Difference between revisions of "Brute Strategy"

Latest revision as of 22:02, 7 July 2009

Very simply put, Fury is the core of the Brute's play style. This single, scaling buff, while inadequate in PVP when compared to Hero effects, is simply your best source of damage. This means that whatever strategies you opt to take, building Fury should ideally trump all of them. Brutes want to harvest enemy attention (since being attacked builds Fury), which suggests the typical tactics of pulling are suboptimal from the Brute's perspective. Better to buff the Brute, let the Brute Taunt, and ride in to ruin the enemy's day.

For character construction, Brutes prefer fast attacks, with secondary effects like Disorient or Knockback being of less concern; with this in mind, Hasten offers the Brute a potential way to increase attack speed and therefore build Fury faster.

There is, however, a tipping point; a Brute who simply attacks as much as they can as fast as they can will run out of Endurance very quickly, which means there is a constant tension for the Brute player: to balance and maintain Fury against their Endurance. This makes managing Endurance a key skill for the Brute player, who can often get by slotting his attacks for Endurance Reduction and Accuracy, as Fury will (at least in the early stages of the game) compensate for damage.

With this in mind, the Brute needs to understand how to earn the attention of enemies; the Brute needs to be aware of his or her Endurance bar, and aware of ways to keep it high; the Brute needs to be far more conscious of himself and cannot rely solely on the assistance of other characters to support him. Effects that enhance a Brute's Endurance are not always common in City of Villains, which means teammates have to be aware of their limitations.