baron_inferno

I want this.



Or heck, I just want more sci-fi costume options so I can make this one.



Edit: Swapped out Hello Kitty Vader picture with a non-photoshopped version.

Crush - Let me show you what Tropicana oranges feel.
Gravity Distortion - Criss Angel isn't the only one that can make things float.
Propel - Flight of the Valkyrie! Err.. chair.. I mean.. car? Oh, screw it.
Wormhole - Um, I thought I was summoning a black hole?
Singularity - This little puppy can take you back to the 70's.

Heal Other - By the way, I charge one purple recipe per heal.
Resurrect - The debt you just accrued is nothing compared to the debt you owe me now.

Grant Invisibility - Sorry but I just can't stand looking at your ugly self any longer.
Invisibility - Ugh, bad hair day.

Teleport - Walking is sooooo yesterday.
Recall Friend - *mumbles* Lazy son of a... *mumbles*

Fireball - Flame broiled, I'm having it my way.
Rise of the Phoenix - Labor law says I can have a 15 min break but fine, I just add the balance to overtime.

Is it possible eliminate the special effect auras for certain travel pool powers? Specifically CJ and SJ. This little cosmetic issue has been bugging me for some time now. It's kind of irritating to have the auras you chose at the tailor for your characters to be partially overwritten by that white mist, especially since CJ is pretty much left on all the time. I mean, the darn mist even overrides some of the primary/secondary power pool auras. I never saw the point to have that aura anyways since I doubt anyone actually *needs* it to know that they have CJ/SJ on. Then there's also the trail of rings left behind as you're merrily jumping through the air. Combined with the awkward hunched jumping stance, it almost looks like my characters are launching sonic booms with their rectum. Kind of odd if you ask me.

Yes I know it's really not that big of a deal if not downright silly to request such a thing. Of course I also know that the developers have more pressing issues to work on at the moment. Still, one can dream about looking pretty (or prettier).

Cardiac for my widow. Like every other widow player, I went for high recharge to get ML perma. As a result of her attacks recharging so fast, she's a bit of an endurance hog. This is with some +rec/end proc IOs slotted. Cardiac definitely helped a lot on that front.

Big fan of Thugs/Traps myself. Double up on both the +pet resist and +pet defense IOs (use Gang War as mule if needed). Slot the Enforcer with some +Defense. Add Maneuvers and Force Field Generator on top, you got softcapped pets. Pick up Aid Others and toss out the occasional heal as needed. As for the MM itself, grab Combat Jumping and pick up Scorpion Shield from the Mace Mastery pool. You'll be softcapped against smashing/lethal and maybe even energy, the 3 most common damage types. This is not even including all of the fun debuffing your traps will do.

Eh, many people do things that can be interpreted as evil (minor or otherwise) on a consistant basis. Telling a lie, however benign. Writing off more than you should on tax returns. Running a stop sign. Staying quiet when a cashier gives you more change than they should. The examples are endless. This is why I find the whole "I can't be evil" ideology rather delusional. Such thinking only proves that some people have such high opinion of themselves that they can't face the reality. Now I'm not saying these people can't also do good but in reality, human nature is a mixed bag. In terms of good and evil, there are very few people (if any at all) that can actually succeed in adhering to only one particular side exclusively.

Anyways, I'm certainly not immune to doing certain things that can be interpreted as evil but at least I can admit it. I guess that's why I'm a villain player.

As others have mentioned, stamina is way over-slotted with 6. Instead try the following.

3 slot health with Numina's Heal, Numina's proc, and Mircale's proc.

4 slot Stamina with Performance Shifter's Endmod, Endmod/Acc, Endmod/Rec, and proc.

This is solve most of your end issues while giving you more regen, HPs, etc to boot. This is assuming you have the budget of course.

I would also suggest using DB as your primary. I'm more of a Brute and Dom player normally but I absolutely love my DB/WP/Soul stalker. IMO stalker have the best combo linking system out of the 4 ATs that have DB. There's nothing quite like starting a fight with Build up -> Assassin -> Ablating Strike = Sweep combo. By the time the mobs get up, you should be at least 2/3 of the way through your Weaken combo of Sweeping Strike -> Power Slice -> 1k Cuts. These two AOE combos will clean up most minions, some lieuts and even a boss if you used assasinate on it. With 42% S/L def (hide suppressed), capped 1606 hp, decent resists, good regen and reconstruction, I often find myself racing against the brutes of the group just to get at the spawns first. Against some tougher spawns or defense debuffing mobs, I just pop Shadow Meld and all is good once more. Of course there are still some encounters that I can't handle alone but still, not bad for a stalker.

Now if WP isn't your thing as secondary, Ninjitsu works just fine too.

As for Regen stalkers, I have one of those too. Personally, I don't think that's a very good secondary for stalkers which could be why you didn't like the experience. Even for someone who is fairly used to playing stalkers such as myself, sometimes it can be hard to stomach Regen and it's.... glaring deficiencies.

Of the 23 level 50's I have, the 18 on my main account will be getting the Alpha slot done at the minimum. The other 5 on my secondary account are cheapy builds so I won't bother. Of the 18, I'll probably only choose 11 (brutes, doms, VEATs) to get other incarnate slots for. I tend to play those characters more and not surprisingly, they also happen to be my most expensive builds so it's worth the time investment for me.

So I was looking for Going Rogue pre-order information on Google and all of the search results on the first and second page were for Sara "The Lunatic" Palin's book! My god, CoX is unwittingly giving free publicity to that whacko. Something must be done, I just don't know what or how :/

So far the overwhelming theme for the majority of my fellow brute players is definately on the side of offense. Maybe not necessarily reckless but rather impatience when it comes to getting a chance smash someone (anyone, even teammates if that were allowable) with a lot of pent up aggression tossed in. I like it.

Just for kicks, let's list all the brutes we have and list the reasons why you like/dislike the power combination you chose for them.

Disclosure: This is just for fun and perhaps could even help give other brute players ideas for
trying out whacky or unsual power combinations. So please no comments about "oh, that combination sucks", etc. I'll start.

Fire/DA: This was actually my first brute and to this day I still don't see that many people trying this combo. I'll admit that he was hard to play until I started using IO sets and started to figure out the quirks associated with DA. He is now pretty solid with excellent damage output (AoE and single target). Endurance can still be a problem for extended fights though, especially if you have to pop off several dark regens. Still, he is versatile enough for me to take him on any mission against any enemy.

ELM/ELA: My second brute. I was fascinated with AoE potential of Lightning Rod and it didn't disappoint though against single target it was a bit of a struggle. Survivability of ELA was a bit underwhelming though Energize did help improve that quite a bit. Still fun to dust him off for some booming LR action from time to time but that's about it.

SM/SA: I made this brute because thus far all of my brutes have been heavily leaning towards the offensive side of the fence. I wanted to try a tankish type brute and the result wasn't very impressive. While he is by far the most survivable of my brutes (except against psi), his offensive power was less than impressive. Maybe I was just used to AoE heavy brutes and SM didn't quite cut it in that department. Against single targets SM was more than capable but you hardly need the uber toughness SA provides when you're just fighting one target. My least favorite brute due to the poor power combinations.

SS/SR: I almost deleted this brute sveral times pre-level 32 (so-so survivability and no AoE potential at all other than Sands of Mu). However post-32 I fell in love with him. Foot Stomp and soft capped defense at level 41 made him a power house to the point that his debt badge progress bar stopped moving until I *had* to suicide him for the High Pain accolade. I thought the -def debuff from Rage Crash would be a concern but it isn't. It's just too easy to stack Rage with all that recharge. This guy is definately one of my favorites.

WM/SD: I just had to make this brute when their proliferated WM and introduced SD. Just the look alone would be worth it. I didn't go in with high expectations but this gal surpassed all of it by a mile. Of all the brute powers I've experienced, this gal feels the smashiest by far. All in all, great AoE capability, good survivability, the look, and of course the SMASH factor make her one of my favorites, if not the favorite.

Claws/Invul: This buzzsaw of a brute is a blast to play. Given that this combination isn't that end heavy, when she attacks, she attacks like the energizer bunny. Relentless. I just got her to 50 two weeks ago so the jury is still out on how she performs on TFs like LRSF, ITF or LGTF but damn, her hyperactiveness is just much too entertaining.

My next projects are DM/SD and DB/WP but until then, peace out.

I'll have to cast my vote for Claws/Invul. I just got my Claws/Invul to level 50 a few weeks ago, got she IOed out and she is a monster.