[3.19] Donkster5' LS Champ - Still great! Leaguestart to endgame SC and HC. Updated 8/18
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cirerrek wrote:
Spoiler
Just wanted to write a quick post thanking Donkster5 for their Champion Vaal Lightning Strike build.
I've leveled a couple of characters this league and just wasn't enjoying their leveling experience, or game play, or survivability, or some combination thereof.
I feel like leveling is harder in Expedition or at least a bit more dangerous. You can get some decent gear from the Expedition traders if you feel comfortable doing that content, but it certainly will slow you down having to read all the mods and interact with the traders.
I leveled fairly slowly and took down Act 10 Kitava, no deaths, 24 passives, 1 game day. I did have access to the Expedition re-rolls and currency that I had already accumulated, basically infinite scrolls of wisdom, and a Vaal Lightning Strike. I did not naturally drop a Vaal Lightning Strike until Act 10 with this build and that was with doing every Vaal side area I came across.
Skill tree in guide is well laid out and addresses the problems that you run into (mana, pierce, etc.,.)
The build has
-good movement speed by the time you get to Act 10 via the skill tree and decent pair of boots
-is visually enjoyable (herald of ice shatters are muah) without being too clutter usually
-can take a hit at least from campaign and campaign Expedition mobs
-good clear
The problems I ran into were
-getting claws with attack speed and high elemental damage (I just crafted % inc phys on the ones I found that were close)
-a few whoa moments while getting used to lifetap support in the early game (the life gain on hit claw solved this problem)
-single target is meh with my current gear, sometimes even with Vaal Lightning Strike. I feel like it gets the job done, but you are probably going to have to dodge a few extra mechanics since you aren't going to mop the floor with most bosses.
Still thoroughly enjoyable to level and I'm glad I gave it a try. Thx!
PS I like that you included the new Defiance Banner as it is something I was wondering about since Reduced Critical Strike Chance to nearby enemies is not really a stat that you can get anywhere else that I am aware of (Sanctum of Thought being the nearest thing I can think of but that reduces 20% of the extra damage from crits rather than the chance to crit).
Hey, thanks for the thoughts and feedback. I’m really glad you enjoyed your time with it.
Re: defiance banner, it’s really a pretty OP defensive gem IMO. Paired with Champion, it completely negates the need to go for conquerer as it provides a better active taunt damage reduction and some passive benefits as well. Plus, it allows the Champion ascendancy to utilize Inspirational, which provides a significant offensive boost due to it boosting all auras. The only drawback is that the -15% damage on taunt requires actively placing the banner, but again, with Inspirational, you can spam this effect. A full banner gives ~7.5 seconds of taunt and the ascendancy gives you 40% of the banner charges back when you pick it up. So, you can essentially spam it every few seconds in a boss fight for a really nice damage reduction.
Cheers for the tip on crit, i definitely havent invested enough there yet. I lucked upon the base from expedition, then a couple metallic fossils gave me this
hoping i can luck out to remove one of the two unneeded suffixes with an annul orb, craft or harvest in some crit :D
Yeah, that’s a nice claw. If you hit the lucky annul for one of the non-AS suffixes and craft crit chance, it’ll be good enough to take you all the way to full endgame… maybe not the hardest bosses, but that takes serious investment on any build.
Hello! Would this build work well to farm Delve 600+? Very nice post btw!
Thank you. It’s hard for me to say as I’m not a deep delver. However, if it clears T16+ 100% deli maps deathless, I’d like to think so. You’ll need very good gear to do so, but I imagine it would be quite smooth in the tunnels. Hope that helps.
I am in red maps with this build concept and am absolutely loving it.
Could anyone clarify just how far away from bosses I am supposed to stand for 2x lightning strike damage? Is it something i need ot turn on 'attack without moving for'?
I am in red maps with this build concept and am absolutely loving it.
Could anyone clarify just how far away from bosses I am supposed to stand for 2x lightning strike damage? Is it something i need ot turn on 'attack without moving for'?
Glad to hear! Yes, turn on attack without moving. The best I can describe where you stand is ~2-4 steps away. Here is a picture.
