Endurance Dysfunction and You!

Endurance Dysfunction and You!
A guide by JoJo the Bunny to help under performing Brutes everywhere combat the common ailment of Endurance Dysfunction, WITHOUT taking Blue Pills!

(In actuality this is a very serious article about Brutes and how to properly make one. I see many of the same questions posted on these forums and I feel that this guide can answer those questions or provide sound guidance. At the bottom of the article there will be a quick, straight to the point rundown without innuendo. Feel free to skip ahead.)

***********
Does your Brute have trouble going the distance and lasting until the end? Does your Brute feel helpless and alone? Does your Brute have trouble performing in long, heated exchanges?

Hello, my name is JoJo the Bunny. You may remember me from such articles as “The Brute Test” and “State of the Archetype Brutes”. Today I am going to be discussing Endurance Dysfunction. Endurance Dysfunction is not a laughing matter. Many Brutes struggle to stay in the fight until the end. Today I am going to be discussing the common symptoms of E.D. and the best ways to prevent E.D from affecting you.

One can tell when a Brute is suffering from E.D. when they are unable to last until the end. If you have, or know a Brute who simply gets too tired to keep going then you know a Brute who suffers from E.D. Often a Brute is able to start a fight hard and strong, but just as they build Fury and the fight is building to a raging climax E.D. sets in and they are unable to finish. A simple way to combat E.D. is to take Blue Pills, however, there are other options for Brutes today.

The most important way to combat E.D. is taking proper care of your Brute. Many Brutes think “damage is everything” or “I want to hit harder” or “I want to swing faster” when taking care of their Brutes. This type of thinking is the main cause for Endurance Dysfunction, especially for young Brutes who have yet to build up Stamina. Instead of focusing on Damage or Recharge, a Brute should first focus on Accuracy and Endurance Reduction. By focusing on Endurance and Accuracy, especially pre-Stamina, a Brute can last longer in fights, build up more fury, and deal more damage over the long battle.

Remember, E.D. is not a laughing matter and it affects many Brutes. However, you can help prevent Endurance Dysfunction by remind Brutes to focus on Accuracy and Endurance Reduction in their primary powers first. Keep your Brutes lasting longer and stronger!
*********************

Every Brute, everywhere should follow this basic outline I'm about to disclose when starting their Brute. This basic outline is based on “Feel” and personal preference. The outline is focused on creating a new Brute. As you level up your Brute you can begin to deviate from the outline based on your personal preferences. However, I cannot see a viable reason why a Brute would not want to begin with any other system in place.

First Step: Get an attack Chain.
An attack chain is a series of powers that a Brute, or any Hero/Villain, would use in succession to continuously attack. As a Brute, you want to have enough attack powers to be firing them off one after the other with little or no down-time. If your primary powerset does not have satisfactory powers to your liking, feel free to add in wonderful powers such as “Air Superiority” from the flight pool (simply amazing) or Boxing from the fighting pool (which leads to Tough and Weave). Most Brutes will want between 3 and 5 single target attacks as their attack chain and many are able to get these powers very early. How many and which attacks you want in your attack chain depends on your powerset and personal preference.

Second Step: Slot your attack chain
In terms of slotting, every Brute's main priority should be getting 4 slots in each of the attacks in their attack chain. Slotting anywhere else is significantly less of a priority. Into these slots a Brute should first place two accuracy and then two endurance reduction to start with. One should have no problem selling common magic salvage on the market or enhancements they find while fighting to obtain these Enhancements at early Training Origin levels. Damage and Recharge are far less important as Endurance and Accuracy. All Brutes have Fury which adds significantly more damage than any Damage Enhancements could at low levels. By slotting Endurance Reductions in attacks, a Brute is able to maximize the time they are fighting as opposed to resting and thus maintain a high level of Fury, Damage and SMASH!

A quick mathematical rundown of why slotting Endurance in attack powers as opposed to toggle shields first. Though, one can still slot Endurance reductions into the shields, but slotting into Primary powers will accomplish more and is thus more of a priority.

These numbers are all based on me eyeballing Mid's Hero Builder and may be slightly off. Even if slightly off the general idea will be obvious:

Endurance per second, unslotted:
Punch (Super Strength) if used continuously: 1.18/second
Nimble Slash (Dual Blades) 1.15/second
Stone Mallet (Stone) : 0.9/second

Dark Embrace (Dark Armor): 0.2/second
Charged Armor (Electric): 0.26/second
Mind over Body (Willpower): 0.26/second

Thus, roughly, each attack costs 4 times as much as a shield. Of course, you won't be able to attack at those rates continuously. However, you can use multiple attack powers one after the other. Assuming you only use Punch or your attack power (singular) half as much as you could over 10 seconds, you would still use twice the endurance as a shield over 10 seconds. Therefore, I HIGHLY suggest slotting endurance into attack powers as a main priority.

The Brute Test

Are you unsure if you want to be a Brute? Do you want to get a feel of
what Bruting is like before making one of your own? This test's
purpose is to give you a taste of what being a Brute is all about --
SMASHING stuff. I've outlined a build and a playing strategy that
isn't necessarily the best Brute, or the Brute you would want to make.
However, I believe this Brute's build is the one to give you a true
taste of what being a Brute is about right from level one. The
important thing in this test is "Feel". Yes, I know that's a word for
sissies. But you know, I like the "feeling" I get when beating up
weaklings in dark alleys. This guide will let you know if you like
that "feeling" too -- and it will do this VERY quickly. No, I don't
want you to share your feelings... get lost.

I am JoJo the Bunny. A world renowned actor on a children's television
show. I am **NOT** a hardened criminal who spends his days raging
across the Rogue Isles. Perhaps you've seen me around. I believe in
"Freedom". I'm 6'4, 300lbs and I wear a pink bunny costume. I've been
Bruting for all of my 50 years.

Here's the meat:
Roll a new character and pick a Brute.

Primary Powerset ---> Super Strength
Take "Punch" as your first power.

Secondary Powerset --> Fiery Aura
You must take "Fire Shield".

Playing a Brute is easy. Turn on Fire Shield and leave it on. Run at
something and beat it up. That's it. Sometimes there are too many guys
for you to fight at once and sometimes there are guys a lot stronger
than you. As an experienced Brute allow me to explain that there is NO
shame in beating up the weak and lonely guy you see on the street.

I tell young kid's all the time, "You wanna be a Brute and your
picking on the football player's for their lunch money? What are you
thinking?! See that little guy in the corner alone, go fight him."

As you gain experience you should fill out your punching repertoire
and fighting abilities. Here are my suggested powers for a Brute that
starts off fast and aggressive to complete the "Brute Test"

Haymaker
Healing Flames
Air Superiority (from the Flight Pool, don't worry, it's a two handed whack)
Knockout Blow.

Choose those powers in order as soon as you can. When you are forced
to choose "slots" and not powers, put your slots into your attacks.
Get a total of 3 slots in each attack. Put "Accuracy" and "Endurance
Reduction" enhancements in your attacks and NOTHING else. As a Brute,
the longer you fight the more damage you do. The only thing holding
you back will be your endurance. You want to fight as long as
possible, all the time. Endurance reductions in attacks will help
significantly.

Here is a nerdier breakdown of the Brute Test:

01 => Fire Shield ==> 1xEndCost
01 => Punch ==> 2xEndCost,1xAcc
02 => Haymaker ==> 2xEndCost,1xAcc
04 => Healing Flames ==> 1xRech
06 => Air Superiority ==> 2xEndCost,1xAcc
08 => Knockout Blow ==> 2xEndCost,1xAcc

Remember, this may NOT be the Brute for you. This test is simply a way
to get you into a Brute and get the feel of the Brute in a few short
minutes. After playing your Brute test character read about all the
other cool powers that a Brute can take. There may be a better Brute
out there for you! If you don't like your Brute test character and
don't like his feel and fighting style than it is VERY likely that
being a Brute is not for you.

Thanks for writing this. I just made a Brute, and now see why I should be slotting for end reduction. =)

I like your sense of humor.

Very good advice thrown into the humor. From the lack of replies, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the kiddies who pretend to be know-it-alls on the forums, didn't get the humor.
That thought really amuses me.

Good work.

A brief and helpful guide. If only it could pop up in game when new brutes made their characters

I wish I had this guide back at COV launch. I spent the first few weeks with an EM/stone brute and was pretty much miserable. I respecced him with every freespec that came out to try to make it more fun and not suck so much to play. (I think 4 freespecs before lvl 18. First alt with stone armor as well, so one was to remove SS and go with TP due to rooted.)

It wasn't till recently that I just "gave up" and had him, err, alternatively leveled to 26 so I could get stamina and some slots in, and I've been enjoying him ever since.

Just as an update, with the new Beginner's Luck mechanism that increases low-level accuracy, I would not recommend now that you slot 2 Acc / 2 End Red.

I would go with 1 Acc only, and use the saved slot either for defenses, or for Dam for faster attacks and Rech for slower attacks.

very humorous uide. before i even read this guide i made a ss/fa brute and i really like the build. it is my first brute and i love it. ty for the tips on end reduction.

I've played so many brutes..and man this thread makes me so sad. If you really want to gimp damage and recharge and pick up stupid things to slot like air supiriority or actually slotting boxing which does so little damage be my guest. The key to slotting a brute and making him not only a threat on damage but not a horrible end hog you need to slot your shields. Although you should be slotting your attacks with at least some end redux in order to fully keep the end cost to a minimum, your shields are consistantly using x amount of end per second so keeping those to a minimum is a must. All and all if you want to be like jo jo which I had to tank mobs for on a stoner be my guest, but since he purples out all his builds I'd suggest loling at this thread and moving on. Even if you get the end under control you'll spend so little time actually killing things with a bad attack chain and not enough damages slotted that its really not even worth playing a brute. You can not waste any end and slot end redux in brawl but seriously who wants to do no damage. Jo Jo, please don't advise people when you need the advising yourself. Ty!

[ QUOTE ]
I've played so many brutes..and man this thread makes me so sad. If you really want to gimp damage and recharge and pick up stupid things to slot like air supiriority or actually slotting boxing which does so little damage be my guest. The key to slotting a brute and making him not only a threat on damage but not a horrible end hog you need to slot your shields. Although you should be slotting your attacks with at least some end redux in order to fully keep the end cost to a minimum, your shields are consistantly using x amount of end per second so keeping those to a minimum is a must. All and all if you want to be like jo jo which I had to tank mobs for on a stoner be my guest, but since he purples out all his builds I'd suggest loling at this thread and moving on. Even if you get the end under control you'll spend so little time actually killing things with a bad attack chain and not enough damages slotted that its really not even worth playing a brute. You can not waste any end and slot end redux in brawl but seriously who wants to do no damage. Jo Jo, please don't advise people when you need the advising yourself. Ty!

[/ QUOTE ]

lol wut?

More to the point, let's have a good time and deconstruct this thread!

[ QUOTE ]
I've played so many brutes..and man this thread makes me so sad.

[/ QUOTE ]

Argument from false authority!

[ QUOTE ]
The key to slotting a brute and making him not only a threat on damage but not a horrible end hog you need to slot your shields. Although you should be slotting your attacks with at least some end redux in order to fully keep the end cost to a minimum, your shields are consistantly using x amount of end per second so keeping those to a minimum is a must.

[/ QUOTE ]

JoJo actually, in his guide, explains why your attacks use more end/second than your shields do. Slotting end reduction in your shields is useful, but less useful than in your attacks.

[ QUOTE ]
All and all if you want to be like jo jo which I had to tank mobs for on a stoner be my guest

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, here's the rub. You think he's talking about levels 20+. He's not. He's talking about the pre-SOs and pre-Stamina game, where enhancements can boost your damage 33-50% if you put 2-3 damage DOs in them. At those same levels, fury boosts your damage by 100% or more, easily.

[ QUOTE ]
but since he purples out all his builds I'd suggest loling at this thread and moving on.

[/ QUOTE ]

Argumentum ad hominem fallacy. You're attacking JoJo's character in an attempt to invalidate his argument (or in this case, his guide). Besides, you don't know for sure that JoJo does that.

[ QUOTE ]
You can not waste any end and slot end redux in brawl but seriously who wants to do no damage.

[/ QUOTE ]

At half a fury bar, you get the same bonus to damage that 3-slotting damage SOs would. At nearly full fury bar, you get nearly twice that. The enhancements don't matter as much.

[ QUOTE ]
I've played so many brutes..and man this thread makes me so sad. If you really want to gimp damage and recharge and pick up stupid things to slot like air supiriority or actually slotting boxing which does so little damage be my guest. The key to slotting a brute and making him not only a threat on damage but not a horrible end hog you need to slot your shields. Although you should be slotting your attacks with at least some end redux in order to fully keep the end cost to a minimum, your shields are consistantly using x amount of end per second so keeping those to a minimum is a must. All and all if you want to be like jo jo which I had to tank mobs for on a stoner be my guest, but since he purples out all his builds I'd suggest loling at this thread and moving on. Even if you get the end under control you'll spend so little time actually killing things with a bad attack chain and not enough damages slotted that its really not even worth playing a brute. You can not waste any end and slot end redux in brawl but seriously who wants to do no damage. Jo Jo, please don't advise people when you need the advising yourself. Ty!

[/ QUOTE ]

Waahh! No damage enhancements! Waahhh!!!

Please. Fury adds ~180% damage, Rage gives 80%.

Lets take Haymaker (68.4 Damage, 8.53 End Reduction):
(All Enhancements are SOs)

With 1 Acc, 2 Damage and 90 fury it does:
237.1 Damage for 8.53 endurance (Rage down)
291.8 Damage for 8.53 endurance (Rage up)

With 1 Acc, 2 End Reduction and 90 fury it does:
191.5 Damage for 5.12 endurance (Rage down)
246.2 Damage for 5.12 endurance (Rage up)

So. With rage down, you have:
81% of the damage with 61% of the end cost (Rage down) and
84% of the damage with 61% of the end cost with Rage up.

Really, a 19% damage loss is "gimping" yourself? honestly? I'd rather lower damage for the ability to sustain my attack chain indefinitely, but that's just me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shubbie Im very good at taking a problem and making it worse.

There's no point in bringing up facts and math to the situation to counter his pointless argument. You could break down shield's endurance cost and attack powers endurance cost and show him the break even point where an endurance reduction is equal in a shield or attack power depending on how frequently you use the attack. He wouldn't listen. I'm his personal scapegoat. When something goes wrong, anything in fact, he blames me.

"The market is JoJo's fault."
"Bad Brutes are JoJo's fault."
"Global warming is JoJo's fault."

Don't rob him of what little he has.

[ QUOTE ]
There's no point in bringing up facts and math to the situation to counter his pointless argument. You could break down shield's endurance cost and attack powers endurance cost and show him the break even point where an endurance reduction is equal in a shield or attack power depending on how frequently you use the attack. He wouldn't listen. I'm his personal scapegoat. When something goes wrong, anything in fact, he blames me.

"The market is JoJo's fault."
"Bad Brutes are JoJo's fault."
"Global warming is JoJo's fault."

Don't rob him of what little he has.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't rob me of what little I have.

SPEDIT: I recently leveled up an Elec/WP brute. Being the OCD IO freak that I am, I proceeded to slot his Charged Brawl and Jacob's Ladder thusly:
Hibernation - Acc/Sleep/Rech
Hibernation - Acc/End
Hibernation - Acc/Rech
Hibernation - End/Sleep

Why? They were dirt cheap, that's why.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shubbie Im very good at taking a problem and making it worse.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't slot your toggles for end reduction either. I like this guide, it's good advice. Unfortunately it sort of feels like the OP is saying "Don't bother slotting up your armor until way later."