LightMaster

Certainly a mixed but understandable reception around. From what I gather: Replacing a power entirely might turn Respec even more of a shore for level 50s, so a rework for power sets specifically to Brutes is out of question. Brutes do at least fulfill their role as “Fright Train” of melee combattants, very well even. There are also some here, and I assume many even, who do like Brute because they are an intermediary of Scrappers and Tankers. The real issue I’ve seen is Fury itself, which isn’t even an unique mechanic given it is just glorified critical hits of sort. Reworking Fury itself, or rather buffing it, might help Brute’s own Inherent to be unique or at least give another good justification of using Brutes over Tanks. My suggestion of Fury increasing To-Hit chance as Fury builds up is pointed by a replier that it’s plausible if the devs agreed. Defensive buff built in Fury (like +Resist) might be too familiar to Tankers. Overall, Brutes feeling inferior to Tankers is just a manner of perspective, which the perspective might not even be accurate depending on who you ask. However, it can be agreed that Fury itself may be outdated, which might be a reason of such perspective, given how effective the other Archetypes’ inherents are, including Sentinel’s current Inherent as of 2024.

The Brute Archetype. The “middle child” of Scrapper and Tanker ever since CoH and CoV becoming one game, and the one who orient around the Fury mechanic. In theory, it is meant to hit harder than Tankers and tankier than Scrappers, but in practice, it can be seen as a master of none. Not helping is that as of 2024, Tankers have an even more admirable AoE DPS compared to Scrappers and Stalkers thanks to their Gauntlet Inherent. It is not like the Brute is underrepresented, as there are still a lot of players who do enjoy and make the most of Brtues, myself included. That being said, for harder contents like Incarnate Trials, I believe the Brute need something that allows it to stand out from the other Melee-oriented archetypes without stepping on their toes. The Conundrum As said before, the Brutes are seen as the middle ground of Scrappers and Tankers. However, other than the Fury Inherent, the Brute does not have anything that the other melee Archetypes cannot do better, including AoE Melee as the Tankers does a way better job nowadays. Of course, the problem isn’t easy to solve. If Brute’s damage output is buffed, then they’ll end up overshadowing Scrappers. Obviously, they should not be tankier than Tankers. Alongside, increasing the power input of the Brute’s available melee AoE in power sets would only make it too similar to Tankers as the latter is still superior at tanking things. The Brute’s Epic Power Pools are a good addition to it, so they don’t need to receive major changes. If anything, the issue have to do with the Archetype itself, not the Epic Power Pools, so buffing these Epic Power Pools would not make it exciting for Brutes who got overshadowed by Tankers in mid-game contents and can be overkill for Brutes who are doing fine in lategame content. Nothing said that Brutes are beyond repair without nerfing Tankers, because there is another villain-original melee Archetype that managed to stand out from it’s hero-original counterpart. Scrapper vs Stalker, the Damage Scale and Fury Inherent At a glance, the Stalker have less damage output compared to the Scrapper. However, not only the Stalker have access to Hide and Placate, which fits it’s lore and playstyle, but also their signature attack of Assassin’s Strike (or a variant depending on the Power Set), giving it a powerful single-target burst damage when in and even out of Hiding. This allows Stalker to play similar to a Scrapper with less damage, but able to sneak around and take down important targets, then escape from one threat or even more. The Brute can be seen as the villain-original counterpart of the Tanker, but it only managed to hit harder than Tankers due fo the Fury Inherent, not by inherently having higher melee damage scale. With that said, the Ranged Damage Scale of Tankers have 0.800 despite having little to no ranged attacks from their Secondary Power Sets. The Brute isn’t far behind with a 0.750 damage scale, but they themselves have little to no ranged attacks on their Primary Power Sets. Another interesting fact is that the Brute’s Fury Inherent doesn’t just boost their melee output, it also increase their ranged damage output. This means the Brute is able to deal a deceptively high ranged melee if allowed to, which is why it is able to deal high damage on ranged Prestige Attacks like Nemesis Staff and Blackwand once it’s Fury is high enough. But if Fury alone doesn’t make Brute enticing enough to be a tanky offensive melee attacker, then maybe allow the Brute to take advantage on the Fury Inherent than just “stay in the fights to deal more damage”. The Solutions Here are the following solutions that intend to take advantage of the Fury Inherent in order to help the Brute stand out without strictly overshadowing the other Melee-oriented archetypes. One or more may be implemented. Allow Fury Inherent to have To-Hit / Accuracy bonus: This one is straightforward but allows Brute players to worry less about putting Accuracy and To-Hit Buff Enhancements as the Fury also boosts the To-Hit chance by up to a whopping 50% (maybe lower) as long as they keep fighting. Replace a generic Taunt by a powerful coned / targeted AoE Ranged Attack with Taunting effect, but costs some Fury: Given that Scrappers have Confront while Stalkers have Placate, the Brutes could have a whole new ranged attack that can be used to both deliver high damage and provoke enemies, but can only be performed if the Brute’s Fury is 80 of higher, and cost some Fury at that. This not only allows Brute give a distinct niche of having an occasional ranged attacks, but also allows them to provide a powerful burst ranged damage that neither the Scrapper, the Stalker and the Tanker could achieve easily. This devastating attack is called an Outrage Attack. Ice Melee Example: Frost Wave which is like Energy Torrent but with Ice FX. Hits all foes that were ahead of the targeted foe for a Superior Cold/Smashing burst damage. Replace PBAoE melee and disruptive powers by Ranged Powers Equivalent (or close proximity): Given that Tankers are far better at melee-ranged crowd control than Brutes nowadays, it’s only natural that the Brute may prefer to hit some fleeing saps to take advantage of the Fury Inherent and to keep it’s Fury from draining when chasing a fleeing foe. This will also allow Brute to be mixed akin to Blasters and Dominators, albeit to a lesser extent, and can even take even more advantage of Power Pools and Epic Power Pools that has ranged damage more than before by having additional ranged tools in their Primary Power. Ice Melee Example: Ice Patch is replaced by Frost Breath for Brutes. Meanwhile, Frozen Aura is replaced by Glacial Fist, which launches a Bitter Ice Blast as the Brute punches the air and deals Extreme Cold/Smashing DMG. Anyone else have a suggestion how to make the Brute able to stand on their own?

I already covered that. “Uses same Melee animations from multiple Melee Power Sets, notably Energy Melee and Martial Arts with their powerful looking punches and kicks.” I did forgot to add that it uses explosive FXs though!

Aah, didn’t remembered that Polearm is basically a spear or so! Fortunately, I thought off an explosive idea. *winkwink* Explosive Melee Want to have your punches and kicks feels explosive? Do you like a risky playstyle? The Explosive Melee have a special AoE small damage that deals additional damage to the foes surrounding the target. However, this power set is heavy on Endurance, and higher tier powers will also cost some of the user’s health (less so on Brute and Tanker). Critical Hits only applies to the targeted foe, but akin to Dual Pistols, the explosion can be changed that grants Explosive Melee versatility for debuffs. Default Explosive deals Smashing + Heat damage, with the Heat damage replaced by Negative, Energy or Psionic depending on the Swapped Explosive. The user doesn’t get defeated by the self-harming explosion, locking at 0.1% health upon use if it would normally drop to 0, but can leave them vulnerable to retaliation. Using Health Insps can help circumvent this somewhat. Uses same Melee animations from multiple Melee Power Sets, notably Energy Melee and Martial Arts with their powerful looking punches and kicks. Bomb Punch: Basic Smashing attack, very fast recharge and a chance of -Defense (All) on foe. Bomb Kick: Deals stronger Smashing attack, but recharge somewhat slower. Chance of -Defense (All) on foe. Blasting Clap: PBAoE Light Smashing attack, costs 15% of user’s max Health. Chance of Defense (All) on foes. Explosive Swap: Salvaged from my Spear concept, albeit different names and Venom replaced by Energy called EMP, and last two are based on different type of grenades; Gravitas is to allow another Power Set that deals Negative damage. Click on the active Swap icon again to return to standard explosion. Gravitas: Adds Negative damage, chance of Slow. Knockback is replaced by Knock Up, and pins down aerial foes. EMP: Adds Energy damage, chance of small Toxic DoT. Knockback is replaced by Stun. Flashbang: Adds Psionic damage, and chance of -ToHit. Knockback is replaced by Disorient. Assassin's Bomb: Stalker exclusive power. The stealth Assassin’s Strike have a bigger AoE, but costs 25% of user’s max Health. Preparing Explosives: Power-up power that buffs the user’s Recharge and DMG. It also make the user immune to self-inflicting blownback of the stronger explosive attacks, except Armageddon Punch which instead have reduced blowback damage to 30% (Scrapper / Stalker) or 15% (Brute / Tanker). Provoke/Taunt/Placate: Standard aggro management power. Roundhouse Boom: Inflict a kick that causes Superior Smashing Damage (High for Tanker) with a delayed explosion of Heat (or swapped element) which can harm the user for 40% (Scrapper / Stalker) or 25% (Tanker / Brute), but also hurt surrounding enemies. Chance of -Defense (All) on ememy and have knockback / knock up. Dynamite Clap: Deals PBAoE Superior Smashing Damage (High for Tanker) that deals Knockback but costs 50% (Scrapper / Stalker) or 35% (Tanker / Brute). For Tanker, it always proc the secondary effects. Armageddon Punch: Deals Extreme Smashing Damage (or Superior as Tanker) as a targeted AoE melee attack, with full damage to surrounding enemies. Costs 60% of max HP for Scrapper / Stalker, or 45% for Tanker / Brute. Inflict Knockback / Knock Up and -Defense (All) to damaged foes. For Tankers, the AoE is drastically larger but only deals Knock Up.

Good point. Maybe instead of having to use Control all the times to get minions, make it like a tamer / Blue Mage-esque, where the Manipulator can summon Controlled Foes - even ones that are defeated - but only up to three types (3 Minions, 2 Lieutenant and 1 Boss, mirroring Mastermind’s three Henchmen-1, two Henchmen-2, one Henchman-3), making it a more offense oriented counterpart of the support-oriented Mastermind. This way, Controlled Foes from Minions to Boss are “permanent”, while EB is a temporary one (up to thirty seconds or less) with a low chance of success but can turn the tide of a difficult fight. This means the Manipulator need to think of a good combination, especially with reduced HP of the Controlled Foes, when soloing in early game or before joining a team. Given that Masterminds can solo well in missions due to backup of their henchmen, the Manipulator can explore and “capture” foes to mix-and-match depending on the Manipulator’s need before joining a team, making it highly customizable offense-oriented AT with minions dealing somewhat more damage than MM’s, but doesn’t provide support on it’s own other than “deal more damage”. Obviously some combinations will make it too powerful, so another quirk is that the Controlled Foes’ stats are slightly less good if they are from different factions, and the more foes from different factions, the more severe stat penalties. As such, one may want to stick to a specific group and one outlier or two to cover a potential hole of the Controlled Foes composition.

Ah yes, I thought I said it, but I forgot to write it down. It does share animations from Staff Fighting, lance enemies like Nemesis Generals, and bayonet attacks from various enemies like lieutenant-type or higher enemies in Nemesis Army. EDIT: Turned out I really did written those, just lost in the second paragraph. I seperated them to be easier to see.

Alright, I notice there are fewer Melee ideas compared to the amount of Blast ideas. I ought to give Melee ideas, starting with a weapon idea that’s odd given how popular this weapon is alongside axe and mace. Spear The Spear is a ranged power set with ranged powers, but uses the base melee damage of the Scrapper, Stalker, Tanker and Brute. Specializes in Lethal damage, and can be enfused with the power of the Void (Negative + -Slow), Venom (Toxic + DoT) and Light (Psionic + -ToHit). If not enfused, it has a chance of reducing the foe’s damage output. Reuses animations from Staff Fighting and the Lance attacks of Nemesis Army Captains. Staff Figthing weapons with a pointy end are reused, alongside spears used by various enemies such as the aforementioned Nemesis Captains. Quick Stab: Basic Lethal attack, very fast recharge and a chance of -DMG. Swipe: Deals weaker Lethal attack, but small AoE on the targeted foe and nearby foes. Spear Throw: Moderate Lethal Attack with moderate recharge, but guaranteed -DMG or other secondary effect depending on the Enfusion. Enfuse: Switches between Void, Venom or Light, each having their own property and modify the other powers’ secondary effect on the foe. To return to natural / non-enfusion, click on the active Enfuse icon again. Void: Adds Negative damage, chance of -Slow. Venom: Adds Toxic damage, chance of small Toxic DoT. Light: Adds Psionic damage, chance of -ToHit. Assassin's Impale: Stalker exclusive power. Longer range than other Assassin’s Strike powers, performs slightly faster when hidden than others, but have less base damage. Prepare: Power-up power that buffs the user’s ToHit, Range and DMG. Provoke/Taunt/Placate: Standard aggro management power. Piercing Throw: Stronger version of Spear Throw that pierces through the foes that are between the player and the targeted foe. Slow recharge, but high chance of -DMG. Upward Swipe: Deals Superior Lethal Damage that deals Knock Up and a chance of -DMG. Slow Recharge. Spin of War: Deals Extreme DoT Lethal Damage as a PBAoE attack. Normally, natural Spear deals -DMG and -Resist on foes, but the Enfuse elements have different properties. Void: -Slow and absorb Health. Venom: Toxic DoT on foes and faster Recharge on user’s power. Light: -ToHit and absorb Endurance.

In this case I will make it so EBs can’t be controlled while Bosses is the maximum, and even just one Boss per Manipulator. I didn’t thought of the Control status time limit, but it might be one minute or even thirty seconds on tougher foes, requiring the Manipulator to act fast either re-control them or dispose of them depending on how much HP remaining the ex-controlled foes have.

Manipulator The Manipulator have no stat specialization and low survivability, but makes up for it with their capacity of taking control of up to six enemies, from a lowly Minion to even a tough Boss. This allows the Manipulator to Crowd Control in their own unique way, but like the Mastermind, must be at constant micromanagement, as the Manipulator can be easily overwhelmed without protection. The Manipulator plays similarly to a Mastermind, but involve manipulating enemies and sacrifice support for comparatively better damage output, making it more offense-oriented but frailer. This also allows give the player a taste of Lore summons, although weaker and more easily obtainable. Up to threee Minions, two Lieutenants, and one Boss foe can be controlled per Manipulator, with less Controlled Foes available at lower level at same rhythm as the Mastermind’s. Controlled Foes have a calculation for their level; (Manipulator’s Security / Threat - 1), as well as their HP; ((Previous HP / 1.2)- Manipulator’s max HP). Their level rises by Incarnate Shift with the same methods used to increase the Mastermind Henchmen’s Incarnate Level. If there is more than two Manipulator on a Team, then the Controlled Foes’ HP is decreased by an addictive 0.2 for the division in (Previous HP / 1.1) calculation. This mechanic is called Diminishing Returns. This is to prevent cheesing with a team full of Manipulators, given that the Controlled Foes are stronger than the Mastermind’s Henchmen by default. Primary: Command Secondary: Assault / Manipulation (depending which fits better) Ancilleries: Buff and Armor Survivability: 3 Melee Damage: 5 Ranged Damage: 5 Crowd Control: 8 Support: 2 Pets: 7 (Base Damage: 0.850 Melee and 0.850 Ranged) Inherent: Opportunist - Automatic - If an enemy has at least one stat-related buff, the Manipulator also gets all those buffs upon converting an enemy to the Manipulator’s side. The Manipulator does not gain any benefit if the Controlled Foes are summoned. Likewise, if a Controlled Foe provide a buff to themselves or other teammates, the Manipulator gets it as well. Unique Powerset: Command 1 - Command: Recruit up to a Minion (lv 1-10), a Lieutenant (lv 11-24), or even a Boss (lv 20-29), this power have a default 80% chance of success, which increases the lower the foe’s Level is than the Manipulator’s. This chance decrease against lone or healthy foes. If the Command attempt fails, it will deal a light (small) damage. Having this Power available also grants three additional Powers for free: Summon Minion, Summon Lieutenant and Summon Boss, which are individually unlocked once the ability to control them is possible, with Summon Minion being available as soon as a Minion of any type is recruited. The individual Minions, Lieutenants and Boss can be from different factions and even individual enemy of the same rankings. However, the stats are reduced by 0.5 for each foe from different faction, with the faction with the highest amount of foes controlled by a Manipulator preventing further loss. As such, it is adviced to focus on a faction and allow one outlier or two so that the Autopower buffs can offset it. Underlings can be Controlled, but are not Summon-able. Up to three Underlings can be controlled, just like Minions. Command Powers can even temporarily control one single Elite Boss for up to thirty seconds, with no level requirement. Elite Boss cannot be summoned upon defeat or breaking off the control. Elite Boss is reduced to Boss rank, but can fight alongside a Controlled Boss. To prevent cheesing and griefing, any foe that is required to defeat are immune to the effect, most of which are Elite Bosses. This is done by a simple but special buff called “Real Boss” which just prevent Command Powers from affecting it. Command Powers will fail if the foe is an Arch Villain / Hero, a Giant Monster, or if a foe is six levels higher than the Manipulator. To remove a Controlled Foe, 2 - First Autopower: A simple autopower that grants an automatic buff to Controlled Foes, such as increased passive healing or To-Hit bonus for no endurance cost. 3 - Single Ranged Attack: The Manipulator’s first self-defense attack. Damage output is stronger than a Mastermind’s own offensive power and higher than average secondary effect chance, but still pales in comparison to the Solo-Defenders’, Corrupters’, Epic Archetypes’ and especially the Blasters’ ranged damage output. 4 - Toggle PBAoE Debuff (Demoralize): Passively debuff foes in an attempt to demoralize them, and increase chance of successful recruitments. 5 - Controlled Foe Buff: Provide a buff to controlled foes, which the buff is longlasting and stakcs with Autopowers, but have high Endurance cost. 6 - First AoE Ranged Attack: Provide a second self-defense power, an AoE attack (coned, traditional AoE or PBAoE) that also provide a small, guaranteed debuff on non-controlled foes. 7 - Second Autopower: Similar to First Autopower. 8 - Second AoE Ranged Attack: Provide a third self-defense. Unlike the First AoE Ranged Attack, it have a less chance of debuff, but deals lot more damage. Think of a mini-capstone for the Manipulator itself. 9 - Command All-Out: The Capstone Power. Grants heal to Manipulator itself, and heals and massively buff the Controlled Foes. Examples: Brainwash Command 1- Brainwash: A Psionic-flavored Command, deals light Psionic DMG on foe if fails. 2- Mind Reinforcement: Provide a moderate Resistance to Fire, Cold and Psionic damage to Controlled Foes. 3- Brain Drainage: Moderate Psionic damage, On Foe: -Resist to all DMG 4- Mind Insult: PBAoE Slow, -Resist to Psionic and Energy DMG to uncontrolled foes. 5- Psychic Boost: Build Up type boost to a single Controlled Foe. 6- Psionic Wave: Frontal AoE that deals Moderate Psionic damage on non-controlled foes, while Controlled Foes are given a buff to their speed, making them move faster and their recharge speed 15% faster. 7- Willpower Boost: An Auto version of Willpower’s Heightened Senses for Controlled Foes. 8- Psycho Bomb: Uses animation of Force Bomb; a ranged AoE power that deals Superior Psionic damage to multiple non-controlled foes. Moderate chance of inflicitng Hold on the foes. 9- Get Psyched: Grants an Health heal to the Manipulator, nearby allies and all of the Manipulator’s Controlled Foes. It also provide a massive Resist and Defense to all standard damage (Smahsing, Lethal, Psionic, Toxic, Fire, Cold, Negative, Energy) and moderate DMG and ToHit chance boost to all active Controlled Foes. This cost a massive amount of Endurance for the Manipulator to use.

I’ve been thinking of two Power Sets that might give much needed diversity for one Archetype, another based on big guns used exclusively by NPCs. First off… The Shadows Uses FX from various Dark Power Sets. Shadow Henchmen are the following: Shadow (based on Spectre enemies), Puppet (based on a Redcap) and Shadow Clone (based on Doppelgangers) Secondly… Heavy Weapons / Big Guns Based on large weapons used by NPCs but unavailable for players to use. The G.E.C. will be an enlarged version of Beam Rifle weapons, with either the Devastator or DUST Cannon as fhe default model. If there’s any question about model / animation to reuse, let me know! P.S. I did not notice there was already a Power Set idea here called Heavy Weapon, but that one is more about a minigun while mine is moreso a variety of big guns.