DA/Electric

Is this sheer madness? I'm not familiar with either set, beyond playing around a little with DA back when it first appeared on the test server (with the various level bumps) and playing my (still) low-level Electric/Electric scrapper.

So far, at the low levels, the tanker version of Electric Melee seems (subjectively) less wimpy than the scrapper version - maybe because I'm accustomed to tanker damage, and maybe because this tanker hasn't been plagued with the "I can't hit <Bleep!>" thing that happened with the scrapper (which I am assuming was merely unfortunate chance).

I know DA is kinda end-hoggy and that knockback is an issue.

Has anyone else played this combo? Good, bad, or ugly?

Sheer madness? More like sheer awesome. I'm playing an Elec/DA scrapper, and I quite like the combo. I wasn't familiar with either combo when I started, but I really like both, and this has quickly become my favourite scrapper/hero by far.

Kinda squishy, but I am underslotted on my toggles and don't have Tough/Weave/CoD/OG yet. That said, he still remains standing for a good amount of time. Dark Regeneration is a massive lifesaver. Thunderstrike is another good piece of mitigation, being AoE, Knockdown, and Stun. Oppressive Gloom should add some nice mitigation, and should hopefully pick up some of the slack from not taking Tough.

Theft of Essence: Chance for +End is pretty much a necessary IO for Dark Regen in my opinion. In big spawns you will really notice the difference this makes as it nearly eliminates the end drain of Dark Regen. Explosive Strike: Chance for Smashing damage is a nice little proc, dirt cheap which is nice, and will slot in Thunder Strike for some nice extra damage. Knockback issues I took care of with a Steadfast -KB and it's working very well so far with just the 4pts. The Call of the Sandman: Chance for +Heal proc interested me, but after picking up three of them, I'm quite disappointed, and will likely replace them with Performance Shifter procs when I have the inf/merits.

Another issue for me so far is the lack of immobilize protection. Picking up either CoD or Combat Jumping would fix that, but still very annoying when I tried the Moonfire tf (which is now my pick for toughest, most unlikeable TF in the game).

End usage is an issue for sure. DA uses plenty of endurance, and the lack of ST attacks in Elec only serves to exacerbate the issue during fights against tough bosses. I IO'd my Elec/DA scrapper at 17 to get as many Recovery and Endurance bonuses as possible (early/cheap sets: Cleaving Blow(PBAoE), Brusising Blow, Pounding Slugfest (Melee), Impervious Skin (Resist), Triage (Healing), most of which will get you bonuses with just 2 pieces slotted). Came up with just less than unslotted Stamina which made a difference. Picked up and slotted Stamina at 24/25, although I'd recommend getting it earlier. I will suggest taking Taunt, if only because it costs no endurance and there will be times when that factors in during long, drawn-out battles. I haven't gotten any of the Performance Shifter: Chance for +End for Stamina or the two ST attacks yet, but I imagine they might make some difference.

AoE damage out the wazoo! I love AoE damage, and this build did not disappoint. Jacob's Ladder, Thunderstrike, Death Shroud, Chain Induction, and the vet power Sands of Mu, all early on turn you into an aggro hogging, death dealing machine. Unfortunately this also kills your endurance. Haven't gotten to Lightning Rod yet, as my static team seems to be stalling/dying, so I can't really say how that would work with scrapper's or a tanker's style.

Overall, the character is very fun and very active. Definitely not a 'set and forget' style of play like Inv/ or WP/ which is a nice change. I haven't seen enough high level DA tankers to really have an appreciation of what the set would handle like, but it seems like it would do alright in the hands of an experience player.

Good luck and have fun.

Edit: Here's Desmodos's DM/DA guide. Excellent material for DA. Should help quite a bit with understanding the set.

Second Edit: It's my personal opinion that this is one of those builds that is much better suited to teaming than soloing. Not that it can't solo, but with the AoE nature of both sets, specifically for damage dealing and healing, soloing can make you feel squishy and like you're wasting your potential.

I am guessing here. It doesn't have the sanity that Dark/Dark has but atleast it's an adventure when you don't know what to expect and have something to learn to mesh well with eachother.

He's moving into the Terrible Teens now - currently level 13, slotted with DOs, lots of blue and yellow like Desmodos recommends. At this point he's doing okay solo, but whether he can handle a large group depends a lot on what inspirations he happens to have handy, which is somewhat disappointing considering how he breezed through the 'Defeat 10 CoT in PP' mission at level 8. But this will improve as more slots open up.

So far he's only teamed for Halloween events, Trick or Treating, or Zombie invasions - and without support he's pretty squishy in those situations. Of course, some of those Halloween guys are pretty darned tough - like the Vampire Lords.

Overall, though, I'm having fun playing him, and I think he's gonna turn out just fine.