Mind/Empath Controller.Beginner need some help. :)
By
Dreamshadow,
Posted on: 2006-09-15 22:15 in Controllers
First of all, excellent choice!
Secondly, there are a variety of ways of playing the character and the best way is really to go through the game seeing what works for you.
However, some general tips of a random nature:
If you use Confuse on Tsoo sorcerors, they will heal and buff members of your team. Confused Skyraider Forcefield Generators will place protective bubbles around your team instead of the Skyraiders.
However, some teams would rather take these out asap and if there are two sorcerors, for example, it can be a bit fiddly keeping them both confused. Your role would therefore be to hold them so they don't teleport and are easier to defeat.
Mass Hypnosis can be used to keep a 2nd mob from joining in a battle, or you can sleep a mob before a blaster nukes it or to give an advantage to a general attack.
If foes are being pulled, wait until they are in melee range of the scrappers or tankers before using your mind powers.
Unless you are using Confuse to change the allegiance of a buffing/debuffing enemy, think of it as a tool to eliminate specific threats.
Confuse (and Deceive) gets a bit of a bad rap because at low levels it is often used inappropriately. A common scenario is that the controller asks the team to wait, confuses a minion for 5 minutes, then says "Go!" In that time, the team could probably have fought two mobs.
In battle, you can deal pretty good damage but remember that the holding side of your powers can be put to good use if someone is in trouble.
For the empathy side of things, have a look through the defenders forum. My experience (I have an empath defender too) is that it's not worth putting too much effort into the empathy powers until you can start using DOs.
I also recommend you solo a bit (maybe on the test server) to get the hang of the powers. As I've alluded to above, some of the powers can work against a team if you get the timing and/or situation wrong, and some teams might not be too sympathetic if you are practising in a mission.
A bit chaotic, but that's my 4am advice.
One last piece - don't worry if a fire blaster keeps waking mobs under Mass Hypnosis. They have to do this or the Sacred Spirit of Fire Blasters gets angry and deletes their accounts.
DREAMSHADOW
dark melee/regen scrapper
ALPHA CORTEX, mind/empath controller, lvl 50
As a Mind/Emp you will have three roles.
1) Controlling foes. This is what your primary powers are used for.
2) Healing people. This is more important in the low levels, but you'll still be doing it higher up, at least when you're not in really good teams fighting easy foes.
3) Buffing. This will come later on, with Fortitude, Clear Mind, RA's and Adrenaline boost. This will be what you'll secondary will be mostly used for in the later levels.
Playing properly...
Use your control powers, they'll cause damage mitigation far better than anything else.
If somebody on the team is not in full HP, heal them if you dont have anything more critical to do. If they're at really low HP, heal them even if you'd have controls recharged.
After you get fortitude, keep as many people forted as you can, it's a great buff.
USE mass confuse and confusion, while many people tell you not to use them because they decrease XP per foe, they do not understand the maths properly, since confuse powers still do increase XP over time, and also make fights much easier.
Must-Have powers:
Everything from mind set apart for either levitate or mesmerize. You could also drop telekinesis since it can be hard to control, but if you take the time to learn how to use it, it's a very powerful tool.
From empathy... Most things, ones you could possibly skip are res, absorb pain, and regen aura.
From pools, Stamina and 2 pre-requisites from the fitness pool, and a travel power plus one pre-requisite for it. (Get the pre-requisite for travel power by L12 to get travel at 14, and try to get stamina by 20.
As for power order, here's a sample build from L1-40:
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Mind Control
Secondary: Empathy
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Mesmerize==> Empty(1)
01) --> Healing Aura==> Empty(1)Empty(9)Empty(13)
02) --> Dominate==> Empty(2)Empty(3)Empty(3)Empty(5)Empty(5)Empty(7)
04) --> Heal Other==> Empty(4)Empty(9)Empty(13)
06) --> Confuse==> Empty(6)Empty(7)Empty(15)Empty(15)
08) --> Mass Hypnosis==> Empty(8)Empty(17)Empty(17)
10) --> Hasten==> Empty(10)Empty(11)Empty(11)
12) --> Hurdle==> Empty(12)
14) --> Super Speed==> Empty(14)
16) --> Health==> Empty(16)
18) --> Telekinesis==> Empty(18)Empty(19)Empty(19)Empty(25)
20) --> Stamina==> Empty(20)Empty(21)Empty(21)
22) --> Fortitude==> Empty(22)Empty(23)Empty(23)Empty(37)Empty(37)Empty(37)
24) --> Total Domination==> Empty(24)Empty(25)Empty(31)Empty(31)Empty(36)Empty(36)
26) --> Terrify==> Empty(26)Empty(27)Empty(27)Empty(31)Empty(34)Empty(36)
28) --> Recovery Aura==> Empty(28)Empty(29)Empty(29)Empty(40)
30) --> Resurrect==> Empty(30)
32) --> Mass Confusion==> Empty(32)Empty(33)Empty(33)Empty(33)Empty(34)Empty(34)
35) --> Clear Mind==> Empty(35)
38) --> Adrenalin Boost==> Empty(38)Empty(39)Empty(39)Empty(39)Empty(40)Empty(40)
---------------------------------------------
The empty's and numbers behind the powers show when you should put slots in the powers, but I didnt label the slots, as that's down to personal preference in most powers.
Mes is swappable with levitate, hasten and superspeed with some other travelpower, in which case the slots from hasten can go elsewhere.
Final tip, when in-game, join the 'forumites' global channel, it's a good source of help, and insane banter ^_^
[ QUOTE ]
Must-Have powers:
Everything from mind set apart for either levitate or mesmerize. You could also drop telekinesis since it can be hard to control, but if you take the time to learn how to use it, it's a very powerful tool.
[/ QUOTE ]I'd recommend you take all the powers from the mind set and then do a respec. For example, I used to use Telekinesis but for various reasons from about level 35 I hardly touched the power, so I respec'd it out. At level 50 I still use Mesmerise, Levitate and Domination, so you should try all three and see for yourself whether your playstyle makes use of them.
[ QUOTE ]
From empathy... Most things, ones you could possibly skip are res, absorb pain, and regen aura.
[/ QUOTE ]
I second this. I'd take Clear Mind earlier, though.
[ QUOTE ]
Mes is swappable with levitate, hasten and superspeed with some other travelpower, in which case the slots from hasten can go elsewhere.
[/ QUOTE ]
See above for my thoughts on Mesmerise & Levitate. Hasten isn't necessary but if you are going for Super Speed then it's the most appropriate prerequisite to get.
[ QUOTE ]
Final tip, when in-game, join the 'forumites' global channel, it's a good source of help, and insane banter ^_^
[/ QUOTE ]
Final tip from me, there is no ONE way to play a mind controller and it's worth exploring different ways. You'll learn more about the powersets and your character as a result. For example, my controller's build is more aggressive than MaXimillion's (and was even more so when I had a build that could solo quickly.)
DREAMSHADOW
dark melee/regen scrapper
ALPHA CORTEX, mind/empath controller, lvl 50
wow,thanx a lot folks. thats a whole lot of info.
great forum and community !!! 
Hi all!
Just started a Mind/Emp Controller a couple of days ago.
Could you please help me out with some hints and advice?
Things like:
-his role in the group
-how to play the character properly
-must have powers and so on.
Thanx in advance.