Phantom Army vs Haunts

[You]

I am trying to get into Controller since I have tried most other ATs.  I am thinking of either Illusion or Darkness.  Having looked at the numbers in-game, I still cannot work out which one between Phantom Amy and Haunts do more damage.  Also, apart from damage, what else do those two sets of pets bring?

 

Please give me some advice on choosing between the two sets.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Greentea]

What's wrong with Plants?  :'( (You're gonna regret it)

 

Illusion is more like Mastermind. Tons of pets.

 

Darkness have more controls than Illusion. Darkness have 3 pets (4 if you count Possess) Possess is awesome, but Illusion have Deceive as well too.

 

Take your pick.

[star_fury_lives]

Can't speak for Illusion, but I have a Dark controller.

 

Haunt pets have a melee attack and cast a fear. The fear stacks with your own, so you can use them to help control bosses more easily. At level 20 they seem fairly durable so far?

 

From what I know of PA- obviously one more pet when cast, but it is illusionary damage so a proportion heals back (think this is correct?). I have seen them cast ranged attacks though when I've teamed with them.

 

 

[Scarlet Shocker]

I MUCH prefer Dark to Ill. I guess it depends on play style. Try both. (And plant) and let us know what you think.

[Erydanus]

Phantom army are three spectral blasters who go nuts, run all over the place, and make a lot of trouble. Haunts are too well-behaved shadows that follow behind you and once you start to fight something they kinda go "hey boss we're gonna get in this guy's face for ya."

 

I have no idea what the damage is but the haunts definitely do damage.

[Nic Mercy]

The thing that makes Phantom Army so good isn't just the damage it deals, but the fact that it summon three "invulnerable to pretty much everything except Hamidon" decoys that taunt while dealing damage. They are more than just DPS but act as an aggro management tool as well. Haunt's are, for all intents and purposes, a DoT, and the only aggro management that provide comes from damage they deal to foes that are otherwise un-engaged by anyone else.

 

With enough recharge you can have three permanent, nigh unkillable, pocket tanks at all times. That leave Illusion controllers free to hold, deceive and dish out damage with impunity.

[oedipus_tex]

Illusion is a very early game set (issue 1 I believe) that was the pre-Mastermind pet set. In return for 3 unkillable pets, Illusion sacrificed some of its AoE control. At the time, Illusion and Mind Control were the only two sets with a Confusion ability (except for Ice's Arctic Air which operates quite differently). Illusion is still the only Controller set with a Phantom Army-like power.

 

Dark Control was the final Control set to be added to the live game (a Wind Control set was in planning, but never announced or released). Dark is in many ways "informed" by the existing sets, resulting in a set that, overall, has very few skippable powers and unlike most other sets, zero outright duds.It can be seen as an amalgamation of all previous sets rolled into one. It copies the Confusion power more or less directly from Mind and Illusion Control. It is also the first set to attempt to be a "hybrid" of Illusion, stepping halfway into its court with the added pets--however, as a concession, the pets are killable and do not hold aggro like the PA does.

 

Dark Control is also one of the sets that gets a secondary effect (like Ice, Earth, and Electric). In this case it's -ToHit, arguably more effective than the -Defense, -Recharge, or -Endurance of the other sets. It kind of depends on the situation tho.

 

Note that Dark Control was also in the strange position of having to hybridize with Dark Miasma, the Defender/Corruptor buff set. You'll note that Dark Control steals Dark Miasma's cone fear power and the Controller Dark Miasma set gets a different power altogether.

 

TLDR Illusion functions as a kind of off-tank who leads the way into packs, Dark Control is a more traditional AoE Controller, and a very strong one at that. Both excel at the role they are given.

[Erydanus]

the only aggro management that provide comes from damage they deal to foes that are otherwise un-engaged by anyone else.

Except Haunts do have Taunt properties as well and also a fear power they spam. They are more like disposable tanks. They also take damage but can be healed and buffed. Mine benefit from my Shadow Fall, Fade, and Soul Absorption.

 

I've been trying to capture the damage dealt by their brawl and their Shadow Punch but I can't find what channel it's reported on. Pet Damage Inflicted is only announcing that they feared something. I can see their tohit rolls. I can see damage numbers flying above the target's head. But I can't find actual pet damage done from them to monitor and parse. I've been looking because of this question and I put everything that could conceivably be their damage numbers on one tab and then a couple more things and I'm just not seeing them.

[Without_Pause]

The thing that makes Phantom Army so good isn't just the damage it deals, but the fact that it summon three "invulnerable to pretty much everything except Hamidon" decoys that taunt while dealing damage. They are more than just DPS but act as an aggro management tool as well. Haunt's are, for all intents and purposes, a DoT, and the only aggro management that provide comes from damage they deal to foes that are otherwise un-engaged by anyone else.

 

With enough recharge you can have three permanent, nigh unkillable, pocket tanks at all times. That leave Illusion controllers free to hold, deceive and dish out damage with impunity.

 

+1. I will say Ill/rad was the one controller I wanted to reroll if CoH came back and that's considering I had one at 50 previously and that I held off on making one and haven't played it much, see being level 5. My Dark/dark is 24 and is a big reason why my Ill/rad sits so low. PA is awesome, but I'm honestly interested to see what the D/d turns into as it levels because hitting 38 and then epics should see a huge upswing from how and now is rather good. This says nothing of IO sets and Incarnates. Nothing like a controller rolling around with their own mass horde of pets.

[Temerity]

IIRC, overall the Haunts do almost the same damage as Phantom Army, but PA's damage is illusionary and so it heals back.  Thus, against lower health opponents, PA can put the hurt on, not to mention their taunt seems to be more of an aura.  Haunts (you get 2) each do slightly more damage per attack than each individual Phantom Army (you get 3).  The PA have ranged attacks and are location cast, where Haunts are melee and must be cast on a target enemy.  It's worth mentioning that if the enemy dies before the Haunts resolve, they are never cast and the power has a long recharge.  When I throw the Haunts out there, I normally target a boss or lieutenant so that the enemy doesn't instantly die, but then quickly have to follow-up with an AoE control of some type so the Haunts aren't immediately killed.

 

At the end of the day, it's more about what function they serve.  Invincible tanks to draw aggro away from you and to take the alpha from enemies, or more reliable damage with stacking fear effects.  I've enjoyed playing both sets to high level but in my experience Illusion as a set has better damage, and dark has better control.