User:Whydirt/Hero Builds
This page is just going to be a grab-bag of non-meta hero builds I've found useful.
Avatar of Dwayna Dervish[edit]
Avatar of Dwayna is my favorite dervish elite skill. It converts enchantments to party + ally healing, keeps the dervish free of hexes, and converts their attacks to holy damage, which is probably the best damage type in the game. The following builds are super useful in any mission where you want to keep NPC allies alive, such as Gyala Hatchery, Eternal Grove, Raid on Kaineng Center, etc. These dervishes are meant to stand in for defensive Communing ritualists, since spirits like Shelter and Union run out of life very quickly when you have many allies in the area taking hits. They also synergize well with necromancer minions since they get healed as well - note that this may run slightly counter to minion bombing strategies, but I don't think it's a big deal.
A common theme in both builds is that neither uses dervish teardown skills to activate AoD, instead bringing low cost enchantments that end themselves quickly or ones from an attribute with few/no points in it to get a naturally short duration.
Melee AoD[edit]
"Look ma, no scythe mastery!"
- Mysticism 12+1+1, Wind Prayers 12+1, Earth Prayers 3
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- Banishing Strike - an attack skill keyed off of Mysticism, one half of how you can get away with 0 points in Scythe Mastery
- Optional skill - possible choices include Heart of Fury, Mystic Twister, Aura Slicer or any other short duration enchantment you want to try
- Sand Shards - bonus AoE damage and a good AoD triggger
- Whirling Charge - increased movement, AoE damage, and AoD trigger on a short recharge
- Lyssa's Haste - interrupts and faster recharge on your other enchantments
- Grenth's Aura - the other reason you can get away with 0 in Scythe Mastery; it's lifesteal doesn't care that you'd deal poor damage without it active
- Eremite's Zeal - energy management and AoD trigger
- Avatar of Dwayna - core skill to this build; great for getting Kahmu in touch with his feminine side
- Equipment
Weapon - Literally any scythe will work since we don't care about its base damage or attribute requirements. Bonuses to energy, life, or armor are nice, but not required, but avoid any +enchantment duration mods since you want yours to expire quickly.
Armor - Use Blessed Insignia or Windwalker Insignia if you have them, but they're not required. You can use a +2 Mysticism rune in the hat since it's usually cheaper than the +1 one if you're on a budget. The Wind Prayers rune is optional, but they're usually cheap.
Pure Caster AoD[edit]
"Ether Renewal healing elemenatalists are so last season."
While the above build works and is certainly unusual, I prefer to use a pure caster version of this dervish in places where I want the group healing while keeping the hero out of the danger associated with going into melee. Perfect for both Winds of Change missions with lots of NPC allies.
- Mysticism 12+1+2, Protection Prayers 12
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- Aegis - blocking for the entire party, triggers energy gain from Meditation
- Optional #1 - Shielding Hands, Shield of Absorption, Protective Spirit, Imbue Health, or the hex/condition removal spell of your choice
- Optional #2 - another skill from above
- Conviction - anti-condition and delayed AoD trigger
- Fleeting Stability - cheap and short duration
- Whirling Charge - short duration and recharge
- Meditation - energy management
- Avatar of Dwayna - core skill to this build; great for getting Kahmu in touch with his feminine side
The most important thing to note when building this dervish is to not use any enchantment spells that deal AoE damage centered around the caster - these will cause the dervish to run toward the enemies instead of staying with the party.
- Equipment
Weapon - Protection staff with any combination of +energy/life/armor mods. Avoid +enchantment duration mods.
Armor - Use Blessed Insignia or Windwalker Insignia if you have them, but they're not required. Use a +2 Mysticism rune in the hat since it's usually cheaper than the +1 one and AoD dervishes are quite durable for backline casters due to high HP and armor. I recommend Attunement runes over Vitae for any spare slots.
