Looking for Might/Brawler Build.

lordhavelock · October 2012

I have a big "Hulk"-ish character that just felt neutered when Enraged/Aggressor got "messed-up" recently. He was in his 30s and it was just too painful to play him anymore so I retconned him to a Epidemic build to quickly get him to L40. Now I'd like to retcon him back to being a Might/Brawler build that I can have for fun.

Any recommended builds out there? I'd prefer to consider him more a Melee DPS than a Tank, but if you have a good Might Tank build, I'd like to see that too.

11/05 Update - Here's the build I went with:
http://www.bobthegamer.com/co/gorlo.htm

braxzana · October 2012

Here's a quick one...

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Recovery (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Devastator
Level 6: Relentless
Level 9: Physical Conditioning
Level 12: Quick Recovery
Level 15: Paramilitary Training
Level 18: Amazing Stamina
Level 21: Covert Ops Training

Powers:
Level 1: Clobber (Onslaught)
Level 1: Defensive Combo (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Retaliation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Unstoppable (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Mighty Leap (Nailed to the Ground)
Level 14: Thunderclap
Level 17: Roomsweeper (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Enrage
Level 23: Shockwave (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Demolish (Rank 2, Below the Belt)
Level 29: Mighty Kick
Level 32: Uppercut (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Resurgence

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Athletics
Level 35: Flight

Specializations:
Strength: Physical Peak (3/3)
Strength: Quick Recovery (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (3/3)
Strength: Overpower (2/3)
Sentry: Fortified Gear (2/3)
Sentry: Precise (3/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Persevere (2/2)
Arbiter: Enforcer (3/3)
Arbiter: Arbiter Aura (3/3)
Arbiter: Concussion (2/3)
Arbiter: Preservation (2/2)
Mastery: Arbiter Mastery (1/1)

lordhavelock · October 2012

Thank you for this! I'll give it a try. Any suggestions on playstyle?

braxzana · October 2012

As far as playstyle, my routine would be as follows:

Mighty Leap into combat, then deliver a Thunderclap to stun foes around your (already stunned) primary target --- usually the Villain in the group. Then fully charge up Roomsweeper and let fly. Because thunderclap stunned everyone (except the Villain, who was stunned by Mighty Leap), Roomsweeper just knocks them UP and not AWAY.

That should also build an Enrage stack (or more than one if more than one foe is knocked? Never really paid attention).... Conviction will give you a quick hit-point buffer at this point.

If you have to use Clobber --- and you might, since this build, even with REC superstat, might have energy issues --- then Onslaught should help keep your stacks of Enrage from dropping off.

If energy IS an issue, you could always swap REC for INT --- the cost discount is nice, and it would let you swap a power for Molecular Self-Assembly, which scales off INT and can be triggered by Conviction and Mighty Leap.

Defensive Combo will give you ONE stack of Defiance --- a nice little addition on top of Unstoppable --- when you finish the combo. I believe they're also going to change it so the final attack in the combo is an AoE.

You may not need Retaliation (the block replacer) ranked so high, in which case you can spread those advantage points elsewhere. Since Unstoppable is an OFFENSIVE slotted passive, though, I figured the extra little protection might be useful occasionally.

Shockwave is there purely to give you a ranged (area) attack which is always handy to have.

I would use Demolish with Below the Belt right before Uppercut (or you could substitute Haymaker) for BIG targets.

Mighty Kick has no ranks because it's just used to interrupt charge-up attacks, really ---- tap it, don't charge it. If you charge it, it'll knock foes BACK. Since it is a SORT of "knock", Mighty Kick might also trigger Enrage to build a stack (not sure about that).

Resurgence is there just as an Oh Crap! heal... if you go INT superstat (which would reduce cooldown times), the you might pick the spec options that lower recharge on active defenses and maybe get more use out of it (and want to rank it up).

I forget what most of the Spec options do, but since this is not really a crit or dodge based build, most of the specs deal with OTHER things.

lordhavelock · October 2012

Thank you again, this time for the fine playstyle notes! That's just the sort of commentary for which I was looking! Last night I clicked the respec button and starting loading/tinkering with Gorlo's powers. I expect to "finish" tonight and take him for some (Unity) mission test runs this weekend. I'll let you know how it plays and/or what my "final" build ends up being.

BTW, Braxzana, I meant to ask: Just curious, but did you just make that build up for me, or is it one you use on an existing character?

lordhavelock · November 2012

Ok, I put Gorlo together, based strongly on Braxana's kindly given build/commentary. It was pretty good and there's no small amount of appreciation for the guidance! Based on my play-preferences and doing some of my own testing, I did make some changes...

braxzana wrote: »

As far as playstyle, my routine would be as follows. Mighty Leap into combat, then deliver a Thunderclap to stun foes around your (already stunned) primary target --- usually the Villain in the group. Then fully charge up Roomsweeper and let fly... ...Shockwave is there purely to give you a ranged (area) attack which is always handy to have.

I found Thunderclap's stun duration and Roomsweeper's charge-up/activation time to be too close (about 2s for each) for me to pull off without accidentally launching my foes into orbit. RS is a satisfyingly fun (especially when you fling large groups all at once) and well-animated "bash" attack that would defeat most Henchmen, but sadly having to get back into melee range to finish off any persistant foes (Villains, normally) was frustrating.

Fortunately, Shockwave is also a fun power and works ideally against most mobs to clear away Henchmen, building Enrage, and softening-up Villians. Only then would I Mighty Leap to stun and go to work. Depending on my foe and my mood I can alternate between Demolish, Uppercut, and Defensive Combo to take out 'em out. When tapping, the former is great for applying a resistance debuff and the next for knocking-up/applying Enrage. At full charge either is great for a coup-de-grace. I'll use the latter when I want to "draw out" a fight with multiple punches, which is sometimes fun to do (and it's satisfying to watch the damage numbers escalating as the combo progresses). DC's innate Defiance and Warden Mastery's Grit features are great, but having goodly damage output when using DC makes it even more viable for tanking.

I really liked the "feel" of playing RS, as I mentioned. But it's a bummer that the knockback mechanic doesn't work synergistically with Might/Melee combat. So I dropped it along with TC.

braxzana wrote: »

...If you have to use Clobber --- and you might, since this build, even with REC superstat, might have energy issues --- then Onslaught should help keep your stacks of Enrage from dropping off... Molecular Self-Assembly... triggered by Conviction and Mighty Leap... You may not need Retaliation (the block replacer) ranked so high...

I had 277 STR, 200 CON/REC via SS/gear, and using some Talents to get a 28 End, this gave me a 153/153 Equilibrium/Max Energy. I did not have any power issues. That being said, even with gear the best I could do was a 22.3% crit chance. So I mixed things up a bit: I changed out Rec for a Dex SSS, and I'm while I"m still tinkering with my talents/gear mods, I'm now at about 200 on my three SS with 80 REC, 30 END. I've lost a few points on my "basic" damage output (Uppercut dropped from a maxed 2,733 to 2,653), but my Crit Chance doubled to 39.7% (with a 75% Severity), and it's very exciting seeing 10k+ punches pop-up more frequently.

I use one of those free power slots to add in MSA. Even with only a 10 Int, it trickles out +12 Energy every 3s for 6s. Between that and what I get from Enrage, I'm still not hurting for power: I can spam Shockwave, without having to Clobber between Maintains. I can fully charge all my attacks at any time. I also added Bountiful Chi Resurgence (and thanks to my gear providing a 50% Dodge it has Resurgent Reiki paid for by reducing Retaliation to R2). I've got a keybind set up that I keep tapping to trigger Conviction and BCR/RR to provide a poor-man's Regeneration while feeding MSA.

braxzana wrote: »

...Mighty Kick... If you charge it, it'll knock foes BACK. Since it is a SORT of "knock", Mighty Kick might also trigger Enrage to build a stack (not sure about that).

I'm already trained to block Schtick attacks from PvE foes, so I got confused (user error - lol :rolleyes:) when trying to "interrupt" using MK. Maybe that's a PvP thing (which I don't play), but I found just blocking to be fine for my needs.

I did do testing and found the Repel effect given by tapping did not trigger Enrage. I had to fully charge to get the knockback and trigger Enrage. MK does charge very fast, but this is still a similar bad synergy as RS. The fact that I didn't care for the kick animation was the final straw and I dropped MK. I think I'm going to add in an Active Offense like Intensity, but I'm still trying to decide...

braxzana wrote: »

...Resurgence is there just as an Oh Crap! heal...

Because I dropped Rec as an SSS I dropped Str's Quick Recovery (QR was giving about +40HP @200Rec, at ~80Rec it was only ~+10HP which wasn't worth it, traded it out for Aggression for more Off). I did keep Resurgence and (as mentioned) Conviction and BCR/RR. I've also got Vindicator's Rush of Battle (+195HP/kill), and I put Endorphen Rush on Enrage (for ~+40HP). I find being in the thick of things, Gorlo takes a lot of damage. It's good to have lots of healing.

braxzana wrote: »

...I forget what most of the Spec options do, but since this is not really a crit or dodge based build, most of the specs deal with OTHER things.

I liked what you picked for Str, but wasn't keen on the results from Sentry and Arbiter. I went with Warden (Forified Gear, Ruthless, Tenacious, Best Def, Mastery) and Vindicator (Aggressive Stance, Merciless, Rush of Battle, Mod Gear). Str's Juggernaut feeds BD/AS significantly. I've got a 328.1 Offense (+37% All Dmg) and 227 Defense (53% Resist).

braxzana wrote: »

...Defensive Combo... I believe they're also going to change it so the final attack in the combo is an AoE.

They're going to buff it to an AoE? What are the details on that? When is that going to happen? That would be lovely.

Anyway, I'm still tinkering with the gear and numbers and all, so I'm open to input (from anyone). When I'm all done I'll post my completed character. Thanks again braxzana for giving me a solid frame to build around! It's been a lot of fun playing Gorlo again!

:biggrin:

lordhavelock · November 2012

Here is my final build and stats for Gorlo:

http://www.bobthegamer.com/co/gorlo.htm

:cool:

Thanks again for the assistance.

braxzana · November 2012

Wow, been nearly a month since I've been to the forums, it seems! Been playing Hitman: Absolution and Skyrim (330 hours played and counting!)...

The original build I listed is ~similar~ to one I currently have, but not exactly the same. Your changes make sense given your explanations. I still love Roomsweeper/Thunderclap too much to lose them but I can see where the knock BACK would be annoying if you could not avoid it.

Hope the build is doing well for ya!

jasinblaze · November 2012

i think tremor from the earth set is a nice replacement for shockwave

lordhavelock · November 2012

braxzana wrote: »

...Hope the build is doing well for ya!

Welcome back. Yes, the build is working great, thanks!

jasinblaze wrote: »

i think tremor from the earth set is a nice replacement for shockwave

I have Tremor on my Earth/Heavy Weapons toon, and it works pretty good. I'll stick with Shockwave for Gorlo, though. The animation (punching the ground) is more appropriate for his theme.

Looking for Might/Brawler Build.

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