Why SR?

[drgantz]

I've read that Def is better for Scrappers while Res is better for Brutes and Tankers.  I've seen several posts saying that SR is great for Tankers.  Why is it so great, since it is Def?

[Without_Pause]

Because of how easy it is to cap Def, and due to the Tank ATO proc a Tank can get +20% Res. I honestly wouldn't blindly say Res is best on a Tank. 

[Pazradym]

Also, a huge selling point of SR is its frankly borderline insane amount of innate DDR.   Every power in the set except two give bonuses to it.  To my knowledge, its the highest DDR rates you can get, and frankly something that puts it above and beyond most other defense based sets.   Getting even close to its numbers with anything else is basically impossible.   Which matters a ton in a lot of the end game content.  You'll read a lot about cascading failures of defense as mobs stack every debuff they can on you.  SR has a classic one two combo of having great defense, and making sure it keeps that great defense.  Not to say its impossible to be debuffed down, it can and will happen.  Just to a far less degree than other sets.

[PLVRIZR]

2 hours ago, drgantz said:

I've read that Def is better for Scrappers while Res is better for Brutes and Tankers.

 

Due to the fact that Scrappers cap at 75% Res, where Brutes and Tankers are 90%...

[Mezmera]

2 hours ago, Pazradym said:

Getting even close to its numbers with anything else is basically impossible. 

 

DDR caps at 95% which SR can easily attain.  My Shield tank is at 90% without using Ageless, seems pretty close to me.  Then Shield can bring much more to the table.

[Yomo Kimyata]

Based on the ATOs alone, it is easiest to cap defenses (I'm looking at melee and/or S&L) on brutes, scrappers, and tanks in that order.  And keep in mind defense is the same for all three of those ATs.

 

Conversely, it is easiest to get a particular level of damage resistance on a tanker then a scrapper/brute.

 

SR on a tanker gets you to max defenses, essentially, and then it is easier to build up resistance on a tank than the other ATs.

[Sir Myshkin]

See this is one of those weird cases were I chime in as Devil’s Advocate that SR is better for Scrappers and Stalkers because it is so easy to soft cap and serves them better than it does Tankers/Brutes. It is just as possible to get 59% positional defense on a Scrapper as it is a Tanker, yes the Tank is easier to accomplish but it is doable.

[Unclemarty]

Perhaps one of the weaknesses of SR is that the low initial resistances means that they often take huge hits, such as in an alpha strike.

But with the large HP of tankers, they can take this huge hit and then stabilize due to the scaling resistances that 3 of the SR powers offer. 

At low health SR tanks can have nearly capped Resistances due to scaling resistances. The scaling resistance is % based so when it starts to kick in below 60% health, tanks still have hundreds of HP.

 

As others have mentioned Defense Debuff Resistance (DDR) is a huge reason why SR is so good. 

Basically any tank with an IO build can handle most 4x8 content in the game but SR tanks are especially good at hard content with heavy incoming debuffs, such as 801 AE series or hard mode ITF or Aeon.

 

[Bill Z Bubba]

7 hours ago, Mezmera said:

DDR caps at 95% which SR can easily attain.  My Shield tank is at 90% without using Ageless, seems pretty close to me.  Then Shield can bring much more to the table.

 

Shield is numerically superior to SR.

 

Shield is subjectively very less sexy than SR.

 

SR on a tank is borderline insanely tough. That's without RoP or Darkest Night or both pushing is even further.

[Uun]

SR's (and Shield's) weakness isn't defense debuffs (other than unresistable debuffs), it's powers that grant amounts of +tohit that exceed SR's defense. Things like DE Quartz emanators, Rularuu eyeballs, Recluse's blue(?) tower, etc.

[Linea]

23 hours ago, drgantz said:

I've read that Def is better for Scrappers while Res is better for Brutes and Tankers.  I've seen several posts saying that SR is great for Tankers.  Why is it so great, since it is Def?

Resist Armors:

• I do not recommend Resist sets on 75% resist cap ATs. 
  • 75% resist cap vs 90% resist cap is 2.5x incoming damage on the 75% resist cap AT.  This is fatal. 
  • The sets were IMO apparently designed with the 90% resist cap in mind, and 2.5x healing vs defense sets.  
  • At the extreme end of things, defense sets equate closer to 8% or 9% incoming damage in isolation assuming no resist.  Resist sets at the 90% resist cap, and 2.5x more healing roughly equal out.
  • Except that all those debuff and status effects thrown at resist only builds (almost) always hit while defense armor dodges the effects.
  • To counter the debuff issue, most resist armors have some level of status resists.  While this is helpful, it's still not as helpful as not being hit in the first place.
  • Meta-Game:  ***IF*** your team brings defense support, your already resist capped armor with additional healing can really make your build stand out above the crowd in otherwise difficult content.
  • I almost always pair these armors with defensive weapons like Katana with Divine Avalanche, while being aware that any defense added WILL be stripped in heavy debuff content like a 4-star ITF.

Defense Armors:

• These work on all ATs.  See all of the above.
• Defense Cap in isolation is roughly just as effective as TANK 90% resist cap in isolation.  If you're a 75% resist cap AT, then this can often be a better starting point than resists.
• It's better to never be hit than to resist that hit.
• You can add moderate resists to a defense build.  Cake Meet Icing.

Heal-Tank Armors:

• These works best on Tanks due to HP Caps, but can work on all ATs as well.
• I almost always pair these armors with defensive weapons like Katana with Divine Avalanche.
• Then I push both resists and defense, with a preference to resists, while being aware that any defense added WILL be stripped in heavy debuff content like a 4-star ITF.

[SeraphimKensai]

15 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

 

Shield is numerically superior to SR.

 

Shield is subjectively very less sexy than SR.

 

SR on a tank is borderline insanely tough. That's without RoP or Darkest Night or both pushing is even further.

I may have an SR/RM with RoP and Darkest Night. It might be a bit overkill, but useful for 4star stuff.