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Long time player: First time Brute


n00baka

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I’ve played a long time, and really only played Brute a little. The melee ATs never really appealed to me, honestly, and the WS always gave me the “look at me, I’m a tank!” feel when I needed it. But here I am, after making a Spines / Stone Armor Brute going “wow, this is fun so far, but where do I go from here?”

 

So I checked the board and didn’t find anything for Stone Armor, and I’m sure there’s a reason, but I’m hoping to solicit people’s opinions on the combination, or individual Powersets. Keep in mind that I’m pretty new to melee ATs, so talk to me like I’ve never done anything but team with them, because that is pretty accurate.

 

At best, his would be for pretty casual play, no record breaking plays by me, tyvm.

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/WP is 'I just wanna play and not stress' incarnate.

 

Stones will be a tough/unusual choice, and by its nature (IMHO) lends itself to 'I want to smash the game with my indestructibility and will pay any price to do so' rather than 'casual play'.

 

Spines is a solid choice for AOEing down the baddies - which always feels good!  Youll struggle with hard single targets (AVs will take some build planning if you want to solo them), but there aint nothing wrong with it as a set.

 

That said, if your having fun, your having fun, and we can all go stuff ourselves. :)  Id recommend leveraging the odd defenses of stone, and save Granite for an emergency power/I need to tank for the big group.

Great Justice - Invuln/Energy Melee Tank

Ann Atomic - Radiation/Super Strength Tank

Elecutrix - Electric Blast/Super Reflexes Sentinel

Ramayael - Titan Weapons/Bio Scrapper

C'len - Spines/Bio Brute

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I'm afraid I am kind of stuck on Stone Armor for some reason. Probably the aesthetics. Since I haven't seen much on leveraging the defenses of Stone, that brings up an interesting point. It has some weird divisions of Defense and Resistance and I'm not sure why. Any advice on that end? And I guess I'm interested in knowing if it's a good idea to pick both damage auras, or would one be better then both?

 

If I do feel the need to try a different powerset, it might be Shield. But I did have my heart on Spines, for some reason.

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I can only theorycraft on Stone, TBH - Ive not played it up.  Id THINK the answer is 'being defensive against some and resistant against others is just fine, and youll patch up the defenses and resistance at 50 with IOs'.

 

As for your auras - its one of the strong points of the set.  If not immediately, Id think eventually.

 

Beyond that, most of the experienced Stone players are Tanks - you might consider asking over on that board, probably more likely to eyeballs that have played the set heavily.

Great Justice - Invuln/Energy Melee Tank

Ann Atomic - Radiation/Super Strength Tank

Elecutrix - Electric Blast/Super Reflexes Sentinel

Ramayael - Titan Weapons/Bio Scrapper

C'len - Spines/Bio Brute

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If nothing else you need to play it to granite to see what quills coming out of that looks like. Prolly worth a chuckle. Definitely take both auras though. Never leave click free damage on the table.

 

Granite brutes can io built to overcome their movement speed problems but you probably will still need tp for those curbs unless you have room for spring attack. With +5s you can also hit resist caps on brute. They're tough but end of the day you just have to judge whether that's worth the trade offs. I have seen some no granite stoners back on the live servers but that's against the grain as granite is really the big draw.

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In granite, while you are nigh-indestructible, you can't step up on a sidewalk, you need tp. I also believe your damage is diminished. /WP or even /Inv can be built to be nearly as tough, without the drawbacks.

 

According to City of Data it's a 30% reduction.

 

You could offset that with the right primary, but you would still be behind where you otherwise would have been with another secondary set.

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Alternate Opinion - Due to the way the Fury Mechanic leverages a large bonus across a small base, a Brute will 'feel' the penalty of Granite less than a Tank, because its debuffing a smaller damage base, and theres a large bonus riding in on the coattails of fury.

Great Justice - Invuln/Energy Melee Tank

Ann Atomic - Radiation/Super Strength Tank

Elecutrix - Electric Blast/Super Reflexes Sentinel

Ramayael - Titan Weapons/Bio Scrapper

C'len - Spines/Bio Brute

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If I do feel the need to try a different powerset, it might be Shield. But I did have my heart on Spines, for some reason.

 

Go scrapper if you do as scrappers benefit more from +dmg.

Top 10 Most Fun 50s.

1. Without Mercy: Claws/ea Scrapper. 2. Outsmart: Fort 3. Sneakers: Stj/ea Stalker. 4. Emma Strange: Ill/dark Controller. 5. Project Next: Ice/stone Brute. 6. Waterpark: Water/temp Blaster. 6. Mighty Matt: Rad/bio Brute. 7. Without Hesitation: Claws/sr Scrapper. 8. Within Reach: Axe/stone Brute. 9. Without Pause: Claws/wp Brute.  10. Chasing Fireworks: Fire/time Controller. 

 

"Downtime is for mortals. Debt is temporary. Fame is forever."

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If you really want pain, you go with stone armor titan weapon.

 

It's sorta like having lunch while launching a nuke. Every once in a while you click on a button and watch the world melt, but it's all happening in VERY slow motion.

 

Ive got two TWs (none stone)

I still loled.

Great Justice - Invuln/Energy Melee Tank

Ann Atomic - Radiation/Super Strength Tank

Elecutrix - Electric Blast/Super Reflexes Sentinel

Ramayael - Titan Weapons/Bio Scrapper

C'len - Spines/Bio Brute

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I’m really grateful for all the advice and warnings. I may be a masochist, but I doubt I’ll go for Titan Weapon, that just sounds like a cry for help, lol.

 

So as of now, We Are All Trees is a tiny level 13, but has been going strong. Granted, it’s hard to do poorly at that stage, so we’ll see what happens closer to 20 when the lack of Enh start affecting me.

 

I’ve gathered that Acc, End Red, Rech are the three main Enhancements to aim for in he lower levels, and that’s been pretty solid so far. Once I start looking at sets, should I be trying to push for a Smashing / Lethal defense soft cap? Or should Recharge be my goal (it is my default set bonus)?

 

I will go look in the Tanker section, see if anyone has already answered my questions, or provided a bit of knowledge I can steal, then ask for more advice there to get more eyes.

 

Oh! One more thing: Is the size of Granite related to the size of the character, or are they independant from each other?

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Should be pretty easy to softcap to all but psi/toxic. I'd build toward that and recharge picking up as much movement speed as possible. Also though softcap defense is more important, those last few percentage points to hit resist caps are non-trivial. Should be easier now with better resist bonuses available. My friend who had one on live was only able to do it boosting hami-os, and iirc only in s/l, but he could tell a difference, especially against Babs in rsf and on incarnate trials.

 

Granite scales with character size. I had a huge and it was covered.

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non-Granite Spines/SA

 

this was a blast to build although i'm disappointed i didn't quite hit softcap on f/c/e/n.  it was the cost of aiming for high recharge and high damage.  it does manage some pretty strong regen/healing, at least.

 

I built it around Agility Alpha because Alpha is so relatively easy to max and important to balance set bonuses around.  I didn't set up any other Incarnate abilities, but you'll probably want to consider either Support Radial Hybrid or Ageless Destiny (either, Core is incredibly easy but actually exceeds your needs, while Radial fills in some debuff resistance at the cost of an uneven haste).  Doing both would be overkill on a DPS.

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Brute

Primary Power Set: Spines

Secondary Power Set: Stone Armor

Power Pool: Leadership

Power Pool: Fighting

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Teleportation

Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

 

Villain Profile:

Level 1: Barb Swipe -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(42), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(43)

Level 1: Rock Armor -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(3), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(3), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(15)

Level 2: Spine Burst -- Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Erd-Dmg/Rchg(5), Erd-Dmg(5), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42)

Level 4: Stone Skin -- Ags-Psi/Status(A), Ags-ResDam(9), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(9), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(21), GldArm-3defTpProc(39)

Level 6: Earth's Embrace -- Ags-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(7), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(7), DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(15), DctWnd-Heal(50)

Level 8: Impale -- Empty(A)

Level 10: Mud Pots -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(11), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(45)

Level 12: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(13), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(13)

Level 14: Boxing -- Empty(A)

Level 16: Rooted -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal(17), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(17), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(48), Prv-Heal/Rchg(48), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(50)

Level 18: Quills -- OvrFrc-Dam/KB(A), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(19), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(19), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(46)

Level 20: Brimstone Armor -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(21), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(39), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Ags-ResDam(40)

Level 22: Tough -- Ags-ResDam(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(23), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(40), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(36)

Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(25), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(25)

Level 26: Ripper -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(27), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(34)

Level 28: Crystal Armor -- Rct-ResDam%(A), Rct-Def(29), Rct-Def/EndRdx(29), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(37), Rct-Def/Rchg(37), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37)

Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31)

Level 32: Throw Spines -- SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg(A), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), SprFrzBls-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), SprFrzBls-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(34), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(34)

Level 35: Minerals -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(36)

Level 38: Superior Conditioning -- EffAdp-EndMod(A), EffAdp-EndMod/Rchg(39)

Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(46)

Level 44: Granite Armor -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 47: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 49: Teleport -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

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: Fury

Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)

Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(48), Pnc-Heal/+End(50)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(46)

Level 0: Born In Battle

Level 0: High Pain Threshold

Level 0: Invader

Level 0: Marshal

Level 50: Agility Radial Paragon

------------

 

 

 

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No-Set Builds: Tanker Scrapper Brute Stalker

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Here's my Rad/Stone Brute, gets enough speed to comfortably walk around with Granite+Rooted in combat and enough to run around with just Granite. Also gets some psi resistance (40%) to fix the hole, and has enough slots in other armors to run with them for easy content or heavy psi content.

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Ground Zero: Level 50 Science Brute

Primary Power Set: Radiation Melee

Secondary Power Set: Stone Armor

Power Pool: Fighting

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Teleportation

Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

 

Villain Profile:

Level 1: Radioactive Smash -- Hct-Dam%(A), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Hct-Acc/Rchg(3), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(33), Hct-Dmg(36)

Level 1: Rock Armor -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), GifoftheA-Run+(7), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(36), Rct-ResDam%(37)

Level 2: Proton Sweep -- Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Erd-Acc/Rchg(29), Erd-Dmg(31)

Level 4: Stone Skin -- ImpArm-ResPsi(A), UnbGrd-Max HP%(45), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(48)

Level 6: Earth's Embrace -- ImpArm-ResPsi(A), Pnc-Heal(9), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(11), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(11), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(13), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(31)

Level 8: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)

Level 10: Radiation Siphon -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(13), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(15), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), TchoftheN-Heal(25), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal(25)

Level 12: Mud Pots -- Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Erd-Acc/Rchg(21), Erd-Dmg(27), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), EndRdx-I(31)

Level 14: Tough -- Ags-ResDam(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(21), Ags-Psi/Status(45), GldArm-3defTpProc(48), ImpArm-ResPsi(50)

Level 16: Rooted -- Pnc-Heal(A), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(17), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(17), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(19), Pnc-Heal/+End(19)

Level 18: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(46), GifoftheA-Run+(48)

Level 20: Super Speed -- WntGif-ResSlow(A)

Level 22: Irradiated Ground -- Erd-Acc/Rchg(A), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), EndRdx-I(43), AchHee-ResDeb%(43), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(46)

Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(43)

Level 26: Devastating Blow -- SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(A), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(42), AchHee-ResDeb%(42)

Level 28: Crystal Armor -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), GifoftheA-Run+(29)

Level 30: Teleport -- Jnt-EndRdx/Rng(A)

Level 32: Atom Smasher -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Arm-Acc/Rchg(33), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(36), Arm-Dmg(45)

Level 35: Minerals -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), GifoftheA-Run+(46)

Level 38: Granite Armor -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(39), GifoftheA-Run+(39), Ags-ResDam(39), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(40), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(40)

Level 41: Taunt -- Range-I(A)

Level 44: Superior Conditioning -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(50)

Level 47: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(50)

Level 49: Fusion -- RechRdx-I(A)

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

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 -- UnbLea-Stlth(A)

Level 1: Fury

Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A), Run-I(5)

Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(34), Prv-Absorb%(34)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod/Acc(5), PrfShf-EndMod(7)

Level 0: Born In Battle

Level 0: High Pain Threshold

Level 0: Invader

Level 0: Marshal

Level 50: Ageless Radial Epiphany

Level 50: Degenerative Radial Flawless Interface

Level 50: Warworks Core Superior Ally

Level 50: Void Radial Final Judgement

Level 50: Assault Radial Embodiment

Level 50: Agility Radial Paragon

------------

 

 

 

 

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Whoooboy, those two builds are impressive! And there are a lot of similarities, so I can use those to help guide me, but I want to know: Are those leveling builds, or "final form" builds? Final Form builds are certainly nice and helpful, but may be more above my abilities at the moment.

 

For example, I see Taunt isn't on both, and even the one that has it is much later then when it's available. Is Taunt important while leveling, or is it an optional "if you like it / play group needs it" kind of thing?

I also skipped Spine Burst for the moment (figuring I'd respec into it later) in favor of Lunge for more of a stable attack chain. I feels like that's a good idea, but... what do I know?

Stone Skin seems to be pretty loved, but again I skipped it in favor of other powers I (probably erroneously) thought would be better. I haven't looked at it's numbers, but I planned to review it during the respec to see how to shift things.

I do like the idea of a Granite build with enriched Psi resist added in through IO sets, so I may lean more in that direction personally.

 

So until I reach the point where I'm building around IO sets and Incarnate levels, do either of you (or anyone else, honestly) have a little build advice for Stone Armor or Spines while leveling? Anything that sticks out as obvious to you, but I'm going to look at and go "nah, that's not intuitive"?

 

Big thanks again for everyone's advice, my character is growing little at a time and I'm enjoying it more then I thought I would!

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My build works for leveling, since you pick up all the relevant armors and even slot them a bit. As for Taunt, it's a useful tool for peeling aggro off squishies early but its importance really comes into play in endgame encounters, since squishies often bite the dust it if they get aggro there.

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Whoooboy, those two builds are impressive! And there are a lot of similarities, so I can use those to help guide me, but I want to know: Are those leveling builds, or "final form" builds? Final Form builds are certainly nice and helpful, but may be more above my abilities at the moment.

 

For example, I see Taunt isn't on both, and even the one that has it is much later then when it's available. Is Taunt important while leveling, or is it an optional "if you like it / play group needs it" kind of thing?

I also skipped Spine Burst for the moment (figuring I'd respec into it later) in favor of Lunge for more of a stable attack chain. I feels like that's a good idea, but... what do I know?

Stone Skin seems to be pretty loved, but again I skipped it in favor of other powers I (probably erroneously) thought would be better. I haven't looked at it's numbers, but I planned to review it during the respec to see how to shift things.

I do like the idea of a Granite build with enriched Psi resist added in through IO sets, so I may lean more in that direction personally.

 

So until I reach the point where I'm building around IO sets and Incarnate levels, do either of you (or anyone else, honestly) have a little build advice for Stone Armor or Spines while leveling? Anything that sticks out as obvious to you, but I'm going to look at and go "nah, that's not intuitive"?

 

Big thanks again for everyone's advice, my character is growing little at a time and I'm enjoying it more then I thought I would!

 

Any build you see posted packed with IO sets is probably focused on endgame performance and IO set bonuses.  Some are also completely reasonable leveling builds - some will be agony.  You want your defenses and attack chain sorted early.  If its filling up on pool powers in the teens and 20s, its probably not a leveling build.

 

Taunt:  Take it, when and if you take it, based on how much teaming you plan to do and the defree to which you intent to play the tank -role- for the team.  Its a very useful aggro management tool, but not a ln absolutely necessary one.  I tend to not take it on my Brutes - but I tend to also play Tanks that I use for tanking.  You wont need it as much on a team where people let you control the flow, control the baddies, establish aggro lockdown, and dont over aggro by focus firing all the nukey DPS on a single boss (or by AOEing everything but not killing it).

Most teams, sadly, arent like that, and even if your not the official team tank, sometimes something bad gets loose in the backfield.  If your planning on tanking, or even much being on a team - Im not saying to take it, but if you dont, know why you didnt.

 

Soine Burst - Im a huge fan, at least once Im on a team (and thus have a crowd around me) or have gotten a character tough enough to turn up the difficulty solo (and thus have a crowd around me).  Its a radius-around-you AOE, and those are glorious.

 

General Leveling Build Advice:

1.)  Take your armors.  Take them based on how much binus they give or how often you need them - your Psi Defense Armor may not be a pressing concern when you first get it, as your not fighting many Psi damage baddies.  But sooner or later, take it.  Armors get (in general) 3 slots if a toggle, 1-2 if a passive.  If a toggle, slot one EndRedux.

2.)  Take your PBAOE toggles if you can afford them.  Their END hungry, but free damage to everyone around you every two seconds is free damage.  Id probably go an endredux, an acc, and damage to taste.

3.)  Attacks generally want an accuracy, a recharge, an end reduction, and 2-3 damage.  Dont ignore this, but dont ignore other things in a rush to 6 slot stuff.  Brute, especially, can put off damage slotting because so much of their damage comes from rage. 

4.)  There arent really any ‘pure leveling builds’ posted - yould have to do a play by play of what slots were placed when, what enhancements went in at which levels and got replaced.  Your really off following loose guidelines and, each time you level up, asking what do I need right now/what would be fun right now/what do I need to take to start unlocking later stuff.

5.)  When I play a new-to-me powerset, I tend to take -everything- in the primary and secondary, planning to try it all out and then drop whatever doesnt bring me joy later one.  Note that some things wont bring you joy until slotted and comboed with other powers - if something seems worthless to you, consider asking if other people get value from it and how they use it.  Plenty of time later to respec into the ‘Pool Powers Everyone Always Takes’

6.)  DONT STRESS ABOUT GETTING IT WRONG.  Respecs flow like rain, and they dont sit in a bqnk and draw interest.  Dont just throw them away, but a judicious ‘this isnt working for me right now’ or ‘Hmm.  Need more endredux’ or whatever respec or two along the road to 50 can completely save a character you were ready to retire.

 

Hope that helps!

Great Justice - Invuln/Energy Melee Tank

Ann Atomic - Radiation/Super Strength Tank

Elecutrix - Electric Blast/Super Reflexes Sentinel

Ramayael - Titan Weapons/Bio Scrapper

C'len - Spines/Bio Brute

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I design my builds to be exemplar-friendly but they may not work for the actual leveling process.

 

The typical levelling process is to respec once at around 20-30 and then again at 50 (sometimes many times at 50, based on budget and what you want to try out).  In general, I recommend taking all attacks more or less as you get them before the first respec.  If you skip anything, skip expensive AoEs.  Armors can be a little flexible, but always take your mez protection power as soon as it's available (usually 10 or 16).  You can generally greatly delay damage auras, since you won't be able to afford running them for long stretches anyway.

 

Here's a rough sketch of a levelling build up to 30.  Power slot levels are approximate.

 

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.962

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 31 Magic Brute

Primary Power Set: Spines

Secondary Power Set: Stone Armor

Power Pool: Fighting

 

Villain Profile:

Level 1: Barb Swipe -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(3), RechRdx(5), EndRdx(7)

Level 1: Rock Armor -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(7), EndRdx(9)

Level 2: Lunge -- Acc(A), Dmg(9), EndRdx(11)

Level 4: Stone Skin -- ResDam(A), ResDam(11)

Level 6: Earth's Embrace -- Heal(A), RechRdx(13), RechRdx(21), RechRdx(23)

Level 8: Impale -- Acc(A), Dmg(15), Dmg(15), EndRdx(17)

Level 10: Kick -- Acc(A)

Level 12: Build Up -- RechRdx(A)

Level 14: Tough -- ResDam(A), EndRdx(17)

Level 16: Rooted -- EndRdx(A)

Level 18: Quills -- Acc(A), Dmg(19), EndRdx(19), EndRdx(21)

Level 20: Taunt -- RechRdx(A)

Level 22: Weave -- DefBuff(A), EndRdx(23)

Level 24: Spine Burst -- Acc(A), Dmg(25), EndRdx(25)

Level 26: Ripper -- Acc(A), Dmg(27), Dmg(27), EndRdx(29)

Level 28: Crystal Armor -- DefBuff(A), EndRdx(29)

Level 30: Mud Pots -- EndRdx(A)

Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Health -- Heal(A)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(5), EndMod(13)

------------

No-Set Builds: Tanker Scrapper Brute Stalker

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