Replying to myself: I did notice after poking around Red Tomax (they don't have Brute Broadsword but they do have Scrapper) is that Broadsword has Parry, which adds +Def, a nice synergy with Shield. On the down side, Parry only adds Melee defense, so not great in the long run.
Also, this brute is evil, so thematically Ghost Widow works as a patron. If I'm reading the numbers right, Darkest Night is HUGE, even on a brute, and might make up for more than all lesser numbers Shield gets as a result of it being a secondary power.
Here's a tentative build I whipped up in Mids.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
DarkValkyrBrdSwd: Level 50 Science Brute
Primary Power Set: Broad Sword
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Slash
- (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
- (3) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
- (3) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
- (5) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
- (5) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (19) Mako's Bite - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
- (A) Serendipity - Defense/Endurance
- (7) Serendipity - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (7) Serendipity - Defense
- (27) Serendipity - Defense/Recharge
- (A) Obliteration - Damage
- (9) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
- (11) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
- (11) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (13) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (13) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage
- (A) Serendipity - Defense/Endurance
- (17) Serendipity - Defense/Recharge
- (19) Serendipity - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (27) Serendipity - Defense
- (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
- (9) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
- (21) Impervium Armor - Resistance
- (21) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
- (23) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
- (23) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
- (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
- (25) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
- (25) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
- (A) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Winter's Gift - Slow Resistance (20%)
- (A) Mocking Beratement - Taunt/Recharge/Range
- (A) Empty
- (A) Obliteration - Damage
- (29) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
- (29) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
- (31) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (31) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (31) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage
- (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance
- (33) Reactive Armor - Resistance
- (33) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (34) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (34) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (A) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Kismet - Accuracy +6%
- (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
- (34) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)
- (36) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
- (36) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
- (36) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (37) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (A) Eradication - Chance for Energy Damage
- (33) Eradication - Damage
- (37) Eradication - Accuracy/Recharge
- (39) Eradication - Damage/Recharge
- (39) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (39) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Eradication - Damage
- (37) Eradication - Chance for Energy Damage
- (40) Eradication - Accuracy/Recharge
- (40) Eradication - Damage/Recharge
- (42) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (42) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
- (40) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
- (42) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
- (43) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
- (43) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
- (45) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
- (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
- (45) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
- (46) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge
- (46) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (46) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (48) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Endurance Reduction IO
- (A) Detonation - Accuracy/Damage
- (48) Detonation - Damage/Endurance
- (48) Detonation - Damage/Recharge
- (50) Detonation - Damage/Range
- (50) Detonation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (50) Detonation - Damage/Endurance/Range
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
Level 2: Swift
- (A) Empty
- (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
- (15) Miracle - +Recovery
- (43) Miracle - Heal
- (A) Empty
- (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
- (15) Performance Shifter - EndMod
- (17) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
- (45) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Sprint
- (A) Empty
- (A) Empty
------------
Set Bonus Totals:
- 14% DamageBuff(Smashing)
- 14% DamageBuff(Lethal)
- 14% DamageBuff(Fire)
- 14% DamageBuff(Cold)
- 14% DamageBuff(Energy)
- 14% DamageBuff(Negative)
- 14% DamageBuff(Toxic)
- 14% DamageBuff(Psionic)
- 9.88% Defense(Smashing)
- 9.88% Defense(Lethal)
- 8.31% Defense(Fire)
- 8.31% Defense(Cold)
- 17.38% Defense(Energy)
- 17.38% Defense(Negative)
- 3% Defense(Psionic)
- 16.75% Defense(Melee)
- 16.75% Defense(Ranged)
- 13.63% Defense(AoE)
- 3.6% Max End
- 31% Enhancement(Accuracy)
- 25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
- 14% FlySpeed
- 258.6 HP (17.25%) HitPoints
- 14% JumpHeight
- 14% JumpSpeed
- MezResist(Held) 6.05%
- MezResist(Immobilize) 10.45%
- MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%
- MezResist(Stun) 4.4%
- 12% (0.2 End/sec) Recovery
- 30% (1.87 HP/sec) Regeneration
- 20% ResEffect(FlySpeed)
- 20% ResEffect(RechargeTime)
- 20% ResEffect(RunSpeed)
- 1.88% Resistance(Energy)
- 1.88% Resistance(Toxic)
- 14% RunSpeed
- 5% XPDebtProtection
I've never played Axe so I can't give you a fair comparison however, I can tell you that I really enjoy my BS/Shield Brute. He's only on DOs so far but Parry recharges so quickly that I can cap my melee defence with two stacked applications. And with the tendency of mobs to close to melee range, he's been able to stand in the middle of a large spawn with no real difficulties. I can only see this getting better as I level him up.
Admittedly, later on there will be lethal resistance but you'll have that with Axe too.
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I know you aren't interested in Mace, but Mace / Shield works very well. I have a Mace / Shield Brute in the 30's and he hits really hard and is a lot of fun.
Given the choice between Broadsword / Shield and Axe / Shield, I would go Broadsword / Shield.
Broadsword Parry is surprisingly good; it recharges fast and you can easily double stack it. Softcapped melee / lethal is pretty much a given with little effort.
Broadsword might share all the lame animations of the other weapons sets (Katana, why do YOU get to be pretty!?), but Parry is truly incredible. It recharges lightning fast and adds 15% defense to melee AND lethal. You can slot up the defense bonus to around 22-23%, meaning you're softcapped from nothing in just two applications. Parry, out of the box, allows you to stack two of it. Just gotta make sure it hits. It's a little bit redundant on Shield, however, as you will probably end up softcapping your defenses anyway. Still, it's super useful in the early levels and pretty good when all those Cims are hacking and slashing their way through your DDR. Not to mention the lethal defense component has a good shot at blocking out other attacks if your Ranged and AoE aren't as high as you'd like.
I have a Shield/Axe Tanker, who is phenomenal. An Axe/Shield Brute should be perfectly viable and useful.
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My first tanker is my Invul/Axe. The knockdown in Axe is good mitigation for a tank, keeping foes close enough for your auras, but still not attacking. It is good damage, but not great. Three nice AoE attacks . . . a 360 degree, a 180 degree and the narrow cone. The Lethal Damage is heavily resisted in parts of the game. But it is fun to pull out a frickin' AXE to smack your foes and the "SCRUNCH" sound is very satisfying. On a Brute, that knockdown will keep foes from attacking you, reducing your build up of fury.
I also have a Broadsword/Shield Scrapper. Because you get so much melee defense from Parry, you can focus only on Ranged and AoE defense when finding sets for your build. That makes it much easier to softcap. Theme-wise, Broadsword/Shield go very well together. If you learn to line up foes, hitting several with the Headsplitter narrow cone can really increase your overall damage -- I wish I could have an attack chain of Parry-Headsplitter-Headsplitter-Headsplitter. On a Brute? I'd go with Broadsword.
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For the record, this whole thread is missing the sheer Smashgasm of War Mace / Shield ... on a Scrapper. Can you say massive dmg -RES cone in Shatter (reliably hit 3 enemies), plus crits plus Clobber plus Crowd Control.
Somehow everyone still overlooks WM even after its buff and its port to Scrapps.
Quote:
I'm currently leveling a WM/SD scrapper, and you're totally right about its power (although what's this about -res in Shatter?), but we're 'missing' that combo in this discussion because this is a thread in the brute forums asking about a brute, and the OP specifically rules out War Mace in his first post.|
Originally Posted by Granite Agent
For the record, this whole thread is missing the sheer Smashgasm of War Mace / Shield ... on a Scrapper.
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I don't have experience with Axe, but I have used Broadsword a lot. If you plan to make use of Parry, go with Broadsword, because Parry is great at what it does. Even at 50, Parry can still be useful these days since 45% isn't softcapped in trials. If you don't need/want parry, you'd probably be happier with Axe.
I have a SD/WM Tanker (love it) and the one thing I will say is that it was very easy to soft-cap for all positions. Without spending too much inf, I was within 1% of the soft-cap for all positions when I hit 50. For that reason, I would think Parry might not be that great for a Shield toon.
On the other hand, everything I have heard tells me that Battle Axe is very similar to War Mace. If you already have a WM toon, you may want to pick BS just for the variety.
But seriously, Build Up+Whirling Mace+Shield Bash+Crowd Control+Whirling Mace=Everything Dead.
Quote:
Slot Gladiator's Armor - RES in Shatter. Profit.
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Originally Posted by Hopeling
I'm currently leveling a WM/SD scrapper, and you're totally right about its power (although what's this about -res in Shatter?),
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I'm thinking of starting a Broadsword / Shield brute, and wondering how folks think it would play out, generally speaking.
I have an Axe/Shield Brute now, but still low level, and I was told by a friend that Axe is kind of a one trick pony, at least on his tanker. So is that true, and might Broadsword be a better choice? I'd consider other weapon based brute builds too, if anyone thinks one is significantly better on /Shield than the others.
Only proviso there is that I have a War Mace tanker, so I'm not interested in a second WM toon. OK let the opinions begin!