The best thing to do is try to make a build yourself, then post it here for comments. Plant/Storm has a number of "personal choices" that can go several ways depending upon your playstyle.
I would say the essential Plant powers (the ones you take as soon as they are available) are: Strangler, Roots (slotted for damage), Seeds of Confusion, Carrion Creepers and Venus Fly Trap. Vines is highly recommended. Entangle, Spore Burst and Spirit Tree are all optional and there are good reasons to take (or skip) all of them, depending upon your playstyle. I would personally say that Spore Burst is the most skippable power (but I have it on my Plant/Kin -- it has its uses). Entangle is useful solo as a single damage power. Spirit Tree can be somewhat helpful for longer battles, especially since */Storm does not have any self-heal.
On the Storm side, Freezing Rain is the most important power. I would highly recommend Steamy Mist, Hurricane, Lightning Storm and Tornado -- most people would agree but there are a few different opinions. Unfortunately, you are stuck with Gale. Snow Storm, O2 Boost and Thunderclap are all a matter of personal opinion -- I skipped Thunderclap since Plant doesn't have another AoE Stun to stack it, but I took the other two.
As for power pool choices, I would say that Hasten is strongly recommended. I personally like Super Speed for travel -- the Stealth in SS combines with Steamy Mist for full invisibility, and it is nice for battlefield maneuverability and I like it for "herdicaning." (I use a Raptor Pack when I need to get over things since the Raptor Packs are almost as fast as Fly and easy to get.) If you don't want Super Speed, then plan to get a Stealth IO (rather than taking the Stealth pool). Combat Jumping is nice to have for the Immob protection and as a nice place for several IOs.Some people like to build for Defense . . . I try to build more for effective control and Recharge. And look for Recovery and Endurance boosts, as Plant/Storm is hard on endurance.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Part of the problem for me posting an SO build is just like Local Man said, it's kind of a personal thing. I think he nailed the basics. To me I didn't take Hurricane, but I know other disagree with it. Mine is a pre i19 build so that is a factor as well. I would simply add in the Fighting pool, but I'm doing that in part to stack with my epics and I'll be using IOs and Incarnate powers to cover the end cost, so it's tough for me to say "Run this" when I know I wouldn't run it on SOs either unless teamed with support to handle my end issues. In solo situations, I would just likely not use the Fighting pool since I wouldn't need it in that situation.
Yeeeah... as Amy_Amp alludes to, you're going to be watching your END a fair bit.
In any case, follow Local_man's advice. it's good - even if he *does* like Illusion. 
(That said, it's actually nice IMO to see someone asking for an SO build instead of "how many billions of INF in SOs can I stick in one?") Think I'd also ask how far along you are with it now, if at all.
With the caveat previously mentioned that a lot of this is personal preference, this is a very rough outline of what I'd do for a plant/storm controller.
I've taken the most important powers; the empty spots are user's choice. Travel at 12 and 14, of course, and you can move hasten down to 12 if you want to use super speed. The rest of the empty slots can get some of the optional plant or storm powers, or useful pool powers - just note that it's going to be tough to find slots for them, so don't choose things that need lots of slotting. On my controller, I took O2 boost, spirit tree, and recall friend in those slots.
Even though there are open spaces, vines is left until 30 since you won't have slots for it until then. Despite that, it's actually a moderately important power. The thing about plant is that, while seeds is overwhelmingly powerful, the set doesn't have another good 'every-spawn' control. Thus, if you run into a situation where you need to control a second group while seeds is recharging (usually because of over-aggro, I find), vines is a good way to delay that group for a bit while you wait for seeds to come back or get into position to neuter them with storm powers.
Despite the usual verdict of 'optional', I took entangle at 6. Not only is it the most useful power available at that level, it's (at least in my opinion) key to not losing your sanity if you try to solo. While roots is much better than other controller AoE immobs and makes a good area damage power, you'll still want to be able to kill single targets. Trying to whittle down an annoying LT with just strangler (probably not slotted for damage, to boot) is going to be very annoying. As well, since immobilize is one of the only mezzes that works through purple triangles, it's a key tool for boss fights.
Steamy mist is another unobtrusive power that is actually important. The thing about seeds is, while it's incredibly powerful in most respects, it's got a pretty short range. If you're trying to actually get the whole group in seeds' cone, it's very easy to get too close to the nearest ones, aggro them, and take an alpha from the group before you can get them confused. Steamy mist's stealth, while not enough to make you completely invisible, is definitely enough to prevent this early aggro if you're careful.
Running just on SOs, endurance is going to be an issue. I managed to get some endredux into most of the really expensive things, but seeds, entangle, and strangler in particular are without. If you find yourself running dry too often, you could try replacing a confuse, damage, or hold respectively in those powers with an endredux.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.942
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Basic plant-storm: Level 48 Mutation Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Hold(5), Hold(7), RechRdx(13), RechRdx(19)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc(A)
Level 2: Roots -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(15), EndRdx(25), EndRdx(37)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- EndRdx(A)
Level 6: Entangle -- Acc(A), Dmg(7), Dmg(11), Dmg(15)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- Acc(A), Acc(9), Conf(9), Conf(11), RechRdx(13), RechRdx(25)
Level 10: Steamy Mist -- EndRdx(A)
Level 12: [Empty]
Level 14: [Empty]
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(17), RechRdx(17), EndRdx(40)
Level 18: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(19), RechRdx(31)
Level 20: Hurricane -- EndRdx(A), ToHitDeb(21), ToHitDeb(23), ToHitDeb(31)
Level 22: [Empty]
Level 24: [Empty]
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- Acc(A), Acc(27), EndRdx(27), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(34)
Level 28: [Empty]
Level 30: Vines -- Acc(A), Acc(31), Hold(34), Hold(34), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(46)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33)
Level 35: Tornado -- Dmg(A), Dmg(36), EndRdx(36), EndRdx(36), RechRdx(37), RechRdx(37)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Dmg(A), Dmg(39), EndRdx(39), EndRdx(39), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40)
Level 41: Fire Ball -- Acc(A), Dmg(42), Dmg(42), Dmg(42), EndRdx(43), RechRdx(43)
Level 44: Fire Blast -- Acc(A), Dmg(45), Dmg(45), Dmg(45), EndRdx(46), RechRdx(46)
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(23)
Code:
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@MuonNeutrino
Student, Gamer, Altaholic, and future Astronomer.
This is what it means to be a tank!
Quote:
This gives you an idea on why I tried to suggest that are varying opinions. Personally, I think Hurricane is quite important on a Plant/Storm. Seeds is a one-shot control power. If you miss some of the group or get an ambush, you have Vines but sometimes you may not want to use it (or already used it). Hurricane + Roots is almost as good as a hold . . . the foes can't move and they have a lot of trouble hitting you due to the large ToHit Debuff in Hurricane. Plus, you can move them around to bunch them up for your AoE powers like Freezing Rain and Roots.|
Originally Posted by Amy_Amp
Part of the problem for me posting an SO build is just like Local Man said, it's kind of a personal thing. I think he nailed the basics. To me I didn't take Hurricane, but I know other disagree with it. Mine is a pre i19 build so that is a factor as well. I would simply add in the Fighting pool, but I'm doing that in part to stack with my epics and I'll be using IOs and Incarnate powers to cover the end cost, so it's tough for me to say "Run this" when I know I wouldn't run it on SOs either unless teamed with support to handle my end issues. In solo situations, I would just likely not use the Fighting pool since I wouldn't need it in that situation.
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Hurricane takes some practice to use effectively . . . it is actually somewhat rare to see someone use it really, really well. Many folks just don't understand that Hurricane should be used as a situational power, only turned on when it is really needed. (I use an extra button on my mouse to turn it on and off quickly.)
On the other hand, folks who like to play more in melee often don't like Hurricane. Nothing wrong with having a different playstyle.
If you are sticking to an SO only build and not using any IOs at all, then seriously consider taking Super Speed. While the Stealth in Steamy Mist is very, very helpful, getting full invisibility is even better. Not only can you get in a better position for throwing Seeds, but it also lets you run into melee to position your Lightning Storm in just the right position. (In case you haven't used it before, the Storm Cloud shows up directly over your head. One interesting strategy to reduce the knockback is to jump and hit the power just as you reach the top of your jump. This will sometimes turn the Knockback in Lightning Storm to Knockdown.)
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Quote:
Well, Bill sometimes gives good advice in spite of a clear personality disorder because he *doesn't* like Illusion . . .
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Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
Yeeeah... as Amy_Amp alludes to, you're going to be watching your END a fair bit.
In any case, follow Local_man's advice. it's good - even if he *does* like Illusion. (That said, it's actually nice IMO to see someone asking for an SO build instead of "how many billions of INF in SOs can I stick in one?") Think I'd also ask how far along you are with it now, if at all. |
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
I am completely terrible when It comes to slotting. Can anybody give me a SO build I can use while I level up.