Trying nightmare difficulty for the first time and your build has been really helpful about which direction I should go in. I wanted to ask if it would be possible for you to explain a bit more about how the deadly ground crit works as I don't fully understand what you meant by changing damage types and why that would make it an automatic crit.
@@ಠ_ಠ-ಛ2ರ Really glad it could help! So basically every ability has a Critical Condition which is basically the status the enemy has to be in to make your ability damage critically strike on them. Many of these Critical Conditions, Deadly Ground included, are based on a particular Affliction (DoT) that an enemy is suffering which is opposite to the damage type in these two pairings: Cold Necrotic and Fire Lightning. There are some different abilities that crit on other conditions or some specific Abilities which differ like Mage's Meteor which crits if you have the Immovable Advantage on you. Anyway Deadly Ground dealing Necrotic damage critically hits on enemies afflicted by the Chilled DoT Affliction. What the game doesn't tell you is that if you change its damage type to Fire, the Critical Condition changes to the other pairing making it crit on Shocked enemies instead. Shocked is much better than Chilled because Bellara has two extremely good Shocking abilities that synergize with your kit and both critically strikes on enemies with the Burning Affliction which you and Taash easily have access to and let's you focus on Fire Damage bonuses on your gear and Fire Vulnerabilities and Resistance Shred that Taash can inflict on their own. Deadly Ground is then going to crit for massive numbers every single hit while the enemies are Shocked and grouped by Bellara and you can nuke them with your Shield that crits on those low health enemies on final attacks. Critical Damage is therefore by far the best possible stat for this build but Heavy Armour Mastery is a bit too good to let go in exchange for the Medium Armours that improve Crit Damage sadly, it's negligible in damage but it's a lot more comfortable overall.
@@akontistes6951 I appreciate you taking the time to write and explain all this to me. It's been incredibly useful, and you've more than earned a sub. I wasn't aware the mechanics interacted in that way, and it's very impressive that you were able to pick up on it. I look forward to seeing your future content, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday period.
@@paintrainii2284 Taash's Fire Breath applies a lot of burning in AoE and reduces defenses, incredibly strong ability that you pretty much wanna spam. Get the upgrade that automatically casts Spitfire too for some more comfort.
Maw of the Black City ring + enchant the ring to apply chilled on critical ability hit. Then use the Andraste's Will ring to convert chilled to burning.
@theobell2002 Maw of the Black City is one of the most overrated accessories in the game. It's incredibly easy to make your Abilities crit in this game and with this build specifically it's particularly unneeded, Deadly Ground perma crits anyway thanks to Bellara. You're investing two accessory slots to do almost nothing while you could just Parry or have Taash apply burning on a super low cooldown.
Will this build work with other companions? I really dislike locking myself to specific companions. Any changes you would make if not taking Bellara/Taash?
@@KlodasRaw It will work without Bellara but it's gonna be more inconsistent and you're gonna be very reliant on using potions to proc Shocked on enemies as much as possible so you better switch her for another decent healer, I'd say Neve has an edge over Emmrich cause Blizzard is really strong but it's not a big difference. I personally think Taash is extremely broken and what they do can't really be replaced, that said Lucanis can act as a sudo-defense shredder with Abominate last upgrade shredding 15 defense every time it hits on a very low cooldown. You can also use Davrin for Fire Vulnerability. It's not gonna be worse to the point that the build doesn't function but it's gonna be weaker and less comfortable. I'd especially suggest to bring Bellara with you everywhere at least, she's just so comfy to have in your pocket with all the crits you can guarantee for each other. The more I understood the game, the more I understood that companions are a very important extension of your own build, akin to having two specializations basically or two extra overloaded accessories, a build is gonna be inevitably reliant on some companions doing some things better than others. The game is not hard enough to not play it your way though, mine are just suggestions.
went this build and its super fun! quick question, how do you crit with the final hit of the shield? still trying to get the timing down with the new combo trait but was curious on how to proc it for big crit damage. lastly, how are you getting flaming weapons on entry of fight?
@@NeonTubeGaming There's an upgrade somewhere in the bottom left tree that makes your Final Attacks crit against Low Health enemies which is all you need really, every other Final Attack crit is due to gaining Precision after a Parry. Flaming Weapons on entry is just leftovers from previous Arena fights back to back I think, I get Flaming Weapons only through parries but it's largely unnecessary and you have so much Advantage Duration it just stays on forever.
@@akontistes6951 perfect! might've missed that somewhere in the video on my end. pleasure, been having fun with the build! ive changed it a bit since i really like the rage generation light helm since it also gives you more ability damage if you are using all three same type of spells, in this case i replaced the grappling spear with the scythe since the dopamine of seeing the big shield slam gets me going!
@NeonTubeGaming Those are absolutely legitimate choices honestly, Armour is flexible and Grappling Spear is more of a personal preference than anything. Detonations with Shield Throw serve a very similar purpose anyway. Really glad you're enjoying this, it definitely was an entertaining build up until credits for me.
@@akontistes6951 i am nearly done with the game and want to come back and thank you! ive used this build up since my last comment and it's been a BLAST just absolutely crushing enemies with the final hit of the shield. quick question, have u tried the unique amulet the pale reflection? you get it a bit later in the game so wont have access to it until the end game but it makes all you do 20% more to low health enemies and every enemy is considered low health except bosses - so you can p much deliberately crit on every final hit of the shield no matter the hp.
@NeonTubeGaming It is the perfect upgrade for the build, yes. I didn't mention it cause it's more of a endgame tool but maybe I should have anyway, it's really good. I'm super super glad I could help you and you've been having fun, totally made my day, thanks!
I literally made a god mode build with deadly ground, burning enemies and doing more damage with 300 rage, constantly healing from getting advantages and 1300 defense and 5 stacks of deflects, literally all i had to do was swing my axe and cast deadly ground over and over, i wish the game was a little more strategic, though i havnt tried max resistant difficulty
Great build, but it seems kinda complicated on what to focus on following leveling path. Something like: 1. Counterblow 2. Focused Retaliation 3. Titan Stomp 4. Bulwark 5. Return to Sender 6. Reinforcement 7. Enraged 8. Heavy Armor Mastery 9. Fiery Resolve Then respec?
@@cuqier5889 I think return to sender is too inconsistent to use points early into the build but Titan Stomp is definitely great. Heavy Armor Mastery and Reinforcement are probably better left out until you have invested into champion so I'd make my way up from Determined Death instead which is just really really strong the more I mess with it. Your progression is very good for surviving but damage is not great. Downfall early game is also a good cheap investment that sneaks out good damage.
@@cuqier5889 Considering you'd have around 25 to 30 points before 20 due to Fen'Harel statues, I'd go for Titan Stomp, Downfall, Determined Death going up all the way to Unbroken Finale then Bulwark and Deadly Ground. You could also get the passive that makes you crit on final attacks Vs low health enemies which is in the bottom left, I can't recall the name of it rn.
Hell yeah. This makes a lot of sense. I think I got stuck with my champion rook by putting too many my points up in the top of the tree and trying to make the blight bane or ground breaker a main source of damage since they look cool. Ended up being a bit underwhelming. I wasn't high enough level to make the best defence part work yet. How would you build this before 30? I messed around with the slayer tree for a bit but I honestly find the 2h stuff and weapon charging a bit too clunky even if I liked heroic leap. Don't like reaper with the shield throw. Anyways, this inspires me to return to champion. Great build and different than the other videos out there. As for what would be cool to see next, a mage build that doesn't use the all abilities crit ring that does self damage combined with some self heal gear would be nice. Everyone seems to have settled on the same, admittedly OP combo where you can infinitely spam blast spells and never take any damage. Similar to some builds for duelist that just abuse invulnerability by endlessly using thousand cuts. Seems boring to me. Either that or a slayer build that somehow feels smooth and utilizes some abilities for high damage not just charged attacks. Although, perhaps I just don't like the 2h playstyle like I mentioned.
@@Vizieroframbling Before LVL30 Deadly Ground on Shocked enemies clears rooms before you can do much. I used Titan Stomp as well but Determined Death and Unbroken Finale can absolutely work without The Best Defense. It's much less damage but with Final Attack gear you still get a lot of damage out of it. Slayer I think it might just not be your thing. It is really clunky and I honestly hate it against bosses, it relies on rage generation and Heroic Leap spamming, it ain't great for me too ngl. What you mentioned is the best Mage build but if you want something fun there's some Quickened frost Evoker control mage stuff which is super party and gear reliant but hey maybe I can find a way to make it actually competitive with these other builds.
I wonder if you experimented with Blight's Bane and Spear combining them with Good Arm to ignore resistances.
Trying nightmare difficulty for the first time and your build has been really helpful about which direction I should go in. I wanted to ask if it would be possible for you to explain a bit more about how the deadly ground crit works as I don't fully understand what you meant by changing damage types and why that would make it an automatic crit.
@@ಠ_ಠ-ಛ2ರ Really glad it could help! So basically every ability has a Critical Condition which is basically the status the enemy has to be in to make your ability damage critically strike on them. Many of these Critical Conditions, Deadly Ground included, are based on a particular Affliction (DoT) that an enemy is suffering which is opposite to the damage type in these two pairings: Cold Necrotic and Fire Lightning. There are some different abilities that crit on other conditions or some specific Abilities which differ like Mage's Meteor which crits if you have the Immovable Advantage on you. Anyway Deadly Ground dealing Necrotic damage critically hits on enemies afflicted by the Chilled DoT Affliction. What the game doesn't tell you is that if you change its damage type to Fire, the Critical Condition changes to the other pairing making it crit on Shocked enemies instead. Shocked is much better than Chilled because Bellara has two extremely good Shocking abilities that synergize with your kit and both critically strikes on enemies with the Burning Affliction which you and Taash easily have access to and let's you focus on Fire Damage bonuses on your gear and Fire Vulnerabilities and Resistance Shred that Taash can inflict on their own. Deadly Ground is then going to crit for massive numbers every single hit while the enemies are Shocked and grouped by Bellara and you can nuke them with your Shield that crits on those low health enemies on final attacks. Critical Damage is therefore by far the best possible stat for this build but Heavy Armour Mastery is a bit too good to let go in exchange for the Medium Armours that improve Crit Damage sadly, it's negligible in damage but it's a lot more comfortable overall.
@@akontistes6951 I appreciate you taking the time to write and explain all this to me. It's been incredibly useful, and you've more than earned a sub. I wasn't aware the mechanics interacted in that way, and it's very impressive that you were able to pick up on it. I look forward to seeing your future content, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday period.
How do you get burning stacks with this build? my deadly ground does fire damage, but doesn't apply any stacks
@@paintrainii2284 Taash's Fire Breath applies a lot of burning in AoE and reduces defenses, incredibly strong ability that you pretty much wanna spam. Get the upgrade that automatically casts Spitfire too for some more comfort.
perfect defense inflicts fire everywhere and if you get salt in the wound for deadly ground enemies will infinitely keep getting afflictions
Maw of the Black City ring + enchant the ring to apply chilled on critical ability hit. Then use the Andraste's Will ring to convert chilled to burning.
@theobell2002 Maw of the Black City is one of the most overrated accessories in the game. It's incredibly easy to make your Abilities crit in this game and with this build specifically it's particularly unneeded, Deadly Ground perma crits anyway thanks to Bellara. You're investing two accessory slots to do almost nothing while you could just Parry or have Taash apply burning on a super low cooldown.
Will this build work with other companions? I really dislike locking myself to specific companions. Any changes you would make if not taking Bellara/Taash?
@@KlodasRaw It will work without Bellara but it's gonna be more inconsistent and you're gonna be very reliant on using potions to proc Shocked on enemies as much as possible so you better switch her for another decent healer, I'd say Neve has an edge over Emmrich cause Blizzard is really strong but it's not a big difference. I personally think Taash is extremely broken and what they do can't really be replaced, that said Lucanis can act as a sudo-defense shredder with Abominate last upgrade shredding 15 defense every time it hits on a very low cooldown. You can also use Davrin for Fire Vulnerability. It's not gonna be worse to the point that the build doesn't function but it's gonna be weaker and less comfortable. I'd especially suggest to bring Bellara with you everywhere at least, she's just so comfy to have in your pocket with all the crits you can guarantee for each other. The more I understood the game, the more I understood that companions are a very important extension of your own build, akin to having two specializations basically or two extra overloaded accessories, a build is gonna be inevitably reliant on some companions doing some things better than others. The game is not hard enough to not play it your way though, mine are just suggestions.
went this build and its super fun! quick question, how do you crit with the final hit of the shield? still trying to get the timing down with the new combo trait but was curious on how to proc it for big crit damage. lastly, how are you getting flaming weapons on entry of fight?
@@NeonTubeGaming There's an upgrade somewhere in the bottom left tree that makes your Final Attacks crit against Low Health enemies which is all you need really, every other Final Attack crit is due to gaining Precision after a Parry. Flaming Weapons on entry is just leftovers from previous Arena fights back to back I think, I get Flaming Weapons only through parries but it's largely unnecessary and you have so much Advantage Duration it just stays on forever.
@@akontistes6951 perfect! might've missed that somewhere in the video on my end. pleasure, been having fun with the build! ive changed it a bit since i really like the rage generation light helm since it also gives you more ability damage if you are using all three same type of spells, in this case i replaced the grappling spear with the scythe since the dopamine of seeing the big shield slam gets me going!
@NeonTubeGaming Those are absolutely legitimate choices honestly, Armour is flexible and Grappling Spear is more of a personal preference than anything. Detonations with Shield Throw serve a very similar purpose anyway. Really glad you're enjoying this, it definitely was an entertaining build up until credits for me.
@@akontistes6951 i am nearly done with the game and want to come back and thank you! ive used this build up since my last comment and it's been a BLAST just absolutely crushing enemies with the final hit of the shield. quick question, have u tried the unique amulet the pale reflection? you get it a bit later in the game so wont have access to it until the end game but it makes all you do 20% more to low health enemies and every enemy is considered low health except bosses - so you can p much deliberately crit on every final hit of the shield no matter the hp.
@NeonTubeGaming It is the perfect upgrade for the build, yes. I didn't mention it cause it's more of a endgame tool but maybe I should have anyway, it's really good. I'm super super glad I could help you and you've been having fun, totally made my day, thanks!
I literally made a god mode build with deadly ground, burning enemies and doing more damage with 300 rage, constantly healing from getting advantages and 1300 defense and 5 stacks of deflects, literally all i had to do was swing my axe and cast deadly ground over and over, i wish the game was a little more strategic, though i havnt tried max resistant difficulty
Great build, but it seems kinda complicated on what to focus on following leveling path.
Something like:
1. Counterblow
2. Focused Retaliation
3. Titan Stomp
4. Bulwark
5. Return to Sender
6. Reinforcement
7. Enraged
8. Heavy Armor Mastery
9. Fiery Resolve
Then respec?
@@cuqier5889 I think return to sender is too inconsistent to use points early into the build but Titan Stomp is definitely great. Heavy Armor Mastery and Reinforcement are probably better left out until you have invested into champion so I'd make my way up from Determined Death instead which is just really really strong the more I mess with it. Your progression is very good for surviving but damage is not great. Downfall early game is also a good cheap investment that sneaks out good damage.
@@akontistes6951thanks, i'm yet to play the game actually, soo i'm only theorycrafting.
How would you put it for the first 20 lvls?
@@cuqier5889 Considering you'd have around 25 to 30 points before 20 due to Fen'Harel statues, I'd go for Titan Stomp, Downfall, Determined Death going up all the way to Unbroken Finale then Bulwark and Deadly Ground. You could also get the passive that makes you crit on final attacks Vs low health enemies which is in the bottom left, I can't recall the name of it rn.
@@akontistes6951 Thank you
Have you tried this in nightmare difficulty?
@@iceiceice914 I've never even played the game below Nightmare. This is 100% a Nightmare build, I'll put a disclaimer.
Hell yeah. This makes a lot of sense. I think I got stuck with my champion rook by putting too many my points up in the top of the tree and trying to make the blight bane or ground breaker a main source of damage since they look cool. Ended up being a bit underwhelming. I wasn't high enough level to make the best defence part work yet. How would you build this before 30? I messed around with the slayer tree for a bit but I honestly find the 2h stuff and weapon charging a bit too clunky even if I liked heroic leap. Don't like reaper with the shield throw. Anyways, this inspires me to return to champion. Great build and different than the other videos out there.
As for what would be cool to see next, a mage build that doesn't use the all abilities crit ring that does self damage combined with some self heal gear would be nice. Everyone seems to have settled on the same, admittedly OP combo where you can infinitely spam blast spells and never take any damage. Similar to some builds for duelist that just abuse invulnerability by endlessly using thousand cuts. Seems boring to me. Either that or a slayer build that somehow feels smooth and utilizes some abilities for high damage not just charged attacks. Although, perhaps I just don't like the 2h playstyle like I mentioned.
@@Vizieroframbling Before LVL30 Deadly Ground on Shocked enemies clears rooms before you can do much. I used Titan Stomp as well but Determined Death and Unbroken Finale can absolutely work without The Best Defense. It's much less damage but with Final Attack gear you still get a lot of damage out of it.
Slayer I think it might just not be your thing. It is really clunky and I honestly hate it against bosses, it relies on rage generation and Heroic Leap spamming, it ain't great for me too ngl. What you mentioned is the best Mage build but if you want something fun there's some Quickened frost Evoker control mage stuff which is super party and gear reliant but hey maybe I can find a way to make it actually competitive with these other builds.