PDA

View Full Version : Build Q: Why Ego/End for Force?


Archived Post
08-29-2009, 11:40 AM
Probably been asked before, noob Q's and all, but just in case...

I'm planning on doing a sort of hybrid Force/Gadget/Power Armor toon. Don't ask me why. Mostly focused on buffs, pets, and the cheap auto-attacks in PA (esp for the end builder). Basically it's going to be similar to a Defender/Controller/Mastermind in City.

I need to know why Ego and End are important. Specifically, what powers they buff or how they affect the buffs. I don't care about crits, so offensively I don't need Ego. I'd like End just to stack the max power high, and will likely be going with Int as my other stat.

I know that PFF relies on Ego for its amount of damage absorbtion. However... I don't care about PFF, and won't be using it at all.
Do other Force-based attacks depend on Ego for some specific reason? Does it buff their ability? I was under the assumption that most damage at whatnot is just based off whatever your superstats are. Some things, however, like Invuln I know are based of Con (still trying to decide if I should use that.. toss up between 3 abilities, then).

Specifically from Force, I'm looking for info on Force Eruption, Force Shield, and Force Protection. Do these powers NEED Ego to boost their capability? I don't want to weaken my shields at all if I can help it.

Thanks for any help on this. I'd like to get the decisions made so I can make the toon and get it going before main launch.

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 11:45 AM
Specifically from Force, I'm looking for info on Force Eruption, Force Shield, and Force Protection. Do these powers NEED Ego to boost their capability? I don't want to weaken my shields at all if I can help it.
No.

End/Ego on a force build are primarily to help boost PFF, of the two, general concensus seems to be that END is the more useful stat.

Out of curiosity, have you ever used PFF before? You may want to reconsider not using it, as it's extremely handy. Any particular reason why you're not planning on using it?

Oh, and pick up Eye Beam. If you take any ability from PA, it should be Eye Beam.

There's a Stat Guide thread posted by Sarion in the forums here that has a list of powers that scale with stats, and which stats those are. I'd suggest taking a look at it, it can be very helpful.

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 11:59 AM
I have a force and gadgeteer and plan to go Dex and Ego.
This char is going to be weaker in taking damage but I think the DMG buff will make up for it (again on this char)
PFF is a nice defensive skill, you can have it and whatever offensive one you want like quarry or whatever and just switch them.
If you are going to be taking dmg swtich to PFF if not then Quarry or whatever ones you decide.

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 12:07 PM
I love these forums, and how quickly one can get replies. Thanks, all of you, and any others who contribute.

Out of curiosity, have you ever used PFF before? You may want to reconsider not using it, as it's extremely handy. Any particular reason why you're not planning on using it?
Yes, I've used it, but I don't see it as an absolute necessity. It's a nice power, but it's not the ONLY good power out of the set... and certainly not worth picking one of my two superstats and building around said stat just for a single ability. Nice to have, but not necessary.

Oh, and pick up Eye Beam. If you take any ability from PA, it should be Eye Beam.
My first main is a Power Armor guy, though he's melee. Well do I understand the power of Eye Beams. Primarily I will be getting them because A) Their end-cost is nonexistant -and- B) They eventually convert to AoE damage after a few seconds (less with the 20/20 Fission advantage). However, I don't know if they gain a damage boost from any particular stat, or if it's just based on your superstats or no stat at all. That would be nice to know.

There's a Stat Guide thread posted by Sarion in the forums here that has a list of powers that scale with stats, and which stats those are. I'd suggest taking a look at it, it can be very helpful.
Good idea, thank you!

---

PFF is a nice defensive skill, you can have it and whatever offensive one you want like quarry or whatever and just switch them
Might do that. Is Quarry better for end cost reduction than Targeting Computer?

This char is going to be weaker in taking damage but I think the DMG buff will make up for it (again on this char)
Yeah, not so much worried about pure damage on this toon. Just want to have good solid team buffs, pet buffs, and the ability to consitnatly do a steady amount of AoE damage with the odd single-target spike. But not all hardcore about boosting damage at the cost of all the rest of it.

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 12:17 PM
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't INT help with pet buffs? So since you want to be focused on pet buffing (among other things) INT is a nice stat to have.

And I believe EGO scales crit severity. So the higher the EGO the more damage you do on a crit, whereas DEX determines how often you crit.

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 12:20 PM
Ego improves hold strength; if you plan to leverage the forcefield inversions on Force Detonation and Force Blast it could be a good stat. Also, you can get a useable crit chance with +dex items.

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 12:22 PM
My main is gonna be force...I primarily look for endurance and ego first but If I can get gear with some dexterity or even recovery it helps too. Correct me if im wrong here. Recovery increases equilibrium and that is the max energy you can have without energy building right?

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 12:33 PM
My main is gonna be force...I primarily look for endurance and ego first but If I can get gear with some dexterity or even recovery it helps too. Correct me if im wrong here. Recovery increases equilibrium and that is the max energy you can have without energy building right?

I believe it's END that sets your equilibrium level (i.e. your starting endurance pool). REC determines how quickly you automatically generate your equilibrium level once it's depleted (and health too?) and determines how much endurance your end builder generates during combat.

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 12:42 PM
Yes, I've used it, but I don't see it as an absolute necessity. It's a nice power, but it's not the ONLY good power out of the set... and certainly not worth picking one of my two superstats and building around said stat just for a single ability. Nice to have, but not necessary.
I don't see why not. I mean, passive abilites are the most common abilities that scale with your stats. Picking stats that mesh well with your passive abilities seems like a great idea to me. If you're picking END as a superstat anyway, then I don't see where there'd be an issue. It fits well with what you've got going at the moment. Of course, it's all a matter of personal prefernce, a passive D ability certainly isn't vital, but it makes life a lot easier.

My first main is a Power Armor guy, though he's melee. Well do I understand the power of Eye Beams. Primarily I will be getting them because A) Their end-cost is nonexistant -and- B) They eventually convert to AoE damage after a few seconds (less with the 20/20 Fission advantage). However, I don't know if they gain a damage boost from any particular stat, or if it's just based on your superstats or no stat at all. That would be nice to know.
As far as I know, the damage of Eye Beams doesn't scale with any particular stat.

And I believe EGO scales crit severity. So the higher the EGO the more damage you do on a crit, whereas DEX determines how often you crit.
True, however, without a fair amount of Dex, you'll rarely crit, which makes high ego without high dex more or less pointless.

My main is gonna be force...I primarily look for endurance and ego first but If I can get gear with some dexterity or even recovery it helps too. Correct me if im wrong here. Recovery increases equilibrium and that is the max energy you can have without energy building right?
Yes, equilibrium is the point that your energy will regen on its own. Honestly, if you were looking to do a END/EGO/DEX build, I'd really suggest superstatting END/DEX over END/EGO. The reason for this is that it takes a lot more DEX for it to be useful than EGO. You can keep a 50% crit severity on EGO without it being superstatted, which is still pretty useful, but your crit chance will be terrible if you don't superstat DEX. Having a high crit severity is useless if you don't crit. Additionally, the recharge bonus on PFF from EGO is reportedly pretty negligible, so you're not looking at a huge loss if you keep ego a bit lower. Just a suggestion though. :)

I believe it's END that sets your equilibrium level (i.e. your starting endurance pool). REC determines how quickly you automatically generate your equilibrium level once it's depleted (and health too?) and determines how much endurance your end builder generates during combat.
END sets your maximum energy, REC sets your equilibrium and recharge rate. :)

Archived Post
08-29-2009, 06:08 PM
don't see why not. I mean, passive abilites are the most common abilities that scale with your stats. Picking stats that mesh well with your passive abilities seems like a great idea to me. If you're picking END as a superstat anyway, then I don't see where there'd be an issue. It fits well with what you've got going at the moment. Of course, it's all a matter of personal prefernce, a passive D ability certainly isn't vital, but it makes life a lot easier.

Endurance for the, well, endurance... faster energy charging, larger energy pool. My plan was to match it with Intelligence, which would both buff several other abilities, boost pet damage, and decrease the cost of abilities. I had assumed they'd make a decent synergy together, since I am more concerned about the buffs and pets over the pure damage the toon itself would put out.