DW physical Warborn Witchblade - 310k cadence crits unbuffed/unbannered; 170 viable

Grim Dawn Classes, Skills and Builds
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GT link: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/mN4Wy6YZ
Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZxJuR1uuFw&feature=youtu.be
The recording toolbar was blocking the entirety of the minimap, and refused to budge. I believe cleartime could have been 1 min shorter.

As always, a huge thank you to the crew. Special shoutout to actuanpanda, ptir, and mad_lee.

Preface:
Essentially a WB knockoff of actuanpanda’s DW warborn deathknight, this spec relies on beronath reforged and gladiator’s distinction to convert everything offered by the occultist class into physical damage. The result is a toon as simple as it is deadly efficient. Cadence crits very consistently for about 180k without buffs and banners, and peaks at 500k with buffs/banners.

While this toon will clear AoM with ease on ultimate, I hesistate to recommend it to HC players. The HP bar tends to leap up and down quite a fair bit due to DoT’s and lifesteal.

For offence, we have:
i. 3.2k OA (without buffs, and with slightly above average rolls)
ii. 97% RR
iii. 200% AS (with an overcap of about 4-10% depending on rolls)
iv. ~200 DA shred from both MA and seal of annihilation
v. Huge amounts of flat damage

For defense:
i. Easily overcapped resists from passives
ii. Pure physical sigil
iii. 3.2k DA (with physique bonus from crafted items)
iv. 33% phys res
v. Butt loads of life leech from devotions and sigil
vi. Arcane barrier and runeguard.

Devotion pathing:
i. yellow crossroad
ii. Assassin’s blade, Panther, stag, eel, empty throne, wolverine, harp, watchtower, scepter, 4 nodes into scales of ulcama
iii. Spec out of: Panther, crossroad, and Stag
iv. Crab
v. Oleron’s (ignore IT node)
vi. Unknown soldier (ignore attack speed node)

Alternative green ring:
i. Can be any ring with the dreadlord’s prefix. This is needed to get lifesteal + Flat damage. Suffix doesn’t matter too much. BiS (as pointed out by x1x1x1x2) would be Dreadlord’s cronley’s of Alacrity.

Leveling:
i. Level with FW or Pox.

Hope ya’ll enjoyed the guide! As always, feedback will be much appreciated.

Alternate, viable build options as suggested by x1x1x1x2, and tested by yours truly
i. Flame torrent
ii. Changing living armor on helm for: Eldritch mirror (if attack speed is needed), Leathery hide, sanctified bone, or prismatic diamond
iii. Sigil for overcapped warcry - To be honest, I’m still undecided on this change. I find the lifeleech to be a very useful means of counteracting DoTs - a huge weakness of this build. Also, sigil is a great way to apply assassin’s mark.

2 Likes
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Nice one you got here. Beronath on WB always turns great. Got a few suggestions:

I think you should drop unknown soldier and go Flame torrent. You got a vacant spot on CoF so you can trigger it consistently. I’d also probably drop Sigil cause Flame torrent gives you a lot of sustain already. Get overcap on Break Morale instead. Put the extra points on Decorated Soldier and Scars of Battle cause slow res (very good for autoattackers) and armor absorb, allowing you to drop Living Armor on head and get Eldritch Mirror instead (or if you already have max AS before procs due to rolls, then Sanctified Bone for EZ reaper). Yeah you really want that max AS before procs. Also, Living ring doesn’t really fix your resists. Your vit is already overcapped by 35 before the ring. I like Cronley here, maybe Viloth for OA.

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DOH. I mistook vit res for aether res. Silly spanks. :stuck_out_tongue:
Cronley’s is by far the better choice.

Is flametorrent really that worthwhile? I like the flat damage provided by unknown soldier, and when mah boy’s shadow strike, I find my HP bar being instantly filled.

I also feel that sigil helps to negate a lot of DoT which would otherwise drain my HP bar very quickly.

Regardless, I shall test out the suggested changes, and post my findings.

Thanks x1x1x1x2. :slight_smile:

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Flame torrent is just a strog proc that fits the build. Should be worth, imo. Though JoV’s version didn’t take it too

On sigil: getting Break Morale also increases your sustain because more rr = more damage = more lifesteal. As to what’s better in sustaining you isn’t so clear without maths, but Break morale capping is certainly better at cleartime.

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This looks like a really cool build and no greens aside from the ring which I happen to have. Looks like we have a preexpansion blademaster here :slight_smile:

My 2 cents - Is there any way to eek out 6 points somewhere to get that extra hit from fighting form? It might be a small DPS loss vs nemesis but in mobs you would KO 3 strong enemies every 3rd hit. vs 2. That a 50% DPS gain.

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nice stats! :slight_smile:

did u test elemental balance rings?

non myth gloves? https://www.grimtools.com/db/items/1220

and i’d go with boneshatter treads :slight_smile:

and did u try possession instead olerons rage?

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No I have not…very interesting. I completely overlooked the non-mythical gloves…

But I do wonder if the proc is worth giving up the flat damage, especially since flat damage is added to both weapons when DW.

For the rings, I want the phys RR, and the +2 to cadence. Also, the flat damage and lifesteal is extremely important in this build - I don’t think the elemental balance rings are a good trade off. I would need to test them though. it’s definitely worth looking into.

For the shoes, I did try the boneshatter treads - I can tell you that it’s not worth it. The problem with this build is DoT’s. While enemies don’t chunk you hard, your HP drain from on ground effects can be quite terrifying. Having runeguard helps A LOT with that. Especially when combined with crab.

@x1x1x1x2: Tested out fiend (and also tested out bat) - completely viable. increased damage, but less sustain. Depends on your preference I suppose!

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No need for fighting form tbh. The clearspeed with mobs is never an issue IMO (then again, I’m predominantly a crucible player, where killing nems ASAP is the biggest priority).

I believe that oleron’s rage, and the single point in sigil is more than quick enough to plough through most trash with relative ease.

If you really want 12/12 fighting form, I suggest dropping some points from field command. :slight_smile:

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BTW, attack speed from glove component does almost nothing for your build, you cap attack speed with pants/warborn proc. Also, last point in Oleron’s Rage does not do much as well.

Also also, suboptimal boot choice, imo!

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Lol I suggested yesterday that he should get capped AS before procs and forgot that warborn proc is always up.

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Suggestions for boots and gloves?

Do you think boneshatter (as suggested by BenX) is the way to go?

Would getting restless remains or enchanted earth be a better decision?

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Boneshatter is fine. Maybe stormtitan or ill omens for the stun res. Best is probably something like thunderstruck stoneplate of arcane winds cause it takes care of both

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cough cough Gdstash cough

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elemental balance rings have hugh flat dmg
fire and cold will converted to physical :slight_smile:
but yeah … they lack resistances and +skill points

tell me if u try obsession and how viable it is

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I was just in the process of changing my Octavius WB to sth like this (trauma builds require too many buttons for my taste) when I saw your build. Definitely gonna use it as template.

Q: Do you loose too much if you squeeze in Fiend for the proc? MA procs Blind fury just fine, even on Cadence builds in my experience.

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Fiend = More DPS.
Unknown soldier = More sustain.

Personally, I think fiend is better 80% of the time, BUT unknown soldier does really help to save your bacon in those OH SHIT situations.

Being able to jump from 25% --> 100% health in 3-4s while kiting is incredible.

I opted for unknown soldier, but I do believe that a better pilot can eke out more efficiency from fiend.

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I thought these living shadows guys die too fast in Crucible AoE.

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So did I. But maybe it’s because of field command, I feel like I always have 1 or 2 around.

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Any tips on leveling? I’m on level 50 and getting wrecked. I’m new to witchblade’s. I feel I still have ages to go before getting an actual offensive devotion proc I can use.

I miss my shaman’s and their OP stormtotem for leveling up :smiley: And I miss my inquisitor class combo where I can just put 12 points into OP seal and tank everything through elite :slight_smile: I also need to get used to using the occultist seal. I keep throwing it at my at my feet or where I plan to be rather than at the enemy :smiley:

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/m23P46QV

Edit: Yes I know I should probably spec out of seal for now but I want to get used to casting it properly

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Leveling is pretty straightforward tbh - just like how you would any soldier class.

Focus on FW and oneshot fools. Alternatively, focus on pox.

Seal doesn’t take a lot of practice to cast. An hour or 2 should be all that it takes. :slight_smile:

EDIT: P.S. If you’re struggling badly, PM me and I can hook you up with some unneeded leveling gear