Dark armor tanker recommendations

[kraftyk9]

Hello, noob here seeking recommendation for a dark armor brute/tank build.  Playing with another noob, he is running a psi/electric blaster, so hopefully ST dmg isn't an issue.  I really like the idea of dark armor, especially with death shroud and dark regen.  I want to be able to run around tanking/healing and doing mostly AOE since my friend should have ST covered.  I don't usually play melee characters, punching and hitting up close isn't really my style.  Is the a powerset that I can run with dark armor that will either add res/def/regen for survivability and/or AOE spells/toggles?  Is tank or brute going to be a better archetype if I want to melee attack as infrequently as possible?  Thank you in advance for your thoughts and insights!

[Pedroig]

I know nothing, but just came across this:
 

 

[Frozen Burn]

On 1/13/2024 at 2:36 PM, kraftyk9 said:

Hello, noob here seeking recommendation for a dark armor brute/tank build.  Playing with another noob, he is running a psi/electric blaster, so hopefully ST dmg isn't an issue.  I really like the idea of dark armor, especially with death shroud and dark regen.  I want to be able to run around tanking/healing and doing mostly AOE since my friend should have ST covered.  I don't usually play melee characters, punching and hitting up close isn't really my style.  Is the a powerset that I can run with dark armor that will either add res/def/regen for survivability and/or AOE spells/toggles?  Is tank or brute going to be a better archetype if I want to melee attack as infrequently as possible?  Thank you in advance for your thoughts and insights!

 

Dark Armor is a great set!  Love it.  It can be end heavy with all the toggles, so you have to manage them all early on and as you level up.  Once you get to your 30s and 40s with your IO sets and most of the slots for them, you'll really see it shine.  Of course, all the extra end management things you can do for a toon early (Panacea, miracle, numina specials in health, slotted up stamina, etc) all as early as you can is advised and doable.

 

Spines is a great AOE set to pair with Dark.  You get Quills, which is another PBAOE toggle damage/taunt aura, Spine burst, Ripper (melee cone), Throw Spines (Ranged wide Cone).

 

I would lean towards a Tank over a Brute since you get more HPs, higher resist caps, large AOE radius, and larger aggro cap.  With the recent boost to Tank damage output and since you're duoing with a blaster mostly - the better defenses and better aggro management would be more beneficially as the Blaster fills in the DPS hole.  

 

Again, it might be frustrating with end management early on, but again, stick with it and it will a beast that you love. 

 

 

[Snarky]

Here is my last Dark Tank build.  It has very good resists and includes Darkest Night which is a ranged AoE agro sponge that debuffs.  I have tougher builds for stuff like Aeon.  To me this is the best for "regular" play, as it works better at the Tank job.

 

 

Tanker - Dark Dark RES oddball Dark Night.mbd

[Snarky]

If you are looking for Brute my build is in the next thread.  I think, due to stealth and build efficiency that Brute is better for Dark