I think defenders are kinda fun. I would try to put together a build in Mids and tweek it to your play style. I like lots of defence so I take the scorpion shield and also take the leadership pool (defenders get slightly higher bonuses I believe).
Dual pistols is an underwhelming set (damage) but super fun animations.
You may be unaware that you can have 3 active builds for each character. You can have your team build, your solo build, and maybe #3 could be a pvp build or some such.
Triumphant Defenders Forever
Psylenz FF/Psi, ArticQuark Storm/Rad, Symon BarSisyphus Bots/psn, Max VanSydow Thugs/Dk, Cyclone Symon Bots/stm, Blue Loki Ice/Cd, Widow 46526
HelinCarnate:OMG it is so terrible. I have the option to take 3 more powers but no additional slots. Boo F'ing hoo.
What level do you get your third build? I only see two available when I go to the trainers...
you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you <3
The third build becomes available once you unlock the alpha slot at level 50. I'll make a bigger response to the overall thread in a bit.
EDIT:
The reason why the game becomes much harder for defenders around level 20 is because from levels 1-20 archetypes don't use their usual modifiers. They all start with very similar damage and slowly settle into their normal modifiers by level 20.
As for the teaming bit, you aren't finding much opportunity to shoot stuff because empathy is one of the most active buff/debuff sets. If you want a character that focuses on blasting, you might want to reroll to one of the fire and forget sets like force field or sonic. Traps might actually be the best choice for you, since it just needs to set up its traps at the beginning of a fight then spend the rest of it blasting, and it performs well solo.
Also, corruptor might be the best choice for you. The damage difference isn't gigantic, but corruptors get their shooty powers earlier.
Also also, dual pistols having low damage is a myth. Its damage is above average if you're using fire ammo.
If you DO decide to stick with empathy/pistols, here's a mids build with the ideal slotting for its most important powers. The second accuracy can be taken out if you plan on getting tactics or if you never plan on fighting things more than a level above you.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Empathy
Secondary Power Set: Dual Pistols
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Healing Aura -- Heal(A), Heal(3), Heal(3), RechRdx(5), RechRdx(5), EndRdx(7)
Level 1: Pistols -- Acc(A), Acc(7), Dmg(9), Dmg(9), Dmg(11), EndRdx(11)
Level 2: Dual Wield -- Acc(A), Acc(13), Dmg(13), Dmg(15), Dmg(15), EndRdx(17)
Level 4: Heal Other -- Heal(A), Heal(17), Heal(19), RechRdx(19), RechRdx(21), EndRdx(21)
Level 6: Empty Clips -- Acc(A), Acc(23), Dmg(23), Dmg(25), Dmg(25), EndRdx(27)
Level 8: Resurrect -- RechRdx(A)
Level 10: Swap Ammo
Level 12: Fortitude -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(27), DefBuff(29), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(31), RechRdx(31)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(31), RechRdx(33)
Level 16: Bullet Rain -- Acc(A), Acc(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(34), Dmg(34), EndRdx(34)
Level 18: Recovery Aura -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(36)
Level 20: Suppressive Fire -- Acc(A), Acc(36), Hold(50), Hold(50)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff(A)
Level 24: [Empty]
Level 26: Regeneration Aura -- Heal(A), Heal(37), Heal(37), RechRdx(37), RechRdx(39), RechRdx(39)
Level 28: Executioner's Shot -- Acc(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(40), Dmg(40), RechRdx(40), EndRdx(42)
Level 30: [Empty]
Level 32: Adrenalin Boost -- Heal(A), Heal(42), Heal(42), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(43)
Level 35: Piercing Rounds -- Acc(A), Acc(45), Dmg(45), Dmg(45), Dmg(46), EndRdx(46)
Level 38: Hail of Bullets -- Acc(A), Dmg(46), Dmg(48), Dmg(48), EndRdx(48), RechRdx(50)
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 10: Chemical Ammunition
Level 10: Cryo Ammunition
Level 10: Incendiary Ammunition
Code:
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Quote:
Only if you've hit level 50 and unlocked incarnate abilities though, if I recall. The OP may not have done so.
|
Originally Posted by Psylenz
You may be unaware that you can have 3 active builds for each character. You can have your team build, your solo build, and maybe #3 could be a pvp build or some such.
|
Just threw this together, so I'm sure it can be tweaked to be a lot better, but even so this is a decent DPS build, with all the Emp tools, and most of the stuff isn't too expensive. Granted, the LotGs and the Health porcs are pricey, but you can easily substitute Gen IOs or a cheaper IO in their place. If you want to spend more, you can add some Enzyme Hamis into the mix and probably be capped.
As it is, you are nearly capped to the big 3, and have a lot of regen most of the time, and have some mitigation tools handy, too.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Empathy
Secondary Power Set: Dual Pistols
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Healing Aura
- (A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance: Level 50
- (15) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (29) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge: Level 50
- (29) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (34) Doctored Wounds - Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
- (43) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
- (43) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
- (43) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50
- (45) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
- (46) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance: Level 50
- (3) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (3) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge: Level 50
- (13) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (15) Doctored Wounds - Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
- (5) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
- (5) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range: Level 50
- (11) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
- (13) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy): Level 50
- (A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance: Level 50
- (7) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (7) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge: Level 50
- (9) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (9) Doctored Wounds - Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
- (11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50
- (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points): Level 50
- (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
- (17) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge: Level 50
- (17) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (23) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge: Level 50
- (19) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
- (19) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge: Level 50
- (21) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
- (21) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
Level 22: Suppressive Fire
- (A) Stupefy - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
- (23) Stupefy - Endurance/Stun: Level 50
- (25) Stupefy - Accuracy/Endurance: Level 50
- (25) Stupefy - Stun/Range: Level 50
- (27) Stupefy - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge: Level 50
- (27) Stupefy - Chance of Knockback: Level 50
- (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50
- (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%: Level 30
- (31) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 30
- (31) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40
- (31) Reactive Armor - Resistance: Level 40
- (34) Reactive Armor - Endurance: Level 40
- (A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance: Level 50
- (34) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (37) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge: Level 50
- (37) Doctored Wounds - Recharge: Level 50
- (40) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
- (46) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
- (46) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
- (48) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50
- (50) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
- (50) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
- (33) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
- (33) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
- (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
- (36) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
- (36) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range: Level 50
- (36) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
- (37) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy): Level 50
- (A) Obliteration - Damage: Level 50
- (39) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
- (39) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
- (39) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50
- (40) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (40) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage: Level 50
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
- (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50
- (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
- (45) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50
- (45) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
- (48) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50
- (48) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
- (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50
Level 2: Swift
- (A) Empty
- (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery: Level 50
- (33) Miracle - +Recovery: Level 40
- (50) Numina's Convalescence - Heal: Level 50
- (A) Empty
- (A) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50
- (42) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
Level 2: Rest
- (A) Empty
Level 20: Chemical Ammunition
Level 20: Cryo Ammunition
Level 20: Incendiary Ammunition
Quote:
I would add that the amount of time you are likely to have available to blast will tend to go up as you play on higher level teams/content. Higher level characters in general tend to be overall more self sufficient. You'll spend less time tossing healing and can devote the time to blasting and buffing.
| As for the teaming bit, you aren't finding much opportunity to shoot stuff because empathy is one of the most active buff/debuff sets. If you want a character that focuses on blasting, you might want to reroll to one of the fire and forget sets like force field or sonic. Traps might actually be the best choice for you, since it just needs to set up its traps at the beginning of a fight then spend the rest of it blasting, and it performs well solo. |
Quote:
Thanks! I tried it out and it works pretty well.|
Originally Posted by Madadh
(lotsa stuff)
|
Only real problem I noticed right off the bat is that Ninja Run doesn't work with combat jumping lol.
you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you <3
The problem with DP is that it does have lower than average damage. If you use incendiary rounds for the extra damage then you are doing yourself a disservice. Defenders get the highest buff/debuff modifiers so a defender is better off using Chemical rounds or possibly Cryo.
The one advantage of DP for defenders is the sheer numbers of procs that you can pack into each power.
One of the most potent /DP defender combinations is Dark/DP. Using Chem rounds, Tar Pit and no attacks but Empty Clips and Bullet Rain you can provide yourself and your team with:
A spawn that is -30% to hit, -62.5% on damage, and -30% on resistance and the incidental damage dealt by those powers and any procs that fire. The -tohit and -damage numbers are equivalent to the mitigation provided by SO'd granite armor and apply to THE ENTIRE TEAM.
If your concept can stand it and you aren't opposed to re-rolling as a Dark/DP that's the path I'd recommend that you take.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Quote:
Glad it seems to be working for you. You're right about having to toggle back and forth between Ninja Run and Combat Jumping, but CJs lower end usage, it's def bonus, and as a place to get a LotG into the build meant I couldn't pass it up. If you choose to, that's up to you. You have to decide if it's worth it or not to you. After all, the real bottom line is how fun you find the results.
|
Originally Posted by Party_Kake
Thanks! I tried it out and it works pretty well.
Only real problem I noticed right off the bat is that Ninja Run doesn't work with combat jumping lol. |
Quote:
I agree with you that the other types of rounds available to 2gun seem under used. I love using the Chem combined with my Sonic. Big Resist numbers combined with -damage makes things very safe. I'm sure cagey use of the different ammo types combined with other primaries would yield lots of fun combos.|
Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
The problem with DP is that it does have lower than average damage. If you use incendiary rounds for the extra damage then you are doing yourself a disservice. Defenders get the highest buff/debuff modifiers so a defender is better off using Chemical rounds or possibly Cryo.
........[edited for brevity] |
PS: I don't think it's so much that Dark/2gun is that great a combo,personally, I just think it's that Dark Miasma is that potent in general, especially on a defender.
Quote:
The thing that makes Dark/DP a good combination is the stacking -damage from Dark/ with -damage from Chem rounds. This combination puts out some of the highest -damage in the game. -Damage is like having extra resistance but it combines with resistance and lets you exceed what would be "the resistance cap."|
Originally Posted by Madadh
I agree with you that the other types of rounds available to 2gun seem under used. I love using the Chem combined with my Sonic. Big Resist numbers combined with -damage makes things very safe. I'm sure cagey use of the different ammo types combined with other primaries would yield lots of fun combos.
PS: I don't think it's so much that Dark/2gun is that great a combo,personally, I just think it's that Dark Miasma is that potent in general, especially on a defender. |
Now if I could only get Wild Western themed animations instead of Gunfu I'd be a happy camper.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Quote:
Sure, but heavy +resistance sets leverage that just as much, I would think. Especially since neither once can get near the cap alone.. I must admit to not being sure, and not being enough of a math girl to calculate it, so I'll leave that to others. But it's close enough that I can't tell the difference. I've played both, and it seems very close. If I had to wager, I'd bet on sonic, but I wouldn't be shocked of dark pulled ahead, either.|
Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
The thing that makes Dark/DP a good combination is the stacking -damage from Dark/ with -damage from Chem rounds. This combination puts out some of the highest -damage in the game. -Damage is like having extra resistance but it combines with resistance and lets you exceed what would be "the resistance cap."
|
Quote:
| Now if I could only get Wild Western themed animations instead of Gunfu I'd be a happy camper. |
I made a Dark/DP defender with the same look and style and backstory and everything just to try it out. Since the tar pit is a targeted ground aoe, I figured I'd be a conniving little jerk and get teleport foe. Since I love long range teleport anyway it seems to work out great.
In the sewer task force it's just crazy how hard it gets for the enemies to hurt anyone and deal any damage while I'm around. assuming the debuffs and buffs are up that is. Thanks for pointing out that crazy combo, it's turning out to be just as much fun as the other was.
Though I am very tempted to use another respec to put all those going rogue preorder enhancements into empty clips just to wipe the floor with all the bonus damage lol.
Hitting level 22 or so is going to hurt so bad.
you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you <3
Quote:
In a word, recharge.|
Originally Posted by Party_Kake
I would like your help fixing my Emp/*
|
In three words, recharge, recharge, recharge.
I'm not a fan of Hasten, but when you have Recovery Aura removing endurance as a limiter, your primary and secondary have 17 out of 18 recharge-limited click powers, it's very hard to justify not taking Hasten. And as many global recharge set bonuses as you can get your greedy little hands on.
Regeneration Aura, in particular, is the defender equivalent to Instant Healing. When it's up, you rock, team or solo. You want this up as much as humanly possible.
A specialized solo build -- that is, skipping all primaries except the three "Auras" -- lets you load up on powers such as Tough and Weave, which will complement your IH-level regeneration and fast-recharging self-heal. Defenders get Tanker-level modifiers on Tough and Weave, too. You may even find some rare teams where your solo build will be appropriate -- e.g. a good buffer/demezzer backing you up but nobody willing to charge in first, soak up the alpha, and let loose some AoE damage with style.
Quote:
Not every AT benefits equally from Sonic's buff's. The caster for instance is weaker than the team. That's not the case with DP/Dark. You get just as much benefit from it as the rest of the team.|
Originally Posted by Madadh
Sure, but heavy +resistance sets leverage that just as much, I would think. Especially since neither once can get near the cap alone.. I must admit to not being sure, and not being enough of a math girl to calculate it, so I'll leave that to others. But it's close enough that I can't tell the difference. I've played both, and it seems very close. If I had to wager, I'd bet on sonic, but I wouldn't be shocked of dark pulled ahead, either.
|
On a high resistance team it's moot. (Think /fire brutes. The brute is all ready at the resistance cap for Fire, adding sonic shields does nothing for fire damage but having -damage stacked on top does.)
(Think of a 100 damage attack coming in. DP/Dark reduces that by 62% to 38 damage that hits the brute's fire resistance and does a whopping total of 3.8 damage. With out the DP/Dark's contribution it would have been 10 damage)
On low resistance teams -damage is a godsend since even squishy blasters get a resistance toggle (and lest we forget, blasters exist for the sole purpose of giving a defender something to do on a team.)
Let's take the example of a blaster that has Force Mastery and runs Tough. ED capped resistance slotting gives the blaster 50% resistance to S/L but nothing else. ED capped Sonic Shields give the blaster 54% resistance to all damage types except psi provided he stays tethered to the defender and never strays more than 25 feet away (and exits sonic dispersion). That gives the blaster 75% resistance to S/L (blaster resistance cap) 54% to every thing else and nothing against Psi.
With a 100 damage attack the blaster takes:
25 damage from S/L
46 damage from all other types but Psi
100 damage from Psi
With the same conditions the DP/Dark would have the blaster take:
19 damage from S/L (100*.38*.5)
38 damage from all other types
Having both available would be the best of both worlds:
9.5 damage from S/L (100*.38*.25)
17.48 damage from all other types but Psi (100*.38*.46)
38 damage from Psi
(Note: the above numbers do not take into account the defense or resistance provided by Shadow Fall, only the mitigation provided by the -damage components in Darkest Night and DP's AoE attacks using Chemical rounds)
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
All true, but there is a fairly huge gap in between a fire brute (or tank) on a fire farm (ie fire damage only) and a blaster.
Also, it looks like in your numbers that your Dark/2gun got the damage reduction for chem rounds figured in, but the Sonic/2gun didn't benefit of the chem rounds.
And I'm not sure I'd assume most blasters are running tough and ED mastery, but I don't run blasters much myself so I can certainly be easily talked into believing it.
Quote:
Adding in Chem Rounds for the Sonic/DP means a boost of 25% -damage for that combo. Adding in Shadow Fall (slotted 2 defense, 2 resistance, 2 end red) for the Dark/DP means that the team gains another 7.5% defense to all and 30% resistance to Energy, Negative, and Psi.|
Originally Posted by Madadh
All true, but there is a fairly huge gap in between a fire brute (or tank) on a fire farm (ie fire damage only) and a blaster.
Also, it looks like in your numbers that your Dark/2gun got the damage reduction for chem rounds figured in, but the Sonic/2gun didn't benefit of the chem rounds. And I'm not sure I'd assume most blasters are running tough and ED mastery, but I don't run blasters much myself so I can certainly be easily talked into believing it. |
(My preferred slotting for Shadow Fall is is 2 HO Ribos, 2 HO Cytos, LotG +7.5, and Steadfast res/def which gives fractionally higher mitigation numbers but much better endurance management)
I'll leave the rest of the math to the reader but it seems to me that the clear winner in the mitigation department is still the Dark/DP especially since the full benefit applies to the Defender as well as the team meaning that the defender stays upright and helping the team a larger portion of the time.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Quote:
I admire your salesmanship, but your logic less so.|
Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
Adding in Chem Rounds for the Sonic/DP means a boost of 25% -damage for that combo. Adding in Shadow Fall (slotted 2 defense, 2 resistance, 2 end red) for the Dark/DP means that the team gains another 7.5% defense to all and 30% resistance to Energy, Negative, and Psi.
(My preferred slotting for Shadow Fall is is 2 HO Ribos, 2 HO Cytos, LotG +7.5, and Steadfast res/def which gives fractionally higher mitigation numbers but much better endurance management) I'll leave the rest of the math to the reader but it seems to me that the clear winner in the mitigation department is still the Dark/DP especially since the full benefit applies to the Defender as well as the team meaning that the defender stays upright and helping the team a larger portion of the time. |
1) Just because one personally gets the full benefit of all the powers doesn't mean that they are the 'clear winner'. If so, people would find the clear winner of shield vs anything else for melee defense, everything else, since a shield type doesn't personally get anything out of Grant Cover.
2) Just because you can't get full personal benefit from every power for mitigation, it doesn't follow that you're going to be face planting as a result, either.
I will grant you, of the 2 combos, for purposes of soloing, I'd choose the dark/2gun. For teams, it's far less simple. And certainly isn't 'clear.' For one, the minimum hit chance isn't going to be less than 5%, regardless. Many more team mates will be approaching that barrier without help, than will be approaching the Res cap. So in a lot of scenarios the comparison will be just between the -damage from dark vs the +Res of Sonic. And in those cases, Res will usually be much more effective as the numbers are larger and Res never has anchor death (but not always, as if they're teamed with only a tricked out stoney or Invul, then the +res may be worthless, advantage then swings back to the dark).
I've played both combos on a def. And both are very fun, and very effective. I don't have an overall preference. It seems that some folks have a decided preference. And that's perfectly acceptable. But "I prefer X" does not automatically equal "X is always clearly better for everyone because I personally like X."
If we were talking about solo, Dark/2gun. If we were talking about F2P or pre-IOs, somewhere where almost nobody has much defense built up, I think I'd again go with Dark/2gun. If we are talking about a world that has IOs, and you might realistically be playing extended amounts of time as a level 50 now that the endgame has been expanded, then the answer is no longer clear at all.
I've done them both. All things being equal I prefer the Dark/DP for both soloing and teaming since it does provide more mitigation in the long run and at a lower endurance cost. YMMV of course. For a sonic primary I actually prefer /Sonic for much more stacking -res. The longer animations on /sonic also put an absolute limit on endurance usage since you can form a seamless attack chain with little recharge and fewer powers. I found that an important consideration with Sonic/ even when I used Alpha Cardiac.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
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I've done them both too. And while one style does provide more mitigation in some circumstances, in other no less rare situations (based on my play style, obviously), the other provides more mitigation in others. So, obviously it just seems to come down to, if you have tried both, and have a preference, or a combo that better suits all or most all of your play style, go with that one, whichever it happens to be in your case.|
Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
I've done them both. All things being equal I prefer the Dark/DP for both soloing and teaming since it does provide more mitigation in the long run and at a lower endurance cost. YMMV of course. For a sonic primary I actually prefer /Sonic for much more stacking -res. The longer animations on /sonic also put an absolute limit on endurance usage since you can form a seamless attack chain with little recharge and fewer powers. I found that an important consideration with Sonic/ even when I used Alpha Cardiac.
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I have played Sonic/Sonic, but not much past the 30s, and it was ages ago, so I really can't comment on that combo with much authority. I'd have to draw on my experience with Sonic/ and /Sonic as separate entities and I'm not sure how well I'd like them combined. Although, I can't imagine stacking more -res would ever be a bad thing.
And I have to admit to being a bit lost as to the meaning of your comment on Cardiac, without seeing a specific build. I generally try avoid Cardiac, as I feel I get better value out of endurance management tools that exempt, and am usually successful, but if you want a commentary on a specific build with Cardiac, I'll do my best to comment once I'm a tad better informed.
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He's referring to how sonic resonance is really bad in the endurance efficiency department, so he likes pairing it up with an end efficient attack set like sonic blast.
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Originally Posted by Madadh
And I have to admit to being a bit lost as to the meaning of your comment on Cardiac
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If I may interject here, soloing was my main concern when starting the thread. |
Originally Posted by Madadh
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I will grant you, of the 2 combos, for purposes of soloing, I'd choose the dark/2gun. For teams, it's far less simple. And certainly isn't 'clear.'... |
Soloing a boss and wiping multiple times is one thing. But having difficulty taking down a single group of minions is something else entirely.
From what I've seen so far, the Dark/DP works out best because I have far less to worry about in terms of enemy dps, and I actually have some "oh ****" buttons I can use to get myself out of a predicament - not to mention, holy crap I soloed a boss guy followed by a giant frickin robot on the top of a building that was on fire because stuff blowed up and omggg it was awesome.
Granted the bot took me out while it had less than a shot worth of hp left but I used one of my 2 self-rez powers and blasted him for the last bit before walking away slowly from explosions all badass style.
That being said, holy CRAP level 22 is a harsh mistress. suddenly my accuracy took a nosedive alongside my endurance recovery. Sewer trial buffs, pleeease come back!
you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you <3
Level 22 is where you get to slot SOs instead of DOs into your powers. Makes up for the loss of all the beginners stuff.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
When dual pistols first came out I think it was the same time that Defenders got a 'boost' that would help them solo, giving a boost to damage output while solo so you didn't have to feel bad about not finding a group or something.
Well anyways, I made an Empathy/Dual Pistols Defender, and as soon as I had access to Ninja Run, I had my most favoritest character ever. I was jumping around enemies, dodging attacks, taking down thugs with badass looking pistols, I looked amazing, and I was having loads of fun. No trouble to speak of on the soloing front.
At some point enemies started getting really tough - and I don't mean that I was ending fights at low health whereas previously I wasn't. This was me burning all of my inspirations, some of my temporary powers that I had crafted for fun and effect, resting, running away, ending fights where I was empty of endurance and health, hoping that I'd dodge those last few hits so I could get in one more shot, and sometimes making several runs at the guys to finish them, only to be even more frustrated that this was nothing more than a group of 4 minions that just happened to be too close to each other.
So I figured maybe I should revamp my character to be team friendly and just give up on the whole solo idea.
switching to spec 2, I realized very quickly that I was going to have 3, maybe 4 of the gun-related powers and the rest of my character was going to be team based stuff. cool I thought, until being in a group for a while made me realize I was never going to be able to use my guns anymore and the other half of my character was taking over.
It's been a while since I played her, but I figure rather than shelve her or delete her I should ask for advice because there might be a way to get the concept to work. I don't mind respeccing and changing secondary powersets, and she's already gone redside for the buff that might help damage output (though hardly enough).
So I'm asking the defender community, is it possible to create the character I had at levels 3-20? Can that character exist past that level range?
you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you <3