Thread: Red vs Blue trait setups and hybrids

Lately I've been experimenting with some trait setups that I cobbled together while doing some spars against other freep players and have been curious if maybe other hunters have used them with success or if they're considered standard to some people (self learned hunter, so not up on all the 'standards' and whatnot). As a frame of reference, I run 2344 agility, 9k crit rating, and 30k phys mastery unbuffed and regularly deal 2500 DPS traited blue line steady.

After having some issues against RKs and champions (mostly resulting from stuns or not killing them quick enough), I decided to attempt to raise my burst DPS in any way I could. I retraited to 4r/3b, in order to receive the red line damage bonuses and crit multiplier, along with penetrating shot armor mitigation, and noticed that most of the time I practically instantly killed any RK (more instantly than usual, lol). Unless I was hit with a CC most champs couldn't handle the opening burst either, with bubbles and all. Of course, there were times when I'd miss a crit or never get a crit and I'd run out of steam due to shorter fleetness duration, but I could usually throw out 7-8 focus shots with the faron bonus by the time the fleet buff wore off. On the dummy, my DPS easily reached 3-4k during the burst.

I attempted a 5r/2b setup, but the difference seemed a bit negligible in terms of increase for losing a blue trait that could help me more. The hybrid setup (4r/3b) had extremely high burst DPS but wasn't sustainable, so I see that it wouldn't be as useful in a PVE situation when running it as if I were blue line.

So, does anyone else have experience running a redline trait setup with blue line skill rotation? Is it useful in PvMP or only for sparring?

I Run 4r/3b or 4b/3r almost exclusively for PvE and PvP. While I like using the Faron set when soloing stuff just for the lolz, I find I get much better results with one of those hybrid builds the rest of the time. I slot Resolute Aim for the 4b build, which I primarily use if power will be problematic, PvP, or for when there are AoE attacks that interfere with inductions. I swap in crit to get my 4r build, which I use for nearly everything else.

The thing that was kinda the 'duh' moment for me was when I realized the Faron set bonus didn't require having Imroved Fleetness slotted, just having the fleetness buff itself active. So the Faron bonus is usable with red line damage, which turns into massive DPS, especially with 6k+ starting blood arrow hits. However, I still prefer 5b2r for PVE simply because it's like a little built in threat reduction with less damage and a much longer duration for the burn.

The one issue I can think of though is that in the Moors having heightened senses is practically a requirement because it's your first line of defense against ganks and surviving. I also like having barbed hindrance to make chasing things down easier. Training a yellow in there while slotting both red and blue doesn't really have any room to work.

4r/3b is what I always used for Raiding/General Questing.
5r/2b is what I always used for PvMP.

Both worked, giving around 2,500dps and since we had a good tank, I had no fear of falling within the first 30s of a fight.

Originally Posted by Kajil

However, I still prefer 5b2r for PVE simply because it's like a little built in threat reduction with less damage and a much longer duration for the burn.

I'm curious how blue generates less threat than red?

I run 5b2r because I don't parse any higher when I don't run improved fleetness and always have the faron bonus constantly up. I don't run into power problems because in raids that's never an issue, and in groups a well timed power pot/IC/SotE/BN takes care of it.
I also find imp fleetness priceless in moors because +1 focus every 5 seconds = less inductions needed = more movable shots possible = less chance of those shots missing = me pwning 'n' kiting.

Gotta say that I'm with the guys running 4r/3b or 4b/3r. I find this works best for me in PvE. 4r seems to give marginally more damage, 4b somewhat better power conservation. Really not much in it though.

5b is fun & frantic but I'm not getting quite the results I'd expected, given that it's almost universally loved by all. Maybe it's just my playstyle. 5r seems just nowhere in terms of sustained damage. Good for the odd lucky crit bio boast maybe, but when I tested the numbers were way off what I could achieve with other setups.

I have full Faron & Cudur sets but neither of the 5 set bonuses really clinch it for me & I've settled on a 4/2 hybrid for now.