[2.5] Baelrog's Abyssal Cry Berserker - Send the whole screen to the Abyss with one attack.

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Baelrog wrote:

The core tree is actually in the "Leveling Guide & Tips" section. The first line is actually a link.

EDIT: I changed it so that its more apparent that it contains a link.

I didn't notice it before. Thanks a lot!

Loving this build so far. While it does take some leveling to get things going, it really takes off once you get your mana under control and the progression is amazing.

I initially started out with cleave until i could pick up sunder. Sunder is pretty much what i always use for leveling - for some reason it just works for me and there are some truly amazin 2h leveling weapons available.
Buying all the required skill gems from vendors you'll notice that they're all usable at around level 38-40 which is when i switched into abysscal cry. I believe i used the Grypon + Innsbury edge all the way to dreamfeather + breath without any progression problems.

As for mana, i started out with thief's torment which honestly has the potential to carry you to great lengths. I have a decent -7 elreon's that gets passes around from character to character which frankly did the job just fine.
To compensate for dropping the elreon's i specced into Primal Spirit (next to heart of oak) which also provides flask charges and intelligence. This allowed me to safely trade in elreon's for something more desirable.

As for the body, i had a 5L belly of the beast that i used until i could afford a 5L perfect form (which goes for around 1.5 ex on standard). Before even that i was running with Tabula. Dropping the faster attacks from the 6L is hardly a dps loss anyway.

Jewel wise, they basically all have %chaos damage with attack speed and a combination of resistances (cold + whatever is needed). Triple dps jewels are obviously very good but when you're on a budget they're also vastly more expensive than double dps + resistance. I figured the lack of triple dps jewels is compensated by stacking up more cold res which acts as evasion due to the perfect form.


Hope this helps for anyone who is struggling with their mana and gear options. As i said, the build has a great sense of progression where you start to feel it taking off level by level.

Thanks for the fun that your build is providing me!

Thanks for the feedback, and sharing your experiences with the build so far. Its good that you mention Thiefs Torment, I tend to forget about that ring, but its actually a solid leveling item. I will include it in the leveling part of the guide.

If I understand correctly, you are now playing without an Elreon ring? I experienced running out of mana quickly while whirling blading. Might be worth trying a bit more.

Some feedback from my character:
I leveled with Hidden Potential. It is amazing for leveling.

With 6-7 blue items with life+res self-crafted you get a healthy amount of life (which I usually don't because I use rares without life) + 175% increased damage, which is huge.

This allowed extreme flexibility. 175% increased damage is roughly 15 passives worth of damage nodes for a specific weapon. I used unique 1h axes with 4L sunder/earthquake + Lycosidae until level ~50.

At that point I equipped Innsbury Edge which is a mini Dreamfeather for this build. Switched to physical Blade Flurry setup until level 66, still using Hidden Potential blue gear.

At 66 I bought all uniques(very cheap) except BotC which was ~40c.

The selling point of the build: it clears a T1 Map as fast as a T15 Map. Clear speed is not super high but it is very consistent and it never falls off.

Main problems for were capping resists (while using 5 uniques) and mana problems.
My resists are still not ele weakness capped, except for cold which is at 150%(in Merc) because it is essentially evasion. Sitting at 28k unbuffed evasion rating.

Mana problems got solved by themself. I bought an expensive elreon ring with life and resists and didn't use it much. In fact I noticed that I don't get much fortify action from WB, so I put a Reduced Mana gem in place. This coupled with leveling up to 90 and getting Druidic Rite resulted in having 130 free mana, which is enough for me.

This is the first time I had the will to push to T15 because this character is so tanky.
What I found to be difficult was Core (Malachai and Shavronne) and Minotaur (only one I tried).
Shavronne because not enough resists.
Malachai just shit on my evasion and dodge. All his moves were almost 1-shots.
Minotaur is easy, I could evade the slam once, but the second time it was a 1-shot. So if you don't facetank him like me, it is way better.

@Baelrog How fast do you melt the Minotaur? For me it was more than 5seconds. More like 15-20 seconds. I don't even want to try Chimera :))

I have 6.1k Life, 28k evasion, 47 dodge, 56 spell dodge Unbuffed.
DPS 3.1k BF tooltip with ~6 attacks per second.

Overall very strong build, can do everything but requires decent player skill.

Thanks for the feedback, I think you summarized it quite well.

I can image Hidden Potential being great for leveling, for sure. With it you can start using AC at an earlier level (~38) as well, gives you pick up War Bringer after normal lab. I prefer to use a lot of unique items for movement speed and flask gain bonuses, which you would have to ditch. And you have to roll/pickup a lot of blue items to stay up to date and get the right stats. I guess in the end there are many ways to level and its up to personal preferences. I definitely not a bad idea though.

I actually get a lot of resists from my jewels, really helps out quite a bit while also scaling evasion. This is how I am Ele. weakness capped.

Interesting to hear about your mana situation. I'm at 153 mana, but I don't feel comfortable without the Elreon ring. Fortify I really like linked to whirling blades, because you use it to dash into the center of a pack, triggering it, use AC and attack. Its almost always on. In more stationary fights, like Minotaur, I like to use a quality Vigilant Strike to keep it up, so you dont break his attack pattern and can reliable keep tanking.

Maybe Core Malachai uses spell-like attacks, not sure. I know Ambrius, Legion Slayer has "attacks" that you can't evade. Not sure how dodge works. I can't comment on those bosses because I didn't unlock those maps. I do know that with most spell caster bosses I dont have much issues, unless they deal DoT. Because with Vaal Grace up, spell dodge is capped. Overall, these things are of course heavily influenced by map mods.

The last time I did him I remember I just ran out of flasks when he died, so thats about ~20 seconds. Speed also depends on how well the totem survives, as its a big damage boost. During these fights a normal stibnite flask is likely better for the extra uses, the blind is really strong. Didnt use Vaal Breach though, have to test that during these fights. Did u use it?

One thing I would like to note about your setup: Your dodge chance is quite a bit lower and this is actually a big thing, because every additional point is worth more (EHP) than the previous. Thats why capping dodge with Vaal Grace (lasts 13 seconds) is so good and it will make a big difference.

To be honest, balance-wise, I think this build hits the mark, because just like you said; its strong and can do all content, if played with decent skill. Overall, its well rounded. Everything that goes beyond this will likely kind of facetank everything. I really enjoy the endgame fights with this build, they are interactive, fast and exciting. I'm enjoying it a lot, thats for sure.

Again thank you for leaving some feedback, and I hope you will enjoy it some more. Lets just hope that GGG doesn't wrack this next league.

EDIT: Just tried Mino with Vaal Breach, he died within 10 seconds. Made the fight really easy.

My progress so far:

Blade Furry Damage Per Use - 2,300

Evasion Rating - 21,391

Level - 73
Life - 3,384
Mana - 1,113

I only have a 5-link Zodiac Leather Armor

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What gems should i use?

Chaos + Concentrated Effect + Blade Flurry + Poison + Void ?

or

Chaos + Concentrated Effect + Blade Flurry + Faster Attacks + Void?

or

? + ? + ? + ? + ? hehe

Also is this how to use this build correctly?
i move in or use [Whirling Blades] or [Leap Slam] in a middle of a pack of monsters then use [Abyssal Cry] then use [Blade Flurry] right?

Seems like your doing alright, you life is a bit low though, try to focus on improving that.

Five-link order would be: Chaos + Concentrated Effect + Blade Flurry + Poison + Void. Poison is essential for good single target DPS.

Indeed, use whirling blades to enter pack and activate Fortify > use Abyssal Cry > kill a monster > enjoy how everything went up in smoke.

My fortify is connected with Whirling Blade and Faster Attacks Support..

There are still some bosses that are painful. i think i just lack evasion and hp

Finally managed to get Chayula(blessing) and bought a Green Dream.

Now my dodge/spell dodge are at 56/56 because I don't have perfect Hinekora' Sight (7/10).
Damage boost is pretty noticeable.

Managed to hit 6.2k life so that is at a comfortable value.

I use Vaal Breach if I have to fight a scary boss. Pop flasks wait for mobs to gather around boss and explode everything, boss usually dies instantly. Then port out if I don't feel like fighting breach mobs that don't drop anything.

Let's also mention that this build is exceptional at dealing with strongboxes and breaches. Basically any situation where there are lots of mobs.

I usually swap Vaal Breach/Vaal Grace in and out depending on the map.

I am thinking about trying Shaper for the challenge (never done it before).
How is it with this build? Does it have enough burst to make the fight easy? Dunno if I will be able to dodge all his attacks since it will be the first time.

It has enough DPS, the trick is to apply it properly. It mostly comes down knowing the fight and how to deal with his attacks. Its not easy, but you should give it a try.