[1.2] KuteKitteh’s Tanky Arcer, 20k+ Effective DPS, Atziri/HC-viable. Poor-man’s BM Arc included

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RJ__ wrote:

So I see you updated the thread over here but I'd still like some guidance on the tree at early levels if you wouldn't mind?

Here's my post from that thread:

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Is there a chance you could update the Skill Tree/Baby Steps?

I just started playing over the weekend and tried a ZiggyD/Foxtactics build. Apparently the tree hadn't been updated because of the 1.2 update was so recent, so I followed a completely old path and now at level 53 I'm getting 1 shot constantly.

Since I can't respec, I thought it might be more forgiving to try this build and start over. I like the Arc mechanic but I'd like to not die in less than a second without being able to respond and I have no idea, since I'm so new, about what I should be picking at each level so the Baby Steps was very appealing.

Thank you very much!

My passives currently. I don't know if I should head straight for BM ASAP or stop along the way and improve blocking, etc... there's a few branches when looking at the 81-point leveling tree and I'm confused if I should get those first.

You want BM by level 50-60. That means you can take one or two branches before that.

I didn't include baby-step trees because I assume people know what they need at any moment, given their specific gear setup.

Unwavering Stance also should we at same stage as BM, or later/earlier take?

Do you think its ok to leave LMP/GMP at lower levels for Flame Totem because of the low dex? Should I use something else if I can only level LMP to level 7? Or should I do everything I can to raise me dex?

Dropped this chest and and adjusted my tree to try it out. So far it feels so much better doing 71 maps but there are some other problems I couldn't solve.

First of all, my paper dps is really low(4k). And my general dps feels pretty low as well. I was running another tank before making this, Reave + Aegis Aurora Marauder. It had much more single target and survivability. I guess it will get better once I get some life on me but Is my damage ever going to increase ?

3k hp(this is LOW)
3k mana pool
cap resists

I also dropped and currently using

so this slot might be used for more survival I guess.

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KuteKitteh wrote:

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Meisen wrote:

Suggestion: Change your bandits suggestions to Alira or passive since ppl could get that 4% at any time from the start of the Witch tree. I saw somebody mentioned it earlier and you agreed, so i figured this suggestion was warranted :)

It forces people to maintain a certain level of DPS since it can be easy to prioritize defense and forget about beefing up offense. Technically speaking tree-wise, Alira is always better than or equal to the passive option.

I only gave an option for Oak vs passive since, due to the 1.2 update, an HP node can possibly give more HP than 40 base health especially if the gear used has top tier life rolls. For my setup, a 5% life node at scion wheel actually gives 8 more health as opposed to my current passives with Oak's 40 base health, but I doubt that the average player has the gear and the levels to really make that pay off.

I c :)

Thank you for always replying to everyone, in depth, even if the questions might be considered "dumb" for experienced players. If 1 person wonders, there is an overwhelming possibility that he is not the only one, other might just be to shy to ask...

We all really appreciate that you are so active on the forum <3 I know it's been said before, repeatedly, but good things deserves repeating ;)

Thanx again cute kitten (That's how my brain ends up reading your nick at least) <3

Hi Kitteh! Im lvl 65 in Beyond League right now. Just starting Act 3 in merciless (beat Vaal at lvl 65) and im finding it very hard to keep my hit points up against heavy physical dmg dealing mobs. Ive had quite a few close calls against the hasted, melee mobs that spawn from the portals. Its impossible to kite them, even with Arctic Armor up, and despite having 55% block chance atm and 3.5k life they still hit me for as much as 50%-75% of my hp in just one or two swings. If it wasnt for the three insta restore HP flask im running id have ripped many times by now lol. Same goes for even basic white mobs. If i run into a group of say 8-10 archer mobs they can take me down to 25% health almost instantly. Im doing ok against everything else so far in Merciless but physical dmg mobs just shred me. Is this because i dont have MoM and Unvwavering Stance yet? or because my block isnt capped yet? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are the items im using atm at lvl 65

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Matematikas wrote:

Spoiler

Unwavering Stance also should we at same stage as BM, or later/earlier take?

Personal preference, really. If stuns aren't a problem for you, you can take it later. I would get US right after hitting BM just so you won't forget about it later.

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crowdog wrote:

Spoiler

Do you think its ok to leave LMP/GMP at lower levels for Flame Totem because of the low dex? Should I use something else if I can only level LMP to level 7? Or should I do everything I can to raise me dex?

You can leave it at a lower level if you can't meet the dex requirement. It won't be amazing but it won't be that far behind a max LMP/GMP in DPS.

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arteqt wrote:

Spoiler

Dropped this chest and and adjusted my tree to try it out. So far it feels so much better doing 71 maps but there are some other problems I couldn't solve.

First of all, my paper dps is really low(4k). And my general dps feels pretty low as well. I was running another tank before making this, Reave + Aegis Aurora Marauder. It had much more single target and survivability. I guess it will get better once I get some life on me but Is my damage ever going to increase ?

3k hp(this is LOW)
3k mana pool
cap resists

I also dropped and currently using

so this slot might be used for more survival I guess.

Phys builds tend to have much better single-target DPS since they scale much better with weapons. Spellcaster builds' base DPSs are locked by the level of the gems, hence why it's important to have high level/quality gems and a level 3 empower if possible.

The other problem is that Arc has absolutely zero access to any meaningful direct damage multiplier. It can't use LMP/GMP like a projectile to shotgun, it can't use more area damage like flameblast, and building crit on Arc is extremely expensive. The only way I could create a meaningful damage multiplier was to employ dual-curse and exploit lightning resistance. This is of utmost importance to the build because it does not (and cannot) employ any other multiplier.

Also, once again, block builds have an awkward leveling phase around ~70 where they don't have enough of everything. DPS will increase as your gem levels go up, and survivability will scale incredibly well late-game as you grab all the block and HP nodes.

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Meisen wrote:

Spoiler

I c :)

Thank you for always replying to everyone, in depth, even if the questions might be considered "dumb" for experienced players. If 1 person wonders, there is an overwhelming possibility that he is not the only one, other might just be to shy to ask...

We all really appreciate that you are so active on the forum <3 I know it's been said before, repeatedly, but good things deserves repeating ;)

Thanx again cute kitten (That's how my brain ends up reading your nick at least) <3

Thanks! And that's actually what my ign is supposed to resemble.

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Khaylee wrote:

Spoiler

Hi Kitteh! Im lvl 65 in Beyond League right now. Just starting Act 3 in merciless (beat Vaal at lvl 65) and im finding it very hard to keep my hit points up against heavy physical dmg dealing mobs. Ive had quite a few close calls against the hasted, melee mobs that spawn from the portals. Its impossible to kite them, even with Arctic Armor up, and despite having 55% block chance atm and 3.5k life they still hit me for as much as 50%-75% of my hp in just one or two swings. If it wasnt for the three insta restore HP flask im running id have ripped many times by now lol. Same goes for even basic white mobs. If i run into a group of say 8-10 archer mobs they can take me down to 25% health almost instantly. Im doing ok against everything else so far in Merciless but physical dmg mobs just shred me. Is this because i dont have MoM and Unvwavering Stance yet? or because my block isnt capped yet? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are the items im using atm at lvl 65

If you have 55% block and I have 74% block, you take 73% more damage than I do to start with. Then there's the lack of MoM, which means you would take another 42% more damage. These two defense multipliers are critical to the build.

The immediate solution would be to put life leech on Arc and keep it there until you can cap your block/health. If they're really chunking your health, then prioritize MoM to cut down the hits that go through, then get HP to increase leech speed, then lastly block to cut down on damage intake.

Alternatively, you can change your Ball Lightning curses. Warlord's mark will give you leech and Enfeeble will really cut down on your damage intake. Feel free to mix and match EW, Warlord's, and Enfeeble.

Thanks Kitteh! Ill definitely try one of your suggestions. However it looks like subbing Warlords Mark for EW will have to be it since i havent been lucky enough to find a 5L to add Life Leech on My arc. Also, in my next 4 levels i will have a choice between getting the 10% block chance from Testudo in the duelist area or using those 4 points to go down and get MoM. I've got 2.4k mana atm and about 1k of that is reserved for Clarity and Tempest Shield. Is 1.4k mana enough to go for MoM now or should i wait and get the 10% block chance first?

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Khaylee wrote:

Thanks Kitteh! Ill definitely try one of your suggestions. However it looks like subbing Warlords Mark for EW will have to be it since i havent been lucky enough to find a 5L to add Life Leech on My arc. Also, in my next 4 levels i will have a choice between getting the 10% block chance from Testudo in the duelist area or using those 4 points to go down and get MoM. I've got 2.4k mana atm and about 1k of that is reserved for Clarity and Tempest Shield. Is 1.4k mana enough to go for MoM now or should i wait and get the 10% block chance first?

If you're taking hard hits, you want MoM before block for the safety cushion. Testudo would pay off better naturally, but you have to make sure that you have the safety cushion first to prevent bad RNG from ripping you. 1.4k unreserved is definitely enough for MoM especially since it's a block build; I can run 900 unreserved and I have no problem with it (although I do take Haste off when I expect hard hits, i.e. 2k damage or more). Just make sure you have the mana regen to sustain Arc, AA, and MoM (and that means swapping out your rare ring for a life/regen ring)

Hey Kitteh,

me again :P I got lucky with a drop and bought some new stuff, here it is :)



At lvl 67 I now have 2800HP,74/48% block, LVL10 AA, MoM, CwdT setup and life leech from Arc for defense. Needless to say I'm tempted to facetank everything and basically never dip below 2/3rds of my rather small HP pool. So, awesome job coming up with this build :)
I only really hate those beyond monsters with their stupid chaos degen... but leech takes care of them, too.
DPS could be better ofc, sitting at 2500 tooltip. But I'm cursing ele weakness and conductivity so that works wonders, like you said.

Now I have to save up for a RathPith and a corrupted Lazwahr for either LL (so I can use empower), or a +1 curse so I can get some more regen and up AA.

Anyways, this is about 2 ex invested in beyond and it's the most tanky caster I ever had.
Current tree at 67: (wonder where I should go next...)