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Taunt is autohit on up to 5 targets, Parry requires a hit check and only hits 1. |
Originally Posted by izaharry
I missed the Taunt because Parry does exaclty the same amount of aggro. I believe Taunt wastes one skill choice, but I am very new so I don't possess much knowledge.
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| I chose not to take Build Up as I don't view it as very necessary, again I'm still brain dead when it comes to CoH. |
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| And a question can one with the shield's cooldown be reduced so much that I can use it almost aways? |
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
Also, OP, a few suggestions:
1) You don't need Acrobatics. You are protected against KB and Holds by Active Defense.
2) You're taking all of the Leadership toggles, which will be very expensive to run, and most won't give you that much benefit. In exchange for this, you are delaying some very good powers, such as Shield Charge, Against All Odds, and Phalanx Fighting.
3) Instead of the Leadership power pool, the Fighting Pool would give you access to Tough and Weave, which will help you more. Put them in once you get the powers I've mentioned above, though.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus
Phew - that's a lot of toggles!!
Some thoughts...
I can't see why you've chosen Acrobatics as well as Active Defence. Seems like overkill to me.
Also cannot see why you chose Tactics as well as Focussed Accuracy. FA is a massive endurance hog!
You seem to have a lot of single target attacks. My BS/SD jumps into the spawn, soaks up AAO then hits build up>Shield Charge>Spring Attack>Whirling sword. Anything left alive (and there isn't much) gets Headspliiter>Disembowel>Hack until it's in bits. Admittedly I'm a scrapper which is slightly different so I may be missing something.
Agree with C&E about Build Up - It's a lovely bonus to damage.
Also, my BS/SD has taken to the market and created the Recovery Serum and Med-Pack temp powers (not sure on those names) for the End boost and the self-heal.
-H
Thanks for the feedback it has been very helpful - here is what I came up with:
- Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.959
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Chaos Viking 2.0: Level 49 Mutation Brute
Primary Power Set: Broad Sword
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Hack
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Level 1: Sprint
- (A) Empty
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Level 2: Swift
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Not taking Acrobatics means that I can take Flight, so it's not a big deal to trade in Super Jump for Flight, right? ^^
The brief guide to mitigation is:
- You want about 45% to either all three positional defenses (melee, ranged, and AoE) or all seven typed defenses (smashing, lethal, energy, negative, fire, cold, and psionic).
- You want to come as close to 90% (as a Brute or Tanker) or 75% resistance to things as you can.
- You want get as close as you can to your HP cap. http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Hit_Points
- You want as much over-time (regen and heal over time) and on-demand (click heal) HP recovery as you can get.
For a Brute, achieving either of the first two points will essentially reduce the damage you take over time by 90%, and of the two, the easier by far (especially for Shield Defense) is the first one. The last two are secondary goals but they can contribute significantly.
As for Taunt: All of your attacks do a single-target Taunt when you hit with them. However, the Taunt power is a ranged, automatically hitting Taunt that additionally reduces enemy range by 75%, forcing them to get closer to you to attack you. It is especially effective in a very common situation : you are fighting one significant enemy or a group of smaller enemies, but one of your allies is being attacked by another group of enemies. Having Taunt will let you pick up aggro on all those enemies very quickly and with a minimum of disruption of your existing chain, and that ability will very often save your allies' lives.
Before I get into the actual build I want to fore-warn you that the next Issue coming out, 25, will include a number of changes to IOs that may mean that you will want to change it around. It's unfortunate, but unavoidable. I haven't included anything ridiculously expensive, so that shouldn't be too hard or painful, and this won't get *worse* -- there just might be something slightly better possible.
It's typical to include the DataChunk, because DataLinks don't work for everyone. I usually only use the Chunk.
This is a basic build. I think better could be done, but I put it together while distracted (also, I typed up this long forum post explaining it as I was doing it.)
Some of the changes : You have Hold and Knockback resistance in Active Defense, so you don't need Acrobatics. You do, however, need Grant Cover, since that helps protect you against enemies that debuff your Defense (irrespective of the buff it provides your teammates). You don't need both Focused Accuracy and Tactics. You very much need Tough and Weave on a Shield Defense character, and unfortunately taking Boxing or Kick is the only way to get to them. One with the Shield can be skipped; it cannot be made to be up all the time and whenever you use it you will endurance-crash and probably lose all of your defensive toggles, which is a very bad situation to be in as a tank. Taking Build Up will increase your damage much more than Slash; you can only use one attack at a time, and Slash's damage is terrible, but Build Up buffs all of your damage. You don't need Parry since you should always have 45% melee defense without it.
I typically use an attack priority system rather than a proper attack chain. Your attack priority versus a single target is: Use Shield Charge whenever you can. After that, use Hack whenever you can. After that, use Disembowel whenever you can, after that Head Splitter whenever you can. If you can't use anything else, use Slice, and if you can't use that, use Whirling Sword.
And lastly... I put Pyre Mastery in your build in place of Energy Mastery. Melt Armor is a great power and you shouldn't need the additional endurance recovery from Energy Mastery. If you strongly prefer Energy you can switch it back. So actually in that priority system I mentioned above, put Melt Armor after Shield Charge but before Hack.
(Oh, and the very first enhancements you should get are the Steadfast Protection +3% def one, and the full set of Gaussian's Fire Control. After that, slot your main toggles: Deflection, Battle Agility, and Weave; then your main attacks, Hack, Disembowel, and Head Splitter. After that everything else.).
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This is looking better to me though Jack's comments came in whilst I was typing and there's some good stuff in there - especially re:Grant Cover.|
Originally Posted by izaharry
Thanks for the feedback it has been very helpful - here is what I came up with:
Not taking Acrobatics means that I can take Flight, so it's not a big deal to trade in Super Jump for Flight, right? ^^ |
Grant Cover provides much needed Defence Debuff resistance and would probably be "handy" in "super-tough" build. That's definitely a personal preference thing though. Same goes for the travel power if you're toggling it off in combat anyway.
Now the slotting nightmare
-H
Grant Cover is really not optional if you intend to tank.
Wooooooow, MASSIVE thank you Jack!
Just some last questions:
- Is it 100% necessary to have Super Jump, because seeing what you have slotted in there I don't really think I have a choice? ( flight being it if I had it, but it's just for cosmetics so I don't mind )
- What to do beyond what you have done to increase my HP.
- " You want as much over-time (regen and heal over time) and on-demand (click heal) HP recovery as you can get. " I'm sorry can you go into little detail here, I'm a "little" clueless. (and again for this question what can I do beyond what you have done to accomplish this? )
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Not really...BUT...you're limited to 4 power pools and 1 Ancillary pool, so it might not be possible to have Combat Jumping and Flight in the same build. |
Originally Posted by izaharry
- Is it 100% necessary to have Super Jump, because seeing what you have slotted in there I don't really think I have a choice?
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| - What to do beyond what you have done to increase my HP. |
There are a significant number of set bonuses that add to your max HP as well. I can't look at the data chunk at work, so I really can't offer any advice as to what else you could do there.
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| - " You want as much over-time (regen and heal over time) and on-demand (click heal) HP recovery as you can get. " I'm sorry can you go into little detail here, I'm a "little" clueless. (and again for this question what can I do beyond what you have done to accomplish this? ) |
The other option is to pick up Aid Self from the Medicine pool. If your build is tight I don't recommend trying to cram it in. Might come in handy if you have a spare power pick and a couple extra slots. I don't think you really need it though. My Street Justice/Shield Defense scrapper gets by just fine without it.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
I slotted Blessing of the Zephyr into SJ.
You can slot that set into any travel power -- flight, teleportation, superspeed, or super jump. Use whichever you like.
Edit : The need for an on-demand heal is a general goal. In this particular build you don't get one. --I'm packing to go on a trip right now and I can't devote more time to the build, although I can hop on the forums to answer general questions for another hour or so. Claws or one of the other strong builders will hopefully be able to help you out a bit this evening.
Eventually someone will probably ask why I prioritized single-target attacks over AoEs. Although AoE threat is essential on a tank, I've found that AoE dps is superfluous (unless you're really built specifically for that, like a damage aura tank or a Staff tank).
Okay, I've always stated that CoH has got the greatest community, but you guys never stop to amaze me, wow! I am very grateful and from now on, I'll know to use the forums. Wow you're awesome!
In your first build you had Slash, which is a not-very-good single-target attack in a set with several much better single-target attacks. I see you replaced it with Slice, which is a pretty nice cone. I like that a lot better. Don't hesitate to use Slice in crowds; it's pretty quick and does okay damage, and the cone is wide.
I don't see Hack in your later build, though. One of the nice things about Broadsword is you get three very solid single-target attacks you can chain: Headsplitter, Disembowel, and Hack. Many sets have only two good ones, but Hack is unusually good and gives Broadsword a third. Many, many times I find myself happy to have one more hard hitter queued up, so I recommend having and slotting all three. It also should be possible to chain them continuously if you have enough recharge.
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I am surprised to see any enthusiasm for Melt Armor in this thread, though. In past topics, the Scrapper and Tanker versions have been roundly derided as weak, unlike the much nicer Thermal version. A cursory glance at City of Data leads me to believe the Brute version is essentially the same as the Tanker version. Jack_NoMind, are you sure you're not thinking of the much higher buff/debuff set values?|
Originally Posted by Jack_NoMind
And lastly... I put Pyre Mastery in your build in place of Energy Mastery. Melt Armor is a great power
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I hope more players post their opinion on this question (whether Melt Armor is significantly useful for Brutes).
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
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The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
Melt Armor for Tankers and Brutes is a pretty low value debuff, on a long recharge. It's useful at times, but there are other powers that offer better value.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus
What provides a greater increase to single-target dps?
Not running out of endurance, I'd say 
IMX, BS/SD does have some endurance problems, and no tools to deal with them, so Energy Mastery helps a lot.
So I have played CoH way before the merge. It was on the EU servers so I played around a month before giving up due to very low population. Recently I started playing again with my, now premium account and will soon switch to VIP. Yesteday I made my first lvl 50 and I'm wondering how to build my character. My experience with the game machanics is on the level of NEWBISM ;d So everything down there is just my opinion based on not that much knowledge. Though I would like to preserve my Power Choices.
Okay, so here they are:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.959
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Chaos Viking: Level 49 Mutation Brute
Primary Power Set: Broad Sword
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Hack
- (A) Empty
Level 1: Deflection- (A) Empty
Level 2: Slash- (A) Empty
Level 4: Battle Agility- (A) Empty
Level 6: True Grit- (A) Empty
Level 8: Slice- (A) Empty
Level 10: Parry- (A) Empty
Level 12: Active Defense- (A) Empty
Level 14: Super Jump- (A) Empty
Level 16: Combat Jumping- (A) Empty
Level 18: Acrobatics- (A) Empty
Level 20: Maneuvers- (A) Empty
Level 22: Assault- (A) Empty
Level 24: Against All Odds- (A) Empty
Level 26: Phalanx Fighting- (A) Empty
Level 28: Whirling Sword- (A) Empty
Level 30: Disembowel- (A) Empty
Level 32: Head Splitter- (A) Empty
Level 35: Tactics- (A) Empty
Level 38: Superior Conditioning- (A) Empty
Level 41: Focused Accuracy- (A) Empty
Level 44: Physical Perfection- (A) Empty
Level 47: Shield Charge- (A) Empty
Level 49: One with the Shield- (A) Empty
Level 1: Brawl- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush- (A) Empty
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge- (A) Empty
Level 1: FuryLevel 1: Sprint
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Level 2: Rest- (A) Empty
Level 4: Ninja RunLevel 2: Swift
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Level 2: Health- (A) Empty
Level 2: Hurdle- (A) Empty
Level 2: Stamina- (A) Empty
------------Now firstly, this toon is for tanking so I would like him to be as tough as possible. I missed the Taunt because Parry does exaclty the same amount of aggro - mag. 4 just not for 41 seconds but for 13,6 but Parry is very spam-friendly having a short cooldown. I believe Taunt wastes one skill choice, but I am very new so I don't possess much knowledge. I chose not to take Build Up as I don't view it as very necessary, again I'm still brain dead when it comes to CoH.
Someone told me that BS has good dmg, so I wouldn't mind some decent dmg either =) but the main goal is being a tank! I'm completely clueless in regards of slots and enhancements. (NOOB) =o
When lvling this toon one of my primary problems of course was the End. having 9 toggles isn't that easy on the endurance bar.
Also I must say I love the Shield Charge ability and would like to use it as much as possible, don't know if that's possible though =P
And a question can one with the shield's cooldown be reduced so much that I can use it almost aways? Or is it more beneficial to have it stacked with def, resist enhancements so when I actually use it it's much more powerful.
Lastly, I slotted my Stamina (from the inherent fitness) with End Mod's , and put End Reduc. in everything that used End, so yeaah - that's about it. Can you help me form a build, which I could then follow!
Many thanks in advance!!
~Harry