Shield MA vs SR SJ?

[Golden Azrael]

All of them. 🙂

 

All six slotted bar the Tier 1 which is x2 slotted.

 

My thinking is to try and double proc some of the sets where I can for proc dam.

 

Azrael.

Edited April 22, 2022 by Golden Azrael

[Mezmera]

16 minutes ago, Golden Azrael said:

 

Those Unstoppables are useful from time to time as they can in 'hot' situations take you over the top.  I can imagine being in amongst some Longbow and finding OWTShield and Grant Cover useful...

 

Azrael.

 

It's not exactly "Unstoppable".  The crash is hardly noticeable in OWtS.  Much more user friendly even if you get caught not paying attention mid crash.  

[Onlyasandwich]

17 minutes ago, Golden Azrael said:

All of them. 🙂

That would explain why you are a bit short!

 

The real choice is between Crane Kick and Cobra Strike. They serve essentially the same purpose in your attack chain, and you don't need both for a clean and efficient rotation. Additionally, Eagle's Claw is an easy drop. It's fun if you like the animation, but does not add anything to your overall DPS. It is at best break-even if optimally used.

 

All that to say, you don't have to build for 100% efficiency! If you like poking things in different ways, by all means go for the diversity. This will however sacrifice some utility and slot efficiency.

[ihatethewind]

22 hours ago, Mezmera said:

I love my Shield tank!  She has the defenses of SR along with tons of extra resists, lots of extra hp and then yeah Shield Charge is a blast and a boon to your aoe potential.  What SR really has on Shield is the ease of building that defense and the DDR but Shield's DDR isn't too shabby once you can double stack the mez click and the opportunity offered for builds in IOs makes Shield shine.  

Shield can get ddr so high as to be mostly equivalent outside of very extreme edge cases. Plus ithas all the other goodies. I’d say unless you love SR (personally I’m SR weeaboo) just go shield.

[Golden Azrael]

22 hours ago, Onlyasandwich said:

That would explain why you are a bit short!

 

The real choice is between Crane Kick and Cobra Strike. They serve essentially the same purpose in your attack chain, and you don't need both for a clean and efficient rotation. Additionally, Eagle's Claw is an easy drop. It's fun if you like the animation, but does not add anything to your overall DPS. It is at best break-even if optimally used.

 

All that to say, you don't have to build for 100% efficiency! If you like poking things in different ways, by all means go for the diversity. This will however sacrifice some utility and slot efficiency.

 

I've hit L50.  And I've decided against OWTShield.  And against Grant Cover.  Choosing instead of build it out as is.  And I'm very happy with the results.  Proc damage in where I can vs balancing full sets for mOaR defence in positions!!!

 

I've finished the build.  Purpled out two key attacks.  And some 'slow resist' sets.  I'll also go Cardiac to add to my incoming damage resistance and bring in end reduction so I can go full tilt with the AoEs I've collected. 🙂  Also, mindful of facing Longbow/Arach/Carnie.  I'll take Ageless Radial.  These will thus somewhat address the ommission of OWTShield and Grant Cover.

 

I tend to have a fetish for taking as many powers from the Primary and Secondary as I can before committing to a build.  The two sacrificial lambs in this instance already outlined.

 

I took the Fighting Pool and that took me to the def' cap in AoE/Range.  As I'd already hit the Melee cap.

 

Managed to squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze the S*L  Res' to 70%.blob. 😄

 

I thought I'd developed an end problem at L48 until I realised I'd put Athletic Run on and removed it from my tray by accident...  (Please.  No jokes.)

 

Azrael.

[Golden Azrael]

In addition.  I took CJ, SJump and Spring Attack which caused me to run out of power picks.

 

SAttack stacks very nicely with S/Charge.

 

Update.  +3x8 Nemesis.  No Level Shifts.  Gave them a beating.

 

Fitted my Alpha.  Cardiac.  No lingering End problems now.  Dam' Resist when I get the Tier 3.  The Range will help out with the length of S/Charge/Spring Attack?

 

Azrael.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Golden Azrael

[Werner]

Not a tanker, but I leveled a SJ/SR Brute to 50 and had fun doing so, kitted her out with the best that money could buy, but then didn't enjoy her at all compared to other 50s, and quickly stripped her for parts, never to be played again. Meanwhile my Shield/MA Tanker is my highest veteran level character, and I love playing him. Everyone's tastes differ, of course. 

 

I do suspect that SR would be better in incarnate content, but don't know that from experience, and I built my Shield/MA with over 60% defense, so he'd probably be pretty good for it. You have to sacrifice more that SR would to get there, of course.

 

Dragon's Tail, Shield Charge, and Mighty Radial for the win. Or at least for the fun!

 

Single target I go Storm Kick -> Crippling Axe Kick -> Storm Kick -> Gloom -> Thunder Kick. Nice and snappy. Soul Mastery makes it more difficult to handle endurance than Energy Mastery, but helps the DPS for soloing level 54 AVs.

 

I took One With the Shield, but need it so rarely that I usually forget it even when I need it.

 

I did like the Street Justice animations. 

[Golden Azrael]

SR/SJ.  I enjoyed it, but it felt like pushing the boulder up the hill at times.  Passive armour.  No DoT 'melt' damage or Shield Charge to 'Burst' Damage.  Still, the two AoEs in the SJ set stacked nicely.  Light but fast damage.  Bone crunching fun.  (In a 'That's going to hurt in the morning, son...' kind of way.)

 

SJ.  A fun 'I'm Batman' (do the voice, folks...) street fighter (TM) set.

 

In the end I didn't bother with One with the Shield.  Or Grant Cover.  I've pushed the res' higher with sets.  I've got Ageless Radial debuff protection in mind there...and MOAR recharge.

 

My go to chain?  Spring Attack>Dragon's Tail>Shield Charge>Cross Punch>Dragon's Tail.  A mob is decimated to slither's of health.  Enabling MA to crunch az for what's left of their health.

 

A friend did point that you can stack Cobra Strike>Eagle's Claw for stunning bosses and keeping a single target with the twirly birds.

 

Over Incarnate level+ on Melee.  Capped ++ on other positions.  I've taken Cardiac which has squeezed my damage resistance even higher (in the absence of 'One with the Shield...')  Another reason for me 'not' taking that 'Unstoppable' was I now remember you can't affect it's recharge time like some other tank Unstops...

 

I did try my SR/SJ on a Hami TF.  It was rather embarrassing so I won't talk too much about that.  But in general content?  Immutable beat down.

 

On Shield/MA I wanted to push the AoEs to stack with Shield Charge.  More than happy with the results.

 

I can push the positional defence even higher with Hybrid as well as help acc/dam and end reduction (always useful...)

 

My idea was to hit the mobs hard and quick.  Build in Shield's strengths of def' and dam' resists and the damage potential for being in the thick of the action which ties in with MA's burst damage but also the Dragon's Tail AoE, Spring Attack, Cross Punch and...the armour's Shield Charge.

 

Just got to watch when you play debuff content, Carnie, Long bow et al.  Hit them hard and fast.  But if you get bogged down?  Don't just stand there and take it...as they will land a shot...then the debuff cycle begins the spiral of doom.  So you may have to get out of melee, string them down a corridor to thin their debuffs and...

 

That's the weakness of Shield.  No heal.  So there may be an argument for Destiny's Radial Rebirth...which I have on my Ref/Katana Scrapper and my Shield/Elec Tank.

 

Azrael.

Edited April 24, 2022 by Golden Azrael

[Golden Azrael]

Update.

 

I respec.

 

Out goes Taunt.  ('He's a naked Tanker...he doesn't have Taunt.'  *points and laughs.)

 

Better that than a blind tanker getting a kicking.  Against Arachnos.  Got blinded ('Har, Har!') and whilst I couldn't be hurt (that much) it was pretty embarrassing.  A tanker who can't see the enemy mob.  The Arachnos weren't laughing when I went back into the mission with Foc(k) Accuracy. 🙂

 

In comes Foc(k) (...as I was calling it yesterday) Accuracy for Perception bonus which is off the scale good along with it's To Hit bonus which is also insanely good.  I had to put x2 End Red IOs in it because it has a crazy end cost.  I lost the Healing proc in the 3rd slot of Stamina and made it a clean sweep of x3 Common Stamina IOs.

 

I lost the 2nd slot in Tier 1 Kick.  1 From the Ranged Shield Def' (Tier 2.  So sacrificed a slither of AoE/Ranged...) and a Slot out of Weave (sacrificing another slither of overall positional def'...)

 

...and?

 

Max slotted Crunch Punch with Avalanche for the 5% Melee def'.  And MOAR slow res.

 

This also boosted my Fire/Ice Def by 5% (common dam' types), improved my AoE by 2.5%, some more Res' to Fire/Ice and Mez res' by 10% etc.  And a nice little 4% to Recovery.

 

Above Inc' def' for Melee.  I hit 'a' mob with Storm Kick?  Inc' in other two positions as well.

 

In a mob of +4x8 Council?  Don't get it.  (Rarely.)

 

Azrael.

[C U R S E]

Roll and go with a Shield/DM and never look back