My next brute

Hi guys, I recently returned to the game. My SS/Inv brute was probably my favorite toon and is still a blast. Is there another build that feels similarly epic? Just running around smashing stuff with my wife's /kin in tow? I already have a dm/ and fire/fire.

I used to be addicted to Brutes until I played a DM/SD Scrapper. Not having to build up Fury just to do damage made things a lot easier. Instead, I was looking for the biggest cluster of enemies so I could do as much damage as possible with AAO and Soul Drain buffing me.

Scrappers really do deal more damage than Brutes in most situations. A Kinetics just brings out the difference in base damage even more. Just consider one, at least.

I'm not really opposed to a scrapper. I have limited experience with them, and its been years. But i think that i would really miss the taunt aura and taunts on attacks i get with a brute, i really hate chasing runners. As far as damage vs survivability, my impression is that its negligible until purples come into play, and even then isnt that huge. Also, the gogogo mentality of the brute is part of the fun in my opinion, i like it when im two pulls ahead of the group

SD has a built in taunt

Against All Odds is a VERY good taunt aura, even on Scrappers. Sometimes Tankers can't pull aggro off my DM/SD.

I liked not having the "gogogo" mentality for a while. I still wanted to jump into spawns and kill fast, but it was nice to not feel like a slow team would slow down the pain train. The increasing damage is what made DM/SD feel so familiar to Brutes. The more enemies around you, the better damage you do.

I know it's the flavor of the months, but SS/Fire is an incredibly "Go Go Go!" brute. With Burn, Foot Stomp, Knockout Blow, Blazing Aura, and other powers at your disposal, you can SMASH through anything just by popping a few Purple insps on occasion. It's also one of the better farming brutes, and people have been able to use it to solo the ITF and STF.

SS/Elec doesn't have Burn, but you get extra recharge and a sweet Tier 9, plus built-in Knockback protection that /Fire lacks. I've seen people slot it for endurance drain, as well, and used it to sap tougher enemies.

Claws/Willpower is another toon that will keep you wanting to move constantly. You get Spin, a major AoE damage power, at level 6! With that, a ranged attack built-in, all the endurance you could want, and solid protections, it's a really cool alternative to Super Strength.

And if you want to avoid SS and still have that smashy smashy feel, go for War Mace. WM/SD is a very good combo, especially if you have someone to back up your endurance early on like a Kin.

Rolled an elec/fire, gonna use it for farming and general mayhem.