[1.1.8.0] Savage Stormrender, DW melee Trickster using Stormrend with Primal Strike on cooldown and spamming Savagery, SR 65+

INTRODUCTION

The reason behind this build is to make a lightning DW melee using two Stormrends for greater CDR on Primal Strike and using it as a nuke while spamming Savagery. Trickster was chosen because of its inherent DW melee support and its WPS. This build has four nukes with very high % DW weapon damage - Primal Strike, Sudden Strike (rune on medal), Execution and Amarasta’s Quick Cut. I tried a version with the Ultos set but it was inherently squishy and I went therefore for the Shattered Guardian set. It does SR 65-66 relatively fast and easily. Devotions were picked for highest attack speed possible because Stormrend has no attack speed on it.

I also have other Primal Strike builds here. I also have other lightning melee builds here. All my builds are here.

Here is a list comparing all my Primal Strike builds from best to worst. All are at least SR 65-66 capable.
  1. Dragonborn – great build, 2H melee physical PS, good offensively and very powerful defensively (best of my PS builds)

  2. Thor – great build, 2H melee lightning PS, offensively similar to Dragonborn, defensively noticably weaker than Dragonborn

  3. Aetheros Ranged – great build, 2H ranged aether PS, offensively a little weaker than Dragonborn, defensively a little weaker than Thor

  4. Aetheros – great build, 2H melee aether PS, offensively a little better than Aetheros Ranged (and a little weaker than Dragonborn), defensively a little weaker than Aetheros Ranged

  5. Colderos – great build, 2H melee cold PS, offensively noticably better than Dragonborn (best of my PS builds), defensively a little weaker than Aetheros

  6. Colderos Ranged – great build, 2H ranged cold PS, offensively a little weaker than Colderos, defensively a little weaker than Colderos (actually only when facetanking bosses otherwise you can take out enemies from distance)

  7. Aether Primate – great build, 2H melee aether PS, offensively similar to Aetheros Ranged, defensively a little weaker than Colderos Ranged

  8. Viteros – good build, 2H melee vitality PS, offensively a little weaker than Aetheros Ranged, defensively similar to Colderos Ranged

  9. Meme Striker – good build, 2H melee lightning PS, offensively similar to Colderos, defensively a little weaker than Viteros

  10. Chaotic Primate – good build, 2H melee chaos PS, offensively a little weaker than Viteros, defensively noticably weaker than Meme Striker

  11. Mental Primate Druid – good build, 2H melee elemental PS, offensively a little weaker than Chaotic Primate, defensively a little weaker than Chaotic Primate

  12. Storm Blitzer – OK build, 1H melee + shield lightning PS, offensively a little weaker than Mental Primate Druid, defensively a little better than Chaotic Primate

  13. Mental Primate Conjurer – OK build, 2H melee elemental PS, offensively a little better than Mental Primate Druid (but a little weaker than Chaotic Primate), defensively a little weaker than Mental Primate Druid

  14. Storm Knight – OK build, 1H melee + shield lightning PS, offensively similar to Storm Blitzer, defensively similar to Mental Primate Druid

  15. Savage Stormrender – weaker build, DW melee lightning PS on cooldown + Savagery, offensively noticably weaker than Storm Knight, defensively similar to Storm Knight

GRIMTOOLS https://www.grimtools.com/calc/m23lMpYV

In order for you to equip these items you need to have crafting bonuses to physique on pants and medal otherwise you have to redistribute attribute points. I also used movement speed crafting bonus on boots. Put just enough points into physique to equip the chest armor. Everything else put into cunning for OA.

Stormrend is farmable from Monster Totems (Aertherwarped) in Main Campaign. Shattered Guardian set can be bought in SR after completing at least SR 60-61. There are blueprints for pants and boots. Those can be farmed or the items alone can drop anywhere. Blueprint for medal can be bought at the Dreeg’s vendor. Rings can be bought from the Coven’s vendor. You only need to have belt and gloves. Everything else is relatively easily farmable.

Stats of the build

OFFENSE

OK weapon damage with Savagery charges

lower base lightning damage around 2000 % (but you have 4 nukes that are used often)

OK critical damage 51 % (69 % critical damage with Hungering Void)

OK attack speed for DW Stormrends - 169 % with Savagery buff and Pneumatic Burst - 179 % with Hungering Void on top of it (it is up practically all of the time)

OK OA - over 3100 with all buffs

55 DA reduction to enemies from component

OK lightning resistance reduction from Revenant, Hand of Ultos, Arcane Bomb and Wind Devils

DEFENSE

big life 16500 HP

with all bonuses close to 3000 DA

280 OA reduction total - 55 OA reduction to enemies from component, 130 OA reduction from Veil of Shadow and 95 OA reduction from Arcane Bomb

nice lifesteal 19 % (with Wendigo Totem)

healing on standby from Pneumatic Burst

nice health regeneration 840 HP/s

healing from Behemoth proc

capped important CC resistances

capped disruption resistance using Arcane Harmony Leggings

reasonably overcapped resistances

at least +3 to maximum all resistances

OK armor - close to 2200

nice physical resistance 27 %

Ghoul

Prismatic Rage from component

image from the game with passive buffs + Pneumatic Burst and Savagery charges

Savage%20Stormrender%201

SR, CRUCIBLE

I play SR with camera pointed away from enemies and I try my builds only in SR 65-66 and SR 80. I play around 10 SR runs per character.

This build does SR 65-66 relatively easily. Fighting Grava is not difficult but it is slower. I tried SR 80 with it and it can’t do it.

I don’t play Crucible so I don’t have a time number for it.

Image from SR 66

5 Likes

nice one! Yeah good call using SR set for tankyness.

should read OA reduction

you also have OA reduction on arcane bomb.

Personally, I would have used M Legplates of Valor and M Final March for more phys res etc

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Yeah thanks. I will correct it. You would have even lower damage. The build is quite tanky and it is not necessary. You can facetenk two nemesis in SR with it if you are careful.

You could also mention that the Stormrends are “farmable” from Monster Totems of the type “Aetherwarped” (they can drop from normal mobs too but very low drop chances)

would have 2.1k dmg multiplier compared to 2.2k, its 4.5% less damage but if that extra tankyness is not needed so be it :slight_smile: [remember that spirit added magical damage is not included in the tooltip / char stats tab so in your set-up you have +1900% from gear etc and +300% from spirit that is +2.2k%]

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I have played more with this build and the Ultos one and it is really a stark difference between the Ultos set and the Shattered Guardian set. Ultos set needs some serious buffs. I would add slow resistance and trap resistance to it. And considering it can be used on 2H ranged or DW melee it should get some more physical resistance (phys res is on the Ultos axe - split it and move half of it to 4 piece set bonus). Chest armor should get some phys res. It would only be a total buff of let’s say 4 % phys res (add it on chest) and some CC res. I would also change vitality resistance on the helm for chaos resistance. Ultos builds are missing chaos resistance a lot and vitality res is plentiful on them. Pierce resistance is also missing on builds with Ultos.

Where can I find what items drop from what totems?

https://grimdawn.gamepedia.com/Monster_Totems

:slight_smile:

Edit: I have planned to do that PS SJ Elementalist with stormrend and 2H cadence Battlemage with the new 2H mace and SR set. But I have other, more meta, builds to level up and play first. I hate this game, they always add more shit to farm haha

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I have elemental cadence already finished with another weapon (double rare green). But I want to better it with the new one and it doesn’t drop at all. I have everything else many times from new items but not this one. There are too few voidtouched totems I guess when I play through main campaign.

I have 4 of them already and I have just played GD for about two weeks now :smiley: I think I am missing two of those totem items. I just go to Gates of Necropolis and Necropolis interiour for void totems. You can see them almost immediately on the map if/where they spawn

Does the drop chance increase with it being an ancient totem?

I think so, but I have no data or info. But I guess the higher the “prefix” the chance of getting better loot.

and btw I have played GD 2k hours but I took a break from like late August last year up until basically now and I decided to kinda like restart all together. Thanks to corona quarantine, I play like 6h / day so I already have 3 fully geared chars ready to farm :stuck_out_tongue: I just completed the Vanquisher set so a new skater is in the pipeline :smiley:

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I have many pieces of the vanquisher set but still no helm. The same with morgoneth helm. I play only on ultimate now and do like 1 build each 2 days. I am now playing a special skating build. Will post it in a few days.

I farmed yesterday the Scion of Arcane force. I will post a tanky Battlemage with it in a short while. I am also working on PS with shield archon :slight_smile: Coming soon :slight_smile:

Nice, then I can see if its worth doing that Battlemage I was planning (I assue you have planned something similar, great minds do think alike you know :wink: ) otherwise I can just do my second-plan, Elemental cadance witchblade.

Are you plotting some kind of Primal Strike collection? One PS build per mastery combo? :wink:

I am plannig a lot of PS builds. Unorthodox ones :slight_smile:

Great Guide! Would you happen to have a more beginner friendly version? Thanks!

I don’t know what you exacatly mean by that. Stormrend is an endgame weapon (level 94). PS doesn’t work without it for 1 handed weapons. In the text there is also a link to a version with the Ultos set if you don’t want the SR set. But it is not consistent for SR 65-66. For main campaign it will be more than fine though.

What I meant was do you have a version with more faction gears?

I don’t play much with faction gear, so I can not help you unfortunately. But for using Stormrend I would guess you will need better gear than faction gear. Perhaps @malawiglenn can help you with this. I would also add that I don’t think that Trickster is much beginner friendly.

For beginner builds try some of @malawiglenn builds here.