illusion kin - first serious controller build

I've played around with controllers in the past but I don't think I've ever leveled one above level 18, so I'm thinking of making an illusion/kinetics controller because I wanted to be slightly more original than just fire/kin. I whipped up a build quickly on mid's hero designer at work and I'd appreciate it if I could get some feedback, thank you!

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Illusion Control
Secondary Power Set: Kinetics
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Spectral Wounds -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(5), Dmg-I(7), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(13), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 1: Transfusion -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(3), Heal-I(34), Heal-I(37), Heal-I(37), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 2: Blind -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(3), Hold-I(7), Hold-I(11), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 4: Siphon Power -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(5)
Level 6: Swift -- Flight-I(A), Flight-I(46)
Level 8: Superior Invisibility -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(9), DefBuff-I(23), EndRdx-I(48)
Level 10: Flash -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(11), Hold-I(25), Hold-I(27)
Level 12: Hover -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(13), DefBuff-I(48), EndRdx-I(48)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A), Flight-I(15), Flight-I(15), EndRdx-I(34)
Level 16: Siphon Speed -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(17), RechRdx-I(17), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 18: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(19), Heal-I(19)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Speed Boost -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(23)
Level 24: Deceive -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(25), Conf-I(40), Conf-I(43)
Level 26: Spectral Terror -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(27), Fear-I(33)
Level 28: Increase Density -- ResDam-I(A)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(31), EndRdx-I(31), EndRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(33)
Level 35: Transference -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(36), EndMod-I(36), EndMod-I(36), EndMod-I(37), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 38: Fulcrum Shift -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(39), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 41: Tactics -- ToHit-I(A), ToHit-I(42), EndRdx-I(42), EndRdx-I(42)
Level 44: Mental Blast -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(45), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(46), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 47: Indomitable Will -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 49: Mind Over Body -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(50), ResDam-I(50), EndRdx-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment

Err, where is Phantom Army and Phantasm? Two of the best powers in Illusion, especially the PAs. Phanstasm maybe not so much but he's still handy. You should deffo, deffo take the PAs. I'd also take Hasten as the big advantage an Illusion/Kin is stacked Siphon Speed + Hasten means PAs back much quicker (they're that good).

I'd also switch Flash and Deceive. Flash isn't that good really, especially before SOs but Deceive is great in the early game.

Mental Blast isn't that great really, you've already got Spectral Wounds. If you've got Fulcrum Shift then an AOE is probably better to leverage your huge damage buff better.

Oh, and the Defense from Superior invis is piddling. I wouldn't bother slotting for it. Spend the slots on the PAs, Flash (if you really want it it probably needs 6 slotting to be really effective, the recharge on it is insane).

Illusion kin is a great team build but there very hard to solo(due to illusion being a not very damaging) but there a great with there buffs and debuffs in a team plus group invis comes in handy and confuse aswell but this looks like a fun build mate,might see how it hold solo.

thanks for the feedback guys. I can see your point, I think ill swap flash and deceive around and try to fit phantom army in there somewhere too. What's stone mastery like as an ancillary pool? the big damage and AoE sound fun.

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thanks for the feedback guys. I can see your point, I think ill swap flash and deceive around and try to fit phantom army in there somewhere too. What's stone mastery like as an ancillary pool? the big damage and AoE sound fun.

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It's great, especially if you're going to be in close anyway (which you are). Fissure is a great power, Seismic Smash is ridiculously good (huge damage and holds a boss with one application) and Defense shields are nicer on a squishie than Resistance ones a lot of the time. They do look ugly in a lot of cases though (my Fire/Rad gets away with it since he's pretty ugly looking anyway). Earths Embrace would be useful too. Trow Rok has a horribly long animation time.

well I was thinking of taking fissure, seismic smash and earth's embrace and slotting 3 heals in it simply because I don't like rock armours look. I'm now working on a revised build, but slightly off topic...what in your opinion are the most damaging controller builds other than fire/kin?

i would go for the energry one power boast and temp invis come in handy but hey i made mine more a a team player

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well I was thinking of taking fissure, seismic smash and earth's embrace and slotting 3 heals in it simply because I don't like rock armours look. I'm now working on a revised build, but slightly off topic...what in your opinion are the most damaging controller builds other than fire/kin?

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What kind of damage are you after? Solo or team?

I rarely solo, so team.

IMO

Keep Mental Mastery, but like this:

Level 41: Indomitable Will <ul type="square">[*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO[*] (42) Recharge Reduction IO[*] (42) Recharge Reduction IO[/list]Level 44: Mind Over Body <ul type="square">[*] (A) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance[*] (45) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection[/list]Level 47: Psionic Tornado <ul type="square">[*] (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage[*] (48) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance[*] (48) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge[*] (48) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range[*] (50) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance[*] (50) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge[/list]I agree that +Def armours are better in the long run, which is why I don't really bother slotting the armour... indeed if you have slots to burn taking the low attack instead may be better. But with FS Psionic Tornado is very good. And Indomitable will gives you good resistance to Mez.

As stated previously you need to take PA and Phantasm.

I would also recommend Combat Jumping for the -immob - to get the most out of kin you need to be able to move freely (get in close for the buffs)

For teams GI is better than SI - allows Blasters to run in and nuke in safety.

From a damage/solo perspective the Stone Epic is miles ahead of any of the other sets.

Fissure adds additional control knockdown/stun - the stun also gives an ill/kin a reliable way to setup containment.

Seismic Smash is a vey high damage mag 4 hold.

Playing in melee using Fissure for AoE damage and containment all augmented by Fulcrum Shift makes for a very potent Controller.

I went with Rock Armour as its a toggle and not a click like Earths Embrace (kin is vey clicky already). It also gives you another place to put a LotG +recharge.

I've tried all of the Epics with my Ill/Kin - Stone takes it to the next level.

Thanks for all your input guys, I've decided that stone IS the most useful epic pool IMO. I'm still tweaking my build and I'll post it up soon.

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well I was thinking of taking fissure, seismic smash and earth's embrace and slotting 3 heals in it simply because I don't like rock armours look. I'm now working on a revised build, but slightly off topic...what in your opinion are the most damaging controller builds other than fire/kin?

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Fire/Kin (damage-wise) is head and shoulders above the rest of the field.

If it's purely 'damage' that you're after the next best primary is probably earth. Secondary is more 'open', it depends on your playstyle, but if we are solely talking about damage I'd guess that Storm (spit) is ,numbers-wise, the best. You must bare in mind though that being a team toon earth/storm, while good 'on paper', doesn't necessarily mean best. e.g. earth's animations can cause some team members graphics issues which also goes for storm along with it's KB.

Personally I'm a huge fan of /rad - there's very little it can't do, blossoms early and ease of it's debuffs make it so very versatile.

At the end of the day the damage output and overall usefulness of your toon depends on who else you have in the team, impossible to gauge that if you’re pugging it.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Decoy Fox: Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Illusion Control
Secondary Power Set: Kinetics
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Spectral Wounds -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(5), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(13), RechRdx-I(15), RechRdx-I(19)
Level 1: Transfusion -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(3), Heal-I(3), Heal-I(7), RechRdx-I(21), RechRdx-I(23)
Level 2: Blind -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(5), Hold-I(9), Dmg-I(13), RechRdx-I(15), RechRdx-I(19)
Level 4: Deceive -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(7), Conf-I(23)
Level 6: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 8: Superior Invisibility -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(34)
Level 10: Siphon Speed -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(11), RechRdx-I(11), RechRdx-I(21)
Level 12: Hover -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 16: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(17), Heal-I(17)
Level 18: Phantom Army -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(25), Dmg-I(25), Dmg-I(27), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 20: Speed Boost -- EndMod-I(A)
Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(29), EndMod-I(31)
Level 24: Increase Density -- ResDam-I(A)
Level 26: Flash -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(31), Hold-I(31), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(33)
Level 28: Maneuvers -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(34)
Level 30: Tactics -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 32: Phantasm -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(34), Dmg-I(37), Dmg-I(39), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 35: Transference -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(36), EndMod-I(36), EndMod-I(36), RechRdx-I(37), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 38: Fulcrum Shift -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(40), Acc-I(40), RechRdx-I(40), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 41: Fissure -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(42), Dmg-I(42), Dmg-I(43), RechRdx-I(43), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 44: Seismic Smash -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(45), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), RechRdx-I(46), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 47: Earth's Embrace -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(48), Heal-I(48), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(50), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Containment

Wadya think?

It's not how I've built mine but to each their own - mine is built for team and solo.

You do need Hasten though to keep the PA out as much as possible - I'd drop Assault, not really needed with Fulcram Shift.

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well I was thinking of taking fissure, seismic smash and earth's embrace and slotting 3 heals in it simply because I don't like rock armours look. I'm now working on a revised build, but slightly off topic...what in your opinion are the most damaging controller builds other than fire/kin?

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Fire/Kin (damage-wise) is head and shoulders above the rest of the field.

If it's purely 'damage' that you're after the next best primary is probably earth. Secondary is more 'open', it depends on your playstyle, but if we are solely talking about damage I'd guess that Storm (spit) is ,numbers-wise, the best. You must bare in mind though that being a team toon earth/storm, while good 'on paper', doesn't necessarily mean best. e.g. earth's animations can cause some team members graphics issues which also goes for storm along with it's KB.

Personally I'm a huge fan of /rad - there's very little it can't do, blossoms early and ease of it's debuffs make it so very versatile.

At the end of the day the damage output and overall usefulness of your toon depends on who else you have in the team, impossible to gauge that if you’re pugging it.

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Fire/Kin is the most damaging but they're very flimsy especially against Bosses.

Some good high damage Controllers are:
Fire/Storm - quite rare as well for some reason
Plant/Storm
Plant/Kin
Fire/Rad
Plant/Rad
Ill/Storm
Ill/Kin

There are other combos that could be put foward as well - I believe /TA can do good damage but I've got no experience with that set myself; also Mind/.

Earth and Ice are the lowest damage primaries.

If I was going to make another high damage Controller I'd go with Fire/Storm or Plant/Storm

Remove the Recharge from Phantasm, he doesn't need it, he's perma out of the box. 2 acc, 3 dam is good for him.

PAs I have 1 acc, 2 dam, 3 recharge. You want them out as much as possible.

I'd also drop Assault, you're a Kinetics. Once you have Fulcrum Shift you don't need assault. Hasten is far nicer IMO.

I've also always taken Siphon Power as well, it's handy when you're soloing and won't hit the cap with Fulc Shift. I'm not a big fan of the Leadership Pool in general, especially with Illusion as you can't buff the PAs.

Also no Spooky?

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Also no Spooky?

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Ooh, blasphamy. I didn't even notice him gone.

Certainly not worth taking the Leadership Pool over Spooky (Flash maybe, Spectral Terror, no way. Second best power in the set).

really? I thought Spectral Terror was terrorble (see what I did there? heh =]) due to it making some foes run away in panic...that's almost as bad as knockback.

IMHO, I find Ill/Kin nothing more than a buff bot, might as well roll a kinetic defender. The synergy problems Local Man pointed out as well as others may have, really sour this combo on me.

Fulcrum Shift: no benefit for Phantom Army, and Phantasm like to stay at a range that often would leave him out of the buff's benefits as well. Kinetics is also highly melee oriented with it's healing, and two great late game powers Transfence, and Fulcrum Shift.

I agree wholeheartedly that you would be better served with radiation as a secondary to augment your primary, than with kinetics.

If you are set on kinetics as a controller there are much better sets that work with it, fire/mind/earth/plant. I would recommend reading Local Man's Ill/Rad guide as well for it is highly informative, and well written.

Hey guys, my ill/kin just hit level 41 and I can see exactly what your talking about. FS doesn't help my pets whatsoever, and without a proper group hold, phantasm just scatters enemies. Sucks that I've only realised now, but I think I'm going to play around with some other controller builds (storm sounds interesting) and probably roll an ill/rad seeing as they sound pretty cool. Thanks for the help guys.