Blue_Centurion

Stone is the best. But there are many many problems. Until you get granite, stone has almost the worst armors in the game, so it is a above 38 level build out only. Also, the penalties for being in granite are huge, drastically reduced power recharges, almost no movement, etc.

I am currently running a Dark Invul (my 2nd). My first is sitting at 40, is SO'd and is very strong. My new guy I started as a badger, and he looks like the right choice, the more i play him. I have face planted, although the first happened at level 20, when I was doing a really dangerous thing to get a badge. I had solo'd up until then, and no deaths. (Praetoria mission arcs, almost all) Almost got killed once when the game sent 88 minions and Lts at me in one spawn, but lived to tell the tale. The death at 20 was hunting seers in the tunnels (each one you kill brings about 5 cops, and I just kept picking off the seers without cleaning the mess up lol) At 25 I still haven't gotten my 3rd toggle, and am teaming now. Very strong build, I am the last to die during team wipes (pick up groups are so unpredictable).

I love the build, and look forward to the end game when Dark really comes into damage dealing glory. Beware though, at low levels Dark alone does not do a ton of damage and has a ragged attack chain. I use two vet reward attack powers to fill out the gaps. This can be worked around with attacks from secondary pools (the attack from flight is wonderful, has a knockup to it). Still, be aware of that at lower levels. Also, the first big attack of dark is a small cone, and you need to be good at placing that to get at least a couple people in it most of the time. It has a long activation time, and some people do not like it. It mimics the sands of mu vet power if you have that, only is of course enhancable.

The AoE attack that restores your end, and the combat heal that is a nice attack, are godsends for invulnerability, and make you feel like you always have options. Using them correctly (including building just the right amount of end use in your powers/enhancers to maximize when the AoE times with your build, so that it is never too needed, but is always useful, is an art form)

SS/Invul is a more straightforward choice, less tanky, way easier to attack with, but suffers slightly from end problems without tweaking.

Good Luck

I've got most of what I need already, probably 95%. The last thing I need is a 5th full set of purples (and a place to cram them in). My thoughts are this will be a much better toon for exemplaring down, cause the recharge will hold all the way to 1st, with most of it being from purples. Then a few 25th LOTG (which I already have) that will stay active until 22. It will not be as tanky, but I think the performance could be very interesting, especially with Soul Drain, and the Invul Heal firing way fast and regular.

Is the villain Tip mish bonus power Frenzy affected by Global Recharge?

Sheesh, tough room. No one has a thought as to whether a Recharge heavy Dark/Invul woould be better than a Defense Cap heavy Dark/Invul? C'mon, someone has to have a cogent thought on this!

it was pre- i18

I always pop reds when they drop, or save the big ones for the boss battle. Although I mostly stock purples when rolling out, cause I play tanky.

Not having looked carefully at the underlying math, I will take your arguments at face value. Given the facts as you state them it does seem that, finally, a scrapper seems to indeed be doing more damage, consistently, more than a brute. Gratz, in fact, that is how it should be. When you give something up (health, armors) you should get something back. I will finally consider 50ing a scrap. Now, back to those spreadsheets to look for what kind, Mwah hah hah.

To some extent, this depends on teams/play styles, yes?

If you are not playing your arch-type exactly as proscribed, weird things start to happen. And seriously we all know Scrankers, Tankers that do not taunt -Trappers?- (off subject slightly, but you get the point), and Brutes that do really weird things (faceplanting constantly is not a good Fury building strategy)

also, teams can give buffs, or not, even if they have them available. How many of us have had end heavy toons, with a kin on the team, and no SB coming? It's happened to me. Other players do not always play their Archetypes to the strategical best.

In essence, without custom building your teams, and then playing a certain way, there is quite a bit of slop in the theoretical setup.

For me, this is why I build concept toons that make me happy. I pick A design/costume/theme, take a quick look at stuff like Bill Z Bubs info above to nudge my decisions by being informed, then slide down thru character generation and hit the cities running.

They even included impossibles like Scrapper Strength, just to be insanely thorough.

If by internalized damage buffs you mean SS/Rage, Dark Melee/Soul Drain, Scrapper/Build Up, I think those spreadsheets did. But they were contested for various reasons, discussed, changed for alternate recharge, discussed more. In general they were an interesting look at the two ATs. They were well researched, documented, even if no one agreed completely with the results.

What is more to the point these days is how damage modifiers and caps have changed in i18. It has been said above that scrappers now pull way ahead in ST. I am running a Dark Melee Brute right now, a ST set if there ever was one. I would love some feedback (if someone has the numbers at their fingertips) about how that ST brute stacks to scrappers. Not that it would send me to an alt, I chose this guy as my badger after careful thought, and am very happy. Still trying to come up with an I/O build plan though.

I still do not see the listings of these missions on that page, other than to note at the bottom what are badge missions for villians. (Specifically not up above in the missions available by level/contact)

http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Villai...ashback_System

This is the page I am on. But thank you for confirming this. I will ensure I do the efficiency expert arc in real time.

Okay, So I decided to start a badger in Praetoria, with the thought of using Ouroboros to badge red/blue side.

At work I started my research of what could be badged in Ouroboros looking at Paragon Wiki. It seems like many of the Accomplishment badges like "Plague Carrier" from the Radio contact (Steal Outbreak mission set) are not offered by Ouroboros. Is the Wiki out of date, or is there in fact a bunch of badges that can never be gotten?

Heyas, still looking for the final concept for my dark/Invul build. Done some research. It looks like if I build for Defense of 45% smash/lethal, I will need to buy sets at the low range of levels (less bonuses) so that I do not exemplar down below the set bonus levels. ( I plan to do a lot of Ouroboros).

What if I outfitted with Purples and LOTGs as the main drive instead? This would bring up my Invul Heal fast, my dark damage boost permanent (or near), my dark combat heal could be spammed if needed, my large damage attack chain would cycle fast, and my Unstoppable would be up almost every spawn (as long as I dont mind crashing every 3 minutes), any end problems are solved by the very regular AoE attack/End restore in dark. (Plus would give me a ghetto AoE regularly.

Any thoughts?

For soloing Brutes are way better. For teams, Tanks control agro/take damage, and Brutes act as heavy/slower scrappers.

It sounds like you might want a Brute if you want to be able to put down Elite Bosses solo, or do any real damage.

For powersets it depends on the way you want to do it. I have a SS/Will Brute 50 that is my main, and very easy to run. Think automatic car with a big engine. But he is a little squishy. My new Dark/Invul Brute is much sturdier, but like driving a truck, gotta plan your turns way in advance and shift a lot.

Some people swear br Fire attacks for damage, and they would not be wrong. I just don't like the animations that much. I am a costume/concept purist.

You should be able to get help on the way to go, once you decide what direction you want to go and ask more specific questions.

If you want something slightly tankier, try Dark/Invulnerabilty. Smooth to run, decent damage at low levels, incredible damage at high levels, and really hard to put down (heal in the attacks, major heal in your armor set)

If you want something classic, SS/Invul is good, my 1st 50 is a SS/Invul Brute. Very prone to End swings (Dark also mitigates this), but a very strong toon.

Dark Melee comes out on top a lot, but it is dependent on many targets in range of its boost damage power/rage/etc. I have good luck with my 50 that has SS, tons of recharge, and double stacked rage.

In my opinion, it is a slight nerf. Slight, because they left options to overcome it. And they were kind enough to give us a reach-around as they did it, by having fury degrade slower.

But in truth, Brute is still the epitome of the overpowered class. I looked all all classes when I started, and though we have added some, Brute is still the only one to say High Damage, High Defenses. I like to play overpowered toons, and therefore Brute is for me.

There have been a couple good posts on the boards, search "The results are in..." this is pre-i18 data, but it shows that with large rech, and with SOs, Brutes slightly out-damage Scrappers. That may be harder to do now, in truth as it probably should, but still, a toon that can tank, or ghetto tank depending on the powersets/build, and still deal out the pain is a nice option to have for us power-gamers.

In truth, if they made the tank do brute damage with no rage I would probably make that my main, but I just cannot solo the game on a tank, and I can on every brute I ever made, including the AVs (glorified bosses) in story arcs. Then they also team really well, what is not to love?

One of the big options they have is the auto fury generation, way nice, and in truth, I believe that gives more back than the nerf takes away. I looked in Wiki for info on this, none there. I also havent got it myself yet, I believe it is a benefit of villain alignment morality mission. I have been rolling new brute since i18 came out, but am now on course with a badger I hit 25 with today. Almost have my alignment mission loaded, so that should be interesting.

Heh, Scrappers reading in Brute guides and getting their feelings hurt. See, that's the whole problem with scrappers, too thin skinned. Heh, see, I just made a funny, and it related to scrappers abilty to take damage. See, that's funny.

seriously though, Dark/Invuln is stupid strong, and I can see where Scrappers could do a close approximation of tanking with it. But in truth, Even a Brute with it can still struggle to hold a high rolling (+4/X a lot) team's agro. But again, Dark/Invuln will do it if anyone can. The set is stupid strong outta the box, the synergy incredible. I have started one for I18, planning to badge with it, doing a lot of exemplaring, flashbacks, TF, etc. And it should still serve very well as my main for level 50 TF and a nice platform for the I19 content.

Anybody have any really sweet build ideas for a Dark/Invul Brute, high end (high cost) build out, focused on maximizing basic defenses, using purples/procs, etc. Planning on soloing a lot of EBs and a few of what they call AVs on solo (glorified AVs). Thanks.

Okay, now that is more confusing than ever.

The damage resistance says max 90%, straightforward, real number, and I think I saw it in here somewhere.

The max defense says 225% Huh. the numbers I see people talking about in here I thought were around 30% def, and I have seen builds people seem proud of having 22% - 25% def set bonuses. So, what gives? what number am I shooting for?

Is there a resource that shows Brute maximum values/caps? For Resistance/Defense/Heal/etc.


P.S., the Dark/Invul is going very very well. Since I plan on using this as a badger it is very nice, cause at low levels this thing rocks. Dark/Dark might be stronger at end/game with a high end buildout, but I will be doing tons of flashbacks/task forces/etc. So the sturdiness of this guy is sweet.

At 16 he solo'd a Praetorian mission where a endless, freaking endless, stream of guys came at him. The target in the thing had a dialogue about "sending in 88", and there might have actually been 88 of them. I was spamming my combat heal, using the vators to escape them (they followed-but it strung them out into manageable bunches). In the end he survived, barely, but he made it. Just what I want in a Brute that I will do a lot of exemplaring on.

I have 4 purple sets on another brute available, probably all will not fit well, but should be able to grab something good.

I will start researching the sets that give defense bonuses, and how I want to fit them in. Again, money is not an object. Really want to get the thing softcapped with two max in range, because I will need to solo AVs, at least what they call AVs in solo missions.

My other goal is to get those caps (or near caps) in place with the fewest enhancers possible, so that I can place Procs, and Purple Sets. That way I can take advantage of the build synergy which is part of why I made the dark/invul brute.

Hopefully you mean nasty in a good way? Lol. One of the reasons I chose Dark was I saw a few posts in the scrapper guides "The results are in..." that show that dark melee with tons of recharge is one of the best Brute/Scrapper DPS, and without tons of rech, dark melee is....still one of the best. Of course, it is mostly ST, but again, I solo a lot, want a tanky feel, and love the way Dark & Invul blend. Plus I am really good at placing my cones.

Okay, I have my badger, a Dark Melee/Invulnerability Brute. He is steadily progressing through Praetoria.

In the meantime I am learning where I need to go for what I want, and it looks like that is softcapping Invulnerability. I will not be trying to fill the Psi hole, and will rely on purps/accolade/RWZ temps, and prayers for Psi help.

Money is not an object, although I want to start purchasing early, to avoid "weekend" prices. Also, i want to start migrating some of the enhancers I already have over to my enhancer storage for the build.

Now comes the problem, heh. With money being no object, what is the smartest way to softcap an Dark/Invul brute? I will of course be throwing in Procs and Purples where I can, but seriously, I do not even know what numbers I am shooting for, typed or positional defense, these forums are making my head spin. Must SMASH lol.

Help!

I'm probably going about this slightly wrong I realized. I have been trolling for DM/Invul builds from past posts.

Based on what i want from the brute, it seems like I should be trying to near cap my (er, typed?) defenses. (positional?)

But i do not know the most effecient way to do this. Any help?

I found this in an old post, I am trying to build a strong old Invul machine, so trying to near cap on regular defenses, not trying to fill the blach hole of Psi Defence.

Is this a good start? Will all my purples help? lol

Utopic DM-Invuln Brute: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Invulnerability
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- P'ngFist-Acc/Dmg(A), P'ngFist-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), P'ngFist-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg(37), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/EndRdx(39), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/Rchg(40)
Level 1: Resist Physical Damage -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), Aegis-ResDam(40), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(40), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(42)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(3), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(25), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Erad-%Dam(37)
Level 4: Dull Pain -- Dct'dW-Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(5), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(5), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(7), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(7)
Level 6: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Nictus-Acc/Heal(9), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(9), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/Dmg(43)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- HO:Enzym(A), DefBuff-I(46), Ksmt-ToHit+(48)
Level 12: Temp Invulnerability -- RctvArm-EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam(13), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(13), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(15), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(15)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(50)
Level 16: Unyielding -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(17), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(17), Aegis-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(19)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(46), RgnTis-Regen+(46)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Dark Consumption -- Erad-Acc/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23)
Level 24: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Erad-Acc/Rchg(A), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(27), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg(43), C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg(43), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(45)
Level 28: Invincibility -- S'dpty-EndRdx(A), S'dpty-Def(29), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(29), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(50), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 30: Tough -- RctvArm-EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam(31), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(31), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(31), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Mako-Acc/Dmg(33), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(33), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Mako-Dam%(34)
Level 35: Tough Hide -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(36), DefBuff-I(36)
Level 38: Weave -- HO:Enzym(A), DefBuff-I(39), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(39)
Level 41: Resist Elements -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam(42), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(42)
Level 44: Resist Energies -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(45), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(45)
Level 47: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def(48), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(48)
Level 49: Unstoppable -- RechRdx-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
------------
[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]3% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]3% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]3% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]3% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]3% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]3% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]3% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]3% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]5,5% Defense(Smashing)[*]5,5% Defense(Lethal)[*]20,5% Defense(Fire)[*]20,5% Defense(Cold)[*]22,1% Defense(Energy)[*]22,1% Defense(Negative)[*]3% Defense(Psionic)[*]4,25% Defense(Melee)[*]17,7% Defense(Ranged)[*]19,3% Defense(AoE)[*]5,4% Max End[*]5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]12% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]4% Enhancement(Heal)[*]118,1 HP (7,88%) HitPoints[*]MezResist(Held) 3,3%[*]MezResist(Immobilize) 11%[*]MezResist(Sleep) 2,2%[*]MezResist(Terrorized) 2,2%[*]1% (0,02 End/sec) Recovery[*]24% (1,5 HP/sec) Regeneration[*]2,52% Resistance(Fire)[*]2,52% Resistance(Cold)[*]20% RunSpeed[*]4,5% XPDebtProtection[/list]------------
[u]Set Bonuses:[u]
[u]Pulverizing Fisticuffs[u]
(Smite)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Sleep) 2,2%[*] 1,25% Defense(Energy,Negative), 0,63% Defense(Ranged)[/list][u]Pounding Slugfest[u]
(Smite)<ul type="square">[*] 8% (0,5 HP/sec) Regeneration[*] 1,25% Defense(Energy,Negative), 0,63% Defense(Ranged)[/list][u]Steadfast Protection[u]
(Resist Physical Damage)<ul type="square">[*] 3% Defense(All)[/list][u]Aegis[u]
(Resist Physical Damage)<ul type="square">[*] 5% RunSpeed[*] 3,13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1,56% Defense(AoE)[/list][u]Eradication[u]
(Shadow Maul)<ul type="square">[*] 1,8% Max End[*] 3,13% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1,56% Defense(Ranged)[*] 33,7 HP (2,25%) HitPoints[*] 2% XPDebtProtection[*] 3,13% Defense(AoE), 1,56% Defense(Fire), 1,56% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Doctored Wounds[u]
(Dull Pain)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Terrorized) 2,2%[*] 1,26% Resistance(Fire,Cold)[*] 4% Enhancement(Heal)[*] 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[/list][u]Touch of the Nictus[u]
(Siphon Life)<ul type="square">[*] 28,1 HP (1,88%) HitPoints[*] 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)[/list][u]Mako's Bite[u]
(Siphon Life)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 3,3%[*] 22,5 HP (1,5%) HitPoints[/list][u]Reactive Armor[u]
(Temp Invulnerability)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 1,1%[*] 1,25% Defense(Energy,Negative), 0,63% Defense(Ranged)[*] 1,25% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 0,63% Defense(Melee)[*] 1,25% Defense(AoE), 0,63% Defense(Fire), 0,63% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Blessing of the Zephyr[u]
(Super Jump)<ul type="square">[*] 3,13% Defense(Ranged), 1,56% Defense(Energy), 1,56% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Aegis[u]
(Unyielding)<ul type="square">[*] 5% RunSpeed[*] 3,13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1,56% Defense(AoE)[*] 2,5% XPDebtProtection[*] 3,13% Defense(AoE), 1,56% Defense(Fire), 1,56% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Numina's Convalescence[u]
(Health)<ul type="square">[*] 12% (0,75 HP/sec) Regeneration[/list][u]Eradication[u]
(Dark Consumption)<ul type="square">[*] 1,8% Max End[*] 3,13% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1,56% Defense(Ranged)[/list][u]Eradication[u]
(Soul Drain)<ul type="square">[*] 1,8% Max End[*] 3,13% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1,56% Defense(Ranged)[/list][u]Cleaving Blow[u]
(Soul Drain)<ul type="square">[*] 1% (0,02 End/sec) Recovery[*] 1,25% Defense(Energy,Negative), 0,63% Defense(Ranged)[/list][u]Serendipity[u]
(Invincibility)<ul type="square">[*] 4% (0,25 HP/sec) Regeneration[*] 11,2 HP (0,75%) HitPoints[*] 3% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*] 1,25% Defense(AoE), 0,63% Defense(Fire), 0,63% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Reactive Armor[u]
(Tough)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 1,1%[*] 1,25% Defense(Energy,Negative), 0,63% Defense(Ranged)[*] 1,25% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 0,63% Defense(Melee)[*] 1,25% Defense(AoE), 0,63% Defense(Fire), 0,63% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Mako's Bite[u]
(Midnight Grasp)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 3,3%[*] 22,5 HP (1,5%) HitPoints[*] 3% DamageBuff(All)[*] MezResist(Held) 3,3%[*] 3,75% Defense(Ranged), 1,88% Defense(Energy), 1,88% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Aegis[u]
(Resist Elements)<ul type="square">[*] 5% RunSpeed[*] 3,13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1,56% Defense(AoE)[/list][u]Aegis[u]
(Resist Energies)<ul type="square">[*] 5% RunSpeed[*] 3,13% Defense(Fire,Cold), 1,56% Defense(AoE)[/list][u]Red Fortune[u]
(Maneuvers)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2,2%[*] 1,26% Resistance(Fire,Cold)[/list]