Always wanted to to try out the endless shield spam build but got unlucky with drops, be it either a Gyrfalcon or the akkhan set? Fear not, for it is possible to hurl Endless Shields of Holy Destruction at your enemies and it requires only a minimal amount of RNG loot.
So with almost 200 hours played and never having seen a Gyrfalcon and getting a Jekangbord with Wrath Regen yesterday from a friend I decided to try out an endless Bless Shield build without Wrath generator, Gyrfalcon or the 6 Set Akkhan. Before I get started, there are only 3 pieces of gear required for this build to work. One is a crafted one, one isn't a specific legendary but more a specific affix and the last one is the only one required you to be a little lucky with loot.
Gear Requirements
A 2handed flail with preferably 3.5+ Wrath/sec. Any 2handed flail will do really, I'm using Fate of the Fell for this as it's the only one I had with a Strength, Socket and Wrath Regen roll.
Jekangbord with Wrath Regen, and preferably Block%, strength and Crit.
Reaper's Wraps. Any will do but ultimately you'd want one with %Holy damage, Crit, Strength and Vitality.
The idea behind the build is to get a steady 8-9 Wrath/second while replenishing it with Health globes via the Reaper's Wraps. Therefor completely removing the need for a wrath generator. Over the course of a 5 hour play session I rarely ran out of Wrath with no means of replenishing it.
Note: Experiences may vary depending on party size and difficulty. I was playing in a party on Torment 3-4 and enemies were dying really fast ( 4-8 seconds per champion/elite pack). So this probably isn't really viable for higher torments where you spend a long time killing enemies . Pick a difficulty where you can move between packs without any downtime and can kill Elites / Champions without running out of Wrath while being able to replenish Wrath quick with health globes.
This allows me to run Torment 3-4 without much trouble in party's ( I don't solo).
There aren't any specific stats you should aim for and there's probably some Math behind what's better for Blessed Shield's damage. The only "Requirements" I can think of are:
Wrath Regen on weapon/shield as mentioned earlier.
Enough CDR so Judgement and provoke are useable on every Champion / Elite pack
Personally I went for %Holy damage > CHD > CDR to 35-40% > Crit.
Blessed Shield / Shattering throw Obviously the foundation of the build, doesn't need much explanation.
Provoke / Charged up or Hit me: Either rune will work, the reason this is a must is that if you happen to run out of Wrath you can run into a group of mobs and refill 50%+ of your Wrath bar with 1 button. Can also use for extra burst if you know you won't have any Wrath issues afterwards.
Judgement / Resolve: One of the keys to this build is bursting down elite packs before you run out of Wrath. I sacrificed a lot of Crit on my gear for CDR and %Holy damage for more up time on my CD's. This is the ability that makes it all possible, even with "only" 41% crit this allows me to have 100% crit chance on Champion / Elite packs and with 40% CDR it's up for every single one of them.
Fillers:
Heaven's Fury / Ascendancy or Blessed ground: Because I use Fate of the Fell for the Wrath Regen on it I decided I might as well make full use of the weapon. Either rune will work. Personally not a huge fan of the ability anymore (Long CD, below average damage) but there aren't a lot of other viable options and Fate of the Fell makes it a little bit better.
Law of Valor / Critical: More burst, not only for yourself but for party members as well. Almost up for every elite pack as well due to high CDR.
Shield Glare / Divine Verdict or Zealous Glare: You can either use this for extra burst or if you find yourself running out of Wrath regularly you can use it for an additional Wrath replenisher. While I've been running with Divine Verdict, the range on it is really annoying as it forces you to move into medium range in order to hit the enemies where you could've been spamming shields otherwise. Great for party play again though, personally I think all of our CDS together are a lot more effective than a WD but that's a different story.
Passive skills:
Heavenly Strength: Duh.
Righteousness: Yes you may be thinking "Why righteousness if you don't use a Wrath generator?". Well, one of your main ways to replenish Wrath is with Reaper's Wraps. The higher your Maximum Wrath, the more a health globe will restore. It really makes a huge difference, I tried running without and it felt clunky. Also allows for more burst.
Stand your Ground: More blessed shield damage? Sure I'll take it.
Divine Fortress: You could swap this out for maybe finery or Holy cause if you have a holy weapon or if you run lower torment and want more dps, but I prefer the survivability. Allows you to be more reckless which will result in more dps in the end.
Paragon points
Core: Movement speed to 10%, then either Strength or Vitality. I went full on vitality cause I dropped a lot of toughness after some recent upgrades. If toughness is no issue go full strength.
Offensive: CDR > 35-40% > Crit damage > Crit > AS
Defensive: Allres and then either Life% or Armor, whichever gives you more toughness.
Utility: You could go resource cost reduction here if you like, I prefer LoH and Area damage. Gold find is useless.
Anyway, that's all. If there's any questions about stuff that's unclear or that I forgot to add just leave a comment.
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So with almost 200 hours played and never having seen a Gyrfalcon and getting a Jekangbord with Wrath Regen yesterday from a friend I decided to try out an endless Bless Shield build without Wrath generator, Gyrfalcon or the 6 Set Akkhan. Before I get started, there are only 3 pieces of gear required for this build to work. One is a crafted one, one isn't a specific legendary but more a specific affix and the last one is the only one required you to be a little lucky with loot.
Gear Requirements
- A 2handed flail with preferably 3.5+ Wrath/sec. Any 2handed flail will do really, I'm using Fate of the Fell for this as it's the only one I had with a Strength, Socket and Wrath Regen roll.
- Jekangbord with Wrath Regen, and preferably Block%, strength and Crit.
- Reaper's Wraps. Any will do but ultimately you'd want one with %Holy damage, Crit, Strength and Vitality.
The idea behind the build is to get a steady 8-9 Wrath/second while replenishing it with Health globes via the Reaper's Wraps. Therefor completely removing the need for a wrath generator. Over the course of a 5 hour play session I rarely ran out of Wrath with no means of replenishing it.Note: Experiences may vary depending on party size and difficulty. I was playing in a party on Torment 3-4 and enemies were dying really fast ( 4-8 seconds per champion/elite pack). So this probably isn't really viable for higher torments where you spend a long time killing enemies . Pick a difficulty where you can move between packs without any downtime and can kill Elites / Champions without running out of Wrath while being able to replenish Wrath quick with health globes.
Stats: Here's my gear for comparison http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/profile/faesroll-2693/hero/38463606
This allows me to run Torment 3-4 without much trouble in party's ( I don't solo).
There aren't any specific stats you should aim for and there's probably some Math behind what's better for Blessed Shield's damage. The only "Requirements" I can think of are:
- Wrath Regen on weapon/shield as mentioned earlier.
- Enough CDR so Judgement and provoke are useable on every Champion / Elite pack
Personally I went for %Holy damage > CHD > CDR to 35-40% > Crit.The Build
http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/crusader#YlfRdS!aYUV!aabYYYActive skills:
Key abiltiies:
Blessed Shield / Shattering throw Obviously the foundation of the build, doesn't need much explanation.
Provoke / Charged up or Hit me: Either rune will work, the reason this is a must is that if you happen to run out of Wrath you can run into a group of mobs and refill 50%+ of your Wrath bar with 1 button. Can also use for extra burst if you know you won't have any Wrath issues afterwards.
Judgement / Resolve: One of the keys to this build is bursting down elite packs before you run out of Wrath. I sacrificed a lot of Crit on my gear for CDR and %Holy damage for more up time on my CD's. This is the ability that makes it all possible, even with "only" 41% crit this allows me to have 100% crit chance on Champion / Elite packs and with 40% CDR it's up for every single one of them.
Fillers:
Heaven's Fury / Ascendancy or Blessed ground: Because I use Fate of the Fell for the Wrath Regen on it I decided I might as well make full use of the weapon. Either rune will work. Personally not a huge fan of the ability anymore (Long CD, below average damage) but there aren't a lot of other viable options and Fate of the Fell makes it a little bit better.
Law of Valor / Critical: More burst, not only for yourself but for party members as well. Almost up for every elite pack as well due to high CDR.
Shield Glare / Divine Verdict or Zealous Glare: You can either use this for extra burst or if you find yourself running out of Wrath regularly you can use it for an additional Wrath replenisher. While I've been running with Divine Verdict, the range on it is really annoying as it forces you to move into medium range in order to hit the enemies where you could've been spamming shields otherwise. Great for party play again though, personally I think all of our CDS together are a lot more effective than a WD but that's a different story.
Passive skills:
Heavenly Strength: Duh.
Righteousness: Yes you may be thinking "Why righteousness if you don't use a Wrath generator?". Well, one of your main ways to replenish Wrath is with Reaper's Wraps. The higher your Maximum Wrath, the more a health globe will restore. It really makes a huge difference, I tried running without and it felt clunky. Also allows for more burst.
Stand your Ground: More blessed shield damage? Sure I'll take it.
Divine Fortress: You could swap this out for maybe finery or Holy cause if you have a holy weapon or if you run lower torment and want more dps, but I prefer the survivability. Allows you to be more reckless which will result in more dps in the end.
Paragon points
Core: Movement speed to 10%, then either Strength or Vitality. I went full on vitality cause I dropped a lot of toughness after some recent upgrades. If toughness is no issue go full strength.Offensive: CDR > 35-40% > Crit damage > Crit > AS
Defensive: Allres and then either Life% or Armor, whichever gives you more toughness.
Utility: You could go resource cost reduction here if you like, I prefer LoH and Area damage. Gold find is useless.
Anyway, that's all. If there's any questions about stuff that's unclear or that I forgot to add just leave a comment.