Did I err? Martial Arts/Shield Defense Brute

[Gravimetric]

I haven't seen a discussion of this Powerset Combination yet on this forum. Is this a totally inefficient mashup? What did I miss?

For context, just got him to 50 and three Incarnate abilities unlocked. Haven't built him out with IO sets yet.  Conceptually a super-patriot, thematically "Captain Juneteenth".

 

[nihilii]

Brute MA is arguably the weakest version of MA available across all ATs. EC doing +damage just doesn't do much for Brutes. Storm Kick's +def is admittedly nice as a buffer against defense debuffs, but then you're Shield so likely softcapped with decent DDR. Which makes most people yearn they had more damage instead.

 

Shield doesn't get much of a benefit for being a Brute specifically, because the aggro aura makes up for the lack of punchvoke on Scrappers. And the +damage benefits Scrappers more than twice as much as Brutes, due to their higher base damage and nonreliance on Fury.

 

I don't think you've missed anything. There's nothing inherently wrong or inefficient about a MA/SD brute,; but the above might explain the lack of discussion.

[ChocolateMercenary]

It won't be great, but it won't be bad. Also, good job on the name.

[Werner]

I think it's a good choice. Maximizing DPS on my Shield/MA Tanker actually involved dropping Eagles Claw, so getting less benefit from its damage buff on a Brute just makes that decision more clear. If you want to incarnate soft cap, which I'd try to do an a MA/Shield Brute, the 7.5% defense will be very helpful. I would be sad "losing" the extra damage from Shield on a Brute, which might push me more towards something like MA/Invuln, say, if I were starting from scratch, but that obviously doesn't work with your concept (well, what I'd actually do is make a Shield/MA Tanker, since that's what I actually did). I think MA/Shield would be just fine on a Bute, just maybe not quite optimal enough to bring out all the min/max discussions.

Edited October 18, 2020 by Werner

[ninja surprise]

If you enjoy it and have a theme you like then it's a great choice.

[Shred Monkey]

I was looking for some posts about brute ma or brute /shield as well since I'm playing one up currently.  I was surprised I had to go this far back in the forums to find anything.  But I think that's because brute forums seem to be mostly about farming.

 

This isn't a farming build... it's also not a Single Target specialist, but if that's what you want then a scrapper or stalker will be better anyway.  From my theory crafting (and the reason I'm playing one) is that MA/Shield Brute  should be able to reach very extreme survivability, while doing about 15-20% more DPS then a tank version.

 

Also, IMHO, MA/Shield is a solid winner in the "looks cool" category.

 

I considered MA/invul like Werner mentioned above, but if I was going to give up Defense Debuff Resists (DDR), I'd just go back to one of my blasters.

[Carnifax]

I think one of the issues is that shield charge will only typically benefit from 200% - 210% damage buff because it works as a pseudopet.

 

Pseudopets have a 400% limit, you start at 100% like everyone else and you'll have another ~95% from enhancements. 

 

So throw Fury on top on that and chances are you're hitting that without any other help from other buffs from yourself and teammates.

 

Frankenslotting it with procs may help with that though. 

[Nightmarer 2]

On 11/1/2020 at 10:10 PM, ninja surprise said:

If you enjoy it and have a theme you like then it's a great choice.

This, very much this

 

[Grindingsucks]

There is no "Error".  I'm currently having a blast with a broadsword/regeneration Brute- widely recognized as one of the worst two powersets in the game.  I'm playing missions at +3/0 and doing just fine.

 

So our toons can't swing our dicks around as aggressively as the other guys, with their overpowered, dick-swinging toons.  So what?

 

Just play what seems interesting to you and have fun!  😉👍

[Cendwar]

2 hours ago, Grindingsucks said:

There is no "Error".  I'm currently having a blast with a broadsword/regeneration Brute- widely recognized as one of the worst two powersets in the game.  I'm playing missions at +3/0 and doing just fine.

 

So our toons can't swing our dicks around as aggressively as the other guys, with their overpowered, dick-swinging toons.  So what?

 

Just play what seems interesting to you and have fun!  😉👍

/regen Is an absolute love of mine. Perma dull pain, IH/RoP can be rotated without cooldown, and you can make the most of your support teammates without hitting caps. Your only real showstoppers are -regen debuffs.

 

To get back on topic, as others have said CoH is balanced enough so that playing what you like most can work. No matter your build.

 

People still do like to play whatever's "best" though, with that said MA is lacking in the AoE department a bit, and they don't get their only AoE until 26. So that's what's up with that.