You Will! - A Guide to Super Strength/Willpower!
By
BlackCarnage,
Posted on: 2007-11-23 01:44 in Player Guides
Rage's base stats are: +80% damage, +20% tohit, not +80% tohit as your guide states.
I'm about to make my own SuperStrength/ Willpower guide, simply because i seem to disagree with some of your suggestions.
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Rage's base stats are: +80% damage, +20% tohit, not +80% tohit as your guide states.
I'm about to make my own SuperStrength/ Willpower guide, simply because i seem to disagree with some of your suggestions.
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Ah - sorry about that. I wrote this guide very late, so I made a few mistakes, heh.
Good luck with your guide! I read it. It's pretty solid, even if I also disagree with some of your suggestions.
<[V]>IRTUE Player
Active 50s: Malevolency: (50+3 SS/WP Brute) / Sky-Scar (50+1 Robots/Dark MM) / Venomvein: (50+1 Crab) / Warlocked (50+1 BS/Shield Scrapper) / Some 50s Inactive
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Leaping: Combat Jumping is awesome for a mini-travel power combined with Hurdle. To boot, it covers the Immobilization weakness in Willpower, and provides a further defense, however minor, to all attacks. Super Leaping can be taken later to cover your lack of aerial travel with Super Speed, if you follow my build.
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Didn't a recent patch add protection from Immobilization into Indomidable Will? I think Willpower no longer has that hole. That means that there is no longer pressure to add Combat Jumping to a Willpower build.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Ahh, this I wasn't aware of! Thanks! It's still good for a mini-travel power when you take Super Speed, though, to get over walls and obstacles more easily.
EDIT: Silly question, is there a way to edit my guide so I can update it and fix mistakes?
<[V]>IRTUE Player
Active 50s: Malevolency: (50+3 SS/WP Brute) / Sky-Scar (50+1 Robots/Dark MM) / Venomvein: (50+1 Crab) / Warlocked (50+1 BS/Shield Scrapper) / Some 50s Inactive
Theres an edit button beside 'Reply' i believe. Eventually the post (once around for so long) becomes locked, and you can no longer edit it.
You'r missing the boss extra damage from rage + patron AOEs in order to get 40% more regen and not have to slot an end reducer (and with IO sets and mixing you can get the end reduction without sacrificing). Sorry this looks bunk.
O
A minor note, but Fast Healing and Quick Recovery have higher regen/recovery base than the pool powers Stamina and Health. The guide implies one would take health first (all things being equal), which would not make sense. I can understand (particulary for a tank or a brute with higher hit points) why one might choose both Fast Healing and Health, but I fail to understand why one would pick Health over Fast Healing. I think you may have meant to imply that since you wanted Stamina, you had to take Health but that was not clear to me.
CoH exists because there's a little hero in all of us.
Ridolfo 50 DM DA.
& far too many alts
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A minor note, but Fast Healing and Quick Recovery have higher regen/recovery base than the pool powers Stamina and Health. The guide implies one would take health first (all things being equal), which would not make sense. I can understand (particulary for a tank or a brute with higher hit points) why one might choose both Fast Healing and Health, but I fail to understand why one would pick Health over Fast Healing. I think you may have meant to imply that since you wanted Stamina, you had to take Health but that was not clear to me.
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But Health is the prerequisite for Stamina and works almost as well as Fast Healing. If you can't fit Fast Healing into your build, it works fine as a stand-in. I did mean to imply that, my bad!
This is a way old build though, and I've come across some new tricks, so expect an update to the guide soon enough... now that I'm not as much of a noob, heh.
<[V]>IRTUE Player
Active 50s: Malevolency: (50+3 SS/WP Brute) / Sky-Scar (50+1 Robots/Dark MM) / Venomvein: (50+1 Crab) / Warlocked (50+1 BS/Shield Scrapper) / Some 50s Inactive
Hey folks! This is The Red's Issue 11 guide to Super Strength/Willpower Brutes, "You Will!" - Here is a small table of contents. Just press CTRL + F to find a piece of the table according to its key - in example, type "[INT]" to reach the introduction part of the guide.
I. [INT] Introduction
II. [PWR] Guide to Powers
III. [BLD] My Build
IV. [EXP] My Experiences
V. [PvE] Player vs. Enviroment Guide
VI. [PvP] Player vs. Player Guide
VII. [CLS] In Closing
I. [INT] Introduction
This guide will teach you the following: everything you need to know about Super Strength/Willpower brutes; everything you may not have known about them; and everything you need to get a powerhouse going. From an in-depth elaboration on powers and pool powers, to patrons powers, all the way to a guide for PvE and PvP tactics, to your own personal build to test drive for yourself, this guide (hopefully) has all you need! Now... let us begin!
II. [PWR] Guide to Powers
Super Strength - Primary:
Tier 1: Jab
Jab is your standard Tier 1, dealing little damage. It's good for building Fury, but with the intent of keeping Hasten up and going as often and as much as possible, you have very little need for an attack like this. Its minor damage is a setback; it hits weak, especially compared to even the attack one step above its tier, Punch. Take Punch as your first power and skip Jab for later levels, if you really need it.
Damage: Minor; Recharge: Very Fast
Tier 2: Punch
Ah, Punch. Punch will be the bread and butter of your attack chain. You will be hitting this button a lot, and in return, it will build your fury and hit for you. HARD. I recommend taking this at first level instead of Jab, for the above reasons. You won't regret it, I'm hoping.
Damage: Moderate; Recharge: Fast
Tier 3: Haymaker
Haymaker is to a Super Strength Brute as a saw is to a chainsaw. A necessity. Without it, you're just a little rumbling...engine..thingy... uhh, analogies aside, this hard-hitting attack is up nearly as often as Punch and hits almost twice as hard. Stacked with Hasten, this power coupled with Punch will quickly gain you Fury if Brawl isn't enough.
Damage: Moderate-High; Recharge: Moderate
Tier 4: Hand Clap
Although a useful power, it can be saved for until MUCH later in your build. You're an offensive tank, not a defensive tankER; this power is more of an emergency crowd control for squishies, in my humble opinion. Again, save it for much later. It's easily replaceable with other powers, to boot.
Damage: None, Recharge: Slow
Tier 5: Knockout Blow
Remember how I mentioned the chainsaw without a saw analogy a bit earlier? Imagine that, except replace "chainsaw" with "tank" and replace "no saw" with "no shells to fire". You will take this (or so I hope... so I plead, in fact!). You will hit with it. You will hit as hard as you've ever hit. You will feel GOOD. It is an Extreme damage
Damage: Extreme, Recharge: Slow
Tier 6: Taunt
Don't even bother with this power unless you REALLY want it for some crazy reason. Masterminds are the tankers in City of Villains, not you, so leave it up to them to tank. Your attacks and aura will grab enough enemy attention as is.
Tier 7: Rage
Arguably even better than Build Up, this is about an 80% boost in Damage and To Hit (If i'm not mistaken...) that lasts several minutes. Its crash results in a partial loss of Endurance and ten seconds of "Only Affecting Self", a status effect that speaks for itself. Coupled with your four toggles, this CAN be deadly, but a smart Brute that knows what he's doing will last through that mere ten seconds. With Hasten, Rage can be double-stacked to hit especially hard with your attack chain.
Tier 8: Hurl
Although I've had very little chance to experiment with Hurl, it's a fun power, but not so much a necessity as an optional attack to include in your attack chain. I wouldn't say entirely skippable, but again, not necessary. It's useful if you don't take an aerial-able travel power and want to take out flying, leaping or teleporting opponents. Also, because it's hilarious to rip a chunk out of the ground and pelt some poor squishy with it.
Damage: Moderate; Recharge: Slow
Tier 9: Foot Stomp
This is an amazing power. An AoE knockdown that does superb damage. Double-stack Rage and with a full Fury bar, you can unleash the awesome potential of this attack to tear through crowds of minions. Even without, it's great in PvE for farming mobs or keeping assailants on their backs.
Damage: High; Recharge: Slow
Willpower - Secondary:
Tier 1: High Pain Tolerance
This is your only Resistance to elemental damage, as everything else against it in your build is Defense. Take it, six-slot it later on, and enjoy!
Tier 2: Mind over Body
Another necessary power, slot this thrice for maximum potential. Any more is overkill.
Tier 3: Fast Healing
This power is very much skippable until later levels, at which point it becomes most effective. I actually asved it until Level 49, at which point I three-slotted it. However, its Health regen stacks great with Health and RttC, and your expanded life bar thanks to High Pain Tolerance will make you thankful you did include this power.
One COULD go as far as to say it's skippable even in the end. If you crave one last power, perhaps Super Leaping to pair with Super Speed, skip it, then.
Tier 4: Indomitable Will
The first of two +Def powers you get in this set, this is also Mez resist, and thus yet another necessity. It takes quite a bit to mez you, thankfully.
Tier 5: Rise to the Challenge
The set-defining power, pretty much. Against multiple enemies, this power shines. Fighing a swarm of +3 mobs that want to rip your spine out and play jumprope with it? They're a bunch of sissies compared to you! This provides +Regeneration per mob, and debuffs the Accuracy of each mob by a small percent, within range of you. They hit less, you heal more. Win-win, baby. I do not, however, recommend slotting this with Acc Debuff SOs... it's too marginal to matter THAT much.
Tier 6: Quick Recovery
Ah. Quick Recovery. Paired with Stamina, you need only slot your attacks with Endurance Reduction SOs, ever. And then you'll NEVER need to worry about End again, except for very specific situations.
Tier 7: Heightened Senses
This will make it so you can see incoming Stalkers. It's worth it alone for that, but the +Def to elemental attacks makes it extremely worth taking and three-slotting.
Tier 8: Resurgence
There seems to be a half-and-half arguement against keeping or leaving a self-rez out of your pool. I say, that's what respecs are for. Take it and try it for yourself. For when you don't have an Awaken handy, or just want to pop right back into the action, Resurgence is fro you. You may not EXPECT to die... but that is the exact point I'm trying to stress - you may not expect to die. This'll start you over again and let you finish that EB you're trying to solo.
Tier 9: Strength of Will
Some argue this power is skippable: I stick with the same explanation I use for Resurgence and other self-rez powers. You may not NEED it, but sometimes you'll want it. It's entirely up to you if you do or don't take this power, as with any. You likely won't be gimped, if you don't. However, for that quick "I Win" button in PvP or in Strike Forces, feel free to take this. Just be wary of the crash paired with Rage's crash. I wholly encourage taking this power, either way.
Auxillary Pools -
Concealment: Not really useful to a Brute. If you take Super Speed, that in itself has a Stealth component.
Fighting: Some swear by the idea of raising the already nice +Def and +Res aspects of a Willpower brute. If you can fit this into your attack chain and toggle sets without sacrificing crucial powers, go for it. But, I'd personally say it's skippable.
Fitness: With Quick Recovery, you can always expend a few extra slots to slot EndRdx SOs in your endurance-heavy attacks and armor. However, Hurdle + Combat Jumping is an amazing mini-travel power; Health, Fast Healing and RttC (as aforementioned) stack great; and Stamina and Quick Recovery will guarantee you almost never hit 0 on the Endurance bar.
Flight: Not exactly the most useful Travel Pool to a SS/WP Brute. You won't be gimped if you take it, but I'd say do so only for concept. Air Superiorty, whilst a nice attack and although it meshes well with the Knockback, Knockup and Knockdown powers of Super Strength, isn't necessary for that very reason. Fly is the slowest travel power and also the most dangerous to use in PvP.
Leadership: Do I even have to explain why this is a bad choice for Brutes? Leave this for the Masterminds, or this will be a nigh-useless waste of powers for you.
Leaping: Combat Jumping is awesome for a mini-travel power combined with Hurdle. To boot, it covers the Immobilization weakness in Willpower, and provides a further defense, however minor, to all attacks. Super Leaping can be taken later to cover your lack of aerial travel with Super Speed, if you follow my build.
Medicine: You don't expect a Brute to be carrying a healing device with him. It's a pleasant surprise, though, when he heals you just before you die and you both keep on trashing the enemy. Now imagine you're that Brute, and how thankful your teammates will be. Really, you can take this or Stimulant as the prerequisite to Aid Self (which in itself isn't NEEDED, but I highly recommend to cover the lack of self-heal). You don't need to really bother with slots for Aid Other or Stim., though.
More on Aid Self: Take it and six-slot it once you can. It's an amazing power that will oftentimes save your hide. A Recharge SO in this stacked with Hasten makes it come up often, sometimes more than needed.
Presence: If you really, REALLY want something Taunt-y, take the AoE taunt available in this powerset. It's no Tanker Taunt, but it'll be close enough for whatever reason you took this for.
Speed: Ahah! Now we're talking. Hasten will amaze you with how well it syncs with Super Strength and the build below. You don't even need Brawl to build Fury with Hasten and your attack chain combined. Super Speed has a stealth componetn, which is nice in PvP and if you want to sneak by in PvE mishes.
Teleportation: I feel about this as I do with Fly, only instead you need THREE powers to make it work: Recall Friend, Teleport and Hover. Else, you'll be falling quite often. Remember, you assist the team enough by being a Brute. Leave the Recalling up to others that can afford the power.
Epic Pools -
ALL Patrons: I tend to skip these, finding them unnecessray for what is already a buzzsaw-esque build. They seem to only slow this build down. However, if you wish to add them for flavor or concept, feel free
III. [BLD] My Build
I will leave slotting up to you, but offer a default slotting guide for referrence. Funnily enough, I found I had plenty of slots to spare. At some levels I was unsure of what to do with them, so I left some slots open for IOs in the Mid's Hero Designer build I had... before MHD crashed. Sigh.
You may notice that I went without any Epic pools. I find that the Patron pools only slow a SS/WP Brute down.
P.S. I can update this later with a MHD design if anyone is interested!
Power Name [#SO]
1: Jab [1Acc/3DMG/1EndRdx]
1: High Pain Tolerance [3DmgRes/3Heal]
2: Haymaker [1Acc/3DMG/1EndRdx]
4: Mind over Body [3DmgRes]
6: Hasten [3RchRdx]
8: Knock Out Blow [1Acc/3DMG/1EndRdx/1KnkBckDst]
10: Indomitable Will [3Def]
12: Hurdle [1Leap]
14: Super Speed [3RnSpd]
16: Rise to the Challenge [3Heal]
18: Rage [3RchRdx]
20: Quick Recovery [3EndMod]
22: Combat Jumping [1EndRdx/1Def/1Leap]
24: Health [3Heal]
26: Stamina [3EndMod]
28: Heightened Senses [3Def]
30: Aid Other [1IntTmRdx]
32: Foot Stomp [1Acc/3DMG/1EndRdx]
35: Aid Self [2IntTmRdx/3Heal/1RchRdx]
38: Strength of Will [3DmgRes]
41: Hurl [1Acc/3DMG/1EndRdx]
44: Resurgence [3RchRdx]
47: Hand Clap [2Acc/2DisInc/1KnkBkDst]
49: Fast Healing [3Heal]
IV. [EXP] My Experiences
In my experiences, most of the testing I did was on a 36 SS/WP Brute on Test. Since at the time of the release of this guide, i11 hasn't been released yet, there are likely to be changes!
I've defeated the following in PvP:
37 Claws/Regeneration Stalker (Exemped from 50)
36 Dual Blades/Willpower Scrapper
35 Mind/Fire Dominator
43 Energy Meelee/Invulnerability Brute
40 Sonic/Energy Blaster
I've lost to the following in PvP:
None
I've tied with the following in PvP:
None
General Tips and Tricks:
Tip: Use Brawl and your Origin Power (I.E.: Throwing Knives or Apprentice Charm) to quickly build Fury with your attack chain.
Tip: You'll never need to slot anything for Recharge when you have Hasten, except for maybe Aid Self if you want it up a lot.
Trick: Activate Rage, then activate Hasten last for an extra boost in recharge. With Hasten active, you can double-stack Rage long enough to launch two or three attacks. A Double Rage Knock Out Blow and Foot Stomp can shred through bosses and minions alike.
Trick: It may be considered cowardly, but you can activate Foot Stomp to knock over most assailants, and then activate Super Speed to flee when you see a Rage crash incoming.
V. [PvE] Player vs. Enviroment Guide
What you do:
In PvE, you make a great alpha tank. In fact, despite the description provided for Willpower - that may just be where you excel. With the ability to increase regeneration per mob attacking you, to heal yourself, to shrug off the most common type of enemy attacks (Smashing and Lethal), resist a majority of status effects, and boasting defense against every type of power, you are a force to be reckoned with.
And although people frown upon such things, you'd make an excellent farming tool, or great for powerlevelling, if that's your thing. But, you didn't hear that from me...
What to be careful with in PvE:
Carnies. Carnies, when they die, sap your Endurance. With your four toggles, a mission on Ruthless or Relentless can spawn up to eight Carnies, enough to decimate your Endurance bar and drain it completely, leaving you defenseless.
Rage crashes. As aforementioned, keep an eye on your toggles and do what you can do keep yourself safe. If you are tanking and Rage crash in the middle of a fight unexpectedly, keep yourself healed until that ten seconds ends and then wreak havoc again.
VI. [PvP] Player vs. Player Guide
What you do: You make a great Single Target destroyer. You can drill through squishies like a tungstein tank round, and it takes several crunchies at once to put a good dent in you or even put you out of commission.
What to be wary of in PvP: Electric-based attackers can quickly drain your Endurance, shutting off your toggles and again leaving you defenseless. Try to focus on them first.
VII. [CLS] In Closing
Expect some potential major updates to this guide. Hopefully, I got my facts right. Feel free to send me suggestions or constructive criticism! Typo fixes, errors, et cetera... just please, keep it respectful!
<[V]>IRTUE Player
Active 50s: Malevolency: (50+3 SS/WP Brute) / Sky-Scar (50+1 Robots/Dark MM) / Venomvein: (50+1 Crab) / Warlocked (50+1 BS/Shield Scrapper) / Some 50s Inactive