Part one of my controller friendly build series: Callidor’s Spellbinder. Now updated for 1.2.0.2 and SR85!
update for 1.2.0.2: with the changes to SR loot past SR79, I modified this build to hit SR85. It may be possible for it to clear SR90, but when it dies it dies too quickly to do anything about.
update 2 for 1.1.9.8: I made two other Callidor’s Tempest builds, Lighting Druid and Chaos Sorcerer, so I included a three way comparison at the bottom.
update for 1.1.9.8: a massive buff to Callidor’s Tempst instantly brings the DPS from 123k to 166k, a 34% increase from when I cleared SR80 with it. And since all that extra damage is % weapon damage, the healing from the 6% lifesteal this build has is more than doubled (not to be confused with the 6% damage converted to health from Maw of Despair, which only goes up by 34%). Plus a buff to the Magelord set, and an extra skill point. This build just got a LOT better. (Also, levelling should be a lot easier with the increase in weapon damage and the lifesteal that it can provide.)
update for 1.1.9.7: Updated the build, which is a lot stronger in 1.1.9.7 than when I posted it in June of 2020. Thanks to /u/UnceGaelsNephew for crafting a Mythical Mark of Anathema for me.
“I would be surprised if someone experienced couldn’t push this much higher, especially if they have Mark of Anathema.” – original guide
Playstyle: stand and smash with Callidor’s Tempest until your enemies are dead. Use Mirror of Ereoctes and Mark of Torment to not join them.
Introduction
I always intended to go back to this build and see how high it could go once I got a Mythical Mark of Anathema. Since the blueprint never dropped, I never had one until /u/UncleGaelsNephew crafted one for me a few days ago. Now that I do, and I have a lot more experience, and I think the build was given small buffs since 1.1.7.1, I discovered that it is good for SR80, instead of SR65. I haven’t seen Callidor’s Tempest as primary damage in any builds. It’s a bit low on single target DPS, but very easy to use with a controller.
Video proof of clear
Fight tips
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Offense: Callidor’s Tempest + Siphon Souls on CD. The pets from Agrivix’s set hit reasonably hard, so you can order them to attack a primary target. Or you can let them spread their resist reduction to as many targets as possible.
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Defense: you can use aether corruption every 5s, but I’m not sure it’s actually that good. Mark of Torment (henceforth called MoT) and Mirror of Ereoctes (MoE) as needed. If one of them is active, you should be able to survive just about anything SR80 can throw at you. If not, you may need to run away until one comes off of CD.Make sure MoT is cast on something that won’t die and waste uptime. This can be a little tricky on a controller, but with a combination of practice and standing on a boss’s feet you can make it work.
Gear
Essential Gear:
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Maw of despair: contains fire to aether conversion and 6% damage to health for CT, which is essential for survival.
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Agrivix set: the core of this build. Try to get as much cooldown reduction as possible on the offhand. Even 1% makes a big difference in MoE/MoT uptime.
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Eternity: without this, you’re going to spend a lot more time running away waiting on cooldowns/dying because your skills are on cooldown. Combined with the hourglass devotion, you can get massive uptime on MoE and MoT.
Stuff I’m pretty sure is best in slot:
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Mark of Anathema: has a bunch of great bonuses for this build. Could be considered essential, but you can run this build through medium content (for example SR65) without one. I tested it, and I’m 99.9% sure that -65 OA to Sihpon Souls does stack with the OA reduction from blood boil.
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Cord of Violent Decay: gives +1 Arcanist, 100+ OA, and much needed resists.
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Wraithborne Legwraps: shockingly, this is no longer Arcane Harmony Leggings. The skills are good, and the OA boost is huge, plus a good boost to your health and a huge one to bleeding resist. I still went for 80% skill disruption protection, because this build’s survival is dependant on spells. I found it better to use Inscribed Bracers w/ 2 Arcane Sparks. Probably.
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Wrath of the Ascendant: +1 to all skills, aether resist reduction, and cast speed. I tried a lot of weapons, and nothing came close to this.
Other stuff:
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Inscribed Bracers: they boost Overload (Inferno is already maxed), and have other bonuses. I found that this build needed the OA from the Arcane Sparks, and Inscribed Bracers finish the necessary skill disruption protection. You could use a Soul’s Touch, which I just noticed has up to 108 OA, but I didn’t test that. It would double the effect of skill disruption (40% of the base time instead of 20%), unless you put Arcane Harmony Leggings back on the legs, and then the Arcane Sparks could be replaced with other stuff. But maybe not, since this build has decent crit bonuses and Eternity requires crit.
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Magelord rings: the +3 to CT and +2 to inferno don’t matter THAT much, since they’re already maxed. I guess they became +5 to Elemental Balance, for a bit more crit damage. The elemental to aether conversion is the big draw, since this build doesn’t have 100% fire to aether without it. (90% at most, but I’m not that lucky). They have other notable boosts, like to OA and DA, but it’s possible there are better rings out there. Like a Band of the Eternal Haunt with either a Magelord Signet or an Aetherlord’s Signet.
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Rune of Murmur’s Kiss: The OA reduction is irrelevant, the cold damage and acid damage aren’t ideal, but the disengage and the 15% reduced damage are good.
Devotions
Core:
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Hourglass: necessary for CD reduction. Combined with Eternity, this gives tremendous uptime on either MoT or MoE, making this build very very tough.
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Widow: necessary for Aether resist reduction.
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Obelisk of Menhir: gives great DA, and a very strong boost to armor.
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Scales of Ulcama: gives good healing and energy regen, and the build has very high (possibly 100%) vitality to aether conversion on the skill.
not core
- everything else: for OA and/or defense while filling the requirements for the core devotions.
Leveling
This build levels pretty well. Put as many points in Callidor’s Tempest and Inferno as your energy regen can sustain. The next priority should be Spectral Wrath, then Mental Alacrity, then Reckless Power, then Spectral Binding, and then Fabric of Reality, putting 1 point in the other skills as they become available. Of course, put points in maven’s/MoE/MoT as necessary to survive.
Siphon Souls, Blood Boil, Overload, and Inner Focus should be your lowest priority, since they are really focused on the end game. (you want one point in Siphon Souls, Sear Souls, and Blood Boil once you have Hourglass, or you could put it on a skill not in the final build). Sear souls gets removed once you hit 94 and get the vit to aether conversion.
Don’t underestimate the importance of lifesteal. The final build only has 6%, but that’s because Maw of despair gives a ton of healing to CT. Lifesteal will help you a ton until the Maw is available. And now in 1.1.9.8, that lifesteal goes a LOT farther.
Spend your devotions to unlock Hourglass as soon as possible to start leveling it up, then Widow. You can go for a temporary Ghoul if you don’t have good lifesteal items.
Three Way Comparison
All three are rated for SR80, and I’m pretty sure they all can go much higher.
Lightning pros:
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By far the most damage: in addition to the sheet DPS, (and while it has a bit less OA), it has a massive crit damage bonus from Stormcaller’s Pact, and it has extra cast speed for -speed mutators.
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probably the most room for improvement, as it has 3 Mis and fully-offensive-focused devotions. It cleared SR80 on the first try lacking overcaps on bleed, acid, and pierce.
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lightning has very fun visuals, especially if you’re a fulmomaniac like me (a word I just made up for someone who loves lightning).
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defense doesn’t require managing the uptimes on Mirror of Ereoctes and Mark of Torment.
Lightning cons:
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3 Mis can make rounding it out difficult.
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doesn’t have the defensive uptime of aether’s MoE and MoT
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have to cast Wind Devil and Wendigo Totem (which I don’t enjoy)
Chaos pros:
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only 1 MI
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most lifesteal
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more damage than aether, much less than lightning
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defense doesn’t require managing the uptimes on Mirror of Ereoctes and Mark of Torment.
Chaos cons:
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1 MI
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much less damage than lightning, but more than aether
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Requires Conduit of Arcane Whispers with the right prefix and a useful affix, which can take a lot of farming.
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Offensive performance varies as Dying God, Abomination, and Arcane Will (with its buffs from Spark of Reality) go on and off.
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Defense relies on Blackwater Cocktail, which isn’t ideal, especially on a controller.
Aether pros:
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should have the most defense due to MoE and MoT
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no Mis
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cleared SR85
Aether cons:
- lowest damage
