Verashiden and Karp's guide to the 1.11b Flaming Rabies Druid

[Karp]

Flaming Rabies v1.00
updated Feb. 26, 2007

It has been many moons since patch 1.11 came out, and with it a number of 1.10 builds were made practically useless. No longer do items grant synergies, such as the carrion wind ring acting as a lvl 21 synergy to rabies, and the molten boulder charges acting as a lvl 16 synergy to Fireclaws. New ways to achieve power have to be thought of, and that is the point of this guide. This is going to be a very comprehensive guide to the PvP Flaming Rabies druid for patch 1.11b+ (credit to ~Kazama Fury~ for the name). With the new need to invest many skill points to synergize your main attack skills, which will be Fireclaws, Rabies, and Fissure, it is really necessary to allocate them correctly, because any misplaced points can hurt you as your druid continues to grow in levels and power.

The main disadvantage in 1.11+ flaming rabies is obviously that you can't max out lycanthropy and oak sage anymore lest your damage from one of the skills suffer greatly. Fortunately though, druids have great life bonuses and the high amount of +skills makes it possible to carry this build into the 7k+ life range. I managed nearly 8,000 life on an Enigma-based build, using base lycanthropy and a single point into oak sage, but after battle orders from the Call to Arms runeword.

There are a few ways to build this hybrid. Depending on your particular likes, dislikes, and the needs of where you commonly duel, you will have the option of at least three very viable full gear setups and skill allocations.

Stats:

Only place enough strength for your heaviest item, after considering + stats from items like Enigma and Hellfire Torch.
Get just enough dexterity for maximum block.
Everything else goes into Vitality.
Nothing goes into Energy.

Skills:

Max Rabies
Max Fireclaws
Max Fissure

These are your attacks. So it’s common sense to max them.

You will have one point in the following skills:

Werewolf
Lycanthropy
Werebear
Maul
Feral Rage
Oak Sage

The next part is debatable:

You can max:

Poison Creeper
Fissure
Rest into Volcano

OR, you can maximize Fireclaws output and place points into poison creeper until you get the damage output you are comfortable with for rabies

With maxed Rabies, Poison Creeper, Fireclaws, Fissure, and the rest into Volcano (at lvl 91) The build will have 40-50k Rabies and ~8600 Fireclaws damage. If, however, you go the other route, you can expect 30-40k Rabies and 11-12k Fireclaws damage. The latter build is my personal preference. Pump Fireclaws until you hit the magic number, then add the rest to Poison Creeper. I personally ended up with 10 hard points into Creeper.

Now for a list of your gear choices.

Charms:

You will want to use 9x Shapeshifting skill charms with as much + life as possible.
Hellfire Torch +3 Druid Skills.
Annihilus unique small charm +1 all skills.
10x Steel Small Charms of Vita.

Weapons:

Phase Blade: 4x Shael 2x jewels - Not a lot of physical damage. However this does hit max frames for attacking. In FC's case that's a must in order to pump out enough damage to kill. Main preference seems to go for 2x 15 IAS/ 15 Res All jewels.

Griswold’s Redemption Caduceus: three Shael/XX jewels of Fervor Lo - Higher Physical damage than the Phase Blade. Though it seems negligible the Deadly Strike makes up for that margin. However, this weapon is slower than the Phase Blade by two frames for Fireclaw and one frame slower Rabies (if you use ED/IAS jewels instead of Shaels).

Ethereal Breath of the Dying Berserker Axe: Massive damage when compared to both of the above. However this thing hits a MASSIVELY slow nine frame Fire Claw, ouch!

Red Phase Blade: 4x Shael 2x Eth - This is an interesting idea. IIRC -defense works at 50% efficiency PvP. Still, cutting a 40k def Pally's def down to 30k is a huge chunk that can't be ignored. Coupled with the Werewolf’s nice Attack Rating you may not need an Angelic Combo in your stash.

Jeweler’s Phase Blade of Quickness - Should you want to make other Druids cry you can sport this insanely rare item. Druid collectors everywhere would give an arm and a leg for this so be proud! Socket it according to the regular PB minus two Shaels.

Death’s Web Unearthed Wand - This is the switch weapon to get. With a facet, it can offer up to -55% poison resists, making Rabies the Barb slayer you know to love it as. It also can have up to +2 skills, making it worthy of a prebuff weapon as well.

+30 Fire Damage/ - 30 Fire resist Phase Blade - If you want to beat someone that you just can't seem to get close to, and you know that they aren't stacking that much fire res, you can always use this in conjunction with a +20/-20res Monarch to do some MAJOR damage with fissures.

Two Handers:

Ethereal Breath of the Dying Great Pole Axe: Massive damage weap with the much needed range 5. Hits 7 frame FC which makes it decent. The 30 to all attributes is nothing to scoff at either.

Ethereal Tomb Reaver Cryptic Axe: 2x ED/IAS or Shael, Zod - Another high damage weap. This one only hits range 4 but offers resistances for casters. With RES/IAS jewels it'll hit 7 frame FC. With shaels it'll hit 6 frame FC. This is a great weapon to use in conjunction with Fortitude Armor, if you built with enough strength.

Non Ethereal Tomb Reaver: 2x Shael 1x Eth - Lower damage than its Ethereal counter part this Tomb Reaver cuts down on the opponents defense though. Most opponents will take off DR anyway when they see you use FC. So this weapon will back an impressive punch no matter if they stack their res. All at 6 frames too.

Red Giant Thresher: 4x Shael 2x Eth - Same idea as the Red PB. Hits 6 frame FC with range 5

Doom Great Poleaxe - +2 skills to pump your damage, range 5 to make it easier to hit casters and to outrange smiters, and holy freeze, to help keep some pressure off vs. melee attacks. All around good stats, but you will attack at 8 frames per attack with fc in wolf form.

Armors:

Enigma - Classic choice. The Faster Run/Walk can help catch those pesky running Zons for that one Rabies bite to end the fight. + skills help the damage out. One also can't forget the life and massive strength bonus awarded by it. It can also be useful for laying fissures, or for a quick escape after getting a rabies bite in. Always make this in a lightweight, low strength required armor. Breast Plate, Light Plate or Mage Plate are great.

Chains of Honor - High end resists combined with +2 skills, some DR, and a nice chunk of strength make this a very nice armor to deal with casters. This armor lacks the Faster Run/Walk of Enigma, however, it seems to fill more of the holes this build lacks.

Duress - FHR, OW, a bit of res. This armor is cheaper than the above armors but still packs a wallop. At the higher levels Open Wounds can trash any opponent when combined with Rabies. You will lose some damage to your main attacks, but will gain some versatility in other areas, especially if you PvM. The FHR offered here can also allow you to switch some other gear around for more life/damage. Not many weaknesses to this armor and very nice all around choice.

Lion Heart - Damage, Res, huge stat boost, life, and even reduces the requirements for you. A poor man's choice for armor but a strong contender none the less.

Bramble - A great anti melee armor. This thing greatly improves ones poison damage and also has the extra benefits of 50% FHR(huge) and THORNS (shut up, it's good). With enough life you can greatly improve your odds of winning since Rabies + Thorns will whittle them down enough to smack around a few times with FC. For added fun use those Spirit of Barbs charges >.>.

Fortitude - Almost forgot about this bad boy >.>. Res, life, 300% Enhanced Damage. It's not the best suited for an Fireclaw/Rabies Wolf since you'll normally be using low damage weapons anyways. However, it's still a decent choice, especially if you want to use an ethereal Tomb Reaver to attack with. Will actually allow you to net 4000+ physical damage. This is a great way to deal with casters and other people who attempt to make your elemental damages obsolete.

Facetted Armor/Jeweler of Whale/etc. - For the more suicidal types you can just ignore the holes in your build and go all out offense! Fire Facets seem to be the better choice since rabies will have the switch to improve it's damage exponentially. Has potential for an anti melee choice should you get your Damage Reduction from other sources. A great setup would be 4x Fire Facets in a 90+ life armor, used in conjunction with Stormshield and Verdungos Belt. Will improve Fireclaws and Fissure greatly, with only a small sacrifice to rabies. An expensive choice, however.

Belts:

Verdungo’s Hearty Cord Mythril Coil - Your standard belt. It offers a nice chunk of life, FHR, and DR. Most of the time you’ll be wearing this.

Arachnid Mesh Spiderweb Sash - This belt is the only belt giving + skills, increasing your damage output. This is the belt you should be using if you plan on shifting and deshifting a lot. The FCR will help with Teleport and may allow you to escape from a bad situation.

String of Ears Demonhide Sash - Poor man’s Dungo’s. Lacks the life and the FHR. However, it’s much more affordable.

Thundergod’s Vigor War Belt - The main purpose of this belt is to help nullify lightning damage coming your way. It also has 20 Str and Vit.

Snowclash Battle Belt - Used to nullify cold damage. That’s all really.

Trang-Oul’s Girth Troll Belt - CBF and a Massive life boost makes this belt viable. If you’re facing a melee character and want to use Dual Angelics this can offer you the CBF you’d otherwise be lacking in.

M’avina’s Tenet Shark Skin Belt - For those who love more FRW, this belts will do it for you. 20 FRW, that’s it.

Rare Belts - Stats to look for are FHR, Life, Str, and Res.

Gloves:

Trang-Oul’s Claws Heavy Bracers - FCR, Cold Res, but what's most important is the +25% to poison skills. These are the Rabies Wolf's choice gloves more times than not. If you're only expecting to get one or two hits in on the enemy then these should be the gloves you're wearing.

Dracul's Grasp - Strength, OW, and the odd chance to Life Tap. A decent glove that could save you on the rare occasions that Tap triggers. The OW is nice but other than that it's just a decent glove.

Bloodfist - Nice life, FHR, IAS (lol), and damage. These are normally the gloves of choice when you desperately need to hit a certain FHR break point. Upping these for style points is heavily recommended.

Rare Gloves - Not much to say here. They can be godly or crappy. Stats to look for are +strength, dexterity, and resistances.

Boots:

Aldurs' Advance set boots - They offer 40% R/W, +50 to life, and lots of fire resistances. These are the favored boots for the build if you are getting your FHR from somewhere else (i.e. Shaeled Jalals).

Gore Riders - What's not to love about these boots? They have OW, DS, and CB. The - req allows these to be upped without pouring a heinous amount of points into Str. However, these boots aren't incredibly useful if you're not using a higher damage weapon.

Waterwalk - Life, Dex, and + max fire res. These boots can take some of the sting out of Fire Sorcs possibly allowing that one fatal bite. The + Dex can save some skill points for max block, thus giving you more life.

Sandstorm Trek - FHR, Str, and Vit. These boots aren't as fast as the others. However, They can aid one in reaching a FHR break point. The stats can be needed however the lack of speed greatly hurts these boots.

Shadow Dancers - These boots give a healthy FRW and a massive 30% FHR. Tack on that they can get +25 Dex and these boots seem almost to be the boots of choice. The downside is that their Str req is pretty high. But in the end it's worth it.

Rare Boots - Tri res, FRW, FHR, and +stat boots are the stats to be looking for if you want rare boots.

Jewelry Combinations:

Raven, Bul Kathos’ Wedding Band, Mara’s Kaleidoscope - This setup grants +3 to skills (~1200 more Rabies damage and ~800 more FC damage) while keeping the needed CBF. Bul Kathos’ offers up to 49 additional life as well which isn’t shabby for this build. The + skills also add a great amount of life to your druid. This is the recommended choice.

2x Raven Frost + Metal Grid - This set up offers up to 40 Dex , +40 Cold Absorb, CBF, resists, a nice bonus to AR, and some additional Defense. This style lacks and + skills but adds a larger portion of AR than other setups.

Raven Frost, Angelic Wings Amulet, Angelic Halo Ring - This is normally the setup of choice when dealing with higher def characters. This setup offers 30 Dex, CBF, +95 life, and more AR then dual Raven Frosts.

Angelic Wings Amulet, 2x Angelic Halo Rings - This setup grants a massive chunk of AR, easily doubling what one would normally receive. It also offers 10 Dex and 115 life. This setup lacks CBF though which means that you’ll have to make it up somewhere else.

Rare Amulets - Mods to look for are +Druid Skills / Shape Shifting Skills, Str, Dex, Life, Res.

Helms:

Jalal's Mane - What's not to love about this thing? 20% Bonus to AR, Res, FHR, 20 Str, and 4 to SS skills. This is the all around helm of choice for most if not all Shapeshifters. Everything you could ever want in one package.

Cerebus' Bite - The three-headed demon dog's helm is another great choice for this build. It offers a HUGE AR bonus (up to 120%), 4 to SS skills, and OW. This should a choice helm for those who duel Smiters and high def Barbs on a regular basis. The lack of resists keeps this from being an all around helm, as does the lack of Str. If you hold both this and Jalal make sure you take into account the -20 Str you get from Cerebus when you do your stat point allocation.

Ravenlore - Mainly for the -fire res this helm can somewhat pump up the FC and Fissure damage. I'd personally choose Jalal over this but it can be used.

Crown of Ages - Skills, Res, FHR, DR, and up to two sockets. This helm combined with Storm Shield gives max DR, leaving the two sockets open for whatever your build is lacking. The Str req is a bit high. However, if you're going to be using Storm Shield then you have enough Str for this. If used with an Enigma or Chains of Honor, you can even use a 10% dr version with stormshield and have maximum Damage Reduced. Can allow you to get a very good faster Hit Recovery break point with two shaels. A very good choice indeed, but remember you will be sacrificing damage.

Shields:

Storm Shield - It wouldn't be a melee build without considering this power house. A high block, DR, 30 Str monster. Shaeling this improves blocking exponentially. However, some opt to Ber it for the DR. Regardless, this shield is the shield of choice if you duel any melee units.

Mosser's Circle - Not a bad shield at all. High block and some resistances make it good for mid level characters. With 2 sockets though you could make this shield useful for high lvl play. A possible "safer" version of the 4 faceted monarch switch.

Sanctuary - This Runeword grants insane block, Massive res, 20 Dex, and SLOW MISSLE. BM Necros annoying you? Run out, cast Slow Missle, shift, laugh. Very good anti elemental shield since it's easy to stack res when your shield gives 70 for you >.>.

20/-20 Monarch - Primarily used for Rabies switching, this shield with 4 Fire Facets can be used as a primary shield for FC. The problem with this is that you won’t have anywhere near max block, or any res. Still, in some cases the power added to FC makes it worth it.

Spirit Monarch - Normally used in conjunction with CTA, this shield boasts pitiful block, but grants some res, 2 skills, and a massive FHR bonus. For those who aren’t concerned about blocking this shield would only require you 1% more FHR with a non Shaeled Jalals to hit the 86 Break Point.

Full Gear Line Ups:

These line ups are merely suggested sets. Depending on the situation gear should be switched out. These are just generic.

General/All-Around Setup:
Shael Jalals
Maras, Raven, Bul Kathos
Storm Shield with Ber
110 ias 30 resist all Phase
Arachnids Mesh
Trang Gloves
Aldurs Advance

Anti Melee:
Cerebus
Highlord’s 2x Ravens/ Angelic Ammy 1x Angelic Ring 1x Raven Frost
Storm Shield
110ias/200 ar phase blade
Verdungo’s
Trang Gloves
Sandstorm Treks

Anti Caster:
Jalal’s
Maras, Bul Kathos, Ravenfrost
Spirit/Sanctuary
Enigma
Trang Gloves (Cold Sorcs) / Blood Fist
Sanstorm/Tri Res FRW boots
110ias phase/30 res
OR Tomb reaver with 2x shael/eth

[Karp]

Dueling Strategies:

Hammerdins:

If they aren’t a Liberator (Hammer + Charge) then this match isn’t too difficult. Use a Range 4 or 5 weapon. Be sure to run in random patterns so the Hammerdin can’t set up a Hammer field for you. ALWAYS have 5 wolves out, especially if the Hammerdin is good at desynch. Computer AI can see through desynch and your wolves will start attacking if he closes in on you, warning of the impending Hammer drop. Normally, however, Hammerdins prefer to Tele on top of you and spam Hammers. If they do this take a step to the left (you should be in a Hammer blind spot) and start whacking away. I’d recommend hitting with Rabies first, that way you put the Hammerdin on a clock. However, if you think you can end it with just FC then don’t be afraid to do so.

If they are a Liberator then things change drastically. Beware of sudden Grief Charges. If you’re feeling skilled you can still go 2 hander and have a blocking setup on switch. Keep an eye on the Pally and hit W when you see him come in for cheap damage, block, switch, whack a few times, repeat. With this setup though Rabies won’t be a kill condition, more like a scare tactic.

Smiters:

The other high numbered cookie cutter. This one can be handled in 2 ways. The normal way to go about this is to stack up on Rabies damage. Walk around and bite once or twice when the Smiter attacks. If you infect him with Rabies then quickly Rabies switch then begin walking away. Normally he’ll charge at you. When you block his charge, whack him a few times with FC then walk away again. Unless he has super stacked resistances Rabies will finish him off in due time.

The other, riskier tactic is to go 2 hander against them. This poses problems due to Grief being such a deadly charge weapon. If a Smiter chargers you and realizes that you don’t have a shield then you’re basically dead. However, you can negate this advantage if you stay just out of Smite range (normally range 2) yet stay close enough to avoid getting chained Charged. If they’re using a Grief PB then it won’t be terribly hard to judge distance. With Zerker things get even more difficult.

Bowazon:

This match up can either be really easy or turn really bad surprisingly fast. They key here is speed. If you can get within range before they deal a large amount of damage you pretty much win. You could FC the Zon. However, I find the Rabies is the much safer bet since you’ll only get a few attacks in before they start their run a few steps, shoot a few strategy. Bite them once, walk away, and wait (if you’re evil :P). NEVER run directly at a Bowazon. Most of the good ones have Knock Back on their gloves and will make it so that you never reach them. Approach at an angle, causing the initial volley of arrows to miss. By running in unpredictable patterns towards her, you can get within attacking range before you suffer any serious damage. Another thing to remember is that most of them will have some very poor resistances. A well placed fissure can actually take most of them out, preventing you from ever having to go into melee range. If they have somehow managed to get a good amount of fire resistances stacked, you can also place a volcano under them. Usually, a volcano will lock an Amazon up in dodge animation for long enough that you can actually teleport to them, shift, and get a rabies bite on them.

WW Barbs:

This can be a hard match up depending on if the Barb knows how to Tri Whirl. Max DR and a shield is a must. Normally, the first priority is to infect them (yes I said it) with Rabies. Once they’re all green and red walk a safe distance then switch. After that you can either dodge until they die, or shift FC every time they come in to attack you. Be careful though, good Barbs can hit you at least 4 times per whirl.

Of course, you can also play like a Fire Druid and just lay Fissures under them all day. If you can get a Rabies bite initially, then you can just start laying the fissures and teleporting form side to side, forcing them to drag across them.


ES Sorcs:

Load up on FRW, resist, and FHR. Spirit could be worth swapping in for the FHR and some resists. This is relatively defensive duel. Dodge spells as best as possible, running in random patterns to give the Sorc a harder time aiming. While FC will probably put a nice dent in the energy shield, rabies is going to be a lot more useful here. Even if they do have good life and a 5K ES (as a good number do now on east) rabies with the Dweb switch will eat them for dinner, as it'll go right through. Once again the tricky party is getting to them, patience and attacking when they slip up is key here. Try laying a volcano at your feet, shifting and waiting for them to come after you.


Bonemancer:

FRW and FHR will be you friends here again. Spirit over SS this match too. Once again, avoid the spells as best as possible in the pursuit. Rabies and Fireclaws will both go through Bone Armour, so use either as you best see fit. If the Necro is playing defensively and Tele-ing a lot, rabies may be the better option. though the extra life and faster attack in Bearform might be useful if you need to tank and land multiple hits (as this'll probably do more damage quicker than waited for rabies to run its course). Hope not to get Prisoned, though if you're using 'enigma,' a quick Unshift + Tele might get you out. This is a tough duel for most any build, especially for one that has to run after its prey. If they do have minions, be sure to bite them for the application to the Necro when he/she Tele's next.

Another strategy is: Possibly a better way to duel a Bonemancer is to load up on FCR and FHR, and teleport around looking for his minion stack to bite. After you get that bite, you can start teleporting around and laying fissures at your feet. If you're running from Spirits you can lay a Fissure in front of you, that way when the inevitable prison comes it won't even slow you down. If they Tele away from you name lock them and continue to cast Fissures on them until they are off your screen.

Screen Shots:

This is my common Flaming Rabies gear setup with some pictures to help you all get an idea of what to expect. I am using:
Shael Jalals
Light Plate Enigma
Ber Stormshield
Arachnids Mesh
Aldurs Advance
Trang Oul's gloves
Maras, Ravenfrost, Bul Kathos
110ias 30 resist Phase Blade
C/T/A and Spirirt switch and Death Web/ 20/-20 Switch


http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=15087235&albumID=0&imageID=1928265158

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=15087235&albumID=0&imageID=1928270531

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=15087235&albumID=0&imageID=1928274608

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=15087235&albumID=0&imageID=1928280629

Conclusion:

The Flaming Rabies hybrid for 1.11b+ is a versatile character for both PvP and PvM. It has three very strong attacks, Rabies, Fissure, and Fireclaws, as well as the ability to use a fourth damage attack if all else fails. It can go both melee and ranged, and doesn't lack for either hit points or damage. This build will provide you with countless hours of enjoyment, many possibilities, and abilities that many other builds just plain lack. We hope that you have lots of fun both making and dueling with this. Cheers!

Credits:
Kaz - For the name “Flaming Rabies”
electricblue - For all of his preliminary testing
Queen Mebd
Jary
Stifmeizter
Barnical
lyanswolf - for testing this out first
Kiba
Superjayson
Voice
The East and West druid groves
All of the Druid fanatics out there!

[Kiba]

~Awrooo , nice guide. Im gonna have to try this build out soon. =)

Sticky worthy.

[Queen Mebd]

~Awrooo , nice guide. Im gonna have to try this build out soon. =)

Sticky worthy.

I'll gladly second that. Especially seeing how this thread (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=526965) garnered close to a hundred posts on the topic.

Nicely done to Karp & Verashiden especially and to everyone else that contributed. :thumbsup:

[superjayson]

me likey.

Mosser's Circle - Not a bad shield. High block and some res make it good for mid level characters. With 2 sockets though you could make this helm useful for high lvl play.

you meant shield, right ?

[Verashiden]

>.> XD I missed that SO hard. I'm living on like... two hours of sleep. Cut me some slack T-T

[superjayson]

haha no worries. Was just proof reading it for you =P

[Karp]

haha no worries. Was just proof reading it for you =P

I thought I edited everything while I was finishing this up =) I'll PM a mod to let me do some quick edit work and request a sticky.

[Uncle_Mike]

I thought I edited everything while I was finishing this up =) I'll PM a mod to let me do some quick edit work and request a sticky.

Nice one, I might try this build some day, but fury/rabies is first :wink3:

Once you've made your edits and consider the guide done let me know so that I can add it to the pvp guides thread :thumbsup:

Mike

[xpumafangx]

This is a really good guide by the way. I mean a allmost new Ideal to the werewolf build. Is like next to unheard of. And to top it of, IT ACTLY WORKS!!!!

[Queen Mebd]

This is a really good guide by the way. I mean a allmost new Ideal to the werewolf build. Is like next to unheard of. And to top it of, IT ACTLY WORKS!!!!

Yeah, I really like the fact that it's next to unheard of. You've got to figure the only people playing these for a while will be the faithful of the druid forums here. I also love the fact I've been able to use gear from both my fury/rabies wolf and fireclaw bear to equip this guy. :smiley:

[Eilo Rytyj]

Red Phase Blade: 4x Shael 2x Eth - This is an interesting idea. IIRC -defense works at 50% efficiency PvP. Still, cutting a 40k def Pally's def down to 30k is a huge chunk that can't be ignored.

-25% defense from Eth runes, or any -def%, subtracts directly from a character's defense bonus. For example:

EnemyPaladin has a defense bonus of +600% from Holy Shield, Exile's Defiance, etc etc.
You come along with your -25% defense sword.
EnemyPaladin is treated as having a net defense bonus of (600-25)= +575%.

40k defense might be shaved down to... 38k-37k maybe. Hardly a big difference.

Sorry to burst your bubble on this...

You're better off with having a Phase Blade with 4 Shaels and 2 Argent Jewels of Fervor (100 AR and 15% IAS), for a weapon with 110% IAS and 200 AR. That would increase your chance to hit more, and still retain that 110% IAS breakpoint.

[Verashiden]

>.> Frick. I knew there was a calculation I was forgetting. Curse you people! XD. I assume it works the same way with shout too. Crap. There goes my creative idea :D

[Summerfun]

-25% defense from Eth runes, or any -def%, subtracts directly from a character's defense bonus. For example:

EnemyPaladin has a defense bonus of +600% from Holy Shield, Exile's Defiance, etc etc.
You come along with your -25% defense sword.
EnemyPaladin is treated as having a net defense bonus of (600-25)= +575%.

40k defense might be shaved down to... 38k-37k maybe. Hardly a big difference.

Sorry to burst your bubble on this...

You're better off with having a Phase Blade with 4 Shaels and 2 Argent Jewels of Fervor (100 AR and 15% IAS), for a weapon with 110% IAS and 200 AR. That would increase your chance to hit more, and still retain that 110% IAS breakpoint.

Thats 100% not true.

-xx% targets defence from skils, like cloak of shadows, battle cry and conviction works like that.

But -xx% targets from items like death cleaver, Eth rune and 1.08 arreats face works in another way. Long story short, Eth rune removes 12.5% of the shown defence of your enemy.

[Verashiden]

Eh, I'll have to test this later then. Unless SSoG, our stats master, knows. I'm looking on Arreat Summit now and it doesn't seem to mention anything in regards to this >.>.

[Summerfun]

Try looking arround in theise forums, i has been tested many times.
I think ther is one in the Barb forum.

If i remember correctly the test was done some thing like this:

P1. barb with lowest possible ar and only item is a Axe with 6*Eth runes, and 1 sc with psn or cold dmg ( so you can se when he hits)

P2. Barb with no shield and massive enhanced def.

Now P1. attacks P2 with the 6*Eth axe anc counts how many times he hits in 100 attacks.

After that is done the the same thing is done again, but with a normal axe with no eth.


Im not 100% sure it was done like that, seart arround the barb forum.

Best regards

SummerFun:girly:

[Jary]

I didn't get the chance to congratulate you on an amazing guide.
NIIIIIICE!!!! :wink3:
(great specs btw, I'm impressed. It is what you said it was^^)

I really hope people give this build a chance, especially a lot of the oldschoolers looking for something new, it's 100% unique and original and therefore 100% fun. Hopefully it can spark some new interest for all the gamers out there

great job :grin:

[Jary]

Where is the Sticky?

[Karp]

Where is the Sticky?

I just have to send the mod an update right fast and it will be ;)

[Jary]

ok :)

Sry, I saw the post dying and was worried for a sec

[Verashiden]

Nah, Karp has the final say of when it gets stickied. Uncle Mike's been poking us for it for awhile now so I don't think he'll let this thing die. Besides, I'd love to see a guide I actually helped create get stickied ^_^.

[Uncle_Mike]

Nah, Karp has the final say of when it gets stickied. Uncle Mike's been poking us for it for awhile now so I don't think he'll let this thing die. Besides, I'd love to see a guide I actually helped create get stickied ^_^.

It's as good as stickied as people keep bumping/asking questions etc. :azn:

I just want it to be in the pvp guides sticky - I will edit the guide once Karp sends me instructions :wink3:

[Karp]

Instructions sent. I hope everyone enjoys this guide as much as I enjoyed writing, compiling and editing it ;)

[Verashiden]

I feel so special T-T My baby is all grown up now.

[safetypro]

I was thinking about the possibilty of a similar build for PvM. Any ideas or suggestions for that?

[Verashiden]

Not really any changes except lean more towards Rabies since it takes a 41+ k Rabies to kill anything in hell. Or skip Rabies and Max Fury or Hunger.

[Karp]

For PvM, you should probobly use the rabies focus build BUT ONLY IF you have all of the -resistance% gear. This is what kills monsters in hell. I have tested rabies in PvM, and they can wreck all the way through hell with a good -res% switch, otherwise rabies is pretty bad in pvm.

[Liquid_Evil]

The images no longer work.

[redswordhero]

i have some questions:
for the skill distribution: u said the latter will grant `~~~, what do u mean by this, max volcano b4 psn creeper? (a little lost, never built a druid b4)

and, how for stats, if i use a light plate enigma, and have enuff str to put on all gears. Should i still add str for versatility or not for a vita build?

[Verashiden]

If you plan to use other armors you'll need to add more str.

~ means around. So ~XXXXX amount of damage means somewhere in that region.

Max the elemental skill Volcano before maxing the summon Skill Poison Creeper.

[redswordhero]

hmm ty for the help, i am considering using other things like bramble and such. may i ask in general, do u druid expert put ne into str? (rule in the fact the 20 str anni and dtorch)

[Verashiden]

I normally get my base str to 80-90 with my builds if I'm not building around Enigma.

[redswordhero]

base str as in w/o torches and annis correct? so with around 20-20's, 80-90 would become 120-130?

[Verashiden]

Yeah, I'm too lazy to check how much I have on my Flaming Rabies though, I'll get you a more solid number later. I'm using more str since I'm using TombReaver though.

[Queen Mebd]

base str as in w/o torches and annis correct? so with around 20-20's, 80-90 would become 120-130?

Correct, base strength usually refers to str without the torch or anni factored in. I just checked my flaming-rabies wolf, and he has 43 base str. He is statted around an enigma though. If I ever do remake, it'll be so he can wear a bramble. For this you'd need around 90 or so base str to be able to wear bramble and still hold a monarch (either for Spirit or the faceted variety) on the switch (this is a ballpark figure - I'm going off how much my old fury-rabies wolf had).

[redswordhero]

hmm i c... use of str charms not recommended right? since shapeshifters need those SS gcs (are lifers really necessary so expensive >.<)

[Queen Mebd]

hmm i c... use of str charms not recommended right? since shapeshifters need those SS gcs (are lifers really necessary so expensive >.<)

Unfortunately the plus skills on shape-shift gc's more or less make this build work (as is the case with a lot of hybrids). Keep in mind they almost let you get away with 80~90 base points in strength as they boost lycanthropy a good bit. A fireclaws druid might be a little easier to pull of sans skillers (even a few would be better than none) than this hybrid. If you can come by a bunch of decent life charms you could possibly max another fireclaws synergy rather than putting points into lycanthropy, (I'm not sure what kind of damage and life this would yield). You could also stat around an Enigma with a fireclaws druid if you felt so inclined (I did on mine, but would possibly consider a few others if I were to rebuild).

[redswordhero]

lifer seems so expensive meh i guess ill c what i can do =/

o and if a fury/rabies vs a fc/rabies, who is the most likely victor?

[TheMayor]

verashidin, this concept has been adressed in Kaz's old guide and with my SS druid expertise, i lack expierence with fireclaws completly, so im am curious your opinions on adding fury into this build. Initially for a PvP build, hybrids already have their vulnerabilities compared to pure or skill focused builds unless you have the capability to get top of the line equiptment to compinsate. With a flaming rabies build, i see the focus being on enhancing both FC and rabies to their fullest potential, instead of intigrating more diversity: they are the powerhouses for damage, why would you want to dilute them with fury? But i would like to attempt to intigrate fury for an additional source of damage—something that will further throw off my opponent preperation. i have always liked pushing a build's potential and seeing how successful of a charecter i can make it with a little dash of creativity. i have expierenced many failures and many successes, but eitherway i had fun doing it. i am truely inspired by this build, and would like to know from your expierence what could work, and what would not.

the set up i imagine with this build would work like this:

20 FC
20 Rabies
5-10 Fury
10 PC
15 firestorm
15-20 molten boulder
1 oak
1 raven
1 Spirit Wolf
prereqs

for weapons:

Weapon: 6x sheal PB or 4x Sheal 2x IAS/res/ar jewels PB
Shield: Stormshield/sanctuary

this would be a fire claws/rabies setup

on switch:

Weapon: Grief PB
Shield:Stormshield/Sanctuary or 20/-20 psn res monarch (in my dreams)

this set up would focus on psn damage for rabies trick, while additionally utilizing the +damage from the runeword with fury's ED mod.

i guesstimate with this set up i will have:
2,500-3,000 fury damage
7k FC
and rabies (too lazy to figure this one out)

do you think this would be viablein a PvP setting?

my main concerns:
would 7k be enough fire damage?
would my poison damage be sufficient?
would fury's damage be effective?
do you think 5 points in to fury plus +skills from gear would give fury a decent ar (i know this really depends but generally speaking)?

i dont paticularly care if it is the most efficient or godly build, i just wanna have some fun with it. i want to know if it is remotly viable or not; it will not be fun if it is a disappointment.

thanks for your opinions, critiques and comments. by the way, nice guide.

[Queen Mebd]

verashidin, this concept has been adressed in Kaz's old guide

Indeed, but keep in mind that was when the Carrion Wind poison creeper charges actually would synergize rabies. That bug no longer works in this patch.

With a flaming rabies build, i see the focus being on enhancing both FC and rabies to their fullest potential, instead of intigrating more diversity: they are the powerhouses for damage, why would you want to dilute them with fury? But i would like to attempt to intigrate fury for an additional source of damage—something that will further throw off my opponent preperation. . .

. . .i guesstimate with this set up i will have:
2,500-3,000 fury damage
7k FC
and rabies (too lazy to figure this one out)

do you think this would be viablein a PvP setting?

my main concerns:
would 7k be enough fire damage?
would my poison damage be sufficient?
would fury's damage be effective?
do you think 5 points in to fury plus +skills from gear would give fury a decent ar (i know this really depends but generally speaking)?

i dont paticularly care if it is the most efficient or godly build, i just wanna have some fun with it. i want to know if it is remotly viable or not; it will not be fun if it is a disappointment.

thanks for your opinions, critiques and comments. by the way, nice guide.

I'm a little unclear here, rather than "intigrating more diversity" the build focuses on fireclaws and rabies. This in and of itself is quite a deviation from most shifter builds for pvp. Now as far as adding fury to further 'diversify' the build, that may be a better option for pvm. Having played one of these druids that nets 11k fireclaws and 26k rabies at the moment, any drop in these numbers would be far to detrimental to the build. It's already a stretch with some pretty specific gear to get these numbers. I've still got a little ways to go, and possibly a rebuild with this druid, but I've noticed at least in DvD against a couple more than competent duelers that the lower damage levels can make it hard to compete at times. Just for reference a decent fireclaws bear geared up for pvp will be hitting around 14k, a pure fury wolf about 8k fury (possibly a little less for hybrids), a fully synergized rabies can easily exceed 45k, and my rabies on this particular druid nets 26k with I believe seven points in creeper at present. You're more than welcome to try, but I can't see those numbers being that productive for dueling. Keep in mind few people aside from forum regulars know much about the build, and pubs are certainly not going to think to put rabies and fireclaws together - with those two strong attacks I don't know that you'll need fury on top of these.

If you are interested in combining fury with something other than rabies, keep an eye on TheBassman's thread concerning a possible fury-fireclaws druid, that certainly looks promising.

[TheMayor]

thanks, that was more than helpful. i figured as it was pushing it, but it was worth asking. i would think that fury's ar would be no where near capable of hiting high defense charecters at such a low level, and we all know how painful fury can be when you miss....anyway i think i will put those points into fc synergies or lycanthropy

[Verashiden]

Adding on to what Queen said:

The problem is that Fury will have pathetic AR, making you sad. Also remember that there are VERY few cases where a hybrid build can utilize more than two attacks. The idea of a hybrid is to have a completely different attack to deal with an opponent should they nullify the other option. While Fury may be surprising to the opponent. The inability to hit and the points being stretched on an already tight build would make the extra attack negligible unless perhaps dealing with a Sorc or something.

Interesting idea though. Keep em coming :)

[TheMayor]

do you think it would be worth dropping 30-40 more stat points into strength to equip bramble?

[Queen Mebd]

I'd think the few extra points invested to equip Bramble would be worth it. I personally built around Enigma and am wishing I'd spared a few more points into strength for it, as I've got around 11k fireclaws with 26-27k rabies with the switch, Bramble would be a nice way of really upping rabies damage some more without any actual skill point investment. I'd think it'd be a nice armor to use if you actually want to focus more on solid fireclaws damage and can use it to shore up rabies damage as well as just wanting to get a nice 45k+ rabies.

[superjayson]

Too many people build around Enigma and screw them selves over.

Versatility > the extra 50-100 points you would put into vitality.

[Verashiden]

Especially since Druids only get 1.5 life per point >.>.

I deem Bramble a necessary switch to be effective.

[superjayson]

That 1.5 life per vitality point does get multiplied by Lycan/bo etc
so the extra 50 stat points you would put into vitality would turn into 75life which would get multiplied over 200+

but it wont help a build like the flaming rabies when they have so many gear setups.

[TheMayor]

not only that but fhr just seems like its pretty vital, in most situations more than FRW. wouldn't feral rage adrress some of the FRW issues?

[Starlit Azure]

Great guide!:thumbsup:

I have some questions on the last part of skill distributions though.

What would be the most effective to max first:

Poison creeper
volcano
Fissure


If anyone would like to tell me their decisions that would be appreciated. :prop:

[Verashiden]

You mean if you're leveling normally? Well I'd start on Fissure first. It's a great early game skill and can clear up to Act V easily. For this build you'll actually be playing more like a Fire Druid until you hit the higher levels. After that I'd start on Creeper, getting it to a comfortable level.

If you're Uber leveling though the order shouldn't really matter, though I still max Fissure as your first FC Synergy.

[The Cow King]

Few questions:

a) is spirit wolf not worth 1 point?

b) How can you catch casters? Even with 40 FRW boots you get only 85 FRW which doesnt really seems too healthy vs any non-retarded bone necro or any sorc for that matter. Using Feral doesnt seem to be too viable either, because who are you gona leech from? That is unless you're loaded with FRW ss sk's but then you lose loads of life.

c) is BO precast a must for this build? Does it stand a chance without the pre-buff BO?

d) How can you get 50k rabies dmg with this build? I just cant see it happening.

with

9 shape sk
Torch +3
Anni +1
Eni +2
Mara +2
BK +1
Arach +1
Jalals +4

= slvl 43 rabies, dmg with maxed creeper = 32k

32k x 1.25 = 40k rabies dmg

Even with Spirit monarch you dont get 50k rabies. Or does the 50k assume the use of bramble?

[Jary]

you don't, I'm pretty sure it's ~50k on switch since you usually won't have max creeper.

Prolly like 35k -->50k, on dweb/monarch switch, just an edjumucated guess I don't really know the exact stats.

[The Cow King]

Ah but I didnt remember to count in the shield from switch :duh:

[Verashiden]

Lol CK :P

I have a point in Spirit Wolf. There's absolutely no reason not to have it.

For casters it's more a matter or anticipation. A 200 ES Sorc is not gonna let you run her down no matter how much FRW you have. However, what I did was kept a few FRW SCs in stash with a 30 FRW circ. It helps, however it's still going to be a long fight. Basically you're main goal is to survive until they make a mistake, then capitalize. Keep wolves up at all time and keep recasting them in front of you every few steps.

I don't BO on my Wolf and I do fine at ~4k life. Also remember that I don't have anywhere near perfect gear. I can't recall Ink's exact setup but he hit something like 8.2k life with one point into Lycan.

And with Bramble I hit 47k Rabies. Without I hit ~43k

[~Kazama Fury~]

Just passing by, avoiding final studies.

Just wanted to say nice to see the concept build still live and kicking. And for the credit up there. When I think about it, it's been such a long time since the day Victus and I logged onto open and tweaked builds to find some thing new with the new patch.

I miss the druid community, it was probably the best one I've been a part of.

Keep it up!

- Kaz

[AnimageCGF]

I'm going to make a aldurs version of this for pub dueling.

Going to be hilarious. Will be quite well funded just to have fun. I do expect quite a few 0_o from seeing this druid.

[Findux]

I'm going to make a aldurs version of this for pub dueling.

Going to be hilarious. Will be quite well funded just to have fun. I do expect quite a few 0_o from seeing this druid.

Actually you'll not be able to kill anything with aldurs. That is the worst set that exists. You should use mid uniques instead if you're poor.

[AnimageCGF]

I'm not poor at all. I would just prefer to see people's faces when an aldur's druid out performs them.

I don't expect to rape everything, but I've got a full gear setup for 40+ lifers and 31ar/20 life sc's to help out.

I could easily make this build with the staple items, but I'm going to try out working with a terrible gear set like Aldurs. Just getting that one "wtf" kill is reward enough for me.

[Findux]

Hehe, that sounds fun. People even say "wtf" when they be killed by a wolf and begin to say "nap" and "noob" because you recast your oak sage. And when they kill you and they have 1 hp left they say "eZ" :grin:
Wonder what they say when the wolf wear aldur set :rolleyes:

[Verashiden]

Aldur's, huh? Sounds fun. Are you going to socket the helm for damage or survivability?

[AnimageCGF]

I've yet to decide, I have to look up breakpoints and how i would like to have him setup.

At this point I believe triple shael mace and a shael'd stormshield will be my primary setup after that I haven't though about it.

[Doppel]

I'm not poor at all. I would just prefer to see people's faces when an aldur's druid out performs them.

I don't expect to rape everything, but I've got a full gear setup for 40+ lifers and 31ar/20 life sc's to help out.

I could easily make this build with the staple items, but I'm going to try out working with a terrible gear set like Aldurs. Just getting that one "wtf" kill is reward enough for me.

This saddens me, there is only one thing wrong with the set (wich indeed makes it suck) and it isn't even a thing that it lacks, Aldurs has absolutely everything that would make it great, apart from one HUGE error, namely;
Quote:
"The 350% Enhanced Damage is on the complete set, not on the weapon. Enhanced Damage from non-weapon equipment works like Enhanced Damage from skills and the strength bonus, which is different from how Enhanced Damage on the weapon works. Essentially, the 350% ED will add 350% of your weapon damage to your total. With a 60-93 damage weapon, that means the 350% Enhanced Damage will add 210-325 total damage. This is really not very significant, but it's not a bug, just a balance issue."

Not very significant? NOT VERY SIGNIFICANT? NOT VERY SIGNIFICANT? :starry:
You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!

[Verashiden]

I disagree. Aldurs would be a great set if:

The weapon was Elite or upgradeable.

The ED was a weapon set bonus.

The helm was a Wolf pelt :P.

My only qualm is the 45 Energy and the Shadow Plate. Should be Archon or a high def, light plate >.<

[AnimageCGF]

Well, that's why the set is going to be just fun for me considering fireclaws/fissure/rabies dont need weapon damage!!!

[Findux]

You'll hit very slow with aldur weapon even if you socket it with shaels. The fastest you can hit is 8 frame which is veeeery slow, especially for fire claw.

[AnimageCGF]

About to fully equip aldurs now. lvl 90 blank druid I'm gonna toy with.

If aldur's doesnt work out, i'l have a nice base str to work off and re-equip then.

[Verashiden]

Be sure to tell us how it goes ^_^.

Oh, you'll be using Switch Trick, right?

[AnimageCGF]

Planning on a 20/20 shield and and a death's soon as I can find one.

Gonna hope that ups the poison damage since i'll be going with a higher fireclaws total since so few +skills with this setup outside of my charms.

[Findux]

Yeah, you must tell us how it goes :thumbsup:

[phool]

Random tidbit about aldur's mace, in 1.08 or 09 it was changed from having exactly 200% ed to having the equivalent amount of +min and +max damage, which shouldn't make any difference. Actually it used to be 0sox not 3sox as well so it's been buffed a lot.

Be sure to make some vids, you will inevitably find some people you can kill :grin:

[AnimageCGF]

Well for those to see how my Aldur's Druid looks here's a few screenies about him and his stats/setup.

Base Stats ( http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=basestatswi1.jpg)
Damage and Life shifted ( http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=statsdamageshiftedio1.jpg)
Life After Oak ( http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lifeafteroakkj0.jpg)
One of my babies ( http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss44liferc0.jpg)

I'll update soon after I've had alot more practice in duels. Seems FRW became more of an issue than I'd previously considered, probably because all my dueling experience comes from enigma based druids. I've yet to face many non casters, but seems I'm decent at killing spamazons and spam fb sorcs. The ones that constantly tele and namelock from 2 screens seem to be lame enough that I'd rather not waste my time.

[Verashiden]

Is that AR with Dual Ravens?

Looks sexy ^_^.

Lets get a gear list, noob :P

[AnimageCGF]

That's Raven/BK/Mara

Aldur Mace - 3x Shael
Aldur Helm - 2x Shael (just tossed them in, didnt bother to look how much i actually need)
Aldur Armor - 90 AR, 6 Str Jewel
Shield - Ber'd Storm
gloves - Trang
Boots - Aldur

Forgot to take a CTA Screenie :banghead:

But life is something like 6100 something. lol.

My inventory contains a little blend of everything :jig:

[Verashiden]

42 hits 4 frame Hit Recover >.>.

[AnimageCGF]

Hahah, terrible job socketing my helm then. Gonna have to rethink it, though I don't really know what I'm missing. Probably socket a 5/5 poison facet to help my miserable rabies damage.

[Verashiden]

Yeah, Facet's really the only thing, unless you wanna Riby it :P.

Oops, you forgot the Belt, silly. Arach, I assume?

[AnimageCGF]

Belt is indeed arach. Now to countess until i find another hel and shael rune haha.

[Findux]

Well for those to see how my Aldur's Druid looks here's a few screenies about him and his stats/setup.

Base Stats ( http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=basestatswi1.jpg)
Damage and Life shifted ( http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=statsdamageshiftedio1.jpg)
Life After Oak ( http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lifeafteroakkj0.jpg)
One of my babies ( http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss44liferc0.jpg)

I'll update soon after I've had alot more practice in duels. Seems FRW became more of an issue than I'd previously considered, probably because all my dueling experience comes from enigma based druids. I've yet to face many non casters, but seems I'm decent at killing spamazons and spam fb sorcs. The ones that constantly tele and namelock from 2 screens seem to be lame enough that I'd rather not waste my time.

That looks very sweet :grin:

Make sure to make videos and post them here :thumbsup:

Btw, is'nt a rare/crafted belt with fhr/str/life/res a better option instead of arach? Or is the +1 skill really worth it?

[Verashiden]

Sure. Arach is the "cheaper" alternative though.

[AnimageCGF]

What happened to two townguarders ( http://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rabiespkmi2.jpg)
Chasing down a fire sorc ( http://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rabiespkmi2.jpg)
Taking on a BM bowzon ( http://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rabiespkmi2.jpg)

Some epic duels over the course of an hour in that game. Definatly got rocked a few times, namely smiters and a super defensive blizz sorc.

Got a few nice compliments, but mostly people not realizing even a "low" rabies can still take effects after a few really quick fireclaws. An ES sorc definatly felt no pain from me :/

[Verashiden]

ES Sorcs should be eaten alive by Rabies >.>.

[Doppel]

We need some vids Animage. :P

[AnimageCGF]

Problem with this setup is lack of rabies damage. I have about 24k if that with aldurs and 13 hard points in Carrion Vine to keep my FC strong enough to hurt things.

To make this druid effective I'd have to rebuild it a few times to find its "center." I decided to drop my FHR a notch and add a few fire facets my friend gave me. Boosted my FC about 1k total with 3 facets added in. Not a good all around setup as i lost an fhr breakpoint and lost the nice AR jewel in my armor.

This has been a pretty fun experiment. Fissure only hits around 1.6k and volcano is too weak even to make dents in naked foes even. :P

I'm quite liking the responses in pubs from people. I got called out by quite a few people so far, and I've won a few showdowns, not more than half though. People have complimented quite a few of my deaths with some very nice comments instead of the usual "omg aldur noob so ez." Got quite a few "OMG you tank so much gg aldur." Alot along those lines. Aldurs has alot of stacked fire resistance which makes those duels quite fun.

I've downloaded fraps and tried to record one game against my friends gris zealot for a shiny duel, but it completely lagged me out. I'm looking for ways to avoid that.

I also completed your setup for this and completely love it. Having a 110%/30 res PB is just plain awesome in terms of speed.

[Verashiden]

^_^ Glad you like the build.

[Queen Mebd]

Hmm, that sounds about the same as the rabies damage on my old flaming-rabies druid, which I believe had twelve hard points in the creeper, he might have been pushing 27k at most with the switch. Keep in mind that was with 'cookie cutter' gear. I'm almost of the vein that if pub duelers don't have stacked res and the -res from the Web can pierce it, rabies will hurt no matter what. A little balancing on your part to eek out a little more fireclaws damage may not be a bad idea. Just keep in mind this is coming from a long time fc druid player, who found even the 9k or so on my flaming-rabies druid a bit weak for my liking.

Glad to hear you're pulling down some wins and having fun in the process. And yes 110ias robo phase blades are quite possibly the coolest weapon around, save maybe the mythical shiny yellow-handled jpboq. Be sure to shift into bearform from time to time and take a few swings, now that is speeeed.

[superjayson]

look who decided to show their face..err screen name ? ;p

[AnimageCGF]

From what i could get screenies of. Was alot of kills and deaths tonight.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8794/funnightofduelingxx8.jpg

[Verashiden]

I <3 the Gris Pally next to you ^_^. SHINIES UNITE!

[AnimageCGF]

lol I might make a rebuild around your gear selections and such and skip aldurs. The lack of frw really hurts on this guy and as soon as i put that phase blade and hit FC, man does that speed feel good.

[Verashiden]

Robos always make me happy ^_^

[AnimageCGF]

Verash, you should PM me your stat/skills screens. I'd reallly like to see your actual skill point allocations. I tried the exact same gear/invent as the screenshots posted on page one, and cannot get those numbers at all. You have both a stronger FC and stronger Rabies than I, and My druid's lvl 93 so I must have done something wrong.

[Verashiden]

You mean my build or Ink's? Ink got ridiculous numbers on his. My FC damage is 9k with 45k Rabies (after 30/30CS switch).

[superjayson]

Verash, you should PM me your stat/skills screens. I'd reallly like to see your actual skill point allocations. I tried the exact same gear/invent as the screenshots posted on page one, and cannot get those numbers at all. You have both a stronger FC and stronger Rabies than I, and My druid's lvl 93 so I must have done something wrong.

wouldnt that be due to the fact you built this char around aldurs, which we all know is a crap set (except for those sexy boots), but still cool you made a viable char with it. Verash used better items, didnt he ? ;p

[AnimageCGF]

I've got a 30/30 and 20/20 shield but cant match that damage with only 13 hard points in Poison creeper, and I have a nearly 9k fc with fissure volcano and fireclaws maxed, yet my fissure only does 1700 damage compared to his 2.3k and 12k fireclaws.

I almost want to say he had a skill shrine for the pics :(

EDIT: I have the exact same equipment that is listed. I'm not concerned with the life differences too much or AR since he probably used 30/20 sc's compared to my 3/xx/xx's. But the skill damages are purely out there for me. I might need to pick up another jalal and 5/5 fire it along with another SS and 5/5 for that as well.

[Verashiden]

Oh, I see what you're asking, one sec, lemme get you a S/S before I leave for Hockey

EDIT: BNet can suck my big, furry, balls. Lags + tags me within 30 secs of entering a game.

Here's stats + inv screenie, I'll get you my skill trees after I get bac from Hockey (since BNet's being homolicious).


Clicky (http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/Verashiden/Screenshot134.jpg)

[Verashiden]

Take two!

SS Tree (http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/Verashiden/Screenshot137.jpg)

Elemental Tree (http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/Verashiden/Screenshot138.jpg)

Summon Tree (http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/Verashiden/Screenshot136.jpg)

Note that this is naked with 9 SS GCs, Anni, and Torch.

[AnimageCGF]

Thanks for posting those Rashi. I noticed one of the pitfalls of my druid without aldurs is that I stated my dex for the assumption of all the set bonus' dexterity :(

With your gear setup in your initial posting, i have a 57% ctb :laughing:

Still hasn't failed me yet, as i seem to be running most of the time anyways. Especially when I'm so close to 94, I'd like to see him out a bit more. I think rebuild will definatly try for a bit more power to my fireclaw.

[Queen Mebd]

Hmm, I definitely have posted some stats and screenshots of my old flaming-rabies druid who had a bit more emphasis on fireclaws; they're floating around the druid s/s thread and maybe even this one. I'll go dig those up whenever I get the chance.

edit: here we go:

stats and stuff (http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/7237/setupsi1.jpg)
rabies switch (http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/845/webhi8.jpg)
SS skill tree (with gear I believe) (http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/2089/shiftingtreess7.jpg)
elemental skill tree (http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5156/elementaltreetk8.jpg)
summoning skill tree (http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5495/summontreevv4.jpg)
damage & ar with angelics (http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5669/angelicsso1.jpg)

This was back before I have the nice SS lifers I use on my fc druid now, it'd be neat to see how one would look with all 40+ skillers, and maybe even leveled to 90 or more. Bah, the link to his life with oak sage and battle orders isn't working, at least this gives you an idea of what the damage looks like emphasizing fireclaws, though there would have been more room to up rabies with a few more points placed in creeper if leveled up a bit more.

[AnimageCGF]

Thanks for the nice little insight into your fc/rabies Mebd. I can't remember which character you kept beating me on when we last gamed together, but I sure do remember how HARD it hit me haha =)

[Queen Mebd]

Heh, don't mention it, didn't take much more than a few minutes of digging through the druid s/s thread. Hmm, if it was against your wolf I'd bet it was the good ole fireclaws druid, they can be monsters at druidpking with shockwave/maul/fireclaws at four frames.

I bet if you end up making a flaming-rabies with your gear (the charms especially) it'll turn out quite alright. I'd imagine it'd be on par with ink's. Verashi can probably answer as to how much life his was pushing, it was quite a tank.

[Verashiden]

Pretty sure Ink hit like 6.5-7k life with 1 point lycan O_O. He cheats, I say >.>

[chOoie]

Animage got a good 7k life, but is that with stating around nigma?? because then switching to bram,ble would cause you to loose your shield correct?

[Verashiden]

Yes, hence why you never stat around Enigma. The extra life gain is so much less useful then upping your Rabies damage.

[chOoie]

thats the answer I was looking for ty Verashi

[AnimageCGF]

Animage always stats around enigma, that fool. He believes the extra life and mobility helps him about 99% of the time or something. He's an idiot from what I can tell.

Or, he has never found a reason to ever take it off. His druid has 65 base points in strength however, so your stating around enigma fallacy is false, and those are 45 stat points he wishes he had in Vitality.

Completely serious now, I never have found a reason to use another armor. I never use bramble option because I feel my 40k rabies switch is sufficient enough on this. I dont need to do more poison damage, as I can use a simple weapon swap for opponents who poison doesn't usually kill fast. People recommending CoH or Fort for stacking resists, lose that 45% FRW and lose the ability to chase after casters. If a caster is giving me problems, I just toss on my 4xum Monarch for some extra stack, tgods, dwarfs, or raven for one source of sorb, and I go back out. I dont see how lowering my life and mobility is worth another armor choice.

Only SS druid I refuse to stat around enigma on, is a Fury/Rabies because you can still effectively melee duel with it, thus times when using fort/cerberus and angelics helps.

That's just my opinion on all of this, and is against the general views of the druid community. I'm also the guy who hates maxed oak on his fury/rabies when I can pump my AR with Werewolf so I don't lose gear mobility. I do have some methods for my madness.

[Verashiden]

... Who the **** called you an idiot?

Enigma is a good armor. However, I find that I have an easier time agaisnt Smiters and Barbs with Bramble. I also don't weigh the extra life gained from statting around Enigma too heavily. Hence it's an opinion.

Oh, and Sanctuary >>>> 4 Um Monarch

[Findux]

Enigma does'nt only gives +5%life, but also +2 skills, 8%dr, +str, 45%frw which are all nice mods. However bramble are better against smiters and barbs.

[AnimageCGF]

... Who the **** called you an idiot?

Enigma is a good armor. However, I find that I have an easier time agaisnt Smiters and Barbs with Bramble. I also don't weigh the extra life gained from statting around Enigma too heavily. Hence it's an opinion.

Oh, and Sanctuary >>>> 4 Um Monarch

I was being sarcastic about the idiot part :P, but it's a general consensus on how I play my guys is wrong. I never actually meant that the life gained from my method is _that_ beneficial, I'm much more keen on the FRW, 2 skills, and extra DR.

I can't think of any reasons that Sanctuary helps for chasing casters down that I need to stack against. I dont need any block, fhr, or less resists against them. Maybe I'm missing something? Also, I've used the shield maybe once, for a sorc who kept reviving her infinity merc and staying far away from me.

[Verashiden]

Yeah, but unless you're statting around it then the +str, its greatest asset, is useless. 45 FRW is fantastic, +15% life is a bit meh. It's damage output would be less than Bramble, the 50 FHR will get you to the 86 BP if you weren't there already, The Thorns Aura can help get a kill when they get desperate at low life, and it makes other poison users cry XD.

However, Enigma is a good all around choice for Armor.

EDIT, Slow Missile :P

[AnimageCGF]

If I ever remake a druid with rabies in it, I'll resist my normal urge to just go with my primary instincts, and setup myself to use different armors.

I usually just find range is my answer to barbs and smiters, and learning when to switch to my stormshield, and when to switch to my range weapon.

[Findux]

Bramble is a very good armor for rabies druids as long as you don't need frw speed. I use Enigma almost only for the 45%frw, and the +skills, dr, life are just bonus. So if I don't need frw I use bramble ofc :azn:

[AnimageCGF]

Can't think of a situation where I didn't feel my rabies damage is sufficient.

I have a inclination that I'd only utilize Bramble if I went pure rabies and even then, i'd miss the FRW from enigma to run away and let them die.

[Verashiden]

Does the FRW really help against an opponent whose main mode of travel desynchs and someone who likes to chainlock you?

[AnimageCGF]

deshift > tele two screens > being a standing target

Wolves help cure desynch, they don't get fooled, and shift fc tries to help, but no real cure for desynch. If that smiter/hdin is using grief the thorns doesnt really hurt that them.

[johntorrio]

I have a quick question about the use of the 6 soc phase blade and the jewelers phase blade of quickness. if you socket the 6 soc phase blade with 6 sheals you'd have 120ias now wouldnt the same be with the jewelers of quickness? the 40ias mod+4xsheals=120ias. So wouldnt they both essentially do the same? and wouldnt the 6os phase be better since its more versatile with the mods it can have with what you socket it with??

[Oilerfan]

I have a quick question about the use of the 6 soc phase blade and the jewelers phase blade of quickness. if you socket the 6 soc phase blade with 6 sheals you'd have 120ias now wouldnt the same be with the jewelers of quickness? the 40ias mod+4xsheals=120ias. So wouldnt they both essentially do the same? and wouldnt the 6os phase be better since its more versatile with the mods it can have with what you socket it with??

Both are capable of the same versatility, just the jeweler's has massive style points.

[johntorrio]

well with a 6soc phase blade you can socket it with 6 different things, the jewelers you can only socket 4 different things. Its interesting that style can effect the value of an item so much.

[Verashiden]

But you'd be using those two slots for Shaels anyways so it's not like they're THAT different from a versatility standpoint. Unless you're crazy and don't get any IAS on the PB at all >.>.