There are lots and lots of great controllers. Fire/Rad is one of my favorites. I have one at 50 on one server, and I'm working on a second one on my second account on my main server, who is almost 33. (I didn't want to move my first one, but my regular bunch of buddies want to do an all-Fire/Rad team of level 50's for GR.)
Fire/Rad is the one build that makes best use of Choking Cloud because of the interaction with Hot Feet and its melee pets. Fire/Rad starts out pretty slow, and doesn't really hit its "stride" until you get Hot Feet, Choking Cloud and Fire Imps slotted up. Before then, solo is a bit of a chore. Yes, you can do it, but it is not fast. After level 33 or 34, a solo Fire/Rad is easy.
The key to the way I play Fire/Rad is: (a) turn on Hot Feet and Choking Cloud and leave them running pretty much all the time. (b) Flashfire + Fire Cages from range (c) run in with the Imps to stand in the middle of the group, using Char and Air Superiority to handle any foes not stunned with Flashfire. This gives Choking Cloud some time to lock down most of the group. Continue using Char to hold any foes that CC misses, and keep using Fire Cages to keep foes in range of CC+HF. (d) Let the Imps go nuts while the foes all die.
Choking Cloud takes a while before it can establish its hold. Flashfire + Fire cages gives you that time. While the foes are held, Hot Feet is chipping away at their health. If a foe breaks free of CC's hold, then the Afraid and Slow in Hot Feet will cause the foe to want to slowly run away rather than attack you. The Slow keeps foes in CC longer, giving the pulsing hold in CC more chances to re-establish the hold.
So here are my suggestions on slotting: Char needs Accuracy, Hold and Recharge, with a little damage if I can fit it in. Fire Cages needs Accuracy and EndRdx -- Immob is nice but not essential, and damage procs are a nice extra. Hot Feet needs max EndRdx, a little accuracy and as much damage as I can get, but a little slow is nice as the slow keeps foes in range of CC longer when Fire Cages may have missed. Flashfire needs Accuracy, Stun and Recharge. Choking Cloud needs max EndRdx and Hold -- the hold is imporant due to how the power works, but if you can squeeze in a little Accuracy (through IO sets only) or procs with IO sets, it is great. And Fire Imps need the usual Accuracy and max Damage, but some Recharge is nice since they die often. My suggestions for slotting the Rad powers can be found in my Illusion/Radiation guide (see the link in my sig).
Fitness with Stamina is essential. I like Air Sup/Fly, but Hasten is a big help so you could use Hasten/Super Speed for travel.
Of the other Fire and Rad powers? Cinders fills in when Flashfire is recharging, so I consider that essential. Ring of Fire is nice in low levels as a single target damage power, but I skipped it. Some folks like Smoke for its -Perception, but I found I usually forgot to use it and really didn't need it -- a Stealth IO is better for me. I like Bonfire -- it is situational, but I find a lot of situations where it is useful -- I use it a lot in some of the upper level TFs. Bonfire can wait until late in the build, however.
On the Rad side, Fallout amd Mutation are skippable. Mutation is nice to have, but I couldn't fit it in. A small group of folks love Fallout, and it is an amusing power, but very, very situational. EM Pulse is arguably one of the three best AoE Holds in the game, so even though I don't use it that much, I take it. When I need it, I really need it.
I took a look at your build. It is lacking Hot Feet, which I consider a core power. You built heavily for Defense and Resistance, so you will survive a long time once you put that build together, but it lacks in enhancing for the offensive benefits I described above. I am not a fan of the Fighting Pool on controllers, as the goal is to control the foes rather than get shot at.
I don't have a max IO build yet, but I have been playing my original Fire/Rad at 50 for a long time. My Fire/Rad has a lot of Hami-Os from running Statesman's Task Forces, and I haven't taken the time to slowly remove many of those to replace them with IOs. There are some IOs that are wonderful in a Fire/Rad. Hot Feet and Choking Cloud really need to be "frankenslotted" to maximize the enhancement they need. The Lockdown +2 Mag in Choking Cloud works with its unique mechanism to make a big improvement in that power. At 50, a couple of IOs from the purple Unbreakable Constraint set really help Choking Cloud -- EndRdx/Hold and the Chance for Smashing Damage. The Gravitational Anchor Chance for Hold in Fire Cages is wonderful.
There are a lot of improvements I can make to my build. I plan on building in a lot more recharge, which is the main thing I want to build for.
Here is my current build:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.621
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Capt. Fantastic: Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Fire Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Char -- HO:Endo(A), HO:Nucle(3), HO:Perox(15), HO:Perox(36), RechRdx-I(37), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/Rchg(15), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(43), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 2: Fire Cages -- TotHntr-Acc/Rchg(A), TotHntr-Acc/Immob/Rchg(3), TotHntr-Acc/EndRdx(11), TotHntr-Immob/Acc(23), TotHntr-Dam%(34), GravAnch-Hold%(34)
Level 4: Accelerate Metabolism -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(5), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(5), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(37), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(40), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 6: Radiation Infection -- HO:Enzym(A), HO:Enzym(7), HO:Enzym(7)
Level 8: Hot Feet -- Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), HO:Nucle(9), TmpRdns-Dmg/Slow(27), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(27), EndRdx-I(40)
Level 10: Air Superiority -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(11)
Level 12: Flashfire -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(13), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(13), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(17), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(17), RechRdx-I(19)
Level 14: Fly -- Frbd-EndRdx(A), Frbd-Fly(42), Flight-I(43)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(19)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(21), P'Shift-End%(39)
Level 22: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(23)
Level 24: Cinders -- HO:Endo(A), HO:Endo(25), RechRdx-I(25), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 26: Bonfire -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Choking Cloud -- UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(A), UbrkCons-Dam%(29), Lock-%Hold(29), EndRdx-I(31), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(31), UbrkCons-Hold(31)
Level 30: Lingering Radiation -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(46), RechRdx-I(46), TmpRdns-Acc/Slow(50), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(50)
Level 32: Fire Imps -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(33), HO:Nucle(33), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 35: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- HO:Endo(A), HO:Endo(39), RechRdx-I(39)
Level 41: Indomitable Will -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(42)
Level 44: Mind Over Body -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(45), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(45), S'fstPrt-ResKB(45)
Level 47: Psionic Tornado -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(48), HO:Centri(48), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 49: Super Speed -- HO:Micro(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 0: Ninja Run
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
And here is the build that I expect to make eventually:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.621
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Capt. Fantastic: Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Fire Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Char -- HO:Endo(A), HO:Nucle(3), HO:Perox(15), HO:Perox(36), RechRdx-I(37), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/Rchg(15), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(43), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(43)
Level 2: Fire Cages -- GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(A), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(3), GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(11), GravAnch-Immob/EndRdx(23), TotHntr-Dam%(34), GravAnch-Hold%(34)
Level 4: Accelerate Metabolism -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(5), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(5), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(37), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(40), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(46)
Level 6: Radiation Infection -- HO:Enzym(A), HO:Enzym(7), HO:Enzym(7)
Level 8: Hot Feet -- Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), HO:Nucle(9), TmpRdns-Dmg/Slow(27), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(27), EndRdx-I(40)
Level 10: Air Superiority -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(11)
Level 12: Flashfire -- Amaze-Stun/Rchg(A), Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(13), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(13), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(17), Amaze-Stun(17), RechRdx-I(19)
Level 14: Fly -- Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(A), Zephyr-ResKB(42)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(19), Mrcl-Rcvry+(43)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(21), P'Shift-End%(46)
Level 22: Enervating Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(23)
Level 24: Cinders -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(25), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(25), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(40), G'Wdw-Acc/Hold/Rchg(46)
Level 26: Bonfire -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Choking Cloud -- UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(A), UbrkCons-Dam%(29), Lock-%Hold(29), EndRdx-I(31), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(31), UbrkCons-Hold(31)
Level 30: Lingering Radiation -- Acc-I(A), TmpRdns-Acc/Slow(50), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(50)
Level 32: Fire Imps -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(33), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(33), S'bndAl-Dmg/Rchg(34)
Level 35: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(39), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(39), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(39)
Level 41: Indomitable Will -- HO:Membr(A), RechRdx-I(42), HO:Membr(42)
Level 44: Mind Over Body -- ImpArm-ResDam(A), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(45), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(45), ImpArm-ResPsi(45)
Level 47: Psionic Tornado -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dam%(50)
Level 49: Super Speed -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 0: Ninja Run
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Fire/Rad is still my favorite Hero in CoH. It's a great combination for any situation. Concerning your build I'd make a few comments. Two end reductions in enervating field is enough. Hot feet is a core power, I'd not skip it. If I only had Cinders or EM Pulse, esp with minimal slotting, I'd take EM Pulse. It has a longer duration and better accuracy. I use lingering rad as a AV debuff (1 acc/2 recharge). You have too many +2% end rec set bonuses, so two of the gift of ancients sets could go. If you take choking cloud, it's worth 6 slots and frankenslotting for max hold, high end reduction and good accuracy. I have soft capped smash/lethal defense on my fire/kin and I like it, but my fire/rad has the psi epic for the mez protection. Here's my (very expensive) build. Well, I'm 2 IOs shy in mind over body. I'm sure you'll like fire/rad if you like controllers. It's good at all levels IMHO.
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@SBeaudway on Pinnacle, TaskForce Titans Supergroup.
It's hard to give up my s/l soft cap, but i can see that RI would cover the lack of it. I took a look at the builds and considering your advice I came up with the below build. Thank you for taking the time to help me out.
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That build is much better. You chose to do some things differently than I would have, but most of them are understandable choices. You traded out some EndRdx for higher recovery.
Look at Lingering Rad. You have enough global Recharge that you could move one of those Recharges to another power. You have a lot of options for that slot -- damage in Char, more Acc/Hold/Rech in Cinders, or even a Rech in Flashfire.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
I think I'll just put that extra slot in Flashfire, probably Acc/Rech from another set.
I have recently returned to the game after a long absence and been playing exclusively red side. I have heard wonderful stories of the cornucopia that is WW and the many wonderful TFs available to Heroes.
So I was thinking of making a controller, and wanted one that could solo and contribute on teams. I have come to the conclusion that a Fire/Rad could do all of that and be fun to play. Please feel free to critique the following build, or even suggest another set.