My pyrotech build :)

[Boomsyn]

I saw someone post asking about a Pyrotech DPS guide / build, and i was sort of shocked to see there really wasn't one. So i built the spec im currently using / will use and wanted to share with everyone

 

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv THE BUILD vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMZMsMZfhrbzGhMc.1

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^ THE BUILD ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Choice explanation, step by step -

 

Pyrotech tree :

 

First tier -

 

3/3 Bursting Flame - Since Combustible Gas Cylinder will be our main "blaster clip" or stance, this talent really shines. It guarantees to land the DoT that CGC provides. Works very well with later talents.

 

2/2 Iron Fist - We will use Rocket Punch on CD possible, so this is a worthy talent to an awesome skill.

 

Second Tier -

 

3/3 Superheated Gas - The DoT from our cylinder now ticks 30% harder, and can be applied more easily when utilizing Unload or Rapid shots. Helps when trying to maintain heat without spamming skills, but wanting to maintain the DoT.

 

2/2 Sweltering heat - Applies a snare for 2 seconds every time the DoT from CGC is applied or refreshed. It actually can help a ton when adds spawn on bosses and run straight for the healer. I know it isn't a DPS increase, but it is nice utility to have.

 

2/2 Gyroscopic Alignment Jets - A chance to vent 8 heat when hit with pretty much any disable? Yes please! We are in melee a lot and get stunned / knocked back constantly, and every bit of heat dump helps out!

 

Third tier -

 

2/2 Superheated Rail - A 30% armor ignore on Rail Shot!? Yes please! Add on top of that the fact that this automatically refreshes the DoT from CGC, and vents 8 heat if the DoT from CGC is active, it basically cuts the cost of Rail Shot in half if your DoT is up. Combined with later talents in the tree, It makes rail shot a way to constantly vent 8 heat with zero cost.

 

1/1 Incendiary Missile - It hits weak initially, but provides stable damage over time otherwise. An absolute must for the talent in provides in the next tier.

 

Fourth Tier -

 

2/2 Rapid Venting - Makes your Vent Heat cool down 30 seconds shorter, which is nice for "oh ****" ability spamming situations, which CAN happen.

 

3/3 Prototype Particle Accelerator - This GODLY talent is what makes Pyrotech shine IMO! It gives your rocket punch a 45% chance and your Flame burst a 30% chance to automatically refresh your rail shot and make the next cast of it FREE! Combined with the earlier tier talent, Superheated Rail, it basically makes Rail shot provide 8 heat vented when this procs (AS LONG AS THE DOT FROM CGC IS UP). You will know when it procs because:

1. Your Rail Shot will refresh (duh)

2. Your character will let out an evil, cocky laugh!

 

Fifth Tier -

 

3/3 Rain of Fire - This bad boy makes most of our core skills do 9% more damage to targets on fire. Folks, things we target are always on fire. This makes this talent a no brainer.

 

2/2 Firebug - By this late in the tier, you probably notice that you have gained a respectable amount of critical strike chance. Well, this talent makes your DoTs crit harder, and your Rail Shot (more importantly) crit WAY harder. This talent rocks!

 

Sixth Tier -

 

3/3 Burnout - Increases tech crit chance by 3% (our special abilities) and makes your DoTs tick 30% harder on targets at or below 30% HP. Wonderful for boss fights when that last stretch can be very painful. The crit REALLY works well other talents, and the talents we still have to choose!

 

The Advanced Prototype Tree -

 

Tier 1 -

 

3/3 Puncture - This sucker gives Rail Shot 60% more armor penetration, and, combined with Superheated Rail, gives your rail shot a NINETY PERCENT armor reduction bonus. IT turns rail shot into the hard hitting train wreck it is supposed to be.

 

3/3 Prototype Burn Enhancers - A ton of our damage comes from fire damage, and this just throws out more crit for us. Great talent.

 

Tier 2 -

 

1/1 Prototype Cylinders - Gives us another 3% critical strike chance for our special attacks when we are using CGC.

 

2/2 Hot Iron - We use Flame Burst A LOT as a Pyrotech, so any extra damage we can give it is worthwhile.

 

Shield Tech Tree -

 

Tier 1 -

 

3/3 Intimidation - Gives all of our fire damage 6% more OOMPH. Thats what im talking about .

 

2/2 Rail Loaders - Makes our infamous Rail Shot hit even harder! Combined with the previously mentioned Rain of Fire, as long as our target is on fire, Rail shot will now do 15% extra damage !

 

........ And thats my build and reasoning!

 

NOTE : I ALWAYS TRY TO STAY AROUND 40 HEAT. IT WORKS BEST THIS WAY FOLKS! WATCH YOUR HEAT

 

IM- Incendiary Missile

UL - Unload

FB- Flame burst

RS - Rail Shot

RP - Rocket Punch

 

 

 

ROTATION -

 

SINGLE TARGETS -

 

When engaging single target, I open like this -

 

Open with Incendiary missile... its our longest lasting DoT and automatically sets the target on fire, cause most of our abilities to hit harder. We need our target to be on fire so that it takes more damage !

 

After the missile, you can choose to either use Unload, or rush the target to get in range for Flame Burst. If you use Unload first, haul *** up to the target afterwards and use Flame burst. If you use flame burst first, skip unload for now.

 

Next we rail shot, it refreshes the DoT from CGC that was applied by flame burst.

 

We immediately Rocket Punch afterwards, and if it procs Rail shot...

 

WE RAIL SHOT! Thats the point of this spec. It will refresh the dot from Flame burst again.

 

Flame burst until Rail shot procs or hit unload and then flame burst. IF rail shot isn't proccing, watch your Heat and make sure it doesnt get to high above 40. Spam Rapid shots a few times to give rocket punch a chance to refresh and keep our heat low

 

IM > UL > FB > RS > RP > RS IF IT PROCS, UL if its up, FB > RS if it PROCS >RP (repeat)

v

FB if RS doesnt proc > WATCH HEAT, FB as needed and Rapid shots.

 

AOE TARGETS -

 

Tons of AoE? Death from above! (make sure the tank has agro before blasting this off)

 

Death from above not an option? Utilize Explosive dart and position yourself to do maximum damage with Flame Thrower! Thats about it for AoE. We really don't want to spam Flame Sweep (it builds way to much heat too quickly when spammed) and most of the time the AoE from group members will add up to dead mobs. If they are alive, finish them off quickly with rocket punch, flame burst, or even rail shot.

 

Its 4 A.M. and i know this is sloppy. Make suggestions and ill fix it! Don't agree with my build? Please state why and be constructive, not some rude pompous ***!

 

THANKS FOLKS!

Edited December 19, 2011 by Boomsyn

[ShockDevil]

Good constructive post, very helpful thanks.

 

Would like to see more of this on the forums.

 

I was thinking about going for a dedicated rail shot of doom build:

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#3010MZrs0rRbcoZfhrbzh.1

Edited December 19, 2011 by ShockDevil

[Altephor]

Edit* Nevermind misread Edited December 19, 2011 by Altephor

[Torothin]

Nice post. Why did you not max out endurane at bottom of pyro tree? 3% extra HP not worth it to you?

[BloatedGuppy]

Its 4 A.M. and i know this is sloppy. Make suggestions and ill fix it! Don't agree with my build? Please state why and be constructive, not some rude pompous ***!

 

Some brief thoughts...

 

1. It's hard to support going 28 points deep into Pyrotech and NOT grabbing Thermal Detonator. It's one of the hardest hitting single target abilities you'll have, at a low heat cost. Yes, it shares a cooldown with explosive dart, but you're likely to always want one or the other. On a boss fight where you're constantly cycling through a high damage rotation, or in PvP where you may want to burst a target down as quickly as possible, you're going to be missing this.

 

2. The treats in Advance Prototype are hard to pass up, especially the extra 60% armor piercing on rail shot, but you're passing up 9% Aim in Shield Tech, which is a flat damage increase to all your abilities.

[Teacosy]

the "rail shot of doom spec loses 9% damage to rail shot and other pyro abilities and 30% crit damage on pyrotech abilities.

 

do you REALLY think its worth it just to get retractable blade and 2 chances every 10 or so secodns for ur rail shot to crit?

 

personally i think not.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMbZ0cZfhbrzGhrs.1

 

thats the build i shall be going.

 

@ OP. my build compared to urs. i gain : Crits knock the CD of Override by 6seconds.

6% Aim

Thermal Detonator

 

You Gain : 6% Damage to Flame burst

3% Crit

6% Fire crit

Edited December 20, 2011 by Teacosy

[Teacosy]

also, why the hell are you prioritizing unload?

 

Priority that makes sense is IM-> Rail Shot -> Rocket Punch -> Flame Burst

 

why you would want to waste heat on an unload when you have flame burst which has the chance to proc a rail is beyond me.

[BloatedGuppy]

also, why the hell are you prioritizing unload?

 

Priority that makes sense is IM-> Rail Shot -> Rocket Punch -> Flame Burst

 

why you would want to waste heat on an unload when you have flame burst which has the chance to proc a rail is beyond me.

 

Unload procs a Rail Shot about 90% of the time too, and does really good damage for the heat it costs (a way better damage per heat ratio than Flame Burst, tbh). The only issue I have with Unload is the long channel, which is time I could be using to close the distance to the target.

 

Unless you're talking about resetting the cooldown on Railshot with prototype Particle Accelerator. At which point it would take more theorycrafting than I have the patience for to determine whether or not Unloads better damage/heat is outweighed by Flame Burst's 30% chance to reset Rail Shot.

Edited December 20, 2011 by BloatedGuppy

[Teacosy]

Unload doesnt proc rail shot, it procs CGS. and doesnt even have a 100% chance to proc it. Flame burst in the OPs spec has a damage modifier on it already because of his choice of talents.

 

Flame burst also has a 100% chance to proc CGS which deals its first tick on application. Making flame burst do added damage. Flame burst also has the chance to refresh the cooldown on ur rail shot and to also make that rail shot free. Thus making u vent 8 heat in total which is where Pyrotechs heat venting comes from.

 

So u either have a chance to proc CGS with slightly higher based damage, that isnt affected by any of the + fire damage and fire tech crit chance talents that you already have.

 

or you have slightly lower base damage, with a 100% chance to isntantly proc CGS. You then have the chance to refresh rail which is our hardest hittign ability, and to vent 8 heat while doing so. You also have the added bonuses of all teh talents that affect flame burst.

 

IMO : Not a very hard thing to work out is it not?

 

edit : Forgot to add, flame burst can be used on the move and its damage is applied instantly. Melee classes do not want to be stationary while doing dps. because if u use ur unload. then oh look gotta move. 16 wasted for no damage at all.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Teacosy

[BloatedGuppy]

Unload doesnt proc rail shot, it procs CGS. and doesnt even have a 100% chance to proc it. Flame burst in the OPs spec has a damage modifier on it already because of his choice of talents.

 

Flame burst also has a 100% chance to proc CGS which deals its first tick on application. Making flame burst do added damage. Flame burst also has the chance to refresh the cooldown on ur rail shot and to also make that rail shot free. Thus making u vent 8 heat in total which is where Pyrotechs heat venting comes from.

 

So u either have a chance to proc CGS with slightly higher based damage, that isnt affected by any of the + fire damage and fire tech crit chance talents that you already have.

 

or you have slightly lower base damage, with a 100% chance to isntantly proc CGS. You then have the chance to refresh rail which is our hardest hittign ability, and to vent 8 heat while doing so. You also have the added bonuses of all teh talents that affect flame burst.

 

IMO : Not a very hard thing to work out is it not?

 

edit : Forgot to add, flame burst can be used on the move and its damage is applied instantly. Melee classes do not want to be stationary while doing dps. because if u use ur unload. then oh look gotta move. 16 wasted for no damage at all.

Compelling argument, to be sure. So once talented for the 30% proc chance for Rail Shot, would you recommend dropping Unload entirely save for those rare occasions where you're fighting at 30M for some reason? Or would you drop Unload even before that?

[Teacosy]

pretty much yes, unload is an ability for mercenaries.

 

saving it for use on those occassions when melee are forced to be at range for periods of time to avoid certain things. its useful

[BloatedGuppy]

pretty much yes, unload is an ability for mercenaries.

 

saving it for use on those occassions when melee are forced to be at range for periods of time to avoid certain things. its useful

Thanks. Once I hit that point in my talent progression, I'll move it to the quiet corner of the bars. That should certainly tidy up my rotation a bit.

 

And you advocate for 40% armor penetration off railshot over 3% aim and 6% crit on fire?

[Teacosy]

tbh yes. armor penetration is an exponential stat, the mroe u have the better it becomes. same as it was in wow.

[ShockDevil]

the "rail shot of doom spec loses 9% damage to rail shot and other pyro abilities and 30% crit damage on pyrotech abilities.

 

do you REALLY think its worth it just to get retractable blade and 2 chances every 10 or so secodns for ur rail shot to crit?

 

First of all 9% increase to aim is not 9% increase in damage as 1 aim is 0.2 to your ranged damage abilities. Yes you must sacrifice the 6% boost in the shield tech tree.

 

Second both FB and RP have a 25% chance to proc the critical railshot and it is advisable to never cast railshot without the crit buff. RS and RP are the two biggest damage dealers for power techs.

 

Lastly I have been playing around with different build options and it is quite clear that there are amazing synergies between Prototype and Pyrotech that simply cannot be sacrificed for the top tier talents in pyro. I will let you work out what they are

[Teacosy]

First of all 9% increase to aim is not 9% increase in damage as 1 aim is 0.2 to your ranged damage abilities. Yes you must sacrifice the 6% boost in the shield tech tree.

 

Second both FB and RP have a 25% chance to proc the critical railshot and it is advisable to never cast railshot without the crit buff. RS and RP are the two biggest damage dealers for power techs.

 

Lastly I have been playing around with different build options and it is quite clear that there are amazing synergies between Prototype and Pyrotech that simply cannot be sacrificed for the top tier talents in pyro. I will let you work out what they are

 

where in my post do i say 9% aim is 9% damage

 

maybe you should read the talents correctly, 9% damage comes from Rain of Fire

 

Also, using retractable blade while the dot is up is a loss of damage, therefore u use RB every 15 seconds, u then use RP every 9. Therefore the chances of u using rail shot twice in a 15 second period is incredibly slim if ur only using it with the crit buff.

 

Thus making Particle accelerator basically wasted points.

 

You then dont have the 30% crit damage buff to rail shot.

 

All this being said, if ur only using rail shot with the crit buff up, your "rail shot of doom" spec will deal less damage with rail shot over time than a "top tier talent" spec. I will let that sink in for a second.

 

TLDR : Trying to be smart? You failed son.

[ChuckThePug]

Thanks Teacosy for the info. I'm going to use your build.

 

Can you quickly list the order of talents you choose starting at lvl 10+

Edited December 20, 2011 by ChuckThePug

[ShockDevil]

Unfortunatley because there is no combat log in this game it will be impossible to say who is correct. However it is a universally know MMO fact that critical chance > critical damage.

 

Also you are doing something very wrong if you a playing full pyro as it is the general tree used by both AC so there is very little point in rolling a powertech BH.

Edited December 20, 2011 by ShockDevil

[Teacosy]

anybody who is worth their salt with theorycrafting will understand what im trying to get through to you.

 

Your build just doesnt make sense in the way that u would be playing it. Simple fact is, i will be using rail shot maybe 3-4 times more than u in a given time period and it will hit just as hard, and crit even harder. chances are i lose 3 crits a minute on it. no biggy.

 

Also, why am i playing a pyrotech powertech? hmm i dont know maybe because its different to a pyrotech mercenary.

 

Like ive already told u, go read the talents. All shared trees have slight variations in what the talents do.

 

PS : Nice evidence to back up your claims, and to sink to insulting when you're proven wrong? shameful.

[Teacosy]

Thanks Teacosy for the info. I'm going to use your build.

 

Can you quickly list the order of talents you choose starting at lvl 10+

 

i will abbreviate to same it from being a wall

 

IF - BF - SG - SH - IM - SR - IS - PPA - RV - FB - RoF - Burnout - AD - TD

 

then into AP 3/3 Puncture, ST - RL - Intim - SR

 

thats just for my leveling spec, not pure dps as the one i linked. Variations should be obvious

 

hope that helps.

[ShockDevil]

Gonna have to call BS teacosy, I never said how I was going to play this kind of build and the simple fact is we would cast RS the same amount of times but mine would crit way more. Anyway there are so many different viable specs and nobody is level 50 yet so we shall see what works best in practice in the months to come.

[Teacosy]

"and it is advisable to never cast railshot without the crit buff"

 

ring any bells?

[ShockDevil]

Yes but that depends how many CD resets you get and ofc crit buffs.

[Teacosy]

oh so what i quoted is infact false?

 

the only reason for taking PPA is to make sure u use rail shot whenever its put off cd. thats the whole point of a talent like that. If u dont use it asap, its value is lowered.

[ShockDevil]

I agree that I should never say never That applies only when the build doesnt contain PPA, so was wrong to say that in this context.

 

I would also use RS every time it is available but I would hope that the crit buff would be running at least 50% of the time.

Edited December 20, 2011 by ShockDevil

[Teacosy]

well that all depends on how often u use retractable blade. if ur using retractable blade to its highest effect, then u will be using it every 15seconds, and RP every 9. over a minute thats at max a possible 10 crit buffs, with a 25% chance, so giving benefits of the doubt u owuld get 3 crits rounded up. 3 crits in a minute? compared to say, atleast 10-12 rail shots?

 

i highly doubt it would be up for all of them.