E/Me mindshock air nuker

I've had a bit of success in Arenas with this guy (haven't had time to play tombs), and want to see what people think:

12+4 air
8+1 storage
10 inspiration

lightning strike @ 53
lightning orb @ 106
mind shock {E} @ 53+53
blinding flash @ 10 sec
spirit of failure @ 4 energy for 30 sec per miss
power drain @ 21 energy
air attunement @ 62 sec
res signet

Equipment is an air wand and air focus.


Basically, you use the inspiration skills and blinding flash to assure that you have plenty of energy to feed your lightning skills with no Elemental Attunement.

This frees up your elite slot for mind shock, which is really a great little spell. You can orb -> mind shock -> lightning strike a squishie for 350 damage, and if said squishie is a monk, chances are you'll interrupt a heal after the orb hits with mind shock. If anyone else is hitting them, they die; if not, power drain their next heal and orb them again.

Mind shock has other uses too: stopping people from kiting warriors, interrupting slow spells like backfire when power drain isn't charged, and forming an extremely nasty one-two punch with Orb.

The energy management is sort of random, relying on both 1) there being things you can power drain, and 2) people attacking to put spirit of failure on.

Some arena monks will remove your blinds, which is annoying, but 1) they only last for 10 seconds anyway, and 2) they can't do that when you're all over them, since they have to keep themselves healed, not wanting to eat orb+shock and die (which comes too fast to heal between).

Running power drain on a nuker helps out more than you might think. I've interrupted lots of migraines and backfires, for instance, and occasionally you can get an orison or kiss.

I prefer Drain Enchantment + Inspired Enchantment (two of these to overcome an enchantment buffer) over Power Drain and Spirit of Failure in 4v4 vs protection monks (Protective Spirit will ruin your day) and the occassional Illusionary Weaponrist, Dark Aura necro etc.

Good stuff though.

Not sure how you came to 350 dmg with Orb (106) Mind Shock (106) and Strike (53)... I make that 265 (is this assuming AL45 from armor penetration?).

I like to take Gale to stop those annoying runners you always get in arenas...