Clouded

Thank Heavens! I was starting to worry about your inability to play Dual Pistols.

I'd like to point out a negative rep I received for my above post and want to respond. Why? Cause I'm bored at work.

My post makes no mention if the OP is right or wrong or if I disgree or agree with their statement about this FF Defender being useless because they didn't have the single target shields.

Instead, I made a generic reply that shows how unoriginal this trol...err...OP is/was in their ability to provoke a response.

Apparently, the above negative repper was below average intelligence and couldn't use simple reasoning but would rather attack me personally in a cowardly fashion by hiding behind the rep system.

As always, forum posting is srs bsns rabblerabblerabble

The developers of this game has stated once before that the Mastermind AT was the redside tank. I'm paraphrasing since I don't have the exact quote.

The Brute AT inherited this role as Tank since it can provide equivalent survivability, sustainability but can also control the aggro of the enemy. To me those are the 3 components of 'tanking': Survivability, Sustainability and Aggro Control.

This is true...the recharge is too long on my blaster's nuke.

RPing a "villain" doesn't mean you cut off your nose to spite your face.

In other words, I keep the silly corrs alive so they can make me into the God of SMASH.

Not really. Brutes have a single target taunt component when they attack a mob (unlike tanker's which is an AoE). I don't believe Scrappers have this mechanic in play.

Scrappers can get away with not worrying about aggro because they have a whole other AT on their side that is meant for aggro control...tankers.

Brutes do not. The mastermind AT was the intended to be the redside tanks but have no way to control aggro like a tank. So this "role" was passed onto the next logical choice...Brutes.

As do I. The best advice I can give is to watch how a brute plays before your let loose your AoEs, etc on the spawn.

Is that brute focusing on single target? Are they actively moving around to get foes within their taunt aura? Etc.

At least that's what I tend to do when I play a squishy.

Ah, but impairing their judgement makes them stick around.

This.

Also, dry rub on my ribs please. Anyone have a nice dry rub, non-paprika, recipe to share for their ribs?

Untrue.

I've seen controllers yelled at for not taking single target holds and some buffs/debuffs from their secondary.

I've seen dominators yelled at for not taking single target holds, AoE holds and a AoE sleep.

I've seen brutes chastized for not taking Taunt. I've seen them chastized for TAKING Taunt.

I've Corruptors shouted at for not taking certain buffs (mainly shields) and for not blasting enough.

I've seen Peacebringers kicked for using their powers that produce any KB.

et al.

Chem rounds offer -damage.
Cryo rounds offer -recharge.
Standard rounds offer KD/KB and -res for PR.

That's quite a bit of debuffing.

You state Taunt isn't an attractive power pick because it does not protect you or hurt someone else (i'm assuming an enemy), nor does it buff your ability to kill faster.

This post was all about you and your brute, and nothing about teammates.

I responded with:

The seffish line is in reference to your statement about Taunt not providing any protection to you or providing a buff to your kill speed. My second sentence gives a bit of insight why Taunt could be useful in a team setting.

You then respond with the following:

You provided 3 examples when a dom or corr might receive aggro. I should have noted the use of "probably" in you opening sentence but apparently skimmed right over it.

If I had read the first line correctly I probably wouldn't have responded with such snarkiness in this post:

That was a bit over the top and I apologize.

Your examples themselves do not show selffishness and the playstyle comment wasn't meant as a dig. I play a variety of brutes and share that playstyle on occasion. However, I also know the benefits of Taunt and why it can be useful to you and your team.

To clarify, the whole selffishness bit was directed at your first post and not your examples. Perhaps I'm jaded because I've been playing Corrs and Doms recently with Brutes that seem to ignore the team and only focus on exp/min. So, I apologize if I came across like a jackhole.

Ah, thanks for the info.

Many players are ignorant to the fact that AVs will peel off of Brutes that cannot sufficiently hold aggro with their Auras or if they do not have Taunt. Having AV aggro is not something most squishies or even players can handle in this game without the support of their team.

If the brute in question had Taunt, then the ability to hold the AV's aggro would be sealed.

EDIT: I've done a fair share of RSF's with and without Brutes that have Taunt, and I've been those BRutes and I've been the squishies. I can tell you for a fact, that being a squishy that gets Posi's, Manti's, BaBs, etc aggro is not something to take lightly. On the flipside, when I'm the tauntless brute and I see a squishy die, there is a good chance (on this SF) that another is soon to follow and then cascading failure will rear it's ugly head.


To conclude, Taunt is not needed for Tanks, Brutes or Scrappers but all 3 can benefit themselves and their teams if they make use of the technique. Playing with or without Taunt is equally viable if the player is intelligent and does more than focus on just button smashing.

Did you bother to read the next sentence in my post?

Like I suggested...a different mechanic is involved.

I see this being griefable, not sure how probable but still an issue.

Say 8 of you sign up for a MoSTF where having no deaths equals 20 additional merits, yet dying once negates the entire reward and provides an additional -20 merits (hypothetical). One person can easily grief the TF and cause 7 other players to lose out on merits.

Right, out of the thousands of hours I've played brutes those are the only 3 examples where ANYONE will have loose aggro. HA! I like how your mypoic viewpoint proves my point about being selffish.

This playstyle you define is not a Brute playstyle but a HelinCarnate playstyle. We get it, you find Taunt worthless because your palystyle focuses on your own fury and don't care about your team. That's all you had to say.