Dark Miasma/Storm Summoning - Are They Powerful Sets?
By
Airhammer,
Posted on: 2009-09-10 19:53 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by DSorrow
Also one more thing I'd like to add;
Healing is the attribute that becomes more and more useless the more of it is available. And this happens very fast, generally two healers (yeah, I know, there aren't real healers..) are already too much and the other healer's spot could've been better spent by picking a buffer/debuffer. |
Good point, I've subconsciously noticed that too but never thought about it that way.
Quote:
It's interesting to consider that, so long as they all stay together it only takes six Dark Miasma Defenders running Defense-slotted Shadowfall to soft-cap their defense to all attack types. (And that assumes no other +defense at all.) A team of 8 of them then has some slack for members to be mezzed/defeated which would suppress/end their contribution. The -toHit is basically superfluous at that point.|
Originally Posted by PhroX
Why bother? Just take 8 D3s, no need for the other ATs
 |
The level of -DR and -damage and they could apply from behind that defense would be pretty outrageous. Any non AV/GM foes would likely be in a state of perpetual fear.
It's not something I think really factors into the discussion of whether the sets are good or not, but it's an interesting think to think about.
Blue
American Steele: 50 BS/Inv
Nightfall: 50 DDD
Sable Slayer: 50 DM/Rgn
Fortune's Shadow: 50 Dark/Psi
WinterStrike: 47 Ice/Dev
Quantum Well: 43 Inv/EM
Twilit Destiny: 43 MA/DA
Red
Shadowslip: 50 DDC
Final Rest: 50 MA/Rgn
Abyssal Frost: 50 Ice/Dark
Golden Ember: 50 SM/FA
Quote:
The short answer: Because it would be too easy. 8 Dark/Darks would make ANY CHALLENGE in this game trivial. Assuming the 8 were level 50 you're talking about 8 fluffies to go along with the 8 players. |
Originally Posted by UberGuy
It's interesting to consider that, so long as they all stay together it only takes six Dark Miasma Defenders running Defense-slotted Shadowfall to soft-cap their defense to all attack types. (And that assumes no other +defense at all.) A team of 8 of them then has some slack for members to be mezzed/defeated which would suppress/end their contribution. The -toHit is basically superfluous at that point.
The level of -DR and -damage and they could apply from behind that defense would be pretty outrageous. Any non AV/GM foes would likely be in a state of perpetual fear. It's not something I think really factors into the discussion of whether the sets are good or not, but it's an interesting think to think about. |
1 D3 Makes it easy mode for a team.
# of D3's > 1 = Overkill.
The other short answer: If I was going with one AT it would be all corruptor Dark/Darks... :P
I think it would be fun to have all the flavors of dark just running around having a great ol' time.
D: Toss me a hai @DarkNat My Fify glory: Renzer Dark/Dark Corr., Renzro Dark/Dark Def., Amartasu Dark/Dark Scrap.Less important ones: Fire/Fire Blaster,Ice/Ice Blaster,Ele/Ele Brute, Mind/Storm Troll,Fire/Kin Corr.,Bots/FF MM., DB/Regen Scrap.
Quote:
Again, it's probably useful in a leveling PUG or with a very, very bad tank (or with no tank at all). Any decent tank won't need outside help (or very few) to tank the AV anyway so all the -dmg of the world won't help with the real issue: overcoming the AV regen and killing it in a decent amount of time. That leaves the small -regen and the res debuff which both will be resisted.|
Originally Posted by _Uun_
-regen is far from the most useful debuff against an AV. A level 50 AV has 85% resistance to -regen. In contrast, -dmg and -res are only resisted by the particular AV's damage resistance. A dark defender can bring 90% -dmg to the table (stacked Darkest Night and Twilight Grasp from defender and Dark Servant), enough to make any AV into a kitten, as well as 30% -res. And BTW, dark also brings 100% -regen (stacked Twilight Grasp).
|
Tar patch is great, however with a 90sec base recharge you'll need serious +recharge to have it up every spawn in a fast paced team. Again i'm not talking about the PUG spending 2min per mob but a steamrolling team.
Dark is fine to keep peoples alive most of the time, although i'd still rate it under other powersets for that mainly because it relies on players being grouped together and won't do much when the group is spread. However it doesn't bring much with offense compared to an offensive debuffer and the to-hit is still of a lesser value than +def for the sole reason it can, and will be resisted unlike the buffs. The heals and small buffs can still make up for that and the -regen is why i said it's average. It brings a bit of everything and does quite well at it, it's just that effective gameplay lends itself better to optimized builds. If i need survivability, i'll look for a defender focused on that (FF, empath (and i don't really like them), maybe even cold). If i need offense, i'll most likely look for a kin rad or cold.
Quote:
| What? Seriously? How about -res, -rch, -def, -tohit and kd? |
The tohit is counterproductive to most teams i like to play. I know a stormie can do a good job debuffing while not scattering mobs, however:
-it takes some precious seconds that could be used to just kill stuff
-it doesn't work very well on everything (narrow maps, fast/immune mobs, enough control so the stormie will just be locked and dead, KB happy team...)
-it doesn't work well with +3 or +4 and any AV will laugh at the -tohit anyway
When adding to the equation player skill, incompatibility with other playstyles, etc... that's a lot of hassle for an effect that will at best help to survive.
I'm not saying those tools are bad by themselves, they're just less "good" for me than the other def powersets. It takes a lot more work for a storm and even for a dark to bring something to the table, and often more animation time as well, compared to the buffing primaries who can buff before the fight and then focus on damage/debuffing/support.
Just take Cimerora as an exemple. Usual method (for the teams i like to run) is to have one or two tank/scrapper (buffed if he's not good enough) herding as much romans as they can then just blow up the pile and superspeed to the next one. If the tank needs the survivability, will he survive enough for the /dark to debuff/come and heal at the risk of getting himself killed/fear/whatever ? Not really. That's even worse with a storm, by the time he's done casting debuffs, summoning pets, etc, either half the team will be dead or already in the next room.
Not trying to lower the fun of the sets of the players playing them. I love the looks and feel of storm and dark, but no matter how i take them, i just can't get into prefering them to another defensive powerset. And i had a soft capped stormie who could "tank" and herdicane well enough. It's just a big waste of time in most teams and the most useful thing i could do most of the time was throwing FR then blasting away, and even with some global recharge bonus FR was not up as much as i wanted to.
To sum it up, i consider them as balanced sets. Which is fine by itself, not really when 70% of the powersets are overpowered.
Dark armor lover.
The Claws/DA Scrapper guide.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Celidya
When adding to the equation player skill, incompatibility with other playstyles, etc... that's a lot of hassle for an effect that will at best help to survive.
|
Quote:
| Just take Cimerora as an exemple. Usual method (for the teams i like to run) is to have one or two tank/scrapper (buffed if he's not good enough) herding as much romans as they can then just blow up the pile and superspeed to the next one. If the tank needs the survivability, will he survive enough for the /dark to debuff/come and heal at the risk of getting himself killed/fear/whatever ? Not really. That's even worse with a storm, by the time he's done casting debuffs, summoning pets, etc, either half the team will be dead or already in the next room. |
For herding, yeah, I wouldn't say either set brings a ton to the table... but I haven't seen herding as a widespread tactic in about four years. For a standard 'me and seven guys that I just met for the first time ever when I invited them to this task force and the tank doesn't have very good resistance to the damage type these guys do and we have four suicidal blasters and oh god there's a patrol heading our way' team, both pull their weight pretty well. As do Forcefield, Cold, Trick Arrow, Sonic, Empathy, Radiation, and Kinetics.
If everybody's smart and has the tactics down and your tank can herd everything and keep almost all of the aggro, take the tank, a FFer, a Kin, and five blasters. For everything else, we have the other defender sets.
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
Re: Celidya
I guess all the other power-gamers I play with are doing it wrong when they are happy when I bring one of my Darks on a speed TF, invincible kill all, or even a farm. You know, since it doesn't bring much to the table when you have a tank, mow down mobs really fast, etc.
Seriously, it's obvious that this is "paper" knowledge you're working with here. You have looked at the numbers or the power descriptions and concluded that this is how it works. It's either that or you've played alongside people who did a mediocre job of playing Dark Miasma and judged the powerset based on their performance. You said yourself you never actually played them beyond a certain point. It's obvious to me that you stopped too soon.
Blue
American Steele: 50 BS/Inv
Nightfall: 50 DDD
Sable Slayer: 50 DM/Rgn
Fortune's Shadow: 50 Dark/Psi
WinterStrike: 47 Ice/Dev
Quantum Well: 43 Inv/EM
Twilit Destiny: 43 MA/DA
Red
Shadowslip: 50 DDC
Final Rest: 50 MA/Rgn
Abyssal Frost: 50 Ice/Dark
Golden Ember: 50 SM/FA
Quote:
What competent teams have you been on that have had trouble overcoming an AV's regen? The answer is none because any team that can't isn't competent. Seriously, an AV's regen is only an issue when trying to solo them.|
Originally Posted by Celidya
Again, it's probably useful in a leveling PUG or with a very, very bad tank (or with no tank at all). Any decent tank won't need outside help (or very few) to tank the AV anyway so all the -dmg of the world won't help with the real issue: overcoming the AV regen and killing it in a decent amount of time. That leaves the small -regen and the res debuff which both will be resisted.
|
Also, -res is resisted by damage resistance, so it won't necessarily be resisted, and it will always multiply damage by a flat amount.
:/ ....
/facepalm
D: Toss me a hai @DarkNat My Fify glory: Renzer Dark/Dark Corr., Renzro Dark/Dark Def., Amartasu Dark/Dark Scrap.Less important ones: Fire/Fire Blaster,Ice/Ice Blaster,Ele/Ele Brute, Mind/Storm Troll,Fire/Kin Corr.,Bots/FF MM., DB/Regen Scrap.
Would a Golgi (Heal/End) HO affect the regeneration rate in Howling Twilight? If so, then Howling Twilight would be a great -regen debuffer. I think the only major debuff Dark Miasma lacks is -defense.
Also, in my opinion I would much rather have a Dark or a Stormie over a second kin any day. That 3rd Fulcrum Shift? It doesn't do anything. Meanwhile, I'll be applying TP and FR and whatever is in my defender's arsenal and increasing the offense of my team exponentially.
TW/Elec Optimization
Quote:
RedTomax says it ignores enhancements and buffs.
|
Originally Posted by Combat
Would a Golgi (Heal/End) HO affect the regeneration rate in Howling Twilight? If so, then Howling Twilight would be a great -regen debuffer. I think the only major debuff Dark Miasma lacks is -defense.
|
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
Dark is my 2nd favorite buff/debuff set after rad. Kin coming in a distant 3rd. Currently it's the 2nd most common set I play after rad, and I'm strongly considering trying to form an all dark super team (probably redside for a mix of corrupters and MMs). Dark does unbelievable things in SO's, and in a high recharge build is excellent for steamroller teams. I can't stress enough how highly I personally think of this power-set.
Storm is excellent as well, although extremely skill based. If you are a good stormy, it's the right answer for almost any situation. If you are a poor stormy it's always the wrong answer. Since I'm not confident enough of my skills yet (as a stormy) I tend to solo my /storm corrupter more than group and the chaos that ensues makes it more fun than 3 barrels of monkeys with Ritalin prescriptions.
These sets might not be everyone's barrel of advanced tea substitute. Dark is the antithesis of flashy, if a single Dark is on a team and they are doing their job well, it's likely that no one will notice. After all when everything is going smoothly and the mobs are dropping like rain who notices that their powers are hitting a bit harder and the foes aren't really doing anything other than missing and dieing. Dark doesn't necessarily save the team (although it has the tools if it needs), it prevents the situation from ever going southerly to begin with.
Storm on teams lives for the "Oh Shoot!" moments. It shines in the moments when things go wrong and it can unload 2 barrels of chaos loaded for bear. When those moments happen, and that master run is in danger you'll appreciate that stormy sitting in the back of the team that hasn't yet shown just what they can do.
-Mod8-
If you are using Latin in your post you are probably trolling
Have a question? Try the PlayNC Knowledge Base
Quote:
That's what I16 is for! |
Originally Posted by Moderator 08
Dark is the antithesis of flashy
|
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Moderator 08
Dark is my 2nd favorite buff/debuff set after rad. Kin coming in a distant 3rd. Currently it's the 2nd most common set I play after rad, and I'm strongly considering trying to form an all dark super team (probably redside for a mix of corrupters and MMs). Dark does unbelievable things in SO's, and in a high recharge build is excellent for steamroller teams. I can't stress enough how highly I personally think of this power-set.
Storm is excellent as well, although extremely skill based. If you are a good stormy, it's the right answer for almost any situation. If you are a poor stormy it's always the wrong answer. Since I'm not confident enough of my skills yet (as a stormy) I tend to solo my /storm corrupter more than group and the chaos that ensues makes it more fun than 3 barrels of monkeys with Ritalin prescriptions. These sets might not be everyone's barrel of advanced tea substitute. Dark is the antithesis of flashy, if a single Dark is on a team and they are doing their job well, it's likely that no one will notice. After all when everything is going smoothly and the mobs are dropping like rain who notices that their powers are hitting a bit harder and the foes aren't really doing anything other than missing and dieing. Dark doesn't necessarily save the team (although it has the tools if it needs), it prevents the situation from ever going southerly to begin with. Storm on teams lives for the "Oh Shoot!" moments. It shines in the moments when things go wrong and it can unload 2 barrels of chaos loaded for bear. When those moments happen, and that master run is in danger you'll appreciate that stormy sitting in the back of the team that hasn't yet shown just what they can do. |
Mod08 I hope you come to hero-con, I will give you a hug.
D: Toss me a hai @DarkNat My Fify glory: Renzer Dark/Dark Corr., Renzro Dark/Dark Def., Amartasu Dark/Dark Scrap.Less important ones: Fire/Fire Blaster,Ice/Ice Blaster,Ele/Ele Brute, Mind/Storm Troll,Fire/Kin Corr.,Bots/FF MM., DB/Regen Scrap.
Quote:
Some of my favorite moments in the game have been those times. "Everybody stand back! I'm going to drop a tornado, knock them on their butts, and then push the other half into a pit!"
|
Originally Posted by Moderator 08
Storm on teams lives for the "Oh Shoot!" moments. It shines in the moments when things go wrong and it can unload 2 barrels of chaos loaded for bear. When those moments happen, and that master run is in danger you'll appreciate that stormy sitting in the back of the team that hasn't yet shown just what they can do.
|
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
Quote:
Well said!
|
Originally Posted by Moderator 08
Dark is my 2nd favorite buff/debuff set after rad. Kin coming in a distant 3rd. Currently it's the 2nd most common set I play after rad, and I'm strongly considering trying to form an all dark super team (probably redside for a mix of corrupters and MMs). Dark does unbelievable things in SO's, and in a high recharge build is excellent for steamroller teams. I can't stress enough how highly I personally think of this power-set.
Storm is excellent as well, although extremely skill based. If you are a good stormy, it's the right answer for almost any situation. If you are a poor stormy it's always the wrong answer. Since I'm not confident enough of my skills yet (as a stormy) I tend to solo my /storm corrupter more than group and the chaos that ensues makes it more fun than 3 barrels of monkeys with Ritalin prescriptions. These sets might not be everyone's barrel of advanced tea substitute. Dark is the antithesis of flashy, if a single Dark is on a team and they are doing their job well, it's likely that no one will notice. After all when everything is going smoothly and the mobs are dropping like rain who notices that their powers are hitting a bit harder and the foes aren't really doing anything other than missing and dieing. Dark doesn't necessarily save the team (although it has the tools if it needs), it prevents the situation from ever going southerly to begin with. Storm on teams lives for the "Oh Shoot!" moments. It shines in the moments when things go wrong and it can unload 2 barrels of chaos loaded for bear. When those moments happen, and that master run is in danger you'll appreciate that stormy sitting in the back of the team that hasn't yet shown just what they can do. |
- @DSorrow - alts on Union and Freedom mostly -
Currently playing as Castigation on Freedom
My Katana/Inv Guide
Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. -Einstein
Quote:
I can sort of understand where Celidya is coming from. Buffs allow the whole team to do some crazy things without fear. On teams like that, it can seem hard for a Dark to get their debuffs down.|
Originally Posted by UberGuy
Re: Celidya
I guess all the other power-gamers I play with are doing it wrong when they are happy when I bring one of my Darks on a speed TF, invincible kill all, or even a farm. You know, since it doesn't bring much to the table when you have a tank, mow down mobs really fast, etc. Seriously, it's obvious that this is "paper" knowledge you're working with here. You have looked at the numbers or the power descriptions and concluded that this is how it works. It's either that or you've played alongside people who did a mediocre job of playing Dark Miasma and judged the powerset based on their performance. You said yourself you never actually played them beyond a certain point. It's obvious to me that you stopped too soon. |
When I run on teams like that, it is not unusual for a Dark (or Storm or Rad or TA or Cold or FF) to engage the next spawn in order to get it grouped/debuffed. When you have buffs turning most of the team into tanks, you can enagage multiple spawns easier and therefore we often do, which makes a good debuffer still very useful.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
I worked a Dark/Dark to 50, back in the I2-I3 days when they were damned rare - rare here defined as "almost nobody knows what this toon does" vs. the current "almost nobody plays this set." Particularly when coupled with Dark secondary, I find Dark a wonderful grab bag of debuff, great heal, great rez that doubles as an AOE disorient, and some good crowd control thrown into the mix. I thought of it as the CoH equivalent of a multi-class AD&D character - capable of virtually anything, master of very little. But on a team, that lends a lot of flexibility to deal with virtually any situation. (And there are worse pets than ol' Fluffy, silly though he may be.) Dark/Dark was the first (and to date only) combo for which I rolled a second toon, just because the first was so much fun getting to 50.
Stormies are a mixed bag. Our SG still tends to herd, and an unskilled Stormie can lead to much screaming and/or hilarity. Played well it brings a lot of control and damage mitigation. Played badly - and this seems to be most of the time, as it's a hard set to master that requires team cooperation - it can be a knockback-happy nightmare. I have teamed with MA scrappers with Dragon's Tail slotted for knockback; I have teamed with Energy blasters that Nova at the start of a fight, bring every mob down to 2 pixels of health, and stand back to watch the rest of the team clean up the mess. A Stormie who isn't on the ball can be worse than either.
Mr Slovakia, 50 DM/Inv Scr
Miss Slovakia, 50 Dk/Dk Def
Mr Czech Republic, 50 Earth/Sonic Ctrl
Miss Czech Republic, 50 Claws/Regen Scr
Miss Israel, 50 Rad/Elec Def
Mr Ireland, 50 Sonic/Fire Blst
And many, many Triumphant alts
"I'm not sure if I should offer congrats or a tylenol"-Catwhoorg
Quote:
Unless you're on a PuG. Tanking with a sarcasm-quoted "squishy" debuff defender will usually get you yelled at or kicked, on a PuG. On occasion I've had PuG buffers (Kinetics most often!) even start to withhold buffs in an attempt to put debt on me and teach me not to tank. |
Originally Posted by StratoNexus
When I run on [teams with lots of buffs], it is not unusual for a Dark (or Storm or Rad or TA or Cold or FF) to engage the next spawn in order to get it grouped/debuffed. When you have buffs turning most of the team into tanks, you can enagage multiple spawns easier and therefore we often do, which makes a good debuffer still very useful.
|
Of course, I never learn.
Quote:
While I have had the rare bad experience with PuGs, normally if I am on a PuG, as long as the enemies are dying and the team is not, no one complains. Of course, it helps that I lead most PuGs I am on.
|
Originally Posted by Rigel_Kent
Unless you're on a PuG. Tanking with a sarcasm-quoted "squishy" debuff defender will usually get you yelled at or kicked, on a PuG. On occasion I've had PuG buffers (Kinetics most often!) even start to withhold buffs in an attempt to put debt on me and teach me not to tank.
Of course, I never learn. |
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
My experience with /dark comes mostly from my MM but I've got to say... Are you NUTS?
/Dark is awesome. it can make everyone untouchable, it has Tar patch (which is all sorts of awesome) and enough controls to really make a difference (and with those from Nec/ it becomes fainly ludicrous)
/Dark isn't Kin, but it's one of the stronger sets I'd say.
"Men strunt �r strunt och snus �r snus
om ock i gyllne dosor.
Och rosor i ett sprucket krus
�r st�ndigt alltid rosor."
Quote:
Dark isn't Kin. This is one of the best things about it. Kin is horrible to play. Dark is easily my favourite Support set to play. So many toys! |
Originally Posted by Arilou
My experience with /dark comes mostly from my MM but I've got to say... Are you NUTS?
/Dark is awesome. it can make everyone untouchable, it has Tar patch (which is all sorts of awesome) and enough controls to really make a difference (and with those from Nec/ it becomes fainly ludicrous) /Dark isn't Kin, but it's one of the stronger sets I'd say. |
Storm ranks up there too, my main learned how to use it the hard way. Any time my Illusion/Stormie comes across a spawn in a small room it makes my heart sing! I'd be tempted to Go Rogue with her just for the fun of Illusion/Storm + Mayhem Missions. You want mayhem? You got it!
Quote:
:P While I am not a fan of Kinetics, I just don't like the high and mighty attitude kins have more often then not, I am willing to admit having both a dark and a Kin on a team is a very very nasty combo. All powerful (kin)? Indestructible(dark)? Oh yes. >_> Makes for some serious hurting.
|
Originally Posted by Arilou
My experience with /dark comes mostly from my MM but I've got to say... Are you NUTS?
/Dark is awesome. it can make everyone untouchable, it has Tar patch (which is all sorts of awesome) and enough controls to really make a difference (and with those from Nec/ it becomes fainly ludicrous) /Dark isn't Kin, but it's one of the stronger sets I'd say. |
D: Toss me a hai @DarkNat My Fify glory: Renzer Dark/Dark Corr., Renzro Dark/Dark Def., Amartasu Dark/Dark Scrap.Less important ones: Fire/Fire Blaster,Ice/Ice Blaster,Ele/Ele Brute, Mind/Storm Troll,Fire/Kin Corr.,Bots/FF MM., DB/Regen Scrap.
Everytime I see this thread title I think,
"Yes, of course I would play a Dark Miasma/Storm Summoning character!"
Quote:
Yay finally someone understood what i tried to explain |
Originally Posted by StratoNexus
I can sort of understand where Celidya is coming from. Buffs allow the whole team to do some crazy things without fear. On teams like that, it can seem hard for a Dark to get their debuffs down.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by UberGuy
Seriously, it's obvious that this is "paper" knowledge you're working with here. You have looked at the numbers or the power descriptions and concluded that this is how it works. It's either that or you've played alongside people who did a mediocre job of playing Dark Miasma and judged the powerset based on their performance. You said yourself you never actually played them beyond a certain point. It's obvious to me that you stopped too soon.
|
I just think it's a "jack of all trades, master of none" when it comes to keep alive, which is fine when it's the only support in the team, but less effective than "specialized" supports for me since it's usually not a problem at all to find 2 or 3 support characters, one focused on buffing/keeping the team alive, and one focused on offense (typically a /kin or /rad).Storm however, i have enough experience with it to know why i don't look for storms. Again i'll never kick them but i'll just wish they had something else in their powersets when i team them.
I have a 50 fire/storm with a 500M build, had a 41 earth/storm, 50 storm/elec defender, and quite a few more in the low levels just because i love the visuals/thematics of the set. I've tried to like it as much as i could, trying from a soft capped build to perma-hasten recharge, i just can't find any use for those characters since there is always another hero doing a lot better on my character selection screen. I actually feel bad when joining a tf with them, i know i could just bring a /kin and the tf would be twice as fast, or a bubbler and there would be no deaths at all, or my perma hasten/perma AB empath to make everyone happy, or even my ill/rad to make sure any AV will die fast.
As someone stated above, Storm shines for the "oh crap" moments. That's exactly what i tried to explain above before some posters jumped on me
The whole point of having a support character in the team is to AVOID the "oh crap" moments, which is by far not what Storm is the best for. Else i would just invite tanks/scrappers/blaster and just have fun killing stuff.
Dark armor lover.
The Claws/DA Scrapper guide.
2) Never team with them.
I have each of those sets on a pair of Bots MMs and they are like easy-mode with frosting on top, especially the stormie.