Post by Kieran on Feb 5, 2011 21:35:43 GMT -5
Introduction:
From my experience, the Soldier is a class with good energy management that, while not dealing incredible damage upfront, manages to inflict significant damage during the course of a sustained fight. With plenty of crowd control and much long range damage, the Soldier is a great team player and solo class - it's sole downside is the lack of a self-heal. Because of this, you have to constantly watch your health and try to keep your distance from your enemies. Regardless, this is a very fun class to play as there is an awesome amount of synergy within its powers.
Generic Preface:
All of my builds are meant to be equally playable in both PVE and PVP. Because of this, if you're a PVE-only kind of guy, feel free to remove the PVP advantages (mainly Nailed to the Ground and Crippling Challenge) and replace with the next Rank up - or allocate the advantage points somewhere completely different, as it's ultimately up to you. I would like to say though that even though my builds can do PVP, they also built to perform great in PVE, so it isn't like you're losing anything by having that PVP aspect to the build.
Powers:
Level 1: Steady Shot
Level 1: Assault Rifle (R2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 6: Teleport (R2)
Level 6: Submachinegun Burst (Aggression)
Level 8: Targeting Computer (R2, R3)
Level 11: Shotgun Blast (Breaching Rounds, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 14: Retaliation (R2) (R3)
Level 17: Smoke Grenade (R2, R3)
Level 22: Killer Instinct (N/A)
Level 27: Lock N Load (R2, R3)
Level 32: Gatling Gun (R2, R3)
Level 35: Whatever travel power floats your root beer.
Level 40: Sniper Rifle (R2, R3)
Talents:
Dexterity/Ego
Dexterity/Recovery
Ego/Recovery
Dexterity/Constitution
Ego/Constitution
Recovery/Constitution
Power Explanations:
Steady Shot: While Paint the Target might seem like a good advantage at first glance, the fact that it can be tripped up by Steady Shot itself and because Soldiers deal in numerous criticals (so one critical is almost a drop in an ocean), it isn't really worth investing into. As it is, then, this is your energy builder and nothing more - I wouldn't recommend any of the advantages because the energy gain from Accelerated Metabolism isn't that much, and the damage is too low to warrant upgrading.
Assault Rifle: This is going to be your main spam skill for... well, ever. It does pretty good damage and doesn't cost this much, and combined with Crippling Challenge (which imposes a 20% damage debuff on your target), it also is great for PVP as well as PVE. Rank 2 is a must. One thing to note though, without Mow 'Em Down, this power is most efficient tapped instead of maintained. So don't go holding down the fire button - you'll be wanting to fire in bursts instead ('Cause who wouldn't totally tap that?
).
Teleport: Teleport works great with a Soldier because you can constantly swiftly and effortlessly gain distance if a baddie closes in on you. Also, I would highly recommend this power over any other travel power because it allows you to get out of dangerous situations very quickly and painlessly. Say you’re surrounded and being pummeled to death by a number of baddies – all you gotta do is pop into teleport, launch straight up, and keep going until you lose aggro. If you’re in a building, just use teleport to retreat the way you came until you’re in the clear. Additionally, teleport allows you to skip the hordes of hallway baddies that are a pain in the rear. Rank 2 is recommended for faster travel.
Submachinegun Burst: Because you already have Assault Rifle and because this power overlaps with Gatling Gun, it isn't really worth investing into. One important caveat here though; Aggression provides a fantastic way to reliably throw bleeding upon a baddie who gets up into your business, so that's one advantage you'll definitely want to get. As 15% isn't that much from afar, however, you'll only want to use Submachinegun Burst real quick when someone gets within melee range. Other than that, I'd recommend not using this power for the most part.
Targeting Computer: This power awesomely boosts your DPS and also increases your chance to crit and your critical severity. Definitely worth leveling up to Rank 3.
Shotgun Blast: The reason I recommend this power over Frag Grenade is due to a number of reasons. First of all, Breaching Round causes this power to have a 100% chance to knock back your target. Secondly, Frag Grenade has a six second cool-down while Shotgun Blast has no cooldown. And finally, Nailed to the Ground makes Shotgun Blast invaluable in PVP. But overall, the reliable knockback coupled with the lack of cooldown just make this power plain better than Frag Grenade.
Retaliation: As this is the Soldier's only defense, I grabbed Rank 3 in order to increase survivability.
Smoke Grenade: This power is a fantastic debuffing ability that, at Rank 3, can make some supervillains incapable of targeting you, so I'd definitely recommend R3 over Escape Artist for that reason. Additionally, Teleport can serve in Escape Artist's place, which is another reason to choose R3 instead.
Killer Instinct: A fantastic power that provides a makes the Soldier incredibly energy efficient. Because you can't upgrade it at all, I don't have much else to say - except that I sorely wish this power was available at a much lower level.
Lock N Load: This power is a great self-buff that significantly increases your damage, so Rank 3 is highly recommended. The reason I don't advocate Two Smoking Barrels is that, unlike the Specialist, the Soldier does all his damage from afar, so Two Smoking Barrels is very much useless to a Soldier.
Gatling Gun: This power is an outstanding source of damage - much better than Submachinegun Burst (while functioning in a similar manner to Submachinegun Burst). The reason I recommend Gatling Gun over Rocket because the latter very much overlaps with Sniper Rifle. Because Gatling Gun does such great damage, you'll want to take this all the way to Rank 3 for max effect.
Sniper Rifle: An awesomely powerful ability, the fact that this power is so easily interrupted means it's pretty much limited to a Opening move, which is a job that Sniper Rifle does very well. However, if you're teaming with other people and you don't have aggro on yourself, feel free to snipe to your heart's content.
Talent Explanations:
As for the Talents: Dexterity increases your chance to score criticals, Ego increases the damage caused when you do crit, Recovery increases the amount of energy you have when going into a battle and also increases the energy gained from using your Energy Builder (which thus allows you to spend less time using your Energy Builder and more time doing damage), and Constitution increases your overall health.
I recommend getting the ones listed because by choosing +5s for +8s essentially gives you two extra Talent points than you would get by sticking with +8s (10 compared to 8). Additionally, there is a complex system of Diminishing Returns for most Characteristics once you get beyond 200-220, so over-leveling your stats can have marginal results later on while balancing them out guarantees that you have good, high level stats in multiple Characteristics.
Extra Note:
Speedsters exult, for I have specced this build to allow for Teleport Rank 2, so that you may more swiftly Reach (Halo®) your destination - PUN INTENDED!!!
Extra Note #2:
I would like to quote GammaBreaker on the subject of Crippling Challenge's side effect: "Crippling Challenge, while an essential block-breaker in PVP, is also a *taunt* in PVE. It will make whatever you're shooting come over and sock you in the chops. Even if it's a cosmic boss being tanked by a Behemoth."
So please be aware of this when you use a power with Crippling Challenge. And again, ultimately, if you don't like this or don't want to do PVP, feel free to remove it and spend the advantage points elsewhere. But do know that Crippling Challenge is almost required to play PVP, as it is a powerful debuff and it breaks through blocks.
It's really your call, though.
Conclusion:
Well, that’s all for now – if you have any input or advice for improving this guide, please feel free to let me know! Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me either by PM or in-game! And if I have errors anywhere in my guide, please let me know and I’ll fix them as soon as possible!
UPDATE:
I have modified the Talent spread to increase more survivability, since I found out that with Killer Instinct, the Endurance I originally specced was redundant. The new Talent allocation will allow for just as much damage output as before while also making you much more survivable than before.
UPDATE #2:
After doing some more research, I have come to the conclusion that Steady Shot's advantage, Paint the Target, is not worth the advantage investment. Because of this, I have instead invested the advantage points into Rank 3 Retaliation instead.
From my experience, the Soldier is a class with good energy management that, while not dealing incredible damage upfront, manages to inflict significant damage during the course of a sustained fight. With plenty of crowd control and much long range damage, the Soldier is a great team player and solo class - it's sole downside is the lack of a self-heal. Because of this, you have to constantly watch your health and try to keep your distance from your enemies. Regardless, this is a very fun class to play as there is an awesome amount of synergy within its powers.
Generic Preface:
All of my builds are meant to be equally playable in both PVE and PVP. Because of this, if you're a PVE-only kind of guy, feel free to remove the PVP advantages (mainly Nailed to the Ground and Crippling Challenge) and replace with the next Rank up - or allocate the advantage points somewhere completely different, as it's ultimately up to you. I would like to say though that even though my builds can do PVP, they also built to perform great in PVE, so it isn't like you're losing anything by having that PVP aspect to the build.
Powers:
Level 1: Steady Shot
Level 1: Assault Rifle (R2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 6: Teleport (R2)
Level 6: Submachinegun Burst (Aggression)
Level 8: Targeting Computer (R2, R3)
Level 11: Shotgun Blast (Breaching Rounds, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 14: Retaliation (R2) (R3)
Level 17: Smoke Grenade (R2, R3)
Level 22: Killer Instinct (N/A)
Level 27: Lock N Load (R2, R3)
Level 32: Gatling Gun (R2, R3)
Level 35: Whatever travel power floats your root beer.
Level 40: Sniper Rifle (R2, R3)
Talents:
Dexterity/Ego
Dexterity/Recovery
Ego/Recovery
Dexterity/Constitution
Ego/Constitution
Recovery/Constitution
Power Explanations:
Steady Shot: While Paint the Target might seem like a good advantage at first glance, the fact that it can be tripped up by Steady Shot itself and because Soldiers deal in numerous criticals (so one critical is almost a drop in an ocean), it isn't really worth investing into. As it is, then, this is your energy builder and nothing more - I wouldn't recommend any of the advantages because the energy gain from Accelerated Metabolism isn't that much, and the damage is too low to warrant upgrading.
Assault Rifle: This is going to be your main spam skill for... well, ever. It does pretty good damage and doesn't cost this much, and combined with Crippling Challenge (which imposes a 20% damage debuff on your target), it also is great for PVP as well as PVE. Rank 2 is a must. One thing to note though, without Mow 'Em Down, this power is most efficient tapped instead of maintained. So don't go holding down the fire button - you'll be wanting to fire in bursts instead ('Cause who wouldn't totally tap that?
).Teleport: Teleport works great with a Soldier because you can constantly swiftly and effortlessly gain distance if a baddie closes in on you. Also, I would highly recommend this power over any other travel power because it allows you to get out of dangerous situations very quickly and painlessly. Say you’re surrounded and being pummeled to death by a number of baddies – all you gotta do is pop into teleport, launch straight up, and keep going until you lose aggro. If you’re in a building, just use teleport to retreat the way you came until you’re in the clear. Additionally, teleport allows you to skip the hordes of hallway baddies that are a pain in the rear. Rank 2 is recommended for faster travel.
Submachinegun Burst: Because you already have Assault Rifle and because this power overlaps with Gatling Gun, it isn't really worth investing into. One important caveat here though; Aggression provides a fantastic way to reliably throw bleeding upon a baddie who gets up into your business, so that's one advantage you'll definitely want to get. As 15% isn't that much from afar, however, you'll only want to use Submachinegun Burst real quick when someone gets within melee range. Other than that, I'd recommend not using this power for the most part.
Targeting Computer: This power awesomely boosts your DPS and also increases your chance to crit and your critical severity. Definitely worth leveling up to Rank 3.
Shotgun Blast: The reason I recommend this power over Frag Grenade is due to a number of reasons. First of all, Breaching Round causes this power to have a 100% chance to knock back your target. Secondly, Frag Grenade has a six second cool-down while Shotgun Blast has no cooldown. And finally, Nailed to the Ground makes Shotgun Blast invaluable in PVP. But overall, the reliable knockback coupled with the lack of cooldown just make this power plain better than Frag Grenade.
Retaliation: As this is the Soldier's only defense, I grabbed Rank 3 in order to increase survivability.
Smoke Grenade: This power is a fantastic debuffing ability that, at Rank 3, can make some supervillains incapable of targeting you, so I'd definitely recommend R3 over Escape Artist for that reason. Additionally, Teleport can serve in Escape Artist's place, which is another reason to choose R3 instead.
Killer Instinct: A fantastic power that provides a makes the Soldier incredibly energy efficient. Because you can't upgrade it at all, I don't have much else to say - except that I sorely wish this power was available at a much lower level.
Lock N Load: This power is a great self-buff that significantly increases your damage, so Rank 3 is highly recommended. The reason I don't advocate Two Smoking Barrels is that, unlike the Specialist, the Soldier does all his damage from afar, so Two Smoking Barrels is very much useless to a Soldier.
Gatling Gun: This power is an outstanding source of damage - much better than Submachinegun Burst (while functioning in a similar manner to Submachinegun Burst). The reason I recommend Gatling Gun over Rocket because the latter very much overlaps with Sniper Rifle. Because Gatling Gun does such great damage, you'll want to take this all the way to Rank 3 for max effect.
Sniper Rifle: An awesomely powerful ability, the fact that this power is so easily interrupted means it's pretty much limited to a Opening move, which is a job that Sniper Rifle does very well. However, if you're teaming with other people and you don't have aggro on yourself, feel free to snipe to your heart's content.
Talent Explanations:
As for the Talents: Dexterity increases your chance to score criticals, Ego increases the damage caused when you do crit, Recovery increases the amount of energy you have when going into a battle and also increases the energy gained from using your Energy Builder (which thus allows you to spend less time using your Energy Builder and more time doing damage), and Constitution increases your overall health.
I recommend getting the ones listed because by choosing +5s for +8s essentially gives you two extra Talent points than you would get by sticking with +8s (10 compared to 8). Additionally, there is a complex system of Diminishing Returns for most Characteristics once you get beyond 200-220, so over-leveling your stats can have marginal results later on while balancing them out guarantees that you have good, high level stats in multiple Characteristics.
Extra Note:
Speedsters exult, for I have specced this build to allow for Teleport Rank 2, so that you may more swiftly Reach (Halo®) your destination - PUN INTENDED!!!
Extra Note #2:
I would like to quote GammaBreaker on the subject of Crippling Challenge's side effect: "Crippling Challenge, while an essential block-breaker in PVP, is also a *taunt* in PVE. It will make whatever you're shooting come over and sock you in the chops. Even if it's a cosmic boss being tanked by a Behemoth."
So please be aware of this when you use a power with Crippling Challenge. And again, ultimately, if you don't like this or don't want to do PVP, feel free to remove it and spend the advantage points elsewhere. But do know that Crippling Challenge is almost required to play PVP, as it is a powerful debuff and it breaks through blocks.
It's really your call, though.
Conclusion:
Well, that’s all for now – if you have any input or advice for improving this guide, please feel free to let me know! Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me either by PM or in-game! And if I have errors anywhere in my guide, please let me know and I’ll fix them as soon as possible!
UPDATE:
I have modified the Talent spread to increase more survivability, since I found out that with Killer Instinct, the Endurance I originally specced was redundant. The new Talent allocation will allow for just as much damage output as before while also making you much more survivable than before.
UPDATE #2:
After doing some more research, I have come to the conclusion that Steady Shot's advantage, Paint the Target, is not worth the advantage investment. Because of this, I have instead invested the advantage points into Rank 3 Retaliation instead.
