Guide to Controller Electric/Kinetic while Leveling with Teams

[DougGraves]

Guide to Controller Electric/Kinetic while Leveling with Teams

 

This guide covers the power for an electric/kinetic controller while leveling with teams. How to use them, how useful they are, and how to slot them. It completely ignores end game and IO sets. It also mostly ignores soloing as soloing a controller while leveling is just painful.

 

Why Electric/Kinetic? Electric while leveling relies primarily on Static Field for control with occasional Tesla Cage and Jolting Chain. This leaves time to use the kinetic powers which are fairly active. Team mates appreciate your controls and will love speed boost and damage boosts.

 

Why not take Electric/Kinetic? Electric is low damage. Kinetics provides little protection to you or your allies and the heal cannot be targeted at allies who are away from foes. It relies entirely upon hitting, if your foes are too high or have high defenses and you cannot hit you cannot debuff them, control them, or heal. It is also a fairly active combination that may be too clicky for some.

 

Recharge Note: This is a guide for the combination of powersets.  Kinetics provides a recharge reduction in siphon speed.  Because of this I do not recommend slotting recharge into some powers like Tesla Cage that I would normally put a recharge into.  If you add hasten to the character you may want to reduce your recharge slots even further.

 

Accuracy Note: This recommends slotting one for accuracy. If you want to take on higher level foes than you, you will probably want to slot a second accuracy in your powers. This generally will not be a problem while leveling unless you sidekick up to level 50 teams.

 

Electric Control

 

Electric Fence is a single target immobilize and DoT. It and Tesla Cage are your highest damage powers, doing 3x the single target damage of chain fence or jolting chains and only Gremlins also does damage at all. So you need this for damage, but I rarely use this on a team unless it is full of controllers and lacks damage. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 damage.

 

Tesla Cage is a single target hold and damage. As one of your two high damage powers you should slot this for damage, accuracy, and a bit of hold. You do not need recharge as speed boost will give you the little bit you might want. I use this every time it is up, targeting a lieutenant if possible to hold the highest value target I can. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 damage, 2 hold.

 

Chain Fences is a AoE immobilize with minor damage. Against a group of foes it will do more damage than Electric Fence and will set up containment if you get an AoE damage power from somewhere. I skip this power, if I were soloing I would take it. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 damage.

 

Jolting Chain is foe knockdown and minor damage that jumps from foe to foe. With an 8 second recharge you can use this quite often. Since knockdown works on bosses, this is a very powerful control and I use it every time it is up. It is also great fun to watch. Although 1/3 the damage of Electric Fence it can hit multiple foes and do more damage overall although the activation is longer. It has to hit its first target to jump to others, so try to target a minion with it. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 damage.

 

Conductive Aura is a toggle that drains End from nearby foes and gives you +Rec and +Regen based on the number of nearby foes. It costs no Endurance to run so you should have it always on if you take it. The End drain stacks with your other electric powers and will drain your foes at lower levels where fights take longer. The +Rec is helpful if you stand by a bunch of foes. I never notice the +Regen. Slot with 1 End Modification, if you are around a bunch of foes you do not need more and if you are not by foes more will not help.

 

Static Field creates an AoE field that lasts 25 seconds and puts foes to sleep every few seconds. So while they will be woken up by damage they will go back to sleep again. With a base recharge of 40 seconds it is easy to have this available every fight. It can be place out of LoS, so this is a great alpha breaker. Hide behind cover and place this before your team attacks a spawn. Also, because it reapplies, even if it misses a foe initially it will eventually hit them. Just make sure to use this where you are fighting, if you place it and the foes run out of the area they will not keep getting reslept. Slot 1 accuracy, 2 recharge (a third recharge will only cut a few seconds off of recharge and is not worth it).

 

Paralyzing Blast is an AoE hold. It is great, but it has a base recharge of 4 minutes so it is not available very often. If you cannot hide around a corner and drop Static Field, you can open with this as the hold will prevent them from firing back. Otherwise save this for a panic button or to deal with adds. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 recharge, 2 hold.

 

Synaptic Overload is a confusion that jumps to other foes. It can affect an entire spawn but it takes time to spread (1 second delay between jumps) so it is not very good control in a fight. But it does not cause aggro. So use this on a spawn you have to tackle head on to soften them up, or on a nearby spawn you are worried might get aggro'd. Slot 1 accuracy. If you solo a lot put in 3 recharge.

 

Gremlins are pets that do some damage and can knock does down. Use these when available for extra damage and mayhem. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 damage, 2 recharge.

 

Kinetics

 

Transfusion gives a foe -End and -Regen and heals allies (including you) around the target. Use the healing for your team, but remember to stand close to heal yourself and advise your team as well. Also use the -Regen on AVs and GMs. Although they will only suffer a fraction of the effect, it helps a lot on DfB hydras, DiB shivan obliterator and others you will encounter. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 healing.

 

Siphon Power gives a foe -DMG and you and allies near you +DMG (note this is the reverse of Transfusion which heals near the target, this buffs around you). The effect stacks, so use it whenever it is up. The bonus to your team damage is usually more important than reducing damage on one foe so target a minion so you hit more reliably. Slot 1 accuracy, 1 recharge reduction.

 

Repel is a toggle that knocks back foes and costs Endurance when it does so. You do not need the control and do not want to pay the Endurance. I skip this.

 

Siphon Speed gives a foe -SPD (not -Recharge) and you (not your allies) +SPD and +Recharge. The effect stacks so use it whenever it is up. And target a minion so you hit more reliably. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 recharge reduction.

 

Increase Density is a team buff that targets one ally and buffs all the others in an area, except you. It provides them with resistance to disorient, immobilize, and hold and 18% resistance to smashing and energy damage for 60 seconds. Increase Density gives the +Resistance to everyone it hits, but only the person you target gets the mezz resistance part of the effect.  It says it slows their movement but it no longer actually does so. Keep this up buff on your allies. Slot for 1 damage resistance as End cost is trivial every 60s and recharge is trivial at 3 seconds.

 

Speed Boost is a team buff that targets one ally and buffs all the others in an area, except you. They will move faster but the important buffs are +Recharge and +Recovery. It lasts two minutes. It does not stack with itself from the same source. Reapply it before it ends. Slot 1 Endurance Modification as nothing else matters with the power.

 

Inertial Reduction is a buff to yourself and the team that gives you all temporary superleap. Skip this power.

 

Transference is a single target drain of a foe's endurance that gives End to you and allies around you. It is generally useful to give people End, although if they have Speed Boost they may not need it. It is especially useful with Electric to drain the End from one tough foe and then you can keep them at zero End. This is your control for EBs and AVs. Slot 1 Accuracy and maybe End Modification if you find you want more End drain.

 

Fulcrum Shift is the team buff that makes everyone want a kinetic in the team. It gives -Dmg to foes in the target area and gives +Dmg to you and your nearby allies for each foe you hit. So use this at the start of fights on the biggest collection of foes. Do not use this at the end of fights if it comes back up as using it on a few foes then instead of a lot at the start of the next fight is a waste. Slot 1 accuracy, 3 recharge reduction.

 

Edited October 31, 2019 by DougGraves

[Overclock]

One note: Increase Density gives the +Resistance to everyone it hits, but only the person you target gets the mezz resistance part of the effect. It's weird and annoying, but important to remember since it means you do need to cast it individually on people who need the Mezz Prot (if  you care, generally squishies can fend for themselves).

[DougGraves]

1 hour ago, Overclock said:

One note: Increase Density gives the +Resistance to everyone it hits, but only the person you target gets the mezz resistance part of the effect. It's weird and annoying, but important to remember since it means you do need to cast it individually on people who need the Mezz Prot (if  you care, generally squishies can fend for themselves).

Thank you, I edited my post to include that.  I did not know that.