Looking for idea for my next controller

[Sykar]

Hello, I want to get another controller since it is my favorite archetype but I would like to use a primary set that is substantially different from the ones I already have,

 

My main is a Grav/Time controller and got a second one with Illusion/Storm. I also have a Dominator with Mind Control/Energy since I was curious how different they feel compared to controller. So that begs the question, which of the sets is markedly different from the 3 ones I have.

[biostem]

One combination that I really enjoyed, but was more of a "defensive" playstyle over a damage-dealer, was earth control/pain domination.  It's superb for supporting a team, but solo it can be a slog.  Still, if you want to try something different, give those a try!

[biostem]

Just a note on the above combo:  "World of Pain" is kind of a lynchpin of the build, so I slotted it to get it to be permanent.  It provides a damage, tohit, and resistance buff to all in range, which is really nice!  I also opted to take stealth, so I could drag my animated stone into enemies so it got aggro, since controllers lack the mastermind's ability to command their pets.

[Sykar]

Sounds interesting I might give it a whirl in the near future.

[smnolimits43]

i have a character that was once a Circle of Thorns.  He uses Earth/Force Field.  If you are looking to make the Circle pay for all the knockdown, this is a fun combo.

[Sykar]

Is Earth that different from the 3 sets I mentioned?

[Uun]

Earth has the most AoE control of any of the control sets. In addition to the standard AoE hold and immobilize, it's got an AoE stun, knockdown patch, slow and sleep. In return for all that control you lose damage. It's not a set I would pick if I intended to solo, but it's great on teams.

[Doomguide2005]

     I love Earth Control.  It's possibly my favorite set among what's probably my favorite AT.  The high amounts of control makes it excellent for teams.  If you want damage pair it with Storm Summoning or even Trick Arrow if you want a different secondary.  Storm is strong for damage as is but using some procs in Fossilize, Ice Arrow (from TA) and perhaps Fire Mastery can add significant amounts to damage to the overall  build.  

[Death2Tyrants]

On 4/23/2023 at 1:07 AM, Sykar said:

Is Earth that different from the 3 sets I mentioned?

Outside of any special synergies Earth/ is in the top tier of control and definitely the king of zone control since it has several persitant pulsing powers that reapply their effect for the duration of the power. The secondary effect of Earth is -DEF which can be useful for early level teaming. In addition to zone control and -DEF, IMO it is such a strong primary is can carry weaker secondaries. For this reason I think it pairs well with any secondary. The main standouts I've experienced (I have not played all Earth/ Combos yet):

 

Earth/TA will gives you more control that you know what to do with.

Earth/Storm will give you some added damage but also give you the ability to move mobs into your zones of control (less useful on fast moving teams).

Earth/Nature strong team support and lets you play aggressively with the Nature Hold Aura

Earth/Trap ultimate zone control play but also less useful on fast teams.

Earth/Elec not fully leveled but also show great promise for strong team support. Lay down controls and buff.

Earth/Cold featured as a notable pair; good all around team support and lets you buff up a tanky pet.

Earth/Time would play like a hybrid of zone control and strong buffs.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 24 by Death2Tyrants

[Death2Tyrants]

On 4/22/2023 at 3:50 PM, Sykar said:

Hello, I want to get another controller since it is my favorite archetype but I would like to use a primary set that is substantially different from the ones I already have,

 

My main is a Grav/Time controller and got a second one with Illusion/Storm. I also have a Dominator with Mind Control/Energy since I was curious how different they feel compared to controller. So that begs the question, which of the sets is markedly different from the 3 ones I have.

Earth/ is a great suggestion. My top picks would be Plant/Storm and Fire/Dark.

Plant/Storm is blaster like and leans on confuse for its main control. It is a bit of a one trick pony but has killer AoE for a Controller.

Fire/Dark is just a great all rounder and easy to set up from level 1.

Fire/Time is a fun build but difficult to set up and requires some early investment to manage endurance.

 

Other odd ball suggestions would be Elec/Kin or Elec/Poison and with Ice/ Ice/Time or Ice/Cold.

Elec/Kin has some ST -End synergy but the main draw is it is very active with the high uptime of come core powers. Not the strongest in control or damage but very very active.

Elec/Poison brings some -Recovery which lets you sap End and keep it zero (not so great for ST based on how the -Recovery works). It also brings some extra control and damage. It is also a stand out PROC combo. One of the few /Poison builds I would endorse.

Ice/Time and Ice/Cold stack slows elevating Ice/ ability to control. Slow stacking is noticeably better even though it isn't the most desired debuff effect. IMO these pairs elevates Ice up towards the higher end of the control hierarchy.

 

Edit: Forgot about Sym/

Edited April 24 by Death2Tyrants

[Smartacus]

How about Assault Rifle for a Red Hood theme?

 

🙂

[biostem]

8 minutes ago, Smartacus said:

How about Assault Rifle for a Red Hood theme?

On a controller?  o.O

[SeraphimKensai]

Plant Control/Trick Arrow. Thank me later.

[Blastit]

On 4/25/2023 at 12:00 AM, biostem said:

On a controller?  o.O

 

Of course. Never heard of Gun Control?

[mistagoat]

I'll echo the love for earth, phenominal set and you become a control god!

But if you've never played a plant troller, jump on it! The creepers and the confusion give it its own unique feel and it packs decent damage too.

Another oddball that I really love is ice/rad. Ice has low damage and odd control but once you get it up and running it has amazing hold/mitigation potential with the hold aura, confuse/slow aura, 2 aoe holds and ice patch. Lots of fun!

 

edit: I almost forgot, dark/dark is awesome! If you enjoyed your Illusion troller you'll probably enjoy dark/dark. 5 pets if you take one in the epics and debuffs for days!

Edited April 27 by mistagoat
forgot about Dre

[myssing]

I can whole heartedly recommend dark/dark, but it might be one to do after "this" one since one of the early staples is a confuse.  That might be too close to your current builds.

[Sykar]

Well, I started a Mind/FF controller because MC is so much fun on my Dom but I have a hard time getting into Dom At, I like controller better. Earth is next on my list, then Plant.

[twozerofoxtrot]

If you're still looking for options, I can recommend Symph/Sonic.  

 

It's not meta-strong like the aforementioned Plants/TA but it is different from the Trollers you've mentioned above. Symphony plays sort of like a Blastroll set, in that does a fair amount of damage (including the ST Confuse, great for mid-combat confusing). Also the pet is very non-standard, echoing your powers with a slight delay. It takes time to get used to, but can help layer extra damage and control. This makes it one of the few control sets that feels better on a Controller than a Dom.

 

Sonic is a fairly hands-off support set, unlike Time and Storm. This lets you focus more on your offensive oriented control set. There's a few skippables in the set that opens up options for fun pool powers as well. While +Def buffs are fairly ubiquitous on teams, +Res is less common, so you'll rarely find your buffs to be superfluous. 

[Sykar]

Sounds good, will make one of that as well. I am thinking of getting a controller for every primary. Not sure if I want more with different secondaries. Don't think they would differ sufficiently enough.

Anyone got experience with Elec controller? I had one with me yesterday and he said that his damage was worse than my 30 MC troller despite him being a high level veteran level character. Is Elec/Elec that bad?

[honoroit]

oh ya the damage is bad on elec control. the gremlins hit ok, but if youre coming off a melee, domi even, or blast type, its bad.

(damage is better on something like an elec/earth domi if wanting to keep the primary).

 

i dont think of it at all like that on my elec / ea controller.

 

i can do decent group healing, yes, and the chain moves fast. I can put a group absorb shield sveral times a minute, same with group end recover in chunks available instantly to my teammates.

 

control wise, i hold them rather than kill hard baddies, the aoe hold goes off quickly, and i always bring a tazer to supplement the st hold.

 

sleep patch is great, and works past people blasting off aoes in it.  chain is for recharge proc fire, and the cc it provides.

 

now im sure you can kind of break all your set bonuses and put in procs, sort of, but elec control?

 

it does not do good damage. 

Edited May 10 by honoroit

[dlx3200]

Plant/Dark or Plant/storm both work great on teams or solo

[Doomguide2005]

Less common (as in I've yet to run into another one .. on Excelsior) Plant/Cold

[Frosticus]

If you haven't tried plant you should. So many good combos of it for trollers and doms.

Plant/poison was a very good experience for me. I don't think there is a "bad" plant pairing across both AT's, though some mesh a bit better. 

[honoroit]

RE: plant control 🌱

once you try 'seeds of confusion' you'll wonder about why mind control has a 4m CD on mass confusion.

 

albeit slightly lower range and coverage, 50ft@ 60°, vs 80 ft @ 25ft radius, its the cooldown... its 60s base for plant vs 240s for mind.  meaning practically, you can use it all the time.

 

only comperable is electrics chain based one.

 

creepers is neat, the spirit tree would need to be 10x stronger regen to justify it as an immobile pseudopet.

[Sykar]

Issue 5 unfairly nerfed MC brutally and Plant was a mastery that was sold for money. It is not hard to realize why the free mastery was treated like this compared to the money maker. It is a little disappointing that HC team has yet to at least somewhat undo the nerfs to MC and TK.