Dark/Storm Journal

Whelp, over the weekend I couldn't resist anymore.

Got Umbracane created and he's up to the mid twenties as of last night. Wasn't quite as easy a trip up as Dark/Dark, but then /Storm is much later blooming than /Dark is, so that's not unexpected. Have to say that the levels from 16 -> 22 is even MORE key for Dark/Storm than it is for many other builds.

16: Freezing Rain - key power and game changer for any /Storm
18: Haunt - major power for Dark/ and a wonderful aim-able smart missle
20: Hurricane - This is the missing piece for the -ToHit soft control, /Dark gets Darkest Night a lot sooner, but Hurricane is far more flexible.
22 (As always): SOs! Woot Woot! You finally start to get a feel for how the build will play long term, plus you can finally get on top of your end issues… Until you start summoning Tornado/Lightning Storm.

My interpretation of Dark/Storm is focused on AOE above all, so the single target abilities are a bit anemic till the slots available catches up with the powers that need 'em.

Some observations:

1. As with any /Storm, endurance issues are a major problem.
2. Using Hurricane's -ToHit debuff is substantially more complex than Darkest Night, but it's critical to Dark/Storm's ability to handle really large spawns.
3. I think I'm going to have to pickup Snow Storm even though I wasn't planning on it, more on that below.
4. Dark/Storm is going to take some incoming fire that gets through the -ToHit, and lacks /Dark's massive self healing capability. As a result I've picked up Aid Other/Self, which helps quite a bit.
5. As in my Dark/Dark I have little use for traditional AOE controls. I much prefer to just use Fearsome Stare and Hurricane.
6. Gale is actually useful, and a decent part of my attack chain, more on that below.

As mentioned in my other thread about pondering a Dark/Storm one of the things I wanted to explore was the possibility of using gale as a regular part of my attack chain. I've had such great success using 4 procs in Living Shadows on my Dark/Dark that using Gale as a supplement for Living Shadows seems reasonable.

These are the damage/attack procs that those two can hold AFAIK:

Gale:

Force Feedback +Rech
Explosive Strike +Smashing
Posi Blast +Energy
Javelin Volley +Lethal

Living Shadows:

Posi Blast +Energy
Javelin Volley +Lethal
Trap of the Hunter + Lethal
Cloud Senses +Negative
ATO WotC +Psi

At the moment I've got this:

Gale:

Force Feedback +Rech
Explosive Strike +Smashing
Posi Blast +Energy
Acc SO

Living Shadows:

Posi Blast +Energy
Trap of the Hunter + Lethal
Cloud Senses +Negative
2 EndRed SO
Acc SO

Based on my long experience playing characters without fitness (it used to be a "thing" for me before fitness became an inherent, I didn't ALWAYS skip Fitness but I did where possible) I slotted an endred in every power I use in my attack chain/setup.

The lowest level +Rech Force Feedback Proc I could find was a 27, so I didn't get chance to play with it till 24. :: shrug :: Even though Force Feedback only fires every X seconds no matter how many hits you have with it, it does seem to make a tangible difference.

In play I've found things gelling around lvl 24/25, though now that I'm dusting off/improving my old skills with Hurricane I'm really seeing just how AMAZING this build will be once Tornado/Lightning Storm are added into the mix. With any corner, or even a wall I can clump a +8 sized spawn into a VERY tight clump, just right for Tornado to tear to tiny tiny pieces.

Actually, you don't really even need a wall, with the -immob -KB from Living Shadows you can carefully use Hurricane to act as it's own wall, collecting the spawn into a semi-circular line, then push one end of the line towards the other to again create a nice tight clump. I find Living Shadows works better for this purpose than Fire Cages does as it's got more reach to affect all the spawn before you start pushing them with Hurricane. Well after you start with Fearsome Stare of course.

Gale: I'm actually finding Gale quite useful. It can speed up the clumping process if there IS a wall handy by firing Gale and then Living Shadows instead of the reverse which is more my normal chain. The Force Feedback is not at all game breaking, but it's certainly useful and worth the slot. My thinking is that if you're going to be spamming Gale for the + rech boost, then you might just as well use it to actually do DAMAGE, and Gale's tremendous cone angle and recharge for a pittance of end, it makes a perfect candidate for +dmg procs. If it was the only proc dmg cone you had, I really don't know it would be worth it, but paired with Living Shadows, it's quite effective.

Snow Storm: One of the biggest problems Dark/Storm has running at +0/+8 before the build really matures is maps where the spawns are are broken up with doorwarys etc. I ran into the same problem with my Plant/Storm and found that Snow Storm made a great tool for pulling spawns into a part of the map with geometry more to my benefit. There's something fun about triggering the anchor and then racing through a doorway with Hurricane on and watching the spawn trickle through to be tossed into a corner where they pile up just waiting for me to demolish them. Haven't picked up Snow Storm yet, but I think it's going to be my pick at 26.

I'll be able to slot the Numina Proc I've got waiting once I get to lvl 27, and I think I'm going to need the Miracle one too to deal with the huge end demends once Tornado and Lightning Storm start sucking up my end in great greedy gulps.

Single target: As mentioned, my single target controls have been somewhat neglected as I've focused on getting Fearsome stare six slotted to (temporarily, until I have a 6 pack of Cloud Senses usable) hold the ATO set, Living Shadows to hold it's procs and SOs, Gale 4 slotted etc. Even with only two or three slots for Dark Grasp and Possess each, they work admirably well for what I need at this point in the build's development. The ability to use Steamy Mist and a Celerity in Sprint (actually powerslide) to scout out the spawn and confuse LT's before opening the fight, is key to survival in many cases. I'm tentatively planning to put the six ATO into Dark Grasp when I respec them out of Fearsome Stare and put Cloud Senses in there.

Speaking of single target, I've also picked up the ST immob and find it very useful for immobing mobs that get missed by Living Shadows and those resistant to immobs before they scramble around hurricane and get behind me. I'll probably eventually 3-4 slot it to help with single target damage. Might even 5 slot it to hold a set? It'll depend on slot availablity later on I'm sure.

I'm thinking that I'll probably do a lot of 4 slotting pets with Exped Reinforcement or Call to Arms to save slots. Also have to ponder the Kinetic Crash set for Tornado/Lightning storm, it's not ideal, but it's a decent bunch of +Dmg, + End, +Rech, costs next to nothing last I looked and has good set bonuses with the -KB protection and +7.5 rech. I think it'll come down to looking at the other set bonuses of other sets as it always does.

4 pack of Dark Watcher in Hurricane probably.

Hrm…

Anyway, much to think about and play with, but Dark/Storm may be slower out of the gate, but it does not disappoint.

I'd love to hear about any thoughts/experience anyone else has?

Arg

Have you given any thought to taking/slotting the two PBAoE disorienting powers from both sets. I was thinking about rolling a Dark/Storm for just this reason.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

In addition to the AoE slow and -recharge, Snow Storm has a few other features that are important, if not obvious. Snow Storm is -fly. It seems more and more groups ignore -fly, but it can add utility to your bunching/grouping with gale > freezing rain > hurricane to maximize the number of foes in the kill zone. Snow Storm also possesses a very nice feature: AoE interrupt. This affects embalmed vahzilok, self-destructing CoT mages, sky raider engineers (unable to launch FFG), Rikti communication officers. I am sure I left out others.

Another consideration, Snow Storm can be placed certain foe spawns, such as DE emanators. The advantage to this, as opposed to say a Council warwolf, is that the anchor is stationary

On a controller I can see why another soft control would be redundant in some builds. I really like all the features of Snow Storm. Level 26 seems like a reasonable place to take it if you aren't going for the tier 8 primary power.

Another nice advantage of Snow Storm is the -Recharge. Stacking -Recharge with -ToHit means that they shoot at you less often and they usually miss when they do. Stacking those kinds of effects can be very powerful. */Storm alone can combine Snow Storm with the -ToHit in Hurricane, but Dark/Storm can also make a group far less effective by combining the -ToHit from various powers with Snow Storm. Then immobilize them with Living Shadows. It all works together as a kind of back-up AoE control.

This is very similar to my strategy with Earth/Rad . . . Stone Cages-RI (for ToHit Debuff)-Lingering Rad (for -Recharge).

A cheaper option to consider (for those that have access to them) is to use the Going Rogue pre-order enhancements in Gale (or Living Shadows) up to level 21 (when they expire) and then switching to regular procs.

::nods::

That's what I've done on all my Dark/ controllers, the GR enh are actually quite effective till 21 when the procs stop firing.

I've been thinking about the advantage the -Recharge would bring as well LM, it would effectively cut the incoming dmg in half (or is it just by 25% as 100% would cut it in half?) for regular mobs that don't resist debuffs. In any case it would serve multiple purposes with little to no slot investment just an Endred in the default slot.

Arg

Been quite a while since I updated this one so I'll try to catch everyone up.

Umbracane is now up to 32 (Go get 'em Mrs O'Leary!) and The build is starting to really mature. I don't think I really realized just how MUCH I depended on the Ranged + def from sets and Fade on my Dark/Dark until I started hitting harder mobs on my Dark/Storm. The -ToHit from Hurricane is harder to use than darkest night, but that's balanced by the huge advantage it gives you as a positioning power. The REAL impact of hurricane's positioning ability won't be felt until I start summoning Tornado and watching it tear through really tightly packed +8/+1 spawns.

Once Umbra got up into the upper twenties I started collecting the Cloud Senses set to swap into my 6 slotted Fearsome Stare for the additional -ToHit, + Rech and + ranged def. The ATO set was moved into Dark Grasp (ST hold) including the proc which I reluctantly pulled out of Living Shadows. Dark/Storm really needs the + Ranged def more than Dark/Dark does, and once Tornado spins my way, I'll have more than enough dmg to offet the loss of a proc in LS.

Speaking of Procs, I've got a weather eye on the new set category: Universal damage. I haven't seen any details on it yet, but it's showing up as a set type that many powers will accept, and if there are any dmg procs in it I'll probably grab several if I can.

I've made HEAVY use of the Enhancement Converters (one of my very fav drops!) to get what I need for this build. I think Umbra has converted one or two (turned a cheap miracle enh into a miracle +recovery and the same to make a perf shifter proc) and Shadow Fallen (my Dark/Dark) has converted a few cheap cloud senses into the dmg proc for her "little brother".

As with any Stormer, Dark/Storm has end issues even before getting to the Tornado and Lightning storm summoning. To help offset that I've got 3 Endmod SO's AND a perf shifter +end proc slotted in Stamina, as well as both the Numina and the Miracle +rec uniques in Health. That's pretty much got end under control till the big summon expenses at 35 and 38, but I'm building substantial endred into everything as I know it's going to be an issue.

So far I remain very happy with the Cone triumvirate of Fearsome Stare - Living Shadows - Gale. All three have dmg procs in them (and Freezing rain has one as well), and you can really see them melting things, esp minions like butter on a hot skillet. Keeping Freezing Rain up as much as possible makes a HUGE difference for both procs and pets, and it's awesome -def does a great job of making the Vet attacks quite useful. Moving the full 6 pack of the ATO into Dark Grasp has made DG into quite an excellent ST dmg power as well, so my formerly anemic single target dmg has amped up *considerably* over the last few levels.

Haunt: I still don't think these guys get the credit they deserves they ROCK. I tried a few trial spawns where I didn't summon them and the difference was amazing. The reduction in incoming fire to me personally is quite noticeable as is the dmg and general increase in my survivability. I don't know why some folks have complained about them being fragile, but then I generally run at +8/+1. I'm guessing that folks running smaller, higher level spawns may be seeing them quite differently.

Hurricane: I haven't been able to slot this out yet, so it's still just running with an endred in the default. Absolute CORE power for me, really can't function well without it.

Umbra: Just got it again, and MAN to I love having that big puppy back at my side. I know a lot og folks hate the barking, but really, it's a great pet. Aggressive enough without being a total aggro magnet, though I do wish he would use his cone first and from a distance instead of often charging in first.

Tornado: Don't have it yet, but with the frequency with which I find myself able to blow whole spawns into really REALLY tight packed corners I just can't WAIT to see tonado rip into them like a psychotic buzzsaw.

My normal attack pattern:

Combat Jumping, Hover, Steamy Mist and Sprint (with celerity + stealth) on so I can position myself. Open with Fearsome stare -> Living Shadows -> toggle on Hurricane and off Sprint. Drop Frezzing rain where Hurricane is GOING to push the spawn and then summon Haunt and hit gale.

I hit Gale last so the +rech boost affects my Haunt rech. I immediately followup with LS shadows again to keep the -KB from wearing off and then start cycling through my cone tripple threat and doing selected single target work on dangerous LT's.

Nice thing about Fearsome stare is that I generally have long enough windows to use Aid Self if it's needed.

Anyway, Gotta get back to doing productive work, but that's early twenties to 32 in a nutshell.

Arg

If you can, try proc'ing out Freezing Rain. I have mine in several Stormies (and Sleet in my Ill/Cold) with Achilles -Resist, Posi Blast, Lady Gray, Impeded Swiftness and 2 Rech. The damage really adds up.

@OP

The attack pattern is working for you. In many situations especially with dark, certain opening work better than others. Some groups you can stun, others you can fear, and in some groups you want to lead off with gale because it interrupts the foes in their alpha attack activation. The -tohit in fearsome is always good even if they resist the fear component. With experience and keeping an open mind, your attack cycle will match the foes that you attack.

As Umbracane works his way up I have to start thinking about APP/PPP choices. Now my *default* is Leviathan (I mean really... Tornado AND Waterspout?! And Bile spray works perfectly with the other cones), but I know I'm going to have endurance issues and there's other very useful other functionality in the other choices.

I've been pondering /Mace for the additional -Res for single hard target, additional +def and ability to slot LOTG etc. Doesn't do a thing for my blue bar though. Mu and Primal give good end management options on the other hand. Though the Status protection in /Psi would be dang helpful.

But end management could be alleviated with Cardiac, and status protect possibly with Clarion. :: sigh ::

What would you all go with for a Dark/Storm?

Arg

As far as APP/PPP, my Dark/Dark is going for Soul Mastery for a) concept, b) damage, and c) DARK CONSUMPTION! Fixes any end issues right there, especially if you're clumping enemies as well as you say you are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EarthWyrm But I do understand that there is an internet rule that any bad idea must be presented by someone at least twice a year to remind everyone who hasn't already read every previous thread on the topic precisely why the idea is bad.