MA is quite good for tanks. You lose some of what makes it nice for scrappers (crits, increased crits) and get +10% def to all added into Storm Kick. This is huge for tankers. My SR/MA was at 30%ish for all three positions by level 12. It also gets four ST attacks by 16. Storm Kick, Crane Kick, and Cobra Strike are all good, and Thunder Kick adds in bruising and can't be skipped, so you might as well get some use of it.
I do miss the crits, and waiting to 35 for AoE is kinda sucky, even if I'm used to it with other tanker secondaries.
I've got a level 30 Shield/StJ who is fairly effective. While I've got plenty of experience with MA on scrappers (2 @ 50), I haven't played enough with StJ to really make a fair comment on it. By all accounts it compares favourably with MA and other sets. The "combos" aren't really a big deal. Connect with 3 attacks and the finisher gets a bonus. Less intensive than the Dual Blades system, but some people can't handle the responsibility.
They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
@Starflier
I made one of each on the Beta server, and ran them both through DFB until they hit lvl 10. StJ looks more like what I expect Wonder Woman to fight like, but the control of MA's disorients was very nice. This forces me to make a hard decision... stick with my character concept, or ditch it for a toon that will survive better.
Do I go with MA, which will make controlling mobs all that much easier, and increase survivability from not getting hit as much from disoriented foes, or Street Justice, which looks so much more like what I pictured my Wonder Woman clone to be fighting like.
Bah, perhaps a little more testing
Street Justice does pick up some decent AoE mitigation, with Stun in the cone and KD in Spinning Strike.
They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
@Starflier
I went with Street Justice, because it went with the concept I had for the character... and because Martial Arts looks so bad with a shield. Only drawback I have found so far is accuracy seems to be lacking. I seem to miss quite a bit, even with lvl 25 common IO's. I usually only slot one accuracy at the lower lvls, but with StJ I have found I need two.
Got the toon to lvl 26 solo, for the most part, doing only story missions (did turn off EXP at lvl 4, and did DFB 4 times to get the various bonuses, and ran Posi 1 & 2, which obviously I wasn't solo). Compared to my scrapper, I am feeling quite beefy, leaping into the center of mobs, and not having to worry too much about getting beat down. Currently mobs that stun or sleep are my bane, but I seem able to outlast the mez, or am able to pop a break free.
It was kinda slow starting, but I must say, I am liking my new SD/StJ Wonder Woman clone.
I got inspired by a Wonder Woman statue (Yes, the DCUO one), where she stands holding a sword and shield. I've always loved Wonder Woman, and seen her as a sort of female version of Superman... with a lasso and invisible jet.
To that end, I am planning on starting a new shield/X tanker over the weekend, where I would like X to be a brawling type. (I already have a 50 SS/Inv Brute, and BS/WP Scrapper) I honestly have no experience with either StJ or MA... last time I played Martial Arts was years ago, before they "fixed" it, and at a glance, Street justice looks like it relies heavily on combos, much like dual blades. I am curious to hear people's thoughts and opinions, good and/or bad, on these two sets, or if I should be looking at others sets, like Kinetic... or Super Strengh again.