Dwarven Occult Slayer - Pure Barbarian Build

[andreascott89]

i wonder if the best occult slayer post u24 will actually be strength based? i'm planning one out with 41 points in occult slayer for capstone, tier 5 frenzied berserker goodies (since death frenzy gives no damage anymore)...the -10 to STR using a SF pot is about 5 damage, so if you are able to get your strength at least 10 over what your CON was in the dwarf build (which should be possible since there are more stacking sources of strength than constitution) i think it will have all the occult slayer bonuses but more dps. it's still percolating, we'll see what some of the real buildmasters come up with.

I was thinking along the same lines. It all depends on how much SR you need (something I am not sure of btw).

You could do:

Benchmark:
-Dwarf full CON based OS.
-max CON, level ups CON
-SR for this build is assumed to be enough
-41 pts in OS, 18 in dwarf, 21 in other trees

Option 1
-Human STR based DPS barb with OS capstone
-Max STR, Max CON, Level ups STR
-CON stat 9-11 pts lower than baseline (2 for dwarf, 7 level ups, 0-2 dwarf tree AP)
-41 pts in OS, 39 in other trees

Option 2
-Dwarf Hybrid. STR is damage stat, but max CON is objective
-Max STR, Max CON, Level ups in CON
-CON stat 0-2 pt lower than baseline (dwarf tree CON vs. CON from deeper dive in 2nd barb tree)
-41 pts in OS, 39 in other trees

Which is best combination of DPS / SR depends on what you want to do. I think option 2 might be the winner in terms of DPS compared to baseline because of the FB or ravager DPS deep dive benefits, but you do have a lower damage modifier, so I am not sure.

You could even do option 2 as a human instead of a dwarf if you could handle a couple more pts off of CON.

Speaking of CON, if you really really need the extra 4-8 points of SR, could you dust off the madstone boots for a stacking 4-8 CON? Does that still work?? (I have the upgraded boots, but never wanted to making a barb before lol)

Thanks,

J

[Eth]

I was thinking along the same lines. It all depends on how much SR you need (something I am not sure of btw).

A guildie posted a video soloing EE GoP on such a build (this was in U23, so before the new enhancements). In the end fight you can see the beholder barely landing a spell on him.
I think it's save to assume that the EE Doomsphere in GoP has some of the highest spell levels (it's CR80). This was with a 89 SR.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqCjUrktzXo

[DarthCaedus]

A guildie posted a video soloing EE GoP on such a build (this was in U23, so before the new enhancements). In the end fight you can see the beholder barely landing a spell on him.
I think it's save to assume that the EE Doomsphere in GoP has some of the highest spell levels (it's CR80). This was with a 89 SR.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqCjUrktzXo

One thing I noticed from the video is that he never took con damage. Does that mean the con damage attack is stopped by spell resistance? What exactly is that attack anyhow?

[painkiller3]

One thing I noticed from the video is that he never took con damage. Does that mean the con damage attack is stopped by spell resistance? What exactly is that attack anyhow?

all the beholder rays can be stopped by spell resistance

[barecm]

Ditch blinding speed and add epic boots of the innocent.
Add heavy armor feat, use heavy shadow plate.

[Eth]

Ditch blinding speed and add epic boots of the innocent.
Add heavy armor feat, use heavy shadow plate.

The build is more than a year old by now. After all the changes in that time it needs quite of an overhaul

[slarden]

I had a level 25 dwarf barbarian on the bench so I decided to take the plunge and model him after this build specifically to farm GOP for the Mythic Muffled Veneer.

Let me qualify my next statements with this: my main characters are casters and always have been. When playing a melee life I get through it as quick as possible.

I used a free lesser and made the toon exactly as spec'd with a slight variation in enhancements because they've changed a little. I found the dps to be underwhelming and it's quite possible I was playing it wrong or did something wrong with the build. I finally decided to use my free lesser +20 to turn him back into a two-handed weapon user and swapped out twf feats for thf feats. I made a few feat changes - Heavy armor proficiency instead of greater con so I could use the 30dr heavy armor, perfect two weapon fighting in addition to perfect two handed fighting instead of forced escape since I didn't have enough destinies for it anyhow. I also swapped out haste boost for improved critical slashing so I can switch between great axe and maul as needed. I used great axe for GOP. The 2hf dps was much better, but I did like the additional cc I got with the hammers.

Solo EH with a dual box to help kill the second brother was easy. I then attempted to solo EE and was able to up to the locks. I was able to solo up to the beholder area, but my DPS wasn't quite good enough to kill the orange name spirit before he reset to full so I ended up recalling and forming a party.

As a member of a full party the character did good, but almost died to the liches several times. When soloing I invis passed them. Against the beholder I never took con damage or negative levels at all. My spell resistance was 85 with just con + serenity + rage + primal scream and no special boosts. There is one ray that gets through but it seems harmless.

This character was lacking past lifes and good gear. He had just a tier 2 thunderforged weapon. I think if I had more experience playing melees I could have soloed GOP. Still, this character does better in GOP than my other fully geared casters that can't handle the con damage so it was a great toon to farm GOP.

One thing about heavy armor, I saw in the release notes today I gain 10 melee power by using medium armor rather than heavy armor. Not sure if it's worth the defensive trade-off, but it's something to consider.

Oh and all the work to prepare to grind was ironic. I got the mythic helm on my first EE run with a party- didn't even have to reroll. So thank you for the build idea, it was fun

[unbongwah]

One thing about heavy armor, I saw in the release notes today I gain 10 melee power by using medium armor rather than heavy armor. Not sure if it's worth the defensive trade-off, but it's something to consider.

I would say have both if you've got the ingredients to spare: i.e., Shadow Guardian (hvy) for extra survivability in EEs; flawless black dragonscale or med Shadowscale w/Shadow Striker for extra Melee Power from Gtr Rage to max your DPS when you don't need Guardian.

[Zoda]

Okay... so you get 10 prr if you have greater rage, and you wear medium armor. That's easy.

Now, you also get 10 melee power, if you have greater rage and are raged. No armor restriction there.

The only way your armor affects your dps is by its own stats (relentless fury/ds/whatevs).

[slarden]

Okay... so you get 10 prr if you have greater rage, and you wear medium armor. That's easy.

Now, you also get 10 melee power, if you have greater rage and are raged. No armor restriction there.

The only way your armor affects your dps is by its own stats (relentless fury/ds/whatevs).

You are absolutely right. I re-read and only the prr requires medium armor so heavy armor still makes sense - and the melee power isn't dependent on armor type. Thank you.