EB/IR Crit Cyclone Shadow HC [Patch 11.x]
|
Here's my Shadow I've been slowly piecing together for a while now - I started the original concept in closed beta using whirling blades, waiting for Cyclone to make its debut. Luckily another skill was soon released (Arctic Armour) giving the build that cherry on top.
Listen to some epic music while you read! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2p9PsVD9Ho General Notes - Pros/Cons Pros - Hardcore Viable - Enough Life and defense (Granites, IR, AA) to face tank merciless. - No Mana problems. - Easy to Gear, and gets substantially easier with better gear. - Plenty of Accuracy, Critical Chance & Damage. - Great build for new players to learn mechanics/calculations and skill management. Cons - Prone to desync - Once you're not leeching and damage isn't being dealt that's DESYNC. *Kind of an oxymoron with hardcore viable. /oos fixes this issue for now. - Slow movement speed but uses mobility skills to compensate. - Can be difficult for new players who aren't used to the mechanics and skill management *I've included formulas so that players unfamiliar with the mechanics can easily calculate and figure out what gear is needed/skill management. Bandits Quest Rewards Normal: Help Oak for +40 life. Cruel: Help Oak for 12% increased physical damage. Merciless: Kill all for the skill point. Progression: Eldritch Battery First, then to Iron Reflexes - This build always has access to life nodes, damage nodes & accuracy nodes. Passive Tree 87 Points - Pre-Maps 105 Points - End Game Stats
Spoiler
87 Point Build - Level 69
Spoiler
Attributes
+104 Strength +272 Dexterity +162 Intelligence +393 Maximum Mana +2% Physical Damage leeched as Mana +Eldritch Battery +530 Maximum Life +257 Evasion Rating +230% Increased Maximum Life +72.4% Increased Evasion Rating +18% Increased Maximum ES +Iron Reflexes +10% Elemental Resistances +32.4% Increased ES (Intelligence Bonus) +20% Attack Speed +110% Physical Damage with daggers/one handed weapons +20% Increased Accuracy +20.8% Melee Physical Damage (Strength Bonus) +544 Accuracy Rating +290% Critical Strike Chance with Daggers +40% Critical Strike Multiplier with Daggers 105 Point Build - Level 87
Spoiler
Attributes
+104 Strength +302 Dexterity +192 Intelligence +464 Maximum Mana +2% Physical Damage leeched as Mana +Eldritch Battery +54% Increased Maximum Mana +100% Increased Mana Regeneration +614 Maximum Life +299 Evasion Rating +254% Maximum Life +78.4% Evasion Rating +18% Maximum ES +Iron Reflexes +10% Elemental Resistances +38.4% ES (Intelligence Bonus) +20% Attack Speed +110% Physical Damage with Daggers +20% Increased Accuracy Rating +20.8% Melee Physical Damage (Strength Bonus) +604 Accuracy Rating 290% Critical Strike Chance with Daggers 40% Critical Strike Multiplier with Daggers Mechanics/Keystone Breakdown
Spoiler
Cyclone
Fast attacking mobile attack. Like other fast attacking skills, this is best used with either elemental or critical builds. AoE is based on weapon range and can be increased and decreased by the appropriate passives. The revolutions per second is directly linked to your attack speed, thus the faster you attack the faster you will spin. Less movement speed will allow you to hit targets multiple times when you have a good revolution speed. These are very important mechanics to keep in mind and will be the main factors for choosing gear. The right type of defensive gear will actually increase your DPS. Eldritch Battery Converts all your ES to Mana. This will allow you to continue spamming skills, counter Arctic Armour's Mana drain and let you stack multiple auras without hassle. Things to keep in mind are the Maximum Mana / Maximum ES bonuses so you can maximize rengeration - this will allow you further level Arctic Armour giving you more durability. Keep in mind that even if Discipline leaves you with less unreserved Mana it still increases your Maximum Mana pool - this respectively increases your base Mana Regeneration. Mana Regeneration formula : ((Maximum Mana * 1.05)/60 + Clarity) * XX% Increased Mana Regen. Maximum Mana/ES formula : Base ES (1 + MaxMana% + MaxES%) Gem Leveling
Spoiler
Keep whirling blades and Lightning Warp at level 1. Do not use quality Arctic Armour as it increases movement speed. Do not over level Arctic Armour so that it surpasses your Mana Regen by too much (Cyclone should be able to leech enough Mana to cover some of it if you do). Level all other gems to maximum level. Gearing & Links *These will be ordered starting with the cheapest possible gear - This will allow orb efficiency to do its number on RNG.
Spoiler
Chest Piece
Links (GGGRBR - Using Evasion, EVA/AR, Armor pieces) + Cyclone - Faster Attacks - Additional Accuracy - Life Leech - Increased Critical Multiplier - Melee Physical Damage Mods + Life + Defensive Stat - Resistances Pure armor chest pieces will slow your movement speed by 8%. 4% For EVA/AR Hybrid pieces. Weapon Links (GGR) + Hatred + Grace - Reduced Mana Cost Mods + Increased Physical Damage + Attack Speed + Increased Critical Chance - Mana Regeneration - Lightning Damage I would aim for one of the 60-80% Critical Chance implicit mod daggers; but since the lowest attack speed on daggers is 1.20, it really doesn't matter. As long as it has high physical damage to leech Mana/Life then it works. Shield Lioneye's Remorse Links (RBR) + Anger + Wrath - Reduced Mana Cost Mods + 200-250% increased Armour + 80-100 to maximum Life + 5% reduced Movement Speed + 20% increased Block and Stun Recovery + -25 Physical Damage taken from Ranged Attacks + 5% additional Block Chance A must have shield, this will make up 50% of your armour rating as well as increase your DPS and Life. MUST HAVE. Helm Links (RBBB - Pure ES or ES/AR) - Reduced Mana Cost + Clarity + Discipline + Purity Mods + Increased Maximum ES (Static Increase) + Increased Maximum ES % + Life - Accuracy - Mana Boots Links (GRBB - Pure ES or ES/AR) + Double Strike + Item Quantity + Increased Critical Multiplier + Item Rarity Mods + Increased Maximum ES (Static Increase) + Increased Maximum ES % + Life - Mana Gloves Links (GGBB - Pure ES or ES/EVA) + Whirling Blades + Arctic Armour + Critical Weakness/Vulnerability/Enfeeble + Lightning Warp Mods + Increased Maximum ES (Static Increase) + Increased Maximum ES % + Life + Attack Speed + Life Leech - Accuracy Rings Any ring will do. #1 Mods + Mana Regeneration (50%+) + Life + Resistances + Mana Leech - Accuracy #2 Mods + Mana Regeneration (50%+) + Life + Resistances - Mana/Life Leech - Accuracy Amulet Paua Amulet is needed here for the implicit Mana Regeneration %. Mods + Mana Regeneration (50%+) + Life + Maximum ES (Static Increase) - Accuracy - Critical Multiplier - Mana/Life Leech Belt Mods + Life + Maximum ES (Static Increase) + Resistances Flasks + 2 x Health Flask, use 1 instant recovery flask and 1 sapping life flask. + 1 x Quicksilver Flask with + movement speed modifier. (Useful when looking for party members) + 2 x Granite Flask with 90%+ increased Armour. Note : I advise you use a Mana Flask until level 50 (roughly) once enough Mana is established. There are no Mana problems later on, but there will be a few moments where you will need a flask when there isn't adequate leeching. (Bosses) Mechanics/Calculations
Spoiler
Okay, so lets figure this all out. We'll use the 87 point build (level 69) as our model. How much ES/Mana will I need? What Level do I stop Arctic Armour?
Spoiler
How much ES do I need?
Spoiler
Assuming all our Auras are level 20 now - Aswell as RMC (Keep in mind values are lower with Quality RMC) and we're using pure ES Helm, Boots and Gloves - Maybe a modifier or 2 on the amulet/rings/belt. At this point we should be ready to do maps, and should have Mana Regeneration on both rings and the amulet. Highest possible roll for this is 60% IIRC so we'll go with an above average 50% per piece = 150% Mana Regeneration from gear. Keep in mind this value can be higher due to implicit from amulet and a modifier on the dagger. Now we always want to keep a 150-200 Mana Buffer for those -50% Mana Regen maps and possible 'misclicks'.
Arctic Armour can still be run on -50% Mana Regen maps - with 2% Mana leech from gear and 2% from passives cyclone should be able to pay for itself and supply Arctic Armour's Mana Drain. If really poorly geared, Lightning Warp & Quicksilver flasks can be used for mobility - this will bypass Arctic Armour's Mana Degeneration while moving. Also remember Hatred can be swapped out to meet Mana deadlines. Anger, Wrath, Grace, Purity, Discipline, Clarity, Hatred. Static Values = 1,196 * 0.71(RMC) = 849 Percentile Values = 70% * 0.71(RMC) = 50% Now in order to keep our 175 Mana Buffer (Averaged), here's what we'll need from ES Base Mana = 40(Base Mana) + 4*68(4 Mana per Level) + 80 (Intelligence Bonus - +5 Mana per 10 INT) = 393 (Rounded) Following Step is Algebra - Just throw in numbers if you don't want to use Variables(X/Y) Mana Needed = 849 + 50%(1,000) = 1,849 Reserved + 175 Buffer = 2,025 Mana Needed. ES Needed = 2,025 - 393(Base Mana) = 1,632 1,632 ES is needed to retain the 175 buffer, now some more calculations - this is to figure what we'll need on Gear and to factor in discipline. Discipline Bonus = 212 * 1.504 (50.4%) = 319 (Rounded) ES Needed - Discipline Bonues = 1,632 - 319 = 1,313 ES Needed Between Gear = 1,313 * 0.504 = 662 ES Needed. This can be achieved using pure ES Boots, Helm, Gloves and having ES modifiers on Belt, Rings or Amulet. 60 ES can be easily obtained using a Chain Belt with + Maximum ES Modifier leaving you with 602 ES to balance between your Helm, Boots, Gloves, Rings and Amulet. This gives you quite a bit of flexibility with items - these shouldn't be hard to come by as far as pure ES goes. Remember: if you want more flexibility - just turn off hatred, this will save you much hassle and time when choosing gear. Mana Regeneration & Arctic Armour
Spoiler
Now that we've figured how much Mana we'll need, let's delve into Arctic Armour.
Now we have 2,025 Mana and a 175 Buffer. Mana Regeneration = (2,025 * 1.05)/60 + 19 (Clarity) = 54.4 Mana Regeneration per second % Increased from gear = 54.4 * 2.50 (150% from Gear) = 136.1 Mana Regeneration per second This is our average scenario, we focused on getting 50% from rings and amulets. This is leaving out the possible 20% Implicit on the amulet and another possible 50% from the Dagger. With this amount of Mana Regeneration we can level Arctic Armour to level 11 without any repercussions. This still gives us 5 Mana per second to spare as well as Cyclone/Double Strike's Mana Leech. Note: This is a below average scenario, using bare minimum ES gear and average gear modifiers. How durable is my Character? How does this all work?
Spoiler
Armour Reduction
Spoiler
Assuming Lioneye's Remorse is equipped and a Half Decent Pure Evasion chest here's what can be seen. This is just a quick mock-up to show you how damage is mitigated, and how it's impossible to kill yourself through damage reflect.
Base Evasion Rating : 257 Evasion Rating on Chest piece : 1,000 (Fairly low, can go up to 2,000) Evasion Rating from Grace : 1,344 Total Evasion : 2,601 Evasion Increase : 72.4% Total Evasion converted to Armour : 4,484 Armour Rating from Shield : 1,700 (Can go up to 2,000) Final Armour Rating : 6,184 Okay, so our Armour rating is 6,184 which is plenty to mitigate smaller hits and certain harder hits. Something is needed to help mitigate those harder hits better. This is where Block Chance & Arctic Armour come into play. More Damage Reduction!
Spoiler
We've previously established that Arctic Armour will be level 11 with our current gearing, here's how it breaks down.
Arctic Armour Flat Reduction : 65 Lioneye's Remorse Block Chance : 33% With the average armour rating coupled with the flat damage reduction and 33% Block chance, this makes for an incredibly durable character. What Kind of Damage will I be dealing? How can I not kill myself through Reflect? Here's where I get kind of lost, lots of calculations and multipliers occurring. This leaves me slightly lost/wrong sometimes but these can definitely be used as ball park figures.
Spoiler
Damage
Spoiler
Alright, with a half decent physical damage dagger and the 3 damage auras equipped here's what can be expected. We'll use a 'Platinum Kris' (80% Global Critical Chance) for our base item and we'll round/average our numbers to make it easy.
Damage : 20 - 79 Attack Speed : 1.2 Mods +130% Increased Physical Damage -8-20 Static Physical Damage +20% Attack Speed This is a Magic Dagger with only 2 modifiers, should be fairly easy to come by and cheap. Damage : 64.4 - 227.7 Attack Speed : 1.44 Damage increase from passives : 110% Physical Damage, 20% Melee Physical Damage Attack Speed increase from passives : 20% Attack Speed Modified Damage : 135.2 - 478.2 (Note Melee Physical is not applied yet) Modified Attack Speed : 1.73 Modified Physical Melee Damage : 148.1 - 523.7 Anger's Fire Damage : 49 - 81 Wrath's Lightning Damage : 9 - 147 Hatred's Cold Damage (25%) : 135.2*0.25 - 478.2*0.25 = 33.8 - 119.6 Total Added Damage = 325.7 - 871.3 Damage Factoring Attack Speed = 1.73 * (325.7 + 871.3)/2 = 1,035.4 Critical Strike Chance = 290% passives + 80% Implicit modifier * Base Critical Chance (7.1) = 33.4% Critical Chance Damage Factoring Critical Strike Chance = 1,035.4 * 1.334 = 1381.2 DPS This is where Critical Strike Multiplier (Support) & 40% from passives would come in. Assuming you have 90% Chance to hit this will roughly be your DPS on your default attack. There are several more calculations to factor in when using Support Gems. I won't be going over those - this is just to show you that this build is capable of clearing end-game. Gameplay Tips
Spoiler
Whirling Blades : Use this skill to get in and out of trouble.
Lightning Warp : Nice to get over ledges and can be useful. Cyclone : Primary AoE. Double Strike : MF/Single target skill. Critical Weakness : Use this to clear content faster. Vulnerability : Useful early on when critical chance is low. Enfeeble : Swap out Critical Weakness to use this skill if content is far too difficult. Arctic Armour : Always Keep Active once you reach the 87 point build. If you have any questions feel free to ask! Thanks, Mat. IGN Suojata Last edited by CNKalmah#4089 on Jun 21, 2013, 1:25:39 AM
|
|
|
Changelog
Patch 10.0
Spoiler
``
IGN Suojata
|
|
|
Hello. Being new to this game i tried to find a shadow build to my liking, but the majority of builds circle around ranged AoE skills like FP and EK, which i consider immensly boring.
So i was concidering a CI/GR/VP build but when i looked at yours i fell in love :)). This is why i was wondering if u can give me some tips on the matter: 1. Leveling items focus and mana problems ( considering this is my first major char-to-be ) and i don't have 10 legendaries stacked for leveling. What stats on items should i be looking for ? Armor/eve mix ? 2. Is whirling blades viable for leveling b4 cyclone comes of age ? 3. Can u use 2 daggers before u can get a decend sheild and at what level should the transaction take place ? PS you forgot to place your second-point-build. And 1 more thing: Can you get the majority of your auras through quests or u need to buy them in trade? ty in advance. Athanas |
|
|
Nice build idea, but I just don't understand a couple of things:
- why didn't you pick the 18% health node near IR? - why should I not use quality Cyclone? It increases the AoE of the skill thus hitting more enemies and leeching more life/mana. @Athanas: using 2 daggers is pointless since only 1 will hit per attack (only Dual Strike and Cleave use both weapons on attack), better to use any random shield you get to improve your survivability until you get lioneye's. In game name - VomitingRainbows - GMT +1 Last edited by kendoka#3449 on Apr 5, 2013, 7:32:16 AM
|
|
" Thanks! 1. Leveling is easy - Using Freezing Pulse/Ice nova until level 24 is recommended, at this level you will be able to use cyclone right away. There are a couple unique that will help you get to level 50 easily - Unique Ungil's Boot knife (level 20) and Mightflay (Level 35), these can be traded for a chaos orb each! As for gear on early levels, anything will do - Armor/ AR/ES gear is your best bet since you will cycloning into packs of enemies. By the time you reach EB you should be able to run Purity, Anger & Wrath - This occurs right around the time you hit Cruel, completely negating the resist penalty. 2. I wouldn't use whirling blades as your AoE - Simply use spells as they have 100% Chance to Hit and will allow you to keep your distance and give you the needed flexibility until cyclone is useable. 3. Dual wielding daggers (Or any weapon) can be done with cyclone, this causes it to hit twice per revolution - the major drawback is that you'll lose durability. This build is planned out to have 5,000+ armor, 2,000 of that is coming from the shield. I would suggest using a AR/ES Hybrid shield to help with resistances early game and increase your Mana Pool. As far as buying Lioneye's Remorse - It can't be used until level 70, so you have time to muster up currency. It has been selling anywhere between 1-2 Exalted which should be fairly easy to attain orb-wise from level 1-70. PS: Thank you - I missed a point aswell in the first build :P. You Can get ALL your skills through the quest line - However Cyclone is best to be purchased at level 24 or earlier (Can go for an Alch~) so you can use it right away. IGN Suojata
|
|
" 1. Completely misclicked that node, no reason not to have it! 2. Quality on cyclone increases the area of effect radius. Note : DW with cyclone causes you to hit 2x per revolution! IGN Suojata Last edited by CNKalmah#4089 on Apr 6, 2013, 2:50:51 PM
|
|
|
Hey man I'm not finding alot of guides for ranged shadow right now and thats what i've been playing
www.youtube.com/user/ziggsrpg You obviously have far more experience with this class, is there anything you can recommend for a ranged build at this point for me? or is ranged terrible and I should switch to melee if that is even possible at this point. Thanks for any help! www.youtube.com/user/ziggsrpg
|
|
" Hey Ziggs, I can't say I'm overly experienced with ranged builds but I can assure you ranged > melee at the current stage of the game. This isn't saying melee isn't viable but needs to be built very meticulously and thought out. This is due to: - Desync: Melee is naturally more prone to desync since all their skills require movement. It's easy to rubberband as melee whereas ranged builds can stand still and use their skills. - Survival: Melee is naturally going to take more hits, melee builds need more life, defense and leech than ranged classes. It's pretty hard/frustrating to kite as melee :). You can definitely still switch to melee if you choose - however I would stick with what you want to do since both are viable. As for bow shadow builds I would personally take a peak into the Ranger forum and mimic a build. Most ranged builds opt to use Blood Magic but as a shadow that's kind of hard to pull off. Shadow's have huge access to critical chance, a good amount of life and a blood magic alternative - Eldritch Battery. Using something like Elemental Hit + Chain and high critical chance can be very effective as a shadow. Thanks, Mat IGN Suojata Last edited by CNKalmah#4089 on Apr 5, 2013, 11:43:46 AM
|
|
" Pardon my ignorance - Quality cyclone does infact increase AoE radius. I was thinking of quality Arctic Armour. IGN Suojata
|
|
|
they have removed /oos.
also, will there b use of the new gems in this patch? |
|
