Finishing Dark: Suggested Assault and Control

Refer to this chart here for what is, what is thought to be coming, and what is suggested.

Dark Assault

Edited version based on comments below, with less copying of Manipulation and more combining Dark Blast and Dark Melee and stealing from other ATs APPs:

• Blast
• Smite
• Gloom
• Shadow Maul
• Night Fall
• Fearsome Stare
• Siphon Life
• Moonbeam
• Darkstar (a weakened, non-nuke version of Blackstar)

• Tier 1: Midnight Grasp as a Single Target Immob (see why I took it out of Assault?). I made the Damage moderate instead of minor since it is melee.

• Tier 2: Soul Storm - Single Target Hold

• Tier 3: Soul Tentacles - Group Immob (Tenebrous Tentacles could be used, instead)

• Tier 4: Dark Cloud: Take the Cloud/Fog from the indoor Croatoa ghosts-in-the-office-map and use it like a summoned pet. Since it makes things dark and cloudy it has these effects: -Perception, -Range, -Fly, -Speed, Confuse. Confuse is there because the foes are swinging blindly and it becomes the source of damage. This pet should have the AI of Tornado. It might even gather the foes together with the -Range and Confuse.

• Tier 5: Umbral Slumber: Location based pseudo-pet with a continuing sleep effect that puts foes back to sleep after they are awakened. Thus it will leverage the same mechanic introduced by Static Field in the Electrical Control set.

• Tier 6: Umbral Torrent: KB control and damage!

• Tier 7: Quiet of the Night: a PBAoE Placate. Substitutes for an area denial power... can't touch this!

• Tier 8: Pitch Dark: Like Illusion's Flash, except that the foes grab their eyes because of a black blob in front of them.

• Tier 9: Shadows: These are the lieutenants from Dark Swan's missions. They're black colored fire imps, but they have Dark Blast and Melee attacks.

I can't say I'm fond of either of these suggested sets.

Dark Assault seems like it would be left completely and utterly crippled at range (To the point where it makes Earth Assault's ranged damage look good), and I'm incredibly doubtful we'll ever see a straight up AoE control power (Fearsome Stare) in an assault set. (I also still don't believe Penumbral Grasp has anything at all to do with a self Heal, but is just a typical single target immobilize.)


Dark Control, well, Midnight Grasp(given my firm belief about Penumbral Grasp), leave MG in Assault and move PG to Control.

Beyond that I think Dark Control would end up too much like Electric Control. I mean, beyond the control staples (singe/AoE immobilize and Hold) they'd have exceedingly similar powers:

Sleep Patch
Multi Target confuse
Multi Target Knock* effect

Even the secondary effects end up doing similar things. No End means you can't attack me, therefore you can't damage me. Floored ToHit means you can't hit me, therefore you can't damage me.

The only really unique thing about the set is the PBAoE Placate. I just don't see that that would be enough to differentiate it from Electric though.



(Having typed this all up I can't help but feel I'm being rather negative, I don't mean to be, I just felt very "meh" looking over the OP. I'm content to have to wait for post i21 for Dark/Dark on Doms, I just hope they'll take the time and effort to make the set fun and unique. Worth the wait, ya know?)

@Oathbound & @Oathbound Too

I'd rather see a Dark Control get a permanent Dark Servant instead. It's already a viable pet, just remove the duration so it will stick around.

It should probably get a Targeted AoE immobilize instead of a cone.

How about Oppressive Gloom or Cloak of Fear? (one or the other)

Fearsome Stare should be in a Dark Control set as well.

IMO, a Dark Assault set should be predominately damage dealing powers, so just copying Dark Manipulation over wouldn't work so well.

I'll check in further with my take on it later.

Okay, here's my take on a Dark Control and Dark Assault.

I'm thinking it extremely unlikely that Controllers will get access to Dark Miasma as it exists for MMs, Defenders, and Corruptors, so several powers from that would end up in a Dark Control.

It'd look something like this:

Tier 1: Penumbral Grasp
Tier 2: Abyssal Gaze
Tier 3: A targeted AoE Version of Tenebrous Tentacles
Tier 4: Tar Patch (enhanceable for slow)
Tier 5: Fearsome Stare
Tier 6: Shroud of Night - Basically a combination of Chill of the Night and Death Shroud. PBAoE aura with a 15' radius, 15% to-hit debuff, 20% damage debuff, minor damage (about half of Hot Feet)
Tier 7: AoE hold of some kind
Tier 8: Unique power of some sort
Tier 9: Permanent version of Dark Servant

For the Dark Assault:

Tier 1: Dark Blast
Tier 2: Smite
Tier 3: Shadow Maul
Tier 4: Gloom
Tier 5: Moonbeam
Tier 6: Oppressive Gloom or Cloak of Fear (there is precedent, Icy Assault has Chilling Embrace and Earth Assault has Mudpots)
Tier 7: Night Fall
Tier 8: Midnight Grasp
Tier 9: Short range, high damage attack of some kind.

That's what *I'D* do with a Dark Control/Dark Assault set.

I don't necessarily think that DM can't work (with the current powers) for Controllers. Yes Fearsome Stare at the least will likely need to be toned down for the controller version (drop it to mag 2 for instance), but it's not like Controllers don't already get some Control Heavy support sets (Storm and TA immediately spring to mind, along with Rad to a lesser degree).

I guess I'll just keep sporting my rose-colored glasses and keeping hope alive. If they take out Fearsome Stare my longtime desire for my own personal version of That One Grav/Dark MAGI Chick will be completely and irreparably crushed.



Edit: Another reason I'm leaning towards FS staying in Dark Miasma is cause they're going to have to port DM to controllers to match DC eventually, so they're going to have to make a new power to fit either THAT slot, or the slot in Dark Control. So they may as well just make the new power, for the actual new set.

@Oathbound & @Oathbound Too

i actually think It'd be interesting for a Dom set to get a Nuke. Maybe not a full nuke, but a mini Nuke like RoA or the SoA's crashless nukes would definitely set it apart from the rest.

@Oathbound & @Oathbound Too

Oh please NO Moonbeam. I don't care if it "should" or not, just say no to snipe!

The list looks good.

I am not really sure if they would put Fearsome Stare in Assault. I can see it being under Control?

My ideal Assault is:
* Blast
* Smite
* Gloom
* Shadow Maul
* Night Fall
* Tentacle for cone immb (or Dark Obliteration for target aoe)
* Siphon Life
* Soul Drain (although I think Dom already has soul drain from epic/patron?)
* Darkstar (mini nuke version like Fortunata's)

If Darkstar was like Psi Shockwave, I'd be game.

My main hope for dark control is that it doesn't have Tenebrous Tentacles in it but they then make a Dark mastery APP with it, so that my Ill/Cold controller can get an aoe imob/damage attack >.>

Or they could swap Soul Tentacles for dark obliteration in soul mastery and I would be happy