Rad Armor/Street Justice!

[StriderIV]

Hey all!

Have a concept for a Radiation Armor/Street Justice Tanker. I couldn't really find any combos of it on the forums, so I thought I'd try my hand at a build! Would love any thoughts/insights, as I haven't played a Rad/ Tanker before.

Some notes:

• I took Laser Eye Beams and Combat Tele mostly for theme, but could be open to changing other pools.
• Not sure about incarnate choices. Have Musculature Radial, but perhaps Vigor is better?
• I didn't grab sweeping cross because I felt proc'd out Rad Therapy, GZ and Sweeping Strike (maybe Void as well) would be enough AOE. Could always grab it if needed!
• Not sure if the procs I put in RT and GZ are the best ones? 

Aegis Armor Prime - Tanker (Radiation Armor - Street Justice).mbd

Edited Thursday at 11:28 PM by StriderIV

[One IV All]

I bet this thing hits like a Scrapper 😂

[BuiltDifferent5]

I think it looks pretty dang good. I’m no build master though, so can’t really answer the questions in your notes.

 

Summoning @Spaghetti Betty who I know runs this combo on a Scrapper and @ZemX who is an overall Rad Armor guru. They probably have some great insights.

[ZemX]

Looks good to me.  Focused Accuracy is key to avoid being toHit debuffed.  I haven't loaded the build but I see a couple pairs of Winters in there so Slow Resist is probably good.  Debuff resist is so important when you lack defense.

 

I tend to lean less on procs.  My RT has a couple Preventive Medicine to boost heal/recharge and then the rest are procs, including of course the Theft of Essense.  My GZ is where I put two Avalanche for recharge and knockdown (and slow resist set bonus) and then the rest procs.   That means I give up some damage for utility so that just depends on taste.  I lean more towards team tanking than soloing or I'd probably do differently.

 

But no, this build looks like it'll be a lot of fun.  Teleport is my new favorite travel.  Always used to be leaping from the old days but once I went tanker and started getting hit by everything, I got tired of being -jump debuffed by webs or blocked going through doorways when there are mobs I needed to grab aggro, so... teleport.   I use just the travel version Teleport, even in doors.  It's not as zippy as CT obviously, but it's nice long range.  I can bamf into the next group to lather them up before the team gets there.

[StriderIV]

1 hour ago, ZemX said:

Looks good to me.  Focused Accuracy is key to avoid being toHit debuffed.  I haven't loaded the build but I see a couple pairs of Winters in there so Slow Resist is probably good.  Debuff resist is so important when you lack defense.

 

I tend to lean less on procs.  My RT has a couple Preventive Medicine to boost heal/recharge and then the rest are procs, including of course the Theft of Essense.  My GZ is where I put two Avalanche for recharge and knockdown (and slow resist set bonus) and then the rest procs.   That means I give up some damage for utility so that just depends on taste.  I lean more towards team tanking than soloing or I'd probably do differently.

 

But no, this build looks like it'll be a lot of fun.  Teleport is my new favorite travel.  Always used to be leaping from the old days but once I went tanker and started getting hit by everything, I got tired of being -jump debuffed by webs or blocked going through doorways when there are mobs I needed to grab aggro, so... teleport.   I use just the travel version Teleport, even in doors.  It's not as zippy as CT obviously, but it's nice long range.  I can bamf into the next group to lather them up before the team gets there.

This is super helpful, thanks Zem! I might have to mess around with some of the sets. I DID proc out Rad Therapy and GZ, but perhaps I can just full set some of my attacks for more bonuses.

For example, I put the Entomb proc in Crushing Uppercut for an additional +Absorb shield... but that might not really needed on Rad Armor. I could see it maybe making sense for like Shield/StJ, where it lacks a heal or absorb, but Rad Armor may just be fine without it.

Combat Tele gives the +tohit as well, so even less hitting when matched up with Focused Accuracy! 😂

[Onlyasandwich]

Pretty solid build overall, Strider!

 

As much as I like to cram in FFBack, I'd consider swapping the one in Heavy blow for the 4th ATO for the recharge bonus. 12% chance for FFback vs 10% global recharge is firmly in favor of the global for overall benefit.

 

The 4th Gauntleted fist in Rib Cracker isn't doing much for you. I'd swap for a damage proc or siphon the slot elsewhere. 

 

Impervious skin is a pretty weak set. 4 slot aegis would be an upgrade (drop the Imp armor too). This gives you more S/L pad to back off on the overslotted tough. Could swap the aegis psi in tough for an imp armor psi and you'll be net ahead of psi resists.

 

Swap the decimation in LBE for Purple damage proc for sure. Much better damage return if you're actually using it in your rotation.

 

Spinning strike already does KD (based on combo system - not shown properly in mids), so no need for the KD proc. Could swap for a damage proc or a third winter IO to shore up F/C.

 

There are some other optimizations around that I'd probably hit on a ground-up build, but overall it's good! I feel like there is a version of this build that, with enough playing around, can get the same totals but with more global recharge. The FFback in your attack chain (even without heavy blow) goes a long way though.

 

 

[StriderIV]

48 minutes ago, Onlyasandwich said:

Pretty solid build overall, Strider!

 

As much as I like to cram in FFBack, I'd consider swapping the one in Heavy blow for the 4th ATO for the recharge bonus. 12% chance for FFback vs 10% global recharge is firmly in favor of the global for overall benefit.

 

The 4th Gauntleted fist in Rib Cracker isn't doing much for you. I'd swap for a damage proc or siphon the slot elsewhere. 

 

Impervious skin is a pretty weak set. 4 slot aegis would be an upgrade (drop the Imp armor too). This gives you more S/L pad to back off on the overslotted tough. Could swap the aegis psi in tough for an imp armor psi and you'll be net ahead of psi resists.

 

Swap the decimation in LBE for Purple damage proc for sure. Much better damage return if you're actually using it in your rotation.

 

Spinning strike already does KD (based on combo system - not shown properly in mids), so no need for the KD proc. Could swap for a damage proc or a third winter IO to shore up F/C.

 

There are some other optimizations around that I'd probably hit on a ground-up build, but overall it's good! I feel like there is a version of this build that, with enough playing around, can get the same totals but with more global recharge. The FFback in your attack chain (even without heavy blow) goes a long way though.

 

 

ONLY! This is all AWESOME feedback. I'm going to mess around with it in Mids in a bit. That was one of my gripes was Tough being overslotted, so that advice is particularly helpful.  Also great call out on the Spinning Strike, going to change that KD proc as well.

[Onlyasandwich]

Here's my first round review of how that might look:

 

Tanker (Radiation Armor - Street Justice).mbd

 

Of special note here is that the smot proc is in a power I want to use a lot. Putting it in a mediocre DPA power like a t1/2 attack gives you a bit of a bad choice - do I use my super awesome +res proc, or do I use actually good attacks? Here I have it in a middle of the road power that can absorb some of the recharge it brings, and put the purple proc in it too as I want to be hitting it as much as possible in my ST rotation.

 

I've traded a little bit of F/C resist here for a big bump in Psi, and overall more damage efficiency across the board. Note that FFBack powers are toggled off for procs right now.

 

Also remember that mids doesn't represent the extra resist you're getting from smot proc right now, and you'll be able to stack it 2-3 times.

Edited Friday at 06:26 PM by Onlyasandwich

[StriderIV]

3 hours ago, Onlyasandwich said:

Here's my first round review of how that might look:

 

Tanker (Radiation Armor - Street Justice).mbd 40.02 kB · 0 downloads

 

Of special note here is that the smot proc is in a power I want to use a lot. Putting it in a mediocre DPA power like a t1/2 attack gives you a bit of a bad choice - do I use my super awesome +res proc, or do I use actually good attacks? Here I have it in a middle of the road power that can absorb some of the recharge it brings, and put the purple proc in it too as I want to be hitting it as much as possible in my ST rotation.

 

I've traded a little bit of F/C resist here for a big bump in Psi, and overall more damage efficiency across the board. Note that FFBack powers are toggled off for procs right now.

 

Also remember that mids doesn't represent the extra resist you're getting from smot proc right now, and you'll be able to stack it 2-3 times.

I love it, and feel this is a marked improvement. Thanks for this!

One question, it looks like you got rid of most of the -res procs. Do you feel like Rad Armor gets enough -res naturally that is better to just slot in damage procs instead?

[Onlyasandwich]

36 minutes ago, StriderIV said:

got rid of most of the -res procs

 

A few things:

• I still have one achilles and one fury of glad present.
• I don't typically bother slotting these in multiple powers. In a hard target scenario, it will have pretty decent uptime anyhow given how much you are cycling attacks on the same brick wall.
• Outside of those hard targets, a damage proc will often work as well or better, as the mob goes down in 1-2 attacks either way, or melts to the general aoe going off without your focus.
• It's not like the -res procs can self-stack if you're lucky and get back to back fires. Damage always counts though 😄

 

I'm sure that achilles in both LBE and Shin breaker probably maths out better in a pylon test, but this is the more balanced approach I prefer personally.

 

The achilles in Beta Decay is just too random in my opinion. The proc chance isn't horrible, but you won't have any consistent way of applying single target pressure on the target it hits in order to capitalize on the -res.  Meanwhile, the extra -tohit is sort of something, and the modest endredux is pretty noticeable as a one slot wonder. I used to put Enzyme here, but the small difference isn't really worth the inf.

Edited Friday at 09:53 PM by Onlyasandwich

[StriderIV]

1 hour ago, Onlyasandwich said:

 

A few things:

• I still have one achilles and one fury of glad present.
• I don't typically bother slotting these in multiple powers. In a hard target scenario, it will have pretty decent uptime anyhow given how much you are cycling attacks on the same brick wall.
• Outside of those hard targets, a damage proc will often work as well or better, as the mob goes down in 1-2 attacks either way, or melts to the general aoe going off without your focus.
• It's not like the procs can self-stack if you're lucky and get back to back fires. Damage always counts though 😄

 

I'm sure that achilles in both LBE and Shin breaker probably maths out better in a pylon test, but this is the more balanced approach I prefer personally.

 

The achilles in Beta Decay is just too random in my opinion. The proc chance isn't horrible, but you won't have any consistent way of applying single target pressure on the target it hits in order to capitalize on the -res.  Meanwhile, the extra -tohit is sort of something, and the modest endredux is pretty noticeable as a one slot wonder. I used to put Enzyme here, but the small difference isn't really worth the inf.

This is brilliant, I appreciate it Only! Makes sense on the -res procs.

[Onlyasandwich]

I re-optimized a little bit further. Lost a very small amount of proc damage for a nice bump in resists and better recharge on Ground Zero.

 

Tanker (Radiation Armor - Street Justice).mbd

[Xandyr]

I've thought about doing this combo! Mainly because I want a StJ tank, but I'm not sure if I'd be happy with the damage from StJ. How has it been?

[StriderIV]

53 minutes ago, Onlyasandwich said:

I re-optimized a little bit further. Lost a very small amount of proc damage for a nice bump in resists and better recharge on Ground Zero.

 

Tanker (Radiation Armor - Street Justice).mbd 40.27 kB · 0 downloads

You’re a Saint Only, this looks phenomenal haha.

[StriderIV]

51 minutes ago, Xandyr said:

I've thought about doing this combo! Mainly because I want a StJ tank, but I'm not sure if I'd be happy with the damage from StJ. How has it been?

Only lv 16 so far, but I’m enjoying it! Street Justice is right up there with Staff Fighting for me as far as enjoyable melee sets go. While Staff has this nice flow to it… StJ just has that crunch.

 

If you ever watched Daredevil on Netflix, it reminds me of that kind of fighting 😂 honestly, if it is lacking in one area, it’s AOE dmg… and Rad Armor really helps with that. So on paper it seems like it should be good! Definitely high in fun factor for me.

[PLVRIZR]

21 hours ago, Xandyr said:

I want a StJ tank, but I'm not sure if I'd be happy with the damage from StJ. How has it been?

One of my first re-makes on Homecoming was Inv/StJ (JAWBRKR) and you're spot on, he's hella fun (and nearly indestructible), but lacks the damage of, say, SS.  StJ really needs a damage armor set to shine.  This thread has created a very impressive option.  Having said that...what about Fire/StJ?  Decisions, decisions...

Edited yesterday at 01:02 AM by PLVRIZR
reworded

[StriderIV]

1 hour ago, PLVRIZR said:

One of my first re-makes on Homecoming was Inv/StJ (JAWBRKR) and you're spot on, he's hella fun (and nearly indestructible), but lacks the damage of, say, SS.  StJ really needs a damage armor set to shine.  This thread has created a very impressive option.  Having said that...what about Fire/StJ?  Decisions, decisions...

I could see Fire/StJ being strong for the same reasons as Rad/StJ!

 

Paging @Sovera who I believe ran that combo a while back. While probably not his favorite pairing, I remember him saying it was fun!

[Xandyr]

4 hours ago, PLVRIZR said:

One of my first re-makes on Homecoming was Inv/StJ (JAWBRKR) and you're spot on, he's hella fun (and nearly indestructible), but lacks the damage of, say, SS.  StJ really needs a damage armor set to shine.  This thread has created a very impressive option.  Having said that...what about Fire/StJ?  Decisions, decisions...

I've been having fun revisiting my Rad/Electric tank

[Sovera]

The damage of STJ is backloaded into Crushing Uppercut. The powers otherwise animate fast, recharge fast, no problems with waiting for buttons to press.... but the powers themselves hit like a cooked noddle. It all boils to CU and three combos. But then CU has an awkward recharge that means we spend a lot of time spamming the weak attacks, with several times over capped combo points waiting for CU to come back online.

 

A second heavy hitter is needed, so, yeah, Burn could fit easily and it avoids having to take the StJ's cone.