Darkness Control is pretty good

Every post-Castle set has broken previous performance standards in one way or another. It didn't seem too likely that darkness control would be the first exception.

To me, based on this thread, it sounds like the balancing factor for DC is that many of its best tricks aren't such a big deal at high levels. -tohit is amazing early on and always remains at least useful but when you and the rest of your team are softcapped incarnates it just doesn't quite have the same proportional impact. The same can be said of the confuse (I know, I know, you can use this one power to solo the RSF, but in your average team environment...) and ehhhhh arguably the double damage aoe immobilize. Actually that last one remains pretty spiffy.

What will always be relevant regardless of level and outfitting is that you get two high damage, from the sound of it, pet powers, a wide variety of control types, and a control patch to go with your aoe control. And you don't have a sleep to automatically skip. So is it overpowered? Probably, yeah, but not in a way that will cause everyone to forever abandon all other control sets. It can't take seeds of confusion away from plant, and it won't wrest hot feet away from fire.

My only question is DC/DM or DC/Cold?

Oh, ok, so it is incarnate content. Well, I decided to avoid (most) incarnate content since it just makes the game harder, and makes all my level 50s weak by comparison unless I spend a long time doing the incarnate content (that I dont like) in order to upgrade each one. I would rather play normally through level 50 with new characters rather than get on the treadmill.

So I guess I will just ignore Dark Astoria. Too bad ... it was my favorite zone after Kings Row. I will miss its quiet serenity and oceans of gun-wielding undead.

But its all good. I recognize that I am in the minority. So no worries.

Thanks for the reply.

Lewis

It's impossible to predict exactly how players will react to the zone. But being that all the post-50 rewards are there, I expect that Dark Astoria will be the new Peregrine Island, combined with Grandville, combined with Rikti War Zone's incarnate trial crowds. If you are a paid subscriber you are hurting yourself to spend you level 50 life anywhere else except for Task Forces or farming (and you'd be better off farming Dark Astoria if you can manage it).

Thus, the 45% soft cap is probably on the way out, because the vast majority of enemies encountered at level 50 and higher will punch right through that.

Defense will still be useful. And so Purples and -ToHit. Especially -ToHit in a very fast recharging cone, attached to a Fear effect in a set that can also immobilize enemies to prevent running and can stun enemies in a radius bigger than any power on 90 second recharge schedule.

However, I am not better off as a paid subscriber if I am not having fun. I enjoy the normal 1-50 content. The incarnate stuff, not so much. And in fact, the new accuracy rating is probably the number one reason, other than the fact that the whole system makes my collection of 50s not so much "complete, and playable on a whim" but rather more what I'd call "obsolete".

Lewis

I don't know if this helps or not but new Dark Astoria has been universally hailed, and in some cases groused about, as much easier than any previous incarnate content. Things there might have a higher chance to hit but they spawn starting at level 50 and in the missions you never have to fight purples unless you want to (and even if you want to, by the time you yourself are +3 you can't). Don't think of it as rendering your 50s obsolete, but as giving them the kind of chance to flex their muscles that the council and circle of thorns stopped providing eons ago.

Ok then. I'll give it a fair chance and see how it goes. I did incarnate trials for a month solid before I decided that it was not something I wanted to do regularly. I suppose I should give the new Dark Astoria the same level of effort.

Thanks,

Lewis

This is somewhat of a random question, but anyone who has tested Dark Control so far: does the AoE immob have -KB in it?

Yes, it does. 15seconds in fact. I was contemplating rolling yet another stormy with it until I saw that the stun is pbAoE... which would be quite annoying to fit in with herdicaning.

I rarely ever roll single themed characters, but I really want a Dark/Dark controller. But I also really really want an Illusion/Dark. Hrmph........decisions decisions.

Did they announce a port of /Dark Miasma, sans Fearsome Stare, or something? Or was the Dark/Dark controller and/or Illusion/Dark just a wishing-out-loud kinda thing?

Lewis

Yeah, dark miasma was ported to controllers as 'dark affinity'. It's basically dark miasma without fearsome stare and petrifying gaze, replacing them with a sort of 'AoE-shadow-meld' short duration buff and a click that gives you (and your allies?) +regen/+recov buffs for defeated enemies in range. Personally I'm not too enthused about it, since it lost a lot of mitigation by losing fearsome stare's fear *and* -tohit. It's harder to cover for the missing -tohit with the fade buff, since it's such a short duration. Plus, the character of the set is different, as before it was basically all debuffs and you didn't really have to worry about your allies too much.

WOW!

I am not that upset at the loss of the Cone Fear, tho that is a great power. I am more sad about the loss of the single target hold. Still, if Dark Affinity still gets Darkest Night, Tar Patch, Twilight Grasp, and Dark Servant, then I guess I will still find it satisfying.

Is that on beta? I guess I should go look!

Thanks,

Lewis

I think they need to buff Fade and Soul Absop. to compensate for the loss of FS lol.

Point blank stun + cone-based immob. Another cumbersome disappointment I had overlooked...