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

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primaeva wrote:

Ahh keep at it! Some improvements, made with help from other players here and also from the forums:

Thread of Hope (Large) on the left side gives Counterweight, which is a massive DPS increase (12.5% for mine!).

Also gives Spiritual Attunement access! (At least 40% increased from Ascendancy).

I now use Breathstealer. My god. I thought I was pounding Ultimatums already - now they're just plain FUN. The cast speed auras bring me to like 5.6 activations per sec, and I think the extra phys auras are scaling my explosions. I get 4.6k ES from the Discipline node.

Would 100% recommend - it costs only 1-1.5 ex (15% res and 10% cast speed) + 2 Golden Oils (100c) and 1 Silver (20c) to set up.

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labelbuddy wrote:

Talked to you last night! Thanks for the specters. I have a question about them.

Just starting out so dmg is obviously a bit lower (just got woke spell cascade)

My spectres keeping kicking the bucket middle of my maps. Did you have this problem early on?

Do i have to resummon them after the map so the next zone has them in the desecrate pool?

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Pythonmsh wrote:

I feel like I've kind of messed up a bit. I have a lot of issues with mana and it feels sort of clunky to me.

Do I just pop 1x desecrate brand.. then pop 3x VD ones? And keep repeating that cycle while doing incinerate.

My PoB has to be completely wrong too, can someone suggest one to me for my gear setup and jewels.

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Do I just pop 1x desecrate brand.. then pop 3x VD ones? And keep repeating that cycle while doing incinerate.

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sneekxy wrote:

Woke Spell Cascade or UI? Which would be the biggest upgrade first?
I'm running into Single target damage issues at AL8 T16 map bosses and I think those are the next major upgrades for me but I'm not sure which to get first

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Kazuma180 wrote:

Hey! Just wanted to toss out that I'm rolling this build on UHC and I'm starting to get the ball rolling into endgame. I'm starting to do my 5th cycle of watchstones on about a medium budget (something around 13ex on HC market).

I've taken some alternate options/focused on defensive upgrades first, namely corrupted soul + max non-glancing blows attack block. For max attack block, prioritize the left Thread of Hope to grab Whirling Barrier, the 2% block node before it, and the 3% note halfway in the Steelwood Stance cluster. Thread nodes + Enigmatic Defense nodes + leveled bone offering gives 75% atk block. I also decided to drop the Inpulsa in favor of a 130hp + % life gained as ES chest. I'll likely stick to this chest until I can some influence chest (either hunter offering eff + phys as chaos or a frenzy on hit + something chest. The former specifically if divine flesh is an appealing option over the ES package).

There are some options prior to the end gear pieces that can help shore up mid budget dps. Since you don't need Undertaker anoint before UI + Woke Spell Cascade (iirc), Static Blows is a fantastic budget anoint that scales both corpse explosion and orb dmg. Another great anoint would be Command of Steel, offering similar damage to Static Blows. The spare links for utility are huge for this build and one of the key selling points as flex options to shore dps or defenses. Beyond the mandatory links (desecrate, discipline, flame dash + recall, VD), you have 12 sockets to do whatever with (such as the CWC cyclone setup and CWDT setup(s)).

My ideal utility links would be something like:

Weapon: Cyclone + Fortify + CWC + Bone Offering + WoC + Divergent Purifying Flame

Gloves: CWDT + Immortal Call + Ball Lightning + Flex

Chest (2 sockets spare): Raise Spectre, Vitality/Herald of Ash/Flesh & Stone/Clarity

Spare sockets can be used for flat reservation auras for their default bonuses, but also 3% cast speed from Commander of Darkness which helps shorten ramp time. Other options are things like:

- Infused Channeling for Phys Mitigation

- Frost Shield for defense and base crit buff for both orbs and corpse explosion

- Some source of unnerve for orb damage (Divergent Convocation/Blade Blast)

- Move Combustion from main links to secondary (probably cyclone for 100% uptime)

One could after upgrading to ES on hit Watcher's, roll Elder boots for fortify support, move their cyclone to boots for a 5l and then open up the weapon sockets for the replaced 4 gems from boots + an extra gem opened up from the replaced fortify. This isn't the best option offensive or defensive wise, but it can be used as a stepping stone. There's tons of adaptability for the build that makes reaching different upgrade thresholds very smooth!

Finally on my observations is a neat (but not worth it from a defenses standpoint) route for damage scaling in Abhorrent Interrogation gloves that give ele wither. An ilvl 84 Abyss jewel can roll -2% resistance for enemies withered by you. This + 6% from belt enchant + -34% fire res reduction (WoC + Combustion) = -42% fire res on enemies. Then, after ramping, the entire 60% increased ele damage taken from max 15 wither stacks is almost guaranteed.

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Kazuma180 wrote:

Hey! Just wanted to toss out that I'm rolling this build on UHC and I'm starting to get the ball rolling into endgame. I'm starting to do my 5th cycle of watchstones on about a medium budget (something around 13ex on HC market).

I've taken some alternate options/focused on defensive upgrades first, namely corrupted soul + max non-glancing blows attack block. For max attack block, prioritize the left Thread of Hope to grab Whirling Barrier, the 2% block node before it, and the 3% note halfway in the Steelwood Stance cluster. Thread nodes + Enigmatic Defense nodes + leveled bone offering gives 75% atk block. I also decided to drop the Inpulsa in favor of a 130hp + % life gained as ES chest. I'll likely stick to this chest until I can some influence chest (either hunter offering eff + phys as chaos or a frenzy on hit + something chest. The former specifically if divine flesh is an appealing option over the ES package).

There are some options prior to the end gear pieces that can help shore up mid budget dps. Since you don't need Undertaker anoint before UI + Woke Spell Cascade (iirc), Static Blows is a fantastic budget anoint that scales both corpse explosion and orb dmg. Another great anoint would be Command of Steel, offering similar damage to Static Blows. The spare links for utility are huge for this build and one of the key selling points as flex options to shore dps or defenses. Beyond the mandatory links (desecrate, discipline, flame dash + recall, VD), you have 12 sockets to do whatever with (such as the CWC cyclone setup and CWDT setup(s)).

My ideal utility links would be something like:

Weapon: Cyclone + Fortify + CWC + Bone Offering + WoC + Divergent Purifying Flame

Gloves: CWDT + Immortal Call + Ball Lightning + Flex

Chest (2 sockets spare): Raise Spectre, Vitality/Herald of Ash/Flesh & Stone/Clarity

Spare sockets can be used for flat reservation auras for their default bonuses, but also 3% cast speed from Commander of Darkness which helps shorten ramp time. Other options are things like:

- Infused Channeling for Phys Mitigation

- Frost Shield for defense and base crit buff for both orbs and corpse explosion

- Some source of unnerve for orb damage (Divergent Convocation/Blade Blast)

- Move Combustion from main links to secondary (probably cyclone for 100% uptime)

One could after upgrading to ES on hit Watcher's, roll Elder boots for fortify support, move their cyclone to boots for a 5l and then open up the weapon sockets for the replaced 4 gems from boots + an extra gem opened up from the replaced fortify. This isn't the best option offensive or defensive wise, but it can be used as a stepping stone. There's tons of adaptability for the build that makes reaching different upgrade thresholds very smooth!

Finally on my observations is a neat (but not worth it from a defenses standpoint) route for damage scaling in Abhorrent Interrogation gloves that give ele wither. An ilvl 84 Abyss jewel can roll -2% resistance for enemies withered by you. This + 6% from belt enchant + -34% fire res reduction (WoC + Combustion) = -42% fire res on enemies. Then, after ramping, the entire 60% increased ele damage taken from max 15 wither stacks is almost guaranteed.