brasilgringo

I agree with Nemu (who is sort of the blaster guru). If your goal is to play a ranged toon, then go for ranged def soft-cap and don't worry as much about S/L. Picking up a resist shield is a great benefit. The Water/Plant build I've been using (with Nemu's input) accomplished this. I haven't respecced it around post, i27, but it illustrates the concept. Soft-cap ranged def (uses Hover, too), with a nice resist shield.

Not sure if useful, but for the /Invuln side here is my Savage/Invuln (I *think* this is the build I've got on live, not 100% sure). I've been pretty happy with /Inv on stalkers and am glad I tried it (I hadn't tried it before).

Sparky was mainly taken as a set-mule and just for some free damage / distraction when I cast him on spawns or before fights. I agree he's not the most useful.

Yes, in general I'd say it's actually better against AVs/GMs because in standard play teams kill mobs too quickly for Dark's tricks to make much impact (though they make some, especially -to hit in Fearsome Stare, -Res in Tar Patch when up, and the -Regen/stun in HT when used offensively). You'll feel more powerful though with the other combos mentioned (Fire/Kin, Water/Cold, etc.).

Can't really go wrong with Fire/Kin. I have a Fire/Time/Dark that is a blast to play.

Below is the build I'm using, which I think came from @underfyre Maybe it gives you some ideas. I'm generally pretty happy with it -- high survivability, reasonably good damage, good movement.

Even more Sith(tm) is Ninja secondary with lightsaber Katana model and sound FX mod that makes it sound like a Lightsaber, just sayin....

I also skipped it for a fully-procc'd out Supressive Fire, which animates a lot faster and still does great damage.

The Longbow side with the Cataphract (top level) and untouchable Warden is pretty good ... the big robot does nice damage / -Regen for bosses, and the warden heals and can't be killed. If you're looking for healing, that's pretty good. Given you're nature, however, I'd imagine you have healing covered. In which case I'd go up the right tree for Banished Pantheon for more damage.

I have a Storm/NRG based on @Sir Myshkin build. Has a ton of recharge and handles the end issues with Conserve Power and Unleash Potential (which also soft-caps you on def). Good fun. The build-up proc goes off when you cast Lightning Storm, giving you a good 5 secs to attack including your Nuke.

I run my DP only in Incendiary ammo, and while I agree the AOE is great (it's a DP/Martial using Hail / Dragon's Tail / Bullet Rain) the sluggishness on the single target big hitters is really noticeable vs. fire. Even using a procc'd out Supressive Fire. I like it, but my Fire and even ranged Water blasters feel more responsive (even with your comments about Water's anim times -- double-tap Water Jet is great). Also Water adds a safety element that's hard to overestimate especially on lower-level TFs / leveling. But Fire is, well, awesome sauce.

I've been using a Rad/SS tank build I got from the forums and it's an absolute beast. I believe it's the version below. The rage crash is annoying but manageable. I farm with this toon. It's not as fast as a fire or rad farming brute, but it's got so much more playability in general content.

I need to go evaluate your build above when I have some more time, it looks a little better than mine for damage. I will say that keeping Radioactive Cloud is nice active mitigation. One thing I notice about my Fire/Elec vs my FIre/Atomic is the /Elec has a bit more built in mitigation without seeming to sacrifice dmg. /Atomic is a little more "on the edge" for that rush.

Been reasonably happy with my build per thread below. Also see my other post on Gamma Ray effect.

Isn't it true if you slot the Gaussian build-up proc in Invincibility, it has a chance to proc for all enemies in range of the aura?

If I'm not mistaken, you can fill the hole (at least a bit) by taking/running Tactics.

Would you mind adding the Data Chunk? I can't import what you posted into MIDS for some reason.

Just thought it could be helpful to add a practical example of a build using MM procs. Here's my Demons/Dark. Demonlings - MM IO pet Aoe defense aura, KD-KB, Def bonus Demons - Soulbound Alleg chance for build-up Hell on Earth - Def bonus, 2 x Resistance Bonus, MM IO (resist/regen) Demon Prince - Unbreakable Constraint Smashing dmg I also put plenty of procs into my attacks and into my Dark powers.

Worth a read, especially the last posts. It's only on the 2nd page of the forums, so search-fu can be your friend!

Agreed. and If you put a +recharge FF proc in Bullet Rain and your secondary PBAOE you can fire those right after HOB and if/when the proc goes off, it helps get HOB back up a lot faster.

Great post, thanks for doing this. A couple things I've heard (for confirmation). The Preventive Medicine + Absorb proc will trigger even if it's not in an auto-power but slotted in a regular power, without that power having to be used, like for example the first power of the Sorcery pool that can buff others. If true (and I think it is), it is useful for one-slot powers that take Heal IOs that you normally wouldn't go out of your way to slot even with a regular Heal IO. The Gaussian Build-Up proc apparently can be slotted into the /Invuln power (Invincibility?) on Scrappers and maybe tanks that takes +to hit IOs and scales with mobs around you, which apparently also scales its chances to fire. As Stalkers don't get scaling-with-mobs chances on this power, it doesn't work for /Invuln on Stalkers. Credit to @Sir Myshkin that slotting the Decimation build-up proc into Lightning Storm on a /Stormie can proc a lot (almost every time) when you first summon Lightning Storm - and since that proc affect you the summoner, it gives you 5 secs of build-up to use your nuke or other powers after summoning. Good times.

True dat. My big "discovery" with /MC was setting Inner Will to auto and manually triggering Hasten. That way, the second you are held or fall below the health trigger for Inner Will, it will go off automatically.

That's a good idea, also could try KD proc in Ragnarok if it procs the same, depending on what kind of slotting you're going for.

As mentioned above, anything you can do to keep mobs in it is awesome. On my Fire/Atomic, I use the PBAOE hold in Atomic, then I cast Rain of Fire, then I use Atom Smasher slotted to cause KD (with the proc IO in Avalance / Superior Avalanche). Typically my rotation is run in, let the mobs group on me, then Fireball -> PBAOE hold (Radioactive Cloud) -> Rain -> Atom Smasher. Rain of Fire is also awesome for use during BAF prisoner escape phase (cast it constantly in the middle that the prisoners run through) and TFs like Synapse where you have a ton of kill-alls with mobs that resurrect (like Gears) or TF like Yin with resurrecting Freakshow. /Elec secondary makes it even easier with KDs in Force of Thunder and Thunderstrike.

On the topic of other ATs with DP, there was a pretty cool TA/DP build posted on the defender forums right after i27 dropped, from what I recall. I used it as the basis for my TA/Archery def (changing a few things from DP->Archery). Worth taking a look at. Let me see if I can find it. Yep, it's the first post in this thread: