City of Heroes: Rebirth > Controller
Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
wyldhaunt:
I was requested to post Fluixic's build. I actually don't have his current build in Mids, because I'm working to respec to the below (Hypothermia with the Energy Font proc inspired by Profit; added the Endless Nightmare proc for added hilarity, as nothing will stay asleep near Fluixic).
This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Fluxic: Level 50 Natural Controller
Primary Power Set: Water Control
Secondary Power Set: Time Manipulation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Suffocate [*] (A) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Control Duration
[*] (3) Superior Will of the Controller - Control Duration/Recharge
[*] (5) Superior Will of the Controller - Endurance/Recharge
[*] (19) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance
[*] (21) Superior Will of the Controller - Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance/Recharge
[*] (21) Superior Will of the Controller - Recharge/Chance for Psionic Damage
[/list]Level 1: Time Crawl [*] (A) Superior Witchcraft - Universal Debuff
[*] (46) Superior Witchcraft - Accuracy/Recharge
[/list]Level 2: Deluge [*] (A) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
[*] (3) Superior Winter's Bite - Damage/RechargeTime
[*] (5) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
[*] (43) Superior Winter's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
[*] (43) Superior Winter's Bite - Damage/Endurance/Accuracy/RechargeTime
[*] (45) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
[/list]Level 4: Fly [*] (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)
[/list]Level 6: Geyser Burst [*] (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
[*] (7) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
[*] (7) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
[*] (23) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
[*] (23) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
[*] (37) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
[/list]Level 8: Turbulent Aura [*] (A) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage
[*] (9) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
[*] (9) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage
[*] (15) Fury of the Gladiator - Chance for Res Debuff
[*] (17) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance
[*] (19) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
[/list]Level 10: Temporal Mending [*] (A) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance
[*] (11) Numina's Convalesence - Endurance/Recharge
[*] (11) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Recharge
[*] (15) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
[*] (45) Numina's Convalesence - Heal
[*] (45) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
[/list]Level 12: Riptide [*] (A) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
[*] (13) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
[*] (13) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge
[*] (40) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance
[*] (42) Ragnarok - Chance for Knockdown
[*] (43) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff
[/list]Level 14: Time's Juncture [*] (A) Dampened Spirits - To Hit Debuff/Endurance
[/list]Level 16: Hasten [*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO
[*] (17) Recharge Reduction IO
[/list]Level 18: Assault [*] (A) Endurance Reduction IO
[/list]Level 20: Tactics [*] (A) Rectified Reticle - Increased Perception
[*] (50) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff/Endurance
[/list]Level 22: Boxing [*] (A) Accuracy IO
[/list]Level 24: Hypothermia [*] (A) Superior Overpowering Presence - Accuracy/Control Duration
[*] (25) Superior Overpowering Presence - Control Duration/RechargeTime
[*] (25) Superior Overpowering Presence - Endurance/RechargeTime
[*] (31) Superior Overpowering Presence - Accuracy/Control Duration/Endurance
[*] (34) Superior Overpowering Presence - RechargeTime/Energy Font
[*] (36) Superior Endless Nightmare - Recharge/Chance for Fear, Psionic Damage If Woke Early
[/list]Level 26: Drowning Pool [*] (A) Lockdown - Accuracy/Hold
[*] (27) Lockdown - Accuracy/Recharge
[*] (27) Lockdown - Recharge/Hold
[*] (37) Lockdown - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
[*] (37) Lockdown - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
[*] (40) Lockdown - Chance for +2 Mag Hold
[/list]Level 28: Farsight [*] (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
[*] (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
[*] (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
[/list]Level 30: Tough [*] (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
[*] (31) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
[*] (31) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP
[/list]Level 32: Water Golem [*] (A) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage
[*] (33) Blood Mandate - Damage/Endurance
[*] (33) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Endurance
[*] (33) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
[*] (34) Blood Mandate - Accuracy
[*] (34) Blood Mandate - Damage
[/list]Level 35: Power Sink [*] (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod
[*] (36) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge
[*] (36) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
[/list]Level 38: Chrono Shift [*] (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod
[*] (39) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge
[*] (39) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
[*] (39) Efficacy Adaptor - Accuracy/Recharge
[*] (40) Recharge Reduction IO
[/list]Level 41: Charged Armor [*] (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
[*] (42) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
[*] (42) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance
[*] (46) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
[*] (46) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
[/list]Level 44: Temporal Selection [*] (A) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb
[/list]Level 47: Slowed Response [*] (A) Superior Witchcraft - Accuracy/ Universal Debuff
[*] (48) Superior Witchcraft - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
[*] (48) Superior Witchcraft - Universal Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
[*] (48) Superior Witchcraft - Chance for Res Debuff
[/list]Level 49: Maneuvers [*] (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
[*] (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
[*] (50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
[/list]Level 1: Containment
Level 1: Brawl [*] (A) Accuracy IO
[/list]Level 1: Sprint [*] (A) Celerity - +Stealth
[/list]Level 2: Rest [*] (A) Recharge Reduction IO
[/list]Level 2: Swift [*] (A) Flight Speed IO
[/list]Level 2: Hurdle [*] (A) Jumping IO
[/list]Level 2: Health [*] (A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance
[*] (9) Miracle - +Recovery
[*] (17) Healing IO
[/list]Level 2: Stamina [*] (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
[*] (13) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
[*] (23) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
[/list]Level 1: Disintegrating
Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon
Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface
Level 50: Polar Lights Core Superior Ally
Level 50: Clarion Core Epiphany
Level 50: Support Core Embodiment
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wyldhaunt:
The only real difference between this build and Fluixic's current is that I currently have Time Stop with Overpowering Presence (only used rarely), and don't have Witchcraft in Slowed Response.
wyldhaunt:
I have now tried this build, and I can definitely say that the Energy Font in Hypothermia doesn't produce multiple Energy Fonts. In fact, the number of Energy Fonts I can get from using multiple Time Stops ends up being more than what I can produce using Hypothermia. So, I'm redoing this build to get rid of Hypothermia and introduce Time Stop again. However, before I do, I'm mulling over https://forum.cityofheroesrebirth.com/index.php/topic,1743.0.html to see what I can make use of from Redlynne's findings for proccing Time Manipulation. The basic thing I'm evaluating is whether my regular ST rotation of Suffocate/Deluge could be improved by adding in one of the /Time ST powers.
What I tend to do is:
1. Always run in first to get Turbulent Aura/Time's Juncture going, and get Water Golem engage.
2. Hit Riptide/Geyser Burst so they can do their thing.
3. If there's an AV/EB, or several bosses, hit Time Crawl/Slowed Response so their debuffs are going.
4. If there is a single hard target I really want to hold, hit Suffocate/Time Stop.
5. Start rotating Suffocate/Deluge on the hardest target left standing. Keep going until the spawn is done.
Spawns are not problem with Fluixic at all. In fact, I'll often act like a Tanker and pull in as many additional spawns as I can.
Single hard targets do take longer with Fluixic than many other builds (of course). So I'm considering what improvements might be possible to Fluixic's ST damage ability.
Redlynne:
--- Quote from: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 09:55:40 am ---So, I'm redoing this build to get rid of Hypothermia and introduce Time Stop again. However, before I do, I'm mulling over https://forum.cityofheroesrebirth.com/index.php/topic,1743.0.html to see what I can make use of from Redlynne's findings for proccing Time Manipulation. The basic thing I'm evaluating is whether my regular ST rotation of Suffocate/Deluge could be improved by adding in one of the /Time ST powers.
--- End quote ---
Here's a trick question for you that I had to wrestle with in my Ninja/Itme/Mace build ... what is Hasten REALLY doing for you, in the full context of the entirety of your build?
I the case of my build, the answer came down to...
[*]Shortened Aimed Shot to under 1.188s (animation arcanatime for the attack) and Fistful of Arrows (the cone attack)
[*]Up to 4 durations of Temporal Selection concurrent rather than 3 durations concurrent
[*]Distortion Field and Slowed Response recharge a little faster (we're talking a less than ~10s difference)
[*]Chrono Shift becomes perma with a recharge time below 90s minus animation time[/list]
... and that was pretty much it.
In other words, Hasten fell into the category of "nice to have" if I had an abundance of spare power picks available (and an extra slot lying around unused), but otherwise wasn't making a tremendous amount of difference in the build a lot of the time. Oooh, 15s of duration downtime on Chrono Shift between castings for a 90s duration ... it's so unthinkable!
Simple fact of the matter was that doing everything possible to make Chrono Shift "perma" was a LUXURY in that build, rather than a "go to the wall to get it" necessity. So I took Hasten out, just to see what would happen ... and was pleasantly surprised to see that the "losses" were relatively minimal.
Note, however, that if you're REALLY pressed for slots, rather than power picks, you CAN go with a single default slot Hasten with a 50+5 common Recharge IO in it ... plus slotting 3x 50+5 */Recharge set IOs (think 2x End Mod/Rech and Heal/Rech) into Chrono Shift ... and for 2 power picks (Hasten and Chrono Shift) plus 2 extra slots (both in Chrono Shift) you can, with enough global recharge set bonus buffing, make both Hasten AND Chrono Shift perma (recharge faster than duration minus animation time) for 100% uptime on both. It would require "investing" into 20x Enhancement Boosters for the build, which might be pricey for some people's budgets to acquire ... but it CAN BE DONE if you really need the slots elsewhere within your build.
Personally, I have no real "love" for Hasten as a power in my build strategies. Often times it winds up being something of a crutch for "overtightening" builds such that you don't need as much or as many powers to complete an attack rotation cycle (typical behavior being that you don't need 5 powers, you only need 4 instead, for example). Controllers, however, wind up being a MAJOR counterpoint to this notion, simply because the Level 18 AoE Mez power got over-nerfed back in the day (2x recharge, 1/2x duration!) such that if you want to use your AoE Mez power more than once every 3 spawn groups you practically have to have Hasten in your build to help close the gap on uptime ... which is another way of saying that what I'm doing for my Mastermind build will run into some "translation difficulties" if ported over into a Controller without modification for context.
Sometimes, Hasten is the smartest play you can make in a build (Controllers, Kheldians, Soldiers of Arachnos...), while in other contexts Hasten can be something of a habitual frivolity ... at which point, HOW YOU PLAY (and prefer to play) suddenly takes on something of a rather extreme point of importance.
Speaking of which ...
--- Quote from: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 09:55:40 am ---What I tend to do is:
1. Always run in first to get Turbulent Aura/Time's Juncture going, and get Water Golem engage.
2. Hit Riptide/Geyser Burst so they can do their thing.
3. If there's an AV/EB, or several bosses, hit Time Crawl/Slowed Response so their debuffs are going.
4. If there is a single hard target I really want to hold, hit Suffocate/Time Stop.
5. Start rotating Suffocate/Deluge on the hardest target left standing. Keep going until the spawn is done.
--- End quote ---
And this is where preferences of engagement tactics start coming into play.
Personally, I would make it a habit to use Time Crawl + Time Stop as a 1-2 combo hit as a standard practice, in part because the Delayed debuff will make Time Stop last longer. If you slot both Time Crawl and Time Stop as 90% chance proc monster powers like I did in my build (with NO recharge enhancement slotted into the powers themselves) then you don't have to choose either/or in terms of Damage OR Mez, because with proc monster slotting you're doing Damage AND Mez with the combination.
I would actually add Distortion Field + Slowed Response before throwing down Riptide + Geyser Burst. Reason for that is (in sequence):
[*]Auto-Hit: Slow (so mobs can't escape the Defeat Zone) + Recharge Debuffing (so they can't keep attacking OUT of the Defeat Zone) + chance to Hold + 17.95% chance Damage proc (AoE)
[*]Defense Debuffing (so mobs are easier to hit) +90% chance Resistance Debuff proc (AoE) + 90% chance 2x Damage procs (AoE)
[*]... whatever Riptide does ...
[*]... whatever Geyser Burst does ...[/list]
You basically set up a "NO ESCAPE" zone of defeat that $Targets are trapped in and can't get out of (quite often for the rest of their lives!).[/list]
Also, just as a side note here ... with sufficient Recharge Debuffing, working to boost your own personal Resistances (S/L/F/C/N/E/Psi/Tox) starts becoming almost superfluous (in the Regen Scrapper sense) because if your opposition can't kill you with their alpha strike, THEY CAN'T KILL YOU ... thank you Temporal Mending and Chrono Shift. If you REALLY need to be taking a Resistance power as a Set Mule, my personal preference would be for the Sorcery Pool taking Mystic Flight (Fly/Teleport), Spirit Ward (+Arbsorb for Other), Rune of Protection (+Resistance Self) ... rather than reaching for Tough in the Fighting Pool (never cared for the Fighting Pool myself). So you could, if you wanted, swap out Fly+Boxing+Tough for Mystic Flight+Spirit Ward+Rune of Protection and be none the worse off in terms of power picks, while also using 1 less power pool on the combination (in case you wanted to get something else instead).
Personally, I would keep the Turbulent Aura + Time's Juncture auras up and running as BACKUP in case Foes charge my position, rather than as a primary option to open engagements with. Basic idea being to use the combination of Turbulent Aura + Time's Juncture as a "KEEP AWAY!" preventing Foes from being able to easily melee with you. The Distortion Field+Slowed Response combination is going to be usable at some distance in range, including as an alpha strike(!), giving you flexibility as to when you want to lay down Riptide and Geyser Burst as follow ups to BRING THE PAIN to your $Targets.
As far as Maneuvers goes, I really like to 6-slot maneuvers with the Reactive Defenses set, in part because the 6-slot bonus is higher than what you can get out of the LotG proc ... and because of the sliding scale 3-13% Resist ALL bonus from the proc, which is just to valuable to leave out of my builds. Your Mileage May Vary, of course.
--- Quote from: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 09:55:40 am ---Spawns are not problem with Fluixic at all. In fact, I'll often act like a Tanker and pull in as many additional spawns as I can.
--- End quote ---
To be fair, Tankers are just "melee Controllers" with better Mez protection (among other things) ... while Controllers are often times "ranged Controllers" who aren't always trying to get (and stay) within melee range.
Being able to enact Area Denial OVER THERE through use of Distortion Field and Slowed Response (AoE at range) while ALSO maintaining Area Denial OVER HERE through Turbulent Aura and Time's Juncture (PBAoE) to protect squishy allies from "leakers" who like to melee would give you a powerful combination of simultaneous NEAR AND FAR area denial that would go a long way in team context settings as a Battlefield Controller. No, it wouldn't necessarily represent a "hard" lockdown capability like AoE Holds do ... but it would represent an exceptionally powerful "neutralizer" capability that renders hordes of Foes relatively "harmless" even if they aren't completely locked down "hard" like a Hold would accomplish. Your damage mitigation value would be exceptionally high, giving both yourself and your team "all the time in the world" to defeat your adversaries Wholesale Rather Than Retail™.
But then, what do I know about such matters, eh?
--- Quote from: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 09:55:40 am ---Single hard targets do take longer with Fluixic than many other builds (of course). So I'm considering what improvements might be possible to Fluixic's ST damage ability.
--- End quote ---
Easy.
Proc monster out Time Crawl and Time Stop (and Suffocate too? I'm not familiar with Suffocate as a power) and you will MELT FACES delivering 90% chance damage procs "in quantity" in rapid succession like that.
Damage AND Hold power ... all at once, in combination ... what's not to like?
Your only challenge would be to figure out what else you want to do while those three powers recharge ... which isn't that bad of a problem to have, all things considered ...
wyldhaunt:
Hi Redlynne, my initial reaction is that I've found Water Control to play the opposite of most Controllers, as soon as Turbulent Aura is available. That power is so strong as control via KD (and its ability to Heal means I can slot and see good benefit from ToE:%End), that the first thing I want to do is run in. Even in my first Water Control character (paired with /Dark), beginning during my teens, I usually worked to engage one spawn and pull others in where possible.
Regarding Distortion Field: I can see why both Time's Juncture and Distortion Field are useful on MMs, however on Defenders, Corruptors, and now Controllers I've played, I've found that I only want one or the other. Honestly, by the time I've cast Riptide and Geyser Burst, the minions are done and any lieutenants are fast to follow. This is even at +4/x8. Distortion Field isn't a relatively good use of my activation time, and not worth a power pick compared to what else I can use it for. Riptide really isn't for damage - it's for pulling the mobs in and keeping them from running - Riptide traps mobs better than Distortion Field due to its Forced Movement mechanic, and with Turbulent Aura providing the continual KD, I really don't worry that much about their movement speed nor recharge.
Regarding softcapping Range: that keeps me healthy from side spawns and stragglers I don't get another way. Regarding capping S/L Res: that keeps me healthy from some KB-resistant melee foes.
The regular wisdom of playing other Controllers really doesn't apply to Water Control.
Now, for Chrono Shift: yes, I have Power Sink, which is what I use when I really need End to come back - that's why I chose Mu Mastery EPP, not Charged Armor. Above I have my thoughts on why res-capping S/L is useful to me. But this is a very, very end-hungry build. ToE:%End helps. Chrono Shift helps. Power Sink is my clutch when the other two don't cut it. I'm sure you noticed my slotting choices for Chrono Shift, focusing on EndMod and Recharge (compared to yours, which makes sense for MM, balancing between End and Heal). With my current powers/slotting and focus on Recharge, I don't have to use Power Sink often, which I don't want to, because when I'm using that, I'm not using other powers.
Time Stop (or Hypothermia) are already almost throw-away powers. I have plenty of room in my build for Hasten, so it's there, and it is helping Chrono Shift be up more often, so it stays.
Regarding Time Crawl > Time Stop, I already have Suffocate, which does damage in addition to a hold. In the few times I need to hold a single target now, I'd always rather Suffocate > Time Stop than Time Crawl > Time Stop. When I have an AV/EB, I'd rather Time Crawl > Slowed Response to maximum the latter.
Regarding Drowning Pool, that's almost a throwaway power, which I only use occasionally, against spawns full of bosses (or KB-resistant spawns), or after I've pulled my max aggro together in one spot (like the room in UG just before the twin War Walkers). If I needed more AoE damage (which I don't), then I'd look at Drowning Pool to become a proc-monster.
Even so, I've found some proc potential for Suffocate and Deluge based on your Ninja/Time MM build, which I'm going to try next, especially since my goal for improvement is in ST damage.
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