Local_Man

Yes, the Chance for Build Up works in Phantom Army. PA is only affected by buffs slotted in the power itself -- slot Damage enhancement, and you get more damage. The Chance for Build Up has a chance to hit for each attack, so with three PA attacking, it can hit quite a bit. However, it only affects the non-spectral damage. The part of PA's damage that heals back after a few seconds is not affected by the proc.

This is why my recommended slotting for PA in my guide is 4 Expediant Reinforcement, plus the Dam/Rech and Chance for Build Up from Soulbound. Take a look at my guide -- link in my sig.

Leadership isn't very popular for a few reasons. Most folks want to be able to solo, and leadership provides only minimal benefit solo. Also, in many cases, the powers you would have to skip may have more overall value than Leadership. It also depends on what you want out of your build and your playstyle. In my opinion, there are too many good powers in Illusion/Radiation to fit in the Leadership toggles. Now, I have Leadership on my Plant/Rad, but that is one of the few controllers I have been happy to add it to. I have Assault and Tactics. On my Mind/FF, I have Maneuvers for more Defense. But for Ill/Rad, generally you are looking for maximum Recharge, and Leadership won't help there.

Now, if you have a "designed team" where everyone takes Leadership, it can be wonderful. But one character with Leadership isn't all that impressive.

Well, there are a few details you need to include. How much of the leadership pool do you want to take? Assault? Probably. Maneuvers? Maybe. Tactics? Most likely. Vengence? Depends. Next, what powers are you willing to give up to fit in 2-4 leadership powers? I have seen several Illusion builds recently who skipped Spectral Wounds -- personally I think that is crazy, as you are losing out on a significant source of damage. Flash? EM Pulse?

Let us know what you want out of Leadership and what you are willing to give up to get it. Then the question becomes, "What do you want out of this build?" When building an IO build, you generally want to build towards one attribute or another as your primary goal. The Perma-PA build needs Recharge. You can build for Defense. You can build for Recovery or Regen. Or you can use IOs to create a generally effective build by getting great slotting for the powers you have and not worrying about set bonuses.

A little more direction, and we'll see what we can do.

Thermal is a fine set, with a combination of parts of Rad, Emp and Sonic. The Shields are Resistance Based, rather than Defense. A lot of the current focus is on Defense, so that makes it a little less popular. Unlike Sonic or Cold or FF, Thermal has heals, which is very good.

In general, the buffing sets are less popular (other them Emp). It seems that a lot of folks are more focused on being able to solo than team. Thermal is a more general-purpose set, with heals, buffs and debuffs. Nothing wrong with the set at all. It was one of the later added sets, which means that many of the older characters won't be Thermal.

My Ice/Ice Blaster was the second character I rolled. Knowing nothing about the game, I thought "Shiver" would be a good name. It was taken, and I didn't realize it was the name of one of the powers. So, I added "Shot" to it and "Shiver Shot" was born. It is one of my least interesting names, but I love the character.

(My Ice/Storm controller, on the other hand, is more typical of my characters. He had a whole back story to go with his name. The hero's brother invented devices that drain heat and use the power to control the weather. Just as Crey came to "shake down" the brother to get the devices, the hero drops the devices down a storm drain. As he hides, helpless, the Crey goons kill the brother. So he calls himself "Storm Drain" to remind himself of his failure. It also shows Draining heat to make Storms.)

A friend of mine and I started up a matched pair that was very effective. He was an Elec/Shield scrapper. I was a Plant/Kinetics controller.

He would go in and gather the foes in a nice tight group. Then I would step up and use Seeds of Confusion + Roots, then start my siphon powers while he pounded on them. Seeds+Fulcrum Shift+Roots+Shield Charge and Lightning Rod is sick. Groups are controlled, debuffed and dead.

He needed Defense, but I didn't . . . just a little bit of stealth (from a Stealth IO). One shot of seeds and the group was mostly controlled. If he got some damage, Transfusion would take care of it.

We teamed and talked on Ventrilo, making effective communications easy.

Welcome back!

We just had a thread about Plant/Rad in the last few days here. Take a look at that thread, and then try working up a build. There are certain choices you need to make depending upon your playstyle, so it is a good idea to explain how you want to use the character.

Plant/Rad is a great character, but I don't see it as a great farming character. It can be fairly safe, but not very fast in wiping out foes. I have one at 50, and I'm working on a Plant/Kin with the hopes that I can get it to kill large groups faster.

Forum Control:

Newb Post: Single target Immobilize. Broken by reference to Mentor project.

Mod Smack: Single target Hold. Individual post is wiped for violation of Forum Rules.

Beat a Dead Horse Post: AoE Immobilize. Brings up Dark Miasma for Controllers and the forum regulars have to debate it, again.

Red Name Post: AoE Confuse caused by repeated speculation on what Castle REALLY meant by what he said.

Rude Tell: PB AoE stun. Psychoti posts another one of his astounding experiences with the denizens of CoH. Incapacitates with laughter.

Thread Jack: Causes Repel effect to prevent reaching destination.

Necro Post: Rez Power. Posts to thread where there were no previous posts for 19 months.

Thread Lock: Ranged AoE Hold. Enough has been said on that topic already.

Forum Troll: Pet with PB AoE damage. Creates fury and blind rage in posters. Looks like a Unique Dragon.

So far, it seems that you are building your Plant/Storm the same way I would. I actually have a Plant/Storm on a less-often-used server at about 14, but it is one alt that I haven't had time to work on.

Personally, I think Snow Storm is undervalued. The -Recharge can have a huge impact at reducing the number of attacks, thereby reducing incoming damage. In upper levels, it may not be needed as much when you have other tools to mez foes, but it remains as an effective tool against tough-to-mez foes. (Snow Storm is one of the most effective tools in the Imperious TF, since those guys have a lot of mez resistance.)

I moved a few things around to make the character a little more effective and make better use of some of your slots:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Illusion Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Teleportation
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blind -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(13), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(15), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(15), HO:Nucle(43)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(3), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(3), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Dct'dW-Heal(5)
Level 2: Deceive -- CoPers-Conf/Rchg(A), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(7), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(9), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(9), CoPers-Conf%(11)
Level 4: Accelerate Metabolism -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(7), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(11), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(13), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(40), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(40)
Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 8: Radiation Infection -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(17), DarkWD-Rchg/EndRdx(17), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(19), HO:Enzym(19)
Level 10: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 12: Spectral Wounds -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(21), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(50)
Level 18: Phantom Army -- C'Arms-Acc/Rchg(A), C'Arms-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), C'Arms-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(25), C'Arms-Acc/Dmg(27), S'bndAl-Dmg/Rchg(27), S'bndAl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(33), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(33), P'Shift-End%(34)
Level 22: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(29)
Level 24: Lingering Radiation -- Acc-I(A)
Level 26: Spectral Terror -- U'spkT-Acc/Rchg(A), U'spkT-EndRdx/Fear(31), U'spkT-Acc/EndRdx(31), U'spkT-Fear/Rng(31), U'spkT-Acc/Fear/Rchg(33)
Level 28: Hover -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 30: Superior Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(40), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(43), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43), RedFtn-Def(46), RedFtn-EndRdx(46)
Level 32: Phantasm -- C'Arms-Acc/Dmg(A), C'Arms-Dmg/EndRdx(34), C'Arms-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), C'Arms-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(36), HO:Nucle(36)
Level 35: Flash -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(37), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(39), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(39), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(39)
Level 41: Indomitable Will -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 44: Mental Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(45), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 47: Psionic Tornado -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50), FrcFbk-Rechg%(50)
Level 49: Recall Friend -- Range-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 4: Ninja Run

I don't have access to Mids at the moment, but from taking a quick look at your build, I have a few small suggestions:

Blind: Consider replacing the two chance for Hold procs with an Acc/Dam and Damage. You'll kill stuff faster.

Superior Invis: You only have one EndRdx -- not enough. I would move slots out of Ling Rad (Only needs an Acc in the default slot with a Perma PA build), World of Confusion (the power stinks, don't take it) and Stamina to put 5 Red Fortune with the LotG Rech. You get your 5% Recharge back (that you lost from 6 Eff Adap in Stamina) and you can get more Defense and much better EndRdx in Sup Inv. That savings in endurance will probably more than make up for the 1.5% recovery loss from the Tempered Readiness set in Ling Rad.

Phantom Army: Replace the Call to Arms with Dam/Rech and Chance for Build Up from Soulbound. More damage and some nice Regen.

See if you can squeeze in a 5th slot in Phantasm, for some Acc/Dam, maybe a Hami-O.

World of Confusion is terrible. The radius is too small, and an Ill/Rad generally wants to stay out of melee anyway. Take the shield, or Combat Jumping for a LotG Recharge, or something else. Personally I prefer the Fire APP as I explain in my guide, but if you want mez protection, Psi is your only choice.

Sorry for the tone of my post . . . most people who roll up a Fire/Kin as their first controller have no idea what they are doing. They roll up a Fire/Kin because "i herd thay was gud." I try to steer them to something else because they need to learn how to do something other than farming to really enjoy this game. And Ill/Rad happens to be my favorite and it really is the best all-purpose controller. But if you are going by concept, then concept is always the most important.

I looked at your build. You have an (mostly) inexpensive softcapped-to-smash/lethal build. It is not bad as a solo, farming-type build. You give up some beneficial slotting for set bonuses, as I would prefer a second accuracy in powers like Siphon Power and Siphon Speed. You have also skipped Speed Boost and ID, which are very good for teaming but mostly skippable for solo play. (There have been recent arguments on the boards about whether to kick a Kinetics player off the team if he/she does not have speed boost.)

So, if your goal was to build a cheap, solo, farming build, it is pretty good.

In my opinion, a Fire/Kin is not a great choice as a first controller. It is a build that specializes in fast AoE damage for lower level foes, mostly used for farming certain types of missions. Fire/Kins tend to die a lot -- either the foe is dead fast, or you are. A Fire/Kin is generally not very strong against Bosses. A Fire/Kin gets its best powers late in the build, and doesn't really hit its peak until after level 40. So if it is your first controller, you may get frustrated as you level up.

Fire/Rad is better for a first-time controller, but not that much better. Fire/Rad is safer, but doesn't kill as fast. Fire/Rad is better against Bosses. However, the fire control set is somewhat weak on control until it is fully slotted up, so a Fire/Rad doesn't really hit its stride until about level 35 or so.

For a First controller, I suggest an Illusion/Radiation. See my guide for detailed suggestions on builds and strategy. Ill/rad is easy to play moderately well, but advanced strategies can be used to make it one of the strongest builds in the game. Ill/Rad gets good powers early, then more good powers in the middle, and then more in the later levels. Ill/Rad is great solo and on teams.

. . . and actually there is no need to include the "L" with Shift. I think there used to be a difference between lshift and rshift, but there is no longer. Either Shift is the same. But I know the bind works with "lshift" so that's how I use it -- and most right-handed people will use the left shift anyway, so there no harm.

There are some ways to set up the binds to have the white circles when you hold Shift, but those binds are complicated. The "Hold Shift and Click" is the easiest way to Teleport.

I don't know about the Wiki, but Super Speed plus any other kind of stealth (Stealth IO, Steamy Mist, Shadowfall, Arctic Fog, Stealth from power pool) = Invisibility for PvE. An easy way to do it for any character is Super Speed + Celerity Stealth IO in Super Speed. You can also use either a Celerity or an Unbounded Leap in any Sprint power combined with Super Speed. Or combine a Stealth IO with Steamy Mist or Shadowfall or Arctic Fog or Stealth. (The only one I haven't used is Stealth from the power pool. It seems a waste to use a power pool for stealth alone when you can get Stealth + fast travel from Super Speed.)

My Kinetics/Elec respec'ed out of Stamina in the early 40's and rarely has problems. The key to his ability to drain Endurance as an AoE is Power Build Up fired off before Thunderous Blast or Short Circuit. Unfortunately, that means that End Drain isn't an "every group" option.

Unlike most of the builds above, I like Voltaic Sentinel. If you are operating without Stamina, it is one of the most endurance efficient attacks you can have. Cast it before going into battle (when you don't have any endurance issues), and for the cost of about 3 Charged Bolts, you get 10 that fire off while you are busy doing something else. Little Sparky will often finish off foes for me without me having to do anything. I also have Lightning Bolt, charged Bolts and Ball Lightning. Generally, Elec is so low on damage that you need every bit you can get. I even added Zapp at 49 to get a little more damage.

I have the Leadership toggles and have little problem running them.

I'm particularly fond of my character concept. My Kin/Elec is an Egyptian-themed character who drains life energy from his foes to store it as electrical energy within himself. His name is "Sultan Battery." (say it out loud).