Dominator Powers Guide
1. Introduction
Welcome to the Dominator Powers Guide, a comprehensive discussion of all powers available to Dominators which identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each power, as well as suggesting some possible strategies. It includes broad comparison of powers and power sets. It is based primarily on my personal experience playing Dominators, and secondarily from discussions on the forums. Basic knowledge of the game and Dominators is assumed, although some terms are described in the glossary. I have tried to make it comprehensible for new player, but with over 2 years of CoX experience I can't be sure I've succeeded. This guide was written during I10, a new version may be available here.
There are many other useful Dominator resources, including Waybreaker's Guide to Domination, detailed power data at the City of Data, and the Dominator Issues List in the Dominator Forums. There are also many more specific guides that cover specific power set combinations, or even specific powers like Power Boost.
For each primary and secondary power set I provide a list of essential and a list of disappointing powers. Essential powers are the most effective ones in the set, skipping them will significantly reduce the Dominator's effectiveness. Disappointing powers are ones that are either useful only in rare circumstances, have limited effect, or are weaker than other available powers.
For each power I recommend characteristics for slotting, along with percentages for those characteristics. I do not address specific IO sets or set bonuses, since that is a much more individual decision.
2. Domination
Domination is the Dominator's inherent, a click power which significantly increases effectiveness for 90 seconds. It is the defining power of the archetype, and it creates the the overall feeling of Dominators as average villains with bursts of power. During Domination, control, damage and status protection are all significantly enhanced, and the endurance bar is also refilled upon activation.
Domination cannot be activated unless it is recharged and the Domination bar is at least 90% full. The Domination bar is filled by attacking and using targetted control powers. The rate at which it fills depends on team size, power, and if the target is a player. It empties slowly over time as long as Domination isn't active, and empties completely when Domination ends or if the Dominator is defeated. During Domination, the Dominator has comprehensive status protection, non-pet damage is enhanced by 75%, and control powers include an additional layered status effect. The additional control means that weaker targets can be controlled for longer, and stronger targets can be controlled more quickly, notably most bosses can be held in one hit.
The biggest challenge of playing a Dominator is deciding when to use Domination. It needs to be available when things get really tough, but saving it too long reduces the Dominator's effectiveness overall. There's nothing more frustrating than encountering the final mission encounter with multiple bosses just as Domination drops. The Dominator must learn to predict upcoming fights, look ahead, determine if Domination will be needed soon, and if not, activate it immediately. Being familiar with the maps is very useful, knowing which rooms are particularly nasty and likely to result in multiple spawn aggros, and which ones are likely to hold a larger end-of-mission encounter. Leaving some enemies undefeated in empty rooms or dead-ends makes it possible to go back and build Domination if necessary. A Stalker or someone stealthy can also help by removing the guesswork of where the tough encounters are.
Domination does not increase resistance, defence, or health, meaning that the Dominator is still dependant on control for survival. It is not uncommon to activate Domination when things start going wrong, and the get defeated very soon thereafter. Usually the defeat could have been avoided if Domination has been activated earlier, which is yet another reason for the Dominator to be looking ahead and anticipating problems.
Domination's recharge is affected by global recharge buffs such as Hasten, Speed Boost, and Invention Origin Enhancement buffs, which makes all such buffs very desirable for Dominators. Furthermore, with sufficient global recharge buffs Domination can be made to recharge before its effect expires, creating "perma-Domination". Furthermore, while Domination is active the Domination bar is kept full, which prevents it from emptying as each activation wears off, meaning that attacking is not even required to preserve this state.
3. Primary Powers
All of the primary power sets are effective, each with its own strengths. By the mid 20s they can all be used to solo very effectively, although some are difficult in the earlier levels. After level 32 they can all contribute effectively to teams, although some struggle before this.
Mind Control provides the best single target control through all 50 levels, and the best AoE control after level 27; Plant Control and Ice Control both provide good AoE control from an early level, noting that Plant Control has the best team accelerating power in Seeds of Confusion, and Ice Control has the best control power for use against higher level enemies in Ice Slick; Fire Control provides acceptable AoE control from an early level; and Gravity Control provides the second best single target control, while its AoE control is terrible until level 27, and acceptable but difficult to use after that.
Fire Control provides significant damage thanks to Fire Imps. Mind Control lacks in damage in later levels because it has no pet, but its confuse effects can compensate for this. The remaining primaries are on par for damage, which typically pales in comparison to the damage from the secondary.
For PvP, all of the primaries are effective against foes without mez protection, but unfortunately mez protection is extremely common. Against foes with mez protection, Gravity Control and, to a lesser extent, Ice Control have slows in their holds and immobilizes, and Mind Control has repel in Telekinesis. Mind Control is also interesting because it has a wide variety of mez types, including fear which is less often protected against. Fire Imps from Fire Control can be very effective, although they are difficult to use in some environments such as zone PvP, and are dangerous in the face of confuse effects.
3.1 Shared Primary Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Ring of Fire, Crush, Chilblain, and Entangle are single target immobilize powers. They are mag 4, which means that they can immobilize a boss or AV/Hero in one hit. They have an accuracy bonus, high endurance cost, and low damage over time. They are acceptable powers in some circumstances, but most other powers are superior. Suggested slotting is 0 - 2 additional slots, with 33 - 70% accuracy, 0 - 40% endurance reduction.
They can be useful in a Dominator's early career, when holding bosses is difficult due to poor accuracy and hold duration, and keeping out of melee increases survivability. This is most useful for a solo Dominator. They can also be used in combination with terrain to keep enemies out of sight and reduce incoming damage. Their fast recharge makes them tempting for building Domination, but they will need to be slotted for endurance reduction if this is done. They maintain some usefulness in higher levels, particularly against AVs and Heroes, where immobilizing them allows the team more control over how to engage the enemy, as well as against some bosses who are still weak at range, such as Freakshow tanks. Other handy applications are in missions where an enemy must not escape, or against foes who have a tendency to scatter.
In many ways applying immobilize powers makes enemies more dangerous: as control powers they draw aggro; the enemy is unable to move and will thus focus more on attacking; the enemy is protected from effects which causing fleeing; the enemy is protected from Sleep effects due to the damage over time; and finally all of them, except Crush, have the unfortunate effect of granting knock* protection to their targets, which is unfortunate since knockdown is a fairly popular form of damage mitigation. Later in the Dominator's career, when more powers are available, immobilizing a single target is not nearly as useful, especially since the more mobile targets like Warwolves or Synapse have immobilize protection. They are not viable as sources of damage, primarily because of endurance cost.
[*]Char, Gravity Distortion, Block of Ice, Dominate, and Strangler are single target hold (STH) powers, which provide the foundation for a Dominator's control. They have an accuracy bonus, high endurance cost, and low damage. They are indispensable throughout every Dominator's career, and should be taken as soon as available either level 1 or 2. Suggested slotting is 5 additional slots, with 33 - 70% accuracy, 70 - 95% hold duration, 33 - 80% recharge, 0 - 40% endurance reduction.
An important difference between the STHs is their activation time. A short activation time means that more hold magnitude can be stacked on a single target.
[*]Fire Cages, Crushing Field, Frostbite, and Roots are targeted AoE immobilize powers. They have high endurance cost, low accuracy, decent immobilize duration, and low damage over time. They are poor powers, and are not a foundation for good control despite the fact that they are available early. Suggested slotting is 1 - 2 additional slots, with 60 - 80% accuracy, 0 - 40% endurance reduction.
They are useful in combination with other AoE powers such as debuffs, attacks and Brute's damage auras, since they can be used to keep enemies within the area of effect. They can also be used in conjunction with terrain to keep enemies out of line-of-sight, if one enemy is targetted, nearby ones will also be immobilized, even if they are not in visible. They are also very useful against enemies who have a tendency to scatter, or if there are teammates who tend to scatter enemies, such as Thugs Mastermind and their Bruiser's infamous Handclap.
Their biggest failing is that they make enemies more dangerous, see the single target immobilizes above for details. The AoE immobilizes also suffer from the aggro problem, and are almost a guaranteed death sentence when used in early in a fight. The aggro problem is particularly acute in lower levels where aggro management is less common, and the Dominator has fewer AoE control choices.
[*]Flash Freeze, Mass Hypnosis, and Spore Burst are the AoE sleeps, which prevent an enemy from moving or attacking, but are broken by damage or healing. They have average accuracy, medium durations and medium recharges. They are all ranged AoE which is handy for crisis situations. Suggested slotting is 2 - 4 additional slots, with 70 - 90% accuracy, 35 - 95% duration.
Sleeps are excellent for dealing with extra spawns and ambushes that the team is not yet ready to tackle, or just to take the edge off a single spawn if it's a little too tough. A solo Dominator with good single target damage can also use sleeps to very good effect.
The biggest drawback of sleeps is that an AoE heavy team will typically wake up all the sleepers, meaning that the power is mostly wasted.
[*]Cinders, Gravity Distortion Field, Glacier, Total Domination, and Vines are the AoE holds. They have long recharges, poor accuracy, and short durations. Unslotted they are poor powers, with many slots they are passable, and are handy in bad situations. Due to short durations at lower levels, and lack of slots and good enhancements, it's not recommended to take the AoE holds before the mid-20s. Suggested slotting is 4 - 5 additional slots, with 70 - 90% accuracy, 35 - 95% duration, 35 - 95% recharge.
One popular use for AoE holds is combining them with the STH to hold a boss quickly when Domination isn't available. When slotted they are also useful in an emergency situation, particularly if Domination is active. When slotted with multi facet enhancements, they can reach 95% bonus for recharge, accuracy, and duration, at which point they become respectable powers.
Their long recharge means they will not be avaible for every spawn, relegating them to more of an emergency type of power. Their short duration and poor accuracy mean that they must be heavily slotted to be effective even in emergencies.
[*]Fire Imps, Singularity, Jack Frost, and Fly Trap are the pet powers. The pets are essentially permanent until the Dominator dies or leaves the zone. The power will recharge after several minutes, but the previous pets will die if new ones are summoned. The pets have average accuracy, and good damage (except Singularity). All except Fire Imps have a control type attack. Suggested slotting is 3 - 4 additional slots, with 35 - 70% accuracy, and 95% damage (except for Singularity). Status effects may be slotted if desired.
The pets significantly increase the Dominator's effectiveness, particularly when solo, and these powers are highly recommended. Pets will follow their summoner around, preferring to stay close. They have an aggro distance, which is less than their summoner's perception, and they will attack any enemies less than this distance from them. They also have a maximum distance they will maintain from their summoner, and if that is exceeded will stop fighting and immediately return. They are all capable of occupying a number of enemies, thus keeping their summoner safer. A stealthy Dominator can have their pet take the alpha strike, by running past a spawn, allowing the pet to be sighted first, although this can significantly reduce the life span of a pet.
The pets are all aggressive, and prevent stealth type behaviour or quick travel when summoned.[/list]
3.2 Fire Control
Overview
Fire has weak control, but high damage compared to the other Dominator primaries. A significant part of Fire's control is caused by chaotic movement and distraction: fleeing from Hot Feet, burning kneecaps from Fire Imps, knockback from Bonfire.
Essential powers: Char, Flashfire, Fire Imps
Disappointing powers: Smoke, Cinders
Fire Control is an endurance-intensive set, partially due to the ridiculous endurance cost of Hot Feet, and partially due its tendency to scatter mobs, and consequently reduce the effectiveness of AoEs. However, Fire Imps will help the endurance situation significantly, their damage is typically sufficient for the solo Dominator, who can focus more on control, or just sit back and relax.
Fire Control is slightly disadvantaged against flying enemies, because Flashfire can only target grounded mobs, Cinders is PBAoE, Hot Feet and Bonfire are both ground-based, and Fire Imps have no ranged attack. For this reason the Fire Control Dominator will need a plan for dealing with flying enemies. Possible approaches are: use Ring of Fire or Fire Cages to ground enemies; jump or fly and ground enemies with Air Superiority or Hot Feet; take the fight to the sky with Group Fly, making Fire Imps and Cinders viable.
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Ring of Fire is a typical single target immobilize, see the Shared Powers section. It does provide somewhat more utility for Fire Control because it can ground fliers so they can be subject to other powers such as Flashfire, Cinders, and Fire Imps. Fiery Embrace from the Fiery Assault secondary might make it a bit more tempting as a damage power too.
[*]Char is a typical STH, see the Shared Powers section. It's got a fast activation which is very handy, but an absolutely awful visual effect which often doesn't occur, and is very hard to see when it does.
[*]Fire Cages is a typical AoE immob, see the Shared Powers section. Much like Ring of Fire it may be more useful for Fire Control because of the needed ability to ground fliers. It can also provide some AoE damage for /Fiery Dominators with Fiery Embrace.
[*]Smoke is a targeted AoE accuracy and perception debuff which doesn't cause aggro. It has a very low accuracy debuff, fast recharge and long effect duration. Affected enemies' perception is greatly reduced, but not to zero. It is autohit in PvE but requires an accuracy check in PvP. Once fighting has commenced it has very little effect. Suggested slotting is 0 additional slots with 30 - 40% recharge.
Smoke can be used as a stealth power, allowing travel past enemies, or easier manouvering for initiating combat. Since it doesn't cause aggro, it can also be used as a way to build Domination without alerting the enemy. On a well orchestrated team, it can be used when multiple groups of enemies are too close together, to keep one group out of combat while the other is engaged.
Smoke does not help in splitting up a single spawn of enemies, in fact it may even make this more difficult. Since it is classified as an attack, it has the unfortunate consequence of suppressing other stealth powers for a period, which makes stacking it as a stealth power annoying. It also tends to draw aggro to the caster when combat starts.
[*]Hot Feet is a PBAoE toggle which causes enemies to take damage, to flee and to move more slowly. It has an extreme endurance cost, low damage, average accuracy and has a large radius. The flee and slow effects are auto-hit, so the accuracy enhancements only help with damage. It is primarily a control power, since its damage is small compared to that of the assault powers. Suggested slotting is 2 - 5 additional slots, with 80 - 95% endurance reduction, 0 - 50% accuracy, 0 - 95% damage, and 0 - 70% slow.
Hot Feet is an effective control power, and provides decent damage mitigation through the combination of its flee effect and slow. The damage is noticeable, but not spectacular compared to the assault powers.
Hot Feet cannot be left on permanently due to its absurd endurance cost, but it also has an annoyingly long recharge and activation times. It might be feasible to run permanently using Stamina and one or two of Consume, Drain Psyche, and Power Sink.
[*]Flashfire is a targeted AoE disorient, which can only target grounded enemies. It has a large area of effect, poor accuracy, medium recharge, short disorient effect, and minor damage. It is Fire's best fast recharging AoE control, making it the basis of Fire's AoE control. Suggested slotting is 5 additional slots, with 70 - 80% accuracy, 70 - 95% disorient duration, and 35 - 80% recharge.
Flashfire has a very large area of effect, much larger than other comparable soft controls. It is definitely the most useful of Fire's AoE controls. Many people find that it is even more effective when combined with Fire Cages, to prevent mob scatter, although this is certainly not essential.
The short duration of Flashfire makes it quite frustrating until higher levels when mez duration scales up, and enhancements are stronger. While it is quite effective alone, it also combines well with fire cages, which prevents the disoriented enemies from scattering, and grounds flying enemies so that they can be targetted. Its recharge is unfortunately just a bit too long, meaning it may not be ready for the beginning of every fight, especially on fast moving teams.
[*]Cinders is a typical AoE hold, see the Shared Powers section. However, unlike some of the holds it's PBAoE, not ranged, and it has the same terrible visual effect as Char. With Fire's weak control Cinders is probably more welcome than some of the other AoE holds.
[*]Bonfire is a placed power which causes strong knockback. It has low damage, a decent duration, and fast recharge, which means it is recharged before it expires, even with enhacement. Suggested slotting is 0 additional slots, with 30 - 40% recharge.
Bonfire is very effective in many situations, but also mostly useless in others. Popular uses are to create a safe location for ranged characters to avoid melee, to pin enemies against walls, or to block narrow places like doorways. It can be placed on buff eminators, such as those used by the Devouring Earth, as well as Triage Beacon and Spirit Tree. It can pin enemies against a wall in a state of permanent knockback, even in PvP. It can be combined with Fire Cages, which prevents knockback, to do some damage.
Bonfire is extremely easy to misuse. Knockback can significantly reduce the effectiveness of a teams AoEs, and frustrate melee based characters. In easy fights, or on effective teams, it isn't very useful.
[*]Fire Imps is a typical pet power, see the Shared Powers section.
The Fire Imps do excellent damage, making Fire Control the highest damaging control set. Their desire to engage unmezzed foes means that they also do an excellent job of distributing aggro and protecting their summoner. They take some getting used to, but are quite manageable with some experience.
Since they only have melee attacks, the Fire Imps are quick to run to enemies, which can be problematic in some circumstances, and may require the Dominator to hang back. Unfortunately this limits the usefulness of Hot Feet, Cinders, and melee attacks in the assault sets. Favouring unmezzed foes also encourages them to aggro additional spawns when the current one gets a dose of Flashfire.[/list]
3.3 Gravity Control
Overview
Gravity has weak AoE control for a Dominator primary, and slightly better single target control, but not as good as Mind/. Although it contains an attack, Propel, Gravity does not have superior damage to the other control sets, because it is a weaker attack than those from the assault sets. A lot of Gravity's control comes from its pet, Singularity, and its single target controls.
Essential powers: Gravity Distortion, Singularity
Disappointing powers: Propel, Dimension Shift
The biggest problem with Gravity Control is that it has no fast recharging AoE control before level 26, and instead has two single target
attacks: Propel and Lift. These attacks are silly for Dominators with
their assault secondary, and are only there because the set was inherited from Controllers. The consequence is that a Gravity Dominator does not bring much damage mitigation to a teams before level 26. Wormhole gives Gravity a fast recharging AoE control, but does not bring Gravity Control up to the same level of control as the other primaries.
From a solo perspective, Gravity Control can be very effective very early. Taking only the four single target powers (Crush, Lift, Gravity Distortion, and Propel) and attacks allows a Gravity/ Dominator to effectively solo on Relentless even as low as level 12. However, 3 enemies is the limit of this build's control, meaning that it brings very little support to a team.
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Crush is a single target immobilize, see the Shared Powers section. Unlike the other immobilizes, it doesn't protect against knock*, so can be used a lot more liberally. Additionally it includes a powerful movement slow, which makes it quite useful for PvP, and against enemies with immobilize protection. For these reasons and because of Gravity's lack of AoE control, Crush can be quite useful.
[*]Lift is a single target attack with guaranteed knockup. It has medium damage, standard accuracy, and average recharge. It is useful for short term control against most enemies including bosses. Suggested slotting is 0 - 2 additional slots with 35 - 70% accuracy, 0 - 35% endurance reduction, 0 - 35% recharge.
Lift is useful for controlling bosses, and other enemies who may be resistant to hold. It is especially in early levels where hold durations are low, when there are too many enemies to hold, or holds cannot be stacked on bosses. It can also be useful for getting enemies out of high places. Lift can be used effectively with Crush, since it doesn't provide knockup protection.
Unfortunately for Lift, Gravity Distortion grants knockup protection, which means that Lift cannot be used to control a boss in between applications of Gravity Distortion. Lift also compares quite poorly with Levitate from Mind Control, since it deals less damage, and has a longer activation time.
[*]Gravity Distortion is a typical STH, see the Shared Powers section. The visual effect is very poor, it is diffcult to see, easily overridden, and does not appear consistently. Unlike the other STHs, Gravity Distortion grants knock* protection, meaning it's a lot easier to keep your target held and next to you for melee attacks. However the knock* protection can be problematic against protected foes, like bosses, since a single application will not hold them, but will protect them from other control powers such as Lift. Gravity Distortion also has an effective movement slow, which is useful in PvP and against tougher foes who are hard to hold.
[*]Propel is a single target attack with guaranteed knockback. It has good damage, standard accuracy, but an excessively long activation time. It is ok for short single target control. Suggested slotting is 0 - 4 additional slots with 35 - 70% accuracy, 0 - 95% damage, 0 - 40% endurance reduction.
Propel has the best attack animation in the game, a random object appears in the air and flies at the target. The object persists long after the attack occurs, which can result in significant buildup of debris. Combined with the other single target controls, can make for an effective control chain. Propel compares favourably against Mental Blast, and is not a poor choice for a Gravity/Psionic Dominator.
Propel's horribly long activation time makes it one of the poorest Dominator attacks for damage, as well as suffering from the other problems of long activation, that the caster is unable to react to other events, and that the target may be defeated by other attacks before the damage is applied. If it is being used as a control power, there may be other more favourable options available, such as Air Superiority, Telekinetic Thrust, or Power Push.
[*]Crushing Field is a typical AoE immobilize, see the Shared Powers section. It has the same benefits as Crush, a movement slow and lack of knock* protection. Desparation for AoE control can cause the Gravity Dominator to use this power more liberally than appropriate.
[*]Dimension Shift is a targeted AoE phase shift power. Phase shifted enemies cannot attack and cannot be attacked. It has a medium duration, average accuracy, and a short recharge. Unlike other control powers, it cannot be enhanced for duration, but can be enhanced for magnitude, and with very little enhancement (9.6% is enough) will affect bosses with a single application. It is not improved by Domination. Suggested slotting is 0 - 2 additional slots with 0 - 70% accuracy and 0 or 35% intangibility.
Dimension Shift is a very effective emergency power, because it can completely shut down a spawn, even without Domination being active, and it recharges quickly, so it can always be available. It is also unique in that its termination can be accurately predicted due to a sound effect that plays exactly 13 pulses throughout its duration. An additional use of Dimension Shift is thinning out spawns, with low accuracy a portion of the spawn can be phased out, making things easier for the team.
Dimension Shift is the most maligned control power because several factors make it troublesome on teams: phased enemies can be targetted and attacks can be wasted on them, phased enemies glow brightly thereby inviting attack and obscuring unphased enemies, and the duration of the phase effect is fixed, and sometimes requires the team to wait around for enemies to unphase.
[*]Gravity Distortion Field is a typical AoE hold, see the Shared Powers section. It suffers from the same visual effect issues as Gravity Distortion, and also grants knock* protection. While it also provides movement slows like Gravity Distortion, it is not nearly as useful, because large groups of hard to hold foes are very rarely encountered. The AoE hold is more highly recommended for Gravity Control than other primaries, due solely to the fact that it has no practical alternative. Of course it still won't be usable in every fight because of its long recharge time.
[*]Wormhole is a targeted AoE enemy teleport power with an additional stun effect and knockback. It has a smallish area of effect, reasonable range, average accuracy, medium recharge, a short disorient effect, and a large knockback. It is Gravity's staple every-fight damage mitigation power. The caster chooses a target, clicks the power, and then chooses an output location, at which point the power activates and teleports whichever enemies it hits to the chosen location, and knocks them back. Suggested slotting is 5 additional slots with 70 - 80% accuracy, 35 - 95% disorient duration, 35 - 80% recarge, 20 - 60% range.
Wormhole can be very effective on large teams when combined with other effects, notably AoE attacks, because it can place many enemies in a small area. It is a versatile power, with many useful applications and can greatly increase the safety of a team. For instance, it can be used to bring stragglers into the main area of combat, where more tunnel-visioned team members can deal with them. Line of sight is not required, which means it can be used in great safety, and with minimal additional aggro effect. It is best directed into a corner in order to minimize the scatter caused by knockback. The short disorient duration usually isn't a significant problem, because enemies do not tend to last long after they are dumped in a corner. Many people like to combine it with Crushing Field, to prevent mob scatter, although this is certainly not essential. The output location and targetted mobs need not both be in range simultaneously, if the power is activated and the location chosen while the enemy is out of range, then when the Dominator runs into range of the enemy, the chosen output location will still be used, even if it is very far away.
Wormhole's biggest failing is it's small area of effect, which very often results in spawns being split across two separately locations. It is also a very difficult power to use, because it requires good positioning of the caster, the target, and the output location. When the power activates, any enemies within the area of effect who can see the caster get a free attack before the power takes effect, regardless of whether or not the power successfully hits them. The small area of effect can be extremely frustrating, because it makes it very difficult to hit every member of a spawn. For this reason, positioning and line of sight are very important, which means the power is slow to use. Range is also a factor, but there is no indication if the targets are within range until the drop point is selected, possibly necessitating repositioning, which is why range enhancement is suggested. If Power Boost or Aim is being used to buff Wormhole, being out of range can be very frustrating, because it can cause the buff to be lost. Some enemies at higher levels, such as 40+ Longbow Nullifiers and Malta Gunslingers, are protected from teleport, which means that Wormhole may stun them, but won't port them, resulting in unfortunate scatter and a split spawn. Once combat has been initiated it's often inadvisable to use Wormhole, because it can cause problems for teammates.
[*]Singularity is a typical pet power, see the Shared Powers section. Singularity is the least damage-oriented of all of the pets, and has exclusively control powers. It is extremly tough, with high damage resistance and mez protection. Its powers are Crush, Lift, and Gravity Distortion, as well as Repel, a knockback aura. It is also the only pet which flies. Suggested slotting is 1 - 5 additional slots, with 35 - 70% accuracy, damage, hold and immob to taste.
Singularity significantly improves the Gravity Dominator's survivability because of the added control, and its ability to attract aggro, particularly with Repel. It can be used to great effect to take alpha strikes and generally tank, through a number of means, using stealth powers so that it is seen first, Recall Friend or summon it into the enemies, or team teleport in together. It will block any doorways it occupies, since the Repel field will knockback any enemies.
Its low damage means that Singularity is not a dramatic increase to the Gravity Dominator's speed, only their safety.[/list]
3.4 Ice Control
Overview
Ice has good control, particularly with its secondary slow effects, and is very effective against bosses even without Domination. It needs less slots than some of the other control sets, because several powers (notably Ice Slick) do not require a significant number of slots. Unlike some of the other control sets, Ice does not provide total lockdown, but it can provide significant reduction of incoming attacks due to slows and knockdown.
Essential powers: Block of Ice, Ice Slick
Disappointing powers: Flash Freeze, Glacier
Ice Control has a unique advantage against high level foes, because neither Ice Slick nor Arctic Air require accuracy checks.
Ice Control benefits less from Domination than the other control sets, because its slows, and Ice Slick are not boosted by Domination. Of course, the durations of Frostbite's immobilize, Arctic Air's confuse, Flash Freeze's sleep, and Glacier's hold are all increased, but these are not its staple control.
Ice Control is frustrating to use against fliers, primarily because Ice Slick does not affect them, and because its -Fly powers, Frostbite and Chilblain, also protect against knockdown. Of course, stacking slows from Shiver, Arctic Air, and Frostbite is still a perfectly viable tactic.
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Chilblain is a typical single target immobilize, see the Shared Powers section. It has a benefit over the other single target immobilizes in that it also includes a slow and recharge debuff. Its biggest weakness is that it protects enemies from the Ice Slick.
[*]Block of Ice is a typical STH, see the Shared Powers section. Its advantages over the other STHs are its obvious visual effect, a good secondary slow and recharge debuff, and no restrictions against flying enemies. Its biggest drawback is a long activation time, the second longest after Strangler from Plant Control.
[*]Frostbite is a typical AoE immob, see the Shared Powers section. Like Chilblain, it has a nice secondary slow and recharge debuff, but can't be used with Ice Slick.
[*]Arctic Air is an auto-hit PBAoE toggle which causes enemies to flee, confuses them occasionally and debuffs their movement and recharge speeds. It has an extreme endurance cost, good slow, and has a large radius. Suggested slotting is 2 - 5 additional slots, with 80 - 95% endurance reduction, 40 - 95% confuse duration, 0 - 40% slow. (It's unclear if Fear enhancements do anything.)
Arctic Air is very effective at keeping enemies moving slowly and reducing incoming attacks. The fact that it's PBAoE is nice because it makes it very easy to place in the correct location, and means that problematic enemies can be chased with it. The large area and slow means that with a bit of fancy footwork an enemy can be kept debuffed, and out of melee. The confuse is a nice effect, but not dependable.
Arctic Air's extreme endurance cost combined with its longish recharge mean that it can't be used permanently, however, deciding when to turn it on and off can be tricky. The longish recharge also means that having it detoggled can be quite annoying.
[*]Shiver is a cone slow and recharge debuff power. It recharges quickly, has a large area, and a strong debuff, although it does require an accuracy check. Suggested slotting is 1 - 2 additional slots with 35 - 80% accuracy, and 0 - 40% slow.
Shiver is good for keeping your enemies moving slowly to make things easier for teammates to deal with. Unlike most other control effects it doesn't seem to attract much aggro, making it a good choice on large teams. It is often used as a backup control power, when Ice Slick isn't effective, such as against flying enemies.
Against enemies who have many attacks, or very damaging and mezzing attacks, Shiver falls short, because they will still get in a few those attacks, which can be devastating.
[*]Ice Slick is the signature power of Ice Control. It is a static patch on the ground which significantly reduces incoming attacks by inflicting knock down, slow and -Jump. It is auto-hit, has medium duration, doesn't require line of sight to place, has a large area of effect, and a medium recharge which makes it available for every fight. Suggested slotting 1 - 2 additional slots with 35 - 95% recharge.
Because Ice Slick's duration is unenhancable, and is not affected by level scaling, it is very effective immediately, and doesn't require many slots like most other control powers. Because it uses knockdown, Ice Slick is also effective against bosses, making it more useful on the largest teams. Finally, Ice Slick doesn't require line of sight to cast, so it can be done with safety around a corner and fully prevent an alpha strike.
Ice Slick's biggest weakness is against flying enemies, which are unaffected, and is felt all the more because Ice Control's -Fly powers, Chilblain and Frostbite, also protect against the knockdown of the Slick. For this reason many Ice Control Dominators will take Air Superiority from the Flight pool. Another issue with Ice Slick is that it allows a retaliation if used to start a fight within line of sight. The final problem with Ice Slick is that in some terrain, such as water, it can't be seen, which makes it difficult to locate its edges precisely.
[*]Flash Freeze is a typical AoE sleep power, see the Shared Powers section. It's recharge time is much great than the other AoE sleeps.
Its graphics are much more obvious than the other sleeps, which can be useful on a team, although they can be easily confused with Ice's holds.
Flash Freeze inflicts damage as well, which prevents it from being stacked on top of other sleeps to deal with multiple stronger enemies. Furthermore it can only be used on grounded enemies, which is again frustrating because the -Fly immobs also have DoT which will wake the sleepers up.
[*]Glacier is a typical AoE hold, see the Shared Powers section. Like Block of Ice, it has the most obvious graphic, which is very handy on teams.
Because of Ice Control's lack of powers which work well with Domination, an Ice Dominator will very likely want to take Glacier for those extreme crisis situations.
Glacier cannot be used while flying, somewhat limiting its effectiveness, and is also a PBAoE which makes it more dangerous to use.
[*]Jack Frost is a typical pet power, see the Shared Powers section. He has a weak ranged attack, a melee hold and high damage melee attacks.
Jack Frost has very effective melee attacks, and significantly increases his summoner's damage.
Jack Frost is very aggressive, and has a tendency to get himself in serious danger. He prefers to attack uncontrolled enemies, which means he tends to aggro one with Freezing Touch and then move on to aggro the next.[/list]
3.5 Mind Control
Overview
Mind Control provides very good AoE control, even on large teams, due to its large number of AoE control powers. None of its powers provide the simple and effectiveness as Seeds of Confusion, Flash Fire, or Ice Slick from the other sets, but when combined they make for very effective damage mitigation. It also has by the far the best single target control available, which can make a big effect, even on large teams, and makes soloing straightforward. Confuse more than makes up for the lack of pet.
Essential powers: Dominate
Disappointing powers: Total Domination
Mind Control is a very endurance light set, in large part due to Confuse, which dramatically improves soloing efficiency. Telekinesis is the one endurance intensive power, but is rarely on for extended periods of time like Hot Feet or Arctic Air.
Its large selection of control types (sleep, knockup, hold, confuse, repel, fear), makes Mind Control the most versatile control set, and the most likely to be able to exploit weakness in the enemies.
In PvP Mind Control has a unique advantage, because its powers are psychic, but not typed positionally (range, AoE, or melee) which means it ignores certain defence sets, notably Super Reflexes and Force Fields.
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Mesmerize is a single target sleep with an accuracy bonus, small damage, a very long duration, and long activation. It's magnitude is high enough to sleep most bosses and AVs with a single application. Suggested slotting is 0 - 1 additional slots with 35 - 80% accuracy. Recharge enhancements would be ideal, but Mesmerize doesn't accept them.
Mesmerize is very handy for taking single enemies out of the fight for a long period of time. It is especially effective on outlying enemies, since they are less likely to get woken up by AoEs. One of my favourite uses for Mesmerize is to open the fight by using it on the boss of a spawn, which typically results in pulling the entire spawn except the boss. A boss can be slept while a more practical mez type, like hold or confuse, is applied. It also can prove extremely useful in some very tough encounters, by keeping Arch Villains and Heroes out of the fight until the team is ready to tackle them.
Mesmerize cannot be stacked on top of other sleeps against tougher foes, because the damage component breaks previous sleeps. When applied on a sleeping enemy, the damage in Mesmerize will briefly wake them up, allowing a small movement or an attack. Often standing behind a sleeping enemy when casting Mesmerize will mean they will use their brief action to turn around. The damage from Mesmerize is not reported until very late, which can be annoying because it is a nice confirmation that it hit.
[*]Levitate is a single target knockup with good damage and -Fly. Suggested slotting is either attack slotting, or 0 - 1 additional slots with 35 - 80% accuracy.
As a knockup attack, Levitate temporarily incapacitates bosses, which makes it very useful for stacking holds if Domination is not available, or if they are hold-resistant. It is also quite handy for dropping flying or perching enemies to the ground where they can be dealt with more easily. It is also a source of smashing damage, which may be useful to a Mind/Psi Dominator when facing enemies with Psi resistance.
Due to the way knockup interacts with powers activation, Levitate may not always actually result in a period of incapacity.
[*]Dominate is a standard STH, see the Shared Powers section. It has a very short activation time, but its visual effect on enemies is very subtle and easily obscured by other effects.
[*]Confuse is a single target confuse with a long duration and long activation, and which does not cause aggro. It is highly recommended due to great versatility. Suggested slotting 3 - 5 additional slots with 35 - 80% accuracy, 35 - 95% confuse duration, 35 - 80% recharge.
Confuse is a great fight starter, since it doesn't generate aggro it can be used to prevent problematic enemies such as Sappers or Demolitionists from ever causing any harm. The long duration means that it can stack applications very effectively. Also, since confused enemies damage each other, Confuse makes fights shorter, and reduces endurance needs.
The one drawback of Confuse is that it has a long activation time which can make it frustrating to use in the heat of battle. See confuse in the glossary for a brief discussion of confuse and xp gain.
[*]Mass Hypnosis is an AoE sleep power, see the Shared Powers section. The big difference from the other sleeps is that it doesn't generate any aggro.
Since it doesn't cause any aggro, Mass Hypnosis can be very effective for starting a fight and take the edge off the alpha strike. Since it doesn't deal damage it can also stack mag with other sleep powers.
[*]Telekinesis is a toggle which holds and repels its target and nearby enemies away from the caster. It has an extreme endurance cost, and a longish recharge. Repel protection is rare, so it will affect most enemies, although bosses and others with hold protection will still be able to attack while being repelled. Suggested slotting is 1 - 2 additional slots with 80 - 95% endurance reduction.
Telekinesis can be very effective in the right circumstances, pinning enemies in corners for teammates to deal with, and doesn't require line of sight, so can be used to keep difficult enemies out of line of sight, even if they can't be held. Since it's also a hold, it can be useful for quickly stacking hold mag onto bosses, but can be dropped once the boss is held. If necessary it can also be used to group up multiple tough targets, and then combined with Dominate to keep them permanently held, although for a high endurance cost.
Telekinesis is arguably the most difficult power to use in the game. The repel is fast, which makes mobility of the caster very important if the victims are to be kept in the right place. Without a sharp corner to pin them in, it is tricky to keep the repel from pushing them in unwanted directions. Its extreme endurance cost can also be quite frustrating.
[*]Total Domination is a typical AoE hold, see the Shared Powers section. It suffers from the same visual effect problems as Dominate.
In some circumstances Total Domination can be a very welcome power because it is total lockdown, and not easily broken or difficult to maintain like the other AoE controls.
Because Mind Control has many effective AoE control powers, with better durations and recharges than Total Domination, it benefits less from Total Domination than the other sets do from their AoE holds.
[*]Terrify is a cone terrorize power with noticeable damage. It has a slight accuracy penalty, a high endurance cost, a large cone area, a medium recharge, medium damage, and a decent duration terrorize effect. Suggested slotting is 2 - 5 additional slots with 70 - 80% accuracy, 35 - 95% fear duration, 35 - 95% recharge reduction, 0 - 40% endurance reduction. The cone is large enough that range is not necessary.
Terrify is Mind Control's staple AoE control power, since it can be used in every fight, has a large area, and is more robust than a sleep. It is good for keeping a spawn contained, because it tends to prevent running, and prevents retaliation for enemies who are not being attacked.
The biggest drawback to Terrify is that it allows an attack before taking effect, which makes it a terrible power for starting the fight.
[*]Mass Confusion is a ranged AoE confuse which does not cause aggro. It has a decent base duration, a very long recharge time, a good sized area of effect, and poor accuracy. Suggested slotting is 3 - 5 additional slots with 70 - 80% accuracy, 0 - 95% duration, 35 - 95% recharge, 0 - 40% endurance reduction.
Mass Confusion is the perfect power for destroying an entire spawn without any risk to the team. Even with base duration, it lasts long enough for a high level spawn to mostly destroy itself. Of all the Dominator powers this one has the most profound effect on a battle.
Mass Confusion's biggest drawback is its long recharge time, but the reasoning is clear, because with a shorter recharge it would be overpowered.
Mass Confusion is often compared to Seeds of Confusion, against which it compares quite favourably. Its big disadvantages are that it comes at level 32 instead of level 8, and its extremely long recharge time. Its advantages over Seeds of Confusion are that it is much safer to apply since it causes no aggro and is a targeted AoE not a cone, and that it covers a greater area. Additionally, it can be stacked with Confuse to confuse bosses without causing aggro. The final, and most important, consideration is the other powers that come with it in Mind Control are by and large more effective than those in Plant Control.[/list]
3.6 Plant Control
Overview
Plant Control provides average overall AoE and single target control. Its effective damage is above average due to Seeds of Confusion. Its visual appearance is much more fun than the other control sets, primarily because it's the newest.
Plant Control is a very unbalanced set, because the majority of its effectiveness comes from Seeds of Confusion, with additional support from Carrion Creepers, Strangler, and to a lesser extent Vines. The rest of its powers do not bring a significant amount of effectiveness. This gives it an advantage over the other sets, because with fewer power choices it can achieve equivalent performance. Of course, this concentration of control does have some drawbacks, notably enemies who are resistant to confuse, such as Nemesis, and certain Longbow officers can be quite a problem.
Essential powers: Strangler, Seeds of Confusion, Carrion Creepers
Disappointing powers: Spirit Tree, Vines
Plant Control suffers slightly against flying enemies, because they must be grounded for the holds to take effect, and as usual -Fly is in the immobs which grant knockdown protection and DoT, severely hampering the utility of Spore Burst and Carrion Creepers.
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Entangle is a typical single target immobilize, see the Shared Powers section. It is more important for Plant Control because it can ground fliers so they can be held with Strangler or Vines.
[*]Strangler is a typical STH, see the Shared Powers section. It has one of the better effect animations, because it is quite visible. Strangler has two serious drawbacks relative to the other holds, it has a long animation, and it only works on grounded enemies. Every Plant Control Dominator needs some sort of -Fly power, such as the immobs, or Air Superiority, in order to cope with this.
[*]Roots is a typical AoE immob, see the Shared Powers section. Like Entangle, its -Fly effect is useful for allowing the holds to work. It is also more useful for Plant Control whose staple control is confuse which can cause scatter in some enemies.
[*]Spore Burst is a typical AoE sleep, see the Shared Powers section. It has probably the least visible visual effect of all the sleeps, consisting of only of a subtle brown cloud around the affected enemies' heads.
[*]Seeds of Confusion is a cone confuse. It has a short recharge for an AoE control power, a medium sized cone, and a long duration. Suggested slotting is 3 - 5 additional slots with 70 - 80% accuracy, 35 - 95% duration, 35 - 80% recharge reduction and 0 - 25% range increase.
Seeds of Confusion is the defining power of the Plant Control set, and the most effective power available to Dominators. It has a fast recharge, so it can be used in almost every single fight, and a long duration so that it can recharge before it runs out. As if that weren't enough, Confuse is also one of the top two control effects, since it not only prevents enemy attacks, it also allows enemies to damage each other, causes them to clump together for AoEs, and steals their buffs and debuffs.
The one weakness of Seeds of Confusion is that it is necessary to be at close range to gain the most effect. This means it can be difficult for opening fights, particularly on large teams where bosses are often present. However combining it with a stealth power, such as Stealth or Superspeed can mitigate some of this difficulty. Additionally, while not available every fight, Carrion Creepers is an excellent power for absorbing the initial strike and allowing Seeds of Confusion to be used safely.
[*]Spirit Tree is a immovable pet with a +Regeneration (healing) aura. It has a long cast time, long duration, medium area of effect, and a poor regeneration effect. The pet itself is large and can obstruct movement. Suggested slotting is 0-5 additional slots, with 0 - 95% healing, 0 - 95% recharge reduction.
Spirit Tree can prove useful in situations where control is not an effective mitigator, although not to the same extent as most control powers. It can be used to block doorways and narrow passages to keep enemies at bay.
Spirit Tree's long cast time make it a dangerous power to use once a fight has started. Its long recharge time means that it won't be available every fight. Its large size can prove a hindrance for a team by obstructing vision and movement. Because it increases regen slightly, rather than healing, it is not terribly effective for saving a battle that is going badly, but must instead be used prior to any problems occuring.
[*]Vines is a typical AoE hold, see the Shared Powers section. Like Strangler, enemies must be grounded in order to be held, so against flying foes it is best to combine with Roots. Vine's biggest use is when Seeds of Confusion is not recharged, or against foes who resist confuse.
[*]Carrion Creepers is a special ranged pet summon. It summons a pet at a targeted location which will slow enemies and prevent them from jumping or flying, and may immobilize them also. Additionally it summons creepers for each nearby enemy which inflict knockdown, attract attacks, and inflict some damage. It has a long duration, long recharge, average accuracy, large area of effect, medium damage, average slow. Suggested slotting is 5 additional slots with 35 - 80% accuracy, 0 - 95% damage, 0 - 80% slow, 35 - 95% recharge reduction.
Carrion Creepers is one of the best looking powers in the game, and is pretty effective as well. Its primary use is to absorb the initial attack of enemies, allowing other powers, such as Seeds of Confusion, to be used in relative safety. The creepers can deal an appreciable amount of damage if they survive. It does provide a good amount of damage mitigation through knockdown, but not nearly as much as Ice Slick. The creepers will follow the caster from one fight to the next, for the full duration of the power.
The biggest problem for Carrion Creepers is all the sources of immobilize in Plant Control, which protect against the creepers knockdown effects: Entangle and Roots, as well as the Fly Trap's Entangle power, and finally the Entangle power generated by the Carrion Creepers themselves. While the creepers are able to attract the attention of enemies when they first appear, they do not deal enough damage to hold their attention for long. Although the Carrion Creepers will currently follow you around, I would not be surprised if this was removed in the future and that Carrion Creepers became static like the other pet summons.
[*]Fly Trap is a typical pet power, see the Shared Powers section. Her attacks are a small area targeted AoE immobilize, a cone damage with defence debuff, a single target ranged attack with defence debuff and a high damage melee bite attack.
Venus brings additional benefit to her caster by taking some aggro and some additional damage. She prefers to attack at range, but her damage output can be increased if she is coaxed into melee with Recall Friend, using stealth to allow her to engage first, or if the enemy angers her by attacking her directly.
Venus's animations are quite subtle which means that often she does not appear to be doing much of anything. Unfortunately she has a tendency to wake sleeping foes with her two ranged AoE attacks, and uses her small area immobilize AoE regularly, with all of the drawbacks of other immobilizes, most importantly preventing the knockdown of Carrion Creepers. Finally, Venus has a disdain for melee combat, which greatly reduces her damage output.[/list]
4. Secondary Powers
Dominator assault sets are not powerful compared to attack sets for other archetypes, but they are certainly effective, and allow Dominators to solo satisfactorily, and contribute damage on teams.
Fiery Assault and Thorny Assault provide the best single target and AoE damage, with Fiery Assault edging ahead due to its impressive self damage buff, Fiery Embrace; Icy Assault and Psionic Assault are on par, with Icy giving better single target and burst damage, and Psionic giving better AoE damage (after level 38); Energy Assault provides the worst damage with single target damage on par with Icy and Psionic, but AoE damage significantly less than any other set.
Energy Assault provides the best damage mitigation of all the secondaries, because stuns and knockbacks provide the best complement for controls from the primary; Icy and Psionic both provide decent levels of damage mitigation due to recharge debuffs which are also effective against AVs; Fiery and Thorny provide no damage mitigation beyond defeating the enemy faster.
Each of the secondary power sets include two PvP toggle droppers, the second tier melee powers each have a 5% chance to drop a toggle, and each has an additional power with a 64% chance to drop a single toggle. For Energy Assault it is Total Focus, which is a high damage, long activation time, melee attack available at level 28; for Fiery Assault it is Blaze, the tier 9 blast available at level 38; for Icy Assault it is Greater Ice Sword, a melee attack available at level 35; for Psionic Assault is Psychic Shockwave, a large radius PBAoE available at level 38; and for Thorny Assault it is Ripper, a cone melee attack available at level 35.
4.1 Shared Secondary Powers
The majority of the assault powers are attacks, with suggested slotting of 4 - 5 additional slots with 35 - 80% accuracy, depending on the typical level of enemies faced, 95% damage, 0 - 40% endurance reduction, depending on the endurance situation of the particular character, and 0 - 40% recharge depending on availability of slots.
<ul type="square">[*]Power Bolt, Flares, Ice Bolt, Psionic Dart, and Thorny Darts are the first tier blasts, and are all low damage, medium range blasts. They are quite useful in the early levels (pre 20), but become less useful as more assault powers become available. On smaller teams and solo they are useful for building Domination. Suggested slotting is 0 - 1 additional slots (slots are better used in other attacks) with accuracy.
[*]Bonesmasher, Incinerate, Ice Sword, Mind Probe, and Skewer are the second tier melee attacks. They all do decent damage, and are highly recommended, since they provide a significant boost to damage output, especially in the lower levels. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Power Blast, Fire Blast, Ice Blast, Mental Blast, and Impale are the fourth tier blasts, and are all decent ranged attacks. While not necessary to be effective, they do make a Dominator's life easier, especially on large teams where it can be difficult to enter melee. Taking an AoE attack instead is a viable choice for a team oriented Dominator. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Sniper Blast, Blazing Bolt, and Psionic Lance are the snipe powers. They are marginal powers because they do not fit particularly well into a regular attack chain, due to their long activation time, and possibility of interruption. On a large team the activation can be too long for safety, and there are often effects which will interrupt the power. Solo they are a lot more useful, since there is a much smaller possibility of interruption. They do present some opportunity for varied tactics, although by level 35 the "control them, assault them" tactic works in almost all situations. The fact that snipes are interrupted by movement creates a nifty trick for building Domination, continually activating and interrupting the snipe will build Domination without actually attacking an enemy. Standard attack slotting is suggested, with some consideration for interrupt enhancers.
[*]Power Burst, Blaze, Bitter Ice Blast, and Thorn Barrage are the 9th tier single target blasts, and are all high damage medium range blasts. They fill a gap in the Dominator's attack chain, and provide a significant increase in the Dominator's damage output. They are highly recommended powers. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Power Boost is shared by Energy Assault and Icy Assault. It is a self buff of short duration (15 seconds) which greatly increases most power effects, notable exceptions are accuracy, damage, and pet/drop power duration. It is of primary use to Dominators to extend the duration of control effects, typically doubling the duration, making it very popular for boosting the initial AoE control. Unfortunately for Ice Control it does not boost Ice Slick in any way. Other popular powers to combine it with are: Scorpion Shield, increasing its defence; Power Sink to boost its endurance drain; Scorpion Ray for an increased debuff; Aid Self for a bigger heal, especially in PvP; Tactics for a bigger ToHit buff, also good on the initial strike; and Vengeance for certain high-level content.[/list]
4.2 Energy Assault
Overview
Energy Assault is a primarily single target assault set, with smashing and energy damage types, and secondary status effects of knockback and disorient. It is a very weak AoE set, with only a single melee-ranged AoE with low damage. Despite its weakness at AoE damage, it is also weak at sustained single target damage, and only excels in initial burst single target damage. It a very endurance friendly set, due to its large damage from the more efficient melee attacks, and long animation times. The damage mitigation secondary effects are somewhat beneficial, and may reduce dependence on the primary, allowing further focus on damage.
While Energy Melee enjoys a powerful reputation in PvP, Energy Assault is not nearly as impressive, mostly because it lacks Build Up and Energy Transfer. However, the fact that it has its second high damage melee power at level 28, instead of 35 like /Thorny and /Icy, makes it more attractive for PvP in Siren's Call.
Essential powers: Total Focus, Power Burst
Disappointing powers: Whirling Hands, Sniper Blast
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Power Bolt is a typical first tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. Its activation time is longer than the average, and its secondary effect is a chance to knockback.
[*]Bone Smasher is a typical second tier melee attack, see the Shared Powers section, with a decent chance to disorient.
[*]Power Push is a ranged knockback attack with very little damage, but very high accuracy. It is more of a control power than an assault power, and as such should be taken only to fill a lack in the primary set. Fire Control, Plant Control, and Ice Control in particular can benefit due to lack of single target controls. Suggested slotting is 0 additional slots, with recharge or endurance reduction.
[*]Power Blast is a typical fourth tier melee attack, see the Shared Powers section. Its secondary effect is a chance to knockback.
[*]Power Boost is a short self-buff, see the Shared Powers section.
[*]Whirling Hands is a melee range AoE which does low damage and has a chance to disorient. Its small range and low damage make it a very disappointing power.
[*]Total Focus is an extreme damage melee attack with a guaranteed stun. It is highly recommended due to its high damage. Its biggest drawback is that it has an extremely long activation time, enough to make Bonesmasher more efficient as damage/activation time. Typical attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Sniper Blast is a typical sniper attack, see the Shared Powers section.
[*]Power Burst is a typical 9th tier blast, see the Shared Powers section.[/list]
4.3 Fiery Assault
Overview
Fiery Assault is the most damaging of the Dominator secondaries, with exclusively fire damage. Its only secondary effect is additional damage, which combines with Fiery Embrace to assure its status as the leader in damage. It does decent AoE damage, although both of its AoEs (Breath of Fire and Combustion) are somewhat difficult to use.
Fire resistant foes can be problematic because no alternative damage type is available. The fact that many attacks include DoT creates compatability problems with sleep and terrorize powers. For best efficiency, damage over time attacks, like Incinerate, should be used first, so that additional damage ticks are not wasted on defeated foes.
Essential powers: Blaze
Disappointing powers: Blazing Bolt
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Flares is a typical first tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. It does less damage at a shorter range than the other first tier blasts and has a frustratingly long activation time, making it the worst first tier blast.
[*]Incinerate is a typical second tier melee attack, see the Shared Powers section. It deals good damage, but it is spread over many ticks. To get the best efficiency out of Incinerate it should be used as an opening attack, rather than a finisher.
[*]Fire Breath is a high damage cone attack, with a longish activation time, and an accuracy bonus. The cone is narrow and not long, but the damage is good. Typical attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Fire Blast is a typical fourth tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. It has a nice short activation time.
[*]Fiery Embrace is an excellent self damage buff. It significantly increases the damage of all the fire attacks for 30 seconds, and moderately increases the damage of all non-fire attacks for 10 seconds. It makes a dramatic difference in the damage potential of the set and is highly recommended. It has a much longer recharge rate than the other Dominator self buffs, but its effect has a much longer duration. Suggested slotting is 0 - 2 additional slots with 35 - 95% recharge reduction.
[*]Combustion is a PBAoE which deals acceptable damage in a 15' radius. Most of its damage is DoT, which means that it appears less effective than it actually is. It has a long activation which can also cause frustration. Typical attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Consume is an endurance recovery power with additional minor PBAoE damage. It has a negligible endurance cost, minor damage, long recharge, and recovers a medium amount of endurance. It requires the investment of slots in order to make it an effective endurance recovery power, and so is only recommended to characters who are having endurance problems. Its negligible endurance cost makes it very useful in situations where endurance has been fully drained. Suggested slotting 3 - 5 additional slots with 40 - 80% accuracy, 35 - 95% endurance recovery, and 0 - 80% recharge reduction.
[*]Blazing Bolt is a typical sniper attack, see the Shared Powers section.
[*]Blaze is a typical 9th tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. It has a short activation, high damage, and a fast recharge, making it the best of the 9th tier blasts.[/list]
4.4 Icy Assault
Overview
Icy Assault is a well balanced assault set, with good single target and AoE attacks, good ranged and melee attacks, and an effective slow secondary effect. It falls in the middle for damage, below Fiery Assault and Thorny Assault with their damage secondary effects and self damage buffs, and above Psionic Assault and Energy Assault. It is characterized by its fast activating single target attacks, and notably has the best first tier blast, with a good activation time, good damage, and a fair endurance cost.
Icy Assault's biggest drawback is that it is very endurance intensive. Its fast activating attacks can quickly eat through endurance, and its AoEs, notably Ice Sword Circle, have a high endurance cost.
Essential powers: Bitter Ice Blast
Disappointing powers:
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Ice Bolt is a typical first tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. It has a shorter activation time than the other first tier blasts.
[*]Ice Sword is a typical second tier melee attack, see the Shared Powers section. It has good damage and a short activation time.
[*]Ice Sword Circle is a PBAoE attack. It has a short range, high damage, and a high endurance cost. Its high damage makes it a very effective power for a melee oriented Dominator. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Ice Blast is a typical fourth tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. It has a short activation time.
[*]Power Boost is a short self-buff, see the Shared Powers section.
[*]Frost Breath is a cone attack. It has a standard sized cone, an accuracy bonus, longish activation time, and decent damage. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Chilling Embrace is a toggled PBAoE slow effect. It has a small radius, reaching slightly beyond melee, not nearly as big as Arctic Air or Hot Feet. It has a low endurance cost. It does not have a damage debuff like the Tanker version, although its recharge debuff is greater. While not a spectacular power, it has some utility.
[*]Greater Ice Sword is a decent single target melee attack. It is 20% greater than Ice Sword in all aspects, including a 20% accuracy bonus. Graphically it is much larger than the regular Ice Sword, to the point of absurdity. Standard attack slotting is suggested, with a little less need for accuracy.
[*]Bitter Ice Blast is a typical 9th tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. Unlike the other Icy Assault powers, Bitter Ice Blast has a respectable to-hit debuff in addition to the standard slows.[/list]
4.5 Psionic Assault
Overview
Psionic Assault is the lowest single target damage assault set, and is also the second weakest AoE set until level 38 when Psychic Shockwave makes it extremely effective. Its attacks have longer range than the other assault sets, as well as an appreciable recharge debuff. All of the attacks but one are pure psionic damage, which means that psionic resistant foes, who are usually heavily resistant, such as robots and undead, take a lot more effort. Several of the attacks have slow moving projectiles as well, meaning that the damage occurs quite a while after the attack is launched. Its lower single target damage means that Psionic Assault is more suited for large team play than solo.
The ranged blasts are arranged differently in Psionic Assault compared to the other assault sets. Mental Blast, its fourth tier, blast matches the other first tier blasts of the other sets in endurance cost, damage, and recharge; Psionic Dart, its first tier blast, is a faster less damaging blast, and its third blast, while weaker than the others, is available at level 28 instead of 38. Despite these differences, the blasts fill similar roles within the set. Overall this results in slightly degraded single target damage. Psychic Shockwave at level 38 does more than compensate for this.
Essential powers: Psychic Shockwave
Disappointing powers: Psionic Lance, Mental Blast
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Psionic Dart is a first tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. It is quite different from the other first tier blasts, with less damage, a much shorter recharge time, and a greater range. Its slow moving projectile, long range, and short activation make it an excellent tool for pulling. In addition to the usual accuracy slotting for first tier blasts, endurance reduction may prove useful.
[*]Mind Probe is a typical second tier melee attack, see the Shared Powers section.
[*]Telekinetic Thrust is a melee range low damage attack with guaranteed knockback, and a slightly higher endurance cost. It is more of a control power than an attack, although it does provide some smashing damage which may help in those siutations where psionic damage is being resisted. Like Power Push, it may benefit the control sets with fewer single target controls, namely Fire Control, Plant Control, and Ice Control. Suggested slotting is 0 - 4 additional slots, with 35 - 80% accuracy and damage if desired.
[*]Mental Blast is a fourth tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. Its low damage and long activation make it a mediocre power which is primarily a stop gap until level 28 when Subdue is available. It also has a slow projectile, but not a fast activation time, so it is not appropriate for pulling.
[*]Psychic Scream is a huge cone decent damage attack with a good recharge debuff. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Drain Psyche is a click PBAoE regeneration and recovery debuff, which increases the caster's regeneration and recovery for each foe affected. It is a useful power when solo to help with endurance problems, and on teams it can help out when things go wrong. Its regeneration debuff is also very useful against Hero and AV class enemies. Suggested slotting is 5 additional slots with 35 - 80% accuracy, 35 - 95 % recharge, 0 - 95% endurance modification and 0 - 95% healing.
[*]Subdue is a good ranged attack with a chance to immobilize. It deals almost as much damage as Mind Probe, and is an important part of the sets single target damage potential. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Psionic Lance is a typical sniper attack, see the Shared Powers section.
[*]Psychic Shockwave is a high damage, large radius, PBAoE attack with a chance to disorient. It is the best Dominator attack, and arguably the best attack in the game. Take it. Standard attack slotting is suggested.[/list]
4.6 Thorny Assault
Overview
Thorny Assault is a high damage assault set, with very good single target damage attacks, and ok AoE attacks. Its secondary effects are a good defence debuff, and toxic DoT. However, the attacks deal primarily lethal damage which is resisted by many enemies. Also, the attacks have an associated thorn animation on the caster, which can interfere with some costumes, has a tendency to look odd on small and large characters, and which frustrates some people due to its redraw animations.
Essential powers: Thorn Barrage
Disappointing powers:
Thorny Assault is the most melee oriented of the Dominator secondaries, its cone attack has a shorter range than the other cones, Impale has a frustrating long activation time, and its level 35 power is a cone melee attack.
Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Thorny Darts is a typical first tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. It recharges slightly faster than other blasts, and deals the same amount of damage for less endurance cost.
[*]Skewer is a typical second tier melee attack, see the Shared Powers section.
[*]Fling Thorns is a decent damage cone attack with a good defence debuff. It has a much shorter range than the other cone attacks. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Impale is a typical fourth tier blast, see the Shared Powers section. It deals the most damage of all the fourth tier blasts, has an immobilization effect and a very long activation time.
[*]Aim is a short self-buff to damage and accuracy. Its best use is as a damage boost for initial spike damage. Although it can be used to improve AoE controls, by reducing accuracy slotting in favour of other aspects, much like Power Boost, this does not work out very well in practice, because an AoE control power with poor accuracy is almost useless, and the utility of both powers is reduced by this dependency. Suggested slotting is 0 - 2 additional slots with recharge.
[*]Thorn Burst is a decent damage, decent radius, PBAoE attack with a good defence debuff. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Thorntrops is a drop power which causes decent damage, and slows run speed. Reports are that it does greater damage than Blaster Caltrops. Suggested slotting is 0 - 4 additional slots with 0 - 80% recharge, 0 - 95% damage.
[*]Ripper is a high damage, melee range cone attack with a chance to knockdown. It has special spin in the air animation, and consequently a bit of a long activation. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Thorn Barrage is a typical 9th tier blast, see the Shared Powers section.[/list]
5. Patron Powers
The Patron powers are by and large disappointing, because many of them are similar to, but weaker than, existing Dominator powers. The Patron Power Pools are similar by design, the biggest differences being in the first power of each set.
5.1 Shared Powers
<ul type="square">[*]Dark Embrace, Scorpion Shield, Shark Skin, and Charged Armor are the Patron shields. They all provide a high level of resistance or defence for low endurance cost, and are decent powers. Suggested slotting is 0 - 2 additional slots with 35 - 95% resistance. Of course there are many other possibilities with Invention Origin enhancements.
[*]Dark Obliteration, Disruptor Blast, Bile Spray, and Ball Lightning are the Patron attacks. They are very disappointing, and less effective than available powers in the secondary due to their long recharge times. They bring limited new
abilities: ranged AoE instead of PBAoE or cone, minor accuracy
debuff, and endurance drain. They are only appropriate for a Dominator who has taken all the AoEs from their secondary and wants more. Standard attack slotting is suggested.
[*]Fortunata Seer, Toxic Tarantula, Blue Coralax, and Mu Guardian are the Patron pets. They suffer from the drawback that unlike existing Dominator pets, they are not permanent, and as such are more suited to special situations. Their damage output and survivability is not particularly impressive. Suggested slotting is to taste, depending on preferred use.[/list]
5.2 Leviathan Mastery
<ul type="square">[*]Water Spout summons a short-lived, unkillable, very aggresive pet which throws enemies around, disorients them, and deals high damage. It is useful for dealing with situations that have got out of hand, initiating difficult fights, and dealing damage to tough foes with knockback protection. The immobilizes or holds available in four of the primaries may be used to pin foes down to be damaged by the Water Spout. Suggested slotting is 0 - 5 additional slots with 35 - 95% recharge reduction, 0 - 95% damage, 0 - 95% disorient duration.
[*]Bile Spray is a typical patron cone attack, see the Shared Powers section.
[*]Shark Skin is a typical patron shield, see the Shared Powers section. It resists smashing, lethal, and cold damage.
[*]Blue Coralax is a typical patron pet, see the Shared Powers section.[/list]
5.3 Mace Mastery
<ul type="square">[*]Poisonous Ray is a single target debuff with a decent resistance and tohit debuff, as well as some damage. It is useful in the toughest fights such as against AVs and Heroes.
[*]Scorpion Shield is a typical patron shield, see the Shared Powers section. It has good defence against smashing and lethal attacks, ok defence against energy attacks, and ok resistance against toxic damage. In many ways defence is better for Dominators than resistance, because it can prevent some mezzing attacks from ever landing.
[*]Disruptor Blast is a typical patron attack, see the Shared Powers section. It has a small chance to cause knockback.
[*]Toxic Tarantula is a typical patron pet, see the Shared Powers section.[/list]
5.4 Mu Mastery
<ul type="square">[*]Power Sink is a small radius PBAoE endurance drain and recovery power on a long recharge. It is auto-hit, which makes it very dependable for refilling endurance in combat, but has a high endurance cost, which reduces its utility against endurance draining enemies who tend to fully drain endurance. It is an acceptable, if unwieldy, power. Suggested slotting is 0 - 5 additional slots with 0 - 95% endurance modification, 0 - 80% endurance reduction, 0 - 95% recharge.
[*]Charged Armor is a typical patron shield, see the Shared Powers section. It provides good resistance to smashing, lethal and energy damage.
[*]Ball Lightning is a typical patron attack, see the Shared Powers section. It has a small endurance drain.
[*]Mu Guardian is a typical patron pet, see the Shared Powers section. It does have a single target heal which it will use on the summoner or other pets.[/list]
5.5 Soul Mastery
<ul type="square">[*]Dark Consumption is a small radius PBAoE endurance recovery which causes a small amount of damage to affected enemies. It has an absurd six minute recharge time, which makes it a very marginal power. Suggested slotting is 1 - 5 additional slots with 35 - 80% accuracy, 35
- 95% endurance recover, 0 - 95% damage, and 0 - 95% recharge.
[*]Dark Embrace is a typical patron shield, see the Shared Powers section. It provides good resistance to smashing and lethal damage, and okay resistance to toxic and negative energy damage.
[*]Dark Obliteration is a typical patron attack, see the Shared Powers section. It has a minor to-hit debuff.
[*]Fortunata Seer is a typical patron pet, see the Shared Powers section.[/list]
6. Pool Powers
Power pools should be chosen based on player preference, there is no must-have pool, although some are extremely beneficial. The most important pool powers, which all Dominators should consider, in order: Stamina from the Fitness pool, to help with endurance problems; Hasten from Speed, because it boosts the recharge of Domination; Acrobatics from Leaping, because knockback can kill; and Aid Self from Medicine which is particularly useful in PvP. The Power Pools which should be avoided except for concept reasons are Fighting, because the values are so low, and Presence, because Dominators get much better powers in their primaries.
In the late game, especially after level 40, enemies with status effects become very common. AoE mez attacks generate a lot of aggro, which means that Dominators are likely to experience a lot of these status effects. Being mezzed or knocked back can be deadly for a Dominator because rapid response often makes the difference between defeat and victory. For these reasons, many Dominators look to the power pools for additional status protection (for when Domination isn't available). Chief amongst the status protection powers is Acrobatics, which protects from knock* and hold. Hover provides a more limited form of knock* protection, turning it into a falling over effect, without the movement. Aid Self provides an unwieldy stun protection, Health provides sleep resistance, and Tactics provides fear resistance.
The high risk of being mezzed also reduces the utility of toggle powers, since dropped toggles are very frustrating. This is an important factor to consider when choosing pool powers, because there are many more toggles in the power pools than the primary and secondary sets.
6.1 Concealment
Concealment is primarily a matter of preference for Dominators. Stealth is a useful power for opening fights with a well placed AoE control, notably Plant Control's Seeds of Confusion, or convincing a pet to engage the enemy and take the alpha strike. Beyond that, Concealment has no benefit specific to Dominators.
6.2 Fighting
Fighting is a poor choice for Dominators. The additional attacks do not provide significant benefit compared to attacks already available in the secondary. Tough and Weave provide low resistance and defence values which make little difference because Dominators have no other defence powers to stack them with until level 41 when patron shields become available. Additional control powers from the primary are usually a better choice for enhancing survivability.
6.3 Fitness
The majority of Dominators will want to take the Fitness pool for Stamina, since solo Dominators tend have endurance difficulties due to the low damage/endurance ratio of the assault sets. Dominators with confuse powers, high damage pets (Fire Imps), or high damage secondaries may find that Stamina is not necessary. Those with Icy Assault will almost certainly want to take Stamina, because its short activation times make endurance problems even more acute. Any two of the other powers can be taken depending on preference.
6.4 Flight
Air Superiority is a melee attack which provides guaranteed knockdown, making it very useful in early levels to fill in gaps in control, and in later levels against bosses specifically. Accuracy slotting is suggested, or standard attack slotting if desired. Hover is useful for its limited knockback protection. It has also been reported that Wormhole works well when airborne, because it can be directed straight down thus reducing the problem of knockback. Suggested slotting for Hover is 1 - 2 additional slots with 80 - 95% flight speed. Group Fly can also be used with Fire Imps for humourous effect. Suggested slotting is 3 - 4 additional slots with 35 - 80% endurance reduction, and 35 - 95% flight speed.
6.5 Leadership
While Dominators don't receive the best bonuses for the Leadership powers, they are quite acceptable and can be useful on larger teams. The biggest drawback to leadership is the notable endurance cost. Assault provides an appreciable bonus for its endurance cost on large teams, and is somewhat beneficial with Fire Imps. Suggested slotting is no additional slots with 35 - 40% endurance reduction. Maneuvers defense bonus is very small, making it not particularly worthwhile since Dominators have very few other defense powers to stack it with. Tactics is a nice substitute for additional accuracy enhancements, and its perception bonus is useful in some circumstances. Suggested slotting is 0 - 3 additional slots with 35 - 40% endurance reduction and 0 - 95% to hit buffs. Vengeance can be a very useful power on occasion for a teaming Dominator, and is of particular interest for /Icy and /Energy Dominators, because Power Boost can boost it to being significantly better than any other villain's Vengeance. Suggested slotting is 1 -2 additional slots with 35 - 95% defence buff.
6.6 Leaping
Combat Jumping provides nice mobility and protection from immobilize for a low endurance cost. No extra slots needed for this power. Jump Kick is a poor attack with a long activation time, and knockback which isn't guaranteed. Super Jump is the premier PvP travel power because there are very few powers that hinder it. Acrobatics is an excellent protection power, and can greatly increase survivability at later levels. Suggested slotting is 0 - 1 additional slots with endurance reduction.
6.7 Medicine
Aid Other provides some utility for a Dominator with pets, and can be appreciated on teams. Suggested slotting is heal, recharge, and interrupt reduction to taste. Stimulant provides a lot less utility, because mez is usually harder to identify, only a problem in combat when the risk of the power being interrupted is high. Aid Self is often useful, depending on play style, and may improve efficiency when solo. It is also significantly improved by Power Boost. Aid Self is particularly popular in PvP, where taking significant damage is unavoidable. Suggested slotting is 3 - 5 additional slots with 0 - 80% recharge reduction, 0 - 80% interrupt reduction, and 35 - 95% healing. Resuscitate is a very mediocre rez power, largely due to it's extremely long recharge time, and a Dominator would be better served by a power to prevent the defeat in the first place.
6.8 Presence
Challenge and Intimidate are very poor powers for Dominators who typically have enough aggro, and cannot survive it well. Intimidate is a weak single target fear power, with a long recharge, which is not even guaranteed to always affect lieutenants. Invoke Panic is PBAoE with a long recharge, and only affects lieutenants who are weak to fear. Both Intimidate and Invoke Panic are boosted by Domination, at which point they will affect bosses, and are quite usable control powers. Considering their limited usefulness outside of Domination, that fear is one of the weaker forms of control, and that a taunt power is required to open the pool, these powers are not a particularly good choice for Dominators.
6.9 Speed
Flurry is a weak attack, with a long recharge time, and a low chance for disorient. Hasten is an excellent power, providing noticeably increased effectiveness when it is active. Hasten is of particular importance to Dominators, because it makes Domination recharge more quickly. It is also an important component in attempts to achieve perma-Domination, where Domination recharges before it runs out. Suggested slotting is 0 - 2 additional slots with recharge enhancements. Super Speed is a stealth power as well as a travel power, which can be useful in the same ways as Stealth from the Concealment Pool. However, it can be a very frustrating travel power in vertical terrain. Suggested slotting is endurance reduction. Whirlwind is a useful power on occasion, when extra control is needed, as well as being quite entertaining. It can also be useful with drop powers (Ice Slick, Bonfire, Carrion Creepers, Thorntrops) to keep mobs in the patch location. Suggested slotting is 0 - 2 additional slots with endurance reduction.
6.10 Teleportation
Recall Friend can be of use to Dominators with pets, to get them into melee, save them from bad situations, or position them near enemies to start the fight. Teleport Foe is occasionally useful to break up closely grouped enemies, although a ranged attack is almost always sufficient for such a task. Team Teleport can be used to great effect with Singularity, because when teleporting directly into the middle of a group of enemies it will take the majority of the aggro.
7. Glossary
<ul type="square">[*]Confuse is an effect which causes a mob to attack friends instead of foes. Although damage from confused enemies does reduce xp received, it is not directly proportional to the amount of damage, and instead favours the player. Furthermore since it reduces the amount of time spent in each fight it actually increases overall xp gain by time.
[*]Hold is an effect which drops toggles, prevents movement and prevents power activation.
[*]Immobilize is an effect which prevents movement.
[*]Fear usually means Terrorize, but can also mean Flee.
[*]Flee is an effect which causes attempts to leave an area of effect. This does not affect players.
[*]-Fly is a debuff effect which prevents flight.
[*]Mob is a mobile object, including friend and foe.
[*]Sleep is an effect which drops toggles, prevents movement and prevents power actvation, but which is ended by healing, damage and many status effects, importantly excluding sleep.
[*]STH is an abbreviation for Single Target Hold.
[*]Terrorize is an effect which prevents movement and prevents power activation, but whose effects are temporarily suspended when attacked.
[*]PBAoE is an abbreviation for Point-Blank Area of Effect, meaning it covers an area centered on the caster.[/list]
Now that's a comprehensive guide!
I'll be sure to look back on this when I make my next Dom as I did with my latest.
Thanks for the write up.
Phantom Rose: Ill / Kin / Psi
Soleau: Ice / Icy / Ice / Core: Ice / Fire / Pyre / Wind / Eclipse / Flare / Corona
---------------
Solo Space
same here kinda long to read strait but adding it to favorites and will let you know if I see any errors as I refrence it
WOW! Thank you very much for making this guide. It is very well thought out and has an easy to read format.
A++ to you!
**Guardian is the cookie capital of CoX!**
50 Fire/Rad Corruptor ~ 50 Dark/Rad Corruptor ~ 50 Rad/Dark Corruptor ~ 50 EM/Elec Brute ~ 45 Mind/Psi Dominator
Many Villains under 40. All of my Heroes are retired.
That was a pleasure to read, thank you.
very good read; in your opinion what is the most fun for your playstyle? What, again, in your estimation, is the "best?"
<ul type="square">[*]1. Introduction[*]2. Domination[*]3. Primary Powers[*]3.1. Shared Primary Powers[*]3.2. Fire Control[*]3.3. Gravity Control[*]3.4. Ice Control[*]3.5. Mind Control[*]3.6. Plant Control[*]4. Secondary Powers[*]4.1. Shared Secondary Powers[*]4.2. Energy Assault[*]4.3. Fiery Assault[*]4.4. Icy Assault[*]4.5. Psionic Assault[*]4.6. Thorny Assault[*]5. Patron Powers[*]5.1. Shared Patron Powers[*]5.2. Leviathan Mastery[*]5.3. Mace Mastery[*]5.4. Mu Mastery[*]5.5. Soul Mastery[*]6. Pool Powers[*]6.1. Concealment[*]6.2. Fighting[*]6.3. Fitness[*]6.4. Flight[*]6.5. Leadership[*]6.6. Leaping[*]6.7. Medicine[*]6.8. Presence[*]6.9. Speed[*]6.10. Teleportation[*]7. Glossary[/list]