[3.11] Hitchhiker Kai SMASH Tank. Build Plans - update into league

***DISCLAIMER***
-- This build is not active yet as 3.11 is not live yet! It will be my league starter, i will be playing it from level 1 as intended throughout leveling, early maps, until fully optimized.
-- PoB is UP!
-- I will update the build as time goes on. This could take me awhile as im a part time casual, but i assure it'll be an amazing build!


Welcome to my build. Feel free to enjoy, modify, improve and comment.

Overview
This build is a super Raider tank which offensively focuses on an amazing interaction with the new Intimidating Cry, Ruthless Support, and Glacial Hammer skill.
Essentially, smash smash SUH-MASH! Each of these three separate factors will cause the stars to aline every 3rd hit and freeze everything in the game, and thus demolish the game.
Glacial Hammer gives some crazy stats and may be the most overpowered melee skill the game has seen. Ya heard me. A great damage effectiveness of 200%. 100% attack speed modifier (contrary to 90% of all the other melee skills that exist in the game today) and an INSANE Freeze enemies as though doing 390% damage on every 3rd hit. Plus, last but not least, essentially a 33% hp cull on anything thats frozen.
Ruthless support gives a crazy bonus to every 3rd hit.
Intimidating Cry will intimidate and cause you to exert the next couple of attacks, dealing double damage. With one notable on the new passive tree you can extend this effect to last....thats right, 3 hits.

Raider, because its the most defensive ascendancy in the game.
This build will have, give or take, 95% evade (evade cap), 50/50 dodge, 26/48 block (take 50% dmg from blocked hits), and CRAZY mitigation by way of Fortify, Kintsugi, Wind Dancer, and other effects. Phasing and immunity to elemental ailments.


PROS
► Smash
► Smash
► SUH-MASH
► Very tanky.

CONS
► .
► .


Path of Building



Build Preview and Playstyle - The TLDR




Passive Tree and Ascendancy


Gear


Flasks


Jewels


Skill Gems


Bandits and Pantheon



Feel free to leave your 2 cents, comments, questions etc. I may just tweak the layout of this guide here and there etc. I may also update this through patches/leagues if i continue to play it myself.

going to reserve.
https://pastebin.com/4uX2ECRg
POB is active!! (if you've manually patched it to view the new tree)

PoB updated

In PoB ruthless support is averaged out per hit. if you calculate things manually you can get upwards of 2-2.5 million damage on a 3rd hit. with active intimidating cry this is 4-5 million damage, freezing as though doing 16-20 million damage (400% with lvl 21 glacial hammer).

this is enough damage to freeze every single thing in the game that can be frozen, for at least 1.5 seconds.

Well you have my following ... lets do this !

"

Andyb1981 wrote:

Well you have my following ... lets do this !

no matter what you've done you deserve respect
even if you make mistakes
you lovable
doesn't matter your look, skills, or age, or size or anything
you're worthwhile
no one can ever take that away from you

26% Attack Block is OP.

"

AbilityPoints wrote:

26% Attack Block is OP.

you can get 56-57% attack block with the staff that gives 25% block as implicit, but attack block only blocks attack. to which already having 95% evade and 50% dodge, really isn't the best use for block.

at this point you're better off focusing on spell evasion/mitigation, so using a judgement staff for the spell block is a much more efficient use of defenses.

I think I'll join. Just one question, don't we need some source of extra target with strike skills for this to feel good? Do you plan to swap in AC for mapping?

"

ZZZiltoid wrote:

I think I'll join. Just one question, don't we need some source of extra target with strike skills for this to feel good? Do you plan to swap in AC for mapping?

i will almost certainly use ancestral call for leveling, but once you get ancestral cry that would probably suffice in all scenarios.
i plan to get some good investment into warcry cooldown and some cast time, and with second wind available too and ancestral cry being able to (eventually) offer up 9 exerted strikes, it should be up at all times.

intimidating cry would really only need to be cast vs bosses, so the main play would be to use ancestral cry for mapping and intimidating cry for the boss, with enduring cry mixed in to buff up on endurance charges which should sustain afterwards with the 10% chance to gain a charge on crit strike.

you can also anoint Tribal Fury but im not sure it'll be needed. it wouldn't be game breaking to replace Serpent Stance

if you do use ancestral call for mapping and such, i wouldn't replace ruthless. i'd most likely replace melee physical damage, then swap the gem back for boss
im not sure if ancestral cry and call together would be worth using. i'll have to see. it could be that we'd have enough range for it to be worth for crazy clear coupled with the threshold jewel giving aoe

toying around with the idea of going elemental overload over critical strike. just to be more consistent as well as save passive points for other things.

probably better for league start and early mapping, but once gear progresses etc probably overall better to go crit. unsure.

https://pastebin.com/Tdc3C2ge

with non crit, can still get upwards of over a million damage with 3rd hit (1.3 possible). thats 2.6 million with intimidating cry. so still freezing as though doing 13 million damage. which would still be able to freeze something like shaper (over 74 million hp) for about a second.

able to get significantly more hp, use a different helmet and save a flask slot (no diamond required)