[1.0.x] Claw Tank Death Reaver | Dominus Solo Vid+more | HC Viable

Apologies for the lag, but it's as good as my comp can handle while recording and I refuse to play in the shittiest game settings.

Merci Dominus Facetank Solo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jeGUiXx684&feature=youtu.be

Lunaris Piety run through
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crRnoW76UBc

I've only been around PoE for a couple of months, and after getting the feel for the game and how a lot of things work, I wanted to eventually make my entirely own thought out viable end game build.

I used to play "Perz's CI Reave Shadow" on my shadow and it became one of my favorite builds yet.
After messing around with some other builds, I came to the conclusion that face tank melee was my favorite play style, and I had to come up with my own Reaver after playing Perz's for so long.

I theory crafted this all on my own with only the help of knowing how to counter Death's Oath Chaos damage returned. I'm sure there may be some mistakes or alternative routes to go about, so feel free to share. Would appreciate it

- very close to, or capped chaos resist in a3 merciless (the more the better)
- Minimum 2% Physical damage leeched as mana somewhere on gear
- High or capped resists (the more the better)
- at least a 5 Link Death's oath (4link will work, but 5link is highly suggested)
- Cannot be frozen (Alpha's Howl or Dream Fragments)
- At least 140 mana left to use after running Determination/Hatred

I used my full passive respec at level 57 so I did not actually level up as Melee.
Using Spectral throw with any decent damage 2hander until your level 40-50+ is a decent way to level up. Be sure to join public exp parties for faster leveling.

To anyone that has decided to try this build, you are welcome to post how you progressed and I will add in your strategies and credit you for it.

PROS:
Minimal Desync Issues
Fine balance between dps and survivability end game
Face tank
Capped 20% INSTANT life leech
Death's Oath Aura is awesome.
Fast paced game-play and clearing speeds

CONS:
Gear dependent
Somewhat costly for best results
Squishy before level 65
Half regen map mods can be an annoyance without a decent reserved mana pool
No regen map mods are too risky to even bother with

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQBmSu9gavFR35lTYTZWNtT35uDhO907XrvYEsFLUCgnrkhYHTxTioppWEhGlVkozboAeefy6cwns3SIVcNkc7ZYRku1I-53fIv7w7nUlRJXz8n7ayqcql82VnzwBpmnvrSFy9k51XWgKQdFI9G0NDPZVXGFm_2SIzPkFWnhBo47DhX4jKJBLMCcRRNgzjvfKIA8B-0-XB9gFZPfVFgGjKsrzOWcz9BjPPdFCBQR25pxLjV-L6nW6_dDfzFtxc4lmegh3ZKfVb67g4a29fLt9M94kjuG61MYASxlWbKkBjbmy14rtN-I_bv8FpIu-0=



Flasks
You want to get the important dispelling flasks of course
1x flask of dousing
1x flask of grounding
1x flask of staunching
1x flask of heat
1x granite flask of iron skin (as high % increased armor as you can get)


I use the following

I forget what mine currently are but I would go:
Norm - Help Oak (life)
Cruel - Help Oak (phys dmg)
Merci - Kill All

All in all, some important things to look for on your gear are as follows:

- Physical dmg leeched as mana - You want an absolute MINIMUM of 2% mana leech on gear. If you can get more, do it.

- High life where ever you can get it on gear. Belt/gloves/boots/amulet/ring

- Chaos resists - I have 123 on my gear alone + my 12 chaos res from passives - aim for 115 chaos res ON GEAR minimum.

- Resists - Get as many total resists on your gear as you can possible. We already have tons of physical reduction, so stack these up as much as you can.

- Mana/intelligence - If you can get these on your gear that's great. More intelligence = higher level Vulnerability which increases our damage. If you can't find it, don't sweat it too bad.

- Armour - Armor is always a plus for more physical damage reduction, the more the better but if you're lacking resists aim for those first.

- Flat Damage - Any physical or even some flat added fire damage is going to help your dps. Always good to have, but don't sweat it if you don't have it.

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Helm - Devoto's Devotion is really a top contender for my build. We use just about all it has to offer. Even with the 10% reduced physical dmg, you still gain DPS when you wear it.

Alternative would be Alpha's howl if you can't get a dream fragments ring.
If you use alpha's howl, you could even use doedre's damning ring and use both vulnerability/enfeeble.

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Armor - Death's Oath is such a beauty. The aura looks awesome and it adds to so much.
Resists, +attributes to up our low intelligence, attack speed, massive armor, 5% life leech added to our 6%+ from blood rage and 2% from blood drinker passive. 13%+ Life leech combined with Life gain on Hit gem = massive insta leech; And don't forget that 450 chaos damage per second to close enemies. Vulnerability increases that damage as well which is great. This is the core of my build.

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Shield - I decided to go with daresso's courage round shield. Simply because it has some essentials we need. Damage, armor, resists, and block. All of it is useful.


Alternatives - Lioneyes remorse shield - for a massive armor boost and some life, but I feel the adds from daresso's courage outweigh Lioneyes entirely in terms of damage AND survivability

or

Rare shield with massive armor or evasion with high life and resistances

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Ring - If you do not use alpha's howl, you're going to want a dream fragments ring. It is in fact a great ring for this build besides just not getting frozen as it boosts our mana/regeneration and cold resistance. If you use alpha's howl, you can either use a rare ring with nice adds, or even doedre's damning for double curses as your secondary ring. Your choice

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Weapon -

The BloodSeeker completes this build. Using this allows us to cap out our life leech to 20% which is applied instantly without having to waste points getting vaal pact. Aim for the highest damage roll seeker you can (120% damage = perfect)

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Curse - Vulnerability is in my opinion our best choice. We need the extra damage dealt. It effects both our physical damage AND chaos damage. WIN? You can also switch it out for Enfeeble if you would prefer the extra survivability.

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4 Frenzy charges - 4 Endurance charges - Molten Shell - 98% Armour Granite Flask


Current level 81 Passive Tree:
http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQAAecCcQSzBS0UIBRNFm8XLxkuGjIaOBpVHRQhYCftKaUshTKJM5Y26DiWQKBBjEd-Sn1OKk99UEdRYFPfVElVxlXWVw1X4ljbWfNaGluvXz9gS2EhZKNk52VNZp5noG5pcH1yqXM_dO108XrvfNmAVoCkgziE2YTvh3aPRpBVkc6ZK5uDnrmezZ_LogCnMKeEq8WsqqyvtPm2QbcXud29gb6nwBrEuM9l0NDSIdSP1fjZYd0N51LsOO8O73zwH_Iv-tL8xQ==

Chaos damage over time - This mod with some sort of -resistance on top of your blood rage/death's oath may cause some damage to you even if your chaos res is capped. From what I've experienced it isn't that bad, life flask when needed or attack to leech.

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Half/No Regen - These are probably the hardest map mod for us.

For half regen maps, just use your mana flask when needed. If your life diminishes too fast while using blood rage, you should be okay without using it.

For No regen, Best to avoid this one entirely. With death's oath + blood rage running and taking damage from monsters on top of that it's just too risky. If you play standard you can try to keep a steady pace of attack to insta leech but I don't suggest it. If you play hardcore, don't even bother risking it.
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Suggestions and criticism welcome, I'd greatly appreciate it. Whisper me in game or pm me on forums if you need any help or have any questions.

-DripDrops