Really good mastery combos for a 2H build?

[Deshowned]

first off… hi there, normally i linger around (lurk intensifies), but since im going mad doing 2h in the last month maybe can give my 2cent of advice XD.

well, i was going to write a text wall, but i don’t think is going to help this time, since more likely all the info are already written in other posts

btw, demo and shaman are a solid choice for increase 2h damage, either if u chose one of them has primary or secondary mastery, the reason is obv for fire strike (demo) and savagery (shaman), they add a global multiplier (to the skill only??? thinking now i didnt ever bother to check XD) which can make 2h damage skyrocket, and since is multiplicative, more high is your damage on hit, more hard they would let you hit!
(example -> Arcanist + Demo + Vortex of soul and item for convert chaos and fire damages in to aether…)

then the other mastery normally is chosen by liking or in what you wanna accomplish with X build, since every mastery have his own way to do things, just give a rapid look on gear support for X class… likely if u are gonna try to make a 2h aether damage without Arcanist… then u should search for a way to convert damage in to aether without rely on Arcanist gears

On other note, not all the damages have the same itemization, converting Chaos in to Aether is more easy, while the reverse… goodluck to achieve 100%

So once u find a mastery that is of your liking (gameplay wise) link it to Demo or Shaman and try to make on their main damage types that they offers, this way u can have a nice synergy coming from gears too (is not like having 2 damage types is a bad thing, sometime help you to clear tough foes VS a specific damage, more likely doing only aether damage against aetherials lol, for hurt them badly u need some real debuff/damage and usually gears give you dmg bonuses against them has backup…).
Still… don’t try to have to many different damages, because even if they help to show big numbers on “paper”… doing 100 physical damage has the same utility of a brick in a desert on ultimate.

Other tips… attack speed… is your friend :), and kraken devotion give you a much needed boost to it (works with range and melee, just be sure u are using 2h).

So in short… if u wanna melee, and be tough in this game… go with shaman, is a solid choice for starters :), once u get the hang of the game u can even make Warlocks that goes around facetanking in melee range killing trash with reactive procs only (why retaliation when we can have solael’s decimation XD)

hope it was of some help…

[Stupid_Dragon]

Because Justicar is fire based too? And there’s Sharzul’s Worldeater? Every build based around conversion from physical to something will always have damage loss because it’s nigh impossible to have 100% conversion with two handed. So no Justicar and Sharzul means no real reason to convert to fire, right? If it has to be Forcewave then at least it’s better remain a physical build if we’re talking about being beginner-friendly here, no? Do I miss something?

Don’t know what kind of argument is this since it means nothing. I have several beginner friendly builds who are rarely talked about. Forcewave is also not a very popular skill to begin with. Generally speaking you’re right, but in case of Forcewave, which is a seemingly amazing skill unlocked at level 1, being not popular is super suspicious. I’m somewhat interested in other builds you mentioning as well, but let’s not discuss it there.

Sharzul Worldeater is probably the best weapon choice for Fire Forcewave (i know you said faction/epic pieces). Massacre two handed axe is a pretty solid epic for it. You can also just easily stack fire gear. Even then Justicar set is enough, specially now that the Mythical is biased towards Fire. Yet again - you bring Worldeater and Justicar set as an argument of Fire Forcewave being beginner friendly. It doesn’t prove your point, because these are dedicated phys/fire items, which cover up for imperfect conversion. And “just easily stack fire gear”, really? Why not just stack physical gear instead?

Red text.

I’m gonna add onto this with bits I used while levelling my character that I remember:

-Chosen Crusher - This is what I used going into Elite. Easy to craft too.

-Massacre and Empowered Massacre as already mentioned are great.

-Obsidian War Cleaver - Good enough for Normal/Elite with even one decent affix (Searing, of Celerity, etc.). Just from the % casting speed and skill bonuses alone, I used a Chilled Axe of Celerity on a Fire build if that’s any indication because the % casting speed was so damn big. The skill modifier is going to make it even better.

Ok, maybe massacre is okay, although probably any 2H weapon with big enough cast speed would beat it.

Obsidian War Cleaver isn’t biased towards fire damage in any way.

Sorry, but that you had used chilled axe of celerity is anecdotal evidence.

[eralduspr]

Uh, why? Demo is a much better choice than Inquisitor for that. Plus Mythical Justicar supports Commando even more by having pluses to Flame Touched and Temper.

It’s funny, because the Justicar Set works wonders with the Inquisitor mastery.

The Fire Damage support + the granted skill from the complete set + Aura of Censure works wonders… I have the complete Mythical Set on my Tactician, and it’s just amazing how a set with no support for the Inquisitor works so damn well with it…

I wish the Mythical version had some skill bonuses for the Inquisitor as well, like +1 to all Inquisitor skills on the helmet and some bonuses to Aura of Censure on other pieces, because this set is definitely Inquisitor friendly.

[Avatar_of_Dreeg]

Contrary to popular belief, the best 2h melee classes are actually the Witch Hunter and the Spellbreaker. They both operate as cooldown Shadow Strike builds in which you amplify your damage through Amarasta Blade Burst and cycle through DoTs between Shadow Strikes.

For reasons pertaining to survivability (i.e. inherent ADCth on Soulrend + access to mirror and nullification) the Soulrend Spellbreaker is superior in the end-game. A Witch Hunter, however, is far easier to level, given the fact that Nightshade’s Reach is a low level legendary item and high resistance reduction is easier to achieve. Furthermore, the new changes to Nightshade’s Reach, as well as the addition of the Murmur constellation, will undoubtedly make the WH just as strong as the Spellbreaker.

In closing, I have to say that while these builds are the strongest in the game right now in terms of damage output, they do indeed require some degree of skill because your survivability comes mainly from active skills and the stochastic nature of dodge / deflect chance / fumble.

[Evil_Baka]

Obsidian War Cleaver isn’t biased towards fire damage in any way.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be. +3 to Forcewave, +6-8% Casting Speed (with the chance/option of more) and now +33% Weapon Damage for any Forcewave build is big - that was my point. It is still a solid option for Fire Forcewave (with the right affix of course) while levelling or at endgame while you are working towards Shar’Zul’s Worldeater.

[Stupid_Dragon]

Contrary to popular belief, the best 2h melee classes are actually the Witch Hunter and the Spellbreaker. They both operate as cooldown Shadow Strike builds in which you amplify your damage through Amarasta Blade Burst and cycle through DoTs between Shadow Strikes.

Fair enough, but, like I often say, it’s not melee if it doesn’t facetank. Pretty much why I asked OP what he means by 2H, cuz there’s 2H ranged, 2H casters that just happen to use 2H melee weapons (Forcewave, Winterking), 2H sort-of melee (Soulrend SB) and 2H true melee.

2H sort-of melee vs 2H true melee should be like DoT caster vs spam caster in terms of balance/viability.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be. +3 to Forcewave, +6-8% Casting Speed (with the chance/option of more) and now +33% Weapon Damage for any Forcewave build is big - that was my point. It is still a solid option for Fire Forcewave (with the right affix of course) while levelling or at endgame while you are working towards Shar’Zul’s Worldeater.

The context of discussion was that Fire Forcewave isn’t exotic and is beginner friendly. If it’s good for any Forcewave then it’s out of context.

My point is extremely simple - why bring up fire forcewave if physical forcewave is easier to gear up (even then, I personally not sure about even phys forcewave being a good advice here, but at least it’s not that exotic and I feel like I personally could pull it off).

[Evil_Baka]

My point is extremely simple - why bring up fire forcewave if physical forcewave is easier to gear up (even then, I personally not sure about even phys forcewave being a good advice here, but at least it’s not that exotic and I feel like I personally could pull it off).

I don’t think the objective here is to find the easiest build to gear for or the strongest though, it’s to suggest 2H builds for a beginner.

I’de say Fire Forcewave isn’t that bad for beginners (but that might be me speaking as a long-time player) as you only need to understand the concept/idea of damage conversion and adding flat damage. The only notable pitfall for beginners is that it scales with casting speed and not attack speed. At the very least, it and Physical Forcewave are both options as you say.

[Deshowned]

Fair enough, but, like I often say, it’s not melee if it doesn’t facetank. Pretty much why I asked OP what he means by 2H, cuz there’s 2H ranged, 2H casters that just happen to use 2H melee weapons (Forcewave, Winterking), 2H sort-of melee (Soulrend SB) and 2H true melee.

2H sort-of melee vs 2H true melee should be like DoT caster vs spam caster in terms of balance/viability.

more likely:

2h sustains damage VS 2h burst damage.

[Dustpan87]

Fair enough, but, like I often say, it’s not melee if it doesn’t facetank. Pretty much why I asked OP what he means by 2H, cuz there’s 2H ranged, 2H casters that just happen to use 2H melee weapons (Forcewave, Winterking), 2H sort-of melee (Soulrend SB) and 2H true melee.

2H sort-of melee vs 2H true melee should be like DoT caster vs spam caster in terms of balance/viability.

The context of discussion was that Fire Forcewave isn’t exotic and is beginner friendly. If it’s good for any Forcewave then it’s out of context.

My point is extremely simple - why bring up fire forcewave if physical forcewave is easier to gear up (even then, I personally not sure about even phys forcewave being a good advice here, but at least it’s not that exotic and I feel like I personally could pull it off).

I was referring to 2H melee sustained

[Stupid_Dragon]

I was referring to 2H melee sustained

Pretty much it ought to include Shaman, since it’s the only mastery that allows easy sustain. Wendigo totem is amazing.

One of the interesting opportunities for beginner-friendly builds in xpak is Fire Strike elementalist, because there’s Blazerush - a craftable faction legendary 2H mace that’s just right for the build.

There’s also a classic physical warder.

[the_dead_pig]

Pretty much it ought to include Shaman, since it’s the only mastery that allows easy sustain. Wendigo totem is amazing.

One of the interesting opportunities for beginner-friendly builds in xpak is Fire Strike elementalist, because there’s Blazerush - a craftable faction legendary 2H mace that’s just right for the build.

There’s also a classic physical warder.

[Sir]

As a beginner can i just say…

nothing was useful in the entire discussion

instead of telling what legendaries to equip when having crossed lvl 50 or going onwards towards harcore/Ultimate, would it not be more practical and useful to, idk, explain what to do before lvl 50 benchmark is reached and legendaries spawn.