[3.27] 40k Ward - Ward Shatter Ignite Scion

Ward break isn't in pob, so no damage numbers.
https://pobb.in/nNraZehmUNLd
Don't get baited

This build revolves around stacking as much ward as possible to increase the damage of the new Ward Shatter skill from the Olroth ascendancy.


With 40k ward, the spell does some damage

In order to replenish our ward after taking a hit, we take Boon of the River on the Olroth ascendancy. This gives us a 5% chance on hit to regain all our ward.

Bows are an interesting choice because Rain of arrows of saturation hits a ton, and manaforged arrows can be included in other links to provide even more hits. As this is an attack, it also benefits from using life gain on hit support which helps overcome dots.

I however went for a cyclone cast while channeling setup.
You can link it to whatever spells you want. I chose Soulrend of the Spiral, and Ethereal Knives with GMP and return proj.

There are of course moments where you may not have ward for a split second.
For that I use a life gain on hit Watcher's Eye and run a level 1 vitality.

I also pray really hard.

Since Ward Shatter is a physical spell, we convert phys to fire on the skill tree using the fire mastery and Avatar of Fire. That's 90%. You can get to 100% if you want, but my watcher's eye was taken with other mods i want, and glove slot is taken.

100% chance to ignite comes from the skill tree. You can get ignite chance other ways, especially on weapons, which could free up some nodes.

The other good reason for ignite playstyle is that when enemies don't die in one hit, just move away a little while the ignite does its thing. This basically guarantees your ward gain on hit procs while the ignite is ticking.

This build can be played as any reasonable ascendancy, though it works out well with Ascendant since I only have 3 points to spend here.
I went with Chieftain for the %str and ash on hit.
Deadeye is also a good candidate, but I find the frenzy generation inconsistent.

No surprise we use Ynda's Stand with as much armour/evasion we can get on a chest piece. This is giving us most of our base ward.

Then we start scaling that 3 ways.
One is with Faithguard, which turns % maximum energy shield into ward.

This let's us scale using Int

Shaper's Touch let's us scale it using Strength.


So now we can get str / int wherever we can.


And finally global defenses is the last way we scale ward.

I use Malevolence for damage.
Purity of Elements is handy because it stops ignite which goes through ward.
It also eases suffix pressure so we can get Str/Int anywhere we can.
I use Discipline + Eldrich Battery with a ES gain on hit watcher's eye to sustain mana.
There are probably better ways to do this, but soulrend costs a lot and I like cats.

A level 1 vitality is used to help keep us alive from dot damage.

Flasks are fairly open aside from an iron flask.


Just use whatever you need. Quicksilver/Bismuth/Sulpher/Amethyst are what I use

Dont get block or evasion what are you doing we're trying to get hit.
I tried this build initially with a Shire of Shards for the extra proj. The block feels awful.
Take Unwavering Stance so you can't evade (the stun immunity is basically mandatory for cyclone too). Dont use staves or shields - you're not a puss.

Staves are good because of the global defense mastery, but the block sucks so I went for scepters.

Stats that help damage are:
Physical damage
Fire damage over time multiplier
damage over time multiplier
Damage over time
Fire damage
Spell damage
Strength
Intelligence

I would suggest getting Str/Int as priority. It's less damage but the bigger ward number makes me feel like a big man.

Soul of Lunaris
Sould of Aberrath is great becuase burning ground sucks.
Soul of Shakari is also great as poison hurts real bad.
I couple it with a corrupted Unnatural Instinct to get 75% reduced duration of poison. - It helps.

I've mentioned most of them except for the Brutal Restraint.
Just get %Str nodes

Cyclone - Cast while Channeling - Soulrend of the Spiral - Ethereal Knives - GMP - Return Proj
Malevolence - Discipline - Purity of Elements - Enlighten Support
Automation - Steelskin - More Duration
Vitality
Flammability (I'm usually too scared to stop and press this)
Get these instead so you don't have to stop

Frostblink
Cast on Death - Portal

Still like 7 empty sockets. Do whatever.

I've been running corrupted T16's and it clears them.
But cast on death portal is there for a reason.
Does okay in sims because of the density. Same for Expedition.

It could probably farm Blood Aqueducts safely.