Mind/Storm Controller

[BlueBard]

Looking for suggestions for a build for my 11th level Mind Control/Storm Summoning Controller, Blue Jinn.

The concept is a 'spirit of the air', a Djinn (Genie).  He was always intended to be a support character, but I find that he is difficult to play and level up.  He can easily handle one on one fights, but it's a slow, slow process.  In team play (pick ups) the other players are constantly waking up the enemies he puts to sleep, making him rather ineffective.

This is his general build right now:

Mesmerize
Levitate
Mass Hypnosis
Gale
Snowstorm
Steamy Mist
Recall Friend

Gale and Snowstorm help keep him (and his allies) from getting swarmed, but Snowstorm is vulnerable to getting snuffed when my teammates KO the target too soon.  Gale is really good at tossing enemies around, but does no damage.  I have to keep that one anyway.

I'm thinking I need to drop Recall Friend at a minimum, possibly picking up Hover or Air Superiority instead (since I eventually want him to fly).  AS would add some damage he's currently lacking.  And I might swap Dominate for Levitate (though concept-wise I really like the visual effect).

Mass Hypnosis is less useful for crowd-control than I thought it would be, especially in a team, though it's still saved my hide more than once.  I think I should keep it, though I've come to value the possibilities in Confuse and that might make more sense at this point.

Steamy Mist rocks, so I'm keeping that one.

Here's how I'm thinking of respeccing him:

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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder - (http://sherksilver.coldfront.net/index.php)
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Name: Blue Jinn
Level: 11
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Mind Control
Secondary: Storm Summoning
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Mesmerize==> Acc(1)Dmg(3)  Sleep(5)  Range(7)
01) --> Gale==> Acc(1)
02) --> Dominate==> Acc(2)Dmg(3)  Hold(5)  Rechg(7)  Dmg(11)
04) --> Snow Storm==> Slow(4)
06) --> Air Superiority==> Acc(6)
08) --> Mass Hypnosis==> Acc(8)Sleep(9)  Rechg(9)
10) --> Steamy Mist==> DefBuf(10)DmgRes(11)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Containment==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
---------------------------------------------

Comments welcome and encouraged!

[Midnight]

Unfortunately, that build is always going to be low damage. Storm is a hodgepodge of useful stuff (read: soft control, buffs and debuffs), but there's nothing to help out your damage for another 10 or so levels. Anchored powers like Snow Storm I usually declare with a bind. Some people get annoyed with the chat spam, but it's helpful.

I'm only familiar with Mind on dominators, but Mass Hypnosis (and sleep in general) gets more useless as you add more teammates, unless they're exceptionally good at communicating.

Hope that helps somewhat.

[Uncle Yuan]

I can only speak to Storm, but do NOT skip Freezing Rain!  Also, I find that targeting a boss with Snowstorm works pretty well - a good person to -regen and likely to last into the fight a while.  Put it early in your attack chain, too.  There's no point putting it up once the boss is half dead and most of the minions are gone.  With my earth/storm I usually hit snowstorm second after quicksand.

[BlueBard]

Helpful advice, both of you.  Thanks!

I knew he wasn't going to be damage-heavy and he really needs to function on a team... but team-play has its' own problems with this build.

Mass Hypnosis gives me an edge I lack whilst soloing, but otherwise doesn't help much in a team for the reasons cited (Unless of course the mob is particularly large and packed in).  Though I plan to take Telekinesis next and Mass Hypnosis might be useful in connection with that... herd 'em in, put 'em to sleep, and let my team mates mow 'em down one by one.

Or I might scrap him and start over.  Dunno yet.

I did discover that Steamy Mist is really good at hiding aggro from nearby mobs... If I camp between the current mob and the next one, very often the next mob doesn't even seem to notice what's happening (Unless someone grabs aggro...).

[GhostMachine]

Gravity/Storm or Illusion/Storm would work a lot better than Mind/Storm. I haven't met many high lvl Mind Controllers who were really effective. Mass Confusion *might* come in handy, but since you wouldn't get any of the experience from enemies defeating each other.....

If you want to go Storm, also consider a Storm/Psychic Defender. That *might* work for an air elemental\djinn type character, and Psionic Tornado does come in pretty handy.

[Funeral-Pyre]

Something else to consider is that pre-stamina snowstorm is a big end drain.

[Ephemeris]

Here's TW's mind control guide:

Mind Control Made Easy!

I was asked several questions about mind control powers and how to use them, and since there seems to be a lack of Mind Control guides on the City of Heroes boards, I decided to write one. 

Keep in mind everything that I write is purely my opinion and rarely pay attention to actual numbers.  The main goal of any character is to have fun, so don't use my build or suggestions if it just isn't fun.  What works for me may not work for you.

We will talk about the following subjects:

• Primary Power Set
• Secondary Power Set
• Power Pools
• Build
• Tactics
• Acknowledgments

Primary Power Set: Mind Control

Levitate

Description: You can send a single target violently into the air, then slamming him down for Smashing damage. The force can bring flying foes to the ground. 

My Take:  Levitate is a great power because it is one of the best single target damage powers that Mind Control has, and is a pseudo hold.  After all, if the mob is in the air or on its back, it cannot attack.  Also, the smashing damage done by Levitate becomes invaluable in the later game because more critters become more resistant to the psi damage dealt by Mesmerize and Dominate.

Suggested Slotting:  1-2 accuracy, 2-3 damage, 2 recharge

Mesmerize

Description: Mesmerize painfully assails a target with psychic energy rendering him unconscious. The target will remain asleep for some time, but will awaken if attacked.

My Take:  The great thing about mesmerize is that it can sleep a boss in a single hit.  Though it has the downside of all sleeps, it is broken if the target is damaged or knocked back.  I personally chose this power over Levitate due to the ability effect bosses in one hit.   

Suggested Slotting:  2 accuracy, 2 damage, 2 recharge

Dominate

Description:  Painfully tears at the mind of a single foe. Dominate deals Psionic damage and renders a foe helpless, lost in his own mind and unable to defend himself.

My Take:  This is one of the Mind Controller's key powers.  You will use it in every fight for the rest of your career.  It is great in early levels to keep groups locked down and is wonderful in later levels to stop runners.  Take this power the second you can get it!

Suggested Slotting:   2 accuracy, 2 hold duration, 2 recharge

Confuse

Description:  You can Confuse an enemy, forcing him to believe his friends are not who they appear to be. If successful the enemy will ignore you and attack his own allies. If you Confuse someone before he has noticed you, your presence will continue to be masked. You will not receive any Experience Points for foes defeated by a Confused enemy. 

My Take:  The two confuse powers are the most argued over powers in the Mind Control set.  I am one of the guys that love this power.  It is a great single target control power that can immediately take a critter out of the fight and put them on your side.  It is great for getting rid of those pesky lieutenants and bosses.  It usually takes two applications of Confuse to effect a boss.  If you want to play a solo Mind Controller, I highly suggest taking this! 

The reason that the confuse powers are highly debated is because they "steal" experience points.  You obtain experience based on the amount of damage you or your team deals to an enemy.  If a Confused enemy damages one of his partners, then you do not get the maximum amount of experience that you would get if you killed it yourself.  However, the lowered experience does not make a difference in the long run.   Often times Confusing an enemy speeds up the rate at which you can kill, therefore increasing overall experience gain. 

Suggested Slotting:  2 accuracy minimum, after that maybe 2 recharge, 2 confuse duration

Mass Hypnosis

Description: Hypnotizes a group of foes at a distance and puts them to Sleep. The targets will remain asleep for some time, but will awaken if attacked. This power deals no damage, but if done discretely, the targets will never be aware of your presence.


My Take:  Yet another great crowd control power available to the Mind Controller.  It is usually not good on groups that you are fighting, but on groups that you don't want engaging you while you are busy cleaning up the current group.  This power can make your early levels much easier and I suggest picking it up as soon as possible.

Suggested Slotting:  1-2 accuracy is sufficient, however addition of recharge and sleep duration would be beneficial


Telekinesis

Description: Lifts a foe, and any foes, off the ground and repels them. The targets are helpless, unable to take action, and will continue to hover away, picking up any passing targets, as long as you keep this power active. Keeping up this level of concentration costs a lot of Endurance.

My Take:  This is a great power that makes you a controlling machine.  It requires a large amount of endurance to keep running which could make it unattractive to the lower leveled characters.  However, I took it as soon as it became available and never regretted it. 

Effective use of this power takes a lot of practice.  It is probably one of the most difficult powers in the game to fully master.  That being said, this power can either save or kill your team depending on your skill.  Corners will be your friend with this power because you can take an entire group of mobs and leave them floating helpless all bunched up nice and neat for your aoe-happy teammates.  If you get real proficient with this power, you will be able to herd well.  Telekinesis stacked with Dominate will leave a boss helpless.

Suggested Slotting:  3 endurance reduction

Total Domination

Description: Painfully tears at the mind of a target foe and those near him. Total Domination deals Psionic damage and renders all affected foes helpless, lost in their own minds and unable to defend themselves.

My Take:  Take this power immediately; it is your only aoe hold power!  Although the description says it deals damage, it actually does not.   

Suggested Slotting:  Plan on six slotting this power with two accuracy, recharge, and duration enhancers.

Terrify

Description: This power Terrifies foes within a cone area in front of you and causes them to flee in panic.

My Take:  Again, the description is slightly incorrect.  Issue 3 changed how fear powers work.  Now the enemies stand where they are and cower.  They only attack when attacked and with a reduced accuracy.  The cone on this power is huge; it will hit everything in your field of vision if you are fully zoomed in.

If you solo, you will want to take this power and six slot it.  I have this power 6 slotted at level 36 and it deals roughly 80 damage to an even-con mob.   

Suggested Slotting:  2 acc, 2 damage, 2 recharge for damage dealing or 2 acc, 2 fear duration, 2 recharge for control.

Mass Confusion

Description: You can cause Mass Confusion within a group of foes, creating chaos. All foes within the affected area will turn and attack each other, ignoring all heroes. You will not receive any Experience Points for foes defeated by Confused enemies.

My Take:  As previously stated, the confusion powers are highly debated.  I happen to love Mass Confusion because it can turn the tide of a battle very swiftly.  In a high damaging group I would suggest only using this as the "Oh Crap!" power when things didn't go as planned or an extra mob got aggro'ed on accident.  If you wish to solo, this power will help immensely due to your lack of damage dealing ability. 

Suggested Slotting:  2 accuracy, 2 reacharge, 2 confuse duration   

Secondary Power Sets

I have tried every controller secondary to an extent and all I can really say is pick one based on personal preference because they are all good at what they do.  It really depends on if you want to be able to solo effectively or not. 

If you do want to solo, I would suggest taking Radiation, Storm Summoning, or Kinetics.   If you want to be more of a team player all of the Controller secondary pools work. 

If you like chaos... like me, choose Storm Summoning.  I recently respec'ed into more of a solo oriented build and it provides such sweet sweet controlled chaos.  Also if you are having trouble controlling everything, get your lil' whirling buddy, Tornado to help out.  Tornado sends mobs flying all over the place while doing damage, debuffing, and comes with a side of disorient.  Melee types will come to hate Tornado, but I love it so!

Power Pools

The only power pool that is a must for Mind Controllers is Fitness.  Any travel power will work, but personally I dislike Super Speed due to the lack of vertical movement.  I took Teleport because, once slotted it is the fastest travel power.  Recall Friend from the Teleport power pool also makes you more group-friendly. 

Other power pools may be useful such as Leadership for the toggle buffs and Stealth.  Take what fits with your character.   

Fitness

The key to Fitness is to get Stamina. It doesn't really matter how you get there be it Swift + Hurdle, Swift + Health, or Hurdle + Health. Hurdle will increase your jumping distance slightly if you have Super Jump. Health doesn't really do much, it will reduce your down time very slightly; either one slot or six slot it, nothing in-between. Swift will make you run faster which is helpful for tracking down runners. If you get Stamina 3 slot it a.s.a.p.


Speed

Unfortunately many of the Mind Control powers have insanely long recharge times.  Taking Hasten from the Speed pool is a boon to any controller really.  I recommend you take Hasten and 3 slot it before you get Single Origin Enhancers.   


Build

The following build is very similar to what I currently run on Live.

Archetype: Controller
Primary Powers - Mind Control
Secondary Powers - Storm Summoning

01) --> Mesmerize==> Acc(1)  Acc(7)  Dmg(7)  Dmg(9)  Rechg(9)  Rechg(11)
01) --> Gale==>
02) --> Dominate==> Acc(2)  Acc(3)  Hold(3)  Hold(5)  Rechg(5)  Rechg(17)
04) --> O2 Boost==> Heal(4)  Heal(11)  Heal(17)  Rechg(37)  EndRdx(43)
06) --> Confuse==> Acc(6)  Acc(42)  Rechg(43)  Rechg(46)
08) --> Mass Hypnosis==> Acc(8)  Acc(40)  Rechg(43)
10) --> Recall Friend==> Rechg(10)
12) --> Telekinesis==> EndRdx(12)  EndRdx(13)  EndRdx(13)
14) --> Teleport==> EndRdx(14)  Range(15)  Range(15)
16) --> Swift==> Run(16)
18) --> Total Domination==> Acc(18)  Acc(19)  Hold(19)  Hold(21)  Rechg(21)  Rechg(25)
20) --> Health==> Heal(20)
22) --> Stamina==> EndMod(22)  EndMod(23)  EndMod(23)
24) --> Freezing Rain==> Rechg(24)  Rechg(25)  Rechg(36)  DefDeBuf(45)  DefDeBuf(46)  DefDeBuf(46)
26) --> Terrify==> Acc(26)  Acc(27)  Rechg(27)  Rechg(29)  Fear(29)  Fear(31)
28) --> Snow Storm==> Slow(28)  EndRdx(37)  Slow(37)
30) --> Hurricane==> EndRdx(30)  TH_DeBuf(31)  TH_DeBuf(31)  TH_DeBuf(34)
32) --> Mass Confusion==> Acc(32)  Acc(33)  Rechg(33)  Rechg(33)  ConfDur(34)  ConfDur(34)
35) --> Tornado==> Rechg(35)  Rechg(36)  Rechg(36)  DefDeBuf(50)
38) --> Lightning Storm==> Acc(38)  EndRdx(39)  Dmg(39)  Dmg(39)  Rechg(40)  Rechg(40)
41) --> Indomitable Will==> Rechg(41)  Rechg(42)  Rechg(42)
44) --> Mind Over Body==> DmgRes(44)  DmgRes(45)  DmgRes(45)
47) --> Psionic Tornado==> Acc(47)  Acc(48)  Dmg(48)  Dmg(48)  Rechg(50)  Rechg(50)
49) --> Hover==> Fly(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Containment==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)

Tactics

There is an excellent guide on using Telekinesis on the COH boards should you want more information than I will offer.  Use Mass Hypnosis on a group so you can get close enough to them and in the right position to push the entire group into a corner.  Or it can be used on a boss in addition to Dominate to provide complete lockdown. 

If you wish to solo, I have found the following method effective.  Use Mass Hypnosis to sleep a group.  Then apply Mass Confusion followed by a Terrify.  This will cause the mobs to attack each other only when they are damaged.  Fire off Terrify as soon as it recharges to do more damage and watch them follow it up with another attack.  Use Levitate in between Terrify to damage the lieutenants and bosses.  If there is a boss in the group use confuse on him before you apply Mass Confusion so that he will not attack you when you use Terrify.  Mix in any debuffs/buffs you may have to make the killing go quicker. 

I have used that method to fairly quickly solo missions.  Sometimes that beats the heck out of a lousy pick-up group.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people for their input and contributions to my guide. Thanks to their help I have been able to tweak the guide to make it better and more informative.

• City of Heroes WarCry: Power Descriptions
• Verxion: COH Planner

Well, thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on Mind Control.  If you have any questions or comments please let me know!

Thanks,
TW

[BlueBard]

That's VERY helpful, thank you!