[3.16 - RETIRING BUILD] VD Brands: S-Tier Bosser, A-Tier Map! -- MURDERED BY GGG_INTERN SOMEWHERE--

In my opinion, the very large thread of hope left of templar is still efficient, albeit less than before.

It allows me to save 2 points overall while also getting more life (Tireless) and Precision for QoL. I see no reason for not taking it.

Is volatile dead consumes +1 corpse vialbe? or is it limted because of 10 corpses from desecrate anyways? Should make the Cast Loop faster at least i guess?

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sirHugo wrote:

Is volatile dead consumes +1 corpse vialbe? or is it limted because of 10 corpses from desecrate anyways? Should make the Cast Loop faster at least i guess?

Heya!

It's explained in the guide but yes, +1 corpse is viable now. They used to be ridiculously expensive (at one point 6-8ex for a white helm....) for a good base because VDSS was THE Harvest meta, but people have moved on now.

The best, highest-damage option is still Awakened Spell Cascade and Arcanist Brand 12% Cast speed / VD 40% damage.

Remember that for both modes (+1 VD or Awakened Spell Cascade) you have to anoint Undertaker to make full use of it. (If you already got Unnatural Instinct, othewise just path there.)

The loss of Hematophagy hits the recovery a bit, but by the time you move into Woke Spell Cascade territory, your character should have at least somewhat bridged that gap with more base HP + passive points.

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Knuckledust13 wrote:

In my opinion, the very large thread of hope left of templar is still efficient, albeit less than before.

It allows me to save 2 points overall while also getting more life (Tireless) and Precision for QoL. I see no reason for not taking it.

Yeah it's been a pain in the ass, that decision, since we need to path to Glancing now. I'll pore over PoB more.

The options look like sacrificing Cluster top-right and just using the points to take Divine Judgement instead. After all, the nodes leading up to Runebinder aren't exactly trash either.

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Zonktastic wrote:

Hi i'm planning to convert my dd necro to this build. Currently in the process of crafting the last gear pieces. Do you think the 2 Cluster jewel setup is still viable now that the Thread of Hope/Glancing Blows/Runebinder combo is kinda bad?

Whoops I just replied to this missing your comment, apologies. Pasting it here:

"Yeah it's been a pain in the ass, that decision, since we need to path to Glancing now. I'll pore over PoB more.

The options look like sacrificing Cluster top-right and just using the points to take Divine Judgement instead. After all, the nodes leading up to Runebinder aren't exactly trash either."

The flipside is losing some range on Brands, damage wise it looks similar and you'd take a 200-300 eHP hit.

The TL:DR is -

1) If you're a lazy ass and play carefully enough, Brand Clusters still come up on top because the added distance makes most encounters a cakewalk - they'll be dead before you reach them.

2) If you don't care about dying as much - see above.

3) If you're a heavy multi-bosser and would want that 300 eHP, lose right cluster, pick up life nodes and Divine Judgement. As a matter of fact:

4) A Light of Lunaris offhand and dropping some damage links for Shield-Charge + Fortify is recommended for those who find the damage over the top and don't mind bosses taking 1-2 sec longer.

After all remember - when you have tens of millions of DPS to work with, dropping some damage for a faceplantier build with Fortify is major QoL. Don't forget you will have ~200% attack speed on your Shield Charge, too...

It took me exactly 40 horror essences to finally get conc effect mod, and now it's too nice to harvestcraft it

nvm

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DLimited wrote:

It took me exactly 40 horror essences to finally get conc effect mod, and now it's too nice to harvestcraft it

ooof rip - sorry. That's hella steep. 40 x 20 = 800 chaos, that's 10 ex just to hit it once! You hold the new record.

Whern going for the endgame chest, which mod is least important? Frenzy or Power Charges?

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_TM_ wrote:

Whern going for the endgame chest, which mod is least important? Frenzy or Power Charges?

If you're buying, I suggest picking Frenzy charges and leaving Power Charge on Critical support in the helm.

Damage difference wise it's almost a tie, but getting Power Charges faster AND having more cast speed with Frenzy in actuality lets you hit Max DPS earlier vs a Boss.

Do note that Power Charges is also extremely easy to secure for yourself though. If you do buy a chest with Frenzy/Explode and it has only a suffix spare, or you delete a resistance, aug crit will guarantee Power Charge on Crit - which then allows you to use either Combustion (max DPS) or Energy Leech (higher defense) in the helm.