Introducing Patriarch Mutation

lionheartthebrave

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Apr 26, 2007
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Introducing Patriarch Mutation

After reading about poops' Wrong Turn, I decided to create a wolfbarb. After realising all that life is unneeded, I decided to go titan, and use fortitude for extra pain. I was thinking of a titan version of AJK's Spot, but then I saw crg's Awwrrooooo, and decided on an upped ribcracker.

[highlight]Mutation[/highlight]

Str: 495
Dex: 88
Vit: 42
Nrg: 15

Life: 2087
Mana: 414
AR: 10163 (a bit too low)
Defense: 21056

Damage: 4467-7003, 65% CB, 15% OW, 1/3 chance to double damage

Res: 75/46/80/46 (with 40% cold absorb)

[highlight]Gear[/highlight]

Weapon: upped Shaeled Ribby (283 ED)
Head: Wolfhowl, with 38 ED/7 life jewel
Armour: Fortitude
Gloves: Rune fist (thanks buraz)
Belt: Stone Fringe (thanks bobthewarrior)
Boots: Gore Riders
Amulet: 27 Maras
Rings: 17/248 and 18/181 Ravenfrosts
(Hoto and beta CtA on switch)

Readouts:
Code:
Wolfhowl
Fury Visor
Defense: 360
Durability: 33 of 35
Required Level: 79
Required Strength: 129
Fingerprint: 0xe537ce13
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+15 to Strength
+13 to Dexterity
+12 to Vitality
139% Enhanced Defense
+5 to Werewolf
+6 to Lycanthropy
+6 to Feral Rage
+3 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian Only)
Level 15 Summon Dire Wolf (18/18 Charges)
+7 to Life
38% Enhanced Damage
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of Spirit

Ruby Jewel of Spirit
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xc998933d
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+7 to Life
38% Enhanced Damage

Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x8375d4bf
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
Fire Resist +27%
Lightning Resist +27%
Cold Resist +27%
Poison Resist +27%
+2 to All Skills

Fortitude
Archon Plate
Defense: 1521
Durability: 52 of 60
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 103
Fingerprint: 0x7de6032f
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
All Resistances +28
200% Enhanced Defense
300% Enhanced Damage
25% Faster Cast Rate
+12 Damage Taken Goes To Mana
20% Chance to cast level 15 Chilling Armor when struck
96 to Life (Based on Char Lvl)
+1 to Light Radius
+15 Defense
Damage Reduced by 7
Replenish Life 7
5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: El Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Dol Rune
Socketed: Lo Rune

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x45fe0f65
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+17 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+248 to Attack Rating
+15 - 45 cold damage with 4 sec Duration
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xa19285f
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+18 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+181 to Attack Rating
+15 - 45 cold damage with 4 sec Duration
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Stone Fringe
Plated Belt
Defense: 13
Durability: 22 of 24
Required Level: 22
Required Strength: 60
Fingerprint: 0x6bbd25c8
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+56 to Life
10% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +25%
Lightning Resist +19%
Attacker Takes Damage of 6
24% Faster Hit Recovery

Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 159
Durability: 31 of 34
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 93
Fingerprint: 0xa7f786f1
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+20 Maximum Stamina
195% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Rune Fist
Heavy Gloves
Defense: 7
Durability: 12 of 14
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x5f908a20
Item Level: 61
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
11% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +10%
Lightning Resist +14%
3% Mana stolen per hit
10% Increased Attack Speed

Heart of the Oak
Flail
One Hand Damage: 1 - 24
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 55
Required Strength: 41
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0xac4d7a15
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
150% Damage to Undead
All Resistances +39
Replenish Life 20
15% Increase Maximum Mana
40% Faster Cast Rate
+3 to All Skills
Level 14 Raven (60/60 Charges)
Level 4 Oak Sage (25/25 Charges)
+10 to Dexterity
7% Mana stolen per hit
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
75% Damage to Demons
+3 - 14 cold damage with 3 sec Duration
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Vex Rune
Socketed: Pul Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune

Call to Arms
War Scepter
One Hand Damage: 37 - 63
Durability: 70 of 70
Required Level: 57
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x159aeb6
GUID: 0x6dc26f86 0x4332bbe 0x0
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion
Properties: 
+2 to Vigor (Paladin Only)
+2 to Holy Shield (Paladin Only)
+1 to Holy Shock (Paladin Only)
150% Damage to Undead
274% Enhanced Damage
Replenish Life 12
40% Increased Attack Speed
+12 to Battle Cry
+12 to Battle Orders
+11 to Battle Command
+2 to All Skills
7% Life stolen per hit
+5 - 30 Fire Damage
Prevent Monster Heal
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Amn Rune
Socketed: Ral Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune
Socketed: Ohm Rune


Ribcracker
Stalagmite
Two Hand Damage: 319 - 478
Durability: 69 of 30
Required Level: 31
Required Strength: 63
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0x7aa071b
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+15 to Dexterity
100% Enhanced Defense
286% Enhanced Damage
+30 to Minimum Damage
+65 to Maximum Damage
+100 Defense
+100 Maximum Durability
Required Lvl +7
50% Faster Hit Recovery
50% Chance of Crushing Blow
70% Increased Attack Speed
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune

Charms:
Code:
Sharp Large Charm of Vita
Large Charm
Required Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0x3688857b
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+29 to Life
+25 to Attack Rating
+6 to Maximum Damage

Steel Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0xdcd08e34
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+5 to Strength
+121 to Attack Rating

Steel Grand Charm of Sustenance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0xbc513e7
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+24 to Life
+116 to Attack Rating

Steel Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0xf8376aec
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+12 to Life
+36 to Attack Rating

Steel Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0xcf8570e1
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+13 to Life
+32 to Attack Rating

Steel Grand Charm of Vita
Grand Charm
Required Level: 69
Fingerprint: 0x1e3f44de
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+37 to Life
+129 to Attack Rating

Steel Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x4d6d42b2
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+16 to Life
+25 to Attack Rating

Steel Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x28942bd
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+12 to Life
+27 to Attack Rating

Sharp Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0x4969356b
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+17 to Life
+65 to Attack Rating
+7 to Maximum Damage

Coral Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x577f0b6a
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+17 to Life
Lightning Resist +9%

Steel Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 41
Fingerprint: 0x3095d214
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+127 to Attack Rating
12% Faster Hit Recovery

Sharp Large Charm of Vita
Large Charm
Required Level: 66
Fingerprint: 0x831febae
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties: 
+34 to Life
+46 to Attack Rating
+6 to Maximum Damage

[highlight]Skills
[/highlight]
20 in BO, Shout, Iron Skin, Mace mastery +prereqs
11 in natural resistance
1 in leap, increased speed, increased stamina, find potion (at lvl86)

[highlight]Mercenary
[/highlight]
Might enhanced, Reaper's Toll, Duriel's Shell, Andy's visage (30 str, 10ll, 30FR/IAS j00l)

[highlight]Timeline
[/highlight]
He was great fun, but a bit slow in later acts of Hell

Normal:
Gemmed Maul --> bugged Ravenclaw --> Steeldriver --> Upped Steeldriver (shael). Normal passed quickly.

Nightmare:
Got the upped ribby at 56, destroyed everything with normal attack (with some steel charms), entered Hell at 75 (Reapers on merc).

Hell:
Quested at p5 until I got to the Pits (~lvl75.5), and then did 3 p8 Pit runs to get to 79 (a pleasent surprise, I thought it would be more) Once I became a wolf, and started hitting at 9fpa, instead of 13, and 4-44 LL, not 6, the game became easy, and I went to p8 for the rest of the act.

Act2:
Easy, p8 all the way, even with Itches in the Maggot Lair( except in the Tomb, where Ghosts appeared)

Act3:
Jungle fun was hilarious, p8 through the jungle, even through a Gloam invested dead-end Great Marsh. Dropped to p1 for the locusts, then p8 for the rest, dolls were no problem, I outleeched their death explosions:tongue:

Act4:
Ow, it's harder, dropped to p3. Hephasto spawned HF ES cursed, but couldn't hit me (cue the :tongue: smiley again). OKs were the usual pain in the @#$%, and Diablo's lightning breath hurt a lot, but I made it.

Act5:
PI Frenzytaurs slowed me down to p1, as did the Gloam type monsters guarding Anya (who did 200 damage each hit on a fully resistant build). Ancients were done at p3, and swept aside, with easy mods like two sets of EF cursed. PI Hell Temptresses slowed my way to the Throne, filled with infidels, vampires, and black souls.

Wave 5 killed me twice, as Lister spawned ES CI, and so the chilling armour didn't work. Baal was slowed by cold/decrep, and my low AR made it a dull, safe battle

Comments:

Having 40%LL is amazing, allowing me to leech whatever is hitting me; combining that with 21K defense, so that not much hits me, is a good recipe for success. I went for the 86 FHR breakpoint, and I never got recover locked, so I guess it worked.

Deaths:

NM WSK1: ran into large pack of bloodstars while cursed
Hell RoF: an OK at the entrance saw me approaching, no prizes for guessing what went next
Hell CS x4: Iron Maiden
Hell Lister: ES pack hurts, especially they smite iirc, and ignore defence

Finds:
I had 0 MF
NM forge: Io, Hell forge Ist
Hellslayer
This collection of dolls (EF boss +champs)

tldr, gieb Summary

Build wolfbarb, they are fun

My thanks go to:
sirpoopsalot: for Wrongturn/wolfbarb levelling threads
buraz: for trading the gloves
bobthewarrior: for trading the belt
anon: for discovering the power of an upped ribby
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

Yay, another wolfbarb!

Probably my favorite build out of all my characters.

Also niccce Wolfhowl, I thought mine was good but yours is slightly better!
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

that helm should be mine
congrats on your pat.
atma scarab or highlord is better that mara
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

I've been wanting to do a Wolfbarb for a long time, but I've doubted the damage potential on it. Never actually thought about going Titan + Fortitude about it. Read too many guides going on about speed + crushing blow over raw damage, maybe.

Need to find a better Wolfhowl first, though.
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

This thread didn't see enough love.

The char looks nice and I really liked the name. A wolfbarb investing tons of stats into strength is counterintuitive and I will always maintain that they should be milked for all the hit points they can get, even if the amount starts to soar into the unnecessary zone. Still, congrats!

Masterfully done, hero.
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

Great job. The wolfbarb seems a lot of fun. Should try one someday.
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

Nice character, nice gear, and also nice write-up :thumbsup:

Congratz on the new patriarch.
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

Congrats on the pat! That's some fine gear you have there.

The idea of a wolfbarb has always been interesting to me, but the req level on the helm and the fact that I really dislike the early game with new chars has kept me from trying it. Since I got a 1.09 Ravenclaw from Rummski, though, I think I'll give it a shot.

Do you feel happy with your choice to go titan or do you think you would've preferred the more typical aim for quick attack + CB instead and dump points into life? You mention being slowed down later on, but from what you mention that seems to be mostly from PI/crazy mod packs that would slow pretty much anybody down. I can't afford Fortitude so I don't think I can touch the damage amounts you're putting out (but then I'd probably use highlord's instead of Mara's [which I don't have anyway] to boost damage) if I go titan, but it seems like a nice change of pace over the usual style.
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

@all: thank you for commenting (didn't realise the Wolfhowl was so good)

@LE: who needs 4k+ life for PvM anyway

Do you feel happy with your choice to go titan or do you think you would've preferred the more typical aim for quick attack + CB instead and dump points into life?

Well I have 65% CB, and attack at 9fpa, which is pretty good unless you use a PB stuffed with IAS, which would severely lower the damage. (fyi sirpoops', AJK's, and crg's wolfbarbs all attacked at 9fpa as well)

Maybe a few points in Vit would have been good so ease the pressure on the charms, then I coulda have used Highlords instead and got a hefty increase in DS (though I aimed to get 7k max damage, and got it, just, as I levelled to 86)

Yeh, the slowdown is just probably the monsters becoming tougher, but it's still annoying (I plan to do a p8 all the way character someday)

GL with your wolfbarb, I know you'll enjoy it


 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

@all: thank you for commenting (didn't realise the Wolfhowl was so good)

Well it is damn near perfect in all the right stats. All that's missing is 2 Dex, 3 Vitality and 1 in Werewolf. ...gieb? :whistling:

A wolfbarb investing tons of stats into strength is counterintuitive and I will always maintain that they should be milked for all the hit points they can get, even if the amount starts to soar into the unnecessary zone. Still, congrats!

Then again, you could look at it this way too. With so much HP bonuses the Wolfbarb can get, you don't actually need to focus on Vitality or HP that much, as they get plenty high by themselves. This leaves alot of room for using the stat points somewhere else. Like Str, in this case. 2k health is definitely a nice amount, considering he only has 42 Vitality.

Besides, I think vitality and health are actually a pretty useless stats in PvE SC. This might be beacuse I've played so many zero-Vitality characters lately, but the truth is that health is largely unnecessary in softcore play.

It's a very binary stat. Basically you either have health left, or your don't and you're dead. The amount of health you have never actually affects your condition in any way, until you're dead. It does however affect how long you stay alive before being dead. But then again, the are so many other factors that affect this, that you can use to increase the time spent alive. Potions, resists, block, absobs, defense, PDR, MDR, life regen, leech, life per kill, skills that keep you safe, minions that enemies target and plain old avoiding getting hurt. There are alot of ways to stay alive just as well without any Vitality investment.

But this is of course all mostly theoretical. :coffee:

I'm not saying that it should be always ignored. Far from it. Health is a perfect insurance for any possible mistakes, or circumstances out of your control. Every character meant for normal play really should aim for more of it, since it's cheap to get and it always makes things easier.


 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

my wolfbarb runs in wsk in mp games when no nub sorc is there to tele and his big life paired with good amount of frw ( increased speed points) is very helpfull
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

It does however affect how long you stay alive before being dead. But then again, the are so many other factors that affect this, that you can use to increase the time spent alive. Potions, resists, block, absobs, defense, PDR, MDR, life regen, leech, life per kill, skills that keep you safe, minions that enemies target and plain old avoiding getting hurt. There are alot of ways to stay alive just as well without any Vitality investment.

But this is of course all mostly theoretical. :coffee:

Having mat/patted a couple different melee characters with varying degrees of defensive capabilities...

Zeal Enchantress (max block, max resists, 21 pdr, ~1100 life, poor defense)
Zeal Assassin (max block, max resists, fade, ~1000 life, poor defense)
2H PDR Zerker (no block, max resists, ~90 pdr, ~3000 life, no defense)
2H PDR Zealot (no block, max resists, ~99 pdr, ~1200 life, poor defense)
Conc Barb (max block, max resists, no pdr, ~2600 life, great defense)
Wolf Barb (no block, max resists, no pdr, ~9200 life, decent defense)
Riftadin (max block, max resists, no pdr, ~2000 life, average defense)

...I can definitely say that the wolfbarb's huge life made the greatest difference in staying alive (never dieing, in fact).

Spells ignore defense, physical damage ignores resists, pdr is weak against multiple strong attacks, blocking only works against physical attacks and doesn't always work.

Life, on the other hand, always "absorbs" all types of damage. More then anything it makes up for the human error inherent in all our characters. Stuff like rushing into a crowd of dolls without first letting your merc engage, forgetting to throw on t-gods in gloam territory, glancing away to watch TV.



 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

@LE: who needs 4k+ life for PvM anyway
That’s not the point. What I was getting at is that Wolfbarbs have the most life potential of any character. They get the 4 hit points per 1 point of hard vitality investment that is then multiplied by Battle Orders, Werewolf, and Lycanthropy for potentially very high numbers (especially with the addition of vita charms).

Assuming you could have gotten by with around 180 base strength on your Wolfbarb, we see that dumping another ~315 points into strength basically gives the character another 315% off-weapon enhanced damage. If those 315 points that would have been spent in vitality, base life would have increased by 1260. (Bear with these rough calculations I’m using to illustrate my point) If you factor in a lvl 30 BO = 122% life increase, lvl 9 Werewolf = 90% life increase, lvl 10 Lycanthropy = 65%...Since they are additive, that’s a 277% base life increase. 1260 life would turn into 3490 on top of the original giving you a grand total of 4750 extra hit points in the vitality scenario.

315% off-weapon enhanced damage <<<< 4750 hit points. (in my opinion)

I don’t care that the massive amount of health is unneeded for some (or even most), it’s all about maximizing character potential. I’ve heard this argument before and what you seem to be saying is that once you reach the magic number of hit points (somewhere between 2-3K), that with careful play and the average monster mods, you can ignore health after that and concentrate on damage output for better optimization of the character. CRG and I debated this multiple times, me in favor of massive life, he in favor of titan-oriented Wolfbarbs for better damage.

However! My counter to that is that if this is about pure damage, then I see no reason to make a Wolfbarb. If you’re wanting damage in the form of a single-click attack as in Feral Rage, a Barbarian’s arsenal is equipped with Concentrate and Berserk which are both capable of reaching 9 fpa (with appropriate weapons and IAS mods) that would be the same attack speed as this particular Wolfbarb boasted. Both of those attacks are much more damaging.

So to me, titan Wolfbarbs don’t have the effective damage of similar single-click barbarian builds, but maintain a level of hit points that is similar to them. Since they will never have a better damage output than their true barb counterparts (and competition really goes out the window with the inclusion of Whirlwind), they should invest in an area where they can shine and tower leagues above them…the area of hit points and giant health pools.

Why so many hit points?
1) Because they can.
2) Because if you’ve ever ran out of hit points and died before being able to pot, town portal, run away, or move to a better position of attack…ask yourself if an extra few thousand hit points would have made any difference. In most near-death or death situations, more hit points are always welcomed because they absorb every single type of damage in the game.

Again, this is all just my opinion on the matter and it basically means nothing because you went and built a character that was fun and effective to your style of play. So let me say congrats again (and that the character name was six shades of cool). Look forward to seeing your next one. :thumbup:



 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

RE: stat allocation

Yeh, I could've got loads of life with a small investment into Vitality, just as a few points in Strength for Nuke would've made gear selections a lot easier.

However, where the fun/challenge in that. I could easily rebuild a sturdier wolfbarb with double life, but it wouldn't feel like the same achievement as a pure titan. In short, it's about having a vision, and being stubborn

I am planning to do an all vit and an all energy characters to get a nice quartet of freaks.
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

My thanks go to:
sirpoopsalot: for Wrongturn/wolfbarb levelling threads

My pleasure. I'm glad you felt some of that helped (even if it was only for inspiration). :wink:

Congrats on the Patriarch and the awesome helm.

I don’t care that the massive amount of health is unneeded for some (or even most), it’s all about maximizing character potential. <snip>

However! My counter to that is that if this is about pure damage, then I see no reason to make a Wolfbarb. If you’re wanting damage in the form of a single-click attack as in Feral Rage, a Barbarian’s arsenal is equipped with Concentrate and Berserk <snip>

You're completely discounting style-points in your argument. You gotta admit, even with the high health of a Wolfbarb, titans are stylish (at least, compared to another ho-hum, high-vit, generic-damage-depending-on-your-gear barb, titans are very stylish).

And I can't speak for others, but Berzerkers & Conc-barbs have never really appealed to me - but a Wolfbarb did. To me, it's kindof like how Enigmadin's and Infinity sorcs are "best", and if you simply want to kick butt, that's your choice. But I never was interested enough (yet) in those builds to pursue playing them. After that point, I think it's entirely personal preference. If you like the idea of pure damage better than massive amounts of health, then pure damage is better. And if you like the idea of massive amounts of health better than pure damage, then massive amounts of health is better.

I can say that I wish I'd been more balanced on WrongTurn. Sure he had over 5500 health, and his damage was decent without pumping strength too. But I would've gladly given up 2000 of my hitpoints for even another ~250 average damage (whether or not pumping strength would've increased my damage by that much is another matter - I'm too lazy to do the math).



 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

Congratulations! WolfBarbs look so fun. I agree with sirpoops, definite style points for going the Titan route.
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

Congrats! Loooooove for the Titan build :thumbup: Although, I agree that huge life would've been better way, but on the other hand, Titans are always an achievement. Grats for that :)

One question, anyone can answer, but could you use War Cry while in wereform? (I doubt it, but just an idea that came to mind while reading this)
 
Re: Introducing Patriarch Mutation

only normal attack, feral rage and werewolf.
but who needs more?
 
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