Deus_Otiosus
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Posts
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Quote:I think that's generally speaking on end game builds that already have enough mitigation that not KBing stuff away from you means no loss of survivability plus an increased kill speed.Originally Posted by Rad_Avenger
A lot of Claws advisers say things like "For /invuln, don't take it as it knocks them out of your aura" - same with /wp, but I completely disagree, its mitigation is mind-boggling if you use it right.
Its easy to overcome regardless, set your enemies to +1 - then no longer worry about the KB.
Shockwave is a good power, I'm don't think its an amazing power but I probably wouldn't skip it either. Leveling up I would definitely take it. -
Quote:I think the answer really depends on how well you can leverage soul drain.Originally Posted by BrandX
While I have no doubt the Scrapper will likely make outbetter on the ST damage.
How does it work out in the long run, with AOE damage (I'd think the Brutes would do more damage here) and with Brutes using Gloom (if I recall correctly, adding Gloom to the standard Dark Melee DPS string, increased it's DPS).
I can't speak for DM/FA, but I have a top end DM/SD build and with fully saturated AAO & Soul Drain running the top DM chain for brutes (which includes gloom) I get around 240-255 DPS, I still can't touch the top end chain for scrappers which is like 280-310 DPS.
My DPS using the standard Scrapper ST DM Chain was less than the Gloom Chain.
So while Gloom does give an improvement to the Brute - and you want it on the brute build for sure - I'm not sure it provides enough boost to overtake a Scrapper with fully saturated AAO.
The Brute's advantages are pretty well laid out in this thread.
Some extra HP, ability to self cap Fire Res, Taunt in BA, higher heal in siphon and access to Soul mastery for an excellent ranged DoT, Dark Obliteration (which I'd prefer to have over Shadow Maul) and Darkest Night (to increase survivability even further).
The Scrapper will have better ST DPS, and the more +Damage that is available on the team the further and further the Scrapper will pull ahead. -
Quote:That's a pretty good summary of DA really.Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
I tend to build my characters the way I build my Magic decks: well balanced and with an answer to everything. I absolutely despise the feeling I get when I am forced to say "I can't win this because my build (deck) can't handle X type damage (decks that run Y combo)."
I tend to make calculated risks in building. I'll skimp on some of the typed damage def I know I don't face as often, and use T3 insps to cover the gap when the time comes - which allows me to push the build a bit further vs. SM/L attacks and increasing recharge/damage.
I think it should, the only things you might have some trouble with are the types of enemies pretty much everyone has trouble with.Quote:Originally Posted by Dechs KaisonI didn't go whole hog for recharge and I didn't sacrifice good attacks for softcapped defense. I'm quite happy with how this balance appears. I hope the finished product plays just as well as it looks.
Even then you have Shockwave for some quick KD if needed, solid resists across the board and 2100+ HP, the best self heal available to a melee character and a self res (which I wanted to ask if you thought going with Absolute Amazement Stun/Rech instead would be of value to you).
Pretty much.Quote:Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
Thanks, I needed that. Rough day here at work and you made me smile.
I'm learning this Brute thing, so I could use nudges in the right direction like this. Let me know if I have any of this wrong:
Right now, this brute at level 31 plays like a swirling mass of sand, blades, and blood (he's an evil counterpart to my Sand tank). When he's on a team, he plays like a swirling mass of sand, blades, and blood while racing 2-7 other people to the next spawn.
I generally plan most brute builds to function as a solitary aggro holder for the situations where you might end up being that (for me, very often).Quote:Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
My thoughts on holding aggro: I only need enough to keep Fury topped off, and considering that I've seen brutes keep full fury simply by attacking RWZ dummies, I'm not worried about holding aggro at all. I'll take the alpha and kill things. Before the spawn dwindles, I will be moving on.
Its part of the flexibility and value that a Brute can add to a team.
I find with aggressive use of taunt, a constant offense and taking the alpha strikes on teams I can usually maintain 75-80% Fury.
In other situations, for example the team is control heavy or there are several aggro eaters, if I hang back a touch I can often get stuck around 60% Fury. (I also play the somewhat slower smashy sets like SS & WM, so that's a factor)
Does 15-20% Fury matter? On a good team, no. No one will ever notice, not even me.
Its only matters to me as its part of the mini-game of seeing just how much fury I can continually maintain. -
Quote:Good luck getting those numbers without Divine Avalanche.Originally Posted by PBaRmy
what makes this so solid?....im confused on what defense your slotting for...you seem to have middle def on everything....
my katana/dark scrapper has 40 ranged/aoe def and the +melee def attack(divine avalanche) gives me over 50 melee when 2 stacked.... and the heal is down to 10 sec rech as well and thats the def w/o the glad 3% proc.
Now post a build, except this time use claws instead of katana so we can see how the defensive numbers work out.
While I would personally do the build quite differently, Dechs is clearly no stranger to DA. If he's building it like this its my assumption that this fits his playstyle best.
I'm not going to tell him different, because Ive lead the charge against the freedom phalanx on the LRSF with no nukes, no shivans on a tauntless, non-softcapped, WP Brute.
All Brutes should be doing it on x8 baby, so I'm with you there. (x8 is better for fury, and drops as you mentioned).Quote:Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
I intend the character for two things: Solo Villain Merit Farming at x8 (yeah, that's counterproductive, but I'll get more chances at purple drops and it'll be fun) and blazing through TFs.
I'm going to quote a really awesome guide on another AT here.Quote:Originally Posted by Dechs KaisonOn teams, it'll play less like a tank and more like a scrapper with a taunt aura that gets to every fresh spawn first.
Quote:Originally Posted by Dechs KaisonStop!
I have to break you of that bad habit before you even get it. You do not have forms. You do not shift into nova when your team needs a blaster or shift into dwarf when your team needs a tank. Never, no never, not ever think of yourself as a character who shifts into forms as the situation arises.
You are The MFing Warshade!
You are all forms at all times. Thinking anything else will cripple you without you even realizing it. You are never stuck in one form. Nova thrives on human and dwarf buffs. Dwarf protects human and nova. Human fuels dwarf and nova. Embrace this idea.
So, stop!
I have to break you out of the bad habit of thinking you will play somewhere between a scrapper or a tanker.
You are a Brute.
You are an armored spear tip, a spawn diving, mob eating wrecking ball.
You do not Tank, you do not Scrap - you take no prisoners and allow no one else to have YOUR spawn dive, no one else gets to eat YOUR aggro.
You want it, even though it might kill you because you are a Brute - a half mad, fury driven fuel injected suicide machine!!!
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Given equivalent builds the Scrapper version will do better ST DPS, gloom or no gloom - and the scrapper shield charge is better due to the brute version being semi-borked.
The reasons to go Brute are if you want to push further on the survivability scale, as you can take better advantage of OWTS, have higher HP overall (and therefore a stronger heal in Sipon) as well as being able to grab Darkest Night. -
Quote:Will you be soloing or teaming?Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
I've got one -KB IO already; Acro is just for the times that's not enough. I suppose I could drop it for a LotG mule, but that's all it would be.
I didn't plan to make this build for tanking, so taunt isn't one of the things I want to have. Cloak of Darkness already provides stealth, and the IO in sprint will be enough to go invisible.
If you're teaming you need to consider taking alphas and "tanking" as your means to fury.
You don't necessarily need taunt for this (I went without it until inherent fitness was an option), but it can make a difference on a lot of team compositions.
Anyway, the build looks very solid. GL with it. -
Quote:I already told you above.Originally Posted by Jakarr
How does it not work in Shield Charge? It works on my SS Brutes FS how is Shield Charge different?
Shield Charge summons a pseudo-pet, its not the same kind of attack like FS.
Feel free to test it out. -
I don't have time to comb over the whole build at the moment, but the Force Feedback Proc in SC won't grant your character the buff (it grants the buff to the pseudopet that is summoned by Shield Charge, which in turn does nothing).
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Do you intend at least an alpha slot for this character?
If so, you might be able to make some interesting choices going Cardiac or Spiritual.
I've got a couple of ideas, but a lot of them tend to be sacrificing defense for more recharge, which you could have just done on your own anyway.
First I agree with Silas. Numi proc is much better for you than the regen tissue (I always skip regen tissue on builds with solid self heals, for something like SD or SR I consider it depending on slots).
For Shockwave, I would simply drop the 6th piece, Air Burst all together and use it for something else (I would personally add a kismet 6% to CJ, in fact I'd rather have the Kismet over either of the 4th LoTG Def/End/Rech Pieces).
The reason I think you can drop the Air Burst piece is because as a Brute you don't need the little bit of +damage ENH you're getting from it, with Fury & Follow Up the few % you lose will be unnoticeable.
You lose 1.5s recharge which is a considerable loss but Spin is your bread and butter PBAoE anyway.
Here's a slight mod of your build with increased recovery as a goal:
You lose 0.4% defense.
Your end consumption went up 0.07 eps
You lose 18% accuracy but gain 6% to hit.
Your recovery went up 0.64 eps
Your net recovery gain = 0.57 eps
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Quote:That only works for this guy named Iggy...hey wait a sec!!Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze
Get the same defense number on a SS/FA Brute and replace Punch with Burn on that chain....
OK so what I'm saying is go with Fire Armor
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Quote:I'll give it a try, but I've been manually exiting the launcher so far.Originally Posted by Kitsune Knight
Does it work any better if you set the NC Launcher to exit upon launching a game?
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Up until I installed the new NCSoft updater, I had no issues using the screenshot feature.
From installing the updater, my screenshot function no longer seems to work.
I press print screen, the screen freezes just a moment as it always has, but there is no screen shot in the CoH screen shot folder.
I've also searched the hard drive for the files, but that hasn't worked either. -
Quote:KO Blow > Gloom > Haymaker > Punch > Gloom > Haymaker is the best chain.Originally Posted by Syntax42
I just did a quick DPS calculation for a SS/WP brute doing: KO blow -> Haymaker -> Foot Stomp -> Punch -> Haymaker. I think that is the best possible attach chain for SS, but I could be wrong. Rage was double-stacked and Fury was at 75%.
You need like 250% rech in Gloom though.
200 might be a touch high, I'll run my SS/WP/Soul sometime today and see where the number is now after I've redone the build (I was around 190 DPS at the time, but I wasn't dual stacking rage IIRC.Quote:Originally Posted by Syntax42;3555298
It came out to 200 DPS. That doesn't account for Rage crashes.
For comparison, DM/SD Scrappers have reported over 280 [Isustained[/I] DPS in the Rikti Pylon results thread
The DM/SD Scrappers are also leveraging nearly perma-saturated soul drain with 10 targets.
Unless you are soloing AVs in the AE, I find this will be a somewhat unrealistic number to go by (very doable on the ITF though, but the auto-hit nictus is a PITA).
It's not impossible, but it is very difficult to always be surrounded and take on an AV at the same time. Player skill applies here IMO.
At the OP:
If your goal is soloing stuff, being highly survivable and dealing excellent ST damage - DM/SD is an amazing build. I enjoy my DM/SD solo, but on groups I prefer more AoE whenever possible.
SS/WP Brute is a very solable character, but I feel it shines against large groups and on team content - you will want around 30-45% SM/L defenses + Darkest Night for this character. -
I was going to see what I could move around in the build, but the way you've built it is pretty different from what I would normally do.
Do you get much use out of the pet? While the set bonuses are nice, I'd personally rather have Dark Obliteration slotted for more AoE damage as opposed to a pet.
As for Gloom, to be honest I don't know if it is helping or hindering your DPS.
On the one hand KM encourages you to stick to the KM attacks to make the most of power siphon.
On the other hand, you're a Brute saturated with +damage bonuses from Fury & AAO. So Gloom might actually be a good way to go. -
Quote:In the CoH engine there are Two Distinct Knock Effects.Originally Posted by je_saist
In the CoH engine there is only One Single Knock Effect
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Amazing stuff Iggy.
Grats.
Idle time included or not...99 hours.
That's some Iron Man stuff right there. -
Quote:You can steal some slots from CJ and still maintain your overall Psi resists, you'd only lose 3%.Originally Posted by DoctorWhat
It's not set in stone, but I like it. Could move most of the slots from CJ to GC, but like I said, I like the Psi Resist.
On a Tanker especially, I think its a mistake not to slot OWTS with some Heal & possibly resistance IOs.
Yes, its a "sometimes" power. But if given the choice between 3% psi resist or the ability to suddenly boost HP by 680 (2 L50 heal IOs), I would go with the HP.
2 L50 resistance IOs means you can actually self cap your SM/L resistance and then be at 45-50% to all other damage types excluding PSI, on top of the extra 680+ HP. -
Quote:Well, you have a lot of choices really.Originally Posted by Sing_Me
In honor of this summers upcoming Thor movie (drool) I was wondering what kinda builds people have come up with that involved the mighty Hammer (mace) here. I've been wanting to start one up, and so I did, Will/Mace. But almost went with Inv/Mace instead as it seems to cover the comic character better, but I wanted to be able to swing my weapon freely and not fight the inevitable energy crash. Thus Will/Mace.
Anyway, would love to see what anyone has come up with and post it here.
- WM/Invuln
- WM/WP
- WM/SD (it doesn't have to be a Thor clone right?)
- WM/Ela
And then I would add Mu patron pool for some extra lightning attacks.
WM/WP (which I've played to 50) will be a decent combo to level up on, and will have enough recovery to use Mu Lightning & Ball Lightning.
WM/Invuln might be a bit of a pain on end use, but at 50 with a full build will be very strong. You can still add Mu attacks, but you will really want your end under control for that.
WM/SD is a possibility, you can even have an electric shield, and then add some Mu attacks. This will be an AoE Powerhouse with a full build at L50.
Whirling Mace, Crowd Control, Shatter, Ball Lightning & SC.
WM/Ela is another possibility, but now you'll be facing even more redraw than with the other builds. -
Quote:I agree that redraw is better than pausing.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
If you mean in a performance sense, as I said the devs actually compensated for that so that the melee weapon sets are actually better than if they didn't have redraw. If you mean in a visual sense, personally I think redraw is better than pausing, which is what the game used to do. I don't think there is consensus likely to be achievable on that one.
In a performance sense, Im mostly focused on using a weapon set over a non-weapon set and having forced redraw after using powers like hasten, self heals or utility powers from your secondary, click mez protection like practiced brawler, using patron attacks, or the weapon simply disappearing after not attacking for a certain period of time.
Its pretty annoying running and having to click an attack repeatedly to keep the weapon out (which if I understood you correctly, means you can still stab yourself in the face while jumping with Dual Blades).
Not everyone plays katana and claws, the redraw for Warmace and Battle Axe are ponderous.
I think this says more about MA than it does about weapon sets across the board.Quote:Originally Posted by Arcanaville
My perspective on redraw is probably a little different than most people's. I saw first hand what an enormous *benefit* redraw was. BaB looked at MA, which was and probably still is the most underperforming scrapper primary, and shaved a few frames here and there to improve its performance. With those changes MA would have ended up near the top of the pack on single target damage. Then he took a literal chainsaw to Katana, and suddenly Katana was out performing MA on single target *and* AoE. All because weapon redraw gave the devs higher discretion to accelerate that set to a far higher degree.
Quote:Originally Posted by Arcanaville
I believe every melee weapon set that has weapon redraw would be worse than it is now if it did not have redraw at all from the beginning. I can understand not liking redraw to an extent, but to complain about its performance issues is a bit unseemly if you know the history.
I don't think it's unseemly. I'm not to blame for Katana putting out more ST DPS than MA. ;)
Were talking about the now, how the weapon sets compare to non-weapon sets now.
Im personally reflecting on the performance of my Warmace Brute vs, my SS, SM, DM & FM Brutes.
The WM brute does not generate top end fury in comparison. Incoming attacks is a huge part of fury, but not all of it. The non-weapon sets are all more fluid, they make better use of powers from outside the primary, they arent required to wait for redraw when they spawn-dive and open up with an AoE.
I think I understand where you are coming from, taking the long view of the game from inception.
My honest question to you, since I do respect your knowledge of game mechanics, is if there was some way to remove forced redraw after using secondary/pool/patron/epic powers, do you think this would propel a majority of the weapon sets into an unfair superior position over the non-weapon sets?
Im asking this question because, I simply do not know the answer and I dont think Id be able to figure it out.
My gut opinion is no it wouldnt but Im interested in your ideas on it.
EDIT: Srry for the poor formatting, I tried to copy and paste from a word document and something went wrong.
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Quote:FE adds 45% of the damage of the attack in a fire proc, and this lasts 20s.Originally Posted by Auroxis
I haven't tried a SS/FA on an ITF(a softcapped one anyway), and i'm not belittling FA's offensive capabilities. I simply don't think that 20% more damage on average, and a 5 target aoe attack is superior to neutralizing an entire spawn every 17-20 seconds, in terms of mitigation.
So a 250 point footstomp gets 112 extra fire damage.
And Burn isn't a standard 5 target AoE. It can, and does, deal damage to more targets than 5 (after some die off).
There is the up front damage, which pretty much instant kills Lts and lower, then there is the continuous burn patch - I'm not exactly sure how much damage it deals over time.
I had trouble because I'm on a non-purple build at 30% SM/L defense and hadn't gotten any accolades yet.Quote:Originally Posted by Auroxis
You said you had trouble with those hard hitting EB's right? I can solo that EB spawn on the 3rd ITF mission, and the boss spawn as well.
Sorry for the OT post. -
Quote:Your tanker has like 20% better resistances vs. SM/L and an additional 500 HP at base vs. an FA Scrapper.Originally Posted by Sailboat
Well, my Fire/Fire/Pyre Tanker usually has to kill her way out of crowds of Romans while they chew up her defense
That's why that method works for you. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Auroxis
Like I said, your AoE's might kill one spawn in one hit, but another wave will be attacking you if you herded. My foot stomp recharges in 4-6 seconds, that's enough time for a full cimeroran spawn to get a failcascade going. Fiery Embrace won't always be up either, and Burn's 5 target cap is very limiting. Power Sink is great to use during a rage crash as well. You can't kill anything then.
Fiery Embrace has a duration of 20s, and with high recharge will be up every 50. That's nearly half up time.
Burn under the same conditions will be up every 7 or 8s.
With similar recharge, you're looking at a power sink every 17 to 20s.
So if Burn & FE aren't up often enough to keep you alive, neither is power sink.
Have you actually tried SS/FA on the ITF? The sum of the total is greater than you are giving it credit for. -
Quote:Honestly I wish we didn't have to pay it at all.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
But its more precise to say players always paid the penalty and now they only pay it when they have to. In other words, there has always been a weapon redraw penalty, but now you don't have to pay it all the time for no reason.
I suppose it wouldn't work to just have a "weapon toggle" so you were always effectively in the weapon state.
I just find the weapon redraw basically ruins all weapon sets for me, it's easily the most unappealing aspect of any primary. -
Quote:Unfortunately, it's also an amount that is basically useless vs. Cimerorans.Originally Posted by Werner
Willpower does have a little defense debuff resistance in Heightened Senses, but it looks like it's unenhanceable.
I'm waiting for the day that Iggy posts screenshots of him soloing the Architech & Agent Smith at the same time with no deaths, no temps & no insps.Quote:Originally Posted by Werner
We keep petitioning the devs to nerf him, but so far, judging by his continued awesome, they haven't addressed this important balance issue.
And then CoH/CoV reboots. -
Axe, while not outright terrible, unfortunately occupies a space where (other than being able to use an Axe graphically) it does nothing better than any other set.
Mitigation? WM, SM, SS all provide, to name a few.
DPS? It is unlikely in the extreme that you will ever be topping the DPS charts using Axe.
Hard hitting attacks? Other sets have ST attacks that hit as hard, or harder.
AoE? Again, other sets have AoEs that have a wider arc/radius, have better DPS, DPA or hit more targets.
On top of all this BA suffers from redraw as well as facing lethal damage resistance.
Should any of this stop you from playing it if you have a cool concept? Absolutely not.