What a Thug needs: Storm, Dark, or Poison?

Thoughts on the differences between Dark, Poison, and Storm for a Thugs MM?

I'm playing my first one, and I've read through the guides to get a sense of how the powers fit with Thugs. But I'd like a clearer picture of the tradeoffs between the secondaries.

Dark offers more healing and Poison more debuff, is that right? Storm is damage boost? How do they compare in control?



I'll play purely PvE, in teams as often as I can get them, but I'd like to be able to solo as needed. I like making active choices in a fight, especially when they vary with the situation and enemy. I'm less interested in a powerset that requires me to be active only in the sense of constantly reapplying the same powers.

Which sounds like the best fit?

Poison: wide range of debuffs, single-target focus, little control
Dark: mostly ToHit debuffs and Damage debuffs, AoE focus, some control
Storm: difficult to play because it's most effective if you can control chaos, but extremely effective if you can harness its power

If you can learn its quirks, Storm sounds like the best fit for you. Dark will also probably suit you well, and doesn't have a huge learning curve.

Storm, Dark, and Poison all require assessment and targetting and placement above and beyond just reapply buffs and debuffs. Something left out in the previous posts is the vast amount of synergy between thugs and poison once level 38 is achieved. The noxious gas debuff on your bruiser makes him a debuffing machine! Noxious Gas is the Anti-Adrenalin Boost. You can hold Ms. Liberty, Positron and other named Heroes due to the magnitude strength of the hold. In addition, the hold has its special animation; who doesn't want to see Ms. Liberty puke?

All in all, all three are very strong secondaries for the Thugs. I would try them all

Helpful thoughts, thanks. I've started with Thugs/Dark, though the others are still appealing.

Given that powerset, three quick questions:

- any thoughts on whether I can get by without my own attack?

I gather from other posts that the question has been asked many times, yet I'm finding few explanations about it. I'd just as soon let my Thugs do the damage, but if that won't work, it's better for me to know now.


- will any travel power match this set?
I'm inclined toward teleport or SuperJump, but the very few build examples I've found feature SS.

- is Leadership essential for Thugs/Dark (or all MM's), and if so, how soon do I need it in a build?

My Thug/Dark has no attacks of her own and they are not needed especially in l8tr lvls. You may want to pick one up for lower lvls but spec out of it at higher lvls.

I personally have Super jump on mine and it works very well.

Leadership is not needed but i definately reccomend tactics and assault to stack with your Enforcers Leadership buffs. start pickin them up in your 30s and early 40s if you cant get them sooner.

Lastly Dark has great control. Slow from tarpatch, Fearsome stare is up for nearly every mob and hits damn near everything, and Howling twilight is a great AoE control power; use it even if there is nobody to rez for extra control. Fluffy is also the best pet ever, his Darkest Night Stacks beautifully with yours and if you can get him in melee range the mobs are doomed as they won't be able to hit anything and you won't have to worry bout your suicidal Arson, plus unslotted his heal is better than yours and has a wider AoE.

I would advise getting hasten for Poison and Dark Miasma.

Poison: More of a PvP oriented set than most, this secondary will have you bringing some of the strongest enemies in the game to their knees pretty quickly. If you know how to handle it intelligently it can be a very fun and engaging set. You'll never be bored with Poison, but I guarantee you will get frustrated at times.

Dark Miasma: Oh, baby! This set does it all with mass amounts of -ToHit, -Damage, -Resistance, Fear, a hold, an "OH SHI-" power, and a good amount of healing. Dark Miasma is the cruise control of the 3 and also the one requiring the least amount of set knowledge to play. Although easier to get the hang it is definitely not the weakest by any means.

1 extra advantage of Dark Miasma: Arsonist Burn Patches+Tar Patch