[Theory] Mana Shield + Eldritch Battery + Lightning Coil + Frenzy Melee

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Iao wrote:

One would probably gear without Lightning Coil and take Iron Reflexes if the requirements aren't met. The mana reservation of auras is going to be increased for 1.0.0, so I doubt there'll be enough mana to be useful for Mana Shield with Purity at 40% already. It is certainly a daunting task but I think it'll be worthwhile.

True. I personally like to get outfitted with the gear/gems as soon as possible to get a feel for the gameplay with said items, i.e. breaking into it.

But you're right in light of the new aura buff/nerf... making Purity almost impossible to use unless you give up the Hatred aura. I hope there are some new mana reservation passives by the Ranger tree, but I doubt it.

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Islidox wrote:

True. I personally like to get outfitted with the gear/gems as soon as possible to get a feel for the gameplay with said items, i.e. breaking into it.

But you're right in light of the new aura buff/nerf... making Purity almost impossible to use unless you give up the Hatred aura. I hope there are some new mana reservation passives by the Ranger tree, but I doubt it.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Really this is all just based on speculation in my part; I don't know if it'll work out but it seems it could.

The leaked tree does seem to show a node near Eldritch Battery that might have something to do with auras, though I'm not sure. Amusingly it has the same icon as Infused Shield and Mana Shield, in the image.

Hmm, I already had some ideas around Mana Shield as well.
Although I like your idea, I don't think you'll have enough mana to make good use of this keystone. You have no ES increases from the tree, except for those on the shield nodes. Especially with all those auras on, you might end up with no mana left in the middle of a fight.

too much for too little

the chest, the helm, the boots are simply horrible for an EB build .. you most likely wont have enough mana, especially with increased % reserves coming with release

get hit for 3000 physical (kole unmodded)

3000 x 0.4 x 0.25 = 300 lightning damage taken, and 900 negated

3000 x 0.6 = 1800 physical damage taken, with 3 endurance charges and 2k armor thats around 20% reduction for 1440 damage taken, and 360 negated

1260 negated, 1740 taken (and goes to mana shield)

if it were all physical but you invested in some armor and endurance charges and popped a granite, you could have the same result or better

also -max res maps become your nightmare, and shocks

The mana shield is immaterial, its the same whether you go lightning coil or not, assuming the damage taken and reduced is similar / the same

Let's look at the numbers.

Because energy shield is converted to mana, it is affected by both energy shield and mana multipliers. When it comes to a shield, the shield defenses nodes are also taken into account.

Now consider the fact that the only necessary auras for this build is Grace and maybe Clarity. Though I do expect it to change, both have flat mana reservation amounts. If Discipline's is still flat, it will also be used. However, Hatred will likely be unnecessary and too costly so I likely won't use it.

Now imagine I have a shield with 400 energy shield and am at level 80 with this passive skill tree. Altogether it has 48% increased maximum mana and 80% increased shield defenses.

My base mana would be 431 because of my level (40 + (79 * 4) = 356) and 150 Intelligence (150 / 2 = 75), which also grants 30% increased energy shield.

Let's also consider Discipline, and assume that at level 18 still grants 192 energy shield.

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400 * (1 + 0.48 + 0.8 + 0.3) = 1032 (energy shield from the shield multiplied)
192 * (1 + 0.48 + 0.3) = 341.76 (energy shield from Discipline multiplied)
431 * (1 + 0.48) = 637.88 (base maximum mana multiplied)
1032 + 341.76 + 637.88 = 2011.64, rounded down to 2011 (total maximum mana)

205 * 0.92 * 0.73 = 137.678, rounded down to 137 (level 18 Discipline mana reservation)
199 * 0.92 * 0.73 = 133.6484, rounded down to 133 (level 18 Grace mana reservation)
137 + 133 = 270 (total mana reserved)

2011 - 270 = 1741 (total unreserved mana)

So, 1741 unreserved mana with a good shield... That's a lot. More than what's needed, in fact.

And about the build's defensive effectiveness. I hope you've considered the fact that this isn't even the main defense of the build, it's just insurance. I'd have good evasion and around 50% block chance as well.

Negative maximum resistance maps aren't even that bad considering it's just reducing a benefit. As long as my lightning resistance is a positive number I'm still mitigating more physical damage than I would have before. And I already addressed shock with the shock avoidance nodes so I avoid it 3/4 of the time.

Going to try a similar build without Mana Shield and swapping the boots with Blood Dance. Will let you know how it goes. Nemesis.