Fire/Kins offer excelent support and make for some great team members with the excelent control provided by fire (Fire Cages + Flashfire) and the nice buffs from kin (SB, ID, Transfusion and Transference)
They can be excellent teammates when they actually want to be. Sadly a large number of fire/kin players, when on a team, will continue to play as if solo farming, to the point that if I join a team that I see has a fire/kin on it I do not form any expectation that they will bother to actually control enemies or buff the team.
If you want to actually play a fire/kin as a controller and teammate, you will find that you can be very effective on multiple levels. However, you are likely to face the expectation/assumption that you are a farmer.
I buff, heal, and control on my Fire/Kin. I built the character because of a concept and for team-support, not for farming. Though I occasionally feel as if I'm in the minority at this point. :/
I think the only team-support power I lack at this point is Increase Density, and it's on my list of ones to grab. Just no room to fit it in right now. :|
EDIT: And it's definately a viable team support setup. I prefer to lean heavily on my Secondary, though, since most of the teams I run with have no problems steamrolling the majority of things.
My fire/kin's main build is a team oriented build and is one of my best AV/GM/TF toons.
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
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My fire/kin's main build is a team oriented build and is one of my best AV/GM/TF toons.
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yeah ive seen mental on her kin..trust me..shes most certainly isnt farmin with THAT build bwahahaha!
*runs and hides*
My fire/kin *can* farm, but is built more as an all around character. She has speed boost, ID and is built for a combination of survivability (ranged defense) and recharge. She'd be terrible at boss farming; she's decent at Lts. However, I feel she isn't gimped when I'm on TFs and on teams, so I wouldn't change her to an optimized farm build.
The other thing that makes her odd is that she wasn't PL'ed. I have the souvenirs and badges from low level story arcs to prove it, and she can exempt down very nicely.
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They can be excellent teammates when they actually want to be. Sadly a large number of fire/kin players, when on a team, will continue to play as if solo farming, to the point that if I join a team that I see has a fire/kin on it I do not form any expectation that they will bother to actually control enemies or buff the team
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Well if they are playing like they're farming that means they DO control enemies, throw transfusion and transference, and have very high kill speed. To me that is a great contribution to the team *shrug*
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They can be excellent teammates when they actually want to be. Sadly a large number of fire/kin players, when on a team, will continue to play as if solo farming, to the point that if I join a team that I see has a fire/kin on it I do not form any expectation that they will bother to actually control enemies or buff the team
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Well if they are playing like they're farming that means they DO control enemies, throw transfusion and transference, and have very high kill speed. To me that is a great contribution to the team *shrug*
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A great contribution to the team is doing stuff that helps everyone have more fun. You farming a map while your teammates sit back and watch or trail behind trying to keep up is boring. Mezzing foes, Speed Boosting your teammates to let them help with the killing spree and do their jobs? Healing and giving Endurance to teammates, pulling them from the brink of death? That becomes fun for everyone.
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
Fire/Kin notafarmer is actually exactly what my search comment used to be.
Now its "built for teaming."
Either way, I take great pride in being one of the few to break the "why won't he speed boost anyone on the team" mold.
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Well if they are playing like they're farming that means they DO control enemies, throw transfusion and transference, and have very high kill speed. To me that is a great contribution to the team *shrug*
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Transfusion and transference, yes, to heal and refill themselves. Controls - maybe you've got classier farmers than I do. Kill speed? Oh yes. But the point is that kill speed without controls and buffing doesn't lead me to feel like I've teamed with a controller, it leads me to feel like I've teamed with a scrapper with flashier special effects.
Nothing wrong with a scrapper on the team, but they don't lead me to expect controls or team support - just a lot of killing.
As a teaming build, Fire/Kin is potentially as strong as any other controller combo. Very solid controls, excellent buffs, a good heal, and superior damage output. Good players will play it to those stengths, because goodplayers are good.
Unfortunately, the actual function of most fire/kins on a pre-lvl-30 Task Force team seems to be simply immobilizing the enemies as far apart as humanly possible, dying horribly, and begging inspirations to make a wakie.
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I buff, heal, and control on my Fire/Kin. ... Though I occasionally feel as if I'm in the minority at this point. :/
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Now what gives you that idea? 
Re: Ben_Arizona
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However, you are likely to face the expectation/assumption that you are a farmer.
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Taking, slotting, and using Increase Density will get rid of that assumption in no time. Increase Density says, loud and clear, "I do just fine without a granite tanker, and so do you."
Well, that, and "lolsmashing."
If the root+stun+hold protection+resistance isn't justification enough to take it, think of the 8 mag knockback protection. If the 8 mag knockback protection isn't enough, think of the 29% smashing and energy damage resistance (at the ED cap). If the the 29% smashing and energy damage resistance still isn't enough, think of the 29% smashing and energy damage debuff resistance. A lot of people don't know about that -- Kinetic's own little anti-Kinetic power to help your teammates deal with Red Ink Men/Swift Steels, Force/Agony Mages, Steel Strongmen/Dark Ring Mistresses/Dark Servants, and any other damage debuffers you might run across in non-farm AE missions.
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Fire/Kin notafarmer is actually exactly what my search comment used to be.
Now its "built for teaming."
Either way, I take great pride in being one of the few to break the "why won't he speed boost anyone on the team" mold.
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aside from those of us on the forums, we're far and few between, aren't we?
Did a LGTF a few nights ago on my fire/kin. the team had a total of four (4!!) kins on it, and although we all /had/ SB, i was the only one keepin' it on folks. i couldn't even get the others to SB me to save THEIR lives.
I'd have just said "eff this, i won't SB them until they start SBing me", but i don't want to be THAT kin, either. that just slows down the whole team and causes a buncha drama.
Keep fighting the good fight, and showin' folks that not all fire/kins are solo even when teaming.
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Well if they are playing like they're farming that means they DO control enemies, throw transfusion and transference, and have very high kill speed. To me that is a great contribution to the team *shrug*
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The whole team would do better if they would slow themselves down a moment to throw some buffs around. Many think to highly of themselves to reflect upon how much more effective the team would be if they would act more team oriented.
I am coming back to CoH from a long hiatus. I have a 23 Fire/Kin that I am picking back up, but I am not quite as interested in creating the farmers build.
Just looking at the first page, there seems to be a very common farming theme to the Fire/Kin "sub-culture". I am curious about how effective Fire/Kin is in TF's and other PuG's and what not as a group member.
Is the control/damage/buffage decent at this point, or is Fire/Kin sort of niched into the farmer/soloing space.
Thanks.