*Dark times for other channeling skills
Foreword
Continuing the theme of very strong Vitality casters, or even very strong Vitality caster Ritualists, here is another one born at the very end of 1.2.1.6 test patch. Basically, @banana_peel and @KoS9K were discussing the best way to make Vitality Drain Essence Oppressor (because Drain Essence was one the brighest flavours of that test patch pretty much) and I thought, wait a minute. Why not Ritualist?
The Build
So why not Ritualist? Honestly, Oppressor is just an easier build overall. You can take Path of the Three on it and rotate offensive and defensive auras quickly, sliding around with the best mobility skill in the game and not really pressing too many buttons except DE and occasional Siphon Souls. Compared to that Ritualist has worse QoL, is probably a bit worse defensively (because no extra cdr and stuff like Resilience and Ascension) and just what is the real appeal here you will ask? Well, of course itās raw, unbridled firepower.
<<<< GRIMTOOLS >>>>*
*Craft for Freeze resistance
**For gear alternatives check Gear section
Soul sucking questions
But what about its firepower really?
Huge amounts of resist reduction first and foremost. Ugdenbog Howler makes our Devouring Swarm alone have whopping -76% Vitality resist reduction. On top of that builds maintains high levels of %damage and OA.
Okay, but what about defenses though?
Still very much top tier. It works like a classical leech tank, but it has respectable hp pool and in general is very resilient
So whatās the catch?..
QoL. Casting Swarm on a channeler might not be for everyone, but feels like a fair price for that kind of firepower.
Gear/skills/devotions/levelling
Few core items here: obviously besides the ones that give mods to Drain Essence itās the Ugdenbog Howler. However it can still work if you are missing one or two of the core items. Like you can use Leafmane Trophy as an off-hand and convert Aether globally (unfortunately that means using Dread Knightās Shoulders). Monster infrequents on this spec work like a puzzle: your next piece should compliment your previous piece. You should get Drain Essence bonus on either a pistol, belt or medal. Try to have %OA on most of your green gear pieces. Get enough resist for good overcaps. And if you donāt, you can always sell some of the OA for res (like in jewellery augments or change Chains of Oleron in chest to whatever you need). Relic can actually be Uroboruuk Reaping if you need hp and casting speed more.
In terms of skills we are capping everything we need and drop few points into Mark of Torment. Devotion wise Scales are needed for smooth Energy management, everything else is there for good stats and speeds.
This is the endgame build. It works as advertised once you equip required gear at character level 100 and repeat my grimtools as close as possible. For levelling/beginner guides look at this forum.
Gameplay
In Crucible and SR 30-31 everything is facetankable. Not all full bosses pulls in SR 30-31 are worth doing tho. Not every situation needs casting Ill Omen but casting it before the fight makes everything much easier. Best tactics is casting enough swarms from afar, closing the distance with the teleport, casting Siphon and blasting away with Drain Essence.
For Ravager of Flesh using one Soul Shard is recommended. Unfortunately that means either getting a duplicate of one of your rings or destroying Bloodied Crystal just for that fight.
For Callagadra just stay focused and keep calmly rotating Swarm, Omen and Siphon Souls, dodging her Sunders and having MoT and Cluster at the ready.
Stats
General (with Charriot up):
Drain Essence tooltip (with all damage buffs up)
Videos
1.2.1.6 Ravager 56 seconds kill
1.2.1.6 Callagadra 1:04 seconds kill
1.2.1.6 Crucible Gladiator 150-170 ānakedā extra spawn 4:26 run
1.2.1.6 SR 36 3:05 run
In Conclusion
Going to add some bonus DE builds here, stay tuned!
BONUS BUILD: Vitality DE Reaper
<<<< GRIMTOOLS >>>>*
**Craft for slow resistance
Of course I had to try doing DE Reaper. To compensate for RR difference I went for bigger and stronger main skill. Build is very comfortable to play, maybe even more comfortable than Oppressor because I dropped Siphon Souls entirely on this one. Obviously quite a bit less single target damage (especially against resistant) but a lot more coverage from DE itself, plus just ocassional Ill Omen as the only interruption to your channeling. Downside is using those shoulders although they do give us that satisfying Spectral Wrath hard cap.
Vitality DE Reaper vs. SR 30-31 4:19 run
Vitality DE Reaper vs. Ravager of Flesh 1:24 kill
Vitality DE Reaper vs. Crucible Gladiator 150-170 ānakedā ex 4:20 run (no buffs/no banners)
BONUS BUILD #2: Acid DE Cabalist
<<<< GRIMTOOLS >>>>*
*Craft for freeze and slow resistance
Another build made possible by 1.2.1.6 patch changes. Radaggan rework was what the doctor ordered and now Cabalist has at least one very much top-tier (non pet) build. I skipped Sigils altogether on this one: it is already a bit awkward with both Curse of Frailty and Ill Omen interrupting our channeling. Overall itās a fast and tanky clearer, maybe less tanky than its Vitality counterparts but still holds its own.
Itās imperative to get āOf Tormented Soulsā suffix on one of our greens (should be fairly easy) to cap Hungering Reach. Ravager of Flesh is annoying on this one, requires one or two Soul Shards and constant repositioning, so I would just choose another Ravager for it.
Radaggan Cabalist vs. Crucible Gladiator 150-170 ānakedā ex 4:05 run (no buffs no banners)
Radaggan Cabalist vs. SR 30-31 4:26 run
Radaggan Cabalist vs. Callagadra 1:06 kill
, enjoy
)
Oh well, still get to see good new builds pop up and drool over them.