POWERSET ANALYSIS
First off, I would like to say: Darkness rocks! If you're looking for a powerset with good damage, versatility, good synergy (especially with Telepathy/Telekinesis), and little redundancy, look no further. It does, unfortunately, have two major drawbacks: 1. Unlike some other powersets, it doesn't have that many powers, so you will definitely have to dip into some other powersets. 2. A couple of the powers are JUST BAD (see below). Without further adieu, the powers:
Shadow Bolt: As far as energy builders go, this one isn't bad. Decent damage and energy generation. The Despondency advantage is great for keeping fear up on your main target, which helps out a great deal with several other powers.
Shadow Blast: A good bread n' butter single target attack. However, not so great that you can't replace it with another power (Ego Blast is a bit slower but hits harder). The advantage Psychotic Break is nice for the stun and works great with Despondency. Unfortunately, the DoT it adds is a bit lackluster. So, unless you want the stun for utility, consider getting rank 3 instead.
Shadow Embrace: A GREAT aoe. The damage on this power will easily kill most henchman squads and take a nice chunk away from a villain's health. The damage is so nice, in fact, I frequently find myself using it on single targets instead of Shadow Blast when I have a lot of energy and I want something to die fast. The Fatal Allure advantage is great if you want to add cc to the power. It will knock your enemies all over the place while you continue to melt their faces off and is great for pvp. However, if you have another aoe cc/dmg (like ego storm) or don't plan on pvp'ing, consider grabbing rank 3 instead for even more damage.
Life Drain: A MUST for any Darkness build, but it requires a few advantage points to make it shine. Rank 2 is, of course, nice to have but the Vampiric Sympathy advantage is what really makes this power outstanding. When coupled with Despondency and used against a Feared target, this power will easily heal you to full (even while MV's are beating on you) while still damaging your target. Definitely get Vampiric Sympathy instead of rank 3. Note: the healing of this ability functions independently of the damage and will heal you for the regular amount with or without shadow form or other damage buffs.
Ebon Rift: Eww. Remember when I said some Darkness powers are just bad? This is one of them. The damage is subpar, for a tier 3 power, it is difficult to aim, it is useless for pvp, and provides no cc. Shadow Embrace is a much better aoe. That being said, this power does have one use: a glitch that lets it kill enemies immune to knockback with the Vengeful Shadows advantage. Other than that, skip it.
Ebon Void: An ok shielding power. Definitely looks cool at the higher ranks but the lack of a lingering effect hampers it. If you do get it, then definitely pick up the Voracious Darkness advantage which increases its defense the longer you block. As a side note: if you have Regeneration as a passive, this is the shield for you! Whenever the fight doesn't go your way, start blocking, regain more health, and get more defense the longer you block/heal!
Shadow Shroud: A nice dps buff. If you don't have something to break out of holds, consider it. However, it offers no damage mitigation and the only defense it does give comes from its advantage Terrifying Visage, which is useless against ranged attackers.
Spirit Reverberation: As far as secondary energy unlocks go, this one is nice. Almost all your non-henchman opponents will be feared (if you have despondency), so it will constantly be giving you energy. However, as a Darkness toon you won't have too many problems with energy, so you can skip this if needed.
Dark Transfusion: A situationally beneficial power. The damage it causes you isn't huge, but the fact that it blocks most forms of healing can be very detrimental. If you are on a team and not getting hit, it can help out your damage, but using it while you have aggro is very risky. If you do pick it up, definitely grab Blood Sacrifice for the free damage.
Shadow Form: Freaking awesome. Stylish and effective. The damage buff is very nice and applies to Ego damage as well, making it work great with Telekinesis and Telepathy attacks. Unfortunately, the damage resistance of this energy form is next to useless. Personally, I run Shadow Form instead of a defensive passive and have no problem soloing, though I do have some healing spells for backup.
Grasping Shadows: The other BAD power in this set. Though the animation is cool and the energy cost is decent, there are very few situations in which you can actually use it. There are two reasons for this: 1. the area it effects is based on the charge time. So for it to effect its full area you have hold it for the full charge time. 2. It fails if you take any damage and expends the cooldown of the power anyway. Definitely skip .
Recommended powers from other frameworks:
Ego Storm: A great tier3 aoe dmg/cc. Much better and more reliable than Ebon Rift AND it scales with Shadow Form
Ego Sprites: Another aoe that scales with Shadow Form. The energy cost is next to nothing so it is basically free damage on long fights. Take it with the Slave Mentality and using it with Life Drain can make you nigh-unkillable in pvp.
Regeneration: If you want a defensive passive to take with darkness, this is the one. It works fine without superstatting recovery and combining its healing with life drain and/or ego sprites is another way to ensure you survivability.
(informacion extraida de los foros del Champions Online)
