optimal 5th gem in a 5l for arc???

"

Keyen wrote:

Chains lvl are increased damage.

If you have, let's say, 100% increased damage from gears, nodes, or stuff, you are doing:
300%* 2= 600% without chain
250%* 2,38= 595% with chain lvl 20

So, where is the probleme with the "realistic environment" since 100% increased damage is incredibly low and you have always way more?

FACTS are "You are doing always more damage with arc and without chain than with arc + chain".

There is no problem at all, I just thought the short sentence you wrote didn't do justice to reality. That's all. And since it's wrong, I was right ;)

I couldn't care less for further elaborations because I don't like arc.

To really do the whole thing justice, you'd have to figure enemy hits per cast and casting time into the equation.

But that would be, well, complicated.

To me it's rather simple: Arc is bad. And Chain doesn't magically make it better - like it does for other spells :P

Arc already has 50% damage effectiveness (multiplicative).

So if Arc does originally 200 damage per hit you get 200*.5 = 100 final damage (100 damage is what will show up on the tooltip)

With 100% increased spell/Lightning Damage 200*(1+1)*.5 = 200 damage

With +100% increased spell/Lightning Damage and Chain 200*(1+1-.5)*.5 = 150 damage

"

Hokonoso wrote:

why not LMP, small bonus dmg to the projectiles level'd up and you get 3x the arcs (unlike chain).

so arc + ele prof + faster cast + lightning pen + lmp is what i'd do for a 5link

but i always play with fire so dont mind me, with fire i get to add ignite which you can't, i dont have room for lmp for single target dmg, and firestorm is simply better for aoe.

Arc is not a projectile, therefore cannot work with LMP.

My current build is running Arc + Faster Casting + Lightning Penetration + Mana Leech.

I put Mana Leech in, simply because my mana pool is running dry in 2 seconds.
I've been thinking of swapping it with Added Cold Damage (when I get more regen), for some more cc. Think it would work really well - especially if it's a good quality one (freeze chance).

With 5 links I might think about supporting it with life leech and going for ghost reaver.

I have 160% mana regen from nodes alone. Another around 100% from gear. I still run out of mana constantly just supporting Arc with 2 support gems.

In conclusion, (unless you are taking Eldritch battery) you guys are seriously underestimating the mana upkeep required for this skill if you think you will be 5/6-Linking just forget about it.

arc with 3L: arc + profilation + faster casting (sustainable)

arc with 4L: arc + profilation + faster casting + rarity/ammount dropped (too expensive for a true 4L with 160%+100% manareg on a 900 manapool with level 17 clarity)

arc with 5L: arc + profilation + faster casting + lightning penetration + mana leech (mana no problem)


so 3L or 5L are viable...
since searching a long time and wasting all currency on crafting for this 5L i found a solution:
2 x 4L arc:
arc + faster casting + ele profilation + life leech (expensive)
arc + faster casting + ele penetration + rarity (sustainable)

so first spam dat shock stack arc for 2-3 seconds until everthing is shocked and weakened while sustaining your ES with lifeleech and then finish them off with hard hitting penetration casts supported by lootgem.
works good but is no brain afk 1 buttion play :)

of course you could put that shock-stack arc on a totem, but often in group play everthing is dead before totem + curse + stack and then beginning to do the actual damage!

shift+left mousebutton pewpewpew -> right mouse button pewpewpew -> collect loot!
on the next pack the mana is recharged for the expensive proflilation cast and this will fill your ES before you take the first dmg of the new mob group.

i conbined that with a slow recharging runspeed manaflask that i activate while spamming profilation. 100% sprint uptime an no mana problems with 1 mana flask, 2 iron flasks and 2 quicksilver flasks!

for backup the simple but good frostwall totem and for castspeed the blood-buff-gem with frezy charges