Fire_Minded

Well, personally speaking, since my favorite armor set is Fire(and the one i use the most and have most experiance with), id dare say skip trying to raise Def % on a build that doesnt have it to begin with.

With as much cash as you have, you can easly utilize the potential for Max HP, Regen, Recovery, and most of all Global Recharge.

I know resitance sets are rather frowned apon in this game, but you can acctually seriously gimp a armor set that would benifit more from the mentioned 4 IO Food Groups that would nourish the set.

When you use just SOs for a FA/ Tanker, you can max out your resitances to 45%, and a bit less for Ice resisance.The major holes in FA/ are really just KB and no Psi resitance.(Sorry folks, but there is no Immob hole, thats why Burn is in the set, which acts as a midigator as well.)

However, thats for PvE.In PvP, FA/ is another story.

PvP FA/ on tanker can be capped to 60% Resitances for every type of damage, including Psi, but Excluding Ice resistance which is a 50% resistance(using Toughness), and belive me, from personal experiance taking on a IO'd Ice/Rad Corruptor, standing still and only using Healing Flames while he ran out of endurance trying to kill me, was extreemly Fun.
(oops, failed to mention my Tanker was only SOd, and in SC at level 50)

If you look at the FA/ set, you can very easly make it a regen set that only has 1 FAST heal clicky, with resistances.Not to mention the rather fast recharged Fiery Embrace as well.(2 BUs constantly firing is FUN!Build Up and Fiery Embrace put you at Damage Cap on a Tanker, provided the attacks have full Damage Enhancement.)

Ok, ill chirp in on this one.

Survivability is a very broad term in this game.Well, atleast in my eyes it is.Ill have to agree with all of the above replies, being that SR and SD make for heavy survivability, and even more so stacked with DM.

However, it can also be attributed to playing style as well to mark up whats survivable.I agree with Tonality when it comes to all sets have there Achilles Heel.

I however want to slap down my idea of most survivable Brute sets,and combonation, but before I do that, id like to toss in a breif history of why I feel what im about to state is more survivable, for me atleast.

I first signed onto this game when CoV hit the shelves, I was not here for the CoH only part of the game.However, the first Arch-Type that grabbed my attention, was Blasters.The lure of being a damage dealing juggernaught that had very little care for there own well being, was what pulled me in to that Class.

I shunned other classes, due to the Thrill I gained from playing a Blaster, and the jaw dropping damage they could shell out near death made the Blaster class even more pulse pounding, and exciting for me to play.

Alas, all of that ended when they changed Defiance.I was heart broken, and upset by the change.I never looked at Blasters the same way again, and slowly but surely, stopped playing that class completly.

Then i took a look at Brutes, and made a corrilation vs the old Defiance Bar and the Fury Bar.Sure, there was a large diffrence, mainly in how the damage modifier came about for the Brute.In some cases, its not very unlike the old Defiance when you jump into a mob, get knocked around, and all the sudden you have a decent Fury Bar and you dish out more damage.The major diffrence, is the fact you can recover your HP, without lossing your damaging edge during the fight.That was a definate plus for any Class iv tried, even Blasters.

Since then, the Old Blaster mantality has stuck with me.So survuvable to me means something diffrent.

My favorite all time Brute, that I personally find extreemly survivable, (Mainly due to my Blaster Mantality), is a SS/FA Brute.Nothing says lovin like a pissed off Rage + Fiery Embrace enduced Rage-aholic jumping into a mob.

Im pretty sure a Elc/SD, or DM/SD Brute could out class my Idea of a survivable Brute, however, My brute is rather survivable with only SOs.Not everyone will agree with me, but it does take a diffrent aprouch then other builds.

I for some reason, dont feel a pull to play SD or SR on any of the Melee Classes.I cant exsplain it, they just dont feel very fun to me.

Anyhow, iv been going on and on, but SS/FA would be my choice.

I have a lowbie Dark/Dark Brute my self, and im itching for higher levels, and to see how ugly a decently filled Fury bar and Soul Drain will do with Death Shroud.

Yoshikazu has made mention of this already, but I want to see it in action!

From just the math iv gathered on a full fury bar, soul drain, and at the very least 3 damage SOs in death shroud, the damage should be extreemly nasty!

Soul Drain adds a automatic 40% damage to all attacks for 30 seconds, and a additional 8% per enemy hit of a max 10, making the total if all 10 are hit is 120% damage boost, due to a additional 80% bonus.(Im sure some people know this informationa already, but its here for those who dont either way.)

If my math is correct, then a full fury bar would grant 300% bonus damage, then the 120% from Soul Drain, added with the 9 base damage the death shroud gives at level 50, it should be somewhere around 38 damage a pulse?If my math is wrong please correct it, and since im fairly new to Brutes, I have absolutly no idea if damage enhancements are effected by Fury.(Could someone tell me if they are?)

Anyhow, its a diffrent melee experiance for me so far, im very used to Tankers, and never touched the dark sets before.Its a Old New thing for me i guess.

Personally though, I seem to be having more fun using the lesser used sets in the game.Probably because they are rarly seen, and new to me, because i never touched them in the past.

You know, you dont really see gravity controllers anymore, or ice for that matter.

This post makes me wanna build a Grav/ Controller now!

Wow, I think i need to remember what kind of people are on these forums.

As for me being a idiot?Dont think so.

Whatever works for you guys, I guess.

I no longer care.

Wow, I think I see a pattern now my self.

When someone mentions that they dont really care about something, all the sudden, people crop up using the word "Tool" as if they are smart enough to slip it in there, beause they belive it to be a passive insult that the reader may be to dim-witted to catch, or be insulted by.

Not only have you went to calling me names that only someone who "Belives" that they are smarter then another person would use, there have been quite a few imbellishments as well.

Like Tonality's reply, that has writting in it that is being compaired to my own.Writting in which you definatly cannot understand.

The sheer fact that you guys are "Reading" every word im saying, then comming back to attack, leads me to belive that those of you who have insisted on focusing on a simple thing, such as another persons writting errors, and lack of care simply because no one has complained about it before, makes me look at the entire post, and the replies to find one quote comes to mind about the entire thing.

You see, Tonality, as well as a few of you others who have openly assualted my Grammar, for nothing more then to abuse the fact that someone has apologized, and admitted to being weak in one area or another leads me to nelive that the old quote, "No good deed goes unpunished." to be true.

When I mentioned highschool being over, it was effectivly my way of pointing out how fruitless, and childish the taunting replies to this post have been.

I will also point out, that half of the people who have posted here, are known for bothering people, taunting, and seem to have a chip bigger then the one that drives there computer on there shoulder.

Lets not pass up the fact that when one person starts to insult a stranger, the natural and instinctive thing to do is help.Thats how packs of wolves work for the most part.One of them see's a potential target, and the rest follow.

Now, if you'll all excuse me, im going to do something better then deal with you children who belive in having a larger number of people assisting you to bother one person, over something you never cared about before to be important.

Back in my day, People like that where called "Bullies".

What does it mean when i hear someone say a Defender does 0.65% modifier for damage?

What does that even mean?Could someone exsplain it to me like im a 5th Grader please?(Not a 5th Grader from "are you smarter then" show...those kids are frickin mutants!)

Does it mean like a % of the acctual whole number for the damage listed for the attack?

Lil help here?

Hello everyone!

Im here,to ask you,the player,what you feel are under seen,and under played power sets for brutes?

Be a pal and state your opinion as to "Why" that reason may be....but i am sure,that its not a Nemisis Plot!

CHEERS!

/e Raise Hand

Ummm,high school was over for me a loooong time ago,and you seem to belive heavly in proper grammar,but,i dont.The fact that you even go on ..and on....and on...about grammar may mean a number of things.

Either you are trying to get a passive emotional response from my self,or others,or your simply bored,and feel you are a superiour being compaired to the rest of us,which is hard to prove by pointing out spelling and punctuation.

I caution you though.....Im a expert at making a *BLEEP* of my self on rare moments that life gets me down,but by no means does it mean your free of that rederict.

Ohhh,almost forgot!The way a person spells,uses comma's,ect....doesnt reflect on there overall intellegence,it just means they have bad writting habits.Habits im fine with.

Does this work?

Well,iv never tried Empathy my self,i dont really see the validity of the set personally,and never admired the player who sits back and spams heals,and has only his Teir 1 attack,that he boasts,is not slotted.Considering iv been on teams that had 2-3 EMPs,and they couldnt keep the Tanker Alive.(I was the Tanker,the build was a WP/SS in the situation im about to describe.)

I had built my Tanker for armor toggles and Taunt first,the way any tanker should.However,the 3 EMPs couldnt keep me alive on a long +3 /8 mission,and you can guess what happened to the rest of the team the moment i dropped.So,i told the team leader,"Let me get my Defender,itll do a better job then my Tanker will".

I went and got my /Traps Defender,and i laid down Trops,Poison Trap,Acid Mortar,and sniped the mob to bring them into my traps.Not only did the 1 Scrapper on the team do a excellent job Tanking while sitting in my web of traps,as well as the extra added defense % my Shield Drone gave,the mission went exceedinly smooth at that point from using just those few traps.

Then...the unthinkable happened..

The Scrapper and Blaster popped off with "Good heals everybody!"

MY frickin jaw dropped,and i said "Yeh,but how about them Traps?"

A hush went over the team,and the banter stopped,and you could hear a cricket in the background.....

I have personally never met a EMP i liked teaming with,especially at higher levels,and i would have to agree that Thermal is a massivly better set then Empathy,but,i cant get into it for concept reasons,and id take a Radiant Aura over a EMP any day,heck...ill take any support power set over a EMP any day...

The main reason why ill take someone else,is because of the seemingly WoW & DDO asspect of it all.In other games,a healer is praised for his job,because in those games,a healer,is a God in many ways to a team.They literally "DO" keep that team alive,because thats there main function in the game,due to its mechanics.

I also wont deny that i am very apprehensive,and a bit of a biggit when i see a EMP,because they are praised,and desired more then any other support power set to most PUGs that i have seen.Iv been booted from teams while playing a Cold Domination,Radiant Aura,Trick Arrow,Traps,and Bubbler Builds,and when i ask why it says i was just kicked from team...i usually get the following response..."Sorry,but we need a healer."

Thats my personal experiance with the EMP set,and it is not a good feeling to be booted from a team,or passed over,or not get acknowledged at all for your support in a team,while all the Glory goes to the EMP.Most people belive HP heals are the best way to go,which isnt true,iv seen a single Bubbler keep a entire team alive for many missions,without a EMP or Healing Support of any kind.

Personally,id go with the recomendation that you try another set,such as the before mentioned Thermal,or perhaps Radiant Aura?(Rad is my personal favorite for a Controller)

Hello everyone,id like to apologize for the rampid dissregaurd in the way of behavior that i shoveled out over the coarse of a few days.

I was without my higher functions within my mental facalties,and a large bottle of Wild Turkey,and 3 bottles of Southern Comfort may or may not have been involved....i wont say for sure...

Anyhow,im not in the habit of drinking,nor am i in the habit of making a superb *Bleep* of my self.So,who ever i hurt in the wake of my stupidity,just know,i ment nothing personal,and i should have had a designated Forum Driver...thank you for your time,and once again,im sorry.

Well,the more i play the game,the more i see my self going red side all the more.

I dont find my self on blue side with a Stalker,VEAT,or a Dark/Dark Brute.They just dont feel Heroic to me.I do have to agree with bringing a Warshade over tot he red side...because iv never been able to get into that class in the past.(LOL!I made a ryme!)I just didnt seem Heroic to me either.

Most of the builds and concepts i have,dont really fit a hero at all,reguardless of AT.

Well,from what iv gather,Mace had a nice rework latly,and is a good set now,so yeh,it would be a nice pairing with fire armor.

Well,personally id have to ask,what do you want out of the performace of your Stalker?

More importantly,which one can you see your self enjoying more?Thats the more important question.