Thoughts on Arsenal Control

[Argentae]

I know others have a different reaction, and I understand their position. A lot depends on what you enjoy and how you play a build.

 

Personally, I like the set a fair amount and I’ve now soloed Ars/Traps, Ars/TA, and Ars/Dark into mid incarnate levels (Alpha, Interface, and Destiny). It’s a good high damage set.

I like them all, /Dark is the best, then /TA, then /Traps.

 

All three took all the Primary powers. 

 

I 6 slot Smoke canister for confuse: Malaise then Coercive Persuasion. 
 

Sleep Grenade I treat as a dmg power with 5 Posi Blast then the purple Ranged AOE. It does good AOE dmg (not proc based) esp with containment set and after Soul Drain buffs my dmg output.

 

Nitro is the same as Sleep Grenade on the way up, then single slotted in the end game.

 

Flash Bang is a proc bomb, and followed by Howling Twilight which is the same. Good 1-2 punch that leaves everything stunned and heavily damaged.

 

Tranq and Cryo are good proc based ST damage powers. Toss Twilight Grasp with Theft of Essence +end proc and 50+5 Heal/End into your ST chain and you and your pets get much more resilient while your end recovers.

 

Tear Gas is amazing slotted for hold. Baz Gaze then Unbreakable Constraint.

Haven’t look at using it for Proc damage, it’s awfully useful having it up for each spawn. (180 global Rech and 5 pack of Unbrk Constraint) brings it up before the next spawn.
 

Standard sequence:

I love the visual ease with which you can stack Tar Pit, Smoke Canister,  Nitro, and Tear Gas. Makes it easy to set up, then pop Fade and trigger Darkest Night on a far mob (104’ range really helps!) for a corner pull to clump the spawn up when geometry supports.  
Let pets take what alpha there is and for the confuse to set in. Step out and hit the spawn with Flash Bang-Howling Twilight, then Hover in for Soul brothers (Drain and Absorption) then Dark Obliteration and Sleep Grenade. Hover out to 1/2 way between Fluffy and Fortunata, refresh the patches from the beginning under center of spawn, reset DN anchor if needed, and switch to ST on bosses making sure to keep AOE effects on them. 
 

Very effective.

 

Smoke + Tear Gas then Flash Bang + Howling Twilight works well as an opener for maps where corner pull isn’t an option.

 

Went with Control for Hybrid slot for the %immob chance which seems to be working. SOMETHING was keeping a +4 Infernal from running around last night!

 

Will probably also try Assault for times when immob is not needed.

 

I’ll probably crib some of the above for a Dark Crystal (Ars/Dark/Soul) chronology.

 

I’m actually thinking of redoing the whole path up again on that build and documenting it this time. Good, fun build that aged well.

 

 

 

 

[BZRKR]

I made an Arsenal/Dark over the weekend, and it's a really fun build! Thanks for the inspiration and slotting ideas!

[Onlyasandwich]

I love that most everything is a reticle target, so I can shoot through floors and from behind walls. There are so many persistent patch effects that I feel like a true master of the battlefield, especially when combined with /TA.

 

Damage is surprisingly great as you noted. Some powers don't proc out as well as you might expect (sleep grenade), but still do very solid damage alongside their control potential. The gun drone is a freaking champion as well. There isn't a power I don't like in the set.

[EnjoyTheJourney]

I usually prefer team play. But, Argentae's OP has me inspired as well; an arsenal / dark / psi controller looks like it would be a solid and potentially enjoyable solo project. Having a thoughtfully put together build blueprint from Argentea helps, as well. If I make such a character, they would probably start in Praetoria and once done there they'd solo its way through the villain side arcs; for me those are the most consistently interesting arcs to go through and it's been quite a while since I did that.

 

Fade from dark affinity is such a good buff that it's easier to proc out a lot of powers while still having solid defense and resistance values. In the end, flight (hover), speed (hasten), sorcery (arcane bolt, spirit ward for the pet, rune of protection, maybe enflame), and either leadership or teleport powers may make good pool power choices. It's particularly tempting to get the teleport power pool because fold space would be very nice to use together with the patches in arsenal control and dark affinity. Soul absorption loves grouped mobs, as well, so fold space would help for endurance management as well. 

Edit: Went ahead and made Nightshell (arsenal / dark / psi planned), who started her journey in Praetoria. She is skilled in "industrial magic", which means she activates her magic through fabricated items that she carries with her (ie: her gun). Very capable and also very fun to play so far. Also, really enjoying another run through Praetoria, been too long since the last time.

Edited May 14 by EnjoyTheJourney

[TECHWON]

working on arsenal/time troller

[Frosticus]

Leveling an arse/storm/psi

Mag 5 aoe stun (flash+thunder), mag 5 aoe confuse (smoke can+woc). Ample knockdown, good -fly, can slow cap most everything and push them back in to patchesas needed. Heal for my Pet tank. 

 

Good synergy, lots of control, good damage, and strong debuffing.

 

 

[Argentae]

I've actually started an Ars/Storm myself. 
I wanted to try out the combo of Freezing Rain with Nitro and all the rest of the KD /Storm brings to the table. 
I don't think it will eclipse Ars/Dark, but I like /Storm a lot as a set, and I think it will synergize well with Ars too. 🙂
 

Still only like lvl 18 in Hollows (I almost always do the Frostfire arc, and aim to finish it at about 20ish so I can hop straight to Talos, my favorite zone), so much to play with still...

 

 

[Temerity86]

I've really enjoyed the playstyle of this Arsenal/Dark build.  Your insights into the power selection are appreciated and have given me direction.  I do wonder if anyone is willing to post their own builds and/or give advice on my own.  I'd like to proc out damage where possible but I imagine I will be mostly teaming so I've prioritized AoE damage and survivability.  I'd like to get some more procs out of my build, but I'm not sure where to cut the set bonuses to favor that.

 

Edit:  After reaching mid 30s and playing with the set bonuses a bit, I've rearranged some slotting to maximize personal damage and control.  Tried the AoE procs but I've swapped those to set bonuses to proc the single targets.  Understanding that the procs don't fire as frequently but over the course of a fight they make a more noticeable difference here.

 

Cursed Void - Hero Controller
Build plan made with Mids' Reborn v3.7.4 rev. 8
──────────────────────────────

• Primary powerset: Arsenal Control
• Secondary powerset: Darkness Affinity
• Pool powerset (#1): Speed
• Pool powerset (#2): Flight
• Pool powerset (#3): Leadership
• Pool powerset (#4): Fighting
• Epic powerset: Soul Mastery
  

──────────────────────────────

Powers taken:

Level 1: Cryo Freeze Ray

• A: Nucleolus Exposure
• 3: Unbreakable Constraint: Chance for Smashing Damage
• 3: Neuronic Shutdown: Chance of Damage(Psionic)
• 5: Ghost Widow's Embrace: Chance of Damage(Psionic)
• 5: Ice Mistral's Torment: Chance for Cold Damage
• 7: Impeded Swiftness: Chance of Damage(Smashing)
  

Level 1: Tar Patch

• A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
  

Level 2: Tranquilizer

• A: Nucleolus Exposure
• 43: Ice Mistral's Torment: Chance for Cold Damage
• 46: Impeded Swiftness: Chance of Damage(Smashing)
• 46: Devastation: Chance of Hold
• 46: Apocalypse: Chance of Damage(Negative)
• 48: Gladiator's Javelin: Chance of Damage(Toxic)
  

Level 4: Twilight Grasp

• A: Panacea: +Hit Points/Endurance
• 9: Panacea: Endurance/Recharge
• 11: Panacea: Heal/Recharge
• 11: Panacea: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• 13: Panacea: Heal
• 13: Invention: Accuracy
  

Level 6: Liquid Nitrogen

• A: Nucleolus Exposure
  

Level 8: Hasten

• A: Invention: Recharge Reduction
• 15: Invention: Recharge Reduction
  

Level 10: Howling Twilight

• A: Javelin Volley: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
• 37: Positron's Blast: Chance of Damage(Energy)
• 37: Bombardment: Chance for Fire Damage
• 48: Ice Mistral's Torment: Chance for Cold Damage
  

Level 12: Smoke Canister

• A: Coercive Persuasion : Confused
• 15: Coercive Persuasion : Confused/Recharge
• 17: Coercive Persuasion : Confused/Recharge/Accuracy
• 17: Coercive Persuasion : Recharge/Accuracy
• 19: Coercive Persuasion : Confused/Endurance
• 19: Coercive Persuasion : Contagious Confusion
  

Level 14: Darkest Night

• A: Dark Watcher's Despair: To Hit Debuff
• 21: Dark Watcher's Despair: To Hit Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
• 21: Dark Watcher's Despair: To Hit Debuff/Endurance
• 23: Dark Watcher's Despair: Recharge/Endurance
  

Level 16: Shadow Fall

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• 23: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Endurance
• 25: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
• 25: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
• 27: Kismet: Accuracy +6%
  

Level 18: Flash Bang

• A: Superior Will of the Controller: Accuracy/Control Duration
• 27: Superior Will of the Controller: Control Duration/Recharge
• 29: Superior Will of the Controller: Endurance/Recharge
• 29: Superior Will of the Controller: Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance/Recharge
• 31: Superior Will of the Controller: Recharge/Chance for Psionic Damage
• 50: Annihilation: Chance for Res Debuff
  

Level 20: Fade

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• 31: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Recharge
• 31: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
• 33: Unbreakable Guard: RechargeTime/Resistance
  

Level 22: Tear Gas

• A: Unbreakable Constraint: Hold
• 33: Unbreakable Constraint: Hold/Recharge
• 33: Unbreakable Constraint: Hold/Recharge/Accuracy
• 34: Unbreakable Constraint: Recharge/Accuracy
• 34: Unbreakable Constraint: Hold/Endurance
  

Level 24: Soul Absorption

• A: Performance Shifter: Accuracy/Recharge
• 34: Preemptive Optimization: EndMod/Recharge
  

Level 26: Tri-Cannon

• A: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• 36: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Damage
• 36: Expedient Reinforcement: Endurance/Damage/Recharge
• 36: Expedient Reinforcement: Resist Bonus Aura for Pets
  

Level 28: Hover

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  

Level 30: Dark Servant

• A: Cloud Senses: Accuracy/ToHitDebuff
• 37: Cloud Senses: Accuracy/Recharge
• 39: Cloud Senses: ToHit Debuff
• 39: Cloud Senses: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
• 39: Trap of the Hunter: Chance of Damage(Lethal)
• 48: Touch of the Nictus: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
  

Level 32: Maneuvers

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
• 40: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Endurance
• 40: Luck of the Gambler: Defense
  

Level 35: Tactics

• A: Cytoskeleton Exposure
  

Level 38: Dark Embrace

• A: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
• 40: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
• 42: Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
• 42: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP
  

Level 41: Soul Drain

• A: Armageddon: Damage
• 42: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge
• 43: Armageddon: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• 43: Armageddon: Recharge/Accuracy
• 50: Armageddon: Chance for Fire Damage
• 50: Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: Chance for Build Up
  

Level 44: Summon Seer

• A: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Recharge
• 45: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Damage
• 45: Expedient Reinforcement: Endurance/Damage/Recharge
• 45: Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
  

Level 47: Assault

• A: Invention: Endurance Reduction
  

Level 49: Vengeance

• A: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  

──────────────────────────────

Inherents:

Level 1: Containment

Level 1: Brawl

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Sprint

• A: Celerity: +Stealth
  

Level 2: Rest

• (Empty)
  

Level 1: Swift

• A: Invention: Flight Speed
  

Level 1: Hurdle

• A: Invention: Jumping
  

Level 1: Health

• A: Preventive Medicine: Chance for +Absorb
• 7: Miracle: +Recovery
  

Level 1: Stamina

• A: Performance Shifter: Chance for +End
• 9: Performance Shifter: EndMod
  

Edited June 5 by Temerity86
Updated build after testing for several days

[WindDemon21]

They still really need to fix the -to hit from not working on the patch in smoke canister. Really ruins the powers use to debuff since it only works when they're ONLY confused anyway. It should debuff any enemies in the patch but currently it's bugged(but WAI??) so that it's only applying the -to hit if the enemy is already confused which is useless for the most part. Please fix this devs.

[WindDemon21]

But yeah, arsenal is actually pretty low on damage, especially since they made the sleep location based rather than the target based it should be which effectively means it won't proc at all either. The only aoe power that will really proc is the aoe stun. (and ST's of course) even the pet has a terribly dumb attack/rech set up, and will hardly ever even proc the build up proc from the purple set. Really wish they'd fix it's dumb taunt it has too cause it just ends up splitting the mob for no reason. It should just have a taunt shocking aura and go in melee to actually do it's job better without splitting the mob.

[Gentoo]

I've been having a great time with an Arsenal/Poison controller. It synergizes pretty well together. I debuff the hell out of targets and the cannon rips through them surprisignly quickly.

[arcane]

5 hours ago, WindDemon21 said:

But yeah, arsenal is actually pretty low on damage, especially since they made the sleep location based rather than the target based it should be which effectively means it won't proc at all either. The only aoe power that will really proc is the aoe stun. (and ST's of course) even the pet has a terribly dumb attack/rech set up, and will hardly ever even proc the build up proc from the purple set. Really wish they'd fix it's dumb taunt it has too cause it just ends up splitting the mob for no reason. It should just have a taunt shocking aura and go in melee to actually do it's job better without splitting the mob.

Yeah I like my Arse^2 Dom but this “Arsenal has good damage” bit had me like “wat”.

 

It’s definitely most comparable to Earth Control.

[Maelwys]

11 hours ago, arcane said:

Yeah I like my Arse^2 Dom but this “Arsenal has good damage” bit had me like “wat”.

 

It’s definitely most comparable to Earth Control.

Base damage isn't great, but the powers do take a heck of a lot of damage procs - Sleep Grenade in particular can take 2x Slow procs and 3x Targeted AoE procs and always (for some convoluted coding reason) triggers a Firey Orb ATO spawn; and the slow set procs have additional chances to kick in multiple times over its duration.

Liquid Nitrogen seems to be mostly a trap pick for damage since it only kicks in whenever the mobs fall over; but between Procced Sleep Grenade/Cryo Freeze Ray plus the Confuse from Smoke Grenade, plus the Tri-Cannon... I've definitely noticed the Arse Control set providing a decent stream of AoE and ST damage. Still needs to mesh with a good secondary though - and I much prefer /PsiAssault to /ArseAssault despite any potential giggles over the naming convention.

[Maelwys]

  

17 hours ago, WindDemon21 said:

But yeah, arsenal is actually pretty low on damage, especially since they made the sleep location based rather than the target based it should be which effectively means it won't proc at all either.

Are you sure about that? Currently Sleep Grenade's damage component just kicks in once upon casting, but the Slow component kicks in once upon casting and then lingers for 30s (giving it two additional chances for procs to activate after the 10s and 20s mark). CoDv2's database is out of date - it doesn't show the most recent Arsenal tweaks.
My in-game testing showed all the procs currently perform quite decently in SG, although the two Slow Set damage Procs (Impeded Swiftness and Ice Mistral's Torment) are obviously slightly better due to the additional lingering proc activation chance. The guaranteed Dominator Firey Orb ATO spawn rate was also a pleasant surprise; even if it's only useful when you treat the power as an PBAoE.

[Onlyasandwich]

9 hours ago, Maelwys said:

Grenade's damage

My results reflect yours. Slow procs are a nice addition if you have room. Targeted AOE not amazing.

 

Worth noting the base damage is quite decent as well! Base damage enhancement is a good start before procs here.

 

Tranq takes the two extra slow procs too, making it a better than average st blast with a useful control effect.

Edited June 7 by Onlyasandwich

[arcane]

This thread makes me kinda want an Arse/ troller. Controllers are usually more free to proc bomb their primaries than Dominators. My dom only has the S/T hold proc bombed I think.

[mistagoat]

I just finished a Arse/Psi Dom and had a blast with it so my newest toon is a Arse/TA Patch Master Troller! I played it a bit on test in the mid 30s with just SOs slotted and it was kicking some major butt! Just an absurd amount of tools to shut down spawns. The way the Tri-Gun gets containment damage is fantastic and almost makes up for the lack of single target damage elsewhere in the set. Tranq dart is also surprisingly decent damage.

 

I'm going to throw caution to the wind and try a full out proc build with minimal res/def and less recharge than I usually like. I still need some half decent recharge to get oil slick arrow back as fast as possible though because when I parsed my damage logs from test it turned out that the fire from OSA accounted for about half of my total damage! It's as close as I'm gonna get to a Troller Nuke!

 

Arsenal is an interesting set, it has decent AOE damage, low to mid single target damage, very high control but the lack of hard control means you still need to stay on your toes. It feels a bit like earth control minus the aoe immob.

Edited June 13 by mistagoat
word

[Onlyasandwich]

7 minutes ago, mistagoat said:

Arse/TA Patch Master Troller!

 

This is my favorite Arse now : )

 

Here's my own build if you want a reference point. I went heavy on procs. There are just so many buttons you can push, and all of them do something really good!

 

Controller (Arsenal Control - Trick Arrow).mbd

[mistagoat]

8 minutes ago, Onlyasandwich said:

 

This is my favorite Arse now : )

 

Here's my own build if you want a reference point. I went heavy on procs. There are just so many buttons you can push, and all of them do something really good!

 

Controller (Arsenal Control - Trick Arrow).mbd 42.85 kB · 0 downloads

 

 

Perfect, thank you!! Can't wait to check this out after work!

Edited June 13 by mistagoat
quote

[Bionic_Flea]

While on test server, I made Arse/Traps, Arse/TA, Arse/Dark, and an Arsex2 Dom.  When it went live I tried Arse/Cold.

 

Of all those I preferred them in this order: Dark, TA, Cold, Traps, Dominator.  Arse really shines when you can stack similar effects and TA and Dark both do that very well. 

 

 

[mistagoat]

2 hours ago, Onlyasandwich said:

 

This is my favorite Arse now : )

 

Here's my own build if you want a reference point. I went heavy on procs. There are just so many buttons you can push, and all of them do something really good!

 

Controller (Arsenal Control - Trick Arrow).mbd 42.85 kB · 0 downloads

Ya know what, your build is the one I started with lol! I found it in another thread and its ever so slightly different (I think just the slots in Entangling) but it's definitely yours! So thanks! 

The only changes I plan on are my travel power of preference and replacing the purples so its leveling friendly. It looks like a very fun build! I'm really curious how it's gonna play in the early levels with all those procs. I played it up to lvl 10 last night so I can throw a few Impeded Swiftness and some of the PVPs in there tonight. It already has soooo many control options, it's nuts!

 

I was thinking about swapping the Epic to Fire, how are you liking Mu?

 

Fun fact: My Fire/fire/fire blaster was also based on one of you builds so Thanks for that one too 🙂

[Onlyasandwich]

4 hours ago, mistagoat said:

I was thinking about swapping the Epic to Fire, how are you liking Mu?

 

Either would be just fine.

 

I liked the theme here, and found surge of power a useful mule to save a slot. One more slot for procs elsewhere! I actually even get use out of surge at times. Just one more problem solver in a kit that can already tackle anything. Sometimes maxing out almost every resist is just the thing. 🙂 

 

Glad you're enjoying the blaster as well! 

 

This guy was a breeze to level. Just be careful not to vomit all your controls at once just because they're ready - rotate as needed and keep debuffs up and you can take on pretty much anything. I found it especially refreshing to even have decent ST damage at an early level between procced cryo, ice arrow, and tranq.

[Spike_Spunk]

I am looking for a good Arsenal Control/Dark troller build and a Arsenal Control/Poison Troller.  I am notoriously bad at Mids and 

[EnjoyTheJourney]

I don't have an arsenal / poison build handy. But, here's an endgame arsenal / dark / psi build that can hopefully provide some helpful ideas. If you'd like a budget version, then some substitutions can be made for multiple sets. 

Good luck with your arsenal control character, whichever path you ultimately choose. 

Edit: It's been a while since I looked at this build. After learning a bit more about arsenal control I'd probably swap out enflame and instead take psionic tornado, with five armageddon IOs in it (not the knockdown proc, though) and a force feedback +recharge IO in the sixth and final slot. That would make it easier to keep mobs to having been damaged every 15 seconds or less, which helps for keeping mobs confused with smoke canister.

 

Nightshell - Controller (Arsenal Control - Darkness Affinity - Psionic Mastery),v2.mbd Nightshell - Controller (Arsenal Control - Darkness Affinity - Psionic Mastery),v2.pdf

Edited July 10 by EnjoyTheJourney

[ChetManly]

On 6/7/2024 at 7:05 AM, Maelwys said:

Sleep Grenade in particular can take 2x Slow procs and 3x Targeted AoE procs and always (for some convoluted coding reason) triggers a Firey Orb ATO spawn; 

Just found this thread and fwiw, on my Ar/Ar Dom, I tried this and it works great. At 34 I did 1Acc, ice Mistral, Impeded, and Fiery Orb procs and it works well. Orb fires off 98% of the time.

 

-Chet

Edited August 20 by ChetManly