Ok, after taking my Plant/Thorn Dom Thenos all the way to 41, I decided to try to write a guide. I dont have a build posted, because I dont think what I have will always work for other people. Plus, im at work so I cant see what I have slotted.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME - One thing I see wrong with guides is that people read them, then base their powers (often word for word) around what other people say. The main problem with this is that there are different strokes for different folks. What matches up well with one persons play style may not match with another. So before you read my guide, please know this. My basic role on a team (which I almost do exclusively) is to do four things, in this order. (this works for pve and pvp)
1. Try to defer agro. Lots of people complain that brutes are not pulling their weight. I say that without the support of a team behind you, a brute doesnt have a chance of performing his/her job. Its up to us to help them with the alpha, regardless if youre afraid of it or not. Three powers really help with this; SOC, Creepers, and Vines. More on them later.
2. Tie people up. After the initial attack, a good plant dom wants to make the killing of the baddies as quick a process as possible. If they cant fight back, they are easier to kill. Usually, I use the power that I didnt use to defer agro. See more on this later.
3. Jump in and start melee [censored] kicking. You have an AWESOME scrapper-like secondary. USE IT! Ripper and Thorn barrage were meant to amaze brutes and look badass (ok, so maybe they wont amaze brutes with damage, but they do look awesome &#61514
4. Clean up stragglers. After you have killed your immediate targets, look around for either people struggling with baddies or baddies trying to run away. Tie them up, but I like to take it easy with the actual killing of them so I can let me bigger control powers recharge for the next group.
If this sounds like a good plan or this is how you currently play, read on brave soul. If this sounds like the worst idea ever, then you can eat it and stop reading right now, cause youre not going to like what I say.
And on to the goodies (sorry orphaned hope, I stole your format&#61516
PLANT CONTROL
Entangle
click, 7.8 end cost, 1.2 s cast, 4 s recharge
Effect: ranged single target foe, moderate dot (smash, lethal) SINGLE IMMOB
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, immob duration+
Comments:
Many people think it is a good idea to keep this power. I do not. Even when fully enhanced, the dot this puts out just doesnt justify keeping it around, especially when you have a tight build. While this may come in handy for step #4 and 2 in my plan to take over the world, strangler is so much better and with proper slotting it can recharge pretty fast. This is a good power, but skippable in the fact that you have so much potential for this slot later.
Strangler
click, 8.53 end cost, 2.07 s cast, 8s recharge
Effect: ranged single target foe, moderate dot (smash), SINGLE HOLD
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, hold duration+
Comments:
If you dont pick this power, do two things for me
1. find paper clip
2. insert paper clip into wall electricity socket.
This is the bread and butter of a dom, or one third of what some call the holy trinity of dom powers. Get it, love it, live it. Looks badass, too.
Roots
click, 13 end cost, 1.67 s cast, 8s recharge, 10 targets max effect
Effect: ranged AoE from target foe (sphere 30), minor dot (smash, lethal), AOE IMMOB
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, immob duration+
Comments:
Good, good, good. I dont care what other people say, I really like this power. Use it for both damage and immob properties. Perfect after throwing Seeds, or for holding people in place and adding a little more damage during a full on melee fight.
Note on roots recently I learned that when thrown after one of our Ice dom brothers uses his/her infamous ice patches that this will negate the knock down. Im not sure if this will also be the case with creepers, so until further research is conducted, buyer beware. AND PLEASE dont throw it after ice patch, thats like having Jessica alba move in next door and shes lonely and you go over there and tell her all about your wonderful girlfriend in the peace core. You had two great things, but one just ruined the other. BANG JESSICA and keep roots in your pocket.
Spore Burst
click, 13 end cost, 1.37 cast, 45s recharge, higher than standard base range, sphere aoe 25, 10 targets max effect
Effect: ranged AoE from target foe (sphere 25), no dmg, AOE SLEEP
Possible enh: acc+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, sleep +
Comments:
Umm
sleep powers are team unfriendly unless you have a crack unit of coked up mercenaries that are awesome beyond belief. This makes a good run away power, but so does caltrops. If you plan to solo, this is more money that Vince Vaugn in Swingers. However, in a team all it takes is for one fire corr to launch their fireball and game over.
Seeds of Confusion
Click, 15.6 end cost, 1.07 cast, 60s recharge, 10 targets max effect
Effect: ranged wide cone from you with target foe within cone area, no dmg, CONE CONFUSE
Possible enh: acc+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, confuse+
Comments:
winning the lottery and having your way with pre-psychotic breakdown Brittney Spears (Im a pig arent I) pales in comparison to the awesome power that is Seeds. Use it, love it, live it. If I met another plant dom who didnt take this power, I would announce on broadcast that he hates America and watch the angry tells pour in and giggle with glee. Dont make me do that. Use this with every fight. Its kinda sucks out of the box, but with proper slotting, you can make this baby shine.
Spirit Tree
Click summon, 13 end cost, 3.2s cast, 200s recharge
Effect: placed summon immobile, physical obstruction, PBAoE from summon increases ally regeneration rate
Possible enh: heal+, recharge+, end cost-, PBAoE / placement range+
Comments:
I like Spirit tree. It makes me happy in pants. Im a healer dom! (well, ok, not really, but its technically not a lie either) this power has many other uses other than just healing. Use it as a symbol of this is where we make our stand when fighting an Arch Hero or other boss. Use it to block doorways when making a retreat. Its great, and I love it. The heal rate is nothing to write home about, but every little bit helps.
Vines:
Click, 15.6 end cost, 3.1s cast, 240s recharge, sphere aoe 20, 10 targets max effect
Effect: ranged AoE from target foe (sphere 20), no dmg, AOE HOLD
Possible enh: acc+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, hold duration+
Comments:
This is the one power that I wish I had. I may respect out of caltrops to get this power. I used to have it, and I never appreciated it or had it slotted right. This is a great solution to steps 1 and 2 above. It has a horrendous recharge time, but since you only really use it once per fight, with hasten you should be gravy. Its got an awesome graphic, making it the perfect screenshot opp (imagine you there with your arms crossed while there are 7 baddies all tied up around you. Looks awesome.)
Carrion Creepers:
Click, 26 end cost, 1.17s cast, 360s recharge, location based area, will spread for duration
Effect: ranged location summon, foe speed-, foe jump-, fly-, foe knockback, minor lethal dmg, creepers will spread on mob death (particularly if foe immob on death)
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, knockback+, slow+, immob duration+
Comments:
another great power to complete mission # 1 from above. I get comments about this all the time. People love this stuff. Basically, a wave of creepy looking vines (not unlike the vines in the first respect trial) come out of the ground and attacks the enemy. Not only do they knock people down and draw agro, but they will follow you and spread to other areas after you move on! How awesome is that? As I stated before, im not sure as to the effects of roots on this power; if it negates knockdown or not, so someone in the know please let us humble folk know.
Fly Trap
Click summon, 26 end cost, 1.17s cast, 240s recharge
Effect: summon fly trap pet, summon casts ranged immob, ranged moderate lethal with dot with def- effect, moderate melee lethal bite. Summon resistant to smash
{check other types}
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, immob duration+, def debuff+
Comments:
Creepiest pet ever. However, hes a good dog and pleases his master. Fire will make this pet its [censored]. He spams immob (hey, another reason not to take yours!) and has a nasty bite. He also vomits thorns from range. Its a little hard to get him into melee unless you summon him right in there, but Im actually not sure where he is more effective. Either way, if youre stranded in the artic and you get hungry, you can cook him up and make a wonderful stir-fry. Mmmmmm.
Onto the secondary. Hey, what do you know, Thorns goes perfect with plant! How bout that!
THORNY ASSAULT
Thorny Darts
Click, 4.4 end cost, 1.33s cast, 3s recharge
Effect: ranged target foe single, minor dmg (dot toxic), foe DEF-
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, def debuff+
Comments:
If you dont like my play style from above, then you want this power. I still took it cause it is pretty good, but to sit back and throw this and impale all day is like wasting your newly won gambling money on boring things like school books or toilet paper. Booze and loose women, my man.
Skewer
Click, 8.5 end cost, 1.63s cast, 8s recharge
Effect: MELEE moderate dmg (lethal), dot (toxic), def-
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, def debuff+
Comments:
one of the 4 hits of doom in my melee chain of death. Its a nice filler power when in melee and it has the same def powers that all of thorns has. The more you hit them, the harder you hit them. Sounds like a party to me.
Fling Thorns:
Click, 13 end cost, 1.63s cast, 12s recharge, cone 30, 10 targets max effect
Effect: ranged cone foe targeted, moderate dmg (lethal), dot (toxic), def-
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, def debuff+
Comments:
I use this as an after-AOE-power. If I throw roots, SoC, or creepers, I throw this out after while im still in a ranged position. The cone is quite wide, and seeing all those orange numbers come up makes me feel frisky. Then its time to jump in and beat up some people.
Impale
Click, 6.9 end cost, 2.43s cast, 6s recharge
Effect: ranged single target foe, high dmg (lethal), dot (toxic), IMMOB, def-, speed-, fly-, jump-
Possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, def debuff+, slow+, immob+
Comments:
potential for immob (yet another reason not to
) slow, and knocks people out of the sky. If it wasnt for the long animation, this would be awesome. Your toon winds up like Nolan Ryan and beans the runner with this spike of evil justice. Right in the gut, thats gonna cause digestive problems. I mean look at those effects! Crap!
Aim:
Click, 5.2 end cost, 1.17s cast, 90s recharge
Effect: self +acc, +dmg
Possible enh: recharge+, end cost-, to hit buff+
Comments:
I use it almost every time its up. Why not? Do you know how much 10000000 yellow inspirations cost? Well I dont know either but Im sure its a lot. Not to mention all the blue ones as well. Im saving my infamy for the i13 release when lady liberty is forced to dance at pocket D due to low finances.
Thorn Burst:
Click, 15.19 end cost, 3s cast time, melee sphere 15, 15s recharge, 10 targets max effect
Effect: PBAoE melee 15, moderate dmg (lethal), dot (toxic), def-
Comments:
Boy, I love nothing more than jumping in into melee, where Im most vulnerable, and taking a crap. Just drop your britches and unleash a creeper of my own. Cause thats what it looks like youre doing when you fire off thorn burst. The animation of this power makes it rather cumbersome. You could use this power in step 3, but you have to make sure no agro is on you, but if you did job #1 and 2 right, the agro WILL be on you. A conundrum, you say? Quite right
Caltrops:
Click, 7.8 end cost, 1.63s cast, location placed AOE, 45s recharge
Effect: placed location aoe. Minor dot (lethal), foe speed-
Possible enh: recharge+, end cost-, range+, dmg+, slow+
Comments:
I got this power in place of vines, but now Im gonna get rid of it (Thanks, captain Mako! Now please dont eat me!). Its really good for bottlenecking people around corners and through doorways, but other than that people just run out if it and then they are spread out, making your AOE goodness not so good. In a dream world, I would expand this to like the size of tar patch, and then make thorn burst only have a .5 second animation and recharge, and I would be able to beat Jesus himself in pvp.
Ripper:
click, melee cone 5, 11 end cost, 2.17s cast, 11s recharge, 5 targets max effect
effect: melee cone 5, high dmg (lethal), dot (toxic), def-,knockdown effect, speed-
possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, knockdown+, def debuff+
comments:
De-li-ci-ous. The knockdown is great. If hes on his back, he cant hit you. Good damage, part 2 of the four hits of doom in the attack chain of death.
Thorn barrage
click, short ranged, 10.2 end cost, 2s cast, 11s recharge
effect: close ranged, high dmg (lethal), dot (toxic), def-
possible enh: acc+, dmg+, recharge+, end cost-, range+, knockback+
comments:
This power is like 99.9% awesome, except for that dam knockback. Not knockdown, thats good, but knockback is bad. Its annoying. Yes, it keeps them on their backs, meaning they cant hit you, but im lazy and its hard to move forward while one hand is activating powers and the other is eating cheetos. Sigh
.. still part 4 of the 4 hits of doom.
OTHER POWERS
Hasten yes, yes, yes, oh god yes. Makes the 4 hits of doom awesome. And quick. Forget the other super speed stuff unless you really like running around and tearing your hair out in Grandville where all the elevator doors are hot.
Super jump again, yes and with the addition of combat jumping, you are at least a little protected. Its fast too.
Flight the only exception to the Super Jump. With hover, more protection. This is a matter of taste and concept as to if you get this or SJ.
Swift/health/stamina Why get hurdle? You already have SJ! I 4 slotted stamina asap, its nice to worry about popping one less inspiration when youre fighting.
Sands of Mu I hate to say it, but this is an integral part of my attack chain. I use it all the time, as its #3 in the four hits of doom. Get this over ghost axe and day of the week.
A few notes on defense
Youll notice that with the exception of combat Jumping, I have no defensive powers of any kind. None. All you corrs with your fancy toggles can go straight to heck for all I care. Like I stated in the earlier steps to world domination (no pun intended), I am in the thick of it all the time. This means two things. First, I must use something we doms call active defense. Look at the aptly titled how to not suck as a dom guides to read more about this. Basically, one must be actively aware of and deal with each threat on the battle field. This means that if a carnie IM wants to paddle your naughty bottom, shes gonna unless she gets distracted by a teammate (unlikely) or your tell her its not nice to hit people
by tying her up and hitting her.
Best slogan for Dominators (feel free to put this in your battle cry window)
-The best defense is a great offence.
Second, you have to keep an eye on your health bar. Often things like bosses, game glitches, or just plain bad luck can cause dramatic drops in your well being. You then need to pop a green, continue to fight and earn a pair of brass balls, or jump/fly out and rest. You need to do it quickly. I die a lot. Im not gonna lie. But my xp is still about the same as anyone else because I facilitate the mass murder of bad guys (good guys?) very quickly. If you adopt my play style, you will die also. A lot. But what good is an emergency teleporter if you never use it? Its all worth it when you get a teammate to say something like this (and I quote)
Thenos is a brute in doms clothing.
Oh hell yea.
