Matriarch Arcadia - Kicksin

**skipjack** · 04-07-2011, 02:11

Matriarch Arcadia - Kicksin

Note: This is my first official Mat/Pat thread, although this is most definitely not my first Mat/Pat.

Introduction

Ever since my Classic WW Barb, Lux-Aeterna, hit level 90, my interest in D2 has been on the wane. I attribute this mostly to the fact that solo levelling in Classic is tedious to the extent that it sucks the very essence of life from your soul. I love Classic, but I am not particularly fond of functioning as a mindless drone when I am not a work.

In order to reinvigorate my interest in D2, I decided to try out some sort of fun build. My initial thoughts were BearSin and BearSorc, but then my mind switched into theorycraft mode and produced something I could really get behind:

Kicksin w/ Fanatacism + Concentration + Might + Amplify Damage

And so it came to pass that, following an excessive amount of LK/Travincal running, Arcadia was born!

Code:

Character name  : Arcadia
Character type  : Assassin
Character level : 79
Character exp   : 653235186

Strength        : 101 (223)
Energy          : 25  (35)
Dexterity       : 160 (180)
Vitality        : 204 (204)

Life            : 926 / 818 (1384)
Mana            : 272 / 142 (415)
Stamina         : 442 / 422 (690)

Fire res        : 5  (72)
Cold res        : 65 (75)
Lightning res   : 30 (80)
Poison res      : 75 (75)

LCS

Skills

Martial Arts
Shadow Disciplines
Traps

Gear

Arcadia
Helm: Demon Crest (Um)
Amulet: Atma's Scarab
Weapon1: 'Beast' War Axe
Weapon2: 'Call to Arms' Crystal Sword
Armour: 'Fortitude' Archon Plate
Shield1: Stormshield (Um)
Shield2: 'Spirit' Monarch
Gloves: Raven Hold
Ring1: Raven Frost
Belt: Nosferatu's Coil
Ring2: Doom Grasp
Boots: Gore Rider (Upped)

Spoiler

Pratham (Mercenary)
Helm: Vampire Gaze
Weapon: 'Pride' Thresher (Ethereal)
Armour: 'Treachery' Dusk Shroud

Spoiler

Gameplay

Overall, Arcadia was a dominatrix. No enemies posed a truly serious threat, although Arcadia did manage to die on four separate occasions due to significant errors on my part. Honestly, I could have probably avoided deaths altogether if I had just remembered that there were potions on my belt; I do believe I only ever used potions either between fights to counteract poison or after already performing a full retreat. Still, despite having to cope with my completely idiotic playstyle, Aracdia proved to be a true femme fatale.

Gearwise, Aradia started out twinked with some Envy gear, switched to RC + Twitch for Andariel, and then upgraded the RC to The General's Tan Do Li Ga + Swordback Hold for Duriel. The trifecta of Tan Do Li Ga + Twitch + Swordback was so effective that all three pieces remained equipped until replaced by the final gear selections at the end of NM. Even so, it may have been wise to replace the Swordback with something like a Gerke's Sanctuary when it became available, as I do blame the distinct lack of DR or %DR on the Swordback for Arcadia's death to a pack of Bone Fetishes. Anyway, once the final gear was equipped, Arcadia was able to lay waste to everything in sight at a phenomenal pace. I do somewhat regret just falling short of maxing Arcadia's fire resistance and having a 20% IAS overstack, but those seem like rather silly gripes in retrospect.

As far as general strategy goes, I am a fan of neither full clears nor single pass. Instead, I prefer to just dash from one quick levelling spot to the next. In practice, this means playing primarily at /p1 and paying little heed to anything that is not A1 Normal or general A5, with the possible exceptions of Normal Tombs and general CS. It is a strategy that works well, although it does tend to label most of the acts as little more than chores. I actually managed to surprise myself by bothering to complete all quests and collect all waypoints, although I only did so for the sake of this thread.

In terms of actual combat strategy, Arcadia mainly just telestomped anything worth killing and a few things things that were not. The fact that the DF --> DT --> DF... combination acted as both a means of transport and a means of slaughter was quite cool. Most of the crowd control was provide courtesy of Shadow Master, while Pratham served as a meatshield. As for utility spells, Cloak of Shadows was used somewhat regularly, Death Sentry was used situationally, and Mind Blast was only used under the most dire of circumstances (*cough*Nilhathak*cough*).

When it came time to face Hell Ancients, I am certain fight lasted no more than twenty seconds and it only lasted that long because I was fumbling with the PrtSc button. I still managed to botch the picture due to accidently killing Korlic while trying to get a shot of Arcadia kicking him, but, suffice it to say, the fight was pathetically easy.

Deaths

Arcadia died to the following enemies:

Normal Ancient Kaa the Soulless - Arcadia had just equipped the Tan Do Li Ga + Twitch + Swordback epic gear combo and I thought she was invincible. As it turns out, 5% poison resistance and an inability to hit the potion buttion will not suffice when you choose to do battle with Kaa whilst getting swarmed on all sides.
Lasersnake + Frenzytaur Bosspack - Arcadia was hopping around NM Crystalline Passage when I decided to activate an Evil Urn whilst being engaged by a bosspack of Frenzytaurs. She almost escaped, but I once again forgot to hit the potion button.
Bone Fetishes - Arcadia was clearing the NM Throne of Destruction when I decided telestomping a Vampire surrounded by Bone Fetishes was a good idea. I reckon there was enough time to escape, but my strategy instead involved Aracadia staying there and kicking whatever was next to her. Arcadia was still wearing Swordback, so I blame it.
Venom Lord Bosspack - Arcadia was prancing through Hell Outer Steppes on her way to visit Izual when I made her pounce on a bosspack of Venom Lords. Apparently her fire resistance at the time was lower than I realized. This instance prompted me to socket the Um into her Helm.

Drops

Hellforge - Amn/Hel/Um

Hell Baal's drop was atrocious as per usual, but NM Baal's drop more than makes up for it:

Spoiler

Other Thoughts

-As effective as the Fanatacism + Concentration + Might + Amplify Damage combination was, I did expect slightly larger damage numbers given the fact that Myrmidon Greaves have the highest average base damage of any non-ethereal "weapon" in the game.
-A 'Phoenix' Monarch for even more damage would have been awesome.
-As great as Arcadia was, I will most likely delete her just as soon as I finish pillaging her socket quests.
-Apparently kicking does not result in any kind of durability loss.
-Considering how effective and easy to gear they are, it is surprising how few Kicksins are seen in tournaments.
-I only chose a Mercenary name Pratham so I could pretend he was Jason Statham.

All in all, I am incredibly satisfied with the way Arcadia turned out. The Fanatacism + Concentration + Might + Amplify Damage combination was most definitely overkill, but it made things interesting. I would certainly recommend this build to others, assuming they can afford the wealth of runewords required. I hope my next project is just as exhilarating.

Thanks for reading,

skipjack

**corax** · 04-07-2011, 05:04

nice gear combo. i love the fact that shoes have the highest average base damage. if only a barb could use them as boxing gloves.

**nepeta** · 04-07-2011, 07:38

Nice mat therer skipjack, looks like a tough lady, must have been fast with BoS on. Too bad you're trashing her :(

corax: Didn't all classes have a kick-attack once? Remember RTB once saying they had, but it got nerfed to barrel-opening thing. Even if the animation wouldn't be as sweet as the sin's, a barb kicking in anger would be the most comical thing ever -^

**YoungDbl** · 04-07-2011, 22:31

Nice mat, and a nice write up man. Just one question, who is jason statham? I tried google with epic failure.

**skipjack** · 04-07-2011, 23:23

Originally Posted by YoungDbl

Just one question, who is jason statham?

**YoungDbl** · 05-07-2011, 00:50

lol, oh so epic.

**maxicek** · 05-07-2011, 11:40

Congratulations on the matriarch, shame you will delete her though.

Originally Posted by skipjack

-As effective as the Fanatacism + Concentration + Might + Amplify Damage combination was, I did expect slightly larger damage numbers given the fact that Myrmidon Greaves have the highest average base damage of any non-ethereal "weapon" in the game.

I'm probably stating the obvious here, but the issue is that you basically have no "on weapon" ED. Everything is off weapon, so not as effective. If you really want to optimise the damage, the Kicks section in the Assassin FAQ has it all.

Originally Posted by skipjack

-A 'Phoenix' Monarch for even more damage would have been awesome.

I have never tried it myself, but apparently the 40% Chance To Cast Level 22 Firestorm On Striking plays havoc with the kicking animation, basically making Phoenix useless on a kicker.

**Greebo** · 06-07-2011, 18:33

Grats!

That's a very decent circlet, you get bonus style points for using rare headgear.

Between Fade and Stormshield you went above the 50% cap on %DR, I think. %DR is not my favorite mod, personally. It gives false sense of security in my opinion: once you get amped, the damage you take triples. But that's my private opinion, people seem to love all kinds of PDR.

How often did the amp trigger? Was it reliable? I made a strafe-zon around ctc Amp and I was somewhat disappointed.

Nicely done!
--Greebo

**skipjack** · 07-07-2011, 01:35

Thanks Everyone!

@maxicek: Yes, Phoenix would actually be quite terrible in practice, but I cannot deny how much sexier the upper portion of the LCS would be; as for the lower portion, I am sure the nerfed resistances would disgust me.

@Greebo: I had actually intended to equip a different Circlet, but the massive strength bonus was too good to pass up. I would have preferred not to waste an Um socketing it, but I have a fetish for maxed resistances.

By my calculations, Arcadia had an excess of 13% DR. This actually annoyed me a fair bit and I did consider switching to a Spike Thorn to bring the %DR back down to the cap, but that was clearly a terrible idea. I could have also invested less in Fade, but, as already mentioned, I have a max resistance fetish. Another option would have been PDR, which I do recognize as superior to %DR, but I try to be consistent and Fade demands %DR.

Amp was mostly there for bosses and physical immunes; against normal enemies, it was hardly relevant, although I doubt that would have been the case had I stuck to /p8. In any case, high AR combined with 5 kick cycles at 7/3 frames per kick ensured that Amp was applied quite quickly, even if very few enemies survived long enough to feel the effects.