Energy Aura/Super Strength


Derangedpolygot

 

Posted

Was planning on respecing my Brute and wanted opinions, feedback, suggestions, or comments on the build. Any and all are appreciated.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/

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Kashini Tallinu: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Super Strength
Secondary Power Set: Energy Aura
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Jab

  • (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
Level 1: Kinetic Shield
  • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
  • (3) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50
  • (5) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50
  • (9) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge: Level 50
  • (13) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
Level 2: Dampening Field
  • (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance: Level 40
  • (3) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 40
  • (7) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge: Level 40
  • (9) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40
Level 4: Power Shield
  • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
  • (5) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50
  • (7) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50
  • (11) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge: Level 50
  • (13) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
Level 6: Boxing
  • (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage: Level 35
  • (40) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance: Level 35
  • (40) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge: Level 35
  • (43) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 35
Level 8: Knockout Blow
  • (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 40
  • (36) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40
  • (37) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage: Level 40
  • (37) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance: Level 40
  • (37) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge: Level 40
  • (40) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative): Level 40
Level 10: Entropy Shield
  • (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50
  • (11) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50
Level 12: Taunt
  • (A) Perfect Zinger - Chance for Psi Damage: Level 50
Level 14: Tough
  • (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance: Level 40
  • (15) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 40
  • (15) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge: Level 40
  • (19) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40
Level 16: Energy Protection
  • (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance: Level 40
  • (17) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 40
  • (17) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge: Level 40
  • (19) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40
Level 18: Rage
  • (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
Level 20: Weave
  • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
  • (21) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50
  • (21) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50
  • (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge: Level 50
Level 22: Energy Cloak
  • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
  • (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50
  • (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance: Level 50
  • (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge: Level 50
Level 24: Haymaker
  • (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage: Level 35
  • (43) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance: Level 35
  • (43) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge: Level 35
  • (46) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 35
Level 26: Hurl
  • (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
Level 28: Energy Drain
  • (A) Doctored Wounds - Heal: Level 50
  • (48) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge: Level 50
  • (50) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
  • (50) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance: Level 50
  • (50) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
Level 30: Hasten
  • (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
  • (31) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
  • (31) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
Level 32: Foot Stomp
  • (A) Obliteration - Damage: Level 50
  • (33) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
  • (33) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
  • (33) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50
  • (34) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
  • (34) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage: Level 50
Level 35: Conserve Power
  • (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
  • (36) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
  • (36) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50
Level 38: Overload
  • (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50
  • (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50
  • (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge: Level 50
  • (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40
Level 41: Superior Conditioning
  • (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End: Level 50
  • (42) Performance Shifter - EndMod: Level 50
  • (42) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy: Level 50
  • (42) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge: Level 50
Level 44: Physical Perfection
  • (A) Healing IO: Level 50
  • (45) Healing IO: Level 50
  • (45) Healing IO: Level 50
  • (45) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50
  • (46) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50
  • (46) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50
Level 47: Hand Clap
  • (A) Stagger - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge: Level 30
  • (48) Stagger - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 30
  • (48) Stagger - Endurance/Stun: Level 30
Level 49: Super Speed
  • (A) Run Speed IO: Level 50
------------
Level 1: Brawl
  • (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50
Level 1: Sprint
  • (A) Jumping IO: Level 50
Level 2: Rest
  • (A) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50
Level 1: Fury
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift
  • (A) Run Speed IO: Level 50
Level 2: Hurdle
  • (A) Jumping IO: Level 50
Level 2: Health
  • (A) Healing IO: Level 50
  • (29) Healing IO: Level 50
  • (29) Healing IO: Level 50
  • (34) Healing IO: Level 50
Level 2: Stamina
  • (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End: Level 50
  • (27) Performance Shifter - EndMod: Level 50
  • (27) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy: Level 50
  • (31) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge: Level 50


@Kashini Aldatan
Victory Server

 

Posted

I am going to be brutally honest. When I saw this build, I asked myself, 'What in the world is he trying to do with this build'. You aren't softcapped to everything, you 4 slotted Health, you 4 slotted Superior Conditioning (you know all it does is grant extra endurance, not recovery right?) You used several Positional Defense sets, when there were perfectly good Typed Defense sets to get. You grabbed Hand Clap ! 3 slotted Conserve Power :O!

ok. If I was going to make this brute, this is how I would do it...

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.90
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Kashini Tallinu: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Super Strength
Secondary Power Set: Energy Aura
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Jab -- P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/Rchg(A), P'ngS'Fest-Acc/Dmg(45), P'ngS'Fest-Dmg/EndRdx(45), P'ngFist-Acc/Dmg(46), P'ngFist-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), P'ngFist-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 1: Kinetic Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(9), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(9)
Level 2: Haymaker -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(42), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(43), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 4: Power Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(11), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(11)
Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 8: Knockout Blow -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(15), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(15), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 10: Entropy Shield -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Boxing -- Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
Level 16: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam(17), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(17), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(19)
Level 18: Rage -- Rec'dRet-ToHit(A), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(19), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 20: Energy Cloak -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(21), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(21)
Level 22: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(23), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(23)
Level 24: Dampening Field -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(25), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(25), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(34)
Level 26: Energy Protection -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(27), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(27)
Level 28: Energy Drain -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(29), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Numna-Heal/Rchg(31), Efficacy-EndMod(31), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(31)
Level 30: Stimulant -- Empty(A)
Level 32: Foot Stomp -- Erad-Acc/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Aid Self -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(36), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Numna-Heal/Rchg(36), IntRdx-I(37)
Level 38: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(39), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(39), Mocking-Acc/Rchg(39), Mocking-Rchg(40), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(40)
Level 41: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(42), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(42)
Level 44: Superior Conditioning -- P'Shift-End%(A)
Level 47: Physical Perfection -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(48), Numna-Heal/Rchg(48), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(48), P'Shift-End%(50)
Level 49: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(5), Numna-Heal/Rchg(5), Numna-Heal(7), RgnTis-Regen+(7), Panac-Heal/+End(46)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(3), P'Shift-EndMod(3)



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4% away on the negative soft cap, but I run my brute at 38 % and he is just fine. Weakness to Negative is just a hole I live with, and in most of the game, you are perfectly fine, and in teams, there is always some extra defense flying around.



Your character does not have capped defense. Depending on your AT the cap is between 175% - 225%. Your defense is not teal in the combat window, it can go higher. STOP SAYING IT IS CAPPED! The correct term is Soft Cap.
I enjoy playing in Mids. I specialize in Melee Characters, other AT's usually bore me.

 

Posted

Appreciate the advice and the build. I'm still trying to learn about sets and their bonuses, I've always just done basic IOs for the most part.


@Kashini Aldatan
Victory Server

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kusac View Post
Appreciate the advice and the build. I'm still trying to learn about sets and their bonuses, I've always just done basic IOs for the most part.
There is a learning curve. I don't think it's easy as it is a rather complex optimization problem and depends quite heavily on personal judgement. For your power choice, I would drop jab and pick punch instead. If you find that the single target attack chain is not smooth, I would use boxing as a filler attack.

Energy aura is considered a very endurance friendly power set because of energy drain. Usually, conserve power and energy mastery are not necessary. On the other hand, there are endurance crashes from rage, hasten, and overload (if you frequently use it). The endurance usage from foot stomp and knockout blow are high as well. You've to judge whether extra endurance-related powers help, and you may want to take alpha slot into account here. I can see that you want to have higher regeneration from health and physical perfection. I think their regeneration are not good enough to keep you alive. It is more effective to take aid self to replenish hit points.

For your slotting, try not to leave the powers that you use unslotted, for example jab and hurl. There is a defense crash when rage drops. One trick to get around it is to have enough recharge such that rage can be reactivated before it ends. This way, you can avoid the defense debuff (note that the other side effects still kick in). Energy aura is based on typed defense, that is defense types like smashing, lethal el al., instead of positional defense (melee, ranged, AoE). Therefore, we usually try to optimize energy aura by soft-capping typed defense, i.e. raise the typed defense to the value of 45%. For example, using touch of death in knockout blow is not the best choice, compared to kinetic combat.

In addition, there are some rules about slotting: enhancement diversification (aka ED) and "rule of 5." With ED, you typically don't want to slot more than 3 pieces of level 50 basic IO of the same kind in a power as diminishing return starts to kick in. See your slotting in health. The "rule of 5" says that you can't acquire the same IO set bonus for more than 5 times. In your case, you have too many 9% accuracy bonus, which is probably not a big deal, but I mention it in case you're not aware of it.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by _Pine_ View Post
You grabbed Hand Clap !
I actually recommend that Super Strength/(Defense Set) brutes take Hand Clap. It's got a strong taunt, so they come back to you, but they stop attacking while flying through the air, getting back up, and running over to you. Once you've got a high defense value, respec out of it, but at low levels, it's definitely worth it.

For brutes with a damage aura, or a self buff based on enemies being nearby (Willpower, Invuln), skipping Hand Clap is a no-brainer.


@Roderick

 

Posted

I'm sorry Kusac, When it comes to EA, my only advice is to cut your losses and reroll with a different secondary. SR is available to brutes and it vastly outshines anything EA can do.


The plastic tips at the end of shoelaces are called aglets. Their true purpose is sinister.
--The Question, JLU

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Derangedpolygot View Post
I'm sorry Kusac, When it comes to EA, my only advice is to cut your losses and reroll with a different secondary. SR is available to brutes and it vastly outshines anything EA can do.


Um, what?

My soft-capped FM/SR is miles behind my soft capped /EA brutes.

Don't ever listen to people who say to reroll. They took a few people complaining about EA and turned it into what is now called the weakest set. In my opinion, SR is the weaker of the two; yes, it gets fantastic DDR, but it has no heal or endurance recovery.

I promise my SS/EA will out-SMASH! or out-tank any SR whippersnapper that comes along. Unless I'm herding Romans without support or herding Fortunata's, EA can turn you into a god that never has to slow down and never dies. I herd Malta set to +2/8 on a regular basis.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Derangedpolygot View Post
I'm sorry Kusac, When it comes to EA, my only advice is to cut your losses and reroll with a different secondary. SR is available to brutes and it vastly outshines anything EA can do.
Just curious how much time you have spent with /EA. Based on your ignorant response to the OP I'd say very little. It would be nice to have an explanation as to why you feel this way rather than just announcing "abandone all hope".

I have a 50 /EA and it can do anything my 50 /SR can... heck, maybe even more since he has unlimited endurance, can cap hit points and has access to two heals. He has 53% DDR, so if I get in a bind one purple is usually enough to fend off a defense failure. I've tanked Tin Mage with him on an all melee SF (read: no buff support) and routinely fight 8x spawn maps littered with PPD Khelds/ Malta /carnies and have not once had an issue.

Mind you, this is on a fully IOed build with 90% global recharge, softcapped all around (minus psi, which is at 22%) and just over 2200 hps. And if there's a dangerous opponent in the group I will tag them with DN (since /EA has the endurance tools to manage it). But it's as sturdy as any brute I've played outside of /stone or /invulnerability. /SR might inch ahead of /EA out of the box, but IOed I'd say /EA is equal or better in 99% of the games content... and is just a purple pill for being there in the other 1% (psi).

Just the opinion of someone who plays both a /EA and /SR at lvl 50.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Person34 View Post
/SR might inch ahead of /EA out of the box, but IOed I'd say /EA is equal or better in 99% of the games content... and is just a purple pill for being there in the other 1% (psi).
I don't have an /EA brute (or stalker either, for that matter), so I can't really compare them. What I can tell you is this: I have a SS/SR brute that I recently dropped 6 billion on purpling out. Now, I can Foot Stomp every 4.5 seconds instead of every 12 on his old build. I gained next to nothing in terms of survivability over the budget build. Super Reflexes starts out with really high defense and nothing else, and at best, can end up with.... really high defense, and a little resist and maybe a few extra hit points. On the other hand, EA has good defense and a bit of resist and a heal and endurance management and can beef up all of that through sets and pool powers. Had I sunk the same amount into an EA brute, it would probably survive even better than my /SR does - not that he's squishy at all.


@Roderick

 

Posted

As it happens my top two characters are an /SR and an /EA, both level 50 and both IO'd out.

They are roughly comparable. /SR is easier to softcap, is positional based, and has huge DDR. And pretty much nothing else, save for a flat +RECH auto. /EA for its part has some resistance, a much better T9, Combat Stealth, and Energy Drain.

I've run both thru most of the TF's and important arcs in the game, and they both perform similarly. The SR is slightly more survivable most of the time, but when the RNG goes against him he's got very little fall back, and he's got no utility. The EA has some gaps (vs Psi, and somewhat vs Negative), but has utility options and a fall back plan if he starts absorbing too many hits.

SR is very POWER choice intensive as you need both a toggle and an auto for each positional. EA is very SLOT intensive as you will need to fully slot a number of IO sets to get important +DEF bonuses. On the plus side, the grab bag nature of EA's powers means you have lots of decent options for a variety of IO set types as opposed to the almost uniform "Defense Set" option of SR.

EA is a bit weaker over all if all you look at is defense capability, but it offers more options than SR. If the only thing you are interested in is DEF, then go SR. If the toolboxy utility of EA appeals to you, then go for it.

On a side note, you'll likely do better with EA vs SR in Praetoria. There's a lot of Ranged and some AoE in Praetoria, which SR struggles with early as it does not get its full collection of positional toggles until later. EA's DEF on the other hand is vs damage type and the set get's it's protection vs most of the damage types in Praetoria pretty early.


 

Posted

So, a few thoughts/bits of advice. I've got an SS/EA brute with over 2000 hours of playtime on him (yes, I know... "life-impaired" is the term I prefer...) and think there are a few places the slotting could be improved, in addition to some places where the power selection doesn't let you really build to this combination's potential.

1. 5 slots of LotG in a power is too much. The 5-slot bonus is irrelevant, and you are over the ED cap for defense with the Def, Def/End, Def/End/Rech, and Def/7.5% pieces. Steal a slot from each of the powers where you've got 5 LotG to use elsewhere.

2. Obliteration is a great set, but there are better options for /EA. I like 4 Eradication (Dam, Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech, and Quad), Dam/End from some other PbAoE set, and the Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge proc. If you're fighting groups of any size, it'll fire off enough that you more than make up for the 5% global recharge you lose by not slotting Oblit. As a bonus, 4 Eradications gets you a nice chunk of HP and another 3.125% NegEn defense.

3. Overload doesn't need to be slotted for defense, it needs to be slotted for healing so you can cap your HP. I recommend 3-4 pieces of Numina's. Use the 3 that have the recharge component, and if you feel like it, use the straight Heal piece from the set as well. I didn't care about the 6% heal bonus in my last respec, so just used the 3 recharge pieces and a generic level 50 Heal IO.

4. I don't see Combat Jumping in the build. I think this is a mistake. The base defense bonus for brutes is 1.875% defense to all. That's without any slotting, and it's better than what you get out of a full 4-slot set of Reactive Armor, which will also set you back considerably. Combat Jumping can take the LotG 7.5 you'd be losing from Overload, and can then be slotted on top of that. I'd drop Energy Protection for this.

5. You have one too many slots for endred in Entropy Shield. Move one to either Tough or Dampening Field and use that slot for a Steadfast Protection 3% defense global. The other slots I mentioned above can be moved around to increase the core attributes of other attacks. 4 Kinetic Combats is nice for the defense bonus, but leaves you hurting on accuracy and not ED-capped on damage.

6. Unslotted Hurl just doesn't seem worth it. If you're going to pick up a power to leave at its base slot, this build would benefit more from Maneuvers. I'd recommend slotting Maneuvers, though, and pulling the slots to do so from either Dampening Field or Weave. Again, Maneuvers gives you more benefit than the bonuses from Reactive Armor, and you'll be getting hit infrequently enough as you get closer to the soft cap that the resists really aren't as helpful as you might think.

7. As others have noted, the Body Mastery pool is mainly redundant with /EA's end management strengths. If you can, I strongly recommend Soul Mastery. Gloom is amazing, Dark Obliteration + Foot Stomp + reasonable fury = dead minions (and can take a set of Posi's Blast...), and Darkest Night is phenomenal on this build, even with just the base slot. I run all the /EA toggles, 2-3 Leadership toggles, Weave, Darkest Night when needed, and CJ, and never have endurance problems that Energy Drain + stamina can't handle as long as I pay attention.

I love this brute. In fact, I'm going to go log in and play him now. Have fun!


My postings to this forum are not to be used as data in any research study without my express written consent.