Snarky

I like it. I just made up a new zombie hero Snarkrot and will be trying to solo all Blue content with him. I think I will go with this build as the leveling build thank you. He will be bathing in merits if I keep at it so should be able to pay as he goes

At 32 now. I am pretty broke in the new game. Been back on almost 2 months. Invested nearly everything I got into this build. +3 res def 2 kB procs 4 Brute ato in tier 1 attack dark Regen frankenslotted 3 theft of essence and 3 Nicky’s. A kismet +acc. Numina Regen tissue. Etc blah blah blah. At 32 with all this on it is very playable. Have very little slotting in attacks because toggles are taking all slots. Still it is starting to be fun. Will keep on it

I run A Lot of Brutes. I posted here why taunt is not worth taking for me on a Brute. So, here I go, showing once again I am wrong. But I am right. Except when I am wrong I am starting to level a Dark/Dark Brute. Very rare for me have not run one since a year or two before live shut down. Very rare because they do everything opposite of the way I run Brutes. I run Brutes as JagdTigers. As much as I can. Basically a tank with one huge attack and defenses so locked in there is no turret just more armor. One way to win. Face the enemy and hit the enemy. Dark armor is not that armor. Dark Armor is semi squishy (which does not feel like Bruting to me). I farmed a dark/fire brute back on live but did not like it. I ran a couple incarnate Blasters on live. I ran a dozen or so Sentinels (I like) to 20-30s since I been back. So... I am running this Dark Armor as a zero range squishy that has the tools to survive if played smart. One of those tools is taunt. Dark armor has stealth. In a brute. That means mobs outside my AoE toggles usually will not deal with me. Better things to do which to them are closer. That helps me survive. But if I am happily roasting a few mobs and can draw some to me without moving? Yep. Taunt. Notice it is not to tank. It is not to save a blaster. It is to make my life easier. Just telling some Superstunner to fly over and get their but kicked. That way I don’t have to chase them. Add a nice enhancer in there (need to pick still) and I get a set mule maybe Do Taunt. If it works for you. My deathly magical Dark/Dark will taunt. My Tankiest Dark/Invul and SS/Willpower will not. They just jump into a mob and start punching. But having a magical power that controls a mob into dying? So fits my Death Dark/Dark theme!

Def > resist > healing. But that has many qualifiers. I agree you do need the unique procs for *3 res and + 3 def Invul has very good def debuff so good defenses are very supported on Invul Now for the qualifiers. Everything counts (only) in large amounts. Take a standard Invul brute with no sets. Take one small purple insp and jump into a huge ugly mob. The purp helped a little. Take 4 purps 1st. It is way better than 4xthe effect. Same with resist 80% + resists are way way better than 4x 20% resists. And healing. I am currently on a dark armor that has two heals that cycle near constant. One can fill the whole bar. He needs it he is squishy as a sponge. I think unstoppable is a great power but you have to memorize the game enough so that you know what is going to happen in theee minutes and have a plan for surviving it. Otherwise it is just a delayed death sentence. Fun but short Enjoy the bruting

Conceptually I love Dark Armor. I tried it back in the day and it just did not give me what I wanted I have done nothing but alt since the game is back up so... Dark Melee Dark Armor Brute Good news. Played for 5 or 6 hours and hit 25. I ran him in 4 DFBs while running each mayhem up to Sharkheads first mayhem. I ran 2 DiB and got all those badges. I picked the End and Acc bonuses. The bad news. Worst Posi 1 I ever was in. 1:37 minutes. It was just stupid at the end. I did a Posi 2 after clearing a Mayhem. It was not horrid but not smooth. They had it set at +2 levels and that of course slowed everything down. Oh well at least my morning task forces went great Posi 1 and 2 Synapse and yin all on last alt the dark/will brute now parked at 38. Earned almost two hundred merits on that build in a couple days Struggling with enhancing the Dark. Currently putting nearly all my slots into armor. I have gathered my best enhancers. All 12 of them and started buying a few more. But they are good ones. 4 Brute ATO in my tier 1 attack. Regen and End procs in healing. Glad shield and armor +3 res and +3 def. univ travel kB prot. And that is mostly it. A couple other ransoms that may stay Of course it is squishy. The heals are great if you are not in a shadow maul animation when everyone decides now is the time to kill the DA in the room. I regularly flee like a Sentinel especially in the last mission of Posi 2. Did not die there. But ran away cooked 4 times at least Theft of essence for dark Regen? Also the mez prot seems less than I am used to with Inv and will. Can that be fixed with enhancers? Thanks for any tips

Okay I have never played this combo. SS/Will many times even soloing all redside content on two different ones. Dark/Invulnerability oh yes. My first and only 50 now that we are back. Ran many back on live.but dark/will? Waste of power no synergy and not enough armor were my first three thoughts. Because Dark can power Invul I always felt it was a waste to use it in the slightly squishier willpower basically. You get more armor and are therefore tougher. Um right? I can’t stop Alting so I decided to find out. For good measure I put Brutes Fury in tier 1 attack 4 enhancers including Fury builder. To really make it nuts I put 3 heal procs in Health for more End and Regen. Then I took shield wall glad armor and steadfast prot procs and aim aiming for S/L def cap and as much resist as I can easily cram in. Some +arc in kismet proc and looking for more down the line in future set bonuses. Incarnate trials are tough after all The idea behind the build is gloriously simple. Have lots of health and endurance with some dodge until the defense debuff cut through Willpower’s limited debuff resists. Then have a decent to good amount of resists to cut the pain. Then Regen health and endurance faster than the damage comes in Almost all of the mechanics are not “in play” with toggle managent it clicks stuff. Darks heal is part of the normal attack chain and the end rec AoE is up about as often as an unenhanced tier 9 blaster power. It is good for a once in a while end recovery or just a random attack when a End is endlessly flowing (easy stuff or with a kin) The build does not overly benefit from global Rech, unlike dark/Invul which needs as much as possible At 33 now. Have run both Posi and Synapse. Feels tangy with a small blue or two if soloing large mobs and team followed the real tank while I just Brute Be interesting to see what the beast is like at 50 Any ideas for procs and enhancer sets to help would be nice Going to badge ouroband see how he does soloing hard stuff too

Dark melee has that END recovery power. Be aware of moving to a different melee set that may not have that. How much do you use that? Because dark armor is an end pig

I have always been a Brute player. Overwhelmingly my alts and projects have some combo of SS and Dark attack and Invul or Will armor. My first (and only) 50 in the new world is a Dark/Invul Brute. A few of my favorite variations in the 40s Been a tough week at work and so when I logged in last night I just created a simple character for smashtastic fun. After looking around I chose Energy/Willpower as it seems the build with the least thought involved. Even in late game no worrying about huge crashes or planning things out 2-3 minutes ahead After 2 DFBs Atlas got momentarily quiet but I got on a 50 team running the war hulk mao. I now have a level 27 Brute lol I am looking forward to Getting to 50 because I have never runEnergy past mid 30s What is with the Energy Transfer thing. How much damage do you actually do to yourself. How should it be slotted? Recharge yourself into the ground. Lol Anyways just posting random Brute stuff. Any input on Energy melee is appreciated though. Thanks

I am running a couple Ice/.... Sentinels. On my current an Ice/Invul I am really noticing how I can use Ice storm to pull and confuse mobs. Not confuse as the power but just flat out lose focus. Freak show tank smashers start running away like sissy’s when I drop the storm So... how can I slot this to get more out of it. Are there procs or frankenslotting that make this better or should I just slot regular enhancers? Also what do I slot for? Damage? Maybe on a blaster but it does take seem to be used as a damage power so much as a “made you stupid” power Thanks

Everyone has a different way of playing. I normally take a Brute and run storylines. Sometimes I do the entire game. Have done redside a few times but Blueside only up to about 35. Did gold 3-4 times. Not since I been back. Highest is 29 redside every story arc on a dark/Invul Brute. I have never done this on other AT. I tried once o a blaster and an EB at 20 left me an emotional wreck lol Can a Sentinel do this? At +0/+0 standard settings. Of course I “Brute ghost” most of these running to the Boss at the end. And the kill all’s? Well Brute on. I suppose the only thing to do is try it Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated

I am not knowledgeable about the exact numbers. I have done rough comparisons by eye in the character creator power info screen. Doesn’t look horrid. I have played a couple dark blast Sentinels to 20-35 with different secondaries. The one I have that uses the high end KB to KD that increases KD % is particularly fun. Does not ‘feel’ underpowered unless I compare it to Energy Blaster

Yeah. I run in pickup groups exclusively and alt a lot. Was running my Brute Snarkenstein on the TF where you fight the freak show in the generator station at the end. Yin? Not sure. Anyways I am of course saying silly things in character Mostly about how pretty the AV was. The group was into it and it flowed nicely. Again tough fight so it was flavor between waves. That is the extent of my rp in game. I would love to get into a regular group. There was a sg invite in broadcast about to rp. I sent a tell got back a few questions and no invite. And I have been playing to since the original d&d Not ad&d. So.... not sure about it at all I do know I like building my characters from backstory to costumes to powers and wandering through CoX having a ball again. Gl

Thanks Sunsett. I took a glance at your guide. I will need to really sit down with it obviously to absorb it Off the top I am lost on what you mean by enenrgyydefense has more tech so it is better. Beautifully written guide. I will dig into it. I think Sentinels are my new Brutes. Tough time for anyone to take away that top spot

I do not know so here I am asking. How good is this? We all know that except for the Psi hole and being pretty unsexy invulnerability is a good solid set. Possibly the best for surviving if you do not cherry pick mobs but run everything But how good is this set in a Blaster. Er Sentinel I tried a few Sentinels with Will and time then finally 50d a Dark/inv Brute. Always a favorite. Now I am back on Sentinels. I really like them. This time I got to thinking about running them at 50. So. Building for defense is always first priority with most of my builds. How good is this armor at Def Debuff resistance? Is it leaps and bounds better than other Sentinel armors at keeping that hard bought defense? Slightly? I am currently pairing this with Dark and Ice. I would like ice to work so then I can stay pure ranged. Even if the range is just the outside edge of the roflstomp madness it still counts as ranged defense

I never take taunt and I Brute a LOT. That said I have a lot of practice Bruting without taunt. One of the reasons is back in the day we had to get fitness and travel powers were a 2 power investment. So that always hurt The second reason is Brutes we’re not designed to tank. I have seen Controllers tank but that does not mean they were designed for it. CoV vision was for MMS to tank. Brutes were envisioned as heavyweight scrapers. In reality Brutes are a straightforward impatient lot and will not stand behind a wall of robots. They charge in eat the alpha strike peg fury and have fun So.... Redside teams learned to work around Brute players by accepting the unchangeable. Brutes charged in then Dons and Corruptirs started locking people down and killing. If you agro it off the Brute do not expect help. Kill it. So the ROFLSTOMP redside teams were born I still run Brutes75% time. I do not take taunt. I aim for the Super Sappers and CoT worst mage I can find or any Boss in general get right up on them and kill them. I run misty Invul and Will armor which I feel is best suited to my favored stupid tactics. No need to taunt. They seem to get the point

Back on live I recall a very cool tech shield. But I cannot find it in the costume creator. Is it still in the game? How do I unlock or load it? Thanks

I have not run an AR / devices in years. How is this combo in the new world? How did the Blaster update change it? I was thinking of soloing some story arcs with a PTSD vigilante type and was looking for any input on how that would go and what would make it enjoyable Thank you

I am going to start a toon today and solo every story arc with a SS /will. Rite. This change does not affect my decision at all. Most of my gaming will be solo. 2 minutes is an eternity to finish the objective room in most missions. If it gets ugly there is always the candy tray I will of course be doing all Blue TF as well. As pointed out the crash ina team is. It as bad. If I truly am Tanking for a TF (rare) then that means I have 7 other damage and support crew with no other Brutes or Tanks. I will be fine forgoing Rage for a few minutes then

So I tried ice/ice for a day or so through 29. Not for me I think I rolled a Elec/Time yesterday and did the DFB salmon run to 18 did a Posi 1 then a Synapse then a Posi 2 and then some kind PLer got me 3 levels in AE. Now at 33. I like how smooth the character is. I did a lot more blapping in the Synapse then I like but the PBAoE is vicious against clocks. On the Posi 2 I did not do it. I might slit it up or not but 99% not. I may even drop it from the final build. A sweet power that does not fit my design I have a four day weekend so this looks like it might be my first 50 in the new world. I really enjoy sitting back and burning stuff down After running a lot of Energy and Dark I am glad for no KB. Just die do not flop around just die lol I will be doing more TFs I started him as a red but had Null switch him at level 1 to Rogue. I have been playing Blueside because teams. This guy is a team build. Planning a Brute for my solo the Blue side every story mountain I never climbed. I will switch him to Vigilante tonite because I can get accolades easier on Blue So. What about Pool/Patron pool? Any advice on what is best for a pure ranged Blaster that isElec/magic concept. As always thanks

What is more effective for late game play. Style is pure ranged with a softcap on ranged def Any feedback is welcomed

I am enjoying blasting again. They fixed some (not all of my pet peeves with Blasters) I am looking to Incarnate a Blaster that fits my play style which is pure range. I can never find a good concept for guns. Too real world for me. For level 50 content. Incarnate TFs tip missions and random radio grinds what plays better Elec or Ice? Conceptually I tend to favor Ice when I run them at low levels. I have not run either at 50 since back on live and never incarnated one Thank you for any insight

Before they were tweaked for the new issues I played an energy energy back on live and had it incarnated I did not have perma hasten but it was close enough. I went for softcap range def as well. I avoided all melee attacks. It was a solid build and played well enough. Having kB as the bulk of your defense is not great at incarnate level or even anything past 40. I do recommend avoiding all melee but that is my play style. Good lick

I always wanted to blast. I ran a few 50. Masters on live and even incarnated an energy energy. Never loved them. They were never what I really wanted a ranged blaster. The design from the ground up is for blapping Blasters still suffer from their genetics. PBAoE tier 9s really? I pass on those. I would take phase shift or anything I will find useful. An invitation to the death zone is not appreciated I am leveling a vampire Snarkula Dark Time at 35 now and loving it. Avoiding all the juicy melee attacks and grabbing hover and sorcery. From sorcery blast power fly+port and Mez prot. Then stealth Inv and phase shift. I need to run a patron arc. (Running this guy as a selfish rogue of course. I think I want dark powers from redside for patron. I looked at the blue power pools and was unimpressed and they did not match theme. Any suggestions here are appreciated. I have not run a blaster past 20 in years lol But I am having marvelous fun. My selfish little blaster has done both poses and a manti and ran sweet. Good teams of course. I am considering some solo story arcs with this type of build Never got a blaster past 29 doing all story arcs. It gets ugly about there with EBs starting to show. Any ideas on that. Powers/build tactics would be welcome Finally the reason for the post. They actually fixed some of the blaster problems. Yeah. Time gives a lot of blue to Blasters and some decent ranged abilities. Rare in a blaster secondary. Most are pure blapping. Except ice. And that gets odd. They fixed the ranges. Mostly. No more 40 60 80 where do I stand nonsense. Okay o need range increase in my dark area Debuff which is at 40. But it is a lot better. In general they shores up some real soft spots in the whole archetype in my opinion

Ice time has great blue power and Ice is the most control happy set of the ranged damage sets in my opinion. If you really want to peg the concept to 11 at the expense of everything else go Ice/Ice. More soft controls and messing with the mobs. It is not a FOTM high damage set. It does okay damage. It is a Blaster after all. But it leans way to control. I like time as a secondary for Blasters because of the End recovery power. No blue no blast. But I ran an I e/Ice a lot back on live simply because I love ranged Blasters. Ice is ranged including the tier 9. So soft cap ranged def and freeze them down

I have not found the paragon wiki page again. Not saying it is accurate but I just saw it a day ago and it said a pvp rating was required to unlock the contact.