Need advice on Dark Control

[Petrograd]

I made a Dark/Savage Dominator because it seemed the most thematic (char's a vampire), but while leveling I just don't understand Dark. I have literally 5 separate hold/mez types that don't seem to synergize and it feels like I never know which button I should be hitting.

I tried searching the forum for a general guide but I couldn't find anything, just builds. Would anyone be willing to tell me what Dark powers are the best vs. skippable and what their general use pattern is? Or if this already exists, does someone have a link?

Edited September 21 by Petrograd

[EnjoyTheJourney]

I'm not sure there is a dark control guide anywhere on the forums. At least, I don't recall ever having seen one. Of course, it is always possible there is one and I missed it. 

You could try searching for posts by Voltak about dark control in the dominator forum. He was definitely one of the better known posters who had good experiences and good things to say about dark control, back when he was frequenting the forums. IIRC, he also has one or more youtube videos that you might find helpful for getting to know how to build dark control dominators and how they can play. 

[Frosticus]

Fearsome stare>feral charge> hod (proc'd)

Is enough control for most spawns.

 

You won't use your st confuse often cause it's a very slow playstyle which is counter to what savage prefers. But you still want it for the occasional tough mob/eb.

 

Haunt is very skippable, but most people still take it. Same as the dog pet.

 

Cone immob has no synergy with the set/combo, st immob is of limited/no value in most gameplay.

 

Aoe hold is a good power.

 

I have one, it's fine, but feels awkward/clunky in game. I greatly prefer mind/sav, its just better versions of everything dark does imo.

 

 

 

 

[EnjoyTheJourney]

Dark control also feels clunky to me. I'd also second the suggestion that haunt doesn't contribute much and is an easily skippable power pick.

Dark control is still very effective, though, as fearsome stare alone can win a lot of fights. Also, despite the edge mind has in some key ways, thematically dark powers are a great fit for savage and having a shadowy hound to assist your dark / savage dominator feels so fitting. And, single target damage on dark control will generally have a higher peak because a T9 pet will add damage. 

Edited September 22 by EnjoyTheJourney

[Clave Dark 5]

There's something to be said for power sets that you can gleefully skip half of and still play very well.  I like to go on weird side-jaunts with my builds when I can (just top keep things fresh), so this set would be a good chance to explore an Epic or pool power set that might fit or expand your theme, or pairs well with a couple of other powers.

[tidge]

I find Dark Control to be excellent on Controllers... I can imagine that building to PermaDom on Dominators might make it less impressive.

 

On my favorite Dark Controller:

 

Dark Grasp: 5-slots, FrankenSlotted for some Control and Damage %procs... A Dom will robably 5-slot Apocalypse

Living Shadows: 5-slotted Frankenslot for Damage via %procs, Dom will probably chase recharge via set bonus

Fearsome Stare:  4xCloud Senses, a Dom won't have room for any more slots

Heart of Darkness: Frankenslotted on a Controller, this might be a power to try to frankenslot on a Dominator (for %damage)

Haunts:  6x Cupid's Crush

Shadow Field: slot for a set bonus of some sort

Umbra Beast: I have this frankenslotted with pieces for Acc/Dam/End, a HamiO Lysosome, %Knockdown and %damage (cloud senses)

[Uun]

I skip the ST and cone immobilizes and Haunt. My go to controls are Fearsome Stare and Heart of Darkness. Since Heart of Darkness is PBAoE, you could use Feral Charge first to take you into melee range. I do use the ST confuse, but primarily to deal with specific mobs.

[BurnTheWitch]

I agree with most of the recommendations here, but I'll add a bit to playstyle and use case scenarios. I'm speaking from a dark/dark dom, which is a fair bit different I'd assume, but the basics are the same. My build is basically Voltak's Build, which I will post here with the caveat that it is their build with minor modifications and not mine.  I'd actually love peoples opinion on how it can be improved in the modern age.

 

• Dark Grasp - I use this defensively more than offensively.  As stated by others, it's not super useful, but comes in handy in a pinch when a boss gets loose.
• Possess - Basically the same as Dark Grasp.  I tend to use this first but that has more to do with the fact that dark grasp is a major DPS weapon for my Troller and I view possess as a more desirable form of control.
• Fearsome Stare - this is often my opener as I charge into a group.  I find I use it more while soling than in a group, this shouldn't come as a shock.
• Heart of Darkness - The nuke of the set, it does almost everything and a bag of chips.  Get into a pile of enemies, Heart of Darkness, Engulfing Darkness, profit.
• Shadow Field - Your backup Heart of Darkness.
• Haunt - The just don't do enough damage for my needs, but many people take it.  It is fire and forget, so I can appreciate why people take it, but I find that they often don't actually live their entire duration
• Umbra Beast - The doggy is a fine pet that does what is says on the box.  It's some DPS and a few bonus holds and debuffs being tossed around.
• Shadowy Binds - No
• Living Shadows - The only time I've ever bothered to use this on a dominator was when someone asked for an all ranged dominator and I needed it to fill out an attack rotation at lower levels, it just hasn't impressed me.

 

Hope I've explained my perspective well enough.

 

 

 

Voltaks Dark Dom Modded.mbd

[EnjoyTheJourney]

FWIW, I find that AOE immobilizes offer good utility for little cost for both trollers and doms. 

A key factor is that the AOE immobilize tends to be available at level 2 and there are only the T1 and T2 powers available in the secondary and primary available as alternative choices at that point in time. And, two of those four powers have already been taken by level 2, leaving only 2 choices left. If I have to choose between the single target immobilize and the AOE immobilize I tend to prefer the AOE immobilize because the ability to hit many targets is sometimes useful. That usually leaves the T1 in the secondary as the alternative to taking the AOE immobilize. Those powers don't tend to offer the package of benefits that the AOE immobilize does (more on that follows below). 

My typical slotting for an AOE immobilize is two superior frozen blast IOs. The base versions can be purchased with merits earned while leveling up for any new character and then upgrades can also be purchased using merits earned while leveling. They tend to be damage / end red + acc / damage / end red when accuracy is high enough to get 95%+ to hit chances for +3 enemies. Otherwise, I slot in an acc / damage superior frozen blast IO instead of a damage / end red superior frozen blast IO. This offers 15% slow resistance for the cost of 1 added slot, some endurance reduction to make using the AOE immobilize less endurance intensive, and enough to hit chance to make it hit consistently in most circumstances. 

The main use case for the AOE immobilize is to prevent bunched up mobs from scattering. Another occasionally very helpful use case is when an AV likes to run. A final use case for the AOE immobilize is to take fliers out of the air so they're more closely bunched up together and anybody on the team who doesn't fly can more easily hit them with any melee attacks that they like to use. This is all situational utility and not important for most fights. Still, getting 15% slow resistance and some good situational utility for such a low slot cost makes picking up an AOE immobilize an easy choice. 

PS: Here's a link to somebody who really, really wants you to skip those immobilize powers ... https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Mary_MacComber

I've occasionally been on a team where nobody has an immobilize that can knock Mary out of the sky for her "Ten times the victor" mission and especially if it's being run at +4 that can be very tedious.

Edited September 27 by EnjoyTheJourney

[biostem]

On 9/21/2025 at 5:41 AM, Petrograd said:

I made a Dark/Savage Dominator because it seemed the most thematic (char's a vampire)

Not for nothing, but gravity control tinted just right feels very vampiric, to me...  I think it's the grand sweeping hand motions or something.

 

 

[tidge]

I'll piggyback on @EnjoyTheJourney comments about the AoE immobilizes... many of them now negate knockback (if that is a thing that bothers a player).