Local_Man

After almost a year, the Lady Grey TF finally makes a re-appearance on the WST list in August! (I happen to like that TF, and it is hard to get a team to do it.)

If you can, try proc'ing out Freezing Rain. I have mine in several Stormies (and Sleet in my Ill/Cold) with Achilles -Resist, Posi Blast, Lady Gray, Impeded Swiftness and 2 Rech. The damage really adds up.

By going with the Patron side, you will give up access to the fast recharging single target blasts in Fire, Ice, Primal and Psi. The PPPs have single target blasts, but they are on a longer recharge.

I haven't tested it, but I think my attack chain of Blind-Spectral Wounds-Fire Blast-Spectral Wounds does more damage than a PPP pet and the slower single-target blast from the PPP sets.

I have a lengthy discussion in my Ill/Rad guide about how that attack chain will also help you take advantage of the Spectral Damage. By taking out the lower level foes first (minions and lieutenants), you will get to keep more of that Spectral Damage before the heal-back. A slower attack chain may result in more heal-back, and you can't direct pets on which foes to target.

Another nice advantage of Snow Storm is the -Recharge. Stacking -Recharge with -ToHit means that they shoot at you less often and they usually miss when they do. Stacking those kinds of effects can be very powerful. */Storm alone can combine Snow Storm with the -ToHit in Hurricane, but Dark/Storm can also make a group far less effective by combining the -ToHit from various powers with Snow Storm. Then immobilize them with Living Shadows. It all works together as a kind of back-up AoE control.

This is very similar to my strategy with Earth/Rad . . . Stone Cages-RI (for ToHit Debuff)-Lingering Rad (for -Recharge).

I opened up my slot last night, but haven't slotted anything yet. I am also planning on going with Assault Radial. I suspect that it will not affect pets or it probably would have said so. (Note that Support specifically has a branch where it states that it affects pets.)

I did consider Control mostly because Ill/Rad lacks an Immob and a Stun, and it would add those control effects into the powers. So many people complain that Illusion lacks options for Containment, and it would add some new Containment. But overall, I think the added damage will provide more benefit. (I can see Control being very good for a team-oriented Mind Controller. Unfortuately, I doubt that I will ever take my level 50 Mind/Storm through enough of the Incarnate content to get the Hybrid slot.)

Melee clearly does not fit. Support looks interesting for a team-oriented character . . . Imagine a team of Fire/Rads, all with Support Core Embodiment . . . that would be sick. (If anyone wants to try it, I have Level 50 Fire/Rads on both Guardian and Pinnacle . . . but it will take me a while to get one of them up to Hybrid slot.)

I could see a SHIELD movie focusing on Black Widow and Hawkeye, but with cameos from one or more of the other Avengers. None of the other women mentioned have enough recognition to carry a movie. There might be a Hulk movie that includes the creation of She-Hulk, but unless something special happens, she still isn't big enough (public-wise) to carry her how movie.

While Charlize Theron would do a great job, another great actress for Ms. Marvel would be Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah from "Chuck"). Yvonne has great comedy experience, is good with dramatic scenes and can clearly handle the action.

I have seen posts of quite a few people who have tried to make a proc-filled "purse" out of the Gale "sow's ear." Most of the folks have reported back saying that it wasn't worth the effort. Gale is, by its nature, a situational power that is intended to scatter foes. Yes, you can use it against a wall or into a corner without scattering foes . . . but that's what makes it situational. Yes, I tried it -- the low accuracy requires slotting up for Accuracy in addition to the procs, and it still seems to miss a lot.

Certainly no problem with trying it out, and it will probably seem pretty cool at first. But as you use a proced-out Gale over time, you will probably find it less useful than you think.

I know a little bit about Ill/Rad. My experience with Dark has been with a Dark/Dark and a Dark/Storm (and a baby Dark/Dark Dom). It is difficult to compare the sets because the overall focus of the sets are different. Illusion is all about Distraction and then Damage. Understanding how to take advantage of the Illusory Damage is important to increase Illusion's overall damage. Dark Control is Decent Control and Debuffing ToHit. Most powers have a -ToHit component. Dark Control is moderate damage for a control set, but that damage can be increased by using lots of procs.

As much as possible, here's a comparison:

Shadowy Binds v. Spectral Wounds -- Same base damage. Spectral Wounds gets an extra 20 points of Illusory Damage that heals back after 10 seconds vs. single target Immob. Negative Damage v. Psi Damage. That Illusory Damage makes a huge difference, so SW wins.

Blind vs. Dark Grasp -- two single target holds with same damage. Blind gets slightly shorter duration hold but gets a small AoE Sleep. Maybe a slight edge to Blind or equal.

Deceive vs. Possess -- Deceive has a slightly shorter cast time and is available 2 levels sooner. Possess has a better visual appeal, but that does not affect performance. Pretty much equal, or Deceive has a very small edge.

Flash vs. (Heart of Darkness or Shadow Field?) -- HoD is a PB AoE Stun that recharges fast, while Shadow Field is a ranged Hold Patch. It is hard to say which one is better to compare to Flash, a PB AoE Hold. Either Dark power is superior to Illusion's Flash.

Fearsome Stare vs. Spectral Terror -- This is a hard comparison. FS and Spooky both have -15% ToHit Debuff. FS has a 30 sec duration cone fear and a 40 sec Recharge (easily Perma) while Spooky is a 45 second duration pet with a 45 second Recharge, so it is perma out of the box. Both are great powers and it is hard to say which is better. FS is a one-shot cone while Spooky is a persistant immobile pet. I'd probably lean a little more towards Fearsome Stare, since it is a "use every group" power. Spooky isn't really needed as much if PA have the aggro.

Phantom Army vs. Haunt -- PA are 3 invulnerable but unbuffable pets with both ranged and melee attacks and a taunt aura. Haunt is two buffable pets but can be killed pretty easily and have melee attacks. PA Recharge is 240 second base, while Haunt is a base Recharge of 210 seconds. I think PA wins easily here. PA is by far the most important power in Illusion and Perma-PA is what makes an Illusion Controller so "beastly."

Phantasm v. Umbra Beast -- Phanty is an Energy Blaster who casts a decoy. What's Umbra's nickname? I kind of liked "Spooky Doo" but that's too close to Illusion's "Spooky." Some folks call him "Barky" for obvious reasons. Barky is annoying, but Phanty has knockback (which can be annoying but can also provide some protection). Phanty's Decoy can make a huge difference, especially before PA are perma. I think it is a matter of opinion, but I think Phanty is more effective. I find that Phanty survives longer and does good damage. And he's less annoying.

Other powers: Two forms of Invisibility vs. a Cone Immob and a second control power (HoD or Shadow Field). Invisibility for an Illusion Controller is a key part of the controllers survivability since PA's taunt aura draws the aggro. Also, single target attacks means that an Illusion Controller isn't drawing a bunch of aggro to himself beyond his ability to control. Invisibility is nce, but Dark's additional controls gives it a huge improvement for AoE control. A Dark Controller can get Invisibility with Super Speed and a Stealth IO. Shadow Field is a really interesting hold power in that it is a persistant patch. The Cone Immob, Living Shadows, can be slotted up with damage procs to help a Dark Controller's AoE Damage, which is something that Illusion badly lacks. So Dark Control has two extra AoE control powers over Illusion, and both set Containment.

Synergy with Rad: Rad is one of the best secondaries and works well with all primaries. Both Illusion and Dark can be played at range except for one PB AoE control power, and Rad works well from ranged except for one PB AoE control power. Rad's debuffs make PA much better. But AM won't affect PA while it will buff Haunt -- as long as you are close enough. Neither powerset has anything that will make Choking Cloud useful. (Fire. Ice and Electric all have PB AoE toggles that work well with Choking Cloud.)

One very small benefit Illusion has with Rad -- both Flash and EM Pulse are PB AoE holds, so they can be stacked together to hold bosses in a large group. Illusion also makes better use of the Slow in Ling Rad, as Dark's cone Immob makes a Slow power not all that beneficial.

Overall: Illusion is a great set for solo and small team. It can still contribute to large teams, too, but mostly be adding damage and an Alpha-strike sponge. It does good single target damage, but is weak on AoE control and damage. Illusion is mostly Psi damage, which is great for most of the game but difficult against Robot types. A high recharge build with Perma-PA is amazingly effective at providing distraction for groups of foes. The pets and single-target nature of the attacks keeps an invisible Illusion Controller safe without needing Defense.

Illusion gets more of a benefit from Deceive than Dark does from Possess. Because Illusion is more single target focused, Deceive will get rid of aggro from an occasional foe who aggros on the controller. Dark has a lot of AoE, so a single target Confuse has less benefit. Illusion can also take down single foes faster, thereby getting more of the XP that might be absorbed by the confused foe.

Dark, on the other hand, does very good AoE control, with a touch of ToHit Debuffing. It has medium to weak damage and its pets are mostly melee who can be killed. It is mostly Negative and Smashing damage, which is also resisted by some foes. The AoE nature will tend to draw more aggro, so a Dark/Rad may need Defense more than an Ill/Rad. With proper slotting, Dark/Rad can contribute some AoE damage, but isn't as strong on single target damage.

Ill/Rad is probably better in a wide range of situations including solo and small teams, but Dark/Rad is probably better for a larger team that needs control over damage.