magikwand

I have a SS/SD. I love playing that character, as he is pure carnage. However, I would think about rolling a SD/SS over him for a few reasons. As far as tanks go, this option would be amongst the hardest hitting. Thanks to rage and AAo working in concert, damage buffs won't be lacking. I won't say you will be doing more damage than the brute version of the combo, but you will certainly be on the high end of tanker damage. For some people, that might be enough.

Another reason to think about the tanker version is the difference in HP. Sure, softcap is softcap for defense, but if attacks start slipping through, the brute will be in trouble faster than the tank due to the sheer amount of HP tanks now have. No matter how you stack it, the tank will be sturdier.

And of course, softcapping a /sd shield brute or scrapper will be tougher than capping a sd/ tank. I would venture to say it is even easy on a tank. If you don't want to spend quite as much cash, the tank is easier and cheaper to get to the cap.

With that said, very few meleers will hit as hard as a ss/sd fully juiced in Fury, saturated with AAo, and filled with Rage. So the choice here is similar to most brute vs tank conversations: do you want to be sturdy or do you want to rampage and kill things? The only difference is that both of these combos are in the upper echelon of damage dealing for their ATs.

I rolled a fire tank before I rolled my brute as well, but I ended up going back and deleting the tank after I got into the brute. Fiery Aura is plenty survivable as a tank, but I still think /fa is better on a brute for some odd reason.

It probably has a lot to do with what you mentioned in your post- for my playstyle, brutes and scrappers benefit more from secondaries geared toward increasing damage output than do tanks.

My fm/fa was the first villain I truly enjoyed leveling to 50. Sure, there were plenty of rough spots along the way. There were an equal number of defeats. RotP got plenty of usage along the way. But I am still pleasantly surprised whenever I play her and remember how much carnage she can unleash on anything she comes up against. Sure, there are more survivable options, but for me- the thrill of playing on the edge of victory and defeat is addictive.

Winterminal- you have just convinced me to roll an ice/ice/cold blaster. It sounds like an amazing experience.

My idea for fireworks inspired/Jubilee type character would be a fire/ blaster with somewhat randomly recolored primary powers to give different color effects.

Perhaps you should check your overall slotting- as an earlier poster indicated, /WP brutes with Quick Recovery and stamina should not really have endurance issues. Even when you pair it with SS, it shouldn't. Make sure you have either enough global recharge or enough recharge in Rage itself to make it perma. It isn't really hard.

If you are having issues with just forgetting to click the power before it recharges, maybe you should put it on auto. At least with that, you won't have to worry about not refreshing it.

Also- think about the options out there for reducing endurance usage and boosting recovery. Energy mastery is open with a couple of useful powers. Also, maybe going for the Incarnate branch that grants -endurance cost to powers. On my ss/sd, I find this to be pretty much invaluable and notable.

What happened.... to your secondary? Yikes.

And if you are going this route, why even bother with swap ammo?

It is so weird seeing kinetics (which is one of the most offensive oriented primaries) in such a strange build like the one you have posted.

50? Yes. Effective in end game? Not exactly.

I haven't gotten my SS/SD unlocked yet, but I will probably be heading for the -end reduction branch. Even though he got tremendous relief from being given access to Energy Mastery, I think another small boost to that attribute would be great.

Like others have said before me- I think the + dam branch would be a waste. With Rage, Against all Odds, and Fury fueling you, Damage should be the least of your concerns. Recharge provides an interesting option, but if you don't have endurance problems curbed completely, this will only serve to exacerbate the issue. The +acc is interesting, but I think it might be somewhat redundant with Rage already on board boosting +to hit.

Personally, I would consider focusing on Endurance Conservation or Recharge on a ss/sd that is already capped with a somewhat optimal build.

One of the worst ideas ever. The game isn't that hard. If you want a 50 in a new powerset, roll a new toon and get started. Even without powerleveling or farming, the ride to 50 can be much shorter than you might think. Allowing players to change powersets would be an awful way to ruin the game.


This will never happen. The devs work in the interest of keeping people subscribed to the game as long as possible. If they were to allow such a shortcut to allow you to experience playing as a level 50 with any powerset you want instantly, many people would get bored and move away from the game in a shorter time than if they would playing regularly.

It sounds lazy and shortsighted.

I have an elec/nin stalker that made it to 50. Aside from the paltry HP, I love playing him. I agree with what others have said; if you can make it as a scrapper, it will generally be better off. Since ninjitsu is something you can't make as a scrapper, and it offers more tools than /SR on a stalker does, I find it to be awesome. My build was somewhat tight, but thanks to inherent fitness, I can now go back and fit in some powers I couldn't before.

Yes- I would love to get rid of those stupid glowing Hasten Hands as much as anyone else.

I like chatty teammates. Often times, those are the people I normally become global friends with after a few missions. IF I am not having fun, why play?

Oh, if I could get a chatty teammate who happens to be a Cold Domination expert with veng for when a teammate falls, I would be very happy.

...
/leaves the thread. You should look up the definition of opinion. (For the last time- nothing is wrong with asking for opinions!)

Your last post is as unclear as it is wordy.

Easy- make a mind/psi dominator. Ranged? Check. Melee? Check. Control? Check. Soloability? Check. Killer gameplay? Check.

This would have everything you are looking for and give it to you in all kinds of fun ways you never thought possible.

In one of your above posts, OP, you mention taking all secondary powers. I am here to dissuade you from taking your final power in your secondary. Elude is virtually worthless on a fully capped /SR toon. Sure, the +end component is a little nice, but the crash that comes with it is not so hot. If your defenses are already capped, this power really doesn't do much for you.

I could be wrong, but I think the timer is 5 minutes between Incarnate boost switches.

I was a little hesitant about Incarnate stuff until I understood how it worked in game. I can honestly say it is extremely well thought out, balanced, and NOT overpowered. To be perfectly honest- with all of the hoopla, I expected more of my character when I gave her the first Spiritual Boost.

I think the Incarnate content is the best way to advance our end level content without totally destroying everything that has existed before. I am glad there is no level raise. I am also glad that becoming an Incarnate costs nothing besides time. So there should be no complaints of people saying that they are being held back from becoming an Incarnate because they don't have the cash. Get off your bum, do the content, grab a SF or three, and become an Incarnate.

To the OP- you really have to try the new content before you say that Incarnates are OP. I was on a good team with strong buffs, damage and balance, and we were ground into paste several times before completion. I am glad that there is new content that is actually challenging. Some things had become stale, but i19 has really brought another dimension to gameplay.

Man- I would love to see such a toon in action. You should probably name him "Kick-Me", because after getting on a PuG for about 3 mins, you would probably find yourself teamless. Haha. Sounds like chaos and fun.

I had it in a previous version of my ss/sd, but I don't have it any more. I don't find it to be terribly useful once you get fully IOd. The additional damage res is nice, but it is nothing a handful of oranges won't fix. I might grab it when i19 hits, but I can think of several other powers I would rather have at the moment in place of this one.

Oh, and I believe this power is completely unaffected by recharge enhancements, direct or global. It is the same way with Willpower's Strength of Will. It's the price you pay for a t9 that doesn't have too much of a crash.