BUILD HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED
Now i’ve been wanting to use these two damage types together on a build for a while now.
This is a decent build, not the fastest of killers out there but it can be used for farming end-game bosses.
Reason for picking Saboteur-
Well no real reason.
I have already done Melee Aether with Arcanist as the main source of aether damage
Tz Tz has already done Melee aether with Occultist as the main source of aether damage
So i decided that it was time to do an Aether melee with Demolitionist as the main source of aether damage.
One could probably do something Trickster, but it didn’t feel right to me so i picked Demolitionist.
Build Concept-
1. Conversion-
Conversion is our major source of flat aether damage. There are two major conversions happening here:-
> Fire to Aether-
Fire Strike has a lot of flat fire damage (duh :p). It’s undesirable for our build’s aim so we convert most of our fire to aether using Decree of Aldritch and Arcane Shard of Agrivix.
In total we get about 90% Fire to Aether conversion.
>Chaos to Aether-
Brimstone has flat chaos damage, it’s a perfect source of more flat aether damage. We use two Albrecht’s Duality rings to achieve 100% conversion
>Undesirable conversion-
Since we are using Decree of Aldritch which converts Elemental damage to Aether, we end up converting our lightning damage as well. But we compensate that by stacking even more flat lightning damage and RR.
2. Resistance Reduction-
We are focusing on two damage types - Lightning and Aether.
Arcane Bomb and Corrupting Touch of Aldritch are meant to reduce both aether and lightning resistances.
Ulzuin’s helm and Thermite Mines (Lv.12) reduce Lightning resistance.
So our Lightning Resistance Debuff is -110%
and our Aether Resistance Debuff is -49%
3. Advantage of focusing on two damage types-
Since Aether isn’t resisted highly by many enemies we get to deal good amounts of damage with little RR.
While since we have a decent amount of flat lightning damage we can hurt aetherials without worrying about stacking racial damage (%damage to aetherials)
Also, since this damage combo has a decent devotion support we get some decent results.
4. Disadvantage of focusing on two damage types-
While we have a nice devotion support, there isn’t any real item support. We use an odd-ball combination of items to make this work. And trust me it works greatly (I mean you can farm the end-game albeit a little slowly)
But, nothing beats actual support from the game and so going this route (Aether Lightning) you are gimping the build’s true potential (focus on one damage type).
Why play this then? Well it’s a personal preference. And like i said even it’s not the greatest of killers this build is still pretty lethal.
5. Stacking flat Lightning damage-
While in most non-arcanist builds you need a source of flat aether damage here you have plenty of that. Unfortunately because of Decree of Aldritch’s Elemental conversion we loose some of our lightning damage by having it converted to aether. Which is why you need a source of flat lightning damage.
Eye of the Storm relic is extremely helpful in this case.
An exalted dagger is hence BiS since it’s base damage is lightning.
Concept Extension-
1. Saboteur-
a> Going full Lightning-
That’s a pure lightning Saboteur, you’d achieve even better results with a good rolled exalted dagger. But Stormheart is a great weapon choice as well.
b> Going full Aether-
Do the following (This is a rough guide just to point you in the right direction)-
> Replace the lightning weapon in this build (Exalted Dagger or Stormheart) with another Decree of Aldritch. You have 100% Elemental to aether conversion.
> Replace the amulet with either Empowered Essence of Beronath (Attack Speed) or The Peerless Eye of Beronath (Crti Damage and OA).
> Replace the helm with anything with plus skills to Demolitionist.
> Make some additional gear changes and augment changes to balance OA, DA, Health and resistances.
You get your own pure aether saboteur.
2. Aether Lightning Sorcerer-
Same concept as this build, would loose attack speed.
GrimCalc with plus skills and devotions-
http://grimcalc.com/build/1008-ix5VGB
Please note Manticore is a great option for RR. I just didn’t think it was worth going for it on the devotion map. This one suits me better.
Keybinding-
LMB- Fire Strike (w/ Flame Torrent)
RMB- (Anything)
Keyboard 1- Flashbang (w/ Arcane Bomb)
Keyboard 2- Pneumatic Burst
Keyboard 3- Thermite Mines
Keyboard 4- Blade Barrier
Screenshots (Include Toggled Auras and Pneumatic Burst which stays up 24/7)-
An old pic of Rashalga kill-
Items-
Weapon 1- Decree of Aldritch
Weapon 2- Stormcharged Exalted Dagger of the Winds
Head- Ulzuin’s Headguard
Chest- Ulzuin’s Chestguard
Legs- Stonehide Bysmiel-Sect Legguards of Potency
Shoulders- Stonehide Valdaran’s Mantle of Kings
Gloves- Voidsteel Gauntlets
Feet- Stonehide Exalted Treads of Kings
Belt- Ulzuin’s Torment
Relic- Eye of the Storm
Amulet- Arcane Shard of Agrivix
Rings- Albrecht’s Duality
Medal- Mark of Divinity
Bosses-
Like i mentioned above this isn’t the fastest of killers but it is pretty decent and you can farm the end-game with it. The only boss you need to watch out for is Shar’Zul he hits you like a truck. Two of those axe swings and i realize this guy’s the real deal. You can take him on, now worries. Just watch out for his RR.
In Closing-
This is a decent build which i decided to post cause this build made use of the Aether-Lightning combo which can be found in all of the major Aether constellations.
This build is fun to play with but i am sick of using the same gear again and again, i sincerely hope we actually get a dedicated Melee Aether Lightning set. Or atleast that The Progenitor gets some much needed attack speed.
