Trying something new (for me)... Dark/Traps

So, I'm looking for a bit of an off-beat combo for my next villain. I have a good concept, which should help drag him through, but I can't find anything at all on this combination of sets (unless the search just hates me).

I'm sure this has been tried, so someone must know something about it. Is it just that bad?

I figure with the two cones (especially with one to keep mobs in place for the mortar) should work well. Seekers for alpha, PT for -regen and some mez. I'll have trip mine for extra damage too.

Anyone have advice for this?

Thanks.

I have one. There was a discussion on this combo some time back initiated by someone interested in it, but no doubt it's been purged by now.

You are correct that the immob is very nice to keep things from running away from the AM. Also there were times I'd use TT and web nade on a boss to get it immobed "rite nao". Given the relative weakness of Poison Trap in its current state the extra mitigation you get from the -tohit stacked with FFG will be nice.

Caltrops will probably be of limited value to you, since you lose the mitigation they offer when foes are immobilized. On top of that most foes that are immob resistant also resist slows.

While on paper the FFG + Dark/'s -tohit seem extremely potent, in my experience they are not all you'd expect. That's not to say they're not nice, but you'll see the best benefit if you get some extra +def set bonuses. The main reason is that you have zero defense debuff protection. It was common in my experience to open with TT and see my defense numbers go negative almost immediately from the retaliation I received.

If you're not at a level of defense where most attacks miss, you'll be quite vulnerable to cascade failure. 6 slotting Thunderstrike in Dark Blast and Gloom will get you an extra 7.5% ranged defense. Add in say Combat Jumping and along with the FFG I'd say you're approaching the minimum you'd want to start to see real benefit when combined with your -tohit.

If [Life Drain] ever gets the [Siphon Life] treatment, that's gonna be one potent combo.

/e drools

If only.

Thanks for the input so far, guys.

I've got him up to 31 so far. It's been fun, although I've mostly teamed, so I don't have a great sense of how he'll do solo. I will really test that out once I get Trip Mine.

Yea, and Life Drain is pretty underwhelming. It'd be nice if got a bump in the neighbor of what Siphon Life got. Is opting for heal other/heal self a better way to go? Or do you not feel you need the healing once everything is slotted up?

I would focus on getting your defense higher rather than getting Aid Self. Once you get enough +def Life Drain will be more than adequate in the majority of situations to take care of those hits that do get through.

Whether you go for IO set bonuses or Maneuvers + CJ + Weave or a combination, that's where you'll see the best return for your investment. You don't have to go super high to see a strong benefit since you have -tohit to layer on top.

If you can afford to slot a hold proc in Acid Mortar that'll help also.

Once you get Trip Mine you can always use that solo, pull mobs into a minefield. Slow as molasses, but fun for a while. It's always an option for tricky situations though.

Ok, one more question.

I'm looking at patron powers now. I'm leaning toward Mako to get a 3rd cone power to fill out my AoE chain.

This is my first 50 villain, so I don't have a lot of infamy to spend to get my +recharge up to alternate TT and NF. Ideally I'd have those two with enough recharge to alternate so I could go GW for Soul Drain.

Any advice for this? Is Mako a mistake?