Constantine

It's definitely noticeable. Widows have lower base HP. An equally slotted scrapper will have roughly 300 hp more at level 50, and while that might not sound like much, it certainly makes a big difference when you also consider the scaling damage resistance. Also, widows have virtually no defense debuff resistance. On the bright side, widows provide excellent team buffs and their base costume comes with a buttcape, which is always a plus in my book.

Out of those 4 sets, Bio is probably the best of the bunch, since it provides great survivability combined with excellent offensive capabilities. The biggest weakness of Psi Melee is, oddly enough, its damage type. While not many enemies have resistance to it, those that do have a lot of it. Bio helps you with that with its mix of +damage buff, added toxic damage and a -res aura. The problem with it however is that it can be pretty hard to fit into your concept, since even with minimal FX option the set still looks very bio-organic in nature with tentacles sprouting out of your body. EA I have almost no experience with, as I only tried the set when it was first added and boy did it suck back then. Of course a lot has changed since then. IOs were introduced and the set itself received numerous buffs. These days EA looks really strong, at least on paper, but unfortunately it doesn't provide and offensive capabilities. Both FA and Elec are ok and will get the job done, but I feel like their potential is wasted on a scrapper. Not that they are bad sets per se, but they are definitely worse on scrappers than on brutes. Out of those 2 I'd pick Fire, since it provides way more damage with Burn/Blazing Aura/Fiery Embrace. Another option you might want to consider is Shield, since it has great survivability and offers a great offensive boost with AAO and Shield Charge. It has plenty of customization options that can work with you concept. For example you can use the energy shield as a psychic barrier that you can manifest through your suit.

You're probably missing the "Oh, Wretched Man!" arc from Seer Marino. Should be in 15-19 range.

Here's the build I'm currently using. It has softcapped S/L/F/C, nearly hardcapped S/L res and 161.3 global recharge. Endurance is still a bit of an issue, but I don't have all the accoaldes/incarnates yet, so I'm not sure if I can get away with core Musculature over radial. I'd also really like to fit in a Kismet unique, but not really sure what to cut for it. Either way, I hope this build can give you some ideas on how to improve yours. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.1 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Asgard: Level 50 Magic Scrapper Primary Power Set: Titan Weapons Secondary Power Set: Willpower Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Crushing Blow -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(9), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(11), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(11), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13) Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(3), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(7), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9) Level 2: Titan Sweep -- SprScrStr-Dmg/Rchg(A), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg(15), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), SprScrStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), SprScrStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), SprScrStr-Rchg/+Crit(19) Level 4: Mind Over Body -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(5), UnbGrd-Max HP%(5), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(7), GldArm-3defTpProc(21), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(50) Level 6: Follow Through -- SprCrtStr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), SprCrtStr-Dmg/Rchg(25), SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(25), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(39) Level 8: Super Jump -- WntGif-ResSlow(A) Level 10: Indomitable Will -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(23) Level 14: Fast Healing -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 16: Rise to the Challenge -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal(42), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(42), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(43), Prv-Heal/Rchg(43), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(43) Level 18: Rend Armor -- AchHee-ResDeb%(A), Hct-Dam%(39), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(40), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Hct-Acc/Rchg(40) Level 20: Quick Recovery -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(45) Level 22: Boxing -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(46), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(48) Level 24: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(27), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(36), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(37) Level 26: Build Momentum -- RctRtc-Pcptn(A), RctRtc-ToHit/Rchg(27), GssSynFr--Build%(50) Level 28: Whirling Smash -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(29), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(29), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(31), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34) Level 30: Heightened Senses -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def(31), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(37), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(42), RedFrt-EndRdx(45), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48) Level 32: Arc of Destruction -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(33), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Arm-Acc/Rchg(34), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(34) Level 35: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-Def(36), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(36), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(46) Level 38: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 44: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx(45), Rct-ResDam%(50) Level 47: Tactics -- RctRtc-ToHit(A), RctRtc-ToHit/Rchg(48) Level 49: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Critical Hit Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A), Clr-RunSpd(21) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(19) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(3) Level 1: Momentum Level 50: Ageless Core Epiphany Level 0: The Atlas Medallion Level 0: Portal Jockey Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve Level 0: Task Force Commander Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon ------------

All enhancement always provide their primary benefits even when exemplared down, although if you go below level 32 they start to scale down. Let's say you have a level 50 Damage SO slotted in one of you powers. At levels 32-50 you will get the full 33.3% boost from it. At level 20 the boost will be roughly half its normal value, so around 16.6%. And at level 5 your enhancement will provide merely 10% of its initial value. Now those are not the exact numbers, as the scaling is not linear, but if I recall correctly, on average you lose around 3.5% of enhancement's effectiveness per level below 32.

This is a pretty accurate rundown. The only mistake I'd like to point out is that you always get the set bonuses from Purples/ATOs/PvP IOs even if the power they are slotted in is greyed out. Also, let me further elaborate on the special IOs from sets. Those IOs can be put into 2 categories: Procs and Globals. As DSorrow already mentioned, Procs are treated as enhancements and will always work as long as you have the access to the power. The level of the IO doesn't matter in this case as you will still get the the full effect from it even when exemplared below the IO's level. Globals, however, are treated as set bonuses, which means they follow the same -3 level exmplar rule. Also, you can't stack more than 5 instances of a single Global IO bonus. There are however 2 Global IOs that exempt from the exemplar rule: Gladiator's Armor +Def and Sheield Wall +Res. Those are treated as Purples and thus always provide the bonuses. You can check which special IOs fell into which category here: https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Set_Enhancements_with_Special_Effects

I have to admit, the build does look very impressive, although in my opinion there's still plenty of room for improvement. After fiddling with it in mids, I came up with 2 alternative iterations, which I think should improve your overall performance. Let's start with the simple one. You don't really need the extra set of Kinetic Combat in Brawl as you are already at 45% S/L even without it, and put those slots in BS, SB and Impale for the extra 15% F/C def. I guess you wanted to overshoot a bit t to be 1 small purple away from incarnate softcap, but in reality that's hardly going to matter, as you'll pretty much always have at least a couple people with Maneuvers on your team. Also, I'm not sure if it is intended, but you're using 3 pieces of Reactive Armor and 1 piece of Unbreakable Guard in Meltdown. Swapping to 4 pieces of RA will give you an extra 1.25 S/L def bonus, that will put you at pretty much the S/L softcap even without Melee Hybrid. And that leads me to my next point - switch Melee for Assault Radial. Your build already has pretty insane survivability, so you should focus on brute's primary task, which is dealing damage. I'd also swap Diamagnetic Interface for Degenerative Core, as the debuffs are hardly going to matter vs normal enemies, and the AVs resist them anyway, so you're going to get way more milage out -HP. Finally, you can safely drop one slot from health and put it elsewhere, for example an extra Preventive Medicine in Radiation Therapy or a -Res proc in Meltdown. Rad armor already has extremely good endurance/health management tools, so you can easily get away with only a single Panacea proc in Health. Anyway, here's the build with proposed changes: Click this DataLink to open the build! Ok, now for the second one. This build uses Barrier instead of Ageless, which gives it higher defensive stats with softcapped S/L/N/E/F/C/Melee defense (well, 0.9% off on F/C, but close enough) and 5-10% higher resists across the board. Of course this comes at a cost of, well, losing Ageless. And while endurance part of it is pretty irrelevant on a /Rad, losing the extra recharge can be pretty significant, given your rather low global recharge. I've managed to squeeze in an extra 8.75% bonus from the full set of Preventive Medicine, but I'm not sure if it's going to be enough. Either way, you should try it yourself and see how it fares. Click this DataLink to open the build!

Well, since it is my build (or a slight variation of it, rather), guess I should chime in. After playing with this build for 400+ hours, I can assure you that it works really well. I've managed to solo multiple GMs even with the earlier version. Naturally, I've made some adjustments over time to further improve it, so here's the latest iteration: Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.1 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Alternatively, you could try this build by Kaeldian. He takes a different approach, by taking Musculature and relying on Barrier to hit the softcap.

For the 20-24 you can do the Smoke and Mirrors from Twilight's Son. There are 4 missions, all of them are in Ouro: defeat boss; defeat boss; defeat boss, rescue 7 NPCs; defeat boss; rescue 2 NPCs. Takes around 7-10 minutes to complete, depending on your challenges.

There is an even quicker way to get there. Just open the LFG tab, pick ITF, select "Lock the event for your group" and hit queue. The LFG tab lets you to travel to any zone that has a TF/Trial contact in one loading.

Well, it's somewhat hard to say which sets should go where without seeing your whole build, but I'll try to give you a few pointers. First of all, the optimal attack chain for Fiery Melee is Cremate - Incinerate - GFS. To achieve gapless you need 240% recharge on GFS, which is probably pretty hard to get with only 43% Rech form ToD, so you're better off swapping it for Hecatomb, putting Mako's in Incinerate and ToD in Scorch. If you can't get to 240%, then you should use Cremate - Incinerate - GFS - FS chain. Critical Strikes in Cremate is fine, as the proc boosts the critical hit chance of all attacks that you cast for the next 3 seconds, so you generally want it to fire off before your heavy hitters. Also, you should swap the -Res proc in FSC for Armageddon proc, or, better yet, 5 pieces of Armageddon + an extra damage proc. The -Res procs in AoE attack are generally useless IMO, as you might not even hit the debuffed target again, so having the extra damage from procs frontloaded is usually better. In general, you only want the -Res in attacks that you use in your single target chains to soften up tough targets like GMs or AVs, but your milage may vary of course. Here's the planned build I have for my Fire/Shield. It's still a work in progress, as he's stuck in mid 30s, so I might need to do some adjustments once I hit 50. Still, it might give you a couple ideas on how to optimize you build. Click this DataLink to open the build!

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Slotting damage resistance enhancements only increase the Psionic and Defense debuff resistance component of Foresight and doesn't affect scaling resistances in any way. So you're much better off slotting it for defense instead.

Finally got around to doing some pylon runs yesterday with my live WM/Bio build that I've posted here before. T4 Agility Core T4 Degenerative Core T3 Ageless Partial Core T4 Assault Core Rotation was Shatter - Clobber - Jawbreaker. Like Kael, started every run with Hasten + Ageless, begin timer as soon as I hit Build Up. Times without Hybrid clicky: 2:50 ~ 353 DPS 2:52 ~ 351 DPS 2:35 ~ 375 DPS 2:47 ~ 357 DPS 2:28 ~ 387 DPS Times with Hybrid clicky used: 2:09 ~ 425 DPS 2:14 ~ 414 DPS 2:04 ~ 437 DPS 1:42 ~ 504 DPS 1:53 ~ 467 DPS Overall, the numbers seem to be in line with what I expected, given my somewhat suboptimal slotting on ST attacks. Nevertheless, I'm fairly pleased with these results. For what it's worth I was able to solo Eochai with this build (hyrbid used, no lore/insps) which I consider to be a rather impressive feat. Also, I've started working on a second build, designed for soloing AVs/GMs. It's not fully optimized yet, but it's my starting point. Would be nice if anyone could take it for a spin on Justin as I probably won't be able to do it until the end of next week. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.1 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build!

You should check out this excellent guide by @Shinobu. You'll be able to afford this kind of build within a few days.

Well, it should be a pretty straightforward port. The only meaningful change would be the slotting of Shatter. I use Critical Strikes there as Shatter is the only attack I use in both my ST and AoE chains, but as a brute you should go for the more optimal 5 pieces of Armageddon + -Res proc. Obviously with this change you won't be softcapped to F/C anymore, but to be honest it shouldn't affect your performance in any meaningful way. But if you really want those couple % back, you could slot a set of Avalanche in any of you AoE attacks. Obviously the build doesn't have taunt and I'm not really sure what to drop for it, as the build is already pretty tight. For what it's worth, on my scrapper I was able to solo Scrapyard, Kraken and Eochai so far with this build (without lore/insps, naturally), as well as Archon Burkholder at level 30. I'm not sure if it's gonna be possible to do this as a brute, as the buff you get from offensive adaptation is not as significant, and brute's ATOs don't help much with damage output, but maybe the superior slotting on Shatter will compensate for it. Anyway, there you go: Brute_-_War_Mace_-_Bio_Armor.mxd