Fire/ Help

I have a problem: I suck.

I'm currently a level 20 Fire/Fire Dominator. I can't access my character right this very moment, but I know that I have more or less the following:

Fire Control: Everything but Smoke and the AoE Immob
Fire Assault: Everything except for whatever it is that you could otherwise buy at 20. I can't recall the name of the power offhand.
Fitness: The +Jump power, Health and Stamina.

I picked Stamina over whatever the attack power was, since I was basically sucking endurance like a chump whenever I so much as decided to walk around the block, nevermind engaging in tasks like fighting.

In AE teams, my AoE controls don't last long enough to matter too much--to some degree, I assume this is because I'm not into SOs yet.

Hot Feet + Fiery Embrace or whatever the buff is called results in fairly decent AoE Damage--I kinda want to grab the AoE Immob in order to maximize Hot Feet's damage, but then I end up losing whatever mitigation I receive from them running around, no?

Between my *ridiculous* Endurance usage and my short lived ability to do things before faceplanting, I don't feel like much of a credit to the team. Without the feeling that I'm doing something useful, the fun of playing the toon is also lost.

With that said, I turn to you, the Dominator community. Is there any advice that can help me suck less? Did I take a wrong turn in alberquerque, should I use my second slot to take different powers (man, that's so useful) or should I just accept that I'll suck until I put more levels under my belt? Should I go roll a /Kinetic Corruptor instead? :P

Thanks in advance,
-Stalled Out Fire/Fire Dom

By my reckoning your build looks basically like this:

Level 20Magic Dominator
Primary Power Set: Fire Control
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Assault
Power Pool: Fitness

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Char -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Flares -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Incinerate -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Fire Breath -- Empty(A)
Level 6: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Hot Feet -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Fire Blast -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Flashfire -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Fiery Embrace -- Empty(A)
Level 18: Cinders -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A)
Your post suggest that you have taken Ring of Fire, but I'm guessing you didn't.

The problem is almost immediately evident: Hot Feet. As with most aura powers, the endurance drain is just too much too sustain before SO-level endurance reducers and Stamina. Hit L22, slot towards 100% endurance reduction in Hot Feet and you'll performance will improve markedly.

I'd also be curious how you have Char and Flashfires slotted. Because you don't have good enhancers yet Flashfires is going to have a crappy duration (and crappy recharge because you don't have Hasten), Char and rapid target-switching is going to be your primary control. So if you're not slotting Char right (lots of recharge), you're going to be up against it.

At your level Cinders is a poor choice as well. Many people would say it's a poor choice without qualification, but I personally appreciate it as a panic button. Take and slot much later in your build.

One last tip: Hasten. Seriously, it's just about mandatory for Doms. We rely on a few long-recharging AoE Controls for the majority of our mitigation - anything that makes those come back faster is brilliant.

if he did not take fire cages then he needs to respec NOW! That would be why he sucks, no fire cages makes no sense to me. That is one of my main uses on teams.

It also is a very useful way to solo. If you slot for range, you can lock mobs down out of their attack range and let the DOTs kill them.

I personnally use at least two accuracy enhancements in all my control powers.

I MinMin nailed it. I will add that your fire imps will make a big difference as well. They draw off some aggro and add a ton of damage. You just need 12 levels before you get them.

I'm usually the first to complain about AoE Immobs for Doms. The extra aggro is not worth it for the benefits that Tw00sh presents above, but I firmly believe that Fire Control is an exception in this regard.

That's because Fire Cages has synergy with three other Fire Control powers: Hot Feet, Flashfires and Bonfire. There aren't too many other Dominator Control sets that get much use out of their AoE Immob.

I would concur with Obscure_Blade about taking them late though. Early on they're more trouble than they're worth.

How well do you do when you solo? It could be that you're not as bad as you think, and in fact, the teams you've been on sucked. I have an 18 fire/fire Dom that I mostly solo with, and I usually have no problems mowing down everyone (albeit very slowly) but when I team with a group and their main strategy is to rush in and attack I'm usually the first to fall.

I plan to mostly solo until I reach lvl 32. By then I may be able to contribute without being the first to die if the team sucks. It takes longer to lvl that way but it's safer and cheaper as far as debt is concerned.

Good luck.

If your runniing hot feet pre stamina then yes you are definately sucking down end.

My process on most toons that offer toggles prestamina is to skip them until i have my end mitagation going. In fires case that is stamina and consume.

I think the thing to think here is first your correct, your not on SOs, so much of that might fix itself at 22. And also your 20, your not supose to be a power house yet. However at 22 i would slot some SOs in what you can and then also i would say franken slot some of the more expensive attacks with something that offers either damage/end or acc/end reduction from the cheaper IO sets. It helps more then you can believe. But kinda like SOs i dont suggest doing it until your 22 and can get 25s or even 27 and can get 30s.

It's been a while since I played my dom at low levels, so take this with a grain of salt. I'd go for something like this to get to level 22.

1) Char (Acc/Rech/Hold)
1) Flares (Acc/End/Rech/Dam/Dam/Dam)
2) Incinerate (Acc placeholder)
4) Fire Breath (Acc/Dam/Dam/Dam)
6) Swift
8) Hasten (Rech/Rech/Rech)
10) Fire Blast (Acc/End/Rech/Dam/Dam/Dam)
12) Flashfire (Acc/Rech/Rech/Stun)
14) Fire Cages (Acc/End)
16) Health
18) Fiery Embrace (Rech)
20) Stamina (EndMod)
22) Hot Feet (EndRed)

Like others have said, Hot Feet is much better put off until you have some solid controls to allow you to stand in melee and post-Stamina. You can make it work before Stamina/SO's with really careful slotting and restraining yourself on attacks, but I don't see the point.

Your early build should concentrate on getting a basic attack chain in place. Char, Flares, and Fire Blast will do for now. I have Incinerate in there, but I wouldn't go nuts slotting it until way later. Getting Char down to 5-6 sec rech helps a lot vs. tough bosses. You also want to grab Hasten early to help you with your big End Recovery in Domination, as well as your prerequisites for Stamina. I'd put off travel powers for now by using jetpacks.

As mentioned above, Flashfire and Fire Cages is your ultimate 1-2 punch for control. The long Rech on Flashfire means you won't have access to it too often early on, but it's really the best way to start just about any fight. Once you have Stamina and Hot Feet in place, even better! Stand in the middle of a big group of stunned and immobilized targets that you just hit with Fiery Embrace>Fire Breath and sit there laughing while they all melt.

My Fire/Fire dom is a lot of fun. Definitely took a while to get going, but it's worth the wait!