Because EA is designed to be bad for Brutes.
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Because the powers aren't equal overall. |
Originally Posted by Pyro_Master_NA
Why is it that this set gives more def for brutes than it does stalkers? 12.8% for kinetic shield on brutes, and 16.5% on stalkers. On top of that ~4%, stalkers get hide as well for some small defense. Since the other secondaries give identical percentages, why not /EA?
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Brute's get 12.75 smash / lethal def from the primary shield and an additional 3.75% to all from Energy Cloak. Brute's also get a base 7.5% resistance to smash / lethal damage.
Stalkers only get 1.88% def from their hide, 16.25 from kinetic shield, but no smash / lethal resistance.
In the developers minds (circa City of Villains) that really low smash / lethal resistance was supposed to make up for the 1.63% overall difference between smash / lethal defense between the two archtypes.
The idea was that the Brute could last a little bit longer in direct combat, thus fulfilling the objective of aggro-gainer, while the stalker version would have more incentive to get out of the fight earlier, thus focusing on hit and run tactics.
On SO's... the concept never has really worked. The Brute set is just awful and really could use a revamp on some powers.. e.g. turning Conserve Power into Energzie.
The stalker set tends to work better because of it's low endurance usage, and the repulse ability helps with the whole get out of the mob mentality good stalkers learn to play by.
Now, I don't know WHY the developers haven't looked at the Energy Aura set. My suspicion is that back during the Cryptic Studio days there just wasn't enough staff, and the staff that was available had other things to work on. In the current Paragon Studio days, the resources might be available and some of the older design concepts can be revisited.
Hmm let's compare numbers:
Stalker with the 2 def toggles + suppressed Hide slotted for defense:
29% s/l/f/c, 33.2% energy, 23.1% negative
Brute with the 2 def toggles + Energy Cloak slotted for def:
26.1% s/l/f/c, 32.7% nrg, 22.6% neg
That really sucks, I didn't know there was a difference, especially on s/l.
I like my DM/EA Stalker, but she has a heal in Siphon Life and she doesn't need fitness, Brutes do need stamina even with Power Sink or Energy Drain.
Brute shields with both def toggles + P. Fighting get 21.6% positionals only, but at least the other shield powers are good (true grit, res and +maxhp, shield charge, AAO), while EA has an end replenisher and, well... 2 almost useless passives (7.5% resistance, cmon, good only for a steadfast mule if you don't get tough), the stealth cloak (good for defense), an end replenisher (very nice, but I refuse to label it as a heal too... 3% per target lol), and the usual defensive godmode that becomes dubious when you softcap. Oh and conserve power which is the most worthless addition to a powerset with Energy Drain.
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They have looked at Energy Aura in i13, but the buffs were kinda... lame. The heal isn't significant, and I think there weren't any other buffs , looking at the i13 page I just found this:|
Originally Posted by je_saist
Now, I don't know WHY the developers haven't looked at the Energy Aura set. My suspicion is that back during the Cryptic Studio days there just wasn't enough staff, and the staff that was available had other things to work on. In the current Paragon Studio days, the resources might be available and some of the older design concepts can be revisited.
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Energy Aura/Energy Drain - Modified Energy Aura's Energy Drain heal aspect to have some healing ability. The heal is roughly 3% of your health per target hit.
But I think shortly after (or maybe simultaneously) they added the taunt component to E. Drain. Not a regular attack taunt, but a +13.5s Taunt (mag 4) like the regular taunt auras, which it didn't have before.
So yes, EA was looked at in i13, and they did nothing significant to the set.
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If you add the defense from kinetic shield and energy cloak, you will get 16.5%. Stalkers get higher defense from hide, but not a lot because part of it is suppressed during combat. For other secondaries, identical powers may give the same defense, but if you take hide into account, stalkers will also get higher defense values. I don't think EA is being treated differently.|
Originally Posted by Pyro_Master_NA
Why is it that this set gives more def for brutes than it does stalkers? 12.8% for kinetic shield on brutes, and 16.5% on stalkers. On top of that ~4%, stalkers get hide as well for some small defense. Since the other secondaries give identical percentages, why not /EA?
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Originally Posted by je_saist
Now, I don't know WHY the developers haven't looked at the Energy Aura set. My suspicion is that back during the Cryptic Studio days there just wasn't enough staff, and the staff that was available had other things to work on. In the current Paragon Studio days, the resources might be available and some of the older design concepts can be revisited.
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Ugh. I thought this thread would have something useful in it, but it's just people arguing about math.
Too many alts to list.
Hey math is important lol. For example, change energy drain from a 3% to a 8-10% base heal and it becomes a good heal!
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somehow I forgot about the I13 revisit. Thanks.
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Originally Posted by Twilight_Snow
If you add the defense from kinetic shield and energy cloak, you will get 16.5%. Stalkers get higher defense from hide, but not a lot because part of it is suppressed during combat. For other secondaries, identical powers may give the same defense, but if you take hide into account, stalkers will also get higher defense values. I don't think EA is being treated differently.
You can take a look at this. |
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Yeah actually you're right, not a different case from the other shared defensive set. I compared SR and Stalkers get 3% extra def with Hide suppressed, compared to Brutes/Scrappers (as long as Hide is slotted for def, but anyway suppressed Hide with 1 def IO gives 2.3% defense and with 3 IOs it's 3% so not a big difference).|
Originally Posted by Twilight_Snow
If you add the defense from kinetic shield and energy cloak, you will get 16.5%. Stalkers get higher defense from hide, but not a lot because part of it is suppressed during combat. For other secondaries, identical powers may give the same defense, but if you take hide into account, stalkers will also get higher defense values. I don't think EA is being treated differently.
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Stalker SR don't get Lucky but Evasion gives a whopping 21.3% defense for them - 33.9% AoE defense enhanced, that's not even counting suppressed Hide, so around 36.5-37% AoE def with Evasion + Hide suppressed alone. So in the end it's an even bigger difference than the EA ones.
The only significant difference between brute and stalker numbers is the 3% extra from s/l, now SR gets 3% extra to melee/ranged and 5.9% extra AoE compared to brutes and scrappers (always with hide suppressed, I'm tired of writing 'hide suppressed' lol).
And btw about the EA buffs: the link you posted has wrong info, the heal is not 2% per target, it's 3%, enhanceable to 6%. Maybe the guy who wrote that forgot to change it if the initial number was 2%, the i13 release notes corrected that. And I knew there was some toxic buff I had forgotten, the 'super useful' 7.5% toxic res on one passive.
Also, there was another 'buff' which was the addition of the taunt to E. Drain, but I don't recalll if it was added at the same time or shortly after, I don't have an EA Brute.
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Hehe, I enjoy reading the forums, but it seems a lot of the posts are just about that. Good information nonetheless.
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Originally Posted by Mr_Grumpums
Ugh. I thought this thread would have something useful in it, but it's just people arguing about math.
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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
You know, I had a brainstorm earlier. And looking in Mids, it seems my original thought was correct. Whether or not this is as vital as I think it is, I'm not sure, but...
In flat numbers, Energy Aura looks like... well, nothing special, but not bad. But there is one thing that it is missing - something that every other defense set (for Brutes, at least) provides in some fashion.
What is EA missing?
+Damage. Or rather, some way to increase damage output, to overcome enemies faster.
Don't believe me? Look at what the other sets provide:
Dark Armor - A damage aura in Death Shroud, and both Dark Regeneration and Soul Transfer do damage as well.
Electric Armor - A damage Aura in Lightning Field, and the recharge boost in Lightning Reflexes. Recharge Boost = Attacks recharging faster = higher DPS.
Fiery Aura - There are only four powers in this set that DON'T increase a toon's damage output...
Invulnerability - Invincibility not only provides Defense, remember. It's also a To Hit buff. Successfully connecting more often = more damage.
Shield Defense - Do I need to go into this? Increased damage is one of the primary draws of this set! A +Damage boost in Against All Odds and a direct attack in Shield Charge.
Stone Armor - Nothing fancy here, just a damage aura in Mud Pots. And admittedly poor one, but its there.
Super Reflexes - The Recharge boost in Quickness. Once again, that's more DPS for your buck.
Willpower - Okay, this is rather roundabout, but Resurgence provides both +Damage and +Recharge for 90 seconds. Of course, you have to die first...
I'll admit, the boosts in Stone Armor and Willpower are tenuous, but they are there.
Energy Aura has nothing like that. No way to increase damage output at all.
So... do you think some form of damage boosting ability would bring the performance of the set as a whole up?
-This Space Intentionally Left Blank.-
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Energy aura does have something special: stealth and endurance management. However, people think that they are not enough to make up for its weakness.|
Originally Posted by OneWhoBinds
In flat numbers, Energy Aura looks like... well, nothing special, but not bad. But there is one thing that it is missing - something that every other defense set (for Brutes, at least) provides in some fashion.
What is EA missing? +Damage. Or rather, some way to increase damage output, to overcome enemies faster. Energy Aura has nothing like that. No way to increase damage output at all. |
It has been suggested before to add a damage/taunt aura to one of its toggles. My preference is to add either a damage buff or chance to build up (or something like that) to energy cloak. This can mimic the effect of giving the mobs a surprise attack because of the stealth.
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Originally Posted by OneWhoBinds
So... do you think some form of damage boosting ability would bring the performance of the set as a whole up?
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I have a Stone Melee/Energy Aura at 50, softcapped to all types except psi. He's an insanely fun toon, the combo has great synergy IMO. KD's help manage avoiding damage, and EA's powers manage SM's end cost. TBH the set doesn't need much to be on par with the other sets. I'd say add +damage to cloak as another poster said and improve the heal from energy drain. I believe they kept it low because the power is auto hit, add a tohit check and buff the heal.
Or switch out conserve for Energize. I believe this and ninjitsu are the only two defense sets heroes don't have. This would be an easier cross over IMO.
Or take conserve, replace it with something called "Source Flux" giving off the same bonuses as Energize but also +damage. 
Why is it that this set gives more def for brutes than it does stalkers? 12.8% for kinetic shield on brutes, and 16.5% on stalkers. On top of that ~4%, stalkers get hide as well for some small defense. Since the other secondaries give identical percentages, why not /EA?