Foxmaiden's Ultimate Fire Control Guide (i6) -LONG
By
Beth_Barnes,
Posted on: 2006-01-08 11:33 in Player Guides
Kinetics
Kinetics as a powerset is difficult to explain. It's the odd man out among the buff/debuff sets: a defender set that offers very little actual defense. Kinetics is more oriented toward the offense. It's geared toward making both allies and combats go faster -- and never have to stop. This grab-bag set includes several powerful tools for in-combat recovery, a number of strong offense-oriented buffs, some damage debuffing for mitigation purposes, and even a couple of utility powers to make travel between combats go faster. It's a very action-oriented set; 'fire and forget' can properly describe some defender sets, but not this one.
Transfusion (enemy-targeted AoE heal, single target endurance drain and -regen)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 1+: 1 accuracy, 1-3 heal, 0-1 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction, 0-2 endurance drain
As a kinetics controller, you have no choice but to take Transfusion. That's okay, because it's an amazing heal with a fast recast time. Unfortunately, the people who need the healing need to be near an enemy to get it, and you have to be able to hit that enemy. This can be especially tricky during the early levels, in spite of Transfusion's inherent accuracy bonus. After SOs, though, it's generally pretty reliable. The endurance drain aspect of this one improved with issue 4, but it's still fairly minor; don't expect to run anything out of endurance using this alone. Also, try not to target anything that's near death; if the target dies after you press the button, but before the heal fires off, the green aura will still show up, but it won't heal. This may or may not be addressed at some future point. Finally, notice the -regen element; this makes Transfusion extra-effective against tough targets like monsters and archvillains. Spam it on them, and they recover far fewer hit points.
Siphon Power (PBAoE damage buff, single target damage debuff)
Available: level 2
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 1-5: 1 accuracy, 0-3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
This one reduces the target's damage while buffing your own and that of every ally near you. The change is small but significant, especially early on, and it stacks with itself, so you can often have two siphons active at once. ED actually increases its desirability, since few will be able to reach the damage cap by themselves any more. Its usefulness drops off somewhat after level 38, when Fulcrum Shift overshadows it. However, it remains handy enough to be worth keeping, just in case your imps need that little extra push to reach the cap, or you want to debuff that solo archvillain more than Fulcrum Shift alone would allow -- stacking it and Fulcrum Shift will allow you to floor the damage of a single target relatively quickly. The power does have a fairly high base endurance cost, but it's often worth it.
Repel (PBAoE continuous knockback)
Available: level 4
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1-3: 1-3 endurance reduction
Repel is a fun power, and, thanks to the reduction of area control powers and the recent discount on Repel's per-hit endurance cost, it's now a reasonably effective one. It surrounds the controller with a field that knocks back most enemies (aside from highly-resistant ones). The knockback isn't as good a protection as might be expected, since many enemies will run close enough to get off a melee attack before being kicked backwards, but it can make for a decent, if unpredictable, form of control. If you're interested in PvP, it also has a very small chance of dropping an enemy's toggle (about 5% for every "tick"), though it's not a very efficient or reliable means of doing so.
Siphon Speed (single target movement and recharge reduction, self movement and recharge enhancement)
Available: level 10
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 1-6: 1-2 accuracy, 0-3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
This reduces the target's movement speed and recharge while boosting your own. It can serve as superspeed -- provided you hit -- with the added advantage of no suppression (but the disadvantage of no built-in stealth). Its recharge component is a respectable 20%, a little better than a DO enhancement, and it stacks with itself. I'd recommend taking it for archvillains in the late game, even if you pass it up earlier on. If you really want to be a speed demon, add some recharges and try to keep three or even four stacked on yourself; it's pretty difficult to manage while still throwing out all your other powers, but the results are impressive. Now that Hasten can no longer be made inherently permanent, the recharge reduction component of Siphon Speed is a little more valuable, especially when it comes to long-recharge powers such as Cinders.
Increase Density (single target damage resistance buff and anti-mez)
Available: level 16
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 damage resistance or endurance reduction
This power cures and protects against most status effects (except sleep, which is a pain, since sleep is one of the more common ones -- it will cure sleep, but won't protect against it) and against knockback. It also provides a decent amount of resistance against smashing and energy damage. It slows the target's movement a bit, but that's not the big drawback. The big drawback is that it lasts only a minute, making keeping it up at all times pretty much impossible for a team of any size. You'll find yourself using this to cure status effects, or maybe on a couple 'squishy' members right before a really big fight. I don't advocate slotting it out, but some people find the extra resistance useful; since damage reduction SOs add only 20%, you're best off adding numerous slots if you fall into that category. If you tend to team with just one or two other people, it becomes a much more useful general-purpose buff; if you tend to big teams, you'll have to prioritize.
Speed Boost (single target movement, recharge, and endurance recovery buff)
Available: level 20
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 3-4: 3 endurance recovery, 0-1 endurance reduction
Speed Boost is the first really great Kinetics power. It's like a mini-Hasten, mini-Stamina, and Super Speed all rolled into one. Its duration is okay, at two minutes, and it recasts quickly. With a bit of effort, you can keep a whole team boosted for most battles, and it makes a notable difference. Some people dislike Speed Boost because of the running speed part; explain the Hasten- and Stamina-style benefits, however, and they tend to change their minds. If you liked, you could heavily slot for endurance recovery; your blasters might appreciate that, even if Transference makes it unnecessary for the melee types, and a slotted Speed Boost puts Empathy's Recovery Aura to shame since most empaths slot the latter power for recharge. You might also want to consider adding an endurance reducer, if you often join large teams. If you're hard-pressed for slots, though, you can get by fine with only the default slot.
Inertial Reduction (PBAoE superleap)
Available: level 28
Usefulness: 1/5 or 4/5 (see below)
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 jump
Inertial Reduction grants superleap to you and everything near you. This is very useful if you have no movement power or have only Superspeed, as it gives you access to z-axis movement without delving into a power pool and at the cost of only one power. If you do have a different movement type, this is much less useful, mainly to grant superleap to any allies who don't have z-axis movement. It's got a one-minute duration, which makes it less useful for others unless you can stay near them. It also makes it somewhat annoying to have to recast on yourself; a longer duration would make this power more convenient. On the plus side, this power is not subject to suppression like regular Superleap is.
Transference (enemy-targeted AoE endurance recovery, single target endurance drain)
Available: level 35
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 1 accuracy, 2-3 endurance recovery, 2-3 recharge reduction
Transference is to endurance what Transfusion is to health. A reasonably quickly-recharging power that can fill the endurance bar of all allies near your target from nearly zero, this is one of the best powers of the Kinetics line. Its endurance drain is greater than Transfusion's; the two combined will swiftly drain a boss of your level even without enhancers. I look at the endurance drain as incidental, though; it's good for defenders, but not as useful for controllers, because controllers can lock enemies down. As with Transfusion, try not to target a near-death enemy.
Fulcrum Shift (multiple target damage debuff, multiple-PBAoE damage buff)
Available: level 38
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 1-2 accuracy, 3 recharge reduction, 1-2 endurance reduction
Fulcrum Shift is the "holy grail" of the Kinetics powerset. Imagine simultaneously casting Siphon Power on a group of enemies, while buffing not only those near you, but also those near any given enemy, all of which buffs stack. That's Fulcrum Shift. Against large groups, this can easily cap everyone's damage, including your imps'. It also stacks with itself, so there's no reason not to load up on recharge; you can use it every fight, sometimes twice a fight, if you want to. Its endurance cost is remarkably affordable, given its potential, enough so that you can use it even against single, particularly tough targets (like archvillains) without feeling you're 'wasting' endurance. ED means you might well want to throw in an endurance reducer anyway, though. You'll probably have the slot or two to spare for it.
Radiation Emission
Radiation Emission is a very versatile set, focused primarily on debuffing the enemies. Its best debuffs are "anchored": area-effect toggles that debuff a target and everything near that target. It also includes a couple of recovery tools, a great multi-purpose buff, and an area hold with a huge radius. Many of its good powers open early and remain useful throughout the game.
Radiant Aura (PBAoE heal)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 3 heal, 1-2 recharge reduction, 1-2 endurance reduction
As a radiation controller, you have no choice but to take Radiant Aura. That's all right; it comes in handy, especially early on, and it makes a decent heal with some slotting. Finding those slots is a bit more problematic; you'll have lots of other powers that need slotting, early on. Still, I don't advise completely neglecting RA. It helps in a pinch, it's reliable, and it affects you. In fact, it's substantially identical to Empathy's Healing Aura. (Its lower usefulness is because a Radiation controller generally has other things to be concentrating on using their secondary to do, in combat, while Empaths primarily concentrate on healing with theirs. Lower priority means lower usefulness. Empathy has terrific buffs, but for the most part, they're used before combat, not in combat.) Since you have to take it anyway, you might as well invest a little in improving it. You'll probably have the slots, later on, thanks to ED.
Radiation Infection (anchored accuracy and defense debuff)
Available: level 2
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 3-6: 3 accuracy debuff, 0-3 defense debuff, 0-1 endurance reduction
The first radiation toggle, RI debuffs an enemy's accuracy and defense. It's a very powerful and endurance-cheap debuff, and it makes a viable substitute for an AoE control power post-I5, and for these reasons it rates a 5/5 usefulness despite the fact that it has a very long activation time. Debuff effects scale down against higher-level enemies, so you'll want to slot this a bit to make it most useful at higher levels. An endurance reducer is a luxury in this power; its cost is low enough that you'll get much more mileage out of slotting the debuffs.
Accelerate Metabolism (PBAoE all-purpose buff)
Available: level 4
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 3 recharge reduction, 3 endurance modification
Accelerate Metabolism is the only straightforward buff in the Radiation Emission powerset, and quite a comprehensive one it is. It buffs recharge, damage, run and fly speed, and endurance recovery, it cuts the duration of any enemy crowd-control effects that hit you, and it protects against endurance-draining attacks such as those used by Malta Sappers. Your teammates will love it, too. You'll want AM up for every fight you're in -- unfortunately, post-ED, this is not possible without an outside recharge buff. (You can come pretty close, though, with three recovery reducers in both this power and Hasten.) None of the buffs is as large as those provided by powers in other sets, such as Speed Boost or Recovery Aura, but none of those powers provides a buff to as many different areas as AM does.
Enervating Field (anchored damage and damage resistance debuff)
Available: level 10
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 2-3: 2-3 endurance reduction
The second of Radiation's debuffs, Enervating Field reduces the damage enemies inflict and increases the damage they take. The latter effect is excellent for teammates and pets alike. It casts much more quickly than Radiation Infection, too. The only downside: it eats endurance like crazy. Its use in low levels will be sporadic because of this, and some skip it entirely until later on for this reason. However, Stamina and SO endurance reducers make its cost far more manageable. I usually find two SOs enough, but if you continue to have endurance issues, add a third.
Mutation (single target rez and buff)
Available: level 16
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 recharge reduction or endurance reduction
Mutation is the best combat rez power a controller can have. Not only does it restore the fallen to life with full health and endurance, but it also grants a buff to accuracy, damage, endurance recovery, and recharge for a minute. If you want a rez power, you won't find a better one. Like all rez powers, though, it's extremely situational; nice to have if someone dies, but you're better off taking a power to help prevent the death in the first place. Worth picking up later on for things like task forces and trials, if you can find a power choice to spare for it.
Lingering Radiation (multiple target slow and -regen)
Available: level 20
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 1+: 1 accuracy, 0-2 slow, 0-3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
Lingering Radiation is the only non-toggle debuff in the Radiation set. It's an effective slow of both movement and recharge, and it also debuffs enemies' health-regeneration rates. The reduction in enemies' attack speed makes it a good alternative or "extra" control in many situations, but if you're up against an archvillain or monster, which holds and disorients aren't (usually) reliable against, it becomes extremely useful. Be aware that it does nothing to mitigate the alpha strike -- this power does not make a good opener. You could pass on this power early on, but take it by level 35; you'll love it when you start facing archvillains frequently. If you have slots to burn, recharge never hurts, the better to stack in archvillain situations; the endurance reduction and slow are more in the luxury category, especially since slow enhancements affect only the movement slow, not the -recharge.
Choking Cloud (PBAoE multiple target hold)
Available: level 28
Usefulness: 2/5 to 4/5 (see below)
Recommended slotting: 5-6: 0-1 accuracy, 2-3 endurance reduction, 3 hold duration
Choking Cloud is a toggle that creates an area-effect hold around you. An enemy in this area has a chance of being hit by a hold every 6 seconds or so, and the base hold is also about 6 seconds. In order to get much out of this power, you need to slot heavily: endurance reducers to compensate for its large drain, hold duration to make the most of the hold effect. Once this is done, you'll be able to hold the majority of minions and lieutenants for a good portion of the time. It's not as quick as Cinders, but Choking Cloud can be turned on and left as a 'passive' effect, freeing you to do other things while still allowing you to lock down enemies more or less indefinitely, and its pulsing hold can be used to "extend" the duration of a Cinders hold or quickly stack magnitude on multiple bosses. This power works best for those controllers whose playstyle prefers up-close and personal, obviously; it's terrific in conjunction with Radiation Infection and Hot Feet. If you can't afford to slot this power, though, skip it.
Fallout (corpse-targeted AoE damage)
Available: level 35
Usefulness: 1/5
Recommended slotting: If you're going to take it, put lots of damage enhancers in it. But don't take it.
Fallout may be the single most useless power in the game. First, it's already situational, in that an ally has to die before you can use it. (Pets don't count, either; it has to be a teammate.) This is bad enough for Mutation, but that at least has convenience going for it. Second, its area of effect is very small; if you want to damage enemies, they need to be pretty much standing on top of the body. Since enemies move on quickly from a defeated ally, you need to be very fast, or have another ally fighting very near the defeated one. And finally, the damage this power inflicts is nothing exceptional, considering the amount of trouble you have to go through to set it up. It'll kill minions, sure. But anything that survives is probably coming for you next... I just don't see any redeeming quality here. Recall Friend makes it a bit easier to use, and Vengeance combos nicely with it, but at the end of the day, it's still a power slot better spent on basically anything else.
EM Pulse (PBAoE multiple target hold, endurance drain, and anti-robot damage)
Available: level 38
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 3-6: 1-2 accuracy, 0-3 hold duration, 0-3 recharge reduction
The ultimate Radiation Emission power, EMP incapacitates enemies in a huge radius. Huge as in entire rooms at once. It holds them, drains their endurance, and, in the case of robots, hurts them. Its base duration is nice and long, too. Of course, so is its recharge; if you want to use it often, a bunch of recharge reducers helps a lot. Some people also like to slot for duration, making an already-impressive effect even stronger. The one downside: the huge radius can mean unintentional aggro. Not a terrible problem; just make sure to have your teammates and imps clean up. If you plan to use this as a panic button, you don't need heavy slotting -- but it's such a powerful effect that it's worth 6-slotting if you can afford to. It's so much overkill that it's almost an "I win" button. Note that EMP will leave you incapable of regenerating endurance for a short time after use. It doesn't, however, drain your endurance bar to 0; it takes only about 1/3 your bar.
Sonic Resonance
Sonic Resonance is a power set introduced in issue 5. Its main focus is on buffing or debuffing damage resistance, but it also includes a handful of controls and an anti-mez protection for your allies. Most of the powers in the set work best (or only) in a team. If you're team-oriented, though, this set is considered by many to be "Force Field but better." Resistance modification is very powerful, but the graphics and sound of these powers make some players shun them.
Sonic Siphon (single-target damage resistance debuff)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 accuracy
Sonic Siphon debuffs the enemy's damage resistance, causing it to take more damage from all attacks. Resistance debuffs are usually golden, but this one is single-target with a slow (about 18 seconds) recharge, so it's less useful. Its duration is over double its recharge, though, and it does help out when soloing and against bosses (or archvillains) when teaming. It doesn't stack with itself, so it's fine with the default slot; if you have slots to spare, you could add endurance reduction, recharge reduction (to debuff more enemies), or more accuracy. It does, of course, stack with other resistance debuffs.
Sonic Barrier (single-target damage resistance buff)
Available: level 2
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 3-4: 3 damage resistance, 0-1 endurance reduction
This power will boost a teammate's (or pet's) resistance to smashing, lethal, and toxic damage significantly. It's one of the "big three" resistance powers that are analogous to Forcefield's three bubbles. While its graphic is still annoying to some, the buff it provides is useful in almost all fights, and it lasts a long time. Slot it for resistance, and add an endurance reducer if you need one (you probably will, later on, if you protect large teams, even with Stamina).
Sonic Haven (single-target damage resistance buff)
Available: level 4
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 3-4: 3 damage resistance, 0-1 endurance reduction
Sonic Haven is the second of the "big three." It grants resistance to fire, cold, energy, and negative energy attacks. These attacks are less common than smashing or lethal, so this power is more situational than Sonic Barrier, but it's still an important part of the defense you can offer your team.
Sonic Cage (single-target intangible)
Available: level 10
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 accuracy or 1 recharge reduction
This power phases a single target out of existence, making it unable to affect you or your team. Unlike a hold, though, you and your team can't affect it, either. This can sometimes be useful to remove a key enemy from combat, but often it will be an annoyance to your team. It's another control option, if you'd like one, but it's also skippable.
Disruption Field (ally-targeted PBAoE damage resistance debuff)
Available: level 16
Usefulness: 2/5 or 4/5 (see below)
Recommended slotting: 1-2: 1-2 endurance reduction
The Disruption Field is a toggle placed on an ally which reduces the damage resistance of enemies near that ally. Since fire imps are melee pets, this applies to them. If you only solo, of course, this power won't do you any good until after you get your pets.
Sonic Dispersion (PBAoE damage resistance buff and anti-mez)
Available: level 20
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 4-5: 3 damage resistance, 1-2 endurance reduction
The third of the "big three" sonic protections, this is the only one that affects you personally. You and everyone near you gain a relatively small damage resistance increase and protection against immobilization, disorient, and hold effects (but not sleep). For the anti-mez effect alone, this would be worthwhile; the damage resistance is a nice bonus. It won't do much by itself (although anything helps), but stacked with other resistance powers, it can really come into its own. And at this point, resistance powers from your epic power pool aren't that far off. Take this power.
Sonic Repulsion (ally-targeted PBAoE continuous knockback)
Available: level 28
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1-2 endurance reduction
Sonic Repulsion sets up a field around an ally that causes most enemies who approach that ally to be knocked back. It's much like Force Fields' Repulsion Field or Kinetics' Repel, except that it's centered around an ally rather than around you. Targeting a melee teammate will mostly just annoy them, but this can be useful on a blaster, controller, or defender. It's not absolute protection from melee attacks, but it does mitigate them. The endurance drain is considerable, though, and increases with each enemy who's repelled. It can be hard to run at the same time as you're using other powers.
Clarity (single-target anti-mez and perception buff)
Available: level 35
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 endurance reducer
Clarity is essentially identical to Empathy's Clear Mind. It's a quick-recharging power that breaks mez effects and protects against them for 90 seconds. It offers increased perception (useful in PvP), which can stack. It's not a flashy power, but it's one that will save your teammates a lot of grief.
Liquefy (location-targeted knockdown, damage, hold, and accuracy and defense debuff)
Available: level 38
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 3: 3 recharge reduction
Liquefy causes an earthquake. It has a lot of minor side-effects, but the main purpose is to cause enemies to repeatedly fall down, much like Ice Slick or Earthquake does. As such, it's a wonderful soft control option. It does have a very long recharge (about 5 minutes) compared to other powers of this type, but that makes it no less useful when it's up. Be careful about attracting aggro; the damage is very minor, but that's enough to attract enemy attention. The debuffs are similarly minor, and not worth slotting in my opinion; if you have extra slots, though, it couldn't hurt.
Storm Summoning
Storm Summoning is somewhat difficult and often misunderstood. Used poorly, it scatters enemies randomly, resulting in massive debt. Used well, it keeps enemies off their feet and gathered up in a small area, and it makes it easier to take them down besides. The trick comes in learning to use it well; it takes more practice and experimentation than most of the other sets. Don't get discouraged if things go wrong on occasion while you learn, but don't expect an easy time if you've never played Storm before. Though it's weak at the start, it does pay off in terms of power, eventually, and it can make things much easier in both solo and team play.
Gale (cone knockback)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 2/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 accuracy. If you can afford a second slot, also accuracy, it will help, but this is a very situational power.
Gale affects all enemies in a wide, fairly long cone, knocking them backwards away from you and causing a point or two of damage. Frankly, while it's got some use in rounding up already-controlled (but non-rooted) enemies or as a panic button, it's just not a very good first power. The frequent and thoughtless use of this power by low-level Storm Summoners is the main reason the set has its dodgy reputation. Unfortunately, since you're a controller, you don't get the option to skip it, but you can at least use it carefully and considerately. Try to avoid using it near the opening of a fight, especially at lower levels; it does no damage to speak of, but it will draw a lot of aggro, and pushing things out of melee will annoy tankers and scrappers. Use it carefully, to knock things back into a wall or corner, or from overhead, to convert the knockback into knockdown, and you'll find it has some utility.
O2 Boost (single target heal, anti-mez, and anti-drain)
Available: level 2
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1+: 1-2 endurance reduction, 0-3 heal, 0-2 recharge reduction
O2 Boost provides a weak heal to a single target at a decent range, and also frees them from sleep or disorient effects (but not holds or immobilizes), leaving them resistant to those effects for a minute. It will also protect against endurance-drain effects, such as Malta Sappers' attacks. If you team (and I very much recommend you do, unless you've got experience with a controller), you'll probably want to take it anyway. A small heal is better than no heal, and the anti-mez, even with its gaps, will be almost necessary later on. It recharges quickly, though it's on the costly side in terms of endurance. You certainly don't need to take this power right away, though.
Snow Storm (anchored slow)
Available: level 4
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 1-5: 1-2 endurance reduction, 0-3 slow
This is an effective slow of both movement and recharge. It automatically hits, and slows not only your target (the anchor) but all other nearby enemies. It also grounds fliers, a useful ability, though you have plenty of other means of doing so. Its area of effect is on the small side, but it still makes an impressive difference at low levels, and it proves handy later on for archvillains, too. It does, however, eat a fair amount of endurance. In the mid-levels, you may find yourself using it less, as your holds and disorients mature; I'd resist the temptation to respec it out, because you will want it in the late game. It's basically as good "right out of the box" as it's ever going to get, though. If you have slots to spare, you might want to add some slow enhancers to further hinder enemies' movement, but since these enhancements don't affect recharge, and you've got lockdown in your primary, it's a luxury.
Steamy Mist (PBAoE defense, energy resistance, and stealth)
Available: level 10
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 1+: 1-2 endurance reduction, 0-3 damage resistance
A general-utility defense, Steamy Mist provides stealth, a defense bonus against most attacks, and a decent amount of resistance against fire, cold, and energy damage. While cold damage is rare, fire and energy are both fairly common. The defense this power provides took a major hit in issue 5, but it's still worth having for the resistances; Invulnerable scrappers and tankers in particular will thank you. You don't technically need to slot it early on (except perhaps an extra endurance reducer), but, by the 20s and 30s, plugging in a few extra resistance enhancers will pay off. Be sure to plug in at least one endurance reducer, because the base cost is pretty hefty. Those interested in PvP should note that this power also protects against confusion; as far as I'm aware, no enemies in PvE use confusion effects.
Freezing Rain (location-targeted slow, knockdown, defense debuff, and damage-resistance debuff)
Available: level 16
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 1-2 endurance reduction, 1-3 recharge reduction, 0-3 defense debuff, 0-2 slow
The 800-lb gorilla of the Storm Summoning set, Freezing Rain is most noted for two things: its damage-resistance debuff (allowing you and your allies to exceed the normal damage cap by lowering enemies' resistance) and its unfortunate ability to cause the enemies within to scatter, overcoming even a tanker's taunt. As a controller, you're somewhat more fortunate than a Storm defender, because you can root your enemies inside of the rain. If you didn't take Fire Cages and Cinders isn't yet available, slow enhancers will help; they only add to the movement slow, but they'll still keep enemies in the debuff zone. (Snow Storm comes in handy here, too.) In addition to the damage resistance, there's a decent slow effect, a somewhat-regular knockdown, a string of minor damage ("rain of ones"), and a nice defense debuff. Basically, it does a whole lot, and you'll want it available as often as possible. Just watch that scatter. Incidentally, the graphics of this power will fade before the actual debuff does, so its duration is longer than it may appear.
Hurricane (PBAoE knockback, accuracy debuff, and range debuff)
Available: level 20
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 2-5: 2 endurance reduction, 0-3 accuracy debuff
Hurricane surrounds you with a smallish area of swirling clouds. Any enemy who touches this area gets their accuracy reduced, their range severely reduced, and generally gets knocked over and shoved to the border of the cloud. While it's not an absolute protection, against a lot of enemies it comes pretty close, and it's well-known as a zone of safety for squishier types. It also comes in handy for pushing controlled enemies to where you want them, and if you can round up a bunch into a corner, they're basically out of the fight for good. You do have to be somewhat careful with the scatter, especially when debuffing enemies your scrapper or tanker allies are fighting, and the endurance drain is pretty significant; this power is otherwise pretty close to rating a 5/5. If the area were a little bit larger, or the cost a bit lower, I'd give it the nod.
Thunderclap (PBAoE disorient)
Available: level 28
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 4-6: 1-2 accuracy, 2-3 disorient duration, 0-3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
Thunderclap is a PBAoE disorient with several disadvantages. Its magnitude is only enough to affect minions, not lieutenants or bosses, on its own; its animation time is quite long; it's PBAoE rather than ranged AoE like Flashfire (which is mainly a concern because of that animation time); and, finally, its base duration is pretty short. Even so, it fills in the gap in area control that issue 5 introduced, and it could be used to stack with Flashfire, making it a good option for many builds.
Tornado ("pet" knockback, disorient, and damage)
Available: level 35
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 2-6: 2-3 disorient duration, 2-3 damage, 0-3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
This fairly mediocre power creates a "pet" that chases down enemies, tossing them into the air (and occasionally across the room) and causing disorientation and damage. It sounds good, but dropping one is basically a gamble; it could be an effective way to deal with some enemies, or it could hopelessly scatter them and get them mad at you, or even aggro additional enemy groups. Using your other options to force enemies into a corner, and your control to make them stay put, can increase your odds, especially if you can spam Fire Cages every ten seconds to negate the knockback. Some controllers report good damage results with this method. I consider the power fairly accident-prone for my tastes. It does have some use as a stopgap to cover a retreat or momentarily deal with unexpected adds, and it is rather good at dealing with single tough enemies if there's nobody else around for it to go after, but you'll need to be cautious with it, or it could draw far more attention than you'd like.
Lightning Storm ("pet" damage and knockdown)
Available: level 38
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 4-6: 1 accuracy, 3 damage, 0-2 recharge reduction
You summon up a thundercloud that blasts nearby enemies with lightning at a rate of one bolt every 6 seconds or so. Each tends to strike only a single target, but it does in fact have a small area of effect -- if two or more enemies are standing very close together, both or all will get struck. The damage from this one is actually pretty significant, once enhanced, although the knockback can be something of a pain. Like many Storm powers, it works wonderfully in enclosed spaces, but tends to scatter enemies in open areas. Even so, the damage is hard to pass up. The cloud lasts for 60 seconds, so you can expect about ten bolts if the enemies survive long enough; the unenhanced recharge is 90 seconds.
Trick Arrow
Trick Arrow is a power set introduced in issue 5. It focuses exclusively on debuffing; no buffs are to be found here. It does provide some extra control, particularly at the highest levels. Many of its powers are as effective "out of the box" as they'll ever be, since you can't slot for, for instance, damage resistance debuff. It's also entirely click-based powers (no toggles), making Stamina somewhat more optional than for other builds. Unfortunately, it's a pretty subpar powerset for the most part; there are other sets which debuff as well or nearly as well in all areas (Radiation) while also providing heals, buffs, and other abilities. Furthermore, you'll be required to draw your bow again after every time you use a power from your primary. Finally, it's a late-blooming set, but it never becomes as powerful as other late bloomers such as Storm or Kinetics.
Entangling Arrow (single-target immobilize)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 2/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 accuracy
This power is a single-target immobilize with a -fly effect attached. The immobilize doesn't activate until after the animation time, which is on the long side (truthfully, not too long, but it feels like forever when you're watching the enemy you'd wanted to immobilize charge toward you). Unlike the single-target immobilize in the primary sets, it won't immobilize a boss with one shot, nor does it cause any damage. It does set up containment, though, so it helps at the lowest levels. I consider this power nearly useless, but since you have to take it, you can try using it as a substitute for the primary set's immobilize. The -fly effect is actually useful, though, so it's not all bad.
Flash Arrow (area-effect accuracy and perception debuff)
Available: level 2
Usefulness: 2/5
Recommended slotting: 1+: 1 accuracy, 0-3 accuracy debuff
The Flash Arrow is, like Smoke, an area-effect perception debuff with a small accuracy debuff attached. Unlike Smoke, it doesn't automatically hit (in PvE). The debuff appears to be similar. Like Smoke, it doesn't self-stack. In short, Smoke does everything this power does, without the chance of missing. (Flash Arrow is, however, available earlier than Smoke.) There's some utility to be found in stacking the effects. If you slot up both this power and Smoke, you're looking at a potential 20% or so accuracy debuff, which isn't too bad.
Glue Arrow (area-effect and location-based slow)
Available: level 4
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 1-5: 1-3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction, 0-1 slow
Glue Arrow is somewhat odd to target. You target an enemy with it, but the power creates a patch of glue on the ground around that target that then acts as a location-based power. This area will slow enemies who were not initially in the area of effect who later enter it -- but only if the original target is still alive. The glue patch vanishes after 30 seconds, but slowed enemies remain slowed for up to an additional 30 seconds after that happens. It's pretty wonky -- basically, it's a lot like an anchored toggle, except the effects linger after the anchor dies. Also, it won't work if your original target is in the air when you use it. In site of this weirdness, it's a pretty effective slow power, and it makes a good addition to your arsenal. It can be used with just one or two recharges, to help out in tough fights, or you can go all-out and slot it for frequent use as a soft control. Its base recharge is pretty long, but it is one of the better powers in the set.
Ice Arrow (single-target hold)
Available: level 10
Usefulness: 4/5 to 5/5
Recommended slotting: 4-6: 1 accuracy, 3 hold duration, 0-2 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
Ice Arrow provides a second single-target hold, enabling you to quickly hold a boss or two different minions at the start of a fight -- one application of Ice Arrow and one of Char. Unlike the primary sets' holds, it doesn't cause damage, and its duration is relatively short; furthermore, it's less useful mid-combat thanks to animation time (and the drawing of the bow). Even so, this is a power a Trick Arrow controller won't want to be without -- the ability to nearly instantly hold a boss shouldn't be underrated. Slot up the hold duration and recharge reduction to make the most of having a second hold available (you'll need heavy slotting to keep chaining it), and go to town.
Poison Gas Arrow (area-effect damage debuff and hold)
Available: level 16
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1-3: 1-3 recharge reduction
Poison Gas Arrow debuffs the damage of all enemies in a medium-sized area. The debuff is decent damage mitigation, about 25%, but cannot be enhanced. It also has a very small chance of holding an enemy for a few seconds. I wouldn't slot for this, though; I've only seen it happen on rare occasions, and it doesn't seem to last very long when it does. If you feel the need for some damage mitigation, take this power; if not, it's skippable.
Acid Arrow (area-effect damage, damage resistance debuff, and defense debuff)
Available: level 20
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1-2: 1 accuracy, 0-1 recharge reduction
The first of Trick Arrow's two damage resistance debuffs, Acid Arrow affects a very small area. Its base duration equals its base recharge, though you might want to add one slot of recharge to help you keep it running "permanently." It debuffs resistance less than the powers from other sets, such as Enervating Field or Freezing Rain, but it does stack with Disruption Arrow (see below) to create a greater net debuff. The defense debuff seems pretty solid, though the small AoE makes this less useful than it otherwise would be. Finally, the power causes a small amount of damage over time to anything it hits.
Disruption Arrow (area-effect damage resistance debuff)
Available: level 28
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 4-5: 1 accuracy, 3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
Disruption Arrow debuffs damage resistance over a large area. This is very useful, especially when stacked with Acid Arrow, but the recharge on this power is two minutes, compared to a 30-second duration. Getting the most out of stacking requires slotting Disruption Arrow for plenty of recharge reduction. Still, this is something you'd want to use as often as possible anyway, so that's not a hardship.
Oil Slick Arrow (location-targeted knockdown, defense debuff, and movement slow with potential DoT)
Available: level 35
Usefulness: 5/5 (but see below)
Recommended slotting: 3+: 3 recharge, 0-3 damage
The Oil Slick Arrow creates an Ice Patch-like area in which enemies will be knocked down and somewhat slowed and defense-debuffed. It doesn't seem to cause knockdown as frequently as Ice Slick or Earthquake, but it's still a great soft-control addition. If a fire power (or other energy attack) is used on the slick, it has a chance to ignite, causing minor but rapid ticks of damage, like a Burn patch. All things considered, an excellent addition to the arsenal. One annoyance: if the slick has been set on fire, and any enemies had entered it, your pets will flee from its area and refuse to enter it. This is presumably a bug, but until it's fixed, the usefulness should be considered 4/5.
EMP Arrow (area-effect hold)
Available: level 38
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 4-6: 1-2 accuracy, 0-3 hold duration, 0-3 recharge reduction
This power's almost exactly like EM Pulse from the Radiation set: a very effective hold with an impressive base duration and a truly massive area of effect. As another area hold, it's a spectacular addition to your powers. It's strong enough that six slots aren't necessary, but powerful enough that you'll likely want to assign them anyway. Like EMP, this power also does damage to robotic enemies, and it has an endurance drain component.
Power Pools
Pool Powers -- A Brief Discussion
Concealment
Stealth helps to travel safely by reducing the range at which enemies can detect you. It also offers some defense if enemies do spot you. However, this is not useful in combat because both the stealth and defense suppress if you attack. Stealth can sometimes be used to "skip" sections of missions by sneaking past some enemies, if the goal is not "defeat all."
Grant Invisibility allows you to make another hero invisible, granting stealth and a small defense boost. This power is useful for "skipping" sections of missions if you happen to be teamed, but the defense aspect is pretty minor. You can't use it on yourself. It offers a greater degree of stealth than Stealth does, but not complete invisibility. Its duration is moderate, and it's cheap to cast.
Invisibility offers greater stealth than Stealth (though snipers and others will still see you), at the cost of the ability to attack. Now that Stealth suppresses, though, that's not a very big difference. This power's not so useful, but it is even safer travel than Stealth -- if you want to conceal a team, Grant Invisibility and Invisibility would be the combination to go with.
Phase Shift makes you invincible for 30 seconds. A long activation time and a fairly long recharge make this less useful than you'd think, but it can give you a little time to run away, provided you activate it soon enough. It can also be useful for absorbing a particularly nasty alpha strike (for example, against an archvillain). While phased, you're also stealthy, to about the same degree as Stealth offers, and it does stack with other stealth powers.
Fighting
Boxing makes a fairly good attack, if you need one. It's light on damage, but still roughly double Brawl, and it's got quick recharge, low endurance cost, and a small chance to disorient for a brief time. If you're looking for another attack, this is one of the better options.
Kick is stronger than Boxing, but it's also slower, to the point where Boxing does more damage over time. It's still not a bad option, and it does knockback instead of disorienting. Still, Boxing is probably the better choice.
Tough is less useful than you might expect, since you'll be controlling most enemies. Also, after level 40, you'll gain access to the epic pools, three of which -- the most popular three -- provide armors that offer resistance. However, Tough can still be useful for some builds; its resistance to smashing and lethal damage is reasonable, and its endurance cost is bearable for most builds. A controller who likes to be up close and personal could do worse than to choose Tough.
Weave provides a larger amount of defense than most pool powers, but it's still a small amount in total -- it won't even reach 10% fully slotted. Its endurance cost is on the high side for such a lackluster defense, so it's probably better to skip it, unless you really need defense and have endurance to spare.
Fitness
Swift lets you inherently move a little faster on the ground. Its speed boost is close to that of Sprint, but without costing endurance, and it also stacks with Sprint, making it a decent mobility power early in the game. Not a flashy power, but a useful one nevertheless. And you'll likely want Stamina anyway, so you'll need it or Hurdle as a prerequisite.
Hurdle lets you jump a little higher and a good deal further and faster. Its speed matches that of unenhanced Fly at low levels, and it stacks with Combat Jumping or Superjump. It's also good for Superspeed users, giving them a little additional vertical clearance. Mostly useful as a prerequisite, though.
Health improves your inherent health regeneration rate. It won't be miraculous, especially for a controller, but it does reduce downtime, and its effect is relatively greater once you obtain a resistance or defense-offering power, such as the epic pool armors. It also provides resistance (lower duration) to sleep powers that affect you. Still mostly valuable as a prerequisite, though.
Stamina is still considered a must for most secondaries; Storm in particular suffers without it, though Kinetics, post-Transference, is able to do without it entirely in most cases. It increases your endurance recovery rate significantly.
Flight
Hover, post-ED, is useful almost purely for tactical overview of combat. Three speed SOs, though, is just about enough to let you move around a little while you fight. It's no longer the dogfighting power it used to be, but it can still serve. The defense is insignificant; don't bother slotting that.
Air Superiority, with its reliable knockdown, is probably the best pool attack for early soloing, if that's what you're looking for. It does reasonable damage at a reasonable endurance cost, benefits from containment (unlike Brawl), and, later on, can be chained if you slot a few recharge reducers. If you keep hitting, you can keep a boss on the floor.
Fly is the slowest but safest and most flexible travel power. You can get anywhere with it -- it just takes some time. Now that it no longer has a massive accuracy penalty, you can even use it during combat, although you'll want to switch to Hover if you have it, ince Fly suppresses to base Hover speed and costs far more endurance to run. One interesting use: if you're flying, any enemies who aggro against you will gather directly below you. Radiation controllers using the toggle debuffs, outdoors, can use this fact to gather a crowd in relative safety (just be careful of the area-effect target cap). All in all, this pool is worth considering; its value to fire controllers is greater than it may seem.
Group Fly can be useful to move the imps around in locations such as the Shadow Shard, but you need to be careful not to drop them; you'll have to move and pause, or else fly backwards (which is slower). It's not great, therefore, for long-distance travel with the imps, although it can be made to work.
Leadership
Assault is quite a useful power, post-ED. Its damage boost is about equal to one DO in each damage power for everyone on your team (including your imps), and its endurance cost is reasonable. It's a good prerequisite for the pool. If you PvP, note that it protects against Taunt and Placate.
Maneuvers, on the other hand, is nearly useless. It provides a defense of around 3% -- you'll reach around 5% with slotting. Considering the amount of endurance it costs, it isn't worth running in most cases. If you can count on being on a team where at least 4 people have taken the power, it might become worthwhile, but if you're going to be the only one running it, chances are you won't even notice the difference.
Tactics is the real prize. It improves your chance to hit by 10% base (more when slotted), and does the same for your teammates and pets. Because of the way to-hit buffs appear to work, as opposed to accuracy enhancers, this is especially effective for powers that have an inherent accuracy penalty -- such as almost all AoE controls. In PvP, it's almost a must-have, because it offers a boost to perception, as well as protection from confusion. Well worth its endurance cost.
Vengeance is lovely, about equivalent to using one small damage, accuracy, defense, and health inspiration, though it's also obviously very situational -- it doesn't work on dead pets, only dead players.
Note that you do not need to be teamed with others in order for Assault, Maneuvers, and Tactics to benefit your pets (or you personally).
Leaping
Jump Kick is a relatively poor pool attack. Though it does comparable damage to most others, its animation is slow, and its secondary effect doesn't happen very often. Consider only if you want Leaping, want a pool power, and don't want to use one of your four pools just to obtain that power.
Combat Jumping offers a good jump boost, especially in terms of height. Using it, you can easily scale most buildings and even the war walls. It also offers protection from immobilization and a small amount of defense, and it costs practically nothing to run.
Super Jump is a middle-ground travel power; not as fast as Superspeed (though it's close, and has a far better vertical capability) or as flexible as Flight, but a solid compromise.
Acrobatics offers excellent knockback protection and minimal hold protection. Worth considering, if you've taken the Leaping pool for movement. The endurance cost is reasonable, although it does add yet another toggle.
Medicine
Aid Other is a surprisingly effective single-target heal power. It can be interrupted, making it somewhat tricky to use in combat, but an interruption reducer SO or two can go a lnog way to helping. Forcefield, Sonic, and Trick Arrow controllers, who have no heal in their secondaries, might find this power useful. Storm Summoners might use it as a replacement for O2 Boost if they decide they want the other powers in this set.
Stimulant cures and protects against most mez effects. It's useful early on to prepare for fights against enemies such as Vahzilok bosses and Clockwork lieutenants, but loses some utility later when melee classes gain their own protection. It remains somewhat useful for "squishy" teammates. Unfortunately, you can't use the power on yourself.
Aid Self is a fairly strong self-heal which can be interrupted. Again, an interruption reducer SO or two can make a major difference -- with two, you can even use it "between" the ticks of most enemy DoTs, with practice. Most useful for those sets with no self-heal, although it does require one other power choice from this pool.
Resuscitate is a borderline resurrection power. It's the last choice among rez powers, not much better than an Awaken inspiration. It is better, though, and it might have some utility if you really want a rez power but your secondary doesn't include one.
Presence
A poor choice, usually. The fear powers can be effective, though they're both endurance-expensive and short-duration, and in any case not as good as your primary controls, but the price of entry is Challenge or Provoke -- neither of which will be very useful to you -- and it'll cost you three power choices to get the area-effect fear power. Consider only if you really, really want more control via fear. Note, however, that fear does work on many archvillains.
Speed
Hasten is almost a necessity for cycling those powers faster. It can no longer be made permanent for most users, thanks to ED, but it still provides a large boost to recharge times. Given the long recharge times of most area-effect control powers, that's a very useful boost to have. I'd recommend taking and three-slotting this power with recharge reducers.
Flurry is a slow but damaging pool attack with a small chance to disorient its target. It's actually the most damaging pool attack per click, but it takes so long to use that other powers are more efficient on a damage-per-second scale. That's not necessarily a concern for a controller, though. This power will serve quite well, with containment, and reduces the number of powers total you'll need to create an attack chain. If you don't want to open another pool just for an attack, but you need some extra damage for soloing, Flurry may be the answer.
Superspeed is the 'cheapest' travel power choice, if you plan to take Hasten anyway. It's fast, though you'll have some trouble in some areas because it offers no vertical movement. Superspeed also includes a stealth component; this suppresses if you attack, but it stacks with other stealth powers to make you effectively invisible to most enemies, allowing you to travel or scout safely and to skip certain missions.
Whirlwind can be quite handy as supplemental control, although it's a bit endurance-heavy. It also has the unusual property of allowing you to "skip" a power's animation time -- since you're already in the animation for Whirlwind, the other won't animate as usual. Powers that normally root you in one spot during activation won't do that, either. This particular application is most useful in PvP, but can be applied tactically in PvE also.
Teleportation
Recall Friend is nice to have, especially in conjunction with the Concealment pool powers. Many tough missions can be circumvented or greatly abbreviated with this combination. It's also useful to Empaths (and to a lesser extent Radiation controllers) who choose the rez power -- they can use it to pull the dead body somewhere out of combat before activating the rez. The rest of the powers in the set aren't great, though.
Teleport Foe can be used to single-pull minions with a decent chance of success. It doesn't work nearly so well on bosses, though, and this isn't something you'll often need to do anyway, particularly since the teleported enemy will get off an attack. It does have PvP applications, though.
Teleport is the fastest travel power with slotting. It takes getting used to, though, and it does require slotting, unlike most others; it eats a lot of endurance, too. If you're prone to lag or have little memory or a slow connection, you'll want to use it in conjunction with Hover, or you'll find yourself falling from the sky pretty frequently.
Group Teleport is basically exactly like Teleport, except that it allows you to pull along any allies and their pets who are nearby. This isn't really that useful. You might be able to use it to escape a bad situation, if you can target the destination quickly enough, and it has some application in PvP for sudden ambushes (though not as much as you might think), but overall, it's pretty unimpressive.
Epic Pool Powers
Beyond level 40, five epic pools are available for controllers:
Earth
A varied set with no strong focus. This tends to hurt it in comparison to the other sets; its powers are useful, but nothing special, and it doesn't produce the same kind of dramatic return in a given area that the other sets do.
Hurl Boulder is the most damaging of the epic attacks. It's also got the slowest animation, though, and the damage is all of the highly-resisted smashing type. It still makes an excellent attack, especially with containment, but will be more useful solo than in groups because of the animation factor.
Rock Armor is a toggle that will grant a reasonable defense boost. While defense is inferior to resistance in many cases, it does offer a benefit against mez attacks -- if the attack misses, you won't get held, slept, disoriented, or whatever. Make no mistake, it's a bit subpar compared to the armors in some of the other sets in normal circumstances, but still worth taking for that fact alone.
Fissure is an odd power. It combines a little bit of damage, a chance to disorient, and a chance to knockback, all in a small area-effect. It can be useful for stacking with Flashfire, although its disorient is unreliable, and it will help you defeat groups, although the impact will be pretty small. It's questionable whether it's worth taking; I would, if I chose Earth, but you could get by without it.
Earth's Embrace boosts hit points by somewhere over 30%, much like Dull Pain from the Invulnerability and Regeneration tank and scrapper sets. The survivability boost is not insignificant, especially if you already have Health; they act as a multiplier on Health's effect. Worth taking, if you delve into this pool.
Fire
The Fire pool is the place to go if you primarily want damage. It's got the usual armor and blast, and a utility power, but Fireball is the real star of the set.
Fire Blast is a quick, fairly strong attack with a small additional DoT component. It will increase your single-target killing speed admirably.
Fire Ball is the star of the set. A quick-recharging AoE damage attack with an additional DoT component, this power can help you wipe out medium to large groups of contained enemies quickly. If you're taking the Fire pool, you want this power, and you want it early and well-slotted.
Fire Shield offers resistance to smashing, lethal, and fire damage. The base is 30%, which is not bad at all, especially considering that the "extra," fire, is one of the most common damage types out there. Enhanced with three damage resistance SOs, you'll be reaching 48%. That means you live almost twice as long, against most enemies. Good deal.
Consume is a PBAoE with a slow recharge and a low damage. The real point of it, though, is to restore endurance. Hit just three or four enemies with it, and your blue bar will be full again. Some builds (particularly Kinetics or Empathy) might not need it; for others, it can be a godsend.
Ice
The Ice pool appears weak on the surface, but there's some potential there. Its area-effect power offers good soft control, which is quite useful post-I5 and post-ED. While not as popular as Fire, Primal, or Psychic, it's worth a look.
Ice Bolt is a fast-firing attack with decent damage, like most other epic pool blasts. Its damage is partly cold-type, which isn't often resisted, but the rest is smashing, so that tends to be a wash. Worth taking to help out your damage, though.
Frozen Armor provides a boost to defense, not resistance, and therefore is generally somewhat inferior to other pool armors. It's still worth having, though. The same comments apply here as to Rock Armor, above.
Ice Storm is a location-targeted AoE damage attack that slows enemies and causes them to attempt to flee its area. That rain of damage adds up if you can keep the targets in the area, though. And as a controller, you probably can. Its slow effect is pretty significant, and if you want to get damage out of this power without also using an AoE immobilize effect, you can add slow enhancers. Unfortunately, this power doesn't benefit from containment.
Hibernate makes you invincible and increases your regeneration rate, at the cost of being unable to move or to affect anyone other than yourself with your powers. It's basically a faster-activating Phase Shift that also immobilizes you. Recent changes have limited its duration, making it much less useful; it might make a decent panic button on occasion, but it's much more situational now, to the point where I'd normally recommend skipping it.
Primal Forces
Primal is the pool to go to if you want utility -- if you want to make the powers you already have better, rather than adding new abilities. Its two solid buffs are its main attraction.
Power Blast is a fairly standard epic attack. Decent damage, fairly quick. This one is flavored with knockback, which can be handy and occasionally annoying.
Conserve Power will reduce the endurance costs of all powers for a good amount of time after you click it. This comes in really handy in drawn-out fights such as some archvillain battles. If you often find yourself running low on endurance, this power will help you address that. Empaths can alternate between it and Recovery Aura, and basically never run out of endurance.
Temporary Invulnerability is a resistance-based armor. It offers about 33% resistance to smashing and lethal damage -- a slightly higher percentage than other pool armors, but at the cost of helping against only two damage types. They are the most common two, though, and the power's well worth taking.
Power Boost doubles the duration of your holds and other controls, and increases the "secondary effects" of your powers. In addition to all types of mez effects, secondary effects include things like healing or regeneration, knockback, defense buffs, and flight or run speed, even when those effects are in fact the main purpose of the power. They do not, however, include damage buffs, resistance buffs, or most debuffs. Depending on your sets, it can be like being a small god for the duration of the Power Boost. Possibly the best reason to choose this epic pool.
Psychic
The Psychic pool is the place to go for defense. Its powers are mainly geared toward protecting you, in one way or another. It will likely be the pool of choice for PvP, too, once the high-level PvP zone is added.
Mental Blast is the obligatory single-target attack. Its animation is pretty slow, and it's a bit lower on damage than the other blasts, but it's psychic damage, which is rarely resisted, and it includes a small -recharge component. When psychic damage is resisted, though (as with most robots and zombies), it's resisted a lot.
Mind Over Body is a solid resistance-based armor. In addition to the usual smashing and lethal, it offers resistance to psychic damage, which is pretty rare. There are enough enemies with psychic damage in the higher-level game to make this a fairly strong plus, but it's also easy enough to avoid most of them if you don't want to fight them.
Indomitable Will is the signature power of the set: a personal mez protection equal to magnitude 9 (or protection from three controller mezzes). It's a click, so it stays active in the event you do get mezzed, meaning you probably escape that much faster. Unfortunately, it can no longer be made permanent without significant recharge buffs from a third party. It's still very handy, given the number of high-level enemies with mez powers, and will probably be considered a must-have in high-level PvP.
Psychic Tornado is a cone-area DoT. Its damage isn't as high as Fire Ball's, but it's still pretty good, and of course it's psychic. It also has a pretty high chance of causing knockup, protecting you by keeping the enemies off their feet. The animation time is somewhat lengthy, and the endurance cost is on the high side, but I'd take it nevertheless.
In Closing
The fire controller is very versatile, quite powerful, and a lot of fun to play. However, it can be a long road to level 32. It's not a set to choose if you expect to exclusively solo through all levels with ease. It's also not something you can powerlevel to 32 and expect to do well with (unless you've legitimately played a controller to high level before) -- they're capable of tearing through enemies, yes, but in order to do so, you'll have to know how your powers work. If you've got the patience to put the work in, however, the fire controller is a very rewarding character.
If this is a path that appeals to you, good luck, stick with it... and have fun.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the following City of Heroes forum posters for their feedback and suggestions. This guide wouldn't be what it is without their input.
Argentae
ATRAtwo
Breville
Cents
ChicagoZooStyle
Cynnfull
F22Major
Infiniti
Ishtar
Kolyma_Nova
LOW_Guppy
Necessary_Evil
Norelen
PurplePplEatr
Prince_Tycho
Repojam
Rigel_Kent
Scrapulous
Serious_George
Shuyun
SolarEagle
Teina
This guide is thirty-one flavors of awesome. Very well-formatted, comprehensive, well-detailed.. and that's just the fire section. Going above and beyond to detail out the secondaries from a controller perspective makes this *the* controller guide, for any primary, on the forums.
Quick note: my numbers on the epic armors were off a bit. It seems most of them offer a base 27.5% resistance to smashing and lethal damage. Fire offers a 20% to fire and 10% to cold; psychic offers a 20% to psi. Believe TI's base is 30%. So it's slightly lower than I thought (or perhaps it was reduced with the global defense changes), but you'll still end up around 43% with three SOs.
I'm uncertain on the defense numbers for Ice and Earth, but if the "1% defense = 2% resistance" theory is in effect, then they should offer around 13%-14% base defense.
Wow,
This is an incredible guide. I was just poking around and I think you triggered my alt-itis.
-Teklord
Heh, thank you.
Fire control is a ton of fun, though it can be a bit on the weak side, as control goes, until post-SOs.
Hope you enjoy yourself.
WOW, what a GREAT guide, and from a Kitty no less :P
I just made a new fire/rad alt on Victory and come lev 8 wasn't sure where to go. SOooooo glad I found this, thanks!
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WOW, what a GREAT guide, and from a Kitty no less :P
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Don't be silly. It's a fox. 
You're welcome. Fire/rad is a terrific combination. Good luck with it!
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Fire/Kinetics is what I believe to be the most overwhelming controller set in terms of raw power. A developed and talented controller with these sets can take on just about anything. On the flip side, however, is the fact that the controller doesn't reach anything like full power until level 38. This is not a build for the impatient, and if you're the type who likes to solo exclusively, I wouldn't recommend this build. If you're group-oriented and can put up with a long haul, however, the reward is vast power and, yes, soloing ability. Many Kinetics powers are melee-oriented; this creates strong synergy with imps, and scrappers and tankers will especially appreciate what you bring to the table.
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How true this is! I picked fire/kin without looking up any guides, and in the late teens thought about abandonning the toon, I could barely solo greys, mostly because of endurance problems and the fights took so long!
Now at lvl35, I feel Uber! I went through my combat log last night and half of the kills were mine, on a team of 6! I felt like cheating! hold the group burn them to death while your speedboosted friends hack at them too.
I can solo three +5 minions without worries!
This more than makes up for the pain that lvl18-22 were.
This is a good build for the "aggressive" players like me, the guys that can't stand staying in the back regardless of their AT.
[ QUOTE ]
Resuscitate is a borderline resurrection power. It's the last choice among rez powers, not much better than an Awaken inspiration. It is better, though, and it might have some utility if you really want a rez power but your secondary doesn't include one.
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Just as a note here, Resuscitate is actually a pretty good rez, if you don't already have one; certainly much, much better than any of the rez inspirations(well, maybe comparable to the biggest one). Your target comes back to life with 100% HP and no disorient, and is debt-protected for a brief duration, like all the rezzes. 0 Endurance, which is a pain, but I would say that (especially so for a Kinetic) this is not that big a deal. Eat a couple of blue insps (or just a nice Transference) and they're right back in the fight. And out of combat, it's only marginally less effective than Resurrect or Mutation. It's definitely not worth your time if you're an Empath or Radiation specialist, but for the sets with no rez(especially Kinetics), if you've already got two of the Medicine powers anyway, certainly a viable option.
Edit: It also costs surprisingly little Endurance for a rez power, about half(anecdotal; I haven't actually looked at the numbers) Resurrect or Mutation's, and has a decent recharge.
Solid guide. On a 5 star scale, I give you 7.
Very nice indeed. I have been thinking about this type of build and this is great info
Cell Block 42 ** www.pvradio.net
DJ Risen
"Too Big for the Zig"
Awsome guild. I have been kicking around the idea of creating a Fire contoller (stuck with Grav primarily thus far) and this has helped increadably. Your detail on Secondaries is awsome. I may have to take the plunge and give into my alt-itis.
This guide is simply wonderful. It's done very well, covers everything, and gives great info.
As a person who is a controller freak, this guide has been awesome.
My new fire/kin Tallulah Red will benefit from this guide very much! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this out!
just BUMPING this,because it's fantastic! 
I've never bumped before but Foxmaiden's guide is really good!
(I'll really endeavor for this to be my last bump ever)
Malakim
Malakim
-Playing since COH beta and still love the game!
***** 5 Stars. Fantastic guide.
Have decided to go with Fire/TA. Fire Cages + Oil slick + Flashfire = Teh Ub3r!
Also Smoke + Flash Arrow both 3 slotted for tohit debuffs = Ghetto RI or DN. Issue 7 will make Flash Arrow auto hit in PvE.
Char + Ice Arrow = Held Boss!
Entangling Arrow = wish I didn't have to take this $hit power...
Again, great guide.
[ QUOTE ]
***** 5 Stars. Fantastic guide.
Have decided to go with Fire/TA. Fire Cages + Oil slick + Flashfire = Teh Ub3r!
Also Smoke + Flash Arrow both 3 slotted for tohit debuffs = Ghetto RI or DN. Issue 7 will make Flash Arrow auto hit in PvE.
Char + Ice Arrow = Held Boss!
Entangling Arrow = wish I didn't have to take this $hit power...
Again, great guide.
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Hmm, some pretty good ideas!
Malakim
-Playing since COH beta and still love the game!
Not too much has changed for issue 7. However, the Trick Arrow secondary has been updated, making it quite a bit more useful.
A revision is sort of back-burner right now, thanks to events in RL, but is planned eventually. In the meantime, the main changes:
* The first power, the immobilizing arrow, now has a -recharge component, and the -fly was fixed. This makes it a little more useful. Not much, but since you have to take it anyway, it softens the blow a little.
* Glue Arrow's recharge is significantly lower, making it a very good power. I'm not sure yet whether I'll change its rating, but it's definitely more attractive now.
* Disruption Arrow's recharge is significantly lower. This makes it even more useful.
* Poison Gas Arrow's control effect supposedly happens more often now, though I've not seen it in action yet.
* Oil Slick Arrow is easier to ignite now. Unfortunately, the pet AI that causes pets to avoid the spot where the burning slick is/was seems to be unchanged, so it's still a bit of a double-edged sword for controllers.
I haven't yet observed the modified set in play. My gut instinct is that it's still below Radiation/Kinetics/Storm, but that it at least stands up decently in comparison. The fact that it's slot-light and filled with click powers makes it a more reasonable alternative.
im a n00b to fire/kin but it sounds so much fun, and i had to hav a Siphonic King to my Siphonic Queen (ill/kin) so i chose him--and 1 only hav 1 question (btw, ur guide was GREAT!!) why no recharge reductions in fire imps?
-Thx!
22 50's in Bio
@Siphonic
RIP PX, GMW, and the game that used to be fun.
Still playing for reasons unknown.
Fire Imps last essentially forever, unless you die, they die, or you change zones (or enter/leave a mission). The base recharge time, even without recharge buffs like Hasten, Siphon Speed, or Accelerate Metabolism, is only a few minutes. Imps are fragile compared to other pets, but they're not that fragile. And they no longer stack -- you can only have three imps out.
If you find you need to resummon the Imps on a regular basis, and the base recharge isn't working for you, then add the recharge. I've rarely had that happen, though -- sometimes an AV or a monster will wipe them out, but unless there are two located pretty closely together inside a mission, I recast them after combat.
In the case of Fire/Kin, control, Siphon Speed, and Transfusion (and later Fulcrum Shift) should allow you to extend their lives well beyond the unslotted recharge.
You are simply amazing. Superb guide. I find myself looking at it all the time. Again excellent job
My 50's:
Fiya Man: Fiya/ Fiya/ Flame Blaster -Protector
Ethros: Dark/Dark/Dark Defender - Protector
Ja-Ja: Fire/Kin/Earth Controller- Protector
Shadow Flux: Fortunata
Daily Forecast: Fire/Storm/Mace Corruptor- Infinity
"XP is for sissies. Real men collect debt." -Adelie
@Gammos
One last question : Did you take acrobatics? if not, do think you would have liked it? Would you say choosing the other powers were more helpful/more fun? If you did, do you think it is a GREAT power to have? I have it, but I find it end costly, and i hav taken sj and cj for it--when I could just get Inetrial Reduction and (Im thinking) Assault and Tactics? Thanks for your help, and again--amazing guide
22 50's in Bio
@Siphonic
RIP PX, GMW, and the game that used to be fun.
Still playing for reasons unknown.
I've taken Acrobatics with some characters, but never with a /Kinetics controller. I don't feel it's worth it.
Acrobatics is for knockback protection. The hold protection is minimal, and won't save you -- the knockback protection, however, is quite strong. It does its job well. It costs a bit of endurance, but not a whole lot.
However, it costs three powers. Two of those powers must be Combat Jumping, Jump Kick, or Super Jump. Combat Jumping offers decent immobilize protection and a (very) little defense. The immobilize protection is pretty nice. But Jump Kick is a pretty bad attack power, and Super Jump offers no benefit over Inertial Reduction, once you're level 28, aside from being toggle rather than click.
So you get one pretty decent power, then one basically useless power, then Acrobatics, which is itself kind of borderline. It's useful, yes. But with almost any controller build, I'd rather have something in the primary or secondary than Acrobatics. And certainly than Super Jump or Jump Kick.
Tactics, for instance, is vastly more useful to a Kinetics controller, and I'd say to almost any controller who teams (except maybe for a toggle-heavy Radiation or Sonics).
The best advice might be to transfer to test, respec there, and switch CJ/SJ/Acro for IR/Assault/Tactics. Then run a few missions. See how it plays. I have never missed Acro, but you might.
About This Guide
First, a few words on what this guide isn't. This isn't about how best to powerlevel a build. This isn't a collection of hard numbers; there are other places to find out the duration of Char or how much Transfusion heals. This isn't a transcription of the "best" build -- I don't believe there is one -- although you can go to the Archive page to download sample builds if you'd like an easy start. Finally, this isn't the One True Way. Much of this is opinion, and the opinion is pretty much all mine. If you like and find useful a power I detest -- great! Post about it. But this is what's worked for me. Something else may work better for you. Controllers can accommodate a pretty wide variety of play styles.
The Usefulness Scale
I use a 5-point "Usefulness" scale. This considers the power as a stand-alone, not in combination. I try to consider the power over the life of the character, but the scale is weighted toward the moment the power is available, rather than toward level 50. If a power's usefulness changes significantly later on, I've tried to call that out in the description of the power. For secondaries, the number is given with a controller in mind; defenders may find their results vary. The scale can be interpreted as follows:
1 - A nearly useless power. It may be useful only in very limited situations, or for very specific builds that cater to it, and only when thoroughly slotted out. I recommend skipping these.
2 - A marginal power. It's lacking in some major way, but it has some redeeming quality that makes it useful in some relatively common situation or for a given purpose, and it's probably a "good deal" in terms of endurance costs or needing few slots. This power is worth taking if you want to pursue the particular purpose it fits.
3 - A situational power. This power isn't something you'll use in every fight, but it's very useful in a fairly common situation or set of situations. You may not use this much, but you'll be glad to have it when you do. Worth consideration.
4 - A good power for general use. It's one you'll use often, perhaps even every fight, but it has an annoying down side that crops up even after slotting, or maybe it's an otherwise-strong power that drops off in usefulness during the endgame. The good far outweighs the bad, but you'll still find yourself wishing from time to time that the power functioned just a bit differently. I recommend taking these.
5 - A great power. This is something you'll use frequently, in many situations. It will be a major part of your character's arsenal. Any down sides it may have will be fairly easy to compensate for. Think very carefully before deciding not to take one of these.
About Fire Control
Fire Control is a strong control set. It isn't the best set, as far as sheer control is concerned; Mind and Earth both offer more. However, Fire's control powers, though fewer in number, offer the most useful control options: holds, a disorient, and (in combination with disorient) immobilizes. Missing are sleeps, confuses, and fear powers. Fire's other tools include a knockback field, a slow, a visibility and accuracy debuff, and a pet summon. While the Fire controller has a little less control at his fingertips, therefore, he does possess enough tools to lock down his enemies in most circumstances -- and he gains damage potential in exchange.
About the Combinations
Fire/Empathy is a relatively safe build, if slower than the true powerhouse combinations. The strength of the empathy secondary revolves around healing and recovery, but it also possesses some excellent single-target buffs which make it a terrific team player. Its power is easy for groups to appreciate, and it still offers a very respectable soloing punch after level 32. Finally, Empathy is one of the most intuitive powersets, requiring very little experimentation and few puzzles related to choosing slots.
Fire/Forcefield is a build for the defense-oriented team player. Most of its buffs work only on others, and many of its non-buff powers are, to be blunt, not very good. The strength of the buffs, however, helps make up for that, especially below level 40. Forcefielders can solo very well, if more slowly than some; "bubbling up" a couple of imps makes them very difficult for enemies to hurt. The fact that few secondary powers are necessary is sometimes seen as a strength rather than as a weakness, since it allows for more dipping into power pools.
Fire/Kinetics is what I believe to be the most overwhelming controller set in terms of raw power. A developed and talented controller with these sets can take on just about anything. On the flip side, however, is the fact that the controller doesn't reach anything like full power until level 38. This is not a build for the impatient, and if you're the type who likes to solo exclusively, I wouldn't recommend this build. If you're group-oriented and can put up with a long haul, however, the reward is vast power and, yes, soloing ability. Many Kinetics powers are melee-oriented; this creates strong synergy with imps, and scrappers and tankers will especially appreciate what you bring to the table.
Fire/Radiation is a relatively safe, quick, and effective build. It makes for great teaming at lower levels, and very effective soloing after pets. While I do not believe it is the most powerful combination in the long run -- Fire/Kinetics is, in my opinion -- it is more versatile, and it reaches its peak of power sooner. A skilled Fire/Radiation controller can manage to overcome nearly any group of enemies, often with very little risk to himself. It's still not a quick path to power, though; only after level 32 will you hit your peak.
Fire/Sonic Resonance is very similar to Force Field: a team-oriented, defense-oriented powerset. The major difference is that Sonic Resonance deals with damage resistance, while Force Field deals with defense. It's a very strong powerset for a team player, but on the weak side solo until after pets.
Fire/Storm Summoning is an uncommon combination, but it's also a very effective one. While the Storm powers take quite a lot of experimentation to get a handle on, the experienced Fire/Storm controller can cut through enemies, falling somewhere between a Radiation specialist and a Kineticist in terms of safety and speed. The major problem this build will encounter, once its player has learned to use its powers, is endurance; unlike Radiation or Kinetics, Storm has no recovery-boosting power.
Fire/Trick Arrow is a debuff-oriented set. Many of its low-level powers are lackluster, which makes it a challenging set to play; its main attraction lies in its increased control options, which include a second single-target hold and area-effect slow, knockdown, and hold powers. It also offers a higher total defense debuff than other sets, although this is split between two powers, which open at levels 20 and 28. It's not quite as difficult to learn to handle as Storm Summoning, but it's not easy, either; experienced players who are patient enough to wait until late game, though, will find that the combination offers an appealing combination of control and damage.
Tactics
The basic tactic of the Fire controller is: prepare/buff, hold, debuff and heal, repeat.
Prior to a battle, you'll want to summon pets, activate any defensive or Leadership toggles you may possess, and offer whatever buffs you might have. Forcefield, Empathy, and Kinetics controllers have a longer preparation phase; Radiation and Storm have more to do later on. Try not to get impatient; it's much better to have these up before a fight than to try to apply them in mid-combat, while you're already doing other things.
Controlling the enemies is the first priority in battle. There are basically two universal ways of doing this at higher levels: stand back and use Flashfire, then Fire Cages, or run in and use Cinders. In either case, use Char to 'clean up' anything that's not stunned. Bosses tend to succumb more easily to the Cinders+Char method, so keep that in mind. Different secondaries might offer more possibilities; for instance, with Radiation, EMP can also make a good opener, while an experienced Storm Summoner might be able to pull off a Flashfire/Thunderclap combination to stun even bosses.
Debuffing is a strength of Radiation; Enervating Field should be applied in every fight, once you have the ability to manage its endurance cost. Its damage-resistance debuff will make the fights shorter. Radiation Infection's casting time is a problem, but if there are multiple bosses, applying it to one is effective damage mitigation in case you can't hold all of the bosses; it's also a must for archvillains and other tough targets. Lingering Radiation is of less use in standard fights, where your holds make its slow effect mostly irrelevant, but it shines against archvillains and the like. Storm and Kinetics also possess some debuffs; Storm Summoners will be employing Freezing Rain and Hurricane (and possibly Snow Storm), while Kineticists will be Siphoning power and speed, and (late in the game) Fulcrum Shifting. Empaths and Forcefielders skip this phase entirely.
Once you've applied your holds and debuffs (if any), just watch the battle carefully, and reapply if necessary. If you're not a Forcefielder, or if you have Medicine, you'll also ideally be keeping an eye on your teammates' health, healing them if they drop. Obviously, this is particularly important to Empaths, but Kineticists and Radiation controllers can also serve well as healers, and even a Storm Summoner can really help to keep a tank or an interference-running scrapper alive with a well-placed O2 Boost. Kineticists will also want to watch the blue bars, and use Transference as needed to top off.
Try not to "lock on" to one tough target; this is often a habit for those coming from the more offense-oriented classes, but a controller needs to be aware of the entire battlefield, including the areas beyond the immediate fighting. This may be difficult, especially if your group is without a solid tanker, but if a patrol shows up or a second group aggros, you want to be ready to do something about it. Even if you're up against an archvillain, unless you're sure that you've cleared the rest of the map, take a second to look around every now and then.
Finally, know your powerset. Empathy is reactive; Kinetics is proactive; Forcefield is fire-and-forget; Radiation and Storm fall somewhere in between. If you try to play a reactive Kineticist, you'll probably be disappointed.
Fire Control
Please take your secondary into effect when considering my recommended slotting. For instance, an endurance-costly build such as Fire/Storm or Fire/Sonic might require extra endurance reduction.
Ring of Fire (single target immobilize and -knockback)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 2/5
Recommended slotting: 1-6: 1 accuracy, 0-3 damage, 0-2 endurance reduction (see below)
Ring of Fire is somewhat underwhelming for a controller. Very seldom will you need to immobilize just a single enemy. It's good for snagging the occasional runner, or for rooting a boss, but Char is superior in almost every way. This power does have a knockback (and knockdown) prevention component, however; it lasts for ten seconds and is unenhanceable. The one thing that makes this power potentially worth considering is its damage; it's the most damaging single-target power in the set short of Fire Imps. Those fire controllers planning to solo small groups of tougher enemies before level 32 should consider taking Ring of Fire and slotting it for damage, but also see Hot Feet below. With containment, you can inflict a good amount of damage fairly quickly; power pool attacks are about equal, but Ring of Fire also sets up containment. If you're not using this power for damage, I recommend only the default slot, with an accuracy enhancer; that'll be plenty for immobilizing archvillains, which is its primary use as a utility power. If you do use it for damage, its base recharge is fast enough without enhancement if you have any pool attack; add some damage and maybe some endurance reduction to help you keep spamming it.
Char (single target hold)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 1 accuracy, 2-3 hold duration, 2-3 damage, 0-3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
The single-target hold is the power of choice for a starting controller. Not only does a hold render its victim unable to attack, but it causes a reasonable amount of damage at low levels (though trivial later), and it remains useful through the entire life of the character. The balance of slotting between duration and damage is a matter of personal taste; I'd recommend leaning toward duration, later on, as it will be your workhorse control power. However, it's also true that in many battles, a held enemy will drop before the hold wears off. With the advent of ED, a 2/2 slotting (leaving one for accuracy and one for either recharge or endurance) is a solid compromise. If you don't have Hasten, though, you'll want more recharge reduction than that. If you need to give up anything, give up the damage first, because that's the least important aspect of the power.
Fire Cages (multiple target immobilize and -knockback)
Available: level 2
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 2-5: 2 accuracy, 0-2 immobilize duration, 0-3 endurance reduction
Fire Cages immobilizes enemies within a large radius, and it has a very rapid base recharge time for an area-effect ability. It also, like Ring of Fire, prevents them from being knocked back or down for ten seconds after casting. On the downside, it attracts a lot of attention, though its damage is pretty trivial even at low levels -- although containment makes it reasonable against a group of more than three enemies. Its main use is to set up containment on an enemy group, and it's the linchpin of any area-effect damage build. It also forms a killer combination with Flashfire (see below) later on. Like most controller area-effect (AoE) powers, it has an inherent accuracy penalty, but two single-origin enhancements (SOs) should be more than enough to overcome that even against enemies a couple levels higher than you. Slotting recharge is probably not necessary here; even without duration enhancers, the power usually recharges before its duration is complete, so the main use for a faster recycle would be immobilizing a second group. Note that Fire Cages takes a large bite out of endurance; if your build requires spamming it to keep enemies immobile (and most, if not all, area-effect damage builds will), you'll benefit from at least one endurance reducer. Duration helps if you're using it for containment setup, but not if you're using it for the -knockback effect.
Smoke (area -perception and accuracy debuff)
Available: level 6
Usefulness: 2/5 to 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1-3: 1-3 accuracy debuff
The accuracy debuff component of Smoke is relatively small (perhaps 5% to 10%), making this power mainly useful for stealth. It can help with pulling, although not consistently, and it does come in handy to help prevent multiple aggro if several groups of mobs happen to spawn near each other. Furthermore, it automatically hits everything within its area of effect (in PvE; in PvP, it can miss). Later on, it loses some effectiveness, because imps tend to aggro everything anyway in such situations. Unlike most click debuff powers, Smoke does not stack with itself (from the same caster). This is very much a "take it or leave it" power for most; my vote tends to be "leave it," although I may be in the minority here. If you have access to another, stronger accuracy debuff (Radiation, Storm) or to sizable defense buffs (Forcefield), it may be worth taking for the stacking effect. If you plan to use it in PvP, slot it for accuracy, too. 1-2 slots should do.
Hot Feet (PBAoE damage, slow, and "fear")
Available: level 8
Usefulness: 3/5 to 4/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 0-1 accuracy, 2-3 endurance reduction, 3 damage
Hot Feet is a point-blank area-effect power (PBAoE): it surrounds you with a medium-sized damage aura, which slows enemies that are near you and makes them attempt to escape its area. This is not a true fear power; the enemies won't cower, just try to run. The damage is quite high for a controller, although it attracts a lot of enemy attention while consuming a lot of endurance. The slow effect is middling but, given the reduction in area-effect control in issue 5, very nice to have. Containment makes Hot Feet one of the better tools for soloing -- if you can keep a group of relatively-weak enemies immobilized within its damage field, it can chew through them quickly. Banished Pantheon in Dark Astoria are a common choice for this in the 20s, because of their weakness to fire. The main trick here is surviving the aggro the power tends to draw; this makes it more useful for those controllers whose secondary set includes a solid accuracy debuff or the like. It combines especially well with Radiation's anchored debuffs.
Flashfire (multiple target disorient)
Available: level 12
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 2 accuracy, 2 disorient duration, 2 recharge reduction
Flashfire is the first of the set's two area-effect (AoE) lockdown powers. The usefulness number above is as a stand-alone power, because disoriented mobs still stagger around, sometimes at great speed, and still jump or fly off. Combined with Fire Cages, however, this is effectively a second -- ranged -- area hold, and the combination has a usefulness of 5/5. Flashfire makes a great opener through most of the game. Its base recharge time and duration took hits in issue 5, but it remains quick enough to throw every other fight or so, and it still provides effective control with SOs. It's not so great through the late teens any more; you might want to consider skipping it until later, if your secondary offers good damage mitigation options. (Radiation in particular has little need for Flashfire until later.) One thing to be careful about: Fire Cages has a radius larger than Flashfire, so you may get some mobs at the fringes immobilized but still shooting back. Also, though its damage is laughable, it's enough to make the targets angry with your controller, so be sure your allies are ready to take advantage of it when you cast it.
Cinders (PBAoE multiple target hold)
Available: level 18
Usefulness: 3/5 to 4/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 2 accuracy, 2 hold duration, 2 recharge reduction
The second of fire's area lockdown powers, this one used to be a must-have. With issue 5's doubled recharge (4 minutes) and nearly-halved duration, in addition to its inherent accuracy penalty, it's less clear-cut now. Cinders, especially earlier on, is now mainly a panic button in case something unexpected happens. It's also a good option for bosses: Cinders plus Char will hold a boss, provided both hit. Cinders has a remarkably short animation time, though its recharge takes a while. It also does no damage, which can be an advantage in some cases, since it helps avoid drawing aggro. In the very late game, when groups of enemies with multiple bosses are more common even with smaller team sizes, you'll likely find yourself wanting it so you can use it as an opener. Early on, though, it's more questionable -- the power is now situational.
Bonfire (location-targeted area knockback and damage)
Available: level 26
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 recharge reduction or endurance reduction or knockback enhancer
Bonfire is a situational power, liked by some, hated by others. I find the situations numerous enough to make it useful, especially since it doesn't require enhancement beyond its default slot for those situations. In the post-issue 5 game, it's one of the few reliable, long-lasting methods of control Fire offers, even if it requires some work and practice to set up. Bonfire is good for creating or blocking chokepoints, bringing down fliers, keeping things out of melee with you or other squishy types, 'nudging' a stunned group closer together, trapping a group of enemies in a corner, repeatedly knocking down knockback-resistant enemies, keeping enemies away from objects you need to protect, and stopgap control of sudden adds, among other things. The power also causes damage, though because of the knockback effect, it can be hard to capitalize on that unless you make heavy use of Fire Cages' -knockback effect; the damage is fairly light, though, and I don't recommend slotting for it, especially since, as a summoned entity, Bonfire does not benefit from containment. If you're going to add slots, recharge reduction is probably the best bet; having two or three Bonfires out can be useful.
Fire Imps (pet summon: 3 imps)
Available: level 32
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 4: 1 accuracy, 3 damage
You summon a trio of berserk scrapper-type minions that like to pounce on everything in sight. The good news is, they'll devour enemies with impressive speed. The bad news is, they like to pounce on everything in sight. Keep an eye on them, if you want to avoid nasty surprises. If you're not using Tactics or a defense debuff to help them hit, you'll probably want an accuracy slot in there; other than that, damage is the way to go. Note that imps, like all pets and summoned objects, do not benefit from containment damage. Their damage is pretty impressive even without the doubling, though, so don't worry. ED hit imps pretty hard; there's nothing other than damage worth slotting, except for that single accuracy slot, so leave the power at 4 unless you just have nowhere else to put slots. A second accuracy slot could be marginally effective if you often fight in the +4 or higher realms and have no defense debuff, but recharge or endurance reduction enhancers are basically wasted here.
Empathy
Empathy is a powerset that appears easy to grasp, but it proves to have a little more depth, with some powerful buffs in addition to its expected heal and recovery effects. It's among the most intuitive of controller secondaries, although Forcefield can be even easier to play. Empathy is somewhat reactive in nature; while you can buff in advance, healing does no good unless the target's already been hurt, so at times you'll have to be quick with the keyclick. The major problem inexperienced Empathy controllers tend to face is to put too much emphasis on healing at the expense of control; be a controller first, and a healer second, and you should find you don't need to heal so much.
Healing Aura (PBAoE heal)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 6: 3 heal, 1-2 recharge reduction, 1-2 endurance reduction
As a controller, you must take Healing Aura. That's okay, because it will remain an often-used power throughout the game. When you use it, all heroes and pets near you (including yourself) will receive a moderately-powerful heal. It's not as powerful as the single-target heals of the set, but it's still useful and 100% reliable, so slot it up when you can. Don't put too many slots in it early on at the expense of your control powers, though.
Heal Other (single target heal)
Available: level 2
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 3-6: 1-3 heal, 0-2 recharge reduction, 0-2 endurance reduction
An effective single-target heal that will restore a good chunk of the target's life bar at moderate range. This is useful for healing tanks and scrappers when fighting enemies who use lots of AoE attacks (making it dangerous for you to stand near the melee types) and as an emergency heal for anyone who's getting pounded. You can't use it on yourself, however, and it's not necessarily so strong that it will save its target. It also drains a good chunk of endurance. I recommend deciding between this and Absorb Pain at lower levels, and adding the other later (if ever).
Absorb Pain (single-target heal)
Available: level 4
Usefulness: 4/5
Recommended slotting: 1-4: 0-3 heal, 0-3 recharge reduction
The third and most powerful Empathy heal, this will pretty much restore its target to complete health. It's the single strongest heal in the game, around three times as strong as Heal Other, and it costs next to no endurance, making it a great emergency heal. The downside is, it costs a little bit of your health to use it, and, once you do, you're unable to be healed yourself for about 20 seconds. (You do, however, regenerate health normally, and powers that buff regeneration, like Regeneration Aura, still work.) This means that, if you're not careful, this power can contribute to your own death. Even so, its sheer healing power makes it worth considering; it can help people Heal Other can't. It's so strong that, while it does pay to slot it, doing so isn't really necessary until later on. I recommend choosing either this or Heal Other at lower levels, and adding the other later (if ever).
Resurrect (single-target rez)
Available: level 10
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 recharge reduction or endurance reduction
Resurrect brings a fallen hero back to fighting form, with full health and endurance. While it is useful, it's also obviously situational: if nobody dies, you don't need it. I'd pick it up at some point for running trials, Task Forces (TFs), and difficult missions. It costs a ton of endurance, and it's got a fairly long recharge time, but it's not worth adding slots to; hopefully, you won't be using it that often.
Clear Mind (single-target mez protection and perception buff)
Available: level 16
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 endurance reduction or recharge reduction
This power frees a target from most enemy crowd-control effects and prevents him from being easily overcome by them for 90 seconds or so. It becomes available just as such effects are becoming more frequent (with Tsoo Ink Men and the like), and they only get more common as the game goes on, so take it. While its protection can be overcome with enough stacked effects, it's sufficient in most normal play, and, frankly, your allies will expect it of you as an Empath. You can put it off a little if you feel you need to, but definitely take it before level 30; enemies with mez abilities become very, very common in the 30s and 40s. If you plan to PvP, this power gets even better: it grants your ally a perception buff, allowing him to see through stealth more easily. Both the anti-mez and the perception buff effects stack with multiple applications.
Fortitude (single-target accuracy, defense, and damage buff)
Available: level 20
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 1-6: 0-3 to-hit buff, 0-3 defense buff, 0-3 recharge reduction
Fortitude is easy to underestimate from its description alone. Don't make that mistake. It's a very solid and powerful buff, and you can easily keep it on two or three teammates with a little slotting. It's good right out of the box, adding accuracy, defense, and damage. Teammates will love you for it. It's well worth 6-slotting, but even if you choose not to, make sure you take the power. I recommend adding the defense buff enhancers first, unless you tend to mentor a lot; the accuracy boost does help lower-level heroes quite a bit, but most higher-level heroes have already made allowances for their own accuracy. It's got a kind of long recharge time, too, so take that into account.
Recovery Aura (PBAoE endurance-recovery boost)
Available: level 28
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 3-4: 3 recharge reduction, 0-1 endurance reduction
The most-beloved power of the Empathy set, and for good reason. While Recovery Aura is running, most teammates (including you) simply won't have to worry about running out of endurance. The effect is powerful enough without enhancing the recovery aspect (although if you do have extra slots, it certainly doesn't hurt), so you can dedicate all your slots to recharge, allowing you to keep it up more often. It does have a fairly high endurance cost in and of itself, so make sure you have enough endurance to use it when it's ready.
Regeneration Aura (PBAoE +regen)
Available: level 35
Usefulness: 2/5
Recommended slotting: 1-6: First recharge reduction, up to 3, then heal
This power increases health recovery, much like Recovery Aura increases endurance recovery -- but its effect is less visible. Much less visible. Many Empaths consider this a borderline power, since there's no dramatic increase in power as there is with Recovery Aura. However, it is strong enough that you should notice you don't have to cast Healing Aura nearly as much while it's running. Since it's also a fire-and-forget power, and since it helps with Absorb Pain's main down side, it's got enough utility to be worth considering. If there's one power in the set you can skip without much trouble, though, it's this one.
Adrenaline Boost (single-target regen, recovery, and recharge buff)
Available: level 38
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 3: 3 recharge reduction
The ultimate Empathy power grants its target basically-unlimited endurance, improved health recovery, and a high degree of attack-speed increase (equivalent to two Speed Boosts or three recharge SOs.) It basically converts the target into an engine of mass destruction, capable of throwing out big-ticket attacks. It's good out of the box, but being able to use it more often certainly doesn't hurt. It's nearly impossible to keep up permanently, though, since the advent of ED; you'll need a recharge boost from some other source.
Force Fields
Forcefield is all about two things, essentially: defense and knockback. The defense buffs are the reason most pick this powerset, and they're still considerable (despite their reduction in issue 5), though they possess the common weakness against psychic attacks. A Forcefielder can get by perfectly well by taking only the "big three" shield powers. The knockback is less useful in general, but still has some applications. Perhaps the biggest strength of this powerset is that its powerful buffs are all "fire and forget" -- with a duration of four minutes, you won't need to re-bubble teammates that often.
Personal Force Field (self-only defense and resistance buff)
Available: level 1
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1 defense or endurance reduction initially; later, you may wish to add more slots
Since you're a controller, this is a power you can't refuse. It offers a very high degree of defense (enough to floor even-level enemies' accuracy) and cuts most of the damage that does get through in half. Unfortunately, while it's running, you're unable to use any power that affects others. (PBAoE buffs such as the Leadership pool can be active, but they won't actually affect anyone other than you.) This makes it primarily useful for travel or for getting out of Dodge after things go bad. Still, since you have no choice but to take it, you might as well enhance it if you can afford to; it'll make travel across higher-level zones that much safer.
Deflection Shield (single-target defense buff)
Available: level 2
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 4: 3 defense, 1 endurance reduction
The first of the "big three" bubbles, Deflection Shield offers a significant protection against smashing and lethal attacks, as well as combination attacks with a smashing or lethal component, and all melee attacks. These are extremely-common damage types, so you'll want to keep your team bubbled at all times. Bubbling a large team can eat a good chunk of endurance, so you may want to slot an endurance reducer, especially pre-Stamina.
Force Bolt (single-target damage and knockback)
Available: level 4
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 accuracy
This power fires a bolt of energy that knocks its target back. It nearly always does this, unless the target has strong knockback resistance. It also does a piddling little amount of damage; strictly single digits. But it's actually a decent form of control, especially against bosses; you can knock them back, then apply Char while they're getting up and unable to counterattack. Or just chain-knockback them into a wall while your teammates beat on them. It's fairly fast to fire, so it's nice if something breaks away and makes a beeline towards you, too. Worth having in your arsenal. Also note, if you're a PvP type, Force Bolt has a chance of knocking off an enemy's toggle. If you have extra slots to spare, toss a knockback enhancer or two in here, and watch the villains fly.
Insulation Shield (single-target defense buff and anti-drain)
Available: level 10
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 4: 3 defense, 1 endurance reduction
The second of the "big three," Insulation Shield provides defense against fire, cold, energy, and negative damage, as well as against all ranged attacks. It also offers protection against endurance-drain effects, such as those used by Malta Sappers. Between it and Deflection Shield, your teammates are protected against pretty much everything... except psychic damage, which is the biggest thorn in your side. Like Deflection Shield, it should be kept up at all times, unless you're fighting enemies that are purely physical (like Trolls).
Detention Field (single-target intangible)
Available: level 16
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1: 1 endurance reduction
This power traps its target inside a bubble, making it unable to do anything to you. On the flip side, nobody else can do anything to it. Generally, this just annoys your teammates, but this power does have some application to remove a boss or a particularly annoying enemy (like a Sapper) from combat until you've mopped up everything else. It's basically another control option, if you want it, and with the reduction in AoE controls, you just might.
Dispersion Bubble (PBAoE defense buff and anti-mez)
Available: level 20
Usefulness: 5/5
Recommended slotting: 4-5: 3 defense, 1-2 endurance reduction
The last of the "big three," and the only one that affects you personally, Dispersion Bubble grants you and all allies near you defense against all non-psychic attacks and protection against immobilize, disorient, and hold. It does not, however, protect against sleep, and this gap in your defenses will drive you crazy -- Devouring Earth fungus-types in particular will be your bane, as their emanators also negate your primary controls. Even so, the "big bubble" is your best defense personally, and you'll be running it close to full-time.
Repulsion Field (PBAoE knockback)
Available: level 28
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 1-3: 1-3 endurance reduction
Repulsion Field creates a knockback shield around you that sends enemies flying all over the place. It has a pretty high endurance cost, and each enemy you repel will cost you more (though this additional cost was recently reduced), so you'll have to watch yourself when you use it, or your blue bar might run dry. It's not as good a defense as it might sound; enemies often will get off a melee attack before being bounced away. Furthermore, it can be tricky to control where the enemies are tossed. However, while it remains situational, it's far more useful in the post-I5 world than it was before, and I would recommend taking it.
Repulsion Bomb (AoE knockback and disorient)
Available: level 35
Usefulness: 2/5
Recommended slotting: 1-6: 1-2 accuracy, 0-3 disorient duration, 0-3 recharge reduction
This power sends all of the enemies around the target flying in all directions. They might also be disoriented, for a very brief duration, but this has less than a 50% chance to occur. It can also stack with Flashfire, although its short duration makes this use somewhat subpar. Given the area-control reductions post-I5, and the fact that it can now be used while soloing, it's worth considering, though it still has a lot stacked against it in my mind. In particular, it scatters enemies and often breaks taunt, and it doesn't play well with AoE debuffs.
Force Bubble (PBAoE pushback and defense)
Available: level 38
Usefulness: 3/5
Recommended slotting: 3: 3 endurance reduction
This power establishes a "wall," pushing most enemies to just outside of it. Sounds great, right? Well... not so much. For one thing, this draws a lot of aggro to you. Then there's the fact that it sucks down a huge amount of endurance, even after the recent endurance discounts. Finally, repel-resistant enemies such as Carnie strongmen or Devouring Earth swarms simply ignore its existence. With practice, you can find uses for this power, especially since your controls mitigate the aggro element. It's probably worth taking, especially since there are so few "must-have" powers in the Forcefield set. But it's less impressive as an "ultimate" power than some. It does come in very handy in PvP, though.