Guide to Darkness Control and Dark Assault for Dominators and Controllers

WARNING: This is a work-in-progress!


Contents

1. Introduction
2. Darkness Control
3. Dark Assault
4. The Dark/Dark Dominator
5. Other pairings

Introduction

Welcome to Blue Fenix's guide to Darkness Control and Dark Assault for Dominators and Controllers.

Issue 22 has provided us with a brand-new control set for Dominators and Controllers - Darkness Control. It's a great set with extra pets, cool graphics, solid control, and a stackable to-hit debuff in every power.

To go along with Darkness Control, we got two new sets that are more like proliferations, really, than new sets - Darkness Affinity for Controllers and Dark Assault for Dominators.

I will not be covering Darkness Affinity in this guide. I don't have enough experience with it. Please do check out a lot of the existing Dark Miasma guides, as the powers are mostly the same.

Dark Assault, on the other hand, is a great Dominator set. It's quite versatile and high on survivability.

I will go through each set's powers below, including differences for Dominators compared to Controllers where applicable. I'm not going to post exact numbers, as you can look those up in game yourself or go to City of Data for details: http://tomax.cohtitan.com/data/powers/ After that, I've got some tips on playing the Dark/Dark Dominator combo and potential build options.

Finally, I'd like to say that, although I've been playing this game for years, this is my first guide on the forums, so critique and feedback is welcome. Thanks, everyone!

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Darkness Control

Overview

About half of Darkness Control is pretty much the same old control powers we're used to - single target immobilize and hold, AoE of same, pet at 32. However, it's also got a few special tricks up it's sleeves. Three solid AoE controls, a single-target confuse, and an extra pet power that adds even more control and damage against hard targets all contribute to making this a very interesting set. Additionally, most of its powers apply a -to-hit debuff, helping you and your team avoid attacks from any uncontrolled enemies. All of Darkness Control's directly damaging powers do Negative Energy damage, which is not commonly resisted.

The Powers

My power rating scale:

1. - Poor power, many players will skip it.
2. - Ok power, depends on your playstyle
3. - Good power for most builds
4. - Great power for most or all builds
5. - Amazing power, a must-have.

Shadowy Binds
Available at level: 1
What it does: Standard single target immobilize with damage over time and a minor to-hit debuff.
Pros: Fast cast time and recharge, higher than normal base accuracy
Cons: Low damage and utility for Dominators

Rating:
For Dominators, . Shadowy Binds can stack up immobilize to keep a boss or other hard target from moving, but your time would usually be better spent on harder controls or more damaging attacks.
For Controllers, . This power can be used for single-target damage thanks to containment, improving your DPS against hard targets. Whether or not you care about that depends on your playstyle. It's good for taking down bosses faster when solo or doing more damage during AV and GM fights if you have a passive secondary like Force Field.

Slotting Suggestions:
For Dominators, an Immobilize set could get you some usable set bonuses. Enfeebled Operation and Trap of the Hunter both have Defense bonuses, but that's six slots that you might have better used on a different power.
For Controllers, I'd go with a ranged damage set, either Decimation for Recharge bonus or Thunderstrike for Defense.
If playing without sets, go for 1 Accuracy enhancement and Immobilize, Damage, and Endurance Reduction to taste.

Dark Grasp
Available at level: 1
What it does: Standard single-target hold with some damage and a minor to-hit debuff.
Pros: Excellent for locking down single hard targets, higher than normal accuracy
Cons: None, really.

Rating:
For Dominators and Controllers, . This is the power you use to get that Sapper, Boss, or whatever to shut up and stop moving or attacking. Aim it at whatever the most annoying or dangerous target in the group is. Adding hold duration and recharge will let you stack it on Elite Bosses more easily or take more foes out of the fight. With Domination up or a lucky Overpower on a Controller, it will hold a boss in one hit.

Slotting Suggestions:
For Dominators and Controllers, I recommend a Hold set such as Basilisk's Gaze (which gives both Defense and Recharge bonuses). If you have an extra slot or two, you can also add damage enhancements, since you're going to be using it anyway, might as well get an extra bit of DPS out of it.
Without IOs, I recommend 1 Acc, 1 or more Hold, and Damage, Recharge, and Endurance to taste.

Living Shadows
Available at level: 2
What it does: Long and Wide Cone (60ft, 60 degrees) Immobilize with some damage and a minor to-hit debuff.
Pros: Keeps things from wandering off, big cone size
Cons: Cone may be harder to aim than circular AoE, especially when in melee range

Rating:
For Dominators, . Living Shadows can be comboed with your AoE Stun, Heart of Darkness, to stop things from wandering, and it does a little damage. Other than that, it's unimpressive, and likely to draw you too much aggro at low levels before your better AoE controls are ready. It can be slotted up with procs and recharges fairly quickly, so some people like it for that.
For Controllers, . This is your main source of AoE damage in the set, thanks to containment. Use with Heart of Darkness to keep things in one place, and spam it once the group is locked down. Like Doms, though, beware of drawing aggro at low levels.

Slotting Suggestions:
For Dominators and Controllers both, the base duration on this is pretty long already, and it recharges quite quickly. I'd go for a damage set such as Positron's Blast unless you're chasing some particular bonuses or want to try stuffing it full of procs.
Without IOs, I'd go 1 Accuracy, 3 damage for controllers (damage is less important on Doms who already have it in their secondary), and Immobilize Duration, Endurance, and Recharge to taste.
Either way, a Range enhancement can make the cone bigger.

Possess
Available at level: 6
What it does: Single target confuse that does NOT aggro your target
Pros: Spammable from range or stealth, turns your most annoying enemies into allies, higher than normal base accuracy, awesome graphical effect
Cons: Slightly slower cast time than Mind's Confuse and Illusion's Deceive.

Rating:
For Dominators and Controllers . This power, like Dark Grasp, can take a single nuisance out of the fight. Possess goes one better, though, and turns your enemy into your best buddy. Bosses and enemies that mez, buff, or debuff all make great targets. Plus, it has a nifty graphical effect where a confused target turns black to clearly indicate to you and your teammates that it's being affected. The only reason some people may not care for this power is that it can be hard to find the right targets for it during a hectic battle, and it does nothing useful when a group is already locked down by a hard AoE control. It does have great potential solo, though, for softening up a tough spawn.

Slotting Suggestions:
For Dominators and Controllers, Confuse sets are really your only option. Possess can be used as a one-slot wonder power, though, especially with Domination making it control a boss in one shot. For confuse sets, I recommend Malaise's Illusions for the Recharge and Ranged Defense bonuses.
Without IOs, slot 1 Accuracy and Confuse Duration, Endurance, and Recharge to taste.

Fearsome Stare
Available at level: 8
What it does: Long and Wide Cone (70ft, 45 degrees) Fear with a large to-hit debuff.
Pros: Can be up for every mob. Acts as both control and debuff.
Cons: Feared enemies can still return fire or run away.

Rating:
For Dominators and Controllers, . This is, in my opinion, the defining, unskippable power in Darkness Control. Enemies hit by Fearsome Stare will cower in terror of you, unable to move or attack unless they take damage. This can give you a great opportunity to temporarily lockdown a spawn and begin setting up other controls like Possess, Dark Grasp, or Heart of Darkness on the group. Feared targets who take damage will either use one attack or run away for a few seconds before cowering again. Even in the absolute worst case scenario, where the whole group is getting constantly attacked, they'll still only return fire about half as often as normal.

As if that wasn't enough, this power ALSO debuffs enemies' to-hit by 11.25% on Dominators and 15% on Controllers. So, when they do attack you, they will miss substantially more often.

Slotting Suggestions:
For both Dominators and Controllers, the fear duration is good enough at base that I don't feel Fear enhancements are needed. Instead, slot an Accurate To-Hit-Debuff set, either Cloud Senses (for Recharge and Ranged Defense bonuses) or Siphon Insight (Smash/Lethal, Melee, and Aoe Defense bonuses) unless you're chasing some other type of bonus.
Without IOs, 1 Accuracy and 2-3 Recharge is recommended first to have this up for every enemy group. Add on at least one to-hit-debuff and Endurance Reduction to taste.

Heart of Darkness
Available at level: 12
What it does: Point-blank AoE (i.e. centered on you, 25ft radius) Stun with minor DoT and minor -to-hit debuff.
Pros: Fast activation and solid control duration, almost-up-every-spawn recharge time
Cons: Stunned enemies wander a bit, not-quite-up-every-spawn recharge time, lower than normal accuracy.

Rating:
For both Dominators and Controllers, . This is almost exactly the same power as Flashfire from Fire Control, with a couple key differences. Heart of Darkness has to be used from up close, instead of at range, but it also benefits from higher damage than Flashfire and 25% longer Stun time. To me, that's ample reward for the extra risk of getting up close. At 90 seconds recharge time, it's tough to call this an every-spawn power. However, with enough slotted and global +Recharge, you can depend on it being ready for tougher groups or as a panic button on a regular basis. Casting Living Shadows before or after requires moving in or out of range, but it will stop stunned mobs from wandering out of you and your team's AoEs. Finally, the accuracy on this power is a piddly 80% of normal, which sucks, but can easily be slotted to compensate for.


Slotting Suggestions:
For both Dominators and Controllers, Stun sets are the way to go here. Stupefy is the gold standard (Recharge and Ranged Defense bonuses), but Razzle Dazzle is an alternative if you're chasing other Defense types.
Without IOs, slot 2 Accuracy, at least 1 Recharge and 1 Stun, and then more of those or Endurance Reduction to taste.

Haunt
Available at level: 18
What it does: Summons two Shades, flying ghostly pets who will attack and frighten the targeted foe, dealing Smashing and Negative damage. Once that foe is defeated, the Shades stick around and attack any other enemies they encounter. They will follow the user if they have no target. Shades can be killed, but have some damage resistance and can last up to 60 seconds if not defeated.
Pros: Pet power that adds a lot of damage and a little control against hard targets. Can be made Perma. Recharges 30 seconds faster than Phantom Army
Cons: Shades can and will be killed sometimes. Can fail to summon if target dies during the casting animation.

Rating:
For both Dominators and Controllers, . This is a surprisingly strong and useful power. Sure, it's no Phantom Army (which controls better and is invincible), but Haunt provides good single-target damage. The Shades only have to survive for about 15 seconds to deal more damage total than a single use of Midnight Grasp, Dark Assault's most damaging melee attack, so if they live for the whole minute, you're getting a lot of bang for the 2 seconds you spend summoning them. They'll also Fear your target, which stacks with Fearsome Stare to at least temporarily control bosses. Throw these guys at a boss, EB, or AV early in the fight and just let them do their thing. Even after the target drops, they'll continue punching random targets with no further thought from you. You can also use them to grab the attention of an uncontrolled group to absorb an alpha, but they tend to die very quickly if you do that.

Slotting Suggestions:
For both Dominators and Controllers, you want Recharge Intensive Pet sets. I like Expedient Reinforcement. The pet protection IOs are optional - you're not a MasterMind, so don't feel like you have to squeeze them into your build if they don't fit nicely. For Dominators with enough global recharge to be perma-dom, Hasten, and good recharge slotted in Haunt itself, Haunt will be very close to perma. Getting Haunt to be perma is not as big a deal as with Phantom Army, though, as Haunt does not contribute as much to your survival as PA.
Without IOs, go for 1 Accuracy and as many Damage and Recharge as you can afford.

Shadow Field
Available at level: 26
What it does: A location-based AoE (activate then click on the ground to place, 25ft radius) Hold that has two parts - an initial moderate-length hold against everything in the area, then a pulsing short hold and -to-hit debuff that hits anything that stays in the area or walks in afterward
Pros: Cool graphics, benefits from Domination (initial hold only, not the pulse), long duration debuff patch.
Cons: Waaaaaaay too long recharge time (4 minutes), cast time feels long (2.67 seconds)

Rating:
For both Dominators and Controllers, or maaaaaaybe . Shadow Field is a good control - the initial hold is strong and will benefit from Domination (but not Overpower), and the -to-hit debuff in the patch is the same strength as Fearsome Stare's. The problem is this thing has a monstrous 4 minute recharge time. Even slotted for recharge, you're not going to get to use this every spawn. Plus the long animation time means it's not great as a panic button either.
That said, this power does have some good points going for it. The patch actually appears as a dome, which makes it VERY easy to see where it is, especially compared to patches from other sets such as Time. The pulsing hold and debuff, and location-based nature means you can also place it in the path of incoming enemies and watch them walk into your trap.
I have this power on my build, but it's not for everyone.

Slotting Suggestions:
For both Dominators and Controlers, slot this with Hold sets just like Dark Grasp, but with extra slots going to Recharge instead of Damage.
Without IOs, go 1 Accuracy, and as much Hold Duration and Recharge as you can cram into it.

Umbra Beast
Available at level: 32
What it does: Summons a large shadowy wolf-like creature that attacks with bites and claws (Lethal and Negative Energy damage), and howls to scare your enemies (Fear and Immobilize effects).
Pros: It's a Control Set Pet like any other, adds damage and control without needing to be controlled by the user. It also debuffs enemy to-hit.
Cons: Looks like Lassie and has some annoying sound effects (barks and howls). Uses Immobilize and Fear effects, but no holds, so won't stack hard control with you on tough targets.

Rating:
For both Dominators and Controllers, . "Lassie" as I like to call her really is pretty average as far as Control pets go. I think she looks pretty cool, but some people disagree. Also, she barks and howls a lot, including when standing around out of combat. If that bothers you a lot, take a look at this thread on how to turn off in-game sounds you don't like: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...silence+sounds
It should also be noted that on release day for I22, there was a bug that left the Umbra Beast stuck in "Defensive" mode. The bug has since been fixed, and Umbra Beast behaves just like most of the other Control set pets.
Anyway, Umbra Beast will add some noticeable passive control and damage. It's reasonably survivable, and can take some aggro off you once in a while.

Slotting Suggestions:
For both Dominators and Controllers, Umbra Beast needs Pet Sets. There aren't very many, so just go with whatever gives the bonuses you want. My comments on Haunt regarding Pet resist/defense aura IOs are applicable here as well.
Without IOs, slot 1 Accuracy and 3 Damage. I don't believe it needs any Endurance Reduction, and Recharge is not an issue unless it's dying a lot.

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Dark Assault

Overview

Dark Assault is the newest secondary for Dominators and quite tasty. It's a very well-rounded set, with some great powers regardless of whether you're looking to do melee, ranged, or AoE damage. It also has two stand-out utility powers in Gather Shadows (a Build Up/Power Boost hybrid) and Life Drain (a self-heal that also does damage). Finally, it's one of only a few Assault sets that will let you slot the Dominator Archetype Enhancment proc for +Damage in an attack instead of a control power if you feel like it.

All Dark Assault attacks deal Negative Energy damage, which is not commonly resisted (although Circle of Thorns ghosts will make you curse), and apply a small -to-hit debuff. The debuff effectively stacks with any defense you might have, making enemies miss more and increasing your survivability.

The Powers

My power rating scale:

1. - Poor power, many players will skip it.
2. - Ok power, depends on your playstyle
3. - Good power for most builds
4. - Great power for most or all builds
5. - Amazing power, a must-have.

Dark Blast
Available at level: 1
What it does: Single-target damage, 80ft range, with a minor -to-hit debuff
Pros: Fast animation and recharge, very spammable at low level
Cons: Unimpressive end game damage, unskippable

Rating: while leveling, for endgame
This is probably the most boring power in the set. It does a little damage and not much else. While leveling, slot it up and use it as part of your main attack chain - it's fast and reliable. Later on, though, when you've got more attacks and recharge bonuses, you have the option to move those slots elsewhere and ignore it. Dark Blast does have slightly better DPA than Life Drain, but it loses out on the self-heal utility.

Slotting suggestions:
The usual ranged attack sets are the way to go here - Decimation has a Recharge bonus, while Thunderstrike has lots of Ranged defense.
Without IOs, 1 Acc, 3 Damage, and 1 Endurance Reduction. Recharge really isn't needed.

Smite
Available at level: 2
What it does: Single-target melee attack that does Smashing and Negative damage with a minor -to-hit debuff
Pros: Fast Animation and high damage
Cons: Your only melee attack for the next 36 levels. Longer recharge than Dark Melee's version (8s V. 6s).

Rating:
Want to hit things and make them fall down? This is the power for you. Those who have played Dark Melee will recognize Smite as an incredibly fast punch that is key to a high-DPS attack chain. On Dominators, it's been nerfed just a tiny bit - the longer recharge makes it less spammable - but it's still a heavy hitter and totally worth picking up immediately at level 2.
Now, some Dominators don't like to play in melee range, for understandable reasons. Smite will have you getting up close and personal, and your other melee-range powers, Engulfing Darkness and Midnight Grasp, come much much later in the set. So don't feel you have to run into melee every single time this is up in the lower levels, but take it and slot it for soloing, DPS against controlled hard targets, and for when that one uncontrolled mob gets up in your face unexpectedly.
Smite is also your only source of non-Negative Energy damage in the set, which adds value against some enemies.

Slotting suggestions:
Standard melee attack slotting goes here - Kinetic Combat is expensive but valuable for Smash/Lethal defense, while Crushing Impact and Mako's Bit give better enhancement values and either Recharge or Ranged defense bonus, depending on what you're after.
Without IOs, 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 1 Endurance, 1 Recharge is solid.

Gloom
Available at level: 4
What it does: Single-target ranged (80ft) damage-over-time (8 ticks over 3.6 seconds) with a minor -to-hit debuff
Pros: Yet another high-damage and speedy animation power
Cons: Damage-over-time effect makes it *look* unimpressive

Rating:
Here's your best single-target ranged damage power in Dark Assault. Gloom does a LOT of damage with a very fast animation for a tier 2 blast. However, it's easy to think Gloom sucks because the ticks of damage don't give you that "woah" feeling of seeing the enemy's health bar drop all at once.
Gloom is most effectively against enemies with lots of HP left. Trying to use Gloom as a finisher leads to either standing around waiting to see if the DoT really kills your target, getting impatient and wasting another attack, or seeing the enemy defeated by an ally with a more direct attack. Learn to use Gloom at the right time, and it will serve you well.

Slotting suggestions:
Same as Dark Blast, except that recharge is more useful here (8 seconds base compared to DB's 4).

Nightfall
Available at level: 10
What it does: Long but narrow (60ft, 19 degrees) cone with damage-over-time and a minor -to-hit debuff
Pros: Works with Fearsome Stare and other cone/ranged controls when you want to keep your distance
Cons: Narrow cone requires tight groups of enemies or careful positioning to hit more targets

Rating:
Honestly, Nightfall just fails to impress. The damage-over-time means it doesn't feel like it hits hard, even though the damage is respectable. The range is good, but the narrowness of the cone means you're going to have to rely on getting enemies grouped tightly (via pulls, a tank, or something like that) or positioning yourself carefully and targeting the right enemy (usually one in the back of a group) to get any real value out of it. If Nightfall is hitting 3 targets or less, you may be better off using single-target attacks instead.
All that said, Nightfall is the first AoE you get and will serve adequately while leveling. I don't recommend skipping it or removing it from your build unless you've got both Engulfing Darkness and at least one Epic or Patrol Pool AoE.

Slotting suggestions:
Nightfall takes Targeted AoE sets, among which Positron's Blast stands out as the clear winner. It has a Recharge set bonus and a bit of Range enhancement, which will help with the size of Nightfall's cone if you aim it from maximum range at the back of a group.
Without IOs, 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, and Recharge, Endurance, and Range enhancers to taste.

Gather Shadows
Available at level: 16
What it does: For 10 seconds, applies a 34% damage buff and boosts the control duration and heal/buff/debuff values of most powers used during that time.
Pros: Makes you better at pretty much everything you do.
Cons: Doesn't boost your to-hit, doesn't take any IO sets.

Rating:
Do you like Build Up? Of course you do. How about Power Boost? You'd be stupid not to. So what would you say to a power that combines the effects of BOTH? That's right, that's exactly what you're getting out of Gather Shadows (at somewhat reduced values, of course).
This is a dual-purpose power that will get a lot mileage. Use it before any control power from your primary to get longer-lasting controls. Or use it before a heavy-hitting series of attacks like Midnight Grasp or Engulfing Darkness to kill things that much faster.
A few caveats: The damage boost is only half as good as Build Up. The secondary-effect boost is about 75% of Power Boost. And there's no self to-hit buff at all, which means it doesn't help when you need more accuracy the way Build Up and Aim do. It does boost all your -to-hit debuffs, though, which is nice.

Slotting suggestions:
Sadly, Gather Shadows does not accept any IO sets, only common IOs. On the other hand, you can easily treat this as a one-slot wonder power with just a single Recharge IO or SO and save those slots for other powers. Regardless, I wouldn't bother with more than 3 slots total in this power: 2 or 3 Recharge and maaaaaaybe 1 Endurance Reduction if you really hate endurance costs.

Engulfing Darkness
Available at level: 20
What it does: Point-Blank AoE (that is, centered on your character) damage power with a minor -to-hit debuff
Pros: Very fast animation for a PBAoE (2 seconds vs 3 for most others on Dominators)
Cons: Requires getting into melee range. 10-target cap is noticeable against large groups.

Rating:
In my personal opinion, Engulfing Darkness is one of the best AoE powers in any Assault set. It has way higher DPA than both Combustion and Thorn Burst, and more of its damage is front-loaded instead of relying on DoT after the attack (It does have a DoT component, but it's smaller and shorter). The only weakness of this power are the 10-target cap (which is common to most Dominator AoEs) and the need to be in or near melee range to use it. By the time you pick this up at level 20, though, you should have enough control powers to keep most spawns busy anyway and can move in, explode with darkness, and jump back out. Alternatively, use it on teams with a melee character holding most of the aggro after the enemies have bunched up and you've fired off a control or two.

Slotting suggestions:
This power takes PBAoE damage sets. A full six slots of Obliteration is my preference to get both Recharge and Melee Defense bonuses out of it, which helps you survive being in range to use it well.
Without IOs, 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, and Endurance and Recharge to taste.

Life Drain
Available at level: 28
What it does: Single-target ranged (60ft) damage power that heals you if it hits and applies a minor -to-hit debuff
Pros: Significantly improves your ability to stay alive while dealing moderate damage
Cons: Slightly long animation leads to low DPA.

Rating:
Life Drain is good at what it does, but not spectacular. Dominators got the Dark Blast version of Life Drain, rather than the better-but-shorter-ranged Dark Melee version, Siphon Life. As such, this is a moderate damage attack with a moderate length animation and a moderate heal (about 10% of your base HP, unenhanced). Over the course of a fight, this will heal back a lot of the incidental damage you take, but it won't save you from high burst damage - if you need a panic button, use a control or run away instead of Drain Life. It does make a good finisher to keep your health topped off between groups, though.
Unfortunately, Life Drain's low DPA makes it a poor choice for part of a high-DPS attack chain. If you're at full or nearly full health, use a faster attack or a lay down another control power instead.

Slotting suggestions:
Life Drain just begs to be frankenslotted or for Enhancement Boosters - get it to 35% or more Accuracy and 80% or more for both Healing and Damage anyway you can, with Endurance Reduction and Recharge as icing on the cake. Touch of the Nictus is a cool set for getting Accuracy and Heal out of the same IO, for example. This power takes Ranged Damage, Heal, and Accurate Healing sets.
Without IO sets, 1 Accuracy is the only thing that is absolutely needed. The remaining slots (and this thing can easily use all 6) can be slotted with Damage and Heal as top priority (no more than 3 of each, though), then Endurance and/or Recharge if you feel like it and have a slot or two. Slotting this as a pure self-heal will probably be more rewarding than slotting for pure damage, in my opinion, but a hybrid solution is even better.

Moon Beam
Available at level: 35
What it does: Snipe - long animation, huge range, interruptable high damage power with a minor -to-hit debuff
Pros: Can take a single weak foe out of the fight before it starts
Cons: Nearly worthless once the fight is in progress

Rating:
This is the only power in Dark Control or Assault I will ALWAYS advise people to skip. Yes, Moon Beam has a bit of utility as a pulling tool or opener, but honestly it's not worth firing except for that one time at the start of each fight. Take it only if you have used snipes before and personally love them, or have never used a snipe before and are willing to take the risk of needing to respec out of it later.

Slotting suggestions:
Sniper sets are, of course, the obvious choice here. There's some good bonuses in almost all the level 50 Snipe sets, so pick your favorite.
Without IOs, 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, and maybe some Interrupt Reduction or Recharge.
If using this for pulling and nothing else, slot 1 Accuracy IO or SO and use the rest of your slots elsewhere.

Midnight Grasp
Available at level: 38
What it does: Single-target melee attack with lots of damage, a minor -to-hit debuff, a minor DoT, and an immobilize
Pros: Hits like a truck, can take the Dominator Archetype Enhancement proc
Cons: Ugly tentacles graphic

Rating:
This is your *other* melee attack in Dark Assault. Just when your damage output is starting to feel anemic in the higher levels, BAM, you pick up this bad boy and start slamming enemies with it. Yes, it requires you to get into melee range to use, but by these levels you should have everything pretty well controlled anyway and/or start picking up some resists and/or defenses from IO sets and Epic Pools. Take it, slot it, love it, and ignore the ugly tentacles that spring up around your target. True, there's an immobilize component to this power, but it's not really worth enhancing. It will stack with any immob in your primary, though, to more quickly immobilize bosses, if you care about that.

Slotting suggestions:
Slot any Melee damage set you like, but consider the option of adding the Dominator ATO proc in the last slot. It adds some Recharge to the power and will grant you a small +Damage buff every single time you use Midnight Grasp thanks to the way the procs-per-minute formula works. The rest of the ATO set should NOT go here, though, as it doesn't enhance damage at all. It's too bad you miss out on the great Ranged defense bonus by not having all 6 ATO pieces in the same power.
Without IOs, slot for 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 1 Recharge, and either 1 Endurance or 1 more Recharge.

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The Dark/Dark Dominator

(Work in progress!)

Overview

Darkness Control and Dark Assault - it's a natural pairing, just by name and theme alone. Each set has it's own perks and quirks, but together they perform very nicely. Is this the "best" Dominator combo? Probably not, though it depends on what "best" means. That said, Dark/Dark is fun and powerful combination that can take on just about anything the game can throw at it. Depending on how you build and play, the Dark/Dark Dom can contribute to Incarnate Trials, solo large groups of enemies, and even take down some AVs all by itself. Even if that kind of endgame stuff isn't your cup of tea, I still think you'll have a great time leveling a Dark/Dark Dom, so give it a shot!

Costumes, Colors, and Themes

Before you ever play a character, you have to decide who they are. What is their name? What kind of costume do they wear? What colors are their powers? What's their origin and backstory? And are they really using "Darkness", or do you want to roleplay some other type of power?

Darkness Control and Dark Assault are both fairly versatile sets when it comes to theme, but there's a couple things that limit them, sadly. The most obvious one and most likely to annoy some people is the Umbra Beast. Let's be honest, it looks like a shadowy wolf. Some people will have no problem with that. Some people will take that and make a canine, bestial, or other themed character inspired by Umbra Beast, like I did. And some people will hate feeling limited and either skip the beast, ignore that it doesn't fit their theme, or come to the forums and demand a cat, blob of shadows, or whatever other pet they'd rather have.

The end result is the same - you're stuck with either using Umbra Beast or skipping it and missing out on a decent pet that adds damage and control to your build. Consider its effect on your concept BEFORE you build and play to level 32, and you'll be a lot happier.

Umbra Beast aside, Darkness Control is very swirly and, well, dark. Play around with the power color customization, and you may find that some of the graphics still have a dark, shadowy, or outright black portion to them no matter what bright colors or pastels you choose. Still, the lack of tentacles, skulls, and other blatantly dark/evil imagery is a great design choice from the devs to give us more concept flexibility.

Be careful what color you give to Shadow Field as well - the dome/sphere it creates lasts for a long time, and if you make it too opaque, you may have trouble seeing through it in combat.

Dark Assault, on the other hand, still uses the older darkness graphics. Again, you can recolor them how you like, but two powers in particular stand out - Gloom, which has a skull on the front of the ball of darkness you shoot at your foe, and Midnight Grasp, which surrounds your target with ugly waving tentacles straight out of a bad hentai movie. Gloom's skull can basically be ignored unless you're shooting toward the camera a lot. MG's tentacles, though, are unavoidable, especially since the power itself is such a great damage dealer. Like with Umbra Beast, if these will bother you, think about it before you settle on a character design.

All that said, here's ten random suggestions for themes to get you thinking:
-A dark, evil villain who uses black magic
-Color the powers brown and tan, call it "sand", and create a desert theme (This is what I did. Props to some guy on the forum who mentioned "Sand Melee" and inspired me)
-Color the powers green and yellow, call it Radiation or Poison
-A tragic, misunderstood hero with dark powers but a good heart
-An anthropomorphic feline, canine, or avian, to go with Umbra Beast
-A hunter who uses strange powers instead of weapons
-Color the powers red, call it blood magic
-Color the powers white and/or light blue, or various colors to make a rainbow, call it Light or Energy
-Color the powers black and purple, call yourself a Nictus or Warshade

The CDS Playstyle - Control, Damage, Survival

Before I continue with the rest of this guide, I'd like to explain my philosophy of how to play Dominators. I call it CDS - Control, Damage, Survival. These are the three priorities that a Dominator should consider both when building the character (e.g. power selections, IOs, incarnate powers, and so on) and when playing.

Control refers, of course, to the Dominator's primary power set - Darkness Control, in this case. A Dominator should be a master of locking down both single hard targets and large groups. However, there's more to Control than just holds, stuns, and other mez. Control is about controlling your situation and circumstances - position and range (in melee or out, aiming cones), pets (Should they be summoned or not? What are they attacking?), enemy groups (is there another spawn nearby? Should I preemptively fire an aoe control at it?), and even your inspiration tray. A good Dominator never panics, but is always in Control of both his surroundings and himself.

Damage may sound simplistic, but it is such a central part of this game that it bears explaining. Your entire secondary and portions of your primary are dedicated to helping you deal Damage. Without it, foes will never fall, or at least not fast enough. Dealing the maximum amount of Damage means considering issues like Recharge rates, what order to use your attacks in, and when you do or do not have enough Control of the situation to relax and focus on killing as fast as you can.

Survival is the third piece of the puzzle. "But Blue Fenix," you say, "Dominators don't have survival powers like Brutes and Tanks do! We're a squishie class!" All the more reason to be aware of and emphasize Survival, I say. Dark/Dark Dominators have a particular advantage in this area, thanks to a self-heal and stacking -to-hit debuffs that help you dodge enemy attacks, but all Dominators have access to powers and tactics that help them stay off the floor and keep pumping out Control and Damage. Considering Survival means stuff like keeping an eye on your HP, managing your Endurance, investing in powers and set bonus for resistance, defense, and regen, and yes, it even means knowing when to just run away and come back later.

Keep these three factors in mind, Control, Damage, and Survival, and you'll be well on your way to being a great Dominator.

Leveling

Levels 1 through 10:

Take Dark Grasp at level 1. You'll use it for both control and damage until you get more of your attacks. Smite and Gloom are high priority, so you can actually defeat things at a reasonable pace. Use these levels to learn how Gloom works (the DoT makes it hard to judge how much damage you're really doing) and when it is and isn't safe to close to melee for Smite. I don't recommend either of the immobilize powers in this level range - the AoE immob in particular draws too much aggro for too little damage output.

Possess is available at 6 and definitely fun to play with, but it's Fearsome Stare at level 8 that really marks the turning point. FS is your first true AoE control and debuff, and it'll increase your rate of survival dramatically. Finally, you can pick up Nightfall at level 10 for your first AoE damage power. Distribute your power slots evenly to the powers you use most, and consider putting a couple into Stamina when you get a chance.

Solo, you can handle small groups pretty easily in this range, but don't get overconfident. Bosses will be challenging unless you have Domination active, as your hold doesn't last long enough to stack very easily. On teams, pay attention to the different cone sizes between Fearsome Stare and Nightfall. Learning the positioning for these cones early will pay off later on.

Levels 11 through 20:

Things start to pick up in this level range, with Dual Origin enhancements available and plenty of good powers. Your second AoE control pops up at level 12 - Heart of Darkness. You can either alternate between that and Fearsome Stare to have one to use on each group, usually, or use both on the same group for when things go bad. Gather Shadows is at 16 and can be used much like Build Up or Aim from other sets for more damage, or right before Fearsome Stare or Heart of Darkness to get the most bang for your buck on those long-recharge powers.

At level 18, you can get your first pet power, Haunt. This will make bosses substantially easier to take on solo thanks to the extra damage, fear stacking with FS, and -to-hit debuffs. And then, finally, at 20 you can get Engulfing Darkness. At last, you have two AoE damage powers, albeit ones that work at different ranges. Learning to use both this and Nightfall effectively will help you get the most out of Dark Assault. For example, Englufing Darkness is great to use right after Heart of Darkness, since you'll be close up anyway, and you can hit the foes before they drunkenly wander too far away.

Solo, you can start taking on bosses and slightly larger groups with more ease in this range. On teams, you're still squishy, so be careful going in and out of close range for your PBAoEs. If you let a melee character grab aggro first, though, you'll be able to throw out a lot of control and damage with near impunity.

Levels 21 through 30:

Single Origin Enhancements or IOs become viable in this range, bringing your stats up to the level you can expect to be at for quite a while hereafter. If you haven't yet, pick up some pool powers to round out your build, such as Hasten, a travel power, and maybe a defense power like Maneuvers, Combat Jumping, or Stealth (more details on power pools below).

Shadow Field and Life Drain are the two big deal powers in this range. Shadow Field is your third AoE control, but it's on very long recharge, so you won't be relying on it as much as you do with your Fear and Stun. Still, it's very handy for those super-tough groups or when two spawns are really close together. Life Drain, on the other hand, is a power you'll be using constantly. It deals damage AND heals you, and both the damage and heal benefit from Gather Shadows. Don't bother using it when you're at full health, though, unless all your other attacks are waiting to recharge.

Your survivability should be going up a lot in this range, though your damage doesn't improve very much, and endurance might be a minor issue. Solo, you can probably take on bosses with ease and moderate groups, even running on x3 or x4 if you know what you're doing. On teams, your contributions haven't changed much from the last level range, but you do what you do even better now.

Levels 31 through 40:

Slots, slots everywhere! Your priority in this range should be to make sure all your main attacks and controls are slotted up appropriately with the 3 slots per level you'll be getting when you're not choosing new powers. Get your damage to 3 slots per attack if it isn't there yet, and slot some endurance reduction in as many powers as you can.

Level 32 brings the much-awaited Umbra Beast, your permanent pet. He does need some care and feeding to make sure he doesn't get killed, but if you're keeping the enemies locked down like you should, he'll be a loyal companion.

At level 35, you could take Moon Beam, but I'd rather skip the snipe and take your first EPIC power choice instead. This is a great time to pick up an AoE like Fireball to really pump up your damage output against groups. Defensive powers are, of course, also an option for those who are feeling squishy.

Finally, level 38 brings Midnight Grasp. This power will massively improve your single-target damage output and is completely worthy of its position as a Tier 9 attack. Take it, slot it, love it.

Both solo and teamed, the Dark/Dark Dominator is in their prime as they approach the end of this level range. This is the time to master your last few primary and secondary powers. Perma-dom is possible by level 40 for certain (I've done it), but may require some strange build choices and a significant investment of influence (plus a respec if you didn't plan ahead).

Levels 41 through 50:

This is it, the final push to the level cap. Your experience in this range will vary wildly depending on your choices, but regardless this is the time to take your Epic or Patron Pool powers and fill in anything you skipped from your primary, secondary, or standard Power Pools. The focus should be on filling in gaps in your build and rounding out your character.

Solo and teamed both, you're going to find yourself up against more and more of the harder enemies this game can throw at you. Carnies, Arachnos, high-end task force AVs like Romulus, and so on will all challenge your skill and ingenuity. Master your powers, and your enemies will fall at your feet.

Power Pools

Power Pools are important for rounding out your character, and provide some great utility powers. You can only dip into 4, though, so choose carefully. I'll give my personal thumbs up or down on each one, and an explanation.

Concealment: Thumbs UP . Stealth is a useful power, especially combined with Super Speed or a +Stealth IO. It's thematically appropriate for a Darkness power set, too. Both Stealth and Grant Invisibility will take Luck of the Gambler +Recharge IOs, which is a nice benefit. Invisibility and Phase Shift really aren't as good, especially considering they're the later powers in the pool. If you want this pool, I say take Stealth only, and *maybe* grant invisibility as a LotG mule. Also, you should know that Stealth loses half its defense bonus once you attack or get attacked, so be careful when planning your build if you're aiming for a specific defense number and using Stealth to get there.

Fighting: Thumbs UP . Here we have the reverse of the Concealment pool - the first two powers are weak and the last two are good. Tough is a reasonable survivability power, and a great place to mule Steadfast and Gladiator Armor 3% defense procs. Weave is even better, granting you meaningful defense to all types/positions to stack with any IO bonuses or other +Def powers you get. Beware of endurance costs when running lots of toggles, though, especially if you haven't put End Redux in your attacks yet. Take this pool if you really have trouble living long enough to beat your foes.

Flight: Thumbs... sideways? I guess? Hover *is* a decent power for getting some defense and vertical mobility, but I find it too slow considering how often Dark/Dark likes to move in and out of melee. Air Superiority is an OK attack, but the knockdown isn't needed if you're stacking your controls right. Fly is an acceptable travel power, and both Afterburner and Hover can take LotG +Recharge. Take the Flight pool (if at all) for concept, not power.

Leadership: Thumbs UP . Manuevers is like Weave, but weaker and affects allies too. Assault is OK, and only needs the default slot. Tactics can be good for shoring up you and your team's accuracy, but again beware toggle end costs stacking up. Vengeance can be fun and powerful, but is not always reliable, and useless solo. Consider this pool if you team a lot or have most of what you want and are considering a 4th pool for one or two powers.

Leaping: Thumbs UP . Combat Jumping is an extremely cheap toggle and mule for LotG +Rech, a Knockback protection IO, and/or a Kismet +Acc IO. Super Jump is another acceptable travel power. Don't bother with Jump Kick, it's too weak. Accrobatics will grant some protection to mez outside of Domination, but if you're building for high defense and/or perma-dom, it's not worth the cost. Spring Attack is pretty cool, but should only be taken after you've got all the AoE you can get from Dark Assault and your Epic pool, as those powers are more efficient. The best use of this pool in my opinion is to snag CJ and maaaaaybe Super Jump while ignoring the rest.

Medicine: Thumbs DOWN . Dominators are not a support class - Aid Other and Stimulant take too much time for benefits that a Defender or other support class does better with their primary or secondary. Aid Self is actually a pretty good power for many characters, but you have Life Drain, which heals you while also doing damage and having a faster, uninterruptible animation. Resuscitate has too many pre-reqs, really. Take this pool only if your concept DEMANDS it.

Presence: Thumbs DOWN . The taunt powers will draw aggro, which you don't want, 'cause you're not a melee class or Mastermind. The fear powers are too weak for what they do, and you don't need them to stack fear effects because you have Haunt AND Fearsome Stare AND Domination already. Skip this pool.

Speed:: Thumbs WAY UP . Hasten is pretty much the best pool power out there, and almost always required to get perma-dom. Super Speed is my favorite travel power these days as well. Whirlwind and Flurry are made of fail, though. I haven't tested Burnout yet, but it may be possible to get two sets of Shades by using it to insta-recharge Haunt. Take this pool for Hasten, stick around for SS if you like that.

Teleportation: Thumbs sideways again. Recall Friend, Teleport, and Long Range Teleport all have their uses and are good utility powers if you have room for them or they match your concept. Teleport Foe has issues though - most of the places you might use it, you can just fire off Possess from far away or while stealthed instead. Team Teleport is pretty hard to use effectively too. Take this pool for utility or concept, not power.

Epic and Patron Pools

First off, I have to strongly recommend this guide to Epic powers for Dominators, which goes into far more detail than I intend to: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...96#post3160596

To a large degree, your Epic/Patron pool choice is a matter of personal preference and playstyle. That said, there are a few significant benefits you can get by picking the right one for you.

Epic Shields: Pretty much every Epic pool has a toggle power that grants Resistance or Defense, which is a major boon to your survival. I believe every Dominator should take one of these if possible. Mind Mastery is notable for having both one of these and Link Minds as well.

Epic AoE: Powers like Fireball from Fire Mastery and Ice Storm from Ice Mastery can give you a third or fourth AoE damage power, massively improving your damage output against large groups.

Pets: Shades and Umbra beast not enough for you? The patron pools all offer pet summons with reasonable durations but long cooldowns.

Set mules: Sometimes, an Epic power will take an IO set that none of your other powers can take, opening up slotting options for certain types of bonuses. Mu Mastery, for example, offers the chance to take Endurance Modification sets.

Concept, Fun, and Utility: Some people just want a pool to match their theme or roleplay. Others find certain graphics cool, or really love having a power with knockback. If you can't find the perfect pool for your build, just go with the one you'll have the most fun playing.

What I Chose: Personally, I went with Fire Mastery. I was a bit dissatisfied with Nightfall and wanted some more AoE goodness to work with Englufing Darkness. Fireball and Rain of Fire contribute to mowing down huge groups of enemies, and Fire Shield is a perfectly serviceable (though not amazing) resistance power. I also picked up Rise of the Phoenix on a whim to fill a last power pick, and I've actually ended up using it a ton on trials, where it saves me the minute or more I would have spent in the hospital and running back to the league.

Incarnate Abilities

If I had the time and interest, I could write a whole guide to Incarnate Ablities, but I don't, so I won't. Incarnate abilities are so open to different playstyles and choices to support yourself or your team that I can't tell you which ones will be best. I'm going to tell you about my personal choices and reasons for them, and suggest a couple alternatives.

Alpha: I went with Intuition Radial - it buffs Hold duration, Damage, and To-Hit Debuffs, so it covers all three aspects of CDS in one. Good alternatives might be Musculature Core if all you want is damage, Spiritual Core for MOAR RECHARGE (but it doesn't affect Domination, I think) plus Stun for Heart of Darkness and Heal for Life Drain, or Cardiac if you just hate dealing with Endurance issues (though I feel slotting with IOs properly solves the end problem well enough so you can use your Alpha for offense instead).

Judgement: Void Radial was my choice, for thematic effect and the -Damage debuff, but really any of them is fine.

Interface: Since I already had Fire Mastery, Reactive Radial was an obvious thematic choice, as well as probably the best DPS increase available in this slot. Paralytic is good for debuffing, though, I hear, or you could go with any of the other ones that add a chance for damage, as I don't believe they're really that much weaker than Reactive.

Lore: Phantoms Core has good DPS and was unoffensive to my concept, so I went with that. I've heard recently that some of the old Lore DPS numbers aren't accurate anymore, though, as Arbiter Hawk says there was a balancing pass at some point. In any case, concept trumps stats here in my mind, unless you really want raw single-target DPS, in which case Cimerorans are king.

Destiny: Ageless Core was my choice here, since I already felt survivable enough with perma-dom and defense bonuses and Life Drain in my build to not need any of the others. The recharge, endurance, and recovery bonuses from Ageless took me from "Endurance is rarely a problem" and "I sometimes miss the timing to keep Domination up" to "Endurance is never a problem" and "I only miss Domination if I'm seriously slacking or got killed recently." Barrier and Clarion are probably the most needed to support leagues, though, and every Destiny will be appreciated on a league that happens to otherwise lack the one you just brought along.

Build Examples and Considerations

Attack Chains

Other Tips and Tricks

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Other Pairings

(Coming Soon!)

Controllers - Darkness Control + ?

Dominators - Darkness Control + ?

Darkness Control is going to pair well with almost any Assault set, but it particularly likes having a good PBAoE to pair with Heart of Darkness and/or a good cone to pair with Fearsome Stare.

Earth Assault: This set is mostly single-target Melee SMASH. You may find your cone immob and fear a little hard to reapply once you're close up, so use them early. Also, Mud Pots damage aura can trigger return fire from feared targets who are otherwise uncontrolled while you smash away at your main target. For that reason, this combo should emphasize Heart of Darkness and Shadow Field even more so, as those controls will be more effective and easier to use.

Electricity Assault: The only particular synergy here is the fact that Voltaic Sentinel makes for a fourth pet, if you're into that sort of thing. Dark Control doesn't have any Endurance Drain to pair with here, so that might be a little bit of a let down.

Energy Assault: Possibly even more single-target than Earth Assault, but without Mud Pots to clash with your fear, it actually works out alright. You can Fearsome Stare a group and run in to start smashing, and only the targets you're beating up will return fire. Knockback may kick enemies out of your Shadow Field patch, but that's ok, really, as Fearsome Stare and Heart of Darkness will be your main AoE control here anyway. Your three Stun attacks in EA, particularly Total Focus, can be stacked with Heart of Darkness to sometimes stun a boss even with Domination off.

Fiery Assault: One of the higher damage sets, Fiery is always popular. Two PBAoEs in Consume and Combustion will pair nicely with Heart of Darkness, but Fire Breath suffers from some of the same issues as Nightfall in my opinion (a bit narrow, a bit slow).

Icy Assault: Icy is a nicely balanced set with an emphasis on extra control through -Recharge. This doesn't have any special synergy with Dark, but the debuff on uncontrolled mobs is noticeable and the reduced ability for Feared targets to run away due to -Speed is nice, I suppose. I believe Chilling Embrace's aura will NOT trigger return fire from Feared targets, since it only debuffs instead of dealing damage, so that's a point in Icy's favor. I think there's a cool thematic potential to this pairing, too - a lot of the new Banished Pantheon enemies like Ravagers seem to be using a combination of Dark and Ice related powers.

Psionic Assault: Drain Psyche is pretty much THE reason to take this set - the rest of it is middle-of-the-road, except perhaps for Psychic Shockwave, which I've heard is still one of the better Dominator PBAoE's. I do like the potential for a theme combo here too - a dark and twisted mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Thorny Assault: Another AoE-heavy set, Thorny has some pretty cool options. Try dropping Thorntrops on top of Shadow Field, for example, to keep enemies even more stuck in a double-debuff patch with added damage. I suspect Thorntrops may also help reduce Stun wander, but I'm not sure. Fling Thorns is a much shorter cone than Fearsome Stare, but wider, so pay attention to your positioning.

Dominators - ? + Dark Assault

Dark Assault can play just fine with any control set, but it probably meshes best with the ones that are willing to get up in melee and have PBAoE controls. Control sets that depend on Cones at all will have a little difficulty with positioning, especially if you're also trying to use Nightfall effectively.

Earth Control:

Electric Control:

Fire Control:

Gravity Control:

Ice Control:

Mind Control:

Plant Control:

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RESERVED FOR OTHER STUFF IF NEEDED.


Ok, anyone who wants to can reply now. I've got enough reserved posts.

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I am loving this guide! Can't wait till you get the dominator section done. Great job!

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Great guide! Especially useful to me as i've spent little of my time here playing Doms or any kind of Dark characters. Especially interested in seeing thoughts on how well /Energy pairs up.

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Great Guide thus far! Exactly what I'm looking for! Especially for my level 22 dark/dark controller!

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-Pogoman, Master of Kick-Fu
-Co-Leader and recruiting officer of the Virtue Honor Guard
- lvl 50 ma/sr scrapper
-Ace O' Diamonds lvl 50 fire/rad controller
and waaaay to many other alts to mention right now

Good guide!

The Dark/Dark combo Controller combo has fast become my favorite

My slotting is similar to much of what you have except I use a lot of purples since I've been hoarding them for awhile. I wanted to push as much recharge as I could so i could have Haunt perma and Shadow Field up as soon as possible. I was aiming for 200% but only got to 196%.

I chose the Incarnate abilities based on theme but for the most part they are the same:
Alpha: Intuition Radial
Interface: Spectral Core
Destiny: Ageless Core
Judgement: Void Core


In regards to Haunt it should also be noted that they will fail if the target is Phased such as Carnie Illusionists etc.

And with both pets their AI still seems a bit wonky to me but not as bad as before. They also sometimes don't follow too well, but that could just be me.


I'm looking forward to the completion.

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Who do I have to *&^% around here to get more Targeted AoE recipes added?

Arc Name: Tsoo In Love
Arc ID: 413575

This is an excellent guide. I'm looking forward to the Dominator - ? + Dark Assault section being completed as I recently rerolled a Plant dom to be Plant/Dark.

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My fire/dark dom is really playable, the fire aura and engulfing darkness are my damage staples, whilst i weave in ranged attacks at foes not close to me.

Also, on the subject of teleport:
Stealth and a stealth io in teleport And Fire Controls Smoke power= win for stealthing Any mob.
and,
I use Teleport to switch ranges, its something that i started doing to counteract getting shoved my MM pets or melee, there by losing position. An off shoot of combat movement based off of teleport, is my standard combo for my fire/dark dom-

Smoke, teleport to direct centre of a pack(using the one-click Teleport Bind), while Teleport is animating I queue up my Aoe Hold/Stun, then Aoe Immob, Engulfing Darkness. Take a second to ST Hold/Immob. any loose mobs, and fairly much anything outside of Bosses is dead within 8' of me. If not Engulfing Darkness is back off Rech.

Fire's ST Immob. is my ATO set mule, its rech. is down to just over 1 sec, so it allows fast stacking of the +15% damage proc, just weave it in-between every attack.

=D

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>.< i took the psychic power pool for my fire/dark, Mink link and the anti mez powers being mules for LoTG global Rech IO's.

My fire/kin troller loves Spring attack .

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Nice guide.
Just a few comments on Shadow Field though..

I seriously LOVE this power, and think it is worth more than 3 smileys. granted, while lvling up (a dark/fire dom) I had shadow field under slotted..because I needed them elsewhere. In this situation, I was using it as a long recharge panic button, almost more noticeable for the -to hit, since the base acc is so low (without bonus acc from sets).

However..in the end game, and especially when your toon is all tricked out and shiny, it is stupidly awesome. For a start, it is only one of two (I think) aoe holds that are worth using on an AV. Because the patch stays there, it is constantly applying multiple holds. Obviously that wont help much vs say..a lvl 56 Mother Mayhem..but a 'normal' av, it does a lot.

Then there is the -to hit, which again, not so great vs incarnate AVs, but every lil bit helps. Also, versus normal trial mobs, I find that it makes my dom, who has basically no def at all, a huge deal more survivable (assuming the mobs CAN even attack me). I am not sure if power boost/gather shadows buffs the -to hit..but that would be great.

Also, slotting a lockdown +hold mag in there makes in EVEN better, giving more chances for holds and stacking holds, and with the bonus of the held target being really easy to spot, which it isnt normally.

I have uit slotted with 4 BG + the lockdown, and combined with my perma dom levels of rech, it is up every SECOND spawn. For a power that can simple stop a whole spawn dead, even if it misses a few with the first pulse (which a single fire aoe hold wont do..if you miss..then get mad) that is very very good. Against an av, I has a down time of about 10 seconds, if that.

Summary...while playing to 50..good power, panic button, ambush stopper.
...when 50..crazy awesome.

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Thanks for coming up with this guide. I just started a Darkness Control toon and this is going to help out quite a bit.

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Raiyna - 50 MA/Reg/Body (Liberty)
Ravyn Starr - 50 DM/EA (Liberty)
Kalathys - 6 DkCn/DkAf (Liberty)

Global Handle: @DrewBysh

Thanks much for the guide! I was wondering what to focus on for slotting in some of the control powers and now I have a better understanding of them.

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_Victory_
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