AoE Confuse comparisons - which one is the best?

[malleable1]

So I really like Confuse.  My main since I started recently has been playing Illusion/Rad, and like it alot.  But I would like to try out some AoE Confuse.  

My first thought was Cold Control would be the best since the toggle is instant cast.  But now I'm curious about the other AoE Confuse thats available?  Electricity, Wind and Mind.  Rather than play all of them, could I ask what you guys think of all the AoE Confuse powers?

 

Thanks,

Mal

[Psyonico]

Plant probably comes out on top mainly due to  the Recharge to Duration and lack of an accuracy penalty.  Mind is my favorite because it does not notify enemies, meaning you can cast it aggro free.

[Oysterhead]

Mind: 
Mass Confusion, level 32, Targeted AOE (range 80), 240s base recharge, 37.25s base duration

Electric: 
Synaptic Overload, level 26, Ranged Chain AOE (range 80), 60s base recharge,  27.94s base duration

Ice:
Arctic Air, level 6, Toggle PBAoE, No recharge, 3.7s base duration 

 

Plant: (I assume you meant plant when you said Wind? There's no Wind Control)

Seeds of Confusion, level 8, Cone AE (Range 50, 60 degree arc), 60s base recharge, 37.25s base duration

 

 

Mind comes latest in the sets but is very good, you'll need a lot of recharge to have it up every single pack, but doable eventually. You'll spend a good bit of your leveling with just the single target confuse though, and when exemplaring to older content won't have this.

 

Plant, the confuse essentially defines the set. You'll have it almost immediately, and with just a few enhancements in the power itself it'll be useable every single fight. As Psyonico implied, the range of Plant means you'll be getting to where you are in aggro range, not a huge deal as you'll confuse most of them soon after, but you it is riskier to use. Misses mean things could well turn and attack you.

Electric is between those two, comes sooner, same range as Mind, refreshes such that you can have it up every fight. The chain mechanic makes it slightly less predictable in what it'll hit, but not a huge deal? 

Ice is very different from the other three. It's a self based toggle, so it'll confuse stuff you've already engaged in and its duration is short enough that if you move, they stop being confused. Good if you plan to be in the thick of things, but where Electric and Mind can confuse from a distance, and Plant skirts the edge of the encounter, Ice has to jump right into the middle to make use of it. From what you've described as enjoying, I'd probably rank Ice as the least impressive of these.

 

If confusing things is your primary motivation while leveling, Plant definitely. If you don't mind waiting, and want to sit back and watch chaos, Mind or Electric. If your play style has you in the heat of things, and you like Knockdowns as much as Confuses, Ice!

Edited May 10, 2021 by Oysterhead

[UrbanHound]

Elec Control's confuse also is aggro free without the reprehensible recharge of Mind's - it just may take awhile to spread and it can be wonky. But Plant is the undisputed leader of AoE confuse. 

[malleable1]

Ahhh.  Fantastic comments guys.  You are giving me a lot to think about.  One thing I should have mentioned is that I REALLY hate cones.  I have the worst time getting mobs targeted with them.  Ohhh, and hate location AoE.  So I left it off the list. 

AND I have this from Wind Control:

"Wind Control Keening Winds
You create a sphere of variable speed winds that generate strong friction within the turbulence of the air. This creates odd echoes and sounds that confuse foes caught within the burst. The loss of confidence your foes suffer due their confusion causes them to lose endurance over a few seconds, while you gain endurance due to a boost in confidence you enjoy from seeing your foes struggle. This power builds Pressure.'

 

So has this been removed, because it sounds like Wind has an AoE Confuse?

To me the one from electric ends up having to be cast repeatedly to get all the mobs, where with mind (or wind) I'd just have to cast it once.  

But the thought of having to make it all the way to 32nd level sounds unbearable.  

 

Comments appreciated,

Thanks,

Mal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Corythia]

I would say go plant.   You get it really early, it's up every fight, and it hits a really broad swathe of bad guys.   Electrics' also comes somewhat early, but it hits one guy, then starts jumping to neighboring mobs.  To get even half the mob confused takes quite a while, so unless you throw another aoe control out on top of it (like the sleep, which is very good), you end up waiting a long time.  By the time the last mob is infected, the first mob is over it.  Arctic Air in Ice is very good, but generates a LOT of agro actively over time so when they become unconfused, they are looking to kill you; not the tank, not anyone else, just you.  So it's good, but it needs a secondary that can mitigate the attention you will be getting.  Also Arctic Air tends to be a little smaller area in practice so there are almost always going to be mobs you can't get, where Seeds from plant can usually get pretty much all of them every time if you line up your shot right.  Mind doesn't get a pet.  I've made several mind controllers, and I haven't liked any of them.  Ever.  Some people like it, so maybe try it, but honestly if you're just wanting to confuse a lot of guys, Plant is the easiest to get that going and also has other great powers that make it a breeze to play.  If you want to confuse ALL the guys, you'll have to wait to 50 and slot Coercive Persuasion, the infectious control proc there will even confuse bosses more often than not - not for long, but long enough to get them locked down with a hold.

[Psyonico]

There is no such thing as Wind Control in Homecoming.

 

Electric control is a bit of a weird thing, as  the confuse is a chain, so you have to wait for it to chain across enemies if you want its full effect, which teams won't do.

 

Arctic Air in Ice has a *chance* to confuse, so it's not really something that's all that reliable, and requires you stack other controls on top of it to really get the full effect.  It's still a good power though.

 

Mind Control... I love mind control... but Mass Confusion is not up every group... your every group controls are Mass Hypnosis (mostly useless in groups) and Terrify.  In most of my mind experience I switch between Total Domination and Mass Confusion and then if the group is really running fast, Terrify as my 3rd group power giving the other two time to recharge.

[Corythia]

Ack, just read your post.  Wind control isn't in the game, so maybe that is something that is coming, or something that someone was hoping for, but it isn't a thing right now.  Seeds of Confusion is a cone, but it's a really long wide one, so aim at the mob in the middle and you get everyone.   Elecrics isn't a cone but see above for how it ends up working.  Arctic Air is a fairly wide PBAoE so you move among the bad guys and it affects mobs around you.  They don't like the cold, so they will try to run pretty much immediately, causing scatter if you're not spamming the aoe immobilize.  I don't remember what minds confuse targeting is.

[DocMidknight]

One of the other private servers has wind control but I don't recall which one

[malleable1]

Ok, just reading from the wiki.  Damn.  That was my next build. 

I've gotten my ice build up and running, and it seems to work pretty nice.  I can just swing through an area and confuse a swath of baddies.  

I guess I could give plant a try.  Mind sounds the best, but getting to 32nd might prove too much.

 

Mal

[Corythia]

Arctic Air's confuse duration is pretty short, you actually need to slot it for duration and stand in the middle of a mob to keep them confused, but that actually works pretty well if you can keep them from running away.  There are a couple ways to manage that just with Ice though so it's only a problem if you aren't on the ball.