Yeah 50 devotion points. Then I think you can just cut out Ultos from my devo setup and it’ll be alright more or less. Maybe redo it to include Rhowan’s Crown and save on BWC skill points, geting SJ or Canister instead. The build is quite flexible in this regard.
So I’ve reached level 100 and it has been smooth sailing so far. My character right now:
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/xZy0YQwV
I just reached Homestead on Ultimate (I used this character for farming on elite so it’s overleveled). I was face-tanking (to a reasonable degree, avoiding ground effects and big hits) pretty much everything but Celestial Totems give me some troubles.
3x Scion of Famine with Shadow Strike-like ability is a bit too much. I can dodge their hits but one mistake while Blast Shield is on CD and I’m down. So I’m planning some changes.
- I can sacrifice ~250 OA and some flat lightning damage by changing some augments and components to gain ~300 DA and +1,5 k HP.
- Exchange Scaled Hide for Living Armor and Ancient Armor Plates and get ~300 armor for 6% armor absorption.
- Change devotions and get a circuit-breaker. I wanted to get Ghoul but after some theory-crafting Behemoth fits too. I think Tortoise would be nice as well since it has short cooldown. Main issue is - Turtle Shell will likely activate together with Blast Shield which defeats the point. There is also no way to ensure Giant’s Blood proc on low HP which sucks. This basically leaves Ghoul as the best option. I can probably fit 2 or either of them + Solemn Watcher. Another idea is to get Time Dilation to reset Blast Shield (dunno about this one).
- Git gud and try to dodge whatever bosses are throwing at me and let Wind Devils and Totems do their thing.
I will do some farming and go with option 1 for now since I was planning it anyway. I don’t know if option 2 is worth it.
For 3rd option I will have to drop Korvaak and Rhowan’s Crown which means re-introducing BWC which does the same thing as those two devotions - it’s just one more button to press instead having it automated.
4th option is likely not happening xD Also, this would require getting the Bat and converting it with the Chains of Brandis because large chunk of my sustain comes from standing next to wendigo totem, spamming Chain Lightning and multiple procs with weapon damage.
I will do some farming and boost my DA for now. See it that helps. It’s worth mentioning what Scions of Famine shaves off ~300 DA from me with their attacks which probably allows them to crit me. Maybe just getting more DA will solve my issue.
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Congratz on reaching level 100!
Yeah, you can totally use Typhoon powder instead if you feel you’re too squishy. It’s actually the better augment for casters because casters hardly make good use of flat damage. Only problem is lightning is kind of about electrocute crits so you wouldn’t want your OA too low either.
Hmmm well not the route I’d take since casters usually stack physical resistance over armor, and they don’t really need more armor absorption than what living armor + scaled hide offer. But living armor would be totally an upgrade in your case since you’re obviously lacking elemental overcaps.
There is, bind it to Blast Shield.
Yes, that’s also part of defense equation.
Well, if you hate BWC then nothing can be done about it I guess. Technically BWC could improve your survivability via OA shred and large area pro-active DR from demon fire (as opposed to reactive conditional DR of Ulzuin’s Wrath).
That’s the root of your problems xD
Good luck in your adventure!
How about the Kymon chosen faction rings for +2 storm totem each? Chosen Flame Seal worth it even at level 100? I think its one of the best low level faction rings/amulets 
I always aim to use those ASAP when I am leveling a caster shaman build and almost always tend to keep them until I get BiS gear.
Yeah, I’m afraid of losing those crits.
After the change my stats would look something like this: 3k->2,8k OA for 2,5k->2,8k DA.
Dunno why but grimtools shows my resistances incorrectly. Cold and fire are missing ~10% and I’ll probably can squeeze another 10% with some augment/component optimization.
I just have to farm some ugdenblooms…
But then it would proc during Blast Shield, right? I need something outside of Blast Shield.
So which one would be better: Ghoul, Behemoth (full or proc only) or Tortoise? I can get one and slap Solemn Watcher on top or possibly get two procs.
I don’t really hate BWC - I just managed to get Rhowan’s+Korvaak which basically do the same thing so I was happy to have flat RR, OA and DA shred “automated” instead having to press another button. BWC is totally an option, especially if I can finally get Cyclone (less Devil summoning, more time to cast other skills).
I hate putting Bat in every build. I’m just tired of it. Also, sustain is not a big issue here - big hits in quick succession when Blast Shield is on CD - this is what kills me. Dunno if Bat would help me here.
I don’t have a lot of experience on Ultimate so I don’t know if there’s more engagements like Scion of Famine (multiple bosses, big hits, DA shred). I was doing fine so far with my setup even if I had to kite a bit, I was using this time to re-summon Devils and Totems. Then you have 3x Scion teleporting on me and deleting me if I stop for a second while I don’t have Blast Shield available.
Thanks for all help 
Grimtools take into account the average, while in-game it can either roll higher or lower than that.
Still that would imply there’s not much of an overcap and if enemy has elemental resistance reduction it gonna hurt.
Pretty much, but then again Blast Shield activates at 60% so that means you’re 40% hp down.
Ugh, no idea tbh. Ghoul is a classic choice while Behemoth is seldom picked unless there’s much cdr, as for Tortoise it’s still looked down upon even with recent buffs. Try to experiment I guess?
Yes, but you had to skip Reckless Tempest because of that, which means you have less total electrocute and less electrocute duration
I don’t like it either but it’s one of the most consistent ways to ensure sustain.
Review your defenses then for starters, and try to improve your piloting skills a bit. It’s an action RPG, there would always be a point where improving numbers is no longer possible and you’ll just have to play around it.
I’m able to recover those 40% rather quickly when BS is up. Problems start when BS is on CD.
I’ve got BWC+Conduit to convert it. Added Ghoul and Solemn Watcher. Oklaine’s to compensate for missing offensive stats from Korvaak. After shitting augments and components I have 2843 OA and 2837 DA.
We’ll see if I like. Shame that Conduit didn’t change BWC color to blue, electrified cloud 
True, but I actually had more electrocute damage than build posted in the guide. Duration was still at +70% and does it even matter if I keep reapplying it? Can you have more electrocute “stacks” from the same source?
Also, I had Korvaak with DA shred for more crits. I’m wondering if I should keep it for the proc, even if I already have BWC (I can get Ghoul like I wanted + full Korvaak).
Well, Ultimate was certainly a gameplay-shift. I can no longer face-tank some enemies and stand in one place until everything dies. At least sometimes - most bosses and totems still barely scratch me. “Marine micro” with chain lightning is enough for most troublesome enemies. Tbh, only Scions of Famine from totem give me troubles with their teleport and DA shred.
Full-kite mode is always an option, too (since most of damage comes from Devils and Totems).
It is because you use BWC transmuter. Iirc the color change for untransmuted BWC
If you keep reapplying in the no, I guess not.
No, same source stacking doesn’t work.
Dunno, I’d say no but the petrify on proc is so convenient to play with.
Really? It’s still a shame, though. Transmuter doesn’t change the damage type (like AAR transmuter) - it’s still fire and chaos.
Nice. I got something right for once 
Yep.
I think I’ll stop faffling around and just boost my DA and resistances. It’s not like I’m dying a lot, maybe once per 3 celestial totems (I did all ultimate content until Homestead, including new optional areas and SoT without hiccups).
I’ll try BWC and see if I like it. If yes, then I’ll drop Rhowan’s Crown for some defensive proc.
Ok, hold on guys - I’m almost done.
So I think I will settle on one of those two versions:
-
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/8NKwJO8N
Removed Korvaak, added Behemoth, Oklaine’s and… Flashbang for defence and DA shred. I tested it for a bit and Flashbang alone helps quite a bit. Slow, fumble, confuse, impaired aim - it replaces Korvaak proc quite nicely. Crits are really juicy in this version with +73% crit damage. -
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/lNkGlORN
BWC version. Removed Korvaak and Rhowan’s Crown, added Behemoth and I even managed to squeeze in Tempest. This version has less overall damage (both lightning and electrocute) but more sources of damage (converted BWC and Tempest proc).
So I quite like Flashbang - more crits, CC, almost unnoticeable on screen (BWC clutters it quite a lot, part of the reason why I don’t like it) and I can sacrifice even more OA for DA. But I’m afraid this version is way worse than BWC version (especially if I find Wyrmbone Handguards) - build is heavy on electrocute damage and having 2 more sources of it seems like a lot.
I picked Behemoth for defensive proc because it fits in devotion path. Even if it procs during Blast Shield, it will last for a decent time after it so I will have topped off HP and maybe few seconds to another Blast Shield. So this should be decent enough safety margin for failing (like getting stuck on terrain or objects while repositioning…) xD Tbh, even Flashbang alone made things a lot smoother.
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Another great guide, Stupid_Dragon. I love that you levelled with wind devils all the way.
Did you consider using Stormserpent Mask instead of Fettan Mask in your final setup? You would lose health and slow res (which is overcapped by 33% anyway), but get a bunch of damage, some CDR, and some piercing to lightning conversion which should improve even further the sustain from bat devotion. You would just have to fix your resistances somehow.
To be honest I did not because the guide was done before Stormserpent Mask received +1 to Shaman and Demolitionist.
Overall looks reasonable, yeah I’d had probably used it instead now.
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Hey all - sorry to necro this. I just got GD and I just wanted to know how big of a change the 1.1.9.6 version is and if this will significantly impact me building this, well build, according to the levelling guide.
I did notice that many more points are needed to be put into Shaman Mastery to gain access to both Wind Devil and Raging Tempest than stated in the guide. I presume this is due to the change in patch?
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can i do this build in 1.1.9.6?
Hello, I began your build yesterday (so 1.2), I’m at lvl 21. Honestly, I rushed a bit in Shaman mastery bar in order to discover the tree more quickly. Your guide is very clear and, from a beginner (but experience in Diablo 2, 3, Torchlight 2 and Titan Quest), we understand the guideline of the character very well.
We understand very well where we are going. Thanks.
I think I’ll post another message, when I’ll more advanced.
Is it viable to use a 2H ranged and build into Primal strike and Fire strike?