[Is relying on procs good game design?]

1 hour ago, Player2 said:

Costume contests summed up nicely.

 

I have never won a costume contest, so I guess I am helping others win.

[Need build advice - Dark Melee/Energy Aura Brute]

What follows is the plan for me DM/EA Scrapper. As a Brute I would probably work to push the S/L resistances a bit higher.

 

Spoiler

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[SS/Inv Brute looking for a viable build]

19 minutes ago, benai said:

Hi,

 

yes I have seen this and for me the argument between Snarky and Infinitum was still ongoing just not finished and stopped at some point and not ending in an build.

Thats why i asked for a build to go for. Both of these build are quite different and as a newcomer I cant compare them because i dont know what is important and what isnt.

 

Would be a Tanker a better option for SS/Inv then Inv/SS?

 

They quasi-disagreed on one, tiny aspect of how important Psionic resistance was and both gave good builds, either of which will serve you in upwards of 95% of the game. Psionic damage is a thing in the game, so if you want to cover all bases, go with Infinitum's.

 

As for Tanker vs Brute, do you want to be better at taking down tough solo targets with a bit less survivability in the end but a must faster starting experience or do you want to be better and bringing down crowds with maximum survivability and don't mind a slightly less smooth start? If more the first then Brute, if more the latter then Tanker.

[Crazy (ME!) and the interaction with Gamin' Rules and the world]

I am old enough to remember when "min-maxer", "powergamer" and "munchkin" had different meanings.

 

And do not even get me started on "pay to win".

[Perma Powers?]

Perma-Energize be thy friend.

[SS/Inv Brute looking for a viable build]

3 minutes ago, benai said:

I have found two Tanker SS/Inv so far but i dont know how viable they are for a brute.

 

Tankers get higher values on their defensive powers than Brutes do, so you would not be able to simply copy a Tanker build and end up with a good Brute build.

This thread has a couple of builds in it: 

 

[New to game. Katana/Lightning]

1 hour ago, Unerring_Fool said:

I see. So a Brute is using lightning as one of their standard attacks while Scrapper is leaning heavily on Katana and the lightning is more of a nice to have instead?

 

Lightning Field is a damage effect surrounding your character so long as you leave it turned on. It periodically deals damage to things standing too close to you. But its damage from a secondary set, and your primary set is how any melee character--Scrapper, Stalker, Brute, or Tanker--is going to deal most of their damage.

[New to game. Katana/Lightning]

Arguably, you get more mileage out of Lightning Field on a Brute than either a Scrapper or Tanker due to Fury while retaining the higher resistance cap of a Scrapper.

 

But Lightning Field is hardly going to be your major source of damage.

[General Chat is an open sewer.]

5 minutes ago, DougGraves said:

I would say that if the advice of half of the players is to remove general chat and never see it - that would indicate a significant problem with general chat.

 

That is advice to someone who has a problem with general chat. People who do not have a problem have no reason to post their not having a problem.

 

[I'm a Fortunata main. What AT/sets can match its versatility?]

4 hours ago, queequeg77 said:

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll have to give a Savage/EA scrapper a shot. I've done both sets (separately) on stalkers and liked them both.

 

Snikt, snikt, snikt...

 

 

 

 

[Savage melee brutes]

21 minutes ago, punahou said:

 

I can't even begin to understand what damn enhancemts are listed in these builds ase. they aren't spelled out, and should say 

 

If you got Mids and imported the build, it would be clear. Your other option is to make use of the wiki, and referring to this page: Enhancement Sets - Unofficial Homecoming Wiki

[Is relying on procs good game design?]

23 minutes ago, Runetide said:

From what I'm hearing is that enhancement set bonuses are the fine-tuning for an already good build?

 

Not necessarily. Plenty of builds only reach the heights they do because of appropriate choice of set bonuses. While you are better off not having to fix a lot of problems in your build, by default there are things any primary/secondary combination is missing which set bonuses can help address.

[Savage melee brutes]

15 minutes ago, punahou said:

see what i dont understand, is that every build adds a ton of endurance draining clockies-- specifically

 

 

Because saving endurance is not less important than staying alive?

[Best AT for a soloist starting with nothing?]

29 minutes ago, Dao Jones said:

Question for you (or anyone reading): given I won’t have optimal slotting AND I like not micromanaging my defenses would you have an opinion between SR, WP, and Regen?

 

Bio.

 

No, really. Bio. Just set a stance and don't change it.

[Best AT for a soloist starting with nothing?]

The only caution I would offer as goes Tankers is that while they are tougher, starting out they are not that much tougher. Tougher is tougher but where the problem manifests is that damage dealt per endurance spent is lower for Tankers when it comes to single target attacks. The improved area of their area attacks require you to have enough enemies to make up for other melee ATs dispatching things more quickly. But as I previously noted, you are not, starting out, that much tougher.

 

Not a problem if you're not racing someone, which as a solo you are not. 

 

 

FWIW, I have a Bio Tanker designed to live in Offensive stance with Assault up who somewhat bent the above thinking a bit at lower levels.

 

And on the upside, unlike on a stalker or Ninjitsu scrapper you won't have to fear your evil twin on that one story arc.

[Brute Thursday teams]

Have plans tonight IRL but will join the channel asap.

[Best AT for a soloist starting with nothing?]

17 minutes ago, MoonSheep said:

 

tanks tend to have higher damage than brutes from this indepth testing - often higher than scrappers too, which just feels wrong and my brain can’t accept it

 

i can’t really see a reason to choose brutes 

 

 

Trust that whenever Ston's posts come up there are invariably a ton of explanation from Tanker fans about how artificial and circumstantial the results are. To be fair, Trapdoor does have a fair amount of group combat where Tankers are going to fare well.

[Best AT for a soloist starting with nothing?]

1 hour ago, Verfall said:

The answer is brute. It's always brute. There is no other AT that is so easy to play and is newbie friendly. Other ATs have sets that are newbie friendly, but pretty much every brute combo is straightforward and simple to figure out.

 

Radiation Melee/Dark Armor will quickly teach you what being out of endurance feels like. 

[Best AT for a soloist starting with nothing?]

1 hour ago, MoonSheep said:

scrapper or tank will be the easiest, brutes are often not as damaging thesedays

 

This had -=BEST NOT BE TRUE=- given the assertions made over the last few years about how balance between Brutes, Scrappers, and Tankers is fine.

 

Scrappers/Stalkers are top damage and lowest survivability (very survivable if built right, but should fold first).

Tankers are best AoE damage and best survivability by far.

Brutes are better solo damage than Tankers, better survivability than Scrapers/Stalkers.

 

Any of the melee classes are fine choices, choose the flavor which appeals.

[Battle Axe / Shield Defense / Energy Mastery]

7 minutes ago, BeornOTNS said:

Yeah, the concept is a magickal axe and shield passed down the generations. So, I use the flying carpet as my travel power. As for the totals here they are with and without One with the Shield:

 

Looks pretty solid to me.

[Good secondary for a TW build?]

3 minutes ago, Polecat said:

I'll admit I've had bad luck with Invuln outside of a Tanker. I'm already using Bio with a Spines brute (a very fun combo, I must admit). EA and SR sync well with TW? I suppose with that first -def attack, it would go well with them. I had an old Kat/SR scrapper back in the live days....

 

Invulnerability is great for any melee class, though more impressive on Brutes and Tankers for being able to reach resistance caps along with the defnsive boosts. EA comes with +Rchg and endurance gain--both things which benefit TW. 

 

For funs and giggles, I played an SR/TW Tanker because someone argued SR, being probabilistic, was a bad idea for a Tanker and I wanted to prove them wrong. Had fun with the character.

[Battle Axe / Shield Defense / Energy Mastery]

3 hours ago, BeornOTNS said:

I always enjoy your insight Erratic1. I don't know what is going on regarding Brutes, but I just love being able to wade into anything and walk away (and also the fights not taking forever [cough cough tank cough]). I have some awesome Scrappers (I played a broadsword/regen on live back in the day), but the brute is so near and dear to my heart. Back in live beta in 2003/2004 my main was a stone/mace tank, and I SWORE I would never have something so end draining and slow once the game went live. So, when City of Villains went live a bit later, I IMMEDIATELY started making Brutes.
I am still missing something, but I was able to take nihilii's advice, I THINK?
 

 

What do the final numbers look like? (No data chunk, so not easy to import.)

 

I fooled around a bit and...well....

 

Spoiler

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

 

It annoys me not to crack 80% S/L Resistance on a Brute, but limitations of a Def set. I could get above 80% S/L resistance but it would have meant bad things to defense values. It also lacks perma-Hasten. You have enough attack to cycle through, though I admit there is something to be said for Shield Charge ever 21s and Pendulum every 3s. S/L/F/C resistances are a bit better for not much change to defense values. Dropped One With the Shield (hate crash powers), and left you with 5 slots to play with. Did you intentionally not take a travel power? (Fine if you did, some characters it is out of concept for.)

[How confident are you that your build is properly slotted?]

3 minutes ago, Doomguide2005 said:

I've often commented to my fellow D&D players that if you want to find the "gaps" in the rules turn a bunch of min-maxing, rules-lawyering, power gamers loose on the game.  They'll find stuff just as crazy and far more "legit" that the most proficient of Munchkins.

It's a good rule for testing anything. Developers know their own intent and while they may think of some things they want to limit, are not as likely to come up with every avenue players will in exploring the possibilities. I recall one game where we figured out how to make NPCs fight each other--no xp but the loot was worth it.

[How confident are you that your build is properly slotted?]

3 minutes ago, Maelwys said:

I'm sure different people will have different takes on it, but I always looked on "Frankenslotting" as what heppens when you "mix" IOs (e.g. some sets, some basics, whatever) as opposed to using a "Full IO set" (which is nice and clean and surely the the dev-intended "right" way of doing things...)

 

If it full set slotting were intended we would not be able to slot from multiple sets. It would be a trivial thing to code. And with different bonuses scattered between sets anyone remotely familiar with players, who were optimizing from the get go (I had perma-Hasten in the first month of release of the game), that players would mix and match was all but guaranteed.

 

The only bit I suspect the devs did not foresee was proc monstering.

[How confident are you that your build is properly slotted?]

44 minutes ago, Maelwys said:

I'm a firm beleiver in "frankenslotting" - not using full 6-piece IO sets everywhere; but instead 3 or 5-slotting to get more useful procs, set bonuses or raw enhancement % numbers.

If "frankenslotting" is not getting a full set bonus, call me Victor. 

 

I don't call it frankenslotting until there is nothing more than a 2 slot bonus or two with four or more slots taken.