Help with cosmic darkness build.

salmialmi

I've been tinkering with a new darkness build, but I've not been able to break 4k dps with full Justice and determination/onslaught secondaries on the test dummy, and averaging about 1.8 - 1.9k dps on Teleiosaurus. Core rotation being one full charge of Shadow blast followed by four fully charged ebon ruins. Repeat.

I'm hoping that someone here has a good grasp on the darkness framework and if they are able to share their knowledge on the subject.
Any help would be appreciated.



PowerHouse   (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Endurance (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Glacier
Level 6: Accurate
Level 9: Boundless Reserves
Level 12: Investigator
Level 15: Acrobat
Level 18: Coordinated
Level 21: Healthy Mind

Powers:
Level 1: Shadow Bolt
Level 1: Shadow Blast (Rank 2, Psychotic Break, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 6: Shadow Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Shadow Embrace (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Spirit Reverberation
Level 14: Lifedrain (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Ebon Ruin (Rank 2, Rank 3, Nyctophobia)
Level 20: Concentration
Level 23: Ebon Rift (Rank 2, Vengeful Shadows)
Level 26: Summon Shadows (Rank 2, Devouring Darkness)
Level 29: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 32: Resurgence
Level 35: Masterful Dodge
Level 38: Lock N Load

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Teleportation
Level 35: Magic Carpet (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Specializations:
Intelligence: Preparation (2/2)
Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Mastery: Intelligence Mastery (1/1)

Edit: Managed to break 2.1k against Teleiosaurus and stayed there.

flowcyto

The alternating rotation makes more sense if using Avenger w/ Preemptive Strike. Otherwise, the build is setup pretty well for Darkness dps as is, unless ur having energy issues and need to end build. Ya could try a Dex PSS version w/ Chilled Form, but ya run into more energy issues then. It could also be worth testing R3 vs. the special adv for SBlast in dps, though I don't think it'd make a big difference either way.

What is ur crit and stat spread like atm?

kamokami

The two ways I see of increasing DPS here would be to swap to either Ego primary (if you have energy concerns) or Dex primary if you don't have energy issues. My own PA build, which is very heavy on energy requirements runs on Dex primary.

Generally speaking Dex primary gets you the highest damage output possible. But it's also the least comfortable....and requires more specific attention to be paid to energy and your crit rate.

Ego primary comes very very close in terms of damage output, but is also way more auto-pilot. So in some cases can outpace Dex.

Int primary can be very badass due to the defense pentration it provides + increased crit chance, hp, and everything else stat related. Most of the time it won't outpace damage output from Dex or Ego, because it does not have a spec for boosting severity. But it will do much better vs targets that have high defense.

flowcyto

Yea I figured we're dealing w/ high resist targets here, so Int PSS becomes more competitive. There prob won't be much diff between Int, Dex, and Ego PSS in that case for dps. Could also maybe use Imbue as the 2nd AO over LnL, but that would be a minor boost at best.

Outside of fixing any energy issues, changing the PSS, and optimizing the stats, I'm not sure what else to do to increase dps here by a notable amount, as the power setup looks fine.

kamokami

Actually here are a few more...minor....changes. Dump Summon Shadows as pets are useless vs Cosmics and die super fast. Rank up your Lock and Load and either some damage buff or a self heal.

kamokami

flowcyto said:

Yea I figured we're dealing w/ high resist targets here, so Int PSS becomes more competitive.

I have not actually measured the resist on Cosmics, but from looking at my combat tab it does not appear to be very high. There are a lot of debuffs going on though so it's tough to tell unless I go out and hit one of them by myself.

salmialmi

https://gyazo.com/2d43e928663f7d14851058e6a49c6814

Here you go. I don't really know where the soft cap and hard cap's kicks inn.

flowcyto

Stats look pretty good overall. Can't really suggest many changes there that would have a drastic effect on dps. Perhaps try the Dex or Ego PSS routes, make sure ur not having energy issues, and see if ur dps improves. Ofc, it would mean focusing ur gear on a diff stat, though. Could be expensive, so may be better to test it all out on the PTS and the PH Regen dummies.

salmialmi

Thanks for the fast reply guys, really appreciate it. I've dabbled in DEX PSS on an inferno toon and was completely lost, any pointers on how to implement it in the darkness build?

Would i need about 400 EGO to mitigate the energy issues if I swap?

kamokami

salmialmi said:

https://gyazo.com/2d43e928663f7d14851058e6a49c6814

Here you go. I don't really know where the soft cap and hard cap's kicks inn.

I would suggest a lot more INT, maybe a tiny bit more CON and a lot less END. INT scales up your form, reduces cost, increases defense penetration (if that's what you care about), and reduces CDs on your Active Offenses. All that END doesn't do much. I'd even swap END out for REC as a secondary superstat.

If you're going to stick to INT because you like the defense penetration then you should be dumping almost everything into it. Otherwise go with Ego or Dex.

The other suggestion, which flow already mentioned, would be to check out the Avenger specialization since you are alternating a blast with ER. This is mostly for the Preemptive Strikes spec.

Assuming you're sticking to INT and have to keep your attacks in the darkness set here's the build I'd recommend.

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Recovery (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Invincible
Level 6: Enduring
Level 9: Brilliant
Level 12: Healthy Mind
Level 15: Negotiator
Level 18: Quick Recovery
Level 21: Investigator

Powers:
Level 1: Shadow Bolt
Level 1: Shadow Blast (Rank 2, Psychotic Break, Accelerated Metabolism)
Level 6: Shadow Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Spirit Reverberation
Level 11: Nanobot Swarm
Level 14: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Concentration
Level 20: Ebon Ruin (Rank 2, Rank 3, Nyctophobia)
Level 23: Ebon Rift (Rank 2, Vengeful Shadows)
Level 26: Summon Shadows (Rank 2, Devouring Darkness)
Level 29: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 32: Resurgence
Level 35: Masterful Dodge
Level 38: Lock N Load (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Teleportation
Level 35: Magic Carpet (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Specializations:
Intelligence: Preparation (2/2)
Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Modified Gear (2/2)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Avenger: Preemptive Strike (3/3)
Mastery: Avenger Mastery (1/1)


If you decide that you don't want the Avenger specialization, then you should swap your INT Equilibrium spec to Tactician instead to fuel the Vind/Guardian loop.

flowcyto

Would i need about 400 EGO to mitigate the energy issues if I swap?

Not sure- its why I'd recommend PH/PTS testing, cause its very stat-dependent and that can vary widely among players w/ diff gear. Ya can get r7 mods really cheap on the PTS w/ the Debugger, as well as diff gear rather easily.

If using, say, DEX/End/Con, then ya need to use Chilled Form as the toggle instead, and pickup Deadly Aim and Expose Weakness. Getting Dex Mastery also means ya dun need to gear for severity rating on gear, as the mastery already supplies and puts severity into DR (so you could double-up on crit rating, for ex). A slotted Depleted Uranium Core from Warlord is another way to boost dps, though iirc it doesn't bring resist past 0%, so ya wanna pair a DUC w/ Ego or Dex PSS and not Int PSS.

kamokami

salmialmi said:

Thanks for the fast reply guys, really appreciate it. I've dabbled in DEX PSS on an inferno toon and was completely lost, any pointers on how to implement it in the darkness build?

Would i need about 400 EGO to mitigate the energy issues if I swap?

If going EGO PSS, you'd want to push EGO as far as possible......it will scale up your severity as well. So yeah over 400 if you can...or even higher. I run 600+

If going DEX PSS, You'll want to go with Chilled Form + either tons of DEX or tons of EGO (if it's your secondary ss). But pick one for the sake of scaling Chilled Form. You'll want to test both because which one does better is highly dependent on gear and playstyle.

salmialmi

All this information, I feel as if I have stepped into a larger world.

I shall try all of it out on the PTS... tomorrow. it's getting late in scandinavia.

thank you both for the suggestions.

magentagem

This is quite informative! I'm tinkering with my darkness build as well for Cosmics. Are the pets that spawn from Ebon Ruin an issue against Kigatilik? If so, would it be possible to create a darkness build without Ebon ruin and still deal good damage? I'm thinking of a rotation such as Ebon Rift -> Soul Vortex -> Endbringer's Grasp -> Shadow Blast/Shadow Embrace -> repeat.

flowcyto

Ebon Ruin seems to be Darkness's staple single-target attack now. I'd do ur best to keep it in the the build. Ofc, also keep in Shadow Blast's Dimensional dmg debuff.