Each of the 15 Archetypes available in City of Heroes: Homecoming offers a different playstyle and brings something different to the table in solo and group play. Of these Archetypes, the Brute is a melee DPS/Tank hybrid with a Fury mechanic, making it somewhat reminiscent of D&D's Barbarian Class. This makes the Brute a fantastic Archetype for new players since it mixes excellent survivability with high damage output.
This guide will break down how the Brute Archetype works in City of Heroes: Homecoming, providing tips and build advice. It also features examples from a build using Staff Fighting and Bio Armor that performs well in solo play.
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Brute Archetype Overview
The Brute Archetype was introduced alongside the other Villain Archetypes when City of Villains was released, before becoming available to Hero characters in the Going Rogue expansion. It served as the main Tank Archetype for Villains when it was originally added. It gets Primary Powersets focused on melee damage and Secondary Powersets themed around defense. Their Primary Powersets all include a taunt to help them draw enemy attention, which synergizes with the Brute Inherent Power "Fury."
Fury, the Inherent Power of the Brute Archetype, allows them to fill their Fury Bar by attacking and being attacked. The more Fury they have the more damage they deal, acting as an increasing damage boost that performs best in long fights. This means that the Brute Archetype ideally wants enemies to focus on them so they can deal more damage in turn. Naturally, since their attacks also build Fury the Brute Archetype often prefers fast attacks so they can generate Fury more quickly. This doesn't mean they should entirely disregard the secondary effects of their attacks, of course, but they tend to be a slightly lesser concern.
While fast attacks are often preferable for the Brute Archetype, there are exceptions to this rule due to the way Fury scales with different powers. For example, the Kinetic Melee Powerset is tremendously fast but actually generates Fury very slowly due to having lower scaling than many of the other Powersets available. On the flip side, Titan Weapons seem slow but can use their Momentum mechanic to offset this and generate Fury just as well as many other Powersets.
Since Fury is also generated by taking damage, slower Powersets and those with lower scaling can still generate and maintain Fury perfectly well, especially during longer fights.
Brutes can also use their Secondary Powerset to generate Fury if they choose a Powerset with a damaging aura power. Take a look at Fiery Aura and Electrical Armor for great examples of this, though these are only two examples.
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Powersets
Brute Powersets consist of Melee Primary Sets and Defense Secondary Sets. Much like the other Archetypes, Brutes have access to a wide range of damage types depending on their chosen Powersets. Additionally, some Powersets have greater access to single-target damage or AOE damage when compared to others, along with access to various secondary effects and unique mechanics.
Players looking for solid Single-Target damage might look to Powersets like Street Justice or Energy Melee, while players who favor AOE damage might instead consider Colossal Weapons or Staff Fighting. More defensively inclined players might debuff their foes with Ice Melee, Psionic Melee, or Darkness Melee, while players seeking to raise their damage even higher might look into self-buffing with Savage Melee or Kinetic Melee (though the latter means sacrificing some efficiency when generating Fury.)
Meanwhile, players have a myriad of options for their Brute's Secondary Powerset. Defensively focused players will find plenty to love in Energy Aura and Shield Defense, while more offensively inclined players might consider Fiery Aura or Radiation Armor.
The examples given above, and the build used in examples throughout this guide, are examples to help new players or players having difficulty deciding on a Powerset. City of Heroes has an incredibly versatile character creator, and it is very hard to make a bad choice when selecting powers, so players shouldn't feel pigeonholed by our suggestions.
Example
Here's our example Brute: Georgios Roberts, taking a break from fighting crime in the sewers. We've picked Staff Fighting and Bio Armor as his Primary and Secondary Powersets. Staff Fighting is a Powerset that strikes quickly and has a decent selection of AOE attacks that can strike groups of enemies multiple times, which helps him to build up his Fury. Meanwhile, Bio Armor provides flexible defensive powers that can be used to strengthen his defenses while also providing additional Endurance recovery and a few extra ways to damage and debuff enemies.
We'll come back to Georgios Roberts later to discuss Enhancements and Power Pools.
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Enhancements
As players continue to advance in City of Heroes, they'll gain access to Enhancements. These can be slotted into Powers to modify them in several different ways, and players can add more Enhancement slots to their Powers as they level up. When playing a Brute, players should initially focus on improving the Accuracy of their Powers and reducing their Endurance Costs. Fury will more than cover the lack of direct damage enhancements early on, while reduced Endurance Costs will help players keep up the offense and improved Accuracy will make sure those attacks connect.
Once players are further into the game (Starting at around level 10), with more resources available and more slots for Enhancements, they should consider seeking out Invention Origin Enhancements. These are powerful Enhancements that must be crafted using the Invention System and do not become ineffective as the player's level increases. Among these are special sets of Enhancements that provide further benefits when slotted together on the same Character. Brutes should look out for melee damage and defensive sets that suit their powers, such as the Bonesnap Set for Single-Target Melee or the Cleaving Blow Set for AOE Melee.
At even higher levels, more powerful IO Enhancements can be found, allowing players to further strengthen their build. As before, Accuracy and Endurance Cost Reduction are high priorities with damage boosts coming in as the next most important. Players should also upgrade their Passive Powers with Enhancements to strengthen their effects and try to strike a balance between Endurance Cost Reduction and strengthening the effects of Defensive Powers that need to be toggled on or off.
Example
Back with Georgios Roberts, he's hit level 13 since we last saw him and has started finding IO recipes. Wherever possible, he equips Accuracy-boosting and Endurance Cost reducing Enhancements to his various Staff attacks. He's also looking out for Enhancements to make his Bio Armor defenses stronger, which becomes more and more important when taking on dangerous foes. This is a good time to head for Steel Canyon and do the Invention Tutorial at the University since it gives a free Invention Origin Enhancement on completion. Villains could head for the University in Cap Au Diable instead to do the same.
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Pool Powers
Power Pools are a great way to give a character additional capabilities that aren't provided by their Archetype's Primary and Secondary Powersets, and are the main way of obtaining Travel Powers like Flight and Teleportation. When it comes to giving extra utility to the Brute Archetype, here are a few Power Pools that can be useful:
- Presence contains powers that allow a character to Taunt, Pacify (lose aggro), and cause Fear, while also having a powerful self-buff available. The AOE Taunt can be a useful additional tool in group play for drawing enemy aggro, while Fear can make enemy groups much more manageable.
- The Leadership Power Pool contains team-wide toggleable buffs that can boost the team's offensive and defensive capability. Maneuvers and Tactics in particular can be valuable in both Solo and Group Play (Though naturally they perform best in Group Play)
- All Travel Power Pools are good choices for getting around the city, but the Speed Power Pool is particularly useful for Brute players who can manage their Endurance well. Hasten and Burnout can allow players to shorten their cooldowns and put out a huge amount of damage very quickly, though they lose Endurance in the aftermath and will need to choose their moments carefully.
- The Experimentation Power Pool grants a variant of Super Speed called "Speed of Sound" while also offering a ranged Toxic Dart that can be useful for pulling a group from a distance. After getting two Experimentation Powers, players can grab Adrenal Booster to get a very useful self-buff that raises Damage, Recharge Rate, Chance To Hit, and Secondary Effects for a short time.
- Force of Will offers a Super Jump Variant named "Mighty Leap" that comes with an AOE stomp for knocking down foes. It also offers a ranged debuff Power and the risky but powerful buff "Potential Unleashed," providing defensive and regenerative bonuses but preventing Endurance Recovery for a short time once it wears off.
- The Jumping Pool also has some great utility for the Brute Archetype, offering Combat Jumping to increase Defense and Immobilization Resistance. It also has access to Acrobatics, which grants Resistance to Knockback and Hold effects.
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Example
Georgios Roberts the Brute grabbed the Mighty Leap Power from the Force of Will Pool at level 4, allowing him to leap across the city at great speeds and throw enemies to the ground with a mighty stomp (which also buffs his Jump for a short time to help with escapes if necessary.) Getting access to "Potential Unleashed" would be great for providing him with a boost during difficult fights, but he'd need a second Power from the Force of Will Pool before he could meet the requirements for it. "Weaken Resolve" seems like a good pick here, since it allows him to reduce enemy Defense, Resistance, and Chance To Hit, helping him to hit harder while making them less effective against him.
City of Heroes
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- April 28, 2004
- Developer(s)
- Cryptic Studios
- Publisher(s)
- NCSoft
- Genre(s)
- MMORPG
- Metascore
- 85