The_Cheeseman

Frankly, skipping Terrify is a mistake. Terrify is one of the best powers in Mind Control, and skipping it significantly weakens the set. Slot it with 5x Positron's Blast (including proc), the Overwhelming Force KD proc, and use it as a massive AoE attack with strong soft control. It will quickly become your favorite button to press.

The above posts pretty much tell you what you need to aspire to. As for how long it takes to come into your own, it depends on your build plan. I followed a build that I used on Live, so I knew exactly what sets I wanted from the start. I started buying attuned set IOs as soon as they became available, and doing so, I was able to reach perma-dom by level 32 (though, it required a ton of babysitting and was unreliable in chaotic, or laggy situations). With my finished build, including things like purple and attuned sets, I can maintain permadom while exemplaring down to level 23. So permadom is not an endgame-only state (though, I should reiterate that having a finalized build plan makes a huge difference) and if you care about the character, early investment can really pay off. I should also note that permadom has a few fringe benefits to your build besides the obvious double control magnitude and mez protection. Notably, domination fully restores your endurance every time you activate it, making endurance management much easier. I still recommend using all the top-tier endurance IOs (Panacea, Miracle, Numina, Performance Shiter) but the constant refills allow you to get away with much more endurance-heavy attack chains than many ATs.

I admit bias, but Mind/Fire dom just feels so powerful for me. My character is a demon lord, and with mind control's powers causing the head-gripping, tormented animation, alongside fiery assault's explosions and conflagrations, it's just so satisfying! It also helps that the combo is just broken OP, too. No other game lets me feel quite such heights of power fantasy.

Ahh, okay, I see what you mean about, now: cultivating habituation via incentivizing periodic engagement. Thank you for clarifying, that is, indeed, an example of what I am talking about--inhumane design that manipulates people into potentially unhealthy behaviors. I strongly disagree that such techniques are ubiquitous outside of information technology, but even if that were the case, it doesn't make it ethical. People get justifiably upset when they learn about how these sorts of features manipulate them, but many of those technologies and platforms are so new, we haven't yet decided how we, as a society, will deal with it. I also think it's important to make a distinction with products for which collectibility, and thus randomization, are part of the core engagement. In the case of trading cards and blind bags, the reason people enjoy them is precisely because of the intermittent reward schedule--they're for people who enjoy that sort of gambling. Most loot boxes in games contain rewards that may enhance the experience, but are not integral to the core engagement. They're literally just taking stuff that we used to get in games for free (cosmetics, power-ups, convenience features, etc.), and not just parceling it out for extra money, but intentionally including a randomized system in which you're very likely to have to pay significantly more than the reward is really worth (what you would have been willing to pay to buy it, outright) in order to obtain it. A good example would be mobile "gatcha" games, wherein part of the core engagement is collecting characters/items/whatever from a random pool. In such games, the randomization is a core gameplay mechanic upon which the entire experience rests, not a mere gimmick to make people spend more than they normally would on fluff. The same could be said of normal gambling--some people enjoy the experience of gambling even if they don't win. Loot boxes in games aren't generally designed to be fun to open for their own sake, they are a vehicle to deliver a product, not the product itself. As for whether you get something of value or not from a loot box, I don't think that's particularly relevant to my point. The issue is incentives: what motivates the player to buy the loot boxes? If the loot boxes are primarily intended to be a means of accumulating some sort of currency or similar reward that is core to the game, then the randomized rewards are just a bonus. That's fine, consumers will be able to judge whether the primary reward is worth the money they'd need to spend on boxes, and be happy with any extra stuff that comes with it (like the Cracker Jack boxes, assuming the person buys them because they like Cracker Jacks). The issue is when the primary motivation to purchase loot boxes is to obtain some rare, nominally valuable reward that could be sold individually. That is when you get into coercion territory, in my opinion. We're already seeing culture slowly steering away from such inhumane design in games. Early MMOs were lousy with Skinner Box mechanics and forced habituation, but as players caught on, such features are becoming less prevalent. It may be something that requires a generational transition to finally see the problem in proper context, but I am optimistic.

I’m not sure you understand my argument, here. What do cell phones have to do with exploiting operant conditioning? Also, there is a huge difference between marketing a product and coercing a customer. In the former, the seller means to generate demand by demonstrating how the product can be valuable to the consumer. In the latter, the seller is taking advantage of the consumer by preying on their psychological vulnerabilities. The main draw of loot boxes is the random chance to get a valuable reward. Putting a guaranteed currency in them is irrelevant to my point, that’s just a consolation prize.

This is the Nemesis thread I sought.

Once you get your first level 50, and start playing incarnate content where the game basically throws piles of money at your face, you can afford to start slotting attuned sets at level 7 and don't have to worry about low level enhancements anymore. This is a major reason why I highly recommend everyone find a character they can stand to play and just force themselves to stick it out to 50. Having a max level character just makes everything so much easier and more accessible. I literally had to liquidate all the enhancements from all my alts to force myself to level my first character to 50, but those alts are rocking the bling now that my main is tricked out. Trying to min-max inf on low level toons just isn't worth the trouble, in the long run.

Mass Confusion is a long-duration, AoE, hard control power that can be cast at range and doesn't notify enemies. It's the most versatile and effective control power in the entire game. It is worth every second of its recharge time.

Personally, I am glad you're offering a counterpoint, as discussions like this are a great way to get ideas and learn more about the nuances of the build. I don't want to claim that mine is the only way to play a mind/fire Dom, but I do want people who read this thread to know the reasoning behind the choices I advocate. As for AoE controls, I'd say the most skippable is Mass Hypnosis, as it's really only useful in niche situations like multi-AV fights or certain phases in incarnate trials. The next would be Total Domination, as is the case for most control sets' AoE holds--they're just undertuned as a category. I do still use it though, as a way to keep MOBs from running out of my Rain of Fire. Mass Confusion is ridiculously awesome and if you skip it, why even play Mind Control? I actually don't think of Terrify as an AoE control, primarily. I consider it a primary attack with strong control properties. I fire it off on cooldown for extra damage, with the control mostly being a bonus. Though, with a knockdown proc, it is a pretty effective alpha-breaker for when your main AoE controls are down.

I admit, I am one of those that prefer to run ahead or go down a different passage to solo cysts. Honestly, as a dominator, it's just easier for me to go alone, because I have better control of where the MOBs are going and can leverage my controls and AoEs more effectively. It's annoying when I confuse the cyclopses/minotaurs and then all the melee grunts dogpile it, wasting all that extra damage output. It's like how people complain that control ATs are useless on teams because things die too quickly. I avoid that problem by going off on my own and soloing stuff. If the team seems to be in trouble I can always zip over there and bail them out, but otherwise I figure it's just a divide and conquer strategy that saves us all time. Seems like wasted potential, otherwise.

I concede this point. You're absolutely right. 😉

Yes, it is. Though I don't think it's really appropriate to directly compare the two powers outside of the context of the rest of their respective sets.

I never said accuracy was bad, I said slotting accuracy TOs and DO isn't worth your time and/or money considering how weak they are and how little time you spend in the pre-22 level range. Low level content just isn't that hard, and you're better served selling enhancement drops to a vendor to get more cash to buy IOs. It's not that accuracy TOs/DOs are literally useless, but that the opportunity cost isn't worth slotting them. If you simply must maximize your accuracy at low levels, you're better served frankenslotting with attuned set IOs that will automatically scale with your level.

I vote for "a mob of Family." But mostly just so I could use the sentence, "Beware, a mob of Mob MOBs ahead!"

I mean, I soloed LRSF and a handful of giant monsters just to prove that I could, but I generally play on +0/x8, because I'm at vet level 70+ and just don't need more exp. Killing purples just takes too long. I pretty much know what my character is capable of, and I don't really feel the need to "prove" myself. I already have a fairly strong reputation on my server, regardless. I am confident that my main is about as strong as a character in CoH can possibly be, so I don't really consider myself to be in competition with anyone. I guess it comes down to, "You'll know you're one of the cool kids when you're no longer concerned with being one of the cool kids."

1) The terrorize/fear conditions do not trigger Containment. Containment requires hold/disorient/immobilize/sleep. 2) Not that I am aware of. It's pretty much an autoskip power. 3) No, as lowering the cooldown on Mass Confusion would make it way too broken at high levels of recharge. It's already possible to get it up every 60 seconds in the right build, after all. And it's basically a one-button spawn killer. Mind Control is slightly weak on Controllers, since it is fairly low damage and lacks a pet. However, it is god-tier on a Dominator, so if you like the set but aren't enjoying it on your controller, maybe give that a try.

Coercive Persuasion proc is mostly useless for building magnitude on an AV, because it only lasts around 8-10 seconds. That's why I like it better in an AoE, because you can get the procs to overlap and stack up to one-shot confuse elite bosses for a short time, causing their alpha strike to hit their allies, instead of your team.

I use the Overwhelming Force proc in Terrify for that very purpose (I have Ragnarok in Fireball). I otherwise have it slotted with 5x Positron's Blast, including the proc, and it's one of my favorite go-to powers for both soft control and AoE damage. Honestly, I think Terrify is one of the best powers in the set!

Hydra Accuracy is a +12% To-Hit buff, which lasts until level 22. Not sure where you got the level 12 from. Beginner's Luck is also a +15% To-Hit buff, scaling down until level 19. I apologize for referring to it as an Accuracy bonus in my previous post, that was incorrect. Accuracy TOs are an Accuracy bonus, not a To-Hit bonus, and are far weaker than a To-Hit bonus, so they should not be simply added together with the previous two. The combination of Beginner's Luck and Hydra Accuracy alone should have your average hit rate at or above 90% for most of your pre-22 time (which usually amounts to a handful of hours). Since hit rates have a ceiling of 95%, you're not going to be getting a whole lot of benefit from accuracy bonuses, anyway. Even ignoring Beginner's Luck, you will have a base To-Hit of 87% from Hydra Accuracy until level 25 IOs become available at level 22, so even if you slotted a ton of accuracy TOs, you could only get +7% hit rate in total before you reach the cap. I doubt most players would notice a difference between 87% and 95% To-Hit for the short time you'll actually be in that level range (and the difference would actually be smaller, considering Beginner's Luck). In short, unless you solo at +4 at pre-20 levels, TO/DO accuracy bonuses really don't do much of anything for you. So yes, I think it's placebo effect.

Another vote for Plant/Storm, here. I had one on Live and it was a blast to play. SO much damage, spawns just evaporate. Heavy on end, as the above poster mentioned, and can tend to get a bit out of control (ironically) on crowded maps, but if you don't mind dying occasionally, it's a ton of fun. Here's a great guide from the old forums that explains the philosophy/playstyle of Plant/Storm wonderfully: https://web.archive.org/web/20120904213614/http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=135061

Low level characters get a bonus to their base accuracy ("Beginner's Luck"), so accuracy TOs and DOs aren't particularly important. If you get the massive To-Hit buff from DfB, you shouldn't have any accuracy issues until 22. I would assert that any benefit you think your character derives from accuracy TOs is placebo effect.

With perma-dom levels of recharge, you shouldn't need any filler attacks, though. Your attack chain should be Blaze -> Fire Blast -> Blazing Bolt -> Fireball ->Repeat. Any "filler attacks" are just lowering your DPS for no particular reason. I see no reason to invest so many slots in a power that's only marginally useful for when AVs use their godmode (considering the AV should be confused anyway, so it's no threat). I'm not arguing that Mesmerize is a bad power, it's just not worth the opportunity cost to use that many slots on it. As for Mass Confusion, I have explained why I think my slotting strategy is a better choice, so I won't re-hash that. Malaise's Illusions is a fine set to use until you can slot Coercive Persuasion, but it seems pretty inferior to me to sacrifice one of the most unique and strategically interesting attributes of Mass Confusion just for a trivial damage proc. You don't need to slot 2 confuse sets, since you can slot Ascendancy of the Dominator in Confuse, and Coercive Persuasion in Mass Confusion (where the proc is much more valuable). Confuse is the most efficient control to use on AVs, since it has a longer duration than Dominate and can therefore stack to higher magnitudes, as well as contributing to your team's DPS AND being aggro-less, so you should be spamming it in tough fights and will get tons of damage buff procs. Ranged defense I totally agree with, and always recommend. Honestly, I think nearly every character should try to reach defense softcap to something, it's just such a valuable quality of life improvement.

Mass Confusion is fine. If it had a base recharge of 100 seconds, Mind perma-doms would have it up for every spawn, and that would be ridiculous. Am I the only one who doesn't consider not having a pet a "sacrifice"? I think it's actually one of the benefits of Mind Control. Anyways, you can't compare powers from different sets in a vacuum. That's not how powersets work--you have to consider the context of the entire set. Mind Control's gimmick is aggro-less control and the ability to defeat enemies without ever leaving stealth. To that end, a pet would be actively detrimental to the set, whereas Mass Confusion is a perfect capstone. You say Mind Control doesn't get a pet. I say Mind Control has the best pets.

Don't bother slotting enhancement drops, and definitely never buy them from NPC stores, it's a huge waste of inf in the long run. Do Death From Below four times to get all four of the available buffs, and sell all enhancements you get to a vendor. Use that cash, and any additional you get via reward merits, at level 22 to outfit yourself in level 25 basic IOs. You should also consider frankenslotting some of the cheaper set IOs to get better total enhancement values, and if you buy the attuned ones, they'll level with you. You can start frankenslotting at level 7, with the right sets. Training enhancements do basically nothing, and you will save millions of inf by buying level 25 IOs and not having to replace SOs every few levels. Origin-based enhancements are a relic of the past, and no longer relevant in CoX, except as a source of inf.

I wouldn't say that it takes Dominators twice as long to kill stuff without containment. Dominators have much higher AT damage scales, Controllers have 0.55 for ranged damage, while Dominators have 0.95, so Doms do almost double damage with the same power. Doms also have a damage focused secondary, while controllers are forced to try to maximize what damage they can from a control set and support set. If you build it right, a Dom can do very respectable damage. As a SG-mate of mine once said about my Dom: "Fierna isn't really a Dominator, she's more like a Blaster with holds".