Using my Delta Builds in Omega- My "Best TLM Build Ever"

Hello everyone.  Today, I shall be explaining why you can't (for the most part) use my Delta-era builds in Omega.
The big (really big) factor is the fact that now everyone is restricted with stat points.  From Gamma to Delta, enhancements were everyone's way of getting out of the (rather measly) amount of stat points that each weapon had.  I realized that there were Level 34 (or 35) people out there completely decked out in Varium gear and wielding fully enhanced weapons.  I couldn't keep up with them in terms of Varium, so I just got Varium when I could and tried to make my builds as Varium-free as possible, for at the time, to be a non-varium was a big risk.
A year and then some after Delta starts, Omega finally launches.  Everything has changed with weapons.  Stats can now be freely allocated to whatever category you like, but there are caps to how many stat points you can put in each category.  Requirements have been demolished.  Encumbrance is gone, too.  Agility is nowhere to be found.  There are these new and mysterious things called cores- passive cores and active cores.  And enhancements have been bulldozed from the game.  How could I forget?
I shall be explaining why the following build is not really Omega-usable. (Thanks to @MeganintenDork on Twitter for telling me that one of my TLM builds didn't work.)

In my blog post about this build, I called it "my best TLM build ever".  And it was.  Allow me to explain this one.
The first stat that most notice is my strength, which is 58+14, or 72.  That amounted to a 17-21+35-2.  In case if you need a refresher, -2 refers to encumbrance, which was a concept introduced in Delta which allowed everyone to wield weapons with up to four more levels in requirements.  Of course, once everyone got to Level 30, they started to abuse that.
I had a Level 4 Double Strike, which was fairly strong (Level 4).  The concept I abused, though, was that it had one turn of cooldown.  One turn is rather OPed, because then every other turn I could use Double Strike.  I made good use of that with 71 Energy, allowing for many Double Strikes.
The Level 7 Field Medic was a safety net in case if I ever got into a sticky situation.  It was Level 7 because heck, why not?  I had the energy to afford it.
The Level four Field Commander was a boost for those "just in case" moments or if I needed a nice boost to 20-24 weapon damage.  It was not necessary for a win with my build.
Max Reroute made use of the fact that my defense and resistance were only average.  Therefore, I could take advantage of that and gain more energy from my opponent's attacks, when I would then use to heal.  An extra Double Strike was always nice, too.
This build required a few enhancements- only nine stats in all, which was low when you considered that the highest number of enhancement stats a build could have was forty.
100 Agility provided a nice little +1 to both Defense and Resistance.  It helped to counter the -1 encumbrance my Beast Rider armor had.

However, that was from Delta.  Time to blast this build to pieces.
Firstly, strength has been nerfed.  I estimate that if I used this build today on my TLM with the exact same everything at the same level, it would only reach 14-17+35-2, which is not very strong.  One must not forget that now Strength improves with every 4.5 points invested into it, which may not seem like much, but is a considerable blow in the long run.  Plus, diminishing effects still exist today.

Second, stat allocation (if not already obvious) has been changed (for better or worse, I don't know).  This is probably the main factor in the destruction of this build.
For your convenience and mine (that is, not having to scroll up to see the build), I shall be:

Now, look at the stat allocation.
My base for strength was 58, and the add-ons only added up to 14.  This included a +4 enhancement.  You could tell that I was investing more of my points in Strength.
Now, look at this old (Delta-era) wiki page on the Energy Rapier:




Now, look at my build again.  You can tell that 25 support doesn't exactly indicate my use of any Support-related skills or mechanics in battle.  That total +15 to support was not needed and useless.
a) I only had 25 support in the first place because of:

The Carrierzooka had a 25 support requirement.  However, in Delta, the Carrierzooka was an all-around good auxiliary.  New Hope, the mercenary who topped the leaderboards for much of EpicDuel's history, would often use this as her auxiliary.

b) The +15 to support came from the +7 support on the Energy Rapier and--

Yeah, that.  Also the +8 on the Beast Rider armor.

The +29 to dexterity was composed of the stats on my weapons and a +5 to dexterity on my Beast Rider.  Because Carrot Impaler is the only weapon here in my build that I haven't shown an (old) Wiki page of, here goes:

The base weapon stats that contributed to part of my add on to dexterity are as follows:

1. +7 from my Energy Rapier
2. +6 from my Carrot Impaler
3. +4 from my Carrierzooka
4. +6 from my Beast Rider

For Technology:

1. +12 from my Energy Rapier (I loved that weapon)
2. +4 from my Carrot Impaler
3. +5 from my Carrierzooka
4. +4 from my Beast Rider

For Support (even though I already mentioned that this was useless):

1. +7 from my Energy Rapier
2. +8 from my Beast Rider

Well, there you have it- a breakdown of my stat allocation.

And now for a little explanation of Health and Energy.
Today's TLM's base stats are as follows:

• Health: 55
• Energy: 54
• Strength: 18
• Dexterity: 22
• Technology: 19
• Support: 21 

The Delta TLM's base stats:

• Health: 47
• Energy: 43
• Strength: 18
• Dexterity: 22
• Technology: 19
• Support: 21 

Today's TLM starts with more Health and Energy, but there is a trade-off (in case if you haven't noticed it yet).  Every stat point invested into either Health and Energy only increases it by 1 now, as opposed to two pre-Omega.  That is a very big game-changer that limits creative builds, in particular high-health or high-energy builds.  I still hate the devs over this decision.


Should I do an Omega redesign of my build?  Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to.  It's part of the reason why I play on my CH now.
My advice for anyone who wants to try this build, though, is to

1. Put no points in Support.
2. Put more points in Strength, either through retraining or weapon stats, because of all of the nerfs Strength has undergone ever since Delta.
3. Use any variant of Assault Bot- I didn't mention that I was using one in the original post and besides, nerfs are pesky little things to TLMs.
4. Make sure your final defense and resistance are not low.  I would put points in Dexterity until your defense hits 22-27 (+9).  That is still rather low.  For Technology, put points in until your resistance gets to (at the very least) 22-27 (armor stat not included). 
5. Make sure to put your armor points in Technology.
6. If you have a higher level than 33, by all means put that skill point in Mineral Armor.
7. Get Generator as an active core.  This is possibly the best core ever.
8. Maybe use Field Commander a bit more.  If you heeded my warnings about defense and resistance, you might not have enough points in Strength left to make an impact.  FC may be the only way out, in this case.
9. Maybe cut down on the energy and move it to the more essential health (remember my section on health and energy?)
10. Not use it.  There are too many variables and things that have changed.

~ReconnaisX

Omega Tank (Sort Of)

Last Friday's ED release really screwed things up for my hybrid build (see last few posts).  Support has been nerfed and needs more points for the same amount of damage.  Hardcore support players (for example, 30-36 aux damage before the nerf) could still reasonably play, but my build used a little bit of support, and not a lot.  So I went with the flow.  I decided to make a tank build.

First, I started with my item stats.  I restatted everything to put all possible points into Dexterity and Technology.  Any extra points went into strength.  I was completely shunning Support here.

Then, I designed my build.  A high level Field Medic is a nice feature of any tank, as it allows tanks, which normally already take a while to punch through, to live longer.  My level 6 Field Medic heals 49 health points, which is a considerable chunk.  Max Plasma Armor is a must, in my opinion, as it allows for more resistance.  Level 6 Static Charge is a nice round number- 25%.  I have one level in defense matrix in case if anything goes wrong with my dexterity.  I put seven points into Malfunction.  The rest went into EMP Grenade, as those Support (and generally any type of) builds are still annoying and need to be taken care of.

More stats: this time of my weapons.

I don't think that the Generator core is a must, it's just left over from my other builds.  Used in this one, though, it heals 23 health and recovers 5 energy.

My technology-based robot damage is nothing special (12).  Robots are still a powerful weapon of tanks, though.

 And that's it!
~ReconnaisX

How Did I Respond to this Burst of OPed Builds?

Yeah.  For the most part, I just stuck with my regular 4 Focus, 115 Health build.

Then I got creative.  I (kind of) joined the dark side (Support to be exact).  Except I added my unique hybrid touch.

My current ED build- twitter.com/ReconnaisX/sta…
— ReconnaisX (@ReconnaisX) February 24, 2013

Here's a bigger picture-

Allow me to dissect this build, starting from the top down.
Field Medic: 5 Field Medic for a quick comeback.
Cheap Shot: Really no use except as a last resort (and I mean last).
EMP Grenade: Practically an essential for every Cyber Hunter.
Plasma Armor: Might as well capitalize on this, as I have 45 Technology.
Static Charge: Conveniently at 25%.  Sure, energy return is a little small, but after Level 6, the % per level lowers a lot.
Defense Matrix: For that Smoke Screen.  Level 2 makes it +24 Defense.
Malfunction: Level 7 brings my Malf above 40, which is a nice, solid number.
Plasma Grenade: Just so you can be prepared for any situation :P
Massacre: Again, this is to adapt to all possible situations.  I am taking advantage of the excess energy that everyone has here.  I usually do 40-45 damage, and then supplement that with my auxiliary (or the other way around).  Very good in my build.

Now for my stats. 
95 Health will always be a Health cornerstone.
72 Energy is my bare minimum.
I have 5 Focus stats (45 on everything) because of the +30 that is added to my robot damage.

My weapons are pretty average, except for my claws (when I use Massacre) and my auxiliary (well, 16-20 is low compared to the other Support builds you see out there).  My robot is a big advantage.  It serves as my only physical attack (yeah, having only one that needs a three turn cooldown is a bit risky) and a good energy attack (when I wait long enough, usually after Massacre, Generator, and Auxiliary).

My cores are:
1) a useless Icy Chill on my blades
2) Generator, which is useful every once in a while (more useful in other builds, actually)

Now for the stats on my weapons.
Blades: Energy, 32 Damage, +0/+7/+3/+8.
Gun: Energy, 33 Damage, +0/+7/+2/+7.
Armor: Hybrid, +7/+2, +0/+6/+5/+6.  Has Generator Core, which might come in handy.
Auxiliary: Energy, 37 Damage, +0/+5/+4/+4.
Robot: Physical (special is energy), 12 Base Damage, Infernal Android.

I should be making a Youtube video of this soon.
~ReconnaisX

Overpowered Builds (at the Moment)

Those builds.  Those overpowered builds.  I would like to point attention to a couple of builds which I (and certainly others) have labeled as OPed.

Firstly- Support Blood Mage.

@_RaynieDays_ (just someone I know on Twitter) tweeted "Too many people use support BM now...fuck I HAD a unique build :'( ".

Personally, I don't know about this.  I haven't encountered these people too often to make it a big problem.  However, I imagine Intimidate (which is a very powerful skill right now, as we are talking about Support here) could be used in the classic fashion.  Energy Shield and Reflex Boost would get a big buff, but this is all in theory.  Remember, I haven't fought too many of them to remember.
Still- theoretically dangerous.

How to Counter: I don't know.  Energy drain seems to be a start, though.

Next, Support Tactical Mercenary.

I don't need anyone's tweet this time around.  I know this from experience. 
These TLMs are like your normal Support Mercenary, except that they have Reroute, which is nasty given that less def/res of theirs equals more damage of yours which equals more energy to them.  I imagine that they could have a high Field Medic to capitalize on that. You never saw that.
In the worst cases, they have Max Poison Grenade for a follow-up attack.  Ugh.  (Oh, don't get any ideas from this section.  Please.)

How to Counter: Use your Yeti to chomp their auxiliary (be sure to strategically use it).  Paired with the core Azrael's Will (which by the way is overpowered too and will likely be nerfed), one's rage can be effectively wasted.

Next, Strength Tactical Mercenary.

Well, this build wasn't triggered by anything.  I was actually waiting for it to spring up. 
I realized the potency of this build during the Infernal War.  Back then, I had my Level 34 TLM and I was thinking of smart builds to counter the Delta Vault (and the Mechachillids).  I stumbled on the fact that Double Strike had a one turn cooldown. 
Bam, instant abuse.  Pair this with Reroute and Field Medic.  Terrific.  There are other ways to make this build even more OPed, but I won't say.  Heck, I'm trying to help out balance here.

How to Counter: Let's hope they put a lot of points into Strength, so their defense and resistance are open.  Good luck!

Next, Support Mercenary.

The classic build from the days of Beta has come back.
This person uses a lot of support (no duh), Artillery Strike (no duh), and an auxiliary (no duh).  It's really simple, but it is effective (teams of them are the worst).  In the worst cases, they have Assimilation, too, to help along with that rage bar.
It's a little ironic, how the changes to Hybrid Armor (now requires support) have actually helped these guys.

How to Counter: Yeti, Energy Drain.  Azrael's Will if you have it.  A lot of luck.

Next, Strength Mercenary.

I consider this type of person to be easier than their strength class counterpart.  A well-placed Energy drain can do wonders.  Just remember to be on the offensive so they can be taken out quicker.
The changes to Hybrid Armor have hurt these guys.  Do you really expect them to have points in Support?

How to Counter: Energy Drain.  And always be on the offensive.


Basically, guys, mercenaries are as dangerous as f*ck right now. 
~ReconnaisX
PS: I should do a post on the Azrael weapons (promo), as they are worthy of one. 

My Switch to Cyber Hunter

I've finally made the switch tons of other bounty hunters made when Delta came out.  Well, I'm a Cyber Hunter now.  Weird.
I really don't know what made me do the switch.  Actually, let's go back a bit more.  I had 4,000+ Artix Points sitting in my Master Account.  I was going to save up for 10,000 Artix Points (aka 10000 Varium and 5 keys), but that went down the drain when I remembered how much I wanted the Wraith Weapons (a lot).  So I thought about it.  And then bought the varium.
Now, what did I do with the Varium?  I realized that my love of Wraith Weapons had suddenly vanished.  I still wanted a Varium weapon, though.  So I went over to Rabblefroth.
Rabble did not disappoint.  I went away with Macabre Harvest, which I bought for its suspiciously tankish stats (+15 dex, +8 tech).
Then I hit another wall.  What the hell was I going to do in battle with an energy primary and sidearm as a Bounty Hunter?  And no, I was not going to save up to get a physical gun.  I go on EpicDuel about once a week now (suffering from 'I will play other games while Omega is still in development' syndrome), just to prove to my faction leader that I am still alive and on a computer.  (I wonder what Faye Runaway is thinking of my disabled Tactical Mercenary- if she sees this, Merc1225 is disabled, and yes, it may take a while before I have him back, along with ReconnaisX).
Wow.  That went off-topic really fast.  But anyhow, I switched.  There.  Simple as that.
And then I hit yet another wall.  What kind of build would I use?  Strength was definitely out of the question; that is for people with all varium weapons enhanced to the max who will probably leave when Omega is released. I just wanted a simple basic build (and to balance my defense and resistance.  That didn't work so well, try using Plasma Armor with Cardboard Crusader).  I was familiar with only one in the CH category (don't worry, I know a crapton of builds for the other five classes, as I have played as one before).  And that happened to be a Five Focus build.  Ha.

Note the obvious unbalancement of defense and resistance.  Then add 10 to the resistance.  Yeah, I know.

That's my build up there.
But really, even as I write/type/push buttons at 70 wpm/demonstrate an input-output system, I am still thinking: Am I an idiot?  I joined the already massive league of Cyber Hunters months after their great nerfs.

~ReconnaisX

PS: Since I am a Cyber Hunter, I guess now I shall be arguing for them, which is ironic, because at one time in my ED life I hated them to no end.

Infernal Interdictor Support Build for TLMs.

Hello, everyone.  I just finished a battle in which I ended it by dealing a 47 to a Heavy Mechachillid.  How did I get 47?
Well, my primary damage is 13-16+35-2 (I'm level 33 on this TLM).  That means my possible damage range (at 0-0, both for defense and resistance) would be 46-49.  Now the 47 seems possible, but the Heavy Mechachillid wasn't debuffed.  For that matter, I was not buffed, either.  And the level 35 Heavy Mechachillid has a defense and resistance of somewhere around 20 (Yeah, that is pretty weak).
For those of you who noticed last Friday's early update (the devs deserve a reward) and what came in it, you might already know the answer (also figured out by looking at the title of this post).
The new special, Massive Strike, comes on the Infernal Interdictor weapon (yeah, I have it).  It deals a lot of damage on critical strikes.  Critical strikes already deal a lot, as they ignore 50% of the defense/resistance and deal increased damage.  Well, Massive Strike, which may be the most overpowered special to date (rivaled only by Frostbite, in my opinion) adds some more damage to that.  Now I hope for crits.
And here's the build.

If you've never read the Battle Mechanics page on the EpicDuel Wiki, now would be a good time to do so, as I've provided the link.  It should help you understand why this build uses Support.  For those of you who are too lazy to read or click links: 
--------------------------------------------------------
Rage:

• Rage will cause the next attack to ignore a percent of defenses, dealing extra damage.
• [Formula] Filled Rage Bar = 40 + (2.5 * Level)
• As an attacker, rage is gained at a rate of 110% of damage blocked (by the opponents defense/resistance) + 1% per 4 support you have over the defender, up to a maximum rate of 125%. If at a support disadvantage, the minimum rate is 95%.
• As a defender, rage is gained at a rate of 25% of the damage taken, +0.25% per 4 support you have over the attacker, up to a maximum rate of 29%. If at a support disadvantage, the minimum rate is 21%.

First Strike

• [Formula] Chance to go first = (firstStrikePoints / totalFirstStrikePoints) * 100
• First Strike Points = ((yourSupport - (6 * (yourLevel - minimumLevelInBattle)))²

Critical Strike:

• Critical Strikes ignores 50% of your opponents defense and resistance and deal increased damage. The chance to cause a Critical Strike is increased by Support.
• [Formula] Chance to Critical Strike = 4 + (Support Advantage / 7)
• The minimum Critical Strike chance is 1%.
• The maximum Critical Strike chance is 20%. 

Stun:

• Base Stun Chance is determined by the skill. Stun Grenade and Overload have a base chance of 30%. The base chance of Maul increased with its skill level.
• [Formula] Chance to Stun = Base Stun Chance - (Defender's Support Advantage / 4)
• The most chance to Stun can be reduced by is 12% (a 48 Support Advantage by the defender).
• NOTE: Chance to stun will not be increased if the attacker has more Support than the defender.  

-----------------------------

Now do you see why I use Support in this build?  I have no idea why people are ditching Support.  It's basically like Luck in other games- it works behind the scenes, and the only noticeable effects are first strike and criticals.
The fact that Support boosts critical chance is the whole reason why I have included it in my build.  Using this build against a typical Level 34 Cyber Hunter (and I'm talking the whole monotonus Surgical Slicers thing), I calculated that I have a 11% chance to strike a critical.  That's pretty high.  And the classic Rage-Auxiliary combo is well, a classic.  And it's fun.
At the moment, I believe Massive Strike only empowers crits on the primary.  However, I do see one problem with the whole concept of a special being added to the Infernal Indictor.  Doesn't it need to be added to the Infernal Slayer as well?  After all, the Infernal Slayer was there first.
~ReconnaisX
PS: I beat Caden on my TLM today.  Simply spammed strength.  Reminds me of those good old days.

̶A̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶T̶a̶c̶t̶i̶c̶a̶l̶ ̶M̶e̶r̶c̶e̶n̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶b̶u̶i̶l̶d̶!̶ My Best TLM build so far!

Since my Minecraft segment today was a complete and utter failure, I will try to make up for that one with an EpicDuel post.
I've found another Tactical Mercenary build (I experiment with them a lot).  This one is not only unbalanced, but also has a Level 7 Field Medic and focuses on Double Strike and Field Medic.  Unusual, right?
Gear used:
Energy Rapier
Carrot Impaler
Carrierzooka (should be coming in this week's release, seeing as it's 3 days away from July 4)
Beast Rider P M (adjust gender as needed)

The only enhancements in this build were +5 to dexterity on the Beast Rider and a +4 to strength on the Energy Rapier.
~ReconnaisX
PS: Impatient for war.  One reason: Faction cost will be changed to 3000 Credits or 300 Varium.  Next reason: Mechachillid armor.  Next reason: I think I've been spending too much time on Minecraft.
PPS: Will try to find a way to get varium for my TLM.

EDIT (7/4/12): Best.  Build.  Ever.  Capable of a lot.  Try it out.