As someone who is looking at returning to the game since before it shut down, I find the Brute the most polarizing AT in the melee category.
Last I played, my main was a mid-30’s level SS/WP Brute whom was a reinvention of my level 50 Invuln/Energy Tanker. I only remade him because the Tanker was sloooow playing solo, as I did often. As the Brute, man oh man did I fly through the levels with little time wasted. Fury felt like the difference maker for me. I got that Tanker and my original Scrapper to 50, but played the Tanker more. Once I made the Brute, I found the Brute to be more fun than both the Tanker and Scrapper.
It’s wild how much there’s two camps of logic for the Brute: you either are accepting of the archetype and what it can do OR you find it to be a relic of a past time that is obsolete. I don’t get the hate for the Brute. Just weird how far apart people are on them, at least from what I’ve read. Not that any of this matters but it’s noticeable and makes me curious. Great thread so far.