Illusion playstyle and containment

[graeberguinn]

Planning out an Illusion alt and after reading many posts have some questions. I'm looking for anyone to share what secondary you chose, if you even bother to and how you set up containment(is it necessary or possible), what is your personal playstyle solo vs team (power set up/rotation for ST vs groups), what is your invis preference and why. Looking for a quick Illusion 101 for dummies and not looking for builds as there are plenty out there. 

Edited February 10, 2021 by graeberguinn

[Coyote]

Illusion is very hard to play with Containment. Your only good choices are Traps and Poison, as both provide a fast-recharge AoE Hold. Otherwise, Storm has a minion-level Stun, and TA has a minion-level Sleep.

 

I personally would skip the idea of Containment in most cases, and go for non-Containment damage... Storm, Traps, TA, and Poison are the best options here, with procs in the AoE Holds for the latter two. Storm and Traps have direct damage powers, and Fold Space to bring mobs into them.

 

I always like Group Invisibility because it's a Defense buff that can stack with other Concealment powers, but if you don't have any Concealment powers, then Superior Invisibility isn't exclusive and it gives a large decrease in your Threat Level. Sometimes I'd take both to make sure that I am up to using 5 LotGs because Illusion is so recharge-hungry.

 

For soloing, you Deceive a buffing/debuffing LT if one is available, and if not, stack Deceive on the Boss. Summon PA into the spawn, or use the Invisibilities to go past the spawn to pull PA into absorbing the alpha strike if it's not ready to recast. If going past the spawn is too dangerous because other spawns can see through Stealth powers, I stack Deceive on a Boss and use Spectral Terror to minimize the alpha. After that, it's usually time to start with the secondary, as Illusion really doesn't provide AoE options after Spooky and PA. Blind and SW are used to finish off low-damage mobs so they don't heal back from PA's damage, but that's a lower priority than AoE damage from the secondary or Epics.

 

For teaming, it's similar except that generally I wouldn't take the time to Deceive a Boss, and all AoEs from the secondary have a higher priority than Blind/SW. Illusion isn't a strong teaming primary, so there isn't much to do. And often I'd skip Spectral Terror, as without an AoE Immobilize it can make the spawn scatter a bit, and the debuff/Terrorize effect is not worth it if the team is rolling easily.

[Psyonico]

Illusion isn't great with containment... you've got Flash and Blind and that's it.  Your damage is more going to come from Phantom Army than from yourself, here's my experiences:

 

Illusion/Dark - my only Illusion 50.  I've got Perma-PA on this build so she really shines on both teams and solo.  I took Shadow Fall and Group Invisibility (since Shadow Fall and Superior Invisibility are mutually exclusive).  My set up is PA/Spectral Terror/Flash then Tar Patch then just Blind->Spectral Wounds->Blind

 

Illusion/TA - Currently about 33.  This build I don't plan on IOing out beyond commons.  Entangling Arrow helps you set up some additional containment, especially on EBs/AVs which are affected by PToD.  My plan is to take everything in both Illusion and Trick Arrow mostly because everything in both sets is solid.

 

Illusion/Storm - Currently 20.  I'm planning on a build that will get Perma-PA.  This build is all about havoc, while my Ill/Dark has -KB slotted in Phantasm, this guy is all for knocking back.  Freezing Rain, Tornado, Lightning Storm, Phantom Army, Water Spout are/will be my damage.  Taking Steamy Mist and Group Invisibility for the same reason as Illusion/Dark.

[Hjarki]

While I've played a number of Illusion Controllers, the one I play most often (which is, admittedly, not that often) would be Ill/TA.

 

This is one of the two support sets that can reliably (albeit eventually) set Containment on an AV/GM due to the ST Immobilize. It's far less useful than a standard Controller Immobilize since it (a) doesn't do damage and (b) is only Mag 3. In theory, you could potentially put Avalanche (both superior and normal) into Acid Arrow to have ~85% chance of a Mag 2 Immobilize being present on a target at any given time - this would allow you a reasonable chance to Immobilize bosses. But I've never tried it because randomly proc'ing Immobilize on large spawns is very sketchy in a team.

 

Likewise, you can set Containment (briefly) with Poison Gas Arrow and Blind. However, this is a Sleep so you're only getting one shot at it every 45 secs (before recharge).

 

That being said, I don't find that Containment matters that much. Against normal, everyday mobs, simply rotating Blind and Spectral Wounds will set Containment via Hold. Against AV/GM, Containment can come in handy, but most of your damage is Phantom Army anyway.

 

In terms of overall play, I'd separate team and solo.

 

Team-wise, it's actually one of the more useful Illusion secondaries. Most of Illusion just doesn't do a lot for you in a standard team - it's almost entirely a single target set. Trick Arrow allows you to do some decent AE damage and one of the better -resist debuffs for running on a fast team. It's also the ultimate Stealth spec, since it combines top tier stealth with top tier -perception bonuses. Once you get to the final AV/GM, it can cripple that AV/GM like no one else - you can floor their hit chance and damage so effectively that even virtually undefended players (or your Phantasm) can work in safety.

 

Solo-wise, it's a bit more problematic. Essentially, you have the tools to win virtually any battle - but you need to be able to use those tools. You can't just go stampedinging into a spawn like a Brute, but need to be able to layer debuffs. This makes long recharge defensive powers incredibly useful, even if they come with a full crash - after all, you don't care if all your toggles dropped when the target has another minute worth of Ice Arrow, Poison Gas Arrow and Flash Arrow to wait out before it can do anything particularly harmful.

 

However, while this is nice in theory, implementing in practice requires you have decent knowledge of what you'll be facing. With Superior Invisibility + Flash Arrow, you have the initiative against virtually any static spawn. But what if they see through stealth at ranges beyond Flash Arrow? What if there's an ambush? What if they're immune to attacks for some reason? That one guy hidden off in a corner that you missed with debuffing can ruin the whole encounter for you.

[Frosticus]

I dont worry about containment on my ill/cold. It is a drop in the bucket so to speak.

 

It is nice at low levels though

[EnjoyTheJourney]

For Ill / traps / soul, dropping poison trap in the middle of a spawn (while invisible) and then casting soul drain and dark obliteration is a decent AOE combination, particularly if followed soon after by casting caltrops.

 

If you'd like more damage, then drop acid mortar after poison trap, followed by soul drain, dark obliteration, and caltrops.