Grav/Psi... is it really that bad?

So I originally came here looking for advice on how to build my new Grav/Psi dominator, but then I immediately ran into several posts slagging off the grav/mind combo and had to find out for myself.

Do you guys all really think grav/psi is gimp? I've got my grav/psi guy up to level 7, and so far i'm finding him pretty damn awesome. What is it about the combo that makes people percieve it as gimp? My only complaint about my dude's performance would be that lift and propel seem largely redundant when i've got a whole secondary power set full of blasty type powers which get the job done considerably better (and don't have an animation that lasts several hours, and use less endurance), but that's nothing a respec won't fix.

So to summarise:

-Is grav/psi really that gimp?
-What powers should I skip in order to minimise gimpedness?
-What powers should I take to maximise awesomeness?

Theres some good advice re Grav side of things in here if you havnt' looked already Grav talk

As for the /Psi part the only power I would urge you _not_ to take is the very feeble 'Mind Blast'. Untill the animation time or damage for this power is changed its just a baaaad power for a dominator/defender to take/use.

The other power which you _may_ want to avoid (depending on what you want todo with this villain) is TK Thrust. Even tho it recently got a boost from the Dom +dmg on melee powers, its still minor and to be of any use would require about three slots on it.

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Theres some good advice re Grav side of things in here if you havnt' looked already Grav talk

As for the /Psi part the only power I would urge you _not_ to take is the very feeble 'Mind Blast'. Untill the animation time or damage for this power is changed its just a baaaad power for a dominator/defender to take/use.

The other power which you _may_ want to avoid (depending on what you want todo with this villain) is TK Thrust. Even tho it recently got a boost from the Dom +dmg on melee powers, its still minor and to be of any use would require about three slots on it.

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Move over Rad, it's my turn

To answer your questions:

Grav/Psi is only gimped if you think it is gimped yourself - otherwise don't take others' words. What appeals to them, might not appeal to you.
So, if you can accept that you won't be doing that much damage compared to some of the others' sets, that you will get a bit frustrated in later levels, and that you're happy to be fighting close to the mobs later on in life, keep at it. Also remember, psionics has a -recharge to the majority of it's powers, or at least some kind of debuff. The changes in I7 allows Domination to be available more often, increases damage for melee attacks in our secondary sets, and allows Drain Psyche (a power which allows us to boost our endurance and health regeneration by reducing the mobs'. More mobs = more faster regen) to be slotted for accuracy.

Powers to skip: Propel (for the animation time), Subdue or Crush (1 or the other - why do you need 2 immobilizing powers? - Crush might be better for PvP purposes), Psionic Lance (why are you sniping? Controlling mobs is your forte!)

Powers you don't absolutely need: Wormhole (could work with Crushing Field though as a disorient --> immobilize), Mental Blast (Never had the need for it)

Keep Lift as it works more or less like a hold, ie it takes a mob out of action for a few seconds. Of course take Psychic Shockwave - after that things will look much much brighter.

Obviously, this is just the way that I've played my Grav/Psi, and I'm sure you have you're own way too, but, if you need any help, or more advice on anything, feel free to contact me

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Subdue or Crush (1 or the other - why do you need 2 immobilizing powers?

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2 fast-firing, quick-recharge attacks really help build Domination. Whether that's worth taking two similar powers depends on your playstyle, though.

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Wormhole

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Oh good Lord, Wormhole is probably the best power in the Grav primary IMNSHO. If anything, drop Grav Distortion Field before you drop Wormhole.

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Powers you don't absolutely need: Wormhole

[/ QUOTE ]Get it, 6-slot it, love it.

I'm been playing around with an Ice/Psi, I don't have problems with Psi at all so far, it's fun and doesn't seem gimped at all. For one thing Psi dart is very fast so it builds Domination quickly, TK thrust is actually useful and funny to use, Mind Probe is a good damaging attack. I like it a lot so far. Mental Blast is supposed to be bad but that's it. You also get the awesome Psychic Shockwave as the final attack.

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So I originally came here looking for advice on how to build my new Grav/Psi dominator, but then I immediately ran into several posts slagging off the grav/mind combo and had to find out for myself.

Do you guys all really think grav/psi is gimp? I've got my grav/psi guy up to level 7, and so far i'm finding him pretty damn awesome. What is it about the combo that makes people percieve it as gimp? My only complaint about my dude's performance would be that lift and propel seem largely redundant when i've got a whole secondary power set full of blasty type powers which get the job done considerably better (and don't have an animation that lasts several hours, and use less endurance), but that's nothing a respec won't fix.

So to summarise:

-Is grav/psi really that gimp?
-What powers should I skip in order to minimise gimpedness?
-What powers should I take to maximise awesomeness?

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The problem with both Grav and Psi is they are late bloomers.Grav has huge holes in its holds and psi dosn't get anything that does any damahe untill very late.
For grav the only holds you will use are the single target and AoE everything else will get you shot at and probably killed, but ppl use dimension shift and wormhole to fill the gaps.

Psi is quite frankly a complete and total pain in the [censored] untill 38 basicly because its not a high damaging set and the powers you'll find yourself using are mindprobe,subdue and Psychic scream because they are the only powers that do the slighest damage untill 38 when you can get psychic shockwave.
Don't expect huge amounts of damage with Psi because its not gonna happen.

Hello all,

firstly, i would like to say that Ive been playin CoV since Jan, and im answering this thread just coz my main toon is a dominator lvl36 grav/psi, so i think this is the kind of thread i would like to start to...

So, plz, dont just ignore my reply coz its my first post, ive been reading forums (EU & US) since i started, and i think i have 178hours playing that toon. I feel i have enough experience to say that:

* grav/psi its a really hard combination, seriously. Its a challenge. Im not gonna lie to u, its true. But i think im gonna spare some advices with u to make it easier the way to lvl38 (and our "nova" shockwave power become).

* Ok, mainly, i dont like to take the inmobs (this is my personal taste, not necesary urs). No ST inmob, neither AoE one... It has nosense to stop a foe, making him aggro u, and u need to be in melee to kill him... NO SENSE!!

* U will say... "ey, im not gonna be in melee with him, so ill take the inmobs!!"... IMHO, if u dont grabb "Mind probe", u should go to other assault set, coz MP is ur most dmg power. If u do that is like if u go in an ice corr and u dont take bitter ice blast... no sense, m8... So just get it... If u wanna be a /psi dom, u will need to be in melee very often.
Im not sayin u gonna be a brute, im just tryin to xplain u that u gonna finish them in melee. U could stay at range just firing the dart, but that is painfull... Believe me, i have tried some combos, and the fastest one is finish the mobs hand to hand...

* "Ok, and what bout propel? I have said to melee mobs, so dont pick propel??" Ok, propel is a looooong animation power, and its in ur primary. U have a long secondary set for attacks. IMHO, this power is the typical 'ultra-respeced' power. Take it. Slot it in lows-mids lvls. Do the respec mish, and just forget it... It will make ur life easier in low-mids lvls (since it has KB), but in the highs 20's u will have a full arsenal instead propel... Believe me, this power is bad, but it will make its job until u get better powers. (Yeah, i neither dont like to grabb a power knowin im gonna respec it, but i feel this is a necesary one...)

* With this 4 powers: lift, gravity distortion, mind probe, propel, U GONNA RUN TILL LVL26... Yeah, its hard to think that u gonna only get 4 powers. Well, btw, u could grabb ur AoE hold, or DS (this power is really good, but u must know to use it), or both. (1 day i will xplain my personal experience with DS, and how to use it, since i think it has very much ways to use it).

* "So, ok, after played my toon to lvl26, what to do?" Well, man, now starts the fun... WORMHOLE... 6 slot it, and enjoy it. 1 trick to use it: be behind a wall, activate it, and TP them to the wall, not to the floor. They will pack to the floor all together. If u WH them to the floor, they will be KBed, and they will disperse... If u have them packed, all ur teamm8s will luv u for that trick... I just usually start the teams doin this, and after 2 times i have done this power, all ppl are sayin "Ready!", and waitin me for the WH trick. Ppl like mobs packed, so just do it!!!
But, read more, plz...

* lvl28: SUBDUE (finally, my cool blast). This power is the coolest and the main power u will use. Nice rch, nice dmg. I think 4/5 slots could be enough for this. U must slot this power b4 WH, coz u gonna use this one plenty more times than WH.

* lvl32: Actually, u should have respeced propel, so ur attacks powers should be: Psi dart, Mind Probe, Subdue. Also in ur prim set, u should have ur ST hold, and lift (and ur situation powers). Now u get ur sing, and be ready for ur soft happy way to 40 . This pet will make u proud of grav set, but MAINLY, this will be ur cooperative partner: this ball has the powers u havnt grabbed b4 (yeah, that inmobs), also lift and Grav Distortion, and inherent repel. If u solo, just place urself inside ur sing, and see how the meleers are repeled. If u teaming, enjoy it, coz ur sing will seems like there is another dom in ur team, and it will make ur job easier (even better than u sometimes). Of course, u will need to play diferently, but its ur job to see and learn how to play in which situations u are...

From 32 to 40 (im currently at 36) this will be a question of playing time. Its much easier than b4. Just it is... Enjoy it until u hit 40 (soon 50).

So, concluding, grav/psi isnt bad, its HARD. Really hard, i think. U only need to know what to do perfectly, coz u will have no reaction time if u fail, that will be ur death.

This post (guide?) its just for PvE, its the way i think is easier to play this set combination, and of course, its just my opinion. Dont be rude with me, guys, im just trying to help some ppl thinking in take the challenge

Also, im gonna get my 2nd respec one day, and im gonna face over PvP ("face down, u mean?"). I think this toon gonna be a really nice PvPer, but i need to do my 2nd respec b4.

Well, im sorry to write so much, im just at work

Peace.

Grav=good Psi blast=bad

This is from a PvP view, however in PvE grav/psi dominators are perfectly fine.

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Grav=good Psi blast=bad

This is from a PvP view, however in PvE grav/psi dominators are perfectly fine.

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Yup, a high damage, Psi, PBAoE, 64% de-toggle, 10 second base recharge attack must suck bad in PvP...jeje.

But they don't have have a build up, aim, or power boost? except an AoE recovery power-that sucks in PvP.

They have long animation time- sucks in PvP.

And iirc that psi shockwave doesn't have a high BI just lessly resisted in comparison to others, aswell as being a non target PbAoE easy to avoid as an opponent.- I'd rather take Blaze/Bitter ice blast/Thorn barrage/Power burst over that psi shockwave powr tyvm for PvP

However in PvE all of those things rock because their AoE.

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But they don't have have a build up, aim, or power boost? except an AoE recovery power-that sucks in PvP.


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It sucks? why? You know it now accepts ACC enhancements? Combine this with Power Sink from Mu and you have a serious -End Dominator.

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They have long animation time- sucks in PvP.


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Try Thorns, I have, Psi is faster no question.

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And iirc that psi shockwave doesn't have a high BI just lessly resisted in comparison to others, aswell as being a non target PbAoE easy to avoid as an opponent.- I'd rather take Blaze/Bitter ice blast/Thorn barrage/Power burst over that psi shockwave powr tyvm for PvP


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It's actually quite fast, high accuracy, low cost, quick recharge, large (25 feet) and the highest damaging AoE of any Dominator attack as well as the fact Psi resistance is going to be low; it also has the same endurance cost of any of the top level assault powers and it's an AoE which is also a toggle dropper.

Is it the best all round assault set for PvP? probably not. Is it a gimp in PvP? Let's wait and see. A couple of weeks ago virtually everyone but everyone harped on about how Dominators were the worst AT to play in PvP, now everyone is going back to them, despite the fact I and a few others have been successfully playing them in PvP for months.

To the OP.

Grav/Psi isn't gimp, it just needs patience.

You are slightly down on controlling powers until the Singularity, but not to the point where you should struggle. That being said, when Sing does come along, it's a whole new ball game.

The powers you should not miss:

Wormhole: Ignore people who say it's a poor man's teleport foe. They are missing the point by a mile. It's a soft control that just happens to let you pull, place mobs, and be safe out of LoS while you do it. Slot it with increased disorient, increased recharge, and rely on WH heavily. It's godly.

Drain Psyche: I skipped Stamina because of this. It's getting a fix in I7 to allow accuracy enhancments, so it will be even better. Can be used either to increase survivability during a multi-mob fight, or just to casually top up the Endurance from single mobs.

Dimension Shift: Tricky one this. Personally, I love it and wouldn't be without it. However, you have to plan ahead to use it. Random use of DS will get your group building Voodoo dolls in your likeness real, real fast.
If I have a group who can think on their feet, I'll use it. If not, I'll lay off unless it's an emergency. Solo, I use it all the time.
My advice to any Dom with this power is to use it solo, and see how many applications you can come up with. It pairs well with Wormhole.
I do believe it is the duty of all Grav doms out there to educate people about DS. It's a wonderful power when it's used properly. It could be better, yes, but it's still good as is.
See things in a positive light. It's not an AE hold that stops us attacking the mobs. It's an AE sleep that stops your docile groupmates from breaking it and getting you killed.
Are you a half-empty or half-full man?

Singularity: The pet. A roving gravitational anomaly that loves to throw holds. This thing is hard as nails and fills any gaps that you may have perceived in your controlling skills. If you don't take it, you are 2/3's the Dom you could be.
Without getting too insipid, my Singularity completes me.


Obviously get Gravity Distortion and the AE version, GDF.

The rest are choice time, though I would get Mind Probe. Some people don't like melee powers, but it's pure damage. Using holds allows us to enter melee safely for brief spells. Why would we not want this?
Psychic Scream is an AE cone attack, and we have wormhole that allows us to gather many mobs and place them in a corner. That one's a no-brainer I think.

To Avoid:

Mental Blast: Animation times kill this power.

Propel: Again, bad animation times. That said, I took it due to the "Wow I just threw a car" factor, and the inherant auto-knockdown.


But, above all, just make sure you have fun with it.

Hello all again,

i just hit lvl38, and grabed that "semi-nova" power called psy shockwave...

All in all, the first time i used it, i though... "OMG... 38 lvls to this?? hell, im silly... "

Then i go to test it out in 1 paper mish. This is what i saw: (Against the council ppl enemies +2)
* It has a rech time lesser than 10 secs... It is round 8-9 secs (not much change, but in the description it says "slow" recharge).
* It makes 50 dmg to each mob. (unslotted, and against enemies +2 lvls above).

I never noticed it disorients enemies, neither the -rech debuff inherent, but that isnt much in PvE.

Just that, now im gonna reply other guys.

EverClear: Im actually working in a respec for a pure PvP change.
Do u think it sucks in animation time? I say that there is 4 powers (psy dart, mind probe, subdue, psy shockwave) with nice animation time, in fact, my prim has higher activation times than my sec.
Do u think DP sux in PvP? I have been thinkin in 3 slot health + DP with 3 enhcs for heal should work nicely in pvp. It should be cool in PvP that heal buff (also the idea bout -end dominator is cool), but i need to test it b4 in the test server. Also (another utility), those regen scrappers gonna be nerfed with this power (-regen debuff). I just think this is a power to think bout it, it gonna be a nice non-skipable one.
So, actually i have many thoughs, but not much info if this is gonna be good in pvp. I will tell u more.

*Dreamseed: /agree with much of ur thoughs. I feel the same about DS, we all must learn to use it, coz its a really cool power.
Just another PvP though: Imagine u are doin a base raid. U are attackin. U enter with ur dominator and u see that all the other team is in a room, protecting the bacons. U let ur team show (to avoid the aggro), then u eat 5 yellows, and u press DS over the enemy... All enemy ppl become intangible, and all ur team has 30 secs to destroy the beacons (in fact, only 1 guy in 10 secs could destroy 1 of them, and they are usually 4. The raids that i play are 16 .vs. 16). Its like: "Wow, cheater!!"... (and still are ppl saying this power sux)...
Well, over all, i want emphatize (typo?) that mind probe is needed to make a decent chain, and its a pure dmg power grabbed soon. It will make ur life easier all the game.
Finally, i tested psy scream, cos i grabbed it in lvl16. Its has a wide cone, nice animation, nice sound, but it has a long animation. Also, if u take it at lvl16, u still dont have much powers to avoid the aggro it will generate, so i just respeced it. It isnt a bad power, its just i think there are better powers in the set. Indeed, i feel its a little low dmg, but thats just my though.

Well, guys, enjoy the game. Try not being rude with me, im just givin my opinion in this thread, and sharing experiences and thoughs

Peace.