[3.26] ShakCentral's Cold DoT Witch For Everyone

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Amir_Ban wrote:

Thanks for the guide.

From one of the best and easier to play builds to one of the worst.
Vortex's cast range is just pathetic, with zero defense you have to go to monsters and cast it there and run away while monsters are buffed and way faster now specially in red maps, did i said they are way faster now ? i mean in hallways, you just go in and you die.

I guess it needs some heavy investments in cast speed with gem or on items, CF take forver to cast and by the time animation is finished you got hit by 10 random projectiles from two screens away.

Build is getting more expensive while struggling to survive. they either have to revert some nerfs or have to change monster's behaviour. it's unplayable at times.

Damage is nice tho.

PS: Also whats up with game's brightnes ? some maps are now so dark that i can't see anything.

There are different ways to play vortex. If your clear skill is CF or CS, you play, move, and gear differently than if you play vortex as main clear skill.

Yes this league is rippy, and all builds suffer from it, and we all learn to adapt.

Shak will update his guide to reflect this new reality, but this process takes time (did you check the last version?).

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Amir_Ban wrote:

PS: Also whats up with game's brightnes ? some maps are now so dark that i can't see anything.

Sounds like you are low life without having Arcane Vision allocated. Light radius diminishes based on your health level.

@blankname
Oops. thanks for the info.

@roselan
Thanks for the replay, hope they fix it because it's really nerve wracking to the point that i want to quit.

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roselan wrote:

So an update on my build,

I ditched Cold Snap completely. And Flame Dash, and my quicksilver flask.

I now never stop, at all. Vortex is my only dps skill. The exact opposite to what I initially planned!

I use The Stampede (blight boots), with frostblink linked to bonechill with my trademarked cyclone - cwc - frostbolt. Like Vortex Frostblink is instant, and like Vortex it doesn't stop channeling. This is pretty cool.

Between Stampede cooldown reduction for movement skills and frostblink cooldown reduction proportional to the number of mobs, I feel I'm playing Flicker at times XD

But it's not only a gimmick, it's hard for mobs to hit you. The bonechilled trail it leaves behind helps a lot with survivability too. It takes a while to get used to not be able "double" tap the movement skill, like you can with flame dash thou. (maybe equip both at first, overall for sirus fight).

Of course I overinvested in the build, but it feels pretty nice now.

Does the build / your version clear maps fast with votex? also you use cyclone to apply frost weakness thing with frostbolt CWC and you get more surviveablity with cyclone?

also whats the tempest shield frost bomb arcanist brand for? some more block with shield else I don't see what? is it for Elemental Equilibrium? thanks in advance.

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fichi wrote:

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roselan wrote:

So an update on my build,

I ditched Cold Snap completely. And Flame Dash, and my quicksilver flask.

I now never stop, at all. Vortex is my only dps skill. The exact opposite to what I initially planned!

I use The Stampede (blight boots), with frostblink linked to bonechill with my trademarked cyclone - cwc - frostbolt. Like Vortex Frostblink is instant, and like Vortex it doesn't stop channeling. This is pretty cool.

Between Stampede cooldown reduction for movement skills and frostblink cooldown reduction proportional to the number of mobs, I feel I'm playing Flicker at times XD

But it's not only a gimmick, it's hard for mobs to hit you. The bonechilled trail it leaves behind helps a lot with survivability too. It takes a while to get used to not be able "double" tap the movement skill, like you can with flame dash thou. (maybe equip both at first, overall for sirus fight).

Of course I overinvested in the build, but it feels pretty nice now.

Does the build / your version clear maps fast with votex? also you use cyclone to apply frost weakness thing with frostbolt CWC and you get more surviveablity with cyclone?

also whats the tempest shield frost bomb arcanist brand for? some more block with shield else I don't see what? is it for Elemental Equilibrium? thanks in advance.

It's the fastest clear with vortex, even faster than spellslinger of old. Clear is only faster with frenzy cold snap.

Clear speeds depends on 4 things:
- Frostbolt spread
- Vortex cooldown
- Movement speed
- Damage

Use a frozen trail is good, using gmp, greater volley or 2 frozen trails better. Using a frozen trails and gmp is overkill. With a single frozen, your vortex will overlap too much. You clear as fast as you can move, and never have to backtrack to kill stragglers. But you kill behind you, so you still have to backtrack to pick loot. In delirium maps you backtrack the whole map once it's cleared, so it's not an issue. In normal maps, use an uber strict filter.

Vortex cooldown, you need the helm enchant. it's basically a 30% faster clear. I can't live without it. The belt mod helps too.

Movement speed. I use stampede + frostblink as a test, it's pretty fun. But using two enkidled quiksilver and an enkidled overflowing chalice is probably the best option. Sadly chainbreaker isn't as good now. Of course with a quicksilver flask or two, you are better off with elder boots with the fortify mod.

Damage. Well, more deeps is love more deeps is life. Or death. It depends on your point of view.

you can check the clear speed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXfUw3r_xW8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsaIIdox9I0

I don't use Arcanist Brand, I use Storm Brand. And yes it's to apply Elemental Equilibrium. Frost Bomb is to apply cold exposure. You can replace it with Wave of Conviction, overall as an occultist. Void Beacon no life regen is stronger than frost bomb 75% less life regen. Plus Wave of Conviction is instant and more or less in front of you, while frost bomb is way behind you when it explodes. The last link of your trigger weapon is usually Orb of Storms. I'm testing Tempest Shield but see no difference (Orb of storm probably better against sirus, due to it's more frequent activation). I'm testing Frost Shield and Void Sphere too, but I'm not a fan of having them triggered.

Hi,

@Roselan


I follow your cycole/vortex and have two questions.

How did you craft Triggering spell with 4 sec cooldown? I can only craft 8 sec using crafting bench.

You chose inspiration gem over efficacy. Why is it better as mine tooltip show higher dmg with efficacy even when inspiration is fully stacked?

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Grooooszek wrote:

Hi,
How did you craft Triggering spell with 4 sec cooldown? I can only craft 8 sec using crafting bench.

I did not! I saw it on the market for 4ex and jumped on it like a crazed zombie punk witch on a Swedish newborn. Yummy.

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Grooooszek wrote:

You chose inspiration gem over efficacy. Why is it better as mine tooltip show higher dmg with efficacy even when inspiration is fully stacked?

1) Mana. with inspiration: 55 mana/cast, with efficacy: 90 mana/cast.
2) with a lv 20/20 inspiration, pob (at full charges) shows 2.747m dps. With one charge: 2.307m dps. With a lv 21/20 efficacy, pob shows 2.721m dps.

I guess it mainly depends on your gear and tree. Both are very close that's less than 1% dps difference for my build.

edit: Endgame I can replace inspiration with an empower 4. That would bring my dps to 3.087m dps. (and my wallet to -10ex T_T)

Can someone explain to me why No Witnesses is taken? Am I missing some other step that provides more opportunity to gain Elusive?

I'm relatively inexperienced, but I still don't see the value.

Aside from that, I've got this build to Act 10 in around 4 hours of play time accounting for PS4 Freeze/Crash issues and it still feels excellent.

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HangukHipHop wrote:

Can someone explain to me why No Witnesses is taken? Am I missing some other step that provides more opportunity to gain Elusive?

I'm relatively inexperienced, but I still don't see the value.

Aside from that, I've got this build to Act 10 in around 4 hours of play time accounting for PS4 Freeze/Crash issues and it still feels excellent.

Withering Step works fine too. Don't link Second Wind to it thou, as it now makes the cooldown longer :(

Withering Step requires fine piano skills (Using any skill ends it's effect), and a precious gem slot. But to be honest, it's more a question of preference.

Try both!

Hi there!

Did enjoy the build so far (am lvl 65) but I play on console and my main issue is the access limitations to skill buttons.

I tried to fit in all skills but it's not very smooth to play then. I mean without pressing L2/R2 I can only use 3 SKills, which means Flame Dash, Vortex and Creeping Frost.

The bottom button I want to leave blank since it cannot activate the skill when there is something clickable nearby. Means when there is an item on the ground, pressing X makes me picking up the item, not activating the skill I would have set up on the X button.

All in all it's a nice build, but with all skills it's not that smooth to play on console. At least that's my experience. And in endgame maps where everything is more hectic, I want to have fast access to all skills. And that doesn't work.

For example: It can be I have to press 4 buttons, just to activate 2 skills. L2 to toggle the left setup, then the skill I want, then release L2, the R2, then the skill I want.

:-(