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Deus_Otiosus

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  1. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by _Elektro_ View Post
    Shield is great for defense, not so hot for resists, but has a stunning offensive ability which really does rock. Picking a primary really should supplement the set though as you will probably need aid self otherwise.
    As Nihilii said, aside from SM/L, SD has better resistances across the board.


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by _Elektro_ View Post
    Willpower seems reliant on most of the power choices but it comes together nicely in end game. Very complete feeling. There is really no 'fancy' stuff with this secondary other than a well rounded secondary that works really well.
    I would argue that SD and WP have the same amount of skippable powers.

    WP can skip the self res and the T9.

    SD can skip Grant Cover and the T9.

    In the age of i19 inherent fitness, I would not skip the T9 on either of them due to their ability to slot mule, not needing more than a single slot to function decently and their overall usefulness thanks to the lessened severity of their crashes in comparison to other similar T9s.

    I would also never skip Grant Cover on any SD I build from this point forward.
  2. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by _Elektro_ View Post
    I've been doing Tip Missions simply because I enjoy them... but I"m not getting any Hero Merits. Is this what you're referring to?
    Unless you don't have Going Rogue, I highly recommend you do morality missions and get hero merits.

    2 weeks worth of that, and using them for random rolls/straight buys and then reselling what you get would fund that entire build, pre-LoTGs & Procs.
  3. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    I did have a question on resistance, how significant is a 2% difference really? Is say, 17% fire resist enough better than 15% that it's worth using the slot for a res io rather than a set piece or a global?
    In actual play, I doubt you will ever notice.

    If you are someone who is willing to spare no expense for every last shred of performance, 2% can be a lot.


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    I resolved a good portion of the end problems by slotting a couple of Perf. Shifter process (in stamina and physical perfection). Big difference.

    I'm mostly thinking about this from the sense of where to put slots. Let's say, for instance, that I'm getting 1/6th of 33% that is immune to ED. That's 5.5% which is slightly less than 1LoTG. I think the far end of the Spiritual line is 2/3 of 45% which nets 30% immune to ED. Am i crazy for thinking that functions basically like slotting 4 LoTGs for comparison sake? If that's the case, then I'm wondering if that gives me a little more flexibility in slotting for other bonuses.
    No, not crazy. The Ultra Rare will ignore 2/3rds of ED, so the Core at +45% rech will be adding something like 30-33% recharge to every power that can slot recharge.

    That's pretty huge.

    Since you went for Energy mastery, I would say you should go that route as you probably don't really need more endurance assistance.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    At the moment I'm built for soft-capping (that's 45% right?) positionals (44.6/45.2/44.8 currently in game I think).
    Yes 45%, and you want Melee, Ranged & AoE at that number.


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    Got to that through a lot of 6 slot bonuses, hence my need to economize to get recharge, or rethink my build completely. Power wise I think if I can find a way to drop Maneuvers and keep my def numbers up then the last shreds of blue bar issues might just disappear.
    Toss up a build, unless you have some very specific and extensive concept powers that you must have, softcapping a WM/SD without maneuvers or the Gladiator Unique is relatively easy (you should have at least 3 solid melee attacks for melee/ranged def & 3 AoEs for Sciroccos or Obliteration for AoE or melee+rech).
  4. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by _Elektro_ View Post
    Well...

    Here's the 'discount' build I'm working on. It's not quite done... I'm level 47 and probably respecing this week..... I didn't finish the last few slots as I'm not sure what I need. I think I'm nearly soft capped in Melee, Ranged, and AoE.

    Level 50.... I didn't feel I needed to run Maneuvers so I took something else.

    Thoughts?
    I'd like to help, but I need a clear idea of what your budget for this build is - and whether or not you're willing to put the time into tip missions to get important IOs into the build like LoTG 7.5s and Miracle/Numi procs.
  5. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Deebs View Post
    Im rather fond of this answer .
    Although now it does have me wondering:

    BS/SD vs. Katana/FA.

    I wonder if the faster Katana attacks, applying FE, can out do BS with a sustained boost from AAO in ST DPS.
  6. Deus_Otiosus
    Where did you see the proc activate? Was it a combat message, or did you see your personal recharge increase?

    I haven't tested it personally but as far as I know, the +rech boost is granted to the pseudo-pet and therefore does nothing directly for your character.
  7. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrokenPrey View Post
    lets see

    Head Splitter does 187 damage with 95% damage it would be 364

    Disembowel does 134 damage with 95% damage it would be 262

    So Golden Dragonfly would need to do around 364. It does 164.04 so it would take around 122% + damage, which would make it 365. Assuming you have 95% in your attack it would take about 27% +damage.

    Soaring Dragon would need to do around 262. It does 123 so it would take 115% +damage. which would make it 264. Assuming you have 95% in your attack it would take 20% +damage.
    So the obvious solution is to go BS/SD then.
  8. Deus_Otiosus
    Ok, I think I've found a nice compromise.

    With alpha cardiac radial boost (currently slotted), my endurance consumption remains the same - however, it tacks the equivalent of an additional L50 Res SO into True Grit, Deflection & OWTS with no ED since those are all currently well underslotted for RES (Tough benefits as well but the bonus is heavily reduced)

    Here are the actual resistances, which won't show up in the build yet.

    • Smashing/Lethal: 37.1%
    • Energy/negative: 16.5%
    • Fire/Cold : 24.1%
    • Toxic : 18.1%

    This was a good build compromise for me, as I was able to keep the Glad set slotted as is.
    • 2266 HP
    • 20 HP/S + Siphon every 4s or so for 300 HP heal.
    • Above resistances + all enemy damage first reduced by Darkest Night
    • And with OWTS active SM/L resistance is increased to 61.9%, all others except psi gain +13.5% resistance as well as nearly 490 HP (2756 HP).
    • Average 230-244 DPS.
    • Includes a solid ranged attack, as well as a 16 Target TAoE for drawing aggro and assisting vs. Large Groups - and Darkest Night for a teamwide mitigation increase and increased solo survivability (Darkest Night has proven to be enough buffer vs. -Def debuffs that the 2 slots in Active Def is a non-issue).
    I feel like I've found my desired balance for as much offensive as I can muster while building for a fairly high level of survivability (outside of enemies with massive To Hit, although they still need to overcome -14% To Hit Debuff from Darkest Night).


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    Hopefully we'll be getting a freespec with i20
  9. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrokenPrey View Post
    Well thanks for the help guys

    This is the build I going with for now. For my next respec I should have the inf for some PvP IOs, as long as I don't have another build to make
    Looks good, the only thing I might suggest is if you were interested, you could drop Conserve Power down to 1 slot, even if you're not going spiritual (even though 2 slotted hasten suggests you might be) you can sacrifice 24s on it's recharge to slot 1 Res IO or 1 Heal IO into OWTS to squeeze some extra performance out of that ability.

    Otherwise, looks very good.


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Santorican View Post
    Well I found a few more 1.2% more resistance but now you'd have a higher endurance cost.

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    Thanks, I'm still figuring out what I want to do. I'm not worried about the 0.05 consumption change, due to cardiac, however the build is already live and I'm reluctant to remove the Glad set at the moment (due to the cost).

    I'm going to try and find another way to squeeze some resists in, thanks though.
  10. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    Anyway, I just slotted the recharge Alpha (can't recall the name) on him just for kicks, and I got to say the buff was significant.
    It's the Spiritual Boost.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    It got me wondering though, the Recharge/Resist line is appealing to me to try to get a little more out of resists in /sd.
    I think you mean Cardiac, which is Endurance Reduction & Resistance, not Recharge.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    Are either of those ideas viable, or is the general consensus that you get more bang for your buck going the set bonus/LOTG route to get recharge, then using Alpha for something else?
    Recharge from sets & LoTGs is global, it is not affected by ED.

    The Spiritual Alpha (Recharge) is like a global +recharge SO to any power that can slot a Recharge SO - it is affected by ED. The amount that is affected by ED depends on the tier of the boost.

    Here's some reading at paragon wiki: http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Alpha_Slot_Abilities


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    My thought was to get recharge out of the Alpha slot, and be able to have different goals for slots. Blue bar management isn't quite up to par with the new SpeedMace (tm), but I'm not optimized there quite yet anyway.
    Well, that depends on your build, the sets you slot and the epic pool you do or no not choose.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MayorOfAngrytown View Post
    I imagine there are as many ways to answer this as there are any other general build question, but I'm not quite savvy enough with the numbers to know the difference between 33% recharge on a power (alpha slot) and a 7.5% global recharge bonus. Do global bonuses translate 1:1 with enhancement bonuses (before ED)?
    Global Recharge bonuses function exactly as if every single power you have has that amount of Recharge added to it, except it completely ignores ED. So yes, a 1:1, but it's more powerful in how it functions.
  11. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BlackBellatrix View Post
    This is my planned (super expensive) build for my SS/Shield Brute. I think it looks pretty good but if there's any way I can make it better, let me know!

    I'm planning on going Cardiac for my Alpha Slot when I respec into this build, so I am hoping Endurance issues will be fairly non-existent.
    At a quick glance:

    • Active Defense should get at least another slot, and both of those should be membrane HOs - this will add precious DDR.
    • Even with the Cardiac Boost, you should try to up your Recovery & Reduce your consumption.
    • Swap your slotting for KO Blow & Haymaker, then remove the Hecatomb Proc from Brawl and put that in Haymaker as well - drop the +Damage Hecatomb, or +Damage/Rec - in any ST attack chain you will use Haymaker more often than KO Blow, giving the Hecatomb Proc more chances to fire off.
    • Get at least 2 L50 health IOs into True Grit. 3 Numi Pieces is even better - Not slotting for +HP means you lose nearly 150 HP

    Here's a few of these changes added in:


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  12. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Santorican View Post
    I borrowed the idea from Iggy and its putting a Resistance Invention in True Grit. While on the other hand I want to take that slot and put it into Soul Drain so I can slot a Multistrike: Acc/End.
    Well, I think it looks excellent as is.

    Rather than just that last 3%, you've got the build at 38% vs SM/L, which is 8% more than most /SD builds tend to have.

    That's huge.

    Looking in Mids SD on that build has more than enough ACC and I would't even consider needing more End Rdx.

    I'd go with the 3% Resistance.

    Heck, I'm driving myself nuts trying to figure out if I can get another 5-6% now myself.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Santorican View Post
    One thing that I am confused about is where I am getting an extra .1 end/s recovery from the build I posted from my current one.
    I'm stumped on this, I'll take a look in more detail at home.
  13. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Santorican View Post
    I need help quantifying 3% resistance to f/c/e/n/t would do to my survivability.
    What would you be changing/shifting around to get that 3%?
  14. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrokenPrey View Post
    Maybe but my regen is a lower then I would like, but it does give me something to think about.
    I find it's a functionally irrelevant amount, your regen will drop from 20.58 to 19.75 HP/s.

    So 0.83 HP/s decrease.

    Which means that in the time between Siphon Life castings you would regen back a tiny bit over 3 HP in that time with the current slotting you have.

    It's not an amount that will ever save you unless you plan to not use Siphon Life much , but it's possible this is a point where I tend to diverge from the accepted wisdom on slotting for +regen bonuses.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrokenPrey View Post
    I don't see the need for this. Siphon Life for me as 95% against +4. So I don't need the accuracy, it would lower my damage and my heal, granted not a lot. The only thing it would do is help with end but I don't have any issues with end. I would also lose some regen something I don't really want to lose.
    That's true, if you have no acc or end issues with it, then your slotting is better.
  15. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrokenPrey View Post
    So I took Maneuvers but I'm not going to be using it, don't need it to be over the soft cap. I just got it as a place to put a LoTG 7.5%. I also wanted Tactics so I could put Gaussian in there, I had it in Soul Drain and while it was okay I just wanted some accuracy in Soul Drain. Also I like Tactics more than Focused Accuracy.
    You could drop Manevuers, grab Assault instead then drop the DEF piece from CJ and add that slot to deflection for your 5th LoTG. The amount of regen you lose is minimal, and you will remain softcapped.



    My other suggestion would be to go for 3x Golgi and 3x Nucleous in Siphon Life.

    Last time I checked, both were very inexpensive on the market and will provide better enhancement vales for ACC & End Rdx.
  16. Deus_Otiosus

    FM/SD Critique

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fantomas View Post
    How's this for no HO's, PVP's or Purples?

    This toon will be used for regular team play, some TF's here and there and farming. No AV's, Pylon or anything.

    With your slotting of True Grit you are losing 47 HP, and you gain is 0.05 endurance per second (from the miracles, not including the proc which would get moved to health) - that's a bad trade off imo.

    Go with 3 Numi Pieces (Heal, Heal/End, Heal/Rech) and just slot the 3 procs (Numi, Miracle, Regen Tissue) into Health.

    Loss:
    • 0.5 HP/s
    • 0.05 E/s
    Gain:
    • 47 HP
    (*double check my numbers just in case, pretty sure that's accurate)


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fantomas View Post
    The only thing that really worries me so far is the end recovery/end drain. I thought about dropping Blaze Mastery for Body Mastery but I'd really like to have a Scrapper w/out Body Mastery for a change and I'm loving Fireball so far.
    Outside of going Cardiac or swapping to Body APP, there's not much you can do about it due to running maneuvers.

    Since you're not doing things like pylons/AVs etc, just carry a column of blues as well as a crafted recovery serum on your hotbar.
  17. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Inno View Post


    I am returning from a COH break, and am intrigued to play my DM/SD. It seems like the mix of ST damage from DM, AoE from Shield Charge, and the AoE buffage from both sets would be a great mix.

    At 31, I am finding the art of the DM/SD to elude me a bit, and my results have been very uneven; it seems like apparently identical packs of mobs either are trivial or kick my butt.

    I have some questions:

    1) Does this combo make sense? How do DM/SD compare to other builds as far as the standard metrics: getting "softcapped", survivability, groupability, dps, etc.


    Speaking top end builds what DM/SD will give you vs. any other */SD combination is added survivability through siphon life & an added recovery tool through Dark Consumption.
     Soul Drain, while an excellent power – simply does not improve a Brute’s ST output in the same way that it does for scrappers.
    To date, I have built one of each of the following SS/SD, FM/SD, DM/SD – all are very high end builds seeking the max performance and they are all within range of each other in terms of ST DPS, and that’s with a fully maximized and saturated Soul Drain for the entirety of the fight.
    With that being said, those are all very high ST DPS capable builds for a Brute.

     Survivability for DM/SD is excellent once softcapped, softcapping will require some expense how much that expense means to you is pretty relative to the kind of cash you generate as a player.
    Now, with alignment merits and any intent to seriously IO a build you should consider LoTG 7.5s, Numi Proc & Miracle Proc a given
     The true expense only comes into play if you aim for a really high end build which includes purple sets and PvP IOs.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Inno View Post
    2) I have been following the below approach to fights, and as mentioned, my results are very uneven from pack to pack, sometimes its trivial, then next pack I eat my hat.

    Aggro a pack of mobs
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Inno View Post

    Soul Drain to buff +DMG%
    Siphon Life on Pack
    Smite on biggest bad
    Shadow Maul on biggest bad
    (if low on end, Dark Consumption)
    Repeat


    At your level I think it should be:

     1) Pop a luck
     2) Soul drain to buff DMG
     3) Take out hard/difficult target (siphon life is your hardest hitting attack at this level)*
     4) Bunch up minions for Shadow Maul as best you can*
     Keep in mind 3 & 4 are swappable, sometimes the trouble is not a single hard target but rather the size of the pack you’re dealing with.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Inno View Post
    I seem to have a long time between abilities, and my attack chain (such as it is) can derail and I have to use brawl or vet power to fill. I currently have my attacks 5 slotted as 3 damage, 2 accuracy SO's, except for SL, which is I think is 3 damage, 1 accuracy, 1 heal, so I wonder if some recharge is in order.


    It’s fairly normal to have rech issues at this level in your ST attack chain.
     I slot my brutes for
    • 1 ACC,
    • 1~2 End Rdx
    • 2~3 Rech Rdx

     Let fury be your damage until higher levels, and I would skip on slotting Siphon Life for healing at this point unless you are going to frankenslot cheap sets to improve your overall enhancement bonuses
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Inno View Post
    3) As I go to make a build (I will post it eventually), are there any ideas for power selection that are key pillars of success with this combo?

    I think that Soul Mastery seems like a good choice for PP, but I have 10 levels to slog through first. Right now, I am focused on getting to 40's so I can even think about those kind of attack chains, etc.


    It will heavily depend on your end build, I went Soul for Gloom, Darkest Night and Dark Obliteration but the build required the 3% Glad unique to softcap.

    Don’t worry about it for now, you can pick up an APP for free at 40 and ride that to L50, then do ANY patron arc which will unlock ALL the patron pools as well as grant a free respec.


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Inno View Post
    Also, since I am 31, 32's power choice would be Midnight's Grasp, should I take this?


    Yes, it is the hardest hitting single target attack in Dark Melee, followed by Siphon Life.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Inno View Post

    4) How do you deal with having to auto-fire SD's status protection *and* have hasten?


    Hasten won’t be even near perma for a very long time, and Active defense is much more crucial to survivability.

     So active defense on auto-fire, hasten use it when you need it as it will have a significant downtime at your level on SOs.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Inno View Post
    I really wish they would make all status protection toggles; this seems like a big quality life difference between powersets unless I am missing something.


    An often overlooked benefit is that once you activate a status protection click power like active defense is that it can never be detoggled should you run out of endurance for example.

    In SDs case, it can also be double stacked to increase your DDR.
  18. Deus_Otiosus

    FM/SD Critique

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fantomas View Post
    You mean like this?

    Exactly like that.


    On a more serious note, unfortunately the amount of def debuffs you will face when you actually need DDR to survive (i.e. massed blade weapons, gunfire, etc.) is often so overwhelming that 50% DDR simply will not be enough to keep you alive.
  19. Deus_Otiosus

    FM/SD Critique

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fantomas View Post
    ...so I need to either get more recharge to double stack or make more money so I can afford better stuff...got it.
    For the time being keep some lucks on hand and learn the value of a tactical retreat
  20. Deus_Otiosus

    FM/SD Critique

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fantomas View Post
    Is the combo or FSC and SC really worth the investment for AOE damage compared to say an Elec/SD for an all-around AOE Scrapper?

    Yes.

    FM/SD will never wipe spawns as fast as Elm/SD, but FM/SD will take down hard targets in a way that Elm/SD can not.

    Elm/SD is the AoE heavy build, FM/SD is the better all around build.

    FM/SD is capable of top end ST DPS, and impressive AoE capabilities.
  21. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon View Post
    Well, the problem isn't really the damage scales, it's that the Brute will cap his damage with the psuedo-pet with only a 55% damage buff. It doesn't matter how much Fury you have, you can't go over a 400% damage buff. So the Scrapper only needs a 55% damage boost to achieve the same "cap" at which the Brute stops.

    I am not sure where you are getting your numbers, my calculations of final damage don't match yours. I'm pretty sure that Shield Charge uses the pet scale for damage, (and I'm assuming melee) and so given the scale values from the patch notes, the Brute version should do a base 1.8*55.61 at level 50, or 100.1 for stage 1. Slotted for 3 damage, that should be 195.1911. 400% damage should be 400.392. Stage 2 should be 70.90275, or 138.26 3 slotted, and 283.611 at 400%.
    Shield Charge uses the scales I posted from the patch notes.

    My numbers, "284" specifically, comes directly from in game.

    That's the number I get consistently on missions and across a wide variety of enemies, as well as an AE mish I mocked up specifically to post in this thread against custom enemies.

    I have not seen anything higher than 284 on this Brute [SS/SD] since i18 went live.


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon View Post
    I don't know where you are getting 284, but that's 71% of what I would expect it to be if you're talking about stage 1, and 41.5% of what I would expect total. That's not 75%, so I'm assuming you're not trying to apply the Brute base modifier. If you are seeing that in game, I'm not sure where my calculations are wrong, but we can just consider the rest of this post in proportion relative to that. We'd just reduce all the following numbers by 71%.
    Yep, as I said above - that comes directly from in game.

    And in my personal opinion - they reduced the Brute version too much when they made the i18 changes.


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon View Post
    Anyway, If the Shield Charge damage is calculated from pet damage, then it should take only 50% Fury for the Brute to do more damage than the Scrapper. 100.1*(1.95+1.2) = 295.295 > 150.147*1.95 = 292.787 According to City of Data Shield Charge doesn't Crit, (or at least, didn't) but if it does the formula becomes the same as for any attack, with the balance point at 60%.
    I have both SD Brute & Scrappers, and the Brute version never outdamages the Scrapper version in equal circumstances - and 284 is the absolute maximum I have seen in game - outside of mobs having their DR debuffed - for the Brute version of Shield Charge.


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon View Post
    I suppose the pertinent thing to calculate it at what damage boost the Scrapper exceeds the Brute. Which is 150.147*(1.95+x) = 400.392, or 71.67%.

    I'll make a few runs in game with my Scrapper and post the results here, I'll do some with and some without damage bonuses.
  22. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nihilii View Post
    Brute or scrapper, I'd rather have the attention of everything focused on me than on the squishies.
    While I agree with you, as that's how I play, I think there is quite a large chunk of the player base that enjoys the relatively unfettered playstyle of life without a taunt aura.
  23. Deus_Otiosus

    Mace or axe??

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThebigT View Post
    Hey, thinking of making a new brute. Would like go try mace or axe but which is the best?
    They seem more or less the same is there an area were one is a lot better then the other?
    I want to kill things fast
    Warmace is by far the better set when it comes to AoE damage dealing and soft control of mobs.

    Here's a good page to compare the two.

    http://tomax.cohtitan.com/data/power...etype.php?at=9
  24. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chrysame View Post
    My KM/Fire brute is level 22. She feels so squishy. Does it get better? The same? How do you deal with the holes in /fire? I really don't want to reroll her.
    Do you have/belong to an SG with an empowerment station? You can craft -KB there.

    Otherwise, carry lucks and splurge on a few -KB Steadfasts. Then try to kill stuff before it kills you.
  25. Deus_Otiosus
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by _Pine_ View Post
    Brute Pros:
    Higher Base HP
    Better arrangement of SR powers
    Taunt Aura

    Scrapper Pros:
    Higher Damage
    I'll just add that while a Taunt aura is nice, as things won't run from you when soloing, but if you plan to play mostly on teams a taunt aura can often be a liability.

    My Brutes easily take more incoming damage than any of my Scrappers due to the amount of threat they generate.

    There is a reason Tankers do not have SR as an option, being a purely defense based Brute with a taunt aura is not always an advantage.