Local_Man

Yeah, I made one and then deleted it . . . even I have minimal standards of tastelessness.

A class action could not get the game back, but it might get refunds for everyone with subscription time past the shut-down date. However, I really need to review the EULA to see if it has any provisions about overpayment or refunds. (Yes, I am a lawyer.)

I still like Grav/Storm. Especially for solo, there is a ton of synergy. Here are a few reasons why:

Grav is a single-target damage set with weak AoE control. In low levels, I found the lack of any AoE control other than the AoE Immob to be frustrating. But since Crushing Field does not have knockback/knockdown protection, it combines with Freezing Rain to make an Immobile knockdown field. I found that helped get me through the low levels.

Wormhole lets you set up a "corner of doom." Set up Lightning Storm, Tornado, Singy in a corner, then Wormhole in a group and hit them with Freezing Rain, Crushing Field and hold them in the corner with Hurricane. it is not fast, but it is really fun. The combination of damage from three damage pets is pretty awesome. And because Gravity is a ranged single-target set, it is not a problem when Tornado throws things around. Of course, the Overwhelming Force KB-to-KD proc reduces that knock-around.

Plus, you can stack stuns with Wormhole and Thunderclap.

Combine Steamy Mist with Super Speed (or a Stealth IO, but I like Super Speed for the maneuverability) for full invisibility. This lets you lead Singy into a group to draw all of the aggro, then you can back off, protect yourself with Hurricane while you pummel foes one-by-one with GD-Lift-Propel. Singy makes a great tank, almost as good as Phantom Army, especially if you slot both pet Resist procs. I find that this is a key strategy for me . . . let Singy tank while I debuff and pound away on foes.

I found Hurricane to be amazingly useful on my Grav/Storm . . . much more than on any of my other Storm characters (and I have a lot of them). When I aggro a group, I can duck around a corner with Hurricane on. I'll pick out one foe to clobber (at range) with GD-Lift-Propel while Hurricane keeps the others from bothering me with its huge ToHit Debuff and repel. As long as they can't stay far back at range and take pot-shots at me, Hurricane keeps me mostly safe while I take 'em down.

A fun mini-game is playing minion ping-pong with Singy's Repel and your Hurricane.

Other combos you might look at is Grav/TA or Grav/Time, but I really enjoyed my Grav/Storm who played mostly solo.

Aw, shucks. <scuffs foot> thanks . . .

The truth is: I have been professionally trained as a lawyer. Why use 10 words when 1000 will do the same job?

It was, "oops, I clicked the wrong icon." I have the pure EndMod in there.

If you are standing around letting the pets and toggles do everything, then you aren't using the build to its best. Strategically using the single target damage with an attack chain will let an Ill/Rad be far more effective. I am very active when playing my Ill/Rad, taking out minions and Lts, choosing my next anchor in case my current one gets killed, moving to try to direct Phanty. If everything else is handled, applying the attack chain to the remaining tough targets will add to the damage and get you on to the next group.

There's certainly nothing wrong with preferring Ill/Cold, but I don't see why playing an Ill/Rad would be boring.

Would you mind if I made a few comments on your build?

The biggest problem I see is the lack of Blind. Blind is essential to set up Containment for Spectral Wounds. I don't care how well you slot Spectral Wounds, you will get a lot more damage if you double that damage with Blind first. Plus the single target hold is an essential power. Plus, you can add some damage to it as well. My usual recommended slotting is 4 Baz Gaze, an Acc/Dam Hami-O and a common Damage. You can get more damage on average with some procs, but that damage is inconsistant. I would rather have the consistant damage.

You also miss out on a lot of damage because you can't take advantage of Spectral Damage. I explain in my Ill/Rad guide how important it is to have a fast attack chain so that you can kill off lower level foes quickly before the heal-back. You really need an attack chain of Blind-SW-Blast-SW. You have skipped the APP blast needed for this. This blast is far, far more important than a situational power like Fallout.

You have a damage proc in Deceive. One of the best aspects of Deceive is that it does not draw aggro. No aggro allows you to stack it on a boss (or even an AV) or re-cast in case it misses. Putting a damage proc in the power will have a chance to draw aggro if the foe is not confused on the first shot. Deceive is one of the best ways to avoid having problems with bosses when solo or to take out a problem foe who has debuffs or mez, and the damage proc can ruin that.

I see some significant endurance issues if you actually run all or most of your toggles. I explain in my Ill/Rad guide why I don't like Choking Cloud for an Ill/Rad . . . but if you are going to take it, you need more Endurance Reduction. (I would drop Choking Cloud and use those slots for Blind, taken at level 1 or 2.)

The other points are more personal preferance, but I think I have some pretty good reasons for my preferences.

I'm not a fan of running Maneuvers unless you have a bunch of Defense, but that's OK if that's what you want to do. I just don't think it is really needed if you have Perma-PA. It may provide some small benefit for the team, but the power doesn't provide hardly any benefit for you.

I have no idea why you have a Stealth IO in Sprint when you have both SI and GI.

Ling Rad needs an Accuracy and that's all once you have a perma-PA build. You don't need 2 Recharge. It needs that Acc because it needs to HIT on AVs for the -Regen.

Combat Jumping only uses .07 endurance. It is a waste of a slot to add EndRdx to it. Also, rather than spending a slot in CJ for a Karma -Knockback, why not put a Zephyr -Knockback in Recall Friend, where the Recharge has very little benefit? That would save you two slots.

I'm not a fan of the Psi pool for Illusion because it is the same damage type. Foes who are Psi resistant will be hard for you to defeat. I understand wanting mez protection, but if PA are drawing the aggro, you shouldn't get hit with Mez very often. (However, if you are running Choking Cloud, I can see why you would need Indomidible Will more since you draw more aggro.) I like the Fire pool because Fire Blast and Fireball do more damage quickly -- up front damage helps you kill faster and take advantage of spectral damage. If you want a place for a LotG Recharge, then you can go with the Ice pool -- Ice Blast, Frost Breath (or Ice Storm, but I like Frost Breath better), Ice Armor and Hibernate. Both Fire and Ice are rarely resisted so they will help you defeat foes better. My Ill/Rad guide discusses this in more detail.

I clearly remember staying up late to see the historic moment on TV and feeling that all of mankind had a reason for pride and wonder. One thing that I have always admired about Neil Armstrong is how humble he was. He could have been a "big time celebrity," but instead he rarely made public appearances.

He did, however, make his criticism of the lack of a manned space program public.