Guide to the Fire/Kin Farmer and Team Player
By
Folonius,
Posted on: 2009-01-07 16:05 in Player Guides
Notes on Play-Style and Slotting
Many people have their own type of play style, and how they envision their character will work once they make them, and I must say when I rolled up my first Fire/Kin and leveled him to 50, he far exceeded my expectations. He was a good, well rounded character, and could fill any roll. I was determined to make him as good as he could be, and spent over 1.5 billion searching for that perfect build. Once I found a build that worked for me, he could no longer fill any roll, he was every roll.
You can play a Fire/Kin with IOs and set bonuses or without set bonuses and still be effective. I started out at level 50 the same as everyone else, common level 50 IOs. I wouldnt recommend anything less than IOs however, as SOs are a thing of the past. If you are going for an inexpensive build, I recommend level 50 IOs. With the 40+ bonus IOs give you, you can conserve slots for powers as well by only 2 slotting them for each bonus you want. If you have hot feet, and want only damage and accuracy, 4 slot it and put in 2 level 50 accuracy IOs and 2 level 50 damage IOs. A third accuracy or a third damage IO would only raise the bonus to that stat minimally, and placing your slot elsewhere would offer more of a bonus to another power. Once you have as many optimal slots placed, then you can think about adding that extra slot for a third IO. Also keep in mind, missing with transfusion or transference sucks. Always have a back up plan if you miss with either one of these. I carried a lot of greens and blues into fights.
If you are going to slot your Fire/Kin to be optimal, I strongly suggest using Mid's Hero Designer, as it will give you your total stats. Pick up as many +hp accolades as you can as well. Accolades combined with +hp set bonuses can get you very close to controller cap. I suggest you make your build for maximum recharge and obtain perma haste. Youll be able to get to around 180% recharge and grab as much accuracy set bonuses as you can. Purple sets will help with accuracy as well. Use Mids and experiment, and keep an open mind as you play around with the different powers. Some ideas that seem crazy might actually work because of a Fire/Kins survivability. My Fire/Kin is able to tank in some maps. With an emp on the team, Im able to tank anything.
Once you have your Fire/Kin where you want him, play him to get the feel of his limitations. Dont worry if you die, you will figure out what he can and cant do. Once you get the hang of how the character works, youll be an asset to any team. I believe that making a Fire/Kin that can take damage, and stand next to the tank while he does his work is the best way to go. You can Fulcrum Shift next to the tank, and let the tank do all the dirty work. Always keep looking around while you are on a team, especially in tight spawn locations but stay next to the tank when you arent needed elsewhere. People often draw agro from close by groups, and as a fire/kin, youll be in a position to prevent team wipes. For example, once youve used Fulcrum Shift on the tank, Flash Fire another spawn, Jump into a third agroed spawn and use cinders, and fire cages a fourth spawn and hop into the middle of the 4th spawn, and use transfusion and transference to stay alive while you can use fire cages, your epic damage power, hot feet, and imps to DPS them down. Youll effectively be able to handle four spawns at the same time! Keep in mind; you may be dropped by the fourth spawn depending on how many bosses are in the group. I usually like to have one boss present in groups Im attacking while on teams, as it gives me a reliable target to use transference and transfusion on. Also be aware of groups that mez attack. You may not want to take on a fourth group if you dont have a break free to use prior to attacking that last group.
This concludes my first play guide on Fire/Kin, and will likely modify this as I gain more experience in playing the different epic masteries. Feel free to critique the guide, as it will help with possible changes to the guide in the future
Very nice guide. My Fire/Kin is level 39 and I have followed nearly exactly your build advice. I die occasionally, but more often than not the group falls before the disorient or blind wears off. The only time I really have any issues is with three groups. Two groups are manageable. The third usually does me in. 
Tech Support Rule #1 - They will lie to you. Usually intentionally.
still no build posted
With all the Fire/Kin questions that pop up every now and then in the Controller Forum, Id figure Id make a guide for them, as the Fire\Kin is my favorite build. I have 3 of them, which I intend to dual build to try out all the Epic Powers. I farm on my Fire/Kin, but I also enjoy playing him as much as I do farming. This guide will explain how to play a Fire/Kin effectively at every level, and will break down all the powers and the benefits on hindrances of each power.
So what makes a Fire/Kin Controller so good? Ive noticed, as I play with other builds, that Fire/Kin has a little bit of everything, or a jack of all trades. Youll be able to hold critters, and youll be able to cause damage to them. You have a heal which also acts as a debuff to regeneration. You have two damage boosting powers which also acts as a debuff to the targets. Youll have the best endurance recovery power in the game, transference. You will be able to buff teammates with speed boost and/or inertial reduction. If you take all these assets that a Fire/Kin has, and add IOs and set bonuses into the mixture, you will have a one man team wrecking machine that has it all.
A Guide to the Fire/Kin Controller
FIRE
Level 1: Ring of Fire This power causes a single foe moderate DoT damage and immobilizes them. Its good for soloing, and DPS at lower levels, but useless at higher levels. As you advance in level, youll end up using it less and after your imps and fulcrum shift, you wont need the DPS, and the power slot can be spent on something more useful. If you take this power early in your career, youd be best to respec out of it once you get your Imps.
Level 1: Char This is your single foe hold power, and is a must for any build. It causes minor damage, and is good for holding that annoying creature than is in your face, or for a boss.
Level 2: Fire Cages This is the same as ring of fire, except it hits large groups of creatures. This power is essential if you want to take on large groups at the same time, as it locks them down. It can allow energy blasters to throw everything they have at a group without worrying about knocking them all over, and is great to use after a tank has herded a group. Lock them down, and they will stay tight for all those team AoEs. You can also slot this power for range, damage, accuracy, end reduction, and solo large groups of low level mobs, -1s, or equal level. Be aware that if you miss one, that one will be in your face. You can use char or ring of fire on that one. Watch your endurance, as it drains quickly. Also be aware that this can sometimes cause problems on teams as well. If there are a lot of people on the teams that use knockdown or knockback as damage mitigation, you may want to hold off on using this, and see how well the team does without this power.
Level 6: Smoke This is a useful power, as it decreases the chance for creatures to hit, and lowers their perception. If you are going for a team build, and want to be more of a controller than a DPS, this is a good power. I didnt really like this power; having a stealth IO accomplishes the same -perception, and with the AoE holds, you wont have to worry about anything even taking a swing at you. I found this power useless in a group setting, and in solo play.
Level 8: Hot Feet - This power is another must. Its useful playing solo and in groups. It does decent damage and twice the amount if you fire cage a group, and hop into the middle of them. Be aware that this can cause a lot of agro, and I wouldnt try to solo a group this way, but with a tank, or some of your other AoE holds this can be devastating.
Level 12: Flash Fire This power is a must for any build. Its one of your AoE control powers, and you can disorient a group before they even take a shot at you. Use Hot Feet, Flash Fire, Fire Cages, and hop in the middle of the group, recast Fire Cages whenever its up, and watch them all melt before they can even take a swing at you. The only down side to this at early levels is the time it takes to recharge flash fire, and you will most likely be drained of endurance by the time the mobs are all down.
Level 18: Cinders This is another must have for the controller. You have to be in the middle of a group for it to work, but in conjunction with a stealth IO, super speed, or both, you can use this power without taking a hit. Although not needed for farming, I find this power very useful, and has saved me many times. Its a great panic button, as it will hold most mobs. It is also useful for holding bosses, use cinders followed by char to hold a boss. I am able to rez in the middle of groups by using an awaken, break free, green, blue, and pop cinders. You have to be quick in doing this, but if done correctly, you should be able to retoggle all your powers, use transfusion, transference, and pick up right where u left off.
Level 26: Bonfire Quite possible the most useless power ever. Ive never had any luck with this power, as it knocks groups all over the place before I can lock them back down in time with fire cages. This is too much of a situational power to be very useful, and I find kick (from the fighting power set) to be much more useful than bonfire. This is a skip power in any build.
Level 32: Fire Imps Your imps . This is the power every fire controller waits for, and a must for every build.
KINETICS
Level 1: Transfusion This is a must for every kinetic Controller . Because you dont have much of a choice, and its an awesome power. Its a targeted AoE, so you will need to slot it for accuracy, heal, and recharge. I have doctored wounds in the set, and one accuracy IO. It gives -regeneration to the target, and heals everything next to that target. Its a debuff, and a heal all in one, and is good in any situation.
Level 2: Siphon Power Gives the target -damage, and gives +damage to yourself, and any team member near you. This is useful against any target that is hard to kill, AVs, GMs, EBs, etc. This is almost a must take, as the other option of powers at this level are rather limited. Use this power with fire cages and hot feet for added effect.
Level 4: Repel Similar to Force Fields repulsion field effect, this is extremely useless for most kinetics. It knocks mobs away from you; however, you want to be close to the mobs for most of the kinetic powers to be useful. This is a skipable power if you intend to stay close to targets.
Level 10: Siphon Speed This is a must take for any build. This adds +recharge and allows everything to recharge faster. The quicker your holds recharge, the more effective you will be. If you are concerned about speed, and running into things, you should think about playing something other than a kinetics.
Level 16: Increase Density This is a good power if youre a defender, but skipable if you are a controller. This protects an ally from disorient, immobilization, holds, knockback, repels, and teleportation. It also increases resistance to smashing and energy. As a controller, you can skip this power. *See Speed Boost
Level 20: Speed Boost One of the most disputed powers in the game, people are mad if you dont have it, and people are made if you give it to them. I was once kicked off a team for not having this power on my fire/kin. This power is very debatable on whether it should be taken or not, and it depends on how you want to use your controller. I took it on my fire/kin/fire, but for my second build, fire/kin/psi, I skipped it. Its very useful if you have a stone tank on the team, or if you are fighting knives (caltrops). Even while fighting knives, Ive had people ask me not to SB them. More often than not, I go through mission teams without anyone asking me for an SB. So you can skip this if you dont want it. If you dont take speed boost, you could take increase density to fill the empty spot, or you could just skip both powers and take something completely different.
Level 28: Inertial Reduction It helps team members jump . WHOOPIE! (Skip it)
Level 35: Transference This is, in my opinion, the best end recovery power in the game. Its a ranged attack, so it will need to be slotted for accuracy. It drains endurance from an enemy, and transfers it to anyone near that target. This is a must take for any build.
Level 38: Fulcrum Shift This is a must take for any controller build. This is a ranged attack, so you will need to slot accuracy. This increases your damage for every one creature you affect, and gives -damage to every creature affected up to 10. This boosts your damage dramatically, and can turn a tank, scrapper, or a fire/kin with imps into a wreaking machine. I slotted this power with 3 accuracy IOs and 3 recharge IOs.
EPICS
Fire Mastery
Fire Mastery was my first Fire/Kin and hence is my choice pick. It offers fire resist to the popular behemoth farm and has high damage output thanks to fulcrum shift + fireball, but offers no mez resistance.
Fire Blast Hits a single target and causes moderate damage. Doesnt draw much agro and not to bad for someone playing the role of a controller, but not that potent of a power if you are looking to take on large spawns, and can be skipped.
Fire Ball Targeted AoE, and is the best damage in the fire epic set. Use Fulcrum Shift, and throw a fire ball for maximum damage. This is a must take for any fire epic controller.
Fire Shield Gives good resist to Fire, Lethal, Smash, and Cold. This is a must take for any fire/kin/fire controller.
Consume IMHO, this is not necessary because of Transference.
Psionic Mastery
This was my second pick as a power because of IW and the opportunity to farm clockwork. If I could turn back time, this would have been my first pick. With a lot of influence, youll be able to cap recharge to gain perma IW, and would be able to tank anything with the regeneration that transfusion offers.
Mental Blast Causes moderate damage and -recharge to a single target. This wont cause much agro, but not very damaging, and can be skipped if you are looking to do more damage.
Indomitable Will This power gives resistance to sleep, disorient, fear, hold effects, and defense to psionic attacks for 90 seconds. This is a must take for any Psionic Fire/Kin. With a lot of influence, this can be made permanent also (recharge less than 90 seconds).
Mind Over Body This is the psi toggle for armor, and grants smashing, lethal, and psionic resistance. This is a must take for any psi fire/kin.
Psionic Tornado This is a targeted AoE, causes moderate DoT and has a Knockdown effect. It is the main damage dealer for psionic fire/kins and is a must take.
Stone Mastery
This is my third pick, and is still a work in progress for me. If offers capped hp, and an extra stun power, fissure, which doubles as DPS. I have yet to see how it operates, but with less than a 20 second recharge, potentially offers the ability to move from spawn to spawn without slowing down.
Hurl Bolder This is a ranged attack, and causes high damage and foe knockback to a single target. This wont cause much agro, as you are only targeting a single target, but it would not be an optimal power to take if you are looking to deal damage. This is skipable if you want to have a higher DPS.
Fissure This is a close ranged, targeted AoE that causes moderate damage, knockback, and disorient. Used with fire cages, this can be a very damaging attack as it also causes the targets to be stunned and has a quick recharge. This is the main damage dealer of Fire/Kin/Stone.
Seismic Smash This is a melee attack, and causes extreme damage and holds the targeted foe. This is a good single attack to use with char if you are going for more of a control build or a team build, but not very useful for a farming build as it only affects one target.
Rock Armor This is the resist toggle for stone mastery, and grants resist to lethal and smashing.
Earths Embrace This grants +hp and is also a heal. This lasts for 120 seconds, and with enough recharge, this can be made permanent. This power will put you at your hp cap with a few other enhancements, and some accolades.
Ice Mastery
This will be the fourth pick for me, but looks like it would be very useful in a PvP setting. Slotted with slow, it may be able to slow down someone moving around to much to be able to get close to them and benefit from transfusion and transference, which has always been a problem with my Fire/Kins in PvP.
Ice Blast This is a single target attack that causes moderate damage, -speed and -recharge. This is good if you are looking to do less damage and more control, or for PvP.
Hibernate This is similar to rest, except nothing can touch you while u are resting, and is a useful panic button. This is a popular power in PvP.
Frozen Armor This is the protective toggle for Ice Mastery. It grants +defense to Smashing and Lethal, and +resist to cold.
Ice Storm This is a ranged AoE that causes minor damage, but also gives -recharge and -speed to targets. This combines damage and control into one.
Primal Forces Master
This will be my final epic that I play, but not because its bad, but simply because I see a fire/kin more as a front line controller. It offers Power Boost which is reason enough to take the epic set. It will increase the time of your holds, and boost your secondary effects such as healing, fulcrum shift, transference, and many other buffs. Conserve power will help you stay in the back of the ranks longer without having to worry about losing endurance.
Power Blast A ranged attack, and affects a single target causing moderate damage and foe knockback.
Conserve Power Reduces endurance costs dramatically on all powers. Im not entirely sure if you are able to get this permanent with enough recharge, and havent looked into it. Base duration is 90 seconds, and recharge is 600 seconds, so the recharge that is needed is huge.
Energy Torrent This is a ranged cone attack, causes moderate damage, and knockback. For farming, this has the potential to cause more problems than help, scattering groups around to much.
Temp Invulnerability This is an armor toggle that grants resist to smashing and lethal.
Power Boost This increases all secondary effects except for knockback. It increases the duration of your stuns, holds, immobilizes, heals, endurance drains, and many other powers. The duration of this power is 15 seconds, and Im unsure if you can be made permanent with enough recharge.
How to choose your powers
Theres three ways I look at a controller, do you want him to be heavy on control, and a little squishy, light on the control, and up in the creatures face, or a little bit of control, and a little bit of buffing. I usually have an idea of what I want before I make the toon, and build the costume accordingly. Generally, when I play a fire/kin, I enjoy an in your face character. If this is your play style, I will try and give you some suggestions to powers you want to take.
Fire/Kin in the Front Line
At lower levels, you will want to focus primarily on your control powers, as an in your face type controller wont blossom into what you want until the later levels, and its best you understand how a Fire/Kin controller works before you try anything courageous. Take char, fire cages, and flashfire early. Try to group often, use flashfire when you can to help the group, and use fire cages only after you have used flashfire; fire cages can cause a lot of agro. Hot Feet comes in handy as well. It deals good damage, and you can drop all the minions in the group quickly using flashfire/fire cages/hot feet combo. Keep an eye on your endurance if you use this combo at early levels. Target your heals through a scrapper or a tank, and bind the command $$target_enemy_near to a key that is easy to hit. I have it on my z key. Simply type /bind z $$target_enemy_near. All it requires is a move of my pinky, and I have a target that will most likely give me health if I use transfusion. I also took siphon speed at an early level, and is a must take whether you take it early in your career or later.
Take combat jumping, and super jump as your travel power, and take siphon power. Then start taking the fitness set to get stamina by level 20. Dont worry about speed boost or increase density, and take whichever one you want when you feel it will fit in. From the levels 20-30 you can experiment a little, and take powers from power pools. Haste is a must take whether you take it early or later. I took the fighting pool between the levels 20-30. Kick is decent, and I slotted a force feedback +recharge. Tough grants resist to smashing and lethal, and adds up nicely once you get your epic armor, and weave grants more defense. It makes my fire/kin less squishy against groups that only deal smashing and lethal. Get some +hp accolades and some +hp set bonuses once you hit 50 and youll have a well rounded character.
Once you hit 32, you will take your imps, followed by transference, and then finally fulcrum shift. If you havent taken haste, or siphon speed by level 38, you will want to fit them in at level 47 and/or level 49.
Fire/Kin in the Back Line
Fire Control has many useful control powers, and can stand toe to toe when some of the best control sets. They have Char, Flashfire, and Cinders. You can take smoke as well, which gives perception to a group, and have enough time to run into the group, and use cinders without taking a scratch. Smoke also grants -tohit and is useful in any group. If this is the route you are taking, I would take fire cages, smoke, flashfire, and cinders at an early level. Hot Feet is still useful, but I wouldnt risk jumping into a group until you have used flash fire, or use smoke, cinders, then turn on hot feet; otherwise, you could skip hot feet.
The nice thing about going with a fire/kin that stands out of the way instead of being in the fray is you have more decisions from levels 20-30. You can take both speed boost and increase density, or buffs like grant invisibility from power pools, the leadership pool, or medicine. Experiment and see what you like the best, and save a respec for around level 35 so youll be able to keep your options open. Avoid taking powers that are useless just to get to a power you think would be good (i.e. dont take provoke so you can get intimidate and invoke panic.)
Take your imps at level 32, followed by transference at 35 and fulcrum shift at 38. Once you get into your epic powers, youll have more options offered. Many of the epic power pools themselves have some nice control powers in them, which I have covered already and will cover again later in this guide.
Fire/Kin Buffer
My first suggestion to you is if you are reading this with intent on making a fire/kin buffer, make a kin/ defender. Kin Defenders are much better at buffing than Kin Controllers and anyone who thinks a controller should have every buff power in the kin set is wrong. A controller has less bonuses than a defender, and should be played like a controller. There are controllers that make good team buffers, such as mind/ff (which I have). If you are dead set on making a fire/kin buffer, take ID and speed boost when possible. I never understood the point of inertial reduction, but I suppose you could take that too ah just go make a kin defender .
Epic Powers
I will break the epic powers into two categories, one for a fire/kin who thinks hes a tank, and one for the controller.
Fire Mastery for the Front Line Fire/Kin:
The point a fire/kin tank is to cause as much damage as possible. The best power for this is fireball. Take that at level 41, and take Fire Shield at level 44. Skip fire blast and consume. Fire blast only hits one target, and consume is not needed because of transference. Work on getting global recharge; hasten and siphon speed will help. If you are serious about maxing your fire/kin, get a few purple sets, and some LoTGs +7.5
Fire Mastery for the Back Line Fire/Kin:
Fire isnt that great of a set to take for someone who wants to be 100% controller. If you insist on fire, I would take fire ball, fire shield, and either consume, or two other powers that grant special effects. Repel might be a good choice, to keep mobs away from you.
Psionic Mastery for the Front Line Fire/Kin:
Psionic is a great set for a controller who wants to hang with the tanks. You can get up close and personal with any group using indomitable will which you can get at level 41. Take mind over body at level 44, and psionic tornado at level 47. In taking this set, I found that I had no room to take speed boost. If you decide to go with this build, dont be surprised if you have people getting mad when they shout SB PLEASE! and they dont get any.
Psionic Mastery for the Back Line Fire/Kin:
This set does have some control features in it, and is nice because you have indomitable will. Psionic tornado is the control in the set, which causes AoE knockdown. The only problem I see is knockdown for a controller is pretty close to useless because of fire cages. You will be unable to knockdown targets that have been affected by fire cages.
Stone Mastery for the Front Line Fire/Kin:
Stone mastery is a great set for a fire/kin who wants to get in close. It has high smash and lethal resist, and the main attack power, fissure, recharges every 20 seconds unenhanced. At level 41, take Fissure. It causes knockback, but that shouldnt matter as long as you use fire cages first. It also stuns the targets, and with a quick recharge, you can keep a group stunned until their down. Alternate fire cages and fissure. Seismic smash, although quite useful, is still skipable if you are going for this build because it only targets once creature. Take rock armor at level 44, and Earths Embrace at level 47. With this set, you will be able to max your hit points quite easily with earths embrace, which is also a useful heal.
Stone Mastery for the Back Line Fire/Kin:
Stone Mastery is even better for someone who wants to use it for control. Fissure is a good AoE stun attack, and seismic smash is a hold. Earths embrace can be used as a personal heal if you arent standing near any targets, and you can take rock armor, or you can skip it knowing that you dont ever intend to be close enough to any threats.
Ice Mastery for the Front Line Fire/Kin:
Ice blast, although Ive never used it, could be a good set for this type of play style. I would skip ice blast, take hibernate to use as a panic button, and frozen armor at level 44, and frost breath at level 47. The secondary -speed and -recharge powers on ice storm wouldnt make much of a difference, as fire cages effectively prevents groups from moving. The recharge is a whooping 120 seconds, so this is skipable in the ice mastery set for this type of build. This would be my least favorite mastery for this type of play, although I suspect would do quite well in a PvP zone.
Ice Mastery for the Back Line Fire/Kin:
This would probably be my third choice as a mastery for this type of play style. Hibernate would make a good panic button, ice blast can slow down the boss in the group, and ice storm can slow down a large group of creatures. Although not the best set, this would still be effective for a control controller.
Primal Forces Mastery for the Front Line Fire/Kin:
I have never tried this epic set for a fire/kin, but is quite useful. Conserve power, although probably not able to become permanent through global recharge, is useful, although not really needed because of transference. Pick either power blast or conserve power, whichever you think would be more useful. After that, I would take Temp Invulnerability, and then Energy Torrent as you main damage power at 47. Power Boost makes this set, although for this type of play style, isnt really needed. The normal duration of you holds is likely more than enough to take down a group.
Primal Forces Mastery for the Back Line Fire/Kin:
One power makes this epic set worth taking, power boost. It enhances your hold and stun times. Take power blast and target through another blaster, or conserve power, and make it as close to permanent as you can. Conserve power will allow you to stay out of the fray longer before you run out of endurance. I would shy away from energy torrent, and take temp invulnerability, and then finally power boost.