Optimal Anti-Rikti Specialist Brute?

Edit: 5/21 - I've settled on DM/ElA. I have some questions on how to develop it, see my post farther down.

So I'd like to create a Brute that at fifty would be tuned to be about as good against Rikti (with compromises to be about as good in solo and group play) as possible.

From what I'm read, Rikti are tough against Smashing, Lethal, and Energy, so that would seem to suggest Fire or Dark as a primary, and based on their attacks, I would at least like to avoid holes in Energy and Psionics defense, so for secondary, that's...WP or Dark?

Has anyone done anything like this? Any advice on slotting and pool powers would be welcome. Please note that I would have to earn my way into whatever enhancements I get.

Thanks in advance.

SS. It doesn't matter if it's all smashing damage. Rage makes all the difference. Plus you won't whiff at those annoying drones.

But then again, any properly build brute can do well against the Rikti. They're honestly not that tough.

Actually, probably the best secondary (that's not Stone) for Rikti is /Elec, as long as you take Tough. Without Tough the bosses can be a bit of an issue, but it does well against Psi and pretty much negates Energy, which is a great boon.

DM/ELA is a g-d against Rikti. You can get 1.5xRage with a good Soul Drain, and it's easy to agro cap with ELA against them.

My RWZ "challenge" is 2 EBs and 4 bosses at +4, with accompanying fodder. It's that good.

I'd say a combination of the two above me. My main red-side is a Energy/Electric, and being immune to most of the damage Rikti can throw is delicious. But like they said, when those huge Rikti blades come out, you'd better have Tough running. Even as a NRG/Ele, I still one-shot +2s and below with a little Fury built up.

SS/Electric - Hard to go wrong with Footstomp, Rage=No missing
Ele/Ele - Sure, they have Energy resist. Fury > Resists
DM/Ele - Endurance? What's that? My blue bar? Yeah, it's full...
Axe/Ele - Axe's 'slowness' is offset by Ele Armor's speed
Energy/Ele - Single Target doom, lulz AoE
Stone/Ele - Also brutal ST, has some neat ways to mitigate
Fire/Ele - Zero mitigation, I don't suggest it for Ele Armor
Mace/Ele - Good mitigation/damage

You'd be happy with any primary. I strongly suggest AGAINST Fire Melee though. Just because you can kill faster doesn't mean you'll survive long enough.

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DM/ELA is a g-d against Rikti. You can get 1.5xRage with a good Soul Drain, and it's easy to agro cap with ELA against them.

My RWZ "challenge" is 2 EBs and 4 bosses at +4, with accompanying fodder. It's that good.

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This.


My Dm/ELA Brute eats Ritki for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...and a small snack too mid afternoon...and every once in while when he gets hungry late at night for a 4th meal...screw Taco Bell...I eats Ritki...

Off the shelf my /ela was very strong against Rikti, but actually with full builds considered, he wasn't the strongest.

I IO'd the psi def of one of my /EAs up to the high 30s, and with massive s/l and energy def, he was definately tougher against rikti that what the /ele could do.

IO'd shield or SR would also be great.

QR

My vote is for DM/SR. Even with ELA's resis to energy, being hit by a Rikti's sword is going to put a hurtin on ELA with their poor S/L resis outside Power Surge.

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QR

My vote is for DM/SR. Even with ELA's resis to energy, being hit by a Rikti's sword is going to put a hurtin on ELA with their poor S/L resis outside Power Surge.

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nitpick: Electric Armor's "poor" S/L resistance is behind only Invulnerability (where it's a specialty) and Granite Armor (where it's a tier 9 - just a permanent one).

If you want to complain about it's S/L mitigation, sure - that's because the set offers no layering and is all resistance. But it's not the "poor resistance" that's the issue.

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Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.

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Originally Posted by Brillig It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.

Since poor is a subjective term, I can use it to describe the S/L resis in Ela, apparently that offends you.

I should note that I wasn't comparing the S/L of ELA with any other set, you did. My analysis of "poor" s/l is based on the slotted percentages, and I consider 41% s/l (fully slotted mind you) "poor" due to the popularity of the damage types.

So what's the cutoff on "poor", then? 50%? 60%? 90%? You can believe that 90% is poor resistance, but that doesn't make it accurate.

Given that there's no other measure beyond the other Brute armor sets, and it's almost as far ahead of the next-best sets as it is behind the only set ahead of it, I'd say that "poor" means that you simply think each and every Brute armor set is horrible crap and so you'd never play a Brute because they all have "poor resistance".

Quote:

Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brillig It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.

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So what's the cutoff on "poor", then? 50%? 60%? 90%? You can believe that 90% is poor resistance, but that doesn't make it accurate.

Given that there's no other measure beyond the other Brute armor sets, and it's almost as far ahead of the next-best sets as it is behind the only set ahead of it, I'd say that "poor" means that you simply think each and every Brute armor set is horrible crap and so you'd never play a Brute because they all have "poor resistance".

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Not sure why you resort to hyperbole or even an aggressive tone.

The "poor" S/L resis provided by brute armors is acceptable to me since I have always, and will always, obtain Tough to mitigate such common damage types (smashing and lethal).

So, I find the 55-60% S/L resistance acceptable for brutes outside of specific Tier 9s. Anything below 50% resistance to the most common damage types in game, I consider poor for brutes and tanks. Don't take it personally little buddy, it's nothing against you.

And I hope you are not assuming that I never play brutes because that would be waaaaay too amusing. So if you are done using emotions and hyperbole to try and belittle my use of the word "poor" to define the S/L resistance granted from a brute's secondary, let's move on.

55-60% is acceptable, ergo Electric Armor (60% with Tough) is acceptable. Okay. If you're not including Tough, then none of the armor sets can reach that value.

Stop using words you don't mean, then.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brillig It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.

I do mean what I said and you telling me otherwise is stupid.

I'll keep calling your precious ELA poor in the S/L resis department until the cows come home. That's my opinion and not something I care to bicker about any longer.

If we were talking about fire/cold/psi, then 41% resistance is acceptable due to the less common damage types. But for S/L, and to a less extent energy, 41% resistance...I consider "poor."

To reiterate: Okay. If you're not including Tough, then [u]none of the armor sets can reach that value[u].

I really don't care what you think about Electric Armor's mitigation, but you're simply deluded in your expectations because every armor set is "poor" for S/L outside of tier 9s by your criteria.

It has (relatively) good resistance values, it just has nothing to layer them with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brillig It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.

You've concluded what I've already stated multiple times, good work.

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You've concluded what I've already stated multiple times, good work.

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That your expectations are delusional?

I don't seem to recall you saying that, but okay...

Quote:

Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brillig It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.

How about a compromise?

For a set that relies almost completely on resistance, Elec Armor has poor resistance values (in anything other than energy and Psi resists).

Does that sound fair?

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You've concluded what I've already stated multiple times, good work.

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That your expectations are delusional?

I don't seem to recall you saying that, but okay...

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Why do you have to sort to personal attacks?

It's clear you don't agree with me referring to 40% s/L has poor. That's fine. I even supported my statement with my personal judgements about obtaining Tough and finding that acceptable.

But instead of you taking the adult approach, you decided to call me dilusional for not agreeing your use of the word "poor." Nice.

My suggestion for the OP is DM/SR. A DM/SR brute is > then a DM/ELA brute even if they both take the Fighting Pool. You subjective opinion about my use of the word "poor" is a POOR attempt to deflect the topic.

Anything with ELA. I knew when I got hit by a Rikti War Ship for about 50 damage it was a winner. Also add tough and you are doing quite well.

Those swords do hurt my elec/elec brute but since they tend to get one shot before I drain them of all there endrance I tend to have enough time to heal before they get enough endrance to hit me again. Now those damn romans and there critcal hits are a real pain :P

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You've concluded what I've already stated multiple times, good work.

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That your expectations are delusional?

I don't seem to recall you saying that, but okay...

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Why do you have to sort to personal attacks?

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Because none of the armor sets meet your expectations (a judgment of the sets). Thus the word, "delusional". Note also that it refers to those expectations.

If nothing meets your criteria - and by your stated criteria nothing does - your expectations are too high. To believe otherwise is delusional. Thus a disagreement with the word "poor" in relating to the second-highest resistance available, with a significant margin above the next set(s).

From Merriam Webster:

Main Entry: de·lude
Pronunciation: \di-ˈlüd, dē-\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): de·lud·ed; de·lud·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin deludere, from de- + ludere to play — more at ludicrous
Date: 15th century
1: to mislead the mind [u]or judgment of[u] : deceive, trick
2obsolete a: frustrate, disappoint b: evade, elude
synonyms see deceive


Main Entry: de·lu·sion
Pronunciation: \di-ˈlü-zhən, dē-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin delusion-, delusio, from deludere
Date: 15th century
1: the act of deluding : the state of being deluded
2 a: something that is falsely or delusively believed or propagated b: a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary ; also : the abnormal state marked by such beliefs



I won't argue that Electric Armor has relatively low mitigation. I will continue to state that it's not due to "poor resistance" - by the standards set (the other armor sets) the resistance is just fine. It needs something else to layer it with (a heal or +regen would be excellent given its performance with Aid Self), not simply "moar resist plz kthxbai".

It's not a personal attack if it's pointing out something that is by definition true; it's simply explaining to everyone else reading the thread that your judgment is impaired in this matter and can be discounted as irrelevant.

On-topic, ElA does very well against Rikti, and ElA with a heal (such as in the DM primary, which has been recommended several times) will do as well as anything else you're going to build.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brillig It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.

Even without Tough, I wade into multiple groups of Romans. Between Lightning Field, PSink, Ele Fences, and Ball Lightning all slotted for End, they tend to only get one 'meh' attack in, then are stuck eating a full Fury damage aura with no endurance <3

Wow, this is ridiculous. You broke out the dictionary, lol.

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Because none of the armor sets meet your expectations (a judgment of the sets). Thus the word, "delusional". Note also that it refers to those expectations.

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You are being weird about this use of the word "poor" when referring to the S/L resistance for Brutes.

You are correct that I consider most brute secondaries to have poor S/L resistance. Like I said earlier, good job on concluding something I already stated.

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If nothing meets your criteria - and by your stated criteria nothing does - your expectations are too high.

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Thank the lord there are these Power Pool thingys that let me pick up another 16-17% S/L resist and satisfy my criteria. Who would have thought!

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I won't argue that Electric Armor has relatively low mitigation. I will continue to state that it's not due to "poor resistance" - by the standards set (the other armor sets) the resistance is just fine.

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I never said ELA had poor resistances. I stated ELA has poor S/L resistance, which it does. If S/L were not the most common damage type in the game, then I would think differently. AND since ANY brute I create can pick-up Tough to offset the "poor" resistance then I see no problem.

RE: the rest of your post...

Very ridiculous.