Foreword
Northern lights were flashing in the sky. Inquisitor was taking his daily nap which sometimes transformed into a deep night slumber. His sleep was disturbed only by an occasional nature call which was helped by a contraption that Luminari healers made for him and that he kept under his bed (he lovingly nicknamed it “my wet duck”). Malakor was rarely seen in the court nowadays, rumour had it that he was working on a project of a new city ruled only by church and Inquisition. The rumour was mostly spread by Inquisitor himself as it seemed like almost nobody cared about building new settlements and more people were becoming concerned about the balance of magic in Cairn, deeply disturbed by Inquisitor’s own actions.
“Sire, we have reports of a rogue ice mage, roaming Arkovia”, reported one of his faceless servants, a part of once elite group, of which only few remained these days, almost as old as Malakor himself tasked mostly with cleaning up his chamber and taking care of Inquisitor’s favourite “wet duck”. “Are you bloody jesting, you old fool, Olexra is long banished from this kingdom, I’ve signed the papers. I’ve even expunged that bastard from Cairn’s registry myself, signed and sealed!” Malakor suddenly felt his age as his blood pressure began to rise. “Sire, it’s not Olexra”.
The Build
1.1.9.8 update
Rounded the build up with Turtle and more phys res in general. It’s pretty reliable but it definitely requires more active piloting with correct positioning and active use of Nullification and mirror.
<<<< GRIMTOOLS (actual) >>>>
GRIMTOOLS (1.1.9.7)
GRIMTOOLS (1.1.9.6)
GRIMTOOLS (1.1.9.4)
GRIMTOOLS (1.1.9.1)
*Craft for %physique and healing effects
**For deep shards and Celestial fights soft cap Mirror with points from Mental Alacrity
Chilling grip of uncomfortable questions
No Morgo gloves for full conversion?
OA bonus from Easter combo is better, I have tested it.
DA looks super low. What’s up with that?
There are no meaningful ways to amass decent DA on a Druid without making big sacrifices which will ultimately mean worse survivability. This build compensates low DA by huge hp regen stack and multiple fail saves.
That double rare off-hand tho
Single rare will suffice. You MUST roll physical resist and casting speed on it tho (like “Glacial … of Celerity”)
Gear/Skills and Devotions/Leveling
Skill distribution is pretty standard but the devotion route is pretty conservative however: it was designed in a way that allows fully offensive setup and full Spirit dump. Most gear pieces should be easy to farm, off-hand might take a bit of time.
Gameplay
In Crucible build can facetank almost everything, however, you should be aware of your Mirror/belt proc cooldowns and use Nullification frequently.
In Shattered Realm It’s actually pretty easy as you can play from a long range.
Just watch the videos to learn how to play the build.
Stats
Videos
1.1.9.8 Ravager 1:51 kill (50% success rate)
1.1.9.8 Crucible Gladiator 150-170 lucky 4:06 run
1.1.9.6 Shards 75-76 (turtle setup)
1.1.9.6 Crucible Gladiator 150-170 lucky 4:12 run
1.1.9.6 Shard 90 (couple of deaths)
1.1.9.6 Ravager kill (3:03, needs kiting)
1.1.9.6 Crate of Entertainment kill
1.1.9.3 Crucible Gladiator 150-170 4:19 run
1.1.9.1 Crucible Gladiator 150-170 4:24 run
1.1.9.1 Crate of Entertainment 1:51
1.1.9.1 Shard 90 boss room with few deaths
1.1.9.1 Shard 100 boss room with few deaths
1.1.9.1 Crucible Gladiator 150-170 “naked” extra spawn 6:57 run
In Conclusion
As the winter was coming to an end Malakor’s daytime naps were getting shorter as he was getting more wary every day. The reports of a new rogue ice mage didn’t lead to anything but Inquisitor’s increased anxiety. He has signed a decree banning new rogue mage from Cairn long before that rogue could even reach new borders of the kingdom, although Inquisition’s outposts at the border were reporting multiple massive blizzard storms at the last reported location of the mage.
“Well at least someone stays loyal to me till the end” - said Malakor to his “wet duck” contraption as he was putting it away and preparing for another daytime nap. That day he dreamt of frozen popsicle sticks that his mother used to buy him when he was just a little kid.
Shoutout to @Plasmodermic and his original cold TSS Druid ([1.1.5.1] Cold Damage Strikes Back - Cold non set TSS Druid - 5:15 Crucible [g4][c+][vid]) and to @nofika4u for his brilliant suggestion to use Tinker’s belt.