Retconning my telepath, at last

squirrelloid · March 2016

The goal is to be a controller and buffer/debuffer.

Ego Sleep supplies disorient and fear (-20% damage)
Shadow of doubt's buff is -6% damage, and stacks 4x, plus CC for -20% damage (-44% total)
Mental Leech CS supplies an extra -5%
Ego Placate supplies -10% damage (and reduced defense!)
Ebon Sigils is ~-40% damage

Total: ~120% reduced damage, or damage output of enemies = ~1/2.2 = ~45% of base.

http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=13&n=Control Telepath&d=1653HVONIJG7000F0003I00FB00FA00L503F309F50BFH03F704F604N30300000000QJ002xTw00090F9C

Stuff I'd really like comments on:
Passive:
I'm hoping AoAC will solve the cooldown problem since many of those telepathy powers have long cds. But AoRP could be hugely beneficial, especially since I'm likely to end up tanking in the support role. (That constitution SS is not just because - i don't take con on most non-tanks). Without AoAC I'll probably need to swap Ego for Int. Would appreciate thoughts on passive / SS. Yes, ego placate + cc could be hilarious.

Open Power Slots:
2 powers available, no AOs, ADs, proper heals (even just something for myself, probably conviction), or party rezzes. At the same time, if i'm going to end up facetanking stuff, some more defense (primal circle maybe) wouldn't go amiss. And I feel like i need a more readily available stun - maybe thunderclap or vengeance w/ advantage. (Does that last one even work with stun/paralyze specs?).

Spec trees.
Not only did I flirt with Int primary, but the Pre spec tree is really getting me two things I care about: Hold duration and Vulnerability. Kind of disappointing. (Too much of it scales on secondary SS, and i was hoping to mostly stack Pre).

Secondary spec trees are even more of a boondoggle.
Sentry - Stalling tactics increases hold duration of stuns and sleeps, but not paralyzes. Defense aura is by far the best spec aura available for this.
Sentinel - Wither, Torment, and the most thematic spec mastery by far. But the rest of it is too focused on healing to be useful.
Arbiter - Concussion and Rend. Not sure how long concussion lasts against targets anyone cares about (legendaries and cosmics).
Overseer - Impact and Trapped.

I want to mix and match a couple of those for a proper 'controller' spec. I'm pretty sure the right answer is Sentinel and Sentry, but Sentinel is going to have wasted spec choices.

flowcyto · March 2016

I would def consider AoRP if ur trying to tank as Support, though holding aggro would still be tricky, as ur dps will be low and Support gives lower threat via SS"s innately. If ya do wanna tank w/ some support power, ya could just try Hybrid role w/ it, and maybe take Protector's Bulwark for threat gen, though then ya lose Sentry + Sentinel (which would prob be my picks for a pure support TP; or Overseer + Sentinel for boosting team dps).

CoPD and/or 1-2 ADs would be good for the remaining power slots if ya wanna try the tank route, yeah.

I guess the main issue is if ya wanna try tanking or not. If not then do drop the CS/CripC advs.

squirrelloid · March 2016

flowcyto said:
I would def consider AoRP if ur trying to tank as Support, though holding aggro would still be tricky, as ur dps will be low and Support gives lower threat via SS"s innately. If ya do wanna tank w/ some support power, ya could just try Hybrid role w/ it, and maybe take Protector's Bulwark for threat gen, though then ya lose Sentry + Sentinel (which would prob be my picks for a pure support TP; or Overseer + Sentinel for boosting team dps).

CoPD and/or 1-2 ADs would be good for the remaining power slots if ya wanna try the tank route, yeah.

I guess the main issue is if ya wanna try tanking or not. If not then do drop the CS/CripC advs.

I seem to recall that CC and CS on DoT powers generates horrific aggro (reapplies the bonus aggro every tick sorts of horrific aggro), so i'm not sure it would actually care about support's lower threat. (If i really wanted to tank, i could put CS on Mental Storm too).

I'm not clear what happens with CC and CS if i pop ego placate - does the damage debuff stay but the aggro gets wiped?

But tanking is just something that might happen. I don't particularly want to tank, but i do want the -25% damage from CC/CS (or at least the -20% from CC - I suppose if i just take CC i can use ego placate to throw away aggro on boss fights if i get it - not like Shadow of Doubt is getting used anywhere but a boss).

flowcyto · March 2016

Placate isn't actually a true threat wipe- its just a temp threat ignore against that target until you damage it again (which.. well, you will if ya have to kill it). Against bosses the temp threat ignore doesn't work, but the debuff works regardless of the threat component.

squirrelloid · March 2016

http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=13&n=Control Telepath&d=1653HVONIJG73Z0F0003I00FB00FA03L503F303F503FH03F704F604N303DM04EI05QJ002xTy2t1k0F9C

Dropping CC/CS and tanking thoughts, simply too many powers competing for slots.

Not sure on some of the spec point assignments (Sentinel really is a terrible tree to find 10 points to slot when you're a non-heal support) or advantage point assignments.

Feels like it could really use another stun, preferably AoE with a shorter CD than Gravity Driver. I'm willing to replace Rebirth or Ego Surge, so if anyone has suggestions (that would look like telepathy potentially), i'm all ears. (Sadly, thunderclap is just not thematic). Mental Leech could also go, as it doesn't contribute directly to toon build-mission.

flowcyto · March 2016

Here's how I'd prob make a Telepath w/ AoAC atm:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Presence (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Mind
Level 6: Shrug It Off
Level 9: Healthy Mind
Level 12: Diplomatic
Level 15: Quick Recovery
Level 18: Lasting Impression
Level 21: Negotiator

Powers:
Level 1: Psi Lash
Level 1: Ego Blast (Rank 2, Mind Opener)
Level 6: Telepathic Reverberation
Level 8: Aura of Arcane Clarity (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Shadow of Doubt (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Manipulator
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Mental Storm (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Ego Storm (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Ego Sleep (Plagued by Nightmares)
Level 29: Ego Placate (Svengali's Guile)
Level 32: Sigils of Ebon Weakness (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35:
Level 38:

Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations:
Presence: Repurpose (3/3)
Presence: Dominion (2/2)
Presence: Moment of Glory (3/3)
Presence: Vulnerability (2/2)
Sentinel: Torment (2/2)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (1/3)
Sentinel: Wither (2/2)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Overseer: Administer (3/3)
Overseer: Ruthless (2/2)
Overseer: Impact (2/2)
Overseer: Trapped (3/3)
Mastery: Sentinel Mastery (1/1)

Still as a pretty hefty -dmg debuff focus overall; CC is hold-based, but can still be alright in groups base don the CC strength alone. Left 2 power slots open for w/e.

squirrelloid · March 2016

I have not been impressed with Ego Storm ever since they made sustained paralyzes into incapacitates. The mechanical change that accompanied the terminology change gutted their usefulness. Yeah, it's a great way to get 8 stacks of manipulator - and give everyone 3 stacks of hold resistance so manipulator is useless. No thanks. (It also doesn't count as a paralyze against immune targets - cosmics and legendaries. It has to actually start a hold to proc paralyze specs - seen ample evidence of that trying to play with it in my previous build).

I agree ego blast/mind opener is amazing, but i'm working on an offensive telepath who's already doing that

. Maybe, since Mental Leech isn't that great for the build, but i'm not sold.

And there's of course nothing wrong with conviction. Just getting tired of using it on like every toon >.<. Admittedly, the only heals in my build are Sentinel Mastery and Mental Leech o.O. But they work for everyone!

Why int over ego? I've found int kinda bad after the cdr nerf. With cdr on gear having intelligence adds next to nothing. (And I was planning on pretty much dumping all gear into presence anyway, so i'm not going to have much int/ego - and i'm pretty sure the returns from ego will end up being greater at low levels because it isn't duplicated by gear). The only time to go Int as a SS now is either as primary for the specs, or if you need both cdr and cost reduction, since you can then split your gear between the two and int will still have a noticeable impact.

flowcyto · March 2016

Ego Storm could be TK Maelstorm if ya want another AoE CC that's not as buggy; its not in TP, but the only other option I'd consider there from TP is Ego Sprites (not a CC, but does help w/ AoE tagging things).

If ya dun want the MO + Ego Bast route, ya can always just use Mind Break if ya want a spam-able filler power. Just be mindful not to charge it if ya want ur TP debuffs kept.

As far as heals: my build prob had a bit diff goals than yours. If ya want to heal other players more often instead of boosting ur self-healing via Conviction, then Empathic is okay.. though I'd prob get Mindful Reinforcement first.

Ego 2ndary doesn't add much here either- esp if its not being geared much. I suppose ya could go for Dex SS for the crit% boost. The TP DoTs still scale w/ general crit%, even if they don't crit themselves. Could also consider getting Str SS just for a small bit of extra knock resist- not much, but no 3rd SS is gonna contribute much if ur mostly neglecting it regardless.

squirrelloid · March 2016

flowcyto said:

Ego 2ndary doesn't add much here either- esp if its not being geared much. I suppose ya could go for Dex SS for the crit% boost. The TP DoTs still scale w/ general crit%, even if they don't crit themselves. Could also consider getting Str SS just for a small bit of extra knock resist- not much, but no 3rd SS is gonna contribute much if ur mostly neglecting it regardless.

Well, i considered Rec, but I'm in support role. Similarly, End isn't much help. Int's only benefits are going to get completely wiped by gear. I've got Pre + Con, so that's 5 SS down.

iirc, Ego's bonus damage starts hitting (mild) DR after *70*, so i should be able to pick up like 10-15% bonus ranged damage even with minimal ego. That's probably worth more than the small knock resist bonus i'd get from str. Dex might be competitive, especially if I plan on not using crit mods in my offense primary. I need to see what I'm using now, but growth mods are certainly an option. Then it's just a math question of whether dex gives me enough crit to be worth more than ego. (At 50% severity, you'd need +20% crit chance to be worth +10% true bonus damage. I don't know how much 'theoretical' ego bonus damage that translates into, but i'm guessing no more than 15% given i'm not stacking tons of damage multipliers).

squirrelloid · March 2016

http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=13&n=Control Telepath&d=1653HVONIJG70Z3F0003I00FB00FA03L503F303F503FH03F70CF604N303DM00FD05QJ002xTy0aGG0E7F

This is what i ended up going with. Yes, the only damaging attack without a cd is the energy builder.

After some testing on dummies, psychic vortex stun probability is actually pretty frequent, and seems to scale with manipulator and maybe other stun duration things. And bonus: you can have multiple psychic vortices up at the same time! It lasts 24s, and i'm achieving a 9.5s cd with current gear....

Ego placate is hilarious with the manipulator stack duration change. Low cost, no cd, stacks manipulator, doesn't inflict hold resistance. It's like a mandatory secondary power to be a controller now. ::rolleyes::

Soloing rotation: Mental Storm or Ego Sleep (full charge), cycle mental leech and shadow of doubt and mental storm as they come up, with ego placates in between to build/keep manipulator stacks. Most things die before they ever wake up. (Yes, none of those break sleep).

Team content: Psychic Vortex for stun action while you drop your sigils. Cycle Mental Leech/Mental Storm for AoE dps with obligatory ego placates. Gravity Driver as necessary.

Bosses: Gravity Driver for resistance debuff. Cycle Mental Storm and Ego Sleep for Wither/Vulnerability (both have sub-10s cds, so you can get constant coverage). No reason not to use vortex for added dps as you cycle shadow/leech/storm when they come off cd and ego placate for the damage/resistance debuff.

The heal between sentinel spec, mental leech stacks, and sentinel mastery is actually rather significant.

flowcyto · March 2016

iirc, Ego at 70 gives about 20% passive dmg bonus to ranged. W/ Manip and geared out SS's at lvl 40, you'd prob have about a 30-40% return on bonus dmg by then. So, for ex, 1/3rd of 20% = ~6.5% final dmg bonus @ 8 Manip stacks, perhaps. The DRs a tough thing to figure out, so ya may just have to see how the final dmg numbers before and after adding 20-30% passive dmg. Ya can see what that's like by temporarily adding in CoEW (20% at R1; 30% at r3) in the PTS or something.

Only other thing w/ ur build atm is that there's no spammable direct dmg attack, but I guess based on ur priorities this isn't much of an issue.

Retconning my telepath, at last

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