Tear your enemies asunder with the pure power of the heavens!
The Maelstrom: Full-Release Version!
Build Overview and Gameplay Commentary: https://youtu.be/LI3fTjyHu4E
The third iteration of the Maelstrom build was the most popular build I’ve made to-date. Its tremendous electrifying power obliterated the toughest foes of Cairn with ease.
Come Build 31 and the full release of the game, melee as a whole has been made slightly worse for wear, but that’s a different tale. Despite this, the Maelstrom has held its own, going toe-to-toe with whatever cruel machinations the Crate Overlords could come up with.
At the Edge of All-Reality and Sanity, the Maelstrom has reigned supreme.
Final Skilltree: Grimcalc | Grimcalc with Gear Bonuses
Attribute Distribution:
Physique: 69
Cunning: 3
Spirit: 15
Use less/more Cunning/Spirit as your gear rolls require. Preferably, more would be spent in Physique.
Leveling Progression:
Level 10
Level 20
Level 30
Level 40 (ish)
Level 50
Level 60
Level 70
Level 75
Devotion Progression:
Start off taking a point in the Chaos Crossroads, then maxing out both Vulture and Jackal. You can spec Viper as well, but its bonuses are not likely to be immediately helpful as its unlikely you’ll have much Elemental damage to work with early on.
From there, take the Order Crossroads and pick up Dryad as soon as you’re able so as to level it up as soon as possible, assigning it to Fire Strike. Move on to Panther from there. By the time you’ve done all this, you should have a decent enough supply of Elemental Damage to make working with Viper worthwhile; pick it up, and in doing so you’ll unlock Targo the Builder, which can give you a substantial defensive edge on content.
It’s up to you when it comes to deciding what to do next, and mostly comes down to your gearing. If you find yourself wanting for more health to make the most of the Dryad healing, go for Behemoth (taking Hawk along the way for the affinity); it mostly does not matter which buff you assign Behemoth’s granted skill to. On the other hand, if you think you need more resists, pick up Ulo, Keeper of the Waters and Empty Throne. Finally, go for Revenant to round out your offensive and defensive potential.
In either case, I’d do Wraith/Tempest last, as they don’t contribute especially much to the build except to offer a final means of pumping up your damage. An alternative strategy to all of this could be to take Wraith and Viper early on, which could prove somewhat powerful, but I think the defensive route is generally a better idea.
Build Concepts:
Electrifying Assault: Ignoring overleveling skills, Static Strike gives more Lightning Damage (on average) than the combined values on the entirety of the remainder of the Fire Strike line. This in mind, and because Fire Strike can overlay and empower the Dual-Wield procs of the Nightblade mastery, we can surge an atrocious amount of electrical power toward the enemies of the game with a combination of martial and lightning procs. We combine Static Strike’s proc chance with that of the Chain Lightnings on Stormhearts and the Lightning Bolt on Mantle of Mogdrogen to unleash a never-ending stream of electrical power.
Tactical Superiority: Canister Bomb Stun? Check. Ring of Frost Freeze? Check. Flashbang, Blade Trap, Shadow Dance, Veil of Shadows…the list goes on and on. Point being, the Maelstrom has in its arsenal a vast array of offensive and defensive tricks to use against the enemies of Cairn. Topping it all off in the full-release version? Sacred Strike (from Blessed Steel) and Oleron’s Might (from Oleron’s Blood). We can use Blessed Steel to nuke our enemies’ resistances down (in conjunction with the reduced resistances on Viper) to melt through even heavily-resistant mobs and bosses. Oleron’s Blood, on the other hand, can be used to debuff enemies’ offensive potential with a 20% Reduced Damage debuff. These two skills combined significantly improve the build’s power against single targets.
An Empowering Skillcap: While the build is strong enough to cater to casual play, its true potential is unlocked the more familiar with it you are. With a completely-filled hotbar (so filled that I had to remove the health potion icon altogether and rely on its hotkey), the Maelstrom will give you ample opportunities to chain its multitude of skills together to obliterate your foes. Shadow Strike in/out of combat and dodge projectile skills with its movement, chain CC between Shadow Strike/Canister Bomb/Ring of Steel, and chain debuffs between Flashbang/Blessed Steel/Oleron’s Blood, all while managing your health and defenses with Pneumatic Burst.
A Second Chance: Enemies overwhelming you or made a bad judgment call? Mark of Divinity + Tinkerer’s Ingenuity + Avatar of Mercy are there to turn you into an unstoppable force to be reckoned with when you drop to low health. Enter combat with reckless abandon, and emerge stronger than when you engaged.
Gearing:
Relic: Oblivion
Waist: Tinkerer’s Ingenuity Augment: Kingsguard Powder
Feet: Survivalist’s Exalted Treads of Nature’s Bounty Augment: Kingsguard Powder
Hands: Empowered Zealot’s Gauntlets Augment: Mankind’s Vigil
Shoulders: Mantle of Mogdrogen Augment: Outcast’s Warding Powder
Weapons: 2x Stormhearts Augments: Troll Wart Powder
Head: Clairvoyant’s Hat Augment: Mankind’s Vigil
Chest: Resonant Murderer’s Breastplate of Attack Augment: Mankind’s Vigil
Legs: Pretty Great Pants Augment: Kingsguard Powder
Ring 1: Lifegiver Signet Augment: Mogdrogen’s Sanctity
Ring 2: Vampiric Imperial Signet of Attack Augment: Mogdrogen’s Sanctity
Amulet: Avatar of Mercy Augment: Mogdrogen’s Sanctity
Medal: Mark of Divinity
