evetsleep

While Trick Arrow may not have +DEF, it does indirectly via really awesome -ToHit from Flash Arrow. It does top shelf debuffing (of just about every kind) and also does AoE via Oil Slick. Beast/trick arrow is a fantastic combination.

Ninjas are good, but they don't have any resistance to back them up when they do eventually get slapped. That said now that they all get a heal after the second upgrade, if they do survive getting hit they can heal it back. They're not paper dragons anymore, more like cardboard. My baby ninja/ff MM (lvl 34) with basic slotting has the pets at 60+% to ranged\melee\aoe (the value depends on the tier, but they're all over 60). I haven't decided yet if I'll go for power boost or stick with fire for Bonfire yet. I'll probably do power boost though because -DEF is super annoying and having high enough shields that it doesn't matter will probably be better. So they're pretty darn tough, but anything that has serious -DEF (CoT) or drops burn patchs\caltrop just ruins everything.. Some creative macro'ing to make the Jounin target annoying mobs helps a lot though.

Can confirm that necro/FF is pretty darn tanky. The pet heals and -ToHit goes a really long way. I also have a necro/time that is honestly just as tanky, but it feels a tad bit stronger. Could be the debuffs and the heal. The slows and -damage from Time go a long way to keeping the undead .... alive. Now here's an unusual thought... necro/traps (or trick arrow). I have both in the mid-30's with just the pet uniques and endurance QoL procs and they're both pretty darn solid. So if you are looking for something different give them a try. I am really loving my necro/traps though. As is always the case, traps isn't great for teams (that's where Trick Arrow shines), but solo I drop my traps, fold space, and then soul extraction..not much lives after a few moments which isn't bad for zombies w/o a heal from the secondary (don't have Triage beacon at the moment and don't really feel I need it).

I have one I am growing. Drop freezing rain first (to help with pit and claps accuracy issues) and toss pit, then run in and clap. It's fun on big teams with big spawns. Animation times leave something to be desired though.

I put this in all my zombie MM builds and it does work quite well. Especially when they are puking everywhere and things start falling down all over. It's a nice add-on to give them some damag mitigation.

In this case my build is not really well designed (i.e. I haven't really put it down to paper\MIDs). But that said, given how unstructured it is I imagine a properly thought out build would be even more effective. It doesn't really solve the end-game mastermind problems with level differences and such, but other than that it is a pretty solid combination that offers a lot of opportunities to just blast away with debuffs.

I have a special place in my roster for my many trick arrow toons. One the absolute strongest is my thugs/ta MM's. The lack of a heal used to be problematic, but now that pet summons are quicker it's not a big deal and I go sans-Aid Other. Trick arrow brings a lot to the table that meshes really well with pets like thugs (and bots).

That seems pretty decent to me :).. need to get on one of my electric's for a bit.. those guys are fun!

You're in luck! Electric armor does have a heal these days in Energize!

Nopers.

I have a Ninja/TA MM that rips through things after the recent ninja buff. Have you tried it recently? Not saying ninjas are OP. I like to call them cardboard dragons instead of the paper dragons they used to be, but with the updated defense, heals, and critical mechanisms it's been a solid performer for me.

Generally speaking any primary would do. To get the most enjoyment concept sould come first. That said, I personally like to pair blast sets with Regen that have some kind of mitigation. Someone mention sonic blast and if you don't mind the sounds, that's a solid choice so you can chain the 3 cones (-Res, Kb (with FF proc), then sleep). I have a dark/Regen that is pretty dang durable as you'd expect, but requires melee to fire the nuke. It's got a few proc`able powers to help boost it's damage thanks to having -ToHit, Holds, and KB. I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard a number of folks say they really enjoy assault rifle with Regen.

This is a proverbial buzzsaw combo. It is pretty darn strong and can really tear into things.

Just took a look and the defender version of Disintegrate has the same -regen as the others (-150%). I only bring it up in the context of Sentinels (not comparing with other AT's) primaries and what might be good for fighting things that have enough HP to make -regen worth it.

Something to consider for big game hunting might be beam rifle. It can hit like a truck and it brings (pretty sure) Sentinel's only -regen via disintegrate. I have a few beam Sentinel's and I'm always surprised at the single target damage they can dish out. It does come off as a little END thirsty, so a secondary that can take that edge off might be a good idea. Beam/bio and beam/stone can be a lot of fun if you're looking to push the damage capabilities a bit.

Thugs are, in my view, a fantastic implementation from the start and why they've always been so popular. That said, at 18 when you get the arsonist just remember to keep an eye on him. He's almost always is the first one to crumble because of his kamikaze mentality, but he also is responsible for a lot of your damage (i.e. balance). Overall a fantastic set and goes with just about anything.

Clearly this is you since the OP was asking about /rad armor 🙂

Is there a way to save window configuration and placement so it is setup for each new alt?

The mercs get insanely tanky on my /elec MM (Shock Commander). Between faraday cage, serum, and the RES uniques plus electrics +ABSORB I plant them with an aggressive posture and a stay and they act like a high dps turret. The mez & kb resistance is also a nice benefit. I've been really happy with how he's turning out. Also I have a merc/trick arrow that is surprisingly tough with all the debuffs TA can dish out (including -DMG which is basically +RES which goes really well with Serum). I'd you're looking for a new spin on mercs I'd recommend these for a change of pace.

My only real problem with Jack is he doesn't take Ice Mistrel damage proc. I was super let down by that the first time I got him. He's ok but it's really strange he can't take slow procs.

Can do some pretty creative things with him depending on the secondary. With Sorcery you can drop Spirit Ward (+ABSORB) and Enflame (small DMG aura) on him and with a secondary that can back him up he is quite tanky (really almost all of them can do this). Of course the trick is dragging his stinky bum into his threat attention span. I've been mucking around with Earth\Trick Arrow & Earth\Cold and so long as I can drag him into aggro range he smashes things much to my liking. Cold is interesting since it has Arctic Fog so I can hide from the baddies while dragging him around. That all said I'd warn against building everything around poo man...he's all single target. For OP, you'll want a secondary that at least let you do some damage yourself if you're solo'ing.

Something to consider is the "layered" defense strategy. This is part of why invulnerability armors are so strong. They have both defense and resistance. Also consider that, in addition to colds shields and +HP, you have all the debuffs that earth beings. Not trying to say earth/cold is premo-perfection, but there probably is something there to consider. In fact ... dangit.. I might make one...quickly approaching alt #500.

I was lucky enough to snag the name Super Bolt the other day and I am making him an kin/electric defender (speedster) with the blittz stance. It's amazily entertaining.

I have to say I'm surprised no one has mention the toggle dropping Super Stunner. Sure you can avoid their rez if you're careful, but man it is annoying if you don't have endurance drain resistance. Also their static field is super annoying on a MM.

As others have mentioned you do want 45% fire defense and 90% fire resistance, but as also mentioned fire melee sword attacks now do -DEF since page 5 came out. This means all you need is one or two to hit, even with 45% fire defense, to experience the wonders of a cascading failure. You'll want to look for fire farms that are page 5 ready that mention no -DEF in the description and you should be fine.