Questions on Earth/Sonic

On a whim, I decided to try a new powerset, and, at least in my mind, it should work well, but I have a few questions for it, since I'm not that great at building up controllers. I know, in general, recharge tops most anything else I can build for, so I sort of planned accordingly.

My questions are:
1) If I were to try for a travel power, what powers (besides Sonic Cage) would be worth dropping? I'm not a 60 month vet, so I can't just grab it (Granted, with hover/Fly and/or CJ/SJ, I can slot another LotG Recharge, so that'll be nice.)
2) This may not matter once I get this high, since I don't expect to get past the 40s before GR, and I don't think controllers get the APPs redside, but assuming this does work out, would earth work well with Earth/Sonic, or would it be better to try something else?
3) Yes, Stone Prison is unslotted. I don't really have any plans for that.

(Edit for question 4) Is Clarity even worth it? I suppose for squishies, it is, but you get it so late I wondered about it.

Really, any help would be appreciated. I like how these two seem to work well-ish together, so I'm going to run with it.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

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EarthHymn: Level 50 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Resonance
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(7), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(7), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(9), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40)
Level 1: Sonic Siphon -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(9)
Level 2: Sonic Barrier -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(3), ResDam-I(3)
Level 4: Sonic Haven -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(5), ResDam-I(5)
Level 6: Quicksand -- P'ngTtl-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(A), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(11), ImpSwft-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(11)
Level 8: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Stone Prison -- Empty(A), Empty(13), Empty(13), Empty(15), Empty(15), Empty(42)
Level 12: Stone Cages -- GravAnch-Immob(A), GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(25), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(27), GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(27), GravAnch-Immob/EndRdx(29), TotHntr-EndRdx/Immob(43)
Level 14: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Stalagmites -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(17), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(17), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(19), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(19), Empty(42)
Level 18: Earthquake -- LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg(A), LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg/EndRdx(29), LdyGrey-DefDeb(31), DarkWD-ToHitDeb(31), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(31), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(42)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 22: Sonic Dispersion -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(23), ResDam-I(23)
Level 24: Disruption Field -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(25)
Level 26: Volcanic Gasses -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(34), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(36), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(36)
Level 28: Salt Crystals -- CSndmn-Acc/Rchg(A), CSndmn-EndRdx/Sleep(36), CSndmn-Acc/EndRdx(37), CSndmn-Sleep/Rng(37), CSndmn-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(37)
Level 30: Sonic Cage -- Empty(A)
Level 32: Animate Stone -- ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(33), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(33), BldM'dt-Dmg(34), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(34)
Level 35: Clarity -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Liquefy -- AnWeak-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(A), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg/EndRdx(39), AnWeak-Acc/DefDeb(39), SipInsght-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SipInsght-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(40), SipInsght-Acc/ToHitDeb(43)
Level 41: Fissure -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(43), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(46), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(46), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(46)
Level 44: Rock Armor -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(45), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(45), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(45)
Level 47: Earth's Embrace -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/Rchg(48), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(48)
Level 49: Seismic Smash -- Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(50), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(50), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 6: Ninja Run



Thanks in advance.

As to your first question, I would probably skip Salt Crystals and possibly the single target immobilize in order to pick up Hasten and Superspeed. The added recharge from Hasten would far outway an extra 7.5% from a LotG. Also, a precaution against Hover: Stalagmites and Fissure both require you to be on the ground to use.

Number two: It will work fine. Though other APP's also have some appealing options. Fire, for one, gives you an exotic damage type that will pair well with -res and offers an endurance recovery tool. Primal would also be nice for its help with endurance and PB'ing the -def in earth's powers as well as some of the -tohit. Earth's lack of endurance management is probably the only weak point with it.

Number three: You could slot it for damage to help out a bit. Decimation would do nicely and give you an extra 6.25% recharge.

Clarity: Probably the most disappointing level 35 power, IMO. Basically, a Clear Mind copy that comes nearly 20 levels later. It's nice to pop on a FF or other /sonic, since Sleep will turn of their bubble. Occassionally, it's useful for perception bonus. Otherwise, Fear and Confusion are not common enough to justify using it.

Here's a build I've been working toward lately, just to give you some ideas of what others re doing with the set.

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Before you roll this combo I just want to throw in there that Earth/Thermal may be a better pick for you. You may discover you feel differently from me, but I've never found Sonic Resonance to deliver as a powerset. Too many of the powers simply fail to deliver and the endurance cost is high. Liquefy sounds great when you read about it but in practice it's a Tier 1 AoE blast mixed with a -ToHit effect. The -Defense is barely meaningful by the time you work your way up to this power and the knockdown rate (3% per pulse) is lower than any other knock-zone. Clarity is a seriously WTH power... no idea why it was put in this powerset.

On the other hand it may just be that I'm still bitter about my Fire/Sonic Controller and Sonic/Dark Defenders. They're just... not very effective compared to my other toons. And the Fire/Sonic consumes so much endurance he's nearly unplayable.

I haven't reached Liquefy yet, but I'm looking at the debuff much more than anything else. A base -25% to hit is pretty good. Toss it under Earthquake to net -35% to hit or Power Boost it alone for -55.7% to hit. The defense is a bit redundant with Earth and the -20% recharge is probably not very noticeable, but that -tohit seems very tempting to me.

Really, the problem with Sonic comes from the redundancy of Clarity and the limited usefulness of Sonic Repulsion. Those two powers seem like real duds to me.

Thank you for the heads up on Hover not allowing certain powers triggering. I should have known from my experience with Foot Stomp, but I didn't think about it.

I didn't take nor plan for Hasten because, quite frankly, I don't like it, and I never really have. I know what it does is useful, that's unquestionable, but I just really don't like the power, and will avoid it if I can help it. It's probably why I never really end up with high-end builds. I might toss it in, but I don't know. I doubt I'll drop Salt Crystals for it.

Looking at the build, is there any reason to not slot accuracy in Liquefy? And is Animate Stone's defense high enough to really justify the +def IOs?

Thermal may have worked, but it's missing the one power, and the reason, I chose Sonic; Disruption Field. The rest don't matter as much, but I wanted to see how much fun I could have with the Stone running around, debuffing anything around him's resistance as he slowly smashes his way through them.

The thing is, for playing 'pet master' Thermal walks all over Sonic. With Sonic you get the debuff ring with it's -22% resistance. But against a +4 enemy the ring degrades in quality down to just -11% resistance. Thermal's Forge power alone provides +40% damage to the stone pet. This degrades somewhat because we assume you're slotting the pet for damage, but it still ends up doing more than 11% damage. Then you get to throw Melt Armor on top of that, which while not up as often as the Sonic ring will provide the exact same AoE -resistance as Sonic's debuff ring would have.

In terms of resistance, one cast of Warmth alone provides almost as much mitigation as Sonic's big bubble. After 2 or 3 casts there is pretty much no competition. Both have the same radius. The only extra thing Sonic brings there is the AoE mezz protection.

Again I don't want to dictate to you what to play. You may find it to be your cup of tea, but IMO it has some heavy downsides.

I did like some of your slotting on Liquify and Earthquake, but I wonder how often the Achilles' Heel proc triggers. I honestly don't think I'd ever get my hands on one, but it'd be interesting to find out how that works.

Good point on the defense, but I'm in the habit of trying for more damage out of my pets, so I'd have to see how well the stone works with the initial four slots.

I don't exactly plan doing much +4 soloing, and on a team when it might happen, that -11% resist would still be stronger than a single-up-to-three people buffed for +40% damage, I would think. (I note on a high recharge build, that Forge would be up fast enough to almost constantly keep it up, but would also mean you'd have to stop every 20s to buff a new person on a team.)

Also, I hate heal sets, really (not calling Thermal a heal set, just commenting on the fact it has Warmth/Cauterize). Dark Miasma and Kinetics are fine, since they have other uses, but pure heals drive me crazy. Maybe it's because I'm too used to dealing with rather odd AIs on MMs.

I can't really talk about any numerical specifics as I'm not big on minmaxing builds (all my non-50s and some of my less-played 50s still have SO's ), but I can say that I've played an Earth/Sonic Controller to 50 and personally enjoyed the combo. I spent almost all of my time on a set team with a Tanker and a Blaster, so I can't really say much for soloing, other than a couple random times to see how it'd work... it seemed okay, with my buffed up Animated Stone taking point a lot, but it wasn't set to any crazy difficulty.

I felt my character kept my team very well stabilized, helping play up strengths and reduce weaknesses with the Resistance buffs and both Resistance and Defense debuffs.

I'm sure others have answered your questions. I havent really looked at their responses. I'm just gonna throw mine down here even though someone may have already answered you adequately.

1) For travel powers, I always take Hasten and Super Speed. The recharge on your control powers (and liquefy) are SO long that Hasten is a god-send. I used to take Hover/Fly on all my controllers, even my Earth Controllers, but now I don't since you have to be on the ground to use Stalagmites anyway (and Fissure if you go with the Earth Epic).

I also like Combat Jumping because I hate being immobilized.

2) Yes, the Earth Epic will work well. Fissure works well with Stalagmites, both in terms of the style forced by the limitation (ground-based) and in terms of potentially stacking Stun magnitude. Also, Fissure recharges pretty fast and it is fun. STOMP. Seismic Smash hits hard and stacks hold magnitude with your controller Holds. The armor looks awful, but hey. If you want to have good defense against smashing/lethal, its great. The ranged attack in Earth Epic is adequate, and the HP buff in Earth's Embrace is nice if you are into that kind of thing.

I went with Fire, but Earth is arguably the better epic, by far.

3) You could probably get by without Stone Prison, but it is nice for soloing. My Earth/Sonic (level 50) just teamed, so I didn't pick it up until level 38. Slot it however you like.

4) I like Clarity since on teams it is nice to give people ranged mez protection so they don't have to stay in my Sonic Dispersion.

OK, I guess I'll post my build here just because. Note that while this IS my power order and number of slots on live, I have not bought most of the sets in the build yet. I do have the Miracle and the Numina and I do have the various damage procs in the build (and a substitute in VG). I may never fully slot out the build on Live to match this spec, but the slots are all in place in case I do. I just wanted the Miracle and Numina to support the end drain of Sonic Dispersion + Disruption Field + Fire Shield, and the proc stuff was part of the concept.

One oddity about my build though ... I LOATHE liquefy. What it does is fine, for the very brief and infrequent window in which it is up. Others seem to like it, so I'm the odd man out on this one. I hate it. Hating it saved me some slots.

Lewis

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

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