Oedipus_Tex

I wish they'd just bite the bullet and up Thunderclap to Mag 3. The power looks and sounds so amazing.

Three more. This is fun. And there are some great designs out there!

I wasn't sure whether I should put these three guys with my original three submissions or not, so I just stuck them in a seperate post.



Back Alley Brawler:






Sister Psyche:





Numina:

Some impressive entries so far! I only spent the time to make three costumes. I tried to focus on the three that needed a makeover the most, so here are Synapse, Citadel, and Manticore redux.



Citadel:






Synapse:







Manticore:

I have a Earth/Therm, and this is the path he took (showing only power picks, no slotting). I left the level 30 power open as a free pick for you (I took Super Speed with it, but Recall Friend works well here too).

The powers I skipped are the single target immob, Salt Crystals, and the ally-version of Rise of the Phoenix. I also skipped the epic armor and favor of the self rezz power. Believe it or not, for teaming, I actually find I play better without the armor sapping at my endurance. Objectively speaking the armor only guards me against one or two extra hits, and then only if they happen to be smash/lethal attacks. I find that if someone can't save me in time it's actually far better, as the healer-ish character, to die and dump aggro, then pop back up when it's safe to do so. Your mileage may vary with this technique.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 48 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Thermal Radiation
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- (A)
Level 1: Warmth -- (A)
Level 2: Stone Cages -- (A)
Level 4: Thermal Shield -- (A)
Level 6: Quicksand -- (A)
Level 8: Cauterize -- (A)
Level 10: Plasma Shield -- (A)
Level 12: Stalagmites -- (A)
Level 14: Hurdle -- (A)
Level 16: Health -- (A)
Level 18: Earthquake -- (A)
Level 20: Stamina -- (A)
Level 22: Hasten -- (A)
Level 24: Thaw -- (A)
Level 26: Volcanic Gasses -- (A)
Level 28: Forge -- (A)
Level 30: [Empty]
Level 32: Animate Stone -- (A)
Level 35: Heat Exhaustion -- (A)
Level 38: Melt Armor -- (A)
Level 41: Fire Ball -- (A)
Level 44: Fire Blast -- (A)
Level 47: Consume -- (A)
Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix -- (A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- (A)
Level 1: Sprint -- (A)
Level 2: Rest -- (A)
Level 1: Containment

I wish there was a Weather Epic that borrowed a little from Storm Summoning. Can you imagine a Blaster-rated Tornado or Lightning Storm?

Edit: Just remembered these powers summon standard pets. Too bad, that. But maybe granting Steamy Mists with a very small radius could take the place of the normal armor that appears in the blaster epics.

I would build for recharge first, and pick up any extra s/l defense you can as incidental bonuses rather than building for it specifically.

The Earth APP is a really good one for Ice/Cold, although thematically a little weird. The Ice APP also works well.

The other one to think about is the Mind APP. It's shield is resistance based, but I always find it really tempting for Ice Controllers, especially ones with high recharge, mainly because of Indomitable Will reducing how often you toggle-drop Arctic Air.

I was thinking that it would be neat if radio missions had an option for bosses with random powers.

I was also thinking a lot of teams would be in for a lot of hurt, depending on what powers the big guy ends up with.

But with the AE and custom character creation out there, is this hard to create and desireable? I know I'd like to see more surprises in game.

The damage on Lift is regretable but the knockup is still useful. It's good to use on bosses. Hold > Lift > Hold lets you stack holds safely after drawing aggro.

To me, the strongest solo Controller that still "feels" like a Controller is Plant. Something like Plant/Radiation in particular.

Illusion is a great set but is almost like a different AT. That's part of why I love Controllers; they are a mixed bag of possibilities. You said you like Tankers, and there definitely is a lot of tanky-ness in Illusion, although its your pets who take the hits instead of you.

Mind Control is a great solo set you might like if the reason you like Tankers is that you you want to be the first person in the fight. Mind/Storm, in particular, can play a tanker-ish role in the sense that you can snipe mezzes at people before the group charges in, and herdicane them when you're solo.

Fire Control has a lot of overlap with Tankers too, in the sense that its always in the middle of things. The flip side is that you are also frequently dead if you're not careful.

Illusion/Radiation is the classic combo. Radiation powers colored white definitely look a bit like liquid light. Just make sure they aren't too bright for teammates to see.

Illusion/Empathy is a different type of character. I agree with Local Man that that is more of a team build. Illusion/Thermal would work as well, and although you can't buff the Phantom Army the flaming Phantasm looks really cool. Again, watch the opacity on the shield coloring because it can be overwhelming.

IMO Thermal is the frantic cousin of Empathy. As a set, it pushes you to click faster, faster, faster. If you put yourself in the proper mindset it can be very rewarding. It can also be sort of exhausting.

There are basically three simultaneous things you need to juggle with Thermal, which when I play, I prioritize as follows:
- Do I need to refresh shields? (every 3-4 minutes)
- Can I Forge someone? (eventually worked down to every 90 seconds)
- Should I toss a heal? (continuous, because there are no recovery auras)

On top of that you have your Thermal debuffing powers which are up less often but should be thrown in whenever you can.

And then you have your controls. Depending on your primary, your strategy will change.

- Ice, for me a rather soothing and un-clicky set, synergizes with Thermal in the sense that it doesn't add a lot of extra pressure to click things. Ice Slick animates quickly (faster than Earthquake) and Arctic Air is always running, so putting mezz-pressure on enemies while buffing the team works smoothly. Mastering how to leverage Arctic Air while buffing, to me, is the key to this combo. Note that you this combo is very team dependant until lvl 32, and still rather fragile solo even after that. I think that Ice Control, more than any other Control set besides perhaps Fire, benefits tremendously when teamed with a Tank-type character who is good at redirecting aggro.

- Mind Control has no pet to buff. Whether this effects you depends entirely on how often you team. If you are always teamed, Mind is one of the best sets you can take, because buffs are only as good as the pet (or teammate) you put them on. One of the main synergies between a buff set and Mind Control is that Mind has several aggro-less controls that make you the least likely team member to get attacked, if you play your cards right. Since you are the last-resort character, this can translate into better team survival rates.

- Earth is another set that is very team dependant, although the pet it gets is ridiculously survivable when shielded up. I think the pet is actually better than the pets Masterminds get. Earth has a lot of similarities to Ice, but is more clicky and, in a way that's hard to describe unless you've played the set, is sort of "confrontational." What I find is that Earth is better at steam rolling enemies that are moderately dangerous and Ice and Mind are better at preventing catastrophic team wipes when unexpected things happen (ambushes, foolish teammates, etc).

- Plant does great damage and great control. It works with any secondary. It does get a pet, but more as an afterthought than because the set really needs it or because the pet is really remarkable.

- Fire is a high damage set with less control potential. It adds some team safety but focuses more on high-risk blapping. I don't think it's a stretch to call Fire Control schizophrenic. This is the set for you if you are an adrenaline junky who likes to gamble; when you're successful, your potential is awesome, when you're not (or your tank isn't very good or your fire imps are just in a fiesty mood), you will be the first team member down every time.

- Illusion is a unique set. It has some overlap with Mind Control, including an absolutely awesome aggro-less single target Confuse power.

- Gravity is.. gravity. It's not a terrible set, but it's definitely not my favorite. Paired with /Thermal, the pet can be shielded but can't be healed. It's not a terrible combo, but (like anything paired with Gravity) it's not strictly the best either.

Hope that helps.

A lot of people feel strongly about this topic, which is why it comes up a lot. I feel like both sides of the debate end up talking past each other.

What this debate is really about is not controlling other players but determining game direction. That's the reason game developers (of this game and of others) and many players find farming distasteful; it violates their sense of what the game "means." In a nutshell, even if an individual is not directly inconvenienced, he or she is still affected because a game heavy in farming changes in substance. A game is more than a sum of its environments, characters, and markets. There is a "spirit of the game" element that carries a lot of importance.

Personally, I don't blame farmers for farming. They do it because game design rewards it. I also don't blame the game developers for making farmable content. Writing content that promotes fun while avoiding power-grind mechanics is very difficult.

But I will say that it's frustrating that in the current state of the game, a lot of focus is paid to "steam rolling" content, with very few challenges that break this mold. What this has done is placed a lot of emphasis on certain very specific powers and powersets and, in a lot of ways, not only legitimized farming but devalued character types that can't do it. I think it is pretty disappointing that once a character gets to 50, the only way to realistically continue to build the character are either to play the market or farm, because the game is geared very heavily toward random drop rewards instead of activity-based rewards. There are merit rewards, of course, but outfitting a character using only merits is very difficult, and mission mechanics make it very difficult for teamed characters to get merits at all outside of Task Forces.

I think Power Build Up increase duration but not magnitude. I may be mistaken about this though. My impression is it works like a turbo-sized version of set bonus IOS that provide minor boosts to mezz effectiveness.

I have no idea where to post this, so I put it here.

I have a selfish request. I would like to be able to access costume parts on characters in Going Rogue without waiting for the special costume events to roll around.

The reason is that my main character, Oedipus Tex, will likely be rerolled once I can access the GR powersets. His costume consists of a toga over blue jeans. The toga costume part can only be unlocked during February. So if I reroll him, in order to restore his costume, I'll have to wait until 2011 for a part I already have access to. It's just a matter of the timing of the release.

I'm certain it won't happen, but it is kind of disappointing to have to run around in a martial arts robe instead.

Build for recharge. What you have here is a potential juggernaut of control who by around level 40 should make it possible for teams to plow through even hard enemies, like +4 Malta, and then slam the end boss into the ground using your debuffs. It will work solo but IMO Mind Control really shows its strengths on a team, where the pet is much less important than having an extra AoE to throw at the enemies.

You truly have not rocked an enemy group until you've seen what a stealthy lvl 50 Mind Controller can do by running slightly ahead of the team and stacking Confusion on hard targets prior to the fight. To facilitate this without making the enemies kill each other before the team gets there, sleep the group, then start putting confusions on them. When the team arrives the alpha gets directed at the enemies themselves. It's just sick.

A few specific pointers:
- Terrify is a must-have at level 26. It has good damage and a lengthy fear to keep enemies off your back.

- I would swap Hover for Hasten, three slot it, then swap Fly for Super Speed. Put a Celerity +Stealth IO in either Sprint or Super Speed. You will now be invisible to most enemies. This is a huge advantage on a Mind Controller due to your three non-aggro mezzes; you will actually be a better snipe-troller than an Illusion Controllers are.

- Confuse is the best single target mezz in the game, tied only with Illusion's Decieve power. Take it no later than level 10, and six slot it as fast as possible.

- You may be able to get away with dropping your epic armor, because Mind Controllers on a team are among the least likely to get shot at. This is due to your ability to mezz without pulling aggro. Terrify will pull some aggro on you every now and then, but you should be able to handle it for the most part.

- I hate Conserve Power. You might feel differently, but I've never found a good use for it on a Mind Troller. I think with AM you will be just fine. Power Blast or Energy Torrent will be more useful to you, IMO.

- Since you're no longer chasing Defense, I highly recommend taking out Combat Jumping.

- I'm iffy about Choking Cloud. It's not an awful choice but I think you should play with it some to see if you benefit from it. I think it's a great power for a Fire or Ice troller, and less so for other Control sets--particularly Mind and Illusion which benefit from stealth and tend to rely on Confusion more than Holds.