Go for it, just because its rare doesn't mean its all bad, it's a rare combo because Elec/ is new. Whether or not its fun is down to you. The elec side should contribute to that anyway. If you've seen say only one or two guides on Sonic then thats because there aint much need for any more. Sonic is about extending the life expectancy of team mates and reducing the enemies. More for steam rolling in big pugs, useful on Mo's, Liquefy is -tohit but it still lacks in usefulness versus Psi enemies unless you count the active defense of sonic repulsion as something. Sonic cage is meaningful though for putting out a key enemy thats creating problems or aiding enemy survivability like a Carnie Dark Servant pet would.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
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... when you go searching the forums, remember these two important points:|
Originally Posted by Shadow_Emiko
Been thinking about making an Elec/sonic Troller and was looking around here for advice but I have yet to come across any Elec/Sonic thread's and maybe only two /Sonic thread's as is.
Some input?? |
- The Majority of the game does not use the forums in anyway. Based on numerical calculations this majority is defined as 85%~95% of the playerbase figuring a sustained paying subscriber base of 60k~120k versus the number of players listed for membership of the forum cross-referenced against the number of players with active posts and post-dates in the forums.
- The majority of the players active on the forums sharing build advice are hardcore min-maxers who must use the most powerful sets possible to achieve the highest possible performance result. This majority is defined as no percentage as it's based on perception and threads seen.
Of the powers that are left, Sonic Siphon, Disruption Field, and Clarity take no IO sets at all. Sonic Barrier, Sonic Haven, and Sonic Dispersion all take resistance sets only... and most players agree the resistance IO's have some of the worst set bonus's unless you 6 slot the powers out for the defensive bonus... and that's a whole thread of it's own. That just leaves, in the powers I took, with Liquefy offering the only power with any IO sets that might be useful for min/maxing.
Does this mean that you shouldn't take Sonic? Oh Hell No. It's a GREAT Powerset. It's basically a one-trick pony in this aspect, since it's largest debuff effect is a resistance debuff, but even power-house debuff sets like Cold Domination and Radiation Emission will struggle to match the sustained resistance debuffs sonic can manage. Even if you get cold-domination to the point where you'll be stacking heat-loss and sleet on a regular basis, you'll still have a lower average resistance debuff compared to Sonic.
The power-set is a bit more practical than the Force Field standby, notably because it combines team protections with a debuff, rather than team-protections with nothing.
Now, would I roll an Elec Control / Sonic?
If I was intending to spend a significant amount of time soloing, then no, I wouldn't.
Elec control tends to be low on directed damage. This, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. Elec Control is very effective at esoteric controls with a wide range of powers to keep enemies in check. As Sonic offers pretty much no offensive capabilities, and it's resistance debuff probably isn't going to be enough to off-set the low damage of elec-control. If you are soloing a lot, this will make Elec / Sonic an annoying pain in the rear end since you won't have anything to use 3 of your sonic powers on (Sonic Barrier, Sonic Haven, and Disruption Field) until you hit 32.
If I was intending to team on a regular, it would be a considered combination.
I never thought about this combo, but Elec may well be the best primary for Sonic. Sonic is BRUTAL for endurance consumption. Elec/ can actually do something to help that with (insert name of the PBAOE power that buffs regen/recovery whose name eludes me for now).
I'll echo prior sentiments that it would be a fine toon for teams, but soloing would be laborious.
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I don't find /sonic to be any worse than say /storm. Hell, I think Fire and Ice are much worse than /sonic. I would rank /sonic as one of the better pairings with Elec though.
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Originally Posted by Deacon_NA
I never thought about this combo, but Elec may well be the best primary for Sonic. Sonic is BRUTAL for endurance consumption. Elec/ can actually do something to help that with (insert name of the PBAOE power that buffs regen/recovery whose name eludes me for now).
I'll echo prior sentiments that it would be a fine toon for teams, but soloing would be laborious. |
Well, I didn't say it was "the worst", I just said it was brutal. The fact that you believe Storm (or Fire or Ice) to be more endurance intensive does not affect my assessment.
Toggle-wise, Sonic does consume more than Storm - .52end /sec for Sonic Disruption + .26 end/sec for Sonic Dispersion > .26 for Snow Storm + .26 for Steamy Mist + .1625 for Hurricane (which most people don't leave on). I won't count Sonic Repulsion because that's also not used, but if I did, Sonic would be WAAAY more expensive. I can't argue against Earth click powers being more costly than Sonic's though.
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/Sonic is a fantastic set, and I wish it was used more often. I love me some Sonic bubbles, as well as all the awesome -Resistance they throw out.
There isn't any powerset in the game that I think is so bad I'd tell someone not to play it. However Sonic Resonance is not a set I like much personally. But then I'm the guy with the Elec/Force Field (which I find to be pretty average all around).
I'm running an elec/sonic at the moment. I've played sonic before on a defender and a controller. It's a good buff and forget set and has nice synergy with Electric Control in regards to endurance costs/management.
Thank you all for your imput ^-^
I think its the refreshing of shields that turns alot of people off to it (myself included.) It feels more like busy work. More like checking off boxes rather than playing and enjoying yourself. Same reason I can't get a /kin past level 26 :-/
That said, its still a pretty useful set, and it also takes power customization pretty nicely, if you're into that sort of thing.
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The reason you don't see many /sonic's around is because the T9 power (Liquify) is rubbish. It trades over the top debuffs (Nobody needs a 50% tohit debuff or really a 35% defence debuff) for a massive recharge time.
All sonic really has going for it are the shields and disruption field, which while great don't make for a fun powerset.
Sonic Siphon is a good power, but being single target it is only of use against AV's really.
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Its not bad at all. Resistance shields are handy since IO bonuses lean towards defense, and it offers some perks of debuffs and mez protection. People on the forums generally migrate towards the obvious sets that are good....the whole flock mentality.
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IMO: Sonic isn't that bad, it just isn't that good. 
I have a level 50 Sonic 'fender, can't imagine it being any different on a Controller unless you solo much.
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The problem is that it's an end-hungry buff powerset that doesn't do anything very interesting. Even Force Field has a guaranteed knockback and a giant bubble you can use to push stuff around. Sonic's best toy is Liquefy - which is awesome but has a 500s cooldown.
Every other power in the set is boring, most of them are passive, and none of them feel like they're making a difference. You've got two bubbles for friends and your own giant bubble, which is a good foundation. However, the other powers are an end hungry toggle buff, a single target resistance debuff, and a clear mind clone. The phase shift and toggle knockback you can automatically skip. The powers just aren't fun, which is why I'm regretably considering deleting my 40 sonic/sonic; I just can't get Liquefy to recharge fast enough to make up for the mild irritation of the bubbles or the yawnfest of the rest of the set.
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Sonic is great for people who want a fire and forget secondary, so they can focus on their primary. This is why it makes a fantastic controller secondary. With Elec/ especially, thanks to all the End recovery. |
Originally Posted by Hart
The problem is that it's an end-hungry buff powerset that doesn't do anything very interesting. Even Force Field has a guaranteed knockback and a giant bubble you can use to push stuff around. Sonic's best toy is Liquefy - which is awesome but has a 500s cooldown.
Every other power in the set is boring, most of them are passive, and none of them feel like they're making a difference. You've got two bubbles for friends and your own giant bubble, which is a good foundation. However, the other powers are an end hungry toggle buff, a single target resistance debuff, and a clear mind clone. The phase shift and toggle knockback you can automatically skip. The powers just aren't fun, which is why I'm regretably considering deleting my 40 sonic/sonic; I just can't get Liquefy to recharge fast enough to make up for the mild irritation of the bubbles or the yawnfest of the rest of the set. |
The actual BENEFITS that Sonic gives are top notch. I'll glady take 40% resistance to everything, Mez Protection, and 22.5% -Resistance to all enemies, and -45% Resistance to Bosses/AV's.
Oh yeah, and Liquefy is on a 300s timer, not 500s.
/Sonic on an Ill controller is pretty decent when PA is up; set the toggle on one of the PA and mobs seem to wink out of existence. That said, the awesomeness of PA hammering targets under -Res is offest by long stretches where it just feels kind of... meh.
Not saying /Sonic would be a bad pairing with Elec, just saying that Ill seems to have a lot of synergy with Sonic, and that doesn't prevent it from feeling pedestrian half the time.
Liquefy on a controller can do upto -40% -tohit using enhancements. You can get its recharge below 150s easily and with +rechg bonuses even more. A pickable power, Power boost can boost it anytime its up, so a mix of slots would do so you can improve the hold and still have good -tohit despite less tohit debuffs.
The toggles are expensive but with 3 endurance slotting they will be good effect for end. You could always get conserve energy anyway.
Elec synergises with Sonic in the way that conductive aura provides endurance returns anyhow. Mobs should offer their best hits, they'll be resisted, the mobs find themselves end drained, no end no power and any slightly harder mobs can be liquefied. In missions you might only need liquefy every so often anyway.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
I don't want to pile on too much about Sonic. I will tell you that if you're the kind of person who gives up on power sets that don't deliver top performance, Sonic will probably not be your favorite. The amount of damage that gets through Sonic's shields is really noticeable. Have you ever played with Thermal, or had one on on your team? You probably noticed that they still have to use heals occasionally. Well, Sonic is like that, but without the heals. The extra resistance from the big bubble just isn't that great. If a teammate gets hit for 800 points of damage, they still take 500 of that or so. The -Resistance in the debuff powers also gets resisted by high level enemies, so the ring power ends up only doing about -10% Resistance against +4s (who also hit the team really hard).
What I will say for Elec/Sonic is you have mezz protection to keep your toggle up. Personally I consider Force Field a better option though if you're looking for mezz protection and personal defense alongside team protection, or Thermal if you want to go the resistance and boss-sapping route. If you just reeeeaally want to try Sonic, Electric is one of your better choices tho, IMO, because it helps manage Sonic's (way over the top) endurance usage.
Sonic's OK, but I can't help but feel it got a bit short-changed by Sonic Blast being so awesome. (Kind of like how Blaster Psi Blast is sub-par and Mental manipulation is top-notch, the thematic pairing balances out but the sets dont.)
Sonic Resonance should be the king of -Res debuffing, but in practice its not much better than Storm or Cold, or even Defender Sonic Blast.
I'd agree with most of what's been said here - you consume a fair amount of your personal end keeping everyone else more effective, but never mind-blowingly so.
The Res shields turn squishies into Scrappers (and pretty poor ones on Controller numbers) but turn Scrappers (and Khelds and VEATS) into Tanks and Tankers into adamantium walls.
I guess there hasn't been many guides about it because there are very few subtelties to using the set. Its great for Offenders who want to blast and active Controllers who want to control.
A little tangent off something Tex mentioned: at +3 Disruption Field is only debuffing the enemy 14.6%. Running Assault would net you 15% extra damage at nearly 1/3 of the cost. Even at +2 Disruption Field is only increasing damage by 18%, but still at 3 times the cost of running Assault. When you face AV's resistance debuffs will be even further resisted.
Then there's redundancy between Clarity and Sonic Dispersion. I never could figure why they'd add more mez protection in the set. Also, Sonic Repulsion is a bit of an unruly power unless you have an ally that really wants to stay out of melee at all cost.
Finally, the animations are ugly.
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Assault is not 15% extra damage. Assault is 15% added to your damage bonus. There is a distinct difference. |
Originally Posted by ketch
A little tangent off something Tex mentioned: at +3 Disruption Field is only debuffing the enemy 14.6%. Running Assault would net you 15% extra damage at nearly 1/3 of the cost. Even at +2 Disruption Field is only increasing damage by 18%, but still at 3 times the cost of running Assault. When you face AV's resistance debuffs will be even further resisted.
Then there's redundancy between Clarity and Sonic Dispersion. I never could figure why they'd add more mez protection in the set. Also, Sonic Repulsion is a bit of an unruly power unless you have an ally that really wants to stay out of melee at all cost. Finally, the animations are ugly. |
Disruption Field, even against +3's, is 14.6% extra damage to ALL of your damage.
Lets factor in Assaults damage bonus for say, a Brute. Assault adds 15% to a brutes base damage. So a brutes Haymaker deals 68.4 damage at lvl 50. 15% of that is 10.26 damage. Thats how much damage assault is adding to the Brutes damage from Haymaker. Period.
Lets factor in the brutes enhancements. 3 lvl 50 IO's brings the brutes Haymaker to 136.2 damage. But Assault is still only adding 10.26 damage, which is now only a 7.5% overall damage increase.
Now lets factor in Rage. Rage brings that Brutes haymaker to 190.9 damage. Assault is still only adding 10.26 damage. With Rage, that assault is only adding 5.3% overall damage.
Now, to be really silly, lets factor in Fury. Lets assume the Brute is at half Fury, which is a 100% increase in damage. With half fury, the brute's Haymaker is dealing 259.3 damage. Again, Assault is only adding 10.26. With half fury, assault is only adding a 3.9% overall damage increase.
So, lets do a side by side comparison with this brute model.
With Assault, you are adding 10.26 damage.
With Disruption Field, vs +3's, you are adding 37.85 damage
So Disruption field, although it costs 3 times as much to run as Assault, is in fact, 3 times as powerful.
To be fair, I did use a Brute as an example, and Brutes tend to get the least benifit from damage buffs, but in most teams, nearly all AT's are running at +200% damage, apx 100% from damage enhancements, and the other +100% from miscellaneous buffs, Build Up, Aim, Defiance, etc.
And at the +200% damage mark, Disruption Field will be causing 3x as much damage as Assault.
The more you know.
Because -res > +dmg.
Love my sonic defender. Don't love son at controller levels so much. I faced a similar dilemma w/my elec controller and ended up w/therm instead, which I'm not crazy about either, but I have a no repeat rule and I've already played all the other tastier sets.
That being said, I don't think son is inherently bad or anything, it's just not one of the top end sets. Certainly worth a look.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
I made an Earth/Sonic controller back in the day predominately to be a support character for base raids.
Then base raids died, and now I'm stuck with a controller I don't necessarily enjoy playing...
I've gotten over the sounds bothering me, but the playability of it is just somewhat irksome.
So I don't think /Sonic is bad in a game-sense, but I don't find it too enjoyable to play.
Thanks for eight fun years, Paragon.
Been thinking about making an Elec/sonic Troller and was looking around here for advice but I have yet to come across any Elec/Sonic thread's and maybe only two /Sonic thread's as is.
Some imput??