i need some help and inspiration with my latest build. I am trying to build a Pet-Defiler based mainly dealing fire damage. Here is a Link to my Brunhilde!
So far, at lvl 98 bosses like the Warden and Cronley are killing all Skelletons, and I’m pretty sure the build has a hard time versus Nemesises aswell.
Any idea for improvement is very welcome. Where can I squeeze out some more viability, or is there a Devotion build that makes Skellies tougher?
I am not pet expert,but what exactly is bringing Demo class to the pets?No support whatsoever and the only good thing that can use is fire RR and mines are clunky to use.
I am not a fan of hybrids and skeletons were always too squishy for my tastes. So I have no idea how to make it work. Interesting concept with the Skeletons though.
But, as for the not allowed to post links part, go to this thread and make a few posts (3 should do it)
It is Flame Touched + RR mostly. The usual combination is Demo + Occultist due to the obvious reasons. I am kind of curious if it can be made to work on a Defiler though.
I hope I can make it work. If I can’t make the skellies durable I might go on recasting them with the new green sword: “… Korvaaks Fireblade of …” which has -1 cd for skellies and +2 summons to summon 5 at once. We’ll see.
The damage is done by the swarmlings and the devotion procc of Fient (Flame Torrent), while the Blind Fiend proccs the Eye of Korvaak and softens targets I throw in Grenados to stun and debuff opponents. Resist reduction is completely done by Thermite Mines.
Hey! Good on you for attempting a Defiler build! I have an unhealthy obsession with them right now so it’s nice to see it being validated somewhat =P A few things I wanted to share…
Skellies are more complicated than most other pets, in that they tend to be squishier than most and that they come in different forms. Our lord and savior DaShiv mentioned that when doing pet builds, you’ll either need to build the pets to be tanky, or ensure the cooldown/mana costs on resummoning is reasonable. For those reasons, I would agree with getting as much “+ to summons” or “-X CD” as possible to counterbalance squishiness. Unstable Anomaly would be good for the same reason.
I think 4k effective OA is a reasonable amount to shoot for to ensure decent crit chances for pets. I think you just barely meet the threshold, as Skellies base is around 2300, flametongue gives 200 or so, offensive ability gives another 1250 and you have some reduced DA skills. Crit percentage numbers are quite nice.
You need more RR. It looks like you have a total of -72% for Fire, which is unacceptable. Main damage types in modern builds should have at least -90% to -100% RR shred for their damage type of choice. Solael’s Witchblade devotion would help alleviate this.
Just so you know, if anything says “Reduced …”, it won’t stack with anything else that says “Reduced …” of the same stat. As an example, the Grenado RR debuff and the Elemental Storm RR debuff don’t stack. The Grenado one is worthless. Similarly, the Reduced DA part of Eye of Korvaak’s ability is worthless, since Rotting Fumes Reduced DA shred is stronger.
This leads to the conclusion that devotions could be optimized better. You’ll definitely want the Witchblade, and honestly Fissure is way better on your Skellies than Flame Torrent because a majority of your skeletons will be archers or mages and not in the thick of battle where you would want it to proc, whereas Fissure does waaaaay more damage, shotguns, and procs more effectively from ranged skeletons. Korvaak devotion skill does not really offer much to a Defiler, since it’s Reduced OA and DA shred can be covered by mastery skills. For a tier 3 constellation I’d go with either Dying God, Mogdrogen, or Aeon’s Hourglass (or if you’re feeling particularly daring, Ulzuin’s Torch and put Meteor on your Blight Fiend lol).
Get rid of Grenado and Rotting Fumes and invest the points elsewhere. Grenado’s damage is not worth the points, and there’s no reason to invest in Rotting Fumes when you have Flashbang. Get FB/SL to 12/7 respectively, and put the rest in self-buffs like Spectral Binding and Mark of Torment for more survivability. Alternatively, you could put points in Blackwater Cocktail and it’s transmuter for Reduced OA shred as well as 18% reduced phys damage.
You might want to consider 2 x Voidwhisper Band for Physical->Chaos conversion to make some use out of your pet’s Physical damage. Chaos compliments Fire very well due to Hellfire Mine, Eldritch Fire and Grenado providing RR to both damage types. The bands also keep +2 to Skellies.
That’s the kind of advice I was looking for, thank you very much for sharing your insights. Much apprechiated. I will play around with your suggestions and try to find a way that works out.
