Controller Power Revamp

Discussion in 'Gotham City (General Gameplay)' started by The Dark4, Apr 27, 2022.

  1. The Dark4 Well-Known Player

    Just was having some discussions with some friends on DC and just rambled some cool ideas on revamping the troller power. Lets be honest its one of the easiest role in the game. Most trolls mostly are debuffing/buffing, giving power, and doing pick ups mostly in runs. Other than that, they aren't really doing much and it could get really boring if you are not inventory swapping constantly. Some people are beating a lot of content without trolls because sometimes they just are not needed.

    -Totally removing their abilities that give power or minimize the amount given to the group and make each role self sustaining for power and maybe give every toon a larger power pool. Would make having high SP a lot more relevant again and important. Could introduce more allies that help sustain power down the road :).

    -Change the role of a controller to mainly a buffing/debuffing controller for the group members not just prec or might but also health for tanks and resto for healers. Without a lot of these buffs, the group would seem a lot weaker. Could possibly make controllers needed for alerts again and make them a key component to beating content and could not always be seen as one that could be carried through content.

    thoughts?
    • Like x 3
  2. Controller Devoted Player

    I disagree with the gist of the post.

    Controllers - especially EXPERIENCED ones - place a LOT of care and knowledge into learning that role.

    It's as challenging as any other role.

    From "MY" perspective, you get 4-5 DPS in raids...even ELITE raids for the most part. These "DPS" get the advantage of not ONLY stacking their OWN artifact inventory to buff their damage but HAVE ALSO conscripted Controllers into what was FORMERLY known s "Combat Controllers"....now being called "BUFF" Controllers.

    That "4th or 5th DPS - "RARELY" will get kicked for low damage or performance - especially if he/she gets their buds in the raid party to carry them.

    A well-known poster on here gave me the explanation recently - "Well a "Buff" Controller increases the damage of the PARTY - not so much the actual CONTROLLER itself..."

    [IMG]

    To ME its the same thing just a fancier name. Combat Controlling to ME no different than Buff Controlling - regardless of the source of the damage out.

    Experienced Controllers are not only giving power, but timely Group Shields, using their PERSONAL shields for survivability, stuns, debuffing as well as buffing the DPS damage output.

    I don't agree with Controllers being "Revive Artists" either - some of these DPS had better be ready to revive as well....it's ONLY like 4-5 of you in most raids, lol.

    In a typical setup we're likely 6th DPS in damage out - higher than the tank and healer most of the time.

    I see no reason to change the role OTHER THAN The Devs making more bosses like DEVASTATOR where a Controller helps with the debuffs.

    I'd love to see more MECHANICS in raids where power is drained from the party - making one of those DPS switch to secondary Troll if needed.

    I'd also love to see The Devs BUFF the Rao Amulet - make that art even more potent than it is. Make the FINAL 200 level 18 - 20% Debuff strength from it's current 15%.

    Balance these Controller arts so these "Dps-heavy" Raids have to THINK more about what they need for Controllers and in turn allow us Controllers more leverage to run with "Controller-Specific" Arts.

    The Controller Role is as important as any other Role. Not our fault The Devs have focused more on DPS Comfort Level in this game.
    • Like x 17
  3. Illumin411 Loyal Player

    The claw buffs dom and resto for tanks and healers. Or did you have something else in mind?
    • Like x 3
  4. Great Architect Loyal Player

    I really want to see Gadget's Buff / SC Regen OFF the encase. That's just lunacy :(.
  5. Great Architect Loyal Player


    The main problem is that when a DPS, a Tank and a Healer queue into content, they know *exactly* what is expected of them. That isn't true for a Troll. And many many MANY DPS see that spiral icon as "I can go nuts on Power consumption", without checking if this is a Buff Troll or a Battery Troll. And whichever it is, it's the wrong one. Always. Because you can't please all the people all the time.

    It is true that Trolls have to be concentrating less on which mechanic is ongoing - not, I think, to the extent that Tanks and Healers must - but when they are, and a timely Group Shield pops, I thank my lucky stars, stop twitching, and think that maybe this is going to be OK.

    Trolling is like Healing and Tanking inasmuch as that when you're doing it right, nobody notices. The best player in each role is invisible. Which often means we are taken for granted.

    Adding PoT to every Troll power was, IMO, a mistake. Healers don't get HoTs on every power, and Tanks don't get Defence or Health or Dom buffs on every power. Trolling has been pushed into Combat Trolling, regardless of whether that's sane, or even if that's how you, personally, want to play.

    EoG aside, it's rare for people to demand one particular setup for Healers or Tanks. It's rare (outside of SM) for people to demand what your Power or loadout is, too. But Trolls get this every day, it seems?
    • Like x 3
  6. WilderMidnight Steadfast Player


    Personally I would prefer being the default "pick up guy". When someone goes down I pop my detaunt. It gives me invulnerability to any aoe's or environmental effects for a few seconds so i can effectively pick someone up even in a bad spot. If someone runs over and hits the revive cog before me and my detaunt runs out and then both of us end up failing to do a pick up.
    • Like x 3
  7. DeitySupreme Steadfast Player

    The troll role already has its place in the game. When you say players are defeating content without a troll you should mention said content is alerts. Players always want a troll for raids. Troll role is technically the most flexible role which actually does make alerts easier too. This is probably the best position trolls have been in a long time (imo). A player can be a buff troll, a power troll, or a debuff dps.

    A debuff dps is basically for alerts. Dps set up in troll role with defense debuff to increase overall damage. This makes alerts run faster. Dps sacrifices the 10% role buff to add a 10% defense debuff for the group. For elite alerts that have no roleless buffs this also gives passive PoT that they wouldn’t have otherwise.

    You than have buff trolls who buff the dps primarily.

    For those rare situations where a power troll is requested a troll can forgo claw to maintain power.


    You then have mini tasks. Trolls for tend to be the primary role to do pick ups and cog duty along with other tasks. This way dps can focus on burn.

    If there is nothing to do and you have a tank and spank boss you can even find ways to do damage while maintaining your troll duties.
    • Like x 4
  8. Illumin411 Loyal Player

    Agreed. I use my detaunt/immunity shield or stealth. What’s funny is when picking up in stealth the toon doesn’t do the pickup animation but instead just stands there as the pickup cog is going around. I’ve seen this confuse other players so many times as they keep trying to get the pickup that I’m already in the middle of lol.
    • Like x 1
  9. Controller Devoted Player

    Got another crash course in what a "Buff Troll" is, lol.

    Was fortunate enough to group with a solid raid party - with several members from one league. I cannot recall the league ATM but they were communicative and helpful.

    They were going for that "Proxima" feat in the new raid. We DID achieve the goal of the feat - which was to whittle down Proxima in a set amount of time - but the FEAT ITSELF didn't pop for some reason unfortunately.

    Got another crash course that a highly-leveled Claw, a Tetra AND a Cog are GOOD Buff Troll arts to have in your inventory - with the Tetra and the Cog being perhaps the interchangeable ones?

    This group was mostly Precision Dps - so they asked about my Cog which I don't have leveled (yet). But I got by with my 200 claw.

    Again - I don't mind adjusting - that is a part of life. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I longed for the days when Rao Amulet was more potent and the BoP amulet was a desired art to have IN CONJUNCTION with the Rao.

    Used to be a time when as long as us Controllers popped Group Shields, Debuffed, stunned adds and kept the group powered everyone was happy. This was in ELITE content as well.

    Now? I - as a Controller - am paying more attention to my group's DAMAGE OUT....

    As my man John Lennon stated in his classic -



    "Strange Days, indeed"...........most peculiar momma.
  10. Illumin411 Loyal Player

    That’s the beauty of it. You don’t have to pay attention. The arts, SP and augments do all the buff work for you in the background. You can keep doing what you always did. I suppose the one “in battle” thing that would be different is whatever combo you would normally do for power back will have to be a weapon mastery combo. But you can still do that combo in place of the combo you were doing before.
  11. Reverse Sentry Active Player

    Honestly, just give the Claw artifact a bigger punishment. The benefit/loss ratio is simply mind-boggling. The power output should be waayyy more restricted than it is currently. Make power consumption higher so that there is need for a "power troll" if not even two like very back then. I don't know why they abandoned that anyway.
    • Like x 2
  12. Essential Exobyte Dedicated Player

    I miss the perma stuns a troll could do. There were feats that required such a stun. Bring back the perma stuns!!!

    And I’ve done content without a troll before. No issues there. If you have the smarts then you know how to spec to still spam heals, dps, aggro, without the need of a battery. A troll imho, is just ‘extra power’ and when my bar is self replenishing with no need of filling, a troll becomes useless. It’s not like the two-troll days of one potting and the other dumping.

    And amulet? Better than nothing. 7% multiplied by 50% boost is only 10.5%. For defense debuff that is.

    The whole pot number is quite weird to me. I can get 76k vit and pot only be 4k a tick. Like wtf. And then this whole conversion thing of oh that’s not the power number that’s just the power cost version of it. (Like powers are 100, 200, 300, 450, etc, so 4000 pot would be 10000 power restoration). Yeah, my power bar 300k and a 4000 tick is gonna be REAL helpful…just go dps and do something useful, would ya.
    • Like x 1
  13. Essential Exobyte Dedicated Player

    Because players couldn’t figure out how to give pot, much less anything else. So now any power gives pot…if a player even has the ability to use a power, that is. “Why there no pot?…dude, troll just doing weapon taps only”
  14. Wallachia Devoted Player

    TBH I think controllers shouldn't even had the ability to give power in the first place, as this made them be seen as living batteries. I have a controller toon and every single time I enter a game someone spends their powerbar in 5 seconds and blames ME for it, even if all the other players have their bars full. The other players always defended me, but it's an annoyance that is rather uncalled for.

    IMHO, controlling should be about Buff/Debuff with CC. I'll explain:

    1. Adds build up immunity against CC if the same kind of effect is used repeatedly over a small amount of time. Controllers should be able to bypass this CC except for a grace period of 3 seconds where the add is fully immune to all CCs. Basically, say, 3 seconds immune against controllers, 15 seconds immune against all roles, or whatever the current time is.
    2. Bosses are virtually immune to CC. Controllers should have increased effect against them. Mostly, they should be able to CC bosses. Not CC-lock them or permastun, but at least be able to be more relevant on boss fights other than buffs/debuffs.
    3. Debuffs should all comprise some form of CC. Enemy has lowered defenses? Stunned. Enemy has lowered HP? I dont know, poisoned. Enemy deals less damage? Slowed down. I'm just giving random examples.
    4. Controllers could be able to work on cogs faster, so they would help more with some mechanics, just as healers should be able to revive allies faster

    "What about other roles powerbar?"

    Powerback from weapon attacks should be doubled, along with native power regeneration. This would make combats even more dynamic as DPS players would be able to attack continuously, tanks would be able to attack and use their powers more often, and battle healers would feast on being more weapon-focused if it meant spamming more healing

    I know controllers are very, very versatile, but I also know that people expect them to be unidimensional, and this is a problematic issue.
    • Like x 2
  15. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    We four-manned Perpetua in TSW regular. I was the Controller and I switched to DPS because the other DPS was not good. No power issues, even with a spammy healer. Even before Cyborg was introduced with Allies, power management without a Controller is a cakewalk. I feel like a controller's role of power healing could be replaced with something new, something unique to that role and unique for each control powerset.
    • Like x 1
  16. Pale Rage Dedicated Player

    Controllers are needed greatly in raids, and in alerts I love running 2dps, troll (any kind as long as can debuff), healer.

    I'll admit, artifacts have changed controllers from their origins, to be combat/buff trolls, along with a revamp, but they're still highly useful and needed.

    If anything, both types of controllers should be merged into one: a battle buffing battery that can return somewhat to the original idea of a controller.
    • Like x 1
  17. Nangaf Well-Known Player

    Maybe can just turn controller in support like in other mmo, who give boost to the group, like you say, passive health, defense, might. Also can turn the vitalisation stat into regen power for ourselves. Just remove the regen group for troll, also big problem for troll if you want debuff you are lock into 6 skill, so everyone use the same, maybe will be great if i can choose the skill i want and put in a slot who give exemple the defense debuff.

    or maybe keep spiral icon for a battery troll and add other icon for buff/debuff troll for team understand that you are not there to give power. I hate to play my debuff troll and always hear someone tell me where are the power troll?

    add another role in the game maybe will be great, keep troll for cc and power regen and add other one for debuff/buff, i dont know maybe it will be a nice thing to the game
    • Like x 2
  18. Great Architect Loyal Player

    That's asking for Healers to be expected to be on primary pickup-up duty - which is a huge mistake, IMO. But that's a topic for another thread, I'd suggest?
    • Like x 1
  19. Stanktonia Dedicated Player

    Anything is possible in regular lol
    • Like x 1
  20. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    With a group of friends, yes. With a group of strangers though, ehhhhhhh it's a gamble lol .
    • Like x 4