Linea

While I rarely recommend resist armors on 75% resist cap ATs, I do and have run resist cap builds on the 75% resist cap ATs. The crucial problem is that while solo, you will take 2.5x damage even on the best build. Compound that with the lower HP of those came ATs, and you have an exponential problem. On top of that you'll typically have Zero DDR, although Ageless can help with that. It absolutely IS doable, and it can be fun, but from an optimization stand point, it gets tricky unless they offer something else meaningful to the specific build you are going for. OR it's a purely team oriented build. In the context of a team with buffs, resist builds can really shine.

(off topic) Additional info on 801 armor testing: (off topic) This is an old summary quote, not updated, pulled from my archives. It's still mostly true, but not entirely accurate.

I would be impressed if he's doing 750 dps except for the short duration when the accolades are up. I would estimate it closer to 350. There is also the issue of (optimizing procs means lower recharge), which works against (more recharge means more efficient dps chains). He tends to ignore resistances because meta teams run barrier chaining. He also gave up self healing in pretty much all forms. AoC is backup to and rotates with the Nuke Stun. Yes, contagious works better in single target, but it also works surprisingly well here, much mores so that I would have expected. But I was also mostly just going for the set bonus. I looked into Fate Sealed. It only "guarantees effects" on a couple of powers. It's real bonus would be the free global enhancement, but so far I'm not finding that I have any motivation to swap it in. I never even noticed that when I swapped them in. I've swapped them back.

Just checked in-game. It currently has 3 Membranes and a Defense/Recharge in it.

I don't see his actual build anywhere, although he has some videos of using it. I don't remember them, and didn't rewatch them. The build might be in the videos. I'd be fairly certain his build would be a melee fort, you have significantly higher damage in melee than a ranged fort. As it turns out, he did go Ranged Fort, Probably for better proc potential? He probably has lower defenses in exchange for more offense, procs, and recharge. He'd likely have less resistances as well, and go with passive resists instead, and then put any of those resources into offense, procs, and recharge as well. Regardless, there are lots of alternatives, and almost any of those will have more offense.

If you want crazy Offense, crank up recharge to the max, and get all the pets perma. Try to get 40ish Ranged defense and 28 to 33 AoE defense with Hover. Then Hover-Tank and send in the pets. A full offense build like that can push 1000dps. It's entirely not my style, but it IS effective. I'm not overly worried about the psionics. MRA will block half of it, and minimal resists can deal with the rest. I HATE THE CRAB LEGS! A large part of this build is getting rid of the crab legs via Costume: Syndicate Agent, Costume: PPD Hardsuit, and Costume: Arachnos Arbitor. Animating Crab attacks without legs is equally wonky. DPS (base) Gun 61,92,24; 32,38 vs Crab 64, 81,20; 32, 38. Assuming a certain minimum recharge, this works out very close to even. I've soloed a +4x8 ITF with very similar builds, these just emphasize the double leadership a bit more, and have been updated for i27. The Third Build is 59/59/59 with Agility Core. This is by design, as the Incarnate Cap is 59. Yes that's 55 without Agility and outside of Incarnate Content. Chances are 44 and down I'll swap to the mother hen build with more recharge. I'm not currently planning on building the Medic build. I did build all three in the past, but I'm most likely skipping the middle build this time around. I did also mention Ageless in the discussion as an option over Rebirth. I'm sure I'll actually use both. Which one is better when will vary by content. The endurance is OK. I wouldn't call it good. This build definitely needs both Endurance Accolades, then it will be good, but not great. Carry Recovery Serums. Yes I took both resist uniques out of the incarnate build. Putting one back in asks the question "how?" Both KB and Heal Unique changes below. This would give resists a big boost, while also doubling the negatives, IF you consider those outcomes negative. If you are not me, I'd probably say Choose this option and take your +8 resist All and Run with it. Recharge. But I'm already pushing the minimum boundaries on functional recharge. I feel like this is a definite no. KB1. This would work, but require wiggling a few things around to bring KB2 in earlier. Probably swap Tactics1 and Mystic Flight positions, but that goes against the MOMAS principle. However, this is probably the best alternative. Heal Unique. I consider this the second best alternative. But I really really like that maintenance tick. I "Feel" It helps keep me moving at a good pace without pause. It might not be helping near as much as it feels like it does. It probably isn't helping as much as it feels like it does. But so far it's a Subjective Win, and the devs are probably laughing at me for choosing it and wanting more of them! I don't understand the 0% Accuracy Comment? All the attacks have accuracy slotted and all of them are 112+% chance to hit +3s (50+1 vs 54). If you mean global accuracy bonuses, I don't see that as a problem. Arctic Breath is a great addition, but it's not going to happen in this build, there just is not room. I also like Shatter Armor as a similar alternative, if you don't like the shark animations. I do NOT like the shark animations, purely subjective. When you choose to take the Rune/Hybrid/Rune/Demonic path you are trading (always on resists) for (peaks and valleys resist on demand). And if you include Hybrid in that, you're also trading away Damage on Demand. I would like to have the resist uniques such that I'd be RDR capping at peak, but that is also what inspirations are for. A standard medium Def/Res will be close enough to RDR cap. The greater concern is both (Resists and RDR) during Hybrid instead of Rune/Demonic. But that's also just part of the price of admission to this particular style.

Typically one slotted? with a purple+5 then add Temp:Stun Grenades. Works wonders on squishies, not so sure about scrappers.

Added the just barely Incarnate Soft Cap with Agility Core T4 version above.

I'm aware. In practice it works fairly well. Mostly we're just buying time to react as needed. This version was specifically intended as a "Mom" to herd the ducklings in the back-line or mid-line. However, more defense (incarnate cap) and more healing (medicine) are not at all amiss, but that will cost you both recharge and double leadership. Typical Piloting Guidelines: With little to no DDR it's critical that you watch your def/res numbers and know your enemies. When you hit -1/3 health, pop Rune or Hybrid, and Temp Heal (This solves 90% of the problems) If you hit -2/3 health again a second time, pop a Medium Def/Res and Serum Double Check your def/res Numbers. If needed pop a Medium Purple, Orange, Def/Res, or Demonic If you hit -2/3 to -3/4 again a third time, pop Rebirth or Inspirations Triple check your def/res Numbers. If needed pop a Medium Purple, Orange, Def/Res, or Demonic At This Point the dismembered body parts have well and truly hit the dual blades flurry. If things continue to go south, use your emergency heal inspirations, more Def/Res inspirations, phase, run, die, teleport to the hospital, or logout as needed. It's still not durable enough! So What Now? First, Swap Rebirth for Ageless +DDR. It'll make things a bit cramped on the piloting check list, but it can not only help keep you out of the defense hole proactively, it can also be used re-actively to get your out of a hole as needed. Which method works best will vary by target group. In order to keep as much recharge as possible, I'd probably drop Double Leadership in favor of Aid Self / Field Medic. Field Medic having the additional benefit of being a +endurance power. Sacrifice even more recharge for even more defense, getting as close the Incarnate Cap as possible while retaining Field Medic and Perma-Serum. Sacrifice Aid Self/Field Medic to the Incarnate Defense Gods. At this point you'll also be pushing the boundaries on Perma-Serum as well.

The top Tank* armors in my testing have been: 13: SR** 12: SD 11: Stone 10: Inv, SR *On a scrapper these top armors all get crammed into the 6 or 7 range, which is why I list the Tank ratings instead. **SR is extremely hard to drive at difficulty 13, failing 95% of the time, but it's also the only armor that EVER passed difficulty 13. The rest of the time I'd probably rate it a 10. It should be pretty Cozy in the 10 range. Back on Topic What are the worst armors and why? I want to build one. Yes I'm crazy. Sometimes I just like the challenge of making the worst work as well as possible, and figuring out what that means. Point out the Why. Which armors and which points of which armors need attention and why they need that attention. Aka: If scrapper fire had a taunt aura it would suddenly be top tier instead of bottom tier.

The intent is to be able to herd all your little low level ducklings along on high level content. I rather suspect you're going to really need your accolades and recovery serums. Crab - MOMAS 1b - Leadership - [i28].mbd Swapping Double Leadership for Aid Self / Field Medic +Endurance Crab - MOMAS 1d - Medic -[i28].mbd If I get around to an Incarnate Capped Variant, I'll add it here later Crab - MOMAS 1e+ - Incarnate - [i28].mbd Adding version f. I decided to go ahead and swap things around a bit, and add in the resist uniques. It's a question of +15% performance peak, when everything is capped out, vs +20% performance all the rest of the time. I almost always go for Peak, or Peaks and Valleys and exploit that mechanic. It really is a tough choice in this case. Crab - MOMAS 1f+ - Incarnate - [i28].mbd

The problem I'm seeing is: I'm effectively agreeing with all of you. I would say, so far, Willpower, Regen, and Fire(scrapper) are all on my list. Regen - If any armor should have -regen resistance, it should be regen. IMO regen should be effectively immune to -regen. Willpower - Should probably have a half measure of both -endurance and -regen resistance. Fire - I feel subjectively I agree with this assessment, but have NO idea what I'd do to fix it. The one thing fire has going for it is "Taunt Into Burn", and the scrapper version loses that. But at the same time, ANY buff to /Fire on Brute or Tank would be unwarranted. And as to the reason I'm asking the question: So far I'm leaning toward Willpower. I have no desire to play Regen or Fire ever again. I've played way to many Regens, and have never really liked fire outside of farming where I tolerate it.

If you are going after AVs: Web Grenade and the Trap with -Regen. Traps is a great set. The downsides are that it's position based, strategic, and slow moving. The average team is Perma-Super-Speeding at 90mph from one end of the mission to the other. Perma-Super-Speed does not play well with traps.

Once upon a time, I did this with a scrapper and pool powers. My most recent Psi Hunter is a Ranged Fortunata, although Melee Fortunata would have been a more optimal choice. The downside of Fortunatas is the expense. You pretty much have to go all in, full expense, break the bank, with little room for compromise. If you want Staff/Psionics, then we're looking at a Scrapper or Stalker with APP, and/or Sorcery. Given Staff's weaknesses, I'd go Stalker for Staff/. On this front /Nin is a very good Psionic Armor as well. MRA Defense combined with Psionic Resist. However, we have Sentinels now. If you want all ranged, that would be a near perfect choice. If you want ranged and melee, then a Dominator (Assault Sets are Ranged/Melee) or Melee Fortunata (Claws/Psionics)

We always talk about the best armors. What's are the Worst Armors? And why?

Kat / EnA would be my pick. Get the Defense Unique IOs as early as reasonable. Divine Avalanche slotted for recharge and defense, combined with Kinetic Dampeners and reasonable sLenfc defense from EnA. Ease in to the edge of a mob and start with DA, then watch your defense numbers, and stack DA as needed. relatively early in life you should be able to push softcap on M/L with senfc not too far behind. It's one of the few combinations that I completely broke in a good way. Later, Once you get enough levels and recharge to start stacking Energy Drain +Defense, you can push well over Incarnate Cap defenses. If you push even further into the high recharge overload build, with Rune/Hybrid/Rune/Demonic, stacking everything, you can push well beyond most tanks, or limited periods of time; and then transitioning with Demonic (accolade so it works in Hardmode), or other temps to bridge the gap outside of hardmode. In the end you can push 7m or so pure insanity. All of these probably need updating, my end-game build ended up EnM/Ena instead of Kat/Ena. But Kat/Ena is a ton of fun, and can be leveraged much earlier in life with lower investment costs. Alpha - This build is lower recharge intended for higher armor values at all times. Psi Armor - Trades some armor for higher Psi-armor while using Rune/Hybrid/Rune. Psi is your primary weakness as EnA Alpha 2J - This buid is higher recharge intended to run overload as often as possible and/or needed. Kat ENA Shadowmeld Scrapper - Psi-Armor 3 - [i25].mxd Kat ENA Shadowmeld Scrapper - Alpha 2 - [i25].mxd Kat EnA ShadowMeld Scrapper - Angel 2J - [i25].mxd

This is a concept build, so I made some choices that may not entirely make sense. It's a Ranged Fort build, although I typically recommend Melee Fort Builds instead. Considerable Debate vs Fate Seal, Vengeance, or Aim. As well as some debate about exactly how to use a few of the last slots. Aim, as is, is perfect for Aim/Nuke 100% chance. Slotting aim more could shave 10 seconds off and let it be used in other ways. Vengeance would be great for running this in 801s, and for further buffing regular teams. Fate Sealed is really probably not needed, but might also be just enough extra control to control a few of those targets than can currently slip out of your hands. For a ranged build you really probably want to add Scream too. Otherwise it's clunky till you get recharge up toward late build. I filled that slot with Envenomed Daggers Instead. Fortunata - Mind Hunter 1c+ - [i28].mbd I'll also include some older builds that may require updating if you wanted to look at them or use them. Fortunata - Isabella - Rev 8j (Psi-Tank) - [i25].mbd Fortunata - Celine - Rev 8j - [i25].mxd

Divine Avalanche helps seal up issues with the Heal-Tank armors. But the new Axe Roomba would also be fun.

Kat / Any - I'd play Katana / Wet Tissue Paper. I just love Katana. Kat/Bio - This is probably the ONE. Kat/EnA - This is probably my number TWO pick for Katana. Kat / Regen - Classic, but I'd recommend Kat/Bio instead. Kat/WP - if you want to split the difference between /Regen and /Bio, and want minimal FX

Beam/Energy is a really nice sniper build. I didn't do Beam/Energy this last time around because I wanted a lazier build. Less range, but more lazy.

FF / Bots MM or FF / Water Defender.

Pro Staff / Bio is one of the most "Fun" and adaptable builds you can play. I Highly Recommend it as a "FUN" build. Its easy to build and performs well on SOs. /Bio adds to the flexibility, and helps mask the otherwise lower damage. It's a great cheap build to learn on, and it's relatively forgiving of build issues. You effectively have 3x3 = 9 stances to help counterbalance and fine-tune build issues. Con End-game on a full Tier 4 Incarnate Tier 4 IO build, it will perform sub-par to half of the other alternatives. But in the big scheme of things, that's not really all that bad either. It's still a scrapper, and scrappers rule.

I am currently enjoying building a ranged only blaster concept, but that's not at all the norm for me, and even it has a couple of mostly unused melee attacks. My standard builds are heavy armor intended to fight in melee range, and stay in melee range. Water is an excellent primary for this, perhaps even the best primary for this. That said, most players will prefer a more offensive and less defensive build. Here's a quick conversion and rebuild of one of mine, adapted to Water/Energy. It is intended to run Rune/Hybrid/Rune/Demonic/KitchenSink. Water Energy - Cia 2b - [i25].mbd

Beam hands down, unless it's a concept build. Overall Beam performance once you get the nuke is better. I personally dislike for entirely subjective reasons both Flame Throw and Ignite. If you DO go AR, do NOT skip Ignite, it's one of your better powers. You probably shouldn't skip flame thrower either, but I've yet to be able to enjoy it. I would say do NOT skip Grenade, just slot it with a SA KB/KD(cheap), or OF KB/KD (twice as good but much more expensive)

I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned it. But Slot the Blaster AT +status proc in a T1/T2 attack, you can use those even when mezzed and with the proc you can 'sometimes' dig your way out of a mez hole. I go full defensive IO build from level ~10 or however early I can. Swap out early IO sets at around 20. That may not be an option for you.