[CLASS BUILD] The Backlash Beldam (melee multiretaliation cipher tank)

[Boeroer]

 

 

By " pulsing things"  You mean  periodical damage, when DR is calculated with every ticks and ticks interval are specified, not by default 3 sec, like Ectopsychic Echo?

 

Right.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Boeroer

[Gs11]

 

 

 

By " pulsing things"  You mean  periodical damage, when DR is calculated with every ticks and ticks interval are specified, not by default 3 sec, like Ectopsychic Echo?

 

Right.

 

Any chance You remember in which version of the game CW used to work  with DoT effects?

 

I'm asking couse wanne try to modify and revert this function for current  files.

 

ps.

Strange thing, I tested several versions beginning with  1.6 to 2.0 and finishing with  actuall 3.02, however I didn't notice working together CW  with periodical dmg (chill fog, wall of flame) either with DoT effects.

 

Really  dont know what is the resaon, since You and somobody else was talking about it.

 

If You have files  with working CW, pls send on some upload hosting, would be much appreciate it.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Gs11

[Boeroer]

Do you know for certain that it doesn't work anymore with DoT (and periodically applied damage)? You can't see it in the combat log. You have to watch the (small) red numbers that pop out of the enemies' heads every tick. Most of the time they get covered by other numbers from the DoT/pulse itself.

 

When I had a party with Batsh!t Crazy, Mad Hornet and Zeblastian Hurtstacker I had a lot of DoT/pulses (like Wounding, Deep Wounds, Wall of Flames and so on) and they worked great with CW. I think that was 2.03.

 

There are also reports how people killed the adra and alpine dragon with CW and Wall of Flame. So it should have worked at some time.  

[Kaylon]

I did a few tests and it seems CW isn't working at all...

[Boeroer]

As I said before: Oopsidian.

[L4wlight]

Okay I tested it again and CW is indeed not working at all...

[shinchan820000]

I feel like wanna play this build because of high res,per and int.because i do wanna have more options on dialogue and story besides with a good build for fight.but this build already been nerf because of retaliate no longer generate focus.am i right ? so do you have any other suggestion for my build like style i want to play or i still can use this build even have been slightly nerf (or massive nerf i dont know)

[Boeroer]

Hi. To be honest it's a massive nerf. But I also have to say that this "exploitation" of retaliation was maybe too powerful and broke the balance more than most other tricks did. So, it's still a viable combination to use weapon & shield for a cipher. And the cipher still has nice powers like Psychovampiric Shield and Pain Link which make this tanky build worthwhile. Some good powers like Antipathetic Field and Mind Lance work best from the front line.

 

You can skip the whole retaliation part. Because Soul Whip doesn't get applied to retaliation any more, it's damage is whimpy and also Battleforged gets no buff anymore. Therefore, a head slot for gear is better. The rest of the build can stay unchanged i guess.

Just take another shield - I would even consider to take a large shield and instead of raising RES a lot I would max out PER. That way you can balance out the ACC penalty of the large shield (- . The higher deflection bonus of the large shield would then make up for the lower RES. This sounds like a zero-sum game - but large shields also raise reflex a lot more than small ones do. So overall - with a large shield and high PER - you gain better defenses while staying accurate enough.

 

Guess I should rework all my pre 3.x builds and also add all the new items and abilitites...

 

edit: well, after studying this build again I think the trick with all the stacked retaliation + Pain Link + Combusting Wounds (from Ring of Searing Flames or a wizard) is still very powerful. You will cause a lot of tiny hits to the surrounding enemies which will stack a lot of combusting wounds - melting foes quickly. You just don't get focus by doing so any more. At the same time you can hit with your main weapon and gain focus. Still sweet I think.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Boeroer

[shinchan820000]

so after the cipher nerf,skills,retaliate doesnt generate focus anymore and etc etc.this build still doesnt have much problem in term of focus generation in fight ? 

 

well,thank you for quick reply ! because i wanted to start my new playthrough today :D

 

edit : started new playthrough with this build.ok i understand that this build is not heavily depend on using too much focus during fight ?  because we have stacked retaliation + pain link + CW.just 1 question,is it ok to dump more on resolve as it is will not affect much on dialogue option ? because as you said i can dump RES and put more on PER for acc

Edited September 28, 2016 by shinchan820000

[Boeroer]

You shouldn't dump RES - there's just not need to max it with a large shield. Dumping RES and then trying to tank will get you interrupted all the time.

 

A melee cipher with sabre and shield will still gain the same or even more focus than a ranged cipher. So focus generation is not a big problem. Before the nerf you had to do nothing to get focus, now you have to hit things like any other cipher.

[shinchan820000]

Understood.

 

Maybe if you have time later you can revise this build again and im interested to see what changes will you  make between patch 2.0 and 3.0

 

thank you !

[Ben No.3]

Assuming you I'd want to use an alike build with a small shield, which one would you recommend? Little saviour of black sanctuary seem pretty good (pretending on offensive/defensive approach), although they are rather well guarded... So which one of those and what up to that point?

Edited October 29, 2016 by Ben No.3

[Boeroer]

The multi-retaliation trick together with Pain Link + Combusting Wounds still works very well. "Only" the focus generation from retaliation is lacking. So - I would still use the Supper Plate I guess.

[Nihad]

Hello, sorry for the revival. I'm planning to restart a game on PoE, so I wonder if is it possible to update this build or indicate what to change at the creation of the character ? Thank you. 

[Boeroer]

Retaliation of any kind doesn't generate cipher's focus anymore - so I wouldn't recommend this build - which is focused on retaliation mainly.

 

If you leave this part out it's just a regular cipher build with a weapon & shield setup. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by Boeroer

[Nihad]

Thank you for the answer. Can you recommend me an updated build of a melee cipher or a melee rogue that allows me to pass dialogue checks also ? 

[Boeroer]

There is a fun variant with the Belt of the Royal Deadfire Cannoneer + Forgemaster Gloves. Gives you Firebrand 6 times per rest (which is plenty). The blade, especially when it's doing crits, will give you focus overflow. Once you get Time Parasite the build goes totally bonkers.

 

Stats don't matter that much if you don't dump anything. Pick all dmg bonuses you can get (Two Handed Style, Biting Whip, Scion of Flame - increses Firebrand's dmg by 20% - items with bonus dmg to flanked enemies, survival with bonus dmg to flanked enemies - then use Phantom Foes a lot, go the Doemenel route for Merciless Hand, get Dungepon Delver and so on).

 

It does tremendous damage and is fun to play. Also the key items (belt and gloves) can be obtained pretty early.