Dark/? what to take?

[Daihok]

So far im thinking maybe either dark/elec or dark/ninjitsu. Which do you guys think would be better? If any other options is better pls let me know. Also wondering would this be viable in pvp?

[Force Redux]

There is a topic or two in here on Dark/Ninjutsu. Let me be the first in this thread to recommend Ninjutsu. It's awesome. I'm 22 after a couple days and with basic slotting it's a great combo that looks and feels great.

 

The debuffs from Dark compliment Ninjutsu very well. You have very good ST attack chain and two solid ranged AoEs, plus Blackstar as a huge debuffing pbaoe. It's the only Dark power that requires you to get close, unlike many sentinel primaries that require range dancing with AoEs.

 

Dark also gives you a nice siphon heal that can also fit into your attack chain depending on how you slot it.

 

Ninjutsu gives you other good tools.

Solid positional defense. Plenty of room for LotGs.

Some basic resistance. Good for IO unique.

Stealth.

Extra run speed/leaping

Full mezz protection.

End recovery clicky

Heal clicky

A no-crash God Mode

 

I've even got room for leadership and a couple of fully slotted Patron Pool powers.

 

Didn't need to bother with Fighting in the build. Can easily get Ranged defense to Incarnate cap, and the others to 40+ defense.

 

I highly recommend it. :-)

 

((It's the ranged Dark/SR scrapper I always wanted but couldn't quite realize))

 

[oldskool]

Dark/ANY for Sentinel.  Seriously, the to hit debuff is that good if you are interested in the defense help from the primary.

 

For PvP, Elec - maybe -.  A lot of hard core PvP players will have +to hit and tons of +accuracy.  Their alpha shots on you (from Aim, Build-up, etc) will more than likely hit you regardless of whatever +def you stack.  You obviously won't have enough time to stack -to hit unless you're starting combat.  Even then, it may not be enough against players. 

 

So the resistance could be more valuable to you. 

 

For PVE though, see my first sentence.  The -to hit in Dark for Sentinels is just stupid good. Like, we really need to be careful about not calling attention to it good.  Like Blackstar's duration is 20 seconds (and I can confirm this) and it can be made to recharge pretty close to that (mine has 5 seconds downtime, 5. seconds.).  It is -35% to hit which stacks with Umbral Torrent and Dark Obliteration.  That's -45% in an area dished out in a matter of seconds. 

 

The durations on the -5,25% to hit debuff for all the single target attacks is 10 seconds (Pines isn't accurate) with the exception being Dark Blast at 6 seconds.  You can very easily keep -15% to hit debuffed on a single target with rotational bursts of 20%+. 

 

My Dark/Regen Sentinel is one of the safest characters I have EVER played in post level 32. My plan is to have Fighting and Leadership after 38.  Even on Justin this logic is validated with a fully fleshed out IO test. 

 

It is bonkers safe to play in PvE.  Waaaaay exceeding my original expectations. 

 

 

[EiricEPadraig]

Ninjitsu seems to be the way to go. I have a Pistols/Ninjitsu I rolled tonight and the synergy is amazing.

[oldskool]

Ninjitsu seems to be the way to go. I have a Pistols/Ninjitsu I rolled tonight and the synergy is amazing.

 

I love my Pistol/Nin, but let's not over sell the pairing too much.  It is very fun and it checks boxes for me conceptually.  However, I'd argue that Super Reflexes or Energy Aura are stronger. 

 

Also, Sentinel (and Scrapper) Nin gives up Caltrops and Smoke Flash for quality of life improvements.  You can pick those up with Ninja Mastery, but a large point of the Nin set was its toys which Sentinels give up. 

 

Furthermore, Pistols doesn't really offer much defense trade to Nin, and Nin offers very little offense trade to Pistols.  Not to rain on your parade, but I'm not sure what synergy you're finding beyond conceptual flair. 

 

I certainly advocate anyone that wishes to play Pistols/Nin to do so.  It is fun.  Let's just try to be honest with those seeking advice and not over sell it when other secondaries are available doing the same thing with higher numbers (like Super Reflexes).

[Force Redux]

SR has better scaling resists with lower health and the best defense debuff resists, that's true.

 

But let's also not go too far to the other direction and say because of that its not an equal choice.

 

THAT all depends on what you are looking for.

 

Ninjutusu offers things that SR does not. A heal. And Endurance recovery power. Stealth.  (personally I never cared for or bothered much with Blinding Powder, but Caltrops was okay).  While tehy might not be important for some SR builds focused only on 'higher DEF numbers', Ninjutsu can reach the iCap as well, and without much effort (I did it without Fighting Pool or purple/PvP sets, for instance). And while it doesn't have the debuff resists of SR (nothing else does), it can fall back on its Tier 9 just as Elude can to cover CDF.

 

What SR as a Sent does have is Master Brawler, which I like...a lot. It negates some damage while Ninjutsu heals it back (what leaks through).

 

TLDR: SR  is not superior to Nin, they are well balanced, but offer different things to different players - hence its value varies depending on your criteria. Apples. Oranges.

[Force Redux]

Ninjitsu seems to be the way to go. I have a Pistols/Ninjitsu I rolled tonight and the synergy is amazing.

 

I think the clear synergy with Ninjutsu and DP is with Hail of Bullets, which can boost your defense, particularly with melee or aoe, where you might want the bump.

 

The best synergy IMO is with Dark Blast, due to the -to hit in each attack, but there are some nice little bonuses with Swap Ammo, specifically with Fire's DOT and Toxic's -damage that are helpful both offensively and defensively.

 

This coming from a guy who rolled a Force Field/Energy Blast Defender and leveled it to Incarnate back in the day, so take that with a grain of salt, lol.

 

Have fun, that's the best synergy. Its a fun (and fairly effective) combo.

[oldskool]

SR has better scaling resists with lower health and the best defense debuff resists, that's true.

 

SR also has higher base values to Melee and Ranged.  It's base values to AoE are substantially higher than Ninjutsu.  Both sets have endurance recovery.  One is a click (Nin) one is passive (Sentinel SR). 

 

Since this entire thread is about Dark, that's what I am basing my judgment on.  Dark has a heal.  It isn't much, but if you have to sacrifice your attack chain for a heal, doing damage with it has a lot of value.  At least to me.  Since Sentinel SR has Master Brawler which can help slow down incoming damage, Life Drain has some opportunities to shine here. Maybe more so than it might with Nin.  I haven't test that, it could be a complete wash for all I know. 

 

Super Reflexes offers Quickness which has value for damage output.  Ninjutsu offers a 20% bonus to damage when breaking your stealth (so first attack). 

 

I know the two are different sets, but they do the same thing primarily.  That's positional defense.  Ninjutsu straight up offers less of it in trade for other features.  However, Sentinel SR offers the choice for an additional damage mitigation its melee cousins don't (Master Brawler), endurance recovery, higher base defense than Ninjutsu, and 20% global recharge. 

 

We'll agree to disagree if I find the Sentinel Super Reflexes package to be a better deal than everything Ninjutsu brings to the table. This is even more so with Dark/* since the heal in Life Drain means I only have to use a lower DPA attack vs none at all with Kuji-In Sha. 

 

I'll restate too, I play Pistols/Nin.  It is a lot of fun, but it is my opinion Super Reflexes is stronger for what it offers Sentinels.

 

P.S., I also get they can hit the softcap.  See above, I play it.  However, something that is true of Super Reflexes and Ninjutsu melee counter parts is true for Sentinels.  Since it takes less for SR to achieve the same softcap, said SR character can use IOs for other things.  This starts to compound when one version starts piling on additional damage since it no longer has to chase 20% more global recharge or 2.1% extra defense elsewhere. This means less Thunderstrikes and more opportunities for other things. 

 

Also, to get side tracked on Pistol defense synergy, Hail of Bullets has a defense buff that lasts only for 5 seconds.  It's a nice way to help dodge the return fire you're going to get but that is pretty much the only defense Pistols offers anything unless we want to start talking about that weak slow in Cryo Ammo. 

 

Anyway, that's my thoughts on all that.  In the end, YMMV.

 

 

[Force Redux]

Good thoughts Oldskool. I agree its all about personal mileage, but having solid info to work with is important, so appreciate your insights.