Trying to level a new 2H Battlemage and so far I’ve been pretty disappointed, trying something along:
I thought an elemental Forcewave attack sounded fun but I don’t notice Elemental Exchange really doing anything.
Before I continue down this path, all I see so far is Cadence builds with some light Arcanist buffs.
Basically, is a Forcewave build worth trying or should I start over with Cadence?
Also, is it just me or is Battlemage unpopular…
Yes it is… because:
a) Arcanist has no inherent usefull debuff that works on bosses and synergizes well with the soldier’s damage capabilities (Absolute Zero does not work on bosses ofc);
b) Battlemage has absolutely zero heal without using a shield or 2h.
c) Soldier has 1 spirit gain / mastery level.
=> CT Battlemage is just a worst version of Sorceror. Granted, I will post a pretty powerful Battlemage guide when I have the time, but it is not based on Forcewave or CT.
P.S.: 1) Do yourself a favour and drop forcewave. Craft an Arbiter relic and max OFF. This strategy will take you up to ultimate with no problems. Also use blessed steel.
- Do yourself a favour and drop forcewave. Craft an Arbiter relic and max OFF.
Alright, so if I go the Flash Freeze route, what would you suggest for spammable damage while everything is stunned.
Arbiter relic is probably a pretty far way off from what I remember of leveling my last character.
CT ofc due to the fire damage. Arbiter Relic is at lvl 35 and it is like Forcewave on steroids. It is perhaps the best option an elemental Battlemage has in Veteran Difficulty. Arbiter + Prismatic Eviscerator.
Um.
Well, assuming you’re not planning to go CT all the way into Ultimate - in which case, make a Sorceror - Cadence is the only way to go.
Thing is, you will not be staying alive as a BM without Maiven, Maiven reduces damage, so you want to convert away as much of it as possible with IEE, Star Pact or Reckless Power, weapon components and Iskandra’s Focusing Prism.
Of the 2, Star Pact is probably easier, as you can run Discord with it - Discord is a DPS loss with Reckless Power.
Well, its certainly possible to make it work but I have to tell you gearing is a pain in the behind - there’s little cadence gear, and almost no elemental/aether melee gear to speak of.
Yeah, Battlemage had some really disappointing lack of skill synergy honestly; I’m sure you can make it work with the right gear and setup but I’m not seeing it.
Trying out a few things and ended up with Sorcerer, big surprise there huh…
Trying to get fire skills to play well with each other and this is starting to seem like it would work.
Flame Touched and Vindictive Flame and using OFF then spamming CT, this does a lot of damage to about the whole screen; but how would you keep your energy up because this costs a lot…
Added in a Fireblast for a low cost spell because I was running out of energy so quickly and the potions only last for so long.
Never occured to me that Arbiter skill is so strong, never tried it. Weird that it’s so strog. Forcewave without transmuter is still weaker than this. Forcewave needs a huge buff. At least double or even triple the internal trauma values or something.
About melee battlemage. I hope I’ll get the time to post a build on it and prove that it’s not that bad. It’s not spectacular but may do Fabius in 30secs or so.
Funny stuff, right ? If Necrosis wouldn’t provide a massive -18% reduction to Aether + Elemental, I would stick to Arbiter all the way to lvl 85.
As it stands right now, Forcewave has 0 use in this game. The only thing you could do with it (maybe) is an internal trauma DoT build. The same internal trauma DoT build that would get you killed vs any type of reflect mobs… so good luck stacking physical resist to even 50%.
Trying to make Necrosis. I find it a pain to make. I want to see if oleron’s or necrosis will be better for my melee battlemage.
High internal trauma damage can indeed kill you fast. VS Fabius as well if you are not careful. One Big Blade Arc and byeeeee
I’m using Agrivix on mine - Cadence/Reckless Power.
Necrosis would probably be best for effective DPS, as I only have the Judicator’s and Arcane Bomb’s -% Aether, but the proc on Agrivix is too cool to pass 
I find this forwave path weak. I dont see where you are trying to get with your choice of abilities. trying to hit a little bit of everything doesnt work in such sort of games unless you are planing to use procs with high attack speed.
I have made a ranged(2H, or 2 handed weapon) battlemage plan to keep all mobs at distance. maxed “inner focus” to increase OA and help being able to wear some spirit requaring rings and amulets. 1 level of war cry is to help with high hp bosses.I dont have anything particular in mind to wear. You might wanna try
grimcalc.com/build/fTQ4R1l
What is the average crit on your cadence if I may ask?
Mmm, a lot?
That build is on the Cornucopia mod though, so the numbers don’t really apply; for one thing, Reckless Power converts 35% on Corn, so I get 100% conversion with an Eye of Beronath.
Plus I’m using Temporal Arcblade - because it looks cool and has another cool-looking proc.
I’m hoping the Aetherial dungeon will come with a better helm for Aether melee - Barney’s Skull Helm looks pretty damn goofy, though its better than Iskandra’s.
Behold: Wrathblade, the Derp Knight.
Ha! Looks great! My build is pretty much identical:D But I play vanilla so it’s hard to get crits high. Only 55% conversion. I Don’t have Maw of Despair or a good pair of Iron maiden shoulders so I impovised those. Crits are anywhere between 60-90k after debuffs
Maw helps but its not really critical - sure, the debuff is nice, but its on getting hit by melee so it does jack for you against herald of the devastation and such, which is where you really want the -aether.
I’ll have to see how that goes later, just took him to a trip through Cronley’s feat. Fabio the Fabulous.
Fabius was reason for a massive tweaking or my battlemage. I thought Warcry + Maivens would be enough. Nope…
Leveling a Sword and Shield Cadence Aether Battlemage and i’m currently on Elite. Been pretty much murdering everything. I got Acid Spray (i know it’s odd to get a poison proc) but when this and arcane bomb procs, even Aether based enemies get destroyed. The plus 50% damage to all Aetherials help a lot too. So far my biggest crit is 28k and i still don’t even have Reckless Power and the rest of my items (I can only use them in level 65).
The best part though is using Nullification on that broken ass aura the Mad Queen uses. It makes the fight much easier.
Nullification is MVP in so many fights, seriously.
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I kind of wish Reckless Power also increased Attack Speed. Reckless Power can be used for both melee (the Physical convert to Aether) and ranged.
Nothing strange about using manticore. Battlemage badly needs debuffs. I use it too