I think the challenge of playing a dom in PVP may be a bit too much for some. Its more difficult than other AT's I've tryed (pvp wise) and I can see why a lot of people might give up before they get the really good powers. I havent been in the zones as often as I would like simply because I wanted those really good powers, plus I was enjoying the story arcs. Now I've hit 30 with Fineous O'Malley I will likely be around a bit more often.
My MA IDs:
Fiend Space: 211464
Well, have you seen much other than Stalkers in PvP? When I've been in PvP zones, especially in Siren's it hasn't been uncommon for every other toon to be a stalker, even been on a full team of 8 a number of times - 7 stalkers and one Dominator.
Dominators have been rare toons for people to make in general, which partly explains the scarcity in PvP. With the new boost for PvP domination build up since Issue7 they are much more viable and even more so with the mez buff as well now; they still are pretty fragile as compared to Corruptors who have buffs/heals/debuffs which increase their survivability and so are easier to play. The margin for error playing a Dominator is much smaller.
The 'problem' with Doms is that they are perceived and played a lot as sub-standard controllers (which is a mistake), the other issue for them is their assault attacks get good fairly late - a bit like most tank melee attacks.
I've seen a number of Doms in Siren's - Fineous O'Malley, Me so Thorny, Terror Lancer, all fairly new and they seem pretty effective to me.
I have to mention Devil Seed who I've sparred with in the arena - we are both plant/thorns with fairly similar builds, great fun to try it's like fighting against yourself.
I would say that dominators are the squishiest in PvP actually.
Unless you are choosing special control sets they can be turned almost completely useless...even with domination running.
Jeg leser i h�nden, om tiden som kommer.
Jeg lytter til havet, og ser tiden som var.
Jeg snakker med fjell, og tiden st�r stille.
Jeg snakker med meg selv, og tiden g�r.
Jeg lukker et �ye, og ser halvt.
Jeg lukker begge, og ser alt.
La meg ligge...
La meg ligge...
La meg ligge...igjen.
"special" control sets? Useless with domination? Well, you haven't played one yet. While domination is up and running, dominator primary attacks are SUPERIOR IN EVERY WAY to their controller counterparts. They last longer, do more damage, and have double the mag. I was mucking around in sirens earlier, and I 2 shot-held a /regen.
'course, since I was level 20 and didn't have SOs or stamina (/lameexcuse) he beat the snot out of me. I'd like to get to at least 40, and then start running around in RV a bit, see what I can do.
Only ever fought 1 dom in RV myself though(fire/fire, can't remember the name) and, sad to say, they went down pretty fast, with those psychotic imps not doing more than tickling. I still think there's no reason why a really good player couldn't dominate (ignore the pun) the zone. A hasten using mind/ casting mezmerise teamed with a stalker would be an awesome combination, and there's probably quite a lot more (like confusing NPC's to soften them up)
Ah well, I still love playing like a squishy scrapper with holds, and dominators are last on the nerf list 
Surely a Dominator with */Nrg could build an SR-esque Dominator with upwards of 60% Defense for long periods of time.
Power Boost would double Defense, hence any Defense based EPIC shield, coupled with maybe Weave and Combat jumpin could give some nice numbers. I did some maths for Blasters before. I think the only difference is that Dominators Power Boost has a longer recharge doesnt it?
So a 60% Defense toon with holds, blaps and Domination any1? 
Sounds pretty strong to me.
Power boost can be up every 45 seconds (base is 120) with a 15 second duration. I think the figure would be more likely to be 40% defence tops during power boost (which ice also has).
Given that you are more likely to be hit outside of this time than during it, and it is only going to apply at level 41+ I can't think it's that strong; more like occasionally you get a useful bonus.
...If I was going for a tough dominator I would choose plant/psi, get the fighting pool for Tough and a resistance shield from a patron. This can give you 58% S/L resist plus good +Regen from Spirit Tree, Health and Drain Psyche, about +600% I'm guessing.
The Power Boost defense buff is far more useful in PvE, when you can use it against an alpha stike.
I really should do something about this signature.
Indeed, PvE would be nice. Here's what i built just as a musing for a Blaster before, to test what defenses etc could be reached ;
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1. Blast - 6 slotted
2. Energy Punch - 6 slotted
4. Buildup - 3 slotted
6. Combat Jumping - 5 slotted
8. Hasten - 3 slotted
10. Boxing - 6 slotted
12. Hurdle - 1 slotted
14. Super Jump - 1 slotted
16. Tough - 5 slotted
18. Swift - 1 slotted
20. Stamina - 3 slotted
22. Weave - 5 slotted
24. Bonesmasher - 6 slotted
26. Power Boost - 3 slotted
28. Power Burst - 6 slotted
30. Stealth - 5 slotted
32. Invisibility - 2 slotted
35. Aim - 4 slotted
38. Total Focus - 6 slotted
41. Frozen Armour - 5 slotted
44. Snow Storm - 3 slotted
47. Hibernate - 3 slotted
49. Power Push - 1 slotted
Just as a rough outline. But beware of exemping down cos u could be left with about 2 attacks
Attack chain of Snow Storm, Power Blast, Power Push, Energy Punch, Bonesmasher, Total Focus, Boxing (filler if needs be).
Total Peak Defense of - 57.41%
Seemed to have no problems with slotting, even slotting all Passives and Defense earners with endred. Had slots to spare at the end.
Could be altered due to preference to have 52.16% Defense and a self heal, by dropping Stealth and Invis for Stimulant and Aid Self.
Still a marked improvement on Ice's base 21.4% defense (or 36.4% with PB) and use of other Ice Epic powers....
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So change the blasts for holds etc and this could be quite potent.
Even though this would have to be a level 50 respec. Playing through those levels would be hell 
I do not think the devs had PvP in mind when they came up with the dominator. We rely on holding/messing our enemy to give us enough time to kill them. Of cause, it is not fun for anyone to be held helpless while being slowly killed. That is why there is mess/hold suppression. (or what ever that system of a mes/hold giving resistance to the same kind when it expires in PvP)
Most of the other Villain AT, have clear unhindered ways to fight in PvP, and Stackers seems almost designed for it.
Our damage is not that gait compared to the defences of scrapers and takers, and they have further mess protection beyond the hold suppression. Blasters and scrapers can kill us fast when mess suppression kicks in.
I am not saying that we can not be gait. But that it is far easier to be good with the other AT, especially stackers. No wonder there is fewer of us and more of them.
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Well, have you seen much other than Stalkers in PvP? When I've been in PvP zones, especially in Siren's it hasn't been uncommon for every other toon to be a stalker, even been on a full team of 8 a number of times - 7 stalkers and one Dominator.
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On defiant I have seen a fair bit of brutes, corruptors and masterminds (ive even dueled a mastermind on arena in a relatively random match, couple corruptors as well), but dominators are definitely the rarest. Brutes are propably the second most common after stalkers.
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"special" control sets? Useless with domination? Well, you haven't played one yet.
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Well....thats exactly what Ive done and you of all should know...unless you have forgotten me...but anyway I'll tell a short story.
We were 2 dominators against a scrapper and a defender (or blaster, dont remember right now).
I was jumping around firing of some attacks and mezzes trying to hold the scrapper and build up domination.
Could not hold, sleep or confuse the scrapper...he continued whacking at me.
So, domination is at max and I activates it.
DOMINATION after DOMINATION after DOMINATION pops up over his head....and he was completely unaffected as he was still humping my leg.
I fired off 4-5 holds and even more sleeps and 2-4confuses but nothing worked.
I could add much more but dont want to turn this post into a big whine post.
Im not saying that every control set can be rendered useless...but when the enemy has sufficient defenses against mezzes plus popping BF's...Mind control forexample becomes completely useless while some other sets still have powers not bent on mezzes.
Jeg leser i h�nden, om tiden som kommer.
Jeg lytter til havet, og ser tiden som var.
Jeg snakker med fjell, og tiden st�r stille.
Jeg snakker med meg selv, og tiden g�r.
Jeg lukker et �ye, og ser halvt.
Jeg lukker begge, og ser alt.
La meg ligge...
La meg ligge...
La meg ligge...igjen.
Dominators - and Controllers will be more effective, I think some Dev said that Breakfrees will be reduced to 1/4 of their original effectiveness.
So Dominators will be able to dominate their targets better. Do I smell burning BFs? 
@PeeWee:
What kind of a Scrapper was he? I heard that SR can have their mezprotection doubled for a while.
I love my Dom in PvP, he used to be really bad, mostly because I gimped his build
After the i7 freespec, however, I've been solo ganking scrappers and all manner of things which the 'squishy blunt' AT should fail at miserably, with all my stacked Ice Control powers (I took Chilbain specifically for this), I can slow pretty much anything down to zero, effectively turning them into squishier Granite Tanks, using my beloved Thorns to keep them using their self heals, which would have a ridiculously long recharge with all my stacked slows, before hitting the magic Domination button then letting the blapping magic commence.
And I don't even have Ripper or Thorn Barrage yet...I LOVE IT
@Rooks
"You should come inside the box... Then you'll know what I mean."
I was in RV for a good hour or so last night dominating
If you're on defiant look out for Pyrechill - Pink and yellow stripey thing!
If PB stacks, the mez protection has been proven to double.
The only problem I've found is that sometimes a hold is ignored. The regen in question (who I 2 shot held) DID NOT HAVE MEZ RESIST.
Both holds hit, but one was just shrugged off, which gave me a nasty shock. The second held firm. Then they wore down, and I got beaten senseless.
But I still think dominators can perform in PVP with work, as they outstrip controllers with domination on. And if BFs are reduced, then they might have the chance to shine.
Dominators are a suprise in PvP, very few heroes who PvP often expect them as mostly their against stalkers or brutes.
I've changed the whole tide of battle by logging on as my Dominator, especially if there are a lot of blasters running around, they soon get cut down.
Yes they're weak and unique to play, but they still have the ability to be devastating in the right hands.
Fire / Fire dominators rule. I think a regen scrapper I fought in RV-event was pretty suprised when I held and killed him in less than 10 secs.
Their damage output in Warburg and RV is simply fantastic and this is the build I would make if I could be bothered to level a villain for PvP. The reason I prefer fire as primary is cause they have the best damage and the awesome smoke which is IMO one of the best crowdcontrol power if your trying to take on multible foes.
50s
controllers: Ill rad , grav rad, fire kin, ice kin
blaster: ice em
scrapper: spines sr
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Fire / Fire dominators rule. I think a regen scrapper I fought in RV-event was pretty suprised when I held and killed him in less than 10 secs.
Their damage output in Warburg and RV is simply fantastic and this is the build I would make if I could be bothered to level a villain for PvP. The reason I prefer fire as primary is cause they have the best damage and the awesome smoke which is IMO one of the best crowdcontrol power if your trying to take on multible foes.
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I gotta say that in RV-event i rolled too a fire/fire dominator. I played her like 2 hours (i wanted to test many toons) and when i finished i saw at my 'reputation' and i saw it was like 20, far higher than any1.
Of course i was killed plenty times (hmm, like 10 times in 2 hours??), i wasnt teaming anytime, and i suspect i got that coz the imps were rampaging like crazies over the big wars... But, man, 20 in 2 hours is just nice, at least for me, a total n00b in pvp
Peace.
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I fired off 4-5 holds and even more sleeps and 2-4confuses but nothing worked.
[/ QUOTE ]He was either affected by PvP mez suppression (Kicks in every once in a while, I'm unsure of the mechanics), or heavily boosted with CM/Clarity/somesuch, since AFAIK no solo scrapper can achieve the protection needed to take 2 dominate-boosted confuses and not get affected.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I fired off 4-5 holds and even more sleeps and 2-4confuses but nothing worked.
[/ QUOTE ]He was either affected by PvP mez suppression (Kicks in every once in a while, I'm unsure of the mechanics), or heavily boosted with CM/Clarity/somesuch, since AFAIK no solo scrapper can achieve the protection needed to take 2 dominate-boosted confuses and not get affected.
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Isnt there some sort of player effect option which is defaulted to off in the pvp zones? I've had a lot of people comment on broadcast that they were confused but I didnt see any purple (aero) bubbles over there head. That might be another explanation :|
My MA IDs:
Fiend Space: 211464
If you have 'Supress extra player FX' enabled in your gfx&sound options, you will only see those power effects on other people that can directly affect your character. It's not on by default in PvP zones spesifically, but there has been a bug for quite a while now which causes it to be set to enabled whenever you log on.
heh funny i was playing with the charactor builder yesterday and made a dom with 160 DPS in 25 seconds which would out dmg most brutes without full fury.
Defiant's GoEH/MILITIS METUS
Plant/ and Earth/ controls are easily negated in PvP by jumping around. You get "Held" each time you hit the ground, but can bounce back up.
So if you're planning on Plant/ PvP, don't forget to take that immob to stop bunnies! (Or webnade from SC merchant)
If an Empath or 2 (2 is the NIGHTMARE combo) in the zone, I leave. I don't offer sweet damage and if controls are negated, it makes you utterly useless. Sad thing is that Emps are one of the most popular Defender primaries. The hardest thing to beat are Scrappers, as to any other AT. They have nice mez protection, and nice health. They will run the second they know they can't beat you. (if you manage to hold them, that is)
Today in Siren's Call I tried to hold many Scrappers with Domination, and there was no success. Me being a Plant/ they were just hopping around, and I tried to immob them. They hopped right away into the base and proceeded to BU + Impale me (of course it critted) and annihilated me.
When PvPing on a Dominator, there are good days and bad days, good days are when there are no controllers or scrappers. I yet have to see a day like that.
I can usually hold tankers and scrappers, but not for long enough to make a significant dent in thier hp. I can take out squishies if I can get the drop on them. I don't have a PvP build though.
I really should do something about this signature.
I'm on Union and have to say I've not seen many int he past 6 months across all the zones.
There's a plant monstery one and a pink lady mind one I've seen in sirens a few times (sorry, am useless with names) but noot seen many around.
I know they are deemed a bit underpowered, but surely must be some who like PvP?
Maybe i've just missed them all!