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SPrime's Might Guide
Archived Post
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WARNING
This guide is primarily aimed at Might PVE and wannabe tanks. It contains certain sections that may be useful to your average PVPer and more advanced players, but should only be regarded as a suggestion and not an imperative.
WARNING
" This Guide is NO LONGER deemed accurate as of July 27th 2011 "
This guide is primarily aimed at Might PVE and wannabe tanks. It contains certain sections that may be useful to your average PVPer and more advanced players, but should only be regarded as a suggestion and not an imperative.
WARNING
" This Guide is NO LONGER deemed accurate as of July 27th 2011 "
---
Why Might?
Because Might is an unbelievably fun Power Set, and one that seamlessly encompasses one of the oldest Superhero Archetype.
Who are you? Why should we even listen to you?
Truthfully, you shouldnt But in my own defense, I have spent a great deal of time playing around inside the Might Power Set, both before and after the level cap. I fully retconned my Might builds a whole bunch of time in order to make the most out of it.
As for my tanking background, I have successfully tanked the biggest lairs of the game, along with all the Cosmics currently in-game at the moment. Teleiosaurus, Therakiel, Shadow Destroyer, you take your pick
---
Powers Overview :
* All power names are linked to the CO-Wiki and their respective descriptions *
Defiance
This Defensive Passive is sort of a compromise between Lightning Reflexes and Invulnerability. What this passive does, is allow you to produce stacks of the Defiant buff when getting hit every four seconds, which will increase your damage mitigation as a whole.
Though it should be noted, that the Defiant stacks are considered a completely separate entity from the passive, and as a result, their mitigation scales with CON instead of Super Stats.
Defiance also returns energy upon getting hit (kind of a big deal, given how energy-starved Might is); amount, which is influenced by REC. Also, this passive will keep a static amount of Defiant stacks upon you based on the rank of the power. Meaning that Rank 1 Defiance will keep one stack of Defiance on you at all time and so on...
This passive is one of the best tanking passives out there and is one of the fastest way to build up Enraged stacks by combining it with the Enrage power.
Please note however, that Defiance doesnt sport nearly as much immediate mitigation as Invulnerability and requires time to attain the maximum number of stacks it can produce. So make sure that you ramp up your CON and rank the power accordingly, in order to survive the early Alpha Strikes and the couple seconds necessary for your Defiant stacks to build up.
Here's an approximate of the mitigation granted by each Defiant stacks based on CON :
5 CON : 6,5%
80 CON : 12%
100 CON : 12%
150 CON : 14%
200 CON : 16%
250 CON : 16%
250 CON + Six stacks of Defiant : 96%
Do note however, that this calculation doesn't take into account Cryptic Math, and as result, won't reduce a 100 damage down to 4.
- Force of Will
Quite frankly, Force of Will is next to useless in comparison to Rank 3. And Ill tell you why, because this advantage grants knockback and stun resistance. Chances are, that youll already be stacking Strength (knockback resists) and there arent that many powers that have a Stun component to begin with.
Enrage
What this power does, basically, is add a single stack of the Enraged buff on you along with another one for every two stacks of Defiant you have on you upon activating the power.
Enraged is a stacking damage buff that scales with STR and whose duration scales with CON.
This power is very good when paired up with Defiance and Unleashed Rage. Having more Damage is never a bad idea; especially, if you run Defiance, because it will allow you to deal some very respectable damage, despite running around with a Defensive Passive.
If, on the other hand, you are running Unstoppable; then Enrage wont be doing much for you, except perhaps help you maintain the stacks you already have. As such, you will have to figure out other ways to build up Enraged stacks, like a charged Roomsweeper or Havoc Stomp.
Here's an approximate of the damage increase granted by each Enraged stacks, based on STR :
5 STR: 4%
80 STR : 7,7%
100 STR : 8,7%
150 STR : 11%
200 STR : 13%
250 STR : 16%
250 STR + Eight stacks of Enraged : 128%
Do note however, that this calculation doesn't take into account Cryptic Math, and as a result, should be taken with a grain of salt.
- Endorphin Rush
I tried this advantage again recently, and once more, I was thoroughly unimpressed. This advantage might sound good on paper, but even with full stacks of Defiant, Rank 2 Enrage and loads of CON; it heals even less than Rank 1 Bountiful Chi Resurgence under a cooldown twice as long.
Do yourself a favor and skip this. There are much better options to spend your points on.
Aggressor
This power is a toggle that adds a direct percentage to your melee Crushing damage, and the nice thing is, that it also has a stack component that adds a cumulative damage buff; triggered when you use a knock power. (pretty much everything in the Might set )
If you have no idea what power to pick, or have spare advantage points, take it, love it. As far as damage is concerned, it is much more beneficial to rank Aggressor rather than Unstoppable.
Demolish
Demolish is another great way to increase your damage output as Might. What this power does basically, is hit your target and apply a debuff that reduces the Physical (Crushing, Slashing, Piercing) damage resistance of your target. Which means that not only does it boost pretty much all melee powers from Might, but it can also be used in conjunction with Heavy Weapons, the chains as well as a whole bunch of other powers.
Furthermore, with the Below the Belt advantage, this power will add a second debuff on top of the first one, further enhancing all of your melee Crushing damage.
Its a good power, other melee characters will love you for it, and its a neat Damage per Second increase.
If anything, Demolish compares rather favorably against the likes of Uppercut and Haymaker; its only flaw perhaps, is that it doesn't apply knock and costs just as much as Haymaker, without the added utility. Anyway, whether or not you choose to take any of those, Demolish should definitely be in your cards.
- Below the Belt
Add an additional melee Crushing damage debuff to Demolish, that stands somewhere between 1 and 13%. Take it, love it.
Unstoppable
In a nutshell, Unstoppable is an offensive passive that adds a direct percentage to all melee Physical damage (Crushing, Slashing and Piercing Damage) and half as much to non-Physical melee damage, which scales with Super Stats. In addition to that, this power also confers some resistance to knocks, as well as a small degree of damage absorption (all of which scales with Super Stats) and generates a certain amount of energy whenever you knock someone (the amount of energy generated scales with REC).
Overall, Unstoppable is pretty straightforward, much like any other passive that boosts a specific kind of damage. However, it should be noted that there is little point in ranking this power beyond improving your resistance to knocks; it's damage buff component just doesn't really benefits from being ranked, and as a result, you're probably better off just investing in Aggressor once you have the passive.
Do note however, that the energy-generation mechanic of Unstoppable is garbage; Might is costly, and you're no longer running with Defiance, so you might wanna take steps to ensure that your energy levels remains within acceptable parameters.
Clobber
Your bread-and-butter energy builder, along with Defiance and Block. Its not that great as far as it goes, but it gets the job done.
Like all melee energy builders, Clobber can generate energy from range and will taunt your target into attacking you whenever you're not in range. (Don't expect it to do much beyond pulling)
As far as it goes, this power is mostly used as a gateway to higher tiers of Might and does a reasonable job at maintaining your Enraged stacks once advantaged.
- Onslaught
The shining gem that makes clobber a better option than the other builders; as far as Might goes at least. Basically, this advantage has a chance to add an Enraged stack on you, or if you already got some, refresh your stacks for a certain amount of time.
Haymaker
One of the most iconic and damaging power within the Might set. This power gets a lot of good press, namely for strong taps, big numbers and insanely long charge time
Haymaker is pretty good at what it does, namely dealing large amounts of damage very quickly, knock your opponent when charged and even debuff your target once advantaged. Still, it costs a bundle energy-wise, so you might wanna take steps to ensure that you can get the most out of it.
Otherwise, a fully charged Haymaker can also grant two Enraged stacks when used right after a fully-charged Uppercut. A nice combo as far as it goes, though that's a pretty big investment considering that you will probably be taking Demolish as well.
However, Haymaker is poor choice to build and maintain stacks of Aggressor, as it doesn't knock opponents upon being tapped; unlike Uppercut. Still, there are other ways to deal with that, namely Roomsweeper and Uppercut.
- Nullifying Punch
This advantage is one of the very few powers capable of countering healing. What it does essentially, is reduce the effect of subsequent healing by 50% as well as interrupting any pre-existing Heal over Time on your target.
Uppercut
Very good single target power, if a bit shy in comparison to Haymaker. This power charges quickly, deal good damage and even causes knockup for additional fall damage.
The true advantage of this power lies in the fact that it is rather cheap in comparison to the likes of Demolish and Haymaker. Which can be extremely desirable considering the fact that most Might powers are rather expansive.
It can be used in conjunction with Haymaker to set up a combo, but personally, I think you don't really need the two of them in order to be effective. Pick whichever one you prefer, there isn't really a wrong answer here. Unless you have no other way to build up Aggressor stacks, in which case, I would strongly urge you to go with Uppercut.
- Head Trauma
This advantage suffers from the same problem as the stun advantage of Roomsweeper. Those on which you want to land this, are generally immune to it, though I have heard that some people have been getting good mileage out of it in PVP.
Me, I skip it in favor of Rank 3.
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Comments
As a low-tier power, one might consider Beatdown as little more than a gateway to other much better single target powers. Though thats not to say that its completely useless. Early on, and before I learned about the other powers, Beatdown was one of my most important powers, thanks to its ability to lock down mobs. The thing is, Beatdown has a chance to stun its target for a certain amount of time, which can essentially chain-stun Master Villains when youre low on health.
Still, its damage is less than stellar (though still better than Defensive Combo). The Crippling Challenge advantage makes it much better as a tanking tool, but beyond that, if you can skip it, do so.
- Blindside Blow
This advantage pretty much increases Beatdown's damage against snared targets. Not a bad idea on paper, a terrible advantage in reality.
This power is not meant to be your main source of damage, and as such, should not be taken.
- Crippling Challenge
This advantage essentially adds a certain amount of threat to the power it is applied on, as well as taunt your target for 4 seconds and disables blocks from players and specific NPCs for 10 seconds. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 20% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Truthfully, Beatdown isn't really meant to be your primary tanking tool. Defensive Combo does a much better job at that.
Defensive Combo
As the early mainstay power of The Behemoth, Defensive Combo is OK as far as it goes, but it's a rather average power that deals precious little damage; especially when compared to just about any other power within the Might Set; yes, even Beatdown deals more damage than Defensive Combo.
If you've got Defiance and are already getting hit, then you dont need a separate power to maintain Defiant; and if you dont, then you probably dont need the mitigation. If you need an additional layer of defense, I can see someone taking this with Invulnerability or other Passives (assuming that you got a decent amount of CON), but otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.
The true purpose of Defensive Combo however, is to build up threat rapidly by combining the power's innate threat generation with the one from Crippling Challenge. This power is probably the best carrier of Crippling Challenge for tanks that are running low on PRE, as it has proved more than once, that it was more than capable of filling the gap and even overcome it.
If you have sufficient PRE however, you could do well enough with just about any other carrier of Crippling Challenge; as Defensive Combo is next to useless out of melee.
- Surge of Strength
This advantage gives you the ability to instantly generate or refresh Defiant stacks, instead of having to wait for the third blow. But again, I can't see any reason why you should even consider this advantage. Unless you aren't running Defiance, in which case, it will net you two stacks of Defiant as opposed to one.
- Crippling Challenge
This advantage essentially adds a certain amount of threat to the power it is applied on, as well as taunt your target for 4 seconds and disables blocks from players and specific NPCs for 10 seconds. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 20% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Crippling Challenge plays right into Defensive Combo's game and allows it to get to the top of the aggro chart really fast; unless you are competing with someone that also uses it. (Can fluctuate between having more PRE, Rank 2, etc...)
Iron Chain
Iron Chain is an OK power, it's not all that special, but it does have a rather interesting selection of advantages.
It doesn't benefits from STR nor from Brawler Role however, which makes it a somewhat questionable power.
Still it benefits from Kinetic Manipulation, so at least you can back it up with a passive now.
- Meteor Hammer
This adds a charge and knockback component to Iron Chain. Not a bad investment, especially if you use Enraged stacks to proc the knockback. Still, there are better choices out there, unless you are planning to go all chains.
- Crippling Challenge
This advantage essentially adds a certain amount of threat to the power it is applied on, as well as taunt your target for 4 seconds and disables blocks from players and specific NPCs for 10 seconds. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 20% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Iron Chain is a better carrier of Crippling Challenge than Beatdown, but that's not saying much. So unless you have sufficient PRE and have to take Iron Chain, try to avoid sinking points here.
Shockwave
This power is one of my personal favorites in the Might set. A full maintain is more than enough to take out all henchmen, while also chipping away at stronger foes.
It snares, it can also interrupt charged powers when fully maintained and it will keep track of your target regardless of whether they move or not.
Overall, Shockwave is a very versatile power, especially when advantaged. The drawback however, is that it doesn't scale with anything in Might beyond Enraged stacks.
- Leg Rumbler
This is your tool to take out all of those pesky fliers from the sky. Take it, if you can.
- Challenging Strikes
Challenging Strikes is your primary multiple threat generation tool. This advantage adds a certain amount of threat to the power on which it is applied and will generate additional threat over time as long as the debuff is active. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 5% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Shockwave is your traditional carrier of Challenging Strikes, in that it is a cone power and can therefore be applied from range. Havoc Stomp deals more damage than Shockwave and can help you generate some Enraged stacks, but it isn't really as convenient as the latter.
Roomsweeper
Very good cone Area of Effect, and arguably one of the most iconic Might power. In fact, I constantly find new uses to make of Roomsweeper. However, the massive knockback of the power makes it kind of a love and hate power. It does good damage, but really shines from the falling damage it causes.
Roomsweeper is a good power to use, especially early on, with its fast charge and its chance to produce Enraged stacks when charged up to 50%. Using this power is one of the best ways to reliably build up and maintain Enraged stacks while running Unstoppable and opens up some interesting options defensively.
If you can swallow the knockback or knockup (targets under control effects get knocked up instead of back), take it, you wont regret it.
- Concussive Blow
Something of a redundant advantage Concussive Blow adds a stun component to Roomsweeper, which makes little sense, since that most mobs knocked by this power will already be plummeting to their death.
Also, most of the mobs on which this advantage would be useful, are also immune to stun. Skip it.
- Challenging Strikes
Challenging Strikes is your primary multiple threat generation tool. This advantage adds a certain amount of threat to the power on which it is applied and will generate additional threat over time as long as the debuff is active. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 5% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Roomsweeper isn't exactly an ideal carrier of Challenging Strikes, since that it is a melee cone power as opposed to a ranged one. It's not that bad as far as bosses are concerned, but during lairs, I often find myself tagging trash mobs with Challenging Strikes in order to pull them toward me, so that my teammates can focus on doing what they do best.
So I would recommend either Shockwave or Havoc Stomp for this advantage; unless you are a Behemoth, in which case I would urge you to get it until you get Shockwave.
Havoc Stomp
Havoc Stomp is a really good power, especially when paired up with the likes of Unstoppable and Thunderclap.
What it does exactly, is a toned-down 360 degrees Roomsweeper with much better initial damage than its counterpart. Furthermore, it also has a chance to generate multiple Enraged stacks when charged over 50%.
Overall, Havoc Stomp is much better than Roomsweeper as an Area of Effect, though its Enraged generation ain't exactly as predictable as the former. Its drawback however, is that it takes forever to charge and leaves you vulnerable to enemy attacks unless you've got Thunderclap.
Much to my surprise, it did quite well in Lemuria, unlike Roomsweeper and Shockwave.
- Cry Havoc
Adds a fear component to Havoc Stomp. Its an OK advantage, just doesn't seem worth spending two advantage points.
- Challenging Strikes
Challenging Strikes is your primary multiple threat generation tool. This advantage adds a certain amount of threat to the power on which it is applied and will generate additional threat over time as long as the debuff is active. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 5% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Havoc Stomp is an interesting carrier of Challenging Strikes, but not necessarily an ideal one. On one hand, it possess a larger sphere than Roomsweeper, which might allow you to pull off some decent aggro, assuming that your teammates are willing to wait for you to get aggro; but it isn't really as convenient as Shockwave given that it is restricted to melee range.
Still, it deals melee Crushing damage as opposed to ranged Sonic, so it possess much more potential than Shockwave as far as damage is concerned.
Iron Cyclone is a mid-range maintained Area of Effect that can be used in a 360 degrees angle. It has a knockback component thats very good to interrupt other players. It deals decent damage as far as I'm concerned.
Still, for some reasons, this power doesn't scale with Kinetic Manipulation (or anything inside Might, beyond Enraged stacks) at this point in time. Probably an oversight when its tag was changed.
- Vortex Technique
The exact same thing the power does, only that instead of getting knocked back, mobs get knocked toward you. It also applies or refresh Enraged stacks on a full maintain.
Perhaps the most important thing about this advantage is that it allows this power to setup some more powerful Area of Effects like Havoc Stomp or Unleashed Rage. While at the same time, turning this power into a proper Area of Effect when dealing with the likes of VIPER Soldiers, Lemurians or Nemesis Minions.
- Challenging Strikes
Challenging Strikes is your primary multiple threat generation tool. This advantage adds a certain amount of threat to the power on which it is applied and will generate additional threat over time as long as the debuff is active. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 5% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
As a carrier of Challenging Strikes, Iron Cyclone offers much better range than Havoc Stomp, but still only half of what Shockwave is capable of. Furthermore, Iron Cyclone doesn't have much going for it, being classified as ranged Crushing damage and not scaling with Kinetic Manipulation.
It's a decent choice, but if you are really considering Iron Cyclone as a carrier of Challenging Strikes, you should probably have a look at Shockwave.
Retaliation
Your basic, un-intrusive Block Enhancement. Its a good all-around block, which will give you a Retaliation buff when damaged while it is maintained. This buff will give a damage increase to your next attack, so its like this, block then dish it.
- Punitive Pummeling
Do not take this advantage... I am dead serious about this...
Basically, what this advantage does, is gives you a chance to trigger a small scale Roomsweeper while blocking. This cone attack deals no damage whatsoever, but knockback foes in front of you for a small parcel of fall damage.
Its great conceptually, but I wouldn't consider it outside of a strictly ranged build. It makes setting up proper Area of Effects a nightmare, and it has a habit of triggering at the worst possible times...
Bottom line, Roomsweeper does the same thing and better at that, so skip it.
Mighty Leap
Your all-purpose lunge, that possesses a stun component at long range which can cause interrupts. Also, the cooldown is next to negligible, so you can lunge all over the place to your hearts content.
- Bull Rush
It basically adds a knockback and a snare to all hostile targets around your dedicated target. It has its uses, but its really just a waste of advantage points.
- Crippling Challenge
This advantage essentially adds a certain amount of threat to the power it is applied on, as well as taunt your target for 4 seconds and disables blocks from players and specific NPCs for 10 seconds. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 20% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
As a carrier of Crippling Challenge, Mighty Leap is perfectly alright; it's no Defensive Combo, but it gets the job done.
- Nailed to the Ground
It disables and locks out travel powers for five seconds. Its not nearly as great as Shockwave against multiple targets, but it does lock out travel powers.
Iron Lariat
Iron Lariat essentially pulls your target toward you, knocking him down in the process, allowing you to chip away at his health while he recovers
The whole point of this power was to pull your target back in melee range, so you can continue to fight in melee; which sadly, seldom happens when it is used at maximal range. And unlike Mighty Leap, it can be blocked to nullify its effect, whereas the latter will be capable of getting into melee regardless.
Ive seen the Lariat backfire repeatedly, only pulling my target about halfway toward me, forcing me to chase him down as he recovered from the shock. The lunges generally accomplishes the very same thing, and better at that.
Bottom line, it gets the job done, but its not all that spectacular. I highly recommend taking Mighty Leap over this power, as it offers much more utility and is, overall, better at cutting the distance between you and your target. Plus, Iron Lariat suffers from a longer animation as well as a cooldown twice as long as that of the lunges.
- Kyoketsu Shoge
Arguably one of the most useless advantage of the set. It adds a charge component to the Lariat, along with a bleed debuff. The thing is, Iron Lariat has a rather long cooldown, so I wouldnt recommend it.
Hurl
Hurl... is a very difficult power to size up...
On one hand it scales with Brawler and STR's melee bonus, but for some reason it doesn't scale with Unstoppable and wouldn't be much better using Kinetic Manipulation. (Brawler role would interfere with the chains and so on...) Plus, it has a cooldown on top of that, so I can't really see it dealing any sort of reliable damage.
However, given that Hurl has a range of a 100ft, it makes a rather interesting carrier of Crippling Challenge and Nailed to the Ground; while also snaring your target upon reception.
- Rubble Trouble
This advantage is nice on paper, not so much in practice. All it does, is add an Area of Effect component to an average power possessing a cooldown to begin with.
- Nailed to the Ground
It disables and locks out travel powers for five seconds. Its not nearly as great as Shockwave against multiple targets, but it does lock out travel powers.
- Crippling Challenge
This advantage essentially adds a certain amount of threat to the power it is applied on, as well as taunt your target for 4 seconds and disables blocks from players and specific NPCs for 10 seconds. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 20% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Hurl is an interesting carrier of Crippling Challenge, in that it is one of several powers capable of applying it at a 100ft range. It's not much, but it gets its point across.
Thunderclap
Thunderclap is an interesting point-blank Area of Effect, which possess the ability to stun just about any mob below the rank of Supervillain; it also works on players to some extent, or so I'm told.
Its a good tool if you are running Lightning Reflexes or just about any offensive passive; it's also pretty helpful if you want to setup a ranged cone attack or a knockup Roomswepper. However, Thunderclap really shines when used in conjunction with Havoc Stomp and Unleashed Rage, as it can fill the gap between the former's charge time and the latter's hefty activation time.
With the proper buffs, Thunderclap can serve as a semi-useful instant Point-Blank Area of Effect. It also generates Enraged stacks when used on three or more targets.
As a carrier of Challenging Strikes, Thunderclap ain't nearly as interesting as it used to be, thanks to the fact that it no longer benefits from its cooldown. Just about any maintain would do the job, maybe even better at that.
- Collateral Damage
A waste of points, 5 feet increase doesnt make much of a difference for this power. It does help out on the Enraged generation, but the cooldown and the advantage points necessary to buy this advantage, makes me believe that there are better choices out there.
- Challenging Strikes
Challenging Strikes is your primary multiple threat generation tool. This advantage adds a certain amount of threat to the power on which it is applied and will generate additional threat over time as long as the debuff is active. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 5% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Thunderclap has lost a lot of ground as a carrier of Challenging Strikes since it was fixed and its choices of carriers broadened; just about any power without a cooldown would be better than Thunderclap.
On the Behemoth, Roomsweeper is a much more attractive carrier of Challenging Strikes, so make sure you weigh your options before proceeding.
Unleashed Rage *
Great, just what Might was missing, an Alpha Strike. To put it simply, it is a large Area of Effect capable of knocking down and applying fear to all targets in mid-range. And the more Enraged stacks you have on you upon activating it, the stronger the damage. Though it should be noted that it is next to worthless on its own.
Given that it is one of the strongest Tier 4 powers out there, I can see no reasons not to pick this up; especially if you have come this far in Might.
It also doesn't consume any of your Enraged stacks and benefits from the Brawler role, in case you were wondering. However, it's not affected by the STR melee bonus.
There are many different powers that synergies directly with Might, particularly when it comes to offering alternate ways to build your Might toon. And that's exactly what this section is about.
Way of the Warrior
Way of the Warrior is just another one of these powers that opens up a whole new dimension when it comes to Might.
What this passive does basically, is buff all of your melee Physical damage (Crushing, Slashing, Piercing) as well as increase your dodge and avoidance rating; both effects which scales with your Super Stats. It also generates energy whenever one of your opponents dodges, but that almost never happen as far as PVE is concerned.
The thing about this offensive passive, is that it allows you to stack some dodge and have the opportunity to use DEX as one of your Super Stats, as opposed to taking STR as usual.
For instance, instead of going with Enraged stacks and Resurgence, you could go with something a little bit different by building Focus (scales with STR and DEX) using one of all the various toggles available in the Martial Arts Framework; as well as use Masterful Dodge and the Resurgent Reiki advantage on Bountiful Chi Resurgence, in order to capitalize on your dodging capabilities.
Also, keep in mind that Way of the Warrior follows the same curve as Unstoppable, and as a result, you're generally better off investing in your toggle as opposed to ranking it. In addition to that, having access to a Focus toggle will disable all but one of your Enraged stack while toggled on.
Kinetic Manipulation
This power is another offensive passive available inside Force, that boosts all of your ranged Physical damage (Crushing, Slashing, Piercing); allowing you to use the chains powers in Might more efficiently. This damage increase scales with your Super Stats and also grant some minor measure of resistance against Physical damage.
Now, before we get going, let me state that the the Might chains have much less damage potential than their Infernal counterparts, due to the fact that they uses Toxic (Elemental) instead of ranged Crushing damage (Physical). As a result, stacking Enraged and using the innate damage debuff on Demolish are about the only ways to improve those chains within Might. (Not that those are the only ones out there, just saying...)
Still, if you are really serious about using chains, you can do much much worse than picking up Kinetic Manipulation; though you might wanna keep in mind that Iron Cyclone doesn't scale with this passive at this point in time.
Howl
What Howl does, is basically add an Enraged stack on you, or refresh them when you already have some under your belt. Which is a tremendous help, since that it is very difficult to prevent the stacks decay when you are fighting or going through some downtime. You could keep them refreshed through the likes of Roomsweeper, Havoc Stomp and Clobbers advantage, but truthfully, those are rather inconvenient and prevents you from using much stronger powers like Haymaker or Uppercut.
It does have a fear component, which is quite nice, since it is already implemented within the power from the get-go. And it also applies a single Enraged stack on your team, that is, when you dont have any on yourself to begin with.
While it is not essential to your success as a Might enthusiast, it is tremendously helpful, especially if you are building Enraged stacks through other means while running Unstoppable.
- Make Them Tremble
An OK advantage, though perhaps sitting on a rather long cooldown. What this does, is essentially applies a snare to targets within your immediate vicinity, which may or may not be necessary if you are already running the likes of Brawler role, Shockwave or Hurl.
Its not that big a deal, but still, it only costs one advantage point, so if you are ready to spend the advantage point on it, you should feel free to do so.
Energy Shield
To be fair, this is exactly the same power as Retaliation, minus the damage buff and plus 20% damage mitigation.
What makes Energy Shield truly shine however, is its advantage, which activates whenever you use a melee attack; improving your defense by a rather interesting amount, as well as slightly lowering the damage you deal while it is active.
Given that most of the powers within the Might Power Set are melee attacks, getting more defense for it is never a bad idea; you could certainly make much worse choices than taking it along with Laser Knight.
- Laser Knight
This advantage allows you to proc a lesser version of Energy Shield when using melee attacks. This shield improves your defense for a couple of seconds.
Laser Knight isn't exactly the monster it used to be, but it's still quite potent as far as it goes and does reasonably well when paired with the likes of Unstoppable. It's most certainly better than nothing, though you might wanna consider Ebon Void with Voracious Darkness if you're more of the tanking sort.
Parry
Parry is an OK block that allows you to return a portion of an incoming attack every six seconds; the amount of damage returned ain't all that crazy, but it's kind of nice conceptually.
What Parry does however, is provide an alternative to Energy Shield and Laser Knight, as its advantage triggers a buff that improves your dodge, avoidance and knock resistance whenever you use a melee attack; though like Laser Knight, it also slightly reduces the damage you deal while it is active.
That makes Parry a natural match for Way of the Warrior and all of the various dodge-inclined powers within the Martial Arts framework; unless you're thinking of mismatching different types of mitigation with Laser Knight.
- Elusive Monk
This advantage allows you to proc a buff whenever you use a melee attack. This buff improves your dodge, avoidance and knock resistance for a couple of seconds.
Eruption
Eruption is a great power; I honestly can't believe how I used to get around without it.
Despite its rather unimpressive description, Eruption plays right into Might's game, allowing you to generate Aggressor, refresh Enraged stacks instantly as well as to fuel both Molecular Self-Assembly (because of its three seconds cooldown) and the Thermal Reverberation energy unlocks. (because of its Magma Burst advantage) Furthermore, it also has access to Crippling Challenge, which is quite nice all things considered.
As versatile as this power is, all is not well however; Eruption's animation takes forever to complete, making it feel somewhat heavier than other powers within Might. Also, this power requires a lot of timing in order to maintain Aggressor, so I would recommend getting at least another power for more reliable knocks.
Still, Eruption pretty much trivializes the process of maintaining your Enraged stacks and can help quite a bit in dealing with energy issues; so I can't see any reason not to give it a shot.
- Magma Burst
This advantage adds a small fire Area of Effect to Eruption, with a 10% chance to inflict Clinging Flames upon its affected targets.
It's not that bad, considering that it can be used to fuel Thermal Reverberation; however, I wouldn't recommend it unless you also plan on making extensive use of Brimstone with the Aftershock advantage or use another power like Flashfire.
- Crippling Challenge
This advantage essentially adds a certain amount of threat to the power it is applied on, as well as taunt your target for 4 seconds and disables blocks from players and specific NPCs for 10 seconds. Furthermore, it adds a fluctuating 20% damage debuff, which goes down whenever its carrier attacks you and improves whenever you attack him.
Eruption is a great carrier of Crippling Challenge and while it is still inferior to the likes of Defensive Combo, its gimmick highly entices you to apply it whenever it comes off cooldown; which means that whatever it is you are attacking is most likely to target you instead of your teammates.
Overall, getting the most out of Eruption and this advantage pretty much force you to develop good tanking habits and I can't see anything wrong with that.
Statting
Choosing your Super Stats as Might can be a little daunting at first, especially since most passives scales off them to begin with. But for Might, the choices kinda imposes themselves for a number of reasons.
You see, Defiant (CON), Enraged (STR/CON) and Focus (STR/DEX) stacks are all considered separate entities from the powers that generates them, and as a result, do not scale with your Super Stats the way passives do.
Given that Defiant and Enraged are such staples of Defiance, the foolproof way to ensure that you are always performing at top condition would involve going STR/CON, whereas characters using Unstoppable can get away with just speccing STR to fuel Enraged and go for END in order to balance out the loss of Defiance's energy-generation mechanic and outweigh the cost of powers like Haymaker.
Similarly, dodge-oriented Might characters using Way of the Warrior for example, have little choice as they will probably be going for Form of the Tempest or Form of the Master, which provides Focus based on how often you crit or dodge. Which will result in them going DEX/END, for the same reason that Unstoppable uses END.
As a tank, another school of thought, is to stat CON/PRE to boost Defiant, the additional healing potency and improve their threat generation. Though to be fair, you dont really need PRE to maintain aggro properly, though that would probably involve going with Defensive Combo instead.
People using Kinetic Manipulation can stat whichever way they prefer, though they would certainly benefit from going STR/DEX to boost knockback and dip into Force; or similarly, they could go DEX/EGO to boost their chains and whichever other power they would like to pick.
STR can be helpful to all melee-oriented builds thanks to the bonus it grants to melee damage at an investment of about 70 and the massive knock it adds to many of their powers. REC, on the other hand can be quite helpful to improve your Equilibrium, allowing you to let out a good Haymaker or Havoc Stomp right off the bat. While CON is quite helpful overall, thanks to the increase in health that it grants.
But in the end, it mostly depends on what you are going for.
Achieving Perma-Enrage
In a nutshell, Perma-Enrage is the concept of keeping up the maximum amount of Enraged stacks at all time, essentially removing the entire process of constantly refreshing its stacks through Enraged-generating powers.
There are various ways to achieve this, depending on how much power points and advantages you are willing to spend on that. The simplest way is to use CON to increase the duration of your Enraged stacks and invest ranks into Enrage so that its cooldown is shorter than the stacks duration; INT can also be used to reduce the cooldown on Enrage.
Alternatively, you could just make use of Enrage and Howl's separate cooldowns to ensure that your stacks never fall off; with CON thrown in for good measure. Otherwise, you could just take Eruption and be done with it, as its gimmick plays right into the mechanics of Perma-Enrage.
Still, with careful use of powers like Roomsweeper, Havoc Stomp and the Onslaught advantage on Clobber (Optional); you could most likely achieve the exact same result as the tricks mentioned above. The problem with this method however, is that you'll constantly have to keep track of your stacks and the time it take for you to charge up Roomsweeper to 50% while also being in range of your target. So it's kind of a drag to use.
Running Multiple Active Defenses
This might be overdoing it unless you PVP, but it is very possible to run more than one Active Defenses on your hero.
You see, every individual Active Defenses triggers a cooldown of one and half minutes on themselves upon being used, while adding a 30 seconds cooldown to all other Active Defenses you have bought. Which means, that it is very possible for someone to use Resurgence and then fall back to Masterful Dodge after 30 seconds.
This method can raise your Brick to near godly levels of resilience, and the great thing is, that you can use Nanobot Swarms from Gadgeteering to halve those cooldowns.
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Leveling Builds :
The following leveling builds have been posted for purely academic reasons, and should NOT be merely copy and pasted into your Champions power tray. It is merely a basic framework for the point I am trying to make here.
Defiance Leveling Build
Looking at this build, youll notice that there are various flaws with it, and the reason as to why I have set it up this way, is to illustrate the various milestones, which you will encounter throughout your career.
First, experience has taught me that when it comes to Defensive Passives, they should be picked up at around level 8, which is roughly when the game starts throwing harder enemies your way. Again, that is not an imperative, but Defiance will serve as your wooden leg all the way through the early zones; and as such, should be picked up as soon as possible.
That being said, you should have picked up a dedicated Area of Effect by level 11, since thats when enemy mobs will start to get bigger and the areas more crowded. As for your block enhancer, it is highly suggested that you pick it up somewhere prior to Snake Gulch.
From that point on, the powers you take should be tailored to your tastes.
Taking an Active Defense or a Heal should be high up your list of priorities; but chances are, that you've already noticed that some of the important powers of this build, namely Enrage, Resurgence and Shockwave are pretty far up the build. And the reason why, is that you wont be capable to pick up some of them, as either they are too far up or tree, or simply, because you had more pressing matters to deal with.
What I am trying to teach you here, is that you should retcon at least once as you progress up the Might tree, while the price for those are still cheap. For instance, taking Defiance at level 1 and Retaliation at level 5 is a recipe for disaster. If however, you are level 20, its not that big a deal, as you will be able to use them as fodder to unlock the likes of Shockwave and Resurgence, essentially cleaning up the likes of Roomsweeper.
Using that technique, you can move some of your early powers further up your build, in order to take the buffs and heal powers much earlier in your career. From that point on, just concentrate on getting to 40, and from there, youll get a free complete retcon that you can use to settle into one of the more optimal builds cited below.
You really shouldn't have much problem running on high difficulties after level 26, though I'm pretty sure you could get away with it much sooner if you know what you're doing.
One piece of advice however, I am not saying that this leveling build is the right one for you. For instance, I am shooting for Unleashed Rage all the way up to level 38, while I could just as easily have left it out and pick up some more utilities. You want to breath fire instead of banging the ground or flinging villains around? Thats perfectly alright, you should tailor this build to fit your own needs and concept; again, theres absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Unstoppable Leveling Build
Running with Unstoppable is something I'd liken to an high-risk high-reward playstyle.
On one hand, you'll be dealing loads of damage in melee but at the cost of Defiance's innate mitigation and energy-generation. You really can't afford to second-guess what you're doing, as it won't take much for you to get overwhelmed.
Still, your time up to level 14 should be pretty straightforward; all you have to do is take advantage of Roomsweeper's highly destructive power and use your lunge as much as possible in order to avoid letting yourself become exposed. At level 11, Bionic Shielding will help ease off the pressure off you, though do keep in mind that it has a habit of targeting friendly NPCs nearby, so make sure you take steps to ensure that this doesn't happen.
By the time you reach Havoc Stomp, you should be all set all the way up to level 40, with Haymaker and Thunderclap easing up the transition.
Though keep in mind that you're still a melee DPS, and as a result, you'll have to work harder for your kills. Still, the trade-offs are significant, as you'll wreck just about anything that gets in melee range. I would highly suggest staying clear of higher difficulties like Elite or Very Hard until you have a full complement and perhaps Thunderclap.
Do note however, that this build is fully customizable. If you don't like running around with Laser Knight, you can get away with just taking Retaliation. As a matter of fact, while I was coming up with this build, my own one was nowhere as optimized as this one; and I did just just fine as I slowly stumbled upon this winning combination.
Furthermore, it would be quite possible to replace Thunderclap with Enrage in order to take better advantage of Unleashed Rage; however, this might make using Havoc Stomp rather unpleasant at higher difficulty.
No, this guide is NOT a bible; I do not have the pretension to claim that these builds are the best ones around, let alone that they will turn you into the perfect Might tank.
All I can vouch for these, is that I have worked hard to perfection them, and that they have worked for me under many circumstances, from Therakiel Temple to taking on Ripper and my three Might nemesis on my own, during Deathray Demolition.
It should be noted however, that those builds shouldn't be used before achieving level 40 and aren't my own builds, but rather what they should be if they werent conflicting with my concept.
Defiance Might Build
This is your standard Might Tank, no more, no less.
There really isn't that much to say here, except that perhaps it is possible to cut corners and save two advantage points by taking out the Nailed to the Ground advantage off Mighty Leap; I merely left it there to ensure that nobody would make the mistake of not taking Flight as your second Travel Power.
Furthermore, this build fully endorse the concept of Perma-Enrage by taking both Enrage and Howl, allowing you to maintain eight stacks consistently.
Defiance Open Build
This is an example of a Might Tank that dips much more heavily within the other power sets, sacrificing Unleashed Rage in order to pick up some more utilities.
Aside from using CON/PRE as its Super Stats, you may have noticed that this build makes extensive use of Flight in order to even out the loss of the Leg Rumbler advantage of Shockwave and the Nailed to the Ground one from Mighty Leap.
As is customary for most Defiance builds, this particular one also achieves Perma-Enrage through the use of CON and Rank 3 Enrage; while also making use of various powers in order to make you much tougher in the long run, such as Inertial Dampening Field and Circle of Primal Domination.
In addition to that, Sword Cyclone can deal some very real damage as opposed to Shockwave, though at the cost of a much more limited range.
Defiance Open Build Variant
This build is a variant of the first Defiance Open Build, which sacrifices Uppercut and Electric Sheath in order to pick up Eruption and Molecular Self-Assembly.
Overall, this build feels much heavier than the previous one, but features slightly better survivability (Rank 3 Defiance, Endorphin Rush), easier Enraged (Eruption) and energy management (Molecular Self-Assembly) as well as a simplified framework for applying debuffs (Eruption and Demolish).
The trade-off however, is that it doesn't have access to a dedicated Hold Breaker and its damage isn't nearly as reliable as the previous one.
Unstoppable Might Build
Now this build is simply a variation of the Unstoppable Leveling Build, the main difference, is that since we're already 40, we can skip Uppercut entirely and go straight to Haymaker; saving up a power point to pick up Enrage in order to improve its Enraged-generation and save up four advantage points to make Unleashed Rage even deadlier.
Using Roomsweeper, Havoc Stomp and Enrage to maintain your Enraged stacks can really turn Unleashed Rage into a simply awesome power; allowing you to pump out some sudden burst as well as wreck whatever it is that's attacking you when you are getting overwhelmed.
Unstoppable Open Build
This is an example of a Might DPS build that dips much more heavily within other frameworks; sacrificing the sheer burst of Unleashed Rage for more utilities and improved survivability.
The main difference between this build and the previous one, is the inclusion of Inertial Dampening Field for the massive boost against regular mobs; as well as the addition of several utilities such as Electric Sheath, which grant you access to a proper Hold Breaker (You want Masterful Dodge to stay available for when you need it) as well as a nice shield whenever you're in a pinch.
Palliate, in particular, is pretty useful while teaming; as it can help you wipe off your threat in order to keep yourself alive or simply to help teammates.
One big sacrifice however, is that you don't have access to either Enrage or Thunderclap, though that shouldn't be much of an issue given how much more durable you are going to be.
The Behemoth
This, folks, is The Behemoth; the free Might archetype offered by default to all Silver Players.
As a Tank and an Archetype, The Behemoth isn't quite equipped to handle everything the way a Freeform character would be able to, and as a result, I'm gonna ask you to lower your expectations.
In the beginning, it's going to take some times before this Archetype can truly pop, which means that you're going to be stuck with Defensive Combo as your main attack for quite a while. The period up to level 8 is gonna the most nightmarish you'll ever experience with this Archetype, as it will take some time before you can pick up Defiance, which will serve you well all the way up to level 40.
As far as the first travel power is concerned, you should be aware that you're going to need something to deal with fliers very early on; given that Shockwave is so far up inside the build. Flight is a good way to deal with that, though thrown objects can do that just as well when in a pinch. Otherwise, you might wanna look into investing two advantage points into Mighty Leap in order to get Nailed to the Ground; though just remember that you'll be given a second travel power at level 35, so you might wanna get rid of the advantage and grab up Flight as your second travel power.
Level 11 is the first true milestone you're gonna hit as The Behemoth, and also the first time you'll be given a choice between which power to take. It's not much of a choice really, as I can't imagine how someone in their right mind would take Thunderclap over Roomsweeper. Taking Roomsweeper will completely change your game from this point on, as it will serve as your primary Area of Effect all the way up to Shockwave, and will also provide you with a very reliable way to build up Enraged stacks in order to improve your damage. Furthermore, now that Roomsweeper has access to Challenging Strikes, you can use it to help you build up some threat until you get Shockwave.
After that, you'll pretty much cruise through everything all the way up to Monster Island, by which point you'll have picked up both Demolish and Aggressor; the former which will serve as your primary single target attack and allow you to debuff your target's damage resistance.
At level 32, you're given another choice, which will allow you to take your pick between Uppercut and Haymaker. Quite frankly, there is no right answer on this one, though I would argue that Uppercut might be a tiny bit more convenient; as it is much cheaper energy-wise than Haymaker.
Truthfully, you shouldn't really encounter any problem until you reach Lemuria; from which point you'll begin to realize just how powerful Freeform characters are. The three dimensional environment of Lemuria makes it kinda tough for melee in general to operate and The Behemoth is certainly no exception to this rule. With Roomsweeper as your primary Area of Effect, you'll quickly experience a spike in difficulty; which will require you to grab a buddy in order to complete the Crisis. (You can also skip it, but that ain't much of a plan given the level you're gonna be)
Ideally, you should stay away from Lemuria as much as possible and get to Vibora Bay as soon as you have the chance. From there, the last part of Canada and Monster Island will open up, carrying you all the way to level 40 and Shockwave.
Of course, feel free to experiment by yourself; but just for the sake of argument, here's a little summary of what you should shoot for by the time you reach level 40.
As you can see, this final build is pretty straightforward and should do well enough when paired with other Archetypes. With Rank 2 Defiance, Rank 3 Retaliation and Unbreakable as well as an easy access to Crippling Challenge and Challenging Strikes; this Behemoth should be more than capable of tanking anything short of Elite Lairs and should do well enough when supported by a healer like The Mind or The Grimoire.
Just make sure to grab as much attention away from your teammates as possible and you'll be fine. This Archetype is much tougher than it looks, so you just gotta learn to make the most out of your block and Active Defense.
One detail though, in regard to threat generation as The Behemoth; given that its Super Stats are STR/CON, this Archetype will rely exclusively on Defensive Combo with Crippling Challenge for single-target and Shockwave with Challenging Strikes for multiple ones. (Roomsweeper can be used to fill the gap until you get Shockwave) Once you get a hang of it, you should be more than capable of holding aggro while in group.
However, do be careful with players spamming Crippling Challenge; if you realize that your target is constantly switching target to this person every couple of seconds or so, before going back to you, that means that someone is taunting your target, knowingly or unknowingly.
So... it's not your fault.
For more details about the individual powers, have a look at the Powers Overview section of this guide. All of them are there except Unbreakable, which is also available on CO-Wiki.
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FAQs :
(Frequently Asked Questions)
What about PVP?
- Yeah, what about it?
Youre not using X power!!! N00b, WTH! Batman!
- This isnt going to end well
Should I stay Pure Might or should I dip into other Power Sets?
- Arent you such a doll To answer that question, I would tell you that Champions was based on the idea that you could take whichever powers you wanted to make the hero of your dreams.
Theres nothing wrong with staying in the Might Power Set, especially if you want to add Unleashed Rage to your build. However, there are some holes that were placed on purpose inside this set, which means it is highly recommended that you dip into other Power Sets to round out your Champion.
Should I really go for Unleashed Rage, is it really that good?
- Unleashed Rage is a great power, so if you really like Might, you should really pick it up if you get the chance.
HOWEVER, theres no shame in taking whichever power you like when building your Champion. In fact, this actually makes you far more versatile in comparison to someone who spent 10 powers within the Brick Framework alone.
I say, do whatever you want, theres no wrong answer here.
What happened to the old thread?
- A new thread was made because I needed more space and I didnt want people to get confused by old material I had posted prior to Free-For-All; particularly in regard to Super Stats and some specific powers.
I had left it there due to not wanting to remove some material that I felt would still be useful; but now, given the updates I've been making since then, I felt it served no purpose than to confuse everyone...
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Credits
Thanks to all of those who have contributed to this guide at one point on another.
- @AngelOfCaine
- @Calsetes
- @Mercykiller
- @mirth81
- @Mr.Funsocks
- @Obitus
- @WillBlack
You guys are all Mighty!
Version 1,3 contains the following changes :
General
- A new thread was created in order to accommodate the new version of the guide.
- More posting space was reserved to pave the way for new content
- All relevant Power entries were linked to their CO-Wiki counterparts.
- A new section entitled "The Behemoth" was added to the guide.
- A new section entitled "Credits" was added to the guide.
Powers Overview
- All power descriptions were completely overhauled.
Synergies
- Added Way of the Warrior to Synergies.
- Added Kinetic Manipulation to Synergies.
- Added Parry to Synergies.
- Removed Resurgence from Synergies.
- Removed Field Surge from Synergies.
- Removed Unbreakable from Synergies.
- Removed Masterful Dodge from Synergies.
- Removed Bionic Shielding from Synergies.
- Removed Bountiful Chi Resurgence from Synergies.
- Removed Invulnerability from Synergies.
- Removed Imbue from Synergies.
- Removed Nanobot Swarms from Synergies.
- Adjusted Howl's description to better reflect Free-For-All.
- Adjusted Energy Shield's description to better reflect Free-For-All.
Advanced Strategies
- Removed the section on Defiant and Enraged's alleged numbers as it is no longer relevant.
- Removed the section on Hold Breakers as it was deemed too general for a Might Guide.
- Removed the section on Tapped Powers as it was deemed too general for a Might Guide.
- Removed the section on Melee Combat visibility as it was deemed too general for a Might Guide.
- Completely overhauled the section on Statting to better reflect Free-For-All.
- Completely overhauled the section on Perma-Enrage to offer more alternatives to Enrage and Howl.
- Adjusted the section on Multiple Active Defenses as part of the revision.
Builds
- Updated the Levelling Build for Free-For-All.
- Updated the Pure Might Build for Free-For-All.
- Updated the Open Power Might Build for Free-For-All.
- Temporarily Removed the CON/PRE Might Build for it to undergo revision.
The Behemoth
- The title to this section was linked to its CO-Wiki counterpart.
FAQs
- Removed a number of questions that were no longer relevant.
- Added a new question regarding the old thread.
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Enjoy!
By the way, I could use some feedback on The Behemoth section (Silver Players as well), to make sure I'm not too far off mark or missing the point entirely. So, if you have comments on how to make it better or have something else to add, feel free to post in this thread or contact me by PMs.
Please do.
Superhuman is an "innate characteristic" you get (or take for custom) at level 1 to add points to your stats. It's not a power like Clobber or Beatdown.
I don't know offhand what the Behemoth innate is, but I'd be flabbergasted if it is not Superhuman.
It's my mistake, The Behemoth is stuck with its own Innate Characteristic of the same name; and they can't retcon out of it either.
Well, it's not that big a deal; the only difference between those two is that you basically lose 2 pts of STR and CON, while gaining some in END and PRE.
Damn Copy and Paste...
I dont think that superman is open later to behemoth either like mighty or so.
But the archtype is very stable and fun. I cannot say the same of my soldier who dies often. Behemoth is the way to go if you are new and/or silver.
Yeah, Behemoth is probably the "safest" AT in terms of solid defense and decent offense...
1. Does Surge of Strength still give two stacks of Defiant when you start with none? If so, that makes it more useful to a non-Defiance user.
2. Last time I tried Shockwave, the damage was killed by Brawler role, so I used Havoc Stomp exclusively for AoE. Is this still the case?
EDIT:
3. Have you considered Thundering Kicks as a Crippling Challenge carrier instead of Beatdown? Similar cost and damage, but the dodge buff is more useful than the chance to stun.
It does, I'm actually surprised by this, must have slipped through the crack the first time around.
Yes.
If you are running Brawler and Unstoppable for DPS, then Havoc Stomp is definitely superior; if, on the other hand, you are running Defiance, then Shockwave's versatility and range can be a big plus in the long run.
*Part of this post has been deleted due to the proliferation of the Challenging Strikes advantage*
EDIT :
Not really, taking Beatdown helps get to higher tiers of Might powers earlier and also contributes toward Unleashed Rage; that's pretty much it.
Good for clearing spawns -- in my 5 man hard runs in the powerhouse, havoc stomp got me killed more often than not (the scattering of the knockback tended to cause ranged villain +'s to go back to pewpewing out of hte range of the masses, making it harder to AOE them before I got whittled down) -- so that combo produced a very solid source of spawn sweeping (and well shockwave is just love in general because maintained dps without knockaround)
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't seeing much of what was going on with all of those neons around the tank (Bubble, Ball Lightning, Pyre, etc...).
But yeah, I was planning on getting back to you on that, but since I got you here, might as well...
As far as I can tell, the tank had little trouble holding aggro throughout the whole thing; though I still had to aggro wipe myself and another DPS (I suspect) a couple of time just to make sure we weren't too much of an imposition on the plan. I can only assume that based on what I've seen, that he was actually using Defensive Combo, then again the addition of Crippling Challenge on it leaves me a tiny bit skeptical.
I am actually curious as to how it would hold up in comparison to a move with just Crippling Challenge like say, Power Gauntlet. Anyhow, I find it a bit difficult to justify specifically taking Defensive Combo as well as investing in Rank 2 based on the information I have now.
Though, for the record, the run went surprisingly well; it's kind of daunting to have an actual strategy as opposed to how it goes down while I am PUGging.
Okay, I've mulled it over, and here's the consensus I've come to. As a DPSer, its very easy to strip aggro in the first 30 seconds of a fight, just because the Tank hasn't generated a whole lot of threat yet. This is always the most crucial time as a Tank, as you have to block and generate threat, while your DPSers are just generating threat. The longer a fight goes on, the easier holding threat becomes.
Here's my take on Might for tanking: Even though Might has many of the staples for Tank builds, it's not that great at tanking groups. First off, you don't have any fast-ticking Challenging Strikes powers, except the narrow cone: Shockwave. This makes generating threat on multiple targets difficult, espceially if you get surrounded. Thunderclap just doesn't seem to do it, while Havok Stomp and Roomsweeper (your two mainstay AoE attacks) can't take Challenging Strikes. Also, all the knocks from your mainstay attacks makes keeping enemies grouped up very difficult, which increases the amount of time it takes to DPS them down. Personally, I'd like to see Roomsweeper and Havok Stomp gain access to Challenging Strikes, (and I'd like to see Havok Stomp's KB turn into a KU if you tap it), and that would help Might at tanking multiple enemies IMMENSELY!
But onto the task at hand! Defensive Combo, I think plays into Might's way of Tanking. Might works well in both DPS and Tanking a Single Target. The fact that it is fast-ticking, has its own threat mechanic tied in, and can take Crippling Challenge, I have not found a power that can generate more threat than it. Even Devour Essence + AotI can't. However, Con/Pre tanks have been known to (and often do) generate enough threat with other powers (Power Gauntlet, Assault Rifle, Fire Strike, Ego Blade Weaponry) to keep a boss pointed to them. So why take Defensive Combo? Doesn't that seem like overkill?
The answer is actually quite simple. I've come to find that the +threat that Dive Combo gives is about ~52% of what Crippling Challenge does, with Presence Super Statted. This means that even without Pre as a SS, you can still hold aggro as if you were using Pre and another Crippling Challenge Power. So, in essence, Defensive combo is the power that is meant for Might to use to Tank with it's recommended Super Stats: Con and Str. A Str/Con setup that uses all of Might's normal tricks like Roomsweepers, Uppercut, Haymaker and Unleashed Rage; can simply add in Defensive Combo with Crippling Challenge, and suddenly they're a Boss Tank in addition to being a very powerful DPSer. Personally, I've never found it overly necessary to have to force all the attention of every enemy you encoutner to face the Tank - in fact, having a melee DPSer with some decent survivability, they end up stripping trash mob aggro anyways, but easily killing things down before they're in need of assistance. This is my outlook on Defensive Combo. Fight through Trash mobs as a group of angry DPSers, then just switch your style to use Defensive Combo to hold aggro against the boss.
It makes sense enough; while I haven't tanked with STR/CON in ages, I did notice it was far easier to manage it with PRE and Circle of Primal Domination when applicable.
*Part of this post has been deleted following the addition of Challenging Strikes on Roomsweeper, Iron Cyclone and Havoc Stomp*
Anyhow, it's nice to know that there may be an alternative for tanks running CON/PRE.
*Happy Kirbish* Poyo! */Happy Kirbish*
Version 1,4 contains the following changes :
General
- The Builds section was split in half.
- A new section entitled "Leveling Builds" was added to the guide.
- A new section entitled "High-End Might Builds" was added to the guide.
- Changed the framework for publishing builds to include roles and gear.
- Wrapped "The Behemoth" section within another entitled "Might Archetypes".
- Fixed a bunch of typos while I was at it.
Powers Overview
- Made some changes to Defiance's description wording.
- Updated Enrage's description in regard to Unstoppable.
- Updated the description of the Endorphin Rush advantage of Enrage, in order to better reflect reality.
- Added a note regarding Unstoppable's energy-generation mechanic.
- Added a note regarding Haymaker's taps and Aggressor.
- Added a note to Uppercut regarding Aggressor.
- Updated the description of Defensive Combo in light of new evidences.
- Removed the bit about Defensive Combo from Iron Chain, in light of new evidences.
- Corrected an inaccuracy within Iron Cyclone's description.
- Updated the description of the Punitive Pummeling advantage of Retaliation to better reflect further testing.
- Updated Thunderclap's description in regard to Havoc Stomp and Unleashed Rage.
Synergies
- Updated Way of the Warrior's description in regard to its ranking curve.
- Updated Way of the Warrior's description in regard to its preferred stats.
Advanced Strategies
- Updated the Statting section in light of new evidences in regard to Unstoppable and Way of the Warrior.
Leveling Builds
- Updated the Defiance Leveling Build in light of new evidences.
- Added an Unstoppable Leveling Build.
High-End Builds
- Updated the Defiance Might Build in light of new evidences.
- Merged and Updated the old Defiance Open Build and the PRE/CON Tank Build into a single one.
- Added an Unstoppable Might Build.
- Added an Unstoppable Open Build.
Might Archetypes
- Updated The Behemoth's Build in light of new evidences.
- Added some content in regard to The Behemoth's aggro generation.
---
And that is all...
Whew! That was tough...
In any case, I hope you guys will appreciate the massive updates I've done within the Builds section, particularly in regard to the ones for Unstoppable.
Though I suppose I do owe you guys an apology, particularly in regard to Defensive Combo and the partial update to the old builds after Free-For-All. I don't know what to say, guess I just needed to see where the wind was blowing before I could make a decent call.
In any case, I am pretty satisfied with the current incarnation of this guide, so I do not foresee any major updates in the near future; at least not until I have the confirmation that the upcoming Heavy Weapons' Power Set contains anything relevant to Might.
Thanks to all of those who contributed to make this update a success!
Your help was very much appreciated.
Powers Overview
- Updated the description of the Crippling Challenge advantage where applicable.
- Updated the description of the Challenging Strikes advantage where applicable.
- Added an analysis of Beatdown as a carrier of Crippling Challenge.
- Updated Defensive Combo's description to better reflect reality.
- Added an analysis of Defensive Combo as a carrier of Crippling Challenge.
- Added an analysis of Iron Chain as a carrier of Crippling Challenge.
- Added an analysis of Shockwave as a carrier of Challenging Strikes.
- Challenging Strikes was added to Roomsweeper.
- Challenging Strikes was added to Havoc Stomp.
- Challenging Strikes was added to Iron Cyclone.
- Added an analysis of Mighty Leap as a carrier of Crippling Challenge.
- Added an analysis of Hurl as a carrier of Crippling Challenge.
- Added an analysis of Thunderclap as a carrier of Challenging Strikes.
- Added a note regarding the way Unleashed Rage is unlocked.
EDIT : - Updated Unstoppable's description to account for its contribution to non-Physical melee damage.
Synergies
- Added Arc of Ruin to Synergies.
Might Archetypes
- Updated The Behemoth's build in light of recent changes,
- Challenging Strikes was added to Roomsweeper, by removing the Rank 2 advantage off Flight.
FAQs
- Updated one of the questions in regard to Might no longer being alone inside the Brick framework.
---
Now to more pressing matters, how would you guys feel if I added Eruption to Synergies?
Seems to me like it could be helpful, given that it can fuel Aggressor, refresh Enraged, has access to Crippling Challenge and deals some pretty decent damage.
However, I'm already not covering powers like Two-Gun Mojo which also interacts with Enraged; so is Eruption something that you would like to see make it into the guide?
I've actually been thinking about doing the same with my build.
Have you actually played a level 40 Might build with no ranks in Enrage?
If so...how does it play out? Do you ever miss the ranked Enrage?
It depends on what you are going for.
Basically, it depends on how much you use either Roomsweeper, Havoc Stomp and/or Thunderclap. Normally, if you have a spare Power Point, you can work in Howl with Enrage and Defiance in order to achieve Perma-Enrage; if on the other hand, you have spare advantage points, then you are better off sinking four points and some CON into Enrage.
For the Unstoppable builds, that wasn't that much of an issue, since I was constantly using either Roomsweeper or Havoc Stomp, so I could get away with just using vanilla Enrage for a refresh now and then.
Sure, I sometimes miss Defiance and Enrage on my Unstoppable toon, but it's by no means unbearable. Still, I don't think that ranking it does you much good, as you are using Invulnerability; since you are forced to jump through hoops to build up Defiant stacks with Defensive Combo.
Once you have built up enough of them, ranked Enrage can help you maintain them, but then again, it all depends on how often you use Havoc Stomp or Roomsweeper.
General
- Removed the content of the Old SPrime Might Guide, as it was causing confusion and that the content I wanted to leave there was no longer relevant.
Synergies
- Removed Arc of Ruin from Synergies.
- Added Eruption to Synergies
Advanced Strategies
- Added a note to Perma-Enrage in regard to Eruption.
Levelling Builds
- Removed Rank 3 from Roomsweeper and Masterful Dodge within the Unstoppable Levelling Build and replaced them with Rank 2 Unbreakable.
High-End Might Builds
- Removed Rank 3 from Roomsweeper and Masterful Dodge within the Unstoppable Might Build and replaced them with Rank 2 Unbreakable.
- Removed Rank 3 from Roomsweeper and Masterful Dodge within the Unstoppable Open Build and replaced them with Rank 2 Unbreakable.
- Added a new Defiance Open Build variant.
---
With this update, SPrime's Might Guide is celebrating its one year of existence!
I gotta say, this guide has come a long way since its first publication in May 22nd 2010 and I never expected to remain here long enough to see it happen.
Back then, I was aware that the Melee patch was coming and had completed my first Might tank a couple of months before then.
Needless to say, the Might community was sort of a tightly-knit group back then, with most of the available resources being confined to the Old Official Might Thread. However, most of that information was buried under heaps of dedicated community members' posts, which is exactly what I sought to address with this Might Guide.
To put it in simpler term, I knew that there would be a strong demand for such a guide after the Melee Patch and I was more than happy to deliver.
It would have been easy to just go through the old thread and just take their words for it, but in the end, I think this guide benefited more from me starting the whole process from scratch; allowing me to form up my own opinions about Might.
So, in the light of this anniversary, I would also like to take a moment to thank all of those who have contributed to this guide up until now, whether directly or indirectly; you know who you are, and I can't be expected to remember everyone, but know that you guys are all Mighty!
*Happy Kirbish* Poyo! */Happy Kirbish*
I'm leveling a STR/CON (and Invuln for a passive def) might build right now, level 26 currently, and I was wondering if it would help my energy issues if I took an energy unlock like Molecular Self Assembly. My usual tactics are to use shockwave on henchmen and uppercut on villains or higher. My energy bar drops fast and I end up wasting time in a fight letting clobber build my bar back up.
Sooo....I was thinking maybe MSA or another energy unlock might help the issue. Now my Int and Rec are not great so I know that MSA isn't gonna scale well, but still....
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
Firebringer
Nope, I barely tolerate the existence of the Parry exploit on Therakiel's statues, so I'm not a 100% on this.
My first reaction would be to recommend that you switch Invulnerability for Defiance, as the former is particularly notorious for being energy-starved and that the latter is just awesome. Alternatively, I've seen some attempts to mitigate that by working the Defiant ranks granted by Defensive Combo and Surge of Strength with Invulnerability...
See, the thing about Molecular Self-Assembly, is that it mainly relies on powers with short cooldowns, like Bountiful Chi Resurgence, Conviction, Eruption, Thunderclap, etc... Which means that if you don't have at least two of those, among other, this energy-unlock isn't gonna be doing much for you.
In that particular case, I would suggest maybe going with Flashfire and Thermal Reverberation instead.
As a corollary to this statement, I wouldn't recommend taking Conviction on a build that already has issues with energy. It costs a bundle and there's just no way it's gonna perform as well as other self-heals.
That being said, another possibility would be to stick in Protector role and turtle up behind your block whenever you are running out of energy. This actually works better than having to wait for Clobber and that way, you can also take advantage of powers like Force Shield with Force Sheath or Ebon Void with Voracious Darkness.
The Defiant stack from Defensive Combo: Surge of Strength doesn't have the energy gain that Defiance offers. At least the last time I had this advantage it didn't.
Has something changed?
No it has not.
I vaguely recalled a while ago that this mechanic was actually tied to the Defiance passive and not to the Defiant buff itself. So, no, it would not improve your energy generation.
Oh well, it happens; it's not like I'm always running around with Invulnerability or anything...
I haven't used that advantage in a long time...so I wasn't sure. I was kind of hoping something had changed because I've been looking for ways to help my energy issues.
It's been a while since I've played and just come back so any help advice on this build would be appreciated
Build by championBuilder 0.4.1
Download this Build here.
anon: Level 40 Champion
Superstats:
Level 6: Super Strength
Level 13: Super Constitution
Powers:
Level 1: Clobber -- Onslaught
Level 1: Cleave -- Challenging Strikes
Level 6: Defiance -- Rank 2, Rank 3
Level 6: Superjump
Level 8: Ebon Void -- Voracious Darkness
Level 11: Mighty Leap -- Crippling Challenge, Bull Rush
Level 14: Invulnerability -- Rank 2, Rank 3
Level 17: Resurgence -- Evanescent Emergence
Level 20: Roomsweeper -- Challenging Strikes, Rank 2, Rank 3
Level 23: Arc of Ruin -- Challenging Strikes
Level 26: Defensive Combo -- Crippling Challenge
Level 29: Havoc Stomp -- Challenging Strikes
Level 32: Brimstone -- Challenging Strikes
Level 35: Enrage -- Endorphin Rush
Level 35: Flight
Level 38: Unleashed Rage -- Rank 2, Rank 3
Talents:
Level 1: The Behemoth
Level 6: Physical Conditioning
Level 9: Impressive Physique
Level 12: Relentless
Level 15: Shrug It Off
Level 18: Boundless Reserves
Level 21: Quick Recovery
If you really want to be a tank in the traditional sense of holding aggro, then never put Crippling Challenge on your lunge because then you won't be able to spam it. Just go with it on Defensive Combo.
Don't take both Defiance and Invulnerability - they are both slotted passives and you can only use one at a time. I would just take Defiance and use the Invuln slot to take Unbreakable with the Better You Than Me advantage.
I wouldn't try for the Unleashed Rage power if I wanted to be a true tank. Instead I would take more heal powers since you're going to be the one that all the mobs are beating on.
It seems it is fairly inaccurate although sill has a fair amount of relevance. What sort of information were you looking to take from it? 0.o How to make a tanky might build?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] <- No violence or dark humor here, move on.
I.M.P.@drimp in Champions (Careful that you don't get hit by falling bombs when dueling)
Dr Imp@drimp in Neverwinter (Apparently I use hax and exploits, also I apparently payed to win)
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Maxima
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Devastator
Level 6: Relentless
Level 9: Quick Recovery
Level 12: Negotiator
Level 15: Bodybuilder
Level 18: Boundless Reserves
Level 21: Investigator
Powers:
Level 1: Clobber
Level 1: Defensive Combo (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 6: Mighty Leap
Level 8: Invulnerability (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 14: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Enrage (Endorphin Rush)
Level 20: Havoc Stomp (Rank 2, Cry Havoc, Challenging Strikes)
Level 23: Demolish (Rank 2, Below the Belt)
Level 26: Masterful Dodge
Level 29: Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Resurgent Reiki)
Level 32: Thunderclap (Accelerated Metabolism, Challenging Strikes)
Level 35: Unleashed Rage (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Imbue
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Flight
Level 35: Lightspeed
Specializations:
Strength: Swole (3/3)
Strength: Physical Peak (2/3)
Strength: Brutality (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (3/3)
Protector: Fortified Gear (2/3)
Protector: Unrelenting (1/2)
Protector: Bulwark (2/2)
Protector: Defensive Expertise (3/3)
Protector: Resolute (2/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Slaughter (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (2/3)
Mastery: Protector Mastery (1/1)