My next Brute…Nrg/Stone or Savage/Stone

[bentlax33]

It’s been awhile since I’ve played a Brute.  
 

My main back on CoV used to be a Fire/Stone brute.  I’d love to revisit /Stone without taking Granite now.  
 

which would you roll and why?  Nrg or Savage?  

[Without_Pause]

Are both top tier? Yes. The differences is how they feel. Energy is a single target death machine with one overly long animation time. It's AoE is okay. I will just point out you will lose count the amount of times you overkill various things. Having a damage aura will help in the AoE department. Energy also has some decent mitigation with its stuns. Savage pours out some of the best AoE damage, and more so for Brutes as Fury loves DoT. It's single target damage is okay. Part of the issue is that Hemorrhage isn't worth taking so you are pushed towards using both of the first two attacks as where other sets can skip one. You can take something like Gloom from the epics to help out with single target damage, but that also locks you into taking that pool. It is worth noting Savage Leap will help you keep Fury going as downtime between mobs is cut down as you zoom between mobs. I prefer it on sturdier armors as mitigation is minimal and Stone covers that.

 

Me being me, I would pick Savage because I loath TF's animation time, and if I describe to you a Brute, Savage feels the most like what its primary would be about. 

[bentlax33]

I’m pretty set on Soul for either one.  There is a chance I could go Mu with Nrg, but I love what Gloom does for both their ST attack chains.  

[jprewitt73]

My vote would be for Savage Melee as well. I'm extremely biased though, so take that with a grain of salt. Savage Melee increases both your end redux and recharge. Both of which are amazing bonuses for Stone Armor. Being a /Stone Brute means you'll be the one wading into large groups in teams, so AoE is going to be something you want to have. Savage Melee excels in AoE and has some of the strongest ST as well. Not to mention, with Savage Leap you can hop from one group to the other while in Granite and be somewhat quick. 

 

Energy Melee hits like a freight train, but it can be slow and has atrocious AoE damage. I have a EM/Shield Brute that I shelved a while back. It was fun to play, but I just truly do not enjoy Energy Melee on anything other than a single target Scrapper.