Suichiro's Guide to BURN! (Fire/Dark Corruptors)
By
beyeajus,
Posted on: 2006-06-17 02:56 in Player Guides
Could you post a build? Or atleast list your pools that you used and travel power. Thanks. Great guide.
I don't like to post builds because it takes a lot of the fun of customization out of your own character. Since I did go and write a guide to this though, I'm responsable for at least giving you a sample of what power I took and when. Every power was taken in the order that I felt most needed it. Getting Darkest Night early in the game was the best thing I ever did with my Fire/Dark. Even though it eats endurance alive, it's the best protection you'll get from your secondary, hands down. At level 12, you're set up for the DN anchor pull to Tar, BURN, repeat. This makes the teen levels go by so quickly you'll have Stamina before you know it.
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.5.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: MassacreMelanie
Level: 41
Archetype: Corruptor
Primary: Fire Blast
Secondary: Dark Miasma
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Fire Blast
01) --> Twilight Grasp
02) --> Fire Ball
04) --> Tar Patch
06) --> Rain Of Fire
08) --> Fire Breath
10) --> Darkest Night
12) --> Recall Friend
14) --> Teleport
16) --> Hurdle
18) --> Health
20) --> Stamina
22) --> Shadow Fall
24) --> Aim
26) --> Fearsome Stare
28) --> Blaze
30) --> Howling Twilight
32) --> Inferno
35) --> Petrifying Gaze
38) --> Dark Servant
---------------------------------------------
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
nice guide... makes me want to roll one of them out!
Great guide, thanks. Any way you can give some suggestions at least as to how to slot the specific skills?
Slotting advice:
Fire Blast
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Flares:
As with most of your damage dealing powers you want 3 Damage and 1 Accuracy. More Accuracy if you really want to hit.
Fire Blast:
3 Damage, 1 Acc
Fireball:
3 Damage, 1 Acc, 1 End Reduction
Rain of Fire:
3 Damage, 1 Acc, 1 End Reduction. The Accuracy in RoF makes it hit much more often against higher level foes and ones with good defense. It substantially raises the killing potential of RoF more than Damage alone.
Fire Breath:
3 Damage, 1 Acc, 1 End Reduction
Aim:
3 Recharge, when you can spare the slots, you might invest in 3 To-Hit buffs as well.
Blaze:
3 Damage, 1 Acc, if range bothers you on it, slot Range as well.
Blazing Bolt:
3 Damage, 1 Acc. For mid combat uses, slot 2-3 Interrupt Reduction. For pulls or alpha strikes, perhaps slot End Reduction.
Inferno:
3 Damage, 1 Acc. You really shouldn't be needing to nuke more than it recharges naturally. If you do need to, you aren't making use of your Dark powers well.
Dark Miasma
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Twillight Grasp:
3 Heal, 2 Acc, your choice of End Reduction/To-Hit Debuff/Recharge. With 2 Acc, it rarely misses and the To-Hit Debuff will help more than the Recharge will.
Tar Patch:
3 Recharge, 3 Slow.
Darkest Night:
3 To-Hit Debuff, 1-2 End Reduction
Howling Twillight:
HT is such a good power as is, you can slot nearly anything and it'll help, or leave it as it comes. Suggest 3 Recharge so you can use it's disorient without worrying about it not being up to rez a teammate.
Shadow Fall:
3 Resist, 1-2 End. The Resist on SF is nearly 30% to En/Dark/Psi when 3 slotted. Plus resist to Fear and non-slowed stealth, it's good to keep it up all the time.
Fearsome Stare:
3 To-Hit Debuffs, 1-2 Acc, 1-2 Fear. Fear lock isn't nearly as important as stacking -Acc. Mobs fear for a decent amount of time as is, and it's more than enough to setup your debuffs. Fear will still be a good debuff weapon to bosses that resist fear as well.
Petrifying Gaze:
3 Hold, 1-2 Acc. As your only hold, it's important for it to hit, if you're gonna count on it.
Black Hole:
2-3 Intagibility, 1-2 Acc. Most people don't take this power. If you do, you want the Intangibility to stick. Slotting Intange enhancements makes it so you can successfully Black Hole high con mobs and EBs/AVs/Heroes.
Dark Servant:
3 To-Hit Debuffs, 3 Heal. Dark Fluffy is your tank. He recharges perfectly in time when he runs out, so he needs no Recharge Enhaments at all. Slotting this way makes it so that people don't hit him very well, and he heals both of you well. He spams his hold at random so slotting his hold isn't reliable unless facing only one mob.
This build slots heavily for To-Hit Debuff. When stacked up on mobs, even EBs and AVs will miss. When nothing hits you, you don't need to worry as much, and BURN at your leisure.
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
Pulling advice:
When scouting out your potential DN pull, remember to keep in mind your target and your goal. Mobs will typically be spread out all over the room and your DN anchor will most likely run right towards you. This can make for a messy situation at times when you want to max out your AoEs.
Always pull towards the smaller gate. If there's 3 places in a room you can pull to, pull towards the place with the tightest "corridor" or between boxes, etc, to pack those mobs in as tightly as possible. This'll make sure that all your AoEs hit as much as they can. This also helps to make sure that mobs don't run and spread out in front of your Tar, instead of being *in* your Tar.
Break 'Line of Sight.' There's plenty of things in the game that are tall enough to break LoS on. A box, a pole, a tree, a corner, a dumpster, etc. Try to find the biggest and most stable thing to pull towards. A corner is nice because it's a total LoS break, along with having only one real way a mob can try to run towards you. A box isn't so good because mobs may be able to see over it and shoot you, or run around both sides of the box instead of one side. With some readjustments, you can successfully pull around even the smallest of objects, such as light poles and columns. Once you get good at this, you can pull multiple times in a room. Pull spawn one to a corner where spawn two is. Pull the new bigger spawn to a box where spawn three is. Pull them all to a corner where you setup your Tar Patch for some massive BURNing!
Keep your DN anchor targetted. Once you anchor your DN on a mob, keep that mob selected. Knowing where your anchor is at all times is essential to make sure that you've got a group of -Acc and -Dam mobs to BURN, not a group of angry mobs that are going to instantly destroy you when you break LoS to fire. If your anchor runs away from the pack, re-anchor something else. Keeping DN up on the group is the most important. If you run too far to see your anchor selection while pulling, you've run too far. You can out range the DN toggle and when you do, the mobs that were aggroed will remember who aggroed them. That'll be you. Angry, un-debuffed, and making a beeline straight for you. Not a pretty picture. Keep your anchor within sight and keep him in the pack.
Learn to 'Distance Pull.' If there's nothing to break LoS on, then you'll need another tactic. This assumes you wish to DN pull, rather than simply attacking the spawn at it's current location, which might be the better choice. Judge carefully. DN anchor a mob, and run backwards. Lay a Tar Patch in the path of the mobs as you run and if you stay out of their firing range, they'll follow you in that straight line all the way into the Tar. Once you see them mired in Tar in the distance, rush back to them and start your chain. This'll have the same effect as a corner pull out in the open, with no way to break LoS. So long as you stay out of their range, they won't even be able to take shots at you.
Use LoS to your advantage. As a Fire/Dark in the late game, you have 3 different powers that you don't even need a target for. This is perfect for a particular nasty enemy group such as Malta or Arachnoids. Setup your DN and pull, breaking LoS. While you wait around the corner, turn your camera so you can see them running down the hallway/corridor/etc. You can drop a Tar Patch around the corner where you want it, and they'll mire themselves in it. Then you can cast Dark Servant in the middle of the mobs once they're good and stuck. They'll instantly aggro the servant, but with DN and his Chill of the Night -Acc field running, they'll never hit him. Finally you can then cast Rain of Fire on them, causing them to flee slowly. This is your time to round that bend, pop Aim and BURN them all to the ground. You controlled them, debuffed them, and started your damage chain all without even being a valid target to shoot.
An experienced note: Certain mobs resist slows very well and are of particular danger to you. Slag Heaps, Council Warwolfs, Carnie Strongmen and Arachnoids in particular all like to stay in melee and they'll run right past your Tar like it was a puddle on the sidewalk. Take care when attacking these, and excersise judgement when pulling any spawns that contain them. Having 2-3 Warwolfs that ran immediately to you, while the DNed pack isn't in range yet is immediate debt. Use a combo of Fear, Holds, Fluffy, and HTwillight to mez these mobs until the situation is under control.
Also, Malta Gunslingers have proven to be nasty, as they TP out of your Tar Patch, as well as seem to resist your Dark debuffs. They'll cut through your -Acc like butter, so try to stack mez on them instead. Similarily, *** Thorn Casters from the Circle of Thorns will always run out of your Tar Patch. They won't willingly stay in it like other mobs, so take them out quickly.
I suggest practicing your pulls and anchor trains against -2s or -3s in the open zones, away from normal traffic. A pack of -3s isn't much danger to you, while not being so low level that they immediately run from you instead of aggroing you. This will allow you to hone your skill at your leasure and practice distance pulls as well as the tougher light pole and column LoS pulls. All in all, remember to keep your surroundings in mind. Awareness is key for a Fire/Dark to succeed in their careers. If mobs get behind you, or there are mezzers in the group, or you get an ambush or accidental aggro, it could be doom. If you know about them as it happens, you can adjust and use your Dark powers to keep the situation under control, nuking everything in a tightly packed armageddon. While the mobs not in your BURN, tremble helplessly awaiting your attention.
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
Nice guide. Makes me want to try one.
I have a Bots/Dark, Mercs/Dark and now a Thugs/Dark Masterminds, and they all -love- Dark's Tar Patch, and Darkest Night.
Doing it with a corruptor sounds interesting. Thanks.
Ex
--
Ex.
Part-Troll, who used to be Excession777, now playing pantomime with people's mindlets.
--
Nice guide. I just wanted to add that I've found for my Fire/Dark corruptor, Superspeed has great synergy. Not only can you stack it with your own stealth field to get invisibility, by can run into a mob at the back of a room, drop darkest night (which does not suppress your superspeed), and run back to cover. The mobs will come, dragging others with them. The only problem is, it works SO well you can get cocky and pull more than you should very easily.
Edit: Also wanted to add that Hasten as a prereq for SS is very nice. You won't need it all the time, but when you know a nasty fight is coming up it's nice to be able to pour on a massive recharge buff and get those heals coming faster, or get Tar Patch up ASAP.
I play on Virtue and have all 12 slots full and I'm tired of listing them all here so NYAH!
Travel Pools and Fire/Dark
Speed Pool:
Hasten: A great power for nearly everyone. It'll allow your mezzes debuffs and Fire chains to come up more often allowing you to destroy everything even quicker. Fire/Dark is end heavy however and this will be tough to balance without some blues in your tray.
SuperSpeed: Not a very hot travel power in CoV. The amount of vertical leveling and road debris make SS tougher to get around with. On the positive, SS stacks well with SF's stealth to grant you complete invisiblity. This is an amazing tool to have at your disposal and the extra speed allows to to break LoS faster, thusly having much more time to setup your Tar, BURN combo.
Flurry and Whirlwind aren't that great powers, since Flurry does bad damage for what you're capable of, while whirlwind no longer unroots your animations. There is some amount of melee control in whirlwind, but you have better powers to negate damage with.
Jumping Pool:
Combat Jumping: A great low level power that adds jumping hieght and immobilization resistance at the same time. Stacked with Hurdle, CJ is a great unsupressed mid combat movement power. Also CJ will stop you from being immobilized during your pull, something that can be deadly if it happens.
Super Jump: Not as good of a travel power for a Fire/Dark, being squishy and all, but you do have stealth in your pocket to help overcome the aggro you can step into using this power to travel across zones. SJ however, is fast, it's got great vertical movement and it's very hard to be slowed down during it. Overall it's the easiest travel power to get around CoV with.
Acrobatics: Acro gives you KnockBack resistance and Hold resistance while the toggle is on. It's great for a Fire/Dark because it not only resists holds which will kill your game, but resists KB as well. Combined with CJ, you've got a good amount of mez resist to things. At least enough to setup your BURN adequetely. Note that there's a *lot* of sleeps, disorients, end drains, etc in the later game that Acro will do nothing against.
Jump Kick is considered to be a terrible power and it rightly is. It's got bad damage, a terribly long animation and the KnockDown it does isn't reliable. You have better powers to pick.
Teleportation Pool:
Recall Friend: A great power for being a taxi and everyone loves Recall. It's also got a secret use for you, as you can Recall your Dark Servant later in your career. This will allow you to make sure that he takes an alpha strike and not you, or that he stays in melee with that nasty EliteBoss. Very useful to have.
Teleport Foe: A strange power to use for most, but this has a lot of uses for a Fire/Dark. Because your game revolves around your Tar Patch, it's a great power to make sure that people stay in it. It's also good for pulling a single minion or Lt at range and when mobs get stuck in walls, you can yank them right out. If something runs from you during your BURNing, well, just TP him right back into the fire!
Teleport: Hard power to get around town with and hard to use in general. I suggest getting a bind together with TP to allow you faster and easier usage. TP is end consuming but is the fastest point A to point B travel in the game. It also ignores any type of immobilize or slow and is great for repositioning yourself mid-battle when a furball breaks out.
Team Teleport: Most likely not going to be of use to you in your carreer. It has some very interesting and useful attributes in dedicated team play, but to a lone Fire/Dark? No.
Flight Pool:
Hover: Good for staying out of melee range, but you shouldn't really care too much about that with your debuffs up. It resists KB inherantly which can be very nice. Movement is too slow to use in general even 3 slotted for speed. It's a great power for most squishies, but you shouldn't really notice it as a servant of the BURN.
Air Superiority: A good melee attack to take. It does decent damage, it's animation is quick and it's KD is reliable. It's everything Jump Kick isn't. When that boss runs through your Tar to you after everything else is dead, you can keep him on his back the whole battle. Single target powers are generally only of use to you against the high cons that survive your onslaught, but the -fly is great against the floating mobs you'll encounter every so often. Just AS them into Tar and never sweat them again.
Fly: The slowest of all travel powers. It's also the safest travel power. It's end heavy and supresses to terrible speeds during combat. It's not a bad power but really has no synergy with Fire/Dark other than the KB resistance.
Group Fly: In the same boat as Team TP.
Overall Jumping Pool provides the most synergy with Fire/Dark, followed up by Teleport and Speed Pools. All are useful in their own way. Only Fly lacks much common power with your build, however don't let that stop you from taking it if you enjoy flying. Travel pools are always a personal choice, but for those who really want to max out their potential, you may choose your synergy with an informed mind.
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
I appreciated your guide, and it gave me ideas for a single target (mostly) build that might appeal to those who enjoy high damage, single target attacks. Of course there are some AoEs in there that are too good to pass up (RoF/Tar Patch is almost class-defining, and who doesn't like a big ol' nuke once in awhile?), but this build focuses on the single target attacks, primarily:
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name:
Level: 50
Archetype: Corruptor
Primary: Fire Blast
Secondary: Dark Miasma
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Flares==> Acc(1)Dmg(3)Dmg(5)Dmg(11)EndRdx(17)
01) --> Twilight Grasp==> Acc(1)Heal(7)Heal(11)Heal(13)Rechg(34)EndRdx(34)
02) --> Fire Blast==> Acc(2)Dmg(3)Dmg(5)Dmg(13)EndRdx(17)
04) --> Darkest Night==> TH_DeBuf(4)TH_DeBuf(15)TH_DeBuf(37)EndRdx(37)
06) --> Tar Patch==> Rechg(6)Rechg(7)Rechg(37)
08) --> Rain Of Fire==> Acc(8)Dmg(9)Dmg(9)Dmg(15)EndRdx(23)
10) --> Combat Jumping==> Jump(10)
12) --> Hurdle==> Jump(12)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14)
16) --> Health==> Heal(16)
18) --> Blaze==> Acc(18)Dmg(19)Dmg(19)Dmg(23)EndRdx(25)Rechg(25)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Shadow Fall==> EndRdx(22)DmgRes(33)DmgRes(34)DmgRes(40)
24) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx(24)
26) --> Blazing Bolt==> Acc(26)Dmg(27)Dmg(27)Dmg(31)IntRdx(33)EndRdx(33)
28) --> Fearsome Stare==> Acc(28)Rechg(29)Rechg(29)
30) --> Petrifying Gaze==> Acc(30)Rechg(31)Hold(31)
32) --> Aim==> Rechg(32)
35) --> Inferno==> Acc(35)Dmg(36)Dmg(36)Dmg(36)
38) --> Dark Servant==> Acc(38)Heal(39)Hold(39)Immob(39)Heal(40)Hold(40)
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01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
01) --> Scourge==> Empty(1)
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This is a Hasten-free build, and as such, won't be dependent on blues much at all. The slotting is a quick first-pass, and is not optimized to what might be most useful at any given level, especially post-22ish. I offer this not as a better version of your build, but as an alternative to those who prefer single target attacks to AoEs. It's always nice to have choices, after all. 
Cheers!
While I don't see the point in doing a single target build for a Fire/Dark (why not just go with Ice/Dark instead?) there's a couple of things you should take note of.
First, swap Hurdle and Combat Jumping. Having Hurdle first helps you get around for those 2 levels while you wait for CJ. In the lowbie levels that makes a big difference. They aren't great until they're paired together at 12 anyways, so pick the one that's more useful earlier. Immob shouldn't be that big an issue so early in the game.
Second, taking Flares is purely a personal preference, but consider taking Fire Breath instead of Flares. While Flares is cheap on endurance, it's not good damage. Even while rounding out an attack chain, Flares does only half of the damage that Fire Breath does and even less when slotted. You'd have to cast Flares *three* times to get the same damage out of Fire Breath and both have long animations. Fire Breath also has an inherant accuracy bonus to boot. Your final chain will go Blaze, Fireblast, Fire Breath, Fire Blast and will drop things quickly. Flares will badly slow you down and when you're fighting 3 mobs at once, you can't afford to be wasting all your time on trying to drop one. Dark affords you great safety, but it's still not advisable.
Third, Dark is endurance heavy. With something eating your endurance all the time, Dark can go two ways. One, you can burn all your endurance and kill *everything* or two, you can use the same endurance and do much better damage to drop things faster. Fire is no slouch on single target damage, but you will be hurting for blue when paired with Dark.
Finally, even slotted up fully, Rain of Fire with Tar Patch isn't enough to drop a spawn by itself. It comes very close, but not close enough. Even one AoE might be enough to do the entire job, but if you ignore them you're depriving yourself of that killing ability.
You can choose to build and slot how you choose, but if you want single target damage I recommend doing Ice instead. Unless you're going for a concept build, I don't recommend a single target Fire/Dark build. You're needlessly hurting yourself in the long run. It's like a MasterMind without pets. It can be done and some people enjoy it, but it's completely ignoring useful and good powers avalible to you.
But then if you're doing a concept build, I doubt you'd be reading this guide in the first place.
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
This guide is inspiring! Do I really have the time for ANOTHER alt? 
just one question - why don't you have any recharge reduction SO's in any of your attacks? I'm guessing it's because of a playstyle thing where you're dropping everything you got into your first massive strike chain. My playstyle prefers faster recycling attacks though, even if it is a little harder on endurance. But was your reason personal preference?
You've got it exactly. I don't need recharge, nor do I need hasten. I drop everything I fight within one attack chain. If I'm fighting high cons and can't drop them with one chain, it doesn't matter much because I've got mezzes and -Acc to keep me safe. It's not slow by any means, but it's methodical. I find that I'm busy using all my powers to their utmost, and am never wanting for my damage attacks to recharge faster. If I'm not attacking, I'm debuffing. If I'm not debuffing, I'm healing.
It's also because I herd. Once my powers are used and everything is dead, I'm not gonna be attacking again until at least 30 seconds later. In that time I'm gonna be herding even more mobs into another BURNfest. I rarely ever fight a single spawn. I commonly fight 3 spawns at once, and sometimes upwards of 5. All that collecting gives my powers time to recharge and it's much faster than doing the spawns seperately, so my XP rate is great.
It's personal preference. You have *plenty* of room in your attacks to slot 2 recharge SOs if you want. You can also squeeze in Hasten if you wish, pretty easily.
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
ok cool thx. I was just concerned is all, because I went the recharge route and I was worried there might be a problem slotting something else if I did that. thx again
I tried this build out tonight, on a lark. Works great! Got through the first 10 levels in less than 3 hours...
Great guide!
"...I had a claw/regen scrapper with the search comment of "Yes, I'm a healer. I heal MYSELF". He got invited to a team, and then I found everyone dead in the mission. They expected my scrapper to rez them..."
-Madam_Enigma
Lots of great advice in here! I've been trying to decide between the different Corruptor combinations and I think this looks like a great choice. Thanks for the guide.
Do you have any IO ideas with this now that Inventions are available?
[ QUOTE ]
Slotting advice:
Tar Patch:
3 Recharge, 3 Slow.
[/ QUOTE ]
Just to emphasize, adding the slows to Tar Patch is a must if you fight on anything other than Villainous. TP will work fine without slows on even-cons, but once you get into the +2-3 realm, it won't keep those higher-cons in the area reliably without slow enhancements.
You don't have to six-slot TP right away, because there's going to be oodles of powers in Fire/Dark that need slots in the early game, but you definitely want it sixed before you get out of the late 20s.
Arc ID#1160 : "In the Shadow of Statesman" -Finished
Part Two--Under Construction
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Slotting advice:
Tar Patch:
3 Recharge, 3 Slow.
[/ QUOTE ]
Just to emphasize, adding the slows to Tar Patch is a must if you fight on anything other than Villainous. TP will work fine without slows on even-cons, but once you get into the +2-3 realm, it won't keep those higher-cons in the area reliably without slow enhancements.
You don't have to six-slot TP right away, because there's going to be oodles of powers in Fire/Dark that need slots in the early game, but you definitely want it sixed before you get out of the late 20s.
[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed, although I wouldn't put more than two slow SOs in it.
With one slow SO, you're at the runspeed slow cap for +2s, at -78% for +3s, and -58% for +4s.
With two, you're at the cap for +3s and -75% for +4s.
One is enough for normal gameplay, but two is a nice-to-have if you team a lot.
Great guide, I saw this and made my corruptor on 7-14-07. Just hit 20 last night. I love to watch them melt with the power of BURN !!!
Lord Gryphon 50 I/SS Tnk SMA/Taunt
Lots others: Dragon Legion, Dragon Legion Academy & Dragons of Doom
Infinity's Official Stand Up Guy
I've rolled up a fire/dark a while ago before really reading any guides (other than hearing it was an awesome build) - well, I'm totally in love with this particular char. ;-)
My question for AIM however - how long does the benefit from AIM last? A few seconds? 10? 15? Considering it has a base 90 second reset, how much can I expect to see in battle before I bif at a critical time (an EB or AV, for example)
[ QUOTE ]
Agreed, although I wouldn't put more than two slow SOs in it.
With one slow SO, you're at the runspeed slow cap for +2s, at -78% for +3s, and -58% for +4s.
With two, you're at the cap for +3s and -75% for +4s.
[/ QUOTE ]
The reason I slot 3 slows is because the Tar Patch and RoF combo is the center of the build. I want it to function to it's maximum potential. I do run into cases where I'm fighting +5s and I want the ability to slow the mobs the same amount as if I was fighting even cons.
Note that Lts and Bosses naturally resist your debuffs more, so while you can slow a +4 minion with 2 slows, that +4 boss will wade through and eat you alive pretty easily. Also, there are a number of mobs in the game that have naturally higher run speeds and the extra slows help to keep them in. Slows are always optional, but since people wanted my advice, I gave it to them. Your own mileage my vary.
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
Aim lasts for 10 seconds while it's up. It's a 42.5% damage boost as well as a 42.5% to-hit boost. While that's a short period of time to act in, you can get your important powers out during it. From experience, I know you can hit it, and get Blaze, Fireblast, Fireball and Firebreath out during it, all of which receives the buff. Aim also buffs the damage and accuracy of Rain of Fire as well, but I shy away from this usage because once the buff ends, RoF loses the benefit as well. It's better used for those heavy hitters in Fire.
By the nature of Fire/Darks, we're creatures of burst damage. We lower things to the scourge point quickly, where our DoTs take over and finish the job. Most times in my fights, I neglect Aim because I'm already done with the spawn at hand. It's always up for bosses or alpha striking a large mob, but if you're coming from a blaster perspective, you may miss not having either Aim or BU available at all times.
For protracted fights, Aim will be missing from a large portion of your fight. You'll have to learn to make it into a battle of attrition and slowly whittle the enemies down with a steady chain of damage. Your Dark powers are more important in this case.
Just for kicks, I ran some numbers. Your damage output at base is considered 100%. With maxed damage enhancements hitting the ED cap, it rounds out at around 198%. Tar Patch is a 30% res debuff, boosting your damage done to things caught in it up to 257.4% damage. Now, if we add in Aim beforehand, your base damage is boosted to 240.5%, then if we add in Tar Patch the total comes to 312.65% damage. Since the -res debuff effectively multiplies total damage, instead of simply being additive, you get a larger benefit out of the high numbers than Aim can bring you to.
It's that ability to self buff and debuff enemies that makes you so dangerous. The combination of both is greater than either one separately.
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
This entire guide presents the AT and build choices in a way I never thought about. Thank you for this information, I'm surely inspired to create a mass destruction machine based around AoE and tar patch, now.
This guide will teach you the basics of the AoE centric Fire/Dark Corruptor: Debuff, Cripple, Fire, Laugh.
Okay, so it really depends on your playstyle for a Fire/Dark, it's possible to make a single target machine as well, but with a combo like Fire/Dark why go for anything other than AoEs?
Unless perhaps you're doing a concept build, but you wouldn't be here looking in this guide if you were.
I have much experience with fire and AoEs from my Fire/Fire blaster in CoH. I now have a hugely successful lvl 41 Fire/Dark Corruptor in CoV. How I run my corruptor is a total commitment to control, debuff, and damage and the Scourge caused by DoT. She runs circles around anyone and anything in teams and she solos like the best ATs in the game. Brutes can't keep up with the speed and level of destruction she causes and aggro is never an issue with such massive debuffs. I solo everything including Elite Bosses like a champ. I've never wanted to solo an AV/Hero, so I have no information on ease of that. She's such a destructive force and Scourge is such a good tool for killing that I've given a special name to the game she plays. It's called BURN, akin to Brute SMASH, only if played right, BURN has proven to be better in my experience.
In order for a Fire/Dark to best achieve both maximum damage and maximum safety, they need to stick by their AoEs. Darkest Night is a potent AoE toggle that'll keep your hide intact. All your biggest damage dealers come in AoE flavor and are mostly wasted on single opponents. If you can debuff and kill one mob, you can debuff and kill 15 just as easily.
The BURN game at level 40 is simply the same game you play as a lowbie. Tar Patch mobs so they can't run, then AoE them and hit Rain of Fire for some massive scourge. Laugh. Repeat. The more advanced version of this requires a few tools in your arsenal to work well. Fireball, FireBreath, RoF, TarPatch, DarkestNight. The other powers, FireBlast, Blaze, Aim, Inferno, TwillightGrasp, ShadowFall, FearsomeStare, HowlingTwillight, PetrifyingGaze, and DarkServant are all there to simply make the game easier.
Use ShadowFall to keep yourself stealthed, it's also handy for those en/dark/psi mobs. There's more out there than you think. You find a group and a corner to pull to, toggle DN on a far spawn and then pull to the corner. DN will aggro anything else that the toggled mob runs near on his way to you. Drop a TarPatch on the corner and watch the mobs go running into it. Once they're all well mired in the Tar, hit FearsomeStare on them to even further stack -Acc on them. It'll insure your survival even more. More health = Less downtime. Heal with Twillight Grasp if you need to. Now they're all stuck in Tar, Debuffed with DN and Feared. Hit Aim, then unleash Fireball, Firebreath and RoF on them and watch the BURN. They'll get a few attacks off at you at this point, but with so much -Acc, nearly nothing will hit you. What little does, is debuffed by DN so it doesn't hurt hardly at all. When Rain of Fire hits, instead of trying to fight you, they'll all run, trying to get out of the Tar. They'll never make it out. If anything survives, clean up with your single target powers. If there's a nasty Lt in the group, use PetrifyingGaze to lock him up first.
The beauty of fighting this way is that nothing can get within melee range of you unless you wish it to, and most all of the ranged attacks will miss. There's no reason to not use FireBreath in this instance, as it doesn't matter if you're 2yrds away or 40yrds, the game sees range as range. Period. FireBreath also has a very long range for a cone. If you're still worried about it, pop a range enhancer in there. The damage it can do with Aim on is amazing, I can wipe out nearly half a minions HP with FireBreath alone. That goes a *long* way to being able to wield the deadly alpha you're capable of. FireBreath also changes the caliber of damage you're dealing. Going from being able to wipe out a bunch of even con minions, to being able to decimate +2s with ease.
If the spawn gets too hard to handle, hit HowlingTwillight and run. Slot up TwillightGrasp and you can pretty much heal half of your HP with a single use. Inferno makes for an awesome way to clean up a spawn that's going bad. Just pop one CAB after you use it, and anything that's left can be used to heal yourself off of. If they're still in Tar, they won't be able to run after you or close into melee still. Once you get DarkServant, he can further debuff, tank and heal you after you Inferno as well, providing yet another layer of defense to yourself.
Once you get used to the DN pull, Tar, BURN, you can repeat it quite fast. In the time it'll take you to wipe out the spawn, all your powers will be back in time for the next. If you can't pull anywhere, simply fear the spawn while you're stealthed in SF. Toggle one of them with DN, drop Tar under them, and go to town. Always toggle with DN if you can. It's one of your most important powers and makes a noticable difference if it's not on.
For single target higher con fights (Bosses EliteBosses, AV/Heroes) it's really quite simple. Toggle them with DN, hit fear everytime it's up, keep them in Tar and then just slowly cycle your strongest attacks on them. Heal when you need it and keep going. It's a steady pace, but it's quite safe. Remember, FearsomeStare has a nice -Acc on it, so use it a lot for the debuff, not the fear lock. Between DN, FS, and the debuff on TwillightGrasp, you can make even AV/Heroes miss more often than not. And DN gimps the damage to well acceptable levels. I've never ever lost more than 75% of my health in a single shot as a corruptor, even when foolishly fighting Infernal at melee. If you're not getting one-shot as a squishy, nobody on your team is.
As for endurance usage and power slots, I have a travel power, and the two prerequisite fitness powers + stamina. I'm a creature of quick action and not a long term fighter. My end usage is minimal because I have times where I'm not firing off powers, as I'm searching for a new group to BURN. I can run DN and SF all the time, without any trouble. I have everything but Blazing Bolt, Flares and Black Hole. Blazing Bolt slows down the game while waiting for it to charge. It's also single target which is not the point of the build. Blaze does a much better job of single target damage. Flares is simply too slow and compaired to the usefulness of the other powers, is not worth the power slot. Black Hole I might actually be able to use, but I prefer my other powers instead.
In teams, focus mainly on debuffing Acc with FearsomeStare while you try to setup DN. Though we know that toggle anchors on a quick team are hard to keep on. Heal yourself with TG, and everyone around you including MasterMinds and every MM Minion will love you. You'll probably take a bit more damage, because of the lack of multiple stacked -Acc and DN, but you can heal more often to overcome this, something which will earn you much love from your group as well. Good AoE damage, constant source of powerful healing and the ability to cripple the hardest of AV/Heroes into whining little babies.
For those who want a rundown of the powers individually:
Flares: Single target, low damage
Not so hot damage, but low end use and decent range.
Fire Blast: Single target, med damage
Good single target damage. Fast, recharges quickly. Decent range.
Fire Ball: Targetted AoE, med damage
Staple of your AoE game. Decent damage, very fast activation.
Rain of Fire: Non-targetted AoE 'drop', low/severe damage
Minor AoE damage that turns into massive damage with Tar under it. Each seperate tick of damage has it's own chance of scourging. (Note: if you really plan on using RoF to it's fullest extent, 3 slot damage and 1 acc. Trust me, it's not wasted. This is not the same creature as CoH was.)
Fire Breath: Targetted cone, med/high damage
Harder to use than FireBall, longer activation time. Very good damage and another staple of your AoE game.
Aim: Self Buff, +Acc +Damage
Not always needed, but makes your alphas much better and will allow your heal to hit much more often.
Blaze: Single target, high damage
Massive single target damage, very short range. Your own choice, but personally I prefer this to the snipe only because of the safety that /Dark provides you with.
Blazing Bolt: Single target, high damage, great range
Extreme single target damage, slow activation, hard to use mid battle. Good for support on a team when aggro isn't on you, or taking out a pesky Lt.
Inferno: PBAoE, extreme damage
AoE Nuke. Kills nearly everything. You don't need this really, but it's always nice to have a nuke handy for a hairy situation. There are times where you'll congratulate yourself for taking it.
Twilight Grasp: Single target debuff, -acc -damage -regen, PBAoE heal on you
Very potent heal. Great solo and on teams. Slot it with multiple Accs, you *don't* want this to miss. This power has everything you can want all in one glorious debuff/heal.
Tar Patch: Non-targetted 'drop', -res -speed -jump -fly
The basis of the BURN game. -Res is nice, but it's mostly used for mob control. -Res is more effective on bosses, AVs, etc. Learn to use this effectively and your entire corruptor game is set. Ambushes? No problem. Set a tarpatch in a hallway/corner and watch the ambush race each other to be the first in to die.
Darkest Night: Targetted AoE anchor debuff, -acc, -dam
Slow to activate, targetted anchor debuff. This power will keep you alive through the most hellish situations. So long as it's up. Learn to play around DN and you'll be nearly unstoppable. Breaking line of sight and pulling with DN will be great skills that will help you to gather those mobs real tight, just how a Fire/Dark likes them.
Howling Twilight: Targetted cone disorient, -regen, PBAoE multi rez on you
Slow to activate but damn near the best combat rez in the entire game. Your choice to get this or not, it's useful solo for it's disorient, and teams will kiss your feet when you stop the Team wipe in it's tracks. But you don't need it at all for the BURN game to work. This will drop most fliers on the ground during the disorient and has a great addition of a severe -regen debuff to make those AVs/Heroes crumple over and die.
Shadow Fall: Toggle stealth, PBAoE +res buff on you
As a squishy, stealth is more useful that you might think. Allows you to plan your attack first, not get wiped while trying to see around that corner. It's also got a very nice +Res to Dark/En/Psi/Fear. You'll be laughing when Aurora Borealis dares to stick her head in your buisness. The Circle are toys for you to play with at your whim.
Fearsome Stare: Targetted cone fear, -acc debuff
Nice wide cone Fear. Useful for setting up your attack, useful for retreating, useful for it's nice -Acc. It's useful. This becomes your alpha when there's nothing to pull to. You don't need mobs to be locked up for long, just long enough for your debuffs to engage.
Petrifying Gaze: Single target hold
You don't need this power, but it's a good way to help the dominator or Ice/ Corruptor to stack holds. It's a great way to get rid of that pesky Tsoo Sorceror or that Earth Thorn Caster. I could go either way, but I like having it in my pocket.
Black Hole: Targetted AoE intangiblity
Teams will probably hate you for using this mid battle, but it'll save the day an make you the envy of everyone when you stop the 'Total Party Kill' in progress. But then, as a master of AoE debuffing, a situation like that shouldn't occur, right? This is completely tangental to most of the other powers in /Dark. The radius is quite large on it, and is quite useful right out of the box as a panic power.
Dark Servant: Summoned pet, spams TG, PG, Tenubrious Tentacles, PBAoE damage field and -acc on him
You'll want this. A pet who can take your aggro, heal you, and further stack -Acc on those bosses and AVs? Sign me up! Take note though, that you will have to keep recasting it, so it requires maintainence. And as with all pets, it'll go off and aggro stuff you didn't intend on at times. It'll also most assureadly ruin any DN anchor pulls you set up. But still, always nice to have around.
Note that your bane is spread out mobs. This build's only failing is mezzes, which is normal for any squishy at all, and spread mobs. If the mobs are all spread out, then DN isn't debuffing them all, and your AoEs can't alpha strike them all, wasting precious damage. They'll also be more likely to make it out of Tar, or worse yet, not even be in it.
This isn't a PvP build, this is a carefully constructed PvE build that maximizes all your powers to their fullest, and takes advantage of the Scourge that DoT creates. That's not to say that my own Fire/Dark hasn't taken down her good share of Tanks/Scrappers/Blasters solo in PvP, but this isn't a build meant for that. Everything has it's place in the game, you debuff to help you live, you live to setup your Tar, you Tar to help your fire, and your fire helps you to BURN!
--Suichiro
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN