Lord of the Ravens (Fire/Dark) a chronology

[Argentae]

So, LotR (no similarity to any other LotR is intended) was an idea I had in the middle of the night thinking about what alt to try next.

I've played a fair number of Fire/ controllers (Fire/Storm the most recent to hit 50), but it's been awhile and I had a craving to see how it meshed with /Dark. having Darkest Night and Tar Patch stacked with Bonfire, Hot Feet and spammed Fire Cages seemed likely to be pretty effective, and with all the +Def and -ToHit from Fluffy and I, I expect the Imps will be more durable than usual.

 

What I did NOT really expect was how effective LotR would be out of the gate!

From level 4, I ran at +0/X8. Corner pull with Darkest Night into Tar Patch and spam Fire Cages with occasional Char and Twilight Grasp until everything is dead. Don't remember any previous alt being able to do that. Still running +1/X8 at lvl 24.

 

I did street sweeping in Perez from I think lvl 6-10, then hit the Hollows to do my traditional run through the Frostfire arc. 
By the time I dropped Frostfire (farmed the missions a bit, but not excessively) I was lvl 20 and went straight to Talos to pick up the glory that is Fade.

 

Got Bonfire at lvl 22?! (did they change the lvl powers open up when I wasn't looking, or is there a bug?) <- Have pic to prove [Edit to Add: I missed that part of the last patch notes. Wow. What a difference. :-)]

 

Got Soul Absorption at lvl 24?! (same as above) <- Have pic to prove [Edit to Add: I missed that part of the last patch notes. Wow. What a difference. 🙂]

 

Three LotG Def/Global +rech slotted and a few other choice IOs, but still too early to start buying much in the way of sets.

 

Will post a build later, still figuring out the overall plan, this build is a lot more effective than I expected, and it's still maturing. 🙂

Edited November 26, 2022 by Argentae

[Argentae]

Lvl 30: The Unkindness of Fluffy

 

Still pondering a fair number of things with this build. Not posting a Mids' build yet, I intend to do this chronology as more a discussion of the start and evolution of the build, not a final end state after massive investment in IO sets forces compromises. 

 

To me, a character is not just an end state build, it's a whole progress through the game from starting conception to full incarnate. 

I do a lot of soloing and some teaming. A Lot of the time I'm playing with weird power combinations, so I try to do experiments that may fail in private. 🙂 

 
Basic assumptions of synergy has been more or less shown to be accurate.

Love the costume and design my youngest adult child (Sonny) helped my fine tune. I'll post some pics later.  Black purple base color and violet highlights, the powers looks great, though still fine tuning them a bit.  The Imps look a bit like featherless birds on fire when you can see their bones better, which was the inspiration for the Lord of the Ravens concept. 

 

General thoughts:

 

IMO you should be running at +0/X8 spawns before you leave Atlas, say somewhere in levels 4 /5/6.

 

Very melee focused as expected. The mitigation of /Dark (especially Darkest Night (DN), Tar Patch (TP), and Twilight Grasp (TG) ) is very effective at keeping the Imps alive and working as semi-autonomous elements in the LotR mob ( <- Corvid humor... 🙂 ). 

 

Tactically, it plays much the same at 30 as it did at 4. It's a good balance of planning and juggling, but more forgiving as you pick up more parts of the final build. Fluffy is the best Imp wrangler a fallen angel heroic pseudo demon could have. 

 

Keeping the Imps under control involves controlling where the combat occurs, and keeping all the mobs ( <- not MY mob of course, we are an Unkindness, not a mob ) grouped up together and locked in place. Fortunately, this build excels at doing just that. Well, except for Warwolves, they are a PITA, I expect chain KD aka fish flopping should work on them though.

 

As I start kitting out the IO sets, my focus is on +Rech as Global +Rech doesn't tank Proc chances the way that slotted (and Alpha) +Rech does.

Second Focus is on +Def.  On My Dark/Dark and Symph/Dark I focused on Ranged Def, not as familiar with Melee Def sets. Might switch to a deeper dive in the Fighting pool is the Melee sets are where I'll be getting global Melee Def sets.

 

Positional control: 

I have had excellent luck with using Darkest Night  to pull a spawn into a Tar Patch.  As most COH players know, corner pulls are best as it clumps the spawn up into a tight group, while just pulling them into a Tar Patch without a corner will spread the spawn out in a line. Pulling the spawn into a line works great for Symph/Dark's quad-cones of doom, but Fire/Dark prefers tighter balls of mobs for PBAOE effects.

 

Build progression:

 

1: Char (C)

1: Twilight Grasp (TG)

2: Fire Cages (FC)

4: Darkest Night (DN)

6: Tar Patch (TP)

8: Hot Feet (HF)

10: Kick (K)

12: Flashfire (Ff)

14: Tough (T)

16: Weave (W)

18: Shadow Fall (SF)

20: Fade (F)

22: Bonfire (B)

24: Soul Absorption (SA)

26: Fire Imps (FI)

28: Hover (H)

30: Dark Servant:  

 

This as far as I have gotten so far. 

Next Steps:

I still need to fit in Hasten, that's probably next at 32.

 

Given the Raven focus with the wings, Fly (Fl)+ Evasive Maneuvers (EM) makes a lot of thematic sense (as well as being a good LotG mule), and makes a fast hover a lot more effective. 

EM is also useful to throw up a quick +21 Def while I retoggle if I get sapped or don't see an end crash coming. SA makes that largely a non-issue, but edge cases do still happen.

 

Also plan on going with Soul Mastery as the Soul Siblings  (SA + Soul Drain (SD) ) are just too perfect a pairing, and will supercharge the burn them to the ground phase of spawn harvesting. Dark Embrace is decent and holds one of the +Def Unique IOs.

 

Summon Seer (SS) is a good ranged pet that holds her own and helps me take down the hard targets from a safe distance.

 

Howling Twilight (HT) is going to be a late power, probably 47th and I currently plan on slotting it as a mini-nuke as I did with my Symph/Dark.

 

Incarnate:

 

Intuition Radial again, it's too perfect a paring with a Controller /Dark.

Reactive Interface

Assault Hybrid

 

 

Current thoughts on powers taken so far:

 

1: Char (C)

Basic ST Hold. Slot with procs for ST Damage, this becomes a cannon in the late game

 

1: Twilight Grasp (TG)

Useful throughout the entire game. Great heal for Imps and yourself/team. stacks a little -Regen on hard targets which is never bad. 

 

2: Fire Cages (FC)

This is a core power from the beginning. Pay attention to the End cost though, 15+ End per cast is expensive. 

Slot originally with most of your free starter IOs, Recharge / AOE area is so high they won't proc much, but the aggregate is still useful and saves you having to replace enh for quite a bit of the early game.

 

4: Darkest Night (DN)

So critical to the way I play this build. +Range is very useful for pulling things from outside the Imps awareness. 

DN's -ToHit is a very hefty part of the mitigation that keeps me and the melee pets alive and harvesting.

 

6: Tar Patch (TP)

Powerful debuff that effectively multiplies ALL the damage you do (including proc damage) by 1.3, and it STACKS.
Make the Tar Patch a Tar Pit every time you can.

Speed of spawn Harvesting goes up as does your ability to establish positional control.

 

8: Hot Feet (HF)

At least 2 SO worth of EndRed and damage. Not sure about sets yet.

Speed of spawn harvesting goes up again.

 

10: Kick (K)

Path to Weave, but proced out will probably be part of the final ST chain, or possible a melee set mule 

 

12: Flashfire (Ff)

Excellent AOE control tool while you get everything setup especially when the geometry just doesn't favor a way to pull the spawn together, or when things are getting a bit out of control. 

 

14: Tough (T)

Good +Def unique (Steadfast, Galdiator) or + HP (Unbreakable Guard)

 

16: Weave (W)

You live in Melee, this is a key defense power your second best after Fade

 

18: Shadow Fall (SF)

Your third best +Def power, almost +6 fully slotted and slightly better with +Def in the Alpha slot. Also takes +Res and has enough Nrg, NegNrg, and Psionic res to stack well with Dark Embrace and Fade. All at a team AOE level. Oh and it's also a team stealth power which can come in handy. Though not with Imps around. They aggro way too soon for the +Stealth to matter much. 😛 

 

20: Fade (F)

The best +Def power ~+14 Def to all when slotted for your whole team (makes Imps much more durable). As well as more Smash, Lethal, NegNrg, and psionic Res AND resistance to Def Debuff, very useful for a +Def build.
This has the same radius as Shadow Fall, so use that as your guide when positioning. 

 

22: Bonfire (B)

Good mitigation with a KB -> KD io slotted (Overwhelming Force or Sudden Acceleration). 

Oddly though, the mitigation is better if you DON'T slot a -KB -> KD and just spam Fire Cages instead. The entire spawn will fish flop in unison. With a KB -> KD only some of them will flop. Easier to use the KB -> KD, but I'm thinking of taking it out and saving the slot. 

 

24: Soul Absorption (SA)

The first of the Soul Siblings, you regen like a pint sized /Regen (slot a Healing set in here, I've used a 6 pack of Numina's before) and you pretty much cannot use your end up, should end the combat with a full, or close to it, blue bar.

The important thing to note is that this a 20' radius. So your whole team, and again, it makes the Imps a lot tougher. Making it Perma is tough but doable. Better in my mind to focus on up whenever you need it. 

 

26: Fire Imps (FI)

Everyone knows these hyper aggressive aggro magnates. You CAN keep them alive with the tools in /Dark, and Fluffy is key. 

 

28: Hover (H)

It may seem like hover doesn't pair well with Hot Feet, but as long as you are close above the spawn's head it still works. It's better for getting into the middle of tight packed groups and being able to maneuver in 3 dimensions is surprisingly helpful at times.

 

30: Dark Servant:  

Fluffy is the BEST. 
Seriously, Fluffy is a great Imp wrangler. Helps you keep immob up on everything, hits the whole spawn with another Darkest Night -ToHit, TG healing pulses etc.

 

 

Ok, that's it for this installment!

I appreciate any commentary or suggestions. Lavan Fire/Storm was a different control by chaos style this plays differently, closer to Shadow Fallen Dark/Dark but obviously more melee focused.

 

  

 

[Grimm2]

Love the play by play, makes me want to build one! Haven't done a controller in ages. 

[MirrorDarkly]

I really appreciate the focus on how this plays leveling up and I'm almost certainly going to give it a try.

 

Also  what are your thoughts on trying to squeeze tactics in (perhaps in place of fighting)? I keep coming back to the thought of the build up proc with 4 pets to trigger it.... 

[Dahle]

I have 4 level 50 Fire/Dark Controllers. It is honestly an amazing Solo and Team toon.  I haven't respec-ed any for Page 5 at the moment.  My flyer specifically runs Teleportation (Tele Targ, Teleport, Fold Space), Flight (Hover), Leadership (Maneuvers, Tactics, Veng), Speed (Haste) pools.  Psionic Mastery (Indomitable Will, Mind Over Body) for an Epic.  I soft-cap all positional Def (Edit: need to note that I run Amps to get the soft Capped Def) and have outstanding Regen/Rec from Soul Absorption.  Mine is built almost 100% for +Rech and Perma most everything (w/ incarnates Indomitable will is Perma also).

 

Really it is about grouping mobs, immobilizing them, throwing Bonfire under them.  They melt and then pop Soul Absorption for the next group.  I prefer to put KB-KD Sudden Acceleration into my Bonfire as I do some pulls differently by setting up Tar Patch+Bonfire at a corner or in a hallway and pulling the mob into it with Darkest night.  Once in the patches, throw on an Immobilize.  As for the Overwhelming Force KB-KD enhancement, I put it in Imps, they can contribute to the mitigation with the number of attacks they put out.  But Imps quickly lose 1-2 and need to be resummoned a lot.

I think the toggle Suppression change in page 4 is one of the biggest wins for Flying Fire/ Controllers as it allows Hot Feet to be less of a hassle.  Previously i would not play flight on Fire Control just because I'd be losing Hot Feet at the slightest Mez and then having to land to re-toggle it on.  Though the suppression is a bit long, it does make me a lot less annoyed and makes the toon much more fun.

Edited November 30, 2022 by Dahle

[Argentae]

[Edited to add the target build, and fix a mistake I made with the Intuition Radial Paragon, forgot it was +Def Debuff not +Def. 😞 ]

 

I’m going to try the purple Build Up proc in Imps and see how it does. Fluffy does really well with the Clouded Senses set as pretty much everything he does triggers -ToHit.

 

just hit 38, spent a big part of the day pondering a new build. I think it’s almost there except Avalanche is a lot more expensive than I expected, so I’ll swap something else in at the pre-purple stage for Soul Drain.

 

Did a fair bit of Council missions, then went to talk to Null the Gull in Pocket D to go red side to do Ghost Widow’s Patron arc to open up Soul Mastery. 
 

Came back to Blue side and started doing Circle of Thorns missions in Founders Falls at +2-+3/X8. No bosses yet. 

 

Overall the new build is doing well.

Major changes: 

 

Removed Fighting pool.Tried Cross punch first, interesting, esp the +5% Rech/target hit but I don’t have time to use it effectively. 

 

Picked up Smoke, with a single -ToHit slotted it gives -6.2  ToHit to entire spawns which offsets the loss of Weave. The -perception is useful in keeping Imps in line.  you have to remember to use it, but it’s like the equivalent of a + 6 Def buff for your whole team that lasts a minute and is VERY End efficient. Removing Tough and Weave help with end usage. 

Picked up Fly and Evasive Maneuvers, which greatly improves mobility.  Slotted -kb in Fly.

Lord of the Ravens SHOULD be really good at flying and very hard to knock around in the air.

If I do get toggle dropped, Evasive Maneuvers buys me some breathing room by putting up about +20 Def to all while I get everything set back up.
Will test playing  with dismissing Imps,  Hotfeet and DN off starting with Smoke, and running in with EM and Fade (and maybe SF, though that might suppress EM). Should put me at the Def cap while the spawn clumps on me and Fluffy helps keep me alive. Then DN, FC, FF, TP, Soul Drain (to boost my Acc and Dmg to the sky), Bonfire,  Imps, SA, Hotfeet and spam FC, Bonfire, TP etc as they refresh. 

 

Picked up Maneuvers out of leadership, so if you want to try Tactics it is an easy swap. I haven’t really needed it. Hotfeet and Bonfire are autohit I think, and the rest seem good with a single lvl 35 +Acc IO up to +3/X8. Have a few sets contributing +Acc and the Kismet +ToHit.

All five Def powers get LotG 7.5 Rech/Def and + Def Enh. That should put them at a good +Def value while also building quite a bit of +Regen to add to Soul Absorption. If I decide I need another +3 Def to all, I can change to Nerve for the Alpha, but I think the -ToHit is more useful than that, especially when you factor in all the other things Intuition brings to the table for this build.  

 

I’m thinking Preventative Medicine for SA.

Three Touch of The Nictus in TG, might put the Dmg proc in just to see how it plays.

 

Single Target attacks:

Procing out Char. Added Arcane blast full of procs as well including the FF + Rech. So I’ll have two FF + Rech, one in Bonfire, and one in Arcane Blast where it should trigger reliably.

with good Global +Rech Char and Arcane blast alternate well and do good ST damage.

 

Positional Control update:

 

You really need to max out range on Darkest Night, it makes it s lot easier to pull a spawn without the Imps Aggroing and ruining the corner pull.  Smoke helps.

 

Will post an updated build probably tomorrow. Next major inflection points are getting Soul Drain and then a huge jump when I slot Intuition Radial Paragon in the Alpha slot. It adds +Range, +Slow, +Dmg. + Hold AND -ToHit. This build gets major boosts out of each of those.

Promised Build:
 

Spoiler

https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1681&c=749&a=1498&f=HEX&dc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

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Lord of the Ravens: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Fire Control
Secondary Power Set: Darkness Affinity
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Sorcery
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Char

• (A) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
• (9) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage
• (36) Gladiator's Net - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
• (37) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage(Toxic)
• (37) Neuronic Shutdown - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
  

Level 1: Twilight Grasp

• (A) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Healing/Absorb
• (40) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing/Absorb
• (40) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage
  

Level 2: Fire Cages

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (3) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
• (3) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (7) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (7) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
  

Level 4: Darkest Night

• (A) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
• (5) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Endurance
• (5) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff
• (29) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge
• (33) Range IO
• (34) Range IO
  

Level 6: Tar Patch

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (15) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 8: Hot Feet

• (A) Ice Mistral's Torment - Endurance/Slow
• (11) Ice Mistral's Torment - Damage/Recharge
• (11) Ice Mistral's Torment - Damage/Slow
• (13) Ice Mistral's Torment - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (13) Ice Mistral's Torment - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (43) Ice Mistral's Torment - Chance for Cold Damage
  

Level 10: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (33) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 12: Flashfire

• (A) Absolute Amazement - Chance for ToHit Debuff
• (15) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge/Accuracy
• (19) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge
• (19) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Endurance
• (23) Absolute Amazement - Stun
  

Level 14: Hover

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (31) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  

Level 16: Smoke

• (A) To Hit Debuff IO
  

Level 18: Shadow Fall

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (31) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
  

Level 20: Fade

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
• (21) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (21) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP
• (29) Recharge Reduction IO
• (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 22: Bonfire

• (A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
• (43) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown
  

Level 24: Soul Absorption

• (A) Preventive Medicine - Heal
• (25) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance
• (34) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime
• (34) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime
• (36) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance
• (36) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb
  

Level 26: Fire Imps

• (A) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up
• (27) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (27) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage
• (31) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance
• (40) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge
  

Level 28: Fly

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)
  

Level 30: Dark Servant

• (A) Cloud Senses - Chance for Negative Energy Damage
• (37) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff
• (39) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• (39) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/ToHitDebuff
• (46) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Recharge
• (48) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 32: Evasive Maneuvers

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (33) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  

Level 35: Dark Embrace

• (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
  

Level 38: Maneuvers

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  

Level 41: Soul Drain

• (A) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage
• (42) Superior Avalanche - Damage/Endurance
• (42) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (42) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (43) Superior Avalanche - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 44: Arcane Bolt

• (A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
• (45) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
• (45) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage(Toxic)
• (45) Explosive Strike - Chance for Smashing Damage
• (46) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
  

Level 47: Howling Twilight

• (A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
• (47) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
• (47) Bombardment - Chance for Fire Damage
• (48) Ice Mistral's Torment - Chance for Cold Damage
• (48) Bombardment - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge/Endurance
  

Level 49: Summon Seer

• (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets
• (49) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge
• (49) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (50) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge
  

Level 1: Containment 

Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Empty
  

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Swift

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Hurdle

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Health

• (A) Empty
• (17) Empty
  

Level 1: Stamina

• (A) Empty
  

Level 28: Afterburner 

Level 44: Arcane Power 
Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon 
------------

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Argentae
Fixed mistake and added Build

[Argentae]

Spoiler

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Lord of the Ravens: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Fire Control
Secondary Power Set: Darkness Affinity
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Char

• (A) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage(Psionic)
• (9) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage
• (36) Gladiator's Net - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
• (37) Gladiator's Javelin - Chance of Damage(Toxic)
• (37) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
  

Level 1: Twilight Grasp

• (A) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Healing/Absorb
• (40) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing/Absorb
• (40) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage
  

Level 2: Fire Cages

• (A) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Control Duration
• (3) Superior Will of the Controller - Control Duration/Recharge
• (3) Superior Will of the Controller - Endurance/Recharge
• (7) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance
• (7) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance/Recharge
• (9) Superior Will of the Controller - Recharge/Chance for Psionic Damage
  

Level 4: Darkest Night

• (A) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
• (5) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Endurance
• (5) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff
• (29) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge
• (33) Range IO
• (34) Range IO
  

Level 6: Tar Patch

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 8: Hot Feet

• (A) Armageddon - Damage
• (11) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
• (11) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• (13) Armageddon - Recharge/Accuracy
• (13) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
• (42) Endurance Reduction IO
  

Level 10: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
  

Level 12: Flashfire

• (A) Absolute Amazement - Chance for ToHit Debuff
• (15) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge/Accuracy
• (19) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge
• (19) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Endurance
• (23) Absolute Amazement - Stun
  

Level 14: Hover

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (31) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  

Level 16: Smoke

• (A) To Hit Debuff IO
  

Level 18: Shadow Fall

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (25) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
• (31) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP
• (33) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
• (45) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime
  

Level 20: Fade

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
• (21) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (21) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
• (29) Recharge Reduction IO
• (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (47) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  

Level 22: Bonfire

• (A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
• (33) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (40) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown
• (43) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
• (45) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
  

Level 24: Soul Absorption

• (A) Preventive Medicine - Heal
• (25) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance
• (34) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime
• (34) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime
• (36) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance
• (36) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb
  

Level 26: Fire Imps

• (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge
• (27) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (27) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage
• (31) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance
  

Level 28: Fly

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)
  

Level 30: Dark Servant

• (A) Cloud Senses - Chance for Negative Energy Damage
• (37) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff
• (39) Cloud Senses - ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
• (39) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/ToHitDebuff
• (46) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Recharge
• (48) Cloud Senses - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
  

Level 32: Evasive Maneuvers

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  

Level 35: Water Spout

• (A) Ragnarok - Damage
• (39) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance
• (42) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
• (42) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• (43) Ragnarok - Recharge/Accuracy
• (43) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
  

Level 38: Maneuvers

• (A) Empty
  

Level 41: Boxing

• (A) Empty
  

Level 44: Tough

• (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
  

Level 47: Howling Twilight

• (A) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
• (47) Bombardment - Chance for Fire Damage
• (48) Ice Mistral's Torment - Chance for Cold Damage
• (50) Impeded Swiftness - Chance of Damage(Smashing)
• (50) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
  

Level 49: Weave

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• (49) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (49) Defense Buff IO
  

Level 1: Containment 

Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Empty
  

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Swift

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Hurdle

• (A) Empty
  

Level 1: Health

• (A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance
• (17) Miracle - +Recovery
  

Level 1: Stamina

• (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
• (17) Performance Shifter - EndMod
  

Level 28: Afterburner 

Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon 
------------

 

Been a long bit since I've revisited this chronology.

 I played with Soul mastery for quite awhile. It works very well when doing regular spawn sweeping at +4 X8, so no slouch. Fortunata was a good ranged dmg pet.  Soul Drain works GREAT at burning down patches of mobs.

Struggle a bit with certain debuffing mobs. Talons of Veng in the DA incarnate arc in particular. Aracnos Night Widows are also a huge pain without Tactics or other +Percep.

I tweaked my incarnates a bit and swapped to Alpha Musculature Tier 4 Radial, and swapped out Clarion for Ageless Radial Epiphany. That helped with Talons. Needed to switch Smoke to +Range to compensate for the loss of +Range in the Alpha Musculature.

 

Changed to /Leviathan, and absolutely appreciate Water Spout all over again. Coralax was a decent boost but dies fairly quickly if things get dicey. 

Current version I finally gave in and added the Fighting pool in, lost Coralax, Hibernate (always a useful pause button if things get dicey), Arcane Bolt (Excellent damage slotted with 4 dmg procs including Apoc neg dmg proc), but I'm at Perma Fade levels of +Rech, so just Char slotted with 5 +dmg procs including Unbreakable Constraint and Apoc is back up fast and does about 307/hit while holding problem mobs like Night Widows. I miss confuse. 😛 

The addition of about +7 def/all is, as always when you are close to the edges of the bell curve, impactful.  I adopted the +4 Unbreakable Guard slotting from Camel's guide. 
Considering swapping the Cloud Senses 6 pack for the Galdiator's Net 6 pack suggested there, it would move about 3 Ranged Def to AOE Def. Wouldn't proc as often though, and I really benefit from the -Tohit Debuff, as this build is largely based around +Def PAIRED with high -ToHit on Mobs in layers.

The discussion of using The Sudden Acceleration +KD in Imps paired with the not-yet-tried +Build-Up is leaning me toward removing the +Range in Darkest Night I still use it to pull spawns apart and into a Tar Pit/Bonfire corner pull pile up when needed, or for fun. Will likely have to switch back to Intuition Radial for the +Range.I lose the +Endmod from Musculature though, which affects Soul Absorption quite a bit with Preventative Medicine 6 slotted.

 

Adding KD to Imps would pair really well with Bonfire and Water Spout though. And if the Build Up procs decently during Imp Attacks it could be an excellent trade. 

 

I have stuck with Flight though it would have been a reasonable swap out for Fighting. Thematically wings are really just massively appropriate, and the mobility from Hover + Evasive Maneuvers is really REALLY useful for getting in the middle of a spawn in a cramped room/hallway. Toggling Evasive and if I get toggle dropped is fast and Hover - > Fly gets me quick def and moving out of danger fast so I can bail if needed and come back with all my friends. Less of them, I miss the Epic pet, but it doesn't slow me down much to not have it. 

I was one of those players that built to avoid the pseudo-mandatory Fitness pool way back in the day just because it was a fun goal. I do that with the Fighting pool now, but I enjoy +Def builds so much I almost always have to do it eventually.

 

So, that's where I am at the moment. Still one of my favorites to play, and now even if I miss the dang Night Widow in the spawn, I can stand in Bonfire/Tar Pit/Water Spout and outlast the "Blinded" status if I don't have a yellow insp handy. 🙂

Edited April 9, 2023 by Argentae

[Sovera]

I'm very much not a Controller person since I would rather blast things than make them stagger, but, I'm playing with a friend new to the game and playing a support to help them is not a bad thing instead of just playing a damage dealer or tank which ends being a case of 'do all the work while friend follows'.

 

The leveling journey was pretty interesting and my interest got piqued into at least slapping a build together using your concept.

 

Keeping in mind I don't play Controllers this is what I have so far.

 

View This Build In MRB

 

I'm short on slots so I did not slot a couple of staples such as the 5% and 3% resistance uniques. I also have a couple free powers I don't really know what to do with.

 

Soul Absorption lets me lean on proccing things out and even not worry about slotting endurance reduction in others and not be worried about my blue bar (which will help my friend as well) and the extra regen will help both friend and imps.  Depending on endurance woes I may yet swap the slotting for 5 Synapse and one generic endurance IO for the simple reasoning I have two sources of healing (Twilight Grasp and Fluffy's Twilight Grasp) but no source of endurance.

 

The imps seem to have 10% defenses from both pet uniques, then 14% from Fade, then 6% from Shadow Fall and finally 4% from Maneuvers giving them a total of 34%. The rest of their protection will have to come from a mix of Bonfire, holds, heals, -ToHit and Fluffy being his unwilling but helpful self. Nothing that will really make them survive on a normal +4x8 team but at that point its best to just let them be dead and keep throwing Tar Pits and Bonfires.

 

Fire Cages is a power I loathe on principle and I've ranted enough about it, but when/if solo it has a place. I'm not sure whether to keep it six slotted for damage as is or six slot Overpowering Presence simply for the proc. Fire Cages procs terribly but it's an AoE tool which ensures it will spawn and the Energy Font is a little 4th Imp for all purposes. I remember it did horrible damage, such as 20 damage on grey mobs, plus it can be killed, so I'm not sure if there is a point to this.

 

I have another dubious decision in not taking Hot Feet which at this point we might as well ask why am I playing Fire. Which is a valid question when Plant exists but Seeds of Confusion is broken and Bonfire less so. I just do not like Hot feet and how little damage it does, the cost it has, and how it wants me almost in melee. Though I would in theory be (almost) in melee range so the pets get Shadow Fall on them.

 

Other than that Fade is perma, Soul Drain is just about perma, there is a nice three ST attack chain in theory without gaps, and despite not having Weave the build's at 42% ranged defense which I'm fine with considering -toHit.

 

I also left Bonfire without the Sudden Acceleration since spamming Fire Cages seems like better control, but I do loathe using that skill when in a team... Decisions, decisions... It may be smarter to go the usual route of one recharge, then Sudden Acceleration and a Force Feedback proc. That would save three slots and despite the Force Feedback proc only activating once Bonfire will still be amply ready for the next group. With those three slots I could add the 3% and 5% resistance uniques and throw the last one somewhere.

 

 

Incarnates seems like definitely leaning towards Intuition since it boosts... well.. pretty much everything, from damage to To-Hit debuffing to immobilizes and Holds even though I doubt I will be playing the character that far ahead.

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Sovera

[twozerofoxtrot]

21 minutes ago, Sovera said:

I remember it did horrible damage, such as 20 damage on grey mobs, plus it can be killed, so I'm not sure if there is a point to this.

 

Energy Fonts can be a tough call on Controllers for sure. I think they're useful on setups that utilize AoE stuns since their only attack is an AoE aura with a 30% chance for a mag 2 stun, as well as the negligible damage.

 

Pretty flimsy on its own but can help lock up bosses if you don't get an overpower proc on your Flashfire. Otherwise it may stagger incoming ranged damage from immobilized minions but it's not doing much else.

Edited May 22, 2023 by twozerofoxtrot

[Sovera]

I have talked myself into it.

 

Bonfire has been pruned, the three slots have been spread around, Soul Drain has been slotted for endurance (even with everything toggled on it still has 2 EPS positive) since I have a source of heals.

 

The last two powers are semi random. Assault since I have more endurance to play with and Rune of Protection is a free Break Free I guess.

 

 

View This Build In MRB

 

 

I also feel I should dismember something and take Cinders ustead. I could then alternate Flashfire and Cinders as openers for each fight even on fast teams leaving several seconds to set up Fire Cages/Bonfire in complete impunity while the pets are already working. Not sure what though. Howling Twilight maybe, since I took it to fight AVs but those are 5% of the gameplay... I may yet talk myself into it.

 

 

 

Edit: Aaaaand I talked myself into it, again.

 

Yes, Howlight Twilight can ressurect, and yes, it can stun, and yes, it does a lovely 500% regen debuff. But, we have P2W temp powers to ressurect, it only stuns minions, and while the 500% debuff is lovely we fight AVs 5% of the online time (I'm not even going to bring up Envenomed Daggers).

 

Fade is no longer perma (well, once the FF procs start hitting) same as soul Drain (ditto), and Hasten is down to 9 seconds off (to me my FF procs!) but build's at 45% ranged defense without Fighting Pool, so, welp, sure.

 

Still no fighting pool, still 45% ranged, but Fade's back on perma and Soul Drain only an FF proc away from. Hasten is at 7 seconds off.

 

Alternating Flashfire for one pack of mobs and Cinders for the next is a lot doable than having a single of the powers available for every spawn since 25-ish seconds is a bit too long for regular groups. For soloing or in a duo it might not matter.

 

It would be nice to have both online as early as possible but there is nothing I am really seeing that I could push back. Maybe Fly and then use a jetpack. But to be honest I'm actually sort of tempted at taking Flashfire away from level 18 since if we are at that level then we are either leveling and don't have the slotting to use the power often, or exemplared and same with a death of recharge bonuses and raw stats killed by the level we are at. It is at 22+ that we get more raw stats and more recharge bonuses coming online starting to allow the alternating gameplay.

 

But on the other other hand having it earlier does allow to save from a bad situation by throwing it at a dicey situation.

 

So maybe possibly this:

 

View This Build In MRB

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Sovera

[Carnifax]

What happened to Mids while I was away? Trying to open these, click them and nothing happens. Whatever happened to Export to Forum and the nice Data links? Why was it replaced with whatever this is?

 

Had the same issue trying to post a build for someone, just seemed to break the forum every time I posted. Don't like this. 

 

 

 

[Sovera]

2 hours ago, Carnifax said:

What happened to Mids while I was away? Trying to open these, click them and nothing happens. Whatever happened to Export to Forum and the nice Data links? Why was it replaced with whatever this is?

 

Had the same issue trying to post a build for someone, just seemed to break the forum every time I posted. Don't like this.

 

Install the new mids. Make sure to uninstall whatever version you have now. It borks old builds when trying to export though and you might need to rebuild them for that.

[Carnifax]

Did that. Clicking link still does nothing. Baffled by this. 

[Sovera]

4 hours ago, Carnifax said:

Did that. Clicking link still does nothing. Baffled by this. 

 

 

I got the same actually. So lets do this instead:

 

Controller (Fire Control - Darkness Affinity).mbd

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Sovera

[Carnifax]

I've ransacked Carni's build (Ill / Dark). I've kept most of your powers.

 

Personally I've a thing for playing some controllers in close, so I robbed my Epic set-up from my Ice / Traps & Elec / Poison (procced up Earth). Good thing here is that you're in close to heal the imps (I did drop most of the +Def sets from imps in favour of moar recharge). 

 

I went with Lockdown on Cinders. The +Ranged def is obviously nice. But also the proc is pretty much guarenteed to go off, meaning even bosses will be held for a few seconds, giving you a chance to follow up with Char.

 

Personally I slot my Holds as Holds, so Char is 6 slotted with the ATO set, but lots of people proc them up. 

 

I dropped Arcane Bolt since I've Seismic & Fissure. You could drop Spirit Ward for it and rob the slots off Cages (and / or drop Cages completely, I personally don't like it either). Skipping Hotfeet I'm 50/50 about in this day and age, it's one of Fires signature powers but it does EAT Endurance and stuff dies quick anyway. 

 

Another option would be to go for Scorp PPP for the Shield and Poisonous Ray (and the pet if you like). PR is VERY strong procced up. That way you could stay Hover based like you want. 

 

You WILL occasionally be splatted as a melee controller, especially if you just jump in but that's part of the fun. 

 

I did take Howling because I love it, best sound in the game (maybe 2nd behind Rad Blasts Snipe). If you want to get really weird you can 5 slot it with procs

 

So everything gets hurt, falls over and then is immobilized for a few seconds.

 

Controller - Fire - Dark.mbd

Edited May 24, 2023 by Carnifax

[Carnifax]

Here's the Fire / Dark / Mace version. Poison Ray gives you the chance to slot Achilles (and does -Res itself anyway). Probably could rejig a little to squeeze yourself to the Ranged cap. 

 

Controller - Fire - Dark - Scorp.mbd