Requesting Input re: Single Blade Build

Comments

• kelbornx Posts: 83 Arc User

  February 2013 edited February 2013

  Single Blade is actually very powerful, when built right. :P Dual Blade has a better AoE in Sword Cyclone, but Single Blade has higher single target damage with Bleeds and then rupturing with Reaper's Embrace.
  
  You build looks solid. You have Reaper's Caress and Reaper's Embrace. You have WotW and FotT. You have your BCR/RR and Parry (The Elusive Monk). You have a Rush applier. The only thing I would do is take Reaper's Caress to R3 and grab Scything Blade with Swallowtail Cut. SC applies as a separate effect, thus giving you 6 Bleeds to rupture. Given how much dodge you're going to have, Bionic Shielding may not be that useful with how often Resurgent Reiki is going to proc.
  
  You also don't need SS STR. You don't have anything that scales with it (like Enrage, or Knocks). SS CON would be better. The Elusive Monk also gives you 33% Knock resist, remember. Just talent for STR.
  
  The only that I can think of as to why the build would seem weak is that BCR reduces your damage by 10%, and The Elusive Monk reduces damage by 15%. As great as TEM is, you can get very high levels of Dodge/Avoid from gear and WotW even without TEM. If the theme permits, you could use Telekinetic Shield (Telekinetic Reinforcement); it gives +16% Resist All for 8 seconds after blocking, similar to how Force Shield (Force Sheath) works... and no damage penalty. Also, Flight gives you a -12% Power Cost Discount. If you ever wondered why Athletics / Acrobatics is so popular, it's because it only gives -3.1%.
  
  I'm not sure if two instances of The Best Defense are worth anything, I honestly haven't tried it. But I do know that with Vindicator, you can get Aggressive Stance (gives you Defense based on your Offense) to loop with The Best Defense.
  
  For your final power I highly recommend Evasive Maneuver's with Sleight of Mind. Too useful to pass up on any DPS build.
  
  Here's my Single Blade build, though it's tailored for a Tech themed character.

  __________________________________________________
  My 40s: Munitions, Electricity, TK Blades, Gadgeteering DPS
  
  Other toons: Fire, Heavy Weapons Tank, Dual Blades, Fightning Claws, AoRP Support, Bestial Supernatural, Archery,
  TK Ranged, Infernal Tank, Ice DPS, Laser Sword, Heavy Weapons DPS

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• lordwolfy Posts: 140 Arc User

  February 2013 edited February 2013

  Kelborn, I noticed you had Unstoppable in your build but honestly is it comparable to WotW in any respect with damage mitigation? I know it has a damage absorb utility but looking at it, it seems pathetically low. Were WotW can get you some pretty nice dodge/avoidance numbers. Am I missing something?

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• kelbornx Posts: 83 Arc User

  February 2013 edited February 2013

  I took Unstoppable because the "flaming shoulders" visual effect of Way of the Warrior was not at all in theme with my character. Damage-wise you lose out on some Bleed damage, but with Reaper's Embrace they don't tick that long anyway.
  
  The damage mitigation, taken at face value, are not comparable. However, once you factor in the amount of Dodge/Avoid you get from gear, and The Elusive Monk (should you choose to take Parry), the Dodge/Avoid rating from WotW will be heavy into diminishing returns. The DR on Unstoppable functions as a mini-IDF. It's good, but it's not great. For a tech character who has no good reason to be caught on fire, it works just fine. Not to mention it also gives Knock resist scaling with your Super Stats.

  __________________________________________________
  My 40s: Munitions, Electricity, TK Blades, Gadgeteering DPS
  
  Other toons: Fire, Heavy Weapons Tank, Dual Blades, Fightning Claws, AoRP Support, Bestial Supernatural, Archery,
  TK Ranged, Infernal Tank, Ice DPS, Laser Sword, Heavy Weapons DPS

  0
• sundevil3 Posts: 48 Arc User

  March 2013 edited March 2013

  kelbornx wrote: »

  Single Blade is actually very powerful, when built right. :P Dual Blade has a better AoE in Sword Cyclone, but Single Blade has higher single target damage with Bleeds and then rupturing with Reaper's Embrace.
  
  You build looks solid. You have Reaper's Caress and Reaper's Embrace. You have WotW and FotT. You have your BCR/RR and Parry (The Elusive Monk). You have a Rush applier. The only thing I would do is take Reaper's Caress to R3 and grab Scything Blade with Swallowtail Cut. SC applies as a separate effect, thus giving you 6 Bleeds to rupture. Given how much dodge you're going to have, Bionic Shielding may not be that useful with how often Resurgent Reiki is going to proc.
  
  You also don't need SS STR. You don't have anything that scales with it (like Enrage, or Knocks). SS CON would be better. The Elusive Monk also gives you 33% Knock resist, remember. Just talent for STR.
  
  The only that I can think of as to why the build would seem weak is that BCR reduces your damage by 10%, and The Elusive Monk reduces damage by 15%. As great as TEM is, you can get very high levels of Dodge/Avoid from gear and WotW even without TEM. If the theme permits, you could use Telekinetic Shield (Telekinetic Reinforcement); it gives +16% Resist All for 8 seconds after blocking, similar to how Force Shield (Force Sheath) works... and no damage penalty. Also, Flight gives you a -12% Power Cost Discount. If you ever wondered why Athletics / Acrobatics is so popular, it's because it only gives -3.1%.
  
  I'm not sure if two instances of The Best Defense are worth anything, I honestly haven't tried it. But I do know that with Vindicator, you can get Aggressive Stance (gives you Defense based on your Offense) to loop with The Best Defense.
  
  For your final power I highly recommend Evasive Maneuver's with Sleight of Mind. Too useful to pass up on any DPS build.
  
  Here's my Single Blade build, though it's tailored for a Tech themed character.

  Thank you for the tips! They turned out to be very useful.
  
  I did some testing, and a second instance of The Best Defense does give a benefit, but it turns out to be much less than I thought. Swapping it out for the specializations in the Vindicator tree slightly lowered damage (less than 1%), but substantially increased critical severity (+15%) and defense (+6%), so I switched from Guardian to Vindicator.
  
  I also took your advice on Reaper's Caress and Scything Blade, and I swapped secondary super stat Strength for Constitution. The build now feels much more sturdy. Here's what I ended up with (there are still 5 advantage points left to spend):
  
  PowerHouse (Link to this build)
  
  Name: Lady Justice
  
  Archetype: Freeform
  
  Super Stats:
  Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
  Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
  Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
  
  Talents:
  Level 1: One of Mind and Body
  Level 6: Martial Focus
  Level 9: Physical Conditioning
  Level 12: Body and Mind
  Level 15: Covert Ops Training
  Level 18: Acrobat
  Level 21: Coordinated
  
  Powers:
  Level 1: Reaper's Touch
  Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 6: Thunderbolt Lunge
  Level 8: Way of the Warrior (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 11: Scything Blade (Rank 2, Swallowtail Cut)
  Level 14: Form of the Tempest
  Level 17: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Rank 2, Resurgent Reiki)
  Level 20: Molecular Self-Assembly
  Level 23: Reaper's Embrace (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 26: Parry (Rank 2, The Elusive Monk)
  Level 29: Bionic Shielding (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 32: Dragon's Bite
  Level 35: Unbreakable
  Level 38: Lock N Load
  
  Travel Powers:
  Level 6: Flight (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 35:
  
  Specializations:
  Dexterity: Combat Training (2/3)
  Dexterity: Gear Utilization (3/3)
  Dexterity: Evasion (2/2)
  Dexterity: Quick Reflexes (3/3)
  Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
  Warden: Slaughter (3/3)
  Warden: Tenacious (1/2)
  Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
  Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
  Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
  Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
  Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)
  Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)

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