Even though you dont like immobs, i'd suggest getting the AoE immob at least, seeing that + stalagmites = heaven, practically another AoE hold.
Also get hurricane and freezing rain earlier in the build. Freezing rain is an ace control tool and not to mention greatly boosting the damage output of your team. Hurricane will be one of your best survival tools, as earth/storm WILL get you every enemy in the mish gunning for you.
Not sure if VG needed holds or not, seeing it ticks holds rather than 1 tick of hold (like most aoe holds) it keeps reapplying itself. I'd slot it for recharge over hold tbh.
No need slotting defdbf in freezing rain, its great out of the box. Freed up slots can better be put in fossilize (rech) and stalagmites (nother rech).
Personally wouldnt leave tornado till that late either, but then again, if youre still intending on not using immobs i suppose its use is a bit less. Tornado does a fair bit of damage and it aint too bad if your opponents are locked to the floor.
Hope that's any use, as for your initial comment "a bit of soloing", trust me, soloing earth/storm is hard. Its a control powerhouse, but lacks the damage output to solo.
"god, how many devs did hami have to sleep with to get ED?"
Total Cat @Stagefright
Freezing Rain should be taken at 16, its that good. Hurricane is excellent too, I'd take that in the 20s if possible.
Slows in Snowstorm and Quicksand aren't really needed, the pair should hit the Slow cap fairly handily anyway and Slows only debuff Run Speed.
I'd leave Steamy until the 20s too, take Freezing Rain at 16, Steamy at 22 and try to take Gasses at 18 if possible somehow.
Tornado is nice on an Earth/Storm with the AOE Immob, the damage is useful, especially combined with Stalagmites, Freezing Rain and Lightning storm.
Solo you'll have a tough time killing anything without the single target immob, at least until level 32.
Plus Freezing Rain makes things (like AVs) run around. An immob is really handy then.
*Edit : Oh, and Fissure over Hurl Boulder. Its a great little power
[ QUOTE ]
try to take Gasses at 18 if possible somehow.
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, not really 
. And it doesn't need Acc. Slot 3 Rechg and then you can use the other slots for dmg procs later on.
Also, if it's a PvE build I wouldn't bother with Acro. Just slot a -kback IO in CJ.
And definitely Fissure over Hurl Boulder!
CoX 50s: <ill/rad> <ice/ice> <fire/kin> <grav/sonic> <ice/storm> <earth/kin> <kin/elec> <cold/psy> <thugs/dark> <fire/dark> <dark/elec> <night widow> <EM/ninj> <mind/icy>
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
try to take Gasses at 18 if possible somehow.
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, not really . And it doesn't need Acc. Slot 3 Rechg and then you can use the other slots for dmg procs later on.
Also, if it's a PvE build I wouldn't bother with Acro. Just slot a -kback IO in CJ.
And definitely Fissure over Hurl Boulder!
[/ QUOTE ]
Drat, I got them the wrong way around, didn't I! Curse you Okton! *shakes fist*
Try and take Earthquake at 18 so, and ignore a lot of my ramblings
This is what I'm planning, although at 32 I'd respec to replace Stone Prison with Stone Cages in preparation for Tornado (and redistribute 3 of its slots)
+---------------------------------------------
+ Built with SuckerPunch's Online Planner
+ http://www.cohplanner.com
+---------------------------------------------
Name: Onyx
Level: 50
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Earth Control
Secondary: Storm Summoning
+---------------------------------------------
01 => Gale ==> Acc(1)
01 => Fossilize ==> Acc(1),Acc(3),Hold(5),Hold(9),Hold(21),Rech(37)
02 => Stone Prison ==> Acc(2),Acc(3),Dam(7),Dam(9),Dam(21),Rech(37)
04 => Snow Storm ==> EndCost(4),EndCost(5)
06 => Air Superiority ==> Acc(6),Dam(7)
08 => Swift ==> RunSpd(8)
10 => Quicksand ==> Rech(10),Rech(11),Rech(11)
12 => Stalagmites ==> Acc(12),Acc(13),DisDur(13),DisDur(15),Rech(15),Rec h(37)
14 => Fly ==> Flight(14)
16 => Freezing Rain ==> Rech(16),Rech(17),Rech(17),DefDeBuff(40)
18 => Earthquake ==> Rech(18),Rech(19),Rech(19),ToHitDeBuff(46)
20 => Hurdle ==> Jump(20)
22 => Stamina ==> EndMod(22),EndMod(23),EndMod(23)
24 => Steamy Mist ==> DamRes(24),DamRes(25),DamRes(25),EndCost(34),EndCo st(36)
26 => Volcanic Gasses ==> Rech(26),Rech(27),Rech(27),Hold(31)
28 => Hurricane ==> ToHitDeBuff(28),ToHitDeBuff(29),ToHitDeBuff(29),En dCost(34),EndCost(40)
30 => Hasten ==> Rech(30),Rech(31),Rech(31)
32 => Animate Stone ==> Acc(32),Acc(33),Dam(33),Dam(33),Dam(34)
35 => Tornado ==> Dam(35),Dam(36),Dam(36),Rech(46)
38 => Lightning Storm ==> Acc(38),Dam(39),Dam(39),Dam(39),Rech(40),EndCost(4 3)
41 => Fissure ==> Acc(41),Dam(42),Dam(42),Dam(42),Rech(43),Rech(43)
44 => Rock Armor ==> DefBuff(44),DefBuff(45),DefBuff(45),EndCost(45),En dCost(46)
47 => Earths Embrace ==> Heal(47),Heal(48),Heal(48),Rech(48),Rech(50),Rech( 50)
49 => O2 Boost ==> Heal(49),Heal(50)
+---------------------------------------------
01 => Sprint ==> Empty(1)
01 => Brawl ==> Empty(1)
02 => Rest ==> Empty(1)
[ QUOTE ]
Not sure if VG needed holds or not, seeing it ticks holds rather than 1 tick of hold (like most aoe holds) it keeps reapplying itself. I'd slot it for recharge over hold tbh.
[/ QUOTE ]
Definitely put recharge in as a priority, but it does also benefit from a few holds. Although they won't increase the hold duration of the power overall, they *will* increase the length of the hold of each tick making each tick stack with the previous ones better, especially when you're up against that +2 or +3 Boss or locking down the bigger spawns.
I'd go for 3xRecharge, 2xHold, give it the sixth slot and then experiment on whether you an Acc buys you anything (yes individual ticks can and do miss in my experience) or whether you're better off with the Ghost Widow Chance of Psi Damage Proc IO.
On the other powers:
Yes, always, always, get Freezing Rain on any character that has the Storm set as soon as it becomes available (16?).
Delaying Steamy Mist until after Stamina is something to think about if you're tight with powers early in the build or find yourself having END problems. I'd suggest considering Steamy Mist at 22 then Hurricane at 24 or vice versa.
I also agree with Carnifax that if 'soloing a bit' means anything other than not much more than once in a blue moon prior to level 32 and getting Mr. Stoney, then taking the single target immobilize and slotting it up a bit as a ranged damage attack helps a lot in preventing things from getting excruciatingly grindy. Single Target Immobilize + Veteran Sands of Mu REALLY helps. Freezing Rain + Single Target Immobolize + Veteran Sands of Mu + Temp Sands of Mu is where I'm betting it'll start getting *interesting* 
Stalagmites+Stone Cages is a seriously great 1-2 opening punch, and you'll be missing out if don't get the combination at some point. Quicksand+Stalagmites is not as good, because the bad guys tend to ignore the Slow of the Quicksand and stagger about at their normal stagger speed rather than a slowed stagger speed.
If you're tight on powers to fit all that in then, Acrobatics, O2 Boost and Earthquake are the ones I'd suggest you juggle about with.
Earthquake is a great power, but Freezing Rain also does the AoE knockdown if you need it, whilst Stone Cages has -KB so I'm thinking you might find Earthquake ending up somewhat of the red-headed stepchild usage-wise it since that makes it a bit incompatible with the Stalagmites+Stone Cages 1-2, and you'll be throwing Freezing Rain around in preference whenever that's up.
If you're intending to use O2 Boost more as buff against Sleeps/Holds and Endurance Drain rather than a Heal then it might be worth delaying until later in the build when you'll be facing more of those sorts of enemies.
As Okton says, there is the option of slotting a -KB IO rather than Acrobatics if you're finding Knockback a problem.
If I were making an Earth/Storm I think I'd consider the other thematic matchup of /Ice as the APP. Volcanic Gasses + Freezing Rain + Ice Storm sounds interesting on paper, if not necessarily as good as Stone.
Important Disclaimer: My current main is an Earth/Rad, and I have a now retired pre-ED Ice/Storm, but I've never actually played the two sets in combination, and my Storm Defender is pretty low-level so YMMV.
[ QUOTE ]
...Single Target Immobilize + Veteran Sands of Mu REALLY helps. Freezing Rain + Single Target Immobolize + Veteran Sands of Mu + Temp Sands of Mu is where I'm betting it'll start getting *interesting*...
[/ QUOTE ]
N.B. Be aware that Sands is not benefitting from containment AFAIK... I still like the power though
A lot of good advice already swung by in the previous posts, but from my point of view i'd like to shed a light on:
<ul type="square">[*]solo will be a rather slow drag, even after 32 when you get stoney.[*]really consider taking at least the AoE immob for the nice ghetto hold combined with stalagmites and just for general crowd control keeping them in a (tight) pack and the ST immob is also very usefull both in the early game (cheap and safe containment set up) as well as in the endgame (i.e. to keep AV's in place) and ofc to unleash tornado on heavy mobs in middle to end game.[*]take Freezing Rain asap at 16. It's sheer brilliance![*]don't bother with acro and slot a Karma or Steadfast KB prot IO in steamy mist and your sorted (or in CJ if you go the SJ route).
Personally i find heroes -as opposed to villains- very much doable with SS + hurdle and the travel temps. Also SS + steamy mist stack nicely to invis and you don't need to buy the stealth IO (to stack with steamy mist) and you save a powerslot since hasten is by default the prerequisite to SS.[*]VG to be slotted with rech first and i agree with yclept that enhancing hold is not bad a plan either so the ticks have a longer duration each.[*]move O2 boost to later on when stuns (and sleeps and end drains) are more frequent. Get a more usefull power early on instead.[*]take Tornado, Earthquake and Hurricane (much) earlier. All great powers. Although tornado is only really good if you have the AoE immob (or even better both ST and AoE)[*]you prolly picked earth epic for concept reasons, but consider the ice or fire epic too. The former for it's rather nice Ice storm and excellent hibernate and the latter for the great balls of fire and consume is nice too for an endheavy toon like yours.[/list]Have fun! 
Here's a quick build i put together (without enhancements):
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1,30
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php
Captain Terra: Level 48 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Gale -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stone Cages -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- Empty(A)
Level 6: Quicksand -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Stalagmites -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Hasten -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- Empty(A)
Level 18: Earthquake -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A)
Level 22: Super Speed -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Steamy Mist -- Krma-ResKB:30(A)
Level 26: Volcanic Gasses -- Empty(A)
Level 28: Hurricane -- Empty(A)
Level 30: Stone Prison -- Empty(A)
Level 32: Animate Stone -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Tornado -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Empty(A)
Level 41: Fissure -- Empty(A)
Level 44: Rock Armor -- Empty(A)
Level 47: Earth's Embrace -- Empty(A)
Level 49: O2 Boost -- Empty(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
P.S. Theres much to be said to take stone prison before stone cages, but this way you'll have stone cages ready when you get stalagmites
Hi, this is what I had in mind for my earth/storm troller.
"M_^^X<$H?XTHWGB5:]?OSU^7Q
No PvP, a bit of soloing, mostly teaming.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1,30
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php
Captain Terra: Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Hold(3), Hold(15), Hold(19)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc(A)
Level 2: O2 Boost -- Heal(A), Heal(5), Heal(5)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(7), Slow(9), Slow(17), Slow(40)
Level 6: Quicksand -- Slow(A), Slow(7), Slow(9)
Level 8: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff(A)
Level 10: Steamy Mist -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(11), ResDam(11), ResDam(17), ResDam(23)
Level 12: Stalagmites -- Acc(A), Acc(13), Dsrnt(13), Dsrnt(15), Dsrnt(19)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump(A)
Level 16: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 18: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Acrobatics -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(23)
Level 24: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(25), RechRdx(25)
Level 26: Earthquake -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(27), RechRdx(27), ToHitDeb(43), ToHitDeb(43), ToHitDeb(46)
Level 28: Volcanic Gasses -- Acc(A), Acc(29), Hold(29), Hold(37), Hold(37), RechRdx(46)
Level 30: Freezing Rain -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(31), RechRdx(31), DefDeb(31), DefDeb(34), DefDeb(34)
Level 32: Animate Stone -- Acc(A), Acc(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(34)
Level 35: Hurricane -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(36), ToHitDeb(36), ToHitDeb(36), ToHitDeb(37)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Dmg(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), RechRdx(39), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40)
Level 41: Hurl Boulder -- Acc(A), Acc(42), Dmg(42), Dmg(42), Dmg(43)
Level 44: Rock Armor -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(45), DefBuff(45), DefBuff(45), DefBuff(46)
Level 47: Earth's Embrace -- Heal(A), Heal(48), Heal(48), RechRdx(48), RechRdx(50), RechRdx(50)
Level 49: Tornado -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Containment
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data chunk into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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</pre><hr />
Does it look ok?
I don't use immobs, don't like them.
And havn't really decided yet if I want hurl boulder or fissure but that can wait.