Controllers are useless on trials

So, I decided to bring my 50 Earth/Storm controller out of retirement and get him powered up. I rarely saw controllers on trials and I thought he would be an asset. Particularly on BAF. But, guess what? He can't hold anybody! Maybe minions for a few seconds, but it's just miss miss miss, on lieutenants and bosses. Forget AVs. Is this the reason I so rarely see incarnate controllers? Sure, his pet is fine for damage, but the majority of his debuffs and holds are useless.

When you go into trials for the first time like it seems you have, everything is wayyy above your level (+4 I believe) and this is the reason you do not feel useful as you normally would on an iTrial. Once you get the Alpha slotted up and get the other incarnate slots unlocked it will all come together.

I have 3 trollers at T4 and they all seem to do great on trials.

Trollers are very good on trials. I'll agree that the BAF is a special case but trollers aren't just about holds and have many other abilities.

I've a number of trollers that regularly do iTrials - and all of them contribute in a significant way - however it did take a level shift to make a big impact! Once you get there you'll find things get a lot easier and you can get your first with the Alpha slot by running Apex & Tin Mage II

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?"
Thelonious Monk

Don't give up King Namek! Controllers are just as good as anything else on trials! Don't worry if the first couple of times you feel a bit .. overwhelmed! As others have stated, everything is a +4 until you get those powers slotted up! Also, on that BAF, half of the escaping prisoners cannot be held, slowed, knocked, anything! but everything takes damage!

Keep those storm clouds out (and tornado while on the prisoners part) and spam freezing rain like mad! Also, Steamy mist is useful for you and everyone around you as some of those escaping prisoners will confuse you or your team mates! Steamy mist offers good protection!

I quite enjoy running trials. Although I do agree with others that it can take too long to get all your incarnate goodies (still didn't stop me though ), just being in those huge groups, laying waste to stuff, joking with your league mates, it can be a lot of fun

Something I really like about the Itrials is they make powers that were once useless become useful.

Take Gale, for instance. All it does is knockback enemies, and other than a second of damage mitigation there is really no benefit to fighting enemies slightly to the left of where they spawned. But during Keyes I discovered that Gale is one of the best powers to move Warworks away from Terminals. So now my favorite thing to do on Keyes while I'm on my /Storm troller is fly up to the top floor of the reactor, and then use Gale and Hurricane to throw the enemies off the top floor. It's hilarious, and it is more effective than if a tanker tried to taunt the WW away.


The roles you can play as a troller or a defender on an Itrial are so much more diverse than what you do as a troller or defender regularly. These roles are out-of-the-box enough that it goes over a lot of player's heads. Doing things like laying Caltrops along the way to Marauder so enemies don't chase you there, holding the Mother Mayhem clones in phase one so players can rez safely, throwing down a hazard patch in the middle of the TPN terminal room to make it safer for players to pull IDF there, running Tactics and Steamy Mist so the Avatar's confuse fades away twice as fast, using -perception powers on Warworks so players can grab glowies without getting aggroed, Immobilizing Voids so they don't run away, using mass confuse on 9CUs so they all turn on each other and blow themselves to bits, the list can go on and on.

Sure, other ATs have more damage. But, with a tier 3 lore pet you can probably dish out enough damage to solo an AV, and judgements let you plow through enemy groups like a crashless blaster. No, what the controller brings isn't more muscle, but a toolbox that lets a player handle the same situation in strange and unusual ways, supporting the team in a manner that some brute would never think to do.

You don't see trollers on I trials? I say you just don't really run I trials because trollers are on them ALL the time.

In reference to your complaint about being a level 50 no t3 or t4 alpha slotted which makes you -4 to the enemy. Once you get at least t3 in the +1 level shifters like Alpha, Lore and Destiny, you will be more effective with holds.

By the time you are +3 depending on your powerset, you will be able to lock down a door if not two.

As mentioned, BAF is a special case. In most other contests, the ability to neutralize large spawns of critters is a godsend.

Even in the BAF, control is useful on the minion escapees. You won't be able to do anything to LTs, but no one can. Focus on controlling the minions - people with high DPS or at least high burst damage need to deal with the LTs.

If you have no level shifts, well, anyone with no level shifts contributes a lot less on any iTrial, even the two "basic" trials (BAF and Lambda). Getting to +1 helps noticably. Getting to +2 helps a lot. Getting to +3 makes things seem easy.

I love threads like this, doom makes me smile.

And lets stop saying that BAF is a special case. Yes, the Lt. escapees can't be controlled. But the adds in the other phases can be. And if you're going for the "Keep Em Seperated" badge controllers are great for keeping the adds near their spawn point.

You need to get a level shift or two so it won't feel so overwhelming.

Your powersets should be great on trials. Hurricane can pin the escapees in their pens, you have a fair amount of -Defense on the mobs and AVs and if you join a Keyes trial Hurricane can clear the guards at the terminals so you can access them quicker.

It always seems overwhelming when you're on a 50 in those trials. You'll faceplant a lot and feel frustrated but even Alpha at Tier 3 can help your survivability a fair bit.

My first incarnate was my grav/kin controller (the one w/o SB, IR, and ID, by the way). She had Alpha unlocked to Tier 2, I think, on her first BAF. She actually did pretty well vs the escapees when I planted her DIRECTLY in front of a door along with her Singularity, along with one scrapper and one blaster.

Sure, I couldn't keep the hardened commandos down, but throwing Fulcrum Shift on the mobs as they came out meant that the scrapper and blaster were crucifying anything that was left. Then I auto-keyed Power Boost and was spamming Energy Torrent when I wasn't spamming the mass immobilize and mass hold.

We had no escapees from my door. I was so proud.

Figure out your strengths - tactics will make themselves known to you.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I just got a Grav/FF controller to 50 this weekend and took him into a BAF. It rocked. I admit I have a LOT of accuracy and recharge boosts, but the affair went very smoothly during the prisoner phase.

I and the sing immobed the minions while DPS took out the rest. With containment and Fireball, and Repulsion Bomb (which does not get containment bonuses...grr) I actually did okay with helping.

Performance is just going to improve as I add Incarnate bonuses. At +3 I should be able to mow down minion groups and gouge large hp chunks out of the survivors.

I have not done a Lambda yet. I've built my favorite trial characters so that I could survive alone (mostly) in the acids and grenades section, but I don't know if it will be possible even for a +3 controller. Maybe I can find a way to use Force Dome.

Holy flawed generalization Batman!!!

They ARE useful. They fill a slot of the team. Then stand about and receive rewards. Win.

/Felt this way with my 'troller, but that's ok, sometimes you just have to stand around.
//Love the Gale trick, that's total awesomesauce right there.