I'd make a joke about how Spud's the one with the carbohydrates, while I'm the one with the more complex chemical formulae...but I'm eternally mixing up your avatar with ClassicDrogn's, so 's not like I have room to talk. =D
Yeah, well - if the concept is kinetics control, then it seems like you've got a lot of wiggle room to work with. The real challenge is when the concept imposes tight constraints on what powers you can pick (or not).
I totally get what you're saying about the subjectivity of playing the set, though. You're right, the numbers don't reflect everything. Hmm.
Okay. Just some random thoughts, I guess, from my experience with the set. This is the stuff the stats don't cover. Hope it helps?
Anyway, Grav/Kin is a good combination because it excels both solo and in groups. See, solo gameplay for Controllers basically boils down to locking enemies down with control abilities, and then attacking them until they die.
As you probably know, Controllers have low base damage. They do double damage to held, slept, immobilized, or stunned targets. Which is great, but most Controllers have a woeful lack of proper attacks
That's why it's good to be a Gravity Controller, because you have access to two ranged attacks in Gravity - Lift and Propel.
Kinetics just adds to this, because - well, you have Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift to boost your damage. Thus you can do quite a lot of nastiness even solo.
What's the down side? Well, you have less in the way of actual control than most other Controllers. Yeah, Gravity has immobilize and hold powers, and your Singularity does control too. But while other controllers have fast recharging soft area controls like big stuns or knockdown patches, you don't. You only have the immobs and holds, and the area immob and hold powers recharge reaaaaaaallly slow. Worth bearing in mind.
That said, Kinetics gives you advantages in mobility and positioning. Siphon Speed is a useful tool; not only is the speed debuff on the enemy quite considerable, it boosts your recharge. And it boosts your mobility. You can basically move at super-speed, and this is BETTER than the travel power super-speed - it doesn't 'suppress' when you attack. Normal travel powers have a couple seconds slowdown after you make an attack. Siphon Speed lets you zip around freely in combat.
That's useful, since a Kineticist needs to duck in and out of range a lot.
Your heal eminates from a targeted enemy, so you may want to dive in and dive out after the heal hits. The endurance recovery power, Transference, is the same. This is also kinda necessary for Fulcrum Shift; Fulcrum Shift does two things. It buffs everything around the targeted enemy, and then it buffs everything around the caster. There's actually two buff zones here. Ideally, therefore, you want to cast Fulcrum Shift while close by to the enemy, yourself.
In team situations, though - you may wish to position yourself instead next to any 'back row' blasters or defenders when Fulcrum Shifting. The enemy-buff will hit the melee players on the team, while the buff that comes from you will hit the ranged guys. But either way, I highlight the examples of the heal, end power, and Fulcrum to demonstrate why positioning's important for a Kineticist.
I don't use Repel much precisely because I don't want to accidentally knock things away from me. Some folks like it as a keep-away power, almost a personal defense - I don't think it's necessary in this role, though. It's best to freeze things in place away from you rather than bouncing 'em back.
Having said that...Repel is interesting for a Grav/Kin. See, most Immobilize and Hold powers root enemy targets in position. Once you do that, they can't be knocked back. BUT - gravity's control powers DO NOT ROOT. Therefore you can lock something down and then bounce it away from you - it will work. Not a tactic I like, but worth considering. Again, it's another positioning tool.
Those are mainly soloing considerations. What about teams? Gravity's a pretty poor team set, but the Kinetics part of the equation makes up for it.
People invite Kinetics users mainly for Speed Boost and Fulcrum Shift, which are good buffs. Increase Density's an underrated contribution, though - consider, though, that it breaks/protects against mezzes, guards against knockback, and...critically...adds resistance to smashing damage. The latter's actually pretty good if you need to slap it on a tank or scrapper who's taking point. Siphon Power can be pretty good as an ally buff as well, particularly on top of Fulcrum Shift.
Transfusion's hard to use effectively due to the fact it uses enemies as the emination point. It is a VERY good AoE heal, maybe the best AoE heal for Controllers in raw numbers. But landing it can be tricky - if a blaster's being hammered but he keeps running away from the bad guys...as most players, y'know, would, then trying to heal him can be a pain. This does take some skill and practice to get used to.
Another note on Transfusion, though...really tough enemies in this game...Archvillains, Giant Monsters, etc, generally have very high health regeneration rates. Kinetics is valued as it is one of the few powersets in the game that does -regen debuff (Transfusion). As a result, spam Transfusion in epic boss encounters. The team will thank you.
-- Acyl
Yeah, well - if the concept is kinetics control, then it seems like you've got a lot of wiggle room to work with. The real challenge is when the concept imposes tight constraints on what powers you can pick (or not).
I totally get what you're saying about the subjectivity of playing the set, though. You're right, the numbers don't reflect everything. Hmm.
Okay. Just some random thoughts, I guess, from my experience with the set. This is the stuff the stats don't cover. Hope it helps?
Anyway, Grav/Kin is a good combination because it excels both solo and in groups. See, solo gameplay for Controllers basically boils down to locking enemies down with control abilities, and then attacking them until they die.
As you probably know, Controllers have low base damage. They do double damage to held, slept, immobilized, or stunned targets. Which is great, but most Controllers have a woeful lack of proper attacks
That's why it's good to be a Gravity Controller, because you have access to two ranged attacks in Gravity - Lift and Propel.
Kinetics just adds to this, because - well, you have Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift to boost your damage. Thus you can do quite a lot of nastiness even solo.
What's the down side? Well, you have less in the way of actual control than most other Controllers. Yeah, Gravity has immobilize and hold powers, and your Singularity does control too. But while other controllers have fast recharging soft area controls like big stuns or knockdown patches, you don't. You only have the immobs and holds, and the area immob and hold powers recharge reaaaaaaallly slow. Worth bearing in mind.
That said, Kinetics gives you advantages in mobility and positioning. Siphon Speed is a useful tool; not only is the speed debuff on the enemy quite considerable, it boosts your recharge. And it boosts your mobility. You can basically move at super-speed, and this is BETTER than the travel power super-speed - it doesn't 'suppress' when you attack. Normal travel powers have a couple seconds slowdown after you make an attack. Siphon Speed lets you zip around freely in combat.
That's useful, since a Kineticist needs to duck in and out of range a lot.
Your heal eminates from a targeted enemy, so you may want to dive in and dive out after the heal hits. The endurance recovery power, Transference, is the same. This is also kinda necessary for Fulcrum Shift; Fulcrum Shift does two things. It buffs everything around the targeted enemy, and then it buffs everything around the caster. There's actually two buff zones here. Ideally, therefore, you want to cast Fulcrum Shift while close by to the enemy, yourself.
In team situations, though - you may wish to position yourself instead next to any 'back row' blasters or defenders when Fulcrum Shifting. The enemy-buff will hit the melee players on the team, while the buff that comes from you will hit the ranged guys. But either way, I highlight the examples of the heal, end power, and Fulcrum to demonstrate why positioning's important for a Kineticist.
I don't use Repel much precisely because I don't want to accidentally knock things away from me. Some folks like it as a keep-away power, almost a personal defense - I don't think it's necessary in this role, though. It's best to freeze things in place away from you rather than bouncing 'em back.
Having said that...Repel is interesting for a Grav/Kin. See, most Immobilize and Hold powers root enemy targets in position. Once you do that, they can't be knocked back. BUT - gravity's control powers DO NOT ROOT. Therefore you can lock something down and then bounce it away from you - it will work. Not a tactic I like, but worth considering. Again, it's another positioning tool.
Those are mainly soloing considerations. What about teams? Gravity's a pretty poor team set, but the Kinetics part of the equation makes up for it.
People invite Kinetics users mainly for Speed Boost and Fulcrum Shift, which are good buffs. Increase Density's an underrated contribution, though - consider, though, that it breaks/protects against mezzes, guards against knockback, and...critically...adds resistance to smashing damage. The latter's actually pretty good if you need to slap it on a tank or scrapper who's taking point. Siphon Power can be pretty good as an ally buff as well, particularly on top of Fulcrum Shift.
Transfusion's hard to use effectively due to the fact it uses enemies as the emination point. It is a VERY good AoE heal, maybe the best AoE heal for Controllers in raw numbers. But landing it can be tricky - if a blaster's being hammered but he keeps running away from the bad guys...as most players, y'know, would, then trying to heal him can be a pain. This does take some skill and practice to get used to.
Another note on Transfusion, though...really tough enemies in this game...Archvillains, Giant Monsters, etc, generally have very high health regeneration rates. Kinetics is valued as it is one of the few powersets in the game that does -regen debuff (Transfusion). As a result, spam Transfusion in epic boss encounters. The team will thank you.
-- Acyl