Author: bigspeer
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Pom Poms of Destruction: Energy Melee for Brutes
As an energy melee (EM) Brute, your fists are fused with pure energy. Energy Melee is one of the most powerful brute primary power sets available and possesses two of the most damaging melee attacks in the game. I am going to give you a brief run-down of the powers in this set, some commentary based on experience, and possible slotting for each power. I will not go over special invention slotting, though. The options and slotting varies so much that you should really read up on that yourself.
This set is mostly single-target based attacks that have a nice stun as a secondary effect. There is one PBAoE attack, Whirling Hands, that looks pretty cool in my opinion, as well as Taunt and Build-up.
*Standard slotting for most powers is 1 Acc, 1 EndRedux, 3 Dmg and 1 various (rechg, endredux, acc). I’ll be referencing standard slotting throughout the guide and will be easier if you know ahead of time.
 Barrage: You perform a quick punch that deals minor damage.
Barrage takes the following enhancements:
- End Redux
- Disorient
- Recharge
- Accuracy
- Damage
- Taunt
This is the first power available and a mandatory selection for tankers. For a tier 1 power, it has a quick activation, recharge and does respectable damage. I recommend minimal slotting for this power as 1 Acc and 1 EndRedux. Since it has a quick recharge, it should replace brawl later in your career.
 Energy Punch: You perform a powerful Energy Punch that deals moderate damage.
Energy Punch takes the following enhancements:
- End Redux
- Disorient
- Recharge
- Accuracy
- Damage
- Taunt
It is the second power in the set and is often skipped by most tankers. Although it does decent damage, it is skipped because tanks usually take a primary power when this is available and the third power is much superior to Energy Punch. If you do take it, you would want use standard slotting. It might be a waste of slots, but if you take it you might as well make it effective.
 Bone Smasher: A Bone Smasher attack can be slow, but it compensates by dealing a good amount of damage and having a better chance to Disorient than Energy Punch.
Bone Smasher takes the following enhancements:
- End Redux
- Disorient
- Recharge
- Accuracy
- Damage
- Taunt
This is one of the key attacks of Energy Melee and it might be the most important because it’s your only heavy hitter available early (level 4). Six slot this baby with the standard slotting, but make the last one recharge. Once you hit 38, it is one third of your kickass three power attack-chain that take most bosses down to a sliver of health.
 Build Up: Greatly increases the amount of damage you deal for a few seconds, as well as slightly increasing your Accuracy. Take it, put three recharges in this baby and be done with it.
 Whirling Hands: By focusing your energy into the muscles in your arms, you can launch a dizzying flurry of attacks against every foe in melee range.
Whirling Hands takes the following enhancements:
- End Redux
- Disorient
- Recharge
- Accuracy
- Damage
- Taunt
This is your only AoE attack and it’s point blank, too. It has the same animation as fire sword circle, whirling sword, and a variety of other spinning PBAoE attacks. You might want to take it to help manage aggro. I like it because you can whittle down minions while you fight a boss if it is used often. Slotting recommendation is standard, but with only two damage instead of three. The last two slots should be Recharge and a second EndRedux. Since it’s an AoE, it uses more endurance than other attacks, hence the second EndRedux.
 Taunt: Taunts a foe and all foes around him to attack you. Not much you can say about taunt. You either like it or you don’t. I recommend slotting it with a recharge and a range. If you have slots to spare, throw a taunt duration in there. Why would I throw a range in there? One range enhancement makes taunt 10x more effective because you usually don’t have to move to taunt a villain on another teammate. Try it and you’ll do it every time!
 Total Focus: Total Focus is complete mastery over Energy Melee. This is a very slow, but incredibly devastating attack that can knock out most opponents, leaving them Disoriented. Due to the exhausting nature of Total Focus, the recharge time is very long.
Total Focus takes the following enhancements:
- End Redux
- Disorient
- Recharge
- Accuracy
- Damage
- Taunt
Use the standard slotting with the last one as an extra EndRedux. This could also be one of the coolest looking powers in the game (where you jump slowing in the air and do a flying two handed smash on your target, I love it!). The stun magnitude on TF is unreal and will stun any boss, leut or minion. This is exceptionally helpful when facing Paragon Protectors. You can get a stun on them before they use those pesky powers that make them hard to kill. It is also a great PvP power and will drop the shields on most tankers and brutes.
 Stun: By focusing your internal energy on your fists, you can turn them into personal tasers.
Stun takes the following enhancements:
- End Redux
- Disorient
- Recharge
- Accuracy
- Damage
Stun is a great tool for keeping minions or lieutenants out of fights, but that’s about it. The stun effect is ridiculously low for being the primary purpose of the power. Bone Smasher has a higher stun magnitude and does a lot more damage. The only slotting this power should get is none because you aren’t going to take it!
 Energy Transfer: Mastery of Energy Melee begins with the ability to transfer your own hit points into a punch that deals extreme Smashing and Energy damage.
Energy Transfer takes the following enhancements:
- End Redux
- Disorient
- Recharge
- Accuracy
- Damage
- Taunt
Take it at 32 and watch your opponents wiggle in pain! This is the most powerful melee attack in the game without a doubt. Give it the standard slotting and add the extra Accuracy. You actually don’t have to slot an end reducer in ET either. Since it’s penalty is in your health, it’s endurance cost is pretty low. The lone bad thing about this power is that you use your health to inflict damage. You can actually kill yourself if you use this power when your health is extremely low.
Once you get Energy Transfer, you have an awesome 1-2-3 attack chain that will almost kill anything short of an AV/GM. Build Up + Bone Smasher + Energy Transfer + Total Focus will annihilate everything that stands in your way.
You may want to tweak your build slightly to fit your playstyle or if you use the invention system. All these powers take melee inventions and stun inventions, which can give you some nice bonuses. If you decide to pick up those pink pompoms of fury, you’ll be prepared for every fight!
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