Petrov's Elemental Bow Ranger Build(s) (0.10)

I used this build in closed beta and enjoyed it.
Is this build still going to be viable in open beta or there are better alternatives?

One more thing, should we upgrade our damage dealing gems (e.g Lightning Arrow) or keep them level 1 for low mana cost?

Yea an OB update would be nice, if there are some changes.
Gonna try this maybe :)

Yes, please, an OB update !!!

Hey, I really, really liked this build before OB started, so I'm rebuilding it for OB. However, LA seems to have kind of bitten a dick with the decreased damage effectiveness. I was thinking, you could probably get the same shotgun effect and a very, very similar play to closed beta LA with ice shot. You could also throw in hatred and cold penetration and etc.

You think this would work about the same? I'd only gotten to about lvl 65 in closed beta, but was enjoying it a lot.

EDIT: ohhhoooo, hatred is reserve%. That's no good.

Well petrov, you have any ideas for what would work well along the same core build idea for OB?

Nothing in this build is specific to Lightning Arrow, really, so there's no reason this shouldn't still work fine as a Blood Magic-based Elemental Archer, no matter which elemental skill you want to use. The passive skill grid is optimized for elemental damage, not any element in particular, so nothing should suffer by, say, swapping out Lightning Arrow for Ice Shot, or anything similar.

I do have a question about optimization, however; rather than going straight from Iron Grip to Blood Magic (6 Strength nodes and 3 +8% health), might it not allow for more late-game expansion to run along the bottom from Iron Reflexes through Unwavering Stance (which we're already getting) instead? This uses 3 Strength and 5 Dex stat nodes (slightly more points), but opens up avenues to better health (+1.5% regen/8%/8%/12%), +15% all resists, +50% armor, and -10% skill costs that can be invested in at higher levels. What are people's thoughts on this path?

Also, I know this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find it at the moment and would thus appreciate a refresher: when is the best time to get Blood Magic? I know Chaos Inoculation builds had very specific thresholds when it became optimal; is there a similar easy time to know when to hit this Keystone?

Additionally, can anyone provide more information regarding the progression of the new Lightning Arrow? Is it still something best kept at level 1, or is it now worth keeping maxed?

hey guys, could someone explain me Unwavering Stance?
it says:

Cannot evade enemy attacks
Cannot be stunned

i understand that not getting stunned is great, but i can not evade if i pick it? are we not stacking evasion?

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Revolutionary wrote:

hey guys, could someone explain me Unwavering Stance?
it says:

Cannot evade enemy attacks
Cannot be stunned

i understand that not getting stunned is great, but i can not evade if i pick it? are we not stacking evasion?

er are but Iron Reflexes converts those into Armor...

as for Ice Shot - with just 3 more points we can add "Ice Bite" for an additional 30% Cold Weapon Damage

"

Revolutionary wrote:

hey guys, could someone explain me Unwavering Stance?
it says:

Cannot evade enemy attacks
Cannot be stunned

i understand that not getting stunned is great, but i can not evade if i pick it? are we not stacking evasion?

"Iron Reflexes" converts all Evasion to Armor, so we get massive amounts of amor with the evasion stacking and dont suffer from the downside of "Unwavering Stance"

thanks for clarifying.
also i wonder, as the poster before me, whens the best time to get blood magic?
also, how come when a bow has for example 1% physical dmg leeched back as life, i dont think i get ANY life back. i am pretty low atm and deal atleast some physical dmg but i dont see any life gained.
ty

"

Revolutionary wrote:

thanks for clarifying.
also i wonder, as the poster before me, whens the best time to get blood magic?
also, how come when a bow has for example 1% physical dmg leeched back as life, i dont think i get ANY life back. i am pretty low atm and deal atleast some physical dmg but i dont see any life gained.
ty

you most probably don't notice as life leech is basically a HoT and not instant life on hit (that would be the life on Hit mod obviously)