I MADE IT. AAHAHAHAH.
So Saboteur is probably one of the, if not the worst class in the game. The main problems when making a melee dual wield FS Sabo are that it lacks everything: HP, armor, OA/DA, good synergy, etc, etc.
One of the only ways to make up for all these issues is using a fix-all super defensive set: the most obvious ones are Shattered Realm and Justicar sets. But hey! Vanilla, right? So no SR set. And it’s the millionth time I use Justice set. I’m tired. I want to make Sabo work using something new…
Bottom line is, I gotta find an equivalent of the above sets for Sabo in vanilla. While I was thinking about, the solution came to me when I dropped a Herald piece in MC. After all, Herald set is basically a poor man’s SR set! Lots of resists, +1 to all skills, and just 3 pieces to make it! I also put N&O in, because A: I wanted as many +skills as possible, B: I want to hurt myself trying to make a dual damage Sabo work. The result:
GT = https://www.grimtools.com/calc/a2E00nPN [all crafting bonuses are for Physique]
GT for Mogdrogen Spec = https://www.grimtools.com/calc/nZo0yovN [Warning: heavily GD-stashed belt]
Gear
Aside from Herald set, almost everything else is fairly uninspired Sabo armor. Two Justice pieces becuase it’s just too good to pass up completely, El. Balance rings, MoD, yada yada. Solal pants are to remind people I’m GD-Stashing scum of the earth that covers resists with fantasy greens.
Thanks to having a ton of craftable items and GDStash, cough, cough, multiple Physique bonuses add up to a very respectable amount of DA.
Devo path
Sure, probably the path that leads to Ulzuin’s Torch is miles better than mine. But you know what? I’m a weird ass that wanted to really make dual Fire/Cold work and so I went for Sage+Leviathan+3pts Mogdrogen. Mostly because I can take all the stat (defensive especially) juice from Throne+Hawk+Wolverine+Leviathan.
Performance
Trash mobs mostly melt on Ultimate. So far, I’ve managed to beat Fabius, Valdaran, Moosie, Iron Maiden, the Steps of Torment and Port Valbury on Ultimate. Most of the damage probably comes from procs, I think.
Edit: So far Ultimate Mogdrogen kicks my ass fairly easily. I can stall him for a surprisingly long amount of time, but as soon as I miss a heal/Blade Barrier cast/Aether Cluster I die nearly instantly. At least the freezing effect of my procs keeps most of his ads at bay very efficiently. I might try again but not now. That said, I got sweet revenge (kind of) by beating the guy’s ass in Veteran in about 2:11 minutes, so there’s that.
Gameplay Tips
Trash melts whatever you do, so idk about tips there. Against Nemesis, keep them under debuff from Flashbang+Thermite Mine+Ring of Steel, keep attacking with Fire Strike and watch out for health. 10k HP is pretty pitiful for a melee char and bursty crits can shave off huge amounts of health, so use tonics and Pn Burst without hesitation when Blast Shield goes away.
Special thanks to @mad_lee (for inspiring me to use SR set-like armor as a crutch) and @jajaja (for his old guide on Saboteur for vanilla).
If there are other builds similar to this let me know so I’ll try add their links here!
Link to jajaja’s Tri-Element Saboteur
Link to mad_lee’s SR set+N&O Saboteur
