Something like this (obviously non tested in game, just quick and dirty grimcalc constucts, going full blue set and avoiding MIs as much as possible [only using MIs if there is no blue set item or faction gear available] - and if MIs are used, the sketches have no affixes)?
But without MIs - they seem weaker than the current beginners builds (well, being more standardized has and likely should have a cost), but also with certain green faction gear in some cases a better build is possible (e.g. my dw ranged pierce paladin vs the above Luminari Paladin sketch)
These are some very interesting builds. Maybe I’ll add sketches section somewhere in the OP.
Builds with fewer MIs are always useful for players because farming them can be really boring. I didn’t finish some beginner builds because they had so many to farm after leveling and was very relieved that the Dreeg’s Evil Eye build has all the gear in one place.
I currently have a lightning AAR templar (almost finished the stuff I want to play) - and there I had the same issue. There is one MI that is rather demotivating to farm (and necessary for the build) - I even dropped another item idea while levelling because of the farming issue to keep the required farming somehow “human”.
The “issue” with the above sketches is that they are from level 94 onwards - for the levelling phase faction gear would be an better alternative to avoid long farming runs. But with such faction gear snapshots, it can be that at the end of gear levels - before you get the better version, the character starts to fall apart. And even than, at least when playing veteran, reputation farming is likely necessary in some cases.
And for levelling (and even final builds), MIs with its in-build boni also provide some kind of baseline - and often enough, normal affixes work well enough (and the gear must be changed while levelling either way). But I think for this aspect has a good enough explainer in the OP. However, I also think that the unstandardized aspect of builds using quite some MIs can be discouraging for beginners.
Luminari Paladin and Myrmidon Oppressor look really strong on paper. Maybe Luminari Purifier is stronger though? Really cool builds nonetheless. I would try a different devotion setup for Luminari, but I am too lazy to build it right now.
Why not infiltrator for blind assassin though? I think it is a sin that there is no beginner pierce infiltrator guide in this compendium (Blademaster is too popular I guess). I would definitely build an infiltrator with that set.
Stormserpent trickster looks like a really cool concept. I am not familiar with this kind of build, but there is already a build in this compendium that uses Stormserpent - the Stun Jacks purifier from teppieteptep.
Oppressor looks for me to be the most promising and fun build, not sure if the Paladin is better than a budget pierce DW gunner. For blind assassin - I wanted to make an auto-attacker, therefore the second mastery should have an attack skill (which excluded Inquisitor), which is a bit sad as the skill cooldown reduction from the set is somehow wasted than.
Is non-belgo pierce infiltrator auto attacker that bad? I was thinking that maybe with enough WPS investment it would be decent even if there is no auto-attack replacer. You could also go for beronath’s fury, but that would convert a little bit of your physical damage to elemental, which is annoying. There should be more alternatives for auto-attack replacers imo.
Wouldn’t say the a pierce-infiltrator must be bad - only that for the Blind Assassin build above I wanted a mastery with AA skill as second mastery. Shard of Beronath and Mistborn Talisman both have its opportunity costs (either one augment slot or the relic slot is blocked) and are a loss of damage compared to mastery AA skills, but infiltrator has double RR and a bit of flat damage as compensation
For 2H build perhaps your best bet is Winter king weapon. It have bonuses to Shaman class, so you can try it as Trickster or if use the granted skill by Winter helm as Infiltrator.
For DW build cold isn’t super “hot” right now. But Saboteur gear was buffed, so Nex and Ortus Sabo with green head and medal + blue rings is really good and worth making.
Other than that Deathmarked set or DW green weapons Infiltrator/BM/Spellbreaker is classic cold attacker, Korba Trickster was buffed if you like Ring of Steel and Morgo Shadow Strike if you… hate yourself
If you want them to be included you can change it or even better you can ask Dammit to include Budget as the keyword for Beginner builds as it has in practice the same meaning. Or maybe parse forum tags.
To add to what Nery said, you could also opt for a Cold focused Shadow Strike Spellbreaker. I recently did a guide on that below.
But personally, after spending over 1,000 hours with the character, Spellbreakers are in a…weird spot.
It cuts through the story content on Ultimate Hardcore like a hot knife through butter, but suffers when it comes to post endgame content ( SR / Crucible / Nemesis Farming / Some Rougelike Dungeons / Celestial Superbosses) because it is tough to optimize well.
While I can’t speak for others who build spellbreakers following the Flash Freeze / Sky Shard Route, a DW cold build who focuses on Shadow Strike does not have a BiS Legendary set. Even The Morgoneth Set (the most popular one) feels more attuned to the Reaper class (Nightblade + Necromancer) rather than a spellbreaker.
Also, you are pretty much going to have to sacrifice some survivability if you want push for a spellbreaker than can do Ultimate content post end game. I have tried to achieve 50/50 offense/defense with middling results, but it seems to work well enough if you throw as many skill points as you can into cold/frostburn damage + rewire half your attribute points into spirit and become the personification of a glass canon; which essentially, means that most enemies can tear you up if your piloting skills/ muscle memory isn’t up to scratch.
Not to say that Spellbreakers are bad, but it feels like a class for masochists like me. Especially more so if you choose to play hardcore. Most other classes usually have no problem with splitting offense/defense and still getting high damage output at the end of the day. Ranged / Casters have the benefit of range and mobility for survivability. DW melee spellbreakers just don’t really seem to enjoy that balance. I would suggest a blademaster (Nightblade + soldier) if you want to be good at both damage and survival.
