Korbaan

So, I know relatively little about Brutes. I have read some good things about Dark Melee, since it has high single target damage, a good damage buff, and a self heal (I know to avoid Dark Maul though, for the very long animation if nothing else). I've also read good things about Shield Defense, since it has easily soft-capped defense, moderate resistance, and a good damage buff.

Do you think that would be a good combination? I'm concerned about the lack of AoE damage. I never farm (because it's boring, and because I already have a level 50 with hundreds of millions of influence that I don't really spend), but I am concerned about performance in a group or incarnate trial.

Can anyone point me to a sample build for soft capping?

P.S. I'm thinking about /Soul for PPP for the synergistic -tohit, but people keep mentioning /Mu as a better AE choice. Personally I've tried /Mu on my 50 Mastermind and Electric Fences barely does damage. I didn't slot it for any damage though, I guess that could make some difference. The AoE is just not big enough for my taste.

Great tips, thanks everyone. I'm also a bit torn between whether to take the Hold in /Dark and the Hold in a PPP. Part of me wants to shutdown a boss solid, the other part of me thinks the first part is silly because with defense powers plus two of the best -tohit buffs in the game I'm already neutering bosses and their whole spawns.

Now, do you think I can get away without a travel power? I've been doing okay with Ninja Run (with the Jump Pack and some temp Jetpacks for heights), and it's useful indoors and out, without having to dip into any travel pools. Or is there some other hidden utility, like slotting one for KB protection?

I have read a lot of your posts on these forums Dechs, and they're all very well reasoned. I learned a lot from reading your guide on defense! So I would like to impose a bit more on your expertise, if you don't mind.

I'm curious about your opinion on Bots/Dark and how it measures up to Bots/Traps. The last character I played for CoH was Bots/Dark from like, Issue 7. I have just resubscribed because it seems like the game has grown so much, but now I'm a little lost. Is Bots/Dark still viable at the endgame? It still seems good right now at lvl 30, I imagine it'll get even better once I'm 32 and my bots are fully upgraded, they're lacking in AoE right now.

The main reason I've been resistant to /Traps is the lack of a strong AoE heal like Twilight Grasp, I understand that Forcefield Generator is far stronger than Shadow Fall, so it will present a much better passive defense, but still, I like being able to restore 75% of a bot's health at once, and I figured the massive -hit debuffs from /Dark compensates.

I'm also curious why you picked the Mu mastery instead of Soul. It seems like -acc instead of -end is just far more useful in an AoE root, for any build. I understand the root's for setting up big burn patches.

On that note, what do you recommend as an opening move vs. a whole group? I'm torn between using Darkest Night to floor their to-hit and using Fearsome Stare to shut down most of the group.

Thanks in advance, you're a greater resource to us re-noobs.