Shield Defense is fine on endurance. It isn't easy-mode like Willpower, but careful slotting and proper endurance management can make it work well.
Willpower is the better set for overall mitigation in most situations. Shield Defense can survive almost anything in the game, but Willpower will be a lot more forgiving.
I find it a bit end heavy while leveling but nothing terrible like Dark Armor (and I love DA). But /SD is more expensive to softcap than SR for example, even the scrapper addicts at their forums say that /SD is nothing special while leveling and even a bit squishy. I have a /SD and a /SR scrapper both in their 30s (played my /SR in a Tf but haven't touched the /SD since I returned) - both on SOs plus a Steadfast +def.
The /SR has 33%ish defenses (meaning 1 small purple softcaps her) and the /SD has 27 iirc (may be 25-26). My /SD kills at crazy speeds compared to my /SR because she's Fire Melee and AAO helps a lot (the Sr is Claws) but scrappers benefit much more from AAO and Shield Charge than Brutes.
Let me preface this by saying I love my ss/sd like a fat kid loves cake. But...
Unless you are running IOs, I would not recommend running a ss/sd. The combo is a beast, but you need a fair amount of IOs and a large investment before it really comes into its own. People will say different things about end consumption, but I think shield is on the heavy side. Add in ss, which is certainly heavy, and you have an endurance hog, sadly. My ss/sd struggled with end consumption on IOs and continued until the introduction of the alpha slot. Let's not forget that the defense crash can be problematic and even lethal for a shielder. (Yes I am aware that it is pretty easy to auto cast this and with enough recharge, the crash is avoidable, but it still creates issues for people sometimes.)
Even more, I don't think shield defense will offer satisfactory performance until it is softcapped personally. Of course, with no IOs, you will not be softcapped using /sd on a brute. And stacking it up to willpower- it just doesn't cut the cheese at level 50 on SOs. Willpower will not struggle with regeneration or recovery, but /sd definitely will. On just SOs, I believe ss/wp is actually quite playable.
Anything is a beast with IO investment, but ss/wp is much more doable for a casual or budget minded player. SS/SD is a force to be reckoned with, but it just doesn't get good until you have lots on inventions.
Words to the wise aren't necessary- it's the stupid ones that need them.
"You're right...I forgot...being constantly at or the near the damage cap is a big turn off. Definitely not worth it."
- Vitality
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Originally Posted by magikwand
Let me preface this by saying I love my ss/sd like a fat kid loves cake. But...
Unless you are running IOs, I would not recommend running a ss/sd. The combo is a beast, but you need a fair amount of IOs and a large investment before it really comes into its own. People will say different things about end consumption, but I think shield is on the heavy side. Add in ss, which is certainly heavy, and you have an endurance hog, sadly. My ss/sd struggled with end consumption on IOs and continued until the introduction of the alpha slot. Let's not forget that the defense crash can be problematic and even lethal for a shielder. (Yes I am aware that it is pretty easy to auto cast this and with enough recharge, the crash is avoidable, but it still creates issues for people sometimes.) Even more, I don't think shield defense will offer satisfactory performance until it is softcapped personally. Of course, with no IOs, you will not be softcapped using /sd on a brute. And stacking it up to willpower- it just doesn't cut the cheese at level 50 on SOs. Willpower will not struggle with regeneration or recovery, but /sd definitely will. On just SOs, I believe ss/wp is actually quite playable. Anything is a beast with IO investment, but ss/wp is much more doable for a casual or budget minded player. SS/SD is a force to be reckoned with, but it just doesn't get good until you have lots on inventions. |
I agree with everything you said except for SD being on the heavy side of END use.
Instead I would say it simply lacks any kind of END recovery benefit, which is something that makes SS a much smoother play experience.
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I can agree to that. Hell, I may have had sub-optimal slotting for my ss/sd with regard to end reduction.
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Originally Posted by Deus_Otiosus
I agree with everything you said except for SD being on the heavy side of END use.
Instead I would say it simply lacks any kind of END recovery benefit, which is something that makes SS a much smoother play experience. |
Words to the wise aren't necessary- it's the stupid ones that need them.
"You're right...I forgot...being constantly at or the near the damage cap is a big turn off. Definitely not worth it."
- Vitality
Quote:
It took a full IO build before my SS/SD/Soul wasn't a constant sweat fest of "will I detoggle??" due to AD going off, Rage Crashes, Hasten and Foot Stomping like it's free.|
Originally Posted by magikwand
I can agree to that. Hell, I may have had sub-optimal slotting for my ss/sd with regard to end reduction.
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It took cardiac for the build to feel effortless.
SD on its own, compares well vs. Invuln & SR for end usage.
SS is the blue-drinking behemoth.
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Ahh. Good point. I should probably let it be known that my shield defense= thirsty opinion is based on my experience with my ss/sd and my ma/sd. And unless I am wrong there too, martial arts is on the heavy side of end use too. So... my opinion is likely warped due to such pairings.
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Originally Posted by Deus_Otiosus
It took a full IO build before my SS/SD/Soul wasn't a constant sweat fest of "will I detoggle??" due to AD going off, Rage Crashes, Hasten and Foot Stomping like it's free.
It took cardiac for the build to feel effortless. SD on its own, compares well vs. Invuln & SR for end usage. SS is the blue-drinking behemoth. |
Words to the wise aren't necessary- it's the stupid ones that need them.
"You're right...I forgot...being constantly at or the near the damage cap is a big turn off. Definitely not worth it."
- Vitality
I already have two /WP characters (EM/WP Brute & FM/WP Scrapper).
I'd like to do SD for something different. Is /SD endurance heavy? I'm a fairly casual player so I don't have time to to dedicate to IO-ing a new 50 out (when I hit 50).
My other option is to do SS/WP which would compliment my casual playstyle; unless I can survive with /SD?