Build Guide
Hello guys!
First of all i am not a big fan of Shield Bash in general, but i know there's plenty of SB players out there who really enjoy the gameplay. So in the absense of optimized SB builds out there, let me help you with this guide.
Credits for this version also go to lotsofbeets , cause i thought the old version of the build is long dead.
This is the high DPS, "offensive" version of the build which is almost 3 years old and it uses all "basic" shield bash things like the Flail of the Ascended, Furnace, Final Witness and also Unity with Focus and Restraint.
Back in the day, we had no Flail of the Ascended, so we used Furnace + Piro Marella instead. It was quite an easy, straighforward setup. Now it's a little more complicated, because if we want to use Furnace we can only select one shield since Flail of Ascended is mandatory.
Overall this setup is an "old" setup and is almost unchanged to what it used to be 3 years ago.
1) Everything is optimized for damage. Around 25% more damage to trash mobs and 75% more damage to elites.
2) It's very glassy. Much less toughness and as result dying is not uncommon. It's not HC viable.
3) I think it's around +5 grifts stronger than the defensive version, so for pushing on softcore i recommend this build.
4) Overal it's much more clunky since you need to hit Punish/Zeal once in a while to proc F+R (and this is basically a waste of time since primary skills do no damage), and at the same time you need to Bash and watch Shield Bash stacks in order to unleash Shield Glare at 5 stacks.
General information and hints:
1) 5th Passive is Hold Your Ground or Indestructible
2) All healing only comes from Life per Wrath spent (Roll this on weapon, not life on hit! It's unavailable in the builder) on your flail, shield or wrathful passive. Or all of them.
3) You can use Zeal - Guard for extra toughness as well.
4) Gogok can be used instead of Esoteric if you don't die much.
GR89 CLEAR with Offensive version: https://youtu.be/xFPaJlXx-HE
"Defensive" VERSION: http://www.diablofans.com/builds/86738-shield-bash-gr85-defensive-version
Thank you!
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I can't believe nobody has commented on this. Let me first say that I can't understand why so many players rank crusaders so low on their lists of preferred classes. It is crazy to me because I have geared mine for so many different builds and every one feels like a different character.
- Akkhan Blessed Shield - heavy hitter; as a competitive soft-core solo gamer, I have cleared GR 95 and am probably ready for 98 or 99, I've just been working on other builds and gearing my Wiz.
- Light Hammerdin - up until recently was the pusher but fell behind the Bl. Sh. with the new reworked gear stats
- Akkhan Shotgun - awesome fun, more of a rotational, strategic positioning build
- LoN Bomber - full ancient but not my play style, great for speedfarming though
- Invoker Thorns - the tank
- Rolands Sweep - wicked durable and great damage in density until the Rift Guardian, then pathetic and annoying
And now, Rolands Shield Bash, and I swear, this is exactly what I needed, it is AWESOME. I fly around the screen with my bashes, I surprisingly do not run out of wrath, and while I just set it up yesterday, I am fairly certain that it will very easily be taking down 80s soon, without augments. The build up to the massive shield glare is so cool, and everything just blows up. Seriously fun, zero downtime necessary.
My point is that there are so many really different play style builds for just one class, casting, melee, mobility, standing still, all as a sader. What other class can boast this kind of variety? When Blizz finally realizes what this class could do and gives it the love others have received, it is going to be good times.
I do wish there was a viable Fist of the Heavens build, preferably with the lightning rune. Man I loved being that kind of caster, but there just doesn't seem to be a decent build for it where it can handle any content past T13, and that is sad because I have played around with it and wish there was. I love that spell and there is some gear that accommodates it now but every build I have tried hits a very hard wall and the spell just doesn't do enough damage to make it work.
Thank you again Angry, your builds always seem to get it just right for me. I can't wait to try the defensive version of this too, even more survivability should be fun to try.