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

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XCaedisX wrote:

Spoiler

I'm enjoying this build a lot, but I'm struggling a bit at determining what to prioritize as far as upgrades go. I know I've got a lot of places I can improve. I've got about 1 ex and 200 chaos in currency to burn right now. Any ideas what my top few priorities oughta be within my budget?

Haha on top of the helmet thing (man that's happened twice now, maybe I need to make a detailed video guide)...

Dang, I was about to recommend saving for Woke Spell Cascade but it's gone from 3ex to 4ex and is now 6.8ex.

Wait patiently for an okay Leadership's Price, add 1ex to that cost (for Anoint). Then have about 50c ready for Glorious vanity, and spend your last few chaos buying a Heavy belt with +str, Life and resists and AN OPEN SUFFIX to craft Spider on. That can cost 1-10c.

Slot in the Glorious Vanity - this drops your Int by 70, then bridge the gap with the belt and use Blessed Orbs to match your Str to Intelligence.

Then drop EO, and find some way to fit Skitterbots back into your reservation pool. Then shop a staff (use the link I provided some posts before).. and go crit.

That should help you knock over all A9 content until you get enough moolah for making your own Frenzy+Explode Chest, or Woke Spell Cascade. If you find clear fast enough, then focus on Woke Spell Cascade. The gem never loses significant value anyway. Last league it shot up to 9/10.

How much of a difference does flayer/lithomancer make over guard captain/auto-enforcer for spectres?

I hope you aren't getting too tired of these "I think something is wrong" posts. :D

In this case, I don't know if I had unrealistic expectations but I don't feel like I'm doing anywhere near the amount of damage I ought to be. I just did an A8 Phoenix (no recruit-a-friend) and it took maybe 3 minutes. Granted, between PoB and the calculator, Awakened Spell Cascade would boost my damage by ~76% and reduce my ramp time by ~1/3, but I think that would still be something like 7+ full brand cycles.

Stuff I've considered:

* I have flayer + lithomancer spectres, though at least one dies almost every map. Maybe add Meatshield?

* I have balanced int and strength and have the conflux icons.

* I have watched the video. (my rotation is below)

* Mana isn't the issue as I have the VD cost down to 5 mana even once my enduring flask runs out.

* Maybe the conc effect on the helm is causing problems? I did skip all of the AoE nodes on the tree for Throatseeker (generic crit multi) and Safeguard (spell block). If I drop the two brands in my hideout and Recall, I consistently get 6 balls with or without the conc effect helm though.

* I know my amulet anoint isn't great (spell crit), but that seems relatively minor.


My potato can barely run the game so I can't post a video, but my rotation is Desecrate brand, VD brand, (Recall if I precast the brands a second or two before the old brands ran out or if one hit an add), Bone Offering, Cyclone for CwC Flammability and Wave of Conviction. Then burn a few seconds if I haven't had to dodge mechanics too much and repeat.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Sorry about noob question but i dnt find.. its that corpse life correct?
https://imgur.com/a/kuVBjAB

206000 .. and why?
And another question, i`ve crafted this staff, any sugestion to upgrate it? i was think try to take something on aisling but im not sure, even not sure if that staff will be better thank 2 wands.. what do u think?

"

Jhonegao wrote:

Sorry about noob question but i dnt find.. its that corpse life correct?

There's no single number for that that works all of the time. So it'd always be a case of "Is this correct.... based on these assumptions". But yeah, that's in or around the number you want to use for your endgame tree.

Glancing at it, I'd assume it's an estimation of the total life pool of a VD explosion pop. VD explodes 3 bodies per cast, with spell echo repeating that twice more for up to 9 bodies in total each time our brand triggers (with that scaling to up to 15 bodies per trigger with Awakened Spell Cascade).

I can't quite tell the specific circumstances being outlined with that figure, but it's very close to a spell cascade setup (so 9 bodies) in a level 83 zone with no specters. It could also be assuming that less bodies are overlapping on the target in a level 80 zone with specters or a host of other scenarios that come close to that number.

For context:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eFGacjFRTPZdqi1RzzkY1b9zAUqkozHsXqquRPmziIM/edit#gid=0
Badger's original DD specter health calculator. If you make a copy and go to the calculator page you can see how adjusting things like monster level or the specters you bring in (or don't) impact the potential numbers.


The numbers there will vary based on the zone monster variety (Shaper's Arena vs Cortex big impact on how often high HP specters show), the zone average health (some zones/monster types much lower than others), the desecrate gem/zone level cap (whichever has the lowest cap - so the numbers change if you move from a level 86 zone to a level 83 or drop your desecrate to a level 19 which caps it at 80 even in a higher zone), the desecrate monster number cap (your Awakened Spell Cascade can't blow up 15 bodies if you only have 4 on the ground) and the monsters we introduce ourselves into the zone adjusting the life numbers significantly.

Which doesn't even start to look at how many we'll actually hit a boss/single target with given hitboxes, boss movement and various aoe adjustments. At a certain point the specifics of the number go out the window and you just start looking for things that make it go up :D

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tanis0 wrote:

Spoiler

Also a Glorious Vanity, a Replica Conqueror's and a large Thread of Hope to pick up Counterweight (staff global crit), Divine Fury (fire penetration) and Sovereignty (mana reservation efficiency).

I hope you aren't getting too tired of these "I think something is wrong" posts. :D

In this case, I don't know if I had unrealistic expectations but I don't feel like I'm doing anywhere near the amount of damage I ought to be. I just did an A8 Phoenix (no recruit-a-friend) and it took maybe 3 minutes. Granted, between PoB and the calculator, Awakened Spell Cascade would boost my damage by ~76% and reduce my ramp time by ~1/3, but I think that would still be something like 7+ full brand cycles.

Stuff I've considered:

* I have flayer + lithomancer spectres, though at least one dies almost every map. Maybe add Meatshield?

* I have balanced int and strength and have the conflux icons.

* I have watched the video. (my rotation is below)

* Mana isn't the issue as I have the VD cost down to 5 mana even once my enduring flask runs out.

* Maybe the conc effect on the helm is causing problems? I did skip all of the AoE nodes on the tree for Throatseeker (generic crit multi) and Safeguard (spell block). If I drop the two brands in my hideout and Recall, I consistently get 6 balls with or without the conc effect helm though.

* I know my amulet anoint isn't great (spell crit), but that seems relatively minor.


My potato can barely run the game so I can't post a video, but my rotation is Desecrate brand, VD brand, (Recall if I precast the brands a second or two before the old brands ran out or if one hit an add), Bone Offering, Cyclone for CwC Flammability and Wave of Conviction. Then burn a few seconds if I haven't had to dodge mechanics too much and repeat.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Holy crap, I slept for 22 hours out of the last 24.. haha. Sorry for the late reply...

I think the single biggest damage bump you can pull off at this stage (now that Woke Cascade is up to 7ex...) is to run a Frenzy Chest.

3 Frenzy charges not only give you 12% more damage, they also grant 12% increased cast speed and most importantly, enables Rotgut, which is a flask that is permanently full since it gains charges on Crit and gives Onslaught - which is another 20% Attack/Cast/Movement speed.

12% more damage and 32% increased cast speed will kick up your DPS by a freakin' ton at this stage. Not to mention they're cheap AF to buy (10c will do you).

Also do note that you're not really getting the great benefits of an explode chest if you don't run Fire Conversion somewhere (Gloves craft, or Fire Mastery).


I would highly suggest you source for Strength and Dex on slots other than your chestpiece as this is one item that constantly swaps out with budget!

Also try to get enough so that you can get 3 passive points back.

Finally, re: Spectres dying - why a jade flask? Run a Sulphur flask - not only is it a significant damage bump, the Consecrated Ground heals your minions rather reliably. Your spectres die because they never heal from chip damage in between maps. Since you have Thread of Hope you can either spend one point on the 1% regen node OR run a Sulphur Flask. I don't think Jade is necessary at all.

Finally a great reason why I ask for videos is - sometimes the map mods just make certain fights much longer, naturally.

Temp Chains, Elemental Resist, 40% less damage taken from Critical Strikes, Avoid Ailments, Enfeeble, etc.

Particularly if you don't have Woke Spell Cascade, Temp chains hits you doubly as hard because you never surpass a threshold to hit max Corpse Pact stacks within 4 seconds.

Hi,

So far mapping has been pretty smooth apart from the occasional scourge shutdown. Scourge bosses feels a little scary.
I can comfortably run the A8 conquerors.
most of the other league mechanics are enjoyable.
struggles a bit with no mana regen map when bossing and my flasks run out (specifically mana regen)

can you review my PoB and suggest what I can do to handle Sirus more comfortably? I feel like I'm lacking in the damage area.

https://pastebin.com/6QvnFDfT

I do not have woke spell cascade.

Edited 11.17.2021 fixed the passives for corrupted blood here.


I have lithomancer and stoneskin flayer for my specters, they dont seem to last long against a sirus for me with lvl 20 raise spectre.
I am currently still using dual wield sceptres, currently still searching for staff replacement.
I know I have the wrong regalia which will lower my ES. I currently have a stored frenzy vaal regalia and I'm working towards a T1 explode chest to then slam on each other.

Edited 11.17.2021 added brand equity to and removed a few passives to get tankier


I have the str=int right now, but this will be subject to changes when I replace my weapons/chest and get different passives. I cant run skitterbots right now, since I run vaal clarity, disciple and aspect of spider.

Hi, could anyone help me prioritize where to upgrade from here?

https://pastebin.com/QL7mcr6J

One thing I'm unsure of is what cluster notables to go for on the Large/Mediums.

Also is the Fire Mastery better off using "Phys Converted to Fire" to help explodey chest, or "Covered in Ash" (bossing)?

Lastly, what do you guys think of swapping Detonate Dead in for single-target bosses? It seems to do more damage but I have no idea how to calculate it vs. Volatile Dead.

Hello

I am enjoying the build so far, but have a probably stupid question.

If I can get the strength to work for leadership (on gloves or something) could I utilize a headhunter in this build?

If not then I plan to make this my bosses then use the HH for something else.

Cheers.

"

primaeva wrote:

Holy crap, I slept for 22 hours out of the last 24.. haha. Sorry for the late reply...

I think the single biggest damage bump you can pull off at this stage (now that Woke Cascade is up to 7ex...) is to run a Frenzy Chest.

3 Frenzy charges not only give you 12% more damage, they also grant 12% increased cast speed and most importantly, enables Rotgut, which is a flask that is permanently full since it gains charges on Crit and gives Onslaught - which is another 20% Attack/Cast/Movement speed.

12% more damage and 32% increased cast speed will kick up your DPS by a freakin' ton at this stage. Not to mention they're cheap AF to buy (10c will do you).

Also do note that you're not really getting the great benefits of an explode chest if you don't run Fire Conversion somewhere (Gloves craft, or Fire Mastery).


I would highly suggest you source for Strength and Dex on slots other than your chestpiece as this is one item that constantly swaps out with budget!

Also try to get enough so that you can get 3 passive points back.

Finally, re: Spectres dying - why a jade flask? Run a Sulphur flask - not only is it a significant damage bump, the Consecrated Ground heals your minions rather reliably. Your spectres die because they never heal from chip damage in between maps. Since you have Thread of Hope you can either spend one point on the 1% regen node OR run a Sulphur Flask. I don't think Jade is necessary at all.

Finally a great reason why I ask for videos is - sometimes the map mods just make certain fights much longer, naturally.

Temp Chains, Elemental Resist, 40% less damage taken from Critical Strikes, Avoid Ailments, Enfeeble, etc.

Particularly if you don't have Woke Spell Cascade, Temp chains hits you doubly as hard because you never surpass a threshold to hit max Corpse Pact stacks within 4 seconds.

No worries, you weren't late for me and I'm grateful for any help regardless.

Looks like frenzy charges are about 19% more damage in PoB and obviously faster ramping. I do have 25% fire conversion on the gloves plus Herald of Ash so the explosions feel okish. I guess I'm not that concerned about clear anyway since I've got a Toxic Rain champ for that, but his bossing is rough.

I was doing some quick testing after getting the gear and converting the passive tree so I borrowed flasks from other builds. I'll grab a sulphur flask, thanks.

I rerolled the map several times because I wanted a clean test, so unless I missed something, there weren't any curses, elemental resists, ailment avoidance, etc.

I suspect woke cascade and flasks (I can pick up cast speed and crit here too) make a bigger difference than I thought. That or I'm missing something important in the tree or on a cluster.

Thanks again!