Ringo

Caltrops and other location AoEs are going to force you to lure mobs towards your trip mine if you can't actually get near their spawn without taking a tick of damage

Oh then absolutely drop Paralyzing Blast. In my experience playing controllers the times when you actually want to use a group hold is when things are out of control and the sub-30 second hold duration rarely buys you actual space to recover. Instead it draws a bunch of aggro and you die messily when you could've been trying something else. The one saving grace is that with a full +resist build you can possibly open with Paralyzing Blast and then soak the alpha strike, but it won't be up again for another minute+ so it's not an every spawn thing anyway! As far as Soothe, Share Pain does heal twice as much. City of Data says Share Pain "Heal 471.1944 points of damage" and Soothe "Heal 230.8853 points of damage" My corruptor has both because I like to be able to pick and choose when I want the +dmg/no healing effect and still have a single target heal on hand. Plus on really bad moment, I can hit the tank with two single target heals in a row. Or if things are going good, I'll just hit fully healed teammates with Share Pain. Oh, as far as Mez goes - yeah, get Clarion for your Destiny slot. And just carry/make break frees. A break free can always put you back in the fight!

Yeah lack of KB protection is mostly just things like Ruin Mages who have Location based KB AoEs Of course, at times like that I tend to destroy FFG so I can properly sneak and use Deceive on said Ruin Mages before dropping PA and Spooky on the group

Okay, so the two big IOs I see you missing are the Defense IOs that provide +global resistance. Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage, and Shield Wall: +5% Res (all). And you might be thinking - controllers are squishy, why bother with +resistance? Well you're a /Pain which means that you get not only World of Pain for ++resistances to yourself and teammates, but you also have Nullify Pain and Soothing Aura to always keep your health topped up. I have an AR/Pain Corruptor and I run him with almost no Defenses but 60% or greater resistances (to everything except Energy. Damn Energy) and he's tough as teak. His main problem is lack of kill speed (or control) vs ability to soak damage, but he can easily soak an Alpha strike, heal and do it again. As a controller, with a similar build you can potentially soak the Alpha, and have plenty of time to lockdown everything while your blaster clears. So with that in mind, this is what I did to your build without changing any of your power picks. Mostly focusing on decent end drain, maintaining your recharge, upping your health, and increasing resistances: One thing to keep in mind is that you have Share Pain but not Soothe. Having played to 50 you probably already know, but that means any time you use your single target heal, you cannot be healed for 15s and you only get 50% of your heals for another 5s after that, as well as your regeneration being cut by 100% and 50% for the same durations. It can be a bit easier to kill yourself if you're not careful with Share Pain (also it makes Power Transfer: Chance to Heal Self kind of worthless). This build may look different if I tinker with what powers are taken, but I wasn't sure how far afield I wanted to go from what you were already doing. Hope it's helpful! Even if it's not what you're aiming for, maybe it will show you something you hadn't considered yet Oh, this is my AR/Pain Corr. He was built out in 2019 so probably needs some updating:

I quite enjoy my AR/Pain Corruptor. I jump in and out of groups to spread my buffs/debuffs and then scourge the hell out of things with my cone attacks. Also using the heal bubble to power Oppressive Gloom from my Epic is just hilarious to me I assume Pain performs better on Defenders but honestly I never see anyone play it anyway so I dunno

Awesome, thank you. That's great to know. I'm unsure if I would want to change my slotting though - afaik Spooky needs accuracy which would mean dropping my procs to fit in -tohit Definitely worth thinking about though

I would be curious where the Brute/Tank comparison would land with completely identical builds (ie no ATOs) just to see how much it changes things

The Mids Tooltip on Spectral Terror shows an initial 5 second 15% -tohit and then a 20 second 15% -tohit every 8 seconds. That pulsing aura is tagged as [Ignores Enhancements and Buffs]. So while enhancing that 5 second -15% is nothing to scoff at, I've been using Spectral Terror as a proc bomb instead: Glimpse of the Abyss: Chance for Psionic Damage Superior Will of the Controller: Chance for Psionic Damage Superior Overpowering Presence: Energy Font Unspeakable Terror: Disorient Bonus Unspeakable Terror: Acc/Recharge Unspeakable Terror: Acc/Endredx So now minions have a chance to be Disoriented and Feared, and all targets have a chance to take Psi damage and/or spawn an Energy Font. Both Superior procs give a Recharge enhancement as well as the Acc/Recharge I slotted, which does mess up a bit of the proc math, but Spooky has a base 45 second recharge anyway which means he's a beast regardless. If Phantom Army wasn't there, Spectral Terror would be *the* set defining power of Illusion

@Xandyr While Plant/Storm isn't an AV killer, it is a speed demon of a controller on everything else. I love illusion, but Seeds of Confusion + Roots + Storm's entire toolkit is amazing

Mids on Trip Mine vs Time Bomb: Trip Mine - 20s Recharge, 13 End Cost, 5 second cast time, 4 seconds interrupt, 194.6 Damage Time Bomb - 360s Recharge, 26 End Cost, 9s cast time, 8s interrupt, 152.9 Damage Time Bomb is easily in the running for worst Tier 9 power in the game Anyway, here's the "more affordable" ill/traps build I've been running: No Time Bomb, Trip Mine, Seeker Drones, or Caltrops. I team a lot, and didn't feel that any of those things were getting much use. No Flash because my main on Live was an ill/ff controller and all Flash ever did was get him spectacularly killed. Hasten isn't Perma, and neither is Phantom Army which is a concern, however the Force Feedback proc in Disruptor Blast is capable of negating the issue. With FFG and the Defense toggles on, you're looking at Smashing, Lethal, and Energy all above the 45% Defense cap. Poisonous Ray and Acid Mortar are both throwing -res and toxic damage procs, great for hard single targets. Distruptor Blast also has a -res proc. Spectral Terror has Psi damage and the Energy Font proc. Note the Soulbound Allegiance Build Up Proc in Phantom Army. I don't remember how or why, but Phantom Army *will* benefit from the proc going off, and it's excellent. And I slot the Lockdown Mag 2 Hold proc in both Blind and Poison Trap - not as useful against anything with Purple Triangles of Doom, but is an absolute treat for just casually locking down bosses in one shot. KB/KD in Phantasm is a godsend, and 8 points of Knockback protection from Steadfast and Blessing of the Zephyr because FFG does nothing for KB and you can't plant traps while knocked on your ass.

Interesting! You've packed a lot of recharge and some survivability in there, nice work. Even without Incarnates you've got 1-slotted Hasten Perma and Oil Slick Arrow down under 43 seconds. My fastest (and not survivable at all) build is only slightly faster than that, ignoring the Force Feedback Procs: I'm gonna spend some time going over your build today, for sure

Not too much to say here. I've been working on this scrapper off and on for a while, finally getting her to level 48 and decided to fix her up a build. Here it is! This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.2.17 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Psy Lord: Level 50 Magic Scrapper Primary Power Set: Psionic Melee Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Leaping Hero Profile: Level 1: Mental Strike -- Mk'Bit-Dam%(A), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(3), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(5), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7) Level 1: Deflection -- GifoftheA-Run+(A), GifoftheA-Def(7), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(9), GifoftheA-Def/Rchg(9), GifoftheA-EndRdx/Rchg(11), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(11) Level 2: Psi Blade -- Mk'Bit-Dam%(A), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(15), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(17), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(19) Level 4: Telekinetic Blow -- Mk'Bit-Dam%(A), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(21), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(21), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(23), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(23) Level 6: Battle Agility -- GifoftheA-Run+(A), GifoftheA-Def(25), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(25), GifoftheA-Def/Rchg(27), GifoftheA-EndRdx/Rchg(27), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(29) Level 8: Psi Blade Sweep -- ScrDrv-Dam%(A), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg(31), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(31), ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg(31), SprScrStr-Rchg/+Crit(33) Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 12: Mystic Flight -- Flight-I(A) Level 14: Concentration -- GssSynFr--Build%(A) Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 18: True Grit -- Ags-Psi/Status(A), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), UnbGrd-ResDam(33), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(34), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(34), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam(34) Level 20: Kick -- Acc-I(A) Level 22: Phalanx Fighting -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(36), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(36), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(36), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(37), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 24: Arcane Bolt -- Acc-I(A) Level 26: Greater Psi Blade -- TchofDth-Dam%(A), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg(39), TchofDth-Dmg/EndRdx(39), TchofDth-Dmg/Rchg(39), TchofDth-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40) Level 28: Grant Cover -- ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(A), Rct-ResDam%(40) Level 30: Rune of Protection -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A) Level 32: Mass Levitate -- SprCrtStr-Rchg/+50% Crit(A), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg(40), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), SprCrtStr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), FrcFdb-Rechg%(42), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(43) Level 35: Shield Charge -- ScrDrv-Dam%(A), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg(43), ScrDrv-Acc/Rchg(45), ScrDrv-Dmg/Rchg(45) Level 38: One with the Shield -- ImpArm-ResPsi(A) Level 41: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), UnbGrd-EndRdx/Rchg(45), UnbGrd-ResDam(46), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(46), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(46), UnbGrd-Max HP%(48) Level 44: Weave -- GifoftheA-Run+(A), GifoftheA-Def(48), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(48), GifoftheA-Def/Rchg(50), GifoftheA-EndRdx/Rchg(50), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50) Level 47: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 49: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Critical Hit Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A) Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I(A) Level 1: Swift -- Run-I(A) Level 1: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(13), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(13) Level 24: Arcane Power ------------ Thoughts: 1) Global Recharge is very low. In a Defense secondary, I only have two LotGs in there. Hasten has only 1 slot and is nowhere near Perma. When Hasten is down, Active Defense isn't Perma, with a 7 second down time. 2) Smashing/Lethal Reisist isn't capped. In fact, it's only at 55%. Rune of Protection won't even cap you in this build. 3) Almost entirely all or nothing slotting - either 6 slots or none on the majority of powers. Mass Levitate is the closest to a proc mule attack you get. 4) All positional defenses are just over the 45% cap and increase up to 55%+ when your teammates are next to you. Incarnate powers can add to this 5) Smashing, Lethal, and Toxic resists are at 55%. Psi at 49%. Energy and Negative at 47%, and Fire/Cold at 32%. It's not world beating but it's definitely decent padding. Incarnates might help 6) There's no Heal button and no End mitigation powers. You can slap Rune of Protection or One with the Shield, but that may not be enough. 7) +42% Accuracy and +30% damage seems a nice little bonus from set slotting. Overall: It's a scrapper, not a tank. I tried to buff out defense and resistances to a decent level so that I'm performing well, but I still expect to be eating dirt whenever I scrapperlock and get in over my head. I'm not sure it's really got any great damage burst potential, but I do like the Procs in Mass Levitate. The main thing to balance is Time to Kill vs Survivability vs Downtime due to lack of end or hp, which will require playtime to determine what needs to be altered and how. Let me know what y'all think!

Doesn't matter if you wouldn't use it - others would and it would enrich their gameplay experience Can't tell you how disappointed I was to make 5 costumes for a new concept character only to learn that the /nin blaster sustain is a friggin stealth toggle My DP/Nin is about looking cool, not being transparent!

/Energy looks like the most "punching" you can get out of the secondaries, but it has zero utility or even a sustain toggle Is there a good primary that can pull it along? My first thought is probably Ice for slows or Dark for -tohit

The obvious solution is more door sitters on mission teams

It'd be nice if their rez somehow needed end to cast It's weird to me that drained but alive Super Stunners are less deadly than defeated ones

So I got this character to 48 back in 2019 and retired him. Wormhole was usable but Oil Slick Arrow wasn't up fast enough to justify all of the crazy slotting choices I made to get recharge. I'd have to look, but I think my final build got OSA to somewhere below 50 seconds. And then yesterday I (re)learned that Blaster - Tactical Arrow has OSA on a 90 second recharge. And Fold Space exists now. So, problem solved, I guess!

It's an illusion controller so it's got an early leg up on some other control sets in terms of direct damage, but it's still a controller so it's not exactly fast. Soloing an illusion controller is fun for me because I have to be quick on me feet - it's not a question of do more damage before I run out of hit points, it's that plus confuse one guy, maneuver those two guys on top of each other so blinding one has a chance to sleep the other, etc. What /traps does is put more tricks in the bag for illusionists, allowing you to get into even more ridiculous situations and have a grand time trying to weasel your way through them. Again - not fast by any means, but absolutely both challenging and entertaining

I'd have to go back and check the lore, but I'm fairly certain the Rogue Isles operate on the same basis that our world's Russia has for the last 30 years - they are a sovereign nation with nukes. Mutually Assured Destruction means that if anybody *really* has a go at the Isles and Arachnos, then we've hit Armageddon, full stop. Letting them bust up Paragon City is (in theory) a small price to pay for freedom from nuclear annihilation

2021, clearly! 😁

My most successful dps troller is Plant/Storm. Here's the thread I made for her build (in 2019):

I think this was one of my fastest to 50 builds ever. Definitely fastest to 50 on a controller (I never really ran a GM hunter or Fire/kin tho). I enjoyed it! It's a bit of a different playstyle than my past Illusionists, I remember ITFs being the most obvious example of needing to think differently on how to support the group with debuffs and damage without getting burned. Aggro management on a couple severely un-optimized ITF teams was very much a new puzzle I was solving on the fly, and for the most part I had the pieces to get us through. Anyway, sorry for such a late response! I should've replied back in May!

Seems to be going faster this month +1 donation from me

Doldrums of summer, eh? I did my bit, gotta keep Paragon City alive!

That build also has soft capped ranged and AoE defense And its necessary for my personal playstyle which is very "Hold my beer!"