Psionic/Dark Build Request

[Trigger1861]

So recently I started a Psionic Melee/Dark Armor Brute, purely because I liked the theme and came up with a really cool backstory for said character. Right now I am at level 41, and I picked up Soul Mastery as my patron pool. 

I love the character, but it just seems to be hot garbage. My survivability seems low for a brute, my endurance drains fast, and I seem to miss so many attacks that I can't keep up a consistent DPS output (which coupled with losing endurance fast is a real problem, I have to turn off defensive powers and of course that gets me killed faster)

Thing is, I don't really farm, so I don't have an influence income to really spend lots of time tweaking and trying out all kinds of different IO sets to figure out what works best, especially pre-level 50. From the reading I have done today I have read a lot of negative things about psi as well as dark for brutes. 
That being said, I really enjoy the theme and story behind my character, so can someone give me what they would consider an at least usable build for psi/dark for when I hit 50? Preferably no purple sets, but if its absolutely necessary to make a build work I'll check it out.

Thanks in advance!

Edited April 17, 2020 by Trigger1861

[Werner]

I don't know Psi, so can't comment, and can't furnish a completed build. But Dark Armor for Brutes is very, very nice, at least once fully-built. I admit that endurance while leveling an be a problem. Have a look at my endurance management tips over here:

I'm still fiddling with it, and it's Katana/Dark, but you might pull some ideas from this. Endurance shouldn't be a problem, even for the most part endurance debuffs. Barrier to cope with defense debuffs and the energy/toxic holes. Credit to @Sir Myshkin for the inspiration and some of the slotting in this iteration of my build.

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Alexei: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Katana
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
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-Rchg/ResDam(9), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(11), UnbGrd-Max HP%(11)
Level 2: Death Shroud -- SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(13), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(15), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury(17)
Level 4: Murky Cloud -- UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(21), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(23), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(23), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(25)
Level 6: Hover -- Ksm-ToHit+(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(25)
Level 8: Divine Avalanche -- SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(29), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(29), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(31)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), TtnCtn-ResDam(31), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(31)
Level 12: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A)
Level 14: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), GldArm-ResDam(33), GldArm-End/Res(33), GldArm-Res/Rech/End(33)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- FuroftheG-Acc/Dmg(A), FuroftheG-Acc/End/Rech(34), FuroftheG-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(34), Prv-Heal(34), Prv-Heal/Rchg(36), ThfofEss-+End%(36)
Level 18: The Lotus Drops -- SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(37)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(39), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(39)
Level 22: Weave -- ShlWal-Def(A), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(40), ShlWal-Def/Rchg(40), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 24: Maneuvers -- Rct-ResDam%(A), Rct-Def(42), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(42)
Level 26: Soaring Dragon -- Hct-Dmg/Rchg(A), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Rchg(43), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Hct-Dam%(43), AchHee-ResDeb%(45)
Level 28: Tactics -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(45), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 32: Golden Dragonfly -- Arm-Dmg/Rchg(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(46), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Arm-Acc/Rchg(48), Arm-Dam%(48), AchHee-ResDeb%(48)
Level 35: Superior Conditioning -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 38: Focused Accuracy -- AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(50), AdjTrg-ToHit(50)
Level 41: Physical Perfection -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 44: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 47: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 49: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(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), Prv-Absorb%(17), Prv-Heal(19), Mrc-Rcvry+(19), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(21)
Level 0: Born In Battle 
Level 0: High Pain Threshold 
Level 0: Invader 
Level 0: Marshal 
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany 
Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon 
Level 50: Degenerative Radial Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment 
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve 
Level 0: Portal Jockey 
Level 0: Task Force Commander 
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion 
------------

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Edited April 17, 2020 by Werner

[Sir Myshkin]

On 4/17/2020 at 5:01 AM, Trigger1861 said:

My survivability seems low for a brute, my endurance drains fast, and I seem to miss so many attacks that I can't keep up a consistent DPS output (which coupled with losing endurance fast is a real problem, I have to turn off defensive powers and of course that gets me killed faster)

Any toggle-heavy build will (of course) consume a reasonable amount through its toggles, but often Primary/Secondary based toggles aren't individually that heavy, but stacking several makes a big impact. For Dark Armor the three core you need to worry about the most are Embrace, Murky, and Obsidian, the rest are easily "down the road" for your added survival. The biggest culprit in DA's toolkit is Death Shroud, it's burning over half an end per second and that's rough early on. It may sound blasphemous, but I'd suggest avoiding Death Shroud when you don't have solid endurance buffs from team members, and/or start getting better IO's for your own endurance management (like Miracle +End or Numina's +Regen/End).

 

The secret to beating the endurance cost of a toggle-heavy build, strangely enough, is in your attacks themselves. Unslotted attacks are munching 8-16+ endurance a swing, and if you lack accuracy, then you're burning double the energy for a lot of wind. There's two ways you can work around that with Dark Armor, one method even involved adding another toggle to help fix the problem!

1. If you're fighting +1 to +2 enemies, get at least one Accuracy enhancement into all of your attacks, two into your big hitters because those'll be munching down double the endurance of anything else. Back that up with an endurance enhancement, putting you at 2-3 slots per attack minimum. Obviously we want some damage in there, because more damage means less attacks to kill a single target, so your optimal minimum slotting before 32 should be (at least) 1 Acc, 1 End, 2 Dam or 2 Acc, 1 End, 1 Dam (more suggested). A neat trick you can perform as you level--that doesn't rely on specific sets--is to find what are called "doubles (two enhancement types) and triples (three types)" from the lower level IO sets (generally the uncommon recipes that are not sought after for sets that cap at 30-35) and "frankenslot" with these. Together they will often provide just slightly better enhancement than dedicating one of each of a type, so Acc/Dam or Dam/End or Acc/Dam/End, as examples.
   • As a sub example of that rough math, if a level 40 Dam IO provides ~38%, but a split Dam/Any provides ~24% Dam, doing two Dam/Any will net 48% combined enhancement, alongside the benefit of the secondary enhancement. By grabbing these random recipes for cheap prices (talking possibly in the 1,500-10,000 for some, maybe 100,000-300,000 INF for others) you can enhance a power for a cost that's not too different from buying SO's at any stage of the game. The same can be done to enhance your shields, but even the lower tier ones get bought up for a million INF because they're crafting fuel, which makes it harder to use those for this purpose.
   • At a bare-bones choice, 2 Acc, 1 End in every attack, 2 and 2 in the bigger-consuming ones until you can build better balance.
2. The other thing you can do is to bump up a little bit of that endurance and damage management, and shift some of your accuracy off to Tactics from the Leadership pool and drop 1-2 End Redux into it as you level. Grab Assault or Maneuvers (not to run, just to get access to this next power...) along the way in order to pick up Victory Rush. This is really just a leveling tactic (pun), you'll likely respec out of some (or all) of the Leadership choices by 50 and have a more focused build, but Victory Rush with just one End Mod in it will help give you padded endurance boosts when used on a Boss (or better) defeated enemy. By going this path you can solidify the choice of just 1 Acc early on, and gets extra End/Dam into your attacks, and it'll give you more stability that your attacks will perform more consistently. Bonus is if you do this and frankenslot as well, getting some Recharge into those double/triples will be more feasible with less negative impact. Obviously this path impacts your power choices and for some folks this results in skipping powers they may not want to, so it's a totally optional thing.
   • Another "as you level" power choice would be taking Combat Jumping over Cloak of Darkness to get you Immobilize protection and until proper IO slotting/building can make better value out of CoD's buffs, big plus on CJ being a near-free end usage ability to fill that one mez gap in Dark Armor.

 

One additional side tip: don't over use Dark Regen, or use it for small slivers of health needlessly. That ability is going to hit for 20+ (22 I think?) Endurance per activation without enhancement, if you're using it to heal 10-20% of your health, you're burning its potential. Dark Regen is the kind of heal that can take you from 1 HP to full in a matter of seconds because it can sap just one enemy for 20-100% of your HP depending on enhancement.

[Without_Pause]

Mentioned in the other thread, but Theft of Essence proc in Dark Regeneration was the biggest upswing for me in terms of end management back on Live when I had a /dark brute.