Mind Control/Psionic Assault, my first build

[Display Name]

Hi!  I've been playing CoH only a few months and wanted to start my own build.  For some strange reason, I happened to settle on the Dominator AT.

 

I've read this thread:
https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/5478-reasons-your-dominator-isnt-as-strong-as-it-could-be/

 

...*and* the replies.  I've concluded that my attack strategy (under ideal circumstances) will be to launch an AoE mez attack and then engage the enemies one at a time with Psionic melee attacks.  Naturally, according to Murphy's Law, this means that I will only ever team with ATs with ranged and PB AoE damaging attacks (thus neutralizing my mez.)

 

Anyway, my build has so far assumed that I will encounter ideal circumstances at least 51% of the time.

 

Since I'll be depending on melee attacks a lot, I'd like to improve my Smashing/Lethal defense and/or resistance.  HOWEVER, I've also read this article:

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Defense_Effectiveness

 

...and I wonder if wouldn't be easier/cheaper/more efficient to focus my defenses on positional vs Smashing/Lethal?  I know most people simply dismiss positional defenses as completely irrelevant and will not hesitate to tell me it's a complete waste of time.  But I would rather hear from someone who has actually tried it.

 

And finally, I'd like to increase my Psionic defense.  Mainly just for thematic purposes, but you know...

 

In this line of thought, here's what I have so far.  I'm using Dynamic because I don't yet have a clear idea how to build it.  I haven't figured out what to slot yet, so I don't have any slots added.

 

I usually pick Hover instead of Combat Jumping because CJ is almost useless to me as a travel power (even indoors because I've encountered multi-level rooms.)  I also have no interest in Confuse or Mass Confusion or World of Confusion.  To me, those powers are entertaining but a waste of exp resources.

 

Can anyone offer suggestions on how I'm thinking about this?  Specifically regarding powers chosen and where I might add slots.  But maybe also regarding "Are you NUTS?!  Melee?!?!?!"

 

Edit: After talking to a Live player, I concluded that World of Confusion would make a good mule.  The build here shows Combat Jumping and Super Jump because CJ provides an additional protection from Immobilization, and CJ with Flight is not thematically sound.  I may or may not take it for my own toon.

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.2
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Heartthrob: Level 49 Natural Dominator
Primary Power Set: Mind Control
Secondary Power Set: Psionic Assault
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Mesmerize

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Psionic Dart

• (A) Empty
  

Level 2: Mind Probe

• (A) Empty
  

Level 4: Super Jump

• (A) Empty
  

Level 6: Telekinetic Thrust

• (A) Empty
  

Level 8: Combat Jumping

• (A) Empty
  

Level 10: Kick

• (A) Empty
  

Level 12: Mental Blast

• (A) Empty
  

Level 14: Tough

• (A) Empty
  

Level 16: Weave

• (A) Empty
  

Level 18: Hasten

• (A) Empty
  

Level 20: Psychic Scream

• (A) Empty
  

Level 22: Drain Psyche

• (A) Empty
  

Level 24: Mass Hypnosis

• (A) Empty
  

Level 26: Total Domination

• (A) Empty
  

Level 28: Subdue

• (A) Empty
  

Level 30: Terrify

• (A) Empty
  

Level 32: Stealth

• (A) Empty
  

Level 35: Psionic Lance

• (A) Empty
  

Level 38: Link Minds

• (A) Empty
  

Level 41: Psychic Shockwave

• (A) Empty
  

Level 44: Mind Over Body

• (A) Empty
  

Level 47: World of Confusion

• (A) Empty
  

Level 49: Psionic Tornado

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Domination 

Level 1: Prestige Power Dash

 

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;887;385;770;HEX;|
|78DA65D2FD4AC2501400F0AD296BD3B5869889993432246118F56F84685FA021F40|
|0326DE885B5C9768DFCB317EACDFA7883753C3B6A782F1BECFCCEB9F79E6DB7FFDE|
|CD7FDE7FDC48B2D9F1DD381E76C35716B83C8CD42797CF23D7572449D21F3C37E27|
|C1A852315C2E375D1B013063C0A7DA7CF82975570B249B7E3D89DFBDC19C42C0CD8|
|78154BF94108937A9E3B63C1C4C0E08E4DA61C221DA3E799E7BD58F8F818BCB1988|
|D98CFF8A2763B63E3F56A7D37E65EB4487B9E2C373C84EEEA705F2FBBC691C00543|
|5205D9059149649412BC9C42A2A068106649B2280750A392A8283B106A241A8A0EB|
|372243914056A0C391503250362929828368845B32C941CAC532029A0E4418AD875|
|221551DA2025AA29A17440CA24651403A4425241E9825449AA690DEC5E23A9A1EC4|
|18D4D62A71D5AE9D75D4A1DC5849A064903E5146A9A244D943A8843E2A09C81B448|
|5A284799EDBF636F243917B22D412E04B914E44A909E2083CCF6A9D0F6D7A722F9D|
|2212BFFCFFE08F22DC8AF207F3D840E37|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Edited September 15, 2019 by Display Name
changed build

[Chirikiti]

"But maybe also regarding "Are you NUTS?!  Melee?!?!?!""

 

I'm not sure of what basis "are you nuts?! melee?!!!?" comes from. Don't be afraid of melee. It's awesome. If other people are wtf then they don't know.

 

I'm the first one in at the AVs/Ebs. I extensively use melee and am almost always in super proximity to the everything right in there with the sents and tanks and scraps and brutes. I rarely stay at range unless I really need/want a tactical overview of the situation.

 

I only use SJ and CJ 

 

I sorta want to say more, there's some other observations buuuut that's getting to close to disclosing my build/play style. =p

 

- Number-Six, THE Mind/Psi Dominator, Solo're of TFs and GMs, Carrier of Teams.

[Display Name]

Several posts I've read about Dominators in melee gave me the impression that most people avoid it.  Given the nature of these power sets I've chosen, I don't see any way to avoid it.  Maybe other power sets work with range but I'm not interested in those yet.

 

What is "EB," "SJ" and "CJ?"  What does "Number-Six" mean?

[Chirikiti]

They do avoid it, to their detriment (sometimes, many Dom sets work/synergize without melee). Some just have 'oh squishy not getting close' mentality which is fine if that's your playstyle but not close to the truth really

 

Elite Bosses

Combat Jumping

Super Jump

 

Number-Six is me, my main, my Dominator hehe (and Praetorian-Six which is an exact clone of my main in the same server. So nice gotta have it twice hehe)

[Papaschtroumpf]

>>most people simply dismiss positional defenses as completely irrelevant and will not hesitate to tell me it's a complete waste of time

 

what? I usually try to go for positional defense first, you get much better mitigation, although it's usually hard to get all 3 positions. My corruptor and controller have capped Ranged and AoE and find ways to stay out of melee (my corruptor perma-hovers, and my controller is stormie with hurricane on top of 25% melee def)

 

I'm a (set bonuses) numbers guys before a Powers guy, so all the powers in the world won't do you much good if you can't get the set bonuses you want. It's often a compromise. For my playstyle, Perma-Domination is a must and will be a primary goal of my build. You can slot LOTGs in CJ, Weave and Stealth and that's it. That wouldn't do it for me. I gotta have 5 LOTGs in every build, but I think it's even more important in an AT where control powers are your mitigation but can take a while to come back up. If Mass Hypnosis is your primary Crowd Control, you need to make it perma, which is trivial. 

 

I find that Sorcery/Rune of Protection works in lot builds, so I know I will be looking at that option.

 

My last Dominator was plant/thorn 7 years ago, so it'll take a while for me to get back in the AT.

 

I just started my Mind/Psi (only lvl7) and I'm learning the powers as I go, so I can't really offer power choice advice.  I don't think I have ever taken all the attacks in any set, I'd be surprised if they are all needed here. Drain Psyche looks like a gem

At level 7 I love Mind Probe followed by TK Thrust as a way to "juggle" enemies, Nemesis Staff and Levitate being my other controls. Mass Confusion seems really expensive compared to Seeds of Confusion in Plants and can't be up every group, otherwise I am a fan of confuse powers.

While not a fan of sleeps, this may indeed be a good way to go, as this character feels pretty single target compared to most of my other characters. I haven't fallen in love with the combo yet, so I will be monitoring this thread carefully to see how it goes and what kind of advice you get.

 

AoEs with a duration effect are a good place to place procs, I could see playing around with a bunch of procs in Psychic Shockwave, in fact it could hold 4 damage procs, one ToHit Debuff and one Res Debuff proc and it's a fast recharge power. (Does it stack on itself?)  Total Domination could take some procs but it doesn't last long and takes forever to recharge

Edited September 17, 2019 by Papaschtroumpf

[Radiaria]

Here's my build for this, it softcaps Smashing, Lethal, and Ranged damage, and near-perma Drain Psyche along with max health easily with just one accolade, and it receives VERY good AOE damage and high single target (though you may have to use Psi Dart/Mesmerize to fill your attack chain in, that's the only "lacking" part here I couldn't really make better because the build was tight.)

 

I went into Ice Mastery because of the huge amount of Smashing/Lethal defense (the most common damage form) and Sleet to really help with -res which is a huge pain for psi damage, and further, you get another decent AOE in Ice Storm which contains also a soft control knockdown effect. Further, you get Hoarfrost which improves your health pool, gives you a very needed heal, and improves the bonuses on Drain Psyche substantially.

 

You can use Psychic Shockwave (which also applies a -res FotG) and then follow up with Psychic Scream, further, all your AOE controls except for Total Domination and Mass Hypnosis (for obvious reasons) would have damage procs on them, so again, your AOE with this build would absolutely not be lacking.

 

The single target is also very strong, you have Dominate, Psionic Lance, and Mind Probe (and sometimes Psi Dart/Mesmerize.) You should also aim to utilize Sleet in this because of its -res which again, is incredibly valuable for a number of high-resistance psi enemy groups.

 

At 5 enemies with Drain Psyche (this is what I think is "standard") you'll have regen over 70 HP+, at full strength, you're completely at the regen cap.

 

You may encounter resistance issues but you have lots of defense and regen to mitigate that.

 

You get access to five types of AOE CC - Mass Confusion, Total Domination, Terrify, and Mass Hypnosis, and the ever-lovely Psychic Shockwave stun.

You also get access to three types of ST CC - Confuse, Dominate, and Mesmerize

 

Dominate is being used as a damage power proc monkey, and it's recharge is so low and given that because you're a dominator it will always be a magnitude 6 (will go through boss-level) permanently, you can easily stack two of these for more control if needed despite how the duration isn't very long. Although, your AOE hold should hold anything Boss and under immediately.

 

For incarnates, Agility as Alpha Core is required, Degen Core is recommended as an interface, Lore is your choice (my personal favorite is Longbow), Destiny is your choice (recommend Rebirth for the heal, Barrier could be nice as an "oh shit" moment, Clarion would probably work best though overall), Hybrid I highly recommend Assault Core, Judgement is debatable but as a default I love Ion.

 

-- Side note: DO NOT take the powers in the way that is shown here, it is not even possible to, I just moved them around for slotting purposes to make it easier and not go back and forth with slotting. Please make sure you take the powers in a decent order for any exemping down.

 

Villain Plan by Hero Villain Designer 2.23
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Mutation Dominator
Primary Power Set: Mind Control
Secondary Power Set: Psionic Assault
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Mesmerize -- Sleep-I(A)
Level 1: Psionic Dart -- Dmg-I(A)
Level 2: Dominate -- UnbCns-Dam%(A), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(3), Apc-Dam%(3), NrnSht-Dam%(9), GldJvl-Dam%(9), HO:Nucle(11)
Level 4: Mind Probe -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(5), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(5), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7)
Level 6: Confuse -- CrcPrs-Conf%(A), CrcPrs-Conf(13), CrcPrs-Conf/EndRdx(13), CrcPrs-Conf/Rchg(15), CrcPrs-Acc/Conf/Rchg(15), CrcPrs-Acc/Rchg(17)
Level 8: Mass Hypnosis -- Sleep-I(A)
Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11)
Level 12: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A)
Level 16: Psychic Scream -- Rgn-Knock%(A), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(17), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(46), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(46)
Level 18: Total Domination -- Lck-%Hold(A), Lck-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(19), Lck-Acc/Hold(19), Lck-Acc/Rchg(29), Lck-Rchg/Hold(29), Lck-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(31)
Level 20: Drain Psyche -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(21), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(21), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(23), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(23), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(25)
Level 22: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(25), ShlWal-Def(27), ShlWal-Def/EndRdx(27), Rct-ResDam%(50)
Level 24: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)
Level 26: Terrify -- SprAscoft-Rchg/+Dmg%(A), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(31), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(31), SprAscoft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(33), SprAscoft-EndRdx/Rchg(33), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(33)
Level 28: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(43), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(45)
Level 30: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Mass Confusion -- MlsIll-Dam%(A), MlsIll-Acc/Rchg(34), MlsIll-EndRdx/Conf(34), MlsIll-Acc/EndRdx(34), MlsIll-Conf/Rng(37), MlsIll-Acc/Conf/Rchg(40)
Level 35: Psionic Lance -- StnoftheM-Dam%(A), StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(36), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(36), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(36), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Dcm-Build%(37)
Level 38: Psychic Shockwave -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Arm-Acc/Rchg(40), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(40)
Level 41: Hoarfrost -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(42), Prv-Heal(42), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(42), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(43), Prv-Heal/Rchg(43)
Level 44: Frozen Armor -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(45), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(45), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(50)
Level 47: Ice Storm -- OvrFrc-Dam/KB(A), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(48), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(48), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(48), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(50)
Level 49: Sleet -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Domination 
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A)
Level 50: Agility Radial Paragon 
Level 50: Clarion Radial Epiphany 
Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Longbow Radial Superior Ally 
Level 50: Assault Core Embodiment 
Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement 
------------

Edited September 17, 2019 by 3333053222

[SlimPickens]

If you want to get into those crazy silly dom tricks at high lvl like soloing TFs and making Avs your little puppy, then you want both confuses, both sleeps, the aoe hold is optional due to its long rech time. I always take the fear cone as well, it is a powerful soft control tool.

 

Psi lance is your hardest hitter, mind probe is your best melee, and psy shockwave is mandatory for its overall damage and how well it plays with domination in effect. If you like more aoe then you can use the scream cone, or if you want more single target subdue does good damage and has immob as a secondary effect, outside of probe, lance, and shockwave the rest is dealers choice.

 

Drain psyche is your -regen on hard targets, with the bonus of +regen to you, but for the most part this is a debuff rather than worrying about hitting 10 targets with it everytime to buff yourself. the regen is nice, but your control is so good you rarely get hit so the power really ends up being used to soften them up rather than heal you. You should probably slot this for heal, end is not an issue with perma dom, and heal sets offer more +rech bonus.

 

Positional defenses are great, but your shield is going to be typed, so getting to caps on typed makes more sense, and requires less slotting sacrifices.

 

 

[The_Cheeseman]

Doms can be played as melee/ranged or full ranged, depending on the sets you choose. Mind Control works great at range, but Psi Assault has great melee powers, so you'll probably prefer to be in range to use them. This fact does complicate your defense build, as it's fairly easy to hover with capped ranged defense while still getting a ton of recharge (that's what I do on my mind/fire). If you will be meleeing a lot, you either need to build up your melee defense (which is not as easy with dominator powers as ranged defense) or go for Smashing/Lethal (which also comes with a side of melee defense). Smashing/Lethal covers the majority of attacks in the game, regardless of position, but it will be a very polarized defense--you'll definitely need to pay attention to which enemy groups will be able to ignore your defense and lock them down hard.

Of course, as a Mind Controller, you have a ridiculously effective control kit, so you don't really NEED defenses, as you can lock down anything without ever engaging in combat, if you want. This is a much more careful and methodical playstyle, and much less forgiving of mistakes, but can be fun. Not really recommended for team play, however, as it'll be too slow.

As for power selections, I don't think you should bother with Rune of Protection, as Domination provides all the mez protection you could ever need, and you will be perma-dom (because otherwise, why are you even playing this AT?) Mass Hypnosis isn't a power you will use often, but it can be really useful in certain circumstances, such as managing groups of AVs or getting past trash spawns without aggro in Lambda Sector/TPN. It can also be handy for resetting an encounter once you slot the Fortunata Hypnosis proc.

Your go-to, every spawn control will be Terrify. Terrify is amazing. Slot it as an attack (I use Posi Blast, with proc) and put the Overwhelming Force KD proc in it, and it's ridiculous. Seriously, it's one of the best powers in Mind Control.

I do recommend taking Total Domination, but only because you can 4-slot Basilisk's Gaze in it. I don't often need it, but it's handy at times since it's Mind's only form of immobilize (I use it in combination with Rain of Fire). Plus, once you are at high enough levels of recharge, you can alternate Total Domination and Mass Confusion to lock down just about every spawn (on faster steamroll teams you may just need to settle every third spawn with a Terrify->Judgement nuke combo).

I recommend slotting Ascendancy of the Dominator in Confuse, as you'll likely be spamming it on bosses to perma-mez them, so the damage buff will stack-up, great for soloing AVs/GMs.

Hypnotize is a very useful power at lower levels before you get perma-dom, as it allows you to one-shot sleep Bosses/AVs. Just remember that it has a damage component, so it can't stack magnitude. That makes it a lot less relevant at endgame, when all your controls are double-magnitude all the time, anyway. It can still be handy when exemplaring to really low levels, so I just stuck a Hami-O in it and took it off my tray.

Levitate and Telekinesis are auto-skips for Doms. Levitate is obsoleted by our assault secondary, and Telekinesis is just bad. All the other powers in Mind Control are at least worth slotting, though the least important are likely Mass Hypnosis and Total Domination.

[Papaschtroumpf]

Some good thoughts. I was suggesting RoP for its damage resist, not for the mezz resist. It's good to focus on defense first,  but dmg resist and Regen can really add to a character's survivability. RoP only lasts 60s and would not be perma, but good to pop when something goes wrong with your controls for example. One of the Incarnates also provides resist I believe and could be used in alternance in high level content, although I have no experience with it.

 

Someone advocated for Clarion Destiny, but that seemed odd to me since its main use would be for perma mezz protection which you already have with permadom.

 

As I mentioned I'm only a lowbie and don't really have any experience with the powers. Any chance TK could be use to repel melee attackers the way I use Hurricane on my Stormie? Still doesn't seem super practical if you want to use your powerful melee attacks.

 

I'll probably take TK while leveling just to understand its mechanism, just like I'm taking most other powers to learn about them. I'll Respec in the 30s once I have a better idea of the gameplay and can start planning for sets.

[Display Name]

On 9/17/2019 at 5:50 PM, SlimPickens said:

If you want to get into those crazy silly dom tricks at high lvl like soloing TFs and making Avs your little puppy, then you want both confuses, both sleeps, the aoe hold is optional due to its long rech time. I always take the fear cone as well, it is a powerful soft control tool.

 

Psi lance is your hardest hitter, mind probe is your best melee, and psy shockwave is mandatory for its overall damage and how well it plays with domination in effect. If you like more aoe then you can use the scream cone, or if you want more single target subdue does good damage and has immob as a secondary effect, outside of probe, lance, and shockwave the rest is dealers choice.

 

Drain psyche is your -regen on hard targets, with the bonus of +regen to you, but for the most part this is a debuff rather than worrying about hitting 10 targets with it everytime to buff yourself. the regen is nice, but your control is so good you rarely get hit so the power really ends up being used to soften them up rather than heal you. You should probably slot this for heal, end is not an issue with perma dom, and heal sets offer more +rech bonus.

 

Positional defenses are great, but your shield is going to be typed, so getting to caps on typed makes more sense, and requires less slotting sacrifices.

 

 

Can you be more specific?

 

Both confuses: Confuse (Primary,) Mass Confusion (Primary)

Both sleeps: ?

AoE hold: ?

Fear cone: Terrify (Primary)

Psi lance: ?

Mind probe: Mind Probe (Secondary)

Psy shockwave: Psychic Shockwave (Secondary)

Drain psyche: Drain Psyche (Secondary)

 

[The_Cheeseman]

6 hours ago, Papaschtroumpf said:

Some good thoughts. I was suggesting RoP for its damage resist, not for the mezz resist. It's good to focus on defense first,  but dmg resist and Regen can really add to a character's survivability. RoP only lasts 60s and would not be perma, but good to pop when something goes wrong with your controls for example. One of the Incarnates also provides resist I believe and could be used in alternance in high level content, although I have no experience with it.

 

Someone advocated for Clarion Destiny, but that seemed odd to me since its main use would be for perma mezz protection which you already have with permadom.

 

As I mentioned I'm only a lowbie and don't really have any experience with the powers. Any chance TK could be use to repel melee attackers the way I use Hurricane on my Stormie? Still doesn't seem super practical if you want to use your powerful melee attacks.

 

I'll probably take TK while leveling just to understand its mechanism, just like I'm taking most other powers to learn about them. I'll Respec in the 30s once I have a better idea of the gameplay and can start planning for sets.

I’d strongly recommend against trying to build resists or regen on a Dom. The opportunity cost is too high.

 

Survivability parameters, such as defense and resistance, become more effective as you get closer to the cap. Low totals don’t really improve your effective HP all that much. In short, every little bit doesn’t necessarily help.

 

Doms need all the recharge we can get, as it allows you to pop Domination more often, adding end sustain, improving the rate at which you can stack control magnitude, and helps optimize your attack chain.

 

Doms have too little HP to make regen relevant, and not enough resistance in our power sets to get anywhere near the resistance cap, which is only 75% for Doms, I believe.

 

TL;DR: Don’t chase resistance/regen  powers or set bonuses on a Dom, it’s not worth the sacrifices to your build.

[Papaschtroumpf]

Now at level 16.

So far I'm playing this like a blapper on teams. Heaving hitting melee attacks with ranged to finish off or pull. The mass sleep is mostly useless on teams with a bunch AoE but I did a few missions solo and I can see how it's nice to pick off everyone else one at a time.

 

I got the old "please stop using confuse it steals our XP" from a teammate for the first time today :). I also let him get trashed by a boss a little later and after he got killed, use confused on the boss to tame him while I was finishing off. 🙂

 

TK is weird. Not worth the endurance but used the right way it could make for interesting mob positioning, pushing them in a corner for AoE, etc... 

[The_Cheeseman]

Ugh... There are still so many people who are... Confused about confuse. Just ignore the plebs and go back to soloing Giant Monsters. 😉

[Generator]

20 hours ago, Papaschtroumpf said:

Someone advocated for Clarion Destiny, but that seemed odd to me since its main use would be for perma mezz protection which you already have with permadom.

I think one of the branches (Core/Radial) of Clarion Destiny ups your Mez effects.  Maybe that's why it was being advocated?

[Papaschtroumpf]

Oh the Power Boost like effect, yeah makes sense.

[Chirikiti]

I think there's a lot left to be desired in the above build. A lot. Some seriously wonky numbers or good numbers in wonky places. About 12 -14 things need to be addressed by my reckoning. So I fully endorse it.

 

Cheeseman and Slim have some good advice. Though i disagree strongly with at least one advocated power.

 

"Ugh... There are still so many people who are... Confused about confuse."---yeah, don't bother, they should learn by doing and experience.

 

 

 

-Number-Six 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Display Name]

Neat!  Those were my impressions!  Yay!

[Generator]

Looking over this thread has me casting a critical eye on my own MC/Psi, and considering a few revisions.

• She currently has Levitate, just as an attempt to put a little bit of non-Psi damage into her attack chain, but I might just say the hell with this and spec it out.
• I also have Telekinesis, which I picked up thinking, "One day I'm gonna find myself needing one more control and then I'll be happy I did that." Well Shatterbrain is 38 now and that day hasn't happened yet.  I think I can pull the plug on The Great Telekinesis Contingency.
• On the Psi Assault side, I skipped TK Thrust, Subdue, and Psionic Lance, and I'm wondering if I ought to add in one of the latter 2, as my ST chain feels like it could use some more oomph (if Lance is usable in combat now, this might be the way to go).

-Generator

[Display Name]

Here are some of my own notes:

I started a new Dominator Mind/Psi in order to experience the various powers from the ground up instead of power-leveling.  Note that I haven't started playing with Domination yet, and I don't have a single enhancement.  So my descriptions are for "raw" powers.

 

Mesmerize

Up until level 8, Mesmerize is almost literally unstoppable.  At level eight I *started* to encounter enemies that were resistant to it.  At level twelve, I'm still having a hard time finding enemies resistant to it.

 

Psionic Dart

At level twelve, Psionic Dart is my primary ranged attack.  I have no plans to change that anytime soon.  I mainly use it to gain aggro and to soften them up as they approach.

 

Mind Probe

This is my first melee attack.

 

Telekinetic Thrust

This is my final melee attack because it creates knockback.

 

Dominate

I acquired this when Mesmerize started getting resisted.  It allows me to continue attacking while the target is mez'd.  It has a shorter range and shorter duration than Mesmerize.  But so, what?

 

Confuse

This is a monster.  I cast Confuse on everyone and then I attack each enemy for the purpose of causing at least one point of damage.  This completely negates the "no exp" penalty.  Then I sit back and watch the fun.  Done.  Confuse is unaffected by attacks.  I've heard multiple Confuse casts stack (so EBs/AVs are vulnerable, too.)  So when you have the "last man standing," you can continue casting Confuse on him while you whale away on him.  My answer to any objections: "Ok, I won't use it unless I'm the only toon standing."

 

Edit: Due to my being unenh'd and lack of using Domination, I can only take on groups of 3 at once.  I use Mesmerize/Dominate to hold enemies when Confuse wears off to prevent them from attacking me while Confuse recharges.

 

Edited September 20, 2019 by Display Name

[Generator]

@Display Name, just realize that Confuse is great, but (without spoiling anything) there is a very prominent endgame faction that across-the-board resists both Confuse and Fear.  Be prepared...

[Papaschtroumpf]

You can put a knockback to knockdown IO in TK Thrust to get rid of the kb. The KB can be useful but is often annoying.

At lvl23 I am still getting a lot of use out of my melee attacks. Looking forward to Lance. I'm enjoying the variety of controls.

 

If you put a damage proc in a sleep power, does it negate the sleep? (TBH I haven't checked if such a proc exists)

Edited September 21, 2019 by Papaschtroumpf

[Generator]

I think that on Mesmerize, the sleep gets applied like a half second after the damage, to prevent that sort of thing from being an issue.  That said don't take my word, check first.

[The_Cheeseman]

I wouldn't slot a damage proc in Mezmerize, mostly because you won't use it for damage. There are much better powers for that, and it wouldn't be worth the slot.

Yes, Confuse is amazing. It is one of the three powers in Mind Control that do not cause aggro (the other two being Mass Hypnosis and Mass Confusion) and thus can be used to lockdown MOBs before engaging them. Better yet, using these powers doesn't suppress stealth, so you can remain totally invisible while sleeping/confusing MOBs to ensure that not a single one is uncontrolled before you unleash your attacks. Do not, under any circumstances, slot an offensive proc into these powers.

As you've noticed, damage dealt by confused foes is only counted as 20% of the total damage when calculating exp, so as long as you deal 1 point of damage to a MOB, you still get 80% of the exp reward for killing it. Confusion is among the most efficient effects in the game when it comes to exp per minute. I often lead with Mass Confusion, toss a single fireball at the spawn, and then move on, knowing that they'll murder each other without any further effort required from me.

[Display Name]

So this is what I put together, based on the suggestions in this thread.

 

1) I want a dominator that does a mixture of ranged and melee.

2) I want her to mitigate being exemplared.

3) I want her to work with teams, but be able to solo long enough to bring the healer back to life.  Kidding!  I want to be able to solo "comfortably."

 

Update!  After playing around with a few builds in Mids, I concluded that Levitate was needed for the enh value.  Here is my build so far.  I have a 130% recharge when only my Inherent Powers are active.  Note that the build is incomplete!

 

Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 49 Natural Dominator
Primary Power Set: Mind Control
Secondary Power Set: Psionic Assault
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Psionic Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Levitate -- EntChs-Acc/Dmg(A), EntChs-Dmg/EndRdx(3), EntChs-Dmg/Rchg(3), EntChs-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), EntChs-Heal%(5)
Level 1: Psionic Dart -- Apc-Dmg/Rchg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), Apc-Acc/Rchg(7), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Apc-Dam%(9)
Level 2: Mind Probe -- Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(11), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Mk'Bit-Dam%(13)
Level 4: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 6: Dominate -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(15), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(17), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(17)
Level 8: Confuse -- CrcPrs-Conf/Rchg(A), CrcPrs-Acc/Conf/Rchg(19), CrcPrs-Acc/Rchg(19), CrcPrs-Conf/EndRdx(21), CrcPrs-Conf%(21)
Level 10: Telekinetic Thrust -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A)
Level 12: Mass Hypnosis -- CaloftheS-Acc/Rchg(A), CaloftheS-EndRdx/Sleep(23), CaloftheS-Acc/EndRdx(23), CaloftheS-Sleep/Rng(25), CaloftheS-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(25), FrtHyp-Sleep/Rchg(27)
Level 14: Hover -- Flight-I(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(27), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(29), Rct-ResDam%(29)
Level 16: Psychic Scream -- Ann-ResDeb%(A)
Level 18: Total Domination -- UnbCns-Hold(A), UnbCns-Hold/Rchg(31), UnbCns-Acc/Hold/Rchg(31), UnbCns-Acc/Rchg(31), UnbCns-EndRdx/Hold(33)
Level 20: Drain Psyche -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(33), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg(34), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(34), Prv-Absorb%(34)
Level 22: Fly -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 24: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), EndRdx-I(36), EndRdx-I(36)
Level 26: Terrify -- GlmoftheA-EndRdx/Fear(A), GlmoftheA-Acc/EndRdx(45), GlmoftheA-Fear/Rng(45), GlmoftheA-Acc/Fear/Rchg(45), GlmoftheA-Dam%(46)
Level 28: Tactics -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(36)
Level 30: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Mass Confusion -- SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(A), SprAscoft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(37), SprAscoft-EndRdx/Rchg(37), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(37), SprAscoft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprAscoft-Rchg/+Dmg%(39)
Level 35: Psionic Lance -- StnoftheM-Acc/Dmg(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(39), StnoftheM-Acc/ActRdx/Rng(40), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(40), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Thn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 38: Psychic Shockwave -- Arm-Dmg/Rchg(A), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Arm-Acc/Rchg(42), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Arm-Dam%(43), AbsAmz-ToHitDeb%(43)
Level 41: Indomitable Will -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 44: Mind Over Body -- ImpArm-ResPsi(A)
Level 47: Psionic Tornado -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A)
Level 49: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Domination 
Level 1: Quick Form 
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Heal-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 2: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- RgnTss-Regen+(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(46), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(46)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), PrfShf-EndMod(48), PrfShf-End%(48)
------------

 

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1449;657;1314;HEX;|
|78DA6593496FD3401CC5EDC4216469D352D23D5DD236DD489A0A2E6C2D559316D10|
|62221C1098AD546A92124519C4A70E403B05EB871E807E0CC7A63BBB115B8B0491C|
|580B487C80F08FDF4B1A2996AD9FE7FDFD66DECC78121762DEDBF397A615D5379BD|
|14D7329963B6F64F562AEE03CAA17D70A7AC6AEC8E594A7A75A5A9ACD658B855C26|
|9230B22B9546FF5679C634F5B54C3192348D5CD658AEB415773227A6E3F9546AC56|
|3BDCE658CF46AD167BD2FA6F49554C15C35F2DE4A3B6F64D3BDF1BCB15CED29A19B|
|C554E12252A6CB83B54BB2903C5356CEF255D294CB82A0A6D8AE905741ED1A791D7|
|4D67AC2364599D4946D117202DC1E252749F1A8F4A869C5D2DCABA4017ACF92E7C0|
|A02C1F862AA9F671688DE4B4141CA8D91D1B3246406A6FC0A6B7E43BF0901D3B511|
|EDB790A79769C2697C09D67481D7489C7058FE2FAA259DA8C681E680ECF23D5D25A|
|1F934FC0F6A7E433B0F324FB93000DCCDB308039742ED82D76FBF16DF73FB43D021|
|FC7F67D85362B68E61C9A63E8B3274ECE91F360DF61D02B9E166BD54B8E966FE8A7|
|EF3BF903ECFF49FE22379941F2FA99C1DF8FBCCDA2B541B3B531F3006B15C6C4DEC|
|19C1DEFF1CDAE0FE447F21318FE0CB648BF5DDCE7AE5BC83EB0CEFD905A8039021C|
|332E63F4721F7AEF20EFE05DF21E791F0C3D201F828D8220BDC1E7C81C7A010EBF2|
|45F91AFC1D175D027DE217A87F622DFE83E723F3876803C481EE37C64F346388F11|
|CE6350B4716AE3A3A20D4B16D122D422FCEF5A650DA2D4A2957F45AB9E41B9E52A1|
|FCC8A525A18DB7A1FABFB325AA74CD629BBEB943D75CA62AD12C61A25B5EA3957D4|
|4168AEA6EA392E6DBAA5AEB2CE73F0674BB3A953AA7566C347B01EE11398EFEF5AD|
|F087C7F6B7D7DD0266E60BD276E82FF012CE4DC20|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Display Name

[Papaschtroumpf]

You must have done OK with this build, Chirikiti  didn't have bad things to say!

 

I'm thinking about working on my Dom some more after taking a break from the game due to work travel.