Proton Beam cluster is pretty strong

I noticed that despite a chain of nodes being treated like a single defense, the damage is dealt separately by each beam between them. This means you can cluster the nodes in a small area, perhaps in a star formation or just very tightly zig-zagged, and have 9 beams simultaneously hitting the targets within. I just tried this out in a NM1 map with my lvl 33, 49 ipwr EV and it was able to kill just about anything. I gave a little help to keep the ogres in the beams long enough to actually kill them, but beyond that they did everything.

Since I don't have a max lvl EV2 yet myself, I'll be using stats that someone else posted yesterday, as seen here:

Alright, if you use the Panic Fire and Press Your Luck spheres, the crit chance will cap at 30%, and the rate at .15, and will stay that way as long as they are hitting targets. If you set up a full cluster for a single Proton Beam, the dps (on average, including the crits) per beam is around [(4623 + (36848*.3))/.15]=104,516 dps. If the enemy is getting hit by all 9 beams, that's 940,644 for 110DU worth of defense. You start adding in frosty power into the mix, and it gets silly. Keep in mind frosty won't increase the hit rate, just add more DP scaling. It seems like for some reason the proton beam won't go beyond .3 rate unless it's caused by Panic Fire. If you max your speed stat through points, even a buff beam won't increase the rate any further.

If they make it so that those two spheres don't apply (they probably will, honestly), the thing is still doing around 407,196 dps to anything being hit by all 9 beams using the above stats. Even if you ignore crits entirely, 9 stacked beams will do about 138,690 dps through base damage alone. With some frosties, it would be much higher.

So if you just have a line of beams going down the lane, they aren't really any better than LA dmg wise (ignoring the silly crit scaling anyway), and much more expensive. But, if you cluster them, their cumulative dps skyrockets, especially with frosty buffing everything. You also save a ton by being able to upgrade the whole chain at once.

Just to add how crazy these are.  If you add in the Chilling Strike and Oiling Strikes Sphere.  The beams are attacking so fast they always have chill and oil on all mobs.  Pair this with a monk aura and nothing makes it out alive...   With my under geared EV (around 3300 DP),  I can spawn build most maps with an archer or two to take out air and do cleanup.

Oh damn, those spheres work on the proton beam too? I was under the impression that they only affected hero damage.

Yep,  Good to use on an archer Abyss Lord too although they really shine on proton beams.

Proton beams synergize well with Mages frosty Power/Fire/Snow Storm.  Faster attack rates, increase crit, damage... and slows the mobs to be within beam longer.

I still maintain that the spheres should continue to work, and just make it so Traps and Auras are also affected by the spheres.

Would get some use out of them, finally.

[[4370,users]]

:d They synergize well with themself.

Definitely strong! You'd want her proton beam to focus on Crit Damage. And don't worry about finding Defense Crit Chance passive. With Panic Fire and Luck sphere, your beam will always be 30% crit and 0.15 rate when mob/s is/are in it, even without frostbite.

One strand of Proton Beam can deal 280k crit damage per second on any mob in its scope, together with regular damage, it's about 316k. Meaning, 9 strands (110 du of proton beam) will deal 2.84M (~3M) damage on an area.

That's why your ogre dies before you even get to it...

Is this still work??

@nNightElf quote:

Is this still work??

They've been nerfed a bit since these posts, but they're still strong. 

The Crit/Attack Speed spheres don't work on them, which is still stupid to me. I'd take a nerf to the sphere's stats over the ultimate nerf in that I literally never use them. This silly synergy was the only way I used them.

looks like a fake hp is not on top 

So which spheres are worth using for proton build now?

Oiling/Chilling Strikes are the only two that do anything. 

I also use shattering torpedo. Makes your reflect beams be able to insta kill frozen enemies. So, PB + Reflect Beam = lots of insta death! :-)

@SpiderDanX quote:

I also use shattering torpedo. Makes your reflect beams be able to insta kill frozen enemies. So, PB + Reflect Beam = lots of insta death! :-)

Do you run your reflect beams down the lane so frozen enemies are straddling them?

@ROK103 quote:

@SpiderDanX quote:

I also use shattering torpedo. Makes your reflect beams be able to insta kill frozen enemies. So, PB + Reflect Beam = lots of insta death! :-)

Do you run your reflect beams down the lane so frozen enemies are straddling them?

Yes.

The other way I do it, too is I make a star with PB and then do 2-3 nodes with Reflect Wall. Either a straight line or a "V" formation.