New brute Broadsword + Dark or rad?

[Project]

So I'm settling on a brute and I'm pretty sure I'll pick Broadsword (maybe Axe, but broadsword looks slightly cooler :D) 
Anyways, eitherway I need a secondary, and I have no experience with either dark or Rad armor - any pros and cons I should be aware off?

They seem rather similar, however, Dark seems slightly all over the place with several different utility powers, and Rad seems very focused on healing, resistance and shields.

[Without_Pause]

I know Dark has a damage aura, but Rad will pump out more damage. This can be important for when BS is more resisted, see DE. BS/BA are slower attacking sets. The fact that Rad offers +Recharge will help speed up your attacks by a default. You can also one slot Beta Decay with a -Res proc. I'm not saying Dark is bad. I just don't really see synergy between the sets which isn't also covered by using Rad, and Rad does offer benefits to BS.

 

If you ever do want to do BA, I say go BA/ea Scrapper. Crits help with BA being resisted, but it does a truckload of damage anyway. BA begs for +Recharge and the end to pull it off. EA covers those. EA also doesn't need something like Parry so you might as well add in a better DPA attack. 

[Project]

Really great points - thanks. 

It seems to me like Dark Armour tries to be a swiss army knife - It got pretty much every keyword in the game jammed into it, but I have a hard time figuring out if it is a good or a bad thing 😄

You have a great point about the recharge part at least, as you say both Axe and Sword have long cooldowns, but short animations for the most part, so guess it makes a lot of sense :)

[Ringo]

Originally Dark Armor was the only set you could get Psi (and toxic? Or was that later) resist with, so the "trick" to DA was figuring out how to use all those swiss-army-knife powers to keep you alive and then not have to worry about Rikti ever again unlike those million Invul users

 

Now though DA is mostly just a quirky set whose tools change up the standard Melee experience

[Project]

21 minutes ago, Ringo said:

Originally Dark Armor was the only set you could get Psi (and toxic? Or was that later) resist with, so the "trick" to DA was figuring out how to use all those swiss-army-knife powers to keep you alive and then not have to worry about Rikti ever again unlike those million Invul users

 

Now though DA is mostly just a quirky set whose tools change up the standard Melee experience

Makes sense - just seems like all though mobs would ignore the high level powers (not gonna fear a boss or an AV) - perhaps rad armour it is xD 

Does seem like Dark has a pretty powerful healing power though

Edited October 27, 2023 by Project

[Without_Pause]

End game, Dark struggles with Energy damage. You have to think of it more like a controller meets melee. Dark/dark is more so. Outside of Dark, Claws would be an easy sub in as it is end friendly and has fast enough recharge to where you don't need to add much. You also get two powers with 100% KD/KB. Outside of Claws, anything which stuns so it can stack with the aura. The heal is essentially best in game, but before IOs the end cost was incredibly unkind. Now, you stick a Chance for +End in it and you are practically good to go. 

[Snarky]

I run Dark.  I have tanked Ms Lib master runs on a Brute Dark and Rom was challenging but okay. But i build tough.  Dark is great if you understand it.  I have seen posts from people who say they used my build and cannot stay alive against ….anything.   Whereas I rarely die, and generally only die trying to save a teammate who has do e something horribly stupid

[Project]

5 hours ago, Snarky said:

I run Dark.  I have tanked Ms Lib master runs on a Brute Dark and Rom was challenging but okay. But i build tough.  Dark is great if you understand it.  I have seen posts from people who say they used my build and cannot stay alive against ….anything.   Whereas I rarely die, and generally only die trying to save a teammate who has do e something horribly stupid

I found a post from you a while back - quite a few good points - however, I dabbled a bit yesterday and found that my theme would fit really well with Fire Aura really xD

I think what mainly confuse me about Dark is how it's counter-intuitive on some points. It has a dmg aura, but a stealth power and a fear aura which doesn't make sense, as the dmg one will cancel the other two out. On top of that it has a stun aura, well the stun and fear won't do anything against any boss and higher mobs (and it seems (I might be mistaken) but rather End heavy as well compared to other sets) - That being said, it seems to have a VERY powerful heal, a fun revive power, and in general a great theme.

Could you perhaps point out the most commen thing you think people get wrong about dark? 

[Snarky]

5 hours ago, Project said:

I found a post from you a while back - quite a few good points - however, I dabbled a bit yesterday and found that my theme would fit really well with Fire Aura really xD

I think what mainly confuse me about Dark is how it's counter-intuitive on some points. It has a dmg aura, but a stealth power and a fear aura which doesn't make sense, as the dmg one will cancel the other two out. On top of that it has a stun aura, well the stun and fear won't do anything against any boss and higher mobs (and it seems (I might be mistaken) but rather End heavy as well compared to other sets) - That being said, it seems to have a VERY powerful heal, a fun revive power, and in general a great theme.

Could you perhaps point out the most commen thing you think people get wrong about dark? 

Common mistakes about Dark. Everything 

 

The stealth does not suppress. So unless you fight things like Rikti or Rularu etc that see stealth you are hidden.  This is why I like Dark for a Brute more than a Tank

 

Run all toggles.  The theory is to deal witb minions and Lts with fear and stun.  This is your faux defense.  Then your resistance just needs to handle the boss.  The heal can take you from 1% to 100%. 
 

I have written whole treatises on Dark if tou dig around a few Dark posts in Brute you might find them.  

[Without_Pause]

Damage doesn't cancel fear. It merely gives them a single attack to respond and then they go back to their feared state. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

On 10/26/2023 at 5:30 PM, Project said:

So I'm settling on a brute and I'm pretty sure I'll pick Broadsword (maybe Axe, but broadsword looks slightly cooler :D) 
Anyways, eitherway I need a secondary, and I have no experience with either dark or Rad armor - any pros and cons I should be aware off?

They seem rather similar, however, Dark seems slightly all over the place with several different utility powers, and Rad seems very focused on healing, resistance and shields.

 

I think they are pretty different, actually.

 

Dark is more geared towards using control effects as mitigation.  Cloak of Fear gives terrify as well as -to hit, and Oppressive Gloom gives low mag stun which neuters minions (or higher if you can stack magnitude).  Dark is also VERY endurance intensive, and stacked with Broadsword your endurance is always going to be a concern.  Parry is great because it helps sew up your defenses, and your resistances and heals from Dark Armor will be nice.  I would definitely work in some -res procs wherever you can.

 

Rad is a more modern set, and covers all the standard bases of defense/resist/heal (although it is also relatively weak on the defense, so parry is good here too).  Beta Decay with an Achilles Heel will cover much of your -res needs (remember that proc doesn't stack).  Meltdown is probably the most powerful T9 in the armors, but you won't need to slot it for resist thanks to the 75% caps.  You also get two AoEs that you can proc out in interesting ways.

 

Rad will be a more "meta" experience, but dark will also be fun.

[Project]

3 hours ago, Without_Pause said:

Damage doesn't cancel fear. It merely gives them a single attack to respond and then they go back to their feared state. 

Ah mistake on my side. Seems the acc debuff persist. But at least for my stalker, when I hit a feared target they seem to get put of the state.

3 hours ago, Snarky said:

Common mistakes about Dark. Everything 

 

The stealth does not suppress. So unless you fight things like Rikti or Rularu etc that see stealth you are hidden.  This is why I like Dark for a Brute more than a Tank

 

Run all toggles.  The theory is to deal witb minions and Lts with fear and stun.  This is your faux defense.  Then your resistance just needs to handle the boss.  The heal can take you from 1% to 100%. 
 

I have written whole treatises on Dark if tou dig around a few Dark posts in Brute you might find them.  

Ah okay, cool clarification. I might still try it 🙂 Didn't know the stealth doesn't break, that changes a lot 🙂

 

3 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

 

I think they are pretty different, actually.

 

Dark is more geared towards using control effects as mitigation.  Cloak of Fear gives terrify as well as -to hit, and Oppressive Gloom gives low mag stun which neuters minions (or higher if you can stack magnitude).  Dark is also VERY endurance intensive, and stacked with Broadsword your endurance is always going to be a concern.  Parry is great because it helps sew up your defenses, and your resistances and heals from Dark Armor will be nice.  I would definitely work in some -res procs wherever you can.

 

Rad is a more modern set, and covers all the standard bases of defense/resist/heal (although it is also relatively weak on the defense, so parry is good here too).  Beta Decay with an Achilles Heel will cover much of your -res needs (remember that proc doesn't stack).  Meltdown is probably the most powerful T9 in the armors, but you won't need to slot it for resist thanks to the 75% caps.  You also get two AoEs that you can proc out in interesting ways.

 

Rad will be a more "meta" experience, but dark will also be fun.

Really nice summary 🙂 thanks a lot 🙂

[Outrider_01]

On 10/27/2023 at 8:01 PM, Snarky said:

I run Dark.  I have tanked Ms Lib master runs on a Brute Dark and Rom was challenging but okay. But i build tough.  Dark is great if you understand it.  I have seen posts from people who say they used my build and cannot stay alive against ….anything.   Whereas I rarely die, and generally only die trying to save a teammate who has do e something horribly stupid

Thats because no evil criminal or arch villain will mess with the Snark Knight.

[jprewitt73]

On 10/28/2023 at 9:57 AM, Snarky said:

Common mistakes about Dark. Everything 

 

The stealth does not suppress. So unless you fight things like Rikti or Rularu etc that see stealth you are hidden.  This is why I like Dark for a Brute more than a Tank

 

Run all toggles.  The theory is to deal with minions and Lts with fear and stun.  This is your faux defense.  Then your resistance just needs to handle the boss.  The heal can take you from 1% to 100%. 
 

I have written whole treatises on Dark if you dig around a few Dark posts in Brute you might find them.  

 

My Savage Melee/Dark Armor Brute learned a lot from Snarky and his multitude of posts. It hits hard and it keeps me upright through pretty much anything. Even if you start getting damage that seems "overwhelming" you can pop off your heal and go from 1 HP to full health in a split second. Get enough recharge and you can heal yourself every 10 seconds or less. 

 

However, I will say that Dark Armor is not for someone who is used to traditional armor sets. It does take a bit more time to learn and understand.