I need advice for planing my dual wielder's defenses

I'm going to try out the Champion ascendancy( free permanent Fortify for the win! ), but I'm afraid that with a dual wielding build I'll be loosing too much defense. Are there any good HC dual wield duelist builds that I can compare my defenses to?

My plan includes picking up Acrobatics, around 200% increased max life, a legacy LC, about 5-6k evasion, improved perma fortify and arctic armor(poacher's mark is on the cards as well, but I'm not quite sure if its life on hit will be noticeable at all, especially against high HP bosses where my biggest troubles will be). Would this kind of defense setup manage t12+ maps? I think it will be good enough for most things below that mark(I have no personal experience with t12+)

I haven't done a dual wield melee in a long time but from my assumption to double up on defenses, dual wield block will be your best option besides adding in manual cast enduring cry and an immortal call setup.

One thing I noticed last time I melee dual wielded was that offense also is the main form of defense when you stack double weapons. You can't risk dying if there is nothing in the area trying to kill you :P

I do however play standard/ standard temp leagues only so take what I say with a little hesitancy. I die too often to be an authority on HC survival.

Edit: After looking at some dual wield builds, there is usually some minor block with dual that I see. It also seems that rumi's concoction is pretty popular for the armour+attack and spell block during effect without the block investment whereas stacking armour and immortal call stuff may be the first and better layer of defense.

A most timely thread as I was thinking of doing something similar, a dual-wielding champion (going crit with twin varunastras in my case) when perandus ends. Your defenses seem quite solid IMO. I'm getting about 200% max life in my level 90 tree too. Using a belly for the life boost as well as easy chroming for my links. Other than the champ's perma-fortify, I'm running a purity of lightning as my other other source of damage mitigation, so I don't have as much stacked defenses. Relying a lot on dodge -- gonna have two vaal graces and one quartz flask and blind on a cwdt blade vortex/vengeance setup.

Not the best defensively but we shall see how it fares.

Idk why you would bother with champion if you're a melee, you can get fortify easily enough without wasting your ascendancy on it. You'd be better off running a gladiator and getting the extra block chance and spell block, that'd give you some extra defense that's not easily acquirable (and you could tack on the gratuitous violence for your 3rd notable, always a good one).

I already have two such gladiator builds, one crit one RT, so for myself, it's about trying out an ascendancy class which I have yet to, and a melee style which I haven't played all that much in end game.

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Shppy wrote:

Idk why you would bother with champion if you're a melee, you can get fortify easily enough without wasting your ascendancy on it. You'd be better off running a gladiator and getting the extra block chance and spell block, that'd give you some extra defense that's not easily acquirable (and you could tack on the gratuitous violence for your 3rd notable, always a good one).

Extra block is not too enticing when you are an Acrobatics character. I don't like sacrificing the 6th gem socket for fortify and you only get to activate it once you start hitting something. And even if I need to sacrifice the 6th gem socket for a defensive one, this way I can link Life Leech and maybe get Vaal Pact.

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ivkoto77777 wrote:

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Shppy wrote:

Idk why you would bother with champion if you're a melee, you can get fortify easily enough without wasting your ascendancy on it. You'd be better off running a gladiator and getting the extra block chance and spell block, that'd give you some extra defense that's not easily acquirable (and you could tack on the gratuitous violence for your 3rd notable, always a good one).

Extra block is not too enticing when you are an Acrobatics character. I don't like sacrificing the 6th gem socket for fortify and you only get to activate it once you start hitting something. And even if I need to sacrifice the 6th gem socket for a defensive one, this way I can link Life Leech and maybe get Vaal Pact.

Extra block is actually very enticing as an Acrobatics character. Layering defensive options on top of each other is the way to go especially in hardcore.

One thing I would recommend is not to link fortify to your movement skill only and not to link your defensive curses to cwdt. You want fortify on main skill and defensive curses (mainly enfeeble) on blasphemy. You aren't sacrificing anything because if you don't have those two up your taking 50%+ more damage and it only takes one death to ruin the character.

I run a DW duelist tank in PHC. Have done all map bosses Twinned other than core and torture chamber (can't block that ice laser -.-)

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link1313 wrote:

You aren't sacrificing anything because if you don't have those two up your taking 50%+ more damage and it only takes one death to ruin the character.

That's not true, since Enfeeble and fortify don't work additively and curses have a diminished effect on bosses. I think that with 60% reduced curse effect that bosses have enfeeble provides 12% reduction.

Thanks for the idea though. I was planning on using poacher's mark on blasphemy. How do you generate frenzy charges?

The setup sounds good apart from the low evasion and using arctic armour, I think running grace will do a lot more for you than arctic armour. Personally I wouldnt spec block on an acro char.

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Shppy wrote:

Idk why you would bother with champion if you're a melee, you can get fortify easily enough without wasting your ascendancy on it.

This I agree with tbh

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link1313 wrote:

One thing I would recommend is not to link fortify to your movement skill only and not to link your defensive curses to cwdt. You want fortify on main skill and defensive curses (mainly enfeeble) on blasphemy.

I disagree with this tbh, Id do the exact opposite.

Going with Snorkle here. Getting Champion with a melee has always truck me as a particularly wasteful and lazy option. For example, you could get Gladiator and have 50% block/spell block with a reasonable investment. The slayer also offers some unique and more beneficial options, for example his leech buffs are often overlooked. Juggernaut and Berserker also offer unique benefits you can't get otherwise.

I've always been a great fan of flickerstrike - faster attacks - fortify. Much quicker smoother than whirling blades, autotargets, closes the gap to your target, great setup overall. I use it with all melee builds which don't have a chance to miss.