Guilty of the sin of Bonfire

I was in a team this morning and as a Fire/Time controller I often use Bonfire as a way to protect the squishies.

I don't drop it in the middle of a group unless things go badly and we have pulled a second or third group - then I fling it at them so it buys us some time. I will drop Bonfire centered on ranged players. Then the melee heavy bosses never reach them.

I had ran a couple of missions with a team and had been doing this when the scrapper in a full team starts complaining:

Scrapper: Bonfire sucks - it throws everything all over.
Me: I don't use it on the group - I use it under our blasters and controllers - like this and toss one under us so no melee attacks get near
Scrapper: it makes the buffs not works and scatters everything so we can't use AoE's
Me: I am not doing that - I am protecting the squishies but if it offends you so badly - have a nice day and take care all. /quit team

I am beginning to hate the Exalted server.

I have this sort of conversation on any power that doesn't neatly stack the mobs in killing order and instantly wipe them out. It seriously appears more and more like all people want is no effort instant killing sprees buffed to the gills and unphased by the enemy.

Sorry folks just had to vent - the VIP server more and more stands for Very Intolerant Players.

Bonfire making buffs not work? Is he/she dumb? lol

Secondly, bonfire...a sin? Whaaaat?

I've played with my friend who uses a fire/devices/fire mastery blaster and he uses bonfire as a good tool to juggle, and those "oh crap" moments when he needs melee protection. Since he is a /devices.

It's an awesome power, and loads of fun in smaller rooms

Good job on your part. No need to stick around with someone or a team that is not understanding the actual situation. On a side note, I used the fire cages+bonfire (in the middle of the caged mobs) all the way to 50 on one character. Cages held them in place so the bonfire KB was negated, unless cages missed which was rarely more than 1-2 foes. But overall I was happy with it. Didn't realize the full glory of Hot Feet until late 40s. Now I like Cages+Bonfire+Hot Feet+Imps. If I can't hit the baddies well enough with cages I stop using the Bonfire tactic, but it's too good to pass up on a caged group of foes.

Good play etiquette on your part for being aware of the scrapper and trying to not mess with his playstyle. Best of luck!!!

It's fine if used properly. I'm not typically a fan, but I also don't get bent out of shape if its not disrupting the team or if it's helping keep others alive.

I'm a big fan of Bonfire . . . when used properly. It is a very situational power and I find that it is not needed the vast majority of the time. Folks who use it a lot often don't realize how disruptive it can be, because they don't know what other characters were planning. I only use it mostly as a barrier and to protect squishy teammates when I see that they need protection and not as a regular practice. Why? because sometimes those teammates may want to lure in foes for some purpose.


Most of the folks I see who use Bonfire a lot, use it too much. When used too much, Bonfire can be disruptive. I was on a team recently . . . I was on my Ice/Storm, and we had a Fire/Emp throwing around Bonfire a bunch. My Ice/Storm is more of a melee controller who prefers to be close to the foes. Unfortunately, the Bonfire often disrupted my ability to use my Arctic Air and would sometimes interfere with my Ice Slick (of course, his Fire Cages was doing that, too). I didn't say anything, but it disrupted my ability to use my controls.

It could be that your teammate has run into too many people who use the power improperly, and was assuming that you would too. It could be that your teammate was a buffoon who is not considerate of others wanting to use their powers effectively. I think you pulled the trigger a little too fast. By quitting, you made the other teammates miss out on your contributions, and you missed an opportunity to educate someone. Show him how the power can be used properly. If he's still a jerk, you could quit when he proves it after giving him a little bit more of a chance to see that he's wrong.

I have a Fire/Kin Controller, and I find Bonfire perfectly fine for battlefield control. Like you, I use it to protect squishies, destructible items, and even block corridors so the bad guys can't follow us around corners.

Sometimes, the power just keeps smacking a bad guy repeatedly against a corner. If I could make it do that every time, I'd have another hold.

I don't think that would be exclusive to Exalted, but I've had something similar in the last few weeks.

I was doing a Synapse TF on my Electric/Time Controller. I'd drop my Static Field to put everything to sleep (and drain endurance) and I would also throw out Chain Fences also for the drain. I didn't really care about the immobilize.

One of the Brutes started complaining that it was hurting their herding and grouping things together for AoEs and whatnot. I was fine with this, so I stopped using my AoE controls for a bit, which really left me not doing all that much. After a few minutes, I noticed that we really were not doing anything differently even slightly. No grouping. No gathering. We just ran in, attacked a mob and moved on. So eventually, I just continued on my way controlling everything that I could.

Eventually, the guy said something along the lines of "For the love of God, stop with the immobilizations and sleeps." To which, I pretty much paraphrased what I said above, and continued controlling for the rest of the Task Force.

I'm going to use my powers.

I LOVE bonfire. I love to use it with fire cages and hotfeet to melt everything. Back before domination changes I used this combo frequently and melted EB's very quickly on my Fire/Elec.

Bonfire can be hit or miss. My usual rule on a team is you're placing it underneath enemies instead of away from them it's being used wrong. The most frustrating uses I've seen of Bonfire have been on BAF trials where people put it right under the spawn point for the incoming robots, dispersing a tightly packed group all over the area.

Solo, Bonfire is a really nice power with many uses. One of the best I've found if you're of fire farming bent is to find a map with a choke point and have all the enemies chase you there, then throw down a Bonfire so they are unable to stand up. Works better for Dominators and Blasters because they don't need Containment.