staff/bio scrapper or brute

[PainX]

right so im trying to decide this but i was thinking staff was a late added set so any reason to pick one AT over the other besides the usual differences ie "works poorly with crits" or some such

Edited July 5, 2020 by PainX

[Sovera]

Stalker. Nearly the same defenses and Staff lacking ST is something Assassin's Strike fixes.

[nihilii]

17 minutes ago, Sovera said:

Stalker. Nearly the same defenses and Staff lacking ST is something Assassin's Strike fixes.

Plus, you get Build Up instead of it being consumed for the sake of forms.

Plus, you get the best form as an auto.

 

Plus, the only power you lose, Innocuous Strikes, is arguably the weakest (still a decent power, but in practice Staff is bound by long animation times and fast recharges).

 

Staff = Stalker is a no brainer unlike any other powerset.

 

But if it has to be scrapper vs brute...

 

Scrapper:

- higher damage

- can still hold aggro thanks to /bio

 

Brute:

- can push impressive mitigation through Guarded Spin, Form of the Body, Brute resistance caps and ATOs

So between scrapper and brute, go scrapper for damage, brute for defense, no real gotchas.

 

But really, go stalker and thank us later. Even if there is a case to be made for stalker /bio being weaker than scrapper or brute /bio, you'll still likely feel happier with the significantly improved damage output.

Edited July 5, 2020 by nihilii

[Sovera]

4 minutes ago, nihilii said:

Plus, you get Build Up instead of it being consumed for the sake of forms.

Plus, you get the best form as an auto.

 

Plus, the only power you lose, Innocuous Strikes, is arguably the weakest (still a decent power, but in practice Staff is bound by long animation times and fast recharges).

 

Staff = Stalker is a no brainer unlike any other powerset.

 

But if it has to be scrapper vs brute...

 

Scrapper:

- higher damage

- can still hold aggro thanks to /bio

 

Brute:

- can push impressive mitigation through Guarded Spin, Form of the Body, Brute resistance caps and ATOs

So between scrapper and brute, go scrapper for damage, brute for defense, no real gotchas.

 

But really, go stalker and thank us later. Even if there is a case to be made for stalker /bio being weaker than scrapper or brute /bio, you'll still likely feel happier with the significantly improved damage output.

A thorough answer compared to my zzzz morning one 😄

 

When in doubt refer to this, @PainX

[PainX]

im honestly not that impressed with stalker damage so far i have found that i lack ways to make enemies stay and fight me

[nihilii]

Aggro control is a strong, justifiable reason to go scrapper/brute over stalker with this combo. No question.

 

Staff has some decent native tools to alleviate the running. Serpent's Reach is ranged, Eye of the Storm KDs, Sky Splitter KUs. It doesn't make up for the lack of aggro aura once enemy health gets low. But it's not as bad as some other sets.

 

On the other hand, Staff damage is naturally midrange, and much of it is delivered in DoT through long animations, which deepens any "low damage" perception one may have. Stalker fixes that.

I'm someone who doesn't care much for stalker mechanics and will go out of my way to make a scrapper or brute first, Giving up aggro control for more damage is always a hard decision. I agree that theoretical "more damage" sometimes doesn't end up to be true due to enemies running away.

 

But in the specific case of Staff, the difference is large enough it feels worth it in the end. I've never been happy with Staff until I rerolled as a Stalker. YMMV.

Edited July 5, 2020 by nihilii

[Yomo Kimyata]

I've run Staff/Bio (Bio/Staff) to 50 on all melee ATs.  I'd rank them from most enjoyable to least (although they were all pretty enjoyable):  Stalker, tanker, brute, scrapper.