Terria
31-01-2008, 07:16
Several years before Diablo's reign of terror, a tale of a vicious beast was told across the land of Sanctuary. Many say that the beast breathed fire, and that wherever he walked, the earth beneath him quickly melted into obsidian
dust. His victims were slayed furiously, and their souls devoured by his inhuman rage. Now, after Diablo has taken his seat on Sanctuary's throne, this tale has resurfaced due to supposed sighting of this once legendary monstrosity. New rumors have suggested that he has awakened from his slumber to dethrone the Lord of Terror and take claim to his throne.
"So it begins." Perkele, the God of Fire, says as he steps foot into the Blood Moor. His inactivity has dulled his aptitude for controlling fire. His rage, not what it once was, cannot absorb the essence of his victims. He feels weak, not yet ready to dethrone the Lord. He looks down at his fist, holds it up high, and but seconds later, he is enveloped in light, only to emerge as a wolf. With one last look at the sky, he races off in search for his reign once more.
Introduction
-----------------------------------------------
Hello! This is my first attempt at a guide, and I'm going to do what I can to make it as clear as possible. I'll cover all of the basics, stat points, skill points, items, and throw in a few comments here and there about this build. I hope you can enjoy it as much as I can.
Perkele - The Furystormageddon Wolf!
I had the idea for this guy one day thinking about what kind of silly items I could use to make a very flashy and aesthetic druid to wow people. Using some Chance to Cast items in the fire element, I figured that I'd make this theme based sort of build utilizing mainly the CtC Firestorm on Phoenix and the CtC Firestorm on Torches.
Perkele IS a PvM build, it has survived to level 88 thus far in Hardcore mode with almost no near death experiences, so I'd say the survivability of this build is well above average. First, I'll lay out some pros and cons of it.
Pros:
- High damage output without venturing into the "cookie-cutter" realm of playing.
- With ideal gear, he will have pretty insane resists.
- Plenty of life (like most Shifters.)
- Style points to the max. I've had numerous people compliment me.
- Easily capable of taking down Physical Immunes as well as Fire Immunes.
Cons:
- His life, while high enough, will not compete with some other shifters.
- Will probably not have high damage reduce %.
- Physical/Fire Immunes can sometimes cause a lot of trouble if the Fire immunity can't be broken.
- Expensive.
Stats and Skills
------------------------------------------------
Ok, so let's get the ball rolling with the obligatory stat points. We all pretty much know what to do with them, but for clarity's sake, here you go.
Strength: Enough to use heaviest piece of gear (Don't forget to factor in +Str.)
Dexterity: Enough to use your weapon, I use a Phase Blade, so my dex is relatively high.
Vitality: Everything else goes here.
Energy: Doesn't exist.
Now for the skill points! Unfortunately, for a shifter, most of his points will be placed in the elemental tree to boost Armageddon damage as well as your CtC Firestorm damage. I tried to maximize damage while still leaving slight room to breath for summons and other useful skills in the SS tree. Here is roughly how my character is layed out.
Anyone in SC can choose to ignore the fuzzy summons. I just like having the meat shield.
20 - Armageddon
20 - Volcano (Geddon Synergy)
20 - Molten Boulder (Geddon + CtC Firestorm Synergy)
10 - Fissure (Geddon Timer + CtC Firestorm Synergy)
6 - Elemental Prerequisites
1 - Oak Sage
1 - Grizzly Bear
3 - Grizzly Prereqs (Again, Optional)
1 - Each Shapeshifting Skill except for Shockwave
I think that works out to something like 90 total skill points. Using the skill point quests, this build will technically be finished at about level 78. All extra points can go into the skill of your choice, I chose Lycanthropy for Hardcore, more life, safer. Makes me a happy druid.
Items
--------------------------------------------
Now on to the items section of the guide, I'll do what I can to provide cheaper alternatives to the ideal items, as well as some items to slap on when you really want to light up the screen.
Helm:
Ideal: Jalal's Mane (Mine is Up'd with a Fire Facet)
Affordable: Jalal's Mane! :P
Armor:
Ideal: Chains of Honor
Affordable: Lionheart
Belt:
Ideal: Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Optional: Thundergod's Vigor
Affordable: String of Ears
Shield:
Required: Phoenix Monarch, I know, it's expensive...
Flashy: Phoenix Monarch. :D
Jewelry:
Ideal: Mara's, Raven Frost, Optional Ring
Affordable: Rare +2 Druid Ammy with Resists, Raven Frost, Optional
Flashy: The Rising Sun, Carrion Wind, Wisp Projector. Last two don't fit the fire motiff, though.
Gloves:
Ideal: Dracul's Grasp
Affordable: Venom Grips, Crafted Blood Gloves
Flashy: Hellmouth Gauntlets
Boots:
Ideal: Gore Rider
Optional/Flashy/Affordable/My Choice: Infernostride. (Leaves you with 95 fire resist, too)
Weapon:
Ideal/My Choice: Grief Phase Blade
Grief provides nice poison to help take out PIFI monsters. I use it because PB's are stylish and that cool Hunger, Life Tap vs. Iron Maiden trick. Oh, and Ignore Target Defense.
Ideal/Flashy: Ethereal Breath of the Dying Zerker
Affordable/Flashy: Shael'd Stormlash (well, more affordable. Looks nice with Carrion Wind)
Affordable Options: Anything that will net you decent fury speed/damage. But do try to aim for the above items.
Switch Gear:
Ideal: Call To Arms and Spirit Monarch
Affordable: Fleshrender, Spirit Crystal Sword, Dark Clan Crusher, Sigon's Shield, Splendor.
Inventory:
Required: Druid Torch
Ideal: Anni, 7x Shape Shifting Skillers (Leaves room to grab goodies,) and whatever small charms fill the holes in your build.
Mercanary
------------------------------------------------
There is only one option here! An act 2 Might Mercanary! Since my killing power is already pretty good, I chose to load my merc with MF, that way I can find some nice goodies while slaying monsters.
Helm: Vamp Gaze (PTopaz)
Armor: Black Hades (3x PTopaz)
Weapon: Infinity
Inifnity is definitely the best option for a weapon, but if you absolutely cannot afford it, any high damaging poleaxe will do, but you'll kill slower.
Mid-Level Tactics
------------------------------------------------
This will be a brief section, but since a lot of this gear cannot be used until you're on the higher end of the level spectrum, here are some decent tactics to stay alive until then. I started off the game as a fire elementalist, more or less. Fire's killing power early on is crazy, and it'll really help you rack up the experience points. Since you'll be putting plenty of points into elemental skills anyway, nothing will be wasted.
It wasn't until about level 32 that I started using the shapeshifting tree. I scored a Coldsteel Eye and a very nice rare druid pelt with +skills, these two items alone helped me squeeze by Nightmare until I got to baal runs.
Final Notes
-------------------------------------------------
Despite the fact that this build started off purely to please the aesthetic eye, it is actually quite powerful in PvM. With the suggested gear, your Geddon should be hitting for about 6.5K, your Phoenix CtC Firestorm should be netting
about 1.2K per second, and your Fury should be pretty insane. Grief's numbers don't display accurately, so don't let that fool you. I honestly have not ran across a mob that did not die within a few seconds, unless I was solo'ing in a
full game, but even then killing goes quickly.
A very important final note, especially to those that play HC. Never, ever cast Armageddon outside of your wolf form, because that will leave you very vulnerable for too long until you can cast your Werewolf skill. Using it while shifted will not effect you because your attack skills do not get delayed by the geddon timer.
Thanks to everyone that helped me out with items or baaling along the way. Thanks to OP Xbananax of EHCL for being awesome. Thank you fellow druids for playing the coolest class ever, as well as taking the time to read this. Any
feedback is good feedback (Well, Kind of...)
Good luck and Happy Hunting! Awroooo!
dust. His victims were slayed furiously, and their souls devoured by his inhuman rage. Now, after Diablo has taken his seat on Sanctuary's throne, this tale has resurfaced due to supposed sighting of this once legendary monstrosity. New rumors have suggested that he has awakened from his slumber to dethrone the Lord of Terror and take claim to his throne.
"So it begins." Perkele, the God of Fire, says as he steps foot into the Blood Moor. His inactivity has dulled his aptitude for controlling fire. His rage, not what it once was, cannot absorb the essence of his victims. He feels weak, not yet ready to dethrone the Lord. He looks down at his fist, holds it up high, and but seconds later, he is enveloped in light, only to emerge as a wolf. With one last look at the sky, he races off in search for his reign once more.
Introduction
-----------------------------------------------
Hello! This is my first attempt at a guide, and I'm going to do what I can to make it as clear as possible. I'll cover all of the basics, stat points, skill points, items, and throw in a few comments here and there about this build. I hope you can enjoy it as much as I can.
Perkele - The Furystormageddon Wolf!
I had the idea for this guy one day thinking about what kind of silly items I could use to make a very flashy and aesthetic druid to wow people. Using some Chance to Cast items in the fire element, I figured that I'd make this theme based sort of build utilizing mainly the CtC Firestorm on Phoenix and the CtC Firestorm on Torches.
Perkele IS a PvM build, it has survived to level 88 thus far in Hardcore mode with almost no near death experiences, so I'd say the survivability of this build is well above average. First, I'll lay out some pros and cons of it.
Pros:
- High damage output without venturing into the "cookie-cutter" realm of playing.
- With ideal gear, he will have pretty insane resists.
- Plenty of life (like most Shifters.)
- Style points to the max. I've had numerous people compliment me.
- Easily capable of taking down Physical Immunes as well as Fire Immunes.
Cons:
- His life, while high enough, will not compete with some other shifters.
- Will probably not have high damage reduce %.
- Physical/Fire Immunes can sometimes cause a lot of trouble if the Fire immunity can't be broken.
- Expensive.
Stats and Skills
------------------------------------------------
Ok, so let's get the ball rolling with the obligatory stat points. We all pretty much know what to do with them, but for clarity's sake, here you go.
Strength: Enough to use heaviest piece of gear (Don't forget to factor in +Str.)
Dexterity: Enough to use your weapon, I use a Phase Blade, so my dex is relatively high.
Vitality: Everything else goes here.
Energy: Doesn't exist.
Now for the skill points! Unfortunately, for a shifter, most of his points will be placed in the elemental tree to boost Armageddon damage as well as your CtC Firestorm damage. I tried to maximize damage while still leaving slight room to breath for summons and other useful skills in the SS tree. Here is roughly how my character is layed out.
Anyone in SC can choose to ignore the fuzzy summons. I just like having the meat shield.
20 - Armageddon
20 - Volcano (Geddon Synergy)
20 - Molten Boulder (Geddon + CtC Firestorm Synergy)
10 - Fissure (Geddon Timer + CtC Firestorm Synergy)
6 - Elemental Prerequisites
1 - Oak Sage
1 - Grizzly Bear
3 - Grizzly Prereqs (Again, Optional)
1 - Each Shapeshifting Skill except for Shockwave
I think that works out to something like 90 total skill points. Using the skill point quests, this build will technically be finished at about level 78. All extra points can go into the skill of your choice, I chose Lycanthropy for Hardcore, more life, safer. Makes me a happy druid.
Items
--------------------------------------------
Now on to the items section of the guide, I'll do what I can to provide cheaper alternatives to the ideal items, as well as some items to slap on when you really want to light up the screen.
Helm:
Ideal: Jalal's Mane (Mine is Up'd with a Fire Facet)
Affordable: Jalal's Mane! :P
Armor:
Ideal: Chains of Honor
Affordable: Lionheart
Belt:
Ideal: Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Optional: Thundergod's Vigor
Affordable: String of Ears
Shield:
Required: Phoenix Monarch, I know, it's expensive...
Flashy: Phoenix Monarch. :D
Jewelry:
Ideal: Mara's, Raven Frost, Optional Ring
Affordable: Rare +2 Druid Ammy with Resists, Raven Frost, Optional
Flashy: The Rising Sun, Carrion Wind, Wisp Projector. Last two don't fit the fire motiff, though.
Gloves:
Ideal: Dracul's Grasp
Affordable: Venom Grips, Crafted Blood Gloves
Flashy: Hellmouth Gauntlets
Boots:
Ideal: Gore Rider
Optional/Flashy/Affordable/My Choice: Infernostride. (Leaves you with 95 fire resist, too)
Weapon:
Ideal/My Choice: Grief Phase Blade
Grief provides nice poison to help take out PIFI monsters. I use it because PB's are stylish and that cool Hunger, Life Tap vs. Iron Maiden trick. Oh, and Ignore Target Defense.
Ideal/Flashy: Ethereal Breath of the Dying Zerker
Affordable/Flashy: Shael'd Stormlash (well, more affordable. Looks nice with Carrion Wind)
Affordable Options: Anything that will net you decent fury speed/damage. But do try to aim for the above items.
Switch Gear:
Ideal: Call To Arms and Spirit Monarch
Affordable: Fleshrender, Spirit Crystal Sword, Dark Clan Crusher, Sigon's Shield, Splendor.
Inventory:
Required: Druid Torch
Ideal: Anni, 7x Shape Shifting Skillers (Leaves room to grab goodies,) and whatever small charms fill the holes in your build.
Mercanary
------------------------------------------------
There is only one option here! An act 2 Might Mercanary! Since my killing power is already pretty good, I chose to load my merc with MF, that way I can find some nice goodies while slaying monsters.
Helm: Vamp Gaze (PTopaz)
Armor: Black Hades (3x PTopaz)
Weapon: Infinity
Inifnity is definitely the best option for a weapon, but if you absolutely cannot afford it, any high damaging poleaxe will do, but you'll kill slower.
Mid-Level Tactics
------------------------------------------------
This will be a brief section, but since a lot of this gear cannot be used until you're on the higher end of the level spectrum, here are some decent tactics to stay alive until then. I started off the game as a fire elementalist, more or less. Fire's killing power early on is crazy, and it'll really help you rack up the experience points. Since you'll be putting plenty of points into elemental skills anyway, nothing will be wasted.
It wasn't until about level 32 that I started using the shapeshifting tree. I scored a Coldsteel Eye and a very nice rare druid pelt with +skills, these two items alone helped me squeeze by Nightmare until I got to baal runs.
Final Notes
-------------------------------------------------
Despite the fact that this build started off purely to please the aesthetic eye, it is actually quite powerful in PvM. With the suggested gear, your Geddon should be hitting for about 6.5K, your Phoenix CtC Firestorm should be netting
about 1.2K per second, and your Fury should be pretty insane. Grief's numbers don't display accurately, so don't let that fool you. I honestly have not ran across a mob that did not die within a few seconds, unless I was solo'ing in a
full game, but even then killing goes quickly.
A very important final note, especially to those that play HC. Never, ever cast Armageddon outside of your wolf form, because that will leave you very vulnerable for too long until you can cast your Werewolf skill. Using it while shifted will not effect you because your attack skills do not get delayed by the geddon timer.
Thanks to everyone that helped me out with items or baaling along the way. Thanks to OP Xbananax of EHCL for being awesome. Thank you fellow druids for playing the coolest class ever, as well as taking the time to read this. Any
feedback is good feedback (Well, Kind of...)
Good luck and Happy Hunting! Awroooo!