Tradeoffs for a Fire Dom

Help me get a sense of the difference in play between Fire/Psi and Mind/Fire?

I'm planning my first Dom, and I'd like a build that offers different choices for different battles. That's more important to me than raw power; I like keeping track of each mob and my teammates, and choosing my actions accordingly.

Would Fire/Psi be more damage-oriented and Mind/Fire more for control?

Any recommended guides or sample builds? What I've found so far has been helpful, but far enough out-of-date that I wonder if much has changed.

As you say, Fire/Psi is about damage and Mind/Fire is about control, but the overall picture is more complex than that.

The Fire/Psi combo works well. Buildwise, Fire Control has a large number of skippable powers, which is good, because most of Psi is worth taking now. With Smoke and Drain Psyche you have abilities that most other Doms do not, and between Imps, Hot Feet and the Psi AoEs, your damage potential is quite high. On the downside, a Fire/Psi is difficult and expensive to perma and the nifty secondary effects from Psi don't really bridge the gap between Fire Control and the other control sets. Also on the negative side, is that psi defense and resistance while supposedly rare, tends to be huge when it is present. That same issue is also why Fire Control makes such a good pairing with Psi, because you can use the primary to make up for the shortfall.

The Mind/Fire combo works well also. Mind Control is hands down the control set. It specialises in areas that remain useful in the higher levels and provides many different control options. It's also a superb PvP control set given that its powers are essentially typeless for defense purposes. Mind Control also tends to be easy to perma and has a unique place for the MoLRSF challenge (although, Fiery Assault isn't particularly helpful for either of those). Combined with Fiery Assault, you basically have the best of both worlds, with the best control and the best damage, although the build is very tight.

Given the choice, I'd personally go with Fire/Psi. For me, Drain Psyche is just that good and I love the overall flexibility with some odd situational powers like Smoke and Bonfire available. I also find that while Mind Control has a million good control powers, it really has only the one good alpha strike power and that's on a relatively slow recharge. Fire Control is the flipside, in that all it really gets is the one good alpha stike power

That's a first-rate explanation! Thanks.

You've clarified the differences well, and I now have a couple smaller questions:

- Is Mind/Fire viable for PvE?
Most builds I see aim at PvP, which isn't what I'll be doing.

- Are both Fire/Psi and Mind/Fire reasonable for a starting (read: 'with zero Influence') player?
I don't mind if that means I miss the Uber-build when I pass on the most expensive IOs; I just need a workable build for a unwealthy Villain.

You mentioned that Mind/Psi is expensive to perma. Am I all right playing without perma? On my Ill/Rad controller, I see why perma would be useful if I could get it, but I'm still a powerhouse even with my average-Joe slotting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MinMin Combined with Fiery Assault, you basically have the best of both worlds, with the best control and the best damage, although the build is very tight.

This is very appealing, the ability to switch focus from damage to control depending on the situation.

But then you add a similar thought for Fire/Psi:

Quote:

I love the overall flexibility with some odd situational powers like Smoke and Bonfire available.

and that prompts the final question for me:


- Does either Mind/Fire or Fire/Psi encourage a wider range of tactics?

I love choose my actions according to each battle and team.

Mind/Fire uses a wider range of tactics and choices, to answer the last question.

Mind / fire is absolutely, positively fine for PvE because Mind/* is fine for PvE.

Mind is a strong PvE control set that does more damage than most other dominator primaries.

Oops, I hit enter twice and double-posted. My bad.

Read Lilac's guide. It is out of date since the damage bump for doms but is spot on for breaking down every single set. Her control breakdown is the best around and has limited the need for most guides.

I have a lvl 50 Fire/Psi not perma, made 50 before doms even dreamed of a damage bump. It plays very nicely. However it is an aggro (CENSORED). On a large team if you are not careful you will draw way more aggro then you can handle.

Imps and PSW make bad guys want to reach out and punch you, A LOT!

Min Min has given a lot of good advice and a very solid breakdown of how the combos will work. Mind just has way more situational powers. Mind also gets a great alpha negating power that many over look in its AOE sleep. This is not so much a deal if your on a team since more then likely your not the alpha striker. But a non aggro power that allows you to pull (ALA LRSF) is always gonna find a way to save your ***.

Personal play styles dictate how much mileage/fun you will get from either primary. Saying one is better over all is like saying your left arm is weaker then your right arm. Each has their situations where they really shine and if you grade them both in one area then that grade is already askew.