[Class Build] I Am Groot (Helwalker + Kind Wayfarer)

[dtest]

I Am Groot is an exceptionally powerful Main Character to act as the centerpiece of a PotD party. He fits a party meta to:

 

- Sustain and enable a melee-heavy party.
- Round out a companions-only party, with no class overlap. As MC, gets deep faith.
- Strong & rewarding from level 1 to end-game. Crispy configurable battle AI.

DESCRIPTION

 

I Am Groot is exactly what you expect from his flora colossus namesake: an exceptionally physically powerful party member who keeps everyone in tiptop shape. Mechanically, he gets the max from the Kind Wayfarer's White Flames that benefit from MIGHT and POWER LEVEL, with crossover accuracy from Transcendent Suffering. Groot is the rare paladin who never has to skill Lay of Hands & can use 100% of his class resources on Shared Flames to keep him and his party alive.

I Am Groot starts every fight with lightning strikes and power surge for a quick +2 power level. With +10 MI from the helwalker passive, +2 MI from gauntlets of ogre strength, and +5 MI from thunderous blows, he consistently heals everyone in melee range for 27x2. Its almost always available with unarmed's low base attack + lightning strikes + two weapon style, there's little need to spend zeal on anything else, and with the practiced healer talent & Tekehu chanting Mercy and Kindness the heal value skyrockets. As a high accuracy, two-weapon full-attack, his melee DPS will also carry any party.

I Am Groot would not be worthy of his title without a flashy and self-destructive ultimate. Throw down an Inspired Beacon in a large group of enemies followed by a MI-boosted Sacred Immolation, negate the malus with Monk's Clarity of Mind and a Shared Flames, and get your zeal back with Virtuous Triumph. You won't even have to reprise your role in POE3 as baby I Am Groot, though your enemies won't be around to notice.

PARTY

I Am Groot enables an otherwise fragile party of melee heroes, helping companions shine. Dual wield Eder (Fighter + Rogue) can spam full attacks in cleave stance without needing to lug around a shield, Serafen (Barbarian + Cipher) can throw down debuffs while hunting low health enemies to proc Blood Thirst to go full Witch King with a great sword and instant recovery, Deltro's Cage Tekehu can maintain 100% uptime on druid storms in the fray, while single class Wizard Aloth is the only one I micro in fights. Its a full-companion party only missing ranger & priest.. all I can ask for from a POE run.

BUILD

 

Race: Flora Colossus.... I mean Nature Godlike.

Class: Helwalker Monk + Kind Wayfarer Paladin
Stats: Max Might. Get some intelligence to boost the AoE (15 base and +5 from Turning Wheel is 100% white flames aoe). He doesn't need to sacrifice defensive stats for DEX or PER. The rest is up to you.

Skills: Utility for the party is fine... he doesn't need any skill boosted items to do his thing.

Paladin Abilities:

Shared Flames. Sworn Rival is nice too. Most everything else can go into the passives.
Inspired Beacon + Sacred Immolation for the ultimate.

Monk Abilities:

Lightning Strikes + Turning Wheel + Thunderous Blows provides:

+15% Shock Lash, +5%xWounds Fire Lash, +15% Action Speed, Quick (+5 DEX), Tenacious (+5 MI +2 Pen), +1 Power Level.

Then add Stone of Power, Otto Starcat, Shared Flames, Haymaker.. you get the idea.

After the core, pick your passives. Stunning Blow and Torment's Reach (or Skyward Kick...) have a place as a dump for Mort and Wounds.

Items:

This and That. I mostly give the good stuff to party members. I built him tanky to pair with his natural stats to get off one.. more.. shared.. flames. Eder's Armor was wonderful on him.

Conversation choices:

Passionate, baby. I AM GROOT.

Edited September 12, 2018 by dtest

[Haplok]

Pretty cool.

 

One note is that Turning Wheel has been nerfed and now it's 2% Fire Lash per Wound.

[Manveru123]

I am Groot 

[Boeroer]

 

 

I Am Groot starts every fight with lightning strikes and power surge for a quick +2 power level.

 

Stone of Power's "Power Surge" is only 1/rest. Do you rest after each battle or how can you use it in every encounter?

[Metaturtle]

 

I Am Groot starts every fight with lightning strikes and power surge for a quick +2 power level.

 

Stone of Power's "Power Surge" is only 1/rest. Do you rest after each battle or how can you use it in every encounter?

 

 

I've noticed that  a used Stone of Power is able to still stack with a unused Stone of Power, which resets the cooldown.

Edited September 12, 2018 by Metaturtle

[superior987]

How will this dps compare to a holy slayer after the two weapon nerf? I know rogue buffs neutralize it somewhat, but my understanding was it would be rough on paladins and FOD. Do monks also mitigate the nerf enough?

[Boeroer]

 

 

I Am Groot starts every fight with lightning strikes and power surge for a quick +2 power level.

 

Stone of Power's "Power Surge" is only 1/rest. Do you rest after each battle or how can you use it in every encounter?

 

 

I've noticed that  a used Stone of Power is able to still stack with a unused Stone of Power, which resets the cooldown.

 

What exactly do you mean by "resets the cooldown"?

[Metaturtle]

 

 

 

I Am Groot starts every fight with lightning strikes and power surge for a quick +2 power level.

 

Stone of Power's "Power Surge" is only 1/rest. Do you rest after each battle or how can you use it in every encounter?

 

 

I've noticed that  a used Stone of Power is able to still stack with a unused Stone of Power, which resets the cooldown.

 

What exactly do you mean by "resets the cooldown"?

 

 

I mean it refreshes the Stone of Power charge.  Usually items with charges of some sort like fireball necklace don't merge together once used or they stack and remember their uses, but for some reason Stone of Power allows it to still stack and it resets the charge.

[Hulk'O'Saurus]

Question to OP:

 

How do you feel about Potion of Ascention? Too slow for you?

[Manveru123]

 

 

 

 

I Am Groot starts every fight with lightning strikes and power surge for a quick +2 power level.

 

Stone of Power's "Power Surge" is only 1/rest. Do you rest after each battle or how can you use it in every encounter?

 

 

I've noticed that  a used Stone of Power is able to still stack with a unused Stone of Power, which resets the cooldown.

 

What exactly do you mean by "resets the cooldown"?

 

 

I mean it refreshes the Stone of Power charge.  Usually items with charges of some sort like fireball necklace don't merge together once used or they stack and remember their uses, but for some reason Stone of Power allows it to still stack and it resets the charge.

 

Now that is a clever use of game mechanics

[Boeroer]

I still don't get what you mean. What charge? Stone of Power has no charge like a Necklase of Fireballs has.

 

Do you mean that if you have two Stones of Power you can us Power Surge two times per rest?

 

Or that a used Stone of Power resets it's use to "unused" once you stack it in the inventory with an unused Stone of Power?

Edited September 12, 2018 by Boeroer

[Metaturtle]

I still don't get what you mean. What charge? Stone of Power has no charge like a Necklase of Fireballs has.

 

Do you mean that if you have two Stones of Power you can us Power Surge two times per rest?

 

Or that a used Stone of Power resets it's use to "unused" once you stack it in the inventory with an unused Stone of Power?

The latter. It resets its use when you stack it.

[Boeroer]

Ah, ok. Buggy.

[dtest]

How will this dps compare to a holy slayer after the two weapon nerf? I know rogue buffs neutralize it somewhat, but my understanding was it would be rough on paladins and FOD. Do monks also mitigate the nerf enough?

My first MC was a Holy Slayer, but he didnt make it out of neketaka. Attacking out of invis for the sneak attack modifier in combat is very resource heavy & slow, nor did I feel the damage warranted a party built around an alpha striker.

 

Overall I think POE2 rewards sustain, and the groot build’s white flames FoD has to be the most efficient single target dmg + burst heal ability in the game. There’s no spell cast, unarmed recovery, and no need for Lay of Hands- anytime someone gets bloodied you see the whole party get healed in two bursts, left fist right fist. Regarding rogue, i am much happier with it as an augment to a front line fighter using 100% of class resources on full attacks, saving devastating blow for near death enemies to proc the cleave stance aoe full attack.

 

On top of his utility and high single target dps, groot gets aoe clear from the wombo combo of Inspired Beacon & Sacred Immolation. He easily hits the MI cap as a Helwalker w/ thunderous blows, but he also can hit 25 INT (15 base + 5 from Turning Wheel + 5 from upgraded Clarity of Mind) for an even bugger aoe radius and duration.

 

Do i find that more fun than sneak attacking a mage for % corrode damage? I do.

[Haplok]

I don't think Clarity of Mind stacks with Turning Wheel.

Of course Duality of Mortal Presence can offer 10 Int alone - provided that you're at max Wounds.

[Boeroer]

Smart from Enlightened Clarity and Duality: INT do not stack. But of course the main feature of (not upgraded) Clarity (=reduced afflicton time) is not influenced.

 

Helwalker's MIG bonus and MIG inspirations do stack.

Edited September 13, 2018 by Boeroer

[dunehunter]

I don't think Clarity of Mind stacks with Turning Wheel.

Of course Duality of Mortal Presence can offer 10 Int alone - provided that you're at max Wounds.

 

Duality of Mortal Presence is treated as an active ability, thus based on DF rules, bonus from active ability doesn't stack.

[Manveru123]

 

On top of his utility and high single target dps, groot gets aoe clear from the wombo combo of Inspired Beacon & Sacred Immolation.

 

The problem with this combo is that it eats a ton of Zeal. You barely have anything left for FoD. The damage is not worth the cost.