[v3.0.1] Gravity/Time/Primal ... Wibbly-Wobbly Timey Wimey

[Socks10]

I am still using v2.0 of your build pretty much and just hit level 40. I did a lot of grouping with randoms last night and do not think I have the confidence (yet) to use Dimension Shift regularly with large groups. I actually enjoyed just sitting at the back, casting Slowed Response and Distortion Field into the current group, using Wormhole to bring adds into the main group, casting Crushing Field, and then moving to my single target chain. While I do see the benefit of using Dimension Shift here, I'm not sure it is worth the added explanation to these random groups and I'm not sure the Energy Font would add enough to a group to make it worthwhile. 

 

If I was soloing mostly or grouping with my small group of friends, I can see me going straight to the v3.0 build. I would like to still group with random groups though because I did enjoy it quite a bit. 

 

So, I have a decision to make. Do I stick with the v2.0 build, do I take the leap to the v3.0 group, or do I use the modified v3.0 group with Crushing field? I'm going to start buying some attuned sets soon, so I am going to be spending the next couple of days rereading all versions of these guides to land on something. Plus, hopefully, playing more with my Grav/Time to get a feel for what I'm using mostly. 

[Redlynne]

Remember, you don't have to cast Dimension Shift INTO the dogpile ... you just need to cast it and quickly detoggle it SOMEWHERE ... ANYWHERE.  You can cast it behind your group in area(s) you've already cleared (where it won't bother anyone) and still get the benefit(s) of summoning an Energy Font.  Being able to cast Dimension Shift off to the side simply as a proc mule adds value to what you're doing (and what you can do).  If you start using Dimension Shift 2-3 times a minute, people might get curious and ask you what you're doing (and why) ... and then the gears might start turning on how to make use of it.

 

Also, I think I'm going to need to update this build to remove the Entomb proc from Distortion Field.  So far I haven't heard of any successes in using Entomb in Distortion Field causing an Absorb shield to be cast on your Controller.  I'd hoped it would, but without evidence that it works I'll need to revert that change out of the build.

[Socks10]

I've decided to start at least testing some of this out. I'm still on v2.0 for the time being, but I added an Overwhelming Presence into Dimension Shift to proc Energy Font. Might as well start using the power more to see if I like what's happening. 

 

I looked into Entomb, and I could afford it, but that is a pricey piece to buy for a test. I may still check it out though...

[Redlynne]

53 minutes ago, Socks10 said:

I added an Overwhelming Presence into Dimension Shift to proc Energy Font. Might as well start using the power more to see if I like what's happening.

Start simple.  Find someplace in Echo: Galaxy City (so you don't disturb other people) and just start playing around with Dimension Shift.  Cast it just to proc the Energy Font, so you get a feel for that.  Stand next to some low level greys and cast Dimension Shift AWAY from yourself (and them) just to spawn the Energy Font and get a sense of what the Energy Font can do to them (damage and stun aura).  Get a sense of how long the Energy Font lasts.  Try doing quick toggle on/toggle offs of Dimension Shift, simply to spawn the Energy Font.  Wormhole some hapless greys nearby to you and cast Dimension Shift close enough to get yourself (and the summoned Energy Font) inside the bubble and let the Energy Font start tearing them apart while you're all shifted.

 

In other words, start to build up a FEEL for what you can do and where you can do it with Dimension Shift regardless of whether you're using it on a $Target or not.

 

Once you've given yourself a decent grounding in HOW to use Dimension Shift, hop on over to a level appropriate zone for you and start doing some street sweeping, just to get a feel for how to integrate all the things you learned in Galaxy City.  Start bringing it ALL together.  Singularity, Wormhole, Slowed Response, Distortion Field, Dimension Shift (spawn Energy Font) around yourself and the cluster ... and just start unloading your single target attack chain against whatever is locked into the Dimension Shift with you (and your Singularity).  You might be surprised by what happens (when using the v3.0 build) and just how much CONTROL you can potentially bring to the fight, even if you cast Dimension Shift "out of the way" so it won't disrupt the mayhem in front of you.

[Socks10]

I did play around for one mission that contained blue and white spawns. It was mostly about 12-15 spawn groups of two. Now, I'm not into the v3.0 build yet, so I only have a the Overwhelming Presence set IO in Dimension Shift and all other powers are using regular IOs. I only got the Energy Font to proc once. I also am not optimized for endurance because I was running into some issues. But, this is partly because of my build and partly because I wasn't doing the quick toggle on and off of Dimension Shift...I just let it run its course. 

 

Really like the idea of practicing on some low level enemy spawns. Will do this for sure to get more comfortable with Dimension Shift. 

[Socks10]

I'm leaning towards maintaining a v2.0 build for the remainder of my trip to level 50 (currently 40), but making some adjustments as I test some things before a probable respec at 50. I have been continuing my tests of using Dimension Shift to proc an Energy Font, but with mixed results. I have not been able to get it to proc very often. I'm probably only seeing an Energy Font on less that 20% of my casts. Now, looking at your v3.0 build, you suggest that if you're not comfortable, you can slot the Overwhelming Presence proc enhancement in Crushing Field instead and drop Dimension Shift from your build. I have no idea what my final build will be, but I do like having Dimension Shift. Also, while I can see Crushing Field being used a lot in a large group (I use it on almost every spawn), I rarely use it solo, so the proc would not even get a chance when not with a group. As you stated, Dimension Shift does not even require a target, so there are more opportunities in all situations. 

 

I do see that in the v2.0 build, the Overwhelming Presence proc enhancement in slotted into Wormhole. Maybe this is worth testing...

[Redlynne]

18 minutes ago, Socks10 said:

I do see that in the v2.0 build, the Overwhelming Presence proc enhancement in slotted into Wormhole. Maybe this is worth testing...

The idea there was that use of Wormhole would hit multiple $Targets and the chance to proc an Energy Font would be really high (with plentiful $Targets) ...

On 9/22/2019 at 7:41 PM, Redlynne said:

Wormhole: Overpowering Presence (1 PPM)
1 * ((90 / ( 1 + 40.93 / 100 )) + 3) / (60 * (0.25 + 0.75 * (1 + 20 * (11 * 360 + 540) / 30,000))) = 34.29% per each $Target

... and you then dump the compost heap of XP relatively near yourself so both your Singularity and summoned Energy Font get to work on the dogpile.  That was the thinking behind that decision, but then in the v3.0 rebuild I decided that I wanted to break up the Overpowering Presence set into 3 groups of 2-slots each so as to maximize the global mez duration gain for the entirety of the build (although, admittedly, Gravity Control features less mez effects than most control sets).  Doing that break into 3 groups of 2 then meant that powers couldn't be 5-slotted for recharge enhancement set bonuses, so it got a little tricky juggling everything into a new overall balance.

 

But the main reason for dumping the Energy Font proc onto Dimension Shift is that once you can catalyze it to Superior at Level 50, it switches from being a 1.0 PPM to being a 2.0 PPM and offers greater recharge (catalyze the End/Rech ATO along with it!) which in turn has no impact on anything proc related once Dimension Shift is up and running (my understanding is that Energy Font can only be summoned by the Controller directly, not by pets like Singularity or psuedopets like Dimension Shift independently of the Controller) while the increased recharge of the two enhancements only makes Dimension Shift available for casting more often (up to 3 times per minute!).  And with a 2.0 PPM for Energy Font, you could have +122.22% recharge slotted into Dimension Shift before it would fall below the 90% proc chance clamp (according to my calculations), so the added recharge is all upside in Dimension Shift, rather than downside reducing the chance to proc in another power like Crushing Field or Wormhole where increasing the recharge would lower the chance to proc (per $Target).

 

 

 

Also, I've got an update incoming to a v3.0.1 I'm preparing to post here Soon™ ...

[Redlynne]

Updated to v3.0.1 ... which will need the Issue 26 Page 5 compliant version of MRBU in order to parse correctly upon import.

 

I'm actually quite happy with some of the changes wrought in this update, including shifting slots from Tactics into Temporal Selection for a MUCH tougher Singularity (and Teammates when on teams!).

[Indarrable]

Out of curiosity, why mystic flight?

[Redlynne]

8 minutes ago, Indarrable said:

Out of curiosity, why mystic flight?

Gravity.

Time.

With Mystic Flight I can not only defy gravity (so as to fly) but also Wormhole Myself (so as to take a "shortcut" through the fabric of space/time) without needing to take two power picks for the privilege of being able to Fly and Teleport.

 

Since my Gravity/Time/Primal Controller is a tech origin, I just simply go Minimal FX on the Fly portion of the power, but keep the mystical rune sigil for the teleport (it looks cool when teleporting).

 

Certainly in the early levels in Praetoria, having Mystic Flight to be able to "hang in the sky the way bricks don't" so as to stay out of melee range AND be able to teleport past choke points so as to take up advantageous positioning has been extremely critical to success a number of times (I haven't bothered with counting).  Simply being able to ambush $Targets in a room by teleporting past the door to get the the back corner of the ceiling so as to see who else is in there (so I can plan my attack accordingly) has just been way too valuable.

[Sykar]

As a newbie to the game who just leveled his G/T controller to 20 I got to ask, why not drop Crush? I am leveling without it and do not feel that it is missing.

[Redlynne]

4 hours ago, Sykar said:

As a newbie to the game who just leveled his G/T controller to 20 I got to ask, why not drop Crush? I am leveling without it and do not feel that it is missing.

There are times when you don't need it ... and times when you do.

I'd rather Have And Not Need™ than the reverse.

I've also found some curious edge case uses that keep cropping up often enough that keeping Crush feels like a wise decision, even if it isn't always "needed" per se.  Redundant backup tools still come in handy from time to time.

[Sykar]

So far Crushing Field serves all the root needs that come up for me. Don't know how it will look later ofc.

[arkieboy72472]

I took some bits and pieces from all these builds and ideas and I am really loving my grav/time controller even more.

 

I 2 slotted the dimension shift with the pet proc and another from that controller archetype set. It is an easy toggle to get a pet. I slotted all 3 of the holds with 4 basilisks gaze for the bonuses then dropped 2 more of that same IO set in them for the bonuses, except the single target grav hold, which i added some damage Its to, though proc powers would work in there for damage as well. A quick toggle of it is all you need for the pet, but in a death room where multiple spawns are, it locks down everything. its great.

 

slowed response is great as a proc mule for not only the heel, but 2 other damage proc also. i 6 slotted a lot of my powers to split up bonuses here and there and add lots of overall recharge. the idea was to have wormhole up as often as possible. 

 

I just dropped 2 slow IOs in the targeted slow power patch. The hold isn't reliable enough to slot. With insane recharge I can stack it quite a bit.

 

When I get a chance I will post a build, as my take is much different. It can be tweaked. There is lots of room for recharge, defense bonuses, and all sorts of slotting ideas.

 

The main take away is that with premium slotting and set bonuses, I feel not so much a damage dealer, but a more masterful controller than I ever have with any build, and I have played lots of combinations. My new fun thing is worm holeing cimeroans into the water from the ditch below. When you have 2 or more gravity controllers on a team who know the powers, especially grav time, it makes things great for tanks and fun for people as one mob group turns into 3 all stacked on a tank like an orgy dog pile off of south park. Blasters get to blast recklessly. We can slow or stop everything. I am sure any two controllers can do this just like any dominator can, but man is it fun. 

 

[Sykar]

Off topic but since my main is a Grav/Time controller just wondering, how do I beat Arbiter Sands in the "Investigate office" quest at level 23? Going for his stupid drones does not help since he basically re-summons them instantly. He has a lot of health and dishes out a lot of damage and his web grenade is quite annoying. I can combat him to a stand still with a lot of kiting but after 10-15 minutes I gave up since it feels like a waste of time. Is outleveling him the only way?

Edited May 3, 2020 by Sykar
Little extra clarification.

[Uun]

On 5/3/2020 at 8:46 AM, Sykar said:

Off topic but since my main is a Grav/Time controller just wondering, how do I beat Arbiter Sands in the "Investigate office" quest at level 23? Going for his stupid drones does not help since he basically re-summons them instantly. He has a lot of health and dishes out a lot of damage and his web grenade is quite annoying. I can combat him to a stand still with a lot of kiting but after 10-15 minutes I gave up since it feels like a waste of time. Is outleveling him the only way?

At that level you don't have any -res, nor do you have Singy to help with your damage. Presumably you're not fully slotted for damage yet either. Are you using Time Crawl and Time Stop for the -regen? You could try getting some Envenomed Daggers for more -regen or get a Shivan in Bloody Bay. Other than that, bring a team.

[Sykar]

22 minutes ago, Uun said:

At that level you don't have any -res, nor do you have Singy to help with your damage. Presumably you're not fully slotted for damage yet either. Are you using Time Crawl and Time Stop for the -regen? You could try getting some Envenomed Daggers for more -regen or get a Shivan in Bloody Bay. Other than that, bring a team.

 

Thanks for the tips. I got to level 24 and though it took a few minutes managed to wear him down. Even at 23 I was never really at danger of dying but it really is a tiresome fight. Yes I tried my best to keep TC running on him. Propel and Lift are 6 slotted with 2*damage, 2*accuracy and 2*recharge.

[Redlynne]

So I've been messing about with my Gravity/Time Controller (now Level 16 and very nearly 17!) and I was churning through a lot of Defeat 15 Lost in Skyway and Defeat 20 Clockworks in Faultline and I kept trying to use Dimension Shift to proc an Energy Font and it just kept not happening.  The proc chance on initial casting ought to be this:

On 3/30/2020 at 9:41 PM, Redlynne said:

Dimension Shift: Overpowering Presence (1.0 PPM

• 1.0 * ((60 / ( 1 + 19.01 / 100 )) + 1.17) / (60 * (0.25 + 0.75 * (1 + 0 * (11 * 0 + 540) / 30,000))) = 85.98% @ Level 10
• 1.0 * ((60 / ( 1 + 68.90 / 100 )) + 1.17) / (60 * (0.25 + 0.75 * (1 + 0 * (11 * 0 + 540) / 30,000))) = 61.16% @ Level 50

But for some reason is simply will not proc even once after a dozen casts.  Which makes me think that there might be something up with the Overpowering Presence ATO itself and how it interacts with Dimension Shift.

 

Bare minimum though, it's starting to look like the slotting I've got for this is going to be a bust and I'll need to reshuffle slots all over again for an updated version.  Fortunately, reworking my Mind/Nature/Primal Controller has given me some ideas on how to do exactly that.

[Redlynne]

Was able to scrape together enough time today in between dodging phone calls for my Day Job™ to reconstruct the build and ... something interesting happened.

 

The biggest change was simply dropping Energy Torrent and replacing it with the Primal Mastery shield power, so as to cannibalize the 5 slots that had previously been allocated to Energy Torrent.  I also pulled the (now unnecessary) extra slot from Dimension Shift.  That then gave me enough "loose" slots to allocate 5 slots to Crush (so it could take the Entropic Chaos and later Ranged Purple 50 set), 4 slots to Time's Juncture (so it could take the Dark Watcher's Despair set) and 4 slots to Time Stop (so it could take a Basilisk's Gaze set).  I then reorganized the use of Controller ATOs and managed to wind up using all 12 of them from the two sets, but the configuration ultimately became 5/1 and 5/1 since I wanted procs to go with the 5 slotting of the ATOs, but still managed to find uses for the "leftover" 1 enhancement from each set.

 

All of that then let me put Overpowering Presence back into Wormhole so that when Wormhole gets used an Energy Font will be spawned to help keep Stun mag stacked on the dogpile of XP that's funneled through the Wormhole (in a Stunned state).

 

I also swapped Preventative Medicine and Regenerative Tissue between Temporal Mending and Temporal Selection, so that Temporal Mending can apply an Absorb shield to anyone under 50% HP when healed by Temporal Mending (I'm hoping).

 

Overall, it's a decent upgrade over the present v3.0.1 build, especially after the disconnect/failure of the Energy Font proc when slotted into Dimension Shift.

 

 

 

Still learning how to leverage the positioning and timing of Dimension Shift in concert with Time's Juncture to increase the ... helplessness factor ... of piles of XP who need to faceplant.  Just the subtleties of positioning and tactics alone using those two powers can get VERY interesting!

[Mystic Fortune]

The Preventive Medicine proc will only affect you (the caster). The good news in regards to this is it doesn't matter where you slot it. It acts as a global proc. As long as its required criteria is met and your health has dropped below 75% it will have a chance to fire off.

[Redlynne]

1 hour ago, Mystic Fortune said:

The Preventive Medicine proc will only affect you (the caster). The good news in regards to this is it doesn't matter where you slot it. It acts as a global proc. As long as its required criteria is met and your health has dropped below 75% it will have a chance to fire off.

Ah.  In that case, I should probably swap Regenerative Tissue and Preventative Medicine back so as to have Regenerative Tissue in Temporal Mending and Preventative Medicine in Temporal Selection.

[JawGod]

Do you still recommend taking Dimension Shift while leveling this build?

[Redlynne]

5 hours ago, JawGod said:

Do you still recommend taking Dimension Shift while leveling this build?

 

Yes ... however you can swap Dimension Shift for Crushing Field if that is your preference.

However, if you do swap Dimension Shift for Crushing Field, you'll need to use different slotting.

 

For Dimension Shift, the Endurance/Recharge ATO is the ideal IO to slot and simply isn't replicated in other sets.  Dimension Shift does not require Accuracy (and has no use for Accuracy enhancement).

 

Crushing Field, however, NEEDS Accuracy in order to be useful because Crushing Field starts off with an Accuracy PENALTY on the base power, and has a very high endurance cost per click (you can easily burn your blue bar down by spamming this power).

 

The big deciding factor (for me at least) is that due to the demands of the rest of the build Dimension Shift/Crushing Field power can only afford to be a One Slot Wonder™ power.

As a One Slot Wonder™ my sense is that Dimension Shift works out better with only a single slot, while Crushing Field CAN work with only a single slot but Crushing Field really wants to have more than a single slot in it to get the most out of it (especially as a proc delivery power).

[Redlynne]

On 6/23/2020 at 1:57 PM, JawGod said:

Do you still recommend taking Dimension Shift while leveling this build?

Just ran into an edge case this morning where Dimension Shift allowed me to do what I shouldn't have been able to do.

 

 

 

So I was just finishing up pulverizing Outcasts in Boomtown (defeat 15) before logging out to get ready for my RL Day Job, so I needed to log out in the next 10 minutes or so ... but when I defeated the last Outcast I got a 90 minute Timed Mission to defeat the Auctioneer in Steel Canyon.

 

Needless to say, much swearing ensued.

 

So I hightailed it over to the mission door in Steel Canyon and used Reveal on the warehouse map to figure out where to go ... raced past everything (along the ceiling) into the final room, found the named Boss (Snow-Pac) and defeated the room he was in ... and still needed to go click 4 glowies on the map.

 

More swearing ensued, because I had less than 8 minutes before I HAD TO log out at that point.

 

So I grabbed the one glowie in the room I'd cleared and then started racing backwards to find the other glowies ... dragging aggro along behind me as I flew along the ceiling while searching.

 

The first glowie had 2 spawn groups camping it, and while I was destroying them, the aggro train I'd gathered caught up to me so I had a mess of annoyed $Targets to destroy before I could click the glowie.  So I spent a couple minutes blasting them until I could click the glowie without being attacked.  Then I had to find the other 2 glowies, and I had less than 4 minutes left.

 

So I raced along the ceiling again, dragging along a train of aggro behind me as I passed until I found the next glowie, except this time I'd managed to scoop up about 5 spawn groups who were all unhappy with me, and it was going to take more time than I had left to deal with them.  And it was at that point I got an idea.  I deliberately lead the pile of aggro away from the glowie, got them nicely clustered up under me ... and used Dimension Shift on like 20 of them and got them all in the AoE.  That then let me fly out of the AoE over to the glowie, click it (while all the aggro was Dimension Shifted out of phase to me) and then fly off to try and find the last glowie.

 

However, I was half down on HP at this point and needed to wait for my Temporal Mending to recharge, plus I was close to the Mission Door entrance ... so I flew to the entrance, left the building (to drop all aggro), entered the Mission Door and the location of the last glowie was marked on the map for me.

 

Less than 2 minutes to go before the Day Job demands my time.

 

Fly along the ceiling again, dragging aggro behind me ... maneuver pile of aggro into a spot away from the glowie ... Dimension Shift the pile and then leave the Dimension Shift to go click the glowie.

 

Mission Complete.

Exit.

Pocket D Teleport.

Move to Base Portal.

Exit Game.

 

... just made it.

 

 

 

Without Dimension Shift, I wouldn't have been able to pull that off in that amount of time.  Gravity Distortion Field would have taken too long to recharge (and might have not hit everything) in the time frame I had to use it in.

 

 

 

So, definitely an edge case situation ... but for being able to click a glowie without continuing to be attacked ... only Dimension Shift will do for that when Line of Sight cannot be blocked.  Anyway, I just wanted to share that bit of tactical jiggery pokery brought on by the need to finish a timed mission involving a Defeat Boss & Crew plus click 4 glowies in about 10 minutes while playing at Level 18 which was only made possible because I had Dimension Shift.

[Hansu]

I recently made a gravity/time controller and stumbled on this board. I'm only level 14, but slotted  the overpowering presence energy font proc into crushing field and the energy font seems to come up pretty regularly with large mobs.  I've spamned Crushing Field and have gotten as many as 3 energy fonts out at one time. I've also slotted Debilitating Action: chance to stun and Overwhelming Force: chance of knockdown. Between the 3 procs, I've essentially turned my AoE Immobilize into a poor man's AoE hold. I know you're not big on Crushing Field, but considering how quickly it recharges and the number of people it affects, I think it's preferable to take both Cushing Field and Dimension Shift,  dropping Crush.

Edited July 2, 2020 by Hansu