/DA - Resist or Fear/Disorient

So, in /DA is the idea in design to slot and use Oppressive Gloom to handle the mob while you cut them down and let Death Shroud burn them?

Or is it better (for large pack, solo mission smashing) to mix Touch of Fear with OG and rely on the two for mob management while you whittle down the numbers?

Ultimately, i'm looking for the idea behind the build that would let me crank my mission difficulty as high as possible with a secondary goal of AV/GM smashing.

Here's my flat, un-IO'd build. Feel free to mock me and/or suggest as to your hearts content.

Thanks for any and all input and your patience in some of my newbish questions.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Katana
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Gambler's Cut -- Acc(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(40), Dmg(40), EndRdx(40), RechRdx(42)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- ResDam(A), ResDam(3), ResDam(3), EndRdx(5), EndRdx(5), EndRdx(7)
Level 2: Flashing Steel -- Acc(A), Dmg(17), Dmg(19), Dmg(19), EndRdx(21), RechRdx(21)
Level 4: Murky Cloud -- ResDam(A), ResDam(7), ResDam(9), EndRdx(9), EndRdx(11), EndRdx(11)
Level 6: Build Up -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(45)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx(A)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- ResDam(A), ResDam(13), ResDam(13), EndRdx(15), EndRdx(15), EndRdx(17)
Level 12: Sting of the Wasp -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Run(A)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Acc(A), Acc(37), Heal(37), Heal(37), RechRdx(39), RechRdx(39)
Level 18: The Lotus Drops -- Acc(A), Dmg(23), Dmg(23), Dmg(25), EndRdx(25), RechRdx(36)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(45)
Level 22: Death Shroud -- Acc(A), Acc(42), Dmg(42), Dmg(43), Dmg(43), EndRdx(43)
Level 24: Maneuvers -- EndRdx(A)
Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- Acc(A), Dmg(27), Dmg(27), Dmg(34), EndRdx(36), RechRdx(36)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- EndRdx(A)
Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx(A)
Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), EndRdx(34), RechRdx(34)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- Acc(A), Acc(46), Dsrnt(46), Dsrnt(48), EndRdx(48)
Level 38: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(45)
Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx(A)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- EndMod(A), EndMod(46), EndMod(50), Heal(50), Heal(50)
Level 47: Tactics -- EndRdx(A)
Level 49: Vengeance -- DefBuff(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run(A), Run(31), Run(48)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(29), Heal(29)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(31), EndMod(31)

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If you have the influence for it, I'd soft cap positional defense, use Cloak of Fear instead of Oppressive Gloom (at the soft cap, OG will probably do more damage to you than it prevents), and not use Touch of Fear. With an unlimited budget, you can do something like this:

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Yeah, unlimited funds is something I'm working against actually. I'll do some more digging, see if I can find the budget build, or at least one I can measure against.

Right now i'm caught in an inner struggle for /Inv or /DA on my next scrapper. Sure, /SR was a hoot, but i'm looking for something a little different.

At this juncture I'm just trying to get my brain around the fight strategy in DA. Like, fear the minions and whittle on the bosses, or let the disorient keep 'em mezzed while you suck the life out of all of them.

Thanks for your input though. Nice to see one of the power hitters in the Scrapper forums poking in.

Well, the fight strategy with Katana/Dark is fairly basic. Run in with Build Up, hit Divine Avalanche and start chaining your attacks. Hit The Lotus Drops when you can, and let that and Death Shroud pick away at the cowering minions while you take out the harder targets. Be ready to hit Dark Regeneration if your hit points are tanking, but don't hit it too early. For AVs, if they aren't too dangerous, run Death Shroud and turn off Cloak of Fear once the minions go down to save endurance. Heal off of just the AV, which means just a partial heal. For more dangerous AVs, turn off Death Shroud, kill any bosses or lieutenants, and use the cowering minions to get a full heal as needed.

Ah, here's the thread with the budget build I was remembering:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=249133

Edit: Scroll down to the final build with the last few tweaks by Iggy. That's my favorite of the bunch, in any case, but Ramia did a very good job putting the main thing together.

So we're talking a bit of defense toggle juggling. Hmm.

And I gather that the damage ticks from Death Shroud doesn't interfere with Cloak of Fear too much? I'd think the tick would break fear and the entire pack would then get a chance to initiate an attack and possible trigger a second or third alpha strike.

It does break the fear, but they still attack at a reduced rate, spending most of their time cowering. I can't remember every getting hit with anything that I'd consider a second or third alpha strike, though maybe my memory is being kind. The budget build, mind you, doesn't have Cloak of Fear. That was one of the things that got sacrificed. The basic idea there is that when you're a soft-capped Dark Armor, minions... well, they just can't hurt you much. Cloak of Fear becomes a nice to have instead of a gotta have. I like it, though.