Total Totem Trickster - 5 totems, 3 storm shards, Safe and (somewhat) fast 170 farmer.

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
1

Big thanks to all you gems who make this community so welcoming. Noteworthy shoutout to mad_lee for taking the time to look through the pre-tested GT link.

GT link: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/RVvKxyjZ
Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYXft-gDnSM&feature=youtu.be

Preface
Some of you already know I find the shaman the hardest class to build around for the simple reason that I refuse to make it primal strike or savagery centered. It is too vanilla for my liking. :rolleyes:

This is especially true for the trickster. While the korba set is undoubtedly custom made for this class combination, I feel that it doesn’t live up to the name of the spec.

It’s a trickster for crying out loud! What’s so tricky about cold, hard, dps?

But spanks! Isn’t Jajaja’s trickster effective? Sure.
How about sexy? You know it.
But is it tricky? Hell no.

Without further ado…I present to you my latest, and arguably most creative build - The Totem Trickster.

Defense
We are rolling in the god damn DEEP on this front.

  1. 3.25k DA
  2. 2700 armor (with crafting bonuses) and 100% armor absorption
  3. 30% phys res
  4. Pneumatic burst with ~3.5s cooldown
  5. 16k hp
  6. 12/12 blade barrier with ez resets with belgothian’s carnage + Aeon’s which is…
  7. Chained using ghoul
  8. 12% damage reduction from alkamos rings
  9. 30% fumble + 30% dodge.

Offence
While it’s no korba trickster, it does clear 150-170 in about 12 to 13 minutes with 4x buffs + banner. What it lacks in clear speed it more than makes up for with consistency.

  1. 5 totems! 3 stormshards!
  2. 80% WPS!
  3. 3050 OA
  4. -102% lightning resist, -67% cold resist + whatever viper adds in

Gameplay

  1. Shadowstrike in
  2. Slam dunk totem + storm shard
  3. Proc aeon’s with phantasmal blade
  4. Slam dunk totem + storm shard
  5. Ring of steel
  6. Tank and spank with savagery
  7. Keep dunking when possible
  8. BB or SS out if need be

If shit gets rough, kite and summon totems in front of you.

Devotion pathing (Safe):

  1. Chaos crossroad
  2. Viper, Jackal, Ghoul, Sailor’s guide, Eel, Hound --> Remove chaos crossroad
  3. Eldritch crossroad, Ascendant crossroad
  4. Hawk, Quill, Widow, 1st 3 nodes of crown --> Remove Eldritch crossroad
  5. Spear, Aeon’s, 1st 4 nodes of Dying God

Devotion pathing (Aggressive)

  1. Chaos crossroad
  2. Viper, Vulture, Sailor’s guide, Eel, Hound
  3. Eldritch crossroad, Ascendant crossroad
  4. Hawk, Quill, Widow, 1st 3 nodes of crown --> Remove Eldritch crossroad
  5. Spear, Aeon’s, Dying God

Cheaper item alternatives

  1. Rings: Epic alkamos rings, or aetherstorm rings.
  2. Shoes: Stormtitans
  3. Weapons: Magi or Interrogator is the only necessary prefix. BiS suffix is ‘of torrents’, but if you don’t have it - don’t worry. Funnel points out of execution and dump them into storm totem.

Viable item alternatives from suggestions given

  1. Spark of ultos (x1x1x1x2)
  2. Direwolf crest (mad_lee)
  3. Allagast’s stormgem (korsar)
  4. Glyph of Kelphat’Zoth (x1x1x1x2)

Viable (and most likely better!) class alternatives

  1. Vindicator (korsar)
  2. Druid (sir spanksalot)
    N.B These classes should use the groble sky effigy instead of DW.

As always, I welcome/love feedback!

Mad_lee/x1x1x1x2 inspired 4x totem powerhouse variant
Pros: Moar DPS, Less item dependent
Cons: 4 totems (which is barely noticeable since it’s difficult to get 5 anyway), Higher uptime on PB due to loss of belgothian’s carnage, Less tanky

All in all, I personally like this variant more than my original build for the simple reason that it is way less tedious to pilot, and far easier to gear for.

As to which is better, I do not know. I haven’t done sufficient testing for either builds, and do not plan on doing so.

GT link: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/4NOK0OKN

2

Your GT link is for a Blademaster!

3

…No it isn’t. :stuck_out_tongue:

P.S. Thanks for the heads up!

4

Damn nice, but why not something like this https://www.grimtools.com/calc/0V0PXDXV

5

I was just about to mention that the vindicator is another very good candidate for this build. But I had set my mind on DW and was kinda stubborn about it. :rolleyes:

Another good idea I was toying around with is a druid. Getting starpact + eternity + sky effigy = win

6

One hell of a hybrid tank, good job! Imo, medal does not add anything to the build. I would go with Direwolf Crest for more relevant skill points and huge damage boost that it offers (or maybe Tempest Sigil, gotta test which one is better).

EDIT: Also, as you are theorycrafting using GDstash, try with Thunderstruck of Kings boots. Imo, extra 3-4% phys res are not doing much. But freed up head armor slot might be worth something (plus more aether overcap)!

7

Druid should rock. You prob don’t even need star pact. Stormcaller’s pact + elemental balance + some crit items = more than 100% crit damage. With 5 totems out that’s a shitload of damage.

Btw, what do you think on Glyph of kelphatzoth in your setup? Seems better cause it provides lightning instead of cold, though you get less execution. And have you tried a ‘pure pet’ build with this? Maxed WD + totem and blade spirit + spark of ultos to convert cold to lightning

8

BS IS an interesting option I haven’t considered. It’s almost certain that spark of ultos is the better weapon choice here seeing that it’s tough as hell to maintain 5 totems. Another item option I overlooked, which I’ll add to the OP. Thanks x1x1x1x2!

I did try maxing out wind devil though. I don’t think the DPS lost from savagery is worth it.

Regarding the druid, that’ll most likely be my next build. However, I kinda feel that it’s cheating seeing that it’d be a rehash of my trickster build.

If I can’t come up with anything creative, I’ll do up a druid using this same concept similar to how I coped out with the witch hunter. :rolleyes:

9

Since you have mentioned me in credits, may I suggest you try out this setup

Just one time :stuck_out_tongue:

10

I did try direwolf actually. The OA boost is very nice, and so is the WPS. It’s another very viable medal choice.

I personally stuck with undying oath because I’m personally biased towards it (I think it’s one of the best medals in the game), and because I like the -0.5s PB cooldown.

Aether is already overcapped by about 50% which is why I gdstashed formidable instead.

Another viable head component is prismatic diamond. :slight_smile:

11

Just try the setup from my last post, just one time. -0.5s to PB seems like nothing really.

12

Sure!

But I’m not sure if EoTS is the best relic here. I’ve tested it out, and it’s impossible to get 5 totems out without the -1s cooldown from belgothian’s carnage.

Then again, I was overly focused on getting 5 totems, and not actual DPS. Maybe stormcaller aura will compensate for -1 totem.

P.S. I’ll post a video of this spec some time in the next few days. :slight_smile:

13

@Mad_lee:

Did some Total Totem Mayhem testing with the suggestions you made. Honestly, damage increase from direwolf is noticeable, not by a huge margin - but definitely noticeable. I think I did an execution crit for 140k unbuffed/unbannered?

Biggest benefit of it IMO is the additional WPS + the fact that all totems benefit from the OA.

EoTS also phenomenally boosts damage output - the downside is not getting 5 totems.

In which case, I would suggest swapping out a stormstrife for a spark of ultos seeing that we won’t be benefiting from the +1 totem limit.

And because of the cold to lightning conversion it offers, I still think undying oath beats out direwolf’s crest. So it’d look like…

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/D2pK76JN

P.S. I forgot to record the video, and am too lazy to do another run. I’ll post the mad_lee/x1x1x1x2-influenced version in my OP as another very competitive (and possibly better) variant.