The answer is always Brutes.
Okay, I'll go a little bit more in detail this time. A Brute is like the child of a Tanker and Scrapper who got the good genes from both mommy and daddy. Now, right off the bat, they actually have a lower damage modifier than even Tankers do. As for the secondary, they get Scrapper modifiers, which means they only get 75% of the maximum benefit. Sounds pretty lame, right?
Wrong.
Brutes are possibly the AT that scales the best with buffs in this game. Defensewise you'll have difficulty buffing yourself up, but offensewise? You have one of the most fun (second only to Domination, really) Inherent powers in the game. Fury.
Fury boosts up your damage by 2% per point. Now, before you roll your eyes, keep in mind that you gain around 4 Fury per attack you make. Not per attack you successfully land, but per attack you attempt. Hitting them encourages your bloodlust, missing them makes you angrier. Either way, your next punch will hurt them that much more. To add onto that, every attack the enemy attempts against you (again, misses also count) makes you angrier too - around 2 Fury per attack made against you - and you'll smack them back with vengeful rage. To sum up, once you've got a half-decent attack chain going, you'll be looking at an average of 60-80 Fury maintained at any moment - that's 160% of buff to base damage as long as your health and endurance keep up - if your secondary doesn't specialize in regeneration or recovery, convert every insp you see into greens and/or blues! 160%, if not higher. Ouch. Add on Enhancements and team buffs, and the fact that Brutes have the highest damage buff cap in the game, and you'll really be putting the hurt on your foes. A tip for free: Hold down Ctrl and click on Brawl to set it on auto-fire for constant Fury maintenance.
Remember when I mentioned Brutes having Scrapper protection modifiers? They have Tanker caps. This means you cap at 90%. Guess what, they also have the Tanker health cap.
A little bit of math: Taking Criticals as an average 10% DPS bonus over time, a Brute needs just over 60% Fury to out-DPS a Scrapper when both would be using identical powersets.
What this means is that you'll be steamrolling through missions solo as a Tanker that is only slightly more squishy, yet deals sick amounts of damage, and in teams with lots of good buffage you'll be a living weapon of mass destruction. You will feel the SMASH, and succumb to it. Depending on the need, you can either deal damage or tank. Or both at the same time! Arguably, they're the AT in the game with the most potential (outside of lolPvP).
Now, if you don't have any very specific concepts in mind and are looking for something nice and easy, yet fun and powerful to welcome you to Villains and Brutes, I'd recommend Super Strength and Willpower. Both very solid sets that are strong all-around and will not make you sorry for picking them. If you do decide on a Brute and would like more in-depth build advice, feel free to send me a PM or a /tell in game.
P.S: This post may or may not have been influenced by my main being a Brute, and Brutes being my favorite Archetype in the game. YMMV.
I'm kidding, Brutes are awesome. Except in PvP because they're not Blasters.
I am on a SS/WP Brute right now thanks to col_blitz advice and I love her. My biggest concern right now is that I go through levles to fast because I play on Ruthles the whole time and probably could go relentless with ease. They are that good.
However I am a big fan of Mastrminds. There is nothing beating the sight of your thugs beating some poor unfortunate while you twiddle your mustache and cackle evily. 
I managed to level my THUGS/DArk MM up to 50 without much pain and with only one keybind. A handy target nearest enemy bind. More is not required. I tried out more MM combinations but I find the running around of the melee pets anoying and dislike the zombies and ninjas for that fact. Pets with long range attacks tend to stick closer to your zone of control which saves you a lot of resumoning time. For MM's keeping your pets in control is important. The bigest thing is not let them follow runners. Because that will often trigger additional mob groups with all messy stuff happening.
Damn you, Blitzkrieger! Now I am seriously tempted to roll yet another brute... I need more powersets to choose from. 
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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[*]A corruptor? That's a definite possibility. They can't solo very well, though, can they?
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Corrupters should have little difficulty in soloing on pretty much any build - an example - I came out of the Zig on my Ice/Rad and attacked the first mob I came across to check how it performed - this being the point I realize oops these are lvl 6s not lvl 2/3 as I was expecting followed very quickly by ah its ok the Lt is down followed by the rest of the mob. After repeating this on the next mob I decided it was time to raise my rep.
My Dark/Dark has no problem with most mobs at lvl 50 running solo on invincible indeed the only things I have a problem with are mobs with multiple mezzers especially Malta with the Gunslingers and Arachnoid bosses
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[*]A stalker? Assassinating seems to be interesting, but is it enough for 50 levels of playing hide-and-seek?
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never really got into the way of my stalker which is why he's still lvl 11 even though I started him in the pre release but they have had a substantial buff to their chances of criticalling out of hide and so can scrap reasonably well.
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[*]A mastermind? Tempting, especially since this archetype is completely different from anything Heroside has to offer. But aren't they very difficult to play later on? Controlling so many pets, with so many settings, and probably requiring more keybinds than I've got keys on my keyboard?
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Well you said the best reason for trying them - something very different - there are plenty of bind guides posted and in most cases your numpad will be sufficient keys for all that you will need.
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[*]A dominator? One of the last villains I tried was one, but all the time I couldn't decide between control powers or damage powers. What do people actually do with dominators?
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Well I have a selection of these ranging from high control mind/psi (it will get to be an extreme damage build in a few levels though once I get PSW) to an all out aoe damage build fire/thorns with relatively little hard control.
What to I do with them - I DOMINATE of course
They do require more thought on how to play than most other ATs though.
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[*]A brute? But isn't that just a mixture of a situational scrapper and a suboptimal tanker? (Well, I need more training in proper tanking, anyway...)
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My only experience of playing one is my Fire/Fire which isn't built particularly well - tough is about 15-20 levels too late in the build! - very squishy for a brute, which makes it difficult to maintain fury - I'd suggest a different choice of powersets for a first villain but he was a lot of fun in the low and middle levels and can still be at times at higher levels.
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So which Villainside archetype do you think is best suited to experience more (and hopefully most) of City of Villains for the first time?
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I'd suggest a brute or corrupter initially but would recommend trying each AT out - play it a bit, when the novelty wears off play something else for a bit then go back to the earlier characters - they will usually be fun again. Also if you have experience of playing the different ATs you will know better what to expect them to do and understand when you need to adapt your playstyle.
You should find that no matter the AT you pick it should be able to solo easily enough but teaming is much better especially when the team gels well.
Several people have claimed it is difficult to get a team especially in th mid levels but if you get into an active Villain Group - I recommend Dirty Handprints on Union for this - we are now at no 1 in the rankings - I'm sure you will find others will give you their recommendations as well - you should find it no problem.
Mind of Gaia lvl 50 Defiant's first Mind/Storm 'troller.
Deadly Doc 50 Dark/Dark Corr
and lots more on Pinnacle,Union and Defiant
I have a low lvl Brute who is good fun to team or solo but my main Villain and the only one I got to 50 in 2 years of playing the game was a Stalker. I found something immensley satisfying Assassinating people
Golden-Phoenix - Lvl 50 Fire/Fire Tank
Oodja Nikabolokov - Lvl 50 SS/WP Brute
Baby-Phoenix - Lvl 50 Peacebringer
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?
Having as I have three Brutes, two under construction and one needing completion slotting-wise, I would say with the same bias as the good Colonel that Brutes are a great solo-play character. However, all the Villain Archetypes (Soldiers notwithstanding) are largely geared/balanced for solo play, but also do very well in groups (Soldiers in my experience do far better in groups than solo). As a Brute, you will find yourself chasing your Fury bar after a while, and it lends itself well to anyone with experience of 'Scrapper-lock', in that it actually rewards you for getting into the red haze. It can mean your team struggles to keep up, but that's rare.
I've tried Stalkers many times, but always found the lifespan somewhat lacking compared to Brutes. Your methods may vary, but Stalkers aren't my first (or even last) choice.
I've had a few Corruptors, and found them to be pretty fun, and often surprising at first. One thought to oneself 'Uh-oh, I'm going to faceplant' when the healthbar began flashing, only to ennihilate the enemy group with timely Scourging, leaving me cackling madly with great satisfaction.
I've tried Dominators from time to time, but being the hitting-fiend that I am, I've never let them develope. I do know someone who really knows the Archetype very well, and can do things with their Dom that I've seen even great Controllers struggle to do, such as Holding an Arch-Villain or Giant Monster for long periods.
I used to have a Bots/Bubbles Mastermind, and managed to hit level 24 when he lived on Defiant. But I've since moved to Union, and have deleted my Defiant characters. I did really enjoy having a horde of underlings to do my bidding, and found the micro-management to be an interesting challenge. I know someone with a level fifty 'minder', and he runs his Archetype very well indeed, even if he can get steamrolled from time to time. Mostly, the minions at your command can give you the chance to run like stink when the brown-adrenaline hits the occillating air-movement device.
[ QUOTE ][*]A corruptor? That's a definite possibility. They can't solo very well, though, can they?
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I have pretty much solo'd most of the time on my assault rifle/rad from day 1. ***/rad definitely easy soloing, but more fun in teams. Struggled a bit with my dark/kin early doors, but soloing gets a lot easier as you get more powers. And as a final note, corrs always get invites to strike forces....
[ QUOTE ][*]A stalker? Assassinating seems to be interesting, but is it enough for 50 levels of playing hide-and-seek?
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Played 3 different stalkers... 2 of which I gave up with before lvl 17. Found this AT the hardest to solo, as wasn't enjoying it much...until I got placate... love my claws/SR now for that reason... and is slowly heading to 30.
[ QUOTE ][*]A mastermind? Tempting, especially since this archetype is completely different from anything Heroside has to offer. But aren't they very difficult to play later on? Controlling so many pets, with so many settings, and probably requiring more keybinds than I've got keys on my keyboard?
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One of the most boring ATs ever developed. Only really worth playing and sticking with if you do long missions (big teams) or go PvP, as constantly setting up pets has got to be the most annoying thing ever. However, if you do get past that, then they are very easy to solo, and create tons of chaos in teams. Personally Necro/Poison is fun, tons of damage and heals to boot. Also love my Thugs/FF, if only for mob war, if not anything else.
[ QUOTE ][*]A dominator? One of the last villains I tried was one, but all the time I couldn't decide between control powers or damage powers. What do people actually do with dominators?
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Dominators are great fun and can easily be the best AT in any team, especially when domination is going. Locking down mobs, making them attack themselves, mass sleep and so on... Not the easiest to solo at lower levels but great in teams. I personally like both my Plant/Thorns and Grav/Psi
[ QUOTE ][*]A brute? But isn't that just a mixture of a situational scrapper and a suboptimal tanker? (Well, I need more training in proper tanking, anyway...)
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The best and only AT to go for solo, better than MM's by a country mile. Once you get your fury going, you're pretty much unstoppable. My only lvl 50 villain so far is an SS/NRG Brute, that will only get better with the i13 changes to NRG. I also have a DB/Invul... but finding it hard to love at the moment as have enduration problems.
Whatever you choose bear in mind that lvls 1-20 are more of a learning curve than anything else. Once you hit 20 you'll have a better understanding of the AT and it's strengths and weaknesses. You'll also have a better chance to control end etc... with DOs and SOs rather than TOs.
The best advise is to try all 5 and see what suits you and your play style. If possible do this via the test server, as you'll get a better understanding of all the powers that way!!!
Main 50 & Badger Nine Claws Claws/Regen/Body
Other 50's Ph10x Brute Unjust Law Tanker Samantha Urai Scrapper Codename 1250 Scrapper
Cepheus Defender Nilus Scrapper Electro Field Blaster S.PONGE Tanker
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[*]A mastermind? Tempting, especially since this archetype is completely different from anything Heroside has to offer. But aren't they very difficult to play later on? Controlling so many pets, with so many settings, and probably requiring more keybinds than I've got keys on my keyboard?
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I LOVE Masterminds - I've got four of them (I know, very sad...! 
) I also hate having umpteen keybinds, so I have only one for my minions, and, in conjunction with the basic commands in the petbar, that one seems to keep them out of trouble. It keeps them close to me when I need it and calls them back when they attempt to go running off over the horizon after a mob on his last legs heading towards a giant group of uber-mobs. (In case you're tempted to try an MM, the bind I use puts them in Defensive Follow mode, and I usually bind it to CTRL+W: it's /bind CTRL+W petcomall defensive follow
The downside? Once you get to a level where you're summoning and equipping at least four minions, it takes aaaages and it's TEDIOUS, not least because you have to do it everytime you log on, everytime you get off a ferry/helicopter, everytime you enter a mission... if the devs could fix that it'd be great, but other than that, a Mastermind is a blast, both literally and metaphotically. 
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[<ul type="square">[*]A corruptor? That's a definite possibility. They can't solo very well, though, can they?[*]A stalker? Assassinating seems to be interesting, but is it enough for 50 levels of playing hide-and-seek?[*]A mastermind? Tempting, especially since this archetype is completely different from anything Heroside has to offer. But aren't they very difficult to play later on? Controlling so many pets, with so many settings, and probably requiring more keybinds than I've got keys on my keyboard?[*]A dominator? One of the last villains I tried was one, but all the time I couldn't decide between control powers or damage powers. What do people actually do with dominators?[*]A brute? But isn't that just a mixture of a situational scrapper and a suboptimal tanker? (Well, I need more training in proper tanking, anyway...)[/list]
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Im not overly experienced at Villains, but want to spend more time on it (just am very committed to my SG hero side so keep getting drawn there). From my experience though this is what ive found:
Corruptors - Now I have a soft spot for corruptors. I find they are a lot more fun to play than blasters because, for me, the secondary set seems to blend more the primary set. Some builds are more team focussed than others (e.g. /thermal has a lot of team orientated powers) but scurge aspect creates a real 'edge of your seat' feeling thinking 'will it go off' and more often than not it saves the day.
Stalker - I have found these can pack quite a punch but not as fun as a scrapper to play. Once you've gotten your first hit off I find they are more vulnerable than scrappers making them harder to play.
Mastermind - Personally my fav AT to play. As you have said the gameplay is different to anything else, although they do have a bit of defender feel to them IMO. Except for protecting your team mates you are protecting your own minions. The strategic aspect of them is a lot of fun as well. The setting up of the pets can be a pain but Ive gotten used to that.
Dominators - This is my 2nd Fav archtype and find them really fun to play. I find they have a really unique play style to them involving getting control of the situation and the picking off the baddies. I have found I tend to play my controllers more like dominators (esp with my Grav/Storm who has a couple of strong damaging attacks). I found reading this article tremendous help. At the bottom it gives a good strategy guide.
Brutes - I will probably get hung, drawn and quartered for this but I typically don't like brutes. I love tanks so thought I would like brutes, however I find the non-stop nature of them (to keep fury going) goes against my play style and find endurance a major problem (more so than my tanks and other ATs) which made me go off them before I got to a high enough lvl for stamina.
Member of GGRRR, a SG on Defiant - check out our website - GGRRR
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
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Hi everybody!
But I haven't really been playing City of Villains. At all. (Sure, I've rolled up a few villain characters, but not a single one exceeded level 10.)
I've been playing City of Heroes for quite a while now. I still like it, of course - right now I am thinking about the next two hero concepts I could play.
It's not that I'm not interested. On the contrary, I'm quite curious about the later background settings in the game. Experiencing new task (nee strike) forces, meeting new Giant Monsters, just seeing new zones and getting interesting new story arcs... sounds pretty exciting! Unfortunately, I still haven't found a character to explore all of that with. I myself don't know why my other villains all failed. Perhaps I'm not a villain at heart, but maybe I just failed to create a villain costume I could relate to...
Well, it's been a while since I gave it a try, so I'm considering starting a new villain next, in part because I came up with a costume design I really like that works Villainside, too. Sooo - I'd like to ask the players with more villainous experience points than myself for advice. What kind of villain should I try?
<ul type="square">[*]A corruptor? That's a definite possibility. They can't solo very well, though, can they?[*]A stalker? Assassinating seems to be interesting, but is it enough for 50 levels of playing hide-and-seek?[*]A mastermind? Tempting, especially since this archetype is completely different from anything Heroside has to offer. But aren't they very difficult to play later on? Controlling so many pets, with so many settings, and probably requiring more keybinds than I've got keys on my keyboard?[*]A dominator? One of the last villains I tried was one, but all the time I couldn't decide between control powers or damage powers. What do people actually do with dominators?[*]A brute? But isn't that just a mixture of a situational scrapper and a suboptimal tanker? (Well, I need more training in proper tanking, anyway...)[/list]So which Villainside archetype do you think is best suited to experience more (and hopefully most) of City of Villains for the first time?
Thanks for any advice!
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