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I am not an elite brute player. This is an alt that I'm not going to spend time and influence on going after set bonuses to make playable, I need something that is sturdy and able to kill out of the box with common IOs.
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SS/WP
You can hit what you want, kill what you want, you're tough enough (take tough/weave to be be tougher if you feel like it)
You can do everything well, and you don't have to sweat the details...
Well, ok I lied. There is one little detail you might need to sweat: The rage crash.
Some people just hate it... loath it to the point where they won't play a SS character. If this is you, or if you think this MIGHT be you, roll an Ele/WP with the fighting pool. Still no fancy IOs required, still solid as hell.
The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie!
I haven't played a character with a crash before. Unless you count my WP scrapper but I barely notice that so called "crash". (Huh, my blue bar actually dropped, what? Oh, crash... nm... all better) So it might be interesting. Or I might hate it.
Ele/WP is going on the list, thank you!
Are shields that finiky? They look cool and I want to play with that, but I know I have limited patience for fine tuning performance. If I'm in the mood to crunch numbers and hunt set IOs, I have three mains to do that with.
Altoholism isn't a problem, its a calling.
60+ characters, 5 years, 3 50's.
Shields can be a bit expensive.
Unless you're going DM/SD (DM's heal in SL compensates for survival) then shields are going to feel a little soft without some IOs.
Now, DM/Shield is a very solid set, it gets you what you need early, and it's plenty destructive, versitile and fun, even with basic IOs.
With a billion infamy worth of IOs, it's arguably one of the most capable things out there, spitting death and judgment in all directions...But it's an even more fussy build.
SS/WP or Ele/WP can be built with a random number generator and still be good.
The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie!
Shield defense will require a bit of patience to master. The defense isn't as good as SR out of the box, but you get a nice +dmg aura and ally buff power. If you plan on bruting with others or teaming a lot, shields is great. If you plan to solo, it is still good, but will take more patience than WP would. I know you said you don't want to IO and spend tons of cash, but people have found that a shield def brute can be pretty nasty if built the right way.
SS has its merits. And you can avoid the "crash" of rage by making it perma. This is done easily enough, I understand, with just recharge SOs. The overlap will do away with any kind typical crash penalty. I don't like the SS action myself, but if you want a brute that is out of the box capable and doesn't require a lot of money to be solid, you might consider SS/WP.
I have been having a lot of fun with a SR brute lately. She is end heavy, but easily soft capped for not a ton of cash. Pick a primary like DM and you are rolling nicely. DM will give you a nice heal that will fill in the lack of regeneration from SR.
Words to the wise aren't necessary- it's the stupid ones that need them.
"You're right...I forgot...being constantly at or the near the damage cap is a big turn off. Definitely not worth it."
- Vitality
The overlap of stacked rage does NOT get rid of the minus 1000% damage debuff so no you can't avoid the only irritating part of the crash
I'm hearing /WP as the way to go for simplicity's sake. (Simple is good. Assuming I'm a moron is never going to take you anywhere too far from reality.)
My 48 scrapper is /WP and my brute I looooove is /WP, I wanted to try something new but the other cons all look like something I would probably screw up and then not have fun with.
Thank you very much for your help! I'm probably going to go with Ele/WP, since I have an electric RP concept.
Altoholism isn't a problem, its a calling.
60+ characters, 5 years, 3 50's.
DM/SR
SS/WP
'nuff said.
/Fire might be nice because it has a quick recharge heal and a click power to give back endurance.
If you have a RP concept go with it cause that is what will probably yield the most fun for you.
axe/fire did it for me
i love my brute
-Justice- (retired)
EvilBeavers: lvl 44 Ice/Ice Manipulation Blaster
-Virtue-
Flaming Apron: 50 Axe/Fire Brute
Advocat: 26 Thug/DM MM
Leaf Dweller: 18 Plant/Thorn Dom
Alaskan King: 48 Crabz
Peirce Masterson: 16 Claw/Regen Scrap
Everrest: Stone/Stone Brute
FWIW, I love my War Mace/Willpower. I started the game by making a zillion alts and this is the one that I actually kept coming back to play. He's my main now and up to L26.
If you don't want to spend a lot of time and money, you can't beat Fiery Melee. SS is highly overrated and won't do nearly as much damage until you get your recharge skyhigh, at which point it comes close. SS does get better mitigation though.
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If you don't want to spend a lot of time and money, you can't beat Fiery Melee. SS is highly overrated and won't do nearly as much damage until you get your recharge skyhigh, at which point it comes close. SS does get better mitigation though.
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this is very true, especially with how early brutes get access to incinerate.
circle of thorns will annoy you though - dont pick magic secondary and ignore magic origin contacts unless you feel the absolute need to do everything on your way to 50
fighting behemoths made me want to punch a baby at times with fiery melee
If you think 20% fire resist is that annoying I advise you to stay clear of.... well every other damage type in the game really.
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If you think 20% fire resist is that annoying I advise you to stay clear of.... well every other damage type in the game really.
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im sorry, but it is that annoying!
pick DM, just stay away from the skulls on mercy, they are soooo annoying!
lol
Um... Spectral Daemons? 40% smashing and 30% NE resistance. BP zombies, 50% NE resist. Razorvines, 40% smashing and NE.
Admittedly Banished Pantheon doesn't exist villainside and Spectrals can be hunted down with the Ghost-slaying axe, but still.
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unless you feel the absolute need to do everything on your way to 50
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<giggles>
I don't feel the need to do anything on the way to 50. I like Strike/Task Forces. Other than that, its a miracle I have any 50's at all. Been here since the second anniversary and 3 50s. (and a 48 scrapper. Exciting!)
Around 60 alts, average level under 20. I suck just that much.
Altoholism isn't a problem, its a calling.
60+ characters, 5 years, 3 50's.
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Um... Spectral Daemons? 40% smashing and 30% NE resistance. BP zombies, 50% NE resist. Razorvines, 40% smashing and NE.
Admittedly Banished Pantheon doesn't exist villainside and Spectrals can be hunted down with the Ghost-slaying axe, but still.
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read it again, i was agreeing with you.
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If you don't want to spend a lot of time and money, you can't beat Fiery Melee. SS is highly overrated and won't do nearly as much damage until you get your recharge skyhigh, at which point it comes close. SS does get better mitigation though.
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Agreed 100%
Fire Melee is a beast right out the box. Sure, it lacks mitigation, but a good secondary and a little skill takes care of that.
Hell, I have an FM/FA Brute, and I LIVE by the "kill him befor he kills me" rule LOL! I love it! And 90% of the time it works out just fine. Gotta love the Full Fury+BU+FE haha, it definately = OMG 
While I did this tank side, I can see the potential of DM/fire. Not the sturdiest, but 2 heals, 2 end replenishers and 2 buildups if you want them.
Otherwise any/SR can be made very powerful with very little cash, cheap set IOs purchased at level 35 and 125 merits for a steadfast res/def will be all you need (and it can be done without even those). Since you will have end issues without many IOs, try dark melee which synergises well anyway as it gives you a heal, to get an energy replenishment tool and enjoy.
It's true. This game is NOT rocket surgery. - BillZBubba
Unfortunately heals, end replenishers and build ups stacks poorly with itself.
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Unfortunately heals, end replenishers and build ups stacks poorly with itself.
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Actually having played this combo as a tank they don't stack poorly, the buildups mean you don't need excessive recharge to have one up a lot of the time, and the end replenishers are on long enough timers that having two is a bonus. This is something you can build cheaply and make pretty effective. Siphon life is more like extra regen than a heal and a part of your attack chain, healing flames is your real heal.
It's true. This game is NOT rocket surgery. - BillZBubba
I have altitis. I have a DB/WP brute that I can't log into without playing at least 5 more missions than I had intended. I have deleted an elec/elec because I simply couldn't deal with it.
I want to make another brute, but I want it to be different than the ones I have, but fun enough to be loveable, and thus, fun enough for me to actually play.
I am not an elite brute player. This is an alt that I'm not going to spend time and influence on going after set bonuses to make playable, I need something that is sturdy and able to kill out of the box with common IOs. And I hate how stone looks.
What are my options?
Altoholism isn't a problem, its a calling.
60+ characters, 5 years, 3 50's.