Kali's Wizard Pale Master Insta-kill + CC Caster build

[Punkpogoer2]

Forgive me if I overlooked this previously in the thread, but I was wondering what the bonus is of the Vampire shroud over the Lich shroud?

 

[Kalibano]

Forgive me if I overlooked this previously in the thread, but I was wondering what the bonus is of the Vampire shroud over the Lich shroud?

Hey there,

Questions are most welcome, happy to clarify. For the benefit of anyone who is not very familiar with Pale Masters, I hope you won't mind me expounding in a bit more detail.

> The key thing for me, with this build, is acquiring spell DCs, as it supports its two main aims:

> insta-kills​

> crowd control​

---

The basic shroud, acquired in core 2 (min lvl 3):

Shroud of the Vampire - While in this form, you gain +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, +2 Wisdom, and +3 Perform. Your melee attacks have a 10% chance to heal you for 1d3 with Negative Energy per Wizard level

VS

Shroud of the Lich - While in this form, you gain +2 Constitution and +2 Intelligence, +10 Negative Healing Amplification, +10 Negative Spell Power, and +15 Magical Resistance Rating

> Here both give +2 INT (which increases all spell DCs)

> at this stage, the Lich shroud does look superior, as this build does not engage in melee combat to benefit fully from the vampire shroud​

---

But then, in T5, comes the ascendant shroud, granting additional benefits to the basic shrouds:

• While in Vampire Form: +1 Enchantment DC. Your melee attacks have a (10%) chance to dominate your adversaries. On Hit: Target has a chance to be Paralyzed (Will save vs. DC 20 + INT Mod + Enchantment Spell Bonuses). On Save: -10% Movement and Attack Speed.

VS​

• While in Lich Form: +15 to MRR cap, +10 Negative Spell Power, +10 Cold and Electric Resistance, 5% spell point cost reduction on all spells

> Here the Vampire shroud is the clear winner, to me, because it boosts enchantment DCs, directly supporting the crowd control aspect of the build. This is particularly important when considering the investments in spell DCs via feats are only able to boost necromancy and illusion, so enchantment falls behind and needs the support.

> Perhaps those with many past lives (i.e. with lots of extra heroic/racial/ED action points + extra feats) and rare bonuses (reaper fragments, deck of curses, etc.) would value this bonus less, and go for the Lich shroud, which is indeed very nice and powerful.

> For those without past lives, I would say every little bit matters enormously towards reaching workable DC numbers at endgame, especially in reaper mode.

---

Hope this clarifies things and help others make their own decisions

 

[Punkpogoer2]

"Hope this clarifies things and help others make their own decisions "

Thank you. Good to know all the angles

 

[magnus2882]

Hey there! My end game toon is a PM, just wondering why you chose MotE over DI ? There is so much damage you forewent! The ability to turn all over your damaging spells into DOTS is just to good to pass up. That's the only way i can survive doing R10's. Because you certainly aint CC'ing or insta-killing very often on R10.. Just spam Necrotic Blast, meteor swarm, chain lighting, and watch everything die in a few seconds as you run away, due to 4 different dots stacking on top of one another. Best thing of it all is mobs that are immune to negative energy get stripped as soon as the 1st dot hits... To me 10/10 the better destiny to go is DI

 

[Kalibano]

Hey Magnus2882,

Thanks for your message

I totally get what you are saying, and I can see how it seems to work for you. Nuking has been the meta for a good while (though perhaps not as prominently with the recent changes). Nevertheless, it still seems to 'dictate' the playstyle of some players, if what they wish to play is a pure caster.

What is 'meta' rarely interests me for a couple of reasons:
- I play what I enjoy, not what the meta 'dictates'
- A significant part of my fun with this game is designing my own builds from scratch, exploring synergies and playing a wide range of playstyles

- Magus is a fun destiny, and imo very synergistic with Pale Masters and negative energy casting. Time Stop is amazing.​

- The meta shifts all the time, when game balance comes into play, and so it should. I can see the appeal this would have to some, in terms of seeking the new meta constantly, as a way to have something new to do in the game. It has zero appeal to me, though. What interests me and keeps me busy is having all my alts.

I set the objectives I want for this build, and in the difficulties I run (R6-10), it achieves all my aims, despite the clear lack of past lives (the TR hamster wheel does not appeal to me at all either). All within a playstyle that suits me and in a way that feels fun for me to play: a clear winner tbh

So there it goes Nuking is kinda boring to me, hence no builds in my repository for a pure nuker. I do use DI with several builds, and indeed, it still seems to be a very strong destiny despite the recent adjustments.

 

[magnus2882]

I totally get you wanting to make a build far from meta.

I made the first successful WF fighter/mage build on Sarlona about 12 or 13 years ago. People laughed and even made troll memes and sigs about my toon on the forums, but the people on my server quickly realized that not only was my build viable, but I was the go to tank in VoD as well as others... Keep in mind the level cap was 16 and ED didn't exist... So I hear ya when it comes to breaking the mold...

Cheers mate!

 

[Kalibano]

Just wanted to share in this thread some suggestions/advice I gave about this build in another thread, in the event it proves useful to anyone planning to give it a go:

Nickodeamus
This is very convenient! So, I am looking to actually run a CC/Instakill build when I am done with my alt and I found this one (Kali's Wizard Pale Master Insta-kill + CC Caster build), but I have wanted to do a few more caster lives first...and really the only caster lives I have left are:

• stormsinger for +5 elctric/sonic SP (3 to do)
• dark apostate for Neg healing amp +5 neg sp (3 to do)
• and maybe dragonlord for those last breath weapon DCs (3 to do)

My question is do you think any of the above will help out your pale master build? I feel like dark apostate would, and I guess it doesn't hurt to have the extra SP from from Stormsinger. Not so sure the breath DCs are completely needed if I am a DC caster.

As for the stormsinger/Dragonlord build, I would prob just be doing an iconic for the PL. I like tabaxi cause its fast. so what split would you do? Also, I assume SoS THF is the way to roll with this one .

Edit: just realized I can't do tabaxi trailblazer as it makes you a monk lev 1 and stormsinger requires any non-lawful. lol. ok, which iconic to use

Thanks!
Nic

Hey there

Happy to share some thoughts!

Ref the Wizard insta-kill build:
> As you mentioned, the Dark Apostate will definitely help a lot with self-healing and survival (Vampire form), so should be worth it, considering you need those for your TR project anyway

> Dragon Lord's Breath DCs won't help with this specific build, as it doesn't use any breath weapon attacks/spells

> Stormsinger won't actually be too useful, as I don't really use Electric nor Sonic spells. These are the key spellpowers I use:

- Negative is the main one, for most of the spells I cast on a DPS rotation, since this build strips negative energy immunity:​

> Magus: 'Dark Light of the Moon' / 'Gloomspear' / 'Moon's Shadow' / 'Mantle: Flash of the Eclipse'​

> Pale Master: 'Necrotic Blast & Bolt' / 'Embraced the Void'​

> Wizard spells: 'Rend the Soul' / 'Enervation' / 'Finger of Death (on successful saves)' / 'Necrotic Ray' / 'Greater & Lesser Death auras' / 'Negative Energy Burst'​

​

- Investment in Force was mainly driven by Magus' 'Unholy Pulse', which makes Arcane Pulse stack 7 times, but also because this spellpower is boosted by all the 3 EDs I use:​

> Magus: enhanced 'Arcane Pulse'​

> Archamage: 'Arcane Bolt'​

> Wizard spells: 'Arcane Tempest' / 'Phantasmal Killer (on successful saves)'​

​

- I invest in Conjuration for the Trap the Soul insta-kill, so it created synergy with Acid spellcasting, for some extra DPS options:​

> Primal Avatar: 'Shard Storm'​

> Wizard spells: 'Acid Well' / 'Cloudkill'​

​

- Cold is mostly there because of the Magus Mantle extra dmg on spellcast + passive spell power boost from Magus and Primal Avatar, so I picked a couple of NO save spells, for some extra DPS options:​

> Wizard spells: 'Polar Ray' / 'Niac's Biting Cold'​

​

I went thought all this detail basically to show there is plenty of DPS options which synergise strongly with the choices made for heroic and ED trees. I wouldn't recommend going for electric nor sonic spellcasting here, especially considering how this build did not invest in Evocation

... snip...

---

Hope this was helpful, and that you enjoy the builds if you decide to give them a go

 

[PraetorPlato]

If you're planning to be off-DPS, why not invest more heavily in crit? It'll do good things for your damage (same for spellpower, I haven't statted out a DC wiz recently for SP, but 700 is achievable on a melee, so a wizard in caster Eds with archmage, tons of spell craft, etc. should be comfortably clearing 900 I think.

Otherwise, I'd get out of DPS entirely, respec to DC/tank or DC/support.

 

[Kalibano]

If you're planning to be off-DPS, why not invest more heavily in crit? It'll do good things for your damage (same for spellpower, I haven't statted out a DC wiz recently for SP, but 700 is achievable on a melee, so a wizard in caster Eds with archmage, tons of spell craft, etc. should be comfortably clearing 900 I think.

Otherwise, I'd get out of DPS entirely, respec to DC/tank or DC/support.

Thanks for your input. A few comments, If I may:

> An important thing to consider ref any numbers in any of my builds:

Preface to the build

---

This thread aims to provide the very 'core' of the build:

• show how it started: its key aims
• indicate the key decisions that can be made to achieve those aims: stats, skills, feats, heroic enhancements, epic destinies
• all numbers are based on what a first-lifer (or someone with minimal past lives) would have, unbuffed, outside of reaper mode (they do, however, include equipped gear and partially completed filigrees). They are real characters, and those are the numbers I can offer.
• numbers are indicative of the potential minimum amounts that can be achieved with the investments that were proposed
• provide a 'photo' of what your character could look like at endgame during quite a few lives of their 'TR hamster wheel' journey
• show the 'foundations' to be built upon, if a player decides to embark on the 'TR hamster wheel' and go out there to hunt for rare bonuses
• gear choices are NOT part of the core build, but rather one of the most important ways to invest in the key elements of the core build to make the aims work. It has been added here simply to suggest options/ inspire. No promises are being made towards keeping this updated upon the release of new content.

---

> Another thing to consider are the aims I set for the build:
It's mainly about insta-kills and CC, so heavy investment has been made towards that, at the detriment of everything else (inc DPS).

Though insta-kills and CC are useful for the majority of most quests, they are not useful 100% of the time (e.g. boss fights): for those occasions, enough investment has been made towards DPS, both in respect of spell options (which melee characters don't normally get) and ref numbers (it's unlikely melee characters, especially first lifers, can achieve 50% crit chance and 75% crit damage as easily as it might seem to some).

The spellpower numbers in that table are NOT inclusive of the 2 DPS metamagics which this build takes: it shows the spellpowers as per the character sheet display (which is perhaps more useful, since not everything accepts metamagics):
D. Main Spell Powers:

> buffable:

> Metamagic feats​

> +150 Spell Power: Maximise Spell​

> +75 Spell Power: Empower Spell​

With past lives and a bunch of extra more rare investments, the only way for these numbers is up, so ya, these are the foundations

• numbers are indicative of the potential minimum amounts that can be achieved with the investments that were proposed
• show the 'foundations' to be built upon, if a player decides to embark on the 'TR hamster wheel' and go out there to hunt for rare bonuses

All in all, in my experience, this build has proven very useful towards making a valuable contribution towards DPS, when it's needed.

---

> I don't particularly feel that going towards DC/tanking would improve the playstyle I aimed for this build, especially when considering boss fights, when bringing some DPS becomes useful/valuable: but that's my personal take on it

 

[PraetorPlato]

Thanks for your input. A few comments, If I may:

> An important thing to consider ref any numbers in any of my builds:

Preface to the build

---

This thread aims to provide the very 'core' of the build:

• show how it started: its key aims
• indicate the key decisions that can be made to achieve those aims: stats, skills, feats, heroic enhancements, epic destinies
• all numbers are based on what a first-lifer (or someone with minimal past lives) would have, unbuffed, outside of reaper mode (they do, however, include equipped gear and partially completed filigrees). They are real characters, and those are the numbers I can offer.
• numbers are indicative of the potential minimum amounts that can be achieved with the investments that were proposed
• provide a 'photo' of what your character could look like at endgame during quite a few lives of their 'TR hamster wheel' journey
• show the 'foundations' to be built upon, if a player decides to embark on the 'TR hamster wheel' and go out there to hunt for rare bonuses
• gear choices are NOT part of the core build, but rather one of the most important ways to invest in the key elements of the core build to make the aims work. It has been added here simply to suggest options/ inspire. No promises are being made towards keeping this updated upon the release of new content.

---

> Another thing to consider are the aims I set for the build:
It's mainly about insta-kills and CC, so heavy investment has been made towards that, at the detriment of anything else (inc DPS).

Though insta-kills and CC are useful for the majority of most quests, they are not useful 100% time (e.g. boss fights): for those occasions, enough investment has been made towards DPS, both in respect of spell options (which melee characters don't normally get) and ref numbers (it's unlikely melee characters, especially first lifers, can achieve 50% crit chance and 75% crit damage as easily as it might seem to some).

The spellpower numbers in that table are NOT inclusive of the 2 DPS metamagics which this build takes: it shows the spellpowers as per the character sheet display (which is perhaps more useful, since not everything accepts metamagics):
D. Main Spell Powers:

> buffable:

> Metamagic feats​

> +150 Spell Power: Maximise Spell​

> +75 Spell Power: Empower Spell​

With past lives and a bunch of extra more rare investments, the only way for these numbers is up, so ya, these are the foundations

• numbers are indicative of the potential minimum amounts that can be achieved with the investments that were proposed
• show the 'foundations' to be built upon, if a player decides to embark on the 'TR hamster wheel' and go out there to hunt for rare bonuses

All in all, in my experience, this build has proven very useful towards making a valuable contribution towards DPS, when it's needed.

---

> I don't particularly feel that going towards DC/tanking would improve the playstyle I aimed for this build, especially when considering boss fights, when bringing some DPS becomes useful/valuable: but that's my personal take on it

Swapping offhand to Stygian wraith would be a one-item change to increase your neg damage by like 8%+

 

[DBZ]

-33 lol ok so -25

And its all hard capped with 2-8 more levels coming

 

[Kalibano]

Swapping offhand to Stygian wraith would be a one-item change to increase your neg damage by like 8%+

I appreciate the suggestion , but losing the alchemical bonus to INT is not an option for me. When it comes to this build, DCs will always come first, no matter what. In the difficulties I like to run (reaper 6-10), every little bit counts towards reaching workable numbers. It might seem negligible, but when it comes to characters without all the past lives and rare bonuses, this is the kind of investment it takes to make them work.

On a side not: the alchemical damage on every single spellcast is quite good: losing it (as well as the bonuses to acid spells) would represent a reduction in the actual DPS NET increase that would be obtainable via Stygian (on top of the DC loss).