EARFF Build

shaenthebrain · January 2014

My first attempt at an Earth build. I love the look of the powers, and I love that the set can support ranged and melee builds equally. I decided to go for the ranged version, since I already have an Enrage build.

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Glacier
Level 6: Shooter
Level 9: Acrobat
Level 12: Coordinated
Level 15: Accurate
Level 18: Finesse
Level 21: Boundless Reserves

Powers:
Level 1: Wield Earth
Level 1: Earth Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Land Slide
Level 8: Upheaval (Rank 2, Expansive Terrain)
Level 11: Cave In (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Fault Line (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Stone Shroud
Level 20: Concentration
Level 23: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 26: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 32: Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Demolish (Below the Belt)
Level 38: Nanobot Swarm (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Earth Flight (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Tunneling

Specializations:
Endurance: Readiness (3/3)
Endurance: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Endurance: Power Overwhelming (3/3)
Endurance: Hardened (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 (2/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Mastery: Endurance Mastery (1/1)

I wasn't that impressed with the Stagger mechanics, so I decided to avoid chasing them altogether. Upheaval is the single-target workhorse, Cave-In is for villains and above, and Faultline is the AoE henchmen-sweeper.

I know it seems counterintuitive to have a lunge in a ranged build, but it's a great MSA trigger, and it helps with the fact that the debuff power is melee. After he lays that down, it's all ranged, so the position of the combatants doesn't matter.

I'm going back and forth on the active offense and defense, considering Lock-N-Load for the former and Unbreakable for the latter. I'm also undecided as to whether I'll keep Nanobot Swarm, or just replace it with another AO or AD.

flowcyto · January 2014

Imo, you dun need all three of Upheaval, Fault Line, and Cave In. Tremor or Quicksand are the better aoe for ranged Earth dps than FL, and Cave In taps are the best single target ranged dmg in the tree (which is stagger un-reliant for dmg). Also, not having stone shot means you lose a long-range spell and an easy means to stagger.

I mean, its fine to ignore the stagger component for ranged Earth (I have multiple earth dps toons, one is completely stagger un-reliant), but then part of Upheaval and FL's appeal is lost.

Fissure is also a nice ability to pick up, esp w/ MSA. Also, if you want a cheap & easy MSA trigger that's ranged, try Hurl in Might- its not formally in the Earth tree, but aesthetically its a pretty easy fit (also snares).

shaenthebrain · January 2014

flowcyto wrote: »

Imo, you dun need all three of Upheaval, Fault Line, and Cave In. Tremor or Quicksand are the better aoe for ranged Earth dps than FL, and Cave In taps are the best single target ranged dmg in the tree (which is stagger un-reliant for dmg). Also, not having stone shot means you lose a long-range spell and an easy means to stagger.

I mean, its fine to ignore the stagger component for ranged Earth (I have multiple earth dps toons, one is completely stagger un-reliant), but then part of Upheaval and FL's appeal is lost.

Fissure is also a nice ability to pick up, esp w/ MSA. Also, if you want a cheap & easy MSA trigger that's ranged, try Hurl in Might- its not formally in the Earth tree, but aesthetically its a pretty easy fit (also snares).

As a general rule, I try to avoid taps on a Concentration character, so I can keep building stacks. I don't like to rely on being a certain range away from the target.

Honestly, I chose his attacks as much because I found those animations pleasing to the eye as for their mechanical benefits or synergy. I used Stone Shot for a while, but I like Upheaval and Cave-In better.

Thanks for the suggestion with Hurl. I hadn't even considered that, but it's a perfect MSA trigger for this guy. Same recharge time and energy cost as a lunge, but I can use it from far away. I went ahead and replaced the lunge with Hurl, and ditched Demolish. The debuff was noticeable, but I can live without it.

flowcyto · January 2014

Well if you were to use a tap/charge as a main, you could still charge it in the case of Cave In- its just slightly more dps to tap instead of charge (though not much, in most cases).

But I cant blame you for not wanting to ditch other Earth abilities because of the distinct anims- they are pretty cool (partly why I got >1 Earth toons atm). You can still keep upheaval in there, for instance, but w/o stagger its mostly just there as a single-target knock.

Demolish, though not a practical power for ranged, is still a very nice debuff if you can manage using it in ur normal routine for tough enemies (as ranged, I'd prob avoid the BtB adv though, since that requires full charge for best effect- better for a ranged, imo, to just run up and tap it to keep the buff rolling and use the r2-3 higher general -resist%). Then again, I'm not sure what you replaced it with, and its not really needed for the build.

shaenthebrain · January 2014

He's level 35 right now. This is the current plan, almost there. Still not sure if Stone-Shotting for Stagger is worth it or not.

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Glacier
Level 6: Healthy Mind
Level 9: Boundless Reserves
Level 12: Investigator
Level 15: Shrug It Off
Level 18: Daredevil
Level 21: Coordinated

Powers:
Level 1: Wield Earth
Level 1: Earth Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Stone Shot (Rank 2, Shard Burst)
Level 8: Concentration
Level 11: Hurl
Level 14: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 17: Upheaval (Rank 2, Expansive Terrain)
Level 20: Fault Line (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Cave In (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Lock N Load (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Stone Shroud
Level 38: Nanobot Swarm (Rank 2)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Earth Flight (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Tunneling

Specializations:
Endurance: Readiness (3/3)
Endurance: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Endurance: Power Overwhelming (3/3)
Endurance: Hardened (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 (2/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Mastery: Endurance Mastery (1/1)

flowcyto · January 2014

Lookin pretty nice. I'd prob replace nanobots or stone shot w/ Fissure, though- esp cause Reconstruct synergizes w/ stone shroud.

I kept stone shot on my cave-in user just for the 100ft range, but its not essential if ur not staggering that often. It does boost fault line some, though.

shaenthebrain · February 2014

Innate: The Glacier
CON 15
INT 15
REC 10
END 15
EGO 10

Talents:
+5 END / +5 CON
+5 END / +5 REC
+5 END / +5 INT
+5 END / +5 EGO
+5 INT / +5 CON
+8 CON

Primary Super-Stat: +80 CON
Secondar Super-Stats: +40 INT, +40 REC

CON Mastery: +20 CON

Vigilante Gear: +132 CON

Heroic Gear (Rank 5 Mods):
+55 EGO
+55 REC
+55 REC
+55 INT
+55 INT
+55 INT

Totals:
CON 265 (+3,975 Health)
INT 230 (+345 Health)
REC 165 (155.8 Equilibrium, +247.5 Health)
END 35 (155.625 Max Energy)
EGO 70 (+20% Ranged Damage)
DEX 13
STR 10
PRE 10

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

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

Powers:
Level 1: Wield Earth
Level 1: Earth Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Stone Shroud (Rank 2)
Level 8: Concentration
Level 11: Hurl
Level 14: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 17: Upheaval (Rank 2, Expansive Terrain)
Level 20: Cave In (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Fault Line (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Resurgence (Rank 2, Evanescent Emergence)
Level 32: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 35: Lock N Load (Rank 2)
Level 38: Nanobot Swarm (Rank 2)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Earth Flight (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Tunneling

Specializations:
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (3/3)
Constitution: Tough (3/3)
Constitution: Resilient (2/2)
Constitution: Armored (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 (2/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Mastery: Constitution Mastery (1/1)

shaenthebrain · February 2014

I tried several versions of this build with CON, END, and INT as the primary super-stat, and INT is the clear winner among the three. (He'd technically be "better" with EGO or DEX primary, but I already have two each of those, so I wanted to branch out a bit.) Here's what I'm currently running:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name: Beatdown

Archetype: Freeform

Powers:
Level 1: Wield Earth
Level 1: Earth Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Stone Shroud (Rank 2)
Level 8: Upheaval (Rank 2, Expansive Terrain)
Level 11: Cave In (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Fault Line (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Concentration
Level 20: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 23: Hurl
Level 26: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 29: Lock N Load (Rank 2)
Level 32: Resurgence (Rank 2, Evanescent Emergence)
Level 35: Unbreakable (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Nanobot Swarm (Rank 2)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Earth Flight (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Tunneling

Talents:
Level 1: The Invincible (CON 15, END 15, INT 15, EGO 13)
Level 6: Brilliant (INT +8)
Level 9: Healthy Mind (CON +5, INT +5)
Level 12: Investigator (INT +5, END +5)
Level 15: Boundless Reserves (CON +5, END +5)
Level 18: Quick Recovery (CON +5, REC +5)
Level 21: Amazing Stamina (REC +5, END +5)

Super Stats:
Level 6: Intelligence (Primary) (+80)
Level 10: Endurance (Secondary) (+40)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary) (+40)

Specializations:
Intelligence: Preparation (2/2)
Intelligence: Enlightened (1/3)
Intelligence: Tactician (2/2)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Tinkering (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 (2/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Mastery: Intelligence Mastery (1/1)

Gear:

Primary:
Heroic Gloves of Precision: Gambler's Lucky Gem R5, INT R5 (+55), EGO R5 (+55)
Heroic Breastplate of Defense: Impact Prism R5, CON R5 (+55) x2
Heroic Helmet of Speed: Impact Prism R5, END R5 (+55) x2

Secondary:
Vigilante's Critical Belt (INT +44)
Vigilante's Armored Bracers (INT +44)
Vigilante's Efficient Eyepiece (INT +44)

Total Stats:
INT 300
CON 180
END 180
EGO 78 (+21% Damage)
REC 30

Health 7,518
Energy 100/284
Critical Chance 28.4% AoE, 34.4% Single-Target
(36.4%/42.4% with Lock-N-Load, 54.9%/60.9% with Ego Surge)
Critical Severity 75%
Offense 402 (+13% Damage)
Defense 271 (+64% Resistance)

With INT 300, he's getting 40 energy from each Concentration stack, and 70 from MSA (spread out over 2 3-second ticks, of course). Having one primary stat for both the form toggle and the energy unlock is pretty sweet. The blue bar fills up quickly. Between that, and the bonus damage from INT (+12% Concentration stacks and -25% defense penetration), it more than makes up for the extra hit points lost from the END spec tree.

The active offenses/defenses are down to a 38-second cooldown, 18 seconds with Nanobot Swarm, so one of them is up pretty much non-stop. Again, much praise to Monsterdaddy for bringing the wonders of high-INT DPS builds to mass attention.

EARFF Build

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