[1.1.9.8 - 1.2.1.2] Spark Transient - Veilkeeper Stormreaver Druid [sr+][vid]

Hello again, fellas! :slightly_smiling_face:

Druid class is usually pretty interesting and unique in games. Be it a conjurer of destructive elemental forces, beast tamer or shapeshifter - lots of fun is guaranteed if you pick the class (the last is especially likeable for me). For example, Diablo 2 LoD. Even though I have never beat the game on Hell difficulty, most of my characters were Druids because of the possibilities they have. Yeah, those were good times :blush:. But in GD…

“Destructive elemental forces” became Cold/Lightning Trozan with worst RR possible (Ultos is better on Warders, in my opinion), “beast tamer” is much sensible on other classes and “shapeshifter” was not even an option :roll_eyes:. Bad sustain, the worst RR, no DR, everything in this implementation of Druid class seems awkward and not pleasant to play. I made only one Druid in GD and threw one build idea after another. One of the last one was Aether Upheaval Veilkeeper + Temporal Arcblade that was… just doing some basic stuff, not bad, but not good either. So I scrapped it. But before removing components and gear stuff I decided to try Lightning variation of Upheaval. Not much expecting from the idea. How did it turn out?

The answer is below.

1. Grimtools link.

High-crit high-OA Upheaval setup with Storm Totems mixed. The devotion tree is, let us just say, “for everything’s practical use”. This is why we have Imp (half-converted to Lightning), half of Dying God, Spear, Viper instead of usual Korvaak, Ultos and Tempest. And Giant, since set we use supports Health regen nicely. The damage of my setup may not be the highest possible but still enough not to fall asleep (or knocked out by enemies :sweat_smile:). Lucky several Upheaval strikes can obliterate even Nemeses in seconds and it is wonderful to watch. Physique dump is because our DA and Health are already not that high (thanks to Heart of the Wild nerfs).

2. In-game character stats.
1.2.1.2_VSD_general_stats
general stats, only passive buffs are active. Damage Per Second is for Savagery

1.2.1.2_VSD_magic_stats
magic stats

1.2.1.2_VSD_defense_stats
defense stats

3. Gear/Build explanation.
For enabling Upheaval builds you need a lot of OA and %Crit Damage. Both masteries provide much of it and gear I chose complements those stats. But it is very important not to forget about other stats too - Health, DA, %AS, overall skillpoints and so on.

  1. Core items.
    Set. Veilkeeper. Nice heavy Aether/Lightning set with Health regen flavor, with bonuses to Upheaval - flat values, %WD, some Stun - and Arcane Will/IEE - huge OA, duration, %AS, even some %Phys res (unlike its brothers Ember and Goredrinker). Great set overall.
    Weapon. Stormreaver. Big Lightning axe with +2 to Shaman, big OA, bonuses to Storm Totem (wish we can summon not 1, but 4 totems at once :thinking:) and flat damage values to Savagery. Mostly Electrocute-oriented, but for our purpose works fine. Craftable.
  2. Mandatory items.
    Amulet. Peerless Eye of Beronath. Great amulet slot with +1 to All Skills, OA/DA, %Crit Damage, Health, triple resistances - eveything you need. I do not use its granted skill, wish it was a proc.
    Rings. Glyph of the Storm Witch. +2 to Storm Totem, Aether-to-Lightning conversion, OA, %Pierce res, proc is okay. Mostly taken for OA and conversion (useful for Upheaval, Savagery and devotions).
    Pants. Stormcage Legguards. Decent Lightning pants with OA/DA, +2 to Raging Tempest and Maelstorm, proc is like on rings but works on hit.
    Relic. Eye of the Storm. An amazing Shaman relic with tons of flat and %Lightning Damage, Spirit, %AS/%CS, with granted aura.
    Belt. Storm Shepherd. +1 to Shaman, Aether-to-Lightning conversion (important), even some OA and %AS/%CS, needed %Vitality and %Chaos resistances.
    Gloves. Emberguard Gauntlets. Craftable slot with in-built DA and %Aether res. Look for DA, %AS, %Pierce/Poison/Chaos Res.
  3. Can be changed.
    Boots. Wyrmscale Footguards. Nice Fire/Lightning slot with OA/DA, +2 to Storm Totem, %Petrify res and defensive proc against Elemental/Bleeding. Good-rolled Stoneplate Greaves, for example, can be better.

Craft with whatever bonuses you want. I have some meager ones like Energy regen and DA.

About Resistance Reduction. Total amount is ~97% (-38% from Raging Tempest modifier of Wind Devil, -35% from Widow constellation and flat 24 from Revenant constellation) plus 20% from Viper constellation, so it may vary. As usual, Grava, Maiden and Morgoneth are pretty resistant to our attacks (first one also fumbles us much, second deals heavy Physical Damage, third one is just annoying to beat). For other bosses and Nemeses - heavy Physical fighters and casters with shotgun attacks hurt much, our DR is not great and consistent. Still this Druid perseveres and crushes :slightly_smiling_face:.

4. Gameplay.
Uptime Storm Totems, obliterate with Savagery + Upheaval procs. Mirror/Wendigo Totem/Nullification in hard situations, Rahn’s Might for movement. Sounds simple? Well, yes and no. Wind Devils are awful and have stupid behaviour (but at last they are permanent! :partying_face:), Totems have short range and short lives. So do not expect an easy cakewalk and practice! :angry:

5. Videos.
Mad Queen (nullify her aura).

Kra’Vall.

Lokarr.

Morgoneth.

SR 75 full.

Avatar of Mogdrogen (old video) (potions are in the video, no Aether Clusters, one healpot on second phase because I am a casual that does not play well :rofl:)

Callagadra (potions are in the video, no Aether Clusters, occasional healpots, kiting - the build cannot handle big Physical blows well).

Crate boss (potions are in the video, one Aether Cluster and occasional healpots. Pretty annoying for its disengage jumps and boxes (as usual), with right position can be killed faster through Mirror+Aether Cluster rotation :man_shrugging:).

Clones of Bourbon (potions are in the video, no Aether Clusters and healpots).

Barrowholm hates me, so they did not let me beat their patron Ravager :rofl:.

So, that was my Veilkeeper Stormreaver Druid. Much better than expected, but I prefer more comfy QoL and tanky characters still. Druids in GD must be played smart to show great results, this is what I have learned. Worth giving a try.

Thanks for visiting my topic. Until next time!

6 Likes

Wind Devils must be better!

Original credit givable?

Have not seen that build before.

must be a coincidence then

Hi! :slightly_smiling_face:

Gotta go fast with updates, Crate will not wait with next patch!

  • Mythical Wyrmscale Footguards: reduced Cooldown on the granted skill
  • Veilkeeper’s Armor: increased Health Regeneration to 38
  • Veilkeeper’s Crest: increased Health Regeneration to 80
  • Veilkeeper’s Mantle: increased Health Regeneration to 38
  • Veilkeeper’s Mask: increased Health Regeneration to 38
  • Ghoul: increased Health Regeneration to 16 and % Health Regeneration to 30%
  • Ghoulish Hunger: added % Increased Healing (Forgotten Gods only) and added % Cast Speed
  • Arcane Will: increased Defensive Ability scaling with rank to 250 by rank 10, 500 by max ultimate rank
  • Iskandra’s Elemental Exchange: reduced % Energy Regeneration scaling with rank to 60% by rank 12, 95% by max ultimate rank
  • Mirror of Ereoctes: increased Energy Cost scaling with rank
  • Nullification: reduced Cooldown scaling with rank to 18s by rank 10, 8s by max ultimate rank
  • Mogdrogen’s Pact: increased Health Regeneration scaling with rank
  • Heart of the Wild: increased % Health Regeneration scaling with rank. Fixed Bleeding and Poison Duration Reduction to correctly reduce the duration of these dots, rather than being multipliers for other Duration Reduction effects.
  • Upheaval: increased base % Weapon damage by 15%
  • Wendigo Totem: increased base % Heal to 3% and increased Damage and Energy Cost scaling with rank
  • Blood Pact: increased Vitality damage scaling with rank

Added new Grimtools link according to new patch realities - more Health regen oriented, with Behemoth instead of Chariot - and Imp (convenient devotion points, proc is also partially converted), as well as videos (except for Mogdrogen).

Have fun!

1 Like

Hello! Glad to see you :slightly_smiling_face:.

This build was slightly updated in 1.2.1.2.

  • Updated ambient sound effect for Wind Devils.
  • Crafted - Emberguard Gauntlets: replaced % Physical Resist with 60 Defensive Ability
  • Crafted - Plagueguard Grips: replaced % Physical Resist with 70 Offensive Ability
  • Mythical Wyrmscale Footguards: reduced Cooldown on the skill proc
  • Ghoul: increased % Attack damage Converted to Health to 5%
  • Revenant: added 60% Vitality damage, 60% Aether damage amd 20% Stun Resist. Increased % Health to 6%. Removed pet bonuses.
  • Widow: added 10 Defensive Ability
  • Aetherfire: increased Aether damage scaling with rank
  • Arcane Bomb: increased % Aether Resist Reduction scaling with rank to -40% and increased Aether damage scaling with rank
  • Raise the Dead: increased Damage on the summoned pets
  • Spear of the Heavens: increased Aether and Electrocute damage scaling with rank
  • Elemental Balance: increased % Dot Duration scaling with rank to 75% by rank 12, 125% by max ultimate rank
  • Heart of the Wild: reduced % Health Regeneration scaling at ultimate ranks
  • Oak Skin: increased Defensive Ability scaling with rank to 108 by rank 12, 180 by max ultimate rank
  • Wind Devil: wind devils are now permanent like their Blade Spirit and Guardian of Empyrion cousins. All modifiers that affected their burst summon, duration and cooldown have been removed. Simply :+1:.

I changed the build a bit - took some devotions with %Phys Res like Stag and Sailor to compensate its loss through gloves. Yes, I use yellow Emberguard ones for much needed DA and affixes :neutral_face:. Still do not like using Beronath amulet skill for OA reduction :man_shrugging:. But now we do not have to worry much about Wind Devils since they became permanent. That is a relief :slightly_smiling_face:.

GT link and screenshots updated. Have fun!

1 Like