ZiggyD's Etheral Knives Mana Shield Scion/Shadow Build Guide - Hardcore (Updated for 1.1)

I'm level 56 with a similar build to this and really enjoying this as my secondary character (I love my summoner), and I just found a Cloak of Defiance. How does the Cloak interact with the Mind Over Matter node? is it 30% + 10% so 40% of damage taken from Mana first? Is this too much for most in this build to handle?

I'm currently running at around 30 mana regen over what AA needs and a spare mana pool around 700 mana (after reserves).

nvm, was a stupid question.

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Dakilula wrote:

Counterstryke, I've been trying to play with getting more DPS from ZiggyD's build and was also taking those inefficient nodes. I'm going to reconsider.

It is hard to get more DPS out of this build, actually. The only DPS increase nodes are essentially the Nimbleness cluster and Path of Savant cluster. In ZiggyD's original build you'd be able to get both by Lv87 (assuming you take all the defensive/HP/hybrid/aura nodes except Inner Force). Skipping Body and Soul in favor of Charisma puts you 4 levels behind. I guess the upside is that you will never one shot yourself to reflect (in fact I hardly even lose HP to reflect).

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jasonjrr wrote:

How does the Cloak interact with the Mind Over Matter node? is it 30% + 10% so 40% of damage taken from Mana first? Is this too much for most in this build to handle?

You don't need to take the MoM keystone from the Passive Tree if you use Cloak. The damage taken from Mana using Cloak works as you described. There are several threads out there discussing the mechanics of MoM and Cloak; just do a Google search. Somewhere earlier in this thread ZiggyD also discussed his opinion on using Cloak. My opinion is that a 5-linked rare chest (or indeed even a 5-linked blue hest with 90+ HP and a solid resist) is cheaper and no worse than a 5-linked Cloak, whereas a decent 6-linked chest can be far superior to a 6-linked Cloak. So, unless you happen to have a 5-linked Cloak lying around (or you can acquire one for cheap), I recommend getting a 5-linked rare chest and sticking with it until you can upgrade to a 6-linked rare chest with endgame stats.

What people have to realize is that your tankiness in everyday situations comes from AA, not MoM. A high level AA (with enfeeble and a half decent Armor rating) completely negates many forms of damage. MoM is for times when you take a huge amount of burst damage (like taking a critical strike from a rare Roah that casts invulnerability on hit -- those who watch ZiggyD's videos know what I'm talking about). Of course, MoM is still too good to pass up for this build because we are already stacking Mana regen for AA and we are only 3 nodes away from MoM after taking IR, and spending the 3 skill points instead of blowing a fortune 5-linking or even 6-linking a Cloak is probably the wiser choice when it comes to endgame.

Edit 1: Added reply to Dakilula.

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CounterStryke wrote:

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jasonjrr wrote:

How does the Cloak interact with the Mind Over Matter node? is it 30% + 10% so 40% of damage taken from Mana first? Is this too much for most in this build to handle?

You don't need to take the MoM keystone from the Passive Tree if you use Cloak. The damage taken from Mana using Cloak works as you described. There are several threads out there discussing the mechanics of MoM and Cloak; just do a Google search. Somewhere earlier in this thread ZiggyD also discussed his opinion on using Cloak. My opinion is that a 5-linked rare chest (or indeed even a 5-linked blue hest with 90+ HP and a solid resist) is cheaper and no worse than a 5-linked Cloak, whereas a decent 6-linked chest can be far superior to a 6-linked Cloak. So, unless you happen to have a 5-linked Cloak lying around (or you can acquire one for cheap), I recommend getting a 5-linked rare chest and sticking with it until you can upgrade to a 6-linked rare chest with endgame stats.

What people have to realize is that your tankiness in everyday situations comes from AA, not MoM. A high level AA (with enfeeble and a half decent Armor rating) completely negates many forms of damage. MoM is for times when you take a huge amount of burst damage (like taking a critical strike from a rare Roah that casts invulnerability on hit -- those who watch ZiggyD's videos know what I'm talking about). Of course, MoM is still too good to pass up for this build because we are already stacking Mana regen for AA and we are only 3 nodes away from MoM after taking IR, and spending the 3 skill points instead of blowing a fortune 5-linking or even 6-linking a Cloak is probably the wiser choice when it comes to endgame.

Edit 1: Added reply to Dakilula.

Well that convinced me to leave my Cloak alone and save my currency for a decent 5L chest (or wait until my summoner replaces her 5L). Thanks for the info.

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Dakilula wrote:

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Radagastt wrote:

What's a good leveling weapon for this? any uniques? I'm only level 13, using a two-handed sword at the moment because it has the highest physical damage of anything I've found so far.

I leveled with Spectral Throw until 56 with about 300dps. It was weak in A1 merciless.
Now 59. EK and some self found +spell damage on a mace and shield tripled my dps. now 1,300. And I'm using +IIR as my 6th link.

Used, and still am using :

And do not see any reason to switch out yet.

Weapons, I used:

(1chaos)

then

(1 chaos)

then

(4-6 chaos, cannot remember)

Also used other 1chaos uniques, but the most important ones were:

I just replaced them in Act2 Merc.

Edit: something to remember: while leveling, equip alternate weapons and level up your gems. So when you switch, our not starting at level 1 gems.

Thanks. And good tip on the alternate weapons, that's something I don't usually think about. Guess I'll use a typical spectral throw set-up for a while.

I finally made it to merciless, and the RNG gods were kind. I had an exalted drop for me while farming in a group in Docks(Cruel). Now the only question is how do I maximize my gear upgrades. This is my current gear


And these are the three upgrades I already have.

I plan on using an alc on the 5 link and just hoping I get a solid roll if not I will just use it for a while until I can get a good 6 link. I have been using spectral throw to level up. So the first thing on my list is buying a solid/good wand. I have 10 fusings and an exalt to work with. What items should I upgrade first, and how do I maximize my currency?

Hello,

first off i really enjoy this build..and i use a variation of it using a dagger instead of the wand just for whirling blades get out of dodge ability and plus i have a nice spell dmg dagger as well (will upgrade to a better one soon)

This is my current skill tree at lvl 67


and this will be my final build..getting the last couple of aura nodes in the top left corner last

EDIT: final build reworked...thx to CantripN..the question still stand..aura first..or more armor ..or more hp/mana first ?



i went for a bit more dmg ..to a bit less HP pool kinda of build

i wanted to ask ..is it better to get the aura nodes around the shadow first..or get the armor and hp nodes...or ??

what do u guys think ?

atm with my current gear i have no problems in merciless Docks so far but i would like to start equipping my char for maps farming



also i'm leveling up an EK +16% gem i found..way better dmg
it's in the second weapon slot just for leveling purposes



don't mind the gems on the helm and boots as i use them to lvl up an alt atm

and soon enough i will upgrade them anyways..the helm most likely first as i need a good armor or armor /evasion with 4 red slots

any suggestions are welcomed

Iron Grip doesn't work on EK. It's a Projectile SPELL, not a Projectile ATTACK.

Same for Water Dancing, the One-handed damage node, does nothing for EK. Same for the gear that gives Life Leech or Mana Leech, or Attack Speed - all those do NOT affect EK.

Otherwise, your build looks more or less like mine, so I can't help but like it. Check out my sig, you'll see.

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CantripN wrote:

Iron Grip doesn't work on EK. It's a Projectile SPELL, not a Projectile ATTACK.

Same for Water Dancing, the One-handed damage node, does nothing for EK.

Otherwise, your build looks more or less like mine, so I can't help but like it. Check out my sig, you'll see.

thx for the fast answer..good thing i did not go that road yet..only a few nodes to spec out of..

again thx

Hello, im following the build, and its really awesome, currently level 59 on nemesis, 3.5k hp, 1k mana after reserved, 2k dps(EK only level 14)
gear


what u guys think about my gear?

btw whats the point of discipline? when i activate it 400 mana left instead of 1k ;/