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Post by Traaavis on Nov 28, 2012 2:08:15 GMT -5
RANGED/SHIELD ABILITIES GUIDE This guide will attempt to provide an organized view of all ranged and shield abilities that can be used in Dungeoneering with an analysis on which abilities are better than others. While 3bo does not require any specific action bar setups, I included an example of what I find to be effective, and I hope you can use this information to formulate your own action bar(s) accordingly. Please read the BREAKDOWN sections for my justifications, and don’t hesitate to ask questions! My primary Ranged action bar: My secondary boss/pathing Ranged action bar: Spreadsheet with all guide information grouped together in a less detailed, more organized fashion: docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AkL9M4qyZxFUdEYwb25CMDlZUVJVRktXZVBNLXNFMnc&output=htmlBASIC ABILITIES
1. Piercing Shot - Damage: 125%
- Special effect: 157% if stunned
- Cooldown: 3 seconds
2. Snipe - Damage: 219%
- Special effect: None
- Cooldown: 10 seconds
- Note: This is a combo ability. When using Snipe, don’t activate any other abilities or move until the 3 second “warmup” is completed.
3. Binding Shot - Damage: 188% (if immune to stun)
- Special effect: Stuns for 3 seconds, Binds for 20 seconds
- Cooldown: 15 seconds
4. Fragmentation Shot - Damage: 100-188%
- Special effect: DoT 6 seconds, 3x damage if enemy moves
- Cooldown: 15 seconds
5. Ricochet - Damage: 100%
- Special effect: Delivers damage to 2 nearby targets
- Cooldown: 10 seconds
6. Bash - Damage: 188% (if immune to stun)
- Special effect: Stuns for 3 seconds
- Cooldown: 15 seconds
7. Resonance - Damage: N/A
- Special effect: Any attack received in the next 6 seconds heals you
- Cooldown: 30 seconds
8. Preparation - Damage: N/A
- Special effect: Every attack you receive in the next 10 seconds reduces the cooldown for Resonance by 3 seconds
- Cooldown: 20 seconds
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Post by Traaavis on Nov 28, 2012 2:08:29 GMT -5
BREAKDOWN Basic abilities are going to be used most often, since they require no adrenaline to activate. However, there is limited space on each action bar: 12 total spaces, minus three reserved for various teleporting options and one for Freedom because protecting against magic no longer prevents being stunned or bound by mages. Of the eight remaining slots, picking the best combination of basic abilities – while leaving room for a few more powerful thresholds – is vital for a good action bar setup. If you are using a Sagittarian Shortbow, you can immediately ignore the Shield abilities and place all Basic abilities on the bar. However, with a Hexhunter Bow, you have access to a variety of shield abilities, which may complicate things at first glance. Luckily, the basic Shield abilities are actually pretty weak in comparison to the Ranged basic (and all Threshold abilities). Bash requires physical contact to activate, which isn’t really good when ranging, plus Binding Shot is much more effective. Resonance can heal you, but you’re better off using Soul Split or looting Salves instead of using this sub-par ability. Therefore, Preparation can be scratched off the list, too. This means any ranged user can put all five basic abilities on their action bar. I’ll briefly explain how each one works before providing my recommended action bar setup. Piercing Shot is almost the same as the Melee ability Slice, but instead of a critical hit bonus, it gives a bonus when stunned. Because of this, Binding Shot is a useful setup tool to increase Piercing Shot’s damage, plus it deals 188% damage if an enemy happens to be immune to stun. Snipe is a combo ability, requiring three full seconds to complete; its damage is very high, but to make sure it hits, you can’t do anything while the ability is running its course. Ricochet is nice when dealing with multiple range-weak enemies in a GD, or if you are waiting for everything else to finish cooling down. Fragmentation Shot is almost the same as melee’s Slaughter, but it’s a basic ability, which is fantastic news for ranging. Be sure to get the enemy to move for the most damage. 1. Binding Shot
2. Piercing Shot
3. Ricochet
4. Snipe
5. Fragmentation Shot
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Post by Traaavis on Nov 28, 2012 2:08:53 GMT -5
THRESHOLD ABILITIES 1. Snap Shot - Damage: No boost
- Special effect: Fires two shots in quick succession
- Cooldown: 20 seconds
2. Rapid Fire - Damage: 94%
- Special effect: Delivers three shots over six seconds time
- Cooldown: 20 seconds
- Note: Combo attack
3. Bombardment - Damage: 219%
- Special effect: AoE damages all surrounding enemies
- Cooldown: 30 seconds
4. Revenge - Damage: N/A
- Special effect: For 10 seconds, each hit you receive will increase your damage by 10%, up to 100%
- Cooldown: 20 seconds
5. Reflect - Damage: N/A
- Special effect: For 10 seconds, 50% of all damage received is reflected to the enemy
- Cooldown: 20 seconds
BREAKDOWN Threshold abilities are far more powerful than their Basic counterparts, but this comes at a cost; to use a threshold ability, the adrenaline bar must be at 50% or higher, and each threshold used reduced the bar by up to 15%. These abilities should be used on high LP monsters so their damage output and adrenaline isn’t wasted.
Interestingly enough, the ranged thresholds are much better than the shield thresholds. Snap Shot lets you fire two attacks at once, effectively dealing up to 200% damage. Rapid Fire is another combo ability, but it’s better than a normal attack. Shortbows fire every 3 seconds, and Hexes fire every 2.4 seconds, meaning you can only deal two attacks in 6 seconds normally. This ability deals 3 attacks in 6 seconds, and even with only 94% weapon damage, it’s still greater damage output than the normal attacks (assuming 100% accuracy, it’s 200% damage in 6 seconds for normal attacks, and 282% with Rapid Fire). Bombardment is the most powerful ranged ability (aside from Ultimates), dealing 219% to the enemy plus adjacent targets. The shield abilities aren’t bad for certain scenarios, but they have limitations. For example, Revenge has its uses against bosses that summon minions (i.e. Astea, Necro, Flesh’s second phase, Lexicus, or even Forger’s ranged attack), but if enemies are not ganging up on you, it’s not very useful. Also keep in mind that you have to have your Hex equipped to use this ability, which means you must be ranging the boss. It’s far too situational to have a place on the action bar. Reflect can be useful when running paths and trying to keep adrenaline from completely draining (it still lowers the bar by up to 15%, but use burst damage to help raise adrenaline). You do not need a target to activate this ability, and it may help prepare you for an upcoming GD. However, when compared to the sheer power of ranged thresholds, it doesn’t belong on the action bar. Reflecting 50% damage doesn’t compare to unleashing 219% weapon damage to a group of enemies. Therefore, it’s not worth a spot on the bar. The order I place the ranged thresholds on my bar is: 1. Snap Shot
2. Rapid Fire
3. Bombardment * Snap Shot is helpful for taking down an enemy at lower LP, Rapid Fire is great for the first 3 attacks on an enemy, and Bombardment is fantastic for groups of enemies weak to ranged. Because of its power, don’t refrain from using it against high LP enemies like Seekers or Soulgazers. |
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Post by Traaavis on Nov 28, 2012 2:09:06 GMT -5
ULTIMATE ABILITIES 1. Deadshot - Damage: 188% instant, 157% over 6 seconds (345% total assuming 100% accuracy)
- Special effect: None
- Cooldown: 30 seconds
2. Incendiary Shot - Damage: 40% of maximum LP
- Special effect: This is a combo ability, so there is a 3 second warmup before the shot activates
- Cooldown: 60 seconds
3. Immortality - Damage: N/A
- Special effect: Reduce damage received by 25% for 30 seconds, revives you once should you die while active
- Cooldown: 120 seconds
4. Barricade - Damage: N/A
- Special effect: Reduce damage received by 100% for 10 seconds
- Cooldown: 60 seconds
5. Rejuvenate - Damage: N/A
- Special effect: Restores 40% of your LP over time, plus restore all reduced stats
- Cooldown: 60 seconds
- Note: The ability is canceled if you switch to melee and no longer have Hex equipped
6. Honorary Mention: Regenerate - Damage: N/A
- Special effect: Restores up to 25% of your LP over 6 seconds, depending on how much Adrenaline you have
- Cooldown: 0 seconds
- Note: Can only be used out of combat
BREAKDOWN There is one remaining slot on the action bar, and 6 options to choose from. Offensive Ultimates will almost never be needed in a normal GD where thresholds are more important, but they still can deal some heavy damage for high LP enemies. More importantly, the offensive Ultimates can be essential for taking down a boss in a timely fashion, so please be aware how they each work so you can choose the perfect ability to unleash at the right time. Deadshot is the most practical ability to use, since it only requires 30 seconds to cooldown. This means you can unleash two Deadshots in the same time as one Incendiary Shot, if the boss survives long enough to allow the use of two Ultimates. Incendiary Shot is still very useful, but be careful: there is a 3 second warmup, so don’t move or activate another ability, or else you’ll lose all adrenaline and no attack will be dealt. This ability is great for taking down high LP enemies in GDs (like Seekers). You should be able to access it from the ability book for situations like this. Immortality and Barricade are unfortunately weak for Dungeoneering when compared to Rejuvenate. Damage reduction isn’t as big of a concern when pathing without a free gate when you can regain 40% of your LP for the same cost (up to nearly 4000 LP). Rejuvenate is the absolute best defensive ultimate at your disposal, especially when compared to Regenerate, another LP-restoring ability. Regenerate does not require a shield, so Shortbow users may want to keep their eye on this ability, but it cannot be used in combat, and only restores up to 25%. It can still be useful for pathing without a free gate (with a Shortbow bind), if you can leave combat long enough to let it activate. So, which ability is right for the action bar? Offensively, Deadshot seems like the best choice, but defensively, Rejuvenate/Regenerate can come in handy. Because of this, I recommend you choose which one to add based on your personal play style; if you find that you have a hard time staying alive when you need to be surviving paths without a free gate, choose Rejuvenate/Regenerate. Otherwise, choose Deadshot for bonus damage. The choice is yours, but choose wisely so you can get the most out of your action bar. FINAL WORDS Setting up one action bar for Ranged/Shield is what most people will prefer, but I chose to create two – one for normal GD’s and one for pathing and bossing. This secondary bar attempts to help speed up adrenaline gain, while providing access to defensive and offensive abilities alike. I removed Ricochet and Snap Shot from the primary bar, since you don’t need AoE damage for bosses, and too many offensive threshold abilities restricts the placement of defensive abilities. In their place, I added Reflect and Deadshot. When the boss is targeting you, Reflect will increase your DPS shortly, which is useful for high-damaging bosses, or if your other abilities are unavailable. Like mentioned previously, Deadshot is very powerful, and is great for taking down the boss’s LP. It is not always practical to use this additional bar, but I like to keep it around in case I’m confronted with having to survive a rather long bonus path without a free gate. Obviously this isn’t ideal, but this bar can come in handy during those scenarios.  To recap: My primary Ranged action bar: My secondary boss/pathing Ranged action bar: Spreadsheet with all guide information grouped together in a less detailed, more organized fashion: docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AkL9M4qyZxFUdEYwb25CMDlZUVJVRktXZVBNLXNFMnc&output=htmlDue to the relatively recent release of the EoC, please take this information with a grain of salt; abilities are still being researched, and information in this guide is subject to change with new information.
Additional Credits go to: S0LD, Black Magic, Defy, and FatWrecked for helping me with research. Thanks again! |
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defy
3bo member
Posts: 12
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Post by defy on Nov 28, 2012 19:14:01 GMT -5
Great guides. <333333333
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