INDEX
1. Introduction
2. What this guide will tell you
3. 'Illusions' powers
3a. Summery of Illusions
3b. Specific powers
3c. Understanding 'Spectral' damage

4. 'Storm Summoning' powers
4a. Summary of Storm summoning
4b. Specific powers

5. PvE Tactics and advice
5a. What is PvE?
5b. Things to remember about your controller
5c. General soloing advice
5d. General teaming advice
5e. Situational powers and when (or when not) to use them
5e/i. Gale
5e/ii. Decieve
5e/iii. Spectral Terror
5e/iv. Phantasm
5e/v. Hurricane
5e/vi. Freezing Rain
5e/vii. Tornado
5e/viii. Lightning Storm
5f. A Word on Combat and Tactical thinking with Illusion/Storm Controllers
5g. The Black List
5g/1. Nemesis
5g/2. Rularuu
5g/3. Arachnos
5h. Specific tactics using Illusions and Storms

6. PvP and you
6a. Things to keep in mind about PvP
6b. PvP with Illusions/Storm controllers
6c. Illus/Storm PvP Tips and Dirty Tricks

7. Myths and Misunderstandings involving Illusions and Storm Summoning
7a. "Stamina is essential for Illus/Storm controllers"
7b. "Superior Invisibility stacks with Steamy Mist"
7c. "SI and GI stack together to give extra stealth benefits"
7d. "Phantom Army causes energy damage"
7e. "Range enhancements allow pets to attack from greater distance"
7f. "Confused enemies can actually lower the amount EXP gained"
7g. "Inspirations can be used to boost the damage/accuracy/defense of pets"
7h. "Group Flight works with Phantom army"
7i. "Vengance can be used on a Phantasm upon their defeat (if you're quick)"
7j. "Spectral damage is always Psionic in nature" and/or "Spectral damage is unresistable"

8. F.A.Q

9. Reference material
9a. Link to Joe Chotts' CoH Planner
9b. Tal-N's recharge/damage/endurance cost catagories
9c. Tal-N's Spectral damage data
9d. Link to CForces confusion/exp loss guide

10. Acknowledgements

1. Introduction
To say that I absolutely love the combination of Illusions/Storm Summoning carries more weight when you realize that over the years of playing City of Heroes/Villains I've created and deleted more alts than I can remember and I think I've teamed and played personally with possibly every possible build in the game at the time of writing this. So for that reason alone you should realize that Illus/Storm is something very very special. That's why I felt the need to create this guide as I personally think that there isn't a nice thorough (or recent) guide around to fully explain the wonders of this set plus it's a set which feels powerful, is very flexible in its potential tactics and above all else it is one of the most visually impressive of all the power combinations the game has to offer. All information contained within is accurate as of Issue 8 for City of Heroes.

2. What this guide will tell you
Don't you just hate those guides which you pick up looking for something specific and skim through the whole thing to find its not there? Yeah, me too. So here's a quick rundown of what this guide is intended to cover (and what it won't).

- Powers. General information including animations, visual effects, damage type, status effects, general recharge, endurance costs and damage infomation, slotting options, important notes and some personal comments from me, (NOT COVERED: all specific stats on powers - as these are often subject to changes, example builds and epic power pools) Although some hard numbers are available from data mining I have done, these are included for reference material at the end of the guide.

- PvE Tactics. What to use in what situations, what not to use together and specific tips on certain enemies. Advice on soloing and teaming in PvE (NOT COVERED: how to powerlevel with this set or how to level the fastest)

- PvP Tactics. What to expect from PvP, what to be aware of, who you'll have no problems fighting with and who you'll struggle with. Various approaches to PvP using Illus/Storm.. Some general advice about PvP. (NOT COVERED: zone by zone guide or how to 'pwn' everyone)

- Common myths about Illus/storm controllers debunked, proven and explained.

3. 'Illusions' powers
3a. Summary of Illusions
Some things to remember about Illusions is that if you're expecting to be keeping tight control over the enemy then you're going to be disappointed. Illusions offers a lot of what they call 'soft control'. The best way to describe soft control is to say that powers are intended to mitigate damage away from you and your team without stopping the NPCs dead in their tracks completely. That is not to say that it doesn't have any hard controls, it does have a 1 PBAoE hold and 1 single target hold but other than that its got nothing else. That said it is one of the most damage dealing capable control sets due to its heavy use of psionic and energy damage types.

3b. Specific powers

SPECTRAL WOUNDS
Available at level: 1
Type: Ranged single target click
Damage type(s): PSI/SPECTRAL (see 3c. Understanding 'Spectral' damage)
Damage potential: Moderate/High
Recharge: Low
Endurance cost: Moderate
Status effect(s): NONE
What does it look like: Looks like you throw a handful of light particles, the target then developers a blue/purple aura made of ghostly screaming skulls with flickering red lines (like deep cuts)
Animation used: It's the quick backhand sweeping movement also used by spines scrappers using Throw Spines (left handed)

Slotting options:-
(acc/dmg/dmg/dmg) - saves slots with decent damage
(acc/acc/dmg/dmg/dmg/rch) - maximum damage, also suitable for PvP
(acc/acc/dmg/dmg/dmg/end) - PvP/PvE stamina-less option

Additional Notes:-
Spectral wounds is capped so you won't get full containment damage as with other controller powers, this is because with full containment enhanced spectral wounds this power would be devastating so the devs placed a limiter on it. This power also has a +10% base accuracy bonus.

Tal-N's notes:-
A staple power for Illusionists but oddly enough it's not critically important as the character matures mainly because a lot of damage is produced by the phantasm, phantom army, tornado and Lightning Storm. However it's an excellent power for PvP and in the pre-32 game. So skip it at your peril.

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BLIND
Available at level: 1
Type: Ranged/Special single target click (small AoE)
Damage type(s): PSIONIC
Damage potential: Moderate
Recharge: Moderate
Endurance cost: Moderate
Status effect(s): HOLD (SLEEP)
What does it look like: A burst of light flashed from the eyes, a flickering white light appears over the enemies face. They clutch their head as if blinded and in pain.
Animation used: Character leans forwards and fires the flash from their eyes

Slotting options:-
(acc/hld/hld/rchg) - ideal bear minimum slotting for control purposes
(acc/dmg/dmg/dmg) - ideal bear minimum for damage
(acc/acc/hld/hld) - slot saving, high accuracy, decent hold
(acc/dmg/dmg/dmg/rchg/rchg) - maximum damage effectiveness
(acc/hld/hld/hld/rchg/rchg) - maximum hold effectiveness
(acc/dmg/dmg/dmg/acc/end) - stamina-less, PvE/PvP damage dealing

Additional Notes:-
Blind has the unique aspect of being a ranged attack which doesn't actually have a ranged ToHit check. Essentially if you have ranged specific defense it bypasses it completely, this is also a trait of Mind Control's hold called Dominate. The power also has a very small AoE of around 1' so if you have two targets almost on top of one another the nearby targets will be effected by a sleep style effect from the flash hold placed on the main target. Has an inherent +10% base accuracy bonus.

Tal-N's notes:-
Basically, if you want to be a controller you ideally want at least one status effect. This is it. It's also about the only solid one you have besides Flash. This is pretty much an essential since it's needed to set up containment damage bonuses plus it is Psi damage as well. A good Blind+Spectral Wounds combo is great for killing minions. The 'AoE' sleep is a complete joke however, it is very rare to get enemies to stand close enough to make it of any use, even using hurricane to herd them into a corner tends to result in only 2 enemies being caught at once. The sleep component is not reliable at all.

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DECIEVE
Available at level: 2
Type: Ranged single target click
Damage type(s): NONE/PSIONIC
Damage potential: None
Recharge: Moderate
Endurance cost: Moderate
Status effect(s): CONFUSE
What does it look like: Light particles appear around your hands, there is a flash over the eyes of the target and purple dots/haze appears around their head
Animation used: Reaching out with both hands and gentley waving the fingers as if trying to hypnotize someone

Slotting options:-
(acc/conf/conf) - minimum advisable slotting
(acc/conf/conf/conf//rchg/rchg) - maximum effectiveness for single targets
(acc/conf/conf/rchg/rchg/rchg) - maximum effectiveness for groups
(acc/conf/conf/end/rchg) - slot saving with regular usage and cost effective

Additional Notes:-
Damage done by confused NPCs to other NPCs will cut into the exp you get from defeating the enemy which was harmed. Details on this can be found in section 7f. This power has a +20% base accuracy bonus.

Tal-N's notes:-
Is it essential, or is it a luxury? It's a much debated power but not one person will say its useless because that's a blatant lie. The fact is that there are times when the confusion status effect can really turn the tide of a fight in your favor compared to times when it works against you. It's a power which needs a lot of knowledge and skill to use effectively, timing can be critical as can knowing what you should confuse in a horde of enemies that want to tear your face off. Very much worth getting if you have the space for it in your build but there are alternative ways to overcome the problems which this power are designed to help with. (Please see 5e/ii of the PvE Tactics section for more advice on how to use Decieve.)

FLASH
Available at level: 6
Type: PBAOE click
Damage type(s): NONE/PSIONIC
Damage potential: None
Recharge: Extremely Long
Endurance cost: High
Status effect(s): HOLD
What does it look like: A large flash around the player which looks like the old style phosphorus camera burst.
Animation used: Character crouches slightly while bringing their arms close to them and then reaches out as it spelling a Y with their arms and body to accompany the flash.

Slotting options:-
(acc/acc/rchg/rchg) - bear minimum slotting for best effect
(acc/acc/rchg/hld/hld/hld) - long duration, infrequent use
(acc/acc/rchg/rchg/rchg/hld) - regular usage, moderate duration
(acc/acc/rchg/rchg/hld/hld) - best of both
(acc/rchg/rchg/hld/hld/hld) - less accurate but good recharge time and long hold

Additional Notes:-
Has the usual -20% base accuracy penalty.

Tal-N's notes:-
This is one of those powers which needs a lot of slots to really be of value. When you first pick it up the recharge is so long that you'll barely be able to use it in most fights and the duration is painfully low. With 3 recharges and 2 holds it becomes a lot more useful but frankly what you'll find is that Phantom Army is better at aggro mitigation compared to Flash. These days Flash is only really any good for setting up containment since its effectiveness in crowd control and as a panic button is limited, especially as you need to stand in the middle of the mob to get the most from it. If you're that close to a crowd of enemies who are out of control without phantom army up then you won't last long anyway.

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SUPERIOR INVISIBILITY
Available at level: 8
Type: Self affecting toggle
Damage type(s): None
Damage potential: None
Recharge: Moderate
Endurance cost: High
Status effect(s): SELF STEALTH and +DEFENSE TO ALL (EXCEPT TOXIC)
What does it look like: You turn invisible with a blue tint outline
Animation used: A 'powering up' type animation with the head tilted up and the arms down by the side while semi-bent. Same as Build-up's animation.

Slotting options:-
(end) - minimum slotting
(end/end) - optimal

Additional Notes:-
Most powerful toggle invisibility power in the game for heroes. Hides you from just about anything. Allows you to attack while the toggle is active although it will suppress if you do. SI does stack with any other stealth powers however there are caps placed upon the stealth value of players, in the case of SI it's such a high stealth bonus that it'll send the player straight to the cap so additional stealth powers are of little value except in one rare exception (see section 7c. later in this guide) Please note that SUMMONS will not cause supression so you can summon away without being seen at all, however the AI will aggro to you as the result of some pets.

Tal-N's notes:-
There is often much discussion about what is better to take SI or GI (listed below) as both of them do the same job AND both have almost the same stealth capabilities. The benefit of SI and why I feel its the better to take of the two is that its a toggle rather than a click power. So you have complete control over how visible you are. Additionally if you get killed or suffer from -recharge debuffs then you cannot loop GI endlessly to be always invisibile should you need to. On top of that you need to slot GI more heavily than SI for it to be permanent, SI only needs 2 slots in total and they're to lower the rather heavy endurance cost for running it. In any event, its a purely optional power in the grand scheme of things. It makes life easier but it's far from an essential.

There is some debate over if using certain non-aggro powers will cause SI to supress so far as to make you visible when standing near the enemy. It's seems to be that the SI value increases as you gain levels meaning that in the teens when you stand in a group of enemies and use Decieve it'll supress enough for the enemies to aggro however at the higher levels (post-30) you'll remain invisible when using Decieve at close range.

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GROUP INVISIBILITY
Available at level: 12
Type: PBAOE click
Damage type(s): None
Damage potential: None
Recharge: Very Extremely Long
Endurance cost: Moderate
Status effect(s): SELF AND ALLY STEALTH and +DEFENSE TO ALL (EXCEPT TOXIC)
What does it look like: Player and allies are invisible with a slight blue aura
Animation used: Character crouches slightly and reaches out left and right with their arms, light particles tricle like water from their hands.

Slotting options:-
(rchg/rchg/rchg) - optimal, frequent use

Additional Notes:-
Most powerful click invisibility power in the game for heroes. Hides you and your allies from just about anything. GI however does not supress in PvE but will vanish completely in PvP and when clicking on an glowie. GI stacks with any other stealth power however there are caps placed upon the stealth value of players, in the case of GI it's such a high stealth bonus that it'll send the player straight to the cap so additional stealth powers are of little value except in one rare exception (see section 7c.of the FAQ later in this guide for details on this quirk). Be warned: GI will make you visible for a moment when you reapply it!

Tal-N's notes:-
As much as its a shame I have to say that I've rarely found Group Invisibility to be much of a use.

Never in the years have I been playing have I been on a team where someone asked for GI to be placed upon them. Not that I haven't seen it used on teams but its really not all that useful. If you want it for your team and your phantasm then it's better than grant invisibility, if you want it purely for soloing and yourself then take superior invisibility. It's far more flexible. Bear in mind that this power also has the drawback with Tankers of making it harder for them to maintain aggro, since enemies will choose targets based upon distance, threat multiplier, damage and visibility a tanker who is invisible won't be an appealing target unless they're dealing damage or able to grab aggro with Taunt generating powers. This means enemies outside of melee range aren't going to be as bothered with the Tanker compared to the squishie Defender who is right next to them. If you're going to use GI make sure you give Tankers a chance to get out of it's AoE before you activate it! Where this power is of use is mainly when you have groups of enemies close together and you don't want excessive aggro. It's nice to be able to fight one group when right next to another one and still find that the 2nd group is totally oblivious to you. Of course due to the duration of the buff it leaves open the chance that it'll either drop half way through the fight or need to be reapplied, the reapplication wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the fact that it makes everyone visible for a split second which is the last thing you need when you're standing near a 2nd spawn of enemies.

PHANTOM ARMY
Available at level: 18
Type: targeted click summon
Damage type(s): PSIONIC/SPECTRAL (see 3c. Understanding 'Spectral' damage)
Damage potential: (individual) minor/moderate (combined) moderate/high
Recharge: Very Extremely Long
Duration: 60 SECONDS (Very Long)
Endurance cost: High
Status effect(s): TAUNT
What does it look like: Summons 3 random body-type phantom heroes dressed in blue and white bodysuits. They have a blue/white aura. They then attack using fake super strength punches (as well as Hurl), electrical blasts, ice blasts and fire blasts. All of these attacks however do not do anything but psi and spectral damage.
Animation used: Left hand outstretched, light particles appear around the hand and 3 phantom heroes appear to run into where you directed them to appear. They appear 1 at a time.

Slotting options:-
(acc/rchg/rchg/rchg/dmg/dmg) - best recharge and decent damage
(rchg/rchg/rchg/dmg/dmg/dmg) - inaccurate but high damage and recharge
(acc/acc/dmg/dmg/dmg) - pure damage, minimum slotting
(acc/acc/acc/rchg/rchg/rchg) - purely for tanking purposes
(rchg/rchg/rchg) - panic button or distraction purposes

Additional Notes:-
The phantoms are intangible, you cannot buff, heal or effect them in any way but they also cannot be effected by the enemy. The Phantoms will often choose to target seperate enemies rather than double up on single targets, this obviously means that the larger spawns aren't going to be hurt much by the PA as the damage per NPC isn't being done fast enough to overcome the Spectral damage healback.

Tal-N's notes:-
The corner stone of the most solid and risk free tactics that an Illus/Stormie has in their arsenal. The description in-game is a little misleading as these guys/gals (yes, it'll spawn either randomly) are quite capable of defeating enemies without any help. Their main role however is to draw aggro, they do this by the AI choosing them as a target above all else unless you're practically standing next to the NPC causing some massive damage. This works exceptionally well except against AVs and high level enemies like giant monsters. They tend to be smart enough to break free of the autotaunt which the army generates. (There is more on this power in chapter 5h.of the PvE Tactics section.)

All I can say is... you'd be mad not to get this power and 6-slot it.

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SPECTRAL TERROR
Available at level: 26
Type: Targeted click summon
Damage type(s): None
Damage potential: None
Recharge: Very Long
Duration: 30 SECONDS (Long)
Endurance cost: High
Status effect(s): FEAR COWER and FEAR RUN
What does it look like: Hard to describe. A ghostly visage made of light with screaming skulls and what looks like two claws hovering in the air.
Animation used: Arms are raised slowly from the side to be palm up at eye level, as if the player is attempting to lift something. Light particles trickle from the hands like water.

Slotting options:-
(fear/rchg) - more than ample
(rchg/fear/end) - regular usage, stamina-less build
(fear/fear/fear/rchg/acc/acc) - getting the most from the fear 'attack'
(fear/fear/fear) - casual use, maximum duration

Additional Notes:-
While the Terror might float in the air it will actually will fall to ground level where it will hover a fixed distance from the floor. This allows you to drop it onto enemies even when you're well out of range. However be aware that while the autohit fear aura will be applied from any distance the Terror's 'attack' will not activate unless you are within 45-50' from the Terror itself.

Tal-N's notes:-
It's rare to come across a power which works to its full potential without any slotting at all. But the Terror is it. Fresh upon getting it at level 26 you can use it and find it to be very very effective. It has two traits, an autohit PBAoE fear aura with the terror as its centre and a directed Fear attack which will be directed at enemies and usually causes them to run a short distance and cower. Very effective for soft crowd control however against bosses you need for that fear attack to hit so it stacks with the aura. Excellent in almost all circumstances but loses its effectiveness in the late game a little due to fear resistant enemies.

Very much worth getting however. (Further information on this power is available in section 5e/iii of the PvE Tactics section.)

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PHANTASM
Available at level: 32
Type: targeted click summon
Damage type(s): ENERGY/SMASHING/SPECTRAL (see 3c. Understanding 'Spectral' damage)
Damage potential: Moderate/high
Recharge: Very Extremely Long
Duration: Permanent unless killed or zoning
Endurance cost: Extreme
Status effect(s): KNOCKBACK
What does it look like: A male human figure made totally of light, the 'body' is invisible with only the vibrent light aura showing its outline. Quite spectacular.
Animation used: Raises arms and is surrounded by an aura of light as if copying yourself into the image of the Phantasm.

Slotting options:-
(acc/dmg/dmg/dmg) - ideal minimum slotting
(acc/acc/dmg/dmg/dmg) - saving slots, best damage
(acc/acc/dmg/dmg/dmg/end) - stamina-less build, best damage


Additional Notes:-
The duration of the phantasm means it's essentially perma, the devs said it will vanish given enough time but it would take ages. Do remember that it'll not zone with you so don't go summoning it before entering a mission as it won't be there when you get inside. The phantasm will also produce a decoy phantasm of itself which is intangible like the Phantom Army decoys are, it deals 100% spectral damage while the true phantasm does 100% energy/smashing damage. The phantasm's decoy is also 'attached' to a specific target so if that target is defeated then the decoy vanishes until its resummoned by the Phantasm on another target.

Tal-N's notes:-
If the phantom army is the pocket-tanker and the spectral terror is the pocket-controller then the phantasm is a a pocket-corruptor... yes, it's odd but the phantasm is slightly better with damage than a defender but slightly worse than a blaster. So a corruptor from the villain side is about as close as you'll get. It's handy, it's flexible and half the time you forget it's there beside you kicking some villainous butt. The modest stats don't seem like much on paper but the phantasm decoy is really what keeps the phantasm alive as the decoy is summoned in the thick of things so it tends to take the aggro a lot of the time. It is however a little bit of a liability due to the knockback not being very helpful with things like freezing rain or spectral terror which are fixed location AoE. But then again all pets have their drawbacks. It's worth taking as the extra firepower is very much worth it, however its not essential by far. It is however your ever-loyal bodyguard. (Please see PvE section 5e/iv for more details on Phantasm)

3c. Understanding 'Spectral' damage
Unique to Illusions is a special feature not found naturally on any other current power set, this feature is called Spectral Damage. This can be best described as temporary damage. When a power which causes spectral damage hits, you find that after a fixed duration of time part of the initial damage caused will vanish. In-game this appears as if they are healed as the green text appears over the target's head, this is the Spectral damage wearing off. The main benefit of Spectral damage is that its nature means powers with it are initially more damaging than you're expect, this means those powers are ideal for burst damage however over longer periods of time they are actually fairly weak. Remember however, that if the targets health hits zero then they're defeated as normal even if the spectral damage has not worn off yet - spectral damage does not wear off once the target is defeated. As such it is mainly useful on minions and targets which will be defeated quickly compared to targets which take time to damage.

Now the quirky thing about spectral damage's values is that it will vary depending upon the power itself. There is no standardised percentage or duration for all powers. What is consistent is that the Spectral damage itself is always a fixed portion of the base damage which the power causes when unenhanced, plus the spectral damage cannot be boosted by enhancements. The enhancements do instead boost the base value of the power leading to the total damage of the power increasing as do inspirations and damage buff the spectral damage portion is always the same. Below are specifics on the values for each power in regards to the Spectral damage component.

Spectral Wounds - 39% of unenhanced base damage is spectral, duration of 12 seconds. Spectral damage accounts for 20% of total damage when power is fully enhanced. Containment bonus only effects the real (psionic) damage portion of the attack, Spectral damage gains no bonus.

Phantom Army - 79% of unehanced base damage for melee attacks is spectral, 71% of unenhanced base damage for their ranged attacks is spectral. Duration of both is 8 seconds. Spectral damage accounts for 35% of ranged attack damage while for melee attacks it accounts for 39% of the total damage done when fully enhanced.

Phantasm - 100% of the decoy's damage is spectral in nature. The duration is 6 seconds. Unlike the Phantasm it does the same damage with both it's cone attack and it's single target attack unlike the true Phantasm which does more damage with it's cone attack.

Due to this mixture of how Spectral works it is understandable that there is often some confusion on how it operates. In general however a simple rule is that the more you enhance the damage of a power which has Spectral damage the less of the total end damage ends up being illusionary.

4. 'Storm Summoning' powers
4a. Summary of Storm summoning
The Storm set is essentially a toolbox, it is a nice selection of abilities which are utilities meaning that they can sometimes be very situational. The synergy with Illusions is impressive to say the least with very few conflicts arising between them however within storm summoning itself there can be powers which don't partner well together. A greatly misunderstood set due to a lot of player focus being mainly on the lower level powers while the upper level powers are rarely reached by anyone other than defenders and the fact that certain powers tend to have multiple functions and undocumented capabilities in-game.

4b. Specific powers

GALE
Available at level: 1
Type: Cone click
Damage type(s): SMASHING
Damage potential: Minor
Recharge: Moderate
Endurance cost: Moderate
Status effect(s): HEAVY KNOCKBACK
What does it look like: A high speed gust of wind which rushes from behind you towards the target, kicks up some dust and debris
Animation used: Character raises arms in a slight forward tilt as if directing the wind

Slotting options:-
(acc/acc) - casual use, good accuracy
(acc/acc/end/end) - frequent use, good accuracy
(acc/acc/end/rng/rng/rng) - wide cone, frequent use
(acc/kb/kb/kb/rng/rng) - powerful crowd control
(acc/acc/kb/kb/rng/rng) - accurate crowd control
(acc/acc/kb/kb/kb/kb) - just for laughs, insane knockback

Additional Notes:-
There is a -10% base accuracy penalty with this power.

Tal-N's notes:-
As far as compulsary powers go this isn't too bad. It's function becomes very diminished as times goes on as its mainly intended as a limited form of soft control used for throwing enemies away or simply buying some time for you and your team. Not really worth slotting except for comedy value as its one of the most powerful knockback abilities so it can send enemies flying quite some distance. Occasionally helps with herding enemies into a corner to set up an AoE or similar. (For additional notes on how to use Gale please refer to section 5e/i of the PvE section)