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I think you mean Mind/Cold. I don't have a Mind/Cold, but I have some decent experience with Mind Control. Mind Control is very powerful, especially in low levels. The attack chain of Dominate-Mezmerize-Levitate can carry you a long way. You can take out single targets easily, or spread those powers around to protect yourself. Add in Confuse and Mass Hypnosis, and it is very safe. The lower level Cold powers won't help you much solo, as the ally only shields will be worthless.

In upper levels, you will be lacking much AoE damage, and you won't get the damage boost that other controllers get from a pet. Your only AoE damage comes from Terrify. You'll get a little help from Confuse powers, but your damage slows down in upper levels. On the other hand, you will get some great AoE control and some powerful debuffs. In upper levels, you'll probably want to team more than solo.

Try a different kind of character. In my opinion, the electric armor set is a little weak, and a resistance-based set relies on healing. Elec armor trades some survival for a damage aura and a great endurance recovery power. Other scrappers have more survival ability.

Want greater survivability? Try an Illusion/Radiation controller following my guide. If you stand back and Deceive two foes, then take down the third with Blind-Spectral Wounds, you can defeat foes without taking any damage at all. It may not be fast, but it is safe. -- and you can't play one Red side (at least, not yet).

I have so many characters that it really depends on what we're doing, what is needed and what I haven't played lately. However, if I want to do something that is challenging or new, I almost always go for my Ill/Rad first. If not him, I go for my softcapped BS/Shield scrapper, my softcapped MA/SR scrapper, or my Warshade. After those, I go for my Ice/Ice Blaster, my Stone/Fire tank, my Dark/Elec Defender or my Ice/Storm controller.

But that's only on my main server. I have three other servers where I have level 50's.

I'm now somewhere that I don't have access to Mids, so I can't look at that aspect of your build. Is this intended to be a leveling up build? If so, take a look at my guide for a suggested leveling up order. I purposefully chose the powers in an order that makes leveling up easier with a maximum of control. I would move Enervating Field back, as you don't have enough endurance to run it before Stamina (and it needs 2 EndRdx). I would move Hurdle back a little bit to take Stone Cages early. The combo of Stone cages+RI is very effective for quasi-control, as described in the guide.

You are slotting a lot of very, very expensive IO sets, many of which are level 50 sets. I suggest that you focus on a leveling up build before you look at a final build. You said that you have never gotten past level 24 . . . focus on a build that fun to play as you go up, and then worry about a level 50 build near the end.

Fossilize: Leveling up, I like to slot Fossilize with a mix of Acc, Hold, Rech and Damage. At level 50, that might change, but I still like a little damage in Fossilize. Sometimes, even on a team build, you have to take down a baddie.

AM gets more benefits with the Efficacy Adaptor set, but it should get 6 slots. Start with 3 Recharge, then EndMod as you can fit it in. AM is a very important power, in that it boosts Recharge, Damage, Endurance Recovery, Run Speed, and Resistance to mez (the mez time is shorter) . . . and that's for the entire team. Later in the build, I slot 5 of the Efficacy set, leaving out the Acc/EndMod for a Recharge unless I have enough global recharge to be able to slot that last one.

Quicksand and Ling Rad: You don't need to slot for Slow. With two slow powers, you are well past the slow cap of 90%. I use 2 Recharge in Quicksand, and 1 Acc and 2-3 Recharge in Ling Rad. With enough global recharge, you can cut that down to 1 Rech in Quicksand, 1 Acc in Ling Rad. Those slots can be used in other places.

Stone Cages: It is pretty low damage, so Posi Blast is mostly wasted. Slot for Accuracy and endRdx, then go for damage procs if you want damage out of it. You get more damage from procs than slotting for damage. The Chance for Hold is nice, too. But its main purpose is as an AoE control power . . . the Stalagmites+Stone Cages+RI is very effective.

Volcanic Gasses: Again, you need to maximize Hold and Recharge due to the way the power works. Maximizing Hold helps it be more effective and makes it better at holding Bosses by stacking Mag. Eventually, that Lockdown proc is nice here, then maybe a damage proc but only after Hold and Recharge are high enough. Accuracy isn't needed, especially if you lay down Quicksand underneath it. (It does not take Accuracy, but you can put some in with sets. However, its accuracy is so high, it does not need it.)

Taking Fallout without Mutation is kind of rude, don't you think? If you are going to explode a teammate's body, shouldn't you rez him, too?

Consider changing to the Ice APP set. Earth/Rad is a ranged character. Earth APP is a melee set. Ice gives you two ranged AoE damage powers, plus Hibernate for "panic button" moments. You don't need defense as much if you have Hibernate and a self heal in Radiant Aura.

You don't really need two -Knockback procs. One is enough for about 95% of the time. You could drop Combat Jumping to get Mutation.

You won't use EM pulse all that much, as your ranged control options will handle almost everything. I mostly use it as a "panic button" power or a "OK, I want to be fighting statues" overkill power. But it is worth having, as you will have two of the best three AoE hold powers in the game. (The other is EM Pulse Arrow.) At level 50, I'd put that damage proc in Volcanic Gasses, since you will use that a lot more. I think I use the Hold/Rech and the Hold from the purple Hold set in my Volcanic Gasses, too, but not the entire set.

Earth/Rad is not as demanding on Recharge as some controllers (Like Ill/Rad). It has three ranged AoE control options, so usually you have another one available at all times. And then you have EM Pulse to fall back upon. I don't focus on maximizing one attribute or another so much on my Earth/Rad. I like some Recharge and Endurance/Recovery, but I'm not willing to give up functionality to get it.

Earth and Ice are the two lowest damage Controller primaries. Kinetics is a damage multiplier . . . but you have to have something to multiply. In the old days before the Pet Recharge nerf, speed boosting Rocky made an Earth/Kin capable of playing solo after level 32, but that doesn't apply any more.

If you want to solo an Earth/Kin, you have to find some damage. Stone Prison slotted for damage, Air Superiority can help, but it is still very slow.

First, take a look at my Earth/Rad guide, linked in my sig. I admit that the guide is not designed for the IO Min/Max player, but gives a lot of information about the powers and strategies.

Personally, I think skipping Quicksand is a mistake. In addition to an AoE slow, it is a HUGE defense debuff, and it recharges quickly. I like to use Quicksand underneath all my other controls. Earthquake and Volcanic Gasses do not instantly control all the foes, so Quicksand keeps them in place while debuffing their defense and NOT preventing knockback. (There are some people who argue that you don't need Stone Cages if you use Qucksand. I don't agree, but Quicksand is very useful.)

As for Volcanic Gasses, you want to max slot for Hold and Recharge, for the reasons explained in my guide. Once those are max slotted, then you can add some damage procs for good effect . . . the power spawns three pseudo-pet geysers, increasing the chance that the proc will hit.

Personally, I don't go for the Fighting Pool on my controllers . . . on team controllers, I rely upon the tank/scrappers getting the aggro, and then using my AoE controls, rather than going after defense. I would suggest you level up trying out powers like Quicksand and EM Pulse, and then decide if you want to respec into that level 50 build. On my Earth/Rad and on most controllers, I aim for Recharge over Defense, especially for a team-oriented character who can rely on a teammate to take the initial aggro . . . eventually, you can use stealth to lead Rocky into taking the aggro.

I saw you had Super Speed . . . you may want to add a Stealth IO for full invis so that you can lead Rocky into battle. I also think you need to slot him up some more. Max damage, and then one or two of the Resistance Procs to boost his high resistance.

On Accelerate Metabolism, you need to slot for Recharge, and then EndMod . . . at level 50, I like the Efficacy Adaptor set.

Illusion is a great powerset. Force Field can be a good powerset when used right. However, there is very little synergy between them. The strength of Illusion is control through distraction with Phantom Army, and single target damage. In order to boost PA, you want recharge to help them recharge faster, and debuffs to help PA hit harder and more often. FF has neither.

Illusion is a poor set for farming. The goal of "farming" is to be able to dispatch large numbers of foes quickly, which is why sets that have lots of AoE are usually the best farmers. Illusion instead focuses on single target damage. So if you want to "farm," try another set.

However, your Ill/FF has some nice advantages on teams, especially since Defense has become more important in the game in the last couple of years. You really shine on teams of squishier teammates . . . PA can draw the aggro, and then your bubbles can protect your teammates from damage and mez. Plus you have lots of knockback for when foes get a little to rambunctious.

I don't have a build for you, especially since I don't have an Ill/FF among my 6 or 7 Illusionists, three of which are 50. My experience with */FF comes from my Mind/FF. But I would think that you should take everything in Illusion other than one of the two invisibilities. What you take in FF depends on your playstyle -- other than PFF, the two ally-only shields and Dispersion Bubble, everything else is optional. How much knockback do you want? You could try to fit in the Medicine Pool, or Leadership, depending on your playstyle and goals. You probably want either Ice or Earth for your APP set, as those two sets have defense-based Smash/Lethal Armors.

I don't have Mids where I am, so I'm not sure how many 5% Recharges you have. But consider this: Move the Perplex out of Deceive to add a slot to Transfusion. Then slot Transfusion with 5 Doctored Wounds and an Accuracy.

Then take that Impskin Status out of MoB, put it in Transference and 6-slot the Efficacy Adaptor set for another 5% recharge.

The two 5% recharge will allow you to drop one of your LotG Recharges. That way, you can drop Grant Invis and Stealth (useless mules) and replace them with Combat Jumping for one LotG Recharge and Immob protection. And you have one more power slot for something more useful than Grant Invis or Stealth.

If you are looking to solo a Mind/Storm, you need the single target attack chain of Dominate-Mezmerize (slotted for damage)-Levitate. This is the main source of your damage. Terrify slotted for damage gives some AoE damage, especially if you lead off with Mass Hypnosis to set Containment. Mass Hyp also lets you sleep the group, then move into the best position to hit the largest number of foes with Terrify. Still, the AoE damage is pretty weak.

In your build, you have Maneuvers and Resusitate. I would drop those. They are nearly useless (Maneuvers) and completely useless (Resusitate) solo, and not all that helpful on teams. There are so many rez options in the game now that most rez powers are fully skippable. (One of the Day Job accolades gives you a Rez Ally temp power -- get the Day Job badges from the Hospital and the University.) The small amount of Defense from Maneuvers is only useful if you stack it with a lot more Defense. Aid Other and O2 Boost are useless solo, too. I have been able to get by without Aid Self on my Mind/Storm -- Hibernate and green Inspirations cover the healing I need -- and I play mine solo about 90% of the time.

With the attack chain of Dom-Mez-Lev, you don't really need Ice Blast. So that lets you add in Ice Storm for more AoE damage.

Welcome! You are fortunate to have found the boards early on . . . I was in the game for 3 months before I found the forums. Lots of friendly people here . . . and a few grumpy ones.

Feel free to ask questions, read guides and contribute to the inane conversations.

Yeah, I'd agree that the build above has some very odd choices. The order and timing of the powers is a bit odd -- I would move a lot of things around and substantially change the slotting. Here's just a few I noticed:

Mezmerize: Chance for Hold . . . most of the time, my attack chain is Dom-Mez-Lev. Mez is a Mag 4 sleep, so bosses can be controlled. That proc is doing very little there. Would do better putting that slot somewhere else.

Levitate: Primary damage power, but the Kin Crash set is low on damage. Yeah, it has some nice bonuses, but you can make up for those to some degree and still slot for damage.

Dominate: I would rather put the purple Hold set in Total Domination and slot this for some Damage with the Hold, Acc and Rech. 4 Basilisk Gaze + some Acc and Damage in the last two slots works. (I like Acc/Dam and Dam/Mez Hami-Os)

Hasten: Only 1 slot? Huh? When the reason for 6 slotting the Kin Crash set is 7.5% recharge? I don't get it.

Super Speed: Why slot this for speed when you have Siphon Speed to get you to the run speed cap?

Speaking of Siphon Speed: It needs Acc and Recharge, which the Slow sets are somewhat lacking. I generally use common IOs. 2 Acc, 2-3 Rech.

Health: Weird slotting -- End/Rech??? The only slotting that helps this power is Heal. He would do much better with just the Numina's Heal and the proc, and then the Heal/End and Heal/Rech . . . or use two slots somewhere else.

Stealth: A useless power pick if you have a +Stealth IO in Super Speed. And way over-slotted as the defense is small. If you want a mule for a LotG Recharge, take Combat Jumping later in the build -- it at least gives Immob protection. If you want Defense, then go for Maneuvers to help the team.

Stamina: Save the 6 Efficiency Adaptor set for Transference. Perf Shifter proc and EndMod, and two other Perf Shifter with EndMod go here. Or if you are tight on slots, trade out those last two for one Common EndMod.

Speed Boost: Recharge?? When it recharges so fast already? A single EndMod is good enough.

Total Dom: See Dominate.

Terrify: Best source of AoE damage. Go for Damage and Recharge, and only add fear if you have spare slots.

Transference: 6 Efficiency Adaptors

Fulcrum Shift: I prefer 2 Acc, 2-3 Rech.

Siphon Power: 1 Acc minimum, prefer 2 Acc, then 2 Rech and maybe some EndRdx.

Fireball: Why take it if you don't slot it?

Fire Shield: This is just odd slotting.

Just as a suggestion, I really like taking Hasten and Superspeed in the teens. Shadow Cloak + Super Speed is full invisibility. Invis becomes very handy to get in position for getting the largest number of foes in your Mires (Build-up based upon the number of foes in the area) and Eclipse (Resistance buff based upon number of foes in the area). Plus you get Recall Friend as an inherent power, so with Invis you become a valuable teammate for stealthable missions. I love taking my Warshades on TFs because they bring so much to the team -- back-up blaster when needed, back-up tank when needed, ability to mez foes and to stealth missions.

Solo, I would say that both Cinders and Bonfire are very useful. Cinders can be used to fill in when Flashfire is recharging or in those "panic button" moments when you are being overrun. Bonfire is a targetted AoE knockback zone -- very useful for blocking hallways and keeping foes out of melee from you -- again, it can be used as a "panic button" power -- Bonfire is situational and can be skipped, but I find lots and lots of strategic uses for it.

Smoke has mixed opinions. I have it on my Fire/Kin, used to have it on my Fire/Rad. I find it skippable -- one problem is that it has a fixed range that cannot be enhanced -- when you get close enough to use Smoke, you are nearly in aggro range of the Imps so unless you are at max range, they may run in to aggro the foes you just smoked to avoid aggro. Ring of Fire is skippable, but can be nice for extra single-target damage if you solo.

As for other pool powers: Hasten is helpful on all controllers. Boosting the recharge on your powers is always a big help. Plus, you can consider taking Super Speed for both travel and stealth -- my Fire/Rad has both Fly and Super Speed, and I'm thinking of dropping Fly since we have so many options for flight packs now-a-days.

Illusion is a great primary, and Kinetics is a great secondary, so the combo is good, but there is a lack of synergy. The only real boost that Kinetics gives to Illusion is (a) siphon speed will help PA recharge faster, and (b) Fulcrum Shift/Siphon Power will buff your damage and Phantasm's damage. As previously mentioned, you have to deal with Phanty knocking back your siphon targets periodically.

You can't buff Phantom Army, so your great Kin buffs are wasted on them. (One of the reasons that Ill/Rad is so popular and so good - Rad is the only secondary with a Recharge buff and debuffs to make Phantom Army better.)

For the most part, Containment isn't a problem with an Illusionist. Why? No AoE damage powers until the APP sets. You mostly focus on single target damage with Blind-Spectral Wounds. Once you get to the APP sets, you have a great single target attack chain of Blind-SW-APP Blast-SW.

If you are looking for a combo with Illusion, I prefer Ill/Rad, Ill/Storm and Ill/TA over Ill/Kin (in that order). Ill/Cold may be a very good combo, too, but I haven't yet taken a */Cold very far.

Try a Grav/Storm . . . I tried Grav/Rad and Grav/Kin and just couldn't get into them. But there are some interesting aspects of a Grav/Storm. At level 16, Freezing Rain makes up for Grav's lack of AoE control by combining Freezing Rain with Crushing Field for an AoE knockdown field where the foes can't run away. Then Hurricane gave me the personal protection with its repel and ToHit Debuff allowing me to use my single target attacks without getting ganked by the other foes around. Thunderclap's Stun stacks with Wormhole. Wormhole lets you take the baddies and put them in a corner so that you can use Tornado and Lightning Storm to be more effective, and then you can hold them there with Crushing Field and Hurricane. . . . And Singy can be my tank, to draw aggro while I take my time setting up my other tricks.

It isn't necessarily fast, but I find my Grav/Storm is one of my favorite solo controllers.

If you really, really want to gain even more appreciation for a Fire/Rad, run a team of them. A team of Fire/Rads is sickly overpowered. Stacked AM putting the team at damage cap, Recovery cap, Recharge cap, and with stacked Choking Cloud and Hot Feet. A ton of speed capped/damage capped Fire Imps acting like Locusts. Alternating Flashfire+Fire cages in pairs will stun everything in sight and hold it in place. If the team stays together, everything melts in no time. This is the fastest, most overpowering team in the game.

The easiest way to breat the Fire/Kin Stereotype? As soon as you get on the team, speed boost everyone. Let them know that you are team-focused, and don't mind if they remind you to speed boost them . . . .

Most players in the game have never seen a team-focused Fire/Kin . . .