Fun AT for Dual Blades?

[fxds]

Recently back after about five years away, and still learning and trying to wrap my head around the various changes in that time. So what do folks consider the most fun (as opposed to "best") AT for Dual Blades these days? I generally don't power level, so I'm hoping for a fun time through the levels rather than just at end game. I tend to run solo most of the time and I'm often a slower, more methodical player (though I'll freely admit that scrapperlock is indeed a real thing). Oh, and while this is not a build request, I should mention that expensive builds don't intimidate me, so if an expensive build is a big factor in making DB fun on a particular AT, that's fine.

 

Now that the basic question's out of the way, here's a bit more info about where my head is at, in case it's useful in making a suggestion. One of my favorite characters on Live was a DB/WP scrapper. I really enjoyed the DB combo system at the time, but that was largely because of then-recent experience in another game rather than any virtues of the actual combo system here. In other words, I know now that DB works better if you mostly ignore the combo system, and I'm fine with that. My original conception of the character would have fit best with a stalker, but I wanted the character blue side and that was long before such voodoo was possible, thus the scrapper. Freed of that restriction now I think stalker might be fun, but I'm already leveling another stalker right now, so I'm also thinking another AT might be more fun just for variety's sake. In other words, I'm waffling and confusing myself by overthinking, which is part of the reason I'm posting this...

Edited April 14 by fxds

[Frozen Burn]

My DB on live was also a DB/WP scrapper.  Loved it.  Lots of fun.  I currently have a DB/SR Brute.  Still lots of fun.  

 

Really, if you're avoiding Stalker for now since you're leveling up another... that leaves Scrapper, Brute, or Tanker.

 

Tanker, you'll have bigger AOEs which is really nice, but your attack powers come later.  So if you really want to dive back into DB and enjoy it, I would go Scrapper or Brute so you get the attack powers quicker in your build. 

[biostem]

2 hours ago, fxds said:

Recently back after about five years away, and still learning and trying to wrap my head around the various changes in that time. So what do folks consider the most fun (as opposed to "best") AT for Dual Blades these days? I generally don't power level, so I'm hoping for a fun time through the levels rather than just at end game. I tend to run solo most of the time and I'm often a slower, more methodical player (though I'll freely admit that scrapperlock is indeed a real thing). Oh, and while this is not a build request, I should mention that expensive builds don't intimidate me, so if an expensive build is a big factor in making DB fun on a particular AT, that's fine.

I very much enjoy the, IMHO, vastly improved version of Ninjitsu that Scrappers and Sentinels got.  Consider pairing that with dual blades.  It even has a stealth power that grants a special form of "crits from hide" effect, like stalkers get, not to mention decent defenses, a self heal, and a self +end power.  The only think I'd tell you to augment it is that it gets relatively weak knockback protection from a passive/auto power, so you may want to eventually invest in the IO that grants extra KB protection...

[tidge]

I have a DB/Ninjitsu Scrapper... it's pretty good, it was built for concept, but I don't find it to be particularly powerful combination.

 

I don't like that there isn't a native (non-combo) "Build Up", and the combos all feel pretty lackluster to me. If there isn't a specific concept in mind, it might be more fun to play DB as a Tanker... when playing my DB Scrapper, I sometimes think I'd clean out spawns faster with the larger AoE of the Tanker.

[Meknomancer]

17 hours ago, fxds said:

Recently back after about five years away, and still learning and trying to wrap my head around the various changes in that time. So what do folks consider the most fun (as opposed to "best") AT for Dual Blades these days? I generally don't power level, so I'm hoping for a fun time through the levels rather than just at end game. I tend to run solo most of the time and I'm often a slower, more methodical player (though I'll freely admit that scrapperlock is indeed a real thing). Oh, and while this is not a build request, I should mention that expensive builds don't intimidate me, so if an expensive build is a big factor in making DB fun on a particular AT, that's fine.

 

Now that the basic question's out of the way, here's a bit more info about where my head is at, in case it's useful in making a suggestion. One of my favorite characters on Live was a DB/WP scrapper. I really enjoyed the DB combo system at the time, but that was largely because of then-recent experience in another game rather than any virtues of the actual combo system here. In other words, I know now that DB works better if you mostly ignore the combo system, and I'm fine with that. My original conception of the character would have fit best with a stalker, but I wanted the character blue side and that was long before such voodoo was possible, thus the scrapper. Freed of that restriction now I think stalker might be fun, but I'm already leveling another stalker right now, so I'm also thinking another AT might be more fun just for variety's sake. In other words, I'm waffling and confusing myself by overthinking, which is part of the reason I'm posting this...

 

DB/Bio scrapper, one of the best combos i've played on HC, i'd put it in my top 5 favourites and my highest dps scrap. So good i ended up with 2 of them on different servers. I did try it with WP and Ninjitsu but they don't come close. 

[biostem]

On 4/15/2025 at 10:21 AM, Meknomancer said:

DB/Bio scrapper

I've tried bio armor a few times, but it just hasn't "clicked" for me;  Could you expand upon what you really like or find most effective about the set?

[Meknomancer]

17 hours ago, biostem said:

I've tried bio armor a few times, but it just hasn't "clicked" for me;  Could you expand upon what you really like or find most effective about the set?

 

Pretty much everything about it. Its got a nice mix of s/l resists with a little toxic thrown in for good measure with a defensive toggle that makes it really easy to get some semi decent defense to e/ne/f/c defense. The absorb is great. The power dna siphon is even greater, toxic damage as well as - regen, it taunts which is massively helpful and bumps hp+end. You can get massive amounts of recharge in the build while also slotting a huge number of procs. Offensive adaptation, big winner, basically works out as an extra procs worth of dmg to each attack. A damage aura, pitiful though it is is still a plus as it reduces incoming damage. You never have to worry about endurance with /bio so you can get away with just tossing in acc/dmg and procs thanks to inexhaustible/dna siphon and parasitic aura. PA is a t9 that is actually useful although i don't often have the power picks for it i do try to take it on most tanks even if i skip it on all my scraps. 

 

The set as a whole doesn't do anything badly, its only down side is the immensely ugly animation of ablative and i suspect a lot are put off by its graphical fx.

 

I've been playing it for about 5 years now and have a lot of fond memories running it, i've got away with doing the stupidest things on it that no other set would survive simply because it puts out so much dps that enemies are dying before they have a chance to whittle down my hp. Running through tinpex and soloing pylons was what surprised me the most early on when we got the game back and players were still figuring out/remembering how things worked. The ability to solo pretty much everything when your on the dead servers during euro hours is the reason i ended up running /bio with pretty much every melee set going just to see what i liked the most. Claws and Dual Blades. Brute versions i didn't bother with, HC is basically city of tanks and blasters and corrs but /bio works best on scrappers its just one of the most fun sets to play once you figure out its mechanics and timing.  

[AlwaysAPrice]

Imagine OP's made their decision by now, but: I'd say go for the stalker even if you're already doing one just because DB's combo system sets its play apart enough from most other sets that it shouldn't feel like too much of a retread, and the stalker version of Dual Blades is very fun and pairs especially well with the Stalker ATOs. On a scrapper I will usually end up skipping combos altogether for a tight, Clawsy attack chain, but the stalker's combos fit into its playstyle a lot more naturally and feel like they contribute to your effectiveness instead of distracting from it. IIRC Stalker Empower & Sweep both begin with Build Up > Assassin's Blades, so proccing Assassin's Mark can refresh the cycle on those.