I'd say Thermal, due to the following:
1. Thermal is getting a buff very soon. You won't need to buff people individually, as you could just buff everyone nearby with just one use of the power.
2. It's a thematic fit.
3. It has good synergy. The resistance from the shields stacks very well with the resistance from the demons.
4. I just like Thermal over Dark in general. Permanent -regen is the main selling point for me as it fits my style of play.
Mains (Freedom) @Auroxis
Auroxis - Emp/Rad/Power Defender Pylon Video Soloing an AV
Pelvic Thunder - SS/Elec/Mu Brute
Sorajin - Elec/Nin Stalker
Neuropain - Sonic/Mental/Elec Blaster
Issen, I can't say how far you have played the thermal set. It is very back-loaded in its boss killing and AoE debuffs at level 35 and 38. The new changes to thermal buffing will make your life so much easier with more time for lash and crack the whip! The endurance reducing /resistance buffing Cardiac alpha was tailor made for demon summoning/thermal.
Triumphant Defenders Forever
Psylenz FF/Psi, ArticQuark Storm/Rad, Symon BarSisyphus Bots/psn, Max VanSydow Thugs/Dk, Cyclone Symon Bots/stm, Blue Loki Ice/Cd, Widow 46526
HelinCarnate:OMG it is so terrible. I have the option to take 3 more powers but no additional slots. Boo F'ing hoo.
Quote:
Sadly, I didn't get very far, as I was only really spamming Warmth and Cauterize, with the occasional Fire Shield. The low levels are agony.
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Originally Posted by Psylenz
Issen, I can't say how far you have played the thermal set. It is very back-loaded in its boss killing and AoE debuffs at level 35 and 38. The new changes to thermal buffing will make your life so much easier with more time for lash and crack the whip! The endurance reducing /resistance buffing Cardiac alpha was tailor made for demon summoning/thermal.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Issen
Sadly, I didn't get very far, as I was only really spamming Warmth and Cauterize, with the occasional Fire Shield. The low levels are agony.
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Partly why I abandoned by Robotics/Thermal...until recently with the announcement.
I'm going to advocate /Dark. It's solid, the -ToHit can be generated as "temporary" defense, and a LOT of it. Plenty of utility for the people that enjoy being busy and very nasty with the debuffs. Ever since the changes to the heal radius, /Dark for MMs has become increasingly stronger.
While I really like Dark, /Thermal goes well with demons. The resistance stacks up nicely (Ember demon with fire shields is a baby tank for alpha soaking) and all the heals make a solid combo with resistance (something I never liked about Sonic).
The debuffs at the end are a nice bonus, too. Thermal really makes a powerful support character across the board, and while my other MMs have been lolPoison and Storm, I feel that Thermal offers as much as Dark could, possibly more.
I have a 50 necro/dark, and a 46 demon/therm. The /dark was soloing GMs before adding Incarnate stuff, and while my /therm is certainly capable of putting a hurt on them (causing sustained damage), he just doesn't get the back-handed defense (-to hit) to be survivable. Also, demon/dark fills holes in the demons' defenses, generally.
Where to find me after the end:
The Secret World - Arcadia - Shinzo
Rift - Faeblight - Bloodspeaker
LotRO - Gladden - Aranelion
STO - Holodeck - @Captain_Thiraas
Obviously, I don't care about NCSoft's forum rules, now.
I'm sure this topic has been done to death, but I honestly cannot decide. Thematically, DS/Dark fits better with the magic motif, but I could make either work just fine (Dark just fits easier).
At the same time, after trying a Thugs/Thermal and realizing why Thugs/Dark is so damn popular (because it's so damn GOOD) I find I'm divided. Dark is very End heavy with toggles and the like, and Thermal is not.
But Dark is easily one of the best MM secondaries ever, but Thermal cannot be discounted as it has good buffs and a nice set of heals (even if Dark has the best rez ever).
I'd like to pick just one. But I can't seem to stick to just one. (And yes I could make both, but I'd rather not.