Unarmed: Martial Arts meets Brute Force (DPS Build)

[Shapes]

I will be posting the same first build here as I did the NPW forums with mostly the same text.

Dragon Uppercut is oft-times forgotten in the wake of Burning Chi Fist, but this power still has great merit! While it does come from Martial Arts, primarily known for Dexterity, this is one of few powers that has great synergy with Strength, thanks to it's baked-in Knock!

This is not intended as a leveling build, however it can be used to level if you are able to retcon at level 20.

Super Stats
○ Strength (Primary)
○ Dexterity
○ Recovery

Talents
○ The Predator (+10 Str/Dex/Rec, +8 Con)
○ +8 Strength
○ +8 Dexterity
○ +8 Recovery
○ +5/5 Strength/Dexterity
○ +5/5 Strength/Recovery
○ +5/5 Dexterity/Recovery
Optionally, you can take out the Dex/Rec for +8 Endurance.

Powers
○ Energy Builder: Vicious Strikes or Righteous Fists
○ Power 2: Elbow Slam (Falling Hammer, Flaming Chicken Wing)
○ Power 3: Parry (Rank 2, Rank 3. Optionally, Elusive Monk)
○ Power 4: Enrage (Optionally, Giant Growth)
○ Power 5: Pulverizer
○ Power 6: Unstoppable (Rank 2, Rank 3)
○ Power 7: Rising Knee (Flowing Strikes, Focused Energy)
○ Power 8: Dragon Uppercut (Rank 2, Rank 3, Ghostly Strikes)
○ Power 9: Dragon Kick (Rank 2, Rank 3) or Havoc Stomp (Rank 2, Major Impact)
○ Power 10: Resurgence (Unchained)
○ Power 11: Mind Wipe
○ Power 12: Endorphin Rush (Rank 2, Rank 3) or Bountiful Chi Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
○ Power 13: Unleashed Rage (Rank 2, Rank 3) or Devastating Strike (Rank 2, Rank 3)
○ Power 14: Fiery Embrace

Specializations
Strength
○ Swole (3/3)
○ Physical Peak (2/3)
○ Brutality (2/2)
○ Overpower (3/3)
Brawler
○ The Glory of Battle (1/3)
○ Penetrating Strikes (2/2)
○ Ruthless (2/2)
○ Finishing Blow (2/3)
○ Flanking (3/3)
Warden
○ Fortified Gear (3/3)
○ Ruthless (2/2)
○ The Best Defense (3/3)
○ Elusive (2/2) or Upper Hand (2/3)
Strength Mastery

Travel Powers
Whatever you want for your character! Be sure to rank one of them up to 3.

Gear
My gear recommendations won't vary much. As I test these with relatively the same gear, most will be the same.
Starting:
Critical Severity Primary Offense (Fortuitous/Mercenary Gloves of Piercing or Savage Handguards) with Strength mod(s) and Gambler's Lucky Gem
Defense rate Primary Defense (Fortuitous/Mercenary/Qliphothic Defense, Vikorian Robes, or Aegis Duster) with Strength mod(s) and either Impact Prism or Growth Amulet, depending on how comfortable you are with your max HP
Cost Reduction Primary Utility (Fortuitous/Mercenary/Qliphothic Efficiency) with Strength mods and Gambler's Lucky Gem.
+20/20 Dexterity/Recovery Secondaries (Rebounding Belt, Bracers, and Eyepiece)
Ending:
Distinguished Offense Gloves with Strength mods, a Gambler's Lucky Gem, and either a pure Critical Severity mod, a Soviet Guard's mod, or a Depleted Uranium Core
Distinguished Freedom Armor with Strength mods, an Impact Prism, and either another Impact Prism or a Growth Amulet, depending on your comfort on max HP
Distinguished Efficiency Helm with Strength mods, a Left Eye of the Ruby Dragon, and either a Gambler's Lucky Gem or a Veteran's Core of Might
Onslaught Gloves of the Slicer with a Strength or Dex/Rec mod
Onslaught Tights of Fitness with a Strength or Dex/Rec mod
Onslaught Mask of Efficiency with a Strength or Dex/Rec mod

Gameplan
You'll be a lot stronger in single target, the idea is to apply your debuffs, Demolish and Chi Flame, to your desired target via Elbow Drop and repeatedly Dragon Uppercut them. It's a good habit to count the amount of times you've uppercutted, as you'll need to use Rising Knee to refresh the debuffs after about 4 uppercuts. This is instant, so it's a simple tap and you're back to punching the snot out of whatever is troubling you. In AoE situations, Dragon Kick will not proc your form nor energy unlock, so it'd be ideal to tap Rising Knee or to Uppercut something at random in between charges. While Havoc Stomp will proc the aforementioned, it's short cooldown will prompt some single target attacks before using it again.

Other notes
This build is technically complete once you've gotten to Dragon Uppercut and the rest can be changed however you'd like. I would urge to keep Resurgence with Unchained and some kind of Threat Wipe. Dragon Kick and Havoc Stomp are merely suggestions that stay closer to the theme of the first half of the build--you could use most any melee AoE with this, or a ranged one if it has a Knock in some fashion (try and stay away from Knockback, you don't want to be chasing or dispersing your targets). The gear recommendations have substitutes; Justice gear (Precision, Fitness, and Efficiency) works as well, but leaves you more vulnerable for a negligible amount more damage. Secondaries can be substituted with Determination (Critical, Armored, and Efficient or Bolstering) if Onslaught is not available or not desired. Gear can also be altered to center around Dodge if Elusive Monk is taken, though I wouldn't recommend such. Though Travel Power is not included, there is no lunge in this publication, so it is recommended to have some form of Super Speed or Athletics.

I hope this will reach people as the first edition did, this is a fine build and Dragon Uppercut is fun ability.

Thank you for reading!