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So I heard the cry for a shadow to be in build of the week, and I couldn't help but answer the call. Hopefully you enjoy my character :).

Name: EragonVo
Character: lvl 70 Shadow
Playstyle: Dual wield claw (primary), wand and shield (weapon swap) chance to shock shadow


I specialize in claws, and they are my 75% offense - 25% defense mode. My wand and shield is my 48% defense - 52% offense mode (pun intended). Lol you'll understand those numbers when you read the details :). I use evasion/energy shield hybrid gear, and don't have CI. Lol, yes an evasive energy shield shadow with HP. I also don't use a crit flask

This build is a lot of fun, as I have to figure out what mode to use depending on the map, and the mobs in the map. Some maps are better suited for claws, others wand and shield. Most times I switch between modes when fighting a mob and inbetween mobs.

I also rely on chance to shock, and shock stacking mobs and enemies for more dmg. This build is mainly about trying to create a fun effective way to play that utilizes 2 different styles that are complementary with each other.

Enough talking, here are the details.

Universal for both

Auras: Grace, Discipline, and Wrath
Skills: Spark + spell totem + elemental proliferation + faster projectiles

• Claws

Curses: Enfeeble, elemenatal weakness, and temporal chains

Skills:
--Primary attack = Frenzy + mana leech + melee physical dmg on full life - added lightning dmg + weapon elemental dmg
--Secondary = Flicker Strike + weapon elemental dmg + elemental proliferation + mana leech
--Zombies + faster attack + minion dmg

• Wand and Shield

Curses: Projectile Weakness, and Temporal chains

Skills:
--Primary: Power Siphon + increased critical strikes + lesser multiple projectiles
--Summon skeletons + Additional Accuracy

(frenzy is available, but I don't use it as it is not needed when I use wand+shield.)


This is the gear that stays constant.






I'm having trouble linking my weapons. I've tried so many things, but i'm guessing when i equip them back, because of alt swap, it messes it up on the site. Oh well.

• How to play

Note: I have no wand/shield passives. I specialize in claws and lightning specifically, but my spark totem benefits best from my wand and shield mode.

The entire build, in both modes, is about build up. The weaker enemies are more "hazardous" for the stronger enemies because of shock stacking.

Activate auras (grace/wrath/discipline) by switching out temporal chains, in any mode, and switch it back when you're done.


Wand and Shield

I use 2 uniques. Moonsorrow imbued wand and Crest of Perandus Pine Buckler. Moonsorrow's innate chance to blind and crest of the Perandus' 48% chance to block are very good for defense. When I go wand and shield, I play more like a ranger, although at times i'm in the mist of mobs just attacking without retreating.

Power siphon is the skill of choice here. I have a max of 4 power charges. Even with the 4 charges and increased crit chance, the dmg done with power siphon is "okay" so to speak.

What makes this mode good is that it works best with my spark totem. Moonsorrow increases lightning dmg and spell dmg, which both benefit spark totem. Spark totem is also linked to elemental proliferation. Even with 4 charges, spark totem still doesn't do that much dmg, but it's not the dmg that i'm after, it's the shock. Once it shocks any enemy, the entire mob is shocked as well. Most people don't like spark because of it's erratic nature, and opt for lightning strike. But it's erratic nature is why i love it. When I have 4 charges, and the room/field is filled with sparks, so many enemies get shocked. If not for the fact that the cap is 3, I would have set a world record for the amount of shocks you can stack on enemies.

When the mob is shock stacked, they fall down like flies. Especially with me in the back ground still stacking power charges with power siphon. I also have skeletons to help with aggro when needed. They are linked to additional accuracy cause i want to make them the most use of them when they are summoned since they don't follow you like zombies. Missing is not an option.

Power siphon's culling strike ability is also god sent. I don't deal that much dmg with power siphon, so getting them down to 10% for autokill is really helpful.

Projectile weakness and temporal chains benefits both power siphon and spark totem. Frenzy is also available for use, and can help, but I generally don't use it.

I use #1 and #4 flask the most in this mode, as they get 1 charge every time I crit. #3 flask with increased charges is also helpful.


This mode can be just as powerful as my claws when 4 charges are stacked constantly and spark totem is out with skeletons helping, but it can have trouble in maps with powerful creatures that can take a lot of hits. I have to stack the power charges first, and in a map with creatures that have a huge health pool, that can be problematic.

This mode is based more on shock stacking through crits. It is an "Okay i'm gonna be defensive, but I also want to be as offensive as possible" mode. The 48% defense - 52% offense comes from Perandus' 48% chance to block. Which is kinda funny cause my defense and offense are just about even, with a slight edge in offensive capability, in this mode.



Claws

This is where most of my passives have been invested in, my dmg dealing source. This playstyle is based primarily on chance to shock.

I use a rare claw and the unique claws, Essentia Sanguis. This gives me a 25% chance to block when dual wielding claws, and yep....you guessed it. 75% offense - 25% defense (lol I thought it would be clever, and it is true. I'm mainly offense with some defense in this mode).

I have a standard 5% chance to shock enemies on hit with lightning dmg from the passive tree. Frenzy is linked to 20% quality added lightning dmg, which gives me a 12% chance to shock on hit with frenzy. Flicker is linked to elemental proliferation. Since it deals more than frenzy, when it shocks the proliferated shock will last longer. (Flicker cost less mana than frenzy, and is the proliferated skill. Elemental proliferation increases the mana cost of a skill, but doesn't increase the dmg, hence why it's linked to flicker, and not frenzy even though frenzy has a higher chance to shock)

Elemental weakness curse increases my dmg, yes, but it's primary effectiveness is in the fact that it gives me a higher chance to shock. At lvl 17, cursed enemies have a +13% chance to be shocked, bringing frenzy up to 25% and flicker up to 18%. Spark totem is weaker in this mode, not by much mainly due to moonsorrow's bonuses and power charges, but it's 5% chance to shock and 18% with elemental weakness curse more than make up for it.

Whereas elemental weakness increase my dmg output, dmg isn't everything, and this is where enfeeble and temporal chains come in. Evasion benefits best with enfeeble, as their accuracy/dmg is reduced. Temporal chains slows mobs down, making it easy for me to kill things before they can kill me. Even without elemental weakness, and lack of crit, i can still shock. This is where the 5% from the passive tree comes in. Although 5% is small, I tend to shock stack more often than you would expect when enemies are cursed with temp chains/enfeeble.

This mode is more curse dependent than my wand and shield, and using the right curse at the right time makes things a lot smoother. Enemies that attack and move fast are best cursed with temporal chains/enfeeble. Normal attack speed and average dmg - enfeeble/elemental weakness(depending on how fast they can kill you vs how fast you can kill them). Huge life pool and can deal a lot of dmg (maps with golems/increased blue or rare monsters) - elemental weakness/temp chains/enfeeble. You will mix and match the curses and know when to use what mid battle. One moment you use enfeeble, only to realize that the mob is too dangerous and needs to be killed quickly so you re-curse with elemental weakness.

I don't need minions on the go, as i consume a lot of mana in this mode, but rather companions like zombies that stick around.

You see a mob, curse(dependent on enemy type and map mod), spark totem to the side, and you + zombies + totem go to work shock stacking every thing. You generally want to target the weaker enemies and shock them so proliferated shock stacks last for a long time. Although some mobs require the rares to be taken out first, i tend to flicker the entire mob, shocking multiple enemies, more so than one target.

I also have ghost reaver. So although i'm up and close i can take more hits to my energy shield, than my wand+shield.

Having to invest in life, energy shield, evasion, and lightning dmg left me no room for dual wield block passives. This is were Essentia Sanguis comes in. the 10% block chance would have been an investment i couldn't make. Giving me ghost reaver saves me one extra point that i used on life. It adds extra points to my energy shield pool as well. Plus, it just so happens to have a good attack speed, good physical dmg for leeching, and lightning dmg which is icing on the cake. I want to attack fast, leech as much as possible, and with good lightning dmg. So it fits the bill nicely.



Conclusion

The map mods and enemy type determines how I play. Some maps are best for wand+shield, others claws, or both. I switch between styles (and curses) frequently depending on what is needed most at that given moment (more offense or more defense).

Maps infested with chaos dmg monsters and mods like slower regen/no regen are best for wand+shield, but at times i have to kill monsters in those maps quickly and don't have the chance to stack charges. So for a brief second I change to claws.

Or maps with necros. My wand and shield takes to long to kill rare necros even with 4 charges, spark totem, and skellies out. While the mob is being distracted by my skillies and spark, I can switch to claws quickly to dispose of the necro and switch back for a more defensive style.

The only things that don't transer over on weapon swap are my minions. This isn't problematic though.

At times I can get 4 charges with wand and shield while having spark totem and skellies out. I then opt to get frenzy charges as well then switch to claws. My crit chance increases to 22% with claws, and the great thing is spark totem still benefits from the crit. Then i flicker in on the mob from a distance, with increased crit chance, and when i crit with flicker the shock proliferates, with spark totem critting and shock proliferating the mob as well. lol, I wasn't joking when I said if not for the 3 stack cap I would have created an unmatched amount of shock stacks record. I don't do that often though (crit and frenzy charges with wand then switch and flicker with claws) as it can be dangerous at times, but have done so every now and then just for fun. I don't use frenzy with wand+shield either so don't bother with it when either.

***********************EDIT***************************
In other words the power charges also help my claws.

At the same time, I can shock everything with claws and totem, then switch to wand and shield to deal more dmg without the crit.


The style can take a while to get used to, as not only do you use every skill that is equipped constantly, you also have to know when to switch modes and what curses to do when with claws.

As you will note, i also have warlords mark and detonate dead in my inventory. I remove elemental proliferation, spark, and faster projectiles when i realize a map has necros in favor for detonate dead totem.
Warlord's mark is for no mana/life regen maps. I take out melee physical dmg and put it in that socket. Then i replace elemental weakness/projectile weakness with WM.

Both styles complement each other very well, and create an intuitive "in the moment" gameplay that is very fun to play. It's not about "how high can your dps go", no, but more about me wanting to make use of the chance to mechanic, although the tree could use some more chance to nodes.

Many people say weapon swap is useless after the bug fix, but if not for it my character would not be as effective as he is. If anything weapon swap is a build enabler on it's own, and I look forward to possibly creating more weapon swap oriented builds.