I Cast Magic Missile! - Cantrip's guide to Ethereal Knives 2.0

That's one option to consider. Thing is, that lost mana regen would sting, and I even took the 20% Regen passive at the Templar start, so I think that's not something I can give up.

Current tree:


Around +188% Life atm, another 5% per level.
BTW, you don't need all that many Reduced Mana Reservation passives, I got rid of 2 and I'm still 100% ok with Enlighten 3.

I doubt that 65% increased mana regen is giving you 34 mana/sec you could save by not paying it in the first place :)

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azmodael wrote:

I doubt that 65% increased mana regen is giving you 34 mana/sec you could save by not paying it in the first place :)

It gives me MORE than that ;)

And you're ignoring the Flat Life, STR, Life Regen... It's sad that I need to spend so many passives on mana regen now, but if Clarity gets it's power back, I may not need to.

Ok, your new tree has more points then the old one I worked with and you have the templar reduction nodes already.

In this case consider replacing the Ranger mana cluster with Dynamo - the mana cluster above scion life wheel. You'll lose 20 int, 20 str, 2% increased max mana, 20% regen and 20% flask recharge to gain 8% mana rediction. For mana efficiency only should be worth it.

Just a couple of questions for Cantrip. I'm currently running the build on Beta as the Scion, very impressed so far. Just under 25k DPS with 6 Frenzy charges with absolute trash gear and level 18 gems.

What curse do you tend to use as a manual curse? I have Warlord's Mark on a low level CoDT with a high level IC/Molten Shell/Inc Duration on a high level CoDT as well. I'm manually cursing Warlord's again for endurance charges but mainly leech to sustain mana.

If I pick up a few more mana nodes I should be able to run Hatred + Clarity + 2 x Herald or Haste. I'm leaning towards Haste though the shatter from the occasional crit makes HoI quite nice.

Wondering how you're mitigating reflect too. Even at this level of damage I'm having issues. I ran a phys reflect map and had to swap out Added Fire for Life Leech and drop a herald for AA. Wondering how you're going when your DPS is so much higher.

1 - I don't manual curse at all as I feel no need. If I did, it would probably be Projectile Weakness or Temporal Chains / Enfeeble.
2 - I'm running Clarity / Hatred / HoA / AA. HoI and HoT are all but useless in this build. Haste has always been, and still is, mostly garbage + now it raises the already hard to maintain mana cost per sec.
3 - The only kind of Reflect that's ANY problem is Phys Ref maps, and I swap in Phys to Light for those, making it a non-issue.
4 - Molten Shell on a build with Acrobatics? :D Check the defense tab, you'll see how pointless that is.

Glad to hear it's working out for you so far :)

I might have another idea - but first i need to know how many increased spell/proj damage u have on items?

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azmodael wrote:

I might have another idea - but first i need to know how many increased spell/proj damage u have on items?

At the moment, 92 spell damage from wand, 29 from belt, 80 from shield, 21 from amulet. More from q20 gems and Jewels and tree.

Hello Cantrip, I really like you build in beta and am thinking about running it when it comes life!

Few question to clarify some things:

1) Do you use Blood Rage and if so, do you level it up and active manualy?
2) You mentioned using Blood Dance boots several times, is it still the best option or would for example Atziris Step offer more life and spell dodge in late game?
3) What other defensive stat are you stacking on your gear with life? ES, evasion or combination of both?
4) Is Carcass Jack option for late game armor?

Looking forward to more wisdom from Beta,

Lokken

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LoK_Ken wrote:

Hello Cantrip, I really like you build in beta and am thinking about running it when it comes life!

Few question to clarify some things:

1) Do you use Blood Rage and if so, do you level it up and active manualy?
2) You mentioned using Blood Dance boots several times, is it still the best option or would for example Atziris Step offer more life and spell dodge in late game?
3) What other defensive stat are you stacking on your gear with life? ES, evasion or combination of both?
4) Is Carcass Jack option for late game armor?

Looking forward to more wisdom from Beta,

Lokken

1 - I do use Blood Rage, and I link it to Increased Duration. 18 Seconds are more than enough to kill SOMETHING.
2 - They are one option. I can't say if they are better than Atziri's Step or not, it's a comparable choice. Either way, with Vaal Grace up (also with Increased Duration), I'm with formidable defenses vs attacks and spells. Are they better? Depends when and for what - I currently have a pair with +1 Frenzy Charges, making me favor them.
Also, Atziri's Step comes with a steep Mana Cost compared to Blood Dance, as you get 18% Cast Speed with 6 Charges compared, and that costs mana you simply cannot sustain for long.
Don't discount the value of Regeneration (I'm currently at 12%, 8% after BR), especially with Leech changes coming.
3 - Carcass Jack is useless for EK, as it's not an AoE spell. Tabula +1, Lightning Coil, Belly of the Beast, those are what you look for. Lioneye's Chest (with the Pierce) or the new 100% Charge Duration chest are also viable, as is a great Rare. Overall, a Tabula +1 serves best for most things with good enough gear, but you need to learn not to block attacks with your face.