[1.1.8.1-1.1.9.0] Sword and Board "Wait it's not a DK?" Aether Apostate - SR80, 8 min Crucible, Mogdrogen, Ravager

Alright, time for another Bonemonger build, this time using the Mythical Untouchable shield that recently got support for Inquisitor class. One would think this is meant for Tactician but don’t be fooled, it’s actually an Apostate item.

Aether%20Apostate%20stats%20buffs
With permanent buffs, Word of Renewal, Soul Harvest and Mind Warp

Beronath%20dmg%20breakdown
Damage breakdown on beronath’s fury with all buffs active

Updated Grimtools: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/DV9j86nZ (Version in Ravager video)
Grimtools: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/1NXQrMX2 (Version displayed in other videos)

Build performance

Ravager of Minds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEGmQ3nMDko&feature=youtu.be (requires pharma and kiting in 2nd phase)

Avatar of Mogdrogen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOXhaZpm8Rw&feature=youtu.be

SR 80 boss room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDV6n08K-x0&feature=youtu.be

Crucible 150-170 just under 8 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4QsUbAemvU&feature=youtu.be

Gear

  • Bonemonger set because what else?

  • Untouchable shield: +1 inquisitor skills, bonus duration on MoT, physical resistance and a ridiculous amount of DA.

  • Mindwarp: Resistance shred, conversion, attack speed, OA, +3 to Spectral Binding. Shard of Beronath since we get good attack speed and since elemental and physical damage are (partially) converted to aether.

  • Magelord rings: Allows to hard cap Inquisitor Seal, elemental to aether conversion and a bunch of useful stats.

  • Mark of Anathema: Good damage, OA, max resistance to elemental. Modifier on Siphon Souls helps a bit. I’m using glyph of Incorporeal Winds for fumble and damage.

  • Magelord boots: Slow resist, OA, bonus to all damage, hp; good stuff.

  • Cord of Deception: My favorite belt for most Inquisitor builds. Ridiculous amounts of DA.

  • Krieg’s Grip: A must have for auto attack aether builds in my opinion.

  • Wraithborne Legwraps: Bunch of useful stats.

  • Urobooruk’s Reaping: +1 Necro skills, more lifesteal, speed, health, and damage. Ideally you want the bonus to Spectral Binding to hit 22/12. I kind of underuse the granted skill since the build already has 9 other active skills but it’s still a good pick.

Alternative item choices that didn’t make the final cut for various reasons: Serenity relic, Chausses of Barbaros, Legplates of Valor, Edge of Sanity, Mark of the Dreadblade. Could give up Shard of Beronath and set Reaping Arc as left click. Glyph of the Dark Progenitor for OA DA shred, but I avoid Leap abilities if I can (fight me).

I tried crafting for stun resist, but I only got Freeze resistance :frowning:

Devotion

The usual aether stuff with Revenant as a source of flat rr. Grabbing attack speed where we can. Empty Throne fits weirdly, but is needed to fix terrible cc resistance. I tried a setup with Aeon’s Hourglass to reduce Mark of Torment cooldown, but it didn’t help that much.

In the updated version I gave up throne and put Seal of Resonance in shield instead. This allows us to spend 3 points in Wendigo and 1 point in Hourglass.

Skills

Left Arcane Empowerment as a 1 pointer to max BH instead. Both wps are at 9 points for 50% proc chance in total. I think the rest is self-explanatory.

In the updated version, I left BH as a 1 pointer and hard capped MoT and WoR to be comfortable vs Ravager. Aoe damage takes a bit of a hit, but you can put back more points in BH for Crucible and for farming purposes in SR.

Attributes

Enough Cunning to equip Mindwarp. Shield and belt provide such an absurd amount of DA that we can afford heavy investment in Spirit. Since we can’t have 100% conversion on elemental and vitality to aether, this helps out damage output significantly since we also have resist shred to those damage types.

Pros

  • Is an Apostate.
  • Surprisingly decent damage output.
  • High lifesteal.
  • Flashy and fun.
  • Is basically a hipster Death Knight.

Cons

  • Kind of a piano build for what was supposed to be an auto-attack build.
  • Very fragile outside of Inquisitor Seal, especially if Ill Omen or Mark of Torment is not yet applied to enemies.
  • Low armor and hp.
  • Damage types are kind of all over the place since conversion options are a bit lacking, but that’s just Crate trying to prevent Apostate from being the best class in the game.
11 Likes

I see apostate I hit like

1 Like

Damn right!

Updated the build with reworked devotions, components and skill points distribution. The build is now tankier and can take down Ravager!

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Tried the updated Colossal Bulwark shield on this one yet?

I haven’t but this may be better. Also wondering if it would be worth to just use 1H Reaping Arc over Beronath now. This character is kind of a mess now that I look back at it :sweat_smile:

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Ok, so I went to check the vendor just for the heck of it and on the 4th reset or so, Hyram hits me with this beauty


Looks like I’ve got some testing to do :smile:

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How do you think this concept would work as ranged with Dreadscorcher? Would allow you to use the Inquisitor WPS as well.

Dreadscorcher is a fine aether weapon, although its power is closely tied to Fire Strike and Flame Touched modifiers. I would suggest Purifier or even Defiler for that purpose.

True, but extra conversion and plus 2 to all skills is nothing to sneeze at.

Also true, but you run into the same problems this build has (lack of pierce conversion and full elemental/vitality to aether) but without the tankiness. Also fire → aether and elemental → aether conversion are multiplicative, not additive, so even fire conversion wouldn’t be 100% with Dreadscorcher.

I actually theorycrafted aether or lightning Apostates using different combinations of Veilkeeper/Bonemonger/Runebinder and Evoker of Elgoloth / Dreadscorcher / Vortex of Souls and nothing seemed cohesive enough for my taste.

Yeah, bone harvest is tricky with 3 damage types. It’s too bad the bonemonger gem and the conduit overlap.

Edit: I may just have to go spellbinder and mix sets, although Vortex of Souls probably works better for that. Something like this maybe: Spellbinder, Level 100 (GD 1.1.9.1) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator