Beam Devastation Edition dps iron man pvp
Guide by DuNAstES Last update at Oct 28th 2013, 08:35

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Updated for patch 1.41

INTRODUCTION
This guide is updated for patch 1.41 of everybody's favourite Armoured Avenger, Iron Man! But sadly this website hasn't updated it for this patch yet and are still a few patches behind. The build hasn't changed but Gazillion did some minor changes which were not announced at all which I will write about below.

I will also include other alternative variations to this build and provide links to my other builds at the bottom of this guide as well.


POWERS
Changes to the powers which have yet to be reflected on this website.

- Gazillion removed the requirement of having the need to get Shield Overload first before having access to Adaptive Defenses by shifting it up to make Force Shield a requirement to get before having access to Shield Overload.

- Shield is no longer required to be up for Health and Spirit to regenerate in Adaptive Defenses.

- Gazillion has corrected the spelling for The One-Off.

- The base cooldown of The One-Off is 30 secs and not 1 minute, and it decreases as you place points into the power.

- Ranged and Area tag has been added to The One-Off.


Energy Beams

Disruptor Beam: As this is a spirit intensive build over a long period (depending on which beam powers you are using), a basic is required to fill in the gaps while waiting for your spirit to regenerate. Disruptor Beam is chosen because of the Energy Beams focused build as the different debuffs placed on your enemies complements your other Energy Beam powers. 10 points is more or less sufficient to cause enough damage without killing you in the process while waiting for your spirit to regenerate back.

Repulsor Ray isn't that good for this build, so don't use it unless you really like the FX of the beam that much.

Channeled Repulsors: It is surprisingly a viable power once again. It is definitely an all-time favourite power for many of you probably due to the way it works and the cool animation of the beams shooting out. This is definitely a good power in a GROUP setting. I wouldn't recommend using it while soloing unless you are good at moving and stopping frequently. Another important reason why I chose this is because it passes through enemies (hits the targets behind the first target).

As this power is very gear dependent, the Doc Octopus Medal and Power Prism Artifact used for this build incidentally greatly complements it by turning this power into beast mode (due to the "Area" tagging on this power). With this two combination, it greatly increases the range (from the % increase in radius of area powers) of Channeled Repulsors so that you can safely shoot from afar (especially in a group setting) without having to worry about your enemies or bosses hitting you at close range. Since DoTs crit now, this power also benefits from your normal crit rating as well as the area power crit rating stat found on the medal and artifact so you will be criting for more than what it is written in your character sheet. And of course the power reduction cost from Power Prism helps as well in letting you channel this power longer (= more DPS) before running out of spirit.

Alternative: Repulsor Barrage. It is a really good single target power and burns down bosses really fast, but the drawback is, it doesn't pass through enemies so if the bosses or other enemies stack or are behind, it doesn't hit them, so its basically a give and take kind of thing.

Unibeam is currently still not very viable due to the lack of damage done based on the penalty imposed and the width of the beam is also not wide enough. IF the damage and/or width was buffed up more significantly, I would use it as its an iconic power for Iron Man. Personally, I feel that its kind of sad that an ironic power is underwhelming.

The One-Off: One of the best powers that Iron Man has in his arsenal, whether AoE or not. With this new patch, the cooldown decreases as you place more points into it, though I personally feel that the scaling could be even better to reduce the cooldown even further. It is definitely still a must have power despite the cooldown.

Pulse Bolt: A really powerful and viable AoE power especially after the enhancement in this new patch. Because now it does not explode upon impact on the first enemy but continues pulsing, stunning and killing enemies till the end of its course. Any lesser enemy that gets hit by it just gets decimated while the blue and yellow ones and bosses get stunned by it and you can keep spamming it or use some other powers to finish them off. This power can be used for single targets as well.

*NOTE 1: Just for your info, Pulse Bolt will be your most frequently used power, followed by The One-Off then Channeled Repulsors.

*NOTE 2: Another reason why I am NOT using Repulsor Barrage even though its a really good single target power that burns bosses down really fast is because of Pulse Bolt. (The following explanation requires a bit of imagination). Due to the fact that Iron Man is lacking in a power which allows me to fire while he is moving, especially on boss fights (like Dr Doom) which are movement intensive, the new and improved Pulse Bolt makes up for that. As Pulse Bolt does not explode upon impact and has a wide hit box (despite it looking like a small tiny ball), it allows me to do a quick stop to shoot while moving, thus allowing me to move more frequently thereby avoiding his attacks more easily without being rooted to the ground like Repulsor Barrage. However, this does not mean that Pulse Bolt is more powerful than Repulsor Barrage, and neither does it make it an OP power. It just means that this power has it own uses by giving you more mobility and utility which in turn translates to a higher survivability rate.

*NOTE 3: Do note that Pulse Bolt, Channeled Repulsors and The One-Off benefits from the increase in radius and/or range benefit found on the Doc Octopus Medal and Power Prism Shard Artifact due to the Area tagging.

Arc Reactor Enhancement: This power is a given, especially for an Energy Beams Build as it enhances the damage of all your beams and gives you more spirit. As an added bonus, it also lets you tracks your enemies on the minimap.


Defense Systems

Force Shield: That's a given that you need to max it. Apparently with this new patch you are more durable now for some reason.

Shield Overload: Its a given that you need to have if you want to go for Adaptive Defenses. Good for restoring a portion of your spirit and a good CC breaker too. A one point wonder to me though due to scaling.

Adaptive Defenses: The number of points in here really depends on your preference. Personally, I found 10 points to be just nice to keep me alive and having my Shield regen up real quick together with my health and spirit.


Tech Gadgets

Missile Control System: You must be wondering why do I even bother putting points in here, and why 3 points and not more or less. To be honest, they are really just spare points left (from completing the entire story mode on all difficulty settings as quest rewards). You can place it anywhere else you wish but I found that it maximises Iron Man's DPS (while he's firing off his beams). There's no point placing points into the other missile powers as this is a beam build and those beams mentioned above would have already taken care of the roles of the other missiles. But as for Missile Control System, automated missiles will be fired out at the same time while you are firing your beams (which the other missile powers cannot fulfil).

System Reboot: A one point wonder.

Jet-Boot Flight: Another one point wonder.

Deployable Medic: Yet again another one point wonder.


GEARS

Relic:

Relic of Xandar. Quite straight-forward. This relic increases the base damage done for all your range powers.

Alternative: Relic of Lemuria if you find yourself dying too much. Or Relic of Atlantis for an increase in crit damage.

Artifacts:

Edge of Infinity - This goes without saying.

Alternative: Hand of Doom. It is a very good alternative to replace EoI. As it is not found on this website yet, I will talk about it later when its up.

Power Prism Shard - This is used because of the many area powers used which either increases the radius (Pulse Bolt and The One-Off) or range (Channeled Repulsors) of the powers. It also increases the crit rating and reduces the spirit cost too.

Medal:

Doctor Octopus. Mainly the same reason as Power Prism Shard, to increase the radius and/or range of area powers and its damage and crit.

Costume Affixes & Core:

Affixes: Offensive affixes are used with this build for all 4 grades.

Offensive Affixes - Crit Rating.

Core - Rarity or Special Find is up to you. +1 Energy to benefit Pulse Bolt, Channeled Repulsors and The One-Off and +% lifesteal on it for increase in survivability. There is no point going +1 Strength as Missile Control System will be the only power in this build to benefit from that. Having higher survivability helps more.


CONCLUSION
Well...that's the end of this guide for now. Will be updating it if there are any changes or new patches to come. In the mean time, enjoy this build and/or the alternative variations which suits you. Hope you like it!


LINKS TO MY OTHER BUILDS
Click here to see my Missile Bombardment Edition for those who prefer Missiles over Beams.

Click here to see my Beam+Missile Combo Edition for those who prefer a combination.


LIST OF CHANGES