I knew it! You are just a lazy elitist information hiding GD stashing rat :rolleyes:
Not sure if you missed my characteristic edit, but yes. I think the explanation behind why a constellation is shit is a great suggestion.
I can’t/won’t do it for why constellations are good, because I’d end up writing a phd thesis on GD’s freaking devotions.
‘Devotions - a comparative study devoted to understanding the devotions devoted to the various masteries in GD’s universe.’
But i’ll get around to it after I finished doing up build structures for various weapontypes/playstyles which is on my to-do list.
Ok, I did not really know what you meant by “breakdown” hence I suggested providing concrete examples of devotion maps 
It’s something I considered doing, but I was hesitant, because there are so many ways of say getting to ultos.
I wonder if providing an example of how one could path their way to it make people less flexible in their own devotion planning.
EDIT: I was thinking of listing out what must be included in any path to give the reader some guidance, while respecting their freedom to explore.
[QUOTE=sir spanksalot;717033]What’s been written
[li]Constellations which grant relevant RR: These would include something like widow for a lightning/aether build. It is also worth taking a tangent to quickly discuss the different types of RR. Very simply put, -X% RR stacks fully with each other, and only with the highest source of X RR. As such, you will often see non-acid builds take manticore.[/li]
[li]Relevant tier 3’s: [/li]
Can you elaborate it, please?
I mean, how the math works on RR? RR% apllies over flat RR? Does it means that if i have 10000000000000000% RR and 0 flat RR it won’t reduce anything?
Hey, its me again, sorry for delaying my reply, was busy.
Im tweaking my Soulrend Paladin atm (i know is not the best idea cause of the lack of cold support etc, etc), dropped RoH (Rune Of Hagarrad), fixing resist (i know im missing amulet, augments, components etc), i just wanted to post the GT ASAP.
i dont want do derail the initial topic idea about maximizing devotions, if you want to focus only on that (devotions), you can ignore my items, aug, components (if you dont see that was derailing, no problem giving your feedback xD) etc.
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/nZoq88l2
i Dont know if you meant Soulrender Breaker(the weapon from alkamos Soulrend) or some skills from other classes (i dont know much about the skills of other classes, cause i like to play just one), i believe you said you had a build with soulrend on another class, right? (correct me if im wrong)
Thank you.
I will add explanations for the Bleeding Constellations later.
@Rednose:
^I think this was done by ceno
@Mirolino:
1stly, nothing to apologise for. 
2ndly - Yes. A soulrend breaker refers specifically to the spellbreaker (Arcanist/NB) combination. It revolved around using starpact and aeon’s to get as much CDR as possible so you could alternate between mirror/blade barrier perpetually thereby rendering you near invulnerable, and allowing you to bypass the ordinary defensive mechanics.
@Rhylthar: Thanks <3
This is a thread about devotions, not game mechanic
Here is how resistance reductions work http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?p=251347#post251347
He was asking about what I wrote in the guide about RR. ><
Your link https://external-preview.redd.it/amc_Q5cs4W1BYj_if8dv_uFsehVq5gPm_FcTB6JFV7Y.png?auto=webp&0f257be2 was invalid
Replying to my ownself so others can benefit from the cheat-sheet
EDIT: Thanks mala for the heads-up. The correct link has been included in the quote.
Hey Spanks, awesome thread, i’m really loving it. It’s something that the forum needed for a long time.
Just as an remark on some the useless constellations: things like Ulcama and Affliction aren’t necessarily useless per se. I’d call them useless in 90% of cases and only catering to some pretty niche builds. IMO, Ulcama is mostly useful for a physical DK using Gladiator belt (and only the S&B version at that, otherwise it limits possibilities on DW builds). Usually, it has a very strong contender in its neighboring Harp constellation, that gives so much more benefits, including energy regen.
It’s the same with Affliction. While it has some pretty strong nodes (especially the top ones for % OA and crit), it has one of the most useless procs on the map and its purple requirements make really unattractive for vitality builds that tend to go for both DG and Rattosh, two tier 3 constellations that need no purple. The only way you’d actually benefit from it is trough a (niche) conversion build, like jajaja’s acid DW Witch Hunter, using 2 Deathguard blades. Even then, it has a very strong contender in Manticore, another high cost/low return 7 points constellation. I remember jajaja worked his way around Manticore by using Malediction for flat RR. Don’t know if this kind of gimmick is still worthwhile with the addition of Yugol on the map, or in what way Affliction may serve a retaliation Sentinel/Archon (Conjurer?:rolleyes:), though i’m sure it would be waaay more attractive if the nature of its proc would be changed into, say, a temporary buff or at least if it had % retaliation added to attack on it.
As for DG/AH combo, that’s a godsend for 2H auto attacking builds and while lightning builds benefit the most out of it, with the introduction of Ulzaad, now physical builds can draw a big advantage too. Let’s just say i did not regret one bit losing SotH, Hawk and Tower in favor of Ulzaad and Chariot on a DG/AH Avenger Warder.
Is ulcama truly better than harp (edited)? The OA/DA buffs, CC-res, the affinity returns, the resistance it offers, etc. all seem to make it better than scales.
Even if I had points left over, I’d sooner invest them in targo, or ulzaad. Even building up to the bottom 3 nodes of obelisk seems better.
Can you actually squeeze scales into any devotion plan without giving up something greater?
As for affliction, I suppose I can see where you’re coming from - but is skipping manticore and +1 to skills on the relic slot truly worth a crappy proc + OA?
Not being defensive - just trying to understand you.
What are your thoughts, mate?
Don’t get me wrong, Ulcama is vastly inferior to Harp in all aspects, as i noted in the post. I should have mentioned that the only way to make a substantial use of its proc is to convert it to phys via Glad belt, if going just for Obelisk on S&B DK (a very specific build, and really inferior to its DW brother). And that only while leveling, in case you feel like energy/AdctH is lacking. It did help my S&B DK survive Crucible better than Targo, that’s for sure. But i ended up ditching it once i polished the build. Can’t say if it would even be worth considering now, with Ulzaad, as i left that boy on the shelf for now.
As for Affliction, i did try jajaja’s build back then. It was a pretty solid concept (back then) and didn’t feel the loss of Manticore. Though it was a strongly defensive devotion set-up. As i said, these are just 2 examples that make use of these devotions, pre FG, and even then it’s just for niche builds. 90% of times, nobody would touch these constellations. So i wasn’t disagreeing, was just mentioning some rare cases where they were used. My point was that sure, they can be labeled as useless, but it doesn’t mean that, in some very specific cases, they may find their way into a devotion set-up. Though i would surely want to see them, and some other constellations too, getting a revamp.
Edit: In your opinion, would there even be any point into considering some low/mid tier constellations as temporary “crutches” while leveling? I mean, i sometimes do that, if i get the feeling that my toon is struggling at some point, and then i spec out as soon as it seems that it passed that bottleneck. I’m speaking from the point of view of someone not using GDstash (and no worries, i’m not the type to flare against it, it’s just my personal fear of getting a bit jaded with the game if i were to use it, though i’m really considering it lately, for the sake of testing things out ^^)
Sounds to me that DG needs a hit by the nerf hammer or SotH a buff.
I can kindasortamaybe see your point about affliction, and I’ll move it to the almost-always-shit tier.
As for ulcama - my point stands. Again, if you were to skip ulcama, you’d be able to clinch your self the bottom 3 nodes of obelisk which yield:
- 55 DA + 5% DA
- 150 armor + 10% armor
To illustrate my point - here’s an example of a 2-handed-auto-attacking deathknight:
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/YNnjOldN
I can’t think of anything there worth giving up in exchange for ulcama.
In fact, I may even want to drop obelisk in favor of getting both jackal and bat, the latter of which outperforms scales by leaps and bounds with the gladiator’s belt.
And yes, that’s a good suggestion. I’ll get to that eventually once the rest is done-up since it’s somewhat tangential to the main point of this guide.
@Sykar: No, DG is fine the way it is. Nerf it, and 2H are dead.
Ulcama was just a temporary solution for a sword’n board Warborn DK with Beronath sword (didn’t have the gavel yet, so i didn’t take Scepter and even then i switched to harp when survival became less of a problem). So the only use i got from it was energy/life leech until those were not an issue anymore.
As for Affliction, with Murmur being mandatory for acid builds, nobody will even consider it. As i said, it can only be considered as a “maybe” in those very narrow circumstances: having almost full vitality to acid conversion and even then just for Witch Hunters (don’t think DW Sentinels are gonna be talk of the town). Jajaja used Malediction in a time where flat RR on items wasn’t really a thing. Now we have sets and some items that provide flat RR, so “maybe” Affliction can be used instead of Manticore, though i doubt many would wear Oleron gloves, Executioner’s judgment or Black star of deceit on an acid build just to get some flat damage, 10 % crit and 3% OA while halving their flat RR. This constellation won’t shine anytime soon unless it will be remade to either support (acid) retaliation or pets, as there’s plenty of flat RR on pet items and sets. As it is now, just feed it to Yugol :rolleyes:
PS: sorry for the rant mate, probably why some constellations suck should be tackled in another thread.
Nothing to be sorry for. I love the pushback - because my perspective is limited.
So, from what I gather:
- Ulcama is a place-holder until you replace it with something else
- I strongly agree with this, though I personally like to use the devotions I’ll be using in the end game as levelling them can be a PITA. So I don’t mind redefining ‘shit tier’ as ‘shit tier in the end game.’
- You suggest replacing manticore with affliction
- I still have a hard time wrapping my head around this. Even if I had another source of flat RR, why wouldn’t I take both yuugol and abomination? Taking affliction means I must forgo one of the other 2.
EDIT: Unless you’re suggesting it (i.e. affliction) also be used as a placeholder?
Well, it can be done, something like this: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/r2BAqWKN
Then again, that’s losing the 3 points from Torch too (effective loss would be 2%OA). If Murmur wasn’t necessary for OA shred and %RR on that awesome proc it has, or if Affliction would have some acid RR to it (or anything more helpful, really) getting both it and Manticore, Yugol, Abomination and 3 points Torch wouldn’t be an issue.