[Class Build] The Dark Wanderer (Forbidden Fist/Arcane Archer)

[mjn693]

===================================
The Dark Wanderer
===================================
Difficulty: PotD, upscaled
--------------------------------------------------------------

Patch: v4.01 
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Class: Forbidden Fist/Arcane Archer
--------------------------------------------------------------

Animal Companion: Boar ®
--------------------------------------------------------------
Race: Hearth Orlan
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Background: White that Wends - Mystic (optional) 
--------------------------------------------------------------
Stats:

MIG: 2
CON: 15
DEX: 18
PER: 21
INT: 3
RES: 19
--------------------------------------------------------------
Active Skills: Arcana 

Passive Skills: Insights/Metaphysics (optional)

--------------------------------------------------------------
Weapon Modals:

Sabres, Pistols, Morningstar 
--------------------------------------------------------------
Talents (®=recommended, !=important)

1: Force of Anguish(!) , Marked Prey (!) 

2: Resilient Companion (!)

3: Swift Strikes ®

4: Dance of Death (!), Two Weapon Style (!)

5: Long Stride ®

6: Protective Companion (!)

7: Efficient Anguish (!), Evasive Roll (!)

8: Marked for the Hunt (!)

9: Soul Mirror (!)

10: Enduring Dance (!), Stalker's Link (!) 

11: Duality of Mortal Presence (!)

12: Thunderous Blow (!)

13: Torment's Reach ®, Uncanny Luck (!)

14: Enervating Blows (!)

15: Raised Torment ®

16: Turning Wheel (!), Survival of the Fittest (!)

17: Swift Flurry ®

18: Tough ®

19: Heartbeat Drumming (!), Superior Camouflage (!)

20: The Dichotomous Soul ®

 

---------------------------------------------------------------
Items (!=important, r=recommended):

Weapon Set 1: Grave Calling (! with Paralysis on Crit enchant) / Thundercrack Pistol (! with - action speed aura enchant)
Weapon Set 2: Morningstar (optional)

Boots: any

Head: Fair Favor ®

Armor: Miscreant ® (Lucky enchantment (!) )

Neck: any

Belt: any

Rings: Ring of Greater Regeneration ®, Power of Money ®

Hands: Mortification Binding ®

 

Cape: The Cape of Falling Star (Caution: item is currently bugged causing game freezes, use deflection cape instead until fixed)
---------------------------------------------------------------

Hi!

Long time forum lurker 1st time poster. I have beat both PoE games at PotD many times mostly following Boeroer and Nerd Commando's builds, so today I want to share my favorite build on the forum. Let me start by saying this is not a cookie cutter build but rather the most tactical yet rewarding character build I've ever played. Hope you enjoy.

Role in a Party:

Single target dps, single target crowd control, AOE crowd control, AOE dps

..  but, but how is that even possible for one charater? Let's see next section

 

Team Fights Procedures:

1: Identify high priority targets, aka mages,archers,priests

2: Shoot one round of Pistol, waiting frontline engagement

3: Mark a pesky mage, then immediately Evasive Roll to his face 

4, Forbidden Fist, if not hit do FF again but not more (if target Fort too high for you, bring Animal Companion for +20 accuracy)

5, Auto attack. If target trying to use any special action, use Force of Anguish to interrupt

6, Grave Calling fully charged, now move to next high priority target with Forbidden Fist then followed with permanent paralysis (3 sec default + 1.5 enfeebled bonus + INT bonus ). In case of paralysis not connecting use Force of Anguish. 

7, Rinse and repeat for all high priority targets. 

8, If no ranged enemy targeting you, turn on Dance of Death

9, Shoot Thundercrack from long distance, while charging Dance of Death

10, With Duality, you transformed from the dumbest rock in the class to the smartest kid in the room

11, Turn on Thunderous Blow, Swift Flurry, Dichotomous then jump into the fray of enemy main force

12, Imbue: Eora (or Imbue:Web as a poor man's Eora) at point blank distance, make sure you are inside the pull for free wounds and heals

13, Torment's Reach whoever inside Eora, the stun from Torment also make Eora's life easier

14, If energy gang up on you, Evasive Roll out and recharge Dance of Death

 

Priority when Gearing:

Focus on evasion for Dance of Death (% resistance is the best or ranged deflection), crit conversion for chaining paralysis ( 5% uncanny luck + 10% orlan + 15% money ring + 10% fair favor + 25% paralysis) 

 

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

Self Q&A:

Why Forbidden Fist? Can a normal monk like Nalpazca do the same job?

Not quite. Forbidden Fist's enfeebled affliction is likely strongest in the game, and to get it at lv1 is god forbidden. The best use of FF is a combo initiation tool. As it reduces fortitude and comes with -100% heals, but more importantly is the +50% hostile effect duration. That being said, using FF comes with a hefty price and that is why I suggest not stacking more than 2 FF. 

 

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

Why Grave Calling?

The 3 sec paralysis on Crit which nobody takes suddenly becomes the strongest CC in the game thanks to Forbidden Fist, with 4.5 seconds baseline. Paralysis itself also has innate hit->crit which helps chain CC. 

 

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

Why ranged & melee weapon setup?

Because we don't have any proper ranged and melee build yet. Seriously this setup gives maximum utilization of Grave Calling. Compared to normal duals you only attacks with Grave Calling which means 100% speed boost if we only care about chaining paralysis. Compared to Single hand style, we lose +12 accurary and 20% hit-to-crit, but gained +30% and +15% speed from dual wielding. We already have highest accuracy in the game so speed is more important for chaining paralysis. Last but not least, the - action speed aura from thundercrack also super useful, it effectively means you have more time to paralysis.

 

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

Why Arcane Archer? 

This choice is more debatable. Stalker can achieve very similar playstyle, and ask Aloth to provide Eora when needed. But I prefer my build to be self-sustainable, and also Eora normally takes 8 secs total to cast but with Imbue it's instant. 

 

AA -5 weapon malus? 

nope. Grave Calling is frost weapon and Thundercrack is storm weapon, both immune from -5 malus.

 

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

Why the stat distribution tho?

low might: significantly reduce FF damage. Meanwhile 99% damage for this build comes from weapons, and a low score here only reduce total damage by ~10%. 

 

low int: reduce FF length. You dont need INT while working on high priority targets, and in the second phase of battle INT will be boosted to 13 which is pretty good.

 

high res: reduce FF length, also making you less likely to be hit so you can continue to Dance of Death

 

high con: reduce the impact of FF.

 

high per/dex: for chain paralysis. This build won't function without these two stats maxed. 

 

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

Is this the type of build that only works at lv20 with full gear? 

Absolutely not. All the gear I listed can be acquired at lv 6 or 7 when you left beginner island. Grave Calling can be bought (with Berath money). Thundercrack can be stolen with 8 Stealth. Miscreant just follow the non-violent route in Principi quest. The rest can all be bought with money and they are not as crucial. 

 

At level 7 you can already start using the dual phase of combat with Anguish and Evasive Roll to take out mages, then jump back in after charging up Dance of Death.

Edited December 23, 2018 by mjn693

[Boeroer]

Nice combo with PoEora and Forbidden Fist!

 

I'm on Christmas vacation with the family right now without computer. It's very hard to edit the build list on phone so I hope it's ok when I do it after I come back (Jan. 7 or so).

Edited December 23, 2018 by Boeroer

[Frog Man]

Love it! Nice to see a new subclass multiclass build!

[mjn693]

Nice combo with PoEora and Forbidden Fist!

 

I'm on Christmas vacation with the family right now without computer. It's very hard to edit the build list on phone so I hope it's ok when I do it after I come back (Jan. 7 or so).

 

Sorry I typed your name wrong .. 

 

Yes sure whenever you are available. I was just so happy I finally made Ranged/Melee setup work for myself, and the playstyle also integrate really well with new subclasses so I figured I'd share it on forum.

[Dorftek]

Imbue with pull of eora? What is this new cool ****?

[Boeroer]

 

Nice combo with PoEora and Forbidden Fist!

 

I'm on Christmas vacation with the family right now without computer. It's very hard to edit the build list on phone so I hope it's ok when I do it after I come back (Jan. 7 or so).

Sorry I typed your name wrong ..

 

Yes sure whenever you are available. I was just so happy I finally made Ranged/Melee setup work for myself, and the playstyle also integrate really well with new subclasses so I figured I'd share it on forum.

Sure! Great stuff!

[abstrack]

wanderer.png

 

===================================

The Dark Wanderer

===================================

Difficulty: PotD, upscaled

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

Patch: v4.01 

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

Class: Forbidden Fist/Arcane Archer

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

Animal Companion: Boar ®

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

Race: Hearth Orlan

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

Background: White that Wends - Mystic (optional) 

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

Stats:

 

MIG: 2

CON: 15

DEX: 18

PER: 21

INT: 3

RES: 19

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

Active Skills: Arcana 

Passive Skills: Insights/Metaphysics (optional)

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

Weapon Modals:

Sabres, Pistols, Morningstar 

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

Talents (®=recommended, !=important)

1: Force of Anguish(!) , Marked Prey (!) 

2: Resilient Companion (!)

3: Swift Strikes ®

4: Dance of Death (!), Two Weapon Style (!)

5: Long Stride ®

6: Protective Companion (!)

7: Efficient Anguish (!), Evasive Roll (!)

8: Marked for the Hunt (!)

9: Soul Mirror (!)

10: Enduring Dance (!), Stalker's Link (!) 

11: Duality of Mortal Presence (!)

12: Thunderous Blow (!)

13: Torment's Reach ®, Uncanny Luck (!)

14: Enervating Blows (!)

15: Raised Torment ®

16: Turning Wheel (!), Survival of the Fittest (!)

17: Swift Flurry ®

18: Tough ®

19: Heartbeat Drumming (!), Superior Camouflage (!)

20: The Dichotomous Soul ®

 

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

Items (!=important, r=recommended):

 

Weapon Set 1: Grave Calling (! with Paralysis on Crit enchant) / Thundercrack Pistol (! with - action speed aura enchant)

Weapon Set 2: Morningstar (optional)

 

Boots: any

 

Head: Fair Favor ®

 

Armor: Miscreant ® (Lucky enchantment (!) )

 

Neck: any

 

Belt: any

 

Rings: Ring of Greater Regeneration ®, Power of Money ®

 

Hands: Mortification Binding ®

 

Cape: The Cape of Falling Star (Caution: item is currently bugged causing game freezes, use deflection cape instead until fixed)

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

 

Hi!

Long time forum lurker 1st time poster. I have beat both PoE games at PotD many times mostly following Boeroer and Nerd Commando's builds, so today I want to share my favorite build on the forum. Let me start by saying this is not a cookie cutter build but rather the most tactical yet rewarding character build I've ever played. Hope you enjoy.

Role in a Party:

Single target dps, single target crowd control, AOE crowd control, AOE dps

..  but, but how is that even possible for one charater? Let's see next section

 

Team Fights Procedures:

1: Identify high priority targets, aka mages,archers,priests

2: Shoot one round of Pistol, waiting frontline engagement

3: Mark a pesky mage, then immediately Evasive Roll to his face 

4, Forbidden Fist, if not hit do FF again but not more (if target Fort too high for you, bring Animal Companion for +20 accuracy)

5, Auto attack. If target trying to use any special action, use Force of Anguish to interrupt

6, Grave Calling fully charged, now move to next high priority target with Forbidden Fist then followed with permanent paralysis (3 sec default + 1.5 enfeebled bonus + INT bonus ). In case of paralysis not connecting use Force of Anguish. 

7, Rinse and repeat for all high priority targets. 

8, If no ranged enemy targeting you, turn on Dance of Death

9, Shoot Thundercrack from long distance, while charging Dance of Death

10, With Duality, you transformed from the dumbest rock in the class to the smartest kid in the room

11, Turn on Thunderous Blow, Swift Flurry, Dichotomous then jump into the fray of enemy main force

12, Imbue: Eora (or Imbue:Web as a poor man's Eora) at point blank distance, make sure you are inside the pull for free wounds and heals

13, Torment's Reach whoever inside Eora, the stun from Torment also make Eora's life easier

14, If energy gang up on you, Evasive Roll out and recharge Dance of Death

 

Priority when Gearing:

Focus on evasion for Dance of Death (% resistance is the best or ranged deflection), crit conversion for chaining paralysis ( 5% uncanny luck + 10% orlan + 15% money ring + 10% fair favor + 25% paralysis) 

 

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

Self Q&A:

Why Forbidden Fist? Can a normal monk like Nalpazca do the same job?

Not quite. Forbidden Fist's enfeebled affliction is likely strongest in the game, and to get it at lv1 is god forbidden. The best use of FF is a combo initiation tool. As it reduces fortitude and comes with -100% heals, but more importantly is the +50% hostile effect duration. That being said, using FF comes with a hefty price and that is why I suggest not stacking more than 2 FF. 

 

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

Why Grave Calling?

The 3 sec paralysis on Crit which nobody takes suddenly becomes the strongest CC in the game thanks to Forbidden Fist, with 4.5 seconds baseline. Paralysis itself also has innate hit->crit which helps chain CC. 

 

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

Why ranged & melee weapon setup?

Because we don't have any proper ranged and melee build yet. Seriously this setup gives maximum utilization of Grave Calling. Compared to normal duals you only attacks with Grave Calling which means 100% speed boost if we only care about chaining paralysis. Compared to Single hand style, we lose +12 accurary and 20% hit-to-crit, but gained +30% and +15% speed from dual wielding. We already have highest accuracy in the game so speed is more important for chaining paralysis. Last but not least, the - action speed aura from thundercrack also super useful, it effectively means you have more time to paralysis.

 

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

Why Arcane Archer? 

This choice is more debatable. Stalker can achieve very similar playstyle, and ask Aloth to provide Eora when needed. But I prefer my build to be self-sustainable, and also Eora normally takes 8 secs total to cast but with Imbue it's instant. 

 

AA -5 weapon malus? 

nope. Grave Calling is frost weapon and Thundercrack is storm weapon, both immune from -5 malus.

 

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

Why the stat distribution tho?

low might: significantly reduce FF damage. Meanwhile 99% damage for this build comes from weapons, and a low score here only reduce total damage by ~10%. 

 

low int: reduce FF length. You dont need INT while working on high priority targets, and in the second phase of battle INT will be boosted to 13 which is pretty good.

 

high res: reduce FF length, also making you less likely to be hit so you can continue to Dance of Death

 

high con: reduce the impact of FF.

 

high per/dex: for chain paralysis. This build won't function without these two stats maxed. 

 

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

Is this the type of build that only works at lv20 with full gear? 

Absolutely not. All the gear I listed can be acquired at lv 6 or 7 when you left beginner island. Grave Calling can be bought (with Berath money). Thundercrack can be stolen with 8 Stealth. Miscreant just follow the non-violent route in Principi quest. The rest can all be bought with money and they are not as crucial. 

 

At level 7 you can already start using the dual phase of combat with Anguish and Evasive Roll to take out mages, then jump back in after charging up Dance of Death.

Very nice build!! Is this build possible to PoTD solo?

[bingammj]

any updates on this build and how it plays? or other ideas for wanderer builds or forbidden fist builds? thanks!

[Haplok]

That is an.. original build. Not sure I like it, bur certainly very interesting.

 

One thing you mentioned bothers me, though. You wrote noone is taking Paralysis on Grave Calling... I most certainly do. If you use Grave Calling to create party friendly Chillfogs (by slaying vessels - enemy or your own, if you have a chanter with skelly summon), the ticks of the Chillfog add Grave Calling stacks and can Paralyze also... in a party friendly aoe! Furthermore multiple instances of such Paralyzing Chillfog can be stacked on top of each other (one for each slain vessel).

If you're a Cipher, the fogs even generate Focus for you.

 

Both the Chillfogs and Paralysis last a good deal longer with ~30 Int, though.