Suggest me a Defender for end game content

[BurningDezire]

Hello,

I don't normally play Defenders though I am looking to roll one for end game content. I am not looking to roll an active powerset. Looking to roll more of a laid back play style toon that's still useful during end game content such as TFs and trials. Any suggestions/builds anyone can post? Thanks in advance.

[Without_Pause]

FF, Sonic, and Cold will be less click based by default as the shields can be done every few minutes. I don't like FF for end game content. Technically Sonic might be the least click based of the two due to toggles, but Cold is really strong, and I can see it being favored for end game content.

 

Side note, TA can be deemed less click based since all you are doing is shooting stuff anyway.

 

I should add the Defender ATOs work insanely well with Sonic so a secondary you aren't going to proc out(/fire, /sonic) would be a good pairing.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Without_Pause

[Psylenz0511]

I would plug Thermal as a non-clicky primary. It has shields like sonic and cold, and it also has a single target heal and a PbAoE heal, too. It has two big debuffs: melt armor and heat exhaustion. Melt armor comes up quicker and is a target AoE debuff.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Psylenz0511

[Without_Pause]

My reason for not picking Thermal is needing to look at other people's health bars which isn't a laid back way to play.

[ZorkNemesis]

2 hours ago, Without_Pause said:

My reason for not picking Thermal is needing to look at other people's health bars which isn't a laid back way to play.

 

You generally don't have to.  If you've got your fire shields on everyone they're often not taking enough damage to require constant healing, especially with everyone at the defense softcaps to begin with.  Toss out Warmth every so often and I assure you people will be fine.  You'll only want Cauterize for someone who's suddenly in the yellow/red most of the time.  Thermal might be a healing set on paper but the fire shields mitigate a lot of the healing you'd be doing, unless you're fighting enemies that prominently use psionics.

 

I have a Thermal/Ice at 50, Vet 12ish.  Despite doing a fair bit of teaming and some trials, she doesn't even have the first healing badge.  Don't need to heal people most of the time so I can focus on my ice attacks while occasionally tossing a Forge to my damage dealers.  I do keep Cauterize on an easy to reach power slot though just in case someone is suddenly bleeding out.

[Doomguide2005]

     While I very much like Cold for it's potent debuffing potentially I'd have to say either Sonic Resonance or Thermal.  A lot of endgame builds aim for capped defenses or achieve it owing to things like stacked Leadership - Maneuvers, using Barrier etc..  Resistance caps less so and you can't really get Resistance through IO sets.  Sonic and Thermal both use Resistance shields.

 

Edit: of course things are being hinted at where this might change where defense buffs might become more useful even for otherwise capped characters ... .  We shall see.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Doomguide2005

[SableShrike]

Something else to favor Sonic, but your big bubble gives you almost complete mez protection.  That is a pretty important consideration, considering how many endgame mobs mez with their attacks.  Sonic lets you take something besides Clarion.

 

Really consider taking a Patron pet with FF, Sonic, or Cold.  They add significantly to your damage since you can keep them alive longterm with your shields.  Like a mini Lore pet, basically.  You can perma them with enough recharge from sets/Hasten/Ageless.

 

[Elia87]

How about rad/sonic?

[KaizenSoze]

There is always my Lazy Imp build:

 

[Without_Pause]

12 hours ago, Doomguide2005 said:

     While I very much like Cold for it's potent debuffing potentially I'd have to say either Sonic Resonance or Thermal.  A lot of endgame builds aim for capped defenses or achieve it owing to things like stacked Leadership - Maneuvers, using Barrier etc..  Resistance caps less so and you can't really get Resistance through IO sets.  Sonic and Thermal both use Resistance shields.

 

Edit: of course things are being hinted at where this might change where defense buffs might become more useful even for otherwise capped characters ... .  We shall see.

Not all builds are soft capped. A number of builds might just soft cap ranged. More so until level 50. There is also the issue with def debuffs so having extra def isn't a bad thing. Cold does have some resist built into it as well. 

[Six-Six]

I heard Time is broken on fenders... in a good way. still levelling mine up. but my elec/elec is an av killer. 😃

 

[Aurora_Girl]

Poison... because it is a WRECKER and you literally don't even care if you *have* teammates, let alone having to do anything for them. 

[BurningDezire]

27 minutes ago, Aurora_Girl said:

Poison... because it is a WRECKER and you literally don't even care if you *have* teammates, let alone having to do anything for them. 

Interesting. Could you elaborate more on this please?

[ZorkNemesis]

1 hour ago, BurningDezire said:

Interesting. Could you elaborate more on this please?

 

Poison packs some very potent debuffs that happen to be mostly AoE, though targets that aren't the main target usually get lesser effects (procs still hit everyone equally however).  The buff powers in the set are viewed as subpar (Alkaline is a very weak ST heal, Elixir of Life has the worst post-rez crash, and Antidote is just another Clear Mind) and usually get skipped which leaves extra power options if you desire (the set was originally Mastermind exclusive, which might be part of the problem).  The set procs very well, with Poison Trap being an exceptional proc bomb, plus lots of spots for Achille's Heel throughout.  Venomous Gas puts you in melee range but the debuff effect is very strong and effectively combines all your main debuffs at once while stacking with them further, with Defender values Poison can outright pacify a lot of mobs while making them soft as paste for you or your team.  It takes some work getting it to full potential but when you have it it's a very effective set for it's heavy debuff and proc potential, and combined with a solid primary set you'll be cleaning house for sure.

[BurningDezire]

8 minutes ago, ZorkNemesis said:

 

Poison packs some very potent debuffs that happen to be mostly AoE, though targets that aren't the main target usually get lesser effects (procs still hit everyone equally however).  The buff powers in the set are viewed as subpar (Alkaline is a very weak ST heal, Elixir of Life has the worst post-rez crash, and Antidote is just another Clear Mind) and usually get skipped which leaves extra power options if you desire (the set was originally Mastermind exclusive, which might be part of the problem).  The set procs very well, with Poison Trap being an exceptional proc bomb, plus lots of spots for Achille's Heel throughout.  Venomous Gas puts you in melee range but the debuff effect is very strong and effectively combines all your main debuffs at once while stacking with them further, with Defender values Poison can outright pacify a lot of mobs while making them soft as paste for you or your team.  It takes some work getting it to full potential but when you have it it's a very effective set for it's heavy debuff and proc potential, and combined with a solid primary set you'll be cleaning house for sure.

Sounds like a fun powerset. Though I imagine you'd need a very good/expensive build for end game content given you'd have to get in the middle of mobs to cast powers.

[Aurora_Girl]

8 hours ago, BurningDezire said:

Sounds like a fun powerset. Though I imagine you'd need a very good/expensive build for end game content given you'd have to get in the middle of mobs to cast powers.

 

Not really? The assumption that all builds for all ATs need some godlike level of set bonus survivability irks me a little. VenGas is melee yes, but your debuffs are so powerful they provide plenty of mitigation on their own. StrategyX positioning and tactics (philosophy, not power) are how hay is made on a squishy, not building for softcap and ignoring them. I use Envenom and weaken (procced of course) as part of my attack chain; unless there's a bunch of mezzing bosses in a spawn, they're debuffed to all hell and I can handle at my leisure. Min is paired with /Rad, which also wants you in close, and while I do faceplant occasionally that's part of the fun of playing a not-melee. 

[BurningDezire]

1 hour ago, Aurora_Girl said:

 

Not really? The assumption that all builds for all ATs need some godlike level of set bonus survivability irks me a little. VenGas is melee yes, but your debuffs are so powerful they provide plenty of mitigation on their own. StrategyX positioning and tactics (philosophy, not power) are how hay is made on a squishy, not building for softcap and ignoring them. I use Envenom and weaken (procced of course) as part of my attack chain; unless there's a bunch of mezzing bosses in a spawn, they're debuffed to all hell and I can handle at my leisure. Min is paired with /Rad, which also wants you in close, and while I do faceplant occasionally that's part of the fun of playing a not-melee. 

That's good news then. I am still learning the whole positioning thing. From what I've read here on the forums on Poison, I definitely want to roll it on a Defender. Just not sure which secondary yet. 

[Psylenz0511]

I went Poison/water blast. With defense debuff and the accompanying -resist debuffs, target aoe procs and some knockdown in the secondary, it's a lot of fun.

[Without_Pause]

Another vote for Poison/rad since you can slot Rad for -res procs.

[Elia87]

7 hours ago, Without_Pause said:

Another vote for Poison/rad since you can slot Rad for -res procs.

And what can one do with that combo?  

[Without_Pause]

Melt mobs and murder AVs. The idea is to stack as much -res onto things so they simply don't last long.

[Voltak]

All I have to say is let the pictures, the action, the results speak for themselves.  Introducing the extremely powerful combination of 

DARK / Radiation / Soul   -- my video presents examples of just how powerful this combination is, examples used to learn the tactics, the present the powerful instruments Dark has and providing evidence of how using those instruments you can play safely, relatively easy, and do extremely hard content. 
 

 

[StriderIV]

26 minutes ago, Voltak said:

All I have to say is let the pictures, the action, the results speak for themselves.  Introducing the extremely powerful combination of 

DARK / Radiation / Soul   -- my video presents examples of just how powerful this combination is, examples used to learn the tactics, the present the powerful instruments Dark has and providing evidence of how using those instruments you can play safely, relatively easy, and do extremely hard content. 
 

 

Nice man! I’d be very interested in this build.

[Voltak]

1 minute ago, StriderIV said:

Nice man! I’d be very interested in this build.

Watch it and see just how powerful that blend is 

[StriderIV]

15 minutes ago, Voltak said:

Watch it and see just how powerful that blend is 

To confirm, this is Dark Miasma/Radiation Blast? I’ve seen Rad/Dark defenders before, but never the flip!