Time Manipulation Help

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around Time Manipulation.

Can someone explain to me what I should be doing/what my rotation should be as a Time Manipulator? What are the must have powers in the set? What are the lame ones worth skipping?

I'm not really sure how this set "works". I mean, I know what the powers do, but I'm having a tough time wrapping my head around how they should be working together.

Not sure how to answer from not being sure about what your hoping for as a reply.

Although effects differ they do combine to layer survivability in roundabout ways. I have a rotation as a Trick Archer, which is the only Defender I do have a rotation on, I will -Tohit, then -Dam, -Rechg, then -Res thinking supportive/offensive but this is not something that is engrained in stone, when the team seems to not rely on some effects I might skip some.

Some of what you do can be used proactively. These things can be used between fights.
Some of it is reactive. You do it when you physically see a need.
Some of it is used in anticipation. If you feel that a power should be used to prevent what might happen because it does -dam then use it. If you didn't and someone died then you have something to learn by.

Time Crawl - think AVs, EBs, Bosses, can be taken later

Temporal Mending - versus slow and regen debuffs and heal, take asap, use prior to possible slows, react to heals.

Times Juncture - around you, if you stay back to proactively protect rangers against frontline breakers or go melee to protect melee (where you are more likely to be mezzed) take asap.

Temporal Selection - Best on DPSers, give it to someone when its recharged, preferably between fights, take asap.

Distortion Field - Typical Fight cycle every 25s? Get frequency down to 25s use just after Slowed Response, take asap.

Time Stop, AVs or targets which make a huge difference to what the team can contribute overall. Maybe a mezzer or end drainer. Can take later.

Farsight - Proactive buffing, keep it coming, take asap

Slowed Response - Typical Fight cycle every 25s? Get frequency down to 25s use just after tanker entry or mage with it take asap.

Chronoshift, you can anticipate its usefulness, perhaps coming upto a above average opponent. It's +rechg so especially worthy when teamed with other support characters so inclined to use it everytime its up and take asap.

I agree with New Dawn's analysis. I REALLY like time juncture. Think of it as a pulsing fulcrum shift -debuff- with a moderate size tohit debuff. I like to be in melee range with this first, and then pop back to the rangers to help finish up the stragglers and pesky roaming foes.

Also, temporal mending increases heal, and it is heal over time. I PRE-HEAL, hit it before popping into melee. The beneficial ticks cover your rangers with heal over time. They don't have to be damaged first. Then, this allows you to debuff like mad during the opening salvos.

Another techique I use is to hover over the team. This does cause some visual blurring with time juncture, but you are less like to be block by obstacles with your pbaoe goodness.

There is one thing I would like to add. Since Temporal Mending is a Heal-over-Time and heals break sleep, you can use this and then smack an Lost Boss to gain aggro. Their first attack is always an attempt to put you to sleep. The heal makes them waste it. Because you can get this power from character creation, it is a boom for the Death from Below trial.

More of a Mastermind wrinkle than something that's all that useful for a Defender, but ...

On my Ninja/Time Mastermind, I prefer to begin engagements in Bodyguard mode, so I share any incoming damage with my Pets (which then causes them to aggro on the source of the damage). I'll usually open with either Time Crawl or my Origin Power ranged attack or Blackwand (veteran ranged attack power) to "attract attention" onto myself. The $Target (and "friends") then open up with their Alpha Strike on me, which gets shared/soaked up by my Ninjas because they're in Bodyguard Mode. The damage shared out to my Pets causes them to aggro onto the source that I "annoyed" to get their attention, and my Ninjas then "lash out" with their Ranged Alpha Strike, while still standing around me, before charging into melee range to keep attacking.

I kick off my Temporal Mending AFTER soaking the Alpha Strike of the $Target(s) ... because my Ninjas are still standing around me at that time, *and* it has the value of very nearly completely healing both all of them AND me at the time time of all the damage taken from the Alpha Strike of my $Target. Then my Ninjas all "run in" (like ADHD idiots) and I chase after them, to keep them in my Time's Juncture radius for To-hit Debuffing, all while they're all Healing/Regenerating AFTER having taken the Alpha Strike, which then tends to keep them all Nicely Green on HP in the Pet Window.

Now granted, this sort of scenario doesn't work exactly the same for a Defender (since you can't put other Players into Bodyguard Mode for yourself, and they don't exactly listen to "orders" from you like Mastermind Pets either) ... but there are some things which can be broadly similar. Using Temporal Mending to "retroactively soak an Alpha Strike" is something which a Defender ought to be VERY GOOD AT due to the higher buff values Defenders have versus Masterminds. You just need to be able to withstand the initial onslaught of the Foe Alpha Strike in order to "negate" its value after the fact (much like how Regeneration powersets work). It makes for a bit of a rollercoaster ride on the Green Bar, but it's really not all THAT much different from using Healing Aura with an Empath (ie. use AFTER the Alpha, not before, for an Empath).

Because of this, I usually don't *enter* combat with Temporal Mending already "up" on my character ... but it's almost always the SECOND power I use once combat begins (on my terms, at my choosing, when solo).

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...