Slow-n-Glow: The Slowing Phantasm build (A1 Inferno)

[Phillter]

I was experimenting with builds in A1 Inferno last night (really tired of the Zombie Bears/Vision Quest and Splinters/CC builds), and I found a good one that kills quickly and safely. Here is the build:

Poison Dart - Splinters
Soul Barrage - Phantasm
Grasp of the Dead - Unbreakable Grasp
Zombie Wall - Unrelenting Grip
Fetish Army - Head Hunters
Spirit Walk - Jaunt

Blood Ritual
Spiritual Attunement
Spirit Vessel

Alternatives for Passives:
Gruesome Feast (+ gold radius gear helps here, as does health from globes).
Grave Injustice may do nicely to give shorter Wall CDs, given that you have some +radius gear.
Jungle Fortitude if you feel you are dying too quickly.

Concept of the build is to keep enemies from reaching you, while making them trudge through several stacks of Phantasm. That is the main trick that lets this build work: Phantasm can stack on itself when cast on the same spot! Depending on your cast speed, you can get 6ish Phantasms in the same spot, stacking for 45% * 6 = 270% weapon damage per second. Combat usually opens with a Zombie Wall, followed by a Grasp and a few Phantasms. After this just watch the health melt off of all the poor souls caught on the other side of that wall. Elite/Champion packs are pretty easily dealt with by throwing down the Wall and Grasp with Phantasms, then (if you can't kill the pack before the wall expires) using Fetish Army to keep the pack distracted while you throw down a few more Phantasms and burn them down with Splinters.

The only mod I've had trouble dealing with (did a few Butcher runs last night) was Mortar. It fires over the wall, and the champs are not slowed much by the Grasp, and it is a build that uses range to its advantage. However, that is what Spirit Walk is thrown in there for: getting the #$%^ out of dodge when you meet a rough pack.

Phantasm does great damage if enemies stay in it, and even if they don't, it isn't a terrible kiting skill. Throw some down while running away in front of you, then lead the pack in circles, refreshing the Phantasms along your path.

One thing I am trying to find a solution for is that there are no direct mana/life regen skills in this build as it stands. This can be troubling for kiting, and relying on health globes isn't really my style. I tried using the health and mana regen Spirit Walk runes, but found that the 2 second duration is just a little too short to get good distance while kiting. Gruesome Feast worked quite well, but again that is depending on Health Globes to drop to be useful.

Let me know your thoughts and suggestions!

[LucianDK]

Now thats an interesting build that isnt a VQ Bears build. Spirit barrage phantasm is obscenely powerful if you can keep enemies in it.

[yxalitis]

Hmm, I used this too, except I switched to Haunt with Grasping Spirit.
Same principle, but more damage for less mana, try it and see.

Maybe replace Jaunt with mana regen as SB drains mana fast, or HP regen. You shouldn't need jaunt, if 2 seconds isn't enough, 3 isn't either!

And I use Fetish Ambush for that inevitably moment when you are suddenly surrounded by 100 enemies!
One click, and BOOM! they are all dead, AND you have 20 seconds of Fetish entertainment.

[LucianDK]

Hmm, I used this too, except I switched to Haunt with Grasping Spirit.
Same principle, but more damage for less mana, try it and see.

Maybe replace Jaunt with mana regen as SB drains mana fast, or HP regen. You shouldn't need jaunt, if 2 seconds isn't enough, 3 isn't either!

And I use Fetish Ambush for that inevitably moment when you are suddenly surrounded by 100 enemies!
One click, and BOOM! they are all dead, AND you have 20 seconds of Fetish entertainment.

Thats my own experience from spamming spirit barrage - phantasm it WILL eat your mana, jaunt is pretty much a waste and works better with honored guest to recover it

And I think you dont understand the Haunt spell. It does about 48% weapon damage per second to a single target and cannot be stacked. Whereas Spirit Barrage - Phantasm can be stacked and hits multiple targets, giving it the boss pack melter feature if you can keep foes within the effect.

[yxalitis]

Thats my own experience from spamming spirit barrage - phantasm it WILL eat your mana, jaunt is pretty much a waste and works better with honored guest to recover it

And I think you dont understand the Haunt spell. It does about 48% weapon damage per second to a single target and cannot be stacked. Whereas Spirit Barrage - Phantasm can be stacked and hits multiple targets, giving it the boss pack melter feature if you can keep foes within the effect.

I do understand the Haunt spell thaks very much, it does 48% damage for 12 seconds, no way you're killing Elites in less time on Hell and up difficulty anyway, and with Haunt I can cast a few at specific elites, and run away off screen, content in the knowledge that the damage is being done. I use so little mana I can use PtV to boost damage, you can't do that with SB.
Yes, Phantasm stacks, but 10 yards is a pretty small AOE, and Elite mobs are VERY MOBILE. I found the Phantasm was always just left sitting on it's own, keeping some bugs entertained, while the mob I was aiming for are ALREADY ON ME.
Yes Grasp and WoZ, I know, but Elites have this amazing ability to seemingly ignore those, particularly those b@stard desert lob bombers!

[moreno]

I used the same build in A1 Inferno with great success (with Mana Rune for Spirit Walk). Currently I'm in Act 3 and i changed Fetish Army for Hex. Act 3 elites killed fetishes very quickly so with its 120 sec cooldown spell became useless. You can cast hex each 15 sec with shaman lasting 12 sec per each cast, and it works great for constantly disturbing and immobilizing elites in Act 3.

[Phillter]

...Act 3 elites killed fetishes very quickly...

I was under the impression that the fetishes that are summoned from that skill and Fetish Syncophants were immortal but lasted for a certain length of time? If that isn't the case then I can certainly see how Hex would be beneficial. Do you use the +20% damage rune or the healing one?

[Xoxie]

They definitely die :(

[moreno]

I was under the impression that the fetishes that are summoned from that skill and Fetish Syncophants were immortal but lasted for a certain length of time? If that isn't the case then I can certainly see how Hex would be beneficial. Do you use the +20% damage rune or the healing one?

They die, and in ACT 3 they die very quickly. Yea I'm using 20% dmg rune.

[NovemberSnow]

I think this build is ideal for Act 1 where half your enemies are slow moving zombies and skeletons. But how does this build fare beyond Act 1? With the increasing number of naturally fast enemies and ambushes from odd angles, I don't think the slow spells can keep enemies in Phantasm stack long enough.