Batterys How To Play A Controller

Discussion in 'Oracle’s Database (Guides)' started by Battery, Feb 15, 2013.

  1. Battery New Player

    Page 4 Index return to Main Index or return to the previous sections index

    Due to character post limits the hyperlink index is divided. Use the link above to return to the main index. Note that this list is only some of the topics in the guide, those from this point onward.
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  2. Battery New Player

    Batteries return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    Focus


    Batteries focus on the power giving skill. Their main contribution is to maximise the positive power given to the team.

    TheBatteryapproach to controlling is to raise vitalisation levels as high as possible. Doing this givesBatterycontrollers large power transfers and high POT ticks. The focus is to give as much power as possible to the rest of the team via positive power effects while using little power themselves. In this manner all the power they can generate can be passed to others rather than used by them for another purpose.

    Method

    The Batteryapproach starts with using high vitalisation controller gear and modifying it as much as possible with pure vitalisation boosting mods. As was covered in the modifying section each item of gear has a set colour affinity bonus. ManyBattery controllers ignore this bonus and use pure vitalisation mods in every slot. This raises their vitalisation to the highest possible gear level. Many choose to keep some of the affinities but ignore others. Socketing against affinity bonuses loses a controller 20% critical magnitude and 5% critical power chance. This is a considerable sacrifice.

    You should consider using vitalisation boosting sodas and vitalisation boosting tool rotations to maintain a level of vitalisation above that provided by your purchased path skills, such as gear and mods.

    The Batterys' main task is to cast POT and, should you choose, to also utilise the bonus POT tick. The other controller in the group is asked to refrain from casting POT so as to avoid overwriting the higher POT cast by theBattery. Your secondary task is frequent power transfers, ensuring your power bar is never full and that all members of the group are receiving power ar a frequency that lets them use their cast abilities often.

    Debuffing and other control effects are almost entirely left to the second controller, who often plays the surgical style and is expected to pass surplus power to theBattery. The groups other controller is expected to also carry a POT power in their ability tray should theBatterybe unable to cast a POT and backup is needed.

    Batteries limit the frequency of casting beneficial control effects in favour of passing the power to other players who can manage the threat in a different way or letting the surgical controller handle the threat.

    Summary

    This approach concentrates on positive power giving, one half of maintaining a groups power levels, and neglects the other half, passive power giving. It also focuses almost entirely on the purchased skill path.

    Casting POT takes less than a second and, baring positioning issues or rallied team mates, only needs to be done twice a minute (3 times if using bonus tick) or on trinket cool down should the most recent POT have been cast ‘off trinket'. TheBatterymay cast the POT every 20 seconds to take advantage of the bonus tick. This extra tick is detailed in the "Bonus POT Tick" section later in the guide.

    High vitalisation levels are obtained solely through the purchased path so any player of any skill level can play as a battery controller simply by getting the appropriate gear and consumables.

    Usage

    Batterycontrolling is the easiest style to play and is often used as a starting strategy for new controllers. It is best suited for pre-made groups or for groups using only one controller as the limitations it places on other players may not be welcomed by outsiders invited to take part.

    Some of the approaches by DPS to damage use large amounts of power to support their rotations. Batteries are often used by these teams in order to maintain the high power requirements.

    Analysis

    This style of play has limitations. It neglects the majority of advantages that a controller can bring to a team by focusing too highly on a single aspect of the role. ABatteryuses purchased skills to raise their contribution. Styles based on purchased skills have their roots in gear statistics, not player actions and skill level. This makes the style easily accessible as it is based so heavily in the purchased path but with that, makes itself very inflexible.

    Part of this inflexibility comes from theBatteryoften using pure vitalisation mods is all slots or at the least every yellow affinity slot. This increases their vitalisation a few points above a mixed mod at the expense of a larger boost to another stat. This narrowing of focus reduces, or eliminates, any increase to their survivability, damage or power pool.

    Another limitation of this style is the restrictions it places on the other controller in the group. By expecting the other controller not to cast POT, yet to carry it on their ability tray as a backup, theBatteryplaces limits on the style of his counterpart. With only six slots available in the ability tray asking a player not to use one limits his options by 17%. Since each power set has two POT moves you are also restricting access to two out of 15 powers a player can choose from. A limited set of options is to operate with a reduction in effectiveness.

    Adding increasingly higher POT ticks, while holding all others factors constant, will at some point yield lower per-unit returns. Power cast cost, DOT stacking options and cast times remain constant, yet POT ticks are rising. This falls under the law of diminishing returns. The power added will return less and less result (e.g excessive use of non stacking DOTs) and those utilising the power provided may reduce their efficiency due to the apparent surplus.

    If playing this style remember that you may ask the other controller to reduce his effectiveness by not cancelling your POT but you cannot expect it. There are many experienced players who have progressed beyond the limitations ofBatterystyle who would view any request to limit their options as too heavy a restriction.

    Find controllers who supplement your style of play. Having two Batteries in a group can leave the team vulnerable to interrupts, uncontrolled waves of MoBs and increased damage levels.

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  3. Battery New Player

    Surgeons return to Main Index or return to this sections index


    Focus

    Surgeons focus on the debuff and power giving skills. Their main contribution is to reduce the enemies' effectiveness while also providing positive power. They surgically pick through the battle and seek the strongest enemies and weaken their effect on the team.

    Surgeons often play the other controller co-operatively alongside aBattery. This style concentrates on giving power out via transfers and debuffing as may targets as is reasonable. Use of control effects out side of debuffs is minimised as power is often passed to theBatteryor group when possible.

    Method

    This style works well in conjunction with any other. Focus your actions of reducing the effectiveness of as many viable targets as possible. Use your debuff abilities to reduce damage output, defence and healing abilities of enemies.

    Choose targets that are:
    • The largest threat in the room
    • Being focused by the DPS
    • Attacking the Tank
    • Supporting the Enemy.
    Ensure the Boss and primary targets are debuffed as frequently as possible, focusing mainly on the defence debuff. Avoid wasting too much power debuffing low level MoBs as this should be passed to the team via transfers.


    Many Surgical players choose to leave the majority of the positive power giving to theBattery. If you are playing cooperatively with aBatteryavoid casting a POT as this will override their higher POT with yours. However if their POT is ticking below what yours would be ticking on with your tool, then use your tool to supplement the POT. Even with theBatterycontroller cycling his trinkets, there will be periods when all his trinkets are on cool down. This is the time to use yours.

    If refraining from casting the POT you are often expected to carry a POT move on your ability tray but to only use it should theBatteryfail to cast a POT, or is unable to do so.

    Summary

    This approach concentrates on Purchased path skills for the power transfers with limited action path crossovers. Using mainly debuffs limits the use of cascade crossovers.

    The style requires consistent use of weapon attacks to assist in power generation. Since debuffing is usually frequent, and casting a debuff breaks weapon combos, the usual tier level to aim for is level 2.

    Usage


    This style of controlling is mostly used when playing with a controller who handles the POT and provides power for the Surgical controller to do frequent debuffs. You may be forced into this style if you join a group where aBatteryand DPS insists on you playing this way.

    Analysis

    As limits are placed on the Surgeons load out and the usage of his powers this style has restrictions. These restrictions reduce the players' options by 17%. This limitation in powers available to use is also a limitation in other areas. The POT power casting powers are also some of he best available control effects. Since each power set has two POT moves from the 15 they can purchase, Surgeons lose access to both of these controls.

    In the case of Gadgets, one power they are restricted from using is their only pull. Asking any player to refrain from using the only power they have that does a particular task is burdensome.

    The following powers will be largely unavailable to Surgeons.
    • gadgets :
      • Tazer Pull: This is gadgets only pull move. A powerful single target pull that also places a PI on the target. This makes a series of beneficial actions unavailable, such as; assisting the tank gather MoBs, pulling Mobs away from the healer or downed players, removing MoBs from the battle via geometry, electrifying targets for electricity DPS and healers.
      • Sticky Bomb: This AOE stun disables the target it hits then damages and knocks down nearby targets. Useful for setting up focus arrangements so the DPS have a series of static targets to focus fire with less chance of interruption.
    • Hard Light :
      • Claws : A high mobility lunge that induces panic and also combos into AOE stuns. This is also the starter move for very fast tier 3 construct based weapon combos. Restricting this move will remove a hard hitting damage power and a group stun from the controllers option. More importantly melee characters lose a long range movement lunge and access to a five second tier 3 weapon tier construct combo.
      • Gloves : Used as protection from ranged attacks and as a juggle restricting access to this move limits melee characters options for reaching targets with reduced damage in and from lifting targets into a juggle allowing safe withdrawal.
    • Mental :
      • Terror Tendrils : A powerful cone stun that is very useful for setting up focus zones for DPS and interrupting groups of enemies from overwhelming tanks, thus reducing tank damage.
      • Telekinesis : A good single target juggle with an instant cast and quick cool down that works very well for projecting healers and stopping interrupts.
    As is evident making these powers unavailable is a restriction to the freedom to wield control effects as may be necessitated by the current battle. Be aware of these limitations if playing this way.

    Not casting a POT and focusing on debuffs will allow the other players to benefit from an increase in damage against, or a decrease in damage from, debuffed targets. Target debuffs against the most threatening enemies or those the DPS are focused on. Follow the DPS lead in choosing these targets rather than picking them yourself.

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  4. Battery New Player

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  5. Battery New Player

    Strategists return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    Focus


    Strategists use all of the available skills to make each member of the team more effective. They do this by using their control effects to assist each of the other players.

    The approach with this style is to raise vitalisation to a good but not maximum level so they can provide good levels of power. Strategists avoid or limit the use of pure vitalisation Mods, instead opting for mods with a mix of vitalisation and another modifier. There are many variations of this build, each one uses the core approach of supporting the team with large numbers of control effects but mixes this with one of several complimentary sub styles. I will detail a few below as examples:

    Damage weighted

    This sub style is speced and played with a leaning toward damage. The control effects used are effective controls but ones that have a higher damage output. R&D Sockets usually consist of vitalisation and precision or might mixed mods.

    These players will balance power out, control effects and damage using more of their own power for damage than Batteries or Surgeons. If playing this way mix powers that do damage and offer control effects or power interactions. Casting encasements then breaking them immediately is one example of this. The encase will leave the enemy stunned and the encasement break will cause high damage.

    Use powerful weapon attacks to reduce the amount of power used for damage so there is ample for casting POT and doing power transfers.

    Shield weighted

    This sub style will spec into dominance or restoration to boost the strength of their shields. Often this is solely for the use of supercharged based group shields. They will use control effects, give power and do damage but have strong shields to use when needed.

    Shields should not be cast indiscriminately. They should be reserved for when they are needed most. The usage of a shield is not just for damage prevention (see the "Shielding" section for more details). Strategists use their shield to give DPS periods where they will not be interrupted allowing for bursts of damage output, or to provide security picking up fallen team members.

    Power Weighted

    This sub style will spec into mixed mods combining Power and vitalisation. This allows them to build a large power pool that can be topped with sodas. This gives them the ability to transfer large chucks of power across the team when the situation demands it.

    This style is very strong when combined with power supercharges for giving DPS periods of unlimited power for burning down powerful targets. This burst power approach should be timed with the ebb and flow of the battle.

    This is not an exhaustive list. Many strategists will mix the above in terms of mods and play style. The core feature is a controller that can do all things.

    Method

    This style works well in conjunction with any other, however be careful to discuss POT tactics if playing alongside aBattery. Playing a strategist means letting the team take the lead. Use the methods detailed in the "Enemy Management" and "Importance of control effects" sections to support the team. Watch what the team is doing and take actions that assist. E.g hold enemies still for the DPS, Keep the area around the healer free from MoBs.

    Avoid throwing out control effects before the tem has decided what action to take on those targets.

    Many Stratagists choose to leave the majority of the positive power giving to theBattery. If you are playing cooperatively with aBatteryavoid casting a POT as this will override their higher POT with yours. However if their POT is ticking below what yours would be ticking on with your tool, then use your tool to supplement the POT. Even with theBatterycontroller cycling his trinkets, there will be periods when all his trinkets are on cool down. This is the time to use yours.

    Summary

    This approach concentrates on Purchased path skills for the power transfers and sub style approach with strong focus on action path crossovers. The use of frequent control effects maximises the number of cascade crossovers.

    Usage

    This style of controlling is strong when played with any other style. Two strategists working together can provide plenty of power and lock a room of MoBs down completely. This style is best used in groups of experienced players who can utalise the benefits that control effects give.


    Analysis

    Strategists will use their own power to cast control effects. This will reduce the power available to the team if aBatteryis not playing alongside the Strategist. These controllers offer the highest frequency of control effects at the cost of higher power returns to the group. However the passive power gains from these effects nullifies the loss from the lower POT and power transfer levels.

    In a group that has high power use DPS whose focus is on maximum damage, not maximum efficient damage Strategists may find the control effects they cast are not fully utilised and power levels are harder to maintain.

    Many Strategists will frequently utilise their POT move for its control effect. This can be problematic for Batteries or if playing with other strategists as it can lead to frequent overwriting of tool based POTs or higher base POTs. This constant fluctuation in POT levels can make if difficult for the rest of the team, the DPS in particular, to know what the power level will be and set efficient rotations based on this.


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  6. Battery New Player

    Single POT Caster return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    Many groups allocate the task of casting the pot to a single controller. Most commonly this will be the controller with the highest vitalisation. This is an optional approach to POT casting.

    Why is this?

    One reason for lower vitalisation controllers not to use powers that cast a POT is because this overrides the higher POT tick cast by the higher vitalisation controller. This reduces the amount of power given via POTs to the group as POTs do not stack. The most recent cast cancels the last one cast.

    Should a single caster handle POT if his vitalisation is higher?

    There is limited statistical reason to allocate POT duty based on vitalisation levels alone unless the difference exceeds 290 points. It is always a choice not a requirement. Base this decision mainly on style preferences. However it is advantageous if also using the bonus tick method.

    Usage of this method is subject to the size of the vitalisation difference and the number of innates from both weapon trees and gear affinities. It is largely a play style choice over a required mechanic for success. You can succeed in any content without having a single POT caster. The detail and supporting math for this answer is below in the "The detail" section but it is quite involved so I shall summarise here. I recommend reading the detail section to understand the reasoning and for a more in depth conclusion.

    If you choose to play this way, do so with the knowledge that the POT tick difference will not guarantee success or excellence. Those factors are determined by more than just the size of the POT. The main advantages are not in the volume of power but in the focus on a single task that the POT caster has. He is less likely to miss casting the POT and can better focus on using bonus ticks.

    A single POT caster will ensure that a POT tick is not missed due to the controllers re-casting POT at the wrong time. It also allows the other controller to focus on other tasks and for the POT controller to focus on his.

    A higher vitalisation controller solo casting POT will give the team more power. A 140 point vitalisation difference equates to the ability to cast a calculated 14 more powers per player in a 35 minute raid. That's one power every two minutes although this can be increased by using the bonus tick method. However any power gain can be nullified if the lower vitalisation controller is using the bonus tick while the higher vitalisation controller is not.

    However the difference in vitalisation has to be considerable for it to make an impact on a groups' ability to perform. A 290 point difference is required to see any significant increase in potential (this equates to a 20 point difference in POT ticks). Even a 290 point difference means the DPS gain for example 129 DOT ticks in total, or 2 extra DOTs a minute over the lower POT.

    These figures are based on equally geared controllers. If your cunning innates and gear affinities exceed the higher vitalisation controller this nullifies up to a 15 point POT difference.

    There is more power, yes, and in the DPS case; more damage but it is not significant. It is a difference that cannot cause a group to fail if that group is gear appropriate. Maximising the power available ignores the power requirements. Many of the benefits are from having a player who is focused on a single task and so avoiding double casting and thus wasting power.

    Having one player handle POT ignores the tools (trinket, pets, sodas) the other controller has access to. Disregarding this is wasteful. It also introduces into the dynamic operators that increase power loss; such as range. With a single controller the likelihood of missing a POT due to range increases.

    If the DPS focus on high power use then extra power will allow them to cast more. If the team is particularly heavy on power use then having a single caster using the bonus tick method will gain the team extra casts and provide a power level advantage over mixing the POT caster. But a power level advantage does not equate directly to a more likely successful outcome. Heavy power use can be due to poor DPS rotation or competing healers and adding more power will not resolve these skill issues.

    Unless the vitalisation difference is large (290+) consider working with the other controller to share the duty. Make sure to avoid overwriting tool boosted POT ticks though and share the tool rotations between you. There are advantages to having a battery using the bonus tick method as the power gains are large and also gives the other controller to option of more control effects, although at the high cost of a loss of the use of some of his skills.

    However consider the restrictions this places on the abilities the other controller. Limiting his available powers by 17% limits his options. The POT move is not a POT move. It is a stun or juggle that also casts POT. It has uses to the team that go beyond power supply.


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  7. Battery New Player

    The Detail return to Main Index or return to this sections index


    Does overriding a higher POT cause a group to suffer on power and thus risk the success of the current instance?

    To answer this question we have to understand what does the difference equate too and how does this relate to a groups power use.

    Assumptions

    We are assuming that both controllers have the same critical power chance. This allows us to look at the actual tool used in groups to determine the POT caster; vitalisation.

    I calculated the average numbers of powers used in a minute in a raid by using videos of all power sets playing a particular raid and comparing several battle segments along the length of the raid. I also recorded fight time in 15 raids and the power used by each player, subtracted base regen, and calculated the average power used per minute. Using power cost averages I was able to calculate the number of powers used in a minute and cross check against game play footage.

    I then used these numbers at the beginning of raids to calculate up to expected power out as a way to check the conclusions.

    Average power cost is calculated by taking the cast cost of every power in the game and averaging it.

    • Fire 307
    • Ice 295
    • Earth 266
    • Mental 289
    • Gadgets 280
    • HL 305
    • Nature 236
    • Sorcery 297
    • Electricity 288

    Average power cost = 285
    The result was averaged out to 13 (rounded down) powers used in a minute across all classes.

    • DPS averaged 18
    • Healers 12
    • Tanks 11

    Controllers were discounted due to their role making the use of power often a gain in power.
    We need to calculate based on vitalisation :
    • p1 - power over time tick for v1
    • p2 - power over time tick for v2
    • pm1 - Tick per minute per player for v1
    • pm2 - Tick per minute per player for v2
    • pmd - difference between the power per instance for v1 and v2
    • g - the amount of power each player gains from v2
    • t - time in minutes where each minute is in combat
    • v1 - Vitalisation of lower controller
    • v2 - vitalisation of higher controller


    Note that for comparisons base figures must be used. Critical hit chance will make a difference if two controllers have differing percentage chances.

    Lets use a difference of 140 vitalisation as this results in a POT tick difference of 10. A difference considered by many as significant.

    v1= 1060
    v2= 1200
    t = 30

    Calculate POT from Vitalisation:
    p1 = 70 * (1+(v1 / 1000)) = 144
    p2 = 70 * (1+(v2 / 1000)) = 154


    Tick per minute
    pm= (p1 / 12)
    pm1 = (144 * 12 ) = 1732
    pm2 = (154 * 12 ) = 1850

    Difference per minute per player
    pmd = (pm2 - pm1)
    pmd = (1850 - 1732) = 118

    What does this mean

    Lets take a typical raid. Not a speed run or a team that is over geared. 40 minutes is an average raid length with at least 30 minutes of that spent in combat. During this raid only the higher vitalisation controller (v2) casts a POT. So how much more power has he given via the pot?

    Pmd x t = 3534

    That is to say the length of the fighting multiplied by the difference in power per minute to each player; which is 3534 more power each for the whole raid than the controller with a POT tick 10 points lower would have given.

    Since we know the average power cost is 285 and the average player casts 13 powers a minute we can calculate what the team gains.

    3534 / 285 = 12
    = 12 more casts over a raid

    = 1 minute of playtime.

    Factor in critical Power chance
    Assuming all cunning innates and modifiers from gear affinity:

    Ti = number of pot ticks in the raid = 360

    The size of the critical hit POT tick after gear mods are included. This is 20% critical magnitude. This is calculated off base (does not stack) by:

    Px1 = (p1+(p1*.75)) * 1.2 = 303
    Px2 = (p2+(p2*.75)) * 1.2 = 324

    So this gives us the potential size of the critical POT tick. Given the known number of POT ticks we calculate how many of these are likely to be critical.

    Tx = (ti*0.025) + (ti*0.09) = 41
    360 - 41 = 319

    That's 319 normal POT ticks and 41 critical ones. This equates to a difference of 3981 power between to lower and higher vitalisation controller over the raid.

    3981 / 285 = 14
    = 14 more casts over a raid
    = 1 minute and 4 seconds of playtime.



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  8. Battery New Player

    Conclusion return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    The higher vitalisation controller with a POT 10 points above the other controller gives each player the ability to do as much as they would normally do in a single minute of game play over 30 minutes. In other words each player can cast 1 extra power every two and a half minutes with the higher POT. Even with fully modded gear and innates with critical power ticks this is only 1 power ever 2 minutes. This is not a significant increase.


    This does not reflect the result for each class. DPS for example average 18 powers a minute with some Hard Light players averaging 42. So you have to look at your individual use to get the full picture.

    For some gadgets players I recorded who used 24 powers a minute, this increase of 10 points on the POT would mean they gain 31 seconds of game play power based damage in total.

    For the average DPS this equates to 41 seconds of bonus power based damage in the entire raid. Or in other words every 5 minutes they might do the equivalent of 7 seconds of extra power damage. Note that this is not equivalent to the same damage they can do in 41 seconds but the possible damage they can do in 41 seconds with power use only. Weapon hits must be discounted as it is power use under examination.

    Relate this to a boss fight. Many take about 5 minutes to complete. With a 10 point higher pot the average boss fight might finish 7 seconds sooner. This is not significant.

    Or look at it in terms of damage over time ticks. That's 41 ticks a raid or 1 tick a minute (rounded up). This is clearly and insignificant amount.

    But this power is not given at a specific point when it is most needed, nor is it given when there is space in the DPS power bar to receive it all. Some of this extra tick power arrives when it might not be needed and thus is wasted.

    But this is only a potential to cast more powers. This does not equate to more damage or more healing.

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  9. Battery New Player

    Other Factors return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    The above does not consider other statistics, like critical power chance. If the lower vitalisation controller has more critical power chance percentage from skill points or mod affinities; the power bonus he would give out would more be more power than the higher vitalisation controller if he was managing the POT.

    This focus on just the raw numbers of a POT which is governed by a single element of a controllers purchased path (vitalisation) does not consider the lower vitalisation controllers tools; such as trinkets. The lower vitalisation controller may have more and better tools and be more skilled in their use.

    It also does not consider how much power the lower vitalisation controller could save by using his POT power to stop a DPS from being interrupted. It does not consider the power saved by stopping MoBs hitting the tank and the power needed to heal that damage.

    For example:

    There are two DPS equally geared using the same power set. If there was a direct correlation between power used and damage out then we would expect to see each DPS do very similar damage to each other every time. Is this what always happens in raids? There are many other factors that affect how much damage a DPS can do.

    Take a fire DPS who never does anything else but cast fire burst in a raid. He does the same raid twice. On the first run the controller has a 140 tick. He casts 100 fire bursts during the raid and finishes with a million damage out. On the next run the controller is better geared and has a 160 tick and he casts 120 fire bursts, but this time every other time he tries to cast fire burst he gets interrupted. He does 600 000 damage out; a little over half as much.

    He had more power available, cast more fire bursts but only did half as much damage simply because he could not complete the casts. More power here equals less damage.

    Factor in all the other elements that take place in a raid such as enemies that die before a cast gets completed, interrupts caused by poor positioning, tanks dropping aggro causing interrupts or death...and so on. It should be clear that raid success, and power available is governed by so much more than the POT. And that even a seemingly large difference equates to only a tiny change in the power available and says nothing about if this power can be used.

    Insisting one controller handle the POT and instructing the other not to use POT powers is to potentially ignore the numerous factors that affect a teams power levels. This introduces risk into the group. The POT is a single part of the power management process and is only one of the skills controllers use to manage a teams' power.
    If one controller does handle the POT, even on a small difference like a tick of 10, Trinket rotation and skill points should also be considered. As this is difficult to do the best option is to allow the non potting controller to use his POT abilities when they are the best tool to use in order to aid the team. He should avoid over use of this ability but should not be restricted to never using it.

    There should be no issue with a lower vitalisation controller overwriting a high vitalisation controllers non tool boosted POT if his tool boosted POT is higher. Batterycontrollers should cooperate in these circumstances. If the POT is running off base vitalisation as your trinkets are on cool down and the other controller has seen this and cast his trinket POT, then let it run its' cycle.

    Work together as a team that manages POT. This gives the team access to twice the number of tool boosted POTs and frees both controllers to aid the team in other ways. If you are a battery controller be aware of the limitations you place on the other controllers play style. Except that in many cases the non potting controller may be using a POT casting power to perform a vital task for the team.


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  10. Battery New Player

    Bonus POT Tick or Zero Tick return to Main Index or return to this sections index
    or return to the POT section

    There is a method to gain an extra tick from the pot, often called the zero tick. This can be gained on every forth tick.

    The POT cycle looks like this: (Tick is on the 5 count)

    [IMG]

    Casting pot as you see the forth tick proc can net you a bonus tick. See below:

    [IMG]

    This extra tick can be repeated every 20 seconds for the length of the raid, or every fourth tick. You do not have to stick to a set 21 second cycle. Cast just after the 4th standard tick to gain the extra tick. You can also cast Pot immediately after every tick and still keep the cycle; the zero tick will pop after the 4th POT cast.

    A standard POT cycle nets 12 ticks in a minute. The bonus method gives you 15 ticks in a minute. Is this beneficial? this is continued below in the next section.


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  11. Battery New Player

    Is this beneficial? return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    There is no definitive reason to cast more often to gain an extra tick as this power is not required to pass the content. It has benefits and risks, but the power gain is significant.

    To do this or not is optional but the power gained can be significant and at certain points in a raid it may be particularly helpful. The detail and supporting math for this answer is below in the "The detail" section but it is quite involved so I shall summarise here. But I recommend reading the detail section to understand the reasoning and for a more exhaustive conclusion.

    It is an involved process that often requires a single caster to be managing POT. However there two issues here that combine to introduce risk into the method that you should be aware off.
    1. Weapon combos
    2. Window size
    Weapon combs:

    The longer the weapon combo; the higher the power regeneration. The difference between tier 2 and 3 can be around 9000 (geared, non criticals) power a raid, much more for tier 4. If the controller has to break often not only to power transfer but then to hit the 20thPOT tick it is likely the controller will break these combos much more frequently. Thus lowering their own power regen by 25% or even 100%.

    Window size:

    Doing an extra tick means breaking from what you are doing no matter what that is at a very specific point in the pot cycle. If you miss any benefit you may gain can be wiped out by causing a skipped tick. Cat too early and you lose POT for 10 seconds and instead of a plus tic you get a missed tick; a net loss of power.

    Always maintaining tier 3 regen over tier 2 will also gain a power advantage to the team. Is is a smaller gain than the bonus tick, but it can be implemented with much less risk.

    A lot of time effort and concentration is required here for these gains. Focusing on controlling the enemy and building weapon combos carries less risk for a safer return. However if completed successfully this method will net you a positive gain in power and can be mixed into a balanced controller rotation without incurring loss.

    If using the bonus tick be careful not to cast to early and miss the tick window. Balance the bonus tick against your current weapon regeneration level and the needs of the group as regards objectives and control effects. The weapon combo risk can be mitigates by the other controller passing power more frequently to compensate.

    Risk is a factor that can be reduced by skill. When I mention risk in the summary above I mention it as a factor for consideration, not as a reason to avoid an action. There are ways to mitigate this risk, although these also carry some penalty. A player must balance these risks against the gains. Leaning your groups' mechanics and experience can achieve this.

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  12. Battery New Player

    The Detail return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    To gain the additional tick you need to be watching the power ticks or using set rotation with a known length so you can hit the correct tick. Be aware that this narrows your focus and can pull your attention away from the broader input of the battle. This narrowing of focus can limit your response to unexpected events and in turn lead to issues in an instance unrelated to direct power. This is not a definite, but a risk. This risk can be mitigated. POT is a single part of a teams' power management and you can cause problems for the group if you focus to heavily on POT tick monitoring. Be aware of this risk before using this method.

    You need to cast at the right moment no matter what else is going on in the battle. What this usually means is breaking from your weapon tier early to get the extra tick. There are other ways through passive power effects to give the team power, so the extra tick is an optional cast. But it is a very strong power giving method so do not dismiss it without due consideration.

    Consider: a 35 minute (2100 second ) raid

    • t = 30 (fighting time)
    • c = 285 (cost to cast powers)
    • pt = 300 (cost of power transfer)
    • P = 154 (pot)
    • T2 = 45 000 (weapon regen tier 2)
    • T3 = 55 000 (weapon regen tier 3)
    • Tg = (55 000 - 45 000) = 9 000 (power gains reaching t2 over t3)

    Normal Ticks
    n = (t *60) / 5 = 360

    Maximum Bonus Ticks
    b = n / 20 = 90

    Power from normal Ticks per person
    nt = n * p
    = 55 440

    Power from Bonus Ticks per person
    Pgp = b * p = 13 874
    = Pgp / c
    = 49 extra casts per person
    = 1 extra cast every 1.5 minutes

    Net Gain = (pgp / nt) * 100
    = 25%

    At the 154 POT mark with 1 extra tick every 20 seconds (you can do it on the 4th tick) the bonus tick method in this case gives 13 874 extra power per person per raid. With an average power cost of 285 means 49 more powers to cast per person in the 30 minutes over just ignoring the extra tick. This is a considerable 25% gain in power.

    The average powers cast in a minute is 13 (DPS can range from 18 to 45). This equates to an extra cast every 1.5 minutes. See ‘Single POT Caster' section for details on the numbers used in this working.

    So in other words the extra tick gives each person the ability to do as much as they usually do in about 4 minutes. This gives the team a potential bonus of 25% extra power. This does not equate to 25% extra damage or healing as this doesn't consider if they can use that potential however. However this is still a significant gain in positive power.

    Look at this in terms of the DPS, who cast an average 18 powers a minute. This is 162 seconds of extra damage from powers in 30 minutes of fighting. This is the same as 27 seconds of power damage in 5 minutes. Or 5 damage over time ticks extra a minute. . This is a significant increase in potential.

    But you also have to consider the base regen. If you miss higher weapon combos as you have to stop to POT you may lower your power return from regen. Assuming you maintain t2 rather than t3 due to potting more often, which breaks your tier level, using the base t2 of 45000 and base t3 of 55 000 (at 1200 vitalisation); maintaining tier 3 gives you 9 000 (tg) more power per raid than stopping to pot more often.

    tg = 9 000
    bt = 2775
    v = 1200 (vitalisation)
    pt = 660
    ct =300
    mu =6

    Calculate Power Transfer from Vitalisation:
    pt = (v * 0.3)+300)
    = 660

    Calculate Power Transfer mark up:
    mu = (tg / ct) * pt
    mu = (9000 / 300) * 660
    = 19 800

    So it cost 300 (ct) power to do a power transfer. Each transfer gives 660 power (pt). Since reaching tier 3 over tier 2 generated 9000 more power over the raid the controller can do 30 more power transfers. That equates to 19 800 power to the team over the raid. That allows the team to cast 69 more powers or say 9 each (7 players as giver is discounted)

    As you can see this is a smaller gain than the bonus tick. The bonus tick does give 91 189 more per raid but it carries the risk of missed timed or forgotten ticks, and negates due to this timing the opportunity to assist the team if cast times coincide with other actions. The extra tier also builds your supercharge faster. Consider the flow of the battle; if power levels are strong consider building a supercharge for later use as it may be more useful than maintaining excess power in the present.

    So there are benefits in the extra power from the bonus tick, but there are also risks to cancelling out your efforts and to lowering your power regen. If it fits neatly into a rotation where all other tasks are optimised then slipping it can raise the power given to a group by a significant amount. If you cannot safely integrate the bonus tick then there is no significant loss to your chances of success. No content in the game requires that you take advantage of this extra tick to complete even the toughest feats.

    One considerable benefit of the extra tick is the rate and regularity at which it provides significant power gains. Once the POT casting controller reaches a vitalisation of 1050 the bonus tick will provide 3 extra casts every 2 minutes. This extra power comes at regular and predictable intervals. This allows the team to adjust their cycles of power use into synchronisation with the positive power from a POT.

    Due to the specifics of the timings this method suits integration with theBatterycontroller approach to controlling. It is best optimised by a player whose can focus on hitting the target ticks and who does not have to break from his rhythm to perform other controlling tasks. Breaking the regular provision of this tick can cause power issues as the team has been lead by previous minutes of play time that this power is to be regularly available.


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  13. Battery New Player

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  14. Battery New Player

    POT and Power Between Controllers return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    Controllers doing power transfers between themselves can affect the available power pool. Doing this can multiply or bleed a teams power. A high vitalisation controller who receives power can pass it out again via a transfer and produce a small net gain in power out.


    Should controllers bounce power between each other?
    There is limited statistical reason pass power between controllers as it can lead to a loss or a gain with the gains being insignificant. It is a choice not a requirement. However it is advantageous in rare cases if the sole recipient is a high vitalisation controller.

    Section being reworked 2137 16th February 2013


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  15. Battery New Player

    The detail return to Main Index or return to this sections index


    For example (critical ignored):
    • Controller 1 casts a power transfer for 200 power with 1000 vitalisation
      • This is a base power to target of 200.
      • Every 100 power controller 1 outputs a player gets 100
    • Controller 2 (battery) gets 200 power from controller 1.
    • Controller 2 has 1220 vitalisation
    • Controller 2 Casts a power transfer for 200
      • This is a base power to target of 220
      • Every 100 power controller 2 outputs a player gets 110
    Section being reworked 2137 16th February 2013

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  16. Battery New Player

    Pot Cancelling return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    POT cancelling describes an action. It does not describe the benefit or not of that action. Some controllers use it as a negative term that describes an unwarranted and negative play style. It is not. It is simply as the term states "The act of cancelling one POT with another". If someone asks you to not cancel their POT they are likely implying a failing in your play style, while they are actually highlighting one in theirs.

    If there are two controllers in a group only one POT will be active at any given time. POT does not stack. Every time you cast a POT it will cancel your previous POT and the POT of the other controller if his is the active one and begin a new 25 second POT series.

    This is considered an issue by some controllers who think that cancelling one POT with one that is lower reduces the ability of the group. While It does lower the amount of power that the POT returns this does not equate to reducing the ability of a group. Power is one tool available to the team that helps them complete content. It does not sit upon a throne as the only or most effective one.

    The mistake made with the POT is that higher is better and that the best way to serve your team is to have the highest POT you can. This makes the assumption that the more power you have then more able your team will be to complete content. What matters is how much power is required to complete content not how much can we throw at the content.

    If the size of a POT was the factor that decided raid success or speed then every GOT raid with a higher POT would be faster than any with a lower POT. If a single GOT raid on a server completed successfully with a 140 POT, then any team with a higher one would never fail. Higher Power can cover for failings players have but this is not addressing the issue. This is trying to resolve a problem by covering it up rather than addressing the root cause.

    Every player is responsible for their own power. Failing to block so the healer uses power to heal you is you spending power as if you cast it on something yourself. Targeting a single enemy with a damage power most suited for a group is power wasted. Low weapon combos, repeated aggro on already aggroed MoBs or heals that heal for 500 when no-one has more than 200 damage all waste power or use it inefficiently. These actions are what cause power issues in raids, not a difference of 20 in the POT.

    I have completed all current content (up to PBG. Content released after PBG came when my stock vitalisation was higher) with a POT based off 1000 vitalization with no problem. I have also been unable to assist powering Bat Cave 1 raids with a much high vitalization with the team running almost completely dry. I can only provide a finite power supply in a raid. The POT will tick every 5 seconds and over a raid that's a set amount. The amount I can regenerate based on my weapon combo tier is set as it gives me a defined tick every second. So the power a controller generates is fixed. What caused one raid to run dry and another to speed feat? Not my regeneration skill, not my ability to stun and certainly not a difference of 10 points on a POT tick.

    When you look at the gains from a 10 or 15 point higher tick they are not significant enough to warrant limiting the available skills of another player (see Solo POT Caster section for the analysis). The team benefits more if the controllers share duties and work together.

    When you need to use a power, and the right one so happens to also give a POT. Do it. It's the right power for the moment so it's right to use it. The POT is just one small part of how a teams power is managed.

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  17. Battery New Player

    Power Maximising return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    High vitalisationBatterycontrollers, solo pot casting and the bonus tick are all methods of maximising power from positive power effects. This approach is about giving the most power via positive methods (POT and Transfers) It ignores the power requirements for success in favour of large statistical gains to power output.
    As there is no causal link between power output by controllers and the success of a task maximising power is a situational and personal choice.


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  18. Battery New Player

    How Much Power Can Be Generated? return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    New section
    *** UNDER CONSTRUCTION ***


    Adding a section on the max power regeneration that is possible. This is a test page at the moment but the chart is accurate:


    [IMG]

    Each non zero red point is a power transfer. The frequency is based on maintaining tier 2 power regeneration and only casting when there is enough power to do so. No other powers are bing cast. No POT and no CCor debuffs. Just Transfers.

    Power from the weapon combo returns 22 power every second with the 154 POT coming in every 5 seconds. This means power in is fixed. Also to maintain tier 2 there needs to be at least 5 seconds between caststo allow time to build the combo.

    So the largest number of transfers possible (the single crit is not included as it does not effect the figures significantly) is 10. Thats 6600 power base 7055 at 20% magnitude and max chance.

    But to maintain the maiximum number of transfers and manage the POT means that the level of weapon combo tier that can be maintained, and thus the power available flexes. The below chart takes all this into account. The data calculates the tier level based on the maximum rate of power transfers.

    This chart shows the activity of a POT controller who also does transfers but nothing else.
    The Purple line is the tier level. To make it visiable it has a 100X multiplier. This shows the weapon regen level maintined while transfering power as soon as possible, not transfering if a POT was required and avoiding any other use of powers

    The Blue Line is power. Each DOT is either from weapon combo regen or an incoming POT tick.
    The Red Line is power transfers. Non Zero marks are 300 cost transfers.
    The Yellow lin is Pot casts. Non Zero points are POT casts.

    [IMG]

    As you can see. There is a maximum levelof power that can be generated and a maximum number of transfers that can be given. This shows the limits of Power a controller can give you. This is a ceiling, no manner of skill get get you beyond this. Only passive skills can.
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  19. Battery New Player

    What can we conclude? return to Main Index or return to this sections index

    The tip of a raids spear these days is not deadly because it is well honed and well aimed but because it is thrown often and thrown hard. And the shaft does not support the tip by being lithe and streamlined but by being wide and sturdy.


    My point here is that a large number of damage players are not using well timed and correctly applied powers to kill but just throwing everything they have into the direction of a target and letting sheer brute force knock it down. The support players are just expected to provide the DPS large heals and large amounts of power so they can just stand in the face of danger and spill violence into the void until the mini-map is clear of Red. This ‘ready fire aim' approach is a tragic embarrassment to all who use it.

    Controllers are there to help the team aim. Look for those targets standing immobile and hit them, jump into the space created by an area clearing pull so you avoid damage. A healer, tank or DPS can do everything better if they work with a controller. Not however if that controller is simply focused on giving power. Less stuns means less tight groups of enemies for long cast powers to hit hard. It means no safe spots to avoid damage and it means no one will be there to stop interrupts while a player is trying to revive another.

    The controller role is useful to a group because it is flexible and multi faceted, able to change focus as and when the battle requires it. Limiting the roles flexibility by setting restrictions on what a controller can or cannot do is to set finite options that limit this flexibility. These limits roll down onto the actions of others and do limit what others can do. A controller who was restricted from using a pull because it also is a POT so thus was unable to free the healer from attack, resulting in a dead healer; is using a bad technique, not a strong one.

    Power levels are not governed by a single overriding action a controller can perform. They are instigated by the actions of the whole group, with the controller playing a balancing act between the power that can be provided and the groups' actions. A group that does not act uses no power. Thus it is only the groups' actions that cause power levels to fluctuate. If they act unwisely these is nothing a controller can do to control their power use.

    Once a group decides to take an action a controller can assist; helping the DPS with target focus, slowing damage on the tank or pulling targets from near the healer. If the DPS never fires, the tank never gathered hate and the healer never moved the controller would have nothing to do.

    If these actions are performed well, with efficiency with careful purpose and with focus the controller does less and less. As a player moves from carelessness to precision they can do more with less. They learn how to heal with another healer' healing with them not against them. They learn how to build combos, to block and to hit many targets with few powers with much effect.

    It is not power given that governs power levels but power spent. No matter how much could be given it can always be consumed. If the controller is geared appropriately, maintains a tier 2 regeneration level and the POT is always up the half the job is done, and a controller that does only this is doing half a job.

    The data shows that a mix of skills shared between cooperating controllers will result in a better result than when they focus on just one very narrow part of a role each. This is the same as DPS mixing power and weapon damage, healers mixing heals over time and burst healing and tanks gaining aggro and blocking to absorb hits. In the same way a DPS who just uses powers, a tank who never blocks or a healer who never burst heals are less able to cope with a variety of situations, a controller who never stuns or who never gives power is also hampered.

    Does a raid go more smoothly when the DPS, healer and Tank use all their skills or less? We don't ask the DPS with the highest precision to only use his weapon and the one with the highest might to only use his powers. Or ask one healer to burst heal while one does healing over time. Like POT many DOTs and HOTs do not stack. Much power is wasted on misguided attacks using non stacking DOTs.
    Controllers use all of your skills. Look at every action and think:
    • How much damage does this stop?
    • How many interrupts am I stopping?
    • Who is acting and what can I do to make their action stronger?
    • Does this waste power?
    Watch every action your team takes and help them do it better. You will save power, damage and time. You will also be awesome.

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  20. Battery New Player

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