Duelist crit sword build help

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FeatherGunSoul wrote:

Thank you for the info! What would your suggested tree look like if you were to create one? would you mind setting it up? I don't see myself being able to upgrade the swords yet because I checked prices and well I don't have that kind of currency atm lol so I will make due with these ones. Didn't plan on using frenzy charges. I just want a strong base damage with a lot of crit. What's an ideal gem setup look like for a build like this? and what's the best ascendancy choice? I know i'm asking you to do a lot :) Sorry I am just not familiar with the tree yet honestly because every time I build something I follow a build off forums and don't pay too much attention to it unless I notice something is wrong, but in this case I just don't have that much experience with swords so i'm not entirely sure on how to proceed. I love this character and everything about the skill. I can see myself playing this character forever lol.

At work right at the moment, so can't do any in-depth tree-fiddling just yet, but in terms of the other stuff...:

As stated, your Dread Scalpel is actually a very nice sword indeed. Scour the crit multi off of it and replace it with crit chance and that would be a pretty top-flight sword. The other one's not bad either; if you can do the same to that sword (I don't know if you can, not able to check affix positions just yet), you'd be set for weapons.

For a dual-rapier mostly-phys crit Duelist, generally you'll want Gladiator. Champion has the defenses, a'course, but Gladiator has the more offensive focus you seem to be going for here. Outmatch and Outlast would be a great node - even with no extra frenzy or endurance charges in the tree, it adds a lot of both damage and defense to the build. O&O, the two bleed nodes, and the first block node, in that order, would be a good Ascension plan for this sort of build.

As for gem set-ups, it depends on what you're looking for. Do you want to use Dual Strike as your be-all end-all do-all skill? If so, Melee Splash is mandatory. That's not a bad thing - Melee Splash is pretty cool now, but it does mean you're losing a gem slot that could otherwise be devoted to Deeps on clearing. Frankly, on a 6L that's a trade I'd be willing to make, but you can also use Dual Strike specifically for boss-busting and spec an Ancestral Warchief for AoE clearing. Chief, Melee Phys, Inc. AoE, Faster Attacks/Bloodlust in a 4-link. Bloodlust is big extra damage but would require you to bleed things first, so not as reliable. That trick is normally worked the other way - a Bloodlust Chieftain for single-target DPS boosts against heavy bosses while you use a Voidheart Earthquake or other big melee AoE attack to bleed all the things.

Anyways. Dual Strike is set up mostly fine; I'd also use Crit Chance over Crit Damage, but frankly if you can get your crit chance up to 50% or so (which might be hard, but should be doable with Inc. Chance), I'd contemplate switching your Added Fire out for Inc. Crit Damage, if you can manage it. 2R/2G/2B is a bitchy chrome job on a Belly of the Beast, so not for the faint of heart, but a huge crit multi is one of the biggest reasons high-end crit builds work so well.

As for the other links...well, we've covered the Chief. You can use the Chief a number of different ways, either as a pack buster or a boss puncher, but in either case he's an awesome add to most any melee build. I would recolor your Scalpel; keep the Ice Golem but don't bother supporting it. Me personally, on any build that can do it I like to use both Whirling Blades (which is awesome in-fight mobility and repositioning) and a traversal skill (Leap Slam, Lightning Warp, anything else that can change elevations) for movement. Whirling > FA > Fortify is a great way to dance around bosses and keep up your defenses; if you do Ice Golem > FA > Leap Slam in the other sword, the golem gets a tiny bit of extra DPS and you get a traversal skill you can use quicker as well.

I would not count on Phase Run in your CWDT set-up. Unless you're precognitive, you will attack your way out of Phase Run's duration before it does you any good. I'd substitute a Quartz flask of Adrenaline - effectively the same thing, lets you run a Vaal skill in your CWDT set-up. CWDT > Inc. Duration > Immortal Call > Vaal Haste is practically an industry standard at this point.

Anyways. Beyond that...well, I'll try and do a rough sketch of a Moar Crit tree at some point here. You'll also want to get as much crit chance/multi on your gear as you reasonably can. Those mods compete with resistances, which is why good crit gear is always expensive as sin, but every decent roll you get helps. Absolutely get crit chance on the swords if possible - let their implicits be your crit multi rolls, but I can't really overstate the need for the highest base crit chance you can reasonably get on your weapons for a crit attack build.