Or should i start again? i joined up with a few friends, and they're all at level 14ish, while i'm stuck at level 10. But if i start up with a different controller/blaster i would be fine
Controllers aren't as damage oriented in general as some other ATs. Although some of them can be very good damage dealers later on in the game.
Where they shine most is on teams. If you have friends team with them. It'll make their leveling experience easier with your controls/debuffs and you'll get some nice XP along the way to help yourself level as well. The sidekick system allows you to fight foes way above your level as long as you have a higher level buddy to mentor you.
Plant/Rad is an excellent combination for teaming. Seeds of confusion is a must and makes fights go a lot quicker, and radiation is one of the quintessential debuff secondaries that allows your teammates to kill quicker. If you absolutely need to solo then I would get entangle and slot it for damage and also get a pool attack to supplement your single target attacks. You can also slot roots for damage and spam it since it does damage to multiple foes but that'll really put a hurting on your endurance bar.
Read up on some guides on plant control and radiation emission and get a feel of what the two sets are like and then plan out a build for yourself.
Well, the thing with Controllers is that they have low damage at early to mid levles, so you're going to have a hard time soloing. You'll make up for this later on when you have a pet and can brush off anything short of an AV with ease.
Here's some tips:
One, Controllers have an ability called "Containment" where any foe that is HELD, SLEPT, STUNNED or IMMOBILIZED takes DOUBLE damage from most of your attacks. So you want to open up with an ability that inflicts one of these statuses on your enemies before going in for the kill. Note that Plant's signature power, Seeds of Confusion, does not grant any of these statuses and therefore does not grant the Containment bonus.
Many Secondaries have powers that increase your survivability, damage output, and make life easier and more fun. Radiation Emission is among the best secondaries for this sort of thing. It has powers that can debuff a foe's Damage Resistance, which means they take more damage from attacks, and it has another power which increases you and your teams' Recharge times, which means you attack faster and more often.
Learn to use your powers effectively and in tandem with one another. Find a strategy that works (like always casting AM -before- a battle, then opening with Vines) and it'll make your life easier.
-STEELE =)
Allied to all sides so that no matter what, I'll come out on top!
Oh, and Crimson demands you play this arc-> Twisted Knives (MA Arc #397769)
Pretty good advice so far. The only thing I would add is that if you do want to start over, consider making an illusion/radiation controller. That's probably the top soloing build among controllers.
It has high damage and if you take deceive at level 6, you can easily solo the groups of three you typically find on most maps: open with deceive, have the groups fight each other, blind one, then hit it with spectral wounds for containment damage.
Plus radiation, as you know, has lots of useful utilities.
For a newer player, playing something a bit easier and tested isn't a cop out. You can always go back to that plant/rad when you get the hang of things.
I would echo the advice about Ill/Rad . . . it is my favorite overall controller. But I like to take Deceive as low as level 4. I'm working an a guide for Ill/Rad, but it is not ready yet . . . I suggest any new player try reading a lot of the guides. While not all of them are great, many are. You will learn more about how the game works by reading guides and reading these boards that you can imagine.
On your Plant/Rad . . . Plant is a great build for controlling large numbers of lower level foes . . . it handles groups of minions and lieutenants, but has some trouble with bosses. It is good for doing small amounts of damage to a large number of foes, but weak at doing a lot of damage to a single target. The best thing to do is play to your strengths, by playing on teams.
On your build, make sure you take the following powers as soon as they are available: From Plant you should have Strangler, Roots, Seeds of Confusion all by level 8, then take Carrion Creepers at 26 and Venus Fly Trap at 32. The fly trap, which is the coolest looking pet in the game, is often called "Audrey" by folks after the big plant in the movie, "Little Shop of Horrors" (but the correct name from the movie is actually "Twoey" or "Audrey Two"). Make sure you get 6 slots into Seeds of Confusion as soon as you can, as this is your key power. I suggest 2 Accuracy, 2 Confuse, 2 Recharge. A good general rule for slotting control powers is start with 2 Accuracy, 2 Recharge, 2 enhancements for the control (Confuse, Hold, or whatever), but there are plenty of exceptions to that rule. One exception is Roots, which is your main Area of Effect (AoE) damage power -- Make sure you slot Roots with 2 Accuracy, as it has an accuracy penalty, then I suggest 3 Damage, 1 Endurance Reduction (the light blue, not the dark). Carrion Creepers should be slotted with 2-3 Recharge, 3 Damage. Your Audrey should be a minimum of 1 Acc, 3 damage. Some plant powers are optional: Vines, an AoE hold power, is a good idea in my opinion (try 2 Acc, 2 Rech, 2 Hold). If you expect to solo a lot, then take Entangle and slot it for damage (1 Acc, 3 Damage). Spirit Tree is a nice healing buff for a team, but skippable if you want to add other powers. Spore Burst is a sleep -- useful solo, but teams tend to make it useless.
On the Rad side, you have to take Radiant Aura, a heal power, but that's a good thing to have. Accelerate Metabolism buffs a lot of smaller things, but adds up to be one of the best buffs in the game (3 Recharge to start, and then 3 EndMod if you have room later). Radiation Infection and Enervating Field are "Debuffs" that are very useful. (I suggest you take a look at my Earth/Rad guide and read the section on the Radiation powers -- that will explain slotting and strategies of how to use the powers quite well.) Also eventually take Lingering Radiation, but that can be delayed. EM Pulse is a great "panic button" power. Mutation is a resurection power for teammates, a nice-to-have power on a team build, but useless if you mostly solo. I suggest you skip Choking Cloud and Fallout on a Plant/Rad.
Plan on choosing a pre-requisite for a travel power by level 12, so you can get a travel power at 14. Probably the best for a new player is Air Superiority/Fly. Air Sup is a melee attack power that will help you to solo. Also plan to take the Fitness Pool -- Swift or Hurdle and Health before level 20, so you can get Stamina at level 20 -- it will fix your problem with running out of endurance. At level 22, you will be able to buy Single Origin Enhancements in Talos Island -- this will make your character much, much better.
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
Decieve is a nice soft control. once it hits the mob wont attack you
OR you could go with a dominator and have damage early on and definitely later.
Come to the dark side, we have cookies! 
I've found plant/storm fun and not a challenge to solo with, even in low levels.
Also, what server do you play on? Virtue, in my experience, is very accommodating and patient with new players. Freedom is... less so.
Stay Gold, Paragon. Stay Gold.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
Local has some good advice. If I were doing Plant/Rad it would look something like this:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler -- Empty(A), Empty(3), Empty(3), Empty(15), Empty(19), Empty(37)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Empty(A), Empty(5), Empty(48)
Level 2: Radiation Infection -- Empty(A), Empty(5), Empty(7), Empty(37)
Level 4: Roots -- Empty(A), Empty(7), Empty(15), Empty(19), Empty(34), Empty(36)
Level 6: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- Empty(A), Empty(9), Empty(9), Empty(11), Empty(11), Empty(13)
Level 10: Accelerate Metabolism -- Empty(A), Empty(17), Empty(25)
Level 12: Air Superiority -- Empty(A), Empty(13), Empty(23), Empty(31), Empty(34)
Level 14: Fly -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Hover -- Empty(A), Empty(17)
Level 18: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A), Empty(21), Empty(21)
Level 22: Hasten -- Empty(A), Empty(23)
Level 24: Entangle -- Empty(A), Empty(25), Empty(31), Empty(37), Empty(40), Empty(43)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- Empty(A), Empty(27), Empty(27), Empty(29), Empty(29), Empty(31)
Level 28: Mutation -- Empty(A)
Level 30: Vines -- Empty(A), Empty(34), Empty(39), Empty(40)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- Empty(A), Empty(33), Empty(33), Empty(33), Empty(46), Empty(50)
Level 35: Enervating Field -- Empty(A), Empty(36), Empty(36)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- Empty(A), Empty(39), Empty(39), Empty(40)
Level 41: Ice Blast -- Empty(A), Empty(42), Empty(42), Empty(42), Empty(43), Empty(43)
Level 44: Frost Breath -- Empty(A), Empty(45), Empty(45), Empty(45), Empty(46), Empty(46)
Level 47: Lingering Radiation -- Empty(A), Empty(48), Empty(48)
Level 49: Ice Storm -- Empty(A), Empty(50), Empty(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
I tend to slot accuracy first, then damage/hold duration ( depending on the power) then recharge and endurance reduction. When using Seeds of Confusion, Radiation Infection will work against you if you managed to hit the entire mob. I would probably save the Rad Infection for teams, or boss fights ( seeds is unreliable vs bosses ). This build should give you a good mix or reliable AoE damage and control, though it is a little slow out of the gate for solo.
I would choose most of the same powers but do it a little differently.
The build I'm posting has some options. My slotting is to suggest SOs or Common IOs only, but I would slot a bit differently with IO sets. I did not fill in the last two powers because there are so many choices. I went with the Earth APP set because Plant's biggest weakness is single target damage, so Fissure and Seismic Smash add single target damage, but other APP choices will work, too. You could add Hurl Boulder and the rock armor, or Assault + Tactics, or many other choices.
You could fit in Super Speed for stealth + maneuverability. (My Plant/Rad actually uses Hasten/Super Speed for travel. Adding a Stealth IO gives me full invisibility.)
I went with Spirit Tree and Mutation, as I had in mind a team build. For a more solo build, I would drop those for Entangle, and I might consider Spore Burst or other pool powers.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Pot Holder: Level 46 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(3), Hold-I(15), Hold-I(17), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(17), RechRdx-I(31), Heal-I(37)
Level 2: Roots -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(3), EndRdx-I(7), Dmg-I(15), Dmg-I(19), EndRdx-I(23)
Level 4: Accelerate Metabolism -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(5), RechRdx-I(5), EndMod-I(37), EndMod-I(40), EndMod-I(40)
Level 6: Air Superiority -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(7), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(36), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(9), Conf-I(9), Conf-I(11), RechRdx-I(11), RechRdx-I(13)
Level 10: Radiation Infection -- ToHitDeb-I(A), ToHitDeb-I(13), ToHitDeb-I(25)
Level 12: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 16: Health -- Heal-I(A)
Level 18: Vines -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(19), Hold-I(46), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(23)
Level 24: Lingering Radiation -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(25), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(43), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(27), Dmg-I(29), Dmg-I(34), Dmg-I(34)
Level 28: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 30: Mutation -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33)
Level 35: Spirit Tree -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(36)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(39), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 41: Fissure -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(42), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 44: Seismic Smash -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
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
I almost went with the Earth APP as well, but went Ice instead as Fissure will really lower the damage Seeds is doing. Of course you've got Creepers perma by then, and can do a lot of damage with Fissure and Seismic Smash so it's probably a wash.
[ QUOTE ]
I almost went with the Earth APP as well, but went Ice instead as Fissure will really lower the damage Seeds is doing. Of course you've got Creepers perma by then, and can do a lot of damage with Fissure and Seismic Smash so it's probably a wash.
[/ QUOTE ]
I went with Earth mainly to boost single target damage. Plus, the hold in Seismic Smash will stack with Strangler for holding a boss. But an AoE damage power is a good choice on a team, and Ice has both Frost Breath and Ice Storm.
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 best trollers i have ran solo have been ice/emp and fire/therm
the best trollers i have ran solo have been ice/emp and fire/therm
Alright I have just started the game, I'm a late joiner I know, but still, I'd like to be a controller. They were always my favorite "types" when I read comics, and thus I'd like to be one. Plant control sounds fun for me, however, I solo often, as I dont like to inconvenience people that I dont know. I started a character, a plant/radiation, as i thought it would be neat, however I am having trouble leveling up and defeating even relatively simple enemy groups. Any advice would be helpful. I'm loving the game, but this lack of damage dealing is hindering my enjoyment.