I like DM.
MA is a fine set, but I'm prejudiced against pure smashing/lethal damage.
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which one would do the most damage overall?
Both are mostly single target, so neither is particularly good for all round PvE. I'm partial to Dark Melee for the heal and utility myself, but Martial Arts at least has better AoE.
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Dark Melee/Shield Defense is top tier damage - as long as you're only attacking a single hard target. I suspect Martial Arts/Shield Defense would be the better option for just cranking through regular missions, though.
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Originally Posted by Prancing_Pony
which one would do the most damage overall?
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hmmmm
so which one would be better?
one has better accuracy and aoe but the other has a better debuf and heal
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For all around PvE, includes AVs and the minor tohit debuff isn't going to do much. I am a bit partial to MA, I love it, but now with the increase Crits that it can crank out, it is definitely a beast to be reckoned with. Eagle's Claw --> Dragon's Tail, will kill lots, and if you go shield AAO is going to make that a lot better. The better AoE will help you go through mobs and the better accuracy will help you a lot higher level enemies. However the heal with Dark is a great survivability tool, even better when combined with Softcapped defense.
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Originally Posted by Prancing_Pony
hmmmm
so which one would be better? one has better accuracy and aoe but the other has a better debuf and heal |
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Neither is strictly better. The game is six and a half years old, and the sets have long since been well balanced against each other overall. All combinations are good. There are no duds. There are no clear stand outs. It's down to different strengths and weaknesses that play out differently in different aspects of the game. So it all depends on what you personally enjoy.
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Originally Posted by Prancing_Pony
so which one would be better?
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So martial arts then?
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DM
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Originally Posted by Prancing_Pony
So martial arts then?
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With the caveat of saturated soul drain fueling that damage boost. |
Originally Posted by Werner
Dark Melee/Shield Defense is top tier damage - as long as you're only attacking a single hard target.
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Sayin that dm/shields is top tier in damage is true IF u have mobs to fuel SD, but eventually you'll kill your own fodder.
And when facing 1 hard target w/o fodder for SD it falls considerably in the dps race.
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Originally Posted by Shadow Ravenwolf
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Originally Posted by Dispari
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Very good point. Also, the builds getting those top numbers were probably near perma Hasten and perma Soul Drain. But it's still a high DPS combo in more down to earth circumstances.
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Originally Posted by JamMasterJMS
With the caveat of saturated soul drain fueling that damage boost.
Sayin that dm/shields is top tier in damage is true IF u have mobs to fuel SD, but eventually you'll kill your own fodder. And when facing 1 hard target w/o fodder for SD it falls considerably in the dps race. |
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Absolutely. I'm confident that Dark Melee(without /sd) can still get around 230-235 DPS in the right situations. I just haven't made the changes to my DM/SR to prove that.
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Originally Posted by Werner
Very good point. Also, the builds getting those top numbers were probably near perma Hasten and perma Soul Drain. But it's still a high DPS combo in more down to earth circumstances.
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Originally Posted by Da_Captain
Eagle's Claw --> Dragon's Tail, will kill lots, and if you go shield AAO is going to make that a lot better. The better AoE will help you go through mobs and the better accuracy will help you a lot higher level enemies.
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This.
I'd say a MA/elec. MA helps elec survive, elec adds more recharge, a self-heal, and a damage aura for more aoe.
Plus, with the recent HUGE buffs, MA is no longer weak in any way, shape, or form.
For example, an exercise for the reader:
What PBAOE power can slot a Force Feedback recharge proc, animates in a blistering 1.5 base seconds, does very reliable knockdown mitigation, and can form a two-power attack chain with Eagle Claw, thus achieving nigh-ridiculous critical levels?
Martial Arts builds need to be seriously re-examined in my book.
I suspect it can perform much better now than folks remember.
Pick the set with Siphon Life because it's just that good.
Between the two I'd choose Dark Melee. Siphon Life alone makes the set for me; a great attack and heal all in one.
[Edit] Don't forget to consider the upcoming Alpha powers. On the I19 beta my Spiritual Radial boost is healing my character (and recharging faster) for 240HP vs the 196HP on the live servers. A 46HP difference is huge. Both builds are identical.
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Prior to Issue 19, I would have agreed with that. Post issue 19, I suspect we will see more DM builds with Touch of Fear. Considering opportunity costs, most builds skipped ToF, but with 3-4 new power choices, I'm hard pressed to find a power more useful than ToF.
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Originally Posted by Da_Captain
For all around PvE, includes AVs and the minor tohit debuff isn't going to do much.
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I've never picked Touch of Fear, and in my I19 build I ended up still hurting for slots and power picks. 
I do have Char for that build though, which does have some range to it. Could be handy-dandy.
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And if you're running a build that benefits from typed defense, you can use Siphon Insight in it for a dirt cheap 3.75% S/L defense. Provided you have the slots to spare, but it might save you from having to slot Boxing with Kinetic Combats to get more defense.
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Originally Posted by Desmodos
Prior to Issue 19, I would have agreed with that. Post issue 19, I suspect we will see more DM builds with Touch of Fear. Considering opportunity costs, most builds skipped ToF, but with 3-4 new power choices, I'm hard pressed to find a power more useful than ToF.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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If the Incarnate stuff coming down the pipe in coming issues as hard as the devs hint it might be, the days of passive mitigation builds might be winding down as the premiere content simply uses ToHit and defense debuffs to virtually negate all of our Defense capped builds. If this happens then I would expect to go back and look at all the active mitigation powers we've been skipping.|
Originally Posted by Desmodos
Prior to Issue 19, I would have agreed with that. Post issue 19, I suspect we will see more DM builds with Touch of Fear. Considering opportunity costs, most builds skipped ToF, but with 3-4 new power choices, I'm hard pressed to find a power more useful than ToF.
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Touch of Fear is very good in that it stacks well, and if the Fear doesn't work it has a hefty ToHit debuff. I'd personally slot it for -ToHit.
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Didn't know they were hinting at that, though it doesn't surprise me either. I'm not sure that active defense will be my response, though, but rather just trying to keep up in the passive defense arms race.|
Originally Posted by Moonlighter
If the Incarnate stuff coming down the pipe in coming issues as hard as the devs hint it might be, the days of passive mitigation builds might be winding down as the premiere content simply uses ToHit and defense debuffs to virtually negate all of our Defense capped builds. If this happens then I would expect to go back and look at all the active mitigation powers we've been skipping.
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Maybe I should dust off my Broad Sword/Shield Defense. I originally planned it to handle AE missions, and specifically pet to-hit and all the custom enemies using Build Up. Just pulling up one of builds I was fiddling with, he's at 81.5% melee, 58.4% lethal, 48.8% ranged and 46% AoE. DDR looks like it's probably capped a lot of the time, though the Active Defense double stack is down for longer than I'd be comfortable with in a high defense debuff environment. The alpha slot and some additional build fiddling might help there.
Or depending on how much ToHit there is, maybe Super Reflexes will be simple enough to keep ahead of the curve. My Dark Melee/Super Reflexes looks to be benefiting hugely from at least the alpha slot. And yeah, Touch of Fear certainly could be a viable option then.
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so martial arts or dark melee?
All around good for PvE - Dark Melee.
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Or Martial Arts!
Seriously, if you don't know yet which one you'd rather play, flip a coin. Or start both and stick with the one you're enjoying.
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Punch or kick? Or punch and kick? Which do you like?
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Whats better for all round pve MA or DM? Secondary is ElecA or SD.