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City of Heroes: Rebirth => Archetypes => Controller => Topic started by: wyldhaunt on October 13, 2022, 08:13:59 pm

Title: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on October 13, 2022, 08:13:59 pm
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! (https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1786&c=788&a=1576&f=HEX&dc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

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 Level 1: Time Crawl Level 2: Deluge Level 4: Fly Level 6: Geyser Burst Level 8: Turbulent Aura Level 10: Temporal Mending Level 12: Riptide Level 14: Time's Juncture Level 16: Hasten Level 18: Assault Level 20: Tactics Level 22: Boxing Level 24: Hypothermia Level 26: Drowning Pool Level 28: Farsight Level 30: Tough Level 32: Water Golem Level 35: Power Sink Level 38: Chrono Shift Level 41: Charged Armor Level 44: Temporal Selection Level 47: Slowed Response Level 49: Maneuvers Level 1: Containment
Level 1: Brawl Level 1: Sprint Level 2: Rest Level 2: Swift Level 2: Hurdle Level 2: Health Level 2: Stamina 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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Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on October 13, 2022, 08:15:20 pm
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.

Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 09:55:40 am
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.

Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: Redlynne on October 17, 2022, 12:51:53 pm
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.

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...
... 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 (https://wiki.cityofheroesrebirth.com/wiki/Enhancement_Booster_Salvage) 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.

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):
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 (https://wiki.cityofheroesrebirth.com/wiki/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.

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.

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 ...
Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 03:59:09 pm
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.

Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 04:27:33 pm
Quote
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™.

More on this - this idea has a hell of a lot of merit, because there are plenty of times on a team already where I use my aura and LAoE powers already where I am, and ST hold/damage someone away from where I am. However my current playstyle is to draw as many to me as possible, rather than keeping them where they are - except possibly that one range-preference mob which must be held, or where someone is playing with more than they can handle (blappers, anyone?) somewhere else and not bringing them in to the flood.


I'm not going for this in my next iteration of Fluixic, but it is on the table for another possible iteration later.

For the record, I LOVE playing with Tankers - I know how to coordinate herding and aggro with them, and once they know that I know, we'll often herd together and bring holy hell to the enemy.

Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 04:44:40 pm
...and more on this

Quote
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 ...

Suffocate (base recharge 8s) and Deluge (base recharge 5s) already recharge so fast with my build that I only have a split-second down-time. That's one reason I'm considering one - and only one - other ST power to add to this. I have been looking at Time Stop, however its base recharge is 16s, so it'd be used every other rotation rather than every. Time Crawl's base recharge is also 15 sec, so I could add this in to help Time Stop on the next rotation and debuff more. But Time Stop's activation is 2.17s, which is pretty dang slow compared to others, so using it might actually slow me down.

Ponderings.

Also, while I digest and respect numbers, what I experience in-game is the final determinant, which means lots of experimentation!

Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: Redlynne on October 17, 2022, 04:56:27 pm
Quote from: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 03:59:09 pm
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.

And here is the benefit of experience and knowing what you want out of your playstyle and preferred engagement strategy. Figuring out what is redundant enough to not need is absolutely critical ... and in order to do that you need to synthesize and synergize EVERYTHING that your build is doing for you in a sense of Totality. Only then can you figure out THIS=YES vs THAT=NO like you're doing here, which is good!

Just because a particular layout of powers and slots combination works well for a different Archetype in a different context doesn't necessarily mean that the same will hold true for your Archetype in the context of your playstyle and strategy preferences (different strokes for different folks and all that jazz). What's important is understanding the THINKING behind the choices so as to make value judgements that work best for YOU and YOUR STYLE of play!



And just so you know, I've been "refactoring" my Ninja/Time/Mace build already (already!) so as to shuffle just a few things around and come up with something even scarier than what I posted previously.

The changes amount to:
The "core powers" of the build remain the same, but by throwing away Smoke Flash (which really ought to have been an "ALL Pets" within supremacy range effect, rather than a "Pick ONE Pet" single target effect!) I can fit Maneuvers, Tactics AND Hasten into the build by Level 30 before reaching the "mandatory" power picks at Levels 32 (pet power up 2), Level 35 (Slowed Response), Level 38 (Chrono Shift), Level 41 (Scorpion Shield) and Level 44 (Power Boost!). Furthermore, Hasten isn't "really needed" until Chrono Shift anyway, and taking the power at Level 30 ensures that when Hasten is available at Exemplar Levels 25-50 it won't be too terribly nerfed on slotted recharge value by the Exemplar condition. Of course, Hasten isn't perma without Chrono Shift (and ipso facto, Chrono Shift isn't perma without Hasten, but since Hasten "comes first" in power pick order, this isn't a problem for Exemplar) ... but it does mean that the entire build will "shift in character" with respect to how it plays in the low levels vs the mid levels vs the high levels vs the incarnate levels, with a "growth curve" that never really plateaus until into the Incarnate slotting regime.

Working on finalizing the changes now and trying to wring any last possible performance gains out of the build (through slot allocation sequencing) before posting the update. Needless to say, ditching the (full) Panacea set in favor of the rarely seen (in full) Regenerative Tissue set dramatically reduces the overall cost of the build in total ... while having Victory Rush as a Level 49 power will do all kinds of wonderful for team play in the Level 44+ range (which tends to be the heaviest for team oriented content in TFs/SFs, Trials and Raids), so definitely a "game changer" right at the end of the build!

Previously, I was just using Vengeance as a LotG proc mule ... but with Hasten in the mix, Vengeance as a LotG mule was no longer necessary, so ... enter the Victory Rush!

Quote from: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 04:27:33 pm
Quote
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™.

More on this - this idea has a hell of a lot of merit, because there are plenty of times on a team already where I use my aura and LAoE powers already where I am, and ST hold/damage someone away from where I am. However my current playstyle is to draw as many to me as possible, rather than keeping them where they are - except possibly that one range-preference mob which must be held, or where someone is playing with more than they can handle (blappers, anyone?) somewhere else and not bringing them in to the flood.

And this is a perfectly fine way to play.
Some Controllers play more like "magnets" who want to be up close in the thick of things (Dark and Kinetics types come to mind, for somewhat obvious reasons) while others are more "repellent" to play (preferring to play Keep Away instead) ... sometimes you get a mix of push/pull in the build strategy that lets you "mode switch" between the two options, depending on what you're up against. This is not a ONE SIZE FITS ALL TRICK PONIES type of ride we've got here to play with. Different strategies have different strengths against different opponents and circumstances.

What's important is that you understand the ... mentality ... behind HOW you intent to use your build and how it engages opposition (to ruin their day!). When you use the same tools differently, you can get VERY different results! The trick is organizing it all into a strategy where everything you DO helps you achieve what you're wanting to accomplish (or to put it another way, that your animation time is doing everything it can WHEN you need it to be doing things) ... and THAT is going to be the Real Challenge involved in settling on an Ideal Build FOR YOU.
Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: Redlynne on October 17, 2022, 05:08:06 pm
Quote from: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 04:44:40 pm
I have been looking at Time Stop, however its base recharge is 16s, so it'd be used every other rotation rather than every. Time Crawl's base recharge is also 15 sec, so I could add this in to help Time Stop on the next rotation and debuff more. But Time Stop's activation is 2.17s, which is pretty dang slow compared to others, so using it might actually slow me down.

Yes, Time Crawl and Time Stop have "long" recharge times of 15-16 seconds ... but that's what makes them proc monsters with a 90% chance to activate procs that are slotted into them.

Also, you can think of Time Crawl+Time Stop as being "palette cleanser" type powers to alternate with other parts of your single target attack chain. The arcanatime for Time Crawl is 1.848s and for Time Stop is 2.376s ... for a total of 4.224s of animation time. If you've got other powers in your single target chain that take up to 4.224s to recharge, you can use the "long" casting time but reliable 90% proc rate of Time Crawl+Time Stop to "reset" the recharge on the rest of your single target attack chain in order to "go again" after throwing out Time Crawl+Time Stop at a single target.

Or if you're in a hurry, you can "alternate" between Time Crawl and Time Stop on alternating rotations of your attack chain, like you said.

As always, the daemonolgy is in the details and how you build the "chain of events" for spending your animation time, but adding Time Crawl and Time Stop into the mix will allow you to ... diversify ... your options in ways that might surprise you, especially if you're needing to reach for some really rapid lockdown (for whatever reason).
Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on October 17, 2022, 06:39:38 pm
Quote
Yes, Time Crawl and Time Stop have "long" recharge times of 15-16 seconds ... but that's what makes them proc monsters with a 90% chance to activate procs that are slotted into them.

This is something for me to source and learn more about - as I've said before, procmonstering is a growing edge for me. I'll research more on this, as I'd like to understand more about the why the chance to activate is 90% for these. I am implying from this that procs are more valuable for reliability per cast in longer-recharge powers. However, if I'm reading that correctly, I'd like to understand the average over time (like over a minute) of slotting (for example Unbreakable Constraint's %Smash) in base-16s-rech Time Stop rather than base-8s-rech Suffocate. If the PPM for both is the same (I understand it is), and Global Recharge (from sets and such) affect both the same, but Time Stop also has a greater activation time than Suffocate, in which power would a proc average more damage over time. Then add in Suffocate's own damage (compared to Time Stop's zero), and consider again. Ofc for non-global unique procs, I could put them in both, balancing what I'd want from regular enhancements to the powers (being careful with any recharge due to PPM) and any set bonuses with the procs involved.

Below is the latest of what I'm considering. I'm not procmonstering Time Stop, but Suffocate and Deluge instead - Time Stop ends up being a mule for set bonuses. It's an interim step as I consider procs in the longer-recharge vs shorter-recharge powers.

https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1786&c=785&a=1570&f=HEX&dc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

Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: Redlynne on October 17, 2022, 08:01:23 pm
What you need to understand is the FORMULA that gives you the answers you are looking for (which I included in my build).

Click powers use a formula that looks like this:

Time Crawl: Impeded Swiftness (3.5 PPM), Pacing of the Turtle (3.5 PPM)
Time Stop: Neuronic Shutdown (3.5 PPM), Gladiator's Net (3.5 PPM), Ghost Widow's Embrace (3.5 PPM), Unbreakable Contstraint (4.5 PPM)
Slowed Response: Shield Breaker (3.5 PPM), Achilles' Heel (3.5 PPM), Touch of Lady Grey (3.5 PPM)
There are min-max "clamps" to proc chances (no lower than this, no higher than that) to be mindful of.
The information slotted into the formula basically comes from the in-game database of powers.

Let's use Slowed Response as an example because it is both a Click and an AoE, so it uses "both parts" of the formula.






The procs I selected to put into Slowed Response are all 3.5 PPM (you can find this on the enhancement itself in-game when you mouseover it, if the info isn't in Mids already) ... Shield Breaker, Achilles' Heel and Touch of Lady Grey.
So the 3.5 goes into the first term of the formula.

3.5 * ((90 / ( 1 + 59.11 / 100 )) + 2.27) / (60 * (0.25 + 0.75 * (1 + 25 * (11 * 360 + 540) / 30,000))) = 90% (Pre-clamp: 90.02%)

The next term is the BASE UNENHANCED Recharge of the power, which you can find in Mids (or in-game on the power).
In the case of Slowed Response this is 90 seconds, which goes here:

3.5 * ((90 / ( 1 + 59.11 / 100 )) + 2.27) / (60 * (0.25 + 0.75 * (1 + 25 * (11 * 360 + 540) / 30,000))) = 90% (Pre-clamp: 90.02%)

Next, you need Mids to compute for you the total amount of Recharge Enhancement SLOTTED into the power. This is recharge that comes ONLY from the slots in the power itself ... ignore global set bonuses and/or LotG proc modifiers, Hasten buff ... NONE OF THAT. All that matters is the Recharge Enhancement amount computed by Mids as being derived from the enhancements slotted into the power. If you put in a single +0 Recharge SO enhancement into a power, that is +33.3% Recharge enhancement. You use Mids to get this value for all of the enhancements slotted into the power because Enhancement Dysfunction (ED) makes the math really wonky to compute by hand. For the slotting that I used in my build for Slowed Response, I had a combination of 59.11% Recharge enhancement slotted into the power within the slots assigned to the power, which then goes here:

3.5 * ((90 / ( 1 + 59.11 / 100 )) + 2.27) / (60 * (0.25 + 0.75 * (1 + 25 * (11 * 360 + 540) / 30,000))) = 90% (Pre-clamp: 90.02%)

Next, you need to get the animation time for the power, which can be obtained from Mids (or in-game). DO NOT USE Arcanatime for this number! The internal database that is pulling the information to plug into this formula "doesn't know about" Arcanatime and the data in the database is not parsed in terms of Arcanatime. So do not use Arcanatime for this if you are getting the info from Mids. Turn Arcanatime OFF in your Mids copy to see the value you should be using for this term. In the case of Slowed Recharge, the (NOT Arcanatime) animation time for this Click power is 2.27 seconds, which then goes here:

3.5 * ((90 / ( 1 + 59.11 / 100 )) + 2.27) / (60 * (0.25 + 0.75 * (1 + 25 * (11 * 360 + 540) / 30,000))) = 90% (Pre-clamp: 90.02%)

We then need to account for the fact that Slowed Response is an AoE power, which will "dilute" the chances to proc (by "spreading" it out over an area, rather than a single target). That is what the second half of the formula after the divisor is about ... normalizing the results for a 1 minute (60 seconds) time frame. There are really only TWO variables used in the second half of the formula ... the radius of the AoE (in feet) and the Angle of the AoE (to account for Cone attacks).

Slowed Response is a 25ft radius Target AoE, so it has an angle of 360º, which then goes here and here:

3.5 * ((90 / ( 1 + 59.11 / 100 )) + 2.27) / (60 * (0.25 + 0.75 * (1 + 25 * (11 * 360 + 540) / 30,000))) = 90% (Pre-clamp: 90.02%)

Once you plug in all the variables into the formula, you just run the numbers and compute the results.
Note that this formula will yield a result of 1.0 for a 100% chance and a result of 0.5 for a 50% chance to proc.

Minimum chance to proc clamp is 5+(PPM*1.5) ... which is why a 1 PPM proc like Gaussian's has a minimum proc chance of 6.5%.
Maximum chance to proc clamps at 90% regardless of all other factors.






The formula for Toggles is slightly different (but not by much). Let's use Tactics as the go to example for this.

Tactics: Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control (1.0 PPM)
A lot of this ought to look familiar by now (especially since I've just explained it all).
The "back half" of the formula has to account for radius (60ft) and angle (360º) and is a literal copy/paste from how it all works in the Clicks (ain't broke, don't fix).
The main difference is up at the front of the formula ... you don't have to worry about base recharge, slotted recharge or animation times when it comes to Toggles, since they just keep activating repeatedly until Toggled Off.
Just take the PPM, multiply by 10 (for the 10 second suppression duration, because it's a Toggle) ... and then divide by the "back half" of the formula (that accounts for area) as normal.
With Tactics, the computed proc chance yields an answer of ~2.15% (mainly because of the large PBAoE radius) ... which then clamps to a minimum of 6.5% for a 1 PPM proc rate.



Note that for Cone attacks, you just pull the Cone Arc (in degrees) from Mids and slot that in ... so a 60º cone uses a value of 60 (instead of 360 for a "circular" AoE).
This gets ... interesting for some powers that are coded as 5º Cones that act as "line of sight piercing" attacks that can hit more than one target (usually max 3) in a straight line.
I've got a frankenslotting arrangement that pushes the Tier 8 power in Dual Pistols out to something like 140-150ft range as a "snipe" attack, which at maximum range as a 5º cone is like 10ft wide at the far end of the cone, so that extra range can help "hit more baddies in a clump of them" when using that power at long range (often times, "too long" for Foes to attack back from, unless if they're Snipers themselves). Hover snipe FTW!

You can also have "melee range" Cones (usually 7 ft) such as the Sands of Mu power (and its counterpart in Dark Melee) and Crosspunch in the Fighting Pool, and so on and so forth. Frost in Ice Melee is one of my favorites.
Single Target powers simply use a radius of zero feet and an angle of zero (0º), which if you look at the math causes the denominator of the formula to simply default to 60 ... because there are 60 seconds per minute.



Things get more complicated for "chain" attacks, such as Jolting Chain out of Electric and the like.
For more information on how to compute those proc chances, I refer you to the original research (that I participated in) back on the Homecoming Forums (https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/5290-procs-per-minute-ppm-information-guide/) as initiated by Bopper (hat tip!).



However, once you understand the FORMULA ... you'll begin to grasp how to Proc Monster.

Short answer is that longer base recharge times, with NO recharge enhancement slotted into the power, leads to higher proc chances ... so long recharge times "are not bad" depending on the rest of the context of your build. If you have a lot of "global recharge modifiers" in your build, you can even make long (base) recharge powers (like Time Stop) have extremely high proc chances (in excess of 90%!) while still having a not bad overall recharge time in the context of the overall build (especially if you have Hasten and Chrono Shift buffing for +120% global recharge before accounting for any set bonuses or LotG proc slots). So sometimes, you WANT powers with long recharge times in your build (such as Slowed Response) in order to turn them into "reliable" Proc Monster powers.

Understand the formula and you'll start to understand how (and where, and when!) to Proc Monster.
Enjoy.
Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on October 18, 2022, 08:00:25 am
Redlynne, thank you for jumping in with a fully-detailed explanation of proc chances - definitely saved me from finding another source for it, and I think your response deserves its own post in the Guides section of our forums rather than just a response for my build. I will be definitely be using this to compare proccing variations in Fluixic's build.

Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: Redlynne on October 18, 2022, 09:19:05 am
Quote from: wyldhaunt on October 18, 2022, 08:00:25 am
Redlynne, thank you for jumping in with a fully-detailed explanation of proc chances - definitely saved me from finding another source for it, and I think your response deserves its own post in the Guides section of our forums rather than just a response for my build. I will be definitely be using this to compare proccing variations in Fluixic's build.

And that's part of the FUN challenge of weaving all the disparate threads of the totality of a build together.
Pick your Powers.
Assign your Slots.
Choose your Enhancements that go into all those Slots.
Verify your choices of Enhancements in Slots do not violate the Rule Of Five on global set bonuses (so you aren't "wasting" set bonuses).
Determine what your "standard rotation" attack chain(s) are going to be using those Powers as slotted up (paying attention to Arcanatime animation sequence stacking and recharge times).

And then when you've done ALL OF THAT and gotten everything settled where you want it ... that's when you go in and compute what your proc chances are for all your offensive Powers and have to decide if you like those proc chances AS IS, or if you want to adjust things a bit to reshuffle how your attack chain(s) stack up so as to get higher proc chances per activation of powers (along with, undoubtedly, alternative slotting of sets into selected powers). Mind you, barely anyone goes to THAT level of effort in both laying out and integrating the totality of their builds that they post. To my knowledge, I'm the only one who (consistently) gets that detailed once the PPM Formula was teased out and tested over on Homecoming by Bopper (https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/5290-procs-per-minute-ppm-information-guide/) (and friends).



If you want to have a 90% proc chance in a power, you can use the formula to compute where the "Recharge Threshold" for that power is and then scrupulously select the enhancements you're going to slot into that power so as to "Price Is Right" it so that you get as close as possible to that threshold "without going over" (so to speak). In the case of Slowed Response in my build, I was able to use the formula to determine that a 3.5 PPM proc has a 90% chance to proc threshold at 59.14% slotted Recharge. I then played around with various combinations of slotting options until finding a combination that yielded a total of 59.11% slotted Recharge ... thereby giving me the combination of the "most" Recharge in Slowed Response for the "highest" proc chances possible (90%). That then represents the "sweet spot" for both recharge and procs that can be usefully combined within Slowed Response, so it can be used both OFTEN and RELIABLY (both highly favorable features for a Proc Monster power, particularly for an AoE!).



This is why I say that just because an attack power has a slow(er) recharge than other alternatives (or a longer animation time) ... that doesn't necessarily make that power a Bad Power™ to have (and Proc Monster) in the context of an overall build. It just means that (native) Damage and Recharge are not ALWAYS the answer in every single case. Sometimes you WANT to have slower (base) recharge powers that can then be augmented by the totality of the rest of your build into being something simply extraordinary when put into the full and complete holistic context of the rest of your build.

Sure, Slowed Response has a 90 second (base) recharge time ... so what? That just gives me MARGIN I CAN USE to slot the power up intelligently, using the Proc Formula, to maximize output from enhancements slotted into the power, and then leverage the totality of the rest of the build's global recharge buffing (mainly from Hasten and Chrono Shift, but also set bonuses) to knock the recharge time on Slowed Response down to something ~30 seconds (or less in some build combinations!), which then opens the door to being able to STACK multiple castings of Slowed Response on Foes when the PLAYER knows what they're doing and employs their powers SKILLFULLY in actual gameplay.

So long recharge times kind wind up being among your best opportunities to Proc Monster your powers.
As a bit of "left as an exercise for the disinterested viewer" ... have a look at computing how much Recharge you have to slot into Level 18 AoE Holds for Controllers before you hit the 90% threshold on procs for those powers.
If you can run the math for that, I'm pretty sure you're going to learn a thing or two about "how to maneuver" within the min-max clamps for slotting procs into long recharge powers.

After all ... doing a Show Your Work like that helps not only yourself, but also anyone else who might come along afterwards who wants to LEARN from your example.

Knowledge shared is knowledge multiplied, after all.
/em thumbsup
Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on November 12, 2022, 04:28:48 pm
I have gone through proc chances now, and tested and verified that Overpowering Presence's Recharge/Energy Font is underwhelming even in an AoE like Hypothermia, and below is Fluixic's live build right now. This is a step up in power, in that where before I could run any +4/x8 solo without issues, now I can do with enemy bosses included. I'm not defeating bosses like a scrapper would, but they don't take much longer than my typical way of grabbing two spawns and melting them all down. Also, you may have read the conversation between Redlynne and I above concerning controlling spawns at my feet and at range - this build can do so with ease.

I'm going to go through some details about decisions and play in the build in the next post, however to keep this post from getting too long, here's the build itself:

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build! (https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1786&c=796&a=1592&f=HEX&dc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

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 Level 1: Time Crawl Level 2: Deluge Level 4: Fly Level 6: Geyser Burst Level 8: Turbulent Aura Level 10: Temporal Mending Level 12: Riptide Level 14: Time's Juncture Level 16: Hasten Level 18: Assault Level 20: Tactics Level 22: Boxing Level 24: Time Stop Level 26: Drowning Pool Level 28: Farsight Level 30: Tough Level 32: Water Golem Level 35: Power Sink Level 38: Chrono Shift Level 41: Charged Armor Level 44: Temporal Selection Level 47: Slowed Response Level 49: Maneuvers Level 1: Containment
Level 1: Brawl Level 1: Sprint Level 2: Rest Level 2: Swift Level 2: Hurdle Level 2: Health Level 2: Stamina 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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Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on November 12, 2022, 10:56:32 pm
First, my overall build goal is to have fun! With Water/Time, this is built on the following:

While Water/Time provides a lot of this out of the box, my power selections and enhancement choices further this. Also, this build is designed as a leveling build and for exemping, and not to need alternate builds for those. Power by power, this means:
Incarnates:
I'm not going into the proc math here: Redlynne was gracious enough to give the formulas directly in this thread above ^^^ (THANK YOU REDLYNNE!), however when I ran the formulas with the various powers and PPMs in a workbook, I found these points:
So, my normal way to start a battle:
...by the way, the DoTs from Turbulent Aura, Riptide and Geyser Burst are still flowing, and the enemies are now flopping like fish (Drowning Pool has no -KB), meaning my pet and I are fine.

After I start the battle, then I'll focus on the hardest targets, casting Time Crawl every so often, and the following as soon as they're up, in this priority order:
Now, if there is a second spawn nearby and I want them to join in the bounce party, after starting the battle and before focusing on the primary spawn's hard target(s), I'll cast Deluge on a second spawn's hardest target, which helps notify the entire spawn... they'll join the bouncing soon enough.

Before I did this build, I felt mostly on the sidelines during single GM/AV fights. Sure I could always debuff with Time Crawl, Slowed Response and Time Stop, along with debuff and a little damage from Suffocate and Deluge. I could even hold some AVs/GMs at times with Time Stop and Suffocate. Also, unless facing mattered, I could let my Water Golem do his scraptroller things. None of that has changed, however the additional damage (via procs) just feels better.
Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: Redlynne on November 13, 2022, 08:20:43 pm
Quote from: wyldhaunt on November 12, 2022, 04:28:48 pm
Level 4:Fly
  • (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

In my experience, if all you're going to be taking out of the Flight Pool is ... Fly ... I have found that taking the corresponding power from either Sorcery (Mystic Flight (https://wiki.cityofheroesrebirth.com/wiki/Sorcery#Mystic_Flight)) or Gadgetry (Jetpack (https://wiki.cityofheroesrebirth.com/wiki/Gadgetry#Jetpack)) are superior choices, depending on your preferences (and need for yet another LotG mule power). Mystic Flight gives you Fly+Teleport, while Jetpack gives you Fly+Afterburner ... and both have a lower endurance cost for (basic) flying.

Fortunately, Mystic Flight and Jetpack permit slotting of Universal Travel sets, so you would be able to swap the specific power choice between Fly, Mystic Flight and Jetpack while retaining your choice of enhancement to slot.



Personally, I prefer Mystic Flight of those options, because having access to a "short range" teleport can be extremely useful for getting past choke points/ambushes on indoor maps so as to be able to engage on YOUR terms tactically, rather than being forced to "follow the map" in sequence at all points. Additionally, there are plenty of map modules where the combination of Fly+Teleport (courtesy of Mystic Flight) works just as well as "stealth+stealth proc" for concealment to point blank range in terms of being able to bypass unwanted combat and avoiding aggro (if that's your goal).

Additionally, Mystic Flight can be customized in the Tailor to choose Minimal FX, so you aren't forced to have the sorcerous runes manifesting around you if you don't want them. Likewise, the Teleport can also set up with Minimal FX if you don't like the "ring gate" FX if that is your preference ... so if you don't want use of Mystic Flight to look so obviously Magic Origin.

And of course, the Gadgetry and Sorcery Pools are not "locked" to their corresponding Technology or Magic Origin ... so mix and match however you like to get the power mechanics you like best for your character if you take either of these options instead of the Flight Pool.

Just an FYI ... ^_-
Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: wyldhaunt on November 15, 2022, 06:14:59 pm
You're absolutely correct on this, of course. I didn't choose Sorcery because RP reasons (even though I could go minimal FX) and I already have that on soooo many characters, and Gadgetry wasn't released when I decided on Fly. In Fluixic's next iteration, I'll remember to choose Jetpack.
Title: Re: Water Control/Time Manipulation (Fluixic)
Post by: Redlynne on November 15, 2022, 06:57:34 pm
(https://wiki.cityofheroesrebirth.com/w/images/b/bf/Ghost_Widow_Emote_Yes.gif)