Videos
1.009 Iron Maiden https://youtu.be/C3hkQoHrZVU
1.009 Crucible wave 110-120 https://youtu.be/Wq5PpJUsTO8
This is the guide for a conjurer bleed build that gives up some damage to become more resilent and face any challenge in the current game with ease.
There had been many bleed builds posted here, but as one of the people who pioneered the theme back when it was first made viable I feel I can add some tricks and bits to make it better that not everyone around seem to be using. Some of that can be found in this thread, though it is mostly a historical reading by now.
Bleeder builds rely on stacking flat bleed damage on the target while also debuffing it. This is usually done in several ways. First, we can use bleeding damage gear procs or mastery skills that just put a given damage per second on the target. Gear procs are the main source of damage for a build like this one that has no strong bleed skills. When multiple procs hit the same target, their bleeding damage stacks, ie sums up until each of them expire. Knockout from Brawler’s Gloves is an example of such skill, on its own it is also a wps skill that will fire off autoattacks or replacer skill like savagery.
Then, we can also use flat bleed damage on our weapon, and multiply it with a skill that has high %weapon damage. Such are nightblade’s execution and shadow strike or soldier’s cadence and blade arc with clean sweep. Flat bleeding damage from gear and other sources, like that 8 damage in 3 sec in the Fox constellation, are added together in our weapon damage number. So if we use a skill that hits for 500% weapon damage, that 8 damage in 3 sec in Fox becomes 40 damage in 3 sec before percentage buffs. Unfortunately conjurer class has no such skills, but can use some from components like bloody whetstone or perhaps Oleron’s blood.
Main debuffs in bleed builds are rend skill from Huntress devotion that also acts as one of the damage sources, shaman’s devouring swarm skill and occultist’s curse of frailty. Acid spray from Manticore devotion or proc from Black star of Deceit medal can be added to this. As of 1.009, builds like warders and tricksters absolutely need either manticore or BSoD to do well against bleed immunes. Bleed immunes are the main headache for bleeders, these are undead, staleborn and aetherial terraformers. They have 100% base bleeed resistance on normal (higher on higher difficulties), but that can be lowered with debuffs. Conjurer class has access to both CoF and devouring swarm which makes things simpler when facing immunes.
Unfortunately, Crate seems to be dead set on doing to bleeders what they did to blademasters and were nerfing their debuffs constantly during the last year. Currently bleeders have access to less debuffs than fire or lightning builds, while there are no full factions with 100% fire or lightning resistance in the game.
Since DOTs can crit and crit on every tick since the initial critical hit, it is a good idea to get high offensive ability (OA), at least ~2500 in endgame level 85.
Leveling progression
Stat distribution is 60+ points in physique, 0-3 spirit, 10-15 cunning. I take cunning “because I can” having over the top hp pool already. Spirit points are to help with early game jewellery but are unnecessary later.
The build cannot start with its main skills and need to level with something else until around lvl 30. This can be greater fireblast from flintcore bolts component or primal strike with transmuter. It does not matter how its done, it only matters that we have appropriate skills by the time we take rend from huntress, which is in the dermapteran hive secret area (where Gollus is), act III, if we do not miss any shrine (except East Marsh). By that time, we need devouring swarm, curse of frailty and savagery ready.
level 32 http://grimcalc.com/build/1008-ZGlVCz link contains devotion map
Once we switch to this setup, we can start casting CoF (with rend bound to it) and devouring swarm (with Falcon swoop bound) on groups. This alone will kill most trash mobs. What is more resilent is dealt with by melee savagery to apply its own bleed and proc what procs. I take bloody pox as an extra aid for leveling, it helps with immunes and adds something else to throw at mobs. But remove it in the end since we don’t use any items to support it properly.
By level 50 Blood of Dreeg with aspect of the Guardian should already be there, and shaman’s mastery bar full
level 50 http://grimcalc.com/build/1008-3pHnhl this is supposed to be the end of normal/beginning of elite.
From that point we only need to get wendigo totem and level taken skills steadily.
To have better melee damage we need to use weapons with bleed damage on them. There is an assortment of epic and legendary weapons for low level, starting with Gorefeast level 23, then thirsting maw level 45, Butcherer of Burrwitch level 50 and Brutallax level 58. Brutallax actually does not have any flat bleed but has a proc instead. Brawler’s gloves and Bloodbathed links are good epics for leveling.
Mana regeneration will be an issue at early levels, so focusing prism, ectoplasms and one or two items with mana regen are needed. Cheapest simplest way to solve mana issues is to steal bone talisman from Rovers. Once we level up the main Mogdrogen’s pact skill, we do not need extra items with mana regen.
Final skills look like this http://grimcalc.com/build/1008-BdORwS
Option 2 is to get manticore at the cost of movement speed, overcapped lightning res and giant’s blood: http://grimcalc.com/build/1008-UlZ5sy I tried it and found not that important to sacrifice all of the above, but it adds some extra dps and helps with staleborn. Acid spray can be bound to wendigo totem.
With items
Devotion roadmap
1 pt in Ascendant (purple) crossroads
Take Falcon
1 pt in Chaos (red) crossroads
Take Jackal
1 pt in Eldritch (green) crossroads
Take Huntress
1 pt in Primordial (blue) crossroads
Take Sailor’s guide
Remove primordial crossroads
Take 3 points in Behemoth (hp and giant’s blood)
Take Berserker
Remove Jackal and Eldritch crossroads
Take Hawk
Take Chariot of the Dead
Remove chaos crossroads
Take Empty Throne
Remove Ascendant crossroads
Take Wolverine
Take Mogdrogen the Wolf
Falcon swoop goes to devouring swarm, this allows to use it more like a caster spell.
Rend goes to Curse of Frailty.
Howl of Mogdrogen goes to savagery.
Wayward soul and giant’s blood go to two defensive auras and buffs awailable, Mogdrogen’s pact and primal bond.
Itemisation
Bleeder builds usually use two handers or dual wield, but this one resorts to sword and board for more defenses. This costs it a lot of potential damage but it still has enough. My current damage is around 110K bleed ticks on dummy, 130K with manticore. It can go higher on mobs when procs are active.
Good defense in GD is attained when many different sources of it are used together. Each of them add not so much, it is together when they become a difference. This can be armor, damage absorption, physical and other resistances, block, high hp, instant heals, hp regen, damage converted to health, evasion or fumbling and monster damage reduction. We do not have evasion or fumbling, easy AOE damage reduction (like BWC or warcry), life steal is useless with poor direct damage, our block is nonexistant and armor is OKish. Thus it is not the best tank possible (check any commando build for better examples). Though it can take any nemesis 1 on 1 in main campaign, in crucible it resorts to kiting rather often.
To start playing this build without BiS gear, three items are absolutely necessary. First is the weapon with bleed damage or proc. Brutallax and emp. Gorefeast are best, but perhaps several more can be used, including Butcherer of Burrwitch and emp. Thirsting Maw. It should be possible to do with Bloodsong too, but it has nightblade skills irrelevant for the build and you cannot use berserker constellation with it. Second and third are Empowered Bloodbathed links belt and empowered Brawlers gloves. Add to this Lapis Mantichora necklace if you can.
All of these contain bleed damage procs that are crucial for us to do damage. Conjurer class does not have access to strong bleed skills like soldiers and nightblades and need a few items to compensate. Of these items, Brutallax is a legendary not too uncommon, emp. Gorefeast is an epic, chains and gloves are very common epics. Lapis is an epic craftable, like all craftables, it can drop for you in your first playthrough or never at all. I played for quite some time myself happily farming nemesis without even knowing it exists.
With these 3 prerequisite items and no other items, that is almost naked, I can get 70K ticks with the same character. It is surely enough to complete main campaign if equipped with proper resists and perhaps even do challenger. If I add Lapis Mantichora and emp. Bloodreaper’s mark, I can get above 100K.
When you don’t have Bloodrager set items, use any greens or epics with hp, resist and OA in these slots, or others bleed related legendaries. Thats what we did when there was no Bloodrager in the game anyway and it didn’t hinder my other character in killing Bourbon clones back then.
Head
Wardstone or sanctified bone
Bloodrager’s Cowl
or any decent rare
Chest
Chains of Oleron or hallowed ground or sanctified bone
Bloodrager’s Coat
or any decent rare
Shoulders
Scaled hide
Bloodrager’s Shoulderguard
or any decent rare
there are also Vileblood Mantle nerfed into oblivion
and Wildblood Mantle
Hands
Consecrated wrappings
Empowered Brawler’s Gloves must have, bleed proc
Legs
Scaled hide
Pants of the Gods with hp/resist, bloodletter’s prefix or perhaps of attack suffix
Empowered Legplates of Valor cheap hp/resist/phys resist
or any decent rare
Feet
Mark of Mogdrogen
Boneshatter Treads phys resist, OA, rare life leech resist, devouring swarm
Golemborn Greaves phys resist, hp, armor
Elite Rhowari Greaves OA, hp
Weapon
Bloody whetstone for granted skill with 300% weapon damage
Brutallax bleed proc.
Empowered Gorefeast bleed damage, attack speed.
Either one or the other is a must have.
Shield
Riftstone component for granted skill allowing fast movement
Meat Shield I initially planned to use this
Fleshwarped Bulwark these drop like candy in aetherial areas and finding one with physical resistance is almost a given if you played this game once to ultimate. Its selling points are crazy regen and phys resist option together with other useful stats
Belt
any component here, I use rigid shell to overcap lightning res
Empowered Bloodbathed Links must have, bleed proc
Necklace
Focusing prism for mana cost reduction and crit
Bloodrager’s Gem
Lapis Mantichora bleed damage proc
Rings
Ectoplasms
Cronley’s Signets
Good rares and even magic items with of attack suffix
Judicator’s signets 1, 2 these have a good proc and good regen, along with OA, DA and resistances
Medal
Dread skull or arcane spark for energy leech/regen
Mark of Divinity for crucible
Badge of Mastery
Empowered Bloodreaper’s Mark cheap item that is even better than Badge of Mastery for raw dps :), flat and % bleed, OA, it even has energy regen
Relic
Citadel hp and DA
Oleron’s Wrath this is soldier related but has strong bleed proc if you want more damage
Fortress cheaper defense relic
Crucible
This build might not have the fastest clear speed with its rather low damage, but can still clear gladiator solo.
There are lots of bleed immunes there unfortunately and killing them with bleeding damage can take ridiculous time. Your score will reset and blessings expire. Luckily, there is an option to alleviate that, it is inferno banner. It clears trash (which is the most problematic anyway while we can focus single target), destroys Moosilauke’s crystals and so on. Using more than one level 3 might be expensive, but one is enough most of the time or we can use two more level 1. I’m not using attack or defense banners properly anyway and run all over the place.
Since this build’s defences are not ideal its best to not get cornered by hordes.
Fabius is easy for bleeders as is Iron Maiden unless you get too unlucky with weapons or mutators. Two of them can be managed with kiting. Zantarin can be challenging - undead he summons are usual undead trash with their usual resist. Moosilauke is also challenging in the open when we need to deal with freeze locks from crystals. Luring them closer to inferno banner is the way to deal with them.
Crucible spawns a few mobs that can debuff and it is pays off to overcap resists, most notably lightning (Valaran), fire (SharZul) and aether (Anaestheria).
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and so far loving it.