Fire/Storm - The Only Way To Burn (Guide)

[Harlequin565]

So my En/En Blaster guide was all about how much fun you can have blowing stuff up. Fire/Storm though, is truly a king of the battlefield. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Most of the time you'll use half your arsenal to murder everything. Some times you'll use another quarter just to relieve the boredom. Then there are times when you'll cut loose with everything - usually because your team is dead/dying.

 

Fire Control

Take everything. Respec out of Ring of Fire at 50.

I want control from my Fire/Storm. So I have Devastation Chance to Hold procs in both my single target attacks. Char (chance of Mag 5 boss hold with 1 cast) & RoF will serve you well as single target damage through the game. Slot for damage. If you're doing your job right, your target should be dead before they come out of an unenhanced hold. Smoke is -acc which equals +def, so works nicely with Steamy Mist to give you some mitigation. Flashfire & Cinders are two amazing AoE mez powers. Take both. Bonfire with a KB-KD in it keeps enemies on your burn patch and gets them flopping - providing very strong soft control. Imps are great in a farming build because they maul your helpless enemies. However in misison teams they are as tough as a wet paper bag and if they do survive they usually pull more agro.

Ring of Fire is a useful source of damage until you're IO'd out. With the vast amount of recharge available in this build, you can chain Fireball, Fireblast & Char when you're not doing ohter things (and you often are). However getting to that point takes a while and Ring of Fire is a useful filler. The Immob is handy at lower levels, but at 50 you have far better things to be doing than immobilizing a single target.

Fire Cages is a really useful tool. The AoE immob is useful, but it's the setting up of containment, the visual "who is the enemy and where are they?" aspect, and the restraint to prevent your KB powers spraying all the mobs everywhere until you get some procs. That's why I slot for immob over damage. However Fire Cages does also need slotting for End. You're going to be wheezing A LOT until you get either the Cardiac Alpha, or +End friendly team mates. AM and SB won't sustain you on their own though so you need to slot for -End where you can.

 

Storm Summoning

Take Everything. Apart from O2 Boost. You are not a healer.

Arguably Snow Storm can be dropped too if there's something better you prefer. I always have other things to do than Snow Storm.

Gale is removed from the tray. I have far better tools at 50, but when levelling, it can provide mitigation. If you have foes inside Cages, then it turns to KD which helps a bit. Snow Storm I hardly ever use (so have swapped for Super Speed) because the -Slow and -Recharge in it never seems to make a difference worth worrying about.

Steamy Mist. Hmm... So I've managed to get soft capped defences on my blaster which has *no* starting defence. Steamy Mist sounds like a good start on the road to high defences, but I just couldn't manage it. I've tried though, and got 20odd% defence to most, and 40-60% resistance to most. Steamy Mist ended up being more of a proc holder. The +stealth is nice, and coupled with the stealth procs or super speed will grant invisibility. Useful, but (arguably) not always a "must have".

Freezing Rain is essential. It's an (unenhanceable) resistance debuff which translates to a straight 30% damage buff to all enemies in the rain. Plus they're flopping around. Plus they're 30% easier to hit.

Hurricane. Awesome. Signature Power. When it touches an enemy it gives them a significant to hit penalty and range penalty. The downside is that it sends them flying. The KB portion though is turned into repel if the enemy is immobilised, so Fire Cages is useful here. Also, some enemies are unaffected by KB/Repel so you can sit on an AV without worry. KB-KD Procs won't cancel the repel effect, so I didn't bother. Hurricane is reserved for herdicaning (when stuff is immob'd with FC and being repelled anyway), debuffing AVs & EBs (many/most of which are immune to repel) or utter "oh shit" moments.

Thunderclap isn't great at first glance. Mag 2 only, so it's not that useful vs Bosses & LTs. Combined with Flashfire though, you can stack Mag 5 which will stun a room of bosses in 2 clicks.

Tornado & Lightning Storm are excellent sources of damage and crowd control. I have a KB-KD proc in both. If you want a more chaotic Stormer, go without, but for farming, it's handy keeping everything on your Bonfire.

 

Herdicaning

Using Hurricane as a herding tool is relatively easy to do. Practise on low level (grey) thugs in hazard zones. First, set up with Fire Cages. This prevents silly knockback and turns Hurricane into a repel. Much easier to see the effect of the repel too with the burning circles. Having mobility and speed helps here, so I use Sprint and Combat Jumping or Ninja Run. You then need to "dance" around the edges of the mobs, gathering them up using the edges of your hurricane to debuff the enemy. They can't melee you because they're immob'd and repelled, but they can range you, so make sure you touch them with the hurricane to debuff their acc and give them -range to make it harder. The trick is to go round and round them to "herd" them up into a clump, then drop a bonfire on them. At higher levels this gets trickier, as it takes time to hit everyone with the power, so ranged enemies often get off a few shots before they're debuffed. This is why ranged defence and other powers (like smoke) can give you a bit more survivability. Popping purples will also help.

Sometimes team members will agro additional mob groups, and this can be a useful tactic to clump things back up again. Just watch the Tank to see how they are dealing with the issue. Most melee types get quite whiny about knockback so get behind the mobs and try and herd them back to your lazy melee team mates. I don't bother doing this in regular play. You have far more useful kiling tools available, but when things go horribly wrong for your team, you can not only save lives, but tidy up the battlefield, by pushing everyone into a corner or a clump.

You can also Tank.

 

Ancilliary Powers

Fire Epic. Take blast, ball & shield. Shield will hold procs and get you to the res cap vs Fire which is handy for *those* kind of farms.

Hasten is essential as it gets your big hitting Flashfire back asap and makes a Fireblast - Char single target rotation work quite effectively. Cinders and Bonfire are quite slow to recharge too, so more recharge always helps. I feel this build works better going for as much recharge as possible vs defence options.

Everything else is optional. I went manoevers/CJ for the LoTG mule and a bit more defence, but you can mix 'n' match these as you see fit.

 

Incarnate

Cardiac. That is all.

Fire/Storm is extremely endurance hungry and rather than building for +Recovery in your build (at the expense of recharge) it's simpler just to wheeze it out for 50 levels, then get Cardiac. Building a Fire/Storm as a badger or exemper will be tricky, but I only exemp down when in a team, and there are often times where there is +recovery in the team to help out with the shortfall (RA, AB, AM, etc etc)

The rest of the powers aren't that important. I went Pyronic (themed), Storm Elementals (themed), Reactive (fire dot, thus themed), Support (passive end redux to all) & Clarion (because I hate getting mezzed).

 

Farming

Fire/Storm can solo farm +1/x8 fairly quickly - I can clear my current farm map in about 25 minutes which is slower than some purpose built farmers, but it's with a build that is massively strong in all types of PvE. Open with flashfire, cages to hold them in place, rain to get the res debuff then bonfire to start crisping. Let the imps go to work while you season the barbecue with fireball & fireblast for damage, and char to hold runners. Next mob gets Cinders. Mob after that gets Flashfire, then you may have to wait a moment before the 4th group unless you have Judgement or want to risk a Thunderclap - in which case you don't stop.

 

Team Play @50

Depends on how active you want to be. Mostly, it's the Freezing Rain force multiplier with Fire Cages to set up containment, then jump into the pack and fireball/blast whilst Hot Feet crisps things. Most L50 teams have cleared the mob by now and are moving onto the next so tools like Lightning Storm, Tornado and Bonfire aren't worth setting up. Flashfire/Cinders are also rarely used because teams roll over groups so fast. If you're fighting +4s, you can't rely on your AoE holds much anyway (less chance to hit & shorter duration), so sticking to damage is your best bet. Vs AVs you're a powerhouse. Freezing Rain & Bonfire sets up the capability and with 2-3 Lightning Storms and another 2 Tornadoes out you're dealing a ton of damage. Add a Hurricane debuff and you don't need your mezzes (they don't reliably hold the AVs, and you rarely need the control anyway as anything non boss is flippety flopping from the Bonfire/Rain)

 

Downsides

Fire/Storm works best close in (for hot feet, lightning storm & t-clap) so you'll likely faceplant quite a bit while you get used to it. In fact, devensively, it isn't a great class at all (unless you turn on hurricane). If you pull agro that isn't stunned, held, flopping or debuffed to the acc floor, then you're going down quick. Controllers have the lowest health (or is that Stalkers) so even building for some sort of defence is at best, just prolonging your agony. Control, then Burn - that's your motto. If you Burn first, you're going to die. Unless it's bonfire. Which does both. Nicely :)

Activations are also annoyingly slow. Bonfire, FR, LS and Tornado take forever to cast - esp if you're doing one after another. In contrast, Fireball, Char and Fire Blast are super quick, so I tend to mix them in with the bigger attacks. I've died a lot on Battle Maiden's blue patches in Apex due for the most part to Lightning Storm and Bonfire's animation times.

[Harlequin565]

The Build

 

5 x purple sets - 'spensive

1 x ATIO set (uncatalyzed so as not to clash with the 5x10% bonus limit)

3 x LoTG

This is where all our recharge comes from and we have very close to perma hasten (1.5 sec downtime). If you want to bung a third slot in there, you can have it perma. The rest of the expense comes in the form of 4 slots of Gladiator's Armour (with the +def proc) and the def/rez procs in Steamy Mist. The planner considers the Sudden Acceleration proc to be unique, hence me "dummying" another from the set there, but it should be a KB-KD proc.

 

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Firestorm: Level 50 Magic Controller

Primary Power Set: Fire Control

Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Leaping

Power Pool: Leadership

Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

 

Hero Profile:

Level 1: Char -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(3), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5), Dvs-Hold%(7)

Level 1: Gale -- Acc-I(A)

Level 2: Fire Cages -- GrvAnc-Hold%(A), GrvAnc-Immob/EndRdx(7), GrvAnc-Immob/Rchg(9), GrvAnc-Acc/Immob/Rchg(9), GrvAnc-Acc/Rchg(11), EndRdx-I(11)

Level 4: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13)

Level 6: Smoke -- ToHitDeb-I(A)

Level 8: Hot Feet -- ScrDrv-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), ClvBlo-Dmg/EndRdx(15), Mlt-Dmg/EndRdx(15), ScrDrv-Dmg/EndRdx(17)

Level 10: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(17), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(19), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(19), EndRdx-I(21)

Level 12: Flashfire -- WiloftheC-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(A), WiloftheC-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(13), WiloftheC-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(21), WiloftheC-EndRdx/Rchg(23), WiloftheC-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(23)

Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 16: Freezing Rain -- EndRdx-I(A), Ann-ResDeb%(36)

Level 18: Cinders -- UnbCns-Hold(A), UnbCns-Hold/Rchg(25), UnbCns-Acc/Hold/Rchg(27), UnbCns-Acc/Rchg(27), UnbCns-EndRdx/Hold(29)

Level 20: Hurricane -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(25), DarWtcDsp-Rchg/EndRdx(29), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(31)

Level 22: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)

Level 24: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(31)

Level 26: Bonfire -- OvrFrc-Dam/KB(A), Rgn-Dmg(33), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(33), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(34), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(34)

Level 28: Thunder Clap -- AbsAmz-Stun(A), AbsAmz-EndRdx/Stun(31), AbsAmz-Stun/Rchg(34), AbsAmz-Acc/Stun/Rchg(36), AbsAmz-Acc/Rchg(36)

Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)

Level 32: Fire Imps -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(37), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(37), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(37), Dmg-I(46)

Level 35: Tornado -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(39), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(39), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SudAcc-KBtoKD(40)

Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Apc-Dmg(A), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(40), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Apc-Acc/Rchg(42), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(42), SudAcc-KB/Dam/Rchg(42)

Level 41: Fire Ball -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg(A), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(43), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(43), PstBls-Dmg/Rng(43), PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), RechRdx-I(45)

Level 44: Fire Shield -- GldArm-ResDam(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(45), GldArm-End/Res(46), GldArm-Res/Rech/End(46)

Level 47: Fire Blast -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(48), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), Dvs-Hold%(50)

Level 49: Super Speed -- EndRdx-I(A)

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Containment

Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(50)

------------

 

 

 

 

[Pzn]

Nice build.  I love fire/storm.  Mine has soft capped s/l and ranged defense along with perma hasten (counting the 10% from ageless).  I really love the earth epic.  The defense from rock armor is great for soft capping and seismic smash is really fun.  Fissure adds even more knockdown to a build that already has too much.  But it's a nice place to throw a force feedback proc.  I went with musculature alpha to get as much damage as possible.  I haven't had any endurance problems with tier 4 ageless and some generous end reduction slotting in powers with the highest cost.  I don't have many problems with getting mez'd with soft capped s/l and soft capped ranged.  I can tell that our playstyle is a bit different so I'm sure you won't agree with all my power chocies (I don't take hurricane for one) but maybe you can get a few useful ideas from my build. 

 

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Level 50 Magic Controller

Primary Power Set: Fire Control

Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning

Power Pool: Leadership

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Fighting

Power Pool: Leaping

Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery

 

Hero Profile:

Level 1: Char -- BslGaz-Acc/Hold(A), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(3), BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(3), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(5)

Level 1: Gale -- ExpStr-Acc/KB(A), ExpStr-Dam%(7), ExpStr-Dmg/KB(9)

Level 2: Fire Cages -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Dtn-Dmg/EndRdx(5), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(7)

Level 4: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)

Level 6: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9)

Level 8: Hot Feet -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), Arm-Dmg(11), Arm-Acc/Rchg(13), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(13), EndRdx-I(37)

Level 10: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), StdPrt-ResKB(17), LucoftheG-Def(29), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(46)

Level 12: Flashfire -- SprWiloft-Rchg/Dmg%(A), SprWiloft-Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/Rchg(15), SprWiloft-EndRdx/Rchg(25), SprWiloft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx(25), SprWiloft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear(27), SprWiloft-Acc/Conf/Hold/Immob/Sleep/Stun/Fear/EndRdx/Rchg(27)

Level 14: Kick -- ExpStr-Acc/KB(A), ExpStr-Dam%(15), ExpStr-Dmg/KB(21)

Level 16: Freezing Rain -- TchofLadG-Rchg/EndRdx(A), UndDfn-Rchg/EndRdx(17)

Level 18: Cinders -- BslGaz-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(A), BslGaz-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(21), BslGaz-Acc/Rchg(23), BslGaz-Rchg/Hold(23)

Level 20: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResKB(37)

Level 22: Weave -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(29)

Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 26: Bonfire -- ExpStr-Acc/KB(A), ExpStr-Dam%(31), ExpStr-Dmg/KB(31), Empty(34)

Level 28: Thunder Clap -- HO:Endo(A)

Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(31), EndRdx-I(43)

Level 32: Fire Imps -- ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(A), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(33), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(33), ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(34), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(34)

Level 35: Tornado -- OvrFrc-Dam/KB(A), SlbAll-Dmg/EndRdx(36), TchofLadG-Rchg/EndRdx(36), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(36), RechRdx-I(37)

Level 38: Fissure -- Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(39), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Rgn-Knock%(40), FrcFdb-Rechg%(40)

Level 41: Seismic Smash -- UnbCns-Dam%(A), Hct-Dam%(42), Hct-Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Hct-Acc/Rchg(43), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx(43)

Level 44: Earth's Embrace -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(45), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(45), NmnCnv-Heal(45), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(46), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(46)

Level 47: Lightning Storm -- Apc-Dmg/Rchg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Apc-Acc/Rchg(48), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Apc-Dam%(50), EndRdx-I(50)

Level 49: Rock Armor -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(50)

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Containment

Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(40)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(19), PrfShf-End%(19)

Level 50: Musculature Core Paragon

------------

 

The blank slot on bonfire is for a KB to KD IO.  I haven't gotten around to downloading the version of pine's with sudden acceleration. 

 

I never considered not catalyzing the ATO set so that I could use more purples.  I might have to redo my build with that in mind.

 

 

 

 

[Harlequin565]

I can tell that our playstyle is a bit different

 

Indeed they are, and that's what makes this game great. The same class can play completely differently.

Thematically I wanted more Fire, hence my differences but I may try a build with Earth...

 

I don't think I'd slot Kick or Gale though. I just wouldn't use them ordinarily.

Thanks for sharing though!

[Pzn]

I can tell that our playstyle is a bit different

 

Indeed they are, and that's what makes this game great. The same class can play completely differently.

Thematically I wanted more Fire, hence my differences but I may try a build with Earth...

 

I don't think I'd slot Kick or Gale though. I just wouldn't use them ordinarily.

Thanks for sharing though!

The only reason they are slotted is for ranged defense bonuses with only a 2 slot investment.  I don't use them at all. 

[Wyrick]

I just wanted to thank you both, Just made a Fire/Storm Controller. I'm loving this build, I am a city of heroes vet played it since day one and never even thought about this build. Thanks to you both it is my new favorite

[Maxzero]

How do you setup containment on without RoF on any AV level target (purple triangles)?

 

You are basically losing half your damage.

 

I would argue a 'RoF, Fire Blast, RoF, Char Fireball on Cooldown' rotation is just about the best single target rotation a Controller can have. Maybe Grav might be comparable though. Bad AoE though.

[Zep]

AVs have a much lower resist to IMMOB then the affects that disable. Stack enough ROF and you'll have containment. The Crey pistol can help at the start of an AV fight too - to stack immob faster.

 

As fire/storm your debuffs are far more important then your direct damage vs AVs.

 

FR and Tornado are both strong debuffs for defense and can both be set up with the Achilles heel -20% damage resist - which stacks with the -30dr FR has to start.

 

EG Everyone will hit more often and hit harder when they do - much harder.

[Maxzero]

 

Most debuffs are total garbage for AVs except for -regen, -resist and -dam. Level 54 AV have 87% resist to most debuffs.

 

-dam and -resist are not one of them and -regen values are often high enough (500+) that even 87% resist leaves you with -65% regen.

[Coyote]

How do you setup containment on without RoF on any AV level target (purple triangles)?

 

You are basically losing half your damage.

 

I would argue a 'RoF, Fire Blast, RoF, Char Fireball on Cooldown' rotation is just about the best single target rotation a Controller can have. Maybe Grav might be comparable though. Bad AoE though.

 

I would say that a Fire/Storm SHOULD take RoF for use against AVs... but if they don't, it's not a great deal. The reason is that they do far less direct damage that benefits from Containment, than pet damage that does not benefit. You will have 3 Imps, 2 Tornados, and 1.5 Storms out on the average, and that puts out significantly more damage than the Controller's direct attack cycle. Not to mention that all of these powers plus Freezing Rain suck up endurance, and that if you are soloing the AV, you need to run defensive toggles in addition to having some IO set bonuses, since Fire/Storm has no taunting pets. So... due to Endurance problems, I don't think that a max-damage personal attack cycle will be that useful, compared to the much more End-efficient summons.

 

You may still want RoF to help with a bit of damage, and to keep the AV in one spot. Otherwise you have to run Hover to stay away from melee AVs.

[Maxzero]

How do you setup containment on without RoF on any AV level target (purple triangles)?

 

You are basically losing half your damage.

 

I would argue a 'RoF, Fire Blast, RoF, Char Fireball on Cooldown' rotation is just about the best single target rotation a Controller can have. Maybe Grav might be comparable though. Bad AoE though.

 

I would say that a Fire/Storm SHOULD take RoF for use against AVs... but if they don't, it's not a great deal. The reason is that they do far less direct damage that benefits from Containment, than pet damage that does not benefit. You will have 3 Imps, 2 Tornados, and 1.5 Storms out on the average, and that puts out significantly more damage than the Controller's direct attack cycle. Not to mention that all of these powers plus Freezing Rain suck up endurance, and that if you are soloing the AV, you need to run defensive toggles in addition to having some IO set bonuses, since Fire/Storm has no taunting pets. So... due to Endurance problems, I don't think that a max-damage personal attack cycle will be that useful, compared to the much more End-efficient summons.

 

You may still want RoF to help with a bit of damage, and to keep the AV in one spot. Otherwise you have to run Hover to stay away from melee AVs.

 

Yeah and how are you going to keep that AV in Tornados, Freezing Rain, Bonfire and Thunder Storm?

 

If anything RoF is even more important that usual for Plant/Storm since it relies so much on damage over time effects.

 

Your taunting pets makes me wonder about the viability of a Dark/Storm.

 

You get the Immo and the taunting pets plus the damage. Plus Dark Has better access to IO sets then Fire.

[Harlequin565]

The only AVs that run about is that daft one in DfB. The rest (IMO) all stand still while you wail on them (Maurauder excepted)

 

I can get 3 lightning storms, 2-3 tornadoes and freezing rain on an AV and that puts out far more damage than hitting rof over and over again to get containment so I can blast it. Plus the pets take care of any adds too. A stack of bonfires & lightning storms on the prisoner route on a BAF is a chucklesome sight.

[Zep]

How do you setup containment on without RoF on any AV level target (purple triangles)?

 

You are basically losing half your damage.

 

I would argue a 'RoF, Fire Blast, RoF, Char Fireball on Cooldown' rotation is just about the best single target rotation a Controller can have. Maybe Grav might be comparable though. Bad AoE though.

 

I would say that a Fire/Storm SHOULD take RoF for use against AVs... but if they don't, it's not a great deal. The reason is that they do far less direct damage that benefits from Containment, than pet damage that does not benefit. You will have 3 Imps, 2 Tornados, and 1.5 Storms out on the average, and that puts out significantly more damage than the Controller's direct attack cycle. Not to mention that all of these powers plus Freezing Rain suck up endurance, and that if you are soloing the AV, you need to run defensive toggles in addition to having some IO set bonuses, since Fire/Storm has no taunting pets. So... due to Endurance problems, I don't think that a max-damage personal attack cycle will be that useful, compared to the much more End-efficient summons.

 

You may still want RoF to help with a bit of damage, and to keep the AV in one spot. Otherwise you have to run Hover to stay away from melee AVs.

 

Yeah and how are you going to keep that AV in Tornados, Freezing Rain, Bonfire and Thunder Storm?

 

If anything RoF is even more important that usual for Plant/Storm since it relies so much on damage over time effects.

 

Your taunting pets makes me wonder about the viability of a Dark/Storm.

 

You get the Immo and the taunting pets plus the damage. Plus Dark Has better access to IO sets then Fire.

 

Tornado follows the AV actively - specially if it is the only thing up.

FR is on a short enough recharge (if slotted right) to just keep dropping it on them.

Bonfire with some recharge is also pretty short recycle.

LS has a pretty decent range.

 

Of course nailing the AV to the floor with immobs is ideal.