THE Rad/Dark Defender Post

[ChaoticDNA]

Yes, this is THE post. Not a FAQ, not a Guide, but the post. I'm sure it will get buried soon enough...

:D

So mister DNA, what is a rad/dark defender?

It is a defender build that doesn't need a group, but can really shine in a group if you want. It is a great build for the self-directed player that wants to log on and do something. You can solo missions - even some of the bugged ones with higher than expected bosses. You can solo hunt everything that doesn't come in a huge pack (5+), and even then you can sometimes pull that off.

What a rad/dark defender isn't?

A blaster. Blasters are weak sissies that hit harder and some have nice AE attacks. Rad/Dark defenders are light on the AE, but we aren't half the sissies that blasters are. Blasters get hit once and they run away like they've had a limb hacked off. Rad/Dark defenders can play footsie with Freakshow tankers without panicing, but blasters can take out a pack of minions like nobody's business. Beating up minions by the dozen isn't what makes a hero a superheo. Beating up bosses is.

So what's the important stuff from the Radiation line?

There are a few important things in the primary line, and we'll start with the holy trinity of "Make a bunch of creeps behave like a pack of wussies" debuffs - Radiation Infection (1), Enervating Field (6), and Lingering Radiation (12). These are important powers that you really should pick up as soon as they open up. Let's look at them individually:

Radiation Infection - A toggle Accuracy and Defense debuff. A toggle debuff is one that is centered around a single target, and any creep in range will also be affected by it. It has a fairly low endurance drain and a moderate recharge after it is either turned off or the target is killed. The accuracy debuff component means you (or your friends) won't get hit much, and enhanced with 3-4 ToHit Debuffs will make most similar level mobs miss the bulk of their attacks.

Enervating Field - A toggle Damage and Resistance debuff. This puppy drains your endurance like its going out of style, but it is worth it as it scales up to 40% - meaning creeps do 40% less damage while you do 40% more. The downside is neither attribute can be enhanced - so you don't need to commit a lot of enhancement slots to it, and you'll only need to bother with 2-3 Endurance Reducers.

Lingering Radiation - A fire-and-forget AE Movement Rate and Attack Rate debuff. For you EQ nuts - it is Turgur's with a Snare. However, unlike toggles which never miss - LR has a to-hit roll, so you'll need to make sure you invest in at least an Accuracy enhancer. Slow enhancers aren't a waste, but no need to go overboard as there is a cap at 10%. 3-4 slots will make LR have the punch it needs.

So what else in the Radiation line is worthwhile?

EM Pulse - Your 32nd level power pick - no, really, take it at 32nd level no questions asked. It is a massive radius PBAE Hold that can last up to 40-50 seconds on same-level targets. The downside being it has a 5m recharge and prevents you from recovering endurance for 15ish seconds. Tack some Accuracy, Hold Duration, and a Recharge Reducer into it and it becomes a nice punch to utterly cripple a whole wack of creeps.

Accelerate Metabolism - A superb buff that increases everything and the kitchen sink for everone around you. None of the buff effects alone are remarkable, rather it is the fact it improves your endurance recovery, damage, resistance to status effects (hold, immob, sleep, disorient), running speed and recharge rate for all powers. The downside is the long timer on it - it takes 6 SO Recharge Reducers to have it up all the time. Consider doing that, but also consider other powers that reduce recharge time.

Radiant Aura - Your basic PBAE heal. Handy in a pinch, handy in group, but don't worry too much about it. A heal, a recharge, and an end reducer is sufficient. You could actually live without this power, but its a nice way to save on heal insps which you never seem to have when you need. Don't go overboard with heal enhancers as a Recharge Reducer also increases your healing potential, and the END cost on it isn't tiny. IMO, A heal, a Recharge Reducer and an End Reducer make for the best slotting of Radiant Aura. More if your group more, less if you solo more.

Mutation - The best combat rez in the game, hands down. Unless you expect to be in a party that dies a lot, you don't need to put many enhancer slots in it. Despite being the best combat rez in the game. It is still a combat rez. Which translates into "you effed up on something" - an innocent mistake, or you did something stupid. Its an optional power.

Skip the rest of the Rad line - Choking Cloud and Fallout. Search this forum to find out why - no need to flog the dead horse.

How about the Dark Blast line?

Dark Blast - Thou dost not have a choice about this. Its a basic blast. Enhance it a bit, but skip the ToHit Debuff enhancers. Consider the debuff component to be a nice bonus, with the damage being what is really important. Why is that? You don't need to debuff dead guys.

Gloom - A high damage DoT. Upside? Its a fast acting DoT. Downside? It is a DoT. DoTs don't go over well in groups when you're killing fast. Its good if you solo more than group. Skip it if you intend on grouping more.

Moonbeam - This is what you will be doing damage with once you get it. Rad Infection means you don't need to worry much about getting interrupted, and the damage on sniper shots is very good. Slot it up good with Accuracy and Damage and impress people on the forums with screenshots of doing 400 damage ;)

Dark Pit - Nice power, wasted on a Rad Defender with EM Pulse. Skip it. Let the poor Empath defenders pick it instead.

Teneborous Tentacles - Argued to be the best power in the dark blast line. Immobilize with damage in a wide but short range cone. This power makes keeping creeps bunched up so they're all nicely radiated quite easy. Accuracy and Immobilize Duration work best, but damage enhancers are not wasted on this power. Consider six slots here.

Night Fall - A narrow but long range cone attack that does DoT damage. Base damage is slighly more than TT, so it will ramp up better than TT for damage when enhanced. The two work well in combination with each other - you keep them in place, radiated, and blast them with Night Fall.

Torrent - Skip it. Knockdown and Radiation don't mix well since you want to keep things tightly packed and radiated, spreading them out isn't something that goes well.

Life Drain - Skip it if you have Radiant Aura, its a loooong wait to pick up if you don't. Radiant Aura never misses, Life Drain will.

Blackstar - PBAE damage, and lots of it, but drains you dry of all your endurance. Of course, you can increase the damage is does by 40%, and if everything is held because of EM Pulse, does the endurance drain matter much? Probably not. Besides, you will have a few inspirations slots kicking around, why not use them?

As for slotting for damage - if you solo more, you'll want to focus on damage output, which means putting slots into your offensive powers. If you group more, focus on the group tools - TT, Nightfall, and Dark Blast.

This is all fine and dandy, but how do I level?

Step 1: Hit a bunch of creeps with Radiation Infection.
Step 2: Target a creep that is not your radiation infection "anchor".
Step 3: Turn dark blast on auto-attack.
Step 4: Get a good book and start reading.
Step 5: Target the next creep.
Step 6: Repeat ad nauseum.

No, I'm not joking. You can level exclusively off of Radiation Infection and Dark Blast. It would be as boring as watching paint dry, of course. Obviously, with RI up you can also blast things with Moonbeam. So do that. You can turn EF on to get 40% more out of it. Might want to give that a try too. LR makes it much easier to run them down when they give up wiffing and run away. While some ATs focus more on killing lower levels en masse, a R/D defenders can have fun with mobs 2-3 above them once adequately debuffed. Fear is for Blasters and Scrappers - debuff it and give it a try, after all, its moving so slow even your grandma could get away from it.

When you're in a group, you'll either need to learn people how not to kill your radiation anchor, or you'll need to learn how to pick innocuous targets so they end up dying last (instead of first). Enervating Field fires very quickly and provides an instant 40% boost to damage - start with this one, followed by RI or LR, depending on how long the MOBs last. In a blaster-heavy AE group, you'll be lucky to get anything more than EF off. Against higher level targets, Rad Infection will help lower levels hit creeps. LR simply reduces the damage potential of anything it hits by a lot.

Hey, wait one second - how about power pools?

Take a travel power, get it by 14 if you intend on doing any kind of soloing. There are ups and downs for each form, but I'm a big fan of Flight. Cutting to the chase though - you will travel in this game. You will not always have someone who will teleport you. You will be traveling a lot.

The Fitness pool for Stamina is almost a no-brainer. Even with AM up 7x24, Stamina gives you more endurance. More endurance means more blasting and/or more debuffing. Rad/Dark Defenders do both. A lot. Get Stamina.

Hasten, from Super Speed, means your blasts cycle faster, which means more damage output, and fast cycling on those long timer powers like EM Pulse, AM, and Blackstar.

The Leadership powers are done best by a Defender, which means they're a good pick. Maneuvers provides almost the same level of defense bonus as Focused Fighting. You can either not socket them and just run them as extra bonuses, or heavily socket them for some real defense or accuracy bonus. Your friends will like you. Vengeance isn't worth it at the moment. Might change. Might not.

Stealth can be a useful thing, especially if you solo. Phase Shift is not to be underestimated - especially considering the potential for PvP.

Fighting is not a great choice but not a horrible one. Tough is a nice bit of Smash/Lethal resistance which is fairly common from 14-40. Weave provides some extra defence.

Medicine? Now THIS would be a bad power pool choice. Presence as well unless you want a few fear powers.

So there you go, and the first time some pansy-arsed scrapper tells you to shut up and heal, mock him for his wussy damage output ;)

NOTE 1: All spelling misteaks aer intenitional.
NOTE 2: Subject to change.
NOTE 3: I reserve the right to be utterly dead wrong about Rad/Dark defenders from 40 to 50. (I won't be though)

[SoulHealer]

I have a level 28 rad/psy defender and a level 20 rad/dark defender, and your FAQ covers all the bases. Tenebrous Tentacles and Nightfall are an awesome 1-2 AE punch, that can take down groups of 6-10 villans in a reasonable amount of time if they're fully slotted with damage SOs. The trick to using both in tandem is to zoom in toward the villans to recast TT, and then zoom out to cast Nightfall (to make it hit the most villans possible, its quite narrow and if you're too close you wont hit much except your target). If you have hasten and AM, and both are properly slotted with recharge reducers (5 in hasten and 4 in AM) you can make very quick work of medium to large hordes of green-white villans using TT and Nightfall, they're default recharge time is 10 seconds, with hasten + AM they recharge in 5 seconds, and that allows you to lay down a whole world of hurt in a very short period of time, all the while debuffing their accuracy with these two AE nukes. Definately a killer cocktail. The only real challenge is to make sure the whole group of villans gets hit by your first TT casting, otherwise those you miss will run up to you (out of range of RI) and start being a big nuissance. If you're daring you could try leading off with TT and then cast RI, the risk you run there is that they'll get a round of fire off on you without RI's huge accuracy debuff, you'll be relying heavily on TTs relatively meagre accuacy debuff (-10%?), but the advantage is that the villans won't have a few seconds to spread out this way, whereas if you lead with RI they can and sometimes do spread out of cone range of TT.

The other thing I'd add is that stealth (or super speed) is incredibly valuable for sneaking up on a group of villans and getting that first debuff off (Radiation Infection would be my recommendation as a lead debuff) before they have a chance to fire at you. Once you've landed RI they won't hit you much especially if you've put 2-3 accuracy debuff SOs in it.

Soul Chiller, level 32 ice/ice blaster
StrawberryBlond, level 28 rad/psy defender
Soul Storm, level 20 rad/dark defender

[Ex_Libris]

:cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: This is an awsome post. I just read it and I have a level 16 Rad/dark defender and I have to agree with everything I have read. I wish I read it sooner,Im afraid I have made some mistakes in my slotting but my charater is still doable.

p.s. its 2:30 in the morning and even on good days I cant spell worth my weight in gold

[Ex_Libris]

agree with everything but that dark pit is useless for us :D
you get it much earlier, enhanced it is quite reliable vs minions refreshes fast(45secs i think) and you're like a ghetto controller in teams without a real one :D
it also helps soloing packs of minions at higher lvls with TT and nightfall...

but all in all great guide deserves some stars :D

[ImagoX]

Thanks for posting this... Just made one of these toons on a whim and now I'm really excited to see what they can do! :)

[Ex_Libris]

Going to try this out tonite. Thanks!

[Ex_Libris]

Excellent post. I agree now about Dark Pit. I was planning on taking it before so that I could disorient and then jump in the middle and light off Blackstar but with EM Pulse, you don't realy need it. With AM/Hasten, your timers on both these 9th level powers should be certainly less than 90 seconds.

Tactics and Manuevers make great additions to this build as they accentuate greatly what Radiation Infection does, only they work on your group versus the mobs.

A good Rad/Dark is all about making the bosses and significantly higher level minions something that you can take down without lucking out or worrying about precision group tactics.

[Ex_Libris]

Very nice post! I've already chosen my powers up to level 10, but I'll use this as a guide from here on out!

[WhispenCoH]

Dark Pit is a wonderful opening round attack for large groups of badguys. It prevents that initial agro-death that can happen when 12-15 goons all open fire on you at once.

I use it chronically on task force runs as the first shot.

----------------------------------------
Outer Darkness - 30 Dark/Dark Defender
Victory

[Ex_Libris]

Got to level 7 last night with The Toxic Weevil and so far this is one seriously fun build. So, lock up your dried grains and cereals, Evil Doers! The Weevil has arrived!

[Ex_Libris]

Excellent post.

[Ex_Libris]

Here is The Toxic Weevil's build (character's personality is patterned after The Flea on Mucha Lucha if you've ever watched it.) Couple quick notes. First, I solo or duo more than I group, so that's why I took Gloom. Second, the Leadership pools didn't fit with the character concept. Third, yes I know I have 2 travel powers and there's a couple reasons for that :
A. I'm really tight on powers pre-24, wanted a travel power by 14, and didn't want to push back haste too far.
B. I wanted the status effect resistances from CJ/Acrobatics, but Jump Kick didn't fit. Plus, having two travel powers since I have space for it, makes for some versatility in travel depending on the zone.

And fourth, I haven't finished slotting because I'm still trying to figure out the order of importance.

Feel free to comment as you see fit. I'm hoping the original author of this thread can shoot me some pointers as well. TIA!

Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Radiation Infection /HitDeb,HitDeb
Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Dark Blast /Acc,Dmg,Dmg
Level 2 : Gloom /Acc,Dmg,Dmg
Level 4 : Moonbeam /Acc,Dmg,Dmg
Level 6 : Enervating Field /EndRdx,EndRdx
Level 8 : Hasten /Rchg
Level 10 : Accelerate Metabolism /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Level 12 : Lingering Radiation /Slow
Level 14 : Super Speed /Empty
Level 16 : Tenebrous Tentacles /Empty
Level 18 : Swift /Empty
Level 20 : Night Fall /Empty
Level 22 : Hurdle /Empty
Level 24 : Stamina /Empty
Level 26 : Combat Jumping /Empty
Level 28 : Super Jump /Empty
Level 30 : Acrobatics /Empty
Level 32 : EM Pulse /Empty
Level 35 : Mutation /Empty
Level 38 : Blackstar /Empty

[ChaoticDNA]

I hate looking for my own posts, or making other people look for them when they ask.

Easier to find them when they're on the first page. :D

[Riverdusk]

I personally like Gloom better than moonbeam, but can see the appeal to most of seeing the big number hit instead of the dots tick off. Other than that though, I see myself pretty much following your ideas for my rad/dark. Great guide and good job. 5 star to you.

[Ex_Libris]

I just had a thought, with Dark Pit's recharge being 30 seconds, it with 3 disorient duration and 2 accuracy SOs, and AM/Hasten, + Tenebrous Tentacles, wouldn't it be possible to actually have an improvised AoE hold? Cast Dark Pit, followed by tenebrous tentacles, followed by Night fall, rinse and repeat.

[Ex_Libris]

Excellent post!

One question @ ChaoticDNA:
Could you please post your build or is it posted somewhere?

TIA!

[Street_Saint]

Wow...cool post on a "odd" defender combo. Ver nice..ill have to give it a whirl.

Added to favorites.

[Ex_Libris]

Heh I considered rad/dark for a good while but ended up taking kin/dark, heres a build it basically follows what he said about dark but I made this guy a little bit before his post:P.

Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Siphon Power /Empty
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Dark Blast /Empty
Slot[03] Level 2 : Gloom /Empty
Slot[04] Level 4 : Transfusion /Empty
Slot[05] Level 6 : Hasten /Empty
Slot[06] Level 8 : Increase Density /Empty
Slot[07] Level 10 : Assault /Empty
Slot[08] Level 12 : Speed Boost /Empty
Slot[09] Level 14 : Swift /Empty
Slot[10] Level 16 : Tactics /Empty
Slot[11] Level 18 : Health /Empty
Slot[12] Level 20 : Stamina /Empty
Slot[13] Level 22 : Inertial Reduction /Empty
Slot[14] Level 24 : Tenebrous Tentacles /Empty
Slot[15] Level 26 : Night Fall /Empty
Slot[16] Level 28 : Transference /Empty
Slot[17] Level 30 : Super Speed /Empty
Slot[18] Level 32 : Fulcrum Shift /Empty
Slot[19] Level 35 : Dark Pit /Empty
Slot[20] Level 38 : Blackstar /Empty
Slot[21] Level 41 : Life Drain /Empty
Slot[22] Level 44 : Stealth /Empty
Slot[23] Level 47 : Maneuvers /Empty
Slot[24] Level 49 : Repel /Empty

Yea I need to rework the later levels but right now its kicking *** and forgeting names. Both gloom and dark blast have a one second animation, so I can machine gun those when I have hasten up:P. It doesn't have the acc debuffed safety that Rad has, but can generate more dps.(at a higher end cost oddly, machine gunning is very taxing) It also is pretty solo effective, but again sadly none of the real good buffs work on yourself:(

[ChaoticDNA]

Well, my current build looks like this:

Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Radiation Infection /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Dark Blast /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[03] Level 2 : Accelerate Metabolism /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[04] Level 4 : Moonbeam /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[05] Level 6 : Hover /Empty
Slot[06] Level 8 : Enervating Field /Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[07] Level 10 : Radiant Aura /Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[08] Level 12 : Hasten /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[09] Level 14 : Fly /Empty,Empty
Slot[10] Level 16 : Tenebrous Tentacles /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[11] Level 18 : Lingering Radiation /Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[12] Level 20 : Gloom /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[13] Level 22 : Swift /Empty
Slot[14] Level 24 : Health /Empty
Slot[15] Level 26 : Stamina /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[16] Level 28 : Dark Pit /Empty
Slot[17] Level 30 : Choking Cloud /Empty, Empty
Slot[18] Level 32 : EM Pulse /Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty,Empty
Slot[19] Level 35 : Stealth /Empty
Slot[20] Level 38 : Blackstar /Empty

The order may not be right, but those are the powers I currently have. While I'm happy with it, the important question should be "Hey, what would you do now, knowing what you do?"

Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Radiation Infection /HitDeb,HitDeb,HitDeb,DefDeb,EndRdx

Holy Trinity Debuff #1.

Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Dark Blast /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,EndRdx

No choice. Basic blast.

Slot[03] Level 2 : Accelerate Metabolism /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndRec,EndRec

I think that I've got this balanced with Hasten to have both up 7x24 (or with trivial downtime). The various bonuses are listed elsewhere, and well worth the slots, most notably the recharge reduction and damage bonus.

Slot[04] Level 4 : Moonbeam /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,EndRdx

Sniper shot, 175 range, interruptable, but the main punch of my single-target attacks. The interruptability is of little consequence - either you slow them with Lingering Radiation and you have enough time to read War and Peace between swings, or you have them lit up with Rad Infection and they aren't going to hit you 95% of the time.

Slot[05] Level 6 : Enervating Field /EndRdx,EndRdx

Holy Trinity Debuff #2.

Slot[06] Level 8 : Radiant Aura /Heal,Heal,Heal

The "Make people think I can heal" power. Used as a placebo in most groups, but it is a 250ish point PBAE-Heal.

Slot[07] Level 10 : Hover /Fly

Pre-req for flight. I also have a lot of fun baiting Juicer Freaks up high in the air, then "arresting" them and watching them fall aaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way down. (teehee, oops!) More sport than anything else, but hey, if you're not having fun...

Slot[08] Level 12 : Lingering Radiation /Slow,Slow,EndRdx

Holy Trinity Debuff #3.

Slot[09] Level 14 : Fly /Fly,Fly

Fast enough for me. If you're rushed to get everywhere instantly and kill everything instantly roll a blaster. And get used to debt.

Slot[10] Level 16 : Tenebrous Tentacles /Immob,Immob,Rng(Cone),EndRdx

Immobilizes for a long time. The damage ticks are relatively slow so some of it is lost to natural mob regeneration. With both Hasten and AM running 7x24, you can immobilize bosses. Great fun against Paragon Protectors.

Slot[11] Level 18 : Hurdle /Jump
Slot[12] Level 20 : Health /Heal
Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec

The no-brainer (and its pre-reqs). Rad/* Defenders chew through endurance like mad. Rad/Dark is no exception.

Slot[14] Level 24 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg

See comments on AM. It now has a small defense bonus that is not worth enhancing.

Slot[15] Level 26 : Super Speed /EndRdx

Used primarily for the minor stealth component to dodge unwanted aggro, and for stealth bombing. If we had unlimited PP picks, I'd go with stealth instead to work up to Phase Shift (which may prove to be very useful in PvP later). Since they are limited, I'll go this way instead.

Slot[16] Level 28 : Night Fall /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Rng(Cone),EndRdx

AE (Cone) damage, which is preferable in groups.

I slot End Reducers in all my offensive powers because a Rad/Dark defender will spend more time doing damage to "arrest" vis-a-vis a blaster who will spend more time between fights. Others may disagree, but since we're more geared towards damage over time (not DOT Powers, but spread out over a greater timespan) than First-Strike damage like blasters (who can decimate a group in seconds, otherwise THEY get decimated usually), the minor loss of damage per hit is worth the ability to keep blasting longer with all the toggles up.

Slot[17] Level 30 : Maneuvers /DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,EndRdx

It was a tossup here - I've been debating going the boxing/tough/weave route for the Smash/Lethal resists. Maneuvers gives a tad more defense than Weave (for defenders), but no resistances. It opens up tactics however, and it also helps the group.

Slot[18] Level 32 : EM Pulse /Acc,Hold,Hold,Hold,Rchg

The massive AE hold for Rad defenders. Not to be missed. Last a long, long LONG time. I can pick apart fair sized groups (10ish MOBs) without them fighting back at all.

Slot[19] Level 35 : Tactics /HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,EndRdx

Does two things - helps me by reducing the need for acc enhancers in most powers, and helps the group. Rad Infection has the same effect really.

Slot[20] Level 38 : Blackstar /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg

Sheer fun eye-candy-with-blow-crap-up-effect. Appears to have two radi of effect - a primary that does about 150 UNENHANCED damage, 60 neg 60 neg 30 smash (that's before AM and EF, on a white con minion) and a secondary radius that only does one negative one smash damage (60 neg/30smash). Even with a single damage SO, it works wonders with EM Pulse and Stealth. Stealth "Bombing" by opening with EM Pulse (which doesn't drain all your end), getting in close to the pack, turning on EF, then letting Blackstar loose should, once enhanced a bit, drop even-con minions.

What about post-40?

I've got 10 slots and 4 power picks to spare, but I'm not going to commit to those power selections as there may be new and exciting choices to take.

[Green_Jackel]

It's a great post, thanks for taking the time.

One bit i disagree a little on is that we can't take out a large group. I am currently 32, and go to Bricks to find big groups of foes. I prefer even con or +1 lvl foes, but don't mind if there's a LT or two in the group. The Crey are good. Freaks, except for those darn self-rezzing occasions can throw off my rythm. 5th Column if I don't get too many Riflemen in the mix slowing me.
I have my tentacles rooting down to a near perfect science, I can imagine a picture of my cone on the ground in front of my character almost perfectly. This comes from practice. I prefer a dozen or so even cons. Tentacles will catch about 90% or better, depending on the foes, some spread out and roam a little more than others, but if you approach from the right angle you can usually hit 90%. The strays will beat on you a little but you can change their angle and lock them up next repetion. Night Fall has great range, i can back up a bit from my mobs after i lock them down and drop EF and then hit myself a heal, which i need now that 12+ mobs just took a shot at me, then hit NightFall. 2nd pass with Tentacles now, change your angle a little so that you're going to get those pesky fellows you missed last time in the mix, then back off, heal, NightFall. Boom, all the minions dropped on the second pass. Now your LTs are standing there wetting themselves. Re-Tentacle them, Nightfall one more time, and then polish them off with a burst of gloom.
The exp. for Minions when x10 or x12 is pretty nice for a little <2 minute fight.

There are some obvious situations where this scenario won't work, or needs to be adjusted. Nazi Vampires sleep you and you cant afford to miss one of your heals after you agro the whole lot. Same with those Crey cryo guys and protectors. There are lots of mobs that won't hold/sleep etc, you just have to keep an eye on them.
Boss mobs will resist the hold effect on tentacles more often than not, but even then, I can usually kite them around the rest of the tentacled hoard and lock them in after the second try or by the time i've dropped the minions and LTs.

I love my rad dark to pieces. I hope everyone has as much fun. =)

I update my template shot each day usually, have a look!

regards,

[Street_Saint]

[ QUOTE ]
What about post-40?

I've got 10 slots and 4 power picks to spare, but I'm not going to commit to those power selections as there may be new and exciting choices to take.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeh...either take the random powrs you dinnt chose yet or hang till new ones come out.

[ChaoticDNA]

Yeh...either take the random powrs you dinnt chose yet or hang till new ones come out.

Well, the problem is people are looking for build advice, and since nobody knows yet, I'm not offering any advice on what powers to take and how to slot them.

[Ex_Libris]

I find Dark Pit very useful. I have 1 Accuracy and 1 Disorient Duration enhancement in it. It is great for damage mitigation. If the enemy is wandering around with circles around their head, they are not attacking :D

It seems to be most effective against minions, sometimes on lieutenants and I havent even bothered trying it on a boss. But taking minions out of the fight for 20 seconds or so is still pretty handy.

If I am soloing and encounter, say, 1 yello Lt and 3 white minions, I Moonbeam the Lt to get things started and Dark pit the minions. That way I can concentrate on the Lt while the minions are wandering around.

As an example, I was patrolling with 2 friends last night (our chars are level 28-30) in Brickstown and we were fighting 6 5th column minions that were red to me. I used Dark Pit and disoriented 5 of them!

I would say that after using Dark Pit for 18 levels (I got it at level 10 and am 18 now) I have been satisfied with its performance.

[Wytch_NA]

Nice guide

[Filimeala]

great guide, but would any of you suggest either Gloom or Moonbeam for better sustainable damage power for the END cost when soloing with the Debuff / Tentacles method?

[The_Storm]

[ QUOTE ]
great guide, but would any of you suggest either Gloom or Moonbeam for better sustainable damage power for the END cost when soloing with the Debuff / Tentacles method?

[/ QUOTE ]

Gloom is probably better for that method. It's damage to endurance ratio is a bit better and can't be interrupted like moonbeam (rare with RI up, but it does happen). If you never really plan to pull with Moonbeam, you probably shouldn't bother with it.

[TheCobaltRanger]

This is what I have. Using the updated template, changed on some of my preferences or more immediate needs. Level 12 currently.

Radiation Infection
Dark Blast
Accelerate Metabolism
Moonbeam
Mutation (didnt take EF, group a lot)
Radiant Aura
Hover ("defense bonus" - yeah, right)
Hasten (couldn't wait and need recharge bad)

At 14 I will take Fly and if its slow might take Superspeed after. Finding my xp intake is not as good as it could be without fast travel when looking for targets or going to missions with nothing but sprint/AM to get around. Also considering Choking Cloud instead of some of the other debuffs since it is AOE and the target debuffs get old fast.

Suggestions?

[The_Storm]

[ QUOTE ]
This is what I have. Using the updated template, changed on some of my preferences or more immediate needs. Level 12 currently.

Radiation Infection
Dark Blast
Accelerate Metabolism
Moonbeam
Mutation (didnt take EF, group a lot)
Radiant Aura
Hover ("defense bonus" - yeah, right)
Hasten (couldn't wait and need recharge bad)

At 14 I will take Fly and if its slow might take Superspeed after. Finding my xp intake is not as good as it could be without fast travel when looking for targets or going to missions with nothing but sprint/AM to get around. Also considering Choking Cloud instead of some of the other debuffs since it is AOE and the target debuffs get old fast.

Suggestions?

[/ QUOTE ]

A couple:

1. I wouldn't bother with 2 travel powers before 20. You *really* should be looking to get stamina as soon as you can fit it into your build. Since it's 3 powers and you're already 12 (travel at 14) that means you'll be doing the stamina grind next (16,18,20) or else picking up one power and pushing stamina back to 22.

2. If there's a power to take at 16 that isn't getting you ready for stamina, I'd say it should be EF (which I personally think is MORE effective for group play than solo, because of the end useage). It really is that good, even though it chews through your endurance.

3. After stamina, you're best powers are probably: Lingering Radiation, Tenebrous Tentacles, Gloom.

4. Hover and hasten only provide a 5% def bonus each. The real defense bonus on hover is to hang out above the badguys out of melee range which prevents the badguys' biggest attacks.

[Ineffable_Bob]

Great guide! My Rad/Dark guy is L20 right now, built around the soloing theme (i.e. Gloom over Moonbeam). He still works great in groups, though - AM alone is enough to make everyone else happy, and the debuffs and immobilize is gravy. A few people were asking for builds so I figured I might as well post mine:

Archetype: Defender
Primary Powers - Buff/Debuff : Radiation Emission
Secondary Powers - Ranged : Dark Blast
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Radiation Infection /HitDeb
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Dark Blast /Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[03] Level 2 : Gloom /Acc,EndRdx,Rchg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[04] Level 4 : Accelerate Metabolism /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[05] Level 6 : Enervating Field /EndRdx,EndRdx
Slot[06] Level 8 : Combat Jumping /Jump
Slot[07] Level 10 : Hurdle /Jump
Slot[08] Level 12 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Jump /Jump
Slot[10] Level 16 : Tenebrous Tentacles /Acc,Rng(Cone),Immob,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[11] Level 18 : Health /Heal
Slot[12] Level 20 : Stamina /EndRec
Slot[13] Level 22 : Night Fall /Acc,Rng(Cone),Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[14] Level 24 : Lingering Radiation /EndRdx
Slot[15] Level 26 : Mutation /Rchg
Slot[16] Level 28 : Maneuvers /DefBuf
Slot[17] Level 30 : Tactics /HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf
Slot[18] Level 32 : EM Pulse /Acc,Acc,Hold,Hold,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Life Drain /Acc
Slot[20] Level 38 : Blackstar /Empty

Took him out on the Synpase task force last weekend, at L19 with four L15-18 heroes. We owned 'em, the poor Empath was spending a lot of time looking for something to heal. :)

[ChaoticDNA]

NOTE 3: I reserve the right to be utterly dead wrong about Rad/Dark defenders from 40 to 50. (I won't be though)

I'm not wrong.

3 things post 40 worth noting:

1) AVs abound in missions and story arcs. Bring friends, have fun, no problems.

2) Damage is sliding off a bit. Bosses are starting to take a little longer to deal with, but nothing too serious yet.

3) You will learn to hate hold, sleep, disorient, and end drainers. One you can get protection from via Acrobatics, but the other three suck. You need to learn your enemies abilities and adapt accordingly.

Well, there is one other thing:

You will REALLY learn to hate Carnie Illusionsists. With a passion you never thought possible.

Still fun, can still easily solo and add significantly to a group. And I screwed up my build.

:D

[BeelzeBubba]

How do you drop 3 debuffs, a couple controlls/holds, and an AoE or 2 all at the same time?

I put off the biggie powers to get perma-hasten/am and stamina by 20. That means I've been waiting on tentacles, enervating field, lingering Rad, night fall, etc.

Well now I'm finally 20. The 20s are going to be a lot of fun, picking up these new powers. Up till now, I've been getting by on RI, moonbeam, gloom, and dark blast. I know my tactics are going to change a LOT from here on out.

I am looking for some help on how to build a tactic and a gameplan for these new powers.

Currently I was thinking of my post-20 build something like:
Slot [13] Lev 22: Tenebrous Tentacles
Slot [14] Lev 24: Night Fall
Slot [15] Lev 26: Lingering Radiation
Slot [16] Lev 28: Enervating Field
Slot [17] Lev 30: Maneuvers
Slot [18] Lev 32: EM Pulse
Slot [19] Lev 35: Tactics
Slot [20] Lev 38: Black Star
Slot [21] Lev 41: Hover
Slot [22] Lev 44: Fly
Slot [23] Lev 47: Assault
Slot [24] Lev 49: Group Fly

Last 2 powers ain't really deadlocked or necessary.
This build is done with the theory that I'd build my tactics around tentacles; later taking nightfall to hurt 'em once they're locked down, slow next to maybe hit after I've opened, EF to reduce their damage dealing capabilities.

I'm wondering if it'd be better to take Lingering Rad first- so i can learn how to slow 'em, then take nightfall to get used to the cone for blasting groups of 'em, then take TT to work in locking 'em down, and EF to neuter 'em.

Started an ill/rad controller. It's nice to hold a lieu real quick- set that guy as my RI debuff anchor, go to town on surrounding minions, and then turn my attention back to the boss.

I can imagine doing something similar with Tents and RI, without the added convenience of the boss or lieu being held (at least till EMP).

I could also just see taking nightfall first to get used to using the cone.... or Tents then EF, so I can lock 'em with the double debuff, after puttin the Tents on 'em.

Just wondering what a good tactic is given those powers; if i have to take them in a given order?

[ChaoticDNA]

I'd suggest:

Slot [13] Lev 22: Enervating Field
Slot [14] Lev 24: Tenebrous Tentacles
Slot [15] Lev 26: Night Fall
Slot [16] Lev 28: Lingering Radiation
Slot [17] Lev 30: Maneuvers
Slot [18] Lev 32: EM Pulse
Slot [19] Lev 35: Tactics
Slot [20] Lev 38: Black Star
Slot [21] Lev 41: Hover
Slot [22] Lev 44: Fly
Slot [23] Lev 47: Assault
Slot [24] Lev 49: Group Fly

Shuffle things that way. EF is a general boost to all damage, so it will help you level solo and help immensely in a group, and only takes 1 or 2 extra slots for End Reducers.

TT next to help you lock the mobs around the anchor, but it needs a few slots to either pack a punch via damage enhancers or lock them in place for a long time with immob duration enhancers.

Nightfall before LR, as LR works remarkably well even with a single slot while Nightfall needs slots to pack a punch.

Everything past 40 is candy for most builds. Consider getting Super Speed for the stealth component since you already have Hasten.

EF, TT and LR all fire remarkably fast, so lead with them unless you have stealth, then leading with Rad Infection is how I do things. The -def and -acc of RI makes everything that has an accuracy check land reliably while not taking many hits at all.

[Sirprize]

For those who took Moonbeam instead of Gloom, how is the recharge? I'm level 6 with Moonbeam. After the first big shot, I'm left plinking away with Dark Blast until MB recharges. I'm wondering if I'd do faster damage with Gloom. Also, would both Gloom and Moonbeam be overkill?

I played a Rad/Rad defender up to about 8 or so. He rocked in solo. I had trouble in groups, though, due to all of the chaos. It sucked to have people scatter or kill my anchors. I felt like I really wasn't contributing very much to the group. Do you have any suggestions for group play with this build? I'm sure I'll feel more useful once I get TT, but that's not until 16.

Oh, and for those that pick up AM early, when should you start slotting it? Which is a higher priority - AM or your blasts? Same question for when you get Haste.


Thanks.

[Ex_Libris]

Got to reply to add it to favorites .. so .. um here is a reply.

[om5555]

I got dark blast and gloom. I don't know if I am going to take moonbeam. Gloom is a pretty nice attack, it does more damage than dark blast even with 2 extra damage boosters in dark blast. The DOT is very fast and doesn't take much time to happen.

I put 2 more slots in AM. That is all I'm going to do until I get hasten and SOs in those slots. I want to have AM on all the time but I'm not sure how many slots that will require. I plan on putting 5 or 6 in Gloom and Dark Blast. I got a couple right now and the next 2-4 will go in those.

[Ex_Libris]

Amazing post, and infinatly useful to me now that i've become disatisfied with the way my rad/rad was turning out(along with a few choices i made buildwise). So I rerolled as a /dark and checked the forums to help with a few dark choices. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for.

Addler - Rad/Drk in training

[PainOfDeath]

What didn't you like about Rad/Rad? I have a character that's going down that path and I'm happy with it. Having read this excellent thread I can see the appeal of Rad/Dark though! My current main Defender is Emp/Dark, and the Dark skillset is one I really like, but I wanted some secondary variation in my second Defender hence Rad/Rad. Just curious as to why Rad/Rad may not be a good combo :)

thnx

[Ex_Libris]

Well, from an entirely personal standpoint, I don't like x-ray. I just don't. The power itself is fine, but the eyebeam part bugs me. Also, I kinda messed up the build as i was going along, and want to re roll any way. The dark blast powers just appealed to me more than the rad's did.

[BeelzeBubba]

ChaoticDNA
Thanks for the advice!
I already have Super Speed.
I use its stealth currently.
I usually use 2 different methods in engaging groups; both still sporting the SS.

First way is simple- single pull with moonbeam, debuff if things get hairy (like accidentally aggroing everyone or if it's a boss), gloom and repeat.

Second way is to pick a boss or lieu, debuff 'em w/RI, sit in the cloud zone for the coming aggro, blast n repeat.

EF is really end intensive, so I'm reluctant to use it more than just for short periods. I agree it neuters enemies and makes me feel like I'm hittin like superman. I could see going TT, then EF, anticipating that return volley.

How long do Tents tend to lock down?

[The_Storm]

[ QUOTE ]
For those who took Moonbeam instead of Gloom, how is the recharge? I'm level 6 with Moonbeam. After the first big shot, I'm left plinking away with Dark Blast until MB recharges. I'm wondering if I'd do faster damage with Gloom. Also, would both Gloom and Moonbeam be overkill?

I played a Rad/Rad defender up to about 8 or so. He rocked in solo. I had trouble in groups, though, due to all of the chaos. It sucked to have people scatter or kill my anchors. I felt like I really wasn't contributing very much to the group. Do you have any suggestions for group play with this build? I'm sure I'll feel more useful once I get TT, but that's not until 16.

Oh, and for those that pick up AM early, when should you start slotting it? Which is a higher priority - AM or your blasts? Same question for when you get Haste.

[/ QUOTE ]

1. The recharge is only so-so. I picked up gloom later on in my build and I'll probably drop moonbeam on respec. It's useful and as a rad defender I can use it point blank... but it's just kinda... inefficient. Nice pulling power, but with Superspeed I can use regular attacks to pull with. I hardly ever use moonbeam these days (level 25).

2. Teach them about anchors, then stop fretting. If they kill 'em, they kill 'em. If you've got AM/Hasten then they'll be back up quickly and you can recast. Fire EF first because it casts quickly. That's also a good time to check everyone's health to see if a heal would be useful.

3. I slotted it pretty quick. It's SUCH a great power that I 6 slotted for recharge until 22 when I could put SOs in and turn 2 recharges into endurance recovery.

[Dangers_Edge]

Oh great post, but now there are gonna be tons of RAD/DARKS around. AS to your choice of powers I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the powers in either set except fallout. Boxing, Jumping Kick, toughness and choking cloud make for an interesting alternative to a normal scrapper......

[Azzazael]

pretty good stuff, i differ in opinion on a few things but it's just a matter of personal taste.

~gloom owns when 6 slotted, hands down. moonbeam i hardly ever use other than to pulla mob or two out of a large group, 6 slotted it does only a little more damage than gloom and takes alot more time and end. i kill even con minions with enervating field on them with one shot of gloom and one shot of dark blast (both 6 slotted with 1 acc, and 5 dmg) again, it's a matter of personal taste.

~dark pit and choking cloud are much better than you think, it all depends on how you use them....mob's don't always stay in tight little groups like people want them to, and occasionally you will see crossfires in door missions and taskforces if you are pushing thru them fast....you wanna talk about not having to use heal very much, these two powers are your ticket to just that.
they give you the versatility of being that ghetto controller.....that isn't ghetto AT ALL....if you slot heavily with at least one or two end reduction in all of your toggles, there is nothing you can't do for your group. cone root, accuracy debuff toggle, damage redux toggle, slow/snare, AE choke hold and AE hold, AE disorient.....need i say more about the power and versatility?

~nightfall- i wasn't real happy with nightfall period, mebbe it's just cause im spoiled by thinking all of the other powers are good /shrug.....


again it's all a matter of personal taste, the only things i didn't agree with on the original post is that i personally love choking cloud and dark pit, and use them on a regular basis when grouping (not much when soloing). and i love gloom and use it ALL of the time, when grouping or soloing....it's also my favorite offensive power animation, the skull chasing a badguy running away still makes me grin evilly every time i see it....and i love the thought of sending a glowing eyed evil skull towards an opponent when and if pvp ever comes out ;)

things mentioned above i would definately reiterate on....

~mutation being optional, if you need to res...you messed up, there is no benefit to ressing in this game other than to save someone the run back really, i have never bothered to get res....tho i will at 38 just to have for the higher lvl missions and taskforces etc, pre 35 i have never once needed it.

~lifedrain is worthless, i had really hoped it would be alot more damage and or heal than it is...especially seeing as noone can even pick it until 35, unless it gets t weaked in the future it is utterly worthless unenhanced, and as unhappy with it as i am i don't see myself slotting it heavily just yet..perhaps in time. i also felt myself wishing lifedrain had alot better graphic to it, sort of a cross between the dark powers look and the kinetics debuff animation.....would be a neat power if it looked like you were just snatching the life and soul right out of a bad guy :P

i've tried and played almost every power set to at least 10 or 12 now, and i have to say radiation/ dark is the most fun and versatile combo i have messed around with yet, and is definately my favorite character. much <3 for this build, thanks devs.

[Ineffable_Bob]

Excellent post. Has it been copied onto the FAQ forum yet, to avoid eventual deletion?

[Azzazael]

^ bump!

[ChaoticDNA]

Now linked in the Guides & FAQs post that is stickied here.

:D

[Fel_Ghost]

Finally, a post that has something to do with my defender's power set. :D Nice post btw, it was quite helpful.

My first char was a Rad/dark defender. He's lvl 21 now, and is MAJOR screwed up. :( Picked all my pool powers early, 3 of which are all about travel. He doesn't have RI, EF, TT, LR, nothing. His slotting is all screwed up, with dark blast, gloom, and moonbeam having no more than 3 slots each. I was fine with his build, it was fun... until lvl 20... It was all down hill from there. he has 1 slot hasten, 4 slot AM, 6 slot RA, 2 slot swift. He can't pull his own weight, and the only thing going for him is that RA heals 100 dmg. :(

He currently has: Hover, Dark Blast, Gloom, Moonbeam, RA, Mutation, AM, Hasten(1 slot), Swift, SS, SJ, CJ, Hover. That's it. All are poorly slotted with the exception of maybe AM, and RA.

I haven't played him since he reached 21, and instead started a INV/EM tanker (who is my current main), and later, a Rad/elec defender that i don't really play. But with the promise of respec, I'm hoping I can save his bacon. I loved playing him, but he capped out in usefullness at 21 from what i can tell. I want to get him to at least 26 or 27 so that he can be ready to do the TV respec TF. So I have two questions/problems.

1) How should I slot him and what powers should i get between 21 and 27 so he'll be useful in TV respec TF?

2)Once(if :confused:) I get respec, how should i change him? I have a template I've come up with, and I think it should work much better, but I want to get some outsider advice. :D

Archetype: Defender
Primary Powers - Buff/Debuff : Radiation Emission
Secondary Powers - Ranged : Dark Blast
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Radiation Infection /HitDeb,HitDeb,HitDeb,DefDeb,DefDeb,DefDeb
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Dark Blast /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,EndRdx
Slot[03] Level 2 : Gloom /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,EndRdx
Slot[04] Level 4 : Accelerate Metabolism /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[05] Level 6 : Enervating Field /EndRdx,EndRdx
Slot[06] Level 8 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[07] Level 10 : Moonbeam /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,EndRdx
Slot[08] Level 12 : Radiant Aura /Heal,Heal,Heal,Heal,EndRdx,Rchg
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Speed /Run
Slot[10] Level 16 : Tenebrous Tentacles /Dmg,Immob,Immob,EndRdx,Rng(Cone)
Slot[11] Level 18 : Hurdle /Jump
Slot[12] Level 20 : Health /Heal
Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[14] Level 24 : Lingering Radiation /Slow,Slow,EndRdx,Rchg
Slot[15] Level 26 : Night Fall /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Rng(Cone),EndRdx
Slot[16] Level 28 : Maneuvers /DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,EndRdx
Slot[17] Level 30 : Stealth /DefBuf
Slot[18] Level 32 : EM Pulse /Hold,Hold,Hold,Rchg,Acc
Slot[19] Level 35 : Tactics /HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,EndRdx
Slot[20] Level 38 : Blackstar /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[21] Level 41 : Mutation /Rchg
Slot[22] Level 44 : Whirlwind /EndRdx
Slot[23] Level 47 : Grant Invisibility /EndRdx
Slot[24] Level 49 : Phase Shift /EndRdx

That's about it. Any help would be vastly useful. Thanks again.

[Shoot_First]

What would you say about skipping both Gloom and Moonbeam in favor of more defensive powers early?

Following part of a build I found in another post, I am only going to take Dark Blast until 16 when I get Tenebrous Tentacles. I will take Night Fall at either 22 or 28, but I haven't decided yet.

[Fel_Ghost]

Where i take them doesn't really matter up to 27. Again this is for a respec, and will probably already have gloom and moonbeam in the mix at 27 during the respec. Unless you are saying if I would consider taking them after i reach lvl 30, in which case, i'd say no. ;)

[InVasMani]

Triviate, your build is similar to mine, and mine's working real well.

Here's mine:

Archetype: Defender
Primary Powers - Buff/Debuff : Radiation Emission
Secondary Powers - Ranged : Dark Blast
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Radiation Infection /HitDeb,HitDeb,HitDeb,DefDeb,DefDeb,DefDeb
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Dark Blast /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[03] Level 2 : Gloom /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[04] Level 4 : Moonbeam /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[05] Level 6 : Enervating Field /EndRdx,EndRdx,EndRdx
Slot[06] Level 8 : Accelerate Metabolism /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[07] Level 10 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[08] Level 12 : Lingering Radiation /EndRdx,EndRdx,Slow,Slow
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Speed /Run
Slot[10] Level 16 : Tenebrous Tentacles /Immob,Immob,Immob,Immob,EndRdx,Rng(Cone)
Slot[11] Level 18 : Hurdle /Jump
Slot[12] Level 20 : Health /Heal
Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[14] Level 24 : Boxing /Dmg
Slot[15] Level 26 : Tough /DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes,DamRes
Slot[16] Level 28 : Weave /DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf
Slot[17] Level 30 : Combat Jumping /DefBuf
Slot[18] Level 32 : EM Pulse /Acc,Acc,Hold,Hold,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Super Jump /Jump
Slot[20] Level 38 : Blackstar /Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[21] Level 41 : Acrobatics /EndRdx
Slot[22] Level 44 : Radiant Aura /Heal,Heal,Heal
Slot[23] Level 47 : Mutation /EndRdx
Slot[24] Level 49 : Swift /Run

Instead of Stealth and Leadership, I took Fighting & Leaping.

[The_Storm]

[ QUOTE ]
What would you say about skipping both Gloom and Moonbeam in favor of more defensive powers early?

Following part of a build I found in another post, I am only going to take Dark Blast until 16 when I get Tenebrous Tentacles. I will take Night Fall at either 22 or 28, but I haven't decided yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you're planning to group a lot, You can easily keep yourself busy with buffs, debuffs and heals such that you don't really need many attacks, and you'll be fine with just DBlast. If you plan to solo, however, it's a LONG slow road with just DBlast and Brawl - Grab gloom (IMO better for soloing than moonbeam, but there's a 50/50 split on these boards) as a strong second attack. You can always respec it out later.

[Shoot_First]

This is the build I am working with. As you can see, there is no room for a second single target attack.

Primary Powers - Buff/Debuff : Radiation Emission
Secondary Powers - Ranged : Dark Blast
Slot[01] Level 1 (Starting Primary) : Radiation Infection /Empty
Slot[02] Level 1 (Starting Secondary) : Dark Blast /Empty
Slot[03] Level 2 : Accelerate Metabolism /Empty
Slot[04] Level 4 : Radiant Aura /Empty
Slot[05] Level 6 : Enervating Field /Empty
Slot[06] Level 8 : Hasten /Empty
Slot[07] Level 10 : Dark Pit /Empty
Slot[08] Level 12 : Hurdle /Empty
Slot[09] Level 14 : Super Speed /Empty
Slot[10] Level 16 : Tenebrous Tentacles /Empty
Slot[11] Level 18 : Health /Empty
Slot[12] Level 20 : Stamina /Empty
Slot[13] Level 22 : Night Fall /Empty
Slot[14] Level 24 : Combat Jumping /Empty
Slot[15] Level 26 : Super Jump /Empty
Slot[16] Level 28 : Acrobatics /Empty
Slot[17] Level 30 : Lingering Radiation /Empty
Slot[18] Level 32 : EM Pulse /Empty
Slot[19] Level 35 : Maneuvers /Empty
Slot[20] Level 38 : Blackstar /Empty
Slot[21] Level 41 : Tactics /Empty
Slot[22] Level 44 : Whirlwind /Empty
Slot[23] Level 47 : Fallout /Empty
Slot[24] Level 49 : Mutation /Empty

[InVasMani]

Plenty of room. Take out Fallout or Whirlwind and stick in another single blast power.

[Shoot_First]

Are you being serious? By the time I am at 44, it will no longer be an issue.

[InVasMani]

Of course you wouldn't put it at 44. You'd shift around some powers.

[Shoot_First]

Ok, but as I said, there is no room. Moving a level 44 power won't help me shift around powers before level 44. Fall Out is only there because I already have a complete build by 44.

[InVasMani]

If you want my advice, take out Fallout, move Radiant Aura back to wherever you want. Looking at your build, I'd move Radiant Aura to either 24 (shift Leaping line back 1) or 35 (shift Leadership back one) or even 47. Radiant Aura really isn't that useful when I play.

Then put Accel Metab at 4 and Gloom at 2. Or keep Accel at 2 and take Moonbeam at 4. Doesn't matter, but I like Gloom better.

[Azzazael]

after respec i dropped choking cloud and dark pit both, picked up EM pulse after testing on test server......all i can say is WOW. i have it 3 slotted atm with 1 acc and 2 hold, i may slot it with a recharge or two later because firing it off in the beginning of big fights, or as a panic button in the middle of big fights either way....it's invaluable. HUGE radius, long hold too, i love it.

[NapalmMK77]

Great Guide. I was on the verge of rerolling a Rad/Rad defender, and decided since I was starting over I might give this a wirl. Her Majesty's Greatest Hero, Lord Buckingham, now thanks you for the adivce.

[Dangers_Edge]

I must say that I have enjoyed playing my Rad/dark Defender over any other character to date. Currently I am at lvl 41. I do not think Dark Blast has any bad abilities at all, unlike some of the other secondaries. My build differs from many here as I do not have hasten. I don't feel it is needed because by the time I run through a round of attacks there is always something to shoot. Did I fail to mention that rad/dark kicks butt? I know alot of you will look and say that my build stinks cause I wont have blackstar till lvl 44 and no hasten. If you go without a power for 38 lvls what is the big deal about a few more? EM pulse is an awesome power!!! I spend about an even amount of time soloing and teaming. I think the coolest thing about rad/dark is the ability do a bit of everything. Def/Con/Blst.


1. Rad Emission- Heal x4
1. Dark Blast- ACC x1 DAM x5
2. Rad Infection- to hit debuff x3 End reduction x 1
4. Gloom- ACC x1 DAM x5
6. Moonbeam- ACC x1 Dam x5
8. Acc Met- Recharge Reduction x6
10. Swift- Run Speed x1
12. Hover- Flight Speed x1
14. Flight- Flight Speed x4
16. Tentacles- ACC x1 Damx4 Cone Range x 1
18. Health- Healx1
20. Stamina- End. Recovery x 6
22. Enervating Field- Red End Cost x 2
24. Stealth- Def x6
26. Darkpit- ACC x 2 Hold x 1
28. Lingering Rad- ACC x 1
30. Maneuvers- DEF x 5 End reduction x 1
32. EMP Pulse- ACC x 1 rec reduction x 1 hold x 2
35. Tactics- To-hit-buff x 3 End Reduction x 1
38. Nightfall- ACC x 1 DAM x 5
41. Mutation- rech. reduction x 1
44. Blackstar- ACC x 1 Dam x 5
47. Assault- End reduction x 1
49. Air Superiority- Acc x 1

[Voidsense]

OK, I've been meaning to ask this... why take EF at 6? With RI DB and Gloom fighting 3 yellows at a time (i.e. door missions) just about runs out my End by the end of the fight. I haven't faught any bosses yet and RI scales (I think) so is EF better on Reds? In my limited experiance when inside on a door mission if RI drops I die.

[Dangers_Edge]

I think most people take EF early because it reduces the amount of damage you take form a hit as well as increasing the amount you dish out. Having attacks is vital if using EF. Without the attacks you are only getting half of its value. EF is a huge endurance drain and an awesome power. I didn't take it until 22 so that I would have stamina and my primary attacks to take full advantage of its potential.

[Toxic_Shadow]

Voidsense. It may not be good to take EF so early. I didn't take EF till I was at lvl 22. I just couldn't see me using it and having enough end to keep RI up while blasting because like you said when RI drops it can be deadly. EF is a great power but I don't think it is that necessary until you are in the 20s. If you are asking can EF wait I would say yes. It worked for me and I soloed up into the early 20s without it.

[WhispenCoH]

My rad/rad Alt had EF from the first level it was available, but I had to use it selectively due to the brutal endurance drain. Most often I'd use it on bosses and LTs where my real concern was enemy damage output killing me.

For many fights where RI kept the minions nearly harmless I wouldn't bother.

Once you have stamina and a couple SO end reducers it's not all that bad.

[Erratic]

[ QUOTE ]
I just couldn't see me using it and having enough end to keep RI up while blasting because like you said when RI drops it can be deadly.

[/ QUOTE ]

Its a toggle, you can turn it off when you're getting low/don't need it.

[indhyena]

This guide is an old post - how does the issue 2 affect the building of a rad/dark? I am at level 16.

Seems like when soloing the castee with the RI just runs away (more like a fear power) leaving you with the other bad guys to fight w/o the debuf. Then u start getting hit followed by starting to get dead which is followed by running (this scenario assumes opponents that have some level to them, i.e. yellows/oranges or multiple whites)

[Ravingmad]

Bumping this old guide with a question: How does Rad/Dark solo deal with stun/mez/holders? Just pop inspirations or do they have that much trouble hitting you with one? I can't imagine facing Tsoo or Carnies without some sort of status resistant power.

[MeiLiLan]

i realy dont have a problem with it. they usually dont do enuff damage befor it wears off.

[LanaJones]

[ QUOTE ]
Bumping this old guide with a question: How does Rad/Dark solo deal with stun/mez/holders? Just pop inspirations or do they have that much trouble hitting you with one? I can't imagine facing Tsoo or Carnies without some sort of status resistant power.

[/ QUOTE ]

At the moment (level 27) I don't worry about controller powers from NPC's overly much. RI makes them miss enough that I can usually take the controller out before it lands a hold on me.

Also AM in theory provides status protection. Never seems to work for me, but supposedly it's there.

[Dead_Hero]

This sounds like a fun build. I can help AND harm people. :)

[Seraphim_Dragon]

[/ QUOTE ]
Also AM in theory provides status protection. Never seems to work for me, but supposedly it's there.

[/ QUOTE ]

One thing I've noticed about AM is that it doesn't provide the near full protection against status effects that many scrappers have, but it does cut down on the duration of many effects. Similar to what damage resistance does, only against status effects.

An example. I was fighting my first few Tsoo missions with inkmen and noticed that thier sleep/hold whatever it is wasn't hardly lasting more than a couple seconds while AM was up, but lasted alot longer when it wasn't up.

Maybe this isn't as useful in the later levels when villains possibly use higher magnitude effects, but at least it gives some benefit.

[MothTwiceborn_NA]

FYI, Confessor's take on Rad/Dark is the one I'm currently following... he more or less says that the Rad/Dark is the only non-scrapper Tank Mage; following my old adage of "the best way not to get damaged is not to get hit".

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Scrapper&Number=1276589&pa ge=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all

[DeathSentry]

Hi,

I have a level 18 RAD/RAD, I can take your suggestions for the RAD part (and unfortunately, I have taken AID OTHER from Medicine already)..any recommendations under RAD that I can use that could emulate the Dark portion of your profile?

[marcopolo13]

my rad/dark defender is lvl 41
i got the phalanx and the atlas medaillon accolades

about solo, i can tell you won't be able to hunt with a rad/dark as soon as you reach lvl 39 ... i explain, i soloed 90% from 1 to 41, at 39 i didn't want to hunt into brickstown ( mobs 39's max ) so i went to Peregrin islands hummm , i ran out of endu even with 41's minions ^^ , so bosses were impossible to defeat...
With the new epic power pools, i'll do the respec and get the energy one, will get conserve power and 6 slot it ASAP.
Actually post 39, i think the better way to level is to team with a damage dealer ( 40% damage bonus with a huge accuracy bonus , RI + tactics )
By the way , i got life drain and my advice: don't get it ( or get it just for the visual and sound effects :p )

Another advice, don't play a high level fire tanker for a long time because you won't play your rad/dark defender without thinking and screaming " OMG i'm so weak, [censored] with the experience bar ? " ==> my fire/fire tanker is lvl44 ( soloed 90% also ) i played 250 hoursto reach this level, 500 hours to reach lvl 41 with the defender :eek:

[Dangers_Edge]

Strange I was able to hunt in PI when I turned 39 as long as I stayed to the docks with lvl 41-42 nemesis...... Endurance was always a problem but I was able to manage... I basicly lived out of a dumpster in PI from lvl 39 - 50 and soloed a good bit of the 40's

[CFIndustries]

After playing some other Defenders and Controllers...

--Emp/Elec ("Pure Empathy")
--Ill/Kin
--FF/Elec
--Fire/Rad

...I have to say that the Rad/Dark is a great combo! I built it primarily to solo after seeing one in action in the lo 20s.

The dude I watched would just run through the Family-infested docks in Striga (white/yellow), round up as many as he could in RI, lock them down with TT, and blast away. I was duo'd with him for a while and he put out XP in a shorter timeframe than some blasters.

The funniest part is that visually, you'd swear he was some kind of odd Invul tanker. But it wasn't that he was taking a a pounding...quite the opposite, they couldn't hit him!

I've plowed through to level 10 on my Rad/Dark in record time (for me) and am easily doing missions with yellow minions and orange bosses. Reds can be a challenge, but doable with strategy.

Since I don't have a travel power yet and my missions are showing up in the deep Hollows (insta-death-ville), I may team for 10-14 to get through the XP faster rather than the street hunt grind. The best part? I can be as good a team player as a soloist. Very cool.

My experience with radiation with my Fire/Rad controller is similar...rad is addicting. I duo the Controller with a Fire Tanker and she is addicted already...makes her feel like and Invul, even though she isn't exactly. ;-)

[The_3rd_Blade]

[ QUOTE ]
FYI, Confessor's take on Rad/Dark is the one I'm currently following... he more or less says that the Rad/Dark is the only non-scrapper Tank Mage; following my old adage of "the best way not to get damaged is not to get hit".

Thread (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Scrapper&Number=1276589&pa ge=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all)

[/ QUOTE ]

Moth, I get a "Forum not found" trying to follow your link.

[Mystakil]

Does anyone have a copy of Confessor's build?

[Udder_Lover]

Great post!! I just hit 50 with my Emp Def and wanted to test out some other defenders. This really sounds like a build I'll like sinced it's solo-able. My Emp only has the 1 mandatory attack power and the alpha-strike so soloing is outta the picture with him! Again, great post!! :D

[Caesar_Augustus]

Just wanted to say these powersets together are a little gem of defenderdom.
I started a Rad/Dark about two weeks ago and without playing like a madman I've made lvl 23 without any undue effort on my part.
I can solo quite nicely, but in teams ... man oh man do I make things easy.
No one seems to notice per se, but there is something to be said about every mob we fight being immobilized, constantly taking damage, slow, and debuffed everywhich way.
Throw in the AMs I'm constantly shooting at everyone and the occasional heal.
It's a lot of fun and I have to say seeing your TT tentacles surrounded by several types of green smoky glows coming off the floor and you truly feel like the unstoppable instrument of Cthulhu and the other old ones, but in a heroic not evil way ;)

Cheers,
J

[gasher]

I'm trying to work out a balance spec for this build that includes Stamina at 20 (6 slotted at 25) but the only way I can seem to do that is not taking hasten, and maybe an attack or two.
But I was thinking - how badly is hasten needed with this build? As far as groups go, were here to make the mobs easier to take down, with our firepower secondary. So far I havent been in a group that proved to be going quicker than my debuffs could recharge.
We dont get too many insanly long timers, and AM 6 slotted is perma, is it not? Even if its not, a gap in between does no harm.
I've never been a huge fan of hasten. The end drain at the end always seemed too big a drag for me. Spell timers are set for a reason - so we dont go from 100 end to 2 end in two attack cycles!
What are the downsides to not taking hasten at all with this build? (Besides the obvious longer attack timers...)

[CFIndustries]

[ QUOTE ]
Just wanted to say these powersets together are a little gem of defenderdom.

[/ QUOTE ]
Not to hijack or anything, but another little Defender gem I've discovered is a "meleefender" Kinetics/Electric build. Basic idea a "scrapper support" defender.

That's right, you follow the psycho scrapper around, right next to or behind him. Tankers work too, but the scrappers get more benefit from the build.

Let's just say it's a rush to be a defender in the thick of the worst combat messes and walk away with a full health bar (well, when you don't die outright...lol).

Us Rad/Dark folks need to be careful though...the scrapper forums have been in un uproar over some recent tests and already many have caught-on that some Defender and Controller builds can handle as many or more villians than a scrapper and walk away in one piece. Albeit slower, but easily.

Statesman seems to be leaning on the idea that only tankers should be able to manage alot of villians at once. And the nerf bat has become an AoE lately...so remember to duck when Statesman swings it. :-O

[Mr_Jaytastic]

[ QUOTE ]
What a rad/dark defender isn't?

A blaster. Blasters are weak sissies that hit harder and some have nice AE attacks. Rad/Dark defenders are light on the AE, but we aren't half the sissies that blasters are. Blasters get hit once and they run away like they've had a limb hacked off. Rad/Dark defenders can play footsie with Freakshow tankers without panicing, but blasters can take out a pack of minions like nobody's business. Beating up minions by the dozen isn't what makes a hero a superheo. Beating up bosses is.


[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely no need to put down another AT in your guide. No need for name calling either...very immature. And for the record, I can kill bosses very fast as a blaster.

[stengah_NA]

Will we have an updated guide for issue 5 ? plz :)

[Max_Firepower]

Rad Baron just made L32; haven't tried EM Pulse yet, but will in a few.

The only (minor) disagreement I have is on Dark Pit. Prior ot L32, I found it invaluable. I have it slotted w/2 accuracies, 1 extened Disorient SO and it's terrific.

I was able to survive on Dark Blast & Gloom. I ditched Gloom at Respec for the reasons mentioned. I group, so it didn't fit me. I haven't taken Moonbeam and don't expect to anytime soon.

I had Lingering Radiation, dropped it at Respec, and will pick it up again at L35f.

Overall - nice, basic guide that will hopefully stand up in I5. I don't recall seeing any major whacks at Rad folks, but my Leadership/Maneuvers may get ditched in favor of something else.

[Local_Man]

Actually, I think that EM Pulse is getting nerfed along with all the AoE holds for Controllers. Almost Half duration, double recharge. That means it will be next to forever before it is ready to fire off again, but it lasts so long in I-4, that in I-5 it will still be useful.

[BigDumbTarget]

Anyone run any I6 (post ED) builds of this? I have an old lvl 26 (non-ED compliant) Rad/Dark Defender and am looking to respec him. Any build advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

BD

[TheCobaltRanger]

Any updates to this or newer guides? Just reactivated my account and have a respec but not sure what has changed... THANKS!