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Combat-Reflect Executioner Build for the Non Stealth TR
rustlord
Member Posts: 1,454 Arc User
This build is outdated. For the module 3 version click here: PvP Build: Rustlord's Reflect TR
1. Strengths and Weaknesses
2. Race, Feats and Paragon
3. Gear, Stats and Ability Scores
4. Powers
5. PvP Gameplay
Combat-Reflect Executioner Build for the Non Stealth TR
Introduction
Combat Rogue is underappreciated by players, and reasonably so, since our burst damage has continuously been reduced. When compared to permanent stealth (Permastealth) it doesn't outright shine, does it? But that's where most people got it wrong. Just because Stealth Rogues are so endemic, it doesn't mean Combat is lost to us. With the direction that Module 3: Curse of Icewind Dale is going, Black Ice gear stacked with defensive stats and the absence of 4 part Stealth bonus, as well as possible nerfs to Permastealth, we may just see burst builds coming back.
Strengths
• Executioner-standard damage
• Optimal PvE damage
• Highest out-of-stealth survivability
• Goes with latest PvP updates and Tenacity
• Slightly less expensive to build
• Excels in group combat: 2v1, 3v1, 3v2, 4v2
Weaknesses … Downsides
• Fey Thistle is the 5th Sharandar boon, no doubt the hardest one to obtain
• Can’t one shot or two shot equally geared targets
• Can’t 4v1 forever like Permastealth can
Race, Feats and Paragon
My race is Human, and I’m a Master Infiltrator. Regretfully this is strictly not a Whisperknife build because ITC is a keystone requirement. Whisperknives, you may rise up to the challenge.
Note: Halflings have innate 3% deflection and is the only better alternative to Human. On the other hand, Human gains 3 additional Heroic points which can be allocated to a 3% deflect Feat if you aim for versatility.
http://nwcalc.com/tr?b=pa7:1c2jgg:15yaps,13n0ili:1uu000:100000:1u55u1&h=1&p=min
Boons
I have all 10, whereas I believe Fey Thistle, which you need for this build, is the hardest one and took the most patience.
• Dark Fey Warden: You gain 250 Defense.
• Fey Elusiveness: You gain 250 Deflect.
• Feywilds Fortitude: Your Max HP increased by 700.
• Elven Tranquility: When being struck by a foe you have a chance to heal yourself for 400 HP. (60s Internal Cooldown)
• Fey Thistle: When you Deflect an attack you deal 400 damage to your attacker. (Proc on every deflected attack. Debuff on attacker and his Damage Resistance affect damage)
• Reliquary Keeper's Strength: You gain 125 Power and 125 Movement.
• Illusory Regeneration: You gain 250 Regeneration.
• Forbidden Piercing: You gain 250 Armor Penetration.
• Enraged Regrowth: When taking damage you have a chance to heal 1000 Hit Points over a few (4) seconds. After this effect ends you have 250 more Defense for 10 seconds. (80s Internal Cooldown)
• Rampaging Madness: When you deal damage you gain a stack of "Madness". When you reach 50 stacks of "Madness" you gain 600 Power, 300 Life Steal, and 300 Regeneration. 10 seconds after gaining this bonus your stacks are reset. You may only gain one stack of "Madness" per second. (The 10 second rule only applies once damage is dealt after reaching 50 stacks...also, stacks will last for 60 seconds when not dealing damage).
Augmented Thayan Bastion: When taking damage you have a chance to generate a shield that absorbs 500 incoming damage and redirects that damage to a nearby foe. This shield lasts 6 seconds. (60s Internal Cooldown. Debuff on attacker and his Damage Resistance affect damage)
For my 5th Dread Ring boon, I know ^ would have been a more sensible choice, but "Rampaging Madness" struck a chord inside me, and there was just no way I could pass it by. >:[
Post edited by rustlord on
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Comments
[Grand Priest’s Ring of Burning Light] +150 Defense, Deflect and 600 Hit Points
[Grand Necromancer's Belt of Undeath] +150 Defense, Deflect and 600 Hit Points
[Grand Brawler's Necklace of Guts] +150 Defense, Deflect and 600 Hit Points
Update: March 25, Forgot to describe my shirt and pants before
I am using the Hunter Ranger wardrobe, yes TR can wear HR clothes! It has important deflect and defense stat allocations, which in my opinion was well worth a 300K purchase.
I'm comfortable at 44.5% deflect and don't intend to do any more gear swapping at this time, besides from upgrading all my Grim Scoundrel to Profound in order to trade +450 Lifesteal bonus with +463 Critical Strike.
* * *
I use [Silvery Enchantment Rank 7] for defense slots, [Dark Enchantment Rank 7] for both offense and utility slots, and [Perfect Lightning Enchantment] and [Perfect Thunderhead Enchantment]. [Perfect Vorpal Enchantment] can improve your burst significantly when using encounter powers. [Perfect Soulforged Enchantment] is equally nice to have.
Update: March 26, redone the math for tenacity gear
Regeneration: negligible heals 950 per tick absent healing depression
Deflection Chance: 44.5% camp fire and other buffs considering
Deflection Severity: 75%
Mitigation: 31.9% buffs make up for the variable
Computed mitigation from deflect: min 31.9% max 33.375%
Tenacity base mitigation: 10%
Tenacity from gear: 7.2% … you can still do better.
Increased survivability by: 82.475% outside of ITC and Stealth. Deflection chance is affected by RNG
Requirement
[ITC] – an absolute must, 5 seconds uptime of deflect every 18 seconds—pop this when hit by DoT Conduit of Ice, Disheartening bleeds, PoB, Forgemaster’s Flame and basically every low-dps multi-hit powers Crescendo, Duelist Flurry. Reason being … see Boon: Fey Thistle
Situational encounters
[Deft Strike] + [Lashing Blade] Deft Strike to your opponent and immediately enter stealth while teleporting, walk around a little to get your bearings and land a Lashing Blade crit to your opponent
[Impact Shot] + [Dazing Strike] The Impact Stun combo, courtesy of kweassa, see here http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?628181-The-quot-Impact-Stun-quot-combo
[Shadow Strike] + [Smoke Bomb] If I have to survive on a 3v1 or 4v1… being cannon fodder of course isn’t the most satisfying assignment, but a rotation of CC and stealth keeps me alive longer.
[Path of the Blade] vs [Impact Shot] Since PoB is the flavor of the month power, I wouldn’t mind slotting it on occasion in lieu of Impact Shot, although it doesn’t proc weapon enchantments so I will have my reservations.
[Blitz] + [Dazing Strike] The PvE rotation.
I really don’t have much in the way of Encounter Power rotations, since my damage dealing capabilities is largely attributed to reflect and at wills.
At wills
Spacebar + walk forward + [Duelist Flurry] Jump DF for short. Correct me if I am wrong, [Perfect Lightning Enchantment] deals the highest weapon damage that is not a DoT per strike at 20%. Through ancient daggers, that’s a whopping 196 x 12 (2352 lightning damage) in one round of Duelist Flurry. In a group fight, the lightning arcs have a 50% chance of hitting up to 3 targets. Once upon a time, I’ve managed to pull a kill streak of 3 enemies with this combo on a 3v3 fight, thanks to my lightning arcs and my party for wearing them down. I wouldn’t say my party was thrilled, however.
[Clouds of Steel] Through P. Lightning as well I can apply Healing Depression to an entire group with one or two throws of CoS. Regardless of whether it’s a TR hiding in stealth, the lightning arc does not discriminate
Choices for Passives:
[Skillful Infiltrator] 3% deflect, yes please!
[First Strike] If I want cookies.
[Tenacious Concealment] If I’m being careful.
[Tactics] If I’m feeling reckless, which isn’t often
[Sneak Attack] If I’m bored with my other choices
Dailies:
[Bloodbath] It’s my 911 emergency. It strikes a lot. So… lightning arcs.
[Shocking Execution] To activate my Devastating Shroud feat. Wouldn’t want to see a 5pt feat in Executioner go to waste, now would I?
[Whirldwind of Blades] My PvE go to
[Courage Breaker] I like the FX… suffice to say I haven’t used it much lately
2. Duelist Flurry
Often an experienced TR will execute a Duelist Flurry from stealth or by jumping in your direction, making sure that the third part hits home. When it does, pop into ITC to reflect up to 4800 damage via Fey Thistle’s reflect. This damage is affected by mitigation and tenacity. Immediately follow with your own Duelist Flurry to deal damage. Lightning weapon damage will deal up to 2350 flat unmitigated damage. You will apply bleed to your opponent, preventing him from re-entering stealth—doing so would be foolish. If you are lucky, you can deflect your own bleeds, and reflect up to 400 damage per tick.
3. Dealing damage via reflect
A deflection chance of 40-45% gives you a reliable source of reflect. Note how this different from other reflects like Briartwine, which is a percentage of incoming damage. Through Fey Thistle you are able to deal 400 physical damage every time you deflect an attack. As a TR you have amazing deflection severity, so if we ran the math, by taking any DoT under 1500 per tick, you are essentially causing more harm to your attacker.
4. Which attacks to reflect?
The great thing in being a Master Infiltrator is that you have ITC, and for 5 seconds during every 18 seconds, you have an encounter power that allows you to decide which incoming attack you want to reflect against the enemy. I’ve explained how it’s best to reflect DoT. Essentially, you want to pop ITC on every low-damage attack successions:
• Clouds of Steel
• Duelist Flurry
• Duelist Flurry Bleeds
• Disheartening Strike Bleeds
• Path of the Blades … chase the big red danger AoE
• 1v1 Bloodbath
• Crescendo
• Flourish
• Deep Gash
• Magic Missile
• Entangling Force
• Conduit of Ice
• Forgemaster’s Flame
• Supremacy of Steel … It’s tricky, but when a GF goes into reflect mode, hurl your daggers, reflecting your reflected attacks to you back to him … ugh my head hurts now xD
• Thorn Ward … do the same with PoB
• Rapid Shot
5. Against the Iron Monster GWF
I find it better to wait out Unstoppable. I am not above dishing out At will damage, either. If I see a GWF coming at me head-on, which of course is what they do all the time, I hit Deft Strike teleport behind them and run in the opposite direction, effectively putting more distance between us than the he thought he closed—it kinda makes me feel sorry for the guy but …
I always dodge forward if I’m in danger of a Frontline Surge. It also puts me behind and out of his Takedown range. I have feated 3 dodge rolls exactly for this situation. This build is a Ping-Pong ball inside a washing machine. You can pretty much make his head spin to the point that he’s pressing the numpad and typing WASD in chat, at which time he will be an easy kill.
More recently my most effective strategy against a Vanguard is Deft Strike + Shadow Strike. I begin a windup of DF as soon as the GWF sprints towards me. The DF immunity protects me from Frontline Surge and Takedown, damaging the GWF as he enters melee.
6. In a group fight …
The Combat Reflect build excels in group fights, whether it’s a 2v1, 3v1 or 4v2. How so? Perfect Lightning arcs for very small, but otherwise useful damage. Perfect Thunderhead is an AoE stun at 40% chance when you take critical damage—stuns everybody in a wide range long enough to cast a Shadow Strike or wait for cooldowns, sometimes even disengage from battle.
It’s easier to land DF in a group fight. Fey Thistle has no target cap when in ITC, you simply deflect everything from everyone.
The best method is to go after the softest, highest damage dealer first, usually the CW or the HR, never giving the HR free time to make an Aimed Shot or charge a Split Shot. Dodge away from the fighter classes until you’ve eliminated the real threats. Ignore the TR unless he’s a Combat P. Vorpal TR. Go for the tank classes, cleric or fighters. Kill the Permastealth last. Even while in stealth, your lightning arcs and reflect should deal sufficient damage to render the TR a low risk enemy.
Know your limits and know your enemies. If 3v1 gets a little rough, then don’t stretch it. If you have a cleric in a 3v5, your success will depend on your ability to cut the softies down in the first 60 seconds.
7. Against P. Vorpal TR and P. Bile TR
You are neither stronger nor weaker, if equally geared, to the P. Vorpal builds. While he has burst damage on his side, you have better mobility. Three things will decide this battle: skill, lag and chance.
Combat TR has the shorter end of the stick. Combat-Reflect Executioners have more room for error. Low damage DoT harassment tactics is the most annoying—should I say deadliest?—trait of all Permastealth Bilethorn TR. They are unlikely to open out of stealth with a murderous Lashing Blade, or Shocking Execution you from full health. But they will hang around, dropping PoB, hurling CoS and poisoning you in a painstakingly slow dance, which usually ends with you dead and them beaming with pride. Counter stealth using Number 1 tactic. It’s not my intention to contradict myself, but don’t sponge a DF coming from a bile rogue—I believe the poison is broken and procs twice from DF.
My Thanks
To all my fellow Combat TR for giving me unending reason to stay true to this playstyle, and my Permastealth rivals for giving me the challenge to do so. Thank you to mr. todesfaelle for pushing me to write this build, as well as my ex-guild mates, and all who read and appreciate this guide. ^^
I hope you pick up a few things useful. I am open to constructive criticism, and will even improve my guide upon receiving new information. Unfortunately I’m unable to record high quality videos of my fun in PvP. Nor do I have much time to play lately.
Sources
Played since June 2013, Open Beta, mained Trickster Rogue for as long as I remember, rerolled the character twice, tried Permastealth, Scoundrel, Hybrid Saboteur and Executioner over, give or take, 30 respecs. (YES 30 respecs on Live. There wasn’t much PvP on Preview so everytime I thought up a new experiment, I actually paid 100K AD >.<). Has a 13K IV Sent. Plays all classes, but a Trickster at heart.
PS. I think you made a good choice choosing Rampaging Madness over Augmented Thayan Bastion. ATB is terrible, has a 1 minute internal cooldown. Would have been great if it were given a steady proc chance instead of an ICD.
This is just a different variation of this build that I'm working on implementing that would lose some deflect/defense for regen/recovery/stealth because it is easy to see how overpowered stealth builds are for survivability, and even these tank rogue builds are still very hard to survive on to do anything significant without stealth if you get into a 2v1 situation.
You are quite right my friend. The build is highly focused on surviving while staying out of stealth. I've given some thought how increased HP would totally benefit this build because a larger endurance pool just means more opportunity to reflect damage. On the other hand, regeneration serves to oppose the primary goal of this build, which is staying in non-stealth combat and mitigating damage. If Healing Depression was not such a strong factor, I would go all the way for regen.
Tankiness is just one facet of this build. All together, it's made for group battles and I am able to 2v1 without difficulty. What you say becomes true on a 3v1 and 4v1, where survival depends on precise timing and oftentimes luck.
ATB reads good on paper. Thank you for sharing firsthand knowledge with this boon. I'll keep this in mind as a good reference for future experiments.
time to experiment :cool:
Leaving dead question marks everywhere
@kleeji. This was never a build intended to defeat bilethorn permastealth in an OP way. Surprisingly, I do stand a chance against most equally geared P. Bile TR. I would be first to admit that playing out-of-stealth is so much harder than cooldown management stealth rotations -- Fortunately the reflect build does not rely on guesswork, it's well equipped in countering stealth.
This is what I have in my power tray. In addition to lightning arcs and reflect I use Path of the Blades to reveal the location of the TR, Bloodbath and Deft Strike to stay attached in melee. Another trick is using Clouds of Steel right before they enter stealth; for a short duration, a knife silhouette stays visible.
I'd say 80% of the time he is in stealth, I can see him. In a group, I do an excellent job of revealing his location. I believe the best way to defeat a permanently hidden enemy is to simply FIND HIM. Killing is only my secondary concern.
This rotation incorporates a little bit of stealth for its utility: making sure that your Dazing Strike hits. If you get the jump on a CW/HR, you could send them back to the camp fire before they get the chance to react.
Power
Approx. CD
Usage
Stealth + Sneak Attack + Dazing Strike
10 seconds
Enter stealth, run up behind the target and daze him. Immediately follow by a round of DF. The goal is to land the DF, so jump if you must. Dazed, your opponent will not be able to shift away.
Shadow Strike + Dazing Strike
15 seconds
The alternative way of doing the same thing. Just so you could always land Dazing Strike.
ITC + 2xDF
18 seconds
Open with ITC+DF against a GWF/GF. As it ends, dodge away and enter stealth. Jump DF from stealth. If you have Dazing off cooldown, fallback to methods 1 or 2.
DF + Dazing Strike + DF
10 seconds
End your DF with a Dazing Strike, and resume a second round of DF.
Jump + Dazing Strike
10 seconds
If you must use Dazing Strike out of stealth (largely not recommended), bunnyhop over your target and activate DS while in midair. Otherwise always daze from stealth.
tyyy