Drop Nimble Slash, Weaken and Empower aren't that good later anyways.
Surely isnt it better to drop Power Slice? Therefore only losing Sweep but keeping Empower and the weaken combo?
For brutes the Weaken and especially the Empower Combo aren't nearly as essential as Sweep, so dropping Nimble Slash is a viable option.
If it has eyes, you can blind it, if it has blood, you can make it bleed, if it has a mouth, you can make it scream.
alternatively drop your travel powers you dont really need them, swift + hurdle + sprint is pretty fast bunny hopping or running about and you have plenty of hps to take any hits, if it take travel power at all on my db/wp it wont be til the 40's (well 41 for cj and and 44 for sj) even then im considering tough instead, only things im not taking in my build currently is the self res (taunt is coming at 47 mainly for just how sodding cool it looks lol - if youve not seen it have your daggers - sorry swords - out and do the tarzan emote seems to trigger it hehe) grabbing stamina helps loads more than a travel power i find - chaining vital strike and sweep back to back non stop rocks.
laters
Asimodo
(aka Zyst db/wp defiant)
On my DB/WP brute her attacks are 2 acc 1 end and 1 dam so far and she is only lvl 24 and I have to say, I cant see myself needing Stamina as Fury is taking care of all the damage and i'm not really running out of end at all.
I only took the sweep and attack vitals combo's on my DB/WP brute and he works very well , you can keep the mob "bouncing" for less damage and the recharge rate off those combo's means that as you finish one you can instantly start the other therefore generating fury very quickly so no need for the empower or weaken combo's
Weaken is a combo i use alot. Because the accuracy debuff that does along with rise to the challenge and the defense powers i seldom get it. I got quite the survivability with those now.
I would rather drop blinding feint.
Altho... i got stamina by level 30 and only had to push back heigtened senses to 35. I got all 8 attacks in dual blades and all save fast healing in willpower. What other power pool you use?
The problem with Empower and Weaken is not that the effect was bad or something like that but other things: Both offer significant less dps when compared to Attack Vitals and Sweep and for both you have to take (and slot) Nimble Slash which doesn't help either. And with many opponents prone on the ground most of the time the accuracy debuff from Weaken does little to increase survivability.
It's all a matter of relation of cost and gain: By dropping Nimble Slash I lose a lackluster buff in Empower and a debuff that won't significantly affect survivability in most cases in Weaken. On the other hand I gain a free power pick, some more enhancement slots to distribute and an increase in overall dps.
Sounds like a deal. 
If it has eyes, you can blind it, if it has blood, you can make it bleed, if it has a mouth, you can make it scream.
mm yea. But i still like weaken a great deal, specially for fights where the target doesn't like to get knocked over alot. like Heroes, Giant Monsters etc etc. Knockdown kinda useless on flying mobs as well.
*shrug*
To each their own i spose
I like having all four combos accessible to me. And i don't care too much about having the most dps. It's mostly about looking good!
At L32 I have all 4 combos, all willpower powers available so far, and stamina.... oh and a jingle jet
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It's mostly about looking good!
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Whatever doesn't look good I'd advise on respecifying out.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
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At L32 I have all 4 combos, all willpower powers available so far, and stamina.... oh and a jingle jet
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Likewise (on a scrapper though).
10 Candy Canes and you can put off worrying about travel powers until about level 41.
10 Candy Canes and the GvE Jump Pack and you get all the above and 30 seconds of pretty much speed capped flight.
And even if the Jingle Jet runs out of fuel, I've still got the Safeguard temps and my last toon's experience of not taking a travel power until 41 (teleport, on my Stone/Fire scranker). It's surprising how far you can stretch the Raptor pack by using it as a parachute to cushion long drops or to get up walls you'd otherwise have to go round. Did 41 levels of Swift, Sprint, temp power travelling. It's not hard.
DB/WP powers I'm skipping are Confront and Resurgence.
So I'm not going to end up an 'optimal dps' build? So what. I'm enjoying the technical challenge of juggling the demands of attack chain versus combo versus mob type.
For me thus far, DB is requiring FAR more thought to use well than Katana ever did.
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
Well, the OP specifically asked if it was possible to drop one more power from DB or WP without crippling his brute.
In my opinion saying that he can drop either Nimble Slash or Blinding Feint (or both) and that he may very well increase his dps output in the process answers this question just nicely while stating that there is also the option of going with no travel power and less dps might be nice for you but does less so.
Now, if you just wanted to add a comment about the versatility and fun challenge of playing DB you are getting no argument from me. It's one beautiful set.
If it has eyes, you can blind it, if it has blood, you can make it bleed, if it has a mouth, you can make it scream.
One can never determine the right build for anyone and so suggestions can only be made. I used to go off my rocker when I see someone use the words "you will need" or "you will want"...on these forums...not on my watch! 
I always get all the powers these days and find pros and cons out for myself and then respec them. Sonic Repulsion is off low favour but I will keep it for when I team with Sitriels Brute
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
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Well, the OP specifically asked if it was possible to drop one more power from DB or WP without crippling his brute.
In my opinion saying that he can drop either Nimble Slash or Blinding Feint (or both) and that he may very well increase his dps output in the process answers this question just nicely while stating that there is also the option of going with no travel power and less dps might be nice for you but does less so.
Now, if you just wanted to add a comment about the versatility and fun challenge of playing DB you are getting no argument from me. It's one beautiful set.
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And yet, I'm of the opinion that keeping Nimble Slash and Blinding Feint doesn't diminish your DPS.
And that's all it comes down to. Opinions.
I could post my Katana/Regen scrappers build and cause people to wince (no Reconstruction being only one oddity about it). But it works for me and my playstyle, and has done for the last 28 months or thereabouts, so why should I worry?
My Archery/EM/Elec build caused people to visibly wince when I posted it to some other boards. Yet, now that Defrankenfuryance 2.1 and the archery rebalancing have arrived, he can dish out ludicrous amounts of damage.
And besides, removing half your Combo's from a set, the 'set bonus' of which IS combo's seems a little counter intuitive.
Oh, and if you notice, I DID say that I was planning on skipping Confront and Resurgence on my DB/WP. Although that plan is subject to change upon reaching the trainer and thinking 'ooh, that looks shiny, what the hell'
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
Actually, as soon as we are talking about dps we are talking maths. If your opinion is 2+2=5 then more power to you, but in that case we could also start suggesting dropping Sweeping Strike because of someone's opinion that he would have the same dps.
And just for clarification: I don't look down on builds that don't have the ultimate dps or something like that but if somebody asks if it would be crazy to drop power x I think it's only reasonable to tell him why it is not crazy at all: The reason being that he would even increase his dps which might not be the measure of all things but isn't a bad thing at all.
I don't think dropping two Combos would take away from the set's secondary effect since you can basically spam the remaining two. You just get to choose which 'kind' of secondary effect you stick with.
Oh, and if you noticed, the OP mentioned that Confront/Taunt and Resurgence were already skipped and that he needs one more power to drop from either DB or WP. Saying he could drop his travel power, too, is probably an option, but not an option the OP asked for. When somebody asks for the way to the next restaurant I tell him the way to the next restaurant (or two or three of them if they are all close by) and not the way to the next supermarket because he could cook his own meal just as well.
If it has eyes, you can blind it, if it has blood, you can make it bleed, if it has a mouth, you can make it scream.
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*shrug*
To each their own i spose
I like having all four combos accessible to me. And i don't care too much about having the most dps. It's mostly about looking good!
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Ahhh you restore my faith in online gaming!
I want to get Stamina before level 40, so I have to drop 3 powers from DB/WP. Two of them will be, of course, Taunt and Resurgence.
Am I crazy if I drop anything more from WP?
Which attack could I leave? Probably Nimble Slash (losing Empower and Weaken combos) or Power Slice (bye bye to Sweep)?
Just for PvE, if it does matter.