Dark/Dark Dominator: So many powers!

[StriderIV]

Hi all!

 

Recently rolled a Dark/Dark Dom. Only lv 17 at the moment, but I’m loving the play style. My only issue is… I love ALL the powers, at least from the descriptions. I’d love some guidance on:

 

- Must have powers
- Any tips or tricks with this powerset combo
- Slotting advice.

 

If you have a sample build of a Dark/Dark Dom you’d like to share, I’d love to see it! I’m thinking of ultimately running Dark/Dark/Soul, but open to suggestions.

[kiramon]

I think Shadowy Binds, Living Shadows, Possess, Haunt, Smite, and Nightfall are your powers to 'choose' between. All are good, but some are better for certain situations depending on what you're doing. Haunt damage can be really good per-press, but you may not miss them if you dont have them. especially before IOs as their cooldown is long.

 

 

 

[Chelsea Rorec]

I have to say for me dark/dark has always been difficult to build a good build for.

I can always get perma dom but it's getting the survivability my other doms have like S/L resists or ranged def (some even have both) i find very difficult.

I think it's the mix of powers dark has.

Or Lack thereof.

*shrugs*

[Outrider_01]

Dark Grasp - acts like a range attack, can slot quite a few damage procs

Living shadows - AoE immoblize, I slot for targeted range sets.  Minor damage, but helps

Fearsome Stare - Bread and butter, slot -tohit in it.  You got Domination, doubles fear mag, already lasts 30 seconds, and enough recharge its sub 30. -tohit to absorb alpha return fire

Heart of Darkness - PBAOE stun, I have 3 Dark/ dominators and only have it on 2.  Its kind of meh, living shadows and fearsome stare are range its habit to not run into melee range. its ok, rarely use it though.

Haunt - have 1 character with it, others skipped pets and play like a blapptroller.

 

I can't find a use for Possess unless solo, groups just tear up groups that a single target confuse is useless.  

Shadow Field - AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS.  It is an unimpressive waste of a power. IT is primarily a -tohit patch with 5% chance to hold for 48 seconds, seen Hellions run out of it and this was at level 50. Volcanic Gasses look like it auto hits hold for 8 seconds, much better in my opinion as the hold is reliable and hits multiple bad guys.  Shadow Field would only be good as a proc bomb with hold damage procs.

[Uun]

Going from memory, since I'm at work and don't have access to Mid's, I skipped Shadowy Binds in the primary and Midnight Grasp in the secondary, but there are a lot of different ways to slice it depending on how much you want to live in melee. I view the must haves in the primary as Dark Grasp, Fearsome Stare, Heart of Darkness and Shadow Field. Slot Fearsome Stare for tohit debuff, not fear. Normally I'm not a big fan of the AoE hold, but this one works like Volcanic Gasses and has a longer duration with pulsing holds. In the secondary, I view the must haves as Gather Shadows, Engulfing Darkness and Moon Beam, but everything else is good too. 

[Uun]

10 minutes ago, Outrider_01 said:

Shadow Field - AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS.  It is an unimpressive waste of a power. IT is primarily a -tohit patch with 5% chance to hold for 48 seconds, seen Hellions run out of it and this was at level 50. Volcanic Gasses look like it auto hits hold for 8 seconds, much better in my opinion as the hold is reliable and hits multiple bad guys.  Shadow Field would only be good as a proc bomb with hold damage procs.

You're only looking at one of the pseudo pets. There's a second pseudo pet that has a 100% chance of 8 second hold (12 seconds with domination up).

[StriderIV]

28 minutes ago, Uun said:

Going from memory, since I'm at work and don't have access to Mid's, I skipped Shadowy Binds in the primary and Midnight Grasp in the secondary, but there are a lot of different ways to slice it depending on how much you want to live in melee. I view the must haves in the primary as Dark Grasp, Fearsome Stare, Heart of Darkness and Shadow Field. Slot Fearsome Stare for tohit debuff, not fear. Normally I'm not a big fan of the AoE hold, but this one works like Volcanic Gasses and has a longer duration with pulsing holds. In the secondary, I view the must haves as Gather Shadows, Engulfing Darkness and Moon Beam, but everything else is good too. 

Great advice, ty. That was kind of my problem, Dark/Dark seems like a real Swiss Army Knife of a hero. I appreciate the power suggestions!!!

[Onlyasandwich]

A tough bin of choices for sure, as others have noted!

 

One thing worth considering to free up choices - try skipping Fighting pool if you haven't already.  It is definitely useful, but the wealth of control available to a kitted out dom, especially if perma-dom, removes a lot of the need for Fighting. You can still make your way almost to res cap for S/L between epic armor and other bonuses if that is a priority.

 

Personally, I would want to take every power in the primary outside of Shadowy Binds. /Dark really encourages a melee centric playstyle, with Midnight Grasp, Engulfing, and Smite all being good powers that require melee range. A lot of these choice will come down to whether you want to dive into melee much or not.

 

Another fun thing to consider is Combat Teleport. Since both primary and secondary have a mix of pbaoe and cones, CT gives you a fun tool to pop in and out of appropriate range with little setup. There are even binds to have it automatically send you backward on the horizontal plane. Have another handy powexeclocation Target bind, and you have an easy in/out as needed. This also seems pretty thematic for Dark powers. : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oedipus_tex]

If you're not familiar with Dominators I'd suggest your APP pool be the Psi Pool. It allows for covering the most mistakes, has two +Defense slots for Luck of the Gambler, and is all around a great pool for beginners. You'll read great things about Sleet, Water Spout, and Power Sink in other pools, and all have their merits. Overall though I think the Psi APP is the kindest pool to the brand new Dominator and what I almost always take leveling up.

 

In Dark Control I'd take every power but the T1 immobilize. The next most skippable one is probably the AoE immobilize, but it's going to depend. You'll be tempted to skip Haunt, but leveling up, I wouldn't. It has really good return on investment in terms of endurance. In the end I'd try to end up with just one Immobilize if possible. They are useful for keeping AVs from running. You can choose between the AoE version or the single target you have in Midnight Grasp, just remember MG will require getting into melee range.

 

In Dark Assault the most skippable powers are Nightfall and Midnight Grasp. Midnight Grasp with the Dominator ATO proc can be useful though, so it somewhat depends on how you plan to slot (see below about the Dom proc). On its own merits Midnight Grasp has lower DPA than Smite does. 

 

Probably the biggest decision any kitted Dom has to make is where to put the +Damage ATO proc. It's a difficult puzzle because slotting it somewhere other than a 6 slot power means you lose the set bonuses. Unfortunately the Gods aren't nice to Dominators here. All other archetypes except Controllers can put their procs in attack powers. Dominators have to finagle and find a control power that can accept the proc, or else slot an attack power they can expend the proc in. The design heavily favors some Dominator set combos over others. Dark/Dark has a ton of options, luckily. For AV soloing you probably want it in a power that you'll cycle routinely in attacks. For more general Dominater-ing putting it in a rapidly recycling control may work better. Fearsome Stare is a good candidate, assuming you use it a lot. 

Edited February 15, 2022 by oedipus_tex

[StriderIV]

1 hour ago, Onlyasandwich said:

A tough bin of choices for sure, as others have noted!

 

One thing worth considering to free up choices - try skipping Fighting pool if you haven't already.  It is definitely useful, but the wealth of control available to a kitted out dom, especially if perma-dom, removes a lot of the need for Fighting. You can still make your way almost to res cap for S/L between epic armor and other bonuses if that is a priority.

 

Personally, I would want to take every power in the primary outside of Shadowy Binds. /Dark really encourages a melee centric playstyle, with Midnight Grasp, Engulfing, and Smite all being good powers that require melee range. A lot of these choice will come down to whether you want to dive into melee much or not.

 

Another fun thing to consider is Combat Teleport. Since both primary and secondary have a mix of pbaoe and cones, CT gives you a fun tool to pop in and out of appropriate range with little setup. There are even binds to have it automatically send you backward on the horizontal plane. Have another handy powexeclocation Target bind, and you have an easy in/out as needed. This also seems pretty thematic for Dark powers. : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm finding it being pretty "melee" as I level up! I was thinking of playing it more as a "hover" style, but some of the skills seem to really lend themselves to melee.

[StriderIV]

1 hour ago, oedipus_tex said:

If you're not familiar with Dominators I'd suggest your APP pool be the Psi Pool. It allows for covering the most mistakes, has two +Defense slots for Luck of the Gambler, and is all around a great pool for beginners. You'll read great things about Sleet, Water Spout, and Power Sink in other pools, and all have their merits. Overall though I think the Psi APP is the kindest pool to the brand new Dominator and what I almost always take leveling up.

 

In Dark Control I'd take every power but the T1 immobilize. The next most skippable one is probably the AoE immobilize, but it's going to depend. You'll be tempted to skip Haunt, but leveling up, I wouldn't. It has really good return on investment in terms of endurance. In the end I'd try to end up with just one Immobilize if possible. They are useful for keeping AVs from running. You can choose between the AoE version or the single target you have in Midnight Grasp, just remember MG will require getting into melee range.

 

In Dark Assault the most skippable powers are Nightfall and Midnight Grasp. Midnight Grasp with the Dominator ATO proc can be useful though, so it somewhat depends on how you plan to slot (see below about the Dom proc). On its own merits Midnight Grasp has lower DPA than Smite does. 

 

Probably the biggest decision any kitted Dom has to make is where to put the +Damage ATO proc. It's a difficult puzzle because slotting it somewhere other than a 6 slot power means you lose the set bonuses. Unfortunately the Gods aren't nice to Dominators here. All other archetypes except Controllers can put their procs in attack powers. Dominators have to finagle and find a control power that can accept the proc, or else slot an attack power they can expend the proc in. The design heavily favors some Dominator set combos over others. Dark/Dark has a ton of options, luckily. For AV soloing you probably want it in a power that you'll cycle routinely in attacks. For more general Dominater-ing putting it in a rapidly recycling control may work better. Fearsome Stare is a good candidate, assuming you use it a lot. 

I appreciate the slotting advice Tex! As I'm preplanning a bit, that definitely seems where some of the headache can arise with speccing out the character haha

[EnjoyTheJourney]

Focusing on dark assault, 8 of the 9 powers look good, with only nightfall looking clearly skippable. 

 

To supplement tex's thoughtful advice about the +dmg dominator unique IO, fearsome stare is a good candidate for it. It's useful for crowds, in particular. Where that slotting ends up not boosting damage much, though, is when fighting hard targets; it's not usual to spam fearsome stare on AVs or even EBs, for example.  

 

Since trash mobs tend to fall pretty fast in most situations, hard targets are probably the mob type for which you want to have your best damage boosts. On that note, for higher single target damage to help with harder targets, midnight grasp (MG) is a very good place for the ATO +dmg proc IO. I have MG with the ATO dmg proc IO on an earth / dark dom, along with moonbeam, gloom, and smite. MG is the lead-off for single target chains because it usually procs the +dmg unique IO, boosting damage for all other powers. When hitting single targets the average number of stacks is somewhat north of two stacks, with two stacks being the most common situation, and with three stacks appearing more commonly than one stack. Even though a lot of emphasis went to making the build defensively strong, it still has superior single target DPS compared to most dominator builds; running an average of plus 40%ish damage because of ATO +dmg proc activations helps noticeably for bringing that about. 

 

On paper MG does have lower DPA than several other dark powers. But, its ability to frequently activate the ATO +dmg proc means it ends up contributing more to damage than any other power in the single target damage chain -- because it increases damage for all of them. 

 

If this doesn't sounds persuasive, then try out some builds on the beta server. Pick builds with MG (slotted with the ATO +dmg proc IO in it) and without MG. The latter builds are going to have better single target damage, other things being equal. 

[MoonSheep]

1 hour ago, oedipus_tex said:

If you're not familiar with Dominators I'd suggest your APP pool be the Psi Pool. It allows for covering the most mistakes, has two +Defense slots for Luck of the Gambler, and is all around a great pool for beginners. You'll read great things about Sleet, Water Spout, and Power Sink in other pools, and all have their merits. Overall though I think the Psi APP is the kindest pool to the brand new Dominator and what I almost always take leveling up.

 

i have to put up with @Mezmera rejecting Sleet, The Lord’s Choice™ and trying to lead my disciples astray with his blasphemous Dark Mastery but this is just beyond the pale.

 

if we were in a village i would banish you

 

A reading from the Book of Dominator to calm the room:

 

“🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Gather all those who have not heard the voice of The Lord and teach: Woe is inflicted upon the man who has a heart unwilling to accept the love of Sleet. 🌨️Do not slander his name, for he is forever blighted by his terrible choice of mastery pathway. 🙅‍♂️“

 

Sleetious 17:1 (New Testament)

[Mezmera]

35 minutes ago, MoonSheep said:

Dark Mastery

 

It's called Soul Mastery.  

 

But I think you know this, you're just showing your insecurity by purposely not calling it Soul Mastery which on its face sounds like such a better pool than Ice Mastery.  Misdirection can only give you a moments reprieve.  Then you'll have to explain why all of these powers in Soul Mastery are so much better than Ice.

[Uun]

This is what I'm currently playing. It's essentially my leveling build, as I'm still planning out the respec for the final build.

 

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.2.17
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Uunwrapped: Level 50 Magic Dominator
Primary Power Set: Darkness Control
Secondary Power Set: Dark Assault
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Dark Grasp -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(3), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(3), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(5)
Level 1: Dark Blast -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(7), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Dcm-Build%(9)
Level 2: Smite -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(11), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Mk'Bit-Dam%(46)
Level 4: Gloom -- Thn-Acc/Dmg(A), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(13), Thn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15)
Level 6: Possess -- MlsIll-Acc/Rchg(A), MlsIll-Acc/Conf/Rchg(15)
Level 8: Fearsome Stare -- CldSns-ToHitDeb(A), CldSns-Acc/ToHitDeb(17), CldSns-Acc/Rchg(17), CldSns-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(19), CldSns-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(19), CldSns-%Dam(21)
Level 10: Night Fall -- Artl-Acc/Dam(A), Artl-Dam/End(21), Artl-Dam/Rech(23), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(23), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(25), Artl-End/Rech/Rng(25)
Level 12: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 14: Living Shadows -- Acc-I(A), Ann-ResDeb%(27), TraoftheH-Dam%(27)
Level 16: Gather Shadows -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 18: Haunt -- ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(A), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(29), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(31)
Level 20: Engulfing Darkness -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(31), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Obl-%Dam(33), Obl-Acc/Rchg(48)
Level 22: Heart of Darkness -- SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(A), SprAscoft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(34), SprAscoft-EndRdx/Rchg(34), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(46), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(50), SprAscoft-Rchg/+Dmg%(50)
Level 24: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 26: Shadow Field -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(34), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(36), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(36)
Level 28: Life Drain -- TchoftheN-Heal(A), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal(36), Dvs-Dmg/Rchg(37), Dvs-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 32: Umbra Beast -- ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(A), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(39), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(39), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(45), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(45)
Level 35: Moon Beam -- StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(40), StnoftheM-Acc/ActRdx/Rng(40), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(40), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), StnoftheM-Dam%(46)
Level 38: Rain of Fire -- Bmbdmt-Dam(A), Bmbdmt-Acc/Rech/End(42), Bmbdmt-Dam/Rech(42), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech(43), Bmbdmt-Acc/Dam/Rech/End(48), Bmbdmt-+FireDmg(48)
Level 41: Fire Shield -- Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(43), Ags-ResDam(43), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(50)
Level 44: Melt Armor -- AnlWkn-Acc/Rchg(A)
Level 47: Rise of the Phoenix -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Spirit Ward -- Prv-Absorb%(A)
Level 1: Domination 
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 49: Quick Form 
Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon 
Level 50: Void Core Final Judgement 
Level 50: Diamagnetic Core Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Core Superior Ally 
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany 
Level 50: Support Radial Embodiment 
Level 50: Portal Jockey 
Level 50: Task Force Commander 
Level 50: The Atlas Medallion 
Level 50: Freedom Phalanx Reserve 
------------

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build |
		|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
		|MxDz;1543;706;1412;HEX;|
		|78DA65945B4F135110C7CF76772914B04041EE20A5406DA1D0C40FA001FB2224244|
		|6DF0C59618195DA36DB12F563181FD0E08517FD0C5EF0CD7751515F7CF38231E122|
		|206A04D6E9FEE7D8256ED2FC3A33FF99336776DAB1EB2355D3D3A9D342090EA78D7|
		|C7E62247BD5CA1885ACAD8F1933D6A4A02770613E73CD36723973CA4F66F89F6462|
		|389B29D8D97462C4B0E7322665B3A3A3243993CF1BF3E9822B9186A81ACF52D6F9A|
		|C3D69DA3782AE316A1A53A69D9FB572010473A63955E97E4DA5AD99D942EBD99C35|
		|994859B6393166E40B9458EAB589DA8AD167BF51C8C751C5AA4F88764DF8DE32DF8|
		|1DA7B70BB285620D6C402A18F82B7C1B23BCC45B0FC2EB843490A27E9CA342149C1|
		|193030CBBC02F65BE0C01CB84BC9AA6C4FBD0767D57DE603F0D8127848629DC58AB|
		|EAD20B8073A14F4CB36FC1F71A19A4FCCCF60DD17E61A58FF15FC41C9155C59AF50|
		|75B762BD061ED7996560939F590EDEEA11A2929345E5079FEB3CA08AD5ECF455B7E|
		|0022D6B2AB8889EF7481494170AC6216A632AF40A6BE5686AB750B6ED3BD8B1CDDC|
		|017F52A590BC40E80F070FC013874C8729D0C6E03E6C412735C8D1353C46B0EB09F|
		|32938F00C4C2E339F8375F40368E464D1D885DE7D54B159F6DECC5BD7C55BD7CD5B|
		|D7CD5BF78B7A6F95E2D610CA7637809187A818790486E9B87639B27677541522C25|
		|4E9D84E39854E1E592F8FAC9747D6CB23EBDF64EE82BFA98DB09C42F8258EEB5B61|
		|BE62BE064FBEE13D5EE515A537D523937B0E34880E990E181358984185E9036B283|
		|9CAC96A7408BB114B324F81C9E2908BAB4BE2B8DCB6F80A7AAF2567423A13BC4037|
		|692F87A473681DF30C6BA5FF03A7CD63146DC711A3FFBBC635F9A7402EC575AD074|
		|ABF79A10CE0BC8D23CE289C9B479C177197AD23CE05DCE15CACD4AE334ACB9C6485|
		|13AFF718CBDEC8B788C7582A46648117618F7129E091195EE3B2D718F71A7F01EDB|
		|5FCE5|
		|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

 

[oedipus_tex]

There are a couple of things about Dominators I could call downsides. Their APPs are not one of them though. 

 

FWIW I think Sleet may be in the top 5 among the best APP power any archetype gets. It's just that some of the other contenders are also really, really good. Enough so that if you can afford multiple builds, I think it's worth having one with Sleet and one with Indom Will + Link Minds to switch back and forth between. Dominators have a -Recharge hole, it completely wrecks them. Ice attacks are rare in the wild, but Psi attacks are very common. On most of my Doms, the Psi pool translates into 1 or 2 extra levels of difficulty versus Arachnos.