Did you try the overlap 5 probes (in plus formation) one like this? When you get more skills, you can use 8, but many ppl say they just use 7 in octahedral formation, with one in the center. Though I used to just use 4 (in square formation) and it was fine for most stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heYfTA00Idg
I did a search and thought you might have hit an older video. They changed it some couple of years ago. Or they added new content that requires many more probes or something, i dunno. It's supposed to be that overlapping radius increase the strength or some crap like that. I never figured out the "science" from the scifi aspect of it.
Yeah I did use that technique, watching thosae globes again makes me writhe in agony! I was enjoying the game until that point, the noob help chat channel just moves too fast to actually get anywhere with it.