So Dark Armor was probably a mistake

I hear you can make it viable if you're actually good at this game, but filthy concept roleplayer that I am I lack the necessary aptitude to do anything but follow guides. Concept dictates that I be a melee character with claws, Super Jump for my travel power, and some source of Fear, and of course there are no guides for Claws brutes at all and the only guides for Dark Armor are either for pairing it with Dark Melee or explaining why you ought to have picked a different secondary. I'm beginning to see their point, as at level 25 I die on this brute more often than I die on my blasters. Obviously I haven't a damn clue what I'm doing.

Tl;dr - Can I do anything at all to make this character even slightly playable, or should I bite the bullet and reroll with a different secondary, switching alignments to Vigilante for the fear power in that?

Post your build.

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=256277

This'll help.

My claws/dark is soloing +2/x8 with no problems. Then I got incarnate powers. It's doable.

I have a claws/DA scrapper with SJ as a travel power and he's nigh unkillable. You do not need to be a pro player to do well with Dark Armor. Out of the box it's one of the most survivable secondaries out there. It has some of the absolute best IO slotting potetional of any armor set. Really. It's pretty amazing.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.942
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Urobolus: Level 50 Mutation Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Claws
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strike -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), RechRdx-I(5)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-EndRdx(7), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(7), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(9), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(9)
Level 2: Slash -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 4: Murky Cloud -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-EndRdx(15), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(15), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(17)
Level 6: Spin -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(17), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(19), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Oblit-%Dam(21)
Level 8: Death Shroud -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(23), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg(25), C'ngBlow-Acc/Rchg(25), C'ngBlow-Dmg/EndRdx(27)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-EndRdx(27), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(29), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(29)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(31)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Heal(A), Theft-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Theft-+End%(31), Erad-Acc/Rchg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
Level 18: Focus -- Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 20: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 22: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-EndRdx(36), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(36), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(36)
Level 24: Cloak of Darkness -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(37), LkGmblr-Rchg+(37)
Level 26: Eviscerate -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(37), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Oblit-%Dam(40)
Level 28: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(40), LkGmblr-Rchg+(40)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(42), LkGmblr-Rchg+(42)
Level 32: Shockwave -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(42), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Posi-Dmg/Rng(43), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- RzDz-Immob%(A)
Level 38: Follow Up -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(45), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(45), KntkC'bat-Knock%(45), Rec'dRet-ToHit(46), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(46)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- Rec'dRet-ToHit(A), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(46)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(48), P'Shift-End%(48)
Level 47: Tactics -- Rec'dRet-ToHit(A), Rec'dRet-Pcptn(48)
Level 49: Vengeance -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon
Level 50: Void Radial Final Judgement
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: Portal Jockey
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(50), P'Shift-End%(50)
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 4: Ninja Run



S/L soft cap. 35 E/NE defense and ~50 NE resistance with 25% energy resistance. Also, it just so happens to be pretty darn close to the Melee soft-cap as well. I gain endurance pretty much every time I use Dark Regen. I've tried to drain my endurance and it's just not possible. The two +end procs fire off constantly and cardiac has reduced my endurance costs to almost nothing. This is basically the pinnacle of layered protection, second only to a soft-capped to everything DM/Invuln.

Now add a Destiny iPower in there you're running around with soft-capped defense and capped resistance to everything for a long period of time and at the very least another 5% defense and resistance to everything.

Yes it's an expensive build, but it was so worth it.

I'm going to offer a contrary suggestion to Neo - while taking tough, weave, combat jumping, cloak of darkness, and maneuvers (along with your regular dark toggles, cloak of fear, and a steadfast) might get you to ~20% def and ~50% S/L resistance, even with everything 2 slotted for end you're still burning *more than your entire base recovery* running toggles. On a non-50 SO'd character, that is just not viable.

Dark's survivability doesn't really come from passive means - the resistance is more or less just there to give your other means of mitigation time to work. The real problem is that your other types of mitigation tend to be slot and endurance hungry. Dark regen's only real competition for 'best heal in the game' is stygan circle, and even that's debatable. The problem is that it very very quickly leaves you without endurance, especially if you don't have enough slots for endredux in it. Similarly, cloak of fear has a very high end cost and also requires lots of accuracy, to boot.

As such, the best way to improve your survivability, in my opinion, is actually to get your endurance under control. As such, I'm going to recommend a few specific enhancements. While you certainly don't need to dive right into full-blown sets of inventions before 50 if you don't want to, there are a few specific ones you should get your hands on immediately. Specifically, 'theft of essence: chance for +end', 'performance shifter: chance for +end', 'numina's convalescence: +regen/+recovery', and 'miracle: +recovery'. These can be slotted into dark regen, stamina, and health respectively (this will require an extra slot in stam and health, but it's worth it). These tend to be somewhat on the expensive side on the market, but you should be able to get them with reward and/or alignment merits.

What this should do is let you have enough endurance to be able to 1) use dark regen when it's recharged instead of when you have enough end, 2) be able to actually *run* cloak of fear, and 3) not run out of end before you can beat them up, as long as you do put endredux in your attacks and toggles. Six slot dark regeneration if you haven't already; apart from the proc if you're on SOs I'd slot it 1 acc, 3 endredux, 1 rech - it already heals a third of your health per target, so it doesn't really need heal enhancement. You can swap an end for another recharge if that doesn't tax your blue bar too much. I'd also consider taking tough - while you don't want *tons* of extra toggles, more S/L resistance is probably the single simplest thing you can do to boost survivability. To help pay for the end cost, I'd skip cloak of shadows - combat jumping already covers your immob hole and is much cheaper to run (and you can put a 'karma: knockback protection' IO in it, another single IO you should buy immediately).

Basically, you need to have enough resistance for dark regen to be able to keep you alive, and you need a well slotted dark regen and enough endurance for that to work. To do so, you really don't need a huge amount of IOs - you can quite happily save the full set slotting for level 50 if you just grab the 4 or 5 single key IOs that will make the biggest difference. Just run tips and accumulate those alignment merits, and along with any regular merits you've saved up from arcs/etc they shouldn't be too hard to get.

Muon is definitely right. Endurance is the key to everything for a successful Dark Armor.

Muon and Neo have given you really excellent advice, so this is really just going to be me reiterating a couple of key points based on my own experiences with the set. Dark Armor can be very powerful, but it's not like Willpower or Invuln or another set where you can just buy powers, slap some SOs in 'em and then run all your toggles and be okay.

- Dark Regeneration is your most powerful tool and your most demanding one. Six slot it: 1 Acc, 3 EndRdx, 1 Recharge. I know you said you don't like Inventions, but do yourself a big favor: make an exception and get the Theft of Essence proc for this power. Run tip missions for a few days and buy it with A-Merits if you don't have the cash. Trust me. It makes all the difference in the world, because...

- Endurance is absolutely bar-none the most important thing to maximize for this toon. Contrary to popular belief this is not because your toggles cost too much (though CoF is ugly that way). It's because how much Endurance you have throttles how often you can use Dark Regen. Dark Regen lets you convert Endurance into survival. The more End you have, the more often you can mash your I-go-to-full-health button. More endurance = more survivability.

- Invest in Knockback protection. Seriously, it'll get you killed. If you're on your back, you can't push buttons. Can't push buttons = can't hit inspirations or Dark Regen = you're going to die. Get either Acrobatics or pick up a KB Protection IO. The Steadfast Protection one isn't that expensive. While I was leveling my /DA brute (way back in the day before inventions) the number one thing that killed me was knockback. I got Acro and suddenly the world was a much nicer place. Nowadays I just slot a BotZ in Super Jump and call it good.

- Carry defense and endurance inspirations, and don't be afraid to use them. Stuff happens. Don't worry about offense - as long as you're in the fight, you're doing damage. Make sure you stay in the fight.

- Slot your attacks for Accuracy, then Endurance Reduction, then Damage. You burn up more endurance attacking than you do on any toggle power. One Accuracy and two EndRedux SOs is a standard while leveling, with whatever left over spent on Damage or Recharge if you can spare it - you have Follow Up and Fury to handle the damage, so slotting for slightly higher numbers isn't nearly as important as slotting for end. Which leads me to...

- Death Shroud. Slot this up heavily and let it + Follow Up + Fury do a lot of the work. It's one of your best DPE powers by a long shot. Seriously. When I was leveling my brute I struggled badly for a while, then downloaded HeroStats and ran a few missions and checked the data. I was astonished to find out that Death Shroud was consistently either 1st or 2nd in overall damage done among all of my powers and that it does competitive DPE against even one enemy; against more than one it was more damaging and more efficient than anything else I had. I changed my approach and started budgeting my End better, letting DS do more of the work, and things improved. Claws is more forgiving than SS is, so you should have it easier.

- Check your difficulty. Try turning bosses off and then setting it to 2-3 players. Play around with corner pulling to get spawns of 5-6 guys to bunch up and rip the Lieutenants apart. Hit Dark Regen when you hit ~1/3 health and the minions are worn down by Death Shroud and FU -> Spin, then finish them off. Finish the pull with near full health. Head to the next one. It sounds paradoxical, but once you get used to it you may find yourself in less danger of dying by fighting more (but weaker) enemies at a time - the magic of Fury will crank your damage up and make the fight shorter and your attacks more DPE efficient (especially DS and Spin), and hitting Dark Regen with a group around you practically guarantees a full health reset midway through the fight, when you need it. You don't need fancy IO builds to do this - if you've taken a few of the steps outlined above, there's no reason you can't start it right now.

- Stick with it. Dark Armor is a great set, and Claws/DA is a very good pairing. It just requires a slightly different approach than other, more forgiving combinations might.

I have a EM/DA brute that's truly fun, and much of that is owed to dark armor's uniqueness. You don't have to go so crazy with /DA on inventions. While many love what the set can do on high defense, I kept it simple. Use the tricks /DA has, just frankenslot the powers I want to work best, and have as much +recovery bonuses to be able to use them without worries.

I will say taking tough helps a lot, and getting dark regeneration fully enhanced asap makes a world of difference. The main enemy in that power is the huge endurance cost, the second being its recharge.

With all of its tricks, especially CoF, using endurance, simple +recovery does LOTS of good. The nice thing? +recovery is in many cases an ENTRY bonus. Two slots, lots of sets give this. Impervium armor gives it, so my choice slotting was 2xres/end, and 2xres. with the impervium armor res/end+res easily slotted in your armors, that's an easy way to frankenslot the end/res split, as well as get an easy bonus on core powers that need the attention.

I'll say this much, to the shock of anyone who knows me.

With the Alpha slot unlocked, I kind of like Dark Armor. Cardiac End/Resist helps A LOT.

I think DA is fine with mostly SOs, if you get cardiac at least. But thats compared to other stuff with mostly SOs...none of which ever meets my performance standards in the first place.

Thanks Muon, Neo, and teflon, that's great advice. Twitchy and nonpassive is fine; I have a lot of support-type characters that have me whaling on the keyboard like I'm playing a Mozart sonata, including two Thermal MMs, so I'm used to it.

I'm absolutely okay with getting just a few IOs like those endurance procs, but relying solely on set bonuses for survival is not my cup of tea. I'll see what happens when I respec following the advice given here and post a build afterwards.

Heh. For what it's worth, I was playing my frankenslotted dark brute the other day with naught for extras but the aforementioned easy +recovery/1-shot Io's that help with endurance, plowing through a +1x6 map with a gaming buddy. His comment? "Wow, what bonuses are you using?" I had to laugh. It was all dark armor, just with the blue to back it up. The power to stun/fear 10-20 flunkies in a crowd is powerful indeed. Throw in a heal that can almost literally bring you back from the dead, and a rez that literally does, and you have a powerful combo.