mage haruspex build (hunting/dream)
whoah what?
Many of us have read (or played) about the immortal haruspex build and as we all know by now, it's not so immortal in AE anymore. Sure we can still make a viable bow/spear haruspex but why make one when there are arguably better builds like a warden or brigand perhaps for a spear melee or ranger or again brigand for archers. And yeah, we all don't like the nerfing of scatter shot.
So haruspex toons are no good now? Nah! Let's make it good again with some imagination. Let's take advantage of two of the often overlooked but not forgotten changes in TQAE:
+ Physical damage from abilities and item bonuses now scales with Strength (10% per 65)
and
+ Elemental Damage % bonuses now also boost fire, cold and lightning DoTs
So with that, let's proceed with this crazy mage haruspex build.
pros: main attack is an AOE and provides slow for a little CC. has access to both str based items and int based items (oh yeah we all like to wear those items)
cons: energy probs (well, we can't have everything)
core skills are:
Hunting: study prey, flush out, monster lure
Dream: distortion wave, lucid dream, temporal flux, trance of convalescence
How does it work? Study prey reduces physical resist, and flush out reduces elemental resist. Distortion wave deals mix physical damage and electrical burn damage. Plus the two changes mentioned above makes DW even stronger. The lure is there to keep the monsters busy. This is like a ranged physical/EBD damager wearing a shield. neat huh?
Gameplay is cast monster lure to draw aggro, step back a little, cast study prey, then cast as many DW as you have to. Remember DW is part physical part DoT so you don't necessarily have to spam it (DW has 0.8sec cooldown with 80% CDR). You can put DW in your LMB slot if you like. Against Bosses, monster lure don't work but most bosses don't move a lot so it's just the same. Just cast study prey and DW repeatedly.
stats: just enough dex for archmages clasp (159) so maybe 5pts, the rest int and str. I suggest going int first then after about 350, go str
Things you should look for from items: cooldown reduction, + to all skills, cast speed, resists, %elem damage, %phys damage. Quite a lot but again, you have access to both str and int items so you can actually get all of those. Item selections are so many i can only think of 2 BiS items: Lykaion Malleus and Archmage's Clasp. I also suggest you look at occult rings and socrates rings. Both can easily be bought from merchants. Those two alone take care of elem damage, cast speed, as well as provide extra int.. Use demons blood on at least 1 for vit res. A Boreas staff on secondary or just a staff of the betrayer with shen-nongs would be well worth here. And oh yeah, also look for some form of reduced energy cost or energy regen. I have never found a Lykaion Malleus so sorry i can't help you with the best farming spot for it. Chances are you'll be wearing a club or an axe because those have high str req and low dex
my suggested buid:
https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc3f1e.html?mastery=Haruspex&master1=7&master2=9&sa=0&m1=32-0-0-0-0-1-1-0-0-0-6-8-0-0-8-0-6-1-6-0-0-0&m2=32-1-0-12-0-8-0-6-1-0-0-8-12-8-8-0-6-12-0-1-0-0I suggest going dream first, putting only 1 point on all necessary skills and rushing to unlock psionic immolation. Max it and then max distortion wave and chaotic resonance. Then go hunting and also rush to unlock flush out, putting only 1 point on the necessary skills. Max flush out, then study prey.
Just enough points on trail blazing to get maxed run speed (166?). Only max premonition and distortion field late in the game. Come legendary you'll have lots of "where do i put all these skill points at?" . That's your problem, not mine
. Maybe distort reality for extra vit damage (EBD from temporal rift does not stack with EBD from DW)
If you're wondering about the damage, DW with study prey is just enough to one-shot legendary machae archers and melee machaes (not the yellow ones) with about 600str and 400+ int. Of course it's part DoT so you might want to 2 two-shot them. It's also AOE so if you hit all of them, they can all die in one shot
This can also serve as a blueprint for other similar builds like an avenger, summoner, or ritualist (strength of the pack boosts the physical in VO, eruption and DW). Maybe even throw warfare and other masteries into the mix
so that's it.. till next time and happy crazy playing
update for ragnarok:
With the release of new weapons in ragnarok especially throwing weapons, i’m not sure if Lykaion Malleus is Bis weapon for this anymore. I now use Neith’s Will. The dex requirement is not so high(270), has recharge, %total damage, and much needed resists. I don’t necessarily use it to attack range. The damage just doesn’t compare to distortion wave but throwing weapons allows me to have more DA with wood lore. But, only put more points in dex after you have raised your strength and int to about 400+. You would need more points in strength but if you found a good throwing weapon you want to wear, you can put some in dex but not too high.
Some new players have asked me if this is playable self-found. The answer is yes. Long-time TQ players have always known distortion wave to be a massive mob clearer early game. AE made it so that it’s still strong late game. I have been seeing recharge items in act 5 normal without even farming. Distortion wave alone can get you there if you stat correctly. I did say focus on int first that is because early recharge items have high int requirements but if you want to wear some good stuff strength based gear, putting some in strength won’t hurt. If you focus on dream first, you can unlock psionic immolation at lvl 10 or 11 and the cooldown will be reduced to 4 seconds. Just line ’em up and watch them die in one shot.
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