Help getting better at Crucible

I have done Shattered Realm 65-66 several times on Ultimate, but Crucible 150-170 seems to be beyond me. Usually I die on wave 160 with 4 buffs + stormcaller beacon which is obviously disappointing because I have to farm up the tributes again.

I’ll link my build, but while it could be a build issue I don’t think it is, I spent a lot of time theorycrafting and reading and theorycrafting again, dotting my I’s and crossing my T’s. This is all self found gear and I went through a lot of iterations, including the Shattered Realm set before settling on this one because the attack speed on Bonemonger set makes it a small monster. (I’ve never seen another build drain its energy just by autoattacking because it is so fast.) I really think it’s a skill issue and so I’d like to hear your tips about how to learn to farm Crucible and get ze loot.

My Bonemonger Purifier (helm was crafted with stun res bonus): https://www.grimtools.com/calc/RZRq0MPV

A few things to note about your build.

Explosive strike>static strike, it adds AoE and weapon damage, which is more valuable.
Phoenix fire linked on mines means it applies to the mines, not you, making you miss out on the absorbtion it gives.
Use components to get 100% amor absorbtion, this helps with surviving physical damage, since you have low armor and phys res.
CC resists are low, but thats just a purifier issue.
Low hp, can be pumped up a little bit higher.

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/q2m4d5mN

I made some minor changes to your skills, components and devotion attachments.

Do with it what you will, preference matters more than the ways others build characters.

As for learning how to do crucible better, Ultimate Guide To Crucible Speedrunning - CoD 3b/VB Edition

Although listed as a speedrunning guide, it contains things usefull for anyone.

Hope it helps

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Thanks for linking my guide but it’s greatly outdated. Best way to improve Crucible is to just watch videos by the best runners.

As for op build, it’s alright. Boots and belt are out of place, and I don’t know why Censure over Conviction, but it should crawl dungeons and low SR alright. Crucible is a different thing. You gotta optimize your dmg and kill things as fast as possible as they gang up. So can’t have a physical belt on an aether build, etc.

A quick upgrade would be Ghoul. With this little dmg you need higher adcth. And redistribute points. WoR line is weird. Should be max-1-10.

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https://www.grimtools.com/calc/w26g4ApV
I would change skill points to look more like this… changed medal component to keep some form of % damage reduction, took aura of conviction for more oa/phys res, soft cap on explosive strike.

Also filled in a +1 Inquisitor belt. The aether one would be best, but either of the purple ones would work as well.

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I have 100% fire converted to aether, so Censure’s damage is converted plus it provides damage reduction and skill disrupt. My previous attempts at using Conviction didn’t work out well. I will try it again with the other changes to optimize, I know in theory the extra OA will help with health leech. I will gladly take all other suggestions into account as well with my thanks.

You actually only have ~82% converted to aether due to how conversion works with single element and elemental.

Fire to aether happens first, then the elemental to aether converts 50-60% (depending on rolls on rings) of the remaining damage

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I see, so I need the belt for the rest of it. That would be why trying Mortar Trap didn’t go so well. Thanks!

People already looked at your build so not gonna comment on it a lot but cruci is different in sr in that in cruci you want to familiarize the mob spawns in every wave so you know how to optimally deal with each wave. While SR is more random in terms of what spawns, you can dodge hard clusters in SR most of the time but in cruci you have to kill everyone. Also you’re not allowed to die in cruci. I suggest just watching a lot of vids on cruci so you can familiarize the waves and also learn how people move, since grinding for tributes is too tedious for you to always go in there to practice.

This is what I arrived at after reconciling the different build ideas. Now to watch some videos. https://www.grimtools.com/calc/RVv5lyX2

Edit: Swapped out legs for Wraithborne and switched to rage boots. Took Seal of Blades at someone else’s suggestion on Reddit. The results are startling. 3.1K OA before Deadly Aim and 2.9K DA: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/q2Mq59W2 All I’m lacking now is damage reduction, which I can get again with a glyph.

Sadly I don’t think I can get Dreadscorcher past the SR 65-66 level. I built it every different way I could think of; this was my favorite version of the build because it has a lot of CC reduction and a good health pool… but no matter what I do, there’s a wall somewhere around 67-68. It HATES fumble, and it can’t kite, the damage goes to zero. It’s fun and easy to play but just not bleeding edge, no matter how I build it. I’ve tried Chariot + Behemoth, Seru, Scales of Ulcama, armor stacking, and 65-66 is just where it’s happy.

Crucible, still can’t complete it in my hands. So I regard the build as a failure and I no longer will throw my resources at it.

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

I noticed you bound ghoul to blast shield, this isnt the greatest idea since blast shield procs at 60% life, and ghoul at 45% life, and ghoul already has 100% chance, if you dont drop below 45% while blast shield is up, you will never trigger ghoul. Its better to bind it to a permanent aura like conviction or flame touched.

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