Erratic1

@Thrythlind It occurs to me that information might predate the PPM system. You might be best off copying a character to the Test Server and testing it. On the upside all IOs are free on the Test Server so no costs involved.

From way back in the day:

While I admit some frustration at logging on, offering whichever character I've logged on to any group/TF which is forming/running, hearing chirps, starting the process to form a TF, spending 45m to recruit three other people (if I even get a second) despite seeing there are a ton of people on, I would -=NEVER=- suggest soloing is bad or wrong--you know what you need to do, what you have time to do, and what situation you are looking for. Happily I have learned to put less time and effort into getting/forming teams and after 10 minutes or so of trying will logoff and go play some other game.

I am confused how increased Recovery/To-Hit/Accuracy/Recharge/Damage/Speed are things a group turns down, even if they do not strictly need them especially when you consider the buffs are going to be on 7 other people versus adding one more DPS.

It is but it also hits an area versus only one target for DB.

I am truly surprised there have been no requests posted here (though they may have been sent directly). I was holding off because I do not have a 3d printer and would have to approach my friend who has four to use a conversion file.

You want Contaminated for two reasons: Splash Damage Healing Any of your Rad Melee attacks can apply it but you get greater likelihood with powers with longer base recharge. From experience Radiation Siphon has a not unreasonable chance to apply it. While I do not use Devastating Blow, given its recharge time it should do better. The primary issue with Atom Smasher is that you're only likely using it in a crowd and then, while it has a good chance of being applied to multiple targets it may very well not be the target you're focused on (much like Irradiated Ground) provoking a need to play "Whack A Mole" and switch targets to what did get Contaminated if you want to make use of the effect. Truth be told, my most reliable application comes from Radiation Siphon (since I do not use Devastating Blow). If I get the orange, "CONTAMINATED" on the target I can choose to use Contaminated Stike and Radioactive Smash for splash and with the moderate global recharge on my Elec/Rad Tanker still be able to reliably consume the effect for a nice chunk of healing. That all said, yeah...I agree, it is borderline criminal...well, fully criminal really...to not get Atom Smasher.

Aeon's gloves are like this. You color match in costume creator and in some zones you're fine but in others not so fine.

While I definitely would not ever spec out of Atom Smasher, with sufficient global cooldown one might be able to get by between Devastating Blow and Radiation Siphon.

The long and short of Bio is: Bio is a hybrid set. You will with not too much effort cap F/C/E/N defense. It may be possible to cap S/L defense but it is easier to cap S/L resistance. While you can get okay'ish S/L defense you do not have DDR, so putting effort into going beyond where you end up is of dubious value when facing things which debuff defense. As you do not have DDR you will have to rely on regen and absorption, which you have powers to help you with. How and when to use these powers are the key to avoiding Sudden Onset Bio Defeat. Some people say Bio is a clicky set. I suspect some of that comes from stance dancing and the other from not appreciating the proper time to use the set's regen/absorption powers. Stance dancing is up to you, but for my personal style of play I picked one stance and built around it. It is not that I cannot change stances just I am less optimized to be outside of my preferred stance. I suspect from your phrasing you are looking at living in Offensive Stance. Know that it applies a resistance penalty to all of your resistance values. This should mean little to F/C/E/N defense values but you will need to rely more heavily on regen/absorption. Surviving comes down to the following rule of the road: If you have just entered a large mob of enemies then you should pop Parasitic Aura. Failure to do this can lead to the abovementioned Sudden Onset Bio Defeat, even beyond the ability of your "Oh Shit!" buttons (Ablative Carapace and DNA Siphon) to save you.

Was suggesting Energy Melee, though Electric Melee is a classic.

EM/SD Stalker. It really does not disappoint (though you will have to go something to keep the endurance issue under control).

Did you mean an Ice/Rad Tank? If so the Tanker has both DoTs at level 28 as opposed to the Brute having to wait until level 35. How major the wait is as a factor is in the eye of the beholder.

According to Mid's the break-even point assuming Soul Drain hits 6 target's is 87 Fury--an amount which, from experience, sits right at the practical upper limit of where one would be able to sustain Fury (I typically assume 85 Fury when considering Brutes). However when Soul Drain is not up the break-even point is roughly 60 Fury--an amount it should take very little time reach and blow past. While I am greatly annoyed that any time Brute vs Tanker comes up the thread devolves into Tanker fans denying Tankers are remotely overpowered or displacing Brutes in the game but then will swagger into every build consideration to declare, "Its better on a Tanker!", I will say that while the initial consideration might suggest a rough parity between the two ATs it leaves out the consideration of Tanker greater AoE sizes and how often Soul Drain can be available. If raw damage is otherwise equivalent, hitting more targets favors the Tanker. While Soul Drain is not always going to be up hitting more targets by default somewhat makes up for it when not looking at fighting solo encounters. In addition, one is going to be slotting and building to minimize how often Soul Drain is not available. The final factor which favor's the Tanker is Icicles. Due to it being a primary Tier 6 power for a Tanker versus a secondary Tier 8 power for Brutes, the usual favoring of Brutes when it comes do DoTs is turned on its head since the Tanker will have Icicles available as a choice at level 12 whereas the Brute will have to wait until level 35 to get the power (contrast with Soul Drain where there is only a two level difference when the power comes available). So in this case I must agree, go Tanker.

I suspect you have opened yourself to a flood of requests.

I have been wanting to make an Invulnerability melee character and had narrowed down choice of primary to Staff or Claws. Guess it is going to be Claws with the above report in mind.

There were other arguments.

Devastating Blow comes out ahead when other people are not involved? I ask because one of my strikes against it was things dying while it was animating. Sure, nobody cares about rotations when things are dying quickly, but if I am having to remind myself not to use it then I might as well have something else I can use.

That should leave you in a very good place then. Edit: Should mention, I took my Elec/Rad tanker Spiritual as well. 🙂

Dare I suggest a character I've already posted about:

Don't think that can be changed.

Vanguard Projector Mark I? It had a separate section that deals with the field with one color being the inner radius and the other the outer radius.

That seems a little weird. I levelled up an SR/TW Tanker on actual SOs (primarily to challenge notions about Tanker using SR being squishy) and TW is far, Far, FAR from being modest in consuming endurance. Half his attack powers are double slotted for End Redux though. I have trouble seeing how the area buffs mean much when you're playing solo and everything is coming to you anyway short of herding, and in that case all the other melee ATs are not going to spend time herding but will just mow through spawn after spawn as they occur.

What is this Tank talk in the Brute forum? 😛 So what's the look?

I typically find one End Red is sufficient on many of my melee character but depending on primary some are hungrier than others. I do not have any experience with Martial Arts so I cannot say how it is but as example My EM/Shield stalker is definitely more on the endurance hungry side of things even if he is not the most endurance hungry build I have ever wrestled with. I tend to look at inspirations as more, "Oh sh#t!" items first and the occasional, "This will take a bit more" items secondarily than things to rely on and thusly build to minimize the need for them. But everyone has their own preferred approach.