Fight your enemies face to face like a real Markovian’s destroyer! [1.0.0.4]
*Updated to version 1.0.0.4. If you are following this guide, check the “Changes” section for more detailed information.
Statistics
*Note - these statistics are with 2 permanent buffs on (Menhir’s Bulwark and Field Command)
Without bonuses
http://grimcalc.com/build/HlQcotS
With bonuses
http://grimcalc.com/build/L2sSO8c
Equipped items
Weapon: Frenzied Bonecleaver of Fervor (Oleron’s Blood + Oleron’s Fervor)
Shield: Markovian’s Bulwark (Mark of Myrmidon + Outcast’s Bastion)
Head: Markovian’s Visor (Prismatic Diamond + Spellward Powder)
Shoulders: Markovian’s Vanguard (Rigid Shell + Spellward Powder)
Chest: Markovian’s Platemail (Kilrian’s Shattered Soul + Venomguard Powder)
Hands: Colossal Grasp (Unholy Inscription + Spellward Powder)
Legs: Chausses of Barbaros (Mutated Scales + Mankind’s Vigil)
Feet: Stonehide Exalted Treads of Attack (Mark of Mogdrogen + Spellward Powder)
Waist: Reforged Chains of Oleron (Antivenom Salve + Venomguard Powder)
Amulet: Markovian’s Distinction (Arcane Spark + Survivor’s Ingenuity)
Ring 1: Ring of the Black Matriarch (Roiling Blood + Breath of Life)
Ring 2: Incorruptible Cronley’s Signet of Attack (Ectoplasm + Survivor’s Resilience)
Medal: Markovian’s Stratagem (Arcane Spark)
Relic: Oleron’s Wrath
Constellations
Turtle Shell -> Field Command
Dryad’s Blessing -> Oleron’s Might
Assassin’s Mark -> Cadence
Maul -> Markovian’s Advantage
Targo’s Hammer -> Menhir’s Bulwark
Trample -> Maiven’s Sphere of Protection
Blind Fury -> Zolhan’s Technique
Falcon Swoop -> War Cry
Tips
In this section i will give you some tips and recommendations for both leveling and endgame. That doesn’t mean you have to follow everything. It’s supposed to be source of inspiration for you, not step by step guide.
About build
This build is good for new players (also HC viable). It’s forgiving to beginner mistakes like running into boss unprepared or trying to clear East Marsh too early etc. Playing is quite straightforward and maybe a little bit lazy. You just charge in the middle of the crowd and mash all the buttons until everything dies. Or you can just hold LMB if you need your other hand free IYKWIM. Some people like this playstyle, some like more active with lot of micromanagement and planning strategy like e.g. pet builds. I like both, it shows you the game from different perspective and it won’t feel repetitive.
This build focuses on durability so it never be one of the fastest builds. It still turned out better than i expected though. Damage/tankiness ratio is pretty good. Do you know that feeling when you read posts like “Mad Queen is OP”, “Sentinel too strong for melee” etc. and you just go there and kill them without any problems? No? You would with this build.
Another good thing is that you don’t need insane stats on your legendaries to make it work. You don’t even need those legendaries, i have finished ultimate with only 2 low level legendaries without any problems. It’s just a bit slower.
Enemies
Enemies you can’t facetank:
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Avatar of Mogdrogen - this guy has his own league, his both HP and damage are off the charts . Fortunatelly he spawns so many beasts that you can kill him using life steal. I facetanked him relatively easily in elite using [Bloodthirsty Bonecleaver of Voracity but it took disgusting amount of time. For killing him in ultimate you would need more attackspeed/lifesteal.
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Rashalga - the Mad Queen replaced Anasteria as the strongest enemy. She can’t kill you if you fight her ready to back out, she has no charge ability. Knowing her abilities helps you a lot in matter of killing time but you won’t face tank her, don’t even try it if you don’t want to die.
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Anasteria - she lowers your maximum resistances by 40, so you end up with 40 aether resistance. You can still tank all their abilities except Aether Meteor Rain. Taking all the waves = death, regardless of how tanky you are. Avoid it and you are fine.
You can facetank everything else 99,9% of the time (except when you decide to fight all the Clones of John Whiskey at once), usually without using healing potions if fight goes well, or 2-3 potions when RNG gods hate you. You can kill Loghorrean in 80 seconds, any other boss under 1 minute (times may vary, while Anasteria and Mad Queen will be probably closer to one minute, you can kill Fabius in 30 seconds). Clearing BoC (from the beginning of the Discord to killing Shar’Zul, killing all the champions and looting everything) takes 7,5-9 minutes (depends on how many champions you fight).
Weapon
Cadence build = autoattack build. It means you should get some attack speed bonus or at least fast weapon. Swords are fast but convert portion of physical damage to piercing damage. That doesn’t matter early game but when you start to get %physical damage bonuses, it will significantly reduce your damage. Maces have high damage but they are slow in general and have big damage span. That makes them unreliable for AA build but really good for spell builds (e.g. Blade Arc build). It means you should aim for axes. The best ones you can get for late game are Bonecleaver, Bonescythe and Exalted Double Axe. They are all comparable but Exalted Double Axe is craftable thus easier to get. They are all common, what matters are their affixes. I was successful with attack speed + life steal (rare affixes Bloodthirsty, [URL=“https://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/4762-of-Voracity”]of Voracity and common affixes Vampiric, of Alacrity…). Weapon with both rare affixes “Bloodthirsty…of Voracity” makes you absolutely invincible in hordes of enemies or even against bosses who spawn minions. Unfortunately life steal doesn’t work against bosses, that’s why i am using Relentless Bonecleaver of Fervor. These two affixes are probably the strongest for pure physical damage soldier. For your imagination if i switch to Bloodthirsty Bonecleaver of Voracity, my DPS drops around 1200, if i use any legendary or empowered epic weapon, my DPS drops more than 3k. Update Since 1.0.0.3 i am using Frenzied Bonecleaver of Fervor. Check “Changes” section for more information.
Optional items
Aside from Markovian’s set, you have 7 items to complement your build. If you want to have capped/overcapped resistances, you need two green items with the right prefixes. Ring or belt with Incorruptible and one other item with Stonehide. Suffixes are optional, i prefer of Oleron’s Wrath, of Readiness and of Attack. Belt (Reforged Chains of Oleron) gives you +1 to all soldier skills, it’s a no-brainer. (Update Etram Fald can craft belts only as armor since 1.0.0.4, i don’t know if this also changed but it was nearly impossible to get this belt from him in previous patches.) If you can’t get this one, try to get Warpath Girdle. These are the only two belts that give +1 to all soldier skills. It means that first green item will be ring. I went for the Cronley’s Signet because i like the attack speed bonus and also farming this ring is quite easy, you get reputation and later you can farm both Fabius and Cronley. Then it’s up to you which item will be “only” rare, IMO boots provide less bonuses than gloves and pants. For some reason “of Readiness” suffix provides less bonuses for armor than for accessories, that’s why i am using “of Attack”.
Relics - Oleron’s Wrath is offensive relic for soldier (try to get one with Deadly Momentum + another skill you are using, don’t let it waste extra skill point!). You can also get defensive version Menhir’s Bastion if you feel like you need more deffense but i think Oleron’s Wrath is worth more. From tier 2 relics you are looking for Juggernaut.
Leveling
You can put all the attribute points into Physique but keep some points unspent. You will need ±5 points in Spirit because of accessories. And it’s good to keep at least 10 points late game so you can chose where to spend them, depending on your build.
For skills i recommend to put 3 points per 2 levels into mastery bar (on average). With this you will reach the maximum at level 33. You can put more points into mastery bar at the beginning and later more points into skills. Cadence is your main damage source, max it first but put at least one point into utility skills like Blitz, Menhir’s Will or Fighting Form as soon as possible. Then it’s up to you and your playstyle. I gave priority to Menhir’s Bulwark, Squad Tactics and Deadly Momentum. Then Military Conditioning and Shield Training for defense purposes. From arcanist tree you want Inner Focus and Maiven’s Sphere of Protection but not early game and maybe not even mid game. Inner Focus bonuses are procentual and unless you have some good base stats, you won’t even notice the buffs. Maiven’s Sphere is double-edged sword. It lowers your damage and for some reason even life steal, also almost 11 energy per second is a big deal, especially for soldier. You need items with energy regen to avoid energy drain. Try it and you will see if it’s worth it in different phases of the game. What i used for leveling is Olexra’s Flash Freeze, it’s so OP it’s almost disgusting. You just charge in the middle of the crowd, freeze everything and kill them all before freeze ends. Unfortunatelly you can’t freeze bosses, so i leveled Mirror of Ereoctes. With cooldown low enough you can alternate between healing potions and Mirror and easily facetank bosses. These two spells make you strong even if you are behind with items and level and allow you to rush through game if you want (i have ended elite with lvl 63).
Constellations - start with Tortoise or Dryad, rushing Ascendant constellations is pointless because both Anvil and Autumn Boar have skill that triggers on block, you need good shield with Battered Shell or Reinforced Shell first and maybe some points in Shield Training. Assassin’s blade and Oleron are late game constellations because you can’t crit that much during leveling unless you are heavily focusing on OA.
*Note - Dryad’s Blessing is bound to Oleron’s Might because if you bind on-attack devotion skills to skills with cooldown, their chance to proc increases. E.g. Dryad’s Blessing has 33% chance on attack but if you bind it to Oleron’s Might, it’s chance is 100%. It means everytime you use Oleron’s Might, you heal yourself. It’s more reliable and you can actually heal more.
Constellations way could look like this:
1 Yellow crossroads
5 Dryad
-1 Yellow crossroads
5 Tortoise
1 Purple crossroads
3 Hammer
3 Eel
6 Dire Bear
1 Blue crossroads
-3 Eel
5 Falcon
-3 Hammer
5 Anvil
-1 Purple crossroads
7 Autumn Boar
4 Empty throne
5 Assassin’s Blade
7 Oleron
Why Cadence build?
You don’t have much choices:
- Forcewave damage is underwhelming despite the buff in 1.0.0.4 patch. High energy cost is not a problem because you can’t spam it anyway, worse thing is that it counts damage from your shield which often forces you to choose between shield with good defensive stats and shield with bad stats but higher damage. It could be decent choice as a secondary skill because of the stun but since you can use OFF which is like hundred times better, it’s absolutely pointless.
- Blade Arc is good skill for offensive builds. It has mediocre base damage, to get some impressive numbers you must make sure you will crit (it has the best crit damage modifier in the game) which means that you need a lot more OA. You would have to switch Menhir’s Bulwark to Oleron’s Rage, components, augments, constellations…it would be completely different build. If you decide to go for that offensive build, it’s better to use 2H weapon, you would trade survivability for damage in good ratio. Switching to offensive 1H+shield Blade Arc build is unfavorable trade, you will lose more survivability than what you gain in damage output.
- You can rely on your two WPS (+ maybe full Blitz).
- You can go for Cadence + both WPS which triple your damage even though Cadence itself can’t proc WPS, only first two attacks can. It doesn’t mean Cadence is great or well designed skill, it’s just the best you have if you want to keep this level of tankiness.
Changes
Current changes
*Note: changes listed here are not mentioned in guide, i am using them and testing them right now
- Weapon changed to Earthsplitter
I got Earthsplitter with great stats so i started testing it and even though my sheet DPS dropped by almost 5k, the proc outweigh it. Clearing times seems to be better so far.
1.0.0.3
- Weapon changed to Frenzied Bonecleaver of Fervor
- Constellations: Full Falcon instead of Hammer and points from Hawk and Eldritch Crossroads
I have made this changes at the same time. I realized i can get Falcon constellation but with it i lost 30 OA and i wanted to keep my crit chance. So i switched weapons to keep enough OA in exchange for losing thousand sheet DPS. More OA and Falcon proc increased damage output significantly.
1.0.0.4
- Augment on amulet changed from Survivor’s Resilience to Survivor’s Ingenuity
This change is completely optional. I was testing reworked augments and i kept one of them. I couldn’t resist, it’s really OP. On the other hand i am using only one because i want to keep at least 70% block chance and maxed resists. Another reason why i chose more offensive augment instead of defensive is that i have several hundreds more HP than in previous patch. Why? Because everything this build is using was buffed (except Falcon Swoop) and DPS went up about 3k. So i started using items that rolled with more HP instead of damage.
Character download
Since i can’t provide any videos, i uploaded save file for testing purposes.
https://goo.gl/msX7nj](https://gracefuldusk.appspot.com/items/5687-Bonecleaver)
To avoid questions about this:
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Yes, the character is really tanky and HC viable. Death count and damage taken looks like this because this character was my “guinea-pig”, i tested lots of things and some of them were eh…less useful (read pretty stupid) like trying to kill Fabius in drunk fight (bare hands and without pants) or testing how much movement speed i need to run through aetherfire ground in Deadman’s Gulch without stopping etc.
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Yes, the damage dealt is real, it was done against dummy with this setup:
http://grimcalc.com/build/uv2yshX, Leviathan, Eldritch Gaze, Grasp of Unchained Might, The Peerless Eye of Beronath, Mark of Divinity, 3*Roiling Blood, 3* Survivor’s Ingenuity. The rest of the items was the same. These items are in inventory so you can try it, breaking the record shouln’t be that hard. If you like big numbers, 2H Blade Arc is perfect for you but go for Witchblade instead of Battlemage.
If you have any questions, suggestions or anything, leave a comment!
rng sucks.
