The Brutiest Brute to ever Brutalize

[Lanark1027]

Hey guys, longtime Scrapper that is trying to branch out into some of the other ATs. I'd like to get one level 50 Incarnate for each AT. I don't have a Brute yet (aside from my fire farmer), and need some help deciding on a power set combo. 

 

I'd prefer a resistance set bc they're "better" for Brutes right? I have some preferences, so let's start with Secondaries. I hear Elec Armor is good on Brutes but I'm leaning away from that one for purely thematic reasons. I'm torn between:

 

Dark Armor

Rad Armor

Bio Armor

Stone Armor

 

Bio and Stone might not be considered res sets but I'm still interested in them since I've never used them before on my other melee ATs. I know Dark is end heavy and requires KB mitigation, I've played it to 50 on Scrapper but decided I didn't enjoy the Dark Melee I paired it with. I just really hate that Shadow Maul animation...

 

Speaking of Primaries, there's a few others I'm not interested in bc I've already played them in some form on the other melee ATs. The ones I'm interested in for my Brute are:

 

Dual Blades

Fiery Melee

Savage Melee

Staff

Stone Melee

Super Strength

War Mace

 

Dual Blades looks cool but I hear it sucks. Same thing with Staff. Savage and SS are kinda top of the pack for Brutes from what I understand, is that right? I basically never hear anything about Fiery Melee or Stone Melee, how do they (and War Mace) stack up? 

 

Please offer any recommendations, which power sets you think are good, which you think I should stay away from, if you think one of my primaries would synergize well with one of my secondaries (or not), etc.

Edited April 15 by Lanark1027

[Erratic1]

Resistance sets certainly work on a Brute, but I would not say they are a better option over Defense and layered sets (Bio, Rad, Inv). Elec is a good set for Brutes--my first Brute was Dark/ Elec.

 

As goes set pairs, there does seem to be some covering of weaknesses between damage and armor sets of like theme, but I have never let theat drive my choices. In fact, I've never made a mono-themed character. All have mixed sets.

 

While Rad is a good  armor set, you might lean towards one of your other choices as it strikes me as somewhat easier to mess up on than the others.

 

Dual-Blades is the only offensive set I've never done much with and the rest are fine. Do whichever you want, though for raw <POW!>, Fire, Super Strength, and War Mace (and Battle Axe) are more satisfying.

 

FWIW, my signature Brute (if one of half-dozen may be considered signature) is SS/Bio.

 

 

[hakurr]

i have ran just about every set on a brute at some point and i really like Radiation Armor the best i am not saying it is the best but i have enjoyed it the most on a brute and as far as Primary offensive power i lean toward Battle Axe myself it is hard hitting good combination of ST attacks and AOE attacks and it does knockdown not knockback i really do not like knockback on my melee toons. Radiation has good resist ability and plenty of healing and endurance and it's Tier 9 power meltdown you never notice the crash.  

[Lanark1027]

2 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

While Rad is a good  armor set, you might lean towards one of your other choices as it strikes me as somewhat easier to mess up on than the others.

 

 

You just mean because it's a more active/clicky secondary? Or more difficult to slot?

Edited April 15 by Lanark1027

[Lanark1027]

32 minutes ago, hakurr said:

i have ran just about every set on a brute at some point and i really like Radiation Armor the best i am not saying it is the best but i have enjoyed it the most on a brute and as far as Primary offensive power i lean toward Battle Axe myself it is hard hitting good combination of ST attacks and AOE attacks and it does knockdown not knockback i really do not like knockback on my melee toons. Radiation has good resist ability and plenty of healing and endurance and it's Tier 9 power meltdown you never notice the crash.  

I liked Rad armor on my TW/Rad Scrap, just didn't care for TW. It seemed super good, loved the regen and the heal.

 

Battle Ax is one I had lumped in with War Mace, as they're the two weaponsets I've never played. How do they stack up damage wise? And is one lighter on end? Honestly it mostly depends on which one looks cooler when I'm in the costume creator.

[Erratic1]

1 hour ago, Lanark1027 said:

 

You just mean because it's a more active/clicky secondary? Or more difficult to slot?

 

More the slotting.

[hakurr]

really the biggest differences between Battle Axe and War mace are 1. Battle Axe is Knockdown and War Mace is Knockback and 2. Battle Axe has Axe Cyclone for it's PBAOE that pulls enemies toward you when you use it  and War Mace has Whirling Mace that is a PBAOE but does not pull enemies toward you. 3. Battle Axe has Cleave that is a ranged attack and even though it does not say it, it is kind of a small cone as well if 2 enemies are standing next to each other you will do damage to both of them. War Mace has Shatter that is not ranged and does only ST damage

[Erratic1]

4 minutes ago, hakurr said:

War Mace has Shatter that is not ranged and does only ST damage

 

I am certain I was not stranding around in combat waiting for the power to cycle in the  combat log below:

 

 

Mid's says Shatter has an arc of 45 degrees.

[hakurr]

1 minute ago, Erratic1 said:

 

I am certain I was not stranding around in combat waiting for the power to cycle in the  combat log below:

 

 

Mid's says Shatter has an arc of 45 degrees.

I stand corrected it has been a couple years since i played my War Mace toon i just don't remember it doing that.

[Erratic1]

5 minutes ago, hakurr said:

I stand corrected it has been a couple years since i played my War Mace toon i just don't remember it doing that.

 

It is very tight range (like multiple guys right up on you).

[Lanark1027]

Thanks for the input, Battle Axe seems pretty sick, and after looking through the character creator I like the Axes better than the Maces.

 

Axe/Mace definitely seems to fit the Brute better conceptually than Katana for example, although something about the weapon sets still makes me think of them as more Scrapper sets. I think I'm leaning towards Savage/SS/Fire Melee for this Brute, those just feel like a better fit conceptually.

[Hyperstrike]

Battle Ax and Mace are virtually identical, save for damage type.

Ax: Lehal
Mace: Smashing

[Lanark1027]

Similar in end usage as well? I'd be a little worried about making a WM/Dark (as an example) since those are both kind of end heavy. I'm sure Cardiac could make it work but might be a rough levelling experience.

[Erratic1]

13 hours ago, Lanark1027 said:

Similar in end usage as well? I'd be a little worried about making a WM/Dark (as an example) since those are both kind of end heavy. I'm sure Cardiac could make it work but might be a rough levelling experience.

 

While it is probably not as ugly as say Rad Melee/Dark Armor, I will admit on my WM/Nin Scrapper, endurance was a bit of a problem until he got Nin power which gives you endurance.

 

Dark Armor does about the opposite of providing endurance, drinking it instead.  You have a couple of options:

• You can rely on the Epic Energy Mastery set to get you by until Incarnates come along. Before either, you will likely be a bit mana starved. You do not have to stick with Energy Mastery, it is just there to get you to where you're going (Tar Patch in Dark Mastery is a tempting choice unless you are truly sold on Energy Mastery).
• You can start slotting set IOs early with an eye toward Endurance Cost reduction. I would suggest going for the 2 pc Unbreakable Guard bonus in as many powers as you can--which with the Rule of Five, can get you to 12.5% global endurance cost reduction. Heck, make it easy on yourself and do not even worry about slotting more of than two of the set in any given power until later. You can also aim for the 5 pc bonus on from Reactive Defenses slotting into Weave and the 5 pc bonus from Preventive Medicine slotted into Dark Regeneration. Theft of Essence in the final slot of Dark Regeneration  can also help. Also do not forget the endurance boosts from Performance Shifter, Numina's, and Miracle.

A less cranky and bitter me would probably work on a build for you. 

 

[hakurr]

I have a Battle Axe / Dark Armor Brute and i will have to say it was a struggle getting it leveled up dealing with End issues spent a lot on amplifiers for recovery and regen and recovery serums and eating blues like candy but i will say at 50 incarnated out he is fun and very brutal.

[twozerofoxtrot]

On 4/16/2024 at 4:18 AM, Lanark1027 said:

Dual Blades looks cool but I hear it sucks.

 

It doesn't, whoever said that doesn't know what they're talking about or just doesn't know how to communicate without hyperbole. It's solidly mid, and can put up good single target with a specific build strategy and attack chain. 

 

On 4/16/2024 at 4:18 AM, Lanark1027 said:

Same thing with Staff.

 

Lmao, yeah. Yeah. It's true.

 

But I digress.

 

On 4/16/2024 at 4:18 AM, Lanark1027 said:

Savage and SS are kinda top of the pack

 

They both feel really, really good on Brutes and if you want a no-fail Armor that's going to max out damage but still give you options to take advantage of Brute resist, go Bio with either. 

[Sovera]

After trying it a few times I feel like Dual Blades is a pylon baby. Works great if the enemy is not moving and we can hit it for a few minutes with a -res in both attacks.

 

I put my vote on the Stone Armor. I had a thread somewhere about the 'new' Stone Armor Brutes where I tested several sets and, at the time, Rad Melee was the winner. But Irradiated Ground got 'fixed' and the rest of the set did not get a tune-up despite IG being a linchpin, so... Might need testing to see how well it still behaves.

 

My Claws/Fire Armor Brute was one of my best characters for just playing the game if not hitting pylons. Spin and Burn together were pretty potent and it broke my Yin record at the time with 39 minutes.

 

But the Rad/Stone Armor did it in 40 minutes having a much easier time since everything just slid off its back. Granted, been a while.

 

 

Fire Melee is the new hotness and even if Tankers get the best version (IMO) with a second PbAoE we can't discount Cremate and it's OP 100% chance to knock-up that allows to control the flow of combat for things like PPs and Freak Tanks, and even the new transforming Council bosses. Seriously, it rocks. But, dat second PbaoE also rocks...

 

Unfortunately Brutes get the 'worst' version of Fire Melee just because the devs decided Brutes who pick Fire Melee don't need AoE until level 22 (Scrappers get their first AoE at 18, Tankers at level 6), for reasons. I'm sure good reasons?

 

Baffling.

 

But if you will team for the initial stretch it's fine and then at Synapse onwards you get to join the grown-ups with AoE and everyfink.

 

I did the Fire/Fire pairing on my Tanker and it was brutal with THREE PbAoEs which is insane, but not on the Brute (I mean, I had it before the Fire Melee tune-up but not since). The only thing holding me back is that lack of initial AoE since the devs expected us to level without AoE and then we get two in the span of a handful of levels. Terrible flow. But with the new Fire Melee being pretty good, with the Brutes not getting a second PbAoE so their AoE is halved, it seems like Fire/Fire would fix that. A second PbAoE in Burn, a strong ST power in Cremate that allows to skip the icky Incinerate. Sounds good.

[Lanark1027]

Thanks for all the input. I've narrowed it down a bit, at least. Will likely just end up making two characters (per usual) if a concept comes to me.