[1.2.0] Lightning arrow bow ranger (3 Auras/ life based/ max dps/ good survivability)

Thank you Dan! Is the guide still viable after the update? I'm just starting out and and this guide looks fun.

Cheers

Hi Weidi,

You are welcome. The guide was particularly created for the new patch :) So yes it is still viable.

Your build looks good to try out and is close to what I was building for.

I'm a total noob (lvl 38 is the max I ever reached) so while my build is similar and I'm using LA I'm clueless on somethings:

What rewards from bandits are best?
What gems will give me frenzy charges? (none have dropped so far)
At this moment I'm just running all the health I can and try to maintain some 75% elemental resist with rings. Should I skip the crit passives until I get better gear?

ps: I run Lighting Arrow (Lesser Multiple+Pierce) + Poison Arrow (added cold) + Ice Arrow (Pointblank + Faster Projectiles) Should I drop some of those in favor of auras (if I find them)?

This is my first post cause I'm a bit worried my character will die vs Dominus.

Hi Random63,

Good you mention the bandit rewards. Gonna edit that in the main thread as well. I would take the following:

Normal - kill all - 1 passive point
Cruel - kill all - 1 passiv point (alternatively you could side with Kraityn for 8% IAS which is also quite good)
Merciless - side with Kraityn - 1 frenzy charge

You get frenzy charges only from the skill gem 'Frenzy' itself, or from Blood Rage. The latter makes you suffer from chaos dmg as % of total life over time and is hard to upkeep without max chaos res. It's not really suitable for this build (people often use it with CI). Frenzy is the way to go because it provides the highest AS bonus overall which makes it a great single target ability.

Yes I'd skip the crit passives until you can afford them. Damage comes after safety. Resists have to be maxed as soon as possible in any build. As a ranger you always have the problem that you cannot carry a shield. So you need really good resists on jewellry etc.

It's hard to say if auras add more DPS, you would have to check in your own case. At the beginning the auras Wrath and Anger are probably stronger than Hatred. Hatred adds most dps if you have substantial phys dmg to begin with whereas the boni from Wrath and Anger are flat and independent of other attributes.

Why aren't you using Blood Drinker? (+2% Life Leech)

You're just at 2 skill points from it and its just what you want in this build, I guess there's a reason but I just don't get it. Haha

Thanks.

Hey,

the reason is simply because you are using a life leech gem that provides ~ 8-9% life leech at the highest levels which is good enough.
If you use the unique amulet Carnage Heart which grants + life leech (but which also has a huge drawback of - % of max life) or a rate amulet + life leech, then the passive is worth to take if it makes you reach a value close to the above values and you could swap the life leech gem in your main for something that adds more dmg. That's at least what theory tells us. If you encountered 2 rares with phys and ele reflect you might get into trouble because only one source of reflected dmg is leeched back. But you'd have to test that.

You mind posting your gear just for reference please?

I cannot post my gear because I cannot play atm. I will most probably post gear + make a video in some weeks when I got more time. Still felt like sharing the build because everyone was playing Spectral Throw as if there was nothing else ;) The video I'd like to make is about killing merciless dom with medium/mainly selffound gear because that really shows how good a build is.

Hi quick question, should i be using a rustic sash for the PD? also prioritise rings+quiver with + elemental weapon damage does this increase dps? sorry again i'm new (level 40) and using LA just wondering if that's the kind of gear i need to work towards (quiver and rings with elemantal weapon damage)? Thanks!

Hello born2bemonday,

The best quiver you could get has something like + flat lightning dmg, % ele dmg, crit chance and crit multiplier. Other welcome adds are mana leech from phys dmg, res and life

Rustic Sash is indeed a good choice. Best mods are % ele dmg, armor, res and life

Rings very similar. Good mods are all res, high single res, life, % ele dmg, mana leech, attack speed, flat ele dmg like fire, cold, light

Amulets can have high crit multiplier, so you wanna look out for that

I haven't memorised all possible combos but in case you want to know them you can check on the most reliable source (this website) if you open prefix and suffix mods of the item you care for. But usually you'd only check that if you wanna craft the perfect item. The only thing you rly need to know is that an item can have only 3 prefixes and 3 suffixes, so not all combinations are possible.