Bopper

I highly recommend turning this into a bind. I hate click drops so I use the powerexec_loc target bind to always cast it on my target. Did that with distortion field, game changer

For those that won't want to use unslotters, what would be the optimal placement of Gaussian Proc? Self, or Enforcers? It still wasn't clear if you (self) was getting the Build Up benefits, or if it was just the Enforcers...or both. On a complete side note, this is exactly why I started this thread. I hoped testers would dig into the PPM mechanics and discover things, and you just did that. Thank you for the service and please post any other findings you may come across in the future.

Very cool findings, great job. That 3rd bullet will surely be intriguing for Thug MMs. Can you clarify how you slotted the unique Gaussian Proc for this bullet? Did you slot it in your Enforcers, then unslot and put it back into your tactics? Or did you just have it slotted in your tactics? Or just Enforcers? I am trying to wrap my head around you getting 4-5 PPM and your Enforcers getting 3 PPM at the same time. For the 1st bullet, when you slot the Gaussian into the Enforcer, do the Build Up show up on only the Enforcers, or you...or both?

So this is very interesting. It does fall in line with my calculations a few posts prior, where I figured a team of 8 would lead to 3 PPM. What is especially interesting is that the procs that are going off on your pets is going back to you as a buff (not sure if that also buffs your pets by extension, which makes this a very nice feature for MMs). The last test I'd like to see is how this does without pets. Can you go to Atlas Park with Tactics on and just stand near Ms Liberty? I don't think you'll need anyone on your team, so what I hope to see is you seeing a large proc rate with all the Heros in your area.

Definitely could be a sample size situation. I haven't done any binomial distribution analysis to try to figure out the variance of data that we might see, but I can do that if needed.

You are unfortunately using the wrong formula. Tactics is a toggle so the formula should be: Probability = PPM x ActivatePeriod / (60 x AreaFactor) Tactics has an Activation Period of 2 seconds (note, ActivatePeriod is not the same as ActivateTime. It is the time between ticks/pulses from the aura). Tactics also has a radius of 60 feet. Finally, I'm not sure if Build Up proc would act more as a self only boost or if it could go out to any friendly in your bubble. So I'm not sure of the mechanics involved here. I also don't know if the proc is checking on every ActivatePeriod (pulse) of if its on every 10 seconds (which other auras, specifically damage auras, would do). I'm looking at your numbers now and in 3 tests, you have covered 93 minutes but have only seen 41 procs. That's troubling, because auras should line up with the PPM (in this case, we should see 1 per minute). This makes me think the radius of tactics is playing a part in the numbers. If that is the case, the AreaFactor = 1 + 0.75x0.15 x 60 = 7.75. So for a test consisting of just monitoring yourself, the PPM would be 0.129.... unless we are hitting the minimum probability to proc (which I think we are). The minimum probability to proc is PPM x 1.5% + 5%. So in this case, ours is 6.5%. If we are using an ActivatePeriod of 2 seconds, we would have 30 opportunities per minute. The probability of at least one proc within one minute would be 1 - (1 - 0.065)^30 = 86.7%. We are not seeing that in the slightest. So, what if the ActivatePeriod being used is 10 seconds? Prob = PPM x 10 / (60x7.75) = 2.15%... which is below the minimum, so we use 6.5% again. With only 6 opportunities for each minute, the probability of at least one proc is: 1 - (1 - 0.065)^6 = 33.2%. That last result seems to line up more with your testing, so let's assume that is the correct case. That means in your 561 activations (from ~93 minutes of testing) you should expect to see 561 x 0.065 = 36.5 procs. You saw 41. That is pretty close, and I am not sure how accurate your number of activations were, but I'm guessing you're close. So good job, I think you helped solve a mystery with Tactics (and likely other auras?). It seems to use a 10 second period for its calculations as opposed to its 2 second activate period, and it seems to use the large radius in its calculations...which makes me think any friendly in your radius would have a chance at a Build Up proc. Edit: It's worth examining the impact the impact the Gaussian Proc could have in an 8 person team. That would be 48 opportunities per minute, with an expectation of ~3 procs per minute. Still not world breaking, but it's something.

The recharge gained from Alpha/Spiritual will count as enhanced recharge in all your powers and will affect the probability to proc. Global recharge boosts from set IO bonuses (LotG, 5-slot purple sets, hasten, fulcrum shift, etc) do not count against your probability to proc. So to answer the intent of your question, yes it will affect the proc rate. It will lower the probability to proc for your click attacks (exceptions, some powers are pseudopets that act more like toggles, which are not affected by recharge, just activate period)

I'm not sold either. I got on a role with procs and I chased the set bonus for Eradication. I am all for tweaking it as you like. Also, if you're going for a pure solo build, absolutely ditch temporal selection. Perhaps you can grab Suppressive Fire and take the procs from Dark Consumption and load them into it. Definitely plenty of avenues to take.

I think so.

Activation Period for a power is the time between pulses. For Blazing Aura, I believe it is 2 seconds (you see damage ticks every 2 seconds). However, damage procs no longer are checked every 2 seconds (or whatever the Activation Period would be), instead it uses a 10 second period, so the proc will only activate once per 10 seconds. The proc probability will use that 10 seconds for its calculations.

I would think if the game is going to add more powerful incarnates you would also need to add more powerful content to keep some challenge in the game. So although I think the developers can easily incorporate the Omega incarnate (perhaps it's already developed), I don't think there is enough free time for the developers to create the new content. So for that reason, I hope it just stays as is. Afterall, I think of this game differently than other MMORPGs, it's played more for the nostalgia and the fact it still holds up after all these year. I have no expectations of expansion...which I wouldn't want, anyways.

Great point. I need to go back and check, but I thought whenever I used my Hail of Bullets, my stacks hit the max... but I don't know if that's for the multiple targets hit, the damage over time (12 hits per attack), or if I'm misremembering everything all together.

Here is a link for more information on procs: Testing On How Procs Per Minute (PPM) Really Works The expectation for procs in damage auras are as follows: ActivatePeriod = 10 sec (this is for all procs in damage toggles, even if the activate period in the actual toggle is less) Probability to Proc = PPM x ActivatePeriod / (60 x AreaFactor) AreaFactor = 1 + 0.75x0.15xRadius For Blazing Aura, I believe the radius is 8 feet, so the probability to proc on each target every 10 seconds is: Prob = 3.5 x 10 / (60 x 1.9) = 30.7%

Again, great info. I think folks who use ST hold attacks will definitely enjoy the added benefits. For instance, Suppressive Fire in Dual Pistols does almost no base damage (1.086 for defenders), but we slot it with 5 damage procs (4 holds, 1 slow) to make it do some big damage (an extra 354.69 damage on average, if you maintain 0.90 proc probability, so less than 46% recharge). The Assault Radial will now add an additional 137.247 damage. Not bad, 491.9 expected damage from procs for a power that has a 20 second base cooldown and 1.848s arcana time. Of course this will also apply to Dominate, Char, Freeze Ray, and plenty of other attacks.

If I am reading this right, are you saying the proc damage uses the original/actual AreaFactor formula (which you provided here as "((1+(Radius*0.15))-(((Radius/6)*0.011)/5)*(360-Arc))"), but the proc probability uses the dampening factor (New AF = 0.25 + 0.75 x Original AF)? If so, I'm not sure your spreadsheet is doing this in its calculations. It seems to only use the original AF for proc probability.

Great work and fantastic information. Is it possible they implemented the 0.75 dampening effect on the Area Factor mod (like with IO procs), or did they definitely keep the original Area Factor formula?

I feel ya, I think it's tester fatigue. I've been feeling it too. I'll let you know what I find, just now getting started. Edit: @Sir Myshkin so I only did a few tests, but my numbers were extreme enough to tell you that I'm not seeing what you're seeing. I did 5 applications of DF on a Rikti Pylon. My To Hit Bonus was 119% so all my attacks seemed to have the maximum 95% chance to hit. I had all 5 procs in my power (like the numbers I used earlier). Here are my results: I'll test again without Farsight in hopes my probability to hit is lower. I'll post my new findings with another edit to this post. Edit #2: More testing. This time, no Farsight, so my To Hit Bonus was back at its base of 75%. Overall, not much difference. Out of 25 ticks in my first 5 tests, I got 25 procs, 6 of them from the purple proc. For my last 5 tests I got 21 procs out of 25 ticks, with 6 of them from the purple proc. Plus I saw multiple procs, up to 3 procs on a single tick. It just seems I'm not seeing what you're seeing. How many procs are you using in your testing?

You had me excited for a minute, I thought you had tested it too. If you do, please post your findings. It would be interesting to find out how the Gaussian Proc works with teammates (well technically, I guess any friendly in your bubble). I suppose we could find a friendly who will stand close by and see if they ever get hit with a random build up. If so, that would be cool to know. However, I suspect the proc is self-only, and I would suspect the radius of Tactics would not matter. You're right, easy enough to test. Would be good to find out. Is this the case for all toggles? I assumed the 10 second period only applied to damage procs. That might be worth testing too, to see if the proc rolls only happen every 10 seconds or 2 seconds.

I am still surprised you're seeing less procs on a rikti pylon. As for my numbers, it was on a per target basis, so even if you used DF on 1 target, I expect the numbers I reported (well...my purple proc felt way too lucky, but still...). I would still use this against a single target because of the power itself (it's a super slow debuff and a strong recharge debuff) and the proc damage is good. But you're right, the bread and butter of it would be with a mob as it has a 20 (maybe 25) foot radius and it can hit 16 enemies at once. Let's assume it is a 20 foot radius (as Pines shows), and it follows the formula Prob = PPM x ActivatePeriod / (60 x AF). I should expect the following with my 5 procs per tick per target: AF = 1 + 0.75 x 0.15 x 20 = 3.25 Expected Damage of Unbreakable Constraint: Prob(Proc) x ProcDamage = 4.5 x 10 / (60 x 3.25) x 107.1 = 107.1 x 23.077% = 24.7154 Expected Damage of Regular Procs: 3.5 x 10 / (60 x 3.25) x 71.75 = 71.75 x 17.949% = 12.8782 With the purple and four regular procs, we get an expected damage per tick per target of: 24.7154 + 4 x 12.8782 = 76.2282 With 5 ticks total for DF, the total expected damage each target takes (assuming they remain in the DF region for the entirety of the 5 ticks): 5 x 76.2282 = 381 Now, I don't know all the ends and outs of the Distortion Field power. For example, I don't know if each tick is auto hit or if it does an accuracy roll. Nonetheless, all of my tests seemed to roughly match this type of expected performance. I truly don't know why you're seeing different when going against a single Rikti Pylon. If DF is doing an accuracy roll, perhaps my numbers are skewed by my extreme ToHit buff (all my rolls should be 95%). I'm on the test server now, I can see what happens when I try to take on a Rikti Pylon.

SlimPickens, I know we discussed a Time/DP/Dark defender build in another thread, but I figured it made more sense to reply back to you in this one (since the other was about a different build type). Anyways, I threw this together as mostly an AoE proc monster where you would typically use Empty Clips, Bullet Rain, Hail of Bullets, and Soul Drain perma'd. I also provided some ST capability too, as you can chain Executioner's Shot, Piercing Rounds, and either Empty Clips or Pistols (depending on what you want to accomplish). My build goal was strictly to get to atleast 35% defense in all my positionals that way Clarion Radial will get me to soft cap (it adds +10% defense to Farsight) and to also cap the S/L resistances. Hasten, ChronoShift, and Soul Drain are not technically perma'd, but that's because I rely on all the FF procs to make up the difference (Empty Clips, Bullet Rain, Executioner Shot, and Hail of Bullets all have FF). Finally, I took Distortion Field and made it into the mini rain nuke. I do this because I still like the utility of the power and the damage is a nice bonus. If you want more ST attack potency, you can swap it out with Suppressive Rounds and 5 slot it with all damage procs. Although Suppressive Rounds does not do much of any damage, the procs all are ~90$ and you can average well over 300 damage per activation. Again, this was done kind of quickly. With more time and thought, I would want to improve the overall survivability (add more HP), and maybe squeeze a little more recharge.

are you still maintaining this? If so, it should be stickied/pinned.

Lol, no worries. I am notorious for that. For the last hour I sat in a meeting thinking...wait, did I write the formula wrong? Glad it's cleared up.

Maybe it's an order of operations issue. Let's use an 8 foot pbaoe as an example, Radius = 8 Arc = 360 AF = 1 + 8 x (11 x 360 + 540) / 40000 = 1.9 Break it down: 1 + 8 x (3960+540)/40000 1 + 8 x 4500 / 40000 1 + 36000/40000 1 + 0.9

My apologies, I should have picked up on that. Yeah, dark is viable and tonight I can probably tweak my build into something you'd like (or I'd like, for that matter).

Sorry, follow up reply. The best case scenario for any proc (ST or AoE) is Proc DMG x 0.90. The AF only impacts the probability, but if the cooldown is large enough, you can still achieve a 90% probability to proc (my soul drain does this, consistent nuke for all 4 damage procs in it).