The age old question : Brute or Scrapper? :)

[Tigersoul78]

So I have always been partial to Scrappers myself. My first 50 was a DM/Regen Scrapper way back in the day. The problem is I keep hearing how better Brutes are. So any insight in to which is better for you?

[MetaVileTerror]

Brute.  Unless the character's concept is important, and you don't want them to have anger management issues; then Scrapper.

[Tankshock]

There's a reason it's the age old question.  ;)

[Tigersoul78]

Very true. He main thing is weather it's worth it to switch up to a Brute at this point. I'm a Rad/Rad Scrapper at lvl 17. I just don't see a huge difference between the two. If anyone else thinks that there is please post

[MetaVileTerror]

Brutes have Tanker-level caps for their damage mitigation, so they're much more capable of long-term survival than Scrappers.  Brutes also have built-in taunting, making them very popular in team compositions.

[Mr. Vee]

There are certain combos that definitely work better on one than the other. I've got about an 80% success rate of picking incorrectly.

[ed_anger]

Both. Why limit yourself?

[renegade0]

My understanding is that Brutes are supposed to be Tank and DPS hybrids. But people can lean then in either direction with Brutes being more flexible either way. They'll make better tanks than scrappers and scrappers should make better damage dealers.

 

but then I hear Brutes deal more damage when there's more mods attacking them? I don't know...

I just know that my regen Scrapper is usually always the last one standing when the group wipes.

[Tigersoul78]

That's what I'm talking about! I don't want all my attacks to auto taunt. Also being the last one standing is always great.

[MunkiLord]

Scrappers. Always Scrappers.

[Chance Jackson]

I'm partial to Brutes but I think the answer ultimately depends on the power sets in question. If Shield always go Scrapper if it's a resistance based protective set that can take you to the 90%resist cap of any damage type always go brute, if it has a damage aura always go brute. If MA always go Brute.

 

What if you want an MA/Shield? Can i suggest StJ instead? If so go Scrapper.

[dmaker]

If Shield always go Scrapper

 

Why? I have a 17 MA/Shield Brute that I'm enjoying. Starting to have endurance issues if I run 3 defensive toggles at the moment.  I'm curious why a scrapper might have been a better choice.

 

Thanks

 

[Chance Jackson]

If Shield always go Scrapper

 

Why? I have a 17 MA/Shield Brute that I'm enjoying. Starting to have endurance issues if I run 3 defensive toggles at the moment.  I'm curious why a scrapper might have been a better choice.

 

Thanks

Due to scrapper's higher dmg mods, & diminishing returns on dmg buffs that brutes feel more than most, Scrappers get more out of the "against all odds" dmg buff & "shield charge" attack iirc

 

On the other hand Brute/Tank MA - Storm kick gives 7.5 unstackable +def so maybe that justifies the combo? I had an Ma/shield brute but rerolled to StJ/Shield Scrapper

[Murcielago]

What's a Brute?

[NinjaWeazel]

What's a Brute?

 

Is it near the AE?

[Marshal_General]

As far as I can tell, the correct answer depends on what power set.

[lunawisp]

Controller. (runs and hides)

 

Seriously though you (currently) have a thousand slots and levelling is not hard in this game. Just try both and see which you prefer.

[Oubliette_Red]

Yes

[MacguyverBond]

Indeed.

[Zolgar]

It depends on what you want to do. While there are exceptions, you will generally find:

Scrappers will do better single target and burst damage.

Brutes will do better sustained AoE damage.

Scrappers draw less agro.

Brutes have better survival.

Scrappers excel in single-combat, but suffer in swarms.

Brutes suffer in single-combat, but excel in swarms.

In a team, a scrapper is never expected to be anything but a damage dealer.

In a team, a brute is often expected to be a tank.

Scrappers solo faster than brutes.

Brutes solo more reliably than scrappers.

 

This is where people will come in with their anecdotal "My scrapper..." or "my brute..." commentary. As I said, there are exceptions. These "standards" are what you will generally find to be true, especially if built without IO sets/Incarnate powers, both of which you can use to shore up whatever weaknesses get in your way.

[Tigersoul78]

Good info Zolgar. I may eventually roll a Brute but my main will always be a Scrapper. That being said what are some good powerset for a Brute that work well together?

[LKMarleigh]

It depends on what you want to do. While there are exceptions, you will generally find:

Scrappers will do better single target and burst damage.

Brutes will do better sustained AoE damage.

Scrappers draw less agro.

Brutes have better survival.

Scrappers excel in single-combat, but suffer in swarms.

Brutes suffer in single-combat, but excel in swarms.

In a team, a scrapper is never expected to be anything but a damage dealer.

In a team, a brute is often expected to be a tank.

Scrappers solo faster than brutes.

Brutes solo more reliably than scrappers.

 

This is where people will come in with their anecdotal "My scrapper..." or "my brute..." commentary. As I said, there are exceptions. These "standards" are what you will generally find to be true, especially if built without IO sets/Incarnate powers, both of which you can use to shore up whatever weaknesses get in your way.

 

most of those points are nothing to do with the AT (aside from aggro) but more to do with the powersets that AT has, for example an electric melee scrapper will be great for AOE. Brutes inherently do not have better survival, they just have higher res caps, which generally require outside buffs to reach

[Chance Jackson]

It depends on what you want to do. While there are exceptions, you will generally find:

Scrappers will do better single target and burst damage.

Brutes will do better sustained AoE damage.

Scrappers draw less agro.

Brutes have better survival.

Scrappers excel in single-combat, but suffer in swarms.

Brutes suffer in single-combat, but excel in swarms.

In a team, a scrapper is never expected to be anything but a damage dealer.

In a team, a brute is often expected to be a tank.

Scrappers solo faster than brutes.

Brutes solo more reliably than scrappers.

 

This is where people will come in with their anecdotal "My scrapper..." or "my brute..." commentary. As I said, there are exceptions. These "standards" are what you will generally find to be true, especially if built without IO sets/Incarnate powers, both of which you can use to shore up whatever weaknesses get in your way.

 

most of those points are nothing to do with the AT (aside from aggro) but more to do with the powersets that AT has, for example an electric melee scrapper will be great for AOE. Brutes inherently do not have better survival, they just have higher res caps, which generally require outside buffs to reach

Exactly what i wanted to say in regards to dealing dmg but Brutes have more health so that will by definition improve survivability over a Scrapper

[Heraclea]

Endurance and attack/animation speeds are the key questions for me.  If you want to play a defense set that has built in endurance mitigation, like Bio Armor, Willpower, or for a lowbie mission farmer, Regeneration, these are all factors favoring the Brute.  The Brute is hampered more than other melee ATs by endurance issues.  Fixing those is job 1 on a brute.  On a brute you know you will be slotting for recovery even if you take one of those endurance friendly defense sets.  A Dark Armor brute is going to have issues out of the box.

 

Slow, hangy animations favor Scrappers over Brutes.  If you want to play, say, Titan Weapons or Energy Melee, you should consider Scrapper.  The other thing about slow animations is that they have an anti-synergy with defense sets that rely on click powers for survival, like Fire, Regen, or Bio.  Set and forget defensive sets like Shield or Reflexes will work better there.

 

If you are concerned with team utility features like aggro holding and durability, the answer, of course, is 'none of the above'.  Make a Tanker. 

[Zolgar]

It depends on what you want to do. While there are exceptions, you will generally find:

Scrappers will do better single target and burst damage.

Brutes will do better sustained AoE damage.

Scrappers draw less agro.

Brutes have better survival.

Scrappers excel in single-combat, but suffer in swarms.

Brutes suffer in single-combat, but excel in swarms.

In a team, a scrapper is never expected to be anything but a damage dealer.

In a team, a brute is often expected to be a tank.

Scrappers solo faster than brutes.

Brutes solo more reliably than scrappers.

 

This is where people will come in with their anecdotal "My scrapper..." or "my brute..." commentary. As I said, there are exceptions. These "standards" are what you will generally find to be true, especially if built without IO sets/Incarnate powers, both of which you can use to shore up whatever weaknesses get in your way.

 

most of those points are nothing to do with the AT (aside from aggro) but more to do with the powersets that AT has, for example an electric melee scrapper will be great for AOE. Brutes inherently do not have better survival, they just have higher res caps, which generally require outside buffs to reach

 

Brutes have higher health and higher caps, therefor better survival.

The way fury and critical hits work, all other factors being equal, a brute does better in a target rich environment while a scrapper does better in a single target situation. Power sets aren't factored in to this, because yes, there are scrapper sets that do really good AoE damage, but if you put the same build on a brute you'll still see consistently better damage. Yes, there are brute sets that favor single target attacks, but fighting a single target makes brutes build fury slower, pair that with scrappers having a higher crit chance on tougher foes and if you give a scrapper the same power set they will do consistently better damage than the brute.

 

There is a reason that for melee, people usually use brutes to farm and scrappers to kill GMs. :p