I think I want to reroll my monster main StJ/FA... DB/FA or Katana/FA?
By
Angelxman81,
Posted on: 2012-08-28 14:22 in Brutes
A lot of people like to pair their /fa with a primary that has a lot of built in mitigation. Luckily, both of the primaries you mention have some mitigation built in and could help.
With dual blades, the sweep combo is useful in that it will help to knock enemies down and to keep them in your burn patch or blazing aura and mulch health while also giving you time to breathe and pop a healing flames if needed. This is friendly if you don't have IOs as it is fairly straightforward mitigation.
Katana has the much loved Divine Avalanche which will boost your melee and lethal defense with each application. This one is still incredibly useful, but I would argue that in SO only builds it won't do as much good as IOd builds that are built for defense. +Defense is helpful, but if you are starting from scratch and have 0 defense to boost, having a minimal boost is not incredibly helpful. (not sure of the exact value, or how much it can be enhanced, or even how many times it can stack, but you get my point?)
In the end, I would probably roll dual blades over katana if I were pairing it with fiery aura. Particularly if you are skipping IOs. Call me crazy, but I am crazy about sweep with /fa.
If you are open to it- I also hear that Battle axe and War mace can do stupid things with /fa and provide even more control than either of the primaries you mentioned.
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"You're right...I forgot...being constantly at or the near the damage cap is a big turn off. Definitely not worth it."
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When I hit 50 I always IOd my builds to get set bonuses...
And I got preference with the newer sets over the really old ones.
Also DB has better animation, combo mechanics and more options for weapon models than katana.
I just hope redraw is not a big deal...
I think that I second almost everything that magikwand stated.
Dual Blades are flashier, have more interesting mechanics, and have more mitigation in the form of Sweep. They also possibly have more AoE damage (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this). Their largest downfalls are high endurance cost and a highly resisted damage type. The animations feel awesome, and they're very versatile (It looks just as cool on a "nimble dagger-using" toon as it does on a heavy-armored knight with large broadswords).
Katana is a good deal more ST focused than Dual Blades, and has the lovely Divine Avalanche to bolster its defense. Having played a BS/Fire to 50, I can attest that the +defense is amazing for keeping you alive in melee, as Broadsword has a Divine Avalanche analogue in Parry. Its single target damage is very cool, and the attack animations feel more overall...Aerial, as if the character is liable to hop into the air and do something violent/likely unpleasant while up there.
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Quote:
The exact value, enhancement and stacking are very relevant. It's not a minimal boost to defense. Double-stacked (pretty typical) with two defense SOs puts you at 42% melee/lethal defense. Just about anything will soft cap you at that point. There are plenty of attacks it won't affect, but it's great for the ones it does affect.|
Originally Posted by magikwand
Katana has the much loved Divine Avalanche which will boost your melee and lethal defense with each application. This one is still incredibly useful, but I would argue that in SO only builds it won't do as much good as IOd builds that are built for defense. +Defense is helpful, but if you are starting from scratch and have 0 defense to boost, having a minimal boost is not incredibly helpful. (not sure of the exact value, or how much it can be enhanced, or even how many times it can stack, but you get my point?)
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Not that there's anything wrong with Dual Blades. As mentioned, you get better AoE and flashier attacks. Assuming you use Divine Avalanche on Katana (the reason to take the set), Dual Blades will also do better single-target DPS. It's also nice to have Blinding Feint boosting your damage aura. I just don't consider Dual Blades the equal of Katana for mitigation. So it depends on what you're after.
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Quote:
Thanks for chiming in, Werner. I played Katana once before on a /sr scrapper. I'l be the first to admit I underestimated the value of Divine Avalanche. I suppose I never realized how much of a boon it is considering my pairing.|
Originally Posted by Werner
The exact value, enhancement and stacking are very relevant. It's not a minimal boost to defense. Double-stacked (pretty typical) with two defense SOs puts you at 42% melee/lethal defense. Just about anything will soft cap you at that point. There are plenty of attacks it won't affect, but it's great for the ones it does affect.
Not that there's anything wrong with Dual Blades. As mentioned, you get better AoE and flashier attacks. Assuming you use Divine Avalanche on Katana (the reason to take the set), Dual Blades will also do better single-target DPS. It's also nice to have Blinding Feint boosting your damage aura. I just don't consider Dual Blades the equal of Katana for mitigation. So it depends on what you're after. |
OP, I hope you are taking notes on this! You didn't say you specifically wanted mitigation, but if you want it, it seems that katana has considerable mitigation through + defense.
Words to the wise aren't necessary- it's the stupid ones that need them.
"You're right...I forgot...being constantly at or the near the damage cap is a big turn off. Definitely not worth it."
- Vitality
I think my StJ/FA brute is a monster and his build is not finished yet...
I think I want to reroll, for concepts into a weapon melee set, I know redraw sucks but... Not sure if should be DB or Katana.
I already have a DB/WP scrapper and she is a monster too...
Never tried katana past 20s...
Any advice of what set works well with /FA?
Thanks!