Good Question Here...

The devs say that Brutes won't get Ice Armor because it would slow down Fury, correct? Well, wouldn't /Dark do the same thing? It has a fear and disorient cloak. Wouldn't that be enough slowing down to match a slow aura from /ice?

It was said recently also. In a "things that probably wont happen" list. I think it was in the beta forums but i can't remember where i seen it.

I thought it was mostly because ice armor's numbers suck on anything not a Tanker?

The problem is not holds or stuns. It is that -Recharge as a defense effects Fury, while -Acc or -Def does not. Whether a foe hits you or not, you get the same amount of Fury. No matter how much damage the foe does, you get the same amount of Fury. But if your foes are not attacking you as often, that results in less Fury.

That even makes holds and stuns WORSE, because less attacks are coming in while the foes are not held or stunned. A Dark Brute can at least be assured that when his Cloak of Fear and Disorient are off, the reduction in Fury goes away too. He does not disorient or fear with every single attack. (And even Energy Melee has only a chance of disorient with each punch. Ice Melee is a constant, stacking debuff)

Personally, I don't feel it's EITHER Ice Melee OR Ice Armor that is the problem, it is the two of them in combination. Chilling Embrace has a higher -recharge component than any Ice attack, but it can be turned off. However, I think the problem there is that it is not MEANT to be turned off. It is a major part of the mitigation of a Ice Tanker, while Oppressive Gloom is not a major part of a Dark Tanker's mitigation. It is not intended to be kept up all the time, it is a drain on health. So a Dark Brute can turn it off to build Fury, and then turn it on when he gets in trouble.

Cloak of Fear is intended to be up more all the time, but again, a Dark Brute can turn it off if he's building Fury. Even with it on, as long as he is attacking, he is breaking the Fear, so the foes will be attacking him, even if at a reduced rate. Chilling Embrace appears to be similar, but IMHO Chilling Embrace is not meant to be turned off like Cloak of Fear is. Its effect is intended to be more like CoF's -Acc.

I personally think that the solution to Ice's problems on Brute is to replace the -recharge with something else, like -dam. This would be consistent with Benumb, from Cold Domination. The sets could even be renamed Cold Melee and Cold Armor to imply that connection. I would actually replace Chilling Embrace with a power like Artic Fog, it would give the Ice Brute stealth, while boosing his Defense, and then hit the foes with a -Dam. I think the stealth would be a nice addition, given that Dark and Energy Brutes also have stealth. (And stealth does not interfere with a Brute's ability to draw aggro, although it does reduce adds)

OTOH, with the recent changes to Fury, it is entirely possible that Ice Melee and Armor will work perfectly fine right now. The individual Power Set impacts on Fury have been reduced by the change, and it is easier for all Brutes to get to 75%. So Ice could be working just fine on Brutes right now, it's just no one has yet to try it to see. Or, Ice Melee might be okay if not stacked with the -recharge from Chilling Embrace, at which time all you'd have to do is replace that one power, like I suggested.

Very good points, Jade. I just made my first Brute. It took a couple of respecs to get him decent. (SS/Fire, btw)

I wasn't sure about all the specifics on Fury. Your points are very clear. I also like your ideas as to renaming and swapping a couple of powers. A damage aura would work instead of a slow aura, also. Maybe a Freezing Air aura or something since freezing temperatures do hurt us.