The Dead End Butcher
More a concept build than a power one, I've been surprised at how much fun I've been having with it (for all that Dual Blades is kind of a mess of a powerset). This character would likely work well as a Stalker too, but given the inspiration for the character, Brute felt like a better fit to me.
I've gotten him up to threat level 22 so far, and he'll only get better over time as you'll soon see from the build text below. A few notes on set IO levels, however:
- The vast majority of my set IOs are at level 27 for malefactor purposes.
- Reactive Defenses has its IOs set to level 21.
- Most procs are taken either at minimum level, or a level that will malefactor to the availability of the power's availability (depending on market stocks).
Dual Blades, as a set, was the first of its kind and the precursor to the more modern combo systems we see today in sets like Street Justice. Like any prototype, it suffers comparatively, but it isn't a bad set. When I built Dead End Butcher, I paid close attention to the DPA (Damage Per Animation) of its attacks, and only secondarily to any combos I might be able to complete as part of my chain. To that end, Power Slice, Vengeful Slice, and One Thousand Cuts were discarded as being poor value if I have sufficient recharge to otherwise manage an attack chain. This is fortunate since I needed power pool picks to support concept!
One of the downsides of Dual Blades is that any miss in your chain will more than likely force a failed combo (meaning you will get no additional effects). Furthermore, the combo system doesn't reset immediately; I often open combat with the Nimble Slash -> Ablating Strike -> Blinding Feint combo which provides an empowerment buff. However, if I immediately return to Nimble Slash I won't activate a new combo (say, Nimble Slash -> Ablating Strike -> Typhoon's Edge (Weaken Combo)). It's possible this is because there's a secondary combo finisher hanging on to the end of my Blinding Feint combo that activates off of a power I don't have.
The upside is that the actual combo effects are meager anyways; you'll get the highest damage per second ignoring them and focusing on keeping your Empower combo up while using Sweeping Strike as often as possible.
All in all, I'm having fun playing my movie slasher villain and exploring what kind of campy nonsense I can get up to with him. May my experiences potentially help others!
As a final note, I always turn off T9 armor powers and incarnate defensives that add to resist/defense in my totals. What is shown in the attachments is effectively my 'second by second' performance, with additional potential from the powers I have excluded. I like to establish a solid baseline where I can! Also, there are definitely places where you could squeeze out more power if you have the economy (purples, event sets, lots of HOs). My own economy is fairly limited these days, so I build within the budget I can manage!
QuoteDead End Butcher - Villain Brute
Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.7.5 rev. 21
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- Primary powerset: Dual Blades
- Secondary powerset: Energy Aura
- Pool powerset (#1): Leaping
- Pool powerset (#2): Presence
- Pool powerset (#3): Fighting
- Pool powerset (#4): Speed
- Ancillary powerset: Martial_Prowess
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Powers taken:
Level 1: Nimble Slash
- A: Superior Brute's Fury: Accuracy/Damage
- 3: Superior Brute's Fury: Damage/Recharge
- 5: Superior Brute's Fury: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- 19: Superior Brute's Fury: Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
- 39: Superior Brute's Fury: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- 40: Superior Brute's Fury: Recharge/Fury Bonus
Level 1: Kinetic Shield
- A: Reactive Defenses: Defense
- 7: Reactive Defenses: Defense/Endurance
- 11: Reactive Defenses: Endurance/RechargeTime
- 25: Reactive Defenses: Defense/RechargeTime
- 25: Reactive Defenses: Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime
- 36: Reactive Defenses: Scaling Resist Damage
Level 2: Ablating Strike
- A: Superior Unrelenting Fury: Accuracy/Damage
- 3: Superior Unrelenting Fury: Damage/RechargeTime
- 5: Superior Unrelenting Fury: Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime
- 15: Superior Unrelenting Fury: Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
- 19: Superior Unrelenting Fury: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
- 39: Superior Unrelenting Fury: RechargeTime/+Regen/+End
Level 4: Dampening Field
- A: Invention: Resist Damage
- 45: Invention: Resist Damage
Level 6: Power Shield
- A: Kismet: Defense/Endurance
- 7: Kismet: Defense/Recharge
- 11: Kismet: Endurance/Recharge
- 36: Kismet: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- 37: Kismet: Accuracy +6%
- 40: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
Level 8: Blinding Feint
- A: Nucleolus Exposure
- 9: Nucleolus Exposure
- 9: Touch of Death: Chance of Damage(Negative)
- 21: Mako's Bite: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
- 37: Superior Vampire's Bite: Recharge/Chance to Heal
- 37: Hecatomb: Chance of Damage(Negative)
Level 10: Entropic Aura
- A: Invention: Endurance Reduction
Level 12: Typhoon's Edge
- A: Nucleolus Exposure
- 13: Nucleolus Exposure
- 13: Eradication: Chance for Energy Damage
- 17: Scirocco's Dervish: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
- 17: Obliteration: Chance for Smashing Damage
- 40: Overwhelming Force: Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown
Level 14: Super Jump
- A: Superior Winter's Gift: Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
- 15: Superior Winter's Gift: Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
- 46: Superior Winter's Gift: Slow Resistance (25%)
Level 16: Energy Protection
- A: Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+Def 3%
- 45: Invention: Resist Damage
Level 18: Combat Jumping
- A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
Level 20: Energy Cloak
- A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
- 21: Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
- 43: Red Fortune: Defense/Recharge
- 43: Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
- 43: Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- 45: Red Fortune: Endurance
Level 22: Acrobatics
- A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
- 23: Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
- 23: Red Fortune: Defense/Recharge
- 42: Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
- 42: Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- 46: Red Fortune: Endurance
Level 24: Pacify
Level 26: Sweeping Strike
- A: Nucleolus Exposure
- 27: Nucleolus Exposure
- 27: Eradication: Chance for Energy Damage
- 31: Scirocco's Dervish: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
- 31: Obliteration: Chance for Smashing Damage
- 31: Armageddon: Chance for Fire Damage
Level 28: Energy Drain
- A: Membrane Exposure
- 29: Membrane Exposure
- 29: Invention: Endurance Modification
- 34: Invention: Endurance Modification
Level 30: Intimidate
Level 32: Invoke Panic
- A: Superior Haunting: Accuracy/Fear
- 33: Superior Haunting: Fear/Recharge
- 33: Superior Haunting: Recharge/Endurance
- 33: Superior Haunting: Accuracy/Fear/Endurance
- 34: Superior Haunting: Accuracy/Fear/Endurance/RechargeTime
- 34: Superior Haunting: Recharge/Chance to Summon Ghosts
Level 35: Energize
- A: Doctored Wounds: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
- 36: Golgi Exposure
- 46: Invention: Recharge Reduction
Level 38: Overload
- A: Membrane Exposure
- 39: Membrane Exposure
Level 41: Unrelenting
- A: Doctored Wounds: Heal/Recharge
- 42: Efficacy Adaptor: EndMod/Recharge
Level 44: Boxing
Level 47: Tough
- A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
- 48: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
- 48: Unbreakable Guard: Endurance/RechargeTime
- 48: Unbreakable Guard: RechargeTime/Resistance
- 50: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
- 50: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP
Level 49: Hasten
- A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
- 50: Invention: Recharge Reduction
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Inherents:
Level 1: Fury
Level 1: Brawl
Level 1: Sprint
Level 2: Rest
- A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
Level 2: Swift
Level 2: Hurdle
Level 2: Health
- A: Regenerative Tissue: +Regeneration
- 8: Miracle: +Recovery
- 16: Numina's Convalesence: +Regeneration/+Recovery
Level 2: Stamina
- A: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
- 12: Performance Shifter: EndMod
- 22: Performance Shifter: EndMod/Accuracy
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Incarnates:
Musculature Core Paragon
Mighty Radial Final Judgement
Spectral Radial Flawless Interface
Rularuu Core Superior Ally
Barrier Core Epiphany
