff of 20%, but cannot be spammed as it has a CD.
- BS is spammable and does nice cone damage but doesnt wipe threat.

It really depends on what you are looking for. EM's advantage can be very useful BS's advantage is only if you need to get out of melee range or an AoE range and drag your opponent towards you.

I'd get rid of Implosion Engine, if you really want a gadget power which doesnt really need to be ranked you could go for Entangling Mesh or something.

You could go for Tread Softly Advantage on Lead Tempest for a dodge/avoid buff.

kallethen · December 2012

Breakaway Shot doesn't have a CD? Huh, I thought all movement powers did... Learn something new everyday!

That's another thing to think about though. EM (and Holdout Shot) aren't spammable because of cooldown, but that means both can trigger your MSA unlock.

reddestshirt · December 2012

You will have some issues triggering Molecular Self-Assembly with this build unless you need to heal yourself constantly, consider switching to Overdrive?

Alternatively get rid of intelligence completely and put all those points into EGO instead to use Killer Instinct as your energy unlock.

ashensnow · December 2012

reddestshirt wrote: »

You will have some issues triggering Molecular Self-Assembly with this build unless you need to heal yourself constantly, consider switching to Overdrive?

Alternatively get rid of intelligence completely and put all those points into EGO instead to use Killer Instinct as your energy unlock.

Getting rid of Int on a Quarry build would be a bummer. Just talenting and gearing for a bit of Ego, in conjunction with what you get from Quarry should be enough for Killer INstinct to work just fine.

Personally my pistoleer toon is Dex + Int/Ego with Quarry and Killer Instinct. As much as KI isnt the best energy unlock out there the .5 second tick rate of 2GM combined with a high crit chance does a great job of overcoming its failings as an energy unlock.

I enjoy Breakaway shot immensely. I can hit for over 4k with it while escaping melee. It is a decent sized area as well. For me mobility is an important part of what I look for in a character so a power that does AoE damage while increasing my mobility is awesome.

A fun trick is to jump over a group of foes' heads and trigger Breakaway SHot while in the air. You can keep bouncing in the air over their head, not touching the ground again until they die.

Evasive Maneuvers is the more efficient choice though. Its dodge buff is not rating but rather a direct addition. Hard to argue with.

reddestshirt · December 2012

ashensnow wrote: »

Getting rid of Int on a Quarry build would be a bummer.

Right you are, I forgot that part. I would still suggest getting overdrive in place of MSA though, since having your energy return trigger off of self heals as a damage-dealer is impractical.
MSA will give you better energy returns per shot, but overdrive should be up at all times unlike MSA.

eatmores · December 2012

Wow, so much great advice.

With two reverse lunge powers, Breakaway Shot and Evasive Maneuvers, I decided that the dodge bonus from EM is too good to ignore so I'm dropping Breakaway shot.

I really liked the idea of using Sonic Device for some damage spikes so that's in.

Energy unlocks. I reviewed Mecha Teddy's thread and Overdrive seems to scale more on Rec (which I don't have) than Int. Even with only moderate Ego I think Killer Instinct will win with this crit build. I don't want to change my SS so MSA will return the most energy, assuming I can keep it going. If I find I have more energy that I need or if it feels too clicky I'll try running KI instead.

Implosion Engine is expensive and has a long cooldown, so it doesn't make a lot of sense. But I've only recently gained access to freeform builds and this was always one of those ooo-ahh powers to me. If I can't make it work Entangling Mesh does seem like a more logical choice.

Sometimes I feel like a kid in a candy store having an anxiety attack trying to decide how to spend his $2.

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Marksman
Level 6: Coordinated
Level 9: Shooter
Level 12: Healthy Mind
Level 15: Ascetic
Level 18: Acrobat
Level 21: Academics

Powers:
Level 1: Gunslinger
Level 1: Two-Gun Mojo (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Concentration
Level 8: Sonic Device (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Quarry (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Resurgent Reiki)
Level 17: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 20: Lead Tempest (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 29: Evasive Maneuvers (Rank 2, Sleight of Mind)
Level 32: Masterful Dodge
Level 35: Implosion Engine
Level 38: Lock N Load (Rank 2)

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

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 (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (2/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (3/3)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

kallethen · December 2012

I've only used Implosion Engine on the PTS, but from what I've seen it's one of the better Tier 4 powers. And it's one that I see used frequently.

Sonic Device is a good choice to bump up your spike damage.

And yes, I often get the same feeling of being a kid in a candy store. Thankfully, there have been some great builds and advice given on these forums.

spyralpegacyon · December 2012

I personally went with Breakaway Shot over Evasive Maneuvers. If I'm on a team, I'm almost always pulling aggro with Two-Gun Mojo. Sleight of Mind doesn't work if I'm just grabbing aggro again after a second or two, and bouncing all over the place just makes things more annoying for my teammates. Between Masterful Dodge, Conviction, Stim Pack in Holdout Shot, and knowing when to block I can handle all the boss love well enough. If I'm solo, then Breakaway Shot and its 4k crit is where its at. :biggrin:

As for that last build: Tread Softly in Lead Tempest will keep you upright while you're making all those new friends, and Holdout Shot with Stim Pack is a nice followup to firing off Convition.

darkstarcrash · December 2012

ashensnow wrote: »

I enjoy Breakaway shot immensely. I can hit for over 4k with it while escaping melee. It is a decent sized area as well. For me mobility is an important part of what I look for in a character so a power that does AoE damage while increasing my mobility is awesome.

A fun trick is to jump over a group of foes' heads and trigger Breakaway SHot while in the air. You can keep bouncing in the air over their head, not touching the ground again until they die.

Evasive Maneuvers is the more efficient choice though. Its dodge buff is not rating but rather a direct addition. Hard to argue with.

Inspired by this thread, I started a pistol build for a character I'd had kicking around for a while, Teddy Roosevelt the Rough Rider:

Costume_darkstarcrash_TeddyRooseveltRoughRider_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_408915456_zps265d148a.jpg

Costume_darkstarcrash_TeddyRooseveltRoughRider_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_408915456_zps265d148a.jpg

He's only level 15 so far, but Breakaway Shot is so much fun! Leaping towards a group, then firing it off a couple times mid-air will kill a group of henchmen, and a couple ticks of Two-Gun Mojo will finish off any villain still standing.

Pistol Build Advice

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