[1.1.7.2] To pierce or not to pierce ... that is the question for a Cadence Ranged Tactician

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
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#1

Hello everyone,

Tactician seems not to be the most popular character at the moment.
But, i’ve tried to make something after having loot a not so bad MI Sinister Ugdenbog Boltthrower of Spines.

Grimtool link : 2H Ranged Cadence Tactician

At the moment, this character has been able to kill Valdaran, Bennjahr, Moosilauke, Gravathul. Lokhar also down, and was quite a joke. I haven’t played it in Crucible yet …
Very fun character, very dynamic, with not so much need to kite. It’s quite a fast killer.
But when i start to go in SR, i’ve seen his limit … go behind SR 50 is hard even with a lot of kiting

The reason of this topic is then : which advices could you give me to improve it ?
Am i wrong with my devotion path ? Items ? Skills points ?
I do really want to make something with this Sinister 2H ranged …

I have choosen Valdun’s set items because i’ve thought that they were BiS for a ranged Cadence.
Grava’Thul’s leggings choice for Death Sentence.
Runeguard Greaves for the item’s defensive skill … i’ve tried Windshear Greaves, but not so good.
Fabius Shoulderguard choice : max fighting spirit and + Word of Renewal as a good skill bonus.
Shadow Grasps … i prefer to Quickdraw Gloves, but maybe i’m wrong.
Medal : i’m using Direwolf Crest, but should i use a good Wendigo Eye in order to reach 19/12 at Death Sentence ?
Jaxxon’s Lucky Bullet fit very well with Belgothian’s Sigil … i’ve tried Orissia Ring (not so good in terms of Dps), and Bladetwister trinket didn’t fit well … but it’s a loss of %RR … Do you see better ring’s choice ?

I’ve tried to max OA and DA and cap my own resist with what i had in store.
The result is not so bad … but haven’t got flat RR. Tried Warcry and +3 Terrify, but it seems not to give a real advantage with bosses in SR.

Can you please help me improve this character with your experience ?

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#2

It’s a neat concept for sure. You can’t use Menhir’s Will, so take that point out. You didn’t max out your WPS pool, so I think 1 point into Storm Spread and Bursting Round will be good for you. Soft cap Vigor and Steel Resolve, the CC res and racial damage are huge. 9/12 Fighting Spirit is enough, 12/12 Fighting Form just to max target cap and pierce chance, max Deadly Momentum.

The devo map looks totally reasonable to me so I don’t touch it though I wonder if there is a way to get Kraken. Hydra is probably too far away. You have got flat RR - Scales. :slight_smile:

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/RVvwqMvZ

#3

Like you I also have a ranged pierce tactician, I also didn’t think that full Valdun set is worth for tactician especially the riffle, and Tactician desperately need extra skill point, so in that sense I pick this Weapon which is quite a common drop (for me).

#4

Oups, you are right for Menhir’s Will … for 2H but only for melee … bad mistake. I will put 2 points in Storm Spread in order to have 4 projectiles and benefit from the lightning to piercing damage conversion.
I’ll try another time to soft cap Fighting form and max Deadly Momentum, but my previous test seems to confirm that FF gives me more DpS. I’ll see. There’s a way to reach Kraken, but all in all, you have to sacrifice unknown soldier. Maybe it could be a good choice …

#5

I doubt that Fighting Form can ever perform better, to all my understanding the flat damage from Deadly Momentum (which gets converted to pierce by the weapon’s armor piercing mod) is massively more important than the very weak % bonuses on Fighting Form. It’s the most important thing you can do to hugely improve your performance.

I’m not super versed in pierce devo paths, especially the bindings. This confirms it is possible to get Hydra and Kraken with the key pierce devos though it ends up looking very odd. Falcon I think is a bit of a surprise inclusion but its physical is converted and its WD component provides a little sustain. What do you think? https://www.grimtools.com/calc/RVvwkOXZ

#6

This path is interesting, and i’m gonna try it. Before pretending it’s better or not, i have to try it.
But this mean that i will loose a 100% chance of activation of Ulzad’s Decree, Inspiration, and loss of Blades of Wrath that is just a very huge aoe source of damage linked to Inquisitor Seal.
Thank you for all your comments, i’ll try these and see if i can go upper than SR 60.

I’m always open to try recommendations ; another time thank you :slight_smile:

#7

That is true, you lose about 10% from your weapon hits while Ulzaad was up, however you gain 21% attack speed and OA and DA both improve, as well as more ADCTH from Hydra. It also gives you another 7 (!) phys res compared to your setup before. I think it should survive better.

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#8

Had this drop recently, guess I’ll have to make a Tactician next :smile:

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#9

WTF ! Oh sorry … What a drop :slight_smile: + 44% AS, never seen before.

#10

Test in progress with max Deadly Momentum and the devotion’s path you have given. It was clearly a good choice for cleaning speed and defense. ADCTH improvement is very good, and Falcon is greatly surprising. Need to level it at max to see its full potential.
Gonna try to improve my piloting, and give this character his chance in Crucible and deeper than SR60.

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#11

I’m glad that Falcon is working well - not many builds use it but since devotions are easy to reset, you could be the guinea pig. :smiley: