_Elektro_

Severe- That's fine. I understand most people will point to their own Tank builds and suggest it. That's ok.

I like your answer. I like that you added that there might be -personal- preference involved but that there also might be 'easier' choices as well.

Back in the day there were quite a few people who really just played tanks. I think those opinions will be good too, and perhaps less biased.

I am basically counting on some personal bias, and some good suggestions! For instance, the idea that "Ice" could be great but would give me less room for error is a definite consideration for myself.

Also just a reminder of the criteria I had.... I can't count on uber IO's to make the build work.

Thanks for the responses so far.

What is your favourite Primary, and Secondary to go with.

For a long time it seemed years ago that there wasn't too many tanks out there. I may be wrong, but it used to seem a strong Scrapper filled the void while providing better damage.

Now I haven't played my tanks for.... 5-6 years really. I want to build THE team tank of the day.

I did not find a lot of current posts on this subject specifically. So I thought the same forum experticus maximus types who have tanked to hell and back could give me a good understanding of which way to go.

Here is the bottom line:

I want your opinion of your favourite tank to team with. Forget about playstyle for this question; instead look at it from a power (primary and secondary) choice.

Also, assume the following:
- The tank would not be greatly concerned with soloing, but it would have to be an option
- The tank opinion of favour should be determined WITHOUT consideration of fancy IO slotting.
- This is a non-PVP tank
- Please, no stone tank. It's the one primary I really just don't get along with. Although I know it is VERY strong. (Sorry).
- This tank would be what you want to bring to battle with you in most conceivable situations from levels 30-endgame and beyond.

I will say the only tanks I have not deleted are Invincibility/Super Strength (can't stand super strength anymore.) And I still have a Willpower, Dark Melee tank.

I'm just not sure if the WP/DM tank is strong enough to help (he's only 30ish).

I'd appreciate the thoughts of not only vet tankers, but those magical people (you know who you are) that are always making great PUG teams.

Thanks.

Okay, well I'm back again.

I have the level 32 power now for a few days and I love it.

Thankfully most of the negatives that people have presented in this thread are very personal and do not directly reflect the utility of the power set.

I am glad I picked Energy as a secondary. DP does require you to spend a lot in the primary, and invest wisely in pools. This is just so much easier now with free Fitness.

Are there downsides to Dual Pistols? Sure, but you have to compare these against the downsides of other sets and let your own preferences make the decision!!!

For example, I don't miss a snipe. I'm not a snipe kind of guy. The Executioner shot is shorter range, fairly strong, but people complain it's not enough. But precede it with Piercing Shot and it's a great 1-2 punch, with a nice element of risk blended in from the animations. It's all about timing and knowing when to one two punch with basic shots, or when to get in and get some wetwork done.

The level 32 power is, for me, a great trade off from those crash and burn end game powers. I love it.

Even now when I solo, I still switch to 'normal' rounds. The knockback is tremendously overlooked. The utility of the set is fantastic. It also blends almost any playstyle imaginable very well. If you're like me and play solo and team about an equal amount, this is a great set to consider.

For those that min/max, I don't mean to be rude but why would you play a blaster at all? The Scrapper is THE min-maxer AT IMHO. So why even bother with a squishy? For concept? Isn't that a swear word for a min maxer? If we're talking concept, then that does mean Dual Pistol fits in pretty good. Either you are going to love the animations or hate them. Take it or leave it.

It's not all roses. I do think some shots should blend a bit better together. I do think 'ammo' types should be inherent in the set and probably a third, single target basic shot could replace it.

Piercing shot is broken. I still test it and it's giving me weird numbers with and without certain ammo types.

I still love it... guess it's just me.

It's funny that the conversation has changed to how bad 'Executioner's shot' is, as well as some sprinklings of 'what is DP supposed to be?'

I've been experimenting a lot with my DP dude, and the combo of Piercing followed by Execution is the combo that people seem to be missing.

One thing I've been doing is reading what some people have been saying, then trying to replicate it or disprove it. Some of what's in this thread is nothing more than conjecture (my posts as well.) And I still strongly believe the set has to be looked at as a whole because we can tear apart any set on a -power by power- basis.

Someone most recently said Piercing sucks because it only works with normal rounds. I didn't realize this, and did testing that I recorded with many minions, and Lt's. (I didn't test bosses because I needed to do longer, repetitive tests against foes I could go toe to toe with).

Essentially the claim is only half true, which is confusing and makes me think there is something wrong with Piercing. This makes Execution worse, because as I opened with, I believe they are a combo... Piercing + Execution are very nice........ BUT they work best in a convoluted manner:
Normal round Piercing + Incendiary Ammo + Build Up (energy) + Execution is really nice.
But the 'normal' Piercing round ammo type is best, but if you use Incendiary, it still has a 'mild' -res effect, but not close to useful enough to justify.

The short version is Piercing DOES work with special ammo rounds, but very little compared to a 'normal' ammo round. But I verified at least 30 times that it does work regardless, but not near as well as it should. I think this is broken.

*If* it is 'working as intended', then it is far too convoluted to consider due to recharge times of ammo types, and the combo because a button mashing nightmare.

Aside from this, I still think the set is doing just fine. I do admit executioner's shot is not quite what it should be, but the combo of piercing, build up, incendiary, execution is really solid.

Again the utility of the set still is excellent. I test many, many times against spawns of minions, and Lt's that the 'normal' round which includes knock down is still extremely potent and may be still one of the most underestimated utilities of playing single player. (yes there are some AT's i'm running into that laugh off lethal, but still.)

I'm still enjoying the toon. I might be missing something, but I still think people are asking for too much to have this set over hauled. Sorry... but it's true. I'd be happy with a minor tweak at best.

It IS about the player in this case.

When I originally posted this it was with uncertainty about the Dual Pistols primary. Now I'm nearing 30 and I'm quite certain it is good. Not awesome, but a firm 'good'.

Someone contacted me ingame and said they agreed it was a fine set, and had wanted to tell me why they thought so but this person confessed they do not participate on the forums because of the min/max types that will bombard the issue with negative Hero-math. I'd say he's pretty bang on.

A lot of people chiming in on this topic have been around a long time. And you have someone like PleaseRecycle who is actually positive about the power set, and sure enough the nay sayers have him beat.

Those of you saying 'more people are saying they don't like than do like it' are barking up the wrong tree. Negativity always finds its way to these forums before a positive influence does. That's fine. It's human nature. But maybe PleaseRecycle has a point in suggesting some of you are trying to con the Devs into pumping the power set up? Perhaps this describes some of the absurd (not all but some) posting?

Someone actually chimed in and said you can't farm, or participate in a farm 'type' of environment? Huh? What are you smoking?

I decided to test that theory for about... half an hour:


There we are. Two of us. Me and a Brute.
I had no issue with cycling powers and I'm not I/O'd through the whazoo. If I had to wait on anything, while the fire dot ticked, I focused on LT's and Bosses (which were + 4 to me).

The brute enjoyed the assistance, and actually said the minion clean up was nice, but the assistance on bosses was most helpful since that actually slows the process most. Dual Pistols has a VERY nice combo of both minion clean up, and single target hitting.

In single player mode, I've been solo'ing my own missions. I can take on some Elite, bosses, but not all. I confess having issues with knockback (I don't really want fly/hover) so I do have a knockback proc. This is HUGE for my build, but other than that, I'm saving my coin for end game so my experience is based on max level SO's ONLY. I don't care to blow the influence at this level, so aside from the proc, ANYONE can do what I'm doing.

Does it take intelligence to know when to pull, and when to run and gun? Yea, so what?

Some of you are arguing against the DP set with your favourite build, and that's fine. Everyone has a favourite. Personally I got sick of Energy's 'sounds', and it's knockback. I got sick of the repetitive fart-whiff noises of Fire. Assault rifle... wow no thanks (I tried that one 3 times. My hat's off to anyone who went all the way with that one.) Arrows WAS fun but I quit it before they shrunk the animation times.

At this point in my wall of text, I am writing this for anyone checking out the power set and reading all the negativity. It IS a GOOD set. Any negativity thrown at Dual Pistols is usually easily defend-able by some other aspect of it that other blasters don't have.

Here are my most prevalent, honest, thoughts on the set:
-The Utility of the set lends to a flexibilty MOST blasters just don't have.
- While I said I think the swap ammo power should be inherent it is continually omitted from arguing against DP. The ability to engage knockback for soloing is big. (A main reason I did not like my Fire blaster personally).
- Swapping to fire in groups helps. Yes the other two round types need something more.
- Someone else mentioned this but it is worth repeating: the unusual combination of attack types allows for a nice combination of slotting possibilities.
- If I were to change one thing so far? I'd probably speed some of the animations that seem to root you too long, though I still prefer the ability to use a long animated cone that has knockback, compared to something like: Fire Breath.

The rest of my positives are mostly personal so I can't really justify them to someone. I, for instance, still love the animations. I can't look at something that bores me for 50 levels. I don't care about how efficient it is. I'm NOT saying DP is the best on any one level, but I do think highly of it when I consider ALL of the reasons I quit my past blasters.

We'll see about me putting my money where my mouth is. I intend to make this my first blaster to 50. If I do, it will probably speak volumes about my sincerity of enjoying the set more than the others. If I don't go all the way, I'll be the first to confess why.

I think, "You can't have it all" nicely sums up the well thought responses I've read so far.

I will say however that if you don't like the 'gun-fu' look; then really this isn't for you. Because I love it, I'm willing to over look things that I can't overlook in something like assault rifle.

I teamed with a kin/earth and it was heaven. When is it not for a blaster, right? But killing spaws in 2-3 cycles with assistance, I really do enjoy the combo of this set.

Ammo swap is underrated. I play single and teamed a lot. It is SO nice to have soft control alone, and then in a team to not annoy the tank/scrapper, and switch to incindenary. I just think it should be inherent, but it's kind of moot now that I've come back to the game and fitness is inherent (a big to do for blasters IMHO)

Just hitting the 20's now and this is easily my favourite blaster still. Will it stay this way? I don't know.

Thanks for the great responses thus far.

Well I guess that puts me in the category of 'martial artist' because carnie folk creep me out.

So I see more than myself find the set fun and cool enough to stick it out. That's great. I do agree the forum is almost... bullied by min-max types that have no room for concept. While I am not a 'concept' player, I think there is a middle line as has been mentioned above.

Conversely I have played pure power Blaster builds and been so bored.... I just can't make it last. I need to be 'entertained' by the set and I guess 'entertained' means different things to different folks.

So first off I've been lurking like a bad smell for years, and I finally came back to Freedom and the game very recently after about.... 10 months off.

I came back because Going Rogue, the graphics adjustments and most of all Dual Pistols which I remember begging for years ago.

So I come on the forum, I find little to very little info on Dual Pistols, and about 75% of it is very negative.

I have to ask... Is it that bad?

I have been trying to solo my way through some of the great storylines surrounding the 'Resistance' missions. The missions are a lot of fun, and bring me back to some good ol' comic book collecting days.

Dual Pistols LOOKS fantastic. And I've never,ever made it to 50 with a blaster and I think this could be the guy. Of course I'm only level 19 as I write this, but what's up with all the negativity?

I think if you are making a toon built purely around uber build quality you aren't even going to go the Blaster route. I levelled to 50 fastest with a Brute, and then probably a Scrapper. So I'm not sure why some of you are ragging on the build efficiency thing.

My secondary is Energy which I think goes well with the DP because of some soft controls, and the fact I wanted to stack up on the Primary Powers.

Dual Pistols:

Specifically this is what I'm finding:

- Contrary to advice, there is good reason to bounce between ammo types...except acid.

- I believe if you're soloing a lot like I am right now, clearly you MUST stick to generic
rounds and reap the full benefits of knockback. It saves my **** over and over again.

- I'd leave swap ammo til much later if you're crunched for power selections. I have experimented with minions and lieutenants over, and over. There is almost zero need for swap ammo pre-level 20.

- Elite bosses... forget it. Pull out your scrapper. I don't have a brazillion influence, and am an everyday type of player. The fact is without any form of control, I have only beat one of the two Elite Bosses I've met in the game.

- Swap Ammo Specifically: Isn't kicking **** like I hoped. I can see the secondary working, but it is so weak, it is questionable. The dot is ok, until you remove it. As mentioned before I am getting nearly no literal difference in damage types at pre level 20. The ice is 'fun' but the slow function is nominal, so I say go with fire rounds in groups, and go with nothing solo.

- The graphics are really fun. The devs really did a bang up job with the moves. It sceams of Tetragammatron 'gun-kata' or even the Matrix mixed with some John Woo. THIS is why I play it. It just looks so damn good. I think the first time I smoked a peon with Executioner, I wet myself.

- I think MOST of the negativity about this set is two fold:
1. Why should a WHOLE power be dedicated to making a secondary effect that is already present in other set selections inherently? The effect truly isn't significant enough to warrant a full power selection. That is to say, I believe swap ammo should be inherent to DP.

2. The animations, while super cool, are like watching Saturday Night Fever. If you miss, your toon will gleefully thrust, and pose in all directions while getting pummeled.

Those IMHO are the two biggest negatives. But I am still enjoying the toon, but admittedly I haven't teamed much with him as I always prefer to learn a new power type on a solo basis vs many different enemy types.

I think a patch can only help, but in the meantime I can't understand why I see SO few DP players? I'm really having fun with it.

I actually got my game to work after 4 attempts at flushing DNS and repatching. Insane.

I wanted to see what would happen after I logged on to Freedom if I just quit to the character selection screen. Sure enough. I got the 'can't connect to that server' message.

I give up.

The above didn't work for me... still getting the error, after dumping DNS and running a verify.

I can only echo what's been said above by Awesome and Umbral.

But I also returned from a 10 month absence from CoX about a month ago. In that time I was searching for a good scrapper set, and in the past I had played a LOT of DM toons, but my last 50 was actually a DB/WP.

So I decided on DM/Shield and he's doing great. I posted for advice on this forum and a few threads below I'd recommend you check out my experiences on "A discount DM/Shield build with bad numbers".

I wish I could change the title because he's become really proficient AND I did do it on a discount.

Oh yea... and welcome back! I always come back to CoX.

Well I think with some of the tweaks suggested in this thread, I've pretty much found my groove.

I solo really respectably now, and at 39 I find teaming a blast, and can -nearly- fulfill the role of a 'light' tanker. I don't want to get greedy but if the opportunity presents itself, even with my -discount- build I can take quite a beating. lol

He's at a point now where I will, for fun, switch to one of my many other scrappers, and not many can compare:

MA/REG: Fun, and looks sweet too, including the newer animations, but slow, and ST oriented.

DM/REG: I made this guy about 5 years ago and left him at lvl 42. (this was way back) And he still has that 'OMG I think I'm going to die' thing going with the lack of def/res. DM has great synergy with Regen though.

Claws/Reg: Wow...not even close.

Katana/Reg: Ever since dual blades, this guy just doesn't cut it anymore (pun intended).

Dual Blades/Willpower: Possibly I feel this is still THE guy to beat for my DM Shield toon. I say this because: 1- He is just as survivable 2- Has a better end game secondary power IMHO 3 - Leveled like a fiend and 4- This was another character that allowed a 'discount' build that still maintained VERY good numbers. I had not trouble getting this guy to 50 with his slick combos, soft controls, and he still retained respectable farming abilities.

I may write up a 'basic' guide on the DM Shield guy IF I stick him out to 50 because I feel I got a lot of good advice early here. And I didn't waste influence barking up the wrong tree. I know probably the majority of player 'type' that peruses the forums is probably looking for min/maxing numbers at ANY expense, but I personally believe the majority of ingame player is not like that and my discount build would help a fair amount.

On that note I've played with SOME */Shield guys in teams that die too often, or just don't seem to contribute. The set is good though... my fave since DB/WP.

Actually I rolled 10-14 as suggested by two people in this thread.

I don't blame them... it was my decision, and hey.. .it's only influence right? Hindsight being 20/20 I would not take that great a risk with that many tickets again. But the blame is mine entirely, I just wanted to site my experience to anyone considering trying it.

I have read some of the guides... the one on buying recipes, the one on farming tickets, or farming Merits.

I agree with you entirely, don't get me wrong, I know it is plausible to raise the incredible amount of influence it takes to get the best of sets. It's just more a question of 'what do you want to do with your time in game?'

For me it will always be first about putting criminals behind bars. That's what I have most fun doing. That's why I made this 'budget build' in the first thing and while it has been far more expensive than I originally planned, it's pretty darn solid. It's a great power set combo.

Influence is just secondary to me... it just took me by surprise how much certain 'mediocre' recipes had gone up in price. Surprisingly, really good salvage did not seem to get any higher priced.

Ok guys, great advice, and I think I reached a nearly finished build.

There are some great last minute tweaks offered and I took them all to heart. So relatively speaking this is my 'Discount' Dark Melee/Shield build:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Srixxon: Level 43 Natural Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), T'Death-Acc/Dmg(3), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(13), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), T'Death-Dam%(40)
Level 1: Deflection -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(3), ResDam-I(7), DefBuff-I(15), ResDam-I(15)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(5), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(31), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(31)
Level 4: True Grit -- Heal-I(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(5), Heal-I(37)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Theft-Heal(A), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Heal(9), Theft-Acc/Heal(9), P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg(11), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/Rchg(17), Dmg-I(29)
Level 10: Battle Agility -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(11)
Level 12: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(29)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(A), P'Shift-EndMod(19), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Erad-Dmg(21), Erad-Acc/Rchg(39)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Boxing -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(23), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(23), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), T'Death-Dam%(40)
Level 24: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(25), ResDam-I(34)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Erad-Acc/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27)
Level 28: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 30: Weave -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(31), DefBuff-I(43)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(34)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(36), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(36), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(37), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(37)
Level 38: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(42), Zephyr-Travel(42)
Level 41: Maneuvers -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(42)
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 8.63% Defense(Smashing)
• 8.63% Defense(Lethal)
• 4.88% Defense(Fire)
• 4.88% Defense(Cold)
• 10.8% Defense(Energy)
• 10.8% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)
• 14.3% Defense(Melee)
• 9.25% Defense(Ranged)
• 6.75% Defense(AoE)
• 7.65% Max End
• 6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 5% FlySpeed
• 40.2 HP (3%) HitPoints
• 5% JumpHeight
• 5% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Confused) 2.5%
• MezResist(Held) 8%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 8%
• MezResist(Sleep) 5.8%
• MezResist(Stun) 5.8%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 2.5%
• 18% (1.01 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 1.89% Resistance(Fire)
• 1.89% Resistance(Cold)
• 5% RunSpeed

Although I'm loving my Fire/Ice blaster, I'm learning there are many ways of achieving 'defense', not just through slotting or powers, I'm talking about playstyle as well.

I'm just in the late 20's with my guy, and I've gone the pure offense route. I typically play in groups and I can be fairly aggressive with the godlike AoE powers in Fire without much concern.

In solo play I've recently been Salvage farming and have just gone with a fast, hard hitting style while 'Hovering' above the crowd for street cleaning. Now the alternative is that I use my 'defense' build which includes the Fighting pools, but instead I am enjoying the benefit of more offense, slotting for damage bonuses (which is relatively cheap), and enjoying a modest Ranged defense number achieved mostly through set bonuses.

Some may think this is inneffecient but I guess this is where I go back to my point about playstyle. Personally, unless I'm hunting something that's way over my head, I actually prefer -immense- damage over a very short period of time, and going on to the next mob.

Every mob I drop refreshes inspirations.... it works just fine.

In late game I know I will run into one shot type nasties, but I intend on going the fire shield route.

Personally I think playstyle will really dictate the answer to your question.

StrykerX,

I think that's pretty solid advice, especially while playing the toon on a cheaper budget.

I have bounced between a few toons and this guy has become a lot more fun as I hit the late 20's. He's a really solid contributor on teams and the build is pretty much... building itself.

I've given thought to the fighting pool but decided to pass on it for more damage output, and to be honest... 'fun' powers.

I fit flight in, and most of the primaries from fire and he's got a good balance of single target, and AoE. The Ice secondary has very few powers I'm taking but the ones I am using are vital so I see why his combo works now.

Now that I'm hitting the late 20's I have to kind of change the focus to building some income. On that matter.....

Let me first say that my scrapper does indeed seem to earn a LOT easier than my blaster. Some of you are questioning that, but I have to say my blaster doesn't really get any drops, has very few merits, and in the same time my Scrapper had made a lot more influence which he promptly blew on I/O's.

So now I ask the blaster community what is the easiest way to fund a blaster in game (without loopholes.. no powerleveling, or stuff of that nature).

So far I think my income has been very low because I team 95% of the time with this guy. He just works so well on a team, but I'm slowly realizing that's probably why he's broke.

I don't feel confident soloing...but I'm starting to think maybe my best bet is to do a flashback arch or story and I was wondering if you guys had a recommendation along that line?

Maybe a 'blaster' friendly story arch flashback with decent merit reward?

I took a lot of what was said in this thread and mulled it over.

I have a shield scrapper that I have been really enjoying so I thought I would start all over again on a shield tank and play him very differently than my scrapper... and team a lot more.

Within minutes I'm out of the gate with my new tank, doing what I can to see if a lowbie team is firing up. I end up on a Winter Lord team that is mostly high level people... in fact I'm the lowest.

Two people ended up dropping from the team which was full at the time. I make note of it and wonder if they dropped or we should get more?

A response I got from a blaster on the team was something to the effect of:
" OH NO! We lost a tank... Whatever will we do?!?!?"

He went on this sarcastic rant and I had to think about this thread. I realize it may have been his attempt at humour but I couldn't help notice the attitude he took was somewhat mirrored by the rest of the team.

I found this very disappointing and I didn't really say anything in the team window as I wanted to see how this opinion would be reflected in the team without my tainting the conversation.

I really don't know what changed. A game mechanic? A perception of ability? A population fall off?

Honestly I don't know, but I DO in fact recall how easy it was for my 30's tankers to find teams a year ago. I do recall being invited to 'tank'. It was a sought out ability at the time and since I came back from a long break I have a very strong understanding of the difference now from a year ago.

Some of you are suggesting I don't know how to look for a team. I concede that I may not being looking for a team in the most efficient manner possible and I WILL change that; however, it is still a fact I don't have to try that hard for any other toon I have been firing up since my return to this -great- game. (Though it should be noted the tank is the only 31 level character I tried teaming with, every other toon is level 29 or under).

So I will take some of your suggestions and I might just be experiencing 'bad luck' on this as well.

Watchfire,

You've definitely given me something to think about here. I appreciate the tweaks. I checked out the minor changes and I think I'm going to go that route.

As you said there are some minor changes that result in some really nice buffs.

Last night I dumped all my Kinetic Combats at 'market price' and they were bought up pretty quick. I started to remake my I/O's for this build and was still kind of surprised at how expensive everything seems to be now.

For instance, on my old Dual Blade/Willpower guy I had no trouble getting most of the Touch of Death sets. I remember back then when you found (several) recipes that included very rare items, people tended to avoid the recipe, or dump them. I was spending millions last night....

I think I dumped over 10 mil last night leaving me near broke. I still couldn't get the Steadfast as just the recipe at a lower level is going for 14 mil. But in time I suppose I'll revisit the idea. This is why I wanted to say I'm doing this on a 'budget'.

And by budget I mean under 30 million. Which I've probably hit... about 20+ mil in expenses on him and that's 'budget'. This toon has been VERY lucky with drops so many ultra rare items I've had on hand... Deific weapons, Impervium, etc. He's only been unlucky with recipes... never gets anything good... but good salvage luck!

So I figure with that build even if I don't go the Maneuvers route (still thinking about it) I end up with a very respectable:

Defense:
Melee: 42.8%
Ranged: 30.9%
AOE: 35.3%

That's with 10 levels to go til end game. So that's on a 'budget'. The most expensive item will be that Steadfast if I get enough coin for it.

Thanks for the help everyone. There's a little piece of everyone's advice in this build and I really appreciate it.

Thanks for that tidbit of info DSorrow.

I've remade the build to level 40 basically. The biggest change is slotting. I hesitated to add too much more cost to the build, but I had to or else my Defense was just going to suffer too much. So Touch of Death is in (even though it might not happen till I'm closer to 50 for influence reasons), and I added more Multistrikes, while trying to remain budget minded:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 40 Natural Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), T'Death-Acc/Dmg(3), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(13), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), T'Death-Dam%(40)
Level 1: Deflection -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(3), ResDam-I(7), DefBuff-I(15), ResDam-I(15)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(5), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(31), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(31)
Level 4: True Grit -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(5)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Theft-Heal(A), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Heal(9), Theft-Acc/Heal(9), P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg(11), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/Rchg(17), Dmg-I(29)
Level 10: Battle Agility -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(11)
Level 12: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(29)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(A), P'Shift-EndMod(19), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Erad-Dmg(21), Erad-Acc/Rchg(39)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Boxing -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(23), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(23), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), T'Death-Dam%(40)
Level 24: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(25), ResDam-I(34)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Erad-Acc/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27)
Level 28: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 30: Weave -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(31), DefBuff-I(37)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(34)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(36), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(36), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(37), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(37)
Level 38: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I(A)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- Empty(A)
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 5.63% Defense(Smashing)
• 5.63% Defense(Lethal)
• 1.88% Defense(Fire)
• 1.88% Defense(Cold)
• 6.25% Defense(Energy)
• 6.25% Defense(Negative)
• 11.3% Defense(Melee)
• 3.13% Defense(Ranged)
• 3.75% Defense(AoE)
• 7.65% Max End
• 6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 5% FlySpeed
• 40.2 HP (3%) HitPoints
• 5% JumpHeight
• 5% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Confused) 2.5%
• MezResist(Held) 8%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 8%
• MezResist(Sleep) 5.8%
• MezResist(Stun) 5.8%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 2.5%
• 18% (1.01 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 1.89% Resistance(Fire)
• 1.89% Resistance(Cold)
• 5% RunSpeed

So there you have it. I can't see where else I can squeeze some cheap defense in. The numbers are at least a -little- more respectable coming in respectively at:
Melee: 37.5%
Ranged: 25.6%
AoE: 30%

Not great, not terrible.

ok... fair enough, and I appreciate the numbers, but I do enjoy resistance benefits while I have such... lethargic Defense!

It seems fairly easy to come by on the way to grabbing Weave (Tough). So I did grab both eventually.

JAXMAN:

Your numbers are way better than mine. I'm getting 28% Melee and 26 % Ranged Defense.

Yours is more like: 45% and 41% respectively.

I'm just trying to figure out if mine is a result of 'low income' slotting, or poor choices.

For instance, I spent a few weeks trying to get enough decent level Kinetic Combats I/O's... I couldn't do it. So I'm selling the 2 Kinetic I/O's I was fortunate enough to make.

I'm trying to see what I can do on a budget. I do like your build though it is similar to mine in that you skipped some travel to fit some 'fun' into it.

I just think unless I can afford Mako's and Kinetic's I'm not sure I can get close to 45%. We'll see.....

So here's a guy I've been working on and off with for the past couple of weeks.

Right now he's about level 29. I really enjoy him but my last 50 seemed a lot stronger all the way through to 50 (Dual Blades/ Willpower).

I don't really have a lot of influence so this is a 'discount' build. I simply can't go out and buy the stuff that some of the posts I've read are capable of buying. That being said even at a discount I don't like the numbers for this guy:

Smashing/Lethal Defense: 7.5% !!!!

Resistance (without One with the Shield): 33.7% Smashing/Lethal.

MUCH lower than my 'discount' Dual Blades/Willpower guy.

So here's the build at 40:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 40 Natural Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg(3), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx(17)
Level 1: Deflection -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(3), ResDam-I(7), DefBuff-I(15), ResDam-I(15)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(5), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(31), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(31)
Level 4: True Grit -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(5)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Theft-Heal(A), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Heal(9), Theft-Acc/Heal(9), P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg(11), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/Rchg(17), Dmg-I(29)
Level 10: Battle Agility -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(11)
Level 12: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(29)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(A), P'Shift-EndMod(19), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Erad-Dmg(21)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Boxing -- Rope-Acc/Stun(A), Rope-Acc/Stun/Rchg(23), Dmg-I(23)
Level 24: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(25), ResDam-I(34)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Erad-Acc/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27)
Level 28: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 30: Weave -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(31)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(34)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- FrcFbk-Rchg/KB(A), FrcFbk-Dmg/EndRdx/KB(36), Dmg-I(36), FrcFbk-Rchg/EndRdx(36), FrcFbk-Dmg/KB(37), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg(37)
Level 38: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I(A)
Level 41: [Empty] -- Empty(A)
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit



Just a few things of note... I've made probably a dozen toons with Dark Melee, and I like playing around with it. I swap powers once in a while with all my Vet Respecs. Right now, for fun I like "Shadow Maul" for instance, but I know it isn't favoured among the min/max builds right now, but that's not really what I'm asking.

I'm wondering if you guys see something obvious here that I'm missing for defense boosting? I did leave out combat jumping... not sure how I could squeeze it in. But I'm open to advice on why the numbers are so.... mediocre on this guy.

Thanks.