City of Data help - Soul Drain Vs. Build Up

Hi,

I'm a dark defender trying to decide between taking the epic Soul Drain or Power Build up, and I need some help interpreting and figuring out which power is more effective, powerful, etc. Essentially I will be using whichever power I eventually choose in combination with the dark defender "noval" called Blackstar. I visited City of Data and got the following information about Soul Drain, but I don't understand what it really means or how I can compare Soul Drain's effects wtih Power Build Up's (Power Build Up is much more straightforward to understand). Can anyone help me interpret this data for Soul Drain?

Soul Drain
Self:

•ToHit +2% for 30s
•DMG(All Types) +8% for 30s [Ignores Enhancements & Buffs]
•ToHit +10% for 30s
Effect does not stack from same caster
•DMG(All Types) +40% for 30s [Ignores Enhancements & Buffs]
Effect does not stack from same caster
Target:

•30.59 Negative damage
•30.59 Negative damage

Soul Drain
PBAoE Moderate DMG(Negative), Self +DMG, +ACC

Using this power, you can drain the essence of all nearby foes' souls, thus increasing your own strength. Each affected foe will lose some Hit Points and add to your Damage and Accuracy. You must be level 47 and have two other Dark Mastery Powers before selecting this power. Damage: Moderate, Recharge: Very Long

VS.

Power Build Up
Self +DMG, +ACC, +Special

Your mastery of power and energy allows you to greatly increase the damage you deal for a few seconds, as well as slightly increasing your Accuracy Additionally, Power Build Up greatly boosts the secondary effects of your powers. Your powers effects like Heals, Defense Buffs, Endurance Drains, Disorients, Holds, Immobilizes, Knockbacks and more, are all improved. Recharge: Long

Self:

•Stun, Sleep, Confused, Terrorized, Immobilize, Held +98.34% for 12.5s
Effect does not stack from same caster
•RunSpeed, FlySpeed, Heal, ToHit, Endurance +98.34% for 12.5s
Effect does not stack from same caster
•DEF(All Types, Defense, Melee, Ranged, AOE) +98.34% for 12.5s
Effect does not stack from same caster
•ToHit +10% for 12.5s
Effect does not stack from same caster
•DMG(All except Toxic) +80% for 12.5s [Ignores Enhancements & Buffs]
Effect does not stack from same caster


Thanks!

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Level 50s:
BlackSpectre, Dark Defender (Guardian)
Thorin, Invul/Axe Tank (Justice)
Volcano Juice, Fire/Stone Tank
Professor ?, Mind/FF Controller
Stone Forge, Stone/Fire Tank

You have to be in melee in order to use soul drain. The more mobs around you the greater the buff.


Does that answer your question? I'm a pro Soul Drain guy, it stacks nicely with Tar Patch and your toggle debuff.

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The short answer is you really want both because they do totally diferent things and both are good.

Power Build Up makes all (well most) of your secondary effects significantly stronger. so a defence buff goes way beyond ED limits, heals get bigger, -tohit gets stronger, etc.

Soul Drain is like the scrapper/brute/tank build up. It gives you a damage bonus to your attacks. If you have enough enemies in melee range it gives a very high bonus, but it is risky since it is a PBAoE.

If you have to pick one, then decide if you need more damage or stronger buffs/debuffs.

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"Hmm, I guess I'm not as omniscient as I thought" -Gavin Runeblade.
I can be found, outside of paragon city here.
Thank you everyone at Paragon and on Virtue. When the lights go out in November, you'll find me on Razor Bunny.

The +10% bonus to hit for 30 seconds you get when the power goes off and hits someone. Same for the +40% damage for 30 seconds.

The +2% to hit and the +8% damage (both again, for 30 seconds) you get per enemy hit after the first.

Also, any enemies hit also get damaged.

I love Soul Drain, but to get much out of it, you need to hit, and want to hit a lot of enemies, optimally. So that means making sure you're in the middle of the thick of things. If your build and play style work for rushing into the melee to Soul Drain, then Dropping your Blackstar Nova, or falling back out of melee to line up your cones, then Soul Drain wins, in my book. It's up far more often than PBU I believe, and if you hit 7 enemies with it, will give the same damage boost for for 2 and a half times the duration. If you hit more, which is not always possible, but certainly does happen, your extra damage will exceed PBU for more and more depending on how many get tagged. I can't can't recall the max number that can be hit by Soul Drain, but be aware, there is a cap, and even if there wasn't, only so many enemies can fit in the AOE.

However, if damage isn't your only consideration, then PBU has some nice things it can do. PBU, then Howling Twilight will stunt then crud outta everyone for twice as long. Or fear them for twice as long, etc, and Soul Drain can't do anything of that sort.

Hope that helps..

Edit: One last consideration you may want to keep in mind, is that PBU can only slot Recharge Enhances (and maybe end reduction). Soul Drain can slot a whole host of things, including some vary nice sets. If you only have 1 slot to spend on it, it's not a big deal, but if you need a place for an Oblit set for the set bonuses anyhow, it's another reason to get Soul Drain.

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