[0.11.2] Flicker Samurai - Ranger Build Guide [updated]

I've recorded a video of a springs map, the highest level map I had at the time, using the new sword I linked earlier:

Springs map


Believe it or not, the reaver sword you see the final boss drop was this:

Could not believe my incredibly good luck

Dps is now ~15500 with charges, the only danger I'm facing now is that even with 10k armour my DPS is heading into dangerous territory versus physical reflect.. Still easily manageable for now.

Wow, gz on that sword :) If only it had some local crit chance.

I kinda gave up on mine since I am broke and want to play in Hardcore :) I will try this with 1 hand/shield though.

I am really looking forward to '' Melee patch '' now :) If physical crits gets an effect like Puncture or whatever, this build would be a total badass :)

Stages can write? Please?

A very cool build. Personally, I'd opt for Melee Physical Damage over Melee Splash, which helps counter the effects of Multistrike (Less vs More damage) while preventing further damage dilution.

Also, you could try and retool another Flicker Strike gem for single target purpose. Since one would use 2 6L-possible items, a single target flicker strike gem setup could look like this:

Flicker Strike + Melee Physical Damage + Added Fire Damage + Additional Accuracy + Increased Critical Strikes + Weapon Elemental Damage (GGRRRB)

On a 2hand sword, I think a GGRRRB setup is more than likely. Of course, substituting with Frenzy or Heavy Strike could be another way of going about it.

If I had to go about making a complete build, it would be something along these lines: Build at 118 points at lvl 100

Some key differences I suppose is that I take Nullification and a Steel Skin cluster to boost secondary defense and taking a Razor's Edge (+12% sword damage, +20% acc rating with swords) cluster. Less life, but still manageable.

Why just not use frenzy for the single skill ( as 5L combination of course ) ?
Frenzy + faster attacks + melee physical damage + increased critical strikes + addedfire dmg/blind/culling strike since it would be useful against bosses.

"

mrpetrov wrote:

Thanks for sharing your build. Have you tried this in level 70+ maps in groups of 4 or more people? Sadly, me and others have tried flicker extensively, using terminus, marohi and other high end gear, but have been unable to make it viable for group play in high level maps. It's just too hard to keep the charges up. Not to mention desync, which is a real killer for flicker right now.

I wish this weren't the case!

Petrov.

I wanted to pipe in that I've gotten my Flicker strike Ranger to level 43-ish, and was playing with a friend who was using Conduit to give me frenzy charges. It actually worked out pretty well, as I had a near-infinite flicker as long as I stayed relatively close by. You just need to be careful that you don't connect with another group and get stuck on your own (hence why leap is nice). This was lower-level combat, though, so I'm not sure how it scales at the higher levels.

It's a cool build :D might try this someday

I just want to reiterate that this is predominately a fun-only build, if you want to do maps effectively and efficiently this is not the build for you. Short of having godly survivability, past level 78's going to be a 2 steps forward, 1 step back kind of affair.

I've more-or-less shelved this build until some changes are made to melee.

"

Islidox wrote:

A very cool build. Personally, I'd opt for Melee Physical Damage over Melee Splash, which helps counter the effects of Multistrike (Less vs More damage) while preventing further damage dilution.

Also, you could try and retool another Flicker Strike gem for single target purpose. Since one would use 2 6L-possible items, a single target flicker strike gem setup could look like this:

Flicker Strike + Melee Physical Damage + Added Fire Damage + Additional Accuracy + Increased Critical Strikes + Weapon Elemental Damage (GGRRRB)

On a 2hand sword, I think a GGRRRB setup is more than likely. Of course, substituting with Frenzy or Heavy Strike could be another way of going about it.

If I had to go about making a complete build, it would be something along these lines: Build at 118 points at lvl 100

Some key differences I suppose is that I take Nullification and a Steel Skin cluster to boost secondary defense and taking a Razor's Edge (+12% sword damage, +20% acc rating with swords) cluster. Less life, but still manageable.

You need melee splash for the crowd control it gives, flicker-crits AOE freeze enemies which is essential to your survivability, and you also kill groups much much faster than without it.

If anything I would sub-out accuracy for increased melee physical damage if I needed more damage, which I really don't; it would only make phy reflect more deadly.

Weapon elemental damage makes no sense, since all your weapon damage should be physical, and so this gem would do nothing - if your sword were elemental you would skip all the sword nodes and physical damage nodes - but that would be a completely different build.

Can't say I agree with your build, acrobatics removes all your armor making those armor nodes pointless and iron relfexes not work. IMO build has more than sufficient damage nodes already and the mana nodes are a waste; you should get enough mana back from mana-leech + pots. 2 points for 10% reistances seems a bit wasteful too, would only take if gear was not sufficient to cover them.

"

Fruz wrote:

Why just not use frenzy for the single skill ( as 5L combination of course ) ?
Frenzy + faster attacks + melee physical damage + increased critical strikes + addedfire dmg/blind/culling strike since it would be useful against bosses.

I use frenzy on mouse-1, ideally I'd like to link it with melee phys, multi-strike, faster attacks, any more links would be a luxury.
That way frenzy charges would build *extremely* quickly - I would still use flicker-strike for single target as it makes it much harder for enemies to hit you when you're flickering around them, and it already does really nice damage.

Do you think Molten Shell + Granite Flasks would be viable for handling reflect mobs? It boosts armour (which we get from the evasion->armour conversion + granite flasks).

"

Zeekin wrote:

"

Islidox wrote:

A very cool build. Personally, I'd opt for Melee Physical Damage over Melee Splash, which helps counter the effects of Multistrike (Less vs More damage) while preventing further damage dilution.

Also, you could try and retool another Flicker Strike gem for single target purpose. Since one would use 2 6L-possible items, a single target flicker strike gem setup could look like this:

Flicker Strike + Melee Physical Damage + Added Fire Damage + Additional Accuracy + Increased Critical Strikes + Weapon Elemental Damage (GGRRRB)

On a 2hand sword, I think a GGRRRB setup is more than likely. Of course, substituting with Frenzy or Heavy Strike could be another way of going about it.

If I had to go about making a complete build, it would be something along these lines: Build at 118 points at lvl 100

Some key differences I suppose is that I take Nullification and a Steel Skin cluster to boost secondary defense and taking a Razor's Edge (+12% sword damage, +20% acc rating with swords) cluster. Less life, but still manageable.

You need melee splash for the crowd control it gives, flicker-crits AOE freeze enemies which is essential to your survivability, and you also kill groups much much faster than without it.

If anything I would sub-out accuracy for increased melee physical damage if I needed more damage, which I really don't; it would only make phy reflect more deadly.

Weapon elemental damage makes no sense, since all your weapon damage should be physical, and so this gem would do nothing - if your sword were elemental you would skip all the sword nodes and physical damage nodes - but that would be a completely different build.

Can't say I agree with your build, acrobatics removes all your armor making those armor nodes pointless and iron relfexes not work. IMO build has more than sufficient damage nodes already and the mana nodes are a waste; you should get enough mana back from mana-leech + pots. 2 points for 10% reistances seems a bit wasteful too, would only take if gear was not sufficient to cover them.

Ah, that makes sense, using Melee Splash for that purpose.

WED makes perfect sense. Added Fire Damage and Hatred are enormous ele boosters to your physical damage. Slotting in a WED (it comes with a "More" multiplier) will increase that damage by a lot.

Oh yea, Acrobatics shouldn't be there. As for the mana nodes, it's only 3, one of them acting as a segway into the other Duelist starting highway. Mana Flows is a powerful notable that for the price of 2 nodes, is worth it. Less manapot chugging, the easier it is to focus on combat. Nullification is there for a safety net, yes. I find that if I can spend a few points in all-rez notables, it makes gear hunting easier since I don't have to have 135 rez from total gear. (-60 penalty and the 75 to max) Razor's Edge is there for the 20% Acc rating for swords, which is nice.