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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LightWarden" data-source="post: 6744891" data-attributes="member: 6803540">Originally posted by alien270:The idea for this thread was inspired by mkill's guide, The Art of Defending. [SIZE=+2] The Basics [/SIZE]So you've decided to become the bane of your DM. You've chosen the right role. Nothing is more frustrating to a DM than to have their monsters not be able to do what they're supposed to do. Most monsters can take a few hits from the Striker, and in doing so they won't lose effectiveness (until they cross that 0 HP threshold). You can debilitate them before they've lost HP. And ultimately this is what battlefield control is all about: muck up your enemy's plans to the advantage of your allies. Controllers are often regarded as the most "expendable" role. Don't let this dishearten you; no role is necessary to have an effective party, but your tactics will change depending on which roles are present or absent. I suspect that the underestimation of controllers stems from the fact that they're the most novel role in DnD 4E. This is because in previous editions, combat was not as tactically oriented as it is in 4E. Controllers were not needed as much (though there were certainly plenty of spells that threw status effects around). Movement and positioning were not nearly as critical. Well, they are now, and that's why your role exists. Think about the stereotypical adventuring party from previous editions (and keep in mind that this is very generalized): the fighter was the "tank" (defender), the cleric was the "healer" (leader), the wizard was the "damage dealer" (striker, although wizards were pretty much the "I can do anything" class), and the rogue was the skill-monkey/trap finder/party face/all manner of out of combat usefulness. Now all roles are designed to be effective in combat (so the Rogue graduates to Striker), but combat is no longer a matter of walking up to your enemies and beating them to a bloody pulp until they fall. With that in mind, I'd like to emphasize that a controller is generally not concerned with damage. Damage shouldn't be ignored because damage from all party members (not just the strikers) contributes to killing enemies. Also, if you decide to emphasize crowd control using large bursts and blasts, that damage dealt to multiple enemies will really start to add up! The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you should never focus on damage at the expense of status effects. Status effects are your bread and butter. This is how you anger the DM. This is what your party relies on you to do. You have a job, now concentrate on being good at it.In case it's not already obvious, playing a controller does require you to think about everything that's going on in a given encounter. Think of it as a big, complicated game of chess where your opponent is the DM. IMO, this is what makes playing a controller so much fun. Just remember to do your homework so that you can do your job (and that's why you're here, right?). If it's not clear what a given monster's role is, ask your DM to describe them a little better. Ask leading questions if you have to ("what kind of armor is it wearing?", "is it using an implement?", etc.). You need to know what you're fighting in order to best neutralize it. Different monster roles have different strong and weak defenses, so make sure that you target the weakest defense whenever you attack a monster. You also need to know your allies! Don't necessarily treat them as weapons or meat shields that are at your disposal (even though they sometimes are), but rather think about how you can help them to do their job even better. Communicating your tactics is critical in making sure that your allies take advantage of the opportunities that you can afford them. Besides, if the only reason the striker was able to take down the BBEG caster was because you stunned his two bodyguards, then he can't gloat about how his DPR saved the day and take all the credit. It was a team effort, and the controller is an integral catalyst in setting the party up for the win. [SIZE=+2] Controller effectiveness vs. monster roles [/SIZE]There are a lot of different options for how to go about battlefield control, and some are more effective than others when facing a given monster role. I've created a rating system for various effects (which is undoubtedly not an exhaustive list, since I threw it together relatively quickly). Hopefully it will spark discussion. Constructive comments on my ratings will be much appreciated, as well as analyses of controller tactics from different points of view. Note that controllers are very useful against flying enemies of any role, since they can often cause them to crash by using the right powers. If an enemy doesn't have hover, then immobilizing/restraining them will cause them to crash. Knocking a flyer prone will automatically cause it to crash. Rating: 1: Nearly Useless 2: Situational 3: Moderately Useful4: Usually Useful 5: Highly Effective ArtilleryShow[sblock]BlindedBlock Line of Sight Dazed ( if adjacent to melee ally) Deafened Difficult Terrain (if adjacent to melee ally) Dominated Immobilized (if adjacent to melee ally) Prone ( if adjacent to melee ally)Pull (best if you can pull them into range of a melee ally) Restrained (if adjacent to melee ally)Slide Slowed StunnedWeakened [/sblock]BruteShow[sblock]Blinded Block Line of SightDazed ( if unable to charge, or if you need to get past them)DeafenedDifficult TerrainDominated Immobilized Prone ( if unable to charge)Push Pull RestrainedSlide Slowed Stunned Weakened[/sblock]ControllerShow[sblock]Blinded Block Line of SightDazed (if ranged and adj. to melee ally)DeafenedDifficult Terrain (if ranged and adj. to melee ally)DominatedImmobilized (if ranged and adj. to melee ally)Prone (if ranged and adj. to melee ally)Push (if it has an aura)Pull (if you can pull them into range of a melee ally)Restrained (if ranged and adj. to melee ally)Slide Slowed StunnedWeakened[/sblock]LurkerShow[sblock]Blinded Block Line of Sight (if ranged)Dazed DeafenedDifficult TerrainDominatedImmobilized Prone Push Pull RestrainedSlide SlowedStunnedWeakened [/sblock]SkirmisherShow[sblock]Blinded Block Line of SightDazed (movement often incorporated into powers)DeafenedDifficult TerrainDominatedImmobilized Prone Push Pull RestrainedSlide SlowedStunnedWeakened [/sblock]SoldierShow[sblock]Blinded Block Line of SightDazed ( if unable to charge, or if you need to get past them)DeafenedDifficult TerrainDominated Immobilized Prone ( if unable to charge)Push Pull RestrainedSlide Slowed Stunned Weakened[/sblock]</blockquote>

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