SomeGuy

OK, these have all been done on Brainstorm due to the fact that the new pylons by vanguard base make testing a LOT easier. These are all AVERAGES of 10+ runs. Not best runs. No outside buffs, all build. Hybrid off. Etc. Going to go in order of fastest. Scrapper DB/BIO 1:01 (Degen/Enflame/Melt Armor/Proc) BF - AS - SS - RoF (ATO2 in BF) Scrapper Kat/BIO 1:03 (Degen/Enflame/Melt Armor/Proc) SD - GD - GC - SD - Char - GD (ATO2 in SD) Scrapper TW/BIO 1:06 (Degen/Enflame/Melt Armor/Proc) BM - FT - AoD - RA - FT - AoD - RA - FT - Char momentum drop CB - FT - AoD - RA - FT (ATO2 in FT) Scrapper MA/BIO 1:13 (Degen/Enflame/Melt Armor/Proc) EC - SK - CaK - RoF (ATO2 in EC) Scrapper TW/ENA 1:23 (Degen/Melt Armor/Enflame/Proc) BM - FT - AoD - RA - FT - AoD - RA - FT - Char momentum drop CB - FT - AoD - RA - FT (ATO2 in FT) Scrapper EM/ENA 1:37 (Degen/Melt Armor/Enflame) TF - ET - RoF - BS (ATO2 in ET) Scrapper CLAWS/EA 1:39 (Degen/Enflame/Melt Armor/Proc) FU - Focus - Slash - Char - FU - Focus - Slash - Shockwave (ATO2 in FU) The TW/ENA is the one I tested the most. I can't figure out why that combo is doing THAT well. And that's with a build useful for anything. All the ENA builds are TBH, but that one really shocked me for how consistent it was at doing DPS. Now with that said, TW and KAT absolutely need the FF procs in FT/AoD and SD/GD to do their best. It's still wild to me they are that much of a smoke show. I ran into @Ratch_ while testing, and he proposed giving Char a shot. That was a good idea. Very good. He was dropping pylons in 30 some odd seconds. Was silly.

Respectfully...lol I know what that means. I'm not sure why you used the Sentinel AT for your example, since the OP asked for opinions on what to pair the scrapper version of DM with, but OK.

OMG. The NPCs around the new pylons call out your kill time.

I'd use IOs.

So, because of @Ratch_'s recent post regarding TW, I swapped my rotation and slotting up in my TW/ENA a bit. And Shaved 9s off my pylon time Scrapper TW/ENA 1:23 (Degen/RoF/MA/Enflame/Proc) BM - FT - AoD - RA - FT - AoD - RA- FT RoF - CB - FT - AoD - RA - FT If the FF procs don't go off in the BM chain I'll do a Whirling Smash after the second FT. So it'll look like: FT - AoD - RA- FT - WS - RA - FT This is NOT a best run. This is an average of 10+ runs, hybrid OFF. Scrapper - Titan Weapons - Energy AuraRoFEnflameTest.mbd

DM needs a really big re-work and how slow Soul Drain casts, and an ACC rework needed (this needs to be removed for 1x mob. Even with a maxed saturation Soul Drain it only gets to middle of the pack in terms of ST DPS. I like DM a lot, play it a lot, but I know where it stands. And it is barely standing.

Monster hunting is still on the table.

MA/BIO is a really really good DPS monster. Eagle's Claw with the Crit Strike proc? Mmmm. That thing goes off and the next two MA attacks you use in that window have a crazy high chance to crit.

And then some how set them on fire, rendering them useless. Magically bad.

Shadow Maul is cold dishwater garbage. Just remember that. It's beyond skippable when you have a chain.

Energy Aura and Rad Armor (I read what you wrote, just here as a comparison) are two of the best armor sets in the game. Bio Armor is the best offensive armor set in the game and meshes with DM's weak offense (ST and AOE) very VERY well. Fire Armor is VERY squishy but is adds an extremely strong layer of AOE damage output while also helping with ST damage quite a lot. Shield looks cool to some and not to others. It is NOT the AOE powerhouse some say it is. One attack is not that good (unless it is Burn). DM is viable with everything and you can absolutely make DM AOE viable with smart slotting. I'll put 1B(illion) inf on the line I can out-AOE most melee characters (that aren't fire armor) with my DB/BIO/Soul scrapper. I personally don't think AOE is important to build for, I never do build for it actually. Everything dies so fast anyways. Some do though. You will get mixed opinions on that one. I don't consider it effective. Some just want to delete entire mobs in less then a second.

Everything low level is going to be rough going. With that said, I can attest that TW/FIRE scrapper is bonkers damage (I've done TW/FIRE scrapper and Brute extensively). Fire is really really weak for survival on a Scrap/Brute, regardless of how low/high level you are. What it makes up for is Offensive output. TW? Oof. It really needs it's attacks to not feel slow. Once you do, woo boy. The set becomes a monster. Now this is normally how ALL sets are (except Claws...it gets everything it needs attack wise by the time it gets Focus). Claws has really poor frontloaded damage though. It's DPS is top-tier though. Anyways, maybe this will give you some ideas:

Oh, you should for sure. I've been able to replicate that time on more than one occasion with my DB/ENA/FIRE. Had more then a few that were less with the DB/BIO/FIRE. RNG is a thing.

lol this reminded me this is a thing. Easy to test this out now. Just keep forgetting to turn on Hybrid since I almost never do 😄

The pylons for testing (if you are facing the base entrance) on the right side of the base are super nice. They respawn just a few seconds after they are defeated and they also don't attack back OR activate the dropship. Just LFG queue to Apex and you are right there. It's really nice. I was getting 1:20-1:25 with my TW/ENA/ICE. The pet will probably just instantly die in actual gameplay though. Still, neat. I salute you, Spicy Frosty.

I do have a BA/RAD also (Axedents Happen). I made those characters BEFORE the recent pass to BA. BA was in a pretty bad spot before. These are my pylon times comparing the two: Basically, they are so close that RNG can sway them one way or another for me. With that said, it comes down to which looks cooler to me and is more fun. They both play similarly to me, and both feel darn chonky with their hits. They both do similar AOE. Both are problematic on end if you want to keep a continuous chain. In terms of performance, they are very similar. Also, I keep forgetting BS DOES have a +DEF attack for smash/melee if that matters for you. Not gonna lie, BA in it's current state sounds like a really cool pairing with SD. I did do BA/SD on a brute before cause of the look, but that was back ob live and I couldn't get past the abysmal performance.

As a child of the 90s I just want to say this is a fickin' great idea. ENA is an obvious choice because LOL CAN'T HIT ME but one issue...you can't always see your awesome costume.

Bio is actually better AOE (noticeably actually) but SD isn't anywhere near as squishy. Also, SD looks awesome with a weapon. This matters. I've got a WM/SD, BS/SD, WM/BIO, and BS/BIO. Thematically the SD ones work better for *me*. And they definitely aren't as squishy. And they both do really good damage ST and AOE. The Bio versions definitely dog walk the SD versions in terms of damage, but they are a LOT squishier and I haven't figured out a way to make them look as cool to me. Granted, I'm bias to the sword'n'board look.

Listen to this person. They changed the way I do TW in it's current state entirely.

You do, actually. But going past certain %s with certain sets can be pretty counter productive for the ATs role. Bio Armor is definitely one of those sets. You want "enough" mitigation for your playstyle. Being able to kill things is also a form of mitigation and CC. If it's dead it can't hit you. Getting something to 0HP is the best mitigation/CC in the game. And when you are teaming, do not be surprised to be buffed with all the various +DEF buffs going around.

Trying to get S/L Def softcap passively with TW/BIO seems against what the combo is really about, but what do I know? I've only been playing the combo since 2011 (yes, I'm aware of what that means)/

Yes.

This should get stickied that this is NOT the best place to put ATO2 in EM. Anyways, here's my take on the build.

I really like you're outlook on this conversation. My austistic a** got hung up on data collection, so I sadly do know what is numerically the "best" at ST DPS in a vacuum, but I absolutely feel this way. Ice Melee, for example, is pretty middle of the pack in terms of ST DPS...but it is super safe to level very early on due to Ice Patch, and the soft-CC AOE it provides is really funny. It's just fun. Same for DM, which is at the end of the pack in terms of ST DPS but, hoo boy is it fun to play to me. TW is still really good ST DPS if done right, but I will definitely admit I haven't leveled TW since the changes. EM levels pretty safely to me. It might not be able to handle extremely large packs like IM/Claws can (post shockwave for claws) but it can really do some nasty frontloaded damage early on. High HP targets become something I crave when on the set. LT and lower become trash even more to me. The only two melee sets I don't have multiple drives to 50 experience with are Savage and Psi Melee. I never got in to Savage Melee and only done Psi Melee once.

An EM/Fire Brute really can crank out really good ST and AOE DPS. Something to keep in mind though, EM/Rad WILL do better ST DPS and be hardier. *I totally forgot I have a EM/FA Brute until I read @Sovera's post.