Voodu Warlock: A Pure Warlock Enlightened Spirit Tank Project companion thread

[GrantAnderson]

I'm enjoying something very similar to the build too - a little less tanky because I didn't go down the shield feat chain. Despite some of my gear being embarrassingly weak at L20 (still some ML9 and ML10 stuff I crafted), I have just soloed Spies on the House on Epic Hard. I look forward to seeing what I can do with the right gear - I'm planning on this character doing 20-30 a few times now to clock up some Epic lives before going back to Heroic, so I can try the full tank version next round.

With that in mind, does a solo Warlock need anything in particular to take down the portals in Heroic Shroud, or does blast/aura suffice? From reading up on it they're DR 10/- and immune to elemental damage, so the Evil component of blast from Utterdark should get a bit of damage in, but will it be enough? Edit: on checking, you have a video for that, I'm watching it now!

Further edit: while I'm editing, I'd just like to add a thank you for writing such a meticulous guide, and even taking soloers/non-raiders into account with a separate set of gear recommendations. It's much appreciated!

[Vooduspyce]

I'm enjoying something very similar to the build too - a little less tanky because I didn't go down the shield feat chain. Despite some of my gear being embarrassingly weak at L20 (still some ML9 and ML10 stuff I crafted), I have just soloed Spies on the House on Epic Hard. I look forward to seeing what I can do with the right gear - I'm planning on this character doing 20-30 a few times now to clock up some Epic lives before going back to Heroic, so I can try the full tank version next round.

With that in mind, does a solo Warlock need anything in particular to take down the portals in Heroic Shroud, or does blast/aura suffice? From reading up on it they're DR 10/- and immune to elemental damage, so the Evil component of blast from Utterdark should get a bit of damage in, but will it be enough? Edit: on checking, you have a video for that, I'm watching it now!

Further edit: while I'm editing, I'd just like to add a thank you for writing such a meticulous guide, and even taking soloers/non-raiders into account with a separate set of gear recommendations. It's much appreciated!

yvw, glad you're enjoying your own version of the build! Utterdark Blast should be toggled off for shroud portals. Portals are immune to evil damage but will take the force damage you're doing when Utterdark is off.

When I did the first life of the video series, I think I only had 2 epic past lives and just 3 sorc, 3 wiz and 3 fvs heroic lives. Episodes 17-31 follow my path and evolution to epic completionist. I have worked on this toon quite a bit since then. All my past lives are listed in the op. But I am done working on her for now. Voodu is staying at cap and is my primary raiding toon while I'm working on Gingerspyce's racial lives.

I hope you will continue to enjoy it as you progress through your lives and lmk if you have any questions

[Mantis187]

Vu got something to ask ya, being new to the game using this build, what would u recommend i do for end game. Like pastlife or whatever it is? Take it to 30? reincarn at 20? im still confused on how things work at the end...

[Vooduspyce]

Vu got something to ask ya, being new to the game using this build, what would u recommend i do for end game. Like pastlife or whatever it is? Take it to 30? reincarn at 20? im still confused on how things work at the end...

Sent you a private message.

[GrantAnderson]

yvw, glad you're enjoying your own version of the build! Utterdark Blast should be toggled off for shroud portals. Portals are immune to evil damage but will take the force damage you're doing when Utterdark is off.

When I did the first life of the video series, I think I only had 2 epic past lives and just 3 sorc, 3 wiz and 3 fvs heroic lives. Episodes 17-31 follow my path and evolution to epic completionist. I have worked on this toon quite a bit since then. All my past lives are listed in the op. But I am done working on her for now. Voodu is staying at cap and is my primary raiding toon while I'm working on Gingerspyce's racial lives.

I hope you will continue to enjoy it as you progress through your lives and lmk if you have any questions

I'm working on upgrading my gear at the moment. Not much of a shot at soloing VoN for the Kundarak Boots, but Orcish Privateer Boots dropped from the first rare I bumped into in Epic Three-Barrel, so I'll pop those on as soon as I hit 24.

Well, since you ask for questions... At 20, you're wearing the Cleric Breastplate from Eveningstar - as I'm going to come back to 20 a few times (currently I have one Wizard and one Primal past life), I wonder if getting the Epic Mournlode Breastplate from Cannith Challenges would be worth it? It's the same armour bonus, with a few extra perks once it's upgraded - Protection and Resistance 8, built-in Protection from Evil, and augment slots.

Also, do you have any thoughts on Cannith Crafting to fill some slots? I've just made a necklace of +10 Con and +10 Cha, which seem like decent numbers for a ML21 piece.

[Vooduspyce]

I'm working on upgrading my gear at the moment. Not much of a shot at soloing VoN for the Kundarak Boots, but Orcish Privateer Boots dropped from the first rare I bumped into in Epic Three-Barrel, so I'll pop those on as soon as I hit 24.

Well, since you ask for questions... At 20, you're wearing the Cleric Breastplate from Eveningstar - as I'm going to come back to 20 a few times (currently I have one Wizard and one Primal past life), I wonder if getting the Epic Mournlode Breastplate from Cannith Challenges would be worth it? It's the same armour bonus, with a few extra perks once it's upgraded - Protection and Resistance 8, built-in Protection from Evil, and augment slots.

Also, do you have any thoughts on Cannith Crafting to fill some slots? I've just made a necklace of +10 Con and +10 Cha, which seem like decent numbers for a ML21 piece.

I now wear the Hardened Hide Armor at 17 right through to 27 when I get Scales of Surety. Epic Mournlode Breastplate is a really nice option. I didn't realize they improved the stats on it, so definitely a solid choice and probably better than the hide! If I wasn't going to keep Voodu at cap while working on Gingerspyce's racial lives then I might go for that

[GrantAnderson]

Some Cannith challenges later (mainly torch line argh) I have the tier 2 Breastplate - I might hold off on tier 3 for a while and go do some questing instead, as two of the three challenges for tier 3 are also torch line!

I have been (pre-emptively as I'm still only 21) thinking about the Lesser Reincarnation that comes with Epic Reincarnation, and whether I might want to switch from Fiend pact. The main advantages of Fiend thus far have been Hurl and bonus damage against fire-vulnerable things (with the flip side of that being fire-immune things). I don't use my Fiend Pact spells much.

Old One has a slightly tankier level 6 passive, and some insta-death spells of its own, but at level 15 a Charm instead of an instakill effect. They also get Knock, which I'm not sure of the usefulness of. I can get a Rogue hireling (up to level 24) in Epic levels for locks and traps, but I'm not sure what happens past there. I generally seem to have self-healing (self-Shining) covered so don't need the Cleric. From a solo viewpoint, the ability to open optional chests and doors would be handy.

Fey, like Old One, gives more control spells - but also the Misty Escape; would that help with the current problem I have with higher-difficulty traps (the problem being I get hammered by hundreds of points of damage very quickly) by zipping me past them quickly?

[xixo]

First of all, hats off to you for the wealth of excellent information. After taking a hiatus from the game for a year or so, your videos and forum posts have really made getting back up to speed on recent changes a quick and enjoyable process. Good on you for taking the time to add positivity to the community. I really like playing this game and people like you keep it going strong. Thank you very much for your amazing contribution.

While I've taken a slightly different approach to my warlock, (still very tanky at 1500hp/200PRR, but all in cha, a slave lords 5-set, and running angel for a DC and damage output primary focus, rather than your all in con and opposition set pally-tree beefcake build,) I see here that we have a common change planned on the horizon. The Scales of Malice is a really pretty piece of armour and I'm trying to fit it in too. The only trouble I'm having is finding a home for fortification, since that amor sadly lacks it.

Where are you planning to to get your future fortification? I've run out of useful things to put on Slave Lords gear, (I didn't think that was possible until I neared the end of my set,) and crafting a +fort/+rubbish piece just to fit that armour is grating on me. Hoping maybe you've found a spot I missed.

I believe in you Voodu guy; your planning is solid and you know about everything in game that I missed out on for the last year and a bit. How can we have our shirt and fort it too?

[Vooduspyce]

Fey, like Old One, gives more control spells - but also the Misty Escape; would that help with the current problem I have with higher-difficulty traps (the problem being I get hammered by hundreds of points of damage very quickly) by zipping me past them quickly?

It sounds like you're talking about slave lords traps in part 1. Zipping through them and triggering a bunch is going to be a problem for just about anyone, especially the poison traps, unless you're immune

[Vooduspyce]

First of all, hats off to you for the wealth of excellent information. After taking a hiatus from the game for a year or so, your videos and forum posts have really made getting back up to speed on recent changes a quick and enjoyable process. Good on you for taking the time to add positivity to the community. I really like playing this game and people like you keep it going strong. Thank you very much for your amazing contribution.

While I've taken a slightly different approach to my warlock, (still very tanky at 1500hp/200PRR, but all in cha, a slave lords 5-set, and running angel for a DC and damage output primary focus, rather than your all in con and opposition set pally-tree beefcake build,) I see here that we have a common change planned on the horizon. The Scales of Malice is a really pretty piece of armour and I'm trying to fit it in too. The only trouble I'm having is finding a home for fortification, since that amor sadly lacks it.

Where are you planning to to get your future fortification? I've run out of useful things to put on Slave Lords gear, (I didn't think that was possible until I neared the end of my set,) and crafting a +fort/+rubbish piece just to fit that armour is grating on me. Hoping maybe you've found a spot I missed.

I believe in you Voodu guy; your planning is solid and you know about everything in game that I missed out on for the last year and a bit. How can we have our shirt and fort it too?

Hey Xixo, I'm glad you like the vids and post, I appreciate hearing it.

But I never had a plan.

Regarding fortification, you are bringing this to my attention for the first time. I suppose I would've noticed sooner, but after running Black and Blue at least a dozen times and re-rolling the chest 3 times every time, I still haven't pulled Scales of Malice. Using an augment would only put me at 115% fort, which is not enough for endgame. With a quick look at things, I may ditch Resonation, which is heresy for many, but I'm not married to it. In its place I could use a slavers craftable to get fort. Not sure if this is what I'll do but it's an option.

[GrantAnderson]

Level 27 now, and I find myself tacking further towards the Voodu build. (More so if I had the Shield Mastery feats - I'd have feat swapped into them by now, except I find myself temporarily embarrassed in the matter of platinum.) My shield is only a Kobold Admiral Tiller, sadly. I imagine the dragons of Gianthold Tor are setting their watches by my daring murderous raids, but Skyvault has yet to show up.

That non-raid endgame equipment list is fantastic, by the way - I'm getting a lot of use out of that.

[Vooduspyce]

Level 27 now, and I find myself tacking further towards the Voodu build. (More so if I had the Shield Mastery feats - I'd have feat swapped into them by now, except I find myself temporarily embarrassed in the matter of platinum.) My shield is only a Kobold Admiral Tiller, sadly. I imagine the dragons of Gianthold Tor are setting their watches by my daring murderous raids, but Skyvault has yet to show up.

That non-raid endgame equipment list is fantastic, by the way - I'm getting a lot of use out of that.

Glad to hear that the non-raid loot list is helpful, ty for saying

[GrantAnderson]

I haven't made it very far through the gear list, but that's due to drop rates rather than a failure of the build, and I'm having fun in the process. Extended Haunted Halls, Black and Blue, and the rest must be getting sick of the sight of me - I'm having the same luck as you vis-a-vis Scales of Malice - but I'm racking up the karma in off-destinies as I go. (Unyielding Sentinel is definitely my best for surviving, but - on Normal and Hard at least - I don't seem to need it.) Things are fine solo - I use the Rogue hireling in Haunted Halls to make life easier by picking locks, and a Cleric out of habit elsewhere for healing that I don't need!

[Vooduspyce]

I haven't made it very far through the gear list, but that's due to drop rates rather than a failure of the build, and I'm having fun in the process. Extended Haunted Halls, Black and Blue, and the rest must be getting sick of the sight of me - I'm having the same luck as you vis-a-vis Scales of Malice - but I'm racking up the karma in off-destinies as I go. (Unyielding Sentinel is definitely my best for surviving, but - on Normal and Hard at least - I don't seem to need it.) Things are fine solo - I use the Rogue hireling in Haunted Halls to make life easier by picking locks, and a Cleric out of habit elsewhere for healing that I don't need!

Glad to hear you're coming along. I've been out of town for a week so I gotta get back to Scales of Malice farming. I still don't have it.

I was using Divine Crusader destiny a lot and still do for non-reapers. I just run Sentinel for reaper questing any more. I think a newer toon would enjoy Sentinel in EE questing, but you're right that it's not needed for normal and hard questing.

[Igrovin]

After reading this thread I made my own warlock.

I chose Dragonborn, with Old Ones pact. So far I'm liking the build, and use the aura damage with the Aoe Blast. If I get into danger early on here, I pop dark discordant and become bats for improved tanking.


I'm trying to figure out what the Maxmize/Empower are for early on there.

[Phoenicis]

I'm trying to figure out what the Maxmize/Empower are for early on there.

Stricken/Consume would be my guess.

[Vooduspyce]

After reading this thread I made my own warlock.

I chose Dragonborn, with Old Ones pact. So far I'm liking the build, and use the aura damage with the Aoe Blast. If I get into danger early on here, I pop dark discordant and become bats for improved tanking.


I'm trying to figure out what the Maxmize/Empower are for early on there.

Hi Igrovin, I'm glad you're enjoying your new warlock. Maximize and Empower (and Intensify) affect warlock bursts, which is the primary dps from this and most Enlightened Spirit warlocks. Max/emp/intensify do not affect blasts, however. Kinda weird but that's how warlocks were designed. This build does not use Consume and Stricken. I don't invest in the Soul Eater tree, so Consume and Stricken aren't as valuable compared to a more Soul Eater focused build.

[Igrovin]

Ah, Didn't know the bursts were affected. I kinda assumed they were, but the other thing kind of put some doubt on that.

What do you think of Dark Discordant for a warlock? It has a long cool down but a few seconds for 50% damage reduction could be very helpful.

[Vooduspyce]

Ah, Didn't know the bursts were affected. I kinda assumed they were, but the other thing kind of put some doubt on that.

What do you think of Dark Discordant for a warlock? It has a long cool down but a few seconds for 50% damage reduction could be very helpful.

It's pretty cool. I prob should just pick up the SLA of displacement and take Dark Discorporation as my other level 3 spell.

[GrantAnderson]

One thing I'm finding as I go to solo raids is that the bosses are bigger sacks of hit points than quest bosses. I took Ruin and Greater Ruin, and they're nifty for clobbering (say) the white dragon in Haunted Halls, but Arratreikos in the Shroud and H in Tower of Despair are sporting hundreds of thousands of hp, and I'd burn through my spell point pool long before they died if I tried Ruining them.

It reminds me of playing a Regeneration Scrapper in City of Heroes long ago, and the 'immortality line' concept - if you are healing/mitigating damage faster than it's being dealt to you, you can keep it up forever and the mobs will die eventually. If they're hitting you for a little bit more than you can mitigate, then you need to be able to finish them before they finish you. I suspect if I want to solo some of those raids on Elite, I will need to move my build towards the defensive end of the spectrum, and rather than get greedy with Ruin, I'll need to let my bursts and aura wear the bosses down.

I did manage Shroud on hard - I tried on Elite, but had not thought ahead as Voodu did with Heal scrolls, so I got slapped with -1000 Con, and that was pretty much the end!