Fighting Secondary for Fire/Kin

I don't seem to be taking a travel power, so I was wondering about the fighting secondary.
Would be nice to have a melee attack as I seem to spend all my time there (mostly solo), but I was wondering more for the defence.
Are tough/weave worth it on a controller? Or is there a better way to get defence in the 14-30 level.
So far Smoke does not save me like I hoped it would.

In that level range, Tough and Weave are probably not going to help you. If you feel the need for a single target attack, and want some damage mitigation, Air Superiority is probably better, since it consistently does knockdown. (Boxing would theoretically be even better, but it's disorient is highly unreliable.)

Still, if you are dying a lot, it's probably a change in tactics you need more than any particular powers.

Thanks Local, I knew you had views against but was not sure why.
I have Morganite's and your comments on another thread for slotting printed out to peruse at home.
Basically I am looking for some damage mitigation rather than another attack.

So the text for tough means +10.5% of my total resistance not another 10.5% on top which now I write that is obvious as it would be the most important skill in the game. So more useful if I already have a large amount of resistance.

Smoke I was hoping would let me get in to the action with a little less of the alpha strike -currently it seems as soon as I hit flash fire or cages that everyone attacks me *BEFORE* my attack goes off.
I was hoping smoke would let me get my attack off first to at least flash/hold some of them, but does not seem to be working for me that way.

One problem I have with Smoke is its unenhanceable range. The aggro range of the Imps and the foes is only slightly smaller than the range or Smoke, and you can't enhance that range. If the range was a little bit longer, it would be more useful. As it is, you really need to be at Smoke's range limit to get the best use out of it. Once you smoke a group of foes, you can move it a little bit, but still need to stay a good distance away. Learn to stay at the edge of Smoke's range to get better use out of it.

The semi-official view of Resistance vs. Defense is that 2% of Resistance = 1% of Defense. Personally, I feel the benefit of Defense increases substantially the more you have, while the benefit of more resistance increases as you get more, but not by as much. On the other hand, low amounts of Resistance are probably better than low amounts of Defense. I would rather have 16% Resistance than 8% Defense. But I would rather have a control power that locks down the foes, or distracts them, than either.

A problem with Fire/Kin is that you have very little damage mitigation, so you die a lot. You generally rely most on killing fast and healing. This is why I prefer my Fire/Rad, even though the Fire/Kin can kill faster when it gets rolling. The only defensive power in Kinetics is the one that everyone skips, Repel, because it is counterproductive to what you are trying to do.

Tough rarely matters much except on resistance-based melee ATs. Weave, on the other hand, can be useful for stacking defense on top of set bonuses. Unfortunately, in the 14-30 range you aren't likely to have much in the way of defense set bonuses so it won't do much for you yet (or ever if you go with a max recharge build instead of S/L or Ranged defense).

The key to surviving on a low level Controller is, well, controls. You want your single target hold to be 6-slotted ASAP and enhanced for accuracy, hold, recharge, and endurance. You also probably want your single target immobilize slotted for accuracy, damage, and endurance. On Controllers in that level range I generally lead off with my AoE immobilize, hold the most dangerous enemy (I always run on No Bosses so one hold usually works), then use my immobilize as my main damage source while keeping two targets held and the third (if there is one) immobilized. It's slow but it works... you just have to be very careful to avoid additional aggro because without AoE controls or debuffs you just can't handle numbers. Air Superiority would be handy since it not only adds damage, it also lets you keep another enemy (mostly) incapacitated.

Of course my favorite tactic with a Controller is to team with someone that actually does decent damage. It's a lot easier to just hold or immobilize stuff and keep your teammates speed boosted and healed than it is to actually kill things pre-Imps.

I'm playing a Fire/Empathy character right now. He does "okay" levels of damage. Certainly much better than many other low level character's I've played. Not perfect but so few things are.

The trick, I think, in those early levels is to take the single target immob and slot it as an attack. Same for the hold (but slot recharge and hold duration there too if you can). The cast time on Ring of Fire is really quick- like 1.17 seconds. Air Superiority is an option if you want even more damage and some added control, but it's kind of slow (3.3 seconds). You will likely spec out of both of these powers later on.

As for survival, it is simply the lot of the average Fire/Kin, I think, to faceplant on a regular basis. You will get sturdier later in your career, but compared to some of the safety-specialist builds will always be at comparative risk. Adding armor definitely is an option, but not usually until very high level when you have a full build plan laid out.

In the meantime, you may want to invest in Combat Jumping, mainly for the Immobilize protection. This will at least let you try to run away if you get tagged.

My leveling up strategy solo has been to Flashfire first, then Fire Cages. Run in with Hot Feet on and Char the most dangerous foe. Use Fire Cages and Char as soon as they come up, and hit transfusion to heal from the damage I take when the foes wake up from the stun. Ring of Fire can add some single target damage, as can Air Superiority (I have Air Sup). Siphon Speed and Siphon Power as much as possible to get the controls back as soon as possible. I think that is a pretty standard Fire/Kin strategy.

Opening with Fire Cages is asking for damage, since you will draw all the aggro. Also, my slotting for Fire Cages is going for Accuracy and EndRdx, then damage procs rather than damage . . . I believe that on average, the procs do more damage than slotting for damage. Char gets frankenslotted with 3 Acc/Hold/Rech and then 3 Damage IOs. Flashfire gets as much Acc/Stun/Rech as I can, and Hot Feet goes for EndRdx, then Damage with some Accuracy.

Combat Jumping is a good addition, as mobility is key.