Damage on the add's is completely wasted damage, but actually controlling and instantly killing the add's is the name of the game. Your DPS is literally inconsequential in that fight, it's all about how fast you can chain your abilities together. Now that I think about it, that's true in Castle Never as well. I'll take an INT/WIS Control Wizard over some scrub that went with INT/CHA any day of the week.
I have enough AP generation as a INT/CHA CW. I think, excess control is a waste. My own priorities is control, enough to party survivability, than maximum damage, cause not everywhere persists an opportunity to drop mobs into pits.
I have enough AP generation as a INT/CHA CW. I think, excess control is a waste. My own priorities is control, enough to party survivability, than maximum damage, cause not everywhere persists an opportunity to drop mobs into pits.
Meh, it might just depend who you play with and what enchants you're using. INT/WIS is my personal favorite because excess control is never wasted, whereas excess damage is sometimes wasted. INT/WIS pops Arcane Singularity faster and on fewer add's hit making it a useful tactic pretty much all the time. I don't know your group though, so if you have some sort of arrangement with them maybe it works better. Perhaps your GWF is a Sentinel, your GF is a damage dealer, your rogue is a tank, and you're the AoE DPS. Anything is possible, but in PUG dungeons INT/WIS is a godsend over INT/CHA. More control lets me focus more on control tanking versus running around being unable to use any of my damage abilities because everything has aggro on me.
Aggro doesn't matter if they're held, juggled, slowed, and frozen. It's right there in the title of the CW. Control Wizard. It's not just Wizard, or Mage, or Sorcerer, it's Control Wizard. You don't even get a fireball spell. I don't see your point, at all, on INT/CHA. If the mage focuses on CHA, they are making it harder on themselves and their team so that they can point at the damage list and say 'hey I'm #3 instead of #4!'
If you're #1, #2, or #3 in damage your team is not doing it right. Your GF doesn't know how to play their class well, your GWF is clueless, and your TR is a fool. Each of those classes can and should pump out more DPS than the CW, even if you're INT/CHA they should be beating you. If they're amazing, they probably don't need the extra control though. Just know you could cycle your abilities faster, since INT/WIS does not diminish it's returns on stat points like your gear score does. It's a flat extra percentage per point, so those extra five points always equates to 5% better. At end game that's pretty huge.
You can, and will, do fine ignoring your crit rate when Eye of the Storm seems to proc insanely often on your AoE abilities. So much so that it's up every single fight I'm in. 100% crit makes anything CHA does for you moot in my mind.
MoF/Thaum CWSS/Thaum CWIV/Protector GFSW/Combat HRSM/Destroyer GWFWK/Executioner TRDO/Faithful DC
Whatever spell check you are using Copticone it is failing. It is not now, nor has it ever been, 'Steel Time'. Time is not made of metal. You are robbing people of their time, which is why it is called 'Steal Time'. I know it's just a nitpick, but it drives me crazy seeing you making the same mistake every single time you type the name of that skill.
First of all, it seems that you yourself don't have any experience with Spell Checks. "Steel" is an actual word, so no spell check in the world would correct it. Also, it appears that you have been sitting on this replying and working on it for a few days, since I had already fixed many of the "Steel" to "Steal" in the OP 2-3 days ago. There maybe some left over, but I honestly can care less. It was a silly mistake and it has no baring on anything. It's not like I confused the hec out of people.
I don't see anything at all in your build about how Entangling Force in the tab slot fills half a bar of AP though. It seems like that would be the kind of thing you would mention since it's kind of a big f'ing deal.
Yea I am sorry. I wasn't writting a CW101 guide. In fact it is not a guide at all.
Also, I myself only use EF on tab in ONE fight only, and that's CN Draco. So it is obvious that I do not think/feel it is ANYWHERE near "big f'ing deal". You want to slot it permanently on your TAB go right ahead, but it is waste with this build. I manage AP just fine with it, and often as the only CW in the group. With this build, there is no EF on TAB 95% of the time.
I also see no mention of Steal Time's cap of five targets stunned, or Repels cap of five targets knocked. In reading through your 'tips' on T2 content, I have to completely disagree with your methods. Repel on tab for Spellplague? Why on earth would you do that? It's so very, very terribad compared to Entangling Force in your tab slot.
Again, I know this concept is not reaching you, but this is NOT a guide. This is my personal build, and my personal tips that reflect EXACTLY how I run my T2s.
There was another thread about Spellplague specifically, and the majority of people who know what they are doing said they also use Repel. I suggest you take your argument over to that thread and share your wisdom.
Repel in Spellplague is not slightly better than EF on TAB + Shield. It is actually close to TEN TIMES better lol. The obvious and very elemental reasons are:
- MUCH shorter cooldown
- MUCH MUCH farther push from Repel than Shield Pulse.
- Even if your Repel ended up not shoving the adds far enough, at least they remain stunned long enough to run towards them and shield pulse.
- You usually are dealing with just 3-5 adds at a time. Better to keep shoving adds off the side every 7seconds ANYTHING else you're trying to accomplish with EF on TAB.
Actually, Spellplague is a great example of why CW should not build for damage and should instead focus on Control. Damage on the add's is completely wasted damage, but actually controlling and instantly killing the add's is the name of the game. Your DPS is literally inconsequential in that fight, it's all about how fast you can chain your abilities together. Now that I think about it, that's true in Castle Never as well. I'll take an INT/WIS Control Wizard over some scrub that went with INT/CHA any day of the week.
My friend, you can build your CW however you wish. You can "CLAIM" that you wont take INT/CHA CWs all you want. I pretty sure people would start wondering about you if you asked them if they were IN/WIS or INT/CHA built. lol
If this is working for you, and you are clearning/farming CN/Dread/whatever with no (or hardly any) wipes, then all the power to you. But there is no way in hell you or anyone else can convince me to forget about CW damage. 90% of our Powers are about damage. For anyone to tell me that the "right" way to play a CW is to focus on the other 10% is beyond rediculous. At the same time, I never ONCE told/advised anyone to focus on their damage. Crowd Control is a given. Throwing up singularities and recharging AP is elementary. All CWs, no matter what SPEC/Build have access to the same exact capcity of CC. That is why it is not discussed, or elaborater on. The only thing left to discuss, which can be different from one build to another, is damage.
If you think that EF on TAB is the only way to refill AP quickly, then you need to play around with this build the way I described it. It is one thing to criticize something after you actually try it, but to criticize it without having any experience with it, is not wise.
I am not telling anyone not to play their CW with that mentality. It's just totally not my playstyle. The day this class is reduced to spamming Singularities, is the day I will quit playing this character.
So it's a guide, but it's not a guide when you need an excuse. I'm not trying to harass you, it's a good build. No you have not fixed all the 'Steel Times', it's a minor gripe. CoI on tab works too, CW build AP through damage and CoI does damage. No where do I say that EF is the only way to do anything, merely that it's a really effective tool that you make passing reference to because with your build CoI must be on tab or you wasted your cap. Fine. EF is still an equally, if not better, AP generator on Tab than CoI if that matters to you. If you build 1/3rd of your AP meter using CoI you don't need EF anyway. (I honestly don't know if you do, I'm guessing it must if you've had any success.)
Also, 90% of our powers have to do with damage? Well, it's true they do damage but I hardly think anyone is honestly using Steal Time, Ray of Enfeeblement, EF, or Icy Terrain for 'damage'. That by itself blows your '90%' comment out of the water. The only 'pure' DPS spells the wizard has at their disposal aren't being used by you or anyone else because if you didn't use your control abilities no one would let you in the team.
If you're mad because I say that CHA is virtually a waste on a CW that's fine, it's a difference in play style. I'm sure the lesser AP gain, increased cool downs, and less effective control is all totally balanced out by your extra crit that's backed by no added critical severity what-so-ever on a build that doesn't even apply combat advantage. It's totally legitimate if you're getting it somewhere else, but how exactly do you benefit from the Combat Advantage portion of your high Charisma? Or are you just going for the measly added critical chance while suggesting that people take advantage of High Vizier's set which will again not synergize with a damage build what-so-ever?
It's just hard to take you seriously. I know you're probably clearing the content, that's fine, none of it is at all difficult if you have a team of competent people. And once again, you are rocking one of the most OP end game enchants you can purchase with your wallet. It's fine that you can get it legitimately without opening your wallet, before the need/greed system was fixed I can guess how you got all those AD with how easily perturbed you are and how defensive you become at any criticism of your build what-so-ever.
Push hits five targets. There are like 30 targets. Do the math on how long it's going to take Repel to even slightly matter if you're already HAMSTER up your Shield Pulse versus HAMSTER up your shield pulse and popping Singularity again. It's personal taste, EF is useful every time whereas push is only slightly useful if you're HAMSTER it up time and time again.
EDIT:
CoI does seem like it would work fine, it just that Freeze is less reliable and you yourself admit that damage doesn't matter for that fight. I'm not trying to draw you into a defense of anything, I just think you're selling your own build short by not investing in Wisdom as opposed to Charisma.
MoF/Thaum CWSS/Thaum CWIV/Protector GFSW/Combat HRSM/Destroyer GWFWK/Executioner TRDO/Faithful DC
@spacejew
The following is my opinion on things, and I am not going to drag this longer than this reply for the sake of everyone else:
1- There is no use to EF on TAB beyond generating instant AP. There is ONLY one fight that you would need instant AP, namely the Dracolich. And actually now with the longer Shield Cooldown, I am leaning towards dropping it altogether. What is the point of having your AP full and Singularity ready to use, when you cant even Shield Pulse because of cooldown.
2- You hardly think anyone using Steal Time for damage? Just a quick question. Have you ever looked at a damage parse for a full T2 run? Do you know what powers do what kind of damage? I advise you to do it at least a couple of times. You'll be surprised. In any case, Steal Time ALONE can amount to 10% of your entire Damage. Hardly insignificant.
CWs hardly use RoE for damage? Well that's a new one, sinice 99% of CWs have it slotted in PvP. Do you only consider things that do "direct" and "instant" burst, as damage Powers?
Hardly anyone uses Icy Terrain for damage? Again, try this build and say that again. You know how many Storm Spells get procced during icy Terrain? Do you know how much damage increase the chill stacks add to the overall damage?
You are looking at Powers from a very narrow perspective. The difference between your view of things and mine, is that I tend to look at things for different angles, and not just their obvious/general use.
3-I am not "mad" about anything you said, certain not mad about you claiming that CHA is virtually a waste. You think a stat that increases Crit, Companion Stat bonus, and more importantly COMBAT ADVANTAGE damage is a waste. Combat Advantage is the CORE concept of the Renegade tree, and the only thing left for Renegades to cling to after the recent nerf, and you're shoving it under the rug like it is garbage. You also do know that you don't need feats to take advantage of Combat Advantage. Again, I urge you to look at damage parses, and watch for the words (flank).
I don't think it is even worth arguing with you on this point. But again, the difference between you and I here, is that I will never say WIS is a waste. But I wouldn't want to STACK it, just so I can add 5% extra CC duration on a freeze or an Entangling force (an extra .05-.15 second), or a .3seconds on a cooldown of an Encounter.
The Ability Stat itself is important. It is not about what the STAT does, it is about what you get when you stack it. With this build. Stacking WIS does absolutely nothing. If you are running some experimental build trying to push the duration of CCs, and worrying more about spamming certain Encounters with long cooldowns, then sure go ahead and stack WIS.
But go ahead and show me how effective YOUR concept is, with some sort of video, or preferably MATH, and I may take it seriously.
4- Also I have NO IDEA what you are talking about in reference to my wallet and most OP enchant. LOL Did you even read the OP and actully the entire thread for that matter? My HIGHEST enchant is a rank6 (avg 30k-50k). My Weapon Enchant is a "LESSER" plague fire (Got it for 49k). My armor Enchant is a "LESSER" Soulforged (Made it myself using a Coalescent I bought for 67k). The real question is, how are YOU playing this game and not getting enough FREE earned AD to use similar enchants? Could I have spent $$ to get Rank8/9s + Greaters/Perfect? Sure. And I wouldn't judge ANYONE who would do such a thing. What business is it to you how people spend their money? It's not like they are cheating. How is spending $20 on Zen every once in a while any different from playing an MMO with a $15/mo subscription?
You may not take me or anything in this thread seriously, and that is PERFECTLY fine by me. If just ONE person here took me seriously and has been happy with this build, than it was worth the time I spent into posting it and dealing with "spacejew" lol. Fortunately, I think more than ONE person got something out of it.
5- The reason you have 30 targets during Spellplague, is a confirmation that your EF/Singularity/Shield tactic is a complete fail. Never ONCE during spellplague did I have to deal with more than 5-7 mobs, and you only need to worry about the blue guys, so in a sense it's really just 2-3 at most. Which is why, again, Repel, is much more superior.
During the final Phase, what is your EF/Singularity/Shield is going to do? I'll tell you. absolutely NOTHING. So what exactly are you doing during that phase, I have no idea. But I'll tell you what I am doing. I am letting the DC take all the aggro, using Repel to continue to push any Blues that come close to me, while DPSing the boss so he can go down in 20seconds.
The funny thing is, you will take everything I said as me arguing with you, when in fact I am giving you tons of tested tips/advice. You go from one thread to the next saying the same thing. Why don't you apply that effort into writing your own guide/build/spec and have everyone benefit from your experience. From the size of your posts, writing a guide should be a snap for you.
Maybe I'm wrong after all. You never even posted what stats you're rocking. Maybe you don't focus on Charisma at all and you're really an INT/WIS mage. Because Charisma logically does not flow into your build. Maybe I shouldn't take you at your word that you think Vizier's is a good set for a DPS mage. Maybe I'm wrong about everything.
But everything I see in your build tells me that Wisdom is a better match for it. Literally the only thing your build is getting out of a high Charisma would be extra chance to crit. Your build does not increase critical damage by any amount, and while it does debuff targets armor you can not build for enough crit rating with a set like Viziers to make use of any Charisma, especially since you don't at any point apply Combat Advantage. You would get more from added recharge, more ap, and longer CC effects than the measly 7% increased critical rate while wearing tank gear.
Have you even played a real DPS class? I'm honestly curious, because it doesn't look like you know the first thing about actually doing damage. There would be virtually no DPS loss in switching to Wisdom if all you lose out on is 7% critical chance. If you at least had some buff to either critical damage, or applied Combat Advantage, it might be different. Without knowing more, your build is not even close to optimal since I'm taking you at your word with what you're saying in the OP.
MoF/Thaum CWSS/Thaum CWIV/Protector GFSW/Combat HRSM/Destroyer GWFWK/Executioner TRDO/Faithful DC
copticone I'm using your build and I'm only level 29, I even surprised myself I out damaged another CW that was Int/Wis on a dungeon or skirmish. I use to be a renegade too, you showed me the light(or should I say cold ) if at level 29 I'm having a blast, later on will be so much more fun.
Be a Leet D00D, can't think of something smart? Always blame the economy.
@spacejew
So what you are saying, is that you don't know what Combat Advantage is. I apologize, but I can't possibly answer every singly NWO mechanic question. It's very easy to look up.
@spacejew
So what you are saying, is that you don't know what Combat Advantage is. I apologize, but I can't possibly answer every singly NWO mechanic question. It's very easy to look up.
It's added damage when hitting targets from a certain angle, such as when you attack from opposite directions with a team mate, and can be applied so that it's available as a general bonus from any direction? Some classes also get bonus AP generation when Combat Advantage is applied? If you're trying to say that you're standing behind your targets constantly while spamming magic missile there really isn't anything further to talk to you about. In your mind your build is perfect, when it is clearly not to anyone that knows how the stats work and what 'stacking' a stat actually means. There is zero synergy with your build and critical. It does not exist.
For that matter, what is your chance to crit wearing that High Vizier's gear eh? And your critical damage bonus? AP gain? Recharge bonus? You don't answer questions that anyone that knows anything about the combat system would want to know, which implies to me that you don't really understand the system itself.
EDIT:
Actually I really see it now. If you and a GWF are both going at the add's with both SotS and Plaguefire that's it right there. Plus the -15% mitigation on CoI? Yeah. That's the key to everything.
I realize I come off as antagonistic, I'll try to tone it down mate. It simply isn't true that your build doesn't synergize 0% with crit rating since you are buffing your base damage which does ultimately feed into crit damage.
MoF/Thaum CWSS/Thaum CWIV/Protector GFSW/Combat HRSM/Destroyer GWFWK/Executioner TRDO/Faithful DC
No, actually with my build you don't use Magic Missile. You did read the OP right?
The way I play my CW, is I am right in the middle of the mobs along with any other melee class. In general I am teleporting within the Astral Shield. So without even intentionally position myself, I am constantly in a combat advantage position to AT LEAST 2-3 mobs at a time. When we pull 2-3 groups of trash at the same time, this number goes way up. Like I told you, you need to look at parses just o get an idea how a CWs damage is applied. You will see a lot of (Flank) attacks, even on a non-Renegade spec.
And to answer your question, my crit chance is 35%. You're on the bandwagon of being a "support" CW and you fail to see the amount of Debuff this build gives to the entire part, not to mention the High Vizier set that you are keep bringing up over and over as if I am trying to escape a very tough question. If you fail to see a value in this set, whether with this build or any other build, no wonder you dont see a value in anything else I said.
It seems lots of your arguments are based on assumptions, and very little is based on actual practice.
No, actually with my build you don't use Magic Missile. You did read the OP right?
The way I play my CW, is I am right in the middle of the mobs along with any other melee class. In general I am teleporting within the Astral Shield. So without even intentionally position myself, I am constantly in a combat advantage position to AT LEAST 2-3 mobs at a time. When we pull 2-3 groups of trash at the same time, this number goes way up. Like I told you, you need to look at parses just o get an idea how a CWs damage is applied. You will see a lot of (Flank) attacks, even on a non-Renegade spec.
And to answer your question, my crit chance is 35%. You're on the bandwagon of being a "support" CW and you fail to see the amount of Debuff this build gives to the entire part, not to mention the High Vizier set that you are keep bringing up over and over as if I am trying to escape a very tough question. If you fail to see a value in this set, whether with this build or any other build, no wonder you dont see a value in anything else I said.
It seems lots of your arguments are based on assumptions, and very little is based on actual practice.
Eh, you do a lot of debuff but about a third of it is coming from your enchant type. When an enchant gives the same bonus as you feat cap...well I don't know but I don't like it. A 35% crit chance is actually fairly respectable, especially paired with a ton of debuff. I'm assuming you aren't actually wearing High Vizier gear though. I guess it just depends if you think 5% AP gain/5% Control Duration/5% Cool Down Redux is worth 5% crit rating/5% added damage on a few targets. (Obviously more than that in difference, depending on what your actual stats are.)
That's a lot to give up for damage that would still be great without using Charisma, without even going into difficulties in maintaining Combat Advantage on large groups of add's that are no doubt looking at you. If you actually intend on doing DPS, or building for Charisma, you should be using gear more suited to doing damage. (Which I assume you are, no matter what you 'suggest'.)
Either way if it works for you great. It's a solid rotation you've come across, and as you've pointed out before the feats don't have much to do with the control you end up putting out. The only thing I don't like about Thaumaturge is the end cap, even though it's a really good cap out of the options I just don't like CoI in my Tab slot and don't have room for it otherwise. At least it works though, so there's that.
MoF/Thaum CWSS/Thaum CWIV/Protector GFSW/Combat HRSM/Destroyer GWFWK/Executioner TRDO/Faithful DC
noojsterMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 23Arc User
edited June 2013
I was forced to create a forum account because of the fact I also have some questions for copticone
My 1st post. Lol
Just respecced my fresh lvl 60 Renegade (supposed to be) CW and started to follow this build. Even bought the suggested equipment
such as the High Vizier set. Which I am glad because the Epic weapon set is very much like the High Vizier Orb and Talisman. (which I still need to hunt in CN)
Currently im using high vizier, stats 3.7k power, 1.3k Def, 1.7k deflect, 912 regen (this is me without the Ion Stone companion which by far gives me more Critical, Power and Recovery which makes it around 4k Power, 2.4k Recovery 1.3k Def, 1.7K deflect , 1.1k Critical and 912 regen and the rest is close to 0 including ArP and life steal
currently no movement yet since I havent invested in Dark stones yet.
I still have not finalized my other stones to put in and stats to boost but will it be okay to have 0 ArP in this build and go all the way for more Power, Defense and Deflect? I am currently happy with 900+ regen and when I get the Arcane Orb and Talisman my Recovery would also be boosted to 3k. I have also decided to get the critical boost from Ion Stone of allure alone.
My final plan together with ion stone would be like, around 4k power, 3k recov, 1.xK critical, 2k defense, 1.5k deflect 1k regen and whatever movement I get from utility slots.
Am I on the right track or am I doing something wrong giving up ArP and lifesteal? Or am I investing in too much stat above?
Thank you very much copticone.. using the current build I find this very great for performing the role of a CW.
MeyvnHart
Lvl 60 Control Wizard (Tiefling) - Spellstorm Mage [Thauma-DPS]
Philippines' <TANGINA MO PO KOYA> Guild
Mindflayer Server
First, thanks for the (sorta) guide and the updates - very well laid out and much appreciated!
I haven't seen my DPS go up, or even stay the same from my old build, (which, was surprisingly similar when I was leveling up, I just didn't know the worthlessness of that storm spell at-will we get, so dropped five points in that feat). I get more DPS using avalanche, sudden storm, and steal time, but, I lose a lot of control without the chilll effects/freezing. I guess it's time I invested in ACT or something to actually fine tune my DPS... Also, I am not generating the same amount of AP as I used to, but that's another conversation and I'm not even sure why I'm not.
Anyway, second - I haven't heard of a 5 mob cap on steal time, as referenced by spacejew. Surely he must be talking about a cap on how many mobs that the group will benefit from our debuffing/buffing? Because I have personally seen 15-20 mobs stunned by the ability, and as nice as the buff/debuff is, the CONTROL aspect of steal time may just be it's most useful aspect. Particularly in epics, where these cute little oddly shaped red AOEs pop up all over the place and being able to interupt them about 20%-30% of the time can make a run go a whole lot smoother. Being able to stun commanders and red wizards in CN is a godsend...
Would you agree?
Sides, when mobs are standing there idle for two seconds, that's a lot less damage on the group (which is appreciated by the nerf to blue circles) as well as the ability for rogues to get into combat advantage (yet more group DPS).
(On my first point, it was just a commentary, no need to respond. There are SO many factors in this game that change DPS from one player to the next - runes, gear, playstyle, ability to dodge damage/not die-thus, stay alive to do more damage, how many times you use one at-will over another, how good you are at dropping singularity and punting mobs, etc etc - and don't even get me started how it could change from one dungeon to the next b/c you change out ONE piece of a 4 piece set.)
Anything is possible, but in PUG dungeons INT/WIS is a godsend over INT/CHA. More control lets me focus more on control tanking versus running around being unable to use any of my damage abilities because everything has aggro on me.
Finding a constant party will save you from gimping your CHA and bonus stats, cat/stone gives you.
. Control Wizard. It's not just Wizard, or Mage, or Sorcerer, it's Control Wizard. You don't even get a fireball spell. I don't see your point, at all, on INT/CHA. If the mage focuses on CHA, they are making it harder on themselves and their team so that they can point at the damage list and say 'hey I'm #3 instead of #4!'
Meh... who cares about name of a class? I'm range caster dd with ability to control mobs. And I'm usually on top or second place in a "paingiver".
If you're #1, #2, or #3 in damage your team is not doing it right. Your GF doesn't know how to play their class well, your GWF is clueless, and your TR is a fool. Each of those classes can and should pump out more DPS than the CW, even if you're INT/CHA they should be beating you. If they're amazing, they probably don't need the extra control though.
You can, and will, do fine ignoring your crit rate when Eye of the Storm seems to proc insanely often on your AoE abilities. So much so that it's up every single fight I'm in. 100% crit makes anything CHA does for you moot in my mind.
It has a cooldown 30 or 40 sec. No matter how it procs on AoE, it won't be 100% uptime. Btw, I'm a frost-based mage with chilling presence and storm spell. Completed ~40 times 4/4 CN. Other instances - countless.
@noojster
The Life Steal stacking, is just my recent personal preference to deal with the added aggro that came with the last update. There are different ways to adapt to the new mechanics, I just chose to go with the Life Steal stat. I get a slight rush when I am standing in an AoE circle, and instead of teleporting away, I begin to cast Steal Time. I see my health drop 6-7k from the AoE damage, then shoot right back up as my Steal Time hits a few mobs for several 1000s each, Shield Pulse is even a bigger heal, and Ice Storm is lovely when I am standing by a boss and just burning him down along with the adds.
With regards to your other stats, in my opinion, I think you are focusing too much on Power. Your crit is also a little low. I would take away 1k from Power if you can and whatever else you are still able to enchant, and balance out Crit and ArP. Without a doubt, ArP will give you the BEST bang per point for the first 1000 points.
Obviously the above won't improve your ability to CC and/or pop Singularities, but I am assuming that you are asking for the purpose of maximizing damage.
@agiletalent
There is a slight learning curve with this build, at least it was the case for me after spending months as a Renegade. You really need to create a playstyle that focuses on maximizing the procs of the Paragon Feats. Once you devolop a rotation that creates then maintains maximum chills on targets, and stacking Chilling Cloud's damage buff, your damage will sky rocket. Take advantage of EVERY situation to use Steal Time as well as Shield Pulse. Don't listen to any whiner that tells you to stop pushing mobs away. Your Shield pulse in the middle of 6-10mobs, will do more damage than 2-3 melee classes combined while giving the group 1-2second breather. Of course use common sense. Try to pulse just before they get sucked up in Singularity, or pulse against a wall so mobs don't get far. Run to the stragglers and Pulse them closer to the rest of the group. Pulse when someone has fallen or when the group is taking lots of damage. Pulse + Ice Storm when you are fighting several Elites. Our Shield Pulse is our hardest hitting AoE.
Some people who don't give Chill based builds a chance, argue that the freeze is just too short and breaks easily. Once you start looking at Freeze as more of an interrupt and less of a CC, things begin to make sense. Interrupting mobs, every 2-3 seconds, especially the ones that drop AoEs, knock you down, push you away, suck you in, is extremely valuable and helps the entire party mitigate a TON of damage.
I definitely encourage you to see a Parse of a run in Act. You will actually learn a few things just by looking at it. Don't get obsessed by it. I am not constantly logging every T2 I run. Doing it a couple of times every time you do any major changes to your CW, is plenty.
That could be my problem - I don't pulse as much as I could/should, in an effort not to disrupt the group too much (trying to avoid the faux pas of melee getting hosed by having to chase mobs around a room - I've been there and it is admittedly pretty annoying :P ).
Also, it can sometimes feel counter-intuitive to knock mobs out of your own AOEs (icy terrain/CoI going off). I didn't realize the pulse was THE hardest hitting AOE. (It's not like I never used it, but not nearly as much as when I used to have it slotted in my tab slot.) Having said that, I do punt (as I call it ) a fair amount, and use the walls and such to control the mobs, but it's a point well taken and I'll look to increasing how much I use the pulse. Thanks for the tip!
Also, going to borrow your information regarding ArP - hadn't really focused on it. Will definitely see about getting it up to 1k.
Thanks for putting this together copticone. I've respecced into it and I feel much more survivable. My CW was just an alt for me, and this thread sparked me to spend some more time into that character. My main is a DC and I only recently made this CW so he's got whatever my DC gave him/bought him so his gear selection is limited at best.
How do you recommend for newer endgamers on a budget, equipping him to best compliment this build. I'm most interested in how you got the life steal you have without sacrificing everything else. Currently he's geared in 2x Archmage's, 2x Focal, drake seal rings, volcano cloak, blue shirt/pants.
I'm going to buy him a stone tonight for a new companion. I have his offense enchantments with ArP (R5), and defensive with straight defense (R5). However the Vizier set is out of my price range at present.
Thanks for putting this together copticone. I've respecced into it and I feel much more survivable. My CW was just an alt for me, and this thread sparked me to spend some more time into that character. My main is a DC and I only recently made this CW so he's got whatever my DC gave him/bought him so his gear selection is limited at best.
How do you recommend for newer endgamers on a budget, equipping him to best compliment this build. I'm most interested in how you got the life steal you have without sacrificing everything else. Currently he's geared in 2x Archmage's, 2x Focal, drake seal rings, volcano cloak, blue shirt/pants.
I'm going to buy him a stone tonight for a new companion. I have his offense enchantments with ArP (R5), and defensive with straight defense (R5). However the Vizier set is out of my price range at present.
Some cheap items to look for
- Lord's Talisman of the Dark has 88 life Steal. Costs under 5k
- Demonweb Wrap has 150 Life Steal. Costs under 10k (+150 Life Steal with a 2nd on your cat)
- Orb of the Spirit Cave has 270 Life Steal. Costs under 25k (an EXCELLENT Orb)
- Berseker Belt of Restoration 110 Life Steal. Costs under 10k (+110 Life Steal with a 2nd on your cat)
- Get blue pants with defensive slot to use a Dark Enchantment. Costs under 40k
That's almost 900 Life Steal without using any Defensive Enchants yet.
when I first posted the OP I wasn't thinking ahead and didn't save an extra reply space underneath. The post with the graphics is not even mine. It was someone else who posted it.
I like the synergies that this build combines. I am waiting myself to see what the mobs are like in gaunt. If they need to be nuked down then this is the build to do it. You get the control through freezing without the dispersing of the mobs. Bet the GWF and rogues like running with you.
Whatever spell check you are using Copticone it is failing. It is not now, nor has it ever been, 'Steel Time'. Time is not made of metal. You are robbing people of their time, which is why it is called 'Steal Time'. I know it's just a nitpick, but it drives me crazy seeing you making the same mistake every single time you type the name of that skill.
Geez the rage is strong in this one. He would use the same spell checker you do.
Steel:
any of various modified forms of iron, artificially produced, having a carbon content less than that of pig iron and more than that of wrought iron, and having qualities of hardness, elasticity, and strength varying according to composition and heat treatment: generally categorized as having a high, medium, or low-carbon content.
Stopped reading the rest of your post when i realised you were not that bright.
0
acxeMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited June 2013
@copticone
Could you please explain how you do Spellplague last boss in more detail (or maybe there is a post-patch video somewhere)? I've tried him today and failed quite a few times. The first problem is - the controlled creeps, they just ignore any CC and melt you down if they're close. The second - repel just doesn’t get you enough AP, thus without singularities I get surrounded really fast. After that, of course, there is always not enough time to cast a steal time or a shield because of all that mob of angry creeps is just always following you with an amazing speed – even if you get 2-3 hits, it will cost you about a half of your HP.
I've been using shard in place of shield, mostly because the kb kicks the mobs out of icy terrain and CoI, breaking the freeze effect. And in encounters I find shard is good to use just before steal time, which can be safely cast once the mobs are down.
For boss adds, rotation after AS would be icy terrain while mobs are being vacumned up, steal time to catch them as they drop, CoI, then shard to force freeze.
Admittedly shard can be unwieldy, but it's pretty easy to use after AS.
Could you please explain how you do Spellplague last boss in more detail (or maybe there is a post-patch video somewhere)? I've tried him today and failed quite a few times. The first problem is - the controlled creeps, they just ignore any CC and melt you down if they're close. The second - repel just doesn’t get you enough AP, thus without singularities I get surrounded really fast. After that, of course, there is always not enough time to cast a steal time or a shield because of all that mob of angry creeps is just always following you with an amazing speed – even if you get 2-3 hits, it will cost you about a half of your HP.
Place AS far away from boss, where they won't be immune to CC (boss buffing zombies for more damage and immune). Generate AP with shield burst, which you use to knock adds off. Repel just for single mobs, that resping during phases.
@copticone
Could you please explain how you do Spellplague last boss in more detail (or maybe there is a post-patch video somewhere)? I've tried him today and failed quite a few times. The first problem is - the controlled creeps, they just ignore any CC and melt you down if they're close. The second - repel just doesn’t get you enough AP, thus without singularities I get surrounded really fast. After that, of course, there is always not enough time to cast a steal time or a shield because of all that mob of angry creeps is just always following you with an amazing speed – even if you get 2-3 hits, it will cost you about a half of your HP.
p.s. English is not my native, sorry for grammar.
If you and the DC pull the adds far away from the Boss, none of them should be CC immune. The blue adds can always be CCd regardless of the distance from the Boss. I use Repel to constantly push Blue mobs in the acid. Their Red Cone AoE is dangerous, as they themselves can knock you into the acid. So your priority is the aim your repel at 2-3 blues at a time. Repel has a VERY short cool down, so you can even waste it on ONE blue target. It becomes MUCH more manageable, when you are constantly throwin 2-3 adds over the side, then trying to build AP to do singularities for 6+ mobs. The biggest advantage of Repel is its push distance. You dont need to pull adds very close to the edge before knocking them. Even when you have Singularity up, if it is not right on the edge, it is better to hit Repel right in the middle of the Singularity then to use Shield Pulse.
In between phases, it gets easier since everyone is gathering adds in one place and you are tossing them left and right.
In the final phase, I dont do ANY AoEs at ALL. I let the DC grab all the aggro, and immediately focus on the boss. Any Blue mob that comes close I Repel in any direction, it doesnt matter. Every second you are dpsing the boss, that's 1 second less your DC has to kite the mobs. With 4 players DPSing the boss, it foes down very fast.
Comments
Not that it is an indication of anything, but I am currently at 10.6 with rank5/6 enchants.
Meh, it might just depend who you play with and what enchants you're using. INT/WIS is my personal favorite because excess control is never wasted, whereas excess damage is sometimes wasted. INT/WIS pops Arcane Singularity faster and on fewer add's hit making it a useful tactic pretty much all the time. I don't know your group though, so if you have some sort of arrangement with them maybe it works better. Perhaps your GWF is a Sentinel, your GF is a damage dealer, your rogue is a tank, and you're the AoE DPS. Anything is possible, but in PUG dungeons INT/WIS is a godsend over INT/CHA. More control lets me focus more on control tanking versus running around being unable to use any of my damage abilities because everything has aggro on me.
Aggro doesn't matter if they're held, juggled, slowed, and frozen. It's right there in the title of the CW. Control Wizard. It's not just Wizard, or Mage, or Sorcerer, it's Control Wizard. You don't even get a fireball spell. I don't see your point, at all, on INT/CHA. If the mage focuses on CHA, they are making it harder on themselves and their team so that they can point at the damage list and say 'hey I'm #3 instead of #4!'
If you're #1, #2, or #3 in damage your team is not doing it right. Your GF doesn't know how to play their class well, your GWF is clueless, and your TR is a fool. Each of those classes can and should pump out more DPS than the CW, even if you're INT/CHA they should be beating you. If they're amazing, they probably don't need the extra control though. Just know you could cycle your abilities faster, since INT/WIS does not diminish it's returns on stat points like your gear score does. It's a flat extra percentage per point, so those extra five points always equates to 5% better. At end game that's pretty huge.
You can, and will, do fine ignoring your crit rate when Eye of the Storm seems to proc insanely often on your AoE abilities. So much so that it's up every single fight I'm in. 100% crit makes anything CHA does for you moot in my mind.
First of all, it seems that you yourself don't have any experience with Spell Checks. "Steel" is an actual word, so no spell check in the world would correct it. Also, it appears that you have been sitting on this replying and working on it for a few days, since I had already fixed many of the "Steel" to "Steal" in the OP 2-3 days ago. There maybe some left over, but I honestly can care less. It was a silly mistake and it has no baring on anything. It's not like I confused the hec out of people.
Yea I am sorry. I wasn't writting a CW101 guide. In fact it is not a guide at all.
Also, I myself only use EF on tab in ONE fight only, and that's CN Draco. So it is obvious that I do not think/feel it is ANYWHERE near "big f'ing deal". You want to slot it permanently on your TAB go right ahead, but it is waste with this build. I manage AP just fine with it, and often as the only CW in the group. With this build, there is no EF on TAB 95% of the time.
Again, I know this concept is not reaching you, but this is NOT a guide. This is my personal build, and my personal tips that reflect EXACTLY how I run my T2s.
There was another thread about Spellplague specifically, and the majority of people who know what they are doing said they also use Repel. I suggest you take your argument over to that thread and share your wisdom.
Repel in Spellplague is not slightly better than EF on TAB + Shield. It is actually close to TEN TIMES better lol. The obvious and very elemental reasons are:
- MUCH shorter cooldown
- MUCH MUCH farther push from Repel than Shield Pulse.
- Even if your Repel ended up not shoving the adds far enough, at least they remain stunned long enough to run towards them and shield pulse.
- You usually are dealing with just 3-5 adds at a time. Better to keep shoving adds off the side every 7seconds ANYTHING else you're trying to accomplish with EF on TAB.
My friend, you can build your CW however you wish. You can "CLAIM" that you wont take INT/CHA CWs all you want. I pretty sure people would start wondering about you if you asked them if they were IN/WIS or INT/CHA built. lol
If this is working for you, and you are clearning/farming CN/Dread/whatever with no (or hardly any) wipes, then all the power to you. But there is no way in hell you or anyone else can convince me to forget about CW damage. 90% of our Powers are about damage. For anyone to tell me that the "right" way to play a CW is to focus on the other 10% is beyond rediculous. At the same time, I never ONCE told/advised anyone to focus on their damage. Crowd Control is a given. Throwing up singularities and recharging AP is elementary. All CWs, no matter what SPEC/Build have access to the same exact capcity of CC. That is why it is not discussed, or elaborater on. The only thing left to discuss, which can be different from one build to another, is damage.
If you think that EF on TAB is the only way to refill AP quickly, then you need to play around with this build the way I described it. It is one thing to criticize something after you actually try it, but to criticize it without having any experience with it, is not wise.
I am not telling anyone not to play their CW with that mentality. It's just totally not my playstyle. The day this class is reduced to spamming Singularities, is the day I will quit playing this character.
Also, 90% of our powers have to do with damage? Well, it's true they do damage but I hardly think anyone is honestly using Steal Time, Ray of Enfeeblement, EF, or Icy Terrain for 'damage'. That by itself blows your '90%' comment out of the water. The only 'pure' DPS spells the wizard has at their disposal aren't being used by you or anyone else because if you didn't use your control abilities no one would let you in the team.
If you're mad because I say that CHA is virtually a waste on a CW that's fine, it's a difference in play style. I'm sure the lesser AP gain, increased cool downs, and less effective control is all totally balanced out by your extra crit that's backed by no added critical severity what-so-ever on a build that doesn't even apply combat advantage. It's totally legitimate if you're getting it somewhere else, but how exactly do you benefit from the Combat Advantage portion of your high Charisma? Or are you just going for the measly added critical chance while suggesting that people take advantage of High Vizier's set which will again not synergize with a damage build what-so-ever?
It's just hard to take you seriously. I know you're probably clearing the content, that's fine, none of it is at all difficult if you have a team of competent people. And once again, you are rocking one of the most OP end game enchants you can purchase with your wallet. It's fine that you can get it legitimately without opening your wallet, before the need/greed system was fixed I can guess how you got all those AD with how easily perturbed you are and how defensive you become at any criticism of your build what-so-ever.
Push hits five targets. There are like 30 targets. Do the math on how long it's going to take Repel to even slightly matter if you're already HAMSTER up your Shield Pulse versus HAMSTER up your shield pulse and popping Singularity again. It's personal taste, EF is useful every time whereas push is only slightly useful if you're HAMSTER it up time and time again.
EDIT:
CoI does seem like it would work fine, it just that Freeze is less reliable and you yourself admit that damage doesn't matter for that fight. I'm not trying to draw you into a defense of anything, I just think you're selling your own build short by not investing in Wisdom as opposed to Charisma.
The following is my opinion on things, and I am not going to drag this longer than this reply for the sake of everyone else:
1- There is no use to EF on TAB beyond generating instant AP. There is ONLY one fight that you would need instant AP, namely the Dracolich. And actually now with the longer Shield Cooldown, I am leaning towards dropping it altogether. What is the point of having your AP full and Singularity ready to use, when you cant even Shield Pulse because of cooldown.
2- You hardly think anyone using Steal Time for damage? Just a quick question. Have you ever looked at a damage parse for a full T2 run? Do you know what powers do what kind of damage? I advise you to do it at least a couple of times. You'll be surprised. In any case, Steal Time ALONE can amount to 10% of your entire Damage. Hardly insignificant.
CWs hardly use RoE for damage? Well that's a new one, sinice 99% of CWs have it slotted in PvP. Do you only consider things that do "direct" and "instant" burst, as damage Powers?
Hardly anyone uses Icy Terrain for damage? Again, try this build and say that again. You know how many Storm Spells get procced during icy Terrain? Do you know how much damage increase the chill stacks add to the overall damage?
You are looking at Powers from a very narrow perspective. The difference between your view of things and mine, is that I tend to look at things for different angles, and not just their obvious/general use.
3-I am not "mad" about anything you said, certain not mad about you claiming that CHA is virtually a waste. You think a stat that increases Crit, Companion Stat bonus, and more importantly COMBAT ADVANTAGE damage is a waste. Combat Advantage is the CORE concept of the Renegade tree, and the only thing left for Renegades to cling to after the recent nerf, and you're shoving it under the rug like it is garbage. You also do know that you don't need feats to take advantage of Combat Advantage. Again, I urge you to look at damage parses, and watch for the words (flank).
I don't think it is even worth arguing with you on this point. But again, the difference between you and I here, is that I will never say WIS is a waste. But I wouldn't want to STACK it, just so I can add 5% extra CC duration on a freeze or an Entangling force (an extra .05-.15 second), or a .3seconds on a cooldown of an Encounter.
The Ability Stat itself is important. It is not about what the STAT does, it is about what you get when you stack it. With this build. Stacking WIS does absolutely nothing. If you are running some experimental build trying to push the duration of CCs, and worrying more about spamming certain Encounters with long cooldowns, then sure go ahead and stack WIS.
But go ahead and show me how effective YOUR concept is, with some sort of video, or preferably MATH, and I may take it seriously.
4- Also I have NO IDEA what you are talking about in reference to my wallet and most OP enchant. LOL Did you even read the OP and actully the entire thread for that matter? My HIGHEST enchant is a rank6 (avg 30k-50k). My Weapon Enchant is a "LESSER" plague fire (Got it for 49k). My armor Enchant is a "LESSER" Soulforged (Made it myself using a Coalescent I bought for 67k). The real question is, how are YOU playing this game and not getting enough FREE earned AD to use similar enchants? Could I have spent $$ to get Rank8/9s + Greaters/Perfect? Sure. And I wouldn't judge ANYONE who would do such a thing. What business is it to you how people spend their money? It's not like they are cheating. How is spending $20 on Zen every once in a while any different from playing an MMO with a $15/mo subscription?
You may not take me or anything in this thread seriously, and that is PERFECTLY fine by me. If just ONE person here took me seriously and has been happy with this build, than it was worth the time I spent into posting it and dealing with "spacejew" lol. Fortunately, I think more than ONE person got something out of it.
5- The reason you have 30 targets during Spellplague, is a confirmation that your EF/Singularity/Shield tactic is a complete fail. Never ONCE during spellplague did I have to deal with more than 5-7 mobs, and you only need to worry about the blue guys, so in a sense it's really just 2-3 at most. Which is why, again, Repel, is much more superior.
During the final Phase, what is your EF/Singularity/Shield is going to do? I'll tell you. absolutely NOTHING. So what exactly are you doing during that phase, I have no idea. But I'll tell you what I am doing. I am letting the DC take all the aggro, using Repel to continue to push any Blues that come close to me, while DPSing the boss so he can go down in 20seconds.
The funny thing is, you will take everything I said as me arguing with you, when in fact I am giving you tons of tested tips/advice. You go from one thread to the next saying the same thing. Why don't you apply that effort into writing your own guide/build/spec and have everyone benefit from your experience. From the size of your posts, writing a guide should be a snap for you.
But everything I see in your build tells me that Wisdom is a better match for it. Literally the only thing your build is getting out of a high Charisma would be extra chance to crit. Your build does not increase critical damage by any amount, and while it does debuff targets armor you can not build for enough crit rating with a set like Viziers to make use of any Charisma, especially since you don't at any point apply Combat Advantage. You would get more from added recharge, more ap, and longer CC effects than the measly 7% increased critical rate while wearing tank gear.
Have you even played a real DPS class? I'm honestly curious, because it doesn't look like you know the first thing about actually doing damage. There would be virtually no DPS loss in switching to Wisdom if all you lose out on is 7% critical chance. If you at least had some buff to either critical damage, or applied Combat Advantage, it might be different. Without knowing more, your build is not even close to optimal since I'm taking you at your word with what you're saying in the OP.
So what you are saying, is that you don't know what Combat Advantage is. I apologize, but I can't possibly answer every singly NWO mechanic question. It's very easy to look up.
It's added damage when hitting targets from a certain angle, such as when you attack from opposite directions with a team mate, and can be applied so that it's available as a general bonus from any direction? Some classes also get bonus AP generation when Combat Advantage is applied? If you're trying to say that you're standing behind your targets constantly while spamming magic missile there really isn't anything further to talk to you about. In your mind your build is perfect, when it is clearly not to anyone that knows how the stats work and what 'stacking' a stat actually means. There is zero synergy with your build and critical. It does not exist.
For that matter, what is your chance to crit wearing that High Vizier's gear eh? And your critical damage bonus? AP gain? Recharge bonus? You don't answer questions that anyone that knows anything about the combat system would want to know, which implies to me that you don't really understand the system itself.
EDIT:
Actually I really see it now. If you and a GWF are both going at the add's with both SotS and Plaguefire that's it right there. Plus the -15% mitigation on CoI? Yeah. That's the key to everything.
I realize I come off as antagonistic, I'll try to tone it down mate. It simply isn't true that your build doesn't synergize 0% with crit rating since you are buffing your base damage which does ultimately feed into crit damage.
The way I play my CW, is I am right in the middle of the mobs along with any other melee class. In general I am teleporting within the Astral Shield. So without even intentionally position myself, I am constantly in a combat advantage position to AT LEAST 2-3 mobs at a time. When we pull 2-3 groups of trash at the same time, this number goes way up. Like I told you, you need to look at parses just o get an idea how a CWs damage is applied. You will see a lot of (Flank) attacks, even on a non-Renegade spec.
And to answer your question, my crit chance is 35%. You're on the bandwagon of being a "support" CW and you fail to see the amount of Debuff this build gives to the entire part, not to mention the High Vizier set that you are keep bringing up over and over as if I am trying to escape a very tough question. If you fail to see a value in this set, whether with this build or any other build, no wonder you dont see a value in anything else I said.
It seems lots of your arguments are based on assumptions, and very little is based on actual practice.
Eh, you do a lot of debuff but about a third of it is coming from your enchant type. When an enchant gives the same bonus as you feat cap...well I don't know but I don't like it. A 35% crit chance is actually fairly respectable, especially paired with a ton of debuff. I'm assuming you aren't actually wearing High Vizier gear though. I guess it just depends if you think 5% AP gain/5% Control Duration/5% Cool Down Redux is worth 5% crit rating/5% added damage on a few targets. (Obviously more than that in difference, depending on what your actual stats are.)
That's a lot to give up for damage that would still be great without using Charisma, without even going into difficulties in maintaining Combat Advantage on large groups of add's that are no doubt looking at you. If you actually intend on doing DPS, or building for Charisma, you should be using gear more suited to doing damage. (Which I assume you are, no matter what you 'suggest'.)
Either way if it works for you great. It's a solid rotation you've come across, and as you've pointed out before the feats don't have much to do with the control you end up putting out. The only thing I don't like about Thaumaturge is the end cap, even though it's a really good cap out of the options I just don't like CoI in my Tab slot and don't have room for it otherwise. At least it works though, so there's that.
and also the featured satirical comedic adventure "A Call for Heroes".
Yup confirmed. Probably a stealth fix.
I also don't see RoE bug with Elemental Empowerment anymore.
My 1st post. Lol
Just respecced my fresh lvl 60 Renegade (supposed to be) CW and started to follow this build. Even bought the suggested equipment
such as the High Vizier set. Which I am glad because the Epic weapon set is very much like the High Vizier Orb and Talisman.
Currently im using high vizier, stats 3.7k power, 1.3k Def, 1.7k deflect, 912 regen (this is me without the Ion Stone companion which by far gives me more Critical, Power and Recovery which makes it around 4k Power, 2.4k Recovery 1.3k Def, 1.7K deflect , 1.1k Critical and 912 regen and the rest is close to 0 including ArP and life steal
currently no movement yet since I havent invested in Dark stones yet.
I still have not finalized my other stones to put in and stats to boost but will it be okay to have 0 ArP in this build and go all the way for more Power, Defense and Deflect? I am currently happy with 900+ regen and when I get the Arcane Orb and Talisman my Recovery would also be boosted to 3k. I have also decided to get the critical boost from Ion Stone of allure alone.
My final plan together with ion stone would be like, around 4k power, 3k recov, 1.xK critical, 2k defense, 1.5k deflect 1k regen and whatever movement I get from utility slots.
Am I on the right track or am I doing something wrong giving up ArP and lifesteal? Or am I investing in too much stat above?
Thank you very much copticone.. using the current build I find this very great for performing the role of a CW.
MeyvnHart
Lvl 60 Control Wizard (Tiefling) - Spellstorm Mage [Thauma-DPS]
Philippines' <TANGINA MO PO KOYA> Guild
Mindflayer Server
First, thanks for the (sorta) guide and the updates - very well laid out and much appreciated!
I haven't seen my DPS go up, or even stay the same from my old build, (which, was surprisingly similar when I was leveling up, I just didn't know the worthlessness of that storm spell at-will we get, so dropped five points in that feat). I get more DPS using avalanche, sudden storm, and steal time, but, I lose a lot of control without the chilll effects/freezing. I guess it's time I invested in ACT or something to actually fine tune my DPS...
Anyway, second - I haven't heard of a 5 mob cap on steal time, as referenced by spacejew. Surely he must be talking about a cap on how many mobs that the group will benefit from our debuffing/buffing? Because I have personally seen 15-20 mobs stunned by the ability, and as nice as the buff/debuff is, the CONTROL aspect of steal time may just be it's most useful aspect. Particularly in epics, where these cute little oddly shaped red AOEs pop up all over the place and being able to interupt them about 20%-30% of the time can make a run go a whole lot smoother. Being able to stun commanders and red wizards in CN is a godsend...
Would you agree?
Sides, when mobs are standing there idle for two seconds, that's a lot less damage on the group (which is appreciated by the nerf to blue circles) as well as the ability for rogues to get into combat advantage (yet more group DPS).
(On my first point, it was just a commentary, no need to respond. There are SO many factors in this game that change DPS from one player to the next - runes, gear, playstyle, ability to dodge damage/not die-thus, stay alive to do more damage, how many times you use one at-will over another, how good you are at dropping singularity and punting mobs, etc etc - and don't even get me started how it could change from one dungeon to the next b/c you change out ONE piece of a 4 piece set.)
The Life Steal stacking, is just my recent personal preference to deal with the added aggro that came with the last update. There are different ways to adapt to the new mechanics, I just chose to go with the Life Steal stat. I get a slight rush when I am standing in an AoE circle, and instead of teleporting away, I begin to cast Steal Time. I see my health drop 6-7k from the AoE damage, then shoot right back up as my Steal Time hits a few mobs for several 1000s each, Shield Pulse is even a bigger heal, and Ice Storm is lovely when I am standing by a boss and just burning him down along with the adds.
With regards to your other stats, in my opinion, I think you are focusing too much on Power. Your crit is also a little low. I would take away 1k from Power if you can and whatever else you are still able to enchant, and balance out Crit and ArP. Without a doubt, ArP will give you the BEST bang per point for the first 1000 points.
Obviously the above won't improve your ability to CC and/or pop Singularities, but I am assuming that you are asking for the purpose of maximizing damage.
@agiletalent
There is a slight learning curve with this build, at least it was the case for me after spending months as a Renegade. You really need to create a playstyle that focuses on maximizing the procs of the Paragon Feats. Once you devolop a rotation that creates then maintains maximum chills on targets, and stacking Chilling Cloud's damage buff, your damage will sky rocket. Take advantage of EVERY situation to use Steal Time as well as Shield Pulse. Don't listen to any whiner that tells you to stop pushing mobs away. Your Shield pulse in the middle of 6-10mobs, will do more damage than 2-3 melee classes combined while giving the group 1-2second breather. Of course use common sense. Try to pulse just before they get sucked up in Singularity, or pulse against a wall so mobs don't get far. Run to the stragglers and Pulse them closer to the rest of the group. Pulse when someone has fallen or when the group is taking lots of damage. Pulse + Ice Storm when you are fighting several Elites. Our Shield Pulse is our hardest hitting AoE.
Some people who don't give Chill based builds a chance, argue that the freeze is just too short and breaks easily. Once you start looking at Freeze as more of an interrupt and less of a CC, things begin to make sense. Interrupting mobs, every 2-3 seconds, especially the ones that drop AoEs, knock you down, push you away, suck you in, is extremely valuable and helps the entire party mitigate a TON of damage.
I definitely encourage you to see a Parse of a run in Act. You will actually learn a few things just by looking at it. Don't get obsessed by it. I am not constantly logging every T2 I run. Doing it a couple of times every time you do any major changes to your CW, is plenty.
Also, it can sometimes feel counter-intuitive to knock mobs out of your own AOEs (icy terrain/CoI going off). I didn't realize the pulse was THE hardest hitting AOE. (It's not like I never used it, but not nearly as much as when I used to have it slotted in my tab slot.) Having said that, I do punt (as I call it
Also, going to borrow your information regarding ArP - hadn't really focused on it. Will definitely see about getting it up to 1k.
How do you recommend for newer endgamers on a budget, equipping him to best compliment this build. I'm most interested in how you got the life steal you have without sacrificing everything else. Currently he's geared in 2x Archmage's, 2x Focal, drake seal rings, volcano cloak, blue shirt/pants.
I'm going to buy him a stone tonight for a new companion. I have his offense enchantments with ArP (R5), and defensive with straight defense (R5). However the Vizier set is out of my price range at present.
He's sitting around 1k def, 3k power, 800 ArP, 2.8k rec. 30% crit. Thoughts?
Thanks for the compliment.
Some cheap items to look for
- Lord's Talisman of the Dark has 88 life Steal. Costs under 5k
- Demonweb Wrap has 150 Life Steal. Costs under 10k (+150 Life Steal with a 2nd on your cat)
- Orb of the Spirit Cave has 270 Life Steal. Costs under 25k (an EXCELLENT Orb)
- Berseker Belt of Restoration 110 Life Steal. Costs under 10k (+110 Life Steal with a 2nd on your cat)
- Get blue pants with defensive slot to use a Dark Enchantment. Costs under 40k
That's almost 900 Life Steal without using any Defensive Enchants yet.
Tempest Magic 5/5 (Update 6-13-2013: removed points Snap Freeze and added them here after the recent changes)
Could you please explain how you do Spellplague last boss in more detail (or maybe there is a post-patch video somewhere)? I've tried him today and failed quite a few times. The first problem is - the controlled creeps, they just ignore any CC and melt you down if they're close. The second - repel just doesn’t get you enough AP, thus without singularities I get surrounded really fast. After that, of course, there is always not enough time to cast a steal time or a shield because of all that mob of angry creeps is just always following you with an amazing speed – even if you get 2-3 hits, it will cost you about a half of your HP.
p.s. English is not my native, sorry for grammar.
I've been using shard in place of shield, mostly because the kb kicks the mobs out of icy terrain and CoI, breaking the freeze effect. And in encounters I find shard is good to use just before steal time, which can be safely cast once the mobs are down.
For boss adds, rotation after AS would be icy terrain while mobs are being vacumned up, steal time to catch them as they drop, CoI, then shard to force freeze.
Admittedly shard can be unwieldy, but it's pretty easy to use after AS.
If you and the DC pull the adds far away from the Boss, none of them should be CC immune. The blue adds can always be CCd regardless of the distance from the Boss. I use Repel to constantly push Blue mobs in the acid. Their Red Cone AoE is dangerous, as they themselves can knock you into the acid. So your priority is the aim your repel at 2-3 blues at a time. Repel has a VERY short cool down, so you can even waste it on ONE blue target. It becomes MUCH more manageable, when you are constantly throwin 2-3 adds over the side, then trying to build AP to do singularities for 6+ mobs. The biggest advantage of Repel is its push distance. You dont need to pull adds very close to the edge before knocking them. Even when you have Singularity up, if it is not right on the edge, it is better to hit Repel right in the middle of the Singularity then to use Shield Pulse.
In between phases, it gets easier since everyone is gathering adds in one place and you are tossing them left and right.
In the final phase, I dont do ANY AoEs at ALL. I let the DC grab all the aggro, and immediately focus on the boss. Any Blue mob that comes close I Repel in any direction, it doesnt matter. Every second you are dpsing the boss, that's 1 second less your DC has to kite the mobs. With 4 players DPSing the boss, it foes down very fast.