Humbly seeking help

I've read through most of the threads here in the Brute forum over the last few days. There's a wealth of information here, but I'm seeking a very particular distillation: I don't have any characters that have done Incarnate content yet. I have several 50's, but none that I desire to really "push to the limit." I'm seeking that now. In particular, I'm looking for a Brute that has the ability to main tank the very end-game content while still doing respectable damage. I want to know this is possible, and what builds I might want to look into.

Now, some guidelines:

1) I don't intend this to be a farming character. I want to experience the real end-game content, not the AE over and over.

2) I know that the tank forum is *that way*. I just hate the tank's inability to do damage. If a Brute isn't able to main tank the end-game content, though, I'll migrate over.

3) I want to avoid the Stone Armor set if at all possible.

4) I like the theme of War Mace, Titan Weapons, or Super Strength the most, but those aren't deal breakers for me. My favorite characters in other games are the warrior priest model, durable and damaging whose power grows the longer the fight continues (i.e. Brute). Other appropriate mental images are the Avenging Angel or Superman.

5) I'm perfectly fine with taking taunt. I'm also perfectly fine not taking it. If end-game content calls for it, though, sign me up.

Generally, I'm working in a vacuum. I don't know what a lot of the end-game content throws at you in terms of damage, status effects, etc... Is it at all realistic to envision myself tanking that content as a pre-Incarnate Brute? Are there ways of doing it that aren't just realistic but "easy"? I'd love any assistance in this area as possible. Sample builds, and why they work, are even better.

Thanks in advance!

You're going to find that some secondaries are better suited to certain trials (for instance, Dark Armor is fantastic for the Minds of Mayhem trial), but in general a lot of your performance is going to rely on how well you've built and incarnated your character. If you're looking to main tank on a Brute, you should go for a high-end IO build regardless of what powersets you choose.

Obviously a Tanker is going to be more survivable, but you can main tank as a Brute if you're built properly. This is somewhat basic, but the four pillars of survivability are Defense, Resistance, Regeneration and Self-Healing. You're going to want to be very strong in at least two of those and ideally be at least moderately good in a third. For example, my Willpower Brute has softcapped Defense from IOs and has very very high Regeneration on top of moderately good Resistance. From there I design his incarnate powers to enhance that further, with Ageless destiny providing defense debuff resistance to maintain his Defense levels and Vigor Alpha to augment his Regeneration and help with maintaining attack chains for Fury generation.

That's just one example, of course. I would recommend a powerset that's primarily Regeneration or Resistance-based in its mitigation, since Defense is the easiest pillar to acquire from IOs (so SR, Energy Aura or Shield would be lower on the list). I've done very well with Willpower and Dark Armor.

Given your criteria, I think you're right to exclude Stone, since while it would give good survivability it would really impede your ability to 'do respectable damage'. There are ways to build around this, but even so it's a difficult road to take to get where you want to be.

Take Taunt.

I have found my Fm/Inv brute to be an absolute monster. He is softcapped to s/l/n/e with only 1 foe in range, has 2 self heals in Dp and rebirth, and does pretty well in the damage department.

Fm puts out a good amount of damage, as the DoT's are effected by fury. Granted, the only AoE he has is fsc, but I am currently trying to build a way around that while stll being end sustainable for soloing av's and pylons.

Willpower would be a strong contender as well. Once you get your def softcapped, you are backed up by great regeneration and decent resists. The only issue I have with Wp is the lack of a self heal, but that can be fixed with rebirth.

I honestly havent gotten around to Incarnate stuff with any of my other melee toons.

My dm/invulnerable brute is a beast. He is softcapped to s/l/e/n and f/c is not far behind my resistances are incredible my HP are nearly capped and my single target damage is good. I also have a heal that adds Max HP and another in my attack chain that heals me every 10 seconds or so and does great damage. Plus soul drain is the best self buff in the game. Take superior conditioning for more end or soul patron for gloom and roll with it.

- Invulnerability, well built to softcap S/L/N/E with one enemy in Invincibility, is the most durable armor IMO - except when you face lots of Psi damage (which abounds in the late game).

- Electric has pretty good resists (capped versus energy, close versus S/L with tough, good versus Psi, only hole is toxic - and that's plugged by the godmode if you decide to take it - and a bit lower resist versus negative, but not much), a good heal, nearly infinite endurance AND enemy sapping for extra and very good mitigation, a pretty good damage aura (which also saps) to help with AoE... You're also practically immune to being sapped!

It's a great set, but has no source of +HP like Inv does, and no defenses to build upon.

To feel even more unkillable, you'll still want to try to build for as much defense as you can get even if you don't make the cap (using CJ+Weave+maybe maneuvers even, plus IO sets). Getting to 32.5 means you're one small purple from the non-incarnate softcap and helps a lot.

Out of your choices for primaries, you might also want to take TW with Elec and actually use Defensive sweep to boost defense even more when needed, if getting close to the cap proves difficult. TW is a beast of a set and meshes very well with ElA (TW tends to hog end, and ElA gives it as much as it wants).

- Dark will have resists to every single damage type, including about 60% versus psi, over 50% versus S/L (with tough) and 40-45% versus F/C/N. Energy and Toxic will be sort of holes, with only around 25% resist, and energy is very common in the current incarnate trials... But that's kinda easy to plug with defenses.

You do get a bit of defense to build upon in Cloak of Darkness, plus -to-hit in Cloak of Fear (not to mention its control, on top of OG), so it's easier to get closer to the cap than it is with ElA.

Besides all the resists, defense you can build up and AoE control, you ALSO get a damage Aura and a MONSTER and quick heal if you have enemies around you. You even get pretty good resistance to end drain and even decent fear protection (which is being used more and more in high level content).

Dark is an end hog too, though, so it will require some smart (possibly expensive) slotting to counter that (especially if you decide to pair it with TW). But it's well worth it, it's up there with the toughest armors IMO and has no holes.

- Willpower will have 30-something resist to S/L/Psi and you can add tough on top of the SL, some defenses to help you get to the softcap and monstrous regen if you're surrounded. It also helps your end bar recover faster and offers protection versus both fear AND confuse (both can be a pain in the trials - not usually enough to kill you, just very annoying). WP has a god mode that you actually want to use all the time, with no real crash, but it's impossible to make it recharge faster (at least you save slots and don't need to build for recharge so much). My only problem with WP is that, when things are going south, clicking on the godmode is ALL you can do... If it's recharging and things look bad, all you got to shore up your defenses are insps and maybe destiny when you get it...

- Shield is quite easy to softcap and go beyond, offers resists to everything but psi (but only around 20% - including tough for S/L), debuffs enemy damage in AAO, adds a great damage buff and has a godmode with nearly no crash which will add considerably to your resists, +maxHP and even recovery. Like WP, you'll also feel torn between using it a lot saving it for when you really need it (land you can't make it recharge faster either). You lack a self-heal and will sometimes miss it, so it's common to take Aid Self (which isn't so bad when you have high def).

Any of these 5 armors should let you build a very tough brute with multiple layers of mitigation that can tank the end game well. All 3 of your choices for primary are great and will let you put out a ton of damage, both ST and AoE. Just pick whatever you want (I'd pick SS to pair with Inv or Dark, TW with Elec or WP and Mace with Shield, but that's just me). TW/Elec was a ton of fun for me (though I went Tanker), even from the early levels. SS/Inv is a classic and WM/Shield is very good tematic fit. Tough choice.

I ended up going TW/WP. The build I'm making is 44.2% S/L Defense, 43% E/N defense. S/L Resistance i up at 52.8%, but there's a big drop down to the next damage resist from there. Those numbers are without Defensive Sweep counted. Those numbers, the multiple knockdowns from TW, and the godly regen when surrounded by even 1-2 enemies seemed to be a winner for me. I like the idea of going Ageless Destiny and Vigor alpha as mentioned in this thread.

cool...I prefer Regen to willpower, but to each their own

There are a couple of trials where a good tanker is required for success but most of them need damage more than taunt so I'll be trying an nrg/nrg brute to , hopefully, fill either role (lvl 47 now ).

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.954
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Super Strength
Secondary Power Set: Invulnerability
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Punch -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(5), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), SBrutesF-Rech/Fury:50(45)
Level 1: Resist Physical Damage -- Aegis-ResDam:50(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx:50(7), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg:50(7), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(9)
Level 2: Haymaker -- KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(13), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(13)
Level 4: Dull Pain -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx:50(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(15), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(15), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), Dct'dW-Heal:50(50)
Level 6: Temp Invulnerability -- RctvArm-ResDam:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(9), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(17), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(17)
Level 8: Knockout Blow -- KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(19), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(19), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(21), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(21)
Level 10: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt:50(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg:50(27), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng:50(27), Mocking-Acc/Rchg:50(29), Mocking-Taunt/Rng:50(29), Mocking-Rchg:50(31)
Level 14: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(31), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(31), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(33)
Level 16: Unyielding -- RctvArm-ResDam:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(33), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(33), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(34)
Level 18: Rage -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(34)
Level 20: Weave -- HO:Cyto(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(36), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- HO:Cyto(A), HO:Cyto(36)
Level 24: Super Jump -- Winter-ResSlow:50(A)
Level 26: Spring Attack -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(36), Erad-%Dam:30(37), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39)
Level 28: Invincibility -- HO:Cyto(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(39), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(39), RechRdx-I:50(40)
Level 32: Foot Stomp -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(40), Erad-%Dam:30(40), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(42), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(42), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(42)
Level 35: Tough Hide -- DefBuff-I:50(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(43), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 38: Resist Energies -- Aegis-ResDam:50(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx:50(43), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg:50(43)
Level 41: Resist Elements -- Aegis-ResDam:50(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx:50(45), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg:50(45)
Level 44: Superior Conditioning -- P'Shift-End%:50(A)
Level 47: Laser Beam Eyes -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(48), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(50), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50)
Level 49: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-End%:50(A)
Level 50: Agility Core Paragon
------------
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Heal:50(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(23), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(23)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod:50(A), P'Shift-End%:50(25), EndMod-I:50(25)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run

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