Mace/Shield LS Templar with Video and writeup(Written for New Players)
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Elecrit Scepter + Shield v1
Because this isn't actually a pure LS build any more I gave it a new name. I took every accuracy node and the +30 Dex just to show you'd still have a lot of points left to play with even after doing so. You probably won't need them all if your gear happens to have enough. Use the extra points to go get more MaxHP or whatever you need. The way accuracy nodes work is that early game the +10% accuracy sucks and is worthless, so don't take them until they're actually worth something to you. DO take the +20 Dex +10% accuracy because they are good early with the Dex flat +40 accuracy and the 10% boost will help you as you begin to get accuracy on your gear / from leveling up (+2 per level). If you have 800 base accuracy by level 70, for example, that +10% node is now worth 80 accuracy (40 dex worth). So those nodes are great and will serve you well all game long. Raw +% accuracy on other nodes will only really help you late game, but that just means you can skip them until you notice your accuracy is starting to drop noticeably and you aren't getting any gear that can compensate. As well, if you save your respec points, you could always remove those +accuracy nodes if you find some amazing gear that ends the issue for you forever. As that other guy mentioned, without any Energy Shield up this build is susceptible to being stun locked to death, so Zealot's Oath is a handy fix for that and we were in the neighborhood anyway. If you think about it, even without the stun resist it makes sense to put your regen where you're losing "health" from first. What if a fight ends and you never took hp damage? Your regen stat would be completely wasted, meanwhile you wait for your ES to finish refilling longer before starting the next fight. Because nothing in the Templar tree was taken that specifically boosts Lightning Strike over Glacial Hammer or Infernal Strike, I think having all 3 equipped is a viable idea. The game seems to throw a variety of elemental resists at the players pretty much non-stop, so being able to swap elements as you encounter resists seems like a great way to keep your kill speed going strong without having to go to a ton of trouble to overcome resistant mobs with curses. Just use Elemental Weakness on everything then follow up with whatever they already didn't resist. Use your crits to apply the elemental bonuses. Seems simpler than double cursing to me and probably nearly as effective. Since the build is for Scepters you can use all 3 elemental attacks by default (all work with 1H Mace), so why not try it? Might even be more fun than mindlessly spamming the same attack over and over ;) Last edited by EmeraldWitch on Jan 31, 2013, 10:29:00 PM
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" IB isn't viable end-game as an AoE attack, neither is glacial hammer. IGN Suojata
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" Well of course not, GH doesn't have ANY AoE component. The AoE on IB is just a fun extra. Why do you need to do nothing but AoE attack, though? Are you planning to solo from 1 to 100? It seems to me like being in a party is the best way to play, and why wouldn't it be useful to have a party member that wrecks any champion / elite he comes across with an element they don't resist? |
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" As a relative noob to the theory side of things in PoE, could you please explain to me what supports this statement? Is it a dependence on high ES gear such that you never dip into your health pool? I'm playing HC Templar, currently level 37 and about to finish normal difficulty, my resists aren't bad, armor is all right, but I don't have much ES. I quite often feel vulnerable and that's just not the place to be in HC. You make a coherent argument and I like the look of your passive tree, but what concerns me is I see many passive trees thrown down without much consideration to the level of gear/stats required to support them. Outside of recommending some unique boots (have fun affording those as a mere mortal), you only discuss what skills to use, not what gear to pursue. Are we to simply follow Thehealthygamer's recommendations in the first post as what works for your build as well? I've started more than a few characters, and honestly THG's "written for new players" guide has given me the most insight into this game, and I've gotten the furthest following it. Other builds seem to employ reliance on unrealistic luck in your loot drops or what gear people are trading at the precise moment you happen to be online. A little more clarification on your build would be appreciated, because I might just start yet another Templar to see how your build feels :) Also, I'm interested in the discussion on whether or not to build around Resolute Technique. I'm guessing that part of the point of having Tempest Shield is negating the loss of crit shocks, along with adding static blows to the passive. Does eliminating accuracy as a stat on gear make things that much easier? | |
" I'm still learning as I go, but I can tell you from experience that the second I put that point into RT I felt like a wrecking ball. Most games I don't feel like I miss all that often, and therefore find that crit rate can be a blast to focus on. This game has felt like the opposite to me. I think the crit addiction may be a direct result of how visible combat numbers are in most games. Without seeing those numbers, I've been less attached. That, and the way it stacks in this just feels like it takes too long to hit the sweet spot with crits (though that may be a perception thing as well). So to me, giving up crits for hitting every single time? Yeah, I'm good with that. I think it feels like the bigger DPS boost, to be honest; not to mention the indirect boost to mana efficiency. And as far as the shock effect, with the shock chance nodes grabbed I couldn't tell the difference. In fact, I think the chance to simply shock outright now may be higher than my crit rate would've reached any time soon. So, I'm no expert, but... spending 1 point on never missing an attack versus dumping points into accuracy, dex, and crit to make up for it? Like I said, the way the mechanics work in this game, RT seems to pay off big... at least in the early game. Maybe that's part of it too. With the right gear, the other route may even surpass the RT build. Early on? I'm SO happy I took RT. I feel much more effective with it, and much more safe. If I were playing on HC, I'd want safe ;) ...YMMV. | |
" You lose more than crit by pigeon holing yourself into getting shock stacks via that passive. You cut yourself off from making Glacial Hammer or Infernal Blow as useful as Lightning Strike, despite taking passives that give you +111% to ALL elemental damage, and not really any that boosts LS dps directly. You also restrict what gear is desirable to you. When you take RT you immediately are wasting item budget on any dex / acc / crit / crit x you find from that point onward. Now eventually sure, you can custom tailor all your gear, but that takes a while! In the mean time you are left with less useful gear options. As well, if you take Dex on gear / in a few nodes to gain +hit, you are also gaining some evasion. It seems like you see the biggest gains in evasion early on when you don't have tons of points in it, but that may be a false perception thing. Last edited by EmeraldWitch on Feb 1, 2013, 12:54:10 AM
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" The question is, are Glacial Hammer or Infernal Blow worth it? Speaking of pigeon holing, this means maces only while leveling, and while that is the focus of this build, I've had to play the past 8-ish levels with axes because I've got awesome axes and no maces. " This works both ways - you will be wasting prefix/affixes on those stats listed above, but how valuable were they in the first place? Also if I don't need ACC to hit effectively, I'm less worried by the fact that nearly zero of my current gear has any on it already. So much is in flux while leveling it's hard to really pin stuff down, and frankly removing some choice may actually be beneficial... maybe. | |
" It's hard not to have some wasted item budget, regardless. So sayeth the RNG. And keep in mind, when you say "restrict what gear is desirable to you" I see it as "become less gear dependent." I've had no trouble avoiding accuracy and crit on gear, and (as you pointed out) Dex isn't a bad thing for the little evasion it provides, but I still avoid it because it's now less optimal. It seems to me that it would take more time to TRY for the stats you need without RT than it takes to "avoid" them with it. Personally, I think you're undervaluing what it means to hit 100% of the time. Sure, with crits GH and IB have a small chance to freeze or ignite, and that extra damage isn't trivial. However, this has the reverse effect that the RT build has on gear; you're now broadening your primary attack choice. Which do you focus on gemming? Which stays on your go-to hotkey? I prefer sticking primarily with LS. Well, and Shield Charge :) I do still keep GH on my bar, though, and it still hits like a truck. And it still has a built-in chance to freeze. Really, IB's ignite is all that's lost, and it still has it's own unique mechanic as well. The +% to all elemental damage is really just a side effect of the skill tree layout, is it not? You get far more for your skill points by investing in that than a single element type... in Templar territory, anyway. I think it's easy (especially in this game, where it seems easier to reroll than respec) to look at another build and have quite polarizing reactions... either "that looks terrible" or the bittersweet, grass-is-always-greener response. I'm loving RT, and not feeling any of the restrictions you're concerned about. I was apprehensive, but I'm glad I tried it out. Honestly, I hope your build ends up awesome. I'm jealous of the concept, as it's far more what my default inclination would be. I just see it taking more time and more gear hunting to come into its own. Quick edit: I should note that I've spent several hours staring at the skill trees and trying to decide between a variation of your build and the OP's primary one. I really see the merit in both, I'm just arguing the points that ultimately brought me to my decision :) Last edited by Waldo42 on Feb 1, 2013, 1:42:18 AM
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" Energy shield - when up (even with 1 point), will give you a 50% chance to not be stunned. Armor is noneffective against big hits and will therefore not mitigate enough damage all the time to be below the stun bar (Damage being 10% or 15% of your life IIRC). Therefore since both builds have not taken Unwavering stance (Stun Immunity) nor is Eye of Chayula mentioned (Stun Immunity amulet) it's very important to keep SOME energy shield present when swarmed/in battle/ fighting a boss. For example, when brutus does his groundslam it stuns most characters and does significant damage dropping the average ES to 0 and digging into the life pool. With Zealot's oath regen is constant (so we don't have to run and recharge) so the next hit will be subject to 50% stun immunity if it lands. (Hope you understand.) With the above build I have posted you should ~ 4k life by level 70 or so. ES and Armor/EVA are secondary defenses, Life is your primary when not using Chaos Innoculation. Also to be honest, THG's build is actually called "The Lightning Templar" from closed beta. It's a very bad non-adaptive take to Open Beta. Too many balance changes to use the same build. IGN Suojata Last edited by CNKalmah on Feb 1, 2013, 3:13:28 AM
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Is there any room for Molten Shield in this build? I'm following the one in the open post, but I keep struggling for mana (I'm level 23). I can't have Molten Shield + Tempest Shield on and use LS (btw, I even use Leap to close gaps and to escape, is Decoy Totem more effective?), I don't even run Wrath and I'm mana starving. Tips? Drop Molten Shield from the hotkeys and use the others?
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