BFG Seraphim with a twist

[Androdion 875]

Hey guys.

I've been wanting to play with a Seraphim for some time, thing is I've been going around my head trying to find out a cool and different way to play it. I don't want a dual-wielder (been doing that with a SW), so I thought about making a ranged energy weapon build with and energy shield. But how is that any different than playing a BFG build? Yeah, not that much. So I though again and again and I tried twisting a BFG build into a more dynamic gameplay style and not just your "pxiu-pxiu-pxiu, you're dead" style that the BFG usually presents.

 

So, skills:

•  2 Tactics Lore 75
•  3 Ranged Weapons 1
•  5 Armor Lore 75
•  8 Concentration 5
• 12 Revered Technology Focus 31
• 18 Exalted Warrior Focus 1
• 25 Celestial Magic Focus 31
• 35 Toughness 75
• 50 Revered Technology Lore 1
• 65 Combat Discipline 1

 

The idea is quite simple:

• Master Armor Lore and Toughness for defense and damage mitigation, while making use of DM on gear and skipping Constitution. Attribute points on Vitality to compensate.
• Points in Tactics Lore modify Exalted Warrior CAs for use with the BFG (Battle Stance, Soul Hammer, Pelting Strikes), points in Celestial Magic modify Radiant Pillar and Hallowed Restoration for defense/mob control, points in Revered Technology Focus modify BFG and Flaring Nova (again for defense/mob control)
• Focus and Lore skills should be next in line to mastery level to increase efficiency, Toughness can be kept at clvl for higher efficiency in defense.
• Use BFG the old school way with the EW tree, use Radiant Pillar/Flaring Nova for stun/hold on crowd control and mow with BFG, use Hallowed Restoration/Divine Protection (at first unmodded) for extra protection/longevity.

 

I'd like some feedback on this build idea if anyone cares to contribute.  I'm still missing a few things, like Archangel's Wrath and its place in this build, and how to deal with bosses since I can barely have +%LL sources on this build. Armour and damage mitigation should be enough to stay alive, assuming I can kill fast enough and control the crowds around me with the Area of Effect spells. But can anyone more accustomed to playing a Seraphim give some input on this please?

Edited March 8, 2018 by Androdion

[Hooyaah 2,816]

Because the BFG deals Ice and Physical damage it may be difficult to slay Bosses that have high Ice resistance. For this you could equip the BFG (at a very high level above that of your lady) and cast Archangel's Wrath to do powerful Fire damage. Your build appears to be well thought out.

[Androdion 875]

Yeah, I've read that part in some guides about how AW is a boss killer if modded right and how it's used to shift the elemental damage. I'm just not sure if it fits into my gaming style, or at least what I'm picturing here. It's powerful but it's a slow projectile, and this build is meant to be a mix of crippling/snipping. Run speed will definitely be a factor in this build, as will be evasion.

I was running in circles with my blank Seraphim, tried a few combinations and it seems that both Battle Stance and BFG have very intensive regen penalties. I'm thinking if it's worth taking the mods that lower the penalties at the cost of evasion and raw damage, since the idea here isn't to one-shot everything per se. I was casting Radiant Pillar before doing the Pelting Strikes/Soul Hammer combo until the mobs were mowed down, escaping behind a Flaring Nova strike. I'm thinking that a combo with Dashing Alacrity/Divine Protection must be nice for boss battles.

I'm also considering changing Combat Discipline with Celestial Magic Lore, because if this is going to be a cast intensive build as opposed to a pure shoot'em up then I'm probably better served with the lore skill after all? Hard to say really, but it does seem to better fit the profile. I can get the regen boost from my blacksmith (once I finally level him up enough... ).

[Androdion 875]

I've finally started playing around with the BFG Seraphim this past week, and although some of the initial ideas in the OP are still present I've done a completely different build.

You see, after having a bargaining tree up to level 100 and a Niob smith I was basically handpicking all the best possible gear/weaponry for my toons, and from level 1 for that matter. I started an Inquisitor build based mostly on Gruesome Inquisition but with some tinkering of the other aspects (mainly the permanent and temporary buffs) and he's so bloody offensive that it stopped being challenging quite fast. Dual wielding with a combo of Clustering Maelstrom+Ruthless Mutilation followed by a combo of Ruthless Mutilation+Callous Execution makes the ground tilt in red... So basically I thought to myself how feasible it would be to just play with all the general skills that would make my toon totally independent and autonomous, namely Enhanced Perception, Bargaining and Blacksmith. And so the adaptation towards an "all-in-one" BFG Seraphim came into place.

The basic template is more or less like this: 

 2 Enhanced Perception
 3 Ranged Weapons
 5 Tactics Lore
 8 Armor Lore
12 Bargaining
18 Concentration
25 Exalted Warrior Focus
35 Revered Technology Focus
50 Toughness
65 Blacksmith

General skills are first in line for mastery, then Armor Lore and Toughness. Tactics Lore and both focus skills have enough points to modify Battle Stance, Soul Hammer, Pelting Strikes, BFG and Divine Protection. I'm skipping Revered Lore so no point in using Archangel's Wrath because Soul Hammer's damage trumps it. I also have no interest in using three buffs, only one point in Concentration. At first I thought this would be spreading too thin (and to a certain point I still do) but eventually the build started shaping up to be better. With lower regen times and higher ranking CAs I can wipe the floor of the Orc Cave in sometimes as little as two snaps of the SH+PS combo. I just purchased a Volcanic Tiger special mount and it covers some of the weaknesses like low HP and low shield energy. So far it's been fun and challenging in terms of approach and micromanagement. Bosses are actually easy because the BFG boost to Ranged Weapons is static, so I can just move into a different weapon slot with a throw weapon that has "+X% LL" and it'll still have the same benefits, just not the boost to Tactics Lore since that one is on the actual weapon of the BFG. So bosses are covered and crowd control is as well, mostly via gaming style instead of Area of Effect CAs. Either kill from afar or drop Divine Protection while rounding up mobs and then discharge rapid fire with the multi-hit combo. It's actually very effective since the weapon will switch between enemies very fast when casting Pelting Strikes, assuming they're in close range.

Now if I can find the other five pieces of Genesis Siderea (I actually have two already but one is level 135...) I can have an always leeching BFG. Plus, at higher difficulties the BFG damage combined with the "+X% LL" bonus from the set should really help in keeping my toon alive! We'll see.

[Androdion 875]

Started Gold and updated some of my gear. Nothing ridiculous really, All Skills +26 and still not huge on the remaining modifiers. Thing is I started wiping out the floor on the first area, so just for kicks I started a LAN session and teleported to the Great Machine not without casting Divine Protection first. Well, results are astounding really as I can kill the four Guardians easily. I've read several times before that a BFG build is usually very OP but given that I've skipped important skills I wasn't expecting it to hit this hard! Gold is going to be a breeze.