RaikenX

I went less for "cosmic" concept and more "telekinetic"...but hey...that's just me. With how many of the grav powers worked combined with the kinetic aspect of energy (read: knock stuff on their butts)...worked out quite well.

I'm rather fond of my GE dom...even if i may have made an odd choice or 2.

When leveling...i skipped DS. Still don't have it after the change they made to it...even after i respecced. What i did get however is Spring Attack.

Solo...i tend to PB, WH into a corner/wall, AoE Immoby (which still needs some acc, apparently), Spring Attack, Whirling Hands, and commence beat-down.

WH on teams...yeah...that can get a little tricky sometimes...but i still use it pretty liberally. As per solo...I try to aim them into a wall and/or corner to minimize scatter. I also try to use it a bit proactively. If the mob we're currently fighting is starting to whittle its way down to their last legs...i start looking for more targets in range to WH to the team. Course...sometimes I don't wait even that long. If we've been pretty much steamrolling...I might WH something even sooner than that (WS's love me as I try to keep them consistantly supplied with MORE BODIES!)

Side Note: Outdoor maps can be fun, if you're near the edge of the map and can WH mobs into the blue field. ...Stuff tends to get a little stuck in those things and makes for hassle free butt-kicking.

Kinda like Tex said on the cages...probably not %100 needed...but damn useful when combined with stalagmites...for me anyway. I'm an Earth/Earth dom...so my typical pattern is Power Boost, Stalagmites, Stone Cages. With PB and a stun enhancement or 2, things tend to stay loopy for a while. Domination only adds to time spent loopy. I tend to use quicksand in tandem with earthquake.

But...that's just me...and i never claimed to be normal.

....This thread is still going? Good lord it's like a freakin cockroach that just won't DIE!

Maybe if I use Seeds of Confusion on it...it'll get baffled, wander out into the street and get run over by a semi...or a tank.


Heh

I picked up Fissure, along with Tremor on my earth/earth dom. Haven't regretted it either in the slightest.

Honestly...if i were going to slot the -kb proc into something...it'd be something that's AoE...like Explosive Blast (or whatever that power's called). I'm not really concerned with the ST kb attacks. In fact...some of them i'd PREFER to be kb instead of kd. It's the AoE stuff that gets a bit aggrivating to me (and most others, too).

Although I don't have this particular combination, I can tell you that it boils down to:

Plant is regarded one of the premier control sets in terms of the amount of control it can dish out as well as fairly respectable damage (as far as control sets go). Seeds of Confusion all on its own is a phenomenal (sp?) control that can pretty much turn most mobs into a group of worry-free bags of xp just waiting for the reaping. Good range, large cone, fast recharge, and long base duration. The only 2 downsides are Confuse resistant mobs, and aggro generation, which is something that i tend to warn people about. Usually the latter part of that doesn't crop up much...but when it does...it can be...painful.

Carrion Creepers adds some additional control in the form of immobilize, slow, and the occasional knockdown. It also add some damage as the creeper vines themselves will toss out attacks here and there. AND they can generate their own aggro and help keep some of that off of you. AND it has a fairly long duration and can propogate itself in the next mob or 2.

The pet is pretty standard fair. Decent damage (some of it AoE) and helps a little with control with its own immoby power.

Plant also has the standard ST and AoE Immobies and holds, all ranged, which is a plus, a ranged AoE sleep, though I'd wager that most that pick this up might use it for adds, and a static, placed +regen power. Personally I've never bothered with the sleep or spirit tree.

Then there's Fire...a set I don't really have too much experience with (unlike plant). Hands down one of the (if not flat out THE) highest damage secondaries you can get as a dommy. /Fiery Assault was almost like the devs went and said "Hmm...ok. Let's take a bunch of stuff that made some of the other fire powersets good and slam them all together into one set and call it gravy.", and for the most part they succeeded...with a few questionable choices (i'm looking at you, combustion. FSC, anyone?). On top of the already high damage ability...it's got Embrace of Fire...which bumps up fire damage even MORE for something like 30 seconds. AND it works with the Fire APP. Sadly it still works off of the old "Fiery Embrace" mechanic and not off of the new version (adds something like an additional 45% fire damage to all attacks). AND it comes with it's own end restoring power in Consume. Sure...it's not Energy Drain or Power Sink, and isn't up NEARLY as often...but in a perma-dom build...it would be nothing to alternate between Consume and popping Domination again to keep yourself going virtually forever. And that's assuming you'd actually NEED consume.

In summary...when you combine one of the best control primary sets with one of the best damage secondaries...you end up with a bunch of burning sacks of meat that are pratically worry free under the right circumstances (and with Plant...that's more often than not).

However...again..this is coming from someone that's never actually run that combo...though i can see the potential. I, like a poster up thread, just didn't click with /fire...not for my lack of trying. ....Then again...maybe it was. Only ever did get that fire/fire dommy up to like level 6 or 7. ....Course...that was back in the old days when popping Domination gave you boosted damage and the rest of the time it was kinda crappy. May have to give it another go.

While I don't particularly care about the whole "good" or "perfect"...or even the "highest dps" attack chains (uguuu)...

You mentioned a D/D 'troller. D/D doms seem to be just as bad. I think mine is one of the most hoppingest (new word for the day) dom I've ever had. Living Shadows(cone)>Fearsome Stare(cone)>Nightfall(cone)Engulfing Darkness(pbaoe)>maybe fire off an attack or 2>hop back Living Shadows>couple of ranged attacks>hop in Smite>OOPS fear wore off...etc. etc. etc.

With this toon i am constantly hopping in and out of the midsts of foes. If i wasn't gonna pick up combat jumping for proc mule, i would've picked it up just for the mobility just because i'm constantly on the move to kick off SOMETHING.

Earth control is indeed a solid set, however it is light on the damage scale as far as control sets go. A few of its powers are location aoe, meaning you have to place the power where you want it (these being Earthquake, Quicksand, and Volcanic Gasses).

One of the nice things about Earth is that you can just about have at least something ready for almost every spawn. Even though i tend to use many of my controls in pairs. Earthquake gets paired with Quicksand, Stalagmites gets paired with Stone Cages. I can usually alternate between these two combos from spawn to spawn. Animated Stone is a pretty decent pet with high durability and some pretty nice damage.

In the cases of adds...you've usually got options to fall back on. In my above example...if I used my stalagmites+stone cages...and we get adds...I can pop QS+EQ...and now they're slowed down, with -def, -tohit, and flopping like beached fish. All that and I STILL have Volcanic Gasses, which is a patch hold that lasts for a good long while and constantly tries to lock stuff down.

With QS, EQ, and VG...since they're location based...you can set these up around corners, and therefor pretty much eliminate alphas.

As far as /Ice goes...eh...it's not too bad, i suppose. Never really got an /icer up very high. Damage on it didn't feel too great to me...but has somewhat nice mitigation effects. Power Boost tho...is a freakin godsend! Bear in mind though that PB won't really do much for several of your powers...namely QS, EQ, and VG...as they spawn their effects as psuedo pets and don't inheret the buff. It is outstanding for stalags and stone cages, though! My earth dommy is earth/earth...so i have PB and pop it everytime i use that nice little pairing. Makes for the ultimate ghetto hold. Things are now stunned for a good while and can't move. Combine this with domination...and they're not gonna be doing anything for the rest of the week.

Slight bit of fair waning though. The immobilze powers and Fossilize have a -knockback that will interfere with earthquake (no more floppy fish)...and teaming up with other controllers/dommies will often make you want to headdesk everytime you toss EQ out there only for the other guy to immobilize everything and pretty much nullify your control.

My dark/dark dominator just hit 23 the other day, so i don't really have enough experience with it to make any real comments about it other than so far is seems to be doing pretty good. I didn't really like it all that much at first, though that might be partly because i'm using /dark assault, but its starting to grow in me.

Yes...only Blazing Aura is getting a treatment...however at least one power from every secondary is also getting tweaked...many with a +regen or +recov, or both. Cloaking Device from devices. Touch of Fear from dark. Conserve power from Energy. Thunder Clap from electricity. The only secondary blaster set that isn't getting anything new is Mental.

Snipes, as I understand it, will be getting the Assassin's Strike treatement by way of anytime you have 22%+ tohit bonus, the snipe attack will lose its interuptible phase and fire...or quick fire. No wind up, no fuss, no muss. See: using Assassin's Strike in mid combat.

Yes...Electric Blast will not be getting a true T3 blast. Neither will AR as that set doesn't have a true ST T3 blast either (burst and slug is all it's got). Yeah...does kinda suck as my first 50 was an Elec/Dev blaster.

Any and all "short range" blasts, such as Executioner's Shot, Bitter Ice Blast, Blaze, and the like are getting their range increased to 80'...the same as most T1&2 blasts.

Kinda excited now after reading this.

Means for me...that my Elec/Dev blaster may actually now get a quasi-t3 blast in the form of the snipe, plus those nifty little perks from Field Operative.

My DP/Elec blaster will no longer have to get in close to perform his ES anymore, and gets a nice little perk from that other Force of Thunder. (wait...i don't have lightning clap. CRAP! Now i gotta figure out how to squeeze it into my build!).

My AR/Energy blaster gonna get some nicey-nice. My Rad/Psi blaster...oh boy..."Ready photon torpedoes. ...Fire!"

All in all...sounds like a pretty good start in giving blasters the help they need, and ranged sets all around.

The marker would indicate the center of the DS'd zone. Honestly, My grav dommy skipped DS and i haven't missed it in the slightest. If there are a couple of mobs in fairly close proximity, i just wormhole the group i want to where ever i want'em...then go to town. As long as you plant whatever you're WH'ing far enough away, if you happen to catch part of the other mob group, or even just part of the group you were aiming at...your chances of aggroing the rest are minimal. IMO, WH has been turned into the ultimate pulling tool. Stack'em, rack'em, and smack'em.

Real fast before i run out the door for work...

What if they gave Defiance a +absorb mechanic. Maybe something like 10 AP (absorb points) per attack, that last either as long as that attack defiance buff is in place or until hit, whichever comes first. This applies to both primary and secondary powers (as per usual Defiance).

My only real issue (thus far) relates to that blasted diff slider.

When I started running FW content...was pretty easy going for a while, even with a strictly SO, Elec/Elec dominator. Then I got to point in the arcs where you start running into the possessed D.U.S.T. troops. OK...that's kinda interesting. Ran through a few of those mission.

Then I got started down little ms. Katie Whatserface's arc...ran into one of those possessed guys...smacked'im a good one...revealed the ghostie...then proceeded to get my **** handed to me. It wasn't until shortly before I tasted floor that I glanced up to my target window and saw "Boss".

Wait-what? How the-? I'm running on NO BOSSES! Why in the hell is there a BOSS! What the FRACK!?

....Hm...OK...fine. It's ok. I CAN deal with this. Hosp'd it...trucked my way back...picked another fight with him...and put him down...though it was a bit tough. Cool. That's done. Hopefully he was just some kinda special deal and that was a one-off. NNNNNNNNNNNOPE! Ran into that very same thing a few MORE times. Now I've simply accepted the fact that FW and NW content is just going to simply ignore my difficulty settings and surprise me every so often by tossing a random boss at me for no particular reason other than just to tick me off. And I wonder sometimes why a few of my friends finally got fed up with this game and left.

EBs...i don't mind them so much as long as i know to expect them. But...after hearing about the NW mission that spawns like 2 or 3 of them....yee. Not sure my dommy can handle that solo....who until running the Fireball missions vs. Animus Arcana, was running missions at +0/x2 (wormholing 3 people just feels like a waste to me...lol). Ugh...hate those blasted things. They're too perfectly matched. Damage, (de)buff, healing...good god. What happened to the days of "10 guys that all do pretty much the same thing except that one guy over there who does something slightly different that makes you wanna kill him first just to get his annoying *** out of the way and he's not even a boss" spawns!!!!!

Seriously...if I say i don't want to fight a boss (and usually don't cuz either A: I'd get creamed, or B: They just take to freakin long to kill), don't toss any freakin BOSSES AT ME! EB...yeah...fine. I can deal with that. "The Big Bad" and all that. Makes sense for story purposes. Random bosses for the sake of random bosses...not so much.