Fiery Melee vs Super Strength vs War Mace vs Battle Axe
By
AWRocketman,
Posted on: 2010-09-01 24:54 in Brutes
Quote:
WM has 1 AoE: Whirling Mace. Everything else is ST, except Crowd Control, which is a Cone.|
Originally Posted by ChrisUlrich84
But War Mace has some pretty hard attacks (never used it before though) and 3 AoEs.
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That said, I went SS/Fire, because Footstomp has the largest radius.
Battle Axe > Whirling Axe: Radius: 8
Fire Melee > Fire Sword Circle: Radius: 10
Super Strength > Foot Stomp: Radius: 15
War Mace > Whirling Mace: Radius: 8
The downside is that Foot Stomp is the T9, while FSC is the T8, and WA and WM are the T7. That means WA and WM are available at 18, FSC is available at 26, but FS has to wait until 32.
However, I feel the tradeoff is totally worth it. Plus 2x Rage+Fiery Embrace will equal some mega loving for damage.
IMO, I ran the sets as follows: SS, WM, FM, BA. YMMV.
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Biggest Troll on the forums? I'll give you a hint:
I'd go either SS/Fire or Fire/Fire. SS will have better AoE with just Foot Stomp if you take the Patron AoE and Burn. Fire will have better ST damage though.
[U][URL="http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=251594"][/URL][/U]
Without doubt SS/ is the best out of the 4, believe it or not its got insane AoE, prolly some of the best out of all the brutes sets (if it beats elec/ or not is debatable). Anyway, I’ll try and keep this short:
1. Rage: +80% dmg and +20% tohit ALL THE TIME (well, there is the -9999% dmg thing but if you got vet attacks you can use those), not to mention it is possible to get it so you are stacking rage really easily.
2. Foot Stomp, imo this is the best AoE attack brutes can get. It's just that good (I didnt believe it at 1st but its true).
"I have ridden the mighty moon worm!"
-Al Gore
Fiery Aura is only good for farming, I'm cereal
@Caucasiafro
How about if I added claws/Fire to the mix?
I'm glad I read SS/Fire though. That's what I was banking on.
I'm really like SS! haha!
Is /Fire really that bad for tanking though?
Your preferences weigh most heavily, but for me I'd take War Mace over Axe and Superstrength over either and Fire over all the above unless it was out-of-concept for the character.
Axe hits hard and its animations are generally pretty quick, but its an END hog and a one-trick pony. War Mace hits almost as hard and has more tricks up its sleeve. War Mace also has more weapon options in the character creator, giving a wider range of look and feels.
Superstrength is awesome and hits hard...once you get Rage and slot it up. Superstrength has good mitigation options with lots of knocks - up down and back as you like. Superstrength does not have a real AoE until Foot Stomp, which is the t9.
Fire does lots of damage, both ST and AoE, and is very aggressive. It lacks utility but you put things down so fast who cares. It's animations are eclectic and not necessarily friendly to all character concepts (If I wanted a sword I'd take a sword set! Can't I have an animation that looks like something else?). But pound for pound, quality of life and ease of play, Fire has a lot going for it.
I wanted fire originally but I was't sure how the AoEs stack up to Foot Stomp (everyone says it's that awesome). I like the idea of going fire/fire since my favorite brute I ever played was stone/stone.
Fire really does well against SS in terms of ST and AoE damage output?
Quote:
Not really, the biggest weakness it has is its lack of KB protection which is pretty easy to fix. But you have some nice (not great) res numbers and one of the better (faster) self heals out there. But its not sure not the best defence set.|
Originally Posted by ChrisUlrich84
Is /Fire really that bad for tanking though?
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Also, what are you doing tanking on a brute? :P
"I have ridden the mighty moon worm!"
-Al Gore
Fiery Aura is only good for farming, I'm cereal
@Caucasiafro
Quote:
My brother is a fire/kin so I just wanna keep aggro away from him while we play! :-)
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Originally Posted by ultrawatt
Not really, the biggest weakness it has is its lack of KB protection which is pretty easy to fix. But you have some nice (not great) res numbers and one of the better (faster) self heals out there. But its not sure not the best defence set.
Also, what are you doing tanking on a brute? :P |
Quote:
Well...in sheer numbers, Fire Sword Circle does more damage than Footstomp and is available much sooner (mid 20's). Footstomp does KB. |
Originally Posted by ChrisUlrich84
I wanted fire originally but I was't sure how the AoEs stack up to Foot Stomp (everyone says it's that awesome). I like the idea of going fire/fire since my favorite brute I ever played was stone/stone.
Fire really does well against SS in terms of ST and AoE damage output? |
They pair up pretty much the same for END cost, recharge, animation time, and so forth.
So...youll have to decide for yourself whether an attack you get sooner that does more damage is better than an attack you get later that does more mitigation.
Quote:
So be a kin/fire brute and play twinners.
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Originally Posted by ChrisUlrich84
My brother is a fire/kin so I just wanna keep aggro away from him while we play! :-)
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Anyone know the name of a good in-game psychiatrist? I have a sever case of Altitis..and DAMN YOU ALL...you made it worse. Lookin at this SS/Fire gave me a character concept...the brother of my SS/WP Brute ....damn hillbilly brutes
Quote:
What about straight single target damage SS vs Fire? Waiting for footstomp doesn't seem all that bad.
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Originally Posted by KillerShrike
Well...in sheer numbers, Fire Sword Circle does more damage than Footstomp and is available much sooner (mid 20's). Footstomp does KB.
They pair up pretty much the same for END cost, recharge, animation time, and so forth. So...youll have to decide for yourself whether an attack you get sooner that does more damage is better than an attack you get later that does more mitigation. |
You also have to consider that Foot Stomp has a wider radius, it will be paired with Rage, and you can slot the FF+rech proc in addition to the knockdown.
As far as ST damage goes, Fire wins.
[U][URL="http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=251594"][/URL][/U]
Quote:
I'd go with Fire over SS, if you're talking single-target damage.|
Originally Posted by ChrisUlrich84
What about straight single target damage SS vs Fire? Waiting for footstomp doesn't seem all that bad.
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But someone mentioned claws earlier, so I'd say claws over anything else. Claws on a brute owns everything except dual blades.
I figured fire beats SS in straight single target damage. But is it total domination in comparison or does SS do very well against it?
Claws and dual blades really beat fire and super strength in single target AND AoE damage output?!
Quote:
My evidence is anecdotal and based off my feelings, not hard numbers. But Fire has a big advantage for doing fire damage, while SS does smashing. Enemies that are resistant to fire are rarer than those resistant to smashing.|
Originally Posted by ChrisUlrich84
I figured fire beats SS in straight single target damage. But is it total domination in comparison or does SS do very well against it?
Claws and dual blades really beat fire and super strength in single target AND AoE damage output?! |
Claws gets Spin at level 6. It was recently buffed, so it now does crazy damage (it one-shots +1 minions at 50% Fury, 3 damage SOs). It also gets Eviscerate and Shockwave, 2 decent cones. Claws also has really good speed and an innate END cost reduction, so while you do less damage per activation, you attack a lot more. It gives you a constant feeling of activity, rather than having to wait for powers to recharge.
Dual Blades is similar to Claws. Slightly slower and more of an END hog, but it's cones are better. Plus the combo system and the fancy attack animations keeps it engaging.
The downside to Claws and DB is the lack of a 'big hit'. While Fire has Greater Fire Sword and SS has KO Blow, Claws and DB lack a similar attack.
EDIT: Wait, Claws has Eviscerate. That power hits like a truck.
How do Fiery Melee and War Mace compare, especially as paired with /Fire? I'm debating between the two still--on the one hand Fire/Fire makes for a better thematic fit for the character I want to roll, but on the other, War Mace looks fun and frankly, braining dudes with a big old stick is quite awesome. So it basically comes down to gameplay concerns.
Where do their respective strengths and weaknesses lie?
War Mace has 3 AoE's. Crowd Control, Whirling Mace, and Shatter if you aim it really well.
My guides:Dark Melee/Dark Armor/Soul Mastery, Illusion Control/Kinetics/Primal Forces Mastery, Electric Armor
"Dark Armor is a complete waste as a tanking set."
I decided to go Claws/Fire. Spin really tipped the scales actually. A good AoE really early on?
Strike does a lot of damage surprisingly too! I get to 50% fury insanely quick!
Quote:
When you are surrounded by mobs, it doesn't take much aiming for shatter to reliably hit 3+ mobs.|
Originally Posted by Nalrok_AthZim
War Mace has 3 AoE's. Crowd Control, Whirling Mace, and Shatter if you aim it really well.
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Quote:
Yes, RAGE does make everything in SS better than it looks on paper. |
Originally Posted by Fiery-Enforcer
You also have to consider that Foot Stomp has a wider radius, it will be paired with Rage, and you can slot the FF+rech proc in addition to the knockdown.
As far as ST damage goes, Fire wins. |
Personally, I have a SS Tanker and both a Fire Melee Scrapper and Brute. I like both SS and Fire about equally well, but allowing for AT differences in my head I'm pretty sure that Fire Melee overall has an edge. My SS character is awesome, but even accounting for base damage differences he's not as flat out mean as the Fire Melee characters.
I suppose I could make a SS/Fire Brute and do a real side by side comparison w/ my Fire/Fire Brute to rule out AT differences, but my gut feeling is that Fire Melee is slightly better.
Quote:
Good choice. You will fall in love with Focus and attempt to make babies with it.
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Originally Posted by ChrisUlrich84
I decided to go Claws/Fire. Spin really tipped the scales actually. A good AoE really early on?
Strike does a lot of damage surprisingly too! I get to 50% fury insanely quick! |
Quote:
Any builds you recommend?|
Originally Posted by Rockblood
Good choice. You will fall in love with Focus and attempt to make babies with it.
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I went with strike, blazing aura, and I forgot what the attack is after strike. Looking for spin next.
Quote:
It depends what you mean by better. Fire indeed does better ST damage, but SS does better AoE damage.
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Originally Posted by KillerShrike
I suppose I could make a SS/Fire Brute and do a real side by side comparison w/ my Fire/Fire Brute to rule out AT differences, but my gut feeling is that Fire Melee is slightly better.
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Super Strength is the only one that doesn't have more than 1 AoE but the single target damage is impressive.
My secondary I finally decided is gonna be Fire. So that way I am always doing some type of AoE damage to bring down potential attacks to my brother who is a Fire/Kin Corruptor.
So i'm asking you guys what you think would pair up best with /Fire. I REALLY liked Super Strength up to level 12 because I was killing single targets sooo fast. I was also excited because between Fiery Embrace, Rage, and Fulcrum Shift... I feel like I could do the best damage possible while those are all active.
But War Mace has some pretty hard attacks (never used it before though) and 3 AoEs.
I added battle axe in there because I have a level 12 Brute and I liked the single target damage output a lot. Just wondering what everyone else though about it.
Fiery Melee because everyone is saying that a ranged Fire attack is just incredible at dealing damage due to it's DoTs. I figured Fiery Melee had the same effect since every attack pretty much is a DoT PLUS the 2 AoEs you get at later levels.
Sorry for a long post and a lot of questions... just trying to gather up the most information possible before really getting deep into leveling.