This is a follow-up to a previous I9 guide that I posted some months earlier. Since then, I've sunk about 100,000,000 inf into playing around with the Invention system, and this is the current set-up I'm currently enjoying.
This represents a general purpose Brute build. It can be used quite successfully in most PvE and in moderate PvP. However this build will be at a disadvantage in hard-core PvP combat. Most of the IO recipes used are common drops, but there are a few rare pieces that will require effort to obtain. Under most circumstances, I run missions with this toon at a difficulty level 1 higher than normal, usually without any trouble. This build was designed so that if you wish to forgo IOs and IO Sets for regular SOs, a respec is not necessary. In addition, all IO sets posted attempt to match the given SO potency given for each power. I could run at a full +1 difficulty, but I prefer the additional drops I get from the lower difficulty. As always, YMMV.
==PART 1: The Build==
1. Charged Brawl
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Crushing Impact 1-5, lvl 20+ Call of the Sandman 6
Some will look dubiously at the inclusion of the Self-Heal Proc from Call of the Sandman, preferring one of the damage procs from another IO line. However, my experience has shown me that damage output with this toon isn't the biggest issue. Anyone who's run a Defense-based toon knows that bad luck kills you more than anything else. The occasional heals from the proc have saved me from more than one face-plant. While its no subsitute for normal healing powers, every bit helps.
1. Kinetic Shield
SOs: 1 End, 3 Def
IOs: lvl 50 Red Fortune 1, 2, 4, 5
Of the high-end IO sets, Red Fortune is the easier to come by, and the given pieces will give you all that you need to nearly match SO level potency. The fact that Red Fortune can grant you a 2% bonus to damage output is gravy.
2. Havok Punch
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Crushing Impact 1-5, lvl 20+ Call of the Sandman 6
Your second bread-and-butter attack. The inclusion of the second heal proc increases your chances of survival against tough odds.
4. Jacob's Ladder
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOS: lvl 50 Scirroco's Dervish 1-5, lvl 20+ Call of the Sandman 6
Your first group attack. While Scirroco's Dervish is much harder to come by than Multi-Strike, I found that the IO Set bonuses are simply much better suited to this particular build. I was tempted to complete the set for the Lethal Damage proc, but again preferred the heal proc.
6. Power Shield
SOs: 1 End, 3 Def
IOs: lvl 50 Red Fortune 1, 2, 4, 5
See Kinetic Shield.
8. Thunderstrike
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Scirroco's Dervish 1-6
Your second group attack. If I could have slotted a fourth instance of Call of the Sandman 6, I would have. However, Thunderstrike won't accept sleep enhancements. In this case, my preference was to complete Scirroco's Dervish, not only for the Lethal damage proc, but also for the Psionic defense set bonus.
10. Entropy Shield
SOs: End
IOs: End
If you want to slot IO sets here, you're out of luck. Entropy Shield won't take any. Your best bet is to slot one SO or IO for Endurance Reduction and move on.
12. Hover
SOs: Flyx3
IOs: lvl 50 Soaring 1-3
I suspect that some of you will stop reading as soon as you see "Hover" in this build, especially when you find out that Fly is next in line. I know its the slowest travel power. I know that both Hover and Fly require some heavy slotting to be useful. I know that there are far better choices for PvP combat.
I also don't care. I have tried other travel power choices and in general they drive me nuts. CoX is still a social game for me, and trying to hold a conversation with Super Jump or Teleport is ridiculous without some macro to help manage them. Hover/Fly is a 'set-it-and-forget-it' travel combination, and it works just fine for me.
That being said, the Soaring IO set ends up reducing the overall travel speed from its SO slotting, but the small boost to Endurance Recovery and Maximum Hit Points makes up for that, IMHO.
16. Swift
SOs: Fly
IOs: Fly
To be honest, the difference in slotting this power for run speed versus fly speed is barely noticeable. But I figure since I have Sprint to run faster, I might as well slot this to fly faster.
18. Health
SOs: Heal
IOs: Heal
Personally, I would love to slot this power with Numina's Convalescence 6, for the boost to Hit Point Regeneration AND Endurance Recovery. However, those who have tried to purchase that IO piece from the Black Market quickly find that:
A) Its not for sale, and
B) The bidding prices are hideously high
Besides, if you managed to score it from a Task Force, would YOU sell it? Probably not. So until I manage to find one of my own, I'll stick with a simple Heal SO or IO.
20. Stamina
SOs: Rcvrx3
IOs: Rcvrx3
Do I really need to explain this one?
22. Energy Cloak
SOs: 1 End, 3 Def
IOs: lvl 50 Red Fortune 1, 2, 4, 5
For some damage types, Energy Cloak provides ALL the defense you're ever going to get. So its worth slotting well.
24. Aid Other
SOs: Heal
IOs: Heal
As the bridge to Aid Self, this power also provides your Brute with the capacity to earn the Healing badges (albiet very slowly). I've found this to be handy in teams, especially if I have a lackey or pet in tow. Need I also mention that this power can help with those "protect so-and-so" missions where the person you have to protect throws the "stupid" switch?
26. Aid Self
SOs: Intrx3, Healx3
IOs: Intrx3, lvl 40 Miracle 1, 3, 5
Even if the Devs further modify Aid Self so that it simply CANNOT be used in the heat of combat, I'm still keeping it. Its simply too useful for keeping downtime low to respec out of. Besides, defense-based sets can give Aid Self the breathing room it needs to work, and a self-heal is something Energy Aura Brutes desperately need. However, the Devs did ensure that none of the healing IO lines include Interrupt reductions. As such, I'm only using 3 pieces from the Miracle IO set, largely for the set bonuses they give.
28. Energy Drain
SOs: Rcgx3, Rcvrx2, End
IOs: Rcgx3, Rcvrx2, End
Let the non-stop SMASHing begin! While there's no useful IO sets that Energy Drain can use, slotting this wondeful power up to the max is always a good idea. Since I run my missions at one setting higher than normal, I'm typically fighting 2-6 mobs at a time, and this slotting helps me make the most of it.
30. Build Up
SOs: Rcgx3
IOs: Rcgx3
Some may question Build Up coming so late in this build, but in truth, I found that I simply didn't need it a great deal until the lvl 30+ game got going. Besides, Lightning Rod is coming soon, and combined with a high Fury bar makes for a lethal opening combination.
32. Lightning Rod
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Scirroco's Dervish 1-6
KA-BOOM! This is an awesome power, and I love to use it against the caltrop-happy Knives of Artemis to 'port out of their layered slows and keep pounding on them. However, bear in mind that this power CANNOT be used if Hover or Fly is active (a limitation that no other travel power inflicts).
35. Hasten
SOs: Rcg
IOs: Rcg
On the subject of slows, the attack powers of this build do not recharge all that quickly on their own. While slotted as given in this guide, they recharge quite well, but slows can quickly cripple this build. Hasten was taken not to be used all the time, but in emergency situations. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
38. Overload
SOs: Rcgx3, Healx3
IOs: lvl 50 Doctored Wounds 1-6
Welcome to God-Mode light. You're not Unstoppable by any means, but this power can get out of a fix if you get in over your head. The Doctored Wounds IO set works wonderfully here, as its resulting recharge rate almost matches what SOs can grant.
41. Electrified Fences
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Imobx3
IOs: lvl 50 Enfeebled Operation 1-6
I don't use this power for inflicting damage, even though it can. I prefer its crowd control capability. Being able to split off the minions and lieutenants for a bit while the boss chases me around the corner helps a lot in tough fights. While the IO sets for Immobilize won't hold mobs for quite as long as standard IO slotting, the Accuracy becomes hideously high, which becomes very handy in the late game.
44. Ball Lightning
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Positron's Blast 1-6
More boom! My biggest gripe with the Targeted AoE IO sets is that the recharge rate usually suffers as opposed to standard SO slotting. However, the IO choices used in this build handles this nicely (more on this later).
47. Dampening Field
SOs: Res
IOs: Res
I tried working the build using this combined with Tough from the fighting pool to maximize what resists I could get. The results weren't to my liking. However, gaining smash and lethal resistance from IO sets is somewhat difficult. This power is an easy way to recieve at least token resistance against two common damage types.
49. Energy Protection
SOs: Res
IOs: lvl 10+ Steadfast Protection 2
Before I9, this power was somewhat passable. This build has significant protection against energy damage already. However, with I9 came Steadfast Protection. The second piece of this IO set grants a flat 3% defense bonus against EVERYTHING. For a defense-based build, why not get it? While the IO slotting means I lose out on some resistance to Energy and Negative damage, the 3% defense boost is worth it.
== PART 2: IO Set Bonuses==
Despite thier high price tags, IO set bonuses can offer a lot to any build, from boosting existing strengths to blunting glaring weaknesses. For this section, I will concentrate on the IO set bonuses with significant values. The IOs chosen for this build resulted in the following set bonuses, which I will go into one by one:
1. +17.5% Accuracy
This is a tremendous help with tough opponents, especially in PvP.
2. +9.375% Targeted AoE Defense
In PvE, you'll find a lot of nastiness simply bouncing off you, even damage types you normally don't do well against.
3. +6% Damage
While 6% may not seem like a lot, in the late game battles can get quite long, and that 6% starts to mount.
4. +5.625% Maximum Hit Points
The higher your maximum hit points, the more Hit Points you recover with each tick. More HPs = good for Brutes.
5. +2.5% Lethal Defense
For defense-based builds, every little bit helps.
6. +3.125% Melee Defense
As Brutes spend a lot of time in melee combat, this is a very welcome addition.
7. +6.25% Psionic Defense
As an energy Brute, you have close to 0 defense against Psionic damage. Even this little bit will help take the edge off.
8. +25% Recharge Reduction
This is a big one. For the fast-recharging powers, you'll barely notice a difference. But for powers will long recharge times, you WILL notice.
9. +7% Endurance Recovery
While Energy Aura Brutes are normally swimming in Endurance, you will find yourself gasping for breath now and then. This small boost will help offset those moments.
10. +30% Hit Point Regeneration
Downtime is the enemy of Fury, and Aid Self isn't always ready to stave it off. A little help with regeneration will keep your Brute SMASHing.
==PART 3: Summation==
This is by no means the end-all-be-all Elec/Eng/Mu Brute build, but it has served me well from levels 1 to 50, and through experimentation has taught me a great deal about the Invention System and how to make it work for you. Swapping out the given IO Sets here with any of the possible alternatives will radically change your results. This is not a bad thing, as you can use that flexibility to match what your Brute ends up being good at with your own play style. Using the Invention System to its fullest takes time and some study, but for those willing to do it, their efforts will be rewarded.
For those who wish to know more, feel free to puruse the CoX boards, or visit ParagonWiki for information about individual Invention Origin Sets at:
SAMPLE I9 BUILD
Elec/Eng/Mu Brute, lvl 50
This is a follow-up to a previous I9 guide that I posted some months earlier. Since then, I've sunk about 100,000,000 inf into playing around with the Invention system, and this is the current set-up I'm currently enjoying.
This represents a general purpose Brute build. It can be used quite successfully in most PvE and in moderate PvP. However this build will be at a disadvantage in hard-core PvP combat. Most of the IO recipes used are common drops, but there are a few rare pieces that will require effort to obtain. Under most circumstances, I run missions with this toon at a difficulty level 1 higher than normal, usually without any trouble. This build was designed so that if you wish to forgo IOs and IO Sets for regular SOs, a respec is not necessary. In addition, all IO sets posted attempt to match the given SO potency given for each power. I could run at a full +1 difficulty, but I prefer the additional drops I get from the lower difficulty. As always, YMMV.
==PART 1: The Build==
1. Charged Brawl
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Crushing Impact 1-5, lvl 20+ Call of the Sandman 6
Some will look dubiously at the inclusion of the Self-Heal Proc from Call of the Sandman, preferring one of the damage procs from another IO line. However, my experience has shown me that damage output with this toon isn't the biggest issue. Anyone who's run a Defense-based toon knows that bad luck kills you more than anything else. The occasional heals from the proc have saved me from more than one face-plant. While its no subsitute for normal healing powers, every bit helps.
1. Kinetic Shield
SOs: 1 End, 3 Def
IOs: lvl 50 Red Fortune 1, 2, 4, 5
Of the high-end IO sets, Red Fortune is the easier to come by, and the given pieces will give you all that you need to nearly match SO level potency. The fact that Red Fortune can grant you a 2% bonus to damage output is gravy.
2. Havok Punch
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Crushing Impact 1-5, lvl 20+ Call of the Sandman 6
Your second bread-and-butter attack. The inclusion of the second heal proc increases your chances of survival against tough odds.
4. Jacob's Ladder
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOS: lvl 50 Scirroco's Dervish 1-5, lvl 20+ Call of the Sandman 6
Your first group attack. While Scirroco's Dervish is much harder to come by than Multi-Strike, I found that the IO Set bonuses are simply much better suited to this particular build. I was tempted to complete the set for the Lethal Damage proc, but again preferred the heal proc.
6. Power Shield
SOs: 1 End, 3 Def
IOs: lvl 50 Red Fortune 1, 2, 4, 5
See Kinetic Shield.
8. Thunderstrike
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Scirroco's Dervish 1-6
Your second group attack. If I could have slotted a fourth instance of Call of the Sandman 6, I would have. However, Thunderstrike won't accept sleep enhancements. In this case, my preference was to complete Scirroco's Dervish, not only for the Lethal damage proc, but also for the Psionic defense set bonus.
10. Entropy Shield
SOs: End
IOs: End
If you want to slot IO sets here, you're out of luck. Entropy Shield won't take any. Your best bet is to slot one SO or IO for Endurance Reduction and move on.
12. Hover
SOs: Flyx3
IOs: lvl 50 Soaring 1-3
I suspect that some of you will stop reading as soon as you see "Hover" in this build, especially when you find out that Fly is next in line. I know its the slowest travel power. I know that both Hover and Fly require some heavy slotting to be useful. I know that there are far better choices for PvP combat.
I also don't care. I have tried other travel power choices and in general they drive me nuts. CoX is still a social game for me, and trying to hold a conversation with Super Jump or Teleport is ridiculous without some macro to help manage them. Hover/Fly is a 'set-it-and-forget-it' travel combination, and it works just fine for me.
That being said, the Soaring IO set ends up reducing the overall travel speed from its SO slotting, but the small boost to Endurance Recovery and Maximum Hit Points makes up for that, IMHO.
14. Fly
SOs: Flyx3
IOs: lvl 50 Soaring 1-3
See Hover.
16. Swift
SOs: Fly
IOs: Fly
To be honest, the difference in slotting this power for run speed versus fly speed is barely noticeable. But I figure since I have Sprint to run faster, I might as well slot this to fly faster.
18. Health
SOs: Heal
IOs: Heal
Personally, I would love to slot this power with Numina's Convalescence 6, for the boost to Hit Point Regeneration AND Endurance Recovery. However, those who have tried to purchase that IO piece from the Black Market quickly find that:
A) Its not for sale, and
B) The bidding prices are hideously high
Besides, if you managed to score it from a Task Force, would YOU sell it? Probably not. So until I manage to find one of my own, I'll stick with a simple Heal SO or IO.
20. Stamina
SOs: Rcvrx3
IOs: Rcvrx3
Do I really need to explain this one?
22. Energy Cloak
SOs: 1 End, 3 Def
IOs: lvl 50 Red Fortune 1, 2, 4, 5
For some damage types, Energy Cloak provides ALL the defense you're ever going to get. So its worth slotting well.
24. Aid Other
SOs: Heal
IOs: Heal
As the bridge to Aid Self, this power also provides your Brute with the capacity to earn the Healing badges (albiet very slowly). I've found this to be handy in teams, especially if I have a lackey or pet in tow. Need I also mention that this power can help with those "protect so-and-so" missions where the person you have to protect throws the "stupid" switch?
26. Aid Self
SOs: Intrx3, Healx3
IOs: Intrx3, lvl 40 Miracle 1, 3, 5
Even if the Devs further modify Aid Self so that it simply CANNOT be used in the heat of combat, I'm still keeping it. Its simply too useful for keeping downtime low to respec out of. Besides, defense-based sets can give Aid Self the breathing room it needs to work, and a self-heal is something Energy Aura Brutes desperately need. However, the Devs did ensure that none of the healing IO lines include Interrupt reductions. As such, I'm only using 3 pieces from the Miracle IO set, largely for the set bonuses they give.
28. Energy Drain
SOs: Rcgx3, Rcvrx2, End
IOs: Rcgx3, Rcvrx2, End
Let the non-stop SMASHing begin! While there's no useful IO sets that Energy Drain can use, slotting this wondeful power up to the max is always a good idea. Since I run my missions at one setting higher than normal, I'm typically fighting 2-6 mobs at a time, and this slotting helps me make the most of it.
30. Build Up
SOs: Rcgx3
IOs: Rcgx3
Some may question Build Up coming so late in this build, but in truth, I found that I simply didn't need it a great deal until the lvl 30+ game got going. Besides, Lightning Rod is coming soon, and combined with a high Fury bar makes for a lethal opening combination.
32. Lightning Rod
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Scirroco's Dervish 1-6
KA-BOOM! This is an awesome power, and I love to use it against the caltrop-happy Knives of Artemis to 'port out of their layered slows and keep pounding on them. However, bear in mind that this power CANNOT be used if Hover or Fly is active (a limitation that no other travel power inflicts).
35. Hasten
SOs: Rcg
IOs: Rcg
On the subject of slows, the attack powers of this build do not recharge all that quickly on their own. While slotted as given in this guide, they recharge quite well, but slows can quickly cripple this build. Hasten was taken not to be used all the time, but in emergency situations. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
38. Overload
SOs: Rcgx3, Healx3
IOs: lvl 50 Doctored Wounds 1-6
Welcome to God-Mode light. You're not Unstoppable by any means, but this power can get out of a fix if you get in over your head. The Doctored Wounds IO set works wonderfully here, as its resulting recharge rate almost matches what SOs can grant.
41. Electrified Fences
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Imobx3
IOs: lvl 50 Enfeebled Operation 1-6
I don't use this power for inflicting damage, even though it can. I prefer its crowd control capability. Being able to split off the minions and lieutenants for a bit while the boss chases me around the corner helps a lot in tough fights. While the IO sets for Immobilize won't hold mobs for quite as long as standard IO slotting, the Accuracy becomes hideously high, which becomes very handy in the late game.
44. Ball Lightning
SOs: Acc, End, Rcg, Dmgx3
IOs: lvl 50 Positron's Blast 1-6
More boom! My biggest gripe with the Targeted AoE IO sets is that the recharge rate usually suffers as opposed to standard SO slotting. However, the IO choices used in this build handles this nicely (more on this later).
47. Dampening Field
SOs: Res
IOs: Res
I tried working the build using this combined with Tough from the fighting pool to maximize what resists I could get. The results weren't to my liking. However, gaining smash and lethal resistance from IO sets is somewhat difficult. This power is an easy way to recieve at least token resistance against two common damage types.
49. Energy Protection
SOs: Res
IOs: lvl 10+ Steadfast Protection 2
Before I9, this power was somewhat passable. This build has significant protection against energy damage already. However, with I9 came Steadfast Protection. The second piece of this IO set grants a flat 3% defense bonus against EVERYTHING. For a defense-based build, why not get it? While the IO slotting means I lose out on some resistance to Energy and Negative damage, the 3% defense boost is worth it.
== PART 2: IO Set Bonuses==
Despite thier high price tags, IO set bonuses can offer a lot to any build, from boosting existing strengths to blunting glaring weaknesses. For this section, I will concentrate on the IO set bonuses with significant values. The IOs chosen for this build resulted in the following set bonuses, which I will go into one by one:
1. +17.5% Accuracy
This is a tremendous help with tough opponents, especially in PvP.
2. +9.375% Targeted AoE Defense
In PvE, you'll find a lot of nastiness simply bouncing off you, even damage types you normally don't do well against.
3. +6% Damage
While 6% may not seem like a lot, in the late game battles can get quite long, and that 6% starts to mount.
4. +5.625% Maximum Hit Points
The higher your maximum hit points, the more Hit Points you recover with each tick. More HPs = good for Brutes.
5. +2.5% Lethal Defense
For defense-based builds, every little bit helps.
6. +3.125% Melee Defense
As Brutes spend a lot of time in melee combat, this is a very welcome addition.
7. +6.25% Psionic Defense
As an energy Brute, you have close to 0 defense against Psionic damage. Even this little bit will help take the edge off.
8. +25% Recharge Reduction
This is a big one. For the fast-recharging powers, you'll barely notice a difference. But for powers will long recharge times, you WILL notice.
9. +7% Endurance Recovery
While Energy Aura Brutes are normally swimming in Endurance, you will find yourself gasping for breath now and then. This small boost will help offset those moments.
10. +30% Hit Point Regeneration
Downtime is the enemy of Fury, and Aid Self isn't always ready to stave it off. A little help with regeneration will keep your Brute SMASHing.
==PART 3: Summation==
This is by no means the end-all-be-all Elec/Eng/Mu Brute build, but it has served me well from levels 1 to 50, and through experimentation has taught me a great deal about the Invention System and how to make it work for you. Swapping out the given IO Sets here with any of the possible alternatives will radically change your results. This is not a bad thing, as you can use that flexibility to match what your Brute ends up being good at with your own play style. Using the Invention System to its fullest takes time and some study, but for those willing to do it, their efforts will be rewarded.
For those who wish to know more, feel free to puruse the CoX boards, or visit ParagonWiki for information about individual Invention Origin Sets at:
http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/index.ph...hancement_Sets
Bear in mind that this guide is based partly on the information posted on ParagonWiki, and therefore may not be 100% correct.
**GUARDIAN**
Assault Ohm - Elec/Sonic Corruptor
Deadly Ohm - Elec/Will Brute
Invisible Ohm - Elec/Eng Stalker
Master Ohm - Elec/Elc Dominator