Hello People! Another Pet Hybrid build has been completed and it is the only one that has a complete end game set that supports it: Diviner Spellbinder. I’m not the first to try this concept, but my approach was different enough from @AlkamosHater that I decided to add it to the forums. This is a really long post. See Conclusion section at the bottom for TL, DR.
Stats with all auras and Call of the Grave active.
This time I don’t have much to say about the leveling process because I started this build all the way back in patch 1.1.9.5, so I mostly forgot how things went. But i’m fairly certain there weren’t any problems or bumps in the road nor many deviations from my original plans. This is exactly because of the Diviner Set being designed specifically to support this playstyle. I started this knowing it simply wouldn’t fail. The Diviner Set is very strong and Spellbinder is also one of the best class combinations in the game.
Equipment
The core of the build is the Diviner’s Vision set which boosts Reap Spirit with lots of flat Aether damage and converts Fire Damage to Vitality Damage on Devastation. Both skills end up with mixed damage: Aether + Vitality Decay on Reap Spirit and Aether + Vitality on Devastation. So, the build isn’t just a mix of Pets + Player, but also a combo of Aether + Vitality. Necromancer supports this through Spectral Wrath and Reap Spirit also gets 25 flat RR, but Arcanist doesn’t have any RR to further increase the damage of the build.
The key component here is the weapon: Cryptstalker. It grants an aura that reduces enemy Aether, Vitality and Bleeding (not relevant here) resistances by 15%. The problem with it is the short range on the aura which means staying closer to the combat is required to apply it. Spellbinder has some really great defensive tools to help with this (Mirror of Ereoctes, Mark of Torment, Maiven’s Sphere of Protection), but it is also important to know when you need to disengage from combat. A Teleportation Skill on the Medal will help with repositioning.
When it comes to Pets, I decided to go for the full Vitality conversion route because the Diviner Set already converts Cold to Vitality partially. So, a combination of Lunal’Valgoth’s Girdle + Mythical Spiritbinder Glyph was used to fully convert Elemental to Vitality. The build also uses Master of Death as the exclusive skill, so Mythical Bonescavenger’s Deathgrips were used (Physical to Vitality conversion + extra Spirit Pets) in conjunction with a Mythical Marrow Band ring. The Stalwart Guardian from the ring is the only source of taunt in this build and it is weak in comparison to Ground Slam or Ishtak, but it can alleviate some pressure from the player, occasionally.
I chose a Deathwatcher Pendant in the amulet slot for the increased duration + heal on Call of the Grave. The Mythical Mark of Unlife provides more DA and another circuit breaker for the build. The Mythical Deathwalker’s Grace were chosen for the proc, skill points and Pierce resistance. Pierce and Acid/Poison resistance were a big problem. Seal of Might can’t be used in this build (it converts Aether to Physical), so this is a significant loss of Pierce and Physical resistances. Seal of Resonance was used for the CC resists instead.
Due to the Pierce and Acid/Poison resist issue I had to go for some big values on the belt and pants which doesn’t make me happy. The skill points on the Grava’Thul’s Legguards are pretty decent here, but this isn’t exactly an easy option for most players, so Bysmiel-Sect Legguards (with Pierce and Acid/Poison resists) is a safer bet. And lastly, the Bysmiel’s Domination relic was used for stats, physical resistance and the proc.
Devotions
Purple Crossroad → Shepherd’s Crook → Remove Purple → Green Crossroad → Bat → Hawk → Chariot of the Dead → Remove Hawk → Bysmiel’s Bonds → Viper → Yellow Crossroad → Tortoise → Remove Yellow → Widow → Crane → Rattosh → 3 Points in Wendigo (for Physical resistance) → 3 Points in Sailor’s Guide (for Freeze/Slow Resistance and Movement Speed).
Achievements
Full Campaign and all Key Dungeons cleared first try. SR 65-66 cleared within timer and no deaths. Lokarr, Bourbon Clones, Ravager of Flesh and Avatar of Mogdrogen defeated on first try. I also took the opportunity to fight Ulgrim on Ultimate and see how difficult he was going to be, but it was really easy. Interestingly, even after I had already defeated Lokarr and before Ravager or Mogdrogen, the game considered Ulgrim the strongest monster I had killed. So, the game considers Ulgrim a more formidable foe than Lokarr? Humm…
Ravager was a bit tricky due to his high Vitality Resistance and due to him moving constantly out of the Devastation AoE. Spirits can completely block him from reaching the player, but it is always necessary to pay attention to your health due to the heavy bleeding from orbiting projectile. Potions used: all health regen potions, Royal Jelly Essence, Ugdensalve, Vilescar Ointment, Venomguard Ointment, Deathwhisper Ointment and Elixir of the Dranghoul/Mogdrogen.
Mogdrogen was surprisingly easier compared to Ravager. I think it was because of his summons. The build uses Twin Fangs for damage and leeching and his endless hordes of monsters just contributed to my health gain throughout the fight. The moments when things got a little dangerous were exactly the ones where he was by himself. And I finally got a Mantle with full conversion on both Fire and Vitality. Potions used: all health regen potions, Royal Jelly Essence, Ugdensalve, Vilescar Ointment, Stormshroud Ointment, Frostshroud Ointment and Elixir of the Dranghoul/Mogdrogen.
UPDATE: SR 80 has been conquered and a new video was added to Gameplay Videos section.
Gameplay Videos
Conclusion
This is one of the strongest builds I made. The Diviner Set combined with the natural high damage of Reap Spirit and Devastation + a bunch of Pets to keep pressuring and piling damage on enemies is super good. And Spellbinder has some of the strongest defensive tools in the game (Mirror of Ereoctes + Mark of Torment). High OA and DA, CC resistance, leeching, AoE, Damage Reduction, Crowd Control… This build has a lot of things to work with.
The build has some glaring flaws, though. Low movement speed (can be improved with Mogdrogen’s Ardor and slight adjustments on devotions), difficult to balance resistances without green items (Pierce and Acid/Poison, mainly), low health and physical resistance (when compared to other Pet builds) and the fact that enemies will prefer to focus on the player because of their high damage (one Stalwart Guardian isn’t enough and I wasn’t able to fit Ishtak and Rattosh in the same build without giving up other important things).
The most important thing is that it is really fun to play and provides a good mix of player strength and Pet damage/protection. Feel free to leave any questions/suggestions below. Thanks for reading!