FivexFive

three different 50's for three different moods or situations:

Damage heavy / reckless? Fire Fire - I kill a lot and get killed a lot. Really fun if you don't care about the latter. BU + FE + Attack Chain... like having your own personal Fulcrum Shift.

Tanking? DB/WP - surrounded by 10-20 bosses in one of the AE boss farms, watching multiples of "Sweep" and "Vitals" rise to the top of the screen, with Everything Knocked Down constantly, and tank level HP and Regen level regen... Awesome feeling.

Soloing - hard to kill - Katana/WP. Hi Def, Hi HP/Regen, decent Resistance. Never having to worry about single targets. AV Killah. Didn't do so well in the RWZ challenge...

I've build a themed WP/SS tanker around a boxing theme, which means only having boxing related attacks, which is the only reason I've ever taken flurry, but it is a theme...

I only have him at 24 now, but I think that it is worth taking MoB, HS and Taunt by these lower levels. By 24, I have HPT, Fast Healing and RTTC for regen, MoB, HPT and Tough for Resistance, and CJ and HS for defense. It is obviously very toggle heavy, and with suboptimal slotting for End Red until I get stamina later, but he has been quite health even at low levels. I found that at 18 I could still jump in large mobs and survive well. I don't have a lot of attacks, and I Often miss with them, so Punch-voking is not awesome, and the RTTC taunt aura is weak, so I also took Taunt and use it alot on teams. I survive relatively well in +2-+4 mobs, so the Taunt rarely gets me killed. I'm not claiming that this is the only way to build it (I have Flurry...) but it is possible to make use of many of the defensive and resistance sets earlier, even on a regen heavy AT. The reason is overlap - WP is not Full Regen, nor Full Def, nor Full Res - but every hole seems to get plugged and covered by One of those. Every little bit of Def/Res allows RTTC to get me back to Green...

I have a lvl 50 kin/rad that is one of my favorite builds - partly because of the theme - The CoTs have Stolen my Clothes - and partly because it is a fun build. I agree with the above commenters that it is hardly a scrapfender due to a lack of melee attacks/defense, but it can very much be played like an Offender. Kin is one of the most Flexible Powersets - so I can be very defensively team oriented, very offensively team oriented, or can solo offensively, depending on who I am playing with and how I am feeling. Some tactics:

First and Foremost - Always carry Break Frees. Always Always Always. You have No defense to holds/stuns/sleeps etc, and many of your "defensive" powers (your buffs) still target NPCs, so you often draw aggro. At high levels, Everything has holds - Carnie Illusionists and Dark Ring Mistresses, Ritki Mezzers, every Malta it seems, EXPEcially Tac Ops Commanders - everything holds, stuns, sleeps, etc. I've tried many powers to cover this - I have CJ, Acro, Manuevers, Dark Embrace and Oppressive Gloom - and I have come to the conclusion that the only thing you can do is break free and retoggle and then recover. But you have to have lots of Break Frees. I delete other Insps and buy them in between every mission it seems. I don't know if Tough / Weave does anything about holds/stuns/sleeps, but I don't think so.

Second, when you are soloing, Lead with the Stunners - Cosmic Burst is an Awesome stun power, and with recharge and a stun enhancements, you can perma stun most bosses. I also have Oppressive Gloom from the Dark Mastery Epic Pool, and this stuns minion level meleers around you relatively reliably. I usually solo on Unyielding, which gives me mostly groups of four yellow minions and an orange lieut, or two orange lieuts and a yellow minion. I try to start out fights by stunning whatever can hold me the most. That isn't always the boss, but often is. For instance, always stun sappers first, but you definitely need to stun the Gunslingers and Tac Ops guys too, and also the Operations Officers - I hate fighting Malta with this toon because they All seem to carry stuns/holds. But anyway, you can usually stun one and, if you are in the group of five, use your AOEs to kill off the minions, while Cosmic Bursting the Lieut. Or, in the group of three, you can juggle stun between the Lieuts until they are gone and then finish off the minion. But when soloing, stun things.

Third, I think it is important to have Stamina even though you have transference. The reason is that you are not always using Transference on an enemy near you. When you are soloing you will, and when you are taking on some of the Offensive responsibilities on your team, you will. But, and this happens often, when you are mostly buffing other offensive ATs, you won't always, or even most of the time, be in range for your own transference. And you shouldn't be - it isn't there to save you in those instances, it is there to keep the Scrappers and Tanks going. And your build, at least my build, is a Toggle fest, trying to eek out Some defense. And your key powers in those situations are Endurance heavy - like Fulcrum Shift, (ironically) Transference, and Speed Boost (because you have to use it so often). Basically you are much Busier than other Defenders when you are on Team Buffing/Defense, so you run through End quickly, and Stamina makes an Enormous difference for those situations.

Fourth - You can play very offensively. If your team doesn't have a lot of damage output, you can add a lot. Kin and Rad work well together here, with a lot of AOEs that benefit alot from Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift. In these instances, you need to make sure that you go into the initial mob with whoever is taking the Alpha, so that you are in range to get the most of your Fulcrum Shift. Then Irradiate and Neutron Bomb, and line up Electron Haze cones. You can pour out substantial damage - not scrapper or Blaster damage, but if you had enough of them on your team, you wouldn't need to be taking over dps responsibilities, would you? In these situations, you have to follow quickly with Transfusion and Transference, since you will be taking a lot of aggro, and because your Rad attacks use Even More endurance than your Kin powers. But FS, Irrad, Transfusion, Transference, Neutron Bomb, Haze, Transfusion, Irrad, Neutron Bomb Haze - that can do a lot of AOE damage before FS runs out. BTW, if you are soloing in PI, groups of 8-10 Jaegers are great for this as well, because They don't have holds. Don't try the same thing with the Possessed Scientists or Malta Groups hanging around. Very different results.

If you are on a team with a lot of Damage Dealers, you can afford to be more defensive. You were probably invited on to that team for your buffs/debuffs, so fill that role. SB as often to as many people as you can. FS every mob from a distance once both the Tank and any/all scrappers are in the mob. Spam Transf/Transf, and even siphon power and speed from the bosses/AVs/EBs/Monsters. You will often find that you don't have much time to throw in your Neutron Bombs or Irrads - everyone is killing too quickly when they are on SB, FS and don't have to worry about green or blue bars.

This is both true in large and small teams. A Scrapper paired with a Kin/Rad is going to be running Top Speed through your missions with his or her own personal SB/FSer. They will be happy as a clams. In larger teams, with multiple scrappers and tanks and trollers, you will Also be going top speed, and commenting on how easy it is. This isn't as true with ranged damage dealers. Ranged Blasters don't get many of the benefits of a Kin - the heals require an enemy within melee range, as does FS and Transference. SB is still nice, and ID is much appreciated, but that is a lot of Buffing that is lost.

A word here about people who yell for SB, and how to react to them. On the one hand, if you are on a team with a Kin, and they are pretty regularly hitting you with SB, it is totally annoying to the Kin when you yell out SB PLZ every time it runs out - it is implying that he/she is not doing their job. You will get your SB pretty regularly, so be more patient. On the other hand, there is no point in reacting to people who yell SB PLZ - SB is Awesome for them, and they want it really badly as often as possible, and instead of reacting, just keep giving it to them as often as possible. Lets face it, that is one of the reasons you are on the team. That is one of the reasons that Kins NEVER have to worry about being invited onto teams - Everyone wants Kins on their teams. I want kins on my teams. Even when I am also a Kin. And a big reason for that is because you provide SB. Tankers love the SB/FS because it solves their End probs and lets them feel like tanker level scrappers. Scrappers love the SB/FS because it lets them feel like gods. Seriously - a Spines Scrapper with Two Kins on his team? Heaven. Controllers love the SB, because they often are Kins themselves, and need all their holds more often, and like boosting their pets. Blasters kinda like kins, but less so because they don't really understand how kins healing/buffing works. But if they are Blappers - yeah - they like FS too. And the FS/Nuke combo? Yeah - they like that too. So it is kinda a trade off - on the one hand, you never have to worry about waiting to get invited to join a team. And when you are on a team, everyone loves you. On the other hand, some people are just overly annoying about Loving you on the team.

A word about Multiple Kins - Love them. Now I get SB too. Which means that FS can double up. And with Two FSs (or Four if doubled) Everyone is at the damage cap permanently. And now pretty much Everyone is always SBed, so there are fewer people complaining. No such thing as too many Kins. Well, to a point.

Fourth, or Fifth, or whatever - Use your Buffs to Debuff. This is the hidden awesomeness of Kins - most of your best buffs also debuff your enemies. Transfusion slows Regen. Siphon power sipphons power. Siphon Speed from a Boss. Use Transference to Sap your opponents. (don't sap sappers - that doesn't work). FS lowers their damage. This works nicely with Rad, because all of your powers decrease defense. Irrad Really decreases defense. I slot all of my rads with the Achilles Heel Proc to Decrease Resistance. That is a serious lot of debuffing. It is Very helpful in AV/EB/GM fights. Not quite Rad defender debuffs, but very awesome. And the Slow Regen of Transfusion is totally awesome in AV fights.

Sixth - Accuracy bonuses are the most important ones. You need to hit the enemy for most of your buffs and debuffs to count. Nothing is worse than Missing a key Transference or Transfusion. Slot for accuracy, search for accuracy IO Set Bonuses, and I took Tactics. I have accuracy IOs in almost every Kin power. Totally worth it. I also put the Celerity Stealth IO in SB - I am often stealthed as a result. Which helps.

so - to summarize:

Always Have Break Frees.
Choose offense or Defense
Always Stun Stun Stun
Don't react to annoying SB PLZers
Enhance Accuracy.

Good guide - I agree with most of the comments, and particularly enjoyed the Robocop reference.

The one thing I would disagree with is about Blinding Feint. I think that it is a pretty good power, definitely worth taking and I think worth using regularly.

First - it is necessary for Empower. I agree that this combo is sub par, compared to AV and Sweep. But in the earlier levels, Empower and Weaken will help a great deal, getting you past early bosses and COTs with higher defenses. I never use it either Empower or Weaken when I Can use AV and Sweep, but Getting To that Point was easier with them. Also, it helps when I do Flashback missions. I had respeced out of Nimble Slash, then had to go back to do Positrons TF for the Accolade, and missed the combos. If you do any Flashback missions, it is worth keeping the early combos.

Second, Added Damage And Accuracy. I have two attack chains - Blinding Feint > AV for boss/AV/GMs , or BF > Sweep > AV for herding/farming. I start both with Blinding Feint because it boosts the damage for the rest of the next combo. Blinding Feint may not do much damage itself (although it is not That far behind Power Slice) but it gives a Big boost to your Big Hitters. If you hit multiple targets with your AOEs, that boost can be in the multiple hundreds of points of damage. And, Blinding Feint helps you make sure to Hit those combos, because it boosts the accuracy for the rest of the next combo. Dual Blades needs to prioritize accuracy buffs, because missing once nullifies a combo. Hitting BF before each attack chain is a pretty substantial boost. I have slotted mine for the To Hit Buff, not for the attack itself.

Third - the To Hit Buff IO Sets are worth taking, and BF gives a good thing to put them in. Adjusted Targeting and Gaussian's Fire Control are both good sets, with very good set bonuses, that synergize well with DB and WP. Gaussian's gives a movement bonus, a 1.88 % HP bonus, a 2.5% recovery bonus , a 2% damage bonus, and a 2.5% melee defense bonus. Adjusted Targeting gives a 2% damage bonus, a neg/energy Resistance buff, a big 9% global accuracy buff, a 5% recharge time discount, and then some status protection. Out of those, almost all of them are very helpful. And Gaussian's Chance for Build up Proc is perfect with BF - even if it has a low chance to proc (5%), BF is already an auto build up if it hits, to it stacks well. I definitely notice it hitting often enough to make a difference.

Nice guide - lots of good information in there.

I've played a DB/WP to 50 (Jenny Revolution), so I have some comments to add.

I would like to echo what was said by subsequent posters - Weaken and Empower are Very helpful to get through the first 20-25 levels. Especially if you are going to task force or come up against AVs - the Weaken is very noticeable. I respeced out of Nimble Slash later on, but in the beginning it was necessary for those combos. My current attack chain is Blinding Feint, Sweep Combo, Attack Vitals combo. With no recharge enhancements, it recycles easily in time.

It is worth investing in IOs that proc for Knockdown. Kinetic Combat is a relatively cheap melee set with "+ 20% chance of Knockdown". It fits on Nimble slash, Ablating Strike, Blinding Feint and (redundantly) on Vengeful Slice. VS, 1000 Cuts and the Sweep Combo also knockdown. Most of the time I am fighting +2 to +3 Lieuts and Bosses, they Hardly get up. The only problem is that VS often becomes Knockback, so I lose my cone, but still, Knockdown is Awesome on DBs.

Herding with DB/WP is pretty easy. On Unyielding, you can collect 10-12 minions and sometimes a boss, corner them, and let RTTC keep aggro and your Combos will do the work. Hitting three or four with 1000 Cuts to start Sweep, and then watching 10 "Sweeps" rise up the screen is very satisfying. RTTC keeps you alive, and herding into your AOEs minimizes Endurance loss, unless you are herding Carnies, and there everyone has endurance probs. With SOW, I Often herd for our team if there is no tank, or if the tank is too slow and cautious....

I also skipped the Taunt and Self Rez. No comment on them.

I agree with the Body Mastery Epic, and Focused Accuracy is awesome, but LBEs and the other one put away your swords, and you have to redraw. So I avoided them. And I have found Conserve Power Totally necessary at the higher levels. The Only problem that I have is detoggling from Endurance loss, usually to Dark Ring Mistresses or Sappers. Conserve Power is great for that. I took Haste so that Conserve Power would recharge faster, and I use SOW to speed recovery. With Stamina, Quick Recovery, SOW, Conserve Power and a Lot of Recovery Set Bonuses, I can afford to run all my toggles, including Focused Accuracy. Endurance is critical, and Detoggling is Bad. Most of the time your recovery will be about 3.5/sec. Any improvement is good.

I've invested a bunch in Scirocco's Dervish IOs on all the PBAOEs. I use Touch of Lady Grey on Ablating Strike, Adjusted Targeting on Blinding Feint and Focused Accuracy, Force Feedback for the Recharge Proc, some Kinetic Combat Knockdown procs on all melee attacks, and some pounding Slugfest Disorient Procs. I am working on building influence for Healing and Resist Damage IO sets. Lots of Regen, Recovery and Accuracy bonuses. I haven't figured out how to slot RTTC properly, so I am going with Healing and To Hit Debuff IOs and the Dark Watchers Despair Recharge Proc. debuff. Advice there?

I want to add something about the sound effects/graphics - DB is Awesome for this - honestly, I have had more fun playing this toon than any other, just because it looks and sounds like you are a True Ripper. I even like the 1000 Cuts animation. As long as you stay toggled, this is a tremendously fun build.