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How to Dps in Alerts.
ajanus
Posts: 501 Arc User
Have you ever joined an Alert team and seen 3 Tanks, 1 Support, and you?
Have you ever lost an Alert and wondered, what can I do to make sure this never happens again?
Have you ever left an Alert because you saw 4 level 6s and you knew there was no way to complete the Alert?
First I do recommend going through the game once all the way for your first 40...that lets you have a basic understanding of game mechanics, but more importantly, after level 25, gives you access to your nemesis, which in turn, gives you Heirloom Gear from the nemesis vendor. This is really important to maximize your dps with even low level toons.
Second, I also recommend waiting until 14 to start Alerts. This will give you enough powers to have your main spam, Passive, and Form toggle, and possibly an active offense.
1. Choose an OFFENSIVE passive, then choose the damage type role to match. SO many times I see people in Hybrid role with an offensive passive and I don't even know why...sacrificing 25% damage for ANYTHING as a dps toon is just plain stupid.
2. DEX/STR/EGO. *While leveling* having one of those as your primary puts you leaps ahead of the game. If you choose EGO or STR, I would definitely recommend Dex as a secondary...and for the most part, Con as your third, only because you WILL get agro a lot.
3. Find your maintain. Maintains are great because of the spam. Some suggestions: 2 Gun Mojo, Conflagration, Lighting Storm, Skarn's Bane, Epidemic, Hurricane, or any 3 slot Power Armor combo. Melee gets some nice taps to take, like Dragon's Wrath, Dragon's Claws, Demolish, and Cleave. Yes, there are others to take, but I have noticed a severe lack of dps in Alerts, so I wanted to give somewhere to start.
3. Take a form. Concentration, Form of the Tempest, Enrage...I would suggest Aggressor with Enrage to boost stacks really fast near the beginning of the Alert. The other 2 build stacks really fast anyways.
4. Take an Active Defense early. Masterful Dodge is the best one to take early on. This also gives you a great "out" when you decide to kick things off in the Alert for everyone :biggrin: Resurgence or Unbreakable work fine, as well.
5. Take an agro wipe. Evasive Maneuvers- Slight of Mind is amazing. Palliate-absolve (?) is also worth looking into.
6. Fire and Forget. I want to mention this because a lot of players overlook the value of these attacks. You don't have to go all out pets or anything, but if you want to spam 2GM, there's nothing wrong with having Munitions Bots and setting them on Turret Mode for the Alert. Pyro Blades, Shadows, Wolves, and Attack Toys also make some nice additions if you are looking for more Fire and Forget powers. A some non-pets could be Sparkstorm, Flashfire, and Brimstone (with fire patch)...just extra damage that you can keep going while using your main attacks.
7. DoTs. I haven't messed around much with the new Telepathy stuff, but the DoTs look very promising from a dps standpoint. I also like Hex if your passive enhances it.
8. Spec Trees. If you have ANYTHING that grants some Crit or Crit Severity in your tree, take it. All 3 of those primaries above have both options in their trees. Vindicator has both options I know, and some others might too. I usually take Guardian/Warden afterwards so I can benefit from "The Best Defense" in those trees.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name:
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: Quick Trigger
Level 6: Agile
Level 9: Enduring
Level 12: Indomitable
Level 15: Acrobat
Level 18: Ascetic
Level 21: Shooter
Powers:
Level 1: Gunslinger
Level 1: Two-Gun Mojo (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Killer Instinct
Level 8: Kinetic Manipulation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Concentration
Level 14: Masterful Dodge
Level 17: Evasive Maneuvers (Sleight of Mind)
Level 20: Munitions Bots (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 26: Gatling Gun (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Dark Transfusion (Blood Sacrifice)
Level 35: Resurgence
Level 38: Implosion Engine (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Acrobatics (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Jet Pack (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Specializations:
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Aggression (2/2)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (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: Ego Mastery (1/1)
This is my basic Alert Dps build that I have been using. After around 20, my success rate went through the roof. Now, at 32, this toon just doesn't fail Alerts anymore. This makes the run from 30-40 very fast and easy.
Please keep in mind:
1. This isn't the place to complain about lowbies in your Alerts. This is a place to take on ALL obstacles and overcome them.
2. There are many, many other builds you can use, this is just my example.
3. This is for Freeforms...Silvers are kinda boned on what they can and can't use
4. This build's only device is Heroic Resonance...because I have it and I like it :biggrin:
5. Any comments or questions, feel free...keep it civil and clean, this is a thread to help others, not start arguments.
If you still need more tips or tricks for Alerts, feel free to post concerns here or send me an in-game email to my handle (listed in sig).
P.S. I know vets won't find much use out of most of this, but then again, you guys aren't the ones that need help in Alerts.
Have you ever lost an Alert and wondered, what can I do to make sure this never happens again?
Have you ever left an Alert because you saw 4 level 6s and you knew there was no way to complete the Alert?
First I do recommend going through the game once all the way for your first 40...that lets you have a basic understanding of game mechanics, but more importantly, after level 25, gives you access to your nemesis, which in turn, gives you Heirloom Gear from the nemesis vendor. This is really important to maximize your dps with even low level toons.
Second, I also recommend waiting until 14 to start Alerts. This will give you enough powers to have your main spam, Passive, and Form toggle, and possibly an active offense.
1. Choose an OFFENSIVE passive, then choose the damage type role to match. SO many times I see people in Hybrid role with an offensive passive and I don't even know why...sacrificing 25% damage for ANYTHING as a dps toon is just plain stupid.
2. DEX/STR/EGO. *While leveling* having one of those as your primary puts you leaps ahead of the game. If you choose EGO or STR, I would definitely recommend Dex as a secondary...and for the most part, Con as your third, only because you WILL get agro a lot.
3. Find your maintain. Maintains are great because of the spam. Some suggestions: 2 Gun Mojo, Conflagration, Lighting Storm, Skarn's Bane, Epidemic, Hurricane, or any 3 slot Power Armor combo. Melee gets some nice taps to take, like Dragon's Wrath, Dragon's Claws, Demolish, and Cleave. Yes, there are others to take, but I have noticed a severe lack of dps in Alerts, so I wanted to give somewhere to start.
3. Take a form. Concentration, Form of the Tempest, Enrage...I would suggest Aggressor with Enrage to boost stacks really fast near the beginning of the Alert. The other 2 build stacks really fast anyways.
4. Take an Active Defense early. Masterful Dodge is the best one to take early on. This also gives you a great "out" when you decide to kick things off in the Alert for everyone :biggrin: Resurgence or Unbreakable work fine, as well.
5. Take an agro wipe. Evasive Maneuvers- Slight of Mind is amazing. Palliate-absolve (?) is also worth looking into.
6. Fire and Forget. I want to mention this because a lot of players overlook the value of these attacks. You don't have to go all out pets or anything, but if you want to spam 2GM, there's nothing wrong with having Munitions Bots and setting them on Turret Mode for the Alert. Pyro Blades, Shadows, Wolves, and Attack Toys also make some nice additions if you are looking for more Fire and Forget powers. A some non-pets could be Sparkstorm, Flashfire, and Brimstone (with fire patch)...just extra damage that you can keep going while using your main attacks.
7. DoTs. I haven't messed around much with the new Telepathy stuff, but the DoTs look very promising from a dps standpoint. I also like Hex if your passive enhances it.
8. Spec Trees. If you have ANYTHING that grants some Crit or Crit Severity in your tree, take it. All 3 of those primaries above have both options in their trees. Vindicator has both options I know, and some others might too. I usually take Guardian/Warden afterwards so I can benefit from "The Best Defense" in those trees.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name:
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: Quick Trigger
Level 6: Agile
Level 9: Enduring
Level 12: Indomitable
Level 15: Acrobat
Level 18: Ascetic
Level 21: Shooter
Powers:
Level 1: Gunslinger
Level 1: Two-Gun Mojo (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Killer Instinct
Level 8: Kinetic Manipulation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Concentration
Level 14: Masterful Dodge
Level 17: Evasive Maneuvers (Sleight of Mind)
Level 20: Munitions Bots (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 26: Gatling Gun (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Dark Transfusion (Blood Sacrifice)
Level 35: Resurgence
Level 38: Implosion Engine (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Acrobatics (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Jet Pack (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Specializations:
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Aggression (2/2)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (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: Ego Mastery (1/1)
This is my basic Alert Dps build that I have been using. After around 20, my success rate went through the roof. Now, at 32, this toon just doesn't fail Alerts anymore. This makes the run from 30-40 very fast and easy.
Please keep in mind:
1. This isn't the place to complain about lowbies in your Alerts. This is a place to take on ALL obstacles and overcome them.
2. There are many, many other builds you can use, this is just my example.
3. This is for Freeforms...Silvers are kinda boned on what they can and can't use
4. This build's only device is Heroic Resonance...because I have it and I like it :biggrin:
5. Any comments or questions, feel free...keep it civil and clean, this is a thread to help others, not start arguments.
If you still need more tips or tricks for Alerts, feel free to post concerns here or send me an in-game email to my handle (listed in sig).
P.S. I know vets won't find much use out of most of this, but then again, you guys aren't the ones that need help in Alerts.
Remember: Half the people you know are below average...
Do not correct a fool, for he will hate you for it. Correct a wise man, for he will appreciate you for it.
Don't be like the Qularr. They would not last one round in the Interstellar Galactic Arena...
Handle @brayv
Post edited by ajanus on
0
Comments
1: Diminishing returns. A well built freeform is already sitting right on top of a bunch of soft caps. Some of us (and I'm often guilty of this) don't benefit as much from offensive form. Example: my previously mentioned ego blade character crits for 1.5k with her *energy builder*. Offfensive role does nothing for me.
2: It nerfs healing. The bit of threat negation is fully neutralized by the dps increase on some characters (example: my main tanks in offensive role because of the increased dps and associated aggro), but if you're a well built freeform you're going to have a measure of self heal in case you draw aggro. When you draw that threat and take the (iirc?) 25% reduction in self heals? It hurts.
Caveat tho. Evasive doesn't threat wipe 50% of the time. I like smoke bomb, might be worth a thought too.
Why minigun AND 2 gun mojo? Pretty similar output, no? I can't imagine minigun's 5 foot aoe is doing much good.
RIP Caine
You mean Gatling Gun? (Minigun is a Power Armor toggle)
I use both on my Munitions toon. Yes, the damage is similar, but it isn't a 5' AoE. It's a 100' long, 5' wide AoE. The increased range and extra targets make it situationally useful. It costs more energy though, so it isn't efficient to use all the time.
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
lol yeah, that too. Sorry, my brain blew a bubble. and the 5' wide aoe is more what I mean. How often do you catch people in the line? Honestly curious, my cascade spammer might as well be single target, if I'm not rotating around the fight like a carousel lining up all my shots.
RIP Caine
Also, enemies are dumb. Hit them from far enough away, and their friends will run into the spray of bullets trying to find a direct path to you.
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
Role bonuses are multiplicative, not additive. They, like crits, are outside of the normal DR model on things like passive, form, OFFENSE, etc.
If stacking lots of additive bonuses you may not get significantly more damage out of an offensive passive than a defensive passive, but you will see more damage out of the offensive role itself. Access to that offensive role is arguably the best reason to take on offensive passive at all.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
It's actually fairly easy to line up mobs into Minigun's line of fire, especially if you get the Infrared Guidance System advantage (which widens it's AoE path, and costs just one point). Minigun also keeps firing even after the target is dead, which I've often used to my advantage in moving my toon to reorient Minigun's line of fire to catch more foes.
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A dps should ALWAYS choose damage over healing, especially in a 2-min Alert setting. If someone is just going to sit and spam a heal, they should just be in Support. From 29-32 last night doing nothing but Alerts, I used Conviction maybe twice. Masterful Dodge and Evasive Maneuvers was more than enough to keep me piling it on and staying low for most of the Alerts.
Also the 50% wipe on EM-SoM is not really 50%, remember this is cryptic math here, that really is more like 90%. I think of all the times I used it, I have failed to drop agro maybe 5 times.
Remember: Half the people you know are below average...
Do not correct a fool, for he will hate you for it. Correct a wise man, for he will appreciate you for it.
Don't be like the Qularr. They would not last one round in the Interstellar Galactic Arena...
Handle @brayv
Pretty much. IMHO, it rolls that chance on every mob that has you on their aggro list and if it succeeds on any one of those rolls, you aggro wipe on everyone.
Either way, it seems like it's a lot more than 50%.
Razira's Primus Database Page
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No, all bonuses from roles are additive. That 25% from your 'offense' role and that 25% from your 3 questionite secondaries are both additive.
Edit: Techinically between Melee Damage and Ranged damage their respective damage type bonuses are '25%' apart from each other but hybrid has a higher damage on their less beneficial parts. A melee attack is 25% better on Melee Damage role than Ranged damage role and a ranged attack is 25% better on ranged damage role than melee role but a melee attack is better on hybrid than ranged damage role and a ranged attack is better on hybrid than a melee damage role.
Pretty much Hybrid is the jack-of-all-trades (As designed). Even when you compare a melee attack on a hybrid it is only around 15% less effective than a Melee role. Same with a ranged attack. Hybrid is also around 6% better with a ranged attack than a melee role and same with a melee attack on a ranged role.
Alright, here it is:
Stars - Additive
Role Bonus - Additive
Questionite Gear Bonus - Additive
Passive Bonus - Additive
SuperStat Bonus - Additive
Strength/Ego Bonus - Additive
Offense - Additive
Critical Severity - Multiplicative
Mental Discipline - Multiplicative
Resistance Reduction - Multiplicative(if resistance to attack type is less than 0% that is)
Damage Debuff - Additive
Expose Weakness - Multiplicative(See: Resistance Reduction)
Exploit Opening - Multiplicative
Concentration/FoTTMS/Manipulation/Compassion/Enrage/AspectofBestial - Additive
Commander Tree(For Pets) - Additive but since they are pets damage bonus 'looks' better
Left/Right Eye of the Ruby/Sapphire Dragon - Technically it is Multiplicative but having more than one of the same kind on will not boost the effects past 10%. Having one of each will provide 10% multiplicative bonus damage for each specific damage type.
That pretty much covers everything important..
Edit2: So, when it comes down to being in the Hybrid role versus Ranged/Melee Role you should stick with the Hybrid for the bonus healing since you only lose 15% damage versus the stronger bonus of either role and you also gain 6% damage versus the weaker/nonexistent bonus of either role also bonus healing. Who doesn't like bonus healing when adds are already clinging to you when you have -threat%generation?
At first, you level up to 8 and take Epidemic.
Target boss and press [f] key. Spam Epidemic and CHARGE!!!!!!
U die. So U target boss and press [f] key again. Spam Epidemic and CHARGE!!!!!!
Wow, I am completely out of date here then. My apologies to Chalupa.
Did this change with on alert ?
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
The 125% from role bonus is adding onto your base damage...So it comes 'before' additives and multiplicative bonuses but due to how they made hybrid and re-worked the two roles you only get 25% ""multiplicative"" bonus damage between Ranged and Melee Roles.
Comparing Ranged/Melee damage to hybrid yields around 15% less bonus damage(for being in hybrid role) scaling down as your secondary superstats are raised. Hybrid does 6% more bonus damage scaling up as your secondary superstats are raised than the lesser part of the other two damage roles.
Due to the fact that either you are in the beneficial offensive role for your damage type or hybrid when you are using your offensive passive this makes any and all comparisons null and void. Either you take 15% less damage for more healing or you take 15% more damage for no healing bonus. That is truly what the trade-off is. The spec tree 'tried' to step in and help split them up more but so far only one insignificantly small bonus has been added with little to no signs of ever changing.
What difference does bonus healing do for hybrid versus offense role?
Depends on your superstats and gear and such but anywhere from 15% to 30%+ ""multiplicative"" difference. More than likely around 20%. So you trade 15% bonus damage for 20% healing.
@flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.
I just tested my Lightning Arc Ranged role toon in the PH. This toon has a lot of additive bonuses. Swapping from Hybrid to Ranged role (with 8 stacks of Concentration) nets me a 21.3% increase in damage (22.3% with Ego Surge running). These are numbers pulled from tooltip. Therefore the more additive bonuses you have, the closer the Ranged role gives the advertised 25% increase in total damage.
I am sure if you have less in additive bonuses, i.e. using IDF and no Active Offenses, then the ranged/melee role bonus could be as low as 15%.
The other problem with Hybrid healing bonuses is that they don't apply to many powers, specs and devices, such as Regeneration, Adrenaline Rush, Sentinel Mastery, Necrullitic Elixir. (These happen to be the heals I favor in my playstyle.) So for some builds, Hybrid really offers nothing for heals and just a loss of damage.
I think the OP's point is valid, just run in Ranged or Brawler role with an offensive passive for max damage.
P.S. I just tested a naked level 40 (no SuperStats, no gear, nada) and the damage difference was an exact 25.0% from Hybrid to Ranged role with the same 66.4% additive bonus for both roles (stars plus 5 pts of Ego and 50% from Ego Surge).
Rank 3 Lightning Arc
17% Concentration(8-Stacked), 104% Electric Form, 13% Offense, 25% Non-Physical, 1.4% Ego, No Stars.
Control-aka melee damage-(25%+15%): 522-1157
Hybrid(37%+23%): 533-1183
Ranged(25%+15%): 652-1446
Rank 1 Conviction
31% From Presence
Hybrid(18%+16%+11%): 865
Ranged: 638
26.243% Difference in healing 18.188% Difference in Damage.
You deal 263 "more damage"(based purely on the tooltip from subtracting smaller number form larger number) in ranged role. You heal 227 more hp in Hybrid role...hell here is rank 3 conviction:
31% From Presence
Hybrid(18%+16%+11%): 1245
Ranged: 918
327 difference in healing.(26.265%)
The additive bonus damage from superstats are the same for primary stats but secondary stats gain more bonus damage from being in the hybrid role rather than any damage role. Thus the 25% 'multiplicative' bonus from running in offense role is lowered by having higher secondary stats. Now, for me, 12%+8% was the difference between hybrid and offense role and apparently 12%+8% is enough to shave off the "multiplicative" bonus of 6.812% from 25%. 12%+8% is also 2.198% according to my control(melee damage bonus) so now I'm even more confused. Where does it all go then?
Oh, and don't ask me why they didn't make the damage roles have the highest bonus for damage from superstats..
Edit: Just for ****s and giggles:
Rank 3 Lightning Arc
17% Concentration(8-Stacked), 104% Electric Form, 13% Offense, 25% Non-Physical, 23% Ego, 60% Ego Surge ,No Stars.
Control: 565-1253
Hybrid: 574-1273
Ranged:706-1567
Sounds like a commutative law error here. When doing division, the numbers have to be operated on in the correct order. For example:
5/4 is 1.25. 5 is 25% more than 4, because the divisor is 4, therefore the reference point is 4.
4/5 is 0.8. 4 is 20% less than 5, because the divisor is 5, therefore the reference point is 5
So the key is to determine the reference point. In this case, Ranged damage is supposed to do 25% more multiplicative damage. Therefore the reference point is 100% damage.
You cannot apply a double standard by arbitrarily dividing Hybrid damage by Ranged damage, i.e. using a 125% reference point when everything else is using 100%. Of course your numbers will turn out wrong.
So:
(1183 / 1446) * 100% = 81.81% (4 sig. fig.)
Hybrid does ~18.19% less damage than Ranged, using Ranged as a reference point. However,
(1446 / 1183) * 100% = 122.4% (4 sig. fig.)
Ranged does 22.4% more damage than Hybrid, using Hybrid as a reference point.
As I mentioned in my thread, you can completely isolate the effect of Ranged role by NOT selecting any superstats in a level 40 retcon. I was too conservative as you CAN add gear, powers, ranks, full stacks, active offenses and then compare the damage difference in roles to find the +25% difference.
I didn't bother doing control vs ranged since I already knew that it was always going to be 25%..If I did it would have saved me the confusion.
So, you trade 22.232% damage for 35.621% Healing bonus.
22.232% Damage equates to a difference of 1527.97 for one full maintain of Lightning Arc.
Healing is a bit different than damage but if you could use conviction like lightning arc then 35.621% healing equates to a difference of 2616.
So after 4 seconds and 8 ticks(and in a perfect world without variance, mob defense, debuffs nor crits and where one can use conviction once every .5 seconds and all other sorts of things that won't ever truly happen):
Ranged role does 1527.97 more damage(or 1703.94 if you use my later one) 22919.55(or 25559.1) in 60 seconds
Hybrid role does 2616 more healing 39240 in 60 seconds
In 60 seconds
Ranged role does 125880.45 (or 136380) damage 2098.0075 DPS (or 2273)
Hybrid role does 102960.9(or 110820.9)damage 1716.015 DPS (or 1847.015)
Ranged role does 110160 healing 1836 HPS
Hybrid does 149400 healing 2490 HPS
Since you are sidekicking down you will be doing less than the stated numbers and also we don't live in the perfect world so the outside variables will cause a massive change.
Personally I'd take 35.621% more healing over 22.232% more damage simply because a dead DPS can't DPS and you'd have a higher chance getting healed from a person in the tank role than sentinel role. Then again the glass cannon that I took the numbers from has only like 4k hp so screw healing derp deeps all day.
I would especially feel silly if there were multiple support toons on the team...teams with multiple supports or tanks need ALL the dps they can get from everyone else. Even a +10% can mean the difference between a giant lump of xp or a giant waste of time.
Remember: Half the people you know are below average...
Do not correct a fool, for he will hate you for it. Correct a wise man, for he will appreciate you for it.
Don't be like the Qularr. They would not last one round in the Interstellar Galactic Arena...
Handle @brayv
I mean, it's better now that the boomerang bug has been "fixed" but there was too much dps even before that.
Still, a good guide.
Crafting, Exploration and Interaction as it should be:
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1108521
So I've only recently (well like a month and a half ago) returned to the game. And I like alerts. But I have noticed people leave them. And the other day (like Sunday IIRC) I was in a trainstopping. And my entire team left. I had like 1:40 left. And, heh, I have no idea how to leave an alert.
So, uh, how'd they do that? How does one leave an alert?
The primary reason I would love to someday see them create a World of STARcraft MMO is to finally have a game where the development team actually HAS to allow Zerg style raiding as a viable tactic!
You can use mini-gun and 2 gun mojo at the same time.
[SIGPIC]http://imgur.com/9gptU4e[/SIGPIC]
You can still find a niche in teams like that. If you get ahead of them, and aggro the mobs, then block, you can get them to cluster around you, allowing the other team members to hit more of them at once. I often do this with melee dps builds when I'm teamed with a lot of ranged dps. You don't need to be a tank because nothing will survive long enough to hurt you.
Another thing, you won't always be able to easily see how much you are actually contributing. Sometimes it's a lot more or less than it looks like, but you don't find out unless you get separated from the team, or maybe get to see open mission scoring.
On a slightly unrelated note, if you kite, kite toward melee players, not away from them. When you get to them, block. The only exceptions are if you are certain that you are carrying the team, and their combined damage is less than yours, or if someone aggroed the entire map, and you have to tank it all at once in order to salvage the alert.
Anyway, some comments on the OP:
It is actually faster to just farm Q/convert your stipend/buy Z to convert to Q for 3 primary pieces of the 11k Q sets (Armadillo/Cyber/Samurai, strongly suggest Armadillo though). Yay for grind/pay to win.
I used to do it at level 8 before I found faster ways to level. Take Flight, Concentration and a 100ft attack and aim for melee boss alerts. Kill adds then fly vertically over them and start wailing. I held aggro with that a lot. Then take Overdrive at 11 and stat Ego/Rec/Con and you're set for life.
The advice of using an offensive passive may not necessarily be 100% correct. Afaik a Support passive still has the potential for highest DPS in the game (AoED with mass pets). Also, AoPM for a levelling build isn't half bad advice since the across the board stat buffs helps with the problems of lowbie/levelling gear (low crit, poorer energy management, longer cooldowns)
I'd say stat for synergy rather than just hitting what looks like the shiny crit severity stats. Decide on your Form and Energy Unlock first, then stat from there. Your Conflagration character will not do much DPS if it's forever running out of juice because you took Thermal Reverb but have 10 End.
Primary Rec is actually useful at this level due to the lack of cooldown Reduction and energy. Second Wind + Circle of Arcane Power + Overdrive solves that. And from my experience Primary Int parses higher than Ego on bosses/cosmics, and they are the ones that need to die most.
Why maintains specifically? As long as your main power has no cooldowns it should be spammable. Some no-maintain rotations like Night Warrior + Ricochet Throw + Smoke Bomb + Nanoswarm for 3 double throws from stealth and Fire Snake + Ice Blast + Cold Snap (Ice Form) + Hard Frost + Rimefire actually do higher DPS than equivalent maintain rotations.
I strongly advocate Flight as the first line of defense, but MD is nice once you have the room.
As far as support powers go I tend to look at 2 things. First, are there any mechanics I could use? (E.g. Ion applier for lightning build, a cheap cooldown power for popping MSA, Rush buff for melee). Second, are there any debuffs I can use to raise DPS? Fire Snake, Smash and the new Telepathy debuff comes here.
Generally, Guardicator or Wardicator works unless you're running something fancy like Ice Blast with Avenger Mastery
Yeah a lot of people forget that point and many of the failures of alerts were due to this happening. That one dps that is kiting all over the place and all the melee have to try and chase down the main objective, sometimes more times spent chasing than fighting.
Of course I don't think most people do it with malicious intent of trying to cause failure but more so of just not paying attention or panic and forgetting it's easier for someone else grab agro when they can get a hand on the enemy and it's easier to get healed if ya don't run all around the map like a jack rabbit on crack as the healer try and keep up with ya.
Many times I had to say in chat "Stop hopping around, block, and we'll get them off of ya and you'll get healed. Trust us. We need you alive."
Which is a bug and a possible exploit.
Yes, said bug has been around since the launch of CO and I highly doubt it'll get fixed anytime soon, but it is a bug at the very least.
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This is very key. The biggest damage numbers in the world mean little if you can't consistently fuel the powers that generate them. The huge burst damage power that you have to run your EB for several seconds to fuel may very well be inferior to a less damage per hit power that you can spam endlessly due to good energy management.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
Pet Masters are a different kind of toon altogether. I do think they are the highest dps available at the moment...at higher levels. At 14, Pet Masters are TERRIBLE toons to play, but at 14, a melee or ranged dps toon can have most of their attacks and buffs ready to do some damage in Alerts. AoED is an awesome passive, and I prefer to see that buff on my toons over any of the other auras by a long shot, but I would suggest waiting until the late twenties early thirties for a Pet Master.
Maintains are just easier to control for most people. They are simple, and mostly error-proof. Look at the list of maintains over taps/charges...I'm sure there's a basic list of dps abilities somewhere and those probably sit head and shoulders over everything else. I'm sure people still like Throwing Blades and all, but since that exploit, I can't make myself use anything from the Night Avenger set right now.
On another note though, I have to change Implosion Engine to something else...not enough energy to use it :biggrin: Probably taking another active offense in that spot.
Remember: Half the people you know are below average...
Do not correct a fool, for he will hate you for it. Correct a wise man, for he will appreciate you for it.
Don't be like the Qularr. They would not last one round in the Interstellar Galactic Arena...
Handle @brayv
It's actually in my blog, but I did state upfront that they don't include synergies - does 2GM fire an extra bullet per tick when activated from stealth? Does it gain almost 40% damage with the Cold Snap buff? Does it gain a further 30% from Fire Snake? Does it proc an extra 3k hit when used on a Chilled target? Those are things that are difficult to reflect in a raw damage chart.
It's a starting point, but you can't overlook what can appear to be underperformers just because their synergies aren't accounted for. Look for effects that have a big impact on a certain damage type, and then apply the numbers from there to get a fuller picture.
And I could have sworn my friend went into alerts at level 6 with AoED, Pulse Beam Rifle and an army of dinosaurs and pretty much soloed Smashes...
Even Samuel L. Jackson couldn't survive Jurassic Park.
I know there are plenty of other builds. The reason I suggested the build I did is because it doesn't require any setup, synergy powers, or anything like that to be 100% effective. The powers that you DO need, Concentration, Passive, Energy Unlock...every other build needs too.
Remember: Half the people you know are below average...
Do not correct a fool, for he will hate you for it. Correct a wise man, for he will appreciate you for it.
Don't be like the Qularr. They would not last one round in the Interstellar Galactic Arena...
Handle @brayv
Exactly what I do for new toons that i want to hurry up the level ladder. Dex/Con/Int + Devour Essence + Supernatural Power and FotT. Recently I have been using Aura of Primal Majesty so that when I start the alert with all DPS and no tank I can end up tanking the Alert. Much preferable to having better DPS and not being able to survive the alert cause everyone keeps dying.