TW/DA - more pwned than pwning?


Granite Agent

 

Posted

So I got my TW/DA scrap up to 50 and kitted out.

Build is below. Soft-cap S/L.

Power Slice = Crushing Blow
Vengeful = Follow Through
Ablating = Rend Armor
Typhoon = Whirling Smash
Sweeping = Titan Sweep
1000 Cuts = Arc of Destruction

What build doesn't show is +5 boosted enhances in Conserve Power, Hasten, and the Oblit Quads in Whirling / Sweep.

Endurance is a problem -- CP helps but doesn't recharge quite fast enough. Got up to Musculature T3 (20% endo discount) which is helping a bit. Plan if I go forward would be to take Ageless to solve the endo problem and add some recharge.

The bigger problem is this: running +3/+8 (which is really +2 due to level shift), I am getting PWNED by Carnies and Arachnos. The Carnie groups with 1-2 MIs are eating me up. And the Arachnos with Bane bosses and/or those tarantula queen lts/bosses -- that nerf your defense and regen and do major psi dmg -- are also eating me up. Even the trash Mu mobs are hurting my endo.

I'm used to playing SD and SR toons -- Claws/SR brute, DM/SD, WM/SD scraps -- and maybe I'm just not used to getting hit as much. But DA here is feeling paper thin. Where is the uber?

I'm wondering if a different secondary -- SR or ELA -- would make a big difference.

By the way, I also do notice the lack of a taunt aura. Very frustrating.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Runeslayer: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Dual Blades
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Power Slice -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(7), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(11), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(13), S'fstPrt-ResKB(15), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(37)
Level 2: Vengeful Slice -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(19), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(19), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 4: Death Shroud -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Erad-Dmg(7), Erad-%Dam(21), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(45)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Ksmt-ToHit+(15), Krma-ResKB(21)
Level 8: Blinding Feint -- Rec'dRet-ToHit(A), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg(9), RechRdx-I(9)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- GA-3defTpProc(A)
Level 12: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 14: Murky Cloud -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(23), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(23), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Theft-+End%(A), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Nictus-Acc/Heal(17), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(37), Numna-Heal/Rchg(37), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 18: Ablating Strike -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(42), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(42), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), Achilles-ResDeb%(43)
Level 20: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 22: Boxing -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(39), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(40), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 24: Typhoon's Edge -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Erad-Dmg(25), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), FotG-ResDeb%(40)
Level 26: Sweeping Strike -- Erad-%Dam(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(29), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(33)
Level 28: Cloak of Darkness -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Enzym(31)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Enzym(34)
Level 32: One Thousand Cuts -- Armgdn-Dam%(A), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(33), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(48), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(50), FrcFbk-Rechg%(50)
Level 35: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(36), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(46)
Level 38: Tactics -- HO:Cyto(A)
Level 41: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Enzym(48)
Level 44: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 47: Physical Perfection -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), P'Shift-End%(50)
Level 49: Vengeance -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Musculature Total Radial Revamp
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(31), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(45), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(13), P'Shift-EndMod(40)



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Posted

Musculature doesn't give endurance discount, it gives endurance modification. In your build, that means it's only helping Physical Perfection and Stamina. Ageless will definitely be good to get. Your end use from toggles alone is also quite high, and Arc of Destruction and Whirling Smash are underslotted for endurance considering their cost.

I'm far from an expert on Dark Armor, so take this with a grain of salt, but it was my impression that one of the mez auras and the self rez are generally very desirable.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopeling View Post
Musculature doesn't give endurance discount, it gives endurance modification. In your build, that means it's only helping Physical Perfection and Stamina. Ageless will definitely be good to get. Your end use from toggles alone is also quite high, and Arc of Destruction and Whirling Smash are underslotted for endurance considering their cost.

I'm far from an expert on Dark Armor, so take this with a grain of salt, but it was my impression that one of the mez auras and the self rez are generally very desirable.
Ah ok on Musc. Makes sense.

Whirling Smash has the +5 boosted Oblit Quad which makes its endo useage better than it looks.

People said if you softcap DA to S/L you didn't really need the OG stun aura or COF ... and hey a self rez is only good if you're dying, which I'm trying to avoid.

To be fair, I ran my soft-cap S/L/E/N FM/INV brute on some +3 carnies and again the MI bosses are a problem especially groups of 2. Same for my DM/SD scrap, though he fares better with the +to hit from Soul Drain and the heal in SL. Arachnos also.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Granite Agent View Post
Ah ok on Musc. Makes sense.

Whirling Smash has the +5 boosted Oblit Quad which makes its endo useage better than it looks.

People said if you softcap DA to S/L you didn't really need the OG stun aura or COF ... and hey a self rez is only good if you're dying, which I'm trying to avoid.

To be fair, I ran my soft-cap S/L/E/N FM/INV brute on some +3 carnies and again the MI bosses are a problem especially groups of 2. Same for my DM/SD scrap, though he fares better with the +to hit from Soul Drain and the heal in SL. Arachnos also.
The self-rez is desireable because it has a mag thirty stun on it for bad situations.

Mag THIRTY.

It's awesome.


 

Posted

You have no defense debuff resistance with Dark Armor. Your energy defense and resistance leave you open to energy attacks. Your psionic defense and (lack of) psionic resistance slotting leave you open to psionic attacks. And therefore, vast crowds of uplevel energy/psionic enemies with defense debuffs are tearing you apart. It's to be expected.

Dark Armor uber happens against enemies you've soft capped to and outside of defense debuffs.

Consider slotting Obsidian Shield.

Monitor base defense and smashing/lethal defense. If base defense goes red, IMMEDIATELY pop whatever purples you need to get back to the soft cap, at least if facing vast crowds of uplevel enemies with smashing/lethal attacks.

If you're having endurance trouble, I'd consider swapping Musculature for Cardiac. I would much rather give up musculature than give up Barrier or Rebirth for Ageless on a build like this.

And yeah, consider picking up one of the mez auras. Cardiac would probably be enough to grab Cloak of Fear, but Oppressive Gloom might serve you as well or better. I'm not sure with this specific build.

I've never taken any self rez and usually suggest skipping them, but honestly, it's like the best attack in your arsenal. I don't die much, but when I do, it would be very satisfying to MAKE THEM PAY. Not a necessity, though, just something that might be fun on occasion if you can work it in.


"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Werner View Post

-You have no defense debuff resistance with Dark Armor.
-...defense debuffs are tearing you apart. It's to be expected.
-...uber happens...outside of defense debuffs.
-Consider slotting Obsidian Shield.
-Monitor...smashing/lethal defense.

If you're having endurance trouble, I'd consider swapping Musculature for Cardiac. I would much rather give up musculature than give up Barrier or Rebirth for Ageless on a build like this.

And yeah, consider picking up one of the mez auras. Cardiac would probably be enough to grab Cloak of Fear, but Oppressive Gloom might serve you as well or better. I'm not sure with this specific build.
I feel obliged to help a fellow TW/DA, I must see this combination strongly enforced! I also wanted to reiterate some of what Werner mentioned with support from another actual build. I wont say that Cardiac is a "must have", but it is the most impacting Alpha on a Dark Armor with all the toggles most chase down. I have a Spines/DA Build with Soul Mastery instead of Body Mastery, and it works, but all for the pretense of getting Shadow Meld since it has the ability to Soft Cap me to everything, and iCap me to S/L/E/N Melee/Ranged. That can be a huge boon in preventing (note: not stopping) Cascading Defense Failure if you start to face it.

Even if you are carrying 45% Defense somewhere, personally I would still take one of the mez auras. The entire objective of this play-style is to reduce the amount of incoming damage as much as possible, and then cram the rest through a strainer. Minions deal the bulk portion of damage you end up taking, so compare: 5% Chance of 10 Attacks doing 300 damage each versus 5% Chance of 5 Attacks doing 300 damage each. Then, of those two scenarios, strain that through your Resistances and see who's out on top. Money's on the later.

Of course, not everyone still feels the need to carry either, but Cloak of Fear also comes with -ToHit for those Minions if effects, increasing the window of your defense against them if you do get hit with a Debuff.

In regards to the Destiny, I think it depends on the needs of the build. Depending on what you may choose to try fixing would depend on the Destiny you run. In the case of having access to Shadow Meld, I'd sooner put Ageless to help keep that power up more often (as well as increasing the endurance management) and also keeping Dark Regen up far more often making it less necessary to have Rebirth. On the flipside though, Rebirth is a powerful tool to keeping you alive in conjunction with Dark Regen.

This is the Spindle build, to give some comparison (All planned on just the Alpha):

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Warning: crazy space limit reached. Please delete some crazy and try again.

 

Posted

I don't run hasten at all and have no problems at all with endurance. The most rech i have is from my LotGs, and built into my powers. Slow and steady wins the race!


-------
Hew in drag baby

 

Posted

Thanks for the feedback guys esp Werner & John.

I take your point -- but isn't the feeling of being uber supposed to be on most things and not just what you have S/L softcap to?

I guess I'm not seeing the attraction of DA vs. sets like SD (unfortunately not viable with TW) or even SR, where you just don't get hit. Perhaps adding Oppressive Gloom back in to the build will make things better. I will give that a try before shelving the toon.

I'm seriously wondering if even TW/ELA is going to be that awesome now or face the same issues getting shredded by Carnies and Arachnos.

I can say I ran my Claws/SR brute against +3/+8 of both and he fared better due to SR having better def, and def debuf resist, especially v. arachnos. My FM/INV brute (softcapped to S/L/E/N) didn't fare as well, and my DM/SD scrap did a bit better.

Any further thoughts on what makes DA so good that I'm not seeing? It seems like sort of run-of-the-mill armors plus a nice heal.

I'm becoming more intrigued by the concept of a TW/SR for survivability purposes, though I'd sort of sworn off SR previously. Below is a brute build I'd worked up.



-------------------------

Here's a TW/SR build based on my Claws/SR brute. It should have (I think) enough recharge to run Combat's top TW single-target chain of RA-FT-AOD-CB-FT, which requires ~300% recharge in FT. I haven't looked at AOE chain, but I assume AOD-Whirling-Sweep-(pause)-Whirling or similar. No patron AOE to fill here due to energy/body pool.

It gets there with either Agility or Spiritual alpha. On its own it has 170% global recharge -- hasten will / should be perma with +5 enhance boost. The alpha puts ~130% recharge into Follow Through. Spiritual is nice for boosting passive regen and Aid Self, but if you need more endo help you could go Agility.

The nice thing is the taunt aura on Brutes in Evasion. Will keep mobs around. Endo usage seems reasonable -- 3.42 recovery vs. 0.96 toggle drain, should support TW? Endo-weak sets like Scirroco in Whirling (Typhoon) could be endo-boosted to help out.

Anyone got ways to improve? Build is a bit light on HP, for instance.

Nimble = Crushing
Vengeful = FT
Typhoon = Whirling
Ablating = Rend Armor
Sweeping = Titan Sweep
1000 Cuts = AOD
Blinding = Build Momentum


Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Sharpened: Level 50 Technology Brute
Primary Power Set: Dual Blades
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Nimble Slash -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(21), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(21), T'Death-Dam%(23), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(3), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(3), Ksmt-ToHit+(27)
Level 2: Vengeful Slice -- Hectmb-Dam%(A), Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg(5), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Hectmb-Acc/Rchg(7), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 4: Focused Senses -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(5), RedFtn-EndRdx(11), RedFtn-Def(11), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(13), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 6: Typhoon's Edge -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(15), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(15), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(17), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), Empty(19)
Level 8: Blinding Feint -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(19)
Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Agile -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(13), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(33)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def(A)
Level 16: Dodge -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(29), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(36)
Level 18: Ablating Strike -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(31), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Achilles-ResDeb%(33)
Level 20: Evasion -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(33), RedFtn-Def(34), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(50), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 22: Boxing -- Amaze-Stun(A), Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(25), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(27), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(36), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(36)
Level 24: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), HO:Ribo(25)
Level 26: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(37), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37), RedFtn-Def(37), RedFtn-EndRdx(39), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 28: Lucky -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(40)
Level 30: Sweeping Strike -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(39), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(40), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(40), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 32: One Thousand Cuts -- Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Armgdn-Dam%(34), Armgdn-Dmg(42), Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(43), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(43), FotG-ResDeb%(43)
Level 35: Quickness -- Run-I(A)
Level 38: Aid Other -- Empty(A)
Level 41: Aid Self -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(45), Numna-Heal/Rchg(45)
Level 44: Superior Conditioning -- P'Shift-End%(A)
Level 47: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-End%(A)
Level 49: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 0: Born In Battle
Level 0: High Pain Threshold
Level 0: Marshal
Level 50: Reactive Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Spiritual Core Paragon
Level 50: Pyronic Core Judgement -- Empty(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(46), Numna-Heal(46), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(46), RgnTis-Regen+(48)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), EndMod-I(48), EndMod-I(48)
Level 1: Fury
Level 4: Ninja Run



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Posted

The feeling of uber will be on whatever you build to be uber against, and you're going to have to make some choices, because most combinations are going to have weaknesses. It's easier to work around them on a Tanker, but that's probably not what you're after.

For me, the attraction of Dark Armor is rather specific - an attraction to top end Katana/Dark. With that combination, you can soft cap defense to all positions, be well over incarnate soft cap on melee and lethal, and then you're sitting on some serious resistance backing up that defense, plus a full heal every ten seconds. Defense debuffs are still your kryptonite, but you can stack Divine Avalanche to the moon, take purples when base defense goes red, and you can back it up with tier 4 Barrier when things really go south. With the exception of Broad Sword, I don't think other primaries are as good with Dark Armor in a survivability sense. They can be very good, but I don't think AS good. I think some of it comes down to desired play style as well.

I'd LIKE to get my tier 4 barrier, respec into an up to date build, maybe reroll as a Brute, and see if I'm right that +4x8 Cimerorans are then possible. I've done +4x8 Arachnos on an older build with no incarnate powers. It wasn't pretty - I think I died three times in a single mission - but it was possible. If I'd had the rez, even those three deaths wouldn't have been a problem. I'm planning to take the rez when I next rebuild.

I do think that by skipping the mez auras and not slotting for psionic resistance, you're not really seeing what Dark Armor can do. That said, if you're not feeling it yet, I don't think a mez aura will change your mind. More like "OK, it's better, but it's not ENOUGH better." You'll still be weak to the things you're weak to, just a bit less so.

But you shouldn't expect Dark Armor to be flat out better than Shield Defense or Super Reflexes, as the secondaries are all supposed to be well balanced. All sets have their pros and cons, and something like Super Reflexes has a very obvious and straightforward pro - with almost no investment, you just don't get hit. The scaling resistances can help more than I think most people give them credit for. Then you just need a heal, such as Aid Self, Siphon Life or Rebirth, and you've really got very good survivability. It's more susceptible to burst damage than Dark Armor, but Dark Armor has its own weaknesses, as you're well aware.

A top end Shield Defense pretty much has all the advantages of Super Reflexes PLUS extra damage and Shield Charge, so that's preferred by many. But Super Reflexes is just SIMPLER to make uber, plus has a leg up against incarnate to hit.


"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Werner View Post
...you shouldn't expect Dark Armor to be flat out better than Shield Defense or Super Reflexes, as the secondaries are all supposed to be well balanced. All sets have their pros and cons...
I think that really sums it up, Granite. I think (in my own review of your sentiments) that you may have been jumping into a bag full of cats expecting cuddly warm fuzziness and instead got shredded with malicious intent. One of the biggest proponents of Comboing */DA into +4/x8 content is how well you're familiar with what you're playing and how you manipulate the abilities of your primary and secondary. Titan Weapons hasn't been out for long, and for those who've gotten it to 50 so quickly may not be full in the grove of things yet. I know I'm not.

I've been casually running up the ranks of my TW/DA (who currently sits at 32) trying to get a feel for the set, to understand it's ins and outs and seeing what I can do to maximize my up time and minimize my dead-time. As much as I may want to just slam him to 50 and kit 'em out, I know that's probably not the best plan. Before tonight I hadn't played him for three days and was so-so on survival. Tonight I got 31, tossed a few more slots in a couple powers and placed a bit more enhancement and balanced his Endurance Use a bit more. "Build Up" > Whirling > Defensive has been an awesome opener into a mob. Being cloaked as I stride in and laying the mob flat doesn't eliminate all of my alpha troubles, but it gives me a very large amount of time to get the first +Def in, pop Dark Regen to full, hit the next Cone and the next +Def so that by the time I'm facing any more viable damage I'm well protected against most casual mobs. Running around on teams doing +2 to +3 content and soloing mobs with liberal use of the inspiration tray has seen me pulling a lot of great "wow, shouldn't you be dead?" moments.

So, as Werner said, if you're not feeling the "Wow", the only thing I could suggest is reconsider how you're approaching the mobs. */SR and */SD have the freedom to pretty much walk wherever they want and deal with the implications after the fact. Resistance based sets have to think about the land mines before they step on them. Try adding a Mez Aura and re-evaluate your tactics in dealing with the mobs. If it doesn't click still ~shrug~ Reroll


Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Warning: crazy space limit reached. Please delete some crazy and try again.

 

Posted

John & Werner -

You're both right. I think I'll play him some more but also think about SR. If you guys can look over the SR build above and provide any tips, that would be great. It was built for recharge but is light on HP and probably missing things like winters gift slow resist.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopeling View Post
Musculature doesn't give endurance discount, it gives endurance modification. In your build, that means it's only helping Physical Perfection and Stamina. Ageless will definitely be good to get. Your end use from toggles alone is also quite high, and Arc of Destruction and Whirling Smash are underslotted for endurance considering their cost.

I'm far from an expert on Dark Armor, so take this with a grain of salt, but it was my impression that one of the mez auras and the self rez are generally very desirable.
He's absulutely right here,
Look at this way, if you have Stamina & Physical Perfection 3 slotted already hitting that 95%+ range, the endurance modification will only increase your endurance generation by a portion of the endurance modification amount.

On the other hand, since most likely your not near the 95% endurance reduction on all of your toggles and attacks, the endurance reduction will hit for the full amount,


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Granite Agent View Post
John & Werner -

You're both right. I think I'll play him some more but also think about SR. If you guys can look over the SR build above and provide any tips, that would be great. It was built for recharge but is light on HP and probably missing things like winters gift slow resist.
Without really seeing honest Titan Weapons in that build, I can't really give a fair assessment of pairing TW with anything when it comes to IO's. I can say though, with the thought of trying to find +HP and +Regen, five trios of LotG's in combination with a trio of Numina's in Health/PP/Aid Self will both get you a considerable amount of +Regen and +HP (I don't know the Brute amounts offhand for +HP, otherwise I'd give more specific #'s). Anything further would probably be found in ToD's and Mako's at the three-of that are the easiest to get to.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Warning: crazy space limit reached. Please delete some crazy and try again.

 

Posted

Been a while since I played my DM/DA brute but iirc, OG is the taunt aura...

Edit: Looked last night, sorry it's Death Shroud that takes the taunt IO.


Currently Playing:
Rage King - SS/Regen Brute (50+3)
Soulfire Darkness - Dark/Fire Tank (50+2)
Deaths Final Embrace - Kat/Dark Brute (50+3)
ULTIMATE REGEN GUIDE I22

 

Posted

Ok, so I am in my 40s now. I do pretty OK now, and finally have some reasonable ranged def slotted. I still dont have enough slots to fill in all my powers with the enhs to boost my melee, or the rest of my ranged def.

I now have OG however, and well, it doesnt seem to be very helpful. I jump in a fight, swing a bunch, and before I can get a second or third AOE off, the mobs start to wander and I loose functionality. Mobs that all dropped before OG no longer do because they are out of my cone.

Is OG a waste of my time? It seems kind of useful, but also kind of irritating...


-------
Hew in drag baby

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by OneFrigidWitch View Post
It seems kind of useful, but also kind of irritating...

You know, in one brief statement, you have encapsulated everything I've ever experienced with Dark Armor.

I look at the numbers, and on paper, it should perform like a monster.

In the game, it just irritates the ever-lovin' fun outta me. And with no fun, why play it?

Don't get me wrong, some people adore it, and can do incredible things with it. But not me.

YMMV.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by mauk2 View Post
You know, in one brief statement, you have encapsulated everything I've ever experienced with Dark Armor.

I look at the numbers, and on paper, it should perform like a monster.

In the game, it just irritates the ever-lovin' fun outta me. And with no fun, why play it?

Don't get me wrong, some people adore it, and can do incredible things with it. But not me.

YMMV.
Yeah, it seems kinda wonky in general. I am oping that with 30 melee 35+ ranged and resilience core (+barrier) I should be able to stand up. Content below 40 I do pretty reasonably against at low difficulties. I think I might respec out of OG, because it just isn't making me "feel" it. The stun is nice, sure. But I dont think it will work well at all at Incarnate levels. Anyone have any input on OG at Incarnate/40-50 levels? Is cloak of fear way better if I can run it?


-------
Hew in drag baby

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by OneFrigidWitch View Post
Yeah, it seems kinda wonky in general. I am oping that with 30 melee 35+ ranged and resilience core (+barrier) I should be able to stand up. Content below 40 I do pretty reasonably against at low difficulties. I think I might respec out of OG, because it just isn't making me "feel" it. The stun is nice, sure. But I dont think it will work well at all at Incarnate levels. Anyone have any input on OG at Incarnate/40-50 levels? Is cloak of fear way better if I can run it?
Last I heard, I think the consensus is, if you can spare the slots to slot it up well, CoF is the 'better' choice, your build and playstyle depending. If you can't spare many slots, I might stick with OG.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by OneFrigidWitch View Post
Yeah, it seems kinda wonky in general. I am oping that with 30 melee 35+ ranged and resilience core (+barrier) I should be able to stand up. Content below 40 I do pretty reasonably against at low difficulties. I think I might respec out of OG, because it just isn't making me "feel" it. The stun is nice, sure. But I dont think it will work well at all at Incarnate levels. Anyone have any input on OG at Incarnate/40-50 levels? Is cloak of fear way better if I can run it?
In relative terms, Cloak of Fear requires a hefty endurance cost, comes with a lower inherent accuracy you have to compensate for, and the mez can be broken each time you hit anything.

Oppressive Gloom, on the other hand, has almost no endurance cost, easy to push Accuracy, requires no slots, and has a consistent mez. On the flip-side though, stuff may tend to wander away from you if you don't wipe out the immediate vicinity fast enough and the -Health can (and has) kill(ed) many a player when they're not expecting it.

The thing with the two powers, if you have the power choices, is that combined they're impressive. You stun the area, and then lock it down with fear, but it tends to ride as a bit of overkill and no one really takes both at the same time to try and counter-balance each ones complaints. If you're not packing something that quickly decimates the mob, or otherwise immobilizes them, Cloak of Fear is often the better choice. In terms of combining with Defense, I'd definitely take the Cloak over Gloom simply because it keeps things in one place, applies a -To Hit, reducing not only the amount of times something may attack you, but also its ability to actually do so.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Warning: crazy space limit reached. Please delete some crazy and try again.