Energy aura.... positives/negatives

Not getting alotta feedback on a thread I have in the scrapper forums so figured I'd look for a lil more here w/br00ts that have maybe more overall experience w/Energy and its highs/lows.

Basic Readers Digest of my thread is, started a WM/energy scrap for the simple reason of I havent tried energy before and I have a decent theme, but am curious what some of the positives/negatives of energy are and what is its major draw and its weaknesses I should pay attention to as I progress.

I've got a kat/wp and had a tanker WM/SD from way back in the day that didnt quite live upto my expectations is why I wasnt all that set on SD (that and Im working up a FM/SD toon which means Im not overly interested in creating a 3rd SD toon).

So just kind of getting some basic thoughts on energy as a whole is why Im posting this.

Negatives:
- psionic hole
- cannot cap DDR like /SR
- mez protection does not protect against absolutely everything relevant like /SD or /WP (like fear/confuse), but then again only these two sets do.
- the Taunt aura is tied to the mez, I don't care but some people do.
- the heal comes way too late
- like SR, basically non existent resists, all defense

Positives:
- extremely easy to soft cap, you can do it to s/l/e/f/c at 24 with a +3 steadfast and some cheap seats (I'll post a datachunk below)
- unlimited endurance after 28 with defense bonuses when you use Energy Drain
- good taunt aura with a recharge bonus per foe
- stealth that doesn't llower defense when in combat
- if you like godmodes Overload is great because it gives +maxhp - I prefer Elec Armor's godmode but I find them the best ones since I have no problems handling crashes (just wished it left you with like 5 end so you didn't detoggle).
- with the recharge bonus and lots of places for lotgs, you can build a lot of recharge along with capped defs, even cap negative later. And you'll end up with some ranged defense (20-25% maybe) to cover most psionics.
- the passives now have some resist to slow and end drain

(maybe I forgot something, so somebody add it if so)

Btw WM/EA is a great combo, as is Stone/EA, a primary with lots of mitigation really helps defensive sets. Both of those combos will be hard on the blue bar before Energize, but nothing compared to my Stone/Elec who leveled before Energize existed and Power Sink comes only at 35.

So here's a skeleton that caps s/l/e/f/c with three pieces of Aegis and 3 sets of Smashing Haymakers plus a Steadfast:

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 49 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: War Mace
Secondary Power Set: Energy Aura
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Pulverize -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx(7), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg(7), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 1: Kinetic Shield -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(3), DefBuff-I(3)
Level 2: Jawbreaker -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx(9), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg(11), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
Level 4: Power Shield -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(5), DefBuff-I(5)
Level 6: Dampening Field -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 8: Clobber -- S'ngH'mkr-Acc/Dmg(A), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx(13), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/Rchg(13), S'ngH'mkr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15)
Level 10: Entropic Aura -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Aegis-ResDam(19)
Level 16: Weave -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(17)
Level 18: Whirling Mace -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Energy Cloak -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(21), DefBuff-I(21)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 24: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(25), DefBuff-I(25)
Level 26: [Empty]
Level 28: [Empty]
Level 30: [Empty]
Level 32: [Empty]
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- Empty(A)

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Positives? What Kioshi said. It is plenty capable and easy to soft cap early on.

Also, I feel EA has a better niche now among the armor sets in that it boosts your recharge significantly.

Downsides? It's a Defense based set, which while plenty viable, suffers from the fact that Defense buffs are so common and resistance buffs so rare.

The Def Debuff resistance only being 52% or more means you'll lose your soft cap defense from time to time from debuffs, having to pop lucks or suffer the quick demise of defense failure.

I have a Stone/EA Brute at 49 that is soft capped, and it's tons of fun, and works just fine, but it won't ever compare to any of my /Shields who can easily get 70% S/L resistance in bursts with One with the Shield and have 70%+ Def Debuff resistance. Mixing soft capped defense with resistance is way stronger than defense alone.

But, now there is incentive to take EA over concept. The +Recharge from Entropic Aura is significant, and you can soft cap it early like Kioshi showed for a really nice ride to 50. It may not be #1 in terms of all around mitigation, but it no longer is a slouch. It's quite strong and pretty.

My 1st lvl 40 (then cap) and later first 50 was my first brute, Tourettes. He's Energy/Energy. He's awesome. I can stand in the middle of Every mob in the game whilst taunting Galactus (tm) but (And it's an HUGE Oprah Winfrey sized butt).. I cannot deal w/ Psi dmg. If I have to do Carnival missions I've either gotta get help, or stock up on Inspirations. The Master Illusionist will wreck.my.face! Everytime.

Beyond that, I've solo'd a few TF's w/ this toon. It's the only one I've done so with. Did the Recluse arc on +8/x2 without any real difficulties. (Recluse is a punk). Also, prior to them fixing the last mob in ITF to be more resiliant to End Drain I could pull all his blue and drop him in seconds.

It's a very effective secondary for a brute, but remember the main problem: WHEN you get hit (not if) you take full damage, so the more mobs you try to take on at once, the higher likelyhood of death.

IE- You can do 3 bosses at +4 at same time, but 20x minions at +0 seem to do more dmg because you get hit by the streak breaker 5% a LOT more.

Hope this helps.
Tourettes.

They are right to mention the negatives, but after playing it to 44 the set feels very solid and fun.

A defensive set that can be capped at level 25 with endless endurance, and a decent heal? Most the other sets dream of that kind of utility and overlapping coverage, it feels like a stronger ninjitsu. The s/l resist can approach 50% with tough, if I am not mistaken too. With all the spots for LOTG recharges and the built in recharge buff and its a very impressive package.

Very fun, relatively cheap to io, lots of utility it is rapidly becoming one of my favorite armors. You lack the offense of a damage aura, added aoe, extra damage buff of some of the other armors but the tradeoffs are pretty sweet and just speed up and fuel your primary attacks.

My only problem has been with carnival the gaping hole for psy hurts, but I actually neglected to slot my heal until into the 40s, I just was not getting hit enough to justify it. The faster heal really helps, and I think some creative IOing for range defense will fill in the hole perfectly. IO's definitely make this armor shine much faster and cheaper than resistance sets and most others in my humble opinion.

I highly recommend giving it a try.

I dunno, permahasten without a crash and without IOs is pretty slick.

Heroes, Villains ♦ Reviews ♦ Retrospect

I'm probably misremembering, since the character flew to level 46 - I probably did have some basic IOage (probably CIs I had lying around). Either way, the recharge bonus is very nice indeed, considering you don't have to pay a second toggle's worth of Endurance for it.

Heroes, Villains ♦ Reviews ♦ Retrospect

Why is the heal listed as a negative?
What other defense set can a Brute have that offers a self heal?
The fact that the heal exists is the biggest positive the set has, lumping it as a negative is wrong on many, many levels.
DDR aside, sets like SR can't compare to the survivability of Energy. Having that heal gives it a layer of defense the other defense sets have no access to (other than through Aid Self which really, isn't a very good power) which right off the bat makes it significantly more durable V anything that doesn't debuff def. Let's face it, people always seem to imply DDR makes or breaks a defensive set but consider how many mobs out there use defense debuffs, it is pretty much insignificant unless you are doing ITF.