For me dominators are the most challenging for villain and hero pvp. Most other ATs are fairly forgiving but for a dominator, one slip up tends to be the end of you. You are very squishy and lack alot of punch compared to everyone else. Fitting everything you want into your build is also very tough so you probably have to give it alot of thought.
Is there a particular reason why you want a dominator for pvp? If its because someone told you they are the bestest then may need to reconsider. To me they are quite a challenge to play ( in the sense of playing well) and if you want something that is alot more easier to play then you probably best of with something else.
Im not saying dominators cannot cut it but I cannot emphasise that it can be very tough but also very rewarding. If you pvp already you probably already know this as you dont see many dominators dancing on and around your enemies corpse 
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I say that mind/psy is a solid choice. Mind is very strong with many control powers such as confuse and telekinesis. One of the advantages of psy is not many ATs have resistance to it and it has to be one of the quickest sets for building up domination aka god mode 
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Heros
Max Powerz: Lv 50 Tanker
Villains
Max Khaos: Lv 50
Overlord of E.V.I.L.
My Brute - http://maxy-khaos.mybrute.com/
LF SG! Arc ID# 193083
To be honest I think Mind/energy might be better because of the inclusion of power boost. Power boost would not only help to stack holds better it would help a lot with aid self from medicine pool too. On the other hand I don't really have much experience of psi secondary. I have lost a lvl 50 duel to a mind/energy dominator with my blaster though.
The problem is that while mind/energy and mind/psi are propably best pvp options, thats not saying much because dominators as a whole are one of the most difficult pvp ATs to play.
Dominators are tough to pvp with and there are some nasty game breaking powers hero side that will make you swear. It isnt impossible though and my own mind/psi is approaching the 200 rep badge.
You will also earn any kills a lot more than some leet speaking FOTM, and theres nothing in the game compares to hitting domination, exploding and locking down an entire hero gank squad. One important thing is that I didnt start to feel that great until the late 30's so dont get too turned off if things are still rough at lvl 30 or whatever.
My MA IDs:
Fiend Space: 211464
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One important thing is that I didnt start to feel that great until the late 30's so dont get too turned off if things are still rough at lvl 30 or whatever.
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My mind/energy dominator on union is currently lvl 28 and is far from me classing him even as 'mediocre'..
Why i picked a dom? Dont know really, think its cause only villians i see pvp is stalker, brute´s and sometimes MM´s. And then i had a look on the dominator´s powersets, and i started wondering why nobody played a dom, i mean, mind/psi must be a good choice. Cause the mind power is pretty good, and psionic is a power not many toons have protection against, so if played the right way, a dominator must be good in pvp.
Yes can be good in pvp but as mentioned there are many powers which make a doms life a misery. People have access to break frees and its not uncommon to see people leave a zone to restock so can fight some more without having to worry about being held. Quite afew AT's have quite a high mez protection meaning you have to get a number of your holds (stacking them) so you break through it.
You also have empaths dishing out clear mind making getting a hold extremly hard. Villains do get access to similar thing such as a thermal corruptors thaw but as you have noted, most of the time its just brutes, stalkers and a couple of mms for good measure in a pvp zone.
Arena pvp is also difficult as a dom tends to be the number one target due to its squishyness and also its annoyance (holding ppl etc). Thus you find yourself being ganked and not much you can really do if you havent got a decent team helping you (can be 3 shotted quite easily). Sounds really encouraging I know but thought best let you know what lies ahead.
Heros
Max Powerz: Lv 50 Tanker
Villains
Max Khaos: Lv 50
Overlord of E.V.I.L.
My Brute - http://maxy-khaos.mybrute.com/
LF SG! Arc ID# 193083
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One important thing is that I didnt start to feel that great until the late 30's so dont get too turned off if things are still rough at lvl 30 or whatever.
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My mind/energy dominator on union is currently lvl 28 and is far from me classing him even as 'mediocre'..
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Sorry, I meant to say I didnt feel powerful in PVP until the late 30's. In PVE my doms have always felt powerful except against AVs.
My MA IDs:
Fiend Space: 211464
For damage, fire/fire is the best. For control/support, probably Ice/Ice.
Ice secondary is really, really nice for pvp. You get good damage, 3 different damage types one of which is very little resisted, fast blasts for domination building, slow and -recharge and Power Boost. Can't really do better IMO.I think I'd go for Mind/Ice actually for a pvp dom.
For PvP I'd suggest; as Idris said: /Icy Assault as a secondary. I PvPd alot on my Plant/Thorns, my asset being KB and -def and being highly accurate.
Mind/Nrg is said to be the best on this, but there's a thing to consider: Energy Assault has quite much Stunning powers, that's cool, but those make your holds infact lower duration due to the stuns' low duration, when the stun is over, the suppression kicks in and you've got one angry Blaster coming at ya.
If the opponent doesn't have BFs, you're good on any primary. If he has, a debuffing Primary or a debuffing secondary will be a godsend.
What I recommend is Fire/Ice. The Fire Imps which you can land near a held target will make short of even a Regen Scrapper. Add in the debuffs from /Icy Assault and you're set. Also this combination has the fastest animation sets (both Fire Control and Icy Assault) which is definitely good for building Domination while debuffing your opponent giving you breath space to use Aid Self.
For Dominators, Leaping pool will be the travel power to go with, and Hasten will make you land your holds faster, make Domination recharge back faster and it'll give your hands uberly hot yellowish-white bubbles!
Aid Self is a requirement I'd say, you're far too squishy to survive an entire battle without regaining some health. /Psi might get away with it, but I had once fought a Mind/Psi, he lacked Aid Self and lost rather fast.
Hurdle & Combat Jumping to make yourself mobile, if you can, get Superspeed at levels 40-50 to give yourself a speed edge in RV and Arena.
For your last 2 heavy hitters, put at least 1 endredux to make your fight a tad more durable. On my lowbie /Icy I have slotted all my Assault attacks with endreduxes. The Imps will deal most of the damage, let you do the alpha & omega.
If you will get any KB power in either of your sets, slot it with 3 KB distances. This will go through most KB resists (easily through Acro) and will buy you a few seconds to either finish the target or use Aid Self.
And remember: skill decides the most when you are playing a Dom. Use the zone to your advantage. Are you a Plant/? Use Carrions to slow the enemy, make him unable to jump, hold him and proceed to use a handful of attacks. When suppression kicks in, hide behind a corner and when he's back held, go finish him!
Nothing feels better than shredding your first Tanker.
Hello,
I have started a dominator, and have chosen Mind/psionic for primary/secondary, cause i have exprienced that that is a decent pvp setting, but a m8 off mine said that it isnt. So what do u guys say? Whats the best pvp for a dominator? Or is the dominator any good at all in pvp?
Ps. this toon is strictly for pvp use. Ds
Thanks for any advice