I'd go shield - for the reasons you listed, and if price is no object their ceiling is way higher than sr. iirc you can get ddr up into the 70's with membranes in active defense and grant cover (not counting if active is double stacked) which would be the main selling point of sr.
I would go MA/SD as it is a more fun set to play imo. Also with Grant Cover, Shield Charge's knock up, Against All Odds' taunt aura makes SD more team friendly.
If you do go the SR route, I would make 2 builds: An incarnate build and a normal play build as the new 59% softcap is overkill for pretty much everything else in the game.
I still think reaching for the incarnate content soft-cap is overkill. Even if they add more trials, you will only be doing them until you get your incarnate slots filled. We will have to see what kind of rewards they offer from Astral merits before farming trials is worthwhile after gaining the incarnate powers.
Even if the incarnate soft-cap becomes critical, Shield Defense can reach it for 20 minutes with a tray full of small inspirations. The other advantages of Shield Defense are too good to pass up, and Super Reflexes' recharge bonus is not significant enough compared to the damage bonus from AAO.
I have a 50 MA/SD and it's a very nice build. Either would be good choices, but the extra damage makes MA feel like you are really smashing. I haven't even respected it yet from pre inherent fitness days and it still feels like a tank on steroids.
My Shield Defense build is exemp friendly. I keep my soft cap and most of my bonuses all the way down to L27.
Virtue: @Santorican
Dark/Shield Build Thread
MA/SD is way fun. I have posted some builds recently.
So what with getting free server transfers every month, I'm planning to reroll my MA/Regen Scrapper once i21 goes live. The question is, Shields or Super Reflexes?
Advantages of Shields: +damage, another AoE, taunt aura, +HP
Advantages of /SR: Far more flexible build that will be easier to make exemp-friendly, can hit the "new softcap" without really gimping myself if I feel like doing that.
I'm sticking with Martial Arts as my primary and price is not a concern. So....suggestions?
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
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