SpittingTrashcan

Whether Energize's heal, recharge, and regeneration values will be enhanceable, and to what degree.

Of course, the devs may have no firm answer to these questions yet.

Bless them all: the MRPers, the Mary Sues, the bad spellers, the fools who know not what they do...

For without their $15/month, there would be no game for us to play.

ramen

I would say, looking at that build, that you've overslotted your attacks, and with the wrong goals in mind, while underslotting your defenses - and you're missing a key Invuln power.

Here's what I'd do, in general terms:
- Do not slot for damage or recharge. With Shadow Punch and Boxing you already have almost a complete attack chain, and that means you can build Fury quickly. Slot two damage and two endurance reduction in each attack.
- Slot your protective powers, prioritizing those which give the most benefit. Put three more slots in Unyielding - it's all your exotic resistances.
- Slot Dull Pain for 3 recharge, because the +HP effect is your only effective resistance to Psi and you want that available as much as possible. As early as you can, put a fourth slot in it and slot four Heal/Rech IOs.
- Pick up Invincibility at 28. It's a critical power for Invuln, greatly increasing your survivability against non-S/L damage. Contrary to persistent rumors, defense does not inhibit Fury gain - missed attacks against you still give Fury.
- Dark Consumption is not autohit and has no accuracy bonus - it needs as much accuracy enhancement as your other attacks. When you have the slots, add 3 recharge. But you may not need it at all if you enhance your attacks for more end reduction.
- Soul Drain is also not autohit, but it does have an accuracy bonus, so one acc SO should be enough. When you have the slots (after you have fully enhanced your protective powers and all your attacks have 4 slots), add 3 recharge. Herd up some enemies using the taunt aura from Invincibility, using the stacking +def to increase your safety, hit Soul Drain, and wreck them.
- Hurdle makes a better complement to Combat Jumping than Swift: you get a massive bonus to jumping speed, plus excellent air control. Don't bother slotting endredux in Combat Jumping as its end cost is tiny; don't bother slotting endredux in SJ as you will never, ever run it in combat.

As for your tohit issues, Nerva Spectral Demon Lords have an aura called Chill of the Night which applies a hefty -tohit debuff, and PPD Ghosts' Flashbang Grenade has a whopping -45% debuff to tohit and defense. Against the SDLs, don't stay in melee range - use Combat Jumping to leap away, wait for the debuff to wear off (about 5 seconds), then jump in and quickly hit them before the debuff reapplies. Against PPD, the only remedy is to either wait it out or eat a yellow. Invincibility will help with both, as in addition to its +defense it also offers +tohit for each enemy in melee range. And of course, if you are having trouble on a high difficulty level, lower your difficulty level! It's more efficient to handily beat enemies for lower rewards than to struggle and die against more potentially rewarding enemies.

Brutes start with 75% of Tanker strength in their protection powers, and about 5/6 of Tanker HP, so for most of the game the Tanker leads the Brute in survivability. However, they have the same caps on protection and HP, so with outside buffs and set bonuses they can reach equality. The Brute will lead the Tanker on damage, as Fury can easily grant 100% to 150% bonus damage and the Brute damage bonus cap is an astounding 750% compared to the Tanker's 300%.

As to the role of tanking, it's simply not as important in this game as it is in others. Both Brutes and Tankers have the ability to gather aggro on most foes just by attacking; the Tanker can survive more of the resulting punishment, while the Brute will play a larger role in wiping the enemies out with damage. City of Heroes/Villains doesn't have "end game content" as such. Brutes and Tankers are both generally able to do what tanking is necessary in the high level Task/Strike Forces when properly supported, though the Tanker has a good deal more leeway in this regard. But the real lucrative activity (aside from market gaming) is solo farming - taking on, and taking out, as many enemies as possible as fast as possible to maximize reward drop chances. And in this activity, Brutes - with good survivability and excellent AoE damage potential - excel, though a high-damage Tanker can also do well (and certain Controller builds are famous for farming capability).

Short version: If you want to be the toughest there is, and support a team with aggro management and positioning, but don't care as much about personal damage output, go Tanker. If you want to be pretty tough and a relentless attacker, go Brute. I have both, and I like both, but they aren't interchangeable and shouldn't be thought of as such.

This has been an interesting discussion to watch; I'd say you both have half the truth and are busy beating each other over the head with them.

The early design for Dominators seemed to go in for having several quick-recharging attacks in the Assault sets so that Domination could be built quickly. However, due to the linking of damage, recharge, and endurance cost, this meant that each individual attack had low damage and so Dominators had a low overall DPA. Also, with so many quick recharging attacks, combined with the active powers in the primary and the singular viability of permadom requiring loads of global recharge, attack chains were quickly saturated with more powers available than could be activated.

Electric Assault was the first set to be built with relatively slow-recharging, high-damage powers, using the Elec Manip values for dam/end/rech on its melee powers. That combined with Build Up created a set with strikingly high burst damage and DPA. Some complained about the gaps in the early attack chain, but as the characters matured the difference the design made to damage output became obvious.

The Dominator revamp, in addition to shifting damage out of Domination and into the base AT mod, seems to have reconsidered the design of the other assault sets with the success of Elec in mind. Many powers were slowed down and beefed up, increasing the DPA of a saturated attack chain, but also commensurately increasing endurance consumption and introducing gaps into early attack chains. This is a buff to overall AT performance: the maximum sustained damage output of a mid-to-high level Dominator has definitely gone up (with endurance consumption increasing to a like degree).

But Elec Assault was changed in a reverse direction - the melee attacks in particular were sped up and their damage was decreased. I'm honestly not sure why this was done, but it's definitely a nerf to Elec performance in the mid to high levels. It's still a solid set with good ST damage and stronger AoE than Energy, though.

And that's how I see it.

(Incidentally, looking at average power recharge times across a set is silly. The metric that matters to low-level characters is how easy it is to saturate an attack chain, which is a function of low-level power recharge times; for high level characters, best DPA on a saturated chain is the key performance indicator. This is why some people recommend taking more attacks before SOs, when the best way to increase DPS is to saturate the attack chain; then spec into the attacks you want to keep and make up the difference with enhancements.)

Without going point by point, I will say that Elec/SD can look very impressive on a kitted-out L50 when compared to a low-level anything - but WM/WP will probably be easier to level, as WP provides excellent survivability and endurance mitigation with just SOs. SD trades off survivability and convenience for extra damage, at least until its positional defense can be buttressed by IO set bonuses.

As for the primaries, Elec has one spectacular PBAoE on a quite long recharge, two other decent AoE attacks (one of which is quite finicky in its mechanics), and some fairly mundane ST attacks; WM has three strong ST attacks, two strong cones, and a decent PBAoE. WM is late-maturing, but ends up with a good balance of ST and AoE.

That said, if you're just more fired up by Elec/SD, go ahead and roll one. Just be aware that peak performance and leveling performance can be very different.

DM has had some changes since you left, I suspect. Siphon Life and Midnight Grasp are now powerful attacks, and Soul Drain has its damage buff frontloaded to where a single target provides 60% +Dam. Don't bother putting a fourth slot in Stamina unless you plan to slot an IO set, as a fourth SO will add very little to your end recovery. Instead, consider respeccing into more attacks if you're used to hammering away with Shadow Punch and Smite, and slot your attacks with less recharge and more end reducers. This will let you keep up a full attack chain with good Fury generation while consuming less end.

If you were to provide a full build, more specific advice could be offered. It'd also help to know what you're missing against, and what your hit chances are. There's a real-numbers tracker built into the game now - if you open your Powers window and select Combat Attributes, you'll be able to see and monitor a number of useful stats including recovery, endurance consumption, and last hit chance. Monitor your last hit chance as you fight, and note when it dips below 95%.

And then, once Energy Blast is changed to KD throughout, anyone who slots for KB because they like the feel of the current set will be summarily kicked from any team they join for wasting a slot on an effect nobody likes.*

Also, SS and Elec Melee and Peacebringers would like to have a word regarding their PBAOE KB powers.

I'm just saying.

* Dual builds do, of course, provide a remedy. If you want to make a whole other build just for knockback.

http://www.redtomax.com/data/powers/...e_Melee.Tremor

0.67 mag KB is KD. And I've played a /Stone for quite a while - I would have definitely noticed if Tremor was doing KB. If Tremor is doing KB for you, then one of the following must be true: the enemies you are fighting are below your level; they're vulnerable to KB (as, for instance, Clockwork); you have Tremor slotted for KB; you have a set that gives a bonus to KB. By itself, against even cons, Tremor does KD.

That said, if it were a set bonus, then Fault would also be doing KB:

http://www.redtomax.com/data/powers/...ne_Melee.Fault

because it has the same mag 0.67 KB, and anything that would push Tremor up to knockback would do the same to Fault.

I don't remember Tremor doing knockback, only knockdown. Do any of your sets have a +KB bonus?

Siren's Song is a 35.76 second sleep, unenhanced, on a Blaster. It's perma out of the box. However, it does minor damage on hit, so it does aggro, and reapplying it will wake up enemies for a moment before they're re-slept, allowing them to get a salvo off. It's not a Controller/Dominator power, but I thought it was worth bringing up as a long duration area sleep power.

For Dim Shift, the drawback of the 15 second phase at the beginning would make a total of 40 seconds of sleep, enhanced, not seem terribly unreasonable. Sure, you could use it to solo spawns safely... one... enemy... at... a time...

TBH, I'm sympathetic to the idea that mass phase just sucks, end of line - but I'm trying to play inside the rules as best we can guess them.

I just thought I'd make a tangential, anecdotal observation based on reading the AT forums:

- All three of the Holy Trinity ATs (Blasters, Defenders, Tankers) consider themselves to be underperforming.
- Each one thinks the other two are better off.
- Each one thinks the other two get more dev love.
- None of them ever mention that a trinity team is easy mode for 100% of the game's content.
From level 1 to 50.
From TOs to purples.
For newbies and veterans alike.
Because when they are actually able to leverage their specialization, they are fricking ubar.

I16 has the biggest buff to Blasters, Defenders, and Tankers that the game has ever seen, and it's called Super SK. The only possible bigger buff would be a server merge and an auto-LFT flag that automatically teams your trinity AT character with the next two complementary AT characters to become available.

(And by the way, every trinity AT can also solo, albeit at reduced efficiency and/or greater risk. Which is more than you can say for some other games.)

Tangent over. Carry on!

Stone/Dark is a great build for the terminally lazy. Attack chain? What attack chain? Just put Fault on auto, wander in with OG, CoF, and Death Shroud running and wait for everything to keel over.

As for the OP, I'd go with everyone else in suggesting frankenslotting your attacks for lots of endredux. Let Rage take care of tohit; let AAO and Fury take care of damage. And I agree that Force Feedback +Rech in Foot Stomp is a party in a can, but it's not something to get all bothered over.

I'm inclined to suggest some kind of Kinetics corruptor. You benefit from their recharge, end recovery, and damage buffs; they benefit from being able to blast away with impunity at mezzed enemies, and add extra AoE damage to the repertoire for maximum spawn-melting goodness.

But I'm no expert.

I don't know if you're looking for advice, but I have a few points you might want to consider.

Crushing Impact: I love this set, but as you can see from my build, I'd rather have the Dam/Rech than the Acc/Dam. Between the set +acc bonuses and the tohit buff from Rage, I find I don't need the extra accuracy, and the extra recharge really tightens up my ST attack chain.

Boxing: Is a perfectly decent attack. I had it as my fourth ST attack until my most recent respec, at which time I decided that since I was going to use Flight anyway, I may as well pick up Air Sup for the superior utility. It has fair DPA and a nice tight cast cycle - it's a pity you can't push it into your build earlier, as it really helps Fury building in the low levels.

Lightning Reflexes: The buff it gives to flightspeed is quite puny. Unless you plan to spend all your time Hovering, a Runspeed IO might be more useful. And speaking of which:

Grounded: If you do plan to hover in combat, you might want a -KB IO in this. As Kioshi noted, Grounded doesn't grant KB protection if you're too far away from the ground. Be aware that Foot Stomp won't work if you're in midair either.

School of Sharks, Arctic Breath, Bile Spray: A nasty three-hit cone combo, but be aware that none of these are particularly fast-animating. All together that's almost ten seconds of rooting - and during that time, if you're lining up the cones for maximum effect, most of your enemies will be immobilized outside your Lightning Field/Foot Stomp/Power Sink radius. Finally, be aware that like Foot Stomp, School of Sharks won't fire if you're not near the ground, and won't hit airborne enemies.

Stamina: Consider slotting the Performance Shifter +End proc instead of the Endmod/Acc. Over time, the proc averages to a greater endurance gain than the last few percentage points of enhancement in Stamina. Not that it should be a big deal anyway, as you have Power Sink.

Of course, the most important rule is: if you're enjoying it, it's not wrong.

The patron AoEs are pretty good. I went with Ball Lightning for three reasons:

1. It does a little extra end drain and recovery debuff, which helps drain out enemies faster.
2. It's a targeted AoE, so after I surround myself with enemies for Foot Stomp/Power Sink/Lightning Field, I can toss Ball Lightning into the nearest enemy and get a second pseudo-PBAoE instead of having to reposition for a cone.
3. It has a really fast cast time, especially compared to Bile Spray and Frost Breath (which both use the nearly-three-second vomit animation, IIRC - if you've seen Vahz vomit or Fire Breath, it's that animation).

That said, School of Sharks, Bile Spray, and Frost Breath are a pretty nasty cone combo, and Sharks does in fact throw wiggly fishes. I have Sharks and Spray on my Crab Spider, mainly because Venom Grenade applies a -40% toxic res debuff and Bile Spray is pure toxic damage.

As for the Energize change:
1. I believe that Brutes and Stalkers will be getting Energize.
2. I believe they will not be getting it at 20, as the devs really really hate power reordering on existing sets (if I understand correctly, because it requires a lot of work on the backend).
3. I won't be dropping Aid Self, because it's a ridiculously good heal. I might reslot it with just five pieces of Doctored Wounds and no interrupt reducers, if it turns out I no longer need it as a combat heal.

And this is her build. Apologies in advance for lack of Mids - I lack a computer that can run it (unless it runs under Linux now).

01 => Charged Armor
Titanium Coating Res
Titanium Coating Res/End
Titanium Coating Res/End/Rech
Aegis Res/End

01 => Punch
Crushing Impact Acc/Dam/End
Crushing Impact Dam/End/Rech
Crushing Impact Acc/Dam/Rech
Crushing Impact Dam/End
Crushing Impact Dam/Rech

02 => Haymaker
Crushing Impact Acc/Dam/End
Crushing Impact Dam/End/Rech
Crushing Impact Acc/Dam/Rech
Crushing Impact Dam/End
Crushing Impact Dam/Rech

04 => Conductive Shield
Titanium Coating Res
Titanium Coating Res/End
Titanium Coating Res/End/Rech
Aegis Res/End

06 => Air Superiority
Crushing Impact Acc/Dam/End
Crushing Impact Dam/End/Rech
Crushing Impact Acc/Dam/Rech
Crushing Impact Dam/End
Crushing Impact Dam/Rech

08 => Knockout Blow
Crushing Impact Acc/Dam/End
Crushing Impact Dam/End/Rech
Crushing Impact Acc/Dam/Rech
Crushing Impact Dam/End
Crushing Impact Dam/Rech

10 => Static Shield
Titanium Coating Res
Titanium Coating Res/End
Titanium Coating Res/End/Rech
Aegis Res/End

12 => Hasten
IO Rech
IO Rech
IO Rech

14 => Fly
IO Flyspeed

16 => Grounded
Aegis Psi/Mez

18 => Rage
Gaussian's Synchronized Fire Control Tohit/Rech
Gaussian's Synchronized Fire Control Tohit/End/Rech
Adjusted Targeting Tohit/Rech
Adjusted Targeting Tohit/End/Rech

20 => Lightning Reflexes
IO Runspeed

22 => Lightning Field
Efficacy Adaptor Endmod
Efficacy Adaptor Endmod/End
Efficacy Adaptor Endmod/Acc
Scirocco's Dervish Acc/Dam/End
Scirocco's Dervish Dam/End
Multi-Strike Dam/End

24 => Aid Other
IO Heal

26 => Aid Self
IO Interrupt
IO Interrupt
Doctored Wounds Heal/End/Rech
Numina's Convalescence Heal/End/Rech
Miracle Heal/End/Rech
Harmonized Healing Heal/End/Rech

28 => Conserve Power
IO Rech
IO Rech
IO End
IO End

30 => Kick
IO Acc

32 => Foot Stomp
Multi-Strike Acc/Dam/End
Multi-Strike Dam/End/Rech
Obliteration Acc/Dam/Rech
Fury of the Gladiator Dam/End/Rech
Multi-Strike Dam/End
Force Feedback Proc +Rech

35 => Power Sink
Efficacy Adaptor Endmod/End
Efficacy Adaptor Endmod/Rech
Efficacy Adaptor Endmod/Rech/Acc
Performance Shifter Endmod/Rech
Performance Shifter Endmod/Rech/Acc
Performance Shifter Rech/Acc

38 => Tough
Titanium Coating Res
Titanium Coating Res/End
Titanium Coating Res/End/Rech
Aegis Res/End

41 => Power Surge
Titanium Coating Res/Rech
Aegis Res/Rech
Impervium Armor Res/Rech
Reactive Armor Res/Rech

44 => Electrifying Fences
Trap of the Hunter Acc/Rech
Trap of the Hunter Acc/Immob/Rech
Trap of the Hunter Acc/End
Trap of the Hunter Acc/Immob

47 => Ball Lightning
Positron's Blast Acc/Dam/End
Positron's Blast Acc/Dam
Positron's Blast Dam/End
Positron's Blast Dam/Rech
Positron's Blast Proc Energy Damage
Energy Manipulator Proc Disorient

49 => Super Speed
IO Runspeed

01 => Sprint
IO Runspeed

01 => Brawl
IO Acc

02 => Rest
IO Rech

Now, to reiterate: I like my brute, and I like this build. I like the high offensive power, the high recharge speed, the mitigation via endurance drain, and yes, I like the lack of Fitness - I enjoy active endurance management via maximizing Power Sink and judiciously applying Conserve Power. That said, I expect we have a freespec coming with I16, and I was wondering if there are any low-hanging fruit in terms of set bonuses or optimizations that could be applied without diminishing any of the above. (Short of a liberal salting of purples and HOs, of course - I'm not made of money, nor do I wish to do the things that would make me so.)

But mostly, I'm just pleased as punch about this build and looking to share my happiness with the world.

It's hard to see how this:

I would argue that Defenders' superior multipliers applied to support powers would present a strong argument for their being the original intended superior support AT. It's easy to see in hindsight how things actually shook out, but then we have the benefit of hindsight that the original developers most definitely did not. How long did it take, after all, for people to realize just how important DPA is?

DPE normalization is something I could most definitely get behind. It'd have to take into account more than just the straight AT damage mod, though, or ATs with an inherent that increases damage (I am looking particularly at Brutes, Controllers, and Masterminds!) would get a wholly unwarranted buff.