Battle Axe/Rad Armor Fire Farming ?

[ResToons]

I wanted to dust off my Spines/ Fire brute that I thought was the best Fire farm toon but it seems after all the new patches and updates this isn’t true.  When I was in the guide section it has been brought up that Battle Axe/Rad armor is one of the top builds.  I never thought Battle Axe would be a farming power.  Does anyone know why?

[Maelwys]

1 hour ago, ResToons said:

I never thought Battle Axe would be a farming power.  Does anyone know why?

Ideally for "active" farming you want at least one regular AoE that inflicts Knockdown; so that you can put a Force Feedback +rech proc in it and speed up the rest of your AoE attack cycle. Battle Axe has two such abilities in Axe Cyclone and Pendulum. The former is also a good spot for a Fury of the Gladiator -res proc.

Martial Arts is almost as good (in fact until very recently it was the top Active farming powerset!) purely because of Dragon's Tail.
Super Strength (Foot stomp) is also top-tier; but requires spamming Rage (for +ToHit buffs; which allow you to forgo slotting accuracy) and dealing with the resulting crash.
Other sets can get close depending on the AT; but those are currently the top three IMO.
Spines has never really been top tier for "Active" Farming; although because of Quills it's only beaten by RadMelee for "Passive/AFK" farming.

[ResToons]

Thank you for the feedback it make sense now.  I was using the wrong build this whole time.  I’m curious of how much of a difference this is going to make once I level it up.  I can’t wait!  And Rad armor is pretty much standard on active builds?

[Maelwys]

Rad Armor is still top tier for active farming, yes.
It's just not as much of a runaway winner as it was prior to i28p2 (as both the target cap of Ground Zero and the proc rate of Radiation Therapy got nerfed).
Stone Armor (Brimstone procs + Recharge) and Fiery Melee (Burn + Fiery Embrace) are particularly good on Brutes too if you fancy something different.
 

[ResToons]

22 hours ago, Maelwys said:

Ideally for "active" farming you want at least one regular AoE that inflicts Knockdown; so that you can put a Force Feedback +rech proc in it and speed up the rest of your AoE attack cycle. Battle Axe has two such abilities in Axe Cyclone and Pendulum. The former is also a good spot for a Fury of the Gladiator -res proc.

Martial Arts is almost as good (in fact until very recently it was the top Active farming powerset!) purely because of Dragon's Tail.
Super Strength (Foot stomp) is also top-tier; but requires spamming Rage (for +ToHit buffs; which allow you to forgo slotting accuracy) and dealing with the resulting crash.
Other sets can get close depending on the AT; but those are currently the top three IMO.
Spines has never really been top tier for "Active" Farming; although because of Quills it's only beaten by RadMelee for "Passive/AFK" farming.

Some has suggested that this power set would be better for Smash/Lethal farming not fire farming.