[u]II Dark Melee Powers[u]
The bulk if information here is available to everyone in game. In large part, I have copy pasted the information from City of Data and/or Mids Hero Planner. Some may note minor discrepancies in values and/or formatting from either source. I chose the value/format I felt facilitated the greatest ease for illustration and most discussions. Bare in mind these values assume a PvE setting.
Shadow Punch (available at level 1)
You wrap your fists with Negative Energy channeled from the Netherworlds, then perform a quick punch that deals minor damage. Shadow Punches cloud the target's vision, lowering his chance to hit for a short time
<ul type="square"> Melee, Minor DMG (Smash/Negative), Foe -To-hit
Damage values based on level 50 scrapper mods
[*] Base damage = 21.27 Smashing damage
3 SOs damage = 41.5 Smashing damage (Des recommended)
[*] Base damage = 31.28 Negative damage
3 SOs damage = 66.1 Negative damage (Des recommended)
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*] Base endurance cost = 4.368
3 SOs endurance reduction = 2.24 (excessive)
[*] Base recharge = 3 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 1.54 seconds
[*]Base ToHit debuff = 5.63% for 6 seconds
3 SOs ToHit debuff = 8.78% (counter productive) for 6 seconds
[*] Base range = 7 feet
[*] 5% chance to land a critical[/list]
Shadow Punch is often overlooked due to its minor DMG label. This has lead many players to skip the power entirely, an error IMHO. In truth, Shadow Punch can be pivotal to Dark Melees sustained damage output. The quick activating, short recharging nature of Shadow Punch makes the power available often and easy to insert in between harder hitting, longer recharging counter parts. Shadow Punch is dual damage type attack, Smashing and Negative Energy. The Negative Energy component becomes quite significant at higher levels as its rarely resisted. Shadow Punch should receive 5-6 slots depending on SO strategy. [u]Slot 1-2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 endurance reduction, 0-2 recharge.[u]
Shadow Punch vs Boxing will be discussed in the Dark Melee Controversies section.
Smite (available at level 1, Desmodos recommends taking at level 2)
[color=#33FFFF ] You wrap your fists with Negative Energy channeled from the Netherworlds, then perform a Smite that deals more damage than Shadow Punch, but has a longer recharge time. Smite clouds the target's vision, lowering his chance to hit for a short time. [/color]
<ul type="square"> Melee, Moderate DMG (Smash/Negative), Foe -Tohit
Damage values based on level 50 scrapper mods
[*]Base damage = 20.2 Smashing damage
3 SOs damage = 39 Smashing damage
[*]Base damage = 62.56 Negative Energy damage
3 SOs damage = 121.94 Negative Energy damage
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*] Base endurance cost = 6.86
3 SOs endurance reduction = 3.52 (excessive)
[*] Base recharge = 6 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 3.08 seconds
[*]Base ToHit debuff = 5.63% for 10 seconds
3 SOs ToHit debuff = 8.78% (counter productive) for 10 seconds
[*] Base range = 7 feet
[*] 5% chance to land a critical[/list]
Smite shares some of the attributes of Shadow Punch (fast animation, short recharge, dual damage,) but hits harder. Despite having twice the recharge of Shadow Punch, Smites recharge is still considered short. The true advantage of the power stems from its quick animation. Smite should receive 5-6 slots depending on SO strategy. [u]Slot 1-2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 endurance reduction, 0-2 recharge.[u]
Shadow Maul
(available at level 2, Desmodos recommends taking at before level 10)
[color=#33FFFF ] You wrap your entire arms with Negative Energy channeled from the Netherworlds, then perform a series of blows that deal a lot of damage over a short period of time to multiple targets in front of you. These blows cloud your target's vision, lowering his chance to hit for a short time [/color]
<ul type="square"> Melee (Cone), High DoT(Smash/Negative), Foe -To-hit
Damage values based on level 50 scrapper mods
[*] Base damage = 16.86 Smashing damage * 4
3 SOs damage = 32.7 Smashing damage * 4
[*] Base damage = 16.86 Negative Energy damage * 4
3 SOs damage = 32.7 Negative Energy damage * 4
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*] Base endurance cost = 8.53
3 SOs endurance reduction = 4.37 (excessive)
[*] Base recharge = 8 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 4.1 seconds
[*]Base ToHit debuff = 5.63% for 10 seconds
3 SOs ToHit debuff = 8.78% (counter productive) for 10 seconds
[*] Base range = 7 foot cone, capped at 5 targets
[*] 5% chance to land a critical[/list]
Shadow Maul inflicts damage over time(DOT). This means the damage is broken up into 8 components (4 Smashing/4 Negative Energy) and applied over a 2 second period. Shadow Maul is also a cone, but many players find it quite difficult to manage, covered in greater detail under Dark Melee Controversies. The cone is most easily achieved by targeting a mob in the rear of a group, but still within the 7 foot range of the power. In many instances, lining a 2nd target into the Shadow Maul cone can be simple as a quick side step. Mastering this cone can be rewarding, but true Shadow Maul enthusiast enjoys it even as a single target attack. Shadow Maul should receive 5-6 slots depending on SO strategy. [u]Slot 1-2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 endurance reduction, 0-2 recharge.[u]
Touch of Fear
(available at level 6, Desmodos recommends taking by level 38)
[color=#33FFFF ] The Netherworld is one scary place, and with but a touch, you can give your enemy a glimpse into this dark world. This will cause them to helplessly tremble in Fear. Foes in this state of panic have reduced chance to hit[/color]
<ul type="square"> Melee Fear, Foe ToHit
[*]Base fear duration = 22.35 seconds, Magnitude 3
3 SOs of fear duration = 43.6 seconds, Magnitude 3
[*] Base accuracy = 1.2
3 SOs accuracy = 2.149
[*] Base endurance cost = 8.53
3 SOs endurance reduction = 4.37 (excessive)
[*] Base recharge = 8 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 4.1 seconds
[*] Base ToHit debuff = 11.2 % for 20 seconds
3 SOs of ToHit debuff = 17.6% for 20 seconds
[*] Base range = 7 feet[/list]
Touch of Fear does not damage, instead prevents you from taking damage. ToF damage mitigation is twofold. The first aspect as the name suggest, applies the fear effect to a single target. This allows a player to effectively disable a single minion or lieutenant from attacking. The duration of ToF is substantial enough to apply multiple times on a single target, effective at disabling bosses as well. The fear affect will be discussed later in this guide. The second aspect of ToF applies a hefty ToHit debuff to the target, dramatically reducing the targets ability to hit you. ToHit Debuffs will be covered in greater detail separately in this guide.
ToF strategies vary from player to player and scenario to scenario. It can be used to disable one target while you focus on another or weaken your primary target so you can take it out. Disabling Malta Sappers seems to be the favorite usage of this power. Considered highly effective out of the box, slotting strategies are variable if you can find the extra slots. [u]Slot 1 accuracy or 1 endurance reduction [u]
Siphon Life
(available at level 8, Desmodos recommends taking by level 10)
[color=#33FFFF ] You tap the power of the Netherworld and create a life transferring conduit between a foe and yourself. This will transfer Hit Points from your enemy to yourself. Foes Siphoned in this manner have their chance to hit reduced. [/color]
<ul type="square"> Melee, Moderate DMG(Negative), Foe -To-hit, Self +HP
Damage values based on level 50 scrapper mods
[*]Base self heal = 10%
3 SOs of heal = 19.5%
[*]Base damage = 122.62 Negative Energy
3 SOs of damage = 239.02 Negative Energy
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*] Base endurance cost = 10.2
3 SOs endurance reduction = 5.23 (excessive)
[*] Base recharge = 10 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 5.13 seconds
[*]Base ToHit debuff = 5.63% for 10 seconds
3 SOs ToHit debuff = 8.78% (counter productive) for 10 seconds
[*] Base range = 7 feet
[*] 5% chance to land a critical[/list]
Siphon Life is one busy, busy little power. A mainstay of the DM attack chain, this attack does, rarely resisted, pure negative energy damage. A 10% heal seems anemic at first, but like much of Dark Melee, its affect is subtle. When measured over time, Siphon Life is competitive with other self heals from scrapper secondaries. The challenge is to ensure Siphon Life hits the target. Trying to slot Siphon Life is a major challenge. Without IOs and HOs its impossible to take advantage of all its goodness. For DM/DA specifically, I recommend forgoing the heals. [u] Slot 1-2 acc, 3 damage, 0-1 recharge, 1 endurance reduction[u]
Confront (available at level 12, Desmodos does not recommend taking this power)
[color=#33FFFF ] Challenges a foe to attack you. Useful to pull a villain off an ally who finds themselves in over their head. A To-Hit check required to Taunt enemy players, but is not needed against critter targets[/color]
<ul type="square"> Ranged, Foe Taunt
[*]Base taunt duration = 23.1 seconds, Magnitude 4
3 SOs of taunt duration = 45 seconds, Magnitude 4
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs accuracy = 1.949 (irrelevant outside of PvP)
[*] Base recharge = 3 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 1.54 seconds
[*] Base range = 70 feet
3 SOs of range = 109.2 feet[/list]
Confront can be very useful as explained in the description. Simply put, annihilating a mob is just as effective in dissuading it from attacking your team mate. Confront also has the added benifit a 75% range debuff, forcing ranged mobs to move in closer to you. While there are situations where Confront would be ideal, those are simply too infrequent to justify selecting the power. Its not that the power is not effective, there are simply better, more effective choices.
Dark Consumption (available at level 18, Desmodos recommends taking by level 30)
[color=#33FFFF ] You tap into the energy of the Netherworld to protect yourself from damage. The dark power of the Netherworld allows you to tap the essence of your foe's soul and transfer it to yourself. This will drain the Hit Points of your enemy and add to your Endurance.[/color]
<ul type="square"> PBAoE Moderate DMG(Negative), Self +End
Damage values based on level 50 scrapper mods
[*]Base endurance recovered = 25 per target
3 SOs of endurance modification = 48.7
[*]Base damage = 50.05 Negative Energy
3 SOs of damage = 97.99 Negative Energy
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*] Base recharge = 180 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 92.3 seconds
[*] DC has a radius of 8 feet but is capped at 10 targets.
[*] 5% chance to land a critical[/list]
For many, Dark Consumption represents a god send to endurance management. While the power does acceptable damage for an AoE, the recharge makes its use as an attack quite weak. Its best use remains as means of quickly replenishing your endurance bar. A successful hit on 4 targets will replenish your endurance from 0 to 100. Youll need accuracy to hit your targets and you will want recharge reduction to make the power available as often as possible. [u]Slot 1-2 acc, 3 recharge reduction [u]
Soul Drain (available at level 26, Desmodos recommends taking at level 26)
[color=#33FFFF ] Using this power, you can drain the essence of all nearby foes' souls, thus increasing your own strength. Each affected foe will lose some Hit Points and add to your Damage and chance to hit. [/color]
<ul type="square"> PBAoE Moderate DMG(Negative), Self +DMG, +To-hit
Damage values based on level 50 scrapper mods
[*]Base ToHit buff = 10% per target, for 30 seconds
3 SOs of ToHit buff = 15.58% first target only, for 30 seconds (nice to have)
[*]Base damage buff = 50% (unenhanceable) first target only, for 30 seconds
[*]Base ToHit buff = 2% per target(including the first target), for 30 seconds
3 SOs of ToHit buff = 3.12% per target, for 30 seconds (nice to have)
[*]Base damage buff = 10% (unehanceable0 per target (including the first target), for 30 seconds
[*]Base damage = 62.56 Negative Energy
3 SOs of damage = 121.94 Negative Energy (nice to have)
[*] Base accuracy = 1.2
3 SOs accuracy = 2.149 (excessive)
[*] Base endurance cost = 15.6
3 SOs endurance reduction = 8 (excessive)
[*] Base recharge = 120 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 61.6 seconds (Des recommended)
[*] SD has a radius of 10 feet but is capped at 10 targets
[*] 5% chance to land a critical[/list]
In Soul Drain, we have yet again a power that does good AoE damage but the base recharge renders the power inept as an attack. It does however have the opportunity to be the mother of all build ups. While saturated Soul Drain exceeds the damage and to hit buff of Build UP, its not what makes Soul Drain so appealing. Its the duration. Five targets struck by Soul Drain amounts the same buff as Build Up, but when utilized over 30 seconds constitutes more damage. It is proper utilization of Soul Drain that brings Dark Melee on par with other scrapper primaries. You want to power available to you as early as possible as often as possible. [u]Slot 1-2 Accuracy, 3 recharge[u]
Midnight Grasp (available at level 32, Desmodos recommends taking at level 32)
[color=#33FFFF ] Mastery over the forces of the Netherworld allows you to create dark tentacles that can Immobilize a foe and continuously drain his life force[/color]
<ul type="square"> Melee, Superior DMG(Negative), Foe Immobilize, -To-hit
[*]Base damage = 138.26 Negative Energy
3 SOs of damage = 269.51 Negative Energy (Des recommended)
[*]Base damage = 6.26 Negative Energy * 5
3 SOs of damage = 12.20 Negative Energy * 5 (Des recommended)
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*] Base endurance cost = 12
3 SOs endurance reduction = 6.14 (excessive)
[*] Base recharge = 15 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 7.7 seconds (nice to have)
[*]Base ToHit debuff = 5.63% for 20 seconds
3 SOs ToHit debuff = 8.78% (counter productive) for 20 seconds
[*]Range = 7 feet.
[*]Base immobilize = 17.88 seconds, Magnitude 3
3SOs immobilize = 34.9 seconds, Magnitude 3(counter productive)
[*] 5% chance to land a critical[/list]
Despite the cool graphical effect of the tentacles, slotting for immobilize is irrelevant. The effect will only animate if the target is immobilized. The damage is why you take this power. Now competitive with any scrapper tier 9, MG is a mainstay of any DM attack chain. Midnight Grasp should receive 5-6 slots depending on SO strategy. [u]Slot 1-2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 endurance reduction, 0-2 recharge.[u]
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
[u]III Dark Armor Powers[u]
Dark Embrace (available at level 1, Desmodos recommends taking at level one, dont actually have a choice anyways)
[color=#33FFFF ] You tap into the energy of the Netherworld to protect yourself from damage. This Dark Embrace shrouds you and grants resistance to Lethal, Smashing, Negative Energy and Toxic damage. [/color]
<ul type="square">Toggle: Self +Res(Smash, Lethal, Negative, Toxic)
[*]Base resistance to Smashing and Lethal damage = 22.5%
3 SOs resistance = 35.1 (Des recommended)
[*]Base resistance to Toxic and Negative damage = 15%
3 SOs resistance = 23.4% (Des recommended)
[*]Base endurance cost = 0.21 EPS
3 SOs endurance reduction = 0.11 EPS (excessive)[/list]
While forced into the power at level 1, it would have been considered an essential power regardless. Smashing and Lethal damage are the most common types of damage in the game. Like many powers in Dark Armor, not really too impressive by its self, but becomes essential when combined with other toggles. Prior to SO level slotting, these resistance values are neglible. You will want 4 slots in this power by your 20s. I recommend filling them with endurance reduction until you have SOs. Once SOs are available, switch to [u]1 endurance reduction and 3 damage resistance.[u]
Dark Embrace is the first of Dark Armors basic three toggles. The basic three refers to Dark Embrace, Murky Cloud and Obsidian Shield. These three toggles comprise Dark Armors resistances and are the back bone of its damage mitigation. I will refer to the basic three toggles periodically throughout this guide.
Death Shroud (available at level 2, Desmodos recommends taking before level 10)
[color=#33FFFF ] You become a focus point for the Netherworld, allowing its Negative Energy to seep from your body. This will continuously damage all foes in melee range. [/color]
<ul type="square">Toggle: PBAoE Minor DoT(Negative)
[*] Base damage 12.51 negative damage
3 SOs damage = 24.4 (Des recommended)
[*]Base endurance cost = 0.52 EPS
3 SOs endurance reduction = 0.27 EPS
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs of accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*]DS has an 8 foot radius but is capped at 10 targets.[/list]
Death Shroud one of those highly under rated powers because of the subtle nature of its effectiveness. Those who learn to understand its subtlety know it by another name; Minion Muncher. Most players that select this power usually have the same initial reaction; OMG THE END DRAIN!! This is misleading as you need to recognize that Death Shroud is an endurance management tool and an attack.
As far as attacks go, its considered to be very endurance efficient. Death Shroud does Negative Energy damage, which is rarely resisted. When properly leveraged, Death Shroud will be the highest damaging attack on any Dark Armor build. Its peak effectiveness will be in large spawns, typically associated with full teams. While each tic of Death Shroud seems anemic, its an AoE that fires every 2 seconds. These anemic tics start to add up very quickly. Basic strategy is to go after the meanest target or the one with the most hit points. As the rest of the spawn surrounds you, Death Shroud does its magic. When the initial target is defeated, the remaining mobs will be at significantly less HP thus requires less attacks from the player. When stacked on with buffs and other AoEs, the need to attack minions is removed entirely. Potentially, Death Shroud allows you to defeat 10 targets for the price of one. Slot as an attack, [u]1-2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1-2 endurance reduction[u]
Murky Cloud (available at level 4, Desmodos recommends take before level 24)
[color=#33FFFF ] You create a Murky Cloud enshrouding you. This cloud can absorb all forms of energy, making you more resistant to Fire, Cold, Energy, and Negative Energy attacks, as well as Endurance Drain effects. [/color]
<ul type="square">Toggle: Self +Res(Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, End Drain)
[*]Base resistance to fire and cold = 22.5%
3 SOs resistance = 35.1% (Des recommended)
[*]Base resistance to Energy and Negative Energy = 15%
3 SOs resistance = 23.4%
[*]Base endurance cost = 0.21 EPS
3 SOs endurance reduction = 0.11 EPS (excessive)
[*]MC does offer 69.2% resistance to endurance drain and recovery debuffs at level 50. This value scales according to your level, see in game attribute monitors for actual value at your current level.[/list]
Murky Cloud is the 2nd toggle of the basic three. Like DE, not very impressive by its self. Murky Cloud is often labeled the exotic resistance toggle, which is somewhat in misleading. It has fair resistance to Fire and Cold, but the resistances to Energy and Negative Energy are quite small. Negative Energy has the benefit of stacking with the equal amount in Dark Embrace, making Dark Armors total Negative Energy resistance significant. The Energy resistance however, has nothing to stack with. This creates what becomes Dark Armors for glaring hole in its mitigation. Anyone playing Dark Armor will need to keep this weakness to Energy Damage in mind and decide how to counter it. Strategies for dealing with Energy Damage are discussed later in the guide. So slotting for the basic three is the same, [u]1 endurance reduction, 3 damage resistance.[u]
Obsidian Shield (available at level 10, Desmodos recommend taking at level 10)
[color=#33FFFF ] You can create a special Obsidian Shield that grants good resistance to Psionic damage. With your mind enshrouded in darkness you are protected from Sleep, Fear, Hold and Disorient attacks[/color]
<ul type="square">Toggle: Self +Res (Psionic, Sleep, Hold, Disorient, Fear)
[*] Base resistance to Psionic damage = 37.5%
3 SOs resistance = 58.5% (Des recommended)
[*]Base endurance cost = 0.21 EPS
3 SOs endurance reduction = 0.11 EPS (excessive)
[*] OS does offer protection to Stuns, holds, Sleeps, and Fear at magnitude -10.38 at level 50. This value scales according to your level, see in game attribute monitors for actual value at your current level.[/list]
Obsidian Shield comprises most of Dark Armors status protection. Notably absent from this protection are knockback and immobilization. While immobilization can be found in another Dark Armor toggle, knockback protection cannot. This will have a significant effect on how you play and level up your Dark Armor scrapper. Knockback mitigation will be covered in further detail elsewhere in the guide.
Obsidian Shield also grants Dark Armor its much heralded Psionic resistance. While available to a smaller extent in other mitigation sets, Obsidian Shields Psionic resistance is the envy of all mitigation sets. So slotting for the basic three is the same, [u]1 endurance reduction, 3 damage resistance.[u]
Dark Regeneration (Available at level 16, Desmodos recommends taking at level 16)
[color=#33FFFF ] You can tap the dark essence of the Netherworld to drain a small amount of life from all enemies nearby, thus healing yourself. The more foes affected, the more you will be healed. [/color]
<ul type="square">PBAoE Minor DMG(Negative), Self Heal
[*] Base recharge = 30 seconds
3 SOs of recharge = 15.4 seconds
[*]Base heal per target = 30%
3 SOs of heal = 58.5% (nice to have)
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs of accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*] Base endurance cost = 33.8
3SOs of endurance reduction = 17.3 (Des recommended)
[*] Base damage = 12.51 Negative Damage
3 SOs damage = 24.4 (Ummmmmm, NO!)
[*] Dark Regeneration has a 20 foot radius but is capped at 10 targets.[/list]
Dark Regenerations simultaneously Dark Armors most powerful mitigation tool and the source of its greatest weakness. Dark Regeneration is the biggest self heal in the game, unless you miss. Dark Regeneration is also your greatest enemy in the struggle to manage your endurance. It is the power you always want at the ready, but hope to never use. Most effective use of Dark Regeneration is when you hit points are at their lowest, but be careful. That burst heal comes at the end of the animation (1.17 seconds) and a small delay (0.25 seconds). Wait too long and Dark Regeneration will finish animating just in time to start your death animaton.
Typically Dark Regeneration becomes you alpha negator. Run into a spawn, let your resistance toggles absorb the alpha, recoup all you loses with Dark Regeneration. Without mez toggles (CoF/OG) your hit points can be lost again quickly. You will rely heavily on Dark Regeneration until you mez toggles are in place. You need up quickly and you need to cut the endurance costs down, pronto. Play Dark Armor long enough and you will encounter the dreaded Dark Regeneration misses, ten times on the same activation. Dont forget the accuracy. [u]Slot 1-2 accuracy, 2-3 recharge, 2-3 endurance reduction.[u]
Cloak of Darkness (Available at level 20, recommendation dependant on pool powers)
[color=#33FFFF ] A shroud of Netherworld darkness envelops you, making you difficult to spot at a distance. You can be seen only at close range, or if you attack a target. Even if seen, the Cloak of Darkness grants you a bonus to Defense to all attacks and some protection from Immobilization. This Netherworld Cloak also allows you to see things in a new light, allowing you to better see stealthy foes. Unlike some stealth powers, Cloak of Darkness has no movement penalty. Cloak of Darkness will not work with any other form of Concealment power such as Shadow Fall or Steamy Mist [/color]
<ul type="square">Toggle: Self Stealth, +DEF(All), +Perception, Res (Immobilize)
[*] Stealth = 35 feet not enhanceable
[*] Immobilization protection = 10.38 Magnitude. This value scales according to your level, see in game monitors for actual value at your current level.
[*] Base defense to Smashing, Lethal, Energy, Negative Energy, Psionic, Fire, Cold, Melee, Range, AoE = 3.8%
3 SOs of defense = 5.9%
[*] Base endurance cost = 0.26 EPS
3 SOs of endurance reduction = 0.13 EPS (excessive)
[*] Perception = 60% This is an increase to base perception which scales according to level, check you in game attribute monitors for actual perception.[/list]
Cloak of Darkness is Dark Amors first optional power. It contains Dark Armors inherent immobilization protection, but its often replaced with Combat Jumping from the Leaping pool. While the Magnitude of the immobilization protection in both powers is the same, Cloak of Darkness offers twice the defense. Despite this, the defense value in both powers is too small to be a consideration for this choice. Cloak of Darkness still offers combat insuppressible stealth, additional perception and resistance to negative perception. Many chose to take to power for its utility. [u]Slot 1 endurance reduction [u]
The effectiveness of Cloak of Darkness changes significantly when IOs are added to the equation. IOs will be discussed separately in this guide.
IMHO, the description of Cloak of Darkness is misleading. It suggests the stealth portion of the power cannot be stacked with any other power, which is incorrect. Cloak of Darkness stealth will stack Super Speed stealth. Team stealths such as Shadow Fall and Steamy Mist will stack on top of Cloak of Darkness. The description is intended to indicate the same player cant run Steamy Mist and Cloak of Darkness at once. This statement is irrelevant as Dark Armor does not have access to Shadow Fall or Steamy Mist. It is possible for a player to select Stealth from Pool powers, in which case this description does apply. You cannot run Pool Power Stealth and Cloak of Darkness simultaneously. Toggling one on turns off the other.
Cloak of Fear (Available at level 28, Desmodos recommend taking at level 28)
[color=#33FFFF ] You can wrap yourself in a nightmarish Cloak of Fear. Foes close to you are treated to visions most horrific, forcing them to tremble in terror, only attacking if attacked, and even then, at a reduced chance to hit. [/color]
<ul type="square">Toggle: PBAoE Foe Fear, -To-hit
[*] Base endurance cost = 0.52 EPS
3 SOs endurance reduction = 0.27 EPS (Des recommended)
[*] Base accuracy = 0.67
3 SOs accuracy enhancement = 1.619 (nice to have)
[*] Base ToHit debuff = 5% for 5 seconds
3 SOs of ToHit Debuff = 7.8% for 5 seconds (nice to have)
[*] Base fear duration = 7.45 seconds, Magnitude 2
3SOs of fear duration = 14.5 seconds, Magnitude 2 (superfluous)
[*] CoF has a radius of 8 feet but is capped at 10 targets.[/list]
Cloak of Fear is Dark Armors first mez toggle. The mez toggles are designed to reduce the incoming damage by disabling the minions from the spawn. This allows the player to focus exclusively on bosses and lieutenants. While there are some advantages to running both mez toggles, it is not necessary, making Cloak of Fear optional.
While available seven levels earlier than its competitor (Oppressive Gloom), it requires some slotting before it can be effective. Many players shun Cloak of Fear for its endurance costs, which fuel the Cloak of Fear Controversies. An accuracy penalty was placed on Cloak of Fear, adding to the controversies. To be effective, youll need to [u]slot 3 endurance reduction and 1-3 accuracy.[u]
Cloak of Fear is one Dark Armors oldest and greatest controversies. While is recent issues, more players have come to accept Cloak of Fear, the bad press of the past has not yet subsided. Ill be addressing these issues in a separate section of the guide.
Oppressive Gloom (Available at level 35, Desmodos does not recommend taking this power)
[color=#33FFFF ] The Netherworld has many mutable properties, such as the Oppressive Gloom. This power allows you to use your own Hit Points to keep enemies near you Disoriented and unable to use any powers. [/color]
<ul type="square">Toggle: PBAoE, Foe Disorient, Self HP
[*] Base endurance cost = 0.08 EPS
3 SO of endurance reduction = 0.04 EPS (excessive)
[*] Base health cost = -6.26 HP per target. This means you take damage. Thankfully, unenhanceable.
[*] Base stun = 7.15 seconds, Magnitude 2
3 SOs of stun enhancement = 13.9 seconds, Magnitude 2
[*]OG has an 8 foot radius but is capped at 10 targets.[/list]
Oppressive Gloom is Dark Armors 2nd mez toggle, making it optional for the same reason as CoF. Oppressive Gloom stuns mobs, making them stagger about aimlessly, dropping any toggles they might be running. While available later in the build, Oppressive Gloom has the benefit of being ready right out the box, no slotting required. [u]Slot 1 accuracy[u]
Players new to Oppressive Gloom often cite the loss of hit points as a deterrent from selecting the power. This is a misconception as the amount of damage mitigated by Oppressive Gloom dwarfs the self inflicted damage of Oppressive Gloom.
Since superficially, CoF and OG serve the same function, there is little benefit to running both powers together. The means by which these powers achieve their function differs dramatically and thus sparks the great CoF vs OG debate. Ill go into details on this debate in the Cloak of Fear Controversies section.
Soul Transfer (Available at level 38, Desmodos does not recommend taking this power)
[color=#33FFFF ] Should you fall in battle, you can perform a Soul Transfer, sucking the life force of all foes around you to bring yourself back from the brink of death. The more foes nearby, the more life is restored to you. Drained foes are left Disoriented. The dark effects of this Soul Transfer will actually leave you invulnerable for a brief time, and protected from XP Debt for 90 seconds. There must be at least one foe nearby to fuel the Transfer and revive yourself. [/color]
<ul type="square">Self Rez, Special
[*] Base heal = 21.6 %
3 SOs heal enhancement = 42.1 %
[*] Base accuracy = 1
3 SOs of accuracy = 1.949 (excessive)
[*] Base damage = 62.6 Negative Energy
3 SOs of damage = 122 Negative Energy
[*] Base endurance recovered = 30
3 SOs of endurance modification = 58.5
[*] Base recharge = 300 seconds
3 SOs recharge = 153.9 seconds
[*] Base stun enhancement = 11.92 seconds, Magnitude 30
3 SOs stun enhancement = 23.2 seconds, Magnitude 30
[*] Base immobilization = (to self) 4 seconds, Magnitude 50, unenhanceable
[*] Base untouchable = 15 seconds, Magnitude 10, unenhanceable
[*] XP debt protection = 90 seconds, unenhanceable[/list]
Soul Transfer is not your standard self resurrection power. It requires a successful hit on a target in range. Each target successfully hit will recoup 21.6% of your health and 30 points of endurance (base values). If youre quick enough, you could turn on all your toggles during the stun duration, provided you hit every target. Should you fail to flee or re-toggle in time, 90 seconds of debt protection will make your re-defeat less painful
..sort of. Soul Transfer has a lengthy recharge so youll want to [u]Slot 1-3 recharge.[u]
In general terms, I am not a fan of Self Resurrection powers. My strategies lean towards choosing powers that will keep me alive. IMHO, a Self Rez is the equivalent of planning to die. Soul Transfers stuns and damage offer some strategic opportunities, but it remains a situational power at best.
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
[u]IV Dark Melee Controversies[u]
History
Until recently, Dark Melee changed little since the release of City of Heroes. The most recent changes were quite significant, so I may as well cover all of them. At release, Siphon Life did not accept heal enhancements, this changed Issue 2 though at the time the impact was minor outside of HOs. Issue 3 changed all drain type power which directly affected Siphon Life, Soul Drain and Dark Consumption to be consistent regardless of target level. Prior to this change, the buff granted depended on the level of the target, higher levels granted lower buffs. All fear powers were altered, making Touch of Fear more useful as most feared targets would no longer run away. Taunt was renamed Confront to distinguish it from the Tanker version.
Issue 5 brought the first significant changes to Dark Melee. Aggro and target cap changes affected Shadow Maul, Dark Consumption, and Soul Drain. Prior to this change, it was possible for a scrapper to herd up entire maps, hit all of them with Soul Drain (immediately attaining damage cap) and then Shadow Mauling all of them at once. After Issue 5, Shadow Mauls cap was lowered to 5. Dark Consumption was lowered to 10. Soul Drain should have been lowered to 10, but was instead lowered to 7. All scrapper attacks were also increased but to which degree I cannot verify.
Issue 6 introduced Enhancement Diversification and the rule of 3 SOs. Issue 7 exempted all melee powers from ranged debuffs. Issue 9 introduced inventions.
A July 22, 2008 patch (2 months after Issue 12) brought Dark Melees first major change. Animations for several melee attacks were brought in line for consistency, which included Shadow Punch. This change made the animation time and the activation time the same. The result was an increase to SPs activation time from 0.57 sec to 0.83 sec and decrease in it's animation time from 1.0 sec to 0.83 sec. This change was perceived as dramatic decrease Shadow Punchs DPA and the Buzzsaw play style. (see Buzzsaw section for details)
Issue 13 brought major changes to Soul Drain, Midnights Grasp, and Siphon Life. Siphon Life had its recharge reduced and its damage increased, making it very attractive in attack chains. Midnights Grasp had its upfront damage increased significantly and its trailing DoT shortened. Soul Drains buff was increased for its first target and reduced for additional targets. This made SD considerably more affective against single targets without significant change against large groups.
Shadow Punch vs Boxing
One popular option for scrappers is the selection of Fighting Pool for Tough and/or Weave. To access these powers, players have to take a prerequisite Boxing or Kick, Boxing being the most popular choice. As builds get tight, players start looking to drop powers from primaries or secondaries which sparks the Shadow Punch vs Boxing debate. At first glance, Shadow Punch and Boxing appear to be very similar, leading players to the false conclusion of Boxing is an acceptable replacement for Shadow Punch. Close analysis of the two powers reveals Shadow Punch is superior to Boxing in nearly every way, which is as it should be.
Shadow Punch does more damage than Boxing. Base value for Shadow Punch is 52.55 (broken up into 21.27 Smashing and 31.28 Negative Energy). Base Value for Boxing is 47.55 Smashing damage. While these two values seem close, Shadow Punch inches ahead due to the rarely resisted Negative Energy component. When Shadow Punch criticals; the entire value of the critical is delivered as Negative Energy damage. Shadow Punch also has an increased chance to critical against non-minions.
Shadow Punch animates faster than Boxing. Boxing does recharge faster but the key to sustained high damage output is animation time. Recharge times can be reduced, animation times cannot. An attack chain that replaced Shadow Punch for Boxing will yield less damage the more often you use it. At higher levels, against targets with greater hit points, and against Smash/lethal mobs the disparity between Boxing and Shadow Punch becomes increasingly evident.
Shadow Punch and Boxing can work well together. If you have the available slots, place both Shadow Punch and Boxing in the attack chain. On an IO build, slots become scarce, making slot investments in Boxing dubious. Even in builds that drop Shadow Punch, Boxing may be selected to open up Fighting Pool, not as a replacement for Shadow Punch. In such builds, Boxing is generally left unslotted.
Buzzsaw
There was a time when Buzzsaw builds dominated Dark Melee discussions. The intent of these builds was to chain quick animating and quick recharging attacks in succession. PROCs placed in these attacks could be utilized more significantly since those attacks were used more frequently. At the peak of their popularity, activation times were widely known but not animation times. Since the system uses the greater of the two, it's been suggested Buzzsaw builds were never as powerful as theorized. Arcanatime also revealed several attack chain misconceptions. Some players still use buzzsaw but its popularity waned drastically due to changes in Siphon Life and Midnights Grasp. This is not to suggest Buzzsaw attack chains are bad or were nerfed, rather that SL and MG changes are generally more appealing for scrappers.
Shadow Maul Debate
No power engenders as much debate amongst Dark Melee enthusiast as Shadow Maul.
Most common statement made by Shadow Maul naysayers; Shadow Maul gets you killed. This is based on the fact Shadow Maul has the 2nd longest animation (3.07 seconds) of any scrapper primary (1k Cuts is number 1, Spine Burst is number 3). Once activated, like most melee attacks, you are committed to that animation. Players often fail to notice their situation prior to activating Shadow Maul and then blame the power for their demise.
Another area of contention is the ease of use for Shadow Mauls cone. Some players have little or no difficulty learning to use this cone, adding AoE potential to Dark Melee. While the endurance efficiency of Shadow Maul on a single target is quite good, the lengthy animation is not. In the times it takes for use Shadow Maul, a player could use Shadow Punch, Smite and a start a 3rd attack. Shadow Punch and Smite alone would out damage Shadow Maul, adding in any 3rd attack yield greater damage in the same time frame. Shadow Maul enthusiasts find opportunities to utilize its cone present themselves frequently and incidentally. Minimal effort is required to manipulate mobs for greater Shadow Maul cone opportunities. If a player continues to struggle with Shadow Mauls cone, its value becomes increasingly diminished.
Issue 13 has many players that previously passed up on Shadow Maul giving it a second glance. The melee range increase translates to greater ease use for Shadow Mauls narrow cone. At this time its unclear how big an impact with will have on Shadow Mauls popularity as it does not address animation concerns.
Midnight Grasp Debate
For most, Issue 13 hammered in the final nails of this debates coffin. Since sentiments surrounding long standing debates tend to linger, its worth addressing briefly. Prior to Issue 13, Midnight Grasps damage output was divided into 60% upfront damage with 40% trailing as a DOT over 10 seconds. After Issue 13, Midnight Grasp was buffed to 79% upfront damage with 21% as a DOT over 3 seconds. For many players, the pre-I13 MG damage was stretched over too long a period to be of significant use. Since Issue 13, few would debate MG importance in a DM attack chain.
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
[u]V Dark Armor Controversies[u]
History
Anyone picking the game today will have a difficult time understanding where or how all the Dark Armor Controversies came about. CoX has undergone many changes since release and some power sets were affected more significantly than others. Dark Armor falls under the category of significantly affected. At release, most toggles could not be run simultaneously. This meant players had to choose smash/lethal protection from Dark Embrace or status protection from Obsidian Shied, you could not have both. Hard as it is to believe today, but players still manage to level DM/DA to 50. One popular approach was running Obsidian Shield, Cloak of Fear, and Provoke.
At release, all fear powers caused affected mobs to flee in terror. Players quickly learned Provoke overrode the flee effect. Mobs stuck to you and cowered in place. Eventually, shortly after Issue 3, the devs came to their senses and allowed shields to stack. Stacking armors became a blessing for everyone else and began the bad press for Dark Armor.
The shields were never balanced around the idea of running them all at once. The total endurance cost became virtually unmanageable. Dark Embrace, Obsidian Shield, Murky Cloud and Cloak of Darkness all cost 0.39 EPS. Cloak of Fear cost 0.71 EPS. Players managed by stocking up on blue skittles and 6 slotting Stamina (prior to ED). With Issue III came Epic Power pools, making Conserve Power extremely attractive. Issue III also changed fear from a scattering power to a cowering power, now negating the need for Provoke. Initially, cowering mobs could retaliate if attacked or debuffed, but this appears to have been a bug (I cannot verify at what point it was corrected).
Issue IV brought Dark Armor a series of minor buffs. Today these buffs seem more significant. Murky Cloud was granted endurance drain protection. Cloak of Darkness was granted immobilization protection and increased perception. Obsidian Shield was granted Fear protection. Cloak of Fear however, receive its first nerf. It was decided the Issue 3 fear changes made CoF too powerful so the accuracy and the fear duration were lowered.
Issue V brought sweeping changes to City of Heroes and completely changed how the game was played. Like all melee PbAoEs; Dark Regeneration, Cloak of Fear and Death Shroud were now capped at 10 targets. The days of herding maps were over. I5 also introduced the Global Defense Nerf which reduced the defense values across every power, including Cloak of Darkness. Cloak of Fear still deemed too powerful and had it ToHit Debuff nerfed. The devs did acknowledge Dark Armors endurance costs were excessive and reduced the endurance costs of Dark Embrace, Murky Cloud, and Obsidian Shield from 0.39 EPS to 0.21 EPS.
Issue VI introduced Enhancement Diversification. This made placing more the 3 of the same type of enhancement in any power pointless. This brought about the end of 6 slotted Stamina and Hasten, dramatically changing how players built their characters. This cut the potential resistance values of all powers by 30%. The endurance costs of all powers were lowered by 13.33%, bringing Dark Armor toggles to todays endurance costs. Cloak of Darkness was changed to provide defense to all types (I am unclear as to what types it defended against prior to I6).
Since Issue 6, no changes have been made to Dark Armor. Issue 9 did introduce Invention Sets, which opened many different strategies for building Dark Armor.
Death Shroud
One common complaint regarding Dark Armor is the endurance cost of running Death Shroud. Desperate to reduce the over endurance costs of Dark Armor some chose to avoid Death Shroud entirely. In truth, Death Shroud saves endurance usage for Dark Armor. The greatest source of endurance drain on any scrapper is your attacks. Attacks generally recharge fast and are used very frequently. The less you need to use your attacks the more endurance you save. Running Death Shroud reduces the amount attacks to need to direct towards each mob. Typically, if you target the mob with the greatest hit points (usually the boss) with a single-target attack chain, Death Shroud will eat away at the remaining members of the spawn. Properly slotted, Death Shroud can defeat minions in the time it takes to take down your typical boss, hence the term Minion Muncher. This dramatically reduces the endurance cost of taking down a spawn as you do not need to attack minions directly. Granted this method utilizes AoE and cone attacks from your primary. Combining Soul Drain with Death Shroud elevates the power to compete with virtually any AoE set. On full teams, saturating Soul Drain is fairly easy, more than tripling the base damage for 30 seconds at a time. (base + enhancements+ SD buff).
Cloak of Fear vs. Death Shroud
Due to the Issue III bug, a misconception about fear affects still lingers. Its mostly likely true that at a some point in CoXs history, feared mobs would retaliate at their normal rate once they had been disturbed. This lead to the idea that each tic from Death Shroud would break the fear affect, allowing mobs to attack at will; essentially canceling out Cloak of Fear. Today, this simply is not true. It hasnt been since sometime before Issue IV.
Feared mobs will generally cower for the duration of the fear unless they are attacked. I say generally as this depends greatly on the AI of the individual mob. This gets more complex once the mob gets attacked. Mobs attacked while feared can retaliate but do so at a significantly reduced rate. I have never seen any conclusive evidence as to how much that rate is reduced as attack rates can vary by mob type. In addition, some mobs AI direct them to stay out of melee range and attack from a distance. These mobs do not attack when disturbed, instead run away and cower at a distance. (i.e. CoT Air Casters and Family Button Man) All of these behavioral oddities continue perpetuate the tit for tat misconception.
Cloak of Fear and Death Shroud in fact work very nicely together. The decreased attack rate of feared mobs is quite significant. Cowering mobs generally stay in range of Death Shroud, maximizing the endurance management benefit of running both powers. Learning to recognize the mobs types that behave oddly when feared can reduce the affect in most scenarios.
Cloak of Fear vs. Oppressive Gloom
The debate over Cloak of Fear vs. Oppressive is Dark Armors only legitimate one. After its numerous nerfs, Cloak of Fear became very unappealing to players. To be considered effective, it requires 6 slots (3accuracy and 3 endurance reduction). After all this slotting CoF seemingly serves the same function as Oppressive Gloom with single slot for accuracy. With no slot investment required and virtually no endurance costs Oppressive Gloom seems like an obvious choice for the majority of scrapper primaries.
Dark Melee was always a special case. With Dark Melee, Soul Drain and Dark Consumption lessened the pit falls of Cloak of Fear to a significant degree. Touch of Fear combined with Cloak of Fear allowed for effective fearing bosses and/or Lts in addition to all minions, not possible for stuns using Oppressive Gloom. Most Dark Melee attacks include a ToHit debuff, which stack directly on top of the ToHitt debuff of Cloak of Fear. In keeping with the Soul Drain + Death Shroud combo, feared mobs generally cower in place, remaining in Death Shroud range. Mobs stunned by Oppressive Gloom generally wander in and out of Death Shroud range, deceasing Death Shroud's effectiveness. Prior to IOs, most DM/DA players still chose to go with Oppressive Gloom for the reduced endurance costs and ease of slotting.
Invention sets have altered the debate significantly. In general, players want to get set bonuses out of every power they can. This often leads to placing more slots into powers that previously would not have received any additional slotting. This negates one Oppressive Gloom advantage, as it too now gets additional slotting. Global accuracy bonuses, Max endurance bonuses, and recovery bonuses can all be used to overcome Cloak of Fears pitfalls. IOs also offer the opportunity to inject a considerable amount of defense into Dark Armor. Defense and net ToHit debuffs basically stack, significantly increasing your survivability. This places the debate of Cloak of Fear vs. Oppressive Gloom into the hands of the individual preference and synergy with the primary. There is of course the increasingly popular choice of running both.
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
VI
[u]VI Necessary Mechanics[u]
Defense
Its important to have a basic understanding of defense when playing City of Heroes in general, Dark Armor specifically. The mechanics that drive defense are in my opinion rather complicated and confusing. I strongly recommend reading Arcana's Guide to Defense v1.4 - Updated for I7 at least once. OK twice. For the sake of this guide Ill only mention few points on defense. You need to remember soft cap is at 45% defense. Each point of defense closer to soft cap will be increasingly more noticeable. In other words, the difference between 5% and 7% is not as noticeable as the difference between 20% and 22%, despite the actual difference in value for both scenarios was 2%.
While soft cap is achievable for Dark Armor, the effort required to do so can be counter productive. It is also important to note, Dark Armor has no resistance to defense debuffs. Defense based sets that have defense debuff resistance can retain much of their defense even against mobs that dish out a lot of defense debuffs. Sets like Dark Armor that have no defense debuff resistance, even when soft capped, will see their defense values dwindle dramatically.
ToHitt Debuffs
ToHitt Debuffs lower the ability to hit a target. Lowering an opponents ToHitt is mathematically equivalent to increasing your defense to that specific opponent. Bear in mind, some opponents can resist ToHitt debuffs so your actual increased defense is somewhat variable. The actual values can be calculated using the same formulas provided in Arcanavilles guide and the knowledge of the actual debuff resistance of the target. For most instances, such manual calculations are not worth the effort, IMHO. For the sake of simplicity, I prefer to cut my ToHitt Debuff values in half and add them to my defense. For most scenarios, this will be an underestimate. Against AVs, I prefer to think of the ToHitt Debuff values as non-existent.
Recovery
Since Dark Armor is notorious for endurance costs, most players try to grab as much recovery as they can to compensate. Its important to understand how recovery works before placing too much effort into a specific bonus. For the purposes of City of Heroes, Recovery is rate at which you replenish your endurance. Everyone starts with a Max Endurance of 100 points and a base recovery of 100% which allows you to recover all of your endurance (from zero to 100) in 60 seconds. This calculation is further broken down to the second (100/60= 1.67) end points per second or 1.67 EPS. This has lead to the misunderstanding that 100% Recovery is the same as 1.67 EPS, which is quite false. Endurance points gained per second (EPS) is the result of (Recovery * Max Endurance/60). So that above formula as actually (1.0 * 100/60 = 1.67). It is important to remember both Max Endurance and Recovery are variable, increasing one or the other will result in increased EPS. A player with only base recovery obtains the Atlas Medallion and Portal Jockey accolades would have a Max Endurance of 110 (1.0 * 110/60 = 1.83 EPS), so recovery remained the same yet EPS increased. This formula becomes increasingly relevant when targeting IO set bonuses to alleviate endurance costs. One needs to balance endurance costs and endurance recovery in the most efficient means possible. Increasing one value without the other starts to yield less and less improvement, where increasing both is quite substantial. When evaluating your build I strongly recommend you focus on EPS, not Recovery.
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
[u]VII Putting it all together.[u]
Putting it all together: For many people, this is where the actual guide starts.
Important note: all of my build are designed as leveling builds. That is to say you dont need to hit 50 and then respecify into build. You can place the slots exactly as in the build and add in IOs as you can afford them. Even if you chose to model your build off of any one of mine, this section still applies.
Getting to level 20:
For many players, this is the hardest thing to do with any Dark Armor build. Where other secondaries have passive and or click powers, Dark Armor just has a bunch of toggles. Dark Regeneration is the only click power and its very expensive. This makes the endurance costs seem insurmountable, when all thats really needed is Stamina. Stamina is not available until level 20, so you have to muddle through 20 levels without it. Heres how I go about it.
First thing to keep in mind is Dark Armor is color blind prior to level 20. This means you can only see two colors, Yellow and Blue. This means the only enhancements that exist prior to level 20 are Accuracy and Endurance Reduction. Nothing wastes more endurance than an attack that misses the target. Attacks are the greatest source of endurance drain and to survive you need to use them often, plus theyre fun. You want 2 accuracy DOs and 2 endurance reduction DOs in each attack. If you chose to take Death Shroud early (which I recommend), you will want 2 accuracy DOs and 4 Endurance Reduction DOs. The resistance values of Dark Armors shields are too small to benefit from DOs. Despite having low endurance costs, I prefer to slot the shields with 2-4 Endurance Reduction DOs; these are intended to be place holders for SO level enhancement.
Psionic Damage is not frequently encountered at lower levels so slotting of Obsidian Shield can be delayed to the late 20s or early 30s. I find energy damage to not be a significant issue prior to level 20, so I chose delay Murky Cloud until after Stamina. If you chose a Shadow Punch-less build, Shadow Maul would be the replacement. I rely on temporary travel powers granted by Safeguard missions. I loosens ups lower level builds. Heres an sample build:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
DM-DA to lvl 20: Level 19 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Shadow Punch -- Acc(A), Acc(3), EndRdx(5), EndRdx(13)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(9), EndRdx(15)
Level 2: Smite -- Acc(A), Acc(3), EndRdx(5), EndRdx(15)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- Acc(A), EndRdx(7), EndRdx(7), EndRdx(9)
Level 6: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Acc(A), Acc(11), EndRdx(11), EndRdx(13)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- EndRdx(A)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- EndRdx(A)
Level 14: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Acc(A), Acc(17), EndRdx(17), EndRdx(19), EndRdx(19)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- RechRdx(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A)
Level 22: [Empty]
Level 24: [Empty]
Level 26: [Empty]
Level 28: [Empty]
Level 30: [Empty]
Level 32: [Empty]
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;929;408;816;HEX;|
|78DAA591CD4EC24010C71768A9D042A924C4AF44AE1821C69 31F07835613129A103|
|59E545270858DB5C5B6A2DC7C005FC107313E5CDDE94E6BC4 786293FEFEDBFFCECC|
|4E3BD6ABA911F2764432E513C70E82FEC5D0B72713EACB963 D6243DDB49A66BB1E7|
|A7567EAD477771442C86A12D2B7A84369CBB4FD07B15D4F4F 4C7A4FDD00CFDAFEA3|
|E71B1D774C7DEA86AD64A3F53CCF699DB1D0A541205EBAD49 E3077A48A13878DC6A|
|111EF3BEE94056CC01C16CE8CD3091BB68EBDBB59DFB28390 FAB315DE55833F4FD0|
|5EBCA25C2C529664512545A886DA00CDC4B15982DE126A19D 5573084D7CBFC532F8|
|9DDE29AC3D81CC6E495DF9AD497B9CAE26E225785F7CC3D05 F315CC2F263AD7FB36|
|D702E617D0AB7155453E51D153B89630AE54145E937B7AFC5 591A463FD4AA298B73|
|CA72F5C0D91430CE3E75BAA58BB9A175EB4C0DA90D2D991B8 10E9FE717A523A0F92|
|899D4D299DE242EB534BEE2A9CC38FBA04F40057806BC00DE 016600306802120FA4|
|AB3F53D68681F70003804BC439002C351011AA00428037440 055005D4006B800F40|
|F40D9620E9AD|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
Getting to level 30:
Congratulations, you made to the 20s, now the fun starts.
Things really start coming together in the twenties. Unfortunately, about this time Dark Armors lack of KB protection will be increasingly apparent to you. Acquiring a KB IO becomes top priority. If you cannot get one, I strongly recommend you plan on selecting Acrobatics by level 30, though many would advocate much sooner. At level 22 all enhancement should be upgraded to SOs or their generic IOs equivalent. This allows for the transition to 1 Accuracy and 1 Endurance Reduction in each of your attacks and the addition of Damage enhancements. Dark Regeneration should be 6 slotted quickly with a variation of Accuracy, Endurance Reduction, and Recharge, depending on your comfort levels. I advocate Cloak of Fear, so I select it at level 28.
It is at these levels that the fundamentals of the DM/DA play style merges. Here we obtain the mitigation necessary to jump into the center of spawns and get full use of Death Shroud. Standing in the center of spawn allows for the greatest number of targets off which Dark Regeneration can heal you, well enough overcome virtually any alpha. In that sweet center, Soul Drain has the greatest chance of target capping for maximum damage and To Hit buffage. For 30 seconds, To Hit buffs increase the utility of Cloak of Fears mitigation and the damage buffs transform the minion muncher into a ravenous minion gobbler (Death Shroud, for those not paying attention). By level 30, for you, minions no longer exist. (this is the part where you queue the maniacal laughter)
Sample build:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
DM-DA Generic: Level 29 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(13)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(9), ResDam-I(15), ResDam-I(23)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(15), Dmg-I(25)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(7), EndRdx-I(7), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(25)
Level 6: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(11), Dmg-I(11), Dmg-I(13), Dmg-I(27)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Jump-I(A)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(17), EndRdx-I(17), EndRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- Acc-I(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 24: Murky Cloud -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(27)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(29), EndRdx-I(29)
Level 30: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: [Empty]
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: [Empty]
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1043;480;960;HEX;|
|78DAA552CB4EDB40141D13BBCEC34E08216FA2128905AFA45 B681715AADB0A094B5|
|18BBA6A898C358411C189C686C2AE1FD05FE043AA7E9C7BEF DC8995884A5D74A49C|
|3373E6DC73AF95F11F3C87B11F6F99517E370DE278FC3994C 17CCEA5E5071311BA9|
|E3FF04EB63FF2884B11DA8CB1F6C230F6F994F3A117C81BDA 76B31B8F5FF128D677|
|27F27626ABA7D135973C4A868B8D339ACDA6C30F2289781CD 3E18C0773114D5C7D3|
|3B94EE05455A7D3E85EC4E2524C45F2587F3F17A1CAC6D2B1 1FC409978F2D986D0F|
|7E1287542BCDB10E508FADF515993D450ED11EFA0CED2343F E505199A84114DBDAC|
|652D3F85B5E99A845B40FF69CB6E7C8FEA2BF4CF915BB0576 8BA660D640497720D9|
|3AC1A684229516573EA0437408DE824E2890AF01528912586 957493648AE76B93B4|
|A1A8054519F965A15EAB3DE5FA60D4D07144AF41DAAAA54C5 AA549507A946EDD66A|
|DB4ADA5CA12618EA7A9E3ACD73005253CFD3A43E0F20B529D 9685372877ABE829BA|
|E6ED0A59BADFE32B56C444AEB9194FE7B6D99D94B61CACFCE 9E292333FBF799A194|
|9766F66EFE6BFD7216BD0A9F8A80E70823842F085F11BE011 817B80B70778910E23|
|1FD9D55578E70A06384D7086F107EA2C9C637504270105C84 324205611DA186D040|
|E8203C21A47F00A131E4CC|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
[u]VIII To level 40 and beyond.[u]
Some may notice that mobs get a tad bit meaner right about the mid 30s and progressively so from then on. Poor planning will be a tad bit painful and the holes in your mitigation will suddenly seem a lot bigger. All this translates to more fun, plus you pick up Midnights Grasp. Lots of slots become available in the 30s so you should be able to fill in any under-slotted by level 40.
I prefer to select Touch of Fear at level 30, but a valid argument could be made for selecting the power much sooner. The combination of ToF and CoF is awesome mitigation. If you feel comfortable delaying another power to select ToF sooner, it would be a valid alternative. Dark Consumption would be my choice for the swap.
Once you obtain KB protection via IOs, Cloak of Darkness can be shifted to level 30 or sooner and Acrobatics is removed.
Energy Damage will become an increasing problem. Your resistance values are inadequate, so strategize accordingly. Melee strikes from bosses and LTs will sting quite a bit but can easily be overcome with wise application of Touch of Fear. Just remember to spread the touch around.
Sample Build:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
DM-DA Generic: Level 40 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(13), Dmg-I(31)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(9), ResDam-I(15), ResDam-I(23)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(15), Dmg-I(25)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(7), EndRdx-I(7), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(25), Dmg-I(40)
Level 6: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(11), Dmg-I(11), Dmg-I(13), Dmg-I(27), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(37), ResDam-I(37)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Jump-I(A)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(39)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(17), EndRdx-I(17), EndRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 24: Murky Cloud -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(31), ResDam-I(34), ResDam-I(37)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(29), EndRdx-I(29), EndRdx-I(31), Acc-I(36)
Level 30: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(34), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 35: Touch of Fear -- Acc-I(A)
Level 38: Cloak of Darkness -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1232;545;1090;HEX;|
|78DAA592DB6ED3401086D74D8C734E43C8B969E29EA03409B 71C2E504500556AA4A|
|820AE80C88D96D42238916DA0B9E30178051E04F1706666FF 4D9488DC61C9FFB73B|
|F3CF7856DEC16D3F23C48FE7C2C8BD983A41307A33F69DF95 CFAE6C099B8E36C7FD|
|0ED9FB75F4B4FFAEED81242D49686D1404EA5ECF51DFF3396 8D55A62F3F492FD0B9|
|73FFCBCC2F5C7837D2975ED85B2E32C3D96CDA7BE5869E0C0 26C2EA53377BD49566|
|7263721ED0A6A77E17D7303F7DA9DBAE1A2F472EE8E556F2E 1D0D9C2094FEA24AB3|
|9DD2EBF390EA89E2A24E688A1D5B21DE54C800FBC029DB0D6 58F09F8121D851C500|
|6024BDBA8ADB1AD6D0EA8020FC91E435B3306FB1D7B1D890D FB7DC0A42A1355C2EC|
|AAD0570AE1449169A1510A1D521BC7A9EB46670A1D2A49A2D 14E12F6A3CE3ACA644|
|8A3AD483F50218B4259D418D923153A01BA94C9ABD347661E 33ECDAEBB8AB818F97|
|81EF54554055AC802A1B9943E0044890AFA8672DB655E8DE0 62A6428E9594B98F58|
|C4215FDD72AF8F83E0E666F1CF3967C353D430D33D4B7CDF0 887C0DF48B37E0DBB3|
|D7B10F1C2257B5583151139905855AFA3FB5E06A23D36EAEC 3DEF84F21551DE8460|
|7A8EA51E858DF81637488B63C7BF1D53517CA202EFF890CE3 AB3B2B0C1569C557B7|
|FDBF9EDF99E5B7925729D2B72C4396772CEF593E90181F79E 5F0EA9A65CCDBE8CFA|
|A3AFF98077AC2F294E519CB4F36597C3BD32C19962C4B8E25 CFB2CB526429B3D459|
|7EB1447F010C74E3ED|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
[u]XI The sample SO build. [u]
While called a Sample SO build, you will notice it is slotted with generic IOs. I design all my builds with level 30 IOs, regardless of whether using Generic or set IOs. This gives me a starting point at which to evaluate my builds. In game the, the actual level of IOs slotted can vary greatly according to availability. When considering enhancement values and exemplar rules, level 30s generally represent the minimum level I am willing to compromise to. If one is to use actual generic IOs, you should consider the maximum level for single or double enhancements. Power with triple enhancements (say 3 damage), upgrading beyond level 30 yields little return. 3 level 30 damage IOs is 95.6% enhancement after ED where 3 level 50 damage IOs 99.08% enhancement after ED.
This build is simply a finalized version of what was described in the Putting it together section of the guide. If you are new to Dark Armor and/or have limited resources to dedicate to the build, this is what I recommend. This build is completely viable for any game content played by a sane scrapper. Keep in mind, by the time you get to level 50, if you have any inkling of enjoying this character, you most likely have abandoned sanity and will need one of the subsequent IO builds.
This and all of the builds present here try to use the Darkness Mastery Ancillary Powerset. While this works conceptually for my character, there's also a game mechanic's reason. Most Darkness Mastery powers also carry ToHitt Debuffs, same as Dark Melee and Cloak of Fear. If you go the CoF route as I advocate (or target IO defense set bonuses), Darkness Mastery adds additonal AoE ToHitt debuffs for increased surviviablity.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
DM-DA Generic: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Darkness Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(13), Dmg-I(31), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(9), ResDam-I(15), ResDam-I(23)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(15), Dmg-I(25), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(7), EndRdx-I(7), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(25), Dmg-I(40)
Level 6: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(11), Dmg-I(11), Dmg-I(13), Dmg-I(27), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(37), ResDam-I(37), ResDam-I(43)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Jump-I(A)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(39), Heal-I(46)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(17), EndRdx-I(17), EndRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 24: Murky Cloud -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(31), ResDam-I(34), ResDam-I(37)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(29), EndRdx-I(29), EndRdx-I(31), Acc-I(36)
Level 30: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(34), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 35: Touch of Fear -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 38: Cloak of Darkness -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Shadow Punch -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(42), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(43), RechRdx-I(45)
Level 44: Torrent -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(45), ToHitDeb-I(45)
Level 47: Dark Blast -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(48), Dmg-I(48), Dmg-I(48)
Level 49: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(50), Dmg-I(50), Dmg-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1414;613;1226;HEX;|
|78DAA553DB6ED34010DD34316E9B5B436993A67513F7462E4 EDA8A172E0FA822802|
|A355254104F40E5464B6A11DC601B6885407C00BFC087203E 2ECCECD9448EE81B56|
|72CEEECC3933B35EB97BD5C908F1E3B148E49E0CDD303C7BD 10FDCD1480646D71D7|
|8FD6CA7DBEA1C559F4B5F065EDF1442AC4D04675D3994B2DD 7183F758AE4F331DF9|
|4EFAA1CE1D051F2E83C2B17F2103E947EDC922D3BBBC1CB69 F79912FC3109B13E98|
|E3C7F90D599C14544BB82DA1DFB9FBDD03BF7865E74BDF274 E4F5556DB69E75DD30|
|92C1758966ABD33FE021D533364499C81273B6A294A52803D A04359A8AEAEC4A285|
|752403EEF28CA815641A1A965543D7153F51CA8046AA17A83 5C4954379270DDB2E3|
|343FE3BA0B32C865C0258C960A7DA290A9DB9B28B4880A8B3 3872BEB4268EF90654|
|11F6E01F21D274E0D7D46D2A575C3744D854C0A65119ACBEE A8D01EA8A5890479F5|
|4AC6461E132DD971BAAD09A3AC82BE90AB0057B200978DCC3 6680F344FBA65DD7EB|
|9AA427766A8488215BC10B182919B142AEAD316D17C13E7B3 670E7D45BA353DC31A|
|6628DF34C33EE9D6512FB50EDD861DA74DD03672259311135 9C85C53A8A26FAD025|
|51599AA15277BE6D622726DC195D882AB05579B32BBFA9E76 11FA48A19A6E5183B8|
|8E4CDD8A5303E4A0C5D7A4104DB8E69A70397039F7147D234 11B82641B827DEB06F|
|A4EBA03AD3B80EE10850EAD386DA4A61F27FDE81127FF447A A9E92726122A52494D|
|3FCEFF7A7E6726BD164E17095F32F4185E31BC6678439078C B2B9757E70C7DDE8EF|
|F4CDDF9FB3CD00386870C8F187EB2C84C13A419320C59861C 439E618961996195A1|
|CCF08B61FC17AF88DFE3|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
[u]X Sample IO Build - Endurance managment[u]
A build for those that don't want to every again worry about endurance
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
DM/DA -Max end: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Darkness Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(7), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(7), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(17)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx(11), C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg(11), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(13), Erad-Dmg(13), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(15), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Erad-Dmg(36)
Level 6: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(9), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(19), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(23), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(23), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Heal(A), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Theft-+End%(29), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(33)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(33), EndMod-I(50)
Level 22: Murky Cloud -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(33), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(34), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 24: Cloak of Darkness -- GftotA-Run+(A), GftotA-Def(25), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(39)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Oblit-Acc/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(27), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(31), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(50)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(A), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(34), Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(36), DampS-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(39), DampS-ToHitDeb/Rchg/EndRdx(39), DampS-Rchg/EndRdx(40)
Level 30: Shadow Punch -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(37), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(37), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(36), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(42), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 35: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Tough -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(40), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(40), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 41: Torrent -- SipInsght-%ToHit(A)
Level 44: Dark Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(45), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 47: Weave -- GftotA-Run+(A), GftotA-Def(48), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(48), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48)
Level 49: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1408;694;1388;HEX;|
|78DAA5535B4F1341149EA55D97D2ED8D4BCB9D0285D2625BF AE6E5C110AB89861AA|
|284271597B24263D9966D492046E30FF02FA0D19F20BC18FF 8A8F1AA389EF3E98D4|
|73CE37ED0B8F6EDAEF9B39F39D997399A99E546CA5DEDC524 6F476C369B7771ED57|
|CA7D5727DB3EAECD76BD14AB554594F17AACE49DAF5F62CA5 D4444FB153751BAE5B|
|AC38FE0B0CA7FA2B15F7B9EBB5F5DABA7FD8F413F7BC03D77 7BD4EB137B0379BCD4|
|6F16EBDE3B9ED36261BAED3AA7BFB11BDB27FD0A15918B306 4FC7EEB4EA35D9959D|
|76AA4EBBE3FAA7E314558EFE3E87275F37A89E11CDA80107B 42B14AC815CA11CCB0|
|D2D5F31D87425035A121ACC0AC553426D4BAB55D7341AB2C3 D021C813B29BA09F03|
|4CE3BF85F2E415C02166A02582E811A823143F161A857C11C E267999F052E6A2088|
|EC964E9E42C243788E48691DC30921BDD13BA4ADA10760884 905C12C925915C01C9|
|254917C6B62AFC475C53648A6853E4ABC45320534CB2EF9AB 178804DD309D0B0D06|
|C0AB4259BE61F0859E495400C46625B4CE9FBA82CAD8C6065 60242DA7A64165D02A|
|09C674F863083F8DF0E711FE3CC22F922EA575A99098C6078 5262DA1E5A0D009E92|
|6904060E22FE5545693BF24B559EE5A59954FE5DC12E9A674 BBA6BE8960FE3B3AF3|
|4368F902F449287B2E746431A23733E84D06BDC9A03719F4A 680DE9C927C4EDFA43|
|9C81721CF419E833C0F791ED7D520AF05DD96852E7D2A4096 259DFC128A944591B2|
|28520E457A49BD59D19E2BB634EA15E1AA8E78F50C37E61DE 83DE82322FE8017432|
|715F5494594B984329750DF12AAFD9AB65DC3B6C6DA391A7A 21341DECBF4DFA71F4|
|1B972C9BC1FE0B538658E682FD27FA5FDF67BBB74FE8E110E 116C32681B1CDA3C70|
|C4F78FA94470E8F76196A3CED7EB17B91C6AE7140D7196E30 DC6478CB228B1F5198|
|C16688304419620C7186118624C324C31943F71F11BEF666|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
[u]XI Sample IO build Defense[u]
Two things I should immediately point out with this build:
1) There are many different ways to maximize IOs. I recommend you have an objective you want to work towards. Any IO build I present is intended as a possibility, do not limit yourself to these builds. You may discover a better way to build DM/DA for you. I do it all the time.
2) The objective of this particular build was defense. Previous builds I implemented had too much focus on endurance management. This build does not obtain defense soft cap. That is because I personal do not believe Dark Armor needs to.
You will notice several key Dark Melee powers have been omitted from this build. This omissions are based on the believe the set bonuses and powers that replaced them ultimately improve on the build.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Desmodas I13: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Darkness Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(3), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), T'Death-Dam%(46)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(7), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(7), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(11), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(11), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(13), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(15), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(15), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(17), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 6: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dam%(9), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(19), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(19), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- Aegis-Psi/Status(A), Aegis-ResDam(23), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(23)
Level 12: Hover -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(27), Zephyr-ResKB(50)
Level 14: Fly -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(17), Zephyr-ResKB(42)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Theft-Acc/Heal(A), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Theft-+End%(29), H'zdH-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(33)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), EndMod-I(33)
Level 22: Murky Cloud -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(33), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(34), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 24: Cloak of Darkness -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Enzym(25)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(31), Oblit-%Dam(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- Cloud-%Dam(A), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Cloud-ToHitDeb(36), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(39), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(39), Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 30: Combat Jumping -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(40), Zephyr-ResKB(40)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dam%(36), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(42), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(42), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 35: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 41: Torrent -- SipInsght-%ToHit(A)
Level 44: Dark Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(45), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 47: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(48), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng(48), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50)
Level 49: Weave -- HO:Enzym(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1408;709;1418;HEX;|
|78DAA593494F535114C7EFEB60297D6D2950E6A150A0B440A 151E3B4306A35C1504|
|394B050A079D6273496B6BE571288D1F8015CB9C769EFB434 7E1375E7F81D1CEA39|
|E77FDB8D4B5FDAFFEF0EE7DC7BCE3DF716F6F3A6520FCF2A2 372A162B96EF15AC9B|
|1EA75DBF117ACED72C9CCDBEE6EED96E526967347034AA9C1 D67CB160576C3B9BB7|
|9C3B680EB767F2F66DBBEAEAB973CE6ECD892D57776CC7AE3 6B2AD86B95AAB55B29|
|7CA8DAAEDBA21742AE5ED1D3DB1625BF572753BACAD689C7A F18BF572495665A762|
|C1721BB673304051A5E9EF7078F235FDEA3A6154796E001B0 2DF26B02558280AD2E|
|C65889757CD1A3C74640A981674A4046E409BD1EA465D5C3B EF028EC07481866060|
|4F90212F2F56F77BE1158157045E5DF04AC26B065E7EF2F2C 34BF9938449B547430|
|1BD7D00C97520816EE4D88D1C7B91632F729C27972016F204 8F4B1E7DC780254190|
|0C42DA20F4C1C343431F05B94F82101984B1AF270C832E18A 461B0400651C390C0A|
|2512F0F8DC4806EC1D8799A4CA9B135424E65AE0802E415C3 BE466C5D42495CC671|
|D34C8F9EE979EC61E3444231E66826AE2B1547A512A8D4042 A35814A65C9AE5FAFD|
|01F97ED064E50CFE755FB3435A8BC12ECE04FA4FB4B30F65B 30A524E6A93FE83505|
|8BE435AC8B38FC438626BE09929F05335F80AF82D477411F7 98DEAA31DC5C9A5707|
|2299CDC01198CEB928EA3A4497D2751D2344A9A41493328A9 11E0EB80BB31D9A44F|
|7969645ADF96E97E39827B94C5AC369A3525A5FBA4737AB7B 94339D0F927C053E00|
|59EC533E92D3C173C20AF2CBC7CD99762B0F80A780DBC11E4 DEE26951284BFAE897|
|F499E7B804936AC4D77E9DF4E3B857FE1959F5B5DF9832646 4DCD77E9DFFF5BD335|
|BEB04AF7692AEB1AC9218EBDCDA60D9E4EE16B72C6EDD6429 71B7F9DE6C451A3DC9|
|019D6239CD7286E5111B05422421169325CC126189B274B1F 4B0F4B10CB11CB234F|
|F028260FE99|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
XII Sample IO build Purple
This build is basically a variation of the defense build. It sacrifices a small amount of defense in exchange for Purple sets. This provides greater accuracy and recharge bonuses which results in better damage output and better exemplar utility.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Desmodas I13: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Darkness Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(3), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), T'Death-Dam%(46)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(7), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(7), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 2: Shadow Maul -- Armgdn-Dmg(A), Armgdn-Dam%(11), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(13), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(25)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(15), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(15), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(17), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 6: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 8: Siphon Life -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dam%(9), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(19), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(19), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(21), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- Aegis-Psi/Status(A), Aegis-ResDam(23), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(23)
Level 12: Hover -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(27), Zephyr-ResKB(50)
Level 14: Fly -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(17), Zephyr-ResKB(42)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Theft-Acc/Heal(A), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Theft-+End%(29), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(33)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), EndMod-I(33), P'Shift-End%(43)
Level 22: Murky Cloud -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(33), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(34), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 24: Cloak of Darkness -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Enzym(25)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(31), Oblit-%Dam(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- Cloud-%Dam(A), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Cloud-ToHitDeb(36), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(39), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(39), Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 30: Combat Jumping -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(40), Zephyr-ResKB(40)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Hectmb-Dmg(A), Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg(36), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg(43), Hectmb-Dam%(43)
Level 35: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
Level 41: Torrent -- SipInsght-%ToHit(A)
Level 44: Dark Blast -- Apoc-Dmg(A), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(46), Apoc-Dam%(46)
Level 47: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(48), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(48), Ragnrk-Dmg(50)
Level 49: Weave -- HO:Enzym(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1408;708;1416;HEX;|
|78DAA5935B6F124114C767D9C52D6529D016E8BDB4D00205B 6605BED45638C68525|
|30CD1A60FDA96ACB8B6440AB84B933646E307F0C9179FFC20 C66FA2BE79FD0E5EF0|
|5C065E7C7403FFDFCC997366CE39B35B3E2B1942BCBC2694A 11B0DCB75ABF76A8ED|
|56EDB8EB76C1DD56B46C9764F5A8F2C37BE5D5CD18510E3BD F56AD96ED8B659B29C|
|273C9CECAF94ECC776D3956BD79D939613DE6E1EDB8EDDEC9 8BD815169B51AE6AD7|
|AA769BBAE9F278DFAD1B15CD8B1AD76BD7914905E608759E4 66BB5EA35D31A85AB6|
|DC8EED9C8F415619F83B981E3D5DAFB80F98169E078C7D827 6C03824E4AB840C462|
|914A58AB482A60B49C6026120457075E906BB2BEB1E218A62 F02A6393606C31AE10|
|C636084B10A5F2EE5EB54D070E3D653884904B4874088BA70 42F4479394A7813807|
|9710A265D1EAF7371035CC030D738CC358E728DA35C630E42 7CBC91C7B746754457|
|1905820F1CFCD2C1FFC183A6898F84E227821F1C027CAE27C 00E2176C8B0431E1C8|
|28A428905832A9AA6C28C61C24C4CC54ECCEC2A88DC1D820E 51613E5709EF512AF1|
|DBDC6E581991198DBCA626C6E3827AF9C6839DC88243445E5 8842F2CCE1736C7173|
|6C71766825F4C1E118BD0A9639761A6A9E20C96C6854A398F FFE4AA7FD1E633BF09|
|4941A927FFF0AC4B5886A8497997933F286AEE1B21F199B0F 885F19590FA4E8842D|
|4B4AC679A1B98E206A6B881E7E0302B6F7676910A4EA40899 25469A5FA50C234B50|
|744C895F91F92E3C4205CB827C691662D4826750455A3AA50 D2AE93968964D5A364|
|75BE50A0C93905F6614092FC0DD94EEE62A9996D71897182B 84E2458206391464CF|
|0BB2D945ECFDBC98D2FA5F27FC30E19D7F2C15ADFF8D09852 CB35AFFEBFCAFE79DD|
|1DBC77777107417A502A2ECE1681FE500A78738B270F410A5 86D3EE7BA39769701D|
|13DA40D944D94279854EBA1FC48F62A004508650822821941 19428CA04CA5B94EE5|
|FF39AF8EA|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
Great, I think I pulled a finger muscle from scrolling through all that.
In all seriousness, great work. I haven't gone through everything, but I don't think I've seen a guide with more information. Ever.
I especially liked the DM/DA controversies sections.
Again, outstanding work.
They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
@Starflier
nice little guide you made Des, but it's too short
very informative, i especially enjoyed the history lessons, the controversies sections brought alot of key points to light, the progressionary build samples are a nice touch,...
but the sample final builds just seem too redundant for a guide, there's already enough of it on the boards and really IMHO the guides are ment to be an information piece, not a show and tell, and not much told there anyway, like i mean, I know how You like fly and all, but why advocate it in the guide without explaining why, or the alternatives and such
also on a further note as such, a guide of this high calibur quality could also do well with a section about power pool and anchilary power pool evaluation and comparison of the synergy, pros & cons of each with the DM/DA set
also abit more indepth with some IO advice would do well, i mean like, yer little gem of an idea about the +end proc in DR really deserves a mention in there somewhere, yeah i know it's in the sample final builds, but that really doesnt help much at all just hideing there
all in all, extremely well thought out and presented, but then i wouldn't expect any less from Des
Ohhhh a nice new shiney guide...and on a AT and powersets I am currently leveling up and enjoying (for the most part).
Yay!!
Thanx for the info.
"I'm not scared of anyone or anything Angie. Isn't that the way life should be?"
Jack Hawksmoor, The Authority.
[ QUOTE ]
also on a further note as such, a guide of this high calibur quality could also do well with a section about power pool and anchilary power pool evaluation and comparison of the synergy, pros & cons of each with the DM/DA set
also abit more indepth with some IO advice would do well, i mean like, yer little gem of an idea about the +end proc in DR really deserves a mention in there somewhere, yeah i know it's in the sample final builds, but that really doesnt help much at all just hideing there
all in all, extremely well thought out and presented, but then i wouldn't expect any less from Des
[/ QUOTE ]
That's actually a very good point. Gonna see if I can work those in to the current format. They'll definately be part of any furture updates.
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
A very good guide there (though I'll admit I tl;dr once you got to the hero stats parts) Only one small little correction:
[ QUOTE ]
...dropping any toggles they might be running
[/ QUOTE ]
In the oppressive gloom section, the vast majority of enemy powers are actually click powers and not toggles. This came up with the toggle changes recently a player asked Castle if enemies would have toggles suppressed when mezzed, to which Castle answered that most enemies don't have toggles.
Otherwise hey, some great guides, despite the hate/hate relationship I have with Dark Melee and love/hate with Dark Armour.
"I accidently killed Synapse, do we need to restart the mission?" - The Oldest One on Lord Recluses Strike Force
Nice Job Des!! Sorry didnt see it yesterday, swamped at work and with the I14 update, got sidetracked.
Grats on a job well done!
Miss Arc #147491: Rise of Bedlam
AKA Iron Smoke @Champion Server
Nice work, Des! Thanks for taking the time to consolidate all the great advice you have given elsewhere into a very useful guide.
Most excellent info. I'm adapting it to my Dark Armor/Super Strength Tank.
I'm trying to rework my own DM/DA and I want to thank you very much for this information. I've only been playing 2 years now but I'm finally about to undertake trying to figure out what IO sets I want for her and this has helped a lot.
I definitely would like to hear your opinion on synergy with the other epic pools as well. I'm currently Body Mastery, so I'm curious as to your opinion on the new Focused Accuracy (and slotting thereof) and Conserve Power's necessity post-IO's.
[ QUOTE ]
I definitely would like to hear your opinion on synergy with the other epic pools as well. I'm currently Body Mastery, so I'm curious as to your opinion on the new Focused Accuracy (and slotting thereof) and Conserve Power's necessity post-IO's.
[/ QUOTE ]
Body Mastery is still a great APP for DM/DA. Conserver Power you probably won't have much use for once you have Nuimina's and Miracle uniques and you target Max End bonuses. Focused Accuracy can be a great source of additional defense if you're prepared to commit 6 slots to it for a complete set of Gaussian. This would open up Laser Beam Eyes and Energy Torrent. LBE is cool, but I really like Energy Torrent. E Torrent does good damage in a very easy to use cone. It's also great for taking the bite out of the alpha with out the scatter affect of Darkness Mastery's Torrent. In the end, the issue is slots. DM/DA is a slot heavy set so finding slots for 3 APP is difficult. You would have to cut slots from elsewhere to make it work. It can be done and done well, you just have to decide where you want to make those sacrifices.
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
Yeah, that was my current thinking on CP as well. I don't think I can afford to 6 slot Gaussian's in FA so I'm considering dropping it altogether. I love ET. I use it as an opener, then I run in Soul Drain while everything's trying to get up so I'll have to ponder. Thanks for the advice! I wish I could afford more slots to slot my epics more, but alas 
My biggest question right now is do you find 1 Acc common IO to be enough in your attacks at level 50? There's no defense debuffing at all in DM/DA and I know the biggest way to save end is to hit the first time. I usually have 2 level 50 Acc's in my attacks on my melee toons and I was wondering what your experience is with only one. I'm kind of scared to drop down to one, since FA was nerfed.
[ QUOTE ]
My biggest question right now is do you find 1 Acc common IO to be enough in your attacks at level 50? There's no defense debuffing at all in DM/DA and I know the biggest way to save end is to hit the first time. I usually have 2 level 50 Acc's in my attacks on my melee toons and I was wondering what your experience is with only one. I'm kind of scared to drop down to one, since FA was nerfed.
[/ QUOTE ]
This is the subject of much debate between a few scrapper enthusiasts and I. In large part, it remains unsettled because once you move to IO sets, the point is rather moot. Against the majority of level 50 content, I believe a level 50++ accuracy SO is sufficient when you consider Soul Drain buffing for 30 seconds at a time. That's 36.63% accuracy enhancement with Soul Drain up every 60 seconds (30 seconds buffed, 30 seconds down).
The build I posted used level 30 generic IO's, which I consider the bare minimum. I evaluate all my builds based of this benchmark. This is done so that I can gauge IO set builds that are exemplar friendly down to level 28. I personally dislike builds that only function with level 50 IOs, but that's a personal preference. If I were to play with out set IOs, I would not use level 30s generics at level 50 for slots that stand alone. 3 level 50 damage IOs (99.08%) over very little over 3 level 30 damage IOs (95.66%). Looking at a single accuracy IO, the difference is substantial (42.4 for lvl 50 vs 34.8 for lvl 30). With 42.4% accuracy you should have minimal issues with the majority of game content, again factoring in Soul Drain.
Of course, scrappers rarely settle for the majority of game content 
To really push the limits, 42.4% will not be enough. For this, I turn to IO sets. Accuracy bonuses are a must IMHO if you wish to push the envelope. (especially if you wish to run CoF). Kismet +6% Tohit is an extremely valuable investment, I'd take it over Focused Accuracy any day. More Tohit for zero endurance. Yes offer perception, tohit debuff resistance and 20% accuracy, but at what cost? On a non-purple build, I'm looking for 20-30% accuracy bonuses, to stack on 35-42% accuracy enhancement. On a purple build, I want 40-50 % accuracy bonuses.
<ul type="square">
Sets to look at for +accuracy[*] Crushing Impact [5 IOs 7%][*] Sciroccos' Dervish [4 IOs 9%][*] Obliteration [5 IOs 9%][*] Purple Sets: Hecatomb and Armageddon [4 IOs 15%][/list]
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
This really is quite well done.
Introduction
I've been playing a DM/DA scrapper since issue 2, when I first picked up the game. Since that time, I have learned a lot...and I mean a lot. Much of that knowledge comes for reading the forums and debating with fellow DM/DA enthusiasts. During all this, City of Heroes has changed quite a bit. There hasn't been a great DM/DA guide since The DM/DA Bible by The Gamemaster. This guide is a humble attempt to carry on that guide's tradition for today's game. The objective was to cover everything you ever wanted to know about playing DM/DA and the reasoning behind many of the debates regarding the combination.
I would like to throw out two special thank you's. First, to anyone who has ever written a guide, THANK YOU. I had no idea how much work would go into this thing. I have a new found respect for anyone whose ever even considered writing a guide, no matter how brief. Second, special thanks to Sarrate and Werner for taking the time to review the massive amount of information I've attempted to compile. I found their feedback invaluable and many changes/clarifycations were made as a result.
I encourage everyone reading to critique this guide. I did my best to present the data as accurately as possible. If you spot errors, I greatly appreciate you pointing them out. While I attempted to present the information as unbiased as possible, I clearly have opinions how how best to play the set. I welcome differing opinions with which to debate my opinions. I have found nearly every debate regarding DM or DA to be of considerable value, even when the agreement is to disagree.
Keep in mind, this guide has entirely too much information in it. The average player does not want to read the entire thing. If you are already familiar with Dark Melee or Dark Armor, there are several sections of this guide you can skip. I made a feeble attempt at creating a one stop shop guide that contained absolutely everything you needed to know about both sets. Sections II and III can easily be found in game, in Mids Hero Designer, and or City of Data; in better formats as well. If you have never heard or read any of the debates regarding Dark Melee or Dark Armor; feel free to skip sections IV and V. What you actually need to know about this guide starts in section VI.
If I manage to format this thing properly, you should be able to click on links in the index to skip to the sections of the guide you actually need. If I screw it up .well youll at least understand why I wrote it in this format. If you chose to read this on the Google Documents version, keep in mind some of the formatting may look odd as it was intended for the CoH forums. I will try and make any corrections folks point out so eventually the Google Document version will differ as I will eventually lose the ability to update the forum version.
If you actually read this entire introduction, there is a possibility you are considering reading every word written here. If this is the case, stop now, go to the bathroom, wash your hands, and come back with food and drink; this may take awhile.
This guide is aimed primarily at scrappers. The bulk of the information presented should still be of considerable use to DA/DM Tankers and DM/DA Brutes, but if you're familiar with those ATs adjustments should be obvious to you. I make no assertions, for or against, as to the utility of this guide for DM/DA stalkers. While much attention was placed DM and DA seperately, in large part, the opinions and assertions made here are specific to the combination.
<ul type="square">[*]I. Introduction
1. My thoughts
2. Index
[*]II. Dark Melee
[*]III. Dark Armor
[*]IV. Dark Melee Controversies
1. Shadow Punch vs Boxing
2. Buzzsaw
3. Shadow Maul Debate
4. Midnight Grasp Debate
[*]V. Dark Armor Controversies
1. History
2. Death Shroud costs too much endurance
3. Cloak of Fear vs Death Shroud
4. Cloak of Fear vs Oppressive Gloom
[*]VI. Necessary mechanics
1. Defense
2. To Hitt Debuffs
3. Recovery
[*]VII. Putting it together-strategies
[*]VIII. Level 40 and beyond.
[*]IX. Sample SO build
[*]X. Sample IO build -Endurance management
[*]XI. Sample IO build Defense
[*]XII. Sample IO build Purple[/list]