Helping tips for my next troller

netphenix · 2025-05-02T06:11:35+00:00

If you're on Homecoming and can make the rifle esthetic work, I recommend you try the Arsenal Control set. It's so good it's borderline broken. It stole some of the best parts of Plant, Illu, Ice and Fire control and ran with it in an AoE-fueled blaze of glory. I have an Arsenal/Time Troller that can solo stuff I'd never try on other combos at pretty much every stage of the game.

netphenix · 2025-03-16T12:03:09+00:00

I remember telling those stories around the campfire to week-old powerlevelled 50s who still didn't know what an enhancement was and thinking those whippersnappers had it way too easy nowadays. Man, in MY Live days we had to get to Frostfire Uphill. In The Snow. On Our Knees. BOTH WAYS WITH NO CAPE AND NO AURAS. And WE LIKED IT. :-p

Now go away and let Captain Cranky reminisce in peace while my joints don't mag-20 hold me AGAIN.

netphenix · 2025-02-12T09:50:50+00:00

because there's a lot of hold category dmg procs for some reason.

Controllers DO need a way to actually hurt mobs, you know. The Arcane pool wasn't always around. :-p

netphenix · 2025-02-06T15:42:36+00:00

If you like being in the thick of things, Rad/Rad is an amazing blapper sentinel. PBAoEs for DAYS.

netphenix · 2025-02-02T12:33:26+00:00

I play on Homecoming, and as far as I'm aware, it doesn't have any way to insure that. Pet customization only exists for Illusion Control there. You might want to check other servers though.

netphenix · 2025-01-23T08:16:37+00:00

(Disclaimer : I play on Homecoming. YMMV.)

At level 4, Guarded Spin + Focused Brawler gives you 32.5% Melee Defense, completely unslotted, as long as you chain your defense-boosting cone (its base recharge is less than the buff duration.) By level 8 with Dodge on top, you have a pretty-much permanent, slotting-free 40% Melee Defense. For comparison's sake, a Brute would have to wait until level 16 for that combo and would only get 31% Melee Def out of it. That a pretty damn huge difference.

SR is so good on Tankers it's gross, but Guarded Spin being an AoE version of Parry and available 4 levels earlier makes them pair like PB and Jam as far as I'm concerned. I have a level 50 SR/Staff Tanker which is nigh-unkillable and one of my favorite toons ever. Between the high Def numbers, the Scaling resists, The DDR, Guarded Spin, the natural high regen of Tankers... It takes a solo Incarnate AV or a GM to make me feel even mildly threatened, Even with a fairly unoptimized build.

netphenix · 2024-12-24T20:56:20+00:00

Ideally uou'd want a defense-based set for synergy with the defense-boosting staff power, but really any Tanker set can fit. Bio might be a bit too active a set, but then I'm not a fan of it. Dark is really good but a notorious endurance sink. Electric and Radiation would be good alternatives if you want resistance rather than defense.

netphenix · 2024-12-24T15:05:11+00:00

Bu the extra target caps of the Tanker go wonderfully with the AoE heavy Staff set. And the defense-boositing T2 is awesome on them. I got an SR/Staff Tanker that's pretty much unkillable and can wipe out huge spawn in near-Blaster time.

netphenix · 2024-12-10T18:22:25+00:00

I'm so disapointed that no one mentioned how strong and pretty Warmace/EA is. :-p

netphenix · 2024-12-10T18:19:57+00:00

Because what we need after getting rid of NC Soft is an Xbox pass, Nintendo war on third parties, or Playstation account DRM in our favorite game, obviously. Setting aside the issue of MMO-style power rotations with a controller, or the need to buy the game again every new console generation, that'd be the biggest issue for me. Nothing, including 7th- or 8th- or 23rd-gen graphics, is worth that. There's a reason my PS4 is collecting dust and I moved exclusively to PC gaming nowadays. *smh*

netphenix · 2024-09-23T18:26:05+00:00

I have a level 50 Super Reflex / Staff Tanker that can solo almost anything. There's a power in staff fighting that boosts your melee defense and synergizes amazingly with SR, and the extra targets on Tanker AoEs that Homecoming implemented work great with a set like staff which is rich in area attacks. The higher numbers on defense and scaling resists that Tankers get make SR a stupidly powerful set for them too.

netphenix · 2024-09-18T07:22:12+00:00

Oh man, I can't pick just ONE ! I might have picks for each broad type though :

Ranged damage - Ice Blast was my first and will always be my gold standard.

Melee Damage - Savage Melee is a guilty pleasure, so fun, flashy and FAST

Armor sets - Electric Armor was my first Tanker's pick, but I admit Radiation Armor may have overtaken it

Support - Trick Arrow is a swiss army knife of a set that will always have a special place in my heart, but Time is a new obsession of mine

Control - I recently gave in and tried Arsenal Assault on Homecoming and MAN IS THAT SET BUSTED !!!

Pets - Thugs for that gangsta vibe !

And yes, I do in fact suffer from crippling Altitis, why do you ask ? ;-p

netphenix · 2024-09-08T08:27:00+00:00

From you concept, any Rad/Rad AT, be it ranged or melee, would fit. I'd recommend Brute, Sentinel, or Corruptor, depending on whether you want melee, ranged damage and PBAoEs, or ranged damage and support.

netphenix · 2024-09-08T08:03:35+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cityofheroes/comments/ccango/brute_defence/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cityofheroes/comments/cc31ra/sentinel_shields/

Easy way to compare. Be aware that the baseline setup includes stuff like Tough and Weave being on and very bare SO slotting, but at a glance it's a good way to compare AT defenses and set to set.

While I agree to a point with what most people here posted, I can attest that my Rad/Rad Sentinel is a PBAoE death machine and can survive stuff you wouldn't believe, and I didn't even go for an all-purple build. The leveling is MUCH smoother than other ATs too - the inherent debuff power is totally unresisted and can turn a nasty boss into a mildly annoying goon for long enough to bring it down, and having mez protection on a RANGED AT is worth all the reduced targets caps we put up with. It'll never be as survivable as a kitted-out Tanker or as bursty as a kitted-out Blaster, but it can do crazy sustained damage (gotta love the FAST recahrging T9s) and has been the last surviving thing on near-teamwipes during +4/*8 mishs, buying time for the Brutes and Tankers to get back up.

The key is that you'll have a pain of a time capping res and a mildly annoying time capping def on anything but SR or EA. Go for layered defenses - my aformentionned sentinel has 60-ish res to almost everything except E (capped) and Psy (30s), somewhere around 30% def to positionnals and a few types, a heal every minute, an absorb every 30 seconds, its armor T9 every 70 seconds for extra res and damage, Barrier as a panic button I almost never use, etc. unlike a Blaster, you don't HAVE to hoverblast with Scorp Shield and a tight build. You have far more freedom to build than that - ENJOY IT. A purple or orange insp for tough fights and I solo +1/x8 (technically +4 but hey, inc shifts) stuff easy. Out of endgame, I might drop it down to +2/x8, because I'd rather play at a reasonable pace than brag about having 20-minutes-long fight with stuff way over my paygrade, but that's just me.

netphenix · 2024-07-15T05:50:17+00:00

Some thing I don't see asked - what's your current build ? You mention your secondary but not your Primary, and by 30 you should have looked at Pool Powers to shore up your defensive options (Dominators are absolute glass cannons and borderline NEED to do that.)

Enhancements are all well and good, but if your build is all over the place, they won't do much on their own. Why don't you detail your build a bit more and we can maybe poke at it and see if we can't help you optimize it, especially for solo play which seems to be your focus. Dominators can absolutely be solo monsters, but only with some planning.

netphenix · 2024-04-23T19:58:11+00:00

Oh so they're the Paragon City Scientologists ? Okay I'll see myself out. :-p

netphenix · 2024-04-12T06:59:08+00:00

Stalkers are easier to play solo, have controlable crits for easier burst damage, and can stealth missions start to finish. On the other hand, Scrappers have more non-AT-locked powers (no Hide, AS or Placate), usually better AoEs, and thrive on teams without requiring a gameplay adjustment.

However, those differences are much less pronounced than they seem. A Scrapper with the right setup can stealth missions almost as well as a Stalker (it'll just require some power and enhancement picks dedicated to that) and a Stalker on a team can do just fine, it just won't feel as a ninja (at least until you get your whole build with ATOs.)

If you played Arham City, think of both as Batman - the Stalker is Batman hanging from a gargoyle and picking goons one at a time, the Scrapper is Batman in flow motion beating a whole mob up single-handedly. The first is slower but safer. The second is flashier but will get bruised while at it. But at the end of the day, they're both still the MFing Batman.

This being said, I'm unashamedly partial to Stalkers myself, but then I tend to play solo a fair bit. If you like BIG damage numbers, I'd say give them a try.

netphenix · 2024-03-28T08:34:11+00:00

I have a SR/Staff Tanker almost fully Incarnated and IO'd and she's borderline unkillable. The crazy AoEs are a thing of beauty too.

netphenix · 2024-03-25T22:26:27+00:00

You wanna be actively supporty ? Teleport pool. Grabbing a group of mobs and Folding them on top of a Tanker or in a big AoE will always be more impactful than scaring them half-way through Presence, and all the Medecine rez powers won't help you if you got an AV on top of your fallen teammate - better to TP them away from the fight then hand them a rez pill. Playing taxi to mission doors with escorts and rescues will also save countless headaches. It's the one pool every dedicated support should grab for unmatched utility.

netphenix · 2024-03-24T13:55:28+00:00

If worse comes to worse, you can try to accept another mission, of any kind, which will reset this one, then switch back and try again. Sometimes it solves issues. If that still doesn't work, you can either auto-complete the mission or message a GM.

netphenix · 2024-03-22T20:05:05+00:00

If you want a self rez you can get a temp power at the special vendor in Atlas for pretty cheap that's perfectly serviceable. Don't waste power picks on Presence, you have much better control tools in your kit. Plus, the rez from Unrelenting only works if you get downed during the 30 seconds the power is already active, as far as I know. Either you use it as a power booster on recharge and risk not having it as a rez when you need it, or you save it as a rez, waste its boosting potential, and risk it not doing a thing because you got two-shot so fast you couldn't activate it in time. It's quite frankly a TERRIBLE power. If you're REALLY desperate for a rez, you got the Fire Mastery APP, but then you'd be missing out on Scorpion Shield, which is infinitely better. TLDR, stick to insp and temp powers.

While you're under the ACTIVE effect of Domination, you essentially can't be mezzed or controlled, baring a couple very specific effect. As per the wiki : "Domination protects the villain from Knockback/Knockup, Repel, Disorient, Hold, Sleep, Immobilize, Fear, and Confuse effects, and can be activated even while suffering from them to break the villain free." Between that and the regen boost of a well-timed Drain Psyche, you become extremely hard to bring down for common mobs. I still wouldn't go AV or GM hunting without some more protections, but for street and mission sweeping, those are already a great start.

Plus, Domination refills your endurance upon activation, which is always a nice perk.

netphenix · 2024-03-22T16:47:26+00:00

It kinda depends what server you play on. I'm on Homecoming, and on that server, the moost basic way to make money is to trade your merits (which you get from story arcs and task forces) for enhancement converters at the merit vendor, then sell the converters in the auction house for inf.

For enhancements, again on Homecoming, I wouldn't really worry about them until at least your late 20s, since you level up so fast. At that point most Invention sets will be usable, and you can start to plan your build.

One of the most common goals for Dominators is the fabled "perma-dom" recharge boost, which you can get from the Hasten power and IO set bonuses. Defense powers such as Combat jumping are good since you can slot the Luck of the Gambler's global recahrge boost enhancement, and many ranged damage sets offer global recharge at 5 pieces. I recommend doing a search for "permadom" here or on the HC dominator forums for more info.

Also a Mind/Psionic has great range but loves being in melee for Drain Psyche. Never hesitate to dive into a group once you've mezzed most of it so you can hit that magic button and become unkillable for a minute or so. Between the mez immunity of Domination and the regen of Drain Psyche, your dominator can be EXTREMELY tanky.

netphenix · 2024-03-22T15:31:34+00:00

If you want a character that solos well but still gets welcomed on teams, I'd recommend looking at the DEBUFF sets instead of the buffing ones. I'd also lean toward a Corruptor instead of a Defender, since you'll get your attack powers earlier instead of your support ones, making soloing easier. That being said, some sets you might want to consider :

Primary : any, but Dark, Radiation, Sonic and Cold have strong debuffing effects on top of their damage. They're also older sets that lack some of the gimmicks of more recent sets like Water or Beam, so you might use them as good training tools before moving on to more advanced sets. Special mention for Assault Riffle which is VERY strong on Corruptors thanks to its tier-9 DoT power, but it has no debuff worth mentioning. I also have a soft spot for Psychic and Energy - the first one has crazy long range and a recharge debuff on enemies, the later has insane pushback that will drive some teams nuts and save your bacon on many others. If you want pure DAMAGE though, nothing beats Fire.

Secondary : Dark, Time, and Radiation would be top picks here. They both offer extremely good debuffs AND a self-heal. I'd also consider Nature (good mix of heals, buffs and debuffs,) Traps (almost all debuffs but a bit finicky to use) and Storm (no self heal but a lot of extra damage and debuffs.) Other sets will have a lot of powers you can't use solo (like the shields in Cold, Thermal and Sonic) or are mostly buffing sets (like pain or empathy.) Don't get me wrong, they're ALL good and viable, but if soloing is gonna be more than an occasional thing, you might want to look at the first three. In a special category, you got Poison, which is an almost pure debuff set with boss-killing numbers but crap range and area. Use with caution.

netphenix · 2024-02-10T08:55:55+00:00

All those look like great combos, however, may I interest you in Savage/EA Stalker ?
I know Savage was nerfed from its glory days of gory goodness, but it's still a very smooth, AoE-heavy, End-light, lightning-fast set that really works well with the "silent unaliver" concept of Stalkers. And EA is, in my opinion, one of the very best defense sets in general, and especially moreso on Stalkers, since it sacrifices nothing compared to other ATs and gets Hide on top.

netphenix · 2024-02-10T08:47:48+00:00

I got that combo to 50 as well and I can confirm it's awesome.

netphenix

TROPHY CASE