Hi everyone, I recently came up with an interesting build that i'm pretty excited about. After the nerf to Nether Tentacles, I've been exploring new skills and builds, not unlike most people I'm sure. In the process, I have discovered a build that utilizes the perfect storm of skills, and specific gearing to create a massive nuke of damage to a small group of enemies.
While browsing threads I found a lot of people using Cluster Arrow with Loaded for Bear, and a lot of people also enjoying Spike Trap with Scatter. I've been having so much fun with both of these skills, that I couldn't choose one over the other, so I made a build including both. This is my first post, so the forum won't let me link to the skill calculator, so unfortunately I'll have to list the build like this for now:
Entangling Shot --> Justice is Served
Cluster Arrow --> Loaded for Bear
Spike Trap --> Scatter
Shadow Power --> Gloom
Companion --> Bat Companion
Preparation --> Invigoration
Passives: Grenadier, Vengeance, Sharpshooter
Here is the perfect storm part: using this skill set with the perfect gear, it is possible to nuke a group of enemies with 1 Spike Trap, and 4 Cluster Arrows, all with 100% crit chance. There is one required piece of kit for this, a Dead Man's Legacy quiver with "Reduces resource cost of Cluster Arrow by 4 hatred." You will also need 9 hatred regeneration per second. Bat Companion adds 3 hatred/second, and Dead Man's Legacy will cover you for more than 1 hatred/second. That will generate ~8 hatred/sec depending on your specific quiver. The final point can easily be obtained on a Demon Hunter Cloak, or by using the Templar with the Inspire ability.
The tactic is to allow Sharpshooter to build to 100% crit chance, and then move in for the kill. When you get close, pop Shadow Power (you could use Smoke Screen if you prefer), place the spike trap, and lay into the enemies with 4 Cluster Arrows until you're out of hatred. I'm using a 2h crossbow with 10% IAS from the quiver for 1.21 attacks per second. In my experience so far, all 5 attacks will strike within the 100% crit chance window.
It truly is the perfect storm. If you only have 8 hatred regeneration per second, if your Dead Man's Legacy only reduces the cost of Cluster Arrow by 3 hatred or less, and if you don't use both Grenadier and Vengeance, you aren't going to get the fourth shot of Cluster Arrow.
Now, I'm not 100% sold on this build, and I haven't tested it extensively. My required stats could be off, but I'm not going to invest in another quiver to test it. I'm 100% sure I can't get the fourth Cluster Arrow shot with 8.15 hatred regen/sec, so I'm figuring an additional 1 hatred cost to each Cluster Arrow is also going to break the build. Also, I think stacking crit chance and taking Archery or Steady Aim instead of Sharpshooter is a better idea in general. Yet, I think this build could be a lot of fun if you were to stack a massive amount of crit damage on the cheap and forgo crit chance. Of course, using Impale would increase the single target damage by a lot, but I thought this perfect set of gear and skills to create this one of a kind combo attack was fun, and I wanted to share. I know some people are unhappy with the 1.0.3 nerfs, but I have been having the most fun yet in D3 coming up with crazy builds like this. I hope you enjoyed reading about this build, even if you decide not to try it!
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While browsing threads I found a lot of people using Cluster Arrow with Loaded for Bear, and a lot of people also enjoying Spike Trap with Scatter. I've been having so much fun with both of these skills, that I couldn't choose one over the other, so I made a build including both. This is my first post, so the forum won't let me link to the skill calculator, so unfortunately I'll have to list the build like this for now:
Entangling Shot --> Justice is Served
Cluster Arrow --> Loaded for Bear
Spike Trap --> Scatter
Shadow Power --> Gloom
Companion --> Bat Companion
Preparation --> Invigoration
Passives: Grenadier, Vengeance, Sharpshooter
Here is the perfect storm part: using this skill set with the perfect gear, it is possible to nuke a group of enemies with 1 Spike Trap, and 4 Cluster Arrows, all with 100% crit chance. There is one required piece of kit for this, a Dead Man's Legacy quiver with "Reduces resource cost of Cluster Arrow by 4 hatred." You will also need 9 hatred regeneration per second. Bat Companion adds 3 hatred/second, and Dead Man's Legacy will cover you for more than 1 hatred/second. That will generate ~8 hatred/sec depending on your specific quiver. The final point can easily be obtained on a Demon Hunter Cloak, or by using the Templar with the Inspire ability.
The tactic is to allow Sharpshooter to build to 100% crit chance, and then move in for the kill. When you get close, pop Shadow Power (you could use Smoke Screen if you prefer), place the spike trap, and lay into the enemies with 4 Cluster Arrows until you're out of hatred. I'm using a 2h crossbow with 10% IAS from the quiver for 1.21 attacks per second. In my experience so far, all 5 attacks will strike within the 100% crit chance window.
It truly is the perfect storm. If you only have 8 hatred regeneration per second, if your Dead Man's Legacy only reduces the cost of Cluster Arrow by 3 hatred or less, and if you don't use both Grenadier and Vengeance, you aren't going to get the fourth shot of Cluster Arrow.
Now, I'm not 100% sold on this build, and I haven't tested it extensively. My required stats could be off, but I'm not going to invest in another quiver to test it. I'm 100% sure I can't get the fourth Cluster Arrow shot with 8.15 hatred regen/sec, so I'm figuring an additional 1 hatred cost to each Cluster Arrow is also going to break the build. Also, I think stacking crit chance and taking Archery or Steady Aim instead of Sharpshooter is a better idea in general. Yet, I think this build could be a lot of fun if you were to stack a massive amount of crit damage on the cheap and forgo crit chance. Of course, using Impale would increase the single target damage by a lot, but I thought this perfect set of gear and skills to create this one of a kind combo attack was fun, and I wanted to share. I know some people are unhappy with the 1.0.3 nerfs, but I have been having the most fun yet in D3 coming up with crazy builds like this. I hope you enjoyed reading about this build, even if you decide not to try it!
Any suggestions or corrections welcome!