After a long break, i finally picked up GD again, and I started AoM. I went trough a lot of forum threads trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do in the expansion, but the information is both overwhelming and scattered. That’s why I decided to open a thread with questions, and if there are some really good/exhaustive answers, I will copy/paste them into the first post so other people can use it as a quick start guide. Here is the stuff I would like to know:
On new classes
a) What niches do they fill? What are the defining/overpowered skills of the new classes (think Cadence on soldier or DW WPS skills on NB)
b) What old builds benefit from changing one of the classes into Inqui/Necro (changing Arcanist to Inqui in DW pistols Fire Strike build seems like a no-brainer, but from what I’ve read, DW pistols are still weak?)
On builds in general
a) I prefer hold-down-autoattack builds with as little active skills and kiting as possible, stuff like old DW Blademaster or PB aether Spellbreaker. What would you suggest in the new version/expansion?
b) Is there a really broken build that can farm really quickly?
c) Did anything that used to be weak/goofy before AoM (Blade Arc, AAR, bleeding builds, Stun Jacks etc.) become more viable (I’ve seen some suggestions that Forecewave is good now, not sure I buy it).
On strategies
a) What are the main concepts that are important for good builds right now? I mean how OA was king before 1.0.0.0 or resist reduction and physique afterwards. I don’t care much about Crucible atm. Some ppl suggest stacking insane amounts of DA is good, but can you do it with non-godly all MI gear?
b) What’s the most effective way to farm right now?
c) What are the OA/DA/health/armor goals for lvl 100 chars?
Edit:
4. Misc
a) What’s the correct way to pick factions for each class? From what I’ve read, you’re always supposed to side with the Barrowholm guys, right? Any other such choices late in the game? Did any of the previos best choices change (always Kymon, side with Outcast on Elite, buy the augs and attack on Ulti etc.)?
b) Anything else I should know?
Thanks in advance. Also, if anyone would be kind enough to send me some mules with good Mythicals/MIs, I would be extremely grateful.
New Classes
a)The riches they fill depends on builds you use them for. W/o too much gear dependency I’d say it goes
Necro - Aether/Vitality/Physical Support, Damage Absorb skill, Pet Support
Inquisitor - Ranged Support, Elemental Support
b)Again it depends on the builds. Some guides got updated, might want to look them up
Builds
a) Classic Pierce BM hasn’t been the same for a long time although, Belgothian’s Slaughter by Superfluff might interest you. But (and no offense to Superfluff) I’d say not even that build is good when compared to melee kings such as Deathguard Witch Hunter or Korba Trickster (Cold).
Pierce in general isn’t too impressive
PB Aether Spellbreaker is still awesome if you gear it properly.
For farming any DoT build would work, I’d say Poison Witchblade and Poison Witch Hunter might interest you
b) Well there is the boring as shit DA concept that will be fixed next patch. That’s the only exploit I can think of that’s available to the public.
c) Blade Arc, Stun Jacks were both end game before AoM. Forcewave is also end game worthy now. AAR is still bad but can easily farm crucible if build correctly.
Strategies
a) No you need MIs for the DA stack. If you don’t care about the crucible then just remember to get close to 3k OA and 2.7k DA on any build you make.
b) The expansion hasn’t changed the core mechanics of the game. What was good then is good now. So I’d say CDR builds and DOT builds (Poison Witch Hunter is the safest imo)
@Rhylthar and @mad_lee do giveaways of Mythicals maybe they can help out
Thx, I was aware of it and can’t wait to get the gear to build it tbh. Hope it doesn’t get nerfed before I have a chance to play it. Glad to see Trickster get some love, it used to be the second worst class in the game after Warlock.
Thx a lot for a detailed reply. So DA stacking is just some nonsense you can do when you already have godly stuff, got it.
Also, you reminded me that I forgot to ask about the OA/DA goals for lvl 100 chars.
Korba Trickster and DG Witch Hunter represent the pinnacle of melee builds which are still behind certain casters due to QoL and versatility imo. So I don’t think they would be nerfed and I definitely don’t think they should be nerfed. They are what a melee build should look like.
Faction choices pre xpac are still the same, i.e, whatever you want or need for your character. For AoM, always side with Barrowholm if you’re new. You don’t want reaper roaming around while you’re undergeared. You can go against them with your next (twinked) chars if you wanna see how it feels to go against reaper.
Even if you’re new, unlocking the Reaper will take a large amount of farming a la Fabius, Zantarin and Iron Maiden. So, he’s not really a factor if you side or go against Barrowholm if you’re new.
I sided with them once, got Revered and bought their exclusive stuff. With everyone else, they die.
Well, I haven’t experienced being ‘new’ before siding against Barrowholm but I imagine it’s easier to hit nemesis against them than gearing up most builds enough to be good against reaper. Of course, there’s always the choice of just not going there.
You get to fight the Ravager if you side with them and fight the Reaper if you go against them. Ravager is unlocked through quests, Reaper through rep farming.
For simpler times I would recommend playing ranged auto-attacker purifier. And there are no wrong answers when choosing your poison there, you can choose Justice set and Hellborne rifle (or Desolator), following Superfluff’s guide, and shred both campaign and Crucible. You can even do both campaign and Crucible with full Ulzuin’s set if built properly. You can build an extremely fast and simple DW-pistol purifier. Plenty of options.
I would say Primal Strike and Savagery ranged two-handed vindicators are almost as strong (if not stronger in some cases) for main campaign.
Another extremely strong auto-attacker should be Belgothian Infiltrator. Should be relatively easy to build too.
Another quick question… I found the new legendary gambling smith, but he only uses the new components. What is the level requirement for crafting mythical legendaries. Can they be crafted via the old smith in the goblin fort (Tyrant’s Keep or sth, can’t remember the name) as well?
I read that but didn’t explicitly state anything about mythicals. I guess the item level is the thing that matters here since most mythicals that drop are 84+, so I have to use the new smith, right?
Never follow a guide, find what is fun for you.