[1.1.4.2] Warblades of Cairn - Bleeding Warlord/Witchblade SR 75+, Crucible 170 (+)


In times of war, generals do the planning. They use their maps and sandboxes to send their units where they are needed.

But on the battlefields, a different kind of leader is needed. Where fear threatens to overwhelm soldiers, the iron smell of blood is everywhere and the cries and pleas of the wounded is in everybodies ears, there has to be someone who inspires and encourage the common soldiers, to stand and fight.

These people are called Warlords.

The Build


Don´t bother with the low DA; it´s Fabius.
GRIMTOOLS
GRIMTOOLS FOR SR
Update for 1.1.5.0: GRIMTOOLS

Build Explanation

First build I post without Shaman. And it plays quite different than any other build I have in my list. As you can see, there are exactly 4 (5) buttons if have to press and there is no cast for kiting or something like that. No outside healing. Quite interesting…

  • Gear: You don´t need any green items. But you could change Sanctified Bone or any other component for a Prismatic Diamond, especially when you want to speed run Crucible. My biggest fear is still Grava´Thul in deeper SR shards, so I kept it. Another change, which could possibly made: Relic. Well, I am a “Wussie” (Thanks @TomoDaK :joy:), so I use Serenity. But if you want even more damage, you can try Deathstalker or Azraaka´s Epoch; the first has additional RR and another Bleeding source, the second will let you feel like Maya with so many pets and the Sand Devils really do a lot of damage. Both could give juicy Physique/Cunning-Percentage on completion (up to 5 %)…more DA/Health and/or Damage.
  • Devotions: Standard 2H-Melee Bleeding Devotions; as said in my Bleeding Collection thread, you can try to squeeze even more damage out of this build. But you will loose Ghoul…it would look like this: Frenzied Berserker.
  • Gameplay: Very easy. There is nothing you can press besides Blade Arc, War Cry, Ascension, Rune and perhaps Pet Attack.
  • Stats: Get as much Physique as you need for pants. Rest: Go for Cunning. All 4 (!) crafted items are with Physique-Bonus (plus Cunning on Serenity)
  • OA/DA/Armor: 3.000/2.900/2.900…fits well.
  • RR: A little bit low. 88…well, best we can get here.
  • AoE: Pardon me? What are you talking about? We don´t have any.
  • Sustain: This build has a lot of ADctH and is, strictly speaking, a Physical/Bleeding Hybrid. There is no outside heal so you have to rely on the cooldowns and on the ADctH. Don´t run away, just attack…or you will die.
  • Resistances: Piercing and Poison…as always when not playing Occultist.
  • Other details: Crit Damage. Have a look at it. Even 5 % more with Berserker Devotion. The toon here has over 100 % Crit Damage. And: We have RR for Physical Resistance so our ADctH via Physical Damage is quite good (well, we crit a lot and it hurts). Another thing: In my opinion, this build is better suited for Crucible than for SR Boss Shards. Reason: “On Death”-Proccs. “Revel in Death” is so great for Healing and Energy and in Crucible you have a lot of enemies which will die in a few seconds.
Build Performance

Because it was complete different gameplay as any build before, I had my problems with it, because I didn´t know what to do. I ran away (and died), tried to hit buttons I normally use (but there are no skills there…) but after a while I got used to it. I played it in SR up to SR 66 (and not more) because Mad Queen and Grava´Thul give me the chills with this build.

Update:
SR 75 solved.

Nery tested it in Crucible, many thanks. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

SR:


Crucible:
Youtube Video by Nery (can´t imbed it at the moment)

As I said above, you can go wild and try something crazy. Take the Frenzied Berserker specc, add a Prismatic Diamond and skip Serenity and take Deathstalker/Azrakaa´s Epoch…and try to survive in Crucible. You see me interested in the results. :innocent:

Leveling Guide/Other Bleeding Builds

You can all see it here: A collection of Bleeding Builds

As always: Enjoy your ride through Cairn! :slight_smile:

5 Likes


Sometimes, there are rumours of the occult and supernatural and an Inquisitor is sent to investigate. In most cases this is enough to deal with any hazards which might occur.

But sometimes, this is not enough. Sometimes, there isn´t anything to investigate but it is time for action, dealt with brute force. On this occasion, Witchblades are sent, to eliminate any danger which might threaten the people.

A short time ago, a Witchblade was sent to the hamlet of Barrowholm but failed to report to his superior…

The Build


GRIMTOOLS
Update for 1.1.5.0: GRIMTOOLS

Build Explanation

Last build till 1.1.5.0. I have no ideas anymore what to build and will wait for a change and play my Ritualist in the meantime. But this was fun to build with a rather satisfying result.

  • Gear: Most things I said about Warlord could be said here, too, especially Relic choice. I made a few things differently: I chose Grey Magi Boots for the Entrapment Reduce, DA and Spirit (and procc for sure). The bonus to Vulnerability is nice, but I changed my skills so no need for it. As 2nd Ring I play with Deathlord´s Band. Vitality is converted to Physical and I have one more Bleeding Source to stack up. Not much but better than nothing. Bonus Laceration and Pierce (!) Resistance fits well with this build. You can always change back to a 2nd Belgothian´s.
  • Devotions: Standard 2H-Melee Bleeding Devotions, Viper and Revenant are important for Energy Management; again you could play without Ghoul for more damage…Berserker Specc.
  • Gameplay: For me, ideal numbers of buttons to press. DoT everything with Curse of Frailty and Bloody Pox and start to slay everything. Hint for Pros: Keep up Blood of Dreeg…I learned it the hard way. :neutral_face:
  • Stats: Again, 4 craftable Items. 3 for Physique, 1 for Physique and Cunning.
  • OA/DA/Armor: 3.200/2.900/2.900…fits well. Plus high OA-Shred (415)
  • RR: 108 Bleeding Resistance, 51 Physical Resistance. Nice.
  • AoE: A little bit from Curse and Bloody Pox. If you can spare some points anywhere you can put them in Bloody Pox for faster trash clearing e g. in Crucible.
  • Sustain: Modest ADctH and Blood of Dreeg. 33 % Physical Resistance, but Survival Instincts is up a lot so normally more.
  • Resistances: No problems here. Piercing might have been a problem, but Deathlord´s Band solves it.
  • Other details: A little low Health for my taste. And, strangely, plays quite squishy sometimes (can´t say, why). As with Warlord this build is quite suited for Crucible. Reason: “On Death”-Proccs. “Revel in Death” is so great for Healing and Energy and in Crucible you have a lot of enemies which will die in a few seconds. A propos Energy: Arcane Spark is mandatory, perhaps sometimes (rarely) you have to pop an Energy Potion.
Build Performance

Was quite shocked on my first play in SR. SR 51 was quite difficult, but it was Log Map, so in deeper shards all got easier. This build can kite, which is sometimes needed especially on my personal Nemesis, Mad Queen. Damage is “okayish”, but will Blade Arc is doing what it is meant to.

Again, Nery tested it in Crucible, many thanks. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

SR:


Meanwhile I pushed her to SR 70 without greater problems, but forgot to make a screenshot

Crucible:
Youtube Video by Nery (can´t imbed it at the moment)

I think, with some tweaks this build can be faster (no offense to Nery, he played safe like I wanted it). Devotions, Relic Change…perhaps some seconds could be spared.

As always: Enjoy your ride through Cairn!

I will take a break with making new builds because I don´t know anything at the moment which seems viable. Sure, there are always Ranged Builds, but I suck at playing Ranged. Stay tuned, I hope for some changes in 1.1.5.0 and then will start thinking again, how to make anything bleed. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Warlord is one of the better builds out there! Warlord on the photo looks interesting. :thinking:

Question, did you try the build in Crucible?

YOU TRIED IT! :rofl:

1 Like

You can click reply on my comment in the other topic and then hit quote the post. Then just copy&paste the YouTube link. If you use hyperlinks you can’t embed a post.

Tried it, doesn´t work…

Added Witchblade, will add Save-Files later.

@Maya:
I have done everything I could but you still have more pet builds. :joy:

1 Like

Also I probably have more cold DW melee builds :hear_no_evil:

That’s the “problem” with Bleeding Builds - 1 Set, 3 - 4 weapons. Build around it. Nothing more.

Yup, that’s totally right.

I have a question about trying build which isn’t probably done by now- DW melee Cadence Warder with Crimson weapons that gives Fighting form bonus.

Do you think it could work?

What you think about charging Savagery for stats?

You could try it. Problem: Not many Bleeding Sources to stack up, Shaman WPS are 2H-only, 1H-Blade Arc is not “so great”…and I hate playing with 2 AA-replacer to get stacks.

You’re probably right. 2 auto attackers on DoT build is PITA, also only viable WPS is Markovian.

I tried something like that with Archon: Stack up, keep rolling (EoR), repeat…terrible gameplay, low results.

Please help with my ignorance. I am attempting to path ahead of time the devotions for Warlord (either version, Listed above and berserker version) and cannot make it work on any calculator I use (Grimtools or Companion for Grim Dawn App). What am I doing wrong. I path just fine to get Huntress and Mogdrogen for their importance, but don’t see how Kraken and Revenant are achieved with either version (listed in both versions). If I could figure that out I could path this without a big respec later.
I am new and my first “real” character, so again, please excuse my ignorance, but a reply would be excellent on where I am pathing this improperly.

That´s no problem at all, I will do it step-by-step:

  1. One Point Blue
  2. Get Sailor´s Guide
  3. One Point Red
  4. Get Viper
  5. Get Ghoul
  6. One Point Purple
  7. Get Falcon
  8. Get Hawk
  9. Get Kraken
  10. Refund Sailor´s Guide and One Point Blue
  11. Get Empty Throne
  12. Get Wolverine
  13. Get Huntress
  14. Get Revenant
  15. Get Fox
  16. Refund One Point Red and One Point Purple
  17. Get Mogdrogen
  18. Put the last point in Chariot of the Dead
3 Likes

Holy Moly. Awesome! I have much to learn on these intricacies. You are all doing a great job and love your builds!

Update:
Inspired by the Chinese Community, I played the Warlord to SR 75.

Very smooth, Dryad could be a little better. Grimtools will bei in 1st post.

Update for 1.1.5.0
Grimtools-Links are in postings; I got fed up with the Revenant/Ghoul-Meta and tried something different.
Both builds can do SR 75 without any greater problems (so far).

Interesting update!

I tried it just before the patch with new beacons stuff. Lot better cause allows more freedom of movement.

Here’s video with good mutators 6:15

1 Like

Thanks! :slight_smile:

Which specc did you use? With or without Ghoul?