found Flameblast fun. time to share! [EDITED]

Playing Flameblast from Normal to Act 2 Merciless currently.
it is very powerful and extremely fun to play, but most importantly - it is a unique kind of playing style. it isn't quite like anything I played before.

you aren't targeting enemies with FB, but rather try to anticipate where they will be and when. a good description for it would be similar to a Trapper using Mines: you have full control from the moment you prepare the skill, to the moment you do the damage, inclusive - and in FB's case both require good timing and split-second decision making.

a constant question is, where do I put the circle of flame? how much do I charge it?
the answers to both questions are extremely dynamic. forever changing quite literally from one second to the next, and from one encounter to another. or - in case of bosses - during the same encounter.
I found this extremely fun.

there are so many variables to take into consideration, and consequently a lot of room for error.
therefore I found having a backup skill that is more "classic" and directly-hitting, a must.
in my case, that would be Lightning Tendrils.
Tendrils is a classic caster skill: it hits stuff you target with the mouse, or an area where stuff is when you hold "Shift", which plays similarly to Projectile builds or specific Melee ones like Ground Slam and Lightning Strike.
but it is more than that: it fits FB like a second skin, because all the AoE passives you take to support FB, and most of the elemental-damage ones, apply to it as well.

all in all, a really fun skill used in a really, really fun league (Flashback).
it no doubt takes some time to get used to, but once you do - the benefits are very clearly visible.

daily bump.
please note this is a Work-In-Progress, and all the gems are self-found - so it isn't optimal.
even so, it is a good demonstration why Flameblast is so popular, why you should try it, and why you should supplement it with a nice Shocking, charge-gaining secondary skill like PCoC Lighting Tendrils.

well.. is it the yet another 'hey, i've discovered something you already know since 4 patches ago' thread?

do not expect it gaining much traction as we ALL know that 'FB is good'. really. some of us did the same stuff you are doing now in races. for 50 times over and over again. in blue gear.

btw - as with all 'build guides' there are sub-forums for that stuff

I kinda dislike the mechanics of flameblast, but it seems like a popular and powerful skill so maybe I need to give it a try.

"

johnKeys wrote:

please note the gear is a mixture of just outstanding RNG, and a very recent trade I did (shield + helm + TS ring).

wait, what??! omg. why did you commit this atrocity, jk?

@Sid,
the build is somewhat inspired by KuteKitteh's FB Witch, but I didn't see a variation in the Scion Forum. at least not in Bada Bing's records.
maybe I'll request moving it there, once she reaches the end of Merciless or Maps.

also, I'm not claiming I came up with something new and revolutionary.
FB is a skill people have been playing for very long, and FB+Tendrils is probably a combination which was done before too.

my only goal here, is to share a playing style I found fun, in the extremely-fun Flashback League, so other people who didn't yet play FB, may wish to try it out.

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@Kaicimo,
I wasn't too fond of it too, until realising you can actually be pretty fast and pretty mobile while playing it. also, you don't need to use it all the time - because Tendrils is another skill which benefits greatly from all the AoE and some of the Elemental Damage nodes you took for FB.

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@silumit,
while none of my characters is completely "self-traded", only a few of them are 100% self-found.
I've set a pretty strict definition for myself about that: to me, even if the char is 90% SF and 10% (one gear slot) with an item given to me or traded for - it isn't SF.
so I really don't trade much, but I also don't SF (by above definition) as much as I'd like to.

this Scion was initially planned to be a self-found project - especially because I got just amazing drops like the Tabula, the 20Q Lightning Pen, and Dream Fragments playing through Normal and Cruel - but then I was getting my ass kicked in early Merciless, by the same Ghosted Invaders, Beyond Bosses and Exiles I've been deliberately spawning up to that point.
eventually it came down to not being able to gain a level because I died too much, and I died too much because despite some gear slots having awesome items in them - my helmet, shield and other ring were utter trash carried over from mid-Normal, which provided very little defence - so every hit taken in Merciless hurt. a lot.

so the decision was made to put several Alteration Stacks and few Chaos Orbs to good use at the Marketplace, and fortunately I found a fair trader who was willing to upgrade my Scion's survivability considerably, for quite an affordable cost.

"

johnKeys wrote:

I didn't see a variation in the Scion Forum. at least not in Bada Bing's records.

Then post in Scion forums?

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johnKeys wrote:

not being able to gain a level because I died too much

Lmao, SC players at their finest!

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Deathbringerx wrote:

Lmao, SC players at their finest!

why don't you just take a look at my profile, and see I play HC as well - before starting with this shit?

and as fellow HC-League player, I highly recommend you try the Flashback League in SC.
because you can do absolutely crazy stuff like constantly leading Ghosts into Uniques/Exiles/Invasion Bosses, and try to spawn at least one Beyond Boss in every area with a sufficient monster density - without fearing the consequences.
I find that fun.
really, really fun.
probably the most fun I ever had, in 2.5 years playing this game.

so now let's go back on-topic.
I think you were about to write something which contributes to this thread?

Flameblast is not something new so it might not be popular, however i suggest you to ask a moderator to move this thread to scion and change the thread name since this looks more like a scion build proyect than just a commentary about how fun was flameblast to you in the current league you are playing.

Edit: maybe it wont look that much like a guide if you input a notable text about ur impressions and fun times with the build so people can also share their experiences and opinions (because thats the thread name about right?).

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BIGLITRO wrote:

Edit: maybe it wont look that much like a guide if you input a notable text about ur impressions and fun times with the build so people can also share their experiences and opinions (because thats the thread name about right?).

you are right. I'll update impressions about Flameblast into the OP.
thanks