- Mind Control FAQ
I was looking through my old notes and found my info for this guide, so boom! Here it is.
(Pre-TBC for now though on the mobs)
Contents
Post 0) Intro, tips and FAQs.
- What is Mind Control?
- Why don't priests use Mind Control in instances very often?
- And why not in PvP?
- So what can you do with mind control?
- What are "Mind control buffs"?
- I heard that some of the Mind Control buffs are concidered exploits, is this true?
- Can you talk to the other faction if they're mind controlled?
- Can you use other players' abilities when they're mind controlled?
- How do you find Mind Control buffs?
- My Mind control keeps breaking!
- Tips, Hints and Info about Mind Control
Post 1) Mob's abilities while Mind Controlled. (Instanced)
- The Deadmines.
- Blackfathom Deeps.
- The Stockade.
- Stratholme - Scarlet Crusader side.
- Stratholme - Baron/Undead side.
- Dire Maul North.
- Blackrock Spire.
- Zul'Gurub.
- Blackwing Lair.
Post 2) Mob's abilities while Mind Controlled. (World)
- Westfall.
- Redridge Mountains.
- Duskwood.
- Stranglethorn Vale.
- Swamp of Sorrows.
- Azshara.
Post 3) Mob's abilities while Mind Controlled. (World, continued)
- Felwood.
- Burning Steppes.
- Deadwind Pass.
- Blasted Lands.
- Winterspring.
- Western Plaguelands.
Post 4) MC Buffs.
- Mind Control Buffs.
1) What is Mind Control?
Mind Control (Rank 1/2/3)
350/550/750 Mana
20 yd range
3 sec cast
Controls a humanoid mind up to level 32/47/70 (Scales with own level), but slows its attack speed by 20%. Lasts up to 1 min.
Mind control is obtainable at level 30 by priests, and can be used to crowd control, use an enemies' abilities against them, and lots of other creative stuff that are towards the end of this FAQ.
2) Why don't priests use Mind Control in instances very often?
A couple of reasons:
The 20yard range means that quite often you won't be able to cast the spell without getting in aggro range.
Even if you do get the Mind Control off, it is very unpredictable. I've seen mind control last the full 60 seconds, and I've seen it break in less than a second, and if it does break early, your tank will have a hell of a time getting the mob off you, as it causes a tremendous amount of aggro.
Finally, Mind control is a channeled spell, so the priest can not heal the group while Mind controlling something.
And why not in PvP?
Again, the range is a factor, generally if you're within 20 yards of something you probably don't want to take 3 seconds to cast mind control, especially in group PvP.
However, if you can trick the enemy into attacking thier own players if you're clever enough, but the range is a problem.
So what can you do with mind control?
Mind control is by no means "useless", but it is very situational. More often than not, it's used, simply because it's a damn fun ability to use, which is what this thread is all about. Over the next few posts, there are extensive listings of certain areas and mobs that can be mind controlled, what you do with Mind control is up to you!
What are "Mind control buffs"?
Mind control buffs are buffs that are obtained by casting Mind control on a mob, and getting that mob to cast the buff on you or your party. We've got a nice looking list of them a little further down.
I heard that some of the Mind Control buffs are concidered exploits, is this true?
Nope, it's been confimed by Caydiem that using these buffs is creative use of game mechanics and not exploiting at all. The link was on the old forums, unfortunatly, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
Can you talk to the other faction if they're mind controlled?
Up until patch 1.12 you could by using emotes, that sadly has now been patched. I had a small section on talking to the other faction in the first version of this thread, but I got told to take it out in exchange for the sticky.
Can you use other players' abilities when they're mind controlled?
Nope, only mobs, you can use auto-attack with players, but it generally doesn't do much good.
How do you find Mind Control buffs?
By luck, mainly. Go out and mind control something and see if you can cast any of its abilities on yourself. If you find one, be sure to report it here, and we'll hopefully see this thread get longer and longer with more buffs and ideas.
My Mind control keeps breaking!
I would like someone to verify this information, but I'm pretty sure it's all correct.
When you cast your Mind Control, like any other spell it will have a resist check against the target. If the target resists, the Mind Control fails. However, unlike most other spells, Mind control has several resist checks over its duration, I'm not sure of the exact number, but I'm under the impression that it's every 5 seconds. If any of these periodic checks fails, then the mind control breaks, and you get yourself a big angry mob to play with.
So, if you want a more reliable Mind Control, you want +spell hit gear and lots of it. Around about +5 or +6% to hit will eliminate as much of the base resist as is possible. But keep in mind that it is impossible to have a 0% chance to resist a spell.
Tips, Hints and Info about Mind Control.
# Mind control duration is partly controlled by distance. The farther your 'pet' is from you, the higher the chance of breaking. Solution : Park it on top of yourself unless you have other plans in mind for it OR if the npc you are fighting has some sort of stun/cc (Shield bash/gouge/polymorph etc).
# Mind control a healer if it's available. Why spend your own mana and get possible aggro when you can easily mind control that medic and use it's prayer of healing which heals for 2k+ AND uses only 400 mana over your own? Don't forget that the medic has 8k mana meaning it can chain cast it for a while, and if it gets aggro and dies...just remember that it wasn't you who just died. :P
# Mind controlled npcs have their own aggro, spells cast by an npc do not get 'added' to your current aggro.
# You can mind control something and let the surrounding 'linked' npcs kill it. Then fade aggro into the negative in order to dump the npcs onto your group/tank. Ghetto crowd control. Why fight 3 when you can fight 2. Leading to the next note
# Mind soothe is VERY useful in getting close to humanoid npcs without them jumping you due to the 20 yard range of mind control. If you want them to focus on pet and not on you first (Remember aggro rules) use mind soothe.
# Mind control damage is not counted as 'player dmg'. Meaning if a mind controlled pet kills something entirely by itself, you get no loot. But if a person in your group hits it for even 1 dmg it is counted as a player kill and you can loot it as normal.
# You can mind control something and have it die, but you will recieve no loot for it. Instead let other npcs beat it up to 5% or so, then break mind control and one shot it to gain access to it's body.
# Shadow Affinity and Shadow Focus affect the duration and aggro gained from mind control. If your into heavy controlling both are highly suggested to make your life and group's life easier.
# Mind control can break early even if channeled bar is still somewhat full. A break is checked vs level/distance/resistances of target every x amount of seconds.
Edited, Jun 23rd 2008 12:39pm by Agest
Edited, Jun 23rd 2008 12:40pm by Agest
Edited, Jun 23rd 2008 12:40pm by Agest
Edited, Jun 23rd 2008 1:02pm by Agest
Edited, Jun 23rd 2008 1:02pm by Agest