Logo Albion iconAlbion Online Deadlock iconDeadlock GW2 iconGuild Wars 2 TL iconThrone & Liberty

Chronomancer - Boon Support Condi DPS

The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Condition damageSupport and Utility

Designed for: Raids

Expansions required: Heart of Thorns builds

Difficulty:
Normal
This build was last updated on April 28, 2024 and is up to date for the August 20, 2024 patch.

Overview

Condition quickness chronomancer providess permanent Quickness Quickness or Alacrity Alacrity to its subgroup while dealing large amounts of Confusion Confusion and Torment Torment.

Though more niche than the power version, condi has a much easier time tanking and the presence of the Chaos traitline significantly increases the range of boons the build can provide.


Skill Bar

Scepter/Torch
Staff
Utility


Weapon Variants

  • Axe is similar damage, but with more Torment Torment and less Confusion Confusion. This means it will likely perform worse in real encounters (where torment loses damage and confusion gains it), plus it is a melee weapon. The difference is small enough for it to mostly be a matter of preference though, and there may be some niche situations where the evade from Axes of Symmetry is more useful than the block from Illusionary Counter.
  • Focus for pulls at a DPS loss.


Skill Variants

Utility

If you need to provide utility such as, replace Mirror Images.

  • Well of Action allows you to provide an extra ~10 stacks of Might Might and ~50% Fury Fury uptime. The Fury Fury uptime makes it easier to hold on to Time Sink for CC without compromising boons.
  • Well of Senility does decent CC. Also removes boons if that is needed.
  • Feedback provides a long-duration reflect.
  • Well of Precognition provides Aegis Aegis and Stability Stability to your subgroup, useful for fights like Deimos.
  • Mantra of Concentration provides Stability Stability to your group.
  • Mantra of Distraction for encounters that require heavy CC.
  • Portal Entre if you need a portal.
  • Mimic allows you to get a second use out of a key skill if you'll need it more often than the cooldown. Often used together with Portal Entre.


Elite

  • Signet of Humility should be used for CC.
  • Gravity Well can be used if an encounter has adds that are worth CCing.
  • Time Warp can be used when the CC from Gravity Well/Signet of Humility is not required.


Template Code

[&DQctPRg/KA4jDyMPgQGBAYMBgwFrAWsBvAG8AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
Copy Template Code

Note that the Grandmaster trait has not been selected


Specializations


Quickness Quickness variant
Use Seize the Moment.
Alacrity Alacrity variant
Use Stretched Time.


Trait Variants

  • The first trait in Chaos is optional and can be switch to Illusionary Defense for permanent Protection Protection uptime, or Master of Manipulation to provide Aegis Aegis. In the latter case, you will need to swap Mirror Images out for Blink so you can actually trigger it. If you swap Method of Madness out, you will need to slightly modify your rotation (see Usage, below).
  • On encounters with boon corruption, the Stability Stability from Bountiful Disillusionment may get corrupted into Fear Fear. This may make it necessary to swap the trait out for another option: Chaotic Interruption will occasionally recharge your weapon skills, which can speed up your rotation, and Prismatic Understanding can improve your Regeneration Regeneration uptime as you will gain a random boon whenever you use The Prestige. This could also be valuable on encounters where Stealth Stealth is useful, such as Harvest Temple.


Equipment

Head
Viper
Shoulders
Viper
Chest
Viper
Hands
Viper
Legs
Viper
Feet
Viper
Backpiece
Viper
Accessory
Viper
Accessory
Viper
Amulet
Viper
Ring
Viper
Ring
Viper
Scepter
Viper
Torch
Viper
Sigil
Sigil
Staff
Viper
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6
Infusion
x18
Relic
  • Relic of Akeem and Relic of the Fractal are very similar DPS. Though Relic of Akeem is also AoE, triggering it off cooldown requires frequent use of CC skills, which can mean you don't have them available for defiance bars.
    • You don't apply any Bleeding Bleeding inherently, so Sigil of Superior Sigil of Earth is required to trigger Relic of the Fractal. Triggering the relic off cooldown will require weapon swapping nearly off cooldown.
  • If tanking, Viper stats Viper stats gear can freely be swapped to Trailblazer stats Trailblazer stats.


Consumables

Food

    • Ascended versions of or are a minor DPS loss if you wish to benefit from ascended buffs.


Utility


Usage

A significant part of this rotation is structured around maintaining a high uptime of Chaos Aura Chaos Aura on yourself. This is because of the Illusionary Membrane trait.

Chaos Aura Chaos Aura is granted when leaping or blasting in an ethereal field. Chaos Storm is your ethereal field, and you drop a second one with Signet of the Ether thanks to Method of Madness. Meanwhile, Phase Retreat is a leap finisher, and The Prestige is a blast finisher. Additionally, you directly apply Chaos Aura Chaos Aura to yourself with Chaos Armor and Rewinder (via Illusionary Membrane).

Spacing out these sources allows for a high uptime of the aura and condition damage buff.

Note: If you aren't using Method of Madness, delay your weapon swap on staff in order to get a second use of Chaos Armor.


This rotation regularly uses Phase Retreat both to generate clones and as a leap finisher inside an ethereal field to provide Chaos Aura Chaos Aura. As this teleports you backward, you will need to be sure it is safe to do so, and you may wish to skip entirely if you're tanking - the rotation generates more than enough Quickness Quickness or Alacrity Alacrity without having to rely on the extra clones.


Rotation

Throughout the rotation, where Shatter is used, use whichever of your shatters is available, with the following priority:

  1. Rewinder
  2. Split Second
  3. Distortion and Time Sink - feel free to save these to deal with mechanics.


Opener

  1. The Prestige
  2. Phantasmal Mage
  3. Time Warp (if using)
  4. Illusionary Counter Counterspell
  5. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap
  6. Phantasmal Warlock and Continuum Split during the cast
  7. Signet of the Ether, plus Mirror Images Rewinder during the cast
  8. Phantasmal Warlock, plus Chaos Armor during the cast
  9. Phase Retreat
  10. Chaos Storm and spam other shatters before Continuum Split ends
  11. Continuum Shift
  12. Phantasmal Warlock
  13. Signet of the Ether, plus Mirror Images Rewinder and Split Second during the cast
  14. Phantasmal Warlock
  15. Chaos Storm
  16. Chaos Armor
  17. Autoattack and use Phase Retreat when it comes off cooldown - make sure to stand in your Chaos Storm to extend the duration of Chaos Aura Chaos Aura
  18. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Scepter

  1. Illusionary Counter Counterspell
  2. Phantasmal Mage
  3. Confusing Images, plus Shatter during the cast
  4. The Prestige - you will need to manually autoattack to break out of the stealth
  5. Ether Blast Ether Bolt Ether Clone x3, plus Shatter when you reach three clones
  6. Illusionary Counter Counterspell
  7. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Staff

  1. Phantasmal Warlock, plus Phase Retreat and Chaos Armor during the cast
  2. Autoattack, and Shatter when you reach three clones
  3. Chaos Storm just before Phase Retreat comes off cooldown
  4. Phase Retreat
  5. Autoattack, and Shatter when you reach three clones
  6. Phantasmal Warlock
  7. Signet of the Ether
  8. Phantasmal Warlock
  9. Phase Retreat
  10. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Continuum Split
When continuum split is off cooldown, skip a Shatter when on staff, and instead repeat the opener from step 6 when Signet of the Ether comes off cooldown.


Video example

Video example (axe)


General tips

  • Open and close the Scepter section with Illusionary Counter Counterspell.
  • On Staff, use Phantasmal Warlock as soon as you swap so that you can cast it three times without delaying your weapon swap.
  • Use Rewinder off-cooldown, you should always have 3 clones up for it.
  • You can use Mirror Images to quickly provide 2 extra clones for Split Second (or any of your shatters if it will be more valuable).
  • You can delay the use of Illusionary Counter if you will be able to block an attack with it - this is particularly useful when tanking.
  • If you don't need the utility, Time Sink and Distortion can be used for extra boon generation. Make sure not to shatter clones that you need for Rewinder.


Breakbar

  • Time Sink
  • Phantasmal Mage
  • Signet of Domination, though this is a significant DPS loss to use for CC.
  • Gravity Well or Signet of Humility


Ratings

This build has a rating of 5 stars based on 2 votes.
Log in or register to rate this build.
4 stars
OfficerAndyGentleman gave this build 4 stars • April 2024
There aren't many encounters where this does competitive damage, but it's nice that it can provide a broader range of boons than the power version, with all the usual mesmer utility.
5 stars
Chinkeeyong gave this build 5 stars • September 2018
Meta variant of Chronomancer on Cairn, Matthias, Soulless Horror, and Largos, as well as ranged Deimos

Comments

Get MetaBattle Premium
Enjoy an ad-free experience & support the website, for less than $1 per month! Upgrade to Premium
MetaBattle is recruiting!
We are seeking an experienced Build Admin for Throne and Liberty with a deep understanding of the meta across most weapons and game modes. Get in touch with Galaxian on Discord if you're a good fit for the role or know someone else who is. This is a paid position.
Split Metabattle Logo