To Brute or Scrap . . . when and why?

[Fatal Tech]

Hey all.  I come with a fairly simple question.  Is there a general rule of thumb as to when you should choose Brute or Scrapper for a particular build? 

 

I ask having just rolled a WM/Shield Brute and climbing the ladder into the low 20's, but I have been told multiple times I should have rolled this combo as a Scrapper because the damage output would be better.  Should I just re-roll?  I thought I remember from my days on Live that Scrappers didn't crit on their Shield Charge which is what made the set better on Brutes, especially the classic Elec/Shield.  Am I misremembering?  Was it just the tier 9 Elec/ move that didn't crit?

 

In general, when I'm considering a new character, how do I answer the question of Scrapper or Brute?

Edited January 14, 2021 by Fatal Tech

[Saikochoro]

I know people don’t really like this answer, but the more important question is which one you enjoy playing more. 
 

In almost every case a scrapper will do more damage than a brute regardless of sets chosen. They just do more damage. Just like stalkers do more damage than both of them. So if all you care about is damage, then yeah the scrapper will do more damage. 
 

That said, they do have slightly different play styles. Do you like just being an unstoppable juggernaut of rage that gets stronger as you fight? Then a brute would be more your style. They also have a survivability edge.

 

Do you enjoy those nice surprises when you crit for double damage on your biggest attack? Do you like being full damage from the get go? Then scrapper is for you. 
 

Scrappers get more mileage out of AAO than brutes and they have a higher modifier for shield charge as well. I honestly think both archetypes will do awesome with that combo. So it comes down to whether you enjoy brutes or scrappers more. 
 

My personal opinion: I like scrappers more. But that’s just me. 

Edited January 14, 2021 by Saikochoro

[Apparition]

23 minutes ago, Fatal Tech said:

Hey all.  I come with a fairly simple question.  Is there a general rule of thumb as to when you should choose Brute or Scrapper for a particular build? 

 

I ask having just rolled a WM/Shield Brute and climbing the ladder into the low 20's, but I have been told multiple times I should have rolled this combo as a Scrapper because the damage output would be better.  Should I just re-roll?  I thought I remember from my days on Live that Scrappers didn't crit on their Shield Charge which is what made the set better on Brutes, especially the classic Elec/Shield.  Am I misremembering?  Was it just the tier 9 Elec/ move that didn't crit?

 

In general, when I'm considering a new character, how do I answer the question of Scrapper or Brute?

 

 

If all you care about are numbers, then yes, WM/Shield should be a Scrapper.

 

Anything that does +damage (Claws, Dual Blades, Shield Defense, and Super Strength), is better off as a Scrapper or Tanker than as a Brute.  That's because of Fury and how it is generated.

 

For everything else, personally I go Brute because I hate runners (Scrapper), and Tanker defense is generally overkill.

Edited January 14, 2021 by Apparition

[Omega Force]

General guidelines:  Scrapper for +damage effects or defense secondaries, Brute for resistance or healtank secondaries.

 

My reasoning is that scrappers have a 75% resistance hard cap vs. brute's 90%, and healtanks (Regen, WP, Bio) or effects that use regeneration are based off Max HP, but both of them have the same defense softcap while scrappers do more damage.

[Fatal Tech]

This is all very helpful.  I appreciate the feedback.  I'm going to re-roll as a Scrapper.  I know he will ultimately be fine as a Brute, but I enjoyed playing him up this far and it went fairly fast.  I'll just do it again and get the most out of the character that I'm really enjoying.  Thanks again everyone.

[Saikochoro]

The cool thing about homecoming is we have 1000 slots per server. So the brute isn’t wasted and you can always go back to it later if you want!