APPENDIX A: UNDERSTANDING STATUS EFFECTS
There are a number of distinct status effects in CoH, and Mind Controllers are masters of some of the strongest, whereas Radiation also runs its fair share. Also, Empathy->Clear Mind immunizes against them all. Understanding them as a Mind/Green controller is crucial.
STACKING
Status effects can only be stacked with other status effects of the SAME TYPE. You cannot stack confusion and sleep, fear and hold, etc. A boss with a single application of sleep, hold, and confuse each is a boss who's still fully active and hurting you.
<ul type="square">
[*]Hold: Affected target cannot use any power, and cannot move. The most common status effect controllers use.
[*]Disorient/Stun: Affected target cannot use any power. Also, movement rate drastically reduced.
[*]Sleep: Affected target cannot use any power, and cannot move. Effect automatically ends when target takes any damage from a hero.
[*]Immobilize: Affected target cannot move.
[*]Fear: Affected target cannot use any power, and cannot move. Effect momentarily stops (long enough for target to make one attack), every time he takes damage. Often includes an accuracy debuff.
[*]Phase: Affected target is intangible and cannot be affected or affect others.
[*]Knockdown/up: Affected target is knocked to the ground, or into the air, then has to get up, during which time, he cannot take any other action. Many controller forms of knockdown have repetitive, pulsing, AoE knockdown.
[*]Knockback: Like knockdown but displaces the target horizontally.
[*]Slow: Not really a status effect, rather, a movement debuff, and, usually, recharge debuff.
[*]Smoke, etc: Not really a status effect, rather, a debuff on aggro range, and an accuracy debuff.
[*]Confusion: Does quite a few related but distinct things. Affected targets:
1) stop attacking heroes completely,
2) stop buffing villains completely,
3) buff heroes as though they were villains.
4) attack and debuff villains as though they were heroes-- BUT! 75% the damage done by confused mobs is excluded from the calculation of credit for XP, whenever a mob is defeated. [/list]
Most ATs have at least a few powers in a couple power sets that at least occasionally do status effects. Disorients and stuns are frequently a possible side effect of melee attacks. Dark and Ice (non-controller) sets notoriously wield a variety of controls. Controller primaries are a collection of 3-9 (usually 8) powers whose primary purpose is a status effect.
MINIONS, BOSSES, AVs
Lieutenants and minions (also, underlings, and pets) are ordinarily affected by a control power, if it hits.
However, bosses and certain villain types with special resistances (see below) require two applications of a control power before they're affected (except that occasionally a control will get a 'critical' hit, and affect a boss in a single application). This is commonly referred to as "stacking." The status effect is only in place while the duration of the two applications overlap.
Archvillains are affected by status effects as though they were bosses (they require two applications), but also have an inherent power that allows them to automatically resist most of the total-controls-- hold, sleep, confuse, fear, etc, for about 65% of the duration of the fight (with the exceptions of the Archvillains Terra and Adamastor, who lack it). The power switches itself on and off automatically. There is a visual cue, consisting of purple triangles circling the head of the AV. If the triangles are pointing up, the resistance power is on. If they're pointing down, the resistance power is off, and the AV can be held, etc. It *IS* possible to overcome this Archvillain-level resistance, but it requires an enormous amount of controlling ability-- usually between two or three even level controllers dedicated to nothing but spamming the same kind of status effect (usually a hold) in order to stack it high enough.
Monsters and Giant Monsters have the equivalent of an AV's resistance, but with NO downtime.
Total Control
A term I like to use to distinguish between two classes of controls. Total Controls are controls that fully stop the attacks of an effected enemy that would otherwise be aggroing, for a significant duration. They include hold, sleep, fear, confuse, and phase. Disorient, stun, and even knockback *can* qualify, but ordinarily are not long enough in duration.
Soft Control
Another term I use to distinguish between kinds of controls. Soft controls are controls that you can't benefit from and attack the controlled mob at the same time. They include sleeps, fear, smoke, and phase. (The other controls could be called "hard" controls.)
Hard Total Controls: hold, confuse
Hard Limited Controls: Knockdown/up, Slow, Immob
Soft Total Controls: sleeps, fear, smoke, and phase
APPENDIX B: REGARDING CONFUSION, XP, TIME, NUMBERS
A confused mob will actively do damage to the other mobs you're fighting. Normally, anything except a teammate doing damage to mobs you're fighting claims a portion of the XP for themself.
However, MOST of a CONFUSED MOb's DAMAGE DOES NOT COUNT in this regard. 75% of the damage a confused mob does to your other enemies magically disappears from BOTH sides of the equation.
The equations for real XP yield over time are complex and the subject of a separate FAQ. You have to look at both the fight time, and some unknown standard downtime between fights, as well as the way confuse buffs XP, to get it right. Fortunately, there is one fairly simple rule to follow regarding keeping XP up. (S=3DF, where S is the amount of time between fights, D is the % damage you do, and F is the normal duration of a fight without confusions.)
If you're using confusion, it will not worsen XP per time unless you spend more than a certain amount of time between fights. That amount of time is: three times the amount of time the fight itself WOULD have normally taken, reduced by the same fraction as the damage you did.
As a practical matter, groups that are persuing XP in any remotely reasonable fashion will be well within this range, so that confusion NEVER, as a practical matter, hurt XP/time. Some people will never believe you re: this. If somebody disrupts team play telling you not to use confuses, I strongly recommend you cite their disruptive ignorance and leave the team.
APPENDIX C: CONFUSING SPECIFIC MOBS
There are a few noteworthy mobs in CoH to deal with, as a Mind Controller. As has been noted, confused enemies will buff and debuff to *your* advantage, and this is something you'll very much want to take advantage of. Any time a mob is primarily or note worthily a buffer, debuffer, or controller, you should consider it your solemn duty to confuse them.
An incomplete list of confuse-worthy targets:
<ul type="square">[*]Council vampires of all sorts (they use various sleeps and holds).
[*]Banished Pantheon Shamen EXCEPT Death Shamen (the others use myriad status effects and debuffs, including snow storm, earthquake, and hurricane).
[*]Some of the Circle of Thorns Mages-- especially madness mages (who virtually are Mind/Emp themselves), Life Mages (who heal now, some), Ice Thorn casters, and worst, those pesky Earth Thorn casters-- all of whom put their powers to work for YOU.
[*]CoT Portals, which summon Behemoths that yield no XP (yuk!), but are good XP themselves, can be kept from EVER summoning by confusing them before they aggro to anything (make SURE to keep the confusion up).
[*]Crey Medics and Radiologists (Medics heal and Radiologists do rad infection), as well as Geneticists, who MAY actually be able to resurrect fallen heroes while confused-- I've never seen it, but it may be possible.
[*]All devouring earth 'shrooms. They mez like crazy, and also summon mez-resistance emanators. (See below for more on Emanators).
[*]Lost Aberrants and Pariahs, especially the Eremites and Anchorites.
[*]Rikti Mentalists, Mesmerists, and Guardians. Also, Rikti portals, opened by communications officers, will port in *confused* conscripts if you confuse the portal!
[*]Sky raider Force field Generators (yes, they bubble *you*!).
[*]Tsoo Yellow Ink Men, who use sleeps and holds, and Sorcerers, whose heals are legendarily annoying, and who have a hold of their own. Also, Dragonfly, Herald, and Skyfall type bosses. Finally, anytime a Tsoo throws caltrops that are getting on your nerves, confuse him. As long as he's alive and confused, the caltrops will affect him, not you. (After he dies, the caltrops revert to hurting you.)
[*]Vazhilok Embalmed of all kinds, will blow up their own allies if you confuse them, rather than your team. Normally not a high priority for confusion, since holding them is just as good, but frankly, everyone loves you when you set off Zombie fireworks safely. SUPER funny.
[*]False Nemeses. These guys *can* be confused with the normal difficulty of a boss, and they often have dispersion bubble up.
[*]Malta. Sappers, which are, hands down, the best target for confusions in the entire game. They do negligible damage, but even stalwart tanks and epic scrappers fear their end drain. You needn't. Have them drain your enemies instead! Also, if you have a Malta Engineer on hand held, but he's already dropped an auto-turret that is annoying you, confuse him. So long as he's alive and confused, the turret will attack villains. It reverts when he dies though.
[*]Carnie Illusionists and Master Illusionists-- they'll summon hordes of pets-- other illusionists, Dark Servants, Phantasms... and they'll all fight each other, so long as you keep the original summoner alive and confused. Great fun.
[*]Knives of Artemis-- the Hands were a special pain in my rear, because they mez and somehow I rarely saw them beforehand. Also, all the Knives throw caltrops, it seems like, and a single mass confusion can turn an inferno of caltrop microdamage against the people who created it.
[*]ODDITY: Devouring Earth villains drop a wide variety of emanators that buff other DE ONLY. Confusing the person who summoned the emanator OR the emanator itself will make the emanator STOP buffing the DE, but it will NOT buff your team. (This is an unusual exception.)
[*]CAUTION: DE Fungoids (deathcaps, etc) require special attention, as well. If one that you confuse plants a fungus (which normally provide nearby DE with resistance to status effects), and then you proceed to put holds on other DE, and the fight gets going, and somehow your fungoid dies, suddenly you'll have a fungus that nobody was worrying about breaking all your holds. So watch funguses. Keep them separately confused if for whatever reason your team isn't killing them automatically.
[*]CAUTION: Nemesis are a pain in the rear. They all require two applications to confuse, (Not to mention that none of the robots can be slept.) You're basically going to have to rely on holds vs. Nemesis. Let's hope you're good with Dominate and Total dominate. Or you have EMP. EMP & Levitate vs. Jaegers for teh WIN!
[*]CAUTION: Explosives, a relatively recent introduction into the game, blow up good guys and bad guys alike. Don't be tricked into thinking you can confuse them into not blowing you up. A confused explosive puts the smackdown intended for you, on the enemy, but also puts the smackdown intended for the enemy on YOU! [/list]
APPENDIX D: MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE
<ul type="square">[*]Always be courteous. Discourtesy is always a waste of time.
[*]Start teams yourself, rather than waiting to be chosen. Develop your leadership and communication skills. (The author is sorely lacking in this department.)
[*]There are three good ways to approach a fight. 1) You lead into each fight with area control from sufficient distance, or 2) a tank leads in and grabs aggro, or 3) a blaster or defender pulls ones and twos. TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY for making sure your team knows and agrees on one and only one of these, especially if you're leading.
[*]If your team is composed of 40%+ melee and the group isn't in way over its head, help blasters, defenders, and other controllers understand that pulling with blasts is NOT THE ONLY way to play.
If you're on a team with no tanks and few controllers, help any twitchy scrappers present understand that being debt magnets is NOT THE ONLY way to play.
[*]If you're on a team with a good tank who is herding, don't fire off control until he's in position. Ask him to fire off an F7 "Ready!" when you should mez. But also watch out for other teammates who get dangerous aggro away from him. Herding can be dangerous, and you're not vital to it, so use your alertness to the max.
[*]If you're on a team with a good blaster or defender who's pulling, if there are *any* melee people on the team, DO NOT mez anything until it's WELL OUTSIDE THE AGGRO RANGE of whatever group it's been pulled from. And for god's sake do NOT confuse it!
[*]If you are on a team with people who do AoE damage-- particularly claw/*, spine/*, and */dark scrappers and fire/* and */fire blasters, watch positioning CAREFULLY, because once you lock down a group, obviously they can't be worked into position for cones and AoEs. It's ok, especially with the scrappers, to wait a minute to lock mobs down, and not lockdown before they cluster up. You've got heals, so if need be, let the scrapper go into the red, then heal, mez, and heal again. It may also be useful in this regard to run ahead of the team a bit and immediately mez clusters of MObs as soon as they spawn and before they start to meander. This can also apply to area toggle debuffers.
[*]Some attacks will make mobs scatter-- it seems to me most notoriously, everything with the word "rain" in the power description. If you have a teammate running this kind of effect but not locking down mobs first, work something out with them.
[*]Accept that there are bad teams to be on, and that you can only do two things about them: talk, and leave. If the team can't be improved with talk, you must leave it.
[*]If you're LEADING a team, it means you accept responsibility for recruiting, communicating, and most of all, addressing misconduct if it's ruining play for the others. Addressing misconduct in a team is your job because you have the sole power to kick people. If you don't want to exercise it, hand off leadership to somebody who does, preferably BEFORE anything becomes an issue. And always say you've done so in the team channel.[/list]
APPENDIX E: FURTHER READING
Confusion and XP/time -- I got teh Maths, baybee!
Hedon's Guide to Mind Control--Scroll down to the Telekinesis section.
Frost's Guide to Ice/Empathy & Kinetics-- Another */Empathy controller for comparison.
Foxmaiden's Fire Control Guide-- For Fire/Emp and Fire/Rad contrast.
C-force's Mind/Storm Control Guide-- For Mind/Storm contrast
Breville's Mind/Kinetics Guide -- For Mind/Kin contrast
Laughing Man's Empathy/Psi Guide -- For more Empathy goodness
Choosing a Controller V2 | Splattrollers | Plant/Rad | Fire/Storm | Mind/Emp & Mind/Rad
Weird Controller Powers | Conf & XP/Time | Controller Damage
Being a Healer | The word Necessary | Natural Concept Characters
Mind, Radiation, Empathy
or, Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously
PvE Team & Solo Mind/Empathy and Mind/Radiation in I6.
By Enantiodromos
__________________________________________________ ____
1. Introduction
2. Mind Control
........a. Overview
........b. Mind Control Features in Depth
........c. Individual Powers
........d. Using Mind Control
3. Empathy
........a. Overview
........b. Individual Powers
........c. Using Empathy
........d. Mind/Empathy Synergy
4. Radiation
........a. Overview
........b. Individual powers
........c. Using Radiation
........d. Mind/Radiation Synergy
5. Pool Powers
........a. Recommended Pool Powers
........b. Other Pool Powers
........c. Pool Powers to Avoid
6. Per Origin (RP)
........a. Mind controllers and Origins
........b. Empathy and Origins
........c. Radiation and Origins
7. Builds
........a. Mind/Empathy Build Checklist
........b. Mind/Radiation Build Checklist
........c. Dr. Maningzhoue and Actaeon, two characters of mine.
8. Note on Ancillary (aka "Epic") Power Pools
APPENDIX A: Understanding Status Effects
APPENDIX B: Regarding Confusion, Experience, Time
APPENDIX C: Confusing Specific MObs
APPENDIX D: Miscellaneous Advice
APPENDIX E: Further reading
__________________________________________________ ____
INTRODUCTION
In this FAQ, I'll be talking about Mind control with Empathy and Radiation sets. I hope to provide fairly thorough insight into both sets. My 'main' is a Mind/Empathy L50 controller, and I run a Mind/Rad L29 controller, and a Rad/Psi L36 Defender, so I've played the great majority of these powers fairly heavily. I don't play player-versus-player at all, and I won't be discussing PvP.
MIND CONTROL
Mind Control is the premier set for hard & total control, aggro-free control, confusions, and area control. It does fair damage that's typed Psi for good penetration, has enormous directed control potential, no pets, no immobilizations, and is the most distinctive controller primary there is.
(note, please see Appendix A: Understanding Status Effects, if any terminology here is unfamiliar).
<ul type="square">[*]Hard Controls:
Mind has five SOLID hard controls: a ranged single-target and *two* Ranged AoE holds-- Dominate, Telekinesis (AoE Toggle), and Total Domination (AoE). It also has two confusions, which are the hardest controls in the PvE game: Confuse (ranged single-target) and Mass Confusion (ranged AoE).
[*]Soft Controls:
Mind also has three soft controls-- Mesmerize (ranged single-target sleep) Mass Hypnosis (ranged AoE), and Terrify, (large cone fear).
[*]Aggro Free Controls:
Three of Mind's controls, Confuse, Mass Hypnosis, and Mass Confusion, never, ever cause aggro.
[*]Damage dealing:
Controllers now do meaningful damage (see containment), and most of Mind's damage is typed Psi, which is rarely resisted. Dominate and Mesmerize are standard damage-dealing controls, and a great damage/control one-two in a fight. Mind also has Levitate, a decent high damage power and Mind's only partial control. The bonus of Levitate is that it's smashing damage, if you're worried about fighting robots.
[*]Containment setup:
Containment is now the name of the game for damage with controllers-- any mob that is immobilized, held, disoriented, or slept takes double damage from any attack by a controller (except brawl). Mind has two single-target (Dominate, Mesmerize) and three ranged AoE controls (Total Dom, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis) that set up containment. This can mean decent damage output with unusual safety, in the hands of a well-built mind controller.
[*]Confusions:
Mind specializes in confusion, one of the most controversial kinds of powers in the game. Confusions are like a hold in that they completely stop a mob from taking any action against your team. However, they also cause the enemy to attack his own allies-- and most (75%) of the damage they do when confused, is not "counted" when mobs are defeated, so you wind up getting more experience that normal for the damage you do. Also, they work on certain mob types, like Circle of Thorns Demon Portals, Devouring Earth emanators, and so on, where other controls don't. Furthermore, if the enemy runs any sorts of buffs, heals, and so on, they use them to benefit *your* team while confused. Finally, confusion unlike a hold can cause mobs to either scatter or bunch up, depending on your skill and luck, since the mobs are left mobile.
Confusions are widely misunderstood for three reasons:
1) They were at one point in the early game capable of making you lose experience, over time, if used.
2) People improperly compare confused villains to pets because the L32 Mind Controller power is Mass Confusion, not a pet.
3) People sometimes become interested in how much experience they're getting per defeated MOb. Confusion can cut down modestly on your experience gained per mob, but it always compensates-- or overcompensates-- by speeding up fights, which mean more experience per time.
Because of these things, there is a persistent belief that confusions can at present cause teams to 'lose XP.' This can be frustrating.
[*]Trickiness:
Mind Controls can be some of the hardest control effects for teammates to recognize. None of them have dramatic animations like, say, Earth or Ice, and teammates attacking/killing controlled mobs first can cut down on your effectiveness, if they can't/won't learn to work with you. Confusions, indeed, leave mobs actually moving and attacking, which can be even more confusing for teammates. Communication is a must.[/list]
INDIVIDUAL POWERS
NOTE: Read the appendix on status effects first, if any terms used here are not familiar.
NOTE: Regarding slotting, remember: never slot more than 3 of a given enhancement in a given power.
<ul type="square">[*]MESMERIZE
Available: L1
Slotting: 1 Accuracy. IF you want damage, you could add 1-3 damage. A second accuracy later, when you're sure you need it.
Importance: Consider
Mesmerize is OK damage, and is good for putting fringe lieutenants and minions to sleep-- for quite a while. If there are guys on the fringe on the opposite side from your team who aggro, put them to sleep, and deal with them later!
[*]LEVITATE
Available: L1
Slotting: 1 Accuracy, 0-3 Damage whenever you start to obsess over damage output.
Importance: Consider
Levitate is the best low-level damage power in the set. It does knock-up, which at least momentarily interrupts your enemies, and it does smashing damage, which is nice to have against, say, robots, who're resistant to psi but vulnerable to smashing.
[*]DOMINATE
Available: L2
Slotting: Six-slot immediately. 1 Accuracy. Any combination of 1-3 damage and 1-3 hold, the remainder recharge, or a second accuracy later if you decide you need it.
Importance: Mandatory
Dominate is a good fast single target hold, with decent damage. Dominate is a bread-and-butter power. You should ALWAYS take it at level 2.
[*]CONFUSE
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 accuracy. If you feel like you want to keep bosses confused, 1-3 recharges. Don't slot to more than 3 until you really have the slots to spare. Also consider 1-2 range, since this is aggro-free.
Importance: Important
Confuse completely stops an enemy from attacking you or your teammates, and additionally forces them attack and debuff other villains, and buff the good guys! As if that weren't enough, it DRAWS NO AGGRO! You can spam confuses all day long, if you just want to clear out an area. It requires two applications to affect a boss-- much like holds, and has a longer recharge time, BUT, it also has a significantly longer duration.
Another way confuses differ from holds is that, confused mobs will still move around under their own power. Potentially, in very dispersed, adjacent groupings, they'll go where you don't want them to go. On the other hand, confusion can also be used to get an outlying mob to cluster up with the rest of a group, since he'll move to attack them. If you're really clever, it's a herding tool. If you're really unlucky, it causes a bit of scatter. Fair tradeoff.
Confuse should be SERIOUSLY considered by L16 or so, if not straight away at L6. Using it on enemy defender types is fantastic.
[*]MASS HYPNOSIS
Available: L8
Slotting: 1 Accuracy. A second accuracy when you have slots to spare. Also consider 1-3 recharge, if you find you can make use of the power, and 0-2 range when you really have slots to spare.
Importance: Consider
Mass Hypnosis is your first, and one of *two*, AGGRO FREE AREA CONTROLS. It is a large Area of Effect sleep that centers on an enemy you target while at range. It does no damage. Very good for mitigating damage when you're facing overwhelmingly large spawns, as when two large spawns are back-to-back. It also initiates containment damage doubling.
[*]TELEKINESIS
Available: L12
Slotting: 1 End Redux. 2 more when you have slots to spare and/or are getting regular use of this power.
Importance: Consider
Telekinesis is an auto-hit TOGGLE ranged area hold, meaning, you select a target, toggle on TK, and the target and everyone else around them has a hold applied. Additionally, affected targets steadily move in a direct line away from you- this is what makes Telekinesis tricky; you have to find physical obstacles to bunch your TK'd opponents up into, unless you just *want* them to drift off and eventually leave your target-select range, at which point the toggle drops and they're no longer held. Beware, though-- as a wandering area control this can draw aggro to you from far away much the way a debuff toggle on a runner can!
Telekinesis is also one of the biggest end hogs in the entire game. To use this power as a staple, you'll need to take it and slot it fairly heavily for end reduction, which given all other considerations, you'll have to do either ASAP, or very, very late.
[*]TOTAL DOMINATION
Available: L18
Slotting: Six-slot immediately. 2 accuracy, 2 recharge, and 2 hold. Or possibly, drop an accuracy or a hold for a recharge esp. if you run Rad Infection or Tactics.
Importance: Crucial
Total domination is an Area of Effect Hold applied to everyone within a fairly large radius from an enemy you target at range. It does no damage, but does draw aggro. Like most area controls it has a fairly long recharge time. If you can set yourself up to reliably and frequently cast Total Domination, you've got about half your functionality down. Take it at 18 and slot it immediately.
[*]TERRIFY
Available: L26
Slotting: 1 Accuracy. Add 0-1 accuracy (especially if you don't run Rad Infection or Tactics) 1-2 end redux, when you reasonably can. If you decide you need damage, 3 damage.
Importance: Important
Terrify is a fear effect with an accuracy debuff that does psi damage equal to dominate in a VERY large cone. Though it's a soft control, as damage mitigation goes it can still be useful when you team with single-target hitters-- particularly if you have a self heal and can tolerate a few hits. Good for doing damage to big clusters when you solo. Terrify also has a good recharge rate for such a big, broad damage/control attack. Endurance is what tends to keep Terrify in check. With Stamina and Recovery Aura or AM, you'll be able, eventually, to sidestep this limitation.
[*]MASS CONFUSION
Available: L32
Slotting: 1 accuracy, then 1 confuse and recharge. One more of each when you've got slots to spare, or possibly 0-2 range.
Importance: Mandatory
Here's the pinnacle of Mind Control! Mass confusion is everything that the single target confuse is, except as an AoE. It's long-duration, slow recharge, draws no aggro, and is fantastic for clearing out an area (say, the bodyguards of an AV). It can be readily stacked with confuse, and is certainly the most powerful single control power in the PvE game. It's also hysterically entertaining.
Refer to the section on Confuse, and think AoE. [/list]
USING MIND CONTROL POWERS
Included below are some ways to use Mind control powers in combination. I have intentionally not included typical solo damage chains, because they're not hard to figure out (levitate, mez, and dominate, as well as pool attacks like air superiority, are the powers of choice. After level 26, though, soloing becomes even more pointless, and I recommend you not bother).
<ul type="square">[*]Mass Hypnosis, Dominate, Mesmerize (Very Safe)
This is a basic combo you can be doing by L8. Lead with Mass Hypnosis from a good distance, then immediately Dominate to get the most important target under control-- either the guy your buddies are gunning for, or the boss you dread most. Now mesmerize the mob furthest from the attack zone of your teammates. Cycle your Dominates through the battlefront, and your Mesmerizes through the rear of the enemy. You'll be doing noteworth damage with every hit, and mitigate nearly all of the enemy's damage.
This combo is particularly important, because there's a strong current of well-deserved disdain for lowbie controllers who're full of useless powers because they're building toward their ubar stamina/hasten/movement power/pet build in the 30s.
So if you really wanna be a hardcore *controller* early, here's your chance. Get this puppy up and running, trouble yourself to explain it to teammates, and avoid teaming with people who have large area damage before you turn 21, and can consistently sling total domination for them. Here's a sample build geared toward keeping the control flowing.
1 Mesmerize /Acc,End (1,3)
1 Healing Aura /End (1)
2 Dominate /Acc,End,Rchg,End,Hold,Hold (2,3,5,5,7,7)
4 Absorb Pain /Heal,Heal (4,9)
6 Confuse /Conf (6)
8 Mass Hypnosis /Acc,End (8,9)
Extensive control for single-target hitters, with heavy healing to back it up. And you can always spec slots out of Mesmerize and Mass Hypnosis when you turn 24.
Also, see the trickier "Mesmerize, Mass Hypnosis" below.
[*]Confuse, Mass Confusion (Aggro FREE!)
For going after large groups with very high safety, or for leading into groups that you want to subsequently Hold, but want to be quite sure never attack you or your team. Apply mass confusion, then, lay a single confusion on each boss. This ensures every mob is completely controlled WITHOUT ANY AGGRO, and doesn't even involve bosses reducing the XP value of individual mobs before you send your team in. This might be hard to pull off perfectly if there are many bosses or you don't run hasten yet. Also, if you have large groups you just want to clear off, especially if they lack bosses, you can just apply mass confusion and keep spamming confuse until you have one mob left. \
[*] Telekinesis, Confuse
Here's a great way to bring your stragglers back into the fold of TK. Suppose you have part of a spawn gathered in a corner, but one or two got away, and you just REALLY want them all in one place. Wait for the right moment, and confuse the straggler(s). They'll run right over to the badguys that are bobbing in the corner, and get stuck in the hold themselves.
[*]Confusion, confusion, patience! (Aggro FREE!)
For dealing with pesky spawns of bad guys surrounding an Arch Villain-- confuse the AV a few times, and wait. When his mez resistance drops, he will promptly decimate his own allies, leaving your team free to focus on him. This is particularly beneficial fighting certain AVs who spawn in the presence of large status-effect groups or other dangers, such as Infernal.
[*]Mass Hypnosis, Total Domination (Extremely Safe)
Total Domination does after all draw aggro. And sometimes you'll want to lead into fights, as a controller. Especially if you don't have a handy tank or are dealing with large groups of psi blasters (Gordon Trench and The Clockwork King's dimension come to mind). Especially if your accuracy with Total Domination isn't Iron Clad, the Mass Hypnosis is a nice cushion. The guys you miss with Total Domination will stay asleep, and you can target Dom them to your heart's content. If you're really hardcore and have an especially enormous cluster of MObs, you can always try doing partial overlap placement with the two-- get Mass Hypnosis further back, and Total Dom nearer; you'll still be buffering in the overlap, get more total coverage, and your team will presumably be dealing with anybody in the front row that Total Dom missed.
[*]Total Domination, Dominate (Low-risk)
This is elementary total lockdown, and should be in every Mind Controller's playbook. Apply Total Domination to a spawn, then keep your eyes open and spam dominate through the group on a cycling basis (usually, bosses first). Unless your Dominate is slow or you're fighting things 3+ over your head, you ought to be able to keep a spawn locked down at least until your endurance runs out. But if you're doing this, you're going to need to survive whatever ranged alpha strike any bosses present will use-- so don't do it against mezzers like Rikti Chief Mentalists. Obviously, in a scenario with bosses, pop Total Dom and then get Dominate on the boss as fast as possible.
[*]Mass Hypnosis, Mass Confusion and Terrify (Low-risk)
Here's the Promised Land of soloing. If you have both of the top powers in Mind Control as well as either Mass Hypnosis, and especially if you have Hasten and Stamina and/or Endurance Buff to support it, this trick becomes possible. Lead in with Mass Hypnosis. Follow up with Mass Confusion. They're still sleeping though, and ready to take 2x damage from your next attack! Now hit them with Terrify. They'll take damage, wake up, smack each other once, and cower. If you have teammates, they can finish them off. Or, you can keep terrifying them, with Mass Hypnosis beforehand when available to get 2x containment damage.
[*]Mesmerize, Mass Hypnosis (Moderate risk)
I'm mentioning this one because it's possible, which most people don't know, but risky. You can, in fact, approach a large spawn of MObs with a boss in it, and FIRST mesmerize the boss, THEN use Mass Hypnosis on the group. This *will* get the entire group including the boss sleeping, and I know of no other way a single character in the game can do such a thing. But then again, I'm not sure why you'd want to. At any rate, the real point is, doing it the other way around is NOT possible-- because the damage component of a Mesmerize, or ANY other damage-dealing sleep power, automatically negates any other sleep effects with which it might otherwise stack. [/list]
EMPATHY
Play Empathy if you want to be popular in the early game with people who don't understand defenders well.
Empathy, has lots of healing, yes. But it's is more about reducing downtime between fights, and later on, about buffing an ally or two, and less about team defense, than most people think. Personally I think it's fantastic as a team-oriented SECONDARY-- a controller can use it to the max for it's supporting role without extravagant expense in powers and slots.
The downside is of course you do need a team to make Empathy useful. Even that has a silver lining, though, because you really should team anyway, as a controller, and being a "Healer" has got to be one of the best (if not best-justified) selling points you can broadcast when you're looking for a team.
Though it's got a lot of heal, the high range of Empathy has some great buff powers OTHER than the heals. People will love you all over again for a dozen levels when you pick up Fortitude and Recovery Aura at levels 20 and 28. Under the right circumstances, you can also ingratiate yourself immensely in the 20s and up with clear mind. And Adrenaline Boost, the final power of the set, is a phenominal single-teammate booster.
Empathy is certainly the least directly offensive set, and along with FF one of the most team-oriented. It has more click and teammate-target effects than any other set. And half (44%) of the set is effects that are (or can be) last-ditch, emergency efforts to keep teammates from being dead in combat. It is, after all, a weird set.
INDIVIDUAL POWERS
<ul type="square">[*]HEALING AURA
Available: L1
Slotting: 1 Heal. +0-2 Heals and 1-2 End Redux when you have spare slots.
Importance: Mandatory
The only low level power you'll get out of Empathy that helps you, and you'll be forced to take it. It's a good self/PBAoE heal.
[*]HEAL OTHER and ABSORB PAIN
Available: L2, L4 respectively
Slotting: 2 Heal. +0-1 Heal, +0-2 Endurance, when you have spare slots.
Importance: Choose ONE.
My position is, these two are redundant on a controller. Absorb pain makes you wait another 2 levels to take it, heals MUCH more for MUCH less endurance, and is a little trickier to manage since it hurts you a little and makes you un-healable for a short period. From my PoV, Mind/Empathy is for players who maximize good judgment and skill-- which suggests Absorb Pain. The choice is yours.
[*]RESURRECT
Available: L10
Slotting: 1 Recharge
Importance: Consider
This power brings a teammate back to full health from defeat. The End cost is enormous, and the recharge is very slow. Primarily, this power is good for saving your teammates the trouble of walking back from the hospital.
But there are situations where an in-combat Resurrect can be fantastic. A group depending on a Tank can really benefit from that tank making a very fast full-recovery. A group in a tedious fight with a fast-regenerating boss or AV will likely be very happy with a spot-resurrect when it's key blaster falls.
But you have to get a sense for when to do this, and when to NOT do it. The power is situational.
[*]CLEAR MIND
Available: L16
Slotting: 1 Recharge or Range
Importance: Important
Resistance against, and popping out of, immob, sleep, hold, and disorient can be crucial against some kinds of foes, and this sometimes overlooked power makes you the anti-controller. It cycles fast, lasts a while, and is otherwise pretty much effortless-- EXCEPT-- that you have to train teammates to call out quickly when held or otherwise watch them on the screen like a hawk, if you're not spamming this power before every fight. Either way, this power is great if you're not *lazy*.
[*]FORTITUDE
Available: L16
Slotting: 1 AccBuff. +0-2 Acc Buff +0-2 Def Buff when you have spare slots, or +0-3 Recharge if you want to maximize # of teammates you can give it to.
Importance: Important
A tidy damage, resistance, defense, accuracy boost. A little more everything! (Including, BTW, resistance and defense against psi!) Fairly slow recycle, but if you work at it you can have 3 teammates forted almost all the time once you have hasten and couple recharges in it. Plus, if you're going to be worth nothing else in a fight, say against an AV, you can still fort teammates.
[*]RECOVERY AURA
Available: L28
Slotting: 3 Recharge immediately. +0-3 EndMod if you have spare slots.
Importance: Crucial
A PBAoE endurance recovery buff extraordinaire. It is, itself, an End Hog, so you're best to pop it at the start of a fight, unless you think you'll be mostly watching the scrappers wear themselves out beating bad guys silly. It does affect you too. And especially among folks who have not sorted out their own endurance needs yet, you'll be considered a God.
[*]REGENERATION AURA
Available: L35
Slotting: 1 Recharge. +0-2 Recharge, +0-3 Heal if you have spare slots.
Importance: Marginal
A power I don't have direct experience with. I've seen it used. It's a good health recovery buff. However. You're a controller, and of all the heal options, this one is the most like an active combat defense. Team defense should come from your controls-- heals should increase your *options*. So I recommend skipping Regeneration Aura.
[*]ADRENALINE BOOST
Available: L38
Slotting: 3 Recharge immediately. +0-3 EndMod if you a have nothing else to slot.
Importance: Important
A modest duration, long recharge buff to one teammate's recharge speed, endurance recovery, and regen. Even though available only late in the game, still a very impressive power. There is nothing else as good, at L38, to take. Take it! [/list]
EMPATHY USAGE
Like defenders, be ready to do some buffing at the start of combat, and pay attention to when the buffs are back up again. Giving somebody Fortitude + Adrenaline Boost is a very real and noticeable improvement, to any character I've ever seen. Even just spamming heals on a scrapper can easily make the difference between a defeated AV and a defeated scrapper. If you're pulling off a hazardous resurrect, be ready to hit your target with a heal if he starts to go down before he gets away or turns on toggle defenses. Rezzing somebody to die again just sucks.
Empathy is not your primary as a controller. I recommend against taking more than two healing powers with the set, and I recommend against trying to routinely use heals to defend your team. The exception is: when you're aiding a retreat or fighting an AV.
MIND CONTROL/EMPATHY SYNERGY
MC/Empath is really a build for multi-taksers and skill players-- people who think it's fun to try and keep their finger on the pulse of everything going on, especially in a pickup team, where it approaches impossible, even if folks stay together. MC/Emp is one of the least susceptible of all builds, to the "What is there to do but stand here and hit things" syndrome. You will have to become very accustomed to your preferred method of selecting both teammates and enemies. Tab (in the default keyboard configuration) cycles you through enemies. And you can select teammates with mouse clicks on the team list. I recommend mapping the "~" key to cycle through teammates. You can also select targets of either sort with a click directly on the target. Only you can come up with the target-selection scheme that works best for you, but choose wisely. Also, strongly recommended you turn the health and status display bar for other heroes to to "always on."
Mind control has a lot of aggro-free attacks, and Empathy has no aggroing debuffs. You could live your life virtually aggro-free under this build. You will be the last man standing, more than almost anybody. If you are prone to survival guilt, you may want to consider another build.
Neither Mind nor Empathy is a 'swiss-army-knife' set. Empathy heals and buffs. Mind hard controls, and that's a reasonably narrow area of expertise. Also, mind is pretty much a grouping-oriented set, and Empathy the most grouping-oriented of the controller secondaries. MC/Emp is therefore an extreme group build. That's how to think about playing Mind/Empathy IMO.
Mind control is not surprisingly an End Hog with its advanced stunts, nor are heals or resurrection light on the end. Fortunately, Empathy has one major power that works directly with you-- Recovery Aura. You can readily eat your entire native + stamina endurance recovery doing Mind Controller Tricks, so having Recovery Aura ready to go can be a real boon.
Mind/Empathy can be a real boon if you're working with a modest number of damage dealers who're squishy or would prefer not to rely only their own defenses. Duoing or trioing with blasters and/or Super Reflexes or Dark Armor scrappers, particularly, can be quite lucrative, especially if you're at a stage where you can boost their accuracy a little, you have missions set on invincible, and your allies are a couple levels below you. The ideal sidekick for a Mind/Empathy is a Blapper!
Finally, empathy has lots of buffs you can use on non-teammates when you stumble on someone in a pitched battle on the street, and Mind Control likewise has some *great* damage-free crowd control. Try this sometime, once you're L38-- find a scrapper in a pitched battle versus a big ambush, who's about to go down. Heal, Fort, Rec Aura, Adrenaline Boost, then Total Dom their opponents. A near disaster converted into an easy XP goldmine-- thanks to your friendly neighborhood MC/Emp!
RADIATION
Radiation is an effective and aggressive set. It's got three fantastic buffing/debuffing tools very early in the set, and two or three other powers that are worth a serious look. It adds a lot of offensive punch to teams or to its user solo, as well as substantial control at the higher levels, a PBAoE heal, and a resurrect. Powerful, agressive, versatile-- this is Radiation.
<ul type="square">[*]RADIANT AURA
Available: L1
Slotting: 1 Heal. If you really find yourself using it a lot, could be slotted +0-2 Heal and +0-2 Endurance reduction.
Importance: Forced
Radiant Aura is a tidy PBAoE heal. You'll be forced to take it. But hey-- you can heal yourself with it.
[*]RADIATION INFECTION (RI)
Available: L2
Slotting: 1 Endurance reduction. Then 1-3 Defense Debuffs. If you really feel the need to 6-slot this, consider 1-2 Accuracy Debuffs, but get your 3 Defense Debuffs in first.
Importance: Crucial
Radiation Infection is a toggle AoE debuff-- you pick an enemy, toggle the power on, and the enemy and any villain nearby has reduced accuracy and defense. You can slot this for offensive (DefDebuff) or defensive (AccDebuff) purposes. As a controller, of course, you'll probably want to focus on the offensive uses. Remember that Radiation Infection stays up until the bad guy dies, or is very far away, and that in the meantime, if he runs, anybody he's near is aggroed to you. Extremely effective, and a must-have sometime before your teens.
[*]ACCELERATE METABOLISM (AM)
Available: L4
Slotting:3 recharges immediately, and eventually, when you have slots to spare, add three End Mods.
Importance: Crucial
This PBAoE buff lets you endow your whole team with extra endurance recovery, recharge, damage, and resistance. Quite an impressive buff. AM should be taken and slotted as soon as possible.
[*]ENNERVATING FIELD (EF)
Available: L10
Slotting: 1 endurance reduction. Followed by 1-2 more once you start using it regularly.
Importance: Crucial
A toggle AoE debuff like Radiation infection, Enervating field reduces your opponent's resistance and damage. It's quite an endurance hog, so you can consider holding off on it until after L20, but you'd be crazy to not take it at all.
[*]MUTATION
Available: L16
Slotting: 1 recharge or endurance reduction. You could add more of either if you really wanted to, but not until you have nothing else to slot.
Importance: Consider
Returns a downed hero to full health and endurance and provides some miscellaneous buffs for a period of time.
[*]LINGERING RADIATION
Available: L20
Slotting: 1 accuracy. Add an endurance reduction when you start using it regularly, and possibly another accuracy. In theory, you could eventually slot it for 1-2 recharges and another end reduction, if you really had nothing else to put the slots in.
Importance: Consider
A ranged AoE slow and regeneration debuff. The first significant control power in the radiation set, and though Mind scarcely needs other controls, you may want to consider this one eventually.
[*]CHOKING CLOUD
Available: L28
Slotting: 3 Hold, 1-3 End Reduction.
Importance: Marginal
The second of three control-oriented powers in radiation. This one is a PBAoE toggle pulsing hold. That is, it applies a very short duration hold, with bad accuracy, to villains standing near you every second or two. Fully slotted, it's an interesting form of control, but as a controller, you'll probably find it redundant with your primary. If you insist on taking it, you really need to have 3 hold slots, and use it against AVs and on the front line of fights against huge spawns.
[*]FALLOUT
Available: L35
Slotting:
Importance: Avoid
A power one rarely sees, and situational to situations that are best avoided anyhow (does decent damage to people standing over a fallen teammate). I SO don't recommend this power that I'm not even discussing it. :P
[*]EM PULSE
Available: L38
Slotting:
Importance: Consider
EMP is an exceptionally large PBAoE attack, long-duration hold, that hurts robots a bit, makes it hard for you to recover endurance for a while, and has a long recharge time. As another control, this power isn't really a priority, but it's good enough out of the box, and cool enough, that you might want to take it anyhow.[/list]
RADIATION USAGE
Slinging radiation, as a controller, is a matter of getting the bad guys properly debuffed once you've controlled things to your satisfaction. Picking targets for your toggles and getting everybody clustered around them and held, to remain debuffed, is a priority. Of course if you're working with a good, aggro-managing tank, apply debuffs first while you wait for him to cluster things, then apply holds.
Because toggles go down when the target for the toggle, or "anchor," dies, you're going to find it annoying when people kill your anchors prematurely. You need to approach this problem from both angles: 1) Get used to it! 2) Educate your teammates.
When buffing with Accelerate Metabolism, don't be shy about calling for the team to gather to get the buff. Usually shouting "Gather!" or "AM!" in the team channel is sufficient. Don't be rude or obsessive, but try and make people understand that they really want the boost.
Radiation is great for helping out with killing bosses and AVs, especially with RI, EF, and Lingering Radiation in play together.
MIND/RADIATION SYNERGY
When it comes to the Mind/Radiation combo, there's so much good about each set that the main thing to talk about is pitfalls:
First off, Radiation, like Mind, has a lot of powers your teammates can work with, or screw up, depending on their actions. Hence, more that possibly any other set, Mind/Rad requires you to talk to your teammates and explain yourself if they don't already know Mind and Rad. It also be worth your while to develop some macros (there are FAQs on this), to announce who you're targeting with your mezzes, toggles, and mez toggles. Also, experience as a blaster helps a lot with this-- you'll notice quickly that the guy your tab select first hits is the SAME guy everybody else's tab select hits. I recommend you learn to tab 80% of the way through a spawn to select your target.
One of the trickier things about Mind/Radiation, as Foxmaiden has pointed out often, is that Mind and Radiation both have lots of great stuff in the early build. Which forces you to make tough choices about power selection until you're nearly in the endgame. You have a lot of viable alternatives in a Mind/Rad build, but you should *really* plan your entire build ahead.
Another awkward thing about Mind/Rad is that both sets are control heavy. For example, supposing you decided to stick to holds. A L38 Mind/Rad could run Dominate, Telekinesis, Total Domination, and Choking Cloud simultaneously. The holds would all stack. That's more hold power than $Deity. On the upside, Telekinesis and Choking cloud are both great ways to stack holds on AVs. It would be certainly worthy of testing, to see if choking cloud, telekinesis, and dominate can chain-mez an AV.
A third thing to notice about the combination is the endurance cost. With 3-slotted stamina, it's possible to run Telekinesis, Enervating Field, and Radiation Infection, each with 2 end reduction slots, indefinitely, if you're not running anything else. With AM up, things are a little better, though not lots. Both sets can, potentially, make enormous endurance demands on you. Bear that in mind when you look at slotting.
Finally, radiation debuffs with mass confusion can be completely fight altering. Particularly if you focus on defense debuffs but not accuracy debuffs in Radiation Infection, running it and EF on a mass-confused spawn ensures a sickeningly fast rate of spawn self-destruction. This is an arcane point about confusions, but getting the right ratio of confused mob-to-team damage is the key to getting the best XP/time buff out of confusion use, and radiation debuffs enhance your control over this.
POOL POWERS
Recommended Pool Powers
<ul type="square"> [*]Speed-- Hasten
Available: L6
Slotting: 3 Recharge
Importance: Crucial
Hasten is worth it on most Mind builds, especially Mind/Empathy. Three-slot it for recharge, and it's like having an extra couple recharge enhances, most of the time, in every power that recharges. Now, consider some of your best powers-- Total Dom, Terrify, Mass Confusion, Rec Aura, Adrenaline Boost, Accelerate Metabolism. These could *always* use more recharge speed. Get hasten and 3-slot it as soon as you have your endurance issues clear.
Can you survive without it? Yes, more so on a */rad build. But IMO you'll still be happier with it than with a variety of other powers you may eventually build into your Mind/Green troller. So take it, eventually. FWIW, I think a lot of people are giving up on the utility of Hasten because it's not what it was before enhancement diversification.
[*]Fitness-- Stamina
Available: L20, after 2 other fitnes powers
Slotting: 3 EndMod
Importance: Crucial
It is conceivable to avoid stamina on Mind/Empathy characters, if you're willing to wait around until you get Recovery Aura, and be forever pinned down between uses of it. Even with both, though, you can find ways to tax yourself end-wise as a Mind/Green, especially if you're running telekinesis. With Mind/Rad, AM doesn't fill this gap in quite as well, and Radiation itself can demand more endurance for things you might want to do routinely. In either build, I think Stamina is well worth the 3 powers and 2 slots.
[*]Concealment-- Stealth
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Def or End
Importance: Consider
Stealth is a quality of life enhancer. It's nice to scout an area before you back off to start using aggroless controls, for example. Since Empathy has no aggroing debuffs, you can also perform them from stealth. Since as a Mind/Empath you have so much that generates active aggro, stealth sort of helps complete that picture. Also, stealth opens up a lot of opportunities soloing missions for objectives without making most arrests, if you want to see game content but can't find a teammate.[/list]
Other Pool Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Fitness-- Hurdle
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Jump
Importance: Optional
Most people have noticed that if you're building Hasten + Stamina into your character, you have a handy opening on super speed as a movement power. If you're doing that make sure to pick up the sequence HURDLE, Health, Stamina. If you're not going to take a major movement power at all, hurdle is also nice for mobility.
[*]Basic-- Sprint
Available: L2
Slotting: 1 Run, +2 Run w/o Move power.
Importance: Optional
It's not the end of the world if you don't take a major movement power AT ALL. (Incidentally, people who make a big deal about 30 seconds more or less between missions are very likely to be impossible to control for anyhow.) If you're going with swift and hurdle for movement, remember to slot SPRINT, NOT SWIFT, for optimum speed. With swift and 3 runs in sprint, you're not much slower than the average flier.
[*]Teleport-- Recall Friend
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End or Recharge
Importance: Consider
Most defenders who routinely resurrect/mutate people (which shouldn't be happening, but that's another story) like recall friend so they can pull out of harm's way then resurrect you safely. Plus, it's just nice to be able to offer teammates who're selling on the other side of the map a direct port to the door, gate, or train.
[*]Teleport-- Teleport Foe
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End or Recharge
Importance: Optional
Teleport Foe is fun, and it can make soloing a little easier if you decide you just have to, for some reason. Also, however, confused mobs still have a fairly short aggro range, and if you're using confuse, you're going to sometimes end up with a solitary confused mob that by itself serves no purpose. Teleporting him into the next group of enemies is a nice touch for the anal-retentive mind controller. Even better, if you've got a particularly great buffer/debuffer/mezzer badguy confused-- sappers, carnies, tsoo sorcerers, rikti guardians, Sky Raider forcefield generators all come to mind-- you can tote them around! (I still don't recommend this, but if you consider that such a 'pet' is also effectively invincible to villains, it's worth considering.
[*]Teleport-- Teleportation
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End. Maybe 1-3 Range and 1 End when you have slots to spare.
Importance: Consider
Teleport-- Teleport is potentially the fastest, but the hardest to control, of all the major movement powers. Best but hardest to control? Sounds like a Mind Controller to me.
[*] Leadership-- Assault
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Endurance
Importance: Optional
A small damage buff for your whole team. Useful mainly as a precursor to Tactics.
[*] Leadership-- Maneuvers
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Endurance
Importance: Optional
A tiny defense buff for your whole team. Useful mainly as a precursor to Tactics.
[*] Leadership-- Tactics
Available: L14, with Maneuvers or Assault
Slotting: 1 Endurance, 3 Accuracy Buff
Importance: Consider
Tactics can be a meaningful buff to accuracy on every power used by you or any teammate. This is worth seriously considering, though the total cost (2 powers and 3 extra slots) can be daunting. Gets even better for hitting very-hard-to-hit opponents. Also increases the range at which you can spot stealthy folks.
[*]Leaping-- Combat Jumping
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End
Importance: Optional
Marginal defensive bonus plus minor resistance to immobilize. A precursor to Super Jump.
[*]Leaping-- Jump Kick
Available: L6
Importance: AVOID
An attack with a super-long animation time. It's vaguely entertaining, though.
[*]Leaping-- Super Jump
Available: L14, with jump-kick or combat jumping
Slotting: 1 Jump, +0-2 jump when you have spare slots.
Importance: Optional
[*]Flight-- Hover
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 End or 1 Def, possibly 3 fly.
Importance: Optional
A slooow form of flight with a tiny defense bonus. If you just want a relatively low-endurance way of staying out of melee range, it's OK, but leaves you fairly stationary. Movement becomes more tolerable with 3 fly enhances, if you have slots to burn.
[*]Flight-- Air Superiority
Available: L6
Slotting: 1 Acc
Importance: Optional
An attack with a great knockdown element. No flying scraptroller would be without it!
[*]Leaping-- Fly
Available: L14, with Air Superiority or Hover
Slotting: 1 Jump, +0-2 jump when you have spare slots.
Importance: Optional
The slowest of the major movement powers, but the best precision vertical movement.[/list]
Pool Powers to Avoid
<ul type="square">[*]Fighting
Importance: Avoid
At some point, it will become tempting to add boxing or kick to fill out an attack chain, and maybe try to add tough and weave to be able to hang in there with the tough guys, later on. Just don't. Besides which, if you really must take a pool attack, it should be Air superiority.
[*]Medicine
Importance: AVOID
Unless you were playing Mind/Rad and were desperate for a mez-breaking power, there's no reason in the world to take the Medicine pool.
[*]Presence
Importance: AVOID
If you were dead set on a concept character who ran multiple fear attacks, then MAYBE you should consider this. Otherwise, controllers have no business taunting.[/list]
PER ORIGIN
Mind Controllers Generally
<ul type="square">[*]Natural
Much of Mind Control could be explained as persuasion, charisma, intimidation, and the like. The two telekinetic elements in Mind Control are hard to explain for a natural, unless you think it's a completely ordinary human ability. Super speed and Teleport are also hard to explain as ordinary human abilities. Fly isn't much better.[*]Technology
Controlling minds with technology can be done wackily-- ala some sort of "cerebro" device that amplifies brainwaves, or perhaps more interestingly, as a side effect of using psychoactive chemical agents sprayed in the air. Sorta creepy, but it would work. Flight is the most plausible Technology major movement power.[*]Science & Mutant
What one does with these origins is notoriously open. I mean, what *can't* the right sort of scientific experiment unlock? What *can't* be a mutant power? For the Science side, see the Anime classic Akira. For the Mutant side, what makes more sense that a mutant psychic? With the telekinetic component of Mind, Flight is probably the best, conceptually. [*]Magic
Holds and sleeps in Mind could easily be "soft" forms of magic, whereas confusions could be forms of posession or will domination, and telekinetic elements could be more physically-oriented "spells." Teleport is probably the best magical movement power, though flight fits well also.[/list]
Empathy
<ul type="square">[*]Natural
With a little suspension of disbelief, the low heals in Empathy could be emergency medical attention. Many of the higher-up buffs could be attributed to encouragement or tactical advice.[*]Technology
The various healing/buffing effects of Empathy could easily be super-advanced medical technology.[*]Science & Mutant
It's plausible, if not typical, to imagine someone transformed by science or born with mutation to be able to heal others.[*]Magic
Magic healing and blessings easily cover the empathy set.[/list]
Radiation
<ul type="square">[*]Natural
It's difficult to interpret radiataion powers as natural, without going into comedy, or reinventing the meaning of the term [1].[*]Technology & Science & Mutant
Discovery of (technology), or bodily control over (science & mutant) some sort of secret energy form or energy source could easily explain radiation powers.[*]Magic
Wispy green clouds of light are the most common way magical power is represented in the game. All the radiation powers could be forms of magical energy, curses, and blessings.[/list]
[1] I use the Natural origin in the sense that was intended before they broke the conceptual origins system completely by making aliens 'natural.' Natural human, of course, is what the origin means. The easiest way to tell that the new definition is nonsense, is that *any* power could be described as "natural." Robots naturally have laser eyes. Sorcerers and ghosts naturally have magic powers. Etc.
BUILDS
First, I present two build checklists. My goal is not to build a specialized optimal Mind/* character, but to present a new or average player with a workable plan that doesn't necessarily miss any of the biggest deals.
MIND/EMPATHY BUILD CHECKLIST
The first thing to do is to make a series of initial choices. You have early build choices-- between Mesmerize and Levitate, between Heal Other and Absorb Pain, and between major movement powers.
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 [Choose: Mesmerize or Levitate]
1 Healing Aura
2 Dominate /Acc,Rchg,Hold,Hold,Hold,Acc (2,3,5,7,9,11)
4 [Choose: Heal Other or Absorb Pain]
6
8
10
12
14 [Choose: Super Jump, Fly, Superspeed, Teleport]
16
18 Total Dom /Acc,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Acc,Hold (18,19,19,23,23,25)
20 Stamina /EndMod,EndMod,EndMod (20,21,21)
22
24 Fortitude
26 Terrify /Acc,End,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,End (26,27,27,31,31,31)
28 Rec Aura /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (28,29,29)
30
32 Mass Conf /Acc,Rchg,Conf,Acc,Rchg,Conf (32,33,33,33,34,34)
35
38 Adren Boost /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (38,40,40)
</pre><hr />
Next, we fill in the gaps for levels 6,8,10,12, and 16:
<ul type="square">[*]A movement precursor will be dicatated by the movement power you took:
Superspeed ---> Hasten
Super Leap ---> Combat Jumping
Fly ---> Choose: Hover or Air Superiority
Teleport ---> Choose: Recall Friend or Teleport Foe
(Just say no to flurry and jump kick!)[*]Also, you'll have to choose 2 of the fitness pool powers that will go in the 6-16 range:
Choose 2: Swift, Hurdle, Stamina
(If Movement power is Superspeed, choose Hurdle)[*]Finally comes the deepest part of your character customization. You'l get to choose four, or if you took superspeed, five, of the six powers on the following list, in more or less any order you want.
Pick two such powers to fit into the 6-16 range:
Choose 2:
Stealth
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis (Min L8)
Resurrect (Min L10)
Telekinesis (Min L12)
Clear Mind (Min L16)[/list]
Take Hasten at 22, unless you took it earlier because you run superspeed:
If not Superspeed, L22 = Hasten
If Superspeed, L22 =
Choose:
Stealth
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis
Telekinesis
Clear Mind
Resurrect
Pick two more from the optional powers list to go in L30 and L35 slots:
Choose 2:
Stealth
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis
Telekinesis
Clear Mind
Resurrect
Note: The order I'd consider the "optional six" powers are: Confuse, Clear Mind, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis, Resurrect, Stealth. For $Deity's sake, don't take everything EXCEPT confuse and clear mind. 9_6
Finally, you slot things. Remember: once you're using SOs, don't slot more than 3 of a given enhancement type.
Place Slots:
3,5,7,9,11,13,13,15,15,17,17,25,34,36,36,36,37,37, 37,39,40,40,40
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
24 Fortitude /Rchg,Rch,Rch,AccBuff,AccBuff (Typically: 24,36,37,37,39)
OR /AccBuff,AccBuff,AccBuff,DefBuff,DefBuff
28 RecoveryAura /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndMod,EndMod,EndMod (Typically 28,29,29,36,36,37)
X Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (Typically: 22,25,34 OR X,17,17)
X Stealth /DefBuff (X)
X Confuse /Acc,Conf,Range,Rchg (Typically: X, 13,13,15)
X Mass Hypnosis /Acc (X)
X Telekinesis /End,End,End (Typically: X,13,13 OR X,34,36)
X Clear Mind /Rchg (X)
X Resurrect /Rchg (X)
</pre><hr />
MIND/RADIATION BUILD CHECKLIST
Start with the following list, initially choosing between Mesmerize and Levitate at L1, and a major movement power at L14.
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 Radiant Aura /Heal (1)
1 [Mesmerize or Levitate]
2 Dominate /Acc,Rchg,Hld,Hld,Hld,Rchg (2,3,3,9,11,13)
4 Accel Metabolism /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (4,5,5)
6 Rad Infect /End,DefDbf,DefDbf,DefDbf (6,7,7,9)
8
10
12
14 [Choose: Fly, Super Jump, Teleportation, Super Speed]
16
18 Total Domination /Acc,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Acc,Hold (18,19,19,23,25,29)
20 Stamina /EndMod,EndMod,EndMod (20,21,21)
22 Enervataing Field /End,End,End (22,23,25)
24
26 Terrify /Acc,End,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,End (26,27,27,29,31,31)
28
30
32 Mass Confusion /Acc,Rchg,Conf,Acc,Rchg,Conf (32,33,33,33,34,34)
35
38
</pre><hr />
Next, we fill in the gaps for levels 8,10,12, and 16:
<ul type="square">[*]A movement precursor will be dicatated by the movement power you took:
Superspeed ---> Hasten
Super Leap ---> Combat Jumping
Fly ---> Choose: Hover or Air Superiority
Teleport ---> Choose: Recall Friend or Teleport Foe
(Just say no to flurry and jump kick!)
[*]Choose 2 of the fitness pool powers that will go in the 6-16 range:
Choose 2: Swift, Hurdle, Stamina
(If Movement power is Superspeed, choose Hurdle)
[*]Pick one power to fit into the 8-16 range:
Choose:
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis
Telekinesis (Min L12)
Mutation (Min L16)[/list]Take Hasten at 24, unless you took it earlier because you run superspeed:
If not Superspeed, L24 = Hasten
If Superspeed, L24 =
Choose:
Stealth
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis
Mutation
Lingering Radiation
Pick four more powers to go in L28,L30,L35, and L38 slots:
Choose 2:
Stealth
Confuse
Mass Hypnosis
Telekinesis
Mutation
Lingering Radiation
Choking Cloud
EM Pulse (Min 38)
Note: The order I'd consider these optional powers, is: Confuse, Mass Hypnosis, Telekinesis, Lingering Radiation, Mutation, EM Pulse, Stealth, Choking Cloud. Don't stake your build on Choking cloud and stealth, for cryin' out loud!
Finally, you slot things. Remember: once you're using SOs, never use more than 3 of a given enhancement type.
Place Slots:
9,11,13,15,15,17,17,31,34,36,36,36,37,37,37,39,39, 39,40,40,40
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
X Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (Typically X,27,27)
4 Accel Metab /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndMod,EndMod,EndMod (Typically 4,5,5,31,31,33)
X Confuse /Acc,Conf,Range,Rchg (Typically X,15,15,17)
X Telekinesis /End,End,End (Typically X,15,15,17 or X,27,27,29)
X Lingering Rad /Acc,End,Acc (Typically X,31,31,31)
X Choking Cloud /Hold,Hold,End,Hold,End (Typically X,36,36,36 or X,40,40,40)
X EM Pulse /Acc,End,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (Typically X,39,39,39,40)
</pre><hr />
THE DR. MANINGZHOUE MIND/EMPATHY BUILD
Here's my wack-tastic Mind/Emp build lacking Telekinetic elements and Major movement powers. Needless to say there's a lot of stuff in the two sets to take, and I've bumbled through it with four respecs so far:
Dr. Maningzhoue, Mind/Empathy Controller, Natural, L50, Freedom
1 Healing aura /Heal,Heal,Heal,End,Rchg (1, 3, 13, 40, 45)
1 Mesmerize /Acc,Dmg,Dmg (1, 37, 43)
2 Dominate /Acc,Hold,Rchg,Hold,Rchg,Hold (2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11)
(2 Sprint) /(Run/Jump),Run,Run (2, 27, 36)
4 Heal Other /Heal,Heal,Heal,End,Rchg,Rchg (4, 5, 17, 37, 39, 40)
6 Confusion /Acc,Conf,Range,Rchg,Conf,Conf (6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15)
8 Swift /Run (8, 27, 36)
10 Resurrect /Rchg (10)
12 Assault /End (12)
14 Tactics /End,AccBuff,AccBuff,AccBuff (14, 15, 17, 46)
16 Hurdle /Jump (16)
18 Total Dom /3x(Acc+Mez),Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (18, 19, 19, 21, 23, 25)
20 Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndREc (20, 21, 23)
22 Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rcgh (22, 25, 27)
24 Fortitude /(AccB+DefB),AccB,AccB,DefB,DefB(24, 36, 37, 40, 43)
26 Terrify /Acc,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,End,Rchg (26, 29, 29, 31, 31, 33)
28 Recovery Aura /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (28, 31, 34)
30 Stealth /DefBuff,DefBuff (30, 50)
32 Mass Confusion /2x(Acc/Mez),Conf,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg(32, 33, 33, 34, 34, 36)
35 Clear Mind /Rchg,Rng (35, 45)
38 Adrenaline Boost /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg) (38, 39, 39)
41 Mass Hypnosis /Acc,Rng,Rng,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (41, 42, 42, 42, 43, 45)
44 Indomitable Will /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (44, 46, 46)
47 Mind O Body /End,Res,Res,Res (47, 48, 48, 48)
49 Health /Heal,Heal,Heal (49, 50, 50)
THE ACTAEON MIND/RADIATION BUILD (So Far)
Actaeon, Mind/Radiation/Teleport Controller, Magic, L29, Freedom
1 Mesmerize /Acc,Dmg (1,15)
1 Radiant Aura /Heal (1)
2 Dominate /Acc,Hold,Rchg,Hold,Rchg,Hold (2,3,3,7,11,13)
4 AM /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,EndRec (4,5,5,17)
6 Confuse /Acc,Conf,Rchg,Rchg,Rng (6,7,9,13,17)
8 Rad Infect /End,DefDbf,AccDbf,DefDbf (8,9,11,15)
10 swift /Run (10)
12 recall friend /Rchg (12)
14 teleport /Rng (14)
16 health /Heal (16)
18 Total Dom /Acc, Hold, Rchg,Rchg,Hold (18,19,19,23,25)
20 stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec (20,21,21)
22 EF /End,End (22,23)
24 Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg (24,25,29)
26 Terrify /Acc,Dmg,End (26,27,27)
28 Telekinesis /End,End (28,29)
REGARDING EPIC POWER POOLS
I have very little experience with or knowledge of the Controller EPPs. I went with Psi Mastery late in Doc's build, and with my recommended build. I think there's a bit of consensus that the status protection of Indomitable Will, and the high base smashing & lethal resistance of Mind over Body make Psi Mastery one of the best possible picks.
The other EPP to look at is Power Mastery (? ... sometimes I forget the names of these). Power Boost enhances hold durations, and so is very worth looking at.
Choosing a Controller V2 | Splattrollers | Plant/Rad | Fire/Storm | Mind/Emp & Mind/Rad
Weird Controller Powers | Conf & XP/Time | Controller Damage
Being a Healer | The word Necessary | Natural Concept Characters