Set Bonuses (to verify The Law of Fives is not being violated)
15% Accuracy (Hetacomb: 4)
15% Accuracy (Superior Mark of Supremacy: 3)
= 30% Accuracy
4% Damage (Apocalypse: 4)
4% Damage (Superior Witchcraft: 2)
4% Damage (Superior Command of the Mastermind: 2)
= 12% Damage
5% Defense Melee, 2.5% Defense S/L (Superior Avalanche: 5)
5% Defense Melee, 2.5% Defense S/L (Superior Mark of Supremacy: 4)
= 10% Defense Melee, 5% Defense S/L
2.5% Defense Ranged, 5% Defense E/N (Superior Witchcraft: 3)
2.5% Defense AoE, 5% Defense F/C (Superior Avalanche: 6)
3.75% Endurance Reduction (Preventive Medicine: 5)
3.75% Endurance Reduction (Reactive Defenses: 5)
= 7.5% Endurance Reduction
6% Healing (Panacea: 6)
-4 Knockback (Blessing of the Zephyr: 1)
1.5% Max Health (Panacea: 4)
1.875% Max Health (Preventive Medicine: 3)
1.875% Max Health (Reactive Defenses: 3)
1.875% Max Health (Performance Shifter: 3)
3% Max Health (Apocalypse: 3)
3% Max Health (Superior Command of the Mastermind: 3)
= 13.125% Max Health
7.5% Movement Speed (Performance Shifter: 2)
7.5% Range (Rolling Barrage: 2)
7.5% Recharge (Panacea: 5)
7.5% Recharge (Luck of the Gambler: 1)
7.5% Recharge (Luck of the Gambler: 1)
7.5% Recharge (Luck of the Gambler: 1)
7.5% Recharge (Luck of the Gambler: 1)
8.75% Recharge (Preventive Medicine: 6)
8.75% Recharge (Reactive Defenses: 6)
10% Recharge (Apocalypse: 5)
10% Recharge (Superior Witchcraft: 4)
10% Recharge (Superior Command of the Mastermind: 4)
10% Recharge (Hetacomb: 5)
10% Recharge (Superior Mark of Supremacy: 2)
= 105% Recharge
2.5% Recovery (Panacea: 2)
4% Recovery (Hetacomb: 2)
4% Recovery (Superior Avalanche: 4)
= 10.5% Recovery
10% Regeneration (Panacea: 3)
12% Regeneration (Overwhelming Force: 2)
16% Regeneration (Soulbound Allegiance: 2)
16% Regeneration (Apocalypse: 2)
= 54% Regeneration
1.5% Resist S/L, 2.5% Resist Mez (Reactive Defenses: 2)
2.25% Resist S/L, 3.75% Resist Mez (Preventive Medicine: 2)
= 3.75% Resist S/L
3% Resist F/C, 5% Resist Mez (Preventive Medicine: 4)
3% Resist F/C, 5% Resist Mez (Reactive Defenses: 4)
6% Resist F/C, 10% Resist Mez (Hetacomb: 3)
6% Resist F/C, 10% Resist Mez (Superior Avalanche: 3)
= 18% Resist F/C
2.25% Resist T/P, 3.75% Resist Mez (Pacing of the Turtle: 2)
2.25% Resist T/P, 3.75% Resist Mez (Pacing of the Turtle: 2)
= 4.5% Resist T/P
= 43.75% Resist Mez
15% Resist Slow (Superior Avalanche: 2)
Note for Time Crawl:Time Crawl is one of the two "out of the box" T1 secondary powers that offers a 90% proc chance to any proc slotted into the power so long as there is
NO RECHARGE enhancement added to the power (the other is Infrigidate in Cold Domination which can slot even more procs!). With a 90% chance to proc, Time Crawl is capable of delivering more damage per casting of the power than Snap Shot, Aimed Shot or even Fistful of Arrows can deliver to a single $Target ... and the damage proc in Time Crawl gets magnified/multiplied by -Resistance debuffs, of which this build incorporates THREE procs in addition to the resistance debuffing offered natively by Slowed Response (ouchies!).
However, it's putting a Pacing of the Turtle -Recharge proc into Time Crawl that makes it utterly devastating against single $Targets, because this stacks the recharge debuffing deep enough to make most powers on most $Targets take 4x longer to recharge ... effectively denying them offensive capability for long stretches of time, rendering them substantially helpless to inflict damage on either yourself or your Ninja pets. This slotting of Time Crawl essentially turns Time Crawl into something of a "neutralizer" power that can take single $Targets out of the fight for extended periods of time. The combination of dealing damage while neutralizing offensive capacity at the same time is really quite potent ... but then Time Crawl enables the Delayed mechanic for Time Manipulation debuffs and mez powers, making them all 20% more effective (and increasing mag on some of them).
So the addition of slots to Time Crawl allows use of Time Crawl for very explicit Divide and Conquer strategies that allow both you and your Ninjas to take on fewer foes in parallel by ordering them in a more sequential fashion, dramatically reducing the risk of to any one Ninja at your command. After all, foes that can't fight back are easy prey for Ninjas to gang up on (safely!).
Remember kids, you can use a Break Free to neutralize Mez Debuffs ... but a Break Free DOES NOTHING for Recharge Debuffing(!). Most NPCs will have little resistance to Recharge Debuffing, while they can potentially have significant resistance to Mez (especially with
PToD in play) ... which is something to consider when it comes to multi-path neutralization of threats. Sure, Recharge Debuffing isn't a "HARD" lockdown like many Mez powers offer, but in plenty of situations it's for all intents and purposes the next best thing if you can stack "enough" Recharge Debuffing to prevent Foes from taking actions (for a long long time). Something to consider, I would think.
The trick here is that Time Crawl + Pacing of the Turtle 90% proc chance is basically going to smash the recharge times of your $Target into the FLOOR ... and keep them there for a good long while. It's not a "proper HOLD" power, but with a Pacing of the Turtle proc it you might as well start thinking about Time Crawl being as "effective as a HOLD" with respect to denial of actions ... and no, I'm not bluffing on this point.
Note for Time's Juncture:[/size]
Time's Juncture created a unique opportunity for slotting in that it debuffs both Speed and ToHit, making this power the ideal multi-purpose debuffer for the Universal Debuff set, Witchcraft. So rather than needing to choose to slot for Slow OR ToHit Debuffing, just slot Witchcraft and get BOTH. Combine the ToHit Debuffing of Time's Juncture with the Defense Buffing of Maneuvers plus Farsight and you're looking at living in the realm of
NO GET HITSU!! Defense Softcap within 25ft around your Mastermind, before even needing to add an Incarnate Alpha slot into the build. Having a +10% Defense Melee from set bonuses (Superior Avalanche: 5 and Superior Mark of Supremacy: 4), in addition to all other +Defense buffing and -ToHit debuffing make "keeping adversaries close" inside of the radius of Time's Juncture quite advantageous (before stacking Time Crawl and Distortion Field into the mix).
Notes for Distortion Field + Slowed Response:Distortion Field underwent a wholesale overhaul from previous versions of this build, in order to maximize its power to create (spherical) No Escape Zones. The enhancement for movement slowing (augmented by T4 Alpha Intuition Radial) pushes +2 Foes almost to the speed debuff cap (after
Purple Patch modifiers are factored in). The Distortion Field can be used for a variety of tactical kiting options, forcing Foes to keep crossing back and forth across it, never able to catch your Mastermind.
The procs have multiple opportunities for -Recharge debuffing and Psionic damage, assuming Foes "survive" being within the area of effect for long enough. Procs are checked on casting and then once every 10-11 seconds thereafter until the Distortion Field bubble expires 45 seconds after being cast. Since this is a Click power, it is possible to have multiple Distortion Fields active simultaneously, either overlapping or spread out. With Hasten and Chrono Shift active, along with a +105% global recharge from set bonuses, Distortion Field has a recharge time of 18.5 seconds, so keeping 2-3 of them cast concurrently is relatively easy during stationary battles.
Distortion Field has a 2% chance to proc a Mag 3 Hold, but a Time Crawl debuff applied to $Targets increases this to a 3% chance to proc a Mag 3 Hold. These (native to the Distortion Field power) hold proc chances are checked every 1s, with T4 Alpha Intuition Radial buffing the hold duration to 7.93s when procced.
The enhancement slotting in the build shown above gives Distortion Field a range for location targeting of 100.275ft, which can be useful for avoiding (immediately retaliatory) alpha strikes from most affected $Targets, battlefield position tactical constraints notwithstanding.
The primary purpose of Slowed Response is to act as a "chaser" debuff following deployment of a Distortion Field (effectively a 1-2 combo onto the same $Targets, setting them up for defeat). Distortion Field (which autohits) "mires" a group of Foes and then Slowed Response adds to their debuff woes (-Defense and -Resistance), leaving them more vulnerable to follow up (damaging) attacks and swarming my your Ninjas (and other allies, if present). $Targets that are debuffed by Time Crawl have their Resistance debuffed by -27%, while those unaffected by Time Crawl have their Resistance debuted by -22.5%.
Note that Resistance debuffing is "magnified" by other Resistance debuffs that are already applied, creating a compounding effect. Consequently, it is best to use Slowed Response prior to letting $Targets get swarmed by your Ninjas (and your Jounin, specifically) so that additional -Resistance debuffs become "stronger" as the stack of them gets deeper.
-27% then -20% then another -20% on top does not add up to be 27+20+20 = -67% Resistance debuffing (straight addition) when measured against a baseline of zero Resistances.
Instead, it's more like 27*(1+0) = -27% ... then 20*(1+0.27)= -25.4% ... then anther 20*(1+0.27+0.254)= -30.48 ... adds up to be 27+25.4+30.48 = -82.88% Resistance debuffing, because of the cascading effect of each debuff magnifying the next one (just like how Resistance inherently "resists" being debuffed, the same works in reverse).
Point being that Slowed Response, particularly in combination with other -Resistance debuffs, helps A LOT with making $Targets MELT.
Notes for Time Crawl + Time Stop:Time Stop received the proc MONSTER treatment in this rebuild, mainly because an AoE damage power isn't necessarily "needed" with swarming Ninjas providing a lot of the damage production on multiple $Targets simultaneously (who are all going to be Debuffed INTO THE GROUND by Time Manipulation powers). However, having the means to use a heavy hitting proc monster power like Time Stop (particularly in combination with Time Crawl) to "remove foes from the fight" via a combination of Hold plus actual high damage production was simply too compelling an option for this build overall. Depending on what you're up against, you can either split Time Crawl and Time Stop to neutralize 2 separate $Targets, or combine the two to suppress a single $Target VERY effectively (while hitting them with
up to four 90% chance damage procs in the process!). This then gives the Mastermind the "heavy hitter" needed to control/shape/sculpt the flow of battle in a way that favors taking even more pressure off your Ninja pets by reducing the opportunities for incoming damage even further!
And just in case it wasn't obvious, you're often times going to want to do a 1+2 combo of Time Crawl followed by Time Stop for a guaranteed Mag 4 Hold on a Boss, due to how the Delayed mechanic converts Time Stop from a mag 3 Hold to a (stacked) mag 4 Hold, with a 75% chance for an additional Mag 2 Hold proc chance on top (sufficient to hold an Elite Boss, albeit temporarily).
While Hasten, Chrono Shift and set bonuses are all buffing global recharge (by +225%), with no recharge enhancement slotted into the powers, Time Crawl and Time Stop have recharge times of 4.62s and 4.93s, respectively.
The animation Arcanatime of a repeatable attack chain (staying at range and not closing) goeth thusly:
- Time Crawl = 1.848s
- Time Stop = 2.376s
- Aimed Shot = 1.188s
- Fistful of Arrows = 1.32s
- Aimed Shot = 1.188s
= 7.92s
This chain can be repeated endlessly without animation pauses (pick your preference of starting point in it) for as long as your endurance and/or $Targets to attack remain undefeated while retaining stand off distance (which is better for cone attacks to be able to catch more $Targets in such attacks).
Other attack chain combinations incorporating Blink and Blink Blitz (to close range and buff Defense for yourself, while bringing Foes within your Time's Juncture debuff radius) are also possible, of course, depending on the circumstances you find yourself in.
Notes for Temporal Mending, Temporal Selection and Maneuvers:The primary point and purpose of these powers and their enhancement slotting is their set bonuses and procs.
A full 6-slot set of Panacea (a PvP Healing set) is extremely expensive but is obtainable from the Astral and Empyrean Merit vendors in Ouroboros. However, the Panacea proc is coded to apply its +Health and +Endurance effects to all affected targets ... not just the caster. This means that the Panacea proc can be put into TAoE and PBAoE healing powers (and psuedopets!) and have a chance proc for (and onto) any allies within the area effect healing radius or cone.
This behavior made me realize that the best location for a Panacea proc was therefore in an AoE healing power such as Temporal Mending in Time Manipulation, Wild Growth in Nature Affinity or Healing Aura in Empathy/Nullify Pain in Pain Domination ... or a psuedopet power such as Transfusion in Kinetics or Lifegiving Spores in Nature Affinity ... or even a cone heal power such as Regrowth in Nature Affinity. The Panacea proc gives extra Health and Endurance to all affected allies, not just to the caster, so naturally the best place to put it in a Time Manipulation build (any archetype) is going to be in Temporal Mending.
If a full 6 slots of Panacea is "too expensive" for your budget, a cheaper alternative is going to be either:
- 5-slot Regenerative Tissue + Panacea proc
- 5-slot Theft of Essence + Panacea proc
- 5-slot Touch of the Nictus + Panacea proc
Transfusion in Kinetics, for example, requires an accuracy check to hit, so for that power a 5-slot with Accurate Healing (either) plus the Panacea proc makes the most sense.
Temporal Selection gets 6-slotted with Preventative Medicine for those wonderful 6-slot bonuses ... and to perma buff multiple Ninjas concurrently.
Maneuvers gets 6-slotted with Reactive Defenses for those wonderful 6-slot bonuses also, which in combination with Preventative Medicine get very tasty indeed!
It's a lot of additional slots to invest (+15 slots in these 3 powers), but the difference those global set bonuses make (along with the powers themselves) and the procs in them makes an impressively large difference in overall build performance.
Notes on Pet Slotting:This time, I did a bit of a revamp for how the Pet powers get slotted.
- Genin are still the "knockdown controllers" whose powers can also trigger Build Up procs. Genin are also the "source" of the Pet +Defense Auras allocation of slotting.
- Jounin shift into becoming the "exploiters" with a defining TWO -Resistance debuff procs slotted into their enhancements. Given that 4 of the 6 debuffing powers of Jounin can proc those -Resistance debuffs, and those powers have recharge times of 3s, 5s, 9s and 12s ... that's a LOT of proc opportunities getting thrown around. All of that -Resistance debuffing then just magnifies and multiplies the rate of damage throughput into affected $Targets, making them MELT before you.
- A Pet Resistance proc that had previously been slotted into Jounin got moved to the Oni. This then consolidates all of the Pet +Resistance Auras allocation of slotting into the Oni. This reduces the Mez capabilities of the Oni back to baseline (albeit modified by T4 Alpha Intuition Radial), which is still "plenty" under most battlefield conditions. The loss of (raw) damage output is made up for in the -Resistance debuffing dealt out by the Jounin.
4-slotting the Mastermind ATOs into 2 of the Pet powers leaves enough slots "left over" to be able to slot in ALL of the Pet Aura+Build Up procs, while still doing decent damage throughput (baseline) and still have room to load up the Jounin with 2 "utility" procs for -Resistance debuffing. It also makes for a fine balance of set bonuses that harmonize well with the rest of the build plan.
Notes on Defense Buffs combined with ToHit Debuffs:Combine Farsight, Time's Juncture and all of the Pet Defense Aura IOs slotted into the build and your Ninja pets ought to be MIGHTY STURDY INDEED! Layer on top of all of that NO GET HITSU!! factor the Defense debuffing, Resistance debuffing, Recharge debuffing and Health "debuffing" (via damage procs) this build is going to be delivering and you'll be "directing traffic" as a Mastermind from a position of strength with the ability to recover and keep rolling with relatively little difficulty.
The cherry on top is the T4 Interface Diamagnetic Core for a 100% (technically, 110% with T4 Genesis Socket) chance for a -5% ToHit debuff for 10s (stacks up to 4 times) and a 50+10=60% chance for a -10% Regeneration debuff for 8.3s (stacks up to 4 times). The kicker, somewhat literally, is that your Ninjas and Lore Pets "inherit" the effects of your Interface slotting, meaning that their attacks are also applying -ToHit and -Regeneration debuffs, which can help them mitigate damage coming their way remarkably effectively, significantly increasing their "time to faceplant" so they don't go down too easily (or without a fight).
I believe that the best way to describe how this build feels to me with this combination of powers and slotting (and how they can all be used in mutually supporting ways) can best be summed up, I think, with the following maxim of how the build ought to play ...
You have already been defeated.
You just haven't gotten the memo yet ...
Hey, I'm a Ninja Mastermind who manipulates time ... figure it out already ...
