Build Guide
Old Video GR106 completed on PTR post Intra-PTR nerf: https://youtu.be/Rd0gOFahElQ
Also completed GR108 on the PTR when FB6 was at 5000% multi (before the intra-PTR nerf): https://youtu.be/S3Nxqwpfsms
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Etched ignite. I'm in love. Simple yet effective build. Powerful. Many multipliers. Channel, then profit.
We use high CDR to lower the cooldown on our main damage source, Explosive Blast with the Chain reaction rune. As you can see from the video, you want to try and have nice tight groupings of enemies.
Etched Sigil takes the stage as well, providing free casts of EB as we channel Flame Ward.
Etched Sigil AS breakpoint in important. See this link for a full breakpoint table. You're going to want to be within this range of AS:
- 1.538462538 AS to 1.666666667 AS, which is 12 Frames / Tick
This is easy enough to do, as all it requires is AS on paragon.
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Ignite enemies by standing next to them to hit with EB, then channel AT:Flame Ward. This should also proc your MW:Ignite, providing the FB6 bonus.
Typically you'll skip trash until you find an elite. You can manage to kite the elites next to the trash (or vice versa) for gaining extra progress. Stand in oculus ring follower procs if possible. Note that if you aren't hitting at least the elites, but you're standing in an oculus, you might want to adjust your playstyle to skip the oculus ring on occasion. Try and position yourself properly regardless of oculus ring, but when it is fairly well positioned, or you can kite your enemies over to it, take advantage of it.
Ensure you stand still for maximum damage from EW. Use Illusionist procs + Safe Passage to get around when engaged.
Channeling will continually cause Etched sigil to cast EB on top of your normal EB casts, and Woh procs. Make sure you're channeling as much as possible to benefit from the Deathwish, Etched Sigil, Mantle of Channeling, and Taeguk bonuses.
I prefer to set an autocast for my EB. You can numlock this skill, or script it.
FN: Bone Chill can be cast manually if need be for crowd control purposes. Most of the time the procs from Halo of Arlyse apply this debuff nicely though.
Defensively, most of your DR comes from the Halo of Arlyse and APD combo, so as you deal damage, try and stand near or kite to density to benefit from increased damage reduction.
Note that with Unity you will need a unity on your follower as well, and an Enchanting favor (do not die token) on your Templar.
Mobility is provided by Illusionist, a very nice addition to the build. Unwavering Will for the extra damage and defense. The damage from UW is additive with Taeguk, so it's really only about 5.5% damage increase, however I think this combo of offense / defense is still the best option for that last passive.
The single target damage of EB isn't very high, but Stricken makes up for this deficiency on Elites and the RG.
I'm rating this at GR108+. That's assuming at least 1300 paragon, and better gear and augments than are in the video. Considering I finished that GR106 with about a minute to spare, that's at least one GR higher with more fishing (multi elite conduit open map with power pylon'd favorable RG), and another with gear improvements (ancient source, more CHC, Fire% damage, better augments, etc.).
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Multipliers:
Additive buff:
Additive Debuff:
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Defense is provided through many items / skills:
- Flame Ward
- Mantle of Channeling
- Safe Passage
- EW
- FB6
- APDs
- Unwavering Will
- Unity (if solo)
- Aquila (if in group)
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Alternates:
- Unstable Anomaly
- Blur: About 85% of the defensive bonus that Unwavering will provides when standing still, but this bonus is on all the time. Good choice if you're having problems surviving.
- Conflagration: Good offensive passive however, you lose about 20% toughness. Not worth it in my opinion.
- If you want to run a more tanky build, you can swap in CoE in place of Unity, and Swap in OID in place of Deathwish. This lowers the clear potential considerably, but it should still be at least GR100+ capable.
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Question & Answer:
Q: hello, I don't understand why you have high cooldown, because etched sigil casts explosive blast automatically?
A: Etched Sigil cast skills that are based on cooldown gain the benefit of whatever cooldown you have, so for example, at 50% CDR, instead of every 6s, Etched Sigil would activate an EB cast about every 3s. There is some loss of damage from the etched sigil simply because we aren't attacking 100% of the time. Arcane Torrent only ticks once every so often, and etched sigil only attempts to proc about once every second, so there is some gap of time there where the etched sigil is doing nothing. This gap is a fixed cost that you'll have to factor in when using Etched Sigil.
Q: Interesting build, but I am curious about how you are choosing to use the etched sigil. Since explosive blast can be used independently, wouldn't you be able yield more DPS by having your torrent also cast free fire twisters or something while still using explosive blast on cooldown?
A: Etched Sigil casts randomly, not in rotation. The problem comes when it chooses randomly to keep casting Twister, and therefore delay your cast of EB, which will reduce your dps tremendously. Hence why I've used passive buff / debuff type skills in the other slots, that won't soak up etched sigil cast.
Thanks! As a note:
I made some minor changes to stat recommendations on weapon, in regards to LoH and AD.
The reason Area damage isn't emphasized more in the build, and left as an option (as you can see from the video I don't have AD on shoulder), is because I still don't think etched sigil cast explosions trigger this.
AD is an option on shoulder. You can also opt for LoH on Bracer (in addition to the recommended Weapon roll), if preferred.
Cheers!
Hey, I actually played a very similar build a long long time ago (with FB and Tal, usually with Black Hole - Spellsteal instead of Bone Chill). I tried it again on PTR, with 22k int (very good gear) and I struggled to get 90 done, while doing 105 easy with MH Archon.
I hope that etched sigil gets the promised buff since I like playing around with this item.
Can you tell me why 100+ is stated in the build?
Nvm, saw the video on 99. It's a good rift but yeah still wondering why I struggled so much on my 90s. I even got better gear.
Decided not to update until later in the PTR. The video was taken on a PTR build that had Firebird 6 piece at 4000%. This is roughly a 1.5 GR change. However, with the d3 team announcing revisions to channeling items, I decided not to touch the listing just yet.
That said, you should still be able to clear into the mid 90's without much issue. Did you acquire a new Wand of woh and OID? if you didn't have the new multipliers, this would reduce your potential damage output.
Apologies for the confusion! I'll update the guide soon.
Np, thanks for your answer.
I used the updated Woh and OoiD. Though I seemed to had some item wrong or dunno what was the issue. Haven't tested much tbh
But then again there are just random numbers, so we have to wait until it hits live. I prefer to test things out during NS when the patch hits anyway.
Updated the Guide for the revised Deathwish and Etched Sigil (these now have multipliers). Dropped CoE for Unity, and OID for Deathwish.
Now recommend EB% on source over CDR, though at high paragon, a quad source (with CDR instead of INT) might be a good option.
Still editing, and making little changes to the guide.
Updated video as of: PTR PATCH 2.6.1 - v2.6.1.47251
Which one is stronger, this build or Firebird Archon?
Hi Leafeator - While I haven't played FB archon in a while, this build seems to compare on the leaderboard better than FB archon, at least in the current PTR version / build.
Updating build rating. FB modifier decreased by 25% on the PTR in the latest PTR update (5000% down to 4000% multiplier). On paper this is minus 1.5 GRs.
While I didn't get a perfect rift to test with, this seems to be accurate. I've decreased the build rating by 2 GR to be conservative, and I'll be uploading a new video here soon, GR106 clear on the latest PTR build.
EDIT: (10/25/2017):
Something funky happened with the build. It was displaying OID, which I thought I had already updated.
Fixed the build to display Woh / Etched sigil with deathwish like it should have.
Also updated the build CDR level to recommend 55.8%. This is because I'm now recommending Unity worn. You can still wear the Halo of Arlyse, but the extra CDR here, while beneficial, is likely not the better bonus.
Also to boost dmg mby a Obsidian ring of zodiac instead of unity but it will cripple ur survivability.... u would have to switch places to keep cdr reduction in check more often or something.... dunno just a suggestion try it if u can
nice build mate, keep up the good work
EDIT (2/28/2018): Ran the numbers on d3planner again, seems the CDR option on source is roughly 2.4% higher dps than EB%. My mistake. This assumes the other two EB% rolls on gear are in place (chest, shoulder).
This places recommended CDR for the build at 59.38% (assuming Unity). 62.63% with wearing another ring.
I'll be reworking this build a bit over the next few days.
Thanks, shadpb! I've revised to recommend AD only on shoulder. Until AD is fixed to work with Woh explosions, I don't think there is as high of benefit in slotting it. However, one shoulder roll may be worth going for still, if you are trying to gear offensively.
Like you say though, this could imbalance the defense within the build.
EDIT (4/20/2018): updated build listing with a new video. GR107 cleared in season 13, not a perfect run, but farily well managed, and a good clear.
Still rating the build as GR108+ seeing as I still have two non ancients, and a few items (ring, weapon) that have affix slots not well rolled on the 107 clear, thus reducing the amount of CDR and INT I have at the time. And again, not a perfect rift, but a good one. Perfect rift with the better items might just make the difference for getting a GR108 down, I will not be pursuing that this season though. Enjoy the new video !
hey Cratic, I have problem with resource cost in this build. Help!