Kahlua's Speed Run Commando Build (lvl 36)

[Kahlua]

No silly acronyms, no catchy titles. This is the build I used to power to lvl 36 on my commando, primarily on the BIOSPHERE DECK on the shipyards. It's AOE based, and is geared towards finishing the levels as quickly as possible. There are two ways to do this build, each with it's own set of pros and cons. I'm going to spend the 2 plat (WOAH!!!) to bring you both builds and what each one brings to the table:

First Build:


This build is the most balanced because it does a great amount of damage, but sacrifices some damage for Increase Mass and Kinetic Reservoir. This build is a great speed build because it eliminates the single damage skill Force Hammer and Graviton Slam (Not single damage, but very tricky to use and hard to get to go the way you want all the time). This build would most greatly benefit the people who like to switch between farming for epic drops in the Reactor (Back breaker for boss, increase mass for tanking/control/Reservoir for skill spamming) and speed runs. This is better suited for SOLO speed runs.

Pros:
- Hits all the good AOE skills
- Neutron stomp for control and knocking down large groups takes the stress off of yourself and teammates.
- Growing Rage + AOE (especially NEBULA) = instant mob group death. Seriously, watch them just crumble with crit after crit nebula ticks.
- Increase Mass keeps you alive when you get combo-attacked running in first. Especially helpful from those plasma grenades/barrels if you come across them.
- Kinetic Reservoir can save you a LOT of money in the long run if you spam your skills as much as I do.

Cons:
- Back Breaker is almost useless for speed runs as it's only single-target (SEE BELOW)
- 11 points wasted on increase mass and kinetic reservoir could be used for more damage output

***A NOTE ON BACK-BREAKER***
During my runs I could have sworn that although back breaker is a single-target attack, when I cast the skill at an enemy in the back of a group that had multiple mobs knocked down, the skill passed through the front enemies, damaging them as well on it's way to the target. As this results in the Back-Breaker combo as well, I was curious if this is only a combo thing, or if back-breaker passes through targets and causes damage on it's path to the actual target. More testing is needed. It might have just been my team doing damage. This could change the use of back-breaker in speed runs forever.

Second Build:

This build is the end of all things. You will run train on your enemies and they won't know what hit them...because they get reborn every 90 seconds or so. No single target damage, all AOE. I use graviton slam as I'm running down long hallways at enemies, and just pop-shot it at the first members of the group. Any damage helps, and as it's directional and not 100% AOE, it's really only useful for that situation, which is why it only gets 1 point. Using skills too often in bad situations is why a lot of people complain about running out of mana. The 5 points in neutron stomp is for the sole reason that I had extra points and Neutron Stomp is far more useful than Graviton Slam in Biosphere speed runs. I kept Kinetic Reservoir because this level is just so easy, that the damage loss for 3 seconds (2 sec buff at the end) is really not going to make a big difference as you carve through enemies. Keep blasting away and use your skills when needed and you'll have zero problems. The lvl 5 in Kinetic Reservoir gives a +10 mana regen (lvl 6 also only gives +10, so no point in wasting another point) and this lasts for 5 seconds. I'll take a free 50 mana any day. Growing rage +60 crit buff? Yes please!!!

Pros:
- Very high damage output from AOE skills
- Growing Rage + AOE = DEATH!
- No single target damage skills as these mobs are wearing cloth for armor and your gun carves them up enough as it is, no point in wasting mana on single skills.

Cons:
- Very speed run based build...won't help you out as much on harder levels.
- Not a tankers build (no increase mass) so if survival is your #1 priority, you might look towards the first build
- Back-Breaker is an awesome skill, but seems to only be good for hard mobs, mini bosses, or the big baddies.

***I do not put an 8th skill into that empty slot because I think it's much easier to see the difference between the skill pages if they're kept different. Throwing the same skill on both pages can be confusing after hours of grinding***


Hope this helps guys! I stand strongly behind these 2 builds as the best builds for shipyard commando looking for easy xp and is not afraid to take point.