Eldandil Tauros I7 Fire/Storm/Fire guide

Eldandil · 11-27-2006 03:56 PM

Eldandil Tauros I7 guide to the classic Fire/Storm/Fire Troller

Contents
Part 1: Preface
Part 2: Fire Control
Part 3: Storm Summoning
Part 4: Power Pools
Part 5: Ancillary Power Pools (APPs)
Part 6: Strategy and Tactics
Part 7: Sample build

Part 1: Preface

I8s going to go live any moment now, but since there will not be any major changes to the power sets in that issue, I thought I might as well put up this guide now.

Eldandil Tauro was the first character I created when I started CoH for real about 18 or so months ago. And though, due to my severe altaholism, Ive only recently managed to level him to 48, theres something compelling about him that keeps me going back to fire him up again (pun quite intended). Ive respecced him a fair number of times and have tried out just about every single power in his main sets, and I believe I know a thing or two about the Fire/Storm combination.

Having read more fantasy books than is probably healthy for anyone, I created Eldandil as a Fire/Air elemental mage. It therefore only made sense to plan for a Fire ancillary pool as well. Mind you, this was long before I learnt that a Fire primary and a Fire APP were two-thirds of the equation for what is widely considered the most uber troller build. But of course that uber build requires a Radiation or Kinetics secondary, not a Storm.

Anyway. The Fire/Storm troller isnt the build with the most control. Built as a classic controller rather than as a splatroller, it isnt necessarily the most damaging of builds either. However, this build does offer a very nice variety of area controls and it does do quite a bit of damage. Most importantly, with its very flashy repertoire of moves, its a lot of fun both to watch and to play. And as you hit the early to mid thirties, you will find yourself a very capable soloer. Beyond level 42 (with slotted Fireball), youll even find yourself blowing through missions more quickly solo than with all but the most efficient teams.

Before we move on into the main part of the guide, Id like to thank Enantiodromos for his multitude of controller write-ups, BrimstoneGale for the original Fire/Storm guide, and Dess_, _Enos_, SuperJe, DaemonDivinity, hudsonsmith, Dunkirk, Sailboat, Smashmaster, BlackJoker, CommunistPenguin, and Slodeine for their opinions on various threads. You have all helped me in measures greater or lesser to create or modify Eldandil. (Edit: it appears DaemonDivinity has a very nice Fire/Storm guide out there as well.)

Special thanks also go out to Sherk Silver, creator of the awesome CoH/CoV Character Builder. Sadly, hes not playing anymore, but his builder lives on and is being updated now by KayMoonpetal.

Last, but definitely not least, many thanks are owed to Red Tomax and iakona for the incredible CoX database known as the City of Data. That is truly a stunning piece of work.

Disclaimer: This is a PvE guide. I only PvP casually and occasionally, and am not experienced enough in that arena to write a guide about it.

Part 2: Fire Control

Fire Control has a bad reputation as a set with poor control. However, I would like to contest that reputation, for Fire/ in the right hands can do a lot to keep the bad guys busy. It also combines beautifully with the Storm secondary to give you some form of area control, hard or soft, for every single group of mobs you come across.

One disadvantage of Fire/ is that most of its powers have a small damage component, so you can be sure youll be picking up lots of aggro. What makes this worse is that the damage is doled out over time. Without good aggro-control on your team, or if you attack before aggro can be managed, you are almost guaranteed to take a lot of damage in retaliation. On the other hand, all this damage does add up, especially when Containment is factored in (for those not in the know, Controllers do double damage to any mob that has been held, disoriented, immobilised or slept by yourself or anyone else). Fire is also not that commonly resisted. These truths make soloing at the higher levels go just that little bit faster.

Note: This guide uses information from City of Data. Therefore, damage is listed not in Brawl Index numbers but as Damage Scalar values.

Level 1: Ring of Fire

Type: Single Target, Ranged
Accuracy: +20%
Endurance cost: 7.8
Activation: 1.2 sec
Recharge: 4 sec
Range: 80 ft
Duration: 27.9 sec
Damage: 5 ticks of 6.73 Fire (33.65 total)
Effects: Immobilize Mag 4, -Fly (15 sec), -KB (15 sec)
Max targets hit: 1
Rating: in the early game, when your attack chain grows more complete
Slotting recommendations: 1 Acc, 0-3 Immob, 0-3 Recharge

Until level 8, Ring of Fire ties with Char for most damaging primary set power. But RoF recharges twice as quickly as Char and costs a bit less endurance, and is therefore clearly the better damage dealer. Some people take it at level 2 (I strongly suggest taking Char at level 1) and respec out of it when better powers come along, which is a fair strategy. But, in my honest opinion, you dont need this power.

Addendum: Kinesia informs me that Ring of Fire is actually rather useful in PvP. Considering how many Breakfrees PvPers tend to pack, fast-cycling, highly accurate single-target status stackers are arguably more useful than slow-activating, slow-recharging mass holds. I estimate this power would rate 3 smilies in PvP.

Kinesia also notes that RoF stacks with Fire Cages in PvE to immobilise bosses. I don't see boss immob as a very high priority task for the multi-mezzing Troller, however. There are just better things you could do with your time and endurance, like casting holds instead. But Kinesia's point that its your strongest damaging move (same damage as Char but recharges twice as quickly) in the lower levels is well made; the RoF description has been amended accordingly.

Level 1: Char

Type: Single Target, Ranged
Accuracy: +20%
Endurance cost: 8.53
Activation: 1.1 sec
Recharge: 8 sec
Range: 80 ft
Duration: 22.4 sec
Damage: 5 ticks of 6.73 Fire (33.65 total)
Effects: Hold Mag 3
Max targets hit: 1
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 1 Acc, 3 Hold, 2 Recharge

Ah, Char. Now were talking. Take this power at level 1, slot it, use it, love it. Its your standard fast-cycling single-target hold, and youll be relying on it through your entire superhero career. By itself, it can hold a minion or a lieutenant. Stacked on itself (which is where the recharges come in) or on top of Cinders, it renders bosses helpless.

Char does about 1.5 times the damage of Brawl and will be one of your primary mob-killing tools early on. Its damage pales in comparison to that of other powers later on, but youll still find that the slivers of health it burns from mobs will help to finish them off just that little bit more quickly.

Char has an inherent accuracy bonus. If you choose to run Tactics and dont ever want to fight anything stronger than an even-con, you might consider exchanging the Accuracy for a Recharge or an EndRdx. I like to be able to hold +5s though, so I put in the Accuracy and run Tactics.

Level 2: Fire Cages

Type: Targeted AoE
Accuracy: -10%
Endurance cost: 15.6
Activation: 1.0 sec
Recharge: 8 sec
Range: 80 ft (30 ft radius)
Duration: 27.9 sec
Damage: 3 ticks of 3.36 Fire (10.08 total)
Effects: Immobilize Mag 3, -Fly (12 sec), -KB (12 sec)
Max targets hit: 16
Rating: by itself, in combination with FF and other powers
Slotting recommendations: 2 Acc, 0-2 Recharge, 1-2 EndRdx

Fire Cages do not do much by themselves except piss off the bad guys. Early on, solo, youll only use this power to keep your foes at bay (ranged attacks tend to hurt a little less than melee moves) and do a tiny bit of damage. Once youve picked up Flash Fire, however, the Fire Cages power becomes the second part of the famous Fire/ one-two combo (refer to section 6). Take this power and slot it up. Its expensive to use, so put in at least one EndRdx. The Recharge enhancements are not strictly necessary; I have them in on Eldandil in order to quickly stack immob on bosses. FC does not need Immob enhancements. It lasts really long and you could always stack it if you need it to last longer.

Note that Fire Cages will immobilise foes as well as ground them and prevent them from being knocked back. Therefore, on a knockback-heavy team, you could use FC to keep the bad guys clustered. It also works beautifully in conjunction with a Blasters rain attacks or a Fire Tankers Burn patch.

Level 6: Smoke

Type: Targeted AoE
Accuracy: no modifier
Endurance cost: 7.8
Activation: 1.2 sec
Recharge: 30 sec
Range: 80 ft (35 ft radius)
Duration: 60 sec
Damage: 5 ticks of 6.73 Fire (33.65 total)
Effects: -90% Visibility, -5% Accuracy
Max targets hit: 16
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 1 Acc

The nice thing about Smoke is that it lowers enemy perception radius by 90%. Coupled with some sort of stealth power (like /Storms Steamy Mist), Smoke renders you practically invisible to mobs. It also does not alert the enemy to your presence whether you hit or miss, which means you could stand at the maximum range and keep Smoking the enemy until you succeed.

Unfortunately, its Accuracy debuff component is rather weak. Dont count on Smoke saving your life. If you take this power, take it as a means to attain ghetto invisibility and just put one Acc in there. I suppose its possible to plan a team of 8 Fire Trollers each with debuff-slotted Smoke to give a very nice cumulative debuff, but unless youre going that route, dont bother putting slots into this power.

Level 8: Hot Feet

Type: Toggle, PBAoE
Accuracy: no modifier (but non-damage components are auto-hit)
Endurance cost: 2.08 / sec
Activation: 1.5 sec
Recharge: 20 sec
Range: self (20 ft radius)
Duration: N.A.
Damage: 7.65 Fire every 2 sec
Effects: -Fly, -87.5% RunSpd / JumpHeight / JumpSpeed
Max targets hit: 16
Rating: if you Hover, if you dont
Slotting recommendations: 2 Acc, 3 Dmg, 1 EndRdx

Running Hot Feet puts a nice 2-second-pulse damage aura around you that also scares away, grounds and slows all the mobs around you (up to 16 at a time). While the damage isnt a lot, it benefits from Containment and really adds up against big spawns. If you mostly solo small spawns, however, this powers not quite so hot (again with the puns) especially considering the huge Endurance cost.

Note that you cannot use this power while in the air. If you intend to Hover in combat, this power is not for you. If youre going to be a classic Controller, I would strongly suggest forgoing Hot Feet for Hover. The additional damage from Hot Feet isnt really that important, and Hovers positional value far outweighs that benefit.

Level 12: Flash Fire

Type: Targeted AoE
Accuracy: -20%
Endurance cost: 15.6
Activation: 2.4 sec
Recharge: 90 sec
Range: 70 ft (25 ft radius)
Duration: 14.9 sec
Damage: 4 ticks of 1.84 Fire (7.36 total)
Effects: Disorient Mag 3
Max targets hit: 16
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 2 Acc, 2 Disorient, 2 Recharge

This power makes up the other half of your one-two ghetto hold. Flash Fire disorients up to 16 mobs in a large area at range, rendering them incapable of taking any action except walk. However, there is a bug that often causes Disoriented mobs to slide away at amazing speeds, so Fire Cages is needed to keep them all rooted in place.

The Flash Fire + Fire Cages combo is available more often than Cinders. Also, unless youre right in their faces, mobs tend not to react to you until youve hit them with Flash Fire. If all goes right, their only valid response would be to walk dazedly around. This is probably the safest mass-mezz in your arsenal.

With 2 Recharge SOs, FF pops every 54 seconds. That means you should be able to use it on every 2nd or 3rd group you come across solo or in a fast team. Youd wish it would cycle more quickly, but this also means that youd get to use your other powers during the fights its down.

Note: With a /Storm secondary, its tempting to think that Flash Fire + Thunder Clap would work together to hold even bosses. In practice, however, this appears not to be the case. I suspect that bosses now have 6 or more levels of Disorient resistance, which FF + TC (Mag 3 + 2 = 5) cannot overcome.

Level 18: Cinders

Type: PBAoE
Accuracy: -20%
Endurance cost: 15.6
Activation: 1.1 sec
Recharge: 240 sec
Range: self (30 ft radius)
Duration: 14.9 sec
Damage: none
Effects: Hold Mag 3
Max targets hit: 16
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 2 Acc, 2 Hold, 2 Recharge

This would be your best tool if not for its terrible recharge time. As it is, even with 2 Recharge enhancements, youd only get to use it every 5 7 fights. Such being the case, some people recommend skipping this power altogether. Ive personally found this power to be of great utility as a panic button and as a boss-stopper in tandem with Char.

Level 26: Bonfire

Type: Targeted AoE
Accuracy: auto-hit
Endurance cost: 13
Activation: 3.1 sec
Recharge: 60 sec
Range: 70 ft (25 ft radius)
Duration: 45 sec
Damage: 13 ticks of 5.56 Fire (total 72.28) no Containment bonus
Effects: Knockback
Max targets hit: 16
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 0-1 Recharge, 0-1 EndRdx

Both Bonfires damage and knockback components are auto-hit. This makes it a great tool for blocking off doorways or for trapping enemies in corners. However, throw it onto your tank and youre going to get sworn at for the next few minutes.

The damage component of Bonfire looks fairly substantial too, even though it doesnt get magnified by Containment. However, the knockback that it causes means that you can only use it for damage if you are willing to stack on Fire Cages every 12 seconds or if you only use it on mobs youve nudged into a corner with Hurricane. Ive tried it, and it was just too much work for too little gain. In the end, it just sat in my tray unused the Fire/Storm has too many better tools at his or her disposal and I eventually respecced out of it.

Level 32: Fire Imps

Type: Pets (3)
Accuracy: +20%
Endurance cost: 26
Activation: 2.0 sec
Recharge: 240 sec
Range: 60 ft
Duration: until you zone or enter/leave a mish
Damage: each imp does 27.81 + 3 ticks of 11.12 Fire (total 61.17) every 4 sec no Containment bonus
Effects: none
Max targets hit: 1 each
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 0-1 Acc, 3 Dmg, 0-3 Recharge

This power will turn you from a purely support character into a strong soloer. It summons three Fire Imps that just love to frolic with the bad guys and burn them to a crisp in the process. Out of the box, they have great accuracy and do much more damage than you are capable of yourself. Slotted with Damage enhancers, they become truly a force to be reckoned with.

In a team, Imps are great conversational pieces. Their antics will often get a chuckle out of your team mates. The damage they add and the aggro they absorb also make them valuable additions to the team.

The Imps have few HPs and little in the way of defences, however. Send them without backup into combat against even-cons and theyre bound to get hurt or killed. They are best kept in reserve and only unleashed when you have the bad guys mezzed. Sometimes, however, it is worthwhile sending them in first to take the alpha. (More on this in section 6.)

Unfortunately, managing your Imps can be an exercise in frustration. You cannot control them directly, and all you can do is to move yourself and wait for them to follow. The little buggers have quite a long perception range and are very aggressive. Wander too near a mob and the three stooges would be off like rockets before you even had a chance to say, Oh, bleep! They reduce your scouting ability to zero, and if they are not tightly reined in (by you staying in the rear echelon of your team), they could very easily aggro multiple groups and cause a team wipe.

Eldandil · 11-27-2006 03:57 PM

Part 3: Storm Summoning

If you thought Fire Control had a bad rep, wait till you hear about Storms! Storm Summoning is a very fun, very useful set that gives control, buffing, debuffing, damage and healing. Its quite possibly the most difficult Controller secondary/ Defender primary to play well. Bad Stormies tend to use Gale, Tornado and Hurricane in ways that make their team mates tear their hair out. They Gale mobs away from the Tank and Scrapper, run into the middle of groups with Hurricane on, and happily throw Tornadoes out every chance they get. A bad Stormie could quite literally halve the entire teams XP gain rate by the team wipes they cause.

A good Stormie, on the other hand, is a holy terror to the bad guys. Learn to use your Storm powers wisely in combination with your Fire skills and you will be able to pull your team out of impossible situations. Of course, they probably wouldnt realise just how much you had to do with them surviving miraculously, but youd know, and that should be enough.

Level 1: Gale

Type: Cone (80 deg)
Accuracy: -10%
Endurance cost: 7.8
Activation: 2.2 sec
Recharge: 8 sec
Range: 50 ft
Duration: N.A.
Damage: 3.06 Smashing
Effects: Knockback
Max targets hit: 16
Rating: if you Hover, if you dont
Slotting recommendations: 1 Acc

As a Troller, you have no choice but to take this power. But fret not, this is a pretty good power. You dont even have to add slots to it either.

Gale does practically no damage at all, but it has a strong 100% knockback component (if you hit) that you can use to reposition mobs and/or take them momentarily out of the fight. With ragdoll physics in the game now, a foe that gets knocked down will take maybe three seconds to climb to his feet. That may be all the time you need for Char to pop so that you can lock him down.

If you Fly or Hover, you can use Gale from above a target in the air or on a ledge to knock him straight down towards ground and your waiting team mates. If a mob wanders out of a debuff zone or away from the tank, you can circle around and Gale him right back into the thick of the action (make sure you know the range and knockback distance of your Gale though).

Just be circumspect in your use of Gale. Using it thoughtlessly could very quickly incur the wrath of your fellow heroes. Since this power has such a strong knockback already, I do not recommend the use of knockback enhancers. Remember, the key word here is finesse.

Level 2: O2 Boost

Type: Single Ally, Ranged
Accuracy: N.A.
Endurance cost: 13
Activation: 2.3 sec
Recharge: 4 sec
Range: 80 ft
Duration: 60 sec buffs
Damage: N.A.
Effects: 155.494 Heal, Resist Sleep / Disorient / Endurance Drain
Max targets hit: 1
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 0-2 Recharge, 1-2 End Rdx, 0-3 Heal

While its true that O2 Boost is a heal, its also true that O2 Boost is weak sauce as a heal. In the end-game, even 3-slotted with Heal enhancers, it barely makes a difference on a tank the same level. Therefore, I dont really recommend using this power as a heal. A Fire/Storm is a mezzer and debuffer, not a healer. Youd be better off preventing further damage than trying to patch up damage already done.

Should you skip this power then? Thats doable, actually. However, the power does have other components that greatly increase its utility. Basically, whoever you use the power on gets broken out of Sleep and Disorient, and gains resistance to these mezzes for a full minute. Your target also receives 69.2% protection against End Drain for the same duration. If someone in your team shouts out zzz, hit him or her with O2 Boost; if nothing else, they get a little healing and some mezz resistance. Going up against Malta Sappers? Slap an O2 Boost on your tank before he charges in Taunting. That should keep him relatively safe from an End crash.

All in all, this is a pretty good power to have. I dont feel that it is absolutely necessary for the classic Fire/Storm build, but do pick it up at some point if you can.

Level 4: Snow Storm

Type: Toggle, Ranged Foe-Anchored AoE
Accuracy: N.A.
Endurance cost: 0.26 / sec
Activation: 2.0 sec
Recharge: 10 sec
Range: 80 ft (25 ft radius)
Duration: N.A.
Damage: none
Effects: -62.5% Recharge Rate / all Speeds / JumpHeight, -Fly
Max targets hit: 16
Rating: against most foes, against certain enemies
Slotting recommendations: 1-2 End Rdx, 0-2 Slow

Every single power in Storm is useful, and Snow Storm is no exception. This toggle debuff is cast on an enemy, who then carries it around with him wherever he goes. All foes near him (within 25 ft) get grounded and slowed tremendously. This works on everything, including Arch Villains, Giant Monsters and Paragon Protectors in Moment of Glory mode.

This power really doesnt need slotting. Just stick an EndRdx in there and youre set. If you plan to use it a lot though, a second EndRdx cant go wrong. Some people also like to put in Slows to make foes truly crawl. Do note that the Recharge Rate debuff cannot be enhanced.

Level 10: Steamy Mist

Type: Toggle, PBAoE
Accuracy: N.A.
Endurance cost: 0.26 / sec
Activation: 1.9 sec
Recharge: 15 sec
Range: self (40 ft radius)
Duration: N.A.
Damage: N.A.
Effects: Stealth, 3.75% Defence to All, 15% Resist Fire / Cold / Energy, Resist Confuse
Max targets hit: N.A.
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 1-2 End Rdx, 3 Resist

Steamy Mist envelops you and nearby allies in an aura that confers Stealth, a little Defence, fair Resistance to 3 damage types, and good Resistance to Confusion. The Defence is too measly to slot for, but the Resistance is definitely worth 3 slots. With 3 SOs, Steamy Mist grants 23.4% Resistance, which is not half bad. Stack on Fire Shield from the Fire APP and youd have Fire (and, to a lesser extent, Cold) Resistance to turn most Tankers and Scrappers green with envy.

Note that the Stealth from this power does not stack with the powers from the Concealment Power Pool. It does stack with Smoke (which is a Visibility debuff) and Super Speed (which also has a Visibility debuff of sorts) though.

Level 16: Freezing Rain

Type: Targeted AoE
Accuracy: no modifier
Endurance cost: 18.2
Activation: 2.0 sec
Recharge: 60 sec
Range: 60 ft (20 ft radius)
Duration: rain lasts for 15 sec, debuffs remain at full strength for 30 sec after that, slows remain for another 15 sec after that but at only the 20% debuff level
Damage: 75 ticks of 0.56 Cold (42 total) no Containment bonus
Effects: Knockdown, -40% Recharge Rate / FlySpeed, -30% Defence All / Resist All, -50% RunSpd / JumpSpd / JumpHeight
Max targets hit: 16
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 3 Recharge, 0-1 Slow, 1 EndRdx, 1-2 Defence Debuff

If someone told you that Freezing Rain was the crowning jewel in the Storm set, I wouldnt be much inclined to disagree with him. FR is so awesome that you must take it the moment it becomes available. Take it, slot it up, use it every time it pops.

FR not only cuts away a large chunk of Defence and Resistance from up to 16 enemies at once, it also slows them a great deal and makes them fall down continuously for most of their time in the Rain. Some people call this Popcorning the mobs, and once you see FR in action youll agree thats an apt description.

With 3 Recharge enhancers in it, you can have FR up for practically every fight. Its not a cheap power to use, so at least 1 EndRdx would go a long way to keeping your blue bar healthy. FRs Defence debuff is big enough that 1 slot is enough in my opinion, but some people prefer more debuff. Accuracy is not necessary since the Rain makes 5 to-hit checks in a second and a single hit cripples Defence. A Slow wouldnt hurt either. Too bad the Resist debuff cannot be slotted for.

Also, remember that Fire Cages grants -KB for 12 seconds? Fire Cages + Freezing Rain = popcorn machine breaks down. If youre trying to popcorn your targets, keep your finger off the FC button. Use Snow Storm instead if you want them to stay in the Rains area of effect.

Level 20: Hurricane

Type: Toggle, PBAoE
Accuracy: auto-hit
Endurance cost: 0.16 / sec
Activation: 2.0 sec
Recharge: 10 sec
Range: self (25 ft radius)
Duration: debuffs last for 10 sec after last contact
Damage: none
Effects: -60% Range, -30% Accuracy, Knockback, Repel
Max targets hit: no limit
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 1 EndRdx, 2-3 Acc Debuff

Hurricane is a pretty tricky power to use. Its a great debuff, as Im sure youll appreciate if youve ever tried to melee a Tsoo Sorceror, a Banished Pantheon Storm Shaman or a Cabal Sorceress. With a couple or three Acc debuffs in it, Hurricane can practically floor any mobs chance to hit you or your friends.

However, its also a PBAoE toggle centred on you, and it does both Knockback and Repel. Ive actually played with Stormies who insisted on running Hurricane into the middle of a spawn, scattering them like confetti all over the place. Thats moronic, and theres no kinder way to say it.

With Hurricane on, you can run around the very edges of a spawn to knock/push them into a tight knot ready for AoEs or so that the Tank can more conveniently do his or her job. This is actually easier to do right after using Fire Cages, since FC protects against Hurricanes Knockback but not against its Repel. Or you could crowd a few mobs into a nearby corner and pin them there, debuffed and unable to do much at all, while you turn around and deal with real threats. Both these uses require you to know your Hurricanes range rather precisely though. For instance, if you crowd too near the mobs youre trying to pin in a corner, they tend to get pushed up and out of the corner instead.

It used to be that in PvP, Hurricane would unfailingly interrupt any melee Assassin Strike, but it is my understanding that such is no longer the case. But leave it on in PvP zones anyway. It still has a fair chance of saving your skin.

Level 28: Thunder Clap

Type: PBAoE
Accuracy: -20%
Endurance cost: 10.4
Activation: 2.4 sec
Recharge: 45 sec
Range: self (25 ft radius)
Duration: 18.6 sec
Damage: none
Effects: Disorient Mag 2, 8% Toggle Drop chance in PvP
Max targets hit: 16
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 2 Acc, 1-3 Disorient, 0-3 Recharge

Thunder Clap unfortunately looks better on paper than it works in-game. Its long activation time and PBAoE nature mean that mobs will almost always manage to unleash a full alpha strike on you before they get disoriented, so its best used against small spawns or after the Tank has aggro. Also, its only a Mag 2 Disorient, so only minions (not even lieutenants) are affected by this.

Is this skippable? Yes, it is. But is it useful? Again, yes. This is the fastest cycling area mezz in the Fire/Storm Trollers toolbox and you can use it every fight with just a little slotting. Also, it does stack with Flash Fire to mezz lieutenants (doesnt seem to work on bosses though).

Addendum: Enantiodromos tells me he is pretty sure Flash Fire + Thunder Clap gets bosses. Hmm. Could be I've been fighting highly mezz-resistant bosses or something. Will go test it out.

Level 35: Tornado

Type: Pseudo-Pet
Accuracy: auto-hit
Endurance cost: 20.8
Activation: 1.2 sec
Recharge: 60 sec
Range: 60 ft (7 ft radius)
Duration: the funnel lasts for 30 sec
Damage: 60 ticks of 6.67 Smashing (400.2 total) no Containment bonus
Effects: Disorient Mag 2 (14.9 sec), Knockback, Knockup, -15% Defence to All (8 sec)
Max targets hit: 5
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 0-3 Dam, 1-3 Disorient, 0-2 Recharge, 1-2 EndRdx

Tornado is probably the hardest Storm power to use well. It creates a (rather squat) twister that runs amok after enemies in range. Used unintelligently, it could easily aggro several groups at once and lead to a team wipe. Used well, it could save lives and kill mobs.

Usually, as long as aggro is well-controlled, Tornado should remain in your back pocket. However, if things go terribly out of whack, for instance, if someone else in the team has already aggroed all nearby spawns and the team is starting to fall apart, a Tornado couldnt really make things worse, and its ability to Disorient and Knockback could take some of the heat off the team.

Also, when few mobs are left in the immediate area, Tornado could be used to keep a dangerous mob debuffed and busy. MoGed Paragon Protectors, AVs and GMs are good candidates for this auto-hit pseudo-pet. It also does a fair amount of damage (over time).

Lastly, while pull with Tornado! is sort of a joke, this can actually be a smart move if done right. If you know there are mobs just around the corner, you could cast Tornado out of sight and let it plow into the spawn. Do NOT go running after it, or it could well decide to roam further afield and bring back more friends. Instead, allow your team mates to step forth after your Tornado has thoroughly Disoriented the mobs in the near spawn, or else wait (with Imps and Lightning Storm, possibly Hurricane) for the mobs to come charging you one at a time.

Level 38: Lightning Storm

Type: Pseudo-Pet
Accuracy: +40%
Endurance cost: 31.2
Activation: 2.0 sec
Recharge: 90 sec
Range: self (100 ft radius; you must stay within 60 ft or so for LS to keep shooting)
Duration: 60 sec (one bolt every 4 sec)
Damage: 15 bolts each doing 14.04 Energy (600.6 total) no Containment bonus
Effects: Knockback, 7% End Drain, -90% End Recovery (30% chance, lasts 4 sec), 17% Toggle Drop chance in PvP
Max targets hit: 1 (but mobs very nearby may get hit as well)
Rating:
Slotting recommendations: 3 Dam, 1-3 Recharge, 0-2 EndRdx

This power summons a very impressive-looking cloud right above your head. This cloud is stationary, but it will shoot lightning bolts every 4 seconds at foes within 100 feet as long as you do not move too far away from the cloud. Foes hit get zapped for a fair bit of damage and get thrown quite a distance away.

Interestingly, if that mob is standing right next to another mob or two, his neighbours get zapped together with him. Therefore, a LS cast right after youve pinned a number of mobs in a corner with Hurricane can be expected to be more than usually efficient.

LSs high innate Accuracy means that you dont really need to slot in Accuracy enhancements. However, it is very expensive, so you could do worse than to put in at least one EndRdx. Youll also want some Recharges in there so that you can more often mess up Paragons weather patterns. Needless to say, 3 Damage SOs are par for the course.

Eldandil · 11-27-2006 04:00 PM

Part 4: Power Pools

Now, a character is hardly complete without some Pool powers. Well take a quick look at the available Pools in this section.

Concealment

This is a pretty nice Pool for squishies like yourself. However, since you have Steamy Mist (you are taking Steamy Mist, arent you?), you dont need Stealth at all. Invisibility is pointless as well if youve picked up Smoke.

Grant Invisibility could be useful, but you could just tell your team mates to huddle close while you Stealth them with your Steamy Mist. Still, GI does do the job better in all ways, so it wouldn't be a totally wasted pick.

Phase Shift could theoretically save your life. However, PS has several major limitations (including a long activation time) that make it less than ideal as a life-saver.

All told, Concealment is not necessarily the best Pool choice for the Fire/Storm Troller.

Fighting

Tough is nice, but youre playing a classic Troller, so the prerequisites are kind of meh. Boxing's actually quite nice, but you don't want to be doing up-close single-target damage anyway. Heck, you dont even need Tough, really. The point of playing a multi-mezzing Troller is to not get hit much in the first place. If you really want Smashing/Lethal Resistance however, Fire Shield in the Fire APP gives you approximately double Tough's S/L Resist and Fire and Cold Resistance for the same endurance cost.

As for Weave, well, it's probably not worth the prereqs and endurance cost.

Fitness

While I hate to say it, you will need Stamina if you're going to run all the nice toggles that this build offers. Take it ASAP and three-slot it.

If you want to Fly, take Swift as a prereq and slot it with one Flight Speed enhancer (more enhancers add hardly anything to your Flight Speed). Otherwise, Hurdles a good choice of prereq. You could take both, but why not take Health instead? Never hurts to have a little more Regeneration, in my opinion.

Flight

With I8, Hovers base speed will be increased 10%. This will make Hover more attractive than ever as a combat travel/manoeuvring power. The Fire/Storm Troller is all about positioning and precise targeting, so I highly recommend taking Hover and 3-slotting it for Speed. Hover is useful even when using Flash Fire: it allows you to fly up and pick the mob closest to the centre of a spawn as your target. Last but not least, you gain a measure of resistance to Knockback while in the air. You'd just twirl in the air for a moment instead of get smashed painfully onto your face.

If youre taking Hover, you might as well take Fly too. This build is fairly tight on power picks and you can ill-afford to waste too many picks on travel powers. And Fly's quite fun anyway. Except that it's slower than a blonde in a breaststroke competition.

Group Flight sounds good on paper, but is sadly gimped in play. The pets and team mates you grant Flight to tend to fly more slowly than you do (I suspect this has to do with lag) and you'd have to move at a crawl if you want to keep them all safely within your Group Flight radius.

Air Superiority is widely touted as the best Pool attack there is. But you're not going into melee so skip it.

Leadership

Controllers come in only behind Defenders in gaining benefit from Leadership powers, and thats one reason why this Pool is a good choice for you. Tactics is definitely useful to run, since you will usually have at least 3 team mates (your Imps) with you at any time. Also, a Troller could always do with more Accuracy.

For your prereq, I would suggest Assault to amplify the damage done by your Imps as well as by yourself. Yes, the gain is not a lot, but it does add up. Plus it grants Resistance to Taunt and Placate. You could go Manoeuvres instead, but thats got a rather sad 1.875% Defence bonus. Vengeance is probably not necessary. You cant use it on your Imps, and your job is to keep your team mates from face-planting. Play well and youd hardly see an opportunity to use Vengeance; I say skip it.

Leaping

Not a bad Pool choice by any means. Super Jump is possibly the best travel power, all things considered. It's fast, has good vertical clearance, has great air control, and is practically endurance-free.

Combat Jumping adds a fair bit of vertical clearance, which would be quite a boon to Super Speeders. It also gives some protection against Immobilisation and raises your defences by a minuscule amount.

Acrobatics would certainly come in useful against mezzing foes. Often has Eldandil lamented the lack of hold protection when fighting the Carnival of Shadows and the Devouring Earth.

You do not want Jump Kick, however. It's not the best Pool attack, and you're better off attacking at range anyway. A Splatroller might find this one useful, but that's covered in the Splatroller guide.

Medicine

If you really want to be a healer, consider this Pool since O2 Boost sucks so bad as a heal. Then again, if you really want to be a healer, you shouldnt be playing a Fire/Storm.

None of the powers in this pool are bad. Stimulant even clears up more status effects than does O2 Boost. However, all the Medicine powers are interruptible, and you'll likely find a need to invest 1-3 Interrupt Reduxes into each power you wish to use in combat.

Presence

You dont need more control than you already have. These controls are much weaker than your main ones. You do not want to draw aggro. Pass.

Speed

Hasten cant be permaed anymore, but many people still swear by it. Take it if you want to; certainly cant hurt to have faster Recharge Rates half the time.

Super Speed, when combined with Steamy Mist, might allow you to fire off Thunder Clap without getting beaten on. If you do take all these three powers, try it and tell me how they work out in combination.

You shouldn't need either Whirlwind or Flurry.

Teleportation

There were occasions when my Imps got stuck in terrain (notably on CoT temple maps) and I regretted not having Recall Friend to bring them in. Certainly, this is one of the best utility powers in the game.

Teleport might move you more than a little too quickly for your Imps to catch up though. Even Eldandil, who flies, tends to leave his elementals far behind when hes moving through a zone in a hurry.

Teleport Foe wouldn't add much to this build. And Team Teleport just doesn't impress me much.

Part 5: Ancillary Power Pools (APPs)

Finally, weve come to the APPs. Ive only had experience with the Fire APP, unfortunately, so my thoughts on everything else are based on stats alone.

Fire Mastery

Eldandil selected Fire Mastery because of character concept, and it has turned out to be an excellent choice. His Flash Fire + Fire Cages + Freezing Rain + Fire Ball combo reduces an entire even-con spawn to a sliver of health which his Imps burn away in no time at all. Fireball does 105.65 base Smashing and Fire damage (mainly Fire), which amplifies to 443.6 with 3 Dmg SOs, Assault and Containment. This power has a range of 80 ft and an effect radius of 15..

Stacking Fire Shield onto Steamy Mist means that he has decent (read: Scrapper-level) resistances against several types of damage. Fire Shield gives 19.25% Smashing/Lethal, 14% Fire and 7% Cold Resistance.

His last power shall be Consume, since he could do with an Endurance replenishment power. This does Brawl-level damage to up to 10 nearby foes and returns 20 Endurance points per enemy hit.

Some people advocate Fire Blast very strongly, however. It is a fast-cycling single target attack that does a third more damage (133.46, purely Fire) than Fire Ball, and seems an excellent choice as well. Unfortunately, there isnt a power I would sacrifice for it, and Eldandil kills quickly enough as it is that it doesnt seem necessary.

Ice Mastery

This looks to be a fair pick, but lags behind Fire for quick AoE as well as single-target damage. Ice Blast does 111.22 Cold and Smashing Damage to a single target, but also slows down movement and Recharge Rate by 20%. The Smashing Component renders Ice Blast weak against foes with Smashing Defence. Compare this with Fire Blast's pure Fire damage.

Ice Storm is similar to the Blaster power of the same name. It does 1.12 Cold and Lethal damage 5 times a second for 15 seconds. It also slows Recharge by 10%, Fly Speed by 30% and all Run and Jump Speeds by 40%. It has a relatively short casting range of 60 ft but a large 25 ft effect radius. The Fire/Storm Troller probably has enough slows that another isn't quite necessary, and killing with this would take too long.

Hibernate appears to be a better panic button than Phase Shift in many ways, but the Fire/Storm already has a number of panic buttons named Cinders, Thunder Clap, Hurricane, and Tornado. If you use it as a safe way to regain some Endurance and Health though, you'd probably like it quite a bit...except that it's got a 240 second recharge duration.

Frozen Armor and Fire Shield are highly similar powers. However, Frozen Armor grants Defence (10.5%) instead of Resistance against Smashing and Lethal attacks. I suggest that Frozen Armor is actually superior to Fire Shield in this regard, and here's my reasoning: Fire Shield is a Resist toggle, so its benefits come in only when a hit lands, whereupon each component of FS protects against one specific damage type. Frozen Armor works at the To-Hit level though. If an attack contains multiple damage types, your effective Defence is calculated using the damage type you are most protected against.

Here's an example: A villain punches you with an Energy Punch that does both Energy as well as Smashing damage. The Fire Shield user is not any harder to hit than an unprotected hero, but the Smashing component of the attack is blunted by Fire Shield's S/L Resist. The FS hero takes full Energy damage and partial Smashing damage. Frozen Armor, however, has S/L Defence. Since the Energy Punch is one single move, its Smashing and Energy components either both hit or both miss - they are treated unitarily in the calculation of To-Hit. If the attack hits, full Smashing and Energy damage is taken; but if the attack misses, even the Energy component that FA doesn't protect against is negated as well. Since many attacks even in the late game have a Smashing or Lethal component, you can expect your Frozen Armor to guard you against a surprising variety of moves.

In summary, Ice Mastery trades damage for a little more protection (direct and indirect) as compared to Fire Mastery.

Primal Forces

Conserve Power and Power Boost both look like very attractive choices for a Troller. However, they both have long recharge times (600 sec and 120 sec respectively), and I dont really like powers that I cant use frequently. I know Id probably just forget to use them entirely in the end. I rather suspect they are more useful for PvPers (who tend, if I am not mistaken, to use their powers in intense spurts) than PvEers.

Power Blast does 111.22 Smashing and Energy damage at the standard 80 ft with an unimpressive 30% chance to do light Knockback. This is a weaker choice than both Fire Blast and Ice Blast. This APP also lacks an AoE attack move.

Temporary Invulnerability costs the same as Fire Shield and Frozen Armor, but it only protects against Smashing and Lethal Damage (21% Resistance). While these Resist values are marginally higher than Fire Shield's, I am inclined to say that Fire Shield and Frozen Armor's Fire and Cold Resistances put them ahead of Temp Invul.

Psionic Mastery

If Indomitable Will had a shorter recharge, I would have been very much tempted by this power. It gives 17.5% Psionic Defence as very strong total Mezz resistance for 90 seconds. well as Its recharge is a whopping 360 seconds though, so, no, thank you. PvPers may find this useful, however.

Mental Blast is a standard Troller APP single-target attack. It has nice advantages in damage type (111.22 Psionic damage) and a short (6 second) 30% Recharge Time debuff though. It also has a 100 ft range for those of you who like to engage in long-range battles.

The Psionic personal shield, Mind Over Body, gives decent Psionic Resistance (14%) on top of S/L (19.25%). This is one of the very few powers in the entire game to grant such a Resistance.

Psionic Tornado is actually a very impressive power on paper. It does almost as much damage as Fire Ball (97.3 Psionic), has a slightly larger effect area (20 ft), and has a very useful pair of secondary effects as well (50% Knockup chance and -30% Recharge Rate for 10 seconds). Its range is also the usual 100 ft for Psionic powers.

To be honest, I suspect Psionic Mastery may be the strongest of the Controller APPs. A seldom-resisted damage type, high damage values, protection against that same damage type, (occasional) protection against mezzes, and very useful secondary effects make the Psionic APP really shine. If not for character concept, Eldandil would be very tempted to swap his Fire for Psionic. Reader, do give this set some serious consideration.

Stone Mastery

Fissure is yet another targeted AoE Disorient. Theoretically, combining Flash Fire, Thunder Clap and Fissure should allow you to mezz just about anything in the game short of an AV or GM. Butnah. You dont need another area control, especially since this one only has a 50% chance to Disorient, a short 20 ft range, and a small 15 ft effect radius. It is available every 20 seconds, does 50.05 Smashing damage and may cause minor Knockback though. One could conceivably use this as an AoE attack, but one would not be able to wipe out spawns anywhere near as quickly as one could with Fireball or Psionic Tornado.

Hurl Boulder is a short range (40 ft) single-target attack that does 166.83 Smashing damage and has a 50% chance to do significant Knockback. Notice that this is the strongest single-target attack in the Controller APP list. It does recharge more slowly than usual (10 seconds), however, and the short range can be limiting.

Rock Armor, like Frozen Armor, grants Defence instead of Resistance. Therefore, it affords the same "extra" protection that Frozen Armor does. Rock Armor's S/L Defence values (11.2%) are slightly higher than Frozen Armor's but it does not have protection against other damage types. However, in this case, since many attacks have either a Smashing or Lethal component, Rock Armor is possibly as good as or better than Frozen Armor.

Earth's Embrace is a self-heal, a HP boost and 14% Toxic Resistance all in one click, similar to Tanker self-heals. I see it as a sort of panic button for a getaway. It's on a 360 second timer.

Addendum: I'd somehow managed to mix up the Tanker and Troller Stone Mastery sets. The old writeup was for Tankers, which is why it seemed so different. Many thanks to SuperJe, who very gently informed me of this in a PM.

Part 6: Strategy and Tactics

Herere some strategies, tactics and combos for the Fire/Storm Controller.

1. Flash Fire + Fire Cages + Freezing Rain + Fire Ball burns non-Fire-resistant even-cons down to just a sliver of Health. If there are quite a few bosses in the group, you could add on another Fire Cages followed by a Thunder Clap and see if you can Disorient them too.
2. Against small spawns made up mostly of minions, you could safely replace Flash Fire with Thunder Clap (or Fissure). Remember that the bad guys will manage to get off an alpha strike on you, so dont try this when there are Sappers or mezzers in the group.
3. Cinders takes out everything lieutenant-level and below. Adding a single Char would mezz a boss as well. The FF + FC combo doesnt work well on Council Wolves, as they are highly Immob Resistant (they tend to scatter all over the map after they get Disoriented), so Cinders is a better option there.
4. Freezing Rain alone or with Snow Storm is a great soft control. You could also use it after 10+ seconds of Fire Cages; the Immob from FC lasts a lot longer than the KB.
5. Lightning Storm tends to scatter mobs, but it can be combined with Fire Cages KB to prevent that. Also, Hurricane could be used to crowd mobs together for extra LS damage.
6. Hurricane works well in tandem with Fire Cages. FCs KB prevents Hurricane from sending mobs flying across the room, but its lack of Repel means that Hurricane could still Repel mobs steadily away.
7. Hurricane also works great with MoGed Paragon Protectors. It is auto-hit and reduces their amplified Defences to more manageable levels.
8. Snow Storm also works with MoGed PPs, although its main role is to reduce the PPs damage-dealing capacity. It grounds and debuffs intangible Carnie Illusionists too.
9. When facing a mezzing foe, it is feasible to send your Imps in first, either by edging near or by casting Summon Fire Imps right on top of the spawn. You could always O2 Boost them back to wakefulness if necessary.
10. Similarly, if you are about to launch an attack against an enemy whose damage type you and your Tank are weak against, send in the Imps first. You get no debt even if they die.
11. A Tornado pull is not as crazy as it sounds.

Part 7: Sample Build

Eldandil is slotted so that he can hit +5s with facility. However, his mezz durations are shortened greatly against +5s, so he has to ready follow-up mezzes. With his power choices, Eldandil has at least one area control (Flashfire, Cinders, Thunder Clap, Freezing Rain, Snow Storm, Hurricane, Tornado) available at any one time.

Eldandil Tauro - Character Builder screenshot

I hope you found some use out of this guide. If you have questions, comments or objections, please feel free to post replies or PM me.

Kinesia · 11-27-2006 04:25 PM

Thanks for the guide! Always good to have more of them.

One minor point I'd like to make regarding your criticism of Ring of Fire. Early on, it's the most damaging power you can take in the Fire set and it sets up containment. While a single target immobilize is nothing to write home about, I think it deserves better than the 1 star rating you gave it. This is a good power for the solo controller, it's good for catching runners and flyers who escape from your cages, and it's also good for stacking on bosses. Personally, I'd give it a 3 out of 5 as it also has good value in PvP.

Kangaroo · 11-27-2006 05:39 PM

<qr>
Never played this build and probably never will, but the structure/format/content is great, in my opinion.

Edit: Don't forget to edit this to an I8 build tomorrow.

Bosor · 11-27-2006 07:00 PM

Great Guide! Fire/Storm is arguably the funnest Troller combo, and certainly an extremely versatile and effective one. Thanks for the stellar write up! 2 Thumbs up!

Eldandil · 11-28-2006 02:20 AM

Thanks for the heartening responses, guys. Keep the comments and critiques rolling in.

A little shameless plugging of my own guide here: if you like it all that much, do give it a few stars so that others will notice it and benefit from it too. Thanks!

Kinesia, I hear you on the Ring of Fire issue. Editing the guide to include your contribution.

Eldandil · 11-28-2006 04:01 AM

I've just expanded the third section of the guide to give more detailed opinions on the various Power Pools and APPs. The previous version was done in a bit of a hurry, and I'm a lot happier with the way it currently is.

Enantiodromos · 11-28-2006 02:20 PM

Nicely done! I was always a little alarmed to think that people were going to my build guide for comprehensive advice on Fire/storm. I've played mine to 41 now, just got fireball the other day. Still love the build.

Glad to see somebody recommending Cinders. Much as you said, it has its limitations, but is still quite worthwhile. Among things to remember: on a team, you're likely back-to-back with somebody who's got a nuke, their own long-recharge AoE hold, or something wacky like EMP. If everybody stopped taking long-recharge powers that are radically better vs larger groups of enemies... I mean, there'd be a lot of potential going to waste.

Also, I'm usually going a million miles a minute and paying attention to lots of stuff at once, when I'm on a team big enough to generate bosses, and go careening into a group, but it's fairly stock for me to pop flashfire + thunderclap in clusters of baddies, and I'm pretty confident I see bosses take the stacked disorient all the time.

Let me also just say, after playing it, I'm still convinced there isn't really a better match for fire than storm, and vice versa. Sure, I know, yadda yadda, fire/rad and fire/kin controllers seem to get all the attention, and Ice/Storm is the conceptual preference (despite some redundancy IMO). But when you consider Freezing Rain, Thunderclap, Hotfeet, Flashfire, Cinders, Steamy Mist, all in tandem, I think it constitutes the strongest single synergy argument there is in any controller build.

Again, nice guide!

Eldandil · 11-28-2006 10:03 PM

Hey, Enantiodromos, thanks for the encouragement. I really liked your Splatroller guide, actually. Made me twitch for the /respec command quite a bit until I finally decided I had to keep Eldandil's character concept intact.

As for Flash Fire + Thunder Clap working on bosses, I'm confused now. Theoretically, they should work together on bosses, but I'm fairly sure I haven't been seeing that. Perhaps I've been meeting particularly mezz-resistant bosses or perhaps the high levels I've been fighting cause the disorients to wear off too quickly. Will go test it out on lower level mobs.

Vojin · 02-09-2007 03:07 AM

First, just wanted to say thanks for the mention. Nice to know people are actually reading what I post.

Second, awesome guide. I plan to re-read it again because I finally started my own Fire/Storm and I am going to try a few things with it cause I like experimenting with my builds. ((I was doing Illusion/Trick Arrow before it became popular! Before the changes! ))

Eldandil · 04-14-2007 08:27 AM

Well, I9's hard upon us, so I guess it's about time to update this guide for I8.

As you know by now, the devs sprung a whopper of a surprise on us with I8's controller changes. Fire Imps are now summoned at a level below your own (i.e. a level 32 troller summons level 31 Fire Imps) with the result that the previously already suicidal Imps are now even harder to keep alive especially in large teams. Of course, the Fire/Storm troller has many hard and soft controls at his or her disposal and Imps can be kept quite healthy if the controller is willing to stay alert and keep mezzes and debuffs running all the time.

Also, the troller APPs have been cut in half damage-wise, so Fire Ball without Fulcrum Shift doesn't tickle very hard anymore. It's still useful for instantly dropping minions down to 2/3 health, but it's hardly an uber power by any stretch of the imagination now.

Here are some thoughts on the care and feeding of Imps:
1. Freezing Rain lasts 15 seconds. The full debuffs stick for 30 seconds after a target leaves the Rain. After these 30 seconds, partial debuffs remain for another 15 seconds. Basically, don't be afraid to recast FR on the same group of foes if many remain alive for more than half a minute after they've run out of the Rain. Use Hurricane and/or Fire Cages and/or Snow Storm to help you keep the bad guys in a bunch for maximum FR effectiveness. Beware Fire Cages' -knockup if you intend to use FR for the popcorn effect.
2. Hurricane reduces the bad guys' range by 60% and accuracy by 30%. Debuff effects last for 10 seconds after last contact. When you're not using a power actively, keep moving around to tag the bad guys and herd them into a corner.
3. Imps hit less reliably now. Slot your Imps with at least 1 Accuracy. If you intend to fight purples a lot, consider putting in 2. Tactics is a good toggle to run if you tend to stay within range.
4. If you slot up your Steamy Mist properly, just staying close to your Imps ups their survivability appreciably.
5. Needless to say, Char is your friend. Just as you would use Char on mobs giving your team mates trouble, use it too to save your Imps from a bad beating. If the battlefield is too messy, target through the player or Imp under pressure and fire it off; chances are the mob they are after is the one after them.

The Fire/Storm troller can no longer afford to just sit there and make witty remarks while his homicidal Imps do a number on the enemy. If you want your Imps to stay alive, you have to stay in the thick of the action. Of course, that's arguably more fun than doing the old mezz-n-wait, so it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Finally, I have tested out Enantiodromos' claim that Flash Fire stacked with Thunderclap Disorients bosses. Conclusion: he is absolutely right! I must have been Disoriented myself earlier because I was dead certain the combo was bugged. More joy for the Fire/Storm controller!

PS Thanks for popping by, _Enos_. How's your new Fire/Storm?

JayKay · 04-16-2007 10:45 PM

Props to the Eldandil Tauro's guide! Has he finally hit 50 yet??

Eldandil · 04-22-2007 02:03 AM

Ah, Maddrr! Finally you've joined the forums.

And, no, he's been 48 for months. I'm waiting for I9 to pull him out of the drawer.

By the way, here's a funny and informative Storm Summoning guide by TheMightyScourge. Great stuff!

The_Norm · 04-25-2007 04:55 AM

My first and only level 50 is a Fire/Storm troller. Igneous Storm, yeah really creative there. Took the energy pool for conserve energy. I didn't take hot feet or bonfire and really haven't played him hard core since issue 5 and the major pet changes.

Brought him out to do some running around in PI and was able to take out 2 Zeus and an Ops without much trouble. Though I found out a Master Ill is still a problem and found myself staring at the pavement.

I find myself using not only the flash fire/fire cages combo, but with smoke and steamy mist I also go for the thunder clap/cinders/lightning storm combo as well especially on bosses. Tornado comes out on bosses usually as well to create some havoc, which is really what makes this build so much fun. The slows, dizziness, knockbacks, total chaos and it's a blast.

Eldandil · 04-25-2007 10:05 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Brought him out to do some running around in PI and was able to take out 2 Zeus and an Ops without much trouble. Though I found out a Master Ill is still a problem and found myself staring at the pavement.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, the lack of mezz protection can be a huge pain. That's another reason I love teaming with Eldandil. Let someone else take the alpha and use the few moments' respite to mezz 'em all.

[ QUOTE ]
I find myself using not only the flash fire/fire cages combo, but with smoke and steamy mist I also go for the thunder clap/cinders/lightning storm combo as well especially on bosses.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thunderclap and Cinders don't have synergy. One is a PBAoE minion-level disorient while the other is a PBAoE lieutenant-level hold. Since they don't stack in any way, the Thunderclap in this combo would be completely wasted (unless you mean to catch the one or two lucky mobs that escape your Cinders). Of course, using Cinders first to hold everyone then applying Thunderclap + Fire Cages when Cinders wears off is a valid strategy.

[ QUOTE ]
Tornado comes out on bosses usually as well to create some havoc, which is really what makes this build so much fun. The slows, dizziness, knockbacks, total chaos and it's a blast.

[/ QUOTE ]

Controlled chaos. 70-odd alts and this is still my favourite character to play.

Eldandil · 04-25-2007 10:07 PM

trueballerisme just sent me the following private message. I thought that my reply to him could be useful for others, so I will put it up in the following post.

[ QUOTE ]
Hey man I'm gonna make a fire.storm controller and I love ur guide. The only thing I was wondering was if you had an exact lvl by lvl guide. That shows me were to put my slots at each lvl and powers. Your guide sortof has it but I just need help with exact stuff cause I'm new,

Also what travel power do u recommend for the controller?

Thanks 4 ur time

[/ QUOTE ]

Eldandil · 04-25-2007 10:13 PM

I'm glad you like the guide, true. I've actually got a link in it to a character builder screenshot showing my slotting at level 50. You can see the order in which I chose my powers, and also how I slotted each power.

What you won't be able to see is my slotting order, but I personally feel that slotting order should be based on your feel of the gameplay at each juncture. As you play, if you find that you are mezzing your foes just fine but are having problems doing damage to them, focus slotting on the damage-causing powers (especially if you only solo). If your mezzes wear off too quickly, start slotting mezz recharge or duration. That sort of thing.

Of course, as a troller, I would strongly suggest you get your accuracy up as soon as possible, because your best moves (your mezzes, mostly) have long recharge times and hitting an enemy takes it out of the fight instantly.

In the early game, when you have only TOs, I strongly suggest that you put at least 4 accuracies into Flashfire, Char and Fire Cages in that order. TOs are one-fourth as effective as SOs, in case you didn't know. Forget about doing damage and team a lot.

When DOs become available, you can drop the number of accuracies to 2 if you'd like. DOs are half as strong as SOs, so 2 DOs in your controls should be good enough for most enemies. If you find yourself fighting mostly higher level mobs and missing a lot though, you should consider having 3-4 DOs in each control.

Even when you get to SOs, you should still be mostly teamed up with other players. This build doesn't begin to do any real damage until level 33 with fully slotted Imps. Actually, I prefer teaming to soloing, even with all the toys I have at level 48. It's so much more fun playing in a good team than playing solo. That said, I must also warn you that a bad team, especially one full of angry blame-casters, can really ruin your playing experience.

Lastly, some players (myself included) never buy TOs and DOs because SOs cost so much. We use the ones that drop and sell the rest so that we have an easier time converting fully to SOs at level 22 and thereafter.

You can go directly to the image here.

Don't be afraid to experiment and build your character differently from the way I have built Eldandil though. I frequently enjoy myself more planning a character and tweaking a build than actually killing pixels.

Happy hunting!

PS IMHO, Hover is a wonderful positioning tool for the /Storm troller, and I heartily recommend grabbing it. If you take Hover, you might as well take Fly as well for both concept as well as power choice efficiency. Also, your Imps are slow as heck, so the other Travel powers would make you way too fast for them to catch up to you across a zone.

If you prefer to forgo Hover, however, you could consider Super Speed (which, with Steamy Mist, renders you all but invisible to mobs).

You could also take Teleport with Recall Friend so that you can pull your Imps to you when you need them. There have been many occasions when Imps got stuck in geometry and I had to resummon them because I didn't have Recall Friend.

The troller is a little fragile for Super Leap though - you sometimes land in the midst of a mob you didn't know was there. Makes for exciting travel though.

The_Norm · 05-02-2007 06:23 AM

The usual set up for an attack goes something like this.

Say it's a group of 8 Nemesis with 1 Fake in it and the rest a nice mixture. I target the boss and smoke the group. With steamy mist running I run into group, Thunder Clap to disorient then Cinders to keep them from wandering. Lightning Storm to creat a knockback effect usually right behind the Fake and then hit him with Snow Storm. Then follow with fire cages, freezing rain, char until the imps pimp slap them all down.

Then again this was pre I5 the the imptastic army, I haven't had much of a chance to reslot since then.

Eldandil · 05-02-2007 06:40 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Thunder Clap to disorient then Cinders to keep them from wandering.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm probably missing something here, Lemming. Why would I use Cinders instead of Fire Cages to stop them from wandering?

Eldandil · 05-07-2007 01:53 PM

I9 brought us Invention Origin enhancements, and now enhancement slotting is an entirely new ballgame.

In this post, I will share Eldandil's dream I9 build. In the next post, I shall discuss the reasons behind some of these slotting choices.

Be aware that this is only one of countless ways to slot up a Fire/Storm controller, and this example is meant only to give the reader an idea of the power of IO sets. Also, some of the IOs needed for this build are likely quite rare, so don't toss the SO build out the window yet!

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.151
http://www.onthejazz.co.uk/hu/mhd.php

Eldandil Tauro: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Fire Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Char -- EoCur-Acc/Rchg:53(A), EoCur-EndRdx/Hold:53(3), EoCur-Acc/EndRdx:53(3), EoCur-Hold/Rng:53(5), EoCur-Acc/Hold:53(5), EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg:53(7)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc-I:53(A)
Level 2: Fire Cages -- Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg:53(A), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx:53(7), Enf'dOp-Immob/Rng:53(9), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg:53(9), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob:53(11), TotHntr-Dam%:20(11)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I:53(A)
Level 6: Swift -- Flight-I:53(A)
Level 8: Hover -- Flight-I:53(A), Flight-I:53(13), Flight-I:53(13)
Level 10: Steamy Mist -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:25(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx:30(15), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(15)
Level 12: Flashfire -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg:53(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun:53(19), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx:53(21), Stpfy-Stun/Rng:53(21), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg:53(23), Stpfy-KB%:20(23)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I:53(A), Flight-I:53(25)
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- RechRdx-I:53(A), RechRdx-I:53(17), P'ngTtl--Rchg%:20(17), TmpRdns-Dmg/Slow:53(19), TmpRdns-Rng/Slow:53(25), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow:53(27)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:30(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:53(A), EndMod-I:53(31)
Level 22: Cinders -- EoCur-Acc/Rchg:53(A), EoCur-EndRdx/Hold:53(31), EoCur-Acc/EndRdx:53(33), EoCur-Acc/Hold:53(33), EoCur-Acc/Hold/Rchg:53(33), RechRdx-I:53(34)
Level 24: Hurricane -- ToHitDeb-I:53(A), ToHitDeb-I:53(27), EndRdx-I:53(34)
Level 26: Assault -- EndRdx-I:53(A)
Level 28: Thunder Clap -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg:53(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun:53(29), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx:53(29), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg:53(31), Stpfy-KB%:20(37)
Level 30: 02 Boost -- EndRdx-I:53(A)
Level 32: Fire Imps -- SvgnRt-PetResDam:25(A), EdctM'r-PetDef:15(34), CmdPres-PetRes:10(36), Dmg-I:53(36), Dmg-I:53(40), Dmg-I:53(40)
Level 35: Tornado -- Dmg-I:53(A), Dmg-I:53(36), Dsrnt-I:53(37), Dsrnt-I:53(37), EndRdx-I:53(39), RechRdx-I:53(43)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(39), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(39), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(40), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(45), Dmg-I:53(45)
Level 41: Fire Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(42), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(42), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(42), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(43), Decim-Build%:25(43)
Level 44: Fire Shield -- Aegis-ResDam:53(A), Aegis-Psi/Status:25(45), ImpSkn-ResDam/EndRdx:30(46), ImpSkn-Status:10(46), ResDam-I:53(46)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:53(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:53(48), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:53(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng:53(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:53(50), Posi-Dam%:20(50)
Level 49: Consume -- Acc-I:53(A), RechRdx-I:53(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth:15(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 2: Rest -- Mrcl-Rcvry+:20(A)

Copy & Paste this data chunk into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build.
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Eldandil · 05-07-2007 03:31 PM

The problem with discussing an I9 build is that no power may be taken solely on its own merits. Comparing an I9 power to an I8 one is not exactly comparing apples to apples, since the I9 power must be considered in a set bonus environment.

If you were to change, say, half of all the slotting choices in my build, most of my powers would no longer work as described below. With that caveat in mind, let us see how I9 has changed Eldandil, largely for the better.

Slotting for Recharge and Endurance
My primary focus for this build is Recharge speed. With the current slotting, I gain a global 42.5% recharge bonus, which effect is only a hair less than that of slotting one level 53 common Recharge IO (43.5%) in each and every power. The Fire/Storm Controller has many fun toys at his disposal, but some are better than others. Better Recharge means the better toys can be used more often. Also, it becomes easier to stack mezzes on bosses and other protected mobs.

My secondary focus is Endurance management through increased Recovery and Max Endurance. With greater Recharge speed, you'll find that you eat up Endurance more quickly. And a Controller without Endurance is nothing more than a sitting duck.

Other bonuses such as Health Regeneration are just gravy.

Tactics and Fire Blast
One of the most noticeable changes in I9 Eldandil is that he has swapped out Tactics for Fire Blast. With set bonuses, Eldandil no longer needs Tactics to maintain an extremely high level of Accuracy on all his attacks. This freeing up of a power pick has allowed Eldandil to learn the Fire Blast ancillary power, which is very useful considering how his damage-per-second has been hurt by the I8 controller nerfs.

Fire Blast is a fast-cycling attack (3.9 seconds after factoring in set bonuses) that you could spam between controls and debuffs, so the 20% chance of Build Up from the Decimation set is likely to trigger fairly often. Since this particular IO doesn't benefit from levels, it is a good idea to slot it at as low a level as you can. Lower level IOs tend to be cheaper and, more importantly, stay active when you exemp down.

Lastly, the 3rd and 4th Decimation set bonuses are really quite nice, hence my choice of this set.

Fire Cages
This power is slotted with all of the Enfeebled Operations IOs save for Endurance/Immobilize. Although the +3.13% Melee Defence from 6-slotting EnfOps is tempting, I believe the damage Proc from the Trap of the Hunter set would be
more useful.

One alternative is to 6-slot Fire Cages with the Trap set, but then you wouldn't get the Recharge bonus from the EnfOps set.

Steamy Mist
Steamy Mist takes a back seat with the new slotting. One slot is moved elsewhere, and another is devoted to the Recharge unique from the Luck of the Gambler set. The remaining slots are filled with IOs from Steadfast Protection, a level 30 set, for +1.5% Recovery and 3% global Defence.

Flashfire and Thunder Clap
Stupefy is a wonderful Disorient set - the fifth slot gives a whopping 6.25% global Recharge reduction bonus.

Thunder Clap is a PBAoE, so the Stun/Range IO in Stupefy is wasted. Sure, the +3.13% Ranged Defence would be nice, but the slot could be better used elsewhere, really. Either replace this with a pure Stun IO or else just 5-slot this power as I have done.

Freezing Rain
This one made me struggle within myself for a long time.

Originally, I 5-slotted it with Tempered Readiness for the global bonuses. Then I remembered how often I use this power and came to my senses. After several tweaks, I ended up 3-slotting TempRead for bonuses, adding 2 common Recharge IOs so that FR can be up even more often than in my SO build, and throwing in the -Recharge Proc from Pacing of the Turtle. I figured that FR's rate of fire should cause the Proc to trigger on probably every single foe caught in the rain, and a 20% Recharge debuff on all the bad guys is surely a good thing.

Health
Remember that my secondary goal was Endurance Management? I slotted Health with only the Recovery/Regeneration IO from Numina's Convalescence instead of a Heal enhancement.

I'd initially put in the Heal IO from NuminCon as well to gain a very substantial Regen bonus, but later decided that Eldandil tends to either not get hurt at all or else die quickly; more Regen doesn't really seem very useful in either case.

Cinders
This is another power just begging for Essence of Curare slotting. However, the Hold/Range EssCur IO would be kind of wasted in a PBAoE, so I elected to swap that out for a common Recharge IO. Some might prefer replacing that with a Hold IO, but Cinders is so slow to cycle that more Recharge really is the best thing here.

Fire Imps
Your Imps really don't need anything besides 3 Damage SOs (or 3 Damage IOs, if you're rich and want that little bit more damage from the little buggers).

However, there are 3 unique Pet set IOs that are just too tempting to pass up:
1) Edict of the Master has an IO that grants your pets a 5% Defence buff if they are within 20' of you.
2) Sovereign Right's unique gives your pets 10% Resist All (except Psionics).
3) Commanding Presence's aura makes your pets resistant to Taunt and Placate.
Useful, all three, especially since the Fire Troller has more than one pet.

Tornado
Tornado, being auto-hit, doesn't benefit as much as it should from any of the sets. Instead of set-slotting, just convert all the SOs into equivalent common IOs.

Lightning Storm
As with Fire Blast, Decimation is useful here. Since Build Up is not be quite as useful to a Lightning Storm as it is to you (the Proc slotted here would Build Up the Storm, not you), skip that IO in lieu of a common Damage IO.

Alternatively, the full Devastation set would give your Lightning Storm a 15% chance to apply a Mag 2 Hold on each target it hits, which is unarguably cool. However, this slotting results in quite a hit to your global Recharge bonus, and since this is not a staple power in the way that Freezing Rain or Flashfire are, I believe Decimation's bonuses are more useful here.

Fire Shield
This one is an odd duck. I slotted this with 2 partial sets and a common Resistance IO. The partial sets contain IOs which grant Status Resistance (so Eldandil can recover more quickly from Status Effects), and the common IO rounds out the power's Resistance value.

Fire Ball
Positron's Blast. 20% chance of 32.1 Energy damage to all mobs hit by the AoE. +2.5% Recovery. -6.25% Recharge Time. 'Nuff said.

Sprint
Sprint can be run concurrently with Hover or Fly, and slotting in a +Stealth IO here allows you to toggle on both Steamy Mist and Sprint for capped Stealth.

Rest
Instead of slotting Rest with the standard one Recharge enhancement, I elected to put in the +Recovery IO from the Miracle set. This gives a very nice global +15% Recovery boost.

Final thoughts
I know this post isn't really all that organised, but I hope it was useful to you anyway. Even if my particular slotting doesn't appeal to you, I hope that I've given you some thoughts on the value of full and partial set slotting.

Now go out there and experiment! Have fun!

Eldandil · 05-12-2007 09:46 AM

Initially, I'd thought that damage procs trigger per damage pulse, which made the Trap damage proc very attractive for Fire Cages. Of course, that would make damage procs ridiculously overpowered, and the truth is that they only trigger once every 10s when slotted into a long-duration power like FC.

Since this is the case, the additional damage from the proc isn't really all that attractive anymore, and the 20% chance of disorient (mag 2) proc from Debilitative Action synergizes better with this build. Since Thunderclap (mag 2 disorient) and Flash Fire (mag 3 disorient) tend to be followed up immediately with Fire Cages, this proc allows you to occasionally stun bosses (and Lts, in the case of Thunderclap) with just a 2-hit mezz combo. It also helps to catch the odd minion (or Lt, in the case of Flash Fire) that escapes the initial disorient.

Dess_ · 05-15-2007 12:54 PM

First thanx for the shot out - put a much needed smile on my face.

Good job breaking things down, however...

I'd avoid leadership as much as possible on a fire/storm. The buffs are great - don't get me wrong, but unlike kin or rad - we have no end bonus outside of IOs and/or consume - which has such a long recharge its comical *you can do CP also if you go the primal route but this is fire/storm/fire*. With IOs offering near 1.5% of SO values - I've started subbing 3 slots with two - allowing me to do things like toss an extra acc where I feel its needed.

I'm still digesting the IO sets myself, but I ahven't been "OMG" about alot of them for my fire/storm. There is some potential there, but nothing that seems to make me want to go back to hurriherding or farming family or council >_<.

BTW for those who are 'meh' about cinders - the solution is simple. Before you cast cinders - use hasten...it works out pretty well.
- :bluu:

Eldandil · 05-15-2007 03:11 PM

Hey, Dess, glad you popped by.

I agree that the Fire/Storm/Fire isn't the most End-efficient build there is, but even pre-I9 I was constantly running two Leadership toggles on top of Steamy Mist and Fire Shield without serious End issues. Anyway, with IO sets in I9, accuracy has become less of a concern and Tactics isn't really important anymore, so dropping it is a good idea. As for Assault...to be honest, it doesn't add that much to your damage values. I only have it because it's fun to try and squeeze out just a little more damage from my attacks.

Take a closer look at IO sets, Dess. You'll find some very nice surprises in there. Mid's planner (link in my sig) is a good tool for this.