Dark Current

Ankh MIDS Build: coming soon Frisson Sensate MIDS Build: coming soon

Round 2: Empathy "Your powers give you the ability to heal and aid allies as well as yourself. Empathy has no offensive powers, but its heals and buffs are unmatched." Power Level as Primary Level as Secondary Effect Healing Aura 1 1 PBAoE, Team Heal Heal Other 1 1 Ranged, Ally Heal Absorb Pain 2 4 Ranged, Ally Strong Heal, Self Moderate DMG(Special) Resurrect 6 10 Close, Ally Rez Clear Mind 8 16 Ranged, Ally +Res(Disorient, Hold, Sleep, Immob, Fear, Confusion), +Perception Fortitude 12 20 Ranged, Ally +DEF(All), +DMG, +To-Hit Recovery Aura 18 24 PBAoE, Ally +Rec Regeneration Aura 22 28 PBAoE, Ally +Regen Adrenalin Boost 26 30 Ranged, Ally +End, +Regen, +Rech, +Res(Slow) The Challengers... Ankh Empathy / Water / Soul DEFENDER Concept: Lord of the Wrapped. Empowered by Ra, the sun god to reclaim incarnate power stolen by the insolent Greek deities. Blasts of punishing sand and bursts of radiant vitality. Hunting down Mu mystics in service to Scirocco who have plundered the tombs of the ancients and stolen relics. Playstyle: Light switch. Buff first. Then Blast away. Support on the fly. VS Frisson Sensate Symphony / Empathy / Ice CONTROLLER Concept: Famous soft rock superstar who gained power through abuse of designer neuro-pharmaceuticals synthesize using CSF from Praetorian Seer Network. His vocal talent has been enhanced to where his songs amplify the emotions of his listeners bringing them euphoria and elevating them to heights of passion. Playstyle: Blanket enemies with 7 swaths of far-reaching cone attacks, layering multiple CCs and debuffs. Support as needed. Matchup Video Both are designed to bring the pain as much as ease the pain. Of special note, Frisson was designed by Cathy (Chat GPT) and I can't wait to show you what she came up with.

Reserving for Cold Domination stat release.

The Cold Domination analysis video (s) is out now. I go over in depth the stats collected by Gyr Falcon, my Cold / Archery / Energy defender and compare them statistically with Shimr, my Ice / Cold / Ice controller who went head to head with him in a series of AE 801 Trials. Mission Overview Mission 1: 801.3 r OFC IC 6035 = 17 min Mission 2: 801.5 b IC 6035 = 30 min Mission 3: 801.6 Tunnels IC 6041 = 37 min *Mission 4: 801.9 k IC 6089 = 8 min 4 Teammates: Missions 1-2: Safeword (Dominator), Badmotorfinger (Blaster), Reshoot (Blaster), Ben Drinkin (Tanker) Mission 3: Safeword (Dominator), Badmotorfinger (Blaster), Ben Drinkin (Tanker), Mindless Ending (Scrapper) *Mission 4: Badmotorfinger (Blaster), Ben Drinkin (Tanker), (Scrapper), Gospel Girl (Dominator) Total Time = 92 minutes *Trial Ended due to 4 out of 5 condition; hospital disqualification had minimal impact on stats Team Comp Note: team lineup changed over the 4 trials, lacking persistent DPS and/or reliable mez coverage. This may have reduced the value of his defensive auras and increased vulnerability to burst scenarios. Part 1: Defensive Stats Comparison (Defeats, Damage Taken, Hits Taken, etc.) Part 2: Offensive Stats Comparison and Final Verdict (Damage Dealt, Efficiency, Foe Defeats, etc.) I'll post several of the key graphs discussed in the videos when I get some time later. In the meantime, prepare to discussion the following debate I was having with Cathy when deciding on the winner of this matchup when trying to determine what was THE most important metric that tells the story of the two contestants? Initially, she said: "For me, Efficiency—the ratio of damage out to damage in—is the single most telling metric. It encapsulates: Survivability under fire (how much you can endure) Offensive potency (how well you and your pets convert that endurance into pressure) It tells you who gets the most collective damage delivered to foes for every hit they personally endure. Shimr’s 1.48 : 1 versus Gyr’s 0.81 : 1 captures in one number how her control-plus-pet ecosystem turns punishment into payoff far more effectively than his pure buffer-and-soak style." But after I pressed her on that focus of personal production when this was a 'support' test, she altered her opinion: "When you’re evaluating support, the real story isn’t how much you melt faces yourself but how well you keep your team alive and lethal. With that in mind, the single most telling metric becomes the Amplification Correlation (Provision rate vs. ally foe defeats). Why it matters: It directly measures how each shield, heal or buff you cast translates into your teammates racking up kills. Shimr vs. Gyr: Gyr’s volume bankrolls a rock-solid R² = 0.93 in ally kill enablement, but Shimr’s tighter timing and pet-driven bursts push her slope to ~73 kills / (buff-per-min) vs. Gyr’s ~60—showing she can amplify team DPS more surgically when synergy holds. Support in one number: This metric fuses uptime, cast timing, and team performance into a single lens: how many more bodies your presence on the field lets your allies put down. If you want to know which Contender truly makes their squad outperform, look at who boosts their team’s lethality per support action—because that is the essence of support." What do you think?

Glad you're having as much fun as I did with mine. She was beastly!

I'm not aware of the Cold Dom team. I'm doing my own thing with some folks from the Best of Worst as well as some PuGs over on Excelsior. Run tests 1-2x a week to use in these posts. I just finished the analysis of Gyr Falcon's data in comparison to Shimr. It's monumental! I should have the vid recorded tomorrow and released by Friday. Going to showcase the missing minutes from Mission 4 of his 801 Trial. Spoiler: we completed it, but after the team DQd with 4 out of 5 deaths.

I've added the 801 Team Trials video to Gyr Falcon's page (cold / archery / energy defender). Build Update: After running the solo tests, I swapped 4 pieces of Superior Defender's Bastion for the Sting of the Manticore in Ranged Shot (snipe) to pick up the Chance to PBAoE Heal proc. I wanted an extra layer of protection and the heal worked out quite nicely from the stat totals I racked up in the 801 Team Trials. His detailed stat analysis and my reaction video from the 801 Team Trials is Coming Soon (TM).

Uncaged Psyche – The Scream Before the Silence Support Stalker Experiment #3: Savage Melee / Psionic Armor / Leviathan Mastery The third subject in the Support Stalker Experiment is Uncaged Psyche, a mutant shaped by prolonged exposure to the ancient Leviathan’s psychic residue beneath Sharkhead Isle. Where most Stalkers seek precision and stealth, she brings raw psychic contagion and brutal chaos — destabilizing enemy minds before shredding their bodies with coral-warped claws. Concept: Uncaged Psyche doesn’t wait in the shadows — she erupts into the fray. Her mind, fractured by captivity and coral-borne madness, emits an aura of confusion and dread. She infects enemy formations with hesitation, misfires, and betrayal through Aura of Madness, while striking with savage, reef-laced blows that tear both flesh and sanity. Psionic Armor hardens her mind as the coral hardens her skin, letting her stride through carnage untouched by fear or mental interference. Her Leviathan-born powers manifest as bursts of psychokinetic rage — spouts of water and shadow that strike like ghostly extensions of her wrath. She doesn’t serve the sea mother. She punishes the surface. MIDS Builld: Uncaged Psyche - Stalker (Savage Melee - Psionic Armor).mbd 43.73 kB · 0 downloads Test Parameters: Content: Level 54 x8 Radios, Tip Missions, Boss rushes Team Composition: 5-man team with Uncaged Psyche as the sole support Tools: Sythlin’s DPS Tracker, compared against other Support Stalkers and / or my earlier DEFCON Defender/Controller results Support Toolkit: Madness Induction & Status Layering (Aura of Madness + Procs): Aura of Madness projects a persistent PBAoE field that Confuses, Disorients, Sleeps, Holds, and Fears foes while debuffing their damage. Proc-loaded for frequent AoE Confuse and debilitation, causing enemies to betray, hesitate, or collapse inward. Combines beautifully with chaotic AoEs to overwhelm enemy behavior trees. Psychic Disruption & Regeneration Denial (Devour Psyche): Devour Psyche debuffs regen, healing, and recovery in a frontal cone — ideal for softening spawn clusters or bosses. Also grants Uncaged Psyche a significant self-heal and recovery boost, scaling with target count. Synergizes with Psionic Armor’s layered sustain to keep her upright amid chaos. Savage Pressure & AoE Burst (Savage Melee): Savage Leap gives mid-range initiation, AoE burst, and rapid Frenzy stacking. Rending Flurry and Shred apply AoE DoTs and -DEF, softening groups for follow-up. Hemorrhage punishes lone targets, while Build Up spikes damage and accuracy in key moments. Survivability & Sustain (Psionic Armor): Psychokinetic Barrier grants +Absorb, +Max HP, +Regen, and resistance to endurance/recovery debuffs. Precognition provides passive +DEF and perception. Impenetrable Mind resists status effects and psi damage — keeping her mobile in psychic storms. Chaos Manifestations (Leviathan Mastery): Water Spout is a disruptive PBAoE that knocks foes skyward, inflicts fear and disorientation, and pairs thematically with her aquatic corruption. Spirit Shark Jaws offers ST control and knockdown, ideal for punishing survivors or halting dangerous foes. How It Plays: Chaos Engine Activation: She excels when surrounded — Aura of Madness softens minds, while Devour Psyche drains recovery and morale. Confused mobs collapse as she leaps from target to target in a whirlwind of bleeding coral and psychic screams. Support Through Disruption: No traditional buffs — her support is chaos. Enemies misfire, freeze, or attack each other. Frenzied leaping and AoE DoTs keep pressure high while team safety rises through reduced incoming damage and scattered threat focus. Solo Strength & Survivability: Despite being a support, Uncaged Psyche is tough. Between Psionic Armor’s +Absorb layers and healing procs in Devour Psyche, she sustained in repeatable 54x8 content and Mayhem finales without a true support ally. Verdict: Uncaged Psyche doesn’t support with shields or songs—she supports by shattering minds. Enemies lose direction, cohesion, even loyalty as her presence floods the field with psychic distortion and chaos. She’s unpredictable. She’s overwhelming. And if you’re within her reach, you’ll either flee, freeze, or bleed. She doesn’t clear the path — she tears a new one, then lets her team stride through the bleeding carnage. For more detailed stats and discussion of their implications, check out:

I'm finding the amount of debuff and control a stalker can muster is pretty damn impressive. Here's a little tease for you from ONE of Uncaged Psyche's missions: NAME KNOCK HELD STUN SLEEP CONFUSE IMMOB TERROR Takeoff 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cognitive Interface 0 0 0 0 82 0 0 Pyronic Total Radial Judgement 0 0 17 0 0 0 0 Control Hybrid 0 0 0 0 0 108 106 Superior Avalanche: Recharge/Chance for Knockdown 90 0 0 0 0 0 0 Aura of Madness 0 116 116 126 110 0 116 Lockdown: Chance for +2 Mag Hold 0 52 0 0 0 0 0 Stupefy: Chance for Knockback 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 Spirit Shark Jaws 0 23 0 0 0 0 0 Spirit Shark 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 Contagious Confusion 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 Unspeakable Terror: Disorient Bonus 0 0 29 0 0 0 0 Memento Mori 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 Duplicity 0 0 0 0 24 0 0 Overwhelming Force: Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 <Pet> Water Spout : Cognitive Interface 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 Totals: 168 191 162 126 240 108 254 1249

Still working on this? Updates would be appreciated. I've finished my Savage / Psionic / Leviathan testing and I'm putting together the data. Should be releasing that here in the next couple days.

And here are her Offensive Stats: 6. Lethality – Foe Defeats 7. Threat – Combined Character and Pet Damage Dealt 8. Pet Aggression – Character vs Pet Damage Output 8a. Pet Focus – Pet Damage vs. Foe Defeats 9. Damage Efficiency – DMG Out : DMG In for Character (orange) and for Pets (blue) Just noticed as I posted this that Shimr has more variation in damage efficiency while her pets are more stable (ratio of the sums shows her average to be 10.1 while her regression line slope shows it to be 8.6. Her pets are the same ratio either way). WHY? Explanations not included in the video for this discrepancy: Factor Shimr (Controller) Jack + Lore Pets Aggro sensitivity High (player-targeted) Low (AoE/collision damage) Uptime variability Moderate Binary (alive/dead; summoned/unsummoned) Tactical adaptability High Limited by player commands Range of tools (burst, heal) Wide Narrow, fixed AI Crisis exposure High Often removed from play early 10. Disruption Amplification – Controls vs Threat 10 a. Disruption Yield – Controls vs Lethality Combined Offensive Insight Metric What it Correlates With R² Value Interpretation Lethality Time ↔ Foe Defeats 0.95 Shimr secures kills through sustained uptime, not short bursts. Threat Time ↔ Total Damage Output 0.98 Damage grows linearly with duration — constant pressure application. Pet Contribution Personal ↔ Pet Damage Output 0.95 Pets scale directly with Shimr — they’re part of her offensive engine. Pet Aggression Pet Damage ↔ Foe Defeats 0.97 Pet output tracks with team kills, not padding — they help finish targets. Character Efficiency Personal DMG In ↔ Out 0.88 Shimr maintains strong solo efficiency, even when under fire. Pet Efficiency Pet DMG In ↔ Out 0.88 Pets contribute meaningfully, though less efficiently than Shimr herself. Disruption Synergy Controls ↔ Total Damage Output 0.99 Disruption is Shimr’s damage. DOTs + CC powers produce a linear threat. Disruption Focus Controls ↔ Foe Defeats 0.83 Disruption boosts kill count, especially with competent DPS teammates. Offensive Interpretations 1. Shimr scales with time — not tempo. Her Lethality (R² = 0.95) and Threat (R² = 0.98) indicate a clockwork contributor: the longer the mission, the deadlier she becomes. Ice/Cold doesn’t spike — it accumulates control, attrition, and output until foes collapse. 2. Disruption is her damage loop. With a near-perfect 0.99 correlation, Shimr’s control output = damage output. Her slows, freezes, and debuffs tick damage while locking down foes, turning CC into lethal momentum. This creates a seamless offense/defense blend, typical of Ice Control but amplified by Cold Domination’s layered suppression. 3. Pets are enablers — not passengers. Pets contribute 30% of all damage, and their output scales with Shimr’s (0.95) and with foe defeats (0.97). They’re helping secure kills and keep Shimr moving. 4. She fights well under fire — until collapse. Shimr’s efficiency (DMG Out:In) is strong when challenged, especially compared to her pets (nearly 3x higher). In chaotic fights (e.g., Mission 3), her personal output stays high, while pet efficiency plummets. This creates a fragile balance — Shimr performs best when her pets are active and she's pressured, but only up to a threshold before they break and, if the pressure is high enough, she follows.

Thanks! And just because you were nice, I'm going to give you the results of Shimr's 801 Trials: Here's the link to the full analysis video: Here are the main graphs; the data tables are discussed in the video. Correlations are looking at the strength of the X and Y relationship. Does one 'cause' the other? Values close to 1.00 (0.90+ for my purposes) suggest 'yes' the two values are related and / or predictive of one another. Defensive Stats 1. Survivability – Personal Defeats 2. Risk – Ally Defeats 3. Resilience – Damage Taken 1-3. Combination Graphs a. Punishment – Damage Taken vs Personal Defeats *The slope is corrected here from the one presented in the video. Slightly less damage (4989) was sustained per personal defeat* b. Overwatch – Damage Taken vs Ally Defeats *The slope is corrected here from the one presented in the video. Slightly less damage (415) was sustained per ally defeat* c. Pet Protection - Character Resilience vs Pet Resilience d. Pet Sacrifice - Pet Damage Taken vs Team Defeats 4. Avoidance Distribution – Hits Taken Across 4 Missions (orange line - average; upper range is anomalous mission 3) 4. Targeting – DMG Taken vs Hits (28 / hit) 5. Disruption Protection – DMG Taken vs Controls (3.9 / control) 5a. Disruption Shielding – Team Defeats vs Controls Combined Defensive Insight Metric What it correlates with R² Value Interpretation Targeting Hits ↔ Damage In 0.93 Very strong correlation — hits reliably predict damage taken Resilience Time ↔ Damage In 0.73 Moderate: longer missions → more damage, but not always Punishment Damage In ↔ Personal Deaths 0.78 Stronger link — damage tracks with death, but some buffer holds Overwatch Damage In ↔ Ally Deaths 0.23 Weak predictor — Shimr’s damage isn’t a tight proxy for team fate Disruption Shielding Controls ↔ Team Deaths 0.27 Disruption ramps up after collapse starts, not before it. Pet Protection Pet DMG In ↔ Shimr DMG In 0.88 When pets are under fire, Shimr tends to be targeted too — shared exposure. Defense Interpretations Avoidance is Shimr’s core survival metric. – When she’s targeted more, she takes proportionally more damage. – Cold Domination offers no personal resist toggles — survival is about slowing incoming fire and not being hit. Mission length increases pressure, but doesn’t guarantee a breakdown. – One short mission saw the highest spike in damage (M4), while longer ones sometimes stayed stable. – Mission duration only matters when pressure compounds from mob volume and spawn control failure. Shimr absorbs damage well — to a point. – The Punishment R² = 0.78 confirms she can tank moderate incoming stress. – But once overwhelmed, her tools don’t recover quickly — there’s little active self-sustain, and shields are for allies. She’s still vital to team survival — just not a strict 'linchpin'. – A low Overwatch R² = 0.23 doesn’t mean Shimr isn’t protecting the team. – It means her own damage intake isn’t the best predictor of team defeats — what matters is her ability to keep enemies weakened and teammates strengthened. – When control uptime or debuff application drops, team collapse can follow — often fast. Pets aren’t absorbing stray aggro. — Their survivability tracks with Shimr’s own (Pet ↔ Char DMG In: R² = 0.88), highlighting a shared vulnerability and synergy. When she's hit, they're hit. Control doesn’t prevent collapse — it reacts to it. — Disruption Shielding (R² = 0.27) shows her CC doesn’t reduce deaths directly. — Instead, Shimr throws out more controls when fights devolve, aligning with Ice / Cold’s identity as a slow, reactive toolkit, not a preemptive one beyond shielding.

Thanks for the heads-up. I was not aware of pets' limitations in this regard. I wasn't even thinking about the pets' to hit, mostly their ability to take a hit.

@Maelwys, Thanks again for the thoughtful response — I genuinely appreciate your concerns around how testing data is presented and interpreted. You’re absolutely right that scope clarity is important, and I want to acknowledge that directly. So to clarify: these forum posts are primarily a data notebook where I post the raw mission outcomes, charts, and performance breakdowns so that anyone who wants to deep dive the numbers can do so without pausing and rewatching the YouTube videos. The nuance, limitations, and intentions of the DEFCON testing are addressed in the accompanying YT builds and tests and analysis vids. You'll typically hear me say things like: “This isn’t all Defenders vs all Controllers" or "I'm not concluding anything here" or "these results are for these specific builds across randomized conditions.” But I do use thread titles like "Defenders vs Controllers" not to overstate the scope, but as shorthand for the test theme or question. The actual conclusions are more modest: "My tested controllers showed stronger and more stable DPM across 25 missions than the Defenders.” I agree that misinterpreting limited data as global truth is a problem, and it's why I'm structuring my presentations this way: YouTube = narrative, nuance, limitations, goals. Forums = data reference, clean reporting, minimal interruptions As far as sampling and representation go - like you said - testing all primary/secondary combos is sheer madness. But Monte Carlo-style sampling isn’t trying to be exhaust the list. It asks a simpler question: “Do any consistent patterns emerge when we inject randomness into team context?” The answer the data from my tests have provided so far is YES. For these builds, some clear trends did emerge. But I completely agree with your bottom line: These Controllers outperformed these Defenders in these trials. Not: “Controllers are definitively better than Defenders.” And that's why I'm running the DEFCON II: Aftermath series. It will add an additional 5 defenders and 5 controllers, another 25 missions each, to the mix. It will also increase the challenge level from standard 54x8 to AE 801 Incarnate challenges to really examine support capabilities at the margins. I have no idea what's going to happen, but in my initial run with Shimr, my ice / cold / ice controller, her pet output was reduced by a good 15% from what I was seeing in the DEFCON 5 tests. IF that's real and holds true with the character tests, then that will hurt controllers more than defenders. And IF that happens, the advantage in the support game that the DEFCON controllers had will evaporate. That will help isolate the Defender's superior buff / debuff numbers, which COULD give them the advantage vs incarnate level foes. But we'll see. It's early in the game and I have yet to release the actual Shimr data in context to the bigger picture. There is a lot more there now with Sythlin's DPS tool, so I'm trying to make sense of it before presenting more. But you see it later today or tomorrow and that will give you both a baseline for the DEFCON II: Aftermath series as well as what it looks like in the greater context of the DEFCON 5 series data. As each test result comes in, hypotheses will evolve, but I'll hold off on any more conclusions until all 10 tests are completed and added to the original 10. I really appreciate the discussion. Your critique helps sharpen how I communicate this work. Thanks again.

It's there in both builds so far. XAOS has it in ToF Dead Cell has it in LR

@Maelwys I appreciate your detailed response, and I think we're close in thinking actually. Since this project leans on a Monte Carlo-inspired testing style, I wanted to explain a key tool I'm using to evaluate it called Cumulative Average Analysis. Cumulative Average tracks how the average value of a performance metric (like damage per minute) changes as each new mission data is added. It works like this: Trial 1 = just the first result Trial 2 = average of Trials 1 and 2 Trial 3 = average of Trials 1, 2, and 3 etc. until Trial 25 that is the average of all 25 trials This creates is a picture of performance over time where you can see if the trend is stabilizing (main goal in Monte Carlo). Monte Carlo methods need random inputs to stress-test the system. You're not looking to eliminate variability, but to see if a pattern emerges despite it. It's why I’m deliberately introducing variation in teammates, powersets, maps, etc. If an AT performs well consistently through all the noise, that’s a real signal, not a fluke. A cumulative average graph shows whether performance is converging. If a line rises, flattens and holds, that's telling you the performance metric is stable and meaningful across the variables — exactly what I'm looking for to test generalizable performance. DEFCON 5 Sample Results Here’s what I found when applying this to the DPM data from the 25 Defender missions and corresponding 26 Controller missions: The Controller line rises faster and flattens at a higher average DPM. The Defender line is more erratic and flattens lower. This suggests that, across randomized team setups and builds, trends that held as more data accumulated: Controllers outperform Defenders in average damage per minute. The Controller curve rises faster and flattens higher = stronger and more consistent offensive performance. The Defender line is more erratic, starting lower and stabilizing at a lower average, which suggests greater variability in support synergy or damage contribution. Now, you're absolutely right that I’m not sampling anywhere near the full powerset × slotting × epic × incarnate potential. But the point of these tests isn’t to simulate every combination. It’s to observe whether significant trends emerge from real, in-game randomness. If the 'signal' I measure is strong enough to stabilize over 25 varied conditions, it has value. If it collapses as soon as variables change, it wasn’t stable to begin with. I get the appeal of narrowing things to "median builds," and that kind of reductionist testing has its place — but it would overcontrol the environment IMO, hiding synergy or volatility that emerge in actual game environments. So no, this isn’t meant to be a perfectly controlled lab experiment. It’s more stress testing the 2 classic support ATs in the field, and letting large, messy data reveal patterns. And what the cumulative average graph above tells us is: in this pocket of noise, Controllers outperformed Defenders, and reliably so, in DPM. This is also true for other metrics, which is why I gave them the 'win' in DEFCON 5. The next questions are: Why? I think it had to do with 'perma' pets. Is it true on the margin? I suspect defender advantage from their higher buff / debuff numbers wasn't properly tested at the normal game setting of 54x8.

XAOS was pretty damn good at team protection. If you get a chance, watch his team video (linked above). Dead Cell's principle was strong and solo he did great with it. His team performance was uncertain because there was some questionable actions and slotting by one of his teammates that made it look a lot worse than it would likely be in most scenarios. The one I'm testing now, Uncaged Psyche, is very interesting. She's getting a lot of mileage out of the Aura of Madness. I haven't done her team tests yet, so it's premature to call it better than the others so far or comparable to a defender or controller. But I'm loving the action potential. I've posted her build and solo vids to my channel if you want a sneak peek. I'm going to update this post with the links once I have the team trials and data analyzed. Here's the link to her on a pick up ITF I joined before I had her incarnates all T3d for the actual tests. No commentary, but you can see what she's able to do.

I’m absolutely enjoying the ride. That said, I want to clarify why I’m intentionally using random offensive powersets and team comps in these Defender vs Controller tests, rather than keeping them fixed. This isn’t apples to cauliflower as you dismiss it as — it’s a Monte Carlo approach, which is a real-world method used in science, finance, and engineering to figure out how things perform under uncertainty. To summarize it, you run the same type of test many times with randomized inputs to see if consistent patterns still emerge. Why? Because if a support set or archetype performs well no matter what kind of team or situation it's in, then we’ve uncovered a generalizable strength, not just a combo that works in one ideal setup. That’s what I’m after. If I used the same blast set or teammates every time as you're suggesting, I'd risk: Building in a bias toward a specific synergy, Missing the bigger picture of which support sets hold up across a variety of actual play conditions. So, the randomness of the tests isn't a flaw — it's the engine of the method. While it makes the results messier, it also makes them more meaningful, because patterns that emerge from the noise are the ones worth trusting. I appreciate your thoughts and the chance to explain the reasoning. I'm happy to debate Defenders vs Controllers on a per-case basis if you'd like, but I’m testing for robustness, not cherry-picked synergy that would come with locking into a specific blast or control set for every combo.

Well I aim to find out if it's the player or the powerset. Last go round my controllers edged my defenders due to their perma pets from what the data indicated. But that was vs 54x8 standard content. What about vs. incarnate level content? Do those defender higher buff numbers matter or not?

I love the Repeat Offenders concept. I ran Defenders of the Night SG back on live and we did all-defender stuff all the time until CoV came out.

Dead Cell – The Drain Before the Pain Support Stalker Test #2: Electrical Melee / Bio Armor / Mu Mastery The second subject in the Support Stalker Experiment is Dead Cell, a mutant-born horror twitching with bioelectric energy. His strategy: disrupt enemy attacks through stuttered sleep cycles and crippling endurance drain. Concept: Where other Stalkers strike from the shadows, Dead Cell never hides. He pulses with a disruptive rhythm—briefly stunning or sleeping targets, only to do it again moments later. Bio Armor’s genetic auras reduce incoming damage and bolster survivability, while Mu Mastery’s blasts flood the field with powerful debuffs and control. He's not just draining life—he's draining will. Mids Build: Dead Cell - Stalker (Electrical Melee - Bio Armor).mbd Test Parameters: Content: Level 54 x8 Radios, Tip Missions, Boss rushes Team Composition: 5-man team with Dead Cell as the sole support Tools: Sythlin’s DPS Tracker, compared against other Support Stalkers and my earlier DEFCON Defender/Controller results Support Toolkit: Sleep-Based Control (The “Stutter Lock”): Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, Jacob’s Ladder (Elec Melee) each apply brief Sleep effects Genetic Corruption (Bio Armor) pulses constant AoE Sleep + -DMG in Offensive Adaptation Mu Adept’s Cage of Lightning adds further Sleep support Endurance & Recovery Suppression: Ball Lightning, Mu Bolts, Zapp: Wide-area and ranged endurance drains Mu Adept layers on -END and -Recovery with every attack Enemies become ability-starved, reducing incoming DPS dramatically Damage Debuff & Regen Denial: Genetic Corruption & Parasitic Aura provide passive AoE -DMG DNA Siphon (Bio Armor): -Regen and group healing in one hit Mu Adept’s EM Pulse: AoE Hold and -Regen vs groups and bosses Crowd Control & Utility: Electric Shackles (Mu Mastery): Long-duration single-target Hold Shocking Bolt & EM Pulse: Frequent Stuns and AoE Holds from pet Together with Sleep cycling, this creates a battlefield under siege How It Played: Disruption: Most enemy attacks never fired. Sleep cycling combined with constant endurance drain shut down groups before they could retaliate. Safety via Denial: Rather than buffing allies, Dead Cell weakens the enemy’s ability to act—creating what felt like ambient protection. Solo Viability: With Bio Armor sustain and Siphon heals, Dead Cell handled +3/x8 solo missions with eerie stability. Verdict: Dead Cell doesn’t fight fair—he fights inevitability. His enemies stumble, spark, and fall unconscious before they understand what’s happening. He’s flashy. He’s loud. And if you’re near him, you will shut down. So when his enemies stop fighting back, everyone else gets to shine. Combined Stalker Stats:

Xaos Warden – The Shadow Before the Fall Support Stalker Test #1: Dark Melee / Shield Defense / Soul Mastery The Support Stalker Experiment kicks off with a full evaluation of Xaos Warden, a magic-origin guardian who turns the shadows into shelter and blunts incoming threats with cascading accuracy debuffs. Concept: What if a Stalker could protect their team not by vanishing… but by making sure the enemies miss? Xaos Warden isn’t a backline lurker. He’s a frontline phantasm wielding the Umbral Aegis, fusing Dark Melee’s -To Hit, Shield Defense’s +Defense auras, and Soul Mastery’s ranged suppression to serve as a living interference field. He layers debuffs, tanks selectively, and confuses priority targets through fear, holds, and knockdowns. Mids Build: Xaos Warden - Stalker (Dark Melee - Shield Defense).mbd Test Parameters: Content: Level 54 x8 Radios, Tip Missions, and Boss-heavy content Team Composition: 5 players, including Xaos Warden as the sole support Data Capture: Sythlin’s DPS Tracker (same format used in the DEFCON Series) Comparison: All Support Stalkers will be ranked against each other and against a baseline from traditional Defenders and Controllers Support Toolkit: -To Hit Stacking: Smite, Shadow Maul, Touch of Fear, Midnight Grasp, Dark Blast, Moonbeam, and the Widow’s Smoke Grenade +Team Defense: Grant Cover offers AoE +DEF and stealth to the team, plus resistance to debuff types Hard Control: Fear, Hold, Knockdown, and Immobilize effects let him neutralize threats instead of soaking them Durability: Defensive toggles from Shield and Shadow Meld make him surprisingly sturdy for a Stalker How It Played: Team Role: Functioned as a shadow tank-lite—blunting alpha strikes with Grant Cover, opening with Shield Charge, and using -To Hit suppression to make teammates feel “shielded” without ever drawing aggro Crowd Safety: Night Widow pet helped stack further accuracy debuffs, keeping lieutenants and bosses swinging wildly… and mostly missing Solo Efficiency: Surprisingly capable soloing at +3/x8, despite low mitigation tools beyond debuff layering and control pacing Verdict: Xaos Warden proved the core hypothesis: a Stalker can support a team. Not by healing, buffing, or mez-blasting—but by surgically suppressing enemy accuracy and stacking defense around their squad. Was he a Defender? No. But did he defend? Absolutely.

Can a predator become a protector? Hello all, Most know -or think they know - the Stalker as a deadly solo artist — a surgical assassin, a glass cannon in stealth, built to strike first and hard. But what if there was another path? Welcome to the Support Stalker Experiment — a project exploring the radical (is it?) idea that Stalkers can bring more than just damage to a team. By combining select powersets that include enemy debuffs, control effects, and team support tools, I’m testing whether a new role can emerge: the Support Stalker. The Concept This series flips the traditional script: What if the Stalker doesn’t just eliminate the target… but softens the entire battlefield for the team? Or even hardens the team for the fights ahead? These builds layer things like: -DEF, -To Hit, -Regen, -END, -Recovery Knockdown, Hold, Sleep, Immobilize, Fear Team buffs, heals, and debuff resistance Each build tests whether a Stalker — normally not thought of as “team utility” — can enable others to succeed while still bringing solid damage. The Method Each Support Stalker is tested as the only source of support on a small team of five characters. No traditional support ATs (no Defenders, Controllers, Corrupters, etc.) are included. The team runs: Level 54 x8 missions (radio/paper/tip) With DPS tracked using Sythlin’s real-time performance tool All builds compared against one another and also against my data from the DEFCON 5 and ongoing DEFCON II: Aftermath projects (which tested / are testing traditional support ATs in similar conditions). The 8 Support Stalker Test Builds These aren't your typical claws and capes. Each one is built for team-impact potential and thematic clarity: Name Powersets Tagline Role Summary Night Creeps Spines / Dark Armor / Dark Mastery The Dark Before the Doom AoE cone suppression via -To Hit, Fear, Stun, and Immobilize; excels at crowd softening and denial Edge of Winter Ice Melee / Ninjitsu / Ice Mastery The Frost Before the Freeze Heavy -Recharge / -Speed stacking with crowd control and battlefield shaping via AoEs and stealth Null Bind Psionic Melee / Ice Armor / Psionic Mastery The Chill Before the Kill Massive -Recharge + soft control (Hold, Confuse, Sleep); creates battlefield paralysis Over Exposure Radiation Melee / Energy Aura / Fire Mastery The Flash Before the Ash Heavy -DEF and -RES layering; AoE control through stuns, burns, and endurance draining Dead Cell Electric Melee / Bio Armor / Mu Mastery The Drain Before the Pain Sleep and endurance-drain synergy; disables entire mobs by staggering their energy and action loops Depleted Uranium Stone Melee / Radiation Armor / Energy Mastery The Quake Before the Break AoE Knockdown disruptor with -DEF/-Regen stacking and ranged cone scatter support Xaos Warden Dark Melee / Shield Defense / Soul Mastery The Shadow Before the Fall AoE and ST -To Hit stacking with team defense buffs; plays a guardian-style control tank for the squad Uncaged Psyche Savage Melee / Psionic Armor / Leviathan Mastery The Scream Before the Silence (Pending) high-impact mental disruption with Psionic absorb, fear/debuff effects, and water-based AoE Each one brings something unique: Stacking -To Hit, -DEF, and -Res Area denial and control Target lockdown or endurance drain Team defense and stealth auras Minor AoE heals or resistance toggles All built around cohesive stalker flavor Why It Matters We know Defenders and Controllers bring unparalleled support value — that’s been proven in the DEFCON project. But could a Stalker offer a leaner, faster, more dangerous kind of team utility? One that fits into smaller teams or faster content without sacrificing damage? This project aims to answer that question — both through raw data and practical experience. Interested? I’ll be sharing detailed concepts and builds along with recorded solo and team missions to discuss: Power choices Support toolkit Gameplay strategy Strengths and limitations Performance metrics compared to classic ATs I’d love to hear your feedback, thoughts, or even see your own takes on “Support Stalkers.” Do you run a Stalker that supports the team? Have you experimented with debuffs, controls, or buffs in your own stalker builds? Want to experience one of these firsthand with me in a team test run? Post below, DM me, or comment on my YT channel if you'd like to explore this more! Dark Current - YouTube

Gyr Falcon – Arctic Sentinel of the Stratosphere A high-altitude scout from the icy edge of the world, Gyr Falcon fights from above — raining pinpoint strikes down from his aerial perch while shielding his team from harm. A master of Cold Domination, he opens every battle with powerful, long-duration protections and follows up with relentless, precision fire from his Archery suite. With Energy Mastery reinforcing his staying power and burst, Gyr Falcon is built for sharp, repeatable alpha strikes and team durability — a Defender who sets the team up, then keeps the pressure on. Build Identity: Primary: Cold Domination – Powerful defense/resist shields, stealth auras, terrain debuffs, and regen suppression Secondary: Archery – Long-range, fast-recharging attacks with wide cones and bonus accuracy Epic Pool: Energy Mastery – Self-sustain, resistance toggle, and high-burst melee finisher Gyr Falcon’s Tactical Strengths: Pre-battle shielding lets the team open safely and strike confidently Precision strikes from flight — leveraging Archery’s range and speed without needing to reposition Power Build Up + Total Focus allows for devastating crit-burst moments when needed Free to focus on offense once shields and auras are deployed — little need for mid-fight upkeep Temp Invulnerability and Force of Nature provide emergency toughness in high-stakes pulls Gyr Falcon is front-loaded, fast, and focused — designed to make his team better right out of the gate, then blast safely from above. He’s not built to micromanage the field — he lets Cold do the lifting, and Archery do the cleaning. Watch for how Gyr Falcon leverages early shielding to stay mobile and maximize DPS while staying out of harm’s way. Mids Build: Gyr Falcon.mbd Build Discussion and Solo Strategy Video: AE 801 Incarnate Team Trials Video!

Shimr – Cryokinetic Controller of the Slow Horizon Shimr is a cryokineticist who doesn’t just wield cold — she manipulates time through it. Her control over molecular motion slows enemies to a crawl, dampens their reactions, and locks down the battlefield in a haze of frost and fear. Combining Ice Control and Cold Domination, Shimr specializes in soft AoE lockdown, layered debuffs, and team-wide sustain through suppression. She adds Ice Mastery for even more zone control and ranged threat. Build Identity: Primary: Ice Control – AoE-focused immobilizes, holds, slows, and fear effects Secondary: Cold Domination – Strong front-loaded shields, stealth auras, and debuff saturation Epic Pool: Ice Mastery – Adds heavy cold DoTs, personal defense, and terrain denial Tactical Strengths: Field saturation with stacked slows and recharge debuffs Persistent -RES, -DEF, -REGEN, and control layering via AoE patches Excellent mitigation through pets, positioning, and stealth-enhanced shielding High team uptime through +Recovery (Heat Loss), +Defense (Fog), and enemy softening Hibernate as a panic button or tempo reset in tough fights Shimr doesn’t aim to burn through enemies — she intends to outlast them, exhaust them, and immobilize them in place. Her playstyle rewards patience, battlefield awareness, and surgical deployment of slows, storms, and shields. Watch for how Shimr uses zone control to break aggro patterns, split spawns, and enable DPS to safely shred slowed enemies. Mids Build: Shimr - Controller (Ice Control).mbd Build Discussion and Solo Strategy Video: AE 801 Incarnate Team Trials Video!