This guide is not a primer on the relative strengths and merits of the various powers included in the Dark Melee/ Dark Armor sets but rather to help in the selection of Invention sets to maximise their potential.
Dark Melee (allowed enhancement sets):
Shadowpunch: Melee(single target)
Smite: Melee(single target)
Shadowmaul: Melee(aoe)
Touch Of Fear: Fear
Siphon Life: Melee(single target) and Heal
Taunt: None allowed
Dark Consumption: Melee(aoe)
Soul Drain: Melee(aoe)
Midnight Grasp: Melee(single target) and Immobilize
Dark Armor (allowed enhancement sets)
Dark Embrace: Resistance
Death Shroud : Melee(aoe)
Murky Cloud: Resistance
Obsidian Shield: Resistance
Dark Regeneration: Melee(aoe) and Heal
Cloak of Darkness: Defense
Cloak of Fear: Fear
Oppressive Gloom: Stun
Soul Transfer: Melee(aoe) and Heal and Stun
Break down by enhancement sets:
Melee (single target):
Shadowpunch
Smite
Siphon life
Midnight Grasp
Melee(aoe):
Shadowmaul
Dark Regeneration
Dark Consumption
Soul Drain
Soul Transfer
Death Shroud
Resistance:
Dark Embrace
Murky Cloud
Obsidian Shield
Defense:
Cloak of Darkness
Healing:
Siphon Life
Dark Regeneration
Soul Transfer
Fear:
Touch of Fear
Cloak of Fear
Immobilize:
Midnight Grasp
Stun:
Oppressive Gloom
Soul Transfer
Invention Origin sets and stacking:
Briefly, Invention Origins come in two types. Normal "generic" Io's that work just as do all the regular enhancements(training,dual and single) and those that are named and belong to a set. The set Io's can enhance more than one function, accuracy/damage, for example.What makes the set Io desirable is that once you slot more than 1 of the same set in the same power you recieve various bonus's. These bonus effects can stack up to five times of the same bonus( so an hp bonus of 1.13% can be applied 5 times as well as an hp bonus of 1.88%, which could also be applied 5 times but any beyond that would be wasted. The same set type can be slotted into multiple powers, 2 or more different sets can be slotted into a single power. Within a given set, however, one cannot duplicate the same Io enhancement more than once in a single power. So you cant place 2 Crushing Impact:acc/dmg in the same attack. You could slot Crushing blow:acc/dmg and Mako's Bite:acc/dmg if you wanted. Among the sets enhancments there are those that are Unique (and are labeled as such), these special enhancers can only be slotted once in the entire character.
To maximise or not is up to personal preference. Maximising in this case, would be concentrating on gaining as many of a particular kind of bonus as much as possible, say, regeneration and Enhancement(recharge).The easiest way to go about this is to list (like above) all the powers you have and what kind of sets they accept. For the sake of this guide I will be using my dm/da brute, Hex as an example.
Single target melee: # 5 (shadowpunch,smite,siphon life,midnight grasp,boxing)
Melee(aoe): # 6 (shadowmaul,dark regen,dark consumption,soul transfer,soul drain,death shroud)
Resistance: # 4 ( dark embrace,murky cloud, obsidian shield, tough)
Defense: # 2 ( combat jumping,cloak of darkness)
Healing: # 4 ( siphon life,Dark regen,health, soul transfer)
Fear: #2 ( touch of fear, cloak of fear)
Immobilize:#1 (midnight grasp)
Stun: #2 (boxing, soul transfer)
Ranged Single Target( gloom)
Powers that dont allow set Io's ( hurdle,stamina)
Jumping: #1 ( superjump)
Now, we can see that if we wish to stack bonus's, single target,melee aoe,resistance, and healing will give us the most oppurtunity to do so. So we will look at those first:
Format : set name # of enhancements in set
enhancements 2+,3+ etc, at what number of set enhancments bonus's are given
Coming at this from the perspective of a high level brute, the later sets,of course, hold the most appeal. Looking at the possible bonus's and at what slots they become available can be handy in choosing the best ones to suite your style of play.
All three of the later sets offer some resist to immobilization which is a weakness of Da( remember that resists in this case is not protection from but rather shortens the duraction), loading up on damage buff bonus is tempting but the enhanced accuracy and recharge time catch my eye. Dm is very much a dps set and tightening the attack chain even more will be good.So I went for Crushing blow sets in my single attacks,4 slots for the accuracy and 5 for the recharge are needed.
Shadowpunch : 5 slots Crushing Impact ( acc/dmg, dmg/end,dmg/rch) Mako's Bite ( chance of lethal-71.8 damage,20% chance), Touch of Death ( chance for neg energy dmage,71.8,15% chance). Set bonus for having 3 in crushing impact, I forgo the added acc/rch bonus in order to increase the proc rate of the extra damage enhancments.As sp is in my build is mostly a filler attack and has a rapid recharge this works well.
Smite: 6 slots Crushing Impact ( acc/dmg,dmg/rch, dmg/end, acc/dmg/rch, acc/dmg/end) Touch of death ( chance of neg energy)
The first are somewhat lackluster, though the stacked defense's could be usefull. The 10% regen of Scirocco's appeals to me though, and since its given at the first bonus is readily attainable.
Soul Transfer : 2 slots Scirocco's Dervish (dmg/rch, dmg/end)
Death Shroud : 4 slots Scirocco'c Dervish (acc/dmg, dmg/end, acc/dmg/end, --chance of lethal ?) havnt gotten a spare one to try it so have no idea on how that would work,if at all. If it has a chance on every pulse it would be a meatgrinder,however I doubt it and would most likely be checked,if at all, when power is toggled.
Check out all the uniques in the heal sets, the good regen and hp bonus of numina's and all the resists in doctored wounds.
Health: 6 slots Numina's (regen/recovery unique,heal) Miracle ( recovery unique,heal) Regenerative Tissue( regeneration unique, heal) Before Io's I would never have 6 slotted health but with 3 heals and the 3 uniques this one power does heavy duty work,with good regen for a passive and almost stamina end recovery.
For the other set options Im not going to list all the options as every other bonus is limited to 1 or 2, but just the relevant pools.
Fear:
Glimpse of the Abyss # 6
acc/rch 2+ 2.75% enhance terrorized
end/fear 3+ 1.88% hp
acc/end 4+ 9% enhance accuracy
fear/range 5+ 6.25% enhance recharge time
acc/fear/range 6+ 3.13% resist psi
chance of damage (psi)
Touch of Fear : 5 slots Glimpse of the Abyss ( acc/rch,acc/end,chance of psi damage) and 2 To hit debuff Io's
Cloak of Fear : 5 slots Glimpse of the Abyss ( end/fear,acc/rch,acc/end,acc/fear/rch) and an Io end reduction
Defense :
combat jumping: 2 slots karma( knockback protection), luck of the gambler( recharge speed 7%)
cloak of darkness: 3 slots Gift of the Ancients ( def/end, end/rch,runspeed 7 %)
+ 3% defense,+1.88% defense psi, +3.13% defense aoe, +50% enhancement accuracy, +6% enhance heal,
+17.5 % enhanc recharge time, +5.5% enhance terrorized, + 202 hitpoints, mag 16 knockback protection,
immob reist 9.35%, +20% recovery,+86% regen,2.5 % resist fire, +9.38 resist neg energy, and +7.5% runspeed
This is ontop of all the normal power effects.In terms of raw power my attacks are slightly less effective but now cost less and recharge faster, the attack chain is really tight and the added chance of damage is helpfull.I love my new touch of fear.
With less end recuction in my toggles the end net gain is still in my favor with all the recovery. Concentrating on whichever bonus's you want will make you happier rather than a scattered approach,in somethings specialization is better than generalization.
This guide is not a primer on the relative strengths and merits of the various powers included in the Dark Melee/ Dark Armor sets but rather to help in the selection of Invention sets to maximise their potential.
Dark Melee (allowed enhancement sets):
Shadowpunch: Melee(single target)
Smite: Melee(single target)
Shadowmaul: Melee(aoe)
Touch Of Fear: Fear
Siphon Life: Melee(single target) and Heal
Taunt: None allowed
Dark Consumption: Melee(aoe)
Soul Drain: Melee(aoe)
Midnight Grasp: Melee(single target) and Immobilize
Dark Armor (allowed enhancement sets)
Dark Embrace: Resistance
Death Shroud : Melee(aoe)
Murky Cloud: Resistance
Obsidian Shield: Resistance
Dark Regeneration: Melee(aoe) and Heal
Cloak of Darkness: Defense
Cloak of Fear: Fear
Oppressive Gloom: Stun
Soul Transfer: Melee(aoe) and Heal and Stun
Break down by enhancement sets:
Melee (single target):
Shadowpunch
Smite
Siphon life
Midnight Grasp
Melee(aoe):
Shadowmaul
Dark Regeneration
Dark Consumption
Soul Drain
Soul Transfer
Death Shroud
Resistance:
Dark Embrace
Murky Cloud
Obsidian Shield
Defense:
Cloak of Darkness
Healing:
Siphon Life
Dark Regeneration
Soul Transfer
Fear:
Touch of Fear
Cloak of Fear
Immobilize:
Midnight Grasp
Stun:
Oppressive Gloom
Soul Transfer
Invention Origin sets and stacking:
Briefly, Invention Origins come in two types. Normal "generic" Io's that work just as do all the regular enhancements(training,dual and single) and those that are named and belong to a set. The set Io's can enhance more than one function, accuracy/damage, for example.What makes the set Io desirable is that once you slot more than 1 of the same set in the same power you recieve various bonus's. These bonus effects can stack up to five times of the same bonus( so an hp bonus of 1.13% can be applied 5 times as well as an hp bonus of 1.88%, which could also be applied 5 times but any beyond that would be wasted. The same set type can be slotted into multiple powers, 2 or more different sets can be slotted into a single power. Within a given set, however, one cannot duplicate the same Io enhancement more than once in a single power. So you cant place 2 Crushing Impact:acc/dmg in the same attack. You could slot Crushing blow:acc/dmg and Mako's Bite:acc/dmg if you wanted. Among the sets enhancments there are those that are Unique (and are labeled as such), these special enhancers can only be slotted once in the entire character.
To maximise or not is up to personal preference. Maximising in this case, would be concentrating on gaining as many of a particular kind of bonus as much as possible, say, regeneration and Enhancement(recharge).The easiest way to go about this is to list (like above) all the powers you have and what kind of sets they accept. For the sake of this guide I will be using my dm/da brute, Hex as an example.
Single target melee: # 5 (shadowpunch,smite,siphon life,midnight grasp,boxing)
Melee(aoe): # 6 (shadowmaul,dark regen,dark consumption,soul transfer,soul drain,death shroud)
Resistance: # 4 ( dark embrace,murky cloud, obsidian shield, tough)
Defense: # 2 ( combat jumping,cloak of darkness)
Healing: # 4 ( siphon life,Dark regen,health, soul transfer)
Fear: #2 ( touch of fear, cloak of fear)
Immobilize:#1 (midnight grasp)
Stun: #2 (boxing, soul transfer)
Ranged Single Target( gloom)
Powers that dont allow set Io's ( hurdle,stamina)
Jumping: #1 ( superjump)
Now, we can see that if we wish to stack bonus's, single target,melee aoe,resistance, and healing will give us the most oppurtunity to do so. So we will look at those first:
Format : set name # of enhancements in set
enhancements 2+,3+ etc, at what number of set enhancments bonus's are given
Single target Melee:
Bonesnap # 3
acc/dmg 2+ resist immobilize 1.1%
dmg/end 3+ 0.75% hp
acc/rch
Pulverising Fisticuffs # 3
acc/dmg 2+ resist sleep 2.2 %
acc/dmg/rch 3+ 0.63 % hp
acc/dmg/end/rch
Bruising Blow # 3
acc/dmg 2+ 1% recovery
dmg/end 3+ 0.75 % hp
dmg/rch
Pounding Slugfest # 4
acc/dmg 2+ 8% regen
dmg/end 3+ .63% def(energy/neg)
dmg/rch 4+ 2% damage buff
disorient bonus
Smashing haymaker # 4
acc/dmg 2+ resist immobilize 2.2%
dmg/end 3+1.13% hp
dmg/rch 4+ 1.88 % def(smashing)
dmg/end/rch
Kinetic Combat # 5
acc/dmg 2+ resist immobilize 2.75%
dmg/end 3+ 1.5 % hp
dmg/rch 4+ 3.75 def ( smashing)
dmg/end/rch 5+ 5% movement increase
knockdown bonus
Focused Smite # 5
acc/dmg 2+ resist immob 1.65%
dmg/end 3+ resist confuse 1.65%
dmg/rch 4+ 1.5% debt protection
acc/end/rch 5+ 3% movement
acc/dmg/rch
Touch of Death # 6
acc/dmg 2+ resist immobilize 2.75%
dmg/end 3+ 1.5% hp
dmg/rch 4+ 2.5 % damage buff
acc/dmg/end 5+ resist held 2.75%
dmg/end/rch 6+ 3.13 % def melee
chance of damage (negative energy)
Crushing Impact # 6
acc/dmg 2+ resist immob 2.2 %
dmg/end 3+ 1.13 % hp
dmg/rch 4+ 7% Enhance (accuracy)
acc/dmg/rch 5+ 5% Enhance( recharge time)
acc/dmg/end 6+ 2.5 % psi resist
dmg/end/rch
Mako's Bite # 6
acc/dmg 2+ resist immobilize 3.3%
dmg/end 3+ 1.5% hp
dmg/rch 4+ 3% damage buff
acc/end/rch 5+ resist held 3.3%
acc/dmg/end/rch 6+ 3.75% def ranged
chance of damage lethal
Coming at this from the perspective of a high level brute, the later sets,of course, hold the most appeal. Looking at the possible bonus's and at what slots they become available can be handy in choosing the best ones to suite your style of play.
All three of the later sets offer some resist to immobilization which is a weakness of Da( remember that resists in this case is not protection from but rather shortens the duraction), loading up on damage buff bonus is tempting but the enhanced accuracy and recharge time catch my eye. Dm is very much a dps set and tightening the attack chain even more will be good.So I went for Crushing blow sets in my single attacks,4 slots for the accuracy and 5 for the recharge are needed.
Shadowpunch : 5 slots Crushing Impact ( acc/dmg, dmg/end,dmg/rch) Mako's Bite ( chance of lethal-71.8 damage,20% chance), Touch of Death ( chance for neg energy dmage,71.8,15% chance). Set bonus for having 3 in crushing impact, I forgo the added acc/rch bonus in order to increase the proc rate of the extra damage enhancments.As sp is in my build is mostly a filler attack and has a rapid recharge this works well.
Smite: 6 slots Crushing Impact ( acc/dmg,dmg/rch, dmg/end, acc/dmg/rch, acc/dmg/end) Touch of death ( chance of neg energy)
Midnight Grasp: 5 slots Crushing Impact (acc/dmg, dmg/rch,dmg/end, acc/dmg/end, acc/dmg/rch)
Boxing : reduced to 1 slot and rarely used anymore, default with acc Io
Melee Aoe attacks:
Cleaving Blow # 4
acc/dmg 2+ 1% recovery
dmg/end 3+ 1.25% def (energy)
dmg/rch 4+ 1% damage buff
acc/rch
MultiStrike # 6
acc/dmg 2+ resist sleep 1.65%
dmg/end 3+ resist fire/cold .945%
dmg/rch 4+ resist stun 1.65%
acc/end 5+ 1.88% def (aoe)
dmg/end/rch 6+ 1.88 % def ( melee)
acc/dmg/end
Scirocco's Dervish # 6
acc/dmg 2+ 10 % regen
dmg/end 3+ 3.13% resist neg energy
dmg/rch 4+ 9% Enhancement (accuracy)
acc/rch 5+ 3.13 % def ( aoe)
acc/dmg/end 6+ 3.13 % def ( psi)
chance of lethal damage
The first are somewhat lackluster, though the stacked defense's could be usefull. The 10% regen of Scirocco's appeals to me though, and since its given at the first bonus is readily attainable.
Shadowmaul: 5 slots Scirocco's Dervish ( acc/dmg, dmg/end,dmg/rch, acc/dmg/end, chance of lethal)
Dark Consumption : 4 slots Scirocco's Dervish ( acc/rch, dmg/rch) and 2 recharge Io's
Soul Drain : 4 slots Scirocco's Dervish ( acc/dmg, dmg/rch, acc/rch, dmg/end)
Soul Transfer : 2 slots Scirocco's Dervish (dmg/rch, dmg/end)
Death Shroud : 4 slots Scirocco'c Dervish (acc/dmg, dmg/end, acc/dmg/end, --chance of lethal ?) havnt gotten a spare one to try it so have no idea on how that would work,if at all. If it has a chance on every pulse it would be a meatgrinder,however I doubt it and would most likely be checked,if at all, when power is toggled.
Healing:
Triage # 4
h/end 2+ 4 % regen
end/rch 3+ 0.75% hp
h/rch 4+ 2% enhance heal
h/end/rch
Regenerative Tissue # 5
h/end 2+ 4 % runspeed
end/rch 3+ 1.5% hp
h/rch 4+ 4% enhance heal
h/end/rch 5+ 5% enhance (recharge time)
+regeneration (unique)
Harmonized Healing # 6
h/end 2+ 1.5% recovery
end/rch 3+ resist confuse 1.65%
h/rch 4+ enhance heal 3%
h/end/rch 5+ 1.88% defense aoe
heal 6+ 1.88% resist toxic
end
Miracle # 6
h/end 2+ 2.5% recovery
end/rch 3+ 1.88% hp
h/rcg 4+ 5% enhance heal
h/end/rch 5+ 1.88% defense aoe
heal 6+ 1.88% defense psi
+recovery ( unique)
Doctored Wounds # 6
h/e 2+ resist terrorized 2.2%
end/rch 3+ resist fire/cold 1.26%
h/rch 4+ 4% enhance heal
h/end/rch 5+ 5% enhance recharge time
heal 6+ 1.26% resist toxic,psi
rch
Numina's Convalescence #6
h/end 2+ 12% regen
end/rch 3+ 1.88% hp
h/rch 4+ 6% enhance heal
h/end/rch 5 +resist held 3.3%
heal 6+ 3.75% defense ranged
+regeneration/+recovery (unique)
Check out all the uniques in the heal sets, the good regen and hp bonus of numina's and all the resists in doctored wounds.
Health: 6 slots Numina's (regen/recovery unique,heal) Miracle ( recovery unique,heal) Regenerative Tissue( regeneration unique, heal) Before Io's I would never have 6 slotted health but with 3 heals and the 3 uniques this one power does heavy duty work,with good regen for a passive and almost stamina end recovery.
Dark Regeneration: 6 slots Numina's ( heal, heal/end, heal/rch, end/rch) Cleaving Blow ( acc/dmg, acc/rch)
Siphon Life 4 slots Numina's ( heal,heal/end, end/rch) with an Io accuracy
Resistance:
Steadfast protection # 3
rst/end 2+ 1.5% recovery
resistance/+defense unique 3+ 1.5% hp
knockback protection
Impervious Skin # 5
rst/end 2+ resist sleep 2.2%
rst/rch 3+ 1.5% hp
end/rch 4+ 2% debt protection
rst/end/rch 5+ 5% enhance recharge time
status resistance
Reactive Armor # 6
rst/end 2+ resist immobilize 1.1%
rst/rch 3+ 1.25% def energy
end/rch 4+ 1.25% def lethal
rst/end/rch 5+ 1.25% def aoe
rst 6+ 1.25% def toxic
end
Impervium Armor # 6
rst/end 2+ 2.5 % recovery
rst/rch 3+ 1.88% def psi
end/rch 4+ 2.25% max end
rst/end/rch 5+ resist held 2.75%
rst 6+ 3.13 resist psi
Psionic Resistance
Titanium Coating # 6
rst/end 2+ resist sleep 2.2%
rst/rch 3+1.5% hp
end/rch 4+ resist stun 2.2%
rst/end/rch 5+ resist held 2.75%
rst 6+ def 2.5% melee
end
Aegis # 6
rst/end 2+ 5% runspeed
rst/rch 3+ 1.57% def fire/cold
end/rch 4+2.5 % debt protection
rst/end/rch 5+ 3.13 % def aoe
rst 6+ 3.13 % resist toxic
psionic/ status resistance
Dark Embrace 6 slots Impervium armor ( resist, resist/end, psionic resistance) Steadfast protection ( resist/end,resistance/+def unique) plus an Io resist
Murky cloud 4 slots Impervium armor(resist,resist/end) Steadfast protection ( resist/end, knockback protection)
Obsidian Cloud Impervium Armor ( resistance, psionic resistance) and 2 Io resists
Tough 4 slots Impervium armor (resist, resist/end) Steadfas tprotection ( resist/end, knockback protection)
For the other set options Im not going to list all the options as every other bonus is limited to 1 or 2, but just the relevant pools.
Fear:
Glimpse of the Abyss # 6
acc/rch 2+ 2.75% enhance terrorized
end/fear 3+ 1.88% hp
acc/end 4+ 9% enhance accuracy
fear/range 5+ 6.25% enhance recharge time
acc/fear/range 6+ 3.13% resist psi
chance of damage (psi)
Touch of Fear : 5 slots Glimpse of the Abyss ( acc/rch,acc/end,chance of psi damage) and 2 To hit debuff Io's
Cloak of Fear : 5 slots Glimpse of the Abyss ( end/fear,acc/rch,acc/end,acc/fear/rch) and an Io end reduction
Defense :
combat jumping: 2 slots karma( knockback protection), luck of the gambler( recharge speed 7%)
cloak of darkness: 3 slots Gift of the Ancients ( def/end, end/rch,runspeed 7 %)
Single Target Ranged:
Gloom : Decimation 3 slots ( acc/dmg, dmg/end, chance of build-up)
unset power : stamina (2 slots), superjump (1 slot),hurdle( 1 slot)
the complete bonus's from the sets are :
+ 3% defense,+1.88% defense psi, +3.13% defense aoe, +50% enhancement accuracy, +6% enhance heal,
+17.5 % enhanc recharge time, +5.5% enhance terrorized, + 202 hitpoints, mag 16 knockback protection,
immob reist 9.35%, +20% recovery,+86% regen,2.5 % resist fire, +9.38 resist neg energy, and +7.5% runspeed
This is ontop of all the normal power effects.In terms of raw power my attacks are slightly less effective but now cost less and recharge faster, the attack chain is really tight and the added chance of damage is helpfull.I love my new touch of fear.
With less end recuction in my toggles the end net gain is still in my favor with all the recovery. Concentrating on whichever bonus's you want will make you happier rather than a scattered approach,in somethings specialization is better than generalization.