Real Talk: Spectral Throw

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Nephalim wrote:

ST is ridiculous boring.

ftfy

With the increased proj speed node i picked up in the ranger area, I can kill stuff off screen, I leech like crazy, can afford a little less in the way of def, have dual strike as a back up, and since weapon physical damage increases both skills, as does IAS, you end up with a nice, safe, hybrid build.

Clear speed is not that fastest, or the slowest, but I find it a very fun build to play. 4 link will do, but a 5l with life leech, FA, LMP, Fire is very nice.

Given the choice, which is better, GMP or LMP? I've got LMP now, should I go buy a GMP?

The build seems great for survivability but it does seem lackluster in DPS for sure.

lmp>>>gmp imo.

I used to play ST as crit shadow and it was very strong endgame without insane gear.
It has the usual drawbacks of a crit build though.

its totally worse compared to ls.. i was hoping" allright.. lets level a scion an dont do ls again".. well i ended up with ls again because spectral is shit..well it may not be bad but in my case its worse in every way and i benefit more from ls and my sick ls optimized gear.. and need a super uber 2h weapon.. and even with a kaoms axe i tried its not doing a good job.. any gem combination in my tabula.. meeeehhh sucks.. in the time the shit is flying and coming back i have vaporized everything on the screen with ls and sick shocking

ST is a safe, low DPS and boring skill.
Don't need reason to support your argument, just say what's the highest ST DPS you've ever seen, with proof. Then compare it to other melee skills.

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Bumblebutt wrote:

ST is a safe, low DPS and boring skill.
Don't need reason to support your argument, just say what's the highest ST DPS you've ever seen, with proof. Then compare it to other melee skills.

It is hard to tell the dps.

It works kinda like Incinerate. The damage of ST needs to maximize first, which is reached when the first projectile comes back to the player. Depending on your projectile-speed you can hit an enemy from 3 to 5 times, which means each attack does 3 or 5 times the damage stated, which would also increase the dps by these numbers. A build that is actually optimized for ST can get nice dps on a reasonable range. It is neither weak nor strong it is a reasonable skill which allows for a fun gameplay.

Generally ST hits each enemy only 2 times. For the projectiles to hit enemy more times than that, slower projectile must be used and will result in a significant loss of the 6th damage booster while doesn't guarantee that every enemy will be hit more than twice. It also leaves the farther enemies untouched. For the sake of the argument, simply use a straight damage LMP setup and x2 tooltip dps.
Everything else equals, ST tooltip DPS in a LMP setup is 1/4 of LS and 65% weaker than LS projectile damage. When considering projectiles bouncing back, ST damage is only 50% of LS in melee range and 30% weaker than LS projectiles. That is pretty significant which justifies the safe and convenient nature of ST.

Regardless of tooltip DPS, spectral throw clear speed is slow compared to most other skills.

Saying ST only hits an enemy twice is kind of like saying Discharge only cares about Endurance Charges. It's self-limiting the potential of the skill in order to encourage a more braindead, spam-friendly playstyle.