[Beginning of Ultimate + Relic Crafting]
Once you get to Homestead in Ultimate and can buy Aether Shards from Isaiah, you can create / obtain enough dynamite to dismantle every Level 50/75 Legendary in your Stash. No one wants underleveled equipment, and dismantling gives you tons of Scrap (for creating crafted Rimeguard pants, Ember or Plagueguard gloves, or Stoneplate Greave boots where you will find these recipes in Ultimate) as well as a good chance of a Rare crafting component like Blood of Ch’thon, Ancient Hearts, Trainted Brain Matter, or Ugdenblooms. This will drastically cut down the time you need to gather the materials before you can craft something you’re looking for.
Crafting Reaver's Hunger
Thanks to all the work we did up to this point, my character had plenty of iron bits and materials to craft the Reaver’s Hunger amulet. I’m not joking when I say the hardest and most time-consuming component to get was the Kirian’s Shattered Soul from the Undead Boss in Arkovian City. This is a great opportunity to do Rover’s bounties if you are not already Revered with this faction. With all crafted items, you get a specific bonus depending on which blacksmith you do the crafting. In the case of Reaver’s Hunger, I went with the Legion Blacksmith to ensure I don’t get low-rolled on the Aether or Chaos resistance bonuses, but Angrim (in Devil’s Crossing) for Physique or Armor bonus is - in many cases - the optimal choice.
Relic Discussion
I’ve kept my relic as Sanctuary since forever - the damage relics don’t provide enough offensive oomph to make it worth it, at least until you get the Sacred Talisman in Ultimate. The % Health, Pierce Resistance, and Physical damage absorption are useful no matter where you go, at least until you get Honored faction to get the Vitality + Chaos damage + 3% Health ring augments.
Deathchill & Fortress are other offensive / defensive relics you can use if you feel that you’re either lacking damage or not feeling you’re taking the hits you want, but they are both relics with fairly expensive costs to make, so it’s your choice as to whether you feel it’s worth the increased cost for it or not.
Once you get the Sacred Talisman, you can use that for the rest of the game until you get the Solael’s Decimation / Eldritch Pact / Oblivion relics (the last one you only use once you have the Voidsoul set and switch your Devotion route to get Dying God). If you are freshly new player, you may have a hard time getting the recipes of some of the lower-tier Mythical Relics to drop, as your main Mythical Relics often require 1-2 other Mythical Relics to craft them. Monster Totems - and later, Shattered Realm runs - are the best way to get yourself access to these recipes.
Once the character reaches level 90, you will be able to access AoM armor augments as well as Revered AoM & FG faction gear. In the case of this build, you’ll want Barrowhelm’s Wendigo Chest Piece with +Sigil of Consumption and the faction ring which gives +Destruction. If you set up a riftpoint near the Faction shop, you can leave to a different area, wait a few minutes, then come back until you get ideal rolls for your new equipment.
Farming Morgoneth's Dungeon in Elite
While this is certainly not required for a budget setup, the Conduits of X Whispers are crafted amulets which provide a ton of resistances while giving modifiers to skills not seen anywhere else. My endgame build uses the -Chaos resistance to Summon Guardian of Empiryon, though it could also use the Vitality transmuter to Aegis of Menhir in combination with other conversions to Vitality such as Dark’s One Set which converts Chaos damage to Vitality for Doom Bolt & Oblivion casting.
The final boss of the Tomb of the Heretic - Grand Magus Morgoneth - is a very difficult enemy even in Elite, so make sure your Elemental Resistance has at least 30-40% Resistance Overcap in Ultimate once you have your augments applied. The merchant in Morgoneth’s dungeon works exactly the same as Vinelton in Ancient Grove: If your Conduit doesn’t show up, leave to the other zone, wait for 2-3 minutes, then come back to a refreshed store.
