I have no advice but I applaud you for being a good teammate and not skipping ID or SB.
Only main tank for me, and if i have time while "controlling" maybe some team members.
Freedom Bound!!!
ID can really be saved for other trollers and Fenders. Should save you some time in your cycle.
By the high levels, if people can't manage their end, screw 'em. Most high level teams steamroll stuff even if you're sleeping on your keyboard. I generally only SB people if their end is obviously flagging and it's slowing down the team. ID is such a pathetic duration I reserve it for unmezzing people that bother to mention they're mezzed, or on tanks that can't cut the mustard. You might surmise that I don't play buffers that often.
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This prob could easily apply to an any Primary/Kin controller I guess, but my toon is a Fire/Kin.
So the situation is that this is turning out to be the most exhausting toon I've played now that I've gotten her to higher levels.
Tossing smoke & the other holds, trying to use all the Kin powers on enemies too, keeping the fire monkeys up and making sure everybody has SB & Increase Density up... It's a severe workout. More than any defender or tank I've played.
I *do* manage to do it all. Usually by throwing a few fire or kin powers at baddies, then SB/ID on one teammate, then repeating the entire pattern, moving down the list to the next teammate for the buffs. etc... That seems to sort of work.
I know some trollers only buff the main tank, or forget about SB altogether, etc... I figure my job on a team is to contribute the maximum amount I can bring however.
Any suggestions for making this a bit easier? Macro chaining powers perhaps?
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Smoke... LOL! Honestly the debuff is very small. Itssituationally useful for preventing additional agro from other near-by spawns, or as a form of getto stealth, but its not somehting you need every battle.
Also, my advice would be tos top trying to keep ID permanent on all your team-mates. With a 30-second timer, its just not worth the trouble. I dont just mean that in the sense that its annoying, I mean that that time could honeslty be better spent on things that make a bigger impact on performance. If there is somoen who doens't already have mezz protection who seems like they could use it (and there are no empathy or thermal controllers to give them longer-lasting buffs), or if you're primary tank is getting overwhelmed with mezzes (a very rare occurence unless you're primary tank is hopelessly incompetant, but stranger things have happened) then help them out.
Speedboost, fo course, is awesome! Everybody can use that boost, and at a 2 minute timer its easier to keep up. Not also that its not only useful for people who's endurence is failing them - it also has a potant recharge buff.
I just recently started up a fire/kin. Got up to Speedboost today. I don't have all the abilities yet but it is still quite hectic. Went from 22-28 with this one group right after I got SB. I was one of two people in the group with a heal, and the other was another fire/kin who didn't seem to be using any of the nice team /kin stuff besides transference. Needless to say, I never had a dull moment that whole time. :P And I did do my best to keep sb up on everyone, too bad I can't put it on myself. :P I went through soooo many blues.
Well first of all, I'd highly recommend dropping smoke.
Secondly I'd think long and hard about dropping ID. I had it on my Fire/Kin until he hit about 45, and then I respecced out of it. He's been 50 for a while now and I haven't missed it one bit.
How SB is handled depends on the situation. IF I'm on a team that clearly needs my controls in order to keep things moving, SB will be applied to the team when I have the chance. If I'm able to skip the control for the most part and deal damage (mostly by standing on the middle of the mob) I'll keep everyone SB'd. If I'm being relied upon to heal the melee types then SB is obviously going to take a back seat.
If there's a stone tank on the team, obviously do everything in your power to keep him perma SB'd.
With my Fire/Kin I'm rarely watching the buff bar to make sure SB never drops (unless its a stoner tank). You just have too many better things to do. But generally speaking I'll apply SB in between fights when it runs out.
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I have no advice but I applaud you for being a good teammate and not skipping ID or SB.
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I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
I run solo with my fire/kin most of the time. And the reason for that is "SB plz.' Fire/kins do some massive damage and are really unappreciated. I'm more likely to keep SB up if the team is demanding it the second it drops. Unless, of course, there is a stoner. He will get SB all the time because they are slow and my A.D.D kicks into overdrive if I have to wait for someone to catch up.
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I'm more likely to keep SB up if the team is demanding it the second it drops.
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Really? If you say SB Plz you automatically go to the bottom of the queue for me.
"Hi, my name is Ail. I make people sick."
A partial selection from my 50's on Freedom: Ail = Ice/Traps, Luck = Street Justice/Super Reflexes Stalker, Mist = Bane, Pixy = Trick Arrow/Archery, Pure = Gravity/Energy, Smoke = Fire/Fire Dominator
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Fire/kins do some massive damage and are really unappreciated.
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This must explain why about 30% of all controllers are fire/kins.
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This prob could easily apply to an any Primary/Kin controller I guess, but my toon is a Fire/Kin.
So the situation is that this is turning out to be the most exhausting toon I've played now that I've gotten her to higher levels.
Tossing smoke & the other holds, trying to use all the Kin powers on enemies too, keeping the fire monkeys up and making sure everybody has SB & Increase Density up... It's a severe workout. More than any defender or tank I've played.
I *do* manage to do it all. Usually by throwing a few fire or kin powers at baddies, then SB/ID on one teammate, then repeating the entire pattern, moving down the list to the next teammate for the buffs. etc... That seems to sort of work.
I know some trollers only buff the main tank, or forget about SB altogether, etc... I figure my job on a team is to contribute the maximum amount I can bring however.
Any suggestions for making this a bit easier? Macro chaining powers perhaps?
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There are a lot of differing opinions on this:
First, I suggest you set up binds for buffing your teammates. I use the numberpad -- just hit the button that corresponds with the number on the team list, and that teammate is selected and speed boosted. I have ID on the zero key, but I don't use it most of the time. I can if I want to, in case a teammate gets mezzed, but most of the time, the timer is too short. I then use Alt-Numpad for my Imps. (yeah, I still speed boost them.)
There is another system I have seen where you set the number of teammates, and then the binds will boost one and then automatically switch to the next down on the list. It is some pretty complex bind programming, but if you can find an old program called CityBinder, it has those buffs built in. If you put "CityBinder" in Google, you should be able to find the download site, but the author stopped supporting it a while ago so it is missing some of the newer powersets. Still works great, though. I use CityBinder on all my characters, but it sometimes takes a little tweaking.
On Smoke -- I have it on my Fire/Kin, but only use it when it is really needed. I don't bother unless I think the team needs it -- like when we are setting up to take on an AV.
On the "SB Plz" thing . . . If I have forgotten, I see it as a friendly reminder. If I'm doing my best, I generally don't worry about it and do my best. If it gets annoying, I send a tell to the offending person . . . and if he still doesn't quit, then I do. One time I told the team that he was getting annoying and that I was going to quit . . . and the leader kicked him.
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
Try to get your sb cycle done during the wrap up phase of an engagement. That's when you are less busy and it's ok to let your teammates handle the few remaining mobs while you buff. ID doesn't need to be applied 24/7. There are times when it's nice to have it on your teammates but the duration is a bit short to realistically keep it on 7 teammates all the time.
You are already doing the "click a teammate, buff, control/debuff/attack using the assist feature, move on to the next teammate" cycle so I don't need to tell you about that.
You can buff on the move too, with a few siphon speeds on you, you should have no issues catching up to your teammates if they run ahead of you.
Smoke is not something I would apply the moment it's recharged. I'd use it to blind groups that are too close together but that's about it.
There are macros for buffing your teammates but I don't find it too troublesome to select them with my mouse on the team panel and press my sb bind key.
I'm unclear as to why tanks get priority on the SB. Personally, I like giving it to Scrappers as they will make sure everything goes down faster.
I usually buff the whole team, but when I'm feeling lazy I give it to scraps and tank.
Currently on Virtue:
Jinrazuo - Crab Spider
RWZ All-Pylon Solo Run
Tanks get priority because of Gauntlet. I want them hitting first and often. That way i don't get hit in the face.
Weird. I've always prioritized blasters and defenders, then tanks, then controllers, and scrappers last.
Mostly because scrapper have this odd habit of being on the other side of the rainbow from me, and I don't offer delivery.
Sadly these are the people that pretend fire/kin is some sort of cheat and that Jack Emmert personally adjusts your toon from 1-50 when you log on a new one.
Kin is a very exhausting secondary. Try rad next time....its not nearly as bad and Am is a great buff since it does +rech +dam and +rec to yourself and whoevers nearby.
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Sadly these are the people that pretend fire/kin is some sort of cheat and that Jack Emmert personally adjusts your toon from 1-50 when you log on a new one.
Kin is a very exhausting secondary. Try rad next time....its not nearly as bad and Am is a great buff since it does +rech +dam and +rec to yourself and whoevers nearby.
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I agree with this -- I find my Fire/Rad to be overall more fun than my Fire/Kin. My Fire/Rad is the first thing I pull out for TFs or other post-50 stuff on that server. He's the one I want to maximize the IO slotting for. The combo of Hot Feet and Choking Cloud is terrific.
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
If you stop playing your fire/kins like a buff bot and instead play them like a offensive juggernaut, then you wont have the problems of having to buff teammates all the damn time.
I dont find the /kin part exhausting at all but I also dont find the need to keep teammates SBed and IDed during stupid farms or general missions. Dont get me wrong, I use both powers, but not when some scrapper or blaster asks just for the recharge.
I decide when its needed, not the other way around. Using that mindset, its a very easy secondary to play.
This prob could easily apply to an any Primary/Kin controller I guess, but my toon is a Fire/Kin.
So the situation is that this is turning out to be the most exhausting toon I've played now that I've gotten her to higher levels.
Tossing smoke & the other holds, trying to use all the Kin powers on enemies too, keeping the fire monkeys up and making sure everybody has SB & Increase Density up... It's a severe workout. More than any defender or tank I've played.
I *do* manage to do it all. Usually by throwing a few fire or kin powers at baddies, then SB/ID on one teammate, then repeating the entire pattern, moving down the list to the next teammate for the buffs. etc... That seems to sort of work.
I know some trollers only buff the main tank, or forget about SB altogether, etc... I figure my job on a team is to contribute the maximum amount I can bring however.
Any suggestions for making this a bit easier? Macro chaining powers perhaps?