[3.10] Sovyn's Lazy Pally - Tanky Templar with Max Block

Level 50 - just picked up some more resists via Diamond Skin.

I'm still using Enduring Cry but plan to phase that out when I get more blocking nodes as outlined in the build plan. :)
Level 51 today! Infernal Blow is just over 1K DPS on the tooltip.



As you can see, Infernal Blow is supported by weapon elemental damage and melee physical damage support gems.

As I'm self found, I'll wait until I get level 60+ base items before using a bunch of currency to make 4L, maybe 5L item(s) to add in more support gems.

Here's my weapon, pretty nice one hander for a level 51 self found (using no currency, just what I find, as I find it):

Please explain the whole self found thing.
Are you Masochistic?
"
Sovyn wrote:
"
MxDGentle wrote:
Hi, one question, which attack skill do you plan to use?
Each build is dependent on a particular attack skill.
Its really impossible to be master of all skills.

If you can tell us which skill you want to concentrate on, e.g. Lightning strike, groundslam,
etc. we can comment more.


Hey there, thanks for your comment.

I was thinking of being a general physical melee Templar with a side bonus of decent damage with things like Infernal Blow and Glacial Hammer, maybe Lightning Strike too.

My god...
Pick ONE.
I hope no one goes thinking your ideas are good lol
Last edited by DamageIncorporated on Mar 23, 2013, 1:04:16 PM
"
Please explain the whole self found thing.
Are you Masochistic?
"
Sovyn wrote:
"
MxDGentle wrote:
Hi, one question, which attack skill do you plan to use?
Each build is dependent on a particular attack skill.
Its really impossible to be master of all skills.

If you can tell us which skill you want to concentrate on, e.g. Lightning strike, groundslam,
etc. we can comment more.


Hey there, thanks for your comment.

I was thinking of being a general physical melee Templar with a side bonus of decent damage with things like Infernal Blow and Glacial Hammer, maybe Lightning Strike too.

My god...
Pick ONE.
I hope no one goes thinking your ideas are good lol


Hi! Thanks for your comments.

1) Self found - certain people enjoy finding their own gear, rather than making a hobby of trading or accepting gifts. It's just a play style choice, one that was considered valid in Diablo II.

2) Skill gems - the post that you responded to was very old - I've since chosen infernal blow myself. The point is that this build can work with any attack skill gem that the player prefers as there are no specific damage type nodes (like fire damage, shocks).
The second post in the thread has been updated to show my current gear and philosophy around it.
I believe you'll want to work in Unwavering Stance into your build, as blocking causes a stun. Excessive blocking could lead to a long chain of stuns, which could be devastating. Unwavering Stance can fix that for you.

More info on the block calculation can be found here:
http://en.pathofexilewiki.com/wiki/Blocking

I understand that you're trying to hit the cap on block, but I think you might be going a little too far out of your way to do it. I like the idea of a block heavy build, but I'd probably go for something more along these lines:



Notes on changes:

1) Made it a more realistic goal. You'll most likely never get to the point that you've got all your passives, so don't plan on it in your build. It's fun to build around full allocation, but for a guide it shouldn't be done. (I'm sure you've heard all that before though, it's like a mantra around here)

Here is a full build for fun, though:



Realistic build = 51% chance to block with buckler
Full build = 65% chance to block with buckler

2) Unwavering Stance - Super important for a block build, I believe. As stated above.

3) Dropped some passives (including some block) in favor of armor. Your route takes you past some great armor nodes, which I think could be incredibly useful for survivability. I know the fun in this build is supposed to be the blocking, but it can really only take you so far without other stats backing it up. You need something to support you for that 25% (or 35%, or 49%) of the time you aren't blocking. What's going to support you is a high health pool (which you already have going for you), and armor.

Additionally, that full build includes Iron Reflexes because you mentioned using a buckler. Converting that evasion to armor, and then getting the benefit of all of those armor passives, could be huge.

All that said, I suppose it's not completely important to do that. If you don't like the idea of building around armor then forget about all that. It's just something I'd probably do. Hell, you could even build around evasion as your back up stat if you wanted. Maybe that would even be better. I wouldn't know.

Mainly #1 and #2 I think are important to consider.
"
UGoBooMBooM wrote:
I believe you'll want to work in Unwavering Stance into your build


Thank you so much for your detailed comments. All of these points have been carefully considered before I started to plan this build.

The blocking animation only happens when one receives a blow large enough where one would have been stunned anyway. So the use of a shield is moot either way. It would work the same with, say, a 2 hander build. With a large health pool, stuns (blocking or otherwise) don't occur that often.

I actually had Unwavering Stance but just used a respec point to get rid of it. I do not miss it. I have not noticed ever being stunned. I also gained 25% chance to evade, which is much more valuable in my opinion and is totally lost with Unwavering Stance. One in four hits doing zero damage to my character is a big win.

As to armor, it helps vs. swarms but not much at all vs. serious monsters. I don't need help with swarms. Armor nodes are not valuable in my opinion. But I did take one leather and steel to get a little bit of that, and some evasion, and remove the movement penalty. I thought all three of those perks were worth a couple of points but that's the extent of it.
One adjustment I am thinking of making is to remove the Blood Magic keystone and use a Blood Magic support gem linked with my attack skill gem. Then I can use my mana pool for stacking auras. I have leveled up a Tempest Shield gem that could be utilized, and two of the 40% reserved auras could probably be crammed on there too with a reduced mana cost support gem linking the whole mess together.

I know the keystones are pretty and large buttons that are tempting to click, but I'm finding they are a wash or even that the cons outweigh the pros. Good crutches though while leveling.
Level 52. Just cleared the docks and sewers aquaduct zones in act 3 cruel with no deaths without too much caution required. :)
Last edited by Sovyn on Mar 25, 2013, 3:22:12 PM
I'm really curious to see how you'll do in Merciless. I've found that just about anything can plow Cruel with enough patience. My weaker builds started to falter in Cruel act 1, but were shored(?) up by gear farming for a bit, then act 2 is generally cake and act 3 picks it up a little again.

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