Spaghetti Betty

While normally I would agree with you on that, Regen seems to be the exception to the rule in that your average player can't seem to get it to work solo at all! I try to avoid saying "skill issue" when that comes up. FWIW, I start the run at x8 and it only ever increases from there! The goal is to be tackling +2x8 pretty consistently by level 32.

My main Scrapper is StJ. so I can speak on that! The good news is it feels very fun to play! The delivery on every attack feels right, and the combo system is pretty straightforward and easy to pick up! Crushing Uppercut is easily one of the most satisfying things to hit in the game. You'll feel very rewarded for landing one! Now onto the not so great stuff! If you're playing on anything other than a Stalker, your damage is going to feel a bit anemic without extremely heavy investment. In fact, the only other AT that feels viable damage-wise is, in fact, Scrapper! It is entirely feasible to get into a rotation of (Heavy Blow, Rib Cracker, Shin Breaker*) -> (Filler**) -> Crushing Uppercut, but it takes a LOT of recharge investment to do it. But the payoff feels good! The set is also severely lacking on the AoE front. Sweeping Cross is a garbage attack and Spinning Strike's range is doody, but it's better than nothing. You're going to be pushed into pairing it with an armor set that can offer good endurance management, provides a bit of global recharge, and could possibly add to your AoE damage some. Which is why I landed on Rad Armor! I think Elec and Bio are also pretty decent pairings for it. *- Use these three in pretty much any order, just make sure whichever one you place your Crit Strike/Hide proc is last in the sequence! **- Any epic snipe is best, but Cross Punch also fits here!

I'd have to agree! While it's definitely a strong buff as a total package, it has become a struggle to get any real progression done with Reconstruction and a bunch of passives to start with if you don't know what you're doing. And I kind of get where they're coming from. It seems like the idea they're trying to enforce is "here is your built in green insp, go receive buffs." Which is not far from what Regen is really good at doing, but tends to lead the uninformed into believing they'll have to be carried for most of their career! Personally, Second Wind and Ailment Resistance could switch places, as I don't think debuff resistance and a tiny bit of max HP is as much of a lifesaver as another spot heal would be, but I'm not a dev! But these musings are why I reiterate that Regen is something you want to tackle after having established yourself a bit!

Hullo! I have a special(!(?)) surprise today! I think one of the questions I get asked the most is "How do I level up a Regen toon?! It's so weak!", and the answer I usually give is "PL to a comfortable level"! Well, I still think that's my firm stance on it, as Regen isn't something you want to start with as a widdle baby. As much as I love the set, it really has nothing going for it for, say, the first 20 levels or so! But, I thought I'd start a project that would entail me training up a Stone/Regen Brute from level 1 all the way to 50+! And I'm recording every minute of it for your viewing pleasure! I won't be joining any teams during this run, just to prove that it can be done completely solo with lots of application of resources and knowledge and lots of inf! Here is the first day of gameplay for your viewing pleasure! For those that wish to follow me during this adventure, I give a big thank you for your viewership! Episodes will come out on a triweekly schedule with the first two being live at the time of this post. Remember to stay tuned!

Not at all! Cross Punch is a much better power. It's still a cleaving attack, buffs your to hit and recharge on connection, and doesn't consume your Combo! You can nestle it perfectly between your other finishers as well, so it'll feel pretty natural hitting it before either Spinning Strike or Crushing Uppercut to keep your flow of attacks seamless!

The Dazzling Gagster, Pyrotechnic Control/Energy Assault Dominator

Finally, someone gets it!

Balance will always be unachievable in a satisfactory manner. Just look at any other game, ever! Therefore, I think bringing jiggle physics to Homecoming would be a more fruitful endeavor and be universally loved by all players!

It's not too surprising to me! You have to think of it this way, Brute damage is incredibly backloaded and damage buffs aren't quite as impactful on them thanks to their lower damage scalar and relationship with Fury. This means sets that don't boast incredible up front damage or rely on some kind of buff to perform (Savage, Dark, Claws, Spines, Staff) or perform better on Scraps/Stalks because of crits (Energy Melee, Ice Melee) are going to lag behind sets with very, very good DPA (Martial Arts boasts some of the highest DPA on average across all ATs) since those sets don't need nearly as much propping up as others! I think what's more surprising to me about that data is just how much better Dual Blades is over Claws when Follow Up and crits aren't carrying it! To stay on topic, if you want a Brute that will boast early AoE and be tough enough to stand up, I think I'd probably go with a Staff Fighting/Radiation Armor Brute. It'll provide the smoothest levelling experience over all and only gets stronger as you progress. The damage will plateau as you inch towards 50, but it'll get going very soon and every handful of levels will feel like a new bloom!

The Smoldering Blackhound, Stone Melee/Fiery Aura Stalker

The Wifi Waifu, Electric Blast/Radiation Armor Sentinel

Pouty Paprika, Energy Aura/Fiery Melee Tanker

I swear I'm finally happy with this!

I feel compelled to weigh in on this since 4* was mentioned! Let me start off by saying that in terms of top end 4* optimization, Tankers have always been mostly irrelevant! And I'm saying this as a Tanker main! Brutes were always considered over them due to having better single target performance and still possessing an AoE Taunt and taunt aura! It's all that's really required at that level, as trash mobs still melt fast (just not instantly), and the only thing that really stands up long enough to be worth taunting are AVs! To even further this point, exceptionally skilled teams can do with having a Scrapper in that role to optimize DPS on AVs. Tankers at least were looked at positively when they were doing Blaster AoEs before the fix, but some of the 4* enjoyers I talk to now say they're pretty much abandoning the AT again. I think the point I'm trying to get across is mentioning 4* as a point of balance is mainly a non-sequitur, as quite a few ATs struggle to find a place there as it is! If anything, it kind of emphasizes the fact that Brutes have always been the optimal pick over a Tank!

Lots of things! I try mixing up content whenever I do solo level a new toon. One of my favorite activities is running through the sewers to Steel Canyon by myself! It's totally doable with a few START goodies and a couple of Base TPs to train up occasionally.