Katana/Stone Armor...Brute or Scrapper?

[jjolin01]

I know Stone Armor is a mostly defense set, but it does have a damage toggle, which fury would do nicely with, so I'm unsure.

 

Also, some level 50 builds would be nice, if anyone has one laying around that they'd like to share.

[StriderIV]

On 3/4/2023 at 11:15 AM, jjolin01 said:

I know Stone Armor is a mostly defense set, but it does have a damage toggle, which fury would do nicely with, so I'm unsure.

 

Also, some level 50 builds would be nice, if anyone has one laying around that they'd like to share.

I personally run Stone Armor on a scrapper due to Brimstone being able to crit AND I like their T9 Geode more.

 

That being said, if you want a Taunt aura, go Brute. Scrappers and Stalkers don’t get it.

 

@InvaderStych has sang the praises of Stone on a Stalker though, and has me seriously considering running one there because why not? Ninja Blade/Stone Armor could be sweet.

[InvaderStych]

On 3/4/2023 at 11:15 AM, jjolin01 said:

I know Stone Armor is a mostly defense set, but it does have a damage toggle, which fury would do nicely with, so I'm unsure.

 

I don't have a Scrapper or Brute build for /Stone, but I did run several versions of it during the Beta when it was re-vamped and again when it was ported over to Sentinels.  My /Stone is a Stalker, and if you're interested I think the thread I've not updated in a while is still on the first page of the Stalker sub and has an older draft of my post-50 build within. Having the aura would mean slotting very differently though.

 

Brimstone is a key feature of the set: when it is up each attack has a chance to trigger a fire damage DoT that will cancel on miss for up to 3 ticks total.

 

While the proc itself ignores damage boosts, the Brute version is written to receive a buff from the Fury meter whereas the Scrapper/Stalker versions have a chance for the DoT to Critical Hit for the full value of all three ticks.  In practice the damage between archetypes is fairly closely balanced, but I haven't really explored the Brute or Tanker versions of the set all that much.

 

Earth's Embrace is a big fat +HP power that doesn't need slotting unless you want bonuses from a heal set there. On a Brute you'd have the advantage of the higher HP cap and might want more slots than my Stalker which gets away with the default slot.

 

4pcs Shield Wall and an LOTG +rech is a good start for slotting the defense toggles, Crystal Armor is also a +recovery power and should be slotted with an extra Perf Shifter +Endurance. Brute's Epic with Superior Conditioning might be a good way to mitigate the considerable endurance costs on the set, unless one was going soul for Gloom or elsewhere for concept.

 

Mud Pots does have a slow, but it is marginal at best and slows are heavily resisted by some critters. Many are flat out immune to it like Wolves. Brute's inherent taunt would help keep things in your dmg aura and the aura is boosted by Fury whereas on a Scrapper Brimstone is the only power in any secondary which is coded for critical hits. Meaning no crits in Mud Pots but a Scrapper can crit with either Quills or Irrad. Ground because they are in primaries.  Mud Pots will not trigger Brimstone, nor will any other aura.

 

Lots of advantages on the Brute side with /Stone, but they swing the other way (imo) with Katana. Because of SD and GD, Katana is perfectly suited for the Scrapper SCS +50% piece and takes amazing advantage of it.  Attack speed isn't as much of a factor for generating fury as it used to be during Retail, so while Katana is awesome on a Brute there's no specific mechanical quirk or advantage to it.

 

Of course with /Stone you'd have the defensive tools available to be able to skip DA, which means not taking a DPS hit when you need to use it.  You could still use it, but it would only benefit Lethal defense, as your melee numbers on a typed defense armor aren't going to be high enough of a base to make stacking DA very worthwhile.

[jjolin01]

11 hours ago, InvaderStych said:

 

Words

 

Thank you for this! Decided to go with a scrapper.