Local_Man

The Radiation Emission Powers

Level 1: Radiant Aura – PB AoE Heal
You can use Radiant Aura to heal some of your wounds, and the wounds of your group. This power has a small radius, so your allies need to be near you if they wish to be affected.
Endurance: 13.0
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 2.03 Sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Heal: 117.799 (at level 50)

Radiant Aura (RA) is your heal, pure and simple. You have to take it at Level 1, which is a good thing, since you would want to take it anyway. Only */Rad and */Empathy have a self heal that does not require a ToHit, and the power is the same in both powersets with different names. You provide a moderate heal to yourself and any other heroes or pets (or some NPC’s) in range.

Radiant Aura is one of the reasons I feel that Radiation is the best overall secondary. Having a heal is valuable, and because it is both a self- and team-heal, it is effective both solo and on teams. However, the heal is paltry compared to Kinetic’s Transfusion or the Empathy heals, not big enough to let you be the team healer. Since RA does not require a ToHit, unlike Transfusion, it can reduce down time between battles. To have quick access to RA, I have it set up with a bind on button 4 of my 8 button mouse. If you don’t have a mouse with extra buttons, you can easily bind it to the “+” key on the keypad, so you can fire off RA with a flick of your right thumb. Here are the two binds:
/bind button4 powexecname Radiant Aura
/bind add powexecname Radiant Aura

Because you have RA, you really don’t need Health from the Fitness pool, unless you want it for some of the bonuses in IO sets or uniques. Instead, you can choose to enjoy the added mobility of both Swift and Hurdle. (I took Health on my Earth/Rad, however, as I will get those nice unique IO’s. I skipped Health on my Ill/Rad, who can use the greater mobility.) Just something to think about.

Slotting: 3 Heal, 1-3 Recharge. I have RA slotted 3 Heal, 1 Recharge. If you are looking at IO sets, the Doctored Wounds set works well because it has a lot of recharge, but the Numina’s set has nice bonuses. Save that Numina’s Unique, however, for Health.


Level 2: Radiation Infection – Foe-anchored AoE Accuracy and Defense Debuff
Infects a targeted foe with deadly radiation, severely reducing his Accuracy and Defense. All foes that come near the target will also become infected. The Radiation Infection will last until you deactivate it, or until the original target is defeated.
Accuracy: Autohit
Range: 70 ft.
Endurance: 0.26 per sec.
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 3.1 Sec., Activates in 0.5 Sec.
Radius: 15 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Duration: Until Anchor is defeated, goes out of range, toggle is turned off, caster is defeated or caster runs out of endurance.
Effects: -25% ToHit, -25% Defense (before enhancement)

Radiation Infection (RI) is another key power in the Rad set, the first of Rad’s “holy trinity” of debuffs. RI is an autohit toggle, so it can be a “set it and forget it” power. When you cast RI on a chosen foe, the foes near your “anchor” are much less likely to hit you or your team very often, and any foes in the Area of Effect will be much more easily hit by you and your team. That target is the “anchor” for the ToHit and Defense debuff, and a green glow becomes centered on the “anchor.” Once you cast RI on a foe, the power continues until the “anchor” is defeated, until you run out of endurance, until you are mezzed, until you are defeated or until you turn it off. However, it will aggro every enemy affected by the power. (In fact, casting RI can be an effective pulling technique.) It is incredibly useful in low levels, before your team has been able to develop their defensive powers, and continues to be useful in every level. It is a double debuff that never misses. The endurance usage is moderate, about half that of Enervating Field.

The main complaints about RI are: (1) As a power anchored on a foe, teammates often (actually, usually) kill off the anchor, causing you to have to re-cast it or miss out on the debuff – it’s frustrating to have the team keep killing your anchor. See “Choosing your Anchor” in the Strategy section. (2) RI has a long animation – on fast moving teams, it takes so long to cast RI that the baddies may be defeated. This is one of the trade-offs for a great debuff power – but the benefits are worth it. Since RI is an accuracy debuff, it can be effective as an opening “attack.” RI will make it less likely for any first attack, the “Alpha Strike” – which is usually the strongest attacks – will hit you and your team. If you have a Tank on the team, it is usually better to let him or her take that duty, but it can be effective to cast RI just as the Tank enters battle.

On other interesting use of RI and EF: If you have a foe with an interruptable attack or summon or other action, RI will usually provide that interruption. This works on a number of foes, like Embalmed Cadavers (those Vahzilok who explode), the Sky Raiders who summon Force Field generators, the Malta who summon the floaty guns, Rikti Communications officers who summon Portals, and even Lord Recluse in the Statesman's TF.

Because RI is a debuff, it will increase the likelihood of hitting even for powers that cannot be enhanced for accuracy, like veteran attacks, temp powers and Illusion’s Phantom Army. Therefore, it helps to off RI before attacking with Sands of Mu or any of the many temp power attacks you can get in the game.

Slotting: 3 ToHit Debuff, 0 or 2-3 Defense Debuff, 0-1 EndRdx. Whether you include the EndRdx depends on whether you are having endurance problems. I suggest slotting the 3 ToHit Debuffs right away, then the Defense Debuffs as slots become available in higher levels. For an Earth/Rad, you can even skip the Defense Debuff slots since you already have tons of Defense Debuff. At levels 47-50, the ideal slotting for RI is 3 Enzyme Hami-O’s. This is the perfect power for Enzymes (ToHitDebuff/DefenseDebuff/EndRdx), and no other power makes better use of Enzymes than RI. The other nice thing about using Enzyme HO’s is that you can take 3 slots out of RI and put them in some other powers without any loss whatsoever in the effectiveness of the power.


Level 4: Accelerate Metabolism – Self-centered AoE Team Buff
Activating this power emits radiation that increases the running speed, attack speed, Endurance recovery, and damage potential of all nearby allies. Affected allies' metabolisms are increased so much that they become resistant to effects such as Sleep, Hold, Disorient, Immobilization and Endurance Drain.
Endurance: 15.6
Recharge: 422 sec.
Cast time: 2.03 sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Duration: 120 sec.
Buffs: 20% Damage
30% Recharge
30% Endurance Recovery
30% Increase to Run Speed and Fly Speed
173% Resistance to Hold, Stun, Sleep, Immobilize (Shortens duration)

Accelerate Metabolism (AM) is widely considered to be one of the best buff powers in the game, and for good reason. Instead of buffing one or two things a lot, it buffs a bunch of things a little. AM boosts Recharge, Endurance Recovery, Damage, Run and Flight Speed, and reduces the time needed to recover from Hold, Sleep, Stun and Immobilize. The main benefits are a substantial boost in Recharge and Endurance Recovery – not as much as Speed Boost from Kinetics, but this is an AoE buff that needs to only be applied once, and not to each team member. Thus, you don’t feel like a “buff-bot,” which is a frequent complaint about Kinetics. And it boosts Damage, too. And if you have more than one character on the team with Rad, stacked AM is wonderful.

It is a good idea to create a bind or macro to tell your team when AM is available, suggesting that anyone who wants the buff should gather near you. You can set it up as either a Macro or a keybind. Something like:
/macro AM “group Gather here for AM in about 5 seconds!”

I then have a bind for when I fire off AM, so that I can use the 4th button on my 8 button mouse:
/bind lshift+Button4 “group Feel the Glowing Green Goodness of AM!$$powexecname Accelerate Metabolism”

Slotting: 3 Recharge, 3 EndMod. This is common wisdom as the best slotting for AM – anything else is less effective. Get the 3 Recharge slotted ASAP, then add in the 3 EndMod when you can. You want AM up as frequently as possible. With IO sets, the Efficieny Adapter set works well, with nice bonuses, but unless you have a lot of global Recharge, you may want to replace the Acc/EndMod with a common Recharge IO.


Level 6: Enervating Field – Foe-anchored AoE Damage and Damage Resistance Debuff
While this power is active, you irradiate a targeted foe, and all foes nearby, with a deadly dose of radiation. This radiation weakens exposed targets, decreasing the damage of their attacks. It also significantly weakens their resistance, so they will take much more damage from other attacks.
Accuracy: Autohit
Range: 70 ft.
Endurance: 0.52 per sec.
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 1.5 Sec., Activates in 0.5 Sec.
Radius: 15 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Duration: Until Anchor is defeated, goes out of range, toggle is turned off, caster is defeated or caster runs out of endurance.
Effects: -20% Damage from foes in area, -22.5% Damage Resistance (cannot be enhanced)

Enervating Field (EF) is the second of the “holy trinity” of Rad debuffs, and the best one for an Earth/Rad. Like RI, you pick a target to “anchor” the debuff, and the anchor carries the debuff with him, aggroing every bad guy in range. Instead of reducing Accuracy and Defense, EF reduces Damage done by the foes, and their resistance to your damage. Reducing Damage Resistance has the same effect as increasing your team’s damage, but it is not limited by damage caps. And because it is a debuff, it has the effect of increasing the damage done by powers that cannot be enhanced for damage, like veteran attack powers, temp powers and Illusion’s Phantom Army. EF uses a lot of endurance – if you are running low, EF can be the first thing you turn off.

As stated above under RI, EF can be used to interrupt foes who have interruptable powers.

See "Choosing your Anchor” in the Strategy section.

Slotting: 2-3 Endurance Reduction. That’s all, as the debuff cannot be enhanced. Slot at least two as soon as you can, as EF uses a lot of Endurance. Along with many folks, I recommend holding off on EF until after Stamina since EF uses so much Endurance.

Level 16: Mutation – Ally Resurrection with Buff
Using a concentrated burst of radiation, you can revive a fallen ally and Mutate him into a killing machine. The Mutated target has increased damage, Accuracy, Endurance recovery, and attack speed and is protected from XP Debt for 90 seconds. The entire experience is very taxing on your ally, and he will soon be severely weakened. All effects of the Mutation will eventually wear off.
Accuracy: Autohit
Range: 15 ft.
Endurance: 26.
Recharge: 180 sec.
Cast time: 3.2 Sec..
Effects: Full heal to 100% for both Health and Endurance. Buffs to target for 90 Sec.: 200% Recovery, 100% Recharge, 40% Damage and 30% Accuracy. After 90 Sec., -40% Damage, -30% Accuracy.(cannot be enhanced) Debt Protection for 20 Sec. after Rez.

Mutation is one of the two best Rez powers in the game. (The other is Howling Twilight, which allows a Dark Defender to rez multiple teammates at once.) It is a great battlefield Rez. It not only provides a Rez, it also is a substantial buff for 90 seconds. Your teammate needs to understand that there is a kind of “crash” after 90 Seconds. As good as Mutation is, it is an optional power. It is nice to have, but not essential (unless your team has a few suicidal blasters). Fit in Mutation if you can. If you choose to take Fallout, it would be impolite not to have Mutation as well.

Slotting: 1 Recharge. Up to 3 Recharge if you have spare slots or have teammates who die a lot.


Level 20: Lingering Radiation – Foe-targetted AoE Slow, Attack Rate and Regeneration Debuff
You can emit Lingering Radiation that reduces the attack rate, movement speed, and Regeneration rate of the target, and all nearby foes.
Accuracy: 1.0
Range: 80 ft.
Endurance: 15.6
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 1.5 Sec..
Radius: 25 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Duration: 30 Sec.
Effects: -75% Run Speed, -75% Recharge, -500% Regeneration.

Lingering Radiation (LR) is the third of the “holy trinity” of Rad debuffs. It is a nice slow power, with a debuff to Recharge and a huge debuff to the foe’s Regeneration. LR is the only one of the three Rad debuffs that is not Autohit – it needs accuracy to hit. Also unlike RI and EF, LR is not a toggle; it is a one-shot slow with a duration of 30 seconds and a recharge of 90 seconds; with Recharge enhancements and Hasten, you can reduce that recharge time to about 40 seconds. Also, LR only affects baddies in its range at the time it is cast – LR does not continue to “infect” other foes who later come into the area near the bad guy who was your target. On an Earth/Rad, LR is usually the least important of the three debuffs, because you should already have Quicksand to provide an AoE slow. But do not skip LR, as it does some very nice things. Most important is the –Regeneration. LR reduces an AV’s regeneration so that the AV can be defeated sooner. On some low-damage teams, LR can make the difference between defeating an AV or having to give up. LR also adds an attack rate debuff, which Quicksand does not have. Additionally, a foe can run out of or teleport out of Quicksand, but he can’t get away from LR if that foe was the target or near the target when LR was cast, which is why it is great to use on AV’s and bosses. See “Choosing your Anchor” in the Strategy section.

Because LR requires a “tohit,” you will have a better chance of LR hitting if you cast it after RI and/or one or more of Earth’s powers with defense debuff. However, LR casts quickly, and can also be effective to keep bad guys in the area while you are waiting for the slow animation of RI. So, part of the strategy of knowing how to use LR is knowing your likelihood of hitting. If you are up against higher level foes or foes with a lot of defense, cast RI first. Choosing an anchor is an important part of the strategy of using LR, but less important than with the other two debuffs, since you can cast it again in 40 seconds.

Slotting: 1-2 Acc, 3 Recharge, 0-2 Slow. I prefer 2 Acc, 3 Recharge, as the most important use of LR is to cast the –Regen on AV’s. Once you have both LR and Quicksand, the slows will stack to well past the slow cap, so you don’t need to slot either for slow enhancements.


Level 28: Choking Cloud – PB AoE Toggle Hold
While active, you generate toxic radioactive gas around yourself. Any nearby foes may be overcome by the gas, leaving them choking and helpless.
Accuracy: 50% (cannot be enhanced) for Mag 2 hold, 80% for Mag 1 hold.
Range: 15 ft.
Endurance: 4.16 per 5 sec. (0.832 per sec.)
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 2.03 Sec., Activates in 5 Sec.
Radius: 15 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Duration: 7.45 sec Hold, Mag 2, every 5 seconds (at Level 50)

Choking Cloud (CC) is one of two toggle AoE holds in the game. (The other is Mind Control’s Telekinisis.) CC is one of the two Rad powers that requires you to be in melee range. It can be very effective and it works automatically. However, I feel that CC really is not needed on an Earth/Rad and suggest that you skip it. Why? CC is a melee power, and very slow at activating. How it works is that your character runs/jumps into the middle of a gang of bad guys. After the first 5 seconds, if the god of averages is with you, 80% of the minions (Mag 1) and 50% of the Lieutenants (Mag 2) will have a green puff of gas show up at their face, showing that they are choking and held. The rest have another 5 seconds to attack you or do whatever. All foes in the area will make the check again, where some new ones will get caught by the hold, and others held will then not be re-held in the next tick, so when the hold runs out, they will be free. It draws aggro, which can result in a faceplant. It uses a HUGE amount of endurance, substantially reducing other things you can do. You won't have the endurance to chain single target attacks to take down bad guys while running CC. This means that even if you can hold them, you can't take them down -- unless Rocky decides to help you out. At a minimum, you have to slot it with 3 EndRdx, 3 Hold, so it takes 6 slots. (With a Ghost Widow End/Hold, you can get away with 5 at level 50.)

Earth/Rad already has three effective AoE controls that can be used from range by the time you get CC at level 28. You can already hold foes long enough to be defeated without going into melee. CC provides minimal benefit for lots of risk. On the other hand, I LOVE CC for a Fire/Rad. With Imps, Hotfeet and Choking Cloud, a Fire/Rad is an AoE damage machine. Ice Control has Arctic Air, which can combine with CC to keep the baddies slowed and confused until CC can take hold. Since Earth does not have any power to back up Choking Cloud, it is skippable. However, some people like it, so if a toggle melee hold appeals to you, try it out.

Edit: I have seen more and more people post that they like Choking Cloud with their Earth/Rad. With optimal slotting including the +2 Mag Proc from Lockdown and a Damage proc, I can see how it could be useful -- use one of your AoE controls, then move in once the foes are distracted to continue the control. I haven't tried this strategy, but I think it is only fair to mention it. I'm not convinced that this is optimal for an Earth/Rad, as it takes up 6 slots and will use a lot of endurance, and I prefer to stay out of melee on this character.

Slotting: 3 EndRdx, 3 Hold at SO level. At level 45+, you can have 2 EndRdx IO’s, 2 Hold IO’s, 1 Ghost Widow End/Hold IO, and add in the Ghost Widow damage proc, “Chance for Psi Damage.” to add some damage.


Level 35: Fallout – Dead Teammate Corpse Bomb Thingy
After an ally falls in battle, you can activate this power to extract the energy from their body to deal a massive amount of Energy damage to any nearby foes. All affected foes are extremely weakened by the Fallout, and their Accuracy, Defense, Damage and Damage resistance is severely reduced.
Accuracy: Autohit to ally’s corpse, 2.0 to foes.
Range: 60 ft.
Endurance: 20.8
Recharge: 300 sec.
Cast time: 3.2 Sec.
Radius: 30 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Damage: 222.44 (at level 50)
Effects: -30% ToHit, -30% Defense, -30% Damage, -50% Resistance (before enhancement)
Duration: 30 sec. for debuff to foes.


Fallout is generally viewed as being the most skippable power in the Radiation set. A few deeply disturbed people seem to love the idea of exploding dead teammates, and think the power is great. Fallout is very effective as both a damage power and a debuff. I have it on my Earth/Rad, but I may respec out when I get around to doing a respec. The problem is that I rarely get to use it. It is, in my view, the single most "situational" power in the game. Why?

1. You have to have a teammate die.
2. You have to live (i.e. no team wipe).
3. You have to have your teammate willing to sit there and do nothing while you abuse his dead body. (Most good players I team with want to actually play the game, and not lay there dead.) Any surviving teammates need to know not to use their rez so that you can play with dead things. If you are quick and notice your teammate’s death immediately, this may not be very long.
4. Fallout has a decent-sized radius but your teammate must have died fairly near the bad guys, or you have to have Recall Friend to 'port his decaying remains around . . . but the drop range on Recall friend is really short, so you either have to risk yourself to drop the body where it can do some good, or also have Hover or Fly to drop the body . . . all of which take time that your buddy is still not playing the game.
5. You should take Mutation so you can Rez your teammate after you use his corpse as a bomb. Not resurrecting your buddy after abusing his corpse would be impolite – unless you plan on teleporting his remains around with you to repeatedly use as a bomb.

Fallout does good damage and massive debuffs on any foes close enough to be affected. I view Fallout as a kind of “novelty” power. It is kind of fun to have a power that makes a powerful bomb out of your dead teammates, and if you want to make Fallout viable, you really need to build around it and get the entire team to buy into using it as a regular strategy. Maybe even bring along a designated corpse (kind of like a designated driver) – someone who volunteers to die a lot to act as your bomb. You need Recall Friend, Hover (or Fly or invisibility) and Mutation to use it effectively. Brown Dirt was on a team recently where one teammate volunteered to run in to a group and die whenever Fallout was up . . . and I have to admit, it was a lot of fun and very effective.

I don't feel it is worth sacrificing other abilities for this extremely situational power, but there are good reasons to like it. If you do take it, unless you are teaming with the same folks on a regular basis, I suggest you set up a bind or two to explain the power to your teammates, begging them to wait on using a rez or an Awaken until you have the chance to explode their corpse.

It doesn’t seem very “heroic” to use your teammate’s decaying remains as a bomb. What comic book hero would do this to a friend? On the other hand, it seems to fit pretty well with the theme on the villains side.

Slotting: 0-2 Acc, 3 Dam, and then several options of recharge or debuffs. The inherent accuracy is so good, you probably don’t need accuracy.


Level 38: EM Pulse – PB AoE Hold with Minor Damage to Robots
You can unleash a massive pulse of electromagnetic energy. The EMP can affect machines, and is even powerful enough to affect synaptic brain patterns. It will drain the Endurance and HP Regeneration of all affected targets and leave them incapacitated and Held for a long while. Additionally, most machines and robots will take moderately high damage. However, this power uses a lot of Endurance and leaves you unable to recover Endurance for a while.
Accuracy: 1.0
Range: Area around caster.
Endurance: 20.8.
Recharge: 300 sec.
Cast time: 2.93 Sec.
Radius: 60 ft.
Max Targets: 16
Duration: 27.938 Sec. before enhancement.
Effects: -40% Endurance, -1000% Regeneration to foes, -1000% Regeneration to self for 15 Sec.
Damage: 50.16 to Electronic foes (at level 50).

EM Pulse (EMP) is the other “best hold in the game,” along with Volcanic Gasses. But this one is fast activating and centered on you, so it works perfectly as a “panic button” power. Compared to other PB AoE holds, EMP is superior. The radius and hold time is twice the others. Keep in mind that EMP causes you to not regenerate endurance for 10 seconds – a lot of people read the description and think this means that EMP drains your endurance, like a Blaster/Defender nuke, which is not true. It means only that your recovery of endurance will stop for 15 seconds, which is not that big a thing considering that it is likely that every bad guy near you will be held for a long time. Just keep in mind that if you are doing anything the uses a lot of endurance, like running EF, you may want to stop or you might then run out of endurance.

By level 38, an Earth/Rad doesn’t really need the powerful control of EMP . . . but it is such a good power, it is worth taking. I find that I rarely use it, except for special situations where its damage or –Regen will provide a substantial benefit, so sometimes just because I feel like it. However, don’t forget that it is effective against AV’s to both stack hold Mag and add –Regeneration.

Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Hold, 2 Recharge as a default, but EM Pulse is so good, but will be rarely used, that you can vary this easily, and even skimp on a slot or two. Start with 2 Acc, and then add hold or recharge as you see fit.

The Earth Control Powers


Level 1: Stone Prison - Single Target Ranged Immobilize with Damage.
Immobilizes a single target within an earthy formation and deals some Smashing damage over time. Some more resilient foes may require multiple attacks to Immobilize. Stone Prison can also reduce a target's Defense.
Accuracy: 1.2
Range: 80 ft.
Endurance: 7.8
Recharge: 4 sec.
Cast time: 1.93 Sec.
Damage Scale: 5 * 0.2 ticks = 1.0 Smashing Damage over 9.2 seconds (2.77778 BI)
Damage: 5*6.12 over 9.2 sec = 30.6 (at level 50)
Duration: 27.938, Mag 4 (at level 50)
Additional Effects: -20% Defense, -Knockback, -Fly for 15 Sec. Sets up Containment.

Stone Prison (SP) is a standard single target immobilize, similar to those for Plant, Gravity, Ice and Fire. The main difference is -20% Defense. Like all immobilizes, SP allows a foe to attack or do other actions that do not involve moving. The foe will usually attack you with ranged attacks if you are not in its melee range. SP will generally catch minions and lieutenants, and usually (80%) catch bosses. Fast recharge, low endurance, and does some damage when slotted up. It does a nice job of knocking flying enemies out of the air. Because SP has a long duration, high Mag and fast recharge, it is great for immobilizing bosses, EB’s and AV’s. One of the best uses of SP in upper levels is to immobilize AV’s when other types of control will not work.

I did not take Stone Prison in my sample build until level 49, and it is quite optional there. I actually don't have it on my Earth/Rad. I use Stone Cages as part of the Stalagmites + Stone Cages combo, and you do not need both immobilize powers. The main reason to take SP early in your build is if you need it as a damage power for solo and small teams. The main reason to take SP late in your build is to immobilize AV’s. (This is why I put it in the Sample Build.) Stone Cages does the job most of the time, so you probably do not need the single version. However, if you plan to solo, Stone Prison is almost mandatory – take it early and slot mainly for Accuracy and Damage. Some people feel that SP, plus Quicksand, is an adequate substitution for Stone Cages -- I don't agree. As I am trying to present an AoE build, an AoE immobilize is better.

Slotting: Depends on what you want it for. If you want a damage power, then 1 Acc, 3 Dam should be enough, since it has an accuracy bonus. If you are looking at SP for locking down AV’s, then 2-3 Acc, 0-3 Immobilize. If you have endurance problems, an Endurance Reduction is also reasonable. The recharge is so fast that you really don't need to slot it for Immobilize.

IO Sets: Immobilize, Ranged Damage. There are a lot of options for slotting here, depending upon what you want out of the power and for bonuses. If you want to use SP for damage and want to build Ranged Defense from your bonuses, then the Thunderstrike is a good set. If you want some Regen, then two Devastations are nice. The Devastation Chance for Hold proc is nice here, as that proc can stack with Fossilize to hold a boss -- if you are going to solo, that could be your best way to handle bosses. If you want to slot SP for locking down AVs and bosses, and also want Ranged Defense, then the Trap of the Hunter set works well. This power can also be "frankenslotted" for Acc/Imob/Rech. Of course, the purple Gravitational Anchor has some nice bonuses, but I would use that set in Stone Cages instead.

If you have Stone Prison, you probably took it as a single target damage power. I would slot it with a ranged damage set like Thunderstrike or Devastation. Two Devastations give Regen, and four Thunderstrikes give Recovery and Accuracy. If you are looking to maximize Recharge, then look at 5 from Decimation or Entropic Chaos for Ranged Damage, or Enfeebled Operation for Immobilize. Of course, you could use the Ranged Damage purple set, Apocolypse, but it would be mostly wasted in this power.


Level 1: Fossilize - Single Target Ranged Hold with Damage.
Encases a single target within solid stone. The stone slowly crushes the victim, dealing Smashing damage. The Fossilized victim is held helpless and unable to defend himself.
Accuracy: 1.2
Range: 80 ft.
Endurance: 8.3
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 2.07 Sec.
Damage Scale: 1.0 Smashing Damage (2.77778 BI)
Damage: 30.59 smashing (at level 50)
Duration: 22.35 (at level 50) at Mag 3 Hold, 20% chance for an additional 1 Mag for 16.763 sec.
Additional Effects: -20% Defense, -Knockback for 12 Sec. Sets up Containment.

Fossilize is a standard single-target hold for a controller. You should be using this power a lot. It is probably the single power you will use most from level 1 through 50. One shot will hold minions and lieutenants, with a 20% chance of a 16 second Mag 4 hold that will hold a boss. Most of the time, you will need to “stack it” two or more times to hold a boss. The nice thing about Fossilize (as well as Ice Control’s Block of Ice) is that the hold is very noticeable. Like most Earth Control powers, Fossilize has a defense debuff.

Slotting: The default slotting for holds (and other mez powers) is 2 Acc, 2 Hold, 2 Rech. Start with one Accuracy in the default slot, then add Hold and Recharge as soon as possible, and then add the others later. Slotting this power early is important, as it is your primary source early lockdown control. I like the balanced slotting, which has a good mixture of hold duration and ability to stack. Some people like 3 Hold or 3 Rech, and there are good reasons for either choice. Fossilize also is a source of damage, but I don’t recommend slotting it for damage while you level up unless you are soloing. Control is more important than damage when your teammates can do the damage. However, if you are soloing, Fossilize is an important source of damage.

IO Sets: Hold, Ranged Damage. Lots of options for slotting here. For most team-oriented builds, slotting for Acc, Hold and Rech is your goal, and you could Frankenslot with Acc/Hold/Rech from several sets. While there are a few damage procs that could be used, I believe you will get more damage by slotting for Damage rather than "Chance for . . ." procs. The Lockdown set has some decent Defense bonuses. The Lockdown +2 Mag proc or the Devastation Chance for Hold proc can allow you to hold a Boss in one shot (if the random rolls go your way). You can tell it is working by the "tesla cage" animation. The other hold sets (other than the purple set) don't have great bonuses. You could use Damage sets, and then add Hold to it. Four Thunderstrikes have an Accuracy bonus, but with all your -Defense, accuracy isn't needed as much. Four Devastations give Regen, Health and Damage bonuses. If you are looking to maximize Recharge, then 4 from the Basilisk's Gaze set for Hold is what you want, and then you can add additional Hold or Damage as you choose. Or 5 Decimations for ranged damage. Or, even better, 5 of the purple Unbreakable Constraint set gives 10% Recharge, but will be expensive.

With HO’s, I like 1 Acc/Dam, 1 Acc/Mez, 2 Dam/Mez, 2 Recharge -- that is my current slotting, and it gives me good accuracy, capped Hold AND Damage and very good Recharge. You give up Bonuses, but get great utility from the power. Hami-Os can also be used to "fill in" when a set doesn't max out key attributes. For example, if you slot 4 Basilisk's Gaze for the Recharge bonus, you can add an Acc/Dam and a Dam/Mez HO's to fill in.


Level 2: Stone Cages – Foe-targeted AoE Ranged Immobilize with Minor Damage.
Immobilizes a group of foes within earthy formations and deals some Smashing damage over time. Slower and less damaging than Stone Prison, but can capture multiple targets. Stone Cages can also reduce a target's Defense.
Accuracy: 0.9
Range: 80 ft.
Endurance: 15.6
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 2.83 Sec.
Radius: 30 ft.
Max Targets: 16
Damage Scale: 3 * 0.1 = 0.3 Smashing Damage over 9.2 seconds (0.83333 BI)
Damage: 3*3.06 over 5.3 sec = 9.18 (at level 50)
Duration: 27.938 at Mag 3 Immobilize, 50% chance for additional 1 Mag for 18.625 sec.
Additional Effects: -20% Defense, -Knockback and -Fly for 12 Sec. Sets up Containment.

Stone Cages (SC) is the same as other controller AoE Immobilize powers, except for its additional defense debuff, slightly longer animation and huge graphics. SC recharges more quickly than the duration of the immobilize, so you can keep groups immobilized permanently. Oddly enough, Stone Cages is one of the most debated powers in the Earth set.

By itself, an AoE immobilize can be a huge problem. The enemy can’t move, but can do everything else. The enemy can’t move, but can use ranged attacks. The enemy can’t move, and they know that the Earth controller is at fault so all the aggro is focused on the castor. This generally means that the castor will take ALL the ranged attacks. Inexperienced controllers use Stone Cages over and over again, and suffer for it. Using an AoE immobilize by itself is a good way to take a lot of damage and earn some extra debt. However, when used under the right circumstances, an AoE Immobilize can be very effective control. See When should you use Stone Cages? in the Strategy section.

The graphics for this power is one of two main reasons some people dislike the Earth set. (The other is the lack of damage.) The stone is so imposing that small characters can’t see around the stone spires. On huge enemies, SC gets to be so big that even larger characters can’t see around the stone. Also, SC may cause some teammates to have graphics problems on their computers. It is important to your success as an Earth controller for you to learn when to use Stone Cages, and when not to. You may want to check with your teammates on how they feel about Stone Cages.

(One positive thing about the Stone Cages graphics . . . it makes it easy to find left over foes who might otherwise be hard to see because they are small (Clockwork Gears) or hiding among boxes in a warehouse map.)

I use Stone Cages most often as a follow up to Stalagmites. Some people feel that Stone Cages can be skipped, and that Quicksand is sufficient to keep stunned enemies from running away. I don’t agree, but it is a viable option. I prefer to use both Stone Cages and Quicksand together. Stalagmites will often miss a few who then will be caught in Stone Cages, thereby keeping them in range of your debuffs and in Containment. With Stalagmites and Quicksand alone, those baddies who are missed by Stalagmites do not have Containment and may be able to escape Quicksand.

It is VERY important to remember that Stone Cages has a –knockback for 12 seconds. This power will completely negate Earthquake, Ice Slick and any other knockdown, knockup or knockback power for 12 seconds. DO NOT CAST Stone Cages on top of Earthquake!!!. This is another reason some people like to skip SC, because it conflicts with Earthquake. (I think that is kind of silly -- just don't use SC on Earthquake!) However, it can be an effective strategy to cast Stone Cages, wait for 12 seconds, and then cast Earthquake. The baddies will bounce around while still immobilized and subject to Containment for a little while. (Slot for Immobilize duration if you plan to do this a lot.) Also, the –knockback can have lots of strategic advantages if used correctly -- such as when you have teammates with a lot of knockback. But be careful . . . some characters rely upon knockback or knockdown for strategic benefits. (My Axe Tank and MA Scrapper use knockdown a lot as a form of damage mitigation.)

In spite of the various complaints, Stone Cages is valuable tool – Quicksand is not a sufficient substitute. (1) SC can be cast faster than Quicksand, and the bad guys can’t wander out. (2) SC is your fastest recharging control power, and it sets up Containment. (3) If you have teammates with AoE attacks, you can immobilize multiple groups for AoE damage. (4) When you have teammates with lots of knockback, the –knockback in SC can be wonderful to neutralize the problems that can be caused. Some of these teammates can include Energy Blasters and Defenders, Peace Bringers, Storm Defenders and Controllers, or Illusion’s Phantasm. (5) Also, some foes are resistant to slows, while others are resistant to immobilize, but very few are resistant to both.

Slotting: 2 Acc, 1-2 EndRdx. Add additional EndRdx and Immobilize Duration to taste. Stone Cages has a 10% accuracy penalty, so it really needs two accuracies. The endurance cost is high, so at least one EndRdx is suggested. The duration of SC is a lot longer than its recharge, so duration and recharge enhancements really are not needed. You can certainly add them if you want to later, but those slots may be needed elsewhere. The damage from SC is one-third the damage from Stone Prison or Fossilize, so I do not recommend slotting Stone Cages for damage.

IO Sets: Immobilize, Targetted AoE Damage. Your main goal should be for slotting Accuracy and EndRdx. There are some nice IO sets for AoE Immobilize, so later in your build or in a respec, you may want to add more slots here. If you can get it, the "Chance for Hold" proc from the purple Gravitational Anchor set is wonderful in an AoE Immobilize. I believe that damage procs in this power will actually average out to higher damage than slotting this power for damage, so consider damage procs. The Trap of the Hunter set has some decent bonuses and is usually cheap to get. Folks who want to build for Defense often go for the Enfeebled Operation set. But if you can get it, the Gravitational Anchor purple set has great bonuses.


Level 6: Quicksand - Location-targeted AoE Slow.
You can cause the ground to liquefy like Quicksand at a targeted location. Any foes that pass through the Quicksand will become snared, their movement will be dramatically Slowed, and their Defense reduced. Foes trapped in the Quicksand cannot jump or Fly.
Accuracy: Automatic Hit
Range: 90 ft.
Endurance: 7.8
Recharge: 30 sec.
Cast time: 3.1 Sec.
Radius: Not listed on CoD, but about 30 ft.
Duration: 45 sec.
Additional Effects: 90% Run Speed Reduction, -25% Defense, -Jump, -Fly for duration.

Quicksand is a terrific power, and generally underrated in its usefulness. It is a location-targetted AoE Slow power with a substantial defense debuff. While the Slow is very helpful, the 25% Defense Debuff (more than the other Earth powers) makes it much easier to hit the bad guys. It can be used as a “back-up” for almost every control you have, and can provide effective “soft” control on its own. Even with the few types of baddies who can ignore slow powers (Igneous, Counsel Wolves and a few others), Quicksand is worth using for its great Defense Debuff alone. However, unlike many slow powers, Quicksand does NOT provide a reduction to the foe’s recharge rate.

You can build some strategy around the effective use of Quicksand early in the game, and the same strategies continue to be useful even in the higher levels. If you cast Quicksand under a group, it will draw aggro to you. However, if you cast it on the ground, and then the group is pulled onto Quicksand, you generally don’t get the aggro. This makes Quicksand a wonderful tool for pulling. Place QS between your team and the group, then hide behind a corner. Let the Blaster or Defender fire (or if you have it, use the Nemesis Staff or Blackwand Vet power), or you can use RI to draw aggro. As the group runs into QS, the baddies slow and their defense is dropped. Easy pickings for the rest of your team.

Because of the way Quicksand is cast, you can hide around a corner and change your point of view, so you can cast it while your character is out of line-of-sight, thereby substantially reducing or eliminating retaliation. This makes QS great for casting into a room filled with baddies, and as they slowly filter out of the doorway, your team can pick them off one-by-one.

In higher levels, I cast QS under just about every AoE control power I have. The –Defense, stacked with the –Defense in other Earth powers and in the Rad powers, substantially improves your team’s chance of hitting the bad guys. One reason an Earth/Rad Controllers can substantially contribute to a team of higher level characters because many of the controls do not require a “ToHit” to be effective. Quicksand is one of them.

Slotting: 1-3 Rech, 0-1 Slow. Actually, QS is pretty effective with just the default slot, but slotting 3 recharge lets you spread several Quicksands around. Remember that Slow enhancements only affect run speed. You could put 3 Slow in, but I found that one was good enough, especially since you get another slow power, Lingering Radiation, later in your build. Quicksand alone hits the Slow Cap for even con foes, and the two Slow powers (Quicksand and Lingering Radiation) together surpass the Slow Cap of 90% of run speed for almost all foes anywhere near your level. (The “slow cap” is a built-in limit in the game on how much you can slow an enemy.)

IO Sets: Slow. This power mainly needs Recharge. Unfortunately, the slow sets are low on Recharge. And frankly, you don't need to slot Quicksand with much slow if any. Consider adding Tempered Readiness Slow/EndRdx/Rech and Slow/Range for the small Recovery bonus, with one or two Recharge IOs. However, with enough global Recharge, you might be able to leave off one or two Recharge.


Level 8: Salt Crystals – PB AoE Sleep.
Attempts to encrust all nearby foes in a Pillar of Salt. The victims will remain encased within salt for quite a while, but will automatically break free if attacked. Affected targets have reduced defense for a while, even if they break free.
Accuracy: 1.0
Range: 90 ft.
Endurance: 15.6
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 1.07 Sec.
Radius: 30 ft.
Max Targets: 16
Duration: 18.625 sec., Mag 3 Sleep, 50% chance of 1 extra Mag Sleep for 13.969 sec.
Additional Effects: -20% Defense.

Salt Crystals is the most frequently skipped power in the Earth set. However, it looks pretty cool. The controller stands in the middle of a group of baddies and colored crystals form on them, indicating that they are sleeping. Any attack will wake the foe out of the sleep.

Salt Crystals isn’t necessarily a BAD power, but it is not needed for an Earther. Every other Earth power is ranged, but Salt Crystals is PB AoE. To use Salt Crystals, the controller has to go in the middle of the group of baddies – and instead of being a hold, like Illusion’s Flash, Fire’s Cinders, Ice’s Glacier or */Rad’s EM Pulse, it is a sleep. Sleeps have far less usefulness than a hold, especially if you have an AoE-happy blaster, controller or Defender on your team. Any kind of damage at all will cause the slept foes to awaken. This power just does not fit in a ranged build with lots of other better control options. Some folks claim it is a good power for solo, duo or small teams, but I have seen very few Earth Controllers who take this power.

Slotting: 2 Acc, 3 Sleep or maybe 2 Acc, 2 Sleep, 2 Rech. I have not used this power enough to make recommendations.

IO Sets: Sleep. Some people take sleep powers specificly because the purple Sleep set, Fortunata Hypnosis, is so cheap compared to other purple sets. Then they rarely, if ever use the power.


Level 12: Stalagmites – Foe-targeted AoE Ranged Stun with Minor Damage.
You can cause Stalagmites to erupt all around an enemy, damaging all nearby foes. The Stalagmites deal minimal Lethal damage, and can Disorient all affected targets for a good while, as well as reduce their Defense. You must be on the ground to activate this power.
Accuracy: 0.8
Range: 70 ft.
Endurance: 10.4
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 2.1 Sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Max Targets: 16
Damage Scale: 0.25 Lethal Damage (0.69444 BI)
Damage: 7.65 (at level 50)
Duration: 14.9 sec., Mag 3 Stun, 20% chance of 1 extra Mag Stun for 11.175 sec.
Additional Effects: -20% Defense for 12 Sec.

Stalagmites is a great power, most often used as an opening attack. Stalagmites will quickly eliminate most or all of the enemies’ ability to attack you and your team by stunning them for a short time. After being stunned, Stone Cages will root them to where they are. Together with Stone Cages, you get the equivalent of a ranged AoE hold that sets up Containment. Using Quicksand instead of SC, you get some slow wander, and Containment only lasts as long as the stun, which isn’t all that long. Some people feel that Quicksand is good enough, making Stone Cages skippable. I prefer keeping the Stalagmites + Stone Cages combination, and adding Quicksand for added Defense debuffing.

Be aware that when you first get this power, it seems unimpressive. It takes some slotting before it really shines. One nice thing is that Stalagmites does not conflict with either Earthquake or Volcanic Gasses – the powers stack very well, including the -20% Defense. Eventually, Stalagmites + Stone Cages becomes one of your three ranged AoE controls that makes Earth so powerful. If you add in Quicksand, then you have three powers with -20% defense, adding up to -60% defense for a few seconds. Any teammates with AoE attacks should absolutely love this combo. Add in Radiation Infection to boost Defense debuffing even more and Enervating Field to boost damage, and you have lots of defeated bad guys.

Stalagmites, like many other AoE powers, has a -20% chance to hit. This means not only is Accuracy essential to slot first, but that it will often miss a guy or two. This is another reason why stacking Stalagmites with another power is important. Stone Cages and Quicksand will almost always catch anyone missed by Stalagmites. Keep an eye out for missed baddies, and you can use Fossilize to hold them. It is usually not hard to find the one or two missed baddies – that’s guy(s) who is probably shooting at you.

If you are fighting higher level baddies, you may want to let a teammate take the aggro, and then use RI and Quicksand first, then Stalagmites and then Stone Cages. This will increase your chance to hit. While Quicksand does not require a ToHit, both Stalagmites and Stone Cages do.

Slotting: Standard slotting is 2 Acc, 2 Rech, 2 DisorientDuration. If you want it up a little more often, swap out a Disorient for a Recharge, or vice-versa if you want a longer stun. However, you get the most "bang for your buck" by slotting two of each. It absolutely needs 2 Accuracy, due to the 20% accuracy penalty, and the first thing you slot should be 2 Acc.

IO Sets: Stun, Targetted AoE Damage. In lower levels, you can "frankenslot" for Acc/Stun/Recharge. Razzle Dazzle and Stupify have Recovery bonuses for 2, and Rope-a-Dope has Regen for 2. In the upper levels, the Stupify set is pretty nice, but leave off the “Chance for Knockback” Proc. Substitute in a common Recharge. Trust me on this – that knockback Proc is far more trouble than it is worth (I tried it) and you want more Recharge than the set offers. Another great option is the purple Absolute Amazement set. Both Stupify and Absolute Amazement provide Recharge bonuses.

Don't bother to slot for damage, as the damage is quite small. Acc/Stun/Recharge are a lot more important.


Level 18: Earthquake - Location-targeted AoE Ranged Knock up.
Generates a powerful, localized Earthquake. Most foes that pass through the location will fall down. The violent shaking also reduces their Accuracy and Defense.
Accuracy: 1.0
Range: 60 ft.
Endurance: 10.4
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 2.03 Sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Duration: 30 sec. knock up “pet”
Max Targets: 10 per pulse, 0.67 mag knockup.
Additional Effects: -10% Defense Debuff and -10% ToHit debuff

Earthquake is one of my favorite powers in the Earth set. As control, it is very effective against anything that is not resistant to knockdown. All or almost all of the foes (who are not resistant to knockdown) fall on their kiesters over and over again, as it does not require a “tohit” and does not take accuracy enhancements. Sometimes, it takes a second or two before the all bad guys start to flop around on the ground, so you may take some retaliation fire.

Since Earthquake is a targeted AoE, it can be cast around corners. This is a key tactic to learn. You can stand outside of a room or around a corner, cast Earthquake out of Line of Sight, and get little to no retaliation. Because there is a chance that not all foes will be hit, it is a great idea to cast Quicksand underneath Earthquake.

Against foes near your level, Stalagmites may be a better opener since it sets up Containment and does a little damage. But Earthquake works quite well against higher level foes, especially with the Defense Debuffs in the Earth set. You can open with Earthquake followed by Quicksand and RI for the –Defense and -ToHit. Then your other controls can hit more reliably, even against purples.

As stated in the Stone Cages section, it is very important to remember: DO NOT use Stone Cages (or Stone Prison) with Earthquake under most circumstances. The AoE Immobilize will complete neutralize the effect of Earthquake for 12 seconds. However, after the stun from Stalagmites has run out and after the 12 seconds –knockdown has expired, using Earthquake is a pretty good tactic, especially if you have added Immobilize Duration enhancements. There is no problem using Stalagmites with Earthquake – but it is kind of a waste, since for the most part, the bad guys can’t shoot back while they are flopping on the ground. If you need to set up AoE containment, use Stalagmites + Stone Cages or Volcanic Gasses instead of Earthquake. If you have Stone Prison slotted for damage and you want to attack a foes on Earthquake, use Fossilize first so that Stone Prison only acts as a damage power (with Containment, too!). Using Stone Prison alone lets that foe shoot at you.

Slotting: Standard slotting is 3 Recharge, and you will want this in there as soon as possible. Three recharge IO’s will reduce the recharge to about 42 seconds. If you have slots to spare, adding a range is nice. You could slot for Defense Debuff or ToHit Debuff, but the debuff is only 10% instead of the 20% in most of the other Earth powers. Since the baddies are flopping, I have generally felt that ToHit Debuff is not needed. If I need additional Defense Debuff, I just cast Quicksand underneath and/or use RI. I save the slots for other powers. But you can use Earthquake for some set bonuses.

IO Sets: Defense Debuff, Knockback, ToHit Debuff. Do not slot Earthquake for Knockback. It will turn the knockdown into knockback . . . not a good thing. Look to slotting Recharge or ToHit Debuff. You can slot Defense Debuff, but you already have so much Defense Debuff in other powers that it really isn't needed unless you want the nice bonuses in the Touch of Lady Grey set. Instead, I suggest trying for 4 Dark Watcher's Dispair for the Recharge bonus.


Level 26: Volcanic Gasses – Location-targeted AoE Pulsing Hold with Minor Damage
You can tap into the geothermal power of the Earth and focus it at a targeted location. Foes that pass near a thermal vent will take minor Fire damage and be overcome by the gasses, leaving them choking and helpless.
Accuracy: 1.4
Range: 60 ft.u
Endurance: 18.2
Recharge: 240 sec.
Cast time: 1,17 Sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Damage Scale: 0.01 Fire damage every 2 seconds (75% chance) (0.02777 BI)
Max Targets: 5 per pulse
Damage: 7.65 (at level 50)
Duration: 60 sec. pulsing hold every 6 seconds for 7.45 seconds (before enhancement)

Volcanic Gasses (VG) is one of the two best hold powers in the game . . . and you get the other one, EM Pulse, in this build at level 38. (OK, EM Pulse Arrow is pretty good, too, but that's mostly the same thing.) VG is a pulsing hold; gas shoots up out of the ground at the feet of foes in the area every 6 seconds. Although the limit per pulse is 5 enemies, it usually catches all baddies in the area, or any who enter the area, in a short time. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to catch every foe in the area, so you may get some retaliation fire at the beginning. The game inner workings view VG as a pet (actually 6 pets). When you slot up VG for Hold enhancements, it almost doubles the duration to 14 seconds, allowing it to stack holds and therefore hold bosses. Yes, VG can hold Bosses! VG is viewed as one of the best holds because it lasts for so long, can catch so many foes, can hold Bosses on one application and continues catching foes that enter the area.

VG is so good that it is worth using whenever it is up unless you need to save it for a better opportunity. As a location targeted AoE, it can be cast around corners and through doorways (same as Earthquake and Quicksand). Since it takes a pulse or two to hit all foes in the area, combining VG with Quicksand, Stalagmites, Earthquake or even SC is a good idea. Also, take into account that there are two steps to cast this power, so although the activation time appears to be quick, VG takes longer to cast than EM Pulse, making EM Pulse a better “panic button” power. In a recent post, Enantiodromos provided the math that VG, with proper slotting and due to its unique pulsing hold from 6 pets, can hold up to 40 bad guys. Quite impressive! (If you want to try to be funny, set up a bind or macro saying, “Hey, $target! I see you have been loading up on the bean burritos again!” Some folks, and you know who you are, will find this hilarious.)

Slotting: 3 Recharge, 3 Hold. This will cut the recharge in half and double the length of the hold pulses. Since only 5 bad guys can be caught in each pulse, 3 hold will allow you to “skip” a pulse and keep the foe held. The net effect is not that the hold lasts longer, but that you can hold more bad guys. The accuracy is so good that it really does not need accuracy enhancements, but if you are regularly going up against +2 or higher, adding an Accuracy enhancement may be a good idea. The damage is so small that it really doesn’t need enhancement. Endurance Reduction? VG is some of the best spent endurance you’ll have, so other enhancement is more important.

IO Sets: Hold, Targetted AoE Damage. There are a lot of options for slotting this power. It mostly needs Hold and Recharge. Because of VG's unique pet mechanics, it is a really good power for damage procs, as they fire off a lot. The Lockdown set is the only non-purple hold set with decent set bonuses -- if you are looking for defense. Otherwise, Volcanic Gasses is a good candidate for "frankenslotting" to get as much Recharge and Hold, and then add damage procs (Ghost Widow and Neuronic Shutdown) or the Lockdown +2 Mag Hold proc. I prefer to slot this power up for its main uses by slotting at or near the ED cap for Recharge and Hold, and then add the procs with slots left over. Some folks are willing to give up some on Hold Duration or Recharge to get more procs. Accuracy is not really needed since the inherent accuracy is so good, especially if you have some accuracy global bonuses.

A really nice slotting is 5 Unbreakable Constraint (purple hold set), leaving out the Hold/End, and putting the Lockdown Chance for +2 Mag into the sixth slot.


Level 32: Animate Stone – Tank-type Pet
Earth and stone coalesce to form an incredibly tough entity that can attack your foes. The Animated Stone is not alive and is immune to Psionic damage. It is also virtually immune to Sleep, Immobilize, Disorient, and Hold effects. The entity can be healed and buffed like any teammate. Type "/release_pets" in the chat window to release all your pets.
Range: 60 ft.
Endurance: 20.8
Recharge: 240 sec.
Cast time: 3.2 Sec.
Duration: As long as you are in the same zone.
Pet Powers:
(1) Hurl Boulder: 40 ft. Ranged attack, 3.83 cast time, Recharge 8 Sec., 91.2 Smashing Damage at level 50, 50% chance of 6.231 knockback, Mag 4 Taunt for 13.5 seconds.
(2) Stone Fist: Melee attack, 0.57 cast time, Recharge 4 Sec., 55.61 Smashing Damage at 50, 20% chance for 11.92 sec Mag 2 Stun, Mag 4 Taunt for 13.5 seconds.
(3) Seismic Smash: Melee attack, 1.5 cast time, Recharge 8 Sec., 91.2 Smashing Damage at 50, 66% chance for 5.96 Sec. Mag 3 Hold, Mag 4 Taunt for 13.2 seconds.
(4) Resistance to Damage: 40% to Smashing, 50% to Lethal, 60% to Cold, Fire, Energy and Negative Energy, 80% to Toxic, 100% to Psionic. Effectively immune to Sleep, Hold, Immobilize and Stun. Mag 10 protection from knockback.

Ah, finally! You get your pet, and your days of being unable to do damage are over! Well, kind of. Your Rocky pet will follow you around for as long as you are in the same mission or zone, defending you with its three attacks. Animate Stone is the “tank” among controller pets. He has high resistances and is immune to Psi damage and mez effects.

Animate Stone has various nicknames, such as Rocky, Stony, Lumpy, Poo-Man, Iggy (for Igneous) and somewhat inexplicably in one guide, “Gretchen.” Before I-10, Rocky used to be one of the most maligned pets, due to terrible AI. But I-10 changed the AI, and I find him to be much improved. Then, his Stone Mallet was changed to Seismic Smash to help him cycle his attacks better. Now, he generally throws one boulder from range, then closes to fight melee. And since Seismic Smash has a hold, it stacks with your other hold powers.

Rocky’s damage is . . . pretty good, but not stellar. When Seismic Smash replaced Stone Mallet, Rocky went from an OK pet to excellent. You can’t compare Rocky's damage to the three Fire Imps or Illusion’s Phantasm – but he is supposed to be a tank, not three maniacal scrappers or an energy blaster. His survival rate is decent, but because he is in melee and taunts, he takes damage in spite of the substantial resistances. I find Rocky is is LESS durable than Phantasm, as Phantasm uses a decoy and stays out of melee. He is far more durable than those Fire Imps and Jack Frost. Rocky compares pretty well to Singularity – but Rocky can be healed while Singy cannot be healed. As an Earth/Rad, you happen to have a heal . . . so Rocky is pretty darn durable with an occasional heal. I added both -10% Resistance for pets procs to my build. I find it makes a big difference with Rocky and recommend it. Two of them make Rocky almost unkillable as long as you stay nearby.

Update: Thanks to Tylerst, who answered some questions about Rocky's Resistance and ToHit issues. Rocky has a cap of 90% Damage Resistance, so even though he is listed as 100% Resistant to Psi Damage, it is capped out at 90%. With Damage Resistance buffs from Thermal or Sonic and/or the two Damage Resistance procs, Rocky can only cap to 90% Resistance to any damage type. City of Data also lists a -25% ToHit for Rocky, but it does not seem to have any effect.

Slotting: 2 Acc, 3 Dam. Start with 1 Acc, 3 Dam. Add a second Accuracy when you can. The other attributes are mostly not worth enhancing. Recharge is a luxury since Rocky rarely dies, but you could add a Recharge if you don’t have anywhere else to put that slot.

IO Sets: Knockback, Pet Damage, Recharge Intensive Pets. When you get into IO's, good early slotting is Acc/Dam and Damage from Blood Mandate, Acc/Dam and Acc/Dam/End from Brilliant Leadership. Then take a look at the Sovereign Rights and Expediant Reinforcement Unique Resistance Bonus IOs to increase Rocky’s already huge resistances. These IOs are fairly cheap, and provide a huge benefit to Rocky. I have found that except for AV’s, Rocky does not take much damage if I stay within 20 ft. If you are looking for increasing Recharge in your overall build, you can use the Expediant Reinforcement set (Recharge Intensive Pets).

Another option at 47-50 is 3 Nucleous (Acc/Dam) HO’s, and the Sovereign Right and Expedient Reinforcement Resistance Bonus IOs.



Now the Secondary set:

A Local Guide to the Earth Control/Radiation Emission Controller

Due entirely to the urging of Mental Maden, I have put together this Earth/Rad guide. My Earth/Rad, Brown Dirt Cowboy, was named after the sidekick of Captain Fantastic from the Elton John song and album. My usual team of buddies, the Embargo SG on Pinnacle, were leveling up a team that stuck together, and they needed an AoE controller with the Rad secondary for stacking buffs and debuffs. I had wanted to try the Earth set ever since teaming with an Earth controller many months earlier, so here was my chance. This was a team-only, PvE character with several damage dealers on the team. As a team, we took that group of characters up to 50. The Embargo guys are not only great players, but a delight to spend hours with. Thanks, all, for putting up with me. I also want to thank my proof-readers on this guide, Mental Maden, Deacon Blues and Neuttrino. Also thanks to the folks who made comments on the Controller boards.


This guide has five sections:

1. Introduction to the Earth/Rad Controller
2. The Earth Control Primary Powers
3. The Radiation Emission Secondary Powers
4. Suggested Build (in Three Acts)
5. Strategies

Introduction to the Earth/Radiation Controller

My Earth/Rad has more area control than any other character I have played. The only combination that would have MORE control powers than Earth/Rad is Earth/TA. Radiation provides more versatile support for the team, but slightly less control than TA. Earth/Rad is one of the best team support builds. Compared to most builds, an Earth/Rad controller does diddly-squat for damage. Playing solo can be safe but slow, even after getting the pet, Animate Stone a/k/a Rocky. An Earth/Rad controller is the perfect complement to a Fire Blaster, a Fire Tank, a Spines Scrapper or any other Area of Effect Damage Dealer.

This guide incorporates information from two wonderful sites, Red Tomax’s, “City of Data,” and Paragon Wiki, as well as information from other guides written before this one. I did not spend time testing and calculating, but just compiled the great work done by others. I also want to say a special thanks to Enantiodromos for his many helpful posts on the Controllers forums with all the complex calculations – as he has helped me understand the powers much better.

There are several general statements to start off:

(A) I like lists. I think lists make things easier to understand.

(B) This is guide will say very little about PvP – I don’t particularly care for PvP and spend almost no time in those zones.

(C) This is a guide for a team-oriented controller. Can an Earth controller solo? Yes, and pretty safely, but slowly. There are a few comments about playing solo, but not many.

(D) Various terms are used to describe the enemy – enemies, bad guys, baddies, foes. I don’t use “mob” because it is confusing. Old MMO lingo uses “mob” to mean “Mobile Object,” representing one bad guy. To most people, a mob is a group of bad guys. It is confusing, so I don’t use “mob.” I use “bunch,” “group” or “gang” to describe a group of baddies. The developers appear to use the term, “critters,” but that sounds like animals to me, so I don’t use it.

(E) The original version of this guide didn't talk much about Invention Origin (“IO”) sets. Now I am adding in information on IO sets as I find time. I think it is important to discuss slotting in the context of Single Origin or standard single aspect IO’s first. When you are leveling up and building a character, you need the basic enhancement concepts. You can get fancy with IO’s later. IO sets give you a lot of options depending upon your play style and the particular attributes you want to enhance. By the time you are ready to start outfitting IO sets, you can play around with Mid's Builder and come up with some pretty nice builds. If you have an IO build you particularly like, feel free to post it.

Enhancements can be one of 6 types:

1. “TO” is Training Origin, and these are the weakest type of enhancements, available to you at level 1. The amount of enhancement varied depending upon what is being enhanced, but the most common amount is 8%.
2. “DO” is Dual Origin, and these are limited to one of two types of origin. A “DO” is roughly twice the strength of a “TO,” around 16% for the most common type. If you are Magic origin, you can only use Magic/Mutant or Natural/Magic DOs.
3. “SO” is Single Origin, and these will only work for characters of the same origin as the type of enhancement. If you are Science origin, you can only use Science SOs. An “SO” is again twice the strength of a “DO” and four times the strength of a “TO.” The most common amount of enhancement is about 33%.
4. “IO” stands for “Invention Origin,” and fit into two sub-categories, “common IOs” and “set IOs” Common IOs work for any origin, like TOs, except they start at level 10, they never expire and they increase in strength as the level goes up. Level 25-30 common IOs are functionally the same as SOs, in that they enhance for 32-33%. Common IOs level 35 and up are slightly stronger than SOs. At level 50, common IOs are worth about 42%.
5. “Set IOs” usually, but not always, enhance more than one attribute, but the the ones that enhance two or three attributes add up to enhancement for a little more than common IOs. For example, Slotting two set IOs that enhance Accuracy/Damage will be a little better than a common Accuracy and a common Damage. When Set IOs of the same set are used to enhance the same power, the set IOs will give some additional attributes, called “set bonues.” These have become very important in the game. There are also enhancements that do something unique or special, called "procs." If you need more information on Set IOs, look in other guides or ParagonWiki.
6. Finally, there is a last, somewhat rare type that can only be earned by doing certain trials, like the Eden Trial, the Abandoned Sewers trial, the Hamidon raids and the Statesman's Task Force. Although these have a few different names, I'll just refer to them as "Hami-O's" or "HOs." These are the equivalent of two or sometimes three SO enhancements. Although the Eden and Abandoned Sewers Trials give HO-like enhancements, those are lower level and expire. Most of the HOs available are either Hamidon or Synthetic Hamidon enhancements at level 50, so they can't be slotted until level 47 but they won't expire. HOs and Synthetic HOs are identical other than the name.

(F) A lot of standard terms and abbreviations are in this guide because I’m lazy. Here are some of the terms used:

• “PB AoE” stands for “Point Blank Area of Effect,” meaning a power that has an affect in the area immediately around the caster.
• A “Location-targeted AoE” is a power is one where you pick a spot on the ground, and the power will have an Area of Effect around that location. (There are several of these in the Earth/Rad set.) When you activate it, white rings appear wherever it is proper to place the power. You then pick a spot on the ground in range, and click that spot on the ground. Using that spot as the center, the effect appears in a circle (more or less) centered on the spot you clicked.
• An “anchor” is a target upon whom a power is cast. The power will have an effect in the area surrounding the “anchor.” Usually anchors are foes, but there are a few powers, not in the Earth/Rad set, that use teammates as anchors.
• “Toggle” powers are ones that you turn on, and they keep operating until you turn them off, or until some other event turns off the toggle, like if your anchor is defeated, if you are defeated, if your anchor goes out of range or if you leave the zone.
• “Click” powers are powers which activate when you click on them or push a button, but they finish their animation and then recharge until ready again.
• ”AV” is Arch-Villain, and “EB” is Elite Boss, two high level enemies that usually require special tactics and powers.
• “AI” is Artificial Intelligence, or the programming of how a pet or foe is supposed to act.

Some Basics About Controllers

All other archtypes have at least one powerset that is designed for damage. Controllers are designed to limit the enemy’s actions, thereby making it easier to do damage to the enemy. Some Controllers do a lot of damage as well, while others don’t do much damage but do a greater amount of damage prevention and enhancement. Earth/Rad is definitely in the latter group. In general, Controller powers fall into two categories: Control Powers (in your primary mostly) and Buff Powers (mostly in your secondary).


(A) It is important to understand the various powers that provide “control.” Powers that reduce or eliminate the enemy’s ability to attack is usually a control power. Control powers, some of which are referred to as “Mez” powers, are Hold, Stun (also known as Disorient), Sleep, Confuse, Intangible (a/k/a Phase), Fear, Immobilize, Slow and Knocks. Each of these powers has a level of strength, or “mag” (magnitude) that determines how effective it is against types of foes. The Earth/Rad combination does not have Confuse, Intangible or Fear, but it has all the other kinds of Control powers.

• A Hold will keep the foe in one place, unable to attack or defend or do anything. This is the “hardest” kind of control. Holds in Earth/Rad are Fossilize, Volcanic Gasses, Choking Cloud and EM Pulse.
• A Stun or Disorient will also keep the foe from attacking or defending or do anything other than wander around. A Stun added to an Immobilize has the same effect as a hold. Stalagmites is a Stun/Disorient. Stuns
• A Sleep will act just like a hold, until the foe receives any attack. Then he will “wake up” with no other effect. Sleeps usually last longer than Holds or Stuns, but are not very helpful if your teammates have lots of AoE powers that will wake them. Salt Crystals is a Sleep.
• Immobilize will keep the foe in one place, but he can still attack, defend or take any action that does not involve moving. An Immobilize will not stop a foe who can teleport, and there are some foes, like Vahzilock Cadavers and Council Wolves, who resist Immobilize, so you have to hit them twice or more for it to work. The main advantages of an Immobilize are (a) it keeps the bad guy out of melee range, where most foes do more damage; (b) Immobilize combines with Stun to be the same as a hold; (c) an Immobilize will set up Containment for double damage; (d) an Immobilize will keep the bad guys together in an area to be debuffed or for teammates to use Area Attacks; (e) an Immobilize will keep a bad guy from moving around or running away, making it easier to defeat him; (f) Immobilize keeps the bad guys from running after you, so you can hide around a corner or behind cover or run away. Stone Prison and Stone Cages are Immobilize powers.
• Slow powers will slow the movement rate of enemies. Some slow powers will also reduce the recharge rage, or speed at which the enemy can keep attacking you. Sometimes, enemies can run out of the effect of a slow. Slow enhancements only affect run speed, and not the other effects of the slow power. Also, slow powers do NOT set up Containment. Quicksand and Lingering Radiation are Slow powers.
• Knock powers include Knockback, Knockdown and Knock-up. Knockback powers usually send the bad guy flying back. Knockdown is where the foe falls down where he is, and Knock-up is where the bad guy flies up into the air, and then falls down. During the fairly short time that the bad guy is getting up, he cannot attack. Some powers, like Earthquake, keep knocking the foes down over and over again, preventing the foes from doing anything. Knock powers do NOT set up Containment. Earthquake is a Knock-up power.
• Intangible or Phase powers make a foe or group of foes unable to attack or do much of anything, but you and your team are unable to attack them or affect them. Imagine putting the foe or foes in a 30 second "phantom zone" or making them into a ghost for 30 seconds, and you get the idea. This kind of power is often hated by many players because the players don't notice the change in the foe and just attack without doing anything -- wasting endurance. There are no phase powers in the Earth or Radiation sets (fortunately).

If you want to understand how the various forms of “mez” work in the game, and what “Mag” is, take a look at this old Guide on Magnitude. Each of the above powers has factor designating its strength, which are referred to as “Mag,” (for magnitude). The general rule is that Minion level foes require the effect of the power to exceed Mag 1 to take effect, Lieutenant level foes require Mag 2, and Boss level foes require Mag 3. AV’s are a special case – but there are other guides that discuss the “Purple Triangles of Doom” (PToD) and how to deal with AV’s.

(B) It is also important to understand “Containment” and how it works. Containment is double damage (usually) done by a controller’s attack if the target is held, stunned, slept or immobilized. Containment works for damage directly caused by any controller – so other controllers will get containment damage if you have held or stunned a group of bad guys. For the most part, powers that are considered “pets” do not get containment, so Animate Stone, Fallout and Volcanic Gasses do not get Containment. If you want to find out more about a controller’s “containment,” take a look at Enantiodromos’s Controller Damage Overview.

(C) Controller “Buff” powers are the same sets as most of the Defender’s primary power sets, but many of the powers have different values from when the powers are used by Defenders. Powers like Accelerate Metabolism and the Leadership pool will “buff” up you and your team, improving you and your team’s attributes like accuracy or ToHit, damage, recharge, recovery of endurance, regeneration of health, etc. Radiation has three core “debuff” powers that will decrease similar abilities of the enemy. There is a lot of information on these types of powers under Defender Guides.


OK, Let’s start with the powersets, and then get to my recommended build. Each power will be described by its “in-game” description, and then its various attributes will be listed. All durations of Mez effects and damage amounts are for a level 50 character, as listed in City of Data. After those come my suggestions, strategy and suggested slotting.

One more thought. The slanted quotes are not the same as the straight quotes in ASCII. It appears that the ones posted are slanted. Did you cut and past this from somewhere? Try retyping it in notepad, or maybe copy the quotation marks from a bind that works, and copy them onto this bind.

[ QUOTE ]
Rctrl+q “powexec_name Sprint”
Rctrl+w “emote bow$$local, Hello $target, I am $name. A Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle”
rctrl+e "emote yoga"
rctrl+r "emote bow"
rctrl+t ""
rctrl+y ""
rctrl+u ""




1. thanks concrete that helped/
i also saved as a unicode instaed of a asi.

so now we got 1, 3, 4 working.

2 still does not (ctrlW). i see the text appear only when i press the g15 buble.

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I just spotted what was wrong. Get rid of the comma after "local" -- it also has a punctuation error that will have no effect on whether it works. It should be:

rctrl+w “emote bow$$local Hello, $target. I am $name, a Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle.”

I had some major problems with some bind files a while ago -- a set of 53 Taunt binds for my Tank. Each file was typed out in Notepad, but some of them would not work, messing up the entire system. I kept going over and over the binds. All the binds used the same commands with different text, but some worked and some didn't.

I figured out that if I went back, pulled up each file, then re-saved it as UTF-8 rather than ANSI, it worked. At least I think it was UTF-8, but might have been one of the other options for file type under Notepad, "Unicode" or "Unicode big endian." Try that!

Here's a tip for when you are looking to put together a team, and want to send a Tell to your prospective members.

First, make a macro:

/macro Team "t $target, I'm putting together a good team to do Level $level missions. Are you interested?"

Then pop up the Search window, click on any characters who might be interested and click the macro. You have sent an instant tell to the person telling him or her that you will be doing your level missions. If the person accepts, then right-click on the name in the search window and select "Invite to Team."

Once the person joins, you can use another macro:

/macro Hi "g Hello, $target! Welcome to the team. While you are on your way here, I will be looking for more folks to join us."

It is polite to let them know that you can't chat while you look for others.

A nice guide overall. I need to take the time to set this up. I am presently underutilizing my G15 badly. I have just a few keys set up, and I use Citybinder to set up my standard binds using Shift and Ctrl. I bind a few of my combat binds to my 8-button mouse. There are a lot of binds I should move to the G keys, just to keep from hitting them by mistake.

One real strength of the G15 you don't go into is that it can execute several commands with one keypress. Just playing around with the timed recording function, I was able to set up a key that let me turn on all three of my Invuln Tank's armors with one keypress. As long as I used the same locations on Bar 2 for my armors for other tanks or scrappers, it worked for the others, too. I suppose you could even use the G15 to set up an entire attack chain. Of course, you would be stuck in the animation for awhile, but it would be interesting to try something like (fulcrum shift)(defender nuke)(pop a blue)(find the nearest enemy)(Transference)

I was thinking about using M1 for standard actions, and maybe M3 for emotes. I may use M2 for doing things like loading Citybinder or Herostats or Ventrilo, that don't need to be accessed very often.

Do you have any suggestions on how to effectively set up useful key binds? I know you said that you are working on a Mastermind set. I don't play villains much, but use Alt+Keypad for my various MM conmmands, set up through Citybinder.

I really like this . . . I find the invasions to be fun most of the time, occasionally annoying. Turning it on for a couple of days a week is great! That way it doesn't become "old hat," but it gives me a chance to get the goodies on a few of my characters who haven't gotten to it yet.

This should be posted in the Player Questions section or in the Controllers section. The Player Guides section is for guides, not questions about builds -- unless the question is in the thread with a Guide.

Nice job, Devs! This seems like a very fair system, assuming it frees up enough names, and I assume it will. I wouldn't have a problem if it was level 20, but if this does the trick while preserving characters for folks who decide to come back, that's fine with me.

One little tip to all you Fire Controllers out there -- throw Bonfire on the AV's. It adds a little extra damage, and keeps other spawns away from the folks who are concentrating on taking down the AV. This is REALLY effective on Dr. Aeon. It clears all his clone buddies away, making it easier to take him down.

Bonfire is also very effective if you have to take down the towers, for keeping the Repairmen away.

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Has anyone found a way of summoning all of your pets with a macro or a bind? It is getting so tedious bringing up all of the pets when I enter a mission

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With a Logitech G-15 keyboard, you can stack a bunch of commands that CoV will not allow otherwise. I have one key to turn on all my Brute's armors. It includes the time delays to allow time for execution.

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I think it's more likely that it's been patched on whatever server Castle may be playing/testing on.
Having been on more than a few of the STF's with CMA, i can verify that the buffs on LR do indeed drop if you can get him away from the towers, at least playing on Pinnacle and Guardian.
I wouldn't be expecting this loophole to last forever, but no point in not exploiting it while it's still there.

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can anyone comment if this is still valid or not?

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I have run the STF probably 8 or 9 times, including with the Guardian All Controller teams, and a bunch of times with CMA. No question that Recluse loses his buffs when he is pulled to the boat, as long as you can pull LR without aggroing the towers. Once the towers have been aggroed, you have to take the towers down.

No offense, Severe, but you are incorrect on this one. Not only can I verify it from personal experience, but it is pretty common knowledge by the better players I know.

And by the way, CMA is the best tank I have joined with in my 30 months in this game, with the only comparable tank being IrrestibleForce (but different play styles). CMA is well known on Guardian as the best of the tanks in the pre-I-9 Hami Raids. Suggesting that he doesn't know what he is doing is, well, just misguided.

You have put together a nice quick summary, but I have to say that I disagree with a lot of your recommendations. I think a guide should review and compare the common practices, and explain when you recommend going one way over another. Give people more information than just your opinion.

Spectral Wounds -- you don't explain the heal-back, and how important it is to slot up this power quickly because of it. It is important to understand that if the foe is not defeated, a substantial amount of damage heals back. However, the damage done due to Damage enhancement does not heal back. The heal-back makes it appear that SW does not get full containment damage, because containment is calculated on the base damage after the heal-back.

You have SW slotted with 2 Acc, and that's not bad, but since SW has a 10% accuracy bonus, I find that most of the time, 1 Acc is enough. I put that extra slot in as a second recharge. Why? It allows me to fire off Blind, and then SW twice before Blind is recharged. It works even better when you get the APP blasts, as you can go Blind-SW-Blast-SW.

Blind: You have it slotted for damage, while most experienced Illusionists recommend slotting Blind with 2 Acc, 2 Rech, 2 Hold. If you are a solo-oriented Illusionist, damage is fine, but for teams, greater control is needed. I didn't put Damage in Blind until I got Hami-O's. The longer hold is more important than damage for team play.

Deceive: This is a hot-button topic for me and many others -- there has been a recent thread where Deceive and people's perception of it has been discussed extensively. You don't discuss the details of the power, and why it is so good (or bad, depending upon your point-of-view). You don't even mention that if your deceived target fully defeats one of his buddies, you and your team get no XP, but if you do some damage, then you and your team get a greater percentage of the XP than the percentage of damage you have done. (You do 50% of the damage, you get 80% of the XP.) Some feel Deceive is skippable, some feel it is situational, while others, including me, consider Deceive to be a "use it all the time" power, to, in effect, give you a second single-target hold, plus. Deceive can save you and your team from debt and help you get earn XP faster. Or, if you use it wrongly, Deceive can result in you losing XP.

I like to slot up Deceive. While it has a 20% accuracy bonus, it is one of the best powers to use against high level foes and even AV's. It lasts a lot longer than Blind, has higher accuracy, the same activation time and a slightly shorter recharge. Unfortunately, Deceive does not set up Containment. It is effective with just an accuracy in the default slot, but if I have the slots, I try to slot it with 2 Acc, 2 Confuse, 2 Recharge.

Flash is another hotly debated power. I generally recommend getting it, but waiting until Level 28 or 30, after Spectral Terror, and at a point when you have the slots needed to make it decent. Flash is Illusion's only power that sets up AoE containment, so it very effective with AoE damage powers like Fireball or Ice Storm.

Group Invis: The three Defense in GI is a waste of slots -- the defense is so small that it is just not worth it. GI needs 2-3 Recharge, but won't be perma until after you get SO's.

Phantom Army: You left out a lot of important detail, like the fact that the PA are invincible to everything except Hamidon, cannot be buffed, and the nature of PA's illusory damage. Pilcrow's PA guide recommends that PA be slotted 1 Acc, 3 Dam, 2 Rech, as the third Recharge only reduces the recharge by a few seconds, but the third Damage enhancement adds a lot more damage. Also, a lot of the unenhanced damage done is illusory, so it will heal back in a few seconds if the foe is not defeated. Also, PA's damage looks like various different types of damage, but is actually all Psi. Some people, especially solo'ers, rely upon PA for damage, but it can be one of the best control powers in the game, too. Your estimated recharge time is too short. The unslotted recharge is 240 sec., and with 3 SO's, that changes it to just over 2 minutes (One minute after it expires.) Hasten will shorten that to about 45-50 seconds.

Spectral Terror has become the second best power in the Illusion set. It is one of two AoE options, but does not set up containment. It is so good because it recharges as fast as its duration. However, it is an immobile pet, so a recharge lets you re-cast it somewhere else a little sooner. I like to slot it 1 Acc to start, then 1 Fear, 1 Rech when I have slots to spare.

Phantasm: You don't mention the huge complaint about Phantasm -- his knockback. I have had a couple of Tanks ask me not to used Phantasm because they did no want to deal with his knockback. Phant is a great pet with the second best damage among the Controller pets, but you have to learn to deal with the knockback.

As for the summary of the secondaries, I feel that Rad and TA have the best synergy with Illusion, as both have a lot of Debuffs. Since PA cannot be buffed, only debuffs will provide a benefit for Phantom Army. Kin only helps with the recharge, using Siphon Speed. Kin, Emp, FF and Sonic are mainly buff sets, and buffs are useless for PA, Illusion's most important power. Also, Rad and TA have additonal control powers that help to fill Illusion's weakness for control.

Ill/Emp is very popular as a battlefield healer, due to SI. Ill/Storm is a complex combination that can be very effective in the hands of a skilled player, or can be pure chaos otherwise. Tal_N has an awesome guide to Ill/Storm.

All these complaints about not being to get on Freedom . . . You all chose the most populated server because it has the most people. However, during 2XP weekend, everyone and their brother is on the game, so obviously Freedom will be overbooked. It's just a consequence of the choice you made. If you don't want to be overloaded during 2XP or when a new issue comes out, don't play on Freedom or Virtue.

I have my main characters on Guardian and Pinnacle and had no problems whatsoever all weekend getting on, and rarely had a problem finding teams. Great weekend. Got one character up three tough levels (41-44), had another go up 5 (24-29) and several others go up a level or two. Had some family commitments, or it would have been more.

It was too bad that several of my main gang were out of town on business, or it would have been more. However, I joined up with several good PUGs and led one for a while. Fun times with good folks. Thank you to everyone on Guardian and Pinnacle who joined up with me!

Looks cool -- We've been asking for more content in the 35-40 range, as well as 50+, and this seems to meet those needs. Can't wait to see it!

There are certain enhancements which have limited appeal -- you can buy them for cheap and sell them at the stores for a substantial profit. These include Confuse, immobilize, range, Disorient, Interrupt, and some of the buff/debuff.

Wow, too many posts to read them all. I gave I-9 4 stars. There are a lot of "Finally!" additions that I really like. Stores in KR, new train stops, a trainer in PI. Some of the interface showing percentage changes when placing Enhancements.

I love the fact that the Inventions and economy are entirely optional, although they add a lot to the game. I love the never-expiring IO's, and that they get better with higher levels, but never go down.

The Consignment Markets (CM) are a great addition, but the interface needs some work. If I put the time and effort in, I can get some real deals. I can sell stuff that I don't need, in many cases for a very good price if it is otherwise in demand. I don't want "regulation" built into the CMs. I do think that the drop rates need some adjustment. I like the fact that some IO's can provide benefits that you might otherwise have to take as a power -- the power is far better, but sometimes a little is all that is needed (Knockback Protection and Stealth).

STF -- a very nice addition to the Hero side. It is a nice length of usually 2-3 hours. The no-HO bug NEEDS to be fixed, and the drops of rare recipes is frustrating when you get something you have no use for -- my controllers have gotten a couple of Snipe recipes (ugh!).

The new Hamidon is the biggest disappointment. Hami-Raids used to be my big social event, but I have quit going since the new system was put in. Too hard, not enough reward for the effort. It might be OK once people work out strategies, but so far, Hami is a bust.

Costume pieces -- I would love to put some of the new wings on a couple of my characters, but it is just not worth the effort. My wife has a Tank-r-belle character who is aching for Fairy wings, but not anytime soon. There are probably some characters I would build around the various wings if they were available, but since it is almost impossible to get them for a beginning character, it is just not worth it. I would rather see other costume options be drops, and make the wings available generally or subject to a mission, like capes.

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<QR>

There should be no need to kill any of LR's spawns while you're fighting to kill him, especially with one emp, one rad, and one kin.

And I agree. This isn't a guide so much as it's a recounting of your STF.

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But it's much more than anyone else has posted. I'd like to see more tactics on GW though. I get this idea though, keep everyone out of melee range so she can't feed off you for heals, but not sure if she will rush someone to heal when she needs it. Just for the sake of killing GW it seems scrappers are frowned upon for the STF. we had 4 scrappers and a tank so were unable to finish her. But 4 blasters in place of that and we would have sailed right through easier.

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One thing that we have learned doing this TF about 5 times. For Ghost Widow, if the Taunt Tank stays away from GW and taunts, she won't use her heal. Controlers need to keep her immobilized, or the tank needs to keep backing away to stay at range. Everyone else, including pets, can attack her without that huge heal.

The Tank needs some massive anti-hold, though. A Kin stacking about 7 Increase Densities will do it, but that's pretty much a full time job. Add Clear Mind, too.

The times we have done the STF, we always had at least 2 Rad 'Trollers and at least 1 Kin Defender or 'Troler. Fire/Rads and Fire/Kins work very well because the AoE damage really helps against the Vines.

Devs: Thanks for Asking!!!!

It's great knowing that you listen and ask. I know that you have to make the decision based upon a lot of factors, other that players saying, "Ooooh, pretty!" But it is very, very nice to know that you're trying your best.

On the defense side, I love the idea of a Vibration set. It fits so well with Superspeed! Or Sonics! A nice change from the image of the big, dumb superstrong guy. All along, I have loved the idea of a Shield defense set.

One I would like to see most is Tech Armor/Magic Armor. You know, the guy stands there, and suddenly the armor kind of folds out from nowhere to cover him. It would be in some ways similar to Stone, but with a very different feel. It could have a weakness to Fire instead of Psi . . . I have a Broadsword Scrapper with Blue Plate Armor, but it is just a costume. No real substance, and none of the current defense sets really worked right. (But I liked the name . . . Blue Plate Special.)

I think Street Fighting is a set that has been needed for a long time . . . I doubt that it would happen, but imagine a critcal hit on a "kick to the groin" -- with knockup!

The Ball & Chain set would be awesome to go with Armor but I can see that it would be tough to implement. I voted second for Electric Hammer, since there are enough Lethal weapon sets.

Now, what I would love to see is something like an Energy Lash/Whip, where most of the damage is energy, but it would be very hard to implement.

I love the idea of making Angus's "Ask the Newbie" into a regular column. He consistantly comes up with wonderful answers.

I suggest a spotlight on Guides. Feature some of the best, with reviews of why the Guide is good, and list any new Guides that have been written. Some of the very best info on the boards is preserved there, and the folks who put in the time to write them deserve the recognition, too.

Thank you! Thank you! Very nicely done! We really needed a "big picture" guide to IO's with some basic strategy on how to effectively use them.

Before any of the numbers make sense, this guide lets me see the "forest" rather than just the "trees."

SP, you are truely awesome! You have been adding more and more juicy goodies to your planner. (And I can use it on the computers at work, even though I can't install anything!)

Thank you so much for your great work!

Thanks. I was trying to use the flyposes last night and it didn't seem to work when I just typed in the command. I'll try them out again by binding them to a key and use this for the ones I like.