City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

JAXMAN

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  1. JAXMAN
    When I made my Claws Brute it was a toss up between Elec and EA, I went with EA as I could make a Claws/Elec scrapper. My Claws/EA brute is no where near as strong as my Claws/SR scrapper but it's still a beast and a joy to play. I have IOs pushing my typed defenses up and that makes a world of difference, -Def is a pain but that's alright.

    My Claws/Elec scrapper (I hadn't rolled a scrapper in 3-4 months) is 45 now and also a lot fo fun to play. I do die a tad bit more on large teams.

    Elec would be even better for Brutes with higher resist caps and probably stronger initially both sets and SOs. Already having a Claws/SR scrapper I'm pretty sure I won't roll a Claws/SR brute for a long time, if ever.

    The EA brute took longer feel as strong as it should be compared to the Elec Scrapper, but in the end the EA brute will, for most things be more survivable.
  2. JAXMAN
    In all fairness Bill, how many of those were used when you were only using SOs for slotting powers?
  3. JAXMAN
    As far as my personal opinion goes, I'd take PB at lvl 10 every time and put a second slot into it at level 11, and i might consider on a respec build only putting one slot into it, but i'd have an alternate build then for exemping. Both your level 24 and 26 chocies are core powers so take em as soon as you can, if you've gone that far already i wouldn't respec now to take them earlier, but if and when u do respec I'd change the order.

    Brutes get longer recharge times than scrappers so Quickness is more useful, I could go a long time without but I would take it.

    Not sure how much advice I have to give without knowing what powers/slotting you want to keep. If you want a very recharge focused build, you will probably need to keep Weave to stay soft capped. If not, you can switch up set bonuses and not take Weave, right now it's basically soft capping you to AoE as your Ranged and Melee def at high already.
  4. JAXMAN
    This is how I would go on a Brute, Taunt would probably come before medicine and fighting pools but I forgot to grab it until the end.

    Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.601
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    claws-sr-brute: Level 50 Magic Brute
    Primary Power Set: Claws
    Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Fitness
    Power Pool: Medicine
    Power Pool: Fighting

    Villain Profile:
    Level 1: Strike -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(7), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), T'Death-Dam%(42)
    Level 1: Focused Fighting -- S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(A), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(5), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(13), S'dpty-Def(17), S'dpty-EndRdx(40)
    Level 2: Slash -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Achilles-ResDeb%(36)
    Level 4: Agile -- GftotA-Def(A), GftotA-Def/Rchg(31)
    Level 6: Spin -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(11), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(15), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(36)
    Level 8: Follow Up -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(9), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Mako-Dam%(42)
    Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A), Empty(11)
    Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-ResKB(37), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(43), LkGmblr-Rchg+(45)
    Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(45), Zephyr-ResKB(45)
    Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
    Level 18: Focus -- Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(21), Ruin-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
    Level 20: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Panac-Heal/+End(43), Mrcl-Rcvry+(43)
    Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(23), P'Shift-End%(23)
    Level 24: Evasion -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(25), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(25), RedFtn-Def(29), RedFtn-EndRdx(40)
    Level 26: Focused Senses -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(27), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27), RedFtn-Def(29), RedFtn-EndRdx(42)
    Level 28: Dodge -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(31)
    Level 30: Lucky -- Ksmt-ToHit+(A), Ksmt-Def/Rchg(31)
    Level 32: Eviscerate -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(33), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(33), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(50)
    Level 35: Aid Other -- Empty(A)
    Level 38: Aid Self -- Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal(39), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(39), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(40)
    Level 41: Kick -- Empty(A)
    Level 44: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(46), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Aegis-ResDam(46)
    Level 47: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(48), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(48), Mocking-Acc/Rchg(48), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(50), Mocking-Rchg(50)
    Level 49: Quickness -- Run-I(A)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Fury



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  5. JAXMAN

    Claw/SR decision

    POST-ACTION

    This is probably close to what I would level up with if I were starting over. Perhaps I would swap CJ and Spin t have an AoE attack earlier. I could see taking another single target attack instead of Evis and using ToD to keep my melee def up. I'm curious to find out if would have enough end recovery with Spin and Evis slotted as they are for my style of play.


    Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    dreako new a: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
    Primary Power Set: Claws
    Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
    Power Pool: Fitness
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Flight
    Power Pool: Teleportation
    Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Swipe -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(5), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), T'Death-Dam%(45)
    Level 1: Focused Fighting -- S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(A), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(7), S'dpty-Def(7), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(13), S'dpty-EndRdx(43)
    Level 2: Slash -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Achilles-ResDeb%(40)
    Level 4: Agile -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(50)
    Level 6: Swift -- HO:Micro(A)
    Level 8: Follow Up -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(9), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Mako-Dam%(37)
    Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11)
    Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Ksmt-Def/EndRdx(A), Ksmt-ToHit+(39), DefBuff-I(50)
    Level 14: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
    Level 16: Dodge -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(17)
    Level 18: Focus -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
    Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(23), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(46), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(46), P'Shift-End%(46)
    Level 22: Quickness -- HO:Micro(A)
    Level 24: Focused Senses -- S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(A), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(25), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(25), S'dpty-Def(29), S'dpty-EndRdx(45)
    Level 26: Spin -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(27), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(50)
    Level 28: Lucky -- GftotA-Def(A), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(29)
    Level 30: Eviscerate -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(31), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(31), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(40)
    Level 32: Shockwave -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(33), Posi-Dmg/Rng(33), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37)
    Level 35: Evasion -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(36), RedFtn-Def(36), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36), RedFtn-EndRdx(40)
    Level 38: Fly -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(39), Zephyr-ResKB(39)
    Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(42), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(43), GSFC-Build%(43)
    Level 44: Physical Perfection -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A)
    Level 47: Laser Beam Eyes -- ShldBrk-Acc/DefDeb(A), ShldBrk-Acc/Rchg(48), ShldBrk-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(48), ShldBrk-%Dam(48)
    Level 49: Recall Friend -- Jnt-EndRdx/Rng(A)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Critical Hit



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  6. JAXMAN
    I wouldn't recommend slotting Follow up with Gaussian', the 2.5 defense to all is nice, but I like to have some accuracy and damage slotted in there. You are considerably over the softcap and not as worthwhile on SR with good DDR as say on a Night Widow. PB at 35 will drive you nuts for at least 34 levels, take that sucker at level 10. I will admit that Quickmess isn't needed, but it sure is nice to have. And just because i say it all the time, I liek having the Achilles's Heel proc in Slash.

    If you remove weave and add some sets with some AoE defense you would gain a power pick to take quickness and some slots to boot.
  7. JAXMAN
    When SR builds can solo AVs and TFs without Aid Self, it's easy to see why some people think they can get more benefit out of two other powers than 2 medicine powers. A lot of that comes down to mind set, sometimes I really don't want to stop the carnage, just because I may get hit 2 more times and have to pop an awaken. From my experiences with SR, the amount of times I really need a Self Heal isn't worth the investment, or more so the loss of two other powers I'm using considerably more.
  8. JAXMAN

    Claw/SR decision

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ozmeth View Post
    In both builds your practiced brawler is perma, so I'm not really sure why you need 2 slots in your second build.
    He doesn't want to respec, and leveling up you need the second slot in PB until you get set bonuses rolling.

    I'd suggest using a plain old SO build and slot IOs into a second build. Technically it's not respec'ing but still a pain if you shop along the way to 50.

    I truly prefer the Achilles's Heel proc in Slash and that would throw a bit of a wrench into your build.

    I currently have a similar if not cheaper build. I have plans to respec when I get my 60 month vet reward so I can keep fly without having to take air sup and add in physical prefection. plus change some sets around. I understand my current build is only at 93% DDR but I'm OK with that. My planned build is at home but I do have my current live build.

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    Basically, I don't prioritizes Regen and Recharge very highly, mostly as I'm perfectly happy with my performance as I'm not soloing AVs and pylons. When you are basically using every slot in a build, every change will have a trickle down effect, lose Melee defense here, so add it over here, and lose something else. On the other hand, when money isn't a hurdle you can have the best of everything.
  9. JAXMAN
    My Claws/Elec scrapper is really showing how sturdy Elec can be and that's with lower HP and resistance caps than brutes. I do have Tough in the build and it makes a very noticeable difference. After that I focused on melee defense taking that over 30%, the combination with solid resists has got me feeling more like my other melee toons.

    Above that Focus makes a great mitigation tool, right now bosses might be painful but if they are falling down the damage they do is greatly reduced. Shockwave works well in the same way but the knockback might be more detrimental to Fury and not be as worthwhile as it is for scrappers.
  10. JAXMAN

    Level 30 question

    POST-ACTION

    I think Maneuvers would be a better choice, it will cost less endurance than casting Grant Invs on all your pets every 2 minutes and it will also grant you some extra defense too. Plus it opens up Tactics which is nice for the lower level minions to be able to hit reliably.
  11. JAXMAN
    I find my Dark/Ice Defender to be very forgiving when playing on a team. The combo doesn't have any power that require a teammate to be targeted so it takes some of the craziness away right there. Others tend to make binds to target teammates so keypad 1 is always the team leader, so you don't have to mouse over and click on their name to buff them.

    But back to Dark/Ice, with Darkest Night a -To Hit toggle and Fearsome Stare a large - To hit plus a fear and a small amount of defense in Shadow Fall, you can make it very hard for most enemies to hit you. And you have a slow (Stacks with the slows from Ice) and - Res in Tar Patch, a heal (that also adds more -to Hit), a hold (that can stack with the holds from Ice), plus a pet that does a lot of what you do. Oh ya the rez can be used as a straight up stun. Once I got sued to the combo I found that often I didn't need all those tools at the same time, and I could focus more on attacking.
  12. JAXMAN
    Aid Self certainly reduces DPS, but that's true for Brutes or Widows; I don't a case where SR needs Aid Self more than a Widow, if either need it at all. SR deals with defense debuffs by having defense debuff resistance that is close to the cap, where most Widows I see (mine included) deal by having a large amount of defense over the cap. I tend to play my Widow a bit more methodically with Placate and Mask Presence, and the team +def is probably a nice asset, but so is the agro tools Brutes have.

    In the end I think the extra HP and regen that comes with it make the Brute slightly better, but not so much that it's noticeable. And on teams the different archetypes will play differently so it's a rather tough comparison.
  13. JAXMAN

    Claws/SR question

    POST-ACTION

    Besides using terrain (walls) to clump spawns together with shockwave, I tend to open with shockwave against the front of a spawn. With practice you can get fairly good at actually packing a spawn tighter, you can't hit the entire spawn to do that. Then you can run in and hit Spin and hit more targets.

    Until your defense is keepign you alive you may also use Shockwave more defensively, when they are laying on their backs or getting back up they aren't attacking. Using it as a mitigation tool is a fine use.

    Hitting Shockwave in the middle of a spawn that isn't immobilized will usually result in undesired effects, so as with anything, practice makes perfect.
  14. JAXMAN
    You might want to make sure to consider the times when Hasten is down. The -recharge in Granite will add to that downtime and then flow over to attacks.
  15. JAXMAN

    EA question

    POST-ACTION

    The set bonuses are tied together, the sets with 2.5 enr/neg def also grant 1.25 ranged def. I figured I couldn't raise my psi defense but I could work towards 45% on neg def, and as a result my ranged def is in the 30s. It's noticeable, not as great as i'd like but it's considerably better than it was with SOs alone.
  16. JAXMAN

    EA question

    POST-ACTION

    I found that raising my ranged defense along with my negative energy defense helps protect against some psi attacks. It's still an obvious weakness but a manageable one.
  17. JAXMAN

    Claws SR/Elec??

    POST-ACTION

    Claws/SR is simply easy mode with moderate IO usage and a beast with really good slotting. Claws/Ela I think is fairly decent earlier on with the heal, also with pools and IOs it can be a very sturdy combo. I wouldn't quite expect Claws/Ela to do all the things an SR can at the highest levels, but if you aren't attempting those types of things (Av soloing) either choice should be fine.
  18. JAXMAN
    For me having or not having AA on my Ice troller comes down to what I'm using the alt for and what powers add to that goal. I'm mostly single target/team buff/AV debuff right now. AA was great while I was leveling up, but now being in melee is isn't so much challenging as it is frustrating. Sooner or later I'll get more IOs for a second build and that'll have AA for sure.
  19. JAXMAN

    Claws/Fiery Aura

    POST-ACTION

    I tried getting a Brute to 50 using FA and failed. Claws goodness got me there with a scrapper, bu tI did make the combo mostly due to the fact that I've decided to level up a Claws/Everything scrapper. I'm working on Claws/Elec now and I miss the recharge of Healing Flames and I have Tough already. using set bonuses to push up my melee def so I hope that makes me feel a bit more sturdy than the FA felt.

    FA sort of took off for me when I had the knockback protection IOs and could drop Acro, plus Hasten was on a good recharge.
  20. JAXMAN

    Claws/Fiery Aura

    POST-ACTION

    The AoE potential of Claws/FA is great. Mine also takes tremendous amounts of joy with another damage buff. Plugging the Immob and knockback holes is annoying, plus without Tough you are a bit squishy. Healing Flames does help survivability, especially early on. Th reason I don't play mine more is that the secondary gets a bit click heavy to me.
  21. JAXMAN

    Mids Issues

    POST-ACTION

    You need to install the new version of Mids from scratch as it's being develpoed by different people now.

    http://cohtitan.com/
  22. JAXMAN
    I'd personally make a few modifications. Without changing out powers you can squeeze out some more recovery and keep your defenses above 45%. Multi Strikes are fairly cheap and provide a good amount of endurance reduction. I prefer to have an Achilles' Proc in Slash. My version has less recharge, but PB is still perma without Hasten.

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  23. JAXMAN
    In general Cold would probably be more preferred than Storm as a duo, but the shields and frostwork won't benefit an SR at the soft cap as much as the other tools Storm has. Though leveling up would be considerably easier with a Cold teammate.
  24. JAXMAN
    I agree WP is one of the best well rounded secondaries and being new to the game you won't start out with the super expensive builds that really make some of the other secondaries shine. I would also go with Claws over SS only because the AoE comes earlier and is more abundant, and WP will have the endurance management for it. That being said, there is something to the Rage Foot Stomp combo.
  25. JAXMAN
    Early on the shields would be a great help, but SR isn't hard to soft cap without buffs from another player, so if you are Storm already Id stick with that.