If you don't want to make things run away then don't use ST. On the other hand if you like fighting smaller numbers of enemies than you are currently facing then using ST to make some of them run off for a while works nicely. ST is not a hold or immobilize and since the accuracy debuff isn't enhanceable you won't see it unless you stack three of them on one target. ST is good on AVs and in situations where there are too many enemies for your group to survive on just damage/hold alone.
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If you don't want to make things run away then don't use ST.
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Hmmm... good idea.
Phantom Rose: Ill / Kin / Psi
Soleau: Ice / Icy / Ice / Core: Ice / Fire / Pyre / Wind / Eclipse / Flare / Corona
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Solo Space
I love ST and it'll always be in my build, but not because of what it does but how it looks. Right now I use it when some has agroed another group close to what we're fighting, or a patrol comes running in on us. Works great that way, the extras run/cower and we can get on with taking out whatever is so hard that's still alive. 
But on the other had this has to be the MOST sittuational power I've ever used, even a rez/Vengance is better then this just because the sittuations that require/allow those powers to be used are more often then the times that ST is needed.
Now as for how to make it work well with most other powers in the game, make it a single target Cower Fear power. So you drop one, it Phantom Army style targets something and makes it cower, requires double stack on a boss, and maybe have it recharge so it only gets out like 5-6 shots before it disapears. If you had it 6 slottted for recharge, you could keep it out so often that you could cower-hold huge groups, but who wants that? And with it's usual hold it would be a nice addition to the Chaotic Control of the Illusion set.
Chaotic yet controlling
Spectral Terror has the best sound effect EVER.
rrrrRRROOOOOAAAWWWWRRRRRR
Awesome.
In my group, our tank herds a massive number of people over to us, he taunts them, I hit Flash, and then I throw down ST to snag anyone that got missed by Flash. It seems to work so far. I use it all the time.
Heh, could make it like Phantasmal Killer in NWN, but maybe having the potential to make a target drop dead on seeing the Phatasm's a bit too powerful.
Seriously, though, I'm not even sure why they'd be running, as Fear was supposed to have been switched to the "cower" effect.
Hell, why not just give it mobility and instead of all this aura stuff give it a nicely maxed Touch of Fear to swat stuff with.
"I'm flying free with my beautiful butterfly wings!" ~ Randy Marsh
Slight correction, player cast PBAoE, cone, ranged and melee single target fear effects and power descriptions were changed. For about a week or two ST used two player level fear powers repeatedly for 30+ seconds, but the power description of ST never changed. ST using Terrify (mind control) and Cloak of Fear (dark armor) at the same levels of effect as players while being a droppable, unkillable, pet was deemed too powerful. When the power was corrected and once again matched it's description, people who had respecced into it to use it as another AoE hold started posting to try to get it changed again. To an extent they have been successful, ST is being changed again to affect fewer enemies with a smaller cone and only blue/green/gray with the AoE in exchange for less fleeing duration. We don't know how well this will work since it apparently hasn't hit the test server yet.
Edit: I've actually suggested what you suggested too, because it would be fun to watch and fun to have a couple of STs following me around. I think it'd be fun, but most people want it to chain cast a MC power.
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most people want it to chain cast a MC power
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Naaa... I just think most people don't want anything to run.
Phantom Rose: Ill / Kin / Psi
Soleau: Ice / Icy / Ice / Core: Ice / Fire / Pyre / Wind / Eclipse / Flare / Corona
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Solo Space
Let's bottom line it.
To the developers:
Please do a search and determine how many illusionist controllers there are 28th and up currently in the game, and how many of them have ST.
Also, if you keep records on character chanages, how many illusionists had ST after it was ramped up, and how many have dropped it since then?
I took ST, and have respec'd it out since.
Partial Character List: http://www.warlock-inc.com/CharList.html
I had it from the 30ish TV respec and got rid of it ASAP with the 44+ respec. Maybe I just didn't know how to use it properly, but everytime I put it out my team would complain and say how much they hated ST.
I'm out of it now, and couldn't be more happy.
~~Lone S.T.A.R.~~
King War Horse -- 50 Illusion/Empathy Controller
~~Dark S.T.A.R.~~
Prime Zarak -- 43 Electric/Electric Brute
I took it based on the description that foes would cower. Then, suddenly, they were running from me as fast as they could. Since my pets only have a limited range I would either have to wait until they came back or let them go. A problem in "Defeat all" missions.
well, after a little playing, and after most of my playing party hit 32+, spectral terror kind of blows. There are rare instances where our party needs to hit the oh [censored] button. Mainly because the ill/kin controller now has phantasms. When she drops phantom army and phantasms its an automatic +4 to our party, depending on how many PAs drop, up to a automatic +6. Thats a lot of damage being dealt, along with a 8 member team, it gets pretty ridiculous. But in the past 2 or 3 weeks, i think teh controller has used spectral terror once, which is pretty wasteful for a power. It needs more everyday usage fixing
Also, because of the spectral terror change, no one is sure whether my cloak of fear causes running anymore 
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On a mission (mission slider set to unyielding) 5 groups of 10 - 15 yellow and orange Nemesis mobs standing around. Cast PA to gather aggro, cast the ST on the edge of first group (away from 2nd so as not to aggro) and everything in the 1st group turned fired at me all of them must have landed a hit because death followed.
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So lemme get this straight... The aggro an ST draws doesn't get directed at the ST, but at the player whose ST it is? Wth good is an invincible pet that doesn't at least draw aggro for it's own attacks?
Two words...
Respec. Fodder.
Has anyone tried it out on test.
It was just released today.
I'm at work so I can't try it out for myself for a while.
Thanks for the update geko. Can't wait to use it if I EVER get to that level....I'm kind of an alta-holic 
Just been trying it. We have a droppable single target fear caster now. The AoE only affects grey/green/blue, the cast is single target and short range. There is very little running, about three to five steps, per fear cast by ST.
Two STs nicely floored the attacks and movement of a blue Warhulk and a bunch of green Freakshow. Unfortunately no real effect in a 8 Carnie fight of even level minions, better off using Blind here.
I'd consider using it on AVs if I slotted it up for recharge on top of Hasten. Four of these kids could probably pretty well snag an AV. Other than AVs and blue cons I can't really see a good use for it anymore. Since I need to respec anyways to pick SuperInvis back up I'll probably drop ST now, but I'll play with it on test untill it goes live to see if I can work it into normal fights.
Last note, all testing I'm doing is with a level 42 in outdoor maps and not using my secondary powers with this. Secondary powers may alter utility of ST but I'm not sure how yet.
Done more playing around.
At 42 nobody objects to ST now, on the other hand you don't really notice it either. ST casts a single target fear effect six times during it's duration. The fear seems to last about 20 seconds (not sure, hard to test this) and does the standard cowering in fear bit now. I really only noticed ST doing anything when I was soloing after I re-slotted for more recharge. Solo, versus 8+ enemies of +0 to +2 levels, with three ST out at once, I noticed an increase in control to the extent that I could stop casting Blind and just chain cast all three pets.
That's really what it took before I noticed ST having an effect on the fight. Fights in groups don't last long enough to get enough STs and ST fears going to make a difference. I didn't get to try ST on any AVs or monsters so I don't know how it stacks up on them. It might be useful in the reactor on respec trials, mabey.
Anyone else testing it? Especially in the 27 to 31 level range? Last note: I don't care how it works in PvP, it needs to be good in PvE first.
I've just been using ST with my lvl 35 controller.
I don't know where you got the aura affecting only blues/greens/greys because i was using it against +1s and +2s (old invincible mission) and the aura was affecting the mob i summoned it into immediately.
I did notice however that the aura only seems to make minions cower, what few leuts i had in my missions didn't seem to be affected by it, but council adjutants may have fear resistance, so i'll have to do more testing on other mobs.
It provides adequate control that i can quite easily just use my ST (one recharge) to control the battle for me (used no holds and no PA). In the whole mission i got hit 3 times, and all 3 were when my phants attacked before i'd summoned ST, and i got hit by the aoe return fire.
I also found that although the aura seems to only affect minions and not leuts(could be wrong about this) or bosses, a single ST is able to fear a boss, and keep them feared, by stacking its aura + terrify.
I also agree that the running is very minor, and nothing compared to the knockback the phantasms cause.
All in all i think it's become a very good control power now.
Nice work Geko!
I took ST in the Test server into a Malta instanced outdoor mission, lvl 46, and it Feared even-con and +1 minions, including Sappers, quite effectively. Ditto Rikti on the PI beaches and +2 monkeys on Monkey Island. It was not quite so effective against Lieuts but I didn't have it slotted; a few accuracy or fear enhancements might make it more powerful. It does jack against Nemesis minions. This is not surprising, since I was never able to effectively Deceive Nems either.
Overall I was pretty pleased with the power and if it does not change would consider it worth using, although still somewhat situational.
I'm really itching to see what it does in the Arena though. If it's effective in PvP I'll settle for it being only somewhat effective in PvE.
I like how it is now and if it doesn't change then I'll keep it.
Nice work Geko(and others).
Wait... it's good?
Damnit! Where am i going to fit SI now? >.<
::sigh::
Thank god I have tomorrow off. Gonna be a day full of testing!
chop chop Tainted I am still waiting on your testing results lol..
The Test Server so far has been far to laggy for me to even move around . If ST is worthy of keeping it's going to be a nightmare trying to pick something else to drop for SI. *sigh*
I know what you guys mean.
Being Ill/kin they made several good changes. Good thing I have a respec to play around with.
Imso jealous of those of you with the respecs to try this all out. Gonna have to try and get in one some time this weekend.
Definately thinking about dropping GI for SI. I'll also drop group fly for spectral terror. I have heard of fear absolutely owning in the arena (dm/regen's are suppose to be nightmares), so I am hoping that spectral terror adds something to the Illusionist's Pvp arsenal.
-- Currently Playing --
Dexter Labrynth (SS/FA Brute)
Former member of Tribute and Victory Reborn
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Done more playing around.
At 42 nobody objects to ST now, on the other hand you don't really notice it either. ST casts a single target fear effect six times during it's duration. The fear seems to last about 20 seconds (not sure, hard to test this) and does the standard cowering in fear bit now. I really only noticed ST doing anything when I was soloing after I re-slotted for more recharge. Solo, versus 8+ enemies of +0 to +2 levels, with three ST out at once, I noticed an increase in control to the extent that I could stop casting Blind and just chain cast all three pets.
That's really what it took before I noticed ST having an effect on the fight. Fights in groups don't last long enough to get enough STs and ST fears going to make a difference. I didn't get to try ST on any AVs or monsters so I don't know how it stacks up on them. It might be useful in the reactor on respec trials, mabey.
Anyone else testing it? Especially in the 27 to 31 level range? Last note: I don't care how it works in PvP, it needs to be good in PvE first.
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Tested it at 38 in an invincible mission with a lvl 40 Envoy of Shadow. The ST only seemed to cause Air Thorns to take off and fly into the air and attack me when it seemed to miss on the cower (and it doesn't AoE cower +2s a whole lot). It pretty much owned anything it zapped with the targetted fear. A single ST can keep an entire area cowered - I got it to grab three +3 behemoth Lts and a couple minions.
Against +2 Envoy, it is capable of cowering him, but with only one slot I can't get enough of them out there to stack fast enough to keep him permanently cowered. But a single ST can get him. I did not test accuracy much, I had RI on him the whole time. It was very useful at the end to cower him and prevent him from using healing flames, although its also possible I spammed LR on him so much it hadn't recharged yet.
The main problem with spamming ST is that keeping PA, phantasms and ST out while running EF and RI leaves precious little endurance left to spam lingering radiation, the rad set new secret weapon.
I'm guessing from testing it that ST would now become a highly useful thing for places like respec or the capes mission.
It is definitely a very useful little pet now. Conceptually, I don't agree with its aggro shifting to me, but in that respect, its much like the PA when they expire, and certainly easy to work around. The PA grab aggro back, so prior to phantasms PA+ST would be a useful combination (and would allow an ill controller to slot PA for damage, you could alternate between PA and ST and not worry about needing perma-PA for aggro control). Scatter is minimal, and less than phantasm knockback so effectively zero. I wish it cost a little less end to cast, but overall its much improved, and I like the fact that it works differently from other fear powers - I like the uniqueness of it.
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No bots in the groups and 2 ST's out during the battle at one point nothing was cowering, everything ran and I did not see any type of ACC debuff.
Also tried on CoT's & Banished Panth missions again nothing cowered most things ran everything else put up a good fight. If there was an ACC debuff it was slight.
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Oh, yeah, the current form of ST is pure crap in a box (box optional), and honestly, Geko's latest idea doesn't sound much better, but I'll give it a shot once it's on test.