Author: Electro
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ILLUSION / RADIATION CONTROLLER
Killer of Giants
INTRODUCTION:
My Illusion/Rad Controller, Imaginary Friend, hit level 50 a few days ago and I thought it would be fun to write a guide. I originally began playing an Illusion/Rad because they get their first pets (Phantom Army) at level 18, and I didnt have the patience to wait until level 32! What I found was a very powerful build, capable of running Invincible missions from a relatively early stage, and eventually capable of bringing down Arch-Villain and Monster-class enemies solo!
This build was created with the idea of one day being able to challenge Arch-Villains. It has succeeded in that goal. To date, he has defeated Countess Crey, Chimera, Shadowhunter, Nightstar, Siege, Nemesis, HroDhotz, Black Swan, Infernal, and even the Kronos Titan. All were AV-class (or Monster-class in the case of the Kronos Titan). Some were completely solo while a few others employed temporary powers like Shivans or Warwolves.
The key to the builds giant-killing capabilities lie in the Invention Sets that I will discuss. We are going to maximize accuracy and recharge times to keep our Phantom Army in the fight at least 85% of the time, and have Lingering Radiation recharge quickly enough to be permanent. By doing so, we can challenge an AV with 3 very damaging and unbeatable tanks (Phantom Army) while eliminating or severely reducing his/her ability to regenerate health.
ILLUSION CONTROL
1) Blind This is your single target hold. This, along with Spectral Wounds, will be your primary attack chain up until, and even after, you get your Phantom Army. Use this to lock down an enemy and set up Containment. Even though it is single-target, if another enemy is standing close enough to your target, sometimes he will be caught as well. The second enemy, however, will not be held only slept.
a. End Cost 8.53
b. Recharge 9 seconds
c. Duration 18.6 seconds
i. Standard Slotting: Before slotting IO sets, you will want to at least 4-slot this power (2xACC, 2xHold)
ii. IO Set Slotting: I 5-slotted this with Entropic Chaos to get the +6.25% Recharge buff
2) Spectral Wounds This is your highest DPS attack and is quite good, especially with containment active. You fling your arm as if throwing a Frisbee and do psionic damage. Some of the damage is illusory, however, and will heal back after 10 seconds, if the enemy is still alive.
a. End Cost 6.86
b. Recharge 6 seconds
i. Standard Slotting: This is an attack so slot with 1xACC and 3xDAM
ii. IO Set Slotting: I 4-slotted this with Thunderstrike to get the +7% Accuracy buff
3) Deceive This fun power causes an enemy to mistake his buddies for foes and run around attacking them. If he is a buffing or healing enemy like a Tsoo Sorcerer or Rikti Guardian, they will buff or heal you instead! I use this power even late in my hero career to deceive Malta Sappers. Most foes will be deceived with one application, but bosses will require 2 hits. Even an AV can be deceived if you hit them enough times. I will sometimes deceive an AV before heading into the fight to either force them to use up their alpha strike, or clear the area of minions so that I can focus solely on the AV. Note: You will not get XP for enemies defeated by deceived foes.
a. End Cost 8.53
b. Recharge 8 seconds
c. Duration 37.3 seconds
i. Standard Slotting: Before IO sets, this power does not require any extra slotting. Fill the default slot with an ACC
ii. IO Set Slotting: I 5-slotted this with Malaises Illusions to gain the +6.25% Recharge buff
4) Flash This is your PBAoE hold. You fling your arms out to the side and blind everyone in a 30-yard radius with a brilliant flash of light. Like all AoE holds, this one has reduced inherent accuracy so you will definitely want to slot for that. Since I was mostly solo in my career, I put this power off until much later. If you were a teaming controller, this could be useful earlier.
a. End Cost 15.6
b. Recharge 240 seconds
c. Duration 14.9 seconds
i. Standard Slotting: 2xACC, 2xHOLD, 2xRCHG
ii. IO Set Slotting: I did not slot IO sets into this power
5) Superior Invisibility This toggle makes you invisible. Since I was mostly solo, I chose this power over Group Invisibility. Great for stealthing missions which is a good way to level relatively quickly in your early career.
a. End Cost 1.04 / second (toggle)
i. Standard Slotting: Before IO sets, this does not require any extra slotting. Fill the default slot with an END REDUX
ii. IO Set Slotting Throw 1 extra slot in here and fill with a Luck of the Gambler proc for a +7.5% Recharge buff
6) Group Invisibility A PBAoE invisibility click. I did not take this power.
a. End Cost 10.4
b. Recharge 240 seconds
c. Duration 120 seconds
7) Phantom Army Your first pet(s) and one of the main reasons you became an Illusion Controller. You summon 3 decoys that go through the motions of a variety of attack types, but the damage is all psionic. Like Spectral Wounds, a portion of their damage is illusory and will heal back after 10 seconds if the enemy is not first defeated. Theses 3 decoys are not buffable, and you cannot direct them, but they will hold agro nicely and they are indestructible.
a. End Cost 26
b. Recharge 240 seconds
c. Duation 60 seconds
i. Standard Slotting: These decoys are very damaging and we want them out as often as possible. 3xRCHG, 3xDAM
ii. Set IO Slotting: I did not slot IO sets into this power
8) Spectral Terror You summon a big howling ghost in the midst of your enemies, causing them to cower in fear. This is a great soft crowd controlling power. Most enemies have very little resistance to fear effects and ST (mag 3 fear) will cause bosses and even some AV-class enemies to whimper and wet the floor like a scared puppy. It will cause aggro and, unlike PA, is untargetable. That means that if the enemy is able to break free of the fear effects, he is going to come looking for you and he wont be happy you tried to scare him!
a. End Cost 16.6
b. Recharge 45 seconds
c. Duration 45 seconds
i. Standard Slotting: This power should be available to you for almost every fight without the need for recharges. Slot the default with an ACC
ii. Set IO Slotting: 5-slot this power with Glimpse of the Abyss for a +9% Accuracy buff and +6.25% Recharge buff
9) Phantasm Your permanent pet. Phantasm is essentially an Energy Blaster and, in a departure from the other attacks in this powerset, does energy and smashing damage. Note that, as an energy blaster, Phantasm can and will cause knockback. He is fully buffable and able to be healed. He has nice damage resistance to everything except negative energy. He will even summon a decoy of himself to engage an enemy in melee range while Phantasm blasts away from a distance! The decoy, however, is pure illusion and any damage he causes heals right back after 10 seconds.
a. End Cost 26
b. Recharge 240 seconds
c. Duration Perma, unless killed, dismissed, or you move to another zone
i. Standard Slotting 2xACC, 3xDAM
ii. Set IO Slotting I did not use IO sets in this power
RADIATION EMISSION
1) Radiant Aura It is just as well that you have to take this power, because it will come in handy. This is your PBAoE heal.
a. End Cost 13
b. Recharge 8 seconds
i. Standard Slotting 3xHEAL, 1-2xRECHG
ii. Set IO Slotting 5-slot with Doctored Wounds for +5% Recharge buff
2) Radiation Infection This is a targeted AoE power that reduces the To-Hit (-25%) and Defense (-25%) of your target and all of his friends within a 15-yard radius. It is auto-hit in PvE. It is a bit heavy on the endurance, but it will really help your survivability. In the early levels, slot for To-Hit Debuffs. Once you have your PA to hold agro, slot some Defense Debuffs.
a. End Cost 0.52/second (toggle)
b. Recharge 8 seconds
i. Standard Slotting 2xEND REDUX, 2xTO-HIT DBF, 2x DEF DBF
ii. Set IO Slotting there are currently no IO sets available for this power
3) Accelerate Metabolism One of the best buffs in the game, and one of the things that make this build as powerful as it is. AM gives you (and those players or pets around you) a 20% damage buff, and a 30% buff to endurance recovery, movement speed, and power recharge. It also increases your resistance to mez effects. Youll want to fire this power off every time it is available.
a. End Cost 15.6
b. Recharge 422 seconds
c. Duration 120 seconds
i. Standard Slotting 3xRCHG, END MOD if desired
ii. Set IO Slotting there are currently no IO sets available for this power
4) Enervating Field A targeted AoE debuff. This one debuffs the damage resistance (-22.5% to all types) and damage output (-20%) of your target and all of his buddies within a 15-yard radius. This one is a major endurance hog, so slot accordingly.
a. End Cost 1.04/second (toggle)
b. Recharge 8 seconds
i. Standard Slotting 3xEND REDUX
ii. Set IO Slotting there are currently no sets available for this power
5) Mutation This power resurrects an ally that has fallen. It differs from a standard empathy rez, however, in that in significantly buffs the resurrected ally for 90 seconds. He will receive full health and endurance, a +40% damage buff, a +200% endurance recovery buff, a +30% to-hit buff, and a +100% recharge buff. If you were a teaming controller, I would not hesitate to take this. As I was mostly solo, however, I did not take it until very late in my career when I had already taken everything else I wanted.
a. End Cost 26
b. Recharge 180 seconds
c. Duration 90 seconds
i. Standard Slotting 1xRCHG
ii. Set IO Slotting there are currently no IO sets available for this power
6) Lingering Radiation A fantastic power and one of the cornerstones of your giant-killing abilities. Against normal foes, it mainly functions as a movement speed (-75%) and recharge (-75%) debuff. Against AV-class villains, it plays a much more critical role. It lowers their regeneration by -500%. This is the power that will keep the AV from regenerating faster than you can damage him. It requires an accuracy check, and we want it up as often as possible.
a. End Cost 15.6
b. Recharge 90 seconds
c. Duration 30 seconds
i. Standard Slotting 2xACC, 3xRCHG
ii. Set IO slotting This will take sets from the slow power category. I did not slot sets here as they compromised the recharge vs standard slotting
7) Choking Cloud I had not heard good things about this power. I did not take it so really have no constructive advice here. It is a low magnitude (mag 1) PBAoE hold toggle.
a. End Cost 0.83/second (toggle)
b. Recharge 90 seconds
8) Fallout This is a very fun power, but useless if you are strictly solo. If one of your allies dies, you get to turn him into a bomb doing AoE extreme damage. In addition to the damage, it also lowers the mobs defense, to-hit, and damage output by -30%, and lowers their damage resistence to all damage types by -50%. Unfortunately, it cannot be used on pets. Since I was typically solo, I did not take this power until near the end of my career when I had already taken everything else I wanted. Still, if you team, this is a useful and fun power. The player you cast it on generally enjoys it as well!
a. End Cost 20.8
b. Recharge 300 seconds
c. Duration (of debuffs) 38 seconds
i. Standard Slotting 1-2xACC, 3xDAM
ii. Set IO Slotting I did not slot IO sets in this power
9) EM Pulse I took this power, then respeced out of it. It is a PBAoE hold that drains endurance and keeps your targets from gaining endurance for a short while. It will also do some damage to machines/robots. In some ways it is very good: Its base duration is 2x that of Flash, without the accuracy penalty of other AoE powers, and its radius is 2x that of Flash. My biggest complaint was that it also stops your endurance recovery for a bit. As a */Rad, I am running lots of high-endurance toggles and EM Pulse usually resulted in my blue bar draining down to nothing. Still, it does have some very nice qualities that really depend upon your playstyle. I would say either get this or Flash, but not both.
a. End Cost 20.8
b. Recharge 300 seconds
c. Duration 27.9 seconds
i. Standard Slotting 2xACC, 1-2xHOLD, 2-3xRCHG
ii. Set IO Slotting I did not take this power, No IO set recommendations
POOL POWERS
1) Fitness Stamina is absolutely essential. How you get there is up to you, but you will definitely need stamina.
2) Speed Hasten is absolutely essential to this particular build. If we were not worried about minimizing our recharge times, then you could do without it. However, recharge time is one of the cornerstones of this build. This also opens up Superspeed as a travel power if you choose.
3) Flight I took Air Superiority to add an extra attack in my early career and 5-slotted it with Crushing Impact to get the +5% recharge buff. This will also open up Fly as a travel power if you choose.
Summary
The above build with the recommended IO set slotting achieves the following global bonuses:
+39% Accuracy
+42.5% Recharge Time
Various other nice, but less significant, buffs
Lingering Radiation is permanent. Phantom Army has about a 10-15 second downtime, depending on the cycling stage of Hasten and Accelerate Metabolism.
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