Which are the controller powers: Know your power: For those of you who do not know there are 4 powers in DCUO that gain access to the controller class. Those being: Mental, Gadgets, Quantum and Hard Light. However, every power also has the ability to be a DPS (damage dealer role). What a controller does: Main Job: A controller is a player who's basic focus is replenishing the group's power which is blue and can be found underneath the green health bar on the top left corner of the HUD. Secondary Jobs: Giving power is not the ONLY job for trolls. Controllers also have the ability to debuff enemies, with either the defense debuff, attack debuff, or healing debuff. For the most part, ads (trash mobs) do not need debuffs, the only real time that any controller should worry about debuffs is during boss and sub-boss fights. Out of the three debuffs we have access to, only two of them should be used on every boss, those are the defense and attack debuff. The reason why the healing debuff doesn't have to be used often is because most bosses do not heal themselves, those that do are rare, which means the healing debuff would only help against those few bosses. Other Jobs: Controlling Mobs: Debuffs and other moves also have a chance to crowd control(CC) enemies, which makes enemies under the CC unable to attack. Under special circumstances trollers may be able to CC bosses. CC moves can be used to give your tank and healers a break from incoming damage. That being said, if you are a controller and the choice between giving power to the group or putting a debuff or CC on the boss or mobs comes up (a decision like this should never really have to be made). ALWAYS CHOOSE TO GIVE POWER. Your stats and gear: Armor/weapon: There are many stats that we can alter in DCUO. Out of all of them the first and most important stat for all trollers is vitalization. Vitalization is the stat that our armor specializes in, it lets controllers do what they do better then any other role. It is very simple, if you play correctly, the more vit you have, the more power you'll give. The main way to increase your main stats is getting gear. Whatever combat rating (cr) level you are, always aspire to get the gear that increases your vit. The mods in your gear should be straight vit when possible (only for the yellow mods), the other mods should have a vit variant mod (vit/dom, vit/health, vit/might, or vit/prec) There are a few base mods that are specifically beneficial to trollers all the others should be used to fit your play style. (Look at other guides for more in depth look at gear mods). Skill/Power Points: The inates all controllers should get are, Vitalization, Power and Dominance because the 1st tier of these innates increase your crit power chance . The iconic power tree also has inates, only two are important for trollers, one gives vit and power(Wisdom of Solomon) and the other gives dominance (Intimidating Gaze). Aside from the inates, power points should be spent on getting your power dump, your debuffs and of course your PoT. As for the Super Charges(SCs), Word of Power uses a power point, Speed Drain uses a skill point but is only available to speedsters. What is PoT and when/how to use it: PoT: (Power over time). It is the very first power on each power tree that each of the controller powers learn. These will be Terror Tendrils and Telekinesis for Mental. Sticky Bomb and Taser Pull for Gadgets, Light Claws, Boxing and Impact for hard light,finally Tachyon Burst and Gravitonic Field for Quantum. Every controller should have one of these moves on their layout. Aside from actually getting power over time, you will know if your move is working because there will be a lighting bolt buff under your name. That little icon, no matter what instance you are doing should always be there. You need to activate PoT enough so that you and your teammates always have the buff but you do not want to spam it to the point where you are wasting power on it. PoT ticks 6 times. That means that the move will replenish power to the group a total of 6 times before the buff disappears. That being said, you need to always be attacking with your weapon, which means (for the most part) you will be spamming your ranged attack. I tell you to always attack so that you can always be getting a bit of power back from building a combo. (Look at other guides for power regen through weapon combo counter info). Try to cast PoT like this : When you activate your PoT, you get the first tick, you then wait until just after the 5th tick to re-activate PoT which will result in another tick right after the 5th tick. If your PoT is at 300 for example, your PoT on screen will look like: 300...300...300...300...300,300...300... The 5th tick of the initial PoT and the 1st tick of the new PoT going of back to back. Some controllers might already be doing this without realizing it and simply just internally timing it so that they re-activate PoT before it wares out. You do not have to time it this perfectly, but over all re-activating PoT between your 5th and 6th tick is the best option. Activating PoT before the 5th tick will not get you that double tick of PoT, and activating it after the 6th tick means your PoT ended. When and why to power dump: Power Dump: The next way, and in my opinion most important way that the controller class can give power is through what I like to call the power dump. This move is Temporal Extortion for Quantum, Psychic Empowerment for Mental, Defibrillator for Gadgets and Recharge for Hard Light. Every controller should have this move on their layout. This is the move that you will basically spam throughout every instance. The move has a 2 second cool down for a reason, it was made to be spammed. If you are a troller and your power dump is not being constantly used while the group is using a lot of power, then you are doing something wrong. In 8 man instances, where the group has two controllers, both of the controllers need to be hitting their power dump (among other things) basically from cool down to cool down, stopping only when everyone’s power bar is full enough so that the PoT will top them of. Power dump clipping: The animation for your power dump is very short and you can clip the animation of all your other powers with it. For the most part, the animation for all your other moves are long and force you to stand in one place, if you clip your other powers with your power dump you will be able to cut the animation which allows you to move around again, allowing you to evade attacks while giving power to the group. Take advantage of the fact that you can move while using your power dump, you do not and should not stand still while using your power dump. Damage and Agility: Even though trollers do not have to worry about damage too much, using your power dump grants a precision and might buff for a short while, but because you are spamming the power dump, you will always have that attack buff. As stated before the power dump allows you to keep moving, which means that you will be able to move around more then the other classes, this means that enemy attacks that can be avoided, should be, and you will be able to move towards fallen teammates a lot faster then anyone else in the group, allowing you to pick them up so that they can get back into the fight, or hit nodes and complete objectives as needed. (Look at other guides on how to use your moves to move in and out of your movement mode).
The controller Super Charge: Infinite Power: The final way that controllers give power is through a super charge and supply drop, usually Speed Drain from the Super Speed movement tree or Word of Power from the iconic powers tree. Most troller powers also have a 50% super charge that will shield the group while giving power. What to do if you are main troll: Primary Troll Basics: Being a controller does not mean you go into every raid and only pop your PoT, use your power dump, CC, and debuff the bosses yourself. There is a little bit of work to be done once the group is ready but before you go into the instance. Pre-Game: DCUO is a MMO, which means that you will need to communicate (Buy a mic or at least a keyboard). There is one basic question that the controllers in the group need to answer before starting the instance: “Who is doing PoT?” The reason why only one controller has to do PoT is because there can only be one PoT buff up at any given moment. The reason why the troller with the highest vit should do PoT is because the more vit a troller has, the more power will be replenished with each tick of the PoT. (Look at other guides to discover deeper details of what the Vitalization stat does.) Do not ignore the other controller if they ask what your vit is, if you feel embarrassed (or too cool) to say it aloud or in group text, then just send a tell to the other troller, talking to the other troller is the easiest way to establishing who does PoT. Enhanced vit: All trolls should and can enhance their vit via trinkets and soders, share your base vit during the Pre-Game, not enhanced vit. Read the situation and change your play style accordingly. If there is an abundance of power, you can then go ahead and help with debuffs or crowd controls during battle, just remember to clip your Debuff and CC moves with your power dump, the clipping strategy is essentially what will lead you to be spamming your power dump. What the other troller needs to do: Second troll basics: The first is to be very careful to not override the other troller's PoT with your own (Terror Tendrils, Telekinesis, Boxing, Light Claws, Taser Pull, Sticky Bomb, Tachyon Burst, Gravitonic Field). If you do override their PoT, all you are doing is forcing the other troller to pop his PoT again so that everyone is once again receiving the higher power tick or forcing the team to receive less power while your PoT is up. A controller should never choose to give less power to the party outside of extreme conditions. The troller who does not have PoT duties however is NOT simply there to ONLY use their power dump from cool down to cool down. CC/Debuffs: It is expected that the troller who does not have PoT is largely in charge of debuffs and by extension CC. For the most part you will be using only the defense debuff, most trash mobs will not require a defense debuff because the DPS will melt them fast enough without it, you can use one or two CC moves on these guys instead. If a boss is about to use a move that you know does massive damage, usually indicated by a skull icon appearing up next to their name, use the attack debuff. For those special bosses that like to heal themselves you can go ahead and use the healing debuff. Bosses, outside of special conditions, will not be influenced by your CCs. You will know when to use which debuff/CC as you gain experience playing the game. Pre/In-game: The non-PoT troller should tweak his layout to include debuffs/CCs that work best for which ever instance you are going into, and both trollers need to be nearly constantly using their power dump move, and sparingly using their Debuffs/CC. Use your power dump move from cool down to cool down if need be; Quantum trollers use Temporal Extortion, Gadget trollers use Defibrillator, Hard Light trollers use Recharge, and Mental trollers use Psychic Empowerment. If there are people other then the trollers with a low power bar, you must SPAM THE POWER DUMP. Both trollers must spam the power dump during power hungry moments in order to keep everyone's power up. Also do not be afraid to use your super charge while fighting ads, it is a 50% SC you will almost always have it ready, if the party gets power hungry, pop it, the SC is for the party, not the enemies (Go to other guides to find out how to build your SCs up faster). How it all comes together: A Group Effort: Your combos, and PoT replenish your own power, you then use your power to spam your power dump onto the group during times when the group needs power. The other troller in the group is also using their power dump, this will more then likely result in all power bars being close to full at all times. The tank in the group will be using that power to ensure that all the aggro stays on him and collecting all the ads or boss to one location. The healers in the group will be using the power to replenish the tank's and party's health. The DPS will be using that power to destroy all enemies in sight. Once the flow of power has been mastered and everybody in the group has sufficient power, the controllers can then start to build hit counters and activate their CC and debuff powers when they see fit. All of this is happening either at the same time or within milliseconds of each other, I simply break it down from the perspective of a troller that is making sure the group's power bars are as close to full as possible for that specific instance and group. Class Tips recap/summary: Your role: Quantum, Gadgets, Hard Light, and Mental are either a DPS or Controller class, commit to one class, trying to do both at the same time just means that you will probably suck at both at the same time. If you are ever lost on what to do during an instance it is your top priority to replenish power. As you get better, you will want/be able to do more during the instances, just remember your basic duty and that you are not Soloing the instance, your CC and Debuffs will be broken out of or otherwise have very little impact as compared to the power you are able to give to the group. Generally if you have to ask yourself "CC/Debuff?" or "power dump?", go with the power dump. If and when the groups' power needs are satisfied is when you can CC and debuff. Support: Quantum, Gadgets and Mental have moves that I recommend; Qunatum Tunneling, Distract, and Grandeur respectively. These moves make any enemy that is targeting you target someone else (the tank if they are doing the basics of their job) while protecting you from almost any attack. This becomes very useful when someone in the group needs to be picked up or a specific objective needs to be completed. Hard light does not have a move that does the exact same thing that QT, Distract and Grandeur do, but Light Barrier or Shielding could be used to the same effect. Troll Etiquette: When trolling with a pug, always establish which of the two trollers is in charge of PoT. Always try to restart your PoT right after the 5th tick. If both trollers are at least spamming the power dump move I guarantee there will not be a power shortage throughout the entire instance. In the two seconds that it takes for the power dump to cool down, get in a weapon combo, debuff, or CC if possible. Inates: Complete as many feats as possible to increase the number of skill points you have. Which in turn will allow you to purchase more vit innates. Lay Out Lockable: There are three moves that should always be in your layout, the PoT, the Power Dump, and the SC. For the 4th spot on the layout I recommend Distract for Gadgets, Grandeur for mental, Quantum Tunneling for Quantum and one of the Shields for Hard Light. The last two slots will usually be for which ever two debuffs/CC you want. Good luck, and happy trolling.
Brief About Me: I have had many toons in DCUO, I'v played each power at least once through to level 30. That being said I have just one character that I play with. My main and for all intensive purposes only toon is a hero called MassRelay. His power is Quantum and movement is flight, 153 (as of 9-15-14) skill points and 107cr, 88 pvp cr. Two friends, the first plays a fire tank as his main, and a gadgets troller as his alt, and the second played a HL troller, then later switched to gadgets troller, now retired from DCUO, along with the community here, helped make this intro guide. Reason for this post: I always thought that if people were serious about playing this game that they would do some research and find out a couple of details about their powers/roles in the game to make sure that they are playing as best they can. But apparently even though they say they know what they are doing I find myself having to "coach" other controllers on the BASICS of what they should be doing. My hopes is that some people will read this and learn or be reminded then spread the knowledge. This does not mean I am the only experienced troller on DCUO, there are many players who can play the role just as well if not better then myself, unfortunately there are a lot of people who play the role poorly. Hopefully this will make bad controllers less common. I will focus on PVE raid controllers. I will assume that if you are reading this you already have some basic knowledge of the game and roles. What to do after reading: Go play the game your way. If you take my advice or not, it frankly does not matter, it is a video game after all. Go play, and practice, and have fun. Enjoy yourself and enjoy the entertainment this game provides. If you are thirsty for more knowledge about this role, as you should be. Go to the Guide Index, scroll down to Roles, then Controllers, and read the other guides. You will find a lot of information that I have already shared in those other guides plus much more!!!
Choose* Also, don't you think you should put in a little bit about crowd controlling? It is part of our name afterall!
You are correct, I somewhat neglect crowd controlling, only mentioning it once, but that is because cc does not carry nearly as much weight as giving power and maintaining debuffs. So I choose to focus on the main aspects of what raid worthy controllers should be doing Zizzi.
Nicely done! Short and sweet yet touching all the important points of trolling. I'd like to add that I as a gadgets troller I can burst power while running with the party without missing a beat. Defib doesn't interrupt your movement when used. I disagree. Battle drone is quite useful and can be used more often than the 50% SCs you mentioned. It may not give as much power yet when used properly it will help keep your party powered up.
I am a controller, unfortunately this so called guide was written by a battery. Triple AAA battery at that.
A) Person with the higher VIT should not automatically take over PoT. Too many people assume this and mod everything straight VIT, in attempt to max out this stat. By doing this they miss out on affinity bonuses thus actually making thier power out less than someone modded for affinities. It's been proven and documented in the forums for quite a while. B) I stopped reading when you said use the higher VIT weapons than the 131. As it shows you likely fall into category A. C) We are not batteries, so simply spamming your dump move is NUTS. Your job is to CONTROL the field, this is done thru, stuns debuffs, CC and DAMAGE. If you are doing nothing but POT, tiered weapon recharges and spamming power dump. Your really only doing maybe 1/3 o-1/2 of your duty. You need to read up on this powerser, I suggest ANYTHING by Battery <<<<This dude knows his stuff. Oh and FYI, so does Sylar.
What would you suggest then? I am coming back to the game, and play with a 3 man group as a Controller. I use Hard Light ATM. I was thinking of redoing my powers and looking at my stats after reading this, maybe even looking at new weapon sets. Would it be better to make a new topic if I have questions or put in here?
This would be a great place to start. He also has a large amount construct only controllers for us Hardlighters. http://forums.station.sony.com/dcuo/index.php?threads/batterys-how-to-play-a-controller.71/
You are hardlight so you have the ability to regen more power than Gadgets or Mental by using the construct no weapon controlling style. You don't have to be a battery to other players as a matter of fact you could probably have the most fun out of all the controlling classes. Hardlight has shields both personal and group shields if you need them, yes your PoT and defense debuff is melee based but don't look at that as a bad thing, embrace it and make it a positive. It adds some spice to a game that so many people try to make generic. Also Hardlight has some of the best Crowd controlling in the game. Yall can lock down adds with ease. Don't strive to be a battery instead strive to be a controller who excels at all the responsibilities of a controller. trust me when I say you don't have to be a battery just to keep a group powered.
Hey let's not get our underwear inna bunch here. The trolling he described is 90% of the trolling done in the game. It's a good primer for those new to the role. The more experienced troller knows there is more to it but this is not that advanced tutorial. The controlling part of trolling is a little more difficult. It's something you learn on the field when running content. I may not agree with everything but I won't toss out the baby with the bathwater.
If he would have said that this was just a beginner guide then that would have helped but honestly in his mind being a battery is the only way to play and that is a horrible way to try to help someone learn the controller role. If he just wanted a guide on how to emphasize the battery aspect of the controller role then he should have said that but he didn't. If you are going to make a guide about a role then you need to add all the aspects of the role not just 1 of them. This is no where near a guide this is just a big long opinion post.
this guide emphasizes the use of primary and secondary trollers, an inefficient method of delivering power. if both trollers are pretty evenly matched as far as vit is concerned, then they should rotate trinket bursts to maximise power output, while still being capable of CC.
Yes, I do use the shields for the group as much as I can, and I enjoy the locking down of the mobs. My sister plays a fire/ice tank now (she was all fire before) and my spouse is a healer (nature I believe). So I have been focusing mainly on putting up the Supercharged shielding when needed, and using that Grasping Hand? to grip and damage enemies with giving back power when needed. I guess my problems/confusion it with the weapons I use (I started with a shield but might switch to a rifle) and how it works with my powers (any suggestion on weapons is fine too). Maybe I am not hitting my keys right (I play on my pc) but say, I use Light Claws. I try to follow a combo to make the mini-guns come out (I think it's with the holding of ranged?) but it either doesn't come out or I end up doing a long range with my weapon. Should I be looking at the animation to figure out when to hit the mouse buttons? Or do I need to hit the key for Light Claws each time? Thanks for the suggestions!
You can use any weapon you feel comfortable with to be efficient at controlling but since you are hardlight I would suggest you go with brawling. Brawlers get to the next tier'd combo faster than any other weapon and since constructs count as weapon attacks you can build power faster with brawlers. As far as the buttons go for hardlight I can honestly say I was hardlight for about 15 minutes then switched back to mental because I just couldn't get the hang on how to go from construct to construct so i'll let someone else help you on that lol.
As hardlight you really don't even need to use weapon combos for power regen. EX: Lightclaws>whipthrash will generate enough hits to get to the next tier for your weapon power regen. Alot of us will use brawling as it takes the least amount of hits to get to next tiers. his can be tricky as it also puts you very close to the action. I prefer to stay back a bit and opt for HB personally as I can get to next tier just by using pulsebeam. Shields are a personal preference...I use PDF consumable when needed, but I do not use any power based shields. Best way to learn your construct combos is to just use the sparring dummy to perfect them. I rarely use min gun combo, but yes it's hold after lightclaws are thrown. I can't help you on keys (I play PS3), but for me it's square to throw LC>then hold triangle for miniguns.
