Maxxcore wrote on Feb 1^st, 2023 at 9:42am:


Hey fam. This is what I'm on my main. I run r10s a lot with it. Works great for R10s. For LH and R1 raids is good too. For higher than that, it's role in raids is more limited to heals and maybe CC some imo.

Most of the cool kids prefer Dragonborn for this build now. But, a couple of us--myself included--still prefer Shifter. DB gets a bit higher spell power and higher evo DC. Shifter gets higher non-EVO dc and rage for beast mantle.


There are a couple of ways to do feats. Yours is one. But, most of the cool kids that run this drop embolden and intensify and move to ruin and greater ruin instead. Also, you can take mental toughness instead of SF: evocation. MT adds 1% crit chance. But, if you have fewer past lives, taking the DCs like you did is probably the right move. Might be the same with embolden/intensify. DCs + intens is better if you don't have the PLs. I have all the completionists and a reaper helm, so I can drop a couple DCs for more nuke powah.

In terms of gear, here's what I use

Head: Elders
Neck: Azure Sea
Trinket: Gem of MF (Elders)
Cloak: Dread (previously used greensteel here)--can also swap in spell absorb here as-needed
Belt: Black Satin (I use this for +2 DC). There are other options
Boots: Sunken Slippers
Ring: Clouded Dreams
Ring: Shattered Onyx
Wrist: Dino bracers artifact
Weapon: Dino 1-hander + Large Alchem Shield (+2 alchem wisdom)  [some still use Wave. It's still a solid choice and about 7% MORE damage than my setup. Also, the clickie on wave is awesome. I use my setup for 1 more DC and I have Ash debuff on my dino wep. So, my first hit is about 7% less dmg than wave. My SECOND hit is equal to wave, and any THIRD hits are higher than wave due to debuffs. So, I gain flexibility and lose the clickie, imo. The damage, overall, is about the same and better for raids/rednames. ]
Gloves: Sunstone Guants (swap with Crystalline for spell absorb)
Armor: Bronze Dragon
Gogs: Atunement's Gaze (you CAN use Dusk gogs from Morgrave quests here for more EVO DC. I've considered it. You can also do CC gogs. I've used those too)

3-piece Aug Set: Cruel Cut  (can do others. This is just great for R10s imo)


If you're wanting a more DC-focused setup, then this one is good: https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/535811-Hruit-s-influence-build



The main reason I like shifter is the easy ability to use a beast mantle rage swap (1000 temp hp). I use this a lot. So, with shifter before big fights you can pop that 1000hp, use GS/dino affirmation + lightning spell, hit "Winter's Heart", and do "Shard Swarm" from primal avatar. You have all those up, and your HP will temporarily be like 6000. That's just nice. But with wisdom rage, you also get higher non-evo DCs than Dragonborn. So, this affects things like finger of death--which I still use on low-fort mobs in r10s. It also reduces saves on things like ice flowers.

Head-Meat wrote on Feb 1^st, 2023 at 1:17pm:



Can you break this down a little?

I know the beast part if filigrees and you need a natural rage, then the other is legendary greensteel (or dino shit) swap, but what's the lightning spell, whats winters heart and whats shard swarm and how does that fit together?

Doesn't the affirmation require you to get hit?  Lotsa Q's because i am the lotsa dumb.

Gunga wrote on Feb 1^st, 2023 at 6:44pm:



I'm too dumb to consolidate it to one weapon. Good point. I was still using a GS affirmation like a newb.

Shunned wrote on Feb 1^st, 2023 at 4:02pm:


Nah affirmation has a chance to proc when YOU hit a mob.

If you're smart, you'll make a DINO wep with beast mantle fillis and an affirmation slotted in the dino slot. Then you rage while holding it. Then you cast (lvl 5) "Call Lightning Storm". Then you swap back to your main weapon.

Obv you get the 1000 temp hp from "shield of rage", but you also have affirmation "snapped" to that lightning spell. That spell lasts for ~1:25ish, and it will randomly hit mobs near you for that time. In the first couple strikes, your affirmation should proc which grants you another 1000 temp hp. So, now you have 2k temp hp.

Winter's Heart is from t5 Season's Herald: "Winter's Heart: Activation: Gain 8 times your Wisdom in temporary hitpoints for 30 seconds.
(Cost: 12 SP, Cooldown: 1 minute)"

Shard Swarm is a bit weird, but you spend your points in Primal ED in order to get it and then upgrade it at t3 in primal: "Thorn: Doubles the damage of Shard Storm and you gain Shard Reflection for 12 seconds which grants 25% of your max Hit Points as temporary Hit Points."

So, let's say I have 2k HP in reaper and 100 wisdom (to use rough numbers).
1000 Affirmation (1 min)
1000 Shield of Rage (5min?)
800 Winter's Heart (30 sec)
500 Shard Swarm (12 sec--something is off about this, because I get ~800, I think)
=5300 HP temporarily

I typically see 6k+ in reaper with all these going. I know a guy who has max reaper points (I don't. I'm at like 88 or something), and he sees around 7k. TBF, it's a bit of a pain to maintain all of them. But, even if you keep half of them up, it's nice. I prolly average 4kish hp at the beginning of fights. My typical is like 2050 standing in reaper. So, that's a nice upgrade. It's also why I'm better off on a druid than a sorc. I die less on a druid.

I'm still deciding if shard storm is work the investment in PA. I would be using EA otherwise and have double wings (draconic + EA wings). Pros and Cons.



Side note: It's not a terrible idea to have affirmation slotted on your main wep. I use Ash debuff in that slot on my dino wep. But, having affirmation all the time wouldn't be a terrible choice at all, imo.

Shunned wrote on Feb 1^st, 2023 at 7:43pm:



It's centered on you for the full duration and moves with you. So, you can cast it anytime before. It has a high proc chance. So, it's probably going to proc by the 3rd hit.

Toast wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2023 at 2:42pm:


I like that. Nice.