Need help changing my AT focus.

I'm seeing a lot of love for Fire/Rad, I'll have to check it out. I also have a level 35 Fire/Kin on Freedom that I haven't played since I last quit. Maybe at that level I should just stick with it instead of rerolling Fire/Rad, who knows! It's been so long that I'd probably enjoy the new experience.

I've played a Robotics/Dark Miasma MM to 32 and I definitely enjoy it, but once I got that giant robot it didn't feel like there was much left to aim for. It was during my major alt-a-day phase so I just got too distracted. I'd really like to try Demon Summoning and Dual Pistols but I haven't got them unlocked yet and don't plan to buy GR until it comes out!

So far WS has piqued my interest the most, I just took my first one through sewers an hour ago and I think it's very cool. I look forward to taking it further and seeing how it plays. I'm just not sure if I will or will not enjoy switching from form to form over and over again to maximize my powers. I won't knock it until I try it, though.

I've got some Dominator only questions, for my villain, which I'll post in the Dom forum.

I'm reading that thread on Fort vs NW right now, very cool. So many things to try, yet so many finals to study for!

Thank you very much, all of you, for being so helpful.

Try a Fire/Rad or Fire/Cold Controller/Corruptor

I haven't seen Plant/ trollers mentioned. If you are enjoying the confusion of Arctic Air, Seeds of Confusion will make you giggle nonstop. My Plant/Storm troller was the best/funnest/easiest ride to 50 yet. It can solo better than most trollers and on teams you really shine. Seeds of Confusion + Roots + freezing Rain + Lightning Storm + Tornado (make sure they are immob'ed first) + hurricane is just godly.

A bunch of my global friends were made during Nature'sWrath's ride to 50. I was constantly the point person on full 8 man teams.

Dark/** defenders deserve a hardy vote as well.

Fire/Dark corruptors rock.

My plant/psy dom is pretty awesome. He's currently 41 but he's been fun for a loooong time. He likes to push the limit a little too much lately...I either steamroll or faceplant...fast. If I recall correctly, I was running +2/x6'ish missions, solo.

Rad/Sonic defenders are, as Jock Tamson once said, "Best at Everything." You've got very good damage (not Blaster or Brute level, but probably up there with typical Scrappers), you make teams operate spectacularly well (Who wants 50% more total damage? Well, everyone's gonna get it!), you're a respectably safe soloer and the only downside I can think of is that you're a little weak on AOE damage.

My ice/ice experience (and I'm a VERY aggressive blaster, often surviving anyway) is that it's a little bit... TOO controllery. You've got so many good tools that if you used them all, you'd never get to the damaging attacks. I have lots of good things to say about fire/ice blasters, though. Shiver is roughly equivalent to 50% damage resistance; sadly, it comes with an 80' half-circle taunt aura. Fireball/firebreath drops even-con minions with NO EXTRA BUFFING. You have build up and aim, for those times you want to kill a boss in fifteen seconds. I took out about 20 guys once in under ten seconds; they startled me. (Build Up, Aim, fb/fb on group to left of door, inferno on group to right of door, look around in surprise that I'm still alive...)

hold, shiver, ice patch, hold, ice storm, WHERE'S MAH DAMAGE?

thats kinda funny i'm the other way around i've played ranged types blasters,dominators,ect... and i'm trying to get into more melee types i have a lvl 30 stalker but i wanna make a solid scrapper so i can solo better and beat down stuff lol still not sure whats more for me a scrapper/stalker type or trying a tank type lol

I second Fulmens' Fire/Ice blaster suggestion.

1. Fireball at level six. Six!
2. Firebreath gives you a second AOE, to use while Fireball recharges.
3. Oh, also Aim + Buildup so the fireballs hit more often and do more damage.
4. Don't forget Shiver, so that the mobs stay tidily together while you fireball them.
5. And Rain of Fire provides nice special effects that the slowed mobs can run around in while you fireball them again.
6. I suppose Blaze is pretty nifty if you want some high single target damage, too.
7. If you like the idea of blapping with Ice Sword and Frozen Fists, then Ice Patch is useful and entertaining, (plus fireballs will work just as well at point blank range).
8. There's just nothing better than Fireball with a Ragnarok Chance for Knockdown proc in it.

(Fireball at level 2. Just sayin'. )

I'll toss my vote in for Fire/Rad Troller also. This was my main for over a year. Still pick it up to play now and again.

Another choice and what I'm playing now is Ill/Storm Troller. (Pets, Chaos, and Damage)

For AT's: (excluding melee)

Dominators are my favored archetype, capable of far more powerful control than a controller could ever dream of. To get to that point, however, they need a lot of IO investment. With Just SO's they're still powerful, but their survivability skyrockets only once you obtain key control powers and get them well slotted. For attacks, think of yourself as a 'blapper,' a blaster with melee attacks that shoots stuff out of reach, punches close up stuff. The plus is that you can make close stuff unable to punch back.

VEATS:
depending how you play them, they can be more ranged or more melee. All in all, there's a good chance you might be both. These come in widow/soldier forms, and their biggest asset is the high defense they give themselves and team. (I'm look at the maneuvers/mind link powers in particular: these stack well.) Pre 24: widows are ranged mini-claws scrappers. Soldiers are mini-AR blasters with armor. Post 24: Night widows are meta-claws scrapper/stalkers, capable of excellent team buffs, high defenses, stealth strikes, and ranged damage. Fortunatas are meta-dominators, exchanging domination and most AoE mez for bigger attacks/defenses. Banes are meta-stalkers, with team buffs, debuffs, and some heavy stealth strikes. Their ranged attacks can be strong as well. Crabs are meta-tank/blaster mastermind-whatnots. Basically they have good armor, a good heal, decent melee, good buffs, amazing AoE, and pets. They have less single target/heavy strikes, though.

Controllers: Their control/support abilities were originally 'offset' by low damage. Now, however, their double-damage to controlled stuff makes them beat many other archetypes' damage, but only when leveraging containment from specific buff/debuff abilities and limited damage powers. They're always great on teams, protecting/weakening/strengthening. For solo damage, Illusion/ and Fire/ are the damage dealers. For secondaries, /storm, /trick arrows, /rad and /kinetics are your best bets.

Khelds:
Their inherent buffs them by team-mates, and they get different buff by members' archetype. This migth seem to skew them away from solo play, but they can still perform well. Their transformations let them change roles according to situation, going from all-around humans (moderate shields/melee/ranged/et.c) to blaster squids/tanker dwarves. Warshades have siphon powers that give them excellent buffs based on enemies.

Blasters:
Damage, both in AoE, range, and often melee. The melee should be done wisely, as there's no armor to be had. Kill them before they kill you, many sets have limited mez for particular threats. (They are the closest analogue to dominators for this reason.)

Defenders:
Every primary significantly changes how you will play. Most leverage battles by weakening foes, or strengthening your team/yourself. Blasts do more damage the more alone you are. If you are thinking of soloing, avoid primaries that focus on team buffs, as you will often lack a target for them. Dark/, Rad/, Traps, and Trick arrow are decent solo sets, as they have many potent debuffs, and tricks to keep you alive. (Trick arrow takes some getting used to, I have to admit.)

Corruptors: the defenders' mean cousin. They do medium damage until their enemies are hurting, at which time they break out the crazy and start doing blaster damage. (Only to the damaged foes.) The secondaries all play differently, but corruptors all have set that weaken foes, making them all a bit better at soloing. Still, sets like /cold, /thermal, /pain, and /sonic are a bit more team based, especially at the beginning.

Masterminds: these make others do the work for you. Binds make pet control far easier, and can help your characters win more easily. They also have a defensive mode that makes pets take most of your damage. The secondaries all help you and the pets kick butt better, but the ones that can keep you pets from getting hit often give the most mileage. (/Traps, /Dark, Forcefield)

Does that cover things okay?