[1.1.0] Infernal Blow + Righteous Fire | 1H Axe | Anti-Reflect | 4 Possible Classes | 300,000+ DPS

Knock Out AOE Pad (KOEPad)



Reworking the build/guide atm
Why I made this Build

(Mirror Service can be found here)

"
tinko92 wrote:
Going crit out of daggers/claws/wands isn't a good idea, the base crit is just too low with axes/swords, but at least swords have 2+ APS, so that helps a bit, but they still suck for crit builds.

I've yet to see a good crit build with axe/sword, in fact, I've never seen a crit late end game axe build.
And I believe it's for a reason.

With that "low" APS and low crit base, it's just a horrible idea to do a crit build.


Features of the Build
**Disclaimer: These nice features come at a fairly steep cost in currency.**

1. Highest DPS Infernal Blow build you can attain, period.

2. Infernal Blow has a 7% intrinsic crit chance for its AOE component, which scales off of global crit (read: your 7 power charges).

3. The offensive synergy between Infernal Blow + Righteous Fire + Crown of Eyes is insanely good. Righteous Fire gives a huge spell damage boost as long as it’s on, which nearly doubles the DPS of Infernal Blow via Crown of Eyes. The AOE nodes that hugely boost the damage of RF also significantly boost the damage of IB AOE. Your map clear will be so god damn fast.

4. The defensive synergy between Infernal Blow and Righteous Fire is insanely good. Depending on your gear, physical reflect won’t even be an issue due to the fire conversion from IB. But if it is, you can simply shut-off RF, reduce your DPS by ~1/2 and solve any issue. You also shouldn’t have any problems with elemental reflect, because you will be rocking 90-92% maximum fire resistance (without flasks). If you still have problems, then you can simply turn off hatred and/or wrath.

5. Other: You will be able to run at least 6 auras. 70% Crit Chance + 11 APS with an Axe. Hold down one button to maintain maximum frenzy, endurance, and power charges.


Stages of the Build (Passives/Leveling/Gearing)
1. Resolute Technique + Infernal Blow. Use this tree until you have the necessary gear and points to effectively transition to the next stage. Use a rare shield and prioritize the ES & mana reservation nodes first. Place least priority in getting Zealot's Oath, Shaper, and Life Regen (which can honestly wait until the third RF stage if you want).

2. Crit + Infernal Blow. Respec into this when you have the gear & points to do so (meaning +crit chance mod on your weapon, enough accuracy to get above ~85%+ chance to hit, good enough ES gear so that the points in respeccing wouldn't be better used in more ES nodes, etc.). After you've filled out these 95 points, you have some choices. Personally, I go down and grab Deadly Precision. You also have the option of skipping this altogether and either grabbing 1) The Nullification or Void Barrier ES circles on the right side OR 2) Charisma for more mana reserve/aura buff (you will be able to run 1 or 2 more auras, but I haven’t done the calculations for this). After this you want to work on completing the rest of the aura and buff nodes.

3. Crit + Infernal Blow + Righteous Fire. The last stage is after you’ve grabbed the aura/buff nodes and are making your way towards the AOE nodes, which make RF a real force. You can see that I went and got Runed Cleaver, but you can definitely put these points into either more ES nodes OR into life regen nodes. Check out the "Questions" section for more information about alternate end-game build paths!

Note: You need to have 151 dex and 151 strength from your passives + gear (excluding your weapon/shield). My choice to take or not take specific dex/str nodes was contingent on the gear I had. If you need help with passives/gear, just ask :)


End-Game Build for Different Classes
This build can also be done as:
Witch
Shadow
Templar


My Gear


Stats
I am currently at stage 2 of this build, running crit + IB (95 point allocation can be found above).



Just so you guys can get an idea of what the DPS will look like with Righteous Fire, I took my low level Scion and respecced it out of ES nodes into the nodes minimally necessary to run RF (please for the love of god do not do this).

The DPS from RF was ~35k. My ES and DPS will be MUCH higher with levels.


Auras & RF Procedure
The idea was to use my life nearly completely for running the highest % auras, and run the lower % auras on mana, so that I’d have enough mana to sustainably use IB with the leech from Auxium. I thought the magic number would be 22% reduced mana reservation, but it turns out that it is 26% (which still lets me avoid the 8 point investment to get Charisma)

Aura Theory Craft
Mana Reservation from Passives = 8 + 5 + 5 + 4 (+ 4) = 22% (26%)
Calculations with 22% Reduced Mana Reservation (and L20 Reduced Mana gem):
60% * .71 * .78 = 33.228% mana reservation
Because of the rounding down feature, you can run 3 60% auras on life with 99% reservation. But here’s the problem: For whatever reason, I would be able to successfully cast RF on my off-hand, but switching to main-hand would cause RF to shut-off. It seems as if the game detects anything less than 10 life (not sure if this number is correct) as CI or “too low,” which shuts off and/or prevents the casting of RF (I had 8 life on my mainhand)… I am not exactly sure of this mechanic, so if someone has an answer for me, that would be sweet. The fix was getting another 5% reduce reserve node to increase my main-hand HP from ~8 to ~30 (just 1 passive point). I will try reverting back to 22% reduced reservation once I've picked up more strength/life nodes, and seeing if it will work then, as that would save me a passive point. But for now...

Calculations with 26% Reduced Mana Reservation (and L20 Reduced Mana gem):
60% * .71 * .74 = 31.524% mana reservation
This still lets me run my 3 60% auras off of life (96% reservation, because of the rounding feature), and also gives me even more breathing room with the auras I’m running off of mana.
40% * .71 * .74 = 21.016% mana reservation
Running 1 60% aura and 2 40% auras (Stage 2 of this build), you will have 26% of your mana left.
Running 3 40% auras (Stage 3 of this build), you will have 37% of your mana left (SO MUCH)
Because of the unanticipated mana pool I have left, it is actually possible to run Tempest Shield off of mana, placing Reduced Mana-Tempest Shield-Curse in the shield 3L.
25% * .71 * .74 = 13.135
Running 3 40% auras + Tempest Shield, you will have 24% of your mana left

Note: If you have any questions about the math, just ask! I would be happy to explain :)

1. Switch to your off-hand and put on Malachi Iron Mask. Cast the following 60% auras (Gems MUST be in 4L boots or gloves):
Wrath-Discipline-Hatred (You can switch Hatred out for Grace if you would like)

2. Take off Malachi Iron Mask, put on your CoE, and take a hit of your (surgeon’s) mana flask.

3. Cast either 1 60% + 2 40% auras OR 3 40% auras (+ Tempest Shield):
Purity of Elements-Vitality-Anger (Pre-stage 3…don’t use vitality if you don’t have Zealot’s Oath)
Purity of Elements-Vitality-Purity of Fire-(Optional) Tempest Shield (Stage 3 with RF)
NOTE: These gems should be either in your CoE or the remaining 4L boots/gloves

4a. If you are using a Searing Touch (linking RF, Inc. Area of Effect, Concentrated Effect, Increased Burning Damage, Empower, and Enhance), simply hit RF, switch to your main hand, hit blood rage, and go kill shit.

4b. If you are using two RedBeaks, put on a 6L Chest (Tabula will work fine, but a 6L Infernal Mantle or Carcass Jack would be optimal) linking RF, Inc. Area of Effect, Concentrated Effect, Increased Burning Damage, Empower, and Enhance. Hit RF, switch your chest to your Shavs, switch to your main hand, hit blood rage, and go kill shit. 4a is much easier, but 4b gives more DPS and gives you access to whirling blade.

At this point, use infernal blow to kill 3 things to get 3 frenzy charges. Then hold down flicker strike to build up all of your power/endurance charges. Go clear the map.


Gems
For Infernal Blow, you have a ton of options, all dependent honestly on how much you are willing to spend to color your Shavs. Personally, I am highly content with 4 offs (RRRGBB), running:
Infernal Blow–Multi Strike–Melee Physical Damage–Faster Attacks–Critical Damage–Inc. Crit Chance
You can switch out melee physical damage or increased critical chance to really anything you want (Melee Splash, Life leech, increased accuracy, etc.)

I personally like to have another skill to build up power charges, because it makes the mapping experience less bland, so I use a Flicker Strike 4L:
Flicker Strike-Increased Acc-PCoC-Endurance Charge on Stun
But you can switch this to CwDT gems, mobility gems, more auras etc.

Place the 3 60% life auras in 4L boots or gloves linked to Reduced Mana. Place 3 mana auras in any 4L (can be helm), also linked to Reduced Mana.

As I mentioned before, you also have some freedom with the Shield 3L. For now, I am liking CwDT-Immortal Cry-Enfeeble (all L20). This gives me a lot of protection from being stun-locked. If you're using a Searing Touch, you might want Reduced Mana-Leap Slam-Curse here for some mobility. Another choice is to run another "aura" and linking Reduced Mana-Tempest Shield-Curse in the 3L.


Good Questions (PLEASE READ)
Can you permanently sustain RF degeneration?
The following is going to assume reasonable end-game values of 6.5k ES, 1k life, 90% maximum fire resistance, and 21% increase buff nodes.

Degeneration Theory-Craft/Number-crunching
When my build hits its end-game values of 90% fire resist, ES of at least 6.5k, maximum life of 1000, and 21% increased buff effect from nodes, the degeneration from RF will be:
((.1*1.21*.70*6500) + (.1*1.21*.90*1000))/6500 = 10.14% ES lost/second

The build grabs 2% regen from nodes, has 4% regen from shavs ring, and 3.02% regen from vitality (taking into consideration the buff and aura passives), for a total of 9.01% ES gained/second.

So looking ONLY RF degeneration with end-game stats, you will be net degenerating 1.14% ES/second.

A complicating factor is blood rage. If you have absolutely no chaos res, you will be degenerating 6.08% of your maximum life/second as chaos damage. Converted to ES, that comes out to:
(.0609*1000)/6500 = 0.94% ES lost/second
Therefore with -60% chaos res + Blood Rage, you will be net degenerating 2% ES/second

If you have max chaos res, you will still be degenerating 1.52% of your max life/second, which converted to ES comes out to:
(.0152*1000)/6500 = 0.23% ES lost/second
Therefore with +60% chaos res + Blood Rage, you will be net degenerating 1.37% (1%) ES/second

So with my build as is, you will degenerating either 1% or 2% of your ES depending on your chaos resistance. These numbers fail, however, to take into consideration the important factor that, as a crit build, you have unique access to a surgeon's ruby flask. As long as you can hit something, your 70% crit chance means you will be rocking 100% fire resistance constantly, and so consequently, you will nearly always have hugely net positive regeneration (specifically anywhere from +7.5% ES gained/second to +8.25% ES gained/second). The numbers also don't take into consideration that you will still have huge amounts of ES leech, even without vaal pact (instant if you get a hold of those new atziri gloves ;D).

If you want even more/completely sustainable defense/regen, you still have 2 choices:
1. You can respec 4 points (1 will just be a small 8% ele damage node, three from Runed Cleaver) and take the 2 endurance charge nodes and the .25% regen per endurance charge node. Here’s the build. With -60 chaos resistance, you will be net degenerate .83% (1%) ES/second. With maximum +60 chaos resistance, you will be net degenerate .12% (0%) ES/second. With my projected max ES and max life numbers, the magic number for the minimum chaos resistance needed to have 0% degeneration using this respec is ~0% chaos resistance, which isn’t very hard to achieve.

2. You can respec 9 points (4 from Runed Cleaver cluster, Fell the Weak, 3 ele weapon nodes, and Elementalist) to get the same endurance charge nodes above AND +2 max fire resistance for a total of 92% fire resistance. Here’s the build. Skipping all the calculation proofs I just did, just take my word for it that:
Running both RF and blood rage, you will be net regenerating anywhere from 1.21% (1%) of your ES/second to 1.924 (2%) of your ES/second, depending on your chaos resistance.

Taking into consideration BOTH RF and Blood Rage, you will be net degenerating 1-2% of your ES/second (depending on your gear) with the original DPS variant of the build. This is however completely negated by infinite surgeon’s ruby flask charges with which you will be net regenerating 7-8% of your ES/second.

If you want to have 0% passive degeneration (with decent chaos resistance of anywhere from 0-60%), you can sacrifice a bit of DPS with this build, which reallocates a few passive points to get 2 more endurance charges + the endurance charge regen node.

If you want to passively have 1% ES regeneration (even with terrible -60% chaos res) or 2% regeneration (with good chaos res) per second, then you can sacrifice a little bit more DPS and follow this build, which reallocates 9 passive points to get the same nodes as above AND +2% maximum fire res.

How can I build tankier?
End-game, my original build will allow me to hit or exceed 6.5k ES. For most map mods, this combined with good flask control, life leech, and ES regen, will be sufficient for me to clear quickly, with no problems. For harder map rolls (even those without -max res and/or half regen), remember that you always have the option of not using RF and using a higher ES shield. You will have ~8k ES and will be regenerating 7-8% of your ES per second (with blood rage), while still having a ~170k DPS Infernal Blow.

However, for those building on more of a budget, your ES with Phoenix Kite shield might still be a problem, even on maps with friendly mods. This build will solve that problem. Note that you can remove the 2 point commitment to Unnatural Calm to get more Str/Dex nodes if needed.

As an ES melee, won't I have problems with stun?
Because of how little armor this build has, it is very susceptible to getting stun-locked, at which point you're pretty fucked. The way I handle this is through the 3L in my shield (CwDT-Immortal Cry-Enfeeble) and my flask set-up. Stun chance operates on how big the hits I'm taking are relative to my max life. If I'm taking too many big hits, Immortal Cry activates, giving me a ~2-3 second window of immunity from being stun-locked by physical damage, which allows me to either kill everything or GTFO. Additionally, enfeeble activates, reducing the probability I will be stun-locked by hugely reducing surrounding mobs' damage and accuracy. At the same time, I am spamming a Surgeon's Granite Flask of Iron Skin and a Surgeon's Ruby Flask of Steadiness, which gives me a huge boost in armour and ES regen, in addition to 60% increased stun recovery. The combination of these tools has done a pretty good job keeping me from being stun-locked thus far.

This strategy, however, does not 100% guarantee that you will not be stun-locked, especially on higher level maps. If you really don't want to run the risk of dying what-so-ever, I highly recommend this build, which sacrifices 4 points from the Runed Cleaver half-circle to grab Unwavering Stance. This is probably the build I will use for the L90+ grind.

What do I do for the bandit quests?
Normal - Kill all (Passive)
Cruel - Kill all OR Help Kraitlyn (8% IAS), depending on whether you have a 118 or 119 point build end-game.
Merciless - Help Alira (+1 Power Charge)

Can this build be done on a budget?
The short answer is no. A lot of the core pieces you need are uniques (used in many different builds), but if you don't already have any of these, this build is going to cost you 150+ ex.

There are ways, however to cut some corners. Buy:
- Any 1H IB-compatible weapon with decent phys, decent IAS, and high crit chance (prices are highly variable but a pretty good one can be found for as low as 20 ex)
- A mid roll new Shavs (80-100ex)
- A low accuracy & 3-1 (or 2-2) leech roll Crown of Eyes (25-30 ex)
- An original legacy rainbows with low spell-block but high mana & ES (15-20 ex)
- A Shav's Revelation of any roll (10-15 ex)
- A Phoenix Kite Shield (1-2 ex)
- A 4 or 5L Searing Touch (1-3 ex)

This will cost you ~150-160 ex if you hunt for these items smartly/patiently. But chances are you already have some of these items if you have been playing a while. Furthermore, you don't even need all of these items. Get a 5L shavs instead of a 6L one and get new rainbowstrides instead of one of the legacies, and you will have reduced the cost a further 30-50 exalts.

If you feel like cutting these corners is going to hurt your survivability or DPS, remember:
1. You can skip axe/crit nodes and grab more ES nodes (shadow side) and/or life-regen nodes (endurance charge nodes, scion regen nodes) to considerably boost survivability. And
2. While it really helps having a weapon like mine, the bulk of your massive DPS is coming from core build mechanics, not the particular mod tiers and rolls of your items.


Credits and Thanks


I’m taking the MCATs soon and doing med school applications after that, so I won’t have time to map very much and level this character, and therefore I will not be posting “end-game” stats or videos for some time. But please feel free to leave questions/comments here, as I would love to hear your guys’ thoughts about the build :)
IGN: KiPad

Mirror Services (/view-thread/778747): #1 Crit Rings for *ALL* builds (Low-life, CI, and Life), #1 1H Axe, #1 Ar Boots, #1 Life Rustic
Last edited by KiPad on Apr 16, 2014, 12:33:11 AM
>Reserved<
IGN: KiPad

Mirror Services (/view-thread/778747): #1 Crit Rings for *ALL* builds (Low-life, CI, and Life), #1 1H Axe, #1 Ar Boots, #1 Life Rustic
ooh
IGN: BaiBhai | BhaiBhai | Bhailo

Added alternative builds if you wanted to do this from Templar, Witch, or Shadow. The end-result is almost exactly the same.
IGN: KiPad

Mirror Services (/view-thread/778747): #1 Crit Rings for *ALL* builds (Low-life, CI, and Life), #1 1H Axe, #1 Ar Boots, #1 Life Rustic
Can you sustain RF permanently with the life regen you have in your tree?

Also, if you have any questions regarding the MCATs/applications, you're welcome to ask me. I went through a similar phase with dental school (I'm a first year atm).
Mephixara // Lvl 91 Phys Tornado Ranger
Tynux // Lvl 86 DW Ground Slam Marauder
Ripheuxa // Lvl 90 KB Wander

Last edited by jtrand on Mar 11, 2014, 6:42:01 PM
"
jtrand wrote:
Can you sustain RF permanently with the life regen you have in your tree?

Also, if you have any questions regarding the MCATs/applications, you're welcome to ask me. I went through a similar phase with dental school (I'm a first year atm).


Haha thanks.

EDIT: Corrected Calculations (Theorycraft/number crunching in FAQ section of OP)
Assuming what you will have end-game 6.5k ES, 1k life, 90% max fire res, and 21% inc. buffs:
Only looking at RF- 1.14% ES degeneration/sec.
Looking at both RF + Blood Rage - 1.37-2% ES degeneration/sec. (depending on chaos res.)

In my original build, the built-in defense to this is surgeon's ruby flask, which means as long as you have something to hit, you will have 100% fire res. This means:
Looking at both RF + Blood rage - +7.5-8.25% regeneration/sec. (depending on chaos res.)

I will put 2 ways to respec the build in the OP, one moving 4 points and the other moving 8 points, which will let you sacrifice a bit of damage to get anywhere from 0 to 2% positive regeneration/sec. without the ruby flask (so passively).

Thanks for the good question :)
IGN: KiPad

Mirror Services (/view-thread/778747): #1 Crit Rings for *ALL* builds (Low-life, CI, and Life), #1 1H Axe, #1 Ar Boots, #1 Life Rustic
Last edited by KiPad on Mar 12, 2014, 3:18:54 PM
Yo, you made a mistake in your calculations

For Blood Rage, "You lose x% of your Maximum Life per second as Chaos Damage."

Because the Blood Rage damage is calculated based on your maximum life, but is deducted from your energy shield (which is much much higher), the %ES lost per second from blood rage will be below 1%/sec. In other words, RF and Blood Rage will (probably) be passively sustainable without ruby flasks depending on your final ES and HP values.

EDIT:

I think because you don't take Vaal Pact in this build, it might be a good idea to look into getting those new Atziri gloves (once they start entering the market lol) that give you the instant leech on crit (and some nice global crit chance as well). With close to 0 ES regen (with RF and Blood Rage ticking) and delayed leech, there are a lot of situations (mostly involving reflect and desync) that could end up being disastrous.

Of course, you'd take a small hit in DPS by losing the global crit multiplier (and some crit chance), but survivability would spike dramatically because of the 80 intelligence (16% max ES), 75 HP, 640 AR, and fucking 100% instant leech on critical strike. Your RF damage would actually increase because of the ES/Life increase lol. I feel like a lot of CI/Low Life builds are going to use those gloves counteract the VP "nerf" but even if VP wasn't changed, those gloves are just way too good to pass up in their current state.

IGN: BaiBhai | BhaiBhai | Bhailo

Last edited by Bhai on Mar 12, 2014, 3:13:17 PM
"
Bhaisabh wrote:
Yo, you made a mistake in your calculations

For Blood Rage, "You lose x% of your Maximum Life per second as Chaos Damage."

Because the Blood Rage damage is calculated based on your maximum life, but is deducted from your energy shield (which is much much higher), the %ES lost per second from blood rage will be below 1%/sec.


Oops, good catch, did the conversion correctly for RF life burn but not blood rage :P I corrected the calculations and updated the OP with details about build options to increase net regen if desired.

And yeah those gloves will be next OP 100000 exalt legacies :) Would love a pair for this build
IGN: KiPad

Mirror Services (/view-thread/778747): #1 Crit Rings for *ALL* builds (Low-life, CI, and Life), #1 1H Axe, #1 Ar Boots, #1 Life Rustic
Last edited by KiPad on Mar 12, 2014, 10:18:51 PM
Updated
IGN: KiPad

Mirror Services (/view-thread/778747): #1 Crit Rings for *ALL* builds (Low-life, CI, and Life), #1 1H Axe, #1 Ar Boots, #1 Life Rustic
Last edited by KiPad on Mar 12, 2014, 3:17:49 PM
Hey Kipad, just wondering if Shav needed for this Build, or I am able to use any other Armor for it ?

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