streetlight

The */Fire Secondary is very melee-oriented, so you may want to switch to something like */Energy or */Devices before you invest much more time in the character. If you team a lot, I'd recommend */Energy; if not, then */Devices will serve you better with its stealth options. Fire Ball > Caltrops > Rain of Fire is just mean.

If you really want to stick to Fire/Fire, then you can pretty much avoid everything in the set outside of Ring of Fire & Build Up. I like to have Consume around and I like the PBAOEs, but a hoverblaster won't use those a whole lot. If you do decide to pick up one or more PBAOEs, look for the large radius powers like Consume (also good for endurance) and Combustion.

Assuming you stick to Fire/Fire, I recommend starting with: Flares (1), Ring of Fire (1), Fire Blast (2), Fire Ball (4), Rain of Fire (6), and Hover (8). That'll give you your two big ranged AOEs and three good single-target attacks that will work even while mezzed. Aim (12) and Build up (16) will allow you to wipe out spawns with AOEs at early levels and Blaze (18) is a serious heavy hitter. Pick up Fly (14) and you'll have one power choice open at (10) for whatever. I recommend Hasten or Manuevers. Take Hasten if you're soloing more often, take Manuevers if you're teaming more often. If you're teaming, you can pick Assault or Tactics (20) and Vengeance (22) to become an instant favorite teammate.

When slotting your attacks, you can't beat frankenslotting cheap sets. SOs aren't free and they need constant replacement. Start slotting L25 IOs in your attacks at 22, when you'd normally go for SOs. Raise the bar as you go along, crafting whatever you pick up and fitting it in where it works. For attacks, I like Acc to show up 2-3 times, Dmg to show up four times, and then as much End & Rech as I can get in the process. The exception is Rain of Fire, which has a lot of inherent Acc, so I generally look to get no more than one Acc bonus in that.

For your other powers, I generally start with a single -KB IO (BotZ in Flight preferred, Karma in Hover if you don't want to spend the a-merits). You can also pick up a Kismet +Acc (slotted in Hover) to help alleviate accuracy issues and it is cheap enough to buy. With the Kismet, you can safely drop to two Acc bonuses in any given attack (none in Rain of Fire) and it's pretty cheap.

I spend a-merits on the following things early on: Miracle +Recovery (20), Performance Shifter Chance for Endurance (21) and a Numina's Convalescence +Regeneration/+Recovery (30). I slot the Miracle at 17, the Performance Shifer at 18 and the Numina's at 27. That's all just quality-of-life stuff, but it's very nice to have and it'll keep your blue bar up much longer. If I choose Fly for my movement power, then I would also pick up a BotZ -KB (10) for Fly and slot the Kismet (10-17) in Hover, saving my early slots for attacks. That's six a-merits at level 18 and two more by 28, which isn't hard to do (especially if you use your other characters' merits...). You'll never have to replace any of them and they'll be useful forever, so they're worth buying as early as possible.

My first suggestion would be to start converting your reward merits to alignment merits (20M + 50 reward merits = 1 a-merit). Then you can use the a-merits to get very nice recipes like LotG 7.5% or Miracle/Numina Uniques, at whatever level you want (so exemping can be easier). I recommend a L20 Miracle and a L30 Numina Unique on nearly every character (usually with both slotted in Health).

You can get 7 a-merits by converting 350 of your reward merits (it'll take 7 days). Run 5 tips a day and you can pick up another a-merit every two days. You can do that with multiple characters each day, but grinding like that can be a chore. At the end of a week, you could have 10 a-merits and be ready to pick up your 11th at the start of the next week. Run any TFs in there and you might be able to convert more.

One of the better sets for a */WP Brute is Kinetic Combat. Slot Punch, Haymaker and Knockout Blow with 4pcs of Kinetic Combat each (everything but the knockdown proc) and you'll gain ~67hp and 11.25% S/L defense. The extra HP will take advantage of your high regen and the extra defense will stack up nicely to increase your survivability against the game's most common damage type. They also cap at L35, so they handle exemplaring well. If you 5-slot the single-target attacks with 4pcs of Kinetic Combat and 1 Mako's Bite quad, you'll be in good shape with all those powers. Maybe throw a recharge or endurance/recharge in Knockout Blow if you want it up a bit more.

Footstomp can get expensive, but it's your bread & butter power. The more it's up, the better. I like 4pcs of Eradication there to start (Damage, Acc/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech, Acc/Dam/Rech/End). That gives you 3.125% E/N defense and ~33hp. That can get expensive, but the prices have been way down lately. After that, a Dmg/End/Rech from Multi-Strike fills in nicely and won't break the bank. The last slot gets tricky. The more you expect to sit in a crowd, the more benefit you'll get from the Force Feedback Chance for Recharge proc. The more you expect to fight EBs, AVs & GMs, the less useful that proc is. A good cheap way to go is the Force Feedback Rech/End IO, which won't do any extra damage or help your other powers, but it will keep Footstomp up a lot and will help mitigate its endurance issues.

Lots of other potential things you can do, but I tend to focus on defense, +HP, +Regen, and +Recharge. Fury & Rage help a lot with damage, so it's less of a concern for everyday use. S/L defense is critical, with E/N coming in second for the new content. Pure F/C is still underutilized, so you can focus elsewhere. For alpha slotting, definitely go Spiritual for the enhanced recharge, hit points, and regen. Go get those accolades, they'll help a ton.

If someone chooses not to take the powers that would be helpful, then that's their choice. The most useful powers in Controller secondaries for the BAF escape are...

Cold: Snow Storm, Sleet
FF: Force Bubble or Repulsion Field
Kinetics: Repel
Rad: Choking Cloud
Sonic: Sonic Repulsion
Storm: Hurricane, Tornado, Lightning Storm, Gale, Snow Storm, Freezing Rain
TA: Entangling Arrow, Glue Arrow, Ice Arrow, PGA, Oil Slick Arrow

That's not exactly a slim list and a lot of those will completely shut down minions. Only two sets have no real capabilities here - Thermal and Empathy - but even they can buff teammates and pets so that lieuts drop faster. The best secondaries for this are FF, Storm and TA, which also happen to offer the best control (in this case, mostly through KB).

On primaries, if you choose the set with the weakest holds & immobs, then you shouldn't expect to compete in a scenario where holds & immobs are more helpful. There are tradeoffs for all the benefits that Illusion gives and this is one of them.

First, it's one part of one trial that can be handled adequately even by a melee-heavy group by defending chokepoints, rather than spawnpoints. An Ill/Rad placed the same way should work admirably well.

Second, Ill/* has some exceptional characteristics that other control sets just don't get or don't get in anywhere near the same capacity. Tons of pets, some of which fly. Better aggro management. Difficult-to-resist controls (also from pets). Confuse. Great invisibility. It is an incredible set that just happens to be weak to what is essentially a cat herding exercise.

Third, */Rad is a great debuffing set for taking down difficult targets, but not so great outside of that. You want to excel on at BAF cat-herding? Go */FF and turn on Force Bubble in the middle of a pathway. You want to solo GMs and AVs? Go */Rad.

So part of it is choice, part of it is powerset tradeoff, and part of it is tactics.

Blaster builds exist on a continuum from Hover to Blapper. Hover gives you the mitigation of range in many circumstances (can't hover too high in a cave), while Blappers get additional melee-range damage, often in PBAOE form.

Fire/Fire lends itself to more of a blapping role. With four potential PBAOEs, plus two potential auras, it can be a force in the middle of a big spawn. Unfortunately, being a force in the middle of a big spawn requires a lot more survivability than the AT has on its own, which means set bonuses and specifically means S/L defense set bonuses. They are the most expensive bonuses to buy, which can be problematic for 9-digit builds.

Let's look for something in between, a Hover Blaster with the option to swoop in and drop a couple big PBAOEs. I managed 41% ranged defense without any purps or PVP IOs, though it does have a few moderately expensive bits. You had RotP before, so I kept it, but I would normally replace it with Hasten and have Hasten early on the build. I went Musculature for the Alpha slot, but you could go Cardiac (more range & resistance with much better endurance) or Spiritual (more recharge) at your preference.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.94
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Technology Blaster
Primary Power Set: Fire Blast
Secondary Power Set: Fire Manipulation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Flares -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7)
Level 1: Ring of Fire -- Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg(7), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11)
Level 2: Fire Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg(13), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(15), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
Level 4: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(42), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), Posi-Dam%(43), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 6: Rain of Fire -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(45), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), Posi-Dam%(46)
Level 8: Hover -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(46), Flight-I(50), Flight-I(50)
Level 10: Combustion -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(29)
Level 12: Aim -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 14: Fly -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 18: Blaze -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23)
Level 20: Fire Sword Circle -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(25)
Level 22: Boxing -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A)
Level 24: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(40), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42), RctvArm-ResDam(42)
Level 26: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34), RedFtn-Def(34)
Level 28: Consume -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(33)
Level 30: Blazing Bolt -- Mantic-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Mantic-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Mantic-Acc/Dmg(50)
Level 32: Inferno -- C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(33), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(37)
Level 35: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37), RedFtn-Def(37)
Level 38: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(39), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(39), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(39), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(40), GSFC-Build%(40)
Level 41: Vengeance -- RedFtn-Def/Rchg(A)
Level 44: Char -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(45)
Level 47: Fire Shield -- RctvArm-EndRdx/Rchg(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(48), RctvArm-ResDam(48), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(48)
Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix -- Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(A)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(27)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(27), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(31)

Gun Drone isn't as bad as you might think.

Part of the problem is that it is both part of the substitution for Build Up (Targeting Drone for Acc, Gun Drone for Dmg) and the only pet available in Blaster secondaries. Making it a potentially always-on substitute means it gets watered down a bit. Making it a unique option means it gets watered down a bit more.

Still, when you slot up the drone, you can get pretty decent add-on damage. It also has a HUGE Defiance buff (39.6% for 15s). Reactive should help it out, too. Looking at numbers, a Fire/Fire can get +100% base damage for 10s with BU. A Fire/Dev gets ~120dmg every 2s for up to 90s (+60dps) and +39.6% base damage for 15s.

Gun Drone is single-target only, so BU has a pretty clear advantage when trying to wipe out large spawns full of minions. It'll still help, but not quite as much. Not that it'll be that hard to wipe out a spawn full of minions with a Blaster, but easier is easier.

For soloing, I recommend Traps as the primary. With it, you get mez protection, debuffs, damage, control, and defense to build on toward the softcap. For a second option, consider FF. Your teammate bubbles won't do anything for you solo, but everything else is nice. The lack of debuffs makes it a lot slower than Traps, though.

Assuming you're sticking with a Defender and aren't sold on Sonic for the secondary, then I would recommend Archery or Dual Pistols for their crashless nukes. Archery has Aim and a more-damaging nuke that's up twice as often, so I would recommend it first.

Ice is a nice mitigation option for Defender secondary, but I would say that it trades damage for safety. That might be a good trade for a solo character.

I used to hate Devices, but I've come around to it. Caltrops are glorious. Devices offers the best stealth option by far with Smoke Grenade & Cloaking Device. Trip Mine is all brands of good. Plus, you get a pet to draw aggro and throw some more DPS around (consider it a Build Up alternative). Targeting Drone is helpful (+ToHit, +Perception) and can slot nice set bonuses.

The only power I really don't like is Taser. Web Grenade is a nice immob, but without damage so... meh. Time Bomb seems like it could be good on occasion, though those occasions might be few and far between.

No Aim with DP is enough for a lot of people to disregard the set. No Build Up with Devices is enough for a lot of people to disregard that set. Put them together and you're not likely to find a lot of support from those people.

I've been working on a Fire/Fire/Pyre build, too. Costs are running a bit high for my liking, but I really wanted to get within one small purple of softcap for s/l damage and two for e/n. It has over 2500hp after accolades and pretty decent recharge. Not happy with the accuracy of Scorch & Incinerate. I might end up skipping Pyre for Leadership...

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.93
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Flammable Flea: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Fiery Aura
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Melee
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blazing Aura -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19)
Level 1: Scorch -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(9), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Healing Flames -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(11), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Dct'dW-Heal(13), Dct'dW-Rchg(13)
Level 4: Fire Shield -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(15), S'fstPrt-ResKB(17), HO:Ribo(21)
Level 6: Combustion -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(31), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Oblit-%Dam(34)
Level 8: Consume -- Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(23), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(25), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(25), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(27)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(50), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50)
Level 12: Plasma Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(17), RctvArm-ResDam(19)
Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 16: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(27), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(29), Mocking-Acc/Rchg(29), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(31), Mocking-Rchg(31)
Level 18: Burn -- Oblit-%Dam(A), Oblit-Dmg(34), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(34), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 20: Build Up -- Rec'dRet-Pcptn(A), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(21), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 22: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 24: Boxing -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A)
Level 26: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Fire Sword Circle -- Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Oblit-Dmg(37), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(37), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-%Dam(39)
Level 30: Tough -- HO:Ribo(A), HO:Ribo(40)
Level 32: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(40), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(40)
Level 35: Incinerate -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(43), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(43), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 38: Greater Fire Sword -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(45), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(45), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 41: Char -- BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Hold(42), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(42), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42)
Level 44: Melt Armor -- LdyGrey-DefDeb(A), LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg(46)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dam%(50)
Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix -- Heal-I(A)
Level 50: Cardiac Core Boost
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(5)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(3), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(3)

I've gotten only three purple drops since purple recipes appeared. Ever. On the other hand, I have one character with four VRs and I average less than one iTrial per day (some days 3-4, many days none). It's just random.

SS/Fire Brute with the self-PL option is nice (I have one myself), but lack of AOEs hurts. Instead, I'd recommend Elec/Fire if you're looking for a self-PLing character to hit 20 fast. You get Jacob's Ladder at 2, Thunder Strike at 8 and Chain Induction at 18. Find a nice fire farm at 16 and watch the levels melt away.

For something a little different, I might recommend an Elec/Earth Dom. It's a bit weird, sure, but Conductive Aura + Static Field is one evil sapping combination and the self-refreshing sleep keeps you safe. Earth gives you an early PBAOE and KB mitigation for all your attacks up to L20 (Elec doesn't grant KB resistance, unlike a lot of other Dom primaries).

For another option, consider a Fire/Traps Corruptor. Fire Ball and Rain of Fire meet Caltrops and Acid Mortar? FFG at 16 will help protect against nasty mez, too.

Damage debuffs happen before resistance takes effect and 6.375% isn't exactly world-shattering. It also doesn't stack from the same caster.

I'd recommend an alternate build before any sort of PVE/PVP hybrid.

Start with the role you want the character to have, thinking of a scale between pure meatshield and damage dealer. The closer your thoughts are to meatshield, the more you should be thinking Tanker. The closer your thoughts are to damage dealing, the more you should be thinking Brute.

Speaking to Tankers, there is a difference between tanking and survivability. WP is an incredible survivability set, but the least of the tanking sets, because it is the least capable set at generating and holding aggro. With a lot of AOEs, that isn't such a big deal, but if you're loaded with single-target attacks (like SS is), it can be a chore to keep cycling in Taunt and changing targets for punchvoke.

On the other hand, if you don't want to be a large-spawn tanker and just want something that will survive while letting you throw out damage, there are few better choices than WP. If you only have to hold aggro on one target, then you don't need a big aggro aura, so it is almost ideal for AV/GM-tanking. With the right slotting, you can cap defenses to S/L/E/N/F/C and wind up with incredible +HP and +Regen.

For your goals, I'd recommend Shield over WP, unless you really just don't care about the Tanking aspect. Shield can be extremely survivable, offers bonus damage, has arguably the best aggro grip available, and tosses in a great AOE. It'll also be cheaper to slot up than WP. It won't be quite as survivable, but will still be very survivable.

For Tanker Secondaries, I like Fire or Elec paired with either Shield or WP: Fire for its damage and extra AOE, Elec for it's AOEs and chain. Both would help WP generate aggro and both will whittle down spawns faster than their single-target-focused peers. SS is nice if you pick up another AOE or two from your EPP/PPP and if you don't ever exemp below level 35 (at which point you would lose Footstomp and become a single-target attacker). It's also a terrible grind to level up an SS Tanker (40th level before Footstomp can be fully slotted), which only matters if you're actually doing the work to level yourself up. Shield can help this a bit by adding another AOE at 26.

If you're feeling Brute-ish, then it's a bit of a different story. Defense and Resistance are weaker, HP are lower, but survivability is often enough to handle whatever you'll face. In the meantime, you'll consistently outperform Tankers for damage and may outperform Scrappers (depending on the Primaries). Just sitting in a normal spawn will have you up to about 65% Fury (+130% damage) in a couple seconds, so don't discount the impact of Fury. Throw a few attacks and you're at 80%+ easily.

Because the Brute primary is a damage set, they get attacks faster, making SS a much nicer choice. It's still a bit of a grind, but you can have Footstomp fully slotted by 34. Double-stacked Rage is pretty nice, too, for as long as you can maintain it. If you're looking for options, I'd recommend Claws, DB and Elec (in that order). Claws is a fast set with one PBAOE and two cones, one of which has a 30' base range, plus a damaging self-buff that doesn't crash and can be stacked.

For Brute secondaries, WP is a great choice. You get more HP, nice regen, best-in-AT endurance, and a good set of resistances and defenses to build on with power choices and slotting. Aggro-schmaggro - you'll take the alpha and that's often enough to keep the worst off the squishies for as long as a spawn manages to survive. For better aggro grip, much easier slotting, but admittedly weaker survivability at the highest levels of slotting, consider Super Reflexes. Invuln is another good choice, but the slotting requirements to really make it shine on a Brute can be a little rough. If you like Elec or SS, then Shield is another good option, but great survivability won't be cheap and endurance can be an issue.

Happy Birthday!

I could horde it all and sit on the pile like a dragon, and I'd enjoy that. Then I'd have plenty of inf for when the inevitable super-mega-uber-hamicarnate-plus recipes appear. But then I'd just complain about drop rates and prices on those and probably horde the lot because I couldn't justify the expense.

A few weeks later, terrified that I'd accidentally hit too many zeroes when bidding on something, I'd eventually have to find somewhere to spend some of the loot...

Then I'd probably put up an ongoing AE arc contest - provide an incentive to create, find and play great story arcs. There are lots of great arcs out there that go unplayed or unrated because they just can't get publicity. Lots of rough to go through, but there are some diamonds. It'd be nice to reward the people who make those diamonds.

And, just because I'm not THAT good of a person, I'd slap a top build on my main, just so I could say I had one.

Flurry is essentially ignored and isn't something I'd plan on using (no additional slots). It's there because I couldn't think of anything better to grab out of my remaining choices. With HOs slotting into the movement powers and PFF (stage 2 of the build), I'd save three slots and be able to either enhance my other powers more or enhance a Flurry replacement. What would be a better replacement?

Power Boost is there for PFF. PB+PFF racks up some serious defense. PFF alone offers quite a lot, but not necessarily enough when facing Tactics+BU+Aim. I don't expect anything else out of it, but the combo is a nice option when Phase is unavailable.

I like Ice for the heal and Hiber, but this build doesn't need Hiber (Phase & PFF). Resists are capped across the board with TI & Cardiac, so I don't have to deal with or try to enhance Ice's lesser resists. I do understand the appeal of the heal in Ice, though. Some players might prefer the heal, others might prefer better resists and PFF as an option.