Local_Man

[ QUOTE ]
Well, I'm not an expert by any means or stretch of the imagination but the Soulbound Allegiance in Fire Imps does nothing but provide the set bonuses - it does not provide any boosts to your imp damage as imps spawn at level 49 and the enhancements only work on level 50's.

Probably not really stating that very well but I'm sure one of the real experts will come along and do a better job.

[/ QUOTE ]

<pats head> You did just fine! Soulbound is bugged currently, so it does not enhance pets below level 50. Fire Imps spawn at level 49 for a level 50 controller. The recharge will still help allowing them to be re-cast sooner, but the accuracy and damage enhancement does nothing.

There are a lot of problems that I see -- Char with only one slot is an automatic fail to me. Char is essential to hold bosses, and it is probably my most frequently used power.

The Posi in Fireball is wasted. You are so far over the ED cap that the damage does nothing.

You made other choices I would not have made, but then my playstyle is probably different. I don't have my Fire/Kin IO'd out to the max, as I have no patience for farming.

Then, I have a reasonably priced IO build that doesn't get Perma-PA, but there is only an 11.5 second down time while Hasten is running. Hasten only has about a 13 second down time. Again, I have made some choices that others would make differently, but I have tried to keep all the useful powers effective as much as possible. Some folks like more damage procs in Freezing Rain, for instance.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Ill-Storm Build: Level 50 Technology Controller
Primary Power Set: Illusion Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blind -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(3), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(11), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(11), HO:Perox(15), HO:Nucle(42)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc-I(A)
Level 2: Spectral Wounds -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Thundr-Acc/Dmg(42)
Level 4: Deceive -- CoPers-Conf/Rchg(A), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(7), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(13), CoPers-Conf(34), CoPers-Conf%(42)
Level 6: Snow Storm -- TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(A), TmpRdns-Rng/Slow(7), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9), RechRdx-I(9)
Level 10: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 12: Steamy Mist -- S'fstPrt-ResKB(A), ImpArm-ResDam(13), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(15), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(27), LkGmblr-Rchg+(31)
Level 14: Super Speed -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- LdyGrey-DefDeb(A), LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg(17), LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg/EndRdx(17), LdyGrey-Rchg/EndRdx(27), LdyGrey-%Dam(37), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 18: Phantom Army -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(19), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(19), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(21), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 20: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(34), Mrcl-Rcvry+(46)
Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(23), EndMod-I(25)
Level 24: Hurricane -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(25), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(43), DarkWD-Slow%(43)
Level 26: Spectral Terror -- Abys-Acc/Rchg(A), Abys-Dam%(43)
Level 28: Thunder Clap -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(29), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(29), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(31), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(31)
Level 30: O2 Boost -- Heal-I(A)
Level 32: Phantasm -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg(33), BriL'shp-Acc/Dmg(33), BriL'shp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33)
Level 35: Tornado -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(36), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(36), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(37), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg(39), Dev'n-Hold%(39), Entrpc-Dmg/Rchg(40), Entrpc-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 41: Hibernate -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Ice 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: Frost Breath -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50)
Level 49: Frozen Armor -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50), DefBuff-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment

OK, as promised, here is a common IO build. I made some choices that some folks might not make.

As I said in my earlier post, I used Super Speed + Steamy Mist in place of either of the two Illusion invisibility powers. That combo is adequate for most of PvE. I also like Super Speed for this character, as a lot of my playstyle depends on positioning. Use of Hurricane effectively is all about positioning. I actually don't use Hurricane that much -- just turn it on to push baddies into the right place, or use it as a barrier or as a "panic button" power. I find that running it too often tends to be counter-productive.

I find having O2 Boost is nice to heal up my Phantasm between encounters, and to free teammates from some mez effects. If you plan to use it a lot, you may want to slot it up with more Heal and maybe an EndRdx.

I chose to add Thunderclap to this build, even though it only stuns minions. I was very, very tempted to take Flash instead. T-clap recharges much faster and looks cool, even though Flash will hold Lts. Besides, when I leveled up my Ill/Storm, my only other Stormy was an Ice/Storm who had skipped T-clap, so I wanted to try it out. However, it is much more effective on characters who can stack it with another stun (Earth, Fire, Grav).

I chose the Ice APP mainly for Hibernate. Storm has neither a self heal nor an endurance recovery power -- Hibernate provides both in an emergency. Plus, Ice blast works very, very nicely with Blind-SW-Blast-SW as a great single-target attack chain. I went with Frost Breath as an AoE that doesn't need an AoE Immobilize to get maximum benefit like Ice Storm does.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Ill-Storm Build: Level 50 Technology Controller
Primary Power Set: Illusion Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blind -- Acc-I(A), Hold-I(3), RechRdx-I(11), RechRdx-I(11), Acc-I(15), Hold-I(42)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc-I(A)
Level 2: Spectral Wounds -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(3), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(5), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 4: Deceive -- Acc-I(A), Conf-I(7), RechRdx-I(13), RechRdx-I(34), Acc-I(42)
Level 6: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(7), Slow-I(46)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9), RechRdx-I(9)
Level 10: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 12: Steamy Mist -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(13), ResDam-I(15), ResDam-I(27), S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx(31)
Level 14: Super Speed -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(17), RechRdx-I(17), DefDeb-I(27), DefDeb-I(37), DefDeb-I(40)
Level 18: Phantom Army -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(19), Acc-I(21), Dmg-I(21), Dmg-I(23)
Level 20: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(34), Heal-I(46)
Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(23), EndMod-I(25)
Level 24: Hurricane -- EndRdx-I(A), ToHitDeb-I(25), ToHitDeb-I(43), ToHitDeb-I(43)
Level 26: Spectral Terror -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Thunder Clap -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(29), Dsrnt-I(29), RechRdx-I(31), Dsrnt-I(31), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 30: O2 Boost -- Heal-I(A)
Level 32: Phantasm -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33)
Level 35: Tornado -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(36), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(37), Dmg-I(37)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Dmg-I(A), Dmg-I(39), Dmg-I(39), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(40), EndRdx-I(40)
Level 41: Hibernate -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Ice Blast -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 47: Frost Breath -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(48), Dmg-I(48), Dmg-I(48), Slow-I(50)
Level 49: Frozen Armor -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(50), DefBuff-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Containment

[ QUOTE ]
Should a illusion/storm guy pick up tough and weave or no? I read that guys guy, but it's so long that I can't find anything on powerpools in there

[/ QUOTE ]

In my opinion, no. Small amounts of Resistance or Defense only provide a significant benefit if you can stack it with other Resistance or Defense. There isn't enough defense from Illusion or Storm to make those toggles worth while. You would get more benefit from the Healing Pool. . . . but I didn't take that one, either.

A well-played Ill/Storm shouldn't get hit much, and you have some "Panic Button" powers to protect you. Hurricane, Flash, Gale and Tornado can all perform that function.

The biggest problem with Ill/Storm is too many good powers. Those powers will generally do more for you than most pool powers. Those powers will usually do more to prevent a faceplant than most pool powers.

I made in interesting choice with my Ill/Storm. In order to fit in more Storm powers, I decided to use Super Speed + Steamy Mist for invisibility instead of taking either Superior Invis or Group Invis. The stealth in Super Speed combines with the stealth in Steamy Mist for full invisibility. That let me fit in everything from the Storm set, since Hasten was needed anyway. Others choose to take either SI or GI (I prefer SI, but GI has its uses, too).

I'll try to work on a build for you based on my build.

[ QUOTE ]
Sure, Spooky (so using that nickname now) keeps most enemies fairly quiet, but Flash makes sure they stay quiet.

[/ QUOTE ]

I play with a group of friends, using voicechat with Ventrilo. Not long after we started doing this, I was playing my Ill/Rad on night when one of the folks we on voice chat started laughing and then said he would be right back. He came back a few minutes later and explained that his young daughter was watching on her dad's screen, when I cast Spectral Terror, with its ghostly appearance and wail. It scared her so much that she went running out of the room, and Dad had to go comfort her.

So "Spooky" has been my name for Spectral Terror since then. Then I get Fluffy (Dark Servant) and Sparky (Voltaic Sentinel) on my Dark/Elec Defender, and it sounds like a bunch of dogs and cats.

But my favorite CoH name story comes from the old Hami-Raid days. One of the common strategies was for a team of Illusion controllers to float over Hamidon and continually drop Phantom Army to draw the attention of the Mitos and Hami itself. (Doesn't work any more.) My friend Neuttrino was leading the "Drop Team" and getting everyone in position to begin dropping Phants, waiting for instructions from the raid leader on when to begin. (Now you have to understand, Neut was famous for her typos . . . ) At the right time, suddenly Neut typed to all the folks on the Drop Team, "OK, everyone drop your Pants."

That one missing 'h' was the source of great entertainment for a long time.

[ QUOTE ]
My g/f and I are running a pair of Illusion/Rads who just dinged 24...

...and it really is like playing the game on 'easy mode'. We pretty much have Hasten and two AM's up all the time, and at least one Phantom Army up constantly... doubling up on the debuffs becomes truly ridiclous.

Looking forward to adding a couple of buffable Phantasm's to the mix.

[/ QUOTE ]

What was really "easy mode" was when I joined up with a super team of Ill/Rads. Imagine 8 AMs, 8 sets of Phantom Army, 8 people casting Group Invis for the stacked defense and 8 Phantasms. We worked harder keeping AM and Phantom Army up on a permanent basis that we did having to beat on bad guys. With the recharge from 8 AMs, we all had perma Hasten, AM and PA. 24 Phantom guys will destroy anything very quickly. We just ran through missions, pausing just long enough to re-cast GI, PA and AM, and the Army guys just killed everything for us. I would use EF on occasion on a boss, but nothing else lasted long enough to bother with the debuffs.

The only thing easier than a team of Ill/Rads is a team of Fire/Rads. Choking Cloud + Hot Feet + Fire Imps X 8 is like a swarm of locusts or Pirhanna.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm totally confused by looking at some of these builds I been looking at...
Why is everyone skipping Flash? Last time I used that ability it owned. Why on earth would you skip it?

P.S.
Also, can someone give me a link to a non-dead and non-dated ill/storm build? Can't seem to find one.

[/ QUOTE ]

For Ill/Storm, the best guide out there is Tal_N's Smoke and Mirrors Ill/Storm Guide.

I have a few minor disagreements with him, but this is an excellent guide -- probably the best guide on any Illusion Controller -- until I get my Ill/Rad guide done.

On Flash, in addition to Sandolphan's excellent answer: It actually gets a bit of a bum rap now-a-days. The problems with Flash are (a) Flash is a PB AoE Hold, with the same radius and duration as Ice's Glacier and Fire's Cinders. The cast time is longer, but since you can go invisible, that doesn't matter much. In the old days, Flash had a duration almost twice as long and recharged almost twice as fast, but now it is up rarely and doesn't last very long. 6-Slotting helps, but only to get it not even as good as its previous UNSLOTTED levels. (b) It comes too early in the set. At level 6, you don't have the ability to enhance it enough to make it decent. At that level, it has poor accuracy (a -20% penalty like most AoE powers), short duration and a very long recharge. (c) More importantly, Illusion has no other AoE control power to back up Flash when its duration runs out until later in the build. So, if you take it at 6, fire it off in a crowd, that crowd of baddies will only be held for a short time and then all be aggro'ed on YOU.

Illusion gets no other AoE control powers until 26, Spectral Terror. But Spooky lasts 45 seconds and recharges in 45 seconds out of the box, so why do you need Flash at that point? Containment? Illusion has no AoE damage powers, so AoE containment does little good until you get an AoE damage power from your APP set in the 40's, and by then, you are used to playing without it. Its main use is as a "Panic Button" power for most folks.

All that said, I like having Flash. I have it on my Ill/Rad and Ill/Kin, but not on my Ill/Storm or Ill/TA. On Ill/Rad, you also have EM Pulse as a back-up (and overall better) hold. Since you have a second Panic Button power and/or an second AoE hold that will let you hold bosses, you can be more free to use Flash. On my Ill/Rad, I use Flash a lot to fill in when Phantom Army is recharging. Ill/Storm can use Freezing Rain, and Ill/TA has Oil Slick Arrow to fill that same role.

[ QUOTE ]
Whats a good secondary to pair up with my illusion primary? Would storm be decent? Force field? Sonic? I haven't played in years and honestly I don't even know if illusion is even good anymore...

[/ QUOTE ]

I have Ill/Rad, Ill/Storm and Ill/TA all at 50, and those are the three secondaries I would recommend most. Ill/Rad is overall the most flexible build in the game -- it can solo, go on small teams or big teams. Rad is the only secondary that has Recharge AND Resistance Debuffs AND Defense Debuffs, all of which make Phantom Army better.

Ill/Storm is just a lot of fun. Freezing Rain has both Defense and Resistance debuffs for Phantom Army. Storm's tools fill in holes in the Illusion set . . . but some of the chaos powers have to be limited while on large teams.

Ill/TA is a very different playstyle, almost all ranged, with nice debuffs for Phantom Army.

Kinetics is a very powerful secondary, but it has some synergy problems with Illusion, like when Phantasm knocks back your targets for your siphon powers.

Ill/Emp is a great battlefield healer, but Emp lacks debuffs or recharge.

Sonic has Resistance debuffs only. FF has very little to offer Illusion in terms of synergy.

[ QUOTE ]
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Basic Ill/Rad: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Illusion Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blind -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(5), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(9), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(37), Heal-I(40), EndRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 2: Spectral Wounds -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(3), Dmg-I(3), Dmg-I(5), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 4: Deceive -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(11)
Level 6: Accelerate Metabolism -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(7), RechRdx-I(7), EndMod-I(43), EndMod-I(46), EndMod-I(46)
Level 8: Radiation Infection -- EndRdx-I(A), ToHitDeb-I(15), ToHitDeb-I(15), ToHitDeb-I(17), DefDeb-I(17), DefDeb-I(34)
Level 10: Superior Invisibility -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(11)
Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 14: Super Speed -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Phantom Army -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(19), RechRdx-I(19), Acc-I(21), Dmg-I(21), Dmg-I(23)
Level 20: Health -- Heal-I(A)
Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(23), EndMod-I(25)
Level 24: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(25), EndRdx-I(27)
Level 26: Spectral Terror -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(27)
Level 28: Lingering Radiation -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 30: Group Invisibility -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Phantasm -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33)
Level 35: Flash -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(36), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(36), Hold-I(37), Hold-I(37)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 41: Mental Blast -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(42), RechRdx-I(43), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 44: Mind Over Body -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(45), ResDam-I(45), ResDam-I(45), ResDam-I(46)
Level 47: Psionic Tornado -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(48), Dmg-I(48), Dmg-I(48), EndRdx-I(50)
Level 49: Indomitable Will -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50), RechRdx-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment


My advice on inventions: you can level to 12 fine without slotting enhancements. TO's are junk anyway. Go fight, kill Hellions and Clockwork. Sell any enhancement drops you get at the store. When your invention salvage inventory gets full, go to Wentworths and drop it off but don't sell it. When you get to level 12, run the invention tutorial in Steel Canyon, and be sure to read the text. Running the tutorial at level 12 lets you get a free level 15 Accuracy IO, which is basically like an Accuracy DO that you can never outlevel. After running the tutorial, you should understand how to craft enhancements. And if you've been fighting Hellions and Clockwork, you should have a pretty good mix of invention salvage available for crafting, if not enough influence to pay to craft an invention for every slot.

[/ QUOTE ]

As usual, Hilker has great advice. For solo, you might want to consider using Air Superiority/Fly for travel, adding Hasten at 24, EF at 28 and LR at 30. I think that the melee attack will do a lot more good than a second invisibility power.

Blind-Spectral Wounds-Air Sup, make a decent attack chain until you get APP blasts at 41. Then the single target blasts from Fire, Primal, Ice or Mind make a nice attack chain.

Also, I like a APP set with a different type of damage, for when you go up against Psi-resistant foes like Robots.

Yep. It was a real pain, as I had to download a file, put it in the Windows/System32 subdirectory and then try to get it registered . . . Only the command line had to be running in administrator mode. What a Pain in the Tail.

Thanks so much for the help!

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmm... I'm going to do some research on Vista and see what I need to do to get the control file to where it needs to go.... I will get this fixed somehow.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks so much, as your editor looks awesome.

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, that's the Visual Basic richtextbox control... it's supposed to automatically install in your System folder when you install the program.... I'm unfamiliar with Vista, does it use a "system" folder like XP does?

EDIT: I just found out that my Installer has an option of Windows/System and Windows/System64... so I added the Richtextboxcontrol to the 64 directory too.... try uninstalling, redownloading the new installer and reinstalling... please tell me how it works out for you.

[/ QUOTE ]

I uninstalled both the CoH FOE and VB Runtime, then re-installed VB Runtime and then CoH FOE.

Same error.

The OP stole my best one:

/afk Python got loose

It is actually a Ball Python, only about 2.5 feet long and completely harmless. But when people hear "python" they tend to freak out.

I just tried to install it, as I'm working on a very long guide that this would be a huge help.

It all seemed to install fine, but when I ran the program on my laptop running Vista 64-bit Home Premium, it said, "Component RICHTX32.OCX is not correctly registered: file is missing or invalid"

Not being a programming wiz, I have no idea what that means, other than something is missing. I'm guessing it may be in the visual basic thingee.

Just a few thoughts:

When I saw the slotting for Fulcrum Shift, thought it was a mistake until I checked your global bonuses -- but still, shouldn't you think about slotting some slots in there? I would take a couple out of Health, as the healing bonus is not significant. Another option is to move a slot from Health to Fire Imps, and put an Acc/Dam/Rech Call To Arms in there.

Increase Density: Why use the Impervium Armor set? As a Fire/Kin with Transference, the buff to endurance isn't needed. Another set, maybe like Reactive Armor, might provide more of a benefit. Same with Fire Shield and Tough.

Hot Feet: Personally, I slot Hot Feet for more EndRdx, which will give you more benefit than the Reactive Armor set. Regardless, why not use the proc from Armageddon instead of the one from Eradication? It its 33% of the time instead of just 20% of the time. AND it would give you a 10% Recharge boost. If you move the Heal/EndRdx slot from health and put an EndRdx into Hot Feet, it should make up for the endurance loss for changing out Impervium Armor.

Here's just a possible option:


Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

War Admiral: Level 50 Natural Controller
Primary Power Set: Fire Control
Secondary Power Set: Kinetics
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Char -- Apoc-Dmg(A), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg(3), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(5), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(5)
Level 1: Transfusion -- Nictus-Heal(A), Nictus-Heal/HP/Regen/Rchg(11), Nictus-Acc/Heal(17), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Heal/HP/Regen(27), Nictus-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 2: Fire Cages -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(27), Posi-Dmg/Rng(34), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34)
Level 4: Siphon Power -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(7), RechRdx-I(7)
Level 8: Hot Feet -- Armgdn-Dmg(A), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(9), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Armgdn-Dam%(37), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 10: Siphon Speed -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Flashfire -- Amaze-Stun(A), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(13), Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(13), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(15), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(15)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- RgnTis-Regen+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(19), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(19), Numna-Heal(46)
Level 20: Stamina -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(21), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(21), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(40), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(40), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(40)
Level 22: Cinders -- UbrkCons-Hold(A), UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(23), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(23), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(25), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(25)
Level 24: Speed Boost -- EndMod-I(A)
Level 26: Increase Density -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(39), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(39), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 28: Ring of Fire -- GravAnch-Immob(A), GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(29), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(29), GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(31), GravAnch-Hold%(31)
Level 30: Kick -- Acc-I(A)
Level 32: Fire Imps -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(33), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(33), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(34), C'Arms-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 35: Transference -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(36), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(36), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(36), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(37), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(37)
Level 38: Fulcrum Shift -- RechRdx-I(A), Acc-I(46)
Level 41: Fire Ball -- Ragnrk-Dmg(A), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(42), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(42), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(43)
Level 44: Fire Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(45), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(45), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(46)
Level 47: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(48), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(48), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(48)
Level 49: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(50), LkGmblr-Def(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Containment

[ QUOTE ]
Not to criticize you or anything, or anyone else that likes damage, but I never understood why people who want to solo go for Controllers... They are Crowd Control Archetype, not a damage archetype. If you want to solo and do damage, go with a Blaster. Leave the controlling to the trollers and the blasting to the blasters.

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No offense, but many upper level Controllers can handle solo missions better than most upper level blasters or most other ATs. Controllers are slow to level solo in low levels, but get more and more powerful in upper levels.

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I think a good solo Blaster build is Ice/Ice. Lots of control there, great damage, and a nuke that out-nukes them all.

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An Ice/Ice Blaster is a great solo character, with three holds, some AoE control and good damage. Three AoE damage powers, and lots of slows. Mine is built to stay at range, so he has no melee damage powers. Shiver is a key AoE control power.

I think the general wisdom is that the best solo character is a scrapper leveling up. However, in the upper levels, some controllers can out-do some scrappers. With the inclusion of Containment, all controllers can solo, but some are better than others.

My favorite would be an Illusion/Storm or Illusion/Rad, with an Illusion/TA not too far behind. Illusion handles single targets well, can control the fight before it begins with Deceive, and can handle AoE situations with Phantom Army and Spectral Terror. I suggest taking Blind, Spectral Wounds and Deceive as your first three powers. Delay Flash, if you take it at all. Illusion starts out good, gets much better at 18 with Phantom Army, and then continues to get better and better.

Mind has a good solo attack chain early with Dominate, Mezmerize (slotted for damage) and Levitate. You then get Confuse to handle bosses easily. Mind starts strong on damage, but then upper levels seem to add more control than damage.

Gravity has good single target damage powers in low levels, but lacks AoE until upper levels. Still, it looks cool to clobber a foe with a car or gargoyle.

Plant is kind of the opposite of Grav, in that it excels at AoE control and damage, but is a little weak on single target damage. Once you get Seeds of Confusion at level 8, the extra damage in Roots makes handling groups of minions and lieutenants easy. Multilple bosses can be a problem before Carrion Creepers at 26.

Fire starts slow, but becomes the best solo controller in the upper levels once you get your Imps and other powers slotted up. Fire/Kin has tons of offense, but not as much protection as other builds. Fire/Rad has better protection, doesn't kill as fast but is still a beast. A team of Fire/Rads is like a Cat 5 Hurricane -- everything gets wiped out. Both are very good solo.

Earth and Ice are low damage primaries. You can solo them with a lot of patience and careful planning. However, both my Earth/Rad and Ice/Storm solo quite well in upper levels.

For secondaries, I suggest Rad or Storm mostly. Storm adds nice damage powers in upper levels, and is just fun to play, while Rad is more all-purpose. Fire/Kin is very popular for good reason, but Kin is more of a melee set. TA works great at range and adds a damage power at 35. In general for solo, I would not use Empathy, Sonic or FF, and probably not Thermal.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Several pets have recently been buffed: Earth's Rocky is much better, dropping Stone Mallet for Seismic Smash and with much better AI. Jack is better, and Venus Fly Trap a/k/a Audrey II or "Twoey" is much better.

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From the OP's perspective (and one of the followup's posts), Audrey I never existed, so the improvement doesn't technically count.


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I think the OP said that he played Villains when it came out, so he had access to Plant on that side.

I call the Fly Trap "Audrey II" or "Twoey" because that is the actual name Seymore gives to the Plant in "Little Shop of Horrors." Audrey I was the girl. (Just a pet peeve of mine -- I really like that movie and play. The Play ends differently, with the Plant winning.)

[ QUOTE ]
Controllers were hit very hard in i5 by the troller nerf. Global Defense Nerf, and Enhancement Diversification also hit every toon as well.

From what I recall, most likely this is incorrect or has errors or is incomplete on some level, the major troller nerfs since you've been gone consist of: <ul type="square">[*]All AoE mez effects were reduced in half for duration[*]All AoE mezzes were increased by twice for recharge duration[*]Affected AoEs were pretty much any AoE, and not just mez including APP Ice Storm, Freezing Rain, Flashfire and Bonfire, for example.[*]Major pets no longer stack, they are perma for the duration of the zone/mission. Casting a new pet will dismiss the old one. No more 3 Jack Frosts or 21 Fire Imps.[*]AVs no longer are affected fully by a majority of the debuff types. They highly resist most debuffs.[*]Purple triangles of doom still exist on AVs. No more standing beside Tyrant with hurricane and flooring his accuracy. Some debuff types work better than others, and buffs to players tend to fare better against AVs.[*]Pets no longer respond to +recharge buffs, eg. speed boost etc. Note that this is for the pet's firing rate and not the rate at which the pet can be recast. Note that for something like speed boost, the attack rate of the pet is unchanged but the movement rate and endurance modification is increased as it did before.[*]Fire imps are now cast at -1 to the caster.[*]Many powers across the sets are slowly being harmonized to common values. Eg. Mind confuse and Illusion deceive. Some have been changed but not fully standardized. Eg. Thunderclap in storm is no longer autohit but the mag is still low so it only affects minions.[*]Most controller powers have been reduced in effectiveness versus their defender counterparts, where they used to be close/identical in duration/power. Eg. Damage amounts in Storm/ are higher than their /Storm counterparts.[*]Fire imps still freak out on oil slick from TA set.[*]Hurricane no longer debuffs on a .1 second tick rate, it debuffs on a 1 second tick rate.[/list]'Buffs'<ul type="square">[*]Pets can move across elevators.[*]Pets that had random numbers (PA and imps) are now fixed in number.[*]Controllers get something called 'containment' which grants them a damage bonus when (most) mez types are active upon the target. This allows the controller to solo much more effectively. Only powers used by the player grant a containment bonus. Pets do not get the bonus, and most pseudo pets and rains do not either, although this is not consistent. Eg. Freezing Rain does not gain containment bonus but APP Ice Storm will.[*]Controllers have a chance to score a critical mez whenever they use their mez power. This is a +1 bonus that shows up as "overpower" so controllers have the innate ability to mez a boss level enemy in a single attack.[*]Pet AI is considered improved for Poo Man and Jack Frost.[*]Pets no longer are affected by -recharge debuffs, eg. siphon speed etc. Note that in the siphon speed example, the movement rate of the pet will still be affected, just not the pet's attack rate.[*]/TA has had a significant buff such that it is no longer gimpy feeling, and is quite powerful.[/list]
Various other notes<ul type="square">[*]AVs now can spawn as an 'Elite Boss' on heroic level to allow for solo players to complete missions.[*]One shot code allows for players to survive some extreme level damage that could previously defeat a player from full health. DoT or multicomponent damage can still 'one shot' players. NPCs are exempt from the one shot code, including your pets.[*]Many phase shift and hibernate powers are now on a 30 second timer maximum versus perma.[*]Perma hasten is no longer common but still can be achieved.[*]Powers received an over 18% reduction in endurance consumed because of ED. [*]There is a streak breaker code that allows players to eventually hit a high def target or be hit. This means that regardless of your defense or to-hit debuffs, you can eventually be hit if you allow your attacker enough swings.[*]Set bonuses from slotting specific Invention Origin Enhancements (ie. loot) is now the best way to outfit characters. Hamidon origin enhancements are used sparingly, for the most part, where IOs won't fit or may not give as much bonus[*]Hamis no longer give +50% bonuses (in general). They are functioning mostly like combination SOs now.[*]Some power aspects are on a reduced bonus scheme, even with ED in consideration. Eg. range bonuses and accuracy debuff enhancements and limits are on a different category/schedule than accuracy and damage limits[*]Many Epics (now ancillary power pools) have power changes and addition of another power to choose from. Many have 5 powers to pick from instead of 4. Most 'epics' for controllers were reduced in damage from i4. Eg. Ice Epic Ice Storm no longer had blaster damage associated with it, even with containment bonus Controller APP Ice Storm no longer does as much damage as the Blaster version[*]There is a second build (available at the trainer) to allow you to rebuild your toon without unslotting or losing your current build. You can swap between builds A and B just by visiting the trainer. This allows you to have things like: you current build now and your new spec, or single target build and an AoE build, or PvE build and PvP. The builds are from the same power sets, eg. fire and kinetics can't be changed out, but everything else can be different between builds, including your pools, APP, powers, slotting and order, as well as the IOs and set bonuses that they contain.[*]Almost all powers have a maximum number of targets that they affect. Usually you can only draw the aggro of about 20ish attackers, so you can no longer herd zones or entire (large) maps at once.[*]Game now shows numbers. You can see detailed info when you manage your enhancement slotting. As well you can also see your own combat attributes in the powers UI in game.[*]Toggles. Defensive toggles no longer drop during mez. They are only suppressed. Offensive toggles are dropped during mez. This means that Armors and concealment buffs automatically bounce back after being held, slept, etc.[/list]
Oh yeah, and welcome back

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This is a pretty good list with a few minor inaccuracies. For example:

Not all AoEs were affected by the AoE Hold nerf -- AoE Immobilize and Sleeps were not changed. The Recharge increase was not quite twice its previous duration.

The no-multiple pets affected others, too. No more multiple Dark Servants, even though Fluffy still is on a timer. Same with Voltaic Sentinel a/k/a Sparky. However, Warshades can still have multiple fluffies.

Several pets have recently been buffed: Earth's Rocky is much better, dropping Stone Mallet for Seismic Smash and with much better AI. Jack is better, and Venus Fly Trap a/k/a Audrey II or "Twoey" is much better.

The Oil Slick Arrow bug was partially fixed, but not all the way. It used to be that all controller pets on the oil slick when it was lit would run far, far away and could not re-enter the area where the fire had been lit. Now, they still run, but they will stop outside of its range and use ranged attacks. Unfortunately, Fire Imps don't have a ranged attack. (I find it ironic that Phantom Army, invulnerable to everything other than Hamidon, run away in fear from a fire patch.)

Oh, and by the way, Hamidon is now the only thing that can actually kill Phantom Army. The Hami Raid was substantially changed, too. Many of us old timers quit doing Hami Raids as a result.

The "overpower" chance was always there. The only thing that changed was that now the game shows "overpower" when it hits.

Streak Breaker only applies to players attacking foes, not foes attacking players. However, there has always been a cap on ToHit and Defense of 95%, so there is always a minimum 5% chance that you will be hit, no matter how good your defense is or how low the level of the foe.

If I'm wrong on some of these, I'm sure others will come along and fix my mistakes.

[ QUOTE ]
Not.. Sure if this is a good spot or not to post this, haha, I don't use the blueboards much Uhm.. The name is "Radiant Illusions", 1.5bil, champions server, anyone interested in buying it? I'm also willing to sell the toon name "Hemp Man", my plant/emp controller, 2bil

Edit: Sorry, it's 3bil, my bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

"I don't use the boards much . . . "

Thank goodness! What kind of unimaginitive twit would spend any influence at all on a name? Especially a lame name like that? If it was really clever or funny . . . I still wouldn't pay for it.

To me, the whole point of a name is for it to be something clever or funny that I came up with. I have a bunch of them that I'm kind of proud of and have gotten comments on.

I don't know about a guide, but I can post an SO-type build. Please note that my character stays at range using the Speed-on-Demand binds to almost always stay in Hover/Fly while fighting. He has no melee attacks because he stays out of melee. He only lands to set an Ice Slick in most cases.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Shiver Shot: Level 50 Mutation Blaster
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Ice Manipulation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Ice Blast -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(11), Acc(36), RechRdx(37)
Level 1: Chilblain -- Acc(A)
Level 2: Ice Bolt -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(7), Dmg(23), Acc(42), RechRdx(43)
Level 4: Frost Breath -- Acc(A), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(11), Acc(42), Range(42)
Level 6: Hover -- EndRdx(A)
Level 8: Freeze Ray -- Acc(A), Acc(9), Hold(9), RechRdx(15), Hold(15), RechRdx(37)
Level 10: Swift -- Flight(A)
Level 12: Ice Storm -- Acc(A), Dmg(13), Dmg(13), Dmg(48), RechRdx(50), RechRdx(50)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight(A), Flight(43), EndRdx(43)
Level 16: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(17), Heal(17)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Acc(A), Dmg(19), Dmg(19), Dmg(31), Acc(34), RechRdx(40)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Ice Patch -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(23)
Level 24: Build Up -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(25), RechRdx(25), ToHit(48), ToHit(50)
Level 26: Bitter Freeze Ray -- Acc(A), Hold(27), Acc(27), RechRdx(37), Hold(46), RechRdx(46)
Level 28: Shiver -- Acc(A), Acc(29), Slow(29), Slow(39), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40)
Level 30: Aim -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(31), RechRdx(31)
Level 32: Blizzard -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), RechRdx(34), RechRdx(34)
Level 35: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(36)
Level 38: Freezing Touch -- Acc(A), Acc(39), Hold(39)
Level 41: Personal Force Field -- RechRdx(A), DefBuff(46)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- ResDam(A), ResDam(45), ResDam(45), EndRdx(45)
Level 47: Force of Nature -- ResDam(A), EndMod(48)
Level 49: Super Speed -- EndRdx(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Defiance

[ QUOTE ]
I actually have a level 30 Illusion controller and didn't know Blind causes sleep...

[/ QUOTE ]

Have you ever blinded a foe, and hit two who were really, really close together? The second one looks like he is blinded/held, but it is actually a sleep. However the radius of the Sleep is only about 2 or 3 feet, so hitting one extra is fairly rare, and getting more than two is extremely rare unless you are really trying for it. Blind has a slightly shorter duration than other single target holds, presumedly because of the small AoE sleep.

Take a look at the allowed enhancements, and you will see that Sleep sets are allowed.

Dark's heal, Twilight Grasp, also has a -Regen component that can be stacked, the same as Kin's Transfusion. Between Twilight Grasp and Howling Twilight, I think Dark Defenders have more -Regen than anyone on an ongoing basis. Yes, the -Regen in EM Pulse is huge, but it doesn't last very long.

Personally, I much prefer Earth over Mind. It just seems to have much better AoE controls. Earth/Therm will give your graphics card a nervous breakdown, but it should be powerful.

[ QUOTE ]
Hello all

I started a Illusion/Kinetic controller the other day and I'm really enjoying it. However the Blind power is giving me some deal of difficulty in learning to use correctly. No matter where I place myself in relation to the target(s) I never seem to get any axillary targets mezed. I get my primary target 95% of the time, but only secondary mabey 20% and tertiary 1-3%. The two ways I think I'm doing it wrong are (1) The chance on secondary mez is so small that it is working the way it's intended and I'm just hoping for more then I'm getting..this is the most likely situation. or (2) my placement to the crowd I'm trying to affect is off. I usually try to get max range from the group (my first mistake as I'm thinking about it.) and will stand directly in front of the target with one or two additional targets at their flanks. If anyone could please point me to a good source material on how to use this power correctly or could give me some advice/pointers I would greatly appreciate it. thanks!

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As the others have suggested, I simply don't even consider Blind anything more than a single target hold. If I happen to catch a close-by foe in the occasional sleep, I'm glad that I know about it, but I don't try to make it happen.

I think somebody figured out that when you cast Blind, the game mechanics spawn a tiny pet that then handles a very small AoE sleep power. You can actually slot the power for sleep, but that is a waste unless you want to use Blind as a mule for the Sleep purple set.

But Blind is too essential to not slot it well. I want to slot the power for Accuracy, Hold, Recharge and Damage. Hami-Os will let you get most of those slotted.