/Storm help

I love Storm Summoning. I have a storm/ice defender that I thoroughly enjoy playing (hence the username) and I'm looking to try out a storm controller. I'm fairly familiar with the controller primaries, but I'm here in the forums to humbly ask for some controller advice.

Obviously, I want /Storm as a secondary. But quite honestly, I have no idea what primary I should use. I understand that there is no "wrong" combination in the game, and that any choice is a good choice. I have done some research on what primary would go well with storm, but, before I say anymore, there are some things I should point out.

1. I'm not looking for a min-max build, and while I will appreciate any and all advice, I don't need a specific level to level build. All I ask is for a good starting point as to what primary would best fit my wants.


2. On my storm defender, there were some issues that I noticed and want to accomodate as much as possible.

• First of all, the lack of -kb was annoying. I love the concept behind Tornado (and Lightning Storm to an extent, but not that serious), but the fact that it knocks things all over the place severly limits its usefulness on a defender.
• Second, endurance was a major issue for me. Yes, the new incarnate slot is beautiful for 50s, but 20-49 was a bit grueling in terms of end issues.

I have a 50 fire/storm.

It is very powerful. As noted end management is important. With the cardiac alpha and a few sets with +recovery and +max end it isnt so much a problem.

Hot Feet is a really strong attack power long before 32.

I havnt tried the other /storm controllers and dont doubt they also have many good points in their favor.

To me overall Plant or Earth have the most synergy of the -knockdown sets for a few reasons. Not saying Fire or Ice /Storm aren't effective, they absolutely are but Plant/Storm or Earth/Storm is marginally ahead for me.

Plant is the "best" at AOE immob. Firstly your own AOE immob does the most damage (in terms of raw DPS it'll out DPS Fireball for heavens sakes, thanks to the larger AOE and the quick recharge). Secondly you aren't the only source of Immob patches. Fly Trap will also do it (as will some bit of Creepers, I think?) .Your AOE Immobing won't interfere with your most widely used AOE Control. You want to immob things which are confused by Seeds, once they've naturally closed with each other, so they'll stand there and take potshots / swings at each other.

With Earth you have multiple options to go with depending on whats recharged and how mean you feel.Earth has the rather nice Stalagmites / Cages / Tornado combo so you can alternate between "Soft-control patch of death" (Quake, Quicksand, Freezing Rain, Ice Storm) and "Hard Control patch of death" (Stalagmites, Cages, Tornado, Freezing Rain, Lightning Storm, Ice Storm), or lob down Gasses and throw whatever the hell you want on top of it.

With Ice Control you really don't want to be negating Ice Patch just to stop things being knocked back by Tornado / Lightning Storm. You also have the Arctic Air / Hurricane problem but you can decide to run one or the other depending on what mood your in and what you are fighting.

Fires main issue is the lack of synergy between Hurricane and Hotfeet. Mind you Hurricane doesn't need to be up all the time, especially if the group is Stunned / Held anyway.

My personal choice would be Plant, for the superior AOE damage from level 8 up and the overall synergy of the two sets. But any of the 4 is an excellent choice (hell my main is an Illusion/Storm controller which has very little synergy at all and it was still an absolute hoot to play. Storm is fun).

Every controller combo has conflicts with Storm powers. All four of the controller sets with -Knockback in the AoE Immob will prevent the knockback in Freezing Rain -- one of the main advantages of Grav/Storm and Elec/Storm is that the Immob powers do NOT have -knockback, which turns Freezing Rain into more of a control power. Gale, Hurricane, Tornado and Lightning Storm will knock foes out of "patch" (Location-targetted AoE) or "anchor" (foe-anchored AoE) controls. Freezing Rain disturbs Fear powers (Illusion and Mind) and Sleep Powers (Elec, Mind, and if you take them, Ice, Earth, Plant).

Part of the fun of Storm, and why it is a challenge to play well, is that so many of the powers have to be used strategically. It's not just, "mash buttons until everything is dead." On teams, you really have to limit the chaos by limiting the use of the knockback powers. On my Ill/Storm and Grav/Storm, I rarely use Tornado on teams.




Each set has its strengths and weaknesses.

• Plant is a bit of a one-trick pony . . . it relies heavily on the Seeds+Roots combo. Once you have thrown Seeds, your options for other AoE control are limited. Fortunately, Storm fills some of those holes -- probably better than any other secodnary. Snowstorm (with its -Recharge) +Roots is almost a kind of limited hold. The big advantage of Plant/Storm is good AoE damage with Roots, Creepers and Twoey, and the Storm end adds some more good damage in later levels.
  
• Earth has 3 wonderful ranged AoE control powers (and a mostly unneeded PB AoE sleep), two of which provide continual control for additonal foes -- but lacks damage. Those Patch controls work great with Freezing Rain. Stalagmite's stun stacks with Thunderclap. Earthquake's knockdown can be alternated with Freezing Rain, with Quicksand to prevent foes from running out of the patch. And Storm adds damage in the late levels.
• Ice also has some nice synergy with Storm, in that it can alternate Ice Slick and Freezing Rain for a knockdown patch, can stack Slow powers to make everything slow to a crawl, and Storm has that damage in late levels. Ice has something that others don't -- the ability to provide continual (toggle) control for crazy melee teammates who run from group to group. Just save Hurricane for "panic button" moments, and only use Frostbite (or Chilblain) when you need that -knockback for Tornado.
  
• Fire/Storm is one of the highest endurance-using characters around -- plan to get some IO help with Recovery early. The PB AoE aura provides less control than Ice's Arctic Air but more damage. Flashfire's stun can stack with Thunderclap. Storm's knockback powers can be frustrating, but overall it is a powerful combo. Endurance is the biggest limiting factor.
  
• Illusion/Storm is the king of chaos. Illusion mostly controls with distraction rather than control . . . It has very little to prevent foes from running away and no -knockback. But it is an amazingly fun combo with all of the pets, visuals and the chaos -- probably better solo or on small teams than large teams. There can be 5 mobile pets and 2 Immobile ones, and you can't control any of them once they have been cast. Still, Ill/Storm is one of the better Illusion combos.
  
• Grav/Storm has a few nice synergies. The AoE Immob does not have -Knockback, so Freezing Rain + Crushing Field provides some AoE control that Gravity needs in lower levels. Grav/Storm is probably the best character in the game for moving foes around. This combo can be very strategic . . . you can make a "corner of doom" by setting up Lightning Storm and Tornado and Singularity, then Wormhole foes into the corner and hit them with Crushing Field and Hurricane to hold them there, Thunderclap to extend the stun, Freezing Rain for debuff/Knockdown and then pummel them one by one with GD-Crush-Propel. Kind of unfair. This is one of the most fun solo controllers I have played . . . not fast, but fun.
  
• Mind/Storm is a combo of powerful powersets that together are . . . a combo of powerful powersets without much synergy. Just when other sets are getting an increase in damage due to their pets, the damage on Mind kind of flattens out . . . and Storm can add in some nice damage.
  
• I haven't played Elec/Storm (I have played all the others to some degree into the 30's or higher). I can see the conflict between Freezing Rain and Static Field being a problem, but it would have the nice benefit, like Grav, of an AoE Immob that allows knockdown with Freezing Rain. However, it has its own knockdown power. Storm would make up for the low damage, somewhat.

Hmm.. Thanks for all the points mentioned, very informative. Based on what was said, I think Plant/Storm is probably what I was originally looking for, however after doing some more reading I have realized how narrow my viewpoint was on the subject of limiting kb. I will definitely take into consideration other combos such as ill/storm, even though they may not have a -kb factor. I'm just looking for a fun storm controller project to take on, and I suppose my limited experience with a storm defender was also limiting my choice of a primary to try.

Thanks for all the responces, I greatly appreciate it.

I recently wrote an ode to my Ice/Storm controller here. I really, really like playing him these days, and it's a thematic masterpiece, if a bit redundant if you're less than creative about using selective powers (i.e. don't just spam every power in every instance, as others have said). I admit in that thread that Fire/Storm could be even more awesome.

Yes, there are neat tricks you can play w/Ill or Grav & Storm, but I'd really look for a set that offers -KB. Tornado (Hurricane too!) is so much easier to use that way.

Am I too late??? If you want something fun, then try a Fire/Storm.

I am hopelessly biased, as evinced by the guide here, but I urge you to read it and swallow the END problems with a brave grin.

It will be the most enjoyable road to 50, and on a team you will be unable to swallow your pride as you save them time and time again from misadventure. You have -kb with Fire Cages which grab the most inordinate amount of agro, but with Hot Feet you will just.... burn stuff.... Epic fireballs... Consume... *sigh*.... I'm not sure you could have much more fun with your clothes on to be honest. However the road to Phenomenal Cosmic Power (TM) is painful. Very painful. Even with Incarnate abilities, I still flatten my end bar. Blues are your friend, as is the Inspiration Combination tool thingy. Debt... Well... You'll have a relationship over the first 30 levels.

And as a special offer just to you, if you decide to try it and get the toon to 37, I will send you a crafted Miracle +Recovery IO to help with your woes (if you want one). Apologies if this is a worthless offer, I have no clue of the value of the IO. Also, it has to be 37, because all I've got hoarded are 40's.

If you're up for it though, drop me a PM with your toon name and server and I'll admire your bravery as I hand it over!

Unless you're too scared?

-H