Earth / Storm Build Questions

I have a lvl40 earth / storm controller and i am pretty pleased with my build so far. Although, recently i have been thinking of ways to polish it up a bit.
I have decided to spec out the rez power along with the target and self heal (which i have found quite handy btw) from the medic pool and go with stalagmites intead (i didn't really understand how this power could be put to use early on in my life as a 'troller, but as i have gained some more experience i think i can now put this power to use quite effectively), also i have heard a few players talking about using the tornado / stone cage combo for some extra dmg, i know it wont make a world of difference but any dmg is good dmg when your an earth / stormy 'troller, so im going to give that a whirl (hehe,i make no excuses for my bad puns). Finally i was thinking about using the spare power on hasten to increase recharge rate on my Quick Sand, Freezing Rain,Stone Cages, and Volcanic Gas. Which leads me quite neatly to my first question:

1.Is there a "ceiling limit" on the rate at which u can recharge? As i already have the above powers slotted with attack rate, is hasten going to make that much difference? And if not, is it worth getting anyway and substituting my attack rate slots in these powers for something else?

2.Since i am now lvl40 i have been thinking about what epic pool to go for. I have noticed that both earth and fire seem to be popular choices for earth / storm trollers. Earths embrace really appeals to me seeing as i am goin ahead with my plans to spec out the medic pool and i think i am going to miss my self heal for the nxt 10 lvls. But i dont know what other powers the set offers or if the fire set also has a self heal. Can someone who knows of such things please clue me in?

And finally....

3.Looking at some other Earth / Storm 'troller biulds i have noticed that although almost all go for the fitness pool (for obvious reasons), and slot stamina with 3/4 end' mods. Health is more than not left slotted with only 1. One player in particular was advising someone who had health 3 slotted to take two slots out and put them elsewhere as they could be put to much better use. This confused me as i have always thought it prudent to 3 slot health with my previous toons and would've thought it would be essential with a squishy. Perhaps i am wrong? Again if someone could clarify this point for me i would be grateful.

Okay, there my questions. I shall now sit back and wait for some sage like earth / storm controller to regale me with their knowledge.

Thx in advance for any help u can give me.

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I have a lvl40 earth / storm controller and i am pretty pleased with my build so far. Although, recently i have been thinking of ways to polish it up a bit.
I have decided to spec out the rez power along with the target and self heal (which i have found quite handy btw) from the medic pool and go with stalagmites intead (i didn't really understand how this power could be put to use early on in my life as a 'troller, but as i have gained some more experience i think i can now put this power to use quite effectively), also i have heard a few players talking about using the tornado / stone cage combo for some extra dmg, i know it wont make a world of difference but any dmg is good dmg when your an earth / stormy 'troller, so im going to give that a whirl (hehe,i make no excuses for my bad puns).

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Stalagmites is arguably THE best power in the earth set. Combine it with Stone Cages and you have a pseudo hold thats more or less up each mob you're fighting....get this power ASAP. Common slotting is 2 acc, 2 rech, 2 dis dur.

Stalagmites + Stone Cages + Tornado is a very nice combo which I can highly recommend. Tornado does reasonable dmg and has a massive defense debuff...excellent for AVs.
I would slot Tornado 3 dmg, 1-2 rech, 1-2 end red.


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Finally i was thinking about using the spare power on hasten to increase recharge rate on my Quick Sand, Freezing Rain,Stone Cages, and Volcanic Gas. Which leads me quite neatly to my first question:

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Hasten isnt necessary but always very nice to have.

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1.Is there a "ceiling limit" on the rate at which u can recharge? As i already have the above powers slotted with attack rate, is hasten going to make that much difference? And if not, is it worth getting anyway and substituting my attack rate slots in these powers for something else?

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Hmm, dont know tbh but if there is you'll need a massive number of buffs to reach it so you shouldnt slot much differently. Your powers will recharge 70% faster when Hasten is active....and it won't be at all the time.
You shouldn't rely on Hasten for your recharge needs. Hasten is just an extra buff.

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2.Since i am now lvl40 i have been thinking about what epic pool to go for. I have noticed that both earth and fire seem to be popular choices for earth / storm trollers. Earths embrace really appeals to me seeing as i am goin ahead with my plans to spec out the medic pool and i think i am going to miss my self heal for the nxt 10 lvls. But i dont know what other powers the set offers or if the fire set also has a self heal. Can someone who knows of such things please clue me in?

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It's true that the lack of a selfheal is /storms weak spot and you might miss Aid Self if you respec it out....personally playstyle I guess.
I wouldnt recommend the Stone epic even though Earths Embrace but the rest of the powers simply doesnt warrant it.

Quick rundown of the Epics:

Fire Mastery:
1: Fire Blast: Very nice, fast animation, single blast with good dmg.
2: Fire Ball: Great AoE dmg, especially with containment. Also a fast animation and can be picked up at lvl 41!!
3: Fire Shield: Arguably the best shield in the epics as it has the highest resistance to smash and lethal damage + decent resistance to fire and cold dmg. This shield is especially good for /storm controllers as it gives a nice addtional buff on top of Steamy Mist.
4: Consume: PBAoE minor dmg power that recovers endurance for you....again nice to have for /storm because of its hig h enduse.

Ice Mastery:
1: Ice Blast, very nice single target blast with a fast animation with a nice slow attached to it.
2: Hibernate: The defining power in this Epic. You encapsulate yourself in a block of ice and regen hps and end at a fast rate while mobs cant touch you for 30 seconds (or if you stop the power before then)....basically rest where you cant be touched. Very nice power.
3: Frozen Armor: Well...it's....meh...Resistance to cold (which isnt that common a dmg type) and a little defense to smash and lethal dmg. Not a very good power.
4: Ice Storm: Pretty nice targetable AoE which does a lot of minor ticks of damage. Mobs will try to run away from it as they would with any rain power. Good when combine with a hold or the stalagmites, stone cages combo. I Still prefer quick burst dmg as in Fire Ball.

Primal Forces:
1: Power Blast: Nice single target attack. Fast animation.
2: Conserve Power: Lets you use minimal endurance for 90 seconds. Loooong recharge.
3: Temp Invul: Shield which grants ok resistance to smash and lethal dmg.
4: Power Boost: Defining power in Primal. Massively buffs some of the powers like holds, immobs, stuns, heals etc.

Psionic Mastery:
1: Mental Blast: Single target blast which has a nice little -recharge added to it. Horrid animation time though...believe this is getting shortened in an upcoming patch though?
2: Indomitable Will: Makes you highly resistant to holds, sleeps and stuns and grant you defense to Psi dmg for 90 seconds. Very nice power but loooooong recharge. Break Frees is a better solution imo.
3: Mind over Body: Shield: Resistance to smash, lethal and psi dmg.
4:Psionic Tornado: Very nice AoE attack...cant pick this up before lvl 47 though. Medium animationtime.

Stone Mastery:
1: Hurl Boulder: Single target nice dmg but godawful animationtime....does knockback aswell
2: Fissure: I don't have any direct experience with this power. AFAIK the dmg is moderate at best and only has a chance to stun minions.
3: Rock Armor: Shield that grants little defense to smash and lethal dmg...not very good.
4: Earth's embrace: Nice selfheal and hp boost. Pretty fast recharge aswell.

phew...think that covers it

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And finally....

3.Looking at some other Earth / Storm 'troller biulds i have noticed that although almost all go for the fitness pool (for obvious reasons), and slot stamina with 3/4 end' mods. Health is more than not left slotted with only 1. One player in particular was advising someone who had health 3 slotted to take two slots out and put them elsewhere as they could be put to much better use. This confused me as i have always thought it prudent to 3 slot health with my previous toons and would've thought it would be essential with a squishy. Perhaps i am wrong? Again if someone could clarify this point for me i would be grateful.

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More than 1 slotted health is a complete waste on a squishy as they havent got many HPs to regen to begin with so you will get a very little return on these slots. Basically only worth slotting if you have a high HP AT such as tanks and to lesser extent scrappers and brutes.

For toons with a selfheal such as Rads, emps etc I would never advice taking health on a a squishy...just helps lessen the downtime in between fights if you havent got said selfheal.

For a */Stormie I found Hibernate is a godsend as emergency protection, a heal & a much needed End recovery.

I've accidently dropped off ledges to land in front of 8 or 9 Malta and Hib has saved my [censored] vs the Sappers & given me time to prepare or TP away. Plus in AV fights you can drop all your placables, let your pet fight away and Hibernate up to recover End while still contributing. Also its possible to time dropping it so as you do Hurricane pops up, making it easier to survive when you do break out. Its also fun for annoying the Empath by letting your health go to orange, Hibernating up and watching them frantically try to heal you without success. Mind DoTs though, plenty of times I've iced up and then keeled over.

The Ice Epics Ice Storm doesn't do Containment damage, unlike Fireball. It is a nice power as you can stop them escaping but for raw damage Fireball is probably stronger. As far as I know Ice Storm has no max target limit either, its a Placable so on an 8 man it could be better. I could be 100% wrong on this last point though, its a vague recollection & half assumption from using it last week on a huge group. Also Ice Storm takes a fair while to drop its damage.

For an Earth / Storm I'd go Ice just for the chaos of the Immob or Earthquake or Quicksand & Snowstorm, Freezing Rain & Ice Storm. But Fire is more effective at making stuff go "boom" quickly.

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1.Is there a "ceiling limit" on the rate at which u can recharge? As i already have the above powers slotted with attack rate, is hasten going to make that much difference? And if not, is it worth getting anyway and substituting my attack rate slots in these powers for something else?


[/ QUOTE ]I'm pretty sutre there is a hard cap, but you'd need loads of external buffs to reach it. Hasten will however be less effective on powers slotted for recharge, due to the way rechrage works.

Hasten is a 0.7 recharge buff. 3 recharge SO's will be about 0.95 recharge buff. The formula for recharge is Base recharge/(1+recharge buffs). Thus for a power that has 0 slots hasten will cut the recharge with around 41%, but for a power with 3 SO's, hasten will only cut the recharge by around 26%. That power will still recharge faster than one without recharge SO's tho'.

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As far as I know Ice Storm has no max target limit either, its a Placable so on an 8 man it could be better.

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I'm pretty sure the rain powers have no AoE limit. You can always test this in Skyway on one of those lag-inducing boluses of supatrolls. (When they reach that 50+ critical mass) My TA's oil slick wiped out the whole lot in a matter of seconds whilst my AoE nukers took an age to chew through them.

Thanks for all your replies people. Some really comprehensive answers there, you've helped me out and then some.
Btw- if anyone is interested i've decided to go for fire Mastery for xtra dmg output + now my powers cover all the 4 elements Elemental trollers ftw!

P.S I am always checking the forums and reading the threads regarding earth / storm builds and tactics / gameplay. So if anyone has any other salient points add in realtion to these power sets, anything at all, please post it here!

Again, Muchos Gracias to those who have already posted. I will check back periodically for more Knowledge & Wisdom

*looks*
Ahh! Seems I'm late. Dang.. and I have some knowledge anyway due to my escapades on now level 50 earth/storm/stone Controller Thalia...
Right then... this seems all wrapped up.. err I'll get going now
Although random pointer! Earth's Embrace massive heal, far easier to execute than Medicine Aid Self: and the only other self heal power you can get as an Earth/Storm, particuarly prevalent since /storm has no power that can heal yourself (Unlike /kin, /rad, /empath,). Yes I know there are other powersets of course with no self heal but they have other protections storm doesnt have..
*/em scarper*

Chiefette

Not too late to help me though Chief!
\o/

Im planning on taking Stone Epic on my Earth/TA, which is currently 38.

Just a few questions;

Whats the order of the powers?
Whats the contained damage of Fissure like?
What sort of range does it have?
I hear EE can be made perma, is that true? (or close)
Did you take Hurl for giggles? I know i will be

Cheers

Oh, and sorry to steal your thread Babz (Earth Quiver here *waves*)

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Whats the order of the powers?
Whats the contained damage of Fissure like?
What sort of range does it have?
I hear EE can be made perma, is that true? (or close)
Did you take Hurl for giggles? I know i will be


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- Look at Archy's post above
- Not great (less than that of your hold, although AoE). It's really a KD/Disorient power.
- Small (20 ft?)
- Not without outside buffs. About 15 sec downtime with Hasten and 3 Rechgs
- Let's face it, Stone Mastery is really for concept. Think about Fireball on contained mobs on top of Disruption Arrow. Or Power Boosted holds, slows, To Hit/Defense Debuffs, etc!

Well its slightly conceptual, but im just going down the Controller/Tank path, rather than Controller/Blaster or Controller/Defender.

Sure the other Epics sound great and powerful, but i think Stone will impove my abilities the most, given my playstyle.

And i thought it was discussed before that Fissure had had its Disorient removed, and tweaked damage. Guess i'll just have to wait those 3 levels

Stone Mastery is Hurl Boulder, Fissure, Rock Armour, Earth's Embrace in order.
Hurl I took since it was a hefty nice single damage attack, that helped the 'attack/control' chain
Earth's embrace perma almost? err well it recharges quickly with hasten + 3 recharge SOs certainly..
Also Thalia I play as a tanker/controller she has stone epic.. all the way!
EE being particuarly useful if some control doesnt work, just to cover up the hits that may come in

Chiefette

I have fissure on one of my ice/kinetics controller.

On her I find the damage to be quite good (particularly contained damage - which when combined fulcrum shift I can get quite high) and the KD/Disorent power to be, er, barely visible. It does have quite a small cone/radius effect tho (which is why I took it as it works very nicely with: run in AOE Hold, fulcrum and then fissure)

I should say I didnt take stone mastery for concept at all - lets face it it doesn't fit in with Ice/Kinetics I took it because I liked the look of stomping my feet (fissure) and having a power that boosted my HPs (it gives me 700ish extra hps for before I run in and try to cause as much damage as possible).

And yes, I did take hurl boulder for fun but I had to respec it out as it was tooooooo slow

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I didnt take stone mastery for concept at all - lets face it it doesn't fit in with Ice/Kinetics I took it because I liked the look of stomping my feet (fissure)

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Ermm, ok... for me this is the same as "concept" really . Fire Ball does about 40% more damage and has a much longer range. Psi Tornado does great damage (psi too!) + Knockup which adds some nice control.

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having a power that boosted my HPs (it gives me 700ish extra hps for before I run in and try to cause as much damage as possible).

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EE is certainly a nice power, but it comes at 47: by then I've found on all of my controllers that a shield, a heal (if they have one, a couple of greens if they don't), and some common sense (ok, and a bit of luck ) is usually enough to keep me alive. And since I'm in largeish teams most of the time, there's usually someone who can tank better than me

Well.. perhaps that is concept I don't know. When I picked stone mastery it was on a total whim, if I was following the concept of my character then power mastery would have been better. However, when I hit 41 I was just looking for something fun... and power mastery looked... well, dull(ish)

As for the range on fireball - that wouldn't be as useful for my toon just because I have to run in to fire off my PBaOE hold (it's Glacier, so it freezes foes around me) and fulcrum shift. So using those two powers and then firing off fissure works well for me. I admit it might not work so well for others, but for me it's nice and handy... and I know I *could* use fireball in exactly the same way... I guess I picked stone mastery and just liked it

Psionic tornado I am sure is nice too - but as it is only available at 47 it seems too long to wait for an extra AOE power :P

And the extra hitpoints from EE's come in handy just because of how I play this toon (i.e. standing in the middle of the mob drawing as much aggro as possible) Yes there are people that can tank better than me... but where's the fun in that?

I guess it'll just fill the holes in my build. I have all the control i'll ever need (and then some) so dont think I need Power Boost (although larger debuffs would be nice). Im heal-less at the moment, hence quite squishy if im up against it, so Rock Armour and EE will fill that gap. And then some additional damage to put on top of Oil slick (sure Fire would even light my slick but Volc Gasses covers that).

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And since I'm in largeish teams most of the time, there's usually someone who can tank better than me

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By the same logic, there'll usually be someone that can Blast better than you

1AT teams are spoiling you Chango, get out in the world of PuGs. A good Tank is rarer than a good Blaster in my experience

I'm back to reclaim my thread from the grip of Shnyet (waves back ). Also i still can't believe that u guessed I was Thelema- You are a perceptive little Shnyet
Anyways, i been looking through the forums for other threads on Earth/Storm trollers and cant seem to find many that aren't based on a very specific query. So i thought it would be nice to open this thread up a bit and create a more general discussion on these power sets. So i'm back to get the ball rolling.I thought i'd start by showing you my biuld (so far) post aforementioned respec, to invite any comments on how i can improve (slots, power choices e.t.c), what i'm doin right (if im doin anythin' right hehehe), and what maybe i could do next. Oh, and also, please bear in mind i have respec'd twice now and can't possibly remember the order of which i've chosen my powers. The numbering here is merely arbitrary, so please no comments on putting x, y, z power into my build sooner or later, unless it's for the benefit of other readers, thx. Right, here goes...

01) --> Fossilize==> Acc, Acc, Hold, Hold
01) --> Gale==> Acc
02) --> Stone Cages==> Acc, Acc, Rechg, EndRdx
04) --> O2 Boost==> Heal, Heal, Heal
06) --> Quicksand==> Rechg, Rechg, Rechg, Slow, Slow
08) --> Hover==> Empty
10) --> Steamy Mist==> EndRdx, EndRdx, DmgRes, DmgRes, DmgRes
12) --> Stalagmites==> Acc, Acc, DisDur, DisDur, Rechg, Rechg
14) --> Fly==> Fly, Fly, Fly
16) --> Swift==> Run(16)
18) --> Earthquake==> Rechg, Rechg, Rechg
20) --> Health==> Heal
22) --> Stamina==> EndMod, EndMod, EndMod
24) --> Freezing Rain==> Rechg, Rechg, DeDbuf, DeDbuff, EndRdx
26) --> Volcanic Gasses==>Hold, Rechg, Rechg, Rechg
28) --> Snow Storm==> Slow, Slow, EndRdx
30) --> Hasten==>Rechg, Rechg, Rechg
32) --> Animate Stone==> Acc, Acc, Dmg, Dmg
35) --> Tornado==> Dmg, Dmg, Dmg, Rechg, Rechg, EndRdx
38) --> Lightning Storm==> Acc, Dmg, Dmg
41) --> Fire Blast==> Dmg
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty
01) --> Brawl==> Empty
01) --> Containment==> Empty
02) --> Rest==> Empty

I'm pretty sure that this is correct, but i am prone to the odd mistake, so apologies if i've boobed.

For my next power choices i was gonna go for..

44) --> Fire Shield==> ?
47) --> Consume==> ? (any suggestions on slotting these?)
49) --> Fire Ball==> ?

*Bracing myself for onslaught of criticism*
Please give me your comments or views or whatver, and please be gentle with me

One last thing before i go, there does seem to be alot of contention on how to slot VG to get the max return. Everyone seems to agree that 3xRechg is a must (and i can firmly concur), but is there any point in slotting for accuracy or hold duration? Some say yay, some say nay. I myself went for 3xhold and 3xacc, to begin with then dropped the 3 acuracy's and slotted 3xrechg instead which was much better. And i have to say i didn't really notice any negative effects. So i am inclined to think that perhaps this is the same for hold duration too? As u can see i have dropped 2 hold slots in my respec, but its too early for me to decide on how this is effecting the power (certainly no obvious difference).If someone has crunched the numbers and done the math on this one and has the definitive answer (max, if ur listening... ) please let me know as i'm sure others will be interested too.

Thx once agian for reading my post, I look forward to any replies.

Hi there,

Since I'm currently playing both sets (although on 2 different trollers), here is how I would do it:

---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder - (http://sherksilver.coldfront.net/index.php)
---------------------------------------------
Name: Earth_Storm
Level: 50
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Earth Control
Secondary: Storm Summoning
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Fossilize==> Acc(1) Acc(3) Hold(3) Hold(5) Rechg(5) Rechg(7)
01) --> Gale==> Acc(1)
02) --> Stone Cages==> Acc(2) Acc(9) EndRdx(9)
04) --> Snow Storm==> EndRdx(4) EndRdx(7) Slow(11) Slow(34)
06) --> Swift==> Run(6)
08) --> Air Superiority==> Acc(8) Dmg(11) Dmg(34) Dmg(34)
10) --> Quicksand==> Rechg(10) Rechg(46) Slow(46)
12) --> Stalagmites==> Acc(12) Acc(13) DisDur(13) DisDur(19) Rechg(19) Rechg(50)
14) --> Fly==> Fly(14) Fly(15) Fly(15)
16) --> Freezing Rain==> Rechg(16) Rechg(17) Rechg(17) EndRdx(40)
18) --> Hurdle==> Jump(18)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20) EndMod(21) EndMod(21)
22) --> Earthquake==> Rechg(22) Rechg(23) Rechg(23)
24) --> Hasten==> Rechg(24) Rechg(25) Rechg(25)
26) --> Volcanic Gasses==> Hold(26) Hold(27) Hold(27) Rechg(37) Rechg(39) Rechg(40)
28) --> Hurricane==> TH_DeBuf(28) TH_DeBuf(29) TH_DeBuf(29) EndRdx(37)
30) --> Steamy Mist==> DmgRes(30) DmgRes(31) DmgRes(31) EndRdx(31)
32) --> Animate Stone==> Acc(32) Dmg(33) Dmg(33) Dmg(33)
35) --> Tornado==> Dmg(35) Dmg(36) Dmg(36) Rechg(36) EndRdx(37)
38) --> Lightning Storm==> Acc(38) Dmg(39) Dmg(39) Dmg(40) Rechg(43) EndRdx(43)
41) --> Fire Ball==> Acc(41) Dmg(42) Dmg(42) Dmg(42) Acc(43) Rechg(46)
44) --> Fire Shield==> DmgRes(44) DmgRes(45) DmgRes(45) EndRdx(45)
47) --> Consume==> Acc(47) Acc(48) EndMod(48) EndMod(48) Rechg(50) Rechg(50)
49) --> Super Speed==> Run(49)

A few comments:

- I would always suggest 6-slotting your single-target hold. It's important to be able to stack it on bosses.
- Stone Cages: mainly used for AoE containment as well as to keep mobs in place after Stalagmites or before Tornado, I never found a Rechg was needed.
- I actually have 02 boost on my ice/storm, but mainly use it to keep Jack alive, or as an emergency heal, but it's probably skippable.
- Quicksand: it's already perma, but nice to be able to stack or summon a couple. 5 slots is probably a bit much though.
- Steamy Mist: I also took this and use it along Super Speed for invis.
- Hover is nice, but since you will be low on damage at lower levels, AS might be a useful attack (decent damage with containment). Could always be dropped later.
- Health: not that useful for squishies. I prefer Hurdle. YMMV.
- Freezing Rain: The Def_Debuf is smallish and should only be enhanced imho if you have spare slots. You really use this for the -res and slows.
- VG: I also like the 3 Hold 3 Rechg slotting. This allows for a decent duration and with Hasten, it can be up fairly often.
- I would definitely take Hurricane. Awesome power although it takes a while to learn to use it effectively.
- Snow Storm: I would slot 2 EndRdx so you can leave it on against tough bosses or AVs
- Epics: if you're going for Fire, see slotting above. I would have taken Fire Ball first, but at least you should slot up Fire Blast (2 Acc 3 Dmg).

I realise you weren't necssarily wanting a new build, but I hope at least some of the slotting suggestions help!

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- Freezing Rain: The Def_Debuf is smallish and should only be enhanced imho if you have spare slots.

[/ QUOTE ]It's 30% -def. For comparison, controller Rad Infection is only -25% def.

Well i can only talk about the Earth side of things but here's a bit of food for thought.

Since I've put some hold duration enh's in VG I've noticed that it can hold bosses by itself. Im guessing the duration is lasting long enough to stack over itself by the next tick. Which should be extra nice for trying to hold AV's as much as possible.
I've slotted it 3xRech, 2xHold, 1xAcc. Just thrown the Acc in as i tend to fight +2, +3's.

Stalagmites i tend to just use as a "every1 shush for 2 seconds and let me think" control, so have it 3xAcc, 3xRech. Its duration is quite short as a result but it'll hit 95% of the mob, and i can do it every mob, even moving at a quick pace. Its just used as a stopgap to setup another control.

I've got 3xDmg, 2xAcc in Animate Stone.

Earthquake i have 3xRech, 2xDef_debuff. I know it's probably negligible debuff, but its stackin with my TA debuffs and i was in a slot deadzone.

Quicksand i just have 2xSlow. Its more than perma with Hasten, so i just make it more effective rather than more applications.

Fossilize i use 3xHold, 3xAcc. Dont need the recharges because i have a 2nd ST hold and its quite quick anyway.

Cages i slot 1xAcc, 1xImmob

Well thats how i slot with TA as a secondary, YMMV.

Freezing Rain is great for helping with those pesky SR Paragon Protectors (until they drop Elude, but thats what Holds & Tornado are for). I throw a -def in it to help lower level teamies hit with AOEs or to hit bosses caught in the Rain. Tornado I also have a -def in there. But I can't really use Tornado for damage as an Earth Controller can.

MaX, where do you look up these figures? I want to check a few figures in TA.

Lightning Storm doesn't really need Accuracies, it seems very accurate anyway. Another EndRdx, recharge or Range might be better.

I'd agree with Okton, Snow Storm doesn't need too many slots with Quicksand there too. Just milk it for the -recharge (which can't be enhanced) and the -fly (great for Earth).

Hurricane is a super power. Just don't switch it on and run at melee constantly as a Storm Defender did with us during the week, blowing minions everywhere away from the Inv Tank. It's best used to push minions back into the kill zone so the scrappers and tanks save their lil legs, or pin them in a corner or against a wall. Just remember its 360 knockback so while you're pinning one guy in the corner you could be scattering the rest to the four winds. TP & Hurricane is a match made in heaven (except for the manky End usage).

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MaX, where do you look up these figures? I want to check a few figures in TA.


[/ QUOTE ]The new NoFuture Database

Oooh. And theres me using the CoH & CoV sides like a sucker

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- Freezing Rain: The Def_Debuf is smallish and should only be enhanced imho if you have spare slots.

[/ QUOTE ]It's 30% -def. For comparison, controller Rad Infection is only -25% def.

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Thanks for the numbers MaX. I thought it was less. In any case, imho the -def is not that big a deal in PvE except for a few mobs (or if you're trying to play way above your level). Same thing with RI, you mainly use it for the ThT_Debuf and really only enhance the Deb_Debuf if you have spare splots (or PvP).

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Thanks for the numbers MaX. I thought it was less. In any case, imho the -def is not that big a deal in PvE except for a few mobs (or if you're trying to play way above your level). Same thing with RI, you mainly use it for the ThT_Debuf and really only enhance the Deb_Debuf if you have spare splots (or PvP).

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Hmm, I'm sure the -def adds up when used with Earth powers. According to NoFuture, they give -20% to def, so combined with FR...o_o

At least if you're not gonna use it for the debuff, use it for the knockdown - you can never have enough control

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Hmm, I'm sure the -def adds up when used with Earth powers. According to NoFuture, they give -20% to def, so combined with FR...o_o

At least if you're not gonna use it for the debuff, use it for the knockdown - you can never have enough control

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I'm sure it does, what I meant is that I wouldn't worry to much about increasing the -def since at a certain level, it's usually not that much of an issue in PvE (I agree, more -def can't hurt though). As I said above, I'm quite happy with the -res and slows of FR, the rest is just added bonus .