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Author: Thundarpants
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Guide to Fire/Kinetics
Burn em down, and crank us up!
Preface:
Fire/Kinetics is a great combination. I’m revamping this guide for I6 and ED. It was originally written on an earlier version of the game, and when I was at about level 36-37. Until you get your pets, you do not really have decent enough damage output to be effective. Unless you have a team, good friends list, or Super Group to run with you will find this build unbearably grinding until you get your pets. I myself created this character to be a friend’s side kick. He was a Scrapper, and I figured the combo would be a good backup to his power set. This was the second character I ever created, 2 weeks after release. I had no idea what I was doing, so I feel pretty lucky in my choice now.
Now, what you bring to a team in the way of support is awesome. Short of the Empathy power set, I believe this is the next best team support power combo available. You will be the Scrapper, and Tanker’s best friend. Defenders can benefit from your powers, and you can even be somewhat helpful to Blasters too. How you help these other characters is very different, so you will need to be flexible in your play style, but there are some basic things that you will count on in this set.
This is a guide and my opinions. This power combo is extremely flexible. No one should tell you how to build your heroes because you probably have something specific in mind. I’m not a big PvP player right now, so this guide is strictly PvE. I get my spec information from the original Prima Strategy Guide I got when the game was released. Some of it might be a little off due to the multiple changes in the game, or future changes. The slotting recommendations will be what I think is best for minimum slotting, you may go more if you really like or utilize a particular power a lot.
Enhancement Abbreviation key:
ACC = Accuracy
DAM = Damage
RNG = Range
REC = Reduce Endurance Cost
RCHRG = Recharge Rate
INT = Interrupt Time
HOLD = Hold Duration
IMOB = Immobilization Duration
ACC BUFF = Accuracy Buff
DEF BUFF = Defense Buff
ACC DBUFF = To hit Debuff
DIS = Disorient Duration
KB = Knock Back
SLOW = Slow
FLY = Flight Speed
RUN = Run Speed
JUMP = Jump Height
HEAL = Heath Recovery Rate
INTG = Intangibility
DAM RES = Damage Resistance
END EFFCT = Endurance effect
Note: when I5 or I6 was released, they consolidated endurance drain, and endurance recovery enhancements into one enhancement type.
STAM = Stamina Recovery Rate
END DR = Endurance Drain
Fire Control:
Ring of Fire (Primary)
Available at Level 1
This is a single target immobilize. Unless you have an RPG build that makes this power important, blow it off. You will really be interested in “Crowd Control” more than single target snags. You are going to have so many powers in the primary and secondary to choose from, you will have to make hard choices on, this is an easy drop.
Range: 80ft
Recharge: 4 sec
Activation time: 1.2
Available enhancements: ACC, DAM, RCHRG, REC, RNG, IMOB
I recommend slotting: Use ACC and IMOB. Because I don’t use it, I do not have actual minimum requirements. It recharges relatively quickly, does little damage, and already has a decent range. Personally I feel that single target immobilize should be left to the Blasters.
Note: This power comes with a built in +20% to Accuracy
Char (Primary)
Available at Level 1
A must have IMO. A great single target hold. Considering you have to choose between this and Ring of Fire for your first power, choose this.
Range: 80ft
Recharge: 8 sec
Activation time: 1.1 sec
Available enhancements: ACC, DAM, RCHRG, REC, RNG, HOLD
I recommend slotting: 2 ACC, 2 HOLD, 1 RCHRG
Even if you get into Leadership, and have Tactics running, you really want this one to stick. 2 shots will hold down most bosses.
Note: This power comes with a built in +20% to Accuracy.
Fire Cages (Primary)
Available at Level 2
A must have IMO. Your first good crowd control power. You will use this one a lot. It’s a bit of an endurance hog though until you get Stamina. You will lock down many enemies in a ring of fire. As it is an immobilize, guess what!? They are all going to come looking for you after you do this. Early on before you get Flashfire, Cinders, or Phase Shift, this is going to be the power that gets you killed. Like the AoE effect of Fire Blasters, you will draw the aggro of the entire group. Running with AoE damage dealers like Blasters is a good thing. They can help split the aggro up in the early levels. Even if immobilized, they can still direct ranged attacks at you. And at the higher levels, bosses won’t get snagged most times. Locking things down, and backing around corners might be your best defense early on. Having Blasters that can reduce the number of enemies that can retaliate is another. Blasters will love you!
Here’s the good part: Early in the game, the melee attacks are most often the most devastating. You can keep things at bay for your Blaster buddies. And on the subject of Blasters, of which I am very familiar. Most people will cry to an Energy Blaster or AR Blaster to stop with the knock back. Guess what…..they can’t, it’s inherent. They are going to keep knocking things back every time they attack most often. What Fire Cages does for you is to hold things still. I run with a buddy that has Energy Torrent. After I have things locked down with Fire Cages, very few enemies can get knocked back, and you can keep things in a nice tight group to keep AoE effects and damage effective. The enemies that get missed by this power, can be easily knocked back by the same Energy Torrent or Buckshot attacks. For the Scrappers in the group, they can focus on the enemies caught in a ring, so they don’t have to worry about chasing things around.
This power is one of your “bread and butter” powers in this set. It deserves as many slots as you can spare as you build. ACC and IMOB. The damage is negligible, so don’t bother. It’s not what this power is designed for.
Range: 80ft
Recharge: 8 sec
Activation time: 1.0 sec
Effect Radius: Foe + 30ft sphere
Available enhancements: ACC, DAM, RCHRG, REC, RNG, IMOB
I recommend slotting: 2 ACC, 2 IMOB (More if you can spare the slots)
Note: This power comes with a built in -10% to Accuracy.
Smoke (Primary)
Available at Level 6
I ran with this one for a while before I got into Stealth as a cheap replacement for it. It’s really not worth it. It does offer a group Accuracy Debuff, but it’s minimal. At the higher levels it starts drawing aggro. Early on, executing this power will not. As choices for this build will be tight. I recommend skipping it. You are better off getting into the Concealment Pool which I will cover later. Now if you do go for this because of RPG reasons, the beauty of this power is it’s already a 100% hit. When I used it, I could highlight all of the enemies in a large area with a smoky head.
Range: 80ft
Recharge: 15sec
Activation time: 1.2 sec
Effect Radius: Foe + 35ft sphere
Available enhancements: RCHRG, REC, ACC DBUFF
I recommend slotting: It doesn’t “stack” with itself, so I would putt an ACC DBUFF in every slot you place on this power.
Hot Feet (Primary)
Available at Level 8
I tried this one out too. At first it was part of the RPG build, and at some point I used it in conjunction with Flashfire and Cinders to increase my damage output on HELD foes. Note I put held in capital letters. Although they try to run, they still like to turn around and take shots at you because you are doing damage, making the fear effect negligible. All it manages to do is keep things in melee range too long. Were this power a drop, not a PBAoE, it might have been a little better. I did pick it back up in the end because I just like the look, but this character has been in my line up since week 2 of release.
Were I to have started one now, consider this:
Now, specifically regarding Issue 6 and Enhancement Diversity(ED), I have seen this power used much more frequently in the Fire Troller build to increase damage output in the lower levels, allowing more solo play. Get em Stunned, get em snared, and step in with Hot Feet to keep the DPS ticks a rollin. If you have them in the Fire Cages, you’ll get the double tick, even though it’s not awesome damage, it never stops.
Range: PBAoE 20ft sphere
Recharge: 20 sec
Activation time: 1.5 sec
Effect Radius: PBAoE 20ft sphere
Available enhancements: DAM, RCHRG, REC, SLOW
I recommend slotting: If you use it, it’s a HUGE endurance hog. The slow effect is already pretty effective without slotting. I has a tendency to just be a huge agro magnet though.
Flashfire (Primary)
Available at Level 12
A Must have IMO. This is a great power. You smack a group with a quick Target based AoE. They wander around stunned, and are easy targets for your team mates. I have found that the best combination for this power is with Fire Cages. Hit them with the Flashfire, then immediately follow it up with Fire Cages before they can spread out much. Keeping the group tighter for the AoE damage dealers in your group. They will have a tendency to wander all over the place, so keep that in mind. Stack it heavy with ACC and DIS.
Range: 70ft
Recharge: 45 sec(This may no longer be accurate, it seems less to me)
Activation time: 2.4 sec
Available enhancements: ACC, DAM, RCHRG, REC, RNG, DIS
I recommend slotting: 2 ACC, 2 DIS (More if you can spare the slots)
Note: This power comes with a built in -20% to Accuracy.
Cinders (Primary)
Available at Level 18
A must have IMO. This is a great PBAoE hold. Similar to Flash in the Illusion Controller line. The most effective way to get away with this one is to have Stealth running, and sneak in. I’ve seen a lot of Fire Controllers die trying to start off with this power. You can do it later on with Stealth, and the Imps up at the same time, but early after getting it, just start preparing it for higher level use. It has an extremely long recharge time. It’s not a power that’s going to be ready to use all of the time. I personally like to keep this power as my “Oh Shit!” hold. When the group starts getting overrun, or you accidentally pull a second or third mob, you can fire this off, run and regroup from a safe location. Now that Asphalt is at a higher level, I feel a little more indestructible. I fire it off more often as a primary hold. Having Hasten 3 slotted helps a bit with the recharge time, but it’s still slow to come back. I slot this heavily with ACC, and HOLD.
Range: PBAoE 30ft sphere
Recharge: 120 sec
Activation time: 1.1
Available enhancements: ACC, RCHRG, REC, HOLD
I recommend slotting: 2 ACC, 2 HOLD (More if you can spare the slots, it recharges pretty slow, so RCHRG is good to think about)
Bonfire (Primary)
Available at Level 26
Here’s a situational and debatable power. I myself love it, and have made sacrifices to keep it. When it comes in handy, it’s a lifesaver, most of the time it will be gathering dust in your tray. It’s a ranged drop power that actually has a pretty decent range right out of the gate. The real problem comes into when and where to use it.
Range: 70ft
Recharge: 60 sec
Activation time: 3.1 sec
Available enhancements: RCHRG, REC, RNG, DAM, KB
I recommend slotting: 1 RCHRG you could go with KB as well. It already does a good job knocking things back, and with 2 RCHRG enhancements, and 3 slotted Hasten you can over lap these a little and keep an area controlled or blocked.
Benefits:
For reactor missions, you can keep all of the enemies away from the reactor. It is great for is dead end hallways, and small rooms. You can keep a mob cornered, and for the most part unable to attack in a corner, or small room. In the sewers, you can use it to block doorways, and tight tunnels. I like to drop it between the healers and Blasters, and the Scrappers and Tankers. If the Blaster starts pulling enemies off of the main group, or some peel off to attack the healer, they get bounced away. It’s a great safety net to have Blasters attack from. I’ve even dropped it on the back side of a large group to bounce them into the Ice Patch dropped by an Ice Controller. This is also another great “Oh Shit!” power. If the order to retreat has been given because you have been overrun, you can drop this as a barrier, and run like Hell! The last benefit I can think of is that it’s a power that requires absolutely no slotting at all. Put whatever you want in that one slot it comes with. As it is an ongoing effect, you will see some enemies get well into it, but eventually still get the bounce. Sometimes, they bounce towards you. If they have gotten that far, in a well organized team the few that get through are mostly by themselves. Kill them quick and move on.
Drawbacks:
This power is horrible in the open spaces. The first thing that it does is to knock everything out of it, and then they are all mad at the caster. You have to be very careful not to drop it where it’s unwanted. You can really screw up a herding Tank’s game plan by using this, and if you drop it in the middle of the Ice Patch set down by another Controller, you just knocked everything out of it, and they can attack again. Scrappers will call you all kinds of dirty names, and it pretty much screws up AoE damage dealer’s attacks as well if you cannot use it to corner the mob. It will also draw aggro to you for every enemy that it hits. It takes a skillful Controller to know when to pull this little rabbit out of the hat. Because it’s situational, I see it as a power that could be overlooked to deepen Pool Power coverage, or add more Kinetics powers in your power trays.
Fire Imps (Primary)
Available at Level 32
A must have IMO. This is why you got this power set in the first place. It’s not a question of yes or no, it’s a question of slotting, and courtesy. Controlling your Imps is the hardest part of having them. Let’s face it folks……they’re stupid! When we talk about Pools, I’m going to recommend Hasten, and 3 slotting it. I’ll put some advise on Imp Maintenance at the end of the guide. Your choice of Kinetics was perfect for them as they are all little scrappers. Enhancements on this power transfer to the Imps. If you get into Leadership, you don’t have to worry about any slots going to ACC.
Range: 60
Recharge: 240 sec
Activation time: 2.0
Available enhancements: RCHRG, REC, RNG, DAM, ACC
I recommend slotting: 1 ACC, 3 DAM, 2 RCHRG (ED and I6 compliant slotting)
Courtesy:
Well, I’ll say it again. Imps are STUPID! They do not understand the concept of hiding under a ledge to stay out of sight from enemies above. They just want to eat and worship at your feet. If they see food, they will go get it. And they also do not understand position in battle. While a skilled Scrapper can stay far enough from a second group to keep from being noticed, Imps won’t. They will run all over the place while attacking, and move from target to target, regardless if the first target is down yet. Even if they do not directly attack a second mob, if they are noticed, they’ll draw it.
Once you have your Imps out, you are no longer the scout. Stay back and let others with stealth survey the next mob. Stay back, and coordinate with your team mates.
Let ranged characters pull. There’s nothing more gratifying that watching your children ambush a pulled mob! There is no second mob pulled that way. Now I know that my Char will not hold a Boss first hit, so I do pull with that from time to time.
Watch out for small rooms. I’ve been trapped in a small room by my Imps. Everyone pointed and laughed.
Let others go first. Imps like to crowd doorways, and block them for others. Step back and let everyone through, or move quickly away from the door if you go through first. That is if safety in the area allows it.
What not to tolerate:
Whiny Scrappers and Tankers that keep telling you the Imps are getting in the way. If they cannot figure out how to flow with the Imps, they should go play The Sims. I know plenty of good Scrappers and Tankers I work in tandem with. I could go on for another page on how to manage “Flowing with the Imps” but this guide is not for teaching Scrappers and Tankers how to play.
Kinetics:
This is overall one of the best group oriented power sets other than Empathy. It’s also the very best Imp Maintenance secondary available. Even with the obvious benefits to the Radiation secondary, your only heal is PBAoE in that set. You can sit back, heal and buff with Kinetics.
Transfusion (Secondary)
Available at Level 1
A must have IMO. This has to be one of the best, and most powerful heals next to Empathy. You have to get it, but you want it. It makes you valuable in teams early on, and is a requirement for Imp Maintenance. One thing to note on this power though is that it requires a hit to work. It’s not a given like Empathy. Until I got Tactics from the Leadership pool, I ran this with 2 ACC for a long time. It’s important to get this to hit. You are the Scrapper and Tankers best friend. You can sit back, clear of the action, and throw big heals in the melee. Running with a Transfusion healer takes some education on your teammate’s part, especially for your Blaster friends. The default action is usually to attack the closest enemy. You need a “victim” to be your healing generator. To effectively be able to heal a ranged fighter, you need to lock down a straggler from the mob that comes close, and hope no one kills it. Char works great for this. It will get very frustrating when other heroes either kill or knock back that victim. If you activate the power on a victim that has just died, you will spend it, see the green aura, and no one gets anything. It takes some skill, and coordination on your part. I love to spam heals in tough battles to help the primary healer out. They can breath easier, and actually get to use something besides Heal Other, and Healing Aura. Transfusion DOES NOT make you a primary healer though. You had better be running with some bad mo fo’s if you are the only one with a heal in the group!
My opinion on any healing power is “If it’s a heal, it should be a good heal”. You may not want to slot it as heavy as I did, but I think it deserves 6 slotting.
Range: 60ft
Recharge: 8 sec
Activation time: 1.2 sec
Available enhancements: ACC, HEAL, RCHRG, REC, RNG
I recommend slotting: 2 ACC, 3 HEAL, 1 RCHRG
If you get Tactics, then swap out one of the ACC for RCHRG, but at LVL 50, I still have 2 ACC in it for when my toggles get dropped.
Look for healthy victims. Better chance that they will not die before you activate the power, and the animation completes.
Get close enough to get the heal. Sometimes this could put you in trouble. Skill my friend, skill!
Things that can contribute to your effectiveness:
Tactics: To increase accuracy.
Teleport Foe: Don’t go looking for a victim, bring him to you!
Siphon Power (Secondary)
Available at Level 2
This is a good power, and at the level you get it, you almost cannot skip it. It’s the best choice you will have. When you use this power, you are the generator. Try to position yourself near teammates when executing it, and/or get close to your Imps when executing it. This is a great boost for the Blasters that are hanging back with you. Luckily it does stack with Fulcrum Shift later, and the real beauty of it is………you don’t have to waste any slots on it. Put an ACC in the one slot it comes with, and crank something else up.
Range: 80ft
Recharge: 20 sec
Activation time: 1.9
Available enhancements: ACC, RCHRG, REC, RNG
I recommend slotting: 1 ACC
Repel (Secondary)
Available at Level 4
Bad idea IMO. Probably the absolute worst knock back power in the game, and an enormous endurance hog. Not even worth considering. Although I did have a friend who got it. It was funny as hell to watch, but he scrapped the character soon after making it. The main problem with this power and your other Kinetics powers is that the victim needs to be near you to get the heal or endurance recharge from your other powers. It almost conflicts with the whole Kinetics line.
Range: Self + 7ft sphere
Recharge: 20 sec
Activation time: 1.1
Available enhancements: RCHRG, REC, KB
I recommend slotting: If you get it, you’ll almost have to use REC
Siphon Speed (Secondary)
Available at Level 10
Ah, the beginning of the free travel powers in this set. Although it still requires a “to hit” roll when activated, when your cruising through old areas like Atlas Park and King’s row to get to door missions, everything is your speed generator. It can also take the edge off of the horrible speed problem with the flight powers. This power can also negate the speed problem associated with Stealth if you get into concealment, plus some. The only drawback is if you are SK’d up, and “sneakin” through a high level zone, it may not be worth it to try to Siphon Speed from a red enemy. You might be right back down to your base speed on your character.
Range: 80ft
Recharge: 60 sec
Activation time: 4.7 sec
Available enhancements: RCHRG, REC, RNG, RUN (It should show ACC too, but I think my guide is wrong)
I recommend slotting: RCHRG or RUN. I’ve tested this power and had it miss before. If ACC is an available option, go with that first. It does not require heavy slotting in it’s current state.
Note: When speed boosted from this power, you do not have the inherent stealth that comes with Super Speed. You really should get Hasten, so It’s easy to ditch this for Super Speed unless they really make the power recharge rate good.
Increase Density (Secondary)
Available at Level 16
This is a good one to get. I use it often to free my Imps from holds, and others in the group as well. It works similar to Clear Mind from Empathy, with a little added bonus of Damage resistance afterwards. It does not last nearly as long as Clear Mind though, so you only need to use it once you see someone held. You could skip it if you wanted to, but you will find that your Imps really tick things off. If they are out of melee in a hold, they are ineffective. It doesn’t require much if any slotting.
Range: 70ft
Recharge: 3
Activation time: 2.1
Available enhancements: RCHRG, REC, RNG, DAM RES
I recommend slotting: This recharges pretty quick, for every slot that you have on it use DAM RES. If you have a teammate that is getting held, they may also be getting some heated attention from an enemy. The Damage Resistance would probably help them out too! With ED out you will have a lot more slots to move around. 3 DAM RES is easy to slot in.
Speed Boost (Secondary)
Available at Level 20
Now this is a great power, but will bring you the most annoyance (besides the Imps!). If I have to hear “Speed Boost please” one more freaking time! Over and Over again with it! I love to be a team player but man, this can get annoying. I’m still keeping it, even though I no longer have to be a “team player” if I don’t want to any more. It is nice to drop it on Flyers to help them move around in Hover, other Controllers to help them get more holds up, Healers to help them keep their endurance up and cast heals more often, and Tankers to keep their endurance and toggles up. You can even Speed Boost your Imps. Now, I do recommend before just spamming the group with it, ask first. Some maps are a pain in the but with it on, ie. Caves, and CoT caverns with big drop offs.
Range: 50ft
Recharge: 2
Activation time: 1.0
Available enhancements: RCHRG, REC, RNG, RUN, END EFFCT
I recommend slotting: 3 END EFFCT. You will use this one a lot, and it can run you out of endurance. If you use more than 1 slot on it, you could use an REC. Once you are deep into Stamina, and Transference, you can swap that out for more END EFFCT.
Inertial Reduction (Secondary)
Available at Level 28
Ah yes, More free travel powers. Unlike Siphon Speed, no victim is required. And, you get the added benefit of giving everybody Super Jump for a little while. It doesn’t require slotting if you do not want to. It already comes back up before it wears off. If you have Hasten 3 slotted, you could probably put 2 JUMP in it if you wanted to cap it out. I’m only disappointed that it comes so late in the build for the Controllers.
Range: PBAoE 25ft sphere
Recharge: 60 sec
Activation time: 2.0
Available enhancements: RCHRG, REC, JUMP
I recommend slotting: 2 JUMP
Transference (Secondary)
Available at Level 35
This is a must have IMO. Even with Stamina 3 slotted with END EFFCT, you are still an Endurance hog. It works just like the Transference heal. It doesn’t need to be slotted as heavily though. 1 ACC for sure, and as many END EFFCT as you think you need. I have 2 ACC, and 2 END EFFCT in it and it recovers about 70% of my endurance bar. You have been using Speed Boost to assist in Stamina recovery up to this point. For those Tankers that have requested you don’t Speed Boost them, you just remedied their Stamina issues. You can throw this out in the melee area, and recharge their Stamina almost fully. The more I use this one the more I see it miss. It’s definitely not as reliable as Transfusion.
Range: 60ft
Recharge: 30 sec
Activation time: 2.3 sec
Available enhancements: ACC, RCHRG, RNG, REC, END EFFCT
I recommend slotting: 2 ACC, 2 END EFFCT
Fulcrum Shift (Secondary)
Available at Level 38
This is the power you’ve been slobbering for in this set. You can really jack up your team with this, and drop the damage output of an entire mob. I imagine that 1 ACC (I just don’t trust Tactics to always get the job done) and as many RCHRG as I can muster into it. The bigger the mob, the more the boost. By the time you can get this power, you should have the balls to pull it off! You will already feel IMP-pregnable and IMP-pervious by level 38. You will not fear a large group of enemies. You and the mob are the generators. The effect will be mostly in the melee area, so having the group stunned or locked down with Flashfire or Cinders is a good idea before pulling it off. You will make big friends with Tankers with this power. They are usually under powered as far as damage output is concerned, and this power can cap their damage out in a heartbeat. And the effect on the damage output for Scrappers is just sick when you have a large mob to manage. Just be cautious with this one. You are going to want to run in there and get the execution off before the mob gets thinned for maximum output. If you do not have them “Controlled” or have the Tanks and Scrappers drawing a good bit of aggro, you will die quickly. Be patient and choose your opportunities wisely to prevent debt.
Range: 60ft
Recharge: 60 sec
Activation time: 2.2
Available enhancements: ACC, RCHRG, REC, RNG
Effect Radius: Target + 30ft sphere is drawn from. You emanate a 20-30 ft sphere of effect if it is similar to Siphon Power. Target enemies in the center of the mob.
I recommend slotting: 1 ACC, and as many slots in RCHRG that you think will keep this up and ready as often as you like it.
Pool Powers:
Movement:
With the inherent powers in the Kinetics line, if you were strapped for pool powers because you only get 4 total, you could completely skip them. You could base your decision on your character’s background or necessity. Asphalt Mage works for D.O.T. in Hades, so he has Super Speed for travel. Mostly not a bad mode of transportation, but sometimes a real pain in the butt. With Siphon Speed, you could make Hover and Fly really effective. I think Siphon Speed + Flying is a good combo, and Super Speed + Inertial Reduction is a good combo as well.
Speed:
Hasten from Speed:
To be able to replace the Imps often, and to help recharge your control powers, you will want Hasten, and want it 3 slotted with RCHRG. In really tough fights I spend more attention to my teammates than my Imps, so there are times when I look around and I have only one left.
Super Speed plus Inertial Reduction makes a very efficient movement power set that makes you almost as fast as those lag free teleporters that keep beating you to the missions!
Teleport:
You will be strapped for choices on pools, primaries and secondaries, but Teleport Foe could be real useful. You could manage your healing generator victim, or bring an enemy into your waiting mob of Fire Imps. I used this for a while, and had a lot of fun with it. I just ran out of room in the build, so I had to ditch it.
Jumping:
Don’t bother. Save your pools and get Inertial Reduction if you really want to be a jumper. That way, you only have to get 1 power to effectively travel with it. If you went Super Jump, you have to get Combat Jumping, or Jump Kick.
Fitness:
This is a must. For no other reason than you need Stamina bad with this power set. Try to work it out so you have Stamina at level 20. You will be more pleased with the character if you do so. For the first 2 just think about the rest of your build. If you are going with Siphon Speed or Super Speed, go with hurdle. If you think you will be running around a lot in Stealth, get Swift. Just find a good compliment to your other powers.
Concealment:
This is a great compliment to the set. If you run Stealth, you can get up close and personal to pull off Cinders, and if you get Siphon Speed, you can negate the movement speed issues. Grant Invisibility is a great addition to your team oriented power set, and I don’t know of a pet controller that does not like Phase Shift. I wish I could fit that little jewel into my build!
Leadership:
It is highly recommended that if you use Kinetics as you’re secondary that you use Maneuvers and most importantly Tactics. Slot Tactics as heavy as you can afford to. Skip over Assault. Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift make this power unnecessary. They are great additions to your team based abilities. Tactics also keep your Imps hitting more regularly. You don’t want to have to waste any slots on ACC for them. Your big heal Transfusion and Transference also take accuracy checks, so you can make these powers hit more consistently.
Presence:
Now for a squishy like a Controller, this is pointless. Invoke Panic could be interesting, but you have much better control powers in your set.
Fighting:
You’re a controller, not a Scrapper or a Tanker. Leave this pool to them. You are better off making your enemies unable to attack, as opposed to surviving an attack!
Epic Powers:
I don’t want to get into too much detail on this subject, but I will speak to it a little. I see 2 Epic power selections that are most popular, so I see them in action.
My personal fav……
Fire Mastery
I went here for obvious conceptual reasons.
Fire Ball: Fulcrum Shifted Fire Ball is just sick AOE Damage output. You are already executing a lot of AOE’s. Might as well have one that does some decent damage!
Fire Shield: will make those attempts to Fulcrum Shift a little more survivable.
Consume: I picked this up as my last power because I’m running several Leadership toggles, Super Speed and Hot Feet in the high levels. With the frequency of misses on Transference, I use this as a backup. I have very little Endurance Reduction in my powers, mostly effect.
Psionic Mastery
Psionic Tornado gets a really good boost in damage output as well.
Power Combos:
How you execute your powers will be pretty obvious, but I’ll give you a few pointers anyhow.
Flashfire THEN Fire Cages. I know, you’ll want to keep them in that nice tight group, but don’t do it. The wrong group can drop you before you finish the animation for Flasfire. Then, after level 38 you can still get a killer Fulcrum Shift pull. Let your teammates know how to coordinate this. With good slotting in these 2 powers, you can make the first attack.
Now that there is a cap on the number of enemies you can hit with AOE’s, you should Flasfire one side of the mob, then use Cinders on the other side of the mob to get the best coverage of your powers that take enemies out of the fight.
Get a Stealth power before trying to use Cinders as a primary cast.
Your support of different character types will be different. Even a good Kinetics player can have a hard time healing ranged characters like Blasters. But, if they aren’t getting a lot of heals from you, then keeping them Speed Boosted, and using Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift to help them deal more damage is your gift. If you have a primary healer, then you can just take the load off in the melee area. A really good combination is a Dark Defender, and a Kinetics character. Kinetics can drop heals in the melee range, and because a Dark Defender’s heal makes them the generator, they can position themselves next to ranged characters(and you for that matter) and heal heroes outside of melee.
Don’t get over cocky in melee range once you get your pets. You will have a tendency to get closer to the melee area to get the benefit of Fulcrum Shift, Transfuse, and Transference for yourself. Get in and get back out. You are still a bit squishy. A couple of direct attacks from a Rikti long sword, or too much Nemesis AoE can kill you quick.
Imp Maintenance:
One thing to keep in mind is that the more group oriented you are before your Imps arrive, the more effective your Imps can be. After level 32 you are your own team, after level 33 you can solo all you want. I wouldn’t recommend taking on an AV by yourself, but for the long arduous playing for 32-33 levels has just paid off.
One reason these little guys are so effective is because of the A.D.D. they have. They switch back and forth from enemy to enemy before finishing one off. At first you think this is stupid, reducing the numbers in the mob should be a priority. A single enemy at 1% life is still doing 100% of their damage potential. Then you see what’s happening. As they switch from target to target, the enemies have to do the same thing. They actually exploit this fact from the PvE world. This slows down the attack rate of most mobs because they keep getting distracted by a different Imp that has decided to jump on them. Don’t expect this to be the case in PvP. Even though I don’t play it yet, I know how to deal with pets.
I recommend getting into the Leadership pool to help keep your Imps alive, and more effective. My recommendations for IMP slotting is 1 ACC, 2 RCHRG, 3 DAM(ED compliant!).
It’s best to spam Transfusion into them while they work. That’s why this combo is so effective. You just lead the Imps in, and keep them alive and attacking while you sit clear of the fight. Enemies like Nemesis can quickly take them all down with AoE attacks so be mindful to keep them healed. The hard part about healing them is how fast they can take something down once they concentrate on it. Sometimes they kill the remnants of a group so fast you can’t find a good victim. You’ve been using Transfusion for a while by now, Scrappers and Blasters can do the same thing, so you probably will already have a handle on this.
Buff them as often as possible with Speed Boost, Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift. This keeps you from having to get Assault from the Leadership pool. Even though they improved it with I4, it’s still not as good as your powers stacked.
You can Speed Boost your Imps, and use Increase Density to free them from holds. They never run out of endurance, but the Speed Boost will make their attack rate increase. Because of the amount of aggro they draw, enemies will try to throw holds on them to keep them at bay. If they are not in melee range, they are not effective, so using Increase Density to free them is very useful. Especially since the enemies that confuse can now confuse your pets. The last thing you want is them turning on you!
Your Imps are just basic killing machines. They have a real tendency to over aggro sometimes, so staying in touch with your control powers is still required. Keeping the enemies from attacking them is as important as keeping enemies from attacking the rest of your team. A prime example is when you are fighting one large group, and another gets pulled. You already hit Flashfire and Fire Cages, but now you are getting overrun with new, un-stunned enemies. Run back in and grab as many of them with Cinders that you can, and back out again. Fire Cages comes back up relatively quick, so hit em with it again to ensnare the new enemies for when Cinders wears off. Considering my current slotting of Cinders, they usually don’t survive that long. scorching
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