Exxar
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Posts
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Joined
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I don't know what's your experience with bruting or stalking, but I'd always recommend anything/willpower to first-time scrappers. Yes, it's a cliche, but it's a cliche for a reason. It's by far the easiest on new players.
Of the primaries you suggested, I'd go with fire/. You'll miss out on AoE action with dark/, and electric/ is a bit quirky with it's selection of attacks. Fire/ is a nice, well rounded set and it goes well with /willpower. The only downside is that it doesn't have any mitigation but instead does more damage, and mitigation is always useful, but not that critical on a /willpower toon. -
Quote:PS slotted with 3 lvl 50 EndMod IOs drains 80% of a mob's (even-con minion) endurance with a single application. LF drains 3% per tick without EndMod slotting (and slots are much better spent elsewhere than to enhance that number) so the mobs would be sapped to 0 after 14 seconds of fighting. Ain't cutting it. Or to 10 after 7 seconds which is also good, and that's borderline cutting it.Originally Posted by _Deth_
Depends on slotting, one PS will drain minions to almost nothing while LF whittles it down the rest of the way. Bosses and Lts, yeah, but seeing how I make those my first target, it usually isn't an issue. -
You won't be able to both softcap and get permahaste. You will, however, be able to have a decent amount of recharge and perma Dull Pain for 3000 hp with the accolades.
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Quote:Only if you run higher than +0/x8. At +0/x8, you don't need more than say 20% defense, for example.Originally Posted by _Deth_
personally, I like to think of it this way. If you solo most of the time, and like to run with the settings cranked, then yes, it's worth the trouble.
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Quote:Hrrm, for LF and PS to be effective for sapping you'd have to fire PS twice in a fight. The only way it's effective upfront is paired with Ball Lightning and Electrifying Fences from Mu Mastery, although I'm not sure if the EF are required. PS+BL+EF, however, is definitively enough to zero the mobs' end, and LF keeps it that way until you can recast BL and/or ES.Originally Posted by _Deth_
Don't forget the massive end drain from lightning field and power sink if you slot for it, extra mitigation that FA doesn't have an equivalent for.
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Functionally, the combination is not much. /fire thrives in AoE environments and Energy Melee is a pure ST set. That one AoE attack it has is among the worse ones, if not the worst one. If you really want to use it, I suggest something like this:
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.703
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 31 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Energy Melee
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Barrage -- (A)
Level 1: Fire Shield -- (A)
Level 2: Energy Punch -- (A)
Level 4: Blazing Aura -- (A)
Level 6: Healing Flames -- (A)
Level 8: Bone Smasher -- (A)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- (A)
Level 12: Swift -- (A)
Level 14: Health -- (A)
Level 16: Plasma Shield -- (A)
Level 18: Total Focus -- (A)
Level 20: Stamina -- (A)
Level 22: Consume -- (A)
Level 24: Whirling Hands -- (A)
Level 26: Boxing -- (A)
Level 28: Tough -- (A)
Level 30: Super Jump -- (A)
Level 32: Energy Transfer -- (A)
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
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Level 1: Brawl -- (A)
Level 1: Sprint -- (A)
Level 2: Rest -- (A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 6: Ninja Run
Code:| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;837;397;794;HEX;| |78DA9D91DD4A02511080CFA2B6E9AE7F88A9A978DDCD5EF77311950A8282115154B| |46C72D203B2CAEE2A79D703F40A3D4645F670DBCCEC2861D04587DD8F99EF9CD919| |CEF69E9AA610CFC74233CEC68EEFDBA7DE2C90899E335403A10B21CA24EC9E1C4B6| |9B55CE90D1751C21B4DF9285D5F5A6D25BD857D32F39C7CC71D494FBA81B50ACCFE| |6432B6BAD2992A7718256D15B8D2F7D39C0C47016CE529EBB873E5AB073556C1A2D| |69AAA811575EACAB9728291E3DA3DC70FA05B19C6DB83774B13BC42786089374CB4| |9F46D75880D1C8BC431C631323F30171824D82CC3694E86C74323B9026D924C924C| |018DCCB887A8149B34993F98438CB264BC6842CCFDFC947BDA0AAC0670A64961017| |69EA5014C9A420297155898C065515361532313055FE4E954C094C9DCFD4C96460B| |FC1A64126FC73D5E29B37DCFD65FAF1CD1B6EC7D77F214CE6D677FBDFB534572D93| |E729E005E2127185B846DC206E1177887B848D08BFD6D5D97D9CEB0071883842146| |13EF18227750360204C441A91416411394401B18B784584DF21FC155F| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
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I'd say /ElA is better on SOs than /SD, and quite solid.
ElM will have good AoE damage on SOs, but your ST damage will suck. But honestly, I think ElM is one of the worse sets on just SOs. -
Quote:Don't worry, you'll be able to play the "tank" role quite fine with your brute.Originally Posted by powerfuse1
You guys have it all wrong. I don't need IOs. Nor do I have the cash to come up with them, I'm just saying that I know it would make my life easier when playing the "Tank" role. Because even though the Brute isn't designed the same as a Tank, it still is meant to play the role of the meat shield while the corrupters shoot from far away without a worry of being attacked.
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Quote:Interesting, I didn't know that it's stackable. Nice!Originally Posted by Fireheart
Healing Flames isn't just a heal, but also offers (stackable) +15% resistance to Toxic.
Well then, /elec doesn't have a psi hole and /fire doesn't have a toxic hole. Evens it up a little for /fire, but only a little bit IMO since psi attacks are much more prevalent than toxic, and some of those psi attacks also don't have a positional component, which can be nasty. -
Awesome AoE, but somwehat lacking in the ST department. However, I'd suggest you don't use both teleport attacks at once, but rather one per spawn - that way you'll have one of them ready each spawn.
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Don't worry, Brutes have enough survivability even without expensive builds. Yes, you're not tough as a tanker, but you're tougher than a scrapper and you're tough enough.
The core brute mechanic (fury) rewards jumping headlong into spawns, and you won't have any problems with that unless you're on a really incompetent team. You do have scrapper-level defenses, but you have more hit points, and it's a big difference.
You'll be fine tanking for your team, and you'll enjoy jumping in first and just smashing away. -
Overlapping Rage doesn't prevent the end or damage crash, only the defense crash.
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Quote:Well, fighting a single AV sure isn't a forte of WP toons, but it isn't a problem either. And if you're just fighting spawns set for less players, there's no problem with that either since the purpose of RttC is to scale in exactly such circumstances. You'll be fine.Originally Posted by Timeshadow
Does Willpower retain it's vaunted levels of survivability without plenty of RttC fuel? I can always adjust my tactics to compensate if it doesn't.
You're not. QR > Stamina.Quote:Originally Posted by Timeshadow
As for Quick Recovery vs. Stamina, Mids shows Quick Recovery as having a higher +Recovery value than Stamina outta the box. Am I mistaken on that? -
Slowing the attack chain is a dumb solution. Only other thing I can think of is dropping Hasten. It ain't pretty though.
I'm afraid I cannot be of more help since I've never actually played a SS/Inv toon. -
Anyway, some stuff off the top of my head:
- replace the Obliteration with an Eradication
- replace the Red Fortune with a Gift of the Ancients
- ditch the fifth slot in Temporary Invulnerability and the Miracle Heal slot in Health, use them to get a total of 4 Impervium Armors in RPD.
But it seems a bit strange to me that you have endurance problems with already this much +end slotting. -
Do you always run Darkest Night?
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Quote:Eh... I don't like MA at all, but WP is much better on scrappers IMO. Don't let the lack of a click heal in scrapper WP deceive you - Rise to the Challenge is much more potent. You won't be left wanting for click heals, trust me. As for the invisibility... You can take Super Speed on a scrapper and stuff a Celerity +stealth in it, and the only things that will see through it will be turrets, GMs and snipers. You won't have AS and Placate, of course, or the enhanced out-of-hide crit chance in large teams, but will be markedly more durable. IMO you should base your decision on that (and Dragon's Tail) instead, not on the lack of a clicky heal in scrapper WP.Originally Posted by Timeshadow
What's really got me divided are the differences between the sets. Both the Scrapper and Stalker versions have things that I want. The Scrapper MA has Dragon's Tail, a nice AoE and source of soft control in an otherwise single target set. Stalker WP has a click self heal in Reconstruction and invisibility. But on the other hand the Scrapper version has Quick Recovery which would allow me to skip Stamina.
And in regards to skipping Stamina: I think that's a bad decision during leveling, but a viable one in a final build (especially with scrappers, who can get Physical Perfection unlike brutes). While leveling, you really feel the difference between Stamina with Quick Recovery, and Quick Recovery only. Also, Health is actually a great power on /WP scrappers. -
Even before looking for sets that provide recovery (or rather endurance, you use sets that increase your endurance because they give bigger recovery bonuses than sets that actually give recovery bonuses, because of the way endurance and recovery work), I'm pretty sure that would be impossible because of extremely low supply of low-level recipes on the market. But I can't check the actual supply at the moment so I may as well be off.
Btw, the sets you're primarily looking at are Impervium Armor (resistance), Gift of the Ancients (defense) and Eradication (PBAoE damage). There are others, but you won't be able to slot them in significant quantities of each because of the powers they go into and the powers you have available as a stalker.
EDIT: If you go MA/WP, you won't be able to slot Eradication because you won't have any PBAoE attacks, but you should be able to slot enough of both Impervium Armor and Gift of the Ancients.
EDIT2: If you are asking this as a way to skip Stamina, I don't think it will work, not even if you use higher-level recipes that are readily available. Your recovery will be lesser than if you haven't slotted for +end at all and fully slotted Stamina instead. And if you do take Stamina, you shouldn't have any endurance problems anyway. -
For a toon with a secondary whose main strength are its several layers of protection (resistance, defense, healing, regeneration), both of them greatly enhance survivability.
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Quote:You'll have a hard time fitting in both a travel power by 14 and Stamina by 20. That's often a problem on brute/scrapper builds, but it's even more pronounced on Stalker builds because of needing to stuff in AS, BU and Placate besides all the regular attacks.Originally Posted by Timeshadow
I'm considering several different options including Fighting. But my main problem is just fitting in standards like a travel power by 14 and Stamina by 20. I don't have any experience with Martial Arts or Willpower so I'm pretty lost in regards to which powers I should prioritize and which ones can be postponed.
This the best way to fit both of them by 20, IMO:
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.703
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 19 Magic Stalker
Primary Power Set: Martial Arts
Secondary Power Set: Willpower
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Thunder Kick -- (A)
Level 1: Hide -- (A)
Level 2: Storm Kick -- (A)
Level 4: Reconstruction -- (A)
Level 6: Assassin's Blow -- (A)
Level 8: Crippling Axe Kick -- (A)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- (A)
Level 12: Swift -- (A)
Level 14: Super Jump -- (A)
Level 16: Indomitable Will -- (A)
Level 18: Health -- (A)
Level 20: Stamina -- (A)
Level 22: [Empty]
Level 24: [Empty]
Level 26: [Empty]
Level 28: [Empty]
Level 30: [Empty]
Level 32: [Empty]
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
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Level 1: Brawl -- (A)
Level 1: Sprint -- (A)
Level 2: Rest -- (A)
Level 1: Assassination
Level 6: Ninja Run
Notice how you have neither BU (Focus Chi), High Pain Tolerance nor Mind Over Body. That's a pretty steep sacrifice if you ask me. You could stuff in one of them instead of Thunder Kick, but then your attack chain will utterly suck. Therefor, I suggest something like this:Code:| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;766;355;710;HEX;| |78DAA590DD4AC3301480335CA9B5AB5D19FE4DF1DE9B5EFB7321E214062B4C864C5| |42C71646B3474A309D3DDF9003E82D3F7D087ABE7C474CABCD343F2D1F3E5A4399C| |E8B15121E4E99094BC6341A58C3B8A8A7B9659111DF01EB1092175A3E28809C6C28| |8668A53111F654A6E14470DD667A96461970B311A3EB02C68A609CB58AAC2E2A3D2| |1E0E45D86274C4D3C15772CA55CAA4F44C3248141C053A6BA6632EF92D175C4DB64| |F46BC17164FB5D8985395D0348EA8542C9BAC438F3BB05F1C6222870541FA684A3F| |CDD431024C499B04CC82310BDABC81B18CB1B47905631B636BB30AA9638CA38D05C| |6356FB9DAAC81F14C8DA7CD1D5CF14D8DAF8D0D35813181368B606AC6D4B4C9FF11| |5BE5F999B47E9976797E269BDF35B9539D4DE3AFF15E297EE79C2D013B887344177| |181B8445C21AE11378818917FCC6EFBBBD8D71E621F71805881FEC83356DA2EC045| |54101E6219E123AA881AA28E9822F24FCF061747| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.703
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 34 Magic Stalker
Primary Power Set: Martial Arts
Secondary Power Set: Willpower
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Thunder Kick -- (A)
Level 1: Hide -- (A)
Level 2: Storm Kick -- (A)
Level 4: Reconstruction -- (A)
Level 6: Assassin's Blow -- (A)
Level 8: Crippling Axe Kick -- (A)
Level 10: Mind Over Body -- (A)
Level 12: High Pain Tolerance -- (A)
Level 14: Swift -- (A)
Level 16: Indomitable Will -- (A)
Level 18: Health -- (A)
Level 20: Stamina -- (A)
Level 22: Focus Chi -- (A)
Level 24: Placate -- (A)
Level 26: Crane Kick -- (A)
Level 28: Combat Jumping -- (A)
Level 30: Super Jump -- (A)
Level 32: Eagles Claw -- (A)
Level 35: Heightened Senses -- (A)
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
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Level 1: Brawl -- (A)
Level 1: Sprint -- (A)
Level 2: Rest -- (A)
Level 1: Assassination
Level 6: Ninja Run
Till 30 You can get by with the Raptor and Zero-G packs you get on mayhems, and Ninja Run if you have it. But now we have a new problem: you're not anywhere near Tough or Weave. You have two options: respec at about 32 when you don't need Thunder Kick to fill your attack chain and take Boxing instead so that you can get Tough at 38 and Weave at 41, or don't take Thunder Kick at all and get by with unslotted Boxing from lvl 8 instead.Code:| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;857;403;806;HEX;| |78DA9DD0DD4A024114C0F191946DD3CD44CCCC4CE8AE9BBDEEE322220B04178A08A| |3A2658A4927975576873EEE7A801E21FBA09EA21E6E3BE7742C48BA69D03FBBBF9D| |D919D6BB69E484B8DB1029672B9071ECEF1B19F45494F164479F0B4B0831CFE47B2| |A50CAF56464B40CFCCDC8C495D1A386BA5061ACDCB60E8241FF5A458566D855910A| |8D3BBAC8EDF6FB81BBA34DA8E2F8EBA6A5E440871D879F74BA06EE0A74D70CAF74A| |CCF74A0CDEDE2F6409FBBA3AD5AEA4A4BD395A1EFC9D8A8E8760ECEB80CFF075BF0| |48E007435C8CC91024C59222E9824CB04C903C81645832248F20168B45A241ECD49| |7D8241D902C4B9624034B1C1687E412E6E459F22416CC29B0144826418A2C459267| |5855E2DD4B242F20659632C92B4885A542320BEFA9B25449CA2035961AC91BACAAB| |3D4497A204BBCFB1249F2D75848FFFEB8AD31D94DFFFEDCD59F39893DF3FDA1FF3B| |DE73A3D7D97B53D07DCC01A68D39C41C618E312798538C8F493EBE57E757F05CAB9| |835CC3AA604E713F738D3CA42B2981CC6C14C63F298194C11338F1962924F9AE21C| |C7| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
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Quote:The order of the powers was shuffled around a bit, but other than that there were two changes: Quick Recovery was replaced by Hide, and Rise to the Challenge was replaced by Reconstruction.Originally Posted by powerfuse1
Actually I think Reconstruction was replaced with Quick Recovery. Willpower's first power (forgot the name) was removed for Hide.
And with those changes they may have had renamed the set as well IMO, stalker WP is nothing like brute/scrapper/tank WP. Other stalker secondaries have much fewer and not nearly as radical changes from their brute/scrapper/tank counterparts. -
Quote:Yup, Quick Recovery is the power that was removed to fit in Hide.Originally Posted by Col_Blitzkrieger
Willpower doesn't have any tools for mitigating endurance problems.
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DM has the best synergy with /Inv because it provides what /Inv lacks, a heal and endurance tool. The problem is that it has zero AoE capability.
Other sets that mesh well with /Inv are claws, DB, SM, SS and WM because each of them provides great mitigation (somewhat less so for claws, but it still has a reliable ST knockdown power and is terrific for both ST and AoE damage, as well as being comparatively endurance-light).
FM and ElM are also fine. They don't provide any significant synergy, but have great damage output, and /Inv already has great survivability on its own so they mesh well. The two sets I'd never pair with /Inv are BA and EM. BA simply because it's the same as WM but weaker, and EM because it's a purely ST set just like DM but DM is so much better with /Inv. -
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I second that. A SS/ElA brute is among the top few brutes in regards to damage dealing.