Do you Mind? And with what?

[Shocktacular]

I'm looking to try Mind Control since I've heard some... interesting things about it.  One of the most consistent things I've heard is that it's better on dominators, so dom it is.  But what to pair with it?  I've heard that /fiery is good, but doesn't the DoT mess up the sleeps?  I'm just looking for people's ideas and thoughts.  FYI, I'd probably end up playing mostly ranged.

[Spaghetti Betty]

This is my answer. But I play a very Blaster-esque playstyle that involves moving into the crowd at opportune moments to dump damage. A majority of the Assault sets are at their best in close range.

[Ringo]

I played Mind/Fire to 50 on Live and loved it

[honoroit]

'not like that!' - Figs, to the rogue isles creepers

 

for mind? 

- savage for the tp

- psi for aoe

- but...

 

honestly tho...

- symphony

- unless youre hellbent on confuse (in which case plant, and if youre not a disorient cone in symphony is your friend with massive dot, oh, and an echo pet)

- mind is eclipsed by symphony, entirely, with the thin argument of cast execution timing on powers or not having to position massive cones with plenty give. (get, learn, and luv combat tp)

 

mass hypnosis is obliviated by elec's sleep patch. likewise the sleep in symphony also puts a -dmg.

 

mind has tk, but most ignore this.

it is very strong on dom, and should not be skipped. single slot awesome.

 

mind maintains the best fear cone, but theres not much in it vs symphony. symphony layers damage better generally... oh, and the pets gonna double your fear cone cast (meaning mag 9! if your on dom), and does this for all control powers

 

but rly, rly rly, symphony betters mind on dom.  pick fire.

Edited October 16, 2023 by honoroit

[Shocktacular]

20 hours ago, Ringo said:

I played Mind/Fire to 50 on Live and loved it

Doesn't all the DoT mess with the sleeps, though? Or did you not take those?

[honoroit]

3 hours ago, Shocktacular said:

Doesn't all the DoT mess with the sleeps, though? Or did you not take those?

 

any hit does. 

 

the value is from non-aggro, and its quickness.  in short, you can use it as an infiltration tool, and it 'feels' rapid.  the ST sleep mesmerize is choice lvl 1 power pick, better than levitate.

 

mass hypnosis is superquick fire, and non aggro, does not damage. it feels snappy.

 

the single target sleep damages, has boosted range, and high mag - it is an extremely good power mind has.

 

its only if you play another set you realize theres better vs mass hypnosis, in practice.

 

if you solo value only infiltration capability, then mass hypnosis is superior, because it does not notify mobs.

 

plant sleep - somewhat similar, no damage, but slower. does notify mobs. inferior by compare.

 

elec sleep - to answer your question, this is the solution to damage waking mobs.  the sleep patch pulses, putting mobs back to sleep. it also drains end.  practically, even while not benefitting from mag boost via dominate, elec sleep patch 'static field' is by far the most *esp on teams* useful aoe sleep. it turns something thats more a snap stun, broken by next hit or instantly in real combat, into a useful hard'ish control.

 

symphony sleep is notifying, and just one hit... but.. it damages, and puts -20% attack down on hit targets in a 70ft 45 degree cone, on base 45s cd.  you can proc it up with sleep ones, and ranged aoe damge ones.

Figs - TK enjoyer, av holder, secret symphony-on-dom fan

Edited October 17, 2023 by honoroit

[tidge]

I don't have a Mind/Dominator; I enjoy my Mind/Poison Controller...but I think these ATs are different enough that not too much from my experience would inform a style of play for a Mind Dom.

 

I feel like I can write this (about my own thoughts on a Mind Dom):

 

Confuse and Mass Confuse are must powers. I slot the Very Rare Coercive Persuasion (6-slot) set in the single-target power, and then the AoE gets at least one %damage piece (any damage done gets you a %drop chance).

 

Domination is what makes the ST Confuse so much "better" on Doms. The +Magnitude makes a big difference against the hardest targets. The content where I see (a full-kit) Mind primaries really shine are:

• Low/Mid 20-ish content that is 'turned up', because the AoE (including Sleep) keeps enemies from blanketing players with attack rolls
• Spawns/encounters with Elite Bosses/AVs

The first bullet is also true for any content above those levels, but not all AoE-clearing builds scale down nicely to those levels.

 

Mass Hypnosis (AoE) over Mesmerize (ST)... eventually the typical game reaches the point where it will almost certainly be too hard to try to leverage the single-target sleep. There are probably corner cases where Mesmerize could almost pull its weight, but I think this guy (points to self) would have to set up some targeting keybinds to use the single-target sleep effectively. I don't think I'd slot either the T1 or T2 Mind Primary Powers heavily (in a final build), no matter which one I picked. 5-slots of Call of the Sandman isn't a bad choice of Enhancement set for the AoE, but I could understand a build that uses fewer slots in Mass Hypnosis.

 

For a Dominator, I think the first (and perhaps only) power I would try for any %damage would be Terrify... and depending on if the secondary has a cone attack, maybe that too. Dominators will need Global +Recharge bonuses, and the Holds will present the choice of +Recharge set bonuses or 4+ %damage. I think the set bonuses should be the priority, but mileage varies (secondary choice, play style, budget).

 

 

[Ringo]

13 hours ago, Shocktacular said:

Doesn't all the DoT mess with the sleeps, though? Or did you not take those?

You use the Sleeps to divide and conquer.  Solo, small teams, and disciplined teams versus tough content will mean putting mobs on time-out until you choose to deal with them.  After that you just burn 'em down because Mind/Fire is *fire*.

 

As far as bigger, steam rolling teams?  Yeah your Sleep powers aren't critical, and I guarantee you someone will doggedly kill or hold whoever you try to Confuse.  But that's big teams for you!  Mind Control doesn't feel like other control sets and a Mind Dom is a fun way to really lean into Mind Control's strengths

Edited October 17, 2023 by Ringo

[EnjoyTheJourney]

It's a bit tough to come up with another set that works as well as fire if ranged play is your preference. 

If you're open to other ideas, then take a close look at earth assault. Earth has 3 potentially very hard hitting single target attacks and a bit of a stinker in its T2. With mind control you can replace the T2 assault power with a procc'd up dominate from the primary, taking single target damage to a better place. Also, mind control tends to lean heavily on terror because two of its key control powers have very long recharge. Since Earth assault has multiple good knocks and a hold in seismic smash those powers can help to supplement the control provided by mind control. Note also that the usual single target attack chain has 2 holds in it (dominate, seismic smash) for 10 mag hold being delivered when domination is active, while doing good damage. That amount of stacking for hold mag makes a noticeable difference when fighting hard targets such as AVs, etc. Plus, you can get force feedback +recharge procs from earth assault that bring back those long recharge mind control powers noticeably faster and let the heaviest hitter (seismic smash) get used more often. 

The phrase "earth smash!" gets repeated a fair amount when talking about earth assault. For good reason. It's a fun set to play. 

Below is a sample build, in case you or somebody else would like to take a look. It's a good build for general adventuring through most content, including when exemp'd down. 

 

 

Mind Earth Psi Dom.pdf Dominator (Mind Control - Earth Assault - Psi Mastery).mbd

Edited October 18, 2023 by EnjoyTheJourney

[MoonSheep]

my main is a mind/fire/ice, i’d highly recommend it

 

/fire is incredibly damaging due to the low animation times and well, high damage

 

mind/fire also means all of your attacks are ranged, i have incinerate also but only use it occasionally

 

with everything being at range, there’s also no need or value in building for defence, allows you to really focus on the best parts of the primary and secondary sets

 

mind/fire is a brutal top tier combination, a notable step up from other doms 

[twozerofoxtrot]

I voted /Thorns for no real reason than Mind/Thorns was my first Dom on live and depsite having no real clue how to play well, I still loved that character.

 

This thread inspired me to roll a new Mind/Thorns in homage, though her original costume has been improved upon and original name is in use by another player. Luckily I was fortunate enough to come across something I think suits her.

 

So far... surprisingly so good? To really savor those Nostalgia Berries, her firsr 10 levels were solo villain arcs with just dropped enhancements slotted. Now she's almost 12 and I'm treating her a bit.

 

Excited to goof around with Telekinesis.  This is a power that badly needs a rework and I think I know a way to make it relevant for current state of play.

[Scarlet Shocker]

I've little experience of Dominators, but I've enjoyed a variety of Mind controllers. That said, A Mind/Rad Dommi strikes me as being potentially very potent, given that not much resists psionics well and the debuffs of radiation would complement that nicely. I am tempted to roll one myself

 

[EnjoyTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

I've little experience of Dominators, but I've enjoyed a variety of Mind controllers. That said, A Mind/Rad Dommi strikes me as being potentially very potent, given that not much resists psionics well and the debuffs of radiation would complement that nicely. I am tempted to roll one myself

 

I've been tempted to roll one as well. In case it provides food for thought, here's a build I worked out earlier. Damage is in a very good place (especially single target) and defenses are pretty good, especially once T4 barrier core destiny incarnate and melee core hybrid incarnate are in place. 

Edit: To avoid misleading, when examining attack powers click off domination so you get a better feel for where accuracy sits. Domination only provides a 15 second bonus to accuracy or to hit (I forget which) and 75 seconds without that bonus before it's activated again. So, it's better to have it clicked off when looking at accuracy totals. 
 

Dominator (Mind Control - Radioactive Assault - Psi Mastery),Vigor alpha.mbd Mind Rad Psi Dom.pdf

Edited October 23, 2023 by EnjoyTheJourney

[Scarlet Shocker]

useful, thanks. I rolled one yesterday, took it to level 10 just door knocking. It seems to work very well at those levels, so I have hopes for the future

[Mezmera]

I have a Mind/Dark, Mind/Rad, Mind/Sonic, Mind/Nrg.  On live I also had a Mind/Fire, Mind/Elec.  

 

My Mind/Nrg as Nrg currently is on HC is far and away my favorite iteration.  With Mind/Dark and /Fire as the alternatives I'd play if not for Nrg.