Alef_infinity

Thanks very much for all the suggestions! Yeah, those suggestions sound good (and I might try both Dark/Mace and Ice/Stone).

So, I've been thinking of trying out a Tanker. Interested in suggestions of powersets. Here's some of my experiences of what's generally been fun for me short and long term.

I took Provoke on one of my MMs and had fun using it (I'll probably take it on the others). That's making me seriously consider rolling a Tank, to help both manage aggro and laugh off attacks on me.

In terms of melee I've played one Fire/Dark Scrapper (24) and one SS/Elec Brute (19). Neither really interested me--playstyles consisting of 'jump in and smash smash' tend to bore me after a while. Mind, I probably simply haven't played them high enough to get the really good stuff (notably, the Fire/Dark isn't high enough to get OG or CoF). I suspect part of the problem was my choices of attack sets--not enough of the stuff I find cool. As for what I find cool, I'm about to get to that.

My favorite toons (I've tried most of the ATs) are consistently the ones who can cause enemies to run around at a slow crawl, make them fall down enmass, trap them or otherwise leave them helpless, have them cowering in fear, get them staggering around in a daze, and so on. You guessed it, I play a lot of controllers (though I'm really getting into Dominators as well after their recent buff).

That's not all, though. I like to cause large-scale suffering in my enemies. I.e. AoE effects. I like damage auras (a large part of my enjoyment of my Fire/Rad stems from my habit of constantly running her auras, making her a hazard to be even close to). I like playing with my enemies as they try to kill me, though if it takes too long, I tend to get bored of it. It doesn't have to be uber-fast soloing speed, though.

For those reasons, I'm considering Ice Armor and Dark Armor. Honestly, I'm leaning toward Dark Armor simply because I like the aesthetics, even if they do obscure my costumes. Well, I can just switch the powers off to RP anyway.

However, Ice Armor has going in its favor that I enjoy seeing messages for enemies missing me, and it does have the slow aura as well as a damage aura.

I'm not sure about secondaries, though. Stone melee looks like a nice array of effects, but endurance-heavy (especially problematic if combined with Dark Armor) and I'm not 100% sure about the looks. War Mace looks interesting but I'm generally not big on weapon sets for the most part (though I could imagine having fun with this). Ice Melee looks fun with the KD patch and the hold. A lot of the rest seem to be too straightforward "smash smash" for my tastes.

Any thoughts? Suggestions for sets I'm overlooking, or advice about the ones I'm considering?

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Brutes, Corruptors and MMs are all much, much different that Dominators on playstyle alone. People who wouldn't have jumped ship before won't now. The changes are nice, but I doubt they'll pull significantly more people into the AT.

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On the other hand, those of us who actually appreciate this sort of playstyle but found the early leveling intolerable will enjoy the changes. I know I'm having more fun with my lowbie Dominator than before.

Anyway, I was interested in Psi Assault before for concept reasons, but having to wait until 38 for a decent power kept me away.

So, no, you won't get new Dominator players that weren't/aren't interested in the playstyle in the first place. But you'll get more Dominator players that were intrigued in the first place but stopped playing their lowbie Dominators before the point where they 'start getting good'.

Dominators might become the damage-heavy AT I play the most.

Correction: "Fight a Boss" doesn't actually require a Boss rank mob. The name is misleading.

...Hee. I'll have to work Provoke in, then. Well, not too hard to do. Ditch Hover, steal a slot each from Aid Self and Group Invisibility (looking at it, GI looks like it could be might be perma even without a single recharge SO thanks to the amount of global recharge plus Hasten, so I can just drop a defense IO in or something), get five-slotted Provoke (a little frankenslotted since Taunt sets don't have enough Accuracy in them to make me entirely happy), and we're done.

Ok, no inspiration whatever was striking me for the Plant/FF notion. See, two different factors tend to keep me engaged in characters: concept and cool factor. The Plant/FF had the cool factor, but the concept just wouldn't knit together in my head in a way that feels compelling to play. Then I looked at the Illusion/FF. It began to look more interesting. And suddenly a concept hit home in my head for a fun (and lighthearted) character to play.

I know Illusion/FF won't farm nearly as well as the other builds you presented, but farming really isn't an interest of mine at all. I just want a durable controller that can tank things too tough for most controllers, and do decent damage on top of it.

So I fudged around taking what I could work out from your basic Illusion/FF template and the sample Plant/FF IO set build. A quirk here: I took Hover partly for fun, though it does have the nice value of some added defense. Also, I noticed that the presented Illusion/FF build, unlike the others, left Provoke out. Is that because of Phantom Army or something? I've left Provoke out of my build as well, but can work it in if needed (I don't know if Provoke's needed on teams without other tanking options or not). Also, Group Invisibility's taken later than I actually would take a stealth skill while leveling up, but for all practical purposes this is a respec build (thus the total disregard for slotting order). I usually just figure out what I need as I level up, then respec into something more tidy. Also, it shows 10% more resist bonuses than I actually have thanks to the Pet Resistance IO which I slotted in mainly for the set defense bonus.

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

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

Rolly Bug Rose: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Illusion Control
Secondary Power Set: Force Field
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight
Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Blind <ul type="square">[*] (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage[*] (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance[*] (3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge[*] (5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (5) Lockdown - Recharge/Hold[*] (7) Lockdown - Accuracy/Hold[/list]Level 1: Personal Force Field <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO[*] (33) Recharge Reduction IO[*] (33) Recharge Reduction IO[/list]Level 2: Deceive <ul type="square">[*] (A) Coercive Persuasion - Confused[*] (7) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge[*] (9) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge[*] (9) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Recharge[*] (11) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Endurance[*] (11) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion[/list]Level 4: Spectral Wounds <ul type="square">[*] (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage[*] (13) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance[*] (13) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge[*] (15) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (15) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance[*] (17) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge[/list]Level 6: Swift <ul type="square">[*] (A) Run Speed IO[/list]Level 8: Aid Other <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO[/list]Level 10: Hasten <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO[*] (19) Recharge Reduction IO[*] (21) Recharge Reduction IO[/list]Level 12: Hover <ul type="square">[*] (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range[*] (36) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance[*] (37) Flight Speed IO[/list]Level 14: Super Speed <ul type="square">[*] (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range[*] (43) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance[/list]Level 16: Aid Self <ul type="square">[*] (A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance[*] (17) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge[*] (19) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge[*] (21) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge[*] (23) Doctored Wounds - Heal[*] (46) Doctored Wounds - Recharge[/list]Level 18: Phantom Army <ul type="square">[*] (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge[*] (23) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (25) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge[*] (25) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage[*] (27) Call to Arms - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (27) Call to Arms - Endurance/Damage/Recharge[/list]Level 20: Health <ul type="square">[*] (A) Healing IO[*] (46) Healing IO[/list]Level 22: Stamina <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Modification IO[*] (29) Endurance Modification IO[*] (31) Endurance Modification IO[/list]Level 24: Dispersion Bubble <ul type="square">[*] (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance[*] (29) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge[*] (37) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge[*] (40) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge[*] (40) Red Fortune - Defense[*] (46) Red Fortune - Endurance[/list]Level 26: Spectral Terror <ul type="square">[*] (A) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Recharge[*] (33) Glimpse of the Abyss - Endurance/Fear[*] (34) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Endurance[*] (34) Glimpse of the Abyss - Fear/Range[*] (34) Glimpse of the Abyss - Accuracy/Fear/Recharge[/list]Level 28: Deflection Shield <ul type="square">[*] (A) Defense Buff IO[*] (31) Defense Buff IO[*] (31) Defense Buff IO[/list]Level 30: Insulation Shield <ul type="square">[*] (A) Defense Buff IO[*] (36) Defense Buff IO[*] (36) Defense Buff IO[/list]Level 32: Phantasm <ul type="square">[*] (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge[*] (37) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage[*] (39) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance[*] (39) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge[*] (39) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge[*] (40) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets[/list]Level 35: Repulsion Field <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO[/list]Level 38: Force Bubble <ul type="square">[*] (A) Endurance Reduction IO[/list]Level 41: Fissure <ul type="square">[*] (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage[*] (42) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance[*] (42) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge[*] (42) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range[*] (43) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance[*] (43) Rope A Dope - Accuracy/Recharge[/list]Level 44: Rock Armor <ul type="square">[*] (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance[*] (45) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge[*] (45) Red Fortune - Defense[*] (45) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge[/list]Level 47: Earth's Embrace <ul type="square">[*] (A) Doctored Wounds - Heal[*] (48) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge[*] (48) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge[*] (48) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge[*] (50) Doctored Wounds - Recharge[*] (50) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%[/list]Level 49: Group Invisibility <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO[*] (50) Recharge Reduction IO[/list]------------
Level 1: Brawl <ul type="square">[*] (A) Empty[/list]Level 1: Sprint <ul type="square">[*] (A) Empty[/list]Level 2: Rest <ul type="square">[*] (A) Empty[/list]Level 1: Containment
------------
[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]17% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]17% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]17% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]17% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]17% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]17% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]17% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]17% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]3% Defense(Smashing)[*]3% Defense(Lethal)[*]3% Defense(Fire)[*]3% Defense(Cold)[*]17.7% Defense(Energy)[*]17.7% Defense(Negative)[*]3% Defense(Psionic)[*]3% Defense(Melee)[*]24.9% Defense(Ranged)[*]3% Defense(AoE)[*]50% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]2.75% Enhancement(Terrorized)[*]8% Enhancement(Heal)[*]32% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]4% Enhancement(Confused)[*]4% FlySpeed[*]19.1 HP (1.88%) HitPoints[*]4% JumpHeight[*]4% JumpSpeed[*]MezResist(Confused) 5%[*]MezResist(Held) 5%[*]MezResist(Immobilize) 9.4%[*]MezResist(Sleep) 5%[*]MezResist(Stun) 5%[*]MezResist(Terrorized) 9.4%[*]13% (0.22 End/sec) Recovery[*]10% (0.42 HP/sec) Regeneration[*]10% Resistance(Smashing)[*]10% Resistance(Lethal)[*]16.6% Resistance(Fire)[*]16.6% Resistance(Cold)[*]10% Resistance(Energy)[*]10% Resistance(Negative)[*]11.3% Resistance(Toxic)[*]11.3% Resistance(Psionic)[*]4% RunSpeed[/list]

Regarding Masterminds: it really depends on your powerset choices. In general, Ninjas and Necromancy are anti-lazy, while Robotics are famously low-maintenance. People playing Robots/FF have commented that it's like watching the game play itself. Of course, you can take a less lazy tack, directing your minions and using the assorted KB tricks of FF wisely. Or you can just hang back, bubble stuff, and set your robots on aggressive/follow.

Thugs seem to do pretty well generally just left to their own devices as well, and would probably do so even better with FF or the like. My Thugs MM is Thugs/Poison, which's quite anti-lazy, but most of the work comes from the Poison side. I usually don't really bother giving instructions to my thugs other than "Ok, kill everything you see," then I focus on debuffing everything I see and healing my minions (which'd be less of an issue with a secondary that reduced the need for healing in the first place--like say FF).

FF would probably be the best lazy secondary, but Dark seems a bit low-maintenance. I mostly run Shadowfell and use Fearsome Gaze+Tar Pit on every spawn, plus heal and occasionally use Darkest Night on tougher stuff. With a primary that needed less healing than Necromancy (with their lethal and fire vulnerabilities and melee leanings), it'd likely be reasonably lazy. Plus, it has a pet that follows you around and does a lot of your debuffing.

Traps also comes up as a possible choice. Laying Trip Mines and all isn't exactly lazy, but its defense buff automatically follows you around and you just put down Acid Mortar and it does its work. Stuff like that. I wouldn't pick it as a first choice for a lazy secondary, though.

And even on my Thugs/Poison? I regularly eat lunch while playing with my lunch hour team. Debuff the greatest threats then take some bites. Not many of my alts I could do that on. It felt kinda lazy even with a busy secondary (I'd say half-lazy ). Plus, my Necro/Dark MM still has some lazy moments. And then there're the tales in the thread about lag-friendly powersets about things like a team of MMs killing everything on a laggy map even though the lag was so bad they couldn't do a single thing during battle.

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Granted, this is talking about pickup teams. Theoretically you could schedule a time with some friends to do a specific story arc, or even post in player events (although I don't recall EVER seeing anyone post about doing a story arc. Usually they're about general superteams or task forces). In two years of playing I have yet to successfully schedule anything short of a task force this way. I'd be interested to know if anyone does that on a regular basis. ::shrugs:: maybe they do.

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I regularly play story arcs with friends and coalition members, but we're a fairly relaxed lot who recently took three weeks (playing a few hours every Sunday) to do a Shard TF with lots of roleplaying. I wouldn't be surprised if we're atypical--we roleplay a LOT, which typically stretches out the length of TFs and such.

Doing story arcs, in comparison, isn't much of an issue to us. But even then, we still do some police band/newspaper missions, particularly at 50.

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...now if they were to, say, give some sort of compensation to the story arc holder's teammates, then my opinion would likely be more in line with yours.

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Agreed that it's absolutely backwards that story arcs only award merits to the arc holder. That's one of the things I particularly dislike about the merit system.

Anyway, to the OP, thank you for the guide. I don't have much interesting in farming generally (though I occasionally do it for badges), but this guide's helped me understand what others do. Before, I didn't understand references to "BM farms" and whatnot.

Just for that understanding of something going on in this game, even if I rarely partake in it, I found this guide worthwhile.

I'm very curious about this, especially the Plant/FF/Earth build. Just how much recharge does it take to perma Earth's Embrace (assuming Haste, of course)? If one wanted to get the two ally bubbles in there, what powers might one replace for them? Though of course, that's an option for dual builds.

I tend not to be much for soloing--it's something I might do occasionally for kicks, but I prefer teaming. So I'm more interested in the capability to act as a light tank (I'm aware it wouldn't be quite as good as the Tanker AT, but hopefully serviceable for a number of things) for a team while having support/control abilities.

I like Mind (indeed, my main is a Mind/Emp who's my first and only 50 to this date, though I started playing recently), but I seem to have more concept for a Plant/FF/Earth than Mind/FF/Earth.

Besides, cone confusion every spawn? Pretty sweet if you ask me. It's my favorite status effect.