Looking for help with a Plant/Storm build.

[SterlingAg]

Hello everyone, I used to play CoH ages ago and am just getting back in the swing of things. From what I remember one of the last toons I was leveling before I quit playing was a druid themed plant/storm controller. From what I remember I was having a real blast playing it.  So I started a new one on Everlasting and just hit level 10 with it.

 

While playing I realized a lot of things have changed. For one thing I picked up the sorcery power pool just because it sounded cool and was kind of thematic as well. (But it's totally new to me) But now I am kind of confused on where to go from here. What I want is a controller capable of soloing content of at least middling difficulty but also be a good addition to a team. So far the powers I have are: Entangle, Gale, Strangler, Mystic Flight, Arcane Bolt, O2 Boost, and Steamy Mist. 

 

I was thinking of picking up the Concealment power pool for extra survivability. As far as my main powers, which ones are must haves and which ones should I skip? Any help would be appreciated.

 

This is what I have so far in Mids

 

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

[Scarlet Shocker]

You shouldn't need Stealth, because you have Steamy Mist in your power picks anyhow and realistically  most use Stealth as a mule for LotG Global. You could still do that of course but I'd suggest it's a waste of a pool power.

 

It's an interesting combo, I've never played that myself but it offers a couple of interesting options. You can mitigate damage by making sure nobody gets within spitting distance of you, you've got Gale, Hurricane, Lightning Storm to throw stuff around and then sic a Tornado on them. If you stand in the middle of your Carrion Creepers and you've got your pet out, the only things that are likely to hurt you are AVs and snipers.

 

Carrion Creepers and Freezing Rain are must haves but there's not too many powers I'd skip. If you must, then I'd suggest Engangle, Spore Burst and Thunder Clap. If you are only soloing, you won't need O2 Boost. If you team it's a MUST. No it's not a great heal but it's an outstanding buff with a heal component and you can hang a lot of heal procs in there, which means you need fewer in Health, allowing you to leverage slots.

 

Good combo. I'm tempted to build one myself but I've got such bad altitis at the moment it's doing my nut 😄

[SterlingAg]

Thanks for your input. I'll skip Stealth. Still kind of foggy on what a level 50 build will look like. Do you think I will need Hasten? It was de riguer back in the day on so many builds. I was wondering if it still is. As far as not many mobs being able to touch you, I remember that being the case back in the day.

Edited December 18, 2023 by SterlingAg

[Scarlet Shocker]

I think many people still use Hasten (I certainly do) and with good use of it you can have two Lightning Storms up at once giving you a bigger secure zone.

[Doomguide2005]

Yeah my now wife ran a Plant/Storm to 50 on Live and loved it enough she dumped a few billion into it.  Pretty much the only character she came close to doing that for.  And yeah it had tons of recharge enough to perma Indomitable Will.  Getting mezzed was in general more of a threat than outright damage from spawns though as Scarlet points out AVs can be a serious threat from a damage standpoint.  But for AVs you have a single target immobilize which will keep most AVs fixed in location while you drop LS, Tornado, Creepers, FR etc. on their head.  With Rune from Sorcery that  would lessen the pressure to perma IW as you can just let the cooldown occur and if needed pop Rune as needed if when you get mezzed.  Lunch break over got to run.

[Lhanis]

There's a lot you can do with Plant/Storm, depending on what you want to focus on. In general a lot of Storm can actually be skipped to make room for more Pool and Epic options, as the big components of it are just Steamy Mist/Freezing Rain/Tornado/Lightning Storm. Plant has wiggle room too, as you don't usually need both immobilizes and Spirit Tree is a fairly niche pick. Spore Burst too can be skipped, but I find it a decent one-slot wonder for solo play, with the Heal Self proc in it from that one sleep set.

 

I don't have a build to throw your way, but things I'd point out are that Creepers and Seeds of Confusion are definitely your centerpiece in Plant, and Roots actually puts out significantly more AoE damage than most of the other control set variants of AoE immob. As Doom mentioned, Rune from the sorcery pool is also a fantastic defensive option, and I usually take Sorcery instead of Fighting pool because of it. Especially when paired with Storm, as your endurance is going to be a precious resource. Sorcery also provides Arcane Bolt to help with your ST damage, which controller usually lacks.

 

One thing to be aware of, though. Hurricane is both a blessing and a curse. Like Gust, when it is used poorly you will end up being more of a hinderance to most fast or late-game teams than a help. With Storm it is very important to learn how and when to use KB and Repel to your advantage - nobody likes the enemy being scattered to the winds when they are trying to AoE a mob down, but slotting KB to KD removes the utility of having those herding tools as an option, and Storm very much benefits from smart use of them to lock enemies into a corner for your Tornado and Lightning to mulch through.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Lhanis

[SterlingAg]

Thanks for your feedback Lhanis. It helps. Sorcery is new to me but when I saw it, it just seemed to fit. Glad it was a good pick. How do you slot KB to KD? is it a particular set? That sounds very useful for team play.

[Lhanis]

14 minutes ago, SterlingAg said:

Thanks for your feedback Lhanis. It helps. Sorcery is new to me but when I saw it, it just seemed to fit. Glad it was a good pick. How do you slot KB to KD? is it a particular set? That sounds very useful for team play.

 

Theres a few ways, but the cheaper option is the 6th piece of "Sudden Acceleration" Knockback set. It adds a massive negative multiplier to knock, so that it becomes KD instead. Though you'll notice on some enemies that are weak to Knock like clockwork will still get thrown.

[Doomguide2005]

1 hour ago, SterlingAg said:

Thanks for your feedback Lhanis. It helps. Sorcery is new to me but when I saw it, it just seemed to fit. Glad it was a good pick. How do you slot KB to KD? is it a particular set? That sounds very useful for team play.

     To be clear the KB to KD is a proc in the Sudden Acceleration set.  You only need the singular special IO to cause KB to turn into KD.  Another potentially very useful proc is the one in Force Feedback which when triggered gives a massive boost to recharge.  Both Sudden Acceleration and Force Feedback are Knockback IO sets and neither are uniques.  

     Sorcery's Rune of Protection is a very solid power for any support character.  In addition to providing options for placing special IOs notably one or both +3% defense procs it can be cast (activated) while mezzed essentially acting as a breakfree.  The downside is it is unaffected by recharge.  So the uptime and downtime are always the same regardless of, for example, no recharge to enough to yield perma IW in a build. 

[serxiom]

Plant/Storm is a nice combo. As someone mentioned above Storm summoning has many powers you can skip (Gale, Snowstrom, Hurricane, Thunderclap) in favor of piciking pool or epic powers. 

 

With this said there is a few things you may want to consider:

 

1) Softcap Ranged Defense (+40%) at least and also get a decent resistance shield stacking with Tough from fighting pool

2) On my experience unless there is a thematic reason, i always go with a Patron Power Pool. My reason is to pick a 2nd Pet that helps me with more damage, the resistance shield and also endurance drain or a build up power. The most interesting Patron Power for me is Soul Mastery. Dark Consumption (+end), Dark Embrace (resist negative shield), Sould Drain (+dam +to hit) and Summon a Seer (Pet) are excellent options for increase your dps and performance

3) Get all the +recharge bonusses you can get without sacrificing your defense/resist minimums

4) Endurance will be an issue with Storm Summoning so Patron Power as Soul Mastery or Mu mastery or Primal Forces from Epic Pool is almost a must so you can pick something useful in your Incarnates  other than Ageless

 

You shouldnt have any issues soloing any kind of content with this combo. Plant is one of the best primaries and Storm is one of the best debuff secondary.

 

Im having fun with all my controllers building them as i described above. Some of them as my Ill/Storm or Plant/Traps can solo GMs.

 

 

[Argentae]

Good choice fellow silver aficionado! 😛

It's a great build. If you haven't seen it, my experience with Plant/Storm was documented on:

 Loved Veridicane on live, and just as much fun here.

[Ringo]

This thread is from 2019, but if the builds will load there's a bunch of em.

 

The last two posts are my updates in 2022.

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/2352-plantstorm-controlled-chaos/page/2/

[Ringo]

My thoughts from that thread:

 

"

How it plays:

Seeds->Roots->Freezing Rain->Tornado->Lightning Storm->Roots->Strangler

Alternate Roots and Strangler on anything not Confused (Bosses and higher usually) and throw down parts of your original chain when they recharge if the mobs haven't melted.  This combo generally eliminates minions/lts with ease, but struggles to really pour it on for hard targets. 

 

Tornado and Lightning Storm are your big hitters, but both Roots and Freezing Rain have -res procs (that will stack with each other) so don't forget to reapply.  Lightning Storm, Roots, and Freezing Rain all benefit greatly from Procs, while I find that Tornado gets the most out of actually slotting damage.  You *can* slot a KB/KD Proc in Lightning Storm, but basically if anything isn't already Rooted, you don't want it to close the distance with you anyway, so KB is hardly a problem. 

 

Spore Burst is an autohit (and I didn't want to slot it, but it was necessary) that can buy you some time, but you have to position the sleeping group away from your pets.  Vines will also buy you time, but less of it, and on a longer recharge.  Handy for stacking Holds though.

 

Gale and Hurricane are excellent damage mitigation.  Gale doesn't have the accuracy slotted to be a true lockdown power, but with a 50ft range and 80 degree cone, you're going to knock enough mobs on their butt to help.  Hurricane gives that sweet -range and -30% Tohit debuff that combos with your sub-par melee defense to rise above the normal defensive Softcap.  Ranged and AoE attackers within the Debuff will be having an even worse time.  I believe the debuff range is slightly bigger than the hurricane animation?  Don't quote me on that.  Hurricane's Repel is also great as it can herd baddies into a corner for your tank or Tornado.  Both the debuff and repel work together to help you create safe zones for your ranged teammates.  Any mobs attempting to get through you to the blaster will have their tohit debuffed and their range shortened - meaning they will have to close the distance to even fire, which will then hit them with the repel and make them repeat the process.  KB/KD resistant foes will ignore the repel, but then your ranged buddies just need to make sure that any melee attacks are still standing in your hurricane when they start swinging.  Hug the Hurricane!  Love the Hurricane!

 

Of course, the Hurricane eats all your endurance - which is why you need Power Sink (and some choice Incarnate picks).  Of all the Epic pools, Mu's Power Sink has 1) the quickest recharge and 2) No Accuracy Check.  Between Power Sink and Lightning Storm you could potential sap your targets, but what you really want is to fill up your blue bar - and this will do that for you.  Eat early, Eat often

 

Seeds of Confusion is the bedrock on which the Plant/Storm is built.  So it needs to be said - against Confuse resistant foes, all your normal plans go out the window.  Gale, Hurricane, and Spore Burst suddenly become keys to survival, and you'll actually need to pay attention to killing the minions/lts instead of just assuming they're gonna melt.  Be Wary of Longbow!"

[Doomguide2005]

"Be Wary of Longbow!"

The reason specifically is because they use Tactics or a Tactics clone.  Tactics carries Confusion protection.

Likewise once Cimerorans start all their shouting (i.e Shout of Command) it'll free or protect against many mezzes including Confusion

[SeraphimKensai]

The more I think this combo over, the more I like it's potential. I'm sitting here toying with the idea of also throwing leviathan mastery in to get waterspout with a hibernate as a top off when needed as well. I might just roll one for the hell of it as I really like both plants and storm individually.

 

I'm guessing I'd probably use musculature radial, ageless core, degen radial, ion core, bp radial, and either support core or melee core for hybrid.

 

This seems like it would be an end heavy controller that carves recharge, to maximize lightning storm/tornado/carrion creepers.

[Ringo]

Yup.  I went with /Mu Mastery APP just for Power Sink, and that allows me to pump more damage in my Incarnates

[Argentae]

I would probably lean towards Leviathan myself as Waterspout fits so perfectly with /Storm.
Hibernate is a natural fit in my mind as Plant/Storm has an absurd number of pseudo pets out, and after you have dropped everything on a spawn you can just turtle up in Hibernate if something gets a lucky shot in, there's an unexpected second spawn of adds etc.

 

Veridicane (Plant/Storm) had a lot less issue with Arachnos then some of my controllers because being blinded had very little effect on her. Just keep dropping everything in the kill zone.
Occasionally things would go bad though, and on +4/8 it can snowball FAST. Pop Hibernate, get full heal and end back to full while you take a bit to look at exactly what's going on, spot the nasty pair of bosses from another spawn that snuck up in the chaos etc.

 

Fire/Storm is another massively end heavy build though I think I went with Ice on that one, I still use Hibernate the same way. It's amazingly useful with just the default slot, which you can use just for a rech IO or to hold Preventative Med.

[Carnifax]

This is the build I use for Plant / Storm. Ice was my Epic of choice : Frozen Armour + Ice Storm + Hibernate are all very nice to have. Dabbled with Mu for a bit but I missed the S/L armour and the Freezing Rain / Ice Storm / Roots combo too much. It is very AoE focused for teaming, hovering above the battlefield and unleashing chaos. 

 

Note that Fly Trap can slot Achilles Heel and quite a few of their powers triggers it. Did some parsing of how often it goes off and it's fairly decent. 

 

 

Lacewing Plant - Storm_2024.mbd