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Correct, a self-heal was added to /Elec in Energize. It really helped the performance of my Elec/Elec Brute whom I had shelved for months due to the horrible survivability. |
Originally Posted by Sardan
For a long time Elec had a rep as underperforming but I believe it got buffed a couple of issues back. Didn't one of its powers get a heal added? How does Elec compare with the champ of well-rounded performance, Willpower?
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As to the whole WP vs Elec debate, I would say that Willpower still has the edge over /Elec. Now, that's not to say that /Elec is bad because, after the buff, it has become a set to compete with /Fire. However, WP (aka Ol'-Reliable) is really just perfect for all-around performance.
To be honest, I would say that /Elec doesn't even touch /WP in terms of survivability, but then again, we are talking about WP, here.
/Elec can hold its own while leveling, and at 50 it is now a fairly sturdy toon. If I were you, I would go /Elec. It's flashy, cool, and WP has been done to death!
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How about their Tier 9 powers? I think Strength of Will drains most End but leaves your health alone, is that right? So when it wears off you're not detoggled and you can pop a blue and keep fighting. I know Elec's Power Surge used to have an issue with its EMP not being very reliable at the end. Has that been fixed? And does it still drain you of most health when it wears off? |
Power Surge is a typical T9 with a hefty crash (most health/endurance), but the ending EMP seems to be working.
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I'm not only interested in how they compare leveling up but also at level 50. Forget purple sets and costly PvP IOs, but assume I can drop a few hundred mil into IOs. Which performs better at 50? |
/Elec can do pretty well, itself, and many use it as a farming secondary.
Obviously YMMV, IMO, but Willpower really is the top choice for well-rounded, reliable performance without a hefty price tag.
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| Also who's more well rounded in the face of exotic damage types? For example I know Elec laughs off energy attacks and doesn't have to worry about End drain. Does Will have any tricks up its sleeve like that? How does Willpower deal with Malta Sappers and crowds of Carnies? |
In terms of End-Draining mobs like Carnies, I would give it to /Elec, but WP also has some very nice recovery powers which can make those drains a breeze.
For exotic damage tanking, I would actually say that WP has the edge. Sure, /Elec is great vs Energy/Negative Energy mobs, but WP has F/C/E/N defense on top of a great amount of Regen.
Overall, WP is a sturdier, more well-rounded set than /Elec. But I would encourage you to try out /Elec for yourself! Everyone and their mother has a /WP toon, but /Elec can be a blast to play as well as being very effective with the right build and slotting at level 50.
Good luck!
~Alpha
"People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is
light from within"
WP is tougher, and more survivable. Elec deals more damage due to Quick Reflexes, and the damage aura.
Both are excellent sets, they just work differently. I wouldn't consider WP to be better then Elec at all.
I believe Strength of Will's recharge rate cannot be enhanced, right? Although, I guess this doesn't really matter since its recharge rate is still a lot quicker than most other god-mode tier 9's.
I would recommend Elec Armor as well.
Elec actually has better resistance than WP even to psi, it just doesn't have the 7.5 def to psi WP gets in its mez toggle. Elec's resists to Psi, cold and fire are the same as its S/L resists, 26.5% base. Of course energy resist is ridiculous but as a slight correction to Alpha A's post, Elec is really not that hot against neg armor. Even though it has two powers offering neg energy resist, it still ends up being your lowest resist aside from the toxic hole. And Grounded isn't really worth 3 slotting for resists since its neg energy resist is 7.5% base only and its energy resist doesn't need slotting. Negative energy is the thematic weakness of the set. Thankfully it's not too common since CoT ghosts on villain side tend to use cold attacks.
Elec has higher resists across the board than both Fire and Dark (excepting of course the thematic strenghts and weaknesses of either set) Dark has more psi resist tho. Both of those sets have much shorter cooldowns on their heal powers, and some other toys.
Anyway, no one mentioned Powersink yet. Its base recharge with lightning reflexes is 50 seconds, so with slotting it can be up a lot. And if you slot it for end mod with basic IOs you will be draining 80% of a mob's blue bar with it, while lightning field ticking for drains about 5% of end with an end mod in it, so you keep everyone around you reasonably dry. And with basic recharge IOs, Power Sink is up every 30 seconds or so.
Energize is a fine heal. Sadly it has 3 times the recharge of Healing Flames. It gives the same hp up front, but additionally Energize gives you 30 seconds of equivalent regen to /regen's Integration toggle, and an endurance discount. You might argue that it tries to do too much but I always get bored when I don't get some buttons to push in my secondary. And self rezzes and godmodes don't count.
Of course Alpha A is totally correct in saying that WP is amazing for great perfomance on a budget, while Elec is still a solid character while leveling. Tossing together regeneration, some def and decent S/L/Psi resists is just really good.
Sometimes you get to fight that one enemy or mission where Elec completely dominates. I was roughly level 25 when I was sidekicked up to Grandville level in a team to clear out some AV/Hero missions and Positron literally cannot dent you with capped energy resists. And in the mission where you go after Hequate, you fight nothing but Mu mages, who do pure energy damage. The other 5 or 6 people died to an overpull and I had like 30 dudes zapping me with lightning and neither my health nor my end bar budged much. Considering I'd only gotten access to SOs like 3 levels ago I felt awesome that day. Also constant 90~ fury and lightning field ticking is fun.
Also, Elec will have a really easy time with the Sea Witch and Protean in your twenties.
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WP trounces ELA in the leveling category-- it's amazing at level 1 with HPT, and works wonders with just HPT, MOB, and Fast Healing. It take until level 28 to get Energize on ELA, your heal/regeneration that's on a pretty long timer, and Power Sink doesn't come until level 35. Both of these skills are integral to ELA's survivability. |
Originally Posted by Sardan
I'm not only interested in how they compare leveling up but also at level 50. Forget purple sets and costly PvP IOs, but assume I can drop a few hundred mil into IOs. Which performs better at 50?
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If I had to guess, I's say that WP is still about 30 to 100% more survivable than ELA on average (lots of variability due to RttC). When ELA has Power Surge active, it may be tougher than a WP with saturated RttC.
ELA is still the set with better tools. It has unlimited endurance, massive debuff resistance, and a damage aura.
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Whoops, thanks for catching that! Don't know what I was thinking.|
Originally Posted by Flats
Of course energy resist is ridiculous but as a slight correction to Alpha A's post, Elec is really not that hot against neg armor. Even though it has two powers offering neg energy resist, it still ends up being your lowest resist aside from the toxic hole.
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~Alpha
"People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is
light from within"
Hi all
I have a SS/Elec Brute and I love the recharge, resistances, heals etc.
I go in and drain the mob and they stand around waiting for me to kill them off. Double stacked Rage & Fury makes for fun times.
Resistance to all including TP & end drains.
Lots of recharge and Energize saved this build to make it very playable.
My advice build for Recharge, end drain, AoEs damages and of course Max HP.
Look for him on Freedom server B R U T A L I T Y
I haven't started a new brute in a long time and my last couple of melee characters have been defense based, so I thought it'd be fun to try something different.
For a long time Elec had a rep as underperforming but I believe it got buffed a couple of issues back. Didn't one of its powers get a heal added? How does Elec compare with the champ of well-rounded performance, Willpower?
How about their Tier 9 powers? I think Strength of Will drains most End but leaves your health alone, is that right? So when it wears off you're not detoggled and you can pop a blue and keep fighting. I know Elec's Power Surge used to have an issue with its EMP not being very reliable at the end. Has that been fixed? And does it still drain you of most health when it wears off?
I'm not only interested in how they compare leveling up but also at level 50. Forget purple sets and costly PvP IOs, but assume I can drop a few hundred mil into IOs. Which performs better at 50?
Also who's more well rounded in the face of exotic damage types? For example I know Elec laughs off energy attacks and doesn't have to worry about End drain. Does Will have any tricks up its sleeve like that? How does Willpower deal with Malta Sappers and crowds of Carnies?
Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.