First time Blaster! Dark/Fire?

[StriderIV]

Hi all!

 

Looking to roll my first blaster... ever. A friend recommend Dark/Fire to me as a combo, saying it’s pretty survivable (for a Blaster) and can function well at range or up close.

 

However, I can’t really find too many sample builds on the forums! Does anyone have experience with this build!

 

I’m also very open to other potential combos/power set pairings. If anyone has any advice for a newbie blaster, please blast away =P

[DreadShinobi]

I don't see a whole lot of synergy between dark blast and fire manip, and of course I am sure it would be just fine, but Dark Blast's best secondary is Energy Manipulation imo. Energy Manip has Power Boost on a 60 second recharge with 15s uptime, or nearly perma with about 130% global recharge+Hasten. Umbral Torrent also gives access to Forcefeedback +rchg. Power Boost brings Dark Blast -tohit up to Defender modifiers (-9.38% tohit on every blast unslotted for -tohit, -62.5% tohit on blackstar). Power Boost also increases your immoblize duration on Teneb Tentacles, the Hold in Abyssal Gaze, and the Heal in Life Drain. You can also opt in to Boost Range, if wider cones appeals to you, and Teneb Tentacles, Abyssal Gaze, and Life Drain have reduced range base values. 

[StriderIV]

1 minute ago, DreadShinobi said:

I don't see a whole lot of synergy between dark blast and fire manip, and of course I am sure it would be just fine, but Dark Blast's best secondary is Energy Manipulation imo. Energy Manip has Power Boost on a 60 second recharge with 15s uptime, or nearly perma with about 130% global recharge+Hasten. Umbral Torrent also gives access to Forcefeedback +rchg. Power Boost brings Dark Blast -tohit up to Defender modifiers (-9.38% tohit on every blast unslotted for -tohit, -62.5% tohit on blackstar). Power Boost also increases your immoblize duration on Teneb Tentacles, the Hold in Abyssal Gaze, and the Heal in Life Drain. You can also opt in to Boost Range, if wider cones appeals to you, and Teneb Tentacles, Abyssal Gaze, and Life Drain have reduced range base values. 

Well this was phenomenal, ty Shinobi! I have seen you do some posts before and you seem well informed! Are there any other combos you’d suggest?

 

I WAS looking at DP/Ninja for the cool factor,  not noticed neither set had a build up or aim ability. Fire and Ice seem like top performers as well 

[DreadShinobi]

1 minute ago, StriderIV said:

Well this was phenomenal, ty Shinobi! I have seen you do some posts before and you seem well informed! Are there any other combos you’d suggest?

 

I WAS looking at DP/Ninja for the cool factor,  not noticed neither set had a build up or aim ability. Fire and Ice seem like top performers as well 

My favorite blaster is Fire/Fire, I am biased by performance results. I also like Fire/TA with the new addition of Oil Slick Arrow. Fire/Mental has some niche usage by being a fire blaster that can deal unresisted damage to enemies with godmodes, like the Cimeroran EB Minotaur and Cyclops, Marauder, or Bobcat. Fire/EM, Fire/Elec, and Fire/Dev are fun Blapper combos as well, but I haven't played those since Live. For Blasters that scale with their damage modifier, Fire Blasting becomes excessively hard to pass on compared to say Corrs and Defenders that can leverage secondary effects better. Dark/EM is a nice exception to that rule, though you may feel the damage lacking if you were playing next to a Fire/Fire Blaster, but the utility is solid. Dark/EM would be a very safe pick for a first time blaster. I don't touch Dual Pistols. 

[StriderIV]

31 minutes ago, DreadShinobi said:

My favorite blaster is Fire/Fire, I am biased by performance results. I also like Fire/TA with the new addition of Oil Slick Arrow. Fire/Mental has some niche usage by being a fire blaster that can deal unresisted damage to enemies with godmodes, like the Cimeroran EB Minotaur and Cyclops, Marauder, or Bobcat. Fire/EM, Fire/Elec, and Fire/Dev are fun Blapper combos as well, but I haven't played those since Live. For Blasters that scale with their damage modifier, Fire Blasting becomes excessively hard to pass on compared to say Corrs and Defenders that can leverage secondary effects better. Dark/EM is a nice exception to that rule, though you may feel the damage lacking if you were playing next to a Fire/Fire Blaster, but the utility is solid. Dark/EM would be a very safe pick for a first time blaster. I don't touch Dual Pistols. 

Nice man, thanks! I’m looking at Dark/EM, Fire/Fire and Fire/EM now. Is there one you’d say was best for overall content, one for fighting AV’s, things like that?

[Erratic1]

9 hours ago, StriderIV said:

Looking to roll my first blaster... ever. A friend recommend Dark/Fire to me as a combo, saying it’s pretty survivable (for a Blaster) and can function well at range or up close.

 

Dark does debuff To-Hit, but asside from its final power the amount is relatively low--5.25% on Dark Blast, Gloom, Umbral Torrent, Moonbeam, Tenebrous Tentacles, Abyssal Gaze, and Life Drain with -35% on Blackstar. The effect does linger for roughly 10 seconds on most of those power (two get up towards 20s), so stacking occurs and you could reasonably have a target or two with a couple of stacks of debuff on them. Because some number of your powers are single target though I probably would not count on facing a group of opponents and having more than two stacks on them (single targets would get more since that is all you're shooting at) but even so a -10.5% to hit is going to reduce your incoming damage somewhat.

 

If you were to build appropriately with IOs you could probably get to a fairly survivable position. However that would unfold over time and require a chunk of influence to toss around. In the mean time you're not going to be in the same neighborhood of survivability. Better off than other Blasters sure, but since you have not player other blasters you may not appreciate that things are indeed better for you than they otherwise would have been because you will be taking damage and suffering status effects, just at a lower rate than with other primaries.

 

As far as pairing with Fire as your secondary, it brings endurance recovery (Consume) and healing (Cauterizing Aura) to the table. Both of those are PBAoE powers, meaning you need to get close to targets and how much endurance or healing you get depends on how many targets you hit. Using Tenebrous Tentacles you can immobilize a group of foes while reducing their chance to hit you slightly and get close, so they can serve to keep you in both endurance and health, which means less downtime and sustained attacking resulting in faster levelling. While you will not get the power until level 38, Hot Feet could also help your survivability by making it harder for melee opponents to get close to you.

 

So to my mind, your friend has not steered you wrong, it should be a reasonable combination.

 

Allow me to also point your attention towards two other secondaries--Dark Manipulation and Tactical Arrow.

 

While I have NEVER paired primary and secondary from the same theme in all my long years of playing CoH, Dark Manipulation really does pair well with Dark Blast because it too is tossing out To-Hit debuffs all over the place. It also has two ways to help you recover endurance (Dark Consumption, which works like Consume and Touch of Touch of the Beyond). While you do not get a heal in the set, Touch of the Beyond gives a very strong health regeneration effect along with boosting endurance Recovery.  Dark Manipulation's version of Build Up, Soul Drain, is a PBAoE which buffs your damage based on the number of targets you hit for 30 seconds, not the usual 10 seconds. And eventually you get Dark Pit, which is an area attack that will leave foes stumbling around disoriented. Here is a video snippet of me testing it out prior to using a big boom on my  Fire/Dark blaster. The first thing I do when I get there is use Soul Drain (you will see my Damage Bonus go up to +114.80% because of it and I am using Inferno without any damage enhancements slotted) :

 

 

As goes Tactical Arrow, it is full of useful tricks. You get an area slow, single target immobilize and holds early too (Glue Arrow, Electrified Net Arrow and Ice Arrow respectively) as your earliest powers. Flash Arrow is another To-Hit debuff and reduces the range at which targets notice anyone. Its not going to allow you to just walk up on a target but you can make it hard for a group to see you and work on another nearby group or sometimes even pull members out of a group (but sometimes that draws notice from other members). Eagle Eye is where things get silly as it is a serious boost to both recovery and regeneration. In fact it gets you more endurance than Stamina does. My Sonic/TA blaster may seriously consider only using one Endurance Modification enhancement in it (as opposed to sticking three in Stamina) its so good. And while the regeneration boost does not turn you into a Regeneration Brute/Scrapper it quickly brings you back to full health between fights. Paired with the -To Hit from Dark Blast and/or slotting Healing enhancements into it, you might become quite survivable. Gymnastics brings you knockback protection, which all by itself is reason to take the power, then ladles on Speed Debuff resistance, and +20% Recharge bonus along with a tiny Defense boost. Normally the defense boost would not be worth mentioning but if you're reducing your target's ability to hit you a defense boost only makes it even harder (though you really would  want to get Weave and do an appropriate IO build in the end).

 

 

So I'd think Dark/Fire, Dark/Dark, and Dark/TA would all work for you.

 

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Erratic1

[TurboRaptor]

dark/fire would be ok.  AoE is dark's weak point and fire manip plugs that hole.  just be mindful ur gunna have to be close so it's not like its gunna be a pure ranged affair.

 

but if ur not jumping into a mob and blowing ur load and leaving behind piles of bodies, r u really playing a blaster?

[Seed22]

7 hours ago, StriderIV said:

Well this was phenomenal, ty Shinobi! I have seen you do some posts before and you seem well informed! Are there any other combos you’d suggest?

 

I WAS looking at DP/Ninja for the cool factor,  not noticed neither set had a build up or aim ability. Fire and Ice seem like top performers as well 

I think DP/Ninja is pretty solid now due to the buffs, of course, compared to any instance of fire it’s not gonna be great damage but yeah it’s pretty fun

[TurboRaptor]

try ur best not to look at a set and go 'well fire tho...' because then u will never pick anything else.

[StriderIV]

4 hours ago, Erratic1 said:

 

Dark does debuff To-Hit, but asside from its final power the amount is relatively low--5.25% on Dark Blast, Gloom, Umbral Torrent, Moonbeam, Tenebrous Tentacles, Abyssal Gaze, and Life Drain with -35% on Blackstar. The effect does linger for roughly 10 seconds on most of those power (two get up towards 20s), so stacking occurs and you could reasonably have a target or two with a couple of stacks of debuff on them. Because some number of your powers are single target though I probably would not count on facing a group of opponents and having more than two stacks on them (single targets would get more since that is all you're shooting at) but even so a -10.5% to hit is going to reduce your incoming damage somewhat.

 

If you were to build appropriately with IOs you could probably get to a fairly survivable position. However that would unfold over time and require a chunk of influence to toss around. In the mean time you're not going to be in the same neighborhood of survivability. Better off than other Blasters sure, but since you have not player other blasters you may not appreciate that things are indeed better for you than they otherwise would have been because you will be taking damage and suffering status effects, just at a lower rate than with other primaries.

 

As far as pairing with Fire as your secondary, it brings endurance recovery (Consume) and healing (Cauterizing Aura) to the table. Both of those are PBAoE powers, meaning you need to get close to targets and how much endurance or healing you get depends on how many targets you hit. Using Tenebrous Tentacles you can immobilize a group of foes while reducing their chance to hit you slightly and get close, so they can serve to keep you in both endurance and health, which means less downtime and sustained attacking resulting in faster levelling. While you will not get the power until level 38, Hot Feet could also help your survivability by making it harder for melee opponents to get close to you.

 

So to my mind, your friend has not steered you wrong, it should be a reasonable combination.

 

Allow me to also point your attention towards two other secondaries--Dark Manipulation and Tactical Arrow.

 

While I have NEVER paired primary and secondary from the same theme in all my long years of playing CoH, Dark Manipulation really does pair well with Dark Blast because it too is tossing out To-Hit debuffs all over the place. It also has two ways to help you recover endurance (Dark Consumption, which works like Consume and Touch of Touch of the Beyond). While you do not get a heal in the set, Touch of the Beyond gives a very strong health regeneration effect along with boosting endurance Recovery.  Dark Manipulation's version of Build Up, Soul Drain, is a PBAoE which buffs your damage based on the number of targets you hit for 30 seconds, not the usual 10 seconds. And eventually you get Dark Pit, which is an area attack that will leave foes stumbling around disoriented. Here is a video snippet of me testing it out prior to using a big boom on my  Fire/Dark blaster. The first thing I do when I get there is use Soul Drain (you will see my Damage Bonus go up to +114.80% because of it and I am using Inferno without any damage enhancements slotted) :

 

 

 

As goes Tactical Arrow, it is full of useful tricks. You get an area slow, single target immobilize and holds early too (Glue Arrow, Electrified Net Arrow and Ice Arrow respectively) as your earliest powers. Flash Arrow is another To-Hit debuff and reduces the range at which targets notice anyone. Its not going to allow you to just walk up on a target but you can make it hard for a group to see you and work on another nearby group or sometimes even pull members out of a group (but sometimes that draws notice from other members). Eagle Eye is where things get silly as it is a serious boost to both recovery and regeneration. In fact it gets you more endurance than Stamina does. My Sonic/TA blaster may seriously consider only using one Endurance Modification enhancement in it (as opposed to sticking three in Stamina) its so good. And while the regeneration boost does not turn you into a Regeneration Brute/Scrapper it quickly brings you back to full health between fights. Paired with the -To Hit from Dark Blast and/or slotting Healing enhancements into it, you might become quite survivable. Gymnastics brings you knockback protection, which all by itself is reason to take the power, then ladles on Speed Debuff resistance, and +20% Recharge bonus along with a tiny Defense boost. Normally the defense boost would not be worth mentioning but if you're reducing your target's ability to hit you a defense boost only makes it even harder (though you really would  want to get Weave and do an appropriate IO build in the end).

 

 

So I'd think Dark/Fire, Dark/Dark, and Dark/TA would all work for you.

 

 

This is extremely helpful!!!! Thanks so much Erratic for writing this up, it went over some synergies that I wasn't even thinking off.

 

Also, the color scheme for your powers on your Fire/Dark is AWESOME. Some others have mentioned Dark/Energy... Would you throw that combo in there with the others you mentioned?

[StriderIV]

3 hours ago, TurboRaptor said:

try ur best not to look at a set and go 'well fire tho...' because then u will never pick anything else.

Yeah I'm noticing that seems to be the case. Ice and Dark at least have some rarer damage types. They also seem to be the top tier choices for PvP, but I don't PvP so it's kind of a moot point. I guess I could rest on the fact that if I ever DID do an arena match or something, I'd have a setup that was semi-optimal for it 😂

[Erratic1]

37 minutes ago, StriderIV said:

This is extremely helpful!!!! Thanks so much Erratic for writing this up, it went over some synergies that I wasn't even thinking off.

 

Also, the color scheme for your powers on your Fire/Dark is AWESOME. Some others have mentioned Dark/Energy... Would you throw that combo in there with the others you mentioned?

 

Thanks so much for the compliment on the costume! The compression I had to use to get the video to fit the size limitation for posts makes it appear fuzzier than in game. A better snapshot of it is viewable here.

 

Dark Blast I've covered, so let's look at what Energy Manipulation brings to you:

 

Power Punch, Power Thrust, Bone Smasher, and Total Focus are melee range attacks. I have tended to in my previous breakdowns skip over the melee attacks but if you do that with Energy the question becomes, "Why are you looking at Energy Manipulation?" and what else it brings to the table had better be fantastic beyond compare. Where other sets say, "I'm going to immobilize, slow, or hold foes to keep them from getting to me," Energy Manipulation says, "Go ahead, get close to me and see what happens!" And what happens with these powers of the set is you knock the target away from you or knock them silly (or dispatch them depending on how much health they have left). They are single target however, so not answers for groups of things and if you miss the guy is by definition all up in your junk ready to stomp you a new...well, you get the idea. How well this approach works is going to be highly subjective. Given you will be getting some survivability out of debuffing To-Hit, it might not be an unworkable tradeoff. But then...

 

...then there is Stun. Another melee stun against a single target at base. But (and I never knew this until now) it can be combined with Boost Range to stun something at range. It can be combined with Power Boost to make it an AoE, so now you have a way to deal with groups. And you can combine both Boost Range and Power Boost to do an area stun at range. Problem here is you do not get Boost Range until level 28 and Power Boost until level 35. Use with Power Boost shifts its recycle to 90s from 12s too. Still, the stuff you fight in your 30s is more dangerous than at lower levels so you'll have it by the time you're facing the nastier foes the game has to offer.

 

I really shy away from trying to influence anyone to play one way over another, preferring to point out the benefits and tradeoffs things bring to table, so read the following less as saying, "Don't play this" than, "Here is what you would be getting into." You are not getting the healing or recovery regeneration the other sets offer with Energy Manipulation. You can perhaps make this up elsewhere either by power pool, epic pool, or IO choices. But most of that will be doable only in later play.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Erratic1

[StriderIV]

Dual Pistols/Ninja also seems pretty cool. Is there some anti-synergy there though, with neither having a build up type power?

[TurboRaptor]

17 hours ago, StriderIV said:

Dual Pistols/Ninja also seems pretty cool. Is there some anti-synergy there though, with neither having a build up type power?

it will suck to not have them but its not gunna make it impossible to play, especially since the BU replacement in ninja lets u crit.

[StriderIV]

3 hours ago, TurboRaptor said:

it will suck to not have them but its not gunna make it impossible to play, especially since the BU replacement in ninja lets u crit.

Good to know! How do you feel it compares to Martial Combat? Both sets kind of give off the dual wield ninja vibe haha

[TurboRaptor]

i wouldnt play martial combat without a set with aim.  its replacement is less attractive but its still doable.  its sustain toggle is an absorb one tho so it will feel noticeably squishier if u dont kill things fast enough.

[StriderIV]

46 minutes ago, TurboRaptor said:

i wouldnt play martial combat without a set with aim.  its replacement is less attractive but its still doable.  its sustain toggle is an absorb one tho so it will feel noticeably squishier if u dont kill things fast enough.

Gotcha, so if I went that route, DP/Ninja would prob be the way to go.

[StriderIV]

7 hours ago, TurboRaptor said:

i wouldnt play martial combat without a set with aim.  its replacement is less attractive but its still doable.  its sustain toggle is an absorb one tho so it will feel noticeably squishier if u dont kill things fast enough.

I’m definitely open to other suggestions as well. Reading through the forums and powersets, 3 combos have stuck out to me:

 

Fire/Elec: This seems to be a really strong blapper combo that can function well from afar and up close.

 

Fire/Temporal: Just seems to be an overall strong combo. Temporal has a lot of tricks and -regen and Fire brings the damage.

 

Dark/Atomic: A bit more of an obscure pairing. I can’t really find info on it. I don’t know if that means there is anti-synergy there, but I just felt the -Tohit from Dark and the -Def from Atomic would pair nicely.

Edited March 29, 2021 by StriderIV
Spelling.

[DreadShinobi]

DP/Ninja is going to be losing out on +262.5% burst damage cycles (that is enough to damage cap yourself with enhancement value+musculature). Don't forget that Aim and BU damage modifier scales off archetype modifiers, they're even more for blasters than other archetypes. Gaussians is also a full +100% dmg buff (less on many other ATs), and a near guaranteed trigger in Aim/BU. The crit in Shinobi doesn't make up for this. It only affects a single attack, once every 30 seconds (at best, if you're not lucky you can spend another 10-15 seconds fishing for your crit to proc). It is not guaranteed to be your hardest hitter either. On my fire/ninja I was only satisfied with getting my snipe to crit, but it can be triggered by flares too, and that can be very disappointing. Shinobi should more or less be treated as a stronger than your average damage proc, but with a crap chance to trigger. Like any damage proc, it is extra damage that is unaffected by your damage cap, and imo, that is where it shines, as extra damage for a blaster that regularly munches super reds, or teams with a kin.

 

Ice Blast is honestly better suited for a defender or corruptor that can get much more mileage by proc loading your ice attacks. Blasters don't really need to turbo proc their attacks, they need more slots to shore up defenses, or other attributes with set bonuses, and don't have a secondary that can magnify proc damage with -res or bolster stats to allow for heavier proc slotting like Defenders and Corrs do. Defenders get larger slows and recharge debuffs than blasters, and greater hold duration than both blasters and corrs. Corrs get scourge on ice storm and blizzard. I am fond of my ice/kin corr that utilizes fulcrum shift to cap damage and transference for recovery to get around not slotting attacks for damage or endredux for some seriously heavy proc slotting. Ice/Fire blasters, if built specifically for it, can make for good AE moon map farmers. 

 

Honestly more than anything what separates blasters, other than fire or not fire, is how you build in their defenses that differentiates how you play them (from my expierence playing multiple fire blasting blasters each with a very different feel to them). 45% ranged def with a resistance based shield? 45% S/L/E Def with scorpion shield? 20% or 32.5% M/R Def with a resist shield using as needed purples or team buffs? Utilizes Rune of Protection* -pending nerf. Clarion/Barrier/Rebirth/Incan hero? DGAF about defenses Rise of the Phoenix build? Amplifier muncher? Base buffs? 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by DreadShinobi

[StriderIV]

38 minutes ago, DreadShinobi said:

DP/Ninja is going to be losing out on +262.5% burst damage cycles (that is enough to damage cap yourself with enhancement value+musculature). Don't forget that Aim and BU damage modifier scales off archetype modifiers, they're even more for blasters than other archetypes. Gaussians is also a full +100% dmg buff (less on many other ATs), and a near guaranteed trigger in Aim/BU. The crit in Shinobi doesn't make up for this. It only affects a single attack, once every 30 seconds (at best, if you're not lucky you can spend another 10-15 seconds fishing for your crit to proc). It is not guaranteed to be your hardest hitter either. On my fire/ninja I was only satisfied with getting my snipe to crit, but it can be triggered by flares too, and that can be very disappointing. Shinobi should more or less be treated as a stronger than your average damage proc, but with a crap chance to trigger. Like any damage proc, it is extra damage that is unaffected by your damage cap, and imo, that is where it shines, as extra damage for a blaster that regularly munches super reds, or teams with a kin.

 

Ice Blast is honestly better suited for a defender or corruptor that can get much more mileage by proc loading your ice attacks. Blasters don't really need to turbo proc their attacks, they need more slots to shore up defenses, or other attributes with set bonuses, and don't have a secondary that can magnify proc damage with -res or bolster stats to allow for heavier proc slotting like Defenders and Corrs do. Defenders get larger slows and recharge debuffs than blasters, and greater hold duration than both blasters and corrs. Corrs get scourge on ice storm and blizzard. I am fond of my ice/kin corr that utilizes fulcrum shift to cap damage and transference for recovery to get around not slotting attacks for damage or endredux for some seriously heavy proc slotting. Ice/Fire blasters, if built specifically for it, can make for good AE moon map farmers. 

 

Honestly more than anything what separates blasters, other than fire or not fire, is how you build in their defenses that differentiates how you play them (from my expierence playing multiple fire blasting blasters each with a very different feel to them). 45% ranged def with a resistance based shield? 45% S/L/E Def with scorpion shield? 20% or 32.5% M/R Def with a resist shield using as needed purples or team buffs? Utilizes Rune of Protection* -pending nerf. Clarion/Barrier/Rebirth/Incan hero? DGAF about defenses Rise of the Phoenix build? Amplifier muncher? Base buffs? 

 

This is super helpful man, thank you. It seems that, as far as PvE is concerned, there is Fire and than there is everything else. Pretty much any secondary can work with it.

 

I also hear that Fire Manipulation secondary is amazing, and was thinking of pairing with Dark Blast for all the heals. But it’s also hard to just not pick Fire blast when I look at the damage numbers 😂😂😂 animations are sexy as well.

[tidge]

I have a 'concept' character that is a Dark/Time blaster; I find that I'm only using the secondary about 20% of the time (no pun intended), except for Chronos (on auto-fire, cue the pearl-clutching). The build ends up as a perfectly acceptable DPS, but I can switch to more of a control mode if that's what is needed. This may not be the most optimum DPS build (or playstyle), but I'll include it here to see how I've done some of the (primary) slotting. If your secondary doesn't include a similar power, I'd just put Aim where Chronos is and slot it the same. (I see a lot of builds skimp on slotting the "Build Up" power but having it up every 22-ish seconds with a 90% chance to %proc and get the set bonuses is simply too good to pass up IMO)/

 

This build has "too many" attacks, IMO. The heavy slotting on Arcane Bolt is part of the concept, and I don't do much Blapping (although it can get into melee when it needs to do so)... and Repulsion Bomb is essentially taken and slotted a mule for Set Bonus reasons. I essentially considered the concept to be "complete" at level 32, with the exception of the mule powers and the auto-power Time Lord at level 38. For me, this means that the build plays rather consistently across almost all of the content I enjoy.

 

Full disclosure: This character rarely uses powers like Tough, Hasten, Rune of Protection, Aim or Temp Invulnerability unless I'm in some sort of challenging content... however I run low level TFs at +4 without having access to the powers, so I may have a different calibration than other players.

Spoiler

 

Hero Plan by Hero Hero Designer 2.23
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Dark Temp: Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Dark Blast
Secondary Power Set: Temporal Manipulation
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Gloom -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(3), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect:50(5)
Level 1: Time Wall -- HO:Endo(A)
Level 2: Umbral Torrent -- HO:Centri(A), HO:Nucle(37), CldSns-%Dam:30(46), PstBls-Dam%:50(48), JvlVll-Dam%:50(48), OvrFrc-Dam/KB:50(46)
Level 4: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB:50(A)
Level 6: Time Stop -- GldNet-Acc/Hold:30(A), GldNet-Acc/Rchg:30(7), GldNet-Rchg/Hold:30(7), GldNet-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:50(9), GldNet-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:50(40), GldNet-Dam%:50(43)
Level 8: Moonbeam -- StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg:50(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx:50(9), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg:50(11), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(13), StnoftheM-Dam%:50(13), GldJvl-Dam%:30(39)
Level 10: Chronos -- GssSynFr--ToHit:50(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg:50(11), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(15), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx:50(43), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx:50(43), GssSynFr--Build%:50(45)
Level 12: Arcane Bolt -- Apc-Dmg:50(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(40), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(40), Apc-Dam%:50(42)
Level 14: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(A)
Level 16: End of Time -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg:50(17), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(17), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(19), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(19), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%:50(27)
Level 18: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), Ags-Psi/Status:50(42)
Level 20: Temporal Healing -- Prv-Heal:50(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:50(21), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg:50(21), Prv-Heal/Rchg:50(23), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx:50(23), Prv-Absorb%:50(25)
Level 22: Weave -- Rct-Def:50(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(25), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), Rct-Def/Rchg:50(34), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), Rct-ResDam%:50(36)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(45)
Level 26: Life Drain -- TchoftheN-Heal:50(A), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal:50(29), TchoftheN-%Dam:50(29), GldJvl-Acc/Dmg:50(31), GldJvl-Dam%:30(31), CldSns-%Dam:30(31)
Level 28: Future Pain -- Hct-Dmg:50(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg:50(37), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(37), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), Hct-Dam%:50(39)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), Ksm-ToHit+:30(46)
Level 32: Blackstar -- Arm-Dmg:50(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Acc/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Dam%:50(34), Erd-%Dam:30(34)
Level 35: Personal Force Field -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(36)
Level 38: Time Lord -- GldArm-3defTpProc:50(A)
Level 41: Rune of Protection -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(42)
Level 44: Repulsion Bomb -- Ann-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(50), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50), Ann-ResDeb%:50(50)
Level 47: Aim -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 49: Temp Invulnerability -- UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
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: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I:50(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End:50(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A)
------------

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by tidge

[Erratic1]

6 hours ago, StriderIV said:

I also hear that Fire Manipulation secondary is amazing, and was thinking of pairing with Dark Blast for all the heals. But it’s also hard to just not pick Fire blast when I look at the damage numbers 😂😂😂 animations are sexy as well.

 

Speaking from the standpoint of my Fire/Dark blaster, buffing your own damage numbers is so wrong you should probably grow hair on the palm of your hands. But if its wrong, I don't wanna be right. 😁

[StriderIV]

1 hour ago, Erratic1 said:

 

Speaking from the standpoint of my Fire/Dark blaster, buffing your own damage numbers is so wrong you should probably grow hair on the palm of your hands. But if its wrong, I don't wanna be right. 😁

So basically, you’re walking around looking like Bigfoot, right? 😂 Soul Drain into your rotation is monstrous.

[StriderIV]

2 hours ago, tidge said:

I have a 'concept' character that is a Dark/Time blaster; I find that I'm only using the secondary about 20% of the time (no pun intended), except for Chronos (on auto-fire, cue the pearl-clutching). The build ends up as a perfectly acceptable DPS, but I can switch to more of a control mode if that's what is needed. This may not be the most optimum DPS build (or playstyle), but I'll include it here to see how I've done some of the (primary) slotting. If your secondary doesn't include a similar power, I'd just put Aim where Chronos is and slot it the same. (I see a lot of builds skimp on slotting the "Build Up" power but having it up every 22-ish seconds with a 90% chance to %proc and get the set bonuses is simply too good to pass up IMO)/

 

This build has "too many" attacks, IMO. The heavy slotting on Arcane Bolt is part of the concept, and I don't do much Blapping (although it can get into melee when it needs to do so)... and Repulsion Bomb is essentially taken and slotted a mule for Set Bonus reasons. I essentially considered the concept to be "complete" at level 32, with the exception of the mule powers and the auto-power Time Lord at level 38. For me, this means that the build plays rather consistently across almost all of the content I enjoy.

 

Full disclosure: This character rarely uses powers like Tough, Hasten, Rune of Protection, Aim or Temp Invulnerability unless I'm in some sort of challenging content... however I run low level TFs at +4 without having access to the powers, so I may have a different calibration than other players.

  Hide contents

 

Hero Plan by Hero Hero Designer 2.23
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Dark Temp: Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Dark Blast
Secondary Power Set: Temporal Manipulation
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Gloom -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(3), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect:50(5)
Level 1: Time Wall -- HO:Endo(A)
Level 2: Umbral Torrent -- HO:Centri(A), HO:Nucle(37), CldSns-%Dam:30(46), PstBls-Dam%:50(48), JvlVll-Dam%:50(48), OvrFrc-Dam/KB:50(46)
Level 4: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB:50(A)
Level 6: Time Stop -- GldNet-Acc/Hold:30(A), GldNet-Acc/Rchg:30(7), GldNet-Rchg/Hold:30(7), GldNet-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:50(9), GldNet-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:50(40), GldNet-Dam%:50(43)
Level 8: Moonbeam -- StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg:50(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx:50(9), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg:50(11), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(13), StnoftheM-Dam%:50(13), GldJvl-Dam%:30(39)
Level 10: Chronos -- GssSynFr--ToHit:50(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg:50(11), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(15), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx:50(43), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx:50(43), GssSynFr--Build%:50(45)
Level 12: Arcane Bolt -- Apc-Dmg:50(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(40), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(40), Apc-Dam%:50(42)
Level 14: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%:50(A)
Level 16: End of Time -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg:50(17), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(17), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(19), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(19), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%:50(27)
Level 18: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), Ags-Psi/Status:50(42)
Level 20: Temporal Healing -- Prv-Heal:50(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:50(21), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg:50(21), Prv-Heal/Rchg:50(23), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx:50(23), Prv-Absorb%:50(25)
Level 22: Weave -- Rct-Def:50(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(25), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), Rct-Def/Rchg:50(34), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), Rct-ResDam%:50(36)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(45)
Level 26: Life Drain -- TchoftheN-Heal:50(A), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal:50(29), TchoftheN-%Dam:50(29), GldJvl-Acc/Dmg:50(31), GldJvl-Dam%:30(31), CldSns-%Dam:30(31)
Level 28: Future Pain -- Hct-Dmg:50(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg:50(37), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(37), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), Hct-Dam%:50(39)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), Ksm-ToHit+:30(46)
Level 32: Blackstar -- Arm-Dmg:50(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Acc/Rchg:50(33), Arm-Dam%:50(34), Erd-%Dam:30(34)
Level 35: Personal Force Field -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(36)
Level 38: Time Lord -- GldArm-3defTpProc:50(A)
Level 41: Rune of Protection -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(42)
Level 44: Repulsion Bomb -- Ann-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(50), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50), Ann-ResDeb%:50(50)
Level 47: Aim -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 49: Temp Invulnerability -- UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
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: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I:50(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End:50(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A)
------------

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing this man! I wasn’t even sure how to bring slotting Temporal, so this is great. Also, it’s cool that this build has added layers of survival 

[Erratic1]

6 minutes ago, StriderIV said:

So basically, you’re walking around looking like Bigfoot, right? 😂 Soul Drain into your rotation is monstrous.

 

Soul Drain slotted with Gaussian. No half measures here. 😁