[3.15] Brain-dead Dominating Blow Guardian - 2mil DPS on 20c budget, 5mil+ with investment

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Iodo wrote:

Hi, thank you for the guide.

I haven't played dominating blow before. Are physical reflect maps a problem?

Having run one by mistake last league, I can confidently say that you deal just about enough damage to kill yourself. And even if you didn't, your sentinels would kill themselves after a few hits. Overall 0/10 do not run phys reflect maps, unless you invest in "you and your minions take X% reduced physical reflect damage".

First of all, want to thank you for the guide, still have a question about the defensive capabilities. As I see we don't invest heavily in block, armor or ES, and the health, as I see, will be quite... mediocre. So what is the best way to tank the damage spikes on this build. We have to be close to our targets when we hit them so I am a bit afraid of one-shots on tier5+ maps.

Maybe I am missing some things so correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks in advance.

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PerWerT wrote:

First of all, want to thank you for the guide, still have a question about the defensive capabilities. As I see we don't invest heavily in block, armor or ES, and the health, as I see, will be quite... mediocre. So what is the best way to tank the damage spikes on this build. We have to be close to our targets when we hit them so I am a bit afraid of one-shots on tier5+ maps.

Maybe I am missing some things so correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks in advance.

We have decent block chance (capped attack block when Bastion of Hope is active, and some spell block) and basically permanent blind/taunt once you get the Abyss jewels. But most importantly, your minions will be soaking the majority of the hits from enemies, so it's a lot safer in practice than the raw numbers imply. I didn't really have trouble with one-shots when I played this build last league. You can check the map showcase video - even in content as dense as Ultimatums, you're rarely in any danger of one-shots.

we need some mana leech on gear/jewel to cope with the mana cost of the skill right?

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duabijitelur wrote:

we need some mana leech on gear/jewel to cope with the mana cost of the skill right?

I haven't tested the build yet but yes, I suspect mana leech is now mandatory rather than just helpful. Alternatively, you could use an Enduring mana flask.

I personally have not needed mana leech yet, using a 6 link with 66 unreserved mana. The mana regen nodes on the tree seem to be enough.

Do we use herald of purity when we get the rings for reduced mana res? Noticed all other dom blow guides use the herald aura. Thanks for the answer

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Eclypsons wrote:

Do we use herald of purity when we get the rings for reduced mana res? Noticed all other dom blow guides use the herald aura. Thanks for the answer

I haven't managed to optimize Herald of Purity enough to make it worth using on this build. Even with two of the rings, you'd have to sacrifice a big aura like Pride (unless you're filthy rich and can afford an Aul's Uprising). I was breaking even on DPS at best, even with HoP in a 6-link, and losing out on defensive stats like life and chaos resistance since I couldn't use rare rings. As such, I've opted to not use HoP in this build guide.

I'm having fun with this. Thanks again for the guide!

Do you have suggestions for a tree without the cluster jewels? In SSF I may not find such a cluster jewel for a long time.

Also, until we get a nice sceptre or the Scourge, what sort of weapon to you recommend? In SSF I've gotten lucky to get an Ornament of the East, but I can foresee needing more damage to smoothly generate the first minions in yellow and red maps. I'm still using Herald of Purity to help with this, even though it's obvious that at a higher gear point Pride is the way to go.

Oh! And I'm finally going to be able to obtain the Tul and Arena Master spectres. Before that, while leveling, I've been using a Heretical Guardian for the proximity shield alongside the Carnage Chieftain and it's worked alright. That might be worth a mention in the leveling section. Are there any other early/mid spectres you'd recommend?

I too am having fun with this, but it feels very slow. I'm hoping that it's just because my gear is bad and I'm still leveling (82 atm). I have trouble keeping at max Sentinels because I can't get hits in before the existing ones kill things, so I'm suffering through periods of being underpowered due to lack of Sentinels.

Better movespeed boots would help me moving from pack to pack, but I'm not sure how to improve attack speed significantly enough that I can get hits in to trigger the debuff and keep my Sentinels going.