Looking for a decent /Bio combo

[Doc Ranger]

So I was never a big scrapper guy back in the day. Had a BS/Reg way back and I may have delved into a Spines before quitting. I'm a big support toon player...controllers, defenders and tanks typically.

 

I currently have a Staff/SR at 35 which is a ton of fun and I am hearing good things about the Bio set which I have never played. I've seen a few posts here regarding spines and rad pairing well with Bio. If I am going to maximize my ability to help a team (I'm not a big solo guy...I love helping teams) what do you think my best avenue would be? I primarily buy SO's...the IO set thing is a little over my head right now. 

[Heraclea]

I have a bi/spines tanker that I rather enjoy.  Two damage auras are always fun.  Bio has built in endurance relief which makes running Spines easy.

[marcussmythe]

Spines/Bio Brute.  Can confirm.

[Doc Ranger]

Brute is tougher but Scrapper does more dmg?

[HelenCarnate]

Spines Bio is fun. Rad/Bio is another with decent aoe but can take out bosses a bit faster while everything else melts.

[Doc Ranger]

I'll look over the powers of each and see what I want to do. So Spines and Rad are survivable with Bio. Good to know.

[marcussmythe]

In general, the Scrapper will do more damage, while the Brute has more hit points (and higher caps on resist - this matters on Bio, as a Brute CAN hit the 90% resist cap).  The Brute is fury dependent, so responds less strongly to buffs (and debuffs!) to damage.

 

The Tank will reach the same cap as the brute, but do it at less opportunity cost (due to higher bases in the powers) and on higher base hit points (the Brute HP Cap is the same as the Tankers, IIRC - but this matters little in play.  Ive not seen a HP Capped Brute - maybe with Invuln?)

 

After youve chosen the Bio secondary, the world is your oyster.  Bio stance-shifting can proivde large boosts to recovery and regen - and it gets a power late on that is a MASSIVE boost to both, use in packs, enjoy.  Its got an interesting mix of DEF and RES.

 

Bio plays like a mix of WP and Regen, and is IMHO overtuned compared to both - though it does require more attention than does Willpower.  The ability to switch from 'take less damage, deal less' to 'take more damage, deal more' to 'recover more endurance and HP' on the fly is just amazing.

 

As to what to pair it with?  Lots of options, nothing would be 'bad'.  The ONLY downside I see to Bio is it requires attention.

 

Spines is nice for dual DOT Auras and otherwise massive AOE.

 

Rad or Katana (Katana is pretty amazing, TBH) for some additional +DEF or Heals, better single target than Spines, and still solid AOE.

 

Fire is always popular.

 

Titan Weapons looks to be a powerhouse combo, but its attention/effort requirements conflict with Bio's need to remember to Click Thing to Not Die.  I anticipate a late-game monstrosity with IOs and Incarnates, but its a slog getting there.  Ive got a TW/Bio Scrapper and its... power comes at a price, nuff said.  But the damage numbers in offensive adaptation are incredible...

 

Staff could be really interesting - both Bio and Staff offer a form of 'stance dancing', giving different benefits thereby.  Could allow some really cool fine-tuning on the fly, or go all in one way or the other to maximize (relatively) offense or defense.

 

Bio is a big regen/heal/absorb set, so mitigation in the form of self-heals (Dark, Rad) are relatively less valuable.  Mitigation in the form of extra defense will stack well with that regen (Katana leaps to mind, no doubt others), and soft control (slows, KD, etc.) will also help survive while your regen ticks or your heal cools down.

[Doc Ranger]

Good info. Haven't considered a Brute. Never played one but am willing to give it a go if it's a fun set. Maybe a Rad/Bio Brute would be fun.

 

I wish Mids had the new powersets so I could semi plan my builds ahead of time. 

[marcussmythe]

Good info. Haven't considered a Brute. Never played one but am willing to give it a go if it's a fun set. Maybe a Rad/Bio Brute would be fun.

 

I wish Mids had the new powersets so I could semi plan my builds ahead of time.

 

Check out 'Pine's Hero Designer', its basically an updated Mids.

 

Ive got a Bio Brute - and shes awesome.  She is (with IOs) basically as tough as I can ask a character to be - softcap def to all types but psi, 90% S/L resist, decent resists in other places (Energy and Psi are soft), massive regen, yadda.  Its nifty.

 

The Brute will have a smoother take-off (fury, baby!) and end up tankier.  The Scrapper will do more damage, probably a lot more with crits.

[Doc Ranger]

Started this thread wondering about a scrapper and might end up playing a Brute. I do like helping a team more...brutes are more tankery and may end up being more fun in groups.

[marcussmythe]

Ill not knock the tanking ability of a scrapper, or the DPSing ability of a brute.  Both are really cool ATs - its just a matter of where you want your focus to be.

 

Amusingly, (and as I discussed in another thread), despite the wildly varying mechanics and pros/cons, it seems to be a fairly smooth sliding scale from Tank/Brute/Scrap/Stalk.. each does more damage than, but has less resilience than, its predecessor.  So its about where you want to fall on that scale, and what your priorities are.

[Doc Ranger]

I think I want to be tough enough to help a team overall. I have always gravitated toward support toons. But when the fecal matter hits the fan I want to be able to dish it out on a boss if necc. My BS/WP tank at 32 is really just a meatshield. He can't dish anything out. I basically just stand there and try to hold aggro.

 

So looking for something tough but more able to fight his way out of tough situations.

[Sancerre]

if your concern is damage.  the concern then is just managing fury.  PBAoE auras help a lot with this (/bio has one).  brutes with the fury bar past near 3/4 full are pretty much scrapper level damage.  there are caveats but that is kind of the general idea.

 

brute will be better in parties early levels because they are naturally tankier and have taunt built in.  scrappers will be better solo in the early levels because you dont need to keep muscling forward to maintain your damage levels... you can actually take a break to recover and not feel like you are being punished.  that said at the high end of things... it matters much less.  between incarnates and IO sets, both will become extremely tanky and high damage.  and while there is currently very little scrapper stigma in party creation, it could very well return... that is to say majority of the time, the party would probably feel better with a brute instead of a scrapper, but nobody particularly cares at the moment.

 

also, i would basically recommend anything NOT titan weapons.  /bio and TW both require a good bit of management that will interfere with each other.  if you decide on brute, anything with another PBAoE damage aura is lovely because it builds fury.. but it is not necessary (see the current fad of super strength brutes).

[Doc Ranger]

Thanks. I was thinking of maybe Rad/Bio for a change of pace.