SwagVault MMO Blog

The Mezmeron guide to the Mind/Psy dominator (3)

January 5, 2009 – 2:37 am
Posted by: arosavi

Psionic Assault:Every one of the assault sets has a secondary effect of each power. The secondary effect of psionic is that it gives any affected target a recharge deduff. The debuff does not last long nor does it significantly reduce the recharge rate of a target. But the effects do stack, and can add up to a noticeable difference in an enemies attack rate.

 

Power: Psionic Dart
Available: N/A
Description: Ranged, Minor DMG(Psionic), Target -Recharge
Rating: 1, 2 (pvp)
Recommended Slotting: (TO) 1 accuracy, (DO) 1 accuracy, (SO) 1 accuracy

Strength(s): Psionic dart shouldn’t be considered an attack power so much as a domination builder due to its fast recharge. In pvp, this power can fill a domination bar exceptionally fast.

Weakness(es): You have no choice but to get this power. While it does have a low recharge rate, it also deals the least damage of any power in both the mind primary and psionic assault secondary (mezmerize and domination both deal more damage than psionic dart). Once a dominator gets access to mind probe at level 2, this power is somewhat obsolete. There are alot of other sets in which the ‘must have’ first power is actually plausible. The psionic assault set is not one of them.

Power: Mind Probe
Available: Level 2
Description: Melee, Moderate DMG(Psionic), Target -Recharge
Rating: 4
Recommended Slotting: (TO) 4 accuracy, (DO) 2 accuracy, 4 damage, (SO) 2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 recharge

Strength(s): This is the first of psionic’s ‘Big Three’. And until psychic shockwave is fully slotted at lvl39-40, this is the highest single target damage dealer. It requires the dominator to be in melee range to use it however, which can make it dangerous to use. But, being a */psi dominator means living life in melee range.

Weakness(es): This power is the first one to show the quandry of being a dominator. We need to get into melee range to use our highest damaging powers, but we have no defensive powers until drain psyche and the patron pool shields.

Power: Telekinetic Thrust
Available: Level 4
Description: Melee, Minor DMG(Psionic/Smash), Foe Knockback
Rating: 2
Recommended slotting: (TO) 2 accuracy, (DO) 2 accuracy, (SO) 2 accuracy

Strength(s): When handling bosses or getting a hard-hitting mob out of melee range, telekinetic thrust gives the dominator an important edge. And with the rag-doll psychics working as it does, this power has a slight edge over levitate how it takes a mob to get back on their feet.

Weakness(es): For a power that is essentially a push, it has far too long of an animation and recharge time (the animation time should be halved to make this power more effective).And even though it does offer a source of non-psionic damage, the amount that it offers is too low to be considered a reliable source of damage. Levitate is a far better source of soft control as it is not only ranged, but deals more damage than telekinetic thrust.

Power: Mental Blast
Available: Level 10
Description: Ranged, Moderate DMG(Psionic), Target -Recharge
Rating: 1
Recommended Slotting: (TO) 4 accuracy, (DO) 2 accuracy, 4 damage, (SO) 2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 recharge

Strength(s): This power is essential to anyone that wants to only have (or mostly use) ranged attacks with their dominator. While this power doesn’t deal as much damage as mind probe, it can be fired safely from a distance. For anyone wanting to play a ranged only dominator, I highly recomend not taking */psi as
a secondary.

Weakness(es): Mind blast has a somewhat long animation which makes for a long attack chain. The only reason that I can see anyone wanting to pick this power up is if they want a substitute for mind probe that would allow them to stay out of melee range. This power also becomes obsolete once subdue becomes
available.

Power: Psychic Scream
Available: Level 16
Description: Ranged(Cone), Moderate DMG(PSionic), Foe -Recharge
Rating: 3, 1(post-psychic shockwave)
Recommended Slotting: (TO) N/A, (DO) 3 accuracy, 3 damage, (SO) 2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 recharge

Strength(s): The first AoE in the psionic pool. It is important to learn how to position in order to use cones effectively. This attack gives the dominator for several levels a decent source of AoE damage.

Weakness(es): The cone on this power is rather narrow. And until you get used to positioning yourself to properly use cones, you will find yourself missing desired targets that seem to be right next to each other. Once psychic shockwave becomes available, this power becomes obsolete (psychic shockwave with no damage enhancers in it deals more damage than psychic scream with 3 damage enhancters in it).

Power: Drain Psyche
Available: Level 20
Description: PBAoE Foe -Regen, -Recovery; Self +Regen, +Recovery
Rating: 4
Recommended Slotting: See strengths, 3 accuracy, 3 recharge (pvp)

Strength(s): This is the second of psionic’s ‘Big Three’. 6-slot this, no exceptions. Depending upon how it is slotted, drain psyche is either: a downtime eliminator, survivability enhancer, or mad regen machine. For those that or have endurance issues, slot it 2 accuracy, 2end mod, 2 recharge. One or two mobs being hit with this power will allow attacks to run at full steam while regaining endurance very quickly. Soloing on relentless or on small to medium sized teams? Slotting 2 accuracy, 1 health, 1 end mod will greatly enhance not only your survivability, but also recover endurance fast enough to prevent any slowdown in an attack chain. On large teams, or other cases where survivability is an issue- 2 accuracy, 2 health, 2 recharge is the best slotting. Hit 5+ mobs with this slotting, and you’ll regen so fast that the only way that you’ll go down is by being one-shotted. You’ll regen so fast that your health bar won’t move, and the only way to know that you’re taking damage is by seeing the red numbers overhead; and you will be able to take alphas that scare brutes. Not only does this power provide a great buff, but it’s debuff completely stops all foe’s regen. This power scares regen scrappers as it can shut down all their regen abilities.

Weakness(es): Once your 30 seconds of feeling like a tank are up, watch out for the return volley. If you are not careful, your health is going to drop FAST since you aggroed so many mobs in order to get your super-regen (for some reason, the aggro from attacking with a -regen power is huge). Because while you
may have hit 5+ mobs with the power, you will also have aggro from the ones that you missed. The area of effect of this power is also rather small; mobs almost need to be on top of you in order to be in range. So this is a power that requires the dominator to enter melee range in order to use (with the
psionic pool, expect to spend most of your time in melee range anyways).

Power: Subdue
Available: Level 28
Description: Ranged, Moderate DMG(Psionic), Foe Immobilize
Rating: 3
Recommended Slotting: (TO) N/A, (DO) N/A, (SO) 2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 immobilize

Strength(s): This is the best ranged attack in the psionic assault pool. It doesn’t deal as much damage as mind probe, but it is a very solid second (until psionic shockwave when it becomes a decent third). Subdue also provides the dominator with another form of soft control with an immobilize. Very worthwhile power to get. I cannot think of a reason to not get this power.

Weakness(es): Of any of the powers in the psionic assualt pool, this is the one with probably the least downside to it. Even at level 40+, it still helps to form a very decent attack chain (although mind probe and psychic shockwave both deal about 20% more damage).

Power: Psionic Lance
Available: Level 35
Description: Sniper, Superior DMG(Psionic), Target -Recharge
Rating: 2
Recommended Slotting: (TO) N/A, (DO) N/A, (SO) 1 accuracy

Strength(s): With a base accuracy of 90% and an extra long range, this is an excellent power for pulling mobs. The base damage is also very appreciable, and fully slotted with damage and range SOs can give any mind dominator a very hard hitting power with an exceptionally long range. With the range given by 3 Sos, a dominator can single pull entire groups of mobs as the dominator would be standing outside the frenzy range of any mobs that would assist the aggroed mob.

Weakness(es): Like all sniper attacks, this one has a very long animation and can be interrupted. While this power deals a decent amount of damage, it is not able to become part of a decent attack chain since it can be interrupted. A snipe is also of almost minimal use to a set which causes the dominator to spend most of their time in melee range. Although this is a good power to slot up, I only recommended the basic slot for it since a mind/psy dominator would have access to several other powers that provide far more utility with the extra slots (and slots tend to be very tight for this build).

Power: Psionic Shockwave
Available: Level 38
Description: Close(AoE), High DMG(PSionic), Foe -Recharge
Rating: 4
Recommended Slotting: (TO) N/A, (DO) N/A, (SO) 2 accuracy, 3 damage, 1 recharge

Strength(s): The question is ‘Is psychic shockwave worth the wait?’ Yes- easily yes. The last of psionic’s ‘Big Three’, psychic shockwave is the biggest power in the set. It deals more damage per target than mind probe (it deals the most damage per single target in the set), is fast recharging, has a small
chance to disorient any affected mobs (~33%), and also has a large AoE. Except for drain psyche, psychic shockwave easily overshadows the rest of the set. For those people that like to pick sets based upon the end power, this is the power for them.

Weakness(es): This power requires the dominator to be in melee range to use it. And being such a high damaging power that can affect multiple mobs at the wrong time could mean a fast trip to the hospital. If a dominator is smart with their aggro, this power is an incredible boon.