Manipulator Build Suggestions

jaazaniah1 · July 2014

Lately I've been curious to try a build constructed around the Manipulator form. If I understand correctly, this is somewhat tricky to do because of the limited number of powers that proc it properly. I'm not really sure where to start with selecting powers. Seems like stuns are the main way to go. I wonder if some folks would be willing to share their builds here? I'm especially interested in those builds around a coherent theme of some sort. TIA!

jairevans · July 2014

There are much better builders than I but I recently did this and after a lot of tweaking this is what I ended up playing.

I wouldn't recommend doing the first 14 levels as posted, as I said, I tried a bunch of things and eventually came around to this after TK maelstrom and Dragon kick really made it work.

I played in Support Role pretty much constantly for the boost to ally stats and the extended stuns. I would teleport into a group, tap maelstrom to stun, energy wave to suck them in, then spam dragon kick if they were weak or pop sigils and maelstrom again if they were threatening. I played a lot of grab alerts and had fun keeping everything stun locked until my buffed allies could finish them off.

Presense, Support Role, Stalling Tactics, Dominion, Torment, Wither, and Manipulator will make your stuns last longer than your cooldown reduction from Int and Gear will make your Maelstrom take to cool down.

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Grimoire
Level 6: Diplomatic
Level 9: Healthy Mind
Level 12: Shrug It Off
Level 15: Survival Training
Level 18: Field Ops Training
Level 21: Jack of All Trades

Powers:
Level 1: Eldritch Bolts
Level 1: Eldritch Blast (Rank 2, Sorcerer's Whim)
Level 6: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Manipulator
Level 11: Lightning Arc (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Dragon Kick (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Arcane Vitality (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Telekinetic Maelstrom (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Energy Wave (Reverse Polarity)
Level 26: Ebon Void
Level 29: Masterful Dodge
Level 32: Sigils of Ebon Weakness (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Protection Field (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Molecular Self-Assembly

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Teleportation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Millennial Flight

Specializations:
Presence: Dominion (2/2)
Presence: Grandeur (3/3)
Presence: Moment of Glory (3/3)
Presence: Force of Will (2/2)
Sentry: Precise (2/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Stalling Tactics (3/3)
Sentry: Reinforce (2/2)
Sentinel: Torment (2/2)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Moment of Need (3/3)
Sentinel: Wither (2/2)
Mastery: Sentinel Mastery (1/1)

flowcyto · July 2014

Manip builds excell at one thing in group PvE: stun-locking groups of mobs for very long periods of timers (which eldritch bl;ast's sorc's whim can take adv of for burst dps). Unlike other CC, stuns dun care what dmg you throw at them- they still hold up. Other nice aspect to Manip is ya can use either Int or Pres w/ it- Pres PSS is good if you have at least 2 sleep/paralyze cds (ego sleep, mental storm, bolas, etc) to roll it; Int is a versatile stat that's pretty much always nice to have for cds, and its a decent PSS tree to boot.

There's actually a few ways to make Manip work well- ya just have to either use a power that can easily proc it (ex: sonic arrow, eldritch blast) or a CC-cd power (Thunderclap, TK Maelstrom, Mental Storm, ego storm, etc) to keep it rolling. Other advantage to manip that's easy to oevrlook is that stacks last 1 min, so its much elss likely for ur toggle stacks to fall off between encounters. Most pwoers that can proc Manip can also do it out of combat.

I dun have the time/setup right now to post sample builds atm, but jairevans's style is a good example of what they are capable of (though if using LArc as the main non-CC-able boss attack, I'd find a means of working NI's debuff in there).

jaazaniah1 · July 2014

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to put something concrete together for a critique.

jaazaniah1 · July 2014

OK. Here's a 1st stab at it. How's it look so far?

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name:

Archetype: Freeform

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

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

Powers:
Level 1: Radiance
Level 1: Vengeance (Rank 2, Redemption Denied)
Level 6: Seraphim (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Eldritch Blast (Rank 2, Sorcerer's Whim)
Level 11: Manipulator
Level 14: Dragon Kick (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Telekinetic Maelstrom (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares)
Level 26: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 29: Sonic Device (Deafening Dissolution)
Level 32: Mindful Reinforcement (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 38: Masterful Dodge

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Flight (Rank 2)
Level 35: Displacement Acrobatics (Rank 2)

Specializations:
Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
Intelligence: Tactician (2/2)
Intelligence: Battle of Wits (3/3)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (2/3)
Sentry: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Sentry: Precise (1/3)
Sentry: Sentry Aura (3/3)
Sentry: Stalling Tactics (3/3)
Sentinel: Torment (2/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (1/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Wither (2/2)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Mastery: Sentinel Mastery (1/1)

monsterdaddy · July 2014

Manipulator building is much much easier now thanks to Mental Storm. You can create any crazy build you want. Laser Sword with PFF all Int mods MSA -- great tank dps and Shadow of Doubt w/CC is best boss damage debuffer and procs Manip too.

flowcyto · July 2014

jaazaniah1 wrote: »

OK. Here's a 1st stab at it. How's it look so far?

Pretty good. Here's some tweaking I'd make:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Archetype: Freeform

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

Talents:
Level 1: The Glacier
Level 6: Coordinated
Level 9: Healthy Mind
Level 12: Acrobat
Level 15: Negotiator
Level 18: Quick Recovery
Level 21: Impresario

Powers:
Level 1: Radiance
Level 1: Vengeance (Rank 2, Redemption Denied)
Level 6: Seraphim (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Eldritch Blast (Rank 2, Sorcerer's Whim)
Level 11: Manipulator
Level 14: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 20: Telekinetic Maelstrom (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Mental Storm
Level 26: Ebon Ruin (Rank 2, Paranormal Paranoia)
Level 29: Sonic Device (Deafening Dissolution)
Level 32: Mindful Reinforcement (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Level 38: Masterful Dodge

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Flight (Rank 2)
Level 35: Displacement Acrobatics (Rank 2)

Specializations:
Intelligence: Enlightened (2/3)
Intelligence: Battle of Wits (3/3)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
Overseer: Administer (3/3)
Overseer: Ruthless (2/2)
Overseer: Honor (2/2)
Overseer: Trapped (3/3)
Sentinel: Torment (2/2)
Sentinel: Caregiver (1/3)
Sentinel: Sentinel Aura (3/3)
Sentinel: Wither (2/2)
Sentinel: Genesis (2/2)
Mastery: Sentinel Mastery (1/1)

Changed the SS setup to assume ur making a hybrid build. If more a healer-hybrid playing in Support I'd prob take a PRES/Int/Con SS setup and add ego sleep in somewhere for Vulnerability.
Swapped out dragon kick for mental storm- better damage overall and ya already have enough stuns w/ TK Maelstrom and Sonic Device (plus dragon kick didn't really seem to fit the magic theme).
Changed Sentry for Overseer, since Trapped and Honor will work w/ the build. Also added ER w/ ParaPara to bump up ur paranormal dmg a bit. Cleaned up some of the spec and adv points too.

jaazaniah1 · July 2014

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. One thing I'm uncertain about. Does Sentinel Aura trigger Honor for this build, or something else? If so, will it be that useful in non-group content?

flowcyto · July 2014

Seraphim (and Med Nanites) passive heal aura triggers Honor. Sentinel Aura/mastery and similar spec-related ones do not trigger it, though.

To get Honor to proc when solo, ya can always get a pet- a dual one like the drones or command beasts (so honor will stack >1), or use a temp pet like the nightmares or shadows. Ofc, if ya dun wanna do that and want to prioritize soloing more, then ya can always skip Honor too.

jaazaniah1 · July 2014

Hmm, would Sentry Tree with Stalling Tactics be more useful then Avengers for soloing? Fortified Gear, Sentry Aura and Reinforce would help make him less squishy.

flowcyto · July 2014

You don't have Avenger in the build. Sentry would be okay, but be sure to pick up Precise (its only real dmg booster). I'd prob make Sentry Aura a low priority then; 2-6% damage resist isn't much (assuming it works like normal damage resist and defense and is not final/multiplicative, which I believe is true).

I'd prob stick to Overseer/Sentinel for the build, though.

jaazaniah1 · August 2014

Thanks again. I guess I'll try both Sentry and Avenger to see which gives the best balance of stun boost vs. survivability.

cyrone · August 2014

I've got some that use Manipulator.

Here

Here

Enjoy.

Manipulator Build Suggestions

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