Enantiodromos

CONTAINMENT AND CONTROLLERS
AS A DAMAGE-ORIENTED AT, PVE

I. Intro
II. Powers that Set Containment
III. Single Target or Area Damage?
IV. Area Damage
V. Single Target
VI. Secondaries Enhancing Damage
VII. Secondary Direct Damage, Containment
IIX. Pets
IX. Pool Attacks
X. Fast Answer

INTRO

In I5, Controllers gained a new power, an inherent called "Containment." It allows controllers to do double damage (resembling a scrapper crit) on EVERY hit to any mob that is at that moment immobilized, slept, held, or disoriented (but NOT, BTW, feared, confused slowed, knocked down, etc) regardless of who applied the mez (including other controllers or even other ATs with holds, sleeps, disorients or immobs.)

(Like every rule, this has a couple exceptions. There are a few controller powers that do not get containment at all. Brawl (the inherent) and all the pet damage powers, do not double even when the target is held, etc. Similarly, pseudo-pets like tornado and freezing rain, do not do doubled damage. Finally, two powers, Spectral Wounds and Jumpkick, get containment but the extra damage is lesser than expected-- in the case of Spectral Wounds because of the way some of that damage is illusory, and in the case of Jumpkick, presumed to be a bug.)

All controller sets have some of these powers that put a mob in a state so that you can do double your damage-- in other words they "set containment."

POWERS THAT SET CONTAINMENT

Earth, Ice, Fire, and Gravity each have both a single-target and an AoE immobilize-- these powers are typically your best bet for cheaply and enduringly setting containment.

All the sets have a single-target and an area hold as well, that accomplish the same thing, though the single-target holds tend to be more important for actually controlling, and the area holds tend to have durations much shorter and recharges much longer than makes them practical for setting containment.

Fire, Earth, and Gravity have area disorients that are not unlike area holds in terms of setting containment, except that they tend to last a little longer and recharge a little faster.

Ice, Earth, and Mind all have an area sleep that'll set containment-- but only once, since sleeps are broken when you do damage to the mob in question, which tends to make them impractical for setting containment, except on Mind Controllers, who do good burst AoE damage with terrify.

Mind has a single-target sleep that'll set containment.


SINGLE TARGET OR AREA DAMAGE?

Once you're set up for containment, though, you'll need to actually do damage. Through the first 45 levels of a controller's career prior to having fireball slotted out, there are limited options for doing significant area damage to mobs. What that means is, the AoE containment setters are mostly worthless for damage dealing except on the two sets that have their own good area damage tools-- Mind and Fire.

But area Damage kills more badguys. So why would you wanna do single target damage? Because it lets you do something visible and useful, and still stay alive to control and de/buff. Area damage dealing is dangerous unless your control or your teammates' team-defense is iron clad.

AREA DAMAGE

Mind has Terrify as it's 8th tier power, a decent damage cone with a high end cost, significant recharge, and pretty nice control to boot.

Fire has Hotfeet. Hotfeet's a respectable tick of damage every two seconds in a point-blank Area of Effect toggle. That means, stand near badguys, and they hurt a LOT, if they're contained and you're getting 2x damage ticks every 2 seconds.

These are both interesting ways to do damage as a controller, but they're sorta extreme approaches to doing it.

SINGLE TARGET DAMAGE

Most sets do adequately or well at setting containment single-target. Some sets definitely do better than others at single target damage. Those sets are Gravity, Mind, and Illusion.

Gravity's probably the best-- it has crush and gravity distort, which both set containment, and both deal respectable damage. It also has lift, a good single target damage attack, and propel, a *fantastic* single target damage attack. Both the attacks are kinda slowish, though. Soloing bosses, you'll love them. Trying to clean out a big span of -1 minions paired with a fast-moving scrapper, you'll wonder why you bothered.

Mind also does well, but has minor issues setting containment. It has dominate and mesmerize to set containment, but mesmerize is a sleep, and gets broken when damage is applied. On the up side, though, mesmerize like dominate deals a very respectable amount of damage, not to mention that it can one-shot sleep bosses. AND, it can be used repeatedly on the same target without the target waking up and getting a chance to attack, which means mesmerize alone can be used repeatedly to kill bosses with containment. And if you're careful about cycling it with dominate, you should be able to have several mobs under total control. Finally, mind has levitate, which is another good damage power, and unlike the others, is smashing damage instead of lethal.

Illusion is like an exaggerated version of Mind, when it comes to dealing single-target damage. Its only way to set containment is blind. Blind is fine, and a hold that does fair damage. There just happens to be no second containment setter for single targets. On the upside, illusion has a great single-target damage power in spectral wounds.

For single target damage, the other three sets are pretty much a question of their single target immob + their single target hold. Fire with it's ticks of damage-over-time, probably comes out on top among these three.

SECONDARIES THAT ENHANCE DAMAGE

Kinetics has probably the best damage enhancing abilities-- siphon power and siphon speed increase how hard and how often you hit (except siphon speed doesn't increase how many ticks of damage you do per second with hotfeet), and then at L38, you get fulcrum shift, the granddaddy of all damage buffs, which should readily cap your damage before you double it with containment-- this is the reason you see *most* people (but not me) complaining about controller damage-- they're really complaining about Fire/Kinetics(/fire). Anyhow, kinetics is very strong all around for damage dealing.

Radiation Emission is also very strong for dealing damage. The reason is mainly Enervating Field, which substantially debuffs enemy resistances. The self-buff of Acellerate Metabolism also helps, as do the regeneration debuffs in radiation powers.

Storm has one big key to damage dealing-- freezing rain. FR like EF heavily debuffs enemy resistance, so they take more damage. Additionally, storm has an actual meaningful damage power-- Lighting Storm, that you get at L38.

Sonic Resonance has a single-target resistance debuff that can be worthwhile in the hands of a single-target damage dealer, and it's the first power in the set-- the one you have to take, sonic siphon. It also has a high-end-cost ally-anchored toggle resistance debuff-- which may be useful if you're teaming, but is ineffective if you're soloing, and can draw a lot of aggro to you when you use it.

Trick Arrow has a couple powers that potentially increase damage-- Acid Arrow and Disruption arrow can both reduce resistace. I've not seen these used, so I'm not a good judge of how effective they'd be in a single-target or area damage controller.


SECONDARIES THAT DO DAMAGE AND SET CONTAINMENT

Working in more containment or damage with one's secondary choice is possible, though not the most obvious way to go about it.

Few powers from the secondaries do any meaningful damage. Lightning Storm, the final power in the Storm set, is one of these few. Trick Arrow has damage in both the Oil Slick and Acid arrows, but I've not seen these in action, so I'm a poor judge of how effective they would be.

Several powers in secondaries can produce disorients or holds.

Radiation has Choking Cloud-- a pulsing PBAoE hold with low unslottable accuracy and short duration (which can be overcome with heavy duration slotting and Radiation Infection), and EMP, a long duration, *huge* PBAoE hold with a long recharge.

Storm Summoning has containment setting potential in Thunderclap (a low magnitude PBAoE disorient-- great for setting containment on nearby minions...). There's also a bit more disorient in the end Storm powers, but I don't gather they're very reliable for setting containment.

Finally, Trick Arrow has a single target hold and a single target immob, which could concievably be good additions for setting containment on a Mind or especially Illusion controller. It also has EMP arrow, a power much like Radiation's EMP; along with some other area containment setters (because it has a long recharge) might be very effective in an area damage controller build.

[Thanks to Zhao_Yun for reminding me to cover damage and containment in secondary sets]


PETS

Pets also do damage. The best damage pets are fire. Illusion has a *lot* of pets, so it also comes in above average for pet damage. The other sets' pets all also do damage. Mind has no pet, and so gets no damage outta it. Mind has heaps of confusion instead, which is a subject complex enough for its own thread.

To reiterate, though, no pets get containment, but all of them are still meaningful additional damage.

POOL ATTACKS

Certain pool powers do damage as well. All are single-target attacks, and are best used on filling out single-target attack chains, on sets that lack sufficient powers for a chain by themselves. Most sets can see a much fuller attack chain with one of these, though Mind and especially Gravity may not need it.

All pool powers get containment damage, though mysteriously, at present, jump-kick does not get quite all that it should.

The main thing to be aware of here is that different pool attacks are often movement precursors. The best-- Air Superiority, is a precursor to flight, and probably is best in a build that you intend to be a flier. Flurry is a precursor to superspeed (though obviously so is hasten). Jumpkick can be a precursor to Superjump. Boxing and Kick are both part of the fighting pool, and so can be regarded as precursors to Tough and Weave-- but beware. These powers, especially Weave, are really tiny contributions to your safety, even when you can't rely on your controls. In the long run, building for three or more Fighting Pool powers is bound to disappoint you.

[Thanks to Traybor for reminding me to remark on pool powers]


I WANNA DO DAMAGE WITH MY CONTROLLER-- FAST ANSWER

Wanna do area damage? Far as I can tell, you'll want a Fire/Rad or Fire/Kinetic. Fire/Storm, Mind/Rad, and Mind/Kin are also worth considering, depending on other priorities.

Wanna do single-target damage? I think you want Gravity/Rad or Grav/Kin. Grav/Sonic, Mind/Rad, Illusion/Rad, Mind/Kin, or Illusion/Kin may also be worth considering.

Cuppa et al:

this:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...Number=5642571

Can be included in the guide to controller guides:

Choosing the Controller that's Right for You

ENANTIODROMOS' GUIDE TO SELECTING
THE CONTROLLER THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU
IN PvE v 1.0

I. Introduction
II. Choosing your Primary
III. Choosing your Secondary
IV. Combination Synergies
.....1. Mind
.....2. Gravity
.....3. Fire
.....4. Illusion
.....5. Ice
.....6. Earth
Appendix A: Controller Alternatives (skeletons)
Appendix B: Weird Statistical Nonsense

INTRODUCTION

So, you've decided you want to play a controller. Currently, there're six primaries and seven secondaries to choose from, meaning you have to choose between a bewildering fourty-two possible combinations each with it's own synergy, before we even talk about what pools and ancillary pool you'll be taking.

This guide aims at giving you a lot reasonably accurate views on those sets and combinations, to look over as you try and decide. I take responsibility for anything here that's completely stupid, but this guide makes no attempt to be the final word on anything. Also, the guide has been reviewed by a number of the most knowledgeable people on the controller forums I know. Best I can do.

CHOOSING YOUR PRIMARY

The controller primaries control the enemy, changing his behavior and generally keeping him from hurting you and your team. Plus, they do a modest amount of damage. Additionally, each set has specialties and secondary effects. First, let's look at a few distinguishing characteristics of primaries:

<ul type="square">[*]Best Area Damage: Fire, maybe Mind [*]Best Single-Target Damage: Gravity, Illusion, Mind, maybe Fire.[*]Best Single-Target Control: Mind [*]Best Area Control: Earth, Mind, Ice [*]Best vs AVs, etc: Illusion, Ice, Grav, Earth [*]Best Damage Pets: Fire, Illusion [*]Best Control Pets: Gravity [*]Most noticeable animations: Earth, Ice [*]Least Noticeable animations: Mind, Gravity [*]Most Common: Fire, Illusion [*]Rarest: Earth, Gravity [*]Quickest Soloer (Early Game): Mind, Ill[*]Quickest Soloer (Late Game): Fire, Ill[/list]
Now, for a slightly more specific look at the primary sets' peculiarities:

<ul type="square">[*]Earth:
Area hold is pulsing. Some minor -Def, quicksand with major -def. Damage is smashing + lethal.
[*]Fire:
Has an early AoE modest damage toggle, an AoE -Per, and an area-placed knockback + dmg. Some DoT. Damge is Fire.
[*]Gravity:
Area disorient can be used to teleport foes. Has an Area foe Phase. Damage is smashing.
[*]Ice:
Has a PBAoE combined slow/Confuse/-stealth toggle. Several modest slows. Damage is cold.
[*]Illusion:
Has self +stealth +def and a team +stealth +defense powers. Can summon trio of invincible unbuffable pet, earlier on. Dmg is Psi and energy. Odd healback and reduced containment on early damage attack (spectral wounds).
[*]Mind:
Has a single-target sleep with high magnitude. Has a toggle narrow area hold +pushback. Has an Area confuse. No pet. Dmg is Psi. [/list]


CHOOSING YOUR SECONDARY

Secondaries do a wider range of things, and they come in a wider range of percieved effectiveness than primaries. Here's an overview of distinguishing character:

<ul type="square">[*]Strongest overall: Radiation, Kinetics [*]Weakest: Difficult to say, since two of the three candidates (trick arrow, sonic) are rarely played. Probably Trick Arrow and Forcefield make the list.
[*]Best Soloing: Radiation [*]Best Teaming: Empathy, Kinetics [*]Most team dependent: Forcefield, Empathy, Sonic [*]Least Team Dependent: Radiation [*]Best Control: Radiation, Trick Arrow, Storm [*]Best Defensively: Empathy, Sonic, Forcefield [*]Best Blaster/Range Support: Storm [*]Best Scrapper/Melee Support: Kinetics [*]Earliest 'Blooming': Radiation [*]Latest 'Blooming': Kinetics [*]Strongest Heals: Empathy [*]With Endurance Support: Empathy, Kinetics, Radiation [*]Most Common:Radiation, Kinetics [*]Rarest: Trick Arrow, Sonic [/list]
COMBINATION SYNERGY
Obviously this section is incomplete. It's intended that sooner or later people will supply me with increasingly useful synergy comments for each of the 42 combinations. It should be obvious by looking at the credits at the end that different people have written different sections-- some as if they'd been asked simply: "What's best about this combination," others more like "What's worst about this combination?" and everywhere in-between. I leave it to you to get what you can out of the following.


<ul type="square">[*]Mind/Force field
Force field is predominantly a team +def and knock back set. In addition to three bubbles you'll use to keep your team from being hit by about a third of the attacks that would've otherwise landed (one of the three defends you as well-- the other two have to be spammed through your team periodically) you get a pretty much iron-clad self defense toggle that you can't attack while using as your first power, a nice single target knock back tool (this can be handy for supporting blasters, and after all, all your controls are at range too), a foe phase power called "detention field," that takes a single foe out of the fight if it hits, for 30 seconds, a power called force bubble, which keeps most foes at a distance, and two other weird and rarely seen powers I don't understand well, that involve area knock back.

In other words, Force field is all about keeping foes at range and keeping your teammates' defense high. As a highly defensive approach to the game, this makes Mind/Force field probably the purest team defensive set there is. So you know, before you start trying to level one, it's still possible, even after the defense nerf, to be too defensive. Mind/FF will not solo strongly. You'll need to look for big teams of blasters to join, with a Mind/FF character.

[*]Mind/Kinetics
Kinetics is widely held to be one of the two strongest controller secondaries, along with radiation. It's second and last powers allow you to boost your own and your team's damage output, while slightly reducing your foes'. Speed boost, the star of the set, comes in at 20 and lets you boost the recharge, endurance recovery, and movement speed of teammates. Powers rounding out the set include a targeted area heal, a PBAoE knock-up toggle, an ally jump buff, an ally -mez, and a power that steals endurance from enemies and gives it to allies (including yourself).

Mind has one of the best large area damage powers (Terrify), and with the damage multiplying powers of kinetics, this can be made into a formidable tool for ending large fights fast. Mainly aggressive, but team-oriented, Kinetics is an interesting balance with Mind that a lot of people swear by, and is probably one of the strongest controller builds in the game for teaming. There's not a lot of explaining to do, with Kinetics (aside from: don't accidentally run into the next spawn!), and in combination with mind's single-target controls to deal with problems, can keep a team careening through missions without a hitch.
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Your choice of secondary really comes down to your playstyle and what you want to be bringing to a team. I've seen Mind controllers with each of the secondary options and I don't think any of them are less suitable than others. I chose Kinetics as it is also quite a hands-on set to use and I wanted to have plenty to do It has actually worked out pretty well as I have tools for every occasion and never have a gap in my 'attack' chain. With containment, it also capitalises on the damage capabilities of Issue 5 Mind Control.
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Mind/Kinetics is great for the team player. Large teams are where you will really excel since you can offer so much control and fulcrum shift works best when faced with lots of mobs to cap everyone's damage. Teams will absolutely love you for speed boost and your other kinetics powers, on top of your primary control abilities. With containment, Mind Control can do rather well solo, but no-one will be there to appreciate your terrific skills!


[*]Mind/Storm Summoning
Storm is a set I adore, though I've not played it a whole lot. It has an area knock back to start you off, a single-target heal that's the game's earliest ally mez relief, and a nice target aoe toggle slow. Next comes a great team stealth and +def, +res, in steamy mist-- not overwhelming, but definitely useful. Next it has a monstrous area -resistance -def foe slow in freezing rain, which is an area-targeted AoE with a touch of damage to boot. Next comes a PBAoE accuracy debuff and knock back. See where this is going? A whole set of powers for defending the squishy "back line" of a team. A PBAoE disorient comes next, and the set rounds out with a couple of pseudo pets that knock around, disorient, and damage.

With Mind, as with Radiation's EF and Kinetics' fulcrum shift, Storm's -res is a great combo with containment-enhanced area damage from terrify. Mind/Storm is nice because it supplements mind's ability to neuter large spawns, and can still make great use of Mind's single target controls. Storm is fairly controlling and aggressive, which is, like Radiation and Kinetics, probably a stronger balance with Mind. It's also fairly chaotic, unlike most of mind, although if you were to specialize in confusions, terrify, and storm's later controls, to my thinking you'd have chaos control to rival Illusion/Storm.
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What differentiates Mind/Storm from other Mind builds? In a word, positioning. Mind/storm offers a level of mob positioning tools that are probably only surpassed by a herding tank. Telekinesis, in addition to being a strong AoE hold, adds to storms formidable array of mob positioning effects. Confuse, always fun, doubles as a great way to deal with 'stragglers' who are out of position, and convince them to rejoin the 'crowd'

[*]Mind/Trick Arrow
It is possible to have too much single target control with Mind/TA, but the combination really shines in its area control/damage/debuff aspects (especially after Oil Slick) and in its soft/hard control mixture. An example: layering Glue Arrow, Disruption Arrow, Poison Gas and Flash Arrow +/- Oil Slick onto a Mass Hypnotized group will ensure a well debuffed/slowed group before a drop of aggro is ever generated. (When Poison Gas is fixed the additional sleep effect will be a great mesh with MH.) Much fun is achieved by opening with Mass Confusion followed by Terrify, then lobbing in a set of debuffing arrows and lighting an Oil slick under the lot. O the humanity! One big down-side: no method of self-lighting the slick until APPs.

As is the case with Gravity, two unbreakable and stackable AoE holds are available. Total Domination + EMP Arrow are the last word in long-acting utter control. Both Levitate and Entangling Arrow can bring down flyers (a big plus when you get a runner, as one of them is always ready to go). TK clumps foes well for the debuffing arrows. Entangling Arrow, like Crush for Gravity, is a long-range Containment enabler. The large amounts of control available in Trick Arrow can also substitute for Mind or take the lead when foes have high Psi defense (Carnies), immunity to sleep (robots), or are Confuse resistant (Nemesis).

Mind has few if any skippable powers. This may mean limited choices when it comes to the secondary, and /TA has the options to tailor your playstyle. Want to be the ultimate lockdown king? Take Ice, Glue, Oil Slick, Poison Gas and EMP. Want to debuff your held mobs? Use Flash, Disruption, Acid and Poison Gas. Developing an attack chain that lets you fire multiple arrows consecutively helps to avoid the annoying redraw time.

As there are no toggles with the exception of Telekinesis, endurance use is moderately low and Stamina could be skipped with proper End Rec slotting. Mind/TA also has one other crucial element that makes it a good controller combination: range. Most arrows (except EMP) will work at or beyond the limits of all the Mind powers.


Most arrows (except EMP) will work at or beyond the limits of all the Mind powers. Teaming over the last few nights I've found that I can stand *well* back while the rest of the team goes at the baddies and never have to get anywhere near the combat. For a squishie, this is a very good thing

[*]Mind/Sonic Resonance
Sonic Res is an interesting set, in some ways a reprise on Force field, Radiation, and Kinetics. It does a lot with defensive bubbles, in a similar format to Force field (two teammate bubbles, one area bubble), but is resistance rather than defense, and has a foe phase power similar to detention field. At the same time, it has some -resist powers-- a single target that is your initial power, an ally-targeted AoE -resist. Finally, it has an ally-targeted AoE knock back and an AoE pulsing knockdown. (I think that's what liquefy does-- never actually seen it!)

Because of its ally-targeted effects and team-oriented bubbles, Mind/Sonic is a build that's very heavy on team defense. It can certainly solo fine, and it's single target -resistance is especially nice with Mind's higher damage but often resisted Levitate, which does smashing damage. Like Mind, Sonic isn't big on visual effects, either. You could thoroughly bubble an ally and take as many as 18 foes out of commission with 5 clicks, and if somebody wasn't watching closely, they might miss it.

[*]Mind/Radiation
When it comes to the Mind/Radiation combo, there's so much good about each set that the main thing to talk about is pitfalls:

First off, Radiation, like Mind, has a lot of powers your teammates can work with, or screw up, depending on their actions. Hence, more that possibly any other set, Mind/Rad requires you to talk to your teammates and explain yourself if they don't already know Mind and Rad. It also be worth your while to develop some macros (there are FAQs on this), to announce whom you're targeting with your mezzes, toggles, and mez toggles. Also, experience as a blaster helps a lot with this-- you'll notice quickly that the guy your tab-select first hits is the SAME guy everybody else's tab-select hits. I recommend you learn to tab 80% of the way through a spawn to select your target, if that's the method you're going to use for target selection.

One of the trickier things about Mind/Radiation is that Mind and Radiation both have lots of great stuff in the early build. Which forces you to make tough choices about power selection until you're nearly in the endgame. You have a lot of viable alternatives in a Mind/Rad build, but you should *really* plan your entire build ahead, looking at what you want to be able to provide, and when you'll be able to support the endurance cost on which powers.

Another awkward thing about Mind/Rad is that both sets are control heavy. For example, supposing you decided to stick to holds. A L38 Mind/Rad could run Dominate, Telekinesis, Total Domination, and Choking Cloud simultaneously. The holds would all stack. That's more area hold power than $Deity, before we even talk about Lingering Radiation, Mass Hypnosis, and Mass Confusion. On the upside, Telekinesis and Choking cloud are both great ways to stack holds on AVs. It would be certainly worthy of testing, to see if choking cloud, telekinesis, and dominate can chain-mez an AV.

A third thing to notice about the combination is the endurance cost. With 3-slotted stamina, it's possible to run Telekinesis, Enervating Field, and Radiation Infection, each with 2 end reduction slots, indefinitely, if you're not running anything else. With AM up, things are a little better. Both sets can, potentially, make enormous endurance demands on you. This can actually make decisions about your pre-21 build easier, since you can choose to pick up end-light powers, and/or slot for end redux, in the first 20 levels.

Finally, radiation debuffs with mass confusion can be completely fight altering. Particularly if you focus on defense debuffs without accuracy debuffs in Radiation Infection, running it and EF on a mass-confused spawn ensures a sickeningly fast rate of spawn self-destruction. On the other hand, using an accuracy debuff heavy Rad infection and Lingering Radiation without Enervating Field, will tend to slow down the rate at which a mass confused spawn will die. This is an arcane point about confusions, but getting the right ratio of confused mob-to-team damage is the key to getting the best XP/time buff out of confusion use, and radiation debuffs enhance your control over this.

[*]Mind/Empathy
MC/Empath is really a build for multitaksers and skill players-- people who think it's fun to try and keep their finger on the pulse of everything going on, especially in a pickup team, where it approaches impossible, even if folks stay together. MC/Emp is one of the least susceptible of all builds, to the "What is there to do but stand here and hit things" syndrome. You will have to become very accustomed to your preferred method of selecting both teammates and enemies. Tab (in the default keyboard configuration) cycles you through enemies. And you can select teammates with mouse clicks on the team list. I recommend mapping the "~" key to cycle through teammates. You can also select targets of either sort with a click directly on the target. Only you can come up with the target-selection scheme that works best for you, but choose wisely. Also, strongly recommended you turn the health and status display bar for other heroes to to "always on."

Mind control has a lot of aggro-free attacks, and Empathy has no aggroing debuffs. You could live your life virtually aggro-free under this build. You will be the last man standing, more than almost anybody. If you are prone to survival guilt, you may want to consider another build.

Neither Mind nor Empathy is a 'Swiss-army-knife' set. Empathy heals and buffs. Mind hard controls, and that's a reasonably narrow area of expertise. Also, mind is pretty much a grouping-oriented set, and Empathy the most grouping-oriented of the controller secondaries. MC/Emp is therefore an extreme group build. That's how to think about playing Mind/Empathy IMO.

Mind control is not surprisingly an End Hog with its advanced stunts, nor are heals or resurrection light on the end. Fortunately, Empathy has one major power that works directly with you-- Recovery Aura. You can readily eat your entire native + stamina endurance recovery doing Mind Controller Tricks, so having Recovery Aura ready to go can be a real boon.

Mind/Empathy can be fantastic if you're working with a modest number of damage dealers who're squishy or would prefer not to rely only their own defenses. Duoing or trioing with blasters and/or Super Reflexes scrappers, particularly, can be quite lucrative, especially if you're at a stage where you can boost their accuracy a little, you have missions set on invincible, and your allies are a couple levels below you. The ideal sidekick for a Mind/Empathy is a Blapper!

[*]Gravity/Empathy
For the player that likes to team. No additional offensive potential from the secondary, but with Fortitude, Regeneration Aura and Adrenaline Boost on Singularity, it basically lets you make somebody an unstoppable killing machine of infinite power. Recovery Aura is also nice for yourself.
Nothing particularly complicated.
[*]Gravity/Force Fields
A personal shield for when you need to escape, self status protection, a quickfire knockback power for extra defense, a minor AoE disorient, and two shields that add Defense to your Singularity's Resistance. Very useful.
Remember that Gravity Distortion from yourself or Singularity, or Gravity Distortion Field, will interfere with the knockback from Force Bolt, Repulsion Field and Repulsion Bomb.

The endurance cost for casting shields on a full team can be taxing, so if you don't intend to take Stamina, be prepared to slot endurance reductions in more than a few powers.
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Has great "knocktroller" (knockback control) possibility towards the endgame-- the the main reason to take this set, dude! Also, the immobilize does not have -kb.
[*]Gravity/Kinetics
Extra damage, increased recharge for your slow AoE control powers, two kinds of makeshift travel power and an impressive Endurance Recovery power. Never unwanted on teams, particularly with Speed Boost.
Few powers that help Singularity, but a great number that help your team. Repel won't work on Gravity Distorted targets, and watch out that you don't wind up devoting so many slots to your secondary that your primary gets overlooked.
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A singularity's resists, backed up with Increase Density, become exceptionally impressive. Speed boost makes everything nicer. Do not discount the buffs of /kinetics. Also, remember that repel does work on immobilized targets. That makes this knocktroller build one that opens up very early.

[*]Gravity/Radiation Emission
Arguably the most powerful Controller Secondary available. Radiation Infection cripples enemy accuracy, so in conjunction with Crushing Field you've got yourself another makeshift hold. Accellerate Metabolism reduces the duration of control effects on you, as well as increasing your recharge nicely. Enervating Field increases your damage, Lingering Radition slows enemy recharge for even lower damage, Choking Cloud is a PBAoE hold for extra personal defense, and EM Pulse is supposedly the best Hold in the game.
No issues with Gravity Distortion, either.
[*]Gravity/Sonic Resonance
More damage through lowering enemy resistances, and some nifty shields for extra damage resistance. Singularity could probably get pushed to the Resistance cap, and your teammates wouldn't be hurting either. Just like Forcefields, you get self mez protection, and a final power that doesn't seem to suck as a debuff.
No real issues.

The endurance cost for casting shields on a full team can be taxing, so if you don't intend to take Stamina, be prepared to slot endurance reductions in more than a few powers.
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It may also be a good idea to click a CaB inspiration once every four minutes, and actually use inspirations in combat to make sure they have a continuous supply of the little blue pills. Gravity itself has no toggles, but /sonic has two-- not necessarily that end-intensive, depending on how you play it.
[*]Gravity/Storm Summoning
Possibly the second most powerful Controller Secondary, several of the powers in the Storm Summoning set actually work better with a Controller than they do with a Defender!
You get a PBAoE stealth for better movement around the battlefield, a Slow to stack with Crushing Field to reduce incoming damage, a Knockdown to reduce it further that also debuffs with -Def and -Res for more damage more often, a PBAoE Repel with -Acc and Repel which not only provides amazing melee defense, but also increases the amount of Locational Control available, a PBAoE Disorient that stacks well with Wormhole, a "pet" that deals good damage provided you use Gravity Distortion to keep it from throwing everything around, and another "pet" that deals good damage and acts as yet another melee defense.
No real defense against ranged attacks, though, and nothing that really helps Singularity too much.

This powerset has a lot of toggles that drain a lot of endurance. If you're not planning on taking Stamina, be ready to slot many Endurance Reduction enhancements in the toggles.
___________
Crushing field has one downfall-- it immobilizes but does not root. Tornado is hard for gravity users to control, since the -kb is on the holds not the immobilizes, which makes the AoE impossible to spam. This makes gravity, a set that is usually played quite orderly, into a chaotic control set when paired with Storm. That makes tornado into a situational chaotic control for grav instead of a damage/mez dealer, which it is for many other sets.

[*]Gravity/Trick Arrow
Extra containment from Entangling Arrow combined with the Propel's relatively high damage early-on, makes this a heavy-hitting combination in the lowest levels. While the damage and soloablity ultimately don't scale well, you'll find your Gravity/TA contoller maturing into very capable ranged controller in the higher levels. Synergies between Gravity and Trick Arrow include two ranged AoE holds (GDF and EMP Arrow), and the location based arrow powers (Oil Slick and Dispersion) combined with the fantastic mob positioning power of Wormhole. Using Wormhole to drop a group into a corner, and then setting an Oil Slick underneath them is a very effective controlling tactic for Grav/TA. While there are still issues and bugs associated with Trick Arrow, controllers using /TA as a secondary can pick and choose from the best of the set to maximize their control abilities.
[*]Fire/Empathy
Fire/Empathy is a relatively safe build, if slower than the true powerhouse combinations. The strength of the empathy secondary revolves around healing and recovery, but it also possesses some excellent single-target buffs which make it a terrific team player. Its power is easy for groups to appreciate, and it still offers a very respectable soloing punch after level 32. Finally, Empathy is one of the most intuitive powersets, requiring very little experimentation and few puzzles related to choosing slots.
[*]Fire/Forcefield
Fire/Forcefield is a build for the defense-oriented team player. Most of its buffs work only on others, and many of its non-buff powers are, to be blunt, not very good. The strength of the buffs, however, helps make up for that, especially below level 40. Forcefielders can solo very well, if more slowly than some; "bubbling up" a couple of imps makes them very difficult for enemies to hurt. The fact that few secondary powers are necessary is sometimes seen as a strength rather than as a weakness, since it allows for more dipping into power pools.
[*]Fire/Kinetics
Fire/Kinetics is what I believe to be the most overwhelming controller set in terms of raw power. A developed and talented controller with these sets can take on just about anything. On the flip side, however, is the fact that the controller doesn't reach anything like full power until level 38. This is not a build for the impatient, and if you're the type who likes to solo exclusively, I wouldn't recommend this build. If you're group-oriented and can put up with a long haul, however, the reward is vast power and, yes, soloing ability. Many Kinetics powers are melee-oriented; this creates strong synergy with imps, and scrappers and tankers will especially appreciate what you bring to the table.
[*]Fire/Radiation
Fire/Radiation is a relatively safe, quick, and effective build. It makes for great teaming at lower levels, and very effective soloing after pets. While I do not believe it is the most powerful combination in the long run -- Fire/Kinetics is, in my opinion -- it is more versatile, and it reaches its peak of power sooner. A skilled Fire/Radiation controller can manage to overcome nearly any group of enemies, often with very little risk to himself. It's still not a quick path to power, though; only after level 32 will you hit your peak.
[*]Fire/Sonic Resonance
Fire/Sonic Resonance is very similar to Force Field: a team-oriented, defense-oriented powerset. The major difference is that Sonic Resonance deals with damage resistance, while Force Field deals with defense. It's a very strong powerset for a team player, but on the weak side solo until after pets.
[*]Fire/Storm Summoning
Fire/Storm Summoning is an uncommon combination, but it's also a very effective one. While the Storm powers take quite a lot of experimentation to get a handle on, the experienced Fire/Storm controller can cut through enemies, falling somewhere between a Radiation specialist and a Kineticist in terms of safety and speed. The major problem this build will encounter, once its player has learned to use its powers, is endurance; unlike Radiation or Kinetics, Storm has no recovery-boosting power.
[*]Fire/Trick Arrow
Fire/Trick Arrow is a debuff-oriented set. Many of its low-level powers are lackluster, which makes it a challenging set to play; its main attraction lies in its increased control options, which include a second single-target hold and area-effect slow, knockdown, and hold powers. It also offers a higher total defense debuff than other sets, although this is split between two powers, which open at levels 20 and 28. It's not quite as difficult to learn to handle as Storm Summoning, but it's not easy, either; experienced players who are patient enough to wait until late game, though, will find that the combination offers an appealing combination of control and damage.
[*]Illusion/Storm
I give Storm Summoning a solid ‘meh’, when paired with Illusion.. It’s very hard to play effectively and it’s not very team friendly in the extreme. Rain, although a fantastic debuff, scatters anything +2 or higher like crazy, because it can’t knock them down (snow storm would help immensely with this). Thunder Clap is good (filling a bit of a control hole in Illusion), but makes them wander everywhere without at an AOE immob to go with it. Hurricane is a good debuff, but pushes mobs all over the place, making it hard to use well. Lightning Storm sends mobs flying all over the place – usually right out of the freezing rain patch. By the time I got to my 40s I started feeling really sorry for my teams, and had been asked more than a few times to not use some of my powers. So all that said, it is still fun. It has arguably some of the coolest looking powers in the game, and lots of utility. I still get immense satisfaction everytime that loud crack from thunderclap goes off. It debuffs mobs, adds some control and good damage to any control set. With some immobilization abilities, this set would be awesome.
[*]Illusion/Empathy
Althought I feel that Illusion is one of the most solo friendly contoller sets, Illusion/Empathy combination is best utilized as a team oriented set, at least until Phantasms. This is mostly due to the fact that Empathy's three Aura powers are the only powers that directly benifit the caster. In a team, however, the Ill/Emp becomes a powerhouse of dynamic crowd control on both sides. With strong single target buffs like Heal Other, Fortitude, and Adrenaline Boost, the controller can turn a teammate into a battle tank. All this while using flash, confuse, ST, and Phantom Army to distract and nullify the enemy. When Auras are added in, the larger group is able to handle more difficult situations because the Ill/Emp can become the uber damage control/mitigator.

Soloing becomes a better possiblity once the power of Phantasms is aquired, because the Phantasm can be boosted by any of the Empath powers. However, the Ill/Emp controller only becomes a stronger team player in the higher levels.
[*]Illusion/Trick Arrow
Illusion Control/Trick Arrow really shines for those of you who like to stay at a distance. It also offers a good balance between offense, control and debuffing ability. Illusion offers the offense and a bit of the control while Trick Arrow makes up the rest of the control and all of the debuffing. With this combination you are preparing to make a late game giant. Invisibility, 3 great summons along with 3 great arrows that can be picked up at lvl 28, 35 and 38. A nice AoE Damage Resistance Debuff in Disruption Arrow. An AoE Knockdown that can be set on fire with Oil Slick Arrow. And a really nice ranged, large AoE Hold that does special damage to robots and has a good duration in EMP Arrow.
[*]Illusion/Radiation Emission
Ill/Rad is a strong set early-on, with a HOLD, an attack and Deceive, combined with Radiation Infection for safety. Illusion has the lowest number of "hard" mezz powers of any Controller. However, it does have access to its PBAoE HOLD much earlier than other sets, perhaps too early for effective use. In teams, early access to Group Invisibility can help in trouble zones like THE HOLLOWS. Phantom Army is the earliest "PET" for controllers and is an effective tank/pseudo-hold/damage dealer. Spectral Terror fills the void left by not having a sleep or immobilize power and can be made PERMA easily. Phantasm fills the standard PET role and helps diversify your PSI-heavy damage. The Radiation triumverate of Radiation Infection/Enervating Field/Lingering Radiation can combine to equal or surpass the damage mitigation of most controls. Choking Cloud is a mixed bag, but the pulsing PBAoE HOLD does help fill a control gap. EMP is the ultimate MEZZ in the game. Its huge, it holds 16 people, has a duration 5 times longer than FLASH. Together, Illusion/Radiation work to make a superb solo controller with an answer to every situation. For a team-based controller, Ill/Rad is equally powerful, but different in its feel compared to other sets. Illusion/Rad controllers are well-suited towards engaging large, powerful foes like Elite Bosses. Honestly, if you can't succeed with Ill/Rad, you're doing something very wrong. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but the potential power puts it at or near the top of the list.
[*]Illusion/Forcefield
The Illusion / Force Field set excels at a mix of high defense, medium chaos, and medium damage. Between the protection of force fields, the distraction power of Spectral Terror and Deceive, the knockback of Phantasm and the FF utility powers, and the tanking ability of Phantom Army, you have every opportunity to close the gap of risk. The odds are low of anything getting through your diverse safety net. Force Fields can be endurance intensive on teams, and the set lacks a heal, but with this combination you'll rarely need a heal. Your damage isnt as high as with other Illusion combinations and Illusion / FF can't leverage containment as well as most builds but the damage is still good. Blind + Spectral Wounds will do the trick. Phantom Army provides excellent burst damage. Phantasm eventually brings excellent constant damage. You dont need a damage buff from your secondary when you can outlast the enemy. Your control is loose and inexact, but the defense, distraction, knockback and chaos will make up for it. This combination is very powerful on a team, and the knockback / chaos aspects of the set are easy to reign in (or avoid entirely) if your group needs you to hold back. I personally consider this to be one of the best team builds possible.

[*]Ice/Storm
Ice/Storm is a set of overlapping powers, usually to your benefit. Both the primary and secondary provide multiple slow powers, which is nice, because –recharge can never be enhanced, only stacked. Ice Slick and Freezing Rain are patches that are put on the ground, and take up about the same amount of space. Hurricane can be used to push MOBs back onto the patches, or arctic air can be used to slow them from running off. Ice/Storm does very little damage until lvl 32, but has access to Jack Frost, tornado, and lightning storm in the thirties. In general, you will team better with ranged attackers than with melee attackers, but with smart play, you’ll be a benefit to both. Ice/Storm is also at its strongest when there is at least one other support toon on the team (any other controller or defender, or tanker who can and does grab up agro), but that’s not to say it’s a liability if there isn’t.
[*]Ice/Empathy
The Ice/Empathy controller is not one of the stronger soloist controller builds out there, but in a team support role is very effective. It makes use of the strong control powers provided by Ice control to protect the team and Empathy's healing and buffing powers to deal with anything that gets through. While most solo oriented players should probably look elsewhere, the empathy secondary provides several decent buffs for Jack Frost, in Fortitude and Adrenaline Boost, as well as allowing you to heal your pet wherever he is (since he's probably not going to be in melee) Ice Control can be somewhat endurance hungry at times, making Recovery Aura a welcome addition to your power choices.
[*]Ice/Kinetics
Ice/Kinetics is all about making your enemies weaker and your teammates stronger. Ice provides the -recharge and -runspeed debuffs along with it's various other controlling powers, such as knockdown and a couple actual holds. Kinetics contributes with it's damage and recharge debuffing/buffing and, notably, transference for when you get low on endurance. This particular combination can work well in either group or solo settings. On the solo side of things, Jack Frost benefits greatly from Speed Boost and when he gets into range, Fulcrum Shift. In groups, those same powers will greatly benefit your teammates.

Notable power synergies include using frostbite to trigger containment on an entire group, Fulcrum shift to give yourself a damage boost and then using an AoE damage power from the epic pools (such as Fireball or Psychic Tornado) to deal a lot of damage quickly. Since Kinetics is such a melee oriented set, a power like Arctic Air to protect you when you are required to move into close range is also a benefit.
[*]Ice/Trick Arrow
Ice/Trick arrow has a lot of debuff and a lot of control. In the debuff side, Ice has a lot of slows and trick arrow covers pretty much everything else. There is no heal, but you can more than make up for that by saving your team from taking damage at all with the two slick powers(one of which can light on fire), two AoE holds, and two single target holds. Add in the Arctic Air for confusion and you have one of the most control-oriented builds in the game.
[*]Earth/Storm
Earth/Storm is an AoE control monster, and lends itself to a team-focused build. It's a low-damage combo until the APPs, but you'll never run out of control tools. You've got 2 slows, a PBAoE sleep, 2 AoE disorients, an AoE immob, a location-based pulse-based AoE hold, a PBAoE debuff/repel, a location-based AoE knockdown, and 3 pet/pet-like entities. For what it's worth, this build can also hold its own in PvP -- the built-in stealth (Steamy Mist) + Hurricane will give you some defense against melee characters, and all those hard and soft controls can really turn the tide of a battle.

Specific power synergies: Freezing Rain + Stone Cages/Stalagmites/VG/Earthquake: Use FR without scattering the group to the four corners of the Earth.
Stone Cages + Tornado: Tornado slotted for damage + SC's knockback suppression turns the tornado into a dangerous AoE DoT. (Might as well toss in some Freezing Rain as well.) Thunder Clap + Stalagmites: Boss-level AoE disorient. Freezing Rain + Quicksand: Doubled slows and two stacked -DEF effects make those reds and purples a little easier to hit. Arch-Villain disabler: Though the focus is AoE, you've got some great tools for weakening A-V's and giant monsters. Snow Storm + Quicksand + Tornado + Lightning Storm + Volcanic Gasses + Animate Stone will slow your target to a crawl, hold him as soon as he's vulnerable, deal out some nice damage, and make him easier for your teammates to hit.
[*]Earth/Rad
Earth gives defense debuff, and mezzes are the ultimate in accuracy debuffs. So you can either stack that debuff with the rad powers for insane defense debuffs on statues (or bouncing mobs) or skip some /rad powers considered "essential" (RI and LR) and still have an excellent build. AoE immobilization is good for /rad because it has target AoE toggles which mobs tend to run out of when left to their own devices. Honestly, /rad doesn't need much synergy--it can perform practically every buff and debuff in the game anyway (it has end recovery, damage buff, speed buff, heal, mez resists, rez, resistance debuff, accuracy debuff, damage debuff, defense debuff, holds in the secondary, and even a couple of damaging powers buried deep in the set.

[*]Earth/Trick Arrow
Trick Arrow has extremely good synergy with Earth Control. A problem many Trick Arrows face is how to keep mobs within their zone of debuff, or how to get them onto the ground. Earth Control, with its dirt-cheap Quicksand snares mobs quickly and easily for such a purpose. Trick Arrow also fills in for some of Earth Control's weakness: It has a single target immob that can stack with the primary that brings single-targets to the ground, where Earth's control region lies; EMP arrow is an instantly acting AoE hold that Earth lacks, and Oil Slick, once on fire, helps supplement Earth's low damage, together with the hefty -res debuffs from stacked acid and disruption arrows. Whatever falls under the powers of both sets is truly going nowhere and doing not much, ie clay pigeons in a firing range. Beware of knockback heavy teammate though!

The Earth/TA might feel a bit inadequate in the early game due to the late blooming nature of the set (limiting team desirability) and the lack of damage (for soloing). The player is advised not to give up until at least 22, when recharge SOs can be slotted into earthquake and his arrows. After this it gets better, with more and more fun powers coming in every four levels or so. As a secondary, the arrows are flexible in allowing the Earth/TA to choose how they want to play their controller. He can pick up the controllerish arrows to become a of king area controls, or pick up the the debuffing arrows for damagey goodness. The lack of end-heavy toggles lets an Earth/TA opt out of stamina and frees up three power picks if desired.
[/list]
CREDITS:

Mind/* mostly me (Enantiodromos).
Mind/Trick Arrow by Bandeeto.
Additional Mind/Storm stolen from cforce.
Additional Mind/Kin stolen from _Brev_.
Fire/* stolen from Sakura Kitsuke.
Gravity/* stolen from Arinara.
Illusion/Storm stolen from Tanzier.
Gravity corrections by CircuitBoi.
Gravity/Trick Arrow by Anachrodragon.
Illlusion/Empathy by Lunderwost.
Illusion/Trick Arrow by _Enos_.
Illusion/Radiation by Q_Arkhan.
Ice/Storm by DrObvious.
Ice/Empathy and Ice/Kinetics by Frost.
Earth/Storm by Robson.
Earth/Rad by CircuitBoi
Grav/Sonic correction by Mallornwood.
Illusion/Forcefield by UnicyclePeon
Earth/Trick Arrow by Rasalgethi.

APPENDIX A: Controller Alternatives (skeletons)

Are you bored with controllers?

The following list tries to provide a few build skeletons that sketch out a kind of controller that goes beyond the routine mixed bag of single-target and area control plus healzorz and other routine basics. These builds are not meant to be extremely effective, rather, they demonstrate the range of the AT, and most of them are very fun.


<ul type="square">[*]Splattroller: Fire/Storm
2 Fire Cages
8 Hot Feet
10 Hurdle
12 Flashfire
14 Super speed
16 Freezing Rain
20 Health
22 Stamina
24 Cinders
28 Thunderclap

Notes: The Splattroller is a controller that specializes in brinksmanship, incomplete area control, and area damage. Fire Cages sets containment, hot feet does the contained damage, and freezing rain debuffs resistance so mobs take more damage. Everything else is gravvy to increase survivability. Damage, accuracy, and endurance reduction in hotfeet, flashfire, and fire cages, particuarly, are critical for this build.

[*]Scraptroller: Mind/Kinetics
1 Mesmerize
1 Transfusion
2 Levitate
4 Dominate
6 Siphon Power
8 Air Superiority
10 Siphon Speed

Notes: The Scraptroller is a solo-oriented controller who uses a lot of single target control &amp; damage, and gets in close. Dominate and Mesmerize provide extensive control, as in fact do levitate and Air Superiority. Transfusion heals you (when you're close to enemies), and the siphons get you hitting faster and harder.
[*]Unaggrotroller: Mind/Empathy
1 Healing Aura
1 Mesmerize
2 Heal Other
4 Absorb Pain
6 Confuse
8 Mass Hypnosis
10 Resurrect
12 Hasten
14 Superspeed
16 Hurdle
18 Health
20 Stamina
22 Fortitude
24 Clear Mind
26 Stealth
28 Recovery Aura
32 Mass Confusion

Notes: The unaggrotroller is designed to make enormous contributions to teams without ever directly gathering any aggro to himself. This makes using Absorb Pain particularly convenient, and means you're virtually invincible if you just avoid AoE Mezzers and heavy hitters. Mass Hypnosis, Confuse, and Mass confusion can all be applied at zero aggro, and superspeed + stealth makes you fully invisible. Also, the build's obviously also oriented to empathy. Recommend slotting controls heavier than you would otherwise for recharge, and possibly including a range enhancement.

[*]Distanttroller: Mind/TA
1 Mesmerize
1 Entangling Arrow
2 Dominate
4 Flash Arrow
6 Confuse
8 Mass Hypnosis
10 Ice Arrow
18 Total Domination
32 Mass Confusion
38 EMP Arrow

Notes: Distanttrollers provide strong single-target and area control at meaningful range, which can have certain advantages.

[*]Blastroller: Grav/Sonic
1 Crush
1 Sonic Siphon
2 Lift
4 Grav Distort
6 Propel


Notes: The Blastroller is a high damage ranged single-target controller. First priorities for slotting are 2 acc/4dmg for crush and 3 acc/4 dmg for propel (at TOs-- change a dmg and acc to recharge later in each power).

[*]Phasetroller
Phasetroller I: Grav/Sonic:
6 Grant Invisibility
8 Recall Friend
10 Sonic Cage
12 Dimension Shift
14 Teleport
20 Phase Shift
26 Wormhole

Phasetroller II: Grav/Forcefield:
1 Personal Forcefield
8 Recall Friend
12 Dimension Shift
14 Teleport
16 Detention Field
26 Wormhole

Notes: Something of a concept build especially with inclusion of teleport elements, neverthless the builds are grounded in the ability to cherry-pick when you're fighting what, with Dimension Shift and Sonic Cage or Detention field. Slot dimension shift with 1-2 recharges, and NO accuracy OR phase enhancers; this allows you to guarantee that bosses and some of the minions will be unshifted when you use the power against even+ cons. Slot the single-target phases with 2 accuracy and 1 recharge, since this'll let you reliably chain-detain AVs, who can be phased with the power assuming they're hit. These builds also, by virtue of the teleport and wormhole elements, allow you to rearrange the battlefield a lot. You have a lot of control over both timing and layout of every fight, with such a controller. The kind of thing we can all imagine being devastating in the hands of a genius.
[*]Pooltroller: Grav/Forcefield
1 PFF
1 Lift
2 Gravity Distort
4 Deflect Shield
10 Insul Shield
18 Grav Distortion Field
22 Dispersion Bubble
32 Singularity

Plus 10 pts from the following:

[3 pts] Resusicate + {2 of Aid other, Stimulant, Aid Self}
[2 pts] Aid Self + {1 of aid other, stimulant}
[2 pts] Teleport + {1 of Recall Friend, Teleport Foe}
[2 pts] Assault + Tactics
[1 pt] Aid Other
[1 pt] Stimulant
[1 pt] Recall Friend
[1 pt] Teleport Foe
[1 pt] Stealth
[1 pt] Grant Invis

[3 pts] Stamina + {2 of swift, hurdle, health}
[2 pts] Hasten + Superspeed
[1 pt] Propel
[1 pt] Dimension Shift
[1 pt] Wormhole
[1 pt] Detention Field

Notes: The pool troller isn't a specific controller, so much as a build that takes everything that's best about being a traditional control &amp; de/buffer from its primary and secondary and makes as much room as possible for outside elements.

[*]Ragdolltroller: Gravity/Storm
1 Lift
1 Gale
2 Crush
6 Propel
20 Hurricane

Notes: Ragdolltrollers are designed to make the most of the hilarious way badguys flop when you toss them about, not to mention the neato new particle flurries.

[*]Chaostroller: Illusion/Storm
1 Gale
2 Deceive
4 Snow Storm
16 Freezing Rain
20 Hurricane
18 Phantom Army
26 Spectral Terror

Notes: The Chaostroller does a lot of varied forms of mitigation without ever freezing anything in its tracks. Slows, knockbacks, debuffs, taunting pets, confusion, terrify. May be less than welcome among AoE-focused teams/builds.
[*]Pettroller: Illusion/Storm
2 Deceive
18 Phantom Army
26 Spectral Terror
32 Phantasm
35 Tornado
38 Lightning Storm

Notes: Behold a build that has pets and pseudopets galore, and as many badguys working for you as you can spam deceive on, into the deal.

[*]Utilitroller
Utilitroller I: Illusion/Empathy
2 Deceive
6 Recall Friend
8 Superior Invisibility
10 Resurrect
12 Group Invisibility
14 Teleport
16 Clear Mind
18 Phantom Army
20 Fortitutde
28 Recovery Aura


Utilitroller II: Illusion/Rad
2 Deceive
4 AM
6 Recall Friend
8 Superior Invisibility
12 Group Invisibility
14 Teleport
16 Mutation
18 Phantom Army

Notes: The Utilitroller is one of those builds that does a variety of convenient things. It heals, resurrects, evacuates allies, renders invisible, wields a confuse against unique foes it's well suited to, buffs strongly, maintains endurance, and totes its own tank substitute.

[*]Defensitroller: Illusion/FF
2 Deflection Shield
6 Maneuvers
10 Insulation Shield
12 Group Invisibility
20 Dispersion Bubble

Notes: Defensitrollers concentrate on pushing a team's defense to the limit.

[*]Teamtroller: Earth/Empathy
1 Healing Aura
2 Stone Cages
4 Absorb Pain
10 Resurrect
12 Stalagmites
16 Clear Mind
18 Earthquake
20 Stamina
22 Quicksand
24 Salt Crystals
26 Volcanic Gasses
28 Recovery Aura

Notes: Teamtrollers overwhelmingly ensure team safety and up-time. Its function on teams will never be to deal direct damage, but of any such build, its contributions to the team will be extremely visible.

[*]Overtroller
Overtroller I: Earth/Rad
1 Fossilize
2 Rad Infection
4 Stone Cages
6 Swift
8 Salt crystals
12 Stalgmite
16 Health
18 Earthquake
20 Stamina
26 Volcanic Gasses
28 Choking Cloud
38 EMP

Overtroller II: Earth/Storm
1 Fossilize
4 Snowstorm
6 Swift
8 Salt crystals
10 Stone Cages
12 Stalgmite
14 Health
16 Freezing Rain
18 Earthquake
20 Stamina
26 Volcanic Gasses
28 Thunderclap

Overtroller III: Earth/Trick Arrow
1 Fossilize
1 Entangling Arrow
4 Glue Arrow
6 Swift
8 Ice Arrow
10 Hasten
12 Stalgmite
14 Stone Cages
16 Health
18 Earthquake
20 Stamina
22 Salt crystals
26 Volcanic Gasses
35 Oil Slick arrow
38 EMP Arrow

Notes: The Overtrollers essentially provide a vast surplus of area control forms.
[*]Slowtroller: Ice/Storm
4 Snowstorm
6 Arctic Air
8 Shiver
16 Freezing Rain

Notes: A build with a superabundance of slows. Normally not sought after, but can be used to either slow *multiple* groups, or on AVs, whose resistance to slows is such that you can probably get your full oomph out of having the whole set of slows. This build is, BTW, in some ways an overtroller too.

[*]Lazytroller: Ice/Radiation
2 Radiation Infection
6 Arctic Air
12 Ice Slick

Notes: Lazytrollers are designed to provide heavy area control/mitigation early with an absolute minimum of power clicks. In a team that knows what it's doing, you should be able to turn on RI and place Ice Slick once per fight, and in so doing contribute more to the team than most controllers doing three times as much clicking at the same level. Slot RI and AA for endurance, RI for defense debuff, and AA for confusions. Later on, powers like choking cloud and Jack Frost accentuate the lazy aspect.[/list]
APPENDIX B: Weird Statistcial Nonsense

I took a poll on the controller forums, sometime late 2005, that asked about primary, secondary, level, and origin. Some of the information from that poll follows. Caveat: these lists may be misleading if you don't think through what it means to be "common" vs "correlated." The first pair gives the most common and most rare primary/secondary combinations (by absolute frequency).

Most Frequently Occuring combinations:
1 Fire Rad
2 ILL Rad
3 ILL Empathy
4 Ice Kinetics
5 Grav Kinetics
6 Fire Kinetics
7 Mind Kinetics
8 Earth Rad
9 ILL Storm
10 Ice Empathy
11 Mind Rad

Least Frequently Occuring combinations:
1 Earth Sonic
2 ILL Trick arrow
3 Fire Trick arrow
4 Ice Trick arrow
5 Ice Forcefield
6 Grav Sonic
7 Earth Trick arrow
8 ILL Sonic
9 Mind Trick arrow
10 ILL Forcefield
11 Ice Sonic

The next two lists show particularly popular or unpopular particular combinations *GIVEN* the frequency of the primary and secondary. For example, Illusion/Kinetics is negatively correlated-- meaning people tend to avoid putting them together for some reason.

Examples:

Illusion and kinetics are each, respectively, the second-most-popular primary, or secondary. But they appear in combination only about 1/6th as often as you'd expect considering the popularity of illusion and kinetics.

Gravity and Trick arrow are each extremely uncommon. But for all their rarity, when people do actually play either, they seem to want to pair them up.

Inversely Correlated Combinations
1 ILL Kinetics
2 Fire Storm
3 Ice Forcefield
4 Fire Trick arrow
5 Grav Empathy
6 Fire Empathy
7 Earth Empathy
8 Ice Trick arrow
9 Ice Rad
10 Grav Rad
11 Mind Rad

Positively Correlated Combinations
1 Grav Trick arrow
2 Earth Forcefield
3 ILL Empathy
4 Earth Storm
5 Mind Trick arrow
6 Grav Kinetics
7 Fire Rad
8 Mind Sonic
9 Earth Trick arrow
10 Ice Kinetics
11 Ice Sonic


______________________

In May of 2006 I did a small survey asking for primary, secondary level, and hours played. Mainly I wanted to know what we can "expect" in terms of hours of play to get to a certain level.

Sparing the worst of the horrible math except for the equation, what I came up with based on the data I got is:

hours= (level *.259)^2.325

IOW, the predicted hours for a given level are:
L 3: 33 minutes (First slots!)
L12: 14 hours (DOs!)
L18: 36 hours (Area Hold! ... typically)
L22: 57 hours (SOs if somebodys bankrolling you.)
L27: 92 hours (SOs on your own!)
L32: 136 hours (Teh pet! ... typically)
L44: 286 hours (Fireball! ... typically)
L50: 385 hours (Younna gowt the Hammy raid tonight?)

I mention this also because, since I had the powersets of the various entries, I was able to figure out what the levels/hour performance average was for different primaries and secondaries, and I'm going to list it here, but there is great reason to NOT TAKE THIS INFO SERIOUSLY. The samples for some sets ESPECIALLY including Sonic and Trick Arrow were as few as five seperate players-- and those sets in particular are likely to look skewed for another reason, which is that nobody was playing them over the first 3 issues of the game.

That said, here's how the sets ranked for performance in this cripplingly small sample:


Primaries (best to worst)
1 Fire
2 Mind
3 Ice
4 Ill
5 Earth
6 Grav

Secondaries (best to worst)
1 Rad
2 TA
3 Storm
4 Kin
5 Emp
6 Sonic
7 FF

There're relatively few powers in controller sets that buff or debuff accuracy or defense.

Quicksand: Defense Debuff. Don't think there's an accuracy check on this one, so it's only really a candidate for Enzyme.

Smoke: Accuracy Debuff with accuracy and endurance. Lysosome or Enzyme.

Superior Invisibility: Self Def buff with recharge and end (but possibly not meaningfully so). Maybe a candidate for membrane or cyto.

Group Invisibility: Team Def buff with recharge and end. Membrane or cyto.

Spectral Terror: Accuracy Debuff (I think!) with accuracy and endurance. Lysome or Enzyme

Terrify: Accuracy Debuff (minor) with accuracy and endurance. Lysome or Enzyme.


____________
Enzyme
Earth Control - Quicksand
Fire Control - Smoke
Illusion Control - Spectral Terror
Mind Control - Terrify

Lysosome
Fire Control -Smoke
Illusion Control - Spectral Terror
Mind Control - Terrify

Membrane
Illusion Control - Superior Invisibility
Illusion Control - Group Invisibility

Cyto
Illusion Control - Superior Invisibility
Illusion Control - Group Invisibility

My Fire/Storm Splattroller Build Guide can be found here:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...Number=5331895

Splattroller Build Guide

Splattroller: Fire Storm
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre> I. Intro
II. Splattroller: What and Why
1. Incomplete Area Control, Damage, Survival Brinksmanship
2. Containment, Weak Debt, Power-Resting
III. The Build: Fire/Storm
IV. Tactics
1. Stock Tactics
a. Checklist
b. Variants (Earlier levels)
2. Other Tactics
a. Bonfire Antics
b. Three Other Powers
c. Just the Control
d. Stealth Mode
V. Challenges &amp; Opportunities
1. Stupid Teammates
2. Who to team with
3. Bosses (Ouch)
4. Teh Grind
VI. Various Splattroller Builds
1. Fire, Mind
2. Storm, Rad, Kinetics, Trick Arrow</pre><hr />

Intro

This guide, if it can be called that, is two things: a build guide, and an abstract discussion of a playstyle.

It is not an in-depth overview of the Fire Control set, Storm Summoning set, is not an overview of the variety of things that can be done with fire and storm, nor even a complete-to-50 build. It is not a thorough discussion of area damage oriented ATs, how to build a damage-oriented controller, or how to do anything in PvP.

Splattroller: What and Why

As the name suggests, the splattroller is a controller variant, with added splat. The splat in splattroller is:

1) Focus on area effects
2) Reliant on incomplete control
3) High damage
4) Survival brinksmanship

Why? Part of the reason is that, for folks accustomed to some of the more traditional pure controller approaches to the game (pet-herder-wannabes like typical Fire/Kin and Illusion/Rad or /Emp, heavy area control sets like typical earth/storm, extreme safety builds like typical Mind/Emp and /Forcefield), the splattroller is an entertaining novelty.

Another is that it's surprisingly effective, especially in the post-I5 world. Three crucial changes that have brought splattrollers to the fore (two of them are rarely discussed):

1) Containment-- controller damage doubled on anything immobilized, disoriented, held, or slept.

2) Debt isn't nearly as bad as it used to be, and is negligible in missions. (When you go splat, it's not that big a deal.)

3) Rest recharge reduction-- the power to rapidly get back all your health recharges a lot more quickly nowadays (how much exactly, I'm not sure.)

To be plain, your controller is going to have tactics somewhere between a tanker and a blaster, odd though that sounds. You're going to expect to be under active fire-- not only survive it, but in some cases welcome it as a preface to clustering mobs up to their doom. You're also relying, in the end, on the form of mitigation blasters use every day: defeat is 100% mitigation. And ultimately, if you die, it's just not a big deal in CoH anymore, especially while solo. (Integrating splattrollers into teams is, as with any damage-oriented character, something that requires thought. More on that later.)

With a splattroller, if you have 1 hp left when the last foe goes down, you win. This is true for everyone, but it's the guiding principle of splattrollers.

The Build: Fire/Storm

This build represents the fire/storm splattroller to level 29:

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
01 Char /Acc,Rchg (1,3)
01 Gale /Acc,Acc (1,5)
02 Fire Cages /Acc,End,Rchg,End,Acc (2,3,5,7,7)
04 Snow Storm /End (4)
06 Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (6,21,25)
08 Hot Feet /End,Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Acc,Dmg (8,9,9,11,11,15)
10 Hurdle /Jump (10)
12 Flashfire /Acc,Acc,Rchg,Rchg,Dis,Dis(12,13,13,15,17,19)
14 Super speed /Run (14)
16 Freezing Rain/Rchg,End,Rchg,Rchg (16,17,19,21)
18 Steamy Mist /End (18)
20 Health /Heal (20)
22 Stamina /EMod,EMod,EMod (22,23,23)
24 Cinders /Acc,Rchg,Rchg,Acc (24,25,27,27)
26 Hurricane /AccDbf (26)
28 Thunderclap /Acc,Rchg,Rchg (28,29,29)
</pre><hr />


Tactics

Stock Tactics Checklist
1. Turn on Steamy Mist &amp; Super speed
2. Find well clustered spawn of 5-12 mobs, -1 to +3 con
3. Outside of aggro radius, turn on hotfeet and untoggle super speed.
4. Pop flashfire on the guy in the middle of the group, and queue fire cages while animation plays.
5. Click freezing rain as soon as fire cages begins, and place while trotting toward group.
6. Char the most dangerous mob (and untoggle steamy mist).
7. Fire Cages
9. Repeat 6 &amp; 7 until spawn dead, firing Cinders &amp; Thunderclap, and using inspirations if necessary for safety.
10. Turn on steamy mist and super speed, while recovering if necessary.
11. Repeat 2-10 until level, then train and do enhancement maintenance.
12. Repeat 2-11 until fall asleep or hit 50, whichever comes first.

Variants at earlier levels

Before 29, you're going to have progressively fewer options to stop your nicely clustered foes from killing you, so caution and optimal use of inspirations is crucial. Don't even try +3 mobs before 29. Don't try +2s until 27.

Before L22, you're going to be running with DOs and without stamina, so you will know pain from endurance use. Not that this will ever go away completely, but look forward to the happy day of Stamina being three-slotted with SOs. Make SURE you untoggle superspeed promptly in step 3, and untoggle steamy mist as part of step 6, unless proximity of other mobs means you just can't, in which case, I hope you have teammates, because your end isn't going to last the fight.

Before 16, you wont have the wonderful freezing rain to throw in. This is a sad thing. Long wistfully for level 16 and freezing rain.

Before 14 or so, you're going to have no stealth at all, be moving slowly, and often not even have flashfire available. This is OK-- just hotfeet and fire cages can get the job done at this level, if you fight even cons or below, and if you don't stand right up next to any heavy melee hitters. It also means a slower trip back from the hospital to any missions you're doing. There's always snowstorm in a pinch, but you're ordinarily going to floor your end bar before the fight is over trying to run it with hotfeet and fire cages at early levels.

Other Tactics

Bonfire Antics
Bonfire, a power I've not played with yet myself, is a placed-area knockback field with good damage. As I understand it, using it well consistently requires some skill, but it can be placed on the opposite side of you from a group, and you can put the foe between Hell and a Hot Place. This is a completely valid extension of splattrolling beyond level 29.

Three Other Powers
The beauty of this build is that its roast-and-freeze approach is far from the only way you can make yourself useful. For starters, notice three powers I didn't even mention in the stock tactics:

Hurricane-- this is an impressive accuracy debuff *and* a push and knockdown tool enhanced further by a *range* debuff (the only one I can think of in the game). You can stand still and use it to defend someone else or a location, or you can run around and tap the bad guys with it repeatedly to keep them debuffed. And you can bunch them up into a corner fairly effectively, too, with a little practice.

Snowstorm-- doing your part against an AV whom you can't really hold is a lot easier with this slow. It's also not a bad way to pull mobs in a solo mission, since if you have to catch the attention of a bunch of MoBs, it's nice to have them slowed, and the slow's area of effect does a tidy job of "sweeping" the hall your anchor comes moseying down.

Gale-- sure, it's not an ubar power, but under the right circumstances, it can be used for mitigation-- it does knock down/back, after all, and if you're on a balcony, so much the better. It also takes fliers out of the air, which can be a real plus in the absence of flight or superjump.

Just the Control
Also useful are the more stock applications of your various powers. Really problem mobs (mezzers, healers, mezzer/healers, hello Tsoo sorcerer!) can always be charred into submission.

Flashfire, cinders, and thunderclap are, together, an enormous amount of area control. Consider:

With 2 Acc/2 Rchg/2 Dur (L +2 SOs):
Thunderclap: 31/26 control/sec, minions only.
Flashfire: 23/52 control/sec, minions &amp; lieuts.
Cinders: 23/139 control/sec, minions &amp; lieuts.

Control totals:
Minion: 1.8 control/sec
Lieut: 0.6 control/sec + .2 from overlap
Boss: 0.0 control/sec + .6 from overlap.

Now consider adding char to pick up slack holding lieuts and bosses, and how much control you can conserve by firing area controls intelligently, rather than in a nonstop cycle. This is a gargantuan amount of well-segmented control, if you decide you want to use it all.

BY THE WAY (this seems like as good a place to note it as any), thunderclap is a mag-2 disorient. You can't disorient lieutenants with it alone, but it does stack with flashfire, for a total of 5 mag, which is enough to disorient not only lieutenants but *bosses*.

Stealth Mode
Furthermore, with super speed and steamy mist, you have full-fledged invisibility. You can scout, you can (at least for the moment still) stealth through clickable-objective missions. You can get into position to gale the badguys where you want them. You can hang out near your team in order to keep them from being seen until the last second. And if you can handle the endurance, being down front running steamy mist does help defend the melee folks.

The splattroller, in other words, has a lot to offer as a traditional controller/defender in very conservative fights.

Challenges &amp; Opportunities

One of your biggest challenges as a splattroller is going to be dealing with teammates. Many Controllers and Defenders, as well as some Tanks, like to insist that squishies never take serious aggro, and certainly never hang out in melee range of the badguys. Because you're going to be doing these things, you're going to be treated frequently to derision. Controllers are generally a bunch of obsessive, narrow-minded know-it-alls, and they're liable to be the worst of the lot.

"ZOMG LOL. ur playin like u think ur a tank. learn to control"

I so love being told how to play by people who're proud of their inability to think outside the box.

You're also going to be in the same boat as Fire Tankers, Spines and Dark Armor Scrappers, Fire and AR Blasters, Rad Defenders, and everyone else who does good area damage. I know that sounds like a fair # of folks, but surprisingly few players understand the advantages of heavy area effects. Effective use of area damage and control means not having teammates who knock everything around constantly, so you're going to be disenchanted quick with energy blasters, illusion controllers, and the like. My advice would be, make friends with team-domineering tanks who know, practice, and insist on good mob clustering techniques. (Here's how to find out: Simply ask them if they understand breaking LoS.) Make friends with a spines/dark scrapper or two if you can, too-- these are some of the few people you're not going to make feel inadequate with your area damage output; they'll be right there with you.

Another big challenge is going to be mezzers, bosses, and especially mezzing bosses. This will start to really interfere with your normal approach in the late 20s. The bright side of this problem is that almost everyone does more single-target damage (or control) than you, but you can solo 12 minions as quickly and safely as any three single-target specialists. A team with you plus a couple people who can deal with bosses and heavy mezzers is an unstoppable team!

When your tolerance for grinding permits, you may find that for a certain portion of your career, hunting zombies in Dark Astoria is lucrative. Boomtown, likewise. Perez, Faultline, and the Hollows can also work, but they tend to contain a higher frequency of bosses, so you'll probably want to at least duo those groups (although hydras in Everett lake and gangbangers on the streets in Perez are often boss-free; you just have to watch carefully.)

Various Splattroller Builds

Fire control, and specifically Hotfeet, is nearly indispensable to any splattroller build.

In fact, the only other set with a significant area damage power that benefits from containment is Mind Control (Terrify), but this power doesn't come in until level 26. To use Mind in this way, you'll also need to have Mass Hypnosis and Total domination ready to go as often as possible. Mind as a splattroller blossoms much later than Fire, is safer, probably so much so that meeting the "survival brinksmanship" requirement for splattrollers before it becomes flat-out impossible to hit mobs will be hard. Mass Confusion as a component of a Splattroller lends an interesting twist to it as well. But in the main, splattrollers will be fire controllers.

Secondaries that might enable splattrolling in some fashion or another are a little easier to find.

Storm is the obvious pick.

Radiation is the next best bet-- Enervating field is a great resistance debuff, and could readily be used to get the most out of your containment damage, replacing freezing rain. Radiation Infection's also going to be an added element of survivability in a splattroller build. Plus you have two other area controls-- choking cloud and EMP. Choking cloud needs 3 durations and a couple end reduxas well as rad infection, before you can use it properly.

Kinetics can also be used to splattroll; siphon power at the start, and at the end, fulcrum shift, can certainly boost your damage capacity, which is the goal. Meanwhile, you'll actually get to benefit from your own uses of transfusion if you're in hotfeet range anyhow.

Finally, though it's rarely used and I've not seen many of its powers, the Trick Arrow set is available to controllers, and Disruption Arrow and Oil Slick Arrow are both highly feasible splattroller additions. The only problem being that they don't even start to give you an edge as a splattroller until very, very late.

Cuppa (and whomever's doing the update):

The following replaces previous versions of my mind/empathy (&amp;radiation) guide.

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...Number=4991612

Mind Control w/Empathy &amp; Radiation V2.2

APPENDIX A: UNDERSTANDING STATUS EFFECTS

There are a number of distinct status effects in CoH, and Mind Controllers are masters of some of the strongest, whereas Radiation also runs its fair share. Also, Empathy-&gt;Clear Mind immunizes against them all. Understanding them as a Mind/Green controller is crucial.

STATUS EFFECTS
<ul type="square">[*]Hold: Affected target cannot use any power, and cannot move. The most common status effect controllers use.[*]Disorient/Stun: Affected target cannot use any power. Also, movement rate drastically reduced.[*]Sleep: Affected target cannot use any power, and cannot move. Effect automatically ends when target takes any damage from a hero.[*]Immobilize: Affected target cannot move.[*]Fear: Affected target cannot use any power, and cannot move. Effect momentarily stops (long enough for target to make one attack), every time a damaging power is applied to the MOb. Often includes an accuracy debuff.[*]Phase: Affected target is intangible and cannot be affected or affect others.[*]Knockdown/up: Affected target is knocked to the ground, or into the air, then has to get up, during which time, he cannot take any other action. Some controller forms of knockdown have repetitive, pulsing, AoE knockdown.[*]Knock back: Like knockdown but displaces the target horizontally.[*]Slow: Not really a status effect, rather, a movement debuff, and, usually, recharge debuff.[*]Smoke, etc: Not really a status effect, rather, a debuff on aggro range, and an accuracy debuff.[*]Confusion: Does quite a few related but distinct things. Affected targets:
stop attacking heroes completely,
stop buffing villains completely,
buff heroes as though they were villains.
attack and debuff villains as though they were heroes-- BUT! 75% the damage done by confused mobs is excluded from the calculation of credit for XP, whenever a mob is defeated.
Most ATs have at least a few powers in a couple power sets that at least occasionally do status effects. Disorients and stuns are frequently a possible side effect of melee attacks. Dark and Ice (non-controller) sets notoriously wield a variety of controls. Controller primaries are a collection of 3-9 (usually 8) powers whose primary purpose is a status effect. [/list]
STACKING

MINIONS, BOSSES, AVs

Every control has something that gurus call "magnitude." Bosses and Arch-Villains are progressively harder to control than lieutenants and minions. To successfully get them controlled, you may need more than one application of the status effect.

Putting the same status effect on a MOb twice or more is called "stacking." Status effects can only be stacked with other status effects of the SAME TYPE. You cannot stack confusion and sleep, fear and hold, etc. A boss with a single application of sleep, hold, and confuse each is a boss who's still fully active and hurting you (ordinarily).


As a rule of thumb: it takes one application of a control (sleeps, holds, etc), to affect a minion or lieutenant, and two to affect anything classed higher than that (bosses and up).

But there're a LOT of exceptions:
<ul type="square">[*]Certain types of mobs have resistance to certain kinds of controls. Some are just a little tougher, and require a second application as though they were a boss. Others may actually be absolutely immune to certain kinds of controls.[*]Most control powers that do not ordinarily affect a boss in a single hit will, occasionally, score a "critical" hit, and get enough magnitude to control a boss in a single application.[*]Immobilizations and Mind Control/Mesmerize are slightly higher magnitude from the get-go, and affect bosses in a single application.[*]Nearly all Elite Bosses and Arch-Villains have a special power that gives them very, very high resistance to holds, sleeps, confuses, and fears, for (I'm guessing here) about 65% of the duration of the fight. This resistance can be overcome by stacking one kind of control very high, but it takes typically 2-3 controllers spamming that control nonstop in order to do so. The other ~35% of the time, when the resistance is down, the Elite Boss or AV is just like an ordinary boss. You can tell whether resistance is up or down, by looking at the purple triangles circulating the MOb's head. If they point up, the MOb is resistant. If they point down, he's vulnerable![*]Giant Monsters of various sorts have the same kind of high resistance AVs have, except it's up 100% of the time. It is possible to control them, but again takes typically 3 even-level controllers nonstop spamming the same kind of control.[*]Phases can be slotted for magnitude (though not for duration). With a single phase enhancement in a phase power, you can affect bosses.[*]Slows do not have the same sort of magnitude-- they always have some effect, the effect is simply scaled back against tougher opponents (but not a lot-- slows can be great versus AVs).[/list]
HARD AND TOTAL
Total/Partial Control: A term I like to use to distinguish between two classes of controls. Total Controls are controls that fully stop the attacks of an effected enemy that would otherwise be aggroing, for a significant duration. They include hold, disorient, sleep, fear, confuse, and phase. Technically Knock* is a total control with an extremely short duration.


Hard/Soft Control: Another term I use to distinguish between kinds of controls. Soft controls are controls that you can't benefit from and attack the controlled mob at the same time. They include sleeps, fear, smoke, and phase. (The other controls could be called "hard" controls.)

Hard Total Controls: hold, confuse
Hard Partial Controls: Knockdown/up, Slow, Immob
Soft Total Controls: sleeps, fear, smoke, and phase





__________________________________________

APPENDIX B: CONFUSING SPECIFIC MOBS

There are a few noteworthy mobs in CoH to deal with, as a Mind Controller. As has been noted, confused enemies will buff and debuff to *your* advantage, and this is something you'll very much want to take advantage of. Any time a mob is primarily or note worthily a buffer, debuffer, or controller, you should consider it your solemn duty to confuse them.

An incomplete list of confuse-worthy targets:

<ul type="square">[*]Vazhilok Embalmed of all kinds, will blow up their own allies rather than your team, if you confuse them. Normally not a high priority for confusion, since holding them is just as good, but frankly, everyone loves you when you set off Zombie fireworks safely. SUPER funny.[*]Certain Lead Outcast, who summon pets, such as Lead Scorchers, as well as Frostfire himself.[*]Some of the Circle of Thorns Mages-- especially madness mages (who virtually are Mind/Emp themselves), Life Mages (who heal now, some), Ice Thorn casters, and worst, those pesky Earth Thorn casters-- all of whom will put their powers to work for YOU. (But get the earth thorns confused *before* they start firing powers.)[*]CoT Portals, which summon Behemoths that yield no XP (yuk!), but are good XP themselves, can be kept from EVER summoning by confusing them before they aggro to anything (make SURE to keep the confusion up).[*]Council vampires of all sorts (they use various sleeps and holds).[*]Banished Pantheon Shamen (they others use myriad status effects and debuffs, including snow storm, earthquake, and hurricane, and Death Shamen summon pet zombies).[*]Sky raider Force field Generators (yes, they bubble *you*!).[*]All devouring earth 'shrooms. They mez like crazy, and also summon mez-resistance emanators. (See below for more on Emanators). [*]Crey Medics and Radiologists (Medics heal and Radiologists do rad infection), as well as Geneticists, who MAY actually be able to resurrect fallen heroes while confused-- I've never seen it, but it may be possible.[*]Lost Aberrants and Pariahs, especially the Eremites and Anchorites.[*]Rikti Mentalists, Mesmerists, and Guardians. Also, Rikti portals, opened by communications officers, will port in *confused* conscripts if you confuse the portal![*]Tsoo Yellow Ink Men, who use sleeps and holds, and Sorcerers, whose heals are legendarily annoying, and who have a hold of their own. Also, Dragonfly, Herald, and Skyfall type bosses. Finally, anytime a Tsoo throws caltrops that are getting on your nerves, confuse him. As long as he's alive and confused, the caltrops will affect him, not you. (After he dies, the caltrops revert to hurting you.)[*]False Nemeses. These guys *can* be confused with the normal difficulty of a boss, and they often have dispersion bubble up.[*]Malta. Sappers, which are, hands down, the best target for confusions in the entire game. They do negligible damage, but even stalwart tanks and epic scrappers fear their end drain. You needn't. Have them drain your enemies instead! Also, if you have a Malta Engineer on hand held, but he's already dropped an auto-turret that is annoying you, confuse him. So long as he's alive and confused, the turret will attack villains. It reverts when he dies though.[*]Carnie Illusionists and Master Illusionists-- they'll summon hordes of pets-- other illusionists, Dark Servants, Phantasms... and they'll all fight each other, so long as you keep the original summoner alive and confused. Great fun.[*]Knives of Artemis-- the Hands were a special pain in my rear, because they mez and somehow I rarely saw them beforehand. Also, all the Knives throw caltrops, it seems like, and a single mass confusion can turn an inferno of caltrop micro damage against the people who created it.[*]ODDITY: Devouring Earth villains drop a wide variety of emanators that buff other DE ONLY. Confusing the person who summoned the emanator OR the emanator itself will make the emanator STOP buffing the DE, but it will NOT buff your team. (This is an unusual exception.) [*]CAUTION: DE Fungoids (deathcaps, etc) require special attention, as well. If one that you confuse plants a fungus (which normally provide nearby DE with resistance to status effects), and then you proceed to put holds on other DE, and the fight gets going, and somehow your fungoid dies, suddenly you'll have a fungus that nobody was worrying about breaking all your holds. So watch funguses. Keep them separately confused if for whatever reason your team isn't killing them automatically.[*]CAUTION: Nemesis are a pain in the rear. They all require two applications to confuse, (Not to mention that none of the robots can be slept.) You're basically going to have to rely on holds vs. Nemesis. Let's hope you're good with Dominate and Total dominate. Or you have EMP. EMP &amp; Levitate vs. Jaegers for the WIN![*]CAUTION: Explosives, a relatively recent introduction into the game, blow up good guys and bad guys alike. Don't be tricked into thinking you can confuse them into not blowing you up. A confused explosive puts the smackdown intended for you, on the enemy, but also puts the smackdown intended for the enemy on YOU! [/list]

__________________________________________

APPENDIX C: MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE

<ul type="square">[*]Always be courteous. Discourtesy is always a waste of time.[*]Start teams yourself, rather than waiting to be chosen. Develop your leadership and communication skills. (The author is sorely lacking in this department.)[*]There are only three good ways to approach a dangerous fight.
1) You lead into each fight with area control-- preferably aggroless-- from sufficient distance, or
2) a blaster or defender pulls ones and twos, or 3) tanks closely followed by scrappers rush in.
TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY for making sure your team knows and agrees on ONE AND ONLY ONE of these, especially if you're leading.[*]If your team is composed of 40%+ melee and the group isn't in way over its head, help blasters, defenders, and other controllers understand that pulling with blasts is NOT THE ONLY way to play.[*]If you're on a team with 40%+ blasters and few team-defense oriented builds, help any twitchy scrappers present understand that being debt magnets is NOT THE ONLY way to play.[*]If you're on a team with a good tank who is herding, don't fire off control until he's in position. Ask him to fire off an F7 "Ready!" when you should mez. But also watch out for other teammates who get dangerous aggro away from him. Herding can be dangerous, and you're not vital to it, so use your alertness to the max.[*]If you're on a team with a good blaster or defender who's pulling, if there are *any* melee people on the team, DO NOT MEZ ANYTHING until it's WELL OUTSIDE THE AGGRO RANGE of whatever group it's been pulled from. And for $Deity's sake do NOT confuse it![*]If you are on a team with people who do anything AoE to foes-- particularly claw/*, spine/*, and */dark scrappers and fire/* and */fire blasters, radiation, dark, and sonic controllers and defenders, watch positioning CAREFULLY, because once you lock down a group, obviously they won't move into position for cones and AoEs of their own accord. It's ok, especially with the scrappers and tanks, to wait a minute to lock mobs down, and not lockdown before they cluster up. You've got heals, so if need be, let the scrapper go into the red, then heal, mez, and heal again. It may also be useful in this regard to run ahead of the team a bit and immediately mez clusters of MObs as soon as they spawn and before they start to meander. You can in theory use Telekinesis selectively to correct problems applying AoE to a scattered mob you've just held, but don't waste too much time; area mezzes aren't going to last forever. The goal here is clustering of MoBs for AoEs. Investigate this further.[*]Some attacks will make mobs scatter-- it seems to me most notoriously, everything with the word "rain" in the power description. If you have a teammate running this kind of effect but not locking down mobs first, work something out with them.[*]Accept that there are bad teams to be on, and that you can only do two things about them:
talk, leave.
If the team can't be improved with talk, you must leave it. For the good of the game, leave it![*]If you're LEADING a team, it means you accept responsibility for recruiting, communicating, and most of all, addressing misconduct if it's ruining play for the others. Addressing misconduct in a team is your job because you have the sole power to kick people. If you don't want to exercise it, hand off leadership to somebody who does, preferably BEFORE anything becomes an issue. And always say you've done so in the team channel.[/list]

__________________________________________

APPENDIX D: CONFUSION AND XP/TIME

INTRO

A confused mob will actively do damage to the other mobs you're fighting. Normally, anything except a teammate doing damage to mobs you're fighting claims a portion of the XP for themself.

However, MOST of a CONFUSED MOb's DAMAGE DOES NOT COUNT in this regard. 75% of the damage a confused mob does to your other enemies magically disappears from BOTH sides of the equation.

Equations for real XP yield over time require looking at the duration of a normal fight, an unknown standard downtime between fights, and the way confuse buffs XP. The following section looks at these things in detail. Fortunately, there is one fairly simple rule to follow regarding keeping XP up:

If you're using confusion, it will not worsen XP per time unless you spend more than a certain amount of time between fights. That amount of time is: three times the amount of time the fight itself WOULD have normally taken, reduced by the same fraction as the damage you did.

As a practical matter, groups that are pursuing XP in any remotely reasonable fashion will be well within this range, so that confusion NEVER, as a practical matter, hurt XP/time. Some people will never believe you re: this. If somebody disrupts team play telling you not to use confuses, I strongly recommend you cite their disruptive ignorance and leave the team.

The following is a kind of proof, regarding XP and time. If you're math-phobic, turn back now. If you have a herostats-esque program, just go verify this stuff for yourself.

Also, please note: this was meant to address only the binary: confusions vs holds or similar, and its effect on experience. That's based on the assumptions that either you don't have to play with confusion-spamming mind controllers at all, or if you do, the mind controllers can be well built without doing much with confusions. (Either is true.) So this attempts only to show: does it get worse if somebody's using confusions instead of holds (also, I ignore bad guy buffs to your team, and the minor scatter or cluster you get confusion, depending on your skill level and luck.)

HOW EXPERIENCE WORKS GENERALLY
Spawn: A group of MObs (mobile objects; bad guys. XP on legs.)

Where:
X = Experience value of (average) spawn
D = fraction of the spawn's HPs done by you, where 1 = 100%.

Under normal circumstances, everybody who damages a mob "takes" a share of that mob's experience yield (X), proportional to the damage they do (D). That means if you and an unteamed stranger each do half the damage to a mob, and it's defeated, you each get half the experience value. Earned experience (Xp) is equal to the mob's experience value times the fraction of damage you do to it.

Xp = DX

If you do all the damage (D=1), then you get the full experience of the spawn (XP=X).

HOW EXPERIENCE OVER TIME WORKS GENERALLY

Where:
F = ("Fight") time each spawn takes to fully defeat
S = ("Search") time it takes after each fight to find the next fight
T = ("Time") fight plus search time = F+S

Experience per time (Xppt) is equal to experience value of the spawn (X) divided by total time (T). Total time is a function of how long it normally takes to defeat a spawn (F) plus time between fights (S):

Xppt = X/T = X/(F+S)


HOW CONFUSION EXPERIENCE WORKS

Where:
Cmd = fraction of spawn's damage done by confused mobs (where 1=100%) = 1-D

The experience value of mobs damaged by other confused mobs (Cx) is equal to the mob's base experience value times the fraction of the mob's damage once you EXCLUDE three quarters of the damage confused mobs did (Cmd) from the mob's base damage.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
Cx = DX / ( D + (Cmd/4))
Cx = DX / ( D + ((1-D)/4))
Cx = 4DX / (3D + 1)
</pre><hr />



HOW CONFUSION FIGHT DURATION WORKS

Fight durations depend directly on how much damage has to be dealt to finish the enemy. When they've been damaged by other, confused mobs, the amount of time fights last (Cf) is the normal fight time (F) times the fraction of the damage you yourself have to do (D).

Cf = time a spawn takes to defeat, if it's been damaged by confused mobs = FD.

***Note: F here is the duration of a NORMAL fight, that is, without confusion in play.


HOW CONFUSION EXPERIENCE OVER TIME WORKS

Total time with confusions in play (Ct) is a function of how long it takes to defeat a spawn with confusions in play (Cf), plus downtime between fights (S).

Ct = confused fight plus search time Cf+S = FD+S

Experience per time with confused mobs doing some damage (Cxppt) is equal to experience value of the spawn damaged by confused mobs (Cx) divided by total time with confusions in play (Ct).

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
Xppt = X /T
Cxppt = Cx/Ct
_______________________________
Cxppt = 4DX / ((FD+S)*(3D + 1))
</pre><hr />


DOING AT LEAST AS WELL

What we really want to do is compare normal experience per time (Xppt) to experience per time when confusions are in play (Cxppt). We can find a "break even" point by setting the two figures equal to each other. The break-even point is should be a statement about when your experience over time WITH confusions (Cxppt) is the SAME as your experience per time WITHOUT them (Xppt).

Break-even point rule: Xppt = Cxppt


<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
Xppt = Cxppt
__________________________________________________ ___________
X/(F + S) = 4DX / ((DF+S)*(3D + 1)) |divide by X
1/(F + S) = 4D / ((DF+S)*(3D + 1)) |invert
(F + S) = ((DF+S)*(3D + 1)) / 4D |multiply out
(F + S) = (3DDF+3DS+DF+S) / 4D |multiply by 4D
4DF+4DS = 3DDF+3DS+DF+S |subtract (DF +4DS +3DDF)
3DF-3DDF = S-DS |divide by (1-D)
__________________________________________________ ___________
3DF = S
</pre><hr />

WHAT DOES S=3DF MEAN?

So, here's our statement about when your experience over time (Cxppt) WITH confusions is the SAME as your experience per time WITHOUT them (Xppt):

S = 3DF

In English:

Time it takes after each fight to find the next fight is equal to three times the fraction of the spawn's damage done by you, times the time each spawn takes to fully defeat (normally).

If you start the next fight faster than that, your XPS is better with confuse than without. If you find them slower, experience over time gets worse when you use confusions in place of (some) holds.


WHAT DOES THAT PROVE?

Nothing, directly, since we have to be able to judge for ourselves whether we can meet the rule above. But we CAN safely say that if our downtime between fights is short enough, confusion is really helping with XP, to say nothing of being a hold with lots of fringe benefits.

In my experience, groups with any real interest in decent XP over time will EASILY be doing better than the S=3DF rule above. If the group can't manage S=3DF on the average, it's probably because they're doing something IN PREFERENCE to decent XP/time.

And as anyone can see, such a group has no business complaining: "Confusion is hurting our XP!" Because of course, if the group wasn't doing other things that hurt XP/time more, the confusion itself would be *helping* XP/time. If you're not trying to get decent XP, you ought to have no complaints about not getting the best possible XP.

HOW MUCH BETTER?

Remember, none of this speaks to *how much* better the XP would be if you were getting in more than your 2.7%.

To generalize, ((Cxppt/Xppt) -1) is the % bonus to XP you get (Cb) when using confusions.

Cb= Cxppt/CXppt = (4D(F+S) / ((FD+S)*(3D + 1)))-1

Let's take a couple cases.

Ocb (optimum Cb) = highest value for Cb obtainable with a D between 0 and 1.

Od (optimum D) = D between 0 and 1 that obtains highest value for Cb.

Where
F=120
S=10

Cb ~= (26D / (18DD +7.5D+1)) -1
Ocb= +62.5%
Od = .25

Where
F=30
S=30

Cb= 8D/(3DD+4D+1) -1
Ocb ~= +7.2%
Od ~=.58

WARNING: Do not adjust your D!

Note that I am not recommending holding back damage to get better XP per time. You may under some circumstances find yourself with a low damage output (because for example you're solo), and that makes a difference, but more damage output is always better, if it can be used without frequent defeat.

Rather, I am saying that to find optimal bonus to XP/time from using confuses (Ocb), you may need to adjust upwards the difficulty of foes you're fighting.

Don't hold back damage. Fight orange, red, and purple con mobs. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that both confusions and the most dangerous mobs are colored purple.

__________________________________________

APPENDIX E: Other Mind/* Builds

Thoughts on Mind Control with other sets.

I'm not nearly as experienced with other controller secondaries as with empathy and radiation. I've played a bit of storm, and just a touch of sonic and kinetics. I wanted to make a few brief remarks so you'll give other Mind/* controllers a look. I'm sorry I can't give a thorough overview of the other sets.

<ul type="square">[*]Force field
Force field is predominantly a team +def and knock back set. In addition to three bubbles you'll use to keep your team from being hit by about a third of the attacks that would've otherwise landed (one of the three defends you as well-- the other two have to be spammed through your team periodically) you get a pretty much iron-clad self defense toggle that you can't attack while using as your first power, a nice single target knock back tool (this can be handy for supporting blasters, and after all, all your controls are at range too), a foe phase power called "detention field," that takes a single foe out of the fight if it hits, for 30 seconds, a power called force bubble, which keeps most foes at a distance, and two other weird and rarely seen powers I don't understand well, that involve area knock back.

In other words, Force field is all about keeping foes at range and keeping your teammates' defense high. As a highly defensive approach to the game, this makes Mind/Force field probably the purest team defensive set there is. So you know, before you start trying to level one, it's still possible, even after the defense nerf, to be too defensive. Mind/FF will not solo strongly. You'll need to look for big teams of blasters to join, with a Mind/FF character.[*]Kinetics
Kinetics is widely held to be one of the two strongest controller secondaries, along with radiation. It's second and last powers allow you to boost your own and your team's damage output, while slightly reducing your foes'. Speed boost, the star of the set, comes in at 20 and lets you boost the recharge, endurance recovery, and movement speed of teammates. Powers rounding out the set include a targeted area heal, a PBAoE knock-up toggle, an ally jump buff, an ally -mez, and a power that steals endurance from enemies and gives it to allies (including yourself).

Mind has one of the best large area damage powers (Terrify), and with the damage multiplying powers of kinetics, this can be made into a formidable tool for ending large fights fast. Mainly aggressive, but team-oriented, Kinetics is an interesting balance with Mind that a lot of people swear by, and is probably one of the strongest controller builds in the game for teaming. There's not a lot of explaining to do, with Kinetics (aside from: don't accidentally run into the next spawn!), and in combination with mind's single-target controls to deal with problems, can keep a team careening through missions without a hitch.[*]Storm Summoning
Storm is a set I adore, though I've not played it a whole lot. It has an area knock back to start you off, a single-target heal that's the game's earliest ally mez relief, and a nice target aoe toggle slow. Next comes a great team stealth and +def, +res, in steamy mist-- not overwhelming, but definitely useful. Next it has a monstrous area -resistance -def foe slow in freezing rain, which is an area-targeted AoE with a touch of damage to boot. Next comes a PBAoE accuracy debuff and knock back. See where this is going? A whole set of powers for defending the squishy "back line" of a team. A PBAoE disorient comes next, and the set rounds out with a couple of pseudo pets that knock around, disorient, and damage.

With Mind, as with Radiation's EF and Kinetics' fulcrum shift, Storm's -res is a great combo with containment-enhanced area damage from terrify. Mind/Storm is nice because it supplements mind's ability to neuter large spawns, and can still make great use of Mind's single target controls. Storm is fairly controlling and aggressive, which is, like Radiation and Kinetics, probably a stronger balance with Mind. It's also fairly chaotic, unlike most of mind, although if you were to specialize in confusions, terrify, and storm's later controls, to my thinking you'd have chaos control to rival Illusion/Storm.[*]Trick Arrow
Trick arrow is a set I don't know a great deal about. I gather it has a targeted area foe -resist, and a couple single-target controls, including an immob and a hold.

Having an immobilization available on a Mind Control character is a nice bonus, but as a rule, my thinking is that mind/TA is single target over control. I hear complaints about redraw on TA, and if these are justified, it may be that mind and TA has some trouble really developing solid chains that take full advantage of the two sets.

Regardless-- for heaven's sake don't let me discourage you from testing mind/TA out. I've been thinking lately that single-target controls are the important controls, these days, and no question, Mind/TA is the master of them.[*]Sonic Resonance
Sonic Res is an interesting set, in some ways a reprise on Force field, Radiation, and Kinetics. It does a lot with defensive bubbles, in a similar format to Force field (two teammate bubbles, one area bubble), but is resistance rather than defense, and has a foe phase power similar to detention field. At the same time, it has some -resist powers-- a single target that is your initial power, an ally-targeted AoE -resist. Finally, it has an ally-targeted AoE knock back and an AoE pulsing knockdown. (I think that's what liquefy does-- never actually seen it!)

Because of its ally-targeted effects and team-oriented bubbles, Mind/Sonic is a build that's very heavy on team defense. It can certainly solo fine, and it's single target -resistance is especially nice with Mind's higher damage but often resisted Levitate, which does smashing damage. Like Mind, Sonic isn't big on visual effects, either. You could thoroughly bubble an ally and take as many as 18 foes out of commission with 5 clicks, and if somebody wasn't watching closely, they might miss it.[/list]

BUILDS

First, I present two build checklists. My goal is not to build a specialized optimal Mind/* character, but to present a new or average player with a workable plan that doesn't necessarily miss any of the biggest deals. My goal is also not to criticize anyone personally for how they've built a character, nor is it to insist that anyone must do things my way.

MIND/EMPATHY BUILD CHECKLIST

The first thing to do is to make a series of initial choices. You have early build choices-- between Mesmerize and Levitate, between Heal Other and Absorb Pain, and between major movement powers.

I.
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 Choose: {Mesmerize or Levitate}
1 Healing Aura
2 Dominate /Acc,Rchg,Hold,Rchg,Hold,Acc (2,3,5,7,9,11)
4 Choose: {Heal Other or Absorb Pain}
6
8
10
12
14 Choose: {Super Jump, Fly, Super speed, Teleport}
16
18 Total Dom /Acc,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Acc,Hold (18,19,19,23,23,25)
20 Stamina /EndMod,EndMod,EndMod (20,21,21)
22
24 Fortitude
26 Terrify /Acc,End,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,End (26,27,27,31,31,31)
28 Rec Aura /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (28,29,29)&lt;
30
32 Mass Conf /Acc,Rchg,Rchg,Acc,Rchg,Conf (32,33,33,33,34,34)
35
38 Adren Boost /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (38,40,40)
</pre><hr />


II. Next, we fill in the gaps for levels 6,8,10,12, and 16:
A movement precursor will be dictated by the movement power you took:

Super speed ---&gt; Hasten
Super Leap ---&gt; Combat Jumping
Fly ---&gt; Choose: Hover or Air Superiority
Teleport ---&gt; Choose: Recall Friend or Teleport Foe

(Just say no to flurry and jump kick!)


III. Also, you'll have to choose 2 of the fitness pool powers that will go in the 6-16 range:

Choose 2: {Swift, Hurdle, Health} (If Movement power is Super speed, choose Hurdle)

Finally comes the deepest part of your character customization. You'll get to choose four, or if you took super speed, five, of the six powers on the following list, in more or less any order you want.

IV. Pick two such powers to fit into the 6-16 range:

Choose 2:
Stealth
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis (Min L8)
Resurrect (Min L10)
Telekinesis (Min L12)
Clear Mind (Min L16)

V. Take Hasten at 22, unless you took it earlier because you run super speed:

If not Super speed, L22 = Hasten
If Super speed, L22 = Choose One: {Stealth, Confuse, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis, Clear Mind, Resurrect}


VI. Pick two more from the optional powers list to go in L30 and L35 slots:

Choose 2: {Stealth, Confuse, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis, Clear Mind, Resurrect}

Note: The order I'd consider the "optional six" powers are: Confuse, Clear Mind, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis, Resurrect, Stealth. For $Deity's sake, don't take everything EXCEPT confuse and clear mind. 9_6

VII.Finally, you slot things. Remember: once you're using SOs, don't slot more than 3 of a given enhancement type.

Place Slots:
3,5,7,9,11,13,13,15,15,17,17,25,34,36,36,36,37,37, 37,39,40,40,40
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
24 Fortitude /Rchg,Rch,Rch,AccBuff,AccBuff (Typically: 24,36,37,37,39)
OR /AccBuff,AccBuff,AccBuff,DefBuff,DefBuff
28 Recovery Aura /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndMod,EndMod,EndMod (Typically 28,29,29,36,36,37)
X Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (Typically: 22,25,34 OR X,17,17)
X Stealth /DefBuff (X)
X Confuse /Acc,Conf,Range,Rchg (Typically: X, 13,13,15)
X Mass Hypnosis /Acc (X)
X Telekinesis /End,End,End (Typically: X,13,13 OR X,34,36)
X Clear Mind /Rchg (X)
X Resurrect /Rchg (X)
</pre><hr />




MIND/RADIATION BUILD CHECKLIST

Start with the following list, initially choosing between Mesmerize and Levitate at L1, and a major movement power at L14.

I.
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 Radiant Aura /Heal (1)
1 Choose: {Mesmerize or Levitate}
2 Dominate /Acc,Rchg,Hld,Rchg,Hld,Rchg (2,3,3,9,11,13)
4 Accel Metabolism /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (4,5,5)
6 Rad Infect /End,DefDbf,DefDbf,DefDbf (6,7,7,9)
8
10
12
14 Choose: {Fly, Super Jump, Teleportation, Super Speed}
16
18 Total Domination /Acc,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Acc,Hold (18,19,19,23,25,29)
20 Stamina /EndMod,EndMod,EndMod (20,21,21)
22 Enervataing Field /End,End,End (22,23,25)
24
26 Terrify /Acc,End,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,End (26,27,27,29,31,31)
28
30
32 Mass Confusion /Acc,Rchg,Conf,Acc,Rchg,Conf (32,33,33,33,34,34)
35
38
</pre><hr />

II. Next, we fill in the gaps for levels 8,10,12, and 16:

A movement precursor will be dictated by the movement power you took:
Super speed ---&gt; Hasten
Super Leap ---&gt; Combat Jumping
Fly ---&gt; Choose: Hover or Air Superiority
Teleport ---&gt; Choose: Recall Friend or Teleport Foe

(Just say no to flurry and jump kick!)


III. Choose 2 of the fitness pool powers that will go in the 6-16 range:

IV. Choose 2: {Swift, Hurdle, Health} (If Movement power is Super speed, choose Hurdle)


V. Pick one power to fit into the 8-16 range:

Choose One: {Confuse, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis (12), Mutation (16)}


VI. Take Hasten at 24, unless you took it earlier because you run super speed:

If not Super speed, L24 = Hasten
If Super speed, L24 =

Choose:
Stealth
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis
Mutation
Lingering Radiation

VII. Pick four more powers to go in L28,L30,L35, and L38 slots:
Choose 2:
Stealth
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis
Telekinesis
Mutation
Lingering Radiation
Choking Cloud
EM Pulse (Min 38)

Note: The order I'd consider these optional powers, is: Confuse, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis, Lingering Radiation, Mutation, EM Pulse, Stealth, Choking Cloud. Don't stake your build on Choking cloud and stealth, for cryin' out loud!

Finally, you slot things. Remember: once you're using SOs, never use more than 3 of a given enhancement type.

IIX. Place Slots:
9,11,13,15,15,17,17,31,34,36,36,36,37,37,37,39,39, 39,40,40,40
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
X Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (Typically X,27,27)
4 Accel Metab /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndMod,EndMod,EndMod (Typically 4,5,5,31,31,33)
X Confuse /Acc,Conf,Range,Rchg (Typically X,15,15,17)
X Telekinesis /End,End,End (Typically X,15,15,17 or X,27,27,29)
X Lingering Rad /Acc,End,Acc (Typically X,31,31,31)
X Choking Cloud /Hold,Hold,End,Hold,End (Typically X,36,36,36 or X,40,40,40)
X EM Pulse /Acc,End,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (Typically X,39,39,39,40)
</pre><hr />

THE DR. MANINGZHOUE MIND/EMPATHY BUILD

Here's my wacky Mind/Emp build lacking Telekinetic elements and Major movement powers. Needless to say there's a lot of stuff in the two sets to take, and I've bumbled through it with four respecs so far:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
Dr. Maningzhoue, Mind/Empathy Controller, Natural, L50, Freedom
1 Healing aura /Heal,Heal,Heal,End,Rchg( 1, 3,13,40,45)
1 Mesmerize /Acc,Dmg,Dmg ( 1,37,43)
2 Dominate /Acc,Hold,Rchg,Hold,Rchg,Hold ( 2, 3, 5, 7, 9,11)
(2 Sprint) /(Run/Jump),Run,Run ( 2,27,36)
4 Heal Other /Heal,Heal,Heal,End,Rchg,Rchg ( 4, 5,17,37,39,40)
6 Confusion /Acc,Conf,Range,Rchg,Conf,Conf ( 6, 7, 9,11,13,15)
8 Swift /Run ( 8,27,36)
10 Resurrect /Rchg (10)
12 Assault /End (12)
14 Tactics /End,AccBuff,AccBuff,AccBuff (14,15,17,46)
16 Hurdle /Jump (16)
18 Total Dom /3x(Acc+Mez),Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (18,19,19,21,23,25)
20 Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndREc (20,21,23)
22 Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rcgh (22,25,27)
24 Fortitude /(AccB+DefB),AccB,AccB,DefB,DefB(24,36,37,40,43)
26 Terrify /Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,End,Rchg (26,29,29,31,31,33)
28 Recovery Aura /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (28,31,34)
30 Stealth /DefBuff,DefBuff (30,50)
32 Mass Confusion /2x(Acc/Mez),Conf,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg(32,33,33,34,34,36)
35 Clear Mind /Rchg,Rng (35,45)
38 Adrenaline Boost /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg) (38,39,39)
41 Mass Hypnosis /Acc,Rng,Rng,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (41,42,42,42,43,45)
44 Indomitable Will /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (44,46,46)
47 Mind O Body /End,Res,Res,Res (47,48,48,48)
49 Health /Heal,Heal,Heal (49,50,50)
</pre><hr />



THE ACTAEON MIND/RADIATION BUILD (So Far)

Actaeon, Mind/Radiation/Teleport Controller, Magic, L32, Freedom
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 Mesmerize /Acc,Dmg ( 1,15)
1 Radiant Aura /Heal ( 1)
2 Dominate /Acc,Hold,Rchg,Hold,Rchg,Hold ( 2, 3, 3, 7,11,13)
4 AM /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndRec ( 4, 5, 5,17)
6 Confuse /Acc,Conf,Rchg,Rchg,Rng ( 6, 7, 9,13,17)
8 Rad Infect /End,DefDbf,AccDbf,DefDbf ( 8, 9,11,15)
10 swift /Run (10)
12 recall friend /Rchg (12)
14 teleport /Rng (14)
16 health /Heal (16)
18 Total Dom /Acc,Hold,Rchg,Rchg,Hold,Acc (18,19,19,23,25,31)
20 stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec (20,21,21)
22 EF /End,End,End (22,23,31)
24 Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (24,25,29)
26 Terrify /Acc,Dmg,End (26,27,27)
28 Telekinesis /End,End,End (28,29,31)
30 Resurrect /Rchg (30)
32 Mass Confusion /Acc (32)
</pre><hr />

__________________________________________

REGARDING ANCILLARY POWER POOLS

I have very little experience with or knowledge of the Controller APPs. I went with Psi Mastery late in Doc's build. I think there's a bit of consensus that the status protection of Indomitable Will, and the high base smashing &amp; lethal &amp; Psi (!) resistance of Mind over Body make Psi Mastery one of the best possible picks.

The other APPs to look at is Power Mastery (? ... sometimes I forget the names of these), since Power Boost enhances hold durations, and Fire Mastery for the heavy area damage of fireball.
__________________________________________

THINGS THAT SUCK

Here's my short list of things that suck that you should know about!

<ul type="square">[*]At present telekinesis is, as a practical matter, capped at holding 5 mobs at a time. This is a pretty bitter limitation on the power, particularly considering its high end cost. There remains some small hope the devs will fix/change this, but don't hold your breath.[*]Telekinesis at the present time suffers from the "Repel Bug," which causes mobs immobilized by someone else to move away from the immobilizer, rather than you, when you put TK on them.[*]Controllers are massively gimped in PvP in two ways. First, they function and need to be built very differently in PvP, which is a ridiculous burden on the AT for the sake of enjoying the whole game. Second, the widely bogus argument that being held is less fun than being damaged has been used to excuse massive nerfing of controller's ability to chain-mez in PvP.[*]At present, confusions accomplish jack, and squat, in the player-versus-player game, meaning that EVEN MORESO than the average controller, mind controllers need to be radically rebuilt for PvP.[*]There are a ton of people, as I've said, who think confusions "steal XP." Some will suffer explanation, but others are idiots.[/list]

Mind, Radiation, Empathy...or, Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously
PvE Team &amp; Solo Mind/Empathy and Mind/Radiation
After I6 &amp; Enhancement Diversification.
By Enantiodromos V2.2

__________________________________________

1. Introduction
2. Mind Control
........a. Overview
........b. Mind Control Features in Depth
........c. Individual Powers
........d. Using Mind Control
3. Slotting
4. Empathy
........a. Overview
........b. Individual Powers
........c. Using Empathy
........d. Mind/Empathy Synergy
5. Radiation
........a. Overview
........b. Individual powers
........c. Using Radiation
........d. Mind/Radiation Synergy
6. Pool Powers
........a. Recommended Pool Powers
........b. Other Pool Powers
........c. Pool Powers to Avoid
7. Per Origin (RP)
........a. Mind controllers and Origins
........b. Empathy and Origins
........c. Radiation and Origins
8. Builds
........a. Mind/Empathy Build Checklist
........b. Mind/Radiation Build Checklist
........c. Dr. Maningzhoue and Actaeon, two characters of mine.
9. Note on Ancillary (aka "Epic") Power Pools
10. Things that suck

APPENDIX A: Understanding Status Effects

APPENDIX B: Confusing Specific MObs

APPENDIX C: Miscellaneous Advice

APPENDIX D: Confusion and XP/Time
.......a. Intro
.......b. How experience works generally
.......c. How experience over time works generally
.......d. How confusion experience works.
.......e. How confusion fight duration works.
.......f. How confusion XP/Time works.
.......g. Doing at least as well.
.......h. What does S=3DF mean?
.......i. What does that prove?
.......k. How much better?
.......l. Warning: Do not adjust your D!

APPENDIX E: Other Mind/* Builds
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INTRODUCTION

In this FAQ, I'll be talking about Mind control with Empathy and Radiation sets. I hope to provide fairly thorough insight into all three. I've spent over 1400 hours (for a variety of reasons) playing my Mind/Empathy controller, and I run a Mind/Rad L32 controller, and a Rad/Psi L36 Defender, so I've played the great majority of these powers fairly heavily. I don't play player-versus-player at all, and will only have cursory comments regarding this.


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MIND CONTROL

Mind Control is the premier set for hard &amp; total control, aggro-free control, and confusions. It does fair damage that's typed Psi for good penetration, has enormous directed control potential, no pets, and no immobilizations. It has sometimes been remarked that Mind Control has good or great area control. Mind is not a slouch in area control, but is not, contrary to popular wisdom, far better than other sets at it.

If you're unfamiliar with status effects and terms, or end up not understanding anything said here, please refer to appendix A, understanding status effects.

Here are the highlights of Mind Control:
<ul type="square">[*]Hard Controls
Mind has five great hard controls: a ranged single-target and *two* Ranged AoE holds-- Dominate, Telekinesis (AoE Toggle), and Total Domination (AoE). It also has two confusions, which are among the hardest controls in the PvE game: Confuse (ranged single-target) and Mass Confusion (ranged AoE).[*]Soft Controls
Mind also has three soft controls-- Mesmerize (ranged single-target sleep) Mass Hypnosis (ranged AoE), and Terrify, (large cone fear).[*]Aggro Free Controls
Three of Mind's controls, Confuse, Mass Hypnosis, and Mass Confusion, never, ever cause aggro.[*]Damage dealing
Controllers now do meaningful damage (see containment), and most of Mind's damage is typed Psi, which is rarely resisted. Dominate and Mesmerize are standard damage-dealing controls, and a great damage/control one-two in a fight. Mind also has Levitate, a decent high damage power and Mind's only partial control. The bonus of Levitate is that it's smashing damage, if you're worried about fighting robots.[*]Containment setup
Containment is now the name of the game for damage with controllers-- any mob that is immobilized, held, disoriented, or slept takes double damage from any attack by a controller (except brawl). Mind has two single-target (Dominate, Mesmerize) and three ranged AoE controls (Total Dom, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis) that set up containment. This can mean decent damage output with unusual safety, in the hands of a well-built mind controller.[*]Confusions
Mind specializes in confusion, one of the most controversial kinds of powers in the game, because of the question often raised regarding XP and confusions. Confusions are like a hold in that they completely stop a foe from taking any action against your team. However, they also (among other things) cause the foe to attack *other foes*-- and most (75%) of the damage they do when confused, is not "counted" when mobs are defeated, so you wind up getting more experience that normal for the damage you do.

Read that again: the net effect of confusions is to improve XP.

Confusions are widely misunderstood for three reasons:

1) At one point in the early release of City of Heroes, damage from confused mobs was not discounted by 75% when XP was distributed, so that it typically made XP worse, when used. This has been fixed for a LONG time, but attitudes persist.

2) People improperly compare confused villains to pets because the L32 Mind Controller power is Mass Confusion, not a pet.

3) People sometimes become interested in how much experience they're getting per defeated MOb. Confusion can cut down modestly on your experience gained per mob, but it always compensates-- or overcompensates-- by speeding up fights, which mean more experience per time.

Because of these things, there is a persistent belief that confusions cause teams to 'lose XP.' They absolutely do not, but you can expect to team with people who think they do.[*]Trickiness
Mind Controls can be some of the hardest control effects for teammates to recognize. None of them have dramatic animations like, say, Earth or Ice, and teammates attacking/killing controlled mobs first can cut down on your effectiveness, if they can't/won't learn to work with you. Confusions, indeed, leave mobs actually moving and attacking, which can be even more confusing for teammates. Communication is a must.[*]Stackability
Mind provides two (technically, three) pair of stackable total controls-- Confuse and Mass Confusion (both are confusions), Dominate and Total Domination (both are holds). It also can, technically, double up sleep magnitude, by using Mesmerize and then Mass Hypnosis.[/list]
INDIVIDUAL POWERS

NOTE: Again, read the appendix on status effects first, if any terms used here are not familiar.

<ul type="square">[*]Mesmerize
Available: L1
Slotting: 1 Accuracy. If you want damage, you could add 1-3 damage. A second accuracy later, if you decide you need it.
Importance: Consider

Mesmerize is OK damage, and is good for putting fringe MObs to sleep-- for quite a while. If there are guys on the fringe on the opposite side from your team who aggro, put them to sleep, and deal with them later! Mesmerize is also a higher magnitude power (see Appendix A), and affects bosses in a SINGLE hit, which can be quite awesome under some circumstances. Like any sleep, the downside is that all the lovely control duration you invested in the mesmerized mob goes away when he takes the first point of damage from you or a teammate.[*]Levitate
Available: L1
Slotting: 1 Accuracy, 2 damage. When you have spare slots, +0-1 Dmg, +0-1 End, +0-2 Recharge.
Importance: Consider

Levitate is the best low-level damage power in the set. It does knock-up, which at least momentarily interrupts your enemies, and it does smashing damage, which is nice to have against, say, robots, which're resistant to psi but vulnerable to smashing.[*]Dominate
Available: L2
Slotting: 1 accuracy, 1 hold, 2 recharge immediately. Depending on what help you have in other powers, +0-1 accuracy, +0-2 hold, +0-1 recharge, +0-2 damage, +0-1 End Redux, as soon as possible.

Importance: Mandatory

Dominate is a good fast single target hold, with decent damage. Dominate is a bread-and-butter power. You should ALWAYS take it at level 2, or latest at 4, and slot early and heavy.[*]Confuse
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 accuracy. When you can, +0-2 recharge, +0-2 duration. Also consider, when you have slots to spare, +0-2 range, since this power is aggro-free.
Importance: Important

Confuse completely stops an enemy from attacking you or your teammates, and additionally forces them attack and debuff other villains, and buff the good guys! As if that weren't enough, it DRAWS NO AGGRO! You can spam confuses all day long, if you just want to clear out an area. It requires two applications to affect a boss-- much like holds, and has a longer recharge and activation time, BUT, it also has a significantly longer duration.

Another way confuses differ from holds is that, confused mobs will still move around under their own power. Potentially, in very dispersed, adjacent groupings, they'll go where you don't want them to go. On the other hand, confusion can also be used to get an outlying mob to cluster up with the rest of a group, since he'll move to attack them. If you're really clever, it's a herding tool. If you're really unlucky, it causes a bit of scatter. Fair tradeoff.

Confuse should be SERIOUSLY considered by L16 or so, if not straight away at L6. Using it on any enemy is good, and using it on enemy defender types is fantastic.[*]Mass Hypnosis
Available: L8
Slotting: 1 Accuracy. A second accuracy when you have slots to spare. Consider +1-3 recharge, if you find you can make frequent use of the power, and +0-2 range when you really have slots to spare, since it's an aggro-free power.
Importance: Consider

Mass Hypnosis is your first, and one of *two*, AGGRO FREE AREA CONTROLS. It is a large Area of Effect sleep that centers on an enemy you target while at range. It does no damage. Very good for mitigating damage when you're facing overwhelmingly large spawns, as when two large spawns are back-to-back, or some gruesome summoning power is at work. It also initiates containment damage doubling.[*]Telekinesis
Available: L12
Slotting: 1 End Redux. 2 more when you have slots to spare and/or are getting regular use of this power. If you truly have no other place to put slots, and love using telekinesis regularly, consider +1-3 recharge.
Importance: Consider

Telekinesis is an auto-hit TOGGLE ranged area hold, meaning, you select a target, toggle on TK, and the target and everyone else around them has a hold applied. Additionally, affected targets steadily move in a direct line away from you- this is what makes Telekinesis tricky; you have to find physical obstacles to bunch your TK'd opponents up into, unless you just *want* them to drift off and eventually leave your target-select range, at which point the toggle drops and they're no longer held. Beware, though-- as a wandering area control this can draw aggro to you from far away much the way a debuff toggle on a runner can!

Telekinesis is also one of the biggest end hogs in the entire game. To use this power as a staple, you'll need to take it and slot it fairly heavily for end reduction, which given all other considerations, you'll have to do either ASAP, or pretty late.[*]Total Domination
Available: L18
Slotting: Three-slot immediately. 2 accuracy, 1 recharge. Add three more slots when possible, +1-2 recharge, +0-2 hold. If you always run rad infection and/or tactics, consider dropping an accuracy for a recharge.
Importance: Important

Total domination is an Area of Effect Hold applied to everyone within a fairly large radius from an enemy you target at range. It does no damage, but does draw aggro. Like most area controls it has a fairly long recharge time. If you can set yourself up to reliably and frequently cast Total Domination, you'll be golden to heavy burst damage teams, and have a lot of power to keep teams safe generally. Take it as soon as available, at 18.[*]Terrify
Available: L26
Slotting: 1 Accuracy. When you reasonably can, +0-1 accuracy +1-2 end redux. If you decide you need damage, +3 damage.
Importance: Important

Terrify is a fear effect with an accuracy debuff that does psi damage equal to dominate in a VERY large cone. Though it's a soft control, as damage mitigation goes it can still be useful when you team with single-target hitters-- particularly if you have a self heal and can tolerate a few hits. Good for doing damage to big clusters when you solo. Terrify also has a good recharge rate for such a big, broad damage/control attack. Endurance is what tends to keep Terrify in check. With Stamina and Recovery Aura or AM, you'll be able, eventually, to sidestep this limitation.[*]Mass Confusion
Available: L32
Slotting: 4 slots immediately-- 1 accuracy, 3 recharge. When you have slots to spare, +0-1 Accuracy, +0-1 End Redux, +0-2 Confuse duration.
Importance: Mandatory

Here's the zenith of Mind Control! Mass confusion is everything that the single target confuse is, except as an AoE. It's long-duration, slow recharge, draws no aggro, and is fantastic for clearing out an area (say, the bodyguards of an AV). It can be readily stacked with confuse, and is certainly the most powerful single area control power in the PvE game. It's also hysterically entertaining.

Refer to the section on Confuse, and think AoE.[/list]
USING MIND CONTROL POWERS

<ul type="square">[*]Dominate, Levitate, Mesmerize, Confuse
Basic single-target controlling is important as a mind controller. You have a LOT of options to take one guy out at a time. ALWAYS know which mobs are the mezzers/buffers/debuffers, among the enemy, and fire confusions off FIRST on those mobs (the long activation but aggro-free nature of confusions make them ideal initials in chains).Hit crucially dangerous bosses with dominate (typically twice), until they stop moving. Look for lieutenants and non-crucial bosses on the edge of fights to mesmerize (mesmerize does a good job of getting enough mag to sleep a boss). And use levitate as a stopgap control between real controls, or on anything that's held, for a dose of damage. These are key, too when soloing, since they do the most damage and since it's scarcely efficient to use an area control on just 3 mobs, since you can almost certainly lock those down well before they take more health from you than your native health recovery will return before the next fight. If you really feel you need a fifth power in your arsenal for soloing, consider picking up air superiority. With a control/containment/damage set like Dominate, Levitate, Mesmerize, Confuse, Air Superiority, you'll have respectable damage and, if you use it right, iron-clad safety.[*]Mass Hypnosis, Dominate, Mesmerize (Very Safe)
This is a basic combo you can be doing by L8. Lead with Mass Hypnosis from a good distance, then immediately Dominate to get the most important target under control-- either the guy your buddies are gunning for, or the boss you dread most. Now mesmerize the mob furthest from the attack zone of your teammates. Cycle your Dominates through the battlefront, and your Mesmerizes through the rear of the enemy. You'll be doing noteworthy damage with every hit, and mitigate nearly all of the enemy's damage.

This combo is particularly important, because there's a strong current of well-deserved disdain for lowbie controllers who're full of useless powers because they're building toward their ubar stamina/hasten/movement power/pet build in the 30s.

So if you really wanna be a hardcore *controller* early, here's your chance. Get this build up and running, trouble yourself to explain it to teammates, and avoid teaming with people who have large area damage before you turn 21, and can consistently sling total domination for them.
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 Mesmerize /Acc,Acc (1,3)
1 Healing Aura /End (1)
2 Dominate /Acc,Acc,Rchg,End,Rchg,Rchg (2,3,5,5,7,7)
4 Absorb Pain /Heal (4)
6 Confuse /Conf (6)
8 Mass Hypnosis /Acc,End,Rchg (8,9,9)
</pre><hr />

Extensive control for single-target hitters, with heavy healing to back it up. And you can always spec slots out of Mesmerize and Mass Hypnosis when you turn 24. And bear in mind-- with containment, you're going to do fair damage this way, too. Pair this with an energy blaster or Martial Arts scrapper, and you're golden in your fledgling hero days.[*]Confuse, Mass Confusion (Aggro FREE!)
For going after large groups with very high safety, or for leading into groups that you want to subsequently Hold, but want to be quite sure never attack you or your team. Apply mass confusion, then, lay a single confusion on each boss. This ensures every mob is completely controlled WITHOUT ANY AGGRO, and doesn't even involve bosses reducing the XP value of individual mobs before you send your team in. This might be hard to pull off perfectly if there are many bosses or you don't run hasten yet. Also, if you have large groups you just want to clear off, especially if they lack bosses, you can just apply mass confusion and keep spamming confuse until you have one mob left.[*]Telekinesis, Confuse (You're so clever!)
Here's a great way to bring your stragglers back into the fold of TK. Suppose you have four MObs gathered in a corner, but one got away, and you just REALLY want them all in one place. Wait for the right moment, and confuse the straggler. They'll run right over to the bad guys that are bobbing in the corner, and get stuck in the hold themself.[*]Confusion, confusion, patience! (Aggro FREE!)
For dealing with pesky spawns of bad guys surrounding an Arch Villain-- confuse the AV a few times, and wait. When his mez resistance drops, he will promptly decimate his own allies, leaving your team free to focus on him. This is particularly beneficial fighting certain AVs who spawn in the presence of large status-effect groups or other dangers, such as Infernal. Better still, those pesky AV alpha strikes won't be used on your team, which can save a lot of grief up against guys like the latter-game clockwork king.[*]Mass Hypnosis, Total Domination (Extremely Safe)
Total Domination does after all draw aggro. And sometimes you'll want or need to lead into fights, as a controller. Especially if you don't have a handy tank or are dealing with a horde of psi blasters (Gordon Trench and The Clockwork King's dimension come to mind). Especially if your accuracy with Total Domination isn't Iron Clad, the Mass Hypnosis is a nice cushion. The guys you miss with Total Domination will stay asleep, and you can target Dom them to your heart's content. If you're really hardcore and have an especially enormous cluster of MObs, you can always try doing partial overlap placement with the two-- get Mass Hypnosis further back, and Total Dom nearer; you'll still be buffering in the overlap, get more total coverage, and your team will presumably be dealing with anybody in the front row that Total Dom missed. Also, this technique allows you to keep proximity aggro off your team until scrappers are charging in, and gauge when to lay down hard control once they're (liable to be) woken back up.
[*]Total Domination, Dominate (Low-risk)
This is elementary total lockdown, and should be in every Mind Controller's playbook. Apply Total Domination to a spawn (preferably a boss closest to the center of the group so you get everyone, and don't have to re-target to go after the boss), then keep your eyes open and spam dominate through the group on a cycling basis (usually, bosses first). Unless your Dominate is slow, you're up against huge spawns, or you're fighting things 3+ over your head, you ought to be able to keep a spawn locked down at least until your endurance runs out. But if you're doing this, you're going to need to survive whatever ranged alpha strike any bosses present will use-- so don't do it against mezzers like Rikti Chief Mentalists. Obviously, in a scenario with bosses, pop Total Dom and then get Dominate on the boss as fast as possible.[*]Telekinesis, Total Domination, Dominate (Draws some aggro)
One of the nice things about telekinesis is that it's an auto hit. Suppose you were dealing with numerous +3 bosses, and your tank was going down. Maneuver into the right position, apply telekinesis, then total dom, then start domming bosses that're still moving. This will cost you some endurance, but you *should* be able to get several of them under control pretty darn quickly this way. Once you know you've got a couple doms on each, turn off TK to save the endurance. [*]Mass Hypnosis, Mass Confusion and Terrify (Low-risk)
Here's the Promised Land of soloing. If you have both of the top powers in Mind Control as well as either Mass Hypnosis, and especially if you have Hasten and Stamina and/or Endurance Buff to support it, this trick becomes possible. Lead in with Mass Hypnosis. Follow up with Mass Confusion. They're still sleeping though, and ready to take 2x damage from your next attack! Now hit them with Terrify. They'll take damage, wake up, smack each other once, and cower. If you have teammates, they can finish them off. Or, you can keep terrifying them, with Mass Hypnosis beforehand when available to get 2x containment damage.[/list]
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SLOTTING

A brief section on how to slot powers.

First, be aware that with the Enhancement Diversification scheme implemented sometime after I5, it is now meaningless to slot more than 3 single-origin enhancements in a given power for a given effect. IOW, never slot more than 3 Damage, 3 Hold, 3 Recharge, etc, in powers, once you're using single-origin enhancements. If you're using trainers or DOs, slot however you like.

One other thing-- conventional wisdom sometimes recommends that you slot *nothing* until level 12 (when you can start getting dual-origin enhancements). I consider this advice bunk. The key to using training enhancements effectively is to get several of the most critical kind of enhancement in a power. But BEWARE! Don't put six enhancement slots in a given power so you can get three training accuracies and three training holds in it, for example, unless you KNOW PRECISELY at least one of the following: 1) how you're going to make use of all those slots when you *are* using SOs and can't use more than 3 enhances of one type, or 2) have planned your build out completely in advance, including a respec at level 24, and are ready to wait until then to work for a respec.


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EMPATHY

Play Empathy if you want to be popular in the early game with people who don't understand defenders, or tactics, well.

Empathy, has lots of healing, yes. But it's more about reducing downtime between fights, and later on, about buffing an ally or two, and less about team defense, than most people think. Personally I think it's fantastic as a team-oriented SECONDARY-- a controller can use it to the max for it's supporting role without extravagant expense in powers and slots.

The downside is of course you do need a team to make Empathy useful. Even that has a silver lining, though, because you really should team anyway, as a controller, and being a "Healer" has got to be one of the best (if not best-justified) selling points you can broadcast when you're looking for a team.

Though it's got a lot of heal, the high range of Empathy has some great buff powers OTHER than the heals. People will love you all over again for a dozen levels when you pick up Fortitude and Recovery Aura at levels 20 and 28. Under the right circumstances, you can also ingratiate yourself immensely in the 20s and up with clear mind. And Adrenaline Boost, the final power of the set, is a phenomenal single-teammate booster.

Empathy is certainly the least directly offensive set, and along with FF one of the most team-oriented. It has more click and teammate-target effects than any other set. And half (44%) of the set is effects that are (or can be) last-ditch, emergency efforts to keep teammates from being dead in combat. It is, after all, a weird set.


INDIVIDUAL POWERS
<ul type="square">[*]Healing Aura
Available: L1
Slotting: 1 Heal. +0-2 Heals and +0-2 End Redux when you have spare slots.
Importance: Forced
The only low level power you'll get out of Empathy that helps you, and you'll be forced to take it. It's a good self/PBAoE heal.[*]Heal Other &amp; Absorb Pain
Available: L2, L4 respectively
Slotting: 2 Heal. +0-1 Heal, +0-2 Endurance, +0-2 Recharge, when you have spare slots.
Importance: Choose ONE.

My position is, these two are redundant on a controller. Absorb pain makes you wait another 2 levels to take it, heals more for less endurance, and is a little trickier to manage since it hurts you a little and makes you un-healable for a short period. From my PoV, Mind/Empathy is for players who maximize good judgment and skill-- which suggests Absorb Pain. The choice is yours.[*]Resurrect
Available: L10
Slotting: 1 Recharge
Importance: Consider

This power brings a teammate back to full health from defeat. The End cost is enormous, and the recharge is very slow. Primarily, this power is good for saving your teammates the trouble of walking back from the hospital.

But there are situations where an in-combat Resurrect can be fantastic. A group depending on a Tank can really benefit from that tank making a very fast full-recovery. A group in a tedious fight with a fast-regenerating boss or AV will likely be very happy with a spot-resurrect when it's key blaster falls.

But you have to get a sense for when to do this, and when to NOT do it. The power is situational.[*]Clear Mind
Available: L16
Slotting: 1 Recharge
Importance: Important

Resistance against, and popping out of, immob, sleep, hold, and disorient can be crucial against some kinds of foes, and this sometimes overlooked power makes you the anti-controller. It cycles fast, lasts a while, and is otherwise pretty much effortless-- EXCEPT-- that you have to train teammates to call out quickly when held or otherwise watch them on the screen like a hawk, if you're not spamming this power before every fight. Either way, this power is great if you're not *lazy*.[*]Fortitude
Available: L16
Slotting: 1 recharge. +0-2 Acc Buff +0-2 Def Buff +0-2 Recharge when you can spare the slots.
Importance: Important

A tidy damage, resistance, defense, accuracy boost. A little more everything! (Including, BTW, resistance and defense against psi!) Fairly slow recycle, but if you work at it you can have 2-3 teammates forted once you have hasten and couple recharges in it. Plus, if you're going to be worth nothing else in a fight, say against an AV, you can still fort teammates.[*]Recovery Aura
Available: L28
Slotting: 3 Recharge immediately. +0-3 EndMod if you have nothing else to slot.
Importance: Crucial

A PBAoE endurance recovery buff extraordinaire. It is, itself, an End Hog, so you're best to pop it at the start of a fight, unless you think you'll be mostly watching the scrappers wear themselves out beating bad guys silly, in which case, wait a bit. It does affect you too. And especially among folks who have not sorted out their own endurance needs yet, you'll be considered a God.[*]Regeneration Aura
Available: L35
Slotting: 1 Recharge. +0-2 Recharge, +0-3 Heal if you have nothing else to slot.
Importance: Marginal

A power I don't have direct experience with. I've seen it used. It's a good health recovery buff. However. You're a controller, and of all the heal options, this one is the most like an active combat defense. Team defense should come from your controls-- heals should increase your *options*. So I recommend skipping Regeneration Aura.[*]Adrenaline Boost
Available: L38
Slotting: 3 Recharge immediately.
Importance: Important

A modest duration, long recharge buff to one teammate's recharge speed, endurance recovery, and health recovery. Even though available only late in the game, still a very impressive power. There is nothing else as good, at L38, to take. Take it! [/list]
EMPATHY USAGE

Like defenders, be ready to do some buffing at the start of combat, and pay attention to when the buffs are back up again. Giving somebody Fortitude + Adrenaline Boost is a very real and noticeable improvement, to any character I've ever seen. Even just spamming heals on a scrapper can easily make the difference between a defeated AV and a defeated scrapper. If you're pulling off a hazardous resurrect, be ready to hit your target with a heal if he starts to go down before he gets away or turns on toggle defenses. Rezzing somebody to die again just sucks.

My recommendation on buffs (this is a no-brainer, but it's easy to let intelligent buffing choices slide) is, give fortitude and adrenaline boost to the lowest level damage dealer in the group-- or, if all else seems equal, give fortitude to the blaster with the most trouble hitting, and adrenaline boost to the scrapper with the biggest endurance issues. If you're fighting large groups with numerous mezzers (Tsoo, Lost, devouring earth, and Rikti come to mind) spam clear mind through the team's controllers, defenders, and blasters. If your scrapper or ($deity forbid) tank lacks mez protection, you'll notice.

Empathy is not your primary as a controller. I recommend against taking more than two healing powers with the set, and I recommend against trying to routinely use heals to defend your team. The exception is: when you're aiding a retreat or fighting an AV.

MIND CONTROL/EMPATHY SYNERGY

MC/Empath is really a build for multitaksers and skill players-- people who think it's fun to try and keep their finger on the pulse of everything going on, especially in a pickup team, where it approaches impossible, even if folks stay together. MC/Emp is one of the least susceptible of all builds, to the "What is there to do but stand here and hit things" syndrome. You will have to become very accustomed to your preferred method of selecting both teammates and enemies. Tab (in the default keyboard configuration) cycles you through enemies. And you can select teammates with mouse clicks on the team list. I recommend mapping the "~" key to cycle through teammates. You can also select targets of either sort with a click directly on the target. Only you can come up with the target-selection scheme that works best for you, but choose wisely. Also, strongly recommended you turn the health and status display bar for other heroes to to "always on."

Mind control has a lot of aggro-free attacks, and Empathy has no aggroing debuffs. You could live your life virtually aggro-free under this build. You will be the last man standing, more than almost anybody. If you are prone to survival guilt, you may want to consider another build.

Neither Mind nor Empathy is a 'Swiss-army-knife' set. Empathy heals and buffs. Mind hard controls, and that's a reasonably narrow area of expertise. Also, mind is pretty much a grouping-oriented set, and Empathy the most grouping-oriented of the controller secondaries. MC/Emp is therefore an extreme group build. That's how to think about playing Mind/Empathy IMO.

Mind control is not surprisingly an End Hog with its advanced stunts, nor are heals or resurrection light on the end. Fortunately, Empathy has one major power that works directly with you-- Recovery Aura. You can readily eat your entire native + stamina endurance recovery doing Mind Controller Tricks, so having Recovery Aura ready to go can be a real boon.

Mind/Empathy can be fantastic if you're working with a modest number of damage dealers who're squishy or would prefer not to rely only their own defenses. Duoing or trioing with blasters and/or Super Reflexes or Dark Armor scrappers, particularly, can be quite lucrative, especially if you're at a stage where you can boost their accuracy a little, you have missions set on invincible, and your allies are a couple levels below you. The ideal sidekick for a Mind/Empathy is a Blapper!
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RADIATION

Radiation is an effective and aggressive set. It's got three fantastic buffing/debuffing tools very early in the set, and two or three other powers that are worth a serious look. It adds a lot of offensive punch to teams or to its user solo, as well as substantial control at the higher levels, a PBAoE heal, and a resurrect. Powerful, aggressive, versatile-- this is Radiation.

<ul type="square">[*]Radiant Aura
Available: L1
Slotting: 1 Heal. If you really find yourself using it a lot, could be slotted +0-2 Heal and +0-2 Endurance reduction.
Importance: Forced

Radiant Aura is a tidy PBAoE heal. You'll be forced to take it. But hey-- you can heal yourself with it.[*]Radiation Infection (RI)
Available: L2
Slotting: At least four slots as soon as possible. 1 Endurance reduction +0-3 DefDebuffs +0-3 AccDebuffs. Add the last two slots when you have nothing else crucial to slot.
Importance: Crucial

Radiation Infection is a toggle AoE debuff-- you pick an enemy, toggle the power on, and the enemy and any villain nearby has reduced accuracy and defense. You can slot this for offensive (DefDebuff) or defensive (AccDebuff) purposes. Most folks recommend slotting for accuracy debuff to further protect the team. My philosophy differs-- particularly with a Mind controller, it may be a strong contribution to slot for defense debuff.

Remember that Radiation Infection stays up until the bad guy dies, or is very far away, and that in the meantime, if he runs, anybody he's near is aggroed to you. Extremely effective, and a must-have sometime before your teens.

When running RI with mass confusion, there's this to consider: if you slotted exclusively for defense debuff, you'd be increasing the net rate at which confused mobs hit each other. Slotted for accuracy debuff, of course, you'd be decreasing it. But the closer to balanced these debuffs get, the more RI tends to have no effect on the damage output of a group that's all confused. In other words, you have to decide whether you want to maximize or minimize the rate at which confused mobs attack each other.[*]Accelerate Metabolism (AM)
Available: L4
Slotting: 3 recharges immediately, and eventually, when you have slots to spare, add three End Mods.
Importance: Crucial

This PBAoE buff lets you endow your whole team with a little extra endurance recovery, recharge, damage, and resistance. The net effect: a very impressive buff. AM should be taken and slotted as soon as possible. Even when you solo, you'll want AM as often as possible.[*]Enervating Field (EF)
Available: L10
Slotting: 1 endurance reduction. Followed by 1-2 more once you start using it regularly.
Importance: Crucial

A toggle AoE debuff like Radiation infection, Enervating field reduces your opponent's resistance and damage. It's quite an endurance hog, so you can consider holding off on it until after L20, but you'd be crazy to not take it at all.

Since resistance debuffs work a little better on those who have a high resistance to a given type of damage, and because often mobs are resistant to the same type of damage that they themselves wield, EF, like defense debuff slotted Radiation infection, tends to enhance the rate at which confused mobs kill themselves off.[*]Mutation
Available: L16
Slotting: 1 recharge
Importance: Consider

Returns a downed hero to full health and endurance and provides some miscellaneous buffs for a period of time. The End cost is enormous, and the recharge is very slow. Primarily, this power is good for saving your teammates the trouble of walking back from the hospital.

But there are situations where an in-combat Mutation can be fantastic. A group depending on a Tank can really benefit from that tank making a very fast full-recovery and gaining miscellaneous buffs. A group in a tedious fight with a fast-regenerating boss or AV will likely be very happy with a spot-resurrect when it's key blaster falls.

But you have to get a sense for when to do this, and when to NOT do it. The power is situational.[*]Lingering Radiation
Available: L20
Slotting: 1 accuracy. +1 Accuracy, +1-2 End redux when you start using it regularly. Top it off with recharges when you really have slots to spare and have fallen in love with it.
Importance: Consider

A ranged AoE slow and regeneration debuff. The first significant control power in the radiation set, and though Mind scarcely needs other controls, you may want to consider this one eventually. It is particularly valuable against arch villains, who can't be affected full-time by holds and so on, but *can* be slowed slightly with LR. LR also debuffs regeneration rate, and some AVs have enormous regeneration. You may find this power extremely useful in the end game.[*]Choking Cloud
Available: L28
Slotting: 3 Hold, 1-3 End Reduction.
Importance: Marginal

The second of three control-oriented powers in radiation. This one is a PBAoE toggle pulsing hold. That is, it applies a very short duration hold, with bad accuracy, to villains standing near you every second or two. Fully slotted, it's an interesting form of control, but as a controller, you'll probably find it redundant with your primary. If you want it, you really need to have 3 hold slots, and some end reduction, plus Radiation Infection slotted for defense debuff, before you really get a sense of what it can do.[*]Fallout
Available: L35
Slotting:
Importance: Avoid

A power one rarely sees, and situational to situations that are best avoided anyhow (does decent damage to foes standing over a fallen teammate). I don't play with this power, and I don't recommend it, unless, as some joker recently suggested, you want to combine it with vengeance and mutation in pickup groups where you have no qualms about letting teammates die.[*]EM Pulse
Available: L38
Slotting:
Importance: Consider

EMP is an exceptionally large PBAoE attack, long-duration hold, that hurts robots a bit, makes it hard for you to recover endurance for a while, and has a long recharge time. As another control, this power isn't really a priority, but it's good enough out of the box, and cool enough that you might want to take it anyhow. [/list]

RADIATION USAGE

Slinging radiation, as a controller, is a matter of constantly waffling about whether to debuff with RI before or after you apply area control. If you think you can survive alpha strikes, or if you have a handy tank who's absorbing alpha, by all means, debuff first, then control. If you have an aggro-free control handy, Mass Confusion or Mass Hypnosis, use that, then debuff. Otherwise, good luck to you.

Because toggles go down when the target for the toggle, or "anchor," dies, you're going to find it annoying when people kill your anchors prematurely. You need to approach this problem from both angles: 1) Get used to it! 2) Educate your teammates.

When buffing with Accelerate Metabolism, don't be shy about calling for the team to gather to get the buff. Usually shouting "Gather!" or "AM!" in the team channel is sufficient. Don't be rude or obsessive, but try and make people understand that they really want the boost, because it's net effect is great, even though an individual can sometimes not notice it.

Radiation is great for helping out with killing bosses and AVs, especially with RI, EF, and Lingering Radiation in play together.


MIND/RADIATION SYNERGY

When it comes to the Mind/Radiation combo, there's so much good about each set that the main thing to talk about is pitfalls:

First off, Radiation, like Mind, has a lot of powers your teammates can work with, or screw up, depending on their actions. Hence, more that possibly any other set, Mind/Rad requires you to talk to your teammates and explain yourself if they don't already know Mind and Rad. It also be worth your while to develop some macros (there are FAQs on this), to announce whom you're targeting with your mezzes, toggles, and mez toggles. Also, experience as a blaster helps a lot with this-- you'll notice quickly that the guy your tab-select first hits is the SAME guy everybody else's tab-select hits. I recommend you learn to tab 80% of the way through a spawn to select your target, if that's the method you're going to use for target selection.

One of the trickier things about Mind/Radiation is that Mind and Radiation both have lots of great stuff in the early build. Which forces you to make tough choices about power selection until you're nearly in the endgame. You have a lot of viable alternatives in a Mind/Rad build, but you should *really* plan your entire build ahead, looking at what you want to be able to provide, and when you'll be able to support the endurance cost on which powers.

Another awkward thing about Mind/Rad is that both sets are control heavy. For example, supposing you decided to stick to holds. A L38 Mind/Rad could run Dominate, Telekinesis, Total Domination, and Choking Cloud simultaneously. The holds would all stack. That's more area hold power than $Deity, before we even talk about Lingering Radiation, Mass Hypnosis, and Mass Confusion. On the upside, Telekinesis and Choking cloud are both great ways to stack holds on AVs. It would be certainly worthy of testing, to see if choking cloud, telekinesis, and dominate can chain-mez an AV.

A third thing to notice about the combination is the endurance cost. With 3-slotted stamina, it's possible to run Telekinesis, Enervating Field, and Radiation Infection, each with 2 end reduction slots, indefinitely, if you're not running anything else. With AM up, things are a little better. Both sets can, potentially, make enormous endurance demands on you. This can actually make decisions about your pre-21 build easier, since you can choose to pick up end-light powers, and/or slot for end redux, in the first 20 levels.

Finally, radiation debuffs with mass confusion can be completely fight altering. Particularly if you focus on defense debuffs without accuracy debuffs in Radiation Infection, running it and EF on a mass-confused spawn ensures a sickeningly fast rate of spawn self-destruction. On the other hand, using an accuracy debuff heavy Rad infection and Lingering Radiation without Enervating Field, will tend to slow down the rate at which a mass confused spawn will die. This is an arcane point about confusions, but getting the right ratio of confused mob-to-team damage is the key to getting the best XP/time buff out of confusion use, and radiation debuffs enhance your control over this.

__________________________________________

POOL POWERS
Recommended Pool Powers

<ul type="square">[*]Speed/Hasten
Available: L6
Slotting: 3 Recharge
Importance: Crucial

Hasten is worth it on most Mind builds, especially Mind/Empathy. Three-slot it for recharge, and it's like having an extra couple recharge enhances, most of the time, in every power that recharges. Now, consider some of your best powers-- Total Dom, Terrify, Mass Confusion, Rec Aura, Adrenaline Boost, Accelerate Metabolism. These could *always* use more recharge speed. Get hasten and 3-slot it as soon as you have your endurance issues clear. With Radiation, it has bonus synergy with Accelerate Metabolism, and helps with powers such as Lingering Rad, Mutation, and EMP.

Can you survive without it? Yes. More so on a */rad build. But IMO you'll still be happier with it than with a variety of other powers you may eventually build into your Mind/Green troller. So take it, eventually. FWIW, I think a lot of people are giving up on the utility of Hasten because it's not what it was before enhancement diversification. As a Mind/Green, you're going to have to be doing a great deal of clicking anyhow.[*]Fitness/Stamina
Available: L20, after 2 other fitness powers
Slotting: 3 EndMod
Importance: Crucial

It is conceivable to avoid stamina on Mind/Empathy characters, if you're willing to wait around until you get Recovery Aura, and be forever pinned down between uses of it. Even with both, though, you can find ways to tax yourself end-wise as a Mind/Green, especially if you're running telekinesis. With Mind/Rad, Accelerate Metabolism doesn't fill this gap in quite as well, and Radiation itself can demand more endurance for things you might want to do routinely. In either build, I think Stamina is well worth the 3 powers and 2 slots.[*]Concealment/Stealth
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Def or End
Importance: Consider

Stealth is a quality of life enhancer. It's nice to scout an area before you back off to start using aggroless controls, for example. Since Empathy has no aggroing debuffs, you can also perform them from stealth. Since as a Mind/Empath you have so much that generates active aggro, stealth sort of helps complete that picture. Also, stealth opens up a lot of opportunities soloing missions for objectives without making most arrests, if you want to see game content but can't find a teammate. [/list]
Other Pool Powers

<ul type="square">[*]Fitness/Hurdle
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Jump
Importance: Optional

Most people have noticed that if you're building Hasten + Stamina into your character, you have a handy opening on super speed as a movement power. If you're doing that make sure to pick up the sequence HURDLE, Health, Stamina. If you're not going to take a major movement power at all, hurdle is also nice for mobility.[*]Inherent/Sprint
Available: L2
Slotting: 1 Run No move power planned? +2 run.
Importance: Optional

It's not the end of the world if you don't take a major movement power AT ALL. (Incidentally, people who make a big deal about 30 seconds more or less between missions are very likely to be impossible to control for anyhow.) If you're going with swift and hurdle for movement, remember to slot SPRINT, NOT SWIFT, for optimum speed. With swift and 3 runs in sprint, you're not much slower than the average flier. And you get to see more of the game.[*]Teleport/Recall Friend
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End or Recharge
Importance: Consider

Most defenders who routinely resurrect/mutate people (which shouldn't be happening, but that's another story) like recall friend so they can pull out of harm's way then resurrect you safely. Plus, it's just nice to be able to offer teammates who're selling on the other side of the map a direct port to the door, gate, or train.[*]Teleport/Teleport Foe
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End or Recharge
Importance: Optional

Teleport Foe is fun, and it can make soloing a little easier if you decide you just have to, for some reason. Also, however, confused mobs have the same short aggro range you've come to otherwise love, and if you're using confuse, you're going to sometimes end up with a solitary confused mob with a good 20 seconds of confusion left on him to no good purpose. Teleporting him into the next group of enemies is a nice touch for the anal-retentive mind controller. Even better, if you've got a particularly great buffer/debuffer/mezzer bad guy confused-- sappers, carnies, tsoo sorcerers, rikti guardians, Sky Raider force field generators all come to mind-- you can tote them around! (I still don't recommend this, but if you consider that such a 'pet' is also effectively invincible to villains, it might interest you.) Regardless, don't put something more important off just for TP Foe.[*]Teleport/Teleportation
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End. Maybe 1-3 Range and 1 End when you have slots to spare.
Importance: Consider

Teleport-- Teleport is potentially the fastest, but the hardest to control, of all the major movement powers. Best but hardest to control? Sounds like a Mind Controller to me.[*]Leadership/Assault
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Endurance
Importance: Optional

A small damage buff for your whole team. Useful mainly as a precursor to Tactics.[*]Leadership/Maneuvers
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Endurance
Importance: Optional

A tiny defense buff for your whole team. Useful mainly as a precursor to Tactics.[*]Leadership/Tactics
Available: L14, with Maneuvers or Assault
Slotting: 1 Endurance, 3 Accuracy Buff
Importance: Consider

Tactics can be a meaningful buff to accuracy on every power used by you or any teammate. This is worth considering, though the total cost (2 powers and 3 slots) can be daunting. Gets even better for hitting very-hard-to-hit opponents. Also increases the range at which you can spot stealthy folks, making it more exciting for PvP.[*]Leaping/Combat Jumping
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End
Importance: Optional

Marginal defensive bonus plus minor resistance to immobilize. A precursor to Super Jump.[*]Leaping/Super Jump
Available: L14, with jump-kick or combat jumping
Slotting: 1 Jump, +0-2 jump when you have spare slots.
Importance: Optional

Super jump is a bit counter-intuitive, as a combination with Mind, Empathy, and Radiation. I associate it with sets like kinetics, gravity, and super strength. Anyhow, if you think it fits your character, more power to you-- it's a great movement power, with decent control and great speed.[*]Flight/Hover
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End, possibly 3 fly.
Importance: Optional

A slooow form of flight with a tiny defense bonus. If you just want a relatively low-endurance way of staying out of melee range, it's OK, but leaves you fairly stationary. Movement becomes more tolerable with 3 fly enhances, if you have slots to burn.[*]Flight/Air Superiority
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Acc
Importance: Optional

An attack with a great knockdown element. No flying solo controller would be without it![*]Flight/Fly
Available: L14, with Air Superiority or Hover
Slotting: 1 Fly, +0-2 Fly when you have spare slots.
Importance: Optional

The slowest of the major movement powers, but the best precision vertical movement, and most heroic seeming. I'm a fan, most people aren't. [/list]

Pool Powers to Avoid
<ul type="square">[*]Leaping-/Jump Kick
Available: L6
Importance: AVOID

An attack with a super-long animation time. It's vaguely entertaining, though. If you're trying to build a mind controller who's one of the three stooges or a gorilla, I say, take this power! Otherwise, skip it.[*]Fighting/Any
Importance: Avoid

At some point, it will become tempting to add boxing or kick to fill out an attack chain, and maybe try to add tough and weave to be able to hang in there with the tough guys, later on. Just don't. Besides which, if you really must take a pool attack, it should be Air superiority.[*]Medicine/Any
Importance: Avoid

Unless you were playing Mind/Rad and were desperate for a mez-breaking power, there's no reason in the world to take the Medicine pool.[*]Presence/Any
Importance: Avoid

If you were dead set on a concept character who ran multiple fear attacks, then MAYBE you should consider this. Otherwise, controllers have no business taunting. [/list]
__________________________________________

PER ORIGIN

Mind Controllers Generally

<ul type="square">[*]Natural
Much of Mind Control could be explained as persuasion, charisma, intimidation, and the like. The two telekinetic elements in Mind Control are hard to explain for a natural, unless you think it's a completely ordinary human ability. Super speed and Teleport are also hard to explain as ordinary human abilities. Fly isn't much better.[*]Technology
Controlling minds with technology can be done wackily-- ala some sort of "cerebro" device that amplifies brainwaves, or perhaps more interestingly, as a side effect of using psychoactive chemical agents sprayed in the air. Sorta creepy, but it would work. Flight is the most plausible Technology major movement power.[*]Science &amp; Mutant
What one does with these origins is notoriously open. I mean, what *can't* the right sort of scientific experiment unlock? What *can't* be a mutant power? For the Science side, see the Anime classic Akira. For the Mutant side, what makes more sense that a mutant psychic? With the telekinetic component of Mind, Flight is probably the best, conceptually. [*]Magic
Holds and sleeps in Mind could easily be "soft" forms of magic, whereas confusions could be forms of possession or will domination, and telekinetic elements could be more physically-oriented "spells." Teleport is probably the best magical movement power, though flight fits well also.[/list]

Empathy
<ul type="square">[*]Natural
With a little suspension of disbelief, the low heals in Empathy could be emergency medical attention. Many of the higher-up buffs could be attributed to encouragement or tactical advice.[*]Technology
The various healing/buffing effects of Empathy could easily be super-advanced medical technology.[*]Science &amp; Mutant
It's plausible, if not typical, to imagine someone transformed by science or born with mutation to be able to heal others.[*]Magic
Magic healing and blessings easily cover the empathy set.[/list]

Radiation
<ul type="square">[*]Natural
It's difficult to interpret radiation powers as natural, without going into comedy, or reinventing the meaning of the term.[*]Technology &amp; Science &amp; Mutant
Discovery of (technology), or bodily control over (science &amp; mutant) some sort of secret energy form or energy source could easily explain radiation powers.[*]Magic
Wispy green clouds of light are the most common way magical power is represented in the game. All the radiation powers could be forms of magical energy, curses, and blessings.[/list]

[ QUOTE ]
" Recently, my team detected that our Health and Endurance were not routing to our framework. Sultry Selene was able to quickly get to the root of the problem. Her expertise and responsiveness using the Rest power, helped us recover quickly from a recent team wipe, on schedule. By providing a seamless integration, Rest has allowed us to leverage our Health and Endurance in the Team Management Framework. Both Sultry Selene and Rest have proven to be partners we can trust."
Ray tha Hustla CFO / Level 14 Dark Melee - Dark Armor Brute

[/ QUOTE ]

That is brilliant!

This --Brian Eno
Just Another Day --Brian Eno
Another Green World --Brian Eno
The Big Ship --Brian Eno
What Actually Happened --Brian Eno
Da Funk --Daft Punk
Around the World --Daft Punk
Human After All --Daft Punk
Robot Rock --Daft Punk
Television Rules the Nation --Daft Punk
High Energy Protons --Juno Reactor
The Heavens --Juno Reactor
Konga Fury --Juno Reactor
God is God --Juno Reactor
Ice Cube --Juno Reactor

Name:
The Citizen's Defense League

Shard:
City of Heroes

Overall Theme(s):

An altruistic organization founded by people who genuinely feel that "Gratitude is never enough," and that the super-powered heroes who constantly risk their lives to keep paragon safe don't deserve to shoulder the task alone. May in fact harbor sinister anti-mutant, anti-alien elements, but exists as a distinctive group because ordinary people, obviously, don't have superpowers, and just aren't in the same league as superhuman mutants, recipients of scientific or technological miracles, or ancient mystic powers.

Group Make-up:
<ul type="square">[*]All: Natural Origin[*]Blasters: Assault Rifle or Archery + Devices**[*]Defenders: Empathy** or Trick Arrow + Archery[*]Controllers: Mind** or Illusion** or Fire** + Empathy** or Trick Arrow[*]Tanks: Invulnerability* + Axe or Mace or SuperStrength**[*]Scrappers: Katana, Broadsword, Martial Arts, or Dark Melee** + Super reflexes or Dark Armor** or Invulnerability*[/list]*Character's first costume must include heavy armor, and try and avoid Dull Pain.

** Try to avoid taking Cloaking Devices, Regen Aura, Levitate, Telekinesis, spectral wounds, spectral terror, Hotfeet, Handclap, Hurl, Footstomp, Oppressive Gloom, Soul Transfer, Siphon Life, Dark Consumption, Soul Drain, Midnight Grasp. It's understood avoiding these will gimp many builds, so either include a few and build around the rest, or choose another set.

In other words, if you have doubts, the short list is:

Trick Arrow/Archery Defender, Martial Arts/SR Scrapper, Katana/SR scrapper, Broadsword/SR Scrapper.

Also avoid major movement powers where possible, especially including teleport.

Also try and have Leadership and Fitness Pools, stealth, and if appropriate medicine, presence, and/or fighting pool.

Combat Strategy/Power Combinations: Find things to fight that are particularly vulnerable to smashing or lethal attacks.

Costume, Names, Design Issues:

It is understood that everyone in the group is normal origin. As such, no huge builds, no rock skin, antennae, third eyes, horns, pointy ear heads, robotic arms, tails, and so forth and so on.

So, anybody got numbers on % of endgame blasters before defiance, and after? You know, from server sampling?

Nice. I've been interested in this sort of thing, mainly because I have a ton of salvage and nothing to do with it. Here's the list ordered.

I'd also be very curious to see the list include info on what origin the stuff is.

Amulet : C +
Arachnoid Blood : C +
Arcane Powder : C +
Armor Shard : C +
Blood Sample : C +
Body Armor Fragment : C +
Bone Fragment : C +
Bracer : C +
Ceramic Compound : C +
Devouring Culture : C +
Dread Tramalian : C +
Echip : C +
Energy Source : C +
Fir Bolg Straw : C +
Ghost Trinket : C +
Nictus Memento : C +
Orichalcum : C +
Shivan Ectoplasm : C +
Witchs Hat : C +
Arachnos Gun : C
Bio Sample : C
Black Box : C
Black Market Super Gear : C
Charm : C
Clockwork Fragment : C
Coins : C
Coralax Hybrid Blood : C
Crystal Skull : C
Cybernetic Implant : C
DNA Mutation : C
Ectoplasmic Residue : C
Glittershrooms : C
Golden Skin : C
Hex : C
Lev Disk : C
Luddite Pouch : C
Magma : C
Paragon Police Files : C
Pumice : C
Rikti Armor Fragment : C
Saber : C
Sigil : C
Sky Raider Device : C
Snake Fang : C
Snake Venom : C
Spark : C
Static Charge : C
Superadine Extract : C
Tattoo : C
Treatise : C
Trick Arrows : C
Vacuum Circuits : C
Dangerous Chemicals : U +
Data Files : U +
Graphite Composite : U +
Hydra DNA Sample : U +
Mutated Sample : U +
Scrolls : U +
Steam Powered Engine : U +
Steam Tech Implant : U +
Tsoo Ink : U +
Carapace : U + -
Cybernetic Charger : U + -
Hamidon Lichen : U + -
Lens : U + -
Mercury Circuits : U + -
Spider Eye : U + -
Ancient Weapon : U
Broken Crey Rifle : U
Broken Rikti Weapon : U
Clockwork Plate : U
Coral Shard : U
Demonlogica : U
Etherium : U
Exotic Compound : U
Fetish : U
Fish Scale : U
Headset : U
Meat Cleaver : U
Necklace of Teeth : U
Phantom Tears : U
Pumpkin Bomb : U
Redcap Pouch : U
Sky Raider Anti Grav Unit : U
Sky Raider Weapon : U
Spielmans Signet : U
Synthetic Drug : U
Synthetic Organs : U
Talisman : U
Tuatha Furs : U
Verminous Victuals : U
Broken Crey Pistol : U -
Claw : U -
Elemental Manual : U -
Fir Bolg Hand : U -
Nictus Ammo : U -
Slag Culture : U -
Titanium : U -
Tools of the Trade : U -
Stable Protonium : R -
Cortex Device : R -
Crey Tech : R -
Military Intelligence : R -
Communication Device : R -
Exotic Alloy : R -
Freakshow Cybernetics : R -
Ring : R -
Ur-Metal : R -
Rikti Communications Device : R -
Potion : R -
Rylehs Rain : R -
Hamidon Spore : R
Spirit Guide : R
Ancestral Weapon : R
Arachnoid Venom : R
Blaster Tech : R
Broken Mask : R
CIA Files : R
Ectoplasm : R
Falak Amulet : R
Innovative Code : R
Nanites : R
Nemesis Weapon : R
Neo Organics : R
Nictus Tech : R
Portal Tech : R
Powered Armor Circuitry : R
Rikti Control Unit : R
Rikti Plasma Rifle : R
Thorn Fragment : R
Aberrant Tech : S
Aeon Tech : S
Alien Tech : S
Astrology Book : S
Crystal Codex Fragments : S
Demon Heart : S
Nano Fluid : S
Rikti Data Pad : S
Scent of Brimstone : S
Spells of Power : S
Unstable Rad Pistol : S
Weapon of Mu : S

... what don't I know about whirlwind and anim times?

[ QUOTE ]
Blue mitos have a pretty standard hold - since it doesn't break through dispersion bubble it can't be an unusually high magnitude. So a confused blue would probably contribute less than the controllers needed to confuse it.

[/ QUOTE ]

A mind controller with confuses but no holds is conceivable.

[ QUOTE ]
there's a decent possibility that the confuse duration itself would last less time per casting than the animation takes

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I agree with this damping the effectiveness of the standard 10x AM + spam mez approach, if the mez is confuse. Not overwhelmingly, because even standard single-target holds have a countable recharge time with that much AM.

BTW, since several AMs makes hasten perma simultaneously with reducing mez recharge, I don't think ED's un-perma-able hasten is affecting hold/second. ED's limit of 95% recharge bonus from enhancements certainly is, though.

Ah. Cool. Been on dozens of raids, but for whatever reason, we habitually took out all mitos, including the healers. &gt;.&gt; Maybe players on Freedom are more anal than I thought.

I agree it's unlikely that the confusion XP distrib mechanics would affect the weird HO distribution situation they have set up now, but I thought I'd mention it, since nobody really knows.

And I agree that as a practical matter, this kind of raid would be nearly impossible to get off the ground considering the number of Mind &amp; Ill you'd have to bring.

[ QUOTE ]
If you managed to pull this off, the Mitos die when Hami dies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Did a red name say so? Did somebody actually manage a raid like this and I missed it? Or are you speculating based on some other Mob's behavior?

GUIDE TO TESTING CONFUSION ON HAMIDON

Confusions (illusion/deceive, mind/confuse, mind/mass confusion, ice/arctic air) are controls that, much like holds, completely prevent a villain from attacking heroes (in PvE).

The possibility exists that Hamidon can be confused, rather than held, during a raid. By itself, this possibility is not too important.

However:
<ul type="square">[*]The great majority of summoned/spawned MObs in the game are *automatically* confused if the MOb that spawned them is confused![*]The the rare summoners whose summonees are NOT confused CANNOT be prevented from spawning by HOLDING them. (Hammi doesn't appear to fall into this category, because he can be held to prevent him from spawning.)[/list]
There is the possibility that if Hamidon is confused when he takes enough damage to do the second spawn, that ALL THE MITOS would be AUTOMATICALLY CONFUSED, and kill each-other and him!


POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS

For the sake of a practical test, any of the following are a possibile alternative outcomes to the ideal situation (where confused mitos rapidly kill off Hamidon and each other, foreshortening the final phase and earning everyone an HO).

<ul type="square">[*]Hammi will not spawn at all if confused (finish raid as per normal)[*]Hammi will not spawn if confused, without other villains nearby to "aggro" him. (Have someone ready to TP foe a swarm or train a monster in)[*]Hammi spawns but mitos are not confused (everyone dies!)[*]Hammi taking heavy damage from confused mobs will prevent many or all of the HOs from going to heroes (big disappointment!)[/list]
Also, note, when the confused summoner dies, the summon-ees will no longer be confused, and there probably will be some angry orphan mitochondria left after Hami goes down, which may mean a trip to the hospital or a pitched battle to survive and get the buds.

HOW THE RAID GOES:

A Hammi-Confusion raid would go mainly according to the usual routine, except for the following:

<ul type="square">[*]The "Hold" Phase should be performed only by illusion and Mind controllers using Deceive, Confuse, and Mass Confusion. This means Illusion controllers are even more vital-- they must make sure to descend from pet-dropping position IMMEDIATELY when the raid leader calls for Hold Phase. [*]The relative rarity of confusions also makes it more important to recruit mind and illusion controllers HEAVILY beforehand, and make sure they have Confuse/Deceive slotted out.[*]The raid leader should designate a bug-teleporter (somebody with fly and TP foe) and a monster-trainer (a tank), who will respond respectively, to him spamming "BUGHUNT!" and "GREIF ME!" or some similar commands, IF it happens that Hamidon is clearly at the spawn point, but not spawning.[*]Everyone except Mind and Illusion controllers and speed-boosting defenders should start prepping to fight remaining Mitochondria AS SOON as mitos appear to be confused, and to run in to finish Hami off ONLY if all he kills all the Mitos. Probably if there are more than a few remaining mitos, there will be a Hive-wipe following Hammi's defeat (particularly considering the lag), but it doesn't hurt to try.[*]Only the Raid Leader should ever specify whether a raid will be attempted with confusions, and if not so-specified NEVER (waste time trying to) use confusions on Hamidon during a raid![/list]

I was never crystal clear on the reason for no-bubbles-in-the-jello, but I thought it was because they draw aggro away from whomever is drawing Hamidon himself's blasts, which I've always presumed (since I doubt it was never tried before) can kill heavily bubbled groups.

Either way, I'd really like to see it tested for myself.

There's another minor functionality, BTW, though it's not frequently exercised. Controllers with low damage (many of them), marginal healing (most of them, hopefully), no pets (Mind and oddball builds), and buff powers *especially* mez protection (electrolytes make some blasters' lives hell) and rezzes (people do die periodically) do exist.

They can typically survive without a hitch through the mito phase of a raid away from the umbrella, and may be more useful at a distance, where they can spot fallen pettrollers, newcomers, electrolyte zaps, monster training greif, and so on.

Of course, again, this should only be done if the regen scrapper is fine and your area healing is weak, or if the umbrella team is doing fine healing, and your single-target healing (everybody except emp) is weak. ... or if both the regen scrapper and the umbrella team are doing fine.

When I was doing raids regularly, that was the role I played, anyhow, with my Mind/Emp (our scrappers and assault teams rarely had problems outside of the isolated fumble or stupidity).

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I just wanted to repeat all that... I wish more people realized that maximizing XP/kill or XP/mission does not necessarily maximize XP/hour.

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The problem is that there's a kind of perceptual time dilation for distinctive tasks.

That is, a TF seems to take "About Task Force Long," whether in fact it takes 45 minutes or 12 hours.

I suspect that if you had a L32 power that made missions last 2 seconds apiece, and you'd get 50% of the Mob and Mission XP, there are people who would say, "Gah! I had to do twice as many missions to level! Don't use that power!"

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However, because TF mobs spawn at a static level rather than scaling to the players' levels, stealthing TF missions will cause a decrease in your possible xp/time period, assuming the mobs you are fighting are higher level than your character level.

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No.

1. Team sends guy to stealth mission.

2. Meanwhile, the rest of the team comes in and fights the way it normally would, except perhaps slightly more cautiously with 1 guy less. XP/time on mob defeats is essentially unaffected.

3. The mission ends much faster with stealthing it than without, which means the XP/time on the mission bonus is substantially improved.

Since XP/time is Mob XP/time + Mission XP/time, and neither gets significantly worse, but one gets much better, stealthing TF missions (or any other known-to-be-stealthable missions) gets better XP/hour than not stealthing them.

The suggestion "don't stealth known stealthable missions (TF or otherwise)" slows down XP/time.