Lightning Rod on a brute

[saltyorange]

So I wanted to roll an electric melee character, wasn't sure which AT I was going to pick but was leaning towards a brute but after looking at the mechanics on lightning rod I feel like brute is the worst AT for ELM.

 

Scrapper can have the most raw damage output with it, Stalker can hit without breaking hidden and also gets AS to help with EM to give it a single target damage so you would pick Brute for what? More durability? Well no because at that point you would pick Tanker which weirdly enough will also hit harder with Lightning Rod than a Brute will and also gets benefit of bigger AOE on Thunderstrike.

 

What I am asking here is am I missing something or is there no reason to pick Electric melee on a brute and does this seem like something that should get changed?

Edited September 16, 2021 by saltyorange

[Omega Force]

Nope, you nailed it.

[drgantz]

Is  Electric Armor good on a brute?  I'm planning on making an Elec/Elec.   I think that Elec Armor would be bad on a Stalker because it is a resist set.  I think that an Elec/Elec would be best in a big crowd of baddies, so I think this combo would be good on a brute.

[ZorkNemesis]

Electric on a Brute can be good.  Solid resistances to all but Toxic (you'll cap Energy resist which is a pretty common damage late-game), good self heal and endurance management tools, near immunity to endurance drains (suck it, Sappers and Carnies!), and you even get your own version of Quickness with Lightning Reflexes.  

 

It's not without drawbacks though.  Chief issues: no Defense powers, Elec Armor is all Resists.  Knockback protection requires being on the ground and is suppressed if jumping or flying, you may need to invest in KB protection IOs to help.  Zero Toxic resistance (outside of Power Surge) which is a little harder to patch up then the common Psi holes other armor sets offer.  Endurance tools come late; Power Sink is at 35 and Energize at 28.  Might be trouble with four toggles and the recharge boost eating End until then.

 

I still think it's fun.  It's a good set if you want to be a tanky brute and it's a solid solo play set later on with a good amount of self-sufficiency.

 

Edited October 13, 2021 by ZorkNemesis

[Without_Pause]

I've never felt the need to slot KB protection in my /elec brutes.

[Erratic1]

On 10/13/2021 at 1:13 AM, drgantz said:

Is  Electric Armor good on a brute?  I'm planning on making an Elec/Elec.   I think that Elec Armor would be bad on a Stalker because it is a resist set.  I think that an Elec/Elec would be best in a big crowd of baddies, so I think this combo would be good on a brute.

 

Electric Armor is perfectly good on a Brute. But Electric Melee....well...errr....

 

And no, I have never taken extra KB protection on any of my Electric Armor characters. Suffering knockback in the air just does not come up enough to worry about.

[drgantz]

4 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

 

Electric Armor is perfectly good on a Brute. But Electric Melee....well...errr....

 

I would assume that Electric Melee would be good since it is largely aoe, increasing rage.

[Without_Pause]

The problem is, IIRC, Lightning Rod uses pet mechanisms so it isn't impacted by fury. Tanks can hit more targets with the AoEs. ElecM is basically, Stalkers >>> Everybody else.

[arcane]

5 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

The problem is, IIRC, Lightning Rod uses pet mechanisms so it isn't impacted by fury. Tanks can hit more targets with the AoEs. ElecM is basically, Stalkers >>> Everybody else.

ElecM is Stalker > Scrapper > Tanker > Brute specifically 🙂

[Without_Pause]

If LR doesn't crit due to the pet aspect, I would put a Tank over a Scrapper. Still, Brutes rank last.

[arcane]

12 minutes ago, Without_Pause said:

If LR doesn't crit due to the pet aspect, I would put a Tank over a Scrapper. Still, Brutes rank last.

I put Scrapper second moreso because you get a snipe, making the single target situation bearable. Kind of the midpoint between Stalker’s no-problems-at-all and Brute/Tanker’s everyone-take-5-while-I-kill-this-boss.

Edited October 14, 2021 by arcane