Interesting and useful read. Good insight.
Two thumbs up.
Protector:
Hololad - Mutant Ill/Kin Controller
Stormy Satyr - Grav/Storm Controller
Lt. MacReady - AR/Dev Blaster
Holobad - Mind/Psi Dominator
Thx.
Just to add something:
I hit 36 yesterday and slotted up transference and tp foe. Went onto test server to check out how viable it would be to be a "sapper" with transfusion and transference and it works extremely well, even against +2 lts with 3 endmods in each one. I have yet to test it in a pvp setting, mainly the arena since I don't really do high end pvp but in a prolonged fight its safe to say with that slotting, u just might be able to sap another player.
And to add onto tp foe, originally slotted 1 range 2 acc now has 3 range 2 acc and tested it out in SC. Its not noticeable too much more with the extra range but it does help. I may put the slots elsewhere depending on how the next few weeks go with some more testing.
Nice guide opened my view about alot in PVP 5 stars
wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww lolw
Guide to Illusion/Kinetics for PvP
The first power available to you, spectral wounds is a single target(ST) ranged attack that deals high illusionary damage. A portion of this damage will heal back on the target after a short period of time.
I decided to write this guide for anyone playing an ill/kin, whether they pvp often, or have never and would like to try. The reason I am making this guide strictly for pvp is its one of my favorite things to do and my ill/kin is by far the most fun character Ive ever pvpd with. This guide is up to date with the release of Issue 8.
For a background into my experiences with both illusion and kinetics, the first character I made was an illusion/empathy controller back when I got the game around September of 2005. I played him up until level 16 and stopped as I was constantly running out of endurance when all the PuG teams I joined just wanted me to heal and I still wanted to use my primary. So I retired him and rolled a kinetic/electric defender. I made it to level 33 with him but got tired of being a buff bot with speed boost/increase density so I stopped playing him. Played other different ATs with different combinations for some time while my wife had been playing an illusion/empathy. When I saw her reach level 18 and get Phantom Army, I was in awe. I had to have it. I had deleted my illusion troller so I had to start from scratch and decided I would take kinetics with it as everyone I had asked for what a good secondary would be, told me to go with radiation and I wanted to be unique. Its been a long road with him as my altitis continually drives me to try new things, but one of the main things that kept me going with it is PvP. I have been PvPn with my ill/kin since he was level 16 and I took him into bloody bay for the first time. Countless hours have been spent there and my move to Sirens Call produced the same result. He is level 35 now and I continuously go back and forth between the two zones with the occasional arena match and Warburg trip, though SC and BB are my favorite.
As far as areas for PvP, I will only be discussing arena duels, early game PvP in Bloody Bay and Sirens Call, while commenting a little on Warburg. I have not reached high enough to partake in Recluses Victory with my controller, however I have been there with my brute and it doesnt keep my interest as much as SC and BB. Sirens Call is where I do most of my PvP as it is usually the most populated zone and can be quite fun.
I will post my build at the end along with slotting.
This guide is fairly long as I wanted to give reasons why/why not on all the powers available so grab yourself some coffee and stay awhile.
Table of Contents
Illusion
Kinetics
Pool Powers
My build
Bloody Bay
Sirens Call
Arena Duels
Using powers effectively
Without further ado, the guide:
First off, the powers available to illusion/kinetics and how I rate them as I have used them all. Rating scale is as usual with 1-5, 5 being a great power, though all the ratings I give are IMO and from a PvP perspective.
Illusion Control
1.) Spectral Wounds Rating:
This power will be used quite often and I suggest 6 slotting it. An extremely nice benefit of SW is that although it is a ranged attack, there is no animation outside of a wave of you arm. So you do not have to wait for a graphical effect to travel to your target. Once activated, and if you are within range, it does the damage when you activate the attack. You can choose this or Blind as your first attack at level 1, though it doesnt make much difference as you will want both at level 2.
2.) Blind Rating:
The second power available, Blind is your ST hold with a small chance to sleep any enemies near your target. It deals moderate psionic damage.
I highly recommend 6 slots on this power. Blind does not follow the same rules as other attacks when it comes to your targets defense as it does not roll a tohit check against ranged or melee defense, but a tohit to psionic and base defense values. What this means to you is with 2 accuracies and running tactics you will practically never miss with this power, whether facing a super reflexes scrapper/stalker or any other defense based set. Stone brutes/tanks will be a different story as they do have defense to psionic damage which will lower your chance to hit them as well as any other enemy with psi defense, though it is rare.
3.) Deceive Rating:
ST ranged confusion
Some love it, some hate it. I personally love deceive as it has so many uses to add to your survivability. This will force your target to attack his allies for awhile and add to that if any buffs are activated by the confused target it will buff you and/or your allies. In PvP, this works extremely well. Your opponents target reticle will automatically switch off of you to a random target nearby (sort of like a tankers taunt power). They will be able to retarget you right away, though they wont be able to attack you and if they do attempt an attack, the target reticle will auto-switch again. If this power is activated on an opponent that summons/summoned pets, the pets will be confused as well. In PvE, any confused target that does damage to its allies will lower the experience you gain from the non-confused enemies you defeat. If the confused target defeats its allies and you have not done any damage to them yourself, you will not earn xp for their defeat. This has been proven to be worth its cost in xp loss to overall xp gain as you will move through mobs faster.
4.) Flash Rating:
PBAoE Hold
Flash is your only AoE hold and follows some of the same standards as other controller primary AoE holds, including a long recharge, an accuracy penalty and a target cap (can only hold so many mobs at once). As goes the popularity of Deceive, some people love this power, some hate it. I have respecd out of Flash as I have found its PvP uses very limited. It works quite well in PvE though, so if you have room for it, it is not worthless to take. For instance, in PvE, while Phantom Army is recharging and you are moving on to the next mob, you can use flash to lock them all down while you pick them off one by one. This of course becomes less useful once you have Spectral Terror and may find yourself only using Flash to stack holds on a tough boss. If you do decide to stick with Flash, I suggest at least 2 accuracy, 2 hold durations to make it worthwhile.
5.) Superior Invisibility Rating:
Self invisibility toggle power with decent defense to boot
SI will put you at the stealth cap and give some decent defense to ranged/melee attacks. It has a very high endurance cost so placing 3 endurance reducers in it is not uncommon and recommended. This power, outside of Hide, is the only invisibility toggle power that will allow you to attack while it is active. Any attacks made against a target, and any damage you take while invis will drop you to Stealths level of perception. Exceptions to this power, you can summon all your pets and not lose your invisibility status (exception to that rule is that in PvE, if you summon Spectral Terror while invis, the enemies have a chance to retaliate and will do so upon you whether you are invis or not).
SI is the best invisibility toggle available to any hero and will be your best friend in both PvE and PvP.
6.) Group Invisibility Rating:
PBAoE team/self invisibility with minor increase in defense
GI is a click power and will give you and your team invisibility for its duration of around 2 minutes. It can be made permanent with 2 recharges, siphon speed and/or hasten. The choice between SI and GI is up to you. I have tried both and I prefer SI as it has a higher def bonus and does not require my attention to keep it up. Its endurance cost is up there if your constantly reapplying it, especially in the thick of battle, but 3 slotted with 2 recharge and 1 endurance cost reduction, it is a nice power. I however solo the majority of the time and prefer SI.
7.) Phantom Army Rating:
Range summon 3 uncontrollable pets with moderate illusionary damage
Uncontrollable, yet indestructible! Phantom Army can be considered as the staple power in Illusion control. Once summoned they will follow you and fight continuously for 60 seconds. They cannot be harmed or affected by others in anyway. The damage done is similar to SW as it will heal back a small portion after a short while. The 3 pets will do a variety of attacks from ranged to melee and with different types as well, like fire, cold, energy to name a few. Note that pets do not benefit from containment. They also have a small taunt aura and can be used quite effectively as tanks in PvE. This taunt aura does not work in PvP. This power must be 6 slotted, but what types of enhancements are up to you. I will give a couple different methods and uses later on in the guide. Take this power at level 18 when it becomes available.
8.) Spectral Terror Rating:
Range summon pet with PBAoE Fear
Like your Phantom Army, Spectral Terror cannot be affected in anyway. Once summoned it emits a PBAoE fear around itself, fearing all enemies nearby. Additionally, it will randomly aim an ST fear at nearby mobs. This pet is great out the box, although it does accept accuracy and fear duration enhancements, I have found that just 1 accuracy is more than enough for this bad boy. It will be recharged before it runs out so its already perma which means no need for fear durations or recharges. As previously stated in the SI description, it will not break invis but PvE mobs will have a chance to retaliate before they cower down in fear. The majority of ATs you will come across in PvP do not have any type of fear protection as is so it is very handy there. To note as well, fear does not set up containment damage for other attacks in case you were unaware.
9.) Phantasm Rating:
Range summon pet. Moderate energy damage
Summons 1 phantasm to fight by your side. He flies automatically so he doesnt get stuck often. He will fire 2 attacks, Energy Blast and Energy Torrent, both of which do decent damage and knockback. He can also summon duplicates of himself which are indestructible and use the same attacks he does, though the duplicates damage is illusionary like SW. He has the same long recharge rate as all the tier 9 pets.
I love my Phantasm when Im runnin PvE solo, he helps with damage output a lot and is an aggro magnet to keep the baddies off me. Though in PvP, his usefulness is limited. Since I do most of my PvP at the 30 and below level, I cannot use him and dont really miss him either. For arena duels, he does ok but more so as a distraction while using confuse. In Warburg he does a great job of aggroing anything I pass while chasing down an opponent or giving away my position when invis. For PvE purposes, I slot 2 accuracy 2 damage and he does fine.
On to the secondary
I chose kinetics for a couple different reasons.
1. I had never tried it on a controller
2. Everyone kept telling me to take /radiation instead
I have been playing for about a year and a half now and have noticed that the majority of secondaries for controllers go well with illusion. Illusion/radiation is probably the most popular combination for some very good reasons. The number one reason being that since Phantom Army is your most powerful attack but cannot be buffed, instead debuff the mobs and its an indirect buff to your pets. /Storm also does well in PvP with illusion as it can use the same type of strategies of debuffing and such. There are quite a few seasoned vets out there with great ill/storm builds. I however chose Kinetics, so thats what we are covering.
1.) Transfusion Rating:
Ranged AoE heal centered around a target. Target regen, -endurance
Quite the powerful heal, yet transfusion is a centered AoE on your target, so being in melee range for the benefit is best. I however only use transfusion to heal if its a tough situation and I need the extra boost before I make my escape. My use of transfusion is for its regen effect. It does drain some endurance, albeit a very small amount, but it will halt hitpoint regeneration making your opponent go down a little faster. Note that the majority of /kinetics powers require a tohit, so slotting accuracy is an important factor. I get by with 3 slots, 2 acc and 1 heal.
2.) Siphon Power Rating:
Ranged ST damage debuff that provides an AoE damage buff to all allies around the caster. Cannot stack the debuff on the target, but the buff can be stacked upon you and your allies.
Siphon Power is skipped quite often by kins in general, or taken for early levels until Fulcrum Shift becomes available. The buff/debuff is decent, though I could not notice that much of a difference in PvP, so I respecd out of it. If you do decide to take it, I would slot it at least 2 acc, and 1 or 2 recharge to stack it.
3.) Repel Rating:
Small PBAoE toggle that will knockback any target that comes into contact with it. Range being slightly larger than melee. Also has a very small chance to drop a toggle on other players in PvP.
Repel has its uses, though not by much in the way of PvP. Now you might say, This would be the perfect anti-stalker power! It is named Repel, but thats not what it does, it causes knockback, which as many know is easily resisted by most. It is very uncommon to come into contact with someone without KB protection to be able to use this effectively, add to that that the knockback does fall under suppression guidelines so you cant perma KB someone into a corner or anything of that nature. Acrobatics from the leaping pool will easily negate this power, along with anyone who has a toggle KB in their power set. You may think, well, it can drop toggles, so maybe it will drop their Acro/KB protection toggle . While this may happen, the chance for a toggle drop is so small, you would be better off trying to brawl someone until the toggle dropped. If you do take it, slot it with end reducers as it will use more end for every successful hit it makes.
4.) Siphon Speed Rating:
ST target debuff speed, recharge > self buff speed, recharge
One of the staple powers in the kinetics line and one you will use constantly. Take it at level 10 and give at least 5 slots to it. Siphon speed will significantly debuff a targets run speed, flight speed and recharge rate while boosting all of yours respectively. This increase in speed is unsuppressed as well, meaning you can activate attacks and keep moving at the increased speed without slowing down. A lighter combination of hasten+super speed rolled into one and the only thing that may seem like a problem with it is if you miss when you need it. Slot at least 2 accuracy in it. With 3 recharges you can stack up to 3 of them on yourself if used right as it is recharged, and keep 2 on you if used often. This will bring back all those powers that much quicker and you dont have to dip into the speed pool for hasten.
5.) Increase Density Rating:
ST ally buff (resist Disorient, Hold, Immobilize, Knockback, TP Foe) (resist Energy, Smashing damage around 20%) (Debuff speed)
ID is a great power, both in PvE and PvP. Though it is more team oriented so I respecd out of it as I didnt have much use for it. The buff lasts for 60 seconds and can only be used on allies. All of the resists will stack with each other, but the debuff of speed will not. So you can cast this multiple times on an ally and they will only have 1 speed debuff which can be countered with speed boost. If you take it I would leave the single slot there as you have many more powers that would benefit more from them.
6.) Speed Boost Rating:
ST ally buff (+speed, recharge and endurance recovery)
One of the most commonly requested and surprisingly hated buffs in the game IMO. Speed boost is just what it says and is a great power, though if you team a lot, you may find yourself transformed into a buff bot, constantly re-applying ID and SB. From a solo PvP standpoint, this power is almost useless. The only reason it is in my build still is I use it to buff my Phantasm in PvE and in the occasional arena match.
7.) Inertial Reduction Rating:
PBAoE self/team buff +jump
Here it is ladies and gentlemen. What every kiter wants. Unsuppressed movement in the form of super jump. You may have seen the increasingly popular unsuppressed movement of the 3 slotted hurdle+Combat Jumping, well now you have it but with super jump heights. One recharge reduction in the base slot will get you by just fine, but if you have a spare slot, an endurance reducer wouldnt hurt as you have to reapply this every time it wears off. The effect lasts for about 2 minutes.
8.) Transference Rating:
Ranged AoE endurance recovery/endurance drain centered around the target
Meet transfusions better half. No longer will endurance be a problem as long as this power hits its mark. It will significantly drain endurance from your target and emit an AoE like transfusions heal which will boost you and all allies with a major endurance recovery. Although it cannot be used in SC or BB, it is very effective in the arena. As of yet, mine only has 1 acc, but I plan on slotting it up more to use it for sapping and end recovery.
9.) Fulcrum Shift
I have not reached Fulcrum shift on my controller yet but I have used it on a kin defender and oh what a buff/debuff this power is. As for its effectiveness in pvp, I have not tried it, though I would assume it would be great against masterminds.
So there are the powers available to you, now lets look at your pool power choices and I will discuss what has/hasnt worked for me in PvP.
Concealment: You dont need it. If you skipped one of the 2 invisibility powers available in your primary to go with this choice, I suggest you respec soon. The self stealth powers do not stack with yours and if you wanted to buff an ally with invis you can take GI. Phase shift is a great power in PvP, but I would not recommend taking 2 pre-reqs you dont need just to get it.
Fighting: For this build and its purpose, Tough would be the only real benefit to you and then you would still need to take a pre-req like boxing or kick to get it. In my experiences, you will go down just as fast with tough slotted up as you would without in PvP. I tried it out on test and could not notice a good enough difference in survival time to warrant keeping it.
Fitness: I wont get into a debate with anyone on the issue of stamina, Ill just supply my opinion on this. I have it. I love it. You can do quite well without it with proper end management. If you decide its for you as well I suggest taking Hurdle+Health+Stamina. Hurdle will stack with your Inertial Reduction and while healths regen boost probably wont save your life, the sleep resistance is worth it IMO.
Flight: Some great powers in this set. Though if you do take it, know that you will either be constantly switching to IR to chase down your targets or losing sight of them quickly. IMO /kinetics is all about speed, and while siphon speed will boost your flight speed, you will still be left in the dust by all the sj/ss/tprs out there.
Leadership: Now we are talkin. Tactics is a kins best friend with all the tohit checks it requires. My personal choice was Assault+Tactics for the damage boost. They both have a high end cost so 2 end reductions would help a lot. Not only will Assault boost your damage and Tactics boost your tohit, but Assault will also grant resistance to Placate and Tactics gives +perception.
Leaping: This is a perfectly legitimate way to go and effective for PvP. Combat jumping providing unsuppressed movement and immobilization protection. Super Jump providing super jump. And Acrobatics providing knockback and hold protection. I have used this combo and it worked well. This choice is completely up to you on whether to go with IR or this. Now you might say since we have no protection from these common ailments that this would be best for us. Not necessarily. While the KB protection from Acro is quite effective, you can easily get around consistent KB with the suppression time and some quick maneuvering. The hold protection is Mag 1, meaning it will stop one hold from anything other than a dominator or another controller. If they stack it, say goodbye to your acro. Without these powers I can honestly say I have only been defeated a few times by holds from non doms and trollers and it was always from there being more than one opponent on me at once. With suppression, you can outlast a single brutes hold more often than not and escape if needed. It is up to you however, just know that if you are running SJ, you will need to switch to CJ while attacking or suffer suppressed movement.
Medicine: My brute has Aid Self, and while it is an incredible power, it is difficult to use on my controller. As stated before, I am all about speed with /kinetics, if I am going down quickly, I will be hard pressed to get away and become stationary while firing off an interruptible heal and not being caught up on by my attacker(s). I tried it out for awhile, taking Aid Other as the pre-req to help with healing Phantasm, but it just did not work for me. If you do take it, at least 2 interrupt reductions will be needed if you plan on using it in the thick of battle.
Presence: I wont go into this one much. You already have a great fear power and there is no need to taunt. Take it if you will, but test it out first before you do.
Speed: Super speed is not needed if you take siphon speed. Hasten however, while not needed, can be useful with stacking holds and +recharges from siphon speed and bringing your pets back quicker. I dont have room for this in my build so I skipped it, though using it on test was fun as I was able to stack 3 perma siphon speeds while hasten was up, though my blue bar was hurting from the constant attacks.
Teleportation: This was the last pool I dipped into. Teleport is a great power in PvP. As long as you are not held/slept you can TP out of most situations with ease. I chose TP Foe as a pre-req as recall friend is not needed for the solo artist. TP Foe also has great uses in PvP. I, personally do not drone (tp foe the opposition into a police drone), as I just dont find it very fun or entertaining as some do. Yet used in other ways, this power will prove very worthwhile in PvP. Grab that corruptor who figured out the mistake he made in attacking you and tried to flee and drop him right under your spectral terror. Or, set up camp somewhere and wait for the unsuspecting passerby to be instantly transported to your eagerly awaiting phantom army+spectral terror. It needs accuracy and range always helps. Mine is only slotted right now with 2 acc, 1 range and it does fine for me, though I will put more range when I get the chance.
Ok. Now we have the powers out of the way, lets see the build. Note that this is a build I have respecd many times to make it just right for me, this is by no means a only works like this build, so take what info you can and go from there.
---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Cybormage
Level: 35
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Illusion Control
Secondary: Kinetics
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Spectral Wounds==> Acc(1)Acc(7)Dmg(7)Dmg(15)Dmg(15)EndRdx(34)
01) --> Transfusion==> Acc(1)Acc(29)Heal(29)
02) --> Blind==> Acc(2)Acc(3)Hold(3)Hold(5)Rechg(17)Rechg(17)
04) --> Deceive==> Acc(4)Acc(5)ConfDur(34)
06) --> Hurdle==> Jump(6)Jump(34)
08) --> Superior Invisibility==> EndRdx(8)EndRdx(9)EndRdx(9)
10) --> Siphon Speed==> Acc(10)Acc(11)Rechg(11)Rechg(13)Rechg(13)
12) --> Assault==> EndRdx(12)EndRdx(31)
14) --> Tactics==> EndRdx(14)EndRdx(25)TH_Buf(31)TH_Buf(31)
16) --> Health==> Heal(16)
18) --> Phantom Army==> Acc(18)Acc(19)Dmg(19)Dmg(23)Rechg(23)Rechg(25)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Teleport Foe==> Acc(22)Acc(27)Range(27)
24) --> Teleport==> EndRdx(24)EndRdx(33)
26) --> Spectral Terror==> Acc(26)
28) --> Inertial Reduction==> Rechg(28)
30) --> Speed Boost==> EndRdx(30)
32) --> Phantasm==> Acc(32)Acc(33)Dmg(33)
35) --> Transference==> Acc(35)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Run(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Containment==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Heal(2)
---------------------------------------------
Hunting in Bloody Bay
If you follow my power choices, teleport will be your only travel power here outside of using Siphon Speed. I tested this extensively and it works very well. Now you may think to yourself that there is no reason to try and PvP in bloody bay as it is always empty, less the people there for shivians or badges. Or you enter the zone and do a /whoall search and see nobody but you listed on the map. Before you turn around, get out there and hunt. More often than not, you will run into someone looking for a shivian. With your invisibility, you will be all but undetectable here as the majority of villain ATs do not take Tactics. The ones that will see you are /SR, /Dark, and /Nin stalkers if they have taken there power choice that offers +perception. This is fine once you learn how to quickly counter an AS. Like in any zone, the main trouble you will run into here would be Brutes. Their high HP and resistance/defense is tough to break down with the choices you have here but it can be done if you can keep them around long enough. The rest of the litter should not be too difficult to take out, less they have an organized team or skilled team member.
When I first enter the zone I immediately head for the docks directly south of the hero base. You can then easily find an NPC to hit a siphon speed with and get moving a bit quicker. Use jump as well as Hurdle will get you about that much quicker. Now to find people in this zone you have to explore. You are invisible, do not hesitate to go everywhere on that map and get a good feel for the area. The first place I would visit to look for a target would be the meteor sites. The one right across from the hero base is closest so I would check around there first. Then head to the one that is in the furthest northeast section of the map. Many people go there, as it is more secluded than the rest, to work on their shivian badges. Head south and look at the next closest one. Now there is a base thats near by these 2 meteors and is frequented quite often as it too is secluded.
If nothing is found street hunting, take a run by the villain base and check it out. Water Street (which is directly west of the villain base) is often a site for missions in this zone, you may catch someone going to one or leaving. If you dont find anyone, I like to make one or 2 more sweeps of the zone but your patience will dictate if you want to do this or not. I have never made a run through this zone without encountering at least one opponent.
Hunting in Sirens Call
Sirens call will nearly guarantee you a fight the majority of the time being the most frequented PvP zone. This is where you will shine. You will be seen more in this zone. But you would be surprised at the amount of times I have stood right next to a stalker I could see and they had no clue I was about to attack. All of the villains can give you trouble here but you can also do the same to them, it depends greatly on the player behind the keyboard. Sirens Call bounty system will not allow you to roam the zone undetected. Every person that enters this zone will have a chance to be placed as an opponents bounty. Once you become a bounty, your opponent will have a target on their map showing your last known location that refreshes every 30 seconds. Meaning if you stand in one spot long enough, that /Traps corruptor may not be able to see you but can drop some caltrops at your feet and poof, there you are. This goes the same for your bounty and I suggest you use it to your advantage.
Your biggest survival factor in here is non-stop movement, and yours is unsuppressed. Keep IR up when it is available and keep jumping. Roam the zone and check out the situation. If you spot someone, stalk them. Are they going to meet up with their team who is all set up to take on some heroes? Or are they running solo as well? Either way, you determine when to attack. SC is significantly smaller than BB, making finding a target that much easier. SC also has more tightly packed NPCs than BB, so that is something to watch out for when you do start to fight as if you take any damage from an NPC you will get debt no matter who defeats you, though the debt is scaled upon the amount of damage taken. The hotspots are a good way to bring out people from hiding. Go to a hotspot and meet up with the longbow there. Once they start the battle between them and the Arachnos you can help out if you choose to. Taking over these hotspots will allow the heroes to control the zone if they win them enough, or keep the zone controlled if it already is. Just as well, if the villains have control over the zone and you have some just hanging out in their base that dont want to leave, winning a hotspot or 2 will usually persuade them to try and stop you to keep control over the zone, if not, you get bounty for every successful hotspot you win. These battles are not easy and can leave you vulnerable, so keep a watchful eye on your surroundings to see if you have attracted the attention of any opponents.
Arena Duels
The arena is a fairly different beast when it comes to PvP. There is no escape for you or your opponent as you are restricted to the map given to you and must find different methods of strategy to compete successfully. Your biggest benefits here are your stealth if the opponent has no +perception and your speed. Use the map to your advantage by choosing where to start the battle. It will be difficult in some of the maps as well to set up an ambush with your PA, spectral terror and tp foe but it can be done. My advice here is to try to control the situation the best you can. If your opponent is strictly melee, they will have a tough time catching you if you can kite effectively by continuously moving around and firing your attacks. Confuse can come in handy here as well if things are going bad for you and especially if you have any pets out at the time as they will have a hard time keeping their target on you. Trial and error will gain you the best experience so have fun with it and practice.
Warburg
Warburg is a decent zone to me but I personally do not like the "every person for themselves" style it has as anyone, hero or villain can and will attack you. It is also all but desolate most of the time as the people usually in there are there for the time badge, missions or a nuke. You might think since you can use Phantasm here that it would be a nice bonus but as I stated before, he will draw aggro to you whether you like it or not. If you do decide to PvP here my suggestion would be to never stop moving like you were in SC. Practically all of the melee AT's are much more of a threat here with their tier 9 god mode powers and many will have +perception, especially hero side. Take your time to explore the zone and even run the patrol mission available as you can get Hyper Phase temp power for it which is a temporary Phase Shift. That and nukes are about the only thing I go there for so this zone is up to you really.
Learn to use your powers effectively
Once you have a target, many factors can determine what you need to do to proceed. I will give some of my strategies for the different ATs you come into contact with, but these are all IMO and dependant upon what types of powersets they have as well. This is just a general rundown so you need some trial and error of your own to get the best strategy for each.
Brutes: The hardest fight for you to win. High HP and great mez protection will steer you clear of these many times over. You can hinder them somewhat though and thats always fun to do. If I see a brute and no others around him Ill lead off with siphon speed to slow them down and maybe throw out a Blind+SW for kicks. I do not try and take down a brute often as every time I have tried I end up having to run to survive or die trying. I have beaten a few in the arena, though they were drawn out battles that just didnt seem very fun to me as it was difficult to get past their HP and heal(s). If they are /dark armor, you can almost bet that the majority of your attacks arent gonna do much to them as they have good psi resistance and fear protection. Leave em be or give it a shot, its up to you. As with most opponents, confuse can be a life saver here as well.
Corruptors: There is no corruptor set I have encountered that will guarantee them a win against me. It depends on the player. My favorite choice for lead off attack here is blind. It will chew right through acrobatics if they have it and they will either be forced to pop a break free or succumb to your onslaught. With suppression being 15 seconds, thats about 20 seconds you have after your blind lands to take them down. I say 20 because if they are not dead yet and suppression kicks in, you can always tp foe them right back to you to finish the job. If they are nearby and not moving across the map, I will either chase them down or find a good spot for a tp foe. Summon up Spectral Terror first, then PA and tp foe right into your trap. Usually will get you a win unless they have break frees and/or a slotted up heal.
Stalkers: Your villain counterpart. I say this because although we do different damage/attacks, we both stalk our prey. Having tactics alone, will not see through hide+stealth as you may or may not know. But many times you will find stalkers with only hide or who have just fired an attack off on someone else. The hardest part of defeating a stalker is locking them down long enough to do so. Toggle/click mez protection will not be stopped by blind alone. You have to stack them in order to break it, which can be difficult as they will probably already be gone before you can get a second one off. The majority of stalkers use hit and run strategies which are quite effective. The exception here being some /regen stalkers who have the heals to stay a bit longer and scrap it out. This is why you do not stop moving. Assassins Strike requires them to be still as it is interruptible. If you dont stop moving, they will find it very difficult to get you. If you see one, my advice is to lead off with siphon speed then blind and see if you can get them from there, if they escape, no big deal. If by chance you find yourself stopping to type something or reactivate a toggle you may see one appear next to you as they start the animation for AS. This is a critical moment as you either A: have to hit them with an attack and connect to interrupt it, or B: run as fast as you can and be prepared to get hurt. If the stalker is a melee only AT (energy melee, martial arts, katana, dark) then running will probably save your skin as they will be hard pressed to get off a second attack. If they are ranged (claws, spines) either hope you have a respite to use or you got off blind/SW fast enough to interrupt them. If they are spines and connect with Impale and you are immobilized you can easily teleport out of range from them. Be fast, dont stop to type and never stop moving.
Masterminds: A difficult class to play but extremely powerful. There will be plenty of MMs you will seemingly beat down with ease and then there are those who will make you want to switch to CoV and roll one yourself. Nearly all MMs that PvP will have tactics so say goodbye to your stealth here. One of the best things you have going for you though is confuse. Confuse an MM and all his pets will immediately turn and start attacking each other and him. Now tactics does provide some resistance to confuse. That does not mean they wont be confused, just that it doesnt last as long. But you can easily stack them as confuses base duration is around 30 seconds. I usually apply 2 with kiting before I move in just to be safe. One strategy is to drop spectral terror right in the middle of the group and/or Phantom army. Now you are a small target in this mess. The majority of MMs that I have successfully done this with will try to run once they are confused or see the fear coming, this is your perfect chance at a win. Wait till his pets are at a decent distance following them and then tp foe the MM back to you and your pets. No bodyguard=easy mastermind. This strategy is not without its flaws as his pets just may tp right back to him and now youre hurtin. Also, he/she can just as easily tp foe you into his trap and unless you get a quick tp off could mean a trip to the hospital. If you have never faced a mastermind with all his pets out and fully buffed I suggest you try it. It is a really fun AT to fight against. Practice and dont get discouraged if one or two of them seem impossible to defeat, theres always more.
Dominators: Ah yes, our friend the dom. Before I8 I can honestly say I had never been defeated by a dominator. Ever. Now, I have faced quite a few and they are much more of a threat. If you see the rainbow glow of doom around their heads, domination is active, I suggest you walk away for now. The easiest way I have seen to defeat doms now after the I8 buff they got is to stalk them as you would others. He who gets off the first hold, wins. This is not set in stone but if they dont have a break free and domination isnt up they will go down in less than 15 seconds with PA out and you constantly attacking. This is why I suggest you stalk them until they stop moving, or get the jump on them in an area where your own safety wont be compromised by others. Run up against a few of them to get a feel for the awesomeness that is domination and you will gain some experience as to how and deal with them.
On issue 8 and the controller nerf
I8 lowered what used to be 3x containment damage for controllers to 2x like in PvE. This does not affect us as illusionists that much but it does hurt spectral wounds a little. Spectral Wounds never benefited that much from the 3x containment damage as its damage was far different in respect to the rest of the controller primaries, so it wasn't allowed a full 3x with containment. Now it is lower, but still not too bad. You can still take down many with using PA correctly and SW still does decent damage when your opponent is locked down.
Now that you have an idea of each I can only suggest you try it yourself. My tactics are by no means the only way to use this build in PvP, I am merely offering tips and suggestions to those who wish to try or find themselves having a difficult time. I personally enjoy PvP because it tests my skills against other people, not artificial intelligence. It is fun and exciting and I hope you will find it the same way. You will come across people with sub par attitudes on both sides in the zones but try and develop thick skin here and do not let them get to you, as you will also encounter very respectful people too. With illusion/kinetics you will be a formidable opponent and rack up some decent PvP reputation in no time with some experience. Make no mistake though, you are not the l33t ub3r villain destroyer you wish to be, you can hold your own and take down a lot of different people but you will fall. The one thing to keep in mind about PvP is there is no penalty for you or anyone else from being droned/defeated outside of the occasional minuscule debt from 5 pts of falling damage or 10 pts from an NPCs attack and then being defeated by another player.
So get out there and try it out for a bit and decide for yourself what is fun for you. I hope this guide was helpful in some way and look forward to seeing some of you in battle. I play on Freedom with my controller (Cybormage) and Infinity with my brute (Expulsor).