oedipus_tex

I'm already in trouble on this forum for how I worded a recent response to someone seeking a build so I will work harder to be clear this time. 🙂 The preface is that in this game you can make anything basically work. The add-on to that is there are some combos that are still not likely to be great performers and where, as someone who personally doesn't have a lot cash, I'd be reluctant to invest. That's the case here. The nutshell version: Both Gravity Control and Electric Assault are low performers on Dominators. They can sometimes be salvaged by being paired with a particularly strong or synergistic primary or secondary. Together they offer a mish mash of effects that don't particularly compliment each other. If you are determined to stick with it, you'll want to do an analysis of the DPA in the Gravity attacks vs the Electric attacks and figure out which attacks aren't worth it. The problem here is there are a lot of attacks with relatively quick recharges and low damage that are redundant and these powers are eating up good power slots you'd get with a different set. The only real positive thing I can say here is at least the high damage in Lift offsets the missing T3 blast in Electric. Electric Assault's secondary effect, endurance drain, is unlikely to come into play as a factor at any time in your career. Even paired with the Mu APP it doesn't provide enough drain for it to matter. Again I have not done the math down to the T on this specific combo, but you'll probably want to skip Propel. I suppose the AoE knockdown effect it has is still somewhat at lower levels, especially given how weak Gravity's actual control options are, but it has lower DPA than Lift and many other powers. I keep hoping the developers will bump Propel's Recharge time on Dominators into the 20 second range and make it a real heavy hitter but until/unless that happens it's usually not a power I find attractive on Dominators. (Controllers are another story, since Controllers don't normally get blast attacks).

I think the meta has shifted a bit away from softcapping with IOs. It's not that softcapping isn't still useful, it's that there are inspirations for Defense but not for Recharge or for damage procs. I aim for 32.5 Defense on most builds. That's one small purple away from soft capped. It's also more or less one medium strength -ToHit power on +3 enemies (at end game you don't actually fight +4s). Builds that specifically tackle archvillains may still find "real" soft capping useful because inspirations don't drop while you're fighting a long battle against a single long living target. I actually think that's a nice bit of balance through diversity.

Either Fire or Savage pairs excellently with Dark Control. Fire has better endurance management, Savage has better AoE.

I used to main Ice/Fire on live (when Fire looked a bit different) and have a Fire/Ice. Ice/Fire pair fairly well. Ice is always gonna be Ice but Fire is very strong. Fire's Consume power helps a lot with the endurance costs of running Arctic Air. The fact that Fire's ranged blast capability is so good is super helpful because it lets you position Arctic Air strategically versus having it end up wherever you're standing. Fire/Ice is a difficult to describe beast. On the plus side you get Flashfire. On the downside, Fire/Ice is an endurance hog and has a very narrow valve of safety outside of its Stun power. You don't have a Blaster's bottomless endurance or nuke or self heal or Aim/Build Up. As a Dominator you get a pet, but a fragile one that is difficult to leverage or support. The combo is sorta fun but I can't help but feel a Ice/Fire/Fire Blaster brings most of the same to the table in a better package. In that set up you'd still get Hot Feet, Bonfire, and Char, add another Hold (so you'd still be able to Hold bosses albeit slightly more slowly), and would never have to worry about your blue bar again.

To me what distinguishes Blasters specifically is the ability to ignore the blue bar. In modern day CoX they are like a batteries. You can't even really say they have worse defenses than other archetypes, the blue bar immunity translates to being able to run armor toggles without concern. When you combine that with their self heals they are quite sturdy. I would much rather be a Blaster fighting most Archvillains than most Dominators for example.

For Sonic you probably want a Defender or a Blaster. On Defenders the debuff from the blasts is so strong that the Blast set is as good as or better than a Buff/Debuff primary. Because I like some self sufficiency, I particularly like it comboed with primaries that add damage, like Trick Arrow or Storm. TA I find particularly attractive because the Sonic -Resist cone combos with the -Damage in TA, using the same power that lights Oil Slick. On Blasters, Sonic is decent because Blasters get a secondary also devoted to damage, so the relative weak direct damage of the Sonic blasts is not as much of a loss. The same rule about -Resist also magnifying -Damage applies here, so it will magnify -Damage in sets like Ice Manipulation. I don't have anything that specifically shows that Corruptors don't do as well with Sonic Attack other than a feeling. You could do worse than Sonic but also it just feels to me like a Defender does it better. BTW one of the Incarnate nukes is a PBAoE that does -Damage. Since Dreadful Wail is also PBAoE you can exploit the combination. Even AVs don't resist -Damage so this particular nuke is good to have in the arsenal of any character who does a lot of -Resist. It's especially wicked on Blasters who don't normally get a lot of survivability tools.

Yes. I don't want to completely undersell Mind Control. It's a fun set and if your concept demands it you should go for it. I don't build every character for min/max performance, sometimes the fun is in making something that's suboptimal work. On the other hand some of the requests in the original post asked for something that exemplars well and steamrolls content. To me Dark Control does this much better than Mind Control does. I do think that although Mind Control is interesting, there's work to be done on it. 240 second recharge on Mass Confusion is too long for example, and it not unlocking until level 32 versus Seeds at level 8 for Plant is frustrating. It wouldn't take a whole lot of work to bring Mind Control up to standard. I have feeling, given the history of this development team, that it will happen eventually. In the meantime I personally don't play it much since Dark Control is so similar and yet so much stronger in most ways. The only other thing I'll say about it is at least Mind Control is better on Dominators than on Controllers... there it is truly a very low performer in desperate need of updates.

In a league specifically Defender > Corruptor in most conceivable situations. It's only the with the really buffy sets like Empathy, Force Field etc where the Corruptor's extra Scourge damage might be more useful because the extra heal numbers don't translate necessarily into more success. On an 8-man it's a tougher call. FWIW I think Corruptors kind of got the short end of the stick with damage procs and the Defender inherent buff, These two archetypes used to be much different from each other and are a bit uncomfortably similar for now. Changes to damage procs could make Corruptors a more attractive option.

This is an interesting update that opens up some cool build ideas. I actually really like Spirit Ward. IMO it's a better power than Aid Other, especially for costing just 1 slot. What's really interesting about it is how it might come into play in iTrials. One person casting it isn't a game changer but three or four people casting it is a different banana. I know there are caps on Absorb but redundant casters keeps the shield up even if a few contributors die and restore it faster if it takes a big hit. It doesn't have to just be used on Tankers either, you can put it on e.g. Dark Miasma team members to make sure your AoE rezzer survives. I wonder if and how people will take advantage of it. I think it's actually a better power than some existing heals, especially on builds like Cold Domination with few other heal options and no worries about the toggle cost.

Each of these is a pretty wildly different experience so its hard to recommend just one. Let's assume for the sake of argument you were limited though. I'll start by mostly ruling out the Controller. It's not bad. Not at all. In fact Dark/Dark Controller has a ton going for it. Dark Affinity on Controllers is a better set, in some ways, than it is on Defenders and Corruptors. Your independence, though, is not going to be what you are accustomed to. I don't want to make it sound like this build always has to team because that isn't true. This character is very hard to kill in a lot of content. Where it's likely to have issues is generating enough damage to kill bosses quickly enough to feel like you're moving forward. It's doable but it's usually slow. So if I had to pick just one to main, this wouldn't be it. I like my independence. In contrast the Corruptor and Defender are both relatively high damage and high utility characters. Dark Blast is an acquired taste as a set in my experience, a bit lower damage than other sets. But it has an Immobilize, which is unusual for a Blast set and very useful. Blackstar is a disgustingly huge debuff. With these classes you're a force multiplier like the Controller albeit with a greater range of soloability. There are arguments that one or the other is better. In these disagreements I usually tend to favor the Defender for their better secondary effects but this one is really up to you. The Defender/Corruptor versions of the Dark APP are extremely attractive. An established weakness of Dark Miasma is lack of mezz protection but these days this is solvable using a number of methods and no longer the concern it once was. If you are new to squishies I'd say one of these two is your bet. Dark/Dark Dominator is a very strong character that may or may not be for you. The main attraction here is Dominators are normally an archetype that has to scrounge to cover a huge amount of ground and ends up lagging Defenses. Dark Control offers -ToHit, which Dominators normally don't get much of. This translates into much needed survivability with fewer sacrifices. Dark/Dark specifically has a Power Boost-like power to magnify the -ToHit in the powers. The real gem is here is Shadow Field, which unehnanced provides you -15% ToHit, same as a Controller. This -ToHit is autohit and roughly doubled with Power Boost. On top of this Dark Assault has a self heal, which only two other Dominator secondaries get. This heal is self only and not even close to bringing you to the survivability of a Controller/Defender/Corruptor between their castable heal and pet, it's just another case of most comparable Dominator sets get nothing, and small rewards being riches. The downside of the Dominator is even if its a very good Dominator its still a Dominator; that is, not a multiplier like the three above unless you dip into pools like APP Ice. Even being strong for a Dominator, you are one of the weakest links on iTrials and some difficult AV battles, because your damage is point blank, and often fails versus AVs (the -ToHit and the controls). Of all the ways a team is likely to fail a Task Force or iTrial a Dominator usually has few solutions compared to other archetypes. It is true that of the Control sets Dark Control is one of the less likely sets to fail you solo though, because of the Confuse.... this is itself is a very specific kind of play style and strategy you'd have to think about whether you want to mess with. So what I'm saying here is if you decided you wanted to main a Dominator, and wanted to pick one of the best Dominators possible, Dark/Dark would be a go.

I do not consider Force Field > Force Bolt a good power. Let's start there. The animation time spent to knockback one enemy seems out of proportion to other, better powers. This raises a mental experiment question. Let's say instead of knocking the target back just once (or knockdown if you converted with a KB to KD), after having been hit the target is "Dizzied" and continually trips and falls over a few more times after the initial hit. Here's where the mental experiment comes in. At what ratio of additional knockdowns does Force Bolt become an attractive power? What I'm really asking is what the ratio of animation time to expected mitigation is. Where is the threshold for you?

Mainly I have used the Multiplier/Raw as a rule of thumb when leading teams, especially prior to level 35, and especially in older versions of the game that were a bit harder. If I expected a Multiplier but got Storm (a multiplier but leaning pretty raw) or prebuffed Trick Arrow (supposedly a multiplier but bad at it) I would keep looking for a multiplier. Adding a Raw with some distraction powers like control/tanking can help a little but won't usually turn things around. I wouldn't reject someone based on their class but I might raise or lower difficulty. For iTrials a Multiplier is always useful. A Raw can be useful but there are a few archetypes that really do lag here (sorry, most Sentinels, Dominators, and pre-buff off Tankers, but you are the weakest link).

Thissssss. Consume is a great power on any archetype that can take it.

There is a sort of balance rubric for archetypes although it isn't rigidly defined. You can generally divide the into Multiplying Force and Raw Force camps. Multiplying Force archetypes are generally: Defender Controller Mastermind Corruptor Raw Force archetypes are generally: Blaster Brute Stalker Scrapper Tanker Dominator Sentinel This doesn't mean no Raw Force archetype has Multiplying Force powers or vice versa, its just a general design parameter. In general, Raw Force archetypes are allowed to do things for themselves and Multiplying Force archetypes are allowed to do things for others and sometimes also themselves. Where you get into an arguable degree of brokenness is when 1) the Raw Force character no longer has a need for the Multiplying Force character (Force Field e.g.) or 2) the Multiplying Force character is so good at Raw Force in addition to being a multiplier that it obviates the Raw Force version (e.g. Gravity Control on Controllers v Dominators, certain Illusion Controllers, OG Fire/Kin builds) or 3) the Raw Force character doesn't bring enough actual raw force to justify having traded away being a multiplier (Sentinels v Corruptor/Defender). You can quibble about some of these specifics, e.g. is Dominator control actually "force multiplication" (I'd argue usually no) and is tanking really a raw force mechanic (I'd argue that both ways). But just in general it's a rule that holds true about who is allowed to have what.

It's not really a complaint. I just wish I could turn on the ability to see it in chat. Looking people up isn't something I do.

This might be a minor thing but I wish I could see the name of the account owner more easily in chats. I feel like I must constantly team with the same small subgroup of people but I have no idea who they are, nor do they realize they are teamed with me over and over.

The issue is just that you can't Teleport an enemy mid knockback. I tried once to create a nuke power that blew enemies skyward, then teleported them to a centerpoint high in the air. Didn't work though, they just ignored the TP.

RE: World of Confusion. This is hot! What a wonderful and so far largely uncommented on change. Thank you for this, this really opens up some fun build ideas. This leaves me hopeful you'll make the same updates to Arctic Air. I love Arctic Air... and I hope you can give it the same love. If you'd prefer to discuss in the Dom forum rather than here I understand. In the meantime tho, praise be. This change is great and exactly what Doms need.

I had a look at a few additional powers that summon pseudo pets to see which tables their mezzes are pulling from in PVE. POWER TABLE Poison > Poison Trap Ones table Traps > Poison Trap Mezz tables Dark Control > Shadow Field Ones table Time Manip > Distortion Field Mezz tables Electric Control > Synaptic Overload Mezz tables Earth Control > Volcanic Gasses Mezz tables Electric Control > Static Field Mezz tables So far only the Poison version of Poison Trap and Shadow Field pull from the Ones tables, so don't flex with caster level. The reason we never likely noticed before is the in-game read outs for these powers are a bit confusing and hard to read.

Thanks for your continued hard work. I really like some of the new stuff. RE: RoP. Assuming you're not tired of thinking about it (LOL). What would make this attractive to me is it was an Auto power that provided all-the-time Mag 3 protection, with the condition that if the your mezz protection ever actually drops below 3, you get 20 seconds of Mag 10 protection and +resists, followed by 60 seconds of no protection at all. The rune activation graphic would warn you that your extra layer of mezz protection triggered. This would feel more effective and natural to me than a clickable that can't slot Recharge. Thanks again for creating a great game. 🙂

In this next post I'm going to try to detangle Domination and the associated powers itself. There's a ton to digest here so I may need to revisit for corrections. Feel free to ask questions or point out anything obviously wrong. Domination technically consists of at least 6 powers: Domination_Rage: Defines how much Rage you gain per attack Domination_Meter: Defines the conversion of Rage (a whole number) to the displayed Meter (a percent) Domination_Boost: Defines the boost to Rage building you get per ally Domination_Dampen: Defines how often and how much Rage you lose Domination_Mode: Possibly defines the fact that you are currently in Domination mode; also possible its just a left over power that is not used since powers that Dominate don't seem to check this, they check your Stealth attribute instead Domination: The actual clickable Domination power Inherent > Domination_Rage This power defines the Dominator's ability to build the Rage bar. I'm going to plead a level of ignorance here on how this is actually calculated and how much Rage is gained per attack. But basically what's worth knowing is the developers don't have to code every single attack power to build the Rage bar (like with Blaster Defiance), it just happens on its own via a core proc system defined in these powers. The formula (written in Reverse Polish Notation) if you care to try to decipher it is: ActivateAttackClick target.EventCount> 3 * Str.kRage source> * Note that Rage is generally a whole number, 0 to 100. Str.kRage source> means "the Rage strength multiplier." This part interacts with the mechanic below to adjust the Rage building rate when within range of a Teammate. Rightly or wrongly I read that as you getting 3 Rage per attack click multplied by your Rage STR multiplier. Inherent > Domination_Meter Appears to handle the conversion of Rage to a percentage. Rage is usually a whole number (0 to 100), this power converts that to a decimal for display on the Rage bar. Inherent > Domination_Boost This power defines the bonus to building the Rage bar when near allies. This power is a sphere with 300ft radius. It is autocast every 10 seconds. It can hit up to 16 targets. Each target hit increases the Rage bonus by scale 0.1667. If I am reading this information correctly (possible I am not) this includes pets. So Dominators may actually have an easier time building their Rage bar when they pets near them (yours or someone elses). This is the first time I have heard or noticed anything like this and want to do some to test it out. It's also possible it may apply to some pseudo pets or pet like powers. Assuming you can get targets in range (300ft, line of site appears to be considered here) the range of STR values is +0 (0 targets) to 2.66. What I don't know currently is if Rage STR is further multiplied by a table or if you really build meter 2.66 times as fast with 16 allies nearby. Inherent > Domination_Dampen This auto power defines the rate at which you lose Rage. Every 7.5 seconds it triggers, and drains you of 1 Rage. Inherent > Domination_Mode This power may track the fact that you are in "Domination mode." I say maybe because I can't find any evidence it is actually used somewhere. Inherent > Domination This is the clickable power most people are familiar with. Clicking this requires 100 Rage to currently be on your bar. Base Recharge: 200 Cast time: 1.17 Effects: Immediate effects; +1 to "Stealth" for 90 seconds This isn't really "Stealth", that's just the name of the attribute the developers reused from other classes. In any case, powers that interact with Domination check your Stealth to see if they should fire Domination effects. Scale 1 endurance to self (i.e. refills your blue bar) 90 seconds of comprehensive mezz protection +100 Rage for 90 seconds (so your Rage bar doesn't drop) After a 90 second delay: -100 Stealth -1000 Rage The reason perma dom is possible is that this power checks your current Rage meter to see if it is at 100. The power itself sets your bar at 100 so it will always be full. Casting it again erases the approaching timers on the crashes. If you can keep this up, you maintain Domination mode without having to rebuild the bar.

I'm glad you asked about Poison Trap, because it prompted me to go back and look at Dark Control > Shadow Field. Turns out that also uses the Melee_Ones table. It's hard to catch unless you grab the level slider in the character creation menu and watch the numbers as you move the slider. Shadow Field in particular has a strange read out (it claims a 48 second Hold duration for example because its conflating the duration of the pet summon with the Hold durations in a way I don't fully grasp).

I'm glad I looked at Poison Trap, it caused me to take a second look at Shadow Field. Turns out it also uses the Melee_Ones table and not Ranged_Immobilize, so although the initial Hold is Scale 8 like the other AoE Holds, at level 50 it has base 8 sec duration versus about 12 for other AoE Holds. I updated the entry on Shadow Field above with new info.

I forgot to mention this dirty trick. If you Hover and use Fold Space, enemies will teleport to you and fall straight down. You can then spray cone powers straight down with a reasonable chance of hitting everything. When used indoors the camera angles can get dicey, but it works well outside.

I just noticed something I missed before. For some reason the Poison version of Poison Trap uses the Melee_Ones table for its Hold duration and not Ranged_Immobilize. The result of this is that its Hold duration doesn't increase with Level, while the Traps version does, along with most other versions of this type of power. So the base Hold duration of Poison's Poison Trap remains locked at its the 8 second duration it has at level 1 while other controls (including the Traps version of the similar power) increase in duration as you level up. At level 50, a Scale 8 Hold from a Dominator is 11.92 seconds, or about 50% longer than Poison's Poison Trap. I don't know if this is a bug or intentional. It's definitely very strange. I would never have caught it without looking over the stats screen in game over and over. Usually in PVE when a mezz power uses Melee_Ones its mezz duration is not enhanceable, but I just confirmed with a test in game that Poison Trap's Hold duration is enhanceable. The more you dig the weirder some powers get. 🙂