A Local Guide to the Earth/Rad Controller
By
Amber_Sherman,
Posted on: 2007-11-04 05:39 in Player Guides
The Earth Control Powers
Level 1: Stone Prison - Single Target Ranged Immobilize with Damage.
Immobilizes a single target within an earthy formation and deals some Smashing damage over time. Some more resilient foes may require multiple attacks to Immobilize. Stone Prison can also reduce a target's Defense.
Accuracy: 1.2
Range: 80 ft.
Endurance: 7.8
Recharge: 4 sec.
Cast time: 1.93 Sec.
Damage Scale: 5 * 0.2 ticks = 1.0 Smashing Damage over 9.2 seconds (2.77778 BI)
Damage: 5*6.12 over 9.2 sec = 30.6 (at level 50)
Duration: 27.938, Mag 4 (at level 50)
Additional Effects: -20% Defense, -Knockback, -Fly for 15 Sec. Sets up Containment.
Stone Prison (SP) is a standard single target immobilize, similar to those for Plant, Gravity, Ice and Fire. The main difference is -20% Defense. Like all immobilizes, SP allows a foe to attack or do other actions that do not involve moving. The foe will usually attack you with ranged attacks if you are not in its melee range. SP will generally catch minions and lieutenants, and usually (80%) catch bosses. Fast recharge, low endurance, and does some damage when slotted up. It does a nice job of knocking flying enemies out of the air. Because SP has a long duration, high Mag and fast recharge, it is great for immobilizing bosses, EBs and AVs. One of the best uses of SP in upper levels is to immobilize AVs when other types of control will not work.
I did not take Stone Prison in my sample build until level 49, and it is quite optional there. I actually don't have it on my Earth/Rad. I use Stone Cages as part of the Stalagmites + Stone Cages combo, and you do not need both immobilize powers. The main reason to take SP early in your build is if you need it as a damage power for solo and small teams. The main reason to take SP late in your build is to immobilize AVs. (This is why I put it in the Sample Build.) Stone Cages does the job most of the time, so you probably do not need the single version. However, if you plan to solo, Stone Prison is almost mandatory take it early and slot mainly for Accuracy and Damage. Some people feel that SP, plus Quicksand, is an adequate substitution for Stone Cages -- I don't agree. As I am trying to present an AoE build, an AoE immobilize is better.
Slotting: Depends on what you want it for. If you want a damage power, then 1 Acc, 3 Dam should be enough, since it has an accuracy bonus. If you are looking at SP for locking down AVs, then 2-3 Acc, 0-3 Immobilize. If you have endurance problems, an Endurance Reduction is also reasonable. The recharge is so fast that you really don't need to slot it for Immobilize.
IO Sets: Immobilize, Ranged Damage. There are a lot of options for slotting here, depending upon what you want out of the power and for bonuses. If you want to use SP for damage and want to build Ranged Defense from your bonuses, then the Thunderstrike is a good set. If you want some Regen, then two Devastations are nice. The Devastation Chance for Hold proc is nice here, as that proc can stack with Fossilize to hold a boss -- if you are going to solo, that could be your best way to handle bosses. If you want to slot SP for locking down AVs and bosses, and also want Ranged Defense, then the Trap of the Hunter set works well. This power can also be "frankenslotted" for Acc/Imob/Rech. Of course, the purple Gravitational Anchor has some nice bonuses, but I would use that set in Stone Cages instead.
If you have Stone Prison, you probably took it as a single target damage power. I would slot it with a ranged damage set like Thunderstrike or Devastation. Two Devastations give Regen, and four Thunderstrikes give Recovery and Accuracy. If you are looking to maximize Recharge, then look at 5 from Decimation or Entropic Chaos for Ranged Damage, or Enfeebled Operation for Immobilize. Of course, you could use the Ranged Damage purple set, Apocolypse, but it would be mostly wasted in this power.
Level 1: Fossilize - Single Target Ranged Hold with Damage.
Encases a single target within solid stone. The stone slowly crushes the victim, dealing Smashing damage. The Fossilized victim is held helpless and unable to defend himself.
Accuracy: 1.2
Range: 80 ft.
Endurance: 8.3
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 2.07 Sec.
Damage Scale: 1.0 Smashing Damage (2.77778 BI)
Damage: 30.59 smashing (at level 50)
Duration: 22.35 (at level 50) at Mag 3 Hold, 20% chance for an additional 1 Mag for 16.763 sec.
Additional Effects: -20% Defense, -Knockback for 12 Sec. Sets up Containment.
Fossilize is a standard single-target hold for a controller. You should be using this power a lot. It is probably the single power you will use most from level 1 through 50. One shot will hold minions and lieutenants, with a 20% chance of a 16 second Mag 4 hold that will hold a boss. Most of the time, you will need to stack it two or more times to hold a boss. The nice thing about Fossilize (as well as Ice Controls Block of Ice) is that the hold is very noticeable. Like most Earth Control powers, Fossilize has a defense debuff.
Slotting: The default slotting for holds (and other mez powers) is 2 Acc, 2 Hold, 2 Rech. Start with one Accuracy in the default slot, then add Hold and Recharge as soon as possible, and then add the others later. Slotting this power early is important, as it is your primary source early lockdown control. I like the balanced slotting, which has a good mixture of hold duration and ability to stack. Some people like 3 Hold or 3 Rech, and there are good reasons for either choice. Fossilize also is a source of damage, but I dont recommend slotting it for damage while you level up unless you are soloing. Control is more important than damage when your teammates can do the damage. However, if you are soloing, Fossilize is an important source of damage.
IO Sets: Hold, Ranged Damage. Lots of options for slotting here. For most team-oriented builds, slotting for Acc, Hold and Rech is your goal, and you could Frankenslot with Acc/Hold/Rech from several sets. While there are a few damage procs that could be used, I believe you will get more damage by slotting for Damage rather than "Chance for . . ." procs. The Lockdown set has some decent Defense bonuses. The Lockdown +2 Mag proc or the Devastation Chance for Hold proc can allow you to hold a Boss in one shot (if the random rolls go your way). You can tell it is working by the "tesla cage" animation. The other hold sets (other than the purple set) don't have great bonuses. You could use Damage sets, and then add Hold to it. Four Thunderstrikes have an Accuracy bonus, but with all your -Defense, accuracy isn't needed as much. Four Devastations give Regen, Health and Damage bonuses. If you are looking to maximize Recharge, then 4 from the Basilisk's Gaze set for Hold is what you want, and then you can add additional Hold or Damage as you choose. Or 5 Decimations for ranged damage. Or, even better, 5 of the purple Unbreakable Constraint set gives 10% Recharge, but will be expensive.
With HOs, I like 1 Acc/Dam, 1 Acc/Mez, 2 Dam/Mez, 2 Recharge -- that is my current slotting, and it gives me good accuracy, capped Hold AND Damage and very good Recharge. You give up Bonuses, but get great utility from the power. Hami-Os can also be used to "fill in" when a set doesn't max out key attributes. For example, if you slot 4 Basilisk's Gaze for the Recharge bonus, you can add an Acc/Dam and a Dam/Mez HO's to fill in.
Level 2: Stone Cages Foe-targeted AoE Ranged Immobilize with Minor Damage.
Immobilizes a group of foes within earthy formations and deals some Smashing damage over time. Slower and less damaging than Stone Prison, but can capture multiple targets. Stone Cages can also reduce a target's Defense.
Accuracy: 0.9
Range: 80 ft.
Endurance: 15.6
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 2.83 Sec.
Radius: 30 ft.
Max Targets: 16
Damage Scale: 3 * 0.1 = 0.3 Smashing Damage over 9.2 seconds (0.83333 BI)
Damage: 3*3.06 over 5.3 sec = 9.18 (at level 50)
Duration: 27.938 at Mag 3 Immobilize, 50% chance for additional 1 Mag for 18.625 sec.
Additional Effects: -20% Defense, -Knockback and -Fly for 12 Sec. Sets up Containment.
Stone Cages (SC) is the same as other controller AoE Immobilize powers, except for its additional defense debuff, slightly longer animation and huge graphics. SC recharges more quickly than the duration of the immobilize, so you can keep groups immobilized permanently. Oddly enough, Stone Cages is one of the most debated powers in the Earth set.
By itself, an AoE immobilize can be a huge problem. The enemy cant move, but can do everything else. The enemy cant move, but can use ranged attacks. The enemy cant move, and they know that the Earth controller is at fault so all the aggro is focused on the castor. This generally means that the castor will take ALL the ranged attacks. Inexperienced controllers use Stone Cages over and over again, and suffer for it. Using an AoE immobilize by itself is a good way to take a lot of damage and earn some extra debt. However, when used under the right circumstances, an AoE Immobilize can be very effective control. See When should you use Stone Cages? in the Strategy section.
The graphics for this power is one of two main reasons some people dislike the Earth set. (The other is the lack of damage.) The stone is so imposing that small characters cant see around the stone spires. On huge enemies, SC gets to be so big that even larger characters cant see around the stone. Also, SC may cause some teammates to have graphics problems on their computers. It is important to your success as an Earth controller for you to learn when to use Stone Cages, and when not to. You may want to check with your teammates on how they feel about Stone Cages.
(One positive thing about the Stone Cages graphics . . . it makes it easy to find left over foes who might otherwise be hard to see because they are small (Clockwork Gears) or hiding among boxes in a warehouse map.)
I use Stone Cages most often as a follow up to Stalagmites. Some people feel that Stone Cages can be skipped, and that Quicksand is sufficient to keep stunned enemies from running away. I dont agree, but it is a viable option. I prefer to use both Stone Cages and Quicksand together. Stalagmites will often miss a few who then will be caught in Stone Cages, thereby keeping them in range of your debuffs and in Containment. With Stalagmites and Quicksand alone, those baddies who are missed by Stalagmites do not have Containment and may be able to escape Quicksand.
It is VERY important to remember that Stone Cages has a knockback for 12 seconds. This power will completely negate Earthquake, Ice Slick and any other knockdown, knockup or knockback power for 12 seconds. DO NOT CAST Stone Cages on top of Earthquake!!!. This is another reason some people like to skip SC, because it conflicts with Earthquake. (I think that is kind of silly -- just don't use SC on Earthquake!) However, it can be an effective strategy to cast Stone Cages, wait for 12 seconds, and then cast Earthquake. The baddies will bounce around while still immobilized and subject to Containment for a little while. (Slot for Immobilize duration if you plan to do this a lot.) Also, the knockback can have lots of strategic advantages if used correctly -- such as when you have teammates with a lot of knockback. But be careful . . . some characters rely upon knockback or knockdown for strategic benefits. (My Axe Tank and MA Scrapper use knockdown a lot as a form of damage mitigation.)
In spite of the various complaints, Stone Cages is valuable tool Quicksand is not a sufficient substitute. (1) SC can be cast faster than Quicksand, and the bad guys cant wander out. (2) SC is your fastest recharging control power, and it sets up Containment. (3) If you have teammates with AoE attacks, you can immobilize multiple groups for AoE damage. (4) When you have teammates with lots of knockback, the knockback in SC can be wonderful to neutralize the problems that can be caused. Some of these teammates can include Energy Blasters and Defenders, Peace Bringers, Storm Defenders and Controllers, or Illusions Phantasm. (5) Also, some foes are resistant to slows, while others are resistant to immobilize, but very few are resistant to both.
Slotting: 2 Acc, 1-2 EndRdx. Add additional EndRdx and Immobilize Duration to taste. Stone Cages has a 10% accuracy penalty, so it really needs two accuracies. The endurance cost is high, so at least one EndRdx is suggested. The duration of SC is a lot longer than its recharge, so duration and recharge enhancements really are not needed. You can certainly add them if you want to later, but those slots may be needed elsewhere. The damage from SC is one-third the damage from Stone Prison or Fossilize, so I do not recommend slotting Stone Cages for damage.
IO Sets: Immobilize, Targetted AoE Damage. Your main goal should be for slotting Accuracy and EndRdx. There are some nice IO sets for AoE Immobilize, so later in your build or in a respec, you may want to add more slots here. If you can get it, the "Chance for Hold" proc from the purple Gravitational Anchor set is wonderful in an AoE Immobilize. I believe that damage procs in this power will actually average out to higher damage than slotting this power for damage, so consider damage procs. The Trap of the Hunter set has some decent bonuses and is usually cheap to get. Folks who want to build for Defense often go for the Enfeebled Operation set. But if you can get it, the Gravitational Anchor purple set has great bonuses.
Level 6: Quicksand - Location-targeted AoE Slow.
You can cause the ground to liquefy like Quicksand at a targeted location. Any foes that pass through the Quicksand will become snared, their movement will be dramatically Slowed, and their Defense reduced. Foes trapped in the Quicksand cannot jump or Fly.
Accuracy: Automatic Hit
Range: 90 ft.
Endurance: 7.8
Recharge: 30 sec.
Cast time: 3.1 Sec.
Radius: Not listed on CoD, but about 30 ft.
Duration: 45 sec.
Additional Effects: 90% Run Speed Reduction, -25% Defense, -Jump, -Fly for duration.
Quicksand is a terrific power, and generally underrated in its usefulness. It is a location-targetted AoE Slow power with a substantial defense debuff. While the Slow is very helpful, the 25% Defense Debuff (more than the other Earth powers) makes it much easier to hit the bad guys. It can be used as a back-up for almost every control you have, and can provide effective soft control on its own. Even with the few types of baddies who can ignore slow powers (Igneous, Counsel Wolves and a few others), Quicksand is worth using for its great Defense Debuff alone. However, unlike many slow powers, Quicksand does NOT provide a reduction to the foes recharge rate.
You can build some strategy around the effective use of Quicksand early in the game, and the same strategies continue to be useful even in the higher levels. If you cast Quicksand under a group, it will draw aggro to you. However, if you cast it on the ground, and then the group is pulled onto Quicksand, you generally dont get the aggro. This makes Quicksand a wonderful tool for pulling. Place QS between your team and the group, then hide behind a corner. Let the Blaster or Defender fire (or if you have it, use the Nemesis Staff or Blackwand Vet power), or you can use RI to draw aggro. As the group runs into QS, the baddies slow and their defense is dropped. Easy pickings for the rest of your team.
Because of the way Quicksand is cast, you can hide around a corner and change your point of view, so you can cast it while your character is out of line-of-sight, thereby substantially reducing or eliminating retaliation. This makes QS great for casting into a room filled with baddies, and as they slowly filter out of the doorway, your team can pick them off one-by-one.
In higher levels, I cast QS under just about every AoE control power I have. The Defense, stacked with the Defense in other Earth powers and in the Rad powers, substantially improves your teams chance of hitting the bad guys. One reason an Earth/Rad Controllers can substantially contribute to a team of higher level characters because many of the controls do not require a ToHit to be effective. Quicksand is one of them.
Slotting: 1-3 Rech, 0-1 Slow. Actually, QS is pretty effective with just the default slot, but slotting 3 recharge lets you spread several Quicksands around. Remember that Slow enhancements only affect run speed. You could put 3 Slow in, but I found that one was good enough, especially since you get another slow power, Lingering Radiation, later in your build. Quicksand alone hits the Slow Cap for even con foes, and the two Slow powers (Quicksand and Lingering Radiation) together surpass the Slow Cap of 90% of run speed for almost all foes anywhere near your level. (The slow cap is a built-in limit in the game on how much you can slow an enemy.)
IO Sets: Slow. This power mainly needs Recharge. Unfortunately, the slow sets are low on Recharge. And frankly, you don't need to slot Quicksand with much slow if any. Consider adding Tempered Readiness Slow/EndRdx/Rech and Slow/Range for the small Recovery bonus, with one or two Recharge IOs. However, with enough global Recharge, you might be able to leave off one or two Recharge.
Level 8: Salt Crystals PB AoE Sleep.
Attempts to encrust all nearby foes in a Pillar of Salt. The victims will remain encased within salt for quite a while, but will automatically break free if attacked. Affected targets have reduced defense for a while, even if they break free.
Accuracy: 1.0
Range: 90 ft.
Endurance: 15.6
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 1.07 Sec.
Radius: 30 ft.
Max Targets: 16
Duration: 18.625 sec., Mag 3 Sleep, 50% chance of 1 extra Mag Sleep for 13.969 sec.
Additional Effects: -20% Defense.
Salt Crystals is the most frequently skipped power in the Earth set. However, it looks pretty cool. The controller stands in the middle of a group of baddies and colored crystals form on them, indicating that they are sleeping. Any attack will wake the foe out of the sleep.
Salt Crystals isnt necessarily a BAD power, but it is not needed for an Earther. Every other Earth power is ranged, but Salt Crystals is PB AoE. To use Salt Crystals, the controller has to go in the middle of the group of baddies and instead of being a hold, like Illusions Flash, Fires Cinders, Ices Glacier or */Rads EM Pulse, it is a sleep. Sleeps have far less usefulness than a hold, especially if you have an AoE-happy blaster, controller or Defender on your team. Any kind of damage at all will cause the slept foes to awaken. This power just does not fit in a ranged build with lots of other better control options. Some folks claim it is a good power for solo, duo or small teams, but I have seen very few Earth Controllers who take this power.
Slotting: 2 Acc, 3 Sleep or maybe 2 Acc, 2 Sleep, 2 Rech. I have not used this power enough to make recommendations.
IO Sets: Sleep. Some people take sleep powers specificly because the purple Sleep set, Fortunata Hypnosis, is so cheap compared to other purple sets. Then they rarely, if ever use the power.
Level 12: Stalagmites Foe-targeted AoE Ranged Stun with Minor Damage.
You can cause Stalagmites to erupt all around an enemy, damaging all nearby foes. The Stalagmites deal minimal Lethal damage, and can Disorient all affected targets for a good while, as well as reduce their Defense. You must be on the ground to activate this power.
Accuracy: 0.8
Range: 70 ft.
Endurance: 10.4
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 2.1 Sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Max Targets: 16
Damage Scale: 0.25 Lethal Damage (0.69444 BI)
Damage: 7.65 (at level 50)
Duration: 14.9 sec., Mag 3 Stun, 20% chance of 1 extra Mag Stun for 11.175 sec.
Additional Effects: -20% Defense for 12 Sec.
Stalagmites is a great power, most often used as an opening attack. Stalagmites will quickly eliminate most or all of the enemies ability to attack you and your team by stunning them for a short time. After being stunned, Stone Cages will root them to where they are. Together with Stone Cages, you get the equivalent of a ranged AoE hold that sets up Containment. Using Quicksand instead of SC, you get some slow wander, and Containment only lasts as long as the stun, which isnt all that long. Some people feel that Quicksand is good enough, making Stone Cages skippable. I prefer keeping the Stalagmites + Stone Cages combination, and adding Quicksand for added Defense debuffing.
Be aware that when you first get this power, it seems unimpressive. It takes some slotting before it really shines. One nice thing is that Stalagmites does not conflict with either Earthquake or Volcanic Gasses the powers stack very well, including the -20% Defense. Eventually, Stalagmites + Stone Cages becomes one of your three ranged AoE controls that makes Earth so powerful. If you add in Quicksand, then you have three powers with -20% defense, adding up to -60% defense for a few seconds. Any teammates with AoE attacks should absolutely love this combo. Add in Radiation Infection to boost Defense debuffing even more and Enervating Field to boost damage, and you have lots of defeated bad guys.
Stalagmites, like many other AoE powers, has a -20% chance to hit. This means not only is Accuracy essential to slot first, but that it will often miss a guy or two. This is another reason why stacking Stalagmites with another power is important. Stone Cages and Quicksand will almost always catch anyone missed by Stalagmites. Keep an eye out for missed baddies, and you can use Fossilize to hold them. It is usually not hard to find the one or two missed baddies thats guy(s) who is probably shooting at you.
If you are fighting higher level baddies, you may want to let a teammate take the aggro, and then use RI and Quicksand first, then Stalagmites and then Stone Cages. This will increase your chance to hit. While Quicksand does not require a ToHit, both Stalagmites and Stone Cages do.
Slotting: Standard slotting is 2 Acc, 2 Rech, 2 DisorientDuration. If you want it up a little more often, swap out a Disorient for a Recharge, or vice-versa if you want a longer stun. However, you get the most "bang for your buck" by slotting two of each. It absolutely needs 2 Accuracy, due to the 20% accuracy penalty, and the first thing you slot should be 2 Acc.
IO Sets: Stun, Targetted AoE Damage. In lower levels, you can "frankenslot" for Acc/Stun/Recharge. Razzle Dazzle and Stupify have Recovery bonuses for 2, and Rope-a-Dope has Regen for 2. In the upper levels, the Stupify set is pretty nice, but leave off the Chance for Knockback Proc. Substitute in a common Recharge. Trust me on this that knockback Proc is far more trouble than it is worth (I tried it) and you want more Recharge than the set offers. Another great option is the purple Absolute Amazement set. Both Stupify and Absolute Amazement provide Recharge bonuses.
Don't bother to slot for damage, as the damage is quite small. Acc/Stun/Recharge are a lot more important.
Level 18: Earthquake - Location-targeted AoE Ranged Knock up.
Generates a powerful, localized Earthquake. Most foes that pass through the location will fall down. The violent shaking also reduces their Accuracy and Defense.
Accuracy: 1.0
Range: 60 ft.
Endurance: 10.4
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 2.03 Sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Duration: 30 sec. knock up pet
Max Targets: 10 per pulse, 0.67 mag knockup.
Additional Effects: -10% Defense Debuff and -10% ToHit debuff
Earthquake is one of my favorite powers in the Earth set. As control, it is very effective against anything that is not resistant to knockdown. All or almost all of the foes (who are not resistant to knockdown) fall on their kiesters over and over again, as it does not require a tohit and does not take accuracy enhancements. Sometimes, it takes a second or two before the all bad guys start to flop around on the ground, so you may take some retaliation fire.
Since Earthquake is a targeted AoE, it can be cast around corners. This is a key tactic to learn. You can stand outside of a room or around a corner, cast Earthquake out of Line of Sight, and get little to no retaliation. Because there is a chance that not all foes will be hit, it is a great idea to cast Quicksand underneath Earthquake.
Against foes near your level, Stalagmites may be a better opener since it sets up Containment and does a little damage. But Earthquake works quite well against higher level foes, especially with the Defense Debuffs in the Earth set. You can open with Earthquake followed by Quicksand and RI for the Defense and -ToHit. Then your other controls can hit more reliably, even against purples.
As stated in the Stone Cages section, it is very important to remember: DO NOT use Stone Cages (or Stone Prison) with Earthquake under most circumstances. The AoE Immobilize will complete neutralize the effect of Earthquake for 12 seconds. However, after the stun from Stalagmites has run out and after the 12 seconds knockdown has expired, using Earthquake is a pretty good tactic, especially if you have added Immobilize Duration enhancements. There is no problem using Stalagmites with Earthquake but it is kind of a waste, since for the most part, the bad guys cant shoot back while they are flopping on the ground. If you need to set up AoE containment, use Stalagmites + Stone Cages or Volcanic Gasses instead of Earthquake. If you have Stone Prison slotted for damage and you want to attack a foes on Earthquake, use Fossilize first so that Stone Prison only acts as a damage power (with Containment, too!). Using Stone Prison alone lets that foe shoot at you.
Slotting: Standard slotting is 3 Recharge, and you will want this in there as soon as possible. Three recharge IOs will reduce the recharge to about 42 seconds. If you have slots to spare, adding a range is nice. You could slot for Defense Debuff or ToHit Debuff, but the debuff is only 10% instead of the 20% in most of the other Earth powers. Since the baddies are flopping, I have generally felt that ToHit Debuff is not needed. If I need additional Defense Debuff, I just cast Quicksand underneath and/or use RI. I save the slots for other powers. But you can use Earthquake for some set bonuses.
IO Sets: Defense Debuff, Knockback, ToHit Debuff. Do not slot Earthquake for Knockback. It will turn the knockdown into knockback . . . not a good thing. Look to slotting Recharge or ToHit Debuff. You can slot Defense Debuff, but you already have so much Defense Debuff in other powers that it really isn't needed unless you want the nice bonuses in the Touch of Lady Grey set. Instead, I suggest trying for 4 Dark Watcher's Dispair for the Recharge bonus.
Level 26: Volcanic Gasses Location-targeted AoE Pulsing Hold with Minor Damage
You can tap into the geothermal power of the Earth and focus it at a targeted location. Foes that pass near a thermal vent will take minor Fire damage and be overcome by the gasses, leaving them choking and helpless.
Accuracy: 1.4
Range: 60 ft.u
Endurance: 18.2
Recharge: 240 sec.
Cast time: 1,17 Sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Damage Scale: 0.01 Fire damage every 2 seconds (75% chance) (0.02777 BI)
Max Targets: 5 per pulse
Damage: 7.65 (at level 50)
Duration: 60 sec. pulsing hold every 6 seconds for 7.45 seconds (before enhancement)
Volcanic Gasses (VG) is one of the two best hold powers in the game . . . and you get the other one, EM Pulse, in this build at level 38. (OK, EM Pulse Arrow is pretty good, too, but that's mostly the same thing.) VG is a pulsing hold; gas shoots up out of the ground at the feet of foes in the area every 6 seconds. Although the limit per pulse is 5 enemies, it usually catches all baddies in the area, or any who enter the area, in a short time. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to catch every foe in the area, so you may get some retaliation fire at the beginning. The game inner workings view VG as a pet (actually 6 pets). When you slot up VG for Hold enhancements, it almost doubles the duration to 14 seconds, allowing it to stack holds and therefore hold bosses. Yes, VG can hold Bosses! VG is viewed as one of the best holds because it lasts for so long, can catch so many foes, can hold Bosses on one application and continues catching foes that enter the area.
VG is so good that it is worth using whenever it is up unless you need to save it for a better opportunity. As a location targeted AoE, it can be cast around corners and through doorways (same as Earthquake and Quicksand). Since it takes a pulse or two to hit all foes in the area, combining VG with Quicksand, Stalagmites, Earthquake or even SC is a good idea. Also, take into account that there are two steps to cast this power, so although the activation time appears to be quick, VG takes longer to cast than EM Pulse, making EM Pulse a better panic button power. In a recent post, Enantiodromos provided the math that VG, with proper slotting and due to its unique pulsing hold from 6 pets, can hold up to 40 bad guys. Quite impressive! (If you want to try to be funny, set up a bind or macro saying, Hey, $target! I see you have been loading up on the bean burritos again! Some folks, and you know who you are, will find this hilarious.)
Slotting: 3 Recharge, 3 Hold. This will cut the recharge in half and double the length of the hold pulses. Since only 5 bad guys can be caught in each pulse, 3 hold will allow you to skip a pulse and keep the foe held. The net effect is not that the hold lasts longer, but that you can hold more bad guys. The accuracy is so good that it really does not need accuracy enhancements, but if you are regularly going up against +2 or higher, adding an Accuracy enhancement may be a good idea. The damage is so small that it really doesnt need enhancement. Endurance Reduction? VG is some of the best spent endurance youll have, so other enhancement is more important.
IO Sets: Hold, Targetted AoE Damage. There are a lot of options for slotting this power. It mostly needs Hold and Recharge. Because of VG's unique pet mechanics, it is a really good power for damage procs, as they fire off a lot. The Lockdown set is the only non-purple hold set with decent set bonuses -- if you are looking for defense. Otherwise, Volcanic Gasses is a good candidate for "frankenslotting" to get as much Recharge and Hold, and then add damage procs (Ghost Widow and Neuronic Shutdown) or the Lockdown +2 Mag Hold proc. I prefer to slot this power up for its main uses by slotting at or near the ED cap for Recharge and Hold, and then add the procs with slots left over. Some folks are willing to give up some on Hold Duration or Recharge to get more procs. Accuracy is not really needed since the inherent accuracy is so good, especially if you have some accuracy global bonuses.
A really nice slotting is 5 Unbreakable Constraint (purple hold set), leaving out the Hold/End, and putting the Lockdown Chance for +2 Mag into the sixth slot.
Level 32: Animate Stone Tank-type Pet
Earth and stone coalesce to form an incredibly tough entity that can attack your foes. The Animated Stone is not alive and is immune to Psionic damage. It is also virtually immune to Sleep, Immobilize, Disorient, and Hold effects. The entity can be healed and buffed like any teammate. Type "/release_pets" in the chat window to release all your pets.
Range: 60 ft.
Endurance: 20.8
Recharge: 240 sec.
Cast time: 3.2 Sec.
Duration: As long as you are in the same zone.
Pet Powers:
(1) Hurl Boulder: 40 ft. Ranged attack, 3.83 cast time, Recharge 8 Sec., 91.2 Smashing Damage at level 50, 50% chance of 6.231 knockback, Mag 4 Taunt for 13.5 seconds.
(2) Stone Fist: Melee attack, 0.57 cast time, Recharge 4 Sec., 55.61 Smashing Damage at 50, 20% chance for 11.92 sec Mag 2 Stun, Mag 4 Taunt for 13.5 seconds.
(3) Seismic Smash: Melee attack, 1.5 cast time, Recharge 8 Sec., 91.2 Smashing Damage at 50, 66% chance for 5.96 Sec. Mag 3 Hold, Mag 4 Taunt for 13.2 seconds.
(4) Resistance to Damage: 40% to Smashing, 50% to Lethal, 60% to Cold, Fire, Energy and Negative Energy, 80% to Toxic, 100% to Psionic. Effectively immune to Sleep, Hold, Immobilize and Stun. Mag 10 protection from knockback.
Ah, finally! You get your pet, and your days of being unable to do damage are over! Well, kind of. Your Rocky pet will follow you around for as long as you are in the same mission or zone, defending you with its three attacks. Animate Stone is the tank among controller pets. He has high resistances and is immune to Psi damage and mez effects.
Animate Stone has various nicknames, such as Rocky, Stony, Lumpy, Poo-Man, Iggy (for Igneous) and somewhat inexplicably in one guide, Gretchen. Before I-10, Rocky used to be one of the most maligned pets, due to terrible AI. But I-10 changed the AI, and I find him to be much improved. Then, his Stone Mallet was changed to Seismic Smash to help him cycle his attacks better. Now, he generally throws one boulder from range, then closes to fight melee. And since Seismic Smash has a hold, it stacks with your other hold powers.
Rockys damage is . . . pretty good, but not stellar. When Seismic Smash replaced Stone Mallet, Rocky went from an OK pet to excellent. You cant compare Rocky's damage to the three Fire Imps or Illusions Phantasm but he is supposed to be a tank, not three maniacal scrappers or an energy blaster. His survival rate is decent, but because he is in melee and taunts, he takes damage in spite of the substantial resistances. I find Rocky is is LESS durable than Phantasm, as Phantasm uses a decoy and stays out of melee. He is far more durable than those Fire Imps and Jack Frost. Rocky compares pretty well to Singularity but Rocky can be healed while Singy cannot be healed. As an Earth/Rad, you happen to have a heal . . . so Rocky is pretty darn durable with an occasional heal. I added both -10% Resistance for pets procs to my build. I find it makes a big difference with Rocky and recommend it. Two of them make Rocky almost unkillable as long as you stay nearby.
Update: Thanks to Tylerst, who answered some questions about Rocky's Resistance and ToHit issues. Rocky has a cap of 90% Damage Resistance, so even though he is listed as 100% Resistant to Psi Damage, it is capped out at 90%. With Damage Resistance buffs from Thermal or Sonic and/or the two Damage Resistance procs, Rocky can only cap to 90% Resistance to any damage type. City of Data also lists a -25% ToHit for Rocky, but it does not seem to have any effect.
Slotting: 2 Acc, 3 Dam. Start with 1 Acc, 3 Dam. Add a second Accuracy when you can. The other attributes are mostly not worth enhancing. Recharge is a luxury since Rocky rarely dies, but you could add a Recharge if you dont have anywhere else to put that slot.
IO Sets: Knockback, Pet Damage, Recharge Intensive Pets. When you get into IO's, good early slotting is Acc/Dam and Damage from Blood Mandate, Acc/Dam and Acc/Dam/End from Brilliant Leadership. Then take a look at the Sovereign Rights and Expediant Reinforcement Unique Resistance Bonus IOs to increase Rockys already huge resistances. These IOs are fairly cheap, and provide a huge benefit to Rocky. I have found that except for AVs, Rocky does not take much damage if I stay within 20 ft. If you are looking for increasing Recharge in your overall build, you can use the Expediant Reinforcement set (Recharge Intensive Pets).
Another option at 47-50 is 3 Nucleous (Acc/Dam) HOs, and the Sovereign Right and Expedient Reinforcement Resistance Bonus IOs.
Now the Secondary set:
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
The Radiation Emission Powers
Level 1: Radiant Aura – PB AoE Heal
You can use Radiant Aura to heal some of your wounds, and the wounds of your group. This power has a small radius, so your allies need to be near you if they wish to be affected.
Endurance: 13.0
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 2.03 Sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Heal: 117.799 (at level 50)
Radiant Aura (RA) is your heal, pure and simple. You have to take it at Level 1, which is a good thing, since you would want to take it anyway. Only */Rad and */Empathy have a self heal that does not require a ToHit, and the power is the same in both powersets with different names. You provide a moderate heal to yourself and any other heroes or pets (or some NPC’s) in range.
Radiant Aura is one of the reasons I feel that Radiation is the best overall secondary. Having a heal is valuable, and because it is both a self- and team-heal, it is effective both solo and on teams. However, the heal is paltry compared to Kinetic’s Transfusion or the Empathy heals, not big enough to let you be the team healer. Since RA does not require a ToHit, unlike Transfusion, it can reduce down time between battles. To have quick access to RA, I have it set up with a bind on button 4 of my 8 button mouse. If you don’t have a mouse with extra buttons, you can easily bind it to the “+” key on the keypad, so you can fire off RA with a flick of your right thumb. Here are the two binds:
/bind button4 powexecname Radiant Aura
/bind add powexecname Radiant Aura
Because you have RA, you really don’t need Health from the Fitness pool, unless you want it for some of the bonuses in IO sets or uniques. Instead, you can choose to enjoy the added mobility of both Swift and Hurdle. (I took Health on my Earth/Rad, however, as I will get those nice unique IO’s. I skipped Health on my Ill/Rad, who can use the greater mobility.) Just something to think about.
Slotting: 3 Heal, 1-3 Recharge. I have RA slotted 3 Heal, 1 Recharge. If you are looking at IO sets, the Doctored Wounds set works well because it has a lot of recharge, but the Numina’s set has nice bonuses. Save that Numina’s Unique, however, for Health.
Level 2: Radiation Infection – Foe-anchored AoE Accuracy and Defense Debuff
Infects a targeted foe with deadly radiation, severely reducing his Accuracy and Defense. All foes that come near the target will also become infected. The Radiation Infection will last until you deactivate it, or until the original target is defeated.
Accuracy: Autohit
Range: 70 ft.
Endurance: 0.26 per sec.
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 3.1 Sec., Activates in 0.5 Sec.
Radius: 15 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Duration: Until Anchor is defeated, goes out of range, toggle is turned off, caster is defeated or caster runs out of endurance.
Effects: -25% ToHit, -25% Defense (before enhancement)
Radiation Infection (RI) is another key power in the Rad set, the first of Rad’s “holy trinity” of debuffs. RI is an autohit toggle, so it can be a “set it and forget it” power. When you cast RI on a chosen foe, the foes near your “anchor” are much less likely to hit you or your team very often, and any foes in the Area of Effect will be much more easily hit by you and your team. That target is the “anchor” for the ToHit and Defense debuff, and a green glow becomes centered on the “anchor.” Once you cast RI on a foe, the power continues until the “anchor” is defeated, until you run out of endurance, until you are mezzed, until you are defeated or until you turn it off. However, it will aggro every enemy affected by the power. (In fact, casting RI can be an effective pulling technique.) It is incredibly useful in low levels, before your team has been able to develop their defensive powers, and continues to be useful in every level. It is a double debuff that never misses. The endurance usage is moderate, about half that of Enervating Field.
The main complaints about RI are: (1) As a power anchored on a foe, teammates often (actually, usually) kill off the anchor, causing you to have to re-cast it or miss out on the debuff – it’s frustrating to have the team keep killing your anchor. See “Choosing your Anchor” in the Strategy section. (2) RI has a long animation – on fast moving teams, it takes so long to cast RI that the baddies may be defeated. This is one of the trade-offs for a great debuff power – but the benefits are worth it. Since RI is an accuracy debuff, it can be effective as an opening “attack.” RI will make it less likely for any first attack, the “Alpha Strike” – which is usually the strongest attacks – will hit you and your team. If you have a Tank on the team, it is usually better to let him or her take that duty, but it can be effective to cast RI just as the Tank enters battle.
On other interesting use of RI and EF: If you have a foe with an interruptable attack or summon or other action, RI will usually provide that interruption. This works on a number of foes, like Embalmed Cadavers (those Vahzilok who explode), the Sky Raiders who summon Force Field generators, the Malta who summon the floaty guns, Rikti Communications officers who summon Portals, and even Lord Recluse in the Statesman's TF.
Because RI is a debuff, it will increase the likelihood of hitting even for powers that cannot be enhanced for accuracy, like veteran attacks, temp powers and Illusion’s Phantom Army. Therefore, it helps to off RI before attacking with Sands of Mu or any of the many temp power attacks you can get in the game.
Slotting: 3 ToHit Debuff, 0 or 2-3 Defense Debuff, 0-1 EndRdx. Whether you include the EndRdx depends on whether you are having endurance problems. I suggest slotting the 3 ToHit Debuffs right away, then the Defense Debuffs as slots become available in higher levels. For an Earth/Rad, you can even skip the Defense Debuff slots since you already have tons of Defense Debuff. At levels 47-50, the ideal slotting for RI is 3 Enzyme Hami-O’s. This is the perfect power for Enzymes (ToHitDebuff/DefenseDebuff/EndRdx), and no other power makes better use of Enzymes than RI. The other nice thing about using Enzyme HO’s is that you can take 3 slots out of RI and put them in some other powers without any loss whatsoever in the effectiveness of the power.
Level 4: Accelerate Metabolism – Self-centered AoE Team Buff
Activating this power emits radiation that increases the running speed, attack speed, Endurance recovery, and damage potential of all nearby allies. Affected allies' metabolisms are increased so much that they become resistant to effects such as Sleep, Hold, Disorient, Immobilization and Endurance Drain.
Endurance: 15.6
Recharge: 422 sec.
Cast time: 2.03 sec.
Radius: 25 ft.
Duration: 120 sec.
Buffs: 20% Damage
30% Recharge
30% Endurance Recovery
30% Increase to Run Speed and Fly Speed
173% Resistance to Hold, Stun, Sleep, Immobilize (Shortens duration)
Accelerate Metabolism (AM) is widely considered to be one of the best buff powers in the game, and for good reason. Instead of buffing one or two things a lot, it buffs a bunch of things a little. AM boosts Recharge, Endurance Recovery, Damage, Run and Flight Speed, and reduces the time needed to recover from Hold, Sleep, Stun and Immobilize. The main benefits are a substantial boost in Recharge and Endurance Recovery – not as much as Speed Boost from Kinetics, but this is an AoE buff that needs to only be applied once, and not to each team member. Thus, you don’t feel like a “buff-bot,” which is a frequent complaint about Kinetics. And it boosts Damage, too. And if you have more than one character on the team with Rad, stacked AM is wonderful.
It is a good idea to create a bind or macro to tell your team when AM is available, suggesting that anyone who wants the buff should gather near you. You can set it up as either a Macro or a keybind. Something like:
/macro AM “group Gather here for AM in about 5 seconds!”
I then have a bind for when I fire off AM, so that I can use the 4th button on my 8 button mouse:
/bind lshift+Button4 “group Feel the Glowing Green Goodness of AM!$$powexecname Accelerate Metabolism”
Slotting: 3 Recharge, 3 EndMod. This is common wisdom as the best slotting for AM – anything else is less effective. Get the 3 Recharge slotted ASAP, then add in the 3 EndMod when you can. You want AM up as frequently as possible. With IO sets, the Efficieny Adapter set works well, with nice bonuses, but unless you have a lot of global Recharge, you may want to replace the Acc/EndMod with a common Recharge IO.
Level 6: Enervating Field – Foe-anchored AoE Damage and Damage Resistance Debuff
While this power is active, you irradiate a targeted foe, and all foes nearby, with a deadly dose of radiation. This radiation weakens exposed targets, decreasing the damage of their attacks. It also significantly weakens their resistance, so they will take much more damage from other attacks.
Accuracy: Autohit
Range: 70 ft.
Endurance: 0.52 per sec.
Recharge: 8 sec.
Cast time: 1.5 Sec., Activates in 0.5 Sec.
Radius: 15 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Duration: Until Anchor is defeated, goes out of range, toggle is turned off, caster is defeated or caster runs out of endurance.
Effects: -20% Damage from foes in area, -22.5% Damage Resistance (cannot be enhanced)
Enervating Field (EF) is the second of the “holy trinity” of Rad debuffs, and the best one for an Earth/Rad. Like RI, you pick a target to “anchor” the debuff, and the anchor carries the debuff with him, aggroing every bad guy in range. Instead of reducing Accuracy and Defense, EF reduces Damage done by the foes, and their resistance to your damage. Reducing Damage Resistance has the same effect as increasing your team’s damage, but it is not limited by damage caps. And because it is a debuff, it has the effect of increasing the damage done by powers that cannot be enhanced for damage, like veteran attack powers, temp powers and Illusion’s Phantom Army. EF uses a lot of endurance – if you are running low, EF can be the first thing you turn off.
As stated above under RI, EF can be used to interrupt foes who have interruptable powers.
See "Choosing your Anchor” in the Strategy section.
Slotting: 2-3 Endurance Reduction. That’s all, as the debuff cannot be enhanced. Slot at least two as soon as you can, as EF uses a lot of Endurance. Along with many folks, I recommend holding off on EF until after Stamina since EF uses so much Endurance.
Level 16: Mutation – Ally Resurrection with Buff
Using a concentrated burst of radiation, you can revive a fallen ally and Mutate him into a killing machine. The Mutated target has increased damage, Accuracy, Endurance recovery, and attack speed and is protected from XP Debt for 90 seconds. The entire experience is very taxing on your ally, and he will soon be severely weakened. All effects of the Mutation will eventually wear off.
Accuracy: Autohit
Range: 15 ft.
Endurance: 26.
Recharge: 180 sec.
Cast time: 3.2 Sec..
Effects: Full heal to 100% for both Health and Endurance. Buffs to target for 90 Sec.: 200% Recovery, 100% Recharge, 40% Damage and 30% Accuracy. After 90 Sec., -40% Damage, -30% Accuracy.(cannot be enhanced) Debt Protection for 20 Sec. after Rez.
Mutation is one of the two best Rez powers in the game. (The other is Howling Twilight, which allows a Dark Defender to rez multiple teammates at once.) It is a great battlefield Rez. It not only provides a Rez, it also is a substantial buff for 90 seconds. Your teammate needs to understand that there is a kind of “crash” after 90 Seconds. As good as Mutation is, it is an optional power. It is nice to have, but not essential (unless your team has a few suicidal blasters). Fit in Mutation if you can. If you choose to take Fallout, it would be impolite not to have Mutation as well.
Slotting: 1 Recharge. Up to 3 Recharge if you have spare slots or have teammates who die a lot.
Level 20: Lingering Radiation – Foe-targetted AoE Slow, Attack Rate and Regeneration Debuff
You can emit Lingering Radiation that reduces the attack rate, movement speed, and Regeneration rate of the target, and all nearby foes.
Accuracy: 1.0
Range: 80 ft.
Endurance: 15.6
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 1.5 Sec..
Radius: 25 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Duration: 30 Sec.
Effects: -75% Run Speed, -75% Recharge, -500% Regeneration.
Lingering Radiation (LR) is the third of the “holy trinity” of Rad debuffs. It is a nice slow power, with a debuff to Recharge and a huge debuff to the foe’s Regeneration. LR is the only one of the three Rad debuffs that is not Autohit – it needs accuracy to hit. Also unlike RI and EF, LR is not a toggle; it is a one-shot slow with a duration of 30 seconds and a recharge of 90 seconds; with Recharge enhancements and Hasten, you can reduce that recharge time to about 40 seconds. Also, LR only affects baddies in its range at the time it is cast – LR does not continue to “infect” other foes who later come into the area near the bad guy who was your target. On an Earth/Rad, LR is usually the least important of the three debuffs, because you should already have Quicksand to provide an AoE slow. But do not skip LR, as it does some very nice things. Most important is the –Regeneration. LR reduces an AV’s regeneration so that the AV can be defeated sooner. On some low-damage teams, LR can make the difference between defeating an AV or having to give up. LR also adds an attack rate debuff, which Quicksand does not have. Additionally, a foe can run out of or teleport out of Quicksand, but he can’t get away from LR if that foe was the target or near the target when LR was cast, which is why it is great to use on AV’s and bosses. See “Choosing your Anchor” in the Strategy section.
Because LR requires a “tohit,” you will have a better chance of LR hitting if you cast it after RI and/or one or more of Earth’s powers with defense debuff. However, LR casts quickly, and can also be effective to keep bad guys in the area while you are waiting for the slow animation of RI. So, part of the strategy of knowing how to use LR is knowing your likelihood of hitting. If you are up against higher level foes or foes with a lot of defense, cast RI first. Choosing an anchor is an important part of the strategy of using LR, but less important than with the other two debuffs, since you can cast it again in 40 seconds.
Slotting: 1-2 Acc, 3 Recharge, 0-2 Slow. I prefer 2 Acc, 3 Recharge, as the most important use of LR is to cast the –Regen on AV’s. Once you have both LR and Quicksand, the slows will stack to well past the slow cap, so you don’t need to slot either for slow enhancements.
Level 28: Choking Cloud – PB AoE Toggle Hold
While active, you generate toxic radioactive gas around yourself. Any nearby foes may be overcome by the gas, leaving them choking and helpless.
Accuracy: 50% (cannot be enhanced) for Mag 2 hold, 80% for Mag 1 hold.
Range: 15 ft.
Endurance: 4.16 per 5 sec. (0.832 per sec.)
Recharge: 90 sec.
Cast time: 2.03 Sec., Activates in 5 Sec.
Radius: 15 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Duration: 7.45 sec Hold, Mag 2, every 5 seconds (at Level 50)
Choking Cloud (CC) is one of two toggle AoE holds in the game. (The other is Mind Control’s Telekinisis.) CC is one of the two Rad powers that requires you to be in melee range. It can be very effective and it works automatically. However, I feel that CC really is not needed on an Earth/Rad and suggest that you skip it. Why? CC is a melee power, and very slow at activating. How it works is that your character runs/jumps into the middle of a gang of bad guys. After the first 5 seconds, if the god of averages is with you, 80% of the minions (Mag 1) and 50% of the Lieutenants (Mag 2) will have a green puff of gas show up at their face, showing that they are choking and held. The rest have another 5 seconds to attack you or do whatever. All foes in the area will make the check again, where some new ones will get caught by the hold, and others held will then not be re-held in the next tick, so when the hold runs out, they will be free. It draws aggro, which can result in a faceplant. It uses a HUGE amount of endurance, substantially reducing other things you can do. You won't have the endurance to chain single target attacks to take down bad guys while running CC. This means that even if you can hold them, you can't take them down -- unless Rocky decides to help you out. At a minimum, you have to slot it with 3 EndRdx, 3 Hold, so it takes 6 slots. (With a Ghost Widow End/Hold, you can get away with 5 at level 50.)
Earth/Rad already has three effective AoE controls that can be used from range by the time you get CC at level 28. You can already hold foes long enough to be defeated without going into melee. CC provides minimal benefit for lots of risk. On the other hand, I LOVE CC for a Fire/Rad. With Imps, Hotfeet and Choking Cloud, a Fire/Rad is an AoE damage machine. Ice Control has Arctic Air, which can combine with CC to keep the baddies slowed and confused until CC can take hold. Since Earth does not have any power to back up Choking Cloud, it is skippable. However, some people like it, so if a toggle melee hold appeals to you, try it out.
Edit: I have seen more and more people post that they like Choking Cloud with their Earth/Rad. With optimal slotting including the +2 Mag Proc from Lockdown and a Damage proc, I can see how it could be useful -- use one of your AoE controls, then move in once the foes are distracted to continue the control. I haven't tried this strategy, but I think it is only fair to mention it. I'm not convinced that this is optimal for an Earth/Rad, as it takes up 6 slots and will use a lot of endurance, and I prefer to stay out of melee on this character.
Slotting: 3 EndRdx, 3 Hold at SO level. At level 45+, you can have 2 EndRdx IO’s, 2 Hold IO’s, 1 Ghost Widow End/Hold IO, and add in the Ghost Widow damage proc, “Chance for Psi Damage.” to add some damage.
Level 35: Fallout – Dead Teammate Corpse Bomb Thingy
After an ally falls in battle, you can activate this power to extract the energy from their body to deal a massive amount of Energy damage to any nearby foes. All affected foes are extremely weakened by the Fallout, and their Accuracy, Defense, Damage and Damage resistance is severely reduced.
Accuracy: Autohit to ally’s corpse, 2.0 to foes.
Range: 60 ft.
Endurance: 20.8
Recharge: 300 sec.
Cast time: 3.2 Sec.
Radius: 30 ft. from Anchor
Max Targets: 16
Damage: 222.44 (at level 50)
Effects: -30% ToHit, -30% Defense, -30% Damage, -50% Resistance (before enhancement)
Duration: 30 sec. for debuff to foes.
Fallout is generally viewed as being the most skippable power in the Radiation set. A few deeply disturbed people seem to love the idea of exploding dead teammates, and think the power is great. Fallout is very effective as both a damage power and a debuff. I have it on my Earth/Rad, but I may respec out when I get around to doing a respec. The problem is that I rarely get to use it. It is, in my view, the single most "situational" power in the game. Why?
- You have to have a teammate die.
- You have to live (i.e. no team wipe).
- You have to have your teammate willing to sit there and do nothing while you abuse his dead body. (Most good players I team with want to actually play the game, and not lay there dead.) Any surviving teammates need to know not to use their rez so that you can play with dead things. If you are quick and notice your teammate’s death immediately, this may not be very long.
- Fallout has a decent-sized radius but your teammate must have died fairly near the bad guys, or you have to have Recall Friend to 'port his decaying remains around . . . but the drop range on Recall friend is really short, so you either have to risk yourself to drop the body where it can do some good, or also have Hover or Fly to drop the body . . . all of which take time that your buddy is still not playing the game.
- You should take Mutation so you can Rez your teammate after you use his corpse as a bomb. Not resurrecting your buddy after abusing his corpse would be impolite – unless you plan on teleporting his remains around with you to repeatedly use as a bomb.
I don't feel it is worth sacrificing other abilities for this extremely situational power, but there are good reasons to like it. If you do take it, unless you are teaming with the same folks on a regular basis, I suggest you set up a bind or two to explain the power to your teammates, begging them to wait on using a rez or an Awaken until you have the chance to explode their corpse.
It doesn’t seem very “heroic” to use your teammate’s decaying remains as a bomb. What comic book hero would do this to a friend? On the other hand, it seems to fit pretty well with the theme on the villains side.
Slotting: 0-2 Acc, 3 Dam, and then several options of recharge or debuffs. The inherent accuracy is so good, you probably don’t need accuracy.
Level 38: EM Pulse – PB AoE Hold with Minor Damage to Robots
You can unleash a massive pulse of electromagnetic energy. The EMP can affect machines, and is even powerful enough to affect synaptic brain patterns. It will drain the Endurance and HP Regeneration of all affected targets and leave them incapacitated and Held for a long while. Additionally, most machines and robots will take moderately high damage. However, this power uses a lot of Endurance and leaves you unable to recover Endurance for a while.
Accuracy: 1.0
Range: Area around caster.
Endurance: 20.8.
Recharge: 300 sec.
Cast time: 2.93 Sec.
Radius: 60 ft.
Max Targets: 16
Duration: 27.938 Sec. before enhancement.
Effects: -40% Endurance, -1000% Regeneration to foes, -1000% Regeneration to self for 15 Sec.
Damage: 50.16 to Electronic foes (at level 50).
EM Pulse (EMP) is the other “best hold in the game,” along with Volcanic Gasses. But this one is fast activating and centered on you, so it works perfectly as a “panic button” power. Compared to other PB AoE holds, EMP is superior. The radius and hold time is twice the others. Keep in mind that EMP causes you to not regenerate endurance for 10 seconds – a lot of people read the description and think this means that EMP drains your endurance, like a Blaster/Defender nuke, which is not true. It means only that your recovery of endurance will stop for 15 seconds, which is not that big a thing considering that it is likely that every bad guy near you will be held for a long time. Just keep in mind that if you are doing anything the uses a lot of endurance, like running EF, you may want to stop or you might then run out of endurance.
By level 38, an Earth/Rad doesn’t really need the powerful control of EMP . . . but it is such a good power, it is worth taking. I find that I rarely use it, except for special situations where its damage or –Regen will provide a substantial benefit, so sometimes just because I feel like it. However, don’t forget that it is effective against AV’s to both stack hold Mag and add –Regeneration.
Slotting: 2 Acc, 2 Hold, 2 Recharge as a default, but EM Pulse is so good, but will be rarely used, that you can vary this easily, and even skimp on a slot or two. Start with 2 Acc, and then add hold or recharge as you see fit.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
A Suggested Build (in Three Acts) and an Epilogue
Please note that this is a "suggested" build -- no absolutes. You should build your controller the way you choose. The objective of this build is to develop area control for a team-oriented build. This not intended to be a solo build because Earth/Rad is not a good solo powerset. Can you solo with it? Yes, by taking Stone Prison early and slotting it up for damage, and then possibly taking another pool power attacks like Air Superiority and Boxing. If you add in Veteran Reward powers, Sands of Mu and either of the staff powers, you can solo. Not very fast, but you can solo.
However, my objective here is to help you build an awesome AoE controller for a team, so we are not overly concerned with damage. Well discuss the power choices and a few strategies. First, well start with the first 11 levels, before Dual Origin Enhancements become available. With Training Origin enhancements, your main goal will be slotting up Accuracy in any power that can take it.
Brown Dirt Cowboy: Level 11 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Flight
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- Acc(A), Acc(3), RechRdx(5), Hold(11)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Heal(A)
Level 2: Stone Cages -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Acc(7)
Level 4: Radiation Infection -- ToHitDeb(A), ToHitDeb(5)
Level 6: Quicksand -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(7)
Level 8: Accelerate Metabolism -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(9), RechRdx(9)
Level 10: Air Superiority -- Acc(A), Acc(11)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
The goal here is to maximize your ability to control early. Here, by level 6 you can already handle some decent AoE control. Start with RI, then cast Quicksand, and then Stone Cages. RI and Quicksand drop the foes defense so much that Stone Cages is likely to his most or all of the baddies, even with your 80% accuracy and slotted only with TOs. At level 6 yes, LEVEL 6! you already have pretty good AoE control with RI + Quicksand + Stone Cages, and this combination recharges quickly.
It is important to learn early the fact that you will be an aggro magnet. AoE controls tend to draw a lot of attention. When you cast AoE controls, all the baddies affected will focus on you unless they are otherwise distracted. For this reason, Tanks will be your best friend. In the majority of situations, remember the TGIF rule Tanks Go In First. After the Tank has drawn the attention of the bad guys, then start casting your AoE controls.
If you dont have a tank, cast RI first, to both reduce the accuracy of the bad guys and their defense. Then cast Quicksand to keep them in the area and further reduce their defense. Then cast SC to keep them in place, in the area of both RI and Quicksand AND then hide to reduce the attacks on you. Meanwhile, your team gets to beat up on bad guys who are surprisingly easy to hit, even with powers that only have TOs for enhancements. If you have players that you team with on a regular basis, they may even want to consider slotting for damage instead of accuracy TOs.
Using corners. Whenever possible, and especially if you dont have a Tank on your team, use the environment to protect yourself. The AoE powers can usually be cast around corners, reducing the amount that the bad guys can shoot at you. Especially after using SC, you may want to get out of line-of-sight by hiding around a corner or behind something nearby. Then use Fossilize to hold any foes shooting at you. Theres no shame in casting and hiding! This also takes some practice. You may need to adjust your camera view to get a better view around the corner. The main purpose of the corner trick is to (a) break the line of sight, and (b) let them focus their aggro on someone else more fitting (and less squishy) than you. Once the baddies have changed their focus onto someone else, you can come out from hiding and start using your single target hold and any damage powers you have.
This is one reason why I like to have Air Superiority on controllers. When I come out of my hiding space, I like to contribute what I can to take the baddies down. Spread around Fossilize, keeping as many baddies held as possible. You should be able to keep about three baddies held while you beat on one. Pick one that you can keep held, and beat on him with Air Sup, vet attacks, your origin power and brawl, if that is what you have. Also, Air Superiority acts as a control power, too, if Fossilize is recharging. Knock em down, and then hit em with Fossilize by the time that bad guy gets up. Of course, Air Sup also knocks down flying enemies, as well.
One way to somewhat reduce some of that aggro is to pull onto Quicksand. Lay down the Quicksand between you and the group of baddies first, and then have your friendly neighborhood blaster shoot a bad guy or if you have it, use a temp power or the veterans Nemesis Staff or Blackwand. Whoever shot the baddie will get the aggro, but the target and any friends he brings will get snared in the Quicksand, where their defense will be dropped. At that point, you can hit them with RI. Once the entire group is in the Quicksand, then hit them with Stone Cages to keep them from running out of the slow and debuff (and give them even more defense debuff). At this point, you can hide around your corner and your team can wipe them out.
In your first twelve levels, you have to choose your travel power pre-requisite if you plan to take a travel power by level 14. (Of course, with the temp travel powers that from the Atlas and Kings Row Safeguard missions, it is possible to skip travel until later.) Lets take a quick look at the travel powers, as each has its advantages and disadvantages. Each travel power also has secondary factors that you can consider when choosing one. This is one area where different play styles really becomes important.
- Fly: I chose Air Superiority/Fly for my Earth/Rad. Air Sup is the best attack of the pool powers, in that it not only does decent damage but also knocks down your opponent most of the time. In my build, Air Sup and Fossilize, plus my veteran attacks, do the majority of the damage until Rocky at level 32. Some people prefer Hover as a way to fight while staying out of melee. Fly is the best, most flexible travel power, but it is slow. Also, Fly provides knockback protection when you really, really need it, but at a cost. When Flying, you cant use Stalagmites Stalagmites has to be cast while you are on the ground. Some people feel that Fly should not be used for this reason. In my experience, I rarely used fly during combat unless knockback was a huge problem. Then, I used Stalagmites generally as an opener, and would launch into Fly afterwards to prevent knockback. I like fly for its versatility it can get you anywhere, and can often be used as an effective escape. Fly can get you across zones with lots of hazards. Fly is great for those open-air Search for XXX missions. I mainly recommend Air Superiority/Fly for this build, but other travel powers are a viable choice.
- Speed: Hasten is recommended for this build eventually, so by going with Hasten/Super Speed, you can save one power choice and a power pool. (You could choose Flurry instead of Hasten, as your pool power attack, but I would strongly recommend Hasten.) Super Speed has one large disadvantage, which is not too difficult to overcome, and some really nice advantages. The clear complaint about Super Speed is the lack of vertical movement but getting the Jump Pack from the Good vs. Evil Edition, combined with the Raptor Pack and the Zero-G pack from the Safeguard missions, will allow you to get that little vertical boost when you need it. If you always use the Jump Jet first, and are really stingy with those temp powers, they can last you to level 50. Super Speed gives you stealth and the best way to move around in missions, other than those annoying Orenbega-type caves with lots of levels and walkways where Fly is better. The Stealth comes in very, very handy, especially if you can get one of the Stealth IOs to give you full invisibility without costing you one or two power choices. (If you choose Super Speed, take Hurdle over Swift to help you jump over things.)
- Teleport: Recall Friend is one of the handiest, team-friendly pre-requisite powers out there. Recall Friend lets you move Rocky around to where you might need him very useful if you expect him to be your primary tank. Teleport Foe also could have some nice strategic uses especially solo, like grabbing one guy, hitting him with Fossilize, defeating him and then going on to the next. If you aggro the entire group, you will have cast Quicksand for them to run into. Teleport allows you to move into position without moving through the intervening space, which can give some strategic advantages. Teleport is the most difficult travel power to use, and unless you take Hover, it is difficult to use for those Search for missions. However, it is the only travel power that lets you move even when Immobilized or slowed.
- Jump: Combat Jumping gives you protection against Immobilization, some combat maneuverability and a small amount of defense. (This is the least helpful of the pre-requisites, in my opinion, but still helpful. However, I dont recommend Jump Kick, even if you need the damage if you need damage, go with Air Sup/Fly.) Super Jump is a fun travel power, but does not give you any secondary benefits. However, it also doesnt have much of a downside either, and SJ gives you access to Acrobatics, if you are concerned about knockback. Personally, I felt that knockback was rarely a significant problem since Earth/Rad controls from range, and the control usually took over before the bad guys could shoot knockback powers at me. The rare knockback problem was solved by using Fly, or later obtaining one of those nice knockback IOs.
Brown Dirt Cowboy: Level 21 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- Acc(A), RechRdx(3), Hold(5), Acc(11), RechRdx(17)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Heal(A), Heal(15)
Level 2: Stone Cages -- Acc(A), Acc(3), EndRdx(7)
Level 4: Radiation Infection -- ToHitDeb(A), ToHitDeb(5), ToHitDeb(21)
Level 6: Quicksand -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(7)
Level 8: Accelerate Metabolism -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(9), RechRdx(9)
Level 10: Air Superiority -- Acc(A), Acc(11)
Level 12: Stalagmites -- Acc(A), Acc(13), Acc(13), RechRdx(17), RechRdx(21)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight(A), Flight(15)
Level 16: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 18: Earthquake -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(19), RechRdx(19)
Level 20: Health -- Heal(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
At level 12, you take one of your most important powers, Stalagmites. You want to 6-slot it up pretty quickly. Other than that, you get your travel power, Fitness Pool and Earthquake. For Fitness, I generally take Hurdle unless my travel power is Fly Hurdle is better for Super Speed and Super Jump, and Hurdle can let you maneuver better, jumping over the bad guys to lead Rocky into battle. Since you have a self heal, you could skip Health and take both Swift and Hurdle but if you hope to get one of those nice +Regen unique IOs, you need Health. If you really, really want Stamina by 20 rather than waiting for 22, you could postpone Earthquake 4 levels, but with AM, you can wait on Stamina until 22 much more easily than most other builds. Notice that Fossilize and Stalagmites are almost fully slotted by the time you hit level 22.
When using Stalagmites + Stone Cages, I suggest using Radiation Infection and Quicksand, too. Stalagmites doesnt last very long, especially before you get SO level enhancements, and RI makes it less likely that those bad guys who just came out of being stunned will be able to hit you. So, cast Stalagmites, Stone Cages, Quicksand and RI. If you have a tank or something else to distract the bad guys initially, casting Quicksand or RI first will make it easier for your Stalagmite + Stone cages to hit.
By level 21, you have two of your three main AoE control powers. Stalagmites is a great opening attack, as long as the bad guys level is low enough to hit. Earthquake is up more often, and should be stacked with Quicksand for that Defense. You should also be using your old stand-by, RI + Quicksand + Stone Cages and hiding behind a corner.
Now comes the final SO level build:
Brown Dirt Cowboy: Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- Acc-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(3), Hold-I:50(5), Acc-I:50(11), RechRdx-I:50(17), Hold-I:50(31)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Heal-I:50(A), Heal-I:50(15), RechRdx-I:50(34), Heal-I:50(40)
Level 2: Stone Cages -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(3), EndRdx-I:50(7)
Level 4: Radiation Infection -- ToHitDeb-I:50(A), ToHitDeb-I:50(5), ToHitDeb-I:50(21), EndRdx-I:50(46)
Level 6: Quicksand -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(7), RechRdx-I:50(31)
Level 8: Accelerate Metabolism -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(9), RechRdx-I:50(9), EndMod-I:50(36), EndMod-I:50(42), EndMod-I:50(42)
Level 10: Air Superiority -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(11), Dmg-I:50(40), Dmg-I:50(43), Dmg-I:50(46)
Level 12: Stalagmites -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(13), RechRdx-I:50(13), RechRdx-I:50(17), Dsrnt-I:50(21), Dsrnt-I:50(25)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I:50(A), Flight-I:50(15), Flight-I:50(42)
Level 16: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 18: Earthquake -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(19), RechRdx-I:50(19)
Level 20: Health -- Heal-I:50(A)
Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(23), EndMod-I:50(23)
Level 24: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(25), EndRdx-I:50(43)
Level 26: Volcanic Gasses -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(27), Hold-I:50(27), RechRdx-I:50(31), Hold-I:50(34), Hold-I:50(36)
Level 28: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(29), RechRdx-I:50(29)
Level 30: Lingering Radiation -- Acc-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(36), RechRdx-I:50(37), RechRdx-I:50(37), Acc-I:50(37)
Level 32: Animate Stone -- Acc-I:50(A), Dmg-I:50(33), Dmg-I:50(33), Dmg-I:50(33), Acc-I:50(34)
Level 35: Mutation -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(43)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- Acc-I:50(A), Acc-I:50(39), RechRdx-I:50(39), RechRdx-I:50(39), Hold-I:50(40)
Level 41: Hibernate -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(46)
Level 44: Frozen Armor -- DefBuff-I:50(A), DefBuff-I:50(45), DefBuff-I:50(45), EndRdx-I:50(45)
Level 47: Ice Storm -- Dmg-I:50(A), Dmg-I:50(48), Dmg-I:50(48), RechRdx-I:50(48)
Level 49: Stone Prizon -- Acc-I:50(A), Dmg-I:50(50), Dmg-I:50(50), Acc-I:50(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Containment
There is some flexibility on powers here the almost mandatory power choices at level are Stamina by 22, Volcanic Gasses at 26, and Animate Stone at 32. Hasten, EF and LR should be taken, but can be moved to any of the open power choices. EM Pulse isnt really mandatory; you already have so much control by 38, you should rarely need it but it is such a good power that I recommend it. Mutation is optional you certainly could take something else, like Super Speed. Also, the level 49 choice is optional. I put Stone Prison because it is nice for Immobilizing AVs, but you could put almost anything there, including the single target blast from your Epic set or Super Speed if you dont have it yet. (On my current build, I have Fallout there, but that may go bye-bye in the next respec.) If you really want Leadership, you can drop Mutation and Stone Prison, but with all your Defense, you really dont need Tactics.
I chose the Ice Epic Power set for my Earth/Rad because I felt he had the AoE controls to make Ice Storm very effective, and Hibernate would give him a great panic button power. The Ice Armor is defense based, and helps reduce damage I might take from aggro due to my AoE controls (before I bravely hide behind a corner). By level 50, the AoE controls followed by Ice Storm do substantial damage. Add in EF to increase the damage, and you can usually take out all the minions.
Other guides have detailed discussions on the Epic powers, so I will not go into them here. I think that Psi is, the best overall of the APP sets due to the mez protection in Indomitable Will, Psi protection in the armor and a decent AoE attack. However, the Ice set works very well with Earth due to Earths AoE control and Ices AoE damage. The Primal sets Power Boost will make your controls last seemingly forever, but has no AoE attack. The Fire set works well for Damage and Endurance recovery with Consume. I havent tried the Earth set, but the jewel is the heal in Earths Embrace. The problem I see there, is that you already have a heal, so the Earth APP set is not very appealing to me, other than thematically.
Epilogue: Since I wrote this guide initially, I have learned a lot more about IO sets. I have had a few requests on recommendations for IO sets, especially looking for a perma-AM and Perma-Hasten build. So, if you want to build for maximum Recharge, here is a build for you to look at and work from. However, it is expensive, with four purple sets:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Earth-Rad Ideal: Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Endo(3), HO:Perox(7), HO:Perox(17), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(21), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Numna-Heal/Rchg(42)
Level 2: Stone Cages -- GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(A), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(3), GravAnch-Immob/EndRdx(7), GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(37), GravAnch-Hold%(37), Posi-Dam%(40)
Level 4: Radiation Infection -- HO:Enzym(A), HO:Enzym(5), HO:Enzym(5)
Level 6: Quicksand -- RechRdx-I(A), TmpRdns-Rng/Slow(11)
Level 8: Accelerate Metabolism -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(9), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(9), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(25), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(36), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(37)
Level 10: Air Superiority -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(11), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46)
Level 12: Stalagmites -- Amaze-Stun(A), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(13), Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(13), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(15), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(17), Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(21)
Level 14: Fly -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(15), Zephyr-ResKB(42)
Level 16: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 18: Earthquake -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(A), DarkWD-Slow%(19), DarkWD-Rchg/EndRdx(19), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(40), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(43)
Level 20: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A)
Level 22: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(23), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(23), P'Shift-End%(43)
Level 24: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(25)
Level 26: Volcanic Gasses -- UbrkCons-Hold(A), UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(27), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(27), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(29), Lock-%Hold(31), UbrkCons-Dam%(40)
Level 28: Lingering Radiation -- TmpRdns-Acc/Slow(A), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(29), Acc-I(36), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Animate Stone -- ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(33), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(33), ExRmnt-+Res(Pets)(34), SvgnRt-PetResDam(43)
Level 35: Mutation -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(39), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(39), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(39)
Level 41: Hibernate -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Frost Breath -- Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg(A), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Ragnrk-Acc/Rchg(45), Ragnrk-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Ragnrk-Knock%(46)
Level 47: Ice Storm -- Posi-Dmg/Rchg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dam%(50)
Level 49: Frozen Armor -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Containment
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Strategies:
General Strategy. In most team situations where the team has a tank (or a scrapper who is tanking, or maybe Phantom Army if you have an Illusionist), you should wait for the tank to enter melee and draw aggro. You will then cast your opening AoE controls (Stalagmites+Stone Cages, Earthquake or Volcanic Gasses), cast Quicksand underneath, and then throw on your Rad debuffs. The order for the debuffs can vary depending upon the situation, but cast RI before LR if possible so LR gets to take advantage of the –Defense in RI. In some cases, like when a Tank is able to gather the aggro, you can choose to fire off RI and even Quicksand before casting the other debuffs to reduce defense and improve your ToHit odds. Once you have laid out your AoE attack and debuffs, survey the battle to determine where your single target hold may do the most good. If nothing else, you can Fossilize the nearest baddie, and go into melee to beat on him with Air Superiority and any Vet attack powers you have (like Sands of Mu) or any temp powers you may have. On some fast moving teams, the bad guys will not last long enough for you to even bother casting your debuffs. If you are on that kind of team, use EF first and then LR, and then only use RI when up against something that will last long enough to merit the effort.
Stone Cages, Earthquake, Volcanic Gasses and Quicksand can draw aggro to you if you open with them. If you don't have a tank on the team, then Stalagmites is usually your best opener. However, Stalagmites has the typical 20% accuracy penalty, so you may miss a few. That's why I like to follow Stalagmites with Stone Cages and Quicksand. If you have good teammates, they will aim for the foes who were not stunned first.
In some cases, you may need to chain your AoE controls . . . it is best to use the fast recharging ones, Earthquake or Stalagmites, in most cases. If you started with Stalagmites + Stone Cages, you can cast Earthquake just before the stun wears off. Since the –knockback from Stone Cages only lasts 12 seconds, the bad guys should start bouncing away for another 30 seconds. Remember that Stalagmites does not interfere with Earthquake or VG. You may be able to “get by” using your early AoE control, RI + Quicksand + Stone Cages, and save the others for the next group.
Although Quicksand and Lingering Radiation are both slow powers, the mechanics of how they work make them very different. Quicksand is ground-based, so it acts more as a barrier. LR is foe-targetted, so it acts more like a debuff. One is not usually a substitute for the other.
When should you use Stone Cages?
In upper levels, you have lots of AoE control to handle most situations. However, in lower levels, learning some strategies for using Stone Cages effectively will make a huge difference.
- Radiation Infection can substantially reduce the enemies’ ToHit in an area around your anchor. Stone Cages keeps the baddies in the area of effect and adds Containment. Baddies caught in Stone Cages and debuffed by RI can’t move, and can’t hit you most of the time. Add in Quicksand to reduce the movement of any foes who might have been missed by SC and for more –Defense. The combination of RI + Quicksand + Stone Cages is almost a hold, and it is available at Level Six! If possible, you can lay down Quicksand and you or a teammate can pull the baddies into the area. Then hit them with RI, and then SC once they are all in the area of RI to lock them into place. Your teammates can then pick them off, hopefully avoiding the anchor for RI, while you keep casting SC and Quicksand as needed.
- Fire off Stone Cages, and then hide behind a corner – a few baddies will initially get to shoot you through the wall (kinda seems unfair!), but once you are out of line-of-sight, you will be safe while the baddies are caught in your cages.
- Because SC may miss one or two, hiding around a corner can work as a pulling technique – the few baddies who were not immobilized will come after you around the corner. If you cast Quicksand at the corner beforehand, then your team will have easy pickings. This is sometimes called the “corner pull.”
- After level 12, you get access to Stalagmites, a targeted AoE Stun. When you cast Stalagmites, the bad guys hit with the power can only wander around, looking kind of drunk for a while. Add Stone Cages, which keeps them from wandering around, and you have a combination that has the same effect as a full hold, but it is available much more frequently than the usual controller AoE holds. This combo is one of the staple AoE hold powers for an Earth Controller, and the first one you get. It is important to note that the Stun does not last as long as the Immobilize, so there will be a short while when the baddies are immobilized but not stunned. You can re-apply Stone Cages before the Immobilize expires, but the recharge on Stalagmites is too long – once it expires, the remaining bad guys are only immobilized. (Cast RI before the stun runs out!)
- On a team with lots of AoE powers, Stone Cages can keep the baddies in place for your teammates’ blasts of doom. Generally, a Fire Blaster’s Rain of Fire is considered to be not very effective because it causes the baddies to scatter. With an AoE Immobilize like Stone Cages, suddenly Rain of Fire (or an Ice Blaster’s Ice Storm) becomes very effective damage.
- In upper levels, you can use Stone Cages to lock down AV’s and EB’s. Although Stone Prison is actually better for single target use, I find that Stone Cages does well enough to lock down most AV’s, and has far more other uses.
Choosing an anchor and choosing when to cast RI, EF and LR is an important part of the strategy of Radiation. Know your team, and figure out which foes are likely to be the last to be defeated and where the debuff will do you and you team the most good.
- Many people complain about Radiation’s anchor-based debuffs because of the problem of teammates killing the “anchor.” The Rad debuffs add a green glow to the target that seems to subliminally say, “Hey guys! Kill me first!” You need to understand right up front – your team WILL kill off your “anchor,” and usually before you want them to. It may be frustrating – get over it, and just re-cast the debuffs on the next soon-to-be-corpse. Some people recommend setting up a bind to identify the anchor, hoping that the team will pay attention. I have done that in the past, and don’t bother anymore. Just re-cast.
- Scrappers will often go for the bosses first. Blasters with lots of AoE powers will often wipe out the minions quickly. Often the best choice for your anchor is a lieutenant-level foe, and one near the back of the group. Of course, remember that the debuffs will then aggro him and all the foes around him, causing him to run up to the front and bring friends.
- Your anchor will be free to run around, debuffing other baddies while drawing aggro, unless you restrict his movement with some kind of mez or slow power. Therefore, you may want to plan to use Fossilize, Stone Prison, Stone Cages or some other way to restrict the movement of your anchor(s). If you don’t, your anchor may run off. This is BAD. Not only do you lose the debuff, but as he runs away past other groups, he will aggro them to you. If this happens, turn off RI and EF, and find another anchor. In rare situations, you may leave it on if you need to use the green glow to mark or track the baddie, mainly if this was the guy you needed to kill to free a hostage or some similar situation.
- If you want to use the Stone Cages + RI combo as a long-term quasi-hold, then choose a foe near the back and middle -- whichever foe is likely to be killed last by your over-zealous teammates.
- If the boss is a tough one, I usually cast the debuffs on the boss, and don’t worry if he gets killed off. A dead boss is worth having to recast.
- One interesting choice to try is to cast the debuffs on a foe who has been Deceived or Confused. He will move around to attack his friends, carrying the debuffs with him.
- I suggest you NOT choose a teleporting foe, like a Tsoo Sorcerer or Sky Raider Porter, as an anchor, as that bad guy will teleport away. You will lose your debuffs on the baddies nearby, and he will aggro more baddies to attack you.
- One option is to use different foes as your anchor for each of your three debuff powers. I mainly see this as aggroing more baddies. If any bad guys are aggroed, I would prefer that RI be in effect to keep them from hitting me. However, since LR has to be re-cast every 40 seconds or so, it is easy to change anchors for LR.
- Sometimes, especially in lower levels, RI and/or EF can be used to pull part of a group, who will then come to attack you while being debuffed. This works best on foes who prefer melee attacks. This is a great way to do a “corner pull,” using Quicksand at the corner.
- If there is a foe with annoying mez powers, he is often a good choice for RI, to reduce his chance of hitting his mez – but of course, he will probably be attacking YOU first with that mez.
By the time you hit level 26, an Earth/Rad has three opening AoE controls that can be used from range: (1) Stalagmites + Stone Cages, (2) Earthquake, and (3) Volcanic Gasses. All three can benefit by having Quicksand added. The standard strategy is to cast your AoE control of choice, add Quicksand, then add your Rad debuffs, and then use Fossilize and any damage powers to contribute to destroying the enemy. I like to spread my Fossilize around, holding as many as possible. Which of the AoE controls you use, and when you use them, often depends upon your team and the foes you are up against. A key is whether your team has a decent tank, or an Illusion controller who knows how to use Phantom Army.
(1) Stalagmites + Stone Cages is a great opening attack that will stop the alpha attack by the enemy, but both powers require a “ToHit,” so some bad guys will be missed, and if the bad guys are substantially higher level, a lot will be missed. Also, the stun from Stalagmites doesn’t last very long, so unless your team wipes them out fast, the remaining bad guys will start shooting at you – you can help reduce this by using RI. You can keep them immobilized with Stone Cages, but Stalagmites will not be recharged for a while. This looks like a good time to use a corner hiding place. The other downside of (1) is that it is a “one-shot” attack – it will not catch other baddies who come to see what all the fuss is about. However, both Stalagmites and Stone Cages will set up Containment to double damage from you and other controllers, and you get stacked –Defense, too. If you do not have a tank on your team, this is often the best opening attack, as it takes effect immediately, while the other two AoE controls may take a few seconds for the full effect.
(2) Earthquake is a great opening attack when you have foes who are not knockdown resistant. This is often the best opener if the foes are much higher level than you – it does not require a “ToHit.” However, the bad guys will often have an opportunity to take a shot or two at you before they begin bouncing on the ground. If you don’t have a Tank or Rocky grabbing the aggro, you can use your friendly neighborhood corner or other cover. A nice thing about Earthquake, especially combined with Quicksand, is that it makes a great barrier as well as an AoE control power – any baddies who enter the area after it has been cast will get caught in its effect. Earthquake recharges fast enough to be available every fight, but it does not set up Containment. Also, take note of which foes are resistant to knockdown, like those annoying Nemesis Jaegers. Another good time to use Earthquake is just as the stun of Stalagmites is running out (see below).
(3) Volcanic Gasses is an amazing, long lasting hold, but it has a long recharge. Like Earthquake, it continues to work against bad guys who enter the area after the power has been cast. Like Earthquake, it may take a few seconds to catch all baddies in the area, and therefore will benefit from having Quicksand added. Like Earthquake, it also works as a barrier and will continue to catch any baddie who enters the area. VG can be cast around corners and through doorways. One nice advantage of VG is that it sets up Containment for you and your controller brethren, letting you get double damage on some of your attacks. Another advantage is that it builds hold mag for holding bosses and even AV’s and EB’s.
(4) Your fourth AoE hold, EM Pulse, can be saved for “panic button” moments, long battles, AV’s (for the –Regeg) and when you are up against Robots. I find that I rarely NEED EM Pulse, but like to use it every now and then because it is pretty cool to use.
Using your Pet.
Once you get Rocky at 32, you need to learn how to get him into battle. To get him where you want, you either have to cast him there, use Recall Friend, or lead him. Most of the time, I just use my own movement and position to try to get Rocky into the fray. Rocky is a tank, but not a bright one. I recommend getting some kind of stealth. Using Stealth, you can lead him into trouble. I added one of the Stealth IO’s to one of my Prestige sprints, letting me easily turn it on or off. Using a Prestige Sprint for a Stealth IO is the best uses of those extra sprints I have seen. You can use either the Celerity or Unbounded Leap Stealth IOs. Since it works for two minutes after the power is turned off, I can turn it on for just a second, and then move around with Stealth to try to get Rocky in position to take the alpha strike from the bad guys without using endurance. Consider taking Hurdle over Swift, unless you have fly, so you can easily leap over groups of bad guys to lead Rocky into the group.
For smaller groups that are spread out, you can stay back from the group of baddies, turn on your Stealth/Sprint, run around or jump over the group to lead Rocky in, and then go back to a safe spot, as long as it is not too far away. Then you can begin using your AoE controls. If you go too far away, Rocky will disengage to follow you, often bring some of his newfound “friends.” For larger groups, you may just want to sneak up close enough to get Rocky to throw a rock, and then back off to fire off your AoE controls.
If we have a team tank, I generally don’t worry much about positioning Rocky, though. I just move to where Rocky will attack some foe, and then don’t worry about him much, other than keeping an eye on his position and his health. Rocky seems quite well behaved, especially after the AI change in I-10 and compared to Fire Imps. I find Rocky is especially helpful on small teams, where he can tank and is also good at finding bad guys who may be trying to hide.
There are times that you do not want Rocky to be following you, such as if you are stealthing a mission, or being teleported to another part of the map. You can dismiss Rocky by right-clicking him and choose Dismiss, or right-click his name in the Pet Window. You can also use a macro for this:
/macro Pet release_pets
Fighting Arch-Villains.
Here is one place that Rocky really shines, especially against AV’s and EB’s with Psi attacks. (Against the Clockwork King, most Tanks will be happy to let Rocky do the job.) Cast Rocky near the AV, then cast RI, Quicksand, LR and EF. If the PToD are not up, cast Volcanic Gasses and start hitting Fossilize. Otherwise, try Earthquake – this will provide an additional debuff and keep other foes away from attacking your back while your team goes after the AV. If the AV is distracted, run in and fire off EM Pulse for the –Regen and chance to stack the hold. Use Stone Cages, or if you have it, Stone Prison to keep the AV in the Quicksand, and re-cast Quicksand to keep it always on. Recast LR and EM Pulse whenever they are up. Constantly fire off Fossilize to add a little bit of damage and a chance for a hold.
I have really had a lot of fun using my Earth/Rad on smaller teams, although he is good enough to be the only controller on full 8-man teams, too. Large teams tend to wipe out the opposition quickly, so your fast debuffs have more impact – lead off with Stalagmites and EF, then Quicksand. But on small teams, the bad guys tend to last longer and your AoE controls have more of an impact on the overall gameplay. Get a couple of teammates who can put out decent damage, and you will be wiping out the bad guys in no time. An Earth/Rad matches really well with teammates who can put out a lot of AoE damage, like Spines Scrappers, Fire Blasters or */Fire tanks. If you are looking for a 2 or 3 man team, look for these guys.
There you have it – my suggestions on an Earth/Rad controller. I hope it was helpful.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
This is absolutely the best powerset guide on the Boards!
Nuclear Mom Level 50 Emp/Rad Defender
The Mighty SPAMM of Super People Against Malevolent Monsters (SPAMM) Super Group. Join us and enjoy the comfy chairs and shrubbery in Spammalot (Guardian Server)
Wonderful guide, thank you so much for writing it. I was looking for one of these a few weeks back, and I was disappointed not to be able to find one. This is just what I needed.
I particularly love it that you included a section on strategy. That's often a lot more important than simple power choices, but power choices tend to be what guide writers concentrate on. My little earth/rad will be doing a lot better thanks to you. Okay, well, I hope so anyway. If she's not, that'll be all my fault.
Thanks again. 
One thought to add regarding choices for anchors:
Keep in mind that RI and EF interrupt affected foes. This makes them fantastic powers to prevent SkyRaider Engineers from creating their force field generators, or for preventing enemies like Vazhilok Embalmed or CoH Mages from blowing up on you/your team mates.
Quote:
Very true -- and I was discussing this very feature with a buddy this weekend. I wish I had remembered to add it into the guide. Thanks!
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One thought to add regarding choices for anchors: Keep in mind that RI and EF interrupt affected foes. This makes them fantastic powers to prevent SkyRaider Engineers from creating their force field generators, or for preventing enemies like Vazhilok Embalmed or CoH Mages from blowing up on you/your team mates. |
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
[ QUOTE ]
I particularly love it that you included a section on strategy. That's often a lot more important than simple power choices, but power choices tend to be what guide writers concentrate on. My little earth/rad will be doing a lot better thanks to you. Okay, well, I hope so anyway. If she's not, that'll be all my fault.
[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed wholeheartedly. The other thing I also like is the personal 'notes' and comments. I want to here what you think from using these powers in real game situations, same thing with slotting. Too often, I think, people do not include this in their guides and I think it makes them lacking.
I have been playing for around 30 months, I feel like I have a decent grasp of how the 5 main ATs work.........but I still always read guides, especially good ones, especially like this one. 
Yes, I think this is one of the best, most thorough guides I've ever read. I hold this one high with Luminara's Trick Arrow Guide and Mighty Scourge's Storm Defender Guide.
Lemme tell you what I like the most:
[*]Lists
[*]Lots of lists
[*]I think lists make things easier to read and understand. When I am reading something in list form..............wooosh, I love it.
[*]So, thanks for taking the time to write this fantastic guide......
[*]...........but mostly for the lists. 
Actual Location: Inside the system itself.
"When the most exciting thing about Mace is AceMace's avatar, then it's time to get realistic."
Shield Guide
The only thing anyone in this game is "supposed to be doing" is having fun. Everything else is negotiable. -Jet Boy
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback! To rate this up with those other excellent guides is pretty nice praise!
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Just a quick blurb about Earth's Embrace!
You're not going to take it for the healing aspect of it, you want to be taking it for the ungodly amount of extra HP it gives you when it's up. I think I'm looking at about 1080 HP max without Embrace, and 1590 with it up. Over 510 more HP for 120 seconds! Can throw the four Recharge enhancing IOs from Doctored Wounds in and call it good, that leaves it at 25 seconds of downtime or so.
Other thing of note in Earth is the awesomeness of Fissure. Over 200 damage with Containment every 10 seconds or so (less if you have set recharge IOs), a decent duration Mag 2 Stun, and the added benefit of your -knockback in Stone Cages keeping everything bunched in your debuffs.
Modus operandi seems to be: Stalags > Cages > debuffs > Fissure > Cages > Fissure > Stalags > Fissure > et cetera. Pretty much decimates anything ya run into.
"I'm flying free with my beautiful butterfly wings!" ~ Randy Marsh
Thanks for the insight. I have actually used all of the APP powersets on various controllers EXCEPT Earth -- which is why my next controller who gets high enough will use the Earth set. That should be my Ice/Storm, who is level 40 at the moment -- even though the Ice set would probably match better with his theme and playstyle. I can see where the self-heal and +HP of Earth's Embrace will do him a lot of good.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Oh Shoot! I just realized that my number for the -Defense in Quicksand is incorrect. It should be listed as -25%, not -20%.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
I'm picking up my Earth/Rad again (lvl22) and I happened to run accross this guide. Our builds are almost identical, except thawt I was planning on Earth Mastery also, both for concept, and because I agree with a previous poster, fissure has decent damage + disorrient.
Have you tried IOs in your build yet?
I am just starting to work on an IO plan for mine, and it looks like I can make this guy very hard to hit at range, jsut like I did for my Fire/Storm controller. Ranged defense added to the debuffs from Rad should make it very hard to mezz or hurt me.
another reason to go with Ice or Earth Epic: they have defense based armors.
Well, I'm at 45 right now with my Earth/rad troller, and you convinced me to spec out of CC for EMP. A change that I am not regretting, so thank you very much for the guide
Couple of notes on my own experiences. Before the respec, I typically used CC in conjunction with VG. It helped ground more bosses faster when I was on an 8 person team. This isn't always needed, but I liked the defensive nature of the power and not having to constantly watch my recharge rate. Earth has a lot of controls but the recharge times on many of them are tough to work with at times. Typically you just drop VG and try to fossilize the few bosses as quick as you can. Choking Cloud helped make this a bit more efficient, especially since it and VG can run simulaneously for the 45 second duration of VG. Now, if I have to, I can panic button with EMP. So not much of a loss not having CC anymore. Also, I fit Acrobatics into my build. This was done originally due to the melee aspect of CC, but the extra protection from holds stacks well with AM resistences. Mainly acrobatics helps with the hold resistance. I think its only against Mag 1s, but it helps to keep your toggles up in combat without always relying on Breakfrees or without having to take the Psi epic set.
Another note, is that using stalagmites and Fissure will often (Not always) disorient any bosses in the group. This means you can do a double aoe/pbaoe hold or a double aoe stun to groups. The disadvantage is Fissure has a really short range for an AoE attack. This range issue convinced me to keep Acro as well. Although I still get grief from some SG mates who think you can't do an earth troller without taking fire epic (extreme damage with containment) or Energy (Holds become godlike, rather than just nearly unstoppable).
Finally, I need some advice. Earth's Embrace for my lvl 49 power or Cages. I have up till now relied on EQ as my constant out of the box control so cages isn't one of my standards. The advantage is you can actually control more groups without having them fire on you at range like you do with cages. I still want cages though, and I'm trying to decide between Cages and Earth's Embrace. I had already planned to take my single target damage attack, hurl boulder. I hate having to rely on a temp power (blackstaff) to do enough single target damage to solo well. I can only choose two of these, but I might forgo the singe Ranged attack as well.
Would love some idea's on this....?
Thanks for the guide!
-Fissile (victory Server)
Taking another slower look through the guide.
In the "basics" about controllers section:
Immobilize power are one of the most misunderstood and misused powers in the game. you do a good job for an intro to it. I would have liked to see two more things about Immobs:
- immobilize powers can suppress knockback. this can be very bad if the team relies on KB (typical example is fire cages or stone cages on top of an ice slick). you mention it later in the guide, but not in the generic intor, which is too bad.
- immobilize powers do not necessarily negate repel effect. for example foes immob with fire cages will still be pushed around with a Stormie's Hurricane, whereas I believe Stone cages does suppress repel.
containment occurs whenever a foe is "mezzed", not just from (other) controllers, ice melee's freezing touch from a blaster or tank will also setup containment.
minor nitpicks of course...
[ QUOTE ]
I'm picking up my Earth/Rad again (lvl22) and I happened to run accross this guide. Our builds are almost identical, except thawt I was planning on Earth Mastery also, both for concept, and because I agree with a previous poster, fissure has decent damage + disorrient.
Have you tried IOs in your build yet?
I am just starting to work on an IO plan for mine, and it looks like I can make this guy very hard to hit at range, jsut like I did for my Fire/Storm controller. Ranged defense added to the debuffs from Rad should make it very hard to mezz or hurt me.
another reason to go with Ice or Earth Epic: they have defense based armors.
[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the nice comments. While I have a few IOs in my build, I have not fully IO'd him out to the max. It would take some serious farming to work up enough influence, and I have been working on other characters on other servers lately. I have a sprinkling of HOs currently, left over from old Hami Raids and more recent STF runs. Still, there's a lot I could do with Brown Dirt if I took the time to work up a serious IO build.
Of what I can recall off the top of my head, I have 5 of the Stupify set in Stalagmites, plus a recharge instead of the knockback proc. I know that I have the Essence of Curare set in EM Pulse, but that is one of the first things I will change if I do a full respec to slot IOs. I have a combination of Blood Mandate and Brilliant Accuracy in Rocky, plus the Sovereign Right +Resistance Proc. Fossilize is loaded with HOs to add damage -- 1 Acc/Dam, 2 Dam/Mez, 1 Acc/Mez HOs, and two Recharge IOs. I like that better than trying to fit in a damage proc.
(I used the Essence of Curare set in EM Pulse because I had several of the recipes drop -- and it was the very first IO set that I made for any of my characters. It certainly was not the result of careful planning.)
I would like to get 3 Enzyme HOs for Radiation Infection -- maximum slotting and you get 3 slots back to put elsewhere. I would like to get 4-5 Trap of the Hunter into Stone Cages with at least 2 damage procs. I would like to get 4 Performance Shifters into AM with two standard Recharge IOs, and a set of Doctored Wounds in Radiant Aura, and of course, the nice Numina's and Miracle procs for Health, plus an extra Numina's Health IO for the regen bonus. I'm sure that there are lots of good IO builds, but I have not worked one up that I have tried.
However, until my Altitis lets up, I'm not expecting to do all that. I added a few IOs after I hit 50, but I have not carefully planned, gathered, crafted and respec'ed into an ideal build. (This is why I did not try to suggest an IO build in the guide, since I haven't done it myself.) I generally like to move on to new characters, and only pull out my 50s for special events.
(I'm currently working on my Invul/Axe tank, my Ice/Ice Blaster, my Ice/Storm controller, my two warshades, my WillPower/Stone tank, my Ill/TA controller, Broadsword/Regen scrapper, a Dark/Dark scrapper, a Kin/Elec Defender, and I've been playing on the Ill/Rad superteam -- and that is just a partial list of my alts on one account. You see why I don't take the time to maximize my 50s?)
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
[ QUOTE ]
Well, I'm at 45 right now with my Earth/rad troller, and you convinced me to spec out of CC for EMP. A change that I am not regretting, so thank you very much for the guide
Couple of notes on my own experiences. Before the respec, I typically used CC in conjunction with VG. It helped ground more bosses faster when I was on an 8 person team. This isn't always needed, but I liked the defensive nature of the power and not having to constantly watch my recharge rate. Earth has a lot of controls but the recharge times on many of them are tough to work with at times. Typically you just drop VG and try to fossilize the few bosses as quick as you can. Choking Cloud helped make this a bit more efficient, especially since it and VG can run simulaneously for the 45 second duration of VG. Now, if I have to, I can panic button with EMP. So not much of a loss not having CC anymore. Also, I fit Acrobatics into my build. This was done originally due to the melee aspect of CC, but the extra protection from holds stacks well with AM resistences. Mainly acrobatics helps with the hold resistance. I think its only against Mag 1s, but it helps to keep your toggles up in combat without always relying on Breakfrees or without having to take the Psi epic set.
Another note, is that using stalagmites and Fissure will often (Not always) disorient any bosses in the group. This means you can do a double aoe/pbaoe hold or a double aoe stun to groups. The disadvantage is Fissure has a really short range for an AoE attack. This range issue convinced me to keep Acro as well. Although I still get grief from some SG mates who think you can't do an earth troller without taking fire epic (extreme damage with containment) or Energy (Holds become godlike, rather than just nearly unstoppable).
Finally, I need some advice. Earth's Embrace for my lvl 49 power or Cages. I have up till now relied on EQ as my constant out of the box control so cages isn't one of my standards. The advantage is you can actually control more groups without having them fire on you at range like you do with cages. I still want cages though, and I'm trying to decide between Cages and Earth's Embrace. I had already planned to take my single target damage attack, hurl boulder. I hate having to rely on a temp power (blackstaff) to do enough single target damage to solo well. I can only choose two of these, but I might forgo the singe Ranged attack as well.
Would love some idea's on this....?
Thanks for the guide!
-Fissile (victory Server)
[/ QUOTE ]
My experience with Choking Cloud comes from trying it on my first Ill/Rad (not good) and then deciding to give it another chance on my Fire/Rad (absolutely loved it!! key power for the build!!) My playstyle with Earth/Rad is to stay back out of melee, using places to hide to avoid taking aggro when needed. As a result, Choking Cloud was clearly not consistant with my playstyle. My solution for holding Bosses? Volcanic Gasses + Quicksand. Maybe use Stone Cages if it looks like anyone is trying to escape. Then hide, and let the unique nature of Volcanic gasses stack mag on the Bosses enough to hold them, or use Fossilize to help.
As I said in the guide, the Earth APP is the only one I haven't used much. I recently took Fissure on my Ice/Storm at 41, but really can't evaluate it until it gets some slots. The Ice/Storm is more melee oriented, using Arctic Air, so Fissure fits the playstyle. I like the Ice APP set for my Earth/Rad, and have found effective uses for the three powers I took (Hybernate, Ice Armor and Ice Storm.) All of the epics are nice powersets, and can bring something useful to the table. I have a Karma -knockback in my Ice Armor, so I don't have Acrcbatics.
Since you already have a self-heal in Radiant Aura, do you really need the Dull-Pain-like Earth's Embrace? I personally find lots of uses for Stone Cages, including on the STF, so I would recommend Stone Cages.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
I been Playing off and on for a few years. I just want to say Great Job. I really want to get a My Earth/ Rad to 50 just to really see what he can do
Excellent guide. All of them should come with a strategy section, IMO.
Still trying to figure out where to squeeze in Recall Friend, early on...but that's hardly your fault. Too many nice powers!
Also: Never get a team invite when I actually want one. Blargh.
Thanks! I'm fond of the strategy section, too. It was something I felt was needed in some of the other good guides out there.
On Recall Friend, you can always use Teleport as your travel power, taking Recall Friend as your Pre-requisite. Mutation is skippable if you want to fit it in otherwise -- but it is nice to have both of those. It would not be hard to fit it in late, but hard to fit it in early.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
That's the plan, right now. Respecing at some point into Recall Friend/Teleport. Been meaning to take Teleport with someone, anyway.(Wife loves it, on her Necromancy/Poison Master Mind)
have Teleport on my first 50, an Ill/Rad. Like you, I originally took it because of my wife. She kept getting lost, and I took Recall Friend to 'port her around. I got used to Teleport, and got to like it once I found "the Teleport Bind" that almost everyone uses:
/bind lshift+lbutton powexecname Teleport
It lets you hold down the Shift key, and then left-click where you want to go. Eventually, at level 44, I added Hover, which makes Teleport much better to use.
At one point, I respec'ed out of Teleport and into Fly . . . but it just didn't feel right. Eventually, I respec'ed back into Teleport. But Hover makes it much better -- no more plummit if you don't teleport again quickly enough, and you can pause mid travel, take a look around and then pick another direction. Hover is also great for those open air missions where you have to look for something, while Teleport alone for those missions is a real pain in the tail -- kind of like Super Jump in those missions.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
This guide is awesome. I came back to CoH after not playing it for about 4 years. I played several combos of classes and I feel I like this one the most. I was wondering do you happen to have an IO Slotted version of the build or possibly what yours looks like currently/in the future that you can share? Thanks
A Local Guide to the Earth Control/Radiation Emission Controller
Due entirely to the urging of Mental Maden, I have put together this Earth/Rad guide. My Earth/Rad, Brown Dirt Cowboy, was named after the sidekick of Captain Fantastic from the Elton John song and album. My usual team of buddies, the Embargo SG on Pinnacle, were leveling up a team that stuck together, and they needed an AoE controller with the Rad secondary for stacking buffs and debuffs. I had wanted to try the Earth set ever since teaming with an Earth controller many months earlier, so here was my chance. This was a team-only, PvE character with several damage dealers on the team. As a team, we took that group of characters up to 50. The Embargo guys are not only great players, but a delight to spend hours with. Thanks, all, for putting up with me. I also want to thank my proof-readers on this guide, Mental Maden, Deacon Blues and Neuttrino. Also thanks to the folks who made comments on the Controller boards.
This guide has five sections:
- Introduction to the Earth/Rad Controller
- The Earth Control Primary Powers
- The Radiation Emission Secondary Powers
- Suggested Build (in Three Acts)
- Strategies
Introduction to the Earth/Radiation ControllerMy Earth/Rad has more area control than any other character I have played. The only combination that would have MORE control powers than Earth/Rad is Earth/TA. Radiation provides more versatile support for the team, but slightly less control than TA. Earth/Rad is one of the best team support builds. Compared to most builds, an Earth/Rad controller does diddly-squat for damage. Playing solo can be safe but slow, even after getting the pet, Animate Stone a/k/a Rocky. An Earth/Rad controller is the perfect complement to a Fire Blaster, a Fire Tank, a Spines Scrapper or any other Area of Effect Damage Dealer.
This guide incorporates information from two wonderful sites, Red Tomaxs, City of Data, and Paragon Wiki, as well as information from other guides written before this one. I did not spend time testing and calculating, but just compiled the great work done by others. I also want to say a special thanks to Enantiodromos for his many helpful posts on the Controllers forums with all the complex calculations as he has helped me understand the powers much better.
There are several general statements to start off:
(A) I like lists. I think lists make things easier to understand.
(B) This is guide will say very little about PvP I dont particularly care for PvP and spend almost no time in those zones.
(C) This is a guide for a team-oriented controller. Can an Earth controller solo? Yes, and pretty safely, but slowly. There are a few comments about playing solo, but not many.
(D) Various terms are used to describe the enemy enemies, bad guys, baddies, foes. I dont use mob because it is confusing. Old MMO lingo uses mob to mean Mobile Object, representing one bad guy. To most people, a mob is a group of bad guys. It is confusing, so I dont use mob. I use bunch, group or gang to describe a group of baddies. The developers appear to use the term, critters, but that sounds like animals to me, so I dont use it.
(E) The original version of this guide didn't talk much about Invention Origin (IO) sets. Now I am adding in information on IO sets as I find time. I think it is important to discuss slotting in the context of Single Origin or standard single aspect IOs first. When you are leveling up and building a character, you need the basic enhancement concepts. You can get fancy with IOs later. IO sets give you a lot of options depending upon your play style and the particular attributes you want to enhance. By the time you are ready to start outfitting IO sets, you can play around with Mid's Builder and come up with some pretty nice builds. If you have an IO build you particularly like, feel free to post it.
Enhancements can be one of 6 types:
- TO is Training Origin, and these are the weakest type of enhancements, available to you at level 1. The amount of enhancement varied depending upon what is being enhanced, but the most common amount is 8%.
- DO is Dual Origin, and these are limited to one of two types of origin. A DO is roughly twice the strength of a TO, around 16% for the most common type. If you are Magic origin, you can only use Magic/Mutant or Natural/Magic DOs.
- SO is Single Origin, and these will only work for characters of the same origin as the type of enhancement. If you are Science origin, you can only use Science SOs. An SO is again twice the strength of a DO and four times the strength of a TO. The most common amount of enhancement is about 33%.
- IO stands for Invention Origin, and fit into two sub-categories, common IOs and set IOs Common IOs work for any origin, like TOs, except they start at level 10, they never expire and they increase in strength as the level goes up. Level 25-30 common IOs are functionally the same as SOs, in that they enhance for 32-33%. Common IOs level 35 and up are slightly stronger than SOs. At level 50, common IOs are worth about 42%.
- Set IOs usually, but not always, enhance more than one attribute, but the the ones that enhance two or three attributes add up to enhancement for a little more than common IOs. For example, Slotting two set IOs that enhance Accuracy/Damage will be a little better than a common Accuracy and a common Damage. When Set IOs of the same set are used to enhance the same power, the set IOs will give some additional attributes, called set bonues. These have become very important in the game. There are also enhancements that do something unique or special, called "procs." If you need more information on Set IOs, look in other guides or ParagonWiki.
- Finally, there is a last, somewhat rare type that can only be earned by doing certain trials, like the Eden Trial, the Abandoned Sewers trial, the Hamidon raids and the Statesman's Task Force. Although these have a few different names, I'll just refer to them as "Hami-O's" or "HOs." These are the equivalent of two or sometimes three SO enhancements. Although the Eden and Abandoned Sewers Trials give HO-like enhancements, those are lower level and expire. Most of the HOs available are either Hamidon or Synthetic Hamidon enhancements at level 50, so they can't be slotted until level 47 but they won't expire. HOs and Synthetic HOs are identical other than the name.
(F) A lot of standard terms and abbreviations are in this guide because Im lazy. Here are some of the terms used:- PB AoE stands for Point Blank Area of Effect, meaning a power that has an affect in the area immediately around the caster.
- A Location-targeted AoE is a power is one where you pick a spot on the ground, and the power will have an Area of Effect around that location. (There are several of these in the Earth/Rad set.) When you activate it, white rings appear wherever it is proper to place the power. You then pick a spot on the ground in range, and click that spot on the ground. Using that spot as the center, the effect appears in a circle (more or less) centered on the spot you clicked.
- An anchor is a target upon whom a power is cast. The power will have an effect in the area surrounding the anchor. Usually anchors are foes, but there are a few powers, not in the Earth/Rad set, that use teammates as anchors.
- Toggle powers are ones that you turn on, and they keep operating until you turn them off, or until some other event turns off the toggle, like if your anchor is defeated, if you are defeated, if your anchor goes out of range or if you leave the zone.
- Click powers are powers which activate when you click on them or push a button, but they finish their animation and then recharge until ready again.
- AV is Arch-Villain, and EB is Elite Boss, two high level enemies that usually require special tactics and powers.
- AI is Artificial Intelligence, or the programming of how a pet or foe is supposed to act.
Some Basics About ControllersAll other archtypes have at least one powerset that is designed for damage. Controllers are designed to limit the enemys actions, thereby making it easier to do damage to the enemy. Some Controllers do a lot of damage as well, while others dont do much damage but do a greater amount of damage prevention and enhancement. Earth/Rad is definitely in the latter group. In general, Controller powers fall into two categories: Control Powers (in your primary mostly) and Buff Powers (mostly in your secondary).
(A) It is important to understand the various powers that provide control. Powers that reduce or eliminate the enemys ability to attack is usually a control power. Control powers, some of which are referred to as Mez powers, are Hold, Stun (also known as Disorient), Sleep, Confuse, Intangible (a/k/a Phase), Fear, Immobilize, Slow and Knocks. Each of these powers has a level of strength, or mag (magnitude) that determines how effective it is against types of foes. The Earth/Rad combination does not have Confuse, Intangible or Fear, but it has all the other kinds of Control powers.
- A Hold will keep the foe in one place, unable to attack or defend or do anything. This is the hardest kind of control. Holds in Earth/Rad are Fossilize, Volcanic Gasses, Choking Cloud and EM Pulse.
- A Stun or Disorient will also keep the foe from attacking or defending or do anything other than wander around. A Stun added to an Immobilize has the same effect as a hold. Stalagmites is a Stun/Disorient. Stuns
- A Sleep will act just like a hold, until the foe receives any attack. Then he will wake up with no other effect. Sleeps usually last longer than Holds or Stuns, but are not very helpful if your teammates have lots of AoE powers that will wake them. Salt Crystals is a Sleep.
- Immobilize will keep the foe in one place, but he can still attack, defend or take any action that does not involve moving. An Immobilize will not stop a foe who can teleport, and there are some foes, like Vahzilock Cadavers and Council Wolves, who resist Immobilize, so you have to hit them twice or more for it to work. The main advantages of an Immobilize are (a) it keeps the bad guy out of melee range, where most foes do more damage; (b) Immobilize combines with Stun to be the same as a hold; (c) an Immobilize will set up Containment for double damage; (d) an Immobilize will keep the bad guys together in an area to be debuffed or for teammates to use Area Attacks; (e) an Immobilize will keep a bad guy from moving around or running away, making it easier to defeat him; (f) Immobilize keeps the bad guys from running after you, so you can hide around a corner or behind cover or run away. Stone Prison and Stone Cages are Immobilize powers.
- Slow powers will slow the movement rate of enemies. Some slow powers will also reduce the recharge rage, or speed at which the enemy can keep attacking you. Sometimes, enemies can run out of the effect of a slow. Slow enhancements only affect run speed, and not the other effects of the slow power. Also, slow powers do NOT set up Containment. Quicksand and Lingering Radiation are Slow powers.
- Knock powers include Knockback, Knockdown and Knock-up. Knockback powers usually send the bad guy flying back. Knockdown is where the foe falls down where he is, and Knock-up is where the bad guy flies up into the air, and then falls down. During the fairly short time that the bad guy is getting up, he cannot attack. Some powers, like Earthquake, keep knocking the foes down over and over again, preventing the foes from doing anything. Knock powers do NOT set up Containment. Earthquake is a Knock-up power.
- Intangible or Phase powers make a foe or group of foes unable to attack or do much of anything, but you and your team are unable to attack them or affect them. Imagine putting the foe or foes in a 30 second "phantom zone" or making them into a ghost for 30 seconds, and you get the idea. This kind of power is often hated by many players because the players don't notice the change in the foe and just attack without doing anything -- wasting endurance. There are no phase powers in the Earth or Radiation sets (fortunately).
If you want to understand how the various forms of mez work in the game, and what Mag is, take a look at this old Guide on Magnitude. Each of the above powers has factor designating its strength, which are referred to as Mag, (for magnitude). The general rule is that Minion level foes require the effect of the power to exceed Mag 1 to take effect, Lieutenant level foes require Mag 2, and Boss level foes require Mag 3. AVs are a special case but there are other guides that discuss the Purple Triangles of Doom (PToD) and how to deal with AVs.(B) It is also important to understand Containment and how it works. Containment is double damage (usually) done by a controllers attack if the target is held, stunned, slept or immobilized. Containment works for damage directly caused by any controller so other controllers will get containment damage if you have held or stunned a group of bad guys. For the most part, powers that are considered pets do not get containment, so Animate Stone, Fallout and Volcanic Gasses do not get Containment. If you want to find out more about a controllers containment, take a look at Enantiodromoss Controller Damage Overview.
(C) Controller Buff powers are the same sets as most of the Defenders primary power sets, but many of the powers have different values from when the powers are used by Defenders. Powers like Accelerate Metabolism and the Leadership pool will buff up you and your team, improving you and your teams attributes like accuracy or ToHit, damage, recharge, recovery of endurance, regeneration of health, etc. Radiation has three core debuff powers that will decrease similar abilities of the enemy. There is a lot of information on these types of powers under Defender Guides.
OK, Lets start with the powersets, and then get to my recommended build. Each power will be described by its in-game description, and then its various attributes will be listed. All durations of Mez effects and damage amounts are for a level 50 character, as listed in City of Data. After those come my suggestions, strategy and suggested slotting.
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Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control