GreySquirrel

There's one reason, one very -simple- reason why passive defenders (of -whatever- type) are never as useful as any other character in that slot.

Death = 100% damage mitigation.

If you're killing things, you don't have to debuff as much, you don't have to buff as much, you don't have to heal as much.

However, one note: Teams made up of 8 of one AT will always steamroll things, regardless of the AT, because they overproduce what their role is meant for (defs for buffs/debuffs, tankers or withstanding damage, scrappers for damage, blasters for damage, controllers for mezzes, etc.). That doesn't necessarily mean that the others aren't -needed- in a normal team. It -does- mean that once you hit that point where you're producing overkill in a certain area, it doesn't matter what else the rest of the team has to bring to the table.

That being said, on a normal team, Dechs is right. A passive defender is a waste of a slot. All he's doing is making it take longer to finish the mission. If you're on a PuG full of morons, then yeah, grab the emp who does nothing but heal cuz he's gonna be -busy-. But on a team with normal, thinking players? Not a chance.

((Radio Free Etoile is an IC channel.))

Radio Free Etoile was started up in the late 50's as a pirate radio broadcast, based off a continually moving Supercargo container ship. Originally designed to destabilise Recluse's regime in the Isles, it lasted several years, with little success. With technology advances, and the lapse of time, villains and other citizens of the Isles began to figure out how to communicate using the same frequency, slowly turning the broadcast into what it is now, an unofficial communications corridor between the Isles and Paragon City, much to the consternation of authorities on both sides. The ship is stealthed now, but by who no one really knows. Still, someone is keeping the equipment running, and making sure the broadcast remains on the air.

((Anyone is free to join; its a public channel, or send a tell to @Maelthra or @Salsakitten for an invitation. The channel is auto-silencing, so ask a mod to be able to send once you're in.))

((Radio Free Etoile is an IC channel.))

Radio Free Etoile was started up in the late 50's as a pirate radio broadcast, based off a continually moving Supercargo container ship. Originally designed to destabilise Recluse's regime in the Isles, it lasted several years, with little success. With technology advances, and the lapse of time, villains and other citizens of the Isles began to figure out how to communicate using the same frequency, slowly turning the broadcast into what it is now, an unofficial communications corridor between the Isles and Paragon City, much to the consternation of authorities on both sides. The ship is stealthed now, but by who no one really knows. Still, someone is keeping the equipment running, and making sure the broadcast remains on the air.

God, after the Steampunk, and Commander's grittiness, and Hydro's fantasy was just brilliant... I feel a bit insecure posting mine. XD Still I had fun with it. These are approached from the standpoint of, "What's wrong with their current costumes?", rather than anything else. So no power changes, sex changes, back-story changes. I also stuck to the original colours as much as possible without hurting my eyes. I'd hate to use up all my good ideas here and be stuck with nothing when I get hit by altitis tomorrow. Anyway! Here goes...

First, let me say, I HATE symbols. If someone doesn't know who you are, smacking a symbol on your chest will just mean they don't know who you are and you'll look silly. I know, I know, its the traditional, but so was bloodletting and torturing Protestants a few centuries ago. (I also hate capes. Watch 'The Invincibles' if you haven't.) I also prefer a rather minimalist approach. Everything that's added makes it harder to fight, I think. Try kicking someone in a parka and long johns and thermals? @_@

Statesman: I wanted him to look memorable, without any of the cliches he's normally associated with. I also wanted him to look like he wasn't afraid of taking a beating.





Numina: Why's she got the oriental thing going? I'm not sure. I guess magic means you have to look oriental. I'm sure that's wriiten down somewhere... Anyway, in case I missed something and she actually does have a bit of the Orient in her story, I stayed with the motiff, just a bit, but added a little attitude into it. I mean, she's been dead, possessed people, and who says the Recluse gets all the hawt dead chicks?!





Back Alley Brawler: BAB's is big. Too big to be able to really move, in all honesty. Watch the weight lifters that are his sixe in the Olympics. They might be strong, but they'd never ever catch you. You'd have to run to them to get hurt. So a size reduction. That's basically all he really needs, I think. He's never been a costumed hero really, so any civilian clothes would work. I wish I'd been able to give him his gloves.





Citadel: Citadel is an android! Cool! But... Being an android doesn't really explain why he can take hits so well. He ought to at least look like the Terminator in the last 15 minutes of any of those films after a fight. To explain why he's so tough, he needs armour, so...





Manticore: Only two things bug me about Manticore. One, he's wearing girl's boots. Two: His hair is godawful long. How does he see through it to shoot when the wind is blowing from behind him? So to update, he's got combat boots, more sensible in my opinion, and maybe his wife likes the long hair (I'm assuming so, since she didn't cut it all off when he was asleep.) so he's got it tied up now. (I'm also assuming since he's married that his wife made him USE CONDITIONER DAMMIT.)





Positron: Rule number one. If you're fighting things that shoot at you don't expose your circuitry, mkay? That's really it. You're wearing armour, and that's awesome, since you're squishy without it, but let's not mark your weak spots with huge arrows saying, 'Look, my power conduits are here!' >__>





Sister Psyche: SP's squishy too. She's not a front line fighter, granted, so its probably someone else taking the hits, but if someone were to get in close, she's in serious trouble with her current outfit. (Not to mention the ripping possibilities.) So a padded outfit, with gaurds that she can block with if she needs to.





Synapse: And finally Synapse. He's a speedster, so you really don't want to add anything to give him more drag. His goggles are a bit small though. He doesn't look like he has any peripheral vision. (quite important when zooming across motorways, no? ZZZZOOOOOOOO-*splat* ... What was that bubba? ... I think it wuz a bug. ... Bugs ain't that big! ... We're in Paragon, never know whatch're gonna get 'round here.) Also the red and blue together like that is a bit garish, so its blue-gold now.

This is my new odd build of the month. Resistance is DA's strong point, so I'm going to build a def tank out of it. Softcapped Positional Defense, plus major endurance buffs. I've not tested it yet, but I'm currently using a weaker version of this, and I have to try very hard to even get below 50% health.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Maelthra Prime: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Dark Armor
Secondary Power Set: Dark Melee
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Death Shroud

• (A) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
• (5) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
• (7) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (11) Obliteration - Damage
• (21) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (33) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage

Level 1: Shadow Punch

• (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
• (9) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
• (13) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
• (13) Mako's Bite - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
• (31) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (36) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 2: Smite

• (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
• (3) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
• (3) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
• (5) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (9) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (11) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)

Level 4: Shadow Maul

• (A) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
• (7) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (15) Obliteration - Damage
• (17) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
• (29) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage
• (31) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 6: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 8: Dark Regeneration

• (A) Theft of Essence - Healing
• (17) Theft of Essence - Healing/Recharge
• (19) Theft of Essence - Accuracy/Healing
• (19) Theft of Essence - Accuracy/Endurance/Healing
• (27) Theft of Essence - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (27) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance

Level 10: Boxing

• (A) Kinetic Combat - Knockdown Bonus

Level 12: Cloak of Darkness

• (A) Defense Buff IO
• (34) Defense Buff IO
• (43) Defense Buff IO

Level 14: Hover

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
• (15) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
• (21) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 16: Taunt

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 18: Fly

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
• (42) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 20: Combat Jumping

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
• (31) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
• (34) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 22: Super Jump

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
• (23) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
• (23) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 24: Cloak of Fear

• (A) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff
• (25) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/ToHitDebuff
• (25) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Recharge
• (33) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• (33) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Cloud Senses - Chance for Negative Energy Damage

Level 26: Touch of Fear

• (A) Siphon Insight - ToHit Debuff
• (29) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/ToHit Debuff
• (42) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/Recharge
• (42) Siphon Insight - ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• (45) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (45) Siphon Insight - Chance for +ToHit

Level 28: Tough

• (A) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)

Level 30: Soul Drain

• (A) Multi Strike - Accuracy/Damage
• (34) Multi Strike - Damage/Endurance
• (36) Multi Strike - Damage/Recharge
• (37) Multi Strike - Accuracy/Endurance
• (43) Multi Strike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (43) Multi Strike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 32: Weave

• (A) Defense Buff IO
• (37) Defense Buff IO

Level 35: Dark Consumption

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (36) Recharge Reduction IO
• (37) Endurance Modification IO

Level 38: Midnight Grasp

• (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
• (39) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
• (39) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
• (39) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (40) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)

Level 41: Conserve Power

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 44: Focused Accuracy

• (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
• (45) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
• (46) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
• (46) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
• (46) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
• (48) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance

Level 47: Physical Perfection

• (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
• (48) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
• (48) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
• (50) Performance Shifter - Accuracy/Recharge
• (50) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
• (50) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End

Level 49: Murky Cloud

• (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

------------
Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Kinetic Combat - Knockdown Bonus

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 1: Gauntlet
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 22% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 22% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 22% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 22% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 22% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 22% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 22% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 22% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 19.4% Defense(Smashing)
• 19.4% Defense(Lethal)
• 16.3% Defense(Fire)
• 16.3% Defense(Cold)
• 17.3% Defense(Energy)
• 17.3% Defense(Negative)
• 6% Defense(Psionic)
• 27.3% Defense(Melee)
• 28.5% Defense(Ranged)
• 26.6% Defense(AoE)
• 4.05% Max End
• 27% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 16.3% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 5% Enhancement(Heal)
• 19% FlySpeed
• 154.6 HP (8.25%) HitPoints
• 19% JumpHeight
• 19% JumpSpeed
• Knockback (Mag -16)
• Knockup (Mag -16)
• MezResist(Confused) 2.5%
• MezResist(Held) 11.3%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 11.3%
• MezResist(Sleep) 4.15%
• MezResist(Stun) 8.55%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 2.5%
• 5% (0.08 End/sec) Recovery
• 10% (0.78 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 0.95% Resistance(Fire)
• 0.95% Resistance(Cold)
• 3.75% Resistance(Negative)
• 19% RunSpeed
• 2% XPDebtProtection

------------
Set Bonuses:
Obliteration
(Death Shroud)

• MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
• 3% DamageBuff(All)
• 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)

Mako's Bite
(Shadow Punch)

• MezResist(Immobilize) 3.3%
• 28.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints
• 3% DamageBuff(All)
• MezResist(Held) 3.3%
• 3.75% Defense(Ranged), 1.88% Defense(Energy), 1.88% Defense(Negative)

Touch of Death
(Smite)

• MezResist(Immobilize) 2.75%
• 28.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints
• 2.5% DamageBuff(All)
• MezResist(Held) 2.75%
• 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)

Obliteration
(Shadow Maul)

• MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
• 3% DamageBuff(All)
• 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)

Theft of Essence
(Dark Regeneration)

• 10% (0.78 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 1.8% Max End
• 5% Enhancement(Heal)
• 3% DamageBuff(All)
• 3.75% Resistance(Negative)

Blessing of the Zephyr
(Hover)

• 3.13% Defense(Ranged), 1.56% Defense(Energy), 1.56% Defense(Negative)
• 3.13% Defense(AoE), 1.56% Defense(Fire), 1.56% Defense(Cold)
• Knockback Protection (Mag -4)

Blessing of the Zephyr
(Fly)

• 3.13% Defense(Ranged), 1.56% Defense(Energy), 1.56% Defense(Negative)
• Knockback Protection (Mag -4)

Blessing of the Zephyr
(Combat Jumping)

• 3.13% Defense(Ranged), 1.56% Defense(Energy), 1.56% Defense(Negative)
• 3.13% Defense(AoE), 1.56% Defense(Fire), 1.56% Defense(Cold)
• Knockback Protection (Mag -4)

Blessing of the Zephyr
(Super Jump)

• 3.13% Defense(Ranged), 1.56% Defense(Energy), 1.56% Defense(Negative)
• 3.13% Defense(AoE), 1.56% Defense(Fire), 1.56% Defense(Cold)
• Knockback Protection (Mag -4)

Cloud Senses
(Cloak of Fear)

• Status Resistance 2.5%
• 2.25% Max End
• 6.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed
• 3.75% Defense(Ranged), 1.88% Defense(Energy), 1.88% Defense(Negative)

Siphon Insight
(Touch of Fear)

• 4% JumpSpeed, 4% JumpHeight, 4% FlySpeed, 4% RunSpeed
• 2% XPDebtProtection
• 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 3.75% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Melee)
• 3.75% Defense(AoE), 1.88% Defense(Fire), 1.88% Defense(Cold)

Gladiator's Armor
(Tough)

• 3% Defense(All)

Multi Strike
(Soul Drain)

• MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%
• 0.95% Resistance(Fire,Cold)
• MezResist(Stun) 1.65%
• 1.88% Defense(AoE), 0.94% Defense(Fire), 0.94% Defense(Cold)
• 1.88% Defense(Melee), 0.94% Defense(Lethal), 0.94% Defense(Smashing)

Touch of Death
(Midnight Grasp)

• MezResist(Immobilize) 2.75%
• 28.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints
• 2.5% DamageBuff(All)
• MezResist(Held) 2.75%
• 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)

Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control
(Focused Accuracy)

• 5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed
• 35.1 HP (1.88%) HitPoints
• 2.5% (0.04 End/sec) Recovery
• 2.5% DamageBuff(All)
• 2.5% Defense(Melee), 1.25% Defense(Lethal), 1.25% Defense(Smashing), 2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative), 2.5% Defense(AoE), 1.25% Defense(Fire), 1.25% Defense(Cold)

Performance Shifter
(Physical Perfection)

• 5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed
• 35.1 HP (1.88%) HitPoints
• 2.5% (0.04 End/sec) Recovery
• 2.5% DamageBuff(All)
• 3.13% Defense(AoE), 1.56% Defense(Fire), 1.56% Defense(Cold)

Steadfast Protection
(Murky Cloud)

• 3% Defense(All)

I ran a dark/dark scrapper for a couple years before the sets were made available for tankers. I rarely touch my scrapper now. My tanker is dark/dark/fire. I run 9 toggles on her, with no end issues. I've also used IO's to softcap two of three positional defenses (melee and ranged) without gimping damage at all. Melt Armor means her attacks tear through enemies, and the AoE's (Dark Regen, Dark Consumption, Death Shroud) means that aggro management is something you can do in your sleep. I use DR more for catching mobs attention, since I rarely have to use it to heal. Siphon Life generally keeps me very high on the HP bar.

I guess my summary is then, if you're at least average on slotting ability and are willing to go outside of a cookie-cutter build, Dark Armor is quite good.

My specific build is not something I want to share particularly, but I can give some general guidelines for anyone who cares to contact me in-game. (@Maelthra)

Yeah... don't ask me why I said stalkers... Result of being up at 4am I suppose. the guide is for brutes.

An Updated Guide to Dark/Dark Stalkers.

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....=0#Post11822231

Sample Build:

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.4006
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Shadow Punch -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(3), EndRdx-I:50(7), Dmg-I:50(15), Dmg-I:50(36), Dmg-I:50(48)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- EndRdx-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(5), ResDam-I:50(9), ResDam-I:50(9)
Level 2: Smite -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(3), EndRdx-I:50(7), Dmg-I:50(15), Dmg-I:50(36), Dmg-I:50(48)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(5), EndRdx-I:50(34), EndRdx-I:50(34), Dmg-I:50(34), Dmg-I:50(48)
Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(37), RechRdx-I:50(37)
Level 8: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I:50(A)
Level 10: Murky Cloud -- EndRdx-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(11), ResDam-I:50(11), ResDam-I:50(37)
Level 12: Obsidian Shield -- EndRdx-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(13), ResDam-I:50(13), ResDam-I:50(39)
Level 14: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 16: Health -- Heal-I:50(A), Heal-I:50(17), Heal-I:50(17)
Level 18: Dark Regeneration -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(19), EndRdx-I:50(19), EndRdx-I:50(25), Heal-I:50(40), RechRdx-I:50(40)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Dark Consumption -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(23), EndMod-I:50(23), EndMod-I:50(25), RechRdx-I:50(39), RechRdx-I:50(40)
Level 24: Cloak of Darkness -- DefBuff-I:50(A), DefBuff-I:50(46)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(27), EndRdx-I:50(27), RechRdx-I:50(29), RechRdx-I:50(39), RechRdx-I:50(42)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(29)
Level 30: Touch of Fear -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(31), Fear-I:50(31), RechRdx-I:50(31)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(33), EndRdx-I:50(33), Dmg-I:50(33), Dmg-I:50(42), Dmg-I:50(46)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(36)
Level 38: Boxing -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(43), EndRdx-I:50(46), Dmg-I:50(50)
Level 41: Tough -- EndRdx-I:50(A), ResDam-I:50(42), ResDam-I:50(43), ResDam-I:50(43)
Level 44: Weave -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(45), DefBuff-I:50(45), DefBuff-I:50(45)
Level 47: Super Jump -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 49: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I:50(A), KBDist-I:50(50), KBDist-I:50(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Fury



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Section three: Pool Powers


Medicine

You have two heals in your sets already. Don't waste a pool.

Rating: 0/5



Flight

This is one of the two power pools that can help brutes deal with the lack of KB resist.

Hover costs minimal endurance, offers a slight defense boost, and most importantly, being hit with KB will usually only flip you over in the air, causing minimal or no disruption to your attack chain. Strong knockback powers will actually push you back a short distance so as KB becomes more common, you'll need to run hover more and more often, so slotting for flight speed enhancement is eventually neccessary. Beware of -fly attacks though; with hover shut off, you will have no defence against KB at all. Rating: 2/5

Air superiority is an excellent attack that can help you deal with bosses and can be made a staple of your attack chain. Rating: 3/5

Flight is a safe, if slow, travel power that requires flight speed enhancements to reach maximum speed. Rating: 3/5

Group flight: Are you a Mastermind or a Brute? Rating: 0/5



Leaping

This is one of the two power pools that can help brutes deal with the lack of KB resist.

Jump Kick: If you have a clown motif, or just like wasting time, take this. Otherwise move on to the next power. Rating: 0/5

Combat Jumping. If you take combat jumping, then you have the option of skipping CoD since your immobilisation resist will already be covered. It is also nice to stack the defense with CoD though. Combat jumping costs minimal end and offers a slight defence bonus. Additional slotting is not recommended. Rating: 3/5

Super Jump: The 2nd fastest travel power. Works great outdoors (but not inside enclosed spaces) and requires no slotting to be workable. Rating: 2/5

Acrobatics: A toggle power that offers resistance to hold and knockdown. Acro requires no more end to run than a shield, but will need two KB enhancements to maximise its KB protection. Rating: 4/5



Super-speed

Flurry: Avoid. It has all the problems of shadow maul and none of the advantages. Rating: 0/5

Hasten: Very useful for getting your endurance refilled faster (via Dark Consumption) and your heal up faster. You will need to be sure to slot for end though if you use this power. Very recommended for any brute. Rating: 5/5

Super-speed: will stack with CoD to give full invisibility. The fastest travel power, but problematic late-game since you have to travel around Grandville (aka Why-the-hell-are-there-no-doors-on-the-ground-any-more-ville) Requires no slotting. Rating: 3/5

Whirlwind: Just don't. Rating: 0/5



Fitness

Swift: Increases your flight/run speed. Rating: 2/5

Hurdle: Increases your jump speed/height. Side note: Sprint + Hurdle = Speed of Fly. Useful as a psuedo-travel power early on. Rating: 4/5

Health: Will help offset the penalty from oppressive gloom. It's useful for minimizing downtime. Also adds sleep protection. Take it and three-slot it as early as possible. Rating: 4/5

Stamina: Essential. Take it and three-slot it as early as possible. Rating: 5/5



Fighting:

Boxing: A low damage attack with a chance to stun. Rating: 3/5

Kick: A low damage attack with KB. Rating: 2/5

Tough: Adds to your Lethal/Smashing resists, and since about two thirds of the damage coming your way is S/L, that's kinda nice. Rating: 4/5

Weave: Stacks defence with CoD (and CJ if you take it). Very nice. Rating: 4/5



Patron Power Pools

The PPPs don't contain anything you really have to have, though some of the powers can be useful. The immobilize powers can help in conjunction with Oppresive Gloom, and having ranged attacks to pull is nice. A lot of people take Ghost Widow for thematic reasons, and because the -acc stacks.

Section two: Dark Armor

Dark Armor is rather unique in secondaries being that it actually provides control along with the mitigation it offers. It includes endurance drain resist and high Psionic resist which is hard to come by in other sets. It does not have a tier-nine "god-mode" power, instead opting for a rez.

On the plus side, Dark Armour offers resistance to every damage type, so, even if a couple of them are low resists, there are not gaping holes like other sets. Fear and disorient auras can render enemies who come too close helpless, and the stealth offers you +perception which comes in VERY handy against the Widows and Banes.

On the downside, it lacks knockback protection of any kind, which forces players to use pool powers or IO's to cover this weakness. The self-heal is powerful, but relies on hitting nearby enemies, which can make it unreliable. (I say this to cover the possibility, but honestly, with a couple accs, there's very rarely a problem hitting. The tier nine is dissapointing and not terribly useful, aside from saving yourself a hospital trip.

DA has a very large number of toggles-depending on the powers you take, you could have five or more toggles, not counting any toggles from pool powers. It's therefore essential to either practice toggle management, turning on toggles as you need them and turning them off when done to conserve end, or slotting them with at least one endurance reduction.



The Powers


Dark Embrace

This is your basic shield. It offers Smashing/Lethal/Toxic/Negative resists. Essential, take it, slot it, use it.

Rating: 6/5 (Mandatory Choice)
Suggested Slotting: 3 Res, 0/1 End - You could get away with no end slotting, but you'll be able to fight longer (and therefore at higher fury) if you have it there.



Death Shroud

Death Shroud does good negative energy damage to all nearby enemies, keeping them taunted, but can be an end hog. That said, you'll probably save yourself end in the long run because DS keeps your enemies mad at you and swinging, and so your fury goes higher, the DS damage goes up, and your other attacks hot for more, meaning less overall attacks for any given spawn.

Rating: 5/5
Suggested Slotting: 1/2 Acc, 2 End, 1/2 Dmg



Murky Cloud:

Your next basic shield, Murky Cloud offers Fire/Cold/Negative/Energy and end drain resists. Take it, slot it, use it.

Rating: 5/5
Suggested Slotting: 3 Res, 0/1 End - You could get away with no end slotting, but you'll be able to fight longer (and therefore at higher fury) if you have it there.



Obsidian Shield:

Offers Sleep, Disorient, Hold, and Fear protection. It also confers high Psionic resistance.

Rating: 5/5
Suggested Slotting: 3 Res, 0/1 End - You could get away with no end slotting, but you'll be able to fight longer (and therefore at higher fury) if you have it there.



Dark Regeneration:

This is DA's self-heal. AoE power, centred on you, that does a very small amount of negative energy damage to all enemies nearby, and grants you health for each enemy hit. When slotted, with just two or three enemies, it can restore you to full health from almost nothing. Take it.

Rating: 5/5
Suggested Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 End Red, 1 Heal, 1 Rech - It can't heal if it can't hit, it drains a lot of endurance, and you want it up a lot.



Cloak of Darkness:

Okay, so "BRUTE SMASH" doesn't seem to mesh with stealth, right? Maybe so. But when you consider that CoD gives you a defense bonus, +perception, and Immobilize protection, it looks better. It also completely hides your costume, so if you have no imagination for character customisation, this is the power for you. Besides, its fun to walk up and tap that Sapper on the shoulder right before you pound him to a pulp.

Should you take it? That depends. If you don't take the leaping pool, you'll need this for your immob resist. If not, it's completely up to you. I like the stealth for scouting.

Suggested Slotting: 0/1 Def, 0/1 End Red - It doesn't benefit much from eaither, but you have a slot to fill.



Cloak Of Fear:

This is the first of your 'mez auras'. CoF has a chance to fear any minion that comes close to you. The magnitude is not high enough to affect bosses alone, but it can be stacked with touch of fear. The downside is the atrocious base accuracy and monstrous end cost. The debuff it offers is barely noticeable.

Rating: 3/5
Suggested Slotting: 2 Acc - This is a power that you'll want to run for short periods when jumping into spawns that are larger than normal. The power wil slow down your fury building, so drop it as soon as you can survive the incoming damage. After the spawn gets thinned out a bit, you can drop it to conserve endurance.



Oppressive Gloom:

This is the second of your 'mez auras'. OG has a chance to stun any minion that comes close to you. The magnitude is not high enough to affect lieutenants or bosses, and you have nothing to stack it with. It has much better accuracy and costs much less end than CoF. However, it does drain a tiny bit of your health for each mob affected. With a brute's hit points and the health power from the fitness pool, this is not even noticeable. The real drawback of OG is the inherent nature of the stun. Enemies are not stationary, and will wander off out of the radius of the effect.

Rating: 3/5
Suggested Slotting: 2 Acc - This is a power that you'll want to run for short periods when jumping into spawns that are larger than normal. The power wil slow down your fury building, so drop it as soon as you can survive the incoming damage.



Soul Transfer:

Some Sets offer tier-nine powers that can drastically improve your surviveability for short periods. DA is not one of them. Soul Transfer is a combination of self-ressurrect and AoE power.For Soul Drain to work, you must be dead. And there must be enemies near your fallen body-if there aren't, and you activate the power, it will do nothing and be wasted. If there are enemies nearby, ST will return you to life, with health and end based on the number of enemies nearby. You will be invulnerable for a few seconds, and be protected from XP debt for 90 seconds. The enemies will take a modest amount of negative energy damage (41.7) and be hit with a base 10-second, mag 35 stun-powerful enough to stun even bosses. Optional.

Rating 2/5
Slotting: 1/2 Heals, 0/1 Disorient - Don't waste more than 2 slots on this power unless you have some obscure IO set bonus that won't fit anywhere else.

Section one: Dark Melee

Dark melee consists of 4 damage dealing attacks - Shadow punch, Smite, Siphon Life, and Midnight Grasp. There is one cone - Shadow Maul, a fear - Touch of Fear, Taunt, and two AoE's - Dark Consumption and Soul Drain. Most of the attacks that get slotted for damage are single-target attacks. There are only two AoEs in the entire set, Dark Consumption and Soul Drain, but these are usually not slotted for damage since their secondary effect is much more valuable.

Keep in mind that Dark Melee is NOT as fast a killer as some of the other primaries. DM's Build Up equivalent, Soul Drain, requires enemies nearby and you won't always get the same strength buff from activating it. This means that compared to other brutes, you may take longer to take down targets. BUT. Most DM attacks inflict a small -tohit to your target, around 5%. The debuff usually only lasts a few seconds, but it does stack, so DM brutes have much a much better chance of being able to take on multiple enemies at once than they otherwise might. DM is made for controlling opponents, letting to take them down as you will, or making sure that you provide sufficient cover for your team. Your lower tier attacks do a combination of smashing/negative and your higher tier attacks do pure negative energy. Negative energy is not a commonly-resisted damage type, so more of your actual damage will go through to your opponent. Hence the lower numbers you may see in character builder are a bit misleading. Dark Melee is lacking in Burst damage, but remains one of the better DPS sets.

Other notes. Yuo have an endure recovery power. This is AWESOME for building fury since you don't have to stop often to rest, if you do at all. Also, with the large number of toggles in DA, endurance recovery is going to be important.

Side Note: I am using standard, non-set IO's to figure optimal slotting. If you do not want to use IO's you may need a bit more accuracy in some attacks, a bit more endurance reduction in others, etc.

Next Side Note: This is a PvE Guide. I don't PvP. I know nothing of PvP. You will not find PvP tips here. I suspect that DM would be mediocre at PvP outside the arena, and good against most anything other than another melee class inside the arena.



The Powers:


Shadow Punch

The first of what most consider Dark Melee's 4 'true' attacks, it does respectable damage, recharges quickly, and has a -tohit debuff built in. This definately needs to be in your chain for fury building. If you don't plan on going outside of your primary for attacks, you'll need to pick this up to get a full chain.

Importance: 5/5
Suggested Slotting: 1/2 Acc, 1 End Red, 2/3 Dmg, 0/1 Rech.



Smite

This is your second 'true' attack. About 150% of the damage and end cost of Shadow Punch, a similar -tohit debuff. This is probably a power you will not want to skip, ever. If you don't plan on going outside of your primary for attacks, you'll need to pick this up to get a full chain.

Importance: 5/5
Suggested Slotting: 1/2 Acc, 1 End Red, 2/3 Dmg, 0/1 Rech.



Shadow Maul:

This is the third of your 'true' attacks. You will want to take this only if you enjoy being rooted for 3 seconds (not a good idea for a brute) and don't mind spending a few seconds standing there looking foolish if you miss your attack. It is nice when you get mobs lined up behind it since its a cone, but unless you're going to be taking the time to line them up yourself, it very rarely happens. This power is eminently skippable.

Importance: 2/5
Suggested Slotting: 1/2 Acc, 1 End Red, 2/3 Dmg, 0/1 Rech.



Touch of Fear:

Some people don't consider ToF an actual attack since it doesn't do any damage. Don't make this mistake. ToF inflicts a Mag 3 fear effect which can fear minions and leutenants in one application, and bosses in two. It also has the highest and longest-lasting accuracy debuff of all the DM attacks and has an higher-than-average base accuracy. Many newcomers to DM don't see the point of a single-target fear attack. While its true it won't be used in every fight, if you come up against a boss, an elite boss, or an AV, you'll be glad you have it. Its also good for dealing with low-damage debuffer to make sure they leave you alone while you introduce their friends to the shadows. You want this power to stack for full effect on EB's and AV's.

Importance: 4/5
Suggested Slotting: 1 Acc, 1 Rech, 1 Fear, 1 End Red



Siphon Life:

Siphon life does a lot of things, none of them particularly well. It's damage is only slightly more than Shadow Punch,it cost's three times as much, and will heal you for about the amount of damage you'd take in one or two hits. It costs a lot and recharges slow. If you want to sink a lot of slotting into it, it gets decent, but really, with Dark Regeneration, its very nearly a complete waste.

Importance: 1/5
Suggested Slotting: Don't take this, but if you do, you'll probably want one of the following. For healing: 2 Acc, 2 Heal, 1 End Red, 1 Rech, or for damage... well... you really don't want to slot for damage. Even with three damage its only going to come up to the base of Shadow Maul, so if you need the extra damage, and have the free slots, you'd be better off taking that.



Taunt:

You will have aggro if you take your AoE's. You will kill aggro if you take your mez toggles. Either way, unless you want to play at tanking, which the build can do, and be a bodygaurd for squishies, you really don't need this. Optional.

Importance: 1/5
Suggested Slotting: 1 Taunt



Dark Consumption:


This is the power that allows you to function as a brute. Before this power is available, Stamina might help a bit, but after this power, you will no longer need to rest of you can reach your enemies. With optimal slotting you can almost fully refill your endurance off of 2 baddies. Fun to end a fight with as you kill off the sliver of health remaining to the mobs and run to the next group full of endurance.

Importance: 5/5
Suggested Slotting: 2 Acc, 1/2 End Mod, 2 Rech



Soul Drain:


DMs answer to build-up, Soul Drain will give you a 5% +tohit buff and a 12.5% damage buff for each mob you hit. You won't usually get more than 4 or 5 out of this, but a 25% tohit/62.5% damage buff isn't bad. Plus, its the only one you get, so take it be happy.

Importance: 5/5
Suggested Slotting: 2 Acc, 2/3 rech, 1 end



Midnight Grasp:


Not your mother's tier nine power. This is almost like an anti-nova in some ways. Single target damage, damage over time instead of straight up front. Best use for this power? Hit a nasty meleer with it and move out of his range, come back to him later. Of course, the damage is VERY nice, so it fits in your chain too, especially if you don't want to have to go outside the primary for attacks. If it wasn't for the extremely high damage I'd say optional, but you really need the damage as a DM brute.

Importance: 4/5
Suggested Slotting: 1/2 Acc, 1 End Red, 2/3 Dmg, 0/1 Rech.

So you've decided to create a new brute. Whether you've decided on a Dark/Dark brute for concept or to try something new, there are a few points that should be covered first.

1. Dark Melee is short on 'true' attacks. - This is, on the face of it, true. BUT. Most primary powersets have an over-abundance of attacks. For instance, a Battle Axe brute is probably not going to have a chain made up of Beheader &gt; Chop &gt; Gash &gt; Swoop &gt; Taunt &gt; Whirling Axe &gt; Cleave &gt; Pendulum. Its just not practical. So the fact that Dark Melee has fewer attacks doesn't really hurt you, it just gives you more flexibility.

2. Dark Armour is much to expensive. - Dark Armour is expensive. But what holds true in real life, holds true here as well. You get what you pay for. Dark Armour has the highest survivability (using the spreadsheet produced by Arcana with I think is still posted around here somewhere.) of any of the brute powersets outside of tier nine godmode. Which brings us to point number three.

3. Dark Armour has no godmode. - No. It doesn't. Hence, you have no down time, and you know when you run into a mob exactly what's going to happen every time. There are no ups and downs with Dark Armour. Its steady, and easier to play than a lot of the other secondaries.

4. Dark Armour is hard to level. - Dark Armour is a late bloomer. It takes a while to blossom, but once it does, its very powerful.

There's probably a few other objections that are out there too, but those are the biggest. Now down to the powers themselves.

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Since we know the feature will be going through regardless of feedback, can we get an addition of "hide character from web page" to hide a character entirely? That will make life a lot easier for those of us who don't want to participate.

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For Omega:

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These Web options will soon be used. If you do not wish to have your character's information be displayed on the World Wide Web, you will want to configure them to be Enabled.

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To clarify, information could include such things as: statistics found on the in game kiosks, your different costumes, friends lists, powers and what enhancements are slotted into them and badges obtained.

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Why is there so much complaining about things that no one have even said will definately be on the site yet? If you're going to complain about things that aren't even set yet, Why isn't everybody complaining about hte icecaps melting and flooding all the major coastal cities of the world? Because it'd be stupid to complain about it when it hasn't happened yet, that's why. My God, people, get a grip on reality.

*Remembers why she stays away from the forums and runs to wash the inanity off*