From what I've been told in all of my threads I believe that WP, in PvE at least, is the most survivable secondary. I don't know anything about PvP because it doesn't interest me yet.
According to another thread its war mace/energy because its strong and pretty 
Seriously though, most people in pvp zones go for energy, fire or super strength for pvp just because there the biggest hitters. Energy is highest on burst damage with build up, total focus and energy transfer. SS has the best alround since it has range because of hurl as well as permenant damage increase from rage and massive +tohit which pretty much nullifies most defence builds. Fire has the best sustained damage over time, combined with fire secondary too you get massive numbers as well because fiery embrace adds more damage for a longer period to fire powers.
Secondary side the main ones are either WP, fire, SR, shield or elec usually, in that order. Fire has the most burst damage and can hit damage caps if you combine fury, build up and fiery embrace. SR is just about survivable despite how defence got nerfed if you take elude, and elec has high resists combined with power sink to manage endurence issues but is still the least played of the three. Personally I dont rank shield in pvp, particularly since shield charge is the main reason people pick it and its a pain in the *** to hit with it, plus the defence numbers are so terrible in pvp that its barely even noticeable. WP is pretty much the most common secondary, since its a very good balance and its very easy to slot regen into it with sets, if you need proof of how regen helps in pvp just go look for the most common played scrapper class in pvp
Either way with brute atm in pvp your best bet is to take web envelope in patrons since its the same as web grenade pretty much and it stops your enemies jumping/flying away so they have to rely on superspeed.
PvE wise fire primary is awesome if you plan on tanking, as is super strength but energy sucks for it since it only has one PBAoE power. SR in PvE is a pain in the butt to level because low level defence is pretty much no defence so you almost always get hit, Fire is also a bit of a pain low levels and you will nearly always rely on heal but not as bad as SR to level, and elec is actually pretty easy to tank with throughout, Shield is ok but very dependant on user, some people can use them some cant. WP in PvE is pretty good to level plus you have no stamina issues due to two stamina style powers, and you have a nice mix of stats.
I know not all brutes tank but I judge the effectiveness of the secondaries based on how well they can manage damage intake so tanking is pretty much the easiest way to judge
The Best Brute? Bad Gobi of course.
-Justice server-50's
RedSide Corrupter-6::Brute-3::Veat-3:: MM-1:: Dom-1
Blueside Tank-1:: Blaster-1::Scrapper-1
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You keep telling yourself that, the mean people will stop bullying you soon. Remember mummy loves you |
Originally Posted by Bad_Gobi
The Best Brute? Bad Gobi of course.
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I haven't played a brute before but I think I'm going to try one, but I have a concern
when GR is released, and brutes can go blue, where will they be left?
will they be the same as a scrapper but with less utility?
and will they have to take a back seat to tankers because they are squishier
the brute seems like the Jack-of-all trades character, but master of none 
Quote:
Actually, Brutes do more damage and are more survivable than Scrappers. I don't know what you mean by less utility... The advantage to Scrappers is that if Fury isn't in play they do more damage... so they can do a big burst of damage at the alpha strike. Possibly they critical and decimate some boss. However, over time the Brute will out pace them in damage, too.|
Originally Posted by Kitty
I haven't played a brute before but I think I'm going to try one, but I have a concern
when GR is released, and brutes can go blue, where will they be left? will they be the same as a scrapper but with less utility? and will they have to take a back seat to tankers because they are squishier the brute seems like the Jack-of-all trades character, but master of none |
Brutes can tank with a mild amount of support or a good build, too. A Scrapper needs some serious support or a really good build.
So turn that frown upside down. The Scrappers can frown instead.
@Gilia1
I play heroes on Champion.
I play villains on Virtue.
sorry maybe "less utility" was the wrong thing to say
I was thinking about how scrappers can play different roles, Like spines, and its AoE.
brutes seem to just dish out alot of damage, the same as a scrapper, but won't really be tankers since the actual tanker will probably be doing that for you
brutes gain fury from taking hits as well as giving them, so unless they are tanking, their fury won't be building as well
so there doesn't seem to be a need for a brute
Quote:
I think you have it backwards.|
Originally Posted by Kitty
I haven't played a brute before but I think I'm going to try one, but I have a concern
when GR is released, and brutes can go blue, where will they be left? will they be the same as a scrapper but with less utility? and will they have to take a back seat to tankers because they are squishier the brute seems like the Jack-of-all trades character, but master of none |
When GR comes around, I suspect there's going to be a fair amount of scrappers yelling "dey tuk ur jerbs!" Some tanks as well.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kitty
sorry maybe "less utility" was the wrong thing to say
I was thinking about how scrappers can play different roles, Like spines, and its AoE. brutes seem to just dish out alot of damage, the same as a scrapper, but won't really be tankers since the actual tanker will probably be doing that for you brutes gain fury from taking hits as well as giving them, so unless they are tanking, their fury won't be building as well so there doesn't seem to be a need for a brute |
Blue side toons seem too 1 dimensional to me.
so who will take a back seat? Brutes feed off aggro to make them stronger, but tanks need aggro to make them useful (why have a tanker who isn't tanking?)
I'm just not sure how it will work
I am going to make a brute either way though 
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The short answer is I can guarantee you will see a lot more brutes about. All tankers wish they could hit like brutes and scrappers wish they could tank, brute can fill both roles.|
Originally Posted by Kitty
so who will take a back seat? Brutes feed off aggro to make them stronger, but tanks need aggro to make them useful (why have a tanker who isn't tanking?)
I'm just not sure how it will work I am going to make a brute either way though |
In a regular team with a tank involved, brute would take scrappers place as the offtank, you seem to forget though that tankers can only hold a maximum of 17 enemies (think thats right...) a brute could take whatever the tanker cant, in a full team theres likely to be more than 17 enemies per mob anyway, if not nothing stops the brute pulling a second mob together with the first to get a bigger mob to kill in one go.
Brutes share the same resists and defence caps as tankers which makes them very attractive to a lot of players and I cant see this changing even with GR, in fact I think you will see a lot more brutes from ex tankers since the only reason a lot of tankers dont play brutes is because they dont want to play vills. With GR they wont have to.
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Some things to think about: Brutes can maintain high fury just with their attacks. Both attacking and being attacked build fury. Getting full alpha attention when a mob unloads on a brute may fill their fury crazy fast, but a brute can still get very good fury on a team full of controllers/tanks/masterminds...they just have to work harder for it, and time attacks well.|
Originally Posted by Kitty
so who will take a back seat? Brutes feed off aggro to make them stronger, but tanks need aggro to make them useful (why have a tanker who isn't tanking?)
I'm just not sure how it will work I am going to make a brute either way though |
Remember, when bruting, ALWAYS set your brawl to auto. No endurance, fast recharge, no redraw.
Also: brutes <3 shield support sets. Ice, thermal, sonic, forcefield, you name it. A brute with buffs can hit 90% resistance/defense, on par with tanks. It's a rare thing, but when it happens you're an unstoppable killing machine.
thanks for the info guys
im making my character now
I have already decided on SS as my primary, but I'm not sure about my secondary
I need to think about GR and what will be most needed
should I go for fire? or maybe a more tanky secondary, like WP (or invun maybe?)
All three are great choices, I have an invul tank and he's great even at SO level. However, since you're in the brute forums, browse the thread "OMG WM + En Aura so STRONG."
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I'm inclined towards /Dark, /Electric, and /Fire. Because their damage auras make up for SS's lack of AoE for most of the first 32 levels, and then they compliment Rage + Foot Stomp very well after that.|
Originally Posted by Kitty
thanks for the info guys
im making my character now I have already decided on SS as my primary, but I'm not sure about my secondary I need to think about GR and what will be most needed should I go for fire? or maybe a more tanky secondary, like WP (or invun maybe?) |
/Electric has the highest resists as I recall, though Tough is useful because they could use more smashing and lethal resistance. So, that's the way I'd go if you wanted to tank. /WP and /Invul are good options for tanking, too. They just lack the damage aura.
It all depends on what you want to do really. SS/ pairs well in some scenarios with anything. For example, if you don't plan to IO for positional defense and are inclined to solo I'd say /EnergyAura hands down. It's endurance management, typed defense, and baked in stealth make it awesome for soloing with regular old SO enhancements.
So anyway, if you are specific with your plans someone who's done it can probably tell you the best powerset for that.
@Gilia1
I play heroes on Champion.
I play villains on Virtue.
I have enough inf to fully IO it as much as is needed
I like Fire/Invun/WP the most and I am looking to be a tanker brute but also give out damage too
so whichever secondary will help me live longest is the one I will go with 
You should play the game, maybe read a bit on the powers, and decide.
My SS/Fire Brute and Stone Melee/Elec are much squishier than my SS/WP and my ELM/Stone Armor but I enjoy the first two a lot while I shelved the latter (deleted the ss/wp and the granite is there because he's 50).
Nobody will be 'relegated' because people who aren't idiots don't cherrypick ATs for a team, even in TFs. It may happen in MoSTF attempts, but not in the majority of the game.
well I'm playing SS/WP atm and it's fun so far
Cool. I find passive secondaries boring, that's why I like Fire, Elec, Dark... But SS/WP is one of the most powerful toons in PvE, I've seen SO'ed SS/WPs easily outsurvive expensive builds, usually EM/Elecs (which was kinda FOTM a while ago, before wp was released and em nerfed).
War Hog: DM/ELA/Soul.
Quote:
Already beat ya to it, 3rd post down top line |
Originally Posted by Red Pirate Boggarts
All three are great choices, I have an invul tank and he's great even at SO level. However, since you're in the brute forums, browse the thread "OMG WM + En Aura so STRONG."
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lolIf your wanting survivability, then Id pick either invul, wp or SR. WP is the easiest to build, followed by invul.
SR endgame is very easy to tank with and with softcapped defence last longer than the others until you get autohit powers coming at you. However SR to level is a pain in the butt since low defence doesnt equal low resists, low defence is more like no resists. You dont start really noticing defence doing its job until your over 30% from then onwards it comes into its own. That being said SR is very endurence hungry and you need almost every power in the set.
WP is a lot of players favorite atm, since its the best alrounder, combined with SS you have the best alrounder brute there is. Invul is similar to WP but with more resists and defence, in exchange for no regen and recovery.
Quote:
I can't talk about PvP.|
Originally Posted by powerfuse1
I hate to throw the word "Best" around, because I know many power sets have the ability to be great. But, in your opinion, which primary has the best SMASH. Which is fun to level up, has few draw backs, and is good at higher levels and in PvP Zones?
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For PvE, Brutes have plenty of excellent choices.
My personal favorites are Super Strength, Claws and Fire Melee.
With honorable mention to Stone Melee (intensely endurance heavy, but major KD) and War Mace (great all around set, but the redraw on Mace drives me nuts).
Quote:
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Originally Posted by powerfuse1
Which secondary (in your opinion) is the one that will keep you alive the longest? Which do you have confidence in, that while your SMASH moves are recharging, you don't have to worry about watching that green bar go down?
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With honorable mention to Super Reflexes (relatively inexpensive to softcap...but that's pretty much it) and Electric Armor.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kitty
so who will take a back seat? Brutes feed off aggro to make them stronger, but tanks need aggro to make them useful (why have a tanker who isn't tanking?)
I'm just not sure how it will work |
any decently built brute will be fine diving into full team spawns.
In those cases, letting the Brute take alphas or at least maintaining some level of aggro will be most beneficial for the team.
Tankers should leverage their survivability to taunt off the support section of the team - nothing dumber, more frustrating and counterproductive than watching the Tanker waste his time taunting things off of the Brute.
Seriously, it's pure /facepalm.
I ended up SS/Fire in the end
I've decided to go for more damage than defence since I will be going blue in GR, so I can be more of a scrapper
i'm just wondering, is Fire better than SR for damage? I'm not sure if quickness works well for recharge, or if embrace is better to go with
Quote:
SS/Fire is a nice combo, I had one at 50 myself |
Originally Posted by Kitty
I ended up SS/Fire in the end
I've decided to go for more damage than defence since I will be going blue in GR, so I can be more of a scrapper |
Tips would be make sure you slot your heal as soon as possible with heals and recharges, since you will use it a lot. Also taking tough helps a lot from the fighting pool, weave you dont need though. Medicines aid self is kinda pointless with decent slots on healing flames, but hasten helps.
In fact.. I just realised I have my old build pre set bonuses, so this should give you ideas...
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Super Strength
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Punch
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (42) Accuracy IO
- (46) Damage Increase IO
- (46) Damage Increase IO
- (A) Resist Damage IO
- (3) Resist Damage IO
- (3) Resist Damage IO
- (5) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (17) Accuracy IO
- (19) Damage Increase IO
- (42) Damage Increase IO
- (43) Endurance Reduction IO
- (46) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Healing IO
- (5) Healing IO
- (7) Healing IO
- (7) Recharge Reduction IO
- (9) Recharge Reduction IO
- (9) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (11) Recharge Reduction IO
- (11) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (13) Accuracy IO
- (13) Damage Increase IO
- (15) Damage Increase IO
- (15) Endurance Reduction IO
- (17) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Run Speed IO
- (A) Taunt Duration IO
- (40) Taunt Duration IO
- (43) Recharge Reduction IO
- (43) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Empty
- (A) Healing IO
- (A) Resist Damage IO
- (19) Resist Damage IO
- (21) Resist Damage IO
- (21) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Endurance Modification IO
- (23) Endurance Modification IO
- (23) Endurance Modification IO
- (A) To Hit Buff IO
- (25) To Hit Buff IO
- (25) To Hit Buff IO
- (27) Recharge Reduction IO
- (27) Recharge Reduction IO
- (29) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (29) Accuracy IO
- (31) Taunt Duration IO
- (31) Taunt Duration IO
- (31) Endurance Reduction IO
- (33) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Resist Damage IO
- (33) Resist Damage IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (33) Accuracy IO
- (34) Endurance Modification IO
- (34) Endurance Modification IO
- (34) Recharge Reduction IO
- (36) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Empty
- (A) Resist Damage IO
- (36) Resist Damage IO
- (36) Resist Damage IO
- (37) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (37) Recharge Reduction IO
- (37) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (39) Accuracy IO
- (39) Damage Increase IO
- (39) Damage Increase IO
- (40) Endurance Reduction IO
- (40) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (42) Damage Increase IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (45) Accuracy IO
- (45) Immobilisation Duration IO
- (45) Immobilisation Duration IO
- (A) Accuracy IO
- (48) Accuracy IO
- (48) Damage Increase IO
- (48) Damage Increase IO
- (50) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Damage Increase IO
- (50) Damage Increase IO
- (50) Damage Increase IO
Level 1: Brawl
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
Level 6: Ninja Run
Code:
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I'm level 7 and already having doubts
I keep wanting to try SS/SR and Claw/SR
which is better out of the two?
I think claws might be good if it's slotted for recharge + quickness
but i'm not sure how well the damage is when compared to SS
I hate to throw the word "Best" around, because I know many power sets have the ability to be great. But, in your opinion, which primary has the best SMASH. Which is fun to level up, has few draw backs, and is good at higher levels and in PvP Zones?
Which secondary (in your opinion) is the one that will keep you alive the longest? Which do you have confidence in, that while your SMASH moves are recharging, you don't have to worry about watching that green bar go down?
This will be for leveling up for fun and kicks, but mainly I want to be kicking some hero butt in PvP Zones.
Again, sorry for throwing out the word "Best". I mainly just want some opinions, and maybe some numbers proving your opinions if you've got 'em. Thanks.