StriderIV

Great minds think alike! In need to try Martial Combat and Stone Melee. Need to figure what to pair with them. Dual Blades I paired with Energy Aura for the recharge. I still need to figure out what it is I want to pair with Katana, as I LOVE that set.

I’m not talking just about performance (although that is nice), but FEEL. What are your favorite melee sets that are just fun to play to you/feel great? I have a few below: Kinetic Melee: I run this on a Stalker. AOE Crit burst from hide is FUN. I’m one of the people who really likes the animations outside of the T9. Staff Fighting: I run this on a Tanker. The added AOE is nice, and I love the sound effects on this set. Something about hearing all the “bops” when I drop a guarded spin in the middle of a group. Street Justice: This might be the one. Running this on a Scrapper right now. I know most love the set on a Stalker, but I love the knee animation of “Rib Crusher” and can’t give it up 😂 the mix of kicks and punches are great, they have CRUNCH and wonderful sound effects. Super Strength: Foot Stomp. On repeat. That is all. Katana/Dual Blades: Lumping these two together. They both feel amazing. I probably dig the animations of dual blades a bit more overall (except for Typhoon), but Katana has better CRUNCH to it. Savage Melee: I run this on a Brute. Just feels like a perfect fit. Leaping in, tearing things up, giving into a berserker rage… just great. Psionic Melee: Not a popular set, but I have it paired with Shield Defense on a Scrapper and aesthetically it is just awesome. The energy shield with the energy blades is just *chef’s kiss* What are some of the ones you love? Any archetypes/specific sets you like to pair them with?

I think you might be on to something with Kinetic Melee. Maybe pair it up with Fire or Stone Armor and an epic pool for another element? I could see Dominators being good as well as a mix or ranged and melee, although I’ve never built one myself.

@BuiltDifferent5 @Spaghetti Betty did some masterful work for you here. Run with this thing haha. Am I missing the second Scrapper ATO, or did you decide not to go with it? Edit: Nevermind. I see the proc in Heavy Blow.

+1 to what @nihilii said! The double slow effects on Spines/Ice might make up a BIT for no taunt aura. Some of the spines cosmetics can look like Ice Blades as well. Elec/ice does have nice synergy with the sapping.

This combo sounds spicy. I’m torn between either taking Mecurial Blow or Precise Strike.

Looking at this again, I'm surprised to see Savage Melee be so high on all the lists! I've obviously overlooked this set. Seems nice on a Scrapper as well. I do hear that it is REALLY great on a Brute, since the DOTS ramp up fury damage?

Yeah I was gonna say, you’d prob have to take taunt on a Scrapper for this build.

Interesting combo choice! Sorry I don’t have a build for you, but I could see it being very strong!

I adore my KM/Ice Armor Stalker. Ice Armor is best on Stalkers/Scrappers. The T9 they get, Icy Bastion, is amazing. Between Energy Absorption and Icy Bastion, you can get really tanky.

What secondaries would you think for the Scrapper? Bio and Rad most likely?

Was reading through the recent Shield Tanker thread as the “Ultimate Team Tanker.” I LOVE me some Shield, and I do agree with the OP that it is probably the ultimate team tanker. That being said, what do you feel the best Tanker primary is with a team behind it for the HM/Aeon content? Shield get a shout out from me, from being able to lead engages and just providing some defense to your teammates. Invuln seems like a classic with little to no holes IMO. Dark Armor doesn’t receive enough love I feel. Yeah, end intensive and no DDR…. But the thing has such a short cooldown on it’s heal. I love my Dark/Staff Tanker. Finally, Bio Armor has recently caught my attention. I always viewed it as a “Scrapper” armor set, but the thing looks like it can be REALLY tough as well. From a min/max perspective, I could see it being “the one” with a strong team of buffs and debuffs behind it. Just stay in offensive and go ham. Edit: Although, with my above thought process on a Bio Tanker, I guess you could say the best “tank” could be a Bio or Fire Armor Scrapper with a full team of buffers making them God Mode? Lol

I do love the CRUNCH, which is probably why these two are front runners 😂

Elbow blades would be amazing 😂 I’ll share my “Guyver” costume when I get a chance. Stone and Katana are both my front runners right now, for different reasons. I like the tight attack chain of Katana, and the +Def it brings to Bio Armor. Stone Melee brings control and recharge (via FF slotting) that Bio loves. I saw in another thread that Seismic Smash can slot a +absorb proc, which is a nifty little trick.

Bio/Stone does seem to have some super synergy. I think my two front runners are Bio/Kat and Bio/Stone. Both seem GREAT.

This looks really nice Betty, thank you!

You know, the reason I didn’t mention staff was one of the first tankers I ran was a DA/Staff. For the reasons you just stated, I could see it being GREAT with Bio Armor.

I have this cool “Guyver” (props if you’ve seen the films or know the manga/anime) concept, and I feel like Bio armor is the best fit because reasons. Now, thematically I feel like I can make most secondaries work due to how the armor works. I was curious though: what secondaries do you feel pair very well with Bio Armor? Some of the ones I was thinking: Katana: Brings some extra defense to the set. Nice attack chain. Flashing Steel AOE is nice on a Tanker. Added bonus: coolest looking taunt animation in the game, IMO. Street Justice: StJ already hits hard, and Bio will just push that even further. AOE’s are nice on the set as well with Tanker buffs. Nice mix of ST and AOE. SS: Seems like a classic pairing. I’ve ran SS a couple of times though, which is one of the only reasons I’d shy away from it 😂 that being said, being able to hop between offensive and defensive stance with SS Rage must be nice. Stone Melee: No crash like SS, but seems to still hit like a truck. Also, a ton of FF proc opportunities. Bio seems to love recharge. Fiery Melee: FM seems to melt face (pun intended). Based on @Ston’s recent test, I could see it and Bio Armor pairing very well. Any thoughts on the above combos or suggestions would be appreciated!

I LOVE the VEATS and their flexibility. I just wish you could adjust the colors of their powers like the other AT’s.

Mids isn’t working on my Mac. Any way someone could copy and paste this build out?

I know @Werner has done some crazy things with his Shield/MA Tanker.

Good call outs by both of you. Honestly it seems very synergistic (I only have this combo at lv 26 atm). This would just be a very endurance heavy melee defender 😂

One call out: just make sure you’re fine with all the one handed animations on KM when you run shield as your primary 😂

Shield/Kinetic Melee would be a contender. Buffing your teammates with Shield. Causing enemies to do -Dmg with both AAO and KM attacks. Some nice control with Shield Charge, Burst and Repulsing Torrent. Overall, I think it is a great Tanker combo for keeping not just you, but your TEAM alive.

This. My KM/Ice Stalker is great on teams. Between the soft control Chilling Embrace provides and the -Dmg KM provides, you bring some nice utility.