Dark/Will vs Dark Invul

Okay, I've narrowed my choices, and I know neither of these two are bad. Any thoughts on which are better, and why? (My first 50 was str/invul brute...my second too on a diff server. My main the last year has been a str/will)

Really interested on insight into the synergy of dark with these sets from someone who has ran it deep.

Well... I do know that invuln has a Psi hole, and will doesn't... they are both very good sets, and since your a DM, you can patch that psi hole a little bit with all your -tohit... IMO they will both be very good, it just comes to your personal preference.

Siphon Life isn't technically an "impressive self heal" in itself, the individual heal amount isn't fantastic. However since it hits so hard and you'll be spamming it whenever it's up it basically becomes an incredibly useful self-heal for basically no DPA downtime (so as Dark says it almost functions as a regen ability).

Either would be good. Dark/WP is a beast with few weaknesses. Dark/Inv should be better at absorbing *most* alphas though (provided they aren't all Psi that is).
But occasionally you'll hit an enemy type where you have to tread a little carefully. Willpower is a jack of all trades, so other than spike damage you'll have fewer peaks and troughs.

I would go Invuln. Psi hole can be closed with the right sets and Dull Pain can be perma or nearly. I farm with a Electric/Invuln Brute and can survive where WP and even Stone have BOUGHT THE FARM...(Nice pun!!)

My $.02

*puts his gloves on*

Seems some people are misinformed on both sets, here.

I'm putting my hat in the ring and casting my vote for Dark/Invul.

While Siphon Life isn't as great a heal as Dull Pain, Dark Regeneration (the king), Reconstruction, and others, it is a great utility power that not only gives you another healing option but also does stupid amounts of damage with Fury and Soul Drain. It is not what I would call an "impressive heal" unless you pair it with Hasten. It is, however, an impressive attack. Combine it with Hasten and slot for Damage and you won't need it to heal for very much.

The reasons Dark/Invul would have far better synergy than Willpower (in my opinion, at least) are as follows:

-The -ToHit in Dark Melee will allow you to debuff tough single targets into constantly missing you. With enough spawns around you, Invincibility's defense boost and Dark Melee's -ToHit will make you the hardest thing to touch since Christina Hendricks. *rimshot*

-When your defenses are bypassed, the resistance portions of Invul will soften the damage you take considerably, especially if you do the smart thing and take the Auto powers. In turn, if you get hit especially hard to the point that even resistance can't make such a blow hurt less, you have Siphon Life to fill those hit points back up while enemies ram their fists into your defenses and fail to injure you.

-Dull Pain will boost your HP cap up. This is an invaluable thing, especially when paired with Siphon Life; you'll be healing yourself for more should you need it after using Dull Pain.

-Unstoppable is a bucket of fun. Seriously. Save for the Psionics hole, it makes Strength of Will look like crap (considering the resistance values in SoW are saddening compared to Unstoppable). Slot it for Recovery and recharge, and if you're worried about -Resistance, put a Resistance IO in there for good measure.

-Soul Drain + Invincibility + Target Cap = Maxed ToHit.

-Invul feels stronger than Willpower. This is coming from the standpoint of not enjoying watching your HP bar act like a yo-yo. I'm one of those people who doesn't want the crutch of their armor to be rapid outhealing of whatever's trying to kill you. Either give me a great self-heal with good resist (Dark Armor/Elec Armor) or make me an untouchable beast (Invul/Stone).

-Should you find yourself running out of Endurance with Invul's toggles and Dark's attacks, you have Dark Consumption at your disposal.

If you have any more questions on Dark Melee, see my sig.

Thanks to everyone. There were some very interesting points made. I may have mentioned my favorite brutes have traditionally been Invulnerability and Willpower. In fact, aside from the Psi hole, my main problem with Invul is I hate the drop at the end of unstoppable, but everyone has complaints I guess.

There can be little doubt that Dark Melee fills a number of gaps for Invulnerability, and that many of it's strengths (healing/end rech) are somewhat wasted on Willpower. I have run a dark/will to 25, doing all content redside, and a dark/invul to 40 just teaming randomly. The points made here remind me of many of the things I experienced. Both are strong, but DM just backs Invul better.

The choice will therefore be Dark Melee/Invulnerability. Again, thank you all.

Um, having more HP doesnt increase the strength of a heal. So the dark heal wont actually be doing a 20%ish heal on a WP toon or perma DP invul. It would do even less as far a % after you get some sets and the accolades. Im not sayings its a bad heal though, its still sweet REALLY sweet.

When I decided to roll a DM brute, I went DM/WP...never looked back and never worried. I have tanked many of situations when needed, and out tanked tankers a points. Also with it I can farm quite nicely if that is what you are looking for.