Batterys How To Play A Controller

• Jump to the start of the guide
• Jump to the index

Updates : Guide is complete and posted. Please comment.

The first 4 pages of this thread are the guide. Forum member coments and question start on page 4. I am based inEngland, so I use the forums during European time (GMT). Sometimes I will be slow to respond if you post from other time zones.

Last Update : 16th Feb 2013

• 21:51 16th Feburary 2013
  • Guide have been moved in completion to the new forum

• 18:43 23rd Janurary 2013
  • Added 2 new sections
    • Is It Worth Maxing Vitalisation?
    • Vitalisation Trinket Rotations and should you share POT duty?
• 11:23 22nd Janurary 2013
  • GU22 changed the regen rate of HandBlasters. I have updated the figurs in the how to generate power section
• 16:44 15th Janurary 2013
  • I added a new section "How is POT calculated from your vitalisation" to explain how to increase POT size and what goes on behind the scenes. Includes refernce chart for vitalisation level and the POT you get.
• 13:46 13th Janurary 2013
  • I am going to add a quick start, complete beginners section. This is for those who just want to get going for the first time as a controller and just give it a try by going straight into the action.
• 16:05 27thDecember 2012
  • Started the shell for the maximum power regeneration section. This aim to address exactly how much power it is possible for a contrller to generate
• 10:26 22nd December 2012
  • Updated the dubuff section
  • Corrected a reference to dominance and its effect on shields
• 20:57 8th December 2012
  • Corrected spelling
  • Added Battle drone to super charges
• 18:36 8th December 2012
  • Updated the shield section to correctly reflect GU17 patch notes
• 15:13 8th December 2012
  • Fixed Formatting errors in several posts. More remains to be done.
• 10:20 7th December 2012
  • Fixed the vitalisation boost in controller role statistic.
• 09:46 7th December 2012
  • Index is now complete for content and hyperlinked. I can only link to posts, not part of a post so there are only hyperlinks for sections at the start of a post.
• 00:30 6th December 2012
  • Guide is posted.
  • Guide has been posted and is complete for discussion.

• Jump to the start of the guide
• Jump to the index

Battery's Guide On How To Play a Controller return to Index

Preface

This guide does not contain everything there is to say about controlling. I have included discussion on the most relevant topics as I see them. Controlling is a big subject so this guide is just that; a guide, not a rigid set of instructions. There is discussion here on advanced concepts for the old controllers, and basic concepts for the new controllers. Read what I say here and start thinking about the role and how the power sets can be used to meet the challenges in the game while every player in the group enjoys themselves.

Introduction

My objectives for this guide are four fold:

1. To help those completely new to controlling understand the role of a controller and the communities' expectations of them.
2. A guide for more experienced players who wish to explore the greater depths controlling has to offer.
3. To assist the non controller classes to understand how they can work with their controller to benefit their role, and make the whole team more efficient.
4. To explain what a controller can do for the team beyond the very basic tasks of providing power assistance and debuffing

For an in depth view I recommend you read the whole guide. You may skip over those that are not your primary interest, but I recommend if you do this, come back and read the rest; understand us fully and it will make you stronger too.

I will also cover some seemingly simple concepts in some detail. It may seem that I am taking these basic methods of play and adding a layer of complexity with my description, when short assertions would do. The issue with an assertion such as "Stun enemies near the tank" is that it doesn't explain any reasoning. To justify the recommendations I make for the deeper game, it is necessary for me to explain these concepts so the basis for my advice is transparent. Giving a directive such as "Cast a POT" doesn't explain all of the benefits of doing so and there are many complexities to such a simple instruction.

Who am I?

Battery is the name of my main on the EuPS3 server. I have played as a mental controller since release, gadgets for 15 months and Hard Light since it was made available. My mental was largely retired with the release of HL. I have done a lot of controlling on all three of the controller classes.

However the length of my play time does not speak to the quality of it. Just because I have played a long time does not mean my advice is good. I mention the length of time I have played only so you know that I have played the classes extensively, which gives me practice and insight. Read what I say and pass judgment. That said I truly believe my advice is sound and I present it openly to help anyone with questions.

My guide on how to play Hard Light without or without using a weapon, which is alos in the Oracles Database forum, goes into great detail on how to play the Hard Light controller role in specifically. This guide focuses on the role itself, regardless of if you chose Gadgets, Mental or Hard Light.

What This Guide Will Cover

I will cover several specific powers from each power set and how they pertain to the tasks of a controller. I will detail what these powers are and how they are used functionally, but I will not go into great detail on how the powers interact or exactly how to use them when playing the particular power set they belong too. For details on exactly how all the powers work for a particular controller power set I recommend a guide dedicated to that power. But I will cover extensively how to play with the control effects and how to meet the expectations the game and players have of you.

I will also cover the basics of the class, the terminology, mistakes to avoid, ways to take your controlling to advanced levels and all of the challenges the game throws at the class and how to use your skills to overcome them.

To bypass the basics go to the "Controlling" section.

return to Index

Index

Favorites

• How to generate power
• POT - Power Over Time
• Is It worth maximising Vitalisation
• How is POT calculated from your vitalisation
• Vitalisation Trinket Rotations and should you share POT duty

Main Index

• Updates
• The Basics
  • What is a Controller
  • Which Powers Are Controlling Powers
  • Which Should You Choose
  • Cosmetic Differences
• Weapons
  • Power regeneration
  • Positioning
  • Application of control effects
• Pets
• Casting and Combo building
• Power Interactions
  • What Are Power Interactions?
  • How is this relevant to controlling and picking which controller type?
• Pulls
• Movement Mode
  • Power super charges
• Getting Around The Battlefield
• The Sharpest tool
• Picking a Power Set
• Controller Configuration
  • Stats and Skill Points
    • Suggested order to buy innate skills
  • Vitalisation
  • Dominance
  • Cunning
  • Restoration
• Tools
  • Trinkets
  • Pet trinkets
• Consumables
  • Sodas
  • Shields
  • Aggro modifiers
  • Power Interactions
• Cycling
  • Advantages and Usage
  • Be Careful
• Research And Development (R&D)
  • Class Statistics
  • Modification slots
    • Exobytes
    • Plans
    • Materials
    • Consumable sockets
    • Affinity bonuses.
• Home Turf 1
  • Home Turf 2
  • Home Turf 3
  • Home Turf 4
• Controlling
  • The Role
• Power Management
  • What Is Power?
  • How much is needed?
    • Can a team run out of power?
    • Starving
    • Rectify
  • How to generate power
    • Combo Counter
    • Building Combos
    • Resetting The Counter
    • Tiers and weapon choice
  • How important are weapon combos
    • The detail
  • Is It Worth Maximising Vitalisation
    • Critical Chance
    • Critical Magnitude
    • How is Critical POT magnitude Calculated?
    • Analysis
  • Positive Power Effects
  • Passive Power effects
  • POT
    • POT formula
    • When to cast a POT
    • When not to cast a POT
    • How is POT calculated from your vitalisation
      • charts
    • POT is Not Just a POT
      • Line Of Sight

The next topics in are hyper linked from the page 3 section index. go to the section index.

• • Power transfers
    • When to Transfer
    • The point In The Battle
    • The level of your power regeneration combo
    • Who has the least
    • Watch the fan
    • Dilution
• Weapon Control Effects and Immunity
• Enemy Management
  • Primary Effects
    • Stuns
    • Roots
    • Knock Backs
    • Juggles
    • Encase
    • Helplessness
    • Panic
    • Damage
• Shielding
  • Strength
    • Hard Light Strength
    • Mental Shield Strength
    • Gadgets Shield Strength
• The Importance Of Control Effects
  • Mitigation Control
    • Damage Mitigation
    • Control Mitigation
      • Pacify
      • Shield
      • Position Control
      • Focus
      • Locate
  • Debuffing
    • Defence Debuff
    • Damage Debuff
    • Healing Debuff
• Being Effective
  • Common mistakes to avoid
    • Forgetting Pot
    • Debuffing Trash
    • Debuffing too soon
    • Pulling onto the healer
    • Pulling onto objectives
    • Interfering with tank
    • Learn the team
• Increasing your Effectiveness.
  • Vitalisation Trinket Rotations and should you share POT duty
  • Effectiveness Paths
    • Purchased Based Path
    • Action Based Path
    • Purchased and Action Based Interaction
    • Cascading Passive Crossovers
    • Controller Specific Crossovers and Cascades
    • Conclusion
• Approaches to Playing as a Controller

The topics below are hyper linked from the page 4 section index. go to the page 4 section index.

• Controlling styles
  • Batteries
  • Surgeons
  • Tacticians
  • Strategists
• Single POT Caster
  • Should a single caster handle POT if his vitalisation is higher?
• Bonus POT Tick or Zero Tick
• Combinations
• Dangers of Boosting Vitalisation
• POT and Power Between Controllers
  • Should controllers bounce power between each other?
• Pot Cancelling
• Power Maximising

return to top of index

The Basics return to Index

What Is a Controller

There are four classes in the game. Tanks, Healers, DPS (damage class) and controllers. There are detailed guides on these roles in the Oracles Database section

• Tank
• DPS
• Healer

I recommend that the new player read these or similar guides. They will help you understand all of the roles, what is being discussed during game play and what aspects of that discussion are aimed at you and which are not.

To summarize the roles in brief:

• Tanks use their high health or defence to draw the attention of enemies so that the rest of the group is free from attack.
• DPS is the damage class. They aim to do as much damage as they reasonably can to the current threat.
• Healers restore health and protect their team with some also having the ability to buff the teams' skills.
• Controllers manage the enemies with stuns and control effects, protect with shields and assist the team with their power needs.

There is much more to the roles than I have put in the summary above, so do read other guides if you want to have a deeper understanding.

The controlling role concerns itself with managing the enemies in a battle rather than killing them. You will be doing good damage too, but the focus is to control the fight. Controllers will stun targets so they don't damage the team and help the team get the power they need to do their roles. You will also be expected to apply effects that reduce the enemy's ability to do damage or weaken them so they take more damage.

I'll cover the controller role in much greater detail later in the guide after I have covered more of the basics. Go to the "Controlling" section for this more in depth information

Which Powers Are Controlling Powers

When you create a new character or use a respec power type token from the marketplace you will have several options for choosing a power type for your controller.

There are nine power sets that you can choose from. These are split into three groups of three. There are three powers that can be Tank, three that can play as Healers and finally three that can fulfil the controller role. All nine of the powers can play as DPS (damage Per Second) and a controller power can change to the DPS role, and back to controller at the touch of a button; although without the correct gear your DPS will be limited.
Exactly what power is available to you is based on your subscription level and/or the DLC you have purchased:

• Free To Play and Premium* (no DLC):
  • Fire
  • Ice
  • Mental
  • Gadgets
  • Nature
  • Sorcery
• DLC Battle For Earth
  • Earth
• DLC Lightning Strikes
  • Electricity
• DLC Fight For The Light
  • Light*

In this list only Gadgets, Mental and Light are powers you can use to play as a controller.

*Light is available to you if you are legendary, have purchased the Fight For The Light DLC or are a premium player who was legendary at the time the DLC was released.

The Three controller power sets are :

1. Gadgets - Technology
2. Mental - Psychic powers
3. Light - Green/yellow Lantern constructs

N.B Light is commonly referred to on the forums and in game as Hard Light. This is likely due to the iconic Hard Light shield that existed before the Fight For The Light DLC was released. In fact it is listed as Light in the power selection screen and in your characters mini Bio. For the rest of this guide I will refer to it in its' common usage form of ‘Hard Light'

Which Should You Choose

Each of the three power sets, Hard Light, Mental and Gadgets can fulfil the role of controller at all levels of game content. No matter which you choose you will not find that you are unable to complete even the hardest content once you are wearing the appropriate level gear.

The power sets share a few common abilities, but they are common only in their function rather than their execution and appearance. So with the core skills being the same there are a few other criteria on which to base your choice:

Cosmetic Differences

The three powers are all very different in the way they look when you play them.

• Gadgets powers are based on technology. You have abilities like gas attacks, robot pets, tazer lines and electric shocks.
• Mental is based around psychic abilities, like fear, mental projections and illusions.
• Hard Light is different in that it utilizes light constructs like those used by the lantern corp. You can summon a helicopter, giant claws to slash with or summon a train to knock enemies down.

Bear these differences in mind if you have a particular type of character you want to create.

Power Effects and Colours

Each power set uses a set colour for the abilities you cast and your weapon effects.

• Gadgets is light blue
• Mental is purple
• Hard light is green for heros and yellow for villains.

Each power also gives differing effects to your weapons that is in keeping with your power set.

return to Index

Weapons return to Index

There are two ways to affect your enemies; powers and weapons. There are many weapons in the game each with its own style and attack abilities. Some are ranged while some are melee. The ranged weapons have some melee attacks but a larger selection of range ones while the melee weapons have a large range of melee moves but also some ranged ones.

No matter which you choose, ranged or melee, all weapons do several things for controllers and you will need to use one, or at the very least have one equipped. The five main functions of weapons are:

1. Damage.
2. Application of control effects.
3. Statistic boosts
4. Power generation
5. Positioning

It is very difficult to use only your powers to fulfil your role. The exception to this is Hard Light which can be played without using a weapon (detailed in my guide here). When you reach level 10 you will be able to open any of the weapons trees and change your weapon providing you have enough skill points. You can respec your skill points and reallocate them at any time in the watchtower so you will not be tied to the weapon you start the game with.

Weapons are in themselves a very deep topic. There are strengths and weaknesses to all of them depending on your style and perspective. It's is too large a topic to cover in full here. So I will outline the main considerations for controllers when it comes to using a weapon.

All of the five points above are important, but for a controller three have special relevance.

1. Power generation
2. Positioning
3. Application of control effects

Power regeneration

Later in the guide I cover power regeneration in detail. I will summarise here so you can understand my points without having to go to that section just yet. The number of consecutive times you hit an enemy with your weapon without stopping dictates how much power you can generate for yourself. Power regeneration is an important part of a controllers' role so choosing the weapon that helps you do this is important. You cannot (Hard Light excepted) generate power from hitting enemies with your powers.

Some weapons can hit the enemy more rapidly than others and thus build your power more quickly. This is one aspect of a weapon you should consider when choosing.

Positioning

Weapons are considered to be ranged or melee. If you choose a melee weapon you will get a 15% increase in control resistance and an increase in the frequency of critical hits (more damage) Weapons with this bonus are considered melee, without are ranged.

Playing in melee range is different from ranged. You will likely take more damage and get interrupted much more frequently. As a controller you can use either a ranged or melee positioning. Many favour ranged as this allows you to cover the team while remaining out of harms way. The biggest advantage to ranged is the lower chance of interruption. As I cover later, hitting a target many times without interruption helps controllers generate much more power.

Melee tends to offer higher damage options. As a controller damage is part of your job description but it is not the main focus.

Application of control effects

Many weapon hits also apply control effects. Look at your weapons combo descriptions to see which ones do. It can be a great advantage to use a weapon that has positioning and control effect that work well in conjunction with your style. Weapon control effects can be applied using weapon hits, meaning they do not cost power.

This gives controllers access to controls that are free. Duel pistols full auto is a good example. This attack pushes groups of enemies away from you. At the same time it builds your hit counter (a good thing covered later).

return to Index

Pets return to Index

Pets are autonomous mini characters that you can spawn to assist you in battle.

If you like to play with pets then consider Gadgets. The other two powers do not have pets as part of their ability trees, although Mental does have a pet supercharge that spawns multiple pets for the duration of the cast. This is a pet, but since it is a supercharge the frequency and duration of this pet is more of a temporary assist than a loyal and regular companion.

There are pets in game that anyone can access, but they are not as specific to the role of controller as the pet Gadgets has access to.

return to Index

Casting And Combo Building return to Index

Each of the three controller power sets has abilities you can cast at the enemy that affect it. These abilities will damage it, control it or both. Some of these have an effect over a short period of time, some do an instant bust effect. For both Mental and Gadgets these are fire and forget abilities. You chose your target; decide which power to use on it and then once you have used your power you move to a new power, weapon attack, or target. In some cases following weapon attacks interact with the last power cast. Details on exactly how these powers work can be found in power set specific guides elsewhere.

Hard Light is different. Once you cast a power with Hard Light you can treat it as fire and forget like Mental and Gadgets or you can move into another power without casting it. This is referred to as comboing. This is detailed in my Hard Light guide in the Oracles Database section of the forum here : Hard Light Guide

return to Index

Power Interactions return to Index

Each of the controller types can utilise power interactions. These bonus effects give the controllers extra control or damage interactions that they can use to manage the enemy or for other players to utilise.

What are power interactions? Each power set in the game can cause a target to have an effect applied to it that the caster and other players can interact with. This gives controllers a way to aid their team or bolster their own control effect strength. For example:

A Fire player can cast a Meteor Strike on a target. This power drops a burning meteor to burn and smash enemies. It has two primary effects, one secondary and one power interaction.

Primary effects are applied to the target in both the Role stance and the DPS stance. In this case of fire role stance is Tank. Secondary effects are only applied in DPS stance and Power Interactions are applied in both the Role stance and the DPS stance.

• Primary Effects: Applied when in Role and DPS stance.
  • The meteor it drops causes damage to the target.
  • The target may get knocked to the ground.
• Secondary Effects: Only applied in DPS role stance
  • Increases all damage by 35% for 5 seconds, until the hit counter resets or until overridden by the secondary effect from another cast power
• Power Interactions: Applied when in Role and DPS stance.
  • It inflicts burning, setting the target on fire

In this example the Power Interaction is burning. Once the target is burning the fire player can cast another power that has its' own primary, secondary and power interaction effects but also may have a power interaction that does something extra if the target is also burning.
If the fire player casts Mass Detonation after meteor strike:

• Primary Effects: Applied when in Role and DPS stance.
  • Detonates the target causing damage
  • Explodes those nearby to the exploded target
• Secondary Effects: Only applied in DPS role stance
  • Increases all damage by 60% for 5 seconds, until the hit counter resets or until overridden by the secondary effect from another cast power
• Power Interactions: Applied when in Role and DPS stance.
  • Any burning targets take additional damage

The power interaction here is to inflict burning with Meteor then to interact with it with Mass detonation to cause extra damage.

How is this relevant to controlling and picking which controller type?

A controller can interact in the same way as in the example above with powers that they or others cast. Of the three types Gadgets has the most power interactions by a wide margin. This opens up for the gadgets player a type of controlling that is strongest within the gadgets class. Mental, and to a very limited extent Hard Light, can also use power interactions but gadgets controllers can work with the other classes to increase their damage, provide further interactions or strengthen their effects in a much more varied and powerful way.

However because a class has certain abilities the others may not does not mean you have to play them that way. I mention these differences so that you are aware of them, not as an instruction as to how to use them or if you should use them.


return to Index

Pulls return to Index

One aspect of controlling, Locating (Covered later in this guide), Often involves using a Pull (a power that pulls enemies toward you) to move enemies away from other players or objectives. Both gadgets and Hard Light have pull moves as part of their power trees. Mental does not.

However there are four pulls that are available to any class:

• Low Pressure
  • This is purchased with a skill point from the Flight ability tree. This means it is not available to speedsters or acrobats. It is a powerful pull with good range and the ability to pull multiple targets.
• Grapple Line
  • his is purchased with a skill point from the Acrobatics ability tree. This means it is not available to Flyers or Speedsters. This has a long cool down before it can be recast so is limited when compared to other pulls.
• Tornado pull
  • This is purchased with a skill point from the Speedster ability tree. This means it is not available to Flyers or Acrobats. This
  • pull has good range but is limited to a single target.
• Mesmerising Lasso
  • This is purchased with a power point from the Iconics ability tree. This means it is available to anyone. This pull has good range but is limited to a single target, but does apply a small DOT and a stun.

You do not need to carry a pull on your load out. They are very useful, but like most abilities there is no set requirement. Tanks also manage a share of strategic pulls so the groups' ability to move targets is not completely stopped should you not carry a one. However there are times when they are of considerable strategic value and should not be dismissed without due consideration.

Low pressure, Tornado Pull, Mesmerising Lasso and Grapple line are powers that are available to anyone. As they are general tools they are not honed to be the sharpened tool for controllers that the pulls in the Gadgets and Hard Light trees are. Keep this in mind when deciding on your movement mode in combination with your power set.

return to Index

Movement Mode return to Index

There is some consideration to be given when choosing a controller class as to the movement mode you choose. Your decision as to whether you are flight, speedster or Acrobat has a few implications that affect abilities that could be useful to a controller.


Power Supercharges

Of the three movement modes listed in the paragraph above, speedster has a unique ability for controllers. A power giving supercharge that can be purchased with a skill point. This is quite an advantage to being a speedster. Not for the ability itself but the manor in which it can be purchased. The only other power giving super charge that is available to any power set is purchased from the iconic power tree.
There two non power set specific supercharges that give power are:

• Word Of Power or WOP
• Speed Drain

Also available, but to Gadgets only :

• Battle Drone

Any power set and any movement mode can use :

• Word Of Power

Supercharges are powerful abilities that cannot be cast using normal power but using a separate supercharge power bar. These abilities cast strong effects that can be used to boost your performance or that of your team. Speed drain and WOP give large amounts of power over a set time period, a useful but not required ability


Word Of Power and Speed Drain function in the same way. Both give large power ticks to the whole group for a set number of ticks, WOP does give a small amount of healing, while speed drain does not, But with healers in the group this small healing bonus will rarely be of note. The amount of power they give, in base numbers, is near enough to be the considered the same and they both cost 50% of your supercharge bar to cast. WOP does have a longer cast time but not in such a manor that it makes a large difference in quality between the two supercharges.

They give the same power out, and have the same 50% cast cost but what separates them is that speed drain, that is only available to speedsters, is brought from the movement ability tree. This means it costs one skill point as opposed to WOP which costs one Power point.

Why is this significant?

You will only ever receive 15 power points; making them quite valuable, while skill points have a high cap that is only ever increasing. Spending a skill point is much less limiting than spending a power point. This is particularly true for Hard Light controllers.

Why So for Hard Light?

Hard Light controllers can use chains of combos to cast many stuns from a single cast power. They can only combo into a power if they have also purchased it with a power point. Spending a power point on an iconic super charge can limit the combo chains that are available to them.

return to Index

Getting Around The Battlefield return to Index

The other aspect of movement mode to consider is mobility. The tasks for the controller are many and varied. One of these is overwatch. It often falls to the controller to activate objectives, pick up fallen team-mates or other tasks that an instance might involve. This is partly due to the strong shields controllers have which can stop us getting interrupted, and the flexibility we have when choosing our positioning in a fight.

Flight has a limitation that acrobatics and speedster suffer from to a lesser extent. One hit in battle for flyers, speedsters or acrobats and your movement speed is slowed. This reduction in speed is more marked in flyers than in speedsters who have a double jump to aid when slowed. Acrobatics is also slowed considerably but has a forward flip that can help overcome the restriction. This speed reduction can be a hindrance when it comes to moving to an objective. This gives speedsters an edge when getting to fallen team mates over flight.

Speedsters and Acrobats are limited in that they have to fight on the ground while flyers can hover at any range they choose. This gives flyers the option to pick from a greater selection of strategic spots within the battlefield. Flying also makes strategic pulls off geometry, through angled gaps and over the heads of allies much easier, and in many cases navigating the maps themselves is less fraught with flight.

An acrobats' fast mode speed on the ground is slow when compared to speedsters fast run, and flyers fast flight, but they have a mode of flight available to them to compensate. This mode of flight is considerably slower than a flyers flight speed and has more limited maneuverability. It can by useful for controllers in open spaces to move more quickly but in many raids and alerts the confined spaces render it unusable. Acrobats can use grapple lines to pull them quickly toward, or up walls or ceilings. This gives acrobatic controllers the ability to avoid slow down and move quickly to an objective. However this requires a nearby surface, which in not always available.

For controllers each movement mode is equally capable but bear in mind the effect choosing one will have on the super charges and pulls that are available and on your mobility. Its' a trade off between the three options, not a decision you can get wrong.

return to Index

The sharpest Tool return to Index

Each of the three classes of controller can use powers that restrict the targets movement or abilities, such as a stun; which holds and enemy immobile for a duration of time or a knock back that pushes a target away from the controller. They can each reduce a targets combat effectiveness with debuffs. They are equal in providing power to the group and can do a balanced amount of damage. They are all good. They are all fun. They are all effective.

But there is among the things they all do well something that each class can do a little bit better; a tool they have that is slightly sharper then the one the other two types of controller can wield.

• Mental : Has debuffs that can hit more than a single target with a single cast power.
• Hard Light : Low power use with combos giving many control effects from a single cast.
• Gadgets : Power Interactions and pets.

These are not advantages, nor is not sharing the others abilities a disadvantage. These are only a single separator between the three. If you wish to set up power interactions for the DPS then you can do it with any of the three, but Gadgets gives you more options. Any of them can stun and control but when played a certain way hard Light can put out more stuns in a shorter time for less cost than the other two, and mental can debuff a greater number of targets with a single cast power.

return to Index

Picking a Power Set return to Index


As you can see from the summary of options above there are a few things to consider. No matter which you choose the following sections apply but should be considered in respect of your power set and the way you play it. The sections that follow ill give you an understanding of the role and how aspects of it can be used. I will cover the main aspects of controlling as there are so many options for individual class builds it would be impossible to cover them here. The rest of this guide does apply no matter your power set.

return to Index

Controller Configuration return to Index


Stats and Skill Points

Skill points are earned by completing feats. The list of feats is located in your Journal in the Deeds tab under Feats. You will need to complete feats so you can earn skill points to increase your strength as a controller. This is as important as improving your gear

Innate skills are abilities that improve you statistics, much like gear does. They can be allocated by selecting the ones you want from the weapons trees (traits-skills-weapons). The innates are the skills in the weapon trees that are not extra moves for the weapon. Not all of the trees contain the Innates you want to get first, but eventually you will open all the trees as they all contain something to make you a stronger controller.

Each innate improves your statistics by a set amount and unlike weapon skills you can buy the same innate up to three times each in the same tree. i.e vitalisation appears in a tree as a single icon. Selecting it buys you 1 of 3 and uses one skill point. The icon will remain lit out until you spend 3 skill points to get all the innates available.

The Innate skills that are your primary concern are:

• Vitalization
• Dominance till above minimum content requirement (if you use shields to max)
• Cunning

Secondary (at an equal rate)

• Critical Hit Chance
• Critical hit damage

Tertiary

• Might/Precision (class dependent)
• Restoration

Consider restoration before damage innates if you like to focus on the strength of your shields.

Note that these are listed as your primary concern or secondary. I have avoided suggesting that these are mandatory as this is not the case. You can build a character any way you choose. I have made these suggestions as the game and the players do have some expectations from controllers and these will help you meet those if that is what you prefer.

You may choose to go for a more damage focus as you aim to play alongside a strong power giving controller. Use the above to get started and adjust once you find a style that suits you.

Suggested order to buy innate skills

As you earn more skill points you should focus on getting innates that improve your primary stats first. Concentrate on Vitalisation, Cunning and Dominance but the order you get them is dependent on your skill point total and I recommend respecing as you earn more to maximise your points.

After getting all the weapon skills in your weapon tree of choice you can start to open the other trees to access the innates. None of the trees have more than one of your primary innates i.e they have vitalization, dominance or cunning but no combination of these three. Get vitalisation and dominance innates first until you dominance is above the requirement for the content you want to do. If you use shields I would fill out your dominance before moving to cunning. Once cunning is filled start to get the critical damage and chance innates, again evenly, or restoration if you want to boost your shields even more.

Vitalisation and Dominance are both valuable. If you neglect your dominance you will not be able to shield your team from the MoBs you encounter or control them if it is below the content requirement. Neglect vitalisation and you will struggle to power your group. Your gear will provide more than enough dominance to meet the minimum requirements for the content that gear is aimed at but the innates will allow a more usable level of shield

The damage innates are last as this is your weakest ability as a controller. Once your ability to control is maximised, move onto helping as much as you can with damage. However if you want to damage more and power less as your partner controller supports this approach then this is perfectly acceptable. As long as you can maintain an appropriate level of power support you can narrow your focus into damage at you discretion.

Note that this is just a suggestion to get you started. As you discover a play style that suits you this order may not best fit your approach. Some controllers like to leave most of the power duties to others so focus more on shield strength (dominance and restoration) than on vitalisation. Adjust as you see fit once your experience level rises.


return to Index

Vitalisation return to Index


This is one of your two core stats. The other being Dominance. Your Vitalisation value can be seen in your Journal. Go into the Inventory menu and move to the Stats tab to see yours.

The vitalization value governs the amount of power your POT returns to each team member you are grouped with every 5 seconds. It also governs the amount of power you pass to team mates when using recharge and the strength of your own ability to regenerate power. These power concepts are covered later in the guide in more detail.

Vitalisation is gained from:

• Wearing controller specific gear.
• Changing to controller stance gives you a 350 vitalisation boost
• Controller specific weapons.
• Mods.
• Purchasing it with skill points from the weapon trees.
• Vitalisation enhanced sodas (temporary effect).
• Controller Trinkets (temporary effect).

return to Index

Dominance return to Index

This statistic governs three things.

1. If you can control a target.
2. Your resistance to control effects.
3. The damage absorption of your shields.

Dominance is gained from:

• Changing to controller stance doubles dominance gains from gear, weapons and mods.
• Wearing controller specific gear.
• Controller specific weapons.
• Mods.
• Purchasing it with skill points from the weapon trees.
• Dominance enhanced sodas (temporary effect).
• Controller Trinkets (temporary effect).

As controller, being able to push, stun, pull, encase, juggle and knock back is core to game play and game success as a controller. Dominance is the statistic that allows you to do this. If your dominance is below your targets willpower you your control effects will not connect.

Some MoBs however cannot be controlled. High level MoBs have a willpower so large you will never be able to control them. Ensure your dominance is above the level required to take part in the content you are doing (displayed in the duty tab for the mission).

Dominance has nothing to do with obtaining or holding aggro from enemies. You cannot pull a MoBs aggro from a tank with your dominance. Below is a quote from Tunso (A game developer) regarding dominance:

"Dominance ...... determines whether you can control a target at all in higher tiered areas. It doesn't have any effect on threat though" - Tunso

return to Index

Cunning return to Index

Cunning is a statistic that helps with your Critical Power Chance it increases the chance that your PoT/Recharge will critical and thus provide higher amounts of power.
You cannot increase your cunning with gear. Only spending skill points in the weapon trees will enable you to raise your cunning level. The weapon trees that contain cunning are:

• Bow
• Martial Arts
• Shield

Each weapon tree allows you to spend three skill points in cunning. Each point raises your critical power chance by 1%. Each tree gets you 3% with the maximum possible via spending 9 skill points is 9% critical increase.

return to Index

Restoration return to Index

This is the core statistic for healers but is also useful to controllers. The strength of your shield uses your restoration and dominance scores into account. Your controller gear does not have a restoration boost but sizable gains are available from tools and skill points. Consider restoration if you find you use shields frequently.
When you have enough skill point then you can use them to get restoration increases from the skills tree. When combined with high dominance, a restoration boosting trinket and sodas your shields can absorb a considerable amount of damage.

return to Index

Tools return to Index

There are tools available to help you increase the strength of your controlling. These may boost your ability to do damage, shield others or give more power. I will not detail the specifics as these change regularly, but I will cover the bonuses these tools have, how to use them and which tools tend to give these bonuses.
There are four types of tools:

• Trinkets
• Pet Trinkets
• Consumable

Trinkets

Trinkets are multi use items. They can be equipped and reused any number of times without ever breaking or being destroyed. Trinkets do have a cool down limiting their use to once in any set period of time. The cool down is usually measured in minutes. A typical cool down is about 3 minutes. The cool down is displayed using the red clock face over the icon for the trinket you have just used.

Trinkets can be equipped into your trinket slot, or into your utility belts wildcard or trinket slot (DLC5 - Hand Of Fate required for utility belts)

As a controller, trinkets that boost your vitalisation or dominance are very useful as they can be used to gain a high POT or power transfer if the situation requires it. Damage boosting trinkets are also helpful should a little extra damage be needed by the team. Also consider restoration trinket as these can boost the strength of your shields (see the "Shielding" section for more detail on this.)

Pet trinkets

Pet Trinkets summon a temporary pet to assist you in battle. Some of these pets will increase your core skills for a set duration, such as precision, vitalisation and dominance. Some will also do damage or take actions to assist you. For controllers this may mean doing damage, applying control effects or distracting your targets. They can also help by restoring health or power to you directly.

The bonus a summoned pet gives you will expire after a set duration, until cancelled by another trinket or until they are killed. You can only summon a single Pet at a time using Pet Trinkets. Using another effect trinket, such as the CC trinket will also cause your pet to de-spawn and also cancel its effects.

It is beneficial if you use shields to carry a Pet trinket that boosts your vitalisation and a pet trinket that raises your restoration (utility belt required).

The restoration trinket is useful at specific times if you need to maximise the strength of your shields, while the vitalisation trinket is useful for most of the raid. But remember you can only summon one or the other and they share the same cool down. If a difficult battle is coming up it can be advantageous to ensure your trinkets are not on cool down so you can use them immediately that they are required.

Experiment with your trinket loadout so you know how long the cool down periods are, and which trinkets share the same timer. Also ensure you know which trinkets cancel the effects from others.

Vitalisation Trinkets

Some trinkets will give your vitalisation a boost for a set duration. This can raise your POT tick considerably. When using vitalisation trinkets in a two controller group sync the use of your trinkets with the other controller. Watch the POT ticks, know what the other controllers base tick is. If it is lower than your trinket tick and his trinket is on cool down let the other controller know that you can put out a trinket POT. Work together to boost the teams POT ticks if it is required.

Consumables

Consumables are single use items. Once activated the consumable is destroyed (consumed) and removed from your inventory. They are commonly equipped as stacks. Using one reduces the number in the stack by one.

There are two main types of consumable:

1. Sodas
2. Consumables

This is a little confusing as sodas are a type of consumable that are listed by the game as such and consumables are also a type of consumable.


return to Index

Consumables return to Index

These are items that can be used to achieve a temporary effect. They can by made, bought or they may drop as rewards. The effects they offer can help you in your role as a controller or they can be used to assist others.
There are many types in the game at present. I shall give a non comprehensive list of examples to consider using.

There are several that could be of use to a controller:

• Sodas
• Shields
• Aggro modifiers
• Power Interactions

Sodas

Basic sodas simply restore your health and power levels by a set amount. Specialist sodas however give you a bonus effect. Specialist sodas can by made (via the R&D machines), bought from the Broker or they may drop as rewards. The effects specialist sodas offer can help you in your role as a controller. You will need to acquire the plans for these specialist sodas before you can make them.

There are several that could be of use to a controller as they boost:

• Vitalisation
  • Increases POT and power transfer levels
• Precision /Might
  • Increases damage
• Dominance
  • Increases shield strength
• Restoration
  • Increases shield strength

This list of beneficial effects is longer for the controller than for any of the other classes. This is because of the numerous ways controllers have to benefit the team.

Note that any soda that increases one of your statistics will only last for a set duration. It will also overwrite the effect of any other soda you have consumed. Also note that a strong restoration soda may strengthen your shields more than an equivalent level dominance one.

N.B The game calls them soders; whatever those are.

Shields

Shields are useful as they grant immunity for several seconds. Any tool that reduces damage is good. Use these not just to stop damage but to reduce risk.

• Stop damage : This is when you are taking damage and use a consumable shield to avoid damage for a few seconds. This is also passive power giving as it reduces the healing you require.
• Reduce Risk : Different from damage avoidance in that you may not be taking damage but anticipate it. If you are melee debuffing and realise you got the timing wrong, use a shield to allow you to complete the debuff while reducing the chance you will take damage. Use them just before picking up a fallen team mate to reduce interrupts. Again this can stop you taking any damage, a great way to save power.

Aggro modifiers

These either drop aggro or gain it. These can be used to clear the aggro on you or those around you or to gain it on yourself. While gaining aggro may seem an unwanted ability it has its uses for a controller. Gaining the aggro of the target attacking a player who is trying to revive a fallen team mate can help stop the interrupts and allow the player to be revived. A similar effect can be achieved by using the aggro dropping consumable while trying to pick up a player.

Be aware of the tanks actions when doing this so that your weaker consumable effects do not interfere with the stronger actions of the tank.

Power Interactions

There are also many consumables that can cause effects on targets that match the secondary effects from some powers, specifically power interactions. There are interactions that are directly useful to controllers, such as panic and others that are beneficial to other power sets. Consider using these to help the DPS or tanks in the group. Inflicting burning, polarising enemies or applying bad karma will give these other players assistance in completing their tasks. It can help the tank with encasements, a healer with healing or help the DPS to inflict more damage.

Be aware not to apply these without due consideration given to the result. A tank may not want enemies encased and applying frostbite to his targets will cause them to encase on his next relevant action. This might conflict with his intended rotation. Work with the team. Watch what they are doing and assist, rather then laying down interactions and expecting the team to follow your lead.


return to Index