TeChameleon

Random comment- I've noticed (and commented on it in-game) that nothing much beats Plant/Storm for setting up a killbox. Drop your pseudo-pets, throw your confuse, root the spawn, and watch as the whole lot of them comes apart like they were dropped into a blender and hit puree. The Spirit Tree is pretty much a natural outgrowth of that- since Plant/Stormies playstyle is... not static, exactly, but typically confined to a relatively small area... the stationary heal makes sense, since you'll rarely be hopping out of range of it during combat.

Something you might want to consider in your build is the Achilles' Heel proc in Freezing Rain (the size of the AoE and the fact that you get two ticks every time you fire it means that there's an excellent chance of it firing a few times). I'm not sure, but I think you need to be ground-bound to use most of the Stone Mastery powers. Not familiar with them, though.

Just tossing this out there, as an aside- this is my planned build. I've been... fairly ruthless in my pursuit of recharge >.> Mind you, I tend to play my 'troller more like a Blaster than anything else- fast and homicidally insane I don't need defense if everything is either bouncing, locked down, or dead.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Skein: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Entangle -- GravAnch-Immob(A), GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(3), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(3), GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(11), GravAnch-Immob/EndRdx(15), GravAnch-Hold%(15)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc-I(A)
Level 2: Strangler -- UbrkCons-Hold(A), UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(5), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(7), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(11), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(17), UbrkCons-Dam%(17)
Level 4: Roots -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(7), Posi-Dmg/Rng(19), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Posi-Dam%(23)
Level 6: Hover -- Srng-Fly(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(13), Srng-EndRdx(43), Zephyr-ResKB(45)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- CoPers-Conf(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg(9), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(9), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(13), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(29), CoPers-Conf%(29)
Level 10: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 12: O2 Boost -- Mrcl-Heal(A), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(21)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 16: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(48)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), P'Shift-End%(46)
Level 22: Spirit Tree -- Mrcl-Heal(A), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(23)
Level 24: Freezing Rain -- AnWeak-DefDeb(A), AnWeak-Acc/DefDeb(25), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg(25), AnWeak-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(31), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg/EndRdx(31), Achilles-ResDeb%(43)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- Ragnrk-Dmg(A), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(27), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(31), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(34), ImpSwft-Dam%(36)
Level 28: Vines -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(36), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(37), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37), EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg(37)
Level 30: Thunder Clap -- Amaze-Stun(A), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(40)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- S'bndAl-Dmg(A), S'bndAl-Dmg/Rchg(33), S'bndAl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), S'bndAl-Acc/Rchg(33), S'bndAl-Dmg/EndRdx(34), S'bndAl-Build%(34)
Level 35: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Apoc-Dmg(A), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg(39), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(39), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Apoc-Dam%(40)
Level 41: Tornado -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(42), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(42), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(45)
Level 44: Hurricane -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(45), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(46), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(46), DarkWD-Rchg/EndRdx(48)
Level 47: Indomitable Will -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
Level 49: Steamy Mist -- LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Aegis-Psi/Status(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run

Put me in as an "OMG *gasp* "No Fly Trap!!111eleventy111!"

Now that I've gotten that out of the way (what can I say? I loves me some Flytrap), lesse... positive stuff: looks like a fairly solid build. I can't say I'm all that impressed with Spores, though- with the amount of AoE Plant/Storm throws around, it's quite useless.

Hmm... Frankenslotting: the Posi's Blast proc may not work in Creepers, at least beyond the initial casting. Speaking of Posi's Blast and Creepers, why not slot it with that set for the recharge bonus? Far as I can see, you've only got two 6.25% bonuses. Or is the damage tradeoff in losing the Frankenslotting more than you care for?

I think you might be able to squeeze a bit more recharge out of the build, but I'm not sure what you're willing to spend, and what tradeoffs you're willing to make. Nothing major jumps out as being wrong, but the tweaking... well, there's always room for tweaking ;p

Hmm... okay, didn't realize that the Force Feedback proc didn't feed back to the player. Going to have to ditch that, then, since it's not nearly as useful as I thought. Generic Damage IO, here we come. Also, I meant that it put out more average damage than a full set of Ragnaroks. Although not by enough to lose the Posi's Blast set bonuses. Pity, could've saved a bit there.

Also, looking at my saved Mid's build, I apparently decided to go with Expedient Reinforcement on Tornado, rather than Kinetic Crash. *blinks* Bit of a surprise there, but alright- looking at the various set bonuses, it's not too bad; I just skipped the 10% resistance bonus, which is kind of useless for Tornado anyways, and stuck the slot in Hover and gave it the Blessing of the Zephyr KB protection for an extra mag of Knockback protection. Although part of me is a bit sad to lose the 34.1 Mag Knockback >.>

Oh, and as to movement speed, looks like I was getting mixed between my teaming and my soloing (+0/+8)- solo, Tornado lasts me about one, maybe one and a half spawns (assuming I've got everything ready to go). Gotta say, though... at level forty-ish (level 45 now), Plant/Storm is like tossing mobs into a blender. If you have a decent grouping to start with, Creepers-Seeds-Roots-Hurricane-Lightning Storm-spam Roots as needed, and my inspiration box fills up so fast that the little 'bing' noise can't keep up.

Far as I've been able to figure, the Achilles' Heel Proc has two chances to fire in Freezing Rain (once on firing, once at the 10 second mark). Honestly, my feeling is that a chance for an extra 20% resistance debuff is nothing to sneeze at, and finding the space for it isn't a big deal.

Also, Tornado is only lasting one spawn for you?

...

Maybe I just move a little faster. I tend to find that it lasts about two and a half spawns for me (granted, that's partially because it'll occasionally decide, apparently at random, that I'm not fighting enough guys, and wander off on its own to bring me some new friends >.O).

Alrighty, Panda- here's the build that I ran up for you; if anybody would be willing to critique, I'd appreciate it. I'm not sure how much more I can get out of it without sacrificing :/

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Jumangling: Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Thermal Radiation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Entangle -- GravAnch-Immob(A), GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(3), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(5), GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(7), GravAnch-Immob/EndRdx(11)
Level 1: Warmth -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(3), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(5), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Dct'dW-Heal(23)
Level 2: Thermal Shield -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(13), Aegis-ResDam(37)
Level 4: Strangler -- UbrkCons-Hold(A), UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(15), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(15), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(17), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(29), UbrkCons-Dam%(40)
Level 6: Cauterize -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(7), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(9), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(9), Dct'dW-Rchg(34)
Level 8: Roots -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(17), Posi-Dmg/Rng(29), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 10: Hover -- Srng-Fly(A), Srng-EndRdx/Fly(33), LkGmblr-Rchg+(39)
Level 12: Fly -- Srng-Fly(A), Srng-EndRdx/Fly(33)
Level 14: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 16: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(42)
Level 18: Seeds of Confusion -- CoPers-Conf/Rchg(A), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(19), CoPers-Conf%(19), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(31), CoPers-Conf(33), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(34)
Level 20: Power of the Phoenix -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(21), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), Posi-Dam%(39)
Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(42), P'Shift-End%(43)
Level 24: Vines -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(25), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(25), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(31), EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg(40), Lock-%Hold(43)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- Ragnrk-Dmg(A), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(27), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(31), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(37), FrcFbk-Rechg%(40)
Level 28: Plasma Shield -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(46), Aegis-ResDam(50)
Level 30: Thaw -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Forge -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(34), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(39), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(45)
Level 35: Fly Trap -- S'bndAl-Dmg(A), S'bndAl-Dmg/Rchg(36), S'bndAl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), S'bndAl-Acc/Rchg(36), S'bndAl-Dmg/EndRdx(37), S'bndAl-Build%(43)
Level 38: Heat Exhaustion -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Melt Armor -- Achilles-ResDeb%(A), LdyGrey-DefDeb(42), LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg(45), LdyGrey-Rchg/EndRdx(46)
Level 44: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(50)
Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix -- Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(A), Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Dmg-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run

*evilgrin*

If you think Twitchy (or OmNom, as I dubbed everybody's favourite walking appetite) is an aggro monkey, wait 'til you see the Tornado :3

Explosive Strike also has a smashing damage proc; the way I've got Creepers slotted right now has three damage procs (Impeded Swiftness, Explosive Strike, and Trap of the Hunter), two generic Recharge IOs, and the Force Feedback chance for +Recharge. Looking at it, I could get more damage out of it with a generic damage IO rather than the Force Feedback Proc, but I'm not sure how accurate the numbers in Mid's are- that looks like it would put out slightly more (average) damage than even slotting the power with Ragnaroks :/

Hurricane I'm planning on slotting with Kinetic Crash- more for the set bonuses than the actual enhancement bonuses. Your totals for that set are 68.9% for damage, 47.7% for accuracy and End Discount, and 53% for recharge (oh, and 173.95% for Knockback, hehehe)- nothing spectacular, but respectable. And Mag 34.1 Knockback is just fun

I've been experimenting, actually- none of the procs are *terribly* expensive, so I decided to experiment- that's how I've got Creepers slotted in my live levelling build right now. It's a bit early to give a solid response (only started trying it yesterday), but things certainly seem to be dying faster. If somebody who actually understood how the procs work could weigh in, I'd certainly appreciate it, but according to my limited understanding, all those procs have a chance to fire off with every flail of the creeper vines, while the Posi's Blast proc does not.

... hmm. Poking around on Mid's with the average damage, it looks like stacking Posi's Blast in Creepers would actually give slightly higher average damage (about 20 points per), although the potential damage of the procs is much higher. That might be the way to go, then (although I'd use another proc other than the chance for Energy one, since it would only fire when you laid the Creeper patch down- the vine-flails aren't AoE, and as such wouldn't trigger it).

And Salty, looked at what you said, and... hmmm. Looks like I'll be shifting the Ragnaroks into the Creepers for my finalized build and leaving a Posi's in with the Roots (although I can't entirely complain, since that nets me a tiny bit more recharge :3)

Can't say I entirely agree, Sunpulse; Roots are a solid, consistent source of damage for me on my Plant/Stormie for one simple reason: recharge. It's up four or five times more often than any of the other powers. The other ones are much better for burst, I'll grant, but roots is what I find I spam the most in a larger fight.

Anyways, here's a modified version of your latest build, Son of Amber. It's going to be more expensive (thanks in large part to the LotG Recharges and the Numina and Miracle uniques, although hopefully I didn't go too crazy with the money), but I managed to maintain the levels of defense and resistance that you had (I think I actually managed to squeeze a fair bit more out of things), along with a lot more recharge, quite a bit more endurance recovery, a twitch of extra damage and accuracy, and a bunch of status protection and resistance.

Biggest drawback is that your endurance usage is slightly higher- if you've got everything running, the net gain on my version is 1.39/sec as opposed to a net gain (again, with everything running) of 1.46/sec on the unedited version.

... and if anybody can improve on it, feel free- I'm a relative nooblet when it comes to builds, and happy to learn what I can.

Oh- one other thing- I didn't include the Posi's Blast Energy Proc in Carrion Creepers, because as far as I understand it, the Creepers themselves cannot set that proc off, sharply limiting its usefulness in that power.

EDIT- Oh yeh- stuck a Stealth IO into Sprint, so that you can have full invisibility if you want it with Steamy Mist running.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Green Judge_Current Build: Level 50 Natural Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler -- BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(A), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(3), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(3), BasGaze-Acc/Hold(7), EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg(11), Lock-%Hold(15)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc-I(A)
Level 2: Roots -- Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(5), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Posi-Acc/Dmg(7), Posi-Dam%(15)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(42)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- CoPers-Conf(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg(9), CoPers-Conf%(9), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(13), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(13), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(31)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-ResKB(11), LkGmblr-Rchg+(17)
Level 12: Steamy Mist -- ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(A), EndRdx-I(25), Aegis-Psi/Status(37), ImpArm-ResPsi(37), LkGmblr-Rchg+(37)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(19)
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), LdyGrey-%Dam(17), Posi-Dam%(31), ShldBrk-Acc/Rchg(31), ShldBrk-%Dam(33), Achilles-ResDeb%(33)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(19)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Hurricane -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(A), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(23), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(23), DarkWD-ToHitDeb(36), DarkWD-Rchg/EndRdx(36), FrcFbk-Rechg%(36)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- TotHntr-Dam%(A), ImpSwft-Dam%(27), ExStrk-Dam%(27), FrcFbk-Rechg%(29), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 28: Kick -- Dmg-I(A)
Level 30: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-EndRdx(43), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), RctvArm-EndRdx/Rchg(45), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(48)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-+Res(Pets)(33), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(34), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(34), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(40)
Level 35: Weave -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(46), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(46), Ksmt-Def/EndRdx(46)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Thundr-Acc/Dmg(39), EnManip-Stun%(39), EnManip-EndMod/Rchg(40), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(40)
Level 41: Tornado -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(42), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Fire Ball -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(45), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48)
Level 47: Fire Shield -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(48), ResDam-I(50), ResDam-I(50)
Level 49: Consume -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- ULeap-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run

I'm going to be blunt here; this build is not going to do what you want it to. Your endurance consumption is massive, your recharge mediocre (and shot straight down the toilet courtesy of not slotting enough recharge in the powers themselves), your control iffy, and your damage barely half of what it could be.

Put simply, (and granted, this is largely my opinion, although I do have at least a passing familiarity with Plant/Storm building, as my own 'wrath of the sward' character is nearing the stage where I'm laying down bids for his final-build IOs), you have sacrificed far, far too much for the sake of Defense and Resistance.

Unfortunately, I don't tend to play in that direction, preferring to rely on the incredible number of options available to this set in terms of both hard and soft control to reduce incoming damage, so I'm going to limit my offered opinions to your controls and damage.

They're... uhm... not very good. You have almost no damage enhancements in your primary damage powers- Entangle, Strangler, Carrion Creepers and Roots don't have any damage boost at all (aside from the 13% global you've managed to squeeze in), and Lightning Storm has a rather sad 68.9% boost. Fissure doesn't have the damage output to make up for that lack, and Seismic Smash, while quite potent, is a single-target melee attack. Your damage is, for all intents and purposes, unslotted.

As to controls: Entangle, Roots, and Carrion Creepers will all immobilize quite well, and Seeds of Confusion will work beautifully, for obvious reasons. Beyond that..? Oog. Strangler is slotted with a low-level set, and will have some issues because of that. You don't have your mass hold, your primary debuffs (Freezing Rain and Hurricane) have four slots between them (and Freezing Rain has a rather odd, low-level set pick in the slots it does have... although the Achilles' Heel proc is an excellent choice in that power), you don't have Thunderclap to stack with Fissure (and Roots will interfere with the knockdown anyways), and you don't have Tornado for the damage and extra control (Knockback-style) it offers.

In all honesty, it looks like you've stacked massive amounts of set bonuses for Defense and Resistance in order to turn your Controller into an inefficient Scrapper. Oh- as a random aside, I don't understand your set choices for Stamina and Health; you'd be better served with the Miracle unique rather than the Numina Health/End in Health and Performance Shifter Endmod and Proc, along with a generic Endmod, in Stamina.

EDIT- you might be able to pick up some ideas in this thread, although admittedly a lot of it is slanted heavily towards my own, rather squishier style of play.

*chuckle*

I may be a bit odd- I'm barely bothering with any of the APPs. I've got everything from both sets except for Spores... which, quite frankly, is kind of useless with all the AoE flying around. Took Conserve Power because, well, yeh, this is kind of an endurance-hungry beast, but beyond that, just kind of shrugged and forgot about it. Thus far it's working alright for me :3

... this does sound intriguing. Thanks Ketch :3

Hmm... okay, this has already given me some stuff to think about; possible slot rejuggling, some procs, different sets...

I've got... well, I hope I've got, anyways... fairly decent Recovery; counting the Performance Shifter proc, I'm getting ~3.4 a second (without the proc, it's at 3.2 Endurance a second- 194%. So that is (at least theoretically, I'm not sure- I'm not used to running toggle-heavy characters of any sort; up until now, I've primarily played Blasters and Defenders) somewhat less of a worry.

I don't actually Herdicane, at least not yet; I don't even have the power for another few levels (despite the fact that I'm actually quite fond of KB as a control mechanic- my first character was an Energy/Energy Blaster- I've never been entirely comfortable with Hurricane, although that will likely change in the near future, as I'm getting better at the semi-controlled madness that is Plant/Storm). However, the point about the 'effective defense' is appreciated, and I've adjusted things accordingly- it's only a 2.5% recharge loss, so it doesn't sting as much as it might otherwise (and I stuck the Force Feedback chance for +Recharge proc in the last slot - apparently it doesn't accept Achilles' Heel, sadly). Speaking of Achilles' Heel, I looked at the proc I've got in the Flytrap, and, according to some fast, and probably rather questionable, math, decided that I'd likely get a more consistent damage boost from the Chance for Build Up proc. I did put the Achilles' Heel proc in Freezing Rain, though- as an AoE, it's likely to proc far more often, and it's stacking with the -Res already in there.

I'm reluctant to go with Breath of the Zephyr; I don't tend to slot my travel powers heavily, and I'd need to pull slots from elsewhere to be able to slot those. For the KB resistance, I think I'll stick with Kinetic Crash, at least in Tornado- it actually gives a halfway-decent damage boost (68.9%), and as I said, tasty, tasty +Rech

I'm still a bit fuddled as to what to do with Carrion Creepers- the Slow sets are garbage, the Immobilize sets are worse, and putting in a damage set (Positron's Blast) would give me a meager 30.18% boost in damage and 15.94% in range (which is kind of useless) at the cost of losing 26.5% recharge, 1.25% global +Rech and the KB protection that Kinetic Crash gives. Frankenslotting doesn't look much more encouraging, either.

So... here's the setup as I've got it now- still not finalized, but at least the help you guys have offered has helped me bang some of the rough edges off (and squeeze in another 5% global recharge )

EDIT- *low whistle* That's a truly impressive build, Mezzosoprano. Unfortunately, a lot of the things you have simply aren't where I want to go with this character. Mind you, I'm giving Basilisk's Gaze a good hard look- trying to decide whether that 7.5% Global Recharge is worth the weakened AoE hold...

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Skein: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Primal Forces Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Entangle -- GravAnch-Immob(A), GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(3), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(3), GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(11), GravAnch-Immob/EndRdx(15), GravAnch-Hold%(15)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc-I(A)
Level 2: Strangler -- UbrkCons-Hold(A), UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(5), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(7), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(11), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(17), UbrkCons-Dam%(17)
Level 4: Roots -- Ragnrk-Dmg(A), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(5), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(19), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Acc-I(23)
Level 6: Hover -- Srng-Fly(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(13), Srng-EndRdx(43)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- CoPers-Conf(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg(9), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(9), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(13), CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(29), CoPers-Conf%(29)
Level 10: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 12: O2 Boost -- Numna-Heal/Rchg(A), Numna-Heal(21)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 16: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(48)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), P'Shift-End%(46)
Level 22: Spirit Tree -- Numna-Heal/Rchg(A), Numna-Heal(23)
Level 24: Freezing Rain -- AnWeak-DefDeb(A), AnWeak-Acc/DefDeb(25), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg(25), AnWeak-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(31), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg/EndRdx(31), Achilles-ResDeb%(43)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- KinCrsh-Dmg/KB(A), KinCrsh-Acc/KB(27), KinCrsh-Rchg/KB(27), KinCrsh-Rechg/EndRdx(31), KinCrsh-Dmg/EndRdx/KB(34), KinCrsh-Acc/Dmg/KB(36)
Level 28: Vines -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(36), Lock-Rchg/Hold(37), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37), Lock-%Hold(42)
Level 30: Thunder Clap -- Amaze-Stun(A), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(40)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- S'bndAl-Dmg(A), S'bndAl-Dmg/Rchg(33), S'bndAl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), S'bndAl-Acc/Rchg(33), S'bndAl-Dmg/EndRdx(34), S'bndAl-Build%(34)
Level 35: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Apoc-Dmg(A), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg(39), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(39), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Apoc-Dam%(40)
Level 41: Tornado -- KinCrsh-Dmg/KB(A), KinCrsh-Acc/KB(42), KinCrsh-Rchg/KB(42), KinCrsh-Rechg/EndRdx(43), KinCrsh-Dmg/EndRdx/KB(45), KinCrsh-Acc/Dmg/KB(45)
Level 44: Hurricane -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(45), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(46), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(46), DarkWD-Rchg/EndRdx(48), FrcFbk-Rechg%(48)
Level 47: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 49: Steamy Mist -- LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Aegis-Psi/Status(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run

I don't doubt the effectiveness of Steamy Mist & Superspeed- I use a similar combo (Superspeed and Celerity: Stealth) on my main (Energy/Energy Blaster), but it just doesn't 'feel' right on this character- plus I've gotten used to a different strategy than you now- Seeds are usually around third on my attack chain- Carrion Creepers-Roots-Seeds- since the Creepers tank and bunch the mobs at the same time, then Roots lock them in place in the Creeper patch, and then Seeds to have them start bludgeoning one another rather than the Creepers.

That and it would mean two power picks, displacing powers that I have and use, in exchange for a pair of situational setup powers, which aren't terribly useful for my more Creeper-oriented playstyle. And even when Creepers are on cooldown, I can usually manage to line Seeds up without much trouble.

Most often, I'll be teaming- I love running this toon in a large team- although I'll almost always at least be duoing with my fiancee's Plant/Thermal. Soloing will be mostly occasional if I happen to feel like just throwing out raw chaos that somehow manages to kill everything- I've occasionally likened this character to throwing enemy spawns into a blender

... which sums up my playstyle fairly well, come to think of it, heh.

EDIT- was checking out your Plant/Storm journal and enjoying it, Argentae.

Yeh, I know- my first foray into the 'troller boards, and it's a build thread :/

Anyway, my Plant/Storm Controller is now level 41-ish, and I'm looking towards his final build. I'm building him with an eye towards moderating his rabid End-consumption and a strong dose of +Rech (mostly so that I can have Carrion Creepers up as often as possible, since they're my preferred opener).

As you can probably guess courtesy of the liberal sprinkling of purples, this is a money-is-no-object build, although thankfully Controller Ultra-Rares tend to be less psychotically contested than the more universal damage ones, keeping the price a bit more manageable. Any suggestions are welcome, particularly in the slotting of the Creepers; I slotted them with Kinetic Crash more for the tasty, tasty Knockback Protection and the extra 7.5% +Rech than anything much to do with the actual power- I'm not all that certain that I want my Creepers smashing things all over the place.

I have no plans toward using Steamy Mist for anything much- this isn't intended as a stealthy character, no matter how useful it might be (that, and, stupid as it may sound, I really don't like the graphical effect of Steamy Mist very much); and the only powers that I'm really all that willing to drop in favour of something else are Snow Storm, Spirit Tree, (although I picked each of those with a specific use in mind), and Temporary Invulnerability, which I only took because I miscalculated- I actually meant to get Power Boost, but couldn't without sacrificing a power I wanted for one I didn't really (Temp. Invul.) so as to access Power Boost.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Skein: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Primal Forces Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Entangle

• (A) Gravitational Anchor - Immobilize
• (3) Gravitational Anchor - Immobilize/Recharge
• (3) Gravitational Anchor - Accuracy/Immobilize/Recharge
• (11) Gravitational Anchor - Accuracy/Recharge
• (15) Gravitational Anchor - Immobilize/Endurance
• (15) Gravitational Anchor - Chance for Hold

Level 1: Gale

• (A) Knockback Distance IO
• (13) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 2: Strangler

• (A) Unbreakable Constraint - Hold
• (5) Unbreakable Constraint - Hold/Recharge
• (7) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Hold/Recharge
• (11) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Recharge
• (17) Unbreakable Constraint - Endurance/Hold
• (17) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage

Level 4: Roots

• (A) Ragnarok - Damage
• (5) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
• (7) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (19) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge
• (19) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance
• (23) Accuracy IO

Level 6: Hover

• (A) Soaring - FlySpeed
• (43) Soaring - Endurance
• (43) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 8: Seeds of Confusion

• (A) Coercive Persuasion - Confused
• (9) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge
• (9) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge
• (13) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Recharge
• (29) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Endurance
• (29) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion

Level 10: Snow Storm

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 12: O2 Boost

• (A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
• (21) Numina's Convalescence - Heal

Level 14: Fly

• (A) Flight Speed IO

Level 16: Swift

• (A) Flight Speed IO

Level 18: Health

• (A) Miracle - +Recovery
• (48) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery

Level 20: Stamina

• (A) Endurance Modification IO
• (21) Endurance Modification IO
• (46) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End

Level 22: Spirit Tree

• (A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
• (23) Numina's Convalescence - Heal

Level 24: Freezing Rain

• (A) Analyze Weakness - Defense Debuff
• (25) Analyze Weakness - Accuracy/Defense Debuff
• (25) Analyze Weakness - Accuracy/Recharge
• (31) Analyze Weakness - Defense Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• (31) Analyze Weakness - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge

Level 26: Carrion Creepers

• (A) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Knockback
• (27) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Knockback
• (27) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Knockback
• (31) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Endurance
• (34) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Endurance/Knockback
• (36) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Damage/Knockback

Level 28: Vines

• (A) Lockdown - Accuracy/Hold
• (36) Lockdown - Accuracy/Recharge
• (37) Lockdown - Recharge/Hold
• (37) Lockdown - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
• (37) Lockdown - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
• (42) Lockdown - Chance for +2 Mag Hold

Level 30: Thunder Clap

• (A) Absolute Amazement - Stun
• (40) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge

Level 32: Fly Trap

• (A) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage
• (33) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage/Recharge
• (33) Soulbound Allegiance - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (33) Soulbound Allegiance - Accuracy/Recharge
• (34) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage/Endurance
• (34) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up

Level 35: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (36) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 38: Lightning Storm

• (A) Apocalypse - Damage
• (39) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge
• (39) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (39) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge
• (40) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance
• (40) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)

Level 41: Tornado

• (A) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Knockback
• (42) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Knockback
• (42) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Knockback
• (43) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Endurance
• (45) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Endurance/Knockback
• (45) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Damage/Knockback

Level 44: Hurricane

• (A) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Knockback
• (45) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Knockback
• (46) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Knockback
• (46) Kinetic Crash - Recharge/Endurance
• (48) Kinetic Crash - Damage/Endurance/Knockback
• (48) Kinetic Crash - Accuracy/Damage/Knockback

Level 47: Conserve Power

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (50) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 49: Temp Invulnerability

• (A) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
• (50) Aegis - Resistance
• (50) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance

------------
Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Accuracy IO

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Run Speed IO

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run

I haven't done much with Dual Pistols, just tested it some during beta (waiting for Going Rogue, ditto for Demon Summoning), but my take on it was that the character was a stage magician- a trickshot artist. And all the flippy-spinny-whatever-ness was just that- showboating, misdirection, and borderline juggling. Not a whole lot of Gun Fu going on, heh.

Hrm... sometime in the next day or four, I'll have to dust Energon X off and bring him back in. Metahuman liasion and chief trainer, I'm guessing >.>

Hmm... putting aside the whole power-switching bit... something else to consider in the whole mechanics-limited vs. plotline-limited argument; the developers themselves frequently toss game mechanics out the window for the demands of story. Let us take (just as an example), Statesman. Who, admittedly... at least while being written by his proud papa, Jack Emmert... was a pretty bad case of Canon Sue. But in whatever case- in the canon backstory, during the First Rikti Invasion, he was flying about crushing Motherships against his forehead like empty beer tins, and the only reason he stopped was because he accidentally dropped one on something important. The in-game version of Statesman couldn't take out a single Dropship by himself; he doesn't have the damage output to overtake the thing's regen (at least, to the best of my knowledge- I'm not sure it's testable :/).

And of course there's the time that he got taken out by a single exploding Circle of Thorns mage in the comic, which wouldn't even inconvenience his game-self.

Bottom line is, this is a game, and narrative coherence is often (rightfully, in my opinion) sacrificed for gameplay. I mean, why should we worry about the Rikti? Their so-called A-Bombs don't even scratch the landscape or the civilians that we're supposed to be so worried about. And speaking of civilians, why should we worry about them? They're vastly more invulnerable than the mightiest of heroes and villains alike.

The point I'm trying to make is that strictly adhering to the game mechanics as the 'rules' for our shared RP world would result in a singularly ludicrous world, and that everyone picks and chooses which rules they're going to follow. Whether you choose to interpret your inability to permanently affect the game world as evidence of low power levels, or simply shrug it off as a necessary game mechanic for an MMO, and safely ignored, is up to you.

But, speaking for myself, at least, I'd be a bit hesitant to tell someone that they're a bad roleplayer and an incompetent character designer because they choose to play a bit looser with the game mechanics than your personal benchmark allows for.

*sigh*

Raven, I think we're suffering from a fundamental disconnect, here. I say 'very powerful', while you hear, for some funny reason, 'godmoding twit'. Please note that 'very powerful' does not carry any connotations beyond being... well, powerful. I never once said 'more powerful than X', with 'X' being the canon (or otherwise) character of your choice.

Perhaps an example from my own stable of characters might help? Probably my most 'powerful' roleplay character is my main, Energon X. E-X is a living portal to a universe that never developed time after the big bang, so is basically just a huge cloud of energy in stasis. When he uses his powers, the portal opens slightly, feeding time into that frozen 'verse. And a whole lotta kaboom comes back the other way, which he then channels into energy blasts and punches. Cosmic? Heck yeah. He could probably crack the planet if he sneezed at the wrong time (well, if he still had a nose, anyways- his powers manifesting blew off the lower half of his face, and may still slowly be consuming him from the inside). However, for obvious reasons, he'd really rather not blow up the world, even if blowing up like that wouldn't kill him.

He also retains most of the standard human vulnerabilities, which he attempts to compensate for with body armour and a few gadgets (represented in-game by the Munitions APP, inspirations, a Celerity: Stealth IO and the HUD). Aside from a few other quirks- being able to see pretty much the entire electromagnetic spectrum and a fair number of other energy types, flight, and superspeed- that's about it.

So. Cosmic? Yeah, I'd say so. Godmoding? Uhm... he's a pretty fair shot, but he can still miss, and if Nitoichi took it into her head to stab him one, it would cause him some significant problems of the bleeding-out-variety. Or possibly exploding >.O

EDIT- Yah hah... I must be running a little slow. Seems to me that a lot of the naysayers are using 'cosmic power' as a synonym for Mary-Sue. Maybe we could agree to a distinction in terms?

See, I'm going to have to disagree, Raven. You seem to be making the assumption that extremely powerful = godmoding. That's kind of... well, entirely false.

A lot of my characters tend to fall on either the 'tough guy with a gimmick' end of the scale, or the 'phenomenal cosmic powers!' end of the scale, with little in between, for whatever reason. Of my cosmic-ish characters, a lot of them tend to have trouble controlling their powers, and spend as much time fighting their own tendency to go nuclear as they do the bad guys.

My take? If the threat is a match for them, what does it matter that they could accidentally blow up the planet or whatever? As long as the conflict makes sense, the scale is more window dressing than anything else.

Mmph... RPing someone who is completely opposite to me is a relatively rare thing for me- the two that are most active on the boards here are pretty much just minor variants on my own personality (mind you, one of them is a variant of my own (much) younger personality, but still).

On the other hand, one of my characters who I consider my most memorable (and who I really should find a way to bring into the CoH 'verse), despite the incredibly brief stint of time playing him, had almost nothing in common with me, aside from maybe the tendency towards snark that pretty much all my characters develop at one point or another >.> Sure was fun to play, though- a deranged, womanizing, daredevil Spaniard pirate running a kind of flying Casablanca in a quasi-post-Apocalyptic world. Not exactly 'opposite' to me... more perpendicular off into the middle of nowhere <.<

Uhm... I don't think Invisible Falcon was a villain. Wasn't he the first victim of Crey's Paragon Protector Program (and often thought to have ended up as being the Can Man?). But yeah, Ghost Falcon is his counterpart, although from what dimension it's never said.

*chuckle*

I've got at least one character- the mind-devouring Scarlet Eye- who would look on the thought police the way a starving man looks at a buffet. Less 'threat' and more 'lunch'.

As for the rest of my characters? Hrm. A handful of them might be more difficult to read than average because of one factor or another- non-human brainwaves, their own psionic abilities seriously scrambling any attempts at intrusion, or just extensive training to be resistant, but I don't think any of them would be even remotely close to 'immune'.

Honestly? I've never RPed on Virtue; almost all of my roleplaying has been on the forums, with a very small amount in-game with friends on Protector. So you have to factor in the odd people like me, where we simply don't RP in-game very much, if at all.