Advice on Ranged Regen Tank

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  flamingbunnyman Posts: 2,035 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Don't build for just defense. A few +def specs will make any gear good enough, defense-wise. Get a Primary Defense gear wirh Avoidance and add a Gambler's Lucky Gem. Def + Dodge + Avoid is better than just one, even if the values end a bit lower.
  
  I'm no expert on Regen. Go find some of MonsterDaddy's posts for some good Regen advice.

  _________________________________________________
  @flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.

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  jamesbonnell Posts: 170 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Personally...
  
  IMO, you don't really need both Shadow Embrace and Skarn's Bane, since they are both cone maintains - pick one and keep that one - and Spirit Reverb leans at ditching Skarns. Also, while you are undoubtedly highly survivable, your use of IDF with a defensive passive means you are probably not doing very much damage. Hopefully you are at least running in Hybrid mode.
  
  Unranked Skarns doesn't do so well.
  
  If you want a cone heal maintain, on the other hand, Arcane Vitailty can be fairly decent. I might go more Fear-oriented and grab Lifedrain, R2, Vampiric Sympathy, too, which is a radial heal PBAOE which does well with Fear.
  
  Controlled pets aren't necessarily better in this game than uncontrolled... and they can eat up your energy. If you don't really need the healing from the drones so much, but still want a healing pet, I'd suggest Summon Shadows with Devouring Darkness. You have to resummon them, but they give you both damage *and* healing, and generally all you have to do is start hitting something and they go in.
  
  Ebon Void - you have ranked it up (which is okay, but probably overkill), but you skipped the #1 reason people *take* Ebon Void - the Voracious Darkness advantage. This means you are foregoing the best part of the power - the advantage helps protect you even while you are not blocking, and stacks up to 10 times.
  
  Ebon Void, Force Shield, Energy Shield, Parry - they are considered the best blocks in the game, mostly for their special advantages, not their initial capabilities.
  
  Ebon Void / Voracious Darkness is arguably THE best block in the game, especially for a ranged tank.
  
  Rather than add anything to your Energy Builder, which usually, but not always, is counter productive, I'd trim something and find room for Void Shift, Emerging Nightmares which applies fear in a 5-target AOE around your target. It's one of the most reliable fear-appliers I've ever found. Ranged characters don't really need a lunge, but the only other *guaranteed* fear I've found is Ego Sleep with Plagued by Nightmares. Well, and Grasping Shadows, I suppose. But that's a long charge-up.
  
  I do have Ego Sleep on a number of characters - it's a single-target attack on a tap, with AOE on charge... but Void Shift is a guaranteed AOE fear. *Technically* speaking - Ego Sleep is a SLEEP. Foes don't move, don't attack unless they are bothered... but personally, I really only take it to proc Sentinel Mastery or damage-addition Specs like Wither or Vulnerability... and for the Fear on the advantage. Typically on a solid team, foes die fast anyway.
  
  You also have no Active Offense, and for a low-damage, high-survivability tank... high DPS will probably take agro from you, even with CS/CC.
  
  I keep coming back to IDF. It gives you and your team great survivability benefits, but with Ebon Void / Voracious Darkness, you are giving Regen some damage resistance anyway... and all your healing... I'd switch to Concentration and get some use out of Ego. That should boost your damage considerably and help with energy issues.
  
  I know you said Rebirth is a must, but you can buy self-rez devices at 40 or from the AH. Which might fit better with a gadgeteer anyway, and would leave room for something more useful. Self-rez can be thematic, I know, I played CoH too. That said, it's your character.
  
  Here's a shot I took at a rebuild, I know I violated one of your rules... if you MUST have Rebirth, take Ego Surge back out.
  
  Level 1: Shadow Bolt
  Level 1: Shadow Embrace (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenging Strikes)
  Level 6: Ebon Void (Voracious Darkness)
  Level 8: Spirit Reverberation
  Level 11: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 14: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares)
  Level 17: Rebuke (Admonish, Crippling Challenge)
  Level 20: Summon Shadows (Devouring Darkness)
  Level 23: Concentration
  Level 26: Resurgence (Rank 2, Evanescent Emergence)
  Level 29: Implosion Engine
  Level 32: Ebon Ruin (Rank 2, Nyctophobia, Paranormal Paranoia)
  Level 35: Circle of Primal Dominion (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 38: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind) or Rebirth
  
  I didn't include Nailed to the Ground anymore, but you're a flying ranged tank. You don't need it - the meleers do. And quite a few characters have it anyway.
  
  And it's not that hard to get Omicron Induced Strength from the AH if you *must* have Nailed to the Ground.
  
  Ditched Skarns, Bionic Shielding, Support Drones, IDF, and Rebirth, replaced with Void Shift (mostly for the reliable Fear), Ebon Ruin (spike damage and debuff for more damage overall), Summon Shadows, Concentration (damage form, also gives energy when you attack, which you will be doing anyway), and Ego Surge (active offense, great with Con, which you have).
  
  That said, you get a free RetCon when you hit 40, and since you are making a freeform, you are a subscriber. Personally, I redo every single character at 40, when I get full end-game gear, and I spend a fair amount of time on PTS (public test server) getting the build right.
  
  So this is just one option, but it would be a LOT more damage than you're getting with your build, and enough healing/survivability to get through most fights.
  
  I might also ditch Resurgence for Masterful Dodge, which I find is way more useful, and work Conviction into the build instead, which is a good instant heal.
  
  $.02
  
  Your spec trees look good, IMO.
  
  Hope this helps...

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  monsterdaddy Posts: 774 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  flamingbunnyman wrote: »

  I'm no expert on Regen. Go find some of MonsterDaddy's posts for some good Regen advice.

  
  Thank you bunnyman. :biggrin:
  
  I think the above posts have great advice. Regeneration is best with lots of dodge and the defense from Force of Will, Vindicator/Guardian setup. So keep that. But no other heal powers are really needed except maybe Resurgence for emergencies. If you must have a pet, sure keep the Drones but definitely drop Bionic Shielding.
  
  Your setup is very low on damage to be useful as a tank. Definitely skip IDF for Concentration. But even after that, your attacks are pretty low damage -- actually awfully low.
  
  While you can keep Shadow Embrace for AoE I did do a lot of testing with Dimensional Damage powers so the best combo I can think of for DPS is using full charge Shadow Bolts followed by Ebon Ruin R3 w/Nyctophobia (5 pts). So if you are planning on 6 CON mods you can get plenty of energy since full charge Shadow Bolts apply Fear plus use Ego Surge R2 w/Nimble Mind for crazy crits. And Ebon Ruin applies Trauma for the heal redux you wanted
  
  Lastly, skip INT for DEX and consider using a Piercing Glove for more critical severity. No need really for INT with EGO as PSS and boosting Concentration.

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  kenteko Posts: 80 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Thanks an absolute ton on the feedback, it's really helping me out. I absolutely 100% derped with the Ebon Void thing as I do have Voracious Darkness right now I just forgot to add it to Powerhouse I have a few questions then, if nothing else just to get a little bit more understanding:
  
  1) Isn't Skarn's good for the debuff it gives (removes form/powers) over the damage? I picked it up unranked for that reason and it would be why it has the heal redux (really, we're talking about Ao'Qephopth here).
  2) Pet wise, I don't really need or want the healing from Support Drones, my thinking was more overall utility (which is also why I got Rebuke). I'm not entirely picky about needing the healing from them, which is why I considered Attack Toys (for the damage) or Familiar (for the surge).
  3) Dark Displacement seems really, really good in Shadowy Embrace. At high levels is the damage just flat out better? I noticed Rebuke still has Admonish as opposed to rank 2.
  4) IDF is weird for me. Right now, at least leveling up, IDF is pretty much what LETS me solo most Elite lairs. It adds a non significant mitigation increase and it feels very noticeable when I turn it off. Is that a situation of gearing (I have Heirloom Catalyst and Armadillo 3 piece) or does it really just add that much mitigation?
  5) Would it be better if I swapped out Spirit Reverb for MSA assuming I picked up at least Conviction? Especially with Void Shift.
  6) Void Shift is mostly negligible if I had Shadow Blast, I take it?
  
  Thanks again, given me tons to think about.

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  jamesbonnell Posts: 170 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Let's see.
  
  1) Yes, it certainly is. BUT I tend to only take one minion-munching cone AOE on any given character. However, if you ditched Spirit Reverb, I'd take Skarn's to rank 3 and get rid of Shadow Embrace. No occasional fear / knockdown from Skarns, but taking away annoying buffs (Lightning Reflexes, and yes, nerfing Ao'qephoth)... is always a Good Thing.
  
  2) The energy buff from Tyrannon's Familiar? Tried it. Wasn't that great on the PTS but YMMV. Attack Toys is pretty fun, I put it on my AoED/IDF character recently. YOu don't really have any pet buffs though so I don't know how great it would be for you. I tend to give magic/darkness folks Summon Shadows when I want a short-term pet. The summoned toys would be good for spreading the agro around, though... I'd try it out in the powerhouse and see what would work better for you.
  
  3) Oh I do like Dark Displacement - I have it on one might/dark character, but didn't bother on my pure-darkness build. It's just you had so LITTLE damage in your old build that ranking it up, rather than using it as a control power, would probably help.
  
  Well, Admonish is interesting. Rebuke yourself (while surrounded by bad guys)... bad guys are stunned, you get a heal. Rebuke your primary target to use CC ... bad guys around it are stunned on a full charge. Thing is, in Alerts, the minions are usually pretty well toasted early on. Sooo... I don't know. For soloing... you probably don't need it. Then again, if you don't need a spike heal / pulling power, and use Ebon Ruin for damage, you could do what Monsterdaddy suggested - fully charged Shadow Blast / Ebon Ruin. Shadow Blast fully charged causes Fear on one target. Swap out Rebuke for Shadow Blast.
  
  4) It is a lot of mitigation. BUT if you get used to building up Voracious Darkness stacks, I think you'll find plenty of mitigation from that. Haven't used IDF on many characters, honestly.
  
  Some people grab *both* IDF and Concentation. I tend to do dual-passive builds more than dual-Form builds, but you might try it out.
  
  Personally - I don't bother doing anything on Elite anymore. I tried it sometimes, but you don't really get much more for it... and my Stealth characters were completely useless due to the higher stealth sight of the mobs. That said, if you're having fun, run with it.
  
  5) Spirit Reverb for MSA? Maybe. I wish Spirit Reverb worked more like Thermal Reverb. I'm kind of torn on energy unlocks in general right now.
  
  6) Yes and no. Single-target 20+ feet, it's a stun against your primary target. Also, it can carry Crippling Challenge. The difference with that and Shadow Blast is... AOE fear instantly from Void Shift, versus single-target guaranteed fear from a charged Shadow Blast.
  
  I may actually try that on my pure-dark character, wasn't sure what to do with his 38 power anyway...
  
  Heirloom plus Armadillo is pretty good already. I usually use Heirloom but 3 regular secondaries.
  
  $.02

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  carrionbaggage Posts: 721 Community Moderator

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  In terms of survivability, you'll notice a difference once you get some Dodge/Avoid in your Primary Defense. If you take advantage of your available tools, I don't think you'll need IDF to solo Elite lairs.
  
  Since you want a pet, I agree that Attack Toys and Summon Shadows are both effective. You could also consider Munitions Bots, because turret mode prevents them from moving. If you plan their placement, you can keep them safe from most AoEs.
  
  Based on the previous advice and your posted conditions, I put together a couple sample re-builds. Maybe they'll give you some ideas:
  
  MSA with Skarn's Bane - has both Skarn's Bane and Ebon Ruin, for maximum effectiveness against Ao'Qephoth. Hex of Suffering to proc MSA without breaking your magitech theme.
  
  Spirit Reverb with Shadow Embrace - higher single-target DPS, but lacks the debuff from Skarn's.

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  kenteko Posts: 80 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  You guys rock. I'm slowly getting a much better understanding of building the concept I want, so it really comes down to a few questions I have that I still don't have a grasp for. I really am sorry for being curious, but I adore learning stuff like this.
  
  1) What's the effective difference between pets? Assuming maximum up time between toys/muni bots/shadows (and even giving a nod to the Horror and Pyro Blades) are there any real differences or is it more flavor? I know Muni Bots are awesome in AOE situations but generally require foresight while toys are fire and forget up until they get AOE'd. Noe experience with shadows or the others. I've used both tech pets on a pet character and the big thing I got from it was "Toys are near impossible to kill"
  2) Spirit Reverb seems to be spotty at best, whether that's due to a given lack of fear or just that I use a ton of energy is hard to say. My hope is that MSA would be more reliable, but really I just want an energy unlock that works well.
  3) I really like the MSA build with Skarn's/Hex and that begs the question: Would something like Mini Drive be good or is Hex better simply for the significantly smaller recharge? Likewise, is it something you use off cooldown for MSA?
  4) In the aforementioned build, what's the purpose of Rune of Lethargy? Can that be moved into Implosion Engine for ranking it up or even Hex for rank up? Likewise, I'm guessing Muni Bots is swappable with whatever pet I'd like?
  
  Thanks again and keep it coming. You guys are so awesome and I really appreciate all the education.
  
  Edit: Doh, forgot to add. Should Int be swapped for Dex in Super Stats as Monsterdaddy suggested? I know int hits some diminishing returns hard, but I am curious.

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  carrionbaggage Posts: 721 Community Moderator

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  1) I know that in terms of damage, Shadows > Pyro Blades (single target) > Void Horror. I haven't parsed any combat logs with the tech pets.
  
  2) With a guaranteed Fear and a tick of Dimensional damage every second (either from Ebon Ruin's DoT or Shadow Embrace's ticks), Spirit Reverb is pretty reliable. Starting a fight with a fully charged Shadow Blast makes a big difference. Advantaged Void Shift, advantaged Ego Sleep and Howl also provide guaranteed Fear.
  
  3) Mini Drive is a nice power, but its 30-second base recharge (you can cut it roughly in half with gear/INT) means it's not a reliable way to proc MSA. Each MSA proc provides 3 energy ticks over 6 seconds (one tick immediately, one at 3 seconds, one at 6 seconds), so you would need a power recharging at least once every 9 seconds to get an energy return every 3 seconds. Hex fits the bill; Ego Sleep and Shadow of Doubt are also worth considering, but I wasn't sure if they'd break your theme. Void Shift would also work, though it would pull you into melee range.
  
  4) Rune of Lethargy is totally optional. I find it marginally useful to keep enemies in place for the first few Skarn's ticks, but it doesn't make a significant difference. And yes, Muni Bots are swappable with whatever you like.
  
  4.1) I believe Monsterdaddy recommended DEX as a way to maximize your DPS with a Spirit Reverb build, allowing you to use a piece of +critical severity gear without losing much crit rate. If you're going with MSA and Skarn's Bane (which is quite an energy hog), I'd stick with INT and gear for +critical strike in your Primary Offense.

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  jamesbonnell Posts: 170 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Hmm. I guess that's what my pure-dark character has been missing... a true guaranteed fear. I think I will try Shadow Blast after all.
  
  Then again... he's got Dark Transfusion. That powers him quite well anyway but a little more guaranteed fear would help. He doesn't have Void Shift as he's a ranged guy.
  
  In my experience:
  Muni Bots @ R3... 100 ft range (which *rocks hard*), and "perma" placement. Good damage.
  Toys... multiple pets. GREAT for Aura of Ebon Destruction to proc more dark lightning. Not sure outside of that as I haven't used them on anyone else.
  Shadows - Devouring Darkness gives you a heal (20% of their damage).
  
  Pets ... are somewhat for flavor. But they are extra DPS if nothing else. They are NOT as good as MM pets by *any* stretch of the imagination.
  
  Uptime... shrug. I've never had a problem other than having to remember to resummon. If they get toasted, I just resummon.
  
  It's out of your theme, but the best power I've found to proc MSA is actually Force Geyser. The recharge is SO fast. Anything else with a small recharge time, that you actually USE, will keep MSA going just fine. 3 seconds or less, on something you use regularly, means you should never care about your blue bar again.
  
  I've become a BIG fan of Miniaturization Drive / reciprocating gizmo lately. As long as you don't mind growing, you get a damage bonus, and the mob or mobs get a debuff. It will debuff with an AOE. I use that on several characters to great effect. HOWEVER, I agree that it's not good for proccing MSA. Too long of a cooldown.
  
  Personally - to decide between dex and int... once you hit 40, and have your Silver Champion Recognition gear... I copy to test at least two different copies of a character, and try out different builds.
  
  The 5-man hard setting in the Battle Station isn't actually *that* good for real situations, like Alerts or Gravitar... but surviving handily says something about a build.
  
  I lean at INT, but then I include that in almost every build, unless I don't have any long-recharge items. But empirical testing of INT on one copy of the character, but DEX on the other... would let you know which *you* prefer.
  
  Of course, that's assuming you *enjoy* testing characters. I do. I probably spend... way too many hours building out my 40s.
  
  Another $.02

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  kenteko Posts: 80 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Alright so some progress updates: Hex of Suffering is made of awesome and I already forgot how I lived without it, and I think I'm mostly going over some remaining questions before I finalize my build. Thanks again, preemptively, for the help.
  
  1) Is Force Geyser a DPS equal ability to Hex? To my understanding, it seems that for DPS it goes Hex > Shadow = Geyser but Geyser used off cooldown every other blast may be DPS neutral. It doesn't seem like it'd be good against bosses immune to knockup.
  2) What exactly is the optimal use of CoPD? I ran Moureau's Lab yesterday (ugh, Viper) but every time I put it down I'd just get knocked out of it time and time again. This was either from normal Viper knockback (no charge) to things like White Rhino even while blocking. The times I've been able to use it in pretty much any lair or location was when I intentionally pinned myself against the roof and used it.
  3) Is Paranormal Paranoia a DPS increase or loss compared to raising the rank? It seems like the debuff would be better for other attacks, but it's hard to gauge.
  4) I noticed for the trees that Locus was grabbed in Guardian and Retribution was skipped. Aren't both Tenacious and Retribution better then Locus because they're pretty much permanently up and one is % booster while the other is 50?
  5) Same question in Vindicator. Modified Gear vs the two crit talents?
  6) Gear wise, I'm wondering if this should be optimal plotting: pure defense primary defense, crit strike primary offense, ??? primary utility, secondary all Armadillo? I have no idea how I should be modding as well nor do I know super long term goals.
  
  Thanks again, sorry for being so nosy, but I can't say enough how much I appreciate this.

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  jamesbonnell Posts: 170 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  1) Well, Force Geyser is single-target, and it isn't exactly large DPS. BUT since on lesser mobs it will pop them up, another ranged power will typically take them out, and you aren't bothered by them. I mostly just use it on some characters to proc MSA, more than anything else.
  
  And "pop and drop" can be kinda fun. Had it on my TGM character for a while and it was very effective.
  
  Theoretically, some bosses once they get KB immunity can take extra damage, but that's not really why I include Force Geyser. Mostly just to trigger MSA.
  
  2) Eh, I don't know - I tend to use that in Gravitar mostly. I also don't like doing things like Moreau's lab solo. Maybe someone else will have a suggestion.
  
  3) Solo... it may be a loss for Ebon Ruin, but it's a gain for other attacks. In teams, if anyone else has Paranormal damage too... I'd expect it would be a net gain because damage debuffs are shared by all, as far as i know, not just for you. I haven't done the math, however, some of the folks here may have. I kind of just go by feel when I do PTS testing myself.
  
  But it's one reason on an elemental (ice, fire, toxic) character, I often go with Fire Snake. Everyone who uses that damage type gets the benefits of the debuff.
  
  4) Well... The main reason I prefer Locus, particularly with Vindicator for Aggressive Stance and Best Defense is as follows. Sure, Tenacious gives you +50 offense, any time you're being attacked. BUT ... Offense has a much-worse-than-most "Cryptic Math" diminishing returns curve. You generally are not getting much out of it with level-40 gear to be honest. You're a tank, you should be being attacked, so yes, it will trigger. But... so what? it's a VERY minor boost to damage.
  
  So why Locus? Even though it's not up all the time... with both Best Defense and Aggressive Stance... you get +49 Offense, + 49 defense at 40. Add another +49 offense, from Best Defense, since you get +100% of your defense at offense. NOW, you *also* will add another + ~19 Defense from Aggressive stance (20% of new Offense).
  
  Defense is MUCH harder to get, and gets you a LOT farther than Offense. So you can end up with, after the loop stops looping, something like +70 defense or so. Which is quite a lot actually. You may end up in the 150+ range, which gets you a good chunk of damage resistance. I think... without looking it up... above 40% damage resist, maybe.
  
  Me personally - I try to grab Retribution all the time. It's a small heal, but +10% damage (not offense, straight-up boost to all damage) is not nothing, particularly on a build that has any -damage (e.g. Laser Knight or BCR with RR).
  
  I wouldn't say Retribution is better than Locus - it serves a totally different purpose.
  
  Think of it as operating at different layers, I guess.
  
  My typical Guardian load-out is: 1 Fortified Gear, 2 Locus, 2 Ruthless, 2 Retribution, 3 Best Defense. I like a lot of guardian. Now, if you HAVE no AOE, pump it into Fortified Gear (IMO).
  
  5) Vindicator - depends. My usual vindicator load-out is Aggressive Stance 2, Ruthless 3, Rush of Battle 2, and either Focused Strikes or Mass Destruction.
  
  Again, you might think Offense is useful, but you get Offense from gear already, AND more importantly it's subject to very deep diminishing returns. I think ayonachan's posted the math on that before (probably a number of times). I just remember that... if my Offense gets over 200... it's good enough. You're not adding much damage to a freeform by taking the +Offense talents.
  
  Someone (can't remember who) has posted that you should basically ignore the specializations that only give +offense. There are almost always better options.
  
  6) Hmm. Secondaries... I typically just grab purple level 40s, but others like the Armadillo/Samurai/Cyber stuff, or burn the Questionite to buy Vigilante gear. I'm ... shall we say... too much into alts to worry TOO much about perfectly optimizing most of my characters with expensive gear right now. Purple 40 secondaries drop pretty frequently, and are fairly cheap on the AH.
  
  My general path in the SCR gear, which you earn from Unity missions:
  
  Avoidance breastplate, typically with a Gambler's Lucky Gem for +dodge. If you have a lot of G, you can also go for Legion gear. SCR has 3 upgrade slots (2 stat, 1 other), while Legion has 4 (2 stat, two other).
  Usually I end up in the 37% dodge, 58% avoidance range... and that's on a non-dodge-having character. It's another layer of defensive safety. Once you have that... you'll take quite a bit less damage. Avoidance is KEY for level 40 and you will be a LOT less squishy, no matter how good you are before 40.
  
  I generally get Crit chance gear, and use a crit chance (another Gambler's Lucky Gem). But this can depend - healers get +heal, etc.
  
  Primary utility - kind of depends. I often get the 50/50 split on recharge/cost reduction, AND go INT as an SS, and have few worries about energy.
  
  One trick I pull when I'm not sure what I want in the utility section... copy to test BEFORE you buy your Silver Champion Recognition gear. That way, one copy can try each parameter you want.
  
  Modding seems to fall into several camps. Check out monsterdaddy's posts, he's a big fan of stacking CON through the roof (or so I've read). I tend to still get my PSS highest, followed by whatever SS helps my Form (dex = martial arts, ego or int = Concentration/Aspect of the Infernal)... but there's a lot of possibilities for mods and I'm by far not the most experienced at that aspect of things.
  
  Heh. It's not being nosy it's being curious. You can't get to be good at builds around here without reading a lot, trying stuff, and being open to what you can learn.
  
  Hope this helps!

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  ajanus Posts: 501 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  The reason tanks using Regen can be so good right now is because PSS STR offers Juggernaut. This is also why you can slot all mods in your primary gear with Con mods. You boost your defense into ridiculous proportions, and as a bonus, you get more hp from the Con. This is also why The Best Defense + Vindicator makes this build a complete powerhouse tank in pve.

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  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.
  
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  Handle @brayv

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  carrionbaggage Posts: 721 Community Moderator

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  You're asking really good questions, and I'm glad our walls of text have been useful. Jamesbonnell covered things pretty thoroughly, but I'll toss in some late-to-the-party opinions:
  
  1) Per cast, Hex is better DPS than Geyser; but neither one makes a substantial difference in your overall DPS. One attractive aspect of Geyser is the quick recharge time. You can start a fight with it (proccing Concentration if you're far enough away from the enemy), and MSA will activate in the middle of the follow-up Skarn's maintain. Hex's longer recharge time means you'll have to manage it more carefully, and work around the extra few-second delay when you first start your attack cycle.
  
  If you're quick on the keyboard, Geyser's knock can also be used as an interrupt. And in a Dockside Dustup Nemesis encounter, three Geysers will give the nemesis temporary knock immunity... in case some pile of muscles was planning to Haymaker it into the neighboring zip code.
  
  If it fits your character thematically, Force Geyser is definitely worth consideration. Try it out on the test server and see how you feel about it.
  
  2) You're using CoPD correctly; it's just that Cryptic's knock-resist math is really frustrating sometimes. VIPER hordes and White Rhino will knock almost anyone around. I find CoPD useful against a lot of knocks, such as Gravitar and Red Winter. It's never a guarantee, but I do notice a significant difference in how frequently I resist the knocks.
  
  3) Each rank of a power adds 20% base damage to the previous rank. Paranormal Paranoia is nice if a good chunk of your damage comes from other paranormal powers (like a Summon Shadows/Void Horror pet build, for example). But in this case, Ebon Ruin itself is your primary source of single-target damage. I'd go with Rank 3.
  
  4) Retribution generates an additive damage bonus, which is subject to diminishing returns with other additive bonuses. The math depends on how much additive bonus you have, but that "10% damage buff" from Retribution boosts your actual damage by a fraction of that amount. With The Best Defense/Aggressive Stance loop, Locus gives roughly 15% (numbers vary slightly) damage resistance. It's not an always-on buff, but it's pretty reliable whenever you can Skarn's a pack of enemies for a few ticks.
  
  I don't think any of those choices are game-breaking, though. Find the Mark and Warden's Elusive are also worth considering. Pick your preference.
  
  5) If you plan on using Legion gear in your primary offense slot, you'll barely have any Offense from gear. And even if you're sticking with Heroic gear, the extra Offense from Modified Gear provides a very minor practical difference. In my opinion, The Rush of Battle, the +crit specs, and Initiative all offer more desirable effects for your build.
  
  Here's the Ayonachan math that James mentioned. Search for "offense" to see how the numbers scale.
  
  6) Gear is a little tricky. In my opinion, safe assumptions for your build's "optimal" gear are:
  
  - Armadillo Secondaries (a solid choice for a tank with otherwise low resistance)
  - Heroic Gloves of Precision w/Gambler's Lucky Gem (for crit rate; if you have the Legion's version and are rolling in globals, either another Gambler's Lucky Gem or a Depleted Uranium Core)
  - Heroic Breastplate of Agility w/ Gambler's Lucky Gem (for Dodge/Avoid; if you have the Legion's version, add another Gambler's Lucky Gem)
  
  Primary Utility is also Heroic/Legion's, but the choice of stats and core mods usually takes some battle-testing on the PTS to figure out. Give yourself as much cost discount as you feel you need, and use the rest for cooldown reduction.
  
  Mod-wise, an EGO primary means you'll get some benefit no matter which superstat you boost. You'll want enough INT to stabilize your energy usage (not an easy task with Skarn's Bane), enough CON to survive spike damage, and some EGO to boost your critical severity. It's a balancing act, and subject to personal opinion. Whenever I make a character with EGO primary, it spends a lot of time on the test server.

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  flamingbunnyman Posts: 2,035 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  ajanus wrote: »

  The reason tanks using Regen can be so good right now is because PSS STR offers Juggernaut. This is also why you can slot all mods in your primary gear with Con mods. You boost your defense into ridiculous proportions, and as a bonus, you get more hp from the Con. This is also why The Best Defense + Vindicator makes this build a complete powerhouse tank in pve.

  
  Juggernaut, by itself, isn't really that big a deal.
  
  600 Con + R3 Juggernaut = 600 x 0.3 = 180 Def
  
  180 Def = 180 x 0.24 = 43.2 Damage Resistance
  
  43.2 Damage Resistance = 1 / (1 + 0.432) = 69.8% damage taken, or 30.2% (just under 1/3) damage avoided.
  
  That's hardly "ridiculous proportions"; six stacks of Defiance with 10 Con will give almost the same reduction. 600 Con, on the other hand, requires significant effort to reach.
  
  Don't get me wrong, Juggernaut is awesome. However, Juggernaut by itself is not going to turn Regen into a god. It needs other sources of Defense and/or some Dodge and Avoidance to really make a big difference.
  
  *All numbers drawn from Mecha Teddy's Attribute and Passive Scaling Thread.

  _________________________________________________
  @flamingbunnyman in game. Formerly @Roderick in City of Heroes.

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  ajanus Posts: 501 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Combined with the other specs, enemies are staring down a 400 defense, 500 offense, 15k hp madman...with Regen. Now that extra 180 defense is pretty sexy :biggrin:

  ---

  
  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.
  
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  Handle @brayv

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  kenteko Posts: 80 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  So after much deliberation, I have a build sorta kinda ready, though I have a few other questions. First and foremost, build!
  
  PowerHouse (Link to this build)
  
  Name: Mina Nisumari
  
  Archetype: Freeform
  
  Super Stats:
  Level 6: Ego (Primary)
  Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
  Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
  
  Talents:
  Level 1: Matter Manipulator
  Level 6: Enduring
  Level 9: Indomitable
  Level 12: Ascetic
  Level 15: Healthy Mind
  Level 18: Brilliant
  Level 21: Academics
  
  Powers:
  Level 1: Shadow Bolt (Despondency)
  Level 1: Shadow Blast (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
  Level 6: Ebon Void (Voracious Darkness)
  Level 8: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 11: Concentration
  Level 14: Resurgence
  Level 17: Munitions Bots (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 20: Skarn's Bane (Rank 2, Rank 3, Challenging Strikes)
  Level 23: Force Geyser
  Level 26: Circle of Primal Dominion (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 29: Ebon Ruin (Rank 2, Nyctophobia, Paranormal Paranoia)
  Level 32: Molecular Self-Assembly
  Level 35: Implosion Engine
  Level 38: Rebirth
  
  Travel Powers:
  Level 6: Flight (Rank 2, Rank 3)
  Level 35: Teleportation
  
  Specializations:
  Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
  Ego: Insight (3/3)
  Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
  Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
  Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
  Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
  Guardian: Retribution (2/2)
  Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
  Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
  Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
  Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
  Vindicator: Mass Destruction (2/3)
  Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)
  
  
  As of right now, I have four unassigned advantage points because it pertains to the following questions for better or worse:
  1) I love how it looks, but is CoPD really worth it? Most of the things that knock me back now pretty much knock me back regardless of whether or not I'm in the circle, so I can't help wondering if its value is linked to the mitigation (in which case I keep it).
  2) Depending on above answer, would it be better to replace with another Circle or Ego Surge?
  3) The value of the four floating points are not exactly straightforward to me. Geyser and Resurgence are bigger damage/heals (or a CC break) while Implosion Engine seems to just make it a bigger "cooldown." That's even ignoring doing something like picking up more ranks in Shadow Bolt (or swapping builders and going to the Force one).
  4) With Skarn's Bane as my only real AOE (IE can't crit), would the two points in Mass Destruction be better in Initiative or Rush of Battle?
  5) Gear when I get to SCR/40 should be Avoidance Defense, Crit chance offense, test on test server utility with Armadillo secondary for set bonus? I still need to research mods, but the way I figure with Force of Will it's better to raise Int (for CDR/Energy) or Con (for beef) over Ego? As a tank, anyways.
  
  Thanks again, I'm kinda glad I'm almost through this to a final build to shoot for. I don't want to be a pain about "Shoot for the stars" type of stuff like super high end gear, but I'm getting to the point where I understand enough now to be able to decipher that on my own.

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  jamesbonnell Posts: 170 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Build looks good!
  
  I still think you should ditch Despondency, though, if you use Force Geyser regularly to proc MSA, you will not need to use your energy builder.
  
  And fully charged Shadow Bolt is a guaranteed Fear.
  
  Ranking up EB's is never recommended. Ideally, you will only use it in an emergency.
  
  1) Hmm. There are some enemies that you just won't have enough knock resist without blocking - e.g. Inner Circle Members. However, most of the time you need CoPD, .e.g Gravitar, it *will* help at least somewhat. You should notice a difference when it's off, but my advice would be, practice some blocking and you'll be less ping-ponged. Ideally, I'd like to not get knocked back without HAVING to block, but that's just part of the game.
  
  2) Ego Surge never hurts. But then personally, I would have swapped out your "flavor" power Rebirth and got self-rez stuff as consumables. Personal taste there. R2, Nimble Mind, done.
  
  3) Wouldn't hurt to grab Evanescent Emergence on Resurgence. Haven't used it much but I've heard good things about that.
  
  4) ... Hmm... I wasn't aware that Skarn's couldn't crit. AOE maintains usually can. I'll have to check that in-game. I would have sworn I've seen it crit. Will verify later...
  
  5) Armadillo gear and/or purple secondaries. They're not typically very expensive from the AH. You might grab both - Armadillo gear for Tank mode, and purple secondaries for a few more stats in Hybrid mode - I typically add either energy management or general utility via secondaries, and rarely do the gear sets at 40. I've got one night warrior/regen with the Samurai (physical damage) set, and haven't really found others necessary.
  
  Eh - once you can *afford* the high-end gear (Legion), since that's four slots rather than the 3 slot Heroic gear I usually go with, you can tweak your builds even more. Never mind devices. You can always play around with things as you get them later, assuming you make more alts. And this game strongly encourages alts, what with getting a slot every time you hit 40 and all.

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  kenteko Posts: 80 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Skarn's can crit, it's Implosion Engine that cannot which makes me wonder if the crit boost is worth it since it's only enhancing Skarn's. And yea, as much as I'd want to give up Rebirth, I just like it more (personal taste) though after playing around with it, I'd have to see.
  
  The big question for Energy Builders though is since they're presumably going to fire off anyways, wouldn't their "special" advantage usually be a small increase? Despondency lowers Dodge Chance by 10% and it seems to be up pretty much permanently (as it's not a chance). Would something like that be actually decent if only for its secondary ability instead of flavor? The logic here is that, presumably, the energy builder will be "on" if only because it has no real cost to be.
  
  The big ones that come to mind are Kinetic Darts (Incisive Wit), Shadow Bolts (Despondency), Force Bolts (Energy Refraction), or the other "chain" builders like electric bolt/throw fire/radiance. That's more what I'm asking here.
  
  Mind you, assuming my powers don't change that's still kinda leaving four points in limbo, short of Emergence + Rank 2 somewhere.

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  jamesbonnell Posts: 170 Arc User

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  Huh. I totally misread that yesterday.
  
  IE = implosion engine.
  
  I read that as "i.e. can't crit" for some reason. Never mind!
  
  ...
  
  Well, yes, occasionally I do need to use an energy builder. Sometimes I toss on the advantage if it makes sense. I guess I would say it as - your DPS is hurt if you use it too frequently, because the base damage of energy builders is so low. So you don't want to add damage ranks to EBs.
  
  Sure, if you've got nothing better to do, including ranking up travel powers, it's not horrible to add it to the EB. Many of the hard-core builders try not to ever use the EB, though.
  
  I don't mind so much, particularly for solo - and when there's a *reason* to add it, like a Force Geyser build with Quarry (no energy form), Force Bolts / Energy Refraction is helpful to cut the cost of FG in half.
  
  It's got no energy cost - obviously, gives you energy, but I'd call it more an "opportunity cost" - what else could you have fired off if you don't actually need the energy?
  
  That said, I have seen plenty of builds using the "flavor" advantage. Typically more for leveling than at 40, I guess I might say.

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