Local_Man

First, this is a discussion, not a guide -- it should be moved to the City Life section.

Second, there actually are kids who play this game, including my 12-year-old. Sure, these kids hear all the crude, rude and socially unacceptable language at school, but that doesn't mean I want them to see it typed out in the game when the rules are clear that it is not supposed to be. I already kicked my child off of one other game because of the language being used. CoH is much better, but there are always those lowbrows who like to type things in a way to circumvent the filter. It is like turning on a channel on cable that you thought was OK, and then you get something gross that isn't supposed to be there.

Third, I generally don't want to see that stuff, either. The rules are clear, and there are no GOOD reasons why they shouldn't be followed. I don't care if you think I'm a prude . . .

You didn't really say, but I assume that you are posting this so that you can get comments before posting it in the Guides section?

I haven't read over everything yet, but the first thing that jumps out, or actually doesn't jump out, is the lack of formatting. This big block of text is very hard to read. There are colors, lists, and font choices in the forums . . . I suggest you use them. The format of your explanations are confusing --I'm not exactly what you were trying to say with the parentheses. Just as an example, take a look at my Ill/Rad and Earth/Rad guides. I tried to break up the information in a more readable way.

You don't have any numbers, no rating system and no suggested build. Most guides present one or more of these. Mostly, this guide seems to be a general outline of your opinions without many facts.

Some of the statements are not correct -- for example, you said, "I’ve never tried Fitness, but a high regen and/or recovery rate is always a good thing. And Swiftness’ Sleep protection helps close the one hole in your Dispersion Bubble." Actually, the power is called "Swift" and it does not have any "Sleep protection." The Health power in the Fitness pool has 48.44% Sleep RESISTANCE, which reduces duration of a sleep, but does not provide "protection." It is a good idea to research these statements in City of Data or Paragonwiki before saying something that is incorrect.

Another example: "But 2-slot a power with end/hold and recharge/hold (for a bonus 4% boost to recharge rate) with an SO for more hold and you’ve got a potent power." None of the Hold sets give a 4% Recharge for two. I think you meant the Unbreakable Constraint set (the expensive purple set) gives 4% RECOVERY for two. If you want Recharge, you have to go with either 4 Basilisk's Gaze or 5 Unbreakable Constraint.

And as said in a post below this one, your information on Earthquake is not correct.

You said, "Dispersion Bubble adds 7.5% defense from all damage methods (melee, range, AoE) and 7.5% from all damage types (smash, lethal, etc.) so that’s 15% from all attacks." My understanding is that the positional defenses do not stack with the typed defenses, so Dispersion bubble does not have those two types of defense stack. If there is a melee attack that does Smashing Damage, the defense value of the highest between Melee Defense and Smashing Defense will apply.

You said that Deflection Shield cannot be used on Stoney -- I do not think you are correct. Because he has high resistances, the effect is a lot less, but I believe that Stoney/Rocky can be shielded.

This appears to be a guide aimed substantually towards PvP, but it doesn't say that. You also use a lot of odd terms, that some people will understand but not everyone. "Cutting Tool?" "Clock time?" and "Stop" powers are not commonly used terms. Upon further reading, I saw that you did explain these terms, but I missed it the first time around -- better formatting might help. They seem to be strategy techniques, but the description is a bit confusing, and these are not commonly used terms. You use some terms without really defining the use, such that the use can be confusing. You use "purple" to mean a break free inspiration, but it can also refer to the Ultra Rare enhancements. Then you use the phrase "purple time" without explaining that you are referring to the "purple triangles of doom" for AVs.

There are a few of your statements that I disagree with, but as long as you're talking about strategy or opinion, you certainly have a right to hold those opinions or assert types of strategy. You assert that Earth powers are best used in melee, while I believe that they should be used mostly at range. You seem to really like Salt Crystals, while I find it to be Earth's most skippable power.

You do have some good things to say -- the strategy of using Cages to draw aggro, and then PFF to protect yourself from that aggro is pretty good.

I just got my Thugs/Dark up to 47 yesterday, solo most of the way. I don't think I would have gotten this far if it weren't for the Mastermind binds already set up in CityBinder. One button for bodyguard mode, another to tell the dummies to attack while still in bodyguard mode -- that way I can usually get the thugs to focus on the toughest target. Still, the Arsonist runs off to commit suicide on a regular basis -- I can live with that even if he doesn't.

I have recently been duo-ing a new Plant/Kin ("Flora the Explorer") with a Elec/Shield Scrapper. The scrapper gathers the group into a nice tight bunch, and then Seeds + Roots locks them down, does AoE damage, allows me to heal up the scrapper, speed boost him, Siphon Power (only level 23 so far), and hold any tougher foes. Even at level 23, we are plowing through missions amazingly quickly. Speed Boost got rid of all of my partner's endurance and recharge issues. My controls and heal make sure that he doesn't get hurt much. My AoE damage and his AoE damage lets us wipe out groups quickly.

Two tanks with taunt would make it even better. The massive damage boost from Fulcrum Shift once we get to level 38 will be huge.

I PM'ed someone going to Hero Con to ask the Devs if this bug is going to be fixed. I don't like my held foes looking like they are stunned. I haven't heard back, though.

To further expand on what MM said, you probably need to shift your way of thinking about the character. Controllers are quite different from Dominators even though they share a powerset. Controllers are very different from Defenders, too, (and Corrupters) even though they share a powerset.

You can build some controllers for damage, but it is really a compromise. You can solo controllers, but especially in low levels, it is pretty slow. Controllers are made to Control and Buff/Debuff. Sonic, in particular, is a team support secondary, not that great for improving your own damage, but great at reducing the damage taken by your team and eventually buffing the team damage. If you want to play a controller well, you need to embrace the purpose instead of fighting against it.

I'm not a fan at all of the Fighting Pool for a controller. If you really need an attack, use Air Superiority since it provides a quasi-control, too. Sometimes both your single target hold and Seeds are recharging, and AirSup's knockdown can be a huge help. Controllers have so many powers that will support their primary purpose that Damage should be only considered after the entire spawn is locked down and the team is doing everything it can. I would take Leadership over Fighting on a Controller unless I expected to solo.

I took a Plant/Rad to 50, and I'm working on a Plant/Storm and a Plant/Kin. For a control set, Plant actually has pretty high damage. But that is AoE DoT -- so don't expect to kill much yourself. Plant's damage comes mostly from the fact that the AoE Immobilize does twice the damage as other controllers. Plus, Carrion Creepers provides some decent AoE damage over time. So, that just means that your teammates will have to do a little less damage to take down the foes.

The key is, as you said, casting Seeds of Confusion, then pause for a second to let the group gather closer, then throw Roots. Slot Roots for 2 Accuracy, 3 Damage and 1 EndRdx or Recharge. After the main body of foes are under your control, then look for individuals who escaped -- bosses, foes who were missed or outside of your cone. Throw Roots again whenever it is up, but while Roots recharges and if everyone else is controlled, then look to your secondary to see what you can do to help your teammates do more damage or take less damage. Let the teammates do the job of taking down the foes -- your job is to make it easier and faster for them. You can slot Strangler for damage, depending upon your team and how fast they take down the foes. A slow team will need more control.

On my Plant Controllers, I take Strangler, Roots, Seeds, Vines, Carrion Creepers and the pet as "necessary" powers. I generally skip Entangle unless I expect to solo a lot. I have taken Spirit Tree as a team Regen buff, but it is entirely optional. I skip Spore Burst. Hasten and the fitness pool are mandatory.

I haven't taken a Sonic up very high, so I'm hesitant to suggest much there. The shields are important for Team Support, and then look to buff up the team/debuff the foes as much as you can.

Most of the stuff I haven't done is Red-side. One of my regular buddies never wanted to play villains, so we didn't. I have finally started playing some on the Red side, and finally have a mastermind up to 46, Brute to 32 and a Stalker to 32. Some of the stories are quite fun, and there are a few maps that are different. The Television arc was really quite funny -- just did it for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

• I have never done a Strike Force of any kind.
• Never defeated any GMs Red side.
• Never gotten any character over 300 million Infl, Red or Blue.
• I have finally done 3 of the 4 Shard TFs, but still have one to go.
• I have never taken one of my characters all the way through the Rikti War Zone content.
• My highest Kheld is 45, but mostly got there doing the non-Kheld content.
• I have never "purpled-out" any character. I have the Confuse set on several characters, and then a few of the Hold or Immobilize purples, but that's about it. The few damage set purples I have gotten were sold.