[skill]Blood of the aggressor[/skill][skill]Jaundiced Gaze[/skill][skill]Lifebane strike[/skill][skill]Ravenous gaze[/skill][skill]Mark of subversion[/skill][skill]Awaken the blood[/skill][skill]Signet of Lost Souls[/skill][Any: May include Rez for R.A.]
This build is based more on dealing damage with Lifebane, Blood of the Aggressor, and Jaundiced while either keeping your life from falling too fast from other damage until it reaches half or helping it fall below half using the life sacrifices then using Ravenous Gaze to deal a large amount of armour ignoring damage while regaining health for you.
Mark of Subversion is good for preventing life saving heals from enemy Monks and is a decent life steal and Life Siphon is good for controlling degen.
Awaken the blood increases damage output and the amount of life sac'd as well as the life stolen with Ravenous.
The empty slot can be replaced with Mantra of Concentration to keep from being interrupted or Infuse Health to help to decrease your health below half and as a decent heal.
Point distribution if you've decided to stick with purely Blood Magic:
Blood Magic- 12 + 1 + 3 = 16
Soul Reaping - 12 + 1 = 13
If you're planning to use a skill/spell from another class, points should be subtracted from Soul Reaping so as to not deter any from your Blood Magic spells. Make sure that a decent amount of points are put into Soul Reaping because energy may be a factor with longer battles.
Blood Magic build
stillborn nightengale
ZenRgy
I would run Spoil Victor over Ravenous Gaze, hell I'd run anything other than Ravenous Gaze - waste of an elite slot.
Turbobusa
spoil victor for shutting down your ennemy, OoB/reaper's mark for energy issues
unliketea
Original Comments:
I'd prolly take dark pact over blood of the aggressor ... the point of the build is to drop health fast, and hit them with the elite. (Actually the build should be about keeping your health as close to 50% as possible between pulls so you can immediately start hitting them with RG)
since the mob you are trying to kill probably has more health than you right up to the end, especially if part of a group, a skill like jaundiced gaze doesn't seem to fit with the idea of dropping your health quickly enough. (I learned it was useful however for mitigating damage when you pull aggro)
Lifebane is a 2 second cast again with dropping health quickly isn't it too slow? (Stick by his one, I'd take vampiric gaze instead)
Maybe a nice combo is signet of agony and plague sending ... another 30% health drop (assuming awaken the blood is on), with very low cost causing 25 seconds of aoe bleeding. the signet may be too slow a recharge though. (Ending up a terrible build ... 3 bips of degen was too dangerous to play with when sac-ing around 50% health)
I do like awaken the blood of course ... (oh yes ... not required, but definitely needed to get the most sac out of your dark pact, and yes ... more sac is better for this build)
And signet of lost souls is energy management that doesn't cost an elite. (I abandoned this at first but came back to it once I got the hang of the build down)
I'm not sure about Mark of Subversion, but then I'm not sure what could replace it. (Finally found the better skill to take, imo, viper's defense is excellent for saving you when you pull aggro)
Thanks for the build, Interesting. (Thanks for the build FUN!) ((Thanks for the build ... very effective damage)
As far as useless elite goes, 10 nrg for 138 dmg (18 blood) from 1 skill every 5 seconds doesn't sound useless to me. (And yes, play it right you can cast it almost every chance you get)
My 2 cents,
Unlike Tea
Side note, runes to drop health to about 200 would be nice since ravenous gaze at 18 blood returns 105 hp. (Wrong idea about the build, dont drop low then spike high, stick right around 55% health so you can Dark Pact down to 40% and RG back up to 55 (repeat)
Demonic flesh seemed interesting, but trying to maintain two enchants ended up being too inconvenient, superior vigor rune and +30hp weapon and offhand kicked you up to 525 hp. Good enough. (Higher the health the better up to 700, at which point DarkPact sac=105=life steal from RG)
work it right you can almost spam Dark Pact and RG back to back. Thats 56+138=194 armor ignoring damage every 5 seconds for 15nrg.
Added Vampiric Weapon to the build to help keep your health around 50% between pulls by cycling from vampiric weapon equipped to a second item set without the weapon equipped.
Current Build: Awaken the Blood, Viper's Defense, Skill: Dark Pact, Ravenous Gaze, Vampiric Gaze, Jaundiced Gaze, Signet of Lost Souls, Resurrection Signet
Blood: 16, SR: 12, Shadow Arts: 3
Main = Vampiric Weapon with either nrg and/or hp on it
offhand = nrg and hp
optionally HRT Blood (HCT isn't necessary since all spells are less than 1 sec)
NOTES: Conditions HURT BAD ... if you get some degen from hexes or conditions your best bet is to stop saccing for darkpact and use VG and JG till the condition or hex wears off, just a bit of advice.
I'd prolly take dark pact over blood of the aggressor ... the point of the build is to drop health fast, and hit them with the elite. (Actually the build should be about keeping your health as close to 50% as possible between pulls so you can immediately start hitting them with RG)
since the mob you are trying to kill probably has more health than you right up to the end, especially if part of a group, a skill like jaundiced gaze doesn't seem to fit with the idea of dropping your health quickly enough. (I learned it was useful however for mitigating damage when you pull aggro)
Lifebane is a 2 second cast again with dropping health quickly isn't it too slow? (Stick by his one, I'd take vampiric gaze instead)
Maybe a nice combo is signet of agony and plague sending ... another 30% health drop (assuming awaken the blood is on), with very low cost causing 25 seconds of aoe bleeding. the signet may be too slow a recharge though. (Ending up a terrible build ... 3 bips of degen was too dangerous to play with when sac-ing around 50% health)
I do like awaken the blood of course ... (oh yes ... not required, but definitely needed to get the most sac out of your dark pact, and yes ... more sac is better for this build)
And signet of lost souls is energy management that doesn't cost an elite. (I abandoned this at first but came back to it once I got the hang of the build down)
I'm not sure about Mark of Subversion, but then I'm not sure what could replace it. (Finally found the better skill to take, imo, viper's defense is excellent for saving you when you pull aggro)
Thanks for the build, Interesting. (Thanks for the build FUN!) ((Thanks for the build ... very effective damage)
As far as useless elite goes, 10 nrg for 138 dmg (18 blood) from 1 skill every 5 seconds doesn't sound useless to me. (And yes, play it right you can cast it almost every chance you get)
My 2 cents,
Unlike Tea
Side note, runes to drop health to about 200 would be nice since ravenous gaze at 18 blood returns 105 hp. (Wrong idea about the build, dont drop low then spike high, stick right around 55% health so you can Dark Pact down to 40% and RG back up to 55 (repeat)
Demonic flesh seemed interesting, but trying to maintain two enchants ended up being too inconvenient, superior vigor rune and +30hp weapon and offhand kicked you up to 525 hp. Good enough. (Higher the health the better up to 700, at which point DarkPact sac=105=life steal from RG)
work it right you can almost spam Dark Pact and RG back to back. Thats 56+138=194 armor ignoring damage every 5 seconds for 15nrg.
Added Vampiric Weapon to the build to help keep your health around 50% between pulls by cycling from vampiric weapon equipped to a second item set without the weapon equipped.
Current Build: Awaken the Blood, Viper's Defense, Skill: Dark Pact, Ravenous Gaze, Vampiric Gaze, Jaundiced Gaze, Signet of Lost Souls, Resurrection Signet
Blood: 16, SR: 12, Shadow Arts: 3
Main = Vampiric Weapon with either nrg and/or hp on it
offhand = nrg and hp
optionally HRT Blood (HCT isn't necessary since all spells are less than 1 sec)
NOTES: Conditions HURT BAD ... if you get some degen from hexes or conditions your best bet is to stop saccing for darkpact and use VG and JG till the condition or hex wears off, just a bit of advice.
stillborn nightengale
Well, I might not have explained it well enough in how to use the build, but it's mostly for PvP and a little less useful in PvE since you're not supposed to be the focus of attacks in the first place in PvE.
But yes, you should stay more above the 55% mark health-wise. Jaundiced and Blood are there for the their somewhat spammable and potentially armour-ignoring damage capabilities which, under the right conditions, can keep your health from fall fast; this seconded only by the fact that they do sac life which is potentially helpful for the ARMOUR-IGNORING damage caused by Ravenous.
Dark Pact worked well, but when it came to your life being lower, there was almost no way to finish whoever off and keep yourself alive. Lifebane Strike I put in there as a start to lower whomever you happen to be attacking. It's potential to damage the target is incredible, at around 100+, and it's got the benefit of life-steal. I know it becomes a little less useful if not completely useless after the target is below 50%, but with the combined energy gain from Signet of Lost Souls and the damage you suffer from opposing, you can keep up somewhat constant damage using Blood, Jaundiced and Ravenous.
Degen can be both helpful and hurtful, depending on which skills you use when and how much energy you have when the shit hits the fan and starts burning you. It can help you as it will almost always bring your health below 50%, and it can be hurtful as you have no real energy with which to steal life.
I choose Blood over Vampiric do to the faster recharge and the lower amount of required energy. I disagree on the idea of raising your health up too much because this is a fast build when your health is easily lowered, but as you raise your health, the potential to use RG as much lessens which lengthens the battle and leaves room for a great many things to happen like adrenaline regain, energy regen. whatever.
Mark of Subversion is there becuase of the fact that this was designed as a PvP build and in most situations, there is a Monk or some sort of healer or even someone who has a spell to heal themselves.
But yes, you should stay more above the 55% mark health-wise. Jaundiced and Blood are there for the their somewhat spammable and potentially armour-ignoring damage capabilities which, under the right conditions, can keep your health from fall fast; this seconded only by the fact that they do sac life which is potentially helpful for the ARMOUR-IGNORING damage caused by Ravenous.
Dark Pact worked well, but when it came to your life being lower, there was almost no way to finish whoever off and keep yourself alive. Lifebane Strike I put in there as a start to lower whomever you happen to be attacking. It's potential to damage the target is incredible, at around 100+, and it's got the benefit of life-steal. I know it becomes a little less useful if not completely useless after the target is below 50%, but with the combined energy gain from Signet of Lost Souls and the damage you suffer from opposing, you can keep up somewhat constant damage using Blood, Jaundiced and Ravenous.
Degen can be both helpful and hurtful, depending on which skills you use when and how much energy you have when the shit hits the fan and starts burning you. It can help you as it will almost always bring your health below 50%, and it can be hurtful as you have no real energy with which to steal life.
I choose Blood over Vampiric do to the faster recharge and the lower amount of required energy. I disagree on the idea of raising your health up too much because this is a fast build when your health is easily lowered, but as you raise your health, the potential to use RG as much lessens which lengthens the battle and leaves room for a great many things to happen like adrenaline regain, energy regen. whatever.
Mark of Subversion is there becuase of the fact that this was designed as a PvP build and in most situations, there is a Monk or some sort of healer or even someone who has a spell to heal themselves.
Terraxis09
I am terrible at this game, I have only had it for 2 or 3 weeks... BUT, here is my opinion:
Ravenous Gaze sucks. It is a terrible.... terrible terrible skill...
Try this build... it seems to be working pretty well for me:
Dark Pact
Vamp Gaze/Blood of Aggressor
Jaundiced Gaze
Reaper's Mark
Signet of Lost Souls
Parasitic Bond? / [some other random cheap+fast hex]
Life Siphon?
Demonic Flesh
But like I said, I'm terrible at this game, and I have no idea what I'm doing... but it works for me.
Ravenous Gaze sucks. It is a terrible.... terrible terrible skill...
Try this build... it seems to be working pretty well for me:
Dark Pact
Vamp Gaze/Blood of Aggressor
Jaundiced Gaze
Reaper's Mark
Signet of Lost Souls
Parasitic Bond? / [some other random cheap+fast hex]
Life Siphon?
Demonic Flesh
But like I said, I'm terrible at this game, and I have no idea what I'm doing... but it works for me.