Need ideas to finish my Plant/Storm build

I'm in the process of getting my Plant / Storm Controller to 50 and am planning out his final build, but I need some advice on how to finish it. This is designed as a primarily team-based build but I want to be able to solo at reasonably high difficulties too. I'm not concerned with being good at farming, but I'd like to be able to run the occasional x6 or x8 mission for fun. I'd also like to be able to hold my own against ambushes in the ITF or other TFs if possible. I'm pretty sure I'll be going with something like this:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler

• (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
• (3) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
• (3) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
• (5) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
• (5) HamiO:Peroxisome Exposure
• (25) Ruin - Damage/Endurance

• (A) Accuracy IO

• (A) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage
• (7) Decimation - Damage/Endurance
• (7) Decimation - Damage/Recharge
• (9) Decimation - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (9) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (23) Enfeebled Operation - Endurance/Immobilize

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (11) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (11) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (13) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
• (13) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (25) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Endurance

• (A) HamiO:Golgi Exposure
• (15) HamiO:Golgi Exposure
• (15) HamiO:Golgi Exposure

• (A) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge
• (19) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge
• (19) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Recharge
• (21) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion
• (21) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Endurance

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO
• (17) Kismet - Accuracy +6%
• (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (27) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (34) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection

• (A) Jumping IO

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (17) Recharge Reduction IO

• (A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
• (27) Shield Breaker - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (37) Shield Breaker - Defense Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• (50) Tempered Readiness - Endurance/Recharge/Slow

• (A) Miracle - +Recovery
• (31) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery

• (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
• (33) Performance Shifter - EndMod
• (33) Endurance Modification IO
• (33) Endurance Modification IO

• (A) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Endurance
• (31) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff
• (37) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
• (42) Dark Watcher's Despair - Recharge/Endurance

• (A) Run Speed IO

• (A) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (34) Detonation - Damage/Recharge
• (34) Air Burst - Damage/Recharge
• (36) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Recharge
• (36) HamiO:Nucleolus Exposure
• (39) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)

• (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
• (29) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
• (29) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
• (31) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO

• (A) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage
• (36) Brilliant Leadership - Accuracy/Damage
• (37) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage
• (42) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up

• (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge
• (39) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance
• (43) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (43) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge
• (45) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage/Endurance
• (46) Soulbound Allegiance - Accuracy/Recharge

• (A) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage
• (39) Decimation - Damage/Endurance
• (40) Decimation - Damage/Recharge
• (40) Decimation - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (43) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

• (A) Empty

• (A) Empty

• (A) Empty

• (A) Empty

• (A) Run Speed IO

• (A) Empty

Code:

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(Though I may drop Snow Storm for Assault if I decide to go with Leadership.)

The problem is that I'm not really sure what ancillary pool to pick. I'm going for a high recharge build but I have several options and could use some advice from people who have played these sets before (this is my first high level Plant or Storm)...

1) My original plan was to go with Stone Mastery to get S/L defense and +HP plus some AoE damage. I'd have enough recharge for perma-Earth's Embrace and Fissure is at least decent PBAoE damage plus some more control. I'd also end up with 25-30% S/L defense, which should help survivability when solo or if I draw aggro.

2) Primal Forces Mastery would give me Conserve Power, which would really help since this build has massive endurance drain (too much to fully be endurance neutral regardless of slotting). I'd also get Power Boost, some S/L resists, and the option to get a little AoE from Energy Torrent. I'd be giving up some survivability in exchange for better endurance management.

3) Ice Mastery would give me more AoEs (including another rain that would work well with Freezing Rain), S/L defense, and Hibernate. I'd really prefer Earth's Embrace to Hibernate if I go the defense route, but Ice does offer a lot of -recharge for mitigation and decent AoE capability.

4) I was also thinking about taking Spore Burst as a set mule for the cheap purple Sleep set and as a source of emergency control (though with Seeds on a sub-20 second recharge I'm not sure I'd need it), but I'm also considering Tactics and Assault to boost the team a bit.

5) Finally, I'm not sure if Snow Storm is worth taking or if I'd be better off with something else. Slows are nice but with Freezing Rain and Seeds up every spawn I'm not sure it's needed.

Budget wise, I'm going fairly all out but not unlimited... no purples except the cheap Confuse, Pet and Sleep sets and no PvP IOs. Other than that, suggest away... it's a TF runner so if I can't afford it there's always merits. Thanks for any advice... I'm personally leaning toward Stone Mastery and Spore Burst with no Leadership (I'm already at 6+ end/sec when I go flat out) but someone who's actually played the set at 50 has a better idea I'm listening.

I use the Ice APP on most of my Stormies. Storm lacks both a self heal and any type of endurance recovery. Hibernate gives you both at the expense of freezing in place for a short time. Add that to the two AoE damage powers, defense based shield and a good single target blast, and the Ice APP is a pretty good set.

On the other hand, Plant is really lacking in strong single target damage. Earth APP's Seismic Smash gives you that strong single target damage and a faster recharging AoE (with very short range). But that Rock Armor is so UGLY. My Plant controllers generally tend to be back-to-nature types, so the armor just doesn't fit. (My Plant/Rad is a 60's throwback, "Pot Holder." Plant/Kin is "Flora the Explorer." Plant/Storm is "Zephyr Lilly," a real type of plant.)

One big advantage to Snow Storm is the -Fly. Roots won't catch anyone a few feet off the ground.

As for Spore Burst? There are too many good Storm powers that I would want to take rather than that sleep power. I have tried it on my Plant/Kin, but I'm not all that crazy about it. Personally, I'm not a big fan of "mule" powers -- I would rather DO something and give up a bonus.

I put a Devastation Chance for Hold proc in Lightning Storm . . . love that proc in there, and it fits theme-wise since the hold is a tesla cage.

My Plant / Storm is a farmer (as in someone who grows things, not a Fire / Kin wannabe ) so I can see Earth fitting in with plants and weather control thematically. On the other hand, Ice fits well too and I'd forgotten that Hibernate also was a +recovery boost... that could be very handy.

How's the damage from Ice Mastery's AoEs? I don't really care if I have a heavy hitting single target attack since it's a team based character and I don't plan to try to solo EBs. And I have all three vet attacks if I really need them... with Freezing Rain they'll hit pretty reliably.

I use the Ice APP on plant/ff. It's definitely handy to be able to pop into the cube for a bit of health and endurance. The only problem is that things are usually uglier after I come out of Hibernation than they were when I went in.

As for the AoE damage of Ice, it's fairly good. The fact that you can make things sit still while Ice Storm shreds them is a big plus. Frostbreath is a big iffy. It'll do more damage to a single target than Fireball, but it won't hit as many and is a bit harder to use since it's a cone. I like to be aggessive with Hurricane so, for my playstyle, I'm generally to close to get the max number of targets. On my plant/ff though I keep at range and it works out nicely. I'd guess it hits about 5-6 targets on average.

The only thing I'd question in your build is your slotting for freezing rain. You're enhancing a lot of things that don't need enhancing - accuracy, defense debuff, slow. This power is also not the place to save on endurance, IMO, which is affected by three of your four enhancements. I'm a believer in putting as many damage procs as possible in freezing rain, particularly since P/S is all about pouring out the AoE damage. This power deserves six slots - 4 procs and two recharges make it pretty beastly - rather than slotting for the incidental stuff you're slotting for now.

Hmmm... I don't usually bother with procs in rain or toggle powers since they can only fire every 10 seconds, but I can see trying it since Freezing Rain does get used a lot. The only problem is freeing up slots... but at least I could put two recharge, an Achilles' proc, and a Lady Gray proc in it.

My latest build idea is:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.621
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler

• (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
• (3) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
• (3) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
• (5) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
• (5) Essence of Curare - Endurance/Hold

• (A) Accuracy IO

• (A) Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (7) Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (7) Devastation - Accuracy/Damage
• (9) Devastation - Damage/Endurance
• (9) Entropic Chaos - Damage/Endurance
• (23) Entropic Chaos - Chance of Heal Self

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (11) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (11) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (13) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
• (13) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (25) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Endurance

• (A) HamiO:Golgi Exposure
• (15) HamiO:Golgi Exposure
• (15) HamiO:Golgi Exposure

• (A) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge
• (19) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge
• (19) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Recharge
• (21) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion
• (21) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Endurance

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
• (17) Kismet - Accuracy +6%
• (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (27) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (34) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection
• (42) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

• (A) Jumping IO

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (17) Recharge Reduction IO

• (A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
• (25) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage
• (27) Recharge Reduction IO
• (37) Recharge Reduction IO

• (A) Miracle - +Recovery
• (31) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery

• (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
• (33) Performance Shifter - EndMod
• (33) Endurance Modification IO
• (33) Endurance Modification IO

• (A) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Endurance
• (31) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff
• (37) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
• (42) Dark Watcher's Despair - Recharge/Endurance

• (A) Run Speed IO

• (A) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (34) Detonation - Damage/Recharge
• (34) Air Burst - Damage/Recharge
• (36) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Recharge
• (36) HamiO:Nucleolus Exposure
• (39) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)

• (A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
• (29) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
• (29) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
• (31) Basilisk's Gaze - Endurance/Recharge/Hold

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO

• (A) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage
• (36) Brilliant Leadership - Accuracy/Damage
• (37) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage
• (42) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up

• (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge
• (39) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance
• (43) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (43) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge
• (45) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage/Endurance
• (46) Soulbound Allegiance - Accuracy/Recharge

• (A) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage
• (39) Decimation - Damage/Endurance
• (40) Decimation - Damage/Recharge
• (40) Decimation - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Decimation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (43) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (46) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
• (46) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

• (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

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
• (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (50) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

• (A) Empty

• (A) Run Speed IO

• (A) Empty

Code:

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It'll probably be a few weeks before it gets finished... I'm saving up merits and waiting for the market to recover from the post-double-XP foolishness.

I like your build a lot - a good friend of mine is starting out a Plant/Storm and I may send this to him. I also think Cold is an excellent choice as an APP for pouring out the AoE damage.

I can't see much I'd really change - I'd probably take one less LotG in Frozen Armor so that I could cram a recharge IO into Ice Storm, but that's quibbling. If single target, boss damage proves to be a big headache you could also take ice's ST attack towards the end, but you probably don't need it.

I made this build primarily for teaming / TFs... it probably can solo pretty well but I enjoy Controllers a lot more on teams so I wasn't too worried about being able to take bosses and higher. Though I did manage to take an elite boss out with an incomplete version of that build (eventually)... Hurricane into a corner and spamming Freezing Rain, Lightning Storm, and Tornado actually dishes out respectable damage on knockback-immune (or immobilized) targets.

Now if only the market would settle down so I can get the rest of my recharge at a sane price...

Just a quick comment on that build: in Steamy Mist, if you replace that Kismet +6% Accuracy with anything out of the Luck of the Gambler set, don't you get a set bonus of 9% accuracy? Plus some more defense?