I haven’t died during leveling but have two close calls. One was acid pool/DoT, which was nasty but avoidable. Other to my surprise was Zarthuzellan or something like that. BWC absolutely owned me, had to do in and outs to avoid these nasty cocktails. My low fire res at the time didn’t helped me either. But Menhir and later Ghoul/Scales should give you lot’s of ground for mistakes. And later on I didn’t even thaiked of kiting at all. Ramsul, Korvaak, Theodin are all in face tanking mode. Teo is especially funny, since respawning animation between forms takes more time then actually killing them 
2 Likes
Yup I only had the one point in Menhir’s - I thought about putting more points in earlier prior to that but I forgot. Another mistake I made in that segment there was that I was also forgetting to pop CoF on them while I was scrambling to avoid them. When I got my revenge tho I realized that mistake and made sure to hit 'em with it.
2 Likes
If you have Restless remains at level 24 you can use it, it will make the difference defensively with Ghoul since BA have more than 100% Weapon damage.
1 Like
I’ll keep that in mind if I get any then.
1 Like
Thank you i want try big dad build but its my second character, ill will try your build for levelling, and the time for loot some core big dad items!
2 Likes
Levels 2-10
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/vNQLJxvZ
| Level | Start w/ Soldier |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 Mastery, 2 Forcewave |
| 1 Physique | |
| 3 | 3 Forcewave |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 4 | 3 Forcewave |
| 1 Physique | |
| 5 | 3 Mastery |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 6 | 1 Mastery, 1 Menhir’s Will, 1 Military Conditioning |
| 1 Physique | |
| 7 | 3 Mastery |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Crossroads, Order |
Finish Burial Hill quest, turn everything in, get 1 extra skillpoint from Kasparov, remove all points from Forcewave.
| 8 | 2 Mastery, 10 Blade Arc |
| 1 Physique | |
| 9 | 1 Blitz, decide to hold other 2 points for next level up |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 10 | Take Occ, 1 Mastery, 4 Curse of Frailty |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade |
Levels 11-20
Note: During this stage of the build you have 2 skills you’ve pointed up rather highly (BA and CoF) that in tandem are rather energy hungry during protracted battles - to compensate you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for gear that buffs your energy regen. In my case I lucked out and found 2 rings and an amulet (and even a belt) with nice energy regen bonuses to tide me over until I’ve pushed my masteries further and/or started finding Ectoplasm to help offset the costs.
Overall I would recommend going for the Greens (Monster Totems are your friends) with an eye toward bumping your resistances up for an even smoother ride. If you can, try to get Milton’s Casque as it provides a very nice bump to Blitz for you - it’s a relatively easy farm.
Here I make the executive decision to diverge from Nery’s early lesson plan to also quick farm the Putrid Necklace from Primordian in the Cavern in Foggy Bank for some Blood of Dreeg buffs. I wouldn’t call this a necessity by any means and just something I decided to do on a whim. As you can see below instead of immediately pushing up on Soldiers bar I diverted points out of CoF to push Occultist instead and snag BoD.
A minor setback to the Soldier push but ground that can be regained in the coming levels. It should also be noted that doing so takes away from some my energy regen the previous amulet possessed - I decide to make up for it by slotting in a Green Leather Vestment that RNGesus conveniently dropped for me shortly after.
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/DV9Rx5QZ
| Level | |
|---|---|
| 11 | 3 Curse of Frailty |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 12 | 3 Curse of Frailty - maxed |
| 1 Physique | |
| 13 | 3 Mastery(Occultist) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade | |
| 14 | Remove 9 points (from CoF), 12 Mastery(Occultist), 1 Blood of Dreeg |
| 1 Physique | |
| 15 | 3 Curse of Frailty |
| 1 Physique | |
| 16 | 3 Curse of Frailty |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade | |
| 17 | 1 Curse of Frailty, 1 Vulnerability, 1 Bloody Pox |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade (gained Assassin’s Mark - bound to BP) | |
| 18 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 19 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 20 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique |
Around level 14 I decided to switch over to Veteran to put it more to the test because by this point on Normal I was already at god-like status nearly and there wasn’t much that was going to be a threat to me. Naturally you would assume that my damage output would suffer as a result but it’s at just this juncture that we get Angrim and access to the Brutal Great Axe (+4 Blade Arc) that Nery recommends we craft. This keeps our head well above the water.
As per my usual I ran on into Depraved Sanctuary at level 19 (sporting a Void-touched Monster Totem) to test myself out further.
I got greedy on the Totem and paid for my impatience with a dirt-nap (this Totem on Veteran can be particularly brutal at this point). I went back and finished it off and then went for tea and biscuits with Salazar. As usual him and his Harbinger couldn’t keep up with me and went down fairly rapidly with the Totem, as expected, being much more challenging.
Levels 21-30
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/a2E6p4jV
| Level | |
|---|---|
| 21 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 22 | 1 Mastery(Soldier), 2 War Cry |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade(finished), Remove Crossroads(Order), 1 Crossroads(Chaos) | |
| 23 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 24 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 25 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Ghoul | |
| 26 | 2 Laceration, 1 Blindside |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 27 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 28 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Ghoul | |
| 29 | 3 Blade Arc |
| 1 Physique | |
| 30 | 3 Blade Arc |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Ghoul |
Builds starting to come into its own now. I did experience another mishap at an Aether Totem on my way down to the Warden. Let that be a lesson to any nubs - Veteran has no problems handing you a dirtnap if you get sloppy, like me 
Of note: the Brutal Great Axe(w/+4 Blade Arc) you craft early on does fall off fairly quickly on Veteran. Fortunately I had a couple upgrades in that area just before I hit 30 and at 30 I had a Cesarin’s Conviction ready and waiting for me that I had found earlier. Since I knew that I was going to be losing that nice +4 to BA I took the opportunity to point up BA the rest of the way to make up for it. That and the Cesarin keeps my DPS up and the baddies falling nicely.
Onwards to 40!
@Nery - I can tell that I move thru the game even slower than you I can tell that because I have way less Devotion points than you do at this stage. At between 25-30 I am only just taking care of Warden Krieg. Like I said tho, I do everything - Depraved Sanctuary (sometimes 2 or 3 times), Hallowed Hill, full map clears - all that.
3 Likes
Levels 2-10
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/vNQLJxvZ
| Level | Start w/ Soldier |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 Mastery, 2 Forcewave |
| 1 Physique | |
| 3 | 3 Forcewave |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 4 | 3 Forcewave |
| 1 Physique | |
| 5 | 3 Mastery |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 6 | 1 Mastery, 1 Menhir’s Will, 1 Military Conditioning |
| 1 Physique | |
| 7 | 3 Mastery |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Crossroads, Order |
Finish Burial Hill quest, turn everything in, get 1 extra skillpoint from Kasparov, remove all points from Forcewave.
| 8 | 2 Mastery, 10 Blade Arc |
| 1 Physique | |
| 9 | 1 Blitz, decide to hold other 2 points for next level up |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 10 | Take Occ, 1 Mastery, 4 Curse of Frailty |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade |
Levels 11-20
Note: During this stage of the build you have 2 skills you’ve pointed up rather highly (BA and CoF) that in tandem are rather energy hungry during protracted battles - to compensate you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for gear that buffs your energy regen. In my case I lucked out and found 2 rings and an amulet (and even a belt) with nice energy regen bonuses to tide me over until I’ve pushed my masteries further and/or started finding Ectoplasm to help offset the costs.
Overall I would recommend going for the Greens (Monster Totems are your friends) with an eye toward bumping your resistances up for an even smoother ride. If you can, try to get Milton’s Casque as it provides a very nice bump to Blitz for you - it’s a relatively easy farm.
Here I make the executive decision to diverge from Nery’s early lesson plan to also quick farm the Putrid Necklace from Primordian in the Cavern in Foggy Bank for some Blood of Dreeg buffs. I wouldn’t call this a necessity by any means and just something I decided to do on a whim. As you can see below instead of immediately pushing up on Soldiers bar I diverted points out of CoF to push Occultist instead and snag BoD.
A minor setback to the Soldier push but ground that can be regained in the coming levels. It should also be noted that doing so takes away from some my energy regen the previous amulet possessed - I decide to make up for it by slotting in a Green Leather Vestment that RNGesus conveniently dropped for me shortly after.
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/DV9Rx5QZ
| Level | |
|---|---|
| 11 | 3 Curse of Frailty |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 12 | 3 Curse of Frailty - maxed |
| 1 Physique | |
| 13 | 3 Mastery(Occultist) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade | |
| 14 | Remove 9 points (from CoF), 12 Mastery(Occultist), 1 Blood of Dreeg |
| 1 Physique | |
| 15 | 3 Curse of Frailty |
| 1 Physique | |
| 16 | 3 Curse of Frailty |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade | |
| 17 | 1 Curse of Frailty, 1 Vulnerability, 1 Bloody Pox |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade (gained Assassin’s Mark - bound to BP) | |
| 18 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 19 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 20 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique |
Around level 14 I decided to switch over to Veteran to put it more to the test because by this point on Normal I was already at god-like status nearly and there wasn’t much that was going to be a threat to me. Naturally you would assume that my damage output would suffer as a result but it’s at just this juncture that we get Angrim and access to the Brutal Great Axe (+4 Blade Arc) that Nery recommends we craft. This keeps our head well above the water.
As per my usual I ran on into Depraved Sanctuary at level 19 (sporting a Void-touched Monster Totem) to test myself out further.
I got greedy on the Totem and paid for my impatience with a dirt-nap (this Totem on Veteran can be particularly brutal at this point). I went back and finished it off and then went for tea and biscuits with Salazar. As usual him and his Harbinger couldn’t keep up with me and went down fairly rapidly with the Totem, as expected, being much more challenging.
Levels 21-30
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/a2E6p4jV
| Level | |
|---|---|
| 21 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 22 | 1 Mastery(Soldier), 2 War Cry |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Assassin’s Blade(finished), Remove Crossroads(Order), 1 Crossroads(Chaos) | |
| 23 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 24 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 25 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Ghoul | |
| 26 | 2 Laceration, 1 Blindside |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 27 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 28 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Ghoul | |
| 29 | 3 Blade Arc |
| 1 Physique | |
| 30 | 3 Blade Arc |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Ghoul |
Builds starting to come into its own now. I did experience another mishap at an Aether Totem on my way down to the Warden. Let that be a lesson to any nubs - Veteran has no problems handing you a dirtnap if you get sloppy, like me
Of note: the Brutal Great Axe(w/+4 Blade Arc) you craft early on does fall off fairly quickly on Veteran. Fortunately I had a couple upgrades in that area just before I hit 30 and at 30 I had a Cesarin’s Conviction ready and waiting for me that I had found earlier. Since I knew that I was going to be losing that nice +4 to BA I took the opportunity to point up BA the rest of the way to make up for it. That and the Cesarin keeps my DPS up and the baddies falling nicely.
Onwards to 40!
@Nery - I can tell that I move thru the game even slower than you I can tell that because I have way less Devotion points than you do at this stage. At between 25-30 I am only just taking care of Warden Krieg. Like I said tho, I do everything - Depraved Sanctuary (sometimes 2 or 3 times), Hallowed Hill, full map clears - all that.
Levels 31-40
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/lV7YB4dN
| Level | |
|---|---|
| 31 | 2 Field Command, 1 Squad Tactics |
| 1 Physique | |
| 1 Ghoul(gained Ghoulish Hunger - bound to FC) | |
| 32 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Ghoul(finished), Remove Crossroads(Chaos), 1 Crossroads(Primordial) | |
| 33 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Physique | |
| 34 | 3 Mastery(Soldier) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Bull | |
| 35 | 3 Mastery(Soldier - maxed) |
| 2 Cunning(extra point from Broken Hills quest) | |
| 1 Bull | |
| 36 | 2 Oleron’s Rage, 1 Mastery(Occultist) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Bull | |
| 37 | 2 Solael’s Witchfire, 1 Mastery(Occultist) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Bull(gained Bull Rush - bound to Blitz) | |
| 38 | 3 Mastery(Occultist) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Bull(finished), Remove Crossroads(Primordial), 1 Stag | |
| 39 | 3 Mastery(Occultist) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 40 | 3 Mastery(Occultist) |
| 1 Cunning | |
| 1 Stag |
As to be expected, build is getting pretty sturdy now - some decent gear drops found, getting Devotions completed etc.
1 Like
I’m stealing that formatting.
3 Likes
I am honored.
Looking forward to your next guide!
1 Like
Um, sorry. I meant powbam’s, under details tag. I’ve been doing similar level by level breakdowns for early game, but it was a plain list. Powbam’s looks cooler.
Your formatting is nice, but I’ve got to keep mine for consistency. It’s something I’ve been improving little by little since my first guide after all.
As for my next build… Well, got a TSS Warlock at something like 87 lvl but somewhat feeling out of fuel to finish him. Perhaps later.
EDIT: also got a couple of guides in the works for the General guide section, both of them will probably trivialize a lot of things for new players.
2 Likes
@Stupid_Dragon - You may find this helpful as well…
https://www.markdownguide.org/extended-syntax/#tables
1 Like
Ha I was just reading the link I posted close and realized that you could multiline table cells with the <br> tag. Doh! If I woulda caught that sooner my tables woulda appeared slightly different methinks. Perhaps like this instead…
| Level | Mastery\Skills | Attrib | Devotion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 2 Field Command 1 Squad Tactics |
1 Physique | 1 Ghoul (gained Ghoulish Hunger - bound to FC) |
| 32 | 3 Mastery (Sol.) | 1 Cunning | 1 Ghoul (finished) Remove Crossroads (Chaos) 1 Crossroads (Primordial) |
| 33 | 3 Mastery (Sol.) | 1 Physique | |
| 34 | 3 Mastery (Sol.) | 1 Cunning | 1 Bull |
| 35 | 3 Mastery (Sol.) (maxed) | 2 Cunning (extra point from Broken Hills quest) |
1 Bull |
| 36 | 2 Oleron’s Rage 1 Mastery (Occ.) |
1 Cunning | 1 Bull |
| 37 | 2 Solael’s Witchfire 1 Mastery (Occ.) |
1 Cunning | 1 Bull (gained Bull Rush - bound to Blitz) |
| 38 | 3 Mastery (Occ.) | 1 Cunning | 1 Bull (finished) Remove Crossroads (Primordial) 1 Stag |
| 39 | 3 Mastery (Occ.) | 1 Cunning | |
| 40 | 3 Mastery (Occ.) | 1 Cunning | 1 Stag |
2 Likes
Hello there , what was the reason for taking Tip the Scales ? I’m running a DeathKnight with a similar set up but I took Bard’s Harp instead.
Passive RR, heal and energy leech + boost to life steal, which is much needed stat.
And if you happen to drop Gladiators belt you can convert all flat vitality on the proc.
I have a L78 Chaos Damage, 20/16 Blade Arc (w/18/12 Laceration), 18% Life Leach, Witchblade using the Obsidian Juggernaut. I do okay with the damage, dps at 27,351 unbuffed and 64,872 w/toggled skills. My only beef with the class is the Energy usage. I run out of energy so dang fast. Is that the same with the Physical build?
As for Scales of Ulcama for the Life (would be nice to have more than 18%) and the Energy Leach (much needed for sure), don’t know why I didn’t see that earlier, what devotions should I swap out so I can get that? My devotions are as followed, Full 55 shrines:
Crossroad (Blue) --> Gallows then Lizard.
Crossroads (Red) --> Wretch then Viper then Jackal.
Go Dying God (did not take last point)–> Take away Blue from Crossroads.
Crossroads (Green) --> Fox then Kraken.
Take away Green and Red from Crossroads.
Go Behemoth, attached Solael’s Witchfire.
Take away all points from Viper.
Go Ghoul (attached Field Command) then Bat (attached Blade Arc).
Take away points from Jackal.
Go Witchblade (attached Blitz) then Revenant.
Crossroads Red and Yellow (still messing around with those 2 points)
I did some messing around already as I was leveling so I could get the Life Leach. That’s why I broke it down the way that I did, so that it would make sense. It works like a charm too. As long as the monster doesn’t throw an AOE on me, I can just face tank it. Of course I do use War Cry and the granted skill from the Obsidian Juggernaut.
If curious, my skills are…
Occultist: Solael’s Witchfire, Consecrated Blade, Second Rite, and Possession. Each one at max with an item that grants a +1 to all Skills and the Obsidian Juggernaut that grants +2 to all Occultist Skills and Oleron’s Wrath relic that grants another +1 to my Soldier Skills.
Soldier:
Markovian’s Advantage (1), Fighting Spirit (1), Zolhan’s Technique (1), Military Conditioning (1)
Blade Arc (16), Blitz (16), Laceration (12), War Cry (1), Blindside (12), Field Command (1),
Squad Tactics (12), and Scars of Battle (1). Of course the +3 to all skills from the two items equipped and some of the skills have further plus from other items, thus only (1) point in them.
Very simple play style too. I blitz in and face tank if I can. If not then I do a little dancing with my Obsidian Tremor from my weapon. Whenever I can Blitz back in, I will. It’s soooooo much fun.
1 Like
@Rawrbarian chaos Blade Arc is also possible, mind no native chaos RR either mastery. Also Juggernaut is lacking speed but that’s compensate by attack speed by both mastery bars.
-
skills, remove points in Zolhan and Markovian, it’s stated in my guide that Blade Arc can’t trigger them.
-
devotions, go for Dying God/Abomination combo. Also Kraken, Ghoul and Solael Witchblade for - RR attached to Blade Arc.
Also try fitting Revenant. -
components should carry your energy regeneration. Arcane spark in medal for instance will be helpful.
Nery: My attack speed atm is 122%. I know it would be faster with a one handed weapon, but I currently have 2.18 attacks per second. Seems decent for a two hander. Good to know about Zolhan and Markovian, especially since I didn’t catch that earlier. I guess I had tunnel vision in regards to the Scales of Ulcama Devotion. That frees up 2 points, most likely for Mastery. I still have 4 points available. I have those Devotions and I dropped the Lizard for the Viper. I will check out the Arcane Spark for the Medal.
Just letting ya know I haven’t stopped doing the build, I had to take a detour tho to work on this for a bit. Once I get it done, or mostly done, then I’ll pick back up on it
1 Like
Thank you for the clarification. The RR does not Stack with Break Morale , right ?
That’s correct. But Scales RR is single target on low cooldown, while Break Morale is AoE but on long CD.
1 Like