Fusaokek

The problem is that it's hard to use your powers to "protect" the pet when due to its extreme fragile nature the moment it runs into a mob it's almost insta killed. Phantasm has all the blaster characteristics of being a glass cannon blaster but no appropriate AI to compensate for this. more often than not the pet will run in behind PA which I use as my tanks and die. This by the way is with my Illusion rad. I have an extremely difficult time keeping it alive with a heal due to that or it running off and engaging in melee range elsewhere I can't see. It's even worse with my Illusion force field. Let me tell you, Force Field doesn't do shit to protect phantasm or help keep it from dying. In fact enemies tear through the shields, I place around the pet like its nothing. This is the ONLY pet I have this problem with. With my Dark Dark controller not only do I have no problems keeping the wolf alive, the AI seems able to allow me to execute my play style of sending in (in this case) my shadow army as DPS tanks with the wolf in the back doing damage. I even have a much easier time keeping the fire monkeys alive than I do phantasm despite the fact they are melee glass cannons.

I never asked for the Illusion set to be buffed. I simply asked that the phantasm AI be corrected either by changing its behavior so that it no longer

They are melee pets which by definition they are supposed to run into the crowd. Phantasm is a blaster and there for a glass cannon. It should not be running into the mob the same as fire imps. And now I do not have the same problems keeping fire imps alive or for that matter the shadow wolf in the dark set as I do phantasm.

That is the dumbest thing I ever heard! I'm not trying to be impolite but this seems like nothing more than a flimsy excuse to not change anything. Illusion is a good damage control set with the emphasis on damage. However what control it has is passive at best if we are going with the primary set. However if you were to go with a fire kin or better yet a fire rad you get the same if not better results due to actual control and the double damage that comes with it. So no Illusion is not leaps and bounds ahead nor would making AI tweaks make it ahead when just about every pet maybe with the exception of earth's Mr. poo and every control set has its set of strengths and weakness. I'd argue that the Darkness set is illusion done right. If you select properly not only do u get the shadow wolf which does decent damage and behaves properly you get the terrors which operate like phantom army. I employ the same tactics as I do with illusion with my dark set and don't have nearly the same problems keeping my main pet alive as I do phantasm. Why is that? The wolf should be harder to keep alive since it is a close end pet but I don't. That points to some faulty AI programming in my opinion.

I disagree. I'm not saying its not one of the most potent but if you read some of my replies Fire imps do not have the same issues as phantasm and I'd argue its a set that can go pound for pound with illusion as well depending on the secondary. In fact I seem to remember back when this game was live how people complained how a fire/kin was OP and everyone had one.

Personally after one of the commenters suggested it I think I would prefer power bolt over energy torrent

I tend to agree with you, illusion is a good damage controller set. I just happen to think what holds it back is it's broken pet.

I misunderstood. I apologize for saying you were being contrarian. I'll not debate rather or not it's a buff. I'll just say it's not a game breaking one or gives one set an excessive advantage over another. My issue is that because of some poor AI programming the effectiveness of the pet is less than others. It makes playing the illusion set frustrating because of the scramble to try to keep it alive when it heads right into a mob with only single attack powers. With fire imps you understand why they do that, they are mini scrappers and are effective in what they do. They are meant to be mini scrappers in the same sense that the earth pet Mr. poo is supposed to be a tank or brute, or singularity is more of a controller tank. They are effective, especially in hands of a capable player that knows how to maximize them. The same cannot be said for phantasm. The tactic that works best for that would be keeping the pet in the back while Phantom Army acts as temporary tanks while the main pet dishes out damage from the back. The problem is that all goes to hell the moment you summon PA and phantasm runs head long into the mob with them! What I described is precisely the tactics I use with my dark dark controller with decidedly better results. So, the AI attack pattern is something they could and should change especially if as another pointed out its program had been changed before. Never say never, if enough people ask or bring it to their attention changes can and will be made. Or if nothing else and explanation from dev team as to why they feel the changes aren't needed.

Hard disagree. A buff is where you are upping the damage, the defense or control of something. I would even go as far as to say since phantasm only has 3 attacks to other pets 5 that adding two more would be a buff. The two main things I suggested would constitute AI changes in order for the pet to be more effective. Does it potentially have the effect of the pet being more damaging? yes but in the sense of making changes to the AI in order to make the pet more effective. Heck! my other suggestion to change it to fire doesn't even count as a buff since all damage sets damage equally. My suggestion of fire rain while AOE is not the most damaging fire ability. I kind of think you're being contrarian or just resistant to my suggestion because it is change. Well they have made changes to the enemies and in cases like Freaks and Counsel have given them buffs. The Dev's have also made changes to powers sets in the past, why not this?

Except I wasn't asking for Illusion to be 'buffed'. I was asking to make 1 of 2 changes, either A give phantasm the defense/ resistance of a sentinel to compensate for the broken AI when it runs into fights instead of hanging back and gets obliterated or change the AI to make it smarter and hold back in order to do damage from a distance with a better KB if the enemy gets closer. Granted I did suggest changing it from energy blast to fire so that it could possibly have fire rain. The other suggestion I made was the ability to customize so that I could have phantasm look like my character in the same way as PA. Actually what most chimed in with was AI changes not 'buffs.'

A very bad blaster

Well damn! It's clear you thought this through. Your suggestions are far better than mine

I think Phantasm is one of THE worst pets in the game. It's supposed to be a blaster type pet yet so many times this dumb ass pet will run into a mob behind my Phantom army or just run ahead into a mob. Is it a blaster or is it a tank? Because it will run right into mobs as if it were a tank and get wrecked like the ineffective glass cannon it is. Moreover the damage it does is outclassed by other damage pets like fire imps which more than make up for their fragility with good, effective damage. So why not either overhaul phantasm so that it acts more like a blaster attacking from a distance save for if an enemy gets too close and instead of the energy wave why not the overhead strike ? An alternative if changing the Phantasm attack pattern is not an option is upping its defense/resistance to that of a sentinel. It wouldn't be a tank but it would be able to take a bit more damage when the pet decides to do stupid and run right behind PA into the mob. I've also wondered for a long time, why energy and not fire? Since the illusion is supposed to be the damage dealing control set why not give the phantasm the best dealing damage in the blaster set (before later additions) and go with fire? Personally I'd love to see phantasm hit a crowd with fire rain. My last suggestion for phantasm involves customization. I love how the players can make the PA look like their character. Is it possible to do the same for Phantasm? That was part of a concept I had for an illusion/rad character I made in which the PA and phantasm were supposed to be pieces of their psyche given physical form expressing the superpowers the primary cannot. Anyway I just think the phantasm pet gets so outclassed by all the other pets. It doesn't have control, it can't tank and its outclassed in damage by other pets.

I was talking about the mass immobilization. that does have a long recharge. you are right very few control sets have damage instead being CC heavy or damage heavy in the case of Illusion. Gravity is neither. It is neither the CC king of earth or Damage whore of illusion or fire but rather being that one person in the room overshadowed by bigger, louder personalities and not really allowed to shine on its own merits. Gravity should be unique and possess something that makes it stand out as just a middle of the road controller set. At the very least because its gravity it should be able to lock down mobs they they aren't being knocked around if you are a storm secondary in much the same way as earth.

It's a single target damage /knock back that tosses random junk at an enemy. The animation is slow, the range limited and you have to slot heavy acc in order for it to properly work

Then why if say you cast storm while having enemies locked down are they tossed around? Where as with earth or earth storm while storm is going enemies aren't being knocked back. You should try both sets to see the difference

Is the idea of new patron powers something under consideration? With new power sets has not the time come to consider new parton/ancillary power sets since thematically the limited choices don't always fit character concepts thematically or practically. For example I ran a gravity storm controller and wanted to round out with lightening for patron. The closest thing available was Mu control from the villain set. So are more options that would fit character builds and themes something that could be considered ?

That's one use for it. When I solo with my Ill/FF I do use it as a type of support damage or knock down to help the pets. The Damage isn't significant even even proc'd out so I don't see the need to nerf that just to get some more interesting features. FF doesn't have much in terms of damage so why not have one power that fills this space ?

True the damage isn't that good so why nerf it in the first place? Why not add the interesting features in addition to it? It's not particularly game breaking or OP so I don't see the need to reduce the damage in order to add extra features

During live gravity control was always known as the middle of the road controller set, It's wasn't the best set, that honor going to earth, nor the most damaging. Would it be possible to add a root component into gravity similar to earth? Meaning if you're a controller with knock backs or on a team unlike earth Gravity has no anti knock back to keep enemies in place when casting CC. Also Gravity's one and only mass immobilization has a really long recharge time. How about reducing it a bit so that it has a bit more utility? For that matter how about replacing propel or knock back with some type of group damage power ?

During live gravity control was always known as the middle of the road controller set, It's wasn't the best set, that honor going to earth, nor the most damaging. Would it be possible to add a root component into gravity similar to earth? Meaning if you're a controller with knock backs or on a team unlike earth Gravity has no anti knock back to keep enemies in place when casting CC. Also Gravity's one and only mass immobilization has a really long recharge time. How about reducing it a bit so that it has a bit more utility? For that matter how about replacing propel or knock back with some type of group damage power ?

Just like the title says. I find the upcoming changes to force field intriguing. However one thing I saw was that part of the changes was to nerf the damage to force bomb. The damage for the power isn't that good to begin with, especially on my ill/ff troller. I use it as sort of damage support. It's only semi decent as damage support after I slotted an IO set in. I'd suggest not lowering the damage once FF changes are implemented