66 replies to this topic

[-PenguinFetish-]

Abilities:

 

- Chain Lightning (250% weapon damage, 8s shock, up to 4 hits, 5m arc range, 8s cooldown, 50 mana cost. Upgrade gives +4m arc range and 2 additional hits)

 

- Fade Cloak (2s invulnerability, 12s cooldown, 20 mana cost. Upgrade grants 1000% weapon damage when decloaking inside an enemy)

 

- Pull of the Abyss (Pulls enemies in a 6m radius to the centre, 12s duration, 32s cooldown, 65 mana cost. Upgrade reduces cooldown by 8s and weakens all enemies for 10s)

 

- Spirit Blade (Melee ability. 400% weapon damage, 200% bonus vs barrier/400% vs guard, 10 mana per attack cost. Detonates incapacitated enemies. Upgrade reflects projectiles. 

 

 

Mandatory Passives:

 

- Combat Clarity

 

- Fade Shield

 

- Rejuvenating Barrier

 

- Twisting Veil

 

- Encircling Veil 

 

- Restorative Veil 

 

- Spell Sword

 

 

Unlock order: 

 

Unlock Fade shield first (level 2) then to upgraded fade cloak (level 5). Beeline to Pull of the Abyss (level 9). Upgrade POTA and Chain Lightning (level 11). Get remaining passives (No order necessary). All other points can go into anything you want. 

 

Strategy:

 

Cast Pull of the Abyss to draw enemies into the centre. Use chain lightning to get a filled barrier, then fade cloak and walk into the centre (inside all the enemies there). Use spirit blade and Chain lightning until everything is dead. Use Fade Cloak to do spike damage vs single targets and to avoid projectiles (full draw in particular, when the archers kneel and fire purple arrows).

 

Video link here. (All clips on Perilous difficulty except the Pride Demon clip which is on threatening)

 

 

Arcane Warrior Skill Tree

[_Senbonzakura_]

Any reason you choose chain lightning over stonefist? I feel like stonefist does full damage in it's area of effect, but I can't remember 100%.

[-PenguinFetish-]

Any reason you choose chain lightning over stonefist? I feel like stonefist does full damage in it's area of effect, but I can't remember 100%.

 

Fast cooldown and is basically a barrier per cast. 

[golyoscsapagy]

Cast Pull of the Abyss to draw enemies into the centre. Use chain lightning to get a full barrier, then fade cloak and walk into the centre (inside all the enemies there). Use spirit blade and Chain lightning until everything is dead. Use Fade Cloak to do spike damage vs single targets and to avoid projectiles (full draw in particular, when the archers kneel and fire purple arrows).

 

Just a few corrections:

 

- chain lightning will give you about 30-40% barrier - just as in your video.

- PotA 65 mana, CL 50 mana, FC 20 mana, SB 10 mana = 145 mana. You won't cast this in one go - just as in your video.

 

Picking stonefist can be a valid tactic, as it can blow up combos and way more mana efficient. It costs a skill point more though.

 

As far as I know Spell Sword is totally worthless as barriers - unlike guard - don't get armor bonus.

You skipped Smothering Veil - which unlike Spell Sword will actually work with your barriers. Everything should be pretty much weakened anyway due to PotA. It's also much more party friendly.

 

 

You should make a tutorial video about positioning though. I wish everyone would break LoS like you.

[-PenguinFetish-]

Just a few corrections:

 

- chain lightning will give you about 30-40% barrier - just as in your video.

- PotA 65 mana, CL 50 mana, FC 20 mana, SB 10 mana = 145 mana. You won't cast this in one go - just as in your video.

 

Picking stonefist can be a valid tactic, as it can blow up combos and way more mana efficient. It costs a skill point more though.

 

As far as I know Spell Sword is totally worthless as barriers - unlike guard - don't get armor bonus.

You skipped Smothering Veil - which unlike Spell Sword will actually work with your barriers. Everything should be pretty much weakened anyway due to PotA. It's also much more party friendly.

 

 

You should make a tutorial video about positioning though. I wish everyone would break LoS like you.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback. Not sure why I wrote full barriers. I meant filled, as in, partially filled as to absorb some of the ranged attacks.

 

Your mana calculation is right, but the time it takes to move from your position to the centre of the PotA, you usually have at least 20 for fade cloak. 

 

Didn't know that about spell sword. Do you have a source? It would be a pretty big oversight if a skill was included that was completely worthless, though I wouldn't be surprised. 

 

Yeah, ill put it on the list of videos I have planned, if nobody else does it. Positioning is pretty important, especially on ranged characters. 

[Robbiesan]

wow... nice work.  can't wait to unlock AW!!  thanks for sharing the info and vid.

[golyoscsapagy]

Thanks for the feedback. Not sure why I wrote full barriers. I meant filled, as in, partially filled as to absorb some of the ranged attacks.

 

Your mana calculation is right, but the time it takes to move from your position to the centre of the PotA, you usually have at least 20 for fade cloak. 

 

Didn't know that about spell sword. Do you have a source? It would be a pretty big oversight if a skill was included that was completely worthless, though I wouldn't be surprised. 

 

Yeah, ill put it on the list of videos I have planned, if nobody else does it. Positioning is pretty important, especially on ranged characters. 

Yeah, well, Stonefist fills your barriers as well. Chain lightning is more reliable - it will deal 1500% weapon damage as long as 2 enemies are present. Stonefist needs 3 in range to do that. But you - as an AW with PotA - are able to get a huge blob of enemies just where you want them and when they are nice and grouped you can dump Stonefist on them. Also if one enemy is present, SF deals more damage again. So @1-SF, @2-CL, @3-even, @4+ - SF. I'll probably take it when I promote my toon, it's rare that I have to fight 2 enemies.

 

No source. It's just that I get hit for 350 by an archer on my AW regularly while I hardly get 100-130 damage on my Lego. It was pretty evident for me that this is due to one being shield - the other some armory stuff. It should be pretty easy to test though. Still, I would stay with Smothering Veil anyhow - you shouldn't get hit that much, and it cuts back incoming damage for the tank which is a good thing.

[Tang McGame]

Nice vid and guide. I agree with the feedback on Stonefist being a hell of a good choice, especially with the cc and combo aspects, as well as the favorable damage type.

I love my AW but right now I feel very held back by having a good-but-not-great staff. This class really comes into it's own once you hit a DPS threshold that I'm approaching but have not reached.

[Naitaka]

No source. It's just that I get hit for 350 by an archer on my AW regularly while I hardly get 100-130 damage on my Lego. It was pretty evident for me that this is due to one being shield - the other some armory stuff. It should be pretty easy to test though. Still, I would stay with Smothering Veil anyhow - you shouldn't get hit that much, and it cuts back incoming damage for the tank which is a good thing.

 

Are you using the passive that reduce projectile damage by 50% from the front on your Lego? That might be the reason why you're seeing bigger number on the AW. I'm pretty certain that +armor works while you have a barrier because my character felt significantly more sturdy when I put point into Force of Will.

 

I'd also like to point out that with Chain Lightning you can trigger sleep on the enemy by putting Shocked and Weakened on them in that order so that's another reason to pick CL over Stonefist.

[-PenguinFetish-]

Are you using the passive that reduce projectile damage by 50% from the front on your Lego? That might be the reason why you're seeing bigger number on the AW. I'm pretty certain that +armor works while you have a barrier because my character felt significantly more sturdy when I put point into Force of Will.

 

Yeah my thoughts were that it applied to your armor rating (as in, to your crafted armor)

[golyoscsapagy]

Are you using the passive that reduce projectile damage by 50% from the front on your Lego? That might be the reason why you're seeing bigger number on the AW. I'm pretty certain that +armor works while you have a barrier because my character felt significantly more sturdy when I put point into Force of Will.

 

I'd also like to point out that with Chain Lightning you can trigger sleep on the enemy by putting Shocked and Weakened on them in that order so that's another reason to pick CL over Stonefist.

I'm not that stupid.

 

I just made a quick test, pretty easy to do it yourself as well. Made a private multiplayer game with a toon that has barrier on demand. Singled out some archers - on Routine they were hitting my barriers for 82-86. When my barrier ran out they were hitting me for 42-44. It's safe to assume that barrier doesn't work with armor, and every skill point spent in armor for an AW is basically wasted.

 

I personally find it illogical anyway (why would a great and big armor help with a magical shield thingie). Gameplay wise also (you are throwing around 3k barriers - no way that would benefit from armor, tanks would be invincible).

[Naitaka]

*snip

 

Just went and tested it and you're correct, armor doesn't apply to shield. Well it's still good if you take a huge amount of damage (Demon Commander ambush for example) but it's definitely less useful now.

[Hiero_Glyph]

Regarding the Chain Lightning versus Stonefist debate there are several other factors that need to be considered.  Chain Lightning is auto-hit and will not miss a target while Stonefist can.  This makes Chain Lightning have 100% effective damage while Stonefist can miss a moving target and suffer a DPS loss.  If we are talking about targets in PotA however, Stonefist has a significant advantage since it will AoE the entire group with no damage cap.  As noted previously, Chain Lightning can cause sleep which will combo with Eldritch or Impact detonators while Stonefist will cause Weaken and synergize with AW's passives.  Stonefist is also an Impact detonator so it can combo with Sleep, Freeze and Paralyze.  Certainly Chain Lightning is the easier of the two abilities to use but Stonefist has the potential to provide much higher DPS while also synergizing with the AW's passives when PotA is on cooldown.

 

Which is better?  Well Chain Lightning is far more versatile and can cover a larger area.  It is also easier to use and available from the start making it instantly effective.  Stonefist provides decent CC and can weaken enemies providing additional protection but cannot hit enemies that are spread out beyond 4m.  It also costs 1 additional skill point to upgrade so there's that.  This means that for newer players or unorganized groups Chain Lightning is definitely better.  For experienced players/groups, Stonefist can provide a higher potential damage through Impact detonations and weaken passives; it definitely takes more effort to maximize though.  Overall I'd give the advantage to Chain Lightning.

[Naitaka]

Regarding the Chain Lightning versus Stonefist debate there are several other factors that need to be considered.  Chain Lightning is auto-hit and will not miss a target while Stonefist can.  This makes Chain Lightning have 100% effective damage while Stonefist can miss a moving target and suffer a DPS loss.  If we are talking about targets in PotA however, Stonefist has a significant advantage since it will AoE the entire group with no damage cap.  As noted previously, Chain Lightning can cause sleep which will combo with Eldritch or Impact detonators while Stonefist will cause Weaken and synergize with AW's passives.  Stonefist is also an Impact detonator so it can combo with Sleep, Freeze and Paralyze.  Certainly Chain Lightning is the easier of the two abilities to use but Stonefist has the potential to provide much higher DPS while also synergizing with the AW's passives when PotA is on cooldown.

 

Which is better?  Well Chain Lightning is far more versatile and can cover a larger area.  It is also easier to use and available from the start making it instantly effective.  Stonefist provides decent CC and can weaken enemies providing additional protection but cannot hit enemies that are spread out beyond 4m.  It also costs 1 additional skill point to upgrade so there's that.  This means that for newer players or unorganized groups Chain Lightning is definitely better.  For experienced players/groups, Stonefist can provide a higher potential damage through Impact detonations and weaken passives; it definitely takes more effort to maximize though.  Overall I'd give the advantage to Chain Lightning.

 

Something interesting about Stonefist Impact Detonator effect, it scale with weapon damage and Impact Detonator number seems to be scaled with Warrior/Rogue weapon in mind so it is preferable to let Warrior or Rogue do the shatter if give the chance. Also, it is better to detonate sleep with Eldrich than with Impact due to higher damage/utility from Nightmare. I'd pick Stonefist over Chain Lightning if there's already a Keeper in your party to apply Shocked effect, otherwise I agree that CL is generally more versatile.

[-PenguinFetish-]

Regarding the Chain Lightning versus Stonefist debate there are several other factors that need to be considered. Chain Lightning is auto-hit and will not miss a target while Stonefist can. This makes Chain Lightning have 100% effective damage while Stonefist can miss a moving target and suffer a DPS loss. If we are talking about targets in PotA however, Stonefist has a significant advantage since it will AoE the entire group with no damage cap. As noted previously, Chain Lightning can cause sleep which will combo with Eldritch or Impact detonators while Stonefist will cause Weaken and synergize with AW's passives. Stonefist is also an Impact detonator so it can combo with Sleep, Freeze and Paralyze. Certainly Chain Lightning is the easier of the two abilities to use but Stonefist has the potential to provide much higher DPS while also synergizing with the AW's passives when PotA is on cooldown.

Which is better? Well Chain Lightning is far more versatile and can cover a larger area. It is also easier to use and available from the start making it instantly effective. Stonefist provides decent CC and can weaken enemies providing additional protection but cannot hit enemies that are spread out beyond 4m. It also costs 1 additional skill point to upgrade so there's that. This means that for newer players or unorganized groups Chain Lightning is definitely better. For experienced players/groups, Stonefist can provide a higher potential damage through Impact detonations and weaken passives; it definitely takes more effort to maximize though. Overall I'd give the advantage to Chain Lightning.

This is a great comparison. Thanks for writing this up, ill have to give stonefist another try on my next promotion.

[Tang McGame]

I would just add that missing with Stonefist costs no mana and doesn't expend the cooldown, so it's not a huge loss. Also, don't overlook how much better the spirit damage type is than lightning. It deals bonus damage to quite a few powerful enemies whereas lightning is a more neutral type with no bonuses I know of and it's actually resisted by pride demons and maybe a few more. Between PotA setting up aoe, cc inherent to it, and the detonator aspect, Stonefist is just all upside.

[-PenguinFetish-]

I would just add that missing with Stonefist costs no mana and doesn't expend the cooldown, so it's not a huge loss. Also, don't overlook how much better the spirit damage type is than lightning. It deals bonus damage to quite a few powerful enemies whereas lightning is a more neutral type with no bonuses I know of and it's actually resisted by pride demons and maybe a few more. Between PotA setting up aoe, cc inherent to it, and the detonator aspect, Stonefist is just all upside.

I prefer chain lightning for when there is sprawled out enemies and pota is on cooldown. Stuns multiple archers.

[MaxCrushmore]

Nice guide Penguin ...

 

I'll have to try some of the recommendations in this thread. Currently I'm playing an almost pure caster build, using PotA, C Lightning and Stonefist

 

I admit, after casting PotA, i have to do 2 base attacks to have the mana to cast C Lightning and Stonefist btb. It's quite effective vs trash mobs, although a good staff is critical for any of the builds mentioned here anyways (mines a crappy 112 white)

[Hiero_Glyph]

@Tang McGame

 

It's actually not all upside.  As noted both have advantages and disadvantages.  Stonefist can achieve a much higher DPS but it also requires having PotA active to maximize.  If another room aggros, the enemies are spread out, or have a line of archers in the back Stonefist is the worse option.  I am currently using Stonefist on my Elementalist and enjoy it but use Chain Lightning on my Keeper and she plays much faster.  I haven't timed it but Stonefist also feels like it has a slower casting animation, leaving you vulnerable for longer (again, not an upside).  The point is that both are certainly viable despite their differences.

[Cirvante]

@Tang McGame

 

It's actually not all upside.  As noted both have advantages and disadvantages.  Stonefist can achieve a much higher DPS but it also requires having PotA active to maximize.  If another room aggros, the enemies are spread out, or have a line of archers in the back Stonefist is the worse option.  I am currently using Stonefist on my Elementalist and enjoy it but use Chain Lightning on my Keeper and she plays much faster.  I haven't timed it but Stonefist also feels like it has a slower casting animation, leaving you vulnerable for longer (again, not an upside).  The point is that both are certainly viable despite their differences.

 

Ideally you would get barrier from a Keeper/Elementalist and blow the enemies up with Fade Cloak immediately after PotA.

[golyoscsapagy]

Ideally you would get barrier from a Keeper/Elementalist and blow the enemies up with Fade Cloak immediately after PotA.

The point is flexibility. With PotA and CL/SF you can fall back playing a quite good AoE mage. Depending on the enemies and party composition you can clear much faster that way. It's also a good bit safer.

[Geth Supremacy]

its a nice build I'll give you that..and you're not just wall camping either...you are out there in it.....but i thought you were talking solo.

 

how many times have you completed perilous?

[-PenguinFetish-]

its a nice build I'll give you that..and you're not just wall camping either...you are out there in it.....but i thought you were talking solo.

 

how many times have you completed perilous?

 

29 according to my challenges

[Naitaka]

The point is flexibility. With PotA and CL/SF you can fall back playing a quite good AoE mage. Depending on the enemies and party composition you can clear much faster that way. It's also a good bit safer.

 

Oh the other hand the Fade Cloak and Spirit Blade build gives you the ability to tank a lot of hits allowing you to be arguably one of the best choke point holder. IMO, they different play styles and I personally feel that there're better classes to use as AOE mages and that AW's strength shines when it comes to stalling huge waves at choke point on wave 5. I think it's more a matter of preference than anything else. Speaking of AOE mage, has anyone tried using PotA, CL, SF and Dispell? This let you trigger Nightmare combo from range and is apparently quite powerful in the right situation.

[-PenguinFetish-]

Oh the other hand the Fade Cloak and Spirit Blade build gives you the ability to tank a lot of hits allowing you to be arguably one of the best choke point holder. IMO, they different play styles and I personally feel that there're better classes to use as AOE mages and that AW's strength shines when it comes to stalling huge waves at choke point on wave 5. I think it's more a matter of preference than anything else. Speaking of AOE mage, has anyone tried using PotA, CL, SF and Dispell? This let you trigger Nightmare combo from range and is apparently quite powerful in the right situation.

No dodge ability though so that is an instant no. Arcane warrior really needs a dodge for when he is getting overwhelmed.