1. Brutes can "tank,' in that they have aggro auras from their secondary, and a single target gauntlet, and can take taunt. That said, they have scrapper-level defenses, so if somebody is asking you to take ALL the punishment, you'd better have a good build or ask for them to help you with survival in return. Brutes gain fury from enemies that have aggroed on them and attack them, so brutes always have some level of aggro. That said, they aren't meant to be pure damage sponges. Things attack you, making you mad, so you get damage enough to kill them faster than they whittle you down. You are a damage archetype that also attracts attention, and can stand up to much of it.
2. Kinetic Melee is okay. Its boosts to your damage are based off of your base damage, which is lower than most archetypes. As such, your bonus damage will be lower comparatively to scrapers/stalkers with the same primary. That said, it still debuffs and does its thing, so take it if you want it.
3. Architect mission are popular because you can put in enemies that are weak against you, and that you are strong against. This makes a good way to level, but a bad way to play a character. You won't find what your strengths and weaknesses are, or how to deal with various foes if you only fight the ideal, easy enemies.
4. Weave and other defensive powers are better the more you have. If you plan on using set bonuses and pool powers to get significant defense on a resistance set like /fire, it is useful. if not, it will have little effect, as you have next to nothing else defense-wise. Tough is a good power on its own, as it makes the common smashing/lethal even less effective against you.
5. Start with accuracy/endurance. Brutes have low base damage, with fury giving you a lot more. as such, fury is more effective than damage slotting at the start. You need endurance for continuous attacks, and accuracy for the attacks to do anything.
6. Typical pitfalls are diving into enemies that are too much for you, and not working with the team. be aware of your enemies' strengths, how much damage you can and cannot take, and where you team members are. The team can help lock down/distract/damage/heal/debuff in ways that will help you do your thing even better.
7. Maybe. I probably missed it too.
*EDIT* I did!
You might know this, but Fury comes both from attacking, AND being attacked. Some brutes insist they must have all the aggro, or they will have 'bad' fury. truth is, you can get sufficient aggro just pounding on statues, though being attacked does make things faster/easier. Tricks with fury: leave brawl on auto. It takes no endurance, recharges fast, and animates pretty quickly so it's a great way to build fury by parsing it between other attacks. Also, you can optimize your smashing by peppering one foe to death with fast, low damage attacks, then turning to another full-health foe to use a bigger attack once your fury is high. Even better if you do this with build-up or the like. This way you do a burst of high damage, and don't waste any endurance with a big hit on a nearly dead minion or such.
1) I don’t recommend thinking like this. Brutes aren't the "tank" of CoV. In fact, **** tanking all together. You are here to kill stuff. But i find a brute can "tank" just as good as an actual tanker.
2) its better on scrappers, but its fine on brutes.
3) If you are new to brutes i highly recommend you level up the old fashioned way so you can get a feel for the toon.
4) weave is good. Other useful power pools are generally just the same as any other AT. I highly recommend you get maneuvers...i really think everyone should get that power if they can.
5) You want to slot for end/acc/rech, imo, then dmg. Of course, something like SS or claws will always have quite a bit of +tohit and ive leveled up SS toons without any acc in my attacks. At the lower level don’t worry about dmg but once you get into the higher levels your dpa compared to a critter’s HP really kind of starts to drop.
6) As I mentioned earlier "tanking" is overrated. On a brute it is your job to kill stuff, if your team members are any good they can take care of themselves just fine. You will naturally have quite a bit of aggro levitate to you in the first place. But of course, make sure you never jumo into something that is too much for you.
7) You didn't say "SMASH!!!!!!!!!!!!" at all, thats VERY important.
SMASH!!!!!
"I have ridden the mighty moon worm!"
-Al Gore
Fiery Aura is only good for farming, I'm cereal
@Caucasiafro
Okay, so I haven't played a Brute in a while. I actually have no clue what the basics are these days, I've no clue what kind of Pool powersets are recommended and my forum search-fu is weak. I got some ideas but it seems to me that opinions do seem to be everywhere.
So I'm asking for a general "What are some of the basics of playing a brute today?" Now with I20 out, what do you guys recommend, what do you rather enjoy, etc. Here are a few basic questions I have.
1) Brutes were the tank in CoV (Next to the Mastermind's pets), what about today? What about a Hero Brute? How is Brute tanking?
2) What's the outlook on Kinetics Melee? Good/Bad/Indifferent? I haven't found any recent "Guides" on Kinetics Melee for Brutes. What's a good rotation?
3) For leveling, it sounds like Architech Mission farming is popular, but why and how? I get the impression that very specific missions set on some form of max difficulty are the popular choice. Is this solo? Group?
4) Pool Powers, if I go Fire Aura, is it highly desirable I grab something like "Weave"?
5) What are some recommended methods for slotting? 2 End SO's for each Attack? Do I bother with damage?
6) What are the typical pitfalls for tanking as a Brute in Task Forces?
7) Am I missing anything?
The Brute looks like a lot of fun but I feel like I need to be more aware of what it takes to play a Brute efficently, then it would had I picked something like perhaps my Blaster or Stalker.