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Deacon made some good points, but the build still needs more work in my opinion.

I would move around a lot of those slots. The best powers in the cold set are the strong debuffs: Benumb, Sleet and Heat Loss. You haven't slotted any of them the way I would. The most skippable power is Frostwork. Benumb needs Accuracy and Recharge. Sleet needs Recharge -- it does very little damage, so enhancing the damage is mostly wasted; any extra slots should get the Achilles Heal proc first, and then maybe some damage procs. (The damage procs will do more overall damage than slotting the power for damage). Heat Loss gets the Efficacy Adapter set.

Snow Storm is a great power in the right situation. The -Recharge is an underrated effect -- on the ITF, slow is the best mez power. Slot it with 2 EndRdx and that's it.

Mind Control has a great single target attack chain from early in the build: Dominate-Mezmerize-Levitate. Levitate not only is part of the attack chain -- it is another form of Mez (knock-up) and your best source of damage, AND Smashing rather than Psi damage. In the late game, you run into a LOT of Robots and other Psi-Resistant foes. That smashing damage is important to be able to take down those foes, as Robots are weak to Smashing damage.

Terrify is a key power in Mind Control -- it is one of the few click-controls you have that can be made perma, and it is your only AoE damage power. Terrify deserves 5-6 slots.

And let me give you my standard run-down on the Lockdown proc: Dominate will hold Minions and Lieutenants on its own, with a 20% chance for "overpower" to add an extra 1 Mag that will hold a boss. The Lockdown proc, is therefore only providing a potential benefit to 80% of the Boss foes you hit with Dominate. That is a pretty smallish number. And it only works on 20% of them, or a total of 16% of the bosses. The number of Bosses you run into can vary with your settings and types of missions, but in general the number of bosses is a fairly small percentage of the total foes you attack. If you assume that Bosses are 20% of the total foes (which is high most of the time), that proc is really only having an effect 3.2% of the time. So, that proc is probably only doing anything whatsoever maybe 2-4% of the time. It looks like it is doing more than it really is, because you see the nice Tesla Cage animation on lots of foes who would have been held anyway. The bottom line is that it provides very little benefit for most powers. It is great in Choking Cloud and Volcanic Gasses due to the unique ways those powers work. But it is mostly wasted in standard hold powers. Now, if you slot for Damage . . . the foes hit by your hold will be affected 100% of the time. 100% vs. 2-4% . . . your choice.

Arctic Air is a huge endurance hog . . . and will be until you can slot it with SOs. That is probably why. But once you can slot it to ED capped EndRdx and Confuse, it is a great power.

I believe Teleport is suppressed in the Storm Palace to prevent people from being able to teleport in and out of it. That mechanic was put in place long before Shield Charge and Lightning Rod were added to the game. It really stinks if you rely upon teleport as your only travel power . . . and don't have invisibility.

The Devs either forgot the suppression or didn't think it had enough of an effect to mess with.

It is really too bad . . . the Shadow Shard as a whole is a great looking zone, but the zone in general and the TFs in particular could use a significant Revamp.

Every controller combo has conflicts with Storm powers. All four of the controller sets with -Knockback in the AoE Immob will prevent the knockback in Freezing Rain -- one of the main advantages of Grav/Storm and Elec/Storm is that the Immob powers do NOT have -knockback, which turns Freezing Rain into more of a control power. Gale, Hurricane, Tornado and Lightning Storm will knock foes out of "patch" (Location-targetted AoE) or "anchor" (foe-anchored AoE) controls. Freezing Rain disturbs Fear powers (Illusion and Mind) and Sleep Powers (Elec, Mind, and if you take them, Ice, Earth, Plant).

Part of the fun of Storm, and why it is a challenge to play well, is that so many of the powers have to be used strategically. It's not just, "mash buttons until everything is dead." On teams, you really have to limit the chaos by limiting the use of the knockback powers. On my Ill/Storm and Grav/Storm, I rarely use Tornado on teams.




Each set has its strengths and weaknesses.

• Plant is a bit of a one-trick pony . . . it relies heavily on the Seeds+Roots combo. Once you have thrown Seeds, your options for other AoE control are limited. Fortunately, Storm fills some of those holes -- probably better than any other secodnary. Snowstorm (with its -Recharge) +Roots is almost a kind of limited hold. The big advantage of Plant/Storm is good AoE damage with Roots, Creepers and Twoey, and the Storm end adds some more good damage in later levels.
  
• Earth has 3 wonderful ranged AoE control powers (and a mostly unneeded PB AoE sleep), two of which provide continual control for additonal foes -- but lacks damage. Those Patch controls work great with Freezing Rain. Stalagmite's stun stacks with Thunderclap. Earthquake's knockdown can be alternated with Freezing Rain, with Quicksand to prevent foes from running out of the patch. And Storm adds damage in the late levels.
• Ice also has some nice synergy with Storm, in that it can alternate Ice Slick and Freezing Rain for a knockdown patch, can stack Slow powers to make everything slow to a crawl, and Storm has that damage in late levels. Ice has something that others don't -- the ability to provide continual (toggle) control for crazy melee teammates who run from group to group. Just save Hurricane for "panic button" moments, and only use Frostbite (or Chilblain) when you need that -knockback for Tornado.
  
• Fire/Storm is one of the highest endurance-using characters around -- plan to get some IO help with Recovery early. The PB AoE aura provides less control than Ice's Arctic Air but more damage. Flashfire's stun can stack with Thunderclap. Storm's knockback powers can be frustrating, but overall it is a powerful combo. Endurance is the biggest limiting factor.
  
• Illusion/Storm is the king of chaos. Illusion mostly controls with distraction rather than control . . . It has very little to prevent foes from running away and no -knockback. But it is an amazingly fun combo with all of the pets, visuals and the chaos -- probably better solo or on small teams than large teams. There can be 5 mobile pets and 2 Immobile ones, and you can't control any of them once they have been cast. Still, Ill/Storm is one of the better Illusion combos.
  
• Grav/Storm has a few nice synergies. The AoE Immob does not have -Knockback, so Freezing Rain + Crushing Field provides some AoE control that Gravity needs in lower levels. Grav/Storm is probably the best character in the game for moving foes around. This combo can be very strategic . . . you can make a "corner of doom" by setting up Lightning Storm and Tornado and Singularity, then Wormhole foes into the corner and hit them with Crushing Field and Hurricane to hold them there, Thunderclap to extend the stun, Freezing Rain for debuff/Knockdown and then pummel them one by one with GD-Crush-Propel. Kind of unfair. This is one of the most fun solo controllers I have played . . . not fast, but fun.
  
• Mind/Storm is a combo of powerful powersets that together are . . . a combo of powerful powersets without much synergy. Just when other sets are getting an increase in damage due to their pets, the damage on Mind kind of flattens out . . . and Storm can add in some nice damage.
  
• I haven't played Elec/Storm (I have played all the others to some degree into the 30's or higher). I can see the conflict between Freezing Rain and Static Field being a problem, but it would have the nice benefit, like Grav, of an AoE Immob that allows knockdown with Freezing Rain. However, it has its own knockdown power. Storm would make up for the low damage, somewhat.

Arcanaville, like your original post, I would agree that my Illusion/Rad is my most versitile character. I have yet to run into a situation where the Illusion/Rad isn't able to handle what needs to be done. Because of Phantom Army, Ill/Rad can handle attacks that no other build can handle -- except Hami, and that was cheating by the Devs. None of my characters work so well solo or with ANY team, small, large teams that are damage-heavy, control-heavy or debuff-heavy. It is not just the individual powers . . . it is how they work together.

Furthermore, I look at not just a level 50, fully IO'ed out character, but at the experience of leveling up the character. Illusion/Radiation Controllers are amazingly versitile for the entire life of the character. The toggle debuffs mean that the debuff can be continually applied (until a teammate kills the anchor, which happens often). The most valueable powers in both the primary and secondary come earlier than most sets . . . By level 26, you can have most of the best stuff.

I'm up to 20-something level 50 characters, with the largest number being Controllers. Some of them become very powerful in upper levels, but aren't so strong in lower levels . . . such as */Kin and */Cold. Both are very powerful secondaries once you get the last power or two, but they are not as outstanding leveling to 38. Plus, both have been made somewhat less awesome by the Alpha slot . . . Endurance isn't nearly as significant an issue for many characters now that they can slot the Cardiac Alpha Boost. One of the best parts of both Kinetics and Cold are their ability to refill the blue bar for teammates -- still needed, but not as badly at it used to be.

There are some other issues with Illusion/Kinetics: No Resistance or Defense Debuffs to help Phantom Army hit harder or more often. The siphon buff powers force you near melee . . . where Phantasm will sometimes knock your target away. And it lacks a heal unless you are near a foe. Many aspects of Kinetics are so good that these problems are offset, but they are still there. Ill/Rad doesn't have some of the limitations that Ill/Kin does.

Trick Arrow is a fun set . . . but it has some subtantial limits. No healing or buffing, low ToHitDebuff and low -Regen are the biggest problems.

As for Ill/Cold, it is great for taking down tough foes. I consider it very close to my Ill/Rad, but the single-target debuffs, the ally-only shields, lack of a self-heal, lack of +Recharge reduce its overall versatility. The shields are wonderful on teammates who are not softcapped, but provide little benefit to already-maxed out characters. A fully IO'ed out Ill/Cold is very powerful, but leveling up this combo is not nearly as impressive before level 38. Not getting Sleet until 35 makes it tough.

Warshades are wonderful on teams where there are lots of foes and dead bodies around. They can Blast-scrap-tank, with a limited amount of controlling. Peacebringers can Blast-scrap-tank with a limited amount of healing, but are more self-sufficient and less team oriented -- Peacebringers and Warshades can do a lot of things, but don't bring as much versitility to a team as an Ill/Rad, which can Blast-control-defend-tank.

I would say that Mind is less versitile than Illusion. The lack of an invulnerable pet to draw aggro means that Mind has trouble dealing solo with really tough foes. Illusion get Phantom Army at 18 . . . with Deceive, it is able to take out foes, given enough time, in safety.

I have played a lot of characters, and have yet to find anything with the versatility of Illusion/Rad. Ill/Cold is close and is better at some things, but not quite as versitile. My Ill/Rad is easily the fastest at doing Tip Missions. He soloed through the Incarnate mission like it was nothing -- and deceiving Rikti Guardians to get stacked AM is pretty nice. In a recent All Controller STF, 3 Ill/Rads handled the tanking duties of all the AVs. He always contributes to every team. He can fill in holes in teams like no other character.

I don't have access to Mids at the moment, but I noticed a few things about that build . . . .

I'm not sure what your Global Accuracy is, but no Accuracy in Transference would worry me. I know you have several purple sets, but still, that power needs to hit. Same with Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift. I suppose your Global Acc with Tactics may be high enough, but I don't feel comfortable relying on that alone.

In Fire Cages, why not replace the Immobilze with the Chance for Hold proc? That proc is wonderful in Fire Cages! (I have it on both my Fire/Rads, too.)

Combat Jumping: The single Gift of the Anchients Defense is providing no more benefit than a common Defense. Similarly, the single Miracle Heal in Health has no benefit over a generic Heal IO.

I'd be concerned that Hot Feet doesn't have enough EndRdx.

Flashfire: I believe that the proc in the Absolute Amazement set is bugged and does nothing whatsoever.

Cinders: Why not put the Unbreakable Chance for Damage here?

Tactics: I'm not sure the Chance for Build Up is worthwhile in Tactics. It has a low chance to go off (5%) every 10 seconds . . . at which time you probably will not be in combat. That's once every 200 seconds. More EndRdx even from the triple might provide more benefit.

On the other hand, the SoulBound Chance for Build Up in Fire Imps has a chance to hit with every attack by the Imps . . . and with three of them, the proc hits quite often.

On all my */Stormies, I take Steamy Mist. On almost all my */Stormies, I take Super Speed, too. The stealth in Super Speed stacks with the stealth in Steamy Mist to give you full invisibility. However, you can accomplish much the same thing with a Stealth IO in Fly or Sprint. I like Super Speed also for "herdicaning" and for quick battlefield movement -- run in, cast Lightning Storm, run out.

Strangler: See if you can fit two more slots here to add some extra Acc and a lot of Damage. At 50, you can use an Acc/Dam Hami-O plus a common Damage.

Roots: I think slotting this power for Damage will do more than the procs. I would slot 5 Posi-Blast and that Chance for Hold proc.

Snow Storm: I find 2 EndRdx is good slotting.

Stealth: Drop it for Steamy Mist. You can slot Steamy for BOTH Defense and Resistance, so it takes two types of -knockback IOs. I used to think slotting for Resistance is better, but now I would go for Defense.

Fly: Fly is now at Flightspeed cap with NO Flightspeed enhancement. So put an EndRdx (and/or Stealth) in it. The Flightspeed is wasted.

Freezing Rain: As Draggyn said, priority 1 is Recharge. Then the Achilles proc and other procs if you have room.

Vines can take 4 Baz Gaze and an extra Acc/Hold/Rech to round it out.

Hurricane: You want to slot this for ToHit Debuff. 4 Dark Watcher.

Carrion Creepers: Replace the Posi and Trap of the Hunter procs with Acc/Dam Hami-Os. They will do a LOT more damage.

Fly Trap: If you want more Recharge, you can go with 4 Expediant Reinforcement and an extra Acc/Dam (Hami-O or Blood Mandate will work.)

Tornado also takes Recharge Pet sets if you want more Recharge.

I would take Fissure over Hurl Boulder any day.

If you go for full invisibility, you could take Recall Friend in the empty slot.

Welcome Back! We're always happy to see old friends back!

I don't currently have access to Mids, so I can't check your numbers.

Superior Invis is an Endurance Hog, so unless you are not going to use it, it needs to be slotted for EndRdx. And I have an easy solution -- move 5 slots from Ling Rad (where you are getting 3.something% Recharge) and slot 5 Red Fortune in Superior Invis for 5% Recharge. Together with the LotG Recharge, that's 12.5% recharge in that power.

Ling Rad works fine with a single Accuracy as long as you have some global accuracy and plenty of global recharge. Plus, the Spiritual tree has Slow, so you don't need to enhance the Slow.

I would get another slot into Blind, for an Acc/Dam Hami-O. Blind is used so often that the damage adds up. You could take one from Spectral Terror or the Travel from Recall Friend (but lose a little ranged defense). I would also put another slot for EndMod in Stamina -- you may have endurance issues.

In Scorpion Shield, you could trade the second -Knockback for a Luck of the Gambler Defense. That second -Knockback has only a few times when it really helps. If you replace the Acc/Dam/Rech in Phantom Army with a pure Dam/Rech, you'll cap Damage and Rech.

Do you want Blood Mandate in the Tarantula? Don't you want Recharge? I don't know since I have never had it.

Taking a quick look, I see you took Roots at 22. This is an essential power that should be taken at level 2, or at most no later than 6. Seeds+Roots is the core of a Plant Controller -- Seeds for confusion control, and Roots to lock them in place and do damage over time until dead. If you are looking for a Recharge build, slot Roots with 5 Posi Blast and a Recharge. You want to be able to throw out Roots as often as possible to stack that damage.

Entangle and Spore are low priority powers that are both skippable. Entangle is nice to use for a little bit extra single target damage if you solo, but is mostly useless on teams. Spore Burst is mostly useless on teams. The main benefit of Spore Burst is to control additional foes coming in after you have already throw Seeds . . . but your teammates and Roots will wake them up. Another benefit is that Spore Burst can take the cheapest of the purple sets, the Fortunata Hypnosis. But I would skip these or at least move both of those powers to later in the build.

If you are looking to get Recharge, slot 4 Basilisk's Gaze in Strangler and Vines. Add a Hami-O Acc/Dam and a common Damage in Strangler, and then an Acc/Hold/Rech in Vines (only 5 slots). Those Baz Gaze are expensive, so you may need to earn them with A-Merits if you are on a tight budget.

The slotting you had in Roots should be mostly put in Creepers: 2 Acc/Dam Hami-Os, 2 Rech, 1 Dam/Mez and maybe the damage proc from the Slow set (I forget what it is).

Want more recharge? For Fly Trap, use 4 Expediant Reinforcement, and add an Acc/Dam Hami-O, or the two triples from Call to Arms, or a few other choices.

I'm move Hasten much, much earlier. You need it for your controls as well as your Emp powers. I would take it before level 20.

Take Indomidible Will at 41 and 3-slot it for Recharge -- it is the main reason to go with the Psi APP. It won't be up all the time, but you want it up as much as possible. Skip World of Confusion . . . it stinks -- the radius is too small to be any benefit. Psi Tornado is pretty good for some AoE damage.

In addition to what mousedroid said, the fact is that when these TF of the Week things happen, there will be lots and lots of people wanting to do the TF . . . for double merits if nothing else. That's a pretty significant reward.

I feel your complaint is unmerited. Nobody is "forced" to do anything . . . If you choose to run the WSF, you get the bonus reward. Who says that every level 50 character has to get every reward NAOW!!!!!?

If you want to run a "speed" run, then join a "speed" team. If you want to run for the XP, then run a "slow" team where you kill most or all of the foes. I have seen plenty of both for the TF runs so far. There is no shortage of teams and you can pick and choose which type you want to run. I have not seen ANY conflicts between players of the type you describe because there are plenty of teams doing both types of runs.

I, for one, am looking forward to running a wider variety of TFs under the WSF banner. There is a limited number of level 50 TFs, and running them over and over and over and over again gets boring. (Just last weekend I ran a Synapse TF -- I had the badge for it on that level 50 character, but it was a nice change of pace and the 50 merits were nice. I'm looking forward to getting 98 merits instead!) I'm looking forward to being able to pull out a few of my lower level characters to get some XP, since the WSF makes it so easy to find a team.

And by the way, not everyone subscribes to the same definition of "fun." Some of us enjoy those other TFs. Even during the last few weeks of WSFs, I have frequently seen requests in global channels to run Manticore and Citadel, Sister and Numina, and even Positron on Blue side, and several various SFs on Red side. (I mainly hang out Blue side.) I almost felt "pressured" to keep running the WSF because of the bonus rewards, even though the others look like fun, too.

Frankly, any of the TFs or SFs are fun with a decent team. I have even had fun running Quarterfield with the right team. They are especially enjoyable when I'm teamed with my usual group of 3-5 buddies and then we add in a few others that we have teamed with on a regular basis.