Forum:Variations on a Lilith build

After playing Lilith for a while and trying to figure out how to make the Siren work, I decided that the best way to do this is to maximize the use of Phasewalk. (This was my first character, so what might be a duh to you was not entirely to me at the time.) After a lot of exploration and fooling around, I've decided that basically all Lilith builds that center around Phasewalk should be built a particular way. Namely... like so.

This build maximizes the cooldown reduction potential to re-use phasewalk as frequently as possible, and makes use of critical abilities to get some mileage out of that phasewalk. Silent Resolve is especially important, however, don't downplay Radiance, Inner Glow, or Dramatic Entrance. You're welcome to redistribute the points that exist in this build if you would prefer 5/5 Quicksilver or if you hate Radiance, but this is the version I'm going with.

You'll note that there's no points in Blackout, and that's on purpose for now. You will use the skill, but you need to decide how much you want. Your cooldown is 36 seconds base. With Hard to Get, it becomes 20. If you use a Catalyst mod (28%), and let it run the full 9.5 seconds, your cooldown after you leave is 11.7 seconds. (14.4 if you leave PW immediately.) You may or may not be using a Catalyst mod, so shortening that 20 seconds to something closer to 7, which is the duration of Silent Resolve, might be highly critical...and 2 kills with max Blackout gets you to 8. OTOH, with a Catalyst, you might not need that much. 2 kills at 2/5 leaves you 6.9 seconds to get those 2 kills, and more might be overkill.

The other important thing to note is that the template given above only requires level 40. You still have 10 points to throw around, plus Moxxi's 2. There are a surprising number of different avenues you can go with the remainder. (Note: I have not played with all these styles, but I have read of other credible folks using these tactics on the GearBox forums.)

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Build 1: Melee - This build is simplistic, but very gratifying. Max out Blackout, Phase Strike, and put 1 point into Venom. (Go 4/5 PS without Moxxi.) You already have Hit and Run. Your melee will hit for around 2000 on flesh. Let Radiance remove the shield from your target, then clock 'em. Your cooldown is already 6 seconds shorter unless you were hitting a badass. Your mod choice is fairly unimportant in any specific offensive or defensive sense, so you may as well use the Catalyst to make your Phase Strikes more prevalent. 5.7 seconds isn't so long to wait even if that's your only kill, no? Put your last Moxxi point into Girl Power to make use of the Catalyst bonus.

Build 2: Phoenix - Run around dotting opponents. You'll want to max out Intuition, and then you'll have 5 (or 7) points to divvy up between Phoenix and Blackout. This build also uses a Catalyst mod, which means you're reducing from ~12 seconds, but you also get a hefty bonus to Phoenix (and Intuition and Girl Power.) You want as many points in Phoenix as you can get. With how quickly you will be running around lighting things on fire, (and shocking them, and using a corrosive-based artifact for a third dot,) you'll get kills plenty quickly. 2 points in Blackout should suffice. One point in GP is also nice. Weapon choice is immaterial, and left to your specific style. Just don't stay in one place!

Build 3: Tempest - Focuses on massive electrical damage. Obviously Radiance and a Tempest mod will be a mainstay here. This means you'll need to max Blackout. Put one point in Slayer to use Tempest's bonus. The remaining points should bolster your 2/5's or help you defensively via the controller tree. Between Radiance, an electrical artifact, and having one decent shock weapon (perhaps Eridian?), you can really wreck guardians and otherwise maim with electricity. You'll probably want your grenades and your other weapons to be on another damage type for obvious reasons.

Build 4: Survival - This build is for simply not dying, which can be critical when trying to solo the Underdome. Max Blackout, and the remaining points go into the Controller tree. Optionally you might dump your Radiance points to further add points to any skill in Controller besides Striking, but redirect one into Resilience. Your mod in this case is a Defender. (Bonuses to Resilience, Diva, Inner Glow.) You'll still want to use Phasewalk extensively to keep Silent Resolve active and possibly make use of Inner Glow. A quick recharge shield is ideal. This build will depend very heavily on your weapon's damage output, so you'll need something pretty decent to make this work.

Build 5: Putrescence - Focuses on massive corrosive damage. You'll want one point into Venom, but melee isn't the focus here so much as the Phase Blast is. Yes, you read that right. The Phase Blast, plus a grenade mod on Corrosive as well. This build focuses around the dots left by your phase novas and from Radiance. There's actually a video of a guy killing enemies with only those two effects that is semi-effective. Complement that by actually shooting a weapon, and your Plaguebearer mod might have a real impact. Of course, get 1 point into Mind Games for the mod to enhance. Besides that, you mostly have what you need already, so fill in as you see fit.

There are quite a few other siren builds that are not built around Phasewalk. Sirens using Mercenary or Firefly mods -- which are quite effective powerhouses in their own regard -- do not use it as their backbone. However, if you are playing Lilith and you want to make maximal use of her wonderful activated ability, you've got a lot of choices...once you lay down the basics.

--Azuarc 06:55, January 29, 2010 (UTC)