So gee whiz, I now have all 4 pieces of the Blightlords set, is it worth wearing the Blightlord set for another EG and the bonus for EG, or is it better to use the 3 piece set of Pyran’s.
On the BL set, more dps with the extra EG and bonus’s to EG, on the Pyran’s set, ALOT of my sustain via regen. Im kinda torn.
Blightlord is nice, but uses a 1-hand weapon in the set while you can live without the full set with Pyran and benefit from the 2-hand hammer bonus.
Both work fine, but personally I would go for Pyran.
At the moment, im leaning into the 1hander and shield build, shattered realms and some critters moving into the top of Ugdenbog while at character level 100 really start throwing hands and hitting hard lol.
So from that perspective, dunno what is better, the Pyrans for that nummy nummy health regen ( 5186 regen base) vs loosing at least 1k or more regen to get another EG… dunno, would have to redo stat points to put some into cunning to be able to use the BL 1hander as well.
I’d go for pyran as it also converts all physical damage on EG to fire and adds fire rr. It also helps max out EG. If you have it at 26 it’ll give you an extra buddy (if you don’t have it there already).
yea i have EG at 26/16 so, we got our extra one!
That level of health regen far outweight the benefits of having a shield IMO
im using 3 of the Pyrans set, without the Pyrans off hand. So head, shoulders, chest. So i do get to use a shield and the scepter that gives the EG’s speed.
So with all that in mind, gee whiz time. Is it better to use 3 of 4 of the Pyrans, or 4 4 of 4 of the Pyrans and give up the shield block and all that. Currently have both Shield Maiden and 6 points into Obelisk of Menhir.
Or
4 of 4 in the BL set, still get to have shield and all, get an extra EG, but loose a bunch (1K plus) regen. Ill add the grim tools link here in a few, have to get to Barrowholm first =)
I think at this point it’s better to go full Pyran’s. You could swap Shieldmaiden for Solemn Watcher, remove Obelisk and put the remaining points into Imp and Rowan’s Crown, so you get both actives bound to Guardians and Wind Devils.
Furthermore, Cold/Lightning converted to fire will boost damage dramatically, since you have a much higher %fire damage. Mythical Band of the Eternal Pyre can help with that, if you happen to get it.
EDIT: Updated some information in the OP, as well as add more entries in the Trickster diary. I also discontinued a Passivist Purifier due to disappointing damage numbers on Aura of Censure.
I do have that ring, I do not have the 4th piece of the Pryan’s set, so I’ll be on the look out for that or the celectial lotus’s to make it.
Another gee whiz, from a survivability point of view, am I just over thinking using a shield (or perhaps just over reliant on a shield) vs not using a shield for more DPS? I mean, on the one hand, shield to me = good, but DPS makes critters dead which also = good!!
I don’t know, depends on your preference and how you like to pilot builds. But if you have the gear, respeccing is basically free so just try and see what you like the most 
But from my experience, passivist builds more often suffer from a lack of damage (e.g. not able to deal with groups of regenerators), than a lack of survivability. And if you are already not at risk of dying, becoming more tanky does nothing, whereas dealing more damage will help you clear/farm/level faster.
I’ll go against the grain here and disagree:
The full set bonus for Pyran is 60 fire damage and -8% fire RR
This is eclipsed considerably by having 2 extra summons.
The warmaul also gives access to Kraken, and the %damage from a well-rolled 2-hander is better than most 1-h combos. The only caveat is that you have to farm a GOOD one.
The full Pyran set will also not have a shield: it has an off-hand. So from a defensive point of view, you would only gain whatever health regen is on the off-hand.
Hmm, ya’ll have some really good points.
I do like the shield playstyle, shield block keeps my alive. So, if i wanted to keep the shield, its a question of 3 piece Pyrans vs full set of BlightLords (for another EG), and a bit of Devotion Jenga to slip in some more dps nodes like Thuter suggested, kinda a mix n match thinget.
Well, yes, but the Pyran offhand gives considerable bonuses to GoE, as well as +1 to OK:
36 Fire Damage to Summon Guardian of Empyrion
100% Physical Damage converted to Fire Damage to Summon Guardian of Empyrion
-15% Lightning Resistance to Summon Guardian of Empyrion
100% Phys to fire almost doubles the damage output of them with this amount of %fire damage.
and the 4 piece set bonus gives additional benifits to EG as well (for the Pyran’s set), like +1665 fire to EG, as well as -8% each to Fire Resistance and Electric Resistance, if that helps with the theory cooking =)
+1 Oathkeeper level when you already have Guardians maxed is actually not that great.
It’s about 6% damage bonus, 10 armor, 8 OA, 1% health, 1% RR… I mean it’s good to have, but 2 extra dudes is a massive improvement compared to that.
That’s very true, but conversion is something you can get on an affix on the maul too (albeit around 50%) So not a complete net gain here either.
The extra damage can be compensated for using the amulet slot (Since Pyran doesn’t require an amulet) with Mythical flames of wrath. It even has extra RR. (Of course, it also means you can get the full Pyran set AND the amulet)
Watch out when looking at stats like that in-game as that value is modified by your %damage bonus. The full Pyran set bonus adds 60 damage to GoE. That means each of your 3 26/16 GoE will deal (272+60) 332 fire damage per hit (unmodified)
So that’s 3 x 332
That’s great, but you have to compare that to 5 x 272
On the flip side, going full Pyran allows you to use an ascendant authority, so that 3 x 332 needs to be multiplied by 1.25…
I think at this point, if there is a winner on the DPS side, it will come down to what devotion it has attached (because 5 guardians create more attacks and thus more procs) and if you’re able to convert enough physical damage to fire with the maul to compensate.
This is very close to a wash in fact…
Bottom line is : Try both! (or all 3 I guess if you want to throw Blightlord in the mix)
See what feels better for you.
If you want to have a shield at all cost, you could go full Blightlord.
While I think the Maul can rival and even surpass the full Pyran set, going without the Maul AND the full Pyran set would work against you.
If you like shields in passive builds, I suggest you work it in your Blademaster or another character that features Nightblade, and get a Scarab shell shield.
Yessir, ill pick everyones mind on that in a week or 2, after I get done with the Archon here, and then give the Warden CS/WD build a whirl. Small steps =)
Into Malmoth now, gonna get that done, and then the forgotten gods done, and hopefully have maxed rep with everyone so i can pass those reputation thingets down, think they are called mandates? Should make life easier down the road. Logistics, we got this!
The only reason I asked about using a shield is, I do notice a survivability increase when I use a shield. Thats why I had asked if I was being over reliant on shield and shield mechanics for survivability. While I do like using shields, If i can be just as survivable without a shield, either using a 2hander or a 1hander and off hand thinger, them Im down to give it a try, I appreciate you folks helping me out!
Yes, mandates are great.
The stash I keep for new characters is: Mandates for each faction, The potion sold by the Malmouth guys that doubles experience gain. A pair of Leovinius rings, a Lokar set (and/or an explorer set) and some Merits (Can be bought in the forgotten god homebase)
IMO, the best thing for survivability is kiting… keep moving, run laps around monsters while your pets take care of them. Not only will you dodge attacks and force enemies to interrupt attacks to reposition, but you’ll likely stay clear of ground effects. The only exception to this rule is if you’re playing as an inquisitor with maxed out seal.
The second best thing is to kill stuff before it has time to hurt you. That means damage, but also could mean good CC. Curse of frailty is a great debuff for RR, but it’s understated how effective the slow movement part is. Same for builds centered around Grasping vines… you barely need to dodge.
Outside of that, shields are great of course! But they are just one part of a good defense system that can incluse high DA, high armor, dodge/evade chances, damage absorption, Physical damage reduction, health regen, heal skills, circuit breakers, panic buttons (like Mirror or blade barrier) … etc. Shield block is a very solid mechanics, but the lack of it can definitely be compensated elsewhere.
Right on, thanks!
The way I usually play is…facetank. Its not great, I know that. Reason I facetank is because button pushing hurts, thats all. Thats why im here asking all kinda questions. So, if not facetank with the shield mechannics and huge regen/DA/Armor etc, then I can do my best to run around and or avoid things. Movement sometimes is hard for me, and getting lost in all the colors on the screen 
I will do the best I can! I did notice that using Thuter’s advice, and dropping Obelisk and Shield Maiden for Imp and Rowans crown, and mucking around a little bit with the BL set, things are getting wrecked fast (well in Malmoth at level 100 on Ultimate anyway).
So, with both Thuter and DeputyChucks sugestions of moar dps is gooder dps, gonna try the 2hander again, I still have the grimtools link from DeputyChuck. Im sure there is a Devotion Jenga way to toss in both Imp and Rowans Crown (well at least for elemental Storm). If so, for the 5 EG’s, would it be better for Imp proc or Rowans Crown ya think?
If you have another reliable way to proc Crown, then use that and keep Imp for the guardians. The advantage of Imp is that it has no cooldown, so it can proc very often if you have a quick attack (Which 5 guardians definitely do)
Maul: Archon, Level 100 (GD 1.2.1.3) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator
Full Pyran: Archon, Level 100 (GD 1.2.1.3) - Grim Dawn Build Calculator (this one doesn,t have the healing rain proc, but it’s really not necessary: the devotion bonuses should be enough