Slotting Dark/ for defense and filling in its other holes is slot hungry but manageable. That said, you may not fill out everything the way you want till mid 40's.
One thing you can try is dropping CoF, slotting Kinetic combat in Scorch instead of S Haymaker to keep your S/L defense high. One thing to consider from 41 on, take an immobilize from an epic pool and slot it with enfeebled operation.
From the numbers you posted, you have Murky Cloud/Dark Embrace slotted for resists but not Tough. How come? You'd benefit greatly from having 70% S/L resists.
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Tough will be, I just don't have it yet. I plan on four slotting it with Reactive (or whatever gets me the def bonus.)
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Originally Posted by Jebe_the_Pirate
From the numbers you posted, you have Murky Cloud/Dark Embrace slotted for resists but not Tough. How come? You'd benefit greatly from having 70% S/L resists. |
Dark is a late bloomer so don't feel bad if you still feel squishie. I don't feel comfortable till about 40, once I have enough slot in most powers to make a difference. Don't feel that you have to have soft capped defense right now.
Drop CoF and pick up Op Gloom ASAP. It provides just as much damage mitigation at a far lower end/slotting cost.
You can get DA's defense totals up fairly high by taking the Fighting Pool and slotting carefully for defense set bonuses.
As for slotting, one place to save is to assume with IO sets you can get away with 5-slotting most attacks. For that reason (among others0, I'd recommend looking for typed def bonuses, since most of them are available with 3-5 slots. Also, 3-slotting CJ only adds an additional 1% or so of defense, so you can get away with a single slot there for the Kismet +Acc.
Mocking Beratement is a good choice, but not for an key attack; it doesn't provide nearly enough end reduction or damage enhancement for an attack. Put the MBs in Taunt and slot Combustion with 3 slots of Eradication plus a couple of other set enhancements that will add end reduction and damage. As a matter of fact, Erad is a good choice for all your PBAoE attacks since it gives over 3% E/NE defense with just three slots. Your ST attacks should be 4-slotted with Smashing Haymaker (or Kinetic Combat if you can find and afford them) with another slot for a Acc/Dam from another set if possible.
I haven't run a test build, but that should get you a decent amount of S/L and E/NE defense without short-slotting too many powers.
EDIT: I noticed you don't say anything about KB protection. You are going to need to either take Acro, or set aside a couple of slots in your res or def powers to slot -KB IOs.
My Characters
Knight Court--A CoH Story Complete 2/3/2012
Standard Dark Armor slotting applies. However I don't believe OG is absolutely necessary. Sure it provides mitigation at the minion lvl only requiring the initial slot with an ACC enhancement but far from necessary since minions are eaten up by Death Shroud anyway. I would see it as necessary if stacked with another power selection.
Findulias is right about Eradication, that set does so much for you. +Max end and E/NE defense go along way to keep you alive. Slot them where you can and you might sit somewhere around 30-35% E/NE defense and about +20-24% max end after accolades.
If you feel you still need more slots and have 4-slotted CoD and Weave for bonuses, consider going with just 2-3 slots until you get till lvl 45ish. You might not get the bonuses or end reduction but it's something to consider if you feel you need the slots elsewhere.
BTW, since you haven't mentioned it, I'll make a note now just in case. End reduction and Theft of Essence +chance for endurance in Dark regen are you friends. I include accuracy for AV's.
I have DR slotted with 5 touch of the nictus and the theft of essence proc, works great.
I would skip CoF AND OG, you are going to burn through those so fast with /fire that they both will be a waste, and seeing how they are only reliable on minions....
Jebe is right about the enfeebled operation set, it gives a hefty S/L defense boost.
Make sure to push your max end high, the DA/fire combo is going to be hungry.
Depending on what you choose for lvl40+ powers, you may try to get in Soul Transfer. A lot of people disagree about it being a worthwhile power, I love it, and unlike "God Mode" tier 9's, I dont skip the self rez. If you are built right, those God Mode powers will be unnecessary, as if you are that far in over your head you are dead anyway, you MAY be able to squeak by with them, but if you time it wrong, or are just that far in over, you are still dead. With Soul Transfer, you can make death a strategic thing. Too much aggro, dump some with a quick death and rez(make sure to do so with some still in range). Almost out of end or health, and DR isnt up? Drop shields and pop ST, both bars full. The disorient is great, and you are invulnerable long enough to get all your toggles back up. With a solid build and the strategic use of ST you can tank any situation indefinitely.
Dark Armor is like that kid you knew in school that didn't know when to shut up, and no matter how bad he got beaten down, he got right back up again and kept on talking.
Just an update to those who were curious about my dark/fire.
After a bit of slow trudging and getting distracted by alts...she's almost up to 28...I know...slow progress. I've got 1 -kb IO in Obsidian at the moment, and I'm looking in to getting 1 more probably, just because I've been encountering a lot of stacked kb on me.
Love the character, her concept, and her build thus far. Can't wait to mow some crowds down as I get better and better!
I'm rolling up my dark/fire tank, I'm already at 25, and I'm wondering if anyone has tried this build? I'm sure people have tried it, that is...but I'm wondering if anyone has stuck with it.
I'm at work, so my build is gonna be simply described. heh.
1: Dark Embrace
1:Scorch
2:Murky Cloud
4:Combustion
6:Obsidian Shield
8: Dark Regen
10:Combat Jumping
12:Swift
14:Super Jump
16:Cloak of Shadows
18:Health
20:Stamina
22: Death Shroud
24:Cloak of Fear
26:Boxing (planned)
28:Fire Sword Circle (planned)
30:Tough (planned)
32:Weave (planned)
35:Incineration (planned)
38:Taunt (planned)
So that is my plan for this character. I currently have about 30% resist to Energy and Toxic, 42% to Fire and Cold, 47% to Smash/Lethal, 50% to Psionics, and I think about 60% to Negative energy. My slotting gives me 20% defense to smashing/lethal, and I'm shooting for somewhere close to 40-45%, and about 30% to energy, just to cover that "hole".
That being said, how can I save slots? I'm already woefully behind. A couple of my armors are getting at least 4 slotted for Reactive Armor (I think) because it gives me S/L defense. Scorch has Haymaker in it at 4 slots. Combustion has 6 slots, 4 using Mocking Beratement (I think) for the defense. CJ and CoS are slotted for defense, CJ has an extra slot for Kismet 6% tohit. CoF is getting 5 slots of Siphon insight for 3.75% s/l defense, but it currently only has 2.
Weave will be 3-4 slotted, tough will be 4 slotted, FSC will be six slotted, taunt will be 4 slotted. I feel like I'm out of slots before I even get them! Is there anything I can change for better results?