Weapon Mastery: Rise of the CC controllers. (Thank Devs 2 THUMBS UP!)

Let me start by saying weapon mastery is The BEST thing to happen for controllers........well at least I think so anyway. Now I ( like in years past) feel like a contributing part of the group again with CCing ,Attacking adds, de-buffing.... Etc. Don't get me wrong these are things I do as a troller anyway cuz that's my role.It's just that WM has brought controlling PROPERLY back to DCUO, NO MORE Full T5 or T6 controllers with only 80sp running top tier content, People will now want REAL CONTROLLERS in Raids & Alerts. Rather than the just sit in the corner and power dump,power dump,power dump, drink soda, supply drop,supercharge,trinket.....rinse & repeat controllers. I know these SO-CALLED new controllers think that's how the role is played. That can't be any further from the truth. SOME of these NOOB controllers on the forums have gone as far as to bash WM saying it's killing the controller role. I say it again WM IS GREAT!!! Any REAL controllers that feel the same way shout it out.

Yep.

I love how some people are always looking for ways to exclude instead of include.

Your world is going to be a lonely place one day.

There are some good things that have resulted from WM. But there are still some negatives we're dealing with as Controllers. The t6 alert having NPCs controllable for 15+ seconds is a good move. However, it's the raids that need to have interesting NPCs to deal with. Not just boss fights fights but the groups of adds in corridors on the way to bosses.

Controllers definitely have more time to focus on doing other things now. Not that i personally couldnt before because as a player i have always been able to to multitask. We just need greater reasons to do something like control and not just control for the sake of controlling imo. NPCs need to be more challenging and interesting. There is another thread on this topic. But I think its important to spread this around so the devs can seriously consider this.

At least I'll have good company .......LMBO

You say WM will spawn "Real Controllers" and I say it will spawn "DPS Controllers" because a quality Tank can still CC adds as needed. The T6 Raids will have to be mind boggling difficult for a quality Tank not to be able to handle CC'ing everything. Right now "Real Controllers" still aren't needed. Heck, I don't even spec into Vit or Dom until after I have grabbed all the Critical Attack Chance and Critical Attack Magnitudes now (although I do have a 181 SP so I can get all the Critical Power Chances to go with all the CAC and CAM.

Honestly, it's great that WM is great for controllers but, it's not great for everyone.

I as a tank can really utilize WM when I'm blocking most of the time, so it's extremely eh as far as I'm concerned tank-wise, it could really use a little extra somethin somethin to make it more appealing to tanks.

Healers can get out more heals due to the reduced power cost if clipping properly, but then you could run into bad healers that think they need to do that for every heal which could completely wipe a raid before too long.

Due to the power cost reduction if you clip the WM combo properly, it's great for trolls because they're no longer going to be looked at purely as batteries (I, personally, never viewed them this way, but I know a lot of people have/do.)

DPS benefits in the most obvious way from WM due to A) tons of damage, B) lower power costs, C) tons of damage.

So DPS and trolls come out on the top as far as who WM benefits, and healers and tanks are kinda left out, at least to some extent.

Overall, that's a 50/50 split, which isn't healthy.

I'd say WM needs some tweaking before it can be good for every role.

Controllers had a good purpose and place in raid groups, but so many have shunned it, seriously though why is it that you believe your role deserves more than any other role? When have you ever heard a Tank say I don't want to just Tank and hold aggro, or a Healer say I don't want to just Heal other players? Restoring power to groups was a noble position but you want to be the CC man, and the Debuff man , and compete with the DPS as dps man and then lastly possibly throw some power out to the group......Personally it just sounds like egotistical greed you want everyone elses job but your own.

Back in my day, controllers played the battery for a mile, in snow, uphill both ways, and they didn't complain about it.

The problem with what you are saying is controllers are not asking for the other roles' jobs, but for their own job back. Power management was an after thought that was forced onto the controller community and that not every controller was OK with. I applaud the devs for trying to make cc and other abilities relevant again. Now if we could just have them improve the effectiveness of debuffs and add more variety in enemy types (they plan on doing this starting dlc 11) the controller role will at last be perfect.

I disagree when you're talking about "right now." Whether a group is skipping most of the mobs in the T6 alert right now or just fighting everything, a "real controller" has the upper hand. More specifically in an alert set up with 2 DPS, controller and healer. Why? Aside from using taunting pets or tools, a majority of those NPCs are controllable for 15+ seconds with stuns, roots, encasements, and levitation.

What seriously sounds more efficient and superior? A "quality" tank who has to consistently spam power to knockdown/back/juggle because they can't stun, or a controller who cast one to 2 powers to disable Npcs for a longer duration and keep moving/attack? The first one just leads to a slow moving tank.

When we're dealing with NPCs that are controllable for a long duration, there is no question that controller stuns are better. So right now i think controllers are in a good spot for the alert. It is not difficult to control those kinds NPCs. It's just easier and makes more sense for a controller to deal with them if you think about it.

Perfect example of what I said! Tanks beware these Trolls want your job!

Perfect example of what I said! Tanks beware these Trolls want your job![/quote]

Its actually the other way around. Tanks can control because it was a minor tool for survival. not to actually control the battlefield. That is of course before Dominance and its effects on NPC control duration was changed. Ever since the change to Dom about a year or 2 ago, specific control effects from controllers are just superior.

Tanks taunt. That is their job. Breakouts, combat counters, cycling powers to stay alive is second. Controlling is just a bonus. It is not needed. Just an easy mode for controllers who can't control really. It's usually the newer crowd who believe tanks are responsible for controlling, or controllers who never really understood control effects.

No offense but I have played this game since launch and I do not remember a single Duo/Alert/Raid that required Controllers to CC not until the recent release of WoL, So how can you want a job back that you have never had? Yes they originally named the role Controllers but chose to give them a more "needed" position in raid groups, they just did not change the name.

Side thought: Do you think a Nuclear Power Plant envies the city it supplies power to?

I respectfully disagree back in the olden days I was able to turn the tides of alerts, duos, and solos to my favor with well placed cc's and debuffs.

To answer your question No I don't, because power plants can't think, but its workers can. These workers will find new sources of energy to work on that won't get themselves killed due to radiation poisoning. Now if the power plant is sentient, that is a different matter entirely.

Controlling period was required. It doesnt matter who did it. there was clearly a choice in which role would take on that responsibility in the group for that instance. most controllers i knew could do it so they did it.


For fos1 2nd boss, fos2 bridge part, inner wing Armors that can be controlled were just some parts that controlling was required. I was actually able to control npcs in both fos1 and 2 locations by myself. Omac duo to separate Omacs to kill them.

Fos3 even had required controlling, unless of course your tank and DPS were overgeared. It was on the gold sentries. They needed to be delayed and the controllers could continuously control them while the not so overgeared tank could tank the bosses.

Notice that I said "required" none of them required or needed CC's, and also notice you said " to my favor" further proof that Trolls that share your point of view do not want to be a team player or have a required role/job in the group, but instead just want everyone elses role/job.

I said "to my favor" because I included solos in that statement. If I said "our" I would come off as a schizophrenic...but semantics.

Just curious. How is it interpreted that controllers simply wanting one of their primary jobs back so that they can protect their teammates not considered team work?

Also the Healing bots on the Zetta Drone in Inner.

Crowd controlling was always a part of the game until T4.