New to the game, asking for advice - Controller or Dominator and what types?

[Myrd]

I've never played this game before but heard good things. And I'm a fan of this kind of playstyle, rare as it is.

 

So I'm trying to tell what is different in terms of "most effective control powers" with controller vs dominator. It seems like Dominators unique trait gives it a temporary power boost and controller is always on. Maybe one only affects single targets? Maybe the temporary boost is stronger when on or weaker when on? Can anyone clarify what would maximize CC options? If someone had to cast the strongest CC there was would it come from one or the other class?

 

And then I'm looking into power sets for each. I know the second dominator choice seems to be about damage. And the second controller choice about supports. Aesthetically I like mind control and illusions but I have no idea if those are actually good enough to make a useful end game character. And I might have to look into what each gets since attacks and support options may differ. I'm open to anything though. What's the absolute best for each class in your opinion and why?

 

I really don't mind playing full support or CC + damage. Whatever is more useful I can have fun with both.

 

Just looking for general advice and I wasn't sure which archetype form to use since it refers to both. I haven't picked which I'd play yet.

 

I guess the question is, if you had to pick a class to join your team which would you favor? And which power sets do you prefer and why?

[Lunar Ronin]

Dominator CCs are stronger thanks to Domination.  The difference is that Dominators are all CC + damage with little protection (kill or be killed), while Controllers offer support and have a little more protection due to said support.  However, Controllers kill slower since they don't do as much damage as Dominators.  Both are not great for soloing at low levels, but they both get better for soloing at later levels, if that matters to you.

 

Mind Control is much better on Dominators than Controllers.  Illusion is good on both, just different as Phantom Army generates threat (taunt) on Controllers, but doesn't on Dominators.  Both are very good for soloing at end game, again if that matters to you.  Mind Control Dominators and Illusion Controllers and Illusion Dominators can solo just about every non-advanced mode TF/SF in the game, it just takes a bit of time.

 

Generally, Dominators are seen as more useful in end game (because damage is the only thing that really matters at end game), with the possible exception of Darkness Affinity Controllers.  Darkness Affinity is just so good, and it's a support power set that is limited to Controllers only.  If you want to try Darkness Affinity, I'd personally pair it with Fire Control, Illusion Control, or Symphony on Controller.  Those are the higher damage control power sets.

[Myrd]

Thanks for answering.

 

Why would MC be better but Illusion not? Is it because the dominate class ability lets you pump it up but illusion uses summons more?

 

What's so good about darkness affinity? Is that the same as darkness control? Or is it only affinity that's good?

 

Sorry if these seem simple. I'm going through wikis before starting someone off but there's a lot to consume.

[Lunar Ronin]

You got it exactly right, Domination keeps Mind Control up.

 

Darkness Affinity is great because it has a myriad of debuffs, including -damage, -regen, -resistance, -to-hit, and -speed, with huge +defense, +resistance, +regen, and +recovery buffs.  No, it's not the same as Darkness Control (that's the CC power set), but that's good as well.

 

Yep, understandable.  City of Heroes is a 20 year-old MMORPG, and designed before World of Warcraft so it's pretty unique in some ways.  Welcome aboard.

[PyroBeetle]

If you like Mind Control, I might suggest Cheeseman's Mind/Fire Dominator, you can find it's build on the Dominator Forums easily enough. I played something very similar to this on Live and found d it to be quite effective.

 

Illusion is the pinnacle of controllers, but it is its own unique animal...Illusion/Cold will allow you to kill just about anything in the game, with the right patience and strategy.

 

Welcome to the world, I hope you enjoy.

[TTRPGWhiz]

On 6/30/2024 at 4:23 PM, Myrd said:

Thanks for answering.

 

Why would MC be better but Illusion not? Is it because the dominate class ability lets you pump it up but illusion uses summons more?

 

What's so good about darkness affinity? Is that the same as darkness control? Or is it only affinity that's good?

 

Sorry if these seem simple. I'm going through wikis before starting someone off but there's a lot to consume.

 

The following is me splitting the difference between 'helpful' and 'super deep dive into crunchtown'. Hope it's useful!

 

1. MC is considered better on Dominators due mostly to the Archetype Inherent Powers. Domination increases the magnitude and duration of your controls. For example, Dominate (the single target hold) has a base magnitude of 3 (meaning it can hold Lieutenant level mobs with one hit, but not Bosses) and a base duration of about 18 seconds. When Domination is active, that magnitude becomes a 6 for the normal duration (18 seconds), and then a 3 for another 9 seconds. 

   On the Controller side, their inherent power (Containment) allows them to do double (base) damage to any target that is Held, Immobilized, Slept or Stunned. Mind Control suffers here in that, unlike most of the Controller primary sets, it has no reliable way to apply and maintain Containment on multiple targets. Most sets have an Area of Effect Immobilize; Mind instead has a Sleep (which ends as soon as damage is done, so no more Containment) and a very long recharge / short duration Hold. I'd say the tradeoff is that you get an Area of Effect Confuse, but Dominators get that too and theirs can Confuse more enemies (because Domination means it affects Bosses).*

2. Darkness Affinity is the support version of Dark, so quite different from Darkness Control. DA does a lot of things and does them well. What makes it better than Dark Miasma, which Corruptors/Defenders/Masterminds get, are Fade and Soul Absorption. Fade by itself can get an entire team 33% of the way to the (soft) defense cap, meaning most enemies will have only a 5% chance to hit you, which is as low as that chance can get) Soul Absorption can end an entire team's Endurance issues. 

 

*see @EmperorSteele's note below re: new Telekinesis for new info on this outdated section

Edited July 3 by TTRPGWhiz

[Riverdusk]

As to illusion, having played both a lot now, I wouldn't say one is a lot better than the other, more just different.  If I had to pick one I'd say the dom version is actually just a bit better imo.    Dom gets an aoe stun, a single target immobilize,  and a phantom army that doesn't taunt, but that does do secondary effects instead.   Between just getting normal aggro for being there and the amount of knockdowns and CC that Dom phantom army does, I rarely miss or even notice the lack of taunt (mostly just occasionally in an AV fight). 

 

Dom has that extra aoe stun and I also actually very much like the immobilize for those AV fights which makes me miss the taunt less even in AV situations.  You can get the immobilize on a controller too, but you have to go traps or trick arrow.  Dom version definitely feels a lot more "controllery" than the controller version.

 

Between phantom army and spectral terror it is definitely one of the safer doms I've ever tried too.  Probably helps that I went /dark secondary to stack even more tohit debuffs and have a heal.  I also love my illusion controllers, but it is nice on the dom to just be able to one shot snipe things and have some aoe damage before epic pool levels.

[MonteCarla]

Holds and Stuns (mezzes) work on magnitude - it takes a Mag 2 to mez a Minion, 3 to mez a Lieutenant, and 4 to mez a Boss.

Most control powers are Mag 3, so they'll immediately hold minions and Lieutenants, but require two stacks of the same type (eg 2 holds, 2 stuns, but not a stun and a hold) to mez a boss.

Controllers can deal with bosses by stacking their single target hold and AoE hold, or use their single hold twice.

 

Dominators get Domination which boosts their powers to over Mag 4, so they can immediately hold Bosses, or Stun/Hold an entire group including bosses, while Domination is up. You can build to get it up permanently, but that's expensive and a bit of a project.

 

Controllers get a few extra holds in their secondary sets.

Nature's Entangling Aura and Radiation Emission's Choking Cloud do a Mag 2 or 3 pulsing hold around you, allowing you to single shot hold bosses fairly reliably by being near them and stacking your single target hold with the aura.

Time and Poison and Trick Arrow get additional single target holds, so you can two-shot hold a boss pretty quickly without having to wait for your hold to recharge.

 

For Controllers, Illusion/Time and Illusion/Rad are popular because those secondaries help your Phantom Army recharge more quickly. (And the visuals are vague enough to be played as telepathy of some kind)

Illusion and Mind both get a single target Confuse with very long duration which does not draw aggro - most bosses can be handles solo by applying this twice from a distance or from stealth.

 

Dominator's best secondary for extra mez is Energy, which has a number of Stun punches. I enjoyed Mind/Energy when I played it.

 

Both classes are fun. Try both, and in various variations of each if you like them.

Edited July 2 by MonteCarla

[EmperorSteele]

To add to what @TTRPGWhiz said, Mind actually DOES have a "new" AoE containment setter: Telekinesis immobilizes up to 16 targets, and if you hit your main target/anchor with Levitate, it does splash damage to the ENTIRE group! However, it's on a slow recharge (A minute and a half, I think?), so it's not exactly a "once every group" option. It also only lasts for 30 seconds, as opposed to being a full toggle, so you have to finish off your foes quickly.

For historical reference, TK only used to hit 5 guys (burgers and fries!), but with a hold, for most of the time it was around. Between that and the fact that it would push foes from you away infinitely (now it groups them together and keeps them a set distance fro you), it was deemed not worth using most of the time. But the Devs did some good work making it a more reliable staple power to use.

[smnolimits42]

i would suggest trying Arsenal/Arsenal 🙂

 

[TTRPGWhiz]

11 hours ago, EmperorSteele said:

To add to what @TTRPGWhiz said, Mind actually DOES have a "new" AoE containment setter: Telekinesis immobilizes up to 16 targets, and if you hit your main target/anchor with Levitate, it does splash damage to the ENTIRE group! However, it's on a slow recharge (A minute and a half, I think?), so it's not exactly a "once every group" option. It also only lasts for 30 seconds, as opposed to being a full toggle, so you have to finish off your foes quickly.

For historical reference, TK only used to hit 5 guys (burgers and fries!), but with a hold, for most of the time it was around. Between that and the fact that it would push foes from you away infinitely (now it groups them together and keeps them a set distance fro you), it was deemed not worth using most of the time. But the Devs did some good work making it a more reliable staple power to use.

 

Oh good catch, I haven't played around with new TK yet.

[Nostromo21]

I've played a bit of both, and generally prefer Doms, as I mostly solo. Once you get perma-dom in the early-mid 30s, it's no-contest for me.

Plant is absolutely epic, if only for Seeds of Confusion. I went /Thorny for the theme, but Dark is prob a lot better as a secondary.

Mind (/Psionic) was a lot of fun.

Dark/Dark is very good.

Ice/Ice is also very good.

I even tried Arsenal/Arsenal for shits n giggles, was ok but didn't get very high.

Only thing is I wish Doms had Marine somehow, the newer powerset - although an Ice/Marine controller is not too shabby! 😉

[Troo]

On 6/30/2024 at 9:54 AM, Myrd said:

I guess the question is, if you had to pick a class to join your team which would you favor? And which power sets do you prefer and why?

 

"New to the game" "Controller or Dominator" Try a controller, it is simply more straight forward without having to try and game the system as a new player. Dominators are just as good but a controller, at least in my opinion, will be easier to learn the ropes on.

 

Controller Primary suggestions (in not particular order): Fire, Ice, Plant, Illusion

Controller Primary suggestions (in not particular order): Cold, Dark, Kinetics, Storm, Time (trying not to name most of them), Radiation (good but will get lots of attention from enemies)

 

If you want to options outside of these two. Tanks & Brutes are fairly straight forward. If you want to stick to ranged maybe Arachnos Widows (their secondary is Teamwork).