???/Dark Brute Advice

[Nightstrider]

Looking for some advice on what primary to pair with a Dark Armor Brute. Not for farming just looking to have fun and enjoy the game again.

 

 

This will be teamed with a Dark/Dark corrupter friend. 

 

Thanks.

[Dark Dove]

Some ideas:

 

Energy Melee stuns stack well will Oppressive Gloom, and isn't super endurance heavy. Very good single target damage.

 

Radiation Melee and Spines add a second damage aura which is fun to run two, although you have to build conservatively for endurance with these sets.

 

Savage Melee has endurance fixing and +recharge baked into the mechanic, and some decent AoE

 

Staff Fighting has an endurance fixing mechanic

 

Stone Melee (Fault) Super Strength (Hand Clap) and Electrical Melee (Lightning Clap) have AoE disorients that can be slotted for KB to KD and Force Feedback +Recharge, and stack disorient with Oppressive Gloom.  Stone is end heavy, Super Strength's Rage has annoying downtime, and Elec Melee has low single target damage.

[Snarky]

I have a Dark/Dark I ran for quite a while as a main.  I like the Dark/Dark because Dark Melee stacks more to hit debuffs and the End Rec power can be very welcome.  Also, great build up buff.

[nihonsean]

Because Dark is an endurance hog anything that has low endurance attacks or helps your recover endurance is worth a look. You go Electric Melee and recolor your dark powers to look more like a cloud and be the Avenging Thunderhead 😄 

 

I'd also look at Katana, Broad Sword or Staves for extra defense. With Cloak of Shadows + Weave you can get a decent amount of extra defense. With Parry from Katana/Sword you can push your melee/lethal defense up to the soft cap with 2 applications. It's pretty noticeable. From there you can use sets to increase your ranged defense or AOE defenses. Capped defense + great resists makes for a lot of silly fun.

 

I haven't made a staff character but I believe they get a good defensive boost as well. Brute Martial Arts, one of their attacks was changed to give +7.5% defense too everything but psionic. Downside is that Martial Arts isn't that good.

 

I have a claws build as well that is pretty fun, not super optimal, but fun.

[1seanv23]

I'm planning on making a /Dark brute.

 

The combos that interest me are elec/dark, fire/dark, and tw/dark.

 

One thing I really like about /Dark, is that the armor effects look badass. Truly a nightmare walking - but can be re-colored to achieve interesting looks. This is helpful if designing cool looking costumes isn't your strong suit - a bonus.

 

Plus, it makes weapons look REALLY cool - the contrast between the armor. Anything that glows will look great with /Dark.

 

Elec/Dark because it'll look cool and have decent aoe.

 

Fire/Dark because it looks badass and does great damage.

 

TW/Dark - I like the idea of a giant weapon twirling around a pillar of smoke and skulls.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by 1seanv23

[ZorkNemesis]

I took a Rad/Dark to 50, had to build it around covering the endurance troubles and really didn't stop having problems until Caridac Alpha, though they did improve as things went on.  Came out of it with a pretty powerful character though.  The splash damage from Rad's Contamination gimmick plus the second damage aura from Irradiated Ground turned me into near instant death radius.  Minions were usually dead in seconds, Lts soon after, and Radiation's ST damage is pretty good too so even the bosses don't last, though the animations are a little slow.  Fun as hell though, and super beefy with solid resistances and defenses to pretty much everything.

 

Regardless of your primary pick, probably one of the best things you can do to help /Dark's endurance is to slot a Theft of Esscense +End proc in the heal.  That heal has a base end cost of 33ish, but ToE can proc on every target you hit with it and each proc refunds 10% of your max end.  With three procs the power is nearly free, and if you shave off the end cost and increase your max enough it even gives a good shot at outright restoring end. 

[Nightstrider]

Thanks for all the recommendations. It’s fueling multiple alt ideas lol.

[Elia87]

Any other pairings with /dark for high dmg??

[Snarky]

This Dark/Dark is what I run in everything up to and including all Incarnate content.  The only places it struggles are during the Magisterium Trial and against Battle Maiden in TinPex.  Both have unavoidable/unmitigatable damage patches that are huge.  Dark Melee has longish animations.  Other than that it is extremely tanky.  

 

Tankiness is achieved not through high defense.  The old maxim holds true Def>Res>Heal.  However on Dark/Dark you are invisible to mobs a short distance away.  You can be killing 17 people and the unconnected 50 mobs twenty feet away ignore you while you eat their friends.  You have to hit debuffs in almost everything.  You have a Stun and a Fear aura that (on this build) will FU minions and Lts like a champ.  You are not soft capped on Def.  In my opinion chasing Def on Dark is silly.  As soon as the debuff the defense you carefully built you are screwed.  No Debuff Res. You have very very high resistances. (on this build) You have the BEST heal in the game up very fast.  So, tanky.

 

The build has a damage aura and Soul Drain is the best Build Up power in the game for melee, in my opinion.  You have super solid ST damage and eat through minions with Aura at a fine clip.  Not as much damage output as a Farmer, but very nice I assure you.

 

This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.5.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Snarky 5.0: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Smite -- TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(A), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(3), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), TchofDth-Dam%(5)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(7), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(7), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9), GldArm-3defTpProc(9)
Level 2: Death Shroud -- SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprUnrFur-Dmg/Rchg(11), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), SprUnrFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), SprUnrFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), SprUnrFur-Rchg/+Regen/+End(15)
Level 4: Murky Cloud -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(17), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(19), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(19)
Level 6: Shadow Maul -- Arm-Dmg(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(21), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), Arm-Acc/Rchg(23), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(23), Arm-Dam%(25)
Level 8: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(25), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(27), UnbGrd-Max HP%(27)
Level 12: Siphon Life -- SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBrtFur-Dmg/Rchg(29), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), SprBrtFur-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprBrtFur-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprBrtFur-Rech/Fury%(31)
Level 14: Touch of Fear -- CldSns-Acc/ToHitDeb(A), CldSns-%Dam(50)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(33), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(33), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 18: Dark Consumption -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(34), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(34), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- Ksm-ToHit+(A), Rct-ResDam%(36), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(37)
Level 22: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A)
Level 24: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(37), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(37), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 26: Soul Drain -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(40)
Level 28: Cloak of Fear -- CldSns-%Dam(A), CldSns-Acc/ToHitDeb(42)
Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Midnight Grasp -- Hct-Dmg(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Rchg(43), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Hct-Dam%(43)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- HO:Endo(A)
Level 38: Soul Tentacles -- Bmbdmt-Dam(A), Bmbdmt-Acc/Rech/End(45), Bmbdmt-Dam/Rech(45), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech(45), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech/End(46), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(46)
Level 41: Dark Obliteration -- Rgn-Dmg(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(46), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(48), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Rgn-Knock%(50)
Level 44: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 47: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 49: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Fury 
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(15), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(17)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(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 4: Ninja Run 
Level 50: Cardiac Radial Boost 
Level 8: Afterburner 
------------

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[Elia87]

Any other great dmging powers to pair with /dark?? 

[Gh0stie]

Anyone run a SS/Dark brute? Is it terrible on end?

[Without_Pause]

Currently running a Dark/savage tank and enjoining it. I see no reason for the brute version to not be solid as well. ST damage could be better, but if Hemo ever got fixed, Savage might be my favorite attack set.

[Bill Z Bubba]

Stone Melee. Seriously. All the extra knock mitigation to go along with the controls from /dark as well as looking/feeling/sounding cool as hell. Yea, mine's a dark/sm tank, but it'll work for brutes, too.

[Meknomancer]

I went claws early on damage is ok seemed survivable and didn't have the end problems of the harder hitting attacks.

[eric.gv7]

@Snarky

Reviving this for selfish purposes...

 

I'm new and found some dark dark brute and tanker builds you did,  have given the brute build a try and really like the playstyle and theme! 

 

I'm wondering what final build for each of the brute and tanker you ended up playing?   

What pain points am I going to hit as a new player with limited funds? Ways to mitigate until I build up cash? 

 

Again, really like the builds,  they are prefect for what I was looking for... any tips you can give would be appreciated! 

[eric.gv7]

I think I just found them below...oops

[Snarky]

yeah, both my current builds are near top of Brute board.

 

Now, I like Dark Armor better on the Brute then the Tank.  This is due to what I consider "waste" of build material in Tank Resist, and he Stealth.  But I made what I think is a decent stab at efficiency and added Darkest Night for grabbing agro.

 

The Brute is my "main" and a vicious beast.

[Arknoodle]

I started a psi/dark brute that's quite fun

[Thraxen]

Taunt is good. It’s literally the grab aggro power. And it helps when playing a tank class to take the tank taunt power. 

[IronJuke]

On 1/21/2024 at 11:35 PM, Arknoodle said:

I started a psi/dark brute that's quite fun

I have one too.  I picked up Energy Torrent and slotted it with Knockdown.  Enemies are mostly on their backs. 

[string5]

I am a big fan of /dark as you can build it to have little to know holes in resist and useful defense...and I love the look of Soul Noir with cloak of fear active :)

My favorite 2 damage sets for this are Rad and Dark the big issues is how you want to deal with endurance.

 

All of my builds are very toggle heavy and more targeted at end game and my choice hinges on your on Destiny Incarnate powers.

 

I like barrier as it is the best "Oh F**k" power and can get you out of most deadly situations.

If barrier is a must have then go with Dark Melee as it has the only really good endurance power in the damage set, IMO plus it goes well thematically.  Furthermore you get access to it in the standard leveling process.

 

With that being said a /dark brute should be very tanky.

 

Thus if you want some more AOE damage and a damage aura I prefer rad and then you choose "Ageless" as your Destiny Incarnate and never worry about end again and I also think it gives a slight recharge bonus.  This is my main brute.  You can create a very balanced defense across all damage types.  I also have a second build I swap to to run fire farms.  I run fire farms for two reasons 1) lots of people run them and its more fun to run as a team and you can always find good hitters for fire farms.  The SL farms I have found either have a lot of -def debuffs that can kill you as well as some have insane knockback that you have to waste IOs on to mitigate because /dark has a KB hole in it.

 

With my main setup (not the fire farm build) you can fire farm in teams pretty well, but soloing the bigger maps requires tons of monitoring, clicking and if you don't pay attention you die.  The FF build is pretty bulletproof from a resist/def standpoint.