Questions about Katana/Dark

Hi! And thanks in advance for the help!

I've got a Dual Blades/Dark Armor Scrapper that I really enjoy playing and now I'm looking to start a Katana/Dark Armor. I'd like to build the toon on my own mostly, but I wouldn't mind some helpful hints:

1.) What's a good attack chain for Katana? Preferably something that would work well for soloing AVs but would be decent for team play as well.

2.) Exactly how helpful is the Achille's Heel Proc when soloing AVs and what attack should I stick it in?

3.) On my DB/Dark I run Cloak of Fear because A.) It looks cool, B. ) I find the mitagation decent, C.) I *really* like the -Acc Debuff, and D.) It seems to me to fit into the theme of the powerset more so that Oppresive Gloom. However, I'm considering taking Oppresive Gloom for my Katana Dark for A.) Variety, B.) To save on endurance. How has everyone's experience been with these two powers? I won't have room for both and I'd turn either of them off in an AV fight, but which do you all prefer for teaming purposes?

There may be some more questions later, but that's it for now. Thanks again!

1) Divine Avalanche -> Gambler's Cut -> Golden Dragonfly -> Gambler's Cut -> Divine Avalanche -> Gambler's Cut -> Soaring Dragon -> Gambler's Cut

2) Very helpful. Stick it in Gambler's Cut and nothing else. In the attack chain, you're using it every other attack, so it'll give you a whole lot of chances to fire and make a noticeable difference in damage output.

3) While leveling, Oppressive Gloom was better for me because of the endurance issue. However, in an end game build a Katana/Dark can have so much damage mitigation that Oppressive Gloom does more damage to you than it prevents. At that point, it's Cloak of Fear or nothing in my opinion. You just need to be able to manage the endurance. I use and like Cloak of Fear.

1. Depends on how many DA you'll be needing

2. Very... on GC

3. I like CoF


Well someone cut infront of the line

Miracle and Numina uniques, Conserve Power and Physical Perfection, Performance Shifter proc in both Stamina and Physical Perfection, slotting your attacks with endurance reduction as one of your criteria for a good set. Also, not necessarily running all powers all the time. For AV fights, for instance, you'll want either Cloak of Fear (if using minions for Dark Regeneration fuel) or Death Shroud (if not), but it's pointless to run both at once.

random thought partially on topic... have any of you considered the siphon insight +tohit proc in cloak of fear? CoF only ticks every 5 seconds, but a 10% chance for 20% for 10 seconds seemed pretty good on an AoE (and the set has another 3.75% s/l defense).

I'm not to that level yet, but whenever my db/da gets that high, I'd like to try it just for kicks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze I hate to be the bringer of bad news... but Willpower sucks!!! you're better off rolling a regen

I had not considered it. But I'm going to guess it only gets a chance to proc every 10 seconds, not every tick, just like other procs. I'm also going to shoot for enough to-hit to have a 95% chance to hit +4s, so the proc would only very rarely and unreliably help. I'm pretty sure I would be able to find a better use for a slot on most builds.

Okay, couple more questions:

1.) How good is the stacking in Divine Avalanche? Just curious as I'm wondering how much Melee Defense to plan for.

2.) How much Recharge do I want to plan for (in general) if I'm looking to be able to solo AVs with this toon? I usually focus on Recharge pretty heavily, but is it a high priority for Katana?

3.) Is there room in the build for The Lotus Drops? Because I really enjoy having the AoE Damage.

4.) I can't fathom how you get the Soft Cap for all the positions for this build but I'm assuming it can and has been done? And how badly would I have to gimp the other aspects of the build to do it? And would it be worth it?

Okay, I think that's it. For now.

Thanks!

1) The chain I mentioned double-stacks Divine Avalanche. I'd slot it with a set like Mako's Bite where you aren't going to get any extra defensive enhancement. That leaves you with 15% melee defense to pick up from other sources, though I'd personally target about 25% to make it easier to handle a simple defense debuff here and there.

2) Recharge isn't a high priority for Katana if you're double-stacking Divine Avalanche with the chain I mentioned. In that case, Gambler's Cut needs the most recharge, but it's only 90%, which can technically be done with no global recharge at all. It's NICE to have recharge though, to get Dark Regeneration back faster.

3) Yes, there's room for The Lotus Drops.

4) A lot of us soft-capped it back in I16, but then they nerfed Blessing of the Zephyr. It's still possible, but it's harder and involves more compromises. I'm not happy yet, but I've started fiddling with my build to get back to the soft cap after the Blessing of the Zephyr nerf, and back to endurance sustainability after the Miracle nerf. Currently, I'm sacrificing the Hecatombs and Achilles' Heel in Gambler's Cut, which makes me very sad. I'll have to keep playing with it. But hey, at least it's AN example of soft-capping a Katana/Dark in I17.

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Wow, okay, thanks. My build is going to be somewhat different from that due to money constraints but that gives me alot of ideas. Thanks for the help!