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GrimTools: Cabalist, Level 100 (GD 1.2.1.2) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
Lol I just realised the amulet is missing a suffix and a component. O well
The link is the build used in the videos in this post, so at least it’s accurate.
A remake of an old theme, this Aether Nuker deals serious spike damage and brings a decent amount of survivability to boot. If you want to feel like a powerful wizard obliterating enemies with aether magic, give this build a spin. It is regularly critting for 500-800k damage with either Reap Spirit or Doom Bolt. Reap Spirit crits up to 1.13m in the right circumstances for nice single target burst damage, and Doom Bolt can double-hit or double-crit for 500-600k damage per proc (1m - 1.2m total damage) to groups of enemies. With the clairvoyant set, each of these skills has a 25% chance to have 0 cooldown, allowing you to instantly recast it. This allows for fun moments where both of them reset instantly in succession, allowing you to pull off 4-5 of these heavy hitting spells in quick succession, dealing massive spike damage.
Here’s a vid of SR playstyle - SR 76:
With 25% global skill cooldown reduction, Reap Spirit can be cast about once every 1.9 seconds, and Doom Bolt about once every 3 seconds. The build has 100% vitality damage converted to aether and 50% chaos damage converted to aether. This helps to boost the overall weapon damage of the build, and makes good use of the flat damage added by Solael’s Witchfire, Second Rite, Possession and Soul Harvest. It also fully converts the damage of the Clairvoyant wand, allowing for 17k weapon damage. Because the weapon damage is significant, Chain Lightning with its 70% weapon damage and Eye of Korvaak’s 18% weapon damage particles all make for good filler damage in between the spikes.
Healing
Healing comes from a mix of high lifestealing attacks and health restore skills/procs:
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High life steal (24%) for weapon based attacks
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Reap Spirit - On top of the lifesteal for the weapon damage portion of this attack, reap spirits also have 15% of attack damage converted to health thanks to the Pulsing Shard offhand. Each reap spirit nuke fully heals the caster due to its massive damage.
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Sigil of Consumption (additional flat damage, all converted to Aether, longer lasting, 20% total damage modified. As this is longer lasting, you can have multiple up at once. Each crits for up to 65k damage, healing for up to 22% of that damage.
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Blood of Dreeg heals for a nice 32% of health restored each cast
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Moment of Clarity from the clarivoyant scepter heals for 1100 flat hp every ~2.5 seconds (15% chance on attack)
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The Haunt relic reduces life leech resistance by 8%, allowing your lifestealing attacks to heal from all but the most resistant of targets.
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Clairvoyance set bonus gives a 10% + 750 hp heal every 6 seconds on crit.
Other Defenses
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Ill Omen reduces enemy damage by 25%
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Possession provides a nice 18% damage absorption
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29% physical resistance isn’t bad in today’s Grim Dawn climate. The build has very low armour, so if it didn’t have these other defenses (damage reduction, damage absorption, phys res), it would feel very squishy
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Phoenix Fire provides 188 flat damage absorption which can never be underestimated.
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Eye of Korvaak provides a wonderful petrifying screen between you and many trash mobs, allowing you to take on large groups of enemies without taking too much damage from them (because they get stunlocked
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Vid: Crucible 130-140, 1m+ crit
Skip to 2:41 to see a 1,013,358 damage reap spirit crit in this video
Enjoy!