Grimlek

They're all good with Storm for the most part.

I like Plant/Storm as my favorite, though.

To the OP: Each one will have a different playstyle, so I would recommend trying some of them or go with concept. You won't go wrong with any of those combos.

I have one I am slotting up now (stripped my Illusion/Storm) that is a legitimate perma-PA. only purples are from the confuse set. Still runs in the 600-750 million range, so it's not cheap

This has got to be the best guide I have ever read, and there are some great guides out there.

Time to roll a dark/dark

That makes more sense. I don't PvP, so I wouldn't have the first idea how those are built

I don't have access to Mid's here, but isn't the point of a high-end Illusion/Rad build to go for max -recharge? If you have PA out all the time, you shouldn't get hit much, right?

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I also think the activation time for Stalagmites is much faster.

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Flashfire 2.37s, Stalagmites 2.1s. So only a little faster (0.27s nominal, 0.264s ArcanaTime).

Interestingly, Stalagmites only costs 10.4 END versus Flashfire's 15.6 END.

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Wow, I'm surprised at that actually, it feels like it's a lot faster than that to me at least.

I also think the activation time for Stalagmites is much faster.

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What the person seems to be referring to is a spell cast on an ally that will heal a certain amount of hitpoints each time the ally target takes damage. Sort of like a damage shield in reverse...instead of the mob attacking the target taking damage each time they strike the ally, the ally is healed a small amount.

Sorry, not in this game.

Damage shields would be kool though

Edit: I do believe EQ or EQ2 had either or both of these.

Mind has 2 sleeps and a fear cone that allow enemies to fire back when attacked, IIRC. Mind is the one set I don't play, though.

Unless you don't plan on attacking the enemies while they are locked down?

Edit: I'm not saying one is better than the other. Earth and Mind each have plenty of control and both pair well with TA, since they each play well from range. I'm just tired of the argument that Sleep controls are "lockdown"

Gravity/TA has tons of control and the sets work really well together. I have one at about 27 right now and locking down everything in sight is a non-issue. He already feels extremely powerful, and I'm sure it only gets better with Singy.

If control is your only concern, and you absolutely need the most, Earth/TA has that title locked up, as dave_p said.

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Time to get my melee set design on...

All damage is going to be assigned in DPA, mainly because it's a more important number for set design that base damage. However BABs designs the animations would have a huge effect on the potency of the set if the animation time has a significant disparity from expected animation time.

Light Attack 1 - 52 DPA, 3s recharge, 6 sec 12.5% -res
Light Attack 2 - 52 DPA, 5s recharge, 6 sec 12.5% -res
Hard Hitter 1 - 70 DPA, 12s recharge, 9 sec 12.5% -res
Hard Hitter 2 - 70 DPA, 15s recharge, 12 sec 12.5% -res
Build Up - classic BU, 90 sec recharge, 10 sec 20% +hit , 10 sec 100% +dam
Utility - not sure here
AoE 1 - 8' radius, 360*, 25 DPA, 15 sec recharge, 6 sec 12.5% -res
AoE 2 - 12' radius, 90* cone, 30 DPA, 12 sec recharge, 6 sec 12.5% -res
Confront - classic Confront

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For your utility power, maybe a toggle that debuffs damage resistance point-blank like Disruption Field? I think that would be a nice offensive power to add.

Salt Crystals

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I'm trying to find some help with my mind control / sonic build.

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I don't have a mind/sonic, but I'm sure if you post your build, the forum veterans here can tell you if there's anything big that's wrong with it

fire/storm is supposed to be a very powerful combo, but blooms late. fire/kin will bloom late as well.

I have a fire/rad and radiation gets quite a few good powers early.

That being said, if fire/storm fits your concept I'm sure it's worth sticking it out. Maybe someone who has a fire/storm could give you more specific advice. After stamina and SOs, I would expect it to get a lot easier.

Those powers look ok. I personally, again, don't like taking or using Hot Feet before stamina, but everyone will be different. Some of those slots would really help out Flashfire.
Edit: Flashfire and AS could both use slots and especially accuracy, which would help quite a bit.

Other than that, you need to start taking pre-reqs for stamina asap. With that build it'll be 22 before you get stamina.

This is all just my opinion, but I do it this way and the ride to 22 isn't all that bad...

It will help to take Air Superiority and/or Jump Kick from the flight and leaping pools for extra damage. Slot Ring of Fire, Char, and the pool attacks for accuracy, end reduction and damage. Open with Ring of Fire and/or Char to set up containment, which will increase the damage you will get from the other attacks.

This will help you chew through targets a bit better until you get to stamina. At that point (level 22-24 usually), it's worth doing the respec trial or burning a respec and dropping some of those powers to take Hot Feet and Fire Cages so you can do more AoE damage.

Those powers will drain you of endurance very fast before stamina, so I usually put them off until after that point (Hot Feet especially).

Hope that helps

Ok, at this point you might want to start "frankenslotting" your powers with differet set IOs to maximize different aspects of these powers. I don't have access to Mid's right now, but this slotting should give you a rough idea of which powers need slots and what aspects to enhance.

I would personally take the powers in a different order, but that should not affect you unless you plan to exemplar down.

+---------------------------------------------
+ Built with SuckerPunch's Online Planner
+ http://www.cohplanner.com
+---------------------------------------------
Name: N/A
Level: 50
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Gravity Control
Secondary: Empathy
+---------------------------------------------
01 => Healing Aura ==> Heal(1),Heal(5),EndCost(13),Rech(17),Heal(46)
01 => Crush ==> Acc(1),Acc(3),Dam(11),Dam(15),Dam(43)
02 => Gravity Distortion ==> Acc(2),Acc(3),Rech(11),Rech(15),Hold(43),Hold(50)
04 => Heal Other ==> Heal(4),Heal(5),EndCost(13),Rech(17),Heal(19)
06 => Hasten ==> Rech(6),Rech(7),Rech(7)
08 => Crushing Field ==> Acc(8),Acc(9),EndCost(9),Immob(19),Immob(50)
10 => Hover ==> DefBuff(10)
12 => Swift ==> RunSpd(12)
14 => Fly ==> Flight(14)
16 => Clear Mind ==> Range(16)
18 => Health ==> Heal(18)
20 => Stamina ==> EndMod(20),EndMod(21),EndMod(21)
22 => Fortitude ==> Rech(22),Rech(23),Rech(23),DefBuff(40),DefBuff(46) ,DefBuff(46)
24 => Gravity Distortion Field ==> Acc(24),Acc(25),Rech(25),Rech(31),Hold(31),Hold(34 )
26 => Wormhole ==> Acc(26),Acc(27),Range(27),Rech(31),Rech(34),DisDur (37)
28 => Recovery Aura ==> Rech(28),Rech(29),Rech(29)
30 => Resurrect ==> EndCost(30)
32 => Singularity ==> Acc(32),Acc(33),Dam(33),Dam(33),Dam(34)
35 => Regeneration Aura ==> Rech(35),Rech(36),Rech(36),Heal(36),Heal(37),Heal( 37)
38 => Adrenalin Boost ==> Rech(38),Rech(39),Rech(39),EndMod(39),Heal(40),Hea l(40)
41 => Fire Ball ==> Acc(41),Acc(42),Dam(42),Dam(42),Dam(43)
44 => Fire Shield ==> EndCost(44),DamRes(45),DamRes(45),DamRes(45)
47 => Consume ==> Acc(47),Acc(48),Rech(48),Rech(48),EndMod(50)
49 => Recall Friend ==> EndCost(49)

You can check the numbers in Mid's to give you an idea of which sets give good bonuses. I would go for +recharge as much as possible for the empathy buffs.

I hope this helps some

Edit: Also, I just threw in Recall Friend for the last pick there since I wasn't sure what you wanted for sure. You could replace that with anything, but I generally use that pick on a power that doesn't need to be heavily slotted.

I'll be honest..I had a Grav/Emp and rerolled him with a different secondary at about level 14, so I am not as familiar with that combination.

Even though your build will be older, if you could post some information on which powers you like and use, I wouldn't mind putting them into a build w/ suggested common SO/IO slotting.

I have played several Empathy toons, but my Gravity troller has Trick Arrow as his secondary. Grav/Emp and Grav/TA will play quite differently.

I know some of the powers I use you might not like, and I may have skipped some of the powers you use (I don't like propel or lift for example).

With that information, any suggestions or build advice will benefit you more

I would like to see Oil Slick Arrow in action...since my highest TA is only 26 right now.

Other than that I'm not picky...I'll watch it

I haven't played that combination myself, but I remember reading through a very interesting thread recently that showed exactly what that combination can be capable of.

I would recommend slotting hotfeet with accuracy.

With SOs I normally have 2 in there for about 60 some percent. Since Hotfeet will do the majority of your total damage, you want to be sure it hits all the time and on baddies that are higher level than you.

So, the HO would be much better if you can afford it.

Edit: I don't have Mid's in front of me though, so I'm not sure how much global accuracy you have in the latest build.

Plant/Storm FTW!

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I rolled a Bots/Traps to take blueside and I'm thinking about doing a Mercs/Pain maybe.

or two floors... depending on which Sonic/ and which /Rad the OP is referring to

I would build either of these different as well, but I know what each of the powers do already

I was assuming the OP would want to try out most of the commonly considered "better" powers and go from there.