How's This for Melee Trinity? [Build Included]

[SenorClipClop]

Disclaimer: If your perception of Trinity is "EV or nothing", this thread is not for you and any comments to that end will not help this discussion. I am looking for what is optimal within the specific playstyle of melee Trinity, not within Trinity all-told. If you don't know how Trinity becomes a viable melee frame, ask and I can describe it for you. Also, this thread will discuss channeling. If you don't like channeling, this thread is also not for you. Thank-you, that's enough disclaiming, on with the build!

 

Hey Tenno,

So recently I built Trinity Prime and thought hey, why not, let's give our dedicated healer support another go. I haven't been a big personal fan of playing Trin, but I learned that if you build her for Duration you can actually make her work pretty well as a sort of tank/bruiser and play her melee, which so far has been a ton of fun. And with all the free Energy I have by playing Trinity, I'm working on a channeling-focused build. Here's the build as I imagine it in the near future, and I'd like some second opinions before I invest the one required Forma. Here's the build:

Trinity Prime, Channeled Melee Build, Potato and One Forma

What do think? You might have some initial questions, so here's a brief FAQ:

• Why polarize the Aura slot?
  • Two reasons. In polarizing the Aura slot to Madurai (V), you give Trin more melee damage. Also, while Rejuvenation is the common aura for support Trin, having a lack of Health regen increases the frequent effectiveness of Trinity's Blessing, even if just by a tiny margin (less health when casting the ult = more damage reduction after the cast). EDIT: I have been told that Trin's most recent update makes this untrue, and that the DR is based on power strength. The sole reason to repolarize the aura slot is now just for extra melee damage.
• Why use Abating Link?
  • This is helpful against peeling down armored foes. If your foes aren't armored, you can swap this out for something else.
• Do you have a melee weapon build that goes along along with this?
  • Yes but not in Warframe Builder. If requested, I can share my build for the melee weapon, but the Trin build will work with just about any channeled build, though you can exclude Life Strike due to Trin's usual healing. EDIT: Work-in-progress build here.
• Why did you leave one slot empty?
  • I'm not sure what should go there. The build doesn't seem to need anything else, except maybe Range. Right now I'm considering Stretch for better Energy or Fortitude for extra tankiness. EDIT: Or Rage for keeping her Energy safer. Really just about anything could go there.

Please share your constructive feedback and help me improve this build. What could go in the last slot? Do you recommend any specific weapons for Trinity to be using in conjunction with this setup?

Cheers.

Edited November 29, 2016 by SenorClipClop

[Chroia]

54 minutes ago, SenorClipClop said:

(less health when casting the ult = more damage reduction after the cast).

Quick note: No longer true. 50% DR base, affected by power str, up to 75% cap.

Edits begin:
Quick note 2: Rage seems the obvious choice, to complete the Vitality/Flow/QT/Rage combo.

Alright, before I get all opinionated, your build looks perfectly serviceable.
Positive range, very positive duration and lots of eHP.
FWIW, I'm told that Pain Threshold (If you got it from the Index) does not affect QT's stagger, so there's that.
Don't really have anything useful to contribute beyond that, I'm afraid.

-----

Disclaimers -
I use more than 1 Forma - though I did leave the aura a D.
I don't play with a melee focus. This makes a difference, so be advised.

Given that Blessing's DR is independent of damage taken and freely recastable, I'd recommend something like this, but I'm not a fan of Quick Thinking, so YMMV.

If you're dead-set on Abating Link, my personal build looks more like this for -100% armor, but not sure how melee-viable that'd be, on account of no defensive mods.

 

Hope any of that helps at all. ._.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Chroia
Okay, actually addressed OP's build. *Now* I'm done.

[SenorClipClop]

17 hours ago, Nexecute said:

screenshots of both builds pls :)

I would, but I haven't actually Forma'd Trin's aura slot yet, as it's a big change and also I needed to wait a couple hours for one to finish cooking (I'm building a Dojo at the same time and I've been continually out of Forma).

This is what I have for the melee build. Right now it's on the Anku because I just built it and it looks nice, but the same build can easily transfer to another weapon better geared toward crit and/or channeling like the Furax Wraith or Fragor Prime. There are two empty slots where you can add whatever -- extra base damage, the Body Count/Blood Rush combo, corruputed mods, Syndicate mods if you build this on certain weapons, whatever. The only thing I would stay away from if building this for Trinity is Life Strike. Although it features on many channeling builds, Trinity's built-in healing makes Life Strike unnecessary.

[Buff00n]

Awesome!  Tank Trin is my go-to favorite build.

I highly recommend naramon (-) polarity for the aura slot.  With a good enough weapon the damage lost from not having Steel Charge is offset by Corrosive Projection or Shield Disruption, and you will want the option to have those auras if you plan on playing Trin in groups or trials.  Most of the time I just run with Enemy Radar, which makes finding the next punching bag and keeping melee combos up much easier.

This is my build:

Spoiler

It doubles as my Tank and Bless build.  Narrow Minded hurts range, but 94% range Link is plenty if you're face tanking.  If I'm dealing with armor then I'll substitute Abating Link for Constitution.  For melee, usually I just run something with a lot of range and, if I'm doing a sortie, a full set of Acolyte mods.  

If you want a channeling tank build, then Trin is definitely a good choice for it.  Just be aware that your powers, damage, and backup health are all coming from the same pool.  Cast EV more often than you think you need to, because channelling will tear through energy faster than you expect.

[SenorClipClop]

11 minutes ago, Buff00n said:

Spoiler

 

Awesome!  Tank Trin is my go-to favorite build.

I highly recommend naramon (-) polarity for the aura slot.  With a good enough weapon the damage lost from not having Steel Charge is offset by Corrosive Projection or Shield Disruption, and you will want the option to have those auras if you plan on playing Trin in groups or trials.  Most of the time I just run with Enemy Radar, which makes finding the next punching bag and keeping melee combos up much easier.

This is my build:

  Hide contents

It doubles as my Tank and Bless build.  Narrow Minded hurts range, but 94% range Link is plenty if you're face tanking.  If I'm dealing with armor then I'll substitute Abating Link for Constitution.  For melee, usually I just run something with a lot of range and, if I'm doing a sortie, a full set of Acolyte mods.  

If you want a channeling tank build, then Trin is definitely a good choice for it.  Just be aware that your powers, damage, and backup health are all coming from the same pool.  Cast EV more often than you think you need to, because channelling will tear through energy faster than you expect.

 

 

This is pretty cool, Tenno! Thanks for sharing your insights and build tips. I really like the build you're showing here and will certainly factor into how I build my Trin.