Spaghetti Betty

It's not too surprising to me! You have to think of it this way, Brute damage is incredibly backloaded and damage buffs aren't quite as impactful on them thanks to their lower damage scalar and relationship with Fury. This means sets that don't boast incredible up front damage or rely on some kind of buff to perform (Savage, Dark, Claws, Spines, Staff) or perform better on Scraps/Stalks because of crits (Energy Melee, Ice Melee) are going to lag behind sets with very, very good DPA (Martial Arts boasts some of the highest DPA on average across all ATs) since those sets don't need nearly as much propping up as others! I think what's more surprising to me about that data is just how much better Dual Blades is over Claws when Follow Up and crits aren't carrying it! To stay on topic, if you want a Brute that will boast early AoE and be tough enough to stand up, I think I'd probably go with a Staff Fighting/Radiation Armor Brute. It'll provide the smoothest levelling experience over all and only gets stronger as you progress. The damage will plateau as you inch towards 50, but it'll get going very soon and every handful of levels will feel like a new bloom!

The Smoldering Blackhound, Stone Melee/Fiery Aura Stalker

The Wifi Waifu, Electric Blast/Radiation Armor Sentinel

Pouty Paprika, Energy Aura/Fiery Melee Tanker

I swear I'm finally happy with this!

I feel compelled to weigh in on this since 4* was mentioned! Let me start off by saying that in terms of top end 4* optimization, Tankers have always been mostly irrelevant! And I'm saying this as a Tanker main! Brutes were always considered over them due to having better single target performance and still possessing an AoE Taunt and taunt aura! It's all that's really required at that level, as trash mobs still melt fast (just not instantly), and the only thing that really stands up long enough to be worth taunting are AVs! To even further this point, exceptionally skilled teams can do with having a Scrapper in that role to optimize DPS on AVs. Tankers at least were looked at positively when they were doing Blaster AoEs before the fix, but some of the 4* enjoyers I talk to now say they're pretty much abandoning the AT again. I think the point I'm trying to get across is mentioning 4* as a point of balance is mainly a non-sequitur, as quite a few ATs struggle to find a place there as it is! If anything, it kind of emphasizes the fact that Brutes have always been the optimal pick over a Tank!

Lots of things! I try mixing up content whenever I do solo level a new toon. One of my favorite activities is running through the sewers to Steel Canyon by myself! It's totally doable with a few START goodies and a couple of Base TPs to train up occasionally.

You rang?

You're not wrong! I'd normally take Vigor as my alpha to help with that, but I went Nerve so the defense made the build a little bit safer. It also has super speed, sprint, and offensive adaptation instead of efficient switched on. That's kind of a lot of superfluous drain that's easy to manage otherwise!

Gloom is a high damage attack that fits nicely in BA's attack chain and Dark Obliteration's damage is immediate, where Ball Lightning's is a DoT!

The Chariot Angel, Empathy/Assault Rifle Defender

Outfoxy, Assault Rifle/Traps Corruptor

I like to find an appropriate zone during the day and activate powers while spamming the screenshot key. Then I'll go through my folder and hope I caught a frame I'm satisfied with!

Sakura Overdrive, Pyrotechnics Control/Time Manipulation Controller