Lol I was going to suggest dominator until I reread the first paragraph
Given those options, your best choice would be Plant/Storm. I have 6 /storms, so I may be a bit biased though...
If the team is dead-set on having buffs, I'd suggest Fire/Empath, though
Here's a very quick "in a nutshell" recap to consider:
Fire - decent control, higher damage, performs consistently across the various enemy types
Earth - outstanding control, low damage, has an answer to deal with any enemy type
Plant - outstanding control when enemy is not confuse resistant, high damage, if enemy can't be confused it struggles with control.
Time - looks like it offers more support for teammates, via buffs. I have no hands-on experience with Time yet.
Storm - very good debuffs starting at a low level. Would probably offer more self protection than Time.
I'd say there's nothing wrong with any of those 6 choices you mentioned. Nor would I say that whatever may be "the best" of them is so superior as to be a clear choice for selection. Whatever appeals to you the most would be "the right" choice.
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Fire/Time if you don't mind them being angry at you for being too good 
The buffs are very good the controls exceptional and once you get to 32 the damage is also very good.
Smoke + Time Juncture + Hot Feet + Fire cages + Fire Flash + Time Distortion and nothing moves. Then you still have Cinders and Time Stop and Time Crawl for the next group, that is just at level 22.
Edit* - I just read you never played a controller before! Ok, a more hands on how to guide.
Approach the mob and at distance use Smoke, as the team goes in use Flash Fire and drop Time Distortion. You will have Time Juncture and Hot Feet toogled on. Then immediately Fire Cage to freeze everything from wandering. Bosses hit with Time Crawl and then Time Stop and it generates a Mag 4 Hold that stops any boss.
Use You single player heal on a blaster or your melee that takes the alpha as it caused increased regen and also it boosts the level of your regular AoE heal.
Then save Cinders for the next group!
Quote:
I've played all those stormies exhaustively and I think Earth/Storm might be my fave. Mind you, they are all beasty, but Earth offers all the control you need. And /Storm compensates the poor damage of Earth.|
Originally Posted by cybrstorm
I am coming back to the game form a 2 year absense. I am going to be playing on a team with 4 people (perhaps 5) on a regular basis. These are all first time COH players. I was initially going to build a Dominator, but for the criteria I mentioned they said a controller would be a better fit.
My question is on a small team of 4-5 players (including myself), which combo would be the best fit. The team-mates will be playing blaters and scrappers more than likely. I want to be able to debuff/buff, lockdown and heal. Damage wouldnt hurt either to help them out, but if they can pump out enough, it may not be necessary. After a bit of research since I have never played a controller before (my exp. has been with blasters and scrappers) Here is what I am leaning toward: Fire/Time Earth/Time Plant/Time ---or---- Fire/Storm Earth/Storm Plant/Storm What would be the best combo out of those for a smaller team of primarily offensive builds? |
I can't advise on /Time because I haven't played it nor I plan to any time soon. Pun not intended :P
@False Fiction - Virtue / Defiant
Current projects - [Glaciologist - Ill/Cold Troller] [Cloudshaper - Storm/Dark Def] [Harald Wartooth - Elec/Psi Domi]
Quote:
There will probably be as many opinions as there are posts. Everyone has their favorites, and quite a few controllers would work very well for the purposes you indicated.|
Originally Posted by cybrstorm
I am coming back to the game form a 2 year absense. I am going to be playing on a team with 4 people (perhaps 5) on a regular basis. These are all first time COH players. I was initially going to build a Dominator, but for the criteria I mentioned they said a controller would be a better fit.
My question is on a small team of 4-5 players (including myself), which combo would be the best fit. The team-mates will be playing blaters and scrappers more than likely. I want to be able to debuff/buff, lockdown and heal. Damage wouldnt hurt either to help them out, but if they can pump out enough, it may not be necessary. After a bit of research since I have never played a controller before (my exp. has been with blasters and scrappers) Here is what I am leaning toward: Fire/Time Earth/Time Plant/Time ---or---- Fire/Storm Earth/Storm Plant/Storm What would be the best combo out of those for a smaller team of primarily offensive builds? |
Deacon gave a short summary of a few sets, but I'm not sure there was enough information there. I'll give you my somewhat more longwinded version:
Time is a brand new secondary, and while many people have opinions that it should be very powerful, only a few people in the Beta have played it a bunch, and they tend to be the "power players." It certainly has some appeal for a melee-oriented set with the large ToHit Debuff toggle. And it has some ally-only powers, an odd heal and some other neat stuff. Most of us are only guessing on whether it has great synergy with the control sets.
Fire Control: The key powers are -- Char, Fire Cages, Hot Feet, Flashfire, Cinders and Fire Imps. Ring of Fire, Smoke and Bonfire are optional depending upon your playstyle. Personally, I like Bonfire and have found the others skippable. Fire is the highest damage controller, and is a set that puts you in melee in order to take advantage of Hot Feet. It relies heavily on Flashfire's stun, so while that is recharging, you may have a problem with new foes. It is an offensive, more aggressive controller that fits many people's playstyle. Fire pairs wonderfully with Kinetics and Radiation. (I have two Fire/Rads at 50 and a Fire/Kin at 45.) Fire/Storm is very powerful but one of the most endurance draining builds in the game. Fire/Time looks interesting on paper, but I don't have experience with it. With your team of New player Blasters and Scrappers? I would suggest something less offensive as they should be providing the offense. Your goal should be to let your buddies have fun doing what they do best, rather than stealing the damage from them.
Earth Control is one of my favorites -- I wrote a guide on Earth/Rad, and also have an Earth/Storm at 50 as one of my favorite characters. Earth is the best ranged AoE control set in the game, but trades that great AoE control for low damage. The only optional powers are Stone Prison and Salt Crystals. One of the best parts of Earth Control is not only the great AoE control, but also the Defense Debuff helps teammates hit more reliably with less worry about slotting heavily for accuracy. Use Quicksand a LOT, for both the slow and Defense Debuff. There are three main AoE control options -- Stalagmites+Stone Cages (+Quicksand), Earthquake (+Quicksand), and Volcanic Gasses (+Quicksand). Those are three different types of AoE control, so you can handle any situation. Earth goes very well with Radiation and Storm, and goes pretty well with the other secondaries, too. For a team of newbie Blasters and Scrappers, Earth Control would be outstanding. Earth can keep groups in one place, controlled, while teammates beat up on them. It is also visually impressive. The pet will also fill a gap in your team make-up, as Rocky can act as a tank for your little group.
Plant is a popular control set for good reason. It has the second highest damage after Fire, and has better control that becomes available in low levels. It is easier to level up than a Fire Controller. However, it is a bit of a "one-trick pony" that relies heavily on Seeds of Confusion. Once you have thrown the Seeds cone, you have a lack of control until Seeds recharges. The damage comes from a combination of Roots (The AoE Immob does twice the damage of the AoE Immob in other control sets.) and Carrion Creepers, a unique power that does damage, some control and some distraction and follows you around a bit. Visually, Plant is fun and has the most fun looking pet. For a team of newbie Blasters and Scrappers? I would rank it better than Fire, but not better than Earth. In your situation of newbie players playing offensive characters, you need more control than offense. Plant does great on the initial group, but until you can load up on a lot of Recharge, you may have to wait around for Seeds to Recharge.
Illusion is my favorite control set, and it would work well for your team . . . once you hit 18. Your team is lacking a Tank, and Illusion's Phantom Army would provide that. My favorite character in the game is my Ill/Rad, with Ill/Cold and Ill/Storm pretty close. Illusion is lacking in AoE control, however, so while it would work well, it may not be ideal for your little group. Illusion is ideal as a second controller on a team, however.
Ice Control would work well, but it is a low damage, melee-oriented set. Mind has lots of AoE control, but not until late in the build. Electric provides good AoE control with low damage . . . but lots of Damage over Time is a problem for Electric Control -- it would depend upon the powersets of your teammates to determine if Electric would be a great set for you. Gravity? It has pretty poor AoE control -- better as a solo controller in my opinion.
As for Secondaries other than Time, Rad works with everything, is very flexible and provides a lot of benefits for teams as well as solo. Kinetics mostly puts you in melee and is very, very busy to play, but will substantially help the team kill stuff faster. Kinetics is very offensive-focused, and lacks much in the defensive end. Storm is a great and variable set of powers, as well as being visually impressive. It is a challenge, however, to learn how to limit the knockback and use it to benefit the team -- a badly played Stormie is more of a liability than a help because he can scatter foes all over the place. Other secondaries have their benefits . . . Therm is a nice combo of buffs and debuffs with heals and Resistance Shields. Cold adds a lot of Defense and Resistance Debuffs -- it is late blooming but very powerful for taking down tough targets. Empathy is healing and buffs, but no defense or debuffs. Sonic and FF are the least used secondaries for good reason, but they have their uses.
For your team? I would consider an Earth/Rad first. Rad provides a heal, team buffs and a rez. Earth/Storm is a very good choice as long as you can learn how to control the knockback, but its heal is weak, no team buffs and it has no rez power (which might not be a problem for higher level players, but will definitely be useful for a team of newbies). Earth/Time looks like fun, but mine is pretty low level so far. (I rolled up both Ill/Time and Earth/Time, and I may try a Fire/Time.)
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Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Hmmm, so Earth/Time sounds like it is going to be a contender for me. How are the heals on Time?
A day without sunshine is like...you know...night time.
Time has 3 heals.
The first one you get is and it isn't very strong until mixed with heal 2 or 3. Temporal Mending - PBAoE, Ally +Heal, Heal Over Time, +Res(Slow, Regen Debuff)
The second is Temporal Selection
Ally, +Damage, +Recharge, +Regeneration
You distort time around an ally, selecting a period of time where their abilities are at their highest. Their damage, attack rate and regeneration rates are dramatically increased for a brief period. This power places the Accelerated effect on the target. While this is in effect, the target has any healing and healing over time effects from Temporal Mending or Chrono Shift significantly increased. Recharge: Very Long
Designer's Comments: Temporal Selection is another pivotal power. Not only does it significantly boost the target's damage, attack rate and regeneration, but it also applies the Accelerated effect. This special effect will cause affected allies to receive a 50% bonus from Temporal Mending and Chrono Shift.
The 3rd heal is sort of a god mode for a short time for your team Chrono Shift
PBAoE, Team +Recharge, Heal, +End, Moderate Healing over Time, +Recovery
You cause nearby allies to act more quickly by allowing them to slip through the time stream seamlessly. When Chrono Shift is activated, you and nearby allies will immediately recover a portion of your health and endurance. Chrono Shift will greatly increase the Recharge Speed of nearby allies for the duration of the power, additionally for a short while the flow of time will constantly undo a portion of your allies' wounds causing them to periodically recover health and recover endurance. An ally affected by Temporal Selection will recover additional health from Chrono Shift. Chrono Shift will apply a regeneration bonus instead of heal over time for a short while if the user is in a PvP zone. Recharge: Very Long
Designer's Comments: Chrono Shift is a tremendously useful buff for all nearby allies. It can help you recover from a nasty situation where massive damage has been dealt or your team's endurance has been sapped. Alternatively it can be used preemptively so your allies have a heal over time effect when they enter combat. Regardless of how you use it Accelerated targets will gain a +50% bonus to the healing they receive and all targets will receive a hefty bonus to their recharge. This includes the caster. This can really take the sting out of the long cooldown on this and other powers within the Time Manipulation set. However, this power has a very long cooldown time.
The other important power while not a heal is a strong buff - Farsight
PBAoE Team, +To-Hit, +Defense(All), +Perception
You give your allies a brief glimpse of the future and what is to come. This provides you and your team a moderate increase to your chance to hit and defense for a short period of time. Recharge: Very Long
Designer's Comments: Farsight is the quintessential buff power for the set. It provides a good sized boost to defense to all nearby allies as well as a moderate increase to chance to hit, what's not to like about that?
Usually if you're doing well as a controller, your team doesn't need much in the way of heals.
I wouldn't recommend Fire, since it seems like your team has damage covered, and I think its lacking for a long time in control.
Earth is great- its not much damage, but you can keep control of the situation well, preventing much enemy attack.
Plant is another fun set that has a good amount of control, though not quite as much as Earth. Its more quirky and may be more fun for you. I like both Earth and Plant for different reasons.
Time is a fun "little bit of everything" type of set. It would probably be a good fit. It has some healing, buffs, and debuffs.
Storm is probably a bit chaotic, it tends to annoy melee players, since knockback can often just make them chase what they're fighting.
I enjoy Time immensely but I havn't had a lot of hands-on experience with Storm.
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Character List
I am coming back to the game form a 2 year absense. I am going to be playing on a team with 4 people (perhaps 5) on a regular basis. These are all first time COH players. I was initially going to build a Dominator, but for the criteria I mentioned they said a controller would be a better fit.
My question is on a small team of 4-5 players (including myself), which combo would be the best fit. The team-mates will be playing blaters and scrappers more than likely. I want to be able to debuff/buff, lockdown and heal. Damage wouldnt hurt either to help them out, but if they can pump out enough, it may not be necessary. After a bit of research since I have never played a controller before (my exp. has been with blasters and scrappers) Here is what I am leaning toward:
Fire/Time
Earth/Time
Plant/Time
---or----
Fire/Storm
Earth/Storm
Plant/Storm
What would be the best combo out of those for a smaller team of primarily offensive builds?
A day without sunshine is like...you know...night time.