Morkai
06-20-2008, 02:32
After experimenting throughout my career I have decided to give a feat by feat tutorial on how to build a viable Havoc defensive/offensive successful 1 vs 1 pvp, solo/group, massive aoe pvp build. I read a lot of people on the forums who have trouble leveling the demonologist or taking on multiple mobs within their appropriate level range. I will not go into comparing this class with other uber classes but will say this; the demonologist is a fun, viable solo pvp class that can do a lot of damage if played RIGHT with a bit of patience. Playing right = aggro management, patience, timing, and practice/experimenting. Hopefully, this build will allow those struggling to compete and level effectively.
Delimitations-
This build does not focus or include Conflagration.
This build does not focus on minions or mana regeneration/recovery.
This build does not focus on reduced hatred.
This build is not designed strictly for PVE.
Purpose-
This build will enable you to do effectively pvp, do high direct damage, CC for 1 vs 1, and maximize AoE for group or massive pvp warfare.
To be a successful demonologist and survive one must balance its damage tree of choice (in this case havoc) with the general defensive tree buffs.
Here is the final build.
http://feats.goonheim.com/demonologist#t0a5b5c5f5h5l1m3n3p3u5x5z1t1t2a5b5d5e 3g5h3i3j1p3
Levels 1-28
Invest all points into swift Shock Strike. This spell is a necessity. The slower timer on the Shock Strike spell is a killer. Increasing the casting time is imperative to landing that killing blow.
Invest all points into Natural Conductor. Increasing the max damage on your electrical spells at low level is critical to survive. At higher levels it becomes necessary. At low levels defense is not as important as killing the mob first. The mobs hit to damage ratio are poor. You should be able to kill the mobs quick without them doing much damage to you.
Invest all points into Rapid recharge. Again reducing the casting time will save your ass.
Invest all points into Bombardment. Not so important for pve but for PVP this is killer. Increasing the casting distance is imperative for starting and finishing fights. For those cowards who like to run this is a good finisher. Getting the jump on those from the farthest distance possible is killer to gaining an opening advantage in a pvp fight.
Levels 28-47
Now you are around level 30 and the tide begins to change. It is important to start investing in the general tree for defense to survive against those mobs that are now hitting harder. In pvp, players are now hitting harder.
Invest all points into spiritual armament. This spell is critical. 3% may not seem like a lot but I have run tests and noticed a difference in the mobs ability to do physical damage. It helps so use it.
Invest all points into Mystical Attunement. Doing major damage to kill your enemies first is key. +39 to spell damage is major.
Invest all points into quickened iron. The faster your shield spell replenishes itself the better off you will be in fights. Your survivability just increased.
Invest all points into mirrored iron. Now many people do not like this spell. I swear by it. It’s not that big of a deal in pvp but in PVE it is killer. Test it. Watch a mob beat on you and see the damage it takes when the spell goes off. It’s passive so any spell that does damage without me having to do anything is worth it. Mobs will take around 200+ damage when it goes off. Not to bad...
At this point we will skip crimson shield and pick it up later since its value is not that noticeable. We will skip spiritual Aegis as well. Will pick it up later. As a demonologist your magical resistance should be fairly decent without it. Also at this level the amount of mob spell casters you will encounter are less compared to the melee types.
Levels 47-55
Now we are finished investing in the defensive buffs in the general tree. We need to think about pvp so we head back to the Havoc tree. However, this time we want to open up the left branch of the tree. Therefore we invest 5 points into discharge shock strike. Inflicting damage to adjacent enemies helps in doing AoE damage and opens up our left branch.
At this point we skip overload, demonic power, earth recharge, Soul Resonance, and Agonizing jolts.
Overload is not worth putting any points into it. 5 points to cast an extra spell at no mana cost is worthless. As a properly equipped and skilled Demo I never run out of mana (unless I am in a 5 minute battle with a ToS) but that’s the exception and in this case overload wouldn't help). Demonic power does not apply to this build. Again earth recharge sounds nice in theory but I have no problems running out of mana. Not worth the cost. Soul resonance is not applicable to this build. Agonizing jolts is not my favorite spell. In fact, I was highly disappointed with this spell. It is a channeling spell that slows the attacker’s movement speed. It does little damage and the range on it sucks. Channeling spells prevent you from casting other spells until the duration of the spell is finished or interrupted, which is crap. Since you can't move and cast channeling spells at the same time the mob/player reaches you anyways thus putting you in killing range when the spell wears off.
Next we invest all points into copper storm chains and charged storm chains. Some may be hesitant in investing points into a spell that does so little damage. However, I argue that the damage over time based on the ticks per second add up quite a bit if the storm chains holds its root. Therefore, in pvp combat and pve it does a nice little bit of damage if applied correctly. Any spell that improves my storm chains I am all for it.
Levels 55-60
Skipped living thunderstorm because the damage output sucks and it’s to slow.
Now we invest 1 point into Chained Shock strike. Nice little spell for AoE. However, not imperative at this level. We want to invest 1 point so we can open up one of our most devastating pvp spells. Wicked Bolts. Wicked Bolts is an awesome knockback spell that will piss off any caster or ranger type. However, be warned that it does not work effectively against those wearing heavy armor or those who have knockback resistant feats (assassin). It will save you in a pvp fight and give you an extra round of spell damage.
At this point we invest all points into Wicked Bolts. The more points the greater the range of knockback. Not to bad.
Levels 60-65
Back to the general tree. Its time to invest into Spiritual Aegis. Higher level content has more spell casters. Also spells begin to hit a lot harder from other players. Invest all points into Spiritual Aegis.
Levels 65-70
Back to Havoc. At this point we invest all points into the channeling Thunderclap spell. Great pvp and pve spell. See edited below. we need to invest all points into it to open up Lore of Skelos. Invest into Lore of Skelos. Lore of Skelos will increase your damage for 30 seconds and has a 5 minute cool down. In 1 vs 1 pvp it is critical to maximize your damage output. Therefore, you will want Lore of Skelos and eventually you will stack it with tome of Erlick for max damage.
Levels 70-77
Back to General Tree. Invest all points into crimson shield, Tome of Erlick, and purge. Erlick will increase the damage of your spells and stacks. Stack it with Skelos and you’re doing decent damage. The choice is yours which one first. Purge is useful in team play.
Levels 77-80
Back to Havoc. Invest all points into overloaded shock blast and then chained shock strike. The reason I stress these two last is now your probably going to be in kashetta grinding. In Kashetta you will be facing multiple mobs in your grind groups so you want to output the max AoE dps possible. I also mentioned before that if you are in massive pvp warfare than these 2 spells are going to be your bread and butter. With these 2 passive feats you will rack up the pvp kill count. Just stand somewhere not visible and when massive pvp warfare breaks out in kashetta just dropped the AoE bombs and watch the numbers rack up.
In Conclusion,
Many people just don't know how to play a demonologist effectively. They give up to early and don't wait to play out the demo at end game. I don't claim to be the best. My pvp record right now stands at 90 wins and 100 losses. Give or take 10 of those losses was from spawn camping and level 80s ganking me at lvl 40. But the fact remains, I can still hold my own and I have been keeping track of my 1 vs 1 pvp record which counts me at more wins than losses.
My advice to those struggling. Use the auction house. Buy cloth armor/equipment with the highest electrical/fire specialization damage rating on it. Find gear with % damage/magical resistance/invulnerabilities on it. Be smart about your aggro management. Don't let the forums get you down and don't compare your class with a ToS (which I am certain will be getting the nerf bat.) Group with friends who can help you level and grind. Set up your spell hot bars effectively and efficiently. Experiment and see what works best for you. Don't be afraid to pvp and lose. That is how you learn.
I was WRONG about thunderclap and agonizing jolts. Thunderclap is now my bread and butter pvp spell and works amazing against rooted pve bosses. Root the person and cast thunderclap. When the root/thunder spell wears off, cast fiery torment and nuke, when that wears off, cast wicked bolts. Agonizing Jolts works great against players who run away.
Skill selections.
Invest all points into Mana Attractor, mana renew, and casting concentration. Invest remaining points into bandaging. I invested 100 points into hide which I swap out with climbing when I need it.
Delimitations-
This build does not focus or include Conflagration.
This build does not focus on minions or mana regeneration/recovery.
This build does not focus on reduced hatred.
This build is not designed strictly for PVE.
Purpose-
This build will enable you to do effectively pvp, do high direct damage, CC for 1 vs 1, and maximize AoE for group or massive pvp warfare.
To be a successful demonologist and survive one must balance its damage tree of choice (in this case havoc) with the general defensive tree buffs.
Here is the final build.
http://feats.goonheim.com/demonologist#t0a5b5c5f5h5l1m3n3p3u5x5z1t1t2a5b5d5e 3g5h3i3j1p3
Levels 1-28
Invest all points into swift Shock Strike. This spell is a necessity. The slower timer on the Shock Strike spell is a killer. Increasing the casting time is imperative to landing that killing blow.
Invest all points into Natural Conductor. Increasing the max damage on your electrical spells at low level is critical to survive. At higher levels it becomes necessary. At low levels defense is not as important as killing the mob first. The mobs hit to damage ratio are poor. You should be able to kill the mobs quick without them doing much damage to you.
Invest all points into Rapid recharge. Again reducing the casting time will save your ass.
Invest all points into Bombardment. Not so important for pve but for PVP this is killer. Increasing the casting distance is imperative for starting and finishing fights. For those cowards who like to run this is a good finisher. Getting the jump on those from the farthest distance possible is killer to gaining an opening advantage in a pvp fight.
Levels 28-47
Now you are around level 30 and the tide begins to change. It is important to start investing in the general tree for defense to survive against those mobs that are now hitting harder. In pvp, players are now hitting harder.
Invest all points into spiritual armament. This spell is critical. 3% may not seem like a lot but I have run tests and noticed a difference in the mobs ability to do physical damage. It helps so use it.
Invest all points into Mystical Attunement. Doing major damage to kill your enemies first is key. +39 to spell damage is major.
Invest all points into quickened iron. The faster your shield spell replenishes itself the better off you will be in fights. Your survivability just increased.
Invest all points into mirrored iron. Now many people do not like this spell. I swear by it. It’s not that big of a deal in pvp but in PVE it is killer. Test it. Watch a mob beat on you and see the damage it takes when the spell goes off. It’s passive so any spell that does damage without me having to do anything is worth it. Mobs will take around 200+ damage when it goes off. Not to bad...
At this point we will skip crimson shield and pick it up later since its value is not that noticeable. We will skip spiritual Aegis as well. Will pick it up later. As a demonologist your magical resistance should be fairly decent without it. Also at this level the amount of mob spell casters you will encounter are less compared to the melee types.
Levels 47-55
Now we are finished investing in the defensive buffs in the general tree. We need to think about pvp so we head back to the Havoc tree. However, this time we want to open up the left branch of the tree. Therefore we invest 5 points into discharge shock strike. Inflicting damage to adjacent enemies helps in doing AoE damage and opens up our left branch.
At this point we skip overload, demonic power, earth recharge, Soul Resonance, and Agonizing jolts.
Overload is not worth putting any points into it. 5 points to cast an extra spell at no mana cost is worthless. As a properly equipped and skilled Demo I never run out of mana (unless I am in a 5 minute battle with a ToS) but that’s the exception and in this case overload wouldn't help). Demonic power does not apply to this build. Again earth recharge sounds nice in theory but I have no problems running out of mana. Not worth the cost. Soul resonance is not applicable to this build. Agonizing jolts is not my favorite spell. In fact, I was highly disappointed with this spell. It is a channeling spell that slows the attacker’s movement speed. It does little damage and the range on it sucks. Channeling spells prevent you from casting other spells until the duration of the spell is finished or interrupted, which is crap. Since you can't move and cast channeling spells at the same time the mob/player reaches you anyways thus putting you in killing range when the spell wears off.
Next we invest all points into copper storm chains and charged storm chains. Some may be hesitant in investing points into a spell that does so little damage. However, I argue that the damage over time based on the ticks per second add up quite a bit if the storm chains holds its root. Therefore, in pvp combat and pve it does a nice little bit of damage if applied correctly. Any spell that improves my storm chains I am all for it.
Levels 55-60
Skipped living thunderstorm because the damage output sucks and it’s to slow.
Now we invest 1 point into Chained Shock strike. Nice little spell for AoE. However, not imperative at this level. We want to invest 1 point so we can open up one of our most devastating pvp spells. Wicked Bolts. Wicked Bolts is an awesome knockback spell that will piss off any caster or ranger type. However, be warned that it does not work effectively against those wearing heavy armor or those who have knockback resistant feats (assassin). It will save you in a pvp fight and give you an extra round of spell damage.
At this point we invest all points into Wicked Bolts. The more points the greater the range of knockback. Not to bad.
Levels 60-65
Back to the general tree. Its time to invest into Spiritual Aegis. Higher level content has more spell casters. Also spells begin to hit a lot harder from other players. Invest all points into Spiritual Aegis.
Levels 65-70
Back to Havoc. At this point we invest all points into the channeling Thunderclap spell. Great pvp and pve spell. See edited below. we need to invest all points into it to open up Lore of Skelos. Invest into Lore of Skelos. Lore of Skelos will increase your damage for 30 seconds and has a 5 minute cool down. In 1 vs 1 pvp it is critical to maximize your damage output. Therefore, you will want Lore of Skelos and eventually you will stack it with tome of Erlick for max damage.
Levels 70-77
Back to General Tree. Invest all points into crimson shield, Tome of Erlick, and purge. Erlick will increase the damage of your spells and stacks. Stack it with Skelos and you’re doing decent damage. The choice is yours which one first. Purge is useful in team play.
Levels 77-80
Back to Havoc. Invest all points into overloaded shock blast and then chained shock strike. The reason I stress these two last is now your probably going to be in kashetta grinding. In Kashetta you will be facing multiple mobs in your grind groups so you want to output the max AoE dps possible. I also mentioned before that if you are in massive pvp warfare than these 2 spells are going to be your bread and butter. With these 2 passive feats you will rack up the pvp kill count. Just stand somewhere not visible and when massive pvp warfare breaks out in kashetta just dropped the AoE bombs and watch the numbers rack up.
In Conclusion,
Many people just don't know how to play a demonologist effectively. They give up to early and don't wait to play out the demo at end game. I don't claim to be the best. My pvp record right now stands at 90 wins and 100 losses. Give or take 10 of those losses was from spawn camping and level 80s ganking me at lvl 40. But the fact remains, I can still hold my own and I have been keeping track of my 1 vs 1 pvp record which counts me at more wins than losses.
My advice to those struggling. Use the auction house. Buy cloth armor/equipment with the highest electrical/fire specialization damage rating on it. Find gear with % damage/magical resistance/invulnerabilities on it. Be smart about your aggro management. Don't let the forums get you down and don't compare your class with a ToS (which I am certain will be getting the nerf bat.) Group with friends who can help you level and grind. Set up your spell hot bars effectively and efficiently. Experiment and see what works best for you. Don't be afraid to pvp and lose. That is how you learn.
I was WRONG about thunderclap and agonizing jolts. Thunderclap is now my bread and butter pvp spell and works amazing against rooted pve bosses. Root the person and cast thunderclap. When the root/thunder spell wears off, cast fiery torment and nuke, when that wears off, cast wicked bolts. Agonizing Jolts works great against players who run away.
Skill selections.
Invest all points into Mana Attractor, mana renew, and casting concentration. Invest remaining points into bandaging. I invested 100 points into hide which I swap out with climbing when I need it.