So my first build ever was created in the likeness of the infamous Hetzer Retaliation Warder.
It worked out really nice but to me, it had two shortcomings. I had to switch gear depending on melee / ranged enemies and I was kinda dependant on Wendigo Totem. I never managed to streamline my Warder in vanilla but with AoM and the Necromancer class, I ended up with a lazy Death Knight who can, for the most part, just waltz in and watch things die all over the screen.
Devotion
- Eldritch
- Bat
- Ascendant
- Wolverine
- Ascendant
- Chaos
- 5/7 Affliction (right side only)
- Order
- Stag
- Order
- Hound
- Messenger of War
- Chaos
- Dryad
- Lion
- 4/6 Scales of Ulcama (beeline to skill)
- 5/7 Targo the Builder (beeline to skill)
- Toad
- Eldritch
- Shieldmaiden
After the Bat opener it is also very possible to go for the Order side first, it depends on Affliction vs. Scales of Ulcama. As in, more damage output vs. an extra random heal when you get hit.
Leveling
Raise Skeletons is a very easy opening skill. You can just max it and Undead Army and bind Twin Fangs to it. You can get well into your 20s with just this alone and amass skill points.
The general order is
- 10/10 Spectral Wrath
- 12/12 Menhir’s Bulwark
- 6/12 Mark of Torment
- 16/16 Counter Strike.
Grab Cadence (for Twin Fangs), Blitz (for Dryad), 1/16 Counter Strike and Field Command as you max out Soldier. Overguard is another skill to get early, 3 or 4 points go a long way to keeping you alive against a boss and it helps to juggle your healing procs.
After that, it is really just a matter of preference and circumstance.
The bottom Soldier skills are there for extra defense, Spectral Binding is there for offense (it does add flat OA and %Aerther damage, among other things), Mark of Torment is going to be the Boss skill.
Bone Harvest is going to carry Shield Wall so get it before you finish Targo.
At level 75, if you can get a Seal of Blight, bind it to Twin Fangs to get the most out of Twin Fangs’ short cooldown.
I decided against the Ulo constellation because Mark of Torment allows us to weaponize floor damage.
Equipment
- Anything that has procs on attack or on getting hit.
- Lich rings reflect damage.
- Amulets of the Grove are particularly nice because they can proc a little heal every so often.
- The Omen and the Voidblade make for fantastic early weapons.
- Spectral War Shields add flat Vitality retaliation and % all retaliation.
- At level 40+, the Perdition set is a huge addition.
- The Meat Shield keeps you alive through basically everything.
- Wrath Knight’s Pauldrons are a nice addition, too.
- Boneweave Girdle adds another Wave of Souls proc.
- This is my BiS Lv 58 equipment sans rings.
- Twin Fangs is on Acid Purge.
- Shield Wall is on Bone Harvest.
- Dryad’s Blessing is on Blitz.
… yeah its a Blood Knight build. But while very defensive, we get up to four random turrets (read: skeleton mages) that inherit all our bonuses to vitality damage. Bone Harvest also deals triple vitality damage now so we actually have somewhat of an offensive presence.
