[2.4] Brass Dome 77% Block static strike tank (Not budget)

So, Ive never done a build guide before and this is mostly to share thoughts and ideas as much as anything.

I started my character as a wildstriker and did insane dps, but was super squishy. Angry witht hat I changed to a block build, did very well but hard walled at the lair guardians. This is my attemp0t to fix that and I will update as often as possible.

The build isnt too terribly far from other popular block builds, the main focuses being:



The no crit and huge armor is insane damage mitigation. The downside is that you lose 30% block chance. To fix that, I use The reckless defense unique jewels, 4 at max 4% block roll to be exact, combined with alot of passives for block.

Because of the number of block nodes you have to take to make this work, The only viable weapon choice I can see is:



The unique ability to use any one handed damage mod makes it far more realistic to get your dps to an endgame level.

Lioneyes shield is cheap and excellent for this build. Aegis is a viable option considering the benefit from high armor, if you want to put some ES gear on the non vital slots, though I dont rely on it for endgame bosses as chaos damage is one of the biggest threats there.



Aside from that you will want a +4% block anvil, im using 3% at the moment but 4% will put you back at 78% block.
My passive tree :


Ascendancy: Gladiator- Gratuitous violence, painforged, versatile combtatent and violent retaliation.

Gem setups:

6L Static strike, multi, WED, Phys to Light, melee dmg, Ele focus

4L CWDT Enfeeble, chaos golem, Tempest Shield

4L Enlighten, HoA, Hatred, AA

4L Whirling blades, faster attack, fortify, blood magic

3L Inc Dur, 2x vaal haste

In last 3L I run CWDT molten shell and blood rage at lvl 20



I will add pics of defenses and whatever else as I can, and if anyone can help me to structure things for a build guide I would love it. Any questions will be happily answered, and many thanks to mas_mariano, he is the guy that introduced me to the original build this is based off.

I glad someone is trying a max block brass dome.

How do you feel about using an Aegis Aurora? With the insane amount of armor we'll get, you'll be getting tons of ES per block, making this build even more tanky.

How about a Soul Taker? Damage is decent, no mana issues, and save a few gem slots.

Guide needs to be more indepth, like, why choose Static Strike over something like EQ? What other gear are you using? What ascendancy did choose and which ascendancy passives, some people don't want to go through passive tree links to see (A picture or order to choose ascendancy passives is helpful). Any alternatives?

That all I got.

Was chatting with mas, the guy that I made my first block build based on his guide, He uses soul taker and aegis and had the same questions. I Dont personally feel like speccing in and out of things to test the dps change, as thats going to cost a few ex at minimum, but comparing static numbers and bonuses on tree, vanu is far more viable, especially considering you use less passives for more damage. As for the aegis, its certainly viable and would stem up that last 1/2% of the max block that im missing from anvil only being 3% etc, but the point of the build for me is to face endgame content headon, and most of the stuff im having trouble with is chaos damage so the aegis is pointless there. For normal mapping, its certainly viable.

Static strike just ends up being the highest dps, as far as i can tell. Adding ascendancy info

Whats jew are u using? And how about Dps?
Thanks !

I just feel like if you want the insane armor the formless inferno is better.

I've been working on a build looking pretty identical to this, and found yours when looking for inspiration from google :)

Are you still working on this? What was the end result?

Anyway looking at the information given i can't figure out how you end up with 77% block?

32% from shield (Aegis)
33% from tree
16% from Reckless jewels
11% from Anvil
3% from tempest
-30% from The Brass Dome
= 65%?

Am i missing something?

Also regarding the acendancy chosen, if you already use Reckless jewels why not use 5 instead of 4 and then end up with 100% spell block instead of getting it from the duelist ascendancy? I realize you will lose 6% block and some minor damage but that way you could change ascendancy to something more useful. I choose Jugganaut for the double armour from body armor (for Aegis) and the endurance charge bonuses.

My testing gave me 78% block/spell block:
32% from Aegis
24% from tree
20% from reckless jewels
12% from Anvil
17% from The Red Nightmare jewel (placed in the socket between "Devotion" and "Faith and Steel")
3% from tempest
-30% from The Brass Dome
=78%

EDIT: Just found out that resistances while holding shield doesn't work with The Red Nightmare, so i just lost 4% block from my calculations there..



The tree gives 163% life and 520% increased damage (everything combined, and lvl 100.....).
I'm planning on making this on HC and i really have no clue if it is enough to survive and actually kill stuff with this build..?

With 5 x 4% reckless, The Red Nightmare, The Brass Dome, Varunastra and Aegis this will probably end up being a pretty expensive build as well (especially the damn jewels)..

Anyway, what is your thoughts? :)

You could look into using champion and taking: Inspirational (normal), Conqueror (cruel), Worthy Foe (Merc),First to strike last to fall (Uber).

This gives you more mitigation as you take 10% less damage vs taunted enemies plus 6% reduced. If you do drop to lowlife you are cleared from status ailments and gain 200% armor and evasion, this will save you from those pesky ignites late game. With Worthy foe and First to Strike and Last to Fall you gain 30% more damage to taunted and intimidated mobs--on top of 40% increased if not on low life--this more damage when combined with the mass % increase damage varunastra provides should give you a stronger character. The hardest part with these builds is attaining acceptable damage levels and this will help give you the benefits of bezerker without the defensive penalties.

Inspirational is amazing for leveling with a generic damage modifier as well as move speed.

Champion is overlooked as people assume it just does fortify; However, the other nodes from champion are ridiculously strong for any build that can keep a mob taunted (not one big hit).

I see your points, and i must admit i have overlooked champion as well..
And that "First to Strike, Last to Fall" seems like the absolutely best node for champion.It basically has eveything i want.. lol..

Regarding the taunt mechanic i need to ask something cus i might not entirely understand it.
The wording makes me think that for those 4 ascendancy nodes, i'll get 25% chance to taunt on hit.
Meaning 75% of the time it doesn't give me shit.
IF i taunt, i will get the 20%, basically more damage, 6% reduced damage taken (for 4 seconds), 1% life regen (for 4 seconds) and ofc 30% armour/evasion and some taunt duration.
But the 10% less damage taken won't benefit me since i'm the one taunting?
(Enemies you Taunt deal 10% less Damage agiainst other targets)

Inspirational is straight forward, but when considering it is varunastra the damage bonus seem a bit weak compared to what 1 node can give from the tree...? Obviously always good with more movement speed.

Comparing the above with what i would get for going Juggernaut:
Double armour from body armor (From The Brass Dome, massive boost for aegis),
Cannot be stunned,
1 end charge,
48% increased damage (6% per charge)
8% reduced elemental damage taken (basically less?) on maximum charges (which, i think, is all the time)
And Unyielding (or Unstoppable) for Uber, havn't made up my mind yet.

Yes that is correct, to bypass this you can use Ancestral Warchief. Totems can taunt (taunt is a 10% less damage mechanic as is) with the champion and also provide the debuff this means that they should taunt and give you the less damage taken. If you google Worthy Foe people did some testing and it appears this does work with a totem provide 20% less damage taken to you (10% from taunt + 10% from worthy foe) which is a bigger mitigation than anywhere else on the tree. It appears to only work for totems that deal damage and not totems like Decoy Totem.

With static strike + multistrike you will be hitting enemies in the range of 6-10 times per second quite easily. Each of these hits has a 1/4 chance to taunt. Since you only require this to occur once per 4 seconds per mob you should be able to keep it up on any boss encounter. Like any RNG based mechanic there is always a chance you fail but the chance for this to happen is minuscule.

As the champion you get a total of 35+40% increased damage with 30% more damage. This equates to 97.5% if we just account the ascendancy. If we factor in your 520% damage this would become 676% increased damage without accounting for the more multipliers on Elemental focus and WED.

With the taunt plus worthy foe stacking you are able to get a way stronger form of damage mitigation as you are still able to stack all the damage reduction the juggernaut can get. Although you will have less armor your overall mitigation will be stronger as it affects all damage and armor has pitiful diminishing returns vs large hits which is where you need it. The taunt alone makes bosses a lot smoother to handle. Besides, lately the killer of most people is big elemental hits which the juggernaut doesn't handle as well as less damage taken. The only thing I see that you would lose is the cannot be dropped below base MS which is really handy.

Edit: keep in mind that Shaper cannot be taunted if he is your endgame goal. I believe though for the mass minions of 2.6 I won't bother with those endgame bosses and rather focus on mass clearing.

That makes sense....
But wouldn't that make this a totem build more than a, whichever-melee-gem build?
Even if i use Ancestral Warchief then there would still be a possibility for me to eventually taunt the monsters first.. Or after?
I'm not interested in using totems tbh, i see the advantage vs bosser for example but i don't really feel like totems.

I am getting more and more into the Champion idea when thinking about it, but it will probably annoy me that it will end up being a "if x has happened" build instead of just a no-brainer with Jugg where everything is automatic and always on.
Did a calculation with armour. having the lowest possible armour from Brass Dome will add up to 22483 armour (3682*1,2(scrabs)*3,37(tree amour bonus)*1,51(determination)) with the double node = 449,66 less life on block which possibly should be somewhere in the mitigation calculations?

Well honestly i don't really have any goals for end game, other than i want my char to be able to survive HC and do end-tier maps.. If it could be Atziri/Shaper viable as well then by all means, let's make it happen :D