There is no real synergy that Dual Blades provides with any set, IMO. My first 50 tank was WP/DB and to be honest...meh. I am not the biggest fan of DB. IF the combos hit there are some nice debuffs/buffs but that's the key, they have to hit...all of them, in the correct order.
When you say synergy I wonder what you mean really...
Fire Aura is all about damage so any high damage secondary works best with it, IMO. That's why you see a lot of Fire/SS or Fire/Fire tanks out there. Then again there is FIre/Ice, which I have one of...it's nice for the Ice Patch/Burn combo.
Dark Armor, I honestly can't speak too much on it as all I have is a lvl 30 Spines/Dark scrapper that really needs a team to shine...then again I think I have waaay too many toggles on him at this point 
So, in a pathetic attempt to answer your questions:
Fire works best with Fire, IMO, so you can best take advantage of Fire Armor's Firery Embrace (psuedo BU).
Dark works best with...well...I am not sure.
So there ya go...you just wasted a good minute of your time reading my drivel.
The main synergy you can get out of Dual Blades is with Willpower, a set which does nothing and asks nothing that will interrupt your Doing Nothing But Dual Bladesing. If you like Dual Blades, go for it. If you don't, you'll find any combo boring.
IMO, Dual Blades does not work too well with Willpower, mostly because both sets are quite demanding and require you take eight of the nine powers to get the most out of them. What AoE you can get from the set comes fairly late.
Dual Blades works best with Fire, Stone, and (to a lesser extent) Invulnerability. Basically, the more optional powers there are in the primary, the better the synergy with DB.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
Dual Blades / Willpower is a great combo. Heraclea has no idea what she is talking about. Role a DB/WP brute or scrapper and love it. There is a video in my signiture that shows you my DB/WP. Keep in mind the baddies are all +4. I'll give you one pointer about DB...don't try to use every attack and every combo.
[ QUOTE ]
IMO, Dual Blades does not work too well with Willpower, mostly because both sets are quite demanding and require you take eight of the nine powers to get the most out of them. What AoE you can get from the set comes fairly late.
Dual Blades works best with Fire, Stone, and (to a lesser extent) Invulnerability. Basically, the more optional powers there are in the primary, the better the synergy with DB.
[/ QUOTE ]
not really true. you dont need a lot of recharge to use bf+av combo as your main bread and butter. that leaves open a lot power choices
[ QUOTE ]
Dual Blades / Willpower is a great combo. Heraclea has no idea what she is talking about. Role a DB/WP brute or scrapper and love it. There is a video in my signiture that shows you my DB/WP. Keep in mind the baddies are all +4. I'll give you one pointer about DB...don't try to use every attack and every combo.
[/ QUOTE ]Also, to bear in mind that JJ here isn't entirely cutting his bread with a sharp knife as well, remember that he's talking about a brute. Having two endurance recovery powers on a brute is like cheating.
I assume that a WP/DB tanker - not a brute or a scrapper - is going to need:<ul type="square">[*]Taunt,[*]Fitness all the way to Stamina; and[*]Fighting including Tough and Weave to take the edge off alpha strikes.[/list]Having all of those things makes for a far more useful Willpower tanker. But getting them with Dual Blades means losing many of the combos.
That's why I like Dual Blades best with primaries that aren't quite so demanding, like Fire or Stone, better than Willpower.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
If you need Stamina and Quick Recovery on a tanker, you're slotting badly. If you need tough and weave on a willpower character you're demanding a hell of a lot.
[ QUOTE ]
If you need Stamina and Quick Recovery on a tanker, you're slotting badly. If you need tough and weave on a willpower character you're demanding a hell of a lot.
[/ QUOTE ]
for a dual blader it could prob skip stamina. tough and weave add so much to willpowers survivability because of how dramatic a difference such layers of mitigation and avoidance make when combined with insane regen i am of the opinion that tankers, scrappers and brutes should never skip them
since spamming the bf +attack vitals chain is easy on end one could prob skip stamina as a dual blader.
I think the main problem here is the use of the word 'need.' Ie, you need these powers, because if you don't have them you don't like the effect. So you have to actually make choicse and sacrifices. That sounds to me a hell of a lot like want.
Same thing about stamina. Quick Recovery is better than Stamina. If you went invulnerability, you would have less endurance recovery and need to take three powers for Stamina. But that's better? Hogwash.
While it's true that Dual Blades is one of the less endurance intensive secondaries for a tanker, I think that the potential of having both QR and Stamina is probably the main advantage of the Willpower defense set. You probably could get by without it - at least, if you also thought you could get by without Tough or Weave too.
To me, at least, making a Willpower tanker and skipping Stamina is rather like having a Porsche you never drive, because you'd rather not be bothered to put air in the tires. Being quit of the broken, boring endurance mechanic is a goal in itself.
Tough and Weave are not quite as necessary - especially if you have Health - but they are great helps for taking the edge off large alpha strikes, something a tanker needs to think about. If you are lucky with inspirations or have a buffing team you can do without them most of the time. I'd rather be tough enough even on a team of all blasters and fire/kins.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
[ QUOTE ]
While it's true that Dual Blades is one of the less endurance intensive secondaries for a tanker, I think that the potential of having both QR and Stamina is probably the main advantage of the Willpower defense set.
[/ QUOTE ]Unless your attacks have truly ludicrous quantities of recharge socketed, and piteously small amounts of endurance reduction socketed, quick recovery should be more than enough. But then again, your somewhat specific attitude towards the endurance mechanic is well known.
[ QUOTE ]
I think the main problem here is the use of the word 'need.' Ie, you need these powers, because if you don't have them you don't like the effect. So you have to actually make choicse and sacrifices. That sounds to me a hell of a lot like want.
Same thing about stamina. Quick Recovery is better than Stamina. If you went invulnerability, you would have less endurance recovery and need to take three powers for Stamina. But that's better? Hogwash.
[/ QUOTE ]
roll a stone melee with willpower and tell me you dont feel the 'need' for stamina too
[ QUOTE ]
Being quit of the broken, boring endurance mechanic is a goal in itself.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hear! Hear!
Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
I have a sickening feeling this is going to double-post... I tried to post it before but nothing happened.
Hi, I'm new to the game. Looking to start my first character. I was looking at making a Tanker, and had a concept in mind for a dual blade wielding character with either dark armor or fiery aura.
I'm merely curious about the status of dual blades. I looked everywhere and couldn't find anything, and none of the guides covered it either. How is dual blade? Bad? Good? Average? And how well does it synergize with Fiery Aura and Dark Armor? If not well, then would War Mace be a suitable substitute?
That's all, thank you in advance.