Reaper Endgame 11-6-3 bear

[Gilga1]

Post U45 bear became a true beast. Wolves have been hunted for extinction, and bears have taken their place at the top of the food chain.
Fun thing, there are a lot of top tier bear builds. Most are based on 11 barbarian levels, and on half orc or wood elf as race.
Half orc bear monk is also amazing, but the MRR cap hurts a lot.

The build I’m playing, object of this thread, is Scourge Barb 11 Cleric 6 Druid 3 in LD .

I chose this build because I wanted healings hands. I like to be able to save other party members when needed. I don't always do it, but the thought of being able to do it makes me look like a good person
So, scourge was a forced choice. In addition to hands, scourge provides some decent benefits like 5% doublestrike and some hamp. And Silvanus ofc.
Cleric 6 is mandatory for +2 threat range with mauls, and animal domain is always good for some extra hp.
Now, the ‘real’ choice was: 8-6-6 like the old tremor wolf or 11-6-3? I had no doubts: 11-6-3.
Dire bear is good for the extra strikethrough and you can get Greater Maul, but beyond that it offers no real benefits. Compared to barb 6, barb 11 offers +2% reduction, improved uncanny dodge and greater rage (including +10 melee power).

Character Sheet
Here are my self buffed stats in reaper. I have all the PLs and full reaper trees.



Feats
This build is feat starved... you need the THF line to access Angry Arms and Mad Munitions in FB tree. I managed to keep Stunning blow and Completionist slotting melee alacrity on my gear setup.

Enhancements




ED
I like LD, it’s so old school! And still solid despite the nerf. By far LD is the best destiny for this build: so many synergies! Haste boost is a huge boost for bears and +1 threat with x5 multi is gold.



Fatesinger is the plan B and can be used for specific content.

Twists
Using a twist for strikethrough is questionable, but I like to have 200% in quest, mainly because multi target stun and trip.
So, while a “standard bear” twist setup is hymn, symmetric, meld and dance, I had to drop symmetric for a 4-3-3-1-1 setup: hymn, meld, malicious weapons, primal scream and dance.

Equipment
My current setup is:
Helm Legendary Executioner's Helm (Insightful Deception +7, Relentless Fury, Seeker 17, Quality Combat Mastery +4, Reaper stats)
Goggles Legendary Precision Lenses (Manslayer, Insightful Strength +9, Melee Alacrity 15%, Action Boost Enhancement)
Necklace The Family’s Blessing (Quality Assassinate +2, Insightful Armor-Piercing - 16%, Deadly +17, Doublestrike 24%)
Trinket Echo of Ravenkind (Eternal Holy Burst, True Seeing, Constitution +20, Improved Deception)
Armor Legendary Enforcer's Coat (+15 Enhancement Bonus, Fortification +214%, Physical Sheltering +54, Competence Healing Amplification +85, Hit Points +81)
Cloak Charune, Grand Burden of Fury (Strength +22, Quality Seeker +5, Armor-Piercing - 36%, Raging Strength 3)
Wrist Legendary Sunken Chains (Quality Strength +5, Insightful Seeker +10, Shatter +23, Stunning +23)
Belt SL (Wisdom +17, Deception +14, Shatter +20, Quality PRR +11)
Ring Legendary Band of Insightful Commands (Profane Well Rounded +2, Insightful Accuracy +13, Quality Deadly +4, Intimidate +22)
Ring Circle of Malevolence (Improved Harm 3 /Day, Resistance +14, Vitality +60, Insightful Sheltering +23, Intimidate +25, Incite +53)
Gloves Legendary Hammerfist (Insightful Doublestrike 11%, Cannith Combat Infusion, Seeker 21, Insightful Deadly +8)
Boots SL (Sheltering +45, Accuracy +28, Vertigo +20, Quality Constitution +4)
As always, I consider super important reaper/mythic boosts on items, especially melee power for melees. So i did choose my equiq according to the boosted items I have.
In example, I have +6 melee power on Ravenkind so - for my bear - Ravenkind is a nice option.

Weapon damage and critical profile
This is where this build really shines! 16-18 x5 19-20 x7 critical profile, coupled with huge weapon damage. Compared to Tail, Tremor is 1d10+6 vs 2d4+4. If you add a lot of +W (Raging blows, Dance of Flowers, Crazy Strike, Improved Power Attack, Combat Brute....) the difference becomes even more significant.

Doublestrike
Another strong point of this build compared to half orc bears. Wood elf bears have good doublestrike too but they need quality doublestrike on trinket to come close to 100%.
I have 98% standing. 103% with cannith combat infusion proc.

Melee Power
No tier 4 nature warrior means that this split is 12 mp behind vs bear splits with more druid levels. Anyway, on this build I have 333 sustained melee power counting full stacks blitz. 383 with prowess (haste boost). Melee power is good.

Strikethrough
My goal was 200% strikethrough but sadly Natural fighting is 120% only and PTHF does nothing for bears. So Angry Arms and Mad Munitions are needed (20%+20%) and the remaining 20% comes from Malicious Weapons twist. 3 feats and a twist are a big sacrifice, but it’s worth it imho.

Fort bypass
Solid. 83% standing +20% Cracking attack +15% destruction +20% weaken undead

Tactics
Dire charge is no fail. Stunning blow and Trip are no fail almost everywhere. In Sharn I need to activate Ancient Tactics or to swap gear to reach no fail DCs.

Defenses
My gear setup is offense oriented: I have no insightful Constitution slotted (except the +2 augment), I have no parrying.
Hp are good, Animal domain helps. PRR is solid. MRR is decent, lower than pally ofc. 6% damage reduction is a nice addition.
Saves are ****. You have to live with it.
Improved uncanny dodge + Flight is like a second meld. Absolutly awesome to have.
In close quarters fights bear is more survivable than pally.

Playstlyle and fun factor
Imo bear is fun to play. It’s a click intensive build: every 60 seconds you need to deactivate/reactivate a lot of things. A lot! In addition to the basics (Divine might swap, frenzy, blood feast swap, displacement) there are some options like Animal Growth clickies (almost inexepensive, no larges are needed) and Divine Power clickies.
This build has useful active attacks (the amazing Cracking attack, Smite foe to get immediatly 4-7 stacks of vulnerability, Maul to grab aggro, tactics for cc etc).
On the defensive side you can count on the 1000 temp hp proc from Blood feast and on “nearly immortal” moments with meld and improved uncanny dodge + flight. Not to mention Thick skinned.

Feel free to ask for more informations

[tc12]

Tactics
Dire charge is no fail. Stunning blow and Trip are no fail almost everywhere. In Sharn I need to activate Ancient Tactics or to swap gear to reach no fail DCs.

So what is that Stunning Blow DC in the 'no fail almost everywhere' setup?

[Gilga1]

So what is that Stunning Blow DC in the 'no fail almost everywhere' setup?

Stunning Blow DC: 10 +56 Str Modifier +23 Stunning Item +4 Quality Combat Mastery +16 Divine Might +3 Fighter PL +6 Legendary Tactics +2 Tactician +2 Unusual Tactics +1 Guild Buff +4 Reaper = 127

Ancient Tactics active PL +6 = 133

Please note that you could also swap to a full CHA sentient weapon before activating Divine Might for a +2 increase.
I still have lag issues with weapon swaps so atm I'm just using Blood feast as swap. I hope U46 patch 2 will fix that.

As I wrote in another post a few weeks ago, imo melee tactics with strikethrough are overperforming. I'm playing a small bear, bigger bears have also access to Greater Maul.

[Mindos]

I used to play a Ranger Tempest because it could hit 4 targets at once with Dance of Death. Then they nerfed it when they came out with strikethrough, and it only hits 3 now. Then I see builds like this that do everything my Tempest could do but better. This is really impressive.

So the filigree set gives 1000 temp hp per barbarian rage, but what about LGS 1000 temp hp? Do those two stack?

[Gilga1]

I used to play a Ranger Tempest because it could hit 4 targets at once with Dance of Death. Then they nerfed it when they came out with strikethrough, and it only hits 3 now. Then I see builds like this that do everything my Tempest could do but better.

I totally understand. I see no reasons to play twf or swf builds except assassins.

So the filigree set gives 1000 temp hp per barbarian rage, but what about LGS 1000 temp hp? Do those two stack?

Yup, both stack.

[mraz]

looks awesome! but this is the reason why im not interested in this game anymore cause as soon as someone post an awesome build like this devs nerf it to the ground. happened so many times before and it will happen again.

[Quikster]

Stunning Blow DC: 10 +56 Str Modifier +23 Stunning Item +4 Quality Combat Mastery +16 Divine Might +3 Fighter PL +6 Legendary Tactics +2 Tactician +2 Unusual Tactics +1 Guild Buff +4 Reaper = 127

Ancient Tactics active PL +6 = 133

Please note that you could also swap to a full CHA sentient weapon before activating Divine Might for a +2 increase.
I still have lag issues with weapon swaps so atm I'm just using Blood feast as swap. I hope U46 patch 2 will fix that.

As I wrote in another post a few weeks ago, imo melee tactics with strikethrough are overperforming. I'm playing a small bear, bigger bears have also access to Greater Maul.

Interesting that you are still having lag issues. I haven’t had problems with my 20 barb. Weapon swapping can be delayed sometimes but I’m not getting any lag any more. Horc 20 barb. Swap for the extra 2k hp mostly.

[Seljuck]

Post U45 bear became a true beast. Wolves have been hunted for extinction, and bears have taken their place at the top of the food chain.
[..]

I play with quite similar build , 9 drd, 5brb, 6clr and I have to admit, for trash and orange named opponents,where strikethrough works, bear is far more superior.

But for red named/raid bosses im not so sure. It feals like white wolf is much better on a single target that cannot be stunned. Faster animation and 20 more attack speed gives nice dmg output even considerring you don't have strenght mod x3.

I'm to lazy to do math for that but my personal testings and feelings tells me that wolf still have some potencial and is better at that task.

[Komradkillingmachine]

But for red named/raid bosses im not so sure. It feels like white wolf is much better on a single target that cannot be stunned. Faster animation and 20 more attack speed gives nice dmg output even considering you don't have strength mod x3.

I'm to lazy to do math for that but my personal testings and feelings tells me that wolf still have some potential and is better at that task.

Just ask Tronko to teach you how attack quicker.

[Seljuck]

Just ask Tronko to teach you how attack quicker.

Wolf can twitch too so nothing to learn..

My current wolf stats, self buffed. Note that I dont have all R points, im far from racial completionist and dont have so many items with mythic/reaper MP boost

[Gilga1]

Interesting that you are still having lag issues. I haven’t had problems with my 20 barb. Weapon swapping can be delayed sometimes but I’m not getting any lag any more. Horc 20 barb. Swap for the extra 2k hp mostly.

I think the issue can be related to the fact that I live in Italy and not in the USA. A lot of italian players I know have similar problems, but the american guys I play with only experience some light delay during swaps.

...my personal testings and feelings tells me that wolf still have some potencial and is better at that task.

Hey, wolf is not that bad... x1 stat to damage is terrible but you can rely on some sneak damage and good innate attacks.
Problem is, imho, that in general content not having strikethrough is a huge handicap compared to the current meta builds.
I'm sure some specialized single target dps builds can still contribute. Assassin is strong, wolf can be viable.

[Thrudh]

improved uncanny dodge + flight.

What is "flight"? Thanks

[Gilga1]

What is "flight"? Thanks

Nature's Warrior tree tier 2. Flight: Gain +20% Dodge for [10/20/30] seconds. (Activation Cost: 1 Wild Empathy. Cooldown: 90 seconds)

[Seljuck]

Twists
Using a twist for strikethrough is questionable, but I like to have 200% in quest, mainly because multi target stun and trip.
So, while a “standard bear” twist setup is hymn, symmetric, meld and dance, I had to drop symmetric for a 4-3-3-1-1 setup: hymn, meld, malicious weapons, primal scream and dance.

Isn't Sense Weakness worth taking anymore?

[Gilga1]

Isn't Sense Weakness worth taking anymore?

In my opinion, Martial hymn and Symmetric strikes are better options. Nowadays, dps is so high that helpless mobs are almost instantly killed. Hymn is +1 Strength +1 Dexterity +1 Wisdom +2 Sneak Dice +20 Hit Points +10 PRR and MRR, +5 AC and +10 Melee Power. My bear has +80% vs helpless. I prefer hymn to 30% extra damage vs helpless mobs.

[zimmer23]

Feats
This build is feat starved... you need the THF line to access Angry Arms and Mad Munitions in FB tree. I managed to keep Stunning blow and Completionist slotting melee alacrity on my gear setup.

Would you mind sharing your feat breakdown and/or class level breakdown? Returning to the game after a lengthy break so still getting back into the swing of things.

Thanks!

[Gilga1]

Would you mind sharing your feat breakdown and/or class level breakdown? Returning to the game after a lengthy break so still getting back into the swing of things.

Hey, sure. Feats are: 1) THF 3) Completionist 6) Natural Fighting 9) Natural Fighting 12) Natural Fighting 15) IC Slashing 18) Power Attack 21) Overwhelming Critical 24) Stunning Blow 26) Perfect TWF 27) Improved THF 28) Tactician 30) Greater THF L) Arborea
You will need to respec the FB tree at level 30 to grab Mad Munitions (requires GTHF).
As for levels, a +1 heart is needed to drop the ranger level. I left cleric last.
Natural Fighting requires Druid 3. I used sos/esoss as weapon until Tremor.

[zimmer23]

Hey, sure. Feats are: 1) THF 3) Completionist 6) Natural Fighting 9) Natural Fighting 12) Natural Fighting 15) IC Slashing 18) Power Attack 21) Overwhelming Critical 24) Stunning Blow 26) Perfect TWF 27) Improved THF 28) Tactician 30) Greater THF L) Arborea
You will need to respec the FB tree at level 30 to grab Mad Munitions (requires GTHF).
As for levels, a +1 heart is needed to drop the ranger level. I left cleric last.
Natural Fighting requires Druid 3. I used sos/esoss as weapon until Tremor.

Thanks for the info. I'm curious to why IC Slashing was selected? I guess if you were using sos/esos to level. Would you respec for Bludgeoning at 30?

Also, THF/TWF feats don't work on Bear correct? That's just taken for access in FB tree? This is also true for Perfect THF/TWF?

Thanks!

[Gilga1]

Thanks for the info. I'm curious to why IC Slashing was selected? I guess if you were using sos/esos to level. Would you respec for Bludgeoning at 30?

Yup, I used sos/esos to level. Tremor has impact, so respec is not needed.

Also, THF/TWF feats don't work on Bear correct? That's just taken for access in FB tree? This is also true for Perfect THF/TWF?
Thanks!

Yes. THF feats are just prerequisites. PTHF does nothing for bears. PTWF gives 5% doublestrike as usual.

[Aglabac]

Hey, sure. Feats are: 1) THF 3) Completionist 6) Natural Fighting 9) Natural Fighting 12) Natural Fighting 15) IC Slashing 18) Power Attack 21) Overwhelming Critical 24) Stunning Blow 26) Perfect TWF 27) Improved THF 28) Tactician 30) Greater THF L) Arborea
You will need to respec the FB tree at level 30 to grab Mad Munitions (requires GTHF).
As for levels, a +1 heart is needed to drop the ranger level. I left cleric last.
Natural Fighting requires Druid 3. I used sos/esoss as weapon until Tremor.

Could u detail ur build for just heroic, I would like to use ur build for grinding Racial Past Life. what class for each level? I imagine first lvl barb...If I understand previous message I wont need THF tree, right? I´m a bit lost, but I want a melee build (and ur build seems really strong)
Starting stats please