oedipus_tex

Not sure what this is showing. Is that a pylon time chart? If so I'd say it's not telling the whole story. Sonic Attack is the only blast set other than Beam Rifle that multiplies damage delivered by the rest of team and any pets, including Lore pets. So if it is still doing decent damage with those attacks, its out performing debuff sets that offer -Resist by huge margins, because most of those powers don't do any damage. Sonic Attack is probably in the lower middle of Blaster sets. Its definitely nowhere in the bottom tiers where Assault Rifle is. It is possibly the case that Sonic Attack is much better on Defenders, due to getting -20% Resist per attack instead of -13%. -13% is still extremely impressive however. For a point of comparson, sets like Radiation Emission on a Controller can only get -22.5% and that's without delivering any damage. Since -Resist multiplies all sources of damage--teammates, your pets, Lore pets, powers that can't normally be enhanced like Judgment, damage from Confused mobs, on and on, I'd say Sonic Attack is at a minimum a "decent" Blaster set. I wish I understood how -Resist applies on 24-man leagues better so I could figure out how valuable the -Resist is in that scenario, which is an ideal fish tank for showcasing the capabilities of -Resist due to multiplying so many teammates powers and the high likelihood of Lore pets being involved. I have a 50 Sonic/Cold Defender whose Resist debuff potential is of course amazing. Actually killing anything with him solo on the other hand is a real challenge. If he were a Blaster instead, I'd grab the high damage attacks in the secondary and up his solo times. I think in the case of Sonic Attack especially its not fair to look at the blast attacks in isolation. Blasters have access to very high damage in their secondaries and can fall back on that to cover gaps. The major gap in Sonic is probably lacking a second decent damage AoE blast. That does suck and is hard to make up for if AoE destruction is your goal. On the other hand I've never failed a trial or task force due to lack of AoE.

To be fair to Sonic Attack, -13% Resist per attack really isn't a bad number. Combined with Blasters having nearly bottomless endurance, some self HP or absorb capability, and some other advantages, I think Sonic Attack may be better than it first seems. It also a spammable Sleep cone that's actually pretty good in the context of Blasters. For a comparison point, a lot of debuff Controllers settle for -22.5% damage resist. The Sonic nuke not only does Blaster level Nuke damage, it's a Mag 3 Stun that does 13% damage resist for 20 seconds. If you hit Howl immediately after you're already at -26%. Sonic Attack does have lower base numbers than other Blast sets, but high damage secondary powers are something Blasters can grab easily. That's harder on, say, Defenders. That's not to say I think Sonic Attack is perfection, but I do think it's a bit undersold. Dominators crow about Sleet existing in their APPs, despite that power only barely doing as much debuff as Sonic Attack on a Blaster, and against a single target far worse.

I have never run a Dark character as an AV slayer, so if that is your goal I'm not the person to ask. For general content though Dark does well paired with a Resistance armor, because all the -ToHit only carries you to the soft cap. That usually means you can skimp on defense a bit because the -ToHit effectively caps you. Again, not as relevant in an AV fight. To me, the Psi epic is the "starter pack" that makes the most sense for most Doms if you are new to the class, due to having two places to put LoTG and still getting a Resist armor. Ice is great if you want to be an AV slayer or play on teams that fight AVs a lot. Honorable mention goes to the Leviathan pool, for Water Spout/Hibernate/Resist Armor (Hibe is also part of the Ice pool). It's hard to explain with a pure numbers analysis why Water Spout is so good, it just is. The Spout is technically neither a single target blast or an AoE or a control, it's something between all that. For whatever reason I can't put my finger on exactly, it greatly speeds up my clear times--maybe at least partly explainable by the Spout tending to concentrate its damage on the stragglers so you don't expend clicks taking them out, and providing enough extra control that you don't need to expend you long recharges on small groups.

I understand what you are saying. You are correct that it isn't +25 versus a single roll. It's still +25 to your overall though, and that is what is valuable. It's like trying to paint a room, starting from the center. Anytime you get a bonus to multiple defense vectors in a single power you are able to paint a larger overall area. This is what makes even the small looking +5 and +3 or so bonuses in powers like Arctic Fog, Steamy Mists, etc so powerful. They make it possible to paint the whole room without running out of paint. I wouldn't try to cover multiple defense vectors without Link Minds. You can't, you'll run out of paint before you get there. But the specific combination of Link Minds with Destiny Barrier covers about ~11% toward each vector, which makes soft capping possible. This is also why the developers need to be very careful about adding any additional bonuses to multiple defense vectors. Each one of those lowers the amount of paint I need to reach all corners of the room. Prior to Destiny Barrier and easy access to +3% from Gladiator's Armor it wasn't generally possible for Dominators. Now it very much is with the right build. If you're taking the Psi pool, the Defensive pool, it makes sense to capitalize on the advantage of a global Defense buff. A character capped or close to it to Smash, Lethal, Psi, Ranged and Melee is significantly better armored than the old standard, which is either just Ranged or just Smash/Lethal. You have to worry about the odd AoE attack that is none of these, but chasing these values will still give you pretty good En/Neg/Fire/Cold defense just by incidence. BTW all this why I think the Fire and Psi Assault secondary sets are so valuable. It's a house of cards situation. These sets give you great endurance tools, which means you don't have to make up for that with Destiny. That in turn opens up Destiny Barrier. That, it follows, allows you to paint the room that extra 5 points toward the defense you want, opening up the possibility of capping to multiple positions that you otherwise couldn't. It's a jenga puzzle where even one piece out place makes the whole thing collapse, but the pieces happen to be there for those sets, and it comes together just because the numbers happen to tip you exactly to the point where you cut damage in half by just adding an extra 5% defense.

Oh something I just missed: While slotting the single target Confuse this way is technically fine, that proc has a +global damage proc attached to it that is very nice slotted somewhere you can proc it reliably. Mind Control unfortunately has no obvious options. You could, however, move that to the AoE sleep with a plan to spam it, because its pretty sure to fire there. Then you could change the ST Confuse slotting to a set like Malaise's Illusions. That puts you just a tiny bit underperma dom. However if you're taking Destiny: Ageless and proccing the +Recharge in Psinado you're back at permadom again. Just another option to consider.

This is looking very nice. Great job. With a few minor tweaks I pushed the numbers a bit higher: This would give you 32 to Smash/Lethal/Melee, so if you eat a Purple you're capped to those. You're still capped to Range full time. This also pushes your Smash/Lethal resist to around 53%. In addition, you pick up a bit more slow resist, and kb protection in case you get knocked out of dom mode. This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.6.0 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Heirarch: Level 50 Natural Dominator Primary Power Set: Mind Control Secondary Power Set: Energy Assault Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Mesmerize -- HO:Nucle(A) Level 1: Power Bolt -- Empty(A) Level 2: Dominate -- NrnSht-Dam%(A), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(7), UnbCns-Dam%(7), GldNet-Dam%(9), GldJvl-Dam%(9), Apc-Dam%(11) Level 4: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11) Level 6: Confuse -- SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(A), SprAscoft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(13), SprAscoft-EndRdx/Rchg(13), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(15), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(15), SprAscoft-Rchg/+Dmg%(17) Level 8: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(17) Level 10: Mass Hypnosis -- FrtHyp-Plct%(A), FrtHyp-Sleep/Rchg(19), FrtHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(19), FrtHyp-Acc/Rchg(21), FrtHyp-Sleep/EndRdx(21) Level 12: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(23), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(23) Level 14: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(25), Rct-ResDam%(50) Level 16: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 18: Total Domination -- BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(25), BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(27), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(27) Level 20: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(29) Level 22: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(29) Level 24: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(31), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(31), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(31), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(33), GssSynFr--Build%(33) Level 26: Terrify -- Rgn-Dmg(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(33), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(34), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(34) Level 28: Total Focus -- Hct-Dmg(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(36), SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(36), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37) Level 30: Power Up -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 32: Mass Confusion -- CrcPrs-Conf(A), CrcPrs-Conf/Rchg(37), CrcPrs-Acc/Conf/Rchg(39), CrcPrs-Acc/Rchg(39), CrcPrs-Conf/EndRdx(39), CrcPrs-Conf%(40) Level 35: Link Minds -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(40), HO:Membr(40) Level 38: Power Burst -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(42), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(43) Level 41: Mind Over Body -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(43), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(43), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(45) Level 44: Psionic Tornado -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(45), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(45), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), PstBls-Dam%(46), FrcFdb-Rechg%(46) Level 47: Sniper Blast -- StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(48), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(48), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), StnoftheM-Dam%(50), GldJvl-Dam%(50) Level 49: Indomitable Will -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Domination Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 1: Swift -- Flight-I(A) Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(3), Mrc-Rcvry+(3) Level 1: Stamina -- PwrTrns-+Heal(A), PwrTrns-EndMod(5), PrfShf-End%(5) Level 1: Energy Focus Level 49: Quick Form Level 8: Afterburner ------------

Build's not bad. Do you mind if I nitpick some things? You have no AoE damage in this build other than Terrify. I'd drop World of Confusion for Psionic Tornado. Psi Nado takes a global recharge proc which is very helpful on Dominators. Dominate: This one is hard for me because Dominate can be slotted either for Recharge/Defense or Damage. I've not done a comparison versus Energy Blast to see if procced out Dominate outcompetes any of the powers there. The general rule, though, is that for Mind or Fire Control you should compare the T2 blast to the damage of the procced hold. f the Hold does more damage, you can drop the T2 blast. For example here is Dominate with 6 damage procs, assuming we can put two purple damage procs there: Here is Power Push assuming we went with two damage procs: On top of this, Dominate holds your enemies, while Power Push knocks them back. I'd go with Dominate if there's any way you can. Keep in mind I'm assuming you have enough global accuracy and +ToHit to make procced out Dominate land. You may need Tactics/Kismet. There is some minor +ToHit in Link Minds to assist as well. (For anyone reading this not playing Mind Control, you'd need to factor in the cast time of your hold to see if this tradeoff is worth it. Domination and Power Push have the same cast time, so procced out Dominate does more DPA than Power Push if you cover its accuracy with external buffs.) Power Blast: Even if you don't proc Dominate, drop this. Replace with Power Push if not proccing. Or replace both with procced Dominate. Sniper Blast: Deserves a second damage proc. This is your heaviest hitter, and in a snipe it will proc frequently. Power Burst: I'd not skip this. Power Bolt: You won't be casting this. Zero slots. Assault: Is almost never worth it. Taking Tactics on the other hand may be viable if you want to underslot other powers (to fill them with procs e.g.)

I just realized I read your question incorrectly. RE: whether to cap or not. In general, I picture there being 3 defense thresholds. 32.5% Defense - Soft capped with one small purple inspiration. This is a good number for budget builds, damage heavy proc builds, or for Dark users who will rely on -ToHit to cover the rest of the gap. 40% Defense - Soft capped with Destiny Barrier T4. This is mainly ideal on builds with already good endurance management (Fire and Psi Assault for example). 45% Defense - True soft cap. In addition there are five elements/vectors that are worth chasing: Ranged Melee Smash Lethal Psionic - realistically, only achievable with the Psi APP Smash and Lethal Defense are very easily achieved on set with a Defense armor, like the Ice one. If taking a Defense armor, I would probably try to soft cap these. Three Luck of the Gamblers for example will start you off around 20 Defense, so you only need about 25 more to cap. You'll have no Resistance to back this up so capping is very helpful. Also, I would still consider trying to gather Ranged Defense at a minimum, because a Ranged Fire attack for example completely blows through pure Smash/Lethal Defense. Meanwhile, with the Psi APP you'd get Link Minds and Indom Will, which provides this base: At first glance, Link Minds' 5% or so Defense may not look like much. But let's look at it again cross-referenced with the vectors/elements we said were attractive to chase: +5 Smash +5 Lethal +5 Melee +5 Ranged +5 Psi ___________________ = 25 Defense (Plus the others we don't care as much about but aren't bad to have). In short, the Psi APP makes it realistic to chase a couple of positions. If we are able to lower the target goal from 45% to 40% by running Barrier Destiny T4, we've covered even more ground. For example, here is my Elec/Psi/Psi build on live (actual Defense slightly below the in-game numbers because in the game Stealth has slightly better Defense than Mids reports). This character is able to use Destiny Barrier because Drain Psyche covers most of his endurance bar issues. He isn't quite softcapped--dropping Teleportation pool would easily get him there. But he's so close that IMO the extra Defense doesn't help as much, since eating a purple or any source of -ToHit or +Defense from a teammate caps him again. Part of the reason this build can achieve these thing is a combo of certain powetrtypes: Two holds (all Doms have this, and they are worth a min 7.5% recharge and some Ranged Defense A Snipe (worth 2.5% Ranged Defense and 7.5% Recharge) A Confuse (+5 Ranged, +10 Recharge) A good melee attack (most have this, +5 Smash/Lethal Defense) A few places to put Kinetic Combat (3.75% Smash/Lethal Defense each)

I would take them. The Defense ones offer a place to slot the coveted Luck of the Gambler global recharge proc. The Resistance ones are just generally nice to have. If you go with the Psi APP, capping is a lot easier than probably other sets. Psi is the defensive APP. It means you don't get Sleet, which means lower damage potential, for the cost of safety. Psi also provides a monstrous amount of Psi defense and is the only set with combo resistance and defense. If you can afford two builds, one Psi APP and one Ice APP aren't a bad idea.

By the way, I have one other thought. Given the theme of this set, you might think about the secondary effect being +Absorb on self. There isn't a set currently in game with that effect, and it seems to fit the thematics nicely. Absorb would also be highly desirable for Dominators, since they have few sources of mitigation to work with. Absorb is also something you don't have to worry too much about being overpowered, because it has a duration and any extra HP values quickly fall off. I'd say a 10 second absorb or something similar might be in the right ballpark. The idea isn't turning you into a tank, just providing a bit of buffer. It would be especially useful in a bread and butter AoE control to absorb a portion of the damage from stuff that didn't get mezzed. Dominators in particular currently have to just eat that damage.

Gravity Control's attraction mechanic uses server code that was custom-created for the Homecoming server, so unfortunately it is not something anyone other than an actual Homecoming developer would be able to supply. The POWER defs I've shared come from the publicly available Ourodev version of CoX, which uses Issue 24 code. You can access this info for any powerset in the game by creating an account on the Ourodev site and navigating the files here: https://git.ourodev.com/CoX/i2401-bin-server/-/tree/master/bin/serverdata/Defs/powers To save you time I've attached the POWERs files for the Controller and Dominator versions of Gravity Control. Having worked on a few of these myself now, I recommend using the Dominator version first and then backending the Controller version, because its easier to backform a Controller set based on a Dominator one than the inverse (what I mean is if you don't start with the Dom version you can find yourself painted into a corner where you realize adding Domination won't be easy, where as converting to add Containment/Overpower is a very short process). Keep in mind I'm not suggesting you have to create a full prototype on a test server and actually run it. The POWERS files may just be a convenient way for you to organize your thoughts and make sure the powerset looks structurally similar to existing sets. Dominator_Control_Gravity_Control.powers Controller_Control_Gravity_Control.powers

A lot of the older powersets were generated from an Excel export script. You can basically ignore that line though. You can edit the things in Notepad++ if you like, as long as you are mindful about spelling and formatting. They are just text files with fancy file extensions.

I think if you have the skill level to write a post as in depth as this, you probably have the skill level to write the actual powerset. But, it's a lengthy process, and writing the set is only partof the equation. Unless you only care about having the set on your private server, you need to find a server to adopt them. So far I haven't found a server to house the couple of sets I've modded (on the other hand, haven't really advertised them either). In general, not needing new particles cuts development time down by around 90%. At least that's my experience. What you're proposing here could probably mostly reuse existing particles, which means no creating and toying with FX and PART files. I don't mean to make it sound easy but since you seem to have a strong grasp of the game's mechanics, its certainly doable. I attached a few sample DEF file from the public I24 code if you decide to bring your write ups closer to prototypes. DEFs are where most of the actual code definitions go in a powerset (but not graphics/animations, those are in the PFX files you'll see referenced in the DEF). Interestingly, if a power uses the exact same animation and powers as another power, you can keep the same PFX file and just change the DEF and get the same particles and animation but a new effect. Of course, its typical to copy and paste the PFX file with a new name, but that's where a lot of time savings occur. Dominator_Control_Mind_Control.powers Controller_Buff_Force_Field.powers

My main is an Electric Dom and I also think it's too good to skip. Personally I 6 slot it with the Dom ATO so every time I drop the patch (which I do often) I got the +30% damage proc. I also open with Static Field, not usually Synaptic Overload. I like to position it so that enemies at the back of the pack run toward it/me and end up in a nicely positioned pack. This is somewhat more feasible on builds with enough Defense to weather any potshots they throw. Note you can have more than one Static Field active at a time and the combined effect sleep bosses and even occasionally Elite Bosses. In this video you can see how often I cast it. I have one macro for dropping it under myself, and a second one for dropping it under a target. I switch back and forth depending on what I need to do.

Dark probably. Energy as a second choice. Electric is a set I'd like to see get more love from the devs.

IMO Dominators are really two different classes. There is the Dominator base class, which is generally weaker than other base classes, and the Dominator end game class, which is only slightly weaker than the other end game classes, and actually has its own weird niche where in very specific circumstances it outperform anyone. That said, the gap and playstyle difference between the base class and the end game class is significant. In addition to Sleet in the Ice APP, the other monster performing set is the Psi APP. It provides you with better Psi Defense than you can find even on most actual armor classes. It's held back by low AoE damage. But, if survivability is your game only Controllers can claim to have a similar leg up, and they (generally) don't bring the damage of a Dominator. Like I said, a niche. IMO if you are the sort of player who likes seeking out weird, specific builds that can master unusual circumstances not often seen in normal missions, you'll love Dominators. If you're looking to crush farms, down pylons, or standard mission content I'd look elsewhere. For iTrials I'd look at any other class.

Here's the build I used on my Earth/Dark Dominator. It could use some fine tuning. I picked Leviathan as the APP for Water Spout, a Resist armor, and Hibernate. Defense to Slash/Lethal/Melee and Ranged is below cap but after hitting enemies with Power Up'ed Dark Blasts + Earthquake you should be capped most of the time vs everything but an AV. If feeling pressure you can also cap by eating a single Purple inspiration. This is meant to be played with Destiny Ageless as the Destiny power choice, and may eat too much endurance to be viable prior to that. You could definitely swap out Grant Invisibility if you wanted. It's mildly useful to make your pet invisible and give him a touch of extra defense but hardly gamebreaking. Just be aware losing the LoTG there drops your global Recharge below permadom levels without outside boosters (a base booster or the extra Recharge in Ageless managed well). This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.6.0 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Science Dominator Primary Power Set: Earth Control Secondary Power Set: Dark Assault Power Pool: Concealment Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Fossilize -- BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(A), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(3), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(3), BslGaz-Acc/Hold(5) Level 1: Dark Blast -- Acc-I(A) Level 2: Smite -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(5), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(9) Level 4: Gloom -- SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(A), SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(13), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(15) Level 6: Stone Cages -- PstBls-Dam%(A), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(17), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(19), PstBls-Acc/Dmg(19) Level 8: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(21) Level 12: Stalagmites -- SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(A), SprAscoft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(21), SprAscoft-EndRdx/Rchg(23), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(23), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(25), SprAscoft-Rchg/+Dmg%(25) Level 14: Super Speed -- WntGif-ResSlow(A) Level 16: Gather Shadows -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 18: Earthquake -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/Rchg(27), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(27), DarWtcDsp-Rchg/EndRdx(29), FrcFdb-Rechg%(29) Level 20: Engulfing Darkness -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Rchg(31), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(31), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Obl-%Dam(33) Level 22: Boxing -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(33), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(34), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34) Level 24: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(34), UnbGrd-ResDam(36), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(36), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(36), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(37) Level 26: Volcanic Gasses -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(37), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(37), BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(39) Level 28: Life Drain -- TchoftheN-Heal(A), TchoftheN-Acc/Heal(39), Acc-I(39) Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(45) Level 32: Animate Stone -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(40), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(40), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(42), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(42) Level 35: Water Spout -- Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Rgn-Knock%(42), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(43), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43) Level 38: Moon Beam -- StnoftheM-Dam%(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(45), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(45), StnoftheM-Acc/ActRdx/Rng(46), StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(46), GldJvl-Dam%(46) Level 41: Grant Invisibility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 44: Shark Skin -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(48), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(48), UnbGrd-ResDam(50) Level 47: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 49: Hibernate -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Domination Level 1: Brawl -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(48), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(50), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(9) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(11), EndMod-I(11) Level 49: Quick Form Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon Level 41: Speed Phase ------------ | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1507;694;1388;HEX;| |78DA65945B4F134114C767BA5B0BA5E522965B8196CAB5D4960AEAA331148D5A129| |4C457B2D60DDD585BD2AE441E8DE103881ABF82B7F8E205F0F2E407F01250BF808F| |0A020A44713DECF9D3927492E6B7F33F7366CE9973A6A337129EA7676E9E14B2663| 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I'm gonna do the reverse and tell you what not to skip and let you work backward from there. 🙂 Don't skip (more or less in order of what not to skip): Hasten, because the huge sacrifices you'll have to make getting back to permadom status are too steep Power Up, because the power boost effect is one of the main attractions of Energy Dominate, it's a very fast casting Hold. If you have room in the build you can proc for huge damage, tho this isn't always possible for Doms due to needing to hit permadom recharge, still worth aiming for though Sniper Blast (or any snipe on a Dominator), slot it with Sting of the Manticore x5 and 1 damage proc Total Focus, because of the guaranteed Charge effect Power Burst, because it can be used to expend that charge ~~Some kind of AoE blast in the apps, whichever you choose, because that's only place Dominators get a good one. Terrify, because it's a decent, not great, AoE damage power. Don't even worry about Fear duration since you can Power Up it Mass Confusion, because despite its long recharge its one of the main reasons to play Mind over another set Total Domination to cover downtime of Mass Confusion. Other Control sets can sometimes skip the AoE Hold, Mind really cannot Whirling Hands for some extra AoE but also because it will likely provide good slotting due to being a PBAoE Power Push, because it has better DPA than either Bone Smasher or Power Blast. Altho you can swap Bone Smasher in here if the knockback bothers you (more annoying on Mind than other Control sets) ~~Various +Def powers to aid personal defenses and slot LoTG to get you toward permadom ~~Utility powers from the APPs Mass Hypnosis, I usually try to take this in a final slot, not strictly needed but its not terrible either, mainly due to it working on AVs on the rare occasion you need it do that Confuse, because it takes good set bonuses and is generally useful. But can be cut if you really need to Middling powers that are maybe on the cut list are: Telekinesis, even if its occasionally useful it takes no sets at all, big drag on a tight Dom build Levitate, because of bad damage Mesmeriza, because a permaDominator can just cast Mass Hypnosis Power Blast, low DPA, Power Push is just better Bone Smasher, this is more iffy. It's not bad but its point blank range and Power Push actually does more damage. It does have an interesting secondary effect and I can see why some people would want it.

This an excellent concept and well written post. I agree that Force Fields are a rich area in Superhero lore with a lot of opportunities for set design. Its hard for me to evaluate how a set will perform without seeing it built out in a prototype. The sets I've proto'ed have often dramatically changed between the whiteboard and development phases. The power I'd like to think more about is the T9, mainly because of it having both a long cooldown and an enemy flag requirement. In general, what I've found with control powers is that rather than include a conditional, its often more balanced to just let the power apply the majority of the effect itself, and only provide a minor bonus conditional. However, variation between the sets is also a goal, so it may turn out okay in context. In terms of viability, most of what you've proposed here is very graphically doable, since Force Field already provides most of the particles. The Force Field set of particles in my experience tend to be among the easier to repurpose and recolor, which is a big draw. I'm not sure what process Homecoming uses to build particle systems, but the only method I've seen is brute force, which is challenging and time consuming. Great post.

Yep it appears I was wrong. The travel speed doesn't stack as noted above. I corrected my post. Thanks for looking into it. 🙂

Repulsion Field is actually somewhat good on Blasters because they actually have the endurance to pay for it, unlike most actual Force Field characters. Repulsion Bomb is pretty bad on any archetype though.

IMO Infiltration taking LoTG makes it so much better than a lot of other travel powers that I almost want to ask the reverse question. 🙂 I believe you can stack Infilitration with Ninja Run, it doesn't replace. So with both toggles you run twice as fast, before IOs. Plus you're potentially invisible, and can get +7.5% global recharge. It's mildly annoying that you can't run Infilitration and Stealth at the same time but that's the limit of my complaining. EDIT: Apparently only the highest value stacks, as noted below. However you can still slot LOTG.

You are a Blaster and probably shouldn't be too worried about endurance costs. I'd slot End Mod over End Redux, but only bother with a few powers. If you are slotting sets you'll naturally pick up some End Redux anyway. There are also End Mod sets that deal damage created specifically for Homecoming. They are cheap and fairly effective. Oh BTW in your Sustain, you do want to slot End Mod for sure, not End Redux (if End Redux is even an option).

Thanks for sharing the build. I didn't see a build link so had to go by the photo. What stands out right away is you skipped Hot Feet. Is this a character you've already rolled and already play this way? Or is this a theoretical build? IMO if you're going to skip Hot Feet you'd do better to go with a different set than Fire. Fire trades away some of its control ability for the damage in Hot Feet. The damage is significant and while there are times you won't want to risk it, you'll slow yourself down a lot by skipping it. The endurance bar refill in Consume makes running Hot Feet very manageable so you shouldn't see any issues there. If you already played this character to 50 playing this way and are determined to continue avoiding Hot Feet, it's an option, but also a maverick strategy. Just based on what I can see in the photo, a few other recommendations: Health and Stamina are both way overslotted. You have Consume, an endurance bar refill, and shouldn't be struggling with endurance. I just noticed you skipped Char and took Ring of Fire. Reverse this, Char is one of the best Holds in the game. You are missing Gladiator's Armor and Steadfast Protection procs, which together provide an easy +6 defense to all. You seem to be missing Luck of the Gambler +Recharge as well from your Defense powers. There are a lot of sets in general I don't recognize. I'm going to take a guess on some of these on best options: Flashfire: Move Dominator ATO set here Fire Imps: Replace with Expedient Reinforcement Fireball: Replace with Positron's Blast, Ragnarok, or Artillery Fireblast and Flares: Thunderstrike (cheap), or Apocalypse, Superior Winter's Bite (expensive) Blazing Bolt: x5 Sting of the Manticore, Gladiator's avelin proc is standard slotting for all snipes Cinders: x4 Basilisk's Gaze Drop: Ring of Fire, Assault, Smoke Take: Char, Hot Feet, Rain of Fire

Altho I'm not a big lover of Mind Control, the glass half full part of me has me curious whether a Mind/Dark build could potentially deal enough damage to be an AV soloist similar to the Dark/Dark builds you've posted. Mind/Dark should be able to proc out Dominate for significant damage, and if it gets into a dangerous spot, can hit Hypnosis to halt the fight. At least on paper, Mind's single target damage chain is great. The Mind build would need enough accuracy for Dominate to land consistently, and enough Defense for the lost -ToHit to not matter. On a build devoted to it, both seem achievable. On the other hand, Mind Control's lack of pets may mean even with a fierce attack chain Mind doesn't keep up. I'm not sure how much damage Haunt and the dog pet contribute and their survivability in a real situation. Also I imagine the lack of an immobilize starts to suck real quickly, tho in theory Dark Assault does have a (melee range) immobilize if you are brave enough to use it. One big takeaway from all this though is that Drain Life is significantly better than I ever gave it credit for being. I did have a 50 Earth/Dark I never thought much of, but seeing how Drain Life plays into single target battles my estimation of it has changed. Now having played with it more, I'd move Dark Assault into the S Tier, alongside Fire and Psi as a top Dominator set.