Guide to the Dark Armor/Stone Melee Tank [I12]
By
kybarsfang,
Posted on: 2008-10-16 11:01 in Player Guides
Since a good bit of mitigation will be obtained through stuns, do you feel that taking Stalagmites from the Earth Mastery EPP works well for a Dark/Stone? I know it's only a chance for stun, but I figure the more sources of stun, the better, but I'm concerned that it may end up being unnecessarily redundant. What are your thoughts?
Yes, taking Stalagmites would benefit a Dark/Stone. Coupled with Oppressive Gloom and Stone Fist's somewhat reliable Chance to Stun, AFAIK you should be able to stack stuns and Stun bosses (Cannot check Mids at the moment to verify).
Seven years of heroism. Seven years of friendships. Seven years of saving the world. Seven years of virtuous selflessness.
You will return, for you are the mighty City of Paragon, the City of Heroes.
Actually, it sounds sort of redundant to me.
You have a reliable, perma-able Mag 4 AoE Stun in OG and Fault. Having more won't help you against anything but EBs, and then only when their purple triangles are down.
Tank Stalagmites are very different from Controller/Dom Stalagmites - they do more damage but only have a chance to disorient. Consider it an AoE attack first and foremost, like a Fireball you need to be near the ground to use.
Thanks for the info, Stack. I ended up selecting Conserve Energy on my build instead.
Welcome to this Issue 12 Guide to the Dark Armor/Stone Melee Tank. In the introduction here you will find a general overview of the playstyle, strengths, weaknesses, and options for the build. Below that is a power by power breakdown of the sets. Included in the descriptions are suggestions for slotting and occasionally tactics. The slotting advice applies only to enhancement values; set bonuses can of course motivate you to adjust accordingly. Details on slotting damage powers are minimal since most follow a similar damage/accuracy/endred/recharge formula, so specifics are given only when that power deviates from the norm in some way. Basic overviews of power pools and set bonuses that are likely to appeal to you follow. I don't provide any particular builds, preferring to give general guidelines instead. A close reading of this text would probably give you a pretty good idea what my own build looks like however.
. Please feel free to send me a message if you have any questions or would like to discuss anything further.
While the guide is aimed specifically towards Dark/Stone, other players using those sets may find certain elements useful. I should stress that some of the suggestions given are based on the relationship between these sets. Also, closed beta for I13 is going on as I write this and information is slowly going public. In particular, the availability of multi-builds may affect some decisions you make along the way, but in general I am ignoring this feature. There are many different ways in which people will approach multi-builds, too many to account for. Since substantial changes to APPs are also expected I haven't included detail there. By the time you access them you will have a solid feel for what would complement your build.
Dark Armor offers a modest amount of resistance to most damage types, but makes up for this with an extremely powerful heal and some control potential. It also provides a solid damage aura and some rarer benefits such as resistance to endurance reduction and powerful psionic resistance. Stone Melee is known for its great control through a mixture of stun, hold and knockdown, as well as a selection of extremely high DPA single target attacks. The two sets synergize quite well together. The ability to stack stuns from Fault and Oppressive Gloom up to a typical boss magnitude was one of the main attractions of the build for me. The repeated use of area knockdown minimizes the wander effect of stuns, a common complaint for Oppressive Gloom. While the resistances provide a reliable form of protection, the controls allow you to minimize secondary effects that plague resistance-based sets, and combined enable you to stand against strong opposition between uses of Dark Regen.
While that forms the basis of the build's effectiveness, Cloak of Fear provides an alternate method of control when stuns or knockdowns are less effective (*cough* ITF *cough cough*) as well as a to-hit debuff. This latter aspect combines nicely if you choose to develop defense as an additional layer. Cloak of Darkness, Combat Jumping, Weave and IOs can all combine to provide a meaningful amount of defense. (This option does require a significant investment of powers, as well as endurance to run them, so I don't recommend going halfway on it.)
There are, of course, issues with this particular combination. Both sets are known for being heavy on endurance, and there is truth in this. Without slotting, if you were to run all the toggles in Dark Armor and pop Dark Regen as soon as it came up you would spend a whopping 3.09 endurance per second. However the endurance cost of Dark Armor is heavily loaded towards certain powers. Dark Embrace, Murky Cloud, Obsidian Shield and Oppressive Gloom provide substantial protection for only 0.71 end/sec. These powers are thus extremely low priority for endurance slotting. Of the remaining powers, the biggest potential cost is for Dark Regeneration at a massive 33.8 endurance. Slotting this power heavily for endred brings the cost to a manageable level, but remember also that effective slotting of your other defensive layers can reduce the need to use this power in the first place.
Now consider the secondary. If you start a fight by chaining Fault, Stone Fist, Stone Mallet, Heavy Mallet and Seismic Smash, you spend 54.29 endurance in just 7.67 seconds of animation time. That number looks like a blue bar's worst nightmare, though the endurance cost is entirely in line with other powers for damage dealt, and the cost of Fault feels like a bargain given its control potential. Stone Melee has so many quick animations (and to be fair, a couple of quite slow ones) that give the impression of heavy endurance usage. As with most builds, these attacks are likely to cost far more endurance over time than toggles from your primary. It is important to analyze your own attack chain preferences when prioritizing slots. Stone Fist may seem like a relatively weak power, but if you average just a little over two uses of it for every use of Heavy Mallet, it will deal more damage and cost more endurance.
Effective slotting can thus reduce endurance problems substantially for this powerset combination. Of course, the use of IO sets and uniques that grant increased endurance or recovery can also be very helpful if influence permits.
Another major issue that comes to mind with Dark Armor is knockback protection. Generally there are two options: IOs or Acrobatics. KB protection IOs are quite expensive but do the job well. I recommend a minimum of two through most levels, with three being preferable for enemies such as Cabal or Fake Nemeses. The only set that currently provides KB protection as a bonus is Kinetic Crash. This is generally a poor choice for the build, as it likely turns knockdown powers into knockback. Alternatively you can take Acrobatics. This is less ideal since it requires an additional power pick and costs endurance to run, but if you are on a budget then it may be the only realistic option.
In play, it is important to take note of enemies that present a particular challenge. Recharge debuffs can be dangerous since much of your survival depends upon clicks. Heavy hitters that use energy, smashing or lethal damage also present potential difficulty since your resistances to those types are not as high as for some other sets. In some cases, you may find opponents have protection to some of your controls but not others. Learning the capabilities of your enemies will make a substantial difference to your effectiveness, enabling you to control or eliminate threats quickly.
That provides a general overview of the Dark/Stone build. Now on to the individual powers.
DARK ARMOR
Death Shroud: This power is in many respects a typical damage aura. It offers solid damage for its endurance cost, and being negative damage it provides a nice alternative to smashing from your secondary. By itself it is not ideal for holding aggro, since it requires a hit and ticks every two seconds, but the rest of your build will greatly improve your overall aggro maintenance. Some players take this right away, while others feel it should be left until after Stamina. It is efficient against groups, but will limit your ability to do other things and requires toggle management. Don't delay the power too long, however. It is your only source of AoE until Tremor at 35 and remains effective throughout the game.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: You will want a hefty dose of accuracy and endurance reduction, and as much damage as you can squeeze in. Optionally, you can slot for taunt. Given its damage potential, I would recommend at least 4 slots as soon as possible.[/list]Dark Embrace: This toggle provides your resistance to smashing and lethal damage. It also provides a lesser amount against toxic, and a portion of your negative resistance. It is a high priority power.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: Shoot for 56% enhancement in resistance as soon as possible. Given its minimal cost, endurance reduction is very low priority.[/list]Murky Cloud: This toggle provides your resistance to fire and cold damage, as well as lower resistance to energy and the other half of your negative resistance. It also provides resistance to endurance drains that increases as you level. You should take this at some point, although how early depends on what enemy types you expect to face. It can be vital against Outcasts, for example, but not so much against Trolls.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: Similar to Dark Embrace, resistance slotting is important but endurance reduction much less so. Slots can likely be pushed back further than with Dark Embrace.[/list]Obsidian Shield: This toggle provides a good range of mez protection, and thus is vital to your survival in many situations. Notably absent from the power are protection from immobilize and knockback. It also offers a hefty resistance to psionic damage.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: Early slotting requirements are minimal, making this a good choice as a place to slot a KB IO if you have access to one. As you approach the late game, slotting the psionic resistance becomes more useful.[/list]Dark Regeneration: An extremely powerful heal, this is a signature of the set. In most situations it will top off your health bar with plenty to spare, drastically increasing your ability to survive. Despite the heavy endurance cost I recommend taking it early.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: The endurance cost of this power is prohibitive, making endurance reduction a priority. After that you will need to find a balance of accuracy, recharge and heal that works for you. It has a solid 20' radius, so against groups of any large size it is likely to fill your health bar without any accuracy or health slotting at all. As the game progresses, you are more likely to find yourself dealing with individually tougher opponents such as AVs, making accuracy and health far more critical. If you have solid set bonuses in these areas it will help; otherwise the power is a good candidate for frankenslotting at least until more potent enhancements become available at high levels.[*]Tactics: It is important to find a balanced approach towards using this power. Used too frequently it drains your endurance quickly and results in wasted heal potential. On the other hand, if you wait until your health is too low it becomes dangerous. In particular, if you are finding knockback to be an issue then you may be off your feet at the time you want to use it. Try to rely upon control before this. If things look dire, Fault followed by Dark Regen is probably a better bet than the other way around.[/list]Cloak of Darkness: This power provides your immobilize protection, a perception bonus and 5% defense to all types. It also provides some stealth, which is a mixed blessing. While it can avoid accidental aggro, there are times when you want aggro on sight. You may wish to take it for its utility or contribution to defense, but if you want it simply for immobilize protection then Combat Jumping provides a cheaper alternative.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: If you are using this power to contribute to defense, you will want to slot for it, although you should make sure other vital powers are slotted first. Endurance reduction gives slightly better returns here than in the resistance toggles. Since this power takes defense sets, you may wish to place a KB IO here.[/list]Cloak of Fear: This aura inflicts a magnitude 2 fear (typically, enough for minions only) as well as a 5% tohit debuff on targets. Relative to Oppressive Gloom, it has advantages and disadvantages. It doesn't cause the wandering effect of stuns, and the tohit debuff can effectively stack with your defense powers. It also provides a different form of control than you otherwise have available. On the other hand, it doesn't have the same stacking potential with your secondary. It also suffers from a terrible base accuracy and a relatively high endurance cost.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: This power requires heavy slotting to be effective. Accuracy is imperative, and endurance reduction will also be valuable. Given its low accuracy and tick rate of 5 seconds, its value as an aggro aura is fairly marginal so there is little value in enhancing for taunt. Slotting tohit debuff will make it more useful to stack with defense, but remember that a debuff is resistable, so a 5% defense buff should be slotted before this. The only real benefit to enhancing fear duration is to cover misses on the next tick.[/list]Oppressive Gloom: This aura inflicts a magnitude 2 stun. It has a very low endurance cost but does cause minor damage to you when hitting enemies. Despite the power description in the game, don't be particularly concerned with this minimal amount of damage; it is barely noticeable, and OG will mitigate far more than it deals. You can stack this power with the stun from Fault to apply mag 4 or higher to a target, which is enough for a typical boss. This combination is one of most impressive options in the Dark/Stone repertoire. I would recommend Oppressive Gloom as soon as it is available.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: One of the nice things about this power is that it requires minimal slotting, functioning quite well with a modest amount of accuracy. The endurance cost of OG is practically nil. The stun duration is plenty to overlap from one tick to the next, so stun enhancement is generally helpful only when something is no longer in the aura.[*]Tactics: Oppressive Gloom does have a relatively small radius and stunned opponents can wander out of it, so you may have to adjust your positioning over time. Watch for particular opponents you wish to keep stunned and try to stay near them. As you reach higher level and become better able to chain knockdown effects, wandering can be minimized. Also, there may be times when you want to toggle the power on and off quickly. For example, you may not wish to stun opponents right away when gathering. Using a bind can be helpful in this regard.[/list]Soul Transfer: This is a self-rez power. It applies an extremely high magnitude stun around you, and revives you with health and endurance depending on how many targets are nearby. Rez powers, particularly as tier 9s, are considered useful by some and maligned by others. Its value obviously depends on how often you are defeated, and by extension how far you want to push your limits. Some may wish to take it at 49 for post-50 play.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: I wouldn't add slots to this as long as you have meaningful alternatives. Health or endurance mod will make it easier to get back into the fight quicker in some situations.[/list]
STONE MELEE
Stone Fist: As a compulsory power goes, this one is pretty good. It hits hard enough to remain useful at high levels, particularly since the long recharge of most powers in the set are likely to leave gaps in your attack chain.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: As mentioned in the introduction, the priority for slotting attacks should depend upon your own attack chain approach. This power is likely to be prominent for a long time, and should be slotted accordingly. Keep in mind that the first damage enhancement has the same effect on DPE as the first endurance reduction enhancement and provides better potential to deal burst damage. The one advantage in slotting endurance reduction first is a cheaper punchvoke effect. I would suggest avoiding the temptation to slot for recharge until you have endurance problems under control. Regardless, I try to get at least 3 or 4 slots into my attacks relatively early. The damage is meaningful in taking down tough opponents quickly, and well-slotted attacks are far more efficient.[/list]Stone Mallet: Well, whacking things with a big mallet is always fun. This power has a 50% chance to knock down an opponent which can be quite handy.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: The same advice as above basically applies here. Take a good look at your attack patterns to determine where slots provide the most benefit.[/list]Heavy Mallet: Similar to Stone Mallet but with an overhead strike. It deals greater damage than Stone Mallet with a higher knockdown chance, and the animation times are virtually the same. Early on, if you have a choice between this and Stone Mallet, it's a toss-up. At unenhanced values they provide similar amounts of damage and control over time. Heavy Mallet offers better up-front damage and control potential, but tends to suffer from damage overkill more often than Stone Mallet. Taking all three early is doable but costly, and I would only recommend it if you are willing to devote enough slots. In the later game this is likely to take a more prominent place in your chain.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: Again the same basic advice applies.[/list]Taunt: Everyone has their own opinion as to this power's importance. I will raise points that may sway your judgment only as they apply to these particular powersets. Against taking Taunt: you can run up to three taunt auras, you have access to two AoEs in your secondary, you have some degree of range in Fault and Hurl Boulder. For taking Taunt: none of the auras are autohit or have a tick rate faster than 2 seconds and you don't necessarily run them all, the other range options may not appeal to you, it has no endurance cost in an otherwise heavy build.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: Opinions are just as varied here, so I won't make any particular recommendations.[/list]Build Up: This is the power common to most attack sets, providing a 20% tohit buff and 80% damage buff for 10 seconds. Particularly at high levels of recharge, the single target burst potential of Stone Melee inside 10 seconds is very impressive, and you also have a damage aura to take advantage of the buff, making this a strong pick. The tohit buff can be of great benefit for control and aggro generation for both your primary and secondary powers.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: Generally this favours 95% recharge. Enhancing the tohit buff can be beneficial if slots are available.[/list]Fault: One of the cornerstones of the set, this short-range AoE knocks opponents down and applies a mag 2 stun, with a 50% chance of an additional mag 1 (enough for a typical lieutenant). This is a devastating control power all on its own, but takes on new boss-stunning potential when combined with Oppressive Gloom. I would delay this power to 22 only to take Stamina at 20; no longer.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: This power needs a few slots to get going but is well worth the investment. Like many AoE control powers it has an accuracy penalty that needs to be accounted for. A mixture of recharge and stun duration will enable you to apply its effects permanently. Endurance reduction can be meaningful when applied with frequency. I recommend getting 3 to 4 slots in this power immediately, aiming for 5 or 6 when possible.[*]Tactics: Effective slotting and use of this power has a huge impact on your ability to tank. Don't be afraid to use the range. It can be helpful in applying control and taunt effects against opponents outside of melee. At other times it may be more important to target the boss in your face to stack the stun with OG. Also makes a great alpha strike.[/list]Hurl Boulder: You rip up a chunk of rock and toss it at someone. How can you not love that? Unfortunately this power becomes one that is viable to skip. Its relatively slow animation and knockback make it situational, but the ability to deal damage at range and bring down fliers is useful. Skippable but a nice pick if you can take it.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: Since this power is situational and less likely to be part of a consistent chain, slotting is a lower priority than other attacks. The power could be quite functional with some accuracy and damage. Being knockback instead of knockdown, this is the one place I would consider slotting Kinetic Crash for the knockback protection.[/list]Tremor: This PBAoE has you jump into the air, knocking down opponents and dealing damage as you land. Despite the long animation, it is still AoE damage, and as such is very efficient against large groups of enemies. The knockdown is a useful addition to your control arsenal, particularly since the recharge is fairly short. It's the only AoE damage in the set, and on that basis alone I recommend taking it.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: As one of your only AoE damage sources, you will likely want to slot this power right away.[/list]Seismic Smash: This is an extremely impressive attack, dealing massive damage with a very short animation. It also applies a mag 4 hold, giving you another means to lock down a boss. A definite keeper.
<ul type="square">[*]Slotting: While certainly an attack first and control second, squeezing in some hold duration makes it easier to keep a boss held permanently and is worth considering. After 47, damage/mez Hamis make this easier to accomplish.[/list]
POWER POOLS
Fighting: Boxing provides a swift attack that could potentially fill gaps in a low recharge build, although its DPA is not competitive with attacks from Stone Melee. The real value in this pool is in Tough, which can beef up the relatively low smashing/lethal resistance in Dark Armor. Assuming 56% enhancement, the difference between having Tough or not is 70.2% resistance as opposed to 46.8%, which is very noticeable. If you are going for a defense build then Weave also becomes attractive. The toggles are relatively expensive to run, which is a consideration.
Fitness: Given the endurance constraints of these powersets Stamina seems like a given. I would plan for it at 20.
Flight: Air Superiority, like Boxing, can fill in attack chains and the knockup effect could be useful as part of that chain. Again, though, its DPA is not competitive with Stone Melee attacks, making it less appealing in a higher recharge build. Hover provides a place to slot defense sets and thus a KB IO.
Leaping: In many ways this is the ideal travel pool for Dark/Stone. Combat Jumping can replace Cloak of Darkness in providing immobilize protection if you desire, and offers something for defense-oriented builds. Acrobatics is an option for KB protection if IOs are beyond your means.
Speed: Hasten can have a dramatic impact. The long recharge, high DPA attacks of the secondary benefit greatly from recharge buffs, and clicks like Dark Regen and Fault are key to survival. Endurance concerns are obvious however, so some caution is necessary. Super Speed can be used in conjunction with Cloak of Darkness for improved stealthiness.
Other Pools: Other power pools don't offer much to the Dark/Stone tank. I leave it to the reader to investigate them if they so desire.
SET BONUSES
Defense: Assuming 56% enhancement in each, CJ, Weave, Cloak of Darkness and Cloak of Fear combine for defense to all of 19.5% and a tohit debuff of -7.8%. That's a meaningful layer of defense that can be extended further using set bonuses. The unique from Steadfast Protection provides another 3% and positional defense bonuses are readily available in many sets.
Health: A Dark Armor character will frequently find Dark Regen bringing them to full health, often with large amounts of healing to spare. Set bonuses to health can take advantage of that, making a powerful heal even more potent.
Endurance and Recovery: An effective way to reduce endurance issues, recovery is more common and tends to appear as an earlier bonus. Increases to endurance are somewhat more difficult to obtain but tend to be of greater benefit.
Recharge: The general benefits of recharge bonuses were described in the Speed pool above for Hasten. As a set bonus, obviously, you have a more consistent effect and no endurance crash.
That concludes the guide. If you were just considering playing a Dark/Stone tank, I hope you have been convinced to give it a try, and if you were just looking for some pointers on a build, then I hope you're not shaking your head in frustration
Dark Armor/Stone Melee Tank Guide [I12]