Tonality

This.

They are recharge-intensive sets which were originally intended for nukes. We like them for other things.

Want. This. Now.

Freedom and Virtue are the most populated servers.

Freedom has the moniker of Freedumb.
Virtue is an unofficial RP server, where a lot of people (not all) like to RP.

In general, blueside is more popular than redside, with about 2/3rds of all players playing blueside.

An easy way to find the most populated server is via server load. The server with the most current load is listed at the bottom, with the server at the top being the last server you selected. You can get a general idea that way.

Still, why play a brute in pvp?

It was more a jab at fury mechanics in PvP then a legitimate question.

Agreed, power surge isn't worth it when inspirations offer the same performance without wasting a power.

Accusations upon one's maternal parent unit.

I was assuming this solution, hence the ~50% HP:

1) Blink Warning of Crash
2) prepare blue IO.
3) hit demonic aura.
4) ...crash
5) pop blue
6) Hit Energize
7) Toggle back up for any that dropped.
8) Hit Power sink
9) SMASH.

That's ok. My brutes prefer to solo and taunt doesn't do very much damage.

Though if you'd prefer, my mace/stone has taunt AND provoke.

And yes, LOLPVP brutes need to be tauntbots, so of course it makes sense. Though really, why play a brute in PvP?

You're not a lost cause. I refuse to accept there are people that don't like brutes. They just haven't found the right set yet.

Try a Claws/WP or a SS/WP like Kheldarn suggested. I suggest the claws because it's new and shiny and a little more visceral.

As long as you're not entering the character with the mindset of tanking, you'll do fine. Just focus on giving everything really bad scratches, and a few minutes into it, you'll see your fury bar completely filled. You won't even notice your fury bar because you'll be happily gutting some hapless NPC.

It's only fair that you compare AoE builds with AoE builds. I would argue that the elec/sd/blaze scrapper is most capable melee build for AoE in the game. If not, it's Fire/SD/Blaze.

You can, but you also need to discard any comparison between AoE and Single-Target Builds. Compare like-builds. As in, a /Dark Melee Tank vs. a Dark Melee/ scrapper at the speed of soloing AV's. Or fire/fires on both sides. Or a fire/sd vs. a sd/fire.

Otherwise, it's very easy to pick circumstances that will give you the outcome you desire. For example, I bet a SD/SS tank can provide more AoE damage than a DM/SR scrapper. But that same DM/SR scrapper will drop the AV a LOT quicker than that tank.

This is a minor argument. I'll graze over this. I IO my characters out by level 35. It's actually cheaper than SOs in the long run, and I get better performance. You just have to know where the cheap junk is you can use.

It's useful to note that with just SO's at mid-level a tray full of lucks solves the survival problems of a SD scrapper. Pop a single luck and you're good to go.

It's about platforms, and scrappers are a good balance of survivability and damage. I can handle being squishier than a tank. Some players haven't figured out how yet. I can do this on SO builds as well.

I've done it pre-set IOs. Once you hit 37, you're golden. Smart inspiration use solves this issue. They drop like candy.

Oddly enough, candy doesn't seem to drop like candy. Where's my candy?

Well, Bill Z, already provided some numbers. But I'm going to compare Fire/Fire on both tanks and scrappers. I will not include crit - only base numbers.

When you consider your damage buffs on both AT's, they aren't going to be perma. I'm going to be generous and throw 200% global recharge at them both, which means you get a 33% uptime on your two powers (multiply your damage buffs by 33%).

Therefore:

Tanker:
-Fiery Embrace: 33% (100 *.33)
-Buildup: 26.4% (80 * .33)

Scrapper:
-Fiery Embrace: 41.25% (125 * .33)
-Buildup: 33% (100 *.33)

Notice that scrappers get more benefit from +DMG powers. This widens the gap.

Now, let's consider 95% enhancement with 3 slotted dmg SOs, or the equivalent from IOs. We'll also use identical chains. For the sake of ease of calculation, I'm counting the DoT as well. I'll also consider the lethal dmg also fire, so I don't have to work too hard in calculating the different damage buff of lethal dmg in fiery embrace.


Tank:
-Incinerate: 111.2 * (1 + .95 + .33 + .264) = 282.8928
-GFS: 144.1 * (1 + .95 + .33 + .264) = 366.5904
-Scorch: 48 * (1 + .95 + .33 + .264) = 122.112
-FS: 73 * (1 + .95 + .33 + .264) = 185.712

Scrapper
-Incinerate: 172 * (1 +.95 + .4125 + .33) = 463.11
-GFS: 207 * (1 +.95 + .4125 + .33) = 557.3475
-Scorch: 72.8 * (1 +.95 + .4125 + .33) = 196.014
-FS: 110.9 * (1 +.95 + .4125 + .33) = 298.59825

As you see the numbers, higher base values benefit a LOT more from +DMG.

So to compare, I'm going to take the tanker value and divide that by the scrapper value for each attack to indicate what percent of damage you are dealing compared to a scrapper in the similar situation.

-Incinerate: 61.09%
-GFS: 65.77%
-Scorch: 62.30%
-FS: 62.19%

Well, you're dealing about 60-65% of a scrapper. On a grade-point scale, that's a D, or failing.

Or, to put it even clearer, a scrapper using incinerate is 163.70% better.

Oh, and your damage auras:

Tank BA: 9.79 * (1 + .95 + .33 + .264) = 24.90576
Scrap BA: 13.8 * (1 +.95 + .4125 + .33) = 37.1565

Now, I'm going to calculate the max AoE DPS of both auras. So I divide it by two, because it pulses every ten seconds. Then I multiply them both by ten for hitting the max number of mobs.

Tank BA Saturated AoE DPS: 124.5288
Scrapper BA Saturated AoE DPS: 185.7825

The difference is a scrapper is dealing 150% more damage every second with just an aura.

That's enough math for me tonight.

Yes, but don't count on it catching all the mobs.

I have a feeling your avatar is fairly inflamed in one particular area.
Really, it makes me wince.

Sorry, no personal attacks or misrepresentations or pointless flaming. Just an off-the-wall comment because I feel bad for your avatar.

Actually, some people don't value relationships as highly as others. Still others find something they value more than a relationship. I can think of a few professors I respect that chose a career over love. In these cases, they love investing in students' futures, and they are quite happy with their life.

In fact, in my life, I'm pursuing a person who's torn between career and love. It makes for a complicated life.

Passions run deep, and aren't necessarily focused on another person.

You're overestimating your capabilities when compared to others. Or, you team with some really, really terrible players. That Fire/SD you teamed with probably was not built well.

Pre-soft cap, Shield is a squishy set. However, post softcap and IO's, you're looking at an entirely different creature.

Saturated Shield Charge on a decent build =on a scrapper does about three times the amount of damage over time of a tanker damage aura. There is no comparison. You're looking at around 700+ plus damage per 16 enemies every 25 seconds. On a tank you're looking at around 250 damage on a damage aura in the same amount of time (this is including buildup/fiery embrace an averaged calculation). No comparison.

No, it isn't.

Tankers start with a much lower modifier, AND lower damage buffs. This is the biggest difference, not crits.

Also, most resistance ranges are +/- 10%, so while it is noticeable, it isn't significant enough to lend a significant advantage to one particular set. The exception being when considering AV resistances.

Yes, one should compare similar specialties. An AoE centric tanker is not going to be able to come close to matching how fast a single-target oriented scrapper can drop an AV. A Single-Target tank isn't going to come close to matching the AoE of a spines or a fire or an elec scrapper.

I'm not doubting your characters can perform well. But, they really cannot match the kill speed of other builds. There's a reason why Elec/SD and Fire/SD scrappers are incredibly popular right now. If Fire/Fire tanks could compete with their kill speed, you'd see more of those. But, you don't.

As someone who knows IO's and various sets very well, and knows how to push builds toward their maximum performance, I can tell you that the tank platform is not the ideal for kill-speed. The maximum kill speed is a fraction of what scrappers and brutes are capable of.