[1.0.0.8 Inverse Blademaster: Non-pierce, non-squishy, and definitely non-dead Blademaster]

[Elementoid]

Does this poll accurately represents your Blademaster? Well worry no more, for a fellow Blademaster addict (proud owner of 5 Blademasters) is here to help you.

Introducing the “Venomblademaster”, who focuses on converting the now inferior damage types of Pierce and Physical to Acid and Poison:

(Acid/Poison modifiers/flat are at 1216%/1385% 1054-2170/2242-2390 respectively. Sorry for my laziness.)

Grimcalc (devotion and before +skills): https://grimcalc.com/build/1008-K7loaH
Grimcalc (after +skills without devotion): http://grimcalc.com/build/1008-21IvBZ

Full physique, because while spirit is helpful to our damage, it is no where near as useful as physique even considering the tankiness of this build. Cunning is, well, are you that much of an OA addict?

Update 1: You can consider rearranging your devotion setup to look like this, which will give you more overall damage. However, that comes at a noticeable cost of your defensive ability; whichever one is more optimal is up to you.

Equipped Gear:
Head: Cowl of the Venomblade w/ Bladeward Powder
Chest: Stealth Jacket of the Venomblade w/ Bladeward Powder
Pants: Vigorous Solael-Sect Leggards of Nature’s Bounty w/ Demonbane Powder
Belt: Bladebreaker’s Sash w/ Solarstorm Powder
Boots: Ordered Exalted Tread of Kings w/ Outcast’s Warding Powder
Hands: Iceskorn Talons w/ Mankind’s Vigil
Shoulders: Warding Iron Maiden’s Shoulderguard of Menhir’s Wall w/ Mankind’s Vigil
Weapons: Fist of the Venomblade + Razor of the Venomblade (mainhand and offhand respectively) (w/ Outcast’s Venom / Essence of Ch’thon)
Ring 1: Incorruptible Cronley’s Signet of Attack w/ Survivor’s Ingenuity
Ring 2: Ring of the Black Matriach w/ Survivor’s Ingenuity
Amulet: The OAless Eye of Beronath (or Pestilience of Dreeg with Plague of Shattered Souls) w/ Survivor’s Ingenuity
Medal: Badge of Mastery (+5 Cadence haha)
Relic: Belgothian’s Nerfage Malediction

Adjust your Components and Augments accordingly to the different rolls or gear you may have. This build is really not gear dependent on the non-set slots because of the ease of maxing resistances.

[/annoyingly colored text]

Gameplay Explanation:

It’s a Cadence build…with the addition of ABB (Amarasta’s Blade Burst). Play as you normally would play a Cadence/auto-attack build with the addition of keeping Lethal Assault active (use only ABB to refresh the buff; do not use immediately after cooldown). Engage with Shadowstrike, use Oleron’s Might on priority targets, keep yourself sustained with Pneumatic Burst, use Blade Spirit to apply Tainted Eruption, and use Bladebarrier in emergency situations (Remember, this is not your typical 1.0.0.8 pierce Blademaster; you won’t actually have to use Bladebarrier immediately off of cooldown each time!)

In Crucible, it can be sensible to use Gaze of Beronath for the debuff and crowd control, as well as investing 1 point in Ring of Steel along with its transmuter and modifier.

Devotion Bindings: Tainted Eruption to Blade Spirit | Scorption Sting to Cadence | Wayward Soul to Aura (preferably Oleron’s Rage since it does not have an energy cost and therefore will not be canceled by severe mana draining)

Pros and Cons

+You have severe resistance problems—they are so easily capped that you have trouble filling out all augment and component slots. At one point, I seriously considered using Venomspine Boots / Nidalla’s Legwraps, but then I remembered to not use Nidalla’s Legwraps in the spirit of the boycott on Blademasters because of the nerfs. Perhaps boycotting was not the intention of Blademaster fanatics, but the amount of complaining in the forums suggests that they sure weren’t doing much else all day.

+You accidentally have so much Offensive Ability. Because this build ventures into the uncharted territories of devotions such as Ulzuin’s Torch and Chariot, you will have a very easy time acquiring the necessary OA. While Blademasters in generally will have an easy time, unlike a typical Blademaster, this build actually is not caught in the dilemma of sacrificing defense for offense, or vice versa.

+You accidentally have so much Defensive Ability. My character is sitting in town with 2300 DA + almost 13000 hp.

+The only stat devout Blademasters care about: damage.

Dummy kill time: 45 seconds
Mad Queen kill time: 20 seconds

While this time isn’t impressive at a glance, we must consider other factors: damage output from Blademasters, along with a multitude of builds, were nerfed in 1.0.0.8, and considering the DA/hp of this build, the damage is pretty good with that caliber of defense.

+Innately good Aoe and surprisingly good kiting. One of the many perks of poison & acid damage on Blademasters, aside from not being pierce and physical, is that you innately have better AoE. By binding Tainted Eruption on Blademaster and such, you can “thin the herd” pretty well, especially in Crucible, by kiting a bit with said Blade Spirit.

+It’s not a dead and unviable Nerfedmaster!

-Mana Problems. Some Blademasters, myself included, do not even consider using any mana regeration materia, so naturally, we run into energy issues. However, this is only a con if you are not willing to use mana potions as your sustain; if you do not mind the idea, then ignore this.

-Rigid tankiness. Because of the lack of viable offensive prefix/suffix gear, this build is forced to endure the horrible tragedy of being very tanky. This stiffness can be considered a con because some may want to shift the balance of damage and defense, however, the defense of the build is good for general welfare.

-Clogged skillbar. For many Blademasters, they are used to the idea of completely brainless skill sequences. However, this build might ruin their dull sphere with the introduction of one new button to press.

Here is a screenshot of Gladiator Crucible completion in singleplayer with extra spawns:

Comparison with similar builds

This build will have more immediate damage, sustenance and statistic survivability than DEE Witch Hunters at the cost of AoE and DoT damage.

This build will have much more survivability than typical 1.0.0.8 Blademasters and much more damage (Can you do damage when you are dead, Pierce"master"s?)

Conclusion

Special thanks to:

SteelFlame for the creation of this idea along with theorycrafting.

kidpid for optimization and theorycrafting

Crate Entertainment for nerfing annoying pierce Blademasters and therefore finally letting Master Nidalla shine.

TL;DR

Grim Dawn Version v1.0.0.8 is now live!

Dead build.

Are dw pierce Blademasters useless now?

You cant counter them and not lose like half of dps, and in that case is pointless even to play it.

I dont want to bother to log my dw bm any more.

Crate finally made it DW BMs are officially dead.

NUH-UH

[Steelflame]

Aww, I’m honored. lol.

[JoV]

Nice build

Im impressed with 39k sheet 26/16 cadence and so much resistance reduction that you have. Not to mention dummy kill time

[Elementoid]

It’s almost like some of us are trying to come up with alternative Blademasters instead of whining an impressive amount on the forums!

[Drizzto]

LMAO you made my day, nice writing.

[JoV]

It’s almost like some of us are trying to come up with alternative Blademasters instead of whining an impressive amount on the forums!

I dont have any issues with that, and I really appreciate your effort and seance of humor.
But face it most things you wrote are just plain wrong.
Even officially dead average pierce BM beats this build by far.

P.S. Any actual reason to skip manticore, not that you dont need some rr?

[Steelflame]

I dont have any issues with that, and I really appreciate your effort and seance of humor.
But face it most things you wrote are just plain wrong.
Even officially dead average pierce BM beats this build by far.

If that is true, then you are whining about a build that can solo Glad Crucible. Being dead.

The hell are you smoking. Does a build have to literally be braindead to be an “ok” build to you? Do you have to do 200k DPS while having 20k HP and 95% resist across the board? Also, he’s operating with 40k DPS. With 115 resist shred to pierce and acid + Essence of Chthon further amping it thanks to the fact that is for a fact taking enemies into the deep negatives. He has 2300-2600 DA, depending on procs, well above the safety threshhold, while still having 3200 OA without Lethal Assault up. 10% ADCtH. Constant weapon damage procs constantly going off (oh, that is a large part of DPS that can’t show on the DPS sheet, btw), with far higher AoE than a standard blademaster.

If this is what it takes to be a bad build to you, then you should never be listened to about balance ever again. Because you are horribly biased.

[Drizzto]

If that is true, then you are whining about a build that can solo Glad Crucible. Being dead.

The hell are you smoking. Does a build have to literally be braindead to be an “ok” build to you? Do you have to do 200k DPS while having 20k HP and 95% resist across the board? Also, he’s operating with 40k DPS. With 115 resist shred to pierce and acid + Essence of Chthon further amping it thanks to the fact that is for a fact taking enemies into the deep negatives. He has 2300-2600 DA, depending on procs, well above the safety threshhold, while still having 3200 OA without Lethal Assault up. 10% ADCtH. Constant weapon damage procs constantly going off (oh, that is a large part of DPS that can’t show on the DPS sheet, btw), with far higher AoE than a standard blademaster.

If this is what it takes to be a bad build to you, then you should never be listened to about balance ever again. Because you are horribly biased.

Some people have higher requirement for tier1 build, tho the OP didnt mention any average timer for 100-150 clear & average succesrate, without those information its hard to tell if its tier1 cruci build or not.

[Steelflame]

Again, I’m fine with the idea of a nerf knocking it out of T1. That is fine. Thousands of complaints about Blademaster being “dead” say that its an unplayable build that you shouldn’t ever consider.

And while the OP didn’t say his success rate, I know for a fact he did it twice, and for someone who has multiple blademasters saying “This build feels great” heavily implies that it actually is pretty damned solid. Both times in Crucible solo he didn’t go down with practically no threat to him other than inattention. And from his stat sheet alone we can see his stats are top of the line defensively. So no threat there. What else should we judge on? Are we back to the era of 6 second Fab kill times in the original incarnation of ultimate difficulty being a standard for balance? Because by that standard, almost no build is viable.

[Elementoid]

Some people have higher requirement for tier1 build, tho the OP didnt mention any average timer for 100-150 clear & average succesrate, without those information its hard to tell if its tier1 cruci build or not.

I seem to recall that some of the so-claimed top tier blademaster builds were (and definitely are) having trouble with crucible. As for the success rate, play at least semi-intelligently and you will be fine.

[JoV]

If that is true, then you are whining about a build that can solo Glad Crucible. Being dead.

The hell are you smoking. Does a build have to literally be braindead to be an “ok” build to you? Do you have to do 200k DPS while having 20k HP and 95% resist across the board? Also, he’s operating with 40k DPS. With 115 resist shred to pierce and acid + Essence of Chthon further amping it thanks to the fact that is for a fact taking enemies into the deep negatives. He has 2300-2600 DA, depending on procs, well above the safety threshhold, while still having 3200 OA without Lethal Assault up. 10% ADCtH. Constant weapon damage procs constantly going off (oh, that is a large part of DPS that can’t show on the DPS sheet, btw), with far higher AoE than a standard blademaster.

If this is what it takes to be a bad build to you, then you should never be listened to about balance ever again. Because you are horribly biased.

1. I saw many lesser builds solo gladiator crucible with x10 bonus on the end. Soloing it once doesn’t mean anything cuz crucible is all about rng and success rate.

2. Yes BMs are dead for me now not because they are not viable or functional but because there is not a single thing that gives them even slightly upper hand when compared to some other builds. And considering time and effort needed to make proper one it doesn’t pay of, you can make much better build in every aspect with less time invested.

3. I didnt said it was bad build just that is not even close to pierce BMs and I consider them dead for reasons already mentioned.

4. Maybe Im really smoking something cuz I dont see that 115 rr?

5. That large part of dps is making it put the dummy in 45 s? S&B BM setup can do the dummy in almost that time.

6. Ok since Im horribly biased whiner and Obsessive Cronley’s Signet Farmer and Build Poster you shouldn’t listen to anything I say ever.

[Drizzto]

Again, I’m fine with the idea of a nerf knocking it out of T1. That is fine. Thousands of complaints about Blademaster being “dead” say that its an unplayable build that you shouldn’t ever consider.
And while the OP didn’t say his success rate, I know for a fact he did it twice, and for someone who has multiple blademasters saying “This build feels great” heavily implies that it actually is pretty damned solid. Both times in Crucible solo he didn’t go down with practically no threat to him other than inattention. And from his stat sheet alone we can see his stats are top of the line defensively. So no threat there. What else should we judge on? Are we back to the era of 6 second Fab kill times in the original incarnation of ultimate difficulty being a standard for balance? Because by that standard, almost no build is viable.

Ok he is tanky & and dont die much, but you are dismissing one of the two important factor: Time.

I seem to recall that some of the so-claimed top tier blademaster builds were (and definitely are) having trouble with crucible. As for the success rate, play at least semi-intelligently and you will be fine.

I tried a bit my DW pierce bm cruci version, when 1.0.0.8 come out:
-Average timer for 100-150: 24 mins
-Succesrate: 50%
Well for me its not tier1, tho it can handle gladiator so i guess everything is fine.

[JoV]

I seem to recall that some of the so-claimed top tier blademaster builds were (and definitely are) having trouble with crucible. As for the success rate, play at least semi-intelligently and you will be fine.

Probably because you were fine and didnt encounter any troubles in crucible your end bonus is x3.

[sfbistimg]

Im confused with the poll, sort of seems almost as bias as the one that left soldier off the least played class.
Where is the my Pierce BM is fine as is in 1.0.0.8. option

[Steelflame]

Probably because you were fine and didnt encounter any troubles in crucible your end bonus is x3.

That literally just means that on one specific wave he lost the bonus. RNG can decide if the bonus stays or goes hands down.

And for RR, Maldiction stacks it’s RR debuff every second for 5 seconds to a maximum value of 75. Combo that with 30 from Night’s Chill and 10 from the set bonus of Venomblade, he has great RR.

http://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/2945-Malediction

It’s actually a really powerful relic, it’s just the fact that it’s Acid/poison focused, and the complete lack of bonuses that help anything else, that make it under used. It also doesn’t stack with Manticore, and has to be applied via a 100% weapon damage proc on a chance. Combo with a complete lack of a +1 class bonus, people generally don’t use it. Casters either need the skill bonuses or can’t apply it, melees generally have stronger relic procs (Belgathian’s, Mihnir’s Whatever, Eye of the Storm, ect), or a compably powerful RR of that type (BWC, Wind Devil, utilizing Crown/Manticore, ect). Also, the massive 6 energy cost per second can easily drain out a non-magical user’s mana pool.

[JoV]

Again, I’m fine with the idea of a nerf knocking it out of T1. That is fine. Thousands of complaints about Blademaster being “dead” say that its an unplayable build that you shouldn’t ever consider.

And while the OP didn’t say his success rate, I know for a fact he did it twice, and for someone who has multiple blademasters saying “This build feels great” heavily implies that it actually is pretty damned solid. Both times in Crucible solo he didn’t go down with practically no threat to him other than inattention. And from his stat sheet alone we can see his stats are top of the line defensively. So no threat there. What else should we judge on? Are we back to the era of 6 second Fab kill times in the original incarnation of ultimate difficulty being a standard for balance? Because by that standard, almost no build is viable.

Specially w/o CoS and WC in crucible :rolleyes:

[Steelflame]

Specially w/o CoS and WC in crucible :rolleyes:

I specificly recommended to him CoS myself, but Warcry? No. You really don’t need it. People use all of these things as crutchs, and also, in crucible, he has the entire field covered in confusion procs via the Blade Spirits with Tainted. And super high DA/resist/hp can be enough if you have good procs.

As is, Crucible shouldn’t have a 50%+ success rate. That is an indicator that a build it too powerful.

[JoV]

That literally just means that on one specific wave he lost the bonus. Probably because he was fine he lost it RNG can decide if the bonus stays or goes hands down.

And for RR, Maldiction stacks it’s RR debuff every second for 5 seconds to a maximum value of 75. Didnt know that flat rr from malediction stacks thats new to me :rolleyes: Combo that with 30 from Night’s Chill and 10 from the set bonus of Venomblade, he has great RR.

http://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/2945-Malediction

It’s actually a really powerful relic, it’s just the fact that it’s Acid/poison focused, and the complete lack of bonuses that help anything else, that make it under used. Check my poison/acid DW WH I use it It also doesn’t stack with Manticore, and has to be applied via a 100% weapon damage proc on a chance. Combo with a complete lack of a +1 class bonus, people generally don’t use it. Casters either need the skill bonuses or can’t apply it, melees generally have stronger relic procs (Belgathian’s, Mihnir’s Whatever, Eye of the Storm, ect), or a compably powerful RR of that type (BWC, Wind Devil, utilizing Crown/Manticore, ect). Also, the massive 6 energy cost per second can easily drain out a non-magical user’s mana pool. Actually Malediction have energy regeneration and can sustain it self in most cases

Red text

[JoV]

I specificly recommended to him CoS myself, but Warcry? No. You really don’t need it. People use all of these things as crutchs, and also, in crucible, he has the entire field covered in confusion procs via the Blade Spirits with Tainted. And super high DA/resist/hp can be enough if you have good procs.

As is, Crucible shouldn’t have a 50%+ success rate. That is an indicator that a build it too powerful.

Yea he can cc all nemesis with tainted and BS…

About shouldn’t have 50% success rate in crucible Ill just say that Im glad you are not in developing team for this game.

[Ryzel]

Regarding Malediction, doesn’t that just mean that the resist reduction is 15/30/45/60/75 per second for an average of 45 RR at any given time? Granted 45 RR is solid but isn’t it misleading if that 75 RR is only up 20% of the time?

Cool build idea btw, I’m a little jealous because I was contemplating a 2H Poison BM for shits and giggles but you beat me to it.