Inv/DM or SD/DM? Help!

Greetings!

So I’ve decided to make a tank, and I’d like the forums opinions to help sway me one way or the other. I have wanted to make a Dark Melee concept for a while, and thought Tanker would be the best choice, bigger HP pool, likes the +damage, etc… Now, looking at the Primary options, I like what seems to be the popular 3: WP, Inv, and SD. I shy away from WP because I already have 3-4 WP characters, and I’d like to try something else. I do have an Inv and an SD character already, but both have left me feeling a bit lacking in certain areas.

Inv seems like it’s rougher to start, and completely defensive (not in a bad way), but stronger in terms of “tankiness”
SD seems like it has an easier ride and does more damage, but is squishier

There in lies my problem, do I go for the more defensive and robust Inv build, or do I take SD and be more well rounded, but squishier?

So who has play either of these options and what did you think of them?

As an aside: I have an SD scrapper, at time I feel awesome, and others I go 100-0 faster than I can realize I’m getting hit, which is super frustrating. I generally solo on 0x4 after I get SO’s/frankenslotted.

Thanks!

I have both a SD/DM and an INV/DM tank and I like them for different reasons.

The Inv/DM tank will eventually be soft capped to s/l/e/n(with one in range), is hard capped to s/l resistance, and is pretty much impossible to kill. With DM being more single target oriented he's great for taking on hard targets, but it's a bit slower going with large mobs. Not a lot of AoE to be had until you can pick up an epic power. I went Artic Mastery on this toon and grabbed Ice Storm so that he had something.

The SD/DM tank isn't high enough for me to get him soft capped to positions yet, but is still fairly survivable. Siphon life gives him a heal every round of attacks, and while not a Dull Pain nor Aid self, in most situations I've run across it keeps him from doing the 100-0 in no time flat. (Don't expect it to be the life saver Dull Pain can be.) Adding in Shield Charge to the mix gives some of the AoE dmg that the Inv didn't have.

I've yet to play a /DM character but I've played both Inv and Shield to 50 and have a pretty good feel for them.

Invuln starts out stronger as it gets decent resistance to common damage types and a massive heal/HP boost very early. As it progresses Invuln gets stronger yet and once you get your S/L resistance capped (90%) and your S/L (and your E/N if possible) defense soft capped (45%) you've a tanker who's second only to Granite Armor in durability. While there's a few mobs who can cause you problems in the early game (1-20) the vast majority are easily handled with Invuln's very high S/L resistance.

Shield like most defensive sets feels pretty weak early... this is simply the nature of defense. Until your defenses climb above 25% it feels fairly naked and it doesn't get really good until you get above 35%. Once you reach the 45% defense soft cap, something that's ridiculously easy to do with a Shield tank, you'll start feeling pretty tough. By this point, which is reachable by level 30 with minor IO slotting, you're tough enough to handle most anything the game throws at you.

Comparing the two as mature tankers I have to give Invuln a considerable edge in raw durability. On the other hand Shield has a considerable edge in damage output thanks to AAO and Shield Charge. Ask yourself which you want, higher damage output or higher durability. Now this is talking about two tankers with moderate IO bonuses... on pure SO's the Shield tank is a lot closer since it can easily get 40% defense without IO bonuses.

Either primary is perfectly capable of handling most anything... for some of the most dangerous mobs though Invuln will win. As an example facing the Tower buffed Lord Recluse in the STF is relatively simple for an Invuln to handle unassisted provided you've laid in a few inspirations. Shield on the other hand really needs backup to handle LR; while the defense is there there's simply not enough resistance to back it up and that nasty Channelgun end drain will be a PITA.

If you prioritize toughness from your two choices invuln/dm is the clear winner. I have invuln/dm tank, dm/invuln brute and scrapper....that is how much I like this combo. They are all capped to s/l/n/e/f/c defense and good resists.

If you prioritize damage, go for shield. AAO wil help ST damage. Shield Charge is a great power too of course. I have one of these too and does fine in most content but not as tough as the /invuln.


Now you did not ask for this BUT, I would add elec/dm tank to the mix. I might even pick it ahead of invuln/dm and I clearly love that set. I would definitely pick it ahead of shield/dm. Not only is elec/dm good on the old content, the incarnate content favors elec/ at the moment.

Good Luck!

I agree with you Call Me Awesome.

My Elec/DM tank I am referencing benefits from 45% defense to s/l, 33% def nrg/neg. Also, he has about 86% resist to s/l and 90% energy resistance (not to mention psi resistance, fire/cold resistance all at 60-63ish%). While he cannot achieve the hitpoints that my invuln guys can he has much better regen levels at 416%. I would say it is very close on s/l and MAYBE better on nrg/neg/psi. Fire/Cold is probably a wash...invuln can softcap defense on this but most don't and elec armor has nearly 2x the resistance of invuln on f/c. Toxic win goes to invuln.