I am in a dither....

[WillParkinson]

Okay, long story short. Last night someone in chat asked about dark melee/dark armor for Tanks, Brutes, and Scrappers. They were told pretty much unanimously that dark anything sucks. Horribly. One guy went so far as to tell the person who said he enjoyed it that he was sorry the player never tried a good toon.

 

Of course, my current guy is dark, and a few of the things they were saying made sense. He doesn't do the best damage. I asked what about when the update kicks in, and there are new things added to dark?  They said it wouldn't help any, and that dark would still suck.

 

So now, I'm trying to figure out what I can play that has the following: Decent animation times (sorry, Titan Weapons, but I feel like once I activate a power, I have time to get up and grab a drink and get back before it's done), strong damage, and some great damage mitigation. Also, I want the click and forget mez protection, because I never think about clicking that power until it's too late. I was looking at shield, but that click mez leaves me shuddering.

 

What else would you suggest (other than a different game, because I really do love City of Heroes, and have since it came out all those years ago).

 

Thank you for your time in reading, and thank you for any advice you might offer.

[Calamity Cain]

Take this with a grain of salt - I have been playing the game for a long time, but have only just begun to delve into the game's mechanics.

 

But my first Tank is Dark Armor / Titan Weapons and performs pretty damn well. He may be garbage compared to "THE BEST TANK BUILD EVER" but he does his job. He tanks, and smashes. And both of those sets are End heavy AF.

 

You most likely ran afoul of some trolls, sorry to say. Or worse, the kind of trolls who also believe their own bullshit. It's my understanding that Negative Energy damage is not widely resisted and that Dark's buffs to defense and debuff effects are hella useful. Other more experienced players should weigh in with more specifics.

[Lines]

Dark is great on a lot of things. Dark melee maybe below par, but it's getting a little boost in the next patch with more being looked into in the future.

 

I think you may have spoken to someone who had bad experiences - which is fine, it happens. But you can definitely make it work.

[WillParkinson]

31 minutes ago, Lines said:

Dark is great on a lot of things. Dark melee maybe below par, but it's getting a little boost in the next patch with more being looked into in the future.

 

I think you may have spoken to someone who had bad experiences - which is fine, it happens. But you can definitely make it work.

This was three different people, which is part of why I got freaked about it.

[crkohl]

Yea... I think you ran in to some people who don’t know the game very well.

 

Dark Melee, while not an AoE powerhouse (which is king in CoH to be honest), is a very solid set, and one of the best single target AV killers out there. I sing its praises often on this board, but my main is a DM/SD Scrapper and he is an absolute beast.
 

Dark Armor is a ridiculously strong set, though I prefer it on Brutes (I don’t play Tanks, but them too). I’ve got a Katana/DA Brute at 50. You have very high resists even to Toxic and Psi, built in stealth and defense, and the best heal in the entire game. The end problems are real, but they are easily handled with IOs.

 

So yea, ignore those people and keep doing you.

[Redlynne]

I think you need to refer to what none other than Dechs Kaison said in 2011 about Dark Armor on a Tanker.  He even provides video evidence of how powerful it is ... prior to alpha slots, prior to inherent stamina and prior to Bruising being added to Tankers.  You may also want to read his Supermassive Black Hole guide on the same site posted in 2012.

6 hours ago, WillParkinson said:

They were told pretty much unanimously that dark anything sucks. Horribly. One guy went so far as to tell the person who said he enjoyed it that he was sorry the player never tried a good toon.

They were WRONG.

And that's putting it "politely" ...

[Werner]

On 3/7/2020 at 8:24 AM, WillParkinson said:

...someone in chat asked about dark melee/dark armor for Tanks, Brutes, and Scrappers. They were told pretty much unanimously that dark anything sucks. Horribly. One guy went so far as to tell the person who said he enjoyed it that he was sorry the player never tried a good toon...

Dark anything sucks? Hahaha hahahahahahahahaha! But a lot of people believe it, and it probably WAS their experience, so I can't blame them. And I don't feel that Dark/Dark has that much synergy (edit: this thread changed my mind, has decent synergy). Dark Melee is decent single target plus a heal in a game where AoE is usually king. But that heal goes very nicely with power sets that don't have one. Dark Armor CAN suck super bad, and it can also be incredible in the end game when built right. Leveling can be pretty painful, and if you don't know how to build well with IOs, that pain may never go away. So it's no surprise that a lot of people would think it sucks. But add some defense with, say, Katana and a ton of set bonuses and pool powers, and crank up that resistance, and get that full heal down to every ten or fifteen seconds, and it can be SO good. Except against defense debuffs. But that's a weakness it shares with a lot of sets.

Edited March 13, 2020 by Werner

[Sir Myshkin]

I would be happy to show you how wrong they are about Dark "Anything." One of the first toons I created coming back was a Rad/DA Scrapper. I haven't played him in a while in favor of more and more projects, but I pushed him into a few dozen Verteran levels before I started the next one. I have a running joke for him that he's often "not even in his final form" (come on, we all know that gag 😉 ), but it's true. He has capped resistance to most of his stats and 45% S/L/Melee Defense, Shadow Meld as a back up, a ton of Incarnates, and Dark Regen that I rarely, if ever, activate. Yeah, I said that: my primary heal I rarely use because of how effective Dark Armor is at mitigation. Oh, and I often don't run with Oppressive Gloom on just so I can take a hit from time to time.

 

Dark Melee is also very strong from a Single Target perspective and utilizes its own heal in its primary attack chain, and has one of the best DPA attacks in the game (Smite). The thing that most folks get offput on with DM is its significant lack of AoE capacity, which is exactly what's on the testing server right now to correct by turning Dark Consumption (name changed now) into a more effective AoE, and widening out Shadow Maul's cone for more coverage. Dark Melee/Shield Defense is still one of the most significant "AV Killer" builds out there because it's strong out of the box, and is easy to fuel with Soul Drain.

 

I have said it plenty of times in past, and I'll continue saying it now: Dark Armor is the most survivable Armor set in the game. Take that, Bio Armor!

 

Edit: And also, this thread is dedicated to DM/SD and has over NINE pages off discussion. Let that sink in a bit.

Edited March 8, 2020 by Sir Myshkin
needed to grab a link

[Call Me Awesome]

Honestly the last time I tried Dark Armor was probably way back around issue 7 or 8, pre IO in any case.  I found the set frustrating to play because of it's high endurance usage... just running the armor and aura toggles ate up nearly your entire recovery pool leaving very little for attacking.  I think I got the character, I believe a Spine/Dark Scrapper, to the mid-20's and abandoned it due to those issues.  I do know that IO bonuses can solve it's woes nowadays but I've never tried it again.  Too many alts, too little time.

[Gauntlet_Prime]

Dark armor is a set I long avoided because of all the talk of how "bad" it was.  I only recently pushed a Dark tank up and was SHOCKED at how amazing the set was.  I have since also made stalkers, scrappers and even a sentinel with dark armor.  It is rapidly becoming one of my favorite defensive sets.

[Without_Pause]

I believe the first 50 in the hardcore SG back on like was a Dark/sr. Numbers in terms of player counts for Dark/shield is really good. Dark and /dark on controllers are incredibly good. /dark is the best version of the support set. Ill/dark is just awesome. Dark on tanks is quite sturdy. I had a brute one back on Live and I was impressed with it. Getting the proc in the heal helped a lot. 

 

I gamed with a troll who was non-stop about how Khelds sucked while a PB was on the team. I global ignored them and made a WS shortly after.

 

This world is full of idiots. The internet just helps you find them quicker.

[Hardship]

The great thing about this game is that you can play just about anything and still have it work and be successful. You don't have to min/max in order to contribute to a team. As long as you are having fun playing, then that is all that should matter.

[Obus Form]

@WillParkinsonworry not, friendly sir.

 

While I am of the camp that dark melee specially needs help (shorter animation times, better aoe range), everything else dark is amazing.

 

Specifically for tanking, /Dark Armor is likely the best tanking set in the game because you have no damage holes except toxic, and have the best heal in the game.  The energy damage hole can be put to 58% resist (on a scrapper/brute) with the correct slotting and Endurnace management is done with IOs and Alpha (musculature or agility).  You can still very near perma hasten.  You can even run TW/Dark Armour, but your epic power pool better be energy mastery (for +End on brute) or body mastery (for +End on scrapper).  The key is having a greatly optimized build and the money to build it.

 

Only Radiation armor beats Dark Armour in iTrials because most of the enemy damage is Energy type.  If iTrials swapped to negative energy damage type instead, Dark Armour would be the best tanking set in the game.

[Werner]

10 hours ago, Obus Form said:

...The energy damage hole can be put to 58% resist (on a scrapper/brute) with the correct slotting...

My Katana/Dark Brute will have energy resistance at 65%. I sacrificed some smashing/lethal resistance to focus on reducing holes rather than reinforcing strengths. And Melee Core will hard cap (90%) all but toxic resists when fully-saturated. Scaling damage resist from the IO will lower that requirement a bit some of the time. So will Barrier Core.

[Gauntlet_Prime]

10 minutes ago, Werner said:

My Katana/Dark Brute will have energy resistance at 65%. I sacrificed some smashing/lethal resistance to focus on reducing holes rather than reinforcing strengths. And Melee Core will hard cap (90%) all but toxic resists when fully-saturated. Scaling damage resist from the IO will lower that requirement a bit some of the time. So will Barrier Core.

Link a build so i can copy.. err... or I wont believe you!  Yeah!  Prove it!  (Preferably the data chunk or the actual save file as mids hates the data link for me.)

[Obus Form]

26 minutes ago, Werner said:

My Katana/Dark Brute will have energy resistance at 65%. I sacrificed some smashing/lethal resistance to focus on reducing holes rather than reinforcing strengths. And Melee Core will hard cap (90%) all but toxic resists when fully-saturated. Scaling damage resist from the IO will lower that requirement a bit some of the time. So will Barrier Core.

Given the depth OPs question I did not include incarnate powers (melee core, barrier) in the build because it's the grind up there and when those T4s are inactive that is most risky.  Once all T4s are active, esp barrier + melee core, all ATs are ostensibly tanky.

 

@WillParkinsonif you provide a link to your build, and/or design restrictions (such as recharge goals) or desires, I can link a dark/Dark build for you.  Some goals could be to main tank iTrials, or just run +4/8 missions, or take certain powers or want certain percs. 

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Obus Form

[Doomguide2005]

I don't think I have gotten a Dark Armor character over 20th ... but I've known and played alongside enough of them to know the idea of DA is bad is a whole pile of horse hooey.  

 

And DM I can say from personal experience is extremely not bad.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Doomguide2005

[Werner]

1 hour ago, Gauntlet_Prime said:

Link a build so i can copy.. err... or I wont believe you!  Yeah!  Prove it!  (Preferably the data chunk or the actual save file as mids hates the data link for me.)

Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Alexei: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Katana
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Gambler's Cut -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(3), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(7)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(7), UnbGrd-Max HP%(9), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(9), StdPrt-ResKB(11), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(11)
Level 2: Death Shroud -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(13), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(17)
Level 4: Murky Cloud -- Ags-ResDam(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(19), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(21)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(A), ShlWal-Def(21), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(23), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(23), Ksm-ToHit+(25), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(25)
Level 8: Divine Avalanche -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(27), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(27), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), Hct-Acc/Rchg(31)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- Ags-ResDam(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(31), Ags-Psi/Status(31)
Level 12: Super Jump -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 14: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Erd-Acc/Rchg(33), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(33), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(34), ThfofEss-+End%(34)
Level 18: The Lotus Drops -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(34), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Erd-Dmg/Rchg(37)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(A), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(37), ShlWal-Def(37), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Rct-ResDam%(39), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(39)
Level 22: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(42), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(42)
Level 28: Weave -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(43), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(43), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(45), Krm-ResKB(50)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(45), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(46), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(46)
Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(48), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Erd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), Erd-Dmg/Rchg(50)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- HO:Endo(A)
Level 38: Soul Transfer -- AbsAmz-Stun(A)
Level 41: Tactics -- HO:Cyto(A)
Level 44: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 47: Superior Conditioning -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 49: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury 
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(17), Prv-Absorb%(19)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(45)
Level 0: Born In Battle 
Level 0: High Pain Threshold 
Level 0: Invader 
Level 0: Marshal 
Level 50: Reactive Core Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Melee Core Embodiment 
Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon 
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany 
Level 0: Portal Jockey 
Level 0: Task Force Commander 
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion 
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve 
------------

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Edited March 10, 2020 by Werner

[Apparition]

Just now, Werner said:

Not sure I have the current Mids, but hopefully it'll still import from data chunk.

 

 

Just FYI, that's an old version of Mids, 2.6.0.3.  The most recent is 2.6.0.7, and the power format changed a bit in 2.6.0.5 so not everything imports between the two.

 

You can download 2.6.0.7 here.

[Werner]

1 hour ago, Obus Form said:

Given the depth OPs question I did not include incarnate powers (melee core, barrier) in the build because it's the grind up there and when those T4s are inactive that is most risky.  Once all T4s are active, esp barrier + melee core, all ATs are ostensibly tanky.

That's fair. Tier 4 Cardiac in those numbers. 62% without incarnate powers.

[Werner]

5 minutes ago, Apparition said:

 

Just FYI, that's an old version of Mids, 2.6.0.3.  The most recent is 2.6.0.7, and the power format changed a bit in 2.6.0.5 so not everything imports between the two.

 

You can download 2.6.0.7 here.

Thank you! Fixed previous post.

[crkohl]

This thread has been hi-jacked and is now about Katana/DA Brutes! Here's mine:

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Soul Sever: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Katana
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Sting of the Wasp -- SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(40), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(48)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(3), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(3), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(5), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(50), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(50)
Level 2: Death Shroud -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(5), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(9)
Level 4: Flashing Steel -- Arm-Dmg(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(11), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), Arm-Acc/Rchg(13), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Arm-Dam%(15)
Level 6: Super Jump -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 8: Divine Avalanche -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Hct-Dam%(15), Hct-Acc/Rchg(17), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(42)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(17), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(19), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(19)
Level 12: Murky Cloud -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(21), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(21), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(23), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(50)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-ResDam%(23), Ksm-ToHit+(43)
Level 16: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 18: The Lotus Drops -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(25), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(25), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), Obl-%Dam(29)
Level 20: Dark Regeneration -- ThfofEss-+End%(A), ThfofEss-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), TchoftheN-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 22: Cloak of Darkness -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(46), ShlWal-Def(46), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(48)
Level 24: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A)
Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(31), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(33)
Level 28: Tough -- StdPrt-ResKB(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(34), UnbGrd-ResDam(34), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(34), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(45)
Level 30: Weave -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(36), ShlWal-Def(36), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), AchHee-ResDeb%(39)
Level 35: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 38: Superior Conditioning -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- Prv-Absorb%(A)
Level 44: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 47: Dragon's Roar -- MckBrt-Taunt/Rchg(A)
Level 49: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Fury 
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(43), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(45)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(43)
Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon 
Level 0: Marshal 
Level 0: Born In Battle 
Level 0: High Pain Threshold 
Level 0: Invader 
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany 
Level 50: Reactive Core Flawless Interface 
------------

 

 

[Gauntlet_Prime]

1 hour ago, Werner said:

...Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Alexei: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Katana
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor...
 

 

Geez that is a beast. O_O

[Werner]

 

39 minutes ago, Gauntlet_Prime said:

Geez that is a beast. O_O

Thanks! I played a Scrapper version of this in the old game, and it was my favorite toon, and a good AV soloer, but I wanted to take advantage of the 90% vs. 75% resistance cap on Brutes vs. Scrappers for incarnate content. So I'd also leveled up a Brute, but hadn't earned the influence yet to make the build by the time the game shut down.

 

I'm almost certainly giving up AV soloing with this version due to low damage output. But that wasn't my goal for the original Brute - it was to solo all the Mot arcs on +4x8 under Scrapper Challenge rules (no temps, no insps, no deaths). I got the Scrapper through all but the last arc. Not sure the Brute will be able to do it either, since what killed my Scrapper was defense debuffs, and a Brute will suffer from that just as badly. But the resistance caps will help, as will the extra hit points giving me more time to respond, and the extra resistance the new game has in general.

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Werner

[Fan Mail]

If you use Ctrl+click your mez protection, it will fire off automatically.  Set it and forget it.  If that was mentioned in the above, sorry I missed it. 

 

As far as Dark Armor is concerned, can't really say.  When I tried it on Live, we didn't have the endurance fixes we have today so didn't play it past level 20 or so.

 

I think slows are still one of it's weaknesses but perhaps I'm wrong.