Brute - Dom
By
Call Me Awesome,
Posted on: 2009-12-29 07:52 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion
Once your brute's shields are fully slotted with SOs (or IOs) and you have Stamina, and a proper build, you can be able to wade into groups of 10-15 non-stop, building up Fury and maintaining it full time. That starts to happen in the 20s, and you can usually go crazy in the late 30s. By 50 brutes can be pretty much invulnerable to a large number of enemy groups if built properly.
Dominators have a much harder time dealing with large numbers of mobs except when their AoE hold is up. This recharges slowly, so you can't bulldoze non-stop like brutes.
I suggest you play on some teams and watch what other players can do, and how they do it, to get an idea of the capabilities of the various ATs.
Would you suggest starting over with say, a Fire/WP brute? or middle-end game the SS/Inv will hold on its own?
I´ve decided to stick with Brutes, but not sure on the power set choice
Nothing wrong with SS/Inv. I have an Elec/Inv that I use to farm +2/x8. And SS I'm pretty sure outdoes Elec in damage (I just find Elec more fun). You'll get the benefit of high damage, extremely high accuracy (20-60% ToHit unslotted!), and great RES to the most common damage types. SS/Inv should hold you in most content, even with just SOs.
If you start trying to min/max and do really crazy stuff, I'd shoot for Tough/Weave, bonus recov and end reduction (you'll need it), +recharge, +HP, +regen, and +S/L DEF. My invuln is slotted up to soft-cap S/L DEF with +15% HP and some other mix of the other stats to keep her going. She can handle just about anything save severe psi. So slot and flavor to your liking.
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Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU
Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.
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By the way, cross posting is frowned upon and just not necessary. We all pretty much venture to all of the different sections. No need to post the same question here and elsewhere.
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
Sorry about the cross posting... Didn´t meant to bother anyone. I wasn´t aware about ppl getting into different forums.
OT: I just started a Fire/WP brute, would you recommend for me to stick with it or go back to my SS/Inv Brute. The SS is only lvl 11 lol.
Thx for the info and sorry once more for the cross posting.
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You can pretty much do what you want with any kind of brute, but some powersets will be more vulnerable to certain kinds of attacks and will play better under certain circumstances. For example, Invulnerability has no native defenses for Psi attacks, while WP has excellent protection against Psi. On the other hand, WP is very vulnerable to ranged energy attacks that debuff defense (such as radiation). An Electric Armor brute can easily cap energy resistance, so they laugh at the same defense-debuffing ranged energy attacks that slaughter WP brutes.|
Originally Posted by Malkizid
Would you suggest starting over with say, a Fire/WP brute? or middle-end game the SS/Inv will hold on its own?
I´ve decided to stick with Brutes, but not sure on the power set choice |
Certain powersets necessitate certain kinds of tactics. You will find fun the kind of brute that uses the tactics you find fun. For example, Invulnerability derives a great deal of its defense from Invincibility, which increases with the addition of more and more mobs in your immediate vicinity. If you stand alone in the middle of the room, you will be much easier to hit than if you're in the middle of a big crowd. Willpower uses a similar mechanic, but instead of getting defense from proximity to enemies, you get Regeneration (and you debuff their to-hit).
This makes a difference when fighting mobs that prefer ranged attacks. An Electric Armor brute can let them take pot shots at a distance and it doesn't really make any difference (in terms of taking damage). But as an Inv brute you have to "herd" the ranged attackers into a compact group and then plunk yourself in the middle of them to maximize your defense.
So, if you despise herding and being in a big crowd, you won't like Inv or WP brutes. If you prefer to blast away at range, you might want to try a corruptor or dominator.
Most brutes (and tankers and scrappers) herd anyway to maximize the effectiveness of AoEs and damage auras, but for Inv and WP you have to compact the groups out of necessity.
Well of course we get into different forums. Didn't you? 
Please don't be a person that only does what other people tell them to do here on the forums. Your post sounds a bit sheepish. As in you would actually go and re-roll your Fire/WP as SS/inv just because people here tell you to.
You have different character slots for a reason. Create different builds and toons of your own choice!
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
It's pretty easy to get both Brute builds and a Dominator to the mid teens and make your choice from there. Fire/WP and SS/Invuln are both solid choices. Your decision might come down to whether you like Rage or not. Check out the detailed info, but the gist of it is that you get 120 seconds of huge damage and accuracy bonus, with 10 seconds of basically plinking people for 1 point of damage.
I personally hate Rage but love the (new) animations of Super Strength. It's a mixed bag for me.
I will say this: End game with IOs and perma-Domination, the things a Dominator can do in PvE is just filthy.
Lol yup i did ...
While i read all the suggestions that ppl more experienced than myself give, i´m actually trying out the Fire/WP. The SS/Inv is an old char of mine which didn´t get past lvl 11 due to time shortage.
Now, i´ve got a question regarding power pools. Reading through the forums i´ve read a lot about WP being way better than Inv, is this so? Will i encounter a great variaty of Psi damaging mobs?
So yes, i´m just gonna lvl the Fire/WP to 11 and see which one i like best at that time.
Thx a lot for the input guys
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Really, either of them will be fine. They just have different strengths and weaknesses.|
Originally Posted by Malkizid
OT: I just started a Fire/WP brute, would you recommend for me to stick with it or go back to my SS/Inv Brute. The SS is only lvl 11 lol.
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SS has two advantages: Rage and Foot Stomp. Rage has a 20% base to-hit buff and and 80% damage buff (but does have an annoying crash). Foot Stomp does knockdown around you, and provides a great deal of mitigation against damage because the mobs are wasting time standing up instead of attacking you.
SS has disadvantages too: smashing damage is the most resisted damage type in the game. That means that you'll do less effective damage against certain mobs.
Fire does more base damage, and does damage over time, but doesn't have any powers with mitigating effects like knockdown that Foot Stomp has. If you're taking too much damage the only thing you can do is use an inspiration, run or kill them. Over time Foot Stomp prevents quite a lot of damage. Hand Clap, which is usually scorned, is an excellent mitigator when you use it in a small enclosed room.
Fire is less resisted than smashing damage, but since Rage is up most of the time SS probably does more damage on the whole than Fire.
WP has no self-heal, while Inv has Dull Pain which heals and increases your hit points. WP gets Quick Recovery early on, so you won't have as many endurance issues that other powersets have.
There is no "best" overall powerset. They're intended to be balanced overall, with some being better for certain purposes than others. For example, Energy isn't very good for AoE, but has very strong single-target attacks. Even the sets generally perceived to be weak (/Energy Aura) can be made pretty strong by power selections (Tough, Weave) and by choosing the right IO sets.
Just to comment: It sounds to me like you 'get' Dominators and suggest you play with them if you had a fun time. Despite what was said, Dominators don't have issues with large number of foes, so long as you pick a set with AoE control (anything but Gravity Control). Each set has a long recharging AoE hold but they also have a short recharging AoE control (sometimes more than one) to deal with normal situations. And Doms only get stronger as you get pets and recharge bonuses and more attacks and buffs from teammates, etc.
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That's the best thing to do: try them both out. However, SS doesn't get its best powers till level 18 (Rage) and level 32 (Foot Stomp). Until you get those, you haven't experienced the true fun of SS.
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Originally Posted by Malkizid
So yes, i´m just gonna lvl the Fire/WP to 11 and see which one i like best at that time.
Thx a lot for the input guys |
Thanks a lot! Thats what i´m gonna do, just lvl up and see what goes with me
Late game the Fire/WP is capable, but it's also easy to get overwhelmed... it tends to suffer when taking a nasty alpha strike. The SS/Inv can be tougher if built right but endurance will be more of an issue. End is easy enough to get around by slotting attacks for endred and later on slotting IO sets.
I have a Fire/WP brute at 50 myself, and with extensive IO set bonuses it's... adequate. Endurance isn't much of an issue although WP burns more than Invuln does; Quick Recovery offsets that nicely. WP is fine until suddenly it isn't (incoming damage outpacing the set's regen) while a well-built Invuln has more spike durability.
I've found brutes, particularly in low-mid levels, tend to suffer from the "GO SMASH! SMASH MORE! SMASH MORE! SMAS...oops, why am I examining the rug?" due to constantly chasing Fury... it takes a long time to build in those levels and pausing to recover will loose your fury bar forcing you to start over.
COH has just been murdered by NCSoft. http://www.change.org/petitions/ncso...city-of-heroes
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You just picked a great time to try out doms. Prior to the damage boost it would not have been as easy to blow thru the mobs as you did. Both ATs play really well but doms almost always will have problems in the 40s due to arch-villains being in every other mission. Outside of that there is really nothing a dominator cant solo. My advice on a lowbie brute is to put brawl on autofire (since it costs no endurance now), your fury will stay at 80% majority of the time doing that which will make killing alot easier.
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Originally Posted by Malkizid
Hi there, I´ve recently come back to CoV. My prior game experience was not a long one, played about two weeks top, quited because of studies. So i decided to come back and continue where i left. I was making a SS/Inv Brute, i love the almost perma knockdown of the guy. Thing is right now i was inclined into trying some kind of ranged/spellweaving guy. So tried out a Dominator. I know the AT´s have nothing to do with each other, nothing to compare. But my issue is the following. I understand SS/Inv is more of a tanking AT and that a Dominator is supposed to be more of a nuker, but the difference in low levels is huge, while with my brute i have a no so hard time, with the Dom i just soar through the game. It´s like, Mezmerize one, Dominate another and burn the hell out of the rest, i dont receive a scratch and the fight is over before the creeps can have a say. With the brute on the other hand, i smash the hell out of the guys, have a blast seeing them get knockeddown over and over, but, to my dismay, i´ve died a couple of times.
I don´t know the escalation of the Brute and neither of the Dominator, but it seems to me that brutes have a rougher time than Dom has. So my real questions are. Brutes, fare quite well in middle, end-game content? Which set of powers would you recommend me? Due to time issues and playstyle i´m more of a solo guys. For thoose of you who played both, Dom and Brutes, whats you´re experience? Thx for reading this, and any info you might add would be great |
Bump and Grind Bane/SoA
Kenja No Ishi Earth/Empathy Controller
Legendary Sannin Ninja/Pain Mastermind
Entoxicated Ninja/PSN Mastermind
Ninja Ryukenden Kat/WP Scrapper
Hellish Thoughts Fire/PSI Dominator
Thank You Devs for Merits!!!!
Hi there, I´ve recently come back to CoV. My prior game experience was not a long one, played about two weeks top, quited because of studies. So i decided to come back and continue where i left. I was making a SS/Inv Brute, i love the almost perma knockdown of the guy. Thing is right now i was inclined into trying some kind of ranged/spellweaving guy. So tried out a Dominator. I know the AT´s have nothing to do with each other, nothing to compare. But my issue is the following. I understand SS/Inv is more of a tanking AT and that a Dominator is supposed to be more of a nuker, but the difference in low levels is huge, while with my brute i have a no so hard time, with the Dom i just soar through the game. It´s like, Mezmerize one, Dominate another and burn the hell out of the rest, i dont receive a scratch and the fight is over before the creeps can have a say. With the brute on the other hand, i smash the hell out of the guys, have a blast seeing them get knockeddown over and over, but, to my dismay, i´ve died a couple of times.
I don´t know the escalation of the Brute and neither of the Dominator, but it seems to me that brutes have a rougher time than Dom has.
So my real questions are. Brutes, fare quite well in middle, end-game content? Which set of powers would you recommend me? Due to time issues and playstyle i´m more of a solo guys.
For thoose of you who played both, Dom and Brutes, whats you´re experience?
Thx for reading this, and any info you might add would be great