Dual Blades

Hi,

So, dual blades... I've never tried it but would like to give it a go on a new character. What do you guys think about it? Pros/cons? All the attacks look like they are worth taking - Are there any worth skipping? I plan on going with this on a tank build.

Thanks!

I have a Db/regen Stalker and i absolutly love it. There is a lot of cone attacks AoE, single target stuff,

All the attacks are worth taking while you're leveling. At high levels, though, once you've got some recharge slotted, you can drop one or two attacks to focus on just the combo(s) you use most often.

Dual Blades is a very good set! Attack Vitals is very strong, and is a chain you can repeat indefinitely with very low recharge (That is, Blinding Feint > Attack Vitals for Non-Stalkers).

Beyond that, when you begin to slot for more and more global recharge... the combos should be ditched for just focusing on the best attacks. Dual Blades is 'flawed' in that the combos just don't hold up.

And for that? Blame Vengeful and One Thousand Cuts.

Something people tend to forget about One Thousand Cuts is that it is a 90 degree cone attack. Compared to other cones and AOE's, it's DPAS actually isn't too terrible. Probably not where it should be for your tier 9 super attack, but still worth using against multiple enemies. I agree that it is lacking as a single target attack, but you'll still likely want it in your build for the AOE potential.

At very high recharge levels I could see dropping Vengeful and Power Slice, as their DPAS just doesn't keep up with other attacks, and the combos they provide stop being your best method of distributing damage. That said, I still have both as placeholders for the Kinetic Combat IO's, which at 4 slots give a nice amount of Smashing/Lethal defense.

The only powers I would outright recommend skipping entirely are Nimble Slash and your single target taunt (if you're a Tanker taking the taunt is more up to your playstyle/secondary). Nimble Slash isn't a great attack to begin with, and the combos effect you can make with it aren't much to write home about either.

That all aside, the powerset is very much enjoyable, both aesthetically and numerically. My main is a Dual Blades/Willpower brute, for that matter.

I think it looks great and is plenty effective. The combo system is painless if you're used to attack chains instead of just pounding whatever has recharged. You'll hate having lethal damage when you're fighting robots, but other than that it's not too bad.

For a Tanker, it may be more about spamming AoEs than worrying about combos, or you may be switching back and forth between Sweep and Attack Vitals, with Blinding Feint thrown in to improve damage. I'd definitely get at least Sweep up and running.

Pros:
- looks cool
- terrific cone in Sweeping Strike (strong even by ST attack standards)
- looks cool
- plenty of AoE output, provided you can keep your enemies up close
- looks cool

Cons:
- redraw
- somewhat weak before level 26 (Sweeping Strike)
- secondary effects almost insignificant
- combo system fairly punishing and even downright broken at high levels of recharge
- redraw

As a tanker you'll definitely want to use Nimble Slash, which isn't too good of an attack unfortunately. Sweeping Strike is awesome. Ablating Strike is great. Blinding Feint is your "Build Up" type power, except it's an attack, and you'll want to slot it as such. Typhoon's Edge is your standard PBAoE. One Thousand Cuts is a relatively powerful cone, but comes with a long animation.

Vengeful Slice is a fairly poor attack, but it's part of the Attack Vitals combo which more than makes up for it. You definitely want VS while leveling, might respec out of it later if you have a lot of recharge going or don't particulary care for a complete ST attack chain.

I'd skip Power Slice; some may advice it for the TE>PS>OTC combo, but I find by the time you get OTC you will be animation locked even on SOs, and I prefer to insert a Sweeping Strike in there than Power Slice. YMMV.

Thanks for all of the feedback!! I decided to give it a try and went with a stone/dual blades tank.... And from what I've seen so far (only level 14) I'm really enjoying it!!!!

I cant wait to get granite to see a big chunk of rock swinging blades all over the place!! Just wondering though, if I should go stone brute instead for the higher damage since I would like to solo AVs from time to time...

I think the wierdo scrappers have done numbers on it and found it to be one of the highest dps dealing sets for them. I could be wrong though.

It's a very fun set either way and the combo system feels right. You're not punished for not making combos due to high damage but you're rewarded for doing them anyway.

I went with BF->AV chain on my Inv/DB for the most part, with the AoE's for aggro and damage on teams.