Endgame/Hard Content Def vs Res or Both?

[hoodedKitsune]

So I have been playing around with 2 of my blasters, one Firex3 and the other BR/Dev/Mace.  Both are great, I have zero problems when it comes to damage and I say alive pretty well. What I have notice between the two of them is that while my Fire blaster has almost full on Res with about 36-40% Def, they can take a hit and pretty well when attacks get past the Def that and with knockdowns, hold, etc, they door very good for survival.  My BR/Dev/Mace blaster on the other hand does VERY well at not getting hit with soft cap Def you know....until they DO get hit with a small padding of Res. 

 

I have only tried a few 2 star TF/SF and none of the new content that just came out, if I wanna try harder content which works better? A very strong Def with back up for getting hit with -Def, a strong Res with back up for getting hit with -Res or a mix of both with a solid attack chain? I want to pull this off with my next blaster which will be Seismic/Earth, sadly I am on a Mac so none of the joys of Mids, that said the guys and post here have been a MAJOR help with countless hours on the test sever.  

 

Should I go full Def, full Res, a mix of both or pick a different powers other than Seismic/Earth if I am really trying this?

[Without_Pause]

1. Def. You simply don't want to get hit. Not only for the sake of avoiding damage, you also want to avoid Debuffs.

2. DDR. Most characters don't have this, but you can at least get some via Incarnates. You may skip out on the Incarnate option to focus on other stuff anyway.

3. Res. Unlike Def, Res has it's own built in Debuff protection.

 

Pretty much anything else, see regen, is rather nice to have.

 

Usually a set will lean one way or the other. Built for what it is designed for first. Do try to get the other as well as you can without sacrificing too much.

 

[Nemu]

The hardest of Harder content relies on teammates/incarnates for survival so you are going to do a 180 in build philosophy and go all out on damage to get past DPS checks in those encounters.

 

Procs, recharge, and make sure you have good endurance sustain

[hoodedKitsune]

52 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

1. Def. You simply don't want to get hit. Not only for the sake of avoiding damage, you also want to avoid Debuffs.

2. DDR. Most characters don't have this, but you can at least get some via Incarnates. You may skip out on the Incarnate option to focus on other stuff anyway.

3. Res. Unlike Def, Res has it's own built in Debuff protection.

 

Pretty much anything else, see regen, is rather nice to have.

 

Usually a set will lean one way or the other. Built for what it is designed for first. Do try to get the other as well as you can without sacrificing too much.

 

Thanks, Def it is! That said, Regen really? I was not expecting that to be honest, but it totally makes sense.

[arcane]

56 minutes ago, Nemu said:

The hardest of Harder content relies on teammates/incarnates for survival so you are going to do a 180 in build philosophy and go all out on damage to get past DPS checks in those encounters.

 

Procs, recharge, and make sure you have good endurance sustain

This. If you want to do hard mode content, you want neither defense nor resistance in your blaster build unless it’s coming from Barrier.
 

My 4 star builds are sitting comfortably in the 0-10% range for both metrics. Aka as little as possible.

 

Focusing too much on either defense or resistance will gimp your damage output and put you firmly on the “getting carried” slot on the team.

Edited August 15 by arcane

[Ukase]

59 minutes ago, Nemu said:

The hardest of Harder content relies on teammates/incarnates for survival so you are going to do a 180 in build philosophy and go all out on damage to get past DPS checks in those encounters.

 

Procs, recharge, and make sure you have good endurance sustain

Again, Nemu gives sage advice. For Advanced mode tfs - you worry about maximizing DPS, and hitpoints secondarily. With the staggered barriers, you don't need to sweat defense or resistance in your builds. 

[hoodedKitsune]

Wow I am not gonna lie the idea of focusing one straight up DPS kinda sounds like not only a breath of fresh air but feels like something blasters should have always been doing.  Thank you all, It seems I got some work to do on the test sever (big grin) 

[tidge]

On 8/15/2024 at 5:09 PM, hoodedKitsune said:

Wow I am not gonna lie the idea of focusing one straight up DPS kinda sounds like not only a breath of fresh air but feels like something blasters should have always been doing.  Thank you all, It seems I got some work to do on the test sever (big grin) 

 

My opinion is that unless the Blaster is soloing (as an individual, or as a member of a "team" that is off by itself) +3 or +4 content, that it is completely reasonable to not focus on individual defense values (greater than 20%-ish) for x8 content... provided there are a few other "survival" tricks in the build.... basically other powers that act as Inspirations. Even a self-rez power like Rise of the Phoenix can go a long way to improving map clear times.

[Hjarki]

City of Heroes doesn't really have 'end game content'. The gear tread mill of other games isn't present in CoH - you can get almost anything you need from the standpoint of character development in a fire farm if you're so inclined.

 

So when people talk about 'end game', they're mostly talking about arbitrary challenges they've chosen - and those arbitrary challenges probably aren't the same as another player might choose.

 

The game is also 'broken' in teams/leagues with full Incarnate powers since these permit pushing to the game's numerical limits. As a result, it's a bit pointless to talk about optimizing for such play.

 

So whenever you talk about the best way to approach a build, you need to be very specific about what content you're optimizing for - simply saying 'end game' isn't sufficient.

[ZemX]

On 8/15/2024 at 4:09 PM, hoodedKitsune said:

Wow I am not gonna lie the idea of focusing one straight up DPS kinda sounds like not only a breath of fresh air but feels like something blasters should have always been doing.  Thank you all, It seems I got some work to do on the test sever (big grin) 

 

It sounds good for DPS roles but it's kind of disappointing for everyone else, in my opinion.  "Oh, for the game's most elite content, I need a build for my tank that's less... uh... tanky?"

 

Pass.

[Sanguinesun]

12 hours ago, ZemX said:

 

It sounds good for DPS roles but it's kind of disappointing for everyone else, in my opinion.  "Oh, for the game's most elite content, I need a build for my tank that's less... uh... tanky?"

 

Pass.

 

Evidence is also compelling that most of the player base doesnt pedestal it either.

[High_Beam]

I don't think it was inferred by @Nemu that other ATs follow the axiom of focus on DPS, just the big damage ATs, I read it specifically as talking about Blasters as the OP references their issue with Blasters.

[arcane]

On 8/26/2024 at 9:01 AM, ZemX said:

 

It sounds good for DPS roles but it's kind of disappointing for everyone else, in my opinion.  "Oh, for the game's most elite content, I need a build for my tank that's less... uh... tanky?"

 

Pass.

I am struggling with this right now. I’ve stripped most of my characters of defense and resistance, but I’m too afraid to do it on my Tankers. I have gotten away from the Fighting pool on said Tankers, but I’m still clinging to my unique res/def procs and my ATO set bonuses on those toons.

[ZemX]

Just now, arcane said:

I am struggling with this right now. I’ve stripped most of my characters of defense and resistance, but I’m too afraid to do it on my Tankers. I have gotten away from the Fighting pool on said Tankers, but I’m still clinging to my unique res/def procs and my ATO set bonuses on those toons.

 

Oh if I were to do it, I'd definitely do it as a secondary build.  Not gonna destroy the main way I play but if I ever do get curious about HM+'s, that's how I'll go.  But I'd have to do a lot more research before I bother.  I'd have to know first if you even really want a tank for that.

[Seed22]

On 8/15/2024 at 12:16 PM, hoodedKitsune said:

So I have been playing around with 2 of my blasters, one Firex3 and the other BR/Dev/Mace.  Both are great, I have zero problems when it comes to damage and I say alive pretty well. What I have notice between the two of them is that while my Fire blaster has almost full on Res with about 36-40% Def, they can take a hit and pretty well when attacks get past the Def that and with knockdowns, hold, etc, they door very good for survival.  My BR/Dev/Mace blaster on the other hand does VERY well at not getting hit with soft cap Def you know....until they DO get hit with a small padding of Res. 

 

I have only tried a few 2 star TF/SF and none of the new content that just came out, if I wanna try harder content which works better? A very strong Def with back up for getting hit with -Def, a strong Res with back up for getting hit with -Res or a mix of both with a solid attack chain? I want to pull this off with my next blaster which will be Seismic/Earth, sadly I am on a Mac so none of the joys of Mids, that said the guys and post here have been a MAJOR help with countless hours on the test sever.  

 

Should I go full Def, full Res, a mix of both or pick a different powers other than Seismic/Earth if I am really trying this?

Neither. Damage. Def will be covered by barrier cycling. I repeat

 

DO NOT GO ALL IN ON DEF OR RES.

 

I have run 4* and really speccing into def is sacrificing a decent amount of damage for literally no gain. 

[arcane]

3 hours ago, ZemX said:

 

Oh if I were to do it, I'd definitely do it as a secondary build.  Not gonna destroy the main way I play but if I ever do get curious about HM+'s, that's how I'll go.  But I'd have to do a lot more research before I bother.  I'd have to know first if you even really want a tank for that.

You don’t really need a tanker for 4*, just any taunter that can grab aggro and move important AV’s around the battlefield, like Hero 1 or Dra’gon. All their res/def can come from Barrier and they’ll be fine. A heal or absorb shield helps though.