Elec/Elec Build help

I played a friend's Elec/Elec brute and liked the set, so I rolled up my first villain in ages, an Elec/Elec brute. My friend's character was level 50, however, and I am still leveling.

At level 16, I was unsure whether to get Conductive Shield, Static Shield, or grounded, or alternatively break into fighting with Boxing or Kick. Note that this is a "play for fun" leveling build question and not a superoptimized level 50 build question.

Which of these choices will be more useful for me as I level up through the lower levels? I was kind of presuming Conductive Shield would be.

Static shield is going to be your top priority. I'd put off the Fighting pool for a while, personally... my main Elec/Elec Brute (I have several) has Boxing and Tough pushed all the way to her 47 and 49 picks, and does just fine in flashbacks to lower levels, for example.

Grounded is the next big priority, since it's your KB protection. Conductive Shield, you can push back to the 20's if you like, since enemies who trade heavily in exotic damage types don't become prominent until later (and most of the early ones deal in Energy, which you've got heavy resists to already).

Out of curiosity, what have you taken so far?

Thanks for the feedback! So far I have this, he's fun to play:

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.621
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

E/E Brute: Level 15 Technology Brute
Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Secondary Power Set: Electric Armor
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Havoc Punch

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Hmm, ok. Looks pretty solid. I'd suggest Static Sheild at 16, Grounded at 18, Stamina at 20 and Conductive Sheild at 22. I'll just go through the remaining options for you, I guess.

Chain Induction - You've got enough attacks there that you won't need Chain Induction right away (if you take it at all, I'd suggest it be on a respec where you drop Charged Brawl or Jacob's Ladder for it).

Build Up - I like having Build Up at 22 or 24, so I can have it still when I'm clearing Pillboxes in Bloody Bay. After the conversion of Conserve Power to Energize, I doubt Shivans will be as vital a part of most people's leveling plan with Electric Armor, though. The really important thing is to get it before Lightning Rod. They're on about the same recharge, so there's rarely a reason to use one without the other.

Confront - It's up to you. I see it becoming a lot more valuable in the near future, when Brutes will be teaming with Tankers a lot more often. Right now, my attacks get me plenty of aggro.

Lightning Clap. Skip it like it's a disease carrier. As one of the most AoE-focused Melee characters around, the last thing you want is a PBAoE Knockback power. Some people combo it with Electric Fences from Mu Mastery because it has -Knockback, and combine the two into an Immob+Disorient ghetto hold, but that's two power picks and an awful lot of slots to put into a minion-only stun that requires two tohit checks, one of them at very low base accuracy.

Lightning Rod - I don't think any additional endorsement of this power is necessary. My whole IO build on my main Brute is built around maximizing the potential of Lightning Rod.

Energize - A fantastic power. Take it as soon as it's available. Many Electric Brutes used to get by without a self-heal, but now that we have one, there's no reason not to use it.

Lightning Reflexes - Another really great power, but not a top priority for survival. Fit it in wherever you have a space.

Power Sink - Best power in the set. Pick it up ASAP, 6 slot it, and depending on your IO budget, begin contemplating the elimination of Stamina from your build. I still run with Stamina myself, but that's because I wanted Power Sink to be available as a purely defensive technique, as a sapper.

Power Surge - Depends a lot on your eventual build and IO use, whether this will be a godsend or redundant. I built for Recharge, Regen and +HP primarily, and still get a lot of use out of Power Surge.

Tough - Absolutely worth getting, but you can push it off comfortably if you focus more on being a damage dealer than a tank.

Hasten - If you're not sure about your 4th power pool, I highly recommend this, for Power Sink and Lightning Rod especially.

Mu Mastery - Obviously, the default Patron choice. Mu Lightning hits hard and fast, and is a great choice. Lightning Fences has a small radius, negligible damage, and interrupts Knockdown, which is a main source of your mitigation. Ball Lightning, I use mainly as another PBAoE up close. Great attack. Static Discharge, I dislike because of the difficulty Melee characters have with Cones. If Grounded's KB protection didn't turn off when I jump, Static Discharge would look better, as I could just hop back and fire it. And Summon Striker is... well... yeah. It's not that he's not a scrappy little Flying Voodoo Bondage Mummy, he's just not necessary.

Many thanks!!

I'll disagree with the advice in one area: Chain Induction is a spectacular power. It used to be buggy, but is currently fast, hard hitting, and a reliable AoE. Just don't use it to kill someone as it only jumps if the target lives. Great for hitting a boss or lieut who is surrounded by minions. I will always take this before I take Jacob's Ladder.

Also, procs test on every jump. This used to be the heard of the bugs, but it currently works fine.

It is, however, very fun when it procs. And the animation is pretty cool.

I really enjoy chain induction and I solo the 8 person spawns +4 or whatever above my level. It's great. In those kinds of situations that power is awesome. I just use ninja run so I took everything but one of the first of the two attack (i forget the name, I have like 1 of every brute) and the taunt if there was one. it's absolutely great to play.