1.0.3.1 Scourge Strike/Bone Harvest Reaper

Build Conception
I wanted to make a build around Reaping Arc, but then I found a Soulrend, and so I shifted focus to Scourge Strike.

I enjoy melee, and wish there were more spammable skills. Scourge Strike isn’t spammable, but it is another nuke like Shadow strike, so I built around it as my main nuke, with Bone Harvest complimenting nicely as another source of Col/Vit damage. Scourge Strike is Cold/Vit, but I went mostly cold, due to Soul Rend. If I had another weapon, I might split them more evenly, as Necro has good Vit support.

This build is by no means the strongest out there, but it is quite capable of clearing all campaign content. I am grinding rep for the Nemesis encounters and will update accordingly.

Character Sheet

Scourge Strike is LMB, hence the low dps number. I left many of the attributes free, so feel free to add more to physique, or cunning, depending on if you would like health/DA, or crit/OA.

Current Grim Tools

Bindings
LMB - Scourge Strike
RMB - Bone Harvest
1 - Pneumatic Burst
2 - Shadow Strike
3 - Chillspikes
4 - Winter King’s Might
Q - Mark of Torment
W - Blade Barrier

Pros

  • The MI gear is not required for the build (I currently am using the 75 version of the rings, as I have not found the 94)
  • 59% stackable RR
  • Mobility from Shadow Strike (I find a mobility skill a near-must as melee)
  • Single target (Scourge Strike) and AOE (Bone Harvest)
  • All res except bleed capped (and 71% stun res)
  • 28% life leech

Cons

  • Cooldowns on 2 main damage abilities
  • OA is a bit lower than I would like
  • Will not crush Crucible in 30 seconds without potions, banners, etc

Devotion Order

  • Crossroads Green
  • Spider
  • Crossroads Purple
  • Throne
  • Toad
  • Quill
  • Rhowans Crown
  • Chariot of the Dead
  • Viper
  • Lizard
  • Crossroads Yellow
  • Lion
  • Bard’s Harp
  • Crossroads Blue
  • Lion
  • Crossroads Green
  • Lizard
  • Murmur
  • Leviathan

Leveling Strategy
Depending on what gear you find, you may decideto go a different route, but I would either make use of the DW line in Nightblade, or just use a 2H and use Bone Harvest all the way up.

Scourge, the relic the build is based around comes at lvl 60, so around Elite difficulty, you have most of what makes this build available to you.

Alternate Gear Choices
Weapon: Bane of the Winter King - Cold damage, Nightblade skills, attack speed, and cold %rr
Weapon: Alkamos’ Warsword - Cold damage, and any number of affixes can give you good stats. Another MI though, so not necessarily a better go than Soulrend.
Weapon: Alkamos’ Scythe - Same as warsword (MI, but good potential affixes)

Ring: Deathguard Sigil - Cold damage, attack speed, resists
Ring: Mythical Reign of Ice and Fire - Cold damage, crit damage, speed, resists
Ring: Justicar Seals Set - attack speed, OA, resists
Ring: Mythical Eternal Band - Cold damage, cold rr, resists
Ring: Misery of Alkamos Set - MI, so not necessarily easy to find, but cold damage, speed, resists

I do not consider myself an expert, just a player that enjoys messing around with Grim Tools and seeing what works. If you have any feedback as to how this might work better (as with any of my other builds), please, offer it.

Hello !

Very interesting build you got there :slight_smile:

My comments :

-why no hawk devotions ? (overpowered green devotion)
-You have no default attack replacer > no need for reaping strike
-All the passiv from nightblade are not really worth it > would it be possible to add ABB ? Good AOE, it would fit your DPS cycle very well and it gives nice buff

> http://www.grimtools.com/calc/m23nOJnN (does not include devotion change with hawK, lazy)

This is my version of that build. the devotion setup will net you a TON more crit damage. I know the gear linked are double rare greens… but other stuff can be filled in. Although i highly recommend the shoulders, finding a decent pair isn’t too hard once you get gladiator crusible runs in

http://www.grimtools.com/calc/p256OLxV

And i have an extra peerless eye at the moment if you are in need of one. :slight_smile:

only problem ive had with the build is lacking physical resist/damage absorb… but the massive ADtH carries it through most of the time because things die so fast.
Bone harvest, shadow strike, and scourge strike all hit for 250-350k crits on the dummy

  1. Good point on Hawk.

  2. Do you mean Necrotic Edge? It still procs off of auto attacks, which I do have in this build. Is it the best use of a few points? I do not know.

  3. I liked the cunning for OA and crit, and I purposely avoided ABB so that I didn’t have to keep its buff up. I know I could fit it into the rotation, but I never liked the skill

I’ll do some testing though and see how it stacks up, and if it feels right alongside Bone Harvest and Scourge Strike.

I actually have been consciously avoiding green loot in my builds just based on difficulty of finding it. I had a pair of pants in my last one, but am trying to avoid it, even when that hurts the min/maxing.

Devotions are definitely an area I should reexamine. Let me play around with this set up and see how it goes. Thanks for the suggestions.

No Kraken? Pretty standard for all 2 handed builds.

  • Use survivor’s ingenuity on rings + amulet
  • You don’t need seal of ancestry on amulet because you’re 55% overmax on vitality resist
  • Devotions are very suboptimal. Go for more OA/DA devotions, and consider grabbing Kraken.
  • You overinvested in Anatomy of Murder. It’s doesn’t do anything for your build. You have no cunning requirements on your gear and your main damage type (cold/frostburn) doesn’t scale with cunning.
  • Consider Mythical Arcane Harmony leggings, they’re better for your build than Really Great Pants
  • Mark of Mogdrogen isn’t good in boots here because you don’t have enough health regen for it to give good returns, and are 5% overmax on movement speed. Ugdenbog Leather would be better (and is necessary after tweaking things)
  • You overinvested in Elemental Awakening. I realize it gives frostburn damage, but ABB + Lethal Assault is most likely a better investment for the +OA, and having an additional damage source.
  • Don’t overmax Merciless Repertoire. +% damage isn’t that important.
  • Soft cap Veil of Shadow. The -OA is really valuable to meet the 3K effective DA required for a 2h build to really work.
  • Spectral Wrath does nothing for you, take points out of it.
  • Ring of Steel could be a good one-point-wonder for your build if you take it with the transmuter.
  • Spider doesn’t do anything for you in devotions. Get Hawk instead.
  • Get Kraken in Devotions. The massive boost to Attack Speed, +% all damage, and health makes it a must have for almost every 2h melee build.
  • etc.

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/b28We4eN

A few tweaks, but have to run out the door so can’t finish.

any chance for a Dual wield build for this?