Build:Chronomancer - Power DPS

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

Focused on: Strike damage

Designed for: Raids and Fractals

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

TBD

This build was last updated on August 14, 2022 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A power DPS Chronomancer build for raids, strikes, and fractals. This build is very complex and very not-beginner-friendly. Compared to Build:Virtuoso - Power DPS, power chronomancer is much harder to play while dealing less damage overall, so it's a very niche build.

This build requires practice and mastery to make the most out of Continuum Split. In addition, it has very good Crowd Control, utility, and versatility, and provides 50% Fury to its subgroup and a little Alacrity to itself.

Skill Bar

Sword/Sword

Greatsword

Utility

Skill Variants

• Signet of Humility if extra CC is required. Be aware of the long cooldown.

These are the skills suggested for full DPS, but if the situation requires, you can slot utility skills like Feedback, Portal Entre, Mantra of Distraction or other. If you have to take other skills, replace Mantra of Pain first, and if you really need another skill, replace Well of Calamity at a significant dps loss.

Template Code

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Specializations

Trait Variants

• Delayed Reactions - if extra CC is needed

Equipment

Head
Berserker

Shoulders
Berserker

Chest
Berserker

Hands
Berserker

Legs
Assassin

Feet
Berserker

Backpiece
Berserker

Accessory
Assassin

Accessory
Assassin

Amulet
Berserker

Ring
Assassin

Ring
Berserker

Sword
Berserker

Sword
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Greatsword
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

• This set provides exactly 75% critical chance with , reaching 100% with Fury.

Consumables

Food

• /

Utility

Usage

Rotation

Power chronomancer has a very complex rotation. Due to Improved Alacrity, your cooldowns are even shorter than normal, so the rotation is longer by squeezing more skills into it. You should memorise the opening and practice it, because then you can just follow your cooldowns to sort of know what to do.

Opener

Start on Greatsword.

1. Phantasmal Disenchanter
2. Phantasmal Berserker
3. Mind Stab
4. Mirror Blade
5. Weapon swap
6. Blurred Frenzy
7. Illusionary Leap
8. Phantasmal Swordsman ⇒ Continuum Split at the very end of the cast time of the Swordsman and start spamming Mantra of Pain.
9. Signet of the Ether try to use it right when the Swordsman spawns to cancel the aftercast animation.
10. Phantasmal Swordsman
11. Well of Calamity
12. Phantasmal Disenchanter and Split Second
13. Gravity Well
14. Blurred Frenzy. If you were successful following this very tigth rotation, Continuum Split ends during Blurred Frenzy and Gravity Well is off cooldown.
15. Well of Calamity
16. Phantasmal Swordsman
17. Signet of the Ether
18. Phantasmal Swordsman
19. Weapon swap
20. Phantasmal Berserker
21. Mirror Blade followed by Split Second
22. Mind Stab
23. Phantasmal Disenchanter

Loop

After the opener, you follow this loop:

• When you swap to sword, the first and last skill before you swap again is Phantasmal Swordsman, and you will use Phantasmal Disenchanter in between. Fill the gaps with Blurred Frenzy and never interrupt your auto attack chain because most of the damage comes from the final strike Mind Spike.
• When you swap to greatword, you use Phantasmal Berserker 3 times thanks to Signet of the Ether, and Phantasmal Disenchanter once, while using your greatsword damage skills in between.

1. Phantasmal Berserker
2. Signet of the Ether
3. Phantasmal Berserker
4. Mirror Blade
5. Mind Stab
6. Phantasmal Disenchanter
7. Mirror Blade
8. Mind Stab
9. Phantasmal Berserker
10. Mirror Blade
11. Weapon swap

• Use Well of Calamity off cooldown.
• Gravity Well should be saved for CC. If there's no need for CC during the fight, Gravity Well can be used in the greatsword set instead of auto attacks. It has the lowest priority out of all your skills due to its very low damage.
• If you have to interrupt the loop because the boss moved, or phased, or you have to do some mechanic, you don't simply resume your rotation where you left it.
  • If you're on sword, you want to return to greatsword whenever weapon swap is ready, casting your available skills while waiting. But if weapon swap is ready, cast Phantasmal Swordsman and swap inmediatly.
  • If you're on greatsword, try to follow the loop from the start skippig what's on cooldown and weapon swap when ready and your skills are on cooldown. If Signet of the Ether is on cooldown, don't wait for it.

Continuum Split

When Continuum Split comes off cooldown after the opener, you will want to be on greatsword with your cooldowns available, and shatter with 3 clones. You will use your Signet of the Ether to cast your phantasms twice inside the split, and twice outside of it, and Well of Calamity Twice.

1. Phantasmal Disenchanter ⇒ Continuum Split
2. Phantasmal Berserker
3. Signet of the Ether
4. Mirror Blade
5. Mind Stab
6. Phantasmal Berserker
7. Phantasmal Disenchanter
8. Well of Calamity
9. Gravity Well ⇒ Split Second
10. Mirror Blade and Continuum Split ends during its cast.
11. Phantasmal Berserker
12. Phantasmal Disenchanter
13. Signet of the Ether ⇒ Split Second
14. Phantasmal Berserker
15. Mind Stab
16. Mirror Blade
17. Weapon swap
18. Phantasmal Swordsman
19. Blurred Frenzy
20. Well of Calamity
21. Continue with the priority.

Video example

Crowd Control

• Gravity Well
• Time Sink
• Illusionary Riposte ⇒ Counter Blade
• Illusionary Wave

Notes

• Essentially, you use all your skills except Illusionary Leap and Illusionary Wave.
• Use Split Second whenever you have 3 clones up.
• Make sure not to interrupt your autoattack chain as the damage from it is heavily loaded into the final strike, Mind Spike.
• Save clones to shatter with Time Sink if you will need to CC in the immediate future.
• After the opener, use Mantra of Pain anytime it gets a charge.
• Try to flank (attack from behind or the side) whenever possible to make use of your Rune of Superior Rune of the Thief.
• Don't worry too much if you were unable to fit Gravity Well inside the Continuum Split opener, it deals less damage than one full sword auto attack chain, and 3 greatsword auto attacks.
• Flow of Time provides enough Alacrity to counter the negative side of Improved Alacrity. This means that your Alacrity-provider doesn't have to increase their boon duration to give you more Alacrity. Your Alacrity might drop during transitions and other situations where you can't create and shatter clones, but that shouldn't be a problem.
• As you master this class, you can start considering some more advanced tips and tricks:
  • Blurred Frenzy, Mind Stab and Signet of the Ether will interrupt your current skill cast. The opener takes advantage of this to cancel the aftercast animations of Phantasmal Swordsman, but make sure to not interrupt yourself with these skills. You can use them, or weapon stow, to cancel the aftercast animation of Illusionary Leap, which can be cancelled almost instantly, or Blurred Frenzy, which can be stowed after the final strik.
  • When on gretsword, if you already have 3 clones as Split Second is almost off cooldown, and you have phantasms attacking, you can shatter the 3 clones with Split Second, then shatter those phantasms (after they become clones) with Rewinder, because you will have 3 clones up again through Phantasmal Berserker and Mirror Blade by the time Split Second is off cooldown again. This is only a 2% dps gain, so ignore it if you're not confident that you can pull it off because delaying Split Second by even 1 second, or not having 3 clones ready for it, would be terrible.
  • Well of Calamity has artificially high priority in the rotation so that it is off cooldown for the second Continuum Split. If you had to interrupt your rotation at any point, you will no longer need to give such high priority to it. Instead, when Continuum Split is coming off cooldown, ensure that Well of Calamity will be available to use inside of it. With 13,3 seconds cooldown, this means you should leave WoC off cooldown when CS will be ready in 8-9 seconds or less.