Bellicose

@Onlyasandwich Thank you! I definitely have some work to put in on the test server.

@mistagoat Perma-Fade! I don't know why that wasn't more on my mind. A strong point for Darkness. @EnjoyTheJourney Is Phantasm the source of knockback? I thought all of Phantom Army did that. Also, which Sorcery powers. That's a pool I've never used.

I am hoping some Controller gurus might point me in the direction of a solid Controller that I will enjoy. Wall of text incoming... A few things to know in advance. I will PL myself up to a reasonable level (30s), so I will never have to suffer through the low level grind. Influence is not really a concern. I tend to do about 50/50 solo vs team play. When I do team, it is with PUGs. I frequently do Speedy TFs and I really enjoy that challenge. I do have some goals. I tend to go towards, at least, some Defense caps (S/L, or S/L/E or R). I know a lot of people say that 32.5% is enough with just one small purple, but my experience (or perhaps playstyle) just doesn't really support that notion. I also always go for perma-Hasten. Since I do a lot of Speed runs, I always like to have good Stealth on board. Often this is just SS + Celerity, but it doesn't have to be. I would like to be able to take down a Pylon. I don't need to set a record here or anything. I think taking down a Pylon just represents being able to make a legitimate contribution to hard targets. I would like to be able to run Trapdoor at +4/x8. Again, I don't need to set a record here. Just looking for sustainability and survivability. I think the Trap Door test is a good benchmark as it does a nice job of representing the dangers of a +4/x8 team; and, I'd like to make a contribution when I land on one of those teams. Lastly, I'd like a Controller that could contribute on a 4* Aeon or ITF. Those get called out frequently enough, and I've done a few; but, I'd like this toon to be a real contributor. I realize these goals may not even be achievable. Especially based on this next bit. I have taken every Controller Primary and Secondary to 50 at this point. Some I loved, some I didn't. The ones I loved are much more in consideration than the ones I didn't. Although, I'd like to believe that I'm not so stubborn that my mind couldn't be changed. Primaries - Darkness Control: I've taken this to 50 four times now (/Cold, /Storm, /Earth Assault, and /Icy Assault). Love this set. Just don't know that it can do it all for me. Earth Control: I've taken this to 50 three times now (/Icy Assault, /Radioactive Assault, and /Thorny Assault); and, I'm presently working on a fourth (/Sonic Assault). Love the animations, terrific pet, love this set. However, I fear it's damage may be too low. Electric Control: I've taken this to 50 once (Electric Assault). Really did nothing for me. Don't like Sleeps or "chain" powers all that much. Maybe it's awesome and I just don't see it. Fire Control: I've taken this to 50 three times (/Kinetics, /Energy Assault, and /Savage Assault). Hate the Imps, love everything else. Seems like it should be able to meet the Goals. Gravity Control: I've taken this to 50 once (/Martial Assault). Eh. I'm not a fan of Knockback, and I consider having to put in a SA: Kb -> Kd Proc a tax. For the right power? Sure. Just didn't find the powers in Gravity worth it. Ice Control: I've taken this to 50 twice (/Darkness Affinity, and /Dark Assault). This used to be my 'go to' Controller on Live; but, despite my fondness for it, it pains me to say that I doubt it could reach my new benchmarks. Illusion Control: I've taken this to 50 once (/Radiation Emission). I wish I liked this set more. It seems do the things I'd want it to do; and, yet, I find it chaotic (which I don't enjoy). Mind Control: I've taken this to 50 once (/Psi Assault). Blech. Plant Control: I've taken this to 50 once (/Trick Arrow); and, I'm currently working on a second one (/Fiery Assault). Absolutely terrific set. Symphony Control: I've taken this to 50 once (/Trick Arrow). This set just didn't do it for me. I could be convinced this is 'the one', but I'd have to see some real proof. Secondaries - Cold Domination: I've taken this to 50 three times (Darkness Control/, /Dark Blast, and Beasts/). This is a good set. Defense, Stealth, a good -Res, team friendly. Dark Miasma: I've taken this to 50 three times (Ice Control/, Ice Blast/, and Thugs/). Another terrific set. Again, Defense, Stealth, a good -Res, team friendly. Electrical Affinity: I've take this to 50 once (Electric Blast/). I like the set for a Defender, maybe even a Mastermind; but, I suspect it will be a little too click-y for a Control primary. Empathy: I've taken this to 50 once (/Dark Blast). Eh, I'd rather have played Thermal or Pain to be honest. And, since it doesn't offer damage or a damage accelerant to the caster, I can't imagine it would hit the benchmarks. Force Field: I've taken this to 50 once (Ninjas/). I'd have rather played Cold on this one. At least it has blasts....which have knockback. Kinetics: I've taken this to 50 once (Fire Control/). I know this is heresy, I didn't enjoy my time playing a 'Kin. Maybe on a Defender, but as a Controller, I was so busy "kin-ing" I had no time to control. Nature Affinity: I've taken this to 50 once (/Water Blast). I like what this set does well enough. Visually, not so much. I don't see it contributing to the benchmarks, but I could be convinced. Pain Domination: I've taken this to 50 once (/Sonic Blast). I do like this set. Not sure it packs enough 'oomph' to meet the goals. Poison: I've taken this to 50 once (/Radiation Blast). I really liked this set. I could see it going the distance. Radiation Emission: I've taken this to 50 once (Illusion/). Another solid set. Missing some components, but workable. Sonic Resonance: I've taken this to 50 once (Necromancy/). Nice set, very team friendly, not so much solo...unless you're MM. Storm Summoning: I've taken this to 50 once (Darkness Control/). Hated it. Tons of damage and waaay too much chaos and knockback. No, sir. Not for me. Thermal Radiation: I've taken this to 50 once (Demons/). Offers a little more for the solo player than Sonic, but not much. Can't imagine it being the one hit the benchmarks. Time Manipulation: I've taken this to 50 twice (/Dual Pistols, and Robotics/). I love this set. Defense, Recharge, a neat toolbox. Sadly, probably not enough damage acceleration; but, I could be convinced I'm wrong. Traps: I've taken this to 50 once (Mercenaries/). Didn't like it at all. Possibly the wrong pairing, but I found myself really disliking it's package altogether. Trick Arrow: I've taken this to 50 twice (Plant Control/, and Symphony Control). This is another set that is dear to me, but probably not capable of hitting my benchmarks. I clearly have some leanings, but I'd appreciate a numbers or data driven perspective.

Because I've been noticing this scattering effect, I've been thinking of swapping out an attack for for Mu Mastery's Electrifying Fences. On one hand, the damage on Electrifying Fences is low compared to any of the attacks I swap out for it AND, it won't potentially trigger Storm Cell or Cat 5; on the other hand, the AoE on Storm Blast does seem pretty meager anyways and it might actually increase my overall damage in any given encounter. Thoughts?

Well, there were Cimerorans, so not susceptible, and they were certainly higher level than me. Again, I suspect it was just a string of teammates using KB powers. Second question: I know that Storm Cell doesn't really have an effect 'in a vacuum' so to speak. However, Cat 5 does have an independent damage effect like other rain powers which mobs try to run out of. That's not my imagination, right? While the little 1s or 2s are ticking above their heads the mobs run out of the area of effect?

Well, I was pretty sure that's how Jet Stream worked; but, after running a handful of ITFs this week I had noticed a trend. It was either me or a teammate. I suspect the latter.

Okay, I did. Quick question. Do I need to put KB->KD IOs in Storm Cell and/or Cat 5? I'm not sure if those powers are kicking mobs out of their own area of effect. or if I've just a string of bad luck with 'allies' 'helping' 'mitigate' damage through knockback.

I've been putting off make a Storm Blaster with hope that they will re-examine some of these elements. Has there been any talk of doing so, or should I just bite the bullet and make one?

Thank you! That is a relief to hear.

@Darkir - Out of curiosity (and because I'm planning on updating my Ice/Dark Dom), did you slot the Artillery in Ice Slick because the damage now makes it worth slotting or were you just chasing Ranged Defense? Trying to figure out if I need to rob Peter to pay Paul and get some damage in that power now.

Additionally, Poison likes it opponents close together and Energy has a tendency to spray the baddies around the battlefield.

I only have one Time Defender - Time/Dual Pistols. However, I tend to think of that toon as an Offender. CJ, Maneuvers, Weave and perma-Farsight puts me at the Defense cap. Hasten and perma-Chrono Shift gives me all the recharge in the world. Smooth attack chain. The debuffs are available for lots of procs. Probably wisdom in revisiting that toon as Time/Fire, but not enough time to make ALL of the toons that sound good.

Apologies. I interpreted "what would you make with it?" as " "what would you pair with it?". I don't really do concept characters.

Well, assuming that Against All Odds and it's +Dmg is proliferated; I would think that Fire would be a natural choice. Then, I thought about the synergy of -ToHit with Shields +Def; so, I thought Dark would be fun. Then, I thought about how Shield Charge is pulling you to the center of Melee; so, sets with PBAoEs (like Electricity's Short Circuit or Radiation's Irradiate and Atomic Blast) would be fun.

I can say that I just did a Broadsword/Willpower Scrapper to 50. Willpower was very sturdy. That being said, Willpower gets a lot of Regen (based on % of HP). I was aware of how much bigger those Regen numbers would have been on an AT with a higher HP cap than Scrappers. I think Willpower on a Tanker would be super resilient. I also have a Claws/Ninjutsu Scrapper (and a Claws/Bio Scrapper and a Claws/Fire Brute). It's a fun set. Never done it on a Tank. It gets a fair amount of AoE which I know that Tankers have buffed. Not sure what those numbers look like with Claws. (caveat: Claws is Lethal damage, so be prepared to see those orange numbers drop down in late game with 'Robots' and other mobs with high Lethal Resistance become commonplace).

I also went with full set of Artillery. It doesn't 'proc' well, so I used those slots to chase down some +Def.

I like Totino's Pizza Rolls; but, I wouldn't say they're "good".

It's Power Up.

Not sure this matters, but those Defensive numbers will come in 10 second increments once every 30 seconds, otherwise it's more like mid-thirties.

I paired mine with Shield. Used a lot of FF: +Rech to bring Shield Charge up frequently. But, it doesn't have the Endurance fixer. You might like pairing it with Rad Armor.

Dark/Cold. And, you should take the two shields... for your pets... and as LotG mules... and if you accidentally buff a teammate, well, good for them.

See, I think Martial Arts is a bit of an outlier with its zero AoE. Per Mids: Broad Sword: Slice (130°, 5), Headsplitter (19°, 5 [1]) Claws: Shockwave (90°, 10 [4]) Dark Melee: Shadow Maul (120°, 5), Touch of Fear (7', 10) Dual Blades: Sweeping Strike (90°, 5 [4]), One Thousand Cuts (90°, 10 [4]), Sweep Combo (7', 10) Electrical Melee: Jacobs Ladder (90°, 5 [4]), Thunderstrike (7', 10), Lightning Rod (20', 16) Energy Melee: Power Crash (120°, 5) Fiery Melee: Breath of Fire (30°, 10 [1 or 2], Fire Sword Circle (7', 10) Ice Melee: Frost (90°, 10 [4]), Frozen Aura (10', 10) Kinetic Melee: Burst (8', 10) Martial Arts: None Ninja Blade: Flashing Steel (130°, 5), Golden Dragonfly (19°, 10 [1]) Psionic Melee: Mass Levitate (10', 10) Radiation Melee: Proton Sweep (75°, 5 [3 or 4]), Atom Smasher (10', 10) Savage Melee: Shred (80°, 5 [3 or 4]), Rending Flurry (15', 10), Savage Leap (20', 10) Spines: Spine Burst (15', 10), Ripper (90°, 5 [4]), Throw Spines (90° 10 [4]) Staff Fighting: Guarded Spin (90°, 5 [4]), Eye of the Storm (10', 10) Stone Melee: Tremor (15', 10) Street Justice: Sweeping Cross (50°, 5 [2 or 3]) Spinning Strike (6', 10) Now, some of these cones are comically narrow. Anyone who's played Katana/Ninja Blade knows that hitting even two people with Golden Dragonfly is a treat, and not the norm (much less 10!). But, as a thought experiment, I can imagine some sets, like Savage which is already listed as S Tier, being elevated to the top of it's class. Now a couple of things I'm unsure of: Are these attacks even worth taking and slotting (ex. does Touch of Fear's 52.79 base damage even warrant a spot in a reasonable build). Also, do ALL Stalker AoEs crit from HIde? Even more of weird outlier question would be does the Dual Blades combo crit from hide (ex. Build Up -> Assassin's Blades (procing the Chance to Hide) -> Ablating Strike (triggering the Sweep Combo)?

Yeah. After sleeping on it, it also dawned on me that running a WP Stalker at +4/x8 might present a whole new set of problems into the math with the Resists and Regens working off of their lower base HP. It also might queer the results for sets like Dark or Claws running with -ToHit and Knockdown providing 'baked in' mitigation lowering clear times - not because of DPS, but because of that mitigation. On the other hand, the overall results would be more consistent with the other ATs if the tests were run with the same parameters (avg. time of of Pylon and Trapdoor). I'm super curious about the builds and the attack chains between the two testing sites. I think my fascination with these kind of data-driven analyses may flow from the potential in-game applications of the data (i.e. is there a AT/Power Set combination that with mathematically yield better results for my playstyle). But, I think that sort of information is outside the scope of this experiment. RE: 'Runners' - I would imagine that a test would probably include access to Soul Mastery/Moonbeam to help ameliorate that factor. At one point that power was SOP on Stalkers. I don't know if it still is.

Out of curiosity, why omit Stalkers from the Trapdoor test?

Of the two presented, I can speak to Ice paired with Dark. Mine was a Tank, not a Scrapper. It was very resilient, but the damage was low. I would concur with the above, that Dark/Shield is a strong and synergistic pairing.