oldskool

Dual Pistols with Ninjutsu is a fun combo. It can feel a little slow going at first, and really a lot of Sentinels can, but it will get better. The lack of Aim means no means to create situational bursts of damage which is were I found the low level struggle. In higher levels, the build decisions with the pairing is very open ended. So if you feel you are about to hit some tough content early on, then pack some damage inspirations.

Given what you've said about your preferences, I really doubt you'd like either of them. I'm REALLY forgiving when it comes to powersets (Dual Pistols is fun, its functional for what I want it to do, but it isn't a top tier set) and even I don't care much for Assault Rifle. Energy Blast on Sentinels is weak by itself, but it does have proc options that can make it a little better. You never seem too fond of procs and both of those sets really do want them in order to raise their performance from dumpster fire to just burnt dumpster. ;)

I've had the opposite experience, but I also choose set pairs that would create more AoE damage on purpose. I've played the following sets across ATs: Dual Pistols - Sentinel, Corruptor, Defender Archery - Sentinel, Blaster, Defender, Corruptor Archery is hands down superior at AoE on everything other than the Sentinel. The Sentinel just has no answer to a 14 second Rain of Arrows which is possible on everything else. Sentinels can potentially get lucky Force Feedback procs in Explosive Arrow... BUT so can the other ATs. Blaster Tactical Arrow also offers more recharge in Upshot which gives me something like 200% global recharge. My Defender build turned out far better than the Corruptor I was working on. This is both due to higher debuff values and better buff values in powers like Weave/Maneuvers. The Trick Arrow/Archery Defender has ample build room to covert other powers from 0 damage into micro-nukes outside of the Oil Slick cool down. I've made my Blaster build as like a Frankenstein's Monster build from what I have learned from the other ATs. My Blaster gets pretty good defense, I don't think I hit 45% completely, but also includes a procced Ice Arrow as a rotational attack along with procs in other things like Glue Arrow and Electric Net Arrow. It's performance should blow away the other ATs on damage while having just enough defense to not be complete glass canon it is a work in progress though. If I didn't build my Blaster the way I did, then I would still consider Sentinel Archery on single-targets. Sentinel Archery is quite good though lethal resistance muffles that performance. Dual Pistols is unique on the support ATs because they can get Soul Drain from either Soul or Dark Mastery. That effectively adds Aim/Build-Up back to Dual Pistols where it didn't exist otherwise. If you play a support set with access to AoE resistance debuffing with saturated Soul Drain, then the AoE damage potential spikes pretty high. It is also pretty conditional. The Sentinel at least has a lower cooldown on Hail of Bullets but both my Defender/Corruptor can maintain a damage buff from Soul Drain between spawns. So while those ATs may not have their T9 active they do have damage boosted Bullet Rains/Empty Clips on top of being able to slap the next spawn with a resistance debuff field (Dark Miasma, Tar Pit is up quite often with my recharge). If I played Time Manipulation with Dual Pistols the AoE disparity would be pretty big there too. I've played a procced up Radiation Emission/Radiation Blast Defender but I have no analog to a Sentinel. That one runs very similar to my Dark Miasma though the combination has pretty ridiculous levels of defense debuffing and to hit debuffing (-44%!). For other proc silliness, the Controller is also in a realm of tank-mage. Controllers get some dumping on in groups since controls kinda suck in some groups, but that's why I converted support powers into more explosions. My Gravity/Time and Dark/Dark Controllers are proc whores that also soft-cap their own defenses. They aren't as ridiculous on Pylon time tests as other damage dealers but they do far more damage than they should be allowed to do. I also run a Plant/Nature build but that is less about procs and is my own true support character. Though Plant doesn't need a lot of help because it is F'ing amazing on its own, and Nature is equally wonderful in its own right. So that's a lot of extra chatter which kinda looks like it derails the topic. In order to get back on point, let me just say this. I used to always play melee or support on the old servers. The Sentinel has gotten me to completely rethink everything and appreciate the build process in a way I never thought of previously. The Sentinels I have made have been absolute blasts to play, and I still enjoy them greatly. My Sentinels can't hope to touch the damage of the Stalkers or Scrappers I have in single-target, but absolutely miss my Sentinel AoE when playing them. My two Scrappers are Dual Blades/Dark Armor, and Spines/Bio Armor. Both of those have damage auras and AoE options but it still pales in comparison to dumping a T9 AoE every 25 seconds. The only melee character I play right now that I regret NOTHING on is Dark Armor/Titan Weapons tanker because holy shit... that shouldn't be as effective as it is. So yeah, the Sentinel is an AT I never new I needed in my life because it has completely changed my perspective on the game. I don't enjoy it because it is the best at any one thing. I enjoy it because it is a consistent performer in a wide variety of categories across all levels of play. I don't find that level of consistency much outside of the melee ATs or Masterminds (currently playing 2 of down from 6! ...lol). Edit: Damn, I have a lot of time spent in my characters. At one point I had a lot more, because why not? Now I limit myself to about 20 characters 3 of which are Sentinels. In 2020, the Sentinel is probably the only AT that I will devote more characters too, but that won't be until I finish a couple builds. I've taken a break so I need to farm up cash to polish off my Blaster, and a few others. Once that is done I will probably explore 2 or more new Sentinel sets I haven't really gotten in to yet. Despite the ATs short comings I still really like it.

Just for others that browse, the highlighted is an exception and not the norm. This coming from someone that actively plays a proc heavy damage oriented Defender.

Because that is where your inner Scrapper lives.

Never had this issue myself. Without seeing your build one can only speculate as to what you're doing differently. Mind sharing your build so people can see what IO sets you are using?

There really isn't that much discussion about Ice Blast. Most people seem to gravitate towards Beam Rifle, Dark Blast, Dual Pistols, Fire Blast, and Water Blast. There are scatterings of other primaries here and there but nothing seems as popular as the other 5. I can't baby bird feed you a build as I haven't started up my own Ice Blast build yet (something I want to do, but haven't done). Below are a few threads about Ice Blast with some build links or reference points to get you some ideas. You should be able to download the build links (the mxd file type) and you can open that file in Mids even if the version used to make the original even if it is older (it may shuffle some IO sets though). When you go to open it just select the path of "Downloads" assuming you're using Windows. Also, there are some threads linked about Willpower. Willpower is a very forgiving set and has no secret synergies that make anything particularly special about using Ice Blast with it. You should be able to pick ideas out about Willpower that are universally applicable. How you handle Ice Blast would be a matter of personal preference. I guess Willpower is also personal preference, but I find it can be pretty cookie cutter. Forgot this thread, there is an Ice/Ice build on page one. You can use the attack slotting there too to help get some ideas on where to go.

Not quite. Fir means men, like literally that's the translation. Tuath or Tuatha is a reference term of a collective. It is both a defining aspect of collective terms (e.g., tribe, folk, people, nation) and a place (e.g., countryside, nation, land). Tuath Dé is Old Irish for "People of the Gods/Goddess". Dé is a reference to the divine. Danann is a specific deity being mentioned. Old Irish its Danu. Modern Irish Dana. Sometimes it is found as Donann, Dianann, and the like. It still references the same ancient mother goddess of divine beings. So final translation is "folk/people/tribe of the goddess Danu".

Sure, why not? I attribute everything there to artistic license since the Tuatha were not hideous man-beasts in Irish folklore. For that matter, the Fir Bolg weren't twig-people with pumpkin heads either.

Since I'm mentioned I just want to add some clarity for Blaster players that don't frequent the Sentinel subforum... I wanted to be inclusive to as many different playstyles as possible when I wrote that about Dual Pistols. So yes, if one wanted to go without Hasten and run Executioner's Shot -> Pistols -> Dual Wield -> Pistols that is an option. I had Suppressive Fire as an alternative to Dual Wield purely due to how slotting that power can create a difference. That particular difference won't be easily translatable to other archetypes. Sentinel Suppressive Fire has an 8 second cool down. Everyone else gets a version of Suppressive Fire with a much longer cool down. That longer cool down is great for making procs activate more frequently, but the power itself has very little damage (not so on Sentinels). Other combinations I noted such as leading with Piercing Rounds are very old rotations that would be applicable to all of the archetypes since there is no real change in how the powers selected work by AT. None of the above is to say which power is best in any definitive means for the Sentinel* and definitely not for Blasters as the ability to mix more melee muddies the waters. *It is my experience that how you slot your secondary on Sentinels matters quite a bit for what you slot in your attacks. Dual Pistols is unique with the Ammo mechanic and there are players that do not care for it at all. In those cases where players wish to skip or largely ignore Swap Ammo, Dual Wield starts to look a lot better than Suppressive Fire (Sentinel version).

It will be the same for Overcharge Shot on Corruptors since that power wasn't changed from taking on the Defense Debuff categories. Refractor Beam is a Sentinel replacement to Penetrating Ray so that won't translate well. Penetrating Ray does have access to the Snipe category though which includes the Sting of the Manticore Toxic damage proc which can go along with the Corruptor's ATO damage proc, Apocalypse, and the PvP Toxic proc if one were so inclined.

Incendiary 100% of the time on my Sentinel and would likely do that on a Blaster as well. On my Defender/Corruptor I do swap ammo more frequently and even run no ammo at all for the better debuff modifiers. Thankfully, no. The ammo swap mechanic doesn't interfere with proc triggers.

I've run that combo with as much as 16% positional defense and my litmus test on the test server was running 4/8 fire farms. Of which that character survived just fine. You've definitely built in a lot of defense which is pretty impressive while still getting a good bit of global recharge. If you lead with Antumbral Beam into Abyssal then Gloom, you'll notice a very slight gap between the next time Antumbral Beam is ready. If you use Life Drain, you'd overshoot that gap by around 1.5 seconds using an attack that is weaker in DPA than the others. My Dark/Regen was pushing some pretty extreme recharge though, about 195% global, and the gap between the first Antumbral Beam and the next is 0.10 seconds (3.79 recharge). Both Gloom and Abyssal Gaze have an arcanatime animation factor of 1.848 seconds (3.696 seconds for both). You'd see some decent benefit from Agility Core Alpha with a build like yours. You benefit from both the recharge and the defense. Spiritual is also on the table due to the big healing and recharge perks. Basically, recharge is the hole you can close. You could also add in more damage with the Musculature Options and maybe even Intuition (Radial path). I tend to always take Assault as my hybrid. Your Destiny can be Barrier if you like which will grant you +5 defense and resistance at its lowest level of strength. Your Lore, Judgment, etc can be whatever sets your sails.

No worries. I know I wrote a lot there but it is about passing on information vs just throwing a build at you. You can go a different direction and still make a competent build.

Anything is possible! I know you're not looking for uber here, but below I put together something that does include some expensive sets. I decided to go this route to illustrate the importance of global recharge, an introduction to just how drastic IOs can change things, and my own preferences. 😉 [Edit, I'd make a plan to use a respec to get into this build as a long-term goal vs using it as a leveling template. You may want to take Aimed Shot and experiment. I'd suggest you play around with all the powers out of both the primary/secondary first and worry about Epic powers later. That is unless you're already level 50 and none of that advice matters! My Mid's Reborn makes some seriously questionable suggestions on what powers have what damage. I can assure you Stunning Shot, Blazing Arrow, and Perfect Shot are far better than Snap Shot or Aimed Shot.] You mentioned you've been away for a while so I purposefully put in sets like Blessing of the Zephyr into Shinobi-Iri. Shinobi is a great power that buffs all your positional defenses but is also a travel power, a stealth power, and well it is versatile. The Zephyr set grants some minor bonuses to Ranged and AoE defense. (I personally run Shinobi-Iri with 6 slots using the Reactive Defenses set [which is partial in Weave below]. I played with using 3 pieces of a defense set and the Zephyr set for a while too. I just opted to change it due to other goals I had. Point being, you can approach this more than one way.) Zephyr has 4 pts of Knockback protection which can be nice if you exemplar below the level of Bo Ryaku being active. I personally like all 3 pieces of Steadfast in Tough because it improves what little KB/KD protection you get out of Bo Ryaku. Ninjutsu's knockback/down protection comes late (level 28). Stunning Shot recharges in 2.22 seconds in the build below. This means it is available after Blazing Arrow and Perfect Shot used in succession. Perfect Shot, as listed in the build below, would have a rough 0.07 second delay on when it would be available again. Here is what this means visually: Open with Aim -> Stunning Shot (1.188s animation, 2.22s cooldown) -> Blazing Arrow (1.98s animation, 2.7s cooldown) -> Perfect Shot (1.848s animation, 3.24s cooldown) -> Stunning Shot -> Blazing Arrow -> 0.07s left -> Perfect Shot. The Agility or Spiritual line of the Incarnate will remove that minor attack gap and make the chain of Stunning -> Blazing -> Perfect seamless. Agility however is more relevant since the deeper benefits of that line also improve defense. Whenever your Opportunity meter hits 90 to 100 your Snap Shot will have a red circle meaning Opportunity is ready. Squeeze that attack in whenever you are ready to deploy it, but otherwise you can ignore Snap Shot. Perfect Shot has a unique IO from the Archetype Origin set to fill your Opportunity bar. Otherwise it will take you nearly 3 passes of these attacks to build your bar up (about 13 seconds - replace the 3rd Perfect Shot with Snap Shot). With less recharge Snap Shot will be your filler attack which has a 2 second cool down. You can weave it in between attacks like Blazing Arrow and Perfect Shot with just minor levels of recharge modification. Another way to go, depending on how low your recharge is, is to tack on Snap Shot at the end of Stunning/Blazing/Perfect routine. If something gets into your face you can smack it with Sting of the Wasp for giggles. This build has enough stealth that you can be nearly invisible (due to the Stealth IO in Combat Jumping). You can open with Explosive Arrow as a radial AoE which can knock down due to Sudden Acceleration's conversion IO. You can then follow up with The Lotus Drops for style points. Otherwise, just do the boring openers of Aim -> Rain of Arrows -> Explosive Arrow -> Clean up with Fistful. Melee/Ranged/AoE defense just barely over 46%. Can the build below be improved? Probably, and individual tastes will determine what "improved" means. However, this should give you some more in depth ideas as to why the choices are what they are. Also, what kinds of sets you can find to do something a little outside of the box. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Level 50 Natural Sentinel Primary Power Set: Archery Secondary Power Set: Ninjitsu Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Leaping Ancillary Pool: Ninja Tool Mastery Hero Profile: ------------ Level 1: Snap Shot (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (37) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (50) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 Level 1: Ninja Reflexes (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed: Level 50 (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50 (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50 Level 2: Fistful of Arrows (A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy): Level 50 (48) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (48) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (50) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (50) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range: Level 50 Level 4: Danger Sense (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed: Level 50 (43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50 (43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50 Level 6: Stunning Shot (A) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative): Level 50 (7) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (7) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (40) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (40) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50 (43) Decimation - Chance of Build Up: Level 40 Level 8: Aim (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up: Level 50 (9) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance: Level 50 (9) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff: Level 50 (39) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge: Level 50 (39) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance: Level 50 (40) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance: Level 50 Level 10: Shinobi-Iri (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range: Level 50 (11) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance: Level 50 (11) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points): Level 50 Level 12: Explosive Arrow (A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy): Level 50 (13) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (13) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (15) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (15) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range: Level 50 (37) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50 Level 14: Kuji-In Rin (A) Empty Level 16: Seishinteki Kyoyo (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge: Level 50 (17) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50 (17) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End: Level 50 Level 18: Blazing Arrow (A) Superior Sentinel's Ward - RechargeTime/Chance for +Absorb: Level 50 (19) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50 (19) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (23) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50 (23) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50 (34) Superior Sentinel's Ward - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 Level 20: Kuji-In Sha (A) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime: Level 50 (21) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance: Level 50 (21) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb: Level 50 Level 22: Kick (A) Empty Level 24: Tough (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/Endurance: Level 30 (25) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%: Level 30 (25) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection: Level 30 Level 26: Perfect Shot (A) Superior Opportunity Strikes - RechargeTime/Chance for Opportunity: Level 50 (27) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50 (27) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (29) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50 (29) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50 (34) Superior Opportunity Strikes - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 Level 28: Bo Ryaku (A) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All): Level 50 Level 30: Weave (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed: Level 50 (31) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance: Level 50 (31) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50 (31) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage: Level 50 Level 32: Rain of Arrows (A) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (33) Ragnarok - Damage: Level 50 (33) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (33) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (34) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50 Level 35: Sting of the Wasp (A) Hecatomb - Chance of Damage(Negative): Level 50 (36) Hecatomb - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (36) Hecatomb - Damage: Level 50 (36) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (37) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50 Level 38: Hasten (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50 (39) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50 Level 41: Maneuvers (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed: Level 50 (42) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance: Level 50 (42) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50 (42) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All): Level 50 Level 44: The Lotus Drops (A) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (45) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (45) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (45) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (46) Scirocco's Dervish - Chance of Damage(Lethal): Level 50 Level 47: Combat Jumping (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed: Level 50 (48) Unbounded Leap - +Stealth: Level 50 Level 49: Assault (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50 Level 1: Brawl (A) Empty Level 1: Opportunity Level 1: Prestige Power Dash (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Slide (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Quick (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Rush (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Surge (A) Empty Level 1: Sprint (A) Empty Level 2: Rest (A) Empty Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift (A) Run Speed IO: Level 50 Level 2: Health (A) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery: Level 50 (5) Miracle - +Recovery: Level 40 (5) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance: Level 50 Level 2: Hurdle (A) Jumping IO: Level 50 Level 2: Stamina (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod: Level 50 (3) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End: Level 50 (3) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50 ------------ http://www.cohplanner.com/mids/download.php?uc=1453&c=676&a=1352&f=HEX&dc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

Not only can you not perma-Elude, there is little point in using it at all on a Super Reflexes character in the world of IO sets. Long ago you didn't have nearly the opportunities for hitting 45% through enhancements making the big final buff powers more of a necessity. During the pre-ED days you'd need to perma-Elude but it was pretty broken. Having things like 6 slotted recharge modifications SOs in things like Unstoppable made god mode characters. I remember the days of having 6 recharges in Hasten, running Soul Drain as my only source of accuracy modification and then pumping 6 SO's of damage into my attacks. Unfortunately, I couldn't run all my resistance toggles and had to supplement with Tough as the only means of having Smash/Lethal resistance while running anything else. Anyway, these days you can not only hit 45% defense but shoot past it to 50% or more. There does come a point where there are some diminishing returns on investment with such a character. A lot of players run Maneuvers which buffs everyone's defense so for Incarnate level content most teams will help push your defense. Elude is still a possible pick for a couple of niche reasons. 1) It can mule defense sets. 2) It makes you run faster/jump higher so it can boost your travel speed. 3) Makes for a means of going beyond 45% defense in some rare case you need it, no other players are assisting with +defense, and you have no defense inspirations at all. 4) You decided you don't want to play with IOs and want to build purely only SO's requiring some extra defense padding. Otherwise, Elude isn't worth losing sleep over.

Do you have a preference on which epic pools for said melee attacks?

Huh? Dull Pain, Earth's Embrace, and Hoarfrost all increase your maximum hit points for 120 seconds. That is on top of the healing it grants. The power isn't directly comparable to Healing Flames or Dark Regeneration or even medium inspirations. None of those 3 alternative effects comes with a means of reaching the hit point cap while also restoring health.

Tried this against a Pylon since they do not move. Cryo did add range. Write-up updated. The "ignores buffs and enhancements" does appear to be accurate. The Combat Attributes window shows a total of +53% range effect, but reality of test was more like a rough 30% increase to the base range of Executioner's Shot (base range 60ft). It appears to widen the cone of Empty Clips slightly too. I don't currently have Piercing Rounds, but I'd imagine it would make it easier to hit the maximum of 3 targets (which isn't terribly hard with enhancements). I don't have a Blaster using DP, but my other characters do not have this benefit in Cryo ammo. However, they have vastly superior debuffs so they don't really need it. 😉

Yeah, definitely don't invest if you don't like it. Sorry you don't care for Dual Pistols, but it isn't for everyone. 😉 Friend to a friend advice... If you don't like the direction Ice Armor is going and you see it takes a lot of investment in order to make it serviceable, then know Dark Armor is very similar. I happen to love Dark Armor because it is nostalgic for me (my first 50 was DM/DA Scrapper). I also like some of the mechanics of it. I think I know the set pretty well having played it on everything except for a Brute (2020 project). My Water/Dark gets 30% positional defense and 70% resistances (S/L/Psi). It wasn't cheap. Leveling Dark Armor isn't that awful, in my opinion, but it isn't a cake walk. If you do decide to try it out, then I recommend pairing it with something that also has some mitigation to pad things out in the lower levels. So sets like Dark Blast, Water Blast, or maybe even Psychic Blast. Those 3 are my favorite pairings conceptually.

I literally list the sets. Using Tough gives you 3 powers that can take Aegis. Superior Winter's Bite and Frozen Blast in just two powers. Both of the 3% defense uniques. Full Gaussian's in Aim. Weave/Maneuvers/Combat Jumping taken. Ice Armor isn't exactly cheap to soft-cap, but it is possible.

It is hard to go wrong on Scrappers (and Stalkers too). If you want something that can solo easy peasy from start to finish AND is different from what you have tried, then I'd like to introduce you to Katana Scrappers. Perhaps with a side dish of Willpower? You get a sweet defense buff that makes leveling up easy and works nicely with WP. Broadsword with Shield Defense also gets you the parry buff and it is a satisfying crunch set as an alternative to Warmace (which is also great). Dual Blades can be fun on Scrappers too, and I'd maybe suggest trying it out with the Scrapper version of Ninjutsu which is real nice. Your Brute and Tanker are both punchy sets. Give Street Justice a whirl if you're looking for a brawler. I'd also suggest breaking out your Invul comfort zone for a defense set like Super Reflexes, Shield Defense, or Nin.

Been following this thread and it inspired me to revisit my own Ice/Ice build. So far I can get 41% Smashing/Lethal, 46% Energy/Negative, and 44.8% Fire/Cold with Moisture Absorption active. Without that the categories chance to 36.9%, 41.9%, and 40.5% respectively. Though I see no reason why Moisture Absorption wouldn't be enabled all the time. Smashing Lethal resistance 36%, Energy/Negative 8%, Fire 53%, and Toxic 22% and Psi 13%. Cold isn't worth discussing. You can fall asleep and cap it. Toxic hits 22% easily since Hoarfrost should be on all the time if you're building recharge. Rough 1/3rd uptime on Icy Bastion which caps Smashing, Lethal, Fire resistances and greatly improves Energy and Negative for 30 seconds. Toxic also gets bolstered. Sets that help: Aegis in Tough, Permafrost, and Icy Bastion. 3 pieces to 5 pieces for the F/C defense Winter's Bite in a single-target power 5 to 6 pieces for defense Frozen Blast in an AoE same as above The unique 3% resistance in one of your many +Def powers The unique 5% resistance in one of your many +Def powers. Both 3% defense uniques in one of your resistance powers. Agility Core Paragon: 45% Smashing/Lethal, 50% Energy/Negative, 46.6% Fire/Cold during Moisture Absorption. Ice Armor certainly has some challenges, but is soft-capping defense really one?

I'll share my thoughts with the class, but this won't be in the format of the write-ups I've done so far. More streaming consciousness (I probably should have formatted this like a write-up). First off, I'll share my impressions on what I think Bio Armor is before I answer what I think it is good at and what I think it is weak at. Sentinel Bio Armor is a mixed mitigation set with a lot in common to both Willpower and Regeneration. Unlike other sets, both Willpower and Bio Armor have their defense ratings linked to the same resistance types. Where one rating is high the other rating ends up being low (or non-existent). For example, Willpower has higher resistance to Smashing/Lethal damage than it does defense to that type. Likewise, it has lower resistance to Energy damage and much higher defense to that category. Bio Armor is designed in a very similar way. Bio Armor has higher defense to elemental damage than it does resistance, but offers moderate resistance to Smashing/Lethal where it has no defense. Regeneration is a set that relies heavily on a reactive style of play using click heals. There is some proactive measures like Moment of Glory, but that isn't a big focus of the set. Generally you wait to see if you've taken enough damage to requiring using Reconstruction or Second Wind. Bio Armor can also have some reactive play as it has a click heal. However, Bio Armor has more opportunity for proactive play with its two absorb powers. You can begin a fight by adding an absorb shield before you start, and you can use the tier 9 power early in a combat to super charge that same strategy. Bio Armor also includes passive resource management in the form of regeneration rates and endurance recovery bonuses. Bio Armor is unique in that it has 3 different modes that enhance, and sometimes hinder, these core mechanics. The Defensive Adaptation will enhance your core mitigation of resistance and defense at the cost of reducing some damage output (it applies a penalty). Offensive Adaptation will enhance your damage output at the expense of some resistance (it applies a penalty there). Efficient Adaptation enhances your resource restore and is neutral to your damage output and mitigation. There are some other features within the Adaptations, but as a 30,000 ft view that should get you an idea. What is Bio Armor good at as a Sentinel: - Self-healing of all types be it passive (regeneration), reactive (click heal), and/or proactive blocking (absorb) - Damage output. Offensive Adaptation is one of the few ways to add direct damage to any Sentinel build. What is Bio Armor weak at as a Sentinel: - Capping things. Its not all that efficient at capping all defense or resistance types. - Handling big groups early on. Bio Armor sometimes get s a hyperbolic reputation as being virtually indestructible but that doesn't happen easily or without investment. Now, when I bring up "capping things" that isn't me saying that you cannot cap your resistance (75%) to Smashing/Lethal through additional powers or IO sets. You can, but you're unlikely to do that for all of the others. This isn't me saying you cannot hit the soft-cap (45%) to some of the damage types, because you can. Hell, you can potentially stack enough defense on Smashing/Lethal to hit 45% using the Incarnate system. What I mean by not being all that efficient is what is your overall return on investment by going all in on that kind of IO stacking or Incarnate choice? Is that level of durability worth the expense and the possibility of giving up other options? In my opinion, no. However, there players that would say yes. It needs to be stated that the lack of efficiency here isn't necessarily a fault of the power but a problem within the IO system. There are more IO sets in the melee categories with various defense types than there are in the ranged power categories. Just look at the melee range AoE power IO sets. There are sets with Melee and AoE defense. Then, if you look at the Ranged counterpart there are nearly zero. In the single-target melee category you have sets that boost Smashing/Lethal, Melee, and Ranged defense. In the single-target ranged category you have.... Thunderstrike that buffs only Ranged defense. This is not really counting the Winter event sets that can offer large boosts to some of these defense types but these IOs can be pricey too. In other words, the melee version of Bio Armor has a distinct advantage in closing its defensive gaps through the IO system purely due to the overt favoritism in melee set design. While there are builds around this forum that seek to soft-cap defense on Bio Armor, I often tend to recommend going for recharge instead. I find Bio Armor to be plenty durable if I am being proactive with Absorb shields and the T9 power. Pushing recharge makes it play similar to Regeneration in that respect and it creates a considerable uptime on Parasitic Leech. Pushing recharge has the added benefit of making my attacks more available so it is a more offensively minded style of play. Finally, that kind of build strategy is more independent of full IO sets or even the Incarnate system (where I can shoe-horn in more defense anyway). Yup, I should have just written a write-up. 😉 Edit: For giggles, I have a Beam/Bio Sentinel. Her backstory is heavily inspired by the movie District 9 as she was a task force member set to investigate Rikti wreckage and was caught in a blast where she was infected by a retro-virus. The retro-virus allows her to change aspects of her metabolism (the adaptations, the run speed increase), and her DNA alteration allows her the ability to power and fire an alien rifle. I applied a similar story to my Spines/Bio scrapper who keeps the Bio Armor crusty armor look plus the quills. His version is similar but his more overt appearance and body weaponry was a bit more Agent Venom.

Primary Powerset: Dark Blast Medium (though towards the lower end of that spectrum) Single-Target Damage, Medium Area of Effect (AoE) Damage (1 Cone, 2 Targeted), Low Control, High Debuff Potential When this project was set forth I had committed that I would write up a number of sets. This entry here is the very last one of those that I have committed my time to. It's the last one I am going to write in 2019, and it happens to be a set that has a lot of history/meaning to me. Now, in 2020 I may dive into other sets in this thread but for now I am ending it on a note with a set that was a favorite. I think the very first character that I ever made was an Energy/Energy Blaster followed by an Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster and then an Invulnerability/Energy Melee Tanker. I scrapped those (but I do currently play Invulnerability/Energy Melee) and eventually made a Dark Melee/Dark Armor Scrapper. I loved that character so much I took it to 50. Somewhere along the way I made a Dark Miasma/Dark Blast Defender. I loved that character too. The Dark powers aren't just my inner emo kid having a great time but the to hit debuff is just one of the most satisfying effects to have access to in my opinion. Dark Blast on Sentinels may not look like much in terms of damage on paper, but it is actually quite good if you consider IO options. Furthermore, the debuff potential of the set is pretty massive within the confines of the Sentinel target cap. Dark Blast on Sentinels is probably my favorite version of the set which is slightly different from the Blaster version and very different from the Defender/Corruptor version. Let's take a quick peek at power structure before getting into the other details. The Blaster version is the closest cousin to the Sentinel version but there are still some differences. The Dark Blast that exists in Defender/Corruptors is weighted towards control. So the Blaster version isn't that great at AoE and Blasters in general are supposed to be good at AoE. The Sentinel version of Dark Blast trades out Tenebrous Tentacles for Dark Obliteration which is generally available to archetypes like Brutes in their Patron picks. This is already starting off as a great change. Umbral Torrent for Blasters is a damage-over-time cone. Umbral Torrent for Sentinels is all direct damage with a strong knockback. Umbral Torrent on Sentinels does about 10 less damage than the Blaster version. This too is a very good change. So far, the Sentinel's greatest changes are to the strengthening of its AoE vs its Blaster counterpart. That's RARE. Single-target wise, Sentinels always lose out on the snipe and the lack of Moonbeam is a shame. In the place of Moonbeam, Sentinels get Antumbral Beam which doesn't compare all that well, but it is a serviceable hard hitter. However, the Sentinel version of Abyssal Gaze has considerably buffed damage at the expense of a hold effect that is barely an after thought. Sentinel's version of Gloom does less damage due to scalars but in general the single-target damage has a firm foundation. Finally, Blackstar on Sentinels has a base cooldown of 90 seconds vs 145 seconds. This change is incredibly strong due the debuff that Blackstar has. All in all, Sentinel Dark Blast is a very solid damage set with potentially broken levels of to hit debuff against 10 targets. Beginner's Overview Hello there beginner! If you've read through the introduction you'll likely find the positive aspects of Dark Blast to be fairly glowing of a review. Dark Blast is solid but it is not perfect. The damage-per-active (DPA) that contributes to higher damage-per-second (DPS, or a metric of damage over time) is a bit spread out. While there are several hard hitters they also come with some long-ish animation times. Additionally, Sentinel Dark Blast is still fairly damage-over-time heavy within its best single-target attacks BUT its AoE is more direct damage than its cousins elsewhere. Dark Blast is a set that makes for some hard choices on what to skip. You can find use out of everything in this set. The very first power pick, Dark Blast, is your weakest attack pick but it is linked to Offensive Opportunity. You can absolutely skip this power and never miss Offensive Opportunity if you don't want it. Gloom, the second pick, will trigger Defensive Opportunity and that also imposes a 20% resistance debuff which is the most important part of the inherent anyway. Other than skipping Dark Blast, you may consider skipping Umbral Torrent if you are opposed to cones (but it is a rather strong attack) or even skipping Life Drain. Life Drain is a utility power and the self heal isn't that powerful. Furthermore Life Drain's default DPA isn't that great. However, Life Drain does make use of IOs if you so choose. It is a very flexible power in designing in damage with the IO system (e.g., damage procs) or leveraging the heal. Take it or leave it. Either way, Life Drain isn't a mandatory choice. Slotting Basic Slotting I'm fond of a single accuracy once you hit Single Origins or Invention Origins of level 25+. Then add in at least 2 damage, 3 if you can, and consider both 1 endurance AND recharge reduction. Your 3 best single target attacks are Gloom, Abyssal Gaze, and Antumbral Beam. These all have long recharge that will create gaps in attacks without some modification. Plus, they can be a little endurance heavy. Advanced Slotting Every "Dark" set in this game has access to at least 1 power that can take Clouded Senses the Accurate To Hit Debuff set. That set has a damage proc that can add additional negative damage. Every attack can take on a PvP set that also includes a damage proc. That means every power you take can at least include 2 damage procs. These add up. Not only does Dark Blast play nicely with offensive IO sets, it also plays pretty nicely with the Sentinel ATO sets. I ran with Superior Sentinel's Ward in Gloom for a long time. Each activation of Gloom had a chance to grant me a damage shield due to the proc (the Ward effect). Antumbral Beam was fairly consistent with triggering Superior Opportunity Strike's Chance for Opportunity. What that proc does is it grants you a burst of Opportunity meter making you hit 90% faster and activating the Opportunity mode against a target. So there are some utility decisions to make and just which path you take is going to be dependent on your overall build. Just know that Dark Blast has some great flexibility in how you use IOs. Beyond the very generic advice above, there are some specific powers that noting. Those are Abyssal Gaze, Umbral Torrent, and Life Drain. Abyssal Gaze is a hold, and while that hold duration is low it still gains access to the category. There are 4 damage procs available across 4 different sets. That is on top of Clouded Senses and what is in the normal ranged damage category. The very rare hold set, Unbreakable Constraint, is an excellent proc to add to this power if you can afford to do it. That proc adds considerable direct damage to this damage-over-time power. For a while I ran this power with 5 pieces of Apocalypse plus Unbreakable Constraint meaning this power had 2 damage procs out of the very rare sets. That's two chances at dealing 107 additional damage with rare chances they both go off. Umbral Torrent is a knockback power which opens it up to several great IO sets. You can, and probably should strongly consider, adding in a KnockBACK to KnockDOWN IO. That will convert this power into a nice additional layer of defense that won't irritate your teammates. On top of that you can still add in another 3-4 damage procs here (PvP, Positron's Blast, Clouded Senses, Explosive Strikes) or add in the recharge utility of Force Feedback. Of course, you could mix and match. Umbral Torrent's flexibility in slotting makes it a great pick even if you don't normally like cones. Life Drain isn't much on paper. However, Life Drain has access to the healing sets. This means Touch of the Nictus (Negative Damage) and Theft of Essence (Endurance bonus!) are both on the table! The animation time of Life Drain is fairly slow too which further improves the chance to trigger these. No, none of these will hit 90% chance but frequency of activation is something you can also consider. Also, just brute forcing proc chance by adding in more procs is another consideration. I've seen builds planned where the player fully enhances this power for healing because it wasn't a part of their real damage rotation. I'm a BIG fan of flexibility in builds even if I don't always find room for powers like this one. Rotations I'll update this since there are a number of ways to approach rotations depending on what powers were picked and how they were slotted. I'll start by showcasing what you can pull off in a high recharge build (where Hasten is effectively permanent or very close to it). In one of my original Sentinel builds (Dark/Regen), I had built up to 195% global recharge and Antumbral Beam had 100% modified recharge. The attack chain below was possible with a very slight gap. Antumbral Beam -> Abyssal Gaze -> Gloom You could mix these up as you see fit depending on how it will impact Antumbral's placement due to its long recharge. However, that Gloom tacked on the end can make your life easier. Every one of these attacks will build 13 opportunity meter per successful hit. Your first pass of this combo builds 39 opportunity meter. If Antumbral Beam triggers the burst from the ATO, then Gloom will trigger Opportunity without much thought on your part. If that doesn't proc, the second round will build up to 78 meter. By the time you start your 3rd pass you're guaranteed to trigger Defensive Opportunity with Gloom. If you decided to pickup Dark Blast you could drop it to this attack routine before Gloom to activate Offensive Opportunity. Your choice. If you do not build towards extreme levels of recharge, then you will need some filler added into the mix. Antumbral Beam -> Abyssal Gaze -> Filler -> Gloom Filler can be either the Dark Blast power or Life Drain. Dark Blast's placement will likely activate your Offensive Opportunity every 3 rotation (barring any Opportunity Strikes procs if you have it). So you may wish to swap Gloom/Dark Blast around depending on your needs. Complementary Choices Dark Blast is the little black dress of Sentinel powers. It goes with everything! There isn't a set in this game that doesn't benefit from your enemies getting a higher chance to miss you. There are some other things to think about though. Life Drain adds some direct healing to Super Reflexes which it lacks. Super Reflexes doesn't get access to AoE defense until late or through power pools. To hit debuffs will fill in the gaps until you can use IOs to close them. Dark Blast, as a set, does love recharge. Sets with powerful click abilities like Regeneration and Bio Armor also love recharge. Dark Blast thematically works with Dark Armor. Dark Armor for Sentinels does have some to hit debuffing in Cloak of Fear and Dark Blast is the only primary set that will stack more on it. Furthermore, Dark Armor can be expensive to build (I've done it TWICE on Sentinels and once in every other AT now). The to hit debuffs are welcome additions to help close gaps. Blackstar's massive -35% to hit debuff for 20 seconds is practically a Defender primary that can have the cool down dropped to 23-28 seconds. Dark Blast does have some mediocre damage, without IO improvement, so sets that add damage (Bio, Fire, Radiation) can help out. In short, you can't go wrong adding Dark Blast's defensive benefits to any of the second power sets. You can get very tanky with Dark Blast. Incarnate Abilities I'm hesitant to offer hard line prescriptions here. Incarnates are best used to either shore up weaknesses or expand on strengths. You're also not locked into how many Incarnate powers you pick up. You're only limited to what you can slot at any given time. I have multiple powers in the Destiny category that I can swap out as I see fit. That said, it is tough to make blanket recommendations for a primary only and not a character. I'll try though! For Alpha slots, this is going to vary based on what defensive power set you use. The Cardiac options can help resistances but also offer some endurance management. End management can be a welcome choice to manage end drain. The Vigor options may be a nice perk for regenerating sets. Agility and Spiritual both have good uses but also bring additional recharge reduction which does impact your chances to trigger procs. If you're not heavily invested in procs, then either of those may be for you. The Musculature options bring more damage, and Intuition Radial does too. I lean heavily towards Musculature but these options are matter of preference. There are several good judgments like Void, Pyronic or Ion. Pick one based on their secondary effects and/or if you like their targeting method (PBAoE, Cone, etc.). Interface is fairly generic across all damage dealers and Sentinels are no different. The Degenerative chance for reduced hit points is a very good option for tough targets like Archvillains and Giant Monsters. Reactive can be good for clearing out hordes of weaker enemies. Diamagnetic can be good to add some defense due to the to hit debuff it brings. Lore pets were all standardized and as such there is no specific category I recommend. Destiny is going to vary wildly based on a complete character. You can't go wrong with Barrier as a generic choice, but the others will have uses depending on your secondary choice. Ageless works like another form of Hasten but the value of the effect degrades over time. Ageless can be a good option for builds needing more recharge which is especially beneficial to ones heavily invested into procs. Hybrid options generally lead towards the Assault toggles. You have two options of Radial or Core. Radial adds a chance to do damage and Core adds a chance for a stacking damage buff. Which you decide on will depending on how much you team vs solo. For the soloer the Core stacking damage buff is pretty good. If gaining damage buffs from others isn't that reliable then Core is probably the better generic all around pick. Radial is going to matter more to players that gain consistent outside damage buffs and are frequenting hitting the damage cap.