[1.0.6.0] S&B Aether CDR – The Kriegskandra Knight

THE KRIEGSKANDRA KNIGHT

I’ve always been annoyed at how I coudn’t find a solid build for my Spellbinder by myself. Spellbinder is indeed usually quite squishy ; AAR Aether or Drain Essence were good enough for leveling and campaign but not for lazy Nemesis/Lokarr Hunt.

I decided to go S&B and « all-in » on Aether Damage.
Defence is the usual and straightforward Mark of Torment / Mirror of Ereoctes / Time Dilation. Though 1.0.6.0. patch nerfed it, it is still very powerful and you have enough defensive options to wait for the CD to comeback.

The result is a 7 aura, almost unkillable, explosive and green Knight with great clear time and good single target damage. Don’t be fooled by the low hp and armor, it is very solid with good physical res., shield and Maiven/Spectral auras.

GRIMTOOL

>>>> Click me ! <<<<

No buffs, only auras/toggles.

GRIMTOOL: 1.1.0.0 Forgotten Gods update
>>>> CLICK ME! (AGAIN) <<<<
No new items with FG but component/augment management allows more flexibility. The build gained about 100 DA, 100 armor and +6% total damage. The new mobility skill will hit hard.
I haven’t played the build for months and tried it again today (03-20-19). MoT + MoE still carries you and Lokarr is still laughable.

GRIMTOOL: 1.1.2.0 Forgotten Gods update
With the change in Iskandra Set, the old build is dead. Long live Kriegskandra! Shattered Realm or Krieg Sets can replace Iskandra Set for the same gameplay.

SR
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/YVW8xG5Z

Krieg
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/a2drGoLZ

EQUIPMENT

  • 4 pieces of the Iksandra Set provides great damage, +skills and physical res.
  • 2 pieces of the Krieg Set.
  • The belt provides 50% fire conversion to Callidor’s Tempest and Aetherfire.
  • Master of Flesh MI for a nice default LMB attack (any Theodin Scepter would work, though some prefix/suffix combo are obviously better than others).
  • Other pieces chosen for Aether damage, RR and some good « when hit » procs.
  • The Shield shines in this build.

DEVOTION PATH

  • Arcane Bomb linked to LMB Fleshwarped Strikes.
  • Aetherfire linked to RMB Ather Corruption.
  • Time Dilation linked to K1 Ravenous Earth.`
  • Spear of the Heavens does some good work in this S&B Build.
  • Ghoulish Hunger is a good enough safety net besides MoT+MoE.

GAMEPLAY

LMB Fleshwarped Strikes
RMB Ather Corruption
K1 Ravenous Earth
K2 Callidor’s Tempest
K3 Spihon Souls
K4 Mirror of Ereoctes
K5 Mark of Torment
K6 Nullification

  • You only need the defensive combo (MoT+MoE) on Nemesis/End Bosses.
  • Callidor’s Tempest hits really hard (over 200K on crits’) and gets rid of everything but elite monsters.
  • Reaping Strike is another reliable source of sustain besides Siphon Soul.
  • Nullification imh is the best utility ability in the game.

PROS AND CONS

+

  • Great AoE for a S&B ;
  • Good RR ;
  • Totally safe and almost unkillable if well played ;
  • Facetank everything (Lokarr, Master of Flesh, all Nemesis) but Grava’thul ;
  • No MI with the good and right roll needed.

-

  • Aura dependent => Grava’Thul is the only danger in the game ;
  • No Mobility skill ;
  • Lacks a good DA shredder.

LOKARR FIGHT
I don’t play Crucible so Lokarr is my standard reference.
Average kill is 1 min 00 sec. Full lazy facetanking mode.

GRAVA’THUL
The only danger, as I said, but doable. Preferably, the encounter has to take place in a large area for kiting and hit & run. My only death occured in the second part of Cinder Wastes where it was almost impossible to kite, till I found a big megalith to turn around on my second try.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

  • Magelord (blue) Rings for more « Elemental converted to Aether » to make use of the Iskandra +Elemental damage bonuses on the Amulet and Helm (Inner Focus). cf. GRIMTOOL #2
  • A Mythical Mindwarp + Shard of Beronath for a full no-MI version of the build.

If someone could try it on crucible, I’d be glad to know the results.

Hope you guys like it !

You have one extra point in Reckless Power. You should also max fabric of reality for more flat aether. Foul Eruption is useless on this build, its flat RR is only applied to enemies killed by Acid Earth. You should also take Devastation, great damage support, and you have skill points to spare (like 5 extra points in Elemental Balance for 5% crit damage is a waste).

Something like that (note the huge increase of flat aether damage)

  • Foul Eruption also provides %health reduction.
  • How can RR be applied on killed enemies ? And what’s Acid Earth exactly ?
  • How can I take Devastation with a shield ?
  • With 1.0.6.0., you have to hard cap MoE for CDR. 12/12 isn’t enough.
  • Extra points in Elemental Balance for Fabric of Reality is a good point though.

I dropped the ball with Devastation, you are absolutely right. Forget I suggested it :slight_smile:

I meant Ravenous Earth, duh, so RR from Foul Eruption only applies to mob if nearby mob died from Foul Erruption iirc. So Foul Eruption is only good on Ravenous Earth builds.

I am not sure you need those 2 extra seconds on moE on a shield build with Mark of Torment, but if you absolutely need it then sure, hard cap it.

So this is what it should look like. Even more flat Aether.

EDIT: more improvements: Seal of the Void in weapon for more attack speed and another wps and consecrated wrappings in gloves for more attack speed.

  • I didn’t know this mechanic of Foul Eruption. I cut those points indeed.
  • Necrotic Edge: I had it for a time but I didn’t feel the difference when I cut it off from the build, as CT + SS + AC + “when hit” procs are enough for AoE.
  • Resistance cap is why I finally cut Magelord Rings from the build. Or then I would need some good roll MI Pants/boots to fill gap, which isn’t the goal of a non-MI build.
  • I just tried your set-up but Chaos/Vitality res. are nearly impossible to cap without taking some defence off (components/augment). Lokarr felt more difficult, I couldn’t facetank all the fight.
  • Seal of the Void seems interesting.
  • Consecrated W.: Restless remains is the only lifesteal source besides the frog constellation.
  • Points in IEE make sense too indeed.

It needs more testing then :slight_smile: but the raw concept (S&B Aether CDR Spellbinder) works fine.

I Love it.

I’m glad you do :slight_smile:

I’ve updated the grimtool link, including some relevant changes proposed by mad_lee, whom I didn’t thank properly for his time taken to analyse my build.

I think max Elemental Balance for Crit is nice.
You can taking the skills points from Siphon Souls - Blood Boil or from MoT

Siphon Soul could be cut a little indeed. I need to do a few test runs in Ancient Grove for more feedback.

Second grimtools link added, for a Magelord set up.

Wanted to jump in and say thank you for this build. I love it, it’s an absolute beast, and I’m enjoying tearing up the campaign. This will probably be my first Forgotten Gods character in a few days.

Hey, this was fun enough to try. About same damage as my normal dual wield variation, but seems the set is gonna get nerfed so =/ It cant handle celestial etc through, but yea still good like my last arcane/necro.

I’m glad you enjoy it. This was my first Lokarr farmer build.

Iskandra won’t be nerfed but changed and won’t do aether damage anymore. It’s not a Celestial build either (not many builds are though). I don’t know if this build can be salvaged after the change of Iskandra 1.1.2.0.

I’d suggest a full Shattered Realm variation:
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/YVW8xG5Z

Or a full Krieg’s variation
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/a2drGoLZ

Some dps loss but some QoL and defence gains. It has to be tested to see the differences.