Dark Melee has the greatest variety of powers. Not only are there three solid attacks, but there is a power to help you recover health, and one to help you recover endurance, and another that can make an opponent cower in fear. Dark Melee excels at damaging a single target at a time, but some of the utility powers depend upon being surrounded by a crowd. All Dark Melee attacks reduce an opponent's accuracy, making it harder for them to hit you. Most Dark Melee attacks cause some negative damage, which is less likely to be resisted than the smashing and lethal damage which most other Scrapper primaries inflict.
Powers
Shadow Punch
The usual quick but low damage starting attack. Useful when starting, but can be dropped in later respecs once you have other attacks.
- Brawl Index: 2.33
- Endurance: 6.5
- Recharge: 3 seconds
- Animation: 1 second
Smite
Slower but more powerful version of Shadow Punch. They make a nice one-two combination attack for most of your early career.
- Brawl Index: 3.66
- Endurance: 10.0
- Recharge: 6 seconds
- Animation: 1 second
Shadow Maul
Your best attack in the entire pool, for one reason: it's a cone attack. With a bit of practice you can hit upwards of three villains every attack with this, and the damage isn't small to begin with.
- Brawl Index: 6
- Endurance: 11.0
- Recharge: 8 seconds
- Animation: 3 seconds
Touch of Fear
With the changes to fear, this is now a very useful power. 20% accuracy debuff, coupled with a greatly lowered attack rate make this power a wonderful damage limiter. With enough recharges, can be stacked on bosses, and allegedly AV's.
- Endurance: 12.5
- Recharge: 8
- Animation: 1 second
Siphon Life
Depending on your secondary, it can either be a life saver, or completely unnecessary. Very high endurance for not much health. However, it does damage, and is yet another 5% accuracy debuff which will stack with all your other attacks. Not a bad little package if you have the endurance for it.
- Brawl Index: 2.78
- Endurance: 22.5
- Recharge: 15
- Animation: 1 second
Taunt
Generic single target taunt. Generally lots more useful powers you could be taking.
Dark Consumption
PBAoE attack that restores 33 endurance per even-con minion hit? Get it immediately at 18, and six slot recharges ASAP. Stamina? Who needs stamina?
- Brawl Index: 2.22
- Endurance: 1.0
- Recharge: 3 minutes
- Animation: 2 seconds
Soul Drain
This makes a wonderful couple with Dark Consumption. Another PBAoE that boosts your damage and accuracy by 12.5% per enemy hit. In big groups the bonus from this will make Dark Consumption take minions to 50% and Shadow Maul one shot lt's. Two recharge rates make it come up together with a six-slotted Dark Consumption.
- Brawl Index: 2.78
- Endurance: 22.5
- Recharge: 2 minutes
- Animation: 3 seconds
Midnight Grasp
While the damage is not that much more than Shadow Maul, and is single target only, this final power has two useful qualities. One, it also immobilizes, useful for those runners, and two, it's entirely negative energy damage, which is resisted a lot less than the half smashing component of Shadow Maul.
- Brawl Index: 6.33
- Endurance: 17.5
- Recharge: 15 seconds
- Animation: 2 seconds