Storm/Energy Question

So! For about a week I've been obsessing about the idea of making a Storm/Energy Defender. Yes I know, we've all been on a team with someone who used knockback horribly and I promise not to be one of those people. It just seems like it would be a fun combination. Anyone have any experience playing one or any suggestions? Thanks

I was thinking about making a similar character, but I would take all of the AoE knockback powers just to annoy people I don't like. Steamy Mist would be great for stopping people from completing escort missions.

It is probably a bad idea to make a Storm/Energy Defender. You would never get to attack on teams and there are far more useful Defenders you could make if your goal is to not attack while teamed up.

Storm/Energy was my very first character. Here's what you do.

1. Slot energy torrent and explosive blast with damage and recharge. Be sure to get damage procs in there and some range into energy torrent if you can. Add hasten too. Just 'cuz.
2. Take advantage of your tank-level buff modifiers to give yourself a large amount of defense and resistance. Get some defense from inventions too.
3. Join a team. Declare yourself to be main tank.
4. Throw out energy torrent and explosive blast. Drop freezing rain and summon lightning storm. Spam energy torrent and explosive blast more. If you have a force feedback proc in either of these powers, spam them continuously and don't even bother using single target attacks. Be sure to attack from an angle that minimizes scatter in order to maximize your damage.
5 (optional). Use hurricane and circle the enemy group if they become too spread out. This will group them back together, allowing you to spam more area knockdown. This will not be necessary if step 4 goes as planned.

Results: If everything was performed correctly and your teammates have decent damage output of their own, the entire enemy group will be decimated within seconds. If the enemy group does a type of damage that your ancillary shield protects against, you will have taken trivial amounts of damage and regenerated it quickly. The only thing you have to fear are enemies with long duration mezzes. Get someone else to distract those for you while you spam knockback.

How could I have forgotten lightning storm?! Such a marvelous power.

Took mine to 50. Well recommended, would play again, etc. It takes a while to get used to how to play it well on a team, but it definitely can be done. Ranged defense will help a lot, when and if you get to IO slotting. Thunderstrikes are your friend.

Freezing Rain is such a useful power that you could use just that while hover-blasting and be a great help to the team. And of course Hurricane makes a tremendous difference, both offensively to keep a boss in a corner and more or less helpless, and defensively, as I can't count the times I've picked up a bit of aggro and never noticed it until the end of the fight because some boss kept trying to wade through the winds.

I don't team mine much any more, for two reasons: I've got another defender that works even better on a team (dark/sonic), and the storm powers are just more fun for me when I don't have to hold back. But with more ambushes in trickier missions these days, she might make a comeback.

first of all...malk..your post disturbs me but in such a way that i like it

storm/energy is a very potent combo...all the KD is its own quirky form of mitigation, factoring in all the debuffs makes it more awesome. if they cant stand they cant attack or mez..itsa sound theory

but personally i think something like ice would better compliment the set..

here's how id solo almost anything.."herdicane" mobs then snowstorm+thunderclap+FR+ice storm..the proceed to summon tornado and LS to keep them in check assuming they arent dead while you spam your own attacks with lethal abandon

plus 2 holds for pesky mezzers and to keep a boss 'on ice'--see that i made an ice joke!

This reply probably won't make me very popular, but here are my two cents. I'd prepare myself for either a very marginalized character who is always holding back or one who constantly irritates the rest of the team.

Don't mistake lack of commentary for support of the combo. If your teammates are me, they will not complain, will wait till the end of the mission, and quietly excuse themselves from the group. I've had to do that a lot lately because of an influx of "Look, I'm contributing!" Storm Defenders and Masterminds who believe the hype that knockback is good as a hold. It can be, but you have to leverage it with a chisel. On a large team Storm/Energy is the worst kind of wrecking ball; one that not only scatters enemies, it fails to do enough damage to justify it. The alternative is just not using most of your powers, which is another kind of waste.

As a soloist, dedicated team member or small team specialist? Ok, maybe.

Alternatives to Storm/Energy are Gravity/Storm/Primal trollers and Storm/Dual Pistols Defenders, who are similar overall, but either much safer or offer much more debuff, both with more rational and deliberate knockback potential. It's not that knockback itself is always bad, but being stuck with it on all of your powers with no ability to shut it off eventually becomes a liability.

I love Storm. It is a fun set but does have a bit of a learning curve to not be hated. My fire/storm corruptor is amazing. my earth/storm controller is amazing(but not soloable...) My storm/archery is... lacking. I want the freezing rain/rain of arrows combo which is why I still have it. Storm/ice probably would have been better. I have a storm/sonic as well which is also great.

Freezing Rain is awesome. Hurricane is situational according to play style. Lag and hurricane coupled with super jump can be bad... Tornado is also situational. I use it on AV's after the spawn is defeated. Hurricane and tornado are great "oh crap" powers too. If things start going south, the mass chaos they cause has saved the team before.

Have fun with whichever combo you play.

Ice Ember