I wanted something more than just turret and drone. Then eclipse set came out, I tried it, loved it, but realized it's really bad in a lot of situations especially in WONY, against tanks and Black Tusk drones. Lack of weapon damage output makes it incredibly difficult to take down hard targets in solo heroic. Getting disrupted in certain levels also makes it useless. So it's either all red DPS or hazard/tank with shield.
I was really looking forward to enjoying the vile mask too, and status effects in general. So I made myself a DPS Ongoing Directive build + vile mask and pestilence. Still, there were some situations where the build struggles.
Does anyone have any suggestions of how to play skill builds?
I feel like the game hugely discourages skill builds...
I absolutely love my Demolition build. It’s an artillery turret, but YOU control it. Not automatic. And my other skill is cluster seeker. It’s also the only build where I actually am motivated to pop out the grenades. My gear is aimed at explosive damage, skill damage and status effects. The status effects are because of the artillery turret’s bleed.
Bear in mind this is not a good build for solo. But in a team I rock this build in heroic and legendary and do plenty of damage to contribute to the team.
EDIT Forgot to ask ... are you on PC? If so I can definitely get with you on discord or something and show you some cool stuff with skills when I am off duty.
The game doesn't have any feelings on the matter; the devs, on the other hand, continue to make it perfectly clear that they do not want powerful skill builds in the game. They keep nerfing every little thing about them any chance they get. Don't even contemplate using a skill build in PvP anymore as they just completely ruined them this time around.
I'm not sure you will really escape the Turret or Drone in your Skill Build setup, simply because they are perhaps the most efficient options currently available. Whilst the Assault Turret/Striker Drone are the most prevalent combination, as I understand from other players and these forums, I much prefer the Sniper Turret. Whilst it is more finicky to use, sometimes it absolutely refuses to shoot what you want it to/what its actually aiming at/at anything but the sky (giving off a laser show as it does so), it is, however, wonderfully effective against Heavies. With a high +SD backing it you can deal with Heavies in 2-5/6 shots (depending on difficulty), can knock out reds in one hit, and either destroy or severely damage purples with a single shot, and really upset gold enemies to boot. Deleting opponents with a single shot is highly entertaining, and being able to destroy a Heavy so quickly with it is also splendid.* You have to be mindful of LoSight, but its a fun turret to use.
The Stinger Hive is a good option for dealing with groups of enemies, especially in a confined area. Pop the BTSU gloves on (if you have them) and it becomes really handy. However you still have the issue with Heavies; it takes a good few hits from the Hive to really sort them out. The Oxidizer should be a great option for dealing with Heavies; sadly, the important word there is should. I have not had much luck with it, because even if you pop it consistently on a Heavy they just keep moving out of its area of effect and it takes far too many shots to really strip them of their armour.**
Give the Sniper Turret a go. I found it to be wonderfully good fun and I'm sure that if EP and Status Effects get nerfed into the ground I'll go straight back to it.
*There was a time when the Tanker on Challenging and Heroic had a section that spawned multiple Cleaner Heavies, one after the other; setting up the Sniper Turret and shooting it as quickly as possible to cover my rear as I kept moving meant the Heavies were reduced to being a mere inconvenience.
**Last time I used it was on a Hyena Heavy in the Hyena stronghold. I hit with 7 shots from the Oxidizer and its armour was still in good shape; even when I took out the ammo belt first it didn't do enough to be efficient. I switched it out for the Sniper Turret and the next Hyena Heavy I encountered on that run I ripped apart in several shots.
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Skill Builds do start off at a significant disadvantage because the game has plenty of counters to our skills. EMP grenades from BT Medics, BT dog explosions, thumpers, Hunter's EMP wave, boss's abilities (Keener jumps to mind), and probably one or two others I've forgotten, can lock us out of our skills and severely hamper us, something a DPS build doesn't have to worry about so much. Certainly its not great if my DPS build's shield is countered, but I can still duck into cover and cause large amounts of damage without being really hindered. That thumper room in Pentagon is the bane of my Skill Build life, and the room with thumpers in the occupied Hyena stronghold really annoys me too.
I usually play solo (except for Legendary, new Raid) and use a skill build almost exclusively on Heroic world level and missions. I use a 4-pc Hardwired with the Vile mask with stinger hive and seekers or I use a 3-pc Hardwired with 2-pc Hana with turret (assault) and artificer hive, switching the artificer for drone (assault), riot foam or stinger hive when needed. These builds work well solo and the 3-pc has saved us in Legendary many times. Remember to get talents that increase skill damage on gear and weapons. You just have to get used to playing a skill build, learning where to set the skill, where to take cover, etc. And yes, I have and use other builds as well.Originally Posted by TeRawrist_Brat Go to original post
Agree, an red build build is powerful and eats the AI in seconds, but even though a skill build stacks into skill they dont enjoy the same benefits but you also rely on those skills for personal protection something a red build doesnt have to worry about because their weapon compared to a skill deals with AI much fasterOriginally Posted by RichardOshea Go to original post
Technician
Vile
Pestilence
Eclipse
DPS status(Fire chem or Mortar or Stinger Hive)
Striker Drone
Even on heroic this will cover just about everything. Use the Eclipse backpack to amplify damage against status effected targets. Use glass canon or kinetic momentum on the chest.
Technician will let you use one piece of armor with weapon damage instead of skill tier.
A non-pestilence build could use Spotter on the chest, and In Sync for the weapon. I guess you could swap back and forth between an In Sync weapon and Pestilence, but that's a pain to execute well.
Honestly, I'm not sure which build is more powerful,although the spotter variant has slightly more group synergy by pulsing enemies. Mortar is by far the strongest damage, but shakes screens of group members, which may not be welcome.
Working around jammers is always a handicap skill builds have to deal with, but they're rare enough to not pose a significant threat most times, as long as you know how to approach them.
The thing with heavies and warhounds is that you can't rely solely on your skills. You have to shoot them as well. The drone help A LOT with this, but does need the assistance of shooting weakpoints(which you should be doing even as a red build).
PC. I'm going to experiment with a bunch of different builds. The game still has some juice for me.Originally Posted by Fae_Dravin Go to original post
Yeah those EMP things are really annoying. But I'll try the sniper turret thanks.Originally Posted by rapier17 Go to original post
I like using striker drone with eclipse. It's really good against heavies and whatnot, aside from the fact that it suicides against warhound's EMP explosion, even when I order it to target another enemy it sometimes doesn't listen.Originally Posted by Sircowdog1 Go to original post
I used to try dealing with heavies with crossbow as well. It's all good until named heavy boss comes out.
Thanks all for the tip. I think I will play some more and juggle around different ideas. Even though skill builds in this game can be quite limiting, I find that there are some good combinations and gears to try... which is always welcome
I haven't stepped up to heroic, yet. But I can complete almost all missions on challenging in 15-20 minutes solo, not tried strongholds either I need to do the last invaded mission. I use a 4 piece EP with Vile mask and a set of gloves with 15% status effect. Everything is built to status effects on every piece in the build. I use the firestarter chem launcher, and an assault turret. The turret to target proxies and war-dogs etc etc. Pyro gun for extra damage to burning enemies. But this build is so efficient I can go through most missions with out even needing to reload or re-supply ammo.
I can clear most rooms in 1 bullet, the room where you first see saint on Grand Washington. I shoot the chem, then shoot the cloud and it's a disco inferno everywhere with everyone burning, and with 25% extra damage from the pyro gun on burning enemies I can shoot them down If I want/need to do so.
In open areas it isn't as effective but this is where the turret comes in. I just have to be a little more patient in this situation and wait for a few of them to get closer together and then I can use my chem launcher to take out a group of them in one go.
I'm using the Technician specialisation.
The only effective skill build in all situations is assault turret and striker drone. If and when they actually shoot at targets.