Hello, I don't play Dominators

[oedipus_tex]

9 hours ago, EnjoyTheJourney said:

Another hand in the air here for choosing spore burst. 

 

Auto-hit powers that neutralize up to 16 mobs are helpful, as Hjarki is indicating. Also, you can put the Sandman sleep set heal proc into spore burst. It can be a one-slot 15% heal whenever it's available or you can put more slots into it to get some recharge and more sleep duration. 

 

 

This.

 

The new version of the AoE Sleeps are fantastic one slot wonders. Put the self heal proc in them. It will almost always fire, and can't miss. Even without recharge in the Sleep power itself, with just Hasten running the Recharge is very reasonable.

[ZorkNemesis]

I'm no expert on Doms and I often have difficulty with them because they typically don't perform to my desires (being a damage dealer with lackluster AoE being one of my biggest issues), but one I found recently that's really fun is Ice/Savage.  Ice Control is a strange set full of soft control but your two core powers, Arctic Fog and Ice Slick, really help to mitigate a ton of damage.  Savage Assault favors melee so it synergizes well with Arctic Fog, especially after 38 where you get a teleport attack to put you right into the crowd.  It also has a self-heal which is unique, though a little weak.  The crows proc really well, accepting two of the three -Res procs if you want to shred the armor off your foes.  I do wish Flash Freeze had a faster animation though.

 

Other builds might be easier, Ice/Savage is squishy for sure and Arctic Fog is an end whore (over 1 end/sec when unslotted), having Domination up as much as possible is almost a requirement to prevent Fog from being detoggled too.  Pretty active playstyle though and can be fun and devastating when done well.

[PainX]

8 hours ago, Rejolt said:

It has a wide yield but a loooooong animation time. Anything that hits a big area does poor damage. It may get looked at but don't count on it soon. I know my all fire dom used it as a proc mule because I had no other Melee AoE attacks (Hot feet counts as one but being a toggle doesn't proc as well as a click attack).

combustion is kinda on it's own level of bad some really low damage for the animation but that is not all it is damage over 7 seconds making any other domi pbaoe better imo and the best i have used i think is the dark pbaoe 2s feels very decent

[Hjarki]

8 hours ago, ZorkNemesis said:

Savage Assault favors melee so it synergizes well with Arctic Fog, especially after 38 where you get a teleport attack to put you right into the crowd.

Arctic Fog and Hot Feet are very similar powers. Arctic Fog has a minions-only Confuse with only about a 50% uptime while Hot Feet has a better slow, Fear and a damage aura.

[Spaghetti Betty]

Back with another update. Yikes, been almost a month.

 

All 3 Dominators are level 27. I haven't started IOing just yet, mostly because I'm confused as to where to place them. I will probably make my own attempts in Mids and make separate threads at some point.

 

The Dark/Fire continues to be a smooth ride. Definitely the easiest to play.

The Plant/Earth is probably the most fun. Had to start being a little careful as mobs evolve. Council rip him to shreds.

The Grav/Psi is becoming a little frustrating to play. As I stated before, this is the first time I'm playing both sets. I just got Wormhole and it's a little confusing to me. Is there a trick to it? Do I need to buff its range?

 

I'm pretty much done trying to progress the slow way. It's been a test of patience. I have way more fun in Domination than I do out, and I know that's only gonna get better with IOs. I'm probably gonna give them a boost to 35 and see how it goes from there. The good news is the Plant/Earth is definitely a keeper.

[oedipus_tex]

6 hours ago, Spaghetti Betty said:

The Grav/Psi is becoming a little frustrating to play. As I stated before, this is the first time I'm playing both sets. I just got Wormhole and it's a little confusing to me. Is there a trick to it? Do I need to buff its range?

 

 

Wormhole works similarly to other AoE stuns, like Stalagmites, Flashfire, etc. There are three major differences:

• Wormhole does not notify enemies. So unless you do something else to let them know you're around, they won't respond to the power itself.
• Wormhole teleports enemies it hits to the location of your choosing. Minions and lts are (mostly) always teleported if the power hits them, Bosses are teleported if they are +3 to you or less (so no teleportiing +4 bosses sadly). You aim the location where they will land the same way you position any power where you'd summon a pet or pseudopet.
  • Specifically, to use Wormhole, select an enemy with the reticle, click the power, then select the place on the ground where you want enemies to be teleported to. The enemy selected by the reticle is the center point of the effect. Enemies will all be teleported to as close as their model can hit to the location you clicked.
• After the teleport, enemies are knocked back. You can mitigate this knockback with a kb to kd IO, if you want (personally, I always do).

 

As Grav/Psi, what you probably want to do is Wormhole enemies into a tight pack, then use Drain Psyche to vampire +Regen/+Recovery from them. If you want, you can put a KB to KD IO (use the one that doesn't also provide damage) and Wormhole them on top of Singularity, whose Repel effect will now be a knockdown. 

[Uun]

1 hour ago, oedipus_tex said:

Specifically, to use Wormhole, select an enemy with the reticle, click the power, then select the place on the ground where you want enemies to be teleported to. The enemy selected by the reticle is the center point of the effect. Enemies will all be teleported to as close as their model can hit to the location you clicked.

Also, Wormhole doesn't require line of sight with the target and can be used around corners.

[Dark Current]

The trick to playing any dominator, regardless of powerset combo, is target recognition. Who is the biggest threat to you personally? Eliminate that threat.

 

You need to be very familiar with enemy factions and which enemy can do what. You need to pinpoint the most dangerous threat in a crowd and neutralize it. You don't have the armor, hp, or mez / debuff protection that a melee AT does to survive long in melee. You don't have the buffs, heals, or raw dps to survive at range for long either.

 

What you do have is over the top, one shot controls for just about everything short of EBs. Even AVs can be one-shot controlled outside of PToD (iirc they have boss-level mez protection). Also, know that certain controls will work with one shot even against those targets... ST sleeps, immobs.

 

You also have to have nerves of steel. You will dive into groups. You will eat alpha when your AoE controls miss. You will red-line your health. You will be hanging in as long as you can hoping that mega control power recharges in time before you face plant because you know you can turn the tide of battle if it does.

 

Lastly, you have to use Domination. Each time. Every time. No excuses. What are you holding onto it for? Click It! It's the hands-down, best and probably only true-inherent power in the game. All other Inherents were after thoughts, or 'would be nice' choices. Domination is CRITICAL to the AT. It makes dominators what they are. USE IT.

Edited July 15, 2022 by Dark Current

[oedipus_tex]

It might also help you to know that Gravity is one of the harder Dominators to play successfully, at least in my opinion. You really only have Wormhole as an aoe control, and while it's a good power, it's not going to provide the same mitigation other sets get. You can make up for some of it with the pet, but it's always going to be a struggle compared to some of the sets that are heavier on control. Struggling with Gravity is par for the course. 

The somewhat good news is at least Psi is a pretty good pairing for Gravity Control. Wormhole bunches enemies into tight groups, which you can then drain and use the Regen for that to power through encounters. Psi also happens to have poor ranged damage, which Gravity's Lift, in particular, can help fill.
 

Overall I consider Gravity perfectly "playable" but also am not surprised to see it feel weaker to your Dark and Plant--those two are usually considered the S Tier sets.

[Spaghetti Betty]

20 minutes ago, oedipus_tex said:

It might also help you to know that Gravity is one of the harder Dominators to play successfully, at least in my opinion. You really only have Wormhole as an aoe control, and while it's a good power, it's not going to provide the same mitigation other sets get. You can make up for some of it with the pet, but it's always going to be a struggle compared to some of the sets that are heavier on control. Struggling with Gravity is par for the course. 

The somewhat good news is at least Psi is a pretty good pairing for Gravity Control. Wormhole bunches enemies into tight groups, which you can then drain and use the Regen for that to power through encounters. Psi also happens to have poor ranged damage, which Gravity's Lift, in particular, can help fill.
 

Overall I consider Gravity perfectly "playable" but also am not surprised to see it feel weaker to your Dark and Plant--those two are usually considered the S Tier sets.

This has been my main problem with the Grav. So far it does very little controlling for a control set. That was fine in the under-20s because damage is king when health bars are that small. As I crept into the 20s when mobs start getting a little more complex, the Grav/Psi really started to crumble. No AoE crowd control to really leverage outside of the generic AoE Hold every 3 minutes. Most of my fights are done around the corner, which is a huge drag. The other 2 don't have that problem.

 

However, with Domination active the difference is night and day. Suddenly the Grav/Psi becomes an offensive juggernaut that dumpster's mobs in no time. Then it ends and I'm back to hiding behind a corner, taking potshots and hoping my AoE immob won't miss lest I be completely overran and hoping insps save the day.

 

However, this experience tell me that it'll be the Dom that sees the most growth when IOs are applied, so I'm not gonna give up on it. Worst case scenario, that one gets benched until I have a build and a PL to throw at it.

[Voltak]

On 6/24/2022 at 11:45 PM, ZorkNemesis said:

I'm no expert on Doms and I often have difficulty with them because they typically don't perform to my desires (being a damage dealer with lackluster AoE being one of my biggest issues), but one I found recently that's really fun is Ice/Savage.  Ice Control is a strange set full of soft control but your two core powers, Arctic Fog and Ice Slick, really help to mitigate a ton of damage.  Savage Assault favors melee so it synergizes well with Arctic Fog, especially after 38 where you get a teleport attack to put you right into the crowd.  It also has a self-heal which is unique, though a little weak.  The crows proc really well, accepting two of the three -Res procs if you want to shred the armor off your foes.  I do wish Flash Freeze had a faster animation though.

 

Other builds might be easier, Ice/Savage is squishy for sure and Arctic Fog is an end whore (over 1 end/sec when unslotted), having Domination up as much as possible is almost a requirement to prevent Fog from being detoggled too.  Pretty active playstyle though and can be fun and devastating when done well.

I will respectfully disagree here in light of experience I have had, what I have seen first-hand. 

@EnjoyTheJourney has a super Fire/Psionic  Dominator that absolutely shreds AoE.  Hot Feet + 3 Bonfire + Cages + Psychic Shock Wave (the biggest AoE out of Doms assault sets) and you have a sure way to be cleaning out Areas. 

Next, you have Plant Control Doms.  They can also clear out areas with speed. 

Now, @EnjoyTheJourney and I have done the ITF @54x8 difficulty settings, no inspirations, no deaths, no temps, and we absolutely demolish the towers of the ITF in no time. 

We clear part 3 of the iTF quickly.  

 

[oedipus_tex]

5 hours ago, Voltak said:

I will respectfully disagree here in light of experience I have had, what I have seen first-hand. 

@EnjoyTheJourney has a super Fire/Psionic  Dominator that absolutely shreds AoE.  Hot Feet + 3 Bonfire + Cages + Psychic Shock Wave (the biggest AoE out of Doms assault sets) and you have a sure way to be cleaning out Areas. 

Next, you have Plant Control Doms.  They can also clear out areas with speed. 

Now, @EnjoyTheJourney and I have done the ITF @54x8 difficulty settings, no inspirations, no deaths, no temps, and we absolutely demolish the towers of the ITF in no time. 

We clear part 3 of the iTF quickly.  

 

 

 

 

Possibly worth noting RE: Psionic Assault. On beta right now, Psychic Shockwave now takes the Dom +Damage ATO. That's a game changer for Psi since it normally struggles to find a good attack for that proc. Not anymore. 🙂

[Spaghetti Betty]

 

Hey guys, I'm back. It's been awhile. I feel like I've been personally attacked by the updates we've received over the past few months, as they caused me to throw this project in the dust. But, I have some great news.

 

I found a Dominator I really enjoy playing! And it wasn't the Plant/Earth. Or the Dark/Fire. It wasn't the Grav/Psi, either. Although I didn't completely give up on any of them they are just on "vacation". It was my brand new Illusion/Savage Dom.

 

Illusion Control may not currently be the best on Doms, but I find myself really enjoying how unique of a playstyle this toon brings. The mix of melee, pets, TPing around with Savage Leap... There's just nothing else I've played quite like it. Currently level 46, but 50 is right around the corner. I'm experimenting with Soul as my epic/patron, and I'm digging having Soul Drain plus an extra AoE, but I'm not completely sold on it. I heard Ice Mastery is great too, so I might try that out before I make a concrete decision.

 

Once again, thanks to all who gave me advice throughout the journey. None of it ever went to waste, and I used the knowledge gained from the original trio to great effects while lvling the Ill/Sav. It just goes to show that in order for me to find something with an identity I truly like requires the biggest left turn and a timely update from the HC team.

 

Build thread coming hopefully soon!

 

EDIT: I just wanted to add that Unkindness is hands down one of the coolest looking powers in the game.

Edited November 8, 2022 by Spaghetti Betty
My concept of time is all messed up