Potential build
Page 1:
Neural Shock 1 (when a level cap comes, it will probably worth adding more points; the debuff is quite substantial)
Sympathetic Anguish 4 (if there is a level cap raise and the max is still 6; this might be maxed out)
Mind Wrack 6 (check out Kamikazee's thread on it)
Amplify Pain 6
Page 2:
Inner Focus 6
Lurch 1
The goal is to have minimal page flipping and maximum possible damage, while maintaining moderate potion usage (expensive in SL currently).
- Blur: Personally, I find that blur only offers 6 seconds, which is not nearly enough. 6s is critical perhaps for PvP, but for sustained fights in PvE ... not enough to justify the points IMO.
- Flames: Stun is ineffective against what needs to be stunned the most - a boss (admittedly lurch suffers from similar weaknesses, but overall it appears to be much more effective); and stun is unreliable; lurch when it hits always "works" save against bosses immune to it. Mobs ... DOT is too slow. Bosses have really high armor, so the effective damage per DOT "pulse" won't be that high.
- Psychic Lash: Bosses are resistant to being "rooted" (for lack of a better term) in place. Does not do enough damage against mobs.
- Psychic Binding: Does not do any damage; ineffective vs. ranged enemies. Bosses are also resistant to it's effects (as you might have predicted). Possibly useful though for operatives thinking about soloing.
Currently debating what to add the 25th point for level 26 players; either 1 more to sympathetic or to neural - which has more net effectiveness vs. boss? Neural has a serious argument here.
Other thoughts:
I think all operatives should design their builds specifically to counter bosses. The majority of mobs present little difficulty to most groups, even on Numa. Of greater concern are mini bosses like the large Vulars and tough to kill bosses like the Guardian. Amplify pain should always be used first when engaging tough to kill opponents.
There is a certain "synergy" that goes on. Cycle of attack:
1. First amplify pain increases your damage per hit and it increases your chances of crit. It has a 12m range anyways.
2. Next should be mind wrack, which increases your probability to crit. The skill damage itself will also benefit from amplify pain.
3. Sympathetic anguish should follow. Because of amplify pain, which increases damage per hit (both by buffing you and debuffing enemy armor) along with with your crit probability and mind wrack, which increases the damage done by crit in the event that you do crit, this has the potential to be the biggest single damage dealer if it crits. If there are nearby enemies (some bosses spawn "underlings"), there is a chance that they can be hit. Often regular mobs protect minis as well.
4. Neural shock - if the target is still alive (expected if the target is a boss or a mini), debuff them.
5. Lurch - flip the page and push the target away (note that some bosses are resistant to this). If damage has been sustained, because the page is flipped, inner focus can also be accessed (debatable whether this should be pressed because of the damage reduction). Flip back immediately after.
6. By the time they return, the amplify pain should have recharged.
Edit: Compare
Mind Wrack
Lv 6: 10 energy, 6 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 15-25 damage
Average Damage: 20
Neural Shock:
Lv 6: 10 energy, 7 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 12-26 damage, -20 hit chance and -4 critical chance to target for 5 sec.
Average damage: 19
Sympathetic Anguish
Lv 6: 15 energy, 10 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 10-25 damage, can jump targets up to 2 times -20% damage per jump.
Average Damage: 17.5
If I remember from the beta; sympathetic used to be the most powerful single attack. Now though ... only the most potent overall attack if it jumps. Perhaps sympathetic should be 1? Another thing to note is that sympathetic has a slower recharge, which negates the positive effects from jumping, yielding less effective damage, especially against a single target.
Page 1:
Neural Shock 4
Sympathetic Anguish 1
Mind Wrack 6
Amplify Pain 6
Page 2:
Inner Focus 6
Lurch 1
Under this arrangement, perhaps 3 & 4 should be reversed?
Originally Posted by WhoIsThis
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