new illusionist

[Prisme]

hello, i'm quite new to the game (played a long time ago back when it was an ncsoft official game but never went over lvl 15).

 

i wanted to play an illusion / sound controller. it is now lvl 8 and i feel like it's not working at all.

for damage all i have is "spectral wounds" and "apprentice charm".

i have "deceive" which feel like a trap cause ennemies who get killed by mind controlled ennemies doesn't really count (i don't get enhancement, low xp, quest counter doesn't increment..)

 

sonic resonnance sounded good but all i have is sonic siphon which doesn't feel to change anything to my damage for now and sonic barrier which i can't even use on myself..

 

what should i do ? wait for lvl 10 and respec ? should i take something else than sonic resonance ? should i drop deceive ?

 

thanks for your input 🙂

[Uun]

Do you have Blind? This is your core ST hold, also does damage and is needed to set up containment (controllers do extra damage to targets that are held, slept, immobilized or stunned). If you use Spectral Wounds on a foe that you have held with Blind, it will do more damage.

 

In order to get xp from targets defeated by confused enemies, you need to do damage to them as well. https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Confuse_(Status_Effect)

 

That said, Illusion doesn't take off until you get Phantom Army at lvl 18 (and to a lesser extent, Phantasm at lvl 26). You won't be able to use Sonic Barrier or Haven on Phantom Army (they can't be buffed or damaged), but you will be able to use on Phantasm. Not sure if you can use Disruption Field on Phantom Army.

 

In addition to taking Blind, suggest you pick up Nemesis Staff or Blackwand (depending on your origin) and Sands of Mu, available for free from the P2W vendor. 

 

[Prisme]

thanks for your answer, Uun

 

i didn't took blind. i'm used to games where illusion is strongly based on sight and, as such, becomes ineffective against blind enemy.

i may have been poorly inspired here 😅

thanks for the info.

i have a magic origin. i'll have a look at the other skills you mentionned 🙂

 

sounds feels lackluster with what you said. well, to be honest, it feels lackluster in play right now...

should i replace it ? any suggestion into what to choose ?

[evetsleep]

52 minutes ago, Prisme said:

thanks for your answer, Uun

 

i didn't took blind. i'm used to games where illusion is strongly based on sight and, as such, becomes ineffective against blind enemy.

i may have been poorly inspired here 😅

thanks for the info.

i have a magic origin. i'll have a look at the other skills you mentionned 🙂

 

sounds feels lackluster with what you said. well, to be honest, it feels lackluster in play right now...

should i replace it ? any suggestion into what to choose ?

Illusion is a late bloomer that heavily leans on Phantom Army.  Sonic is an odd set since your army won't directly benefit from most of what sonic provides.  Most folks pair illusion with things which either increase recharge (time or kinetics) or has a ton of debuffs (dark, radiation, trick arrow, poison, etc.).  There is nothing wrong with sonic resonance as a secondary, but the only thing that the phantom army really benefits from is the Sonic Siphon power (single target debuff) and maybe the T9 (Liquefy).  If you team that's not a big deal, but if you solo a lot it might not feel very strong.

 

My personal favorite is either /traps or /storm, but again when it comes to Illusion you really won't see it start to shine until the mid 20's and it will feel a lot stronger post 30s.  The reason that people lean so heavily into phantom army is that, for controllers, the 3 pets that get summons are invulnerable, cannot be damaged\mezzed, and most importantly they taunt (Dominator version does not).  Illusion is great, but you need to be patient with it.

 

If you're really looking to lean into sonic resonance, I'd probably suggest a different primary.  Personally I love electric/sonic.

[Uun]

Illusion is a very strong set but does take a little time to mature. While Sonic is a solid set on teams, it isn't a great choice if you mostly intend to solo - only 1 of the ally buffs affects you. If you're not having fun playing it, try something else. In general, controllers are a low damage AT, at least until they get their pets. What sort of play style are you looking for? 

[Prisme]

i like to see them fight like "wtf is going on", that's why i took deceive. but they aren't really doing much. usually one is attacking and missing half of the time, and the others are just watching passively instead of defending themselves. also, confusion needs that i actually attack to get a benefit, as you showed me and as soon as i attack, non confused ennemies goes directly on me.

 

i'm looking for something that impede enemies, especially in aoe, if possible. maybe dark, but i already made like 2 other characters with dark or the like, and i'm gonna start feeling like darkness is my destiny..

i'll have a look into traps as evetsleep suggested.. or maybe succomb once again to dark 😅

 

i don't know if i'll just recreate character from lvl 1, as lvl 8 is quickly there. or if i wait for lvl 10's free respec

 

[evetsleep]

You do have 1000 slots per server...try them all!  Personally I'm just under 800 alts at this point on Excelsior.  Generally speaking I recommend taking every alt up to at least level 30 to get a feel for it and the determine if you want to keep going.

[Arcadio]

Most controllers are going to feel lackluster on damage early on. If you want you could try a Dominator that can also be Illusion/Sonic, their secondaries are just damage instead of buffs/debuffs.

[Prisme]

i didn't think about that ! thank you

and i must say, illusion/thorns does have a sleeping beauty vibe that appeals to me 😅

[Prisme]

oh my god ! feels like day and night ! thank you so much everyone 🙂