The Black Cloud of Hate, Dark/Dark/Soul Guide

The Black Cloud of Hate, Dark/Dark/Soul (Nalrok Ath'Zim)

Every time I log in to my Dark/Dark/Soul brute, I hear the criticism of anyone who decides to look at my build. They ask me why I did such a foolish thing as picking Dark/Dark. They ask me why I didn't take a stronger secondary armor. They ask why I use Shadow Cloak. They even ask why I took Midnight Grasp. Heck, even here on the forums there's a guide against taking my favorite powerset combo in the game:

Dark Melee, Dark Armor, and Soul Mastery.

First, I'm going to start off with a little of my views on both powersets. Yes, I know that the trio of sets I have is really rather cliché, but that doesn't change the fact that they go together perfectly enough for my playstyle. Keep in mind that I'm not telling you how it is, just how I think it is. Capisce? Capisce.


Dark Melee. Oh, how I do love you. I chose you the second week of playing CoV and never looked back. This set is riddled with incredible powers, and even better secondary effects. It's the only melee set with -accuracy, and every debuff stacks. That's right, if you run in and punch a guy six times in the face, that's six -accuracy debuffs right in his left nostril. That's what makes this set so synergistic with Dark Armor, but I'll talk more on that later. Dark Melee is not a heavy hitting set. It has no "alpha" strikes, such as Knockout Blow (Super Strength) or the much-worshipped Energy Transfer (Energy Melee). But what it does have is constant streaming damage output. It's first two attacks are incredibly fast... at level two you have a steady chain of punches. By level eight you have four solid attacks and one devastating control power. It's a strong starter set and finishes strong as well.

Now, Dark Armor. Sure, it gets a terrible rap from just about any gamer who wants their brute to solo Recluse (which I have, thank you very much). "Not enough resist" or "No knockback protection" or "You need Tough to make it work." Only the Knockback part is true, and you can just fix that with a -Knockback IO (Again, more on that later). Dark Armor has a great heal, INCREDIBLE psionic resistance (chew on THAT, Numina and Sister Psyche!), and a few utility powers that can be taken or skipped depending on the style of the player. This makes it incredibly versatile.

NOW! We begin the fun part, and that is how I rate the powers. First, I'll explain the power, then I will give ratings from one to five stars (* - *****) and I'll explain why. Then, I'll suggest slotting (this is going to be purely frankenslotting, as I'll leave the IO set choices up to you). Finally, if possible, I'll give a little tip for the power and how I get the most use out of it.

Dark Melee:

Shadow Punch
Melee, Minor Damage(Smashing/Negative), Foe -To-Hit

It is what it is. It's a punch wrapped in shadows. It's your first attack, it's nice and fast, and it's the beginning of a brutal chain of attacks I use. It has a little -acc component, which is nice since it's on such a quick recharge. Doesn't do much damage, but hey, it's not supposed to.
Rating: ***

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 1 -To hit

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Smite
Melee, Moderate Damage(Smashing/Negative), Foe -To-Hit

Smite actually hits pretty darn hard for what it is, especially in the levels past 40. It also has a -acc component, to stack it on with Shadow Punch. This attack is the second in my opening chain.
Rating: ***

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 1 -To hit

TIP: I always use this attack immediately after Shadow Punch, and never the other way around. The animations line up faster and if you do it right, at low levels you can one-two punch any mob into the floor.

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Shadow Maul
Melee(Cone), High Damage over Time(Smashing/Negative), Foe -To-Hit

Ah, the second defining power of Dark Melee (at least until veteran rewards). This bad boy can smack five guys in the face at the same time. You reel back and piston your arms a bit, while several sets of phantom arms beat your enemy's face in. It just sucks if it misses though, so that's why it avoids the 5 star rating.
Rating: ****

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 1 Rech, 1 -To hit

TIP: Try and line up your foes in a triangle/diamond pattern before firing this one off. Shadow Maul's cone is incredible, and helps you melt enemies quickly.

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Touch of Fear
Melee Fear, Foe -To-Hit

This power is just fantastic. It drops a heavy-mag fear on anything you hit it with, and comes with a colossal 11% accuracy debuff right out of the box. This thing, with two applications, will turn almost any enemy into a blubbering, crying mess who just sits there and shakes. Put in a specialty IO and watch it fire off some psionic damage if you're lucky.
Rating: *****

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 ToHitDebuff, 1 Rech

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Siphon Life
Melee, Superior Damage(Negative), Foe -To-Hit, Self +Hit Points

Until the recent changes to this power, my slotting and rating would have been far different. Now, this power hits like a train and heals pretty darn good too. I also like it because it looks like you yank your enemies' life out. Now, I respecced to 6 slot this bad boy. The only downside is the recharge time.
Rating: ****

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 2 Heal

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Taunt

I never bothered. Dark/Dark/Soul has more AOE than you can shake a scythe at, and it all helps pull aggro.
Rating: *

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Dark Consumption
Point Blank Area of Effect, Moderate Damage(Negative), Self +Endurance

This power is a near-perfect diamond. You get a hefty endurance bonus for every enemy around you, and if you slot it right, two minions can take you from nearly no endurance to full. The biggest, most glaring problem with this power is it's frivolously long recharge time.
Rating: ****

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 EndMod, 1 Rech

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Soul Drain
Point Blank Area of Effect, Moderate Damage(Negative), Self +Damage, +To-Hit

Move the heck over, Build Up. Soul Drain will eat your... um... soul. This power is fantastic! For every enemy in melee range (and within the circle that forms, you can see it easily), you get an 8% damage bonus and 3% to your To-hit. This stacks up with the base boosts the power gives, which are 40% to damage and 15% to ToHit. So with a maximum of 10 targets, the power will crank your damage up by 120% (this DOES combine with Fury, people!), and your ToHit up by about 35%. You can't beat that. It lasts a crazy 30 seconds, too.
Rating: I'd give this 200 stars if I could.

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Rech, 1 ToHit Buff

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Midnight Grasp
Melee, Superior Damage(Negative), Foe Immobilize, -To-Hit

This power also had it's damage changed recently, which just made it for the better. Before, MG did half of it's damage up front, and the rest in a DoT as the immobilize ticked away. Now, most of it's damage hits immediately with about 15% of the rest ticking on the status effect. This power, with full Fury and a 10-man Soul Drain, will put a serious murky dent in anything that gets in your way. With some recharge and Hasten, you can immobilize just about anything.
Rating: *****

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam, 2 Rech

Dark Armor

A quick disclaimer: All armor toggles will receive five stars. If you don't take all three of them, you shouldn't be playing this class.

Dark Embrace
Toggle: Self +Resistance(Smash, Lethal, Negative, Toxic)

This is your basic Smash/Lethal shield. The upside of this power is the resistance to Negative and Toxic damage. Toxic is the least resisted damage type, so you can stand up to Toxic Tarantulas no problem later in the game. The downside is the low Resistance. Fully slotted with 3 level 35 Resistance IO's it'll give you 35%. That isn't great, but this will be made up for by Dark Melee's -acc components.
Rating: *****

Slotting: 3 +Res, 2 EndRdx

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Death Shroud
Toggle: Point Blank Area of Effect, Minor Damage over Time(Negative)

This power is okay. It's your mob-stick aura, and with full fury you can get some good ticks out of it. I honestly only have it for aggro purposes on teams, and I took it at 49. I slotted it with just two, reserving my slots for other things.
Rating: ***

Slotting: 1 Acc, 1 EndRdx

=======================

Murky Cloud
Toggle: Self +Resistance(Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Endurance Drain)

This power is your basic elemental shield. The nice bonus is that it has resistance against End Drain, which at later levels is nice against those pesky Malta Sappers. Again, the downside is the low resistance, so slot high and hard.
Rating: *****

Slotting: 3 +Res, 2 EndRdx

=======================

Obsidian Shield
Toggle: Self +Resistance(Psionic, Sleep, Hold, Disorient, Fear)

This power is amazing. It provides your basic status protection (with exception to the much-hated Knockback and Immobilize). So just in case, carry a Break Free for the immobilizes and purchase a Knockback Protection IO (put that in Shadow Cloak). The kicker for this toggle is it's INCREDIBLE resistance to Psionic damage, the damage type most responsible for making people who play Invul characters cry in their sleep. Slotted well, this power will give a massive 57% resistance to Psi, rendering most psionic attacks useless. I still remember the time a Psi/Mental blaster dropped his nuke on me in Recluse's Victory, and it only shaved off a quarter of my health. Take it, use it, love it.
Rating: Beyond five stars.

Slotting: 3 +Res, 2 EndRdx

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Dark Regeneration
Point Blank Area of Effect, Minor Damage(Negative), Self: +Health

This is your life. This is your way of defying the odds. Dark Regeneration gives you a hefty health boost for every enemy around you. At level 50, with the right slotting (and a set bonus) mine ticks for 908 HP per mob, effectively restoring me to full health off of one pull. Holy crap, right? Of course, this sort of power comes with it's downside. Dark Regeneration has a HUGE ENDURANCE COST. Roughly 33 endurance, which is way more than you want to be spitting out. This can be easily fixed by using Dark Consumption, but if you're in an end-heavy spot with no tool powers up, stick with Siphon Life and green inspirations.
Rating: ****

Slotting: 1 Acc, 2 heal, 1 EndRdx, 1 Rech

TIP: There's a slight delay, VERY slight, in getting your health back when you use this power. My advice is to use it before you think you should to avoid any unwanted deaths. Also, my suggested slotting can be modified to whatever you like, that's just what I use.

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Cloak of Darkness
Toggle: Self Stealth, +Defense, +Perception, +Resistance(Immobilize)

While many players skip this power in favor of others, I urge you to pick it when you have nothing else important to take. Buy a Karma: Knockback Protection and slap it into this power as soon as you can. It's also great for those missions you know you can finish but don't want to waste time fighting to the end of that god-awfully long Circle of Thorns map. Also useful when hiding from an AV to rest or recharge powers.
Rating: ****

UPDATE: Because I'm so incredibly dense, I forgot to mention that Shadow Cloak provides a really hefty Immobilize protection. So, contrary to what I said, with the Karma IO, it DOES close the gap in your defenses!

Slotting: Karma: Knckbk Prot., 1 EndRdx

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Cloak of Fear
Toggle: Point Blank Area of Effect, Foe: Fear, -To-Hit

One of those powers some people love, and some people find useless. Cloak of fear surrounds you with screaming skull faces, and anyone who gets near you trembles like a scared little girl. If you're taking on an EB/AV, coupling this with Touch of Fear can rip through their protection and reduce them to nothing. I used to have it, but I dropped it when I took Soul Mastery.
Rating: ****

Slotting: 1 Acc, 2 Fear, 1 EndRdx

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Oppressive Gloom
Toggle: Point Blank Area of Effect, Foe: Disorient, Self: -Health

Not so much 'Oppressive' as it is frustrating to me. I took this power before I knew what it was, and man did it tick me off. You're surrounded by angry red circles, and every foe in melee range becomes disoriented. Sure, that sounds great, but it also causes them to wander, and if this power ticks more than a few times the mobs can wander off and leave you to chase them all over. Not to mention that each tick of disorient on them takes health from you. Sure, one mob isn't too bad, but if you jump into an 8-man spawn with this thing running you'll find yourself wishing Siphon Life was up more often (not to mention your team will be sick of wandering, half-stupid enemies). The main thing is, Brutes need to hit and be hit to build fury. You can't do that if your enemies are wandering about like a bunch of idiots. Thanks to Kybarsfang for this insight.
Rating: *

Slotting: ... if I had to slot it... 1 Acc, 2 Stun, 1 EndRdx

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Soul Transfer
Self Rez, End/HP Per Foe in Area, MASSIVE Stun

As a brute, you're going to die. You're going to die a lot. If you don't want to die, you may be in the wrong profession. When you die, you fall to your knees and faceplant. But not many enemies expect you to suck their consciousness out of their forehead and come back to life stronger than ever! Soul Transfer, per enemy near you, will restore your HP and endurance and bring you back to life. This is the strongest power in Dark Armor, and it has the strongest stun in the game. A mag 30 stun. Yes, mag 30. This stun will rip the living daylights out of any AV and melt them into a stumbling fool for eleven seconds. Not only does this give you a significant amount of time to get your toggles back up, it will also allow you to use Dark Regeneration and Dark Consumption if there weren't enough enemies to bring you back to full. The best part is, IT'S AUTOHIT! Take it and pay off those debt badges!
Rating: ***********************************************

Slotting: 1 Heal, 1 EndMod, 2 Rech

TIP: Sometimes I like to make tough spawns easier for my team by instructing them to run in after I rez. This makes them wonder what's wrong with me until I hit Soul Transfer and make the entire spawn cannon fodder. This power is not only a great way to come back to life, but it's also a great way to start an alpha against a particularly tough cluster of enemies. Find new and fun ways to die, with Soul Transfer!

Soul Mastery

Soul Mastery is my favorite of the Patron Power pools, especially with the recent buffs to each set. With it, the combination of Dark/Dark excels even more in PvE, and it balances out the resistance-related issues in the Dark Armor toggles. With the completion of your character's build, you can use some attack chains I've devised, which I'll talk about in the tactics section.

Gloom
Ranged, High Damage over Time(Negative), Foe -Accuracy

Ah, yes. Gloom. Gloom is NICE. Gloom is that low-level Dark Blast has where you fire a skull from your hand. Except in Soul Mastery, a swirling mass of white tendrils snake down your arm and follow said skull into your enemy, laying down a heavy DoT. This power has yet another -Acc component, great for making enemies miss. Gloom is also one of the highest-DPA attacks you can get your hands on.
Rating: ****

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam

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Soul Tentacles
Ranged (Cone), Moderate Damage(Negative), Foe: Immobilize

This is another player preference power. Some people use it great, and others (like myself) can do without it. You basically launch a cone of immobilization. The animation looks a lot like the tentacles from Midnight Grasp, but they're a cool white-orange-purple color. Great for coupling with Cloak of Fear, and maybe Oppressive Gloom, and especially Death Shroud. Not bad, but not great.
Rating: ***

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Immob

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Dark Obliteration
Ranged (Targeted Area of Effect), Moderate Damage(Negative), Foe -Accuracy

This is a great power for ranged spawn pulls. You fling a cluster of angry darkness and it explodes with this really cool howling sound. Not great damage up front, but with Soul Transfer and full Fury, you can get a good 150-200 damage out of this AOE bomb. The best part is the -accuracy component. This doesn't apply it to ONE mob, but every one it hits! Stack that with Darkest Night and they'll be swinging and missing.
Rating: ****

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Dam

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Darkest Night
Toggle: Ranged Targeted area of effect, Foe -Damage, Foe -To Hit

Welcome to the power that ties mass mob fighting together. When you pull an 8-man spawn, lay this on the strongest bugger in it and go to town. This power severely reduces the enemies accuracy, not to mention their damage. So, on top of all the -Acc debuffs you have and the ability to increase your damage output tenfold, Darkest Night is the icing on the cake of death you brutally serve to your enemies. It's a bit of an endurance hog, but that is nearly fixable with the right slotting. This power, on a Brute, makes enemy attacks feel like pinpricks... if they even hit you.
Rating: *****

Slotting: 2 EndRdx, 2 -ToHit

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Summon Widow
Summon Blood Widow: Melee Moderate Damage(Lethal)

As a brute, if you need a helper, you need to reconsider your job, especially solo. This little pipsqueak does next to nothing compared to your damage, and usually ends up ticking off another group as you're pulling one. It also has a huge recharge. I didn't bother.
Rating: *

Slotting: I guess 2 Acc and 2 Dam.

Tactics

So you want to punch things in the face. Welcome to Dark/Dark/Soul tactics. My sections are pretty basic:

Solo
Heavy Solo
Teams
Heavy Teams
TFs
Against the Impossible

Let's begin, shall we?

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Solo

Soloing. It's what you do alone. When you're a Dark/Dark/Soul brute, there are ways to efficiently solo. Let's begin with basic attack chains that will apply to the remaining sections of the Tactics section.

Attack Chain One
(or as I call it)
One-Two-Ten

Shadow Punch > Smite > Shadow Maul.

This is your basic bread-and-butter attack chain. It ramps damage from small to large and gets the point across.

---

Attack Chain Two
or
One-Two-Heal

Shadow Punch > Smite > Siphon Life.

This is another ramp-up to heavy chain that, with good recharge slotting, can be executed indefinitely (especially with hasten). It also heals! With the recent Siphon Life change, this chain can dish major damage as fury increases.

---

Attack Chain Three
or
One-Two-Stop

Shadow Punch > Smite > Midnight Grasp

This is yet another variant that drops your heaviest hitter as the final blow.

---

A final technique is to tie it all in.

Shadow Punch > Smite > Midnight Grasp > Siphon Life > Shadow Maul

If you have hasten, using this series will rapidly melt any enemy into a puddle of self-hating regret.

---

For those of you who enjoy high-DPA chains, here's one for you that (I believe) is a great DPA with enough recharge.

Midnight Grasp > Smite > Gloom > Smite > Siphon Life > Smite > Shadowmaul

If something survives that chain... do it again! If you have GOBS of recharge, try this one!

Midnight Grasp > Smite > Gloom > Siphon Life > Repeat

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Heavy Solo

When you decide to turn up the heat at the Fateweaver, things can get a little complicated. While there are no real chains, there are some maneuvers you can pull to make yourself harder to kill.

First, try to surround yourself with as many foes as possible. This will maximize the output of your core AOE skills: Soul Drain, Dark Regeneration, and Dark Consumption. It also helps in the event you get killed; Soul Transfer will bring you back completely if you're surrounded by enough enemies at the time of death. My basic introduction is to throw Dark Obliteration at one or two groups while standing in a third, so the two groups come to you and merge, giving you 7-10 enemies to fight. Then, use Soul Drain to maximize your damage output. From there, it should be smooth single-target drops until there's nothing left. Remember, if you're about to die use Dark Regeneration, and if you're almost out of breath to use Dark Consumption.

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Teaming

Teaming is essentially the same as soloing. Since Dark/Dark/Soul doesn't have too many bothersome control effects (such as knockback) you should be free to go absolutely berserk on any given group of mobs. Just keep an eye on your green and blue bars, and hit the Dark Regen/Consumption buttons as you see fit. Try not to use Dark Cons. on groups that are nearly dead, as chances are the Corruptor is about to fling a Targeted AOE and scourge the crap out of your much-needed endurance boost.

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Heavy Teaming
Every now and again you get on that one team that just begs to be beaten like a bad monkey. This is where your wits and skills must be at their sharpest. BE ABSOLUTELY SURE (and I cannot emphasize this enough) to lay down Darkest Night on the strongest foe in every group. Not only will this attract the group to you and prevent the deaths of anyone who doesn't hold their AOE's until after you run in, but it will debuff every foe around and do so longer than if you had dropped it on a weaker foe.

Another thing I cannot stress enough: After you lay down Darkest Night, IMMEDIATELY throw Dark Obliteration. This will lock the enemies on you and keep the rest of the team safe.

When teams like this arise, you usually get much tougher bosses. My recommended chain for bosses is this:

Midnight Grasp > Gloom > Shadow Maul > Siphon Life

If you're going to go straight for the boss and kill him first, be sure to use the surrounding enemies to fuel Soul Drain. It's not worth it to use Soul Drain on the boss only. Suck up that power and feed it to his face!

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Strike Forces

The most important thing I can tell you about Strike Force play is to treat it like Heavy Teaming, but to pay crucial attention to your surroundings and what you're facing. Each SF is different, and I can't explain them all. Study up on the SF in question, know what to expect, and tackle it with the tactic you think would best apply. Keep a sharp eye on your health, your endurance, and most importantly, your team. If you see even one of your teammmates losing health, throw a Dark Obliteration their way. This will attract the enemy attacking them, and anything else nearby for good measure.

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Against the Impossible

Always remember, when things seem impossible, that you have to use every disposable resource available to you. Burn everything. I highly recommend getting Demonic, Megalomaniac, and Force of Nature. Using all three of these when taking on the toughest of the tough will turn you into a veritable monster. If you have Hasten and add that in, you will be able to pump out more damage than the rest of your team. You could almost chain-Shadow Maul if you have enough recharge. Lay down the heavy hits, incorporate the chains, and go crazy on the AV/whatever you're up against.

And that's it, my Dark Melee/Dark Armor/Soul Mastery guide. From one player who seems to be the only one on Virtue who doesn't think this combo is terrible, to you, another player looking for the thoughts and ideas on a power combo.

Here's a quick insight into power pools, as Inherent Fitness has allowed me to find new joy in taking things other than just a travel power!

Fighting: Highly beneficial to this build. Take Tough and Weave and enjoy them. They make Dark Armor even sturdier.

Speed: Hasten is a godsend for this build. The more recharge you have, the more you can use your utility powers.

Flight/Leaping/Teleportation: These are always to personal taste. They all have their benefits, and aren't restricted by anything other than concept when it comes to Dark/Dark/Soul. Pick what you enjoy and go to it!

But yes, that's it. I'm open to feedback and questions. And please, no posts that boil down to "LOL WHY DID YOU TAKE THAT, YOU SUCK LOL".

I love to see someone who has a passion for Dark Armor. It really is a great set with excellent resists, despite its quirks.

One piece of feedback that I have about your guide, however, is that Oppresive Gloom is not an end hog. In fact, Mid's puts it at 0.08 end per second unslotted, which is 0.21 end per second LESS that unslotted Sprint. Also, I can see the constant health ticks being a bit of an annoyance, but for those whose playstyle and/or primary can utilize the Stun to their advantage, it's definitely worth it. Plus, a Heal Enhancement in Health more than compensates for the damage, even when surrounded.

Granted, this is a Brute guide, though, and Brutes need to both hit and be hit at to build Fury. Oppressive Gloom is an excellent damage mitigation tool, but it's better for Tankers and Scrappers (and a decent backup tool for surrounded Stalkers.)

Other than stated above, I don't have any concerns. Thanks for taking the time to write this out; it's an enthusiastic resource for those of us who like the darker side of battle.

Two points.

1) Under Dark Melee, you list Soul Drain as Soul Transfer.

2) Under Dark Armour, you list Soul Transfer as a Mag 11 stun. It's not. It's a Mag 30 stun for 11 seconds. Oh, and so far as I can tell in my limited use of the power so far, it's autohit (in PvE, at least) too

I find Death Shroud more than 'okay'. It's one of your major damage-dealing power if youlook at herostats. I'd slot it with 1 acc, 2 dmg and 3 endredux (or in 4 slots for IOs, 2 acc/dam/end and 2 dam/end). Also I'd take it just after Stamina.

Good guide. Am seriously thinking of rebuilding my favorite tank as a brute.

I agree with kioshi, Death Shroud is great. I use it as a minion muncher on my tank, while I go straight for the boss. Boss dies and the minions are usually dead and any lts are softened up nicely.

I agree about CoF and OG, I dropped both on my tank. CoF was nice for holding the boss/AV, but that was about it. OG just annoyed the crap out of me.

I got my tank up to the point now that I will probably drop ST, but, I do use it as a tactical power. Things start getting out of hand in a crappy team, I use my self destruct then pop ST for the stun. That, or if I am just not paying attention and my end gets really low, I will pop it to refill. With Hasten, all it needs is one recharge slotwise. If you are dieing often enough to need more than that, well, don't know what to say really.

I rather love dark/dark myself, have one for every AT.
You can make it into a truely unstoppable killing machine if you wish to throw enough inf at it.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...63&postcount=2
That build was designed for scrappers but will very very easily fit into the brute mold. It will net you near-soft capped melee defense and 20-30% defense for everything else, combine that with Darkest night from soul mastery and you will have soft cap in all defenses (or at least very very close).

Couple of notes of my own.

Oppressive Gloom: Granted, may not be worth as much on a brute, but on my necro/dark/soul mm (cliche', be not proud ) I frankenslotted this with the procs from Absolute Amazement (big -to hit), Stupefy (kb) and Razzle Dazzle (immob). I parked him next to Reichsman and watched him miss... a lot. It's a handy way to help a team deal with an EB/AV surrounded by minions: set to follow the BigBad, stun/immob/kb his friends, and grind him down. And with 2 slots from each set, I'm getting (iirc) +8.5% Recovery; all three sets have that as their first bonus.

Also, this is very similar to my dark/dark/soul corruptor. The one who solos red Ballistae without batting an eye because, although the fight tends to be LONG, they hit back (successfully) maybe 3-4 times. I've slotted almost entirely toward +acc, -end and -to hit. The damage takes care of itself in a rather inexorable way, especially when scourge joins in the dance.

This is a great look into Dark/Dark/Dark. Im lvl 42 right now and am curious if you have a build thats good for surviving, but great for exemplaring?

Do you by chance have a build on Mids for this? It sounds interesting and I'd like to give it a run

Ka-update! Here's my current Live build, set for I19!

52% Resistance to Smash/Lethal!
62% Resistance to Psi!
54% Resistance to Negative!
42% Resistance to all others!
55% Recharge! 55 Freaking %!

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Nalrok Ath'Zim (Live): Level 50 Natural Brute
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Shadow Punch

• (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
• (3) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (13) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (37) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
• (45) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50

• (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance: Level 40
• (15) Reactive Armor - Endurance: Level 40
• (15) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 40
• (34) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge: Level 40

• (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (3) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
• (13) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (36) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
• (43) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50

• (A) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
• (5) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (5) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
• (36) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
• (40) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

• (A) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff: Level 30
• (7) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 30
• (7) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/ToHitDebuff: Level 30
• (36) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge: Level 30
• (45) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

• (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (9) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
• (9) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (25) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge: Level 50
• (40) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50
• (46) Healing IO: Level 50

• (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance: Level 40
• (11) Reactive Armor - Endurance: Level 40
• (11) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 40
• (37) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40

• (A) Accuracy IO: Level 50

• (A) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

• (A) HamiO:Golgi Exposure
• (17) Touch of the Nictus - Healing: Level 50
• (17) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
• (23) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing: Level 50
• (43) Touch of the Nictus - Heal/HitPoints/Regeneration/Recharge: Level 50
• (43) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance: Level 30

• (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Endurance: Level 50
• (19) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
• (19) Efficacy Adaptor - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50
• (23) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge: Level 50
• (46) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod: Level 50
• (46) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy: Level 50

• (A) Defense Buff IO: Level 50
• (21) Defense Buff IO: Level 50

• (A) Defense IO: Level 50

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance: Level 50
• (25) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range: Level 50

• (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up: Level 50
• (27) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance: Level 50
• (27) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge: Level 50
• (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance: Level 50
• (34) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance: Level 50
• (37) Accuracy IO: Level 50

• (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance: Level 40
• (29) Reactive Armor - Endurance: Level 40
• (29) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance: Level 40
• (31) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge: Level 40

• (A) Karma - Knockback Protection: Level 30
• (31) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50

• (A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (33) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50
• (33) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
• (33) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50
• (34) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50

• (A) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge: Level 50
• (39) Absolute Amazement - Endurance/Stun: Level 50
• (39) Absolute Amazement - Stun: Level 50
• (39) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge: Level 50
• (50) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50

• (A) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 40
• (42) Decimation - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 40
• (42) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage: Level 40
• (42) Decimation - Chance of Build Up: Level 40

• (A) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Endurance: Level 50
• (45) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge/Endurance: Level 50

• (A) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range: Level 50
• (48) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (48) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50
• (48) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance: Level 50
• (50) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

• (A) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 30
• (50) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 30

• (A) Empty

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50

• (A) Run Speed IO: Level 50

• (A) Jumping IO: Level 50

• (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery: Level 50

• (A) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50
• (21) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50
• (40) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End: Level 50

• 5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 3.75% Defense(Smashing)
• 3.75% Defense(Lethal)
• 1.563% Defense(Fire)
• 1.563% Defense(Cold)
• 4.375% Defense(Energy)
• 4.375% Defense(Negative)
• 1.875% Defense(Melee)
• 3.125% Defense(Ranged)
• 3.125% Defense(AoE)
• 6.3% Max End
• 5% Enhancement(Heal)
• 70% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 55% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 5% FlySpeed
• 163.04 HP (10.88%) HitPoints
• 5% JumpHeight
• 5% JumpSpeed
• Knockback (Mag -4)
• Knockup (Mag -4)
• MezResist(Confused) 2.5%
• MezResist(Held) 2.5%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 17.35%
• MezResist(Sleep) 2.5%
• MezResist(Stun) 2.5%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 2.5%
• 10.5% (0.175 End/sec) Recovery
• 20% (1.252 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 4.095% Resistance(Fire)
• 4.095% Resistance(Cold)
• 3.125% Resistance(Negative)
• 5% RunSpeed

Guide updated with a new build, a word on power pools, and two new attack chains!

Thank you for the guide and the updates. I love my dark/dark/(future dark) brute and I'm glad to see that there are more dark lovers than me.

I just wish I'd be better with numbers for soft capping.

You have a very different take on the D/D/SM Brute to me I will say. The second and third post with the first build was written so long ago when endurance management was something most people didn't really consider. The question lies in the now. Your current build with the way you've slotted it might be better improved. Do you have endurance problems running all toggles? If there are atleast 2 NPCs in front of me, cones become valid, if there are atleast 4 npcs in front of me PBAoEs become valid as the dam per end is roughly equal to my single target attacks. All other toggles are good when needed and if needed I'd use them without endurance woes. You seem to like Soul Transfer though and perhaps like me, if that was my last resort to obtain endurance I'd use it.

I just got back into the game and DARk brute is also my fav set.. and i wanted to use ur build cuz it looks good. just wanted to ask what are the letter's/numbers beside the IO's are? ex: (A) Gamblers luck. and would u say this brute build u made is good for pvp?

Thank you, lately I've been pondering rerolling my dark/dark scrapper from the olden days as a brute and this is a handy reference.

@Negami; Do it.

Nalrok, thanks for writing this!

One data point which may or may not be of use; Marauder seems to be stunnable with Soul Transfer. Of the couple times I've used it near him, I've seen him stunned with it once, but only for a split second. Other times he might have been Enraged.

Either way, ST is made of awesome and bacon. Even the sound effect is awesome.

I also found the health drain from OG to be minimal with decent regen or even a little bit of +hp from sets. On the other hand, it's too annoying to keep around even on a scrapper. Maybe it's just my combo though. The slows from spines make things run around enough as it is, I don't need the added wandering from the stun. Also, I kinda feel like CoF is more useful as a To-Hit debuff than as a fear (nice side effect), but as this is a dark/dark guide it's already packing plenty of debuff and it can be stacked with ToF which iirc is a higher mag than the cloak?