I highly recommend fitting toughness in, if nothing else. I've always found it a huge boost for any brute's survival. Even my stone armor brute has it (because 86% resistance to smash/lethal is so much cooler than 60 something).
Weight training: Because you'll never hear someone lament "If only I were weaker, I could have saved them."
Which epic pool?
Anyway fighting is nice but all but Mu have nice some debuffs.
"I have ridden the mighty moon worm!"
-Al Gore
Fiery Aura is only good for farming, I'm cereal
@Caucasiafro
I have a willpower tank and personally i have two different builds one for pvp one for pve.
On the pve build i took fighting pool, it made a very big difference, willpower is a great all around power set but on some missions, for example ITF, before i took the fighting pool they owned me lol, i respec'd and took fighting and built up some IO sets for defense.
It Helped a great deal, i am now almost godlike on ITF, so get fighting pool for total tanking play, you can also choose 1 or 2 epics if needed, skip the rez u wont need it.
Oh btw I also noticed on RTtC i slotted 3 health 3 acc debuff you can use IO sets here to mix n match if you want, i noticed in pve the debuffs help alot. Have a freind who 6 slotted with debuffs and he says its better but im not quite won over on that yet.
PVP well none of this applies and you can get more n better info when/if you need it from pvp threads.
Hope this helps, for build 1 i vote fighting pool 
Good Luck
The last thing you want to do with anything thing is six slot it, unless you mean an IO set, but still you REALLY want High regen. Not to mention AVs and stuff are really resistance to debuffs.
"I have ridden the mighty moon worm!"
-Al Gore
Fiery Aura is only good for farming, I'm cereal
@Caucasiafro
Take a look at Darkest Night. It's like Toughness and a Super Powered weave all at once.
Downside is that you need an anchor. Upside is that it's values are far greater than Tough and Weave, and can assist your entire team, rather than just yourself.
Also, Gloom is one of the highest DPA attacks you can throw into an attack chain.
My vote is for the Epic Pool, Soul Mastery in particular.
*EDIT* - I'm not certain if Darkest Night takes full effect on AV's or not. That might impact your choice considerably, if soloing AV's is your thing.
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Originally Posted by Warkupo
*EDIT* - I'm not certain if Darkest Night takes full effect on AV's or not. That might impact your choice considerably, if soloing AV's is your thing.
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On a DB, I'd go for Fighting over the patron pools anytime - patron powers will cause redraw, and they don't bring much to a DB/WP since it already has good AoE capabilities, and Gloom's DPA is ruined because of redraw. Maaaybe take Darkest Night, but Tough and Weave are much more reliable.
I also think Fighting would serve you well. If you have unlimited funds, you can slot so many goodies in those powers, -kb IOs, LotG +rech, Glad Armor +def, Shield Wall +res, Steadfast Prot +def, Aegis psi res, and even Boxing can mule Absolute Amazement.
Plus, Tough and Weave are handy powers without all the finery.
Never argue with stupid people. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
@vanda1 and @nakoa2
Epic powers can get in the way of combo attacks with DB. Between tough and weave or patron pools, I went with tough and weave with mine.
Thanks for all the input very helpful. I was thinking the same way most of you were, and will go for fighting.
If I'm able to pull of DB/Regen without too much trouble, I can't see Darkest Night causing much more.
Gloom wouldn't fit, it was merely a general example.
This needs a more number approach. I honestly feel it's a mistake to take Tough/Weave on a Brute over Darkest Night when Darkest Night is so much more effective at mitigating damage for the majority of your gameplay purposes.
Darkest Night, when six slotted for 3 End Redux, and 3 To-Hit debuffs has an endurance cost of .33 endurance per second, debuffs an enemies damage by -21%, which is about the equivalent of having 21% resistance to *all* damage types, while also reducing the To-Hit bonus of all enemies by 16.4%. You would also need to take Gloom to get to Darkest Night.
Tough and Weave, when 3 slotted for End redux, cost .17 each, or .34 together. However, it is not very likely that you will be three slotting these powers for endurance reduction and still retain enough slots to get their resistance and defense values up to respectable levels without gimping the rest of your build significantly, so it is more likely you'll be spending quite a bit more endurance than that, depending upon your build and what you have room to do with it. Regardless of how you divvy up the slots, it should be noted that you will need to slot *both* of these powers compared to Darkest Night's one.
Tough, when 3 slotted for resistance, offers 17.6% resistance to Smashing/Lethal *only*. Assuming you are fighting enemies who have secondary effects, it is important to note that you will still take full damage from those other elements, such as fire, ice, neg, etc. This is somewhat less of a problem for Willpower because of Heightened Senses, and that you will dodge a good number of elemental attacks. Compare this to the -21% Dambuff enemies will receive from Darkest Night, and we can equate that Darkest Night is essentially offering a resistance of 21% to all types for every enemy affected.
Weave, when 3 slotted for defense, offers a defense buff to all types of 5.85%. That's about an 11% difference in Darkest Night's favor, comparatively.
Overall, Darkest Nights values are considerably higher, and only require two of your power picks to the Fighting Line's 3. Furthermore, while Tough/Weave are personal powers, Darkest Night is effective for all team mates close enough to benefit from it. Being able to provide such a large buff to your team can dramatically effect the team's overall survival, and only becomes more impressive as you begin stacking your debuff with their own buff/debuff abilities. Keep in mind also that you are a Brute providing these numbers, and have the advantage of also providing much higher damage and sustainability already from your gauntlet effects, and you can become a shining beacon in your team very quickly.
However, with values this high, Darkest Night is going to require that you be a bit more adept at utilizing it than the easier route of simply turning on Tough/Weave and forgetting about it. The level of difficulty in using Darkest Night effectively is going to vary from person to person, but I do not personally feel it is overly strenuous to use correctly. In fact, if you've ever played a controller, or similiar archetype, this should feel like a cake walk.
The biggest problem with anchor powers is picking a target to put it on. Hopefully after 41 levels of play your team mates know what an anchor is, but if people are routinely killing the enemy you place Darkest Night upon it might be wise to explain the effects of the power and how it works, and why they shouldn't be doing that. However, if they do kill your anchor, do not worry overmuch about it, as Darkest Night recharges in 10 seconds, and can usually be applied again during the fight. This *will* cut into your DPS, however, so it's better to avoid having to do this.
You may find that, on DB, you yourself may have difficulty not killing your anchor due to the AOE nature of DB. It's always more useful to place the power upon a Boss than anything else, especially considering that they are the enemy who is probably the one who needs its damage mitigated the most.
Another concern is that it is difficult to use Darkest Night on a DB because it can cut into your attack chain. Darkest Night takes 3.17 seconds to animate, which is quite a bit of time to be standing around inbetween combos. However, the period of time before a combo cancels in DB is about 6 seconds, which is enough time to use Darkest Night and then resume your combo. This makes all good sense when you consider that many other secondaries that require click powers can also be paired with Dual Blades, and that having the combo break too quickly would put those secondaries at a considerable disadvantage when coupled with Dual Blades. Considering the OP is willpower, whose only other click powers are a self rez and Strength of Will, I do not consider reapplication of Darkest Night to be threatening to your combo. The only real problem you'll have is that cuts into your DPS due to having to stop hacking away should your anchor die, and even then that's only if you judge the situation dire enough to need to reapply Darkest Night. Often you will find that it's safe enough to just finish the engagement without needing to reapply the power.
Darkest Night requires enemies be within the radius of the power to actually be affected by it. Those outside of this radius are not going to be effected by the power. Darkest Night has a radius of 25 feet, which, for perspective, is the same radius as Dispersion Bubble from the Force Field set. While this is quite large and will generally get the majority of your enemies, when aimed correctly, it will not always cover every enemy you are currently engaged with. Tough/Weave do have a benefit in this regard as they are always active, regardless of where your enemies are. It is always a good idea to fight within the radius of Darkest Night as a brute, using your taunt aura to pull them in melee range so they are affected by it's radius, and so that enemies who run off and then come back are more likely to be pulled in as well. It will often be the case that enemies will run out of Darkest Night's grasp in order to attack a ranged alley who is further away from the bulk of the battle, and the most you can do at this point is taunt them back.
It is also worth noting that Tough/Weave can be taken much earlier than Darkest Night. There's really no counter-argument to this, they just are, and thus will be useful earlier in your character's life.
Finally, Darkest Night is subject to the Purple Patch of Doom. Arch Villains and the like will not be overly intimidated by your anchoring of them. If it was your goal to solo these behemoths than Tough/Weave will generally serve you better as they are not subject to the moody AV's cheating aura.
Tough/Weave are generally easier to use, but Darkest Night offers much higher values with the added benefit of helping your team out as well as you. Furthermore, it is not as though applying Darkest Night requires some doctorate to use effectively; Many other Archetypes are applying similiar powers the entire battle and manage just as well for it. I have faith that even the SMASHiest brute can learn to utilize Darkest Night in a method which benefits not only themselves, but everyone they don't want to kill as well.
If you have stamina and quick recovery, take 'em both. That's what I did. I don't need DN 99% of the time -- mind over body + tough + rise to the challenge is more than enough -- but when I do, it's nice to have. (I only really use it on +2 roman spawns when running the wall in Cimerora, which can chew through 50% lethal resist and 120 hp/sec regen in about 10 seconds.)
Weight training: Because you'll never hear someone lament "If only I were weaker, I could have saved them."
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I'll see how the build goes and if I can fit DN in I will take it, but I won't try and force it in. Thanks for that very detailed and informative break down. Gives me something to think about.
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Originally Posted by Warkupo
This needs a more number approach. I honestly feel it's a mistake to take Tough/Weave on a Brute over Darkest Night when Darkest Night is so much more effective at mitigating damage for the majority of your gameplay purposes.
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The -dmg from Darkest Night should still be fairly high even on AV's, unless I'm mistaken. I've always heard that Kin's should keep Siphon Power - if only to use on AV's, for that purpose.
Quote:
If the AV resists a certain damage type, it will also resist damage debuffs of that type.
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Originally Posted by Square_One
The -dmg from Darkest Night should still be fairly high even on AV's, unless I'm mistaken. I've always heard that Kin's should keep Siphon Power - if only to use on AV's, for that purpose.
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Somethin to shoot for. Personally I dont like Darkest night due to the fact that you have to keep putting it on. Not saying it is worthless, just personal preference.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.621
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
DB WP aoe: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Dual Blades
Secondary Power Set: Willpower
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Teleportation
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Power Slice
- (A) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (3) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
- (3) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
- (5) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
- (5) Pounding Slugfest - Accuracy/Damage
- (7) Pounding Slugfest - Damage/Recharge
- (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
- (9) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
- (11) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
- (11) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
- (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
- (13) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
- (13) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
- (15) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (15) Pounding Slugfest - Accuracy/Damage
- (17) Pounding Slugfest - Damage/Recharge
- (A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
- (17) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
- (19) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
- (A) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
- (7) Obliteration - Damage
- (21) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
- (21) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (23) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (23) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (9) Shield Wall - Defense
- (25) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance
- (25) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (19) Shield Wall - Defense
- (27) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance
- (29) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Run Speed IO
- (A) Jumping IO
- (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
- (31) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
- (31) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
- (31) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration
- (34) Healing IO
- (A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
- (33) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
- (33) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
- (33) HamiO:Golgi Exposure
- (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy
- (27) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod
- (34) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge
- (34) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
- (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
- (29) Performance Shifter - EndMod
- (36) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
- (36) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
- (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
- (37) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
- (37) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
- (37) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (39) Pounding Slugfest - Damage/Recharge
- (39) Pounding Slugfest - Accuracy/Damage
- (A) Armageddon - Damage
- (39) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
- (40) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (40) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
- (40) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
- (42) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (42) Shield Wall - Defense
- (42) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance
- (43) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance/Rech/End
- (36) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance
- (43) Gladiator's Armor - Recharge/Resist
- (43) Gladiator's Armor - End/Resist
- (45) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
- (A) Obliteration - Damage
- (45) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
- (45) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
- (46) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (46) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (46) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (A) Titanium Coating - Resistance
- (48) Titanium Coating - Resistance/Endurance
- (48) Titanium Coating - Resistance/Recharge
- (48) HamiO:Ribosome Exposure
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (50) Shield Wall - Defense
- (50) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance
- (50) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Resist Damage IO
- (A) Interrupt Reduction IO
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 1: Brawl
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
Level 0: Ninja Run
I have a lvl 30s db/wp brute and I am trying to decide if the epic pool was better than going for more defense with tough and weave. I solo most of the time and want to make sure I am set up to survive elite and heroes. I don't have to win every time, but I don't want to lose every time. I probably won't pvp much so that is not as important.