Animation wise hell yeah
Particle count wise hell yeah
Gameplay wise probably fairly nice from that I've seen. There were a lot of them after DB got launched but whether they're all still around I dont know. I've seen threads on Defiant Villains giving grats to a few of them on their 50 though. Its a fairly AoE friendly set and apart from 1K Cuts its not too slow animating either. From duoing with a scrapper on hero side that was one I can confirm it kicks out much ST DPS just not big bursts of it.
I dont know how well the combos work with builging fury but I dont see it being a big issue, I'd probably only use Sweep most of the time anyway.
Of course I would be put off by the ugly animations but if you like the ballet dancing brute concept go with it.
"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!"
lol.
If you enjoy the character go for it. There's nothing wrong with a DB brute in terms of damage output and effectiveness, that's really down to how the player is rather than the actual sets.
I like my DB brute, but I made her about 4.6ft and gave her daggers, so all the ballet type moves realy suit her..
I don't see huge numebers (even with rage up) but I do see alot of numbers, especialy if I hit Weaken and am stood in a zerg, I tend to make a point of moving quickly to the bigest group mobs if my 3rd part chain is ready, then finishing off the other guy..
I kinda miss all the flashy boom effects of my dom or corruptor and at times I swear my mates ninjas are hiting harder than me :P but my little brute has pulled off some great stuff and survived, wher all my others would have died (I rushed a bank, got 3x longbow group spawns, about 12 mobs and tootaly kicked seven hells out of them)
As above post says, pick the one you like most, sure my mates hammer stone guy 1 shots mobs I can't but mine does a whole group faster than him and adds some style into it :P
While DB thematically doesn't fit Brutes too well because of a distinct lack of SMASH!, I imagine it would fit the Brute playstyle quite well. Aside from 1K Cuts, the attacks all seem pretty fast, and both Brutes and DB are technically based on continuous attacks - Brutes because of Fury and DB because combos have relatively short amounts of time for you to execute the next move in the chain. The combo finisher effects seem pretty cool and useful as well, at least on paper.
Arguably you could make an angry ghost viking dual wielding broadswords or something, flailing them around in a bladestorm of rage... the DB animations aren't really THAT graceful either, especially the first three attacks. Plus, the sound effects sound like someone is beating a metal box with a shovel. Painful.
Of course, concept is up to you. Just me and my random thoughts there. To sum up, DB seems just fine for a Brute game mechanics wise, even though most don't like it because it feels too graceful for a Brute thematically in their opinion.
Again it's a matter of "horses for courses". DB needs some planning build-wise, but if done well DB is a fine set for lots of AoE mayhem. It's a set that actually works quite well with a second brute on the team, preferably one centered on single target damage, because that's the weak spot of DB. In any case it's a late bloomer and probably needs a respec as you might probably want to get rid of one or two attacks that you need for your early attack chains but can't afford slot-wise later.
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.
Okay, thanks for the replies everybody, they have taken away my worries and I'll happily continue my sword swinging ways.
As for the concept, yes, I guess it does not really fit the usual image you have of a brute, but I would like to think brutes can come in all shape and sizes 
I went with a tall and thin lady knight in medival armor and I'd like to think she looks very cool with the DB animations, here she is putting a sword (and apparently, hand) trough the head of a snake http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=owwrf4.jpg
Not sure why people don't like the DB animations, I personally love them. I've also noticed that while it's not as smashy as my super strength brute, it's easier to get the fury going with DB.
I did have some trouble with not feeling much like a brute but then I got vengeful slice and all is well since I can brutally knock opponents off their feet now. >_>
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http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=owwrf4.jpg
[/ QUOTE ]This one looks nice. I can understand why you would like to go on with your brute. Go swing! 
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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http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=owwrf4.jpg
[/ QUOTE ]This one looks nice. I can understand why you would like to go on with your brute. Go swing!
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I have a good one like that too! >8D
if you like the set, then go for it
the "problems" from db are that the damagetype is "lethal" cause its heavily resisted in the late game and the lack of burst damage (this is only interesting for pvp)
BANG BANG!!!
Actually, on the topic of Dual Blades not fitting Brutes...
...What the heck do you think Red Caps are?
How the heck does Dual Blades not fit Brutes? Hacking enemies to pieces in a non-stop flurry of crimson carnage isn't brutal enough?
Chairman of the Charity of Pain; accepting donations of blood and guts.
Prophet of the Creamy Truth; "If it's empty, fill it with cream."
My Brute Lost Faith, just hit 21, got her QR with 3x end mod inventions and added a chance to proc psi damage into all 3 parts of her weaken chain Omg I wish I had roled a brute earlier, it's like an evil dance of death or as close to this game can get to the scene from film Serenity... constantly can't help singing Let the bodys hit the floor and it's so fun to get zerged but know i'm not geting 2 shot anymore :P
apart from pvp where DB cant make use of its combos and has no build up which ruins it saldy (unelss you get the odd organised slugfest)your left with a much bigger area of the game - the pve side - and its here that i find DB just anihilates stuff, sure it doesnt have the big numbers the other sets have - but the other sets dont land half as many hits, did some testing lkd to a mates bs/sr scrapper the other day vs some rikti, DB kileld the groups faster than he could - and quite surprisingly - i even killed a boss faster than he could - just cos db doesnt have the individual big numbers doesnt mean it doesnt have the important part - DPS - which it has in spades - jut dont try and solo EBs and AV's - it hurts unless you carry a perfect tray of insps lol (speakign form experience it takes demonic aura + SoW + a fair number of greens and oranges - well silver mantis did anyway)
laters
Asimodo
aka Zyst db/wp brute defiant
EBs tough for a Brute? Huh? Just pop some purples if your resists against a particular EB's damage is low.
As far as DB being broken in PvP goes - so is Fury. So overall it still keeps with the Brute theme, heh.
I badly, badly wanted to get my hands on a Crab Spider, but was having difficulties with the various villain ATs and hadn't yet got one anywhere near 50, so after having huge amounts of fun with my DB/WP scrapper, I decided to roll a Brute with the same powerset. On-paper, it looked like a match made in heaven (massive AoE spam plus fast animations plus tons of attacks plus Rise to the Challenge plus Stamina and QR plus fury = awesome), and I'd come up with a great-looking concept for it - a raging berserker-type called Ghazrak Khan with a Huge body-type, topknot, moustache, lots of tattoos (Tribal-pattern on bare skin), and a pair of Fantasy blades.
Up until about level 20, he was decent but not exceptional. The animations and the costume synced nicely, and he was dishing out a decent amount of damage, but the endurance-drain was crippling. Stamina alleviated that to a certain extent, and buying a full set of SOs at level 22 turned him into an absolute god of war.
Not only was he now nigh-impossible to kill, but Endurance was barely an issue no matter how much I spammed Empower and Weaken, and as a result, I had Fury almost permanently maxed. He's a hell of a lot of fun, and I really am looking forward to the remainder of his journey to 50.
In short, DB/WP is a godly set, but only really shines once you've sorted out your Endurance and slotted yourself with SOs. Have patience, and thou shalt prosper.
Dual Blades I find is a perfect set for Brutes, Hawk Angel [my level 44 DB/WP Brute] is some of the best fun i've had on a brute, yeah may not deal out mass amount of damage at once but hell does it feel great to play.
Oh and Iaculus if I was you get QR 1st before Stamina, does more end recovery.
My dual blades/elec dinged 50 last week and I have to say in many ways it is inferior. No control, no massive burst dmg attack blah blah blah... BUT I made a concious decision to do what most dont and have every combo. Making him so unbelieveably versatile. Weaken is an awesome weapon for AVs! Plus he's /elec so got every power there except lightning field as I slotted power sink with a taunt set to use as a taunt/end replenish on every other group which is roughly how long conserve power lasts. All in all I have to say I love dual blades as its so different and you ride that wave of "will this combo hit??? I so need it to! Go on! Go on! YESSSS! DIEEEEE" that its a real thrill ride to play. And 1000 cuts has one of the coolest animations ever!
Perhaps so, but it's nice to get the other Fitness powers (Health and Swift) early on as well, and I prefer to get stuff like Rise to the Challenge only after sorting out my endurance to some extent.
Besides, it worked for my Scrapper.
Does anyone know if it's truly possible to solo AV's with a Dual blades / Willpower brute? Mine mainly uses the attack vitals and sweep combos but I'll be taking blinding feint again for the damage boost.
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Does anyone know if it's truly possible to solo AV's with a Dual blades / Willpower brute? Mine mainly uses the attack vitals and sweep combos but I'll be taking blinding feint again for the damage boost.
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AV's or EB's ? AV's, with smash/letal damages and no stun nor hold, you can forget, I think.
Dual Blades trades too much single target damage for its AoE power to overcome the resistance and regeneration of a typical AV. I can't say if there is an AV that a DB brute can beat on his own, but the huge majority is definitely too tough.
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.
is DB good without the combos?
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is DB good without the combos?
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Without combos, DB has not even a build up ^^
Hello there.
I'm a pretty inexperienced player, so this is more of a newbie question then anything else :-)
Anyway, I fell in love with the concept of the dual blades brute and have brought one to level 10, but from reading both here and on the US forums Im getting more and more worried that Im making a gimped character. Another thing that leads me to think this is that there is almost nothing discussed about it here, I get the impression it is an overlooked set people dont use.
Concept is nice and all, but I care about being an effective character too, so Id like to hear what you more experienced brutes think of the set?