DrainDancer

(surround yourself with spinning BIG & small Blades + a Whirlpool while Draining life from your foes & exploding Powder Kegs)

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This build is a complete lvl 60 setup and is UP-TO-DATE with the Spring Update from May 25th. The subclass used is Blood Drinker. I believe the build can be decent when geared & but is far from the META builds in terms of DPS. Just like any build, in the right hands, this setup should be able to finish all Fazeer stages. It can dish out decent damage when it’s played well. Good sources of damage of this build are the the curse from Black Spot that makes cursed enemies take +40% dmg + the My Lil’ General‘s 25% dmg buff. When all buffs are in place we spam Drain (for heal + DPS) while taking advantage of Imbue Relic as well as using Powder Keg for extra Burst DMG + to build Relic Charge so we can unleash Dance of Death. Maelstrom helps with extra trickling DoT. . The idea of the build is use Imbue Relic (from the Ancient Ember Boots) as a “battery” that allows us to spam more Drain & Dance of Death (DoD) re-filling our energy bar to 100 & Energy Charge to 200 . The Frostwall Shield + a Glacier’s Edge (sword) lowers the cooldowns of item-granted skills such as Imbue Relic by 25% or 50% with the set bonus which further helps with spamming Drain & DoD more. Add to this Wraith Walk for mobility and an escape mechanic and it’s a well rounded build.

Build Video footage:

The skills I use:

• Maelstrom OR Plunderbuss – our spammy DPS skill + Doubloon consume. Plunderbuss seems the best for DPS but if I like the synergy of Maelstrom + Coral Cudgel which looks amazing alongside Dance of Death and Blades for Cutting‘s spinning swords/blades. Consider slotting in legendarium the legendary item for Plunderbuss (Fortune’s Spire) if you go for it instead.
• Powder Keg – Is amazing source of BURST DPS. Can either use quick 3 kegs or make pauses between the uses. It’s best to have 3 of those ready for big boss fights on the initial dmg burst wave.
• Double Cross – This is what we use as both a passive and an active skill. We mostly care about the tier 2 and 3 passives but the active dmg is not terrible either if you use the Sharkblade. Use it as soon as possible when you reach max Treachery stacks.
• Sword Basic Attack – we use it to take advantage of the +25% Relic Energy Generation while using basic attacks from Blades for Cutting that stacks with the +25% from Energizer (any any more we get from gear). On top of that it also helps build Treachery stacks for Double Cross.
• Black Spot – we use it to apply a curse, making enemies take 40% more dmg and it also does some additional dps if the enemy dies or the curse ends.
• Wraith Walk – our escape mechanic and a movement skill. This also pulls nearby doubloons to us and help keep us at full without needing to run around and collect.
• Imbue Relic – fully re-fills our Relic energy. Granted by the Ancient Ember Boots. This helps us spam Drain and Dance of Death more and stack two Dance of Death effects at once (8 instead of 4 spinning blades). (when using Frostwall + North Mace/Glacier’s Edge).
• Drain – It’s a major source of DPS. A piercing spider ‘missile’ that poisons and damages enemies. Tier 1 makes it cast two of those side by side. Ancient Ember Legs gives us 10% (20% with the set bonus) chance to gain 25 relic energy when we use Drain “small cost'”skill every time we cast this too.
• Dance of Death – The BIG relic skill of Blood Drinker. When maxed out we get a decent duration and 4 swords/blades spin around us. The Ancient Ember Boots recharges this skill when the 3 piece set bonus is active

The gear I recommend using is:

MY IDEAL EQUIPPED GEAR:

• A good rolled + socketed Glacier’s Edge (1handed Sword) + a good rolled & socketed Frostwall Shield
• Must wear 3 Commodore Set pieces! I suggest wearing: Commodore Cape + Jacket + Pauldrons:
  • Commodore‘s Cape – gives +1 Piracy Skills (+2 with the 3 piece set bonus) [I’ve tested it now gives you extra levels and DMG if the skill is already lvl 10 and you can use this to overcap skills]
  • Commodore‘s Pauldrons (Shoulders) – When you pick up a Doubloon it grants a 10% dmg & gold luck buff for 10 seconds (20% with the 3 piece set bonus)
  • Commodore‘s Jacket (Chest) – gives +1 Cursed Skills (+2 with the 3 piece set bonus) [I’ve tested it now gives you extra levels and DMG if the skill is already lvl 10 and you can use this to overcap skills]
• Ideally also wear 3 pieces Ancient Ember! I suggest those be: Ancient Ember Boots + Ancient Ember Pants + Ancient Ember Gloves:

You’ll be looking for flat dmg, optionally % elemental dmg and/or Crit dmg/chance, +%Evasion +%Block Chance, +%DMG to Powder Keg (OR to Plunderbuss if using it) , + X lvl to any skill you use as active (I suggest to try and get +X lvls to Powder Keg and/or Venomous Maw) and have more than 1 point into, + others.

• the Shoulders and Chest rolled for +% Crit Dmg
• the Chest, Shoulders and Pants rolled for +%dmg to Powder Keg (or to Plunderbuss if using it)
• the Pants + Chest will ideally also roll with + flat dmg
• the Boots can ideally be rolled for % Crit dmg and maybe elemental dmg + maybe %elemental (ice) dmg
• Crit Chance rolls on the Cape and Pants is not bad but not needed (because we already reach the 40% cap with the Woodsbeast Boots & Pet Crit Aura)
• +% Energy Generation & -% Relic Energy Cost are amazing for the Helmet & Gloves

Suggested Legendarium Powers (to fill in the gaps from items you’re wearing):

MY IDEAL LEGENDARIUM COMBO:

• My Li’ General (you could also wear this and slot the Frostwall here if you want more flat DMG from a socket as well as ‘middle’ affix roll, also only recommended when you wear or slot the Ancient Ember Boots)
• Woodsbeast Sandals – for crit chance (while you wear Ancient Ember Boots) OR wear the Woodsbeast then slot Ancient Ember Boots here to get Imbue Relic.
• Coral Cudgel – not the best choice DPS wise but looks cool to have Maelstrom attached to us

Ideally you wear Commodore‘s Jacket, Cape + Shoulders also Frostwall + Glacier’s Edge, alongside Ancient Ember Boots + Ancient Ember Gloves + Ancient Ember Pants.

Alternatives based on availability & preference:

• Option 1: other Commodore, or Skittering, or Winterweave, or Ancient Ember, or Arc-Powered set pieces
• Option 2: Pick one of those 3:
  • Fortune’s Spire for extra row of projectiles to Plunderbuss if using it
  • The Showman for and extra Keg to Powder Keg
  • Big Fish for extra dps to Broadside if you use the skill (have not tested if this is any good yet cuz RNG hates me lol)
• Option 3: Or anything else you like

The non-class specific shoulders now give us an active skill to slot in the skillbar which not everyone may like.

The recommended stats to look for in your items are (the list is not in order of priority and is just listing good bonuses + there’s new stats and I might have missed some which will get added later):

• + Flat Damage (any)
• +% elemental dmg (any) – starts getting very good later on when you have a nice flat to boost with this if you match the flat with the %
• +% Damage with Powder Keg/Plunderbuss (if using it)
• +X lvl(s) to Drain/Powder Keg/Plunderbuss (if using it)
• + Health
• + Defense (the non elemental is good for any act but lesser numbers than elemental)
• +% Critical Hit Chance (the cap is 40% and we can get this with just the pet aura + Woodsbeast Boots)
• +% Critical Damage (the cap is 300%)
• +% Gear Luck (eventually try to get like 50-75% total for good drop quantity – the cap is 100%)
• +% Energy Recharge Rate is pretty good for this build
• -% Relic Energy cost is pretty good for this build
• +% Block Chance (capped at 40%)
• +% Chance to Evade damage (capped at 40%)
• +% Doubloon Generation
• +% Chance to Chill – a decent CC proc
• +% Chance to Freeze – a very good CC proc and amazing for any build
• +% Chance to Poison is a decent DoT but not needed for this build
• +% Chance to Bleed is a decent DoT and is needed to proc Rupture more often. Get it socketed in a shield/focus (depending if you equip Frostwall or Lil’ General)
• +% Chance to Burn is good but not needed for this build.
• +% Chance to Shock – a decent proc but not needed for this build.
• +% Additional Bolts Fired on Shock – a decent proc booster but not needed for this build
• +% Chance to Stun/Slow/Blind – good but not a very important choice

The Skills and Passives I recommend are:

IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that my setup is WITH the +2 Piracy & +2 Curse Skills levels from the Commodore Set Cape + Jacket! On top of that I did NOT “use” any extra +1,+2,+3 Skill Point(s) from a cape.

MY IDEAL/RECOMMENDED SETUP (used in the video):

WITH LVL 10 PLUNDERBUSS INSTEAD OF LVL 8 MAELSTROM:

WITH LVL 10 MAELSTROM + NO BASIC ATTACKS:

WITH LVL 10 PLUNDERBUSS INSTEAD OF LVL 8 MAELSTROM + NO BASIC ATTACKS:

WITH LVL 10 MAELSTROM + NO BASIC ATTACKS + LVL 8 BANNER:

WITH LVL 10 PLUNDERBUSS INSTEAD OF LVL 8 MAELSTROM + NO BASIC ATTACKS + LVL 8 BANNER:

How to LVLUP the Build:

lvl 2 – get Spinning Blade lvl 1 (remove the point from FIRE! and invest it into Maelstrom lvl 1 as soon as possible)
lvl 3 – get Spinning Blade lvl 2
lvl 4 – Save a point then @ lvl 5 – get Tier 1 (lvl 3) Wraith Walk
lvls 6, 7, 8, 9 – get lvls 3, 4, 5, 6 Spinning Blade
lvl 10 – get lvl 1 Dread Banner & lvl 2 Maelstrom
lvl 11 – get Maelstrom lvl 3
lvls 12, 13, 14 – get Spinning Blade lvls 7, 8, 9
lvl 15 – Respec the 9 points from Spinning Blade into Drain lvl 9 then get Drain to lvl 10 + Powder Keg lvl 1
lvls 16, 17, 18, 19 – get Powder Keg lvl 2, 3, 4, 5
lvl 20 – get Powder Keg lvl 6 + Dance of Death lvl 1
lvls 21, 22, 23, 24 – get Powder Keg lvls 7, 8, 9, 10
lvls 25 to 31 – get Dance of Death to lvl 6
lvls 32 to 40 – get Double Cross to lvl 10 (will need to go down to 8 later)
lvls 40 to 45 – get Maelstrom to lvl 10
lvls 46 to 50 – get Black Spot to lvl 6
lvls 51 to 55 – get Blades For Cutting to lvl 5
lvls 55 to 60 – get Energizer to lvl 5 (you will not have enough skill points at the point without the Commodore Set items)
lvl 60 – Start reworking the skill points after you get the Commodore’s Set Cape & Jacket. To fill the blanks you’ll need to add lvl 5 Rupture + lvl 1 Bloodletter and remove levels from certain skills so they end up as lvl 4+2 or 8+2 instead of lvl 6+0 or 10+0 (Black Spot, Wraith Walk, Double Cross, Maelstrom).