GT: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/p25kg00Z
I didn’t have a lot of hope for this build. It started very slowly and badly, with an idea to use Alladrah’s Spellblade for a fire-based autoattacker rather than spinning. I chose Archon because the weapon had bonuses to Savagery, it had Oathkeeper points, apparent synergy with Divine Mandate, and a strong fire-based ability in Judgment. The result was an unplayable build that had no damage, no sustain and no survivability. I kept asking myself, Why am I playing this class?
Things got better when I decided to try using Servitor’s Cleavers for Righteous Fervor instead. The damage was immediately much stronger. It got better still when I noticed that I had sources of flat damage that I could convert to fire. They got better again when I decided to switch from Rhowan’s Crown to Manticore to get more physical resistance.
But still I kept asking myself: why am I playing this class? What was I getting out of this character being an Archon rather than a Shieldbreaker or a Paladin? How can I make its flavor not just come out, but really pop? And then it hit me: Cyclone Mask. Maybe the most iconic piece of Archon gear. It contributes +1 to all skills and makes Wind Devil bring meaningful fire damage to the table. I came full circle to using EoR gear again!
DPS with all procs active, 9 stacks of Righteous Fervor, and Iskandra relic.
This is a dual-wield fire melee Archon. And actually, the build ended up being far better than I expected. I’ve done all the roguelike dungeons and managed my first ever clear of Ultimate SR 75. I suspect a better player than I could get a good time in Crucible, but I’m no good in there. Too fast-paced for me.
The build is like this: convert all the flat physical in the world, get just enough DA and physical resist to survive, and overcome the shortcomings of 1H Shaman with solid DPS. But it took a lot of trial and error to find the right pieces to make it work well.
The first pillar is an MI weapon added with the Oathkeeper class itself in FG: Servitor’s Cleaver. The weapon fully converts all physical damage to fire on Righteous Fervor. The flat physical damage from Mogdrogen’s Pact and Rebuke are added to the weapon damage on both the main hand and offhand. The mod also pulls in the internal trauma from Divine Mandate and Presence of Virtue for good measure, and converts them to burn. The best roll on the axe would be Infernal/Ruin, but the build performs very well with a Runecaster/Alacrity and a Searing/Alacrity. The racial damage on Runecaster is awesome against Grava’Thul, who is a tough opponent for this build.
Combustion Band is purely for fire RR, which you can’t get enough of. It can be replaced with Reign of Ice and Fire or a Pyre ring. Gargabol ring is required for RF points; roll is for OA/DA. Mythical Alazra’s Ruby is a blue that provides +1 to Oathkeeper, RF points, and flat fire damage. I couldn’t find a suitable replacement that performs well, though an Oathkeeper conduit or Kaisan amulet could be used with a substantial damage loss.
Justice 3 piece supports Judgment, while also offering a bunch of attack speed and flat fire damage. Cyclone Mask is for skill points and useful conversion on Wind Devil; sadly the flat lightning damage is wasted, but still the mask makes an essential contribution here. Craft for stun res and accept freeze if you get it.
Lotus belt is the best of several meh choices here; the Avenger belt, so good in most Archon builds, isn’t optimal here because it’s a dual-wield build. Since I opted for Manticore to shore up physical resist, it made sense to also pick up some acid conversion. It outperforms the Ulzuin belt for Demolitionists, but only just.
Iskandra’s relic gives a large (~30%) boost to damage at the expense of survival in some encounters, compared with Serenity. The performance is dramatically different but so is the risk factor. I find myself switching back and forth a lot if I want more burst damage or more survival.
All of the rolls on the greens were chosen to pump OA/DA, which are low with only suitable purple gear.
This is a rare 1.1.7 build that does not use any vitality conversion at all. It wasn’t for lack of trying; the gear that doesn’t have it is just that much better. The key thing is that higher damage is higher sustain. The build feels better with 9% leech than my other builds have felt with 20%.
The main drawback of the build is the reliance on Blood Pact. It takes a solid second from when you drop the totem to when it gives you its buff, and that’s also when you have no stacks of RF yet. So you can drop quick and then hopefully recover… or you wait in your totem aura and let them come to you.
Very big credit to @fordprefect for massive help and support, and @Nery for a great suggestion on the Iskandra relic.
SR 75 proof:
Morgoneth kill proof:
