With the new patch comes part 31 of my controller friendly build series: [Something Completely Different and Clever about Burning - Ionization]
So they buffed FoI in general, so here’s another FoI build that can clear SR80/SR32.
Pros of THIS FoI build:
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Super easy to play – only four skills to cast
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Can clear SR80 with ease, and probably higher. (I would have tried to go SR85/34, but my game crashed, so I’m taking that as a sign/an excuse to be lazy.)
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Room for much improvement with better MIs
Cons:
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When it dies, it usually does so really fast with little recourse.
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Devotion application is not ideal; something has to go on Inquisitor Seal. I think Hand of Ultos is probably slightly better to put there than Elemental Storm. Oh, and Arcane Bomb HAS to go on FoI, since the other skills are unavailable.
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Can be boring, since you have so few skills to cast.
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The conversion to lightning doesn’t change the color of FoI
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Requires good MIs.
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Overcaps can be a bit low.
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Energy management can be marginal.
Notes on choosing Demolitionist
Honestly, I’m not convinced this was the best choice. Arcanist would lose the 33% resist reduction, and wouldn’t have a good choice to proc the third devotion (Hand of Ultos, I guess, or you could put Elemental Storm on maybe Trozan’s?), but would get a big damage reduction boost, and much much much easier energy management, which would allow for more flexible devotions. My guess is that Arcanist/Mage Hunter is about the same strength, maybe a little better.
Shaman’s lightning bonus is from its exclusive skill, which would lose the resist reduction and damage reduction from Aura of Censure, so no.
Oathkeeper doesn’t look bad, but doesn’t offer much-needed cast speed, barring excellent rolls on MIs. If you get that, then Oathkeeper should probably be better, given the outstanding devotion application from Guardian of Empyrion and Judgment/Heart of Wrath.
grimtools link. The MI prefixes and affixes are just the best I had, not what is theoretically optimal. In fact, this build REALLY needs more health, and doesn’t need all that DA so try to get that.
Also note that the helm and offhand that I used have old and unavailable common prefixes, so try for something better.
Playstyle: Stand in Inquisitor Seal and burn stuff.
Video proof of clear
Fight tips
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Offense: get an Inquisitor Seal on an enemy to proc the devotion.
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Defense: stand in Inquisitor Seal. Try not to bite off more than you can chew, or else you go pop.
Gear
As usual, the resists are overcapped to deal with resist reduction on high SR.
Essential Gear:
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Stormheart: offers the conversion, (Barrelsmith’s set does too, but with less damage.)
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Coerced Wraith: offers the conversion.
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Incendiary Casque: you need the skill cost reduction
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Essence of the Grim Dawn: this provides the vast majority of your healing, and vital skill cost reduction.
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Gauntlets of Ignaffar: tons of damage, and vital skill cost reduction.
Stuff I’m pretty sure is best in slot:
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Coven Sky Seal x2: gives you freeze res, 4% OA, and 4% DA, and each frees up two skill points. They end up giving almost as much damage as Glyph of the Storm Witch, with much better utility and defense and consistency. Takes, on average, 9 reloads to get one with 4%/4%, so make sure to buy two when you do.
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Loghorrean’s Corruption: +3 to FoI, 3-5% OA, 3-5% DA, and the ability to fix holes in your defenses with good rolls.
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Windborne Greaves: the best option for slow res.
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Gildam Arcanum Commendation: a perfect Bloodsworn Sigil could be stronger, but it’s hard to replace the cast speed, +3 skills, and 60 elemental damage to FoI, even if the cold is unconverted. The damage loss from Bloodsworn Sigil was too much for me to take. You could, in theory, use Bloodsworn Sigil for the healing, and use a different Amulet, but I didn’t see an amulet that was worth that.
Other stuff:
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Arcane Harmony Leggings: “I know I’m probably the biggest fan of these, but I believe a build is only as strong as its weakest link, and without disruption protection you will really struggle against certain enemies. +84/126 spirit is great, and +84/126 DA is awesome as well. The resistances are good too. I don’t know why other people don’t use this as much as I do.” – me, on like 80% of my builds. I was choosing between these and Runeplates of Ignaffar, and the stats this offered made it better than +2 to Endless Flame, and +2 to general (since FoI is maxed already). And there wasn’t a good way to get disruption protection without these.
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Ugdenbog Waistguard: Ulzuin’s Torment is also good, but Inquisitor Skills are more important. You need decent rolls to make Waistguard the better choice though.
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Serenity: I wanted to use Ignaffar’s Combustion, but I kept dying at SR80. If you’re not looking to push, go with that one. Plus my Serenity had much-needed stun res.
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Ascended Vestment: initially went with the thematically preferable Rune Armor of Ignaffar (with Seal of Annihilation), and cleared SR80 with it. Then I saw this while making the guide and went and redid the clear, and it was easier. The cast speed, the energy regen, and the +3 to inquisitor seal. You could also consider Shroud of Illusion, Fateweaver’s Raiment, and even Valaxteria’s Skytorn Robes with different boots – Wyrmscale Footguard, for example.
Devotions
The way I do devotions is to start with full offense, then redistribute points into defense until I stop dying at my target SR.
Core:
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Widow/Arcane Bomb: lighting RR
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Rhowan’s Crown/Elemental Storm: RR
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Hand of Ultos: RR. Not as important as the other RR sources, but not to be ignored.
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Harvestman’s Scythe: necessary to manage energy.
Not Core
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Chariot of the Dead: OA, slow res, stun res, and vit res are all important. The skill is nice, although I’m wary of defensive abilities with <100% uptime.
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Viper: could remove this and replace with Crane if you need the resists, or Keeper of the Waters. Or Vulture over Jackal. Or Empty Throne.
Everything else should be pretty self-explanatory.
Skill Choices
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Flames of Ignaffar: the point of the build.
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Aura of Censure: resist reduction, damage reduction.
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Word of Renewal: vital defensive stats. A good place to take points out of if you need them for
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Deadly Aim: I didn’t want to dump a bunch of points into this, as defense was more of a concern than offense, and crit damage and %OA are already giving diminishing returns, I’m pretty sure.
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Inquisitor Seal: I’m not a big fan of being forced to stand around, but Thermite Mine requires it anyway, and Arcane Bomb and Elemental Storm aren’t exactly mobile either. Ultimately, it’s necessary for this build’s defense.
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Thermite Mine: resist reduction and procs devotions moderately well
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Vindictive flame: put in as many points as necessary to hit 200% cast speed.
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Flame Touched: OA, DA, armor, and lightning damage.
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Blast Shield: I didn’t want to put a bunch of points into this, as good as its synergy with Inquisitor Seal is, as it has unreliable uptime.
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18 extra points in Demolitionist bar: health is the build’s weak point, this helps address that.
Leveling
I was able to hit 94 with Lokarr’s set, without too much difficulty. Put as many points into FoI and its children as your energy regen can manage. Get Bloodsworn Sigil for your healing, even at the cost of damage. Coerced wraith is huge once you get Widow/Arcane Bomb, vastly exceeding its sheet damage. Barrelsmith’s for your weapon once you hit 68 if you have one. If you’re not using Lokarr’s set, any Incendiary Casque will be stronger than anything else, provided it’s high enough level to have enough armor.