[Opinions Sought] Dark/Dark vs Fire/Dark

[Koda651]

Looking to start a new Controller.  Played Ill/Rad and Fire/Kin back in live, but psyched about the fun (and possibly overpowered) new Darkness secondary.  Has obvious synergy with the Dark Control primary, but I still can't decide between that and Fire Control for superior damage and those lovable scamps, the Fire Imps (as well as the opportunity to play with Bonfire in a post-Sudden Acceleration world).

 

Anyone who has experience in the i25 world with either combination willing to give me a minute or two of their time to chime in with what they like and/or don't like about it?  If it makes a difference, (1) I am able and willing to fork over the influence for as many purple or PvP enhancements as it takes to make either combination shine, and (2) I tend to base my impressions of a build around its performance at level 50 with full sets, ancillary powers, and incarnate abilities, so if a combo is a "late bloomer" that is not an issue.

 

Leaning slightly toward Fire/Dark/Fire.  But only slightly (otherwise I wouldn't have made this post).

 

Thank you!

Edited August 30, 2019 by Koda651

[Doc Ranger]

What server are you on? I have a 50 of each that I’d be happy to show you the strengths and weaknesses of if you play Excelsior.

 

Honestly Fire/ has more dmg and Dark/ has more lockdown and debuffs. I feel safer and more useful playing Dark/. But Fire/ is faster if you are soloing.

 

Honestly when I play them back to back in teams I find myself missing the Dark/ powers more because the mob locks and debuffs are so good. 

[Coyote]

Fire Control if you're soloing, because Dark Affinity is so strong defensively that it can cover for a primary that's more damage oriented.

Dark Control is so strong defensively that it probably benefits more from an offense-oriented secondary like Storm, Cold, or Poison.

[Koda651]

3 hours ago, Ice_Warden said:

What server are you on? I have a 50 of each that I’d be happy to show you the strengths and weaknesses of if you play Excelsior.

I'm on Indomitable.  Out of curiousity, what are your two /Dark Controllers' epic pools?

[Doc Ranger]

Thematically I went with Ice. But if you are min/maxing then it’s not the most powerful. 

[DocMidknight]

  So I've been pairing dark sets together since the original launch many, many years ago and this go round I remade my main and namesake into a dark/dark controller from the original build of dark/dark defender and early on it was a struggle. It took me all 50 levels to figure the build out and what it actually was and what it wasn't. Post 50 I've had more fun playing a dark controller than any other hero/villain I've created and found it to be very powerful and if build right can and has done some insane things. I've been mine with the soul patron power in mind to get dark oblit and dark embrace, mainly for theme but also for slotting of proc's and such with most other powers slotted for debuff to increase what it already does well and take it to an "Oh My God" why cant I hit you say's the AV level...throw in some lockdown procs on dark grasp and shadow field and you're holding everything. Mix in heart of darkness with it's heavy stun and with the -res proc from fury of the gladiator and your pets do even more damage. Want more sickness throw in more negative damage procs in haunt, dark servant and umbra beast and....well.....no one really resists the dark all that much. Doc has a single purples IO, no controller ATO's and is relatively inexpensive as final goes. Since you wanted to hear about dark...there it is....lock it down, debuff the everything out of it and then stomp it into the ground with your pets and whatever damage you have because AV's or Giant Monsters will all become scared of the dark. 

[Carnifax]

Personally id go Fire/Dark and keep Dark control for another secondary (I rolled a dark/time today after getting a dark/martial up to 30, because altisis is an affliction. Dark Control seems like it'll appreciate the Recharge from Time). Ive a funny thing about not matching sets for the most part but even discounting that...

 

Fire likes melee and /Dark doesnt mind it either (for triggering heals on meleers and for hitting with Soul). Soul sorts out your End Drain from Hotfeet and imps will thrive off the protection from Fade, buffs and debuffs and a friendly Dark Fluffy summoned beside them healing and debuffing ToHit on everything close.

 

[DocMidknight]

Just a thought on another option, have you considered illusion/dark....very good pairing 

[Planerunner]

You may want to take a look at SirMyshkin's Proc Monster Controller Edition thread.

 

 

The most procolicious build was a Dark/Dark build he posted. He also tested a Fire/Dark build as well, but the Dark/Dark had better procs. Again, his builds are proc-focused on the idea that the new proc rules might be produce optimal damage for ATs that could use it.

 

Might be worth looking at:

 

Hero Plan by Hero Hero Designer 2.23
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Natural Controller
Primary Power Set: Darkness Control
Secondary Power Set: Darkness Affinity
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Primal Forces Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Dark Grasp -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), NrnSht-Dam%(13), GldJvl-Dam%(13), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(27), UnbCns-Dam%(29), GldNet-Dam%(29)
Level 1: Twilight Grasp -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(3), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(3), Prv-Heal/Rchg(5), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(5), Prv-Absorb%(7)
Level 2: Tar Patch -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Darkest Night -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(11)
Level 6: Possess -- CrcPrs-Conf/EndRdx(A), CrcPrs-Acc/Conf/Rchg(34), CrcPrs-Acc/Rchg(36), CrcPrs-Conf/Rchg(36), CrcPrs-Conf%(36)
Level 8: Fearsome Stare -- SprWiloft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprWiloft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(11), SprWiloft-EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprWiloft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(15), SprWiloft-Rchg/Dmg%(37), SprOvrPrs-Rchg/Energy Font(50)
Level 10: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 12: Heart of Darkness -- Arm-Acc/Rchg(A), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), ScrDrv-Dam%(37), Obl-%Dam(37), Arm-Dam%(40), CldSns-%Dam(40)
Level 14: Howling Twilight -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 16: Shadow Fall -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(17), Ksm-ToHit+(17), HO:Ribo(19), Rct-ResDam%(19), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(23)
Level 18: Kick -- Acc-I(A)
Level 20: Fade -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(21), Rct-Def/Rchg(21), HO:Ribo(23)
Level 22: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25)
Level 26: Haunt -- ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(27), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(43), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), CldSns-%Dam(45)
Level 28: Soul Absorption -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(31), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(31), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 32: Umbra Beast -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(33), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(33), SlbAll-Build%(34), CldSns-%Dam(34)
Level 35: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(40), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(50)
Level 38: Dark Servant -- CldSns-%Dam(A), CldSns-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(39), CldSns-Acc/Rchg(39), CldSns-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 41: Power Blast -- Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Apc-Dmg(42), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(42), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Apc-Acc/Rchg(43), GldJvl-Dam%(45)
Level 44: Energy Torrent -- Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Rgn-Dmg(45), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(46), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(46), FrcFdb-Rechg%(50)
Level 47: Temp Invulnerability -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(48), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(48), UnbGrd-Max HP%(48)
Level 49: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(7), Mrc-Rcvry+(9)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-EndMod(A), PrfShf-End%(9)
Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon
Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Core Superior Ally
Level 50: Clarion Core Epiphany
Level 50: Support Core Embodiment
Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement
------------

 

 

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
		|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
		|MxDz;1557;724;1448;HEX;|
		|78DA6594DB4E13511486F774A6424B91160A85428116B0C8A17400BDD0A8510E060|
		|54362E29DD6094C616269C9B42412AFBCF005BCF111044D7C092F8D3E81179E4044|
		|908331D10B53D7ECF5E334E9A4CDB7E7DF7BFD6BEDB5BB3BF77032F0EAFAE32B420|
		|94EE48C62313351C897EC422E67DA35B78CD29A6DE484F3D4D0B7C79D3B59969A34|
		|EC0779D38D8B57ACB9B696CDBA0BAE66B356DE2AAD8766F2CBA66DE64BA993817FB|
		|E404EB7574D73B15E0EA7ADA5E592955F6A906FB3A6B168DAC5656B35C00B0BF682|
		|69AF47A756AD85D4BC6DAD18B9CCB4A315337346B14453AD54EC207D7723024FD92|
		|B363421744D040C458818714895EFD11545B263C6C39C62FD4365EC0E6B9E6FE02E|
		|53FB0EEE314FED333F52ACC2B142710AD17DE21369AA14CB8A1A67CD0FEED19C97D|
		|76BDEFB5C47FC1EB32703DE050DE67E840FC5A9AFE605E7F53F679EDE003799BD2F|
		|997A8C7BD043813ED4E77BCF7E3FC8AF0E7E75173DB2AED60BCCDE47827D04FB242|
		|F714C72C7237BF99962EBE1578FFD7E21AD81F7EB6D68E61E0783E05F21E31A2F13|
		|355534FE64DF969BE82FD517825F28CAB9B7C8AF8935B5097EE1902273858F54C91|
		|6F8A914DF8CF8E651F64C901641FF23A8B1153C20EF36F4BFED27EF2D7AC01C3804|
		|8F9943D8F336C5B42B8ACCD10E9F10E588710E35861A3BC320F6DED9C43CA2F82EF|
		|4BB0BB9BA91A31B357423777C02446E8DF224388F27813C49F8EAC8B343FE7DE857|
		|1FE2CE7C05B7C06DE61B6A513F6AE94F73AEB343E03098421F46D007DC9FE300DF3|
		|52776F03CE64699C363E038788EA93F218635F1962C52E8572AC2F772E417FB8EFC|
		|06FF30DF11D238D334FADDA1FDBFA3F4A1C7313851CA0355B3E92A45AF52C6AA94F|
		|12A65B64A99D72A6EBC547C41E1DC1659C9BE9F6615CC0EF3EFF9C0D53C4A1CFF1F|
		|77F8EC6A6F109374272BE3FA39EED0D514E529F7B3F61953A333D779AE3C5D31DEE|
		|D75C79B748974D4F53AE18EDBC2EE9A7F2695064E|
		|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

[Frosticus]

let's get one thing right. dark control has some nice proc opportunities, behind plant and grav depending on what you seek from your procs, but definitely a great choice. dark affinity has some of the lowest proc potential of any of the debuff sets. though it is super powerful and can easily support a proc focused primary and epic in many ways. 

 

I would vote fire/dark of the two you suggest Some good synergy and potential as an all round strong character

Edited August 31, 2019 by Frosticus

[Sir Myshkin]

9 hours ago, Planerunner said:

The most procolicious build was a Dark/Dark build he posted. He also tested a Fire/Dark build as well, but the Dark/Dark had better procs. Again, his builds are proc-focused on the idea that the new proc rules might be produce optimal damage for ATs that could use it.

Something to point out between these: Fire is traditionally (one of) the heaviest damage-focused set(s) out of the Controller options, but Dark has the ability to toss in Haunts, as well as the mixture of all the Proc options, it does a fair amount of insane damage on top of all the controls it can wield. I've done some stupid stuff with Fire Control, but the stupidest thing I've ever done was on Dark, hands down.

 

Joined a team, they were moving fairly quick and already started a map before I was on board. Jumped into the mission and bolted straight for the team. It appeared the lead was heading things on alphas, so I stayed focused on keeping right behind them before realizing that five others split in a different direction (unintentionally). The missions were Council, the settings were +4, the room was one of those lab-maps with the server-type-units inside little cubicle-esque enclosures (four total separated by a thick wall with ramps around it). The first half had three full-sized spawns mixing puppies, vamps, and galaxies. The lead fell almost instantly upon entering, planted right in the middle, then a second team mate who'd been with us fell shortly after.

 

All I knew is people died, and I was like "Uh, sure?"

 

The mobs turned on me and my Umbral, 16 a piece aggro cap to share in a room of 32+. Thankfully they got mostly packed into the center in the rush, so I jumped back, popped the fear cone, and sent out a Font into the masses "ooh look, shiny!" they all said, and deviated for a brief moment until they all got gobsmacked into terror-zone. Not enough though, so I hop back in and drop a Stun, some proc damage rolls off, I've got nearly the entire lot under some kind of control. I hop back and drop the cone immobilize to hold them in place while I hit the bosses up with Possess. One, two, now I have a couple of Vamps doing my dirty work.

 

Meanwhile the Umbral is gleefully dropping their own fears and bites across the room, running amok with his toggled-on -Res and a pack of Haunts closely behind. I was Dark/Sonic, by the way. I kept bouncing back and forth repeating fear, stun, immob, possess, possess, watching the room slowly dwindle down from a mass of fur to just a couple of meandering bosses. Down to the last few and the rest of the team finally comes over and is like "what happened?!"

 

The team lead, lying on the floor still: "I'm rolling a Dark Controller next, that's what happened."

[Doc Ranger]

Love my dark/dark 😉

 

One question for Sir...I notice your build has relatively low def/res and status res numbers due to not really having many "sets" in the build. Do you ever notice it that much? I built mine to be super sturdy but the proc idea has me wondering. Would I miss the sturdiness by doing a boatload more dmg?

[Koda651]

Thanks for all of the input so far!  I'd already started my baby Fire/Dark, but now I ALSO have a Dark/Dark troller in the works.   City of Alts, here I come!

[Sir Myshkin]

21 hours ago, Ice_Warden said:

One question for Sir...I notice your build has relatively low def/res and status res numbers due to not really having many "sets" in the build. Do you ever notice it that much? I built mine to be super sturdy but the proc idea has me wondering. Would I miss the sturdiness by doing a boatload more dmg?

If you're referring to the one that got linked above (Dark/Dark/Primal), make sure you're toggling on Fade to get a better grasp of the Resistance stats as S/L hit 64%, which are the two key types. As for Defense, that build actually hits 45% Softcap, so... no? All of the Proc builds I worked on are centered around full self-sustainability. With Fade, when Power Boost is activated first, it pushes Fade's effective defense value higher, and since it is a click-based effect, that boosted level stays the entire duration of the power until it has to be reapplied. So it's actually a base line of 21.6% to everything plus 25.87% from Fade (47% total). When you have softcap to everything, you end up suffering far fewer mez issues, but Clarion gives the opportunity to not have any mez problems at all at Incarnate levels.

[Doc Ranger]

Yeah aside from your s/l res the numbers are below what I have now. Most of my status res numbers are over double yours. 

 

I would give up some safety for more damage. Might have to test it on the beta server to see how I like it before changing over my whole build...which would be quite expensive 😉

[Sir Myshkin]

50 minutes ago, Ice_Warden said:

Yeah aside from your s/l res the numbers are below what I have now. Most of my status res numbers are over double yours. 

Status Resistances doesn't really mean anything of value in this game. It just determines the duration of a mez effect, not its ability to avoid it. Even if you have 100% resistance, you'll still suffer the mez for a period of time. Status Protection, on the other hand, is what allows you to avoid getting hit with something, which is where Clarion would come into play. T4 Clarion Core will give sufficient protection to everything for its entire duration.

 

If you're referring to Damage Resistances, that is different, and you have to be careful about clarifying between the two. In the realm of my build, because it hits 45%+ on all defenses, it doesn't really need to worry as much about its resistances as those are only padding the few hits that do manage to break through. If I'm running Darkest Night, that's also adding a stack of -Damage, lessening the threat even further.

 

I dug through your post history to see if I could maybe find a build that you're referring to. The one I did come across is effectively more open to a lot more incoming damage because it only hits soft cap on a few defensive areas versus everything all at once. There's a pretty dramatic difference in how yours will play versus mine. I highly encourage you to give up the Ice Mastery in favor of Primal so you can take advantage of Power Boost. It didn't look like you had very much invested in it otherwise. Unless it's a thematic issue, Primal is the better Epic to go with just for PB.

[Doc Ranger]

Yes that is my current build and originally it was thematic. But after playing it this way for so long I am contemplating a change to your most interesting build 🙂

 

If I were somewhat attached to living shadows do you think I could ditch the primal kB power and keep LS and slot it similarly? Your description above regarding your encounter mentions having the “cone immobile” so I assume you had it before as well.

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by Ice_Warden

[Frosticus]

As you may or may not know, Fade is not supposed to work with powerboost. But as long as it does you may as well exploit it fully and pop some reds right before as well. The two combined will be good for 26% def to all and 37% res to s/l/n/p. Lol, that's better than many t9 armors. 

[Mercurias]

You really can’t go wrong between Fire/Dark and Dark/Dark.

 

My own experience is with Fire/Dark. Its an extremely solid combo with strong damage and nice controls. I adore Bonfire with a KB to KD proc slotted in, especially when the Force feedback recharge proc is beside it. I’m able to farm pretty effectively at 39, which is nice.

[Sir Myshkin]

21 hours ago, Frosticus said:

As you may or may not know, Fade is not supposed to work with powerboost. But as long as it does you may as well exploit it fully and pop some reds right before as well. The two combined will be good for 26% def to all and 37% res to s/l/n/p. Lol, that's better than many t9 armors. 

The only portion that buffs is the Defense. Power Boost doesn't impact the Resistance portion of the ability.

 

Spoiler

 +122.93%% strength to stun for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to sleep for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to confuse for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to terrorize for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to immobilize for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to hold for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to run speed for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to fly speed for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to defense for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to all defense for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to healing for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to absorption for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to to hit for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to endurance for 15.00s on self unresistable

 

This is a baked-in mechanic and does the same thing as it does with Farsight, essentially the same power. A known effect on Live, working as intended.

 

Edit to add: What do Reds have anything to do with that statement either? That makes no sense. And the power taps out around 24-26% boost, that's nothing compared to any of the T9 effects??

Edited September 3, 2019 by Sir Myshkin

[Frosticus]

35 minutes ago, Sir Myshkin said:

The only portion that buffs is the Defense. Power Boost doesn't impact the Resistance portion of the ability.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 +122.93%% strength to stun for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to sleep for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to confuse for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to terrorize for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to immobilize for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to hold for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to run speed for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to fly speed for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to defense for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to all defense for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to healing for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to absorption for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to to hit for 15.00s on self unresistable +122.93%% strength to endurance for 15.00s on self unresistable

 

This is a baked-in mechanic and does the same thing as it does with Farsight, essentially the same power. A known effect on Live, working as intended.

 

Edit to add: What do Reds have anything to do with that statement either? That makes no sense. And the power taps out around 24-26% boost, that's nothing compared to any of the T9 effects??

I dunno, maybe try it? 

The power has enhanceable def AND resistance. Not like farsight. not at all. As a result PB boosts the def and..... drum-roll please.... damage enhancements boost the resistance. Hence reds (or fulcrum, or gaussian, etc)

 

Like I said: 26% def all and 37% res s/l/n/p. Not too challenging to perma. Better than many t9 armors yes?

 

edit: 37.52% res to be specific. 9.38% * 4 (damage cap).

 

 

Edited September 3, 2019 by Frosticus

[Sir Myshkin]

47 minutes ago, Frosticus said:

I dunno, maybe try it? 

The power has enhanceable def AND resistance. Not like farsight. not at all. As a result PB boosts the def and..... drum-roll please.... damage enhancements boost the resistance. Hence reds (or fulcrum, or gaussian, etc)

 

Like I said: 26% def all and 37% res s/l/n/p. Not too challenging to perma. Better than many t9 armors yes?

 

edit: 37.52% res to be specific. 9.38% * 4 (damage cap).

What you're talking about has nothing to do with Power Boost*, although I appreciate you bringing it to my attention as this particular "party trick" is definitely a bug in how Fade is communicating with +Damage boosts that I wasn't aware was occurring. All of my testing has consistently been without the use of Inspirations for any reason, so I wouldn't have ever come across this.

 

I did in fact hop over to Test and play around with it. Any +Damage effect placed on my character prior to activating Fade impacts the value it returns for the Resistance buff. No one is going to carry around a constant tray of Reds to damage cap every 60/s, but a team member with some serious boosts will definitely work. Essentially anything that alters the base value of 0.00% Damage Bonus, so set bonuses, reds, Fortitude, Offense Amplifiers, that little 5% vanity Pet...

 

And, just for sake of saying, tested this explicitly without Power Boost.

 

*edited to clarify this:

In regards to your previous statement: "Fade is not supposed to work with powerboost." What you pointed out, in regards to the Resistance oddity, is a bug in the source for Fade itself.

Edited September 3, 2019 by Sir Myshkin

[Frosticus]

10 minutes ago, Sir Myshkin said:

What you're talking about has nothing to do with Power Boost*, although I appreciate you bringing it to my attention as this particular "party trick" is definitely a bug in how Fade is communicating with +Damage boosts that I wasn't aware was occurring. All of my testing has consistently been without the use of Inspirations for any reason, so I wouldn't have ever come across this.

This is (I thought) a well known bug and subsequent exploit. I surely didn't discover it. All you are doing is repeating what I already stated. Call it a party trick if you like, but it is what it is. +dam buffs the resistance of fade.

 

How you take advantage of that is up to the individual, but it isn't hard to exploit.

 

There are 2 solutions that will likely be implemented at some point.

1. They flag PB to not affect fade. This will be like every other def power with enhanceable res. They simply missed the flag when implementing. This will resolve damage enhancements buffing the resistance and tame a likely overpowered ability.

2. Make the damage resistance unenhanceable.

 

I don't care much beyond that. Just letting people know that many people suggest to build around an exploit which will ultimately lead to a bunch of upset players when it gets fixed as they went into something with incomplete/inaccurate information. 

 

[Frosticus]

I guess it might not be obvious why powerboost isn't supposed to work with Fade given that PB isn't the thing boosting the +res.

I make the mistake of assuming that casual (ish) players don't really care about the nuts and bolts and that those that do care have a solid understanding of how the powers are coded.

 

Resistance based powers are flagged to ignore outside buffs and enhancements otherwise damage enhancements buff the resistance value. As I demonstrated with fade, they buff it at an extraordinary rate too. Imagine a tanker hitting buildup and gaining 80% enhancement value to their resistances!! Maybe a neat mechanic for tanks, but that is a different discussion and would quickly encounter balance issues. But I digress.

 

That flag (i can't think of an exception, but it may exist) covers the whole power. Which would mean the defense portion of the power also ignores outside buffs and enhancements. ie powerboost.

[Nimruht]

I have a Dark/Kin at T3. I cannot remember my ancillary pool. She is beast. I am able to drop so much control, I can aid with several mob pulls, while also buffing damage and refilling blue bars. It is a very strong set.

 

Now, I am leveling a Fire/Dark. It feels like easy mode play.  So much control, so much damage, such lovely synergy. I feel like it cant get much better than this. Now I definitely want to try a triple D build.

I start with either Bonfire or Flashfire. Drop immobs, then climb into melee and let my feet & imps do all the work. Tossing the occassional heal for -regen and to keep the green bar filled. I mow through move quickly. I stay safe doing it, and I havent even scratched the surface on what I can bring to the table.

 

Being in a fast paced team means I get to try different elements of the build as me mow thru the mobs. Every power or combumation just makes life that much easier for everyone.