I geuss for melee stone/ss would be the most suitable attack and maybe invul/energy aura would suit it for defence. Unless oyour russian strong man wants to be covred in black cloudy nonsense, burning in flames or covered in rock :P. SS would definatly suit the melee I think thoguh.
From a concept pov SS/Invun sounds right. However, I don't think there are any Brute powersets wich loose effectivness when combined.
I guess there is some minor synagy from fire/fire and dark/EA, but its not gameshaking.
I really should do something about this signature.
Thanks for the help...I thought SS/Stone and EA/INV too because concept and general "look"...I can't bear DA because of the noise it makes and the fact that I can't see the costume I spent yonks designing.
I thought /EA because it was something new...So I'm looking at SS and EA/Inv I think. Hmmm....
I'd take EA purely because everyone else seems to do SS/INV :P. I have no experience with it myself but it does seem quite subtle (wont cover your character, there is a stealth thoguh I think which obviously makes your costume disapear if you took it :/).
I took a SS/Inv in the end...Although the stealth in EA was appealing. I just didn't like the swirly effects. I've never roller a Brute beofre so just have a few questions.
1. It's not a Tank is it? I mean the shields/defences aren't as strong as a Tank's?
2. I think I understand Fury...but is it a good idea to attack the minions to get the Fury up and then switch to Lieuts and Bosses when I can do more damage? Or is this a surefire way to die?
3. When I played last night because I wanted to keep my Fury up (and had no greens) I always seemed on the verge of death...my health bar even disappeared completely once 
Are then any tips on useful powers to avoid this? Is it worth getting the health pool for example.
4. Is it still the Brutes job to draw agro? Or is that more the Masterminds pets jobs?
1. Shields are 75%, same as a Scrapper.
2. It doesn't matter who you attack in order to build fury, go for the biggest threat to the team.
3. Fitnesss pool is good, as you will want Stamina in order to keep up your attack rate whilst running your shields.
4. Theoretically you are right, holding aggro is not your job, however there are an awful lot of lousy MMs out there who wont send in thier pets until the rest of the team is engaged, so you will probably find yourself leading the charge and getting a lot of aggro anyway. Aggro can be good though, since every time a mob attacks you you increase fury. This is the main reason Brutes take Taunt powers.
I really should do something about this signature.
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[...] 1. It's not a Tank is it? I mean the shields/defences aren't as strong as a Tank's? [...]
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Nope, not a Tanker. If I remember correctly, Brutes have Scrapper level base values and Tanker level caps.
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[...] 4. Is it still the Brutes job to draw agro? Or is that more the Masterminds pets jobs?
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Possibly not their job, as such, but you should want it anyways... for building up that Fury as fast as possible.
2. Take out the biggest threat to you first, you cant build fury when you're dead, nor hold agro.
3. Dull pain is in your set, take it, slot it, love it. Also yeah the fitness pool helps much, and invicibility is a definite must.
4. Agro is your friend, a very quick was of building fury. Trick is not having all the agro, just enough and the right sort. As an inv try and grab all the S&L agro, leave the other damage types for the rest of the team. Unless you can hold that and take it too. You're going to have to make that judgement call. Peronally I want as much as I can hold as it helps with fury and AoEs kill quickly when fury is full
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
3. Try and team with Corruptors and Dominators. They will help to keep you alive.
I really should do something about this signature.
Am I right in thinking that the accuracy of Brutes is lower? As I'm sure I miss loads more with my SS/Inv Brute that I ever did with my SS/Inv Tank...
Base accuracy should be the same. It's probably just a case of being used to hit a lot with SOs slotted over hitting less frequently with TOs slotted?
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Base accuracy should be the same. It's probably just a case of being used to hit a lot with SOs slotted over hitting less frequently with TOs slotted?
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I never got my Tank over lvl 6 so I don't think it is that...maybe I was just unlucky for the 2 hours I was playing last night...however, when I did hit it was very enjoyable...Fury is a wonderful thing...at least at lvl4 
I dont remember having a problem with accuracy with my DM/FA brute.
But now im playing an EN/EN brute hes lvl 16 at moment, and he does seem to miss a lot more than my DM/Fa brute who i got to 40.
Ive slotted all my melee attacks with 2 acc enh's and they do seem to miss a lot still compared to my dark brute,this should improve with DOs and SOs
i have heard some ppl say theres a bug with the brutes accuracy although im not sure how true this is 
Rolled a new Brute tonight, with HeroStats reporting an accuracy at around the base 75% at the end of my game session.
After being pretty uninspired by the other ATs, I'm just about to build a new brute...Based on a Russian Strongman type thingy...I'm just interested on people's opinions of the the best 2 powers to take concept and synegry wise.
For example Stone/Stone obviously go together as a concept but not necessarily as well synergy/game play-wise. I hope this makes sense?