[CLASS BUILD] The Fate Testarossa

[Ascaloth]

 

What happens when you look at Burn Baby Burn, and think to yourself; "I wonder if I can do that, except for Shock damage?"

 

And then you look at the Lightning Rod, and think, "A good start, but a little too gimmicky for me. Let's see if I can make something more conventional, yet still powerful."

 

Then you look around for a way to max out Might, come across the classic Lady of Pain. And think to yourself, "Yeah, this will work, it'll make this one useful for melee as well."

 

And then you put it all together, take a step back to see what you've wrought, and go "Wait a minute..."

 

 

 

===================================
The Fate Testarossa
===================================
Difficulty: PotD v.1.1.0.0035
--------------------------------------------------------------
Class: Ascetic (Fury + Helwalker)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Race: Pale Elf
--------------------------------------------------------------
Background: The White That Wends (Mystic)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Stats (char creation, no Berath's Blessings):
MIG: 18
CON: 10
DEX: 11
PER: 20
INT: 16
RES: 03
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Important Skills: Athletics, Metaphysics
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Abilities (a=auto, r=recommended, !=important)

 

PL1

Druid

Dancing Bolts (a)

Sunbeam ®

Monk

Swift Strikes ®

Force of Anguish ®

Lesser Wounds

 

PL2

Druid

Burst of Summer Flame (a)

Woodskin

Taste of the Hunt ®

Monk

Dance of Death (!)

Common

Two Handed Style ®

 

PL3

Druid

Returning Storm (a) (!)

Twin Stones

Monk

Swift Flurry ®

Blade Turning (!)

Soul Mirror (!)

Efficient Anguish ®

 

PL4

Druid

Hail Storm (a)

Heart of the Storm (!)

Monk

Enduring Dance (!)

Duality of Mortal Presence (!)

Thunderous Blows (!)

 

PL5

Druid

Relentless Storm (a) (!)

Nature's Terror (!)

Rapid Casting

Monk

The Long Pain ®

 

PL6

Druid

Sunlance (a)

Conjure Greater Blight

Monk

Turning Wheel ®

Iron Wheel

Parting Sorrow

 

PL7

Druid

Weather the Storm (a)

Monk

Instruments of Pain (!)

Heartbeat Drumming (!)

Common

Accurate Empower

 

---------------------------------------------------------------
Items (*=additional enchantments; !=important, r=recommended):

Weapon set 1: Lord Darryn's Voulge  (!)
Weapon set 2: Chromoprismatic Quarterstaff

Chest: Deltro's Cage (Conductive Storm*!) (!)

Helmet: Heaven's Cacophony (!)

Amulet: Cauldron Shard

Cloak: Mantle of the Seven Bolts (!)

Gloves: Boltcatchers (!)

Ring: Kuaru's Prize ®

Ring: Ring of Boundless Stars ®

Belt: The Maker's Own Power (!)

Boots: Rakhan Field Boots ®

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

The Fate Testarossa is what happens when you attempt to optimize a Watcher to deal as much Shock damage as possible, and only realize halfway through that you've accidentally made her more anime than Ydwin was. That said, it also makes this Watcher very fun to play, as she is not just anime in looks, but also in potency as well.

 

Build

 

One of the key elements of the Fate Testarossa is maximizing Might, which means it could work very well indeed for Dwarf or Aumaua watchers with their +2 MIG racial bonuses. However, this is not strictly necessary; I chose a Pale Elf for my Watcher, and gave her 18 MIG. Then, she got another +1 MIG from The Maker's Own Power belt, and another +1 MIG from the Pancake pet. That makes for a nice, even 20 MIG, which combined with the +10 MIG from full Wounds on Helwalker and another +5 MIG from Thunderous Blows, lets you hit the Attribute cap of 35 Might just like that. If you've already got the bonus from Gift from the Machine, you can even forego the pet.

 

My Watcher being a Pale Elf also means she has the Elemental Endurance racial, which gives her AR against Burn and Freeze damage. Combined with the Shock AR from Mantle of the Seven Bolts and Corrode AR from Cauldron Shard and Rakhan Field Boots, it makes her resilient against elemental damage for a bonus.

 

For her Culture, I chose The White that Wends for the +1 PER bonus. As an Elf and with maxed Perception, that adds up to 20 PER, which is important in PotD for ensuring reliable Hits with her spells. I also boosted her INT with my remaining Attribute points, as she is reliant on AoE spells and could use the boost in area covered. On the other hand, I did not go out of my way to raise her DEX, as the spells that the Fate Testarossa relies on tend to be of the auto-proc variety; that means that Action Speed isn't too critical to her success.

 

Electrifying the Opposition

 

Of course, the true power of the Fate Testarossa lies in how badly she can Shock the enemy. With +2 Shock PL from Deltro's Cage, and another +3 PL from Lord Darryn's Voulge, the Fate Testarossa's Relentless Storm can prove to be very shocking indeed.

 

 

Incidentally, if you can find a Sapphire early enough in the game to enchant Conductive Storm unto Deltro's Cage, that will give you early access to Relentless Storm, which could prove quite useful indeed.

 

The fully-upgraded Lord Darryn's Voulge also offers the option to cast Ball Lightning, which is basically a slow-moving Crackling Bolt (another cast of which you could also find with Boltcatchers). Cast at the right moment, the damage that the Fate Testarossa can do with it can look like this;

 

 

Pretty sweet, ain't it?

 

As has been demonstrated, the Fate Testarossa is primarily a DPS caster. However, she can be perfectly competent in melee as well.

 

Melee

 

v1.2 Note: The effects of Static Charge has changed with patch 1.2, see it here.

 

This again is thanks to Lord Darryn's Voulge, because its Static Charge enchantment can translate the Fate Testarossa's melee strikes into fairly impressive Shock AoE damage.

 

 

Another piece of equipment that can make this Watcher even more dangerous in melee is the helmet Heaven's Cacophony, which offers Avenging Storm, a PL8 Druid spell that would otherwise not have been available due to multiclassing limitations. Apart from retaliatory Shock damage on any enemy who does a melee attack on the Fate Testarossa, it also enjoys a synergy with Lord Darryn's Voulge due to this;

 

 

Yup, that's Avenging Storm proccing off Static Charge.

 

Now, for a Watcher who specializes in Shock damage, you would think I might go with Lightning Strikes instead of Swift Flurry. A reasonable question, but the thing is this; Lord Darryn's Voulge has a percentage to activate Bolting Strikes, which has basically the same effect as Lightning Strikes. So when you combine it with Swift Flurry like this;

 

 

The DEX bonus does not stack, but the Shock lash and the additional attack on Crit does. Meaning you get what is essentially a Lightning Flurry.

 

That said, this Watcher generally wants to be the one doing the melee attacks, not defending herself from them. For that reason, Blade Turning can be useful in protecting her from hostiles in melee range for a while, and she can use Force of Anguish to kick them to the curb until she's good and ready to take the fight to them on her own terms.

 

For additional protection, Nature's Terror produces an aura around the Fate Testarossa that not only does even more Shock damage to enemies in melee range (and probably procs Avenging Storm as well), but also inflicts Resolve afflictions on the unlucky sods.

 

Ranged

 

At Level 19, the Fate Testarossa gains the ability to fight at distance as well. She can do that even earlier with The Long Pain, but it really comes into its own when she can take Instruments of Pain, letting her attack with Lord Darryn's Voulge from 5m away. And if you're wondering...

 

 

Yes, Instruments of Pain can proc Static Charge as well.

 

...incidentally, have you noticed I've yet to really mention much about the Mantle of the Seven Bolts yet?

 

Nuking

 

v1.2 Note: The effects of Storm of Seven Bolts has changed with patch 1.2, see it here.

 

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

 

 

The Mantle of the Seven Bolts is impressive enough when it's used to clear swarms of mobs, but it really comes into its own when fired point-blank at the huge boss monsters, which have hit circles large enough that you can direct all seven Bolts into them. Backed with Heart of the Storm and the +5 Shock PL, the Fate Testarossa can blow away the really big ones with near-impunity.

 

For example...

 

 

You'd think Galawain would have known better by now than to send a Kraken against the Watcher, given that she handily dispatched just one such creature in the White March half a decade ago.

 

 

Poor Scyorielaphas gets it especially hard, going from Healthy straight to her present wretched state with one blast.

 

 

Her compatriot Jadaferlas may not have the same weaknesses, but she doesn't fair much better than Scy does.

 

Of course, the Mantle of the Seven Bolts is still a top choice for clearing entire rooms, as Nemnok and Friends would find out to their sorrow.

 

 

And even all the way to the end, even the mighty Guardian of Ukaizo quails before the sheer power of the Fate Testarossa;

 

 

Pros

 

And the best thing about the Fate Testarossa build? You can get the most important Shock gear very early on in the game. Three of these can be found in Neketaka alone; Deltro's Cage can be obtained from Ezzali Bardatto's dead body, Heaven's Cacophony can be bought from Wanika in Queen's Berth, and the Mantle of the Seven Bolts can be bought at Iolfr's Raiments in Periki's Overlook. As for Lord Darryn's Voulge, it can be obtained and upgraded relatively early as long as you know which island to sail to (and have equipped your ship and crew accordingly for the relevant challenge). Only Boltcatchers is a late-game gear, and it's by far the least powerful of the four.

 

Cons

 

Notice how I didn't post a screenshot of the Fate Testarossa owning the Giant Cave Grub? Yeah, it's because that bugger is immune to Shock damage. She was practically reduced to hitting the first boss monster you ever meet in the game with a stick. :/

 

That said, there are other types of spells that this Watcher can cast if she meets enemies that are immune to Shock damage. More importantly, the Fate Testarossa can prove to be particularly indiscriminate in her damage-dealing; whether a bug or working as intended, the Static Charge from Lord Darryn's Voulge hits your own party members as well, and this includes the Avenging Storm proc. Nature's Terror can also do the same thing as well, and sometimes end up shutting down your own party's abilities from Resolve afflictions.

 

Quite a few of my party's KOs are the fault of this Watcher herself, for that matter. There's a reason I outfitted my Matthew Mercers... I mean, Eder with the Iridiscent Scale and the Mundane Shell (both with Shock reduction enchantments), and Aloth kept his own Leather armor with elemental reduction enchantments, along with Cadhu Scath. The Fate Testarossa's friendly fire is usually manageable, but can occasionally get so bad I've considered "Collateral Damage Barbie" as a working title for this build before settling on the current one.

 

That said, I like to think it's very much in character for this Watcher.

 

Final Thoughts

 

 

I'll make lightning strike as many times as I want, Your Majesty.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Ascaloth

[AndreaColombo]

Very sweet build!

[dunehunter]

Monk is still the strongest melee class even after nerf,

 

Best single target dps: Swift Flurry + Heartdrumming,

 

Best aoe dps: Flagellant's Path since charge is nerfed,

 

Best aoe CC among meleer: torment raise.

Edited June 17, 2018 by dunehunter

[AndreaColombo]

Monk is still the strongest melee class even after nerf,

 

Only until they read this sentence

[Ascaloth]

Very sweet build!

 

Thanks. 

 

Monk is still the strongest melee class even after nerf,

 

Best single target dps: Swift Flurry + Heartdrumming,

 

Best aoe dps: Flagellant's Path since charge is nerfed,

 

Best aoe CC among meleer: torment raise.

 

To be fair, I wasn't actually expecting this Watcher to be as powerful in melee as she turned out to be. I took Helwalker simply for the Might stacking and defensive options, with melee as an afterthought. It was pretty surprising for me the first time she hit a Static Charge when I ordered her to auto-attack. 

 

That said, Fate is still not as optimized for melee as a dedicated character would be; no Helm of the Falcon, no Armored Grace, wearing heavy armor, using a 2H weapon etc. It's why I emphasized that if Fate has to melee, it has to be on her own terms instead of the enemy's.

[SamOftheUels]

This is a damn sexy build.

 

I've done pretty much the same thing but with Tempest - Fury/Zerker - But is slightly more ranged caster than melee, but can hop into melee with great effect with the same weps you've got going on here.

 

You're is way more optimized in doing what it says it's going to do, mine is more for me, my playstyle, so different gear allowing me to cast different spells etc.

 

I need to try this out.

 

My Tempest is a powerhouse of Casting DPS with all that sexy Pen and action speed buffs etc

Edited June 18, 2018 by SamOftheUels

[Ascaloth]

This is a damn sexy build.

 

I've done pretty much the same thing but with Tempest - Fury/Zerker - But is slightly more ranged caster than melee, but can hop into melee with great effect with the same weps you've got going on here.

 

You're is way more optimized in doing what it says it's going to do, mine is more for me, my playstyle, so different gear allowing me to cast different spells etc.

 

I need to try this out.

 

My Tempest is a powerhouse of Casting DPS with all that sexy Pen and action speed buffs etc

 

Thanks. 

 

I guess that's one way to deal with the Confused Affliction that Berserker's Frenzy causes; make it irrelevant by using a weapon which will cause you to put out friendly fire either way. You don't really have to care about neutralizing Confused at that point. 

[SamOftheUels]

 

This is a damn sexy build.

 

I've done pretty much the same thing but with Tempest - Fury/Zerker - But is slightly more ranged caster than melee, but can hop into melee with great effect with the same weps you've got going on here.

 

You're is way more optimized in doing what it says it's going to do, mine is more for me, my playstyle, so different gear allowing me to cast different spells etc.

 

I need to try this out.

 

My Tempest is a powerhouse of Casting DPS with all that sexy Pen and action speed buffs etc

 

Thanks. 

 

I guess that's one way to deal with the Confused Affliction that Berserker's Frenzy causes; make it irrelevant by using a weapon which will cause you to put out friendly fire either way. You don't really have to care about neutralizing Confused at that point. 

 

 

Exactly mate, if my companions wanna travel with me, they gotta endure the odd lightning bolt or 2.

 

I just love roleplaying Druid Fury for many reasons - you're like your own god - no Magran this, or Rmygrand that, no puny wizard archmage circle to consort with. I'm a storm god son, feel my wrath. Gods and mages alike can quake in my presence, for I have ascended.

[Dorftek]

Lol posted in wrong thread sry.

Edited June 18, 2018 by Dorftek

[dunehunter]

@Ascaloth I tried this build, but I used Fighter instead of Druid, then I use Deltro's Cage Helm instead, my jaw dropped when I see how good Deltro's Cage Helm + Lord Darryn's Voulge + Flagellant's Path combines together...

 

Static Charge now seems to not only hurt enemy but also allies, so it charges your Deltro's Cage with extra elec lash. And I'm not so sure how Static Charge works because when I use Flagellant's Path or Clear Out, everybody just explodes includes me... Then I found out I get 300%+ elec lash bonus from Deltro's Cage, so every stack of Static Charge does over 100+ elec damage to everybody in the area....

[Climhazzard]

Monk is still the strongest melee class even after nerf,

 

Best single target dps: Swift Flurry + Heartdrumming,

 

Best aoe dps: Flagellant's Path since charge is nerfed,

 

Best aoe CC among meleer: torment raise.

 

 

The description of Flagellant's path now says that the full attack only effects the target, so I've been assuming it's no longer a powerful AoE...  or is this wrong?

 

@OP  It's to bad there's no transforming armors to simulate your magical girl build, lol.

[dunehunter]

 

Monk is still the strongest melee class even after nerf,

 

Best single target dps: Swift Flurry + Heartdrumming,

 

Best aoe dps: Flagellant's Path since charge is nerfed,

 

Best aoe CC among meleer: torment raise.

 

The description of Flagellant's path now says that the full attack only effects the target, so I've been assuming it's no longer a powerful AoE... or is this wrong?

 

@OP It's to bad there's no transforming armors to simulate your magical girl build, lol.

It always hit everybody on the path just like old charge.

[Ascaloth]

 

Monk is still the strongest melee class even after nerf,

 

Best single target dps: Swift Flurry + Heartdrumming,

 

Best aoe dps: Flagellant's Path since charge is nerfed,

 

Best aoe CC among meleer: torment raise.

 

 

The description of Flagellant's path now says that the full attack only effects the target, so I've been assuming it's no longer a powerful AoE...  or is this wrong?

 

@OP  It's to bad there's no transforming armors to simulate your magical girl build, lol.

 

 

More's the pity, yes. 

 

 

 

Monk is still the strongest melee class even after nerf,

 

Best single target dps: Swift Flurry + Heartdrumming,

 

Best aoe dps: Flagellant's Path since charge is nerfed,

 

Best aoe CC among meleer: torment raise.

 

The description of Flagellant's path now says that the full attack only effects the target, so I've been assuming it's no longer a powerful AoE... or is this wrong?

 

@OP It's to bad there's no transforming armors to simulate your magical girl build, lol.

It always hit everybody on the path just like old charge.

 

 

Well, don't just tell us about it, show us! Post a build for us to see! 

[sarcongin]

I guess this is too squishy for solo.. ? :D

[Dorftek]

I guess this is too squishy for solo.. ? :D

No its not. Nothing is "too squishy" for solo really. Only on the first island where ur options are very limited. You either build a very tanky character for solo, or u make a character with good CC and dps and u use good positioning and stride to round up enemies. The game has tons of options for u to solve encounters other then "tank and spank".

[Ascaloth]

I guess this is too squishy for solo.. ? :D

 

Most likely. It may be possible to make Fate PotD-solo capable with a few changes in the build, but I'm not so much of a power builder that tackling that particular challenge is fun for me, personally. Anyone who wants to try their hand at that can feel free to do so.

 

My focus when designing builds are on maximizing synergy for a specific role with implied party support, and Fate at its core is about making the most effective Shock-based battlefield control I can think of.

[sarcongin]

Thx! I might give it a go. I'd like to multi druid for a solo run but haven't yet come up with a decent build.

[ibanix]

Why metaphysics as a recommended skill?

[Ascaloth]

Why metaphysics as a recommended skill?

 

The choice of Skills are not really all that important to be fair, especially the passive ones. I simply went with Metaphysics because of the backup weapon, the Chromoprismatic Quarterstaff.

 

Again to be fair, there won't be too many occasions you'll feel the need to switch off Lord Darryn's Voulge, some of the few exceptions being if you need a Deflection boost in a pinch, or you meet something that's best dealt with through Crush damage. Also if you decide at some point to have some fun with Instruments of Pain; it applies fully to Reach-type weapons like quarterstaffs and pikes, and with the Chromoprismatic Quarterstaff you can hit targets up to 9m away. That's just short of the arquebus and the bows, but it's a fair bit more than the one-handed ranged weapons. 

[Archaven]

awesome build. next character to play with. now can you attach marin's portraits so i can use it for myself?

 

ps. i like dex and i'll go with 20 dex with this build XD

Edited June 20, 2018 by Archaven

[Ascaloth]

awesome build. next character to play with. now can you attach marin's portraits so i can use it for myself?

 

ps. i like dex and i'll go with 20 dex with this build XD

 

But of course!

 

 

Here you go.

[Archaven]

 

awesome build. next character to play with. now can you attach marin's portraits so i can use it for myself?

 

ps. i like dex and i'll go with 20 dex with this build XD

 

But of course!

 

 

Here you go.

 

 

thanks! 

she looks freaking beautiful

[ibanix]

After some play: Can approve, 10/10, will zap the crap out of everything with lightning. Fun stuff.

[Ascaloth]

v1.2 Changes

 

 

• Mantle of the Seven Bolts - Storm of Seven Bolts now has the Electricity Keyword.
• Mantle of the Seven Bolts - Storm of the Seven Bolts no longer scales number of projectiles.
• Mantle of the Seven Bolts - Final Storm AOE now has the Electricity Keyword.

 

Well, that's concerning. Let's put this to the test;

 

 

As is seen here, the Storm of Seven Bolts no longer fires up to 11 bolts as it did previously; now it throws 7 as per the name, no matter the PL bonuses. That does indeed have a negative effect on Fate's nuking capability, and the total Shock damage she can deal has indeed dropped... but on the other hand, it's still adds up to a comfortably high 3-digit number. As such, the Fate Testarossa is still one of the most powerful Shock DPS caster builds out there.

 

 

Lord Darryn’s Voulge:

• Corsairs AOE now strikes only hostiles.
• Now has the Electricity keyword, as does Static Charge effect.
• Static Charge now only applies to those that have charged stacks on them.
• Static Charge trigger effect no longer deals extra damage in addition to the charged stack damage.
• Static Charge no longer uses Resonant Touch VFX and instead displays Shock VFX on affected targets.
• Static Charge is now considered a hostile effect.

 

Let's see how that's affected Fate's melee capability;

 

 

So that means no more hilarious AoE Shock damage that hits friends and foes alike, and instead just deals extra damage to the target that Fate is attacking. Which is pretty much as I expected; pre-1.2 Static Charge was fairly ridiculous DPS, and was always due for a nerf even though it posed a risk to your own party as well. Still, it does mean that Fate is not quite as fun to play as before, even though she can still dish out the electrocution.

[Cocijo]

This is a shame, but not as much as a shame as it could be. That is to say that I'm having an hilarious blast with this build. I load it up when I'm frustrated and done testing various things. I walk into a room and kill everything, usually my party.  Which is comedy! I often wonder how the conversations go afterwards. 

 

Eder (laconic drawl): Could you just, you know, stop?

Edited June 30, 2018 by Cocijo