S/L Def vs. AoE and Ranged on /Resist sets?

All,

I have a level 50 SS/Elec brute with capped Smashing/Lethal defense, and he rocks. I have SS/Dark in the works with similar numbers planned. However, I discovered that I could instead get both AoE and Ranged up around 40% or more at the expense of Smashing/Lethal or Melee type defenses. Now obviously if I were Katana or Broadsword, I could cap melee too. But i'm not.

Still, I am thinkihg that I should switch from S/L defense to Ranged and AoE. That way I am not ripped up by ranged foes, and for melee foes, I am a Brute. That is where I crush them. Foot Stomp. Punches. Damsge auras. Depending on secondary, Stun or EndDrain or Burn damage. So I still think I would dominate anything in melee range and be more well-rounded against other stuff.

What do you think?

Thanks,

Lewis

I think that because S/L defence covers the majority of ranged and AoE attacks (Especially the -def ones) you will still be better off with S/L.

An alternative would be to try for 32.5% to all positions, and rely on small purples for the tricky places.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aggelakis PrincessDarkstar: "RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE IS *WRONG* ON THE INTERNET!"

I dunno. My SS/Elec is pretty hot and cold. Or stable and unstable. At times, ranged foes really rip me up. And by definition, ranged/aoe would cover all the ranged/aoe, not just most. Plus it would help with the more esoteric ranged attacks.

Maybe I should have dual builds so I can do both. But maybe S/L *is* best.

Feeling uncertain,

Lewis

It is also worth thinking about what you do most on the character, for example ITF is my fave TF, and -def comes in spades but is defended by S/L so that would win.

If you plan on fighting Arachnos a lot their defence debuffs (And I think most of their debuffs) are ranged so that will win.

In general over all the content S/L will win, but if you run specific missions more than others you could bias your build towards that.

I should say I have seen a few people absolutely swear by ranged defence, and have never tried it so this is all theory.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aggelakis PrincessDarkstar: "RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE IS *WRONG* ON THE INTERNET!"

As a brute most enemies you fight will be in melee, especially with a damage aura keeping them on you. Sacrificing S/L or Melee defense in favor of Ranged/AoE seems... counter-productive.

This thread had a solid debate on this very topic.

It depends on the enemies, and on your primary, but just being a Brute is not necessarily enough to get by in melee without defense. Melee enemies often hit harder than ranged ones, and many enemy groups favor melee heavily. Even with S/L or melee defense, I find it's often the melee enemies that rip me up the worst. You maybe could get away with it if you take good advantage of PBAoE knockdowns like Foot Stomp, I guess.

I agree with the two builds concept. As in, keep your S/L build, but then build a ranged build. Then see which one is more survivable, post your results here and then share with the community.

But I think the argument for ranged can be explained by the fact that only so many characters can attack you at once in melee, but an entire room can attack you with ranged.

The stuff ripping you up from ranged is likely Energy/Neg...if you could get S/L/E/N softcapped that would take care of most of that...

Either go S/L Defense or Melee/Ranged defense. I would not however go for Ranged/AoE defense. As mentioned before, melee attacks typically hit much harder than ranged ones, leaving yourself open to them on a melee toon is just asking for a rough time.