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An Unarmed/Spirit Reverb build?
bravehoptoad
Posts: 248 Arc User
Hi, all.
I'm having trouble making an energy-efficient Focus-form build. It's my third melee, and the other two have been mindlessly easy. Supernatural Unlock + bestial attacks, done. Unstoppable + Rec SS + knock attacks, done.
Using a Focus form actually takes some thought! Yeesh.
Instead of using a catch-all, like MSA + INT SS + lots of cooldowns, I thought I'd try Spirit Reverb + Unarmed attacks, since that looks like a synergy distinctive to Martial Arts.
How do you think this build would work? For solo PvE mostly.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name:
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Constitution (Primary) -- good PSS for survival
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary) -- for Focus form
Level 15: Recovery (Secondary) -- for Energy management
Talents:
Level 1: The Master
Level 6: Survival Training
Level 9: Acrobat
Level 12: Impresario
Level 15: Quick Recovery
Level 18: Enduring
Level 21: Agile
Powers:
Level 1: Shadow Bolt
Level 1: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares) -- primary means of applying fear
Level 6: Spirit Reverberation -- scales with both CON and REC, so yay.
Level 8: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: One Hundred Hands (Rank 2, Rank 3, Ghostly Strikes) -- provides enough Dimensional damage to trigger SR on cooldown
Level 14: Form of the Tempest
Level 17: Ebon Void (Rank 2, Rank 3, Voracious Darkness) -- turtling for Regen
Level 20: Dragon Uppercut (Rank 2, Chi Flame) -- also applies dimensional damage, and the Rush buff to fill in the chinks.
Level 23: Resurgence
Level 26: Demolish (Below the Belt)
Level 29: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 32: Imbue -- playing off the on-crit talents in the CON and Sentry trees
Level 35: Ebon Ruin (Nyctophobia, Paranormal Paranoia) -- for applying dimensional dots from a distance
Level 38: -- ???
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Swinging (Rank 2, Flippin')
Level 35: Teleportation
Specializations:
Constitution: Unyielding (2/2)
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (3/3)
Constitution: Tough (1/3)
Constitution: Resilient (2/2)
Constitution: Adrenaline Rush (2/2)
Sentry: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Fortify (2/2) -- since I'll be building for Crit to take advantage of Adrenaline Rush, Sentry seems to make sense for its own on-crit abilities
Sentry: Reinforce (2/2)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (2/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (3/3) -- mainly to trigger crits with One Hundred Hands
Mastery: Sentry Mastery (1/1)
What do you think? How would you improve?
I'm having trouble making an energy-efficient Focus-form build. It's my third melee, and the other two have been mindlessly easy. Supernatural Unlock + bestial attacks, done. Unstoppable + Rec SS + knock attacks, done.
Using a Focus form actually takes some thought! Yeesh.
Instead of using a catch-all, like MSA + INT SS + lots of cooldowns, I thought I'd try Spirit Reverb + Unarmed attacks, since that looks like a synergy distinctive to Martial Arts.
How do you think this build would work? For solo PvE mostly.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name:
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Constitution (Primary) -- good PSS for survival
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary) -- for Focus form
Level 15: Recovery (Secondary) -- for Energy management
Talents:
Level 1: The Master
Level 6: Survival Training
Level 9: Acrobat
Level 12: Impresario
Level 15: Quick Recovery
Level 18: Enduring
Level 21: Agile
Powers:
Level 1: Shadow Bolt
Level 1: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares) -- primary means of applying fear
Level 6: Spirit Reverberation -- scales with both CON and REC, so yay.
Level 8: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: One Hundred Hands (Rank 2, Rank 3, Ghostly Strikes) -- provides enough Dimensional damage to trigger SR on cooldown
Level 14: Form of the Tempest
Level 17: Ebon Void (Rank 2, Rank 3, Voracious Darkness) -- turtling for Regen
Level 20: Dragon Uppercut (Rank 2, Chi Flame) -- also applies dimensional damage, and the Rush buff to fill in the chinks.
Level 23: Resurgence
Level 26: Demolish (Below the Belt)
Level 29: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 32: Imbue -- playing off the on-crit talents in the CON and Sentry trees
Level 35: Ebon Ruin (Nyctophobia, Paranormal Paranoia) -- for applying dimensional dots from a distance
Level 38: -- ???
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Swinging (Rank 2, Flippin')
Level 35: Teleportation
Specializations:
Constitution: Unyielding (2/2)
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (3/3)
Constitution: Tough (1/3)
Constitution: Resilient (2/2)
Constitution: Adrenaline Rush (2/2)
Sentry: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Fortify (2/2) -- since I'll be building for Crit to take advantage of Adrenaline Rush, Sentry seems to make sense for its own on-crit abilities
Sentry: Reinforce (2/2)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (2/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (3/3) -- mainly to trigger crits with One Hundred Hands
Mastery: Sentry Mastery (1/1)
What do you think? How would you improve?
Post edited by bravehoptoad on
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Comments
Alternative is Str/Con/Dex- no adren rush, but better dps through crit severity, swole for some health, Juggernaut defense, and some melee cost reduction.
I just dun see Rec as a neccessary SS- its good for lvling, but most lvl 40 builds can get by w/o SSing it and just gearing for a bit on the side.
Open slot could be Parry w/ EM, or Rebirth, or a threat drop, or an aoe that has better reach/range than 100 Hands (Shuriken Storm w/ Storm Arm is pretty good for melee). I'd prob also skip out on Imbue since it no longer has Con scaling- maybe use Ascension or Unbreakable instead (or one of the other suggestions).
May also want to rank up Resurgence at least once or get the EE adv.
Sentry could work, but I'd prob go Guardian for its mixed offense/defense perks and for Locus (if ur using 100 Hands often enough).
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
You must be thinking of some other toad. I've never used Regen before...thought I'd pop it in and give it a whirl. So far Invulnerability has been the easiest to use, for sure.
I did have a thought Juggernaut might pair with Regen better than Adrenaline Rush, because Regen already has the healing and no defense. Since I'm all worried about my energy, though, I went CON.
Wouldn't Tough in the CON tree give pretty much the same benefit as Swole in the STR tree?
Good ideas! There are a lot of points left to throw around. I was kind of wowed by the flat +12% cirt chance on Imbue, but who knows? By the time this character ever hits level 32 I may not be.
Locus looks like it would be mainly good for the defense bonus, though the double offense with The Best Defense would give...what? 98 offense and 49 defense. Now if I could get in The Glory of Battle, that would really be something. The second tier of Brawler has always looked so horrible compared to Guardian/Warden, though.
Thanks for the feedback! I had a feeling you'd reply, flowcyto.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Savage
Level 6: Martial Focus
Level 9: Physical Conditioning
Level 12: Acrobat
Level 15: Relentless
Level 18: Impresario
Level 21: Quick Recovery
Powers:
Level 1: Shadow Bolt
Level 1: Spirit Reverberation
Level 6: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares)
Level 8: Ebon Void (Rank 2, Rank 3, Voracious Darkness)
Level 11: Form of the Tempest
Level 14: One Hundred Hands (Rank 2, Rank 3, Ghostly Strikes)
Level 17: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Resurgence (Rank 2, Evanescent Emergence)
Level 23: Ebon Ruin (Paranormal Paranoia)
Level 26: Dragon Uppercut (Rank 2, Chi Flame)
Level 29: Rising Knee (Flowing Strikes)
Level 32: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 35: Nanobot Swarm (Rank 2)
Level 38:
Specializations:
Strength: Swole (3/3)
Strength: Physical Peak (2/3)
Strength: Brutality (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (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 (2/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Mastery: Strength Mastery (1/1)
I left 2 ranks open to bring a travel power up to R3.
If you're going with Regeneration (or any other non-Dodge/Avoid power) as your slotted passive, then I wouldn't bother with Flippin', or any other small Dodge/Avoid buff. I don't think it'll make a significant difference in your survivability.
I would rather take Rising Knee than Demolish for this build. You'll get a comparable resistance debuff, but with a fast click instead of a long charge. I also wouldn't bother ranking up Ebon Ruin in this build, since it's a pulling tool and a debuff, not a primary damage dealer.
I would get Focused Strikes instead of Mass Destruction, because getting a crit against a single hard target with Dragon Uppercut is going to make a lot more difference for you than getting a crit on a 100 Hands tick against a bunch of henchmen who'll be dead in a matter of seconds one way or the other.
With CON super-statted, you'll have a lot more health points, so it's worth it to rank up Resurgence.
For the last power, I'd suggest either a second active offense, or something fun, like Rebirth or Summon Shadows.
I think you'll find Regeneration comparable to Invulnerability for ease of use and high survivability. However, I'd seriously considering switching to an offense passive and the Melee Damage role.
The nice part about this is that DEX and CON are your energy management stats. Like most energy unlocks, Spirit Reverb scales off of CON about x100 as much as it does REC. DEX, meanwhile, increases the energy return you get from a stack of Focus. Between the two, you shouldn't have any energy problems. Some REC from talents should give you a high enough equilibrium to start the fight, and then the form toggle and the unlock should keep you going, without having to resort to the energy builder. Once you hit 40 and get endgame gear, you should have no problem getting 200-250 in all 3 super-stats, which will give you 35-40 energy from Spirit Reverb once every 3 seconds while attacking, and another 30-35 energy from FoTT every time you crit (and your crit chance by then should be hovering around 35-45% depending on the target).
I went ahead with STR as the primary super-stat because this isn't a Dodge/Avoid build, so the extra Avoid from DEX Mastery isn't very useful.
Makes sense...much better on an LR build. Swinging is just so danged cheap in energy compared to other travel powers that I wanted to try it out, and I have to say it's a hoot...my favorite to use so far. Just traveling is like its own little mini-game.
Both of these also make sense. I'd been thinking Demolish would be better because it lasts for a length of *time*, while Rising Knee is just the next two hits. This would make Demolish better for One Hundred Hands. But both of those debuffs are single-target, when I'll be using Dragon Uppercut, so Rising Knee might be better (and cheaper, and an interrupt sometimes).
Very true about not ranking damage on Ebon Ruin for this build.
I was thinking it would be more useful to trigger Adrenaline Rush, Fortify, and Reinforce than for the extra damage. I was trying to take advantage of using a maintain with a .5-second tick to get maximum crits to power these. Shoot, I was tempted to try Brawler so I could throw on another on-crit ability in Penetrating Strikes. (I resisted that temptation.) If I do go STR/DEX/CON/Wardicator, then you're right, Focused Strikes would definitely be a lot better.
I'm afraid of offensive passives. They've just done so much worse when I was soloing the Powerhouse. I can utterly see retconning at 40 if I start doing more team-based things.
I was shocked to see how bad the energy return was when I tried to rely on just Focus stacks and the Rush buff. Of course, my test character was only level 20, but wow, it was bad. For levelling I definitely needed something else -- so instead of being boring and going MSA + INT SS, I'm trying this. And having a hoot at level 11 or whatever he is now.
I am afraid to lose the nice steady stream of energy from Fuel My Fire, but you sound like you have a much better idea than I do what my energy requirements will be. I'm tempted to just copy your changes wholesale.
I'm also tempted to try BCF instead of Dragon Uppercut, which would let me add an actually good AoE to the build, like Sword Cyclone or something. I'll lose the Rush buff that way, though.
My last question would be...why Nanobot Swarm? It's not particularly a cool-down based build.
ah, sorry, yes I must've. Still, I'd agree w/ Shane and see if you could ditch a defense passive and go full melee w/ WotW (w/ BCR/RR) at this point. You seem to have enough experience now to not need a full defense passive, but I'm not sure what ur goals are content-wise with this character.
afaik, Tough is buggy and not giving the full listed benefit per point
Yeah, being lower level has a good deal to do w/ that, unfortunately. If ya wanna start out w/ Rec SS'd and switch away from it at higher levels, it could prob work out.
If 100Hands (and/or w/e other larger AoE you choose) is going to be most of ur dmg, then Mass Destruction is fine. Ofc, ya can always do a 1/2 point split on the flat crit% talents if ur unsure where most of ur dmg will be coming from.
I'd prob also keep Demolish, again if 100Hands is the primary attack and Uppercut is just to supply Rush. Rising Knee's adv would be a nice choice if you were using Dragon Uppercut or BCF as ur main attacks, though (or if you were using charged versions of both to supplement 100Hands).
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
You could also take both Dragon Uppercut and Burning Chi Fist. My GF's main is a Champions version of her CoH Darkness Scrapper, a build very similar to this one. She uses both the shoryuken and BCR, and she seems to like it. The main difference between her build and this one is that she uses Dark Transfusion.
I've started just shoving Nanobot Swarm into any build where I have room for it, because I like shaving 17+ seconds off the cooldown of my active offense(s) and defense(s).
My martial artist character actually did have REC as a secondary super-stat, and then he retconned it to CON at 40. So yeah, there's definitely some merit to it as a leveling tool.
Yeah I consider a Rush ability to be pretty much essential to MA dps builds. I mean, ya can work around it, but the Dragon moves are all really powerful anyways, and 100Hand isn't cheap, so there's not a good reason to avoid getting one imo.
Its actually the optimal way (staying w/in MA powers here) for 100Hands to get BCF's flame buff, and you'll prob have to use Uppercut for Rush anyways. My MA fist toon actually uses a Rising Knee/FS -> DU -> BCF -> 2x 100 Hand combo (but that's a standard MSA build). Its quite powerful once focus is stacked up enough to make it all affordable, but it does take many power slots devoted to essentially a single target (or cleave) rotation.
Thing is- BCF, DU, 100 Hands, and RK/FS are all good moves even in themselves that aren't that diff in dps. Even w/o being optimal it'll still be potent if you just want to stick to 1-2 of them for looks/theme.
I wouldn't go as far as "guru", rofl. 'Build obsessed freak' is a bit more accurate. Still finding new things in the game, thirty-two lvl 40s later
I can def be wrong or off, so never fear overriding anything I say or offering a diff viewpoint. Lord knows I hate being put on an untouchable pedestal, and there's prob dozens to hundreds of viable ways to build around any given concept anyways- only having one suggestion wouldn't seem to do that level of customization justice.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Well...most of my game-playing comes in chunks of 1/2-1 hour, and I like content, so I like to solo everything. I hate 5-man missions that I can't solo because of mechanics. If I could do as well in those missions with WotW, I'd take it, but I haven't been able to yet.
Whoa. Dark Transfusion on a melee character...that takes balls (so to speak.) You know...it never occurred to me DT and Regen would go together. Doesn't DT reduce Regen by a lot?
Does that mean she has END primary for Outburst? Or is she doing it for Blood Sacrifce?
Hm. What would be a non-MA way for 100Hands to get BCF's flame buff? I just don't know enough about all the trees yet, only the few I've played with.
I'm surprised that BCF's flame buff would be worth it for the DPS alone. I'd just been thinking of it as a way to trigger Spirit Reverb. But yes, I guess that extra 55 damage per second would add...what?...6 or 7% damage to a fully ranked 100Hands?
This discussion is great, by the way. Thanks for the help!
Fair enough, but I think w/ enough cds ya could get by. After all, the faster you kill, the less dmg intake you have to worry about. Its something worth considering, at least when you climb in levels and gear gets exponentially better.
The adv I'm talking about happens on a full charge BCF, and ya can refresh the buff it gives just by tapping BCF again (dun have to keep full charging after that if ya dun want to).
That base dmg number you see (w/e it is) scales up w/ stats and role as usual, and w/ 100Hands hitting 4 times a sec that means the Righteous Flame can proc quite often on it. The proc can also crit (for my melee MA toon they can get upto about 375-400 when everything is fully built up- same toon gets about 1.1k crits off 100Hands proper), and I think that's determined on the parent hit being a crit or not.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
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
:-D
That made me laugh to start my morning. In fact the character I'm playing is a big lizard that looks a lot like the brown phase of an anole, so it would work in concept. And I've never tried Night Warrior! That might be an idea to go with......
......maybe after I've got used to how the character works and I don't need my defensive-passive security blanket. Maybe ease my way in with Quarry or something.
Or maybe the best way to ease into an offensive passive would be to just take two passives and switch out for tough situations. The build has a couple open power slots at the end.
Doh! 4 times per second, not 2, so the Flame procs will be at least twice what I calculated. Plus the scaling you mention. Wow.
Makes me want to investigate other maintains BCF would work with.
Regen/Resurgence and Dark Transfusion can't work together, no. She's using Way of The Warrior, Life Drain, and R3 DT, not Blood Sacrifice (which gives an underwhelming on-next-hit additive buff). Super-Stats are DEX/CON/END.
I need to go to CO school. I looked at the wiki and thought, wow, Blood Sacrifice, looks decent. I just don't know how things work. Urgh.