I'm just starting my first War Mace character myself- so I'll stick to the Dark Armor part. Get a Theft of Essence +End Proc (you can put a few lowball bids in and pick one up relatively cheaply usually). It's a game changer once you get it slotted into Dark Regen.
I'm starting a Axe/Dark Toon myself, so this thread could be quite helpful to me as well. Here's hoping some good info comes through.
"Iron defenses and a crappy attitude do not, a tanker, make."
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Disclaimer: I'm a pretty "casual" player. None of my characters are completely purpled out or feature 2+ billion influence builds. I've played 2 /DA scrappers into the late 40s and a DA/ tank to 28ish. My War Mace/Shield brute just hit 20 last night. My comments below are based on my experience. Your mileage may vary depending on playstyle, etc.
Other dark armor pointers-
I would think you're missing out on a potentially nice synergy between the stuns in Mace and Oppresive Gloom. That said, I don't think you're making an unplayable character in not taking OG or CoF.
The theft of essence proc is really nice, so nice that I'll mention it again. On my Da/Ice tank, it turned Dark Regen from a major endurance hog into almost an endurance neutral power (as long as I'm in a large enough group- it checks for the proc for each enemy hit, it's a bit of a crapshoot but sometimes it'll actually fill my blue bar, others it still drains a lot of end). I can't emphasize that enough. I slot Dark Regen for Acc, End Redux (as much as I can squeeze in), and lastly Recharge (lower in priority than End Redux, but still important- the faster you can fire it off the more survivable you are).
Are you planning on taking the fighting pool? I would try to take it at least as far as tough if you can find space for it.
Cloak of Darkness is nice- but you won't find any other defense native to Dark Armor, so I'd say it's moderately skippable, unless you get your mitts on a Steadfast Res/Def IO and pick up some +def pool powers. Of course, if you don't take CoD, you'll be outta luck on immobilizes. Which means you'd need Combat Jumping (or carry a bunch of breakfrees around). Of course, if you can find the space to build in Combat Jumping, Cloak of Darkness, and Weave, you're that much farther along towards having significant defense.
The three toggle +res shields, you'll absolutely positively want (Dark Embrace, Murky Cloud, Obsidian Shield). I would think long and hard about not taking Death Shroud- Even on my Spines/DA scrapper, Death Shroud is usually the #1 or #2 damage producing power when I run Herostats and Spines has boatloads of AoE. Soul Transfer is skippable, but don't disregard how much fun it could be or how handy it is to be able to hit the pause button on a fight and hop back in.
As far as Mace goes: So far on my Mace/Shield, I've taken all of the attacks up to Whirling Mace. Bash and Pulverize are nice, if you can build enough recharge into your build I could see going with one or the other in your final build. For leveling purposes, Bash, Pulverize, and Jawbreaker (with brawl sprinkled in) makes for a decent attack chain. Clobber hits like a dump truck full of cement (at level 14ish this weekend I was one-shotting minions with it pretty easily). Whirling Mace is the only AoE I have access to, so it gets used at the start of the fight to soften things up. It's not super impressive, but I haven't had it long enough to devote significant slots to it.
That was a lot longer-winded than I intended and I included a whole bunch of run-on sentences. I haven't played your combination, but hopefully the insight helps.
This is a great combination; I have a DA/Mace tank that's about to ding 50 and she's one of my favorites.
As for skippable powers, I'd say Bash or Pulverize, your preference, though having Hasten or recharge bonuses would be helpful if you go that route. Taunt is certainly skippable if you're not inclined toward tanking or just don't like it.
In DA, though I wouldn't say you'd be gimping yourself exactly by skipping Op Gloom, you would be missing one is one of the big selling points of the combo IMO, the fact that Op Gloom + Clobber will Stun anything up to an EB. If you really hate the Stun wander I guess you could skip it, but it is super useful as a damage mitigation tool.
Cloak of Fear is definitely optional, especially because its endurance and slot needs are so high. It is useful in the late levels for mobs that are stun and KD resistant, but otherwise I wouldn't bother.
I agree with Valorin on Cloak of Darkness. If you're not planning on taking CJ or want to build defense, take it. Otherwise, it's optional, though the +percep and +stealth are nice to have.
As I said, Mace/DA is a great combo, so have fun with it!
P.S. I never take Soul Transfer on my DA characters, but I know others love it. If you like self-rezes, take it, but it's certainly not essential.
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Knight Court--A CoH Story Complete 2/3/2012
I cant claim to be an expert here, since my WM/DA brute hit 45 just last night, and even running at only +1x3, I get to use Soul Transfer a lot. Hopefully youll be able to do somewhat better.
For War Mace, I took everything but Pulverize and Whirling Mace. Bash, Jawbreaker, and Clobber give you pretty solid single-target damage early on, and Crowd Control is so good that I dont feel an AoE shortage (especially with Death Shroud running). War Mace is fantastic, effective, and makes a satisfying crunching noise when you smash enemies to goo. I cant recommend it enough.
I actually took all of the powers in Dark Armor. Having both Cloak of Fear and Oppressive Gloom is redundant, but I took them both to try them in different situations. So far, Cloak of Fear seems to be better at neutralizing groups, since not only are minions attacking much less often, but everybody in melee range has an accuracy penalty. It definitely needs four or five slots to work properly, though.
Oppressive Gloom is fantastic for single hard targets, since, like Finduilas mentioned, it stacks with Clobber to let you stun anything without purple triangles. It works adequately on groups of minions, but theyre prone to drunk-walking away, recovering, and getting some free shots on you. It also takes longer to mop up a spawn, since they scatter slowly.
Soul Transfer is definitely optional, but it can be a lot of fun. The downside is that the stun lasts almost exactly as long as it takes to reactivate all of your three hundred toggles, so you have to decide whether to take down a single hard target or turtle up for a rematch. The good thing about Oppressive Gloom and Soul Transfer is that theyre good with only one slot each.
I would consider Cloak of Darkness a very good buy. It gives the same defense as Weave for lower endurance cost, and also grants perception, stealth, and immob resistance. At a minimum, its a set mule for LotG. You can turn off the most irritating aspect of CoD in the costume designer (no fade/pulse effects), and the stealth thing is a non-issue. Just leave Death Shroud on, and theyll know youre there soon enough.
If youre dead-set against CoF and OG, you might want to consider a different defense set. Dark Armor is a little on the squishy side, and depends on a mix of resistance, self-healing, and AoE control. Knock one leg off that stool and it falls over. The control auras are what makes it unique and special, so if theyre not your thing, you may want to consider just going with Invuln or WP with a custom color job and a specific costume aura.
If you go with Dark Armor, remember that it doesnt come with knockback protection. I four-slotted Jawbreaker with Kinetic Crash early on for the KB, but I dont recommend it, since it makes the power much more irritating. (The higher you knock them, the longer theyre out of reach, and the further they can drift when falling.) Eventually, youll want the KB enhancements from Karma, Steadfast Protection, or Blessing of the Zephyr. I think none of those are unique, so you can probably mix-and-match with whatever slots you have available. I believe three of them are optimal, since a lot of enemies do 10 points in knockback. I also second Valorins advice on the Theft of Essence proc, although, personally, I just bought the damned thing with merits. The market may have become slightly less awful since then.
This is my WM/Dark Brute's current build. I'm already thinking of making some changes to it, but this is it as it is now. I agree with previous posters that the Theft of Essence proc is golden for DA, and the synergy between OG and Clobber is too good to pass up.
As you can see I went for a bit of smashing/lethal defense on the build with recharge as a secondary consideration. It really helps quite a bit. It's especially nice against Rikti since they deal a lot of energy damage, which DA is weak to, but their energy damage also has a smashing component, which the defense protects against. I've tanked most of the high end SFs with this build.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.90
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WM/Dark: Level 50 Natural Brute
Primary Power Set: War Mace
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Concealment
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Pulverize -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(9), S'fstPrt-ResKB(9), ImpArm-ResDam(15), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(25)
Level 2: Jawbreaker -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
Level 4: Murky Cloud -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam(17), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(46)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- Ksmt-ToHit+(A)
Level 8: Clobber -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(13), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(13), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(40)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), RctvArm-ResDam(45), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(50)
Level 12: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg(42), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng(42), Mocking-Acc/Rchg(42), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(43), Mocking-Rchg(43)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
Level 16: Death Shroud -- Armgdn-Dmg(A), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(48), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(48)
Level 18: Whirling Mace -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(19), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(19), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Oblit-%Dam(37)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(39), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39), LkGmblr-Rchg+(39)
Level 22: Dark Regeneration -- Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(27), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Heal(29), Theft-+End%(29), HO:Golgi(40)
Level 24: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Shatter -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(31), Erad-Dmg(31), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 28: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(36), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(36), RctvArm-ResDam(36)
Level 30: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Crowd Control -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Dmg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), FrcFbk-Rechg%(34)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(A), Amaze-Stun(37), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(37), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(50), Amaze-ToHitDeb%(50)
Level 38: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Grant Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 44: Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 47: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 49: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(45), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(46), KntkC'bat-Knock%(46)
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(40)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(21), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg(43)
So, I decided to roll a toon I've he'd a concept for in my he quite awhile now. I have a few questions though.
First off, what powers are skippable? For instance, CoF and OG don't really fit my concept, but would I be gimping myself by not taking them? And what about the stealth power? I'll probably pick it up for the LotG global.
As far as WM, I think I want them all! Nearly every attack in the set is superior or extreme damage. No doubt abot it, I want whirling mace!
Can anyone offer any advice?
P.S.
I wouldn't be upset if anyone posted a sample build.
Willpower has more passive regen than Regen does. Who thought that was a good idea?
Can we get a fix for Energy Melee instead of more new sets?