[ QUOTE ]
hi guys im stuck for my next brute, i dont want to use stone or inv cos i ave used then in previous high lvl chars, so its between fire armour or elec armour
may u giv me ur views cos im torn between them and it confusin the hell outta me 
[/ QUOTE ]
Don't forget you can have Energy Aura and Dark Armour too 
I ran a comparison on a hero builder a few weeks back when I went alt-crazy.
Fire Aura numbers are very decent for tanks, but for brutes they seem to be too low to give decent damage resistance... you actually need to take temperature protection to maximise your fire resistance. You get a rez, a self heal and an AOE endurance leech, but you'll also NEED to take the Leaping pool for Knockback protection via acrobatics, and the immobilisation protection in "Burn" is a bit iffy. It does have a decent damage buff in Fiery Embrace, which gives +100% damage for 20 secs on fire attacks and 10 secs on all others... Recharge time is a bit long though at 3 mins unslotted and it'll be less useful for Brutes than tanks because of fury.
Electric Armor is very good damage resistance and has very nice endurance buffs (conserve energy for when there are no mobs near you, and the electric AOE end leech is autohit unlike fire's), but the set lacks a HP buff or a self heal. Grounded has partial Knockback/Immob protection, you can still opt to go the leaping route if you want 100% protection but it's optional. You also get an "unstoppable", a recharge rate boost, resistance to endurance drain, resistance to psionic damage and protection against TP foe.
Both sets also have a PBAoE damage aura... electric's is a bit weaker at 0.4722 BI vs fire's 0.6111 BI (unslotted), although electric's also does slight endurance drain.
I plumped for an /Elec build with aid self, Fire Aura only really has the self heal and self-rez going for it, but IMHO Electric Armor gives better overall resistance and a far, far better set of toys.
Damage resistance comparison:
(assumes 3-slotted tough and all powers 3-slotted for damres with +3 SOs):
[u]Blazing Aura:[u]
53.1% Lethal/Smashing
20.7% Cold
35.4% Energy
78.7% Fire
35.4% Negative Energy
0.0% Toxic (15% res with unslotted Healing Flames)
0.0% Psionic
[u]Electric Armor:[u]
59.0% Lethal/Smashing
41.3% Cold
97.2% Energy
41.3% Fire
35.4% Negative Energy
0.0% Toxic
41.3% Psionic
3-slotted Power Surge adds 82.6% resistance to everything except Psionic for 180 secs, if you're running your toggles then even unslotted it will put you at the resistance cap for everything except Psi and toxic.
[edit] Numbers are from the latest build of Sherksilver's Hero Builder 1.7.6.0 (Power DB version is 1.0.336) It's not perfect, but with the villain ATs it's been pretty accurate since the Prima guide was released... 
[/edit]
Maelwys did his homework. I agree with everything he said, except the fact that Fiery Embrace is a very good buff if you have Fire Melee. With 3 recharges and Hasten, you'll be dealing a good amount of damage.
I have a high level FM/FA (48 currently), and a Brute with ELA (level 35). And I can tell you, I'm having a lot of fun with the later (that's why I still don't have a lvl 50 char). I got all powers except Power Surge, and I can't wait to PvP in RV.
He dies less often (and I usually get on teams with lvl+3 mobs, sometimes +5), and with Aid Self fully slotted and Power Sink you'll be able to fight the entire mish or AVs without having to rest or taking blues (but you'll still need some greens in case Aid Self is interrupted).
It's a personal choice, but after lvling Promethean, now I spend days without playing with Fu Leng (see my sig).
kk ive think of elec now ie dne my build but im thinkin swift lightnin relex and sprint wil be fast enough 2 travel or wil i ave 2 drop a power for ss
I tried that on a SR scrapper a while back, the speed is bearable but the lack of vertical movement can be extremely annoying.
Assuming you don't want to be using the temp power jetpacks throughout the game every time you want to go over an obstacle, you'd do well to consider at least picking up Combat Jumping and/or Hurdle (assuming you're going for Stamina). Fly is another good option especially if you're thinking of grabbing Air Superiority, since the speed of fly now gets buffed with swift.
Personally I'm going for the leaping pool on my /elec brute... Combat Jumping will stack nicely with the partial Immob protection from Grounded and Superjump is a nice fast travel power. I'm taking Acrobatics later on for 100% KB protection and higher hold resistance in pvp.
[ QUOTE ]
Maelwys did his homework. I agree with everything he said, except the fact that Fiery Embrace is a very good buff if you have Fire Melee. With 3 recharges and Hasten, you'll be dealing a good amount of damage.
[/ QUOTE ]
I bow to Fu's superior experience here!
Again, I've tested Build Up + Fiery Embrace on an EM/Fire tanker and it works fantastically... just wasn't sure if you'd notice an extra 100% damage buff on a brute with a nearly full fury bar!
[ QUOTE ]
Again, I've tested Build Up + Fiery Embrace on an EM/Fire tanker and it works fantastically... just wasn't sure if you'd notice an extra 100% damage buff on a brute with a nearly full fury bar!
[/ QUOTE ]
But great to use early in a fight when your fury is low.
[ QUOTE ]
Again, I've tested Build Up + Fiery Embrace on an EM/Fire tanker and it works fantastically... just wasn't sure if you'd notice an extra 100% damage buff on a brute with a nearly full fury bar!
[/ QUOTE ]
U wouldnt notice with full fury + 15 reds to max out brutes damage cap of 850%, but other than that rare occation u will benifit.
I agree /elec is one of the best armour types (res based, tier 9 panic button, auto-hit end drain/recovery), but if ur set on firey melee then you will be doing more damage with the /FA build up power; and since damage is what a brute is ultimately about, u shouldnt overlook it.
If u were PvPing in sirens call, then no brute has access to a tier 9 power, then the other brute options become more attractive, including fire armour.
Its resist based and has 15% toxic resist in healing flames, although I believe it lacks psi resist, which /elec has a small amount of.
TP is not only usefull for stone tanks, it can completely negate the effects of slows, and can be your "tier 9 panic button", since in an instant u can be out of range of a gank squad.
The reality of PvP is that u will tend to be ganked, its virtually guarenteed, and not limited to hero/vill or even this MMO; when u see 5 or 6 characters decend ontop of u, tp is priceless.
hi guys im stuck for my next brute, i dont want to use stone or inv cos i ave used then in previous high lvl chars, so its between fire armour or elec armour
may u giv me ur views cos im torn between them and it confusin the hell outta me