New Tank

[callador0630]

I'm new to the game, and I've made a few tanks that I got up to level 10 to 12.  I need a little help with some ideas.  I'm looking for something that can be very sturdy end game.  I like to tank in a variety of games.  I will be coming in with no influence, etc. so Ideally it would be nice to have something tough out of the box.  Then I can slowly tweak the character out as I get more influence.   I'm assuming I can do that just by continuing to tank or maybe farm.  I've played games like WoW, so I'm not too sure how it goes.

 

So here is the conundrum.  I've backed by missions down to -1 for level, and depending on the character I either kept it as +1 for number of heroes or +2.  Nothing I've made seems all that tanky at low levels.  I also feel like I'm not doing that much damage.  I pop inspirations and get through it, but it feels underwhelming.  So being new and leveling with no influence, I'm also looking for something that can solo well enough to level up.  

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks! 🙂

[jojogladco]

Nothing feels super sturdy at level 10-12. You don't have the slots, powers or enhancements at that point to feel powerful.

 

Any particular reason you want to solo 1-50? Tankers can do it, as can any other AT in the game, but you might have a smoother solo 1-50 experience on a different AT.  Teaming would allow you to get buffs, tank for those buffers and watch more offensive focused AT's blow things up while you're holding agro.

 

At your level getting into a Posi 1 and Posi 2 would be a great experience and net you a few levels of XP.  Once you get to level 22 you can start slotting generic IO's and be at a power level that gives you a decent idea of what your sets are capable of.

 

As for what is sturdy at end game? Any of the armor sets can be made tough enough, you should check out the Tank Gods thread for some ideas.

[Sovera]

As mentioned above nothing will feel sturdy at those levels. By level 30-ish you should barely even touch your inspirations. Once you are max level and exemplar down to the low levels you carry all of those slots (if not all of the bonuses) and you will notice how much sturdy you are compared to how you were at the same level.

 

My own advice is my favorite character: Fire/Claws. You will be study on the simple paradigm that you're killing the enemies too fast for them to be hurting you. And at level 30-ish you'll be able to not use inspirations at all.

 

In the low levels you -should- be using (and abusing) inspirations. Purples (called Luck and variations of Luck) are more invaluable to surviving than greens since purples prevent damage. When in trouble eating two or three of these will prety much make you unkillable and you can easily replenish them for peanuts.

 

I have both the link to the Fire/Claws build in my link (including 'cheap' leveling build and tips how to slot and what to pick first) as well as a guide for new players and how to make money with selling merits.

[callador0630]

Thank you for the replies.  I'm definitely open to grouping, but I haven't seen much action going on.  Way back in the day I played Everquest.  I had a warrior so I could tank.   But outside of groups, I couldn't really do anything.  I just wanted to make sure I could solo ok (doesn't have to be the best) when I can't find groups.  I will stick with it and see how things go up in the 20's.

 

Sovera- I will check out your guides.  I did read through a bunch of threads to get ideas.  I really was trying to min/max everything.  I made Shield/MA and SR/MA for the synergy on the extra defense figuring the low level defense boost would help.   But the LT's and bosses still were tearing me up.  I also tried Rad and Bio.  I liked the endurance bonuses, but I still got rolled by tougher groups where I had to pop a lot of inspirations or bail.  But again I was trying to take the secondary powersets that gave more defense or resistance (staff).  The last guy I made was fire/rad.  I was looking for more damage vs extra defense.  I did like that rad had the extra heal (I don't have it yet).  So far this guy has been the best one to level.  I can pop my fire heal and have consume if a get low on endurance.  Is fire/claws a lot better?  I know I could make a cool concept with that build too. 

 

From what I've read, people are saying fire is weaker end game.  With enough influence, can you cap all the resistances and get some kind of type defenses going (melee/ranged/aoe)?  Or is that not really the way to go?  If it can't hit those numbers, does it make sense to play MA or Staff to bridge the gap, or are the other secondary power sets just that much better damage wise?  I don't know numbers, but my fire/rad tears through groups a lot faster with my aoe fire dot and cone attack from rad.  Plus I get extra splash damage with contamination.  

[Sovera]

1 hour ago, callador0630 said:

Thank you for the replies.  I'm definitely open to grouping, but I haven't seen much action going on.  Way back in the day I played Everquest.  I had a warrior so I could tank.   But outside of groups, I couldn't really do anything.  I just wanted to make sure I could solo ok (doesn't have to be the best) when I can't find groups.  I will stick with it and see how things go up in the 20's.

 

Sovera- I will check out your guides.  I did read through a bunch of threads to get ideas.  I really was trying to min/max everything.  I made Shield/MA and SR/MA for the synergy on the extra defense figuring the low level defense boost would help.   But the LT's and bosses still were tearing me up.  I also tried Rad and Bio.  I liked the endurance bonuses, but I still got rolled by tougher groups where I had to pop a lot of inspirations or bail.  But again I was trying to take the secondary powersets that gave more defense or resistance (staff).  The last guy I made was fire/rad.  I was looking for more damage vs extra defense.  I did like that rad had the extra heal (I don't have it yet).  So far this guy has been the best one to level.  I can pop my fire heal and have consume if a get low on endurance.  Is fire/claws a lot better?  I know I could make a cool concept with that build too. 

 

From what I've read, people are saying fire is weaker end game.  With enough influence, can you cap all the resistances and get some kind of type defenses going (melee/ranged/aoe)?  Or is that not really the way to go?  If it can't hit those numbers, does it make sense to play MA or Staff to bridge the gap, or are the other secondary power sets just that much better damage wise?  I don't know numbers, but my fire/rad tears through groups a lot faster with my aoe fire dot and cone attack from rad.  Plus I get extra splash damage with contamination.  

The end game has Incarnates that cover the weak points of a build. Fire's squishyness marries itself very well with Barrier for a panic button when needed. Most of the time the set needs nothing to help itself but it has a weakness against psi attacks and too much defense debuffing. In both cases we can play, live off our heal, and when things look like they are really going pear shape, then use Barrier.

 

Prior to end-game we don't have these fancy Incarnate options but the game is not run at max difficulty (+4) and for +1 difficulty nothing hurts enough. This isn't a special thing about Fire Armor, it's just what you get from playing a Tanker. What comes next (since all Tankers can and do this) is killing things in an orderly manner that hurries things along.

 

Just keep in mind everything -will- work. Shield/MA and etc all will do their job and be sturdy. You can do all of these and ought to try them for kicks because 1000 slots for characters. I've tried most of the combos you speak of and in the end I just ended up liking this particular build more than the others.

 

 

Selling Fire/Claws (but take all I say with a grain of salt because what I'm actually saying is that this build and playstyle fits -me-):

 

- By level 20 you have all your tools. Everything from 20 and onwards is just more icing on the cake (such as replacing your weak level 1 attack for the much stronger level 28 attack). This means you have Burn and Spin and Follow-up. You wanted damage? You got damage. Dead things are not hurting you back.

- Level 20 and you're set. Are you level 50 and want to help a friend run Positron at level 15? You still have all the tools (Spin, Burn, Consume, Healing Flames, Follow-up, Hasten) and just need to use the weak level 1 attack instead of the level 28 one.

- Follow-up is not to be understated. Despite being a weak attack it's fast and adds a stacking 30% damage boost on top of more accuracy. This helps in the low levels when we lack slots. While it is weaker than a Build-up power it is on all the time. So even in the low to mid levels you're walking around with an extra 60% damage under your belt and it shows when you start a fight by stabbing something with FU, net yourself 30% damage, and then drop Burn and Spin.

 

 

Now the thing is, if you're new and have no cash and are starting with nothing to your name then you'll be squishy, but, inspirations can and should take over, and once you start doing TFs money starts coming by selling merits and you can start buying the things you need to improve. The leveling guide of the Fire/Claws has what you ought to slot first.

 

Some things may look like they cost a lot but that's only until you start selling your things (refer to the newbie guide). Just doing both initial task forces (level 8 and level 11) will be 5.5 mill ish. Not a fortune but you can buy generic IOs for all your powers and then as you progress buy the better stuff. For example the -second- taskforce will be near 12 million to your name once you sell the merits.

 

 

If you decide to play on Everlasting (it's easy and gratis to swap servers, can do so 5 times a week) let me know and we can pew pew together.

[Gobbledigook]

Rad Armour is also good. Rad Armour/Claws would also work well i reckon or just Rad/anything.

 

If you go Fire Armour you will need some knockback protection early or it can get VERY annoying.

 

Endurance can be problematic at lower levels and with poorer slotting, both Rad and Fire armour have endurance recovery powers.

[Wobegone]

I'm currently running a Super Reflex/Staff tank solo starting from scratch(currently level 37) and it's been a breeze.  I've been crafting and slotting as I go.  Once I accumulated some Merits,  I used them to buy converters, sold several on the Auction for seed money, and use the rest for converting IOs I can either slot or sell.  One nice thing about soloing content is you get a ton of merits, you should have plenty of influence by the time you hit 50 if you spend some time converting IOs.

 

If I were to start again, I'd probably keep SR, but change my secondary.  I've been a bit underwhelmed with Staff, although I still solo easily, including Elite Bosses.  

[callador0630]

1 hour ago, Ignatz the Insane said:

I'm currently running a Super Reflex/Staff tank solo starting from scratch(currently level 37) and it's been a breeze.  I've been crafting and slotting as I go.  Once I accumulated some Merits,  I used them to buy converters, sold several on the Auction for seed money, and use the rest for converting IOs I can either slot or sell.  One nice thing about soloing content is you get a ton of merits, you should have plenty of influence by the time you hit 50 if you spend some time converting IOs.

 

If I were to start again, I'd probably keep SR, but change my secondary.  I've been a bit underwhelmed with Staff, although I still solo easily, including Elite Bosses.  

I did mess around with SR/MA and SR/Staff.  I heard that staff is lower dps, but I thought the inherent bonus to resists would be nice.  Staff has the nicer cone attack early on, but it does feel a little slower.  I guess I'm not sure end game if you can patch up resistance using other slotting, especially with MA making it so you don't have to focus too much on defense.  

 

Sovera- I read through your guide and now I have some money! 🙂  Thanks for that.  

 

So for the pro's that are looking on this thread, would you think that SR/MA or SR/Staff would be better for end game?  I'm thinking maximum damage mitigation for group content.  

 

One other question, and maybe I should make another thread for it.   But I've noticed mobs debuffing my defense.  If I'm over the cap using MA (say 50%+), will that help when counting the debuffs up?  For situations where you get debuffed or mobs have big to hit bonuses, would it make sense to get defense super high, like 70%+?  Or is that sort of waste after hitting the soft cap?  

[Bill Z Bubba]

32 minutes ago, callador0630 said:

One other question, and maybe I should make another thread for it.   But I've noticed mobs debuffing my defense.  If I'm over the cap using MA (say 50%+), will that help when counting the debuffs up?  For situations where you get debuffed or mobs have big to hit bonuses, would it make sense to get defense super high, like 70%+?  Or is that sort of waste after hitting the soft cap?  

If you're still talking SR, once slotted up in the three passives and the three toggles, you'll be capped on Defense Debuff Resistance and you'll never have to be worried about defense debuffs again.

If you're talking FA, a little bit extra will help a little bit but you will see cascading defense failures, and see them hard, from some factions.

 

To more bits on SR (not sure if already covered.)

The normal softcap is 45%. For incarnate content, since the enemies there have a 13% tohit buff, 58% is the softcap. Anything over 58% on an SR user is a waste. Go for more HP and more DamRes. The two coupled make your scaling resists rock.

[Sovera]

6 minutes ago, callador0630 said:

I did mess around with SR/MA and SR/Staff.  I heard that staff is lower dps, but I thought the inherent bonus to resists would be nice.  Staff has the nicer cone attack early on, but it does feel a little slower.  I guess I'm not sure end game if you can patch up resistance using other slotting, especially with MA making it so you don't have to focus too much on defense.  

 

Sovera- I read through your guide and now I have some money! 🙂  Thanks for that.  

 

So for the pro's that are looking on this thread, would you think that SR/MA or SR/Staff would be better for end game?  I'm thinking maximum damage mitigation for group content.  

 

One other question, and maybe I should make another thread for it.   But I've noticed mobs debuffing my defense.  If I'm over the cap using MA (say 50%+), will that help when counting the debuffs up?  For situations where you get debuffed or mobs have big to hit bonuses, would it make sense to get defense super high, like 70%+?  Or is that sort of waste after hitting the soft cap?  

If you want maximum protection look at Rad or Invuln (I vote for Rad for the varied utility, but Invuln is stupidly sturdy. Rad just examplars better and has more toys). There is actually a thread about it a bit lower down.

 

Wanting maximum defensive value is perfectly acceptable, but, don't expect large damage in return. Just as metric (not because it is something that matters, but it serves as a measuring stick) there is a test we call a pylon, and an Invuln will usually put it down in 7-9 minutes. Fire Armor pushes things to around 3-4 minutes. I personally just want to be tough enough.

 

For example, I soloed without deaths at maximum difficulty one of the end game taskforces. At that point is more sturdiness even needed? Would more sturdiness make a difference? If I already did not die being more sturdy would mean... I would not die harder? Instead I want to double my damage output (an Invuln would find it nearly impossible to duplicate the soloing I mention since with half the damage they would very difficultly be able to kill the end boss(es)).

 

This is me though, personal choices and personal playstyle and etc.

 

 

As for certain mobs debuffing defense yes. Each hit will shave about 7% defense off. If we are exactly at 45% then only 5% of the hits will go in. But once the first hits go in they shave 7% and we no longer are at 45%. That means it is now easier for more hits to happen, and they will continue shaving more and more defense.

 

There are only two ways to combat this (three if I am to be pedantic):

- Have a power set that has resistance to defense debuffing. Invuln has a little bit of this, Rad none at all, Fire none at all. SR has so much it is simply impossibly to lower its defense.

- Have a lot and lot of defense that the 7% being shaved off still keep us above 45% (Invuln is a beast here since it gets -more- defense the more enemies are around). This eventually fails but depending on the duration of the fight it might make the difference...

- ...which leads to the third way to combat this which is kill things dead before they kill you.

 

Having defense being debuffed is not a big deal for Rad, Invuln and Fire since they are resistance based powers. Even with defense debuffed they are still negating 80-90% of the incoming damage. Rad Armor has a quick recharging heal (that triples as endurance recovery and can be slotted for damage) as well as a big absorb shield. Fire has a fast recharging heal. Invuln just has one heal that recharges in a minute (to be fair it hardly needs it once decently slotted).

 

 

Now regarding your last question I would do neither SR/MA nor SR/Staff. SR by itself reaches huge defense numbers and does not need MA or Staff to get more defense. SR on a tanker is actually pretty sturdy, buuuut, it lacks a heal and lacks an endurance recovery power. These are things you'll miss out on though inspirations can take over.

 

I would say a Rad/Claws or Invuln/Claws. Claws starts early, plays well, animates fast and examplars well. Martial Arts is not bad either with early AoE and etc.

 

Make your choice and when you do don't feel shy to request a build since it is much better to get some tips on how to build so you can experience the game. And then, later, once you get the hang of it, you can make your own builds tailored to your playstyle.

 

Just keep in mind what I said about being just tough enough to tackle content. If you intend to solo and explore the game killing things at twice the speed will be more entertaining than sanding enemies to death. At least level one Fire/Claws to 20 so you can have that benchmark to compare.

[Bill Z Bubba]

8 minutes ago, Sovera said:

There are only two ways to combat this (three if I am to be pedantic):

- Have a power set that has resistance to defense debuffing. Invuln has a little bit of this, Rad none at all, Fire none at all. SR has so much it is simply impossibly to lower its defense.

- Have a lot and lot of defense that the 7% being shaved off still keep us above 45% (Invuln is a beast here since it gets -more- defense the more enemies are around). This eventually fails but depending on the duration of the fight it might make the difference...

- ...which leads to the third way to combat this which is kill things dead before they kill you.

There is also Destiny-Ageless-Radial after you've hit 50 and got some vet lvls under your belt. It provides a ton of DDR when you click it but I bet it scales down over time like everything else with incarnate buffs. I would consider it a must have for a set like Ice Armor that relies on defense but has sucktacular DDR.

[callador0630]

Thanks guys.  I will keep leveling up my fire and sr tanks.  Are there any mobs that get more +to hit that 13?  Would going higher in defense negate that, or is it more into autohit territory where resistance and regen are the better option (on SR)?

 

For fire I'll definitely take your advice and make sure I can push damage to kill things quickly.  I agree that the faster things die, the less chance of seeing special attacks or sequences in raids (thinking WoW here), which means less chances for the group to die because someone makes a mistake.  

 

I really appreciate the help.  And now my guy is rich enough to make those IO's. 🙂 

[Werner]

3 hours ago, Sovera said:

I would say a Rad/Claws or Invuln/Claws. Claws starts early, plays well, animates fast and examplars well. Martial Arts is not bad either with early AoE and etc.

I think I’m giving up on the Invuln/Martial Arts I was testing. It seemed stupidly sturdy, and 5:40 on pylons (240 DPS) is enough to solo a level 54 AV if you have some patience. But the Shield/MA I’m testing seems only a hair less sturdy while doing 4:30 pylons (270 DPS). That won’t set any records, but is hopefully enough to get through the final AVs on a +4 ITF in less than an hour. Anyway, yes, for the sturdiest possible end game, I’m a fan of Invuln/MA, but I don’t do much exemplaring, so mine won’t be built for it.

[Werner]

4 hours ago, callador0630 said:

I've noticed mobs debuffing my defense.  If I'm over the cap using MA (say 50%+), will that help when counting the debuffs up?  For situations where you get debuffed or mobs have big to hit bonuses, would it make sense to get defense super high, like 70%+?  Or is that sort of waste after hitting the soft cap?

On a defense-heavy end-game build, I ideally want to have sufficient defense that for that build’s defense debuff resistance, when being heavily debuffed, my defense doesn’t drop to where they can hit me more easily. On a Super Relexes with 95% DDR, I’d be happy with something like 63% melee, 61% ranged, 59% AoE defense. But Shield Defense has more like 67% DDR, so I’d ideally want somewhat higher defense than on SR, but it’s also much harder to get it than on a SR. That’s why I’m going with Martial Arts for the extra 10% positional defense. Another approach would be Broadsword/Shield, which can easily hit stratospheric melee defense and be almost immune to melee damage with defense debuffs, such as the Cimerorans on the Imperious Task Force, but more vulnerable to ranged and AoE with defense debuffs, such as the Bright Novas on the Imperious Task Force.

 

Most regular enemies get their chance to hit you floored by 45% defense. In the end game, you may go up against a lot of incarnate enemies, requiring a little under 59% defense to floor them. Easily done on end game Super Reflexes. Harder but doable on Shield and Invulnerability.  There are cases where enemy to hit can be higher, even 100% higher, and you’ll never floor their to hit, and will need a different survival strategy. Defense only gets you so far. It’s great when it works, though, and it usually works.

[Troo]

On 8/25/2020 at 6:38 PM, callador0630 said:

I'm new to the game,...  I'm looking for something that can be very sturdy end game.

Welcome. I'm going to provide a little different take.

 

Fist, here is a good resource if you're looking for info on Tankers:

https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Tanker

 

Second, enjoy being new. Don't worry about the end game out of the gate. City of Heroes has a ton of variety and content way before a limited 'end game'.

One of the strengths of the game is how many different combinations of power sets there are. Something will fit your play style.

Pick one, if you don't like it, try another. If you are like many of us, you'll have more than a handful of characters.

 

Invulnerability / Super Strength is a great pick to learn the game on and won't suddenly suck at higher levels once you address the Psi vulnerably..

Shield Defense, Radiation Armor, Bio Armor, and Electric Armor are also good primary choices. Willpower is sorta too easy.

Dark Armor is great but has nuance and drawbacks. Fire and Ice have strengths and drawbacks.

Super Reflexes is great until it isn't. This is also another good one to learn on.

Stone Armor has the best defense but at a cost (you're slow & vertically challenged) "although offering superior defense, also slow you down due to its enormous bulk."

For Secondaries, do you prefer straight forward powers or something with a combo type mechanic built in.  Any preference on attacking with fists, kicks, weapons, elemental powers.

There is likely more than a couple fun ones waiting for you.

 

If you like weapons and combo mechanics - Titan Weapons is really strong.

 

Cheers

[Hew]

I see elec/ is missing. That is kind of sad 😕

 

 

That is without any incarnates at all, and 1 power completely unslotted (melee, with 5 slots assigned to it). 

 

For reference, this is elec/energy melee tank, again with zero incarnates.

 

edit:yeah tanks dont do scrapper/blaster/brute levels of damage, but they arent incompetent either

Edited August 27, 2020 by Hew

[Gobbledigook]

7 hours ago, Werner said:

On a defense-heavy end-game build, I ideally want to have sufficient defense that for that build’s defense debuff resistance, when being heavily debuffed, my defense doesn’t drop to where they can hit me more easily. On a Super Relexes with 95% DDR, I’d be happy with something like 63% melee, 61% ranged, 59% AoE defense. But Shield Defense has more like 67% DDR, so I’d ideally want somewhat higher defense than on SR, but it’s also much harder to get it than on a SR. That’s why I’m going with Martial Arts for the extra 10% positional defense. Another approach would be Broadsword/Shield, which can easily hit stratospheric melee defense and be almost immune to melee damage with defense debuffs, such as the Cimerorans on the Imperious Task Force, but more vulnerable to ranged and AoE with defense debuffs, such as the Bright Novas on the Imperious Task Force.

 

Most regular enemies get their chance to hit you floored by 45% defense. In the end game, you may go up against a lot of incarnate enemies, requiring a little under 59% defense to floor them. Easily done on end game Super Reflexes. Harder but doable on Shield and Invulnerability.  There are cases where enemy to hit can be higher, even 100% higher, and you’ll never floor their to hit, and will need a different survival strategy. Defense only gets you so far. It’s great when it works, though, and it usually works.

Shield has more like 90%+. Active defence stacks. You will not be debuffed on a Shield user, not that you will notice anyway.

Edited August 27, 2020 by Gobbledegook

[Werner]

2 hours ago, Gobbledegook said:

Shield has more like 90%+. Active defence stacks. You will not be debuffed on a Shield user, not that you will notice anyway.

I... am... an idiot! With a box and a screwdriver. Passing through. “Helping” out. Learning. 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Werner

[Piecemeal]

My elec/rad is fun 😄

 

 

[Tsuko]

 

20 minutes ago, Piecemeal said:

My elec/rad is fun 😄

 

 

i prefer my Rad FS 😛

 

No Meltdown, Lower buff of barrier T4 and the more dps than a lot of scrappers :

 

 

Well, Mid's is not accurate with rad armor 😛

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Tsuko

[Gobbledigook]

1 hour ago, Werner said:

I... am... an idiot! With a box and a screwdriver. Passing through. “Helping” out. Learning. 

No you aren't 🙂

Edited August 27, 2020 by Gobbledegook

[Werner]

1 hour ago, Gobbledegook said:

No you aren't 🙂

Heh, thanks, except that I just spent maybe three weeks in Mids and on beta polishing up the perfect Shield/MA build (for my preferences), and half of that probably goes out the window now because I forgot one basic fact. Silver lining - the build can be even better now. 👍

[csr]

7 hours ago, Gobbledegook said:

Shield has more like 90%+. Active defence stacks. You will not be debuffed on a Shield user, not that you will notice anyway.

I was about to post the same reply.  My SD/Dark uses 2 HOs in AD and has capped DDR except for about a 3-second window where it's around 75%.  And that's with just the Alpha slot and no Purples.

 

[Edit:]  On checking in game the DDR was NOT being enhanced as Mids and my I19 memories said.

Edited August 27, 2020 by csr

[ninja surprise]

41 minutes ago, csr said:

I was about to post the same reply.  My SD/Dark uses 2 HOs in AD and has capped DDR except for about a 3-second window where it's around 75%.  And that's with just the Alpha slot and no Purples.

Shield Defense / Dark Melee is my suggestion to callador0630.  For mostly soloing and being self-sufficient and getting an early AoE this is an excellent combo.

Defense is cheaper to cap than Resist + Defense. You can get there with just your standard powers, the two +Def uniques from Gladiator's Armor and Steadfast Protection, and a few 6-slotted sets that only cost 1 or 2 million per piece. Cheaper if you buy the recipes instead of the crafted IO.

 

With this you'll have capped defense, decent resist, a self-heal, an endurance recovery power, a big +Damage power, Shield Charge for big AoE and Shadow Maul for more AoE. Touch of Fear can debuff your tougher enemies. 

You'll still feel a little squishy into the 20's and early 30's until your defense and attacks are slotted with enhancements. But you can be capped by mid-30's and never have to touch your build again unless you want to.

[Werner]

1 hour ago, csr said:

My SD/Dark uses 2 HOs in AD and has capped DDR

Wait, even though I can’t slot defense in it, I can slot Membranes and they’ll buff the DDR? Works in Mids, and you confirmed works in game. Wow! OK! Thanks!