staff/bio or bio/staff? -- 9-form combos!

[cohRock]

Realizing that both Staff Fighting and Bio Armor have 3 forms each, I am probably going to make such an alt.  So now I have to decide do I want to make him a tank, scrapper, or brute.  (He won't be Stalker, because Stalkers don't get the 3 staff forms.  It could be a great character overall, but I want the 9 form combos.)  I already have a rad/bio brute, thus he will probably be tank or scrapper.  Any opinions on which?

 

If you have experience with these 2 power sets together, did you see particular pairs of forms which seemed superior?  Pairs you would never use together?

 

Bio

• Efficient: additional regeneration and recover, no cost in damage nor protection
• Defensive: focus on protection with minor cost to damage
• Offensive: focus on damage with minor cost to protection

Staff (all forms build Perfection, and all uses of Perfection will add extra damage of one type or another)

• Form of Body: slightly greater damage; Perfection's use either lowers foe damage or increases your resistance
• Form of Mind: boosts recharge slightly; Perfection's use either slows target or provides a toHit buff
• Form of Soul: endurance discount; Perfection's use either reduces defense to foe or grants short buff to regen and recovery

 

I can see either doubling down on one form of boost or another, or choosing a complementary pairing.  It should be interesting to experiment and see if he can really notice the difference.  I've experienced that on large teams, very little of what you do can be analyzed -- too much is going on during battle.  But solo or small team, you can better judge what is working best.

Edited August 7, 2020 by cohRock
clarify title

[Yomo Kimyata]

I've played all four to 50.  From strongest to least strong I'd rank them stalker, tanker, brute, scrapper.

 

For staff, I generally play Form of Soul early on until endurance issues are solved, then Form of the Body.  I don't think I've ever played with Form of Mind.

 

For bio armor, I generally play Offensive unless I'm facing really difficult enemies, in which case I shift to Defensive.  Again, I don't think I've ever played with Efficient.

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

For bio I rarely ever go defensive, mainly offensive, maybe effecient if facing sappy mobs. Staff I have yet to try again since my old one back on live. But I recall enjoying my staff scrapper the most over all above the brute and stalker versions.

[merrypessimist]

For my staff/bio brute, I rarely bother with anything other than offensive/body.  In the extremely improbable scenario that I encounter mobs that impact my blue bar significantly I'll go efficient/body.  That happens so rarely though that I keep efficient on a different hotkey bar entirely.

[Carnifax]

With the tank AoE changes and Staff having a fair amount of spammable aoe id be inclined towards that. Plus one of those AoEs is bolstering your melee def giving you another layer of defense.