Dark/Dark build strategies

[Snarky]

I have (after a long long long run of playtesting) settled on a main. It is a Dark Dark Brute.  I am not going to try to sell anyone on it.  I chose it for the things i like about it and how it fits my concept

 

i have a very expensive super high recharge build on it that works quite well. I need to tweak it but i am quite happy with it  Hasten is near perma and i am rocking cardiac and ageless on it

 

i am wondering if there is another build strategy for dark that works as well but is completely different. Since i will be on this character for a long time i would throw another billion into a second build. If i liked it and it served a purpose.

 

i tanked Lord Recluse with him in LGTF. Although when i first jumped in i did not eat inspiration and the F-er 2 shotted me.  I popped back up and did the nob though. He currently farms 4/8 on any damage type including energy and s/l which are his weak spots. It is a seriously mean toon the way it sits. 
 

i would appreciate any thoughts or concepts on if there is a different build strategy for these powersets. I have been trying to get this to work and be able to afford it for so long my mind does not really go anywhere else when i think Dark Dark Brute. 
 

Thank you

 

 

[Psyonico]

I mean, if you can tank recluse on MLTF I'd say you're doing pretty good.

 

Instead of recharge, might I suggest building for resist and defense and using Ageless Radial as Defense Debuff resistance?  You should be able to cap all resists (with the possible exception of Psi/Toxic) which will make you even tankier, but I'm no master at Dark melee, so I don't know how the resist game plays out in IO world.

[oldskool]

12 minutes ago, Psyonico said:

You should be able to cap all resists (with the possible exception of Psi Energy/Toxic) 

Fixed that.  Smashing/Lethal/Negative/Psi/Fire/Cold are all the ones with the easiest time to raise.  Energy and Toxic are tougher, even on a Tanker. 

[Werner]

Dark's resist game plays out pretty well. On my Katana/Dark, I intentionally stopped at about 65% resistance to smashing/lethal/energy/fire/cold (90% negative, 73% psi) as I was counting on Barrier or Melee to get me to 90% when really necessary, giving me the freedom to focus on defense as well. High defense is great most of the time, but with no DDR, it can evaporate quickly, and you have to count on other things. Ageless is definitely one answer, but I'm happy with the results of going the Barrier route. But Barrier and Melee don't get you 100% uptime on that 90% resistance, so my approach might have trouble on any true tanking in fights lasting much over a minute and a half.

 

My recharge is nothing exciting, just Hasten and five Luck of the Gamblers. But with my other tools in place, Dark Regeneration is almost always up when I need it. 

 

So yes, anyway, as @Psyonicosays, if you want to try a different approach, consider building primarily for resist and defense and using either Ageless or Barrier/Melee to cope with defense debuffs. 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Werner