[2.2] Yalani's Aegis Aurora Essence Drain/Abyssal Cry Build

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- Your gear links show abyssal at 1, is this correct and done to save mana?

Yup, leveling AC does nothing in terms of Damage, so I just leave it at level 1 :)

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- What gems are highest priority for quality?

Faster Attacks + Whirling Blades.
But if you Passives are still incomplete, and you are looking for more damage, I'd say Essence Drain ---> All Supportgems that do not get Damage over Time as the quality bonus(since it doesn't double dip) ---> Rest

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- Why abyssal over contagion? At least at my level contagion seems superior in every way. Is it a scaling issue that is not evident until high level and tough bosses?

Since Abysall Cry is based on a % of the enemies lifepool, it later oneshots EVERYTHING. No matter if it is dried lake or a T15 map - it always deals the same amount of damage.
Essencedrain + Contagion also does not stack - this means, that Rare mobs + Bosses take way more damage from AC than from Essence Drain. In fact, rare mobs usually die from the poison of AC, since there is always a pack of white mobs around it.
AC is also able to oneshot bosses, if the trashmobs around it are close to it.
Your problem is probably the lack of Gemlevels + Passives - Since the damage of AC Doubledips (due to poison), damage via gems + jewels + passives are twice as effective as on a non posion build.
You will eventually reach the point, where AC outshines Contagion.

You can ofc use both, Contagion + Abyssal Cry if you like - Contagion works pretty well on a 1-2 Link anyway.

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- I can see how Iron Reflexes combos nicely with Aegis. Without Aegis is Iron Reflexes still necessary?

Evasion is a pretty good defence mechanic aswell, but since this build has a fairly low lifepool, i'd recommend the Armour from IR over Evasion to prevent oneshots.

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- Any suggestions for other (cheap) shields? I was thinking of Lioneye's Remorse, or just any rare with decent block and armour or evasion.

Either Mutewind Pennant as an offensive Shield or a rare Shield with Evasion.
Why Evasion? If you take IR, Evasion scales with both - Armour + Evasion rating. Armour on the other hand only scales with Additional Armour from the tree. So try to prioritize Evasion over Armour on your Gear.

If you can't find a decent Evasionshield, you can also give Lioneyes a try.

Btw, Rumi's Flask is also a pretty nice option for this build, since you can basically respec 20-30% Block in the tree.

I personally don't like to spam Flasks, so I prefer to get the extra Blockchance via the tree instead.
You can skill a lot of extra Lifenodes if you are using the Flask though.

I have been continuing to level this build. Now at 70 and finding it strong, especially in tough boss fights.
The gladiator with max spell block coupled with whirling blades maneuverablilty and essence drain not requiring you to constantly spam attacks is defensively strong while still killing bosses fast.

Still using Contagion. I again tried Abyssal Cry, it was much better for the levelling than when I last tried, but found the 4 sec wait was annoying if the mobs were not well grouped.
I have just switched from a defensive aura to vulnerability and will try AC again as soon as my support gems get up another level. It feels like it is pretty close to coming together and rare bosses are starting to get tough enough that they require extra effort after the pack dies, which will be where AC becomes superior.

On the defence side I still do not have Aegis or Vertex so my energy shield is minimal. Also I do not have Enlighten or any other mana reserve reduction, so cannot support running a costly aura like Grace.
Consequently I am trying a hybrid/multi-layerd defence approach which seems to work so far.
Most gear and tree is evasion for a decent (40%) evade change.
Being a gladiator with The Anvil I have 78% block and spell block.
Max elemental resists and working on getting chaos resist up.
Shield is Lioneye's Remorse which, even though the tree is mostly evasion, gets good buff from the shield nodes and provides 55% damage reduction.
Fortify and Arctic armour add a bit more DR and the potential for chilling enemies to further reduce incoming damage.

It will be interesting to see if this cheap hybrid approach holds up against merciless Dominus and the tough Act IV bosses and later on maps.

Ok, I stand converted.

Now having completed Act 4 merciless and starting into low to mid tier maps the mobs are getting tougher, the passive tree is almost complete and the skill gems are a bit more levelled.

The abyssal cry will now routinely clear half the screen, leaving a lone boss who pops 2 seconds later from the poison DoT :)

I really like the idea of this buid, definetely gonna try it out in 2.3.
But, I have a question.
Does Conc.Effect gem worth it?
It's supposed to double dip (and "~60% more" is a lot).
But how does "25% less AoE" affect Abyssal cry? (Less mobs affected and smaller explosions, obviously). But is it really noticeable?

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Khornaar wrote:

I really like the idea of this buid, definetely gonna try it out in 2.3.
But, I have a question.
Does Conc.Effect gem worth it?
It's supposed to double dip (and "~60% more" is a lot).
But how does "25% less AoE" affect Abyssal cry? (Less mobs affected and smaller explosions, obviously). But is it really noticeable?

Yes, the AoE damage will doubledip, so it is an options if you are looking for more damage.
And yes, the less AoE is really noticeable (as it basically also doubledips, because it affects less monster and has a smaller AoE) and AC already deals more than 100% of enemies life, so it is kind of a waste - maybe good as a bosskiller, but kinda sucky for general clearing.

This build sounds really fun. I like your style!

Did you do any contemplating yet what 2.3 will change and mainly which ascendancy class will benefit the most from the 2 extra points for this build?

Is whirling blades still viable with the increased attack speed, or should the focus lie more in movement speed now? Or making sure you get onslaught / phasing and go dodge / evasion based (i.e. raider ascendancy)?

I'm going to try this build on start of 2.3 league. Not sure yet what class I'll go, but should be fun to play.

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Benjiir wrote:

This build sounds really fun. I like your style!

Did you do any contemplating yet what 2.3 will change and mainly which ascendancy class will benefit the most from the 2 extra points for this build?

Is whirling blades still viable with the increased attack speed, or should the focus lie more in movement speed now? Or making sure you get onslaught / phasing and go dodge / evasion based (i.e. raider ascendancy)?

I'm going to try this build on start of 2.3 league. Not sure yet what class I'll go, but should be fun to play.

Also trying to make this build work, starting as an Berserker, therefore i will Lvl with earthquake and use my 24 respec points later to get out of resolute technique and the weapon nodes..

Buffwhise: Berserker got buffed as warcrys now restore 25% Health and Mana, which gets rid of almost every mana Issue we might have and additionally 25% instant recovery every 2 secs sounds pretty neat for longer bossfights..
Additionally Rite of ruin which gives us damage reduction (always nice) and stun immunity (as our hp pool is quite small super useful).

Shadow got also better just because there are so many great options to choose in the Trickster ascendancy. (IMO designwhise one of the best classes as all options feel kinda meaningful)

Can´t say anything about gladiator and Scion..

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Artasqweroldy wrote:

Also trying to make this build work, starting as an Berserker, therefore i will Lvl with earthquake and use my 24 respec points later to get out of resolute technique and the weapon nodes..

Buffwhise: Berserker got buffed as warcrys now restore 25% Health and Mana, which gets rid of almost every mana Issue we might have and additionally 25% instant recovery every 2 secs sounds pretty neat for longer bossfights..
Additionally Rite of ruin which gives us damage reduction (always nice) and stun immunity (as our hp pool is quite small super useful).

Shadow got also better just because there are so many great options to choose in the Trickster ascendancy. (IMO designwhise one of the best classes as all options feel kinda meaningful)

Can´t say anything about gladiator and Scion..

Yeah, I went Berserker too. The 25% instant recovery is amazing.
I changed a few things from Yalani's. I'm running Arctic Armour + Grace for extra damage reduction. Curse delivery through Reckoning (0.4s cooldown) with curse on hit instead of blasphemy which is working fine.

Still saving up for my Aegis Aurora, but did just find Cospri's Will Assassin's Garb which gives +1 curse, goes through hexproof and delivers poison on hit if a mob is cursed. I might replace my Consuming Dark dagger with Bino's and wear that armour so I can run Bino's without poison support gems.

Build is certainly working nicely now that I have finished my merciless Lab and have the 40% more damage.
Still have to come up with a way to get endurance and frenzy charges though ideally. But for now it's working nicely.