C_Dog's I 7 Guide to Earth Control/Force Fields

C-Dog’s I7 Guide to Earth Control/Force Field Controllers

(** Note before we begin – Do not let my gamer name fool you: I am 27 years old and married. “C-Dog” is an old, ongoing joke that dates back to highschool )

Hello everyone, and welcome to my Earth/FF Troller guide! I hope you find this guide to be informative and helpful! A little about me before we get started. I have been playing CoV/CoH since November of 2005. Many thanks to my superhero friends Lampshade, Thaneval and Oni Hime who got me into it. I am a HUGE fan of the Controller and Dominator archetypes in these games. I have, currently, a level 14 Fire/Kin, level 16 Grav/Rad, level 35 Earth/FF, and a level 26 Plant/Thorn Dom. I also took a Mind/Psi to 24 and an Illusion/TA to 14 before I deleted them (they just weren’t my style). So, I can say that I have tried every Troll/Dom primary (except for Ice) at least to 14. So….I know a little something about Controlling Of all the primaries, however, I found that I like Earth the best. Originally, my Earth Troll was just going to be an alt…..but the more I played her, the more I fell in love with her. Why, you might ask? Well, Earth has some very cool features:

1) Of all the Troll/Dom Primaries, Earth has the most AoE mob controls. If you are looking for a Troll who can lock down multiple large mobs of foes, Earth has all that you are looking for and more. Which also makes Earth fantastic for teaming…..my Super Group friends and the PUGs that I am on always appreciate my abilities to manipulate the entire battlefield and lock down several large mobs simultaneously. My thought in playing a Troller is: “I want to completely shut down as many mobs as I can.” Earth can do this. It is a powerful, powerful set.
2) The powers of the Earth set also lower opponents’ Defenses, which is a nice additive. It may only be a slight lowering, but any debuff is a good debuff! One power, Earthquake, even slots Defense Debuffs.
3) All of the Earth Powers (except for the AoE Sleep power) can be cast at range – versus some of the Holds in other sets, like Flash or Glacier, that must be cast very close to the baddies to get many of them held. Three of the powers (Quicksand, Volcanic Gasses and Earthquake) are drops that can be cast from around corners. Very very handy indeed.
4) The graphics on Earth powers are very noticeable. Whereas Gravity Holds and Mind Control powers, for example, are sometimes hard to see, your teammates will be able to spot your Earth powers with very little effort, which is a nice thing in large, hectic battles.

As for my secondary, I decided to take Force Fields. Again, I took it literally on a whim (“Hmmm….FF….I’d like to try that set”), and it really didn’t disappoint me at all. It gave me a very powerful, very appreciated (by smart players who realize there is more to defense than green numbers) defensive set. There are a few knockback-oriented powers in the set I didn’t take, because knockback and Earth Trolling don’t get along, but that’s no big deal. The best thing about FF is that it is a very low maintenance set. What do I mean by that? Well, you don’t really use FF in the heat of the battle that much. This allows you to focus almost exclusively on your Earth powers and Controlling. Whereas Kin or Empathy are more active (used often in the fight), with FF, all you really have to do is reset your Force Fields towards the end of a fight or between fights, and you are good to go. And, there are certain powers in the FF set that really help a Troll stay alive. I will get more into those later. On the surface, Earth/FF doesn’t seem like it would mesh well. But, trust me – it does.

I will go through each power, discussing what it does and what slotting I would give to it, then I will discuss my play-style/cycles and the power pools, and finally I will give you my build. Lets get started!

Earth Control

1) Stone Prison: Your single target Immobilize power. I am a big fan of Immobilize powers because they let you position the baddies as you want. However, I never did take this power – I found that the Mass Immob was able to give me what I needed when I needed it just fine. So, take this one if you want/if its your style. One cool thing about the Immobs in the Earth set is their –Fly attribute. This will come in handy (as I will discuss later). Suggested Slotting: 2-3 Accuracy, 1-2 Immobs (if you take it)

2) Fossilize: This is your signature power – your single target Hold. Get it, 6 slot it ASAP, and use it often. Suggested Slotting: 3 Accuracy, 2 Holds, 1 Enhance Recharge

3) Stone Cages: This is your Mass Immobilization. Mass Immobs are the quickest way to get a dumb Troll/Dom killed – so use this power wisely. I find I use it in one of three ways: One, to position a mob in a convenient location – such as keeping an ambush around the corner and away from your team. Two, to get fliers out of the air and closer to the ground where they can get Volcanic Gassed. Or three, to turn a Disorient attack (like Stalagmites or Repulsion Bomb) into a make-shift Hold (so the baddies aren’t wandering around dazed). Its also a good clean up power – when there are only a few baddies left, fire it off to keep them from running and to give them all –Def (remember, all the Earth powers lower Defenses!). It’s a good power – take it, but use it wisely. Suggested Slotting: 2-3 Accuracy, 1-2 Immobs

4) Quicksand: Ah Quicksand…..what a great, great power. It is the “Three” in most of Earth’s “One-Two-Three Punches” (yes, every cycle in Earth has three punches in it – you will see what I mean later!). Earth is all about keeping baddies positioned (you will HATE playing with Knockback heavy people – like Stormies or Energy Blasters – if you play Earth), and Quicksand keeps the baddies right where you want them. Put Quicksand under guys you have just used Stalagmites, Earthquake or Volcanic Gasses on to keep them correctly positioned – they will run slower, and won’t be able to jump or fly, thus not allowing them to escape the AoE of your drop. It has a very fast recharge, so you can get it out multiple times per battle. Take it and use it all the time. Suggested Slotting: 3 Slows

5) Salt Crystals: I didn’t wind up taking Salt Crystals because I am not a big fan of AoE Sleeps. So many Power Sets have AoE attacks or Debuffs that putting foes to Sleep rarely helps anyone. If you are playing with a SG and have a pre-worked strategy, you can take full advantage of Sleep by having your teammates avoid using certain powers while you are using Salt Crystals. If you are just in a PUG, chances are that your Sleeps won’t last long. I might take it later as one of those “Oh $%@#!” kinda powers – all your Holds are out, and that third ambush walked in, so you need something to bail you out kinda-thing. But, ultimately, I think this is one of only two powers (the other being Stone Prison) in the set that is skippable. Suggested Slotting: 3 Accuracy, 2 Sleep (if you take it)

6) Stalagmites: This is the most important power in the Earth set, because it is the “One” for every cool Earth “One-Two-Three punch” combo. Stalagmites is an AoE Mass Disorient. Cast it first on every group, and this will Disorient them – thus lessening return fire – while you cast your Earthquake or Volcanic Gasses. See my section below on Cycles to get a better idea of what the “One-Two-Three Punch” is. Take this power, and 6 slot it immediately. Fast recharge too – but still put one Recharge into it so you can get it back for every group. Suggested Slotting: 3 Accuracy, 2 Disorients, 1 Recharge

7) Earthquake: My fave power of the set, and probably the most powerful Hold in the set too. It is a drop that causes foe knockdown (not knockback). This will cause a “popcorn” effect which will prevent your opponents from standing upright long enough to attack you. It can be slotted for Acc and Def debuffs too. Great recharge time too. The main power of this set. Get it and 4-5 slot it. DON’T PUT KNOCKBACK INTO IT!! You want to keep them over the Earthquake point, not getting knocked off of it. Suggested Slotting: 3 Recharge (definitely), maybe 1-2 Acc Debuffs or Def Debuffs if you want

8) Volcanic Gasses: A fantastic power! It is a drop AoE Hold – it pulses, and Holds all those in its area. It is great for building Magnitude on Bosses and keeping it (remember, 2 Holds need to hold most Bosses, while only 1 needed to hold Minions and Leuts). And the cloud itself lasts a nice long time too. Use it when it is up, and especially use it on mobs that have Bosses. Suggested Slotting: 3 Accuracy, 2-3 Hold, 0-1 Recharge

9) Animate Stone: Your lil pet Stone’s not too bad as a pet either. He does heavy damage, so slot him for Dam and Acc (his attacks are Stone Mallet, Hurl Boulder, and Stone Fist). His defense it incredible, even more so with your Force Fields on him (I’ve only seen mine die like twice). He does have some shortcomings, but those can be made up for. He is a bit slow, so if you have a Kin on your team, ask him/her to Speed Boost him. He tends to stay at range too much (which is too bad, because he can Tank very well with his defense), so try different strategies to draw him into the mob. Or, even cast him the middle of the mob, which forces him to go into melee mode. Whatever works for you. He’s a fun little pet, and is quite powerful too! Suggested Slotting: 3 Dam, 2 Acc, and maybe 1 Disorient

Force Fields

1) Personal Force Field: People bash this power, and I never quite understood why. I can’t tell you the number of times this little power has saved me. Even with just one DO Enhancement in it, the deflection abilities of this power are amazing. If, lets say, the hand to hand guys (Tanks, Scrapps, etc.) go in a bit late, and you happen to draw too much aggro with one of your AoEs, just slap this little Bubble on you and you will be safe and sound. Sure, you can’t cast any powers while PFF is up, but after the aggro goes elsewhere, just lower the shield and keep attacking. A wonderful, wonderful power. Don’t underestimate its ability to save you! Suggested Slotting: 1-2 Defense Buffs (1 will last you a long time)

2) Deflection Shield: One of your two standard shields. Get it, make sure that all your allies are Bubbled always (reset Bubbles either between fights or towards the end of fights), and three slot it for Defense Buff immediately. Suggested Slotting: 3 Defensive Buffs

3) Force Bolt: I personally never took this power, but I can see the perks to it. It is a single target knockback, so if someone breaks through your Earthquake or Gasses, you can knock him or her right back into them. And, for Bosses, the cycle of Hold into Force Bolt into Hold should help you get him no problems. If it is your cup o tea, then by all means take it. Suggested Slotting: 2-3 Accuracy

4) Insulation Shield: Your other standard shield. Same as before – get it 3 slotted, and make sure your allies always have it. Suggested Slotting: 3 Defensive Buffs

5) Detention Shield: A nice power – you basically make one target intangible for 30 seconds, thus eliminating him as a threat. But, as a Troller, you have your single target Hold to do that. So, to avoid redundancy, I wouldn’t take it….unless the idea of having an additional way to eliminate a single target suits your fancy. Suggested Slotting: 2 Accuracy should allow you to Intang a Boss if needed

6) Dispersion Bubble: Okay, here is the real jewel of this set for the Earth Troll. Earth is all AoE stuff, which tends to draw a bit of return fire if the Tank or Scrappers are late grabbing aggro back. This Bubble will help you immensely – it is a large Bubble that not only defends those in its radius, but also defends YOU. So, that means that whatever defense you slot it with, you will get as well. This will help you stay alive….which is a good thing And, it’s a toggle, which means you always have it up. Get it at 20, and slot it as fast as possible. Suggested Slotting: 3 Defense Buffs, 1 Reduce Endurance cost

7) Repulsion Field: Pretty close to Repel, this power is a toggle which will knockback foes who get too close to you. I can definitely see uses for it – knockback anyone who gets near to you (a kind of soft control), or knock foes who escape your drops right back into the Volcanic Gasses or Earthquake. However, on my current build, I have a melee attack power to help me take advantage of Containment (when it is safe for me to do so, I run up to Held targets and do a Jump Kick on them). I didn’t like the hassle of turning it off for attacking, then back on for defense, so I didn’t take it. Besides, at this point in the game (lvl 28), not much was breaking through the lines and getting to the back where I was anyway. I like the power – it just doesn’t fit my playstyle and build. So, take it if you think you will use it. Suggested Slotting: 1-3 Reduce Endurances

8) Repulsion Bomb: A nice little power, it basically gives you another Hold, which is never a bad thing to have on a Controller It knocks back (yes, this is the only knockback power in the set that I took) any baddie and all those around him, and disorients the targets for a while. While you would almost never use it in conjunction with Earthquake or Gasses, since it causes knockback, it can be used as its own Hold. I’d take it – it gives you a fourth Control power (now you have Stalagmites, Earthquake, Volcanic Gasses and this), and that is a nice number of Holds to have. You should never be found wanting. Suggested Slotting: 3 Accuracy, 2-3 Disorient

9) Force Bubble: From what I've heard (since I don't have it yet) this is the ultimate “Oh $%&#!” power. If your team is starting to wipe, and you need to get the baddies off of you all, turn this on, and all baddies will be pushed back and those within the Bubble will be safe. Only VERY strong enemies will be able to touch you. Used in the right moments, it can be a real team-saver. Suggested Slotting: 2-3 Reduce Endurance

Cycles

Everyone has their own play-styles, for sure. But, I suggest you try some of these cycles, or combos, when you play your Earth/FF Troll – you’ll find that these produce good lockdown on the baddies:

Your main Holds: Stalagmites, Earthquake, Volcanic Gasses, Repulsion Bomb, Salt Crystals (if you took it)
Your complimentary powers: Quicksand, Stone Cages

Cycle #1: Stalagmites into Earthquake into Quicksand
Cycle #2: Stalagmites into Volcanic Gasses into Stone Cages into Quicksand
Cycle #3: Repulsion Bomb into Stone Cages into Quicksand

With the fast recharge times in the Earth set, you should have no problem doing these often, especially if you have Hasten. Pick whichever one you have ready or is right for the mob.

Notice that I don’t cast my Mass Immobilization on those being Earthquaked. I’ve never gotten a clear answer on this, but I am pretty sure that the Mass Immob actually negates the knockdown delay effect on the Earthquake, much as how the Mass Immob in the Ice set stops the knockdown delay on Ice Slick. I’ve had some Earth Trollers tell me that the Mass Immob doesn’t stop the delay effect on the Earthquake (meaning, they won’t be bouncing around, but they still won’t be attacking too). I’m not sure who is right, but I’ve never mixed the two and I don’t plan on it. If nothing else, letting the EQ do its popcorning shows you and your teammates who is being effected by the knockdown and who isn’t, so that you and they can focus on those who might be immune to or have escaped the EQ. I would suggest not mixing the two powers.

Power Pools

Power Pools are up to the individual’s preferences. Here are my thoughts on them:

1) Concealment: Great if soloing for stealthing missions (though, I’m not sure why anyone would pick Stone/FF and solo, but to each their own ). Some Trolls take it to help them cast their powers without being noticed, but I find that I don’t need it, because the casting distances for Earthquake, Stalagmites, Gasses and Repulsion Bomb are outside most enemies’ radars. My advice: skip it.
2) Fighting: Always a nice set if you want your Troll to take advantage of Containment’s double damage. Gives you a bit more defense, too. But, I got my one attack power from a different pool, and really, one is all I needed since I teamed so much. I’d take this set if you plan on soloing (the only way you could, really), so you can do more damage to Contained baddies (P.S. – EQ doesn’t set up Containment, btw )
3) Fitness: I took it, and I never regretted it. Casting your Bubbles eats up a lot of end, so it helps there. Plus, Earth is a very active set, so a little extra end never hurts. I highly recommend it.
4) Flight: If you like flight, I would take Air Superiority to give you an attack, and Fly itself.
5) Leadership: Might be a good pickup later on, after you get Stamina (2-4 toggles is a LOT). Its up to the individual. I left Leadership to the Defenders in my build.
6) Leaping: This is the set I took. I took Jump Kick to help me get some Containment damage, Super Jump for my travel power, and Acrobatics for some resistance to Holds (nothing worse than a Holder who is Held J). Even Combat Jumping is a good toggle to give you more defense on return fire, if you want it (I found that Dispersion Bubble was enough for me, though, so I never took it). I recommend this set highly.
7) Medicine: I never took it, because I was focused so much on locking down the baddies that the last thing I wanted to do was keep an eye on the life bars like a Defender. But, its up to you.
8) Presence: Not needed – leave it to the melee guys.
9) Speed: Hasten is a MUST, IMO. The recharge times on your Holds are already pretty good, but having Hasten means that you should never be without at least two AoE Holds at your disposal. No Troll, Dom or Defender should NOT take Hasten, IMO. Great power. With Hasten running and three recharges on it, I have Earthquake ready to be put down almost right after it goes away. Nice.
10) Teleportation: Has its uses on any toon. Teleport Foe could help keep baddies on your drops, I guess. I didn’t take it.

My Build

Well, I hope you liked my guide! I hope it has opened your eyes to the wonders of Earth Trolling. Basically put….you OWN mobs when you Earth Troll. And, you own them around lvl 19 and on…..which is awesome. Here is my build: feel free to rip me off if you want! Take care and God bless!

Lvl 1: Fossilize
Lvl 1: Personal Force Field
Lvl 2: Stone Cages
Lvl 4: Deflection Shield
Lvl 6: Quicksand
Lvl 8: Jump Kick
Lvl 10: Insulation Shield
Lvl 12: Stalagmites
Lvl 14: Super Jump
Lvl 16: Hasten
Lvl 18: Earthquake
Lvl 20: Dispersion Bubble
Lvl 22: Swift
Lvl 24: Health
Lvl 26: Volcanic Gasses
Lvl 28: Stamina
Lvl 30: Acrobatics
Lvl 32: Animate Stone
Lvl 35: Repulsion Bomb
Lvl 38: Force Bubble

I have one comment, and that is that slotting a disorient in Animated Stone is useless. The disorient is unnoticable and only one of his three powers has the slightest chance to disorient. I would slot if 3 DAM and 3 ACC until HO's and then 3 DAM/ACC's and 3 REC so you can use him as an alpha strike more often.

I would add that 3 accuracies in your single target attacks is overkill IMO. Some people use 1. I went to 50 using 2 so I could do a little PvP if I wanted to and be effective on teams where I was -3 or -4 levels below my mates.

Also, I highly recommend stone prison on an Earth/FF. Stone cages gives you lots of aggro, and sometimes you want to drop your aggro footprint. In addition, when soloing pre-32 you won't have endurance issues with a fossilize-stone prison combo. With stone cages, however.... you will. Especially if you're putting off stamina until 28. Also, in PvP it's nice to have stone prison and stone cages to quickly build up immobilize magnitude. Same with EBs and AVs.

I have to say to Epiphoid, congrats on getting an Earth/FF to 50. That's a rare build and a real accomplishment. You'll understand if you look at my signature, that I feel a great deal of empathy and comraderie towards you!

Huzzah!

[ QUOTE ]
I would add that 3 accuracies in your single target attacks is overkill IMO. Some people use 1. I went to 50 using 2 so I could do a little PvP if I wanted to and be effective on teams where I was -3 or -4 levels below my mates.

Also, I highly recommend stone prison on an Earth/FF. Stone cages gives you lots of aggro, and sometimes you want to drop your aggro footprint. In addition, when soloing pre-32 you won't have endurance issues with a fossilize-stone prison combo. With stone cages, however.... you will. Especially if you're putting off stamina until 28. Also, in PvP it's nice to have stone prison and stone cages to quickly build up immobilize magnitude. Same with EBs and AVs.

I have to say to Epiphoid, congrats on getting an Earth/FF to 50. That's a rare build and a real accomplishment. You'll understand if you look at my signature, that I feel a great deal of empathy and comraderie towards you!

Huzzah!

[/ QUOTE ]

Haha thank you, and congratulations to you too

I'll definitely chime in with "You're wasting slots with the 3rd accuracy"

Unless you're constantly fighting through chill of the night and hurricane at the same time, that 3rd accuracy is basically seeing no use.

Otherwise, good guide.

Also Dominators can't get Earth Control. Might want to fix that .

I really had trouble getting into trollers until i tried out this combo.
Man,what fun this combo is.I've created one a week or so ago and been playing him on and off ever since.Sure,the damage is non existent but the holds are ubber as hell.Never knew that a stone troller could be so much fun.I've only dinged him to lvl 17 so far but i loved every moment of it."Who need's a Tank?" one of the guys that i teamed up with said.Stone Prison+Fossilize=Bye Bye Mob!
Not to mention the bubbly's that ff offers.Teams just love it.Zapp Zapp and forget about it.Anyway,thx for the great guide and luring me into this build.

This is a kickass guide. Only one thing I can't figure out: You can get hasten any ole day yet you took it and forced yerself to wait til Lvl 20 to get Diprsn Bub ?!? Dsprsn Bub is the whole reason I took FF. It's a classic, especially back in the day when people were actually in PP and fighting Hydra