looking to revamp my trooper build, advice appreciated.

feodrich · May 2014

hello, it is unlikely any of you know me as im new(ish) to these parts, i briefly played champions a year or so ago and am currently trying to get back into the game but i've been having some difficulty with building a proper freeform character.

the character i have now is getting the job done but feels largely underwhelming, i want to change things up while maintaining similar themes and goals, im fairly inexperienced when it comes to champions however so i was rather hoping one of you guys could provide me a new build based around themes i have in mind, the guides i found recommended that i spec for maximizing crits so i did my best to support that.

the theme i was going for was for something alone the lines of a Specforce Trooper or Space Marine or some such, i wanted to play a character which was, while potentially an exceptional example of a human being, was an otherwise ordinary person attempting to rise up to the challenge of facing off against superpowered foes, lacking his own powers or abilities and relying on his equipment and training to win the day (think of someone like the doomguy, Master Chief or Marcus Fenix, real badasses who didnt need anything special to BE badass, they just were). to achieve this end i was trying to focus largely on munitions powers and super high DPS with survivability, it would be super nice if i was capable of healing or reviving potential friends with the ability to tank SOME punishment but above all else i wanted to absolutely tear through my enemies like a hot chainsaw on butter.

i would really like it if i could get more of any techy or equipment type stuff in here, perhaps if i could replace my rifle with something akin to a lasgun or a blaster rifle, i'd totally be willing to dig into the other techy trees (such as gadgeteering, power armor or perhaps even a touch of archery), my only things are im really not that interested in using pets or anything like that at all and some of the power armor abilities seem kind of weird to me based on description or dont necessarily fit the theme (eye beam implies that its built into the character itself as opposed to being worn or equipped, furthermore i dont entirely get how some of the power armor weapons take up given "slots" as opposed to munitions powers which i just use when i need to)

here is my build as it is right now, i would like it if i could keep gatling gun (which i use ALL the time) and sniper rifle (which i use as often as possible and which i find fun as hell), otherwise however i am willing to swap out or trade out anything to achieve the concepts and goals in question

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name: Mycroft Macarthur

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
Level 10: Ego (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Soldier
Level 6: Agile
Level 9: Enduring
Level 12: Ascetic
Level 15: Indomitable
Level 18: Shooter
Level 21: Impresario

Powers:
Level 1: Steady Shot
Level 1: Assault Rifle (Rank 2, Mow 'em Down, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 6: Shotgun Blast (Breaching Round, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 8: Killer Instinct
Level 11: Gatling Gun (Listen to Reason, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 14: Sniper Rifle (Tungsten Rounds, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 17: Smoke Grenade (Escape Artist)
Level 20: Targeting Computer (Rank 2)
Level 23: Force Shield (Force Sheathe)
Level 26: Empathic Healing (Empathic Amplification)
Level 29:
Level 32:
Level 35:
Level 38:

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Jet Pack
Level 35:

Specializations:
Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)
Dexterity: Power Swell (2/2)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (2/3)
Dexterity: Quick Reflexes (3/3)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Initiative (2/2)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (2/3)

alright, i dont know what else there is to say, if anyone is willing to help me out i would appreciate it greatly, im hoping a fresh take will make the game more fun.

ajanus · May 2014

1. Words cannot express how important Concentration is for this build. Take it. Love it, but do NOT rank it up.

2. Gatling Gun-you said was your main attack. Take it to Rank 3, possibly with Accelerated Metabolism. No other skill should have AM. It isn't worth it, even at 1, and I only take it if I have a point left over and nothing else to take, or if I want to use a high energy cost ability like GG.

3. Passive. Targeting Computer, should be ranked up first. This is your main source of damage, and ranking it up will increase all of your abilities, not just the individually ranked ones.

4. Attacks. Assault Rifle, Gatling Gun, and Sniper Rifle should be all you need. Anything else should be for flavor, like Impulse Engine, Strafing Run, or Orbital Cannon.

5. Not sure why Empathic Healing is there. Would definitely replace with Conviction or Bountiful Chi Resurgence.

6. Active Offenses and Defenses are a great power investment, usually because you get a decent benefit and not have to rank them up other than the occasional advantage. Masterful Dodge, Unbreakable, and Resurgence are great active defenses. Ego Surge-Nimble Mind and Lock and Load are usually the go-to active offenses.

7. You might consider switching stats around to EGO/Dex/Con because: you aren't using an "energy" stat like Int, End, or Rec, but all of your energy resources are coming from EGO, like Killer Instinct and energy from Concentration. The other reason is in the EGO spec tree, there is a spec that makes your ranged attacks cost less, Insight, I think. This will make your life much easier in the long run.

feodrich · May 2014

thanks for the tips, ill try to put them to use later today and see how they work out for me. (i have currently been up for 16-20 hours so ill be hitting the sack any minute)

im thinking of swapping out my energy builder for something else and assault rifle for Pulse Beam Rifle so i can get abit more sci fi stuff going on, would that be practical or would that go against the advice you just gave me?

ajanus · May 2014

Pulse Beam Rifle is good, however, it doesn't work with Killer Instinct. So you would need to change your energy unlock to something else, which will require you changing your stats further.

You have Molecular Self-Assembly that needs a power with a cooldown to activate, that goes off Int.

You also have Overdrive which goes off Maintains, and goes off Int or Rec. (the tooltip says Int, but this unlock scales really well with Rec as well)

I think the EGO-based Munitions toons are by far the easiest to set up due to the lack of abilities needed and everything working off 1 stat. To answer your question, it is doable, definitely, but not very practical.

As Munitions your powers look like this: Builder, Concentration, Passive, Killer Instinct, Assault Rifle (or Two Gun Mojo), and Gatling Gun (Lead Tempest)....and you're basically done. Take EGO as primary and that covers all your bases...now you get 2 free superstats. I think being able to take Dex as one of these without losing anything really makes Munitions toons that much easier to level with and essentially learn how free form works.

On the other hand. Particle Rifle, PBR, Concentration, Targeting Comp, Overdrive, Gatling Gun, etc. will still be a good build and do the same things as the above build. However, now you get tied to a second superstat, Rec or Int. Now you have to make decisions. You can primary DEX/Int/Con. You can EGO/Con/Rec. There are more options, but those would be the top 2, in my opinion.

Let's say you take option 2, PBR build. You choose DEX/Int/Con as stats. You lose Ego (which is fine, just using this as an example). You also put your energy unlock stat and Concentration stat as secondaries, not primary like you can in the Munitions example.

Or you choose EGO/Con/Rec. You keep EGO, which will fuel Concentration, but lose Dex, so your crit chance will be lower. Your energy unlock stat is also secondary.

Now, none of these are really game-breaking, they are just decisions you have to make for your character. These are also decisions that you do NOT have to make with pure Munitions, which makes them a bit more desirable when looking at the big picture.

I don't want you to be discouraged from trying the PBR build either. I just want you to be aware of possible future decisions you might need to make.

Just keep in mind that all of the examples above WILL work and the actual differences in power among them are most likely so minor they probably aren't worth mentioning, but they are choices to make nonetheless.

flowcyto · May 2014

That's a good outline of why Munitions builds can be so simple and tightly-knit. They really can be optimal w/ the least amount of power slots and SS's devoted to them, at least compared to pretty much every other powerset.

The original plan w/ the Muni build would def be the more efficient option of the two, but yeah you could make PBR work.

The PBR route w/ EGO/Con/Rec and OD may not actually be too bad for crit, since PBR has innate crit ramping built-in, TC's lock-on has crit, and Ego PSS has 6th Sense. Main thing you'd miss, imo, is the extra CD reduction from not having Int SS (though CDR gear can cover some of that). For builds that lack Dex SS, I typically still have at least one Dex mod and crit offense gear in, so the char sheet chance is still in the 27-31% range.. which is good enough imo.

Also, you mentioned you want to be able to res allies, then I'd suggest Res Serum in gadgeteering. Its good even at rank 1.

Here's how a PBR and more sci-fi version could work w/ OD:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Soldier
Level 6: Ascetic
Level 9: Quick Recovery
Level 12: Wordly
Level 15: Shooter
Level 18: Impresario
Level 21: Acrobat

Powers:
Level 1: Sonic Blaster
Level 1: Pulse Beam Rifle (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Concentration
Level 8: Targeting Computer (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Overdrive
Level 14: Gatling Gun (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Holdout Shot (Rank 2, Stim Pack)
Level 20: Sniper Rifle (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 26: Force Shield (Rank 2, Force Sheathe)
Level 29: Palliate (Absolve)
Level 32: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 35: Resurrection Serum
Level 38: Fire All Weapons (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Jet Pack (Rank 2)
Level 35: Athletics

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: Find the Mark (2/3)
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)

(2 free adv points left)

ajanus · May 2014

That's a really good build to base your PBR path off of.

I will toss out my personal preferences here just in case they suit you as well.

Particle Rifle over Sonic Blaster...I hate Sonic Blaster animation and think it looks ridiculous :biggrin: Plus you get to use rifles and not pistols.

Conviction over Holdout Shot...again because of my ocd mixing pistols and rifles...and that was the self-heal and I usually pick Conviction for that

I prefer Evasive Maneuvers-Slight of Mind over Palliate, but Palliate will probably fit theme better here since you don't want to be an acrobatic ninja with a gatling gun...

More or less these are all personal/thematic changes, but overall function would likely stay the same.

And your 2 points should definitely go to Acrobatics...no question.

flowcyto · May 2014

ajanus wrote: »

And your 2 points should definitely go to Acrobatics...no question.

Oh yeah, I always put a ground TP at r2 or r3. Its just so nice to have. But I didn't want too much of my personal prefs getting in there.

feodrich · May 2014

i just now tried out the PBR build in the powerhouse training area, im only level 26 so i cant see EVERYTHING in action but thus far i like what i see.

i was worried about some of the changes and at first i thought that sniper and gatling were doing less damage but after some repeated trial and error i can really see a significant improvement, i am kicking infinitely more **** then i was this morning, the energy builder doesnt feel like it does as much damage as the old one but that im aware the EB isnt supposed to be doing all that much ANYWAYS so its all good there.

granted i'd pay a good deal of zen to swap out the sound effects for the PBR to something abit more loud but we cant always be choosers, i also swapped out the sonic blaster for particle rifle after i ran a quick test to see what it looked like, it felt abit too gadgety and steampunky for me but the animations werent as bad as i was afraid (though not as good as if you were holding it with two hands like most people hold a handgun in real life) but that weird ring thingy was kind of offputting, the particle rifle on the other hand felt sci fi enough without losing any of that gritty trooper feel (i could essentially claim to be an imperial guardsmen and i could pull it off, sweet look)

i was abit apprehensive to lose shotgun at first (if you run into pissed off alien things, shotguns are always win) but tbh i never used it anyways except when i was in the mood to see the enemy fly away like a ragdoll.

i am debating whether or not i'd be willing to swap holdout shot for conviction, that will require some thought.

loving the build so far, i greatly appreciate the advice and i look forward to taking a bite out of crime in your name.

wait.....wouldnt that make me a cannibal?

flowcyto · May 2014

Hope the build continues to hold up as ya level. Hopefully you won't find urself having to end build too much. If you do have issues w/ energy or w/e else, let us know and there could be some ways to help.

feodrich wrote: »

wait.....wouldnt that make me a cannibal?

If you cannibalize evil, who cares!

(.. just don't get kuru or CJD or something from doing it, okay?)

looking to revamp my trooper build, advice appreciated.

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