Build updated 02.03.2019.
Sheet DPS got lower, but the build should be more tanky and overall more effective. Changes in gear section are marked with a “*”,
Disclaimer
Yup, I’m totally fond of both the 80s culture (all those splatter or slasher old-style-horror movies, awesome music, crazy atmosphere) and it’s contemporary Renaissance — synth/retrowave, wich made me fall in love with electronic music, so this character is both a reference to the movie and to the artist.
“I pray it’s not my only chance to make this right.”
The Concept
First of all, I want to mention. that this build was born after this thread. Thank you, They Live, for this awesome idea!
The concept is easy (as always). We take Conduit of Eldritch Whispers with this unique prefix and stack as much flat and % acid damage as possible on top of it, using Fleshwarped Strikes granted by Heart of Theodin Marcell.
Pros & Cons
+Fun. Especially, if you like to experiment with conversion.
+Good AoE and CC potential due to Bone Harvest and a fuckton of offensive procs.
+DoT potential. Poison damage and duration are pretty good, so you can kite, if got into any sort of trouble.
+Easy to level, if you’re not trying to go acid/poison melee from the very start. In this case you’re gonna suffer. A lot. Just. Don’t. Attempt. This. Ok?
+Pretty good OA.
+Circuit breaker and two panic-buttons for survivability.
-Squishy. 9.5k hp and only 2k armor.
-Average damage, nothing outstanding.
-Deathguard set is required to get the maximum out of Bone Harvest. Also the set provides us some more sweet conversion.
-No mobility skills.
The Build
Stat sheet. Permanent buffs + BoD and Soul Harvest.
Fleshwarped Strikes damage (with Soul Harvest).
Bone Harvest damage (with Soul Harvest).
Itemisation
- Armor
- Head — Deathguard Hood
- Shoulders — Deathguard Mantle. If you want to focus on Fleshwarped Strikes and use Bone harvest only as a buff (wich seems to be a dps-loss, though), you might want to try Venomtongue Mantle instead of the set piece.
- Chest — Deathguard Shroud
- Gloves — Mythical Viperfang Grips
- *Belt — Darkblaze Ammo Belt -> Mythical Girdle of Stolen Dreams
- *Pants — Venomskin Legwraps -> Mythical Chausses of Barbaros
- *Boots — Mythical Venomspine Greaves -> Mythical Dreadnought Footpads
Both pants and boots still might have a better alternative, so I’m open to suggestions 
Weapons & Attire
- Right Hand — Deathguard Blade
- Left Hand —Heart of Theodin Marcell Core item. Right now “Inquisitors” “of Fury”. When farming it, prioritize Attack Speed, OA/DA, Acid Damage.
- Amulet — Conduit of Eldritch Whispers. Core item. Prefix is almost irrelevant (acid|poison resist is useless, all the rest are almost equally good)
- *Rings — Deathguard Sigil ->Mythical Widow’s Sting and Mythical Ring of the Black Matriarch. A Deathguard Sigil is still viable, if you fit it into your resistances
- Medal — Mythical Direwolf Crest. Enables dualwield, nice OA boost, WPS.
- Relic — Deathstalker. Our cute RR-puss
Components and Augments
Some one-liners will do for this section:
- Vitriolic Gallstone is always better damage-wise than Seal of Blight or Seal of Shadows
- Haunted Steel is awesome. You trade a bit of damage for a great boost to survivability
- Ugdenbog Leather is here for DA.
The rest is pretty standart.
Skill Tree & Devotion
Skill Tree is pretty standart. You might want put more points into Mark of Torment. WPS have their chances maxed, more points will be a waste imo. I’ve chosen to overcap both skills, that give -flat OA to compensate low DA, but for more damage output one might max out Solael’s Witchfire.
With devotion we have a more interesting situation. Since or MI scepter has an innate flat RR, we can sacrifice Manticore proc and put the free points somewhere else. The initial setup was borrowed from thejabrixone’s Sream Queen, then reworked a little bit.Redone once more scratch to get more DA
Resistance Reduction
-33% Vulnerability (Curse of Frailty)
-10% Aura of Darkness (Deathstalker)
-23% Rumor (Murmur, Mistress of Rumors)
(-66%)
15% Essence of Ch’thon (Black Legion)
15 Flat RR (MI weapon)
Gameplay
Nothing new, I guess:
- Run into a crowd or boss
- Use your Curse, Pox and Siphon Souls
- Fire up some bones with Bone Harvest
- Smash their faces with your fleshwarped strikes
- Bone Harvest on cooldown to maximize your DPS
- Repeat 'till everyone’s dead
Leveling Tips
I repeat, DO NOT level this as an acid/poison melee. Get Ghoul and Revenant constellations for ADCTH, take Bat for leveling and focus on Vitality-damage
or faceroll as a lazy petmaster 'till level 94. Then swap to your endgame gear and remap the devotions. Should be quite easy at this point.
Conclusion
Yet again, one more average build. Though, this one is a little more imaginative, as my previous two. So, if you’re looking for a melee acid build for main campaign, this might be a viable choice, as it performs rather good, is not too boring and it has weird conversions :rolleyes:
Why Cabalist over Witch Hunter?
Just because I wanted to play Cabalist. IMO, both are viable. But if someone has attempted the same thing with a Witch Hunter, I’d be glad to see a Grimtools link before I make my own version (wich is only theorycrafted right now).
Thank you for your attention and — as always — I’m waiting for your suggestions and critique!
