BIG NOTE REGARDING ILLUSION CONTROL:
Superior Invisibility now allows you to attack.
Greetings, all.
Well I'm on my third day in and enjoying things a bit more than I expected except for finding it very hard to solo.
I noticed on this thread there was no mention of my build. Am I doomed then as a Mind & Kinetic Controller?
Any tips welcome as I'd rather not start over. I just gained Fly and I've always liked characters with mental abilities.
Lord Michlo
I am playing a mind/force field controller. I would recommend since you are taking fly to take air superiority. It does nice damage, knocks down most of the time, and recycles decently. It will complement your mind powers well and give you extra damage to be able to solo. Plus it acts as another way to controll with the knock down.
Lord Marshal is a ill/storm troller and he solos VERY VERY well 
In fact i would go as far to say its probably the best solo AT troller combo in the game.
Think so?
Scarlett Angel kicks some SERIOUS BOOTY... 
I LOVE MY FIRE/RADITION CONTROLLER!!!
I will say this....Illusion IS tough in the Arena.....those !@#$ indestrucible phantoms SUCK
A bunch of 50s and too many alts...
Neo's Guide To Thugs/Storm (need to update it)
www.facebook.com/bbirgephotos
Questions about Fire/Rad? Just ask!
"Soloability" is a funny thing, I think, for controllers. For my controller, pre-32 sucked totally, and post-32 soloing is too easy. So "on the average", fire/emapthy is a good solo build (jokingly said). I mention that build only because I haven't seen it addressed so far in the thread. I certainly won't argue that it should be in the "Top 5", but post-32 it's got such a nice combination of powers that I think it's worth looking at. Areas of special-big-fun include:
- hold, immobilize, stun, and debuff from your fire control set.
- damage (and a little tanking) courtesy of your imps.
- keeping yourself and your imps up and running with your healing powers.
- buffing and protecting your imps with empathy powers.
- healing aura and recovery aura keeping up your blue and green without using pool powers.
I was mighty frustrated for 31 levels, but now feel like a whole team wrapped up in one toon. Even set on invincible, missions are far too easy. So I guess my point is: if you are willing to go a little slow and team up a lot for a while, you will end up with a heckuva late blooming solo controller.
In light of the i5 changes I think soloability for controllers pre-32 will go way up. I have in fact tried a few builds on an idea I had for a scrapping controller.
ill/trick arrow:
Since illusion is the weakest set as far as controlling crowds, I grabbed trick arrow as the secondary for the extra hold and immobilize. The biggest power in this set for the early part of the game is spectral wounds. On test I was taking down even lvl cons with one shot (cant remember slotting though). LTs were simple as well because they never really moved. I will probably not go with this set though because it feels more like a blasting controller than a scrapping one.
earth or ice/kinetics:
I picked kinetics over radiation because the heal is stronger, it uses less end (I dont care for anchors too much) and I just think it looks cool 
. I played both of these sets to lvl 5 just running around atlas and they both solo well. It will take some getting used to but once you figure out who to hold and who to immobilize and who to debuff and who to kill first (its easier than it sounds) then you will fly through groups. I was hunting constant +1 and +2 groups. I think I will probably go for ice even though earth controllers have more holds because I like the pets more.
The main part that will help make my ice/kin troller soloable is that I will be taking the fighting pool (I actually took the ice one to lvl7 just to see if fighting pool powers get the boost). With 6 slotted boxing and kick plus the damage done by the holds, things will fall pretty fast. Its all theory beyond lvl 7 but I totally plan on trying it out.
P.S. My fire/storm controller solos like a mad man. After lvl 32 and especially after 38 I could solo any mission I had aside from AVs.
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In light of the i5 changes I think soloability for controllers pre-32 will go way up. I have in fact tried a few builds on an idea I had for a scrapping controller.
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I concur.
I still have some testing to do of TA and Sonics to make the BEST calls, but here are some darn good solo controller builds for I5. Again, these are meant to be guidelines, not exact builds. If you want to scraptroll with mind as a primary, try a Mind/Kin + the fighting pool.
I've always been suprised at how useful people found this guide. I hope this will serve as a decent stopgap until I know enough about I5 to pick the "best".
Happy gaming all...
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Mind Control
Secondary: Storm Summoning
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Mesmerize(1)
01) --> Gale(1)
02) --> Dominate(2)
04) --> Levitate(4)
06) --> Hasten(6)
08) --> Mass Hypnosis(8)
10) --> Confuse(10)
12) --> Hurdle(12)
14) --> Super Speed(14)
16) --> Health(16)
18) --> Total Domination(18)
20) --> Stamina(20)
22) --> Hurricane(22)
24) --> Steamy Mist(24)
26) --> Terrify(26)
28) --> Snow Storm(28)
30) --> Freezing Rain(30)
32) --> Mass Confusion(32)
35) --> Tornado(35)
38) --> Lightning Storm(38)
41) --> Fire Ball(41)
44) --> Fire Shield(44)
47) --> Fire Blast(47)
49) --> Thunder Clap(49)
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Illusion Control
Secondary: Radiation Emission
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Blind(1)
01) --> Radiant Aura(1)
02) --> Spectral Wounds(2)
04) --> Accelerate Metabolism(4)
06) --> Hasten(6)
08) --> Air Superiority(8)
10) --> Superior Invisibility(10)
12) --> Deceive(12)
14) --> Fly(14)
16) --> Hurdle(16)
18) --> Phantom Army(18)
20) --> Health(20)
22) --> Stamina(22)
24) --> Enervating Field(24)
26) --> Spectral Terror(26)
28) --> Radiation Infection(28)
30) --> Lingering Radiation(30)
32) --> Phantasm(32)
35) --> Choking Cloud(35)
38) --> EM Pulse(38)
41) --> Power Blast(41)
44) --> Temp Invulnerability(44)
47) --> Conserve Power(47)
49) --> Teleport Foe(49)
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Fire Control
Secondary: Kinetics
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Char(1)
01) --> Transfusion(1)
02) --> Ring of Fire(2)
04) --> Fire Cages(4)
06) --> Hasten(6)
08) --> Boxing(8)
10) --> Siphon Speed(10)
12) --> Flashfire(12)
14) --> Tough(14)
16) --> Hot Feet(16)
18) --> Cinders(18)
20) --> Weave(20)
22) --> Kick(22)
24) --> Repel(24)
26) --> Bonfire(26)
28) --> Inertial Reduction(28)
30) --> Speed Boost(30)
32) --> Fire Imps(32)
35) --> Transference(35)
38) --> Fulcrum Shift(38)
41) --> Indomitable Will(41)
44) --> Mind Over Body(44)
47) --> Mental Blast(47)
49) --> Psionic Tornado(49)
Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Ice Blast
Secondary: Ice Manipulation
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Ice Bolt(1)
01) --> Chilblain(1)
02) --> Ice Blast(2)
04) --> Frost Breath(4)
06) --> Hasten(6)
08) --> Freeze Ray(8)
10) --> Chilling Embrace(10)
12) --> Hurdle(12)
14) --> Super Speed(14)
16) --> Health(16)
18) --> Bitter Ice Blast(18)
20) --> Stamina(20)
22) --> Ice Patch(22)
24) --> Ice Storm(24)
26) --> Bitter Freeze Ray(26)
28) --> Shiver(28)
30) --> Whirlwind(30)
32) --> Blizzard(32)
35) --> Freezing Touch(35)
38) --> Frozen Aura(38)
41) --> Body Armor(41)
44) --> Sleep Grenade(44)
47) --> LRM Missile(47)
49) --> Build Up(49)
Archetype: Defender
Primary: Dark Miasma
Secondary: Dark Blast
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Tar Patch(1)
01) --> Dark Blast(1)
02) --> Twilight Grasp(2)
04) --> Gloom(4)
06) --> Hasten(6)
08) --> Shadow Fall(8)
10) --> Dark Pit(10)
12) --> Darkest Night(12)
14) --> Super Speed(14)
16) --> Tenebrous Tentacles(16)
18) --> Hurdle(18)
20) --> Health(20)
22) --> Stamina(22)
24) --> Fearsome Stare(24)
26) --> Petrifying Gaze(26)
28) --> Black Hole(28)
30) --> Night Fall(30)
32) --> Dark Servant(32)
35) --> Moonbeam(35)
38) --> Blackstar(38)
41) --> Dark Consumption(41)
44) --> Dark Embrace(44)
47) --> Oppressive Gloom(47)
49) --> Soul Drain(49)
I'm a lvl 18 controller with Mind/Kenetics and I have done all but one of MY missions solo. I join groups if I feel like it on other peoples missions and have sidekicked and expemplared(sp) to help myself and others on these missions. The only mission of mine that I have accepted or asked for help on is defeating Dr Vahz in Perez park. I don't have to defeat him in order to complete the mission, but I got whomped the first time it tried to take him on and now it's a matter of pride for me to take him out, even if I have to have assistance in doing it. BTW I'm using a sidekick lvl10 blaster to do this. I have had no difficulty in completing my missions and usually only die when I get cocky OR IF I'M WITH A GROUP.
I have Mesmerize, Levitate, Dominate, Mass Hypno, Total Domination, Transfusion, Siphon Power and Speed, Swift, Stealth and Health.
My range on most of these is great and I can either pick them off one by one from a distance or use the mass powers to help imobilize so I can use the healing to better effect.
I love my character and we like to go it alone for the most part.
So, no, a mind/kenetic is NOT doomed. Have fun!
I was reading a guide from a couple months back that mind/kin is great for early levels, but slows down in solo-ability as the game goes on...just wondering if anyone can verify if mind/kin slows down XP-wise, post-32.
"Although it gets no pet at 32 like other control sets, it's actually faster than most controllers (illusion the obvious exception) for soloing pre-32 thanks to a moderate damage single-target attack (levitate) and a lower damage, but huge cone attack (terrify). After 32 you will probably be the slowest soloing primary in the entire game - just so you know" quoted from Breville
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I was reading a guide from a couple months back that mind/kin is great for early levels, but slows down in solo-ability as the game goes on...just wondering if anyone can verify if mind/kin slows down XP-wise, post-32.
"Although it gets no pet at 32 like other control sets, it's actually faster than most controllers (illusion the obvious exception) for soloing pre-32 thanks to a moderate damage single-target attack (levitate) and a lower damage, but huge cone attack (terrify). After 32 you will probably be the slowest soloing primary in the entire game - just so you know" quoted from Breville
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Well, that's true in a sense. Mind's ST direct damage plateaus out pretty quickly, and they don't get a pet to help ameliorate that.
But, if you use Mass Confusion judiciously, yet often, it solos quite respectably. Getting Fireball from the Fire EPP can be helpful here to tag some damage on everyone confused so you get some credit for each kill as they eat one another alive. Terrify helps for that as well. Also wise for a soloing mind is "stealthing" to mission objectives (something Mind can do with Mass Hypnosis and Confuses without having to actually get stealth), and levelling fast by getting mission bonuses quickly instead of creating big heaps of dead bodies.
Illusion or Fire are going to outperform Mind, unquestionably. But I still think Mind has Ice, Earth, and Grav beat for effective soloing. YMMV.
Are counting soloability by speed, or the ability to beat any challenge the game throws at you?
TW/Elec Optimization
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Are counting soloability by speed, or the ability to beat any challenge the game throws at you?
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An optimal combination of the two, with no interest in maximizing "beat any challenge" beyond the ability to defeat an EB, since a soloer need never encounter one unless he wants to with the new slider rules, and no interest in maximizing speed at the expense of being able to play the game for content (you cna make a BEAUTY of a zone hunter, but that grows tiresome for most).
what kind of pointers could be given on Mind/Rad controller. I'm new in the game and am working with one right now..
only 9lvl.
looking for direction.
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Archetype: Blaster
Primary: Ice Blast
Secondary: Ice Manipulation
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Ice Bolt(1)
01) --> Chilblain(1)
02) --> Ice Blast(2)
04) --> Frost Breath(4)
06) --> Hasten(6)
08) --> Freeze Ray(8)
10) --> Chilling Embrace(10)
12) --> Hurdle(12)
14) --> Super Speed(14)
16) --> Health(16)
18) --> Bitter Ice Blast(18)
20) --> Stamina(20)
22) --> Ice Patch(22)
24) --> Ice Storm(24)
26) --> Bitter Freeze Ray(26)
28) --> Shiver(28)
30) --> Whirlwind(30)
32) --> Blizzard(32)
35) --> Freezing Touch(35)
38) --> Frozen Aura(38)
41) --> Body Armor(41)
44) --> Sleep Grenade(44)
47) --> LRM Missile(47)
49) --> Build Up(49)
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Out of curiosity, any reason why you skipped the Cryo Freeze Ray in Munitions Mastery? I have an Ice/Ice Blaster that uses the Cryo Freeze Ray as a third hold. With the amount of AVs that you fight at higher levels, I find a third hold (with a quicker recharge and a shorter animation time than Bitter Freeze Ray) essential to my blaster.
I find your lack of signature disturbing.
I just want to point out that this guide originated before controllers had containment, and before area holds & pets were decreased in power to make the overall experience smoother across all levels. Take all the early posts with a grain of sand. I, for one, have a level 42 Gravity/Radiation controller and it's been easy to solo him anytime I've wanted to. ANY good controller build will be much more soloable today than it was in 2004.
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ANY good controller build will be much more soloable today than it was in 2004.
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Maybe you haven't tried soloing an Earth/Sonic or Earth/FF pre-32. Try that for fun! Sure it's easier now that in 2004, but that's not saying much. Grav/Rad? Piece of cake with homemade frosting.
I like the build of the fire controller but i have a fire/emp controller that i love the build it has the damage of the fire and the emp really works very well for soloing from the first lvl you can go with any of the difficulty lvl you like from the start and go to invinciable once you get your fire imp's.all i took from the fire side was char,fire cages,bonfire and imps from the emp side i have healing aura,heal other,and both the RA's from the extra power set's i took fitness,fighting,speed and leaping and with the power's from these set's i can walk into a mish filled with reds and purple's and take everything out without dieing myself if anyone would like to find out more about how i built this toon just look for me on liberty server under the s/n Nina Shanks
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Greetings, all.
Well I'm on my third day in and enjoying things a bit more than I expected except for finding it very hard to solo.
I noticed on this thread there was no mention of my build. Am I doomed then as a Mind & Kinetic Controller?
Any tips welcome as I'd rather not start over. I just gained Fly and I've always liked characters with mental abilities.
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I think you've made an excellent choice. But then, I'm a little biased--my main (and only 50) is mind/kin.
I've done both solo and team play with my mind/kin, and I find both enjoyable. Like most solo play, you'll level slowly--especially in the 30s. I don't have the experience to compare the level vs time rate against other ATs. As a benchmark, though, with combined solo and team play, and this being my first character above level 10, my mind/kin dinged 50 in 436 hours of play.
In solo play, you'll have to be careful. The damage does plateau--I solo'ed Countess Crey as a +0 EB, but that's about the limit for me (though she's a tough one for a mind controller, since she is one too, plus having a bunch of status resists). You'll get a lot more mileage from the mezzes--almost every mind power inflicts a status of some form, whether sleep, hold, confuse, knockback/knockdown, or the wierd pseudo-hold of Telekinesis (which I stayed away from). The kinetics set complements it nicely with extra buff/debuff powers. If you intend a solo-only career, you can rule out some of the kinetics powers, like Speed Boost and Increase Density (which are others-only).
As a team player, you'll be an invaluable asset to the team. Your holds, buffs/debuffs, and heals will make you very popular, as long as you can stand the endless "SB plz" messages.
In my mind, mind/kin suffers two disadvantages (and they're workable):
1. Many of your buffs and heals have to hit an enemy to work. I get around this by making sure I double- or triple-slot for accuracy. I've triple-slotted Siphon Speed since I got it.
2. Sleep mezzes are easily broken by any attack on the sleeping target. I'm looking at you, Mr. "Let's pull with Fireball"! One thing I do to offset that and the accidental multi-spawn aggro is to save my AoE hold for just such an occasion.
One final thing you'll want to think about, and it's a very contentious issue around here: confuse powers. I have both the single-target and the AoE confuse powers for mind, but I rarely use them. Some teams don't like them because they take away from the XP for a given mob. Some like them because they have the potential to increase the XP per time. I ride the fence, kinda--I save them for when I'm about to get hosed. If it comes down to losing a little XP for the spawn confusion or losing a lot of XP for debt, I pop those powers out.
But that's just my play style.
Champion-server main alts:
Fraulein Mental -- 53 Mind/Kin CTRL -- 908 badges
Sunset Smash -- 50 WP/SS
i think that youre fire/kin guide is ALL wrong. ring of fire? what? ring of fire is completely useless. why not wait til a little later and get fire cages? seems reasonable to me. and to add, i think that on ANY build they should get swift or hurdle at level 6. ANY BUILD. it gives you faster speed, and its not like your not gonna get health and stamina when you get up anyways.
Regarding Ring of Fire... Um... Containment? Not saying it's the gem of the Fire Control set, but it's more accurate than Fire Cages and recharges faster (since it's a ST rather than an AE) and sets up Containment. So, not useless.
And the sweeping generalization about Fitness actually falls apart more often than it holds up, although most characters will benefit from getting Stamina at some point.
Yes, Fitness is nice, but you don't have to take one of the Fitness prereqs at level 6. In fact, I'd argue that you're doing yourself a disservice by doing so, since those powers are a minor quality of life improvement where you could have had an attack to up your DPS or a defensive/mitigating power to keep yourself alive. I generally take one of the Fitness powers when I have nothing spectacular I want to take at the given level - which is usually not at level 6.
So yeah, if the guide is "ALL wrong", you might want to come up with more than that. Have you actually even played either Fire Control or Kinetics before?
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I'm sorry that math > your paranoid delusions, but them's the breaks -- Nethergoat
P.E.R.C. Rep for Liberty server
Agreed--not everyone needs the Fitness pool. And taking a Fitness power at level 6 is something I would never do--there's always another power I need more critically, usually to either set up my attack chain or to get a useful defense, buff, or heal. That's not to say that'll always be the case, though, but most alts I've seen who take a pool early take a travel pool.
I've never taken it. With my mind/kin, I never needed it, especially once I got Transference. Granted, I'll actually use endurance, and I don't have a ton of toggles running, and I do pretty well. My only regular-use toggle is Mind Over Body, and I don't think I've used the Sprint toggle in the last ten levels.
I'll speculate that the more toggle-dependent characters probably gain the most use from Stamina. I think about it from time to time with my PB, but then I pop a blue inspiration, and it's all better.
Champion-server main alts:
Fraulein Mental -- 53 Mind/Kin CTRL -- 908 badges
Sunset Smash -- 50 WP/SS
I have an illusion storm on pinnacle and if you want containment then you dont want the pets from illusion especially phantasim all he is is knockback. You need holds remember
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Dark/Psy Defender
While i don't doubt their control potential, I heavily doubt their soloability. Psy blast is hands down the worse defender secondary, and i can vouch for that as i play a defender with a psy secondary. It does absolute minimal damage. And when i make that statement i don't look at per hit, i look at damage per second (DPS). Reason why DPS is so horrible is for the fact that everything in the psy blasts set takes a really long time to execute, all really long recharges, and cost alot of endurance. While the powerset offers several control type powers, none are effective enough to consider a control power, with the exception of scramble thoughts. That is still however, single target mez, with again minimal dmg. This build could probably group well with the control powers it has, however soloing would be painfully slow, and not worth it at all. It could be my huge bias against psy blasts, but in all honesty, the powerset is horrible, I wish I never picked it.
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Everything in the Psi powers takes a long time to execute?
You have a snipe which takes 6 seconds. This is the same as any sniper attack.
The first power in the set (Mental Blast) is unbearably long (2.7 seconds). Subdue and Telekinetic Blast fire off very fast (1 second on TB!). The recharges are about standard with every single other defender set. The only thing missing is that one really fast recycle power (Rad has Neutrino Bolt, but has slower recharges going down the line). But this doesn't matter because how often does a Rad Defender actually fire off a Neutrino Bolt? Defenders in groups are generally applying debuffs or heals instead of damage.
The only real problem I've found with Psychic is the 50% resistance robots get against it. Other than that, it's a good set. (Taking Telekinetic Blast helps here, though, as it has a smashing damage component to it.)
With the huge boost to Tar Patch in Issue 4, a Dark/Psychic defender can dish out a good amount of hurt with relative safety. (Darkest Night + Tar Patch + Psychic Scream)
I've worked up to level 23 on this build so far. No problems at all soloing. No problems in groups (even SKed up to take on some of the nastier baddies in the game).
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