This is what I’m shooting for, at the moment I’m in the mid forties. Is this an alright set up in terms of damage output and survivability? Should I spec into other abilities, like kinetic reflection?
I plan on using the rough rider, with the legendary binder mod. Because I don’t really want to go for a full breakneck banshee, plus don’t like the bonuses that the mod give. And I prefer the cool down on the binder mod.
I also need some advice on weapons. I was thinking about going for a Slagga. But I’m not sure what other weapons and grenades to use to compliment it.
I love Maya with the Rough Rider - so much fun to be had here! I quite like a Legendary Nurse com with it but others work well if you’re careful.
When you have the points I would recommend going down Harmony right to Scorn, but I know the dilemma there because with a Rough Rider 5 points in Fleet feels worth it. I usually go for 4/5 Fleet, 1 Converge, 1 Scorn. Scorn is very underrated but it’s actually a powerful skill. Aim above your enemies’ heads and it can slag the entire room, as well as blasting projectiles of all sorts out of your path.
Sustenance is an ok skill, but I feel it’s mediocre in comparison to the other health regen skills in Harmony, particularly Elated and Life Tap. Life Tap is a must with the Rough Rider (5/5 before OP levels), it’s fantastic, works great with Blight Phoenix, and puts every other health skill in the game to shame as far as I’m concerned. I sometimes put 1 point in Sustenance for between combat.
As for Kinetic Reflection, that’s up to you. I like it most when I have an amp shield to protect, but in bullet-filled areas it can supplement Life Tap to make you pretty invincible.
Recompense loses value in the OP levels but before that it works well with the Rough Rider.
The only thing I’ll kick in is that just putting one point into KR will proc Cloudkill a bit more often. Even at level 72 I spare it even if it does very little. To fully exploit it requires a special build ( 11/5 w/ Trickster ) so for regular builds you can’t spare more than one point. Many people eschew it altogether so it’s preference.
Since KR also means damage reduction, it’s worth considering even without a Trickster COM. As @Jefe said: “It will proc Cloud Kill”, but it will also proc Life Tap, which can save your life. 10/5 in Suspension is usually more than you need, unless you have crappy guns, and that makes KR more enticing to get further down the tree.
I also prefer Elated over Sustenance, but that’s a matter of taste, I suppose.
As for guns… Pimpernel is the go-to-gun for most Maya players. It’s a beast! Everything else, you’ll find here! Good luck!
Extra Suspension can be useful if you’re not using the Bee, even if you’re opting for ‘quality’ weapons. If you’re relying on health regen and Elated, it gives you a lot more health regen. And longer Wreck comes in handy, especially if Phaselock is used as a battlefield strategy rather than just for imprisoning the enemy I’m going to kill. I use the Legendary Nurse with my RR but find the 10/5 Suspension works very well with that mod. But KR is nice too of course.
I’ve found Elated much more useful than Sustenance. A lot of my choices I can chalk to my own weird preferences, but that one is pretty objective.
In terms of weapons for a specifically Rough Rider build, the lighter Moxxis can be useful; unless you’re doing something dumb at OP8 the Grog isn’t necessary, but I like the Heart Breaker. And if you’re relying on Life Tap you want stuff that does DoT, so Maliwan in general is a good choice.
Thanks @Ronnie_Rayburn for also pointing out what I glaringly missed : damage reduction! Oops. And I never actually connected KR directly to Life Tap. So ya - still learning.
Anyways, even though Immolate isn’t in your build, it probably will eventually : Sustenance will prevent it from triggering so de-spec if you end up taking it.
The great strength of the Leg Binder is Suspension which makes Elated better. I often leave whomever in Phaselock for the full duration to kill everyone else with the benefit of Wreck. Doing that I get fewer chances to get Sweet Release making Elated more important.
Also you would be better served taking a point from Blight Phoenix and sticking it into Life Tap if binding them was the plan. All DoTs feed LT and I don’t find one point in it does quite enough. @hattieinduni and I had a debate with others about BP. We both use it but I only put one or two points in. Others hate it because they’re forever popping barrels but I don’t seem to at one point.
Lastly, be wary of guns that suffer from Accelerate : Pimps, Lyudas and others with splitting pellets.
Wait, you mean a debate about Blight Phoenix? Life Tap sure isn’t a matter of such debate?
I don’t always spec Blight (though I do advocate it is an option where others refuse it altogether), but I like it with a Rough Rider and Life Tap strategy in particular. I usually put 4 points into it, the extra one goes to complete Chain Reaction.
5 points in Life Tap with a Rough Rider until late OP levels.
oops - better fix that. I think all agree LT is great - I hope so anyway. I’m too chicken to use a RR so I’m ill-equipped to comment on building around it.
Here is an updated version. I think I like this one better, I would like to have points in quicken, but I suppose it’s not necessary. I am curious about the grenades that you use. Do you guys s go for transfusion grenade, or something with more damage? And what is a good relic? I’ve seen damage resistance relics. How is the damage resistance calculated with the rough rider?
Dude - you’re at the bottom of the Harmony tree… a single point for Scorn while you’re down there is absolutely worth it. Between this and Ruin, you almost don’t need to burn a slot for a slag weapon (plus, as @hattieinduni says, it can cancel out some attacks like incoming rocket barrages from RPG Loaders, Constructors, Bullymongs, etc.)
[quote=“zombiebennett, post:9, topic:1551493”]Do you guys s go for transfusion grenade, or something with more damage?[/quote]If I wasn’t tied to allegiance, I’d carry everything and use them as combat dictated: Quasar for crowd control, Fastball for kills, Contraband Sky Rocket for fun, Meteor Shower for long range carpet bombing, Chain Lightning for mobbing… so many awesome grenades in this game.
[quote=“zombiebennett, post:9, topic:1551493”]And what is a good relic? I’ve seen damage resistance relics. How is the damage resistance calculated with the rough rider?[/quote]It’s hard to beat a Bone of the Ancients for the bonus to damage and cooldown. I’m not sure how damage resistance from relics is calculated in conjunction with the Rough Rider though. If you put five points in Life Tap (especially if this is augmented with a COM) and can keep it active with kills, you’ll be able to tank a surprising amount of damage (like making out with a Rift Thresher for its entire duration). When I rock Scorn and am otherwise not sweating cooldown or damage, I like the Might of the Seraphs for more Scorn, but you really want to pick one that complements your build, loadout, COM, and play style.
I don’t find I need damage resistance relics. I agree with you, Bone of the Ancients is a great choice. I personally like a stockpile or Blood of the Ancients too. Never tried the double-shot chance Seraph relic with her… that might be fun.
I like Recompense with the Rough Rider - it’s one of the rewards for Maya choosing that shield for me. Even if you’re not going for that invincible-grog skit. As we’ve discussed before though it stops being useful past about OP2. I would rather have Recompense than Sustenance. When I use the RR my combat is based around taking health damage though, even though I’m not holding a Grog to heal it back. I guess you could play it much more carefully, but then the Evolution might be a better choice.
Not at all offended! I was just worried my strategy, which is mostly personal trial and error not hivemind wisdom like many on this forum have, was wrong. In which case I must adjust my future advice!
I had another thought. If you’re using a Leg Binder, it’ll give you 10/5 in Sweet Release which could be considered overkill and some points could go into Mind’s Eye.
