DB doesn't directly have -resists in the attacks outside of the normal Bruising effect in Tier 1 all tankers get; Ablating Strike does however have -defense, into which you can stick an Achilles' Heel proc for occasional -resist.
My general sense is that the damage is somewhat better than average, simply because of the bonus damage from Attack Vitals.
There are two issues I can foresee with using it on a Tanker. Firstly, since Tankers have to take (and would be advised to slot) their Tier 1, which isn't used in either of the two mightier combos, it'll tend to require a lot of power picks to really use to your advantage (you shouldn't skip Blinding Feint either, you'll need six more powers to use both the AV and Sweep combos). Secondly, you may or may not find that the time pressure to chain the combos without letting them expire increases your workload when trying to simultaneously keep an eye on the battlefield when you're tanking for a team (obviously much less of a distraction solo).
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
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The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
Doh!
I saw the - resist in Nimble Slash and then super imposed it in place of the -defense in the others.
As you said with the need to take so many attacks it might not be the best set for my needs.
I'm after a relatively high damage secondary (mix of AoE and ST) that doesn't use the standard buildup - not a fan of buildup.
I've got SS and DM alts so want to avoid those, DB seemed like a good option.
L50s: Tanks: Cryofission - Ice/EM - Dr Celsius - Fire/Ice - Saint George - SD/SS | Controllers: Psichosis - Ill/Kin - Major Chaos - Ill/Stm | Scrappers - Neutron Crusader - DM/SR
Currently Levelling: Angelic Blade - BS/WP Scrapper | Seeds of Destruction - Plant/Kin Controller
DB with Inv is a good option, blinding feint will be buffed by the +tohit in Invincible. You should work out the tanking over the attack chains.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
Honestly, I'm not a big fan of DB for tanks. Love it on my scrapper, even though it's all lethal and isn't the best ST or AoE (decent for both, though), but I don't know how well the combo system works for tanks, where you're maybe switching up targets a lot more often for punchvoking, working in other powers more like Taunt (which doesn't technically interrupt your combos, but you have to hurry to catch up), etc.
As for how many attacks, if you're satisfied w/just the Attack Vitals combo, you'd still want Blinding Feint & likely Typhoon's for the AoE, so that's 5, which isn't horrible. Unfortunately, Nimble Slice is required, and if you add Taunt, that's 7. Now, Sweep might also be highly desirable for tanks, which adds 2 more, which is... all of them. Which is another reason I don't like DB for tanks, the fact that you're forced to take Nimble Slice, unless you want to settle for the Empower & Weaken combos instead, but most ppl prefer the AV and/or Sweep combos. My scrapper has both, and mostly uses AV, but Sweep is nice when I'm completely surrounded, which as a tank, you're likely to face more often.
If you want high damage, Fire is king. If you want high damage w/mitigation, Mace isn't too bad. Better w/AoE than ST, but not bad w/either. Axe is close to Mace, but not quite as good AoE, maybe better ST damage. Both are available w/SD (another thing you can't do w/DB), which will help your damage output, and fit nicely thematically. Both have BU though.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
Inv/DB is awesome.
They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
@Starflier
db isn't bad for tankers. the problem is it requires a LOT of different powers to work right and string together a serious attack chain.
For a long time i lamented DB with my WP tanker (though WP is a GOOD choice for DB), but as time has gone on, i've found myself more in love with the powerset. It's not the best, but it has respectable DPS... and a LOT of cone/aoe attacks.
Would i suggest DB to others? Depends... personally i think it's solid. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible. You'll get more single target damage out of other sets... but that's made up for the fact you'll get solid area attack dps from the set.
good... not great... has good synergy with WP.
Thanks for the replies.
I'm definately going with invuln but undecided on the secondary, how does Kinetic Melee gel with invuln?
It meets the criteria in that it doesn't have a standard build up.
What is the damage like?
How well do the damage buffs stuck?
Damage/mitigation verses Dual Blades?
Again any thoughts?
L50s: Tanks: Cryofission - Ice/EM - Dr Celsius - Fire/Ice - Saint George - SD/SS | Controllers: Psichosis - Ill/Kin - Major Chaos - Ill/Stm | Scrappers - Neutron Crusader - DM/SR
Currently Levelling: Angelic Blade - BS/WP Scrapper | Seeds of Destruction - Plant/Kin Controller
I LOVE dual blades on my tank (Sky Commando).
The critics are absolutely correct: you need to take quite a number of powers to get the benefits of the attack chains. And I play a WP/DB tank, which is an extremely tight build. However:
- DB is a very fast moving attack set
- the damage is quite good for a tank
- with the health pool an inherent power set now, you do have a little more room to get the chains
Damage is pretty good even WITHOUT being able to activate the special effect (i.e., if you miss with one of the attacks) because the attacks are pretty fast. There are higher damaging attacks and there are faster attacks, but db is a good balance of both.
That said, once you start adding recharges to your attack chain (to allow a continuous stream of uninterrupted slicing and dicing) you will notice your end steadily disappear, even if you're a WP tank.
Scrapper Jack (SJ/WP Brute), Sky Commando (WP/SJ Tanker), Curveball (Rad/DP Defender), and a bunch more.
Quote:
I think Kinetic Melee but for 2 elements has been designed with past criticisms of other sets in mind therefore to me it looks like a safe option no matter what primary you have.
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Originally Posted by Psiphon
Thanks for the replies.
I'm definately going with invuln but undecided on the secondary, how does Kinetic Melee gel with invuln? It meets the criteria in that it doesn't have a standard build up. What is the damage like? How well do the damage buffs stuck? Damage/mitigation verses Dual Blades? Again any thoughts? |
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
Hi All,
I'm looking to start a new tanker and was considering Inv/DB.
DB seems to have a good mix of AoE and ST damage as well as some mitigation. The main downside is that it's lethal damage although DB does have -resists in some of the attacks, dows this help?
How does the damage compare to other sets?
Any other general thoughts on DB.
Thanks
L50s: Tanks: Cryofission - Ice/EM - Dr Celsius - Fire/Ice - Saint George - SD/SS | Controllers: Psichosis - Ill/Kin - Major Chaos - Ill/Stm | Scrappers - Neutron Crusader - DM/SR
Currently Levelling: Angelic Blade - BS/WP Scrapper | Seeds of Destruction - Plant/Kin Controller