Kali's Blighted Wolf HYBRID Melee/De-buff+ Insta-kill Caster build

[Fisto Mk I]

I'd be keen to hear feedback from anyone who frequently visits my threads: do you prefer this layout?

It's good. Additional work for you, but look much solid and compact now. Nice job! 8)

 

[Kalibano]

Doublestrike breakdown added.

 

[amberlinlk]

For a char without the tome of fate and historic tome, is there anything I could live without?
Very tempted to try this, as I think I have, or can get everything else..I even have that specific gem of many facets
Also how is your melee power?

 

[Kalibano]

For a char without the tome of fate and historic tome, is there anything I could live without?
Very tempted to try this, as I think I have, or can get everything else..I even have that specific gem of many facets
Also how is your melee power?

Hey there, happy to share some suggestions:

Tome of fate +3 = 1 destiny point, and then 1 extra destiny point from the historic tome = loss of 2 destiny points
I would probably drop the 'Pull from the Wellspring [T4]' from Draconic Incarnation, and have it as something to aim for when you are able to get these extra points. An alternative to this could be dropping 2 ranks from FoTw's 'Savage Take Down [T1]', but I would personally be far less keen to sacrifice tactical DCs because of their 'all-or-nothing' nature.

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Melee power is currently at 130+ (buffable by up to +30 with 'Go for the Kill' attack). Some things to bear in mind:
> This is not a pure melee character, it's a hybrid melee/caster

> the 2 main Epic Destinies are not melee focused, and therefore, do not grant any melee power in their cores​

> filigrees (which are a source of a large amount of melee power) need to focus on spell DCs because of their 'all-or-nothing' nature​

> Investment in the majority of the key melee power bonuses from gear has been made (2 out of 3):

1. enhancement bonus via an augment​

2. artifact bonus (Leg Windlasher)​

3. I am currently working on a possible new gear set up to try and include profane bonus. This will take a while, but as soon as I have something ready I'll be posting it in the forums.​

> What is lacking in melee power is compensated via:

A. spell power:​

> imbue damage on each attack​

> Primal Avatar mantle damage on melee attacks and spellcasting​

> energy vortex passively doing damage while you attack​

> several acid DoTs doing damage while you do melee damage​

B. CC + insta-kills​

> insta-kills are the best form of DPS​

> while these are on cooldown, CC often ensures mobs are helpless, and therefore, they take extra dmg​

> though CC itself is not a form of DPS, making it work requires very heavy investment, at the detriment of things like melee power. It's a conscious choice of mine, as CC is highly valuable in my opinion​

​

> A + B above constitute the bulk of the 'caster-hybrid' aspect of this build

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There will be plenty of options of attacks/spells to choose from in combat, and this will possibly feel a bit overwhelming at a first glance here. As you level up and get a feel for these abilities, you'll hopefully develop a sense for which to try and always use, and which to resort to in longer fights. Hopefully these notes about how I like to play will be helpful:

> I always use insta-kills in between doing melee attacks. Even if Wail of Banshee fails, it de-buffs enemies via neg levelling​

​

> I personally try to use the following in my rotations as much as possible:​

> Dragon breath: energy vortex​

> Shard storm​

> Storm of Vengeance​

> Go for the Kill: melee power boost + extra dmg vs helpless targets + knockdown​

> 'Jaws of Doom': melee attack that insta-kills + grants 10x char level in temp hit points (Nature's warrior 'Jaws of the Wolf [T5]')​

> 'Blighted charge': blinds + causes helplessness + boosts imbue die by +3 for 10s​

> 'Howl of Terror': amazing CC at melee range + exceptional bonus to doublestrike + 5% spell crit chance + 15% spell crit dmg (Nature's Warrior 'Howl of the Hunter [C5]')​

> 'Ghost Wolf Pack': confusion on mobs (no save) + you gain 35% incorporeality for 10s​

> 'Blighted breath': AoE acid dmg + blinds enemies + chance to paralyse, no save (breath attack, via 'Daunting Roar)​

> 'Coordinated strikes': AoE blind + helpless​

​

These are also very nice, if/whenever you get the chance to use them:​

> 'Throat Rip': strikes 3x + 6 sneak attack die + inflicts bleed + silence enemies​

> 'Baiting Bite': performs a bluff effect, which lets you dish sneak dmg on each attack​

​

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Hope this was helpful, and that you enjoy the build!

 

[amberlinlk]

Thanks! I am curious to see the profane bonus set too whenever you figure that one out

 

[Kalibano]

Info on spell schools added to the Aims section.
Hopefully this makes it easier to see which are the primary focus of the build.

More stat breakdowns were also added.

Enjoy!

 

[Kalibano]

For hybrid builds like this, I strongly recommend NOT swapping out any investment (e.g. feats, enhancements, etc.) made to increase spell DCs. To expound on my reasoning, I added more specific details in an earlier post in this thread about some of the main differences between pure casters and hybrids ref spell DCs.

Hope this is useful to anyone using this build

 

[Kalibano]

Weapon critical profile section updated to include:

> breakdowns of the threat range and multiplier​

> average additional base damage %​

- for weapon crit profile (after feats/compentence bonuses applied)​

- for crit profile boosts (e.g. on 19-20 rolls)​

Hope this extra info is helpful.

 

[Kalibano]

U66 changes (updated in the forums and DDOBuilder file)
Some minor changes to two main Epic Destinies are used by this build.

> The key active changes I made were:

• Primal Avatar:
  • as of U66, the Primal Avatar T2 spell 'Shard Storm' no longer has the T1 Epic Strike as a pre-requisite
  • as this build only uses the Draconic Incarnation epic strike, I swapped the PA T1 epic strike for T1 Rejuvenation Cocoon

• Draconic Incarnation
  • Dragon Breath moving down to tier 1 and being cheaper made it possible to waste less points in T1 to get to the good stuff in the tiers above, so I've done some re-shuffling and additions

Pre-U66:

... with the changes indicated above:

> The key passive changes imo were overall positive, despite the adjustments to Dragon Breath:

• Draconic Incarnation
  • Dragon Breath is now a 1-rank, 2AP Ability.
  • Dragon Breath and Attune the Arcane have swapped places in the tree.
  • Dragon Breath damage adjusted to 1d6+5 damage per caster level.
  • Dragon Breath cooldown adjusted to 12 seconds.
  • Dragon Breath now has its intended max caster level of 20 to match the other Epic Strikes. All Epic Strikes should now have a Maximum Caster Level of 20.
  • Draconic Breath's Energy Vortex now does damage even if the player had themselves or an ally targeted when the skill was triggered.
    • very hopeful this specific change will make the Vortex work more reliably: I'm a huge fan of vortex on melee/hybrid builds

• Fury of the Wild
  • Core abilities now grant +25 Hit Points.

With the changes indicated above, the build remains good to go as is Enjoy!
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