[2.2] Tanky RT Dual-Wield Varunastra EQ Berserker | Multiple Attacks | [PHC]

Greetings Exiles,

let me start of by saying that i am not experienced in writing guides or forum related stuff. Still i want to share my idea of a Tanky, Dual Wield Marauder with extreme clearspeed, at least with some of the later suggested gems, that i am having an absolute blast with.

If you want to rush through high tiers of maps, slashing your way through dozens of enemies while having 7 Endurance Charges, Onslaught, 3 Frenzy Charges and 40% more Damage at all times, while not having to fear death at all and want to feel the rush of berzerking, then you are obliged to stay and read. Seriously speaking, this is one of the fastest, most fun chars i have ever had the chance to play. It feels so damn powerful and fast, you can literally feel the bezerking idea of the Ascendancy class, which leaves this Resolute Technique build with no kind of damage issues. So lets get startet with the details.

Pro's and Con's


How does it work?

Our weapons of choice are two Varunastra's.


With these, we are able to use any movement gem, any attack gem thats made for one hand-based characters, and use any physical weapon node that we like. That being said, the tree looks like this:

Current tree level 83
open best in offline planner.

Final Tree level 100


As you will see, we use two tree nodes that provide multiple weapon buffs from different weapon base types. For our build this means we get every single node as buff, since our weapons count as any of these once! This is the keynode, which makes the build so interesting, at least for me.

You can nearly use any attack gem! But while i tested most, only Earthquake stands out so much. you have huge AoE all around you, so no targeting or side attacking required, EQ does all the work for you. Also EQ works perfect with the Blasphemy-Warlords mark setup, since their Radiuses are somewhat alike, when leveled. One thing to add still, Warlord's mark is amazing. The high physical damage of our attack perma stuns enemies so often, its amusing to see, while also providing some nice mana and life leech that helps with reflect.
Also EQ serves the idea of a berserker the most. You dont think so? Well, i did not too, until i tried it and could not believe my eyes as how fast-paced and awesome it feels. It makes you feel like you can wreck everything in huge explosions while you are trenchend in blood. The Multistrike support gem does its work better than expected. Im not the first who plays EQ with dual wield and MS, i know, but dont think of EQ as you want to make the aftershock that follows as strong as you can due to low attack speed and stuff. Earthquake feels so much op with high attack speed and the aftershock explosion still does its work tremendously well. Right, enough talk, if you want to see it with your own eyes, play it, its worth a try.

Gems i also tried are:

Dual Strike - too less aoe with melee splash if you ask me, but still does a high amount of damage

Sunder - some of the options i liked more, but still sunder seems somewaht bad to play. i cannot really tell why, but something bothers me with sunder, damage wise, its still pretty good. If you like it, play it. Varunastra allows you too.

Spectral Throw - is worth the try, but i think it lacks a lot of Damage to fit the Playstyle compared to EQ.

Heavy Strike - Somewhat the same as the dual Strike Issues, yet playable too.

Wild Strike - Works kind of good, but Wild Strike is still not that much good of a melee option sadly. Better clearspeed than other alternatives tho. You can play it.

My Gear to give you an idea:



Gem setups go like this:



For Ascendancy nodes take in order:
Crave the Slaughter: (25% Attack speed when hit - the more we take, the more we build our berserking fury! ALso 15% MS when not hit, great for clearing in maps and in between packs, you will often see you not being hit at all while still wrecking fow with the EQ AoE.

Aspect of Carnage: Our bread and butter, this is what it means to be a berserker. 40% more damage, 10% increased damage taken. Do not fear HC Players, we are still being tanky and arent being One-shot by anything.

War Bringer/Rite of Ruin: I am using War Bringer, since i like the extra instant heal through Enduring Cry. Also Great for Bosses. If you want some more sustained Defence during packs, you can also go for Rite of Ruin.

Since i know that most of the Players like damage numbers and that kind of stuff, here are some facts:

40K DPS in H/O with a 5Link, 60K+ DPS with 6Link. Frenzy Charges and Onslaught + Blood Rage up: 66K+ DPS on the 5Link. Foes in Tier:10 Maps and higher just get wrecked with some few swings, which is pretty nice on a RT build with mediocre pDPS weapons imo.

Alright thats kind of it. just wanted to share my build idea with you guys, hope you will like it and give it a shot. Believe me, it feels awesome and is worth it.

Please do not judge me for gramma and stuff, since English is not my native language after all.

reserved.

How are you supposed to run 3 auras Ash, Determination, and Warlord's mark (110% mana reserved) AND cast EQ?

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How are you supposed to run 3 auras Ash, Determination, and Warlord's mark (110% mana reserved) AND cast EQ?

I am not. That is why i didnt mention determination in my gem setup. I just level it...for reasons.

"

Gryshnack wrote:

"

How are you supposed to run 3 auras Ash, Determination, and Warlord's mark (110% mana reserved) AND cast EQ?

I am not. That is why i didnt mention determination in my gem setup. I just level it...for reasons.

Ah I see now, I missed that sorry. So 85% mana reserved. I respecced my marauder and bought two Varunastra's. This build seems to be working fairly well so far, level 69.

After a boring blade vortex, rly squish Tornado Shot and horrible to level Flicker build I will gibe your build a try. :)

Can you post a video of doing a T15 map f.e. or simular and Aziri if u find some time?

And unique options (high end build) would be nice too. :)

THx in advance

One more thing, what do u use against single target/bosses? Or is EQ powerfull enough for single target too?

What jewels did u put in sockets?

And last but not least....what bandit buffs did u take?

My main question is, why dual wield 2 varunastras instead of a stat stick on the right hand or a shield?

and what is your dps like? i made a similar build, my dps is about 40k with frenzy charges. it's not really enough though. Thinking of making it crit, but it'd be hard. I'm actually mostly thinking it's just not going to work out.

"

and what is your dps like? i made a similar build, my dps is about 40k with frenzy charges. it's not really enough though. Thinking of making it crit, but it'd be hard. I'm actually mostly thinking it's just not going to work out.

Have you looked up your blade's pDPS? This is a very important point, since we are not crit based and cant stack more damage through more crit/multi. Also look out for physical damage added on gear. Quality on gems also helps a lot. As for the second weapon, i did try some out, yet only the second Varunastra gave me a really boost in damage.

As for my damage, i wrote some numbers bottom of the guide :)

"

And unique options (high end build) would be nice too. :)

THx in advance

One more thing, what do u use against single target/bosses? Or is EQ powerfull enough for single target too?

As for the videos, unfortunately i cant put any up since my internet connection is very poor and im totally not into recording.
As for uniques, lighting coil and taste of hate will help defense wise. Single target is pretty nice too. EQ does an outstanding job this league, if you ask me. If you dont, use conc effect for bosses.

"

Gryshnack wrote:

"

and what is your dps like? i made a similar build, my dps is about 40k with frenzy charges. it's not really enough though. Thinking of making it crit, but it'd be hard. I'm actually mostly thinking it's just not going to work out.

Have you looked up your blade's pDPS? This is a very important point, since we are not crit based and cant stack more damage through more crit/multi. Also look out for physical damage added on gear. Quality on gems also helps a lot. As for the second weapon, i did try some out, yet only the second Varunastra gave me a really boost in damage.

As for my damage, i wrote some numbers bottom of the guide :)

The sheet dps it shows is lying. A second varunastra will provide no increase in dps, since earthquake only attacks with the mainhand. Use a stat stick (Prismatic eclipse, advancing fortress, clayshaper, soul taker, lavianga's wisdom) for a major damage or survivability boost. I'm running a similar build to this(Less endurance charge focus, a lot more damage, and a bit of leech).

Also, I recommend shifting points away from the south side of the big sword and big axe sections. Attack speed isn't particularly important for earthquake, since it'll boost sheet dps, but in practice, it is a much smaller dps gain than raw physical, due to the duration nature of earthquake. One could make an argument though that one should try to get their attack speed to fit in as a perfect fraction of earthquake's duration though.

Again though, sheet dps is extremely misleading with earthquake, since it both uses the main-hand weapon only, and because you need to manually factor in the aftershock.

"

Erinsoriac wrote:

"

Gryshnack wrote:

"

and what is your dps like? i made a similar build, my dps is about 40k with frenzy charges. it's not really enough though. Thinking of making it crit, but it'd be hard. I'm actually mostly thinking it's just not going to work out.

Have you looked up your blade's pDPS? This is a very important point, since we are not crit based and cant stack more damage through more crit/multi. Also look out for physical damage added on gear. Quality on gems also helps a lot. As for the second weapon, i did try some out, yet only the second Varunastra gave me a really boost in damage.

As for my damage, i wrote some numbers bottom of the guide :)

The sheet dps it shows is lying. A second varunastra will provide no increase in dps, since earthquake only attacks with the mainhand. Use a stat stick (Prismatic eclipse, advancing fortress, clayshaper, soul taker, lavianga's wisdom) for a major damage or survivability boost. I'm running a similar build to this(Less endurance charge focus, a lot more damage, and a bit of leech).

Also, I recommend shifting points away from the south side of the big sword and big axe sections. Attack speed isn't particularly important for earthquake, since it'll boost sheet dps, but in practice, it is a much smaller dps gain than raw physical, due to the duration nature of earthquake. One could make an argument though that one should try to get their attack speed to fit in as a perfect fraction of earthquake's duration though.

Again though, sheet dps is extremely misleading with earthquake, since it both uses the main-hand weapon only, and because you need to manually factor in the aftershock.

Technically yes, the tooltip is lying..but to his benefit. EQ dps is initial hit only. He does more dps when you include the aftershocks. I also wonder about Stat sticks though. Could go with that sword that makes it so attacks never miss and you get 30% eXtra damage in elemental damage. Might make dropping multistrike in favor a WED a no-brainer.