Second Dark/Dark Build: Going for Damage!

Uncle Shags · June 11

So I absolutely love my Dark/Dark tanker. He's the bees knees. He's so friggin' awesome that I've almost maxed out all my incarnates, and haven't had altitis cravings! For me, this is completely unheard of. Craziness...

I built him to be max sturdy, and he's turned out great. I can do things with him I can't on any of my other tankers and haven't found anything yet he can't handle. I have no complaints. Oh...except the damage...

His damage isn't horrible, but it's not very good. And there are plenty of times when my durability is overkill and the team could use more damage instead. If there's another tank, or the fights are quick, etc.

So I've decided to make a second build. 100% focused on damage. Something I can swap into when I want more smash.

So here are two builds. The first one is my current sturdy version, and the second is a rough draft for my damage build. Although criticism of the first build is welcome (nothing is perfect!), it's mostly included as a way to compare the damage output of the two builds. The second build I'd like help with. I've never built a tank for damage like this, so I don't really know what I'm doing. Advice would be greatly appreciated!

So my goals for the damage build were:

Permahasten and recharge

Damage bonuses

Global accuracy to allow procs

Procs

This rough draft does the trick as the damage in mids is much higher and I think I achieved all the build goals, but I'm sure there's room for improvement.

So, what do you folks think?

Thanks!

Sturdy Build:

Spoiler

Hero Tanker
Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.6.6 rev. 3
──────────────────────────────

Primary powerset: Dark Armor
Secondary powerset: Dark Melee
Pool powerset (#1): Leaping
Pool powerset (#2): Fighting
Pool powerset (#3): Teleportation
Pool powerset (#4): Leadership
Epic powerset: Energy Mastery

──────────────────────────────

Powers taken:

Level 1: Death Shroud

A: Superior Gauntleted Fist: RechargeTime/+Absorb
5: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage
5: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
9: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
9: Superior Gauntleted Fist: Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime

Level 1: Smite

A: Superior Might of the Tanker: Recharge/Chance for +Res(All)
13: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
15: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage
15: Superior Might of the Tanker: Damage/Recharge
19: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
19: Superior Might of the Tanker: Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 2: Dark Embrace

A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
3: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
3: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
11: Unbreakable Guard: RechargeTime/Resistance

Level 4: Combat Jumping

A: Winter's Gift: Slow Resistance (20%)

Level 6: Murky Cloud

A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
7: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
7: Unbreakable Guard: RechargeTime/Resistance
37: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime

Level 8: Shadow Maul

A: Superior Avalanche: Recharge/Chance for Knockdown
21: Superior Avalanche: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
21: Superior Avalanche: Accuracy/Damage
23: Superior Avalanche: Damage/Endurance
23: Superior Avalanche: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
25: Superior Avalanche: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

Level 10: Obsidian Shield

A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance

Level 12: Taunt

(Empty)

Level 14: Dark Regeneration

A: Theft of Essence: Chance for +Endurance
25: Theft of Essence: Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
27: Theft of Essence: Healing
27: Theft of Essence: Healing/Recharge
29: Theft of Essence: Accuracy/Healing
29: Theft of Essence: Accuracy/Endurance/Healing

Level 16: Cloak of Darkness

A: Shield Wall: Defense
17: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance
17: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
37: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
49: Shield Wall: Endurance/Recharge
49: Reactive Defenses: Scaling Resist Damage

Level 18: Siphon Life

A: Theft of Essence: Healing
31: Theft of Essence: Accuracy/Healing
31: Theft of Essence: Chance for +Endurance
31: Hecatomb: Chance of Damage(Negative)
33: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge
33: Hecatomb: Damage

Level 20: Cloak of Fear

A: Cloud Senses: ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
36: Cloud Senses: Accuracy/Recharge
46: Cloud Senses: Accuracy/ToHitDebuff
48: Cloud Senses: Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge

Level 22: Touch of Fear

A: Scirocco's Dervish: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
33: Scirocco's Dervish: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
34: Scirocco's Dervish: Accuracy/Damage
34: Scirocco's Dervish: Damage/Recharge
34: Scirocco's Dervish: Accuracy/Recharge

Level 24: Soul Drain

A: Scirocco's Dervish: Accuracy/Damage
36: Scirocco's Dervish: Damage/Recharge
36: Scirocco's Dervish: Accuracy/Recharge
48: Scirocco's Dervish: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
48: Scirocco's Dervish: Damage/Endurance

Level 26: Oppressive Gloom

A: Absolute Amazement: Chance for ToHit Debuff

Level 28: Soul Transfer

A: Preventive Medicine: Chance for +Absorb

Level 30: Dark Consumption

A: Synapse's Shock: EndMod/Increased Run Speed
37: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Accuracy/Endurance
40: Synapse's Shock: EndMod
46: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Rechage
47: Synapse's Shock: EndMod/Recharge
47: Synapse's Shock: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy

Level 32: Midnight Grasp

A: Superior Blistering Cold: Recharge/Chance for Hold
43: Superior Blistering Cold: Damage/Endurance/Accuracy/RechargeTime
45: Superior Blistering Cold: Accuracy/Damage
45: Superior Blistering Cold: Damage/Endurance
45: Superior Blistering Cold: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
46: Superior Blistering Cold: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

Level 35: Kick

A: Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge

Level 38: Tough

A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
39: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
39: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
39: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP
40: Gladiator's Armor: TP Protection +3% Def (All)
40: Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+Def 3%

Level 41: Weave

A: Shield Wall: Defense
42: Kismet: Accuracy +6%
42: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
42: Shield Wall: +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
43: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance
43: Shield Wall: Defense/Endurance/Recharge

Level 44: Combat Teleport

A: Blessing of the Zephyr: Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 47: Teleport

A: Blessing of the Zephyr: Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 49: Fold Space

A: Invention: Recharge Reduction

──────────────────────────────

Inherents:

Level 1: Gauntlet

Level 1: Brawl

(Empty)

Level 1: Sprint

(Empty)

Level 2: Rest

(Empty)

Level 1: Swift

(Empty)

Level 1: Hurdle

(Empty)

Level 1: Health

A: Panacea: +Hit Points/Endurance

Level 1: Stamina

A: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
11: Performance Shifter: EndMod

──────────────────────────────
Accolades:

Portal Jockey
Task Force Commander
The Atlas Medallion
Freedom Phalanx Reserve

──────────────────────────────
Incarnates:

Melee Radial EmbodimentDiamagnetic Core Flawless InterfaceAgeless Radial EpiphanyCardiac Radial Paragon

Damage Build:

Spoiler

Hero Tanker
Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.6.6 rev. 3
──────────────────────────────

Primary powerset: Dark Armor
Secondary powerset: Dark Melee
Pool powerset (#1): Speed
Pool powerset (#2): Teleportation
Pool powerset (#3): Leaping
Pool powerset (#4): Flight
Epic powerset: Soul Mastery

──────────────────────────────

Powers taken:

Level 1: Death Shroud

A: Obliteration: Damage
33: Obliteration: Chance for Smashing Damage
43: Obliteration: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
48: Obliteration: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
49: Obliteration: Damage/Recharge

Level 1: Smite

A: Superior Might of the Tanker: Recharge/Chance for +Res(All)
3: Superior Might of the Tanker: Damage/Recharge
3: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage
5: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
5: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
7: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage

Level 2: Dark Embrace

A: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP
23: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance

Level 4: Hasten

A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
9: Invention: Recharge Reduction
9: Invention: Recharge Reduction

Level 6: Murky Cloud

A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
23: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance

Level 8: Obsidian Shield

A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
37: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance

Level 10: Dark Regeneration

A: Touch of the Nictus: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
11: Eradication: Chance for Energy Damage
11: Scirocco's Dervish: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
47: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
47: Touch of the Nictus: Healing/Absorb/Recharge
48: Touch of the Nictus: Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge

Level 12: Cloak of Darkness

A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
13: Red Fortune: Endurance
13: Red Fortune: Defense
15: Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
15: Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
17: Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance/Recharge

Level 14: Shadow Maul

A: Armageddon: Chance for Fire Damage
17: Armageddon: Damage
21: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge
25: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
25: Armageddon: Recharge/Accuracy
27: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage

Level 16: Siphon Life

A: Mako's Bite: Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
45: Theft of Essence: Chance for +Endurance
45: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
46: Mako's Bite: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
46: Mako's Bite: Damage/Recharge
46: Mako's Bite: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 18: Taunt

A: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage

Level 20: Touch of Fear

A: Glimpse of the Abyss: Chance of Damage(Psionic)
27: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
29: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
29: Eradication: Chance for Energy Damage
34: Fury of the Gladiator: Chance for Res Debuff
34: Fury of the Gladiator: Accuracy/Damage

Level 22: Combat Teleport

A: Blessing of the Zephyr: Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 24: Soul Drain

A: Adjusted Targeting: Recharge
34: Adjusted Targeting: To Hit Buff/Endurance
36: Adjusted Targeting: To Hit Buff
36: Adjusted Targeting: To Hit Buff/Recharge
36: Adjusted Targeting: Endurance/Recharge

Level 26: Soul Transfer

A: Preventive Medicine: Chance for +Absorb

Level 28: Dark Consumption

A: Obliteration: Damage
37: Obliteration: Damage/Recharge
37: Obliteration: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
40: Obliteration: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
45: Obliteration: Accuracy/Recharge

Level 30: Midnight Grasp

A: Hecatomb: Chance of Damage(Negative)
31: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
31: Hecatomb: Damage
31: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge
33: Hecatomb: Recharge/Accuracy
33: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage

Level 32: Teleport

A: Blessing of the Zephyr: Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 35: Combat Jumping

A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed

Level 38: Gloom

A: Apocalypse: Chance of Damage(Negative)
39: Apocalypse: Damage
39: Apocalypse: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
39: Apocalypse: Damage/Recharge
40: Apocalypse: Recharge/Accuracy
40: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage

Level 41: Dark Obliteration

A: Annihilation: Chance for Res Debuff
42: Bombardment: Chance for Fire Damage
42: Positron's Blast: Chance of Damage(Energy)
42: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
43: Annihilation: Damage/RechargeTime
43: Annihilation: Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime

Level 44: Hover

A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed

Level 47: Fold Space

A: Invention: Recharge Reduction

Level 49: Summon Widow

A: Expedient Reinforcement: Endurance/Damage/Recharge
A: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Recharge
50: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

──────────────────────────────

Inherents:

Level 1: Gauntlet

Level 1: Brawl

(Empty)

Level 1: Sprint

(Empty)

Level 2: Rest

(Empty)

Level 1: Swift

(Empty)

Level 1: Hurdle

(Empty)

Level 1: Health

A: Panacea: +Hit Points/Endurance
19: Numina's Convalesence: +Regeneration/+Recovery

Level 1: Stamina

A: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
7: Performance Shifter: EndMod
21: Performance Shifter: EndMod/Accuracy

──────────────────────────────
Incarnates:

Assault Core EmbodimentMighty Radial Final JudgementDegenerative Core Flawless InterfaceMusculature Core Paragon

Tanker (Dark Armor - Dark Melee).mbd Tanker (Dark Armor - Dark Melee) Damage.mbd

Sovera · June 11

Dark/Dark has nothing to really push the damage Dark Melee is pretty mild in terms of damage because it's filled with utility goodness and there had to be a tax, and Dark Armor has nothing that helps with damage.

Taking a look at your damage variant I can say you've gone pretty light shoring your defenses. Even with the ATO not giving the 6.7% it can be added with napkin maths and your S/L would be at 48% ish. For the most common damage type and as a Tanker it's pretty dire. For the easy content Dark Regen is usually enough but anything slightly harder with debuffs and I don't predict a healthy future. That said it can work as Ston's testing has shown.

I can only offer some small tips:

+5 two slots of Hasten (open the IO window and before clicking to choose the recharge IO press + five times) to save one slot.

You forgot the Shield Wall 5% and the Reactive Defences scaling resist IO for another 8% global resistances.

You forgot both 3% Defense uniques. Even if you're not building towards defenses you're still at 13% and it would push to 19% which would help make a few hits miss (but since not building towards defence it's not necessary).

Change all Zinger psi damage procs for Touch of Death negative damage procs. Psi is one of the most resisted damage types.

Consider ditching Soul Transfer, Summon Widow and Hover to grab Punch, Tough and Weave. Even not slotting or using Weave you can use it to replace Hover as a LotG proc and Tough would help your S/L resistances. Summon Widow may look like a damage loss but the thing is pretty squishy and will die off from the AoEs centered on you (if it was completely ranged it might survive longer. Might being the operative word).

I don't have much more advice to give since I haven't delved deep into Dark Armor. I'm more of Fire Armor type, and, lately, Stone Armor.

Uncle Shags · June 11

Thanks for your help! I didn't know psy was so resisted! I guess I assumed it was rare like for us PCs. The defense uniques are an easy add. The steadfast one works nicely because it'll match with that KB protection unique. ~~The +res ones I'd really like, but can only find a spot for one of them. I could take a slot from health or stamina if my end issues end up being manageable.~~ I fit both +res IOs. I hesitate to go the fighting route, as I love Soul Transfer, and I am fully prepared for max squishiness. See my explanation below.

I can understand your concerns about my survival. And perhaps confusion. Who builds a tank with less than 50% S/L resist and defense in the teens?! It's a wonky idea.

Maybe a little more background will help communicate my idea. For years I've bounced from one new alt to another. I've always been searching for a "main" and had almost given up on the idea. But with my latest alt, my dark/dark tank, I feel like I finally have a main. I'm probably delusional, and will roll a new toon in a week, but for now I really feel like he scratches all my itches. I could blabber for another paragraph extolling his virtues, but I'll save you the time. In other words, I really want to lean into this "main" idea.

I pretty much exclusively play on teams. My DD tank does great and I love it. He's a indestructible beast. But there have been a few rare times when I've felt like I wasn't contributing much - the team had another tank, had lots of CC and didn't need tanking, or could use more damage. On those occasions I got the urge to switch to an alt. Recently I did that - I got on my stalker and blew stuff up. But in the end I felt like I wanted to be back on my tank. Well, I remembered they added the option of alternate builds for characters! And I've saved up a ton of cash by not having to kit out new alts. And maybe, just maybe I can squeeze enough damage out of this guy with a wonky glass cannon build to keep the altitis at bay! Maybe I'm crazy. But maybe crazy like a fox...

So that's the deal. Full on glass cannon! (Okay, dark/dark tank cannon...) Even though it'll never top the damage charts and I'll surely be a very poor excuse for a scrapper or blapper or fire tank, I still want to give it a shot! I think I'll be doing double the damage of my regular build. That's nothing to sneeze at. I'm guessing I'll play my normal build 90% of the time. But when the stars align and the team needs moar damage... Beep boop beep! Moar damage has arrived!

Thanks again for your help and hanging in there with my strange request. =P

Here's an updated version:

Spoiler

Hero Tanker
Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.6.6 rev. 3
──────────────────────────────

Primary powerset: Dark Armor
Secondary powerset: Dark Melee
Pool powerset (#1): Speed
Pool powerset (#2): Teleportation
Pool powerset (#3): Leaping
Pool powerset (#4): Flight
Epic powerset: Soul Mastery

──────────────────────────────

Powers taken:

Level 1: Death Shroud

A: Obliteration: Damage
33: Obliteration: Chance for Smashing Damage
43: Obliteration: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
48: Obliteration: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
49: Obliteration: Damage/Recharge

Level 1: Smite

A: Superior Might of the Tanker: Recharge/Chance for +Res(All)
3: Superior Might of the Tanker: Damage/Endurance/Recharge
3: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage
5: Superior Might of the Tanker: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
5: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
7: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage

Level 2: Dark Embrace

A: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP
23: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance

Level 4: Hasten

A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
9: Invention: Recharge Reduction

Level 6: Murky Cloud

A: Gladiator's Armor: TP Protection +3% Def (All)
23: Gladiator's Armor: End/Resist

Level 8: Obsidian Shield

A: Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+Def 3%
37: Steadfast Protection: Knockback Protection

Level 10: Dark Regeneration

A: Touch of the Nictus: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
11: Eradication: Chance for Energy Damage
11: Scirocco's Dervish: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
47: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
47: Touch of the Nictus: Healing/Absorb/Recharge
48: Touch of the Nictus: Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge

Level 12: Cloak of Darkness

A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
13: Red Fortune: Endurance
13: Red Fortune: Defense
15: Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
15: Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
17: Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance/Recharge

Level 14: Shadow Maul

A: Armageddon: Chance for Fire Damage
17: Armageddon: Damage
21: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge
25: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
25: Armageddon: Damage/Endurance
27: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage

Level 16: Siphon Life

A: Mako's Bite: Accuracy/Damage
45: Theft of Essence: Chance for +Endurance
45: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
46: Mako's Bite: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
46: Mako's Bite: Damage/Endurance
46: Mako's Bite: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 18: Taunt

A: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage

Level 20: Touch of Fear

A: Glimpse of the Abyss: Chance of Damage(Psionic)
27: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage
29: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
29: Eradication: Chance for Energy Damage
34: Fury of the Gladiator: Chance for Res Debuff
34: Fury of the Gladiator: Accuracy/Damage

Level 22: Combat Teleport

A: Blessing of the Zephyr: Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 24: Soul Drain

A: Adjusted Targeting: Recharge
34: Adjusted Targeting: To Hit Buff/Endurance
36: Adjusted Targeting: To Hit Buff
36: Adjusted Targeting: To Hit Buff/Recharge
36: Adjusted Targeting: Endurance/Recharge

Level 26: Soul Transfer

A: Preventive Medicine: Chance for +Absorb

Level 28: Dark Consumption

A: Obliteration: Damage
37: Obliteration: Damage/Recharge
37: Obliteration: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
40: Obliteration: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
45: Obliteration: Accuracy/Recharge

Level 30: Midnight Grasp

A: Hecatomb: Chance of Damage(Negative)
31: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
31: Hecatomb: Damage
31: Hecatomb: Damage/Recharge
33: Hecatomb: Recharge/Accuracy
33: Perfect Zinger: Chance for Psi Damage

Level 32: Teleport

A: Blessing of the Zephyr: Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 35: Combat Jumping

A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
42: Shield Wall: +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)

Level 38: Gloom

A: Apocalypse: Chance of Damage(Negative)
39: Apocalypse: Damage
39: Apocalypse: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
39: Apocalypse: Damage/Recharge
40: Apocalypse: Recharge/Accuracy
40: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage

Level 41: Dark Obliteration

A: Bombardment: Chance for Fire Damage
42: Positron's Blast: Chance of Damage(Energy)
42: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
43: Annihilation: Chance for Res Debuff
43: Annihilation: Accuracy/Damage

Level 44: Hover

A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
48: Reactive Defenses: Scaling Resist Damage

Level 47: Fold Space

A: Invention: Recharge Reduction

Level 49: Summon Widow

A: Expedient Reinforcement: Endurance/Damage/Recharge
A: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Recharge
50: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge

──────────────────────────────

Inherents:

Level 1: Gauntlet

Level 1: Brawl

(Empty)

Level 1: Sprint

(Empty)

Level 2: Rest

(Empty)

Level 1: Swift

(Empty)

Level 1: Hurdle

(Empty)

Level 1: Health

A: Panacea: +Hit Points/Endurance
19: Numina's Convalesence: +Regeneration/+Recovery

Level 1: Stamina

A: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
7: Performance Shifter: EndMod
21: Performance Shifter: EndMod/Accuracy

──────────────────────────────
Incarnates:

Assault Core EmbodimentMighty Radial Final JudgementDegenerative Core Flawless InterfaceMusculature Core Paragon

Tanker (Dark Armor - Dark Melee) Damage.mbd

Edited June 12 by Uncle Shags
Changed the build

Sovera · June 12

Quite alright. The important thing is to have fun (I don't mean this as a platitude) and in a full team there will always be buffs to help shore things up.

I see you've managed to squeeze in both defense and resistance uniques which will help a bit more. You forgot to change the Zinger procs but it's not terribly important in the end even if you don't.

One important tip I forgot was to add a Theft of Essence to Dark Regeneration (not really Siphon Life) which will do some heavy lifting countering its cost, and, it should be said, your endurance should not be too problematic since you have Dark Consumption, but you might want to actually slot it for endurance modification. I would toss in six Synapse Shock in there as the bonuses add a little bit of everything good for the build, but if you're aiming for damage consider adding more damage procs to it.

If you do want to proc bomb Dark Regeneration then it's a choice but it's such a heavy power that I'd aim for more endurance reduction foremost. It costs a huge chunk of endurance to use and with most of your attacks heavy on procs and light on endurance you should definitely consider Dark Consumption to be properly slotted. I would personally put five Panacea and one +5 accuracy but that would run counter to glass cannony. But both Dark Consumption and Dark Regeneration are the foundations of the build and they should carry the rest of the build, in my opinion. You might that this is not needed though.

In the same vein you could/should quadruple proccing Siphon Life as the bonuses you worked in are not terribly useful and SL should only be needed every 4 seconds so it does not need accuracy. It *will* be endurance heavy though, but the damage goes up to 501 as opposed to 393 as you have now (Soul Drain with just one enemy). Midnight Grasp should stay as is (though exclude the damage IO as it is not needed) since it is your heavy hitter (544). You do have a workable ST rotation without Gloom but though it hits decently hard (390) it only replaces one use of Smite. You can/could easily ditch it, recover the slots, and still have a gapless ST rotation (Midnight grasp recharges in 4.3 seconds. Smite (1.2), Siphon Life (2.1), Smite (1.2) makes 1.2 + 2.1 + 1.2 = 4.5).

Now, Gloom is better than Smite as Smite only does 230 damage, but it's just to say you don't NEED a fourth attack and the slots that went into it. That said it does do a decent chunk more than Smite and one Gloom replaces one Smite in the above rotation. But Smite does carry your ATO and you want to spam it for the stacks so, heh, decisions. It's mostly about scrounging the five slots though but Gloom does do almost twice the damage.

Regarding incarnates I'd take the Musculature that also gives 33% endurance since you need every bit you can scrounge. The damage difference is absolutely minimal (despite saying 45% damage it's actually more like 15%, and switching to the 33% version makes it about 11% if I recall correctly).

Tanker (Dark Armor - Dark Melee) Damage(1).mbd

Uncle Shags · June 12

Sweeeet! This is exactly what I was hoping for! You rock. Making builds in this game is so fun...

I'm going to get in and tinker with this and do some thinking. Thanks much. I've got a lot to think about.

Uncle Shags · June 14

Well I went for it! Spent probably 600m. Which for me, is a lot...

I still don't have the assault and musc incarnates leveled up well, but so far I can say it's okay. Squishier than normal, but not too bad. 9 second Dark Regen is no joke... Solo, I can still do +4/8 vs carnies, Arachnos, and Malta, which is kind of my measuring stick. I have to be more careful though - I can't collect multiple groups and stand there while they beat on me. But they go down much faster. I can 1 shot minions and 3 shot Lts. And the added aoe damage is nice. I played a couple missions with a 54 MJ team where I did fine. I can still tank the AVs (which I know isn't saying much) and feel like I did decent damage. I died to a big pack of blue meanies, though, which is embarrassing... But that's what Soul Transfer is for! I suspect I'll get better when I figure out how to play it. I did two pylon tests. The first was 4:19, the second 6 minutes. Which to me says there's opportunity to tinker with my rotation, if I get to the point of caring about it that much.

The only down side (other than spending so much inf on a sub-par "damage" build) is that switching between builds resets the cool down on all powers. Which isn't a huge deal, but it's kind of a pain for some of the longer recharge powers like incarnates and prestige powers.

I say mission accomplished! Thanks for your help!

C U R S E · June 22

If you want a Tank with damage and insane utility with survivability, may I suggest a Bio/Dark Tank. I have one and he is absurdly ridiculous, add in the proc'd attacks with offensive adaptation and soul drain. Siphon life every 5.3 seconds heal at 364, is insane. Not much else to say except, kill and have fun.

Uncle Shags · June 24

I scrapped the D/D second build. Just wasn't tough enough. I got embarrassed when I couldn't tank semi-difficult content. And the damage was still subpar.

Instead I used the enh/inf from that build and made a stacked a Fire/Axe. It's super fun, easily durable enough for the stuff I do, and puts out really nice damage.

Super fast recharged Axe Cyclone/Burn combo is crazy awesome.

Sovera · June 24

3 hours ago, Uncle Shags said:

I scrapped the D/D second build. Just wasn't tough enough. I got embarrassed when I couldn't tank semi-difficult content. And the damage was still subpar.

Instead I used the enh/inf from that build and made a stacked a Fire/Axe. It's super fun, easily durable enough for the stuff I do, and puts out really nice damage.

Super fast recharged Axe Cyclone/Burn combo is crazy awesome.

Take a gander at the Stone/Fire Melee in my signature. I leveled a second one and have no complaints be it in survival or damage. Defense debuffs can still kill it as I realized when I jumped into a room filled with praetorian robots and tried to fight three spawns at once plus an EB. Barrier would have prevented that I reckon but I was a fresh level 50.

My next goal is to get a pylon test going but since I'm 'cheating' by having a -res proc slotted I'm thinking it might get a 3 minuter mark, but it's dumb trying to eyeball it. I'll post once I get a pylon down.

Mini-Mega · September 12

Tanker (Dark Armor - Dark Melee).mbd

Sign In

Second Dark/Dark Build: Going for Damage!

Recommended Posts

Uncle Shags

Sovera

Uncle Shags

Sovera

Uncle Shags

Uncle Shags

C U R S E

Uncle Shags

Sovera

Mini-Mega

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Browse

Activity

Game Account

Wikis