6 rookie questions

[kcfalcon]

About a week ago, someone here pointed me to Mid's Hero Builder...and I've been spending hours on it!,...as well as reading tons of posts!  Anyway, I'm starting to get a good idea of the archetype and build I want to develop...a staff/dark armor Brute.  However, I've had several questions come to mind.  I'm guessing that any experienced player could probably answer them all easily, but would love any input!

 

1.  For the build I have in mind, I'd like to skip taking taunt and play him more like a durable scrapper.  Is that ok? ...or will most people I team with expect me to assume the tank role, especially when a tanker is not present?

 

2.  Is "Hasten" considered a must-have for all archetypes?

 

3.  With my current build (which is just the powers I chose...no enhancements yet), it shows my endo usage to be 2.12.  Is this a good place to be before slotting any enhancements?  I've heard (and can see) that dark armor is a real endo hog, but with these numbers, can I expect to get my endo under control so that it won't be a worry?   

 

4.  Regarding question #3, is there a formula or "sweet spot" for calculating where you should be with endo usage?

 

5.  For filling my Knockback hole....should I rely on enhancements or take Acrobatics?   (currently I'm planning on relying on enhancements)

 

6.  Is there a way to see exactly  how much the Form of Soul/Mind/Body affects my stats on Mid's?  When I clicked on them, it didn't seem to make any impact on the numbers...even when I turn on "Combo level 3" and turn on one of the Forms.

 

Thanks in advance for any answers/advice!!

 

 

 

 

[Lazarillo]

1. Completely feasible, though it might not be a bad idea to take it if/when you have an empty space in your build.  Taunt is nicer than a lot of people give it credit for, and is helpful "out of the box" without needing any enhancements.

2. Not really.  There are certain ATs, and certain powersets, and certain builds, that will definitely get a lot of mileage out of it.  There are some that will get almost none at all.

3. It's less about what you use, and more about how much you recover while using it.  It also depends a lot on how much Endurance Reduction you put in your attacks, as those tend to be the true biggest hog on your Endurance bar.  My "gold standard" is always to shoot for 2 end/sec Recovery, and at least 30% Endurance reduction in all powers, if not more.

4. Well, erm, I kinda hit that in #3.  Guess I should've read all the questions before I started to answer?

5. Either is fine, though bear in mind as a new player, the Enhancements may be a little pricey at first (this will quickly change as you play more, though).  I use Acrobatics and 1 enhancement on my /Dark Brute...no matter what, you're going to get knocked back sometimes because of the way the mechanics work, but if you have 8-12-ish for KB protection, it'll be fairly rare.

6. Not sure on that one, sorry.  I haven't checked; Mids incorporates some "stance" sets accurately, some not so much.  I'm not tech savvy enough to provide workarounds but I'm sure someone can.

[Techwright]

44 minutes ago, kcfalcon said:

1.  For the build I have in mind, I'd like to skip taking taunt and play him more like a durable scrapper.  Is that ok? ...or will most people I team with expect me to assume the tank role, especially when a tanker is not present?

 

I've a staff brute, built more like a scrapper.  I'd recommend just defusing any potential issues right up front by explaining immediately to the team as to how he functions.  Usually, you'll have courteous responses.

[kcfalcon]

1 minute ago, Techwright said:

 

I've a staff brute, built more like a scrapper.  I'd recommend just defusing any potential issues right up front by explaining immediately to the team as to how he functions.  Usually, you'll have courteous responses.

Great to know, thanks!!

[kcfalcon]

32 minutes ago, Lazarillo said:

1. Completely feasible, though it might not be a bad idea to take it if/when you have an empty space in your build.  Taunt is nicer than a lot of people give it credit for, and is helpful "out of the box" without needing any enhancements.

2. Not really.  There are certain ATs, and certain powersets, and certain builds, that will definitely get a lot of mileage out of it.  There are some that will get almost none at all.

3. It's less about what you use, and more about how much you recover while using it.  It also depends a lot on how much Endurance Reduction you put in your attacks, as those tend to be the true biggest hog on your Endurance bar.  My "gold standard" is always to shoot for 2 end/sec Recovery, and at least 30% Endurance reduction in all powers, if not more.

4. Well, erm, I kinda hit that in #3.  Guess I should've read all the questions before I started to answer?

5. Either is fine, though bear in mind as a new player, the Enhancements may be a little pricey at first (this will quickly change as you play more, though).  I use Acrobatics and 1 enhancement on my /Dark Brute...no matter what, you're going to get knocked back sometimes because of the way the mechanics work, but if you have 8-12-ish for KB protection, it'll be fairly rare.

6. Not sure on that one, sorry.  I haven't checked; Mids incorporates some "stance" sets accurately, some not so much.  I'm not tech savvy enough to provide workarounds but I'm sure someone can.

Thanks for the great tips...especially on #3!

[Luminara]

53 minutes ago, kcfalcon said:

1.  For the build I have in mind, I'd like to skip taking taunt and play him more like a durable scrapper.  Is that ok? ...or will most people I team with expect me to assume the tank role, especially when a tanker is not present?

 

It's fine.  Someone will always be miffed by choices they wouldn't make, but it's not common here.  Most people agree that we should all be allowed to play what and how we choose.

 

56 minutes ago, kcfalcon said:

2.  Is "Hasten" considered a must-have for all archetypes?

 

Nope.

 

57 minutes ago, kcfalcon said:

3.  With my current build (which is just the powers I chose...no enhancements yet), it shows my endo usage to be 2.12.  Is this a good place to be before slotting any enhancements?  I've heard (and can see) that dark armor is a real endo hog, but with these numbers, can I expect to get my endo under control so that it won't be a worry?   

 

4.  Regarding question #3, is there a formula or "sweet spot" for calculating where you should be with endo usage?

 

Despite all of my number crunching and mechanical knowledge, I've never actually spent any time looking at endurance usage, recovery and play style choices which affect these things.  I go by feel, and wait until I'm at 50 with a character to determine whether I have "enough" recovery.  That said, I also make it a point to slot all of my toggles for Endurance Reduction as much as possible, and use IO sets or frankenslot IOs, so my other powers are typically manageable.  I go by feel.  If it feels good, it's good.

 

1 hour ago, kcfalcon said:

5.  For filling my Knockback hole....should I rely on enhancements or take Acrobatics?   (currently I'm planning on relying on enhancements)

 

Either is fine.  If you're not going to be tanking AVs and GMs, a single -KB IO is going to be sufficient for almost everything you do, and can save you both a few power selections and slots.

 

1 hour ago, kcfalcon said:

6.  Is there a way to see exactly  how much the Form of Soul/Mind/Body affects my stats on Mid's?  When I clicked on them, it didn't seem to make any impact on the numbers...even when I turn on "Combo level 3" and turn on one of the Forms.

 

Toggle on Combo Level 3 and Form of the X, then hover your pointer over the affected powers (Eye of the Storm and Sky Splitter) and look at the effects in the info panel.

[Coyote]

For a Dark Armor character, there is one IO that will be a huge difference. If you get the Theft of Essence IO with a Chance for +Endurance, and put it into Dark Regeneration, it will solve Endurance problems against large groups because it checks on every target hit, and has a chance to return about 10 Endurance for each successful check. It's only against single targets where it's not very useful. But against spawns it can return a lot of Endurance to you when Dark Regeneration is used. This allows you to underslot for Endurance Reduction on AoE attacks (though you still need it  on single-target attacks)

[siolfir]

1. Taunt has the advantage of range and applying a -range effect, but skipping Taunt is a frequent choice for Brutes, and you can tank fine without it. Every time a Brute deals damage they apply a taunt effect to what they hit (Tankers apply a taunt effect to an AoE around the target they hit); Dark Armor has multiple auras that affect the mobs around you, which will keep the mobs' attention focused on you. If there's not a Tanker or another Brute, you'll end up as the de facto tank on teams because of this, whether you intended to be or not.
2. Hasten is not a must-have, but is almost always a nice-to-have. I usually try to fit it in, but...
3. ...Hasten will also cause you to burn through endurance even faster, since your powers will recharge faster and it has an endurance crash when it wears off. That said, Dark Armor has a lot of toggles and is considered bad for endurance usage if all of them are running (this is the key: if all of them are running). You can build for endurance efficiency to overcome it, get temp powers (ex: Recovery Serum from the P2W vendor), refill through IO sets (Panacea, Performance Shifter, Miracle, Numina's Convalescence, and Theft of Essence procs) or Ageless Incarnate, or manage toggles to recover between fights (not ideal for a Brute since you want to always keep moving).
4. @Lazarillo covered this pretty well, and there's a guide here on efficient slotting for endurance recovery.
5. I use -KB enhancements, especially for Dark Armor where yet another toggle is just a way to use more endurance. A list of enemy attacks that do knockback and what magnitude they are can give you an idea of how many you need to get, keeping in mind that the magnitude will be increased when mobs are higher level than you due to the purple patch. My Electric Armor Brute has Grounded (mag 10 while on the ground) and a Steadfast Protection -KB so I don't get tossed around if I'm jumping.
6. Looks like @Luminara has an answer for this... good thing, since I avoid weapon sets and wouldn't know.

 

[Luminara]

10 minutes ago, siolfir said:

Looks like @Luminara has an answer for this... good thing, since I avoid weapon sets and wouldn't know.

 

My main is a Staff/Willpower brute.  It was the only way I could fool the universe into buffing TA, making it think I gave up.

[kcfalcon]

46 minutes ago, Luminara said:

 

It's fine.  Someone will always be miffed by choices they wouldn't make, but it's not common here.  Most people agree that we should all be allowed to play what and how we choose.

 

 

Nope.

 

 

Despite all of my number crunching and mechanical knowledge, I've never actually spent any time looking at endurance usage, recovery and play style choices which affect these things.  I go by feel, and wait until I'm at 50 with a character to determine whether I have "enough" recovery.  That said, I also make it a point to slot all of my toggles for Endurance Reduction as much as possible, and use IO sets or frankenslot IOs, so my other powers are typically manageable.  I go by feel.  If it feels good, it's good.

 

 

Either is fine.  If you're not going to be tanking AVs and GMs, a single -KB IO is going to be sufficient for almost everything you do, and can save you both a few power selections and slots.

 

 

Toggle on Combo Level 3 and Form of the X, then hover your pointer over the affected powers (Eye of the Storm and Sky Splitter) and look at the effects in the info panel.

Thanks much, especially for clarifying #6!

[kcfalcon]

41 minutes ago, Coyote said:

For a Dark Armor character, there is one IO that will be a huge difference. If you get the Theft of Essence IO with a Chance for +Endurance, and put it into Dark Regeneration, it will solve Endurance problems against large groups because it checks on every target hit, and has a chance to return about 10 Endurance for each successful check. It's only against single targets where it's not very useful. But against spawns it can return a lot of Endurance to you when Dark Regeneration is used. This allows you to underslot for Endurance Reduction on AoE attacks (though you still need it  on single-target attacks)

SO helpful...thank you!

[kcfalcon]

42 minutes ago, siolfir said:

1. Taunt has the advantage of range and applying a -range effect, but skipping Taunt is a frequent choice for Brutes, and you can tank fine without it. Every time a Brute deals damage they apply a taunt effect to what they hit (Tankers apply a taunt effect to an AoE around the target they hit); Dark Armor has multiple auras that affect the mobs around you, which will keep the mobs' attention focused on you. If there's not a Tanker or another Brute, you'll end up as the de facto tank on teams because of this, whether you intended to be or not.
2. Hasten is not a must-have, but is almost always a nice-to-have. I usually try to fit it in, but...
3. ...Hasten will also cause you to burn through endurance even faster, since your powers will recharge faster and it has an endurance crash when it wears off. That said, Dark Armor has a lot of toggles and is considered bad for endurance usage if all of them are running (this is the key: if all of them are running). You can build for endurance efficiency to overcome it, get temp powers (ex: Recovery Serum from the P2W vendor), refill through IO sets (Panacea, Performance Shifter, Miracle, Numina's Convalescence, and Theft of Essence procs) or Ageless Incarnate, or manage toggles to recover between fights (not ideal for a Brute since you want to always keep moving).
4. @Lazarillo covered this pretty well, and there's a guide here on efficient slotting for endurance recovery.
5. I use -KB enhancements, especially for Dark Armor where yet another toggle is just a way to use more endurance. A list of enemy attacks that do knockback and what magnitude they are can give you an idea of how many you need to get, keeping in mind that the magnitude will be increased when mobs are higher level than you due to the purple patch. My Electric Armor Brute has Grounded (mag 10 while on the ground) and a Steadfast Protection -KB so I don't get tossed around if I'm jumping.
6. Looks like @Luminara has an answer for this... good thing, since I avoid weapon sets and wouldn't know.

 

Will definitely be copying this for future reference!  Thanks!

[Machariel]

2 hours ago, kcfalcon said:

1.  For the build I have in mind, I'd like to skip taking taunt and play him more like a durable scrapper.

2.  Is "Hasten" considered a must-have for all archetypes?

3.   my endo usage to be 2.12.  Is this a good place to be before slotting any enhancements?  I've heard (and can see) that dark armor is a real endo hog

4.  Regarding question #3, is there a formula or "sweet spot" for calculating where you should be with endo usage?

5.  For filling my Knockback hole....should I rely on enhancements or take Acrobatics?   (currently I'm planning on relying on enhancements)

6.  Is there a way to see exactly  how much the Form of Soul/Mind/Body affects my stats on Mid's?

1) No power is mandatory and in steamrolly teams you may not need to use the taunt power very often, in the sense that crowd control in general becomes less useful on strong teams.  But, for the price of one power and no additional slots, a dedicated taunt is a powerful tool.  Your inherent will be pretty good at holding aggro but a dedicated taunt should make 100% sure that the AV can't switch off of you onto the IO'd out blaster or scrapper for whatever that's worth.

 

2) Hasten is valuable if you have powers on long cooldowns that you want to use as often as possible and/or some of your attacks are significantly better than others.  To me this describes most characters in the game so while hasten isn't mandatory it's a lot of power for again fairly minimal slotting and the power that I see skipped the least.

 

3-4) Others have already covered end use but a dark armor specific tip is that most of your end usage comes from dark regeneration with its base 30 end cost.  This is a great place for the Theft of Essence +endurance proc which can trigger multiple times and leave you even or even ahead on endurance.

 

5) I think relying on enhancements is a better plan.  I prefer finding the extra enhancement slots (or set bonuses) to locking up a pool power pick

 

6) As Luminara says the utility is there, but I think this is one part where Mid's can get a little buggy so definitely confirm with the Combat Attributes tab in-game 🙂

Edited December 2, 2020 by Machariel

[kcfalcon]

9 minutes ago, Machariel said:

1) No power is mandatory and in steamrolly teams you may not need to use the taunt power very often, in the sense that crowd control in general becomes less useful on strong teams.  But, for the price of one power and no additional slots, a dedicated taunt on.  Your inherent will be pretty good at holding aggro but a dedicated taunt should make 100% sure that the AV can't switch off of you onto the IO'd out blaster or scrapper for whatever that's worth.

 

2) Hasten is valuable if you have powers on long cooldowns that you want to use as often as possible and/or some of your attacks are significantly better than others.  To me this describes most characters in the game so while hasten isn't mandatory it's a lot of power for again fairly minimal slotting and the power that I see skipped the least.

 

3-4) Others have already covered end use but a dark armor specific tip is that most of your end usage comes from dark regeneration with its base 30 end cost.  This is a great place for the Theft of Essence +endurance proc which can trigger multiple times and leave you even or even ahead on endurance.

 

5) I think relying on enhancements is a better plan.  I prefer finding the extra enhancement slots (or set bonuses) to locking up a pool power pick

 

6) As Luminara says the utility is there, but I think this is one part where Mid's can get a little buggy so definitely confirm with the Combat Attributes tab in-game 🙂

Thanks for the advice...and #1 definitely makes sense.

[Ironblade]

2 hours ago, kcfalcon said:

1.  For the build I have in mind, I'd like to skip taking taunt and play him more like a durable scrapper.  Is that ok? ...or will most people I team with expect me to assume the tank role, especially when a tanker is not present?

Most people?  No.  But there will always be some.

Personally, I always take Taunt, even on the tanks I build for soloing.  It's unique to tanks and a defining power.  And, since you were thinking about taking Acrobatics anyway......

 

2 hours ago, kcfalcon said:

2.  Is "Hasten" considered a must-have for all archetypes?

Oh, hell no.  I have Hasten on two characters - one is a stone tank and one so I could get perma Accelerate Metabolism.

I plan to take it on a third character at level 49 since he is built specifically for maximum DPS in the Magisterium incarnate trial.

Even back when the game was live, I only had Hasten on about 4 characters out of just over 40.

 

2 hours ago, kcfalcon said:

3.  With my current build (which is just the powers I chose...no enhancements yet), it shows my endo usage to be 2.12.  Is this a good place to be before slotting any enhancements?  I've heard (and can see) that dark armor is a real endo hog, but with these numbers, can I expect to get my endo under control so that it won't be a worry?

um, not a clue since I don't use Mids.  Having said that, I had a dark/dark tank before Incarnate powers existed and you can easily manage the endurance situation by partly focusing on +recovery IO set bonuses.

 

2 hours ago, kcfalcon said:

4.  Regarding question #3, is there a formula or "sweet spot" for calculating where you should be with endo usage?

Dunno, but the way I did my calculations, my dark/dark tank had +48% recovery bonus.  That is not counting Stamina or the slotting in it, but it did count Physical Perfection and IO's.

 

2 hours ago, kcfalcon said:

5.  For filling my Knockback hole....should I rely on enhancements or take Acrobatics?   (currently I'm planning on relying on enhancements)

Enhancements and there are many options.  On a tank, you'll probably want two of them for 8 pts of KNB protection.  Any other AT can get away with 4 pts.

 

2 hours ago, kcfalcon said:

6.  Is there a way to see exactly  how much the Form of Soul/Mind/Body affects my stats on Mid's?

Oops, back to Mids.  Can't help ya there.

 

[kcfalcon]

5 minutes ago, Ironblade said:

Most people?  No.  But there will always be some.

Personally, I always take Taunt, even on the tanks I build for soloing.  It's unique to tanks and a defining power.  And, since you were thinking about taking Acrobatics anyway......

 

Oh, hell no.  I have Hasten on two characters - one is a stone tank and one so I could get perma Accelerate Metabolism.

I plan to take it on a third character at level 49 since he is built specifically for maximum DPS in the Magisterium incarnate trial.

Even back when the game was live, I only had Hasten on about 4 characters out of just over 40.

 

um, not a clue since I don't use Mids.  Having said that, I had a dark/dark tank before Incarnate powers existed and you can easily manage the endurance situation by partly focusing on +recovery IO set bonuses.

 

Dunno, but the way I did my calculations, my dark/dark tank had +48% recovery bonus.  That is not counting Stamina or the slotting in it, but it did count Physical Perfection and IO's.

 

Enhancements and there are many options.  On a tank, you'll probably want two of them for 8 pts of KNB protection.  Any other AT can get away with 4 pts.

 

Oops, back to Mids.  Can't help ya there.

 

Thanks Ironblade!  #5 is good to know!

[Ghost]

You dont have to worry about #1 

If there is a scrapper or brute on your team, they will try to be lead tank anyways 🙂

[kcfalcon]

24 minutes ago, Ghost said:

You dont have to worry about #1 

If there is a scrapper or brute on your team, they will try to be lead tank anyways 🙂

Lol!  Awesome, good to know!

[Six-Six]

From one newb to another:

 

1.  For the build I have in mind, I'd like to skip taking taunt and play him more like a durable scrapper.  Is that ok? ...or will most people I team with expect me to assume the tank role, especially when a tanker is not present?

By all means, skip it. Attacking draws aggro anyway. I would like to add that for my toons that have a taunt power, I usually skip it and instead take Presence pool's Provoke, which can open up more useful powers for me. Also, I've seen players use the taunting ability very effectively, like taking the aggro off a team mate who's about to die.

 

2.  Is "Hasten" considered a must-have for all archetypes? 

Of course not. I've taken hasten exactly zero times. I have 35 Level 50s and a couple of dozen more alts to go. Some people swear by it, but I don't deem it necessary. Keep in mind that while it quickens your recharge it will also drain end faster (because you're using your powers more often in the same amount of time). 

 

3 & 4.  With my current build (which is just the powers I chose...no enhancements yet), it shows my endo usage to be 2.12.  Is this a good place to be before slotting any enhancements?  I've heard (and can see) that dark armor is a real endo hog, but with these numbers, can I expect to get my endo under control so that it won't be a worry?   Regarding question #3, is there a formula or "sweet spot" for calculating where you should be with endo usage?

What you need to consider is how your consumption compares to your recovery. I usually monitor these two things and try to make it a ratio of 1:2 or I try to get my end consumption half of what my recovery is. Some powers, like toggles, tend to guzzle your end, so take care of those by slotting an end redux. Pay attention to your blue bar. It's normal to dip to half or less in the lower levels. but if you're constantly draining your end in the higher levels, then you need to address it. Set IOs are not necessary, I have toons that don't use set IOs and do quite fine. However, set IOs offer set bonuses that do add up. If you're suffering from too high end usage, shop around for set bonuses that offer end discount or +max end. there are a handful of uniques that are quite popular (like Performance Shifter +endurance, Miracle's +Recovery, Numina, and Panacea to name a few). Dark Armour on a brute is strong, but also tends to be high on the end usage in the low to mid levels. You can mitigate this by postponing taking some of the toggles until your recovery can handle it, or when you have enough slots to address it. Fortunately, Staff Fighting has a Form to make you more efficient IIRC.

 

5.  For filling my Knockback hole....should I rely on enhancements or take Acrobatics?   (currently I'm planning on relying on enhancements) 

Acrobatics from Leaping Pool isn't that great, TBH. You would be better off slotting IOs with direct KB protection, like Steadfast or Blessing of the Zephyr, and/or set bonuses (can't remember which set(s) offer KB protection atm).

 

6.  Is there a way to see exactly  how much the Form of Soul/Mind/Body affects my stats on Mid's?  When I clicked on them, it didn't seem to make any impact on the numbers...even when I turn on "Combo level 3" and turn on one of the Forms.

Haven't played staff in a while, but I don't think you need to go to MIDs. You can check it in game through the enhancement management screen and More Details. It should list the values with and without slotted IOs. You can adjust the slider on top for higher levels if you want to extrapolate.

 

[kcfalcon]

28 minutes ago, Six Six said:

From one newb to another:

 

1.  For the build I have in mind, I'd like to skip taking taunt and play him more like a durable scrapper.  Is that ok? ...or will most people I team with expect me to assume the tank role, especially when a tanker is not present?

By all means, skip it. Attacking draws aggro anyway. I would like to add that for my toons that have a taunt power, I usually skip it and instead take Presence pool's Provoke, which can open up more useful powers for me. 

 

 

 

What you need to consider is how your consumption compares to your recovery. I usually monitor these two things and try to make it a ratio of 1:2 or I try to get my end consumption half of what my recovery is. 

 

Great suggestion about the "Presence" pool...and that would fit great thematically with a Dark Armor build!  

Your 1:2 ratio approach sounds like a great rule of thumb!

Thanks!!   (btw, you have "35 level 50's" and refer to yourself as a "newb"!   lol!   Love it!  😉 

[Six-Six]

If you consider how many ATs there are, how many different power set combinations, and how many different ways you can build each one, then I am much much lower than a newb. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of this game.  😃 
 

[Gulbasaur]

1. Tankers have an AoE taunt effect on most (all?) attacks, as well as often having taunt auras. You should be okay.

2. Nope, not even nearly. Some sets have big flashy powers with long cooldowns, but others mostly rely on bread and butter attack chains. I usually skip it unless I'm building something that deliberately abuses recharge (Storm, peacebringers/dominators spring to mind)

3&4. It's hard to tell without playing it. You can always copy your character over to the beta server and try it out on a theoretical build.

5. I actually find Hover works well, but enhancements will cover you most of the time.

6. You can - scroll down a bit, they're just hidden.

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Gulbasaur

[Doomguide2005]

To add to what others have said:

1. I wouldn't worry about it.  On a Tank I'd probably note it so others would know what to expect.  On a Brute, for me personally, I almost expect the opposite ... it's more noteworthy to find out the Brute has Taunt and intends to tank than not.  Seems like most grab it as much to help their 'scrapper' side deal with runners or the annoying foe that wants to fly away and stay at range than to truly tank.  As others said if there is no Tank on the team, you'll tend to get the aggro anyway.

 

2. Hasten for me is not a mandatory thing but build dependent.  I'd personally probably lean towards yes for Dark Armor but I also probably wouldn't worry about having it until the build was maturing maybe even respec into it later after becoming comfortable with how the build worked for me and my playstyle.

 

3&4.  Everyone seems to do it a little different.  I tend to look at my net recovery in Mids with all my toggles 'on' that I normally expect to run.  Toggles are a baseline use, that usage is always there unless someplace very safe and quiet (AH, University, in my SG base etc.).  So my concern is going to be do I net enough endurance to cover my clicks/attacks that I'll use in combat.  If you're really into number crunching you can calculate that number, but most folks get headaches trying to do that.  For me I will aim for 2.5 end/sec net recovery (mouse over recovery in Mids to pop this up) as a starting point.  The vast majority of the time that's enough to go non-stop.  Over 3.0 and you'll probably only see your end bar 'twitch'.  From 2.0 to 2.5 I expect to need to watch my use, maybe use an occasional blue or just not immediately charge to next spawn but in general not hugely problematic.  From 1.5 to 2.0 I expect to have issues, manageable but potentially problematic and need to alter play style/pace (use Rest, need blues, etc.).  Under 1.5 is an issue, risk of running out mid-fight is practically a sure thing.  Need to alter build or expectations.  

 

5.  IOs for sure and totally agree with @Ironblade assessment though I'd probably change need 8 from "on a tank" to "when tanking/solo" unless you've a high tolerance for getting knocked about (and if you got the aggro they'll chase you just as happily as if you meant to move 'over there').  And I'd definitely skip Acrobatics...unless things got changed from when last I looked it's another toggle (more end use to deal with) and not a particularly cheap toggle to boot.  As an aside high (capped) defense will also make getting knocked happen less just by itself.  Can't knock/mez what you can't hit and all that.

 

6.  Reads others advice as I've no clue and currently can't use Mids to experiment.

Edited December 2, 2020 by Doomguide2005
Typos

[Saikochoro]

19 hours ago, kcfalcon said:

About a week ago, someone here pointed me to Mid's Hero Builder...and I've been spending hours on it!,...as well as reading tons of posts!  Anyway, I'm starting to get a good idea of the archetype and build I want to develop...a staff/dark armor Brute.  However, I've had several questions come to mind.  I'm guessing that any experienced player could probably answer them all easily, but would love any input!

 

1.  For the build I have in mind, I'd like to skip taking taunt and play him more like a durable scrapper.  Is that ok? ...or will most people I team with expect me to assume the tank role, especially when a tanker is not present?

 

2.  Is "Hasten" considered a must-have for all archetypes?

 

3.  With my current build (which is just the powers I chose...no enhancements yet), it shows my endo usage to be 2.12.  Is this a good place to be before slotting any enhancements?  I've heard (and can see) that dark armor is a real endo hog, but with these numbers, can I expect to get my endo under control so that it won't be a worry?   

 

4.  Regarding question #3, is there a formula or "sweet spot" for calculating where you should be with endo usage?

 

5.  For filling my Knockback hole....should I rely on enhancements or take Acrobatics?   (currently I'm planning on relying on enhancements)

 

6.  Is there a way to see exactly  how much the Form of Soul/Mind/Body affects my stats on Mid's?  When I clicked on them, it didn't seem to make any impact on the numbers...even when I turn on "Combo level 3" and turn on one of the Forms.

 

Thanks in advance for any answers/advice!!

 

 

 

 

1. I don’t take taunt on my brutes. They can soak the alpha and take aggro without it. If you want to skip it that is completely fine. It’s also completely fine to take it. Purely personal preference. 
 

2.  You’ll find that things like hasten come with some strong opinions. For me, it is a must have on all my 80+ characters. I don’t have a single character that doesn’t take it. Any set and archetype can benefit from higher recharge whether it be to recharge click defensive cooldowns faster or to purely have a tighter/faster attack chain. You’d be hard pressed to find a more valuable pool power.  That said, it is not universally considered mandatory as evidenced by the replies already.  Don’t feel pressured into taking it, but also know that it is a very powerful pick. Again, comes down to preference and is thus not mandatory. 
 

3. Endurance consumption will improve with slotting and set bonuses (assuming you use sets). Most all sets have endurance reduction. If you don’t use set IOs, then make sure to slot some endurance reduction in attacks and toggles.

 

4.  The difference between recovery and consumption is more important. I like to have at least 2 end/sec greater recovery than my endurance consumption. So if my consumption is 1.5 end/sec I shoot for 3.5 end/sec recovery. You have some wiggle room when you slot endurance procs like theft of essence. Invaluable endurance management IOs include: miracle + recovery, numinas convalescence +Regen/recovery, panacea +hp/end, performance shifter + end, and theft of essence + end. I slot miracle, numinas, and panacea in health. I slot performance shifter in stamina. Performance shifter proc can be slotted multiple times, so if you take physical perfection you can slot another proc in there too. And like others said, slot theft of essence proc in dark Regen. 
 

5. I agree with others assessment to use IOs. 
 

6. It’s been a while since I played with staff in mids. When you toggle on the forms and combo levels I would think you should be able to see a difference if you were to look at a power. For example lock the info screen on sky splitter. Then toggle on form of body and go through the combo levels. You should see the damage increase slightly with the stacks. I may be wrong though, I’ll have to get into mids and see later. 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Saikochoro

[Bill Z Bubba]

6 minutes ago, Saikochoro said:

For me, it is a must have on all my 80+ characters.

Sad but true.

 

Had the thought the other day that hasten should be turned into a passive +20% recharge/movement buff.

 

Then I pondered the pitchforks and torches.