Sagamemnon

Merc/Trick Arrow, here. Its a great set, tho for MMs it takes a different play style.

There is also.

LRSF - Lord Recluse Strike Force (Grandville)
Leviathan- Opertative Renault (Sharkshead)
Silver Mantis- From the SG Super Computer

No TF in Port Oakes.

Gravity is not as bad as its reputation would suggest. In fact it can be very effective. I have a Grav/Kin which is one of the best trollers I have played.

Singularity when slotted for damage does a good amount. Importantly he does it safely is really tough to take down. He doesn't do as much damage as most pets but he does do good damage. Many times he has killed people before I even get to them.

Gravity has a great single target attack solo. Propel is arguably the most powerfull singl target attack in any set. Yeah it has a longish activation. But when you target is held its not a problem.

Wormhole is a great power, but you get it very late.

Your not an AOE machine but you are a single target destroyer. Lift gives a great mitigation power at a slightly lower damage value but its a fast attack.

Its not the easy road however. It takes some good workings to be really good. Singularity is honestly that good. While it is slightly lacking in damage it more then compensates with great mitigation, Knockup- Knockback, Holds. Repel.

I went with kin because of the great set up. Siphon speed bring up everything faster. Speed boost to make singy go faster. The heal is also top notch and fulcrum shift on the singularity is a sight that should be witnessed.

I have wowed many a troller with my effectiveness on a team/tf. However on a team propel will be mostly useless. They will die before your activation fails.

Just my opions mind you and YMMV.

To the OP, most of what your gonna get here is honestly just player bias. The biggest difference between the 2 AT's is just that player opinion. Some people love brutes others love scrappers. This will skew their view of those classes. Some people have broken down the mathmatics already.

Brutes have more HP. They will survive fights longer. Also have a better chance of surviving high damage spikes.

Scrappers do more damage up front. They can end fights quicker.

Brutes use quicker activating attacks to build bury. Ever see a scrapper use or even slot brawl??

Some sets build fury faster then others. Some attacks are counter productive to building fury.

There are lots of factors to consider. Ever run on a team with more then 1 scrapper? More then 1 brute?

At the end of the day its the same effect. Everything else is just perception and play style. Each one also has certain "Expected Behavior" from most people on your team. If your the only brute, people may expect you to taunt, herd etc. If your the only scrapper people expect you to beat stuff.

It really is just a matter of your play style and what you want. Scrapper are the more even tiered fighter. Were brutes are the roller coaster.

If you want a rush then brutes are the choice. Once you pick up steam and keep it running your a monster. The game is keeping that train on the tracks. If you want to herd big honking mobs this is it.

If you want to be able to end fights quickly from the start, scrapper is your choice. With crits, you can end fights insanely fast.

Neither is technically better or has more perks. They just have perks in different areas.

YMMV.

As for your question. THe stats look like this.

Shadow Punch: Brute- 35 Damage, Scrapper- 57.8
Smite Brute- 55.1 Damage, Scrapper- 90.8
Shadow Maul Brute- 89.9 Damage, Scrapper- 148.4
Siphon Life Brute- 81.7 Damage, Scrapper- 134.9
Midnight Grasp Brute- 115.1 Damage, Scrapper- 189.9

Those are the values from Mids. Bearing in mind that the brute damage is without fury. So at the start a scrapper clearly does a good chunk more damage. Once fury is generated those gaps close and then start to move in favor of the brute.

Someone around here did a very nice spread sheet comparing all Melee AT damages. It even factored in different levels of fury.

Hope this helps.

Generally speaking, you want more then 4 pts. Especially if your a melee toon. You can work with 4 its just not a lot depending on your enemies. Of course if you get another Karma or some other KB protection (Blessing of the Zephyr, Steadfast Protection). Then I would say Acrobatics is not really needed.

If you PvP then you def want acrobatics and some more KB protection. I have no real data to give you here. I am sure a PvP'er will have better info.

KB is one of the biggest holes in Dark Armor. Having roughly 8-12 points of KB protection should get you through just about anything PvE. Anything over 12 is really overkill (IMO).

Again YMMV and you could be fine with Karma & Acrobatics. But if you want to save that power selection, then get yourself 4 more points.

I always slot for Recharge first and Endurance 2nd. That power costs a hefty chunk of end. Roughly 19 points. Its one of those powers that constantly gets used, so in long fights that end cost really hits hard. Especially on a troller. Unless you have an end recovery power or really good recovery bonuses. Even then I tend to feel the sting in big long fight without a good chunk of endurance reduction.

After that I slot procs in it. I agree that slotting damage is mostly wasted and slotting def is also a bit much. However the -def sets are really good and they offer more RECH and END ruduction then the AOE sets. However 5 slotting posi is a nice bunch of bonuses.

Personally I agree with those who suggested Lady Grey for the set bonuses and the achilles heal proc. They are affordable and help the 2 stats i want to effect the most. The extra def debuff is just icing, I do find it really helpfully in Pvp tho against defense based toons who have lotsa -def protection.
*cough* Super Reflexes *cough

However YMMV.

I agree with the Salt Crystals. The AOE Immob can also be skipped depending on your secondary and play style. Some secondaries the AOE immob is a great power and really helps contain people.

Now before people come after me, let me explain why it "MAY" be skippable.

First Earthquake. The -KB from the AOE kills the KD from earthquake. If your secondary has a similar power (Say Oil Slick) It messes with that as well. So that is 2 powers that will not mesh with the AOE Immob.

Now you could not skip it and just not cast it. However I find that most people who take their AOE immob spam it like mad. No matter what is going on or caring for the side effects.

Note, I'm not saying you should skip it. I am just saying you could and never miss it depending on your secondary power set.

I took it on my Earth/Therm but not my Earth/Trick arrow.

That being said, there are some neat tricks that I have learned and read about with the AOE immobs that can be pretty impressive. Like slotting Range, and Damage Procs. To hit mobs that are far enough away that they can not return fire.

Personally I do not think that any other power in Earth is really skippable.

I'm glad the advice given by people here has helped open your eyes a bit STL.

Personally I slot sets at lvl 22 (Slotting Lvl 25 sets) It helps a lot on the road to 50. Which for me is the best part. Again not everyone's play style is the same. I also do a lot of TFs in the low range and like the set bonuses. I don't really lose much in the way of powers compared to slotting lvl 50 sets and when I malfactor I have no worries about losing valuable set bonuses. Having 70% global rech on a lvl 25 toon is fantastic.

I should also re point out that you get the set bonuses even if you don't have that power. So you could put lvl 25 sets in an epic power and still get the bonuses when you mal down to 22.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your new found bad [censored]-ness!!

Sets are great. There are several different thoughts on how and when to use them. To give you an idea lets take a set.

Decimation. This set caps at lvl 40 and if you slot everything but the proc you will get this.

Acc- 62.73, Dam- 89.17, End Reduc- 43.43, Rech- 62.72
with the following set bonus.
Hp. +13.6, End +2.25, Mes Resist (Immob) 2.75%, Rech +6.25%

Now slotting that set at lvl 25
Acc- 52%, Dam- 75%, End Reduc- 36%, Rech- 52%
with the same set bonuses.

Now why slot 25s when you can slot 40s? Depends on your desire. The instant you hit 22 you can put in 5 SOs to get.
2 ACC= 66.6% 3 DAM= 94.93

So for sacrificing 14.6% Acc & 20% Dam you get better end consumption and better rech (which increases DPS) plus the global bonuses.

Now you can keep the 25 Sets or upgrade when you wish.

This come to view with 3 powers 5 slotted with this set.
That gives- 6.75% Max End, 18.75% Global Rech, 40.8 Max HP

Keep in mind what you do with your toon. I know a guy who slotted lvl 18 sets in power becuase he ran the posi TF a lot.

So its a matter of what you do. But set bonuses can def make a difference. Keep in mind with 2 builds you can make a low level set toon and a high end set toon.

How bout Pain Domination & Poison? I think it would be kinda funny if you character swapped sides in Going Rogue that Empathy morphed into Pain Dom and vice versa. Tho i doubt it. It does sorta cancel the whole Empathy is not villainous debate. Unless Empaths can't switch sides.

I vote for /Dark. I think Trollers & Doms should get a new primary first tho and that primary should be DARK. Then I can have a Dark/Dark troller.

Illusion is still strong. But it plays more aggressive then most Primaries. It has strong synergies with sets that boost your recharge to get phantom army up quicker.

/rad is one of the most common & strongest combos.

/FF is a def monsters, which helps you avoid damage till PA recharges. Great on teams & solo. However solo it might be a little less fun depending on your playstyle.

/kin gives you a heal, siphon speed, some nice buffs.

/Trick Arrow gives you extra control that Illusion is lacking plus makes your enemies weaker & easier for the army to take down faster.

/Storm Gives you more damage output and the very strong ability to keep enemies bouncing around the battle field. This pairing is a pet monster.

/Thermal is great for teams, its rough solo till you get the debuffs tho, and those come late. Its heals are also very good and will keep you up longer solo but lot of its powers just scream TEAM WITH ME.

/empathy is also very strong for teams.

Go with theme/fun. If you want a chaos bringer go storm. If you want to solo things you shouldn't go radiation. If you wanna be very active go trick arrow. Buddy toon go Empathy & Thermal. Wanna do a bit of buffing & debuffing give kinetics a run. If you wanna be night untouchable go with FF.

On a side not, trick arrow also gives a special boon to Illusion. Your phantom army will use the talsorian bow for one of its attacks. I have not seen them use it with any other pairing. It looked awesome watching all 3 uses it.

True that EMP Arrow does give better over all stats. However it also costs a significant amount more 23.4 END vrs 15.6. In the OP's original scenario Glacier also has another edge in its favor. It is centered around them. Since they are gonna be in the middle they do not have to worry about having a target locked on. Which makes glacier (in this scenario) the better OH S#%@ Power. When your swarmed just hit the button and blammo you have time.

Each has their own strengths. Just a different way of lookin at things.

Set wise EMP gives a wider arrange of choices tho. Which may also sway the decision. It also activates slightly faster.

Not arguing with you about which one is better just giving the OP a different POV to consider.

If I might also give some alternative ideas to work with. I recently deleted an Ice/Trick arrow. Not out of hate but I wanted Earth/Trick Arrow more and made an Ice/Storm to duo with a buddies Earth/Storm.

1> Block of Ice, Entangling Arrow
2> Chilblain (slotfor damge) Really good place for Decimation
4> Flash Arrow (Great for the -per with SS)
Also note for sets takes accurate to hit debuff !!!!
6> Swift
8> Arctic Air (start puttin slots in early)
10> Combat Jumping
12> Ice Slick
14> SJ
16> Shiver
18> Health
20> Stamina
22> Acid Arrow (Must have IMO)
24> PG Arrow (Not a must but really good, specially on teams)
26> Glacier (Good for point blank, better use then Ice Arrow)
28> Hasten
30> SuperSpeed
32> Jack Frost
35> Oil Slick
38> Disruption

The epics I really leave to flavor. But I didn't take the AOE immob for 2 reason.
Ice Slick & Oil Slick it ruins their KD, I know for only a few seconds but that immob charges really fast and I have seen too many ice/eart doms & trollers ruin their KD powers with them.

The Disruption Arrow will help out Jacks damage and yours.
With hasten on and your 2 slicks, you'll keep mobs dancing for a good time.

The PG arrow really helps with tough bosses/spawns.
Flash arrow and SS allow you great stealth.
I think you will get more mielage outta Glacier then EMP arrow. Several reasons. One it recharges faster, costs less END and doesn't prevent you from gaining END for a bit. With Arctic Air and your other end heavy powers I think EMP just isnt worth it.

Just a different approach for you to consider.

Yeah I think EM Pulse will be my late choice. If nothing else it gives me a place to slot another 4 pieces of Basilisks Gaze for that extra 7.5% global.

Try Mind/Ta you won't regeret it. Tho it is vastly different to Earth/Storm.

Earth will give you lotsa -def. Which means less accuracy is needed.

Solo Mind/Ta never slows down.

Mine is 41 and I have cut back playin her as not to level to 50 too soon. I have done every TF upto 40. I have gotten nukes in warburg with ease. The good thing about Mind/TA is you are always active. You don't need a pet. Terrify is HUGE!! Read HUGE!! Ok damage but it hits everything in front of you for the most part. If used after the AOE sleep the damage is really impressive.

A good way to destroy mobs. Open with the AOE sleep. Cast disruption arrow, terrify. Disruption arrow doesn't break sleep.

Slot your single target sleep with ranged damage sets. Lift is fantastic for damage and mitigation. At 32 Mass confusion-Disruption Arrow-Acid Arrow, sit back laugh.

Tho plant can do that trick much earlier, its cone does not hit as many targets as easy. But plant does it much sooner and it recharges much faster.

Mind does get a single target confuse early which makes soloing even easier. Since a confused mob won't attack you. It also works wonders on fortunadas (who resist most mez attacks)

Earth/Storm will be a powerhouse but in a much different way with a much different playstyle. If you can contain the chaos its gold, if your not careful then things can south real quick.

I will go and tell you this, Mind/TA is so awesome I did not take EM Pulse or the AOE Hold. Blasphemy to some I know. But I simple do not need em, tho I might pick one up around 49 just for fun. YMMV.

Mind/Trick Arrow- Very active, able to handle massive mobs solo, great damage coupled with great debuffs. Just a lot of fun. Getting NUKES in Warburg is such a breeze. Best thing is you have a tool for every occasion. Slow, Sleep, Confuse, Terrify, -res, knockdown. Only downside sooo many great powers you can't actually take them all. Great thing about mind is it has no weak powers and trick arrow is just awesome.

Grav/Kin- So much fun. Singularity is awesome in melee. With siphon speed Wormhole is actually up a good share. Hitting people with objects never gets old. Watching singularity vault people to the sky then hitting them with those objects even better. Grav is a really fun set once you accept its limitations. Propel slotted for damage is really fantastic.

Ice/Sonic- Such a great buddy or team player. Lotsa -res, shields. Plus watchin a whole team of cheetos whoop villains is amusing. Enemies just melt with the combo on a team.

Fire/Storm- I went for pure chaos carnage. Took superspeed just so I can take the whirlwind. Running around dropping tornados, lightning storms, bonfires, and hopin around like a whirling dervish is just fun. Tho on teams it is much more subdued. But solo man is it fun especially on small room maps.