Cloak of Fear or Oppresive Gloom...what do you run

Ive been tryin to decide which to get....Ive heard convincing arguments for both...id like to know what people run/why and slotting suggestions


thanks

I only have two Dark Armor characters, and neither are 50 yet. I run Oppressive Gloom on one, and Cloak of Fear on the other. Oppressive Gloom can get away with the simplest slotting. Basically, all it has to do is hit, so you can get away with nothing but an accuracy in the default slot, or maybe two accuracies if you do a lot of uplevel hunting. I haven't slotted up Cloak of Fear yet, so any comparison I could make won't really be valid. With Cloak of Fear, you want a lot of accuracy and a lot of endurance reduction. Maybe two of each, more if you can afford the slots. I'd probably put a fear in as well so that the duration is twice the activation, making the enemies less likely to come unfeared, but I haven't really played with it.

Initial impressions (I've only just started using Cloak of Fear) are that Oppressive Gloom does a better job of mitigation. While the stunned mobs sometimes wander out of it and can attack, it's often a ranged attack, which does less damage. This might reverse on a Katana or Broad Sword character, where melee defense will be MUCH higher than ranged defense. Also, Cloak of Fear does a much better job of keeping enemies in Death Shroud.

I tried both on my Spines/Dark, and IMHO OG is the better power. CoF was just too expensive for what it could do, especially since mobs kept waking up thanks to Death Shroud and Quills anyway.

That said, if you could stick the Psi damage proc in Cloak of Fear, it would almost certainly be better than the knockback proc in OG (hilarious though it may be).

My first 50 was a Claws / DA scrapper. I run with both on as soon as I get to a mission. Nothing like seeing a huge mob alternately cower or stumble around. With stamina 3 slotted I don't have End issues doing this.

I used to think OG but when I switched to CoF, even though it's pretty much a 6 slot requirement, I noticed smaller end problems, simply because OG forces you to use dark regen more often.

Granted, YMMV depending on if you are the alpha-taker in huge spawns and what not...

Plus, I am speaking from the brute side of things.

it really depends on how/and what you plan your build arround, as runing both for a scrap isn't really productive (but extremely effective for a tanker)

if your designing your build more defenceively oriented then CoF would be the better choice with its innate -tohit component, but you need to realize that it will require alot more sloting that OG, its standard accuracy is lowered and requires alot more end management, but also yields some very nice sets in fear

if your build is really tight with not many slots to throw arround or if your constantly bleeding endurance then you'll want to go with OG, too many people are put off by the text about the self damage, where in all actuality it's extremely negligable, if your worryed about it at all after seeing it in action when surrounded by effected minions, a simple unsloted health will still yield a HP Gain over it, of which should be in every Build IMHO especially since you'll want stamina, also the chance for immobilize proc from the one stun set (lvl 30'ish if i recall) will work wonders with wonder'ers

I personally favor OG. It's a one slot wonder.

Two slot wonder OG, Absolute Amazement set accuracy and chance for to hit debuff actually.

Sorry, but I'm taking the lazy route this post.

From the Dark Armor Controversies section of my DM/DA guide.

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Cloak of Fear vs. Oppressive Gloom


The debate over Cloak of Fear vs. Oppressive is Dark Armor’s 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 Fear’s 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.

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and since it's gonna come up anyways...

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Cloak of Fear vs. Death Shroud


Due to the Issue III bug, a misconception about fear affects still lingers. It’s mostly likely true that at a some point in CoX‘s 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 hasn’t 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.

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And since it's already come here and the thread that spawned this one, here are demo records demonstrating CoF and Deathshroud interaction.


Demo 1
Demo 2

I prefer OG simply because it's lighter on the slot requirements, though, I'd reserve judgment until finding out what primary you're running. MA/DA is going to have better synergy with OG. BS/DA, Kat/DA, and DM/DA are going to have better synergy with CoF. Everything else is in the middle, though, there is probably a strong preference for OG simply because of the lighter slotting requirements and fewer endurance problems.

All I was tryin to do was ask people's opinions...what they prefer to use etc etc etc.

I read what you wrote before and I appreciate you input...just tryin to flush things out with others.

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All I was tryin to do was ask people's opinions...what they prefer to use etc etc etc.

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I prefer COF. I like running both, frankly.

However, I typically take OG first until I have enough io's to safely run COF + Death Shroud + Tough + rest of my toggles.

If you're running MA or Spines, I'd go OG. MA for the synergy, Spines for the lower end use. If you're DM, CoF has the synergy. The swords get a slight synergy with the -ToHit from CoF, but mostly I'd say it depends how many slots you can throw at it.

CoF with 5-6 slots is better than OG with 5-6 slots. OG with 1-2 slots is better than CoF with 1-2 slots. CoF drinks slots, but between the fear and the -ToHit it's a little better of the two when heavily slotted. Better mitigation, and less resisted mitigation.

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I prefer OG simply because it's lighter on the slot requirements, though, I'd reserve judgment until finding out what primary you're running. MA/DA is going to have better synergy with OG. BS/DA, Kat/DA, and DM/DA are going to have better synergy with CoF. Everything else is in the middle, though, there is probably a strong preference for OG simply because of the lighter slotting requirements and fewer endurance problems.

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I disagree on the synergy of CoF and BS/DA over that of OG. The whole wander away issue is not as big as people make it out to be which is really dependant upon cloak of darkness.

If you run CoD and jump into a group with OG running, the mobs are not in "100 yard dash mode" and will stun quickly with barely a stagger. Broadsword makes quick work of minions.

I sense people who complain about the running aren't using CoD.

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If you run CoD and jump into a group with OG running, the mobs are not in "100 yard dash mode" and will stun quickly with barely a stagger. Broadsword makes quick work of minions.

I sense people who complain about the running aren't using CoD.

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I fail to see what CoD has to do with anything. Stunned mobs wander with ridiculous speed. CoD will do nothing to prevent this.

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MA/DA is going to have better synergy with OG. BS/DA, Kat/DA, and DM/DA are going to have better synergy with CoF. Everything else is in the middle...

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Yeah, I suppose I could add that Oppressive Gloom is on my Spines/Dark, and Cloak of Fear is on my Katana/Dark. To me, the synergy with Katana is less about the -to hit, and more about having incoming melee damage (CoF) vs. ranged damage (OG). I agree that the majority of mobs tend to remain in range of the stun, but some don't, and when they wander out and attack, it's ranged damage, unless they run back in and get stunned again.

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If you run CoD and jump into a group with OG running, the mobs are not in "100 yard dash mode" and will stun quickly with barely a stagger. Broadsword makes quick work of minions.

I sense people who complain about the running aren't using CoD.

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I fail to see what CoD has to do with anything. Stunned mobs wander with ridiculous speed. CoD will do nothing to prevent this.

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Stunned mobs do not wander at ridiculous speed if they haven't started their movement. CoD allows you to get in melee range of them so they don't start movement and instead cycle an attack. Since they haven't started movement their movement speed does not increase by the time they are stunned. Stunned mobs only move at ridicuolus speed because they were already in motion moving somewhere.

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If you run CoD and jump into a group with OG running, the mobs are not in "100 yard dash mode" and will stun quickly with barely a stagger. Broadsword makes quick work of minions.

I sense people who complain about the running aren't using CoD.

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I fail to see what CoD has to do with anything. Stunned mobs wander with ridiculous speed. CoD will do nothing to prevent this.

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Stunned mobs do not wander at ridiculous speed if they haven't started their movement. CoD allows you to get in melee range of them so they don't start movement and instead cycle an attack. Since they haven't started movement their movement speed does not increase by the time they are stunned. Stunned mobs only move at ridicuolus speed because they were already in motion moving somewhere.

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Sorry, my experience differs dramatically from what you've described. Or is this a recent change?

I like fear. Mostly due to lower end requirements (alot les healing needed) but also alot due to liking the multi floating skulls

Great for damage mitigation as even those not feared are hit with nasty -acc

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I like fear. Mostly due to lower end requirements (alot les healing needed) but also alot due to liking the multi floating skulls

Great for damage mitigation as even those not feared are hit with nasty -acc

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Also, never looked this up but always assumed the cloak stacked with touch for some nasty uber fear for the big guys

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I like fear. Mostly due to lower end requirements (alot les healing needed) but also alot due to liking the multi floating skulls

Great for damage mitigation as even those not feared are hit with nasty -acc

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Also, never looked this up but always assumed the cloak stacked with touch for some nasty uber fear for the big guys

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ToF + CoF do stack.

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I like fear. Mostly due to lower end requirements (alot les healing needed) but also alot due to liking the multi floating skulls

Great for damage mitigation as even those not feared are hit with nasty -acc

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Also, never looked this up but always assumed the cloak stacked with touch for some nasty uber fear for the big guys

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ToF + CoF do stack.

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TY for this confirmation

I was pretty sure they did by the look of fear in my enemies eyes.

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If you run CoD and jump into a group with OG running, the mobs are not in "100 yard dash mode" and will stun quickly with barely a stagger. Broadsword makes quick work of minions.

I sense people who complain about the running aren't using CoD.

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I fail to see what CoD has to do with anything. Stunned mobs wander with ridiculous speed. CoD will do nothing to prevent this.

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Stunned mobs do not wander at ridiculous speed if they haven't started their movement. CoD allows you to get in melee range of them so they don't start movement and instead cycle an attack. Since they haven't started movement their movement speed does not increase by the time they are stunned. Stunned mobs only move at ridicuolus speed because they were already in motion moving somewhere.

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Hmm....this has not been my experience. IMHO stunned mobs seemed to wander away quickly whether they were already in motion or standing still.

I can't help if you two don't know when to jump. Just kidding. Seriously though, I haven't had an issue with sprinting stunned mobs for at least a year.

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I like fear. Mostly due to lower end requirements (alot les healing needed) but also alot due to liking the multi floating skulls

Great for damage mitigation as even those not feared are hit with nasty -acc

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This. OG makes you hit DR more often if you are an alpha taker.