Guide Class Building 101

Alright, I've finally gotten around to this. The plan is for a straightforward introduction to basic build types and their attributes, and other aspects of classbuilding, approachable for newcomers but useful for intermediate builders as well.

Part 1 - Items and Stats
If you aren't already aware of it, take a look at Wynndata. If you need to know anything about items - for example, if you want the details on an item I mention offhand in this guide - this is the go-to source.

Building is generally done in Wynndata's Builder, which allows you to select items, add powders, and also independently manipulate damage values and skill points. It will calculate most of the relevant damages for you, including spells and melee dps (though it does not include powder specials).

If you need any information about how various stats work, see my Stats and Identifications Guide (not yet fully updated for 1.19). You may also gain some useful insight from my Powders Guide. And of course, the classic Damage Calculation Guide by @motoki1 (although note that it's a bit outdated in some places).

(and remember to thank @dukioooo once in a while)

Part 2 - Build Types/Table of Contents
Classifying builds is difficult, but I'll give it my best shot. For most of this guide, I'll focus on four straightforward, generally well-supported, and rather distinct build types:
- Spellspam (Part 3)
- Spell Steal (Part 4)
- Fast Melee (Part 5)
- Heavy Melee (Part 6)
In the sections for each build, I'll highlight the major stats that are relevant to that build type (roughly in descending order of importance, but take it with a grain of salt), talk about the generally desired tankiness of the build type, and show some example builds. This guide is targeted at endgame but the principles should be applicable to building at other levels as well.

There are of course plenty of builds that are more specific subtypes of these or straddle between these types, as well as other less widespread build types, which I'll go into in Part 7. In addition, Part 8 deals with the question of choosing between percent and raw damage boosters.

Additional note - builds are often additionally classified in terms of elemental combos. For example, the Earth-Water-Fire combo will often be abbreviated to EWF, and likewise for the other nine tri-elemental combos. In addition to these, dual-elemental combos (most often WA and WF), and quad-elemental combos (most often TWFA, ETWA, ETWF, and ETFA) sometimes show up in builds as well. I haven't used that classification for this guide because I consider the fundamental archetypes more distinct, and thus easier to understand - many of the elemental combos can feature a variety of very different playstyles, while builds with the same playstyle are all largely built along the same lines.

Note - Example builds are up to date as of Item Patch version 1.19.5

Part 3 - Spellspam
Probably the overall most popular build type, having been supported relatively well since Gavel release. The playstyle is exactly what it says - spam spells (cycling between different spells to reset their mana costs). Though it can be used in all spell-oriented combos in theory, it's primarily seen in TWA, EWF, WFA, and sometimes EWA - the other spell combos tend to lean towards spellsteal. Important stats are as follows:

Intelligence: The primary stat of spell-based builds in general. Broadly speaking, pretty much any competitive spell build would want at least 68 Intelligence (which is 50% mana cost reductions), although most will go for higher thresholds. 94, 105, 114, and 129 are especially common. Refer to Wynndata's Mana Chart to see how much reduction is gained at various thresholds.
Mana Regen: Pretty solidly one of the most important spellspam stats. Since baseline mana regen equates to about 5/4s, adding mana regen starts out as a pretty sizable multiplier. Generally, builds will target around 8-12 mana regen, depending on the amount of Intelligence and how much of a tradeoff it is. However, sometimes people build to higher quantities of mana regen, especially very technically skilled players. Generally, I wouldn't recommend going under 8 mana regen without alternative spell support methods.
Spell Cost (Raw and Percent): You can kind of judge this by comparing it to mana regen - if you have, for example, -1 Bomb Arrow Cost, and you're casting 3 Bomb Arrows per cycle, you're effectively gaining another 3 mana regen. Note that this stat hasn't been fully rolled out as of 1.19, so it's rather rare right now.
Damage IDs: Spell damage percent, spell damage raw, and relevant elemental damages. They're lower priority than the above but still quite important. Most builds at endgame will have around 150-350 percent-equivalent (see Part 8) in damage boosts from damage stats, in addition to whatever is gained from skill point damage boosts (generally 50-150%). Of course, this can vary greatly.

Tankiness/Utility: The most common playstyle for this build type is Intelligence, one offensive element, and one defensive element - generally with between 40 to 120 defensive skill points, depending on the weapon and other details of the build. Less popular but still relatively common is to just use a single defensive element alongside Intelligence, especially when using gear with very high skill point requirements. Double-defensive (WFA) has also seen some more use in recent times, with lower damage in exchange for having stronger defensive skill points and often lots of health regen. Double-offensive (ETW) is possible, but rather unpopular - it'se often considered to be weakly supported, giving up a lot of tankiness for not much benefit to damage. Regarding health (applicable to all build types), historically 10k has been considered a sort of "soft minimum" that people are willing to accept, although this does depend greatly on how much defensive skill points the build has - health takes on quite a bit more importance if you have none, and much less importance if you have a lot. In addition, classes with health-based healing spells (Mage and Shaman) benefit directly in terms of tankiness with higher health, while other classes see only indirect benefit, so those two classes are more likely to care about high health. Mana regen spellspam builds with a Def leaning regularly utilize health regen as a supporting stat. Correspondingly, walkspeed is common on builds that include Agility. Of course, there are some items that go the opposite way (such as Dreamcloud's health regen with Agi req, and Darksteel Full Helm's walkspeed with Def req).

Example builds:
https://wynndata.tk/s/2utwri A relatively standard high-Int spell archer build. Note the use of Boreal-Patterned Crown as a Master Hive piece, Sagittarius and Steamjet Walkers for damage and some skill points, and Stillwater Blue for mana regen and skillpoints. The accessories are calculated for mana regen and skill points, to allow for reaching 129 Intelligenece - quite useful on Archer. Note the predominance of percent damages over raw spell (see Part 8).
https://wynndata.tk/s/blxmi9 A middle of the road Nepta Floodbringer build. Health on the higher side despite Nepta's health penalty because of Gaea-Hewn Boots and Ornate Shadow Cover. Sizzling Shawl provides a hefty chunk of damage with the penalty nicely countered by Gaea-Hewn and Heal spell, while Vacuum serves as a good mixed mana piece. The accessories are mainly for damage, with the exception of Diamond Hydro Necklace for mana regen and skill points.

Part 4 - Spell Steal
Another pretty popular build type (especially in the last few years, now that it has better support). The build relies on melee primarily for triggering mana steal (as opposed to a source of damage), with spell being the primary method of attack. In addition, access to "continuous" melee hits without sacrificing spell potential means that this build type can gain good mileage from weapon powder specials. Note that generally when people refer to "hybrid builds" without a clarification they mean spell steal in particular. This archetype sees frequent use in TWF and ETW, although mana steal items are present and useful in all spell archetypes. Important stats are as follows:

Intelligence: Just as applicable here as in any other spell build. No need to repeat myself, refer to Part 3 for details.
Spell Cost Reductions: Same as above, refer to Part 3.
Mana Regen: Refer to Part 3 for a quick overview, however note that mana regen is not as vital for this build type, since you also have mana steal. Some builds will rely solely on mana steal for their mana sustain, however generally speaking I recommend a mix, since mana steal can be unreliable (both inherently, and situationally if there are a small number of enemies).
Mana Steal: An additional source of mana sustain. It can be quite powerful, especially if there are a lot of enemies (since it will activate per each mob hit), but also unreliable, since it's chance-based and requires being able to keep up melee to activate.
Slower Attack Speeds: Rather than explaining the reason myself for the umpteenth time, I'll refer to this excellent guide written by esteemed classbuilder @Madkurre since it's a common question. While there are a few weapons with slow enough attack speeds to be used without modifiers for fully effective mana steal, most builds of this type rely on items like Atlas or Tenuto to reduce their melee attack speed to Super Slow. Generally speaking, getting Super Slow or at least Very Slow is vital to competitive Spell Steal.
Damage IDs: Same as in Part 3. As always, refer to Part 8 for damage ID comparison details.

Tankiness/Utility: Generally, the same applies here as it does for Spellspam. The big difference is that this build type can make good use of lifesteal, which can be a useful extra source of health sustain - especially if you use Chain Lightning, Quake, or Courage, since each hit can activate lifesteal like a melee hit would (note that the initial hit of Courage acts a lot like Quake, for this purpose).

Example builds:
https://wynndata.tk/s/pa9rbj This build is one of the most common quad (four elements) setups. Cumulonimbus, Medeis, Cinderchain, and Steamjet Walkers chain together rather well for thunder damage and skill points, plus a nice amount of walkspeed. This does mean that mana needs to come from the accessories, which is what I've done - using Atlas for the -tiers and mana steal, and all other accessories primarily for mana (plus the three from Cluster). The mana is overall solid, and comes with a side helping of up to 135 defensive skill points, nice walkspeed, and 1k lifesteal, plus pretty high damage.
https://wynndata.tk/s/e0wqmd If you're the kind of madlad willing to play ETW this build will reward you with some nice power. Chaos-Woven Greaves and Discharge provide the major source of damage, with Shaggy Boots conveniently providing extra damage, stronger Chains, -tiers, and some lifesteal, while Polyphemus serves as another damage/mana combo item. The accessories are pretty standard - Diamond Hydro Necklace and Moon Pool Circlet for mana and skill points, alongside Yang and Gold Static Bracelet for damage.
https://wynndata.tk/s/xkimw0 I actually play a variation on this build ingame. Aphotic's damage and Ex Nihilo's combined damage/health allow for the use of a Sanctuary without dropping health too low, alongside a nice bit of walkspeed and a moderate amount of Agility. Plus, good damage, access to Curse, and you get to use all of Hive Bow's mana.

Part 5 - Fast Melee
I've grouped all melee builds that rely on faster attack speeds together, because they fundamentally all function the same way. Most often, you'll see this category divided into tierstack (starting with slower weapons) and fast raw (starting with faster weapons), but I don't think that distinction is particularly important. The goal is to build melee damage by increasing attack speed and adding melee damage boosters, alongside utility stats to deal with damage. Primarily sees use in ETA and EFA, though also occasionally in TFA and ETF. Important stats are as follows:

Favorable Weapon Attack Speed: This is minimally important for the spell builds detailed in Parts 3 and 4, excepting naturally Super Slow weapons not requiring gear that lowers attack speed to reach Super Slow. However, for melee builds, attack speed is an important determinant of how the item is built. If you go back to Part 1 and follow the link to Motoki's Damage Calculation Guide, you'll find a list of attack speed multipliers. This is important because the differences between adjacent attack speeds can vary significantly. For example, if you have a Very Slow weapon and boost it to Slow with +1 attack speed tier, you'll get a far larger benefit than if you take a Slow weapon and boost it to Normal. Generally speaking, the two slowest and two fastest attack speeds tend to be the most competitive in terms of overall damage for fast melee builds (especially Super Slow and Super Fast), although there are of course situations where the weapon's own idiosyncrasies can overcome this, such as in the case of Braker's very high base damage letting it be competitive despite its Slow attack speed.
Attack Speed Bonus: The primary method of increasing damage for slower weapons, and still important for faster weapons (aside from Super Fast weapons, of course). Attack speed bonuses are multiplicative, both with each other and with percent and raw melee damage boosts, so for a long time they were essentially the sole method of creating viable melee builds, before the rebalancing of raw melee, and the more recent heavy melee changes. Most fast melee builds will use however much attack speed is needed to reach Super Fast - which can be quite a few for some, although on some occasions people might forego extra tiers in favor of defensive stats.
Percent Damages: Though definitively subservient to attack speed tier, elemental and melee percent damages are still quite important for weapons with higher base damage (generally the slower weapons, but also affected by class differences) as a means to boost damage.
Raw Melee Damage: For faster weapons, raw melee is the biggest source of damage, for reasons explained in Part 8. Although you'd still want to boost the attack speed to Super Fast, the primary focus of the build will be on raw melee, which is why you'll generally see the Fast Melee build type divided into Tierstack and Fast Raw - although in theory they build along a single continuum, the tier aspect is mostly absent with faster weapons and the raw melee aspect is mostly absent with slower weapons.

Tankiness/Utility: All three of the major tankiness and utility stats can be used effectively on Fast Melee. Walkspeed is generally considered the most vital - since melee builds don't have much control over or defense from mobs via spells, walkspeed is very useful for avoidance, going in and out of range, etc. Lifesteal and health regen are also prominent stats, although it's not generally considered as important as walkspeed in most situations (though still very useful, especially for tankier Fast melee builds), as both provide good health sustain, with Lifesteal generally being stronger while health regen is more reliable (much like mana regen versus mana steal).

Example builds:
https://wynndata.tk/s/6v3wr8 - A highly offensive Alkatraz tierstack build. Though quite lacking in defensive skill points and health sustain, the build has a truckload of damage, bolstered by Warrior's high natural class defense and the decent walkspeed. Virgo and Twilight-Gilded Cloak make for a strong offensive tierstack option at the cost of Virgo's low hp. I took Breezehands for my 6th tier because Tera makes for a very nice skill points option to help reach Virgo's req, and Aries provides skillpoints, damage, lifesteal, and walkspeed all quite nicely. The other accessories serve similar purposes, doubling as skillpoint and damage options.
https://wynndata.tk/s/co7z35 - Leaning towards the defensive end, this build showcases many of the typical options of Fast Raw Melee. The Specialist is Super Fast so no extra tiers are needed, and it provides an excellent +30 defensive sp, though at the cost of only being able to hit two elements. Elysium-Engraved Aegis is the Master Hive Armor centerpiece, with a bunch of raw melee, some walkspeed, and nice health regen. The Horizon/Momentum combo cancels out in tiers and provides a neat bit of health regen and net positive walkspeed. Ex Nihilo provides solid raw melee plus some walkspeed, and an excellent chunk of lifesteal. Grillface is the helmet raw melee option, a defensive alternative to Shawl of Gaea. Downfall is the classic ring for Fast Raw Melee, providing the most raw melee and a lot of walkspeed, alongside some extra +Str. Ambiguity rounds it out as another raw melee/walkspeed/skillpoints/health regen combo piece.
https://wynndata.tk/s/jdu5wx - A relatively defensive tierstack Apocalypse build (though not as defensive as it could be, since I did take all six tiers). Kindled Orchid is a common choice for defensive tierstack, providing some nice lifesteal benefit. Likewise for Burnout, which is a more damage-oriented (though still defensive) choice. Chestplate of Ineptitude is kind of a "there's nothing else and I wanted the 6th tier" item - for a more defensive look, Frontliner or Gaping Cavity are good options. Leictreach Makani provides a nice helping of walkspeed and skill points alongside the tier, and the 0 hp can be shrugged off with all the extra health from accessories and other armors. Breezehands and ring/bracelet Flashfire set round out the last two tiers, with Contrast for some nice defensive benefits.

Part 6 - Heavy Melee
Recently given support in 1.19, the Heavy Melee playstyle revolves around very high damages (primarily raw melee but also percent damages) alongside negative attack speed tier, wielding a very strong melee hit that can only be used about once every 2 seconds, alongside using Quake or Chain Lightning after each few hits. Because of the long time between hits, heavy melee has a hard time using its melee attack to control mobs, so heavy melee builds often use (and have support for) mana steal to use spells as utility for that purpose. Primarily sees use in ETF, but also used in TFA, and occasionally EFA/ETA. Important stats are as follows:

Powder Special Access: The nature of Quake and Chain Lightning (less so for Courage) means that weapons without a powder special get roughly half the dps of weapons with a powder special when used in Heavy Melee. Thus, without a powder special, a weapon would need extremely extenuating circumstances to be competitive in heavy melee. Quake is by far the most common choice of powder special since it has the highest damage. Chain Lightning may sometimes see use, but it is an unpopular choice because it has quite a bit less damage than Quake, with a small benefit of extra range (although in some situations Quake will hit more mobs than Chain Lightning anyway). Courage theoretically has the qualities needed for use in Heavy Melee, but the initial hit is generally considered too weak for widespread use.
Weapon Base Damage: Since base damage varies greatly with attack speed, it becomes a relatively significant determinant of heavy melee power (though not as significant as it was before 1.19, when heavy melee was considered a gimmick with little support and only archer heavy melee was remotely viable). This generally correlates with weapon attack speed, but of course there is significant individual variation.
Raw Melee Damage: The primary source of damage for heavy melee builds, items like the one in the image above with negative attack speed tiers and a large amount of raw melee are the main damage boosters of the playstyle.
Mana Steal: An important utility stat for Heavy Melee because it's the primary method of control, since you can only melee about once every two seconds. Also note the occassional presence of mana regen (both positive and negative), although it's less common.
Percent Damages; While less important than raw melee, they can still be significant, especially alongside weapons with higher base damages. As always, see Part 8 for details.

Tankiness: The primary defensive stat of heavy melee tends to be lifesteal in large quantities. This generally makes up for two things - firstly, relatively low access to walkspeed compared to most fast melee builds (meaning heavy melee builds tend to take damage faster) and secondly, limited access to health potions due to reliance on powder specials for damage. This doesn't necessarily mean that Heavy Melee builds can't use walkspeed, but generally that comes at the expense of a significant amount of damage. Health regen also exists, but is of relatively limited usefulness for Heavy Melee, since powder specials make lifesteal quite a bit stronger than it would be on fast melee.

Example builds:
https://wynndata.tk/s/t86pwe - Heavy melee is still in its infancy so this is about as offensive as the playstyle can go. The armor showcases all of the power options available for heavy melee. Obsidian-Framed Helmet as the Master Hive piece, Taurus for pure power, Blind Thrust for power and some mana steal. Writhing Growth provides a lot of damage at the expense of spell costs - however, Assassin is much less affected than most classes by Writhing Growth's spell cost, incurring nothing on Vanish and only 1 cost on Spin. The accessories are just the classics, for lack of heavy melee power accessories - double Fractured for lifesteal, Atlas for mana steal and lifesteal, Drain for lifesteal.
https://wynndata.tk/s/jfok8r - A more defensively-oriented Stinger heavy melee build. Obby is there as usual. Darkiron Aegis is a much more defensive alternative to Taurus, with more skillpoints and without the high Str req. Struggle works out to be a bit stronger than Earth Breaker here, while avoiding the spell cost penalties from Writhing Growth to keep Arrow Shield and Escape more usable. Shaggy Boots adds nice damage and some extra lifesteal too, skipping Blind Thrust's high req. Accessories are the same - the only reason to change them would be if you wanted Downfalls for walkspeed.
https://wynndata.tk/s/z79aoe - Using Final Compulsion as the weapon, for the sizable health bonus. This build focuses on tanking through mana steal and health for big heals. Hence the choice of Blind Thrust for good damage but also health, the use of double Unspeakables and Staccato for mana steal, and Diamond Solar Bracelet for health.

Part 7 - Other Build Types
In this section, I'll give a quick overview of some other build archetypes, which are either less thoroughly supported, or best classified as subtypes of the preceding four.

No-Int Spell: Certainly the most prominent among the build types in this section, this is the use of an elemental combination without Intelligence alongside spell cost IDs to make spells competitive in cost versus Int-based spell builds. Although theoretically the archetype could work as pure spellspam, in practice the current item distribution means that it is most often played as spellsteal, especially in TFA. Functionally, the relevant stats are just like other spell builds except with a high focus on spell cost in place of Intelligence.
Poison: Generally, poison-oriented builds will fall into either a Heavy Melee style (e.g. using Coal Duster) or a Fast Raw Melee style (ETA, or sometimes EFA by eschewing the strongest poison items in favor of more tankiness), often with an emphasis on mana steal or less often mana regen since spells are often quite useful in spreading and maintaining poison. Of course, some poison builds will also utilize some Intelligence, especially if they use spells for spreading poison.
Heavy Hybrid: The use of a combination of spell steal and heavy melee, with the latter providing extra damage to the former. Most common among certain builds in ETW, TWF, and TFA.
Tiercanceling/Cancelstack: The use of a heavy melee item alongside an especially fast weapon and several +tier items to counter the -tiers on the heavy melee item. Currently sees usage primarily with Writhing Growth and Earth Breaker.
Fast Hybrid: The use of fast melee and spells at the same time, with the spells covering for melee's lower utilities and the melee (theoretically) providing extra damage on top of the spells. A very high skill playstyle that currently provides little benefit for the level of skill required.
Niche or One-off Builds: Any other builds that are characterized by a unique playstyle supported by a very specific item combination or other mechanic (e.g. Concentration-boosted Water Braker, 1 hp Rage hyperoffensive). These builds are hard to classify and are very unlikely to see widespread support.

Part 8 - Damage Calculation
More specifically, how to compare and choose between raw damages and percent damages. No doubt by now you've seen the numerous references in preceding parts of this guide to Part 8 - this subject is relevant to a wide variety of build types.

Spell - Percent vs. Raw:
Choosing between percent damages (this includes both spell damage % and elemental damage %) and raw damages for spell builds involves looking at the base damage of the weapon. As a general rule of thumb, classes with higher base damages tend toward percent damages (e.g. Archer) while classes with lower base damages tend toward raw damages (e.g. Mage). However, this is only a rough heuristic - individual variation in both weapons and armor can certainly overwhelm the 2x difference between the highest base and lowest base classes. For a more thorough look, consider the following weapon:

Spoiler: A useful example weapon

Note the 420-448 fire damage (an average of 424 fire damage) and 2 powder slots. If you fill each powder slot with a Tier 6 fire powder (+17 average damage), the average base fire damage will rise to 468. Since Inferna Flamewreath has no neutral damage we can safely ignore the effects of spell conversion and incomplete powder conversion - for this weapon, spell damage % = fire damage % in a spell playstyle.

Now consider the weapon's attack speed. The attack speed multiplier is multiplied by the nominal base damage when determining the base damage for spells (this multiplier corresponds to the hits per second of that attack speed). For Normal, this multiplier is 2.05, so the base spell damage of Inferna Flamewreath with two Tier 6 fire powders is 468 x 2.05 = 959.4 base damage.

What this means in practice is that percent damages - spell damage percent and fire damage percent - use this 959.4 number when being applied. So +100% spell or fire damage adds 959.4 damage - or equivalently, for this weapon and powdering, +100% damage = +959.4 raw spell damage (spell multipliers are applied after both percent and raw spell, so they can be ignored for this comparison).

Now suppose you want to compare the following two items' usefulness as damage boosters for Inferna Flamewreath-F6-F6.

Spoiler

You can convert either way, but I prefer to convert raw to percent. Another way of expressing 100% = 959.4 raw is as 100 raw = 10.423%. This is a handy way to express the number since it makes mental approximation of the conversion easier, but for now we'll go through the precise calculation. Ornate Shadow Garb has 200 raw spell, so 200/100 x 10.423% = 20.846%. Taking the sums, that means Ornate Shadow Garb provides about 41% of damage boosts for Inferna Flamewreath vs. the 47% that Smoldering Apron provides.

We can repeat this calculation for a Mage weapon to observe the baseline difference in practice. For example, Heatwave with three Tier 6 fire powders has a base spell damage of 415.14. This means that Ornate Shadow Garb provides the equivalent of 68% damage for Heatwave. You can now see why raw spell tends to be stronger on Mage - the weapons have lower base damages, which affects percent efficacy but not raw efficacy (a downside of converting percent to raw means that this fact is obscured - it's merely the computational method that I find easier).

Note that for weapons with neutral damage, or with multi-element damage, the effects of spell conversion, incomplete elemental application, or sometimes incomplete powder conversion, can have a significant effect - this would diminish the power of elemental damage percent relative to spell damage percent, and to reduce the power of percent damages relative to raw damages. This inexactness is why I generally recommend simple mental estimation to compare percent and raw damages - if the numbers are close and element distribution is likely to have an outsized effect, just plug it into Wynndata and check the exact numbers.

Melee - Percent vs. Raw:
Comparing percent and raw in melee is almost exactly the same as comparing them in spell, except that you do not apply the attack speed multiplier to calculate the base melee damage. The calculations in the section on spell are otherwise applicable in the same way to melee.

Notice that the multiplicative difference between Super Fast and Super Slow is roughly 8.4x - far larger than the roughly 2x damage gap between Mage and Archer/Shaman. This is a big part of why weapon attack speed tends to be so important for melee weapons.

As a heuristic for fast melee, raw will dominate on Super Fast weapons and percent will dominate on Super Slow weapons, with the distinction becoming smaller towards the center of the range of attack speeds - here, class and individual variation start mattering more. As before, I recommend a quick estimation followed by an exact Wynndata comparison in close cases.

Note that +tier and -tier IDs don't have any effect on the calculations. Only weapon damage matters.

========I am division line========

Hopefully that was useful to you in some way. If you think I missed anything big, or if there are any mistakes, please let me know so I can improve.

 

This would be extremely helpful for new players, good work.

 

entire class builds guide and only one mention of quad

unsubscribed

 

Thats alot of words

 

wtf tfa is the best im shaking and crying rn druser would never do this

 

Please change title to 'Class Building 106'

Btw good thread since it includes various info like raw vs percentage




wait

PTSD

 

Wall of text that sums up everything I've learned about this silly block game over the course of a few months.


thank you druser, very cool.

 

fantastic thread that's been missing for the longest time, very nice work
how about adding a table of contents to the start, though? think it would strengthen the structure of a thread like this

 

Great guide but I'd disagree with your point that ETW and WFA are weak - when you're using both offensive or both defensive stats you use them more as support stats with one stat as your main one imo. That is, you use them to meet gear requirements on Hive Gear and powerful spell equipment. They don't have much support but the support that they do have is incredibly useful and is the closest you can get to a mono-element build.

ETW is really good with a hybrid mana steal spam build and WFA is a great way to give your spellspam the survivability it needs. Don't diss them. :<

 

thanks
i'm getting into leveling again since I actually have time for it lol

 

idk about ETW, but with the correct items *cough* Eden-Blessed Guards *cough* WFA can actually deal good damage whilst also being tanky, thus providing a lot of benefits compared to the amount of skill required (a.k.a very low skill requirement since it's a rather tanky build)

Still, overall great post :)

 

Regarding ETW and WFA - the damage/tankiness tradeoff is inherently subjective. As long as the curve is inverse, there will always be some people who consider the tradeoff worth it (and even if it's not inverse at certain points some people will inevitably take the opportunity to meme). But so far there's no widespread acceptance of either of those elemental combos.

 

bump in case there's something missing

 

I've made some updates for the recent item patch and to account for buffed health regen.

 

oh I never commented on this

My opinion is that the guide is perfect in execution and flawed in concept. It'll help the people that it helps very well, but I don't see many people being helped by it.


Edit: I can't believe Druser put limbo in his heavy melee example im shaking and crying rn

 

It’s a very good guide to refer to and it certainly helps people who are interested in classbuilding or just battle mechanics in general

 

lots of math here definitely should be class building 102

 

WRRYYYYYYYYY

bump

 

Or you could learn all this in different chunks by posting bad builds on Atlas Inc


Thanks tho Druser. I sort of wanted a good explaination for heavy melee and what works for it. Also ty for the %=raw conversions.

 

Can we get it in spoilers?