Final Boss review - Nemesis normal

Fight is trivially easy with spectral throw.

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sidtherat wrote:

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Kokoro wrote:

Awesome fight! I didn't feel so much adrenaline from a computer game for long time. It was really a tough and intensive meeting. He finally killed my char with that blood rain (which I didn't know how to avoid at that time) but I will remake and take revenge! :)

Congrats GGG!

Please don't nerf Dominus if people start moaning he's too hard. He is intended to be hard and if the char is properly prepared he is certainly doable (portal scrolls your friend).

if you need to cheeze your way out then it is NOT properly designed

No, you are wrong. Chris wrote in some other topic that they design boss fights having in mind that people will be using town portals or even Alt + F4. While I don't like the second possibility, and even suggested a solution for that, I am now ok with using portals. I mean I prefer hard bosses than easy ones with portals disabled. Remember that portals doesn't guarantee you will survive. They need time to cast and/or enter. Also I would like to have some other bosses boosted for that.

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sidtherat wrote:

however - id like to know how summoners are to kill him.

Recasting skeletons to death ?

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RondaRousey wrote:

Fight is trivially easy with spectral throw.

The fight is trivially easy by knowing the mechanics.

People have been portaling out of bosses to restock on potions for over a decade, don't seewhat's wrong with the final boss of the game making you do that at least once or twice if you're not able to kill all the minions before they explode on your face.

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sidtherat wrote:

however - id like to know how summoners are to kill him..

Here is a set of tactics that I find useful.

Prerequisites: This set of tactics relies on the following foreknowledge:

First - Minions flock towards enemies that are cursed. Try it out, go to Docks and start cursing enemies. Your skeletons will always move to the last enemy you cursed and focus on that.

Second - Curses draw less aggro compared to damaging spells. When cursing, note that enemies focus on minions once minions start attacking/damaging. They only change targets to you if either the minion is too far away, the minion creates a ground-based effect (i.e. Necromantic Aegis and Matua Tupuna), or your damage exceeds minion damage.

Third - Spectres actively cast when the raised minions have active abilities.


Tactics

Bubble Spectres - Remember how the new mobs in the Sceptre spawn bubbles that protect against projectiles? Raise them as spectres, and link them to Minion Life and Resists and Speed. They negate pretty much all projectile damage, and serve as a very big defensive boost. Plus, they protect against Dominus' projectile spells.

Minion Instability and Minion Damage - Minion instability is still considered as minion damage. MI with the MD gem ensures that each exploding minion deals (33% + (33 * 0.77)) = 58% of minion HP as damage. Get a SkeleBrotem (Spell Totem, Summon Skeletons, Minion Life, Minion Damage). Minion life boosts Skeleton HP to ~1500. Minion instability causes them to blow up and deal 870 damage each. Essentially you have skeletons that can tank and act as living bombs for you. Necromantic Aegis and reflect shields add 110 more damage per attack reflected as well.

Curse, curse, curse - Even without Whispers of Doom, you can swap across curses as needed. Dominus firing spider-sparks? Hit him with Punishment, and laugh as you see your Bubble spectres negate the spiders, while he gets burned by his own spells. Dominus readying his own version of Vaal Smash? Temporal Chains to have a few more precious seconds to get away. Skeletons near death and you're about to deal a fuckton of fire damage to him via MI? Flammability. The key is to not focus on just one curse, use multiple gems and curse as needed.

For Minions, Life is Better Than Resists - Despite the temptation, DON'T run Purity on minions. You want them to blow up, not survive. Run Discipline, so that the ES acts as a buffer and prevents instagibbing of minions, allowing more to get to the critical lowlife (bomb mode) status.

Quicksilver Bleed Counter - For Blood Rain, you would be benefited the most if you have Quicksilver, or if not, Granite flasks of Staunching. A drink from the Quicksilver flask dispels bleed counters and gives you the movespeed you need to run into Dominus' protective bubble. If Quicksilver Flasks of Staunching aren't available, Granite Flasks of Staunching are your second option, since Bleed damage is Physical and Granite Flasks mitigate physical damage.

I hope these are of use to you.

OP,

Nice write up. Have to agree I enjoyed the fight, too.

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Sachiru wrote:

First - Minions flock towards enemies that are cursed. Try it out, go to Docks and start cursing enemies. Your skeletons will always move to the last enemy you cursed and focus on that.

I think what you are describing is more generally that minions go for the enemy you last attacked. In your case the curse is handled like an attack by the game.
Was once watching a video about a summoner build and the guy used leap slam to direct his minions.


E: Regarding the Dominus fight: With a Spectral Throw Scion (Level 38) I had little to no trouble with his first phase - only almost died once - with a little kiting it was well survivable.
The second phase got me 3 times. First time of course was the blood rain. 2nd time was still the blood rain while I was trying to figure out which of the zones the safe zone was. 3rd time was when running for the safe zone and arriving there with less than half health and D. smashed me. :D It was pretty intense and although I had been pretty tired, after the fight I was quite awake and somewhat on adrenaline. :P

Same stats as OP, even a bit more dps, but I got cocky and ripped to the Bleed in P2. Time to try Ranger thrower now my poor lil scion ripped

My first try at Dominus was with a level 72 duelst in merciless (standard league) and I died from the rain about 10 times before I could kill him. I didn't even have time to reach the portal. That duelst has 90 physical damage reduction so the bleeding damage must be immensely high from the blood rain.

My second try was on normal with a spectral throw scion and I died once from the blood rain. I used the portal trick to manage the blood rain.

In both of these I hadn't figured out that I could stop the bleeding with flasks (I thought it was chaos damage) but now that I know I will make another try.

Considering the whole fight, minions included, this is a spectacular fight in my opinion. I really liked the piety fight earlier but Dominus really tops it.

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anteolsson wrote:

That duelst has 90 physical damage reduction so the bleeding damage must be immensely high from the blood rain.

Normally bleeding is a result of physical damage - the more damage, the more bleeding as a result. Here no preliminary hit happens, therefore I guess it is not reduced by physical reduction. Maybe someone knows better how it works and if it is possible to reduce the effect (except potions with "Removes Bleeding").

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anteolsson wrote:

Considering the whole fight, minions included, this is a spectacular fight in my opinion. I really liked the piety fight earlier but Dominus really tops it.

The Piety fight is also a good piece of design but it is much more predictable and easier to control whats going on. Dominus fight is more complex and intense. His voice has that vibe of someone completely possessed by access to higher power and his shouts almost scared me. ;) Fanaticism and madness at the best ;)