It really depends what you use it for.
Hardcore soloing vs AV's or farming? You're going to need to be softcapped, which costs a bit.
General teaming, TF's, normal rate of gameplay?
Not that much.
My BS/SD is sitting at 47 at the moment, he's only slotted with cheap sets, using combat jumping he gets 35% def to all, 10% away from the softcap. However, in most teams debuffs or buffs make up for this.
I was doing the Faathim TF with him the other day, popped a small purple and I was soloing 8 man spawns, was even soloing an AV before the team came and stole my kill.
Thats only with.. oh, no more than 10-15 mil spent on him, and with my impatience at the market, I tend to overpay by alot.
Even soloing all it takes is a small purple insp. to softcap him and wipe things out.
It will really shine if you take the time and money to build it right, but for the normal player and budget it still does reasonably well.
Ah, ok. I can do 10-15mil.
I was just scared that I'd be squishy without being decked out. 
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Well, you'll still want to take certain powers...like Tough/Weave.|
Originally Posted by Take_It_Easy
Ah, ok. I can do 10-15mil.
I was just scared that I'd be squishy without being decked out. |
And it's not like SD is the only set to not be all that with IOs. WP is good, but it had it's moments of feeling squishy (for me at least) without Tough/Weave and a few IO sets.
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Softcapping SD isn't necessarily expensive, if that's what you're asking. Just plug Multistrikes and Red Fortunes wherever you can, take Weave and CJ and try to get a Steadfast Res/Def (which will cost you abit, but can be got through AE bronze rolls), and you'll likely be softcapped.|
Originally Posted by Take_It_Easy
Is it only good with a ton of expensive sets in it, or is it just as good with relatively easy to get ones? Or even none at all?
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The really expensive, softcapped SD builds are an attempt to softcap and fit in other major build goals, such as extreme amounts of recharge, capped DDR, Aid Self and so on. Softcapping in and of itself is pretty cheap.
Without sets SD does feel a little squishy. I'm playing a Fire/SD now, all common IOs except for a Steadfast Res/Def and +Recovery uniques, and I can only solo +0/x3 no bosses - and that's with good insp usage.
My Fire/SD was pretty squishy on the way to 50, though I only really had WP to compare to. I found WP to be much more survivable with common IO's in general, but did not have that extra offensive "oomph" that SD provides.
That said, I never put any of the cheaper sets on my SD because I had a high end build all planned and worked towards that. If you can get 35ish defense on the cheap, then I'd say that would be pretty solid.
And life gets a little easier soloing once you get Shield Charge. The mitigation from the KD is quite helpful, let alone most of the minions will be dead afterward anyway. In teams you'll be pretty spectacular even with a cheaper build.
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Aye. Shield Charge is deadly. BU + the Dam aura + SC = All minions dead, most LT's close to dead.|
Originally Posted by Machine_Man_X
And life gets a little easier soloing once you get Shield Charge. The mitigation from the KD is quite helpful, let alone most of the minions will be dead afterward anyway. In teams you'll be pretty spectacular even with a cheaper build. |
If you really want to scare people, find a huge group, pop a few reds and hit it. Bonus points if you rolled elec and can add a lightning rod.
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Nah, for true scariness, reds, BU shield charge one group, lightning rod a different one, kills enough that 2 8 man groups get reduced below the aggro cap almost instantly. Went through double XP doing that while semi tanking.
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Originally Posted by Mr_Fallstar
Aye. Shield Charge is deadly. BU + the Dam aura + SC = All minions dead, most LT's close to dead.
If you really want to scare people, find a huge group, pop a few reds and hit it. Bonus points if you rolled elec and can add a lightning rod. |
It's true. This game is NOT rocket surgery. - BillZBubba
one option of course is to make a sword/SD scrapper.
one app of parry can softcap your melee def,then all you have to worry about is having your ranged and aoe softcapped with IO's
This is more of a general SD question, but I guess I'll post it here since I plan on using it with a Scrapper.
Anyway, for a while I've been hearing that SD is "only good with IOs". Since I'm currently tight on money and I've been wanting to make a /SD for a while now, this concerns me. Is it only good with a ton of expensive sets in it, or is it just as good with relatively easy to get ones? Or even none at all?