Nalrok_AthZim

No, because Siphon Life hits WAY harder than Smite and will benefit from better damage enhancement. Kinetic Combat is very anemic when it comes to damage.

My moderately IO'ed SS/Elec would like to tell you you're incorrect.

And my answer is still the same, since what's in the past does not matter anymore: Back then is back then. Ice will not cause problems with Fury. The old arguments are invalid, regardless of what people think they know about something that is no longer relevant.

Way to dump on the guy. :/

But seriously, nice work man! You're... WAY more dedicated than I am!

I've proven it with all of my Brutes. I took them to the RWZ and, using just THREE attacks, generated the max amount of Fury attainable outside of Frenzy ON A VANGUARD TRAINING DUMMY.

THE SLOW WILL NOT MATTER. Ice/Ice for Brutes!

Back then is not now. My statement remains.

Most energy attacks at level 50 aren't pure energy; they usually have a Smash component (energy melee-ish attacks, Malta Titan cannons, Carnie swords/rings and ranged energy bolts) or a Lethal component (plasma bullets, Vanguard swords, Sapper stabbings).

I never grasped this whole "you should only use 4-5 powers for fighting" mindset. If this was the case why even bother putting in attacks past level 8? Let me address some things here.

Build for maximum global recharge. Dark/Dark/Soul functions best with gobs of recharge, rather than gobs of defense. The more recharge you have, the faster you can use your heal, your endmod AoE, your attacks, and your rez.

Do not neglect Soul Transfer. So many people have this idea that dying means you've failed. Not with Dark Armor! If you die, your ENEMY has failed. The ultimate mistake for any foe in CoX is killing a Dark Armor user. Why?

AUTOHIT MAGNITUDE THIRTY STUN.

Dying just means you're now able to use the most powerful tool in your arsenal. Don't underestimate it.

Shadow Maul is not a garbage power. I constantly hit 4-5 enemies per go with Shadow Maul, and despite the long animation I still crank out an absurd amount of damage with it. It's real fun to hit Frenzy, saturate Soul Drain and watch Shadow Maul tick-tick-tick for 61 when it lands.

An "optimal attack chain" can get boring, and restricts IO set combinations. If you're just going to take the optimal attack chain attacks, you're severely hindering what IO sets you can put into your build. I took every attack in my Primary. Why? I always have an attack ready; I like to mix up my attack chain because I enjoy it; STACKING TOHIT DEBUFFS, SON. That's right. For every attack you have, you have another ToHit debuff to apply. Those things add up, trust me. Couple that with Diamagnetic Interface and even the most accurate enemies will start whiffing.

Dark Consumption is your friend! Dark Consumption is your buddy! It's your pal, your champ, your ol' top! I have mine slotted for maximum accuracy, recharge, and endurance modification. A lot of people use it as an attack; I prefer it to recharge my blue bar with ONE ENEMY (oh yes, one) in range. It's a big help against tough fights like EBs, AVs, and the like. Don't neglect this guy. You'll feel it if you do.

Dark Regeneration needs to be 6-slotted. Just trust me on this. Look at how I've slotted in my build. I have 4 pieces of Touch of the Nictus to bolster the power's attributes, the Theft of Essence +End proc (I've watched Dark Regen fill BOTH my bars), and a Golgi Exposure (to maximize heal/endurance enhancement). My Dark Regen costs me a whopping ELEVEN endurance and heals for 901 per enemy, while recharging in 15 seconds.

Finally, Take Cardiac as your Alpha Slot. It quite literally closes the gap in this build. Endurance is no longer an issue, resistances get beefed up, and you get a little bit of range to play with in Gloom/Dark Oblit.

With Fighting, this isn't an issue. My main sits at 55% Res to S/L/N, 48% to Fire/Cold, 36% to E/Tox, and 68% to Psi. Coupled with a solid 25% defense to S/L, he's my most survivable character (next to my up-and-coming level 30 Dark/Kin Tanker ).

This may be true, but with practice Shadow Maul will solve this, Dark Obliteration will solve this, and Death Shroud takes care of a lot of AoE work for you. Plus, when just the Bosses are left over from your initial assault, you have a fantastic set of ST attacks to quickly pulverize them with.

Yes it does and you should be ashamed of yourself for perpetuating that notion.

Darkest Night's -ToHit and -Damage stack directly on top of Dark Armor's inherent defense and resistance. If you have Fighting and some nice set bonuses, you'll have even MORE survivability. If you have Diamagnetic Interface, chances are almost NOTHING will land a hit on you.

Gloom adds even more single-target goodness to the combo. Wanna have fun? Try this:

Midnight Grasp > Gloom > Shadow Maul. The numbers ticking away are great and that combo melts just about everything it hits.

Finally, Dark Obliteration adds a great AoE and -ToHit; something you said Dark Melee needed, by the way.

Again, Blue, take a look at my guide and see what it does for you. I have my current build in there. 50% recharge before Hasten!

But I'm not insulting you or trying to instigate. C'mon, Mondo. :P

That's right, Virtue; the Dawn of Darkness is BACK! Some of you veterans may remember it as a place of ill repute and loose morals. This will no longer be the case. The Dawn of Darkness will be a haven for magic-related characters who have an unpleasant disposition and a lust for evil.

Here's a few guidlines for applying:

• Don't be a jerk.
• Respect other players' RP methods and ideas (see the above guideline).
• Please have good spelling and grammar. People appreciate this. Seriously. No netspeak or 'lol' or any of that stuff.
• We're not looking for angsty emo teen characters. This doesn't exclude teen characters; we just don't want the "no one understands me" crowd. That junk is old. Write a backstory and your problem's solved.
• Your character should have some sort of tie to magic. This means that even the most decorated military character can join up should he have sold his immortal soul for the ability to command others.
• Your character should be dynamic. There's enough stereotypical demons and you-name-it-omancers running around. Set yourself apart. Succubus? Roleplay beyond being a venus man-trap. Demon? Shy away from calling everyone "mortal", boasting about yourself and chasing tail. Magician? Don't talk like Emperor Palpatine and try not to run around in a cloak all day.
• We do not condone ERP. Whatever you do behind closed doors is your business. But we'd prefer it if our doors weren't the ones you're doing stuff behind. If you absolutely have to, please don't do it in the base.

I know that may seem a little restrictive, but we're looking to create a fertile RP environment with friendly people and the potential to branch into something grand with what may feel like a small story idea.

I also understand that the magic-themed RPVG status on Virtue is very, very quiet. I haven't found a home for my magic characters, so I'm making their home open to those who want a place of their own that isn't military, syndicated, mutant, or clique-ish.

That said, my global is @Insane V and I am willing to do in-game meetings as well as read posts for invites here.

If you want to apply for an invite (I'm pretty open, no strict regulations for invitation or application) just post your character name(s) and some brief backstory. 99 times out of 100 you'll be invited! The other 1 time is if your character has no ties to magic or something similar.

So, the Dawn of Darkness has risen once again and the doors are open for new members!

Do you also understand that Mondo is trolling the living crap out of you?