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My first Free Form - tips for a newbie?
cheelangho
Posts: 95 Arc User
Hi, i'm Cheelangho, i'm a silver player and i just bought a FF slot (after giving a good thought on my personal finances, the frequency i play the game and my playing style) and since this is my first Freeform character, i'd like to hear from you guys how am i doing it and what should i fix or maybe just start over
Lord Romulus Croft
"He's a rogue vampire that looks for a way to overtake the leadership of his clan.
Being a fencing master before he was turned, his fighting style involves the use of sabers along with his supernatural abilities, relying more on swordplay than his powers."
Basically, i intend to play him as a tank-ish build, thinking on vampire's semi-invulnerable nature and use single blade for most of his offensive moves to go with his background so...
Which powers should i pick if i want to play him like some sort of "Single Blade Behemoth"?, or, is it even possible to tank and use Single Blade or should i use Heavy Weapons instead?
Should i change his Energy Builder?, i chose it for characterization purposes and to lure and damage enemies before engaging in melee
Stats-wise, what's the most reliable way to tank: sheer sturdyness, evasion/dodging, regenerative abilities or a mix of all of these?
That's all by now, i hope my current build doesn't suck too much:redface:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Lord Romulus
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Constitution (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Strength (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Savage
Level 6: Enduring
Level 9:
Level 12:
Level 15:
Level 18:
Level 21:
Powers:
Level 1: Throw Fire
Level 1: Reaper's Caress
Level 6: Scything Blade
Level 8:
Level 11:
Level 14:
Level 17:
Level 20:
Level 23:
Level 26:
Level 29:
Level 32:
Level 35:
Level 38:
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Bat Flight
Level 35:
Specializations:
Lord Romulus Croft
"He's a rogue vampire that looks for a way to overtake the leadership of his clan.
Being a fencing master before he was turned, his fighting style involves the use of sabers along with his supernatural abilities, relying more on swordplay than his powers."
Basically, i intend to play him as a tank-ish build, thinking on vampire's semi-invulnerable nature and use single blade for most of his offensive moves to go with his background so...
Which powers should i pick if i want to play him like some sort of "Single Blade Behemoth"?, or, is it even possible to tank and use Single Blade or should i use Heavy Weapons instead?
Should i change his Energy Builder?, i chose it for characterization purposes and to lure and damage enemies before engaging in melee
Stats-wise, what's the most reliable way to tank: sheer sturdyness, evasion/dodging, regenerative abilities or a mix of all of these?
That's all by now, i hope my current build doesn't suck too much:redface:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Lord Romulus
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Constitution (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Strength (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Savage
Level 6: Enduring
Level 9:
Level 12:
Level 15:
Level 18:
Level 21:
Powers:
Level 1: Throw Fire
Level 1: Reaper's Caress
Level 6: Scything Blade
Level 8:
Level 11:
Level 14:
Level 17:
Level 20:
Level 23:
Level 26:
Level 29:
Level 32:
Level 35:
Level 38:
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Bat Flight
Level 35:
Specializations:
SIGNATURE.
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Comments
Lol this man is on a mission :biggrin:
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
Name: Vampire Hero - Buckeye Edition
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
Level 10: Recovery (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Unleashed
Level 6: Quick Recovery
Level 9: Impresario
Level 12: Acrobat
Level 15: Boundless Reserves
Level 18: Accurate
Level 21: Amazing Stamina
Powers:
Level 1: Bestial Fury (Rip and Tear)
Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Cleaving Strikes, Challenging Strikes)
Level 6: Form of the Swordsman (Cut Where it Counts)
Level 8: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 14: Devour Essence (Phlebotomist, Crippling Challenge)
Level 17: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Resurgent Reiki)
Level 20: Dragon's Bite (Rank 2, Cull the Weak)
Level 23: Reaper's Embrace (Rank 2, No Mercy)
Level 26: Eye of the Storm (Blade Beyond the Veil)
Level 29: Masterful Dodge
Level 32: Rebirth
Level 35: Parry (The Elusive Monk)
Level 38: Supernatural Power
Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:
Specializations:
Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Dexterity: Evasion (2/2)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Elusive (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (1/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (1/2)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)
Here's an alternate version of gradii's build. I've swapped Invulnerability for Regeneration, thematically because unless you're trying to build a "Twilight vampire" (Invulnerability makes you sparkle
With the specializations I removed Brush it Off because its bugged and doesn't actually work or at least I've never seen it work for me when I've tried using. That said, with The Best Defense in the Warden tree turning all your Defense into Offense well having that ridiculously high offensive score is just being wasted. So I put in Combat Training in its place. Combat Training translates your Offense into additional Critical Chance.
Edit 1: And as gradii recommended gear for dodge and avoidance.
Edit 2: If you wanted to play it like a Single Blade Behemoth. Swap Form of The Swordsman for Aspect of the Bestial. Aspect provides you with stacks of Enrage rather than Stacks of Focus. So that part is up to you.
The damage buff and energy return on Focus scale off Dex, which you'll have in spades. For Enrage, they scale off Str, which you'll be lacking. If your damage or energy are lackluster, you won't help yourself much with Enrage.
If you're building for a high crit chance, you might find yourself critting more often than you apply bleeds. In that case, consider Form of the Tempest. It still stacks Focus, it just triggers a different way.
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
actually that's some good advice there, for newbies, FBM, and If they wanted to modify the build to be an Enrage stacker it would look something like this...
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Vampire Hero - Buckeye Edition - The Angry One
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Constitution (Primary)
Level 10: Recovery (Secondary)
Level 15: Dexterity (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Unleashed
Level 6: Quick Recovery
Level 9: Impresario
Level 12: Acrobat
Level 15: Martial Focus
Level 18: Physical Conditioning
Level 21: Relentless
Powers:
Level 1: Bestial Fury (Rip and Tear)
Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Cleaving Strikes, Challenging Strikes)
Level 6: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 11: Devour Essence (Phlebotomist, Crippling Challenge)
Level 14: Aspect of the Bestial
Level 17: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Resurgent Reiki)
Level 20: Dragon's Bite (Rank 2, Cull the Weak)
Level 23: Reaper's Embrace (Rank 2, No Mercy)
Level 26: Eye of the Storm (Blade Beyond the Veil)
Level 29: Masterful Dodge
Level 32: Rebirth
Level 35: Parry (The Elusive Monk)
Level 38: Supernatural Power
Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:
Specializations:
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (3/3)
Constitution: Resilient (2/2)
Constitution: Deflection (3/3)
Constitution: Adrenaline Rush (2/2)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Elusive (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (1/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (1/2)
Mastery: Constitution Mastery (1/1)
I just don't think I can justify suggesting an Enrage form without Strength as a Superstat.
See Mecha Teddy's guide to see where those numbers are coming from.
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
P. Offense - either the Silver Champ piece that boosts Critical Severity or the one that boosts Chance (either is fine). Gambler's Lucky Gem for the Core. STR Enhancement and CON Enhancement.
P. Defense - The Silver Champ piece that boosts Avoidance. Gambler's Lucky Gem for the Core. STR Armoring, DEX Armoring.
P. Utility - The Silver Champ piece that has the highest Cost Reduction. Impact Prism for the Core. STR Armoring and REC Enhancement for the mods.
With a minimum of R5 STR Enhancement and Armoring Mods that STR score becomes 195...and if driven to getting R9s the STR score becomes 228. Effectively giving you a Fourth Super Stat, minus the super stat status, through gear alone (and those are just the primaries)...
Those numbers are coming from the tables on the wiki. if an R5 mod will produce +55 to that particular stat then 3 of them will provide +165 to that stat. and in this case STR which we've already established before Gear is at a base of 30. adding that to that +165 it becomes 195. And if they were R9s according to that table R9s produce +66 to the stat and so if that were stated across three pieces of gear that would be +198 to STR and plus that 30 that's there as base it becomes 228.
It's way less in the Superstats than I like, so I'd probably get a Con/Dex, Dex/Rec and Con/Rec for the secondary gear which boosts you to +95 from gear on each SS (+55 from a R5 of each, +20 ?2 to each, assuming all the gear is level 40 and purple). Add that to the base 5 and +15 or +25 from Innate and talents, and +80 or +40 for being superstats, and you get 195 Con and 165 Dex and Rec
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
Well... because... Shut up!
You're right, it wouldn't work well while leveling, but it could work as a retcon build.
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
It's a great idea to start with an Archetype that's similar to your goal, or someone else's build, and tweak it from there to get the feel of the game and how to build. Later on, you can go completely wild on your own.
Oh, and get yourself a hideout. Since you've got a Freeform slot, I assume you're Silver. That means that you're capped at 250g. You can use the shared bank in the hideout to store your Resources; it isn't capped the way characters are. A hideout costs 625 Zen, or about 125,000 Questionite if you choose to farm Q and convert it to Zen.
Doing a full Retcon on a level 40 character costs about 600g. Buying half the Retcon, then farming the rest of the money to finish it sucks. Hopping into your Hideout to grab the rest is far better. ;D
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
I'm currently running a leveling version of the build just to test it out for viability if you take Regeneration as your Level 6 power and Void Shift at 8 and then follow the rest of the build with the Form coming in at 11 to adjust for the swapping around of powers you'll find your early game is uhm on easy mode because its unlikely that mobs will out damage your self heal...and considering that by level 9 you can then have Regeneration already at R3 you'll be set for some mission running.
You forgot to mention me. It's ok. You're still welcome
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Gunner from hell
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Constitution (Primary)
Level 10: Recovery (Secondary)
Level 15: Ego (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Scourge
Level 6: Quick Recovery
Level 9: Wordly
Level 12: Ascetic
Level 15: Enduring
Level 18: Tireless
Level 21: Indomitable
Powers:
Level 1: Infernal Bolts (Toxin Overload)
Level 1: Two-Gun Mojo (Close the Gap, Nailed to the Ground) - the only munitions' power avaliabable at this level... heard this one is actually powerful, am i using it right or is a waste on this build?
Level 6: Condemn (Redemption Denied, Challenging Strikes, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 8: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Submachinegun Burst (Aggression, Challenging Strikes) - My fave attack on my main, Ghostlinger (Soldier AT)... couldn't help myself with that
Level 14: Aspect of the Infernal (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Crippling Coils (Barbed Chains, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 20: Ebon Void - Just left it there, i've no idea on what to do with it
Level 23: Resurgence
Level 26: Lead Tempest (Tread Softly) - just wanted to keep on theme, maybe i'll switch back to Epidemic
Level 29: Supernatural Power
Level 32: Defile (Plague Bearer)
Level 35: Gatling Gun (Listen to Reason) - More of a space filler than an actual choice... but wiki's page on this and lack of long range attacks confirmed my decision for now
Level 38: Rebirth (Grave Consequences)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Flight - This was a decision based on gameplay, rather than theme, since it's useful on outdoors or indoors movement
Level 35:
Specializations:
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (2/3)
Constitution: Tough (3/3)
Constitution: Quick Healing (3/3)
Constitution: Armored (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Tenacious (2/2)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
I'm still unsure of the third specialization tree and obviously the mastery
Well, that's all for now, waiting for comments and hoping i didn't mess up too much:biggrin:
About the hideout thing, i've purchased one already along with my FF slot - the Tech Basement one - mainly thinking on one of my alts, Nightshot (Marksman AT, Nightwingesque theme); but ended up using it with my totally unrelated main, Ghostlinger (Restless spirit of a western gunslinger... tough the hideout being a basement doesn't feel too out of character for him); fortunately, hideouts unlock account-wide, so any toons i make can use them:cool:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Definitely not Wesley Snipes
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
Level 10: Ego (Secondary)
Level 15: Strength (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Specialist
Level 6: Impresario
Level 9: Wordly
Level 12: Relentless
Level 15: Coordinated
Level 18: Academics
Level 21: Body and Mind
Powers:
Level 1: Steady Shot (Paint the Target)
Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Cleaving Strikes)
Level 6: Two-Gun Mojo (Close the Gap, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 8: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Devour Essence (Phlebotomist)
Level 14: Aspect of the Bestial (Giant Growth)
Level 17: Dragon's Bite (Cull the Weak)
Level 20: Parry (The Elusive Monk)
Level 23: Masterful Dodge
Level 26: Submachinegun Burst (Aggression)
Level 29: Lead Tempest (Tread Softly)
Level 32: Bite (Furor Venenum)
Level 35: *insert ultimate here*
Level 38: Rebirth (Grave Consequences)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Athletics (Versatility)
Level 35: Bat Flight
Specializations:
Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)
Dexterity: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Dexterity: Evasion (2/2)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (1/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (1/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (1/2)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (1/3)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (1/3)
Guardian: Locus (2/2)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Tenacious (2/2)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)
IDK how actually effective this would be, but definitely gonna try this one when i get home and some spare time:cool:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name:
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Recovery (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Devastator
Level 6: Coordinated
Level 9: Investigator
Level 12: Accurate
Level 15: Bodybuilder
Level 18: Body and Mind
Level 21: Martial Focus
Powers:
Level 1: Bestial Fury (Rip and Tear)
Level 1: Shred (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares)
Level 11: Aspect of the Bestial
Level 14: Frenzy (Rank 2, Fear Sense)
Level 17: Bite (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Devour Essence (Rank 2, Phlebotomist)
Level 23: Ebon Void (Voracious Darkness)
Level 26: Aggressor (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Masterful Dodge
Level 32: Summon Shadows (Devouring Darkness)
Level 35: Rebirth (Grave Consequences)
Level 38: Supernatural Power
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Shadow Wings (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Acrobatics (Rank 2)
Specializations:
Strength: Swole (3/3)
Strength: Aggression (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (3/3)
Strength: Overpower (2/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (2/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (1/2)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (2/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Upper Hand (2/3)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Mastery: Strength Mastery (1/1)
This seems to stack Bleeds (and thus, Enrage) faster and more reliably than the sword builds, at least in the Powerhouse.
Summon Shadows is just there for fun, and cosmetically it synergizes well with Void Shift and Ebon Void.
Frenzy with +Fear Sense seems to synergize well with Void Shift.
REC only won out over INT because Supernatural Power scales off of REC, and Supernatural Power won out over MSA because the lunge is the only short-recharge power, but nearly everything in this build potentially triggers Supernatural Power.
We are both definitely amused at the character being able to lift and throw objects several times her own size.