Thoughts on Proposed Axe/Shield Brute

I came up with a nice character concept which fits an Axe/Shield Brute. here's what I came up with for a build:

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King Beast: Level 50 Mutation Brute
Primary Power Set: Battle Axe
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Beheader -- Acc(A), Acc(3)
Level 1: Deflection -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(5), DefBuff(15), DefBuff(19), ResDam(42), ResDam(42)
Level 2: Chop -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(9), Dmg(17), Dmg(39)
Level 4: True Grit -- Heal(A), Heal(5), Heal(19), ResDam(46), ResDam(46)
Level 6: Gash -- Acc(A), Acc(7), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), Dmg(39), EndRdx(50)
Level 8: Swoop -- Acc(A), Acc(9), EndRdx(11), Dmg(13), Dmg(23), Dmg(37)
Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(11)
Level 12: Battle Agility -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(17), DefBuff(25), DefBuff(29)
Level 14: Kick -- Acc(A)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx(A)
Level 18: Whirling Axe -- Acc(A), Acc(21), EndRdx(21), Dmg(25), Dmg(31), Dmg(37)
Level 20: Tough -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(31), ResDam(31), ResDam(37)
Level 22: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff(A)
Level 24: Build Up -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(43)
Level 26: Cleave -- Acc(A), Acc(27), EndRdx(27), Dmg(29), Dmg(34), Dmg(34)
Level 28: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff(A)
Level 30: Weave -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(40), DefBuff(42), DefBuff(43), EndRdx(50)
Level 32: Pendulum -- Acc(A), Acc(33), EndRdx(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(34), Dmg(40)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- Acc(A), Acc(36), Dmg(36), Dmg(36), RechRdx(39), RechRdx(40)
Level 38: Super Jump -- Jump(A)
Level 41: Superior Conditioning -- EndMod(A)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- EndMod(A), EndMod(45), Heal(45), EndMod(46)
Level 47: Maneuvers -- EndRdx(A), DefBuff(48), DefBuff(48), DefBuff(48), EndRdx(50)
Level 49: One with the Shield -- EndMod(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(45)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(13), EndMod(23)

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It's an decent start, but a few things come to mind:

-- You're overslotting dmg in those attacks. I'd probably go with 1 dmg, and replace the other two with an end redux/rech while lvling. At most go with 2 dmg, (After that the effects of ED make slotting something else there a better investment) but again on a Brute I would take a different approach towards a build with Commons.

-- I can't speak to Axe attacks, but I'm betting you can drop one of those for Hasten, which is nice for having AD perma or stacked, and getting SC back faster.

-- Once you start slotting common IOs, consider looking into some of the more impactful pieces from sets. Much easier to get than their market prices would imply. You could replace your slotting in Stamina, Sup Condition and Phy perfection with 2 pieces of performance shifter (the proc and the +endmod) and not have endurance problems, pretty much ever. At least that's the case on my mace/shield build. Dropping the numina's and Miracle uniques in Health as well. Also look into Kismet +Acc and Steadfast +Def. Without going into a full set build, these pieces are probably your biggest bang.

-- at higher lvls, you only need 2 slots of heal and resist in True Grit before ED makes the third slot a waste.

-- This may also be true of Def enhancements, but I don't know the SO values. I know with common +def IOs you only need 2.

-- Consider finding room for Grant Cover. It seems counterintuitive on a soloing build, but it is a decent source for more DDR, gives you a little more defense, and is a source of slow resist as well.

If you're not adverse to it, Mace is a slightly better / more powerful set than Axe due to Crowd Control and the love that Clobber got. IMHO.

This sounds like some good advice. I think a respec at a higher level (32+) to dump Beheader and move Chop up would make some room for Hasten or Grant Cover. I'll look into True Grit, too, for maybe "down-slotting" and using those slots elsewhere.

I haven't tried the Performance Shifter proc before. Is it fairly reliable? If I can use it in Stamina AND my Ancillary Power Pool picks, that may be worthwhile. I'm hoping to avoid the whole "do a couple of attacks and wait for my END to recover" situation that's marred some of my characters in the past, so more END is always good.

Granite Agent, I LOVE the Mace powerset, but I have a level 31 Mace/Elec Brute and an Incarnate Bane (my favorite) with all the Mace melee attacks. Incredible power, but time for a change.

One thing you might want to try to get some more bang for your buck while leveling is "frankenslotting" some of your attacks. Instead of using SOs or generic IOs, use set IOs . . . cheap ones . . . but basically ignore the set bonuses and only focus on their enhancement value. At level 25, a triple IO gives you 16%/16%/16% so 2 ACC/DAM/RECH IOs give you 32% to all . . . the same as a +0 SO (but it never expires *and* you get 32% to 3 things instead of 32% to 2 things). A level 25 dual IO gives +20% to both attributes, so 2 level 25 acc/dam IOs give you 40% ACC and 40% DAM . . . better than a +3 SO (and of course it never expires).

Here's an example: you have Gash slotted with 2 ACC, 2 DAM, and 1 END. If you took out 1 ACC, 1, DAM, and the END and slotted (all level 25s or higher) 1 ACC/DAM/RECH, 1 ACC/END/RECH (from focused smith), and 1 DAM/END/RECH (from smashing haymaker), you'd have in those same three slots 1 ACC, 1 DAM, 1 END, *and* 1.5 RECH . . . 4.5 slots worth of enhancement for only 3 slots. You have 2 more slots, so you could crank a bit more power out of them . . . maybe fill out the attack with some dual IOs (there are more triple IOs out there, but they can be expensive).

Or, take any of your defensive shields. Replace an END and a DEF with 2 level 25 END/DEF IOs, and you can enjoy greater than +3 SO value out of those slots *forever* (or until you feel like putting even better IOs in).

Another thing I would suggest is looking at Multistrike set. It is cheap, gives you the ballpark figure of what you have slotted in your PBAOEs, and has some decent bonuses (+1.88% def to both AOE and Melee). At level 25, Multistrike will give you roughly 1.5 ACC, 2.5 DAM, 2 END, and 1 REC.

The trick with this strategy is to get the IOs *cheap* . . . and that means buying recipes and crafting them yourself, and getting the recipes and salvage at a decent price. You can do this if you *plan ahead*. The prices for recipes and salvage can fluctuate greatly, and by putting up lowball bids (10k-50k) and waiting, you can get great bargains. If you are leveling, place a bunch of bids for level 25 set recipes and salvage and then keep playing as usual. You can even increase your chances by spreading the bids out over a few levels (25-28) it won't really change things too much.

Another thing you can do is to run AE missions and then trade in the tickets for random recipes or salvage. You can get some nice stuff from bronze rolls, and a lot of the "junk" recipes are common, unused common melee and pbaoe recipes . . . precisely what you want! :-) When you are level 27, you can roll on the 30-34 table which would give you a chance for thunderstrike, doctored wounds, and CRUSHING IMPACT recipes (plus a bunch of rares). Crushing Impacts is a pretty sweet set for being common. It retails for a lot, but there are two neat things about it. One is that the set bonuses are more than decent . . . +acc, +rech, +hp. The other is that it has an acc/dam/rech, an acc/dam/end, and an dam/end/rech . . . those would be great for frankenslotting too (if they weren't so dang expensive).

I also want to amplify Mayor's suggestion to look at some of the high quality single IOs. Most of them are not affected by level, so there is no reason (other than not having them) you shouldn't slot them as soon as possible. And they are easier to get than you might think! The performance shifter chance for +end proc costs *one* alignment merit which you can earn by doing tip missions. The Miracle +rec unique costs 2 AMs. Both are easily available in the early 20s. His other suggestions (Numina +reg/rec, Steadfast Protection +def, Kismet +acc[to-hit]) are spot on.

Of course, the other classic "big" IO to look at is the LOTG +recharge. There is a def component to it, so even though it is not huge, there is a difference between a level 25 and a level 50. Of course, the +recharge bonus will not work while exemped below 47 if you use a 50, whereas the 25 will work down to level 22. Depends on how often you like to exemp I guess. 5 LOTG +recharge will give you an extra 37.5% recharge in all powers, and is not affected by ED. The LOTG +recharge is pricy, but 2 AMs will get you one so with a touch of persistance you can get them without much of a hassle.

In terms of priority, if recovery is a concern, I'd go performance shifter, miracle, numina (in that order). That with a touch of frankenslotting for extra endurance ought to cover that. You have most of your attacks slotted for 2 ACC, so next I'd go with the Kismet +ACC (actually to-hit) so that it would cover you if you wanted to sneak out a bit of ACC to sneak in a touch more END. Next I'd grab Steadfast Protection +def (it will go a long way complimenting Shield's defenses). If you bought the IOs on the market, that would set you back big time, but by running tip missions for AMs and/or running AE missions for tickets and rolling bronze 30-34 at level 27, you'll either generate those recipes on your own or be able to sell *other* valuable recipes to have enough INF to buy what you need.

[Bronze 30-34 isn't the "best" table for income; most folks like 10-14 or 35-39 because they have the fewest "junk" recipes. But at level 27, you can actually use many of the "junk" recipes to frankenslot.]

Looking back at your shield slotting, a couple of other "frankenslot" suggestions: some of the DEF and RES sets have really nice 2 and 3 slot bonuses. For example, Serendipity has +DEF, +DEF/END for a +4%regen bonus; thrown in another random def/end and a generic DEF (or spring for a set DEF and get another 2 slot bonus).

UPDATE: My Axe/Shield Brute is now level 22 and has made the successful transition from Praetoria (where he excelled) to Paragon City. This was the first character I've created who actually allowed me to enjoy Praetoria. He's tough enough to handle whatever was thrown at him. I hung around until lvl 21, finishing up my storyarcs.

On my proposed build, I decided to take Aid Other and Aid Self instead of Kick and Tough. At this early stage, my defenses just aren't high enough to keep me protected adequately, and the Medicine Pool has been very helpful. I may try to max out my defenses with IOs later without switching back to the Fighting Pool. Good idea or bad?

As always, that transition from Praetoria to the "regular" game is kind of weird. I went from being a Top Dog, on a first-name basis with Praetors and even the Emperor himself, to street-sweeping Warriors and Freakshow. I've found that all my Praetorian characters run into this, and I end up "taking a break" from playing them for awhile as a result.

I took others' advice and purchased the Kismet 6% Accuracy recipe. I'm also going to play around with my build a little so I can get Grant Cover for the LOTG + Recharge. Thanks!