T_Immortalus

Anymore opinions people?

I'm very curious, especially if somebody knows a way to soft-cap all positional defense with fewer slots.

You don't need 45% to all, and that is very hard to do. All you need is to find enemies that do damage types you do well against.

Energy Aura has very little positional defense thugh. Positional defense sets like Shield Defense and Super Reflexes are much easier to soft-cap(45% defense) to everything an enemy can throw at you.

I actually just posted a thread asking for opinions on my shield brute who happens to be soft-capped to all positions with very respectable resistance and regen too.



I will admit that I like the look of energy aura though which is why I also have a level 32 kinetic/energy aura brute. :P

It's just feels slightly squishy at times so it's not my favorite. It did better than willpower through Praetoria though, even prior to the syndicate nerf.




Edit:
I haven't actually put my shield build into practice yet. I just made the build as a guideline for my leveling. I'll definitely work towards it, but it will be quite a while.

Yeah, I was thinking of that too.
I wanted to pick up One With The Shield for a bit of extra "MUAHAHAHA!", but I ran out of power slots.

Also, I think I'll likely still have to slot stamina and health, definitely health for the sweet procs, so I probably won't have any slots available for new power choices.



Edit:
I also wanted Invisibility for those times when I just want to skip to the end of a mission or something as well.
I've found that a stealth IO and stealth or Energy Cloak together have enough stealth for my PVE needs most of the time though, so I should be good.

There is some flexibility in the build as well.

1) You can get rid of Quick Strike for your power of choice or slot it as you wish because all set bonuses are accounted for elsewhere.

2) I originally had a Rectified Reticle: +Perception in one of the Power Siphon slots. You may choose to do so or otherwise. You can even remove Siphon Power if you want.

3) Hover can easily be swapped for Combat Jumping.

4) Fly is a completely unnecessary choice so you can pick what you want there and move the slot it has.

Pretty much anything that doesn't have required set bonuses for soft-capped defense is open to change. I just put this together the way I wanted.

I haven't yet leveled my shield brute to the point where I can test this to give an idea how well it can/does work. I plan to as soon as I can though.




Edit:
For some reason many of the toggles were left deactivated and Active Defense was left off as well.
This will be run with all toggles, except sprint and fly, on at all times. This build easily has enough recovery to handle all that stuff running.

I finally downloaded Mid's and this is only my first finished attempt at a build, 3rd overall.
I would like to know what you knowledgeable pugilists think. :P


Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.803
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Kinetic Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Quick Strike -- Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(7)
Level 1: Deflection -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(3), LkGmblr-Def:50(9), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:50(13), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(23), ResDam-I:50(25)
Level 2: Battle Agility -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), LkGmblr-Def:50(9), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(13)
Level 4: Body Blow -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(15)
Level 6: True Grit -- Heal-I:50(A), Heal-I:50(11), ResDam-I:50(15), ResDam-I:50(23)
Level 8: Hover -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(34), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:50(34), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(34), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(36), Zephyr-Travel:50(37)
Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(11)
Level 12: Swift -- Flight-I:50(A)
Level 14: Fly -- Winter-ResSlow:50(A), Winter-RunSpd/Jump/Fly/Rng/EndRdx:50(27)
Level 16: Smashing Blow -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx:40(17), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(17), T'Death-Acc/Dmg:40(27), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg:40(31), T'Death-Dam%:40(31)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(A), Mrcl-Heal:40(19), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(19), Numna-Heal:50(21)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Phalanx Fighting -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 24: Power Siphon -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(25)
Level 26: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), LkGmblr-Def:50(37), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(39)
Level 28: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), LkGmblr-Def:50(37), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(39)
Level 30: Burst -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:50(31), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(39), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:50(42)
Level 32: Concentrated Strike -- Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(33), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(40), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(40), Mako-Dam%:50(42)
Level 35: Focused Burst -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(36), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(40), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(43)
Level 38: Shield Charge -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:50(43), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:50(45), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(45)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx:50(A), GSFC-Build%:50(45), GSFC-ToHit:50(46), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(46), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:50(46), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:50(48)
Level 44: Laser Beam Eyes -- ShldBrk-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:30(A), ShldBrk-Acc/DefDeb:30(48), ShldBrk-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg:30(48), ShldBrk-DefDeb:30(50), ShldBrk-Acc/Rchg:30(50), ShldBrk-%Dam:30(50)
Level 47: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 49: Grant Cover -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 2: Ninja Run
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 8% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 8% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 8% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 8% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 8% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 8% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 8% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 8% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 11.4% Defense(Smashing)
• 11.4% Defense(Lethal)
• 8.63% Defense(Fire)
• 8.63% Defense(Cold)
• 10.5% Defense(Energy)
• 10.5% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)
• 14.3% Defense(Melee)
• 14.3% Defense(Ranged)
• 14.3% Defense(AoE)
• 63% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 37.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 9% FlySpeed
• 202.4 HP (13.5%) HitPoints
• 9% JumpHeight
• 9% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Confused) 2.5%
• MezResist(Held) 8.55%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 14.6%
• MezResist(Sleep) 2.5%
• MezResist(Stun) 2.5%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 2.5%
• 9.5% (0.16 End/sec) Recovery
• 62% (3.88 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 20% ResEffect(FlySpeed)
• 20% ResEffect(RechargeTime)
• 20% ResEffect(RunSpeed)
• 5% Resistance(Cold)
• 6.25% Resistance(Negative)
• 9% RunSpeed

Well, both have their advantages.

Defense is susceptible to bad RNG(random number generator) rolls that determine whether or not you get hit.
Resistance always works consistently.

Defense means you avoid the damage altogether or take full damage.
Resistance means you always get hit, but you take less damage.


Now, you may think resistance is the only worthwhile stat after reading that, but they are not mutually exclusive.

Defense is applied BEFORE resistance so you may not even be hit, but, when you do, resistance then applies and reduces that damage.



They're best combined.
If you can get defense soft-capped at 45% then you'll only be hit 5% of the time on average, somewhat like having 95% resistance. Add resistance on after that though and you reduce the overall damage you take much farther.



As for which is better, it depends on the situation and amount of either stat you have.
If you have a lot of enemies hitting often then resistance may wither under the assault as the hits almost always hit and take away a bit of health at a time.
Defense can be bad if you have unlucky RNG rolls or the enemy has a damage type or position that you have less or no defense against, or they have accuracy buffs like Vengeance.

A mix of both is best for most situations.

I'm still interested in seeing the build you made that can stand there for hours.
I really want to make a good shield brute with kinetic melee, but I don't yet have a really good example to go by.

Honestly, they get about the same numbers for their secondary power sets on all the ones they share so the only real difference in survivability is the higher caps the brute has.

It comes down to damage.

Scrappers have slightly higher base damage in their attacks and thus benefit more from slotting for damage. It doesn't seem to be that big a difference in my opinion.

Stalkers actually have a higher chance to crit than scrappers, especially on teams, and have about the same defenses as well, aside from lower hp/caps.



The biggest thing though, for me, is the difference between crits and fury.

I hate the RNG sometimes and sometimes I love it, but mostly I just hate not being consistent and having dependable performance when I need it.


Fury is consistent and dependable while crits are completely random.

A brute will always be able to do great damage, especially with just a little ramp up time.
A scrapper will only do great damage if they get lucky with the RNG, but they still only get an average of 10% crit chance at most.




Do you choose a 100% chance for at least 115%(75-80% fury is at least a 120% damage buff) damage buff after a short period, which stays there a lot easier than it used to, or a 10% chance of a 100% damage buff?


The extra percentage buff of fury over the 100% scrappers get covers the lower base damage easily, and fury is completely controllable and consistent.
Crits only give you a 100% damage buff and at very random times. Sometimes you're lucky to see even one crit and sometimes you crit every hit, but you end up averaging only having that 100% buff to one strike 10% of the time.





Oh, that crit won't happen if the attack misses either and the lucky roll that gave you the crit will be wasted on air.
Brutes don't have to worry about misses because it still keeps their fury up and they can use the buff on the next hit and every hit after that. It just keeps growing.

Hover provides the exact same benefit to defense as combat jumping, but the downside is you can't use foot stomp because you're not on the ground.

I prefer hover because it makes you invulnerable to movement slows like caltrops.

I also can't stand "must be near or on ground to use" powers.

I like kinetic melee because the damage debuff to the enemy just multiplies the strength of your resistance and helps on any attacks that will get through your defense. Siphon Power also gives a very nice damage buff and a little to-hit buff. It can't hurt.

I've been leveling a kinetic melee/energy aura brute that is at 31. I do wish I had positional defense instead of specific damage types because of holes int he build, but it feels much stronger than the last time I tried it. It also performed much better in Praetoria than willpower, especially against the syndicate(sword masters for one) before they were adjusted somewhat.

Energy Aura is endurance heavy and does require a pretty tight power selection in order to get close to or capped defense to anything.

I like it, but it's not my favorite. I'm trying things out still. I've played the game over 27 months and still don't have a really great 50 for farming to build up alts and such.
My first 50 was an energy melee/invulnerability brute, who felt awesome, but my wp/ss tanker now takes the cake from him. I used to farm the mother mayhem mission with all the psionic enemies with him.

I'm actually now trying to pick the best secondary for a kinetic melee brute. I tried a scrapper, but fury is too addicting and trumps crits easily.



I'm currently working on a kinetic/shield brute for the positional defense and pretty good resistance. It's great so far even though he's not level 10 yet and mostly unslotted.
I originally overlooked shield because I would rather not deal with recharge slows and a click mez protection power, but it has advantages and recharge slows can be dealt with.


I recommend playing around with quite a few of your top picks for secondaries and primaries, at least to level 20 or so when Stamina changes the game for you. You'll have a good idea how it will be right around then.
Of course, Stamina becoming inherent will probably make it much better even before 20 if we get it earlier.

Also, try shield defense. It's rather cool and has some power.

Well, it's still a noticeable difference that shouldn't be there or should favor the Brute over the Stalker clearly.


As an aside, the game may not be balanced around IOs, but Praetoria sure feels like it is. That place is pretty hard to solo even a willpower scrapper without having the maximum level IOs in every slot.

The caps don't really matter unless you're close to them. A Brute and a Stalker both below the Stalker caps should be equivalent if everything but the caps is the same.

Higher health doesn't really matter when that little extra maybe 6% only slows your defeat by 6% at most, which isn't realistically that much.


The true difference in survivability comes when close to the caps and/or from the powers themselves.

Stalkers clearly have better versions of 2 essential powers than Brutes get. Those end up being a huge survivability difference given how the mechanics work.






If they have the same archetype modifiers then identical powers should provide identical buffs, but these don't.

That makes Brutes squishier than they should be when compared to Stalkers usign the same powers.




Energy Aura for all Ats needs a buff, but it should also be equivalent between Brutes and Stalekrs or Brutes should have higher values because of the nature of the AT.





Anyway, this was all started because Energy Aura feels too squishy on a Brute and detailed power info seems to provide a logical possible reason why.
I believe this issue should be fixed and it would go a little way to making Energy Aura feel as it should.

Yet, every other power set has the Brute having equal or greater defense and resist buffs for the exact same powers. The differences lay in the powers unique to differing archetypes.

I wouldn't mind the Stalker having more defense because of Hide or soem other power that only the Stalker gets, but when they have identical powers the powers should be identical or modified based on the intended role of the AT.



No matter what, Kinetic Shield and Power Shield should give the same or higher defense to Brutes compared to what they do for Stalkers.

Brutes are supposed to have higher defenses(resistance and defense) being the de facto villain tank, until Going Rogue hit. Stalkers should not have higher values int he exact same powers. That is not how the archetype attribute modifiers work.

I'm actually looking for a reason why Brutes have lesser defense for Energy Aura. Essentially, I'm looking for a buff for those 2 main Energy Aura toggles for Brutes up to the level of the toggles the Stalker gets, at least.

I just suggested that an explanation for the discrepancy was a mistaken swap of toggles between the two ATs. Brutes are supposed to be tougher, and that would really explain why brutes with Energy Aura are so very squishy before level 24 or so.

The lower defense number is a BIG issue though. That translates into a huge hit for survivability being that large a difference.
Those are the biggest difference in powers other than lack of smash and lethal res stalkers have, which is expected since they're supposed to be squishy.

Also, Stalkers benefit far more from slotting those powers because they are a higher basic value. Brutes just can't catch up there and fall farther behind the more it is slotted.


I really think this was a mistake where Brutes got the wrong versions of Kinetic Shield and Power Shield.
Swapping those between the ATs would solve the problem and make more sense.


Edit:
Energy Aura could really use a buff, at least for starting out if not overall.

I was looking at Brutes and Stalkers, as the only two ATs with Energy Aura sadly, in the character creator today.

I noticed that Stalkers clearly have higher defense numbers for the powers they share, not even including the Stalker only buffs.


I thought this was an error on my part so I looked again and confirmed it. I wondered if the same was true of the other power sets as well. I checked most of the ones they shared, including super reflexes, dark armor and willpower, but all the other sets had almost exactly the same numbers between the Stalker and Brute.


That makes me think there is a big mistake with Energy Aura. Brutes are supposed to be the toughest AT on villain-side, but Stalkers have higher defenses in Energy Aura!?

Is this a bug or intentional or what?
What is the point of taking the most defensible class if the weaker class can out-tank it?

The only thing a Brute has over a Stalker is a bit more actual damage resistance in the powers, but that can't make up for the rather large discrepancy in defense strength between the two.
Brutes are always supposed to be more survivable than stalkers, not the other way around.





If you don't believe me about the numbers, go see for yourself.

500k per hour! The number is 500k per day btw. 500k healing per hour is insane. That is very obvious that it wouldn't be achievable in normal play. 500k healing per hour would be about 8400 per minute. Not even a level 50 could do that and nobody would be able to take damage at that rate to farm it unless a strong enemy was wailing on them.

ummm Gecko, I care how long it takes because I want the badge title for certain epic badges. Other people are the same way.

We don't want to farm for 5 years straight ignoring all other characters and friends who want to team to get the title we think would be best for our characters.

What if every badge took that long to get? Everyone would complain that they can't get their title they want even you.

It's a title. A little word below your character name. It is also another number to the collectors.
The collectors/farmers don't care about the time to get it as much as the people who just ant to achieve the title someday. They may care as much or more sometimes, but it is just adding another 1 to their badge total.


Is this really so important to people that the badges stay out of reach or would everyone benefit from being able to get that title or +1 a little sooner with less masochistic behavior?

Wow! I was right, a flame"war" started. Nobody seems willing to compromise either.

Some people want the epic badges to be completely out of reach for all but a few while others want them able to be gotten by all, especially those with powers tailored to certain badges like empath.

Ok so here is a possible compromise.
They could make the badges just in reach of normal, not farming it constantly, play for the archetypes/power sets made for it like defenders and corruptors for empath, and it could still be out of reach of everyone else unless they farm it.

As it is right now, the players who could get this through normal play get it much slower than the farmer. That will always happen really, but it should be achievable in a manageable time for those that don't farm it.

Everyone keeps dancing around the issue of how much time is manageable in normal play. We all have different ideas about that, but there is one inevitable truth; this game will eventually either end or need a massive upgrade at which point there either will be no badges or point to them or progress will be nullified.

If I played an empathy defender for the sake of being compassionate in game I would want that Empath title and be able to use it. How long would you play a character who took 5 years or more of farming healing to get empath? I'm not sure anyone would be "that" compassionate anymore.

They are marks of accomplishment of course, but do you really have to work at it for years to actually "deserve" that title. It doesn't give a power or any other reward. Accolades are the only badge I could see being worthy of years of work like that. I can't see accolades ever being like that either.

Think of it this way. Would you rather work all your life or win the lottery and be set for life? What if you could "compromise" and work until you are 40-50 and be set for the rest of your life? Working all your life sucks, and you would probably get bored without something to do if you won the lottery. You have to experience the slow, tedious and miserable to enjoy the respite from it.

There is always a point of too much and too little. These badges are too much right now, but we can't make them too little. Let's not argue over if they should be too much or not, and start coming up with a good amount they should be.

Ok Spit_Ball, the subject of the thread is all epic badges.
The Devs have coded them to be obtainable by everyone through normal play for those that have heals, and that they should be obtainable to everyone else through farms.
The healers can't obtain it through normal play in 2 years by 4hours a day of missions and not heal farming which is where I think the limit should be. Asking us to wait 5 years or even more for a badge when they can't guarantee that the game will be around that long is poor thinking.
They made it for players, not to torture people.

My main point about these badges being so far out of reach is, and I quote:
[ QUOTE ]
The badges are almost all just a cool title you can wear that you think is a good description of your character.

[/ QUOTE ]
They are there to allow you to be add a title like "Exalted", "Immortal" or "Empath". I could see having to wait years for them if they offered some really awesome power, but they are just received through grinding and the only reward is a new title. I see the guy with 500+ badges as just pitiful, no offense badgers. It is not because they wasted their time so much, but that the developers made it so they had to go through that.

I only want one epic badge really since I will use it, "Exalted". I won't obtain it anytime soon, but it is something I look forward to no matter what it's requirement.

These badges are out of reach for casual players who just want a better title. The badge collectors who really want all badges find a way to get them, but they take so much time on just one epic badge when they want them all. Lowering the requirements benefits the casual players very much. It doesn't benefit badgers as much, but it still does.


This next part is my opinion and isn't directed at anyone in particular. Ask yourself these questions if you want, but dismiss them if you want. Just don't flame me as someone with a high and mighty attitude as nobody is perfect.

[ QUOTE ]
Why does anyone think that they or anyone else should have something while another shouldn't and even can't?

Wars are started over such things when they really shouldn't. We all live here and want the same basic things yet we can't allow anyone else to.

[/ QUOTE ]

You want the badges to be exclusive, why? You want to be the only one with it? Would you want to be the only one with a house and a car as well?

No war in history was necessary. There is always the option to see another person as a person. We all want to live well and believe what we want without fear of being killed or tortured for it.


Believe what you want.

Mine was my 12th run and only the 4th after using the zero-g pack or inertial reduction.
I now get gold by a good few second every time, so long as I'm not blinded by some guy missing the gate with his huge super speed tail. I went faster than the guy with super speed and all I had was the zero-g pack and sprint was off.