When I re-rolled my WP/SS Tank into a Brute...I was really against taking taunt and going the Tanking route. However, you almost want to Tank as a Brute...to keep all the enemies fueling your fury.
I softcapped my s/l defense and now I will never use the Tanker AT again.
As far as the itrials are concerned. I cannot comment on that.
If I wanted to "tank" with a brute, I wouldn't do it with /WP. Even /WP TANKS are relatively squishy, due to WP's lessened ability to absorb an alpha strike / big burst damage. You'd do ok on normal content, but have issues with high end tanker tasks.
Don't get me wrong, I love Willpower and have a variety of Tanks, Scrappers, and Brutes that use it. It's got a lot of upsides, but I know from personal experience that there are things my 50 SS/WP tank can't survive (without team buffs) that some of my other Tanks and even a couple of Brutes can do...like tanking Lord Recluse while the rest of the team takes down the towers on STF, or tanking on Keyes without face planting a few times, and so forth.
Invul is very tough vs everything except for Psi, and dull pain goes a long way to get around that. Invul isn't as fun or sexy and has no utility abilities besides Dull Pain, but it actually is pretty solid on the numbers.
You can do some really crazy things with Dark Armor thanks to Dark Regeneration, though I don't know how well that would combo w/ Street Justice as they both are hard on END.
Brute Regen seems to be pretty decent, if you are johnny on the spot with your clicks and push RECHARGE in your build, and is similar to /WP. I had a level bumped 50 on Beta all slotted out and I was pretty impressed with his survivability, though I personally prefer a toggle and go set.
Energy Armor is pretty solid too. My soft-capped 50 KM/EA easily tanks normal content, has tanked on many TF's for full teams, and I often tank on BAF (though it can be dicey if the RNG goes against me). He's not indestructible, but he's tougher than some tanks and does better damage.
If you like "Stone" but not Stone Armor, you can make a Stone/Shield or Stone/Invul Brute, and use costume choices to simulate "Stone". There's a Stone skin...actually, if you consider the Omega skin to be an acceptable "crystalline" look there are two, and there is also a "stone" shield under elemental shields that looks pretty cool. Thus you can make a rock guy without the down sides of the Stone Armor set. I have a Stone/SD brute called "Bluff" who's pretty cool looking and works well (though END is a struggle), and a SG mate has a 50 Invul/Stone Tank who is really tough and hits hard; a Brute version would be a little less tough and hit even harder.
Good luck.
Quote:
This is really only true before IO's come into play. Once you build any respectable amount of defense into WP burst damage becomes a non issue. A well build Willpower brute can ignore nearly anything except large amounts of -def because of its pitiful amount of DDR.|
Originally Posted by KillerShrike
If I wanted to "tank" with a brute, I wouldn't do it with /WP. Even /WP TANKS are relatively squishy, due to WP's lessened ability to absorb an alpha strike / big burst damage. You'd do ok on normal content, but have issues with high end tanker tasks.
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Seriously, you talk about WP struggling with Alpha strikes and then go on to say Regen is pretty decent and fail to mention how much worse it struggles with burst damage.
The truth is, with proper investment, any secondary can be made to do what the OP wants to do (especially if you use inspirations wisely.) WP and Invuln are prime candidates. Dark can become an unstoppable monster if done correctly.
STJ/WP will be a great combo and should be able to do exactly what the OP wants. Street Justice pairs well with Willpower because neither set benefits greatly from +rech and WP has quick recovery to help deal with STJ's thirstiness. So build up your S/L defense, then +hitpoints, and definately get your accolades.
I am currently working on IOing out a SS/SD brute and having a lovely time with him despite some of the limitations of a pure defence based set.
SS/SD build below...
Click this DataLink to open the build!
I have decided to create something which can tank iTrials and some of the more vicious +4/x8 stuff.
I am currently settled on a StJ/WP brute as it offers a lot of layered defence. My questions are thus....
1) am I foolish to build a tank out of a brute? why not have access to some of the brute damage?
2) is /WP the best way to go about this without going /stone? I've done the Stone tank thing before and it sure was effective, I'm just not sure I want to drop a lot of IOs just to catch back up to 'normal' damage. Besides - the set's terrible looking outside of granite.
3) I've heard the S/L defence is the best way to go with /WP, does anyone have any suggestions where to start? this is what I have so far...
http://www.cohplanner.com/mids/downl...DBF83F2F4004D2
4) would this path even produce a Brute capable of tanking iTrials?
thank you for your reading and I look forward to any feeback.
Liberty:
Citizen Hardcoil - 50 Fire/Rad Controller
Citizen Synthetic - 50 Emp/Eng defender
Citizen Marksman - 50 Arch/MM Blaster
Citizen Golem - 50 Stone/Fire Tank
HMS Shield - 50 Invul/SS Tank
Armordillo Burn - 50 Fire/energy Tank
Exodus Weapon - 50 Eng/Eng Blaster