1) 32.5% to S/L alone would be good enough. S/L/E/N just makes it all that much better, particularly in iTrials where a LOT of pure energy attacks are flying about.
2) Hasten, in my opinion, is over rated, but still a very, very good power pick that I would recommend if you have a power slot to spare. If not, don't fuss too much.
3) The Mez aura is part of your mitigation. It will hold down minions quite well as Death Shroud pecks at them. I would advise taking Cloak of Fear only because, along side Dark Melee's Touch of Fear, you be able to hold LTs and the odd boss for a short time. Every second those minions are cowering is a second they're not attacking you.
I have a 50 (+3 on trials) Dark/Dark/Soul that I've been playing a good bit lately. The lack of Energy Resistance can hurt on the iTrials, so just keep that in mind...but the generous heals from Dark Regen and Siphon Life come in handy allowing your other forms of mitigation to kick in.
The -To Hit from CoF is handy, if you can spare the slots. It's the low acc bonus in the power that makes it annoying (but Alpha slot <yay Vigor's +End Redux, +Acc, +Healing> can help with that). OG is a 1-slot wonder but it can actually make mobs walk around/away if you don't handle them quickly enough, which is an issue with the lack of burst AoE from this combo. SD + DO is okay, but...well it's no Fiery Embrace + Burn.
It's a different type of toon to play, but I'm finding it fun. Dark is quite endurance heavy, so any type of +End Redux Alpha is almost a must, if you're not going with Ageless or Physical Perfection/Superior Conditioning from the Brute ancillary pool.
Even with accolades and Vigor Alpha, I'm still finding myself in situations where Dark Consumption isn't back up and I'm having to eat a few blues. I hate any endurance issues on my toons once they're IO'd - so this probably bothers me more than other folks that would just pop a blue and carry on.
My live build is around 39% S/L Def, and 32% E/N Def - It does just fine with the heals you have and the -to hit from your powers helps add that extra safety. The only thing I will say is when that defense is gone (which happens more than you'd like) the only thing saving you is those heals. +Rech all the way after you reach your +Def goes, and for me that meant hasten was a must.
I've had a Dm/Shield scrapper that I've gotten to the teens about a year ago and never touched since, mostly because I rolled other /Shield scrappers that I found more enjoyable. So this, combined with my desire to make a /Dark Armor character for once, made me think of giving the whole Dark/Dark/Soul trifecta a try.
I don't have a build made yet (and I'm not really begging for one, I think I can do it on my own), but I did have a few questions about the combo in general. I won't be main-tanking, just soloing or teaming.
- I don't want to be softcapped, as the costs to do that would probably make me and my limited budget cry, but I was going to shoot for 32.5% S/L/E/N defense. Is that "decent" enough?
- I cannot STAND the visuals of Hasten, so unless it would be a Really Bad Idea to not take it, I'd rather not use it. Does this make me stupid? I know recharge is nice, but... eeyugh the effects.
- with Death Shroud having a taunt component on Brutes, do I NEED to take one of the mez auras? I don't care much for the -HP component of OG (even if it is negligible) and CoF seems really slot-intensive to make it 'good'.
I'll post again in the thread when I get around to making a build in Mids, though I can guarantee the build will need some tweaks! Thanks in advance for any help.