Now that I've found the ultimate team player... what's the opposite?

[Aeroprism]

Hello again beautiful people!

 

This game keeps treating me so well, I don't think I'm ever gonna leave.

 

SO thanks to your recent advice, I have brought a Elec/Time controller to her mid 20s, I play her exclusively with my friends and while she is almost unsoloable, she is absolutely insane when its time to make criminals into kittens.

 

Now that I have had a taste of control, I want to experiment the other end of the spectrum.  What's a few suggestions for the ultimate solo controller?  I was thinking Dark/Storm but I am quite opened to suggestions.

 

Edit: Oh and, so we're clear, I don't expect a controller to be soloable at level 6, but I don't want something that becomes viable at 50 with a build that will cost me my firstborn.  Maybe something that I will be able to actually use while there is still game content for me to play 😉

 

Thanks in advance!!

Edited September 10, 2020 by Aeroprism

[Tacheyon]

Dark/Storm is not bad.  I would go Fire or Plant/Storm.  Lots of potential damage there, plus Plant has that Seeds of Confusion and Carrion Creepers combo.

 

Or Illusion/Traps(Storm).  No real hard controls but once you get Perma-PA things are pretty easy so i am told.

[Aeroprism]

Plant/Storm and Fire/Storm both look very sexy.

 

I have a Grav/Kin actually.  Maybe I should give him a chance.

 

 

As for getting to Perma-PA, this  is precisely what I'n trying to avoid.  I want the game to be fun before it's over 🙂

[kiramon]

12 minutes ago, Aeroprism said:

As for getting to Perma-PA, this  is precisely what I'n trying to avoid.  I want the game to be fun before it's over 🙂

I'm confused. 

[Doc Ranger]

I think he means that perma PA will take some of the challenge out of it therefore less fun.

 

 

[Aeroprism]

55 minutes ago, Doc Ranger said:

I think he means that perma PA will take some of the challenge out of it therefore less fun.

 

 

While that is absolutely true, what I meant first and foremost was:  you get PA at 32.  You'll arguably need a few slots in it to make it perma and worth using.  I don't want to trudge trough the game with a character that will only become fun so late.

 

The subtile difference between "Ill/Storm is godly once you have Perma-PA but such a drag to get there" and "Ill/Storm is fun all along but when you get Perma PA, it becomes a riot"

 

The first 10 levels go by super fast but for everything that comes after... I don't farm and I dont PL. Nothing against people who do so but to me, this is a journey game, not an endgame game. I just don't want to wait forever to start enjoying my character.

 

Sorry for being so picky 🙂

Edited September 10, 2020 by Aeroprism

[EmperorSteele]

Point of correction: You get Phantom Army at 18. Phantasm comes in at level 32. Yeah, you can get the most bonkers power in the game at level 18. But, it doesn't get SUPER bonkers unless you go out of your way to get all the juicy recharge needed to make it perma.

Mind/Kin is my all time favorite combo for soloing. Of course, it can also be a little boring. Mass hypnotize, fulcrum shift, then pick off one by one. Sometimes maybe whittle the foes down to a sliver of HP then terrorize them all to death in one attack. When played "right", you'll never take a single point of damage while solo. It's kinda slow, but super safe. But also, don't expect to be soloing AVs without some kind of help. A secondary with better -regen would probably be better suited to pair with Mind if that's what you want to do.

EDIT: Ninja'd!

Edited September 10, 2020 by EmperorSteele

[Aeroprism]

It's 18?  My bad!  This makes it a lot more accessible.

 

On and I don't intend to solo AVs on any characters ever.  I`ll be content with soloing missions 🙂

[Aeroprism]

I'm reading Illusion right now and it does look yummy and fun but why two stealth powers? Are they even useful solo?

 

Edit: Super high defense.  Answered my own question.

 

I really, really need to install Mids designer...

 

How does the stealth powers from Ill and Storm play with each other? Do they stack?

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Aeroprism

[HelenCarnate]

Ill has Superior Invis which is a toggle for just you.  It also has group invis which is for your team and that is not a toggle.  I haven't used that one so I am not sure if that casts an aura around you that keeps your friends invis if they stay close or if they can run off afterwards and still be hard to see.  The stealth from 2 different toggles will not stack so one or the other.  Superior Invis lets you keep attacking and still be hard to detect but the others in /Storm or /Dark offer better defense numbers. 

 

My Ill/Dark is one of my laziest controllers.  I summon stuff and kick back for the most part just tossing out debuffs and buffs. 

[Coyote]

Ill/Storm is my primary, and it solos well from 2 to 50+, including AVs. Missions are a breeze, it's probably the best combo in the game in the low-mid levels for not caring about any kind of bad 2 +2 Bosses combo at the end of a mission, EBs, etc. Between Deceive and PA, end Bosses are easy, and for fighting your way to them it does very well. It doesn't clear large spawns very well, not like Plant or Fire, but it does very well against smaller groups of tougher mobs.

 

Endurance will be an issue, you'll have to plan to try to mitigate that.

[Aeroprism]

It's a tossup between Ill and Plant.  

 

[Insert "Why not both" Meme here]

[Vanden]

2 hours ago, Aeroprism said:

On and I don't intend to solo AVs on any characters ever.  I`ll be content with soloing missions 🙂

You say that now, but before you know it you need Manticore for Task Force Commander and you don't really feel like forming a team for it...

[HelenCarnate]

2 minutes ago, Vanden said:

You say that now, but before you know it you need Manticore for Task Force Commander and you don't really feel like forming a team for it...

And with Ill/anything you have your own team!  And they play like a lot of PUGs too.  They run off on their own and aggro mobs they shouldn't, they ignore you when you tell them what to do or they just stand there and wait for someone else to grab aggro before they jump in.

[Mercurias]

I would honestly say Illusion/Dark is probably the most powerful solo controller. 

 

Illusion/Storm has more raw damage output, but it lacks any self-healing, and since I'm trash at the game I never play a "solo" character who is missing a self-heal.

 

An Illusion/Dark has plenty of damage as well as exceptional defenses and healing. It's a great character for soloing AVs and GMs. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Mercurias

[oedipus_tex]

Gravity/Storm is a strong contender for this IMO. Good damage from early on due to Lift/Propel. It's a much smoother ride than a lot of other /Storm pairings.

 

After level 40 or so, any /Storm is good,  but the ride there is bumpier.

 

[roleki]

10 hours ago, Mercurias said:

I would honestly say Illusion/Dark is probably the most powerful solo controller. 

 

Illusion/Storm has more raw damage output, but it lacks any self-healing, and since I'm trash at the game I never play a "solo" character who is missing a self-heal.

 

An Illusion/Dark has plenty of damage as well as exceptional defenses and healing. It's a great character for soloing AVs and GMs. 

Ill/Dark is an extremely adept soloer AND good on teams AND good on Leagues.  It's just... really, really good.  If you're looking for a controller you can take anywhere and do anything, Ill/Dark is that.  

 

Another super-soloer is Ill/Traps; its capabilities aren't as comprehensive as Ill/Dark, but it will plow through just about any content you throw at it.  A seriously underrated build with layered synergy across both power sets.  Setting traps while your PA takes the heat is just one part of it; the -ToHit from Spectral Terror and Seeker Drones combines with the +Def from Force Field Generator to make you darn near unhittable if anything survives long enough to notice you.  

 

And if you don't intend to solo ITFs/AVs or whatever, Mind/Poison is sneaky-effective in just about everything else you'd want to try, and a decent poster boy for the concept that Mez means more than just Holds and Immobilize.

[Hardship]

15 hours ago, HelenCarnate said:

And with Ill/anything you have your own team!  And they play like a lot of PUGs too.  They run off on their own and aggro mobs they shouldn't, they ignore you when you tell them what to do or they just stand there and wait for someone else to grab aggro before they jump in.

Quoted for truth!  Made me laugh out loud at how true that is. Illusion pets really are like playing with an inexperienced PUG!

[Riverdusk]

I ended up taking both Sup Invis and Group Invis on my illusion/traps.  SI is a toggle and GI is a click, so they do stack although for the stealth SI alone puts you at the stealth cap and the minus aggro cap.  The +def does stack though and for traps in particular I like it as it is a way to stealth the force field generator so it doesn't aggro stuff when I just want to run through.   Also needed it for the LoTG mule and it was either that or maneuvers, so not much difference and not nearly as endurance intensive.  The invis occasionally useful for teammates, although I try to avoid hitting the tanks/brutes with it.

 

Perma PA eventually definitely, but I had phantom army to where it was only down for about 15 seconds even in my mid 20's, so not even that late blooming anymore.  Just need to grab IO's early and grab the +rech available from the SG base buff and the P2W vendor.   Then you get the occasional lucky "quick reflexes" from secondary mutation too.

 

 

[Riverdusk]

18 hours ago, HelenCarnate said:

And with Ill/anything you have your own team!  And they play like a lot of PUGs too.  They run off on their own and aggro mobs they shouldn't, they ignore you when you tell them what to do or they just stand there and wait for someone else to grab aggro before they jump in.

Honestly my experience is that PA is pretty well behaved and even without being able to command them found them easier to deal with than most MM pets.  It also helps of course that they are invincible and taunt enemies to themselves so you really don't have to babysit them.  As to grabbing aggro, I use the macro to cast them directly on who I want them to attack: 

/macro PA powexeclocation target "phantom army"

 

The stupid one I find is the phantasm that tends to like to run up and try to melee mobs even though it has no melee attacks.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Riverdusk

[Aeroprism]

Ill/Dark eh?

 

Just for the concept alone this sounds fun.  Might even play Red side.  God knows I have enough blue side already.

[Hopestar]

ill/dark is very strong and solo friendly, GM and AV friendly too. Put Overwhelming Force proc into Phantom Army for effective CC too. You also have a 3 pet powers so you could slot the +20% res/+10% def from pet Aura IOs if you want to make them more durable, though proc damage is usually the method of choice instead.

[Aeroprism]

Though I still plan to try Plant/Storm, I must say that Ill/Dark won me over for now.

 

So here's Wrong Answer, my new Controller.

 

[Shocktacular]

A word of caution for ill/dark:  You cannot use Superior Invisibility and Shadow Fall at the same time, but you CAN use Group Invisibility while Shadow Fall is running.
... I wasted a respec because of this mistake.  Please learn from me!

[krj12]

My plant/storm is great both solo and on teams.