[2.6/3.1] Shaper down on budget 5-link - The Debuffing Pizza (Tri-Curse CI Elementalist Flameblast)

Is the Energy From Within jewel still good now that it has been nerfed in 2.5 was (8-12%) now (3-6%)???

Just wondering before I go for it.... also what node is this getting put into?

Thanks!

"

aastr wrote:

Hi there,

Using the build so far and loving it, a few questions though:

The prolif range from the cruel ascendancy doesn't seem very large, and I frequently have to FB packs that are a little spread out 3-4 times. Is this normal?

Secondly, I've been having some real trouble clearing breaches on merc even with a stibnite flask. Chat recommended me to go to Vaal Pact and Zealot's Oath, is this good/viable since it doesn't leach off of burn damage? Many thanks

EDIT: Also a quick one about EE - since hit once with flameblast, the mobs we hit then get +50% fire res. Is this just countered by the OoS?

The prolif range thing seems to be normal. It's definitely not the opop proliferate of old. It's why I was thinking about dropping Beacon, going for Mastermind instead and running a prolif gem for the extra AoE.

Breaches... well, breaches are tough. If You have max res, are using the flask, have TC on blasphemy and sit at around 4-5k EHP, they should be doable 4 out of 5 times at least though.

The thing with breaches is that You absolutely need to stay calm. Most of the time when I die, I panick and try to get away ASAP when I'm getting overwhelmed...which usually means I'm running INTO the breach perimeter. Bad idea. The mobs can cross it with You; they're invisible, but they're still there. Stay as close to the breach center as possible; the mobs will come to You. If nothing comes, pick a direction and CAREFULLY advance. Ideally, You should begin channeling FB the very second You see any mob.

I think You mean ghost reaver and Zealoth's Oath? VP and ZO cancel each other out. And in any case, don't think it's a good idea.

Other things You may try: If You're still rocking only 2 curses instead of 3, You can put TC and Flammability on OoS, then use the mana for Arctic Armor. Do You have a CWDT setup? If IC doesn't work out for You, try Phase Run. Phase Run + Golems + Stibnite means You'll likely avoid getting hit long enough for ES regen to kick in.


EE is just countered by OoS, yeah. It's a bit annoying for max range blasting, but that's the tradeoff. If we wanted to be pussies about it, we'd be playing totem FB ;)

So just finished Cruel.
Took me 12 hours and and 50 mins with 76 deaths.

So far I can definitely not recommend this as starter build, but I am hoping I'll see some improvement soon.

EDIT: OK, didn't even make it to the island with the med chest and 3 more deaths. I think I need to stop this now and find a build where I can actually finish Merciless.

MORE EDIT: I should probably add that this is NOT a rage post. Just saying that this build is obviously not for me, and when loosing 10% XP 3 times per area, there is no way I can clear Merciless.
I may return to this build/character later, but right now, I'd be dumb to continue.

I think you might just be shit @Sikker I did the build in breach just fine I am at t7 maps atm.

"

Fawkse wrote:

"

aastr wrote:

Hi there,

Using the build so far and loving it, a few questions though:

The prolif range from the cruel ascendancy doesn't seem very large, and I frequently have to FB packs that are a little spread out 3-4 times. Is this normal?

Secondly, I've been having some real trouble clearing breaches on merc even with a stibnite flask. Chat recommended me to go to Vaal Pact and Zealot's Oath, is this good/viable since it doesn't leach off of burn damage? Many thanks

EDIT: Also a quick one about EE - since hit once with flameblast, the mobs we hit then get +50% fire res. Is this just countered by the OoS?

The prolif range thing seems to be normal. It's definitely not the opop proliferate of old. It's why I was thinking about dropping Beacon, going for Mastermind instead and running a prolif gem for the extra AoE.

Breaches... well, breaches are tough. If You have max res, are using the flask, have TC on blasphemy and sit at around 4-5k EHP, they should be doable 4 out of 5 times at least though.

The thing with breaches is that You absolutely need to stay calm. Most of the time when I die, I panick and try to get away ASAP when I'm getting overwhelmed...which usually means I'm running INTO the breach perimeter. Bad idea. The mobs can cross it with You; they're invisible, but they're still there. Stay as close to the breach center as possible; the mobs will come to You. If nothing comes, pick a direction and CAREFULLY advance. Ideally, You should begin channeling FB the very second You see any mob.

I think You mean ghost reaver and Zealoth's Oath? VP and ZO cancel each other out. And in any case, don't think it's a good idea.

Other things You may try: If You're still rocking only 2 curses instead of 3, You can put TC and Flammability on OoS, then use the mana for Arctic Armor. Do You have a CWDT setup? If IC doesn't work out for You, try Phase Run. Phase Run + Golems + Stibnite means You'll likely avoid getting hit long enough for ES regen to kick in.


EE is just countered by OoS, yeah. It's a bit annoying for max range blasting, but that's the tradeoff. If we wanted to be pussies about it, we'd be playing totem FB ;)

Thanks for the help man, really appreciate it :) still rocking 2 curses at the moment, elreon hasn't been kind enough to give me a decent ring. I did indeed, I still think it might be worth it to take them at ~100 since it's only 6 points for a good survivability boost, the only problem I can see with this build is that it doesn't really leech or have any -time to regen. I put the TC on OoS, didn't have to bother with arctic armour because survivability is decent now. Also just noticed I had a grand total of 15% lightres on merc so that probably had something to do with it haha

"

sikker wrote:

So just finished Cruel.
Took me 12 hours and and 50 mins with 76 deaths.

So far I can definitely not recommend this as starter build, but I am hoping I'll see some improvement soon.

EDIT: OK, didn't even make it to the island with the med chest and 3 more deaths. I think I need to stop this now and find a build where I can actually finish Merciless.

MORE EDIT: I should probably add that this is NOT a rage post. Just saying that this build is obviously not for me, and when loosing 10% XP 3 times per area, there is no way I can clear Merciless.
I may return to this build/character later, but right now, I'd be dumb to continue.

Okaaaay. Well, just to let ppl know it was ezpz to finish merciless and progress into the maps, even with absolute joke of a gear. I mean I started farming DL with 3.5k es + CI on lvl 66, just for fun =P

"

balkeep wrote:

Okaaaay. Well, just to let ppl know it was ezpz to finish merciless and progress into the maps, even with absolute joke of a gear. I mean I started farming DL with 3.5k es + CI on lvl 66, just for fun =P

ezpz even? Well, I am not very good at this game, but there is a far cry from ezpz to how I am doing.
Do you guys have some tips? Do you do the breaches or skip them? What is your gem setup?
How does it become so easy for you?

"

sikker wrote:

"

balkeep wrote:

Okaaaay. Well, just to let ppl know it was ezpz to finish merciless and progress into the maps, even with absolute joke of a gear. I mean I started farming DL with 3.5k es + CI on lvl 66, just for fun =P

ezpz even? Well, I am not very good at this game, but there is a far cry from ezpz to how I am doing.
Do you guys have some tips? Do you do the breaches or skip them? What is your gem setup?
How does it become so easy for you?

When I had Firestorm setup, I skipped breaches on Cruel and Merciless. When I switched to 5-link and Flameblast, breaches became super easy. I had FB - Fire Penetration - Change to Ignite - Controlled Destruction - Elemental Proliferation. When I cleared Cruel lab, I switched Proliferation gem to Increased AoE. FB deals 1k damage now in town. I have around 2k life + 2k es, at Merc A2 atm.

"

sikker wrote:

ezpz even? Well, I am not very good at this game, but there is a far cry from ezpz to how I am doing.
Do you guys have some tips? Do you do the breaches or skip them? What is your gem setup?
How does it become so easy for you?

Apologies in advance, but this will probably sound harsh. Criticism usually does. Take it or leave it, I don't mind either way.

I just took a look at Your character. Dude, You haven't even been following the guide. You're at lvl 56. Here is the leveling tree for 64 skill points. Compare it to Yours: You have Harrier and Whispers of Doom skilled. You have the mental rapidity cluster, which isn't anywhere in the final build or the leveling build here. You have Nimbleness cluster skilled already, and You're running EE already. You're missing the life nodes around shadow area and the life nodes from Templar Area. You have a useless point in spell damage near the Templar Amplify area. You don't have the jewel sockets. It's all good if You wanna deviate from the build, but if You don't follow the guide how can You be wondering why it doesn't work for You?

You're not running proliferation. Your 4-link is conc-firepen-CD... it should be prolif-chance to ignite-controlled destruction OR increased AoE until You get beacon of ruin. You're using an ochre scepter; ditch it. It doesn't do much for You. You want %elemental damage, not %spell damage; get a crystal scepter, it has a 30% increased elemental damage as an implicit. Throw alts at it until You get +%fire damage or +%elemental damage, or alch it and hope for good mods; anything will probably be better than what You're currently running. Dual wield if You can; that shield doesn't do much for You anyways.

Where is Your flame golem / lightning golem? Flame dash for mobility?

Add that to any mechanical mistakes You might be making, and no wonder You're having a hard time.

"

Fawkse wrote:

Apologies in advance, but this will probably sound harsh. Criticism usually does. Take it or leave it, I don't mind either way.

[...]

Add that to any mechanical mistakes You might be making, and no wonder You're having a hard time.

Considering that this is the internet your criticism wasn't actually too bad at all. You have actually taken the time to look up my page AND given some relevant feedback without being overly rude (even if you are just a bit insulted at my ineptitude).

To answer the part about why I would wonder why it didn't work, it would just be a bunch excuses (assumptions, lack of understanding of mechanics, and downright oversights on my parts) so I wont go into details.

Thanks for the feedback. It is much appreciated. I'll try to remedy immediately.
(For the record, I am surprised at how bad at understanding mechanics I am - and I already knew I wasn't too good at it).

EDIT: So I took as much of your advice as I felt I could wo sacrificing too much. And things are going MUCH better now. Thank you very much.