Rocketmandb

I Frankenslot all of the above powers. Shadowfall gives nice D and solid resistance, and Fade also has really good resistance (better, even). Between the two of them, you get 15% base to Smashing, Lethal, Energy, and 30% to Negative and Psi. That's pretty darned good. So I max out on Fade with a mix of Def/Rech, Def, Resist and Res/Rech. Soul Absorption gives pretty darned good regen. My understanding is that it's 100% + like 18% per enemy hit by it (base). Mids is showing a 5-hit cast giving you about +385% when slotted for ~100% health.

Not when you Wormhole them into a corner. They all end up occupying essentially the same space. I duo with a Rad/Rad Defender with my Grav/Traps. When we're in a mission, I find a corner in range and let him know. He starts Radiation Infection. I wait about 1 second, then start Wormhole. He gets off Enervating Field before Wormhole fires. Wormhole puts them all literally on top of each other in the corner, where my traps all fire. Where you get into issues with the KB is when there is no "top" on the corner (places like outdoor raised stairs). In this case, sometimes the mobs will skip up and out and spread out a bit. This can be mostly solved by taking Hover so you can be aiming down into the corner when you fire off WH.

I'm not sure why you think the Wormhole into traps is counter to clumping. It actually is the best clumping power there is. Set Poison Trap in a corner Set Acid Mortar out of the corner. Wormhole a group in, and all the mobs are clumped up extremely tightly, disoriented, held, -res, etc. Cone powers are amazing here. On my Grav/Traps I took Cross Punch, and it's nuts. If you set up Trip Mine just outside of the corner, when it goes off, it will blow them back into it. EDIT: For the OP, I just don't get Time Bomb. Longer recharge, less damage, much harder to actually use effectively.

My preferred way of playing anything /Storm is to get an immob around a big group, then herd them up with a heavily slotted Hurricane into a nice corner where I then unleash Tornado and Lightning Storm. You keep them herded and in place with repeated Crushing Field and ongoing Hurricane while Freezing Rain, 'Nado and LS do all the damage, while the Hurricane -tohit keeps you from, well... getting hit. The amazing synergy with Grav is that you don't need to herd them into a corner! Just Wormhole them into one to begin with and go to town on disoriented mobs. Also, I'm not sure why you're taking Tactics. FR will debuff everything enough that you won't have any issues hitting. Maneuvers is nice, but you can get much cheaper (end) defense out of Combat Jumping. Yes, Manuevers helps everyone on the team, but essentially, so does Hurricane. Maneuvers is overkill. You did not take Lift - and this is one of the powers that gives Grav such incredible single target capabilities. It throws things up in the air, taking away a lot of attack time, and does extra damage (like Propel) to mobs hit with Gravity Distortion. Ice Mastery is a great pairing with Storm, but consider taking Frost Breath. When you have everything Wormholed/Hurricaned/Crushed in a corner getting thrown up (but not around) by LS and Nado, knocked down by FR and Hurricane, and unable to hit anything, they all make a nice juicy target for cone attacks.

There are two that have amazing synergy with Grav: /Storm and /Traps, and both center around Wormhole. Traps: It's a pretty obvious one here. Put all your traps in a corner, Wormhole the mobs in, things blow up, get held, debuffed, and hilarity ensues. Storm: Hurricane up - Wormhole all the mobs into a corner - Crushing Field, Lightning Storm, Tornado, epic cone attacks, holding everything there with Hurricane - and hilarity ensues.

Grav/Traps is nuts. Steps to Win: 1) Find a corner nearby a huge group 2) Set up Trip Mine(s) just out from corner 3) Set up Poison Trap (loaded up with damage procs) 4) Set up Acid Mortar 5) Wormhole the whole group into the corner of death - everything blows up 6) Seekers (that you already had up) jump in 7) Everything is stunned 8) Sands of Mu - you hit about 5 or 6 in a good corner 9) Finish off Lts and bosses with Grav Distortion, Propel, Lift, and epic AoE of choice

That's how I'm playing my Fire/Dark. It does quite well in this regard. You don't get the hold out of Choking Cloud, but the extra pet helps with holds and debuffs and you get a lot of defense powers (and resists) with /Dark. Also, Fade and Soul Absorption are team buffs, so your pets get nice regen and defense/resistance bonuses. I'm going to be trying a Fire/Time too, I think it will be superior to Fire/Dark, but I won't know 'til I try :)

Not too long ago I respecced my Fire/Dark into Fighting, but not to get Tough/Weave. I got Cross Punch and I'm happy as all get out with it. It's a 50 degree cone melee attack that does roughly half of what Seismic Smash does against contained mobs, and 2/3 vs non-contained. It's also up so often that when Hasten is going, I can spam it pretty much every other attack. Why I love this power: - Cone attack that goes off as often as most similar ST attacks - granted, it hits single targets a chunk of the time - Chance to knock down - nice one-two with Fissure (I took the Stone epic) - Chance to stun - stacks with Flashfire (and Fissure) nicely. I took box boxing and kick to get the extra 15% damage from each. The only other option would have been Tough, but with this build, the endurance isn't worth a pure +res power.

I'm playing a Fire/Dark and Grav/Traps right now, and I had extensive experience with Grav on the old servers, as well as lots of Rad. Thoughts on both: Powers: -tohit, -dam, -def, -res - Rad gets -res from Enervating Field, and -tohit/def from Radiation Field. Both are target toggles. This can be a little bit of an issue if your anchor gets out of range. Base totals from these are -25% tohit, -25% def, -22.5 res, -20% damage. This is accomplished with two toggles each with radius of 15, and a total of 1.56 base endurance per second - Dark gets -res (and a slow) from Tar Patch, -tohit and damage from Darkest Night. This totals -15% tohit, -0% def, -30% res, -30% damage. This is accomplished with one toggle with a radius of 25, and a total of .52 base endurance per second, the other a click power with a 25 radius. It also gets -fly out of Tar Patch, which helps keep flying anchors from getting out. It also picks up -10% tohit out of Soul Absorbtion. From just the totals, one might say that these are about equal, with Dark having lower endurance and low while Rad gets -def. However, and this is a big one, the area covered by dark is nearly THREE TIMES THE SIZE. That extra Rad -tohit doesn't count for anything if the mob attacking is 16 away. Rad is also much more endurance heavy. I give the edge to Dark on this. Powers: Def, Resist, -Regen, -rech, slows - Rad gets a huge -regen buff and -rech out of Lingering Radiation. This is a very nice power. No resistance or defense powers, though. - Dark gets a huge -regen and disorient out of Howling Twilight. Nice, but not up every fight. Dark also gets close to 10% defense out of Fade, and just about 10% Smash, Lethal, 15% Energy, 25% Negative and Psi resistance - and all of that is for the team, not just the player. Dark gets its slow from Tar Patch. Honestly, this isn't close. Dark wins handily in this category. The -rech from Lingering Radiation is quite nice and a big bonus for Rad, but all the other channels are equal or heavily in favor of Dark Heals: - Rag gets an AoE ~12% base heal. - Dark gets an AoE ~47% base heal that needs to hit, but also provides -5% to hit debuff. I hate that the Dark version requires a hit, but the Rad version needs to be spammed to keep you alive - both are equally meh. Powers: Grab Bag (+rec, +rech, controls, misc) - Rad gets a big one here in Accelerate Metabolism. One of the best powers in the game, offering +30% recovery, +30% recharge, +20% damage, and some status resists. It also gets a really nice AoE hold. Choking Cloud is a great power, but endurance-hungry - and you already have two other endurance-heavy toggles. The other two powers in this category are ally death or rez related and are situational - For Dark, Soul Absorption is a great power. Basically, you get a little bit of recovery and regen for each enemy (dead or alive) in range. It also adds some resists - great power. Dark also gets Dark Servant, a really handy pet for a controller that stacks -tohit, and has a hold to help with bosses. Black Hole should be deleted from the game. Rad wins the Grab Bag category, but not by as much as you'd think. Dark Servant and Absorption are two great powers. just not as great as Accelerate Metabolism and Choking Cloud. Summary: I used to love Rad, but one 1/4 second stun from a Rikti infantry or Carnie brute drops three toggles (Rad Infect, Enervate, Choking) and leaves you extremely vulnerable. Also, the 15 radius (Rad) vs. the 25 radius (Dark) is a big honkin' deal. Lastly, I far prefer the mechanics of Tar Patch over similar Rad powers. My process is to throw Darkest Night, run around a corner, when I see the outline of the target get close, I drop Tar Patch at the corner. All the mobs bunch up nicely, then I pop around the corner and go to town. The fact that I have a chunk of defense when I get mezzed and DN drops, keeps me alive long enough to let it recharge and throw it again. Dark will get you better defense and set up capabilities. Rad will get you better utility. Personally, unless I'm planning a specific build around +rech (like to perma Indomitable Will), I prefer Dark.

I thought I had responded to this thread, but I probably forgot to hit the send button :) I like using procs in location powers or toggles where the procs have multiple chances of firing. Things like: Choking Cloud Poison Trap Acid Mortar Arctic Air I will also on occasion slot them in AoE immobs, but rarely. I love, love, love them in Poison Trap on my Grav/Traps.

Honestly, Force Field isn't a great match to Mind Control. Force is just an "ok" set overall, and really needs pets to shine (friendlies you can buff with the ally force fields). Mind has no pets, so that potential synergy is lost. Also, one of Force Field's better powers is Repulsion Bomb, but to get the most out of it, you want to have mobs contained so you can get double damage. Mind doesn't have an AoE immob that would easily allow this to happen. With that said, I'll go through each set and what powers are best, slotting options, etc. Mind Control: Mesmerize, Levitate, and Dominate give Mind the best 1-2-3 punch for single target damage. These three allow you to solo small groups with little trouble. Dominate should eventually be 6-slotted, and both the others should be fairly heavily slotted as well. Confuse makes enemies attack each other. This can make a big difference when soloing or in small groups, but is not really worth it in larger teams. However, it does have a very good IO set in Malaise Illusions which, when 6-slotted, gives you solid recovery, defense, damage and recharge bonuses. I usually don't like taking sleeps, but since Mind is primarily a single-target set, Mass Hypno can be a difference maker. You can sleep an entire group for more than 40 seconds, allowing you to take them down one at a time with your 3 single target attacks. Telekinesis is a VERY difficult power to learn how to use effectively. It is a way to set up containment if you can learn to push a bunch of mobs into a corner and hold them there for a bit. The problem is that it is exceedingly expensive in the form of endurance. Save for later. Total Domination is your run of the mill AoE hold. Very long recharge, crappy accuracy. Terrify is a Fear power, meaning that affected mobs will shake in terror and do nothing. It is a form of control, but doesn't yield containment. Good power, but not as good as other similar powers in that it doesn't give -tohit. Because of this, you don't need to slot this up as much. Mass Confusion makes all the mobs in the affected area attack each other. Mind gets this in lieu of a pet. Very good power, but also a very long reload. Normally I skip the AoE holds or take them later since they can't be up every fight. With Mind Control, you get two of these powers so you can almost alter them each fight. Force Field Personal Force Field (or PFF) makes you into your own version of Bubble Boy. You pretty much can't be hit (but it is still possible), but you can't do anything that affects anything other than you. You don't need to slot this with anything other than one defense IO. Deflection Shield and Insulation Shield are your ally shields. You can get a large chunk of their effectiveness by two-slotting them with defense IOs, but three maxes them out. Force Bolt - skip it. Detention Field - skip it. Dispersion Bubble is probably the best power in the set. It gives you 7.5% defense unslotted, along with mez resists. It's a little expensive endurance wise, so you can't simply stick 3 defense IOs in it and be done. I'd recommend 4-slotting with combinations of defense set IOs that are Def/End. Repulsion Field - skip it. Repulsion Bomb - excellent power. It's a ranged AoE that stuns minions and knocks everything down. It does decent damage (but you really need containment, and Mind is lacking in AoE containment powers. Force Bubble - I look at this as a Hurricane without the -tohit that has a much larger radius. It takes practice. Since both sets have skippable powers, it gives you some room to take pool powers. This lets you max out on opportunities for defense to stack with Dispersion Bubble. I've become a fan of the Fighting pool for Controllers. I liked it before, but now it has Cross Punch, which is a good damage cone melee attack that gets an extra 15% damage for taking each Boxing and Kick. This power pool also gives you Weave, which gives you defense, so worth it. You can also take the Flight pool. Don't take the Sorcery pool for that flight power. Take Hover and Fly, 3-slot Hover, and use it in combat to get the defense it offers. Combat Jumping is a must for nearly every character I make. If you finish up by taking Maneuvers, you can get up into the 30s for a number of different defense categories. Not Tanker level defense, but it will give you enough when combined with your controls to do well. With all that said, is your husband dead set on this combo? It's a tough road.

I'm up to 34 with my Fire/Dark and I'm soloing now at +0/8. I'm taking Fissure at 35 and as soon as I get it slotted I'm going to bump notoriety to +1/8 - likely +2 after I get the /Dark pet. This is an insane soloing build if you know what to do.

Lift is a primary damage power for Grav. You've got Entangling Arrow for containment, so Lift >>>>>> Crush p.s. Have you played a /TA controller? I tried way back when, and the constant bow redraw was exceedingly annoying to me.

I haven't played this combo together, but have played both power sets as a controller. Notes: - You've really under-slotted Fade. It gives really good defense and resistance and can be up every fight with proper slotting. If this was just a self-buff, it would be a great power, but it's a PBAoE team buff. This should be 4-slotted early and is a candidate for 6-slotting later. - You've got two LoTG +Rchg enhancements slotted - these are unique - only one per character. - Tar Patch is way over-slotted. A couple +recharge IOs is all you need there. - I'd slot up Soul Absorption with a little more recharge - max it out. The more this is up, the better. - Are you set on Soul Mastery as an Epic pool? The reason I ask is there are a lot of duplicated effects. Dark Consumption is a nice power, but Soul Absorption is way better, and is up more often. You really don't need both. You already will have two pets, is a third really necessary? There's nothing special about Dark Embrace, other epics have similar or better "defensive" powers. Soul Drain is the one power that stands out, but it's only up every couple/few fights. - If you want to stay with your theme, consider Stone. Fissure is a nice little AoE that also disorients - this will stack nicely with Howling Twilight and Stalagmites, and since each of those wouldn't be up every fight, you can alternate those and throw in Fissure each battle. Seismic Smash is a nasty attack that also holds. Earth's Embrace gives you a bunch of hit points and increases survivability. Rock Armor can be thrown in if you want some more defense, but it's probably not required. -

I'm running a Fire/Dark that I have up to 30. Even without Imps, it's a beast. All the +def and -tohit of /Dark give you survivability, and Tar Patch + containment + Hot Feet just dishes out the damage. Now, Hot Feet saps endurance, but then at 28 you get Soul Absorbtion, which gives it to you for a chunk of a battle. I'm currently running at even level/6 heroes when I solo - again, without Imps yet. My attack sequence is to first Fade (~+15% def), then Smoke (~--7% tohit), then Darkest Night on one of the rear mobs (~-22% tohit and -30% damage), run around a corner, when first mob arrives, drop Tar Patch (-30% resist), Fire Cages (set up containment and keep them in range of Hot Feet), Soul Absorbtion (-10% tohit and big regen and recovery buffs), hit toughest mobs with hold, or if things are going poorly, throw in a Flashfire to disorient. That yields a total of roughly 17% def and -39% tohit while you have the entire group immobilized and take contained, tar-patched, Hot Feet damage. Nasty, nasty, nasty. I just figured out how to get a build with Boxing and Cross Punch worked in. Cross punch is a very nice add, giving a pretty good damage melee cone. I had to give up the ST immob and AoE hold to get it, but I don't miss either and like the damage. This build is a beast - solo or in groups