This is an interesting conversation about a lot of Min/Max'ing arguments.
I really think a lot misses the point of the Brute to begin with.
Sinces the lines between villians and heroes has dissapperead there have been a lot of arguments of who is best for A or B, which for the most part makes sense. There are no argument Tanks are the best tanks. Scrappers and Stalkers make more damage in melee, Blasters make more damage than a corruptor, however a corruptor can damage as well as buff the entire team at the same time, something no other AT actually can do (arguing for defender as a strong dmg dealer is fine, but go to the hardcore corruptor forums and they will school you xD)
Now back to brutes. Brutes are a bit subject to the same thing that Paladins are in other games. They dont tank or damage as well as other classes and they heal and deal magic damage less than true magic classes, so whats the point!? Well they do something no other class does.
No Brutes do not tank the best, they dont damage the best, so what do they do the best? Well nothing! However, they do something no other AT does in the game! The tank better than a Scrapper, and way better than a Stalker - they got the same Res Cap as a tanker so potentially almost on par with the tanker in the end with buffs and all. At the same time, they do consistent damage which is way higher than any other melee AT. Yes trapdoor graph is nice, but is it really relevant? I'm not completely convinced xD The number per tick on a Brutes aura is higher than a tanks. So I don't really care much for a Trapdoor test xD Yes a tank have a bigger reach, but does it matter much? For most cases, not really. But for some it does, so it all adds up.
So Brutes is more survivable than Scrappers and Stalkers, but less than Tanks, which makes sense. At the same time they have fury which to be honest isn't a thing you need to build up any more. Two punches and you are at 80%, so forget about wind up time... With fury a Brute does way more dmg than a tank can, just look at the numbers, they are bigger! 🙂 They even do more dmg than a stalker and a scrapper if you exclude their criticals! By a random generated mechanism Scrappers and Stalkers get a head, but again it is random! That means that if you want consistency in high dmg and to be very survivable then a Brute is a way to go. Sure they are harder to max cap on resistance than a tank, and sure they overall melee damage is less than a scrapper with 50% crit chance, but they put themselves right in the middle of that and make up for it with consistency!
To top that they do get some sets which makes a lot of sense, like Regeneration which is miles better on a Brute than on a Scrapper.
Also many seem to ignore the actual experience. Making a Hulk kind of character and make him into a tank feels wrong and diminishing, as a scrapper he feels to weak and silly. Brute is made partly for the middel ground of a tanker and a scrapper and for the experience of being Bane or Hulk smashing through ranks of enemies!
Oh also, until level 50 and a Scrapper gets the 50% crit stuff, they simply don't compete with a brute on damage. Their Crit chance is to damn low. The game is way bigger than lvl 50+ - I like playing an AT that is fun all the way through, and not just at the end of the game 🙂
