_Castle_ already posted that they will not be fixing the exp drop caused by Chain Induction. It is a known issue, but it will not be fixed, soon or otherwise, as his post indicated.
Thanks, I missed that post. I can't edit it in now, but it will be noted for v1.2 and thanks for the heads up!
Other note, LR's true numbers are being tested. The Prima info appears to be (pretty dern) wrong on this, and the suspected numbers have proven accurate through testing. Once testing is done on a distribution percentage and such, that info will be posted here (and included in a later version).
Since you posted the link to this, I should note that the info on grounded is slightly inaccurate. Grounded's protection is not wonky on ground anymore and I believe this was changed at the same time that as the patch that made grounded scale. I'm fine on hills, slopes, caves, whatever. As long as the slope isn't so steep that I slide down it I'm fine (but it makes sense as you aren't exactly grounded if you can't hold your footing). I can't even remember the last time I was legitimately knocked back in pve (not counting times I was jumping and a stray bullet hit me).
Also, on the nature of powersink, it doesn't really reduce your fury. Enemies need so little endurance to attack with at least a brawl level attack that a power sink by itself isn't going to stop enemies from attacking at all. In conjunction with lightning field, maybe, but it's never really been an issue as I almost never get the whole mob with powersink anyways due to the small radius, and it's not like I use powersink every spawn either. There's really no good reason not to take powersink as brutes need as much endurance as they can get. Anything they might lose fury wise by draining, they easily make up for by not needing to rest. Ever.
I seem to recall picking up Jacob's Ladder at level 2.
(*looks over post*) ^_^; thingy says level 4, doesn't it? Definitely will be fixed in 1.2!
great post.
Question, does Lightning Field give you the chance of gaining end like most of the melee attacks? If so, what's the chance?
NM, I found the answer. The answer was No. 
Nice guide. Very helpful to me in developing my now lvl 34 Elec/elec.
One Important (IMO) point: This build is slot-intensive. Unlike most brutes and scrappers, this build has 4 shields that all provide substantial value (not including the 38 uber-shield) as well as lots of helpful powers like lightning reflexes (LR) and conserve power. Could you skip stamina? You could but I think it's a weaker build without it. Hasten is also very tempting, with this build and Tough is also very helpful if you use Lightning Field regularly, meaning 2 more powers sucked up.
The good news with this build is a travel power is easier to avoid than with just about any other, saving you a power (or possibly 2 if you're not a hasten/SS person). Getting Swift, coupled with LR, sprint, and picking up as many of the temp-power travel powers as you can and using them sparingly once you have LR (which BTW, speeds up the temp powers) does a pretty good job of geting you around. I slotted sprint once to add a little zip and find I get to destinations only a little slower than an SSer (unless its a really long way). Also, since your status protection is linked with being on the ground, a ground-based travel plan is a good one. You even have a teleporting attack that can be used to get over obstacles.
Is this the end all be all? Duh! Of course not. However, its an option that works better with this build than basically any other so I thought was worth mentioning.
I have played an Elec/Elec brute along with up to 4 others (some hybrids) in the same team, and I've noticed a real tendency for people to run out of endurance at low levels.... and I did not. So I have this advice:
1. At low levels, slot for accuracy first. Missed attacks mean more attacks which mean more endurance burned. At least put 2 accuracies in while you're using DOs. Let Fury take care of damage for a while.
2. After you have accuracy, go ahead and slot for end reduction. At pre-stamina levels I had 1 endurance reducer in every primary and secondary power that could take one. After a while I did take them out of a couple of my cheap attacks like Charged Brawl and Air Superiority.
3. Micromanage your shields. It's a hassle but it's so much help. It's absolutely necessary at very low levels.
4. Don't horde your inspirations. Leave a slot or two open at all times, have a few you save specifically (say a few blues and greens for emergencies) otherwise burn them and let the new drops fall.
[ QUOTE ]
Nice guide. Very helpful to me in developing my now lvl 34 Elec/elec.
One Important (IMO) point: This build is slot-intensive. Unlike most brutes and scrappers, this build has 4 shields that all provide substantial value (not including the 38 uber-shield) as well as lots of helpful powers like lightning reflexes (LR) and conserve power. Could you skip stamina? You could but I think it's a weaker build without it. Hasten is also very tempting, with this build and Tough is also very helpful if you use Lightning Field regularly, meaning 2 more powers sucked up.
The good news with this build is a travel power is easier to avoid than with just about any other, saving you a power (or possibly 2 if you're not a hasten/SS person). Getting Swift, coupled with LR, sprint, and picking up as many of the temp-power travel powers as you can and using them sparingly once you have LR (which BTW, speeds up the temp powers) does a pretty good job of geting you around. I slotted sprint once to add a little zip and find I get to destinations only a little slower than an SSer (unless its a really long way). Also, since your status protection is linked with being on the ground, a ground-based travel plan is a good one. You even have a teleporting attack that can be used to get over obstacles.
Is this the end all be all? Duh! Of course not. However, its an option that works better with this build than basically any other so I thought was worth mentioning.
[/ QUOTE ]
Uumm...ELA only has 3 shields (again...not counting Power Surge)...Charged, Conductive, and Static. The only other toggle is Lightning Field...which is not a shield...but a PBAoE damage aura.
This pretty much falls in line with Dark armor in that it has 3 shields and one damage aura. Dark Embrace, Murky Cloud, and Obsidian Shield being the shields...and Death Shroud being the damage aura.
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Can you please post up your build for this 
.. this build has helped me so far in understanding the powers/slotting, but I'm a bit lost in knowing when to pick powers and which one is more necessary early on..
The only problems I'm running into right now is trying to slot up early for my defenses and my endurance.. Keeping up the toggles cost endurance, but unslotted I'm not getting much benefit from them..
I really need Aid-Self. and Stamina but not sure which one is more important first.. I'm currently at level 16 with my Elec/Elec Brute.. I already have hurdle in, so it really is a toss up between self heal and endurance!! 
-And also, how would I go about slotting Aid-Other/Aid-Self.. Thanks for the time and effort spent in making a great guide!!
Just my $0.02 on the issues...
[ QUOTE ]
The only problems I'm running into right now is trying to slot up early for my defenses and my endurance.. Keeping up the toggles cost endurance, but unslotted I'm not getting much benefit from them..
[/ QUOTE ]
As for slotting, I put End Reducers into my attacks early, and then toggles later in the build, when I had many more to spare, and that held me just fine until Power Sink came around. Best to slot Charged and Conductive Shield for resistance early, but psychic damage isn't prevelant enough that you can't wait to slot it up until higher levels. You can stick and End Reducer in that one if you want, early on.
[ QUOTE ]
I really need Aid-Self. and Stamina but not sure which one is more important first.. I'm currently at level 16 with my Elec/Elec Brute.. I already have hurdle in, so it really is a toss up between self heal and endurance!!
[/ QUOTE ]
I'd go for Stamina, without question, especially since you've already expressed concerns with the amount of Endurance you're using. I couldn't find room in my build for Aid Self until the 40s, and I generally did okay with that. Aid Self is really more of a utility power to get back to full health between battles. If enemies are hitting you hard and fast enough to get past your resistances, than they're also hitting hard and fast enough to break Aid Self, even with Interrupt Reducers.
[ QUOTE ]
And also, how would I go about slotting Aid-Other/Aid-Self.. Thanks for the time and effort spent in making a great guide!!
[/ QUOTE ]
Once I got it, I slotted Aid Self for 3 heals, 1 recharge, and 2 interrupt. As stated above, it still doesn't work perfectly mid-combat, but sometimes you've got nothing to lose anyway. As for Aid Other...I didn't take it, and unless you're going for the healing badges or the like, I really wouldn't recommend it. Take Stimulant instead, as it doesn't really require slotting to help out your squishier teammates.
[ QUOTE ]
Nice guide. Very helpful to me in developing my now lvl 34 Elec/elec.
One Important (IMO) point: This build is slot-intensive. Unlike most brutes and scrappers, this build has 4 shields that all provide substantial value (not including the 38 uber-shield) as well as lots of helpful powers like lightning reflexes (LR) and conserve power. Could you skip stamina? You could but I think it's a weaker build without it. Hasten is also very tempting, with this build and Tough is also very helpful if you use Lightning Field regularly, meaning 2 more powers sucked up.
[/ QUOTE ]
Slot intensive? I took the Stamina route, with Lightning Reflexes and Grounded, giving me 5 passive powers. With most of them 1-slotted, I found that slots for other powers weren't hard to come by.
I 4-slotted my three shields (1 End/3 DamRes) and had enough left over to toss a slot into Sprint.
Yes, Sprint is 1 EndRed/1 Run. With Swift and LR at 1 Runspeed SO each, I find that I actually have to turn off Sprint in cave missions.
I skipped Conserve Power, so Stamina is available in Siren's Call, unlike power Sink.
[ QUOTE ]
The good news with this build is a travel power is easier to avoid than with just about any other, saving you a power (or possibly 2 if you're not a hasten/SS person). Getting Swift, coupled with LR, sprint, and picking up as many of the temp-power travel powers as you can and using them sparingly once you have LR (which BTW, speeds up the temp powers) does a pretty good job of geting you around. I slotted sprint once to add a little zip and find I get to destinations only a little slower than an SSer (unless its a really long way). Also, since your status protection is linked with being on the ground, a ground-based travel plan is a good one. You even have a teleporting attack that can be used to get over obstacles.
Is this the end all be all? Duh! Of course not. However, its an option that works better with this build than basically any other so I thought was worth mentioning.
[/ QUOTE ]
Other Notes:
regarding Conductive Shield.
It's available at L4 and is a good pick to take at that level, but I saved End by not toggling it on unless facing certain opponents, such as certain Legacy Chain, and most CoT.
..
regarding Lightning Clap
I found that it helped to buy me enough time to get off a quick application of Aid Self.
[ QUOTE ]
Just my $0.02 on the issues...
[ QUOTE ]
The only problems I'm running into right now is trying to slot up early for my defenses and my endurance.. Keeping up the toggles cost endurance, but unslotted I'm not getting much benefit from them..
[/ QUOTE ]
As for slotting, I put End Reducers into my attacks early, and then toggles later in the build, when I had many more to spare, and that held me just fine until Power Sink came around. Best to slot Charged and Conductive Shield for resistance early, but psychic damage isn't prevelant enough that you can't wait to slot it up until higher levels. You can stick and End Reducer in that one if you want, early on.
[ QUOTE ]
I really need Aid-Self. and Stamina but not sure which one is more important first.. I'm currently at level 16 with my Elec/Elec Brute.. I already have hurdle in, so it really is a toss up between self heal and endurance!!
[/ QUOTE ]
I'd go for Stamina, without question, especially since you've already expressed concerns with the amount of Endurance you're using. I couldn't find room in my build for Aid Self until the 40s, and I generally did okay with that. Aid Self is really more of a utility power to get back to full health between battles. If enemies are hitting you hard and fast enough to get past your resistances, than they're also hitting hard and fast enough to break Aid Self, even with Interrupt Reducers.
[ QUOTE ]
And also, how would I go about slotting Aid-Other/Aid-Self.. Thanks for the time and effort spent in making a great guide!!
[/ QUOTE ]
Once I got it, I slotted Aid Self for 3 heals, 1 recharge, and 2 interrupt. As stated above, it still doesn't work perfectly mid-combat, but sometimes you've got nothing to lose anyway. As for Aid Other...I didn't take it, and unless you're going for the healing badges or the like, I really wouldn't recommend it. Take Stimulant instead, as it doesn't really require slotting to help out your squishier teammates.
[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the insight Laz, that would definitely help my indecisiveness.. appreciate it
You say there's an acc penalty for LR, but I don't see that in the CoD numbers. Where are you getting that?
Alright, it's been a while, but I'm posting again, and glad to see all the input. I'm actually brushing up to get 1.2 out soon! My current favorite build (which is Staminaless, but Stamina builds work very well if you don't mind the loss of powers) will be included.
[ QUOTE ]
You say there's an acc penalty for LR, but I don't see that in the CoD numbers. Where are you getting that?
[/ QUOTE ]
It is not a literal "-acc" debuff, I refer to the penalty based on how its base accuracy number is 0.9 instead of 1.0. This means that compared to "normal" 1.0 powers (most attacks), it is 90% as accurate...10% less accurate than standard...a penalty that really shows when facing mobs above your level. Put another way, most attacks work off of being 1.0 * base 0.75 accuracy. LR uses 0.9 instead, so instead of unslotted 0.75, it operates at base 0.675. As mentioned, one the best powers to counteract this is actually Build Up (which gives a +acc effect in addition to its +dmg). In fact, when you get access to dual enhancements (through IOs or SHOs), slotting +ToHit/Rch is worth your time. Yellow pills will certainly cover things, but slotting at LEAST one (I prefer 2) Acc SO(s) [or Acc/Dmg SHOs] is pretty essential.
As to micromanaging shields: until you get end mitigation powers (CP, Stamina, PS), turn off shields you don't need when you don't need them. There are plenty of spawns that don't require your elemental shield, and some that don't require your S/L shields. Use that to be a miser for your End bar.
Also, notes to low level (and highlevel staminaless builds) end management: Slotting Endurance is in many ways a higher priority than slotting for damage or damage resistance. At low levels, you need the Redux more than the power buff. At high levels, you have enough slots and other End management that you should be able to 2-3 slot shields and 1-2 slot attacks with End Redux. Trust me from experience, your attacks will work just fine, and your shields won't fail you. Again, notes on that in 1.2, where I'll post my favorite build.
Good luck to all of you, and keep comments coming!
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You say there's an acc penalty for LR, but I don't see that in the CoD numbers. Where are you getting that?
[/ QUOTE ]
It is not a literal "-acc" debuff, I refer to the penalty based on how its base accuracy number is 0.9 instead of 1.0. This means that compared to "normal" 1.0 powers (most attacks), it is 90% as accurate...10% less accurate than standard...a penalty that really shows when facing mobs above your level. Put another way, most attacks work off of being 1.0 * base 0.75 accuracy. LR uses 0.9 instead, so instead of unslotted 0.75, it operates at base 0.675. As mentioned, one the best powers to counteract this is actually Build Up (which gives a +acc effect in addition to its +dmg). In fact, when you get access to dual enhancements (through IOs or SHOs), slotting +ToHit/Rch is worth your time. Yellow pills will certainly cover things, but slotting at LEAST one (I prefer 2) Acc SO(s) [or Acc/Dmg SHOs] is pretty essential.
[/ QUOTE ]
No, I know what you meant. What I mean is, I'm looking at both the summon of LR, and the Pets > Lightning_Rod > Lightning Rod power, and both on CoD list Accuracy of 1, not 0.9.
1) Check the Prima Guide (yes, it's wrong on some things, such as the damage for LR)
2) Check Speqter's guide, also listed as 90% here
Unless the power has been changed since its introduction (and I will freely admit, I would have missed the posting/announcement of that change), the accuracy is/should be .9 instead of 1. If you can link me to such an announcement or actual testing that shows evidence to the contrary, my experience is consistent with the 0.9 number.
Prima sucks.
Ironically, the other guide lists CoD as its source as well. I've posted on his (Tomax's) forums about it; if he responds, I'll update here. I'm thinking there may have been an error since corrected, or there may be an error in it now.
[ QUOTE ]
Prima sucks.
Ironically, the other guide lists CoD as its source as well. I've posted on his (Tomax's) forums about it; if he responds, I'll update here. I'm thinking there may have been an error since corrected, or there may be an error in it now.
[/ QUOTE ]
Either one is a possiblity. Please let me know your findings!
yo this is an awesome guide, i used its princples to build my newest vill-i think he rocks but i was wonderin if u( my elec/elec peers) cud give me some feed back on my build structure, be brutily gentle in ur critiquin 
Lvl-1 Power- Havoc punch
Slotting- End Mod, Sleep Dur,Acc, Damage, End Red
*in truth not really sure what sleep duration is boostin??
Lvl-1 Power- Charged armour
Slotting- Damage resist(*2), End Red
(up until 6-7ish only had it sloted for end red and was dyin quite a bit, 10+ Dam Resist at 7 lowered my death rate dramatically)
Lvl-2 Power- Jacobs Ladder
Slotting- End Mod, Sleep Dur,Acc, Attack, End Red
Lvl-4 Power- Charged Brawl
Slotting- End Mod, Sleep Dur,Acc, Damage, End Red
*this is the last sleep duration
Lvl-6 Power- Hover
Slotting- Def buff, Flight speed
NOTE: current lvl as of 20/04/07
Lvl-8 Power- Thunder strike
Slotting- End Mod, KB, Acc, Damage, End reduction
Lvl-10 Power- Static Sheild
Slotting- Damage resist(*2), End Red
Lvl-12 Power- Conductive Sheild
Slotting- Damage resist(*2), End Red
Lvl-14 Power- Fly
Slotting- Flight speed, End reduction
Lvl-16 Power- Lightning Feild
Slotting- End Mod, Acc, End reduction(*2)
Lvl-18 Power- Chain Induction
Slotting- End Mod, End red, Acc, Damage, Recharged Reduction
Lvl-20 Power- Lightning reflexs
Slotting- Run Speed(*2)
Lvl-22 Power- Grounded
Slotting- Damage resist( *2)
Lvl-24 Power- Swift
Slotting- Run speed(*2)
Lvl-26 Power- Lightning clap
Slotting- Acc(*2), KB, Disorient duration, End Reduction
*my panic button-hopefully
Lvl-28 Power- Conserve Power
Slotting- End Red, Recharge Reduction
Lvl-30 Power- Health
Slotting- Healing(*6)
Lvl-32 Power- Lightning Rod
Slotting- Acc(*2),Range, KB, Damage, End Red
Lvl-35 Power- Power sink
Slotting- End Mod(*2), End Red(*2)
Lvl-38 Power- Stamina
slotting- End Mod(*6)
Lvl-41 Power- Power surge
Slotting- Acc, Damage resist, End Mod, End Red, Hold duration
Lvl- 44 Power- Hurdle
Slotting- Jump
Lvl-47 Power- Electric fences
Slotting- End mod, range, Acc, Immobilization
Lvl-49 Power- Ball Lightning
Slotting- End mod, range, Acc, End reduction
-: i just loved the thought of BRUTE CONTROL :-
First of all, you're going to be whiffing a LOT without at least one accuracy in all your attacks. Following that should be three damage, then recharge or endurance reduction. Avoid sleep durations completely. You'll be attacking constantly, and especially with Lightning Field on, the enemy won't have any time for shuteye. Your shields also should be three-slotted for damage resistance.
I'd avoid the Flight pool, or, at least, Hover, as it negates the biggest bonus you'll get from Grounded. If you want to use Fly for your travel power, Air Superiority is a much better choice as your prerequisite power. Chain Induction is a pretty poor attack, so you might want to avoid that one as well. Most of your other power choices are decent, though I'd move this Fitness pool powers earlier in your build; in exchange, you can probably push back your travel powers thanks to temp travel powers from Mayhem Missions and the like.
I'd be lying if I didn't say that your build needed quite a bit of work. These recommendations are only a start, and I'm sure plenty of people will have other advice for you as well. Take it to heart, kind sir, and soon enough, you'll be rockin' the casbah.
[ QUOTE ]
Lvl-1 Power- Havoc punch
Slotting- End Mod, Sleep Dur,Acc, Damage, End Red
*in truth not really sure what sleep duration is boostin??
[/ QUOTE ]My understanding is that it boosts the duration of the "sleep" effect that occurs. In this power, there is a 10% chance that a minion struck by this will do the 'Zappy Electric Dance' for 6 seconds. Sleep Duration would extend this by x%. Not worth slotting for in my opinion.
[ QUOTE ]
Lvl-1 Power- Charged armour
Slotting- Damage resist(*2), End Red
Lvl-2 Power- Jacobs Ladder
Slotting- End Mod, Sleep Dur,Acc, Attack, End Red
Lvl-4 Power- Charged Brawl
Slotting- End Mod, Sleep Dur,Acc, Damage, End Red
*this is the last sleep duration
Lvl-6 Power- Hover
Slotting- Def buff, Flight speed
NOTE: current lvl as of 20/04/07
Lvl-8 Power- Thunder strike
Slotting- End Mod, KB, Acc, Damage, End reduction
Lvl-10 Power- Static Sheild
Slotting- Damage resist(*2), End Red
Lvl-12 Power- Conductive Sheild
Slotting- Damage resist(*2), End Red
Lvl-14 Power- Fly
Slotting- Flight speed, End reduction
Lvl-16 Power- Lightning Feild
Slotting- End Mod, Acc, End reduction(*2)
Lvl-18 Power- Chain Induction
Slotting- End Mod, End red, Acc, Damage, Recharged Reduction
Lvl-20 Power- Lightning reflexs
Slotting- Run Speed(*2)
Lvl-22 Power- Grounded
Slotting- Damage resist( *2)
Lvl-24 Power- Swift
Slotting- Run speed(*2)
Lvl-26 Power- Lightning clap
Slotting- Acc(*2), KB, Disorient duration, End Reduction
*my panic button-hopefully
Lvl-28 Power- Conserve Power
Slotting- End Red, Recharge Reduction
Lvl-30 Power- Health
Slotting- Healing(*6)
Lvl-32 Power- Lightning Rod
Slotting- Acc(*2),Range, KB, Damage, End Red
Lvl-35 Power- Power sink
Slotting- End Mod(*2), End Red(*2)
Lvl-38 Power- Stamina
slotting- End Mod(*6)
Lvl-41 Power- Power surge
Slotting- Acc, Damage resist, End Mod, End Red, Hold duration
Lvl- 44 Power- Hurdle
Slotting- Jump
Lvl-47 Power- Electric fences
Slotting- End mod, range, Acc, Immobilization
Lvl-49 Power- Ball Lightning
Slotting- End mod, range, Acc, End reduction
[/ QUOTE ]
For Havoc Punch, Jacob's Ladder and Charged Brawl, I'd slot:
1 ACC, 3 Dam, with a 2nd ACC if you PvP. For the remaining slots, I'd put in any of the following: EndMod, Endred or Recharge, depending on style.
Grounded: 1-3 DamRes.
Lightning Reflexes: 1 Run. Go up to 3 if you want though.
Swift: You can slot it as you did or put FlightSpeed, but it's my understanding that the flight boost is pretty small, less than the runspeed boost.
Health and Stamina: No more than 3 slots each. Look up "Enhancement Diversification" for more details, but essentially you get almost no benefit for additional SO enhancements of the same type past three in a power.
Conductive Shield/Static Shield/ Charged Armor: 1 EndRed, 3 DamRes. (note: you can save End by not running Conductive Shield unless facing foes that use Fire/Ice/Negative, such as Circle of Thorns or in PvP.)
Lightning Clap: In my experience, 2 ACC is all you need. Add whatever you want though.
Lightning Rod: 2 ACC, 3 Dam, 1 recharge.
Hurdle: Skip it if you have Hover/Fly. You won't need the extra vertical.
Build Up: 2-3 Recharge. Who doesn't want a little extra Acc and Damage available on demand? 
Especially at the beginning of a fight when you haven't built up Fury yet.
Chain Induction: The concept is cool, but unfortunately, it supposedly doesn't pay out well in terms of Damage vs. the Endurance cost and Recharge time. I'm skipping it, but wish it were more worthwhile.
Conserve Power: A good power, but not needed if you take both Stamina and Power Sink. I'd skip it just because it's a little redundant.
Order of Powers:
With all the Temp powers available, (if you do Mayhem Missions and Story Arcs), you can easily push Fly out to L24, but I wouldn't go later than that (Bloody Bay)
If you skip Conserve Power, I'd put Stamina in the L20-30 range to keep it available in Siren's Call.
The Medicine Pool:
Also, I'd Suggest taking Aid Other or Stimulant (slotted however you like) and getting Aid Self (2 Interupt Reduction, 3 Heal, 1 Recharge).
Note: Aid Self is interuptible, so it's best used right after a Knockback or Knockdown power, although the Interupt Reduction slots help a lot.
The Fighting Pool:
Some folks also grab Kick or Boxing, then Tough to give more resistance to Smashing/Lethal damage. Usually this is *instead of* the Medicine pool.
And yes, with Swift, Lightning Reflexes, and Sprint you will run quite fast. Not SuperSpeed fast, but still pretty good, and unaffected by suppression.
The Electric SMASH!!!(tm) and You! A Guide to Electric Brutes, v1.1
Please note, this guide is in Damage Scalar format! For those familiar with Brawl Index, a second notation near damage is included. Brawl Index is the amount of damage the power does compared to your Brawl damage, for those not familiar with either. DS info is Found Here.
This is the Professor Todesfall guide on how to build a better Electric/Electric robot. This guide works just as well if you are a meddling magical fairy, filthy mutie, accident of science, or just naturally electrical, but that is merely an unintended side effect of the nature of this guide.
If youre looking to be an Electric/Electric Brute, youre going to want to know the facts. How are you different from your flaming, dark, tough, energetic, and rocky brothers? How are you better? How are you worse? These questions can be tricky, and even a detailed first glance wont say it all. In fact, before even looking at that glance, you should read: Foo's Brute Guide. Also, while its of less concern to you defensively, you should still read Arcanaville's Defense guide. Regardless, here is that glance:
Pros
-High Resistances
-Resist Psychic Damage
-Resist Endurance Drain
-Endurance Recovery
-TP Foe Protection
-Resist Slows
-Auto Recharge
-Auto +Speed
-Auto KB/Immob Protection
-Endurance Draining attacks
-A slight AoE bent in attacking
Cons
-No Self Heal
-No Fear or Confuse protection
-No Toxic resists
-KB/Immob protection is only partial
Thats a pretty big first glance but can you handle the repercussions? First, well go over the powers in detail, and then well come back to what it all means. For ease of reference, Rch is recharge time, Act is activation time, Acc is accuracy off a base of 1, End is the endurance cost, EPS is endurance per second, Radius is the radius of effect, Rng is range, and Base refers to % resistance. Str is Strength (a Prima guide measurement) and I will convert these to Mag (Magnitude) which is more commonly used by the player base. A Mag 2 (or higher) status effect will affect minions, a Mag 3 (or higher) will affect Lts., and a Mag 4 (or higher) will affect Bosses. Attacks may have another notation of "Drain", which is formatted as (# or # / # for #). The first set shows the amount drained from a target, and the second is the chance to return X endurance. So Drain (5% or 2 / 10% for 5) would mean that the power drains 5% endurance from NPCs or 2 End points from players, and has a 10% chance to give you back 5 End.
Electric Melee
1) Charged Brawl (level 1)
-Attack: Melee / -Acc: 1.0
-Dmg: 0.5 S/L + 0.34 Eng = 0.84 DS (1.3889 + 0.9444 = 2.3333 BI)
-Drain (7% or 1.25 / 10% for 2.184)
-Rch: 3s / End: 4.369 / Act: 1.07s
-Charged Brawl is part of your Bread and Butter attacks, and is a basic punch that serves well as a quick attack. Dont skip this unless you have a darn good reason. Also puts target to sleep (zappy electric dance!) for 6 seconds 10% of the time but this is of Str 2.38, which is Mag 2 (minions only). Another 10% check to reduce a foe's End recovery by 100% for 2 seconds.
-Slotting: Standard slotting of 1 Acc, 3 Dmg will serve you well. Additional slots (if any) should go to End and Rch, but this should wait to higher levels (and access to Synthetic Hami-Os).
2) Havoc Punch (level 1)
-Attack: Melee / -Acc: 1.0
-Dmg: 0.8 S/L + 0.52 Eng = 1.32 DS (2.2222 + 1.4444 = 3.6666 BI)
-Drain (10% or 2 / 10% for 3.432)
-Rch: 6s / End: 6.864 / Act: 1.5s
-Havoc Punch is the other part of your Bread and Butter, and you will use it often. Good, builds Fury, use it, dont skip it. Also puts target to sleep (more zappy dance!) for 8 seconds 30% of the time but like Charged Brawl this is Str 2.38, and thus only Mag 2. Another 30% check for a 4 second reduction of a foe's End recovery by 100%.
-Slotting: Standard slotting of 1 Acc, 3 Dmg will carry you far. Like Charged Brawl, End and Rch can help, but should only be applied in later levels and after access to more slots (thanks to respeccing with SHOs).
3) Jacobs Ladder (level 4)
-Attack: Melee Cone / -Acc: 1.0 / -Radius-range: 5 in a 50 degree arc from target
-Dmg: 0 S/L + 1.5 Eng = 1.5 DS (0 + 4.1667 = 4.1667 BI)
-Drain (7% or 1.25 / no return)
-Rch: 8s / End: 8.528 / Act: 1.67s
-Jacobs Ladder is where the AoE part of your attack chain starts and lets you start practicing as early as level four. As a melee cone, this may be fairly familiar to you in application if youve played Dark before. Compared to your Bread and Butter, its OK as a single target attack, but shines when you can hit two to its maximum of five targets. Every hit target has a 10% chance of getting a Str 2.38 (again, Mag 2) Sleep put on them for 6 seconds as well. Another 10% check occurs to reduce the foe's end recovery by 100% for 2 seconds. Tip: Cluster enemies, and target the one in the back of the cluster. If you target the closest one, youll hit only him, but by targeting the back, you catch (up to four extra) targets in between the target and you in the arc. A good attack with decent activation, youll want it at low levels and will get use out of it for a long while. You may consider dropping it in a respec later on, but do so only when you know youll have a solid attack chain without it.
-Slotting: Once more, 1 Acc and 3 Dmg is really the way to go. Throwing a single End in here may help, but should wait until later levels.
4) Build Up (level 6)
-Self Buff: +80% Dmg / +20% ToHit
-Rch: 90s / End: 5.2 / Act: 1.17s
-The requisite Build Up. +80% base damage, +20% ToHit. Some will skip it and never look back, others will take it and never regret it. Great for opening a fight or complimenting your Fury and external buffage when youre ready to lay down some heavy smack to higher level and boss level targets.
-Slotting: Base slot goes to Rch. If you have slots to spare, put in up to 2 more recharges. Getting an extra 80% damage every 45 seconds goes a long way to getting it whenever you need it.
5) Thunderstrike (level 8)
-Attack: Melee AoE / -Acc: 1.0 / -Radius: 7 from target (Eng portion)
-Dmg: 1 S/L + 0.96 Eng = 1.96 DS (2.7778 + 2.6667 = 5.4444 BI)
-Rch: 18s / End: 10.192 / Act: 3.3s
-Youll want to find room for this one! The activation is a bit slow, but it makes up for it with great single target damage and a high chance of knockdown. Remember those clusters you got good at making for Jacobs Ladder? Well, now you can target anyone of them, because anyone within about 7 (2 ft. past punching range) of your target is gonna get fried by the Energy portion of the damage. Theyll even do the zappy dance for you. This attack is one youll want to take, and wont regret. As a side note, this has a 50% chance to give a Str 3.57 Disorient (Mag 3 Stun) to a hit PvE target, and will knock down your target 80% of the time. The 40% chance to reduce end recovery on a hit target by 100% for 4 seconds is frosting on the cake.
-Slotting: 1 Acc, 3 Dmg, and get them in ASAP. This power can really benefit from an End or Rch boost, even beyond what your sets are capable of, so that extra SO (or two) could be well worth your while. You may be tempted to slot for Disorient, but it only increases the duration, not the chance. Slotting for something that only happens 1/2 the time isn't necessarily wise.
Note: The sleep component appears to be like Jacob's Ladder, with a 10% chance to have a Str 2.38 (Mag 2) Sleep on enemies hit by the AoE portion. This is currently unconfirmed.
6) Taunt (level 12)
-Targeted AoE Mez: Draws Aggro (20s in PvE, 5s in PvP) / -Acc: 1.0 PvP, autohit PvE
-Rng: 70 ft. (15 ft. radius) / up to 5 targets / End: 0 / Act: 2.67 / Rch: 10s
-The requisite Taunt. If you plan on teaming and have the room, you might find this useful for drawing aggro away from your decidedly squishier allies (or other Brutes in severe danger). However, youll likely consider this power quite skippable. Its an aggro management tool but its that much less SMASH!!!(tm) or other powers youll find more useful.
-Slotting: If you picked this up, you obviously want to taunt. That means Taunt Duration and Recharge are for you. If you PvP, Acc is a good idea too. If your goal is to tank, then you're actually going to want to slot Taunt into your other attacks as you can spare it as well. Tanker-wannabe. Go back to Paragon!
7) Chain Induction (level 18)
-Attack: Melee AoE / -Acc: 1.0
-Dmg: 0.8 S/L + 0.52 Eng = 1.32 DS (2.2222 + 1.4444 = 3.6666 BI) (jumps do .7 DS [1.95 BI] Eng)
-Rch: 14s / End: 10.192 / Act: 1s
-Another gem, youll find this attack is faster than Thunderstrike, for the same cost but its also pretty random. Theres a chance that this will arc to other targets, but the chance is random (and seems to be a number of additional targets algorithm). This is a love-it-or-hate it power and youll either love it, or hate it. The real consideration is that its paying for Tunderstrike while getting the benefit of Havoc Punch a Havoc Punch that may just decide to arc and hit extra targets a bit farther away than Thunderstrike would. Diamond in the rough, or waste of space? I cant really tell you, youre gonna have to get advice from other Brutes who know how you play and what you like. Me? I like it. There's even a handy 30% chance to reduce the target's end recovery by 100% for 4 seconds.
-Slotting: Acc and Damage, 1 and 3. If you want to use this a lot, Recharge is for the better. I'd save off on that until they get the bug fixed.
Note: Chain Induction is still currently bugged for XP loss. Damage dealt beyond the actual attack (the extra arcs of damage) are not treated as player dealt, pet dealt, summon dealt, or even confusion credit, but as a completely outside entity. This means that any of this extra damage will take a proportional amount of XP to damage dealt compared to the total health of the enemy. Example: Chain Induction arcs and does 1/2 of a minion's HP, and you immediately follow up and defeat it. Because half the damage was "by you" and half "wasn't" (Chain Induction), you get 1/2 XP for that mob. This is currently being looked into, and a fix is coming SOON(tm).
8) Lightning Clap (level 26)
-Attack: Melee AoE Mez / -Acc: 0.8 / -Dmg: 0
-Rch: 30s / End: 13 / Act: 1.23s / Radius: 19
-Lightning Clap can save your bacon. This power packs Disorient and Knockback into one happy 100% package at a slight accuracy penalty. For those who wonder, its 100% chance of KB with 100% chance of an 8s Str 2.38 w/ 50% for an 8s Str 1.19 Disorient. For the less game-mechanic inclined, that's a minion level stun, with about a 50% chance to stun any Lts. For those familiar with Magnitude, that's basically a 100% chance of Magnitude 2 Stun with an additional 50% chance for a Mag 1, stacking into a Mag 3 Stun. In PvP, the Disorient goes to 5.34s at Str 2.38. Youll either find you use this power as an extra soft control (see Power Sink in your secondary), or as a too many, oh @#$%! (*CLAP!*) and run away power. Which means you either think this power is completely skippable, because why would you want a power that hurts Fury generation, or a must have because it can make a difference that helps compensate for your lack of a self heal. If you cant figure out based on that analysis, youll just have to test it. Me? I like it, but I see theres also some trouble fitting it in your build sometimes.
-Slotting: Accuracy. It takes two to get this power up to the 95% ceiling you want to be at against even cons, and 3 to be truly safe. Stun Duration is useful if this is your panic button, but not always so if it's a utility combat power for you. Recharge allows it to be up more, but that's not always good. If you have it, slot 2 Acc and then go from there based on experience. Summary:
-Basic Slotting: 2 Acc
-Panic Slotting: 3 Acc, 3 Disorient
-Utility Slotting: 2-3 Acc, 1-3 Rch, 1-2 End
9) Lightning Rod (level 32)
-Attack: Teleport (60') + PBAoE / -Acc: 0.9
-Dmg: 1 S/L + 0.7 Eng = 1.7 DS (2.7778 + 1.9444 = 4.7222 BI)
-Rch: 90s / End: 13.52 / Act: 2.57s / Radius: 20
-BOOM!, baby! If you refuse to take this power, I call you a lunatic. This mini-nuke has both an effect (80% Knockdown chance) and a boom (all that pretty, Fury enhanced damage, plus the free light show) to make even a Blaster jealous. This power shines as a way to start (or completely pre-empt) a fight after youve ended another. Scenario: youre right near full Fury, and your team has the situation handled with this group or youve just landed the last punch. Theres a pretty group of enemies all nicely clustered for you right nearby! Pop just enough Redage and Build Up to give you the benefit of some serious buffage, and BOOM!...look at all the pretty corpses. One caveat: there IS an acc penalty. You also dont have Aim (something all Blasters with half a brain use with THEIR nukes). So if you want to BOOM! and not flourish a broken rapier (so to speak), make sure youve got Acc in the power, and +Acc/+ToHit as well. Also, get good with that reticule: youll be very embarrassed if you just miss an enemy because youre 21 away when you BOOM! and not 20. Lest we forget, this IS a teleport power, allowing you to use it just fine while immobilized.
-Slotting: 1 Acc, 3 Dmg, 2 Rch (advised). If differing from this, 1-2 Acc, 3 Dmg, 1-3 Rch is most serviceable. A single Range can get your range out to 72' and isn't all that bad an idea, if you feel you can sacrifice a Rch.
Note: testing of this power indicates that the current "known" damage values may be incorrect, and suggest that instead this power does a more traditional PBAoE "Nuke" with a standard "Nuke Distribution" of effect, having a base wave of ~1.3 DS value with a chance of one or two "follow ups" of ~.936 DS each. This would make the power most likely to do an actual DS of ~2.1 with a chance of as high as ~3.172. These equate to BIs of 3.7 and 2.6, with the potential for 8.9. This is currently being tested, and I will post when more information is confirmed.
-General slotting notes: Some players find that they can live with only 2 Damages (instead of 3) in any given attack. If you find this true for you, you can either save an extra slot for elsewhere, drop in an Endurance (not really a concern at later levels), or a Rch for faster SMASH!!!(tm). Due to your ability to gain endurance and access to +Rch effects, however, you may find that only 3 or four total slots (1-2 Acc, 2-3 Dmg) is all you'll ever need in any attack (exception being LR, which dern well better have 1-2 Acc, 3 Dmg, 1-3 Rch). Also, some players like 2 Accuracies in most powers to get that much better "I DON'T miss" potential, and LR and LC should very definitely have at least one and likely two Acc.
Electric Armor
1) Charged Armor (level 1)
-Toggle: Self + Res(S/L, Eng)
-Base: 26.25% Smash/Lethal, Energy / -Rch: 2s / -Act: 0.67s
-EPS: 0.26 (0.13 end every 1/2 second as ticks) / Enhancements taken: +Res, -End, -Rch
-You have to take it. Really, you actually dont have a choice. And youll love it. The center of your early resistances, youll find S/L is something youll enjoy through the entire game.
-Slotting: 3 Res, 1-2 End. You want this power on most of the time and giving the most benefit, so slot up!
2) Lightning Field (level 2)
-Toggle: PBAoE, Minor DoT (Eng), Foe End
-Dmg: 0.216 DS (0.6 BI) Eng / -Radius: 8ft. / -EPS: 0.52 (0.26 end every 1/2 second as ticks)
-Rch: 10s / -Act: 2.03s
-The best analysis of this power is courtesy of Speqter:
[ QUOTE ]
all these #'s are @ lvl 40
Lightning Field(.2 DS) does 08.342 damage, every 2 seconds.
It costs 1.04 endurance and can harm up to 10 opponents.
It effectively costs .52 endurance/second.
deals 4.171 damage/second (per opponent in range).
gives 8.021 damage/endurance point (per opponent in range).
average performance (3 mobs)
deals 12.513 damage/second
gives 24.063 damage/endurance point
MAX performance (10 mobs)
deals 41.71 damage/second
gives 80.21 damage/endurance point
Compare that to some Electric Melee attacks.
Charged Brawl (2.33 BI, 4.368 end)
34.99 damage/activation
gives 8 damage/end
Havoc Punch (3.66 BI, 6.864 end)
54.95 dam/act
gives 8 Dam/end
Jacob's Ladder (4.5 BI, 8.5 end)
Jacob's Ladder 67.572 damage, every 8 seconds.
It costs 8.528 endurance and can harm up to 5 opponents.
It effectively costs 1.07 endurance/second
deals 8.447 dam/sec.
gives 7.925 damage/endurance point
average performance (3 mobs)
deals 25.341 damage/second
gives 23.775 damage/endurance point
Max performance (5 mobs)
deals 42.235 damage/second
gives 39.625 damage/endurance point
It is more efficient over time than the first 3 electric melee powers, but mainly it's a play style. It's seems to pay off more when there are lots of critters around you or you are fighting on a team.
[/ QUOTE ] Thatll give you a good idea. Its also a toggle that costs the same as two armors so its decent area damage (and aggro holder), but you may just not think its worth it.
-Slotting: 1-3 Dmg, 1-3 End. This is something of a hog, but if you take it, you probably use it to hold agg through damage and drop mobs you don't touch. Being able to run it while protected is a must, and while 3 Ends may be excessive, 1 is a good idea and 2 isn't bad. The damage is discretionary.
3) Conductive Shield (level 4)
-Toggle: Self +Res(Fire, Cold, Eng, Neg)
-Base: 26.25% Fire, Cold, Eng, 15% Neg / -Rch: 2s / -Act: 0.67
-EPS: 0.26 (0.13 end every 1/2 second as ticks) / Enhancements taken: +Res, -End, -Rch
-Your second toggle shield, and the elemental one. If you feel you can live without it, I think youre crazy, but thats up to you. 26.25% against both Fire and Cold with the added 15% to Negative Energy is nothing to sneeze at. Especially not when the numbers look more like 42% and 24% when slotted with +3 SOs.
-Slotting: 3 Res, 1-2 End. Just like Charged Armor, you want to get the most benefit and keep it up. Slot, slot, slot.
4) Static Shield (level 10)
-Toggle: Self +Res(Hold, Sleep, Disorient, End Drain, Recovery DeBuff, Psi, TP)
-Base: 26.25% Psi / -Rch: 4s / -Act: 1.17s
-EPS: 0.26 (0.13 end every 1/2 second as ticks) / Enhancements taken: +Res, -End, -Rch
-This is another toggle, and its your status protection. Ohhhhh, looky, you get Psychic damage resistane too! Take. It. Protection from all those mezzes and Psychic to boot for the cost of one shield (and something around 42% with SOs, at that!) thats a bargin. Note that the Psychic resistance is fixed, and is affected by Damage Resistance SOs, but that the Status protection is unaffected by enhancements, but scales with level. The Endurance Drain protection is also 80%.
-Slotting 3 Res, 1-2 End. Even more so than your other two shields, you want this to be up, and having Psi resists will help a LOT late game. You can likely hold off slotting the resistance component until later levels, but slot for End immediately so you don't have to choose between status protection and attacking.
5) Grounded (level 16)
-Auto: Self +Res(Eng, Neg, End Drain, Immob, KB)
-Base: 9.375% Eng, 7.5% Neg / Enhancements taken: +Res
-This is perhaps the good and bad choice, and the one power that truly has a downside. The energy resistance is almost trivial considering how much you get from other powers, but the extra Negative energy resistance by itself makes this a good auto power. Throwing in moderate Immobilize and Knock Back protection is great too. Heres the real catch: you have to stay near the ground. That wouldnt be SO bad, except that the definition of ground by the game seems a bit buggy, especially in caves and on ramps, etc. Grounded now scales properly to level. This matters, because previously it failed to grant proper protection against things like Earthquake, but does so now. If you're near the ground, that is, and a still buggy definition of ground. Acro stacks with the protection from Grounded in great ways, but know the ups and downs of Grounded, or be sent up and down a lot.
-Slotting: 1-3 Res. The base slot is only good for Resistance, really. If you find you really, really want that extra Negative Energy protection, slot it more, but this can easily wait until the late game.
6) Lightning Reflexes (level 20)
-Auto: Self +Spd, +Rch, Res(Slow)
-Base: Rch = 20% discount, Spd = +5.2+(lvl*.043) ft./s
-Enhancements taken: +Run
-This power, at first glance, seems almost trivial. Take another look. TWENTY PERCENT RECHARGE DISCOUNT on ALL powers. Thats like having a bit better than a +3 Recharge DO in EVERY power. And it counts as an external buff, so you still slot the appropriate powers with 2-3 recharge if you want. If you use Hasten, this also helps make it that much closer to perma, and stacks with Hastens own external buff, which means you can still get the full benefit from any powers slotted for recharge as well! The additional run speed is also nice (and really, the only way to use the one slot). The Slow protection youll find you appreciate, even if it tends to only be good against one application. Youre not going to want to waste enhancement slots on this one, but you will notice a definite benefit to taking it.
-Slotting: 1 Run Speed. If you find you have extra slots to spare and just want to run faster, put in another 1 or 2 Runs, but it's a waste of slots IMO.
7) Conserve Power (level 28)
-Self Endurance Discount / 66% Discount
-Lasts 90s / -Rch: 600s / -End: 7.8 / -Act: 1.17
-Enhancements taken: -End, +Rch
-This power IS a good power. The benefits it gives, however, are overshadowed when you are able to have Power Sink, and Stamina and Endurance reduction slots can also be more effective. Many of you reading this will consider this a skippable power. However, if you intend to run all your toggles constantly with Combat Jumping, Acrobatics, and Tough plus Weave (to make your S/L resists truly impressive and add some noticeable +Def), and perhaps even a Leadership or two, youll find this to be a boon sent from heaven. Slotted for recharge and with the benefit of Hasten and Lightning Reflexes, this power can be up for good amounts of time with manageable downtime. The fact that it doesnt hurt Fury buildup is also something to consider.
-Slotting: 3 Rch. If you took this power at all, you want it up. 3 Recharges is the way to do it.
8) Power Sink (level 35)
-PBAoE Self +End, Foe -End / -Radius: 10ft. (Base return = 25 end / minion)
-Rch: 60s / -End: 13 / -Act: 2.03s
-Enhancements taken: -End, -Rch, End Mod, Taunt
-A bane and a blessing, all rolled up into one. This power can give you back a full endurance bar from a reasonably sized fight, and some soft control. However, the fact that that comes at the expense of incoming attacks (meaning less Fury) is something to weigh. Many of you will find that the benefit outweighs the cost (quite handily, in many cases), but there will be a few of you neither want nor feel you need this power at all. The choice is yours, but choose wisely. If nothing else but a mob-control panic button for you, this makes a dern good panic button.
-1-3 End Mod, 1-3 Rch. This power is a very YMMV power. The drain is slottable (and not a bad idea at all) and with 3 Rch you can have this up every half a minute. The only way for you to decide is to play with it on your own and choose.
9) Power Surge (level 38)
-Self +Res(Disorient, Sleep, Hold, Immob, KB, End Drain, Recovery DeBuff, TP, Dmg [not Psi]) +Recovery
-Base: 52.5% (Smash/Lethal, Fire, Cold, Tox), 60% (Eng), 45% (Neg)
-Lasts 180s / -Rch: 1000s / -End: 2.6 / -Act: 1.96s
-Enhancements taken: +Acc, -End, -Rch, +Hold, +Dmg, End Mod
-Special: When this power ends, you drop to 10% HP and 0 End, a special EMP Pulse activates (holds even Lts./minions for 10s). The Acc and Hold affect the EMP Pulse
-Do you wish you could look like a Gremlin? Do you love the cackle of electricity? Do you just love taking only half damage from any non-psychic? Well, this is a power youll want, and is your god mode button. Unslotted, this thing lasts for three minutes out of just under every 20. Slotted (and with Hasten and Lightning Reflexes), the recharge means it can be up far more often, and resistance slotting means that 52.5%/60%/45% can go to ~84%/96%/72%. When running this and your toggles, you can EASILY cap resistances and have ~42 % to Psychic! Thats a darn good deal. The fact that this completes your status protection and has +Recovery means youll love every second of Gremliny goodness. Your slotting will depend on your other powers, however. The EMP Pulse at crash is also a safety feature that other builds dont have. Just dont go touching any water. Remember, however, that even with this up, Confuse and Fear will still leave you discharging at thin air.
-Slotting: 3 Res, 3 Rch. You want to get the most benefit, the most often, and that's the way to do it. If you find you want to run your other shields, you can sack a few Res slots in this for an Acc, Hold, and/or End Mod. Acc and Hold help the safety button, but are likely a waste, whereas End Mod increases your recovery while Power Surge is up which can let you run your other shields (and Lightning Field) while attacking like a mad-beast. I'd stick to 3 Res, 3 Rch, and consider 2 Res, 1 End Mod, 3 Rch.
But What Does It All Mean?
-Put together, all of this means that the Electric Brute has options and flexibility, but must face choices. This also means that the Electric Brutes may not be right for you, even if other Brutes are! An Electric Brute is capable of high DPS with a solid attack chain, and has both resistances and the potential to hold aggro that rivals Tankers, especially if you take your Taunt and have experience tanking. Heck, you have resistances that can make even a Tank blush! Your single target damage is a tad lackluster compared to other sets, so while you can eat hordes of minions and Lts for breakfast, expect longer fights against Boss and Elite Boss foes. However, your damage mitigation varies from other sets: you have only your resists and damage to save you, along with the minor Sleep component (negated if youre running Electric Field) of your attacks. The Recovery component of your attacks is something you may not even notice, and only comes into play as a tool for keeping a drained target from recovering. This typically only helpful in EB or AV fights, and even slotted to drain your target, you likely can't do it reliably enough without other, also slotted drainers there. If you can utilize this, you can keep a target effectively at 0 End, but it takes a lot of doing, and a lot of drain. You will likely notice the return from your basic punches however, since using them often will help prevent you from running out of endurance quite so quickly. You have no +Def, and NO HEAL. So, more so than other Brutes, Electric Brutes have to ask the question: how do I approach a fight? Other Brutes (with some exceptions) charge in and just SMASH!!!(tm), and know that if things get hairy they can heal, then run if they must.
-You, however, are going to need to question whether it is better to defeat the minion or let him live to build Fury and whether you need to run. Youre going to need to decide faster than other Brutes, too, since the margin of error is smaller if you want to stay standing. Managing herding is also more necessary than other Brutes. Although you dont get more Fury from the AoE component of your attacks, you can both hold aggro better and hit anywhere from 1-5 (or even 10) extra targets with practice! Enough practice with Chain Induction, Thunderstrike, and Jacobs Ladder will have even those AoE happy Fire builds envy your kill power, but it DOES take practice. Manipulating targeting (nearest, farthest, next, previous) and your own visibility are key to this, and each of you will develop your own system. Needless to say, Lightning Rod is quite an electrifying experience once youve gotten using it down, and is awesome for both opening or closing (or both at once!) a fight. In the late game, however, you do get a powerful tool available to you: Power Sink. Power Sink can save you, and your team but it can also make a fight take longer (youre not gaining extra Fury if youre not being attacked)! The difference here is that your paradox is larger than most other Brutes, and your survival depends upon your experience and knowing the answers. This also means that enemies who can confuse you or fear you have a very distinct advantage, and you will want to take them down first. Its up to you to determine how to best utilize your slots and powers and the answer will vary by the player!
A note on Power Pools
-The powers you take and how you slot them, as well as your play style, will determine the pools you take, and these are examples of the choices (and player types) that make the Electric Brute fun and variable. To get a self heal, you need Aid Self and another power just to get it. Aid Self is certainly more powerful in pure HP gain but it is slower, costlier, and interruptible, disadvantages all compared to true self heals. Tough (and the extra attack necessary to get it) can also be useful if you can spare the endurance and slots, since with it your S/L resistance is very, very high. If this fits you well, you might also consider weave (especially if you have the Jumping Pool) for the defense bonus. Another consideration is that you may not need Stamina but you may want Health. This paradox is another choice that must be made. Health is the poor mans Regen, and with your high resistances, can be very useful in long fights. Stamina also can free up end redux slots for other attributes (like resistance and SMASH!!!(tm)). Youll also find these help you recover much faster from the crash from Power Surge, and between it and Conserve Power let you run more toggles with less slotting. The cost is three powers, however, and while Swift or Hurdle can be quite nice, its something you very well find you dont need.
A note on travel
-Another hard choice faces you pool-wise: fly, speed, teleport or jump? Fly can give you Air Superiority and it is possible to fly near the ground to stay grounded. Speed can give you Hasten and the best linear speed possible added to Lightning Reflexes, you may even consider dropping a primary attack for another power! Jumping can give Combat Jumping and Acrobatics two key powers to close gaps in your Mez defenses that you may find you feel you need, or may not consider worth the powers at all. Jumping is also nearly as fast as Super Speed but not being near the ground for Grounded can put you at risk!
A note on Teleport
The fourth option you have for travel is Teleport. Unlike Fly, Speed, and Jumping, you cannot attack while moving (only before or after), but you skip over the space between you and the location. Teleport also means that you either get Recall Friend (great for getting allies out of a bind) or one of the best pulling tools around: Teleport Foe (which is also fairly good in PvP, for those who do). Teleport means that you can either stay Grounded while traveling...or not need Grounded at all. Remember, you can Teleport while Immobilized (and KB doesn't mean anything), which means that with some slotting, it can be a good way to zap around. Again, if you're really hung up on which pool to get, read over TopDoc's guide, and remember the power you get BEFORE your travel power (which may decide for you). If you feel you need Hasten (or Flurry), Air Superiority (or Hover), Combat Jumping (or Jump Kick [but really, leading to Acrobatics]), or Teleport Foe (or Recall Friend)...you've probably chosen your mode of travel and are just having cold feet because the others are cool too. What you choose will be up to you there is no right answer! The powers you might choose to save can even lead to you getting Presence for Fear (or even just Taunt) or even Leadership to give you both that small boost in potential and help get some status resists not just to you, but your team. The fact that Leadership can help provide Confuse and Fear mitigation is nothing to sneeze at, and means that if you can team with folks who have it, youll be very happy indeed. For an in-depth skinny on movement, try TopDoc's Movement Guide.
A note on Patron Powers
-41 may seem a long way away. And it is. But Patronage is something to consider. Sirocco is naturally the most thematically fitting and game stacking Patron to take. More damage and more end drain (and recovery). If for some reason you dont want energy damage, but similar benefits, remember that the other Patrons each offer the same benefits of a two ranged attacks (one an AoE) and an area immobilize and of course, a pet. The true difference is damage types: Energy for Sirocco, Negative Energy for Ghost Widow, Lethal/Toxic for Captain Mako, and Energy/Smash/Lethal for Black Scorpion. The secondary effects are Endurance Drain, Acc, Tox/More damage, and Knockdown, respectively. Sirocco is undoubtedly the best fit power wise, but if you want to change things up, pick another patron, but be ready to deal with the non-synergistic effects.
-The final consideration means your build can be very flexible if you are flexible or very tight if you have a core idea in mind, and provides a challenge that can be its own brand of fun. Each Electric Brute is a truly customizable circuit of binary components and your combination of on and off is going to make or break you! Hopefully, Ive given you the construction plan: all possible parts included, not all parts will be used in every installation. Use the parts you like, throw out those you dont, and go bring some ELECTRIC SMASH!!!(tm) to the Isles!
Only half-Electric? Here's how you stack up!
Electric Melee but not Electric Armor
Not having the armor means that you have all the pros and cons of your chosen armor set, whatever it may be. It means you have a fully different set of tools, and while your resists are lower, you compensate with defense (a lot of it, in Energy's case) and some self-healing. Hasten may actually mean more than ever: Electric Melee is good, but it's single target damage will be found a little lacking without Lightning Reflexes (since recharge is a tad slow in comparison to some other sets). Take the notes from the melee set and find what meshes with your armor and play style. Your armor is your other survival tool, and you'll need to know what it can do. Each set has it's own jolly run around which take too long to go into, but other guides out there should give you the feel for each armor set, and hopefully, my notes on ElM can set you right for what you want when put together.
Electric Armor but not Electric Melee
These notes are short enough to go into here, but a little harder to really piece together. You have all the pros and cons of your armor...perhaps the most important of which is (still) no self-heal.
1&2)- Stone and Energy Melee: superb for taking out single targets (and are in that sense the opposite of ElM: instead of dropping a group together, you pound them out one by one). This changes a little as Fault and Whirling Hands come into play, but the reality is the same: you survive by taking out each target before he can hit you enough that you feel it, and you do it well. Lightning Reflexes and the ability to recover with Power Sink (and you may consider taking Conserve Power, even with Power Sink AND Stamina) is a boon for these slow recharge, high endurance sets.
3)-Fire Melee gives an interesting mix that like Stone and Energy, benefits from your +Rch and better ability to get endurance back, but unlike them gives great AoE capacity (Great Fire Sword...you'll love it), it doesn't take up quite as much Endurance, however, which can free up another few powers and/or slots for more utility and versatility.
4)-Super Strength is something like Fire in terms of AoE + Single Target capacity, and can take you far. It's still the first odd man out, tho, because Rage is a superb self buff...but has that aggravating crash. Popping a blue could allow you to recover with Power Sink after a drop in Rage, which could be the key to keep smashing instead of just taking an actual breather (as well as keeping foes from attacking long enough for you to either finish pummeling them or get away as needed). And, let's face it: Rage + Power Surge = grown men giggling like school girls in front of their computer. The additional recharge to your one ranged attack (who DOESN'T want to rip up rocks and chuck them at people?) and the ever-devastating KO-Blow means they could actually come in more handy than usual, and this set combo is one I'm tempted to play in the future.
5)-Dark Melee is the second (and more odd) of the two odd men out here. Dark Melee has decent capacities, and the fact that it is NEGATIVE Energy can make a lot of difference in being resisted by most foes (unless you're facing another Darkie or a select few PvE enemies, that is). It's also the fastest recharging, fastest activation, lowest endurance set. This means that Power Sink and Lightning Reflexes are not so critical to your abilities, but may come in handy if you literally want to have only three or four specific attacks that chain endlessly. One power (and one of those attacks you WILL want up often and accurate) that is sometimes skipped by other Dark Meleers is one you will want to slot like a mad-man: Siphon Life. You have no self-heal in your armor, and this accuracy dependant one is no slouch. Slot this baby triple acc, because you want it to hit whenever it's up. You also have the ability to fear enemies at critical times, debuff hit opponents, and get a variety of buffs (like more End recovery from Drain Life, more Accuracy and Damage from Soul Drain, and a great "HOLD...STILL!" with decent damage power at 32). You give up some SMASH!!!(tm) compared to other set combinations, but between DM and ElA, you have survivability options that are relatively unrivaled.
Information in this guide comes from both experience and observation. The hard numbers in this guide are thanks to Stupid_Fanboy, Speqter, and NoFuture. If you find any errors in this guide or have insight of your own, please post for the benefit of others. I realize that the endurance drain protection portion of the armor powers are not present. If anyone has the appropriate, tested data on this, I would love to add this to the guide (so I can also give more tangible descriptions, too). Any typos I missed in editing would be appreciated as well. I will edit this guide as necessary as long as the window is open, and will repost any major corrections in the future.