Soldier Guide

[Zed Brightlander]

Jul 1, 2013 19:31:17 GMT -5 SatoruMasamune said:

I think Flight is a good choice for any ranged AT for this exact reason. Hovering just at the edge of my energy builder's range directly overhead the Alert boss usually keeps my Tempest from drawing any threat so I can unload on them. Bosses rarely target directly above themselves; as long as somebody is in their face, you can just sit and blast 'em.

So true. So long as any hero with major Threat ability and good healing (usually a top-of-the-line FF) is keeping a Mega-D's attention, my Tempest can get in a lot of DPS. I think at least once Bolt managed top billing on the OM results. A big day for me.

[othellothemoor]

Archetype: The Soldier

Super Stats:
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Recovery (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Soldier
Level 7: Shooter
Level 12: Wordly
Level 15: Ascetic
Level 20: Impresario
Level 25: Acrobat
Level 30: Quick Recovery

Powers:
Level 1: Steady Shot
Level 1: Assault Rifle (Mow 'em Down, Crippling Challenge)
Level 6: Submachinegun Burst
Level 8: Targeting Computer (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Shotgun Blast (Breaching Round, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 14: Concentration
Level 17: Smoke Grenade (Rank 2, Escape Artist)
Level 21: Retaliation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 25: Killer Instinct
Level 30: Lock N Load (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Gatling Gun (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 40: Sniper Rifle (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Teleportation
Level 35: Flight (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Specializations:
Ego: Mental Endurance (1/3)
Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
Ego: Aggression (2/2)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (1/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)
Vindicator: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Relentless Assault (3/3)
Avenger: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)



My gears:
PRI OFF - The Bronze King's Gauntlets of Precision [Gambler's Lucky Gem 5 + Dex 5 + Ego 5]
PRI DEF - Heroic Breastplate of Agility [Gambler's Lucky Gem 5 + Ego 5 + Ego 5]
PRI UTI - Heroic Helmet of Utility [Impact Prism 5 + Ego 5 + Ego 5]
SEC OFF - Decisive Belt
SEC DEF - Garrison Bracers
SEC UTI - Veracious Eyepiece

Other infos:
Concentration increase my dmg by 17% and 53 energy per stack.
Killer Instinct give me 61 energy.
My Lock N Load back in 41 seconds.

I don't have problem with my energy.

[IST]

Jun 29, 2013 11:38:04 GMT -5 not1stepbackwards said:

Hi guys, I had a few observations, having leveled a Soldier to max level 40 (my 5th level 40 character). As usual, I relied on Tammy Waffles' build because she's right (plus I don't want her to punch me), but there are some new things I tried. The idea is by exploring other options, it confirms her build is really optimal. I've marked key areas of interest with underlines, then commented on them below.

Jun 16, 2012 19:29:33 GMT -5 @wimpazoid said:

The Soldier

Superstats:
Primary: Ego
Secondary: Recovery/Dexterity

Powers:
Level 1: Steady Shot
Level 1: Assault Rifle (*Mow 'Em Down, Crippling Challenge)
Level 6: Teleport (R2)
Level 6: Submachinegun Burst
Level 8: Targeting Computer (R3)
Level 11: Shotgun Blast (Nailed to the Ground, Breaching Round)
Level 14: Concentration (R3)
Level 17: Smoke Grenade (R2, Escape Artist)
Level 21: Retaliation
Level 25: Killer Instinct
Level 30: Lock N Load (R3)
Level 35: Gatling Gun (R3)
Level 35: Jet Pack Flight (R3)/Dark Speed (R3)
Level 40: Sniper Rifle (R3)

*Note: For Assault Rifle, there may be scenarios where tapping with R2 can deal high damage in a very short window of time (2 seconds), but those are primarily for PVP. As far as sustained DPS goes, the advantage Mow 'Em Down provides higher.

Talents:
Ego/Recovery
Ego/Dexterity
Ego/Constitution
Recovery/Dexterity
Recovery/Constitution
Dexterity/Constitution

Specialisation:
Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (2/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (3/3)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Surprise Attack (2/2)
Avenger: Relentless Assault (3/3)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)

Gear:
Primary Offense: [Heroic Gloves of Precision] + Gambler's Lucky Gem
Primary Defense: [Heroic Breastplate of Agility] + Gambler's Lucky Gem
Primary Utility: [Heroic Helmet of Efficiency] + Gambler's Lucky Gem

Level 1: Assault Rifle (*Mow 'Em Down, Crippling Challenge)

This power is important. Assault Rifle was my bread & butter from levels 1 to 39.

However, I did NOT take Crippling Challenge. I took Rank 2 instead.

The reason is Crippling Challenge, while being a Debuff, also draws Threat.

Drawing Threat is really bad for this high DPS yet squishy Soldier Archetype.

Leveling via XP Alerts, the winning strategy is to shoot away while unnoticed.

What about Rank 3? Well, Tammy Waffles is right...Mow 'Em Down is better.

(Pre-Alerts era, conventional wisdom was to take Rank 2 and Rank 3.)

Again, in XP Alerts, you're spending most of the time Mowing the Boss Down.

Then even after reach level 40, you'll still be using this configuration.

Just a reminder, you can move and kite while maintaining fire. Handy, that.

CONCLUSION: Assault Rifle (Mow 'Em Down, Rank 2) is ideal IMHO. Going up to level 39, assuming you'll do XP Alerts, you really do NOT want Crippling Challenge as you don't want to draw Threat on the bosses. Then at level 40, you still do not really want to draw Threat, and you'll be using Assault Rifle to take down single enemies, so this power remains a part of your arsenal. Now, if you plan on doing PvP or leveling by soloing missions, swapping those advantages for Crippling Challenge would probably make more sense.

Level 6: Teleport (R2)

I almost always take Teleport, but I found Flight or Jet Pack more useful for the Soldier.

(Tammy suggests Jet Pack Flight at level 35, but I just took it earlier for easier leveling.)

It's because you can hover over XP Alert bosses, out of range of most of their attacks.

Teleport is a great escape power, but the Soldier already has a great one: Smoke Grenade.

(I also got a suspicion that Teleport was nerfed so it's not quite the "save me" button it was.)

CONCLUSION: The best form of protection is prevention. Hovering out of range of bosses, again because I played XP Alerts, proved more useful. Again, if you play on doing PvP or leveling by soloing missions, Teleport remains as uber as ever.

Level 35: Gatling Gun (R3)

Instead of taking Rank 3, I tried the Listen to Reason advantage (15% chance Fear).

The reason was what I mentioned, Soldiers don't want to draw attention to themselves.

It wasn't worth it. Hard enemies don't Fear easily, while weak ones are better off dead.

CONCLUSION: Take Rank 3. That Fear factor just doesn't proc when you want it.

---

INNA FINAL ANALYSIS: Except for Crippling Challenge, and the fact I took Jet Pack earlier, Tammy Waffles build is spot on IMHO. The trick is understanding that your Soldier Archetype is not a tough guy Rambo or Arnold Schwarzenegger, he's really a Sniper from afar. Take potshots, retreat to a safe distance, that's the way IMHO.

Got a question. I don/t plan to PVP, is Nailed To The Ground on the Shotgun Blast still worth taking?

[not1stepbackwards]

God, what a great question. And you're absolutely right to ask; Nailed to the Ground is LOW priority for the Soldier, you can probably skip it.

It's better to put those points (and some from the travel powers) to rank up Retaliation to Rank 3. It's because of, rather than in spite of, the fact that Soldier is such great DPS that she will draw a lot of aggro in teamplay, so you'll find a solid Block useful to survive until your teammates can draw aggro.

What Nailed to the Ground does is shoot down flying enemies for your Melee teammates to take care of. It's also useful in a Rampage (level 35+ 10-man content) where you're fighting on a Helicarrier and you can shoot enemies out of the sky and cause them to fall to their deaths. But those are rare occasions.

I know I made those comments long ago, but it's still pretty relevant, except maybe for Nailed to the Ground and ranking up the Travel Powers. They're still useful, but perhaps leave them until the very end when you've fully leveled up and have points to spare. I would definitely AVOID Crippling Challenge unless you plan to PvP, though.

[IST]

Yeah, i'm just soloing for the most part so I think I'll skip Nailed To The Ground. Thanks.

[not1stepbackwards]

Anticipating you'll soon reach level 17 (if you hadn't already), even though you're playing Solo now, I'd still recommend you to get Smoke Grenade (w/ the Escape Artist advantage at some point). You won't see the use immediately as you're solo leveling, but later on when team-play is more attractive, the Smoke Grenade is one of the moves that make the Soldier relevant even at high levels despite being a Free Archetype. Smoke Grenade lets you lose aggro, important to this relatively squishy AT.

The trade-off is Frag Grenade, a low damage Area Effect that knocks opponents around...which is utterly unnecessary for you because you have the Shotgun which does the same thing but better. Therefore the Smoke Grenade is the more optimal choice, regardless of whether you use it now solo, as at least it has some use potentially later.

[IST]

Yeah, I was gonna grab smoke grenade as an "OH *censored*" move. I find that I am not that good at this game so it's a rather good thing to have.