[1.2.0] Dual Claws Are Cool

I'm currently streaming if you wanna checkout what it looks like level 54


I'm using :

-Cyclone + Added fire + Blood Magic + Blin

-Frenzy (alone)

-Cast on damage taken + blood rage + enduring cry

-Dual strike + melee splash + added physical + multistrike



See ya

Hello !
First, thanks a lot for that build, dual claws were the reason I chose Shadow and I wasn't disappointed ^^
I just had a few questions in regard to leveling. Actually, the supports gem look awesome, and it seemed a priority to me to make some of those nice combos. However, being rather low level (around 25 at the moment), this causes quite a lot of mana and gear issues - it's not easy finding good 3L gear at that level. So I was wondering, is actually focusing on 3L a good idea at that level ?

Also, for the auras I'm dealing with what I found, actually Wrath. While the extra damage is a huge increase to my DPS, the 60% reserved mana can be troublesome. For the moment it's only a problem if running 3L combos, but I guess running that aura isn't a great idea ?

Hello

Did you take the 2% mana leech node in the passive tree?

Which gems are on your 3?


Hatred is a must have aura since you can freeze enemies with the cold damage. You can get it for 1 fusing in the trade chat (type /trade 1 first)

Don't worry about the 60% reserved mana, I'm 54 and don't need mana flasks.

Hello,

I've been wanting to ask you about the build.

Could you please tell if the following stats are good for 70+ maps:

4200 hp
4500 armor (with grace)
30% life steal with Blood Rage
75% all resistance, -10% chaos
9 attacks per second
520% attack speed with 6 Frenzy
50% block
11 000 dps with Double Strike (with 6 Frenzy) - how exactly can I increase my dps to 25k or so? I find it near impossible to have without some godly gear.

I don't have the passive (mind drinker 2% mana leech). I have in my Bringer of Rain multistrike - meele splash - double strike - MANA LEECH - however, I still go OOM with 150 mana active (running with Hatred and Grace)- i have to get Mind Drinker passive? 2% seems ... little.

So in short :

1 - How can I increase my dps and resolve the mana issue?

2 - Could we go Vaal Pact so we can change Bloodseeker? It's dps is very lackluster. If we could change to Vaal Pact, we should skip Golem's Blood and such things, correct?

3 - Is the build ok? Or what improvements can I make on it (FYI I am going to Mind Drinker now - 4 points)

4 - Why is Golem's Blood and Life regen passives good for us since we life steal non stop? And why isn't Iron Reflexes a good option for the build? I also picked up Charisma in order to keep 2 Auras.

5 - I run with Double strike and Flicker... is Cyclone better? Or what would you recommend.

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgYA_5MeGjBUmVcoKrVIsbPtQeuOrs82QqgaD6vndGHiNj2lywzyBbWNv-sUUUc-z73m-WMV8DpYBH6HGRrbTGAEsZVmA4dwchut037uDiP27_BaSKq4qn-NfVb6_MXdDVuvZ6CHdkp9TioppbZBNJNjcO_jvqduacS41fiE2WVNR35Y21Pfm4OE73Tteu9gSwUtbWxTNZu1GYr7CfbaGo9te1VLJpWMNg==

My gear:


Thank you very much and sorry for so many questions

@Swisside
Thanks for your answer ! Didn't expected a reply that early XD
Like advised in the build, I rushed Mind Drinker. My actual passive tree is here (I really did like advised). My next aim is the Claws circle, and then some more damage.
But Mind Drinker has almost no effect at my level. My damage is too low for the leech to be noticeable, I have 5 natural mana regen per second and each of my hits must drain like 2 or 3 mana.

I had put a combo with Dual Strike + Added Cold Damage + Melee Splash, which brought the cost of my Dual Strike to 20 per hit (considering I have 240 total mana, -60% with the aura). I will try putting the Added Cold Damage on Whirling Blades instead and go 2L.
Though at my level I don't have any fusing at the moment >< But I will try to trade with my Wrath.

Thanks again for your advice !

4500 Armour is terrible :P

@Angmaar

"

Could you please tell if the following stats are good for 70+ maps:

It is not impossible for this character to map 70+.

"

1 - How can I increase my dps and resolve the mana issue?

Gear with flat mana helps to increase the pool by quite a bit. Also, there's a couple of %mana nodes nearby, and some %regen too. That's the easiest way to resolve mana issues. Given that you're using mana leech, I'm just going to guess that you aren't getting enough mana back per hit.

Also, do me a favour? Switch Dual Strike into your Rain in place of Double Strike and check the DPS?

"

2 - Could we go Vaal Pact so we can change Bloodseeker? It's dps is very lackluster. If we could change to Vaal Pact, we should skip Golem's Blood and such things, correct?

Yes. However I would not advise using Blood Rage if you have VP, unless you have also a good amount of chaos resistance.

"

3 - Is the build ok? Or what improvements can I make on it (FYI I am going to Mind Drinker now - 4 points)

Ya, build looks fine.

"

4 - Why is Golem's Blood and Life regen passives good for us since we life steal non stop? And why isn't Iron Reflexes a good option for the build? I also picked up Charisma in order to keep 2 Auras.

The regen passives are for dealing with Blood Rage between mobs and at the end of a map, since the alternative is chaos resist stacking and I'm a lazy bugger. IR's fine, though I feel there are better options. And sure, Charisma, if you feel it necessary.

"

5 - I run with Double strike and Flicker... is Cyclone better? Or what would you recommend.

See first post, the skills section has been neatened up. I won't say better or worse, since at some point the difference becomes academic and it's a matter of play style.

@Ryat

"

But Mind Drinker has almost no effect at my level. My damage is too low for the leech to be noticeable, I have 5 natural mana regen per second and each of my hits must drain like 2 or 3 mana.

I had put a combo with Dual Strike + Added Cold Damage + Melee Splash, which brought the cost of my Dual Strike to 20 per hit (considering I have 240 total mana, -60% with the aura). I will try putting the Added Cold Damage on Whirling Blades instead and go 2L.
Though at my level I don't have any fusing at the moment >< But I will try to trade with my Wrath.

Regarding mana leech: you don't notice it until it's gone, and yes, it actually does help even at early levels. Regarding skill links: yeah, remove added cold. And it's more cost-effective to pick up white gear with the required links and trans/alt it to something you can use, than fusing gear with good stats.

@Autocthon It's only terrible if you have 4500 after granite, right? =p

--
Option 4: Lightning Strike - Multistrike - LMP or Added Fire - ???
Back before Cyclone came out, this was the only AoE skill available for dual-claws, and we didn't have Multistrike either. (And we walked 20 miles there and back in waist-high snow on a non-orientable surface. Whatever.) It's still a fantastic skill, really. Do note that using an MPD gem will only affect damage on the initial hit and not the projectiles.

what do I fill in for the ???, oh noez.

I know you say that Acrobatics is a solid choice - what about going all the way to Phase Acrobatics?

Thank you Kirielis for the response.

I just tested Dual Strike and the this is the result:
- Double Strike 6% Quality, level 17 with 6 Frenzy Charges and Hatred -> 10600
- Dual Strike with 6 Frenzy Charges and Hatred - 14500. Also, the Dual Strike had a level 13 and NO quality. So at a level 17 and with Quality should do even more I presume, around 16000 I reckon? Still, it looks like it's attack is slower than Double Strike?! Edit: With added fire it went to 18 000. On POE wiki however, is says that the DPS shown is innacurate and Double Strike has a higher chance to blind and on hit effects.

Edit: Got Mind Drinker - mana issue a bit better, changed Bringer of rain to RRRG - is the gem Meele Dmg on Full Life worth it for such a build? Since Blood Rage is endlessly consuming HP do we have a decent uptime on that support gem? Or Added fire dmg is the way to go?

It is, indeed, a substantial dmg increase. Now how in Dominus' name can you get to 25k ? :))

Regarding Blood Rage, with -10% Chaos Resistance, at 4200 HP if I activate the buff and just let it expire, it deals around 1500 damage. W/O Golem's Blood and life regen I'd say it would deal around 2000 dmg. I don't think Vaal Pact would be so dangerous.

You said that there are better options than IR. I tend to agree and disagree on that. W/O IR you might get 1 shotted. Still, what's the point in evading almost all attack if you life steal?! I mean, it makes more sense to have IR, take dmg and heal faster than the mobs. The only possible way for this build to die is to be CCed - stun, frozen etc. Otherwise, I can't really see a possiblity for the character to die. I preffered IR since it helps mitigate some damage that might be 1 shot. What would you recommend? Sticking to evasion and 50-60% chance to block?
Acorbatics - Phase seem a very nice idea, however, when you get UNLUKCY and you will!... that damage might be fatal.
What are your thoughts on this?

@Snowhammer

"

I know you say that Acrobatics is a solid choice - what about going all the way to Phase Acrobatics?

Thanks, edited first post with phase acro details. What it boiled down to, in the end, was people saying that for 5 points it wasn't worth it, and other people saying yes it was. It's not a bad choice by any means.

@Angmaar

"

I just tested Dual Strike and the this is the result:
- Double Strike 6% Quality, level 17 with 6 Frenzy Charges and Hatred -> 10600
- Dual Strike with 6 Frenzy Charges and Hatred - 14500. Also, the Dual Strike had a level 13 and NO quality. So at a level 17 and with Quality should do even more I presume, around 16000 I reckon? Still, it looks like it's attack is slower than Double Strike?! Edit: With added fire it went to 18 000. On POE wiki however, is says that the DPS shown is innacurate and Double Strike has a higher chance to blind and on hit effects.

Edit: Got Mind Drinker - mana issue a bit better, changed Bringer of rain to RRRG - is the gem Meele Dmg on Full Life worth it for such a build? Since Blood Rage is endlessly consuming HP do we have a decent uptime on that support gem? Or Added fire dmg is the way to go?

It is, indeed, a substantial dmg increase. Now how in Dominus' name can you get to 25k ? :))

Double Strike is a double-hit per attack, so of course the animation of dual strike feels slower, and yes of course it has a higher chance to apply on-hits, it hits twice. I should point out the most important part about it, though, which is that double strike is MAINHAND ONLY. I'll leave you to work out the implications of that one on your own.

The guy in the other thread, him with the Abyssus, had 20k+ DPS. Running a pair of 300+ DPS 1.8aps claws, or Jauer's insane 400+ one, or whatever - that'd get you that much. Rain's added damage scales better on high aps claws. I think someone broke 20k with phys damage rings/amulets and a Meginord's, this build too. Yeah, basically a question of stacking phys damage.

Yes, due to Blood Rage, the full HP effect is...very iffy. Instead, Added Fire should have much the same effect, and if you have still a left-over slot after that then Weapon Elemental would be my recommendation. Between added-fire and Hatred, that gem does work.

"

Regarding Blood Rage, with -10% Chaos Resistance, at 4200 HP if I activate the buff and just let it expire, it deals around 1500 damage. W/O Golem's Blood and life regen I'd say it would deal around 2000 dmg. I don't think Vaal Pact would be so dangerous.

Your choice. Certainly it's an option, more so now than before 1.0.0. I don't think it's a particularly good option, but I'm not the one who has to deal with the consequences of your choice.

Instead, I'll leave you with the math. At level 20, BR lasts 12.9 seconds and you take 3.8% of your max HP as chaos damage per second. Almost exactly half your total HP pool at 0% CR...you know, that might actually work better than I thought. Considering I spend way too much time running around on low life anyway after stopping to chat and letting BR expire. Yeah, that's actual low life, I have very negative CR.

"

You said that there are better options than IR. I tend to agree and disagree on that. W/O IR you might get 1 shotted. Still, what's the point in evading almost all attack if you life steal?! I mean, it makes more sense to have IR, take dmg and heal faster than the mobs. The only possible way for this build to die is to be CCed - stun, frozen etc. Otherwise, I can't really see a possiblity for the character to die. I preffered IR since it helps mitigate some damage that might be 1 shot. What would you recommend? Sticking to evasion and 50-60% chance to block?
Acorbatics - Phase seem a very nice idea, however, when you get UNLUKCY and you will!... that damage might be fatal.
What are your thoughts on this?

Sufficient HP, not get one-shotted, works out the same over time. Only problem I ever had was with Poorjoy's Asylum, and doing that map with 700 armour and no end charges is really asking for it. Like, I had to actually use Enfeeble, and still pay attention to survive. The horror.