Am I doing something wrong?

[NecroZip]

<p>Hi all,</p><p>   Just started playing again after a looong absence. Upon my return I started up a DE Bruiser, among others. So far my Bruiser is my favorite. Go Evil!</p><p>   Anyway, got my Bruiser to 16 and I seem to be hitting a wall with effective damage. Prior to level 16 I could take on even con Named mobs and come out with 70% health. After hitting 16 I'm lucky if I come away with 30%. I've gotten 7 AAs so far and placed them all in the STR line 4-2. I took AGI and Shroud for Traits and I took Shoulder Charge for my first Master. I do not use weapons at this point because I read somewhere that once you start down the STR tree you do better DMG without weapons until Fabled. I did try putting weapons back on and it did not seen to help much, in fact I couldn't use my STR AA CA any longer.</p><p> Also, I understand Feign death is ~62% chance. But last night I tried FD 4 times when combat got too heavy and all 4 times it didn't work.</p><p> Frustrated a bit. Any opinions on how I can improve, or is this the way Bruisers play in late Tier 2 and beyond?</p><p>Thanks!</p><p>edit: Should also mention that my Armor is all quest and some of it is pretty low.  </p>

[Novusod]

Here are some pointers:- Get some weapons: You can fight bear handed but it is not for beginners- Upgrade your armor: a level 16 needs 300+ mitigation (try to focus on gear with a lot of STR and STA on it)- Go into defensive stance: Avoidance actually works at the low levels- Put your AA in the INT line so you can spin the mob around and then use a stun so the mob can't hit you anymore.- Upgrade your attacks to adept III by making an Alchemist (hint Adept I are more expensive than Adept III in T2)- FD is not reliable until you get to level 70 so if you to get too many mobs FD while you still yellow so you can FD again (press X to stand up - not everyone knows that right away)Playing a level 16 bruiser is easy fun mode. If you follow this you will be able to pull and kill almost constantly with no down time. You will find yourself running out of power before you run you of health. When you get to T3 and T4 you will be the best tank there is and you won't really need a group to kill named mobs.

[EDofEDs]

<cite>NecroZip wrote:</cite><blockquote>I do not use weapons at this point because I read somewhere that once you start down the STR tree you do better DMG without weapons until Fabled.<span style="color: #0066cc;">This isn't true till you start putting points in the double attack AA.  It is about par with legendary damage once you are 4-4-8 so untill then invest in a crushing two hander or a pair of fist weapons.</span><p> Also, I understand Feign death is ~62% chance. But last night I tried FD 4 times when combat got too heavy and all 4 times it didn't work.</p><p><span style="color: #0066cc;">It refreshes quite fast.  Try hitting the sit key as soon as you know it has failed and try it again as soon as it's ready.  Otherwise, yeah % chances can be a crap-shoot, i have had it fail every time i used it for a whole level, then had it work non stop for ten levels for no good reason other then random chance.</span></p><p>edit: Should also mention that my Armor is all quest and some of it is pretty low.  </p><p><span style="color: #0066cc;">This doesn't really matter a whole lot at your level as you would outgrow anything you bought anyways.  I would try buying some rare armor though once you hit 20 if you solo alot, 30 if you group alot (because you would outgrow the 20 suit too fast).</span></p><p><span style="color: #0066cc;"> </span></p></blockquote>

[Raca]

Just get by with what you have till lvl 20 then do the armor quests you find in NFP. Telling you to go into the int line is bad advice, stick to str. Eagle spin is pretty much crap till you get our back attack. At low levels you migh wanna try defensive, but remember as you get higher in levels defensive becomes more and more useless. I do everything in offensive stance now, including soloing 62+^^^'s. Only use defensive for adds or very tough named(while grouping). Oh, and FD is pretty much a pain till you get 56 and it becomes reliable.