[1.1.4.2]Controlling the Wrath of Nature - Cyclone Druid (c+)

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
#1

I SACRIFICED A GOAT FOR IT TO RAIN, BUT I GOT A FUCKING STORM INSTEAD!

Okay, so almost every obvious combo for cyclone has already been done, except Druid, or at least I haven’t seen it done in this place so here we go.

The Build

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Char sheet with all permanent buffs.

GRIMTOOLS - Forgot what I had for crafting bonuses, there was one for physique for sure.

Build Explanations
  • Gear - Cyclone, whole thing’s built around it. 2 pc LD cause I wanted totem to be the secondary damage dealer, and it’s probably the best one. For conduit always gun for acid or chaos res. If you’re going legit what’s best is Totem mod > WD mod > literally any other shaman conduit > whatever arcanist conduit there is. The totem mod is not really necessary as even without the mod 3 totems are easy to maintain, it just becomes easier with the mod. Phantom thread girdle cause we won’t get much value if we use storm shepherd due to the conversion on star pact, and the reduced physique reqs is very useful for the spirit dumping.
  • Skill Choices - Devil. Totem. Got all the sustain shaman can afford, unlike mage hunter or sorc, druid is squishier so 12/12 wendigo is a must for me, 1 pt on base Wind Devil skill cause fire don’t do much here really and the dot doesn’t stack. Just jamming them into stats performed better for me. The rest is self explanatory.
  • Devotions - Pretty common. I tried tsunami without ghoul but was too squishy. Again, this isn’t mage hunter or sorc.
  • YENNEFER’S NOT A DRUID! - If I made a sorc named Yennefer someone’s bound to tell me Geralt’s the one who throws bombs.
Cruci Performance and Video

Cruci cleartime with 3 buffs + vanguard banner is around 6:15 average with presummoning all 5 devils before starting, bumps up to around 6:30 if you don’t presummon (makes a huge difference in 151). My fastest run is 5:53, as shown in the video. Doubt it can go much faster without changes, I managed 5:44 on a setup with tsunami but it was so inconsistent. My slowest run was 6:42 on a 170 spawn of 2 alex and 2 valdaran, all four had a shitton lightning res.

Consistency depends on the pilot really and one does need to be used to it before it can perform consistently. Experience with other devil builds like vindicator is helpful. Once you get the hang of it though, it becomes really good.

Other Stuff * **Realms** - I don't like realms. I did have some spare realm sets back when I played it last patch tho. There's a shitton of them drops before it was moved to vendors so it wasn't a problem finding good rolled parts. - copied this from the previous thread again

SHOW YOUR CYCLONES BEFORE IT GETS NERFED AGAIN!

@Zantai pls no more nerf. Just nerf AAR and leave cyclone.

Thanks to @mad_lee for all his builds that use bat+ghoul+diamond and taught everyone to be pussies. I guess sometimes we need to play super safe too. To @sir_spanksalot who constantly reminded my yesterday that lightning is the single strongest damage type in the game right now, which made me remember I wanted to do a druid. To @mad_lee again cause I stole some stuff from his cyclone vindicator, and to @thejabrixone who supported my claim that 1 point devil is better than maxing it, making me do less testing.

5 Likes
Build Compendium X (Forgotten Gods)
Build Compendium X (Forgotten Gods)
#2

SHHHHHH.

:zantai:

1 Like
#3

Acid’s great

#4

Especially with crest of winter fortitude.

SHHHHH.

:zantai:

#5

Shhhhhhhh…

The super secret messaging thread should not be exposed.

EDIT: wait, that name… is that my sorcerer save data you convert to druid? :thinking:

2 Likes
#6

Just asking…

Why Star Pact over Stormcaller? You seem to have nothing in real need of cdr.

Cinder gloves maybe could also be better if you let go of da compulsion. Shaman belt, too, as it hardcaps you Totems, boosts the Spear, and this belt gives no resistances. Can’t imagine 190 energy regen isn’t enough for this.

Maxing Devils was always worth it on Cyclone. Why would it be any different on a druid? Points in IEE give you 8%dmg per point and nothing. At least that’s how it feels to me…

What do you think of this? https://www.grimtools.com/calc/mN43eMlZ When you look at global %lightning add the average 166% from Stormcaller’s 33% chance of +500%. For da compulsion, can go back to Solemn Watcher or lose the Cinders.

EDIT: Adding a thought on Devils first node. I mostly played the elementalist (and a bit of archon) and, yes, elemele got more %fire and fire rr. But here you still got over 1000% fire and 67 plus 20%reduced fire rr. That’s not zero dmg. Especially with 5 Devils at all times.

#7

Stormcaller has one fatal flaw, %chance of lightning seems to work only on weapon damage skilks. Need someone to confirm this tho but I think that’s how it works based on other items with similar mechanics. Also mirror cdr is always welcome especially on druid who doesn’t have any other circuit breaker.

DA is important yeah. In this build I value DA over cinder proc with only 25% conversion. Shaman belt doesn’t boost spear as much as you like it to. With the conversion from pact aether to lightning only amounts to around 70% conversion, only minimal gain from the 50 the rings already provide. Also, vitality res on shaman belt is basically nothing as the build is already swimming on vit overcaps, the chaos is useful but it’s not really crucial as there are other sources. And 190 mana regen is more than enough. I just dumped arcanum dusts for the elemental overcap.

I dunno, never got sub 6 on maxed devils. If you look at it on paper base devil skill doesn’t give you much either, the damage doesn’t stack with multiple devils and it’s mostly fire anyway. Meanwhile, even if it’s not much, maxing IEE boosts maelstrom and is highly synergistic with the spirit dump. Yeah diminishing returns and stuff but that’s what showed up in my results. Better might be moving points to null but I don’t really use offensive null.

Refer to above, if stormcaller rng only really works on weapon damage skills then that spec isn’t gonna be any better. With me as a pilot, at least. I favor +1 arcanist so much cause there are a lot of good 1 pointers. Also cdr so I can play recklessly.

Only one devil is doing damage on base skill and raging tempest, it’s an aura similar to celestial presence. Only maelstrom stacks cause it’s an additional skill, that was the main reason why I didn’t max out devils.

#8

Already been exposed since that time I asked for more message space :stuck_out_tongue:

And nope it’s from my lightning sorc. I rename every char I make and I just came from playing witcher 3 where yen visited my house at toussaint, hence the name.

#9

Just tested. With no gear, no devos, 0% global lightning, spirit at 350 (+163%dmg). Totem at 1/16 never deals more than 150 dmg to a dummy when Stormcaller is off (I did about 100-200 hits). With Stormcaller (12/12 = 33% chance for +405%lightning) on, it happens to deal over 400 at times. Math looks just about right.

So it’s a myth.

#10

Wait a second!.. You are right!

Last time someone did it turned into a huge forum drama!

I think it’s been known forever that Star Pact is the same damage but smoother gameplay, because CDR is the single best stat in the game. I doubt ~35% crit can outweigh it :frowning:

@x1x1x1x2 Really solid build. Well done. I already told you this but 2/10 nullification is the only thing I dislike about it. I know you don’t like Nulli, but it really speeds up Crucible runs.

#11

i like ur build’s +rep but idk guys how u do to like those piano builds xD

#12

Nice to see my suspicions weren’t true.

Resistances is the best stat in the game, followed by RR :p. But it really is more than just cdr. Arcanist tree provides more spirit, so more damage too.

Not really as tedious as other piano builds. Both devil and totem don’t need you to target stuff cause they’ll do that for you. You have to care about your own positioning more.

1 Like
#13

I think it’s ~45% crit at max. Anyways, this build has no nukes - it’s not a sorc. It’s not chaos desperate for uptime on DG and Abomination. It doesn’t need cdr so much. Totems are 3 and Devils are 5 no problem without Star Pact. Maybe 0.1s on Spear or Ultos makes a difference but crit dmg makes a bigger difference imo. Cdr here is more like QoL for Mirror and Ghoul.

It’s a bit simplified but look at it like this. Let’s assume your average crit chance is 25% in crucible. Every forth. So 40% crit dmg translates to 40x0.25=10% total dmg. When your global % is 3k, it translates to 300%dmg.

#14

It’s speedier vs stronger crit totem+devil.
Worth to test imo. Will be interesting to see the results.

#15

It’s not as simple as that since crit is also affected by diminishing returns, granted not as much as what %damage gets at that point. Cdr just has both offensive and defensive utility.

But the real big question is: How does maelstrom really work? Does it have some kind of cd? And ist it affected by cdr? If yes then star pact is undisputed best.

#16

Afaik, correct me if I’m wrong, +%crit dmg directly adds to crit multiplier no matter the value of either. So there are no diminishing returns per se. Just like rr. Or are there?

I’ll test it at home. If I were to guess, it’s a set cooldown that’s constant and unaffected by cdr and cast speed just like skills on pet-pets or dmg ticks on ticking skills.

But I might be wrong. Btw I tested my Cyclomentalist for a frame of reference to this one. Still kicking at 5:15 on suicidal (3 plus 1 minus Shoot :wink:).

#17

sorry if noob question but why you took the bat devotion? can you explain ?

#18

Bat offers nice sustain. It’s used universally on lot of builds. I like it better on casters than other archetypes.

PS @x1x1x1x2 nice build, granted thumbs up :+1:

#19

Yes, lightning damage needs to be nerfed! Those FG mobs and the priest boss hit like a truck. I’d also nerf fire and physical just in case, so Kymon and Korvaak pose zero threat to n()()bz! :laughing:

2 Likes
#20

I know you’re trolling but zantai nerfing lightning damage for us doesn’t mean enemy lightning damage will be nerfed too :rofl:

Thanks!