Rockblood

Good choice. You will fall in love with Focus and attempt to make babies with it.

My evidence is anecdotal and based off my feelings, not hard numbers. But Fire has a big advantage for doing fire damage, while SS does smashing. Enemies that are resistant to fire are rarer than those resistant to smashing.

Claws gets Spin at level 6. It was recently buffed, so it now does crazy damage (it one-shots +1 minions at 50% Fury, 3 damage SOs). It also gets Eviscerate and Shockwave, 2 decent cones. Claws also has really good speed and an innate END cost reduction, so while you do less damage per activation, you attack a lot more. It gives you a constant feeling of activity, rather than having to wait for powers to recharge.

Dual Blades is similar to Claws. Slightly slower and more of an END hog, but it's cones are better. Plus the combo system and the fancy attack animations keeps it engaging.

The downside to Claws and DB is the lack of a 'big hit'. While Fire has Greater Fire Sword and SS has KO Blow, Claws and DB lack a similar attack.



EDIT: Wait, Claws has Eviscerate. That power hits like a truck.

I'd go with Fire over SS, if you're talking single-target damage.

But someone mentioned claws earlier, so I'd say claws over anything else. Claws on a brute owns everything except dual blades.