Hardcore mode and Shattered Realms!

That is a crucible focused spec. Obviously it isn’t going to do well in SR.

If a build could do Crucible in 5:40 and also did SR 75+ easily then it will simply get nerfed. Pre-nerf Warlords were exactly like that for example.

You forgot the superboss-thing. :wink:

There are some builds which can do both with a few changes. And even they can have a problem in Shards 75/76 if they got a nasty combo of bosses.

After getting Grava, Kaisan, Ana and Slathablah in SR 80, I no longer talk about superbosses now…

Actually I have a separate spec for SR in that guide. But it’s still not good for SR75, not because it’s Crucible focused (I usually tend to make universal good-for-all specs), it’s because it’s a spam-caster. Some builds are just naturally not good for SR and there is little point in trying to make them work there.

I see. But now that you are here, let me borrow your expertise if I may. Since I don’t really know much about builds outside of pets, are there any class combinations (not particular builds) that perform terribly in SR regardless of how you build them? Like, can’t even do SR 65-66?

(I am guessing that Warlock, Defiler and Battlemage might be the ones if any, but curious)

Actually Battlemage can farm 75 in some specs because of how tough you can make it. But in general weaker auto-attackers like Reapers or some Spellbreakers, any caster that can kite and do damage and not die while kiting. Definitely Defilers and Elementalists and Pyromancers and Druids - all those classes are going to struggle in most specs.

I see, good to know :blush:

Now imagine that with all this disparity you are trying to farm SR in HC. Not to push high SR but just to reliably and efficiently farm gear. And that’s my gripe with the current SR design, it’s just not balanced for HC. Like, I can farm SR 45-50 with my retaliation warlord 10 times in a row and then on the 11th get insta-gibbed by a couple of bosses just because the combination of ground effects, mutators and abilities creates significant damage spikes, sufficient to kill a tank outside his ascension/overguard window.

And since you mentioned the Battlemage, would you be able to suggest a specific build for higher SR? I’ve tried making Spellscourge tank but failed. Also made one around Yugol’s blood, converting acid and cold to physical damage, but the damage is not even half of that of the Warlords/Paladins.

Well, this is only my opinion, but:
Hardcore Mode isn’t ideal for farming especially not in SR. A good HC build should finish Shard 50 because it marks the end of campaign (in SR) but otherwise farming in HC I would take easier and less deadly spots like SoT.

The only Battlemage I would suggest is something like a Warborn Warlord with a Siegebreaker with with all kinds of defenses you can muster. And funnily enough I am guessing the most safe way to farm with it would be with EoR.

That’s why all the top builders dislike Shattered Realm, it’s random, it’s a wall for a lot of builds and class combinations and even with best Shard farmers you are bound to die occassionaly due to randomness.

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SoT and BoC become useless once you have acquired 90%+ of the items and are hunting for something very specific. At that point it’s either cruci 150-170 or SR 45+. A typical 45-46 run takes about 10 min and nets me around 8-10 legendaries. I still get occasional blueprints there too.

Yeah, that’s why I wanted to make use of Voracious Reach (Yugol’s relic). If it could get at least 100-150K DPS… It doesn’t work, the relic got nerfed lol. Maybe it’s time to revisit my EoR warlord.

I have tested Acid Yugol’s Relic Witch hunter and it’s beyond horrible. EoR Warlord is indeed a godly spec, I wonder how stupid op it is with a shield.

Let’s find out. I have this one ready to roll - https://www.grimtools.com/calc/bVAgQmwN
What Devotion changes would you suggest?

All right, here is the build I propose for Hardcore.

I have changed some items too, those boots were pretty awful, imo, it’s better to sacrifice a ring slot rather than a boot slot. Barbaros are a must. Changed gloves to get more trap resistance. Changed devotions to more defensive ones. Not sure if that mana is enough. If not, then one Bloodied Crystal is to be changed for Ectoplasm (and less Cunning/more Physique). Or Arcane Spark instead of Tainted Heart.

I’ll give it a wirl. So, no shield in the end?

I think hitting with both weapons and converting elemental part of EoR is more important in the end. For shield it should be Cadence + WPS spec imo. But EoR is so oupie the way monsters interact with it it might be actually better for deep shards then shields.

From my experience of EoR (I have build fire and lightning Paladins), it’s silly overpowered.

Tried both the phys EoR and your Lightning Paladin. They are both very strong, but can’t avoid occasional damage spikes.

So far, I’ve been able to reach SR 60+ in HC only with these 3:

  1. Mortar + Cadence Commando - https://www.grimtools.com/calc/xZy6JGAN
  2. Fire Retaliation Commando - https://www.grimtools.com/calc/M2glqDYV
  3. My personal creation - Frankenstein EoR 60% Acid 40% Phys Retaliation Warlord - https://www.grimtools.com/calc/q2M7kylZ

As a hardcore player the only thing that still annoys me in SR is the fact that you get insta charged by a couple of bosses in high SR shards. Other than that I think SR is in a pretty good state now, was better than at FG release. Also the size increase to log’s and theodin’s arena is awesome.
All of my (meme) builds have at least cleared SR35-36 in HC and some of them 50-51 or 65-66. 75-76 is a little sketchy in HC, but can be done consistently with specific builds aswell. Imo not every build has to be able to get that far and also farming 50-51 or 65-66 can be very rewarding.

TL;DR: imo SR is in a much better state than at FG release for HC and doesn’t really need any nerf. Only thing I would personally change is how aggro in the boss lvls work.

I’m not talking about nerfs but balancing damage spikes in boss rooms. I think we are on the same page here. All Devs have to do is make some areas bigger and spawn bosses further away so that we can engage them selectively.

Also, nice to see another HC player doing SRs. Not all of my builds can consistently farm 35-36, though I prefer 45-48 for optimal drops.

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You won’t get fucked if you use tactics. This game mode should not be made for idiots that only press a button and run through it. I ran SR 70 with a pet build that could get crit by literally any monster. Nemesis bosses had about 25% chance to crit me and I still managed to do it. It’s all about how you play it, not what your build is. I saw a guy smashing SR 80 I think with a Devastation Warlock (I think he went cold damage or something, don’t remember) and he did it.

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