SS/FA is awesome. Dont know about SS/Shield.
Anyone else?
There was a tanker thread I found of interest in which someone called shields the new fiery aura. Trading a damage aura for a +dmg aura and both being on the somewhat squishie side out of the box. I think it comes down to personal preference. Do you prefer a secondary that is purely resistance based or one that relies heavily on defense? Does your toon concept fit one of a person on fire? Both powersets are fairly thematic, and differ greatly from one another. I think you have to make a decision based on which one you want to look at for 50+ lvls.
I think the playstyle will be fast and hard hitting either way. Both secondaries lend themselves to aggression and dmg. It seems like FA has a bit more involvement than shields does in Burn, Consume, and Healing Flames of course. There is no end recovery or major heal in Shields, and that may turn you off. On the other hand, you get a neat ally buff and a cool teleport type attack.
I say you roll both to 24 or so and make a decision then. At that time, you can also make the decision on whether shields is an end hog because you will have access to both stamina and SO enhancements.
For me, I prefer fiery aura, but I think both sets are more involving and engaging than Willpower for example.
Also, someone may explain a bit more of this, as my knowledge of SS is lacking, but doesn't Rage give you a notable -defense crash? That might factor into whether you decide to logically roll with a defense or resistance based secondary. 
Words to the wise aren't necessary- it's the stupid ones that need them.
"You're right...I forgot...being constantly at or the near the damage cap is a big turn off. Definitely not worth it."
- Vitality
the -def portion of the crash is null if rage is perma
at least atm
Looking at both builds and numbers, they are pretty close in my opinion. I like my SS/Shield and the build I'm aiming for will be ridiculously powerful. Also ridiculously expensive, coming in at around 2-3 billion. But, with SS/Shield, you can soft-cap and have 1 second off perma-hasten and have more than decent AoE capability with a AAO fueled Shield Charge, Foot Stomp, Ball Lightning. Foot Stomp recharging everyone 6 seconds.
/Fire is good too but I think /Shield looks pretty spectacular as well.
Super Strength attacks has rather low base damage so AAO won't make much of a difference. Then again, neither will Fiery Embrace. Rage makes a huge difference for Blazing Aura, Burn and Shield Charge though.
Well, I still notice a difference with AAO. Granted, I'm only 24, but I can finally jump into a mob with 0 fury and not feel like I'm just wasting endurance. 1-Shotting Lts with KO Blow is a lot of fun too. Of course, this is anecdotal rather than analytical so I will have to defer to your expertise if you've run the numbers on AAOs effect.
[ QUOTE ]
Looking at both builds and numbers, they are pretty close in my opinion. I like my SS/Shield and the build I'm aiming for will be ridiculously powerful. Also ridiculously expensive, coming in at around 2-3 billion. But, with SS/Shield, you can soft-cap and have 1 second off perma-hasten and have more than decent AoE capability with a AAO fueled Shield Charge, Foot Stomp, Ball Lightning. Foot Stomp recharging everyone 6 seconds.
/Fire is good too but I think /Shield looks pretty spectacular as well.
[/ QUOTE ]
Mind if I see your build for ss/sd?
Sure thing. I am considering swapping out Haymaker or Punch's Touch of Death for a Crushing Impact set for the recharge. The empty spot in Tough is for the PvP +3% Def. I am pretty sure with that extra 3%, I'd still be soft-capped to melee without the ToD. I also have pretty decent DDR with double stacked Active Defense.
I am, however, thinking about taking out the third slot in SJ and putting that in Health for a Panacea proc. It'll bring me right to 45% AoE defense, but I think it's worth it, especially considering AoE isn't as important as Ranged/Melee or having Endurance. 
((I understand that Phalanx Fighting is giving me the bonus for one extra person. The missing 3% more than makes up for that difference though.))
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Super Strength
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Punch -- T'Death-Dam%(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(5), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(5), T'Death-Acc/Dmg(7)
Level 1: Deflection -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(7), LkGmblr-Rchg+(9), HO:Cyto(15)
Level 2: Battle Agility -- RedFtn-EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def(9), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(11), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(33), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(34), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 4: Haymaker -- T'Death-Dam%(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), T'Death-Acc/Dmg(13), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(13), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(15), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(17), LkGmblr-Rchg+(43), Zephyr-ResKB(46)
Level 8: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 10: Knockout Blow -- Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg(19), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg(21), Hectmb-Dmg(21)
Level 12: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(23), Zephyr-ResKB(23)
Level 16: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(17)
Level 18: Rage -- GSFC-Build%(A), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(25), GSFC-ToHit(25), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(27), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(27), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(40)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(33), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(33)
Level 22: True Grit -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), Aegis-Psi/Status(40), Aegis-ResDam(40), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(43)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 26: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Boxing -- Amaze-ToHitDeb%(A), Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(31), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(31), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(31), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(48)
Level 30: Phalanx Fighting -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Foot Stomp -- Armgdn-Dam%(A), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(34), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(34), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(36), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- Oblit-%Dam(A), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(37), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(37), Oblit-Dmg(39)
Level 38: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(39), Empty(39), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 41: Mu Lightning -- Apoc-Dam%(A), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(42), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Ball Lightning -- Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(45), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(45), Ragnrk-Dmg(50)
Level 47: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(48), LkGmblr-Def(48), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 49: Grant Cover -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Hectmb-Dam%(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
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<QR>
I have played SS/FA and enjoyed it. With that said, Acrobatics is a must with this set unless you like being tossed all around the place during battle.
[ QUOTE ]
<QR>
I have played SS/FA and enjoyed it. With that said, Acrobatics is a must with this set unless you like being tossed all around the place during battle.
[/ QUOTE ]
or you could just slot each shield with a KB prot IO.
If you're ready to toss some infamy in your build (preferably 600M or more) I'd choose SS/Shield. This combo has a great potential, but you need to soft cap it, still keeping a decent recharge and a strong endurance recovery : this has a cost, but then you get a monster. Shied Charge on a 20-25 sec cooldown + Foot Stomp on a 6 sec recharge (dont forget the FF proc !) makes it huge.
SS/Fire is a different thing. It's fun, and it can shine with less investment. Mine is only 42 with max 20-30M in the build for the steadfast and some frankenslotting, and it's fun to play with. It can die pretty often if you like to jump in the middle of big spawns, but who cares... RotP makes it fun to die with too And no doubt it can shine alot too with an expensive build.
SS/SD > SS/FA all day! Love Fa, but Shield Charge is just so nice.
i have a SS/SD named 'out ma face' at 50.
you will need to get soft-capped defense. i am in the process of doing it.
/SD is pretty squishy, but shield charge is worth it.
Not sure which one to pick here. Also i was wondering if Shields is an end hog.