[outdated] King of the Forest (Crit version)

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PlainLazy wrote:

I won't quote that wall of text, but as for a response - yes and no to what you're saying. OP's videos showcase that Shaper runs are or are meant to be easy, right? He does it in 6 minutes geared properly and still DOES it with a crude bow. Meanwhile I hold gear for which I have problems to think of upgrades and still can't even get past round 2.

It is obviously not build's fault, since everyone else is doing it but me, but showcasing it that way is somewhat misleading. I too got demoralized because Shaper was like my personal achievement more than league's challenge (it is my first big league and I wanted to run all the content) and the hype from seeing it being destroyed in 6 minutes quickly slammed me in a face so hard with reality. Reality that I can't even properly understand, 'cause I don't really think I'm that bad of a player (been competetive a lot) and that floating guy in a dress just makes me his bitch over and over again.

However, as a little summary to my total experience with this build so far.
Got 92 with it, hit 6k+life, ran every map up until tier 15 (guardians not done yet, cause I prefer selling those maps honestly - nothing cool about them) and it was absolute pleasure to do so. This build is an excellent map and uber lab farmer and, with some more experience, atziri's as well I believe. It's also really satisfying to upgrade gear, as from a budget version (that also works!) there are dozens of little upgrades that really make a difference. Therefore developing this character is a joy already at a stage of it's building and upgrading piece by piece. Overall I would definitely recommend to try this build. I'm nearly done with this league but running maps and ubers still give me so much fun I often do so.

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Thaya wrote:

Your post is almost 1:1 the same as mine when I killed Shaper (took me only 2 sets total though).

I did have the +2 Barrage helm (but no chaos jewelry) and I was able to kill him in phase 3 (as in get him to cull range and finish with lightning arrow) just as the clone spawned, but yes, everything is exactly as you say. If you don't burst him, the encounter overwhelms you and that's it; but I believe this is by design. The entire encounter is designed to be a DPS check.

I don't agree that surviving on it is hard in any way at all. You can take a beam to the face and walk out of it alive, you can walk a bit through the pools and not die, etc. The only thing that is a straight up one shot are the gold orbs, and they are straight up one shots for any build. To win that encounter you need to have enough DPS to kill portal spawns WITHOUT using flasks, and then simply line up all your burst and kill him in 1 or maximum 2 beam casts. I fully believe it's possible to consistently, deathlessly pull this off - it's just a matter of practice and consistency. The clone in last phase is not an issue if you kill Shaper before he spawns; all of the issues you describe simply won't occur if you kill him in 1-2 beam casts. It's great that you can survive on Hydra, but this fight isn't about dodging - it's about aligning all the stars and executing the bursts properly each and every time, and having enough gear to come out of add phase with flask charges (you can use flasks on it, but you absolutely need to come out with them up).

I actually liked learning and doing the encounter because of this - it's the only fight in the game that isn't just about "walk out of things to not get one shot", it felt more like a raid boss that you had to optimize your cooldowns/resources for burst phases (flask charges, Wither casts, etc). Now that I mention it, Wither usage is super important as well - you want to have as much Wither stacked as possible when you get a burst window (read: when Shaper casts beam). But I'm going off topic with fight strategy at this point... All I wanted to say is that, the 'requirement' for the fight to be short is exactly how you do it cleanly. If you look at the OPs videos, he kills him before the clone does anything. That's the strat, and of course everything goes wrong for you if you don't pull that off. Your decision making as a 'damage dealer' is whats put to the test - not your survival skills. It's that, and your gear/builds damage output.

I don't think you should be demoralized by not being able to farm Shaper. Like, not to be rude, but if you wanted a boss farming build, then a bow build is pretty obviously not going to be the best option. This build CAN do bosses and Shaper (just as advertised), but to do them COMFORTABLY you want a build that is specifically tailored for that purpose, which this build (and the entire archetype of bow characters) is not.

Personally I don't even enjoy boss farming in this game. Running maps is the fun, imo, and this build has the most satisfying mapping experience I've ever had. I did each boss once, and that is more than enough - I'll focus on doing things that are actually fun. There's no builds in the game that excel at everything at the same time - most of the boss killing builds are actually fairly slow at clearing, for example. I clear a lot faster than Blade Flurry characters, that's for sure.

Besides, the only way to make boss farming actually profitable is to sell portals to people needing challenges, and imo this is just tedious, annoying and frankly boring. Boss running nets you barely any XP so currency is the only real incentive to do it, and drops aren't going to be enough to make it worthwhile to solo run. Spending half my time on /trade 820 and boosting is not how I want to play this game - I had a Blade Vortex char in Essence and I fucking hated it. If boss killing is not your thing, if you don't feel satisfied by it, then just don't do it - one of the beauties of this game is that you can customize not only your character, but your environments too.

I do agree that this seems to be a weak choice for hardcore, though.

P.S.
Also, from watching streams and talking to people in game, I can say that "recovering on Shaper is basically impossible" is the general consensus, no matter what build people play. The fight is DESIGNED to punish you extremely hard for dying.

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PlainLazy wrote:

I won't quote that wall of text, but as for a response - yes and no to what you're saying. OP's videos showcase that Shaper runs are or are meant to be easy, right? He does it in 6 minutes geared properly and still DOES it with a crude bow. Meanwhile I hold gear for which I have problems to think of upgrades and still can't even get past round 2.

It is obviously not build's fault, since everyone else is doing it but me, but showcasing it that way is somewhat misleading. I too got demoralized because Shaper was like my personal achievement more than league's challenge (it is my first big league and I wanted to run all the content) and the hype from seeing it being destroyed in 6 minutes quickly slammed me in a face so hard with reality. Reality that I can't even properly understand, 'cause I don't really think I'm that bad of a player (been competetive a lot) and that floating guy in a dress just makes me his bitch over and over again.

However, as a little summary to my total experience with this build so far.
Got 92 with it, hit 6k+life, ran every map up until tier 15 (guardians not done yet, cause I prefer selling those maps honestly - nothing cool about them) and it was absolute pleasure to do so. This build is an excellent map and uber lab farmer and, with some more experience, atziri's as well I believe. It's also really satisfying to upgrade gear, as from a budget version (that also works!) there are dozens of little upgrades that really make a difference. Therefore developing this character is a joy already at a stage of it's building and upgrading piece by piece. Overall I would definitely recommend to try this build. I'm nearly done with this league but running maps and ubers still give me so much fun I often do so.

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ggsbv wrote:

Agreed

I will try with +2 Barrage Projectiles, maybe it does make the difference. Like I said, I was able to burst him as much as OP was able to burst him, but I did not do the same amount of dps. The difference, then, can only be +2 Barrage Projectile helmet as you say.

To those that asked, I tried a couple of variations: using Brinerot Whalers, Point Blank - you name it. I used Wither Totem/Vaal Lightning trap for all runs, because there is space to use them so why not.

So I will have to report back after I get +2 Barrage Projectiles, and test if it really makes the world's difference in terms of dps. I will repeat, I was able to Barrage Shaper at least as many times as OP was. I definitely was used to the mechanics by the last few runs, which is why I said that I would admit if I thought there was a lack of skill. The only possible reason I couldn't do it, was because the dps wasn't high enough due to the lack of +2 Barrage Devoto's, since I have everything else required.

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netwarriorbg wrote:

this build is totally fake, level 15 maps it cant do SHIT, overgrown ruins, dark forest... impossible, unless you invest 1000 exalts... dont go this build, ever!