mauk2

You're very welcome.

The only important thing is to have fun. It's a game! Go play!

LOL, you're very welcome.

I just tossed that together to give you something to work off of, it's not perfect at all. That said, it should do fine in most incarnate stuff, as long as you stick to a crowd of baddies to maximize your defense, that build will hit Incarnate cap with six around it, which is not difficult to do on some trials, a lot harder on others. (Looking at the MoM for a very invuln-unfriendly run.)

Check Rangle's build, it's excellent. He robbed a few slots from attacks to thicken up defenses, which is perfectly viable on a tanker. I usually build for as much damage as I can squeeze, but that's not always the way people like to play.

Most of all, have fun!

Oh, I didn't know that. So early villain teams were weak? (I'm just pokin' fun, relax, man! )

I have seen people single pull the Patrons, yes. (Heck I saw one guy do it using superspeed and the aggro list. THAT was impressive.) But these days everybody just herds them up and crushes them. Even teams that should probably try a split pull.


But you can now. Unless you perma sleep them. Heh, THAT's challenging.

Maximizing their dps? Lotsa squishies get melee attacks and debuffs and stuff.

I've done hundreds of them, I generally do them with whoever shows up.

Yeah, the numbers will crush you eventually. Or they won't, and you're a demi-god. SR is streaky like that, I never could handle the gamble.

I've used the hover-tank trick, and it's not as easy as it sounds. When he resists the taunts, he gets a shot in with the channel gun and usually detoggles you. It's waaaay safer to just tank him with a pocket emp, or bring a stoner.

Heck, these days, on a strong team, we'll just ignore him, rotate a few barriers, and kill the towers while he's beating against the shields. Same thing we do on the RSF, unless somebody wants to do the sleep thing.

I say, are you trying to insult me? LOL.

Listen, I don't cherry pick teams. I play with whatever toons people want to play with. And I've done hundreds of STF's and dozens of RSF's, mostly on the same toon. And the STF is waaaay harder in my experience. Not because the RSF isn't difficult (it is) but because the AV's at the end don't use much in the way of cheater mechanics.

That's all, mang. It's a game, relax, have fun.

I've done both of these, several times, on the same toon.

On my inv/ax, i find that the RSF is much easier. Let's break it down:

End of RSF: One fight. States gets his fist pump thingy that I frankly don't even know what it does. Numina buffs the rest, so she dies first. Psyche does heavy psi damage, so I always call her next. The rest are just vanilla S/L/E/N, as far as I can tell. Synapse might have some end drain, as I recall, Manticore has a big lethal AOE that doesn't go off very often, not one of them has any special mechanic that I've ever noticed.

That's pretty much it, and they're only level 53.


End of STF: Three fights if you're fast.

First fight is 4 patrons, two of which get very nasty specials. Ghost Widow has the insta-gib spinny hold of doom, which can ice-pick any single toon it hits, and a BIG self-heal that works off a cone. Scirocco has the AOE pets and nuke from hell, which can team wipe your squishies before you can even turn around. Black Scorpion is a bag of hitpoints, and Mako is a fast bag of hitpoints, except he placates and is thus hard to keep pointed a safe direction. Given they're all 54, this by itself is at least as hard if not harder then the 8 hero's, just due to the cheater mechanics.

Second fight: 1 Giant monster and three spawns. Trivial, except that the darn monster respawns.

Third fight: 5 AV's, 4 special and one OMG. The Towers are passive buffing defenders, which have a potent self healing/rez mechanism that triggers at half health. The repairmen can and will rez multiple towers, too. While you're beating at least a couple of these, the massively buffed LR is hammering away at your back unless you off tank him. Then you have a hugely buffed 54 AV with cheater mechanics on top of his cheater mechanics. The channel gun is just evil, and as far as I know, he's the only critter in the game that can resist taunts.

So, we're looking at 8 pretty conventional level 53's in a big old furball, versus 8 level 54 av's with cheaters galore, a GM, and hordes of bad guys you can take in three bites.

Yeah....STF is waaaaay harder. Sorry.

It's a testament to how good we are at it that it seems simple these days.

Which is why I also advocate for a +100 percent to the Blaster damage cap, too. They need a 100 percents boost to have a prayer of competing against the buffer/debuffers out there.

Of course, the BIG problem is buff/debuff stacking, but the dev's all seem to run and hide when that's even mentioned....

StJ/Inv is much better on a brute. Dull Pain makes that much of a difference, and the higher resist caps make it overwhelming. Unstoppable on a tank/scrapper is less than useful.

I'm actually looking hard at one of these myself, if I ever get my current crop of projects anywhere close to being finished.

OMG, over seven years and STILL so much to do.....

Dude, it's flippin' Christmas. Give people time to look this over.

(looks)

...oh my.


Ok, this is pretty bad. Lemme tinker a bit:

Ok. This is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's got pretty high melee defenses. Ranged energy attacks will eat you alive, so get close fast and use corners.

Now, I only tinkered, this is YOUR BUILD, mostly. I ditched the epic, because the LAST thing an elec/fire needs is even more attacks. I got you a lot of melee defense, because I find that works best if you are aggressive. This guy will do a lot of AOE, single target, not so much. Endurance is gonna hurt you, even with three +end procs, so be ready on the consume button.

Oh, I picked up your accolades and incarnates, and set your fury to 70.

See what ya think:

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Havoc Punch -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 1: Fire Shield -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(5), Aegis-ResDam(5), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(11), S'fstPrt-ResKB(15)
Level 2: Jacobs Ladder -- Oblit-%Dam(A), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Oblit-Dmg(37), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(37), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45)
Level 4: Healing Flames -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(7), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(7), Numna-Heal(9), Numna-Heal/Rchg(9), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
Level 6: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 8: Thunder Strike -- Oblit-%Dam(A), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(13), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Oblit-Dmg(39), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(40), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 10: Boxing -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A)
Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 14: Blazing Aura -- M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(33), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(34), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(40), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(43)
Level 16: Plasma Shield -- Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(17), Aegis-ResDam(17)
Level 18: Chain Induction -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(21), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 20: Consume -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Oblit-%Dam(29), Oblit-Dmg(29), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(31), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(31), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42)
Level 22: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(23), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(23)
Level 24: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 26: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Zephyr-ResKB(40)
Level 28: Burn -- Oblit-%Dam(A), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Oblit-Dmg(33), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(48), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50)
Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(46), LkGmblr-Def(46)
Level 32: Lightning Rod -- Oblit-%Dam(A), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Dmg(36)
Level 35: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 38: Superior Conditioning -- P'Shift-End%(A)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-End%(A), RgnTis-Regen+(42)
Level 44: Rise of the Phoenix -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(45)
Level 47: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(48), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(48)
Level 49: Temperature Protection -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(50), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(50)
Level 0: Born In Battle
Level 0: High Pain Threshold
Level 0: Invader
Level 0: Marshal
Level 50: Spiritual Core Paragon
Level 50: Void Radial Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
------------
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(25)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(27), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(27)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run

...sigh.

Ultimus. Stop for a second.

WHY did brutes have their fury generation capped at 80-ish, while Tanks got Bruising and a boost to hit points?

Because Brutes were WAY TOO GOOD. Under buffs, they did more damage than scrappers and were just as tough as tankers.

Despite the various opinions on the boards, the Dev's apparently saw this situation as well as most of us here.

Many people STILL feel that Brutes are too good. I do not: Instead I think the other melee AT's need a boost.


However, I really, strongly doubt the Dev's are going to cap brute damage to address a balance issue, and then uncap it a few months later, unless the other melee At's also get some pretty serious boosts in the meantime.

Synapse is currently looking at Tankers. On top of whatever boosts that AT gets, I think Scrappers should have their damage caps raised by a hundred percent, along with Stalkers. (On top of the other Stalker changes.) If all those changes go in, then I think there would be design space for brutes to go back to the way they were.

If not, then Brutes are going to have the advantage of one really inexpensive ATIO when they're shopping for set bonuses.

This is one way this change would boost tanker performance: Damage yields more aggro.

In addition, allowing more tanker powers to slot damage sets will allow more flexibility in slotting options, which will make tankers more appealing.

Making Taunt a damage power, and then bringing it in-line with all the other damage powers for target caps, gives tankers a useful ranged AOE, unique among the melee AT's.

Even better, a low-damage taunt allows incarnate powers to be leveraged atop it: It can be used as a damage or debuff vehicle, which again raises a Tanker's aggro.

It would be a very, VERY nice change.

The other no-damage powers are generally just garbage filler cluttering up tanker's attack sets. When was the last time you saw somebody singing the praises of Lightning Clap, or Touch of Fear?

Make them actual attacks. Keep the damage low-ish if you must, but at least give tanks the option.

Fixed!





I kid!

I've tanked this several times on my inv/ax tanker.

Your only threat on a inv/ax is psyche: When I'm clumping them up I either hit my rikti accolade or eat a couple purples, and be sure to call numina, then psyche. If I take a shot I'll fast eat a green after it, but capped hp's counts for a lot in this.

Against the other six I'm at 60+ defense and rarely have to worry. My biggest issue on a strong team is keeping enough taunts to stop the fast guy from runnin' all over the damn zone.

Have a tray, eat it, get the team to drop numina then psyche as fast as possible. Simple.

Uh, the brute ATIO is damn fine, poor proc or not. The recharge bonus is SWEET, and much better than what tankers get. I'd just about call the differences a wash.


LOL!!!

OLD school forum whining.

Unstoppable is completely useless on tanks and scraps, and is marginal on a brute.

If I have space, I take it on a brute, otherwise, not.

When did this change? I have ion on one of my favorite toons, and yes, it's awesome, but I've seen it fizzle more than I like to admit.

Oh yes, very much so.

I'd go spiritual, all the way. The recharge gets spin up, so you become even more animation limited than recharge limited. The boost to heal helps energize, so you get more healing over time. Claw/elec has no end troubles, and as a high-damage build, is entirely viable as a 'my defense is your defeat' build.

A claw/elec with spiritual has roughly 52 percent 'global' recharge before you even start with sets or hasten. It is teh nice.

I have a cold/sonic that is looking forward to having cryonic.

First, because it actually does damage.
Second, because after the Ice Storm at long range crunches their resistance, it does a LOT of damage.

Cryonic is best at long range, by a wide margin, just like all the cones.

I also really like my Judgements to be thematically appropriate.

Blackwell makes 'em.

Shield is better on a scrapper, only because shield charge is a pseudo-pet and gains from a scrappers higher base. AAO is also slightly better for the same reason.

Electric melee is better on a scrapper, for exactly the same reason.

Electric/shield is the scrappers bastion against brootness. There's nothing quite like the massive pulse-nukes of an elec/shield.

Fire melee is better on a brute due to fury boosting the dots. Same for dark, although not quite as much. Weapon sets are less good on a brute because gloom is just THAT GODLIKE on a brute. (Dots get boosted.) They can still work well, but the redraw may be an issue.

Armor sets: Anything with a damage aura is better on a brute. Anything with regen or +hitpoints is better on a brute. Anything that can cap a resist category is WAAAAY better on a Brute, especially things like Invuln and Fire.

Claws is better on a brute. Holy cow, is it ever.

I have three brutes currently in the projects list:

SS/electric/body
claws/invuln/body
fire/wp/soul

All three of those combos are a LOT better on a brute. The fire/wp/soul might have the largest performance envelope of any toon that isn't an EAT.

elec/shield and elec/elec is better on a scrapper for damage, although the elec/elec lacks a taunt aura on a scrapper.

I swear to god, reading comprehension these days.

"GEOMETRY HOLE"

"UNDER THE MAP"

Good luck findin' those dudes.

I personally have no plans for this. Mainly because fallin' out of the world creeps me out, lol.

Why are you encouraging that dink?

Just ignore him for a few years, that's my plan.

Yeah, your posting style is the epitome of maturity.

How about you stop thread-crapping already? This discussion is about done, I got seven mules in a farm right now.

Call me Mister Enthusiastic Convert!

And Bill gets it in one go! (Well, except the geo hole, I'm not smert enough to figure one of those out.)

And yes, it's literally that easy.

But hey, it's also apparently COMPLETELY condoned by the Dev's as a legitimate playstyle, so, sign me up for the gravy train.