I'm in the same boat. I started a WM/SD brute and I like the character, and hitting stuff with a big hammer is great fun. But I'm new to brutes and would love to see some guidance specific to the build as well.
WM/SD makes for a very solid and fun brute. Mine just hit 50 two days ago and is completely IO'ed out.
Offensively, WM/SD makes for an AoE machine, to the point that I skipping the Patron Pools because I don't need another AoE attack at all. Both whirling mace and crowd control recharge fast enough that you can just use one after another non-stop if you have hasten or SB on you. If you don't you can always just add shatter to the attack chain to continue the AoE goodness.
Defensively SD isn't quite as strong as some of the other secondaries (obviously) but it's still pretty easy to hit the def softcap. I find myself being the lead brute for 53/54 AE boss farms all the time and don't have much trouble surviving. Of course part of that is due to the damage mitigation capability of WM. Anyways I'll post my build when I get home from work.
This is my current IO'd build... there's many personal choices to be made.
- Do you want One with the Shield? Can you fit it in?
- Do you want ranged taunt capability? Due to redraw with patron pools, "taunt" is your best option if you do.
- Do you want to work towards capped defdebuff resistance so you don't melt amidst Cimerorans and other defdebuffers? You'll need high recharge and hasten if you do. Grant Cover is not to be missed either.
Anyway, this is my build - You will see I skipped whirling mace, not because it's a bad power, but because there is simply no room for it. Between the choice of shatter, crowd control, and whirling mace, it is the weakest link.
Edit... I nearly forgot: work on your endurance recovery, either through +end or +recovery bonuses. WM *will* drain you dry in long fights, even moreso if you have little end recovery. This is compounded if you use a lot of obliteration sets - they have ridiculously low endurance reduction.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: War Mace
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Pulverize -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(3), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Mako-Dam%(34)
Level 1: Deflection -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(7), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(9), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 2: Jawbreaker -- Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg(A), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg(15), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Hectmb-Dam%(23), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34)
Level 4: Battle Agility -- RedFtn-Def(A), RedFtn-EndRdx(7), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(11), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(42), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 6: True Grit -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/Rchg(11), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(15), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(39)
Level 8: Clobber -- T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), T'Death-Acc/Dmg(9), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(23), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(25), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), T'Death-Dam%(48)
Level 10: Active Defense -- HO:Membr(A), HO:Membr(40), HO:Membr(43)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(13), Zephyr-ResKB(13), LkGmblr-Rchg+(17)
Level 14: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- RgnTis-Regen+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(19), Mrcl-Heal(19), Numna-Heal(21), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(21)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(A), P'Shift-End%(25), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(31), P'Shift-EndMod(39), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(42), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(50)
Level 22: Phalanx Fighting -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 24: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(43), Zephyr-ResKB(43)
Level 26: Shatter -- Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Armgdn-Dam%(27), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(27), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(29)
Level 28: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 30: Tough -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(31), ImpArm-ResDam(31), ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 32: Crowd Control -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-%Dam(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Oblit-Dmg(36), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(36), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-%Dam(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37)
Level 38: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Cyto(40), HO:Cyto(40)
Level 41: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(42), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(45), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(45), GSFC-Build%(45), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(46)
Level 44: Grant Cover -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 47: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(48)
Level 49: Taunt -- RechRdx-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
------------
[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]18.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]18.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]18.5% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]18.5% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]18.5% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]18.5% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]18.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]18.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]9.88% Defense(Smashing)[*]9.88% Defense(Lethal)[*]8.94% Defense(Fire)[*]8.94% Defense(Cold)[*]10.5% Defense(Energy)[*]10.5% Defense(Negative)[*]4.88% Defense(Psionic)[*]16.8% Defense(Melee)[*]18% Defense(Ranged)[*]14.9% Defense(AoE)[*]2.25% Max End[*]72.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]57% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]10% FlySpeed[*]146.2 HP (9.75%) HitPoints[*]10% JumpHeight[*]10% JumpSpeed[*]Knockback (Mag -8)[*]Knockup (Mag -8)[*]MezResist(Held) 6.05%[*]MezResist(Immobilize) 8.25%[*]MezResist(Stun) 4.4%[*]18% (0.3 End/sec) Recovery[*]34% (2.13 HP/sec) Regeneration[*]6.3% Resistance(Fire)[*]6.3% Resistance(Cold)[*]10% RunSpeed[/list]
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Lastly, with all the knockdown mitigation and defense in this combo, you'll likely get bored unless you're facing 50 mobs at once.
I gotta warn you. A WM/SD Brute will have serious endurance problems later in the game, enough issues that render it unplayable for a friend of mine. Slot for endurance in your attacks and toggles where possible, or maybe invest in IO sets that raise max endurance and endurance recovery.
In my experience with the two sets (A WM/EA Brute and an Elec/Shield Brute), I'd suggest starting out by picking either Bash or Pulverize, but not both (recharge time is too similar, so you only really need one to fill in the attack chain). Then put in at least 2-3 slots in True Grit for when you take hits, because you WILL be taking hits at some point. You might wish to get Taunt sometime to better herd enemies for Shield Charge, Whirling Mace, and Crowd Control, and also because Against All Odds boosts damage by the number of nearby enemies. Oh, and most people don't like One with the Shield, so you may wanna skip it.
In terms of patron pools, I would invest in the soul mastery pool and grab Darkest Night. It's an expensive toggle, but you'll be nearly impossible to hit by any enemy in its radius while your defense based toggles are running. Your other likely option for a useful patron set would be Mu Mastery for Ball Lightning, I guess.
Hope this helped a little.
Too many alts to list.
I'm finding endurance not nearly the big deal the above posters are experiencing at level 45. I have been using Multistrikes, not Oblits, maybe that's been helping me. I will admit I have 2 patron powers that I never use. I will respec into medicine pool instead.
My melee soft cap's been reached, and I find this more than useful for most mishes. Silver Mantis did shred me on a couple of lucky hits, but that's the RNG's fault. I'll admit I haven't done the Cimerora wall with him, but I can farm other things.
I find my WM/SD one of my most powerful characters. A real wrecking ball of a character which makes me wonder what I'm missing for not having gone SS/SD. Can superstrength really be that much more?
More villain than hero these days
While leveling I took Pulverize, Jawbreaker and Clobber but once I had Whirling Mace and Shatter and started eyeballing the upcoming Crowd Control I felt I had way too many attacks piling up, especially with hasten. I ended up respecing and dropping Jawbreaker. I little bit of global recharge set bonuses helped fill out the attack chain a bit when Hasten is down. Also, when dipping into the fighting pool I basically just took boxing/kick off the tray.
Endurance is slightly rough pre-20 like all brutes. I slot with an eye to end reduction in attacks though and endurance management is pretty much is resolved. Health is a great power for SD too. Slotting Numina unique and Performance Shifter +End should let you get away with the fighting pool which I took instead of any patron. No patron because, as above, PLENTY of attacks and 3 of them AOEs to boot!
Slotting with an eye to positional bonuses is nice with this set. Steadfast Unique, 2 or 3 slot Zephyr bonus etc. All noticeable increases to survivability. Multistrikes are cheap and go in 4 attacks, Whirling Mace, Shatter, Crowd Control and Shield Charge. Plus they really cut down on end use.
One of the big annoyances in the combo, to me, is redraw and attack chain interrupting by Active Defense. Veteran attacks and temp powers galore cause redraw for War Mace. The timing on Active Defense seems to show up perfectly when busting out a Build Up for Shield Charge. I've been experimenting with only turning on AD when needed rather than control clicking it...
Do keep in mind the patron Ae target ae hits 16 vs 10 on you mace attacks. Helps keep aggro on more mobs plus nice damage.
Meh, 4 aoes at 40 targets vs. 1 Ae at 16? Plus I have to take some kind of crap ranged attack or immob or something to get the aoe.... color me unimpressed.
And patrons cause more redraw 
Redraw sucks.
/nods
My WM/SD dinged 48 yesterday. While on a boss farm, he had a corruptor exclaim that he was AWESOME!
Awesome, without using Patron pools, but with OWtS going. WM/SD is good.
More villain than hero these days
Here's the build info I promised. Sorry for the delay but I keep getting sidetracked. Anyways since I don't know what your budget is like, I didn't want to include too many purple sets in this build. It is still a pretty expensivebut you could achieve similar results (while losing a bit of global recharge) by tweaking the build a bit with cheaper IO sets.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Euthanasist: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: War Mace
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Pulverize -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50)
Level 1: Deflection -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx(A), GftotA-Def/Rchg(5), GftotA-Def(5), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40), ResDam-I(40), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(43)
Level 2: Jawbreaker -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(7), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Mako-Dam%(46)
Level 4: Battle Agility -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(9), RedFtn-Def(9), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(25), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 6: True Grit -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(13), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(15), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(43), Aegis-ResDam(45)
Level 8: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(15), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(17), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(17), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(19), GSFC-Build%(46)
Level 10: Clobber -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(21), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Mako-Dam%(37)
Level 12: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 14: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 16: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(37)
Level 18: Whirling Mace -- Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(27), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Armgdn-Dam%(29)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-End%(29), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(31), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(39)
Level 22: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 24: Phalanx Fighting -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(45)
Level 26: Shatter -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(31), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(33), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33)
Level 28: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(45)
Level 30: Boxing -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Crowd Control -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(48)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(36), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Oblit-%Dam(46)
Level 38: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(39), Aegis-ResDam(39)
Level 41: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-EndRdx(42), RedFtn-Def(42), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(42), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 47: Grant Cover -- GftotA-Def(A), GftotA-Def/Rchg(48), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(50)
Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Fury
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[ QUOTE ]
My WM/SD dinged 48 yesterday. While on a boss farm, he had a corruptor exclaim that he was AWESOME!
Awesome, without using Patron pools, but with OWtS going. WM/SD is good.
[/ QUOTE ]
Absolutely. With the WM tweaks it's really hard to beat out the native set attacks with anything from the pools, patron or otherwise! I have OWtS in my build too, mostly for situations where oddball issues of endurance or recharge penalties or high accuracy enemies (overlapping Quartz etc.)
When I made my WM/SD Brute people wouldn't let me tank since they banged on about how it sucked.
After a while on a pickup team of some casual friends I team with they asked me to be the main tank since the other brute was too low a level to handle the load and to everyone's suprise i leveled the map with my brute.
I was virtually untoucable due ot maxing out my res/def and had made good use of Whirling Mace,Crowd Control,Shatter and Shield Charge.
Recently i got Darkest Night from the Soul Mastery and damn son I am untoucable.I can just stand there herding agro and just tap my foot waiting for them to hit me.
I plan to respec my build since I rarely use jawbreaker (good attack just isn' needed for my build) and will switch that out for Taunt since i need to be able to force the mobs onto me.
Like any good brute once you get the ball rolling your a true wrecking machine.
The main issues I can see are Endurance since my build is using mostly SOs at lvl 48 although once I get some IOs going like Multi-Strike and Mako's Bite it will be much better.
Also I don't use Hasten on my current build since it didn't help me much as I already had a stable attack chain going already.I know a Brute without Hasten is unheard of but it DOES work quite well.
I plan ot make this my main Brute on Virtue to go with my Ice/Elec Dom.Long story short I love /SD and plan to try other combinations along with other combos with WM.
Hi all and thanks for any help. Just started back up after a year away, was starting a new toon saw the WM and SD and really wanted to play one. looked on forum and found several post about WM and axe, and a few about WM/ SD in the form of what they could do to make it a better. I even found one asking for builds but it had no replies, so here I am.
Can anyone give me advice on this build, really I'm looking for a build to use as a guide as I lvl this toon. I know from reading there are "better" builds to go with from a pure number cruncher point of view but I really like the look of this build and have a story to go with it so I'm really hoping i can get some help from the long time, know what their doing players that are here on the forums.
again thanks for the help with this.