Build Guide
Note: The current video is recorded from the PTR on August 12th, 2015. No major changes were made since, however I will upload a more up-to-date video soon. I will also note some numbers (such as Focus and Restraint and total dodge are inaccurate in the video. Apologies!)
Welcome to my introduction for the lightning Frenzy / Hammer of the Ancients build for patch 2.3!!
The build I have assembled here has so far taken me to greater rift 58 on live, but has done 60 on the PTR and I know can push beyond that due to
some adjustments since then. This setup is a bit tight on some of the item requirements, but you have a few options for weapons to get this build started.
So Why Frenzy...?
I've loved frenzy since Diablo 2. Having high attack speed and movement speed made for a very efficient play style. I initially had a setup similar to this just before seasons began, but with Immortal Kings having a different set bonus at the time as well as lack of legendary gems, items (undisputed champion / bastion's revered) and Kanai's cube I only pushed up to torment IV-V. Now with patch 2.3 I feel this build can breeze through Torment X and some high greater rifts (aimed towards the lower 60's).
The Power of Lightning:
The legendary powers from items such as Shard of Hate, Fulminator and Thunderfury do some nice amounts of damage on the lower torment difficulties. So why are we using them here? Well, these abilities (as well as pain enhancer's bleed, frenzy's "sidearm" and all active abilities) gain the damage bonus from Immortal Kings' 6 set (+250%) and Focus + Restraint (+50% generator, +50% spender). This damage is an exceptional amount to contribute to the build.
- Shard of Hate is an amazing source of damage for 1v1, provided you can hug your opponent to land multiple charged bolts on your target.
- Fulminator and Thunderfury are nice group weapons (Fulminator is amazing if you can group the targets up close, which benefits Hammer of the Ancients as well).
Critical Chance/Damage VS Attack Speed:
You'll notice the stat priority I've set up on my equipment favors more critical chance and damage rather than attack speed. When I first started this build, I figured the best path would be to put attack speed on everything possible for the best results. While it does help with damage and recovery, it's actually not all that impressive of an amount. I believe this is the formula if I'm not mistaken (If I am, feel free to comment below any corrections):
Let's say the base of your weapon is 1.4 (So a weapon like Thunderfury / Fulminator / Shard of Hate). In this situation, we will have no attack speed increase on any equipment. We then factor in dual wielding (15%), Wrath of the Berserker (25%) and your paragon points (10%). Your "increased attack speed" under details will sum this together (15% + 25% + 10% = 50%) and then be multiplied to your base weapon (1.4 x 1.5 = 2.1). Now frenzy's attack speed stacks won't show visibly in your details, since it only increases the attack speed for frenzy, but it would seem to add to your "increased attack speed" as any other increase would (15% 10 times, so 150%). Put this together with your paragon, duel wield and Wrath of the Berserker bonus (50% + 150% = 200%) to get your overall attack speed (1.4 + 200% (2.8) = 4.2).
With each ring / gloves giving you 7%, you'll notice it doesn't contribute that much extra output (1.4 + 207% (2.898) = 4.298), basically giving 1/10 of an extra attack per second. Overall, having the extra critical chance or damage would perform better, since frenzy stacks gives the core of your attack speed. This is why I chose Bastion's Revered as my cubed weapon.
Critical chance will, in turn, give you attack speed (provided you have equipped pain enhancer as one of your legendary gems).
Survival:
Thanks to the change on War Cry - Veteran's Warning, this and Wrath of the Berserker will give you around 44% dodge, allowing you to ignore multiple amounts of incoming damage. Call of the Ancients - Together as One will provide you with some damage reduction as well as Unity (provided you cube this). As for health recovery? My suggestion is to have your offhand with life per hit. The amount from one weapon + paragon should be a good enough source to keep your health up. Simply put: High attack speed + life per hit = good recovery! Alternatively you could use simplicity's strength (at rank 25), however that will only benefit you with frenzy.
Play Style:
Frenzy will be your primary attack. What it lacks in damage, it makes up for in attack speed. Each stack of frenzy will increase your attack speed by
15% (for frenzy only), so keeping this at maximum will be one of your main focus points.
Hammer of the Ancients will be your secondary attack. This attack gets boosted with the use of Bracers of the First Men; increasing its damage and attack speed. This will also be used to remove the cooldown of Call of the Ancients and Wrath of the Berserker, as well as maintain stacks of Focus + Restraint and Taeguk.
With these two attacks, you will often be in the face of your enemies, alternating between Frenzy and Hammer of the Ancients. Use Pain Enhancer to your advantage by using Hammer of the Ancients on multiple targets to increase your attack speed. Wrath of the Berserker and Call of the Ancients will be off cooldown with consistent use of Hammer of the Ancients (thanks to the IK 4 set bonus). Keep yourself positioned in a way you're ready to move to the next group, you don't want to get yourself blocked in corners or surrounded. While on the move, keep taeguk up by using battle rage or hammer of the ancients and try to maintain frenzy stacks by hitting stray enemies or objects as you pursue your next foes. Done properly, this build can easily keep itself at / close to max fury.
Some Downsides:
- This build cannot phase through groups due to lack of abilities like whirlwind or furious charge, so don't corner yourself!
- Reflects Damage and Electrified will trigger more often (due to the obvious attack speeds of frenzy). Be cautious!
- Dying while Call of the Ancients / Wrath of the Berserker are on cooldown can make for a tricky start-up!
Thanks for checking out this build!
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