Hello there, fellow agents!! With the explosive damage-themed Hollywood Global Event going on, I have gotten inspired to put together an explosives skill build. So I was hoping to get some ideas from some of you. I know that I see the Acosta bag mentioned a lot; China Light and Wyvern Wear; the Mad Bomber chest talent; and maybe the Hard Wired 4 piece set. But, in all honesty, I'm still a little confused about how to tie it all together to make a good synergistic build.
Off the top of my head:
Demo Spec
Mortar Turret
Stinger Hive or Striker Drone
Strategic Alignment Backpack(China Light)
Wyvern Wear chest with either Glass Canon or Kinetic Momentum
Try to get as many gear pieces with skill damage. Skill haste isn't a priority, but is still useful.
All the other gear slots can be filled with any combination of Wyvern Wear, Hana-U, or China Light. You could, in a pinch, even use 3pc Hard Wired, although turret builds generally don't lend themselves well to using the 4pc set ability of resetting cooldowns. It would be AMAZING if "Using a skill" included firing a round of the mortar, because then you could pair it with any other good explosive skill, like Seeker Mine or Sticky Bomb. But that's why I say to use the Stinger Hive or Drone, because it will synergize with the Kinetic Momentum talent.
If you're using the hive, you could equip the BTSU gloves, since that will allow you to protect yourself if you miss with the Mortar.
If you have the Vile mask, then this build changes completely, and you should use 4pc Eclipse Protocol. The Mortar and Vile debuff will both scale with skill damage and explosive damage. The mortar bleed effect will apply the vile effect, and Eclipse Protocol will spread everything everywhere. You probably won't even need more than a single mortar hit to kill anything except Heavies. And that's why the hive/turret is for anyway.
Use whatever guns you prefer, although there's a case for using a pistol with either Future Perfect or In Sync, because you'll be able to use the directive for extra EXP, and you don't really need more damage. You could also use the Pestilence LMG if you wanted more viral damage types, although that works off weapon damage, which is something this build doesn't do. .
Another popular explosive build is the oldschool Hard Wired sticky/seeker build. 4pc hard wired with the backpack talent., 1 pc China Light, 1 pc Wyvern. Pretty much self explanatory. Sticky bombs and seekers every 10 seconds. Although there's a weird build that uses a shield to activate the set bonus. Not sure if that still works or not.
Sircowdog1, that is some EXCELLENT information there!! You've inspired me to put a build together now, as I think I have all the pieces you mentioned waiting in my stash!! Lol. And I'm so glad you mentioned how to incorporate the status effect from the mortar because that was confusing to me. Again, thank you, thank you!!![]()
Well, I've spent the entire global event blowing npc's up left and right with this loadout...Originally Posted by jimmymon88 Go to original post
Hardwired Mask-10% Skill Damage
& 12% Skill haste mode
China Vest-Glass Cannon, 10% Skill Damage, 11% Skill Haste, 12% Skill Haste Mod
Hardwired Holster-10% Skill Damage
Wyvern Backpack- Tech Support, 10% Skill Damage, 11.2 Skill Hasre. 11.7 Skill Haste Mod
Hardwired Gloves & Kneepads-Both 10% Skill Damage
It's obviously run on the Demolitionist Specialization. The 2 Skills that I use are the Sticky Bomb & the Cluster Seekers. I use the Harmony rifle for an easy additional 40% damage as well.
So, you're getting +15% from Chyna, +10% from Wyvern, +15% from Hardwired, +10% from Demolitionist, +40% from Harmony, +25% from Glass Cannon, +25% from tech support, and +10% from the 4 piece bonus of Hardwired as well.....
Most players would probably tell you to run the artillery turret instead of the sticky bomb. If you're solo, then I guess so. If in group, you would be a much better teammate not running that damn thing. Because everytime you fire, the damn thing shakes all the players screens, throwing off everybody's aim.
Besides, my sticky hits HARD and fast, with no setup or stationary required. It tops out at over 9 million damage, averages 7.5 million. The seekers top out at 6.3 million damage and averages 4.7 million. Plus the Hardwired loop allows you to triple stack these monster damage dealers in a combo every 20 seconds as well.
Don't go off the sheet stats. When you fire it, pay close attention to the damage number on the npc. I've even occassionally see it say over 13 million for the sticky damage, but I'm assuming that's because I blew up something else next to the npc, amplifying the damage. That one's not as common for me as the 9 million damage. Hope that helps.Originally Posted by BT3241 Go to original post
Has anyone tested Eclipse Protocol with Survivalist grenades, acosta bag, and a mad bomber chest? Seems like it would result in unlimited grenades unless you were incredibly bad with your aim.Originally Posted by BT3241 Go to original post