Riverdusk

[ QUOTE ]
The Sonic debuff ring only really works out for some of Controller primaries. Mainly Ice, Earth, Fire, and Plant. It's ok on Illusion but the pet is often reluctant to enter melee. The Gravity pet has a knockback aura.



[/ QUOTE ]

FYI, you can use it on phantom army too and they tend to like melee.

A lot of truth from other posters in this thread. But, umm, of course your damage stinks. You've underslotted your blasts (looks like 3 slotted ice bolt and 5 slotted ice blast if I'm reading your build right?). And not even taking bitter ice blast until 38? Which means you don't have it yet.

Not that you won't still be able to come back and post a nice rant about subpar damage once you do fix your build (to you know, actually do damage), but at least then you'll have a bit more backing for your position.

Was just wondering about this as I was thinking of working on mine, but I heard someone else mention this untargetable bug in help channel the other day. I'm not high enough on one to test this power though.

Then I look in the character creator detailed info about the power under ignited oil slick and see its damage per cast cycle listed as "1.#J" Was it always funky like that there too?

This power constantly going buggy doesn't help TA's reputation.

I like storm with gravity the best. Having storm as a secondary made me actually feel like a "real" controller. Most other secondaries I tried with gravity I felt more like a weak blaster than a controller.

Level 16 is the key, have both crushing field and freezing rain. They are immoblized, debuffed, and still falling down as well since grav's immobilize doesn't stop knockdown. It gives you a sort of ice slick-like AoE control combo that most other controllers get by level 12, but gravity on its own doesn't until level 26 (wormhole) normally.

Yep, quite a while ago this same thing was happening to my connection to all the West coast servers, in the same intermittent fashion. Nothing I did ever cleared it up, I had to switch servers for a while. It eventually stopped (but took a couple of months, yes months).

Last couple of weeks I've noticed it off and on now striking the East coast servers.. Doesn't make things unplayable, but really ruins the experience.

[ QUOTE ]
Even if they don't, you can just lower the "max particle count" option to make it easier on your eyes.

Heck, you guys could do that now if you don't like the fire/sonic/ice/whatever buffs.

[/ QUOTE ]

That doesn't always work. It does for fire shields for instance, but not ice shields. Another reason I especially detest the ice shield buffs.

Actually I always felt electric blast did better damage than most others, at least with the first two attacks, even though I know it is just perception. It has some of the harder hitting tier 1 and 2 attacks because they are on the longer timer (4 and 8 sec recharges) and it is all one damage type so you see the one big number instead of the split smaller numbers.

The one that always makes me feel pitiful is radiation blast. Pew, pew, pew.

To the OP, kin/electric is one of my favorite combo's. If you like it, stick with it. Your kinetic side will help a lot with your damage.

I rarely find wormholes knockback a problem ever since I learned the "aim them at the ceiling" trick. They get knocked straight up and fall straight down. Only thing my teammates complain about anymore is when I break out to singing, "it's raining men".

I like all the OP's suggestions.

Why I always take and slot up my single target immobilize on controllers that have one. It is usually one of your key damage powers as a pre-pet controller. I don't know how people skip doing that unless they are always teamed or are power leveled. I still have and use ring of fire on my lvl 50 fire/rad.

If you are that annoyed by kinetics though, I'd say probably not the character for you. I have a hard time sticking with my kinetics for the same reason.

[ QUOTE ]
I would've thought the problem power would be Total Domination - that one just feels like a dang load. Maybe it's the fact that so many powers come off as potential problem powers that's the problem here..

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope, because the AoE hold for mind is the same as the AoE hold for pretty much every controller set. If anything mind's is a little better than some since it is ranged, unlike ones like cinder, glacier, and flash.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yea terrify has damage, but damage so weak that it still leaves mind last in the AoE damage category.

[/ QUOTE ]

Earth? Ice? I don't understand what you're comparing here.

[/ QUOTE ]

Earth and ice's AoE immobilize powers do better damage over time than terrify. Mind is last place in AoE dps.

Not even getting into the fact that getting and keeping containment set up for mind is also tougher, which affects things like the epic AoE attacks.

And I once had a tank tell my controller to stop using the AoE immobilizes because they messed with his knockback attacks. Guess he really got a kick out of handclap. That was a new one.

I do think it is funny everyone seems to focus on Mass confusion as Mind's problem power. I think if anything needs to be looked at or tweaked it is telekinesis and to a lesser extent terrify. Mass confusion would be much further down my list.

If we're selectively comparing powers, terrify vs. fearsome stare or vs. spectral terror? Yea terrify has damage, but damage so weak that it still leaves mind last in the AoE damage category. A start would be giving terrify the -acc debuff component that was always listed but never put in.

[ QUOTE ]
In all seriousness, I would prefer a Force Fielder because they dont obscure everyone's costume.



[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
So we all agree that because a single 1 Billion Influence Ultra Cheezy Build Rad/Sonic can do ok damage that defender damage is therefor ok?

Works for me.

I like Defenders in teams btw. They are almost as good as an endless inspiration tray.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, everyone seems to base their controller arguments on Ultra cheezy fire/kinetics builds. Seems fair to me.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Are respec recipes like purple drops (i.e., they have a 1/5000 chance in dropping)?

[/ QUOTE ]
Similar, but rarer, I think. I've gotten about 8 purples (which only drop from high level enemies) and only 2 respec recipes (which can drop from almost any enemy).

Since my personal experience is obviously a statistically valid sample, they must be 4 times rarer.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've gotten about 8 purples so far as well and yet not a single respec recipe. So my experience tells me they are infinitely rarer.

[ QUOTE ]
Lots of times the difference between the controller buff numbers and the defender buff numbers is meaningless. The presence of the buff is enough. Umbral's right about the numbers, but most of the time nobody will notice the difference. People are just happy to have buffs.

I used to think this meant my defender would not get teams, because controllers brought more to the table. Turns out this is utterly untrue. My AT envy was pretty ugly. It turns out that no amount of changing other ATs fixed what I thought was wrong with my favourite AT, and when I actually thought about it the problem with my AT (defenders losing out to controllers in teams and other situations) didn't even exist. I got teams then, get teams now, and will get teams in the future. When I want to play easy mode, I play my tricked-out scrappers. When I want to play AWESOME MODE, I play my defenders

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea, real game vs. forums issue, you had nothing to worry about. Perfect example was when I use to play my illusion/empathy controller and almost every PuG I got on the leader would still say after I joined, "we need a healer!" Or on that same group they'd thank the trick arrow defender for the great healing. Your typical PuG player puts the AT's in a box and usually doesn't even pay attention to what anyone else is doing.

Maybe improved, but still ranks as worst controller pet IMHO. Luckily the rest of the set makes up for it.

And I'd still disagree with the title of the thread, too generous.

Tactics offers more than just +tohit and it helps the whole team. Make sure you are ok with giving up its other extra perks too.

[ QUOTE ]
As far as TFs go, your major contribution as an Illusion Controller is going to be Phantom Army,

[/ QUOTE ]

That and SI if you want to help speed through them by sneaking to the end. Pick up teleport friend too (you could even use your 2nd build as a TF build to get it early since it can be tough to fit it so early for normal play) and zoom.

Group invis can work too, but the team has to be smart. Often people not use to the maps get lost and invis wears off and they get themselves killed.

And take heart, now fly trap is the dumbest pet. Stony's AI has actually improved.

Nice derail to visit our old friend the dead horse. Nothing wrong with mind IMHO except I feel a bit too many things resist its powers late game. Plant certainly doesn't replace it though or play anywhere near the same. And don't dare touch mass hypnosis. And I laugh at the FoTM reasoning as anecdotally I see just as many if not more Mind controllers out there than I see plant.

Anyway, back to the OP, plant/storm is by far my favorite combo for plant. For all the reasons already mentioned and for the fact that /storm is the only secondary that has an aoe -fly power (snow storm). It helps overcome what can be an annoyance to plant control, flyers.

Be happy you weren't here earlier in the game's life. Back when AV's didn't use to downgrade to EB's when solo. AV's made doing the high level arcs solo just about impossible for most. AV's downgrading to EB's was probably the most solo friendly change they ever made to the game.

[ QUOTE ]
My guess would be stalkers.

Heroes.... kinda balanced but if I had to pick, it'd be blaster.

[/ QUOTE ]

As others have mentioned, blasters are actually one of the most popular, if not the most. Straight forward and easy to understand. Although anecdotal, I'd guess they are the most common pick for new players. I see a player with no vet badges or someone admits they are new to the game it is almost invariably a blaster.

And nitpick of the day, it is EM Pulse or EMP, not EMP Pulse. Even the devs made that mistake though, took them a while to fix the name.