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Illiel's Baller Build for PvE
gundzor
Member Posts: 15 Arc User
Ok so having power leveled my CW up and getting some basic non-set purple gear, I respecced and found a build that I found to be nice and fun that I call the Baller Build. It's pretty good in dungeons, has good control and I find that its loads of fun to play with.
RACE
Pick one. Compare it to a Human which has 3 extra feats by level 20. Are those racial traits better than having 3 extra feat points? Only you can decide here. Me, I went with Tiefling. +2 Wis, +2 Int.
ATTRIBUTES
This is also something else you will need to decide. Will getting bigger hitters net a better return than many smaller hits? Or is there a middle ground that you prefer. Again this is a personal choice. But since the Baller Build is about being able to control a target, I went with being able to cast more spells than hitting hard with them.
POWERS
I will only detail the powers that I use in this build. All other powers are only stepping stones to unlocking these powers that you will use in this build. But I picked powers that I COULD potentially use in a different build without having to pay for a respec.
1. Chilling Strike
Nice single target skill. Stuns on impact. Good on demand control. You can swap it out for something else if you wish.
2. Entangling Force
Again, nice single target skill with good on demand control. You can swap this out as well, but it fits good in the rotation so that you maintain target control almost all of the time with it.
3. Shard of Endless Avalanche
The guts of the bread and butter build. Very good AOE double whammy damage with very good control. You'll see in a little bit how this works
4. Conduit of Ice
Put this puppy in the Spellmastery tab slot. This is also the bread and butter of the build because of its debuff that you will see soon.
DAILIES
1. Arcane Singularity. Also one of the bread and butter skills of the build. What's better than rounding up all your targets in a large area so that you can attack them at the same time?
2. Ice Knife. Excellent single target skill with OK control. Its control is only OK because you have to charge it before you can use it on demand.
AT-WILLS
1. Chilling Cloud. This skill appears to be ridiculously underpowered. But when you look at the buffs that are available to it, you quickly realize that it is instead ridiculously overpowered.
2. Storm Pillar. Need I state that this is also one of the bread and butter skills of the build? Seriously, slot this. You will see why.
CLASS FEATS
The two primary that I currently use are:
1. Chilling Presence. At Rank 3, its 3% more damage per stack against your target which can have 6 Chill stacks max. Conduit of Ice and Chill Strike both stack Chill on the target with CoI being able to do it on an AOE basis because it is in the SM tab slot.
2. Evocation. 15% more damage from your AoE powers. You can swap this out with Storm Spell for "more" consistent damage.
The backbone of this build is in the feats and the buffs that they give to the skills that have been chosen.
FEATS
1. Controlling Action (3/5). Need to be able to generate AP a bit faster to charge your dailies, which you will use often.
2. Weapon Mastery (3/3). More crit is good.
3. Fight On (5/5). Like I said, I went the route of being able to cast more spells than being able to cast powerful spells.
4. Wizard's Wrath (3/3). Since this is an AOE build, more AOE damage is a good thing.
5. Blighting Power (3/3). More damage to targets affected by Chill. CoI inflicts AOE chill when SM tab slotted. So this synergizes well with it.
6. Arcane Mastery (3/3). More damage to targets with your Arcane spells, like Shard of the Endless Avalanche and AR.
7. Reaper's Touch (5/5). More damage when you are within 20 feet of your target. Since Shard has a limited range on how far you can toss it, this synergizes well with Shard.
8. Tempest Magic (5/5). More damage to targets with low health already. Good for helping to finishing off stuff.
9. Malevolent Surge (5/5). Three stacks of 10% more damage when you kill a foe. Obviously this is gonna make your AOE attacks hurt more since you will be able to hit multiple targets and kill the low level stuff.
10. Destructive Wizardry (5/5). 10% more damage for using Storm Pillar to hit more than 2 targets using an AOE build. Really? Free damage? Sure!
11. Frozen Power Transfer (5/5). 5% bonus damage for every target hit with the third strike of Chilling Cloud. Wait for it ...
12. Transcended Master (5/5). Shard does 15% more damage. The bread and butter of the build just got tastier.
13. Assailing Force (1/1). Conduit of Ice reduces the mitigation of affected targets by 15%. Yes to more damage.
ROTATION
Okay so how in the world is all this going to work out you ask? The rotation looks something similar to this:
Arcane Singularity -> Conduit of Ice -> Shard of the Endless Avalanche -> Storm Pillar -> Chill Strikex3 -> Shard of the Endless Avalanche
Arcane Singularity - Use this daily to round up all your targets into a nice neat little area so that you can hit all of them at the same time.
Conduit of Ice - Since this skill is SM tab slotted, its AOE is a bit larger, but the bonus is that it adds Chill stacks to those caught in its AOE and because of Assailing Force, all targets mitigation is reduced 15%. As AS is pulling all targets into its core, CoI afflicts Chill to them as well as reducing mitigation.
Shard of the Endless Avalanche - This is the precast phase for those of you who do not know or even use this skill. The boulder just sits there in front of you until you push it. The bonus is that while it is sitting there waiting for you to push it, you build Arcane Mastery, which increases your damage. Win!
Storm Pillar - This skill's sole purpose is to provide its 10% damage buff. You can only get this buff when Storm Pillar's first and original strike hits more than two targets. This is only possible when targets are close together, like when they are being sucked into AS. Its AoE DoT is a small bonus. An added bonus to this skill is that you can charge it up and cast it without having to target anything and build AP. Yep. When your group is AFK, guess what you are gonna be doing.
Chill Strikex3 -> As the targets are being sucked into AS, Chill Strike's 3rd strike can now hit more than a single target thus buffing your damage output significantly. Hopefully, by the time AS has exploded, you will have finished casting the third strike in time for ...
Shard of the Endless Avalanche - It takes a lot of getting used to. Its clunky. Its big. Its HAMSTER and purple. But it's been sitting there fuming with anger and hatred. And now its ready to unleash that anger. Hopefully if you have gotten this far, everything has gone right and all targets are still prone in front of you. Time to push the Shard into the group of targets and watch numbers spew forth like a fountain of delicious pain.
There are some quirks with the Shard though:
- I've seen it roll into into a group and explode immediately, knocking them prone.
- I've seen the Shard roll into the middle of two targets like split bowling pins, hitting both and not explode only to sit there.
- I've seen the Shard roll through one target, knock it down, hit one a short distance away from it and explode, knocking the first target down again.
- Aiming. There's something about the aiming that is off. You have to line it up with the group you are trying to roll into otherwise it will go helter skelter in the wrong direction.
- Pathing. If something unmovable is in the way it can prevent the Shard from proceeding.
DOUBLE WHAMMY
When the Shard rolls through a target or targets and doesn't explode for some reason, it will just sit there. The double whammy comes when it explodes and does damage to the prone target or nearby targets, knocking them prone a second time.
All kinds of fun can be had with this little ball of wonder. With the little bugs, it is still useful and fun.
ALTERNATE ROTATION
So your AS isn't charged up (shame, you haven't used Storm Pillar to generate some AP). What are you gonna do? Your best bet is to target the guy in the middle and let loose, sans the AS. Everything stays the same. While you are waiting for those skills to come off CD, use Chilling Cloud to attack and build Chill stacks.
Have fun and happy hunting!
RACE
Pick one. Compare it to a Human which has 3 extra feats by level 20. Are those racial traits better than having 3 extra feat points? Only you can decide here. Me, I went with Tiefling. +2 Wis, +2 Int.
ATTRIBUTES
This is also something else you will need to decide. Will getting bigger hitters net a better return than many smaller hits? Or is there a middle ground that you prefer. Again this is a personal choice. But since the Baller Build is about being able to control a target, I went with being able to cast more spells than hitting hard with them.
POWERS
I will only detail the powers that I use in this build. All other powers are only stepping stones to unlocking these powers that you will use in this build. But I picked powers that I COULD potentially use in a different build without having to pay for a respec.
1. Chilling Strike
Nice single target skill. Stuns on impact. Good on demand control. You can swap it out for something else if you wish.
2. Entangling Force
Again, nice single target skill with good on demand control. You can swap this out as well, but it fits good in the rotation so that you maintain target control almost all of the time with it.
3. Shard of Endless Avalanche
The guts of the bread and butter build. Very good AOE double whammy damage with very good control. You'll see in a little bit how this works
4. Conduit of Ice
Put this puppy in the Spellmastery tab slot. This is also the bread and butter of the build because of its debuff that you will see soon.
DAILIES
1. Arcane Singularity. Also one of the bread and butter skills of the build. What's better than rounding up all your targets in a large area so that you can attack them at the same time?
2. Ice Knife. Excellent single target skill with OK control. Its control is only OK because you have to charge it before you can use it on demand.
AT-WILLS
1. Chilling Cloud. This skill appears to be ridiculously underpowered. But when you look at the buffs that are available to it, you quickly realize that it is instead ridiculously overpowered.
2. Storm Pillar. Need I state that this is also one of the bread and butter skills of the build? Seriously, slot this. You will see why.
CLASS FEATS
The two primary that I currently use are:
1. Chilling Presence. At Rank 3, its 3% more damage per stack against your target which can have 6 Chill stacks max. Conduit of Ice and Chill Strike both stack Chill on the target with CoI being able to do it on an AOE basis because it is in the SM tab slot.
2. Evocation. 15% more damage from your AoE powers. You can swap this out with Storm Spell for "more" consistent damage.
The backbone of this build is in the feats and the buffs that they give to the skills that have been chosen.
FEATS
1. Controlling Action (3/5). Need to be able to generate AP a bit faster to charge your dailies, which you will use often.
2. Weapon Mastery (3/3). More crit is good.
3. Fight On (5/5). Like I said, I went the route of being able to cast more spells than being able to cast powerful spells.
4. Wizard's Wrath (3/3). Since this is an AOE build, more AOE damage is a good thing.
5. Blighting Power (3/3). More damage to targets affected by Chill. CoI inflicts AOE chill when SM tab slotted. So this synergizes well with it.
6. Arcane Mastery (3/3). More damage to targets with your Arcane spells, like Shard of the Endless Avalanche and AR.
7. Reaper's Touch (5/5). More damage when you are within 20 feet of your target. Since Shard has a limited range on how far you can toss it, this synergizes well with Shard.
8. Tempest Magic (5/5). More damage to targets with low health already. Good for helping to finishing off stuff.
9. Malevolent Surge (5/5). Three stacks of 10% more damage when you kill a foe. Obviously this is gonna make your AOE attacks hurt more since you will be able to hit multiple targets and kill the low level stuff.
10. Destructive Wizardry (5/5). 10% more damage for using Storm Pillar to hit more than 2 targets using an AOE build. Really? Free damage? Sure!
11. Frozen Power Transfer (5/5). 5% bonus damage for every target hit with the third strike of Chilling Cloud. Wait for it ...
12. Transcended Master (5/5). Shard does 15% more damage. The bread and butter of the build just got tastier.
13. Assailing Force (1/1). Conduit of Ice reduces the mitigation of affected targets by 15%. Yes to more damage.
ROTATION
Okay so how in the world is all this going to work out you ask? The rotation looks something similar to this:
Arcane Singularity -> Conduit of Ice -> Shard of the Endless Avalanche -> Storm Pillar -> Chill Strikex3 -> Shard of the Endless Avalanche
Arcane Singularity - Use this daily to round up all your targets into a nice neat little area so that you can hit all of them at the same time.
Conduit of Ice - Since this skill is SM tab slotted, its AOE is a bit larger, but the bonus is that it adds Chill stacks to those caught in its AOE and because of Assailing Force, all targets mitigation is reduced 15%. As AS is pulling all targets into its core, CoI afflicts Chill to them as well as reducing mitigation.
Shard of the Endless Avalanche - This is the precast phase for those of you who do not know or even use this skill. The boulder just sits there in front of you until you push it. The bonus is that while it is sitting there waiting for you to push it, you build Arcane Mastery, which increases your damage. Win!
Storm Pillar - This skill's sole purpose is to provide its 10% damage buff. You can only get this buff when Storm Pillar's first and original strike hits more than two targets. This is only possible when targets are close together, like when they are being sucked into AS. Its AoE DoT is a small bonus. An added bonus to this skill is that you can charge it up and cast it without having to target anything and build AP. Yep. When your group is AFK, guess what you are gonna be doing.
Chill Strikex3 -> As the targets are being sucked into AS, Chill Strike's 3rd strike can now hit more than a single target thus buffing your damage output significantly. Hopefully, by the time AS has exploded, you will have finished casting the third strike in time for ...
Shard of the Endless Avalanche - It takes a lot of getting used to. Its clunky. Its big. Its HAMSTER and purple. But it's been sitting there fuming with anger and hatred. And now its ready to unleash that anger. Hopefully if you have gotten this far, everything has gone right and all targets are still prone in front of you. Time to push the Shard into the group of targets and watch numbers spew forth like a fountain of delicious pain.
There are some quirks with the Shard though:
- I've seen it roll into into a group and explode immediately, knocking them prone.
- I've seen the Shard roll into the middle of two targets like split bowling pins, hitting both and not explode only to sit there.
- I've seen the Shard roll through one target, knock it down, hit one a short distance away from it and explode, knocking the first target down again.
- Aiming. There's something about the aiming that is off. You have to line it up with the group you are trying to roll into otherwise it will go helter skelter in the wrong direction.
- Pathing. If something unmovable is in the way it can prevent the Shard from proceeding.
DOUBLE WHAMMY
When the Shard rolls through a target or targets and doesn't explode for some reason, it will just sit there. The double whammy comes when it explodes and does damage to the prone target or nearby targets, knocking them prone a second time.
All kinds of fun can be had with this little ball of wonder. With the little bugs, it is still useful and fun.
ALTERNATE ROTATION
So your AS isn't charged up (shame, you haven't used Storm Pillar to generate some AP). What are you gonna do? Your best bet is to target the guy in the middle and let loose, sans the AS. Everything stays the same. While you are waiting for those skills to come off CD, use Chilling Cloud to attack and build Chill stacks.
Have fun and happy hunting!
Post edited by gundzor on
0
Comments
I intend to try it with Copticone's build for an AoE Freeze -> AoE Prone -> AoE Freeze -> AoE Stun combo when it's inappropriate to use Shield.
As wonderful as all these end game builds are, they don't really help us lowbies who are a long way from 60. So what I'd really like to know is what skills and rotations people would recommend for newbie wizards who are just starting their leveling up journey?
Up to level 30:
Encounters: Chill Strike as Spell Mastery (AoE), Conduit of Ice (more AoE), Shield (even more AoE) and Entangling Force (for elites / bosses).
At-Will: Magic Missile (mostly) and Ray of Frost (for some CC on elites / bosses).
Dailies: Arcane Singularity (all mobs at one place -> AoE many targets) and Ice Storm (again AoE)
At level 30 I replaced Shield with Sudden Storm. I know, it has it's issues (can't crit, can't hit foes during Arcane Singularity) but I found it easier and faster to use than Shield - it does more damage (on a smaller angle, though, but most mobs come from the front anyways) and I got tired of recasting Shield everytime. With Sudden Storm (in synergy with Chill Strike and CoI) normal mobs WILL die on the way to you so only the elite is still standing - and for him you have Entangling Force.
So my rotation looked something like: Chill Strike in group, Conduit of Ice on running mobs, Sudden Storm when mobs are close enough, finish off elite with Entangling Force.
With this setup I leveled quite easy to level 60. On the way I took Ray of Enfeeblement for bosses, and at level 45 Steal Time, which I replaced for Conduit of Ice.
Hope this helps.