patch

Ok, I may be adding 2 and 2 to get 5, but do you think this will mean anything for CoH?

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=213753

Accuracy and ToHit do work differently. Arcana is the "authority" on the US boards and knows more about acc, def and tohit than I ever will!

[ QUOTE ]
Bounded[ NetToHit = (InherentAttackAccuracy) * (1 + AccuracyEnhancement) * Bounded[ BaseToHit + ToHitBuffs - ToHitDebuffs - (Defense - DefenseDebuffs) ] ]

[/ QUOTE ]
This equation, in my opinion, basically means tohit buffs are better than acc buffs, percentage-wise. Any accuracy buffs you get are added to your base accuracy, where as tohit buffs are multiplied by your base accuracy. Best bet's probably to boost both as high as you possibly can

http://paragonwiki.com/Invention_Ori...hancement_Sets

I nearly suggested putting hasten in there, as you'll always want to have more attacks ready than DM can give you, but I'm a hasten freak, don't have a build without it!

I'm really looking forward to i9, as I figure DA will get a huge boost from IOs. Being able to slot Dmg/End IOs in Death Shroud and Dark Regen will be great, let alone the end/mez in oppressive gloom, plus fear/acc in cloak of fear... I'll stop now or I'll go on all day!

Your build looks pretty good to me. A couple of comments you might want to consider. Firstly, DA is still pretty End heavy and toggle management is a pain at times, especially high game where the baddies have multiple attack types and you can't de-toggle. Having said that, dark consumption is a great power and should cover your end needs. 2 end reducers may be overkill in your armours, but definitely keep at least two in death shroud and cloak of fear.

Unless you want cloak of darkness for concept reasons, I'd drop it as combat jumping will be enough immob resistance.

I'd have a recharge in dark regen rather than health. if you're fighting 3 mobs or more, it'll fill up your bar 100% and if you are fighting 3 or more, you'll want it up again quickly. You might consider dropping siphon life too, in my opinion the heal is too small and the damage is too little to warrant taking it, but others love it.

Cloak of fear and touch of fear stack on bosses, so I'd definitely recommend CoF for a dm/da despite it's end use.

Finally, seek out larger teams. Soul drain is an awesome power and you really want to max out the mobs it hits (think 7 is the most). With soul drain you'll become a boss killing, lieutenant smiting damage animal. All the better if you fear the boss first so he's quaking in his boots as you open your can of whoop [censored]!

I can't see you'll need the presence pool, Cloak of fear and touch of fear stack to fear bosses and are highly recommended. Other */DA scrappers tend to skip Cloak of Fear because of the endurance issue, but DM can stack fear on bosses and dark consumption solves all your endurance issues full stop (well, with stamina).

Death shroud is a must, lots of research has been done into it and it typically does more damage than your primary attacks. When you use soul drain, death shroud becomes a truly awesome power.

Only real dilemma you have as a DM/DA is knockback protection, it's either hover's "pseudo" protection or acrobatics full protection while sacrificing another power (many skip cloak of darkness).

Having said all that, it's your scrapper at the end of the day, build it how you like. DM/DA gives you more choices than most, so enjoy having to make some decisions for once

Cinders has a lower accuracy, (75% on hero planner), but choking cloud has 50% chance to hit, which can't be increased. In other words, cinders unslotted will hit 75%, choking cloud will only hit above 50% if you're lucky. Add to this choking cloud's hold is half as long and drains even more endurance from an already draining powerset and I think you'll see why most people take cinders.

Also, choking cloud is mag2 (minions only) as opposed to cinders mag3 (minions and lieutenants).

The devs try to make it so primary powers > secondary powers > power pools.

I really do hope they've fixed this, playing as my ice tank was a pain in the nuts while it was broken. What was worse was playing as my blaster in a team with non-aggro holding tanks! I can put a good amount of debt down to this bug

I agree with the above posts that it really needs to be fully slotted with SOs to shine, and even then will need 2 applications to drain. Having said that, it'll drain an entire group in those 2 applications. I'd have it planned ready so you can fill a fully slotted short circuit with SOs when you hit 22, then when you get yourself in teams going through striga you'll have it ready. Pre-22, slotting with damage and recharge is probably the way to go, it's pretty high accuracy un-enhanced (hero planner has it at 95%).

I've got my elec/elec to 33 and have done a fair amount of end drain testing, but still can't be conclusive. Unfortunately I've not found any end drain figures anywhere, and I'm not sure how you'll get definites. From my experience, all elec powers will drain some end, it's mostly a case of trial and error as to how much you get. personally I slot for a mix of drain and damage in certain powers. Short circuit is all end drain and I've slotted ball lightning and tesla cage for some drain as well, as their damage is low so I figured not worth slotting for damage as much.

Generally when soloing I'll be killing mobs before I can drain them, so it mostly comes into play in teams where I may need to drain bosses. In such a case hopefully the tank can keep the aggro off me long enough for 2 short circuits.

A note on short circuit, the acc. is pretty high for AoE but generally it's good to fire off Aim before hand. It does seem to get a lot more aggro than other AoE powers I've tried, so make sure your tanks got their attention good.

I'll hopefully be ding 35 this week, in which case I'll let you know how power sink influences my play style.

I rolled my spines/DA scrapper as a concept build after getting my dm/da to 30. All I can say is, fastest levelling toon I've had so far, but most of all lots of fun to play

I'm thinking of writing a guide as I haven't seen one out there, I'll get started on it if there's a demand for one.

With regards the high End use, Cloak of Fear's your biggest drainer, so I'd test it out before getting it. With DM/DA, you can use dark consumption to offset this drain. A typical tactic is to run in with death shroud and cloak of fear (and oppressive gloom ), soul drain, touch of fear, dark melee, smite, and when they're low enough, use dark regen and dark consumption to top up health and stamina and finish off the last few mobs. You soon get an idea of when they'll die and you need to get dark consumption in before they drop. You also learn quick to avoid high defence baddies (crey) and acc debuff baddies (CoT).

There are always discussions about getting Death Shroud and cloak of fear and whether they counter each other. In my experience, cloak of fear still drops the incoming attacks by at least half, plus the acc. debuff makes them less likely to hit, and death shroud with soul drain is a pretty impressive power. Bear in mind also that death shroud keeps ticking even when you're hit with a -recharge.

Ah dark/dark, you're right that it's not common, but not necessarily that it's no good. Everyone you ask will have a different opinion and pretty much all of them will be valid, so expect to see contradicting advice. It's caused me the biggest headaches, the most anguish, but also the best moments of my time playing CoH.

Let's start with the minuses...

1) No knockback protection
Not the end of the world, and you don't have to take some, but going up against avalanche shamans will make you want some! Acrobatics is best, and combat jump can be used as immob protection instead of Cloak of Darkness if you take jumping. If not, take hover.

2) Can't...breathe...
The endurance demands of dm/da are so great that you may well forget you have a blue bar! It is possible to go without stamina, but it requires hard slotting in the right places. Dark consumption is a top power, but the to-hit requirement makes it hard to rely on that power alone. I'd suggest trying with and without stamina, as it is do-able, and sans stamina gives you a good feel for the sets in their truest form. Having said that, you WILL take stamina!

3) Strange attacks
Ok, it's a strange set so you might expect something a little different, but what I'm trying to get at is that your attacks seem under powered because they all do other things. You have two attacks that also heal(siphon life and dark regen), and one that regains End(dark consumption) and a tight cone attack that roots you for what seems like a lifetime. The attacks in Dark Melee are unlike any others in the game.

4) Dark...Armour?!?
The protection that dark armour gives isn't like proper armour, it's more damage mitigation. More informed souls than I have written better explainations on this subject than I ever will. Basically, every power works to stop you getting damage, whether through resistance, dropping baddies quicker (death shroud), fearing your foes (cloak of fear) or disorienting minions (oppressive gloom). The hard part about this is getting your head round how you can best use these powers to your advantage.

And now the good points...

1) Shadow Maul
Ok, ok, it uses a ton of End, and ok it roots you for an eternity, and yes, you do have to maneuver baddies into a line... but OMG it's an amazing feeling when you drop 4 mobs at once with this amazing attack!

2) Soul Drain
This for me is possibly the best power in the game. I've heard people complain that they don't feel that super when they play CoH, this will change your mind. Having struggled to 26, this power damn near changed my religeous beliefs! Imagine a build up that lasts for 30 seconds, gets better for every mob it hits and actually does damage as well! It's also there every fight to give you glowy goodness

3) Fear me...Fear meeeeeh!!!!
Cloak of fear is the cause of all your End problems but can also be your salvation. Fears minions and lieutenants and stacks with touch of fear to make bosses quake in their boots. Team with mind or illusion controllers and rule!

4) Oppressive Gloom
Practically 0 end use and a minor hp tick for every minion it hits make this a great control to keep you safe and the baddies close. Ok so it's only hitting minions, but who cares when a power is this good?

And finally...
I'm guessing if you're posting on the boards, you're already pretty au fait with CoH, which is a good thing if you're going to go ahead with DM/DA. All I have left to say really is do research, there are a few good guides out there which will help lots(DM/DA Bible). It's a hard combination to pull off, but is lots of fun and can make you feel "uber" if there is such a thing any more. Do persevere with it, but be prepared for some out of the box thinking (sorry for the cliche!).

Good Luck!

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Psy Patch 36 mind/rad controller
IcePatch 35 ice/kin controller
NightRay 32 dm/da scrapper
SpinePatch 36 spines/da scrapper
FrozenPatch 25 ice/em tank
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I know the last post was over a week ago, but wanted to add my 2p worth.

I can't see you'll need Siphon Life as a regen, but it's your choice. Two things I'll say in favour of Touch of Fear are 1, that feared mobs hit you half as much, reducing incoming damage, and 2, the mob is rooted, making it easier to line up 2-3 mobs for shadow maul.