In this quick guide to Brutes and Tanks, MMORPG.com City of Heroes Correspondent Michael Macleod writes this quick guide to brutes and tanks that focuses on the different power pairings.

Ok, so you’ve decided to roll an aggro magnet. Good choice. For the most part you are the heart of the team. Your job is to take as much aggro as possible while your team locks down, blasts and debuffs the opposing forces. You’re the first one in and the first one to play punching bag. Your place in the team is extremely crucial, so you have to think 2-3 moves ahead.

As a Tank or Brute you have some of the most sought after abilities. You can take more damage than any other AT in the game. The more damage you take, the more your “fury” meter rises,(Villain side) which when fully induced, turns you into hell on wheels, where your damage output is increased.

You run the front lines. You position where and when the attack from the enemy will occur. This archetype is the most wanted and vital aspect of teaming.

Read the guide.

Newbies...

If you want to get some good advice on tanking or playing a brute, visit the CoH Tanker and Brute forums respectively.

About 60% of this guide would be considered bad advice by veteran tank/brute players and I don't care to take the time to give a blow by blow critique.

Sorry MMORPG, this "guide" gets a two-thumbs down from me.

GECCo

Originally posted by TheGECCo

Newbies...

If you want to get some good advice on tanking or playing a brute, visit the CoH Tanker and Brute forums respectively.

About 60% of this guide would be considered bad advice by veteran tank/brute players and I don't care to take the time to give a blow by blow critique.

Sorry MMORPG, this "guide" gets a two-thumbs down from me.

GECCo

I've got to agree. Much of this reads like an EQ player's guide of how to play CoX like Everquest... particularly the "get yourself a pocket healer" bit.

Even though I'm a seasoned player from CoX, I thought this article too shallow.

Come on, Correspondent! Go deeper into the matter; separate Tanks from Brutes - they're quite different, which makes CoH and CoV groups' mechanics too different and particular; talk about a Tank/Brute functions by lvl range... These are a few ideas that your could explore in a future review of the "tanker" role in a CoX team.

why would you group tanks and brutes together in a guide?  ever.

i was with you for a couple of sentences in the first paragraph; but, after that, i'm sorry, you lost me.  i'm not so sure about this guide.

edit: i went back and read the bullets.  i'm sorry, are you really new to the game?

A brute has 75% of the resists and the defense of a Tanker.

A brute has about 85% of the HPS of a Tanker.

A brute has about 90% of the damage of a Tanker.

For a brute, Fury can give you a 100% damage bonus, to be on par* with a tanker (considering your lower resist/defense and hps), you have to be at around 40%, which isn't much of a problem in a group or if you are hyper...but if you are a soloer and laid-back (duties), than your fury will always be depleted and it will hurt you.  Your fury built up everytime you hit someone or are hitted.

For a tanker, you earn aggro you didn't even deserve, making you the natural aggro magnet even without doing much.

Resists and defense caps are about the same, hps caps is slightly higher for the tanker (not much) and damage cap for the brute is off the scale.

Rock Armor...Granite (level 32 for tanker and 38 for brutes) is over twice better than any other toggle in the game, damage/resist-wise...so in the endgame, if peoples want a real "tank", the datas doesn't compete.  This is not saying other sets have nothing they can do, but in some setting and situations, it may make every other set obsolete...power gamers will feel that way a lot.  Mobility issues and damage penalty.

Invul Armor...from the start; it is the "best" tanking set up and until the point where the rock get granite, where you are now a far 2nd choice all of a sudden.  Heavy on endurance.

Fiery Aura...damage output...you get an extra damage boost, a damage aura...and very good self healing.  May drop extremely fast if you are not carefull.

Electric Armor...2nd best resists...but that is all you have to survive...endurance bonus and recharge bonus to make you a tremendous offensive brute...not as offensive as the Fiery Aura, but near.

Dark Armor...the hardest set to play properly, never the best at anything particuliar, but extremely interesting.

Willpower...the first auto power is worth 4 powers from the Invul set...and all your other powers are good...this set is extremely potent.  Huge regen, decent resist, accuracy...amazing for soloing, and still okay as an off-melee in groups.

Energy armor...a joke...don't play that, seriously!

Energy Melee...heavy single target damage + stun.

Electric Melee & Stone Melee...AoE damages (Elect especially) with lower amounts...and status effect to help you tank.

Fiery Melee...bring on the damage...especially with fiery aura to back it up.

Dark Melee...an interesting, yet challenging choice...

Super Strenght...the most comon choice, all other templates where developped with that one in mind, as the middle course.

....That would merely get me started....the topic would need a lot of developpment from here...we are merely getting started.

*: With 40 Fury, you are on par with a tanker alright, if both are unbuffed...but as the buff is based on your basic stats, aka prior FURY, the more buffs kick in, the more FURY you need to compensate...eventually, in a big group, no amount of FURY can compensate what the buffs give in extra to a tanker...

Originally posted by rsreston

Even though I'm a seasoned player from CoX, I thought this article too shallow.

Come on, Correspondent! Go deeper into the matter; separate Tanks from Brutes - they're quite different, which makes CoH and CoV groups' mechanics too different and particular; talk about a Tank/Brute functions by lvl range... These are a few ideas that your could explore in a future review of the "tanker" role in a CoX team.

I've tried tanks - can't get into them. Do NOT like the aggro. However, Brutes are my second favorite Villain archetype, right after Corruptors. Very different play style. While Tanks and Brutes might be analogous, they can't be lumped together quite so neatly as done here.

I agree with most of the points stated by the replies. You may have spent time writing this from sratch, MMO, but it seems you haven't played the game long enough to really understand the difference between Brutes and Tanks.

On another side, however, you have clearly missed Willpower, and I assume this is so because this guide was written way before the latest issues of CoX?