Curse

uby · Jun 21, 2012, 12:44 AM // 00:44

I've been toying with this idea, looking for feedback:
Soul Reaping (10+1+1)
Death Magic (10+1)
Fire Magic (11)

Dark Aura
Masochism
Star Burst {E}
Elemental Lord (PvE)
Flame Djinn's Haste

Optionals:
Signet of Lost Souls
Flame Burst/Inferno/Lava Font/Bed of Coals
Glyph of Elemental Power (to get Star Burst burning duration up to 4 sec.)
Fire Attunement
Animate Vampiric Horror
Putrid Explosion

With each cast of Star Burst @ FM14, you do 105 dmg + 56 from burning to foes in the area and an additional 44 to adjacent foes from Dark Aura triggered by Masochism for a total of 205 AOE damage every 7 seconds.

I've struggled to come up with any further synergies from the Necro skillset which don't require redistribution of attribute points. For example, Demonic Flesh requires points in Blood Magic to be effective.

I think this does offer something worthwhile compared to pure Aura Bombing and Starburst builds, though perhaps too little to be worthwhile.

uby · Jun 21, 2012, 03:13 AM // 03:13

As a follow-up, also consider Mirror of Ice {E} or Gust {E} instead of Star Burst {E}.

Benefits: Mirror of Ice and Gust are double cast, so 2x trigger of Dark Aura (needs confirmation?), Gust can add knowndown pressure

Downsides: Mirror of Ice is more energy intensive, no burning, smaller AOE (nearby vs area)

I don't have Gust captured ** can someone test whether Gust double-triggers Dark Aura when enchanted with Masochism (PvE version) ??

Axel Zinfandel · Jun 21, 2012, 03:51 AM // 03:51

I wonder how feasible Kinetic Armor would be in this build. I worry about squishiness in builds like this. Solid damage, but front line and squishy. Considering Searing Flames can output more than that damage from a distance as an elite.. Sure you're doing 200~ damage, but you'd be doing similar damage with SF at a distance in the same time.

uby · Jun 21, 2012, 03:53 AM // 03:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axel Zinfandel

I wonder how feasible Kinetic Armor would be in this build. I worry about squishiness in builds like this. Solid damage, but front line and squishy. Considering Searing Flames can output more than that damage from a distance as an elite.. Sure you're doing 200~ damage, but you'd be doing similar damage with SF at a distance in the same time.

Yeah, but it's difficult to run SF on a primary Necro.
Kinetic armor would be hard to maintain since you need to cast every 8 seconds, plus you'd need to spec into Earth Magic and drain the other attributes. I usually try not to spec beyond 3 attributes, and rarely do I spec more than 1 attribute in the secondary since you can't raise it with runes.

Sagittario · Jun 21, 2012, 04:59 AM // 04:59

You will need a lot of protection, because frontline caster without protection = suicide.
I'm glad to see someone breaking SS, MM, AP stereotype, but you should consider staying midline.

akelarumi · Jun 21, 2012, 10:18 AM // 10:18

I agree with Sagittario. you would be in the enemy zone too much as a caster. This won't be a problem at low level's but it will be at higher levels.

ultimak719 · Jun 21, 2012, 02:01 PM // 14:01

Honestly, it wont be too bad as a caster in melee range. You can bring great dwarf armor, bring a spear/shield set, or simple micro prot spirit on your heroes.

As for dark aura, I dont think it will be as good unless you bring optionals like flame burst and inferno. Spamming these three give more damage than just starburst with dark aura. But, if you spam all three with dark aura, the you will need heals to stop the constant health drops.