Did anyone have Dark Armor?

[Spellcaster Hana]

I had a katana/dark armor stalker on the villain side.
I like it and I don't think it's that bad of a power...depends on anyone really

[Arcana]

I was still tweaking this build at shutdown, but my EM/Dark Brute was going to look like this once I finished slotting it:

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.96
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Emma Balanced: Level 50 Natural Brute
Primary Power Set: Energy Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Energy Punch

• (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
  
• (5) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
  
• (5) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
  
• (7) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (7) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 1: Dark Embrace

• (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance
  
• (43) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge
  
• (46) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (46) Reactive Armor - Resistance
  

Level 2: Bone Smasher

• (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
  
• (13) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
  
• (13) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
  
• (15) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (15) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 4: Murky Cloud

• (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance
  
• (42) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge
  
• (46) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (48) Reactive Armor - Resistance
  

Level 6: Boxing

• (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
  
• (34) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
  
• (34) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
  
• (37) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 8: Combat Jumping

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
  
• (9) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  
• (9) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
  
• (40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 10: Obsidian Shield

• (A) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance
  
• (11) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge
  
• (11) Reactive Armor - Resistance
  
• (48) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 12: Super Jump

• (A) Winter's Gift - Slow Resistance (20%)
  

Level 14: Tough

• (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
  
• (34) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
  
• (39) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/Endurance
  
• (42) Gladiator's Armor - End/Resist
  
• (48) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection
  

Level 16: Dark Regeneration

• (A) Numina's Convalescence - Endurance/Recharge
  
• (17) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge
  
• (19) Miracle - Endurance/Recharge
  
• (19) Theft of Essence - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (21) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance
  
• (21) Miracle - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 18: Total Focus

• (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
  
• (39) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
  
• (39) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
  
• (40) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (40) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 20: Acrobatics

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO
  

Level 22: Cloak of Darkness

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
  
• (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  
• (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
  
• (33) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 24: Weave

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
  
• (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  
• (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
  
• (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 26: Maneuvers

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
  
• (27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  
• (27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
  
• (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 28: Cloak of Fear

• (A) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Recharge
  
• (43) Glimpse of the Abyss - Endurance/Fear
  
• (43) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Endurance
  
• (45) Glimpse of the Abyss - Fear/Range
  
• (45) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Fear/Recharge
  
• (45) Glimpse of the Abyss - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
  

Level 30: Tactics

• (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
  
• (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
  
• (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
  
• (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
  
• (33) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
  
• (33) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
  

Level 32: Energy Transfer

• (A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
  
• (36) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
  
• (36) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
  
• (36) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (37) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 35: Oppressive Gloom

• (A) HamiO:Endoplasm Exposure
  

Level 38: Soul Transfer

• (A) Healing IO
  

Level 41: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
  
• (42) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 44: Superior Conditioning

• (A) Endurance Modification IO
  

Level 47: Physical Perfection

• (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
  
• (50) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
  
• (50) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
  
• (50) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
  

Level 49: Focused Accuracy

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO
  

Level 1: Brawl

• (A) HamiO:Nucleolus Exposure
  

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Run Speed IO
  

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 1: Fury
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift

• (A) Run Speed IO
  

Level 2: Hurdle

• (A) Jumping IO
  

Level 2: Health

• (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
  
• (37) Miracle - +Recovery
  

Level 2: Stamina

• (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
  
• (3) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
  
• (3) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
  
• (17) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
  

Level 1: Prestige Power Slide

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Prestige Power Dash

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Prestige Power Quick

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Prestige Power Surge

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Prestige Power Rush

• (A) Empty
  

Level 0: Born In Battle
Level 0: High Pain Threshold
Level 0: Invader
Level 0: Marshal
------------

[Arcana]

For those that think Dark was unplayable except with massive expenditures in IOs, this is actually what my EM/Dark looked like when I dinged 50 and before I started respecing into a power-build.  Its actually quite playable if you play it right, and manage its powers well, even without lots of IOs.


Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.96
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Emma Striker: Level 50 Mutation Brute
Primary Power Set: Energy Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Energy Punch

• (A) Accuracy
  
• (3) Accuracy
  
• (3) Endurance Reduction IO
  
• (5) Damage Increase
  
• (5) Damage Increase
  
• (7) Damage Increase
  

Level 1: Dark Embrace

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO
  
• (7) Resist Damage
  
• (9) Resist Damage
  
• (9) Resist Damage
  
• (11) Endurance Reduction
  

Level 2: Bone Smasher

• (A) Endurance Reduction
  
• (11) Endurance Reduction
  
• (13) Accuracy
  
• (13) Damage Increase
  
• (15) HamiO:Nucleolus Exposure
  
• (15) Damage Increase
  

Level 4: Murky Cloud

• (A) Endurance Reduction
  
• (17) Resist Damage
  
• (17) Resist Damage
  
• (19) Resist Damage
  
• (19) Endurance Reduction
  

Level 6: Hover

• (A) Flight Speed IO
  

Level 8: Boxing

• (A) Accuracy
  
• (21) Damage Increase
  

Level 10: Obsidian Shield

• (A) Endurance Reduction
  
• (21) Resist Damage
  
• (23) Resist Damage
  
• (23) Resist Damage
  
• (25) Endurance Reduction
  

Level 12: Build Up

• (A) Recharge Reduction
  
• (25) Recharge Reduction
  
• (27) Recharge Reduction
  

Level 14: Fly

• (A) Flight Speed IO
  

Level 16: Dark Regeneration

• (A) Accuracy IO
  
• (27) Endurance Reduction IO
  
• (29) Endurance Reduction IO
  
• (29) Healing IO
  
• (31) Recharge Reduction IO
  
• (31) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 18: Swift

• (A) Run Speed
  

Level 20: Health

• (A) Healing
  
• (31) Healing
  
• (33) Healing
  

Level 22: Stamina

• (A) Endurance Modification
  
• (33) Endurance Modification
  
• (33) Endurance Modification
  

Level 24: Total Focus

• (A) Endurance Reduction
  
• (34) Damage Increase IO
  
• (34) Damage Increase
  
• (34) Damage Increase
  
• (36) Accuracy IO
  
• (36) Endurance Reduction
  

Level 26: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction
  
• (36) Recharge Reduction
  
• (37) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 28: Cloak of Fear

• (A) Endurance Reduction
  
• (37) Accuracy
  
• (37) Endurance Reduction
  
• (39) Fear Duration
  
• (39) Fear Duration
  
• (39) Accuracy
  

Level 30: Cloak of Darkness

• (A) Endurance Reduction
  

Level 32: Energy Transfer

• (A) Accuracy IO
  
• (40) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
  
• (40) Damage Increase IO
  
• (40) Damage Increase
  
• (42) Endurance Reduction
  
• (42) Endurance Reduction
  

Level 35: Oppressive Gloom

• (A) Accuracy
  
• (42) Endurance Reduction
  
• (43) Accuracy
  
• (43) Endurance Reduction IO
  

Level 38: Soul Transfer

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 41: Whirling Hands

• (A) Accuracy IO
  
• (43) Damage Increase IO
  
• (45) Damage Increase
  
• (45) Damage Increase
  
• (45) Endurance Reduction
  
• (46) Endurance Reduction IO
  

Level 44: Mu Lightning

• (A) Accuracy
  
• (46) Damage Increase
  
• (46) Damage Increase IO
  
• (48) Damage Increase
  
• (48) Endurance Modification
  
• (48) Endurance Modification
  

Level 47: Electrifying Fences

• (A) Accuracy
  
• (50) Damage Increase
  
• (50) Damage Increase
  
• (50) Damage Increase
  

Level 49: Summon Striker

• (A) Accuracy
  

Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Accuracy
  

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Run Speed
  

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Recharge Reduction
  

Level 2: Fury
Level 5: Ninja Run
Level 18: LEGACY BUILD
Level 2: Prestige Power Slide

• (A) Empty
  

Level 2: Prestige Power Dash

• (A) Empty
  

Level 2: Prestige Power Quick

• (A) Empty
  

Level 2: Prestige Power Surge

• (A) Empty
  

Level 2: Prestige Power Rush

• (A) Empty
  

------------

[rebel 1812]

I made a Broad Sword/Dark Armor scrapper.  The end use was too much.  I had to wait between every mob or save up the blue end things.  I wouldn't want to make it again or would have get several theft of essences to make it playable.

[Arcana]

I made a Broad Sword/Dark Armor scrapper.  The end use was too much.  I had to wait between every mob or save up the blue end things.  I wouldn't want to make it again or would have get several theft of essences to make it playable.

Dark Regeneration was so powerful that even if you slotted nothing but endurance reduction the set would still be pretty powerful, and that was part of the key to making it playable in the early going.  If you were slotting heal or recharge or even resist enhancements and were having issues with endurance, you were not playing into the strengths of the set.  Between endurance-reduced DR and Parry, BS/DA was basically indestructible without the need for much else.  So I would have slotted endurance to the max then recharge into DA, slotted Parry well enough, and then concentrated on offense.  I did something similar (but without even the benefit of Parry) with my EM/DA Brute, and it actually played with less endurance issues than my KM/SR.

[rebel 1812]

Dark Regeneration was so powerful that even if you slotted nothing but endurance reduction the set would still be pretty powerful, and that was part of the key to making it playable in the early going.  If you were slotting heal or recharge or even resist enhancements and were having issues with endurance, you were not playing into the strengths of the set.  Between endurance-reduced DR and Parry, BS/DA was basically indestructible without the need for much else.  So I would have slotted endurance to the max then recharge into DA, slotted Parry well enough, and then concentrated on offense.  I did something similar (but without even the benefit of Parry) with my EM/DA Brute, and it actually played with less endurance issues than my KM/SR.

I didn't get to the point of IO's and I was slotting end reduc on all the toggles.  I even got the badge that increases end.  Still it was hard to go past a mob or two.  I want to try the set again.  I think after the rebirth I want to roll a dark/stone tank.  But I will try to get theft of essence as soon as possible.

[Ankhammon]

I didn't get to the point of IO's and I was slotting end reduc on all the toggles.  I even got the badge that increases end.  Still it was hard to go past a mob or two.  I want to try the set again.  I think after the rebirth I want to roll a dark/stone tank.  But I will try to get theft of essence as soon as possible.

The not too commonly known truth was that you could get more mileage out of slotting and end into your attack powers than you could get from slotting them into your toggles.

That said, Dark needed them in both. Particularly early in your career. Later you can do IOs and all sorts of things to get your characters end issues controlled.

and the ToE +end proc was the single most wonderful thing you could put into a dark character. It really made a difference.

[Young Tutor]

I didn't get to the point of IO's and I was slotting end reduc on all the toggles.  I even got the badge that increases end.  Still it was hard to go past a mob or two.  I want to try the set again.  I think after the rebirth I want to roll a dark/stone tank.  But I will try to get theft of essence as soon as possible.

The TOE proc really was game-changing for DA, and it is not that hard to get. Do tip missions, reconfirm your morality, you get 50 merits. Run the first Signature Story arc, run the 2nd SSA, run one or the other again, you've got 3 Alignment merits. You can get the TOE proc and have one merit left over for the Performance Shifter proc. You can get the Miracle +recovery unique for 2 AMs too. Easy, easy to get, as is the Numina unique.

As far as putting END in your attacks, frankenslotting is a great way to do that. It doesn't cost much, and you don't have to wait till you are level 50. By level 25, you can make things a lot better.

[Arcana]

I didn't get to the point of IO's and I was slotting end reduc on all the toggles.  I even got the badge that increases end.  Still it was hard to go past a mob or two.  I want to try the set again.  I think after the rebirth I want to roll a dark/stone tank.  But I will try to get theft of essence as soon as possible.

I started with TOs and DOs.  I didn't slot an IO into my EM/Dark until the high 20s.

Efficient use of Dark Regen was another key.  With regen, you pop heals basically whenever, to try to keep yourself at or near full health.  DR scaled with number of targets, so it was actually beneficial to use it at the *start* of fights, not the end.  But that meant doing something that would be crazy with other sets: *starting* fights with low health and popping DR at the start to top off, and then fighting the spawn down until your health was fairly low, and then repeating on the next spawn.  The difference between using DR in this fashion and using it in the middle of the fights on average like most players did (and therefore more often) was a potential difference of up to 0.5 eps in endurance burn rate.  That's the equivalent of running fly all the time.

[ryuplaneswalker]

When Brute Heroes became possible and Katana came out I rerolled my main into a Katana/Dark Armor Brute.

He was a blast...A giant Endurance Hog..but an awesome blast especially once I got him Incarnated and could manage all my toggles on at once.

Hilariously with Issue 24 he would have been capped for Melee defense, and Lethal/Smashing resistances with the IO changes GOOD TIMES.

[HEATSTROKE]

The not too commonly known truth was that you could get more mileage out of slotting and end into your attack powers than you could get from slotting them into your toggles.

which always amazed me that people always seemed to thing the toggles were draining all your end.. not silly is the 6-13 you are paying per attack.. not the .26 per second on your toggle..

[ryuplaneswalker]

Until I started hitting the levels I had the extra slots..I always went one Acc one Endreduction one Damage in my main attacks as I leveled on every character.