TIPs farming w/my various controllers...

I've been spending the last few weeks TIPs farming w/my various toons, and I'm torn bet if I like it best on my scrappers or controllers. Scrappers are kinda obvious, except none of mine have full stealth (1/2 w/a stealth IO) and my controllers, all with full stealth, can get through clickies faster. Of course, hostage rescues (which I try to avoid) are better on my melee since I can drop stealth and sprint-jog through the map just ignoring various mobs trying to hit me.

Of my controllers, I've been running mostly my Fire/Rad & Ill/Kin, both fully pimped out. I've ran my Ice/Storm a few times, haven't tried w/my Earth/TA or Plant/Cold just yet, but mostly I really like my Fire/Rad & Ill/Kin's speed through TIPs, set at -1/x1 for max speed.

Fire/Rad just kills fast, esp small groups. Don't even bother summoning the imps unless it's the last fight, since I don't want to deal w/them while stealthing through stuff. HF + Cages + EF is enough to kill things fast w/CC + WoC for the small amounts of mitigation I actually need. I have Char slotted for damage so lts fall fast, and there are no bosses to worry about. Only con is I have to retoggle all my damage/control auras after stealthing to a target. Not a big deal, but kind of a low level pita.

Ill/Kin is the best stealther in the game, bar none. SI + Deceive means I never have to break stealth to get a glowie if I don't feel like it. Or I just cast PA and get the glowie that way, if it's surrounded by mobs. Can kill single targets as fast as my Fire/Rad thanks to Spec Wounds, but even w/FS + Fireball, I seem to go through crowds faster on my Fire/Rad.

Both of those guys can get through a set of 5 TIPs in about 30~35 min solo, depending on how fast the TIPs drop. Add a teammate and the speed drops since you have to deal w/bosses, but it's still around 40min per set. This is about the same as some of my scrappers & my Fire tank, and frankly, most of the time is spend traveling, getting TIPs and loading so I don't think the times are going to drop any more.

My Ice/Storm is a bit slower since I mostly rely on my Storm powers to do significant damage (again, pets are rarely used), and even LS + Tornado takes a bit of time to go through stuff. Still, I can get through a set of 5 TIPs in around 40~45 min, which doesn't suck. I imagine my Earth/TA would be a bit slower. Not sure about my Plant/Cold.

Anyone else having good success running TIPs on their controllers?

My Perma-PA Ill/Rad has been my favorite . . . I actually think he is faster than my softcapped BS/Shield. Stealthing missions with Deceive and PA is easy, and I don't bother to pull out Phanty unless I need to clear a path for leading a Hostage out.

I do it on several toons just to increase my rolls. I set missions to -1 for all toons I assume everyone already does this. I use my fire/rad, fire/kin, ice/em blaster, ice/em tanker and spines/dark scrapper. They are all pretty fast. I think my blaster is fastest honestly. He has stealth, so I position him next to a target, aim+buildup come out of hide with the TF (one down) then BiB (two down). Back to stealth and finish mish. If i get mezzed I use both tier 1 and tier 2 powers and they end up dead anyways..

I do however, hate when I get mezzed by malta or carnies. When the TIPs are not falling I just run those. On my fire/rad the mez doesnt last because of AM (although dropping HF + CC sux) but on the fire/kin its a pain.

My rerolled Mind/Ice Dominator (previously Mind/Cold Controller). It's actually almost like cheating. Super Speed in, sleep the group, grab the glowie, maybe kill something in two or three hits. I eagerly await IOs in the next few weeks.

Yeah, sleeps are nice for TIPs. I was using Siren's Song a lot w/my Son/Son defender, but his kill speed is so much slower than my controllers/scrappers(/blasters/tanks) that I don't run him often for TIPs. Too bad none of my controllers have any sleep powers atm... :/

Sorry if this is a dense question, but what is "TIPs farming"?

Thanks.

Any level 25+ toon even with the most horrid build and a terribly bad soloing AT can run -1x1 tip missions at a speed for which only travel and tip drop matters.

Now yeah my 50 full IOed Elec/FA brute plows +3x6 at nearly the same speed my non stealthed lvl 27 AR/FF Corr handles -1x1 but for tip speed itself it really doesnt matter much.

I guess I'm the exception here - my Ill/Rad rarely stealths his tip missions, instead treating almost every one as a defeat-all. At +2/x1, which isn't really seeming all that much slower than the +0/x1 I was at pre-perma, except for bosses.

Technically, the TIPs drops themselves should happen faster w/a high level (i.e. 50) killing masses of greys in a 20-25 zone. I went through the full morality arc once w/my 27 brute who had zero AoE attacks, and it took considerably longer, though not unbearably so, to get his drops compared to, say, my 50 Fire blaster.

I'm down to 25-30min for my top guys, but my 50 Son/Son defender, even w/full stealth, is still kinda painful to solo through (which is to say it might take him all of 40min to finish a set), and that's w/no bosses. My Earth/TA isn't too bad, tho he'd suck pre-OSA & Fireball. I can't even imagine doing this w/a FF/* def or */FF controller...

Can I ask why people are calling them TIPs Missions?

They're Tips. You get a Tip and run it like a mission. It's not a TIPs Mission. :/

That's a good question. I don't have a good answer. I think it got stuck in my brain that it stood for something, which it evidently doesn't.

Tips farming, it is.