Before I explain, I would like to ask that there be no flaming. I know this is a stupidly expensive idea, but admit that it would look sick as hell even if I can't kill a NM carver.

The Castadin was created for my love of casting things that I'm not supposed to. Ever since Bnet and those crappy auradins, I got used to spamming orbs and crap and loved it to hell. I used this inspiration include all the elemental features of this mod.

So here is the Most BASIC foundation;

1 Sacrifice
20 Zeal
1 Holy Fire
1 Holy Freeze
1 Holy Thunder
20 Conviction
1 Point in several Def Auras probably.

Gear: Spam Attack Facets. Lmao. Goal: Conviction + (Zeal+Atk Facets) = Funny Pwnage. To spam all those lvl 40 Elemental spells on attack is a dream.

Extra points depend on my gear. I can go so many different directions with this I need you guys' help to figure this out.

I can do Holy shield+synergies, or get some vengeance a little more offense.
I can aim for a Time (runeword) Zeal build, no shield/holyshield, but 100% chance of lower resist lol.

Ideas are welcomed.

***I ALREADY KNOW THAT I WILL HAVE TO RAISE IT TO LVL 90 PRETTY MUCH WITHOUT KILLING ANYTHING.***

The build here is called a Convictor, it is basicaly alot of ele damage items and CtC Elemental spells with a fast zeal.

It is very much playable through all parts of the game. There are runewords with ctc blizzard at mid/low level. and alot of ctc spells around.

Brevan could chime in here with some fantastic build advice as he is very fond of the build himself. You dont have to wait till endgame to be useful though, There are alot of items around to make this build work early aswell.

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Look Brevan, a challenger appears!

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A Lannister always pays his debts.

Salutations,

Here's a thread describing other builds you might enjoy (feel free to add in more, the thread never realy took-off). There's a small bit about the Castadin/Convictor in there too. I think people suggested the name Convictor to me because there is a build for a spell-casting Conviction pally (using oSkills from Trang's set for FBall and Meteor, but the build isn't creatable anymore due to gear changes). Apparently that type of Castadin really did have trouble with a NM Fallen

There's not a lot for me to add, since you've got the primary purpose of the build already. I'll share the gear and ideas I've messed around with:

1) Gear:
- "Chaos" knives have good speed, but rediculously low durability, and a range of 1, so you'll hit the Zeal AutoAim bug unless you alt-walk to where you think the monster is (with lag, this can be very tricky). That aside, this is neat.
- Lightsaber is the only lightning weapon worth considering, but it's still not that useful. It's got good speed, but ChainLightning is flawed at melee range, and level 33 only does about 350 dmg anyways. Pretty to look at.
- "Wonder" weapon works great at level 65-85 (starts being less noticeable in Hell, where it's only good). FOrb and Blizzard are lots of fun to see (What does 3 simultaneously cast FOrbs look like? Only a Convictor knows ).
- "Voice of Reason" and "Rift" weapons work great from about lvl5x to lvl80
- "Ice" javs were fun, but it's been so long since I used them that I don't remember if they were useful. I remember being stunned by the fact that unsynergized FNova actually hurt things (it was something like 10% hp drop, which is nice considering the area effect) in hell.
- "Lawbringer" is nice against bosses since it won't cause many counters, makes you immune to IM (You only do like 100 phys dmg at any level), and decrep is nice too. Sadly the Sanctuary aura causes you to do a bit of damage to demons, so Diablo's IM can lower your life bulb a bit (you'll need extra potions).
- Elemental Set is very nice, but the procs cause more counters than damage (it's fun though, and it's not like you've got many choices).
- Saphire-craft armor with 4 diamonds is a rediculously defensive any-level item to use. In many ways this is better than Corpsemourn or BlackHades (Although both are fun to use to). Having 70 dr/mdr makes you immune to most trash and dps-skills like FireWall, even in NM, also 40k defence isn't hard to do with Maxed HShield/Defiance (5% to be hit by just about anything, and then you block 75% of it... nice).
- Dragonhelm Hydraskull is pretty much mandatory, as it's basically the only non-ice proc in HU. The Meteors have recently been raised to level 30 (about 1k dmg with about 400dps), which far-outclasses anything else available (most gear in HU has skill levels of about 20-25, so generally do about 200 dmg). It also has 3 sockets (upgraded from 2 specifically at my request for this build ). If you want to use Corpsemourn, then you'll need amythests in those sockets (although wirt-jewel Corpsemourn is nice, but I prefer a 40%PoisRes -20%Req jewel). If you don't use Corpsemourn, then you can toss ias jewels in here.
- There are no decent lightning procs in HU, although using IK Gloves+Belt+Boots will give you level 40 ChainLightning. It's not bad, it's noticeable, but ChainLightning is a pretty poor spell at melee range due to the next-hit-delay. Those 3 IK Pieces is really nice though, giving Res, Dex, +10%Life and +70% ias. They require about 185 str though, which is way higher than everything else but corpsemourn.
- Death's Glove+Sash are excellent for the entire game. Using these with either StormWalk (10% absorbs for cold/lightning and a little Cold/Lightning dmg to attack) or CrushingBlow boots (nice for bosses, espeically with "Lawbringer") works just fine.
- Tiamat's Rebuke is the only shield available in the Convictor theme, but it's pretty easy to out-perform it by socketing a good shield with facets. I like GlacialSpike (about 800dmg with 1 second freeze in Hell) facets personally, but Fireball (1k) are alright too. I suggested "Penitence" runeword for this build, but it didn't quite happen this patch. Crafting Emerald, Ruby, Amythest, or Saphire shields can be very nice.
- You can practically cheat if you initially gear your character with level 14 crafts of MStone quality rings and ammy. It's lame, but your character won't have the ED% of zealots, or the percs of other classes. Topaz ammy will give you about 200 lightning dmg to attack (you might keep this until something like Tal's ammy or something), while Emerald rings give plenty of dr/mdr, vita, and resistances.

2) Technical stuff
- I like using a superior +Durability flail for non-"Ice" runewords. Flails are just as fast as WarScepters, but have lower damage and range 3. Only Warscepters (range=2) are suitable for runewords due to the Zeal-AutoAim bug (zeal auto-misses some monsters if you use a weapon with range 1).
- 5 Attacks per second with Zeal alone occurs at 45% ias. 6 Attacks occurs at something like 140%. If fanat is available, then the 6 attacks occurs at something trivial like 20% ias.
- Healing potions will do more for you than rejuvs, since your life is relatively low compared to other melee builds. Your defence, block, and dr/mdr is probably high enough that you've got more than enough time to drink the red stuff. Your vitality is probably so high that most healing potions will have double-effect (50% double-heal rate at 200 vit, 75% at 400, 80% at 500). It's still worth keeping 1 column of rejuvs in your belt.
- Convictors aren't affected as much by the increase in difficulty as some other builds are, so even though they're relatively weak, they still kill trash just fine. They aren't affected as much because they face fewer immunities, and are completely unaffected by the global 50% phys res facing the majority of classes in HU. Your leach rate isn't even reduced, since the pally can't leach anyways
- Don't bother too much about "OnStruck" procs, since you really won't get hit that often. I've played for about 2-5 minutes before casting the 10%FrozenArmor of saphire-craft armor. Despite that, some elemental missles won't miss, like the ones spit by "Tainted" demons. Those guys are amusing to watch butcher themselves on your procs (I've seen Dragonhelm rain down like 6 simultaneous Meteors on those guys).

3) Mercs
- A5 can wear eveything you can, but I haven't actually tested to see if they'd work out yet, since I don't have an extra Dragonhelm right now. Really looking forward to this test though. This is a big reason I made one of my "Wonder"s in a flail.
- A1 phys is decent for On-Strike procs like "Ice" and Dragonhelm, also their double-damage DeadlyStrike affects elemental damage, which works well with multishot.
- A1 ImmoArrow is oddly inconsistent. They seem to fire an Exploding arrow 25% of the time and Immo arrow 25% of the time. When those occur, they might devastate the enemy if they're clustered. They don't stack Immo arrow enough to be advantageous against bosses.
- A3 I haven't bothered testing with these guys in over a year. They were just too fragile for me to enjoy. With saphire-crafted armor to boost their defence, they should be alright. Lightning would be the way to go, since that's your main elemental weak-area.

4) Skills
- I went with 20 Defiance, HShield, and Conviction. I didn't go Zeal since I knew that weapon damage would be low anyways, and I don't need any ARating due to Conviction. Defiance isn't that critical if you're going with saphire-armor, and frankly any points in Conviction above level 15 is kind of a waste, but you may as well max that for the party-friendly radius.
- Everthing about your build is in your gear, so really, just have fun with your skills. I maxed prayer once, it was alright. I didn't have enough +Skills to make 1 pt HBolt useful for healing, but whatever.
- There's only about +3 Skills from typical Convictor gear, so you might want to toss 2-5 points into stuff you like, such as Zeal, Conversion, Redemption, and Fanat (regearing to a smiter for bosses is useful).

The Convictor is one of the more amusing and enjoyable classes HU has to offer. I think you'll like it as much as I do.

dunno if you have seen the new Hellplague Brevan, but it has ctc firestorm on it which should be really handy early game, especially with Holy fire running.

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People who live in cinder block houses can throw whatever they want.

I hadn't seen it, but I've looked it up in the client-side text files. It's showing up as level 32 required, 6% lvl 10 Firestorm (50 dmg), +60 Fire dmg to attack and 6% lvl 10 PStrike (275 over 5). The 6% is too low to engage the stacking properties of Firestorm, so I'm not confident it can outperform the potential of jeweled gear. The PStrike is neat, and probably makes it a viable weapon. It's also reasonably fast. Level 3 HFire is only 25 dmg to attack though, so I don't think it's worth using HFire aura with that sword. If the pally has about 10 points into Defiance, then that's probably the aura to use. High Defiance with diamond-socketed armor is godly in early norm.

Since the first Convictor weapons are "Lawbringer" and "Voice of Reason", I usually just twink out my pally to rediculous proportions until then. It's essentially like rushing him I guess, since he can't be hurt and stuff, but I enjoy it more than a rush.

With that level of twinking in mind, consider these things:
1) Ravenclaw bow with topaz-crafted hat and quad-socketed armor and hat filled with lvl 11 +FireDmg jewels.
2) Topaz crafted weapon and shield socketed with anything you like, ith runes and +Dmg jewel are probably best, since the 8% leach of Death's set is very noticeable in norm.

"Phoenix" in a good paly shield is pretty nice. with the 66%ctc level 33 fire storm when attacking, added fire damage, added fire skill%, addec cold skill%. Redemption aura on equip (help with the lack of leech) and a nice -31% curse duration (redemption and +6% from shield.
With the changes to holy auras pierce stacking with conviction, a hand of justice weapon would be a fantastic choice too. with that you could max the holy fire synergies with your extra points so the level 20 holy fire on equip is pumping some ok damage out too. Thats -45% enemy fire res right there (aura and -20 from aura). with the added ctc meteor on striking (level 30).

Phoenix
vex vex Lo Ber
25% Chance to Cast Level 33 Blaze when Struck
66% Chance to Cast Level 33 Firestorm when Attacking
Level 12 Redemption Aura When Equipped
Adds 250-500 Fire Damage
-25% to Enemy Fire Resistance
+250% Enhanced Damage
Fire Absorb 20%
24% Mana Stolen per Hit (In Weapons)
15% Chance of Deadly Strike (In Weapons)
4% Chance of Crushing Blow (In Weapons)
+12% to Fire Skill Damage (In Shields)
+6% to Cold Skill Damage (In Shields)
Curse Duration Reduced by 6% (In Shields)

Hand of Justice
Jah Cham Amn Lo
+50% Increased Attack Speed
+300-400% Enhanced Damage
Level 20 Holy Fire Aura when Equipped
15% Chance to Cast Level 30 Blaze when Struck
15% Chance to Cast Level 30 Meteor when Striking
Ignore Target Defense
-25% to Enemy Fire Resistance
Hit Freezes Target
8% Life Stolen per Hit
15% Deadly Strike

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my synergies go into the lvl 20 fire aura thats equipped?

yes this is how auradins work

Just a reminder that lvl 20 HFire does 246 Dmg to attack. Maxing Salvation (20% synergy) will turn that into 1220 dmg. There's probably better ways to spend 20 skill points ... but then again I guess you've got the points to spare. Have fun.

<edit>I got an A3 Lit merc, and leveled him to about 80. From 45-55, he was doing well in Norm, from 55-75 he was doing well in NM (wearing SS diamond-socketed Safety craft armor), and from 75 to 82 he was doing fine in A2 Hell. His gear was safety armor, Elementalist set, Suicide Branch, and not much else. I was quite surprsied how much damage their Lightning does relative to the other skills. I though their CBolt and ChainLightning packed a punch as well, but I guess it's mostly the Lightning. At level 75, my merc with another guy's Lightning merc practically duo'd NM Chimera while I tanked (without swinging) with Conviction . They killed Chim in about 45 seconds. I figure toss a Diamond-gemmed Kira's Hat and some other decent gear onto that merc and he's be a great pet for a Convictor

Now I'm going to mess around with an A5 merc, which is what I really wanted to mess around with </edit>

Should i focus on one element or try to spread it our some? I'd prefer all the elements =/

I just got him into NM at lvl 51.... I'm pretty poor though (very very luckily) i do have the runes to make wonder... i guess a flail will do?

as for mercs im still debating... i dunno if i want an elemental support from a3 or a tanking a5/a2 with similar gear for ele dmg.


keep the input coming guys im loving it.

I happen to have a flail with 11% Durability. It also has 15% ED.... but it's a flail, so that's that doing is causing you to take like 10 more damage while you zealously ignore IM. Maybe it'll help you mana leach those 2 mana spent during Zeal (assuming you don't naturally recover 2 mana a sec).

I mentioned that that A3 Lit guy from NM does quite well (with defensive gear like 4-Diamond saphire craft armor), and Lightning is the only element you can't get good procs of. Only Nova is a suitable proc-spell since it has a bit of area, isn't butchered by Next-Hit-Delay, and would be capable of decent damage if you could proc it at level 70 (990 dmg). Currently there's only the occasional source of lvl 33 (350 dmg). If you keep "Lawbringer" on switch with GoblingToe (my preference) or Gorerider boots for CBlow, then you'll solo cold+fire immunes just fine but a lot slower.

I'm currently testing an A5 merc using everything I'm using (although he's got the Death's glove/sash Gobling Toe, while I've got IK peices). With about 100dr/mdr, he's doing alright in A2 Hell as long as I'm beside him. Keep in mind that he's very aggressive, but leachless. I chose the regular combat barb so that he'd cast WarCry, Bash, and would not shapeshift (A wolf or bear might be better for the life bonus, but I specifically didn't want a shapeshifter). I never notice him stunning stuff, since the only trash we don't clear quickly is unstunnables like Berzerkers and wyrms (wyrms kill him pretty easily, not much to be done there). If you don't use "Wonder" on your a2/a5 merc, then he'd probably do perfectly fine.

There's still the option of A1 merc. With Dragonhead and maybe "Ice" they would proc plenty of spells to continue your proccing theme. With their pierce, I found the phys rogues very capable of procing a couple meteors in one shot (the middle 2 arrows are capable of proccing, the others are not, this can be fairly hard to test, but I heard about it years ago and have never noticed a counter-example). Another reason for A1 phys is that they primarily do phys and Magic damage, neither of which are your strengths (Same argument as the A3, but A3 is cooler).

Do you have "Lawbringer" yet? I think you're past the level needed to use it, so you may as well start your Convicting career. If you don't have it, then it will be arranged.

Right now i'm trying out a a3 light merc and am struggling to find him gear lol, ill fix that problem after i lvl him.

I think the main problem is finding gear for me. armor is hard to come by these days. Ideas on the best for my level? I made a wonder and love it... though it seems the max use i can get with it will probably be a4 nm...

as for a lawbringer... lems are REALLY hard to come by lol... so are ko's... puls/ums/mals? no problem! but lems/kos.... no dice =/

I'm trying to find a variety of damage before i reach lvl 75 for (ele set)... i really want some fire lightning iin there to mix it up... right now its all ice. Wonder/Snowclash(belt)/Iceblink(armor) is my gear... the iceblink is mainly due to lack of gear... working on crafting a decent holy armor or something, but im running thin on moonstones... gems in general are scarce for me.


thx for all the help brevan =P

what's your account name on the realm? maybe I can help you out with some gear.

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People who live in cinder block houses can throw whatever they want.

is Saypawn =P

thanks alot for gear/advice all... i g2g eat lol bbl

Ding! Just hit 85!

I really appreciate the advice and i need some more. 2 main points today!!

Number 1: Lack of Dex!! 49% chance to block is really killing me(literally)

Number 2: With number one in mind i would like to get some suggestions on end gear.

Current Gear
Chest: Emerald crafted armor 511 ED% 2.2k def (without diamonds i have one MS dia in there now)
Glove: Lava Gouts Very nice... fire dmg/-10 F res/ 20% IAS (Helped me break the 99% breakpoint)
Belt: Snow clash. Basically cant find much else.
Boots: Waterwalks. ISO gores for cb, but open to more options.
Weapon(s): Wonder/Lawbringer RW's. Looking to upgrade, but i'm still thinking about what i should go for.
Shield: Tiamats rebuke. MIGHT make a Pheonix.. i got a buncha vexes floating around, but not much else =/ open to advice
Accessories: Elemental Set. ...Any better ideas?
Helm: +2 pally skill, 19-41 Fire dmg, 21 nrg, 66 life, 31 res all tiara. I was really looking for one with dex or str mods, but this will hold me off. + skills dont really matter to Convictor's so i'm still rerolling. I put 2 MS Amy in there to bug the rest of my gear on. Once i get some emeralds that will probably go in there. this will hold me off until i get dragon head. once i do all that, i will have a str problem.


So... i need gear advice. with Str, dex, and extra sockets for facets would be nice.

Thanks again guys. this guy has my brain hurting lol.

Nice armor, I'm guessing it's even got a nice and low level like 71?

I'm not sure if it's easy to still get Gris's set items, but the shield and hat would be really nice for you. Hoever, to reclaim your current elemental damg from hat/shield, you'll need to use some sockets for Facets. The main bonus is that this set is easy to trade for last I knew. You might get a low facet for each of your Vex if you're lucky (might want to focus on FBall and GSpike facets).

The main perks of those 2 items:
- 8 sockets
- Shield comes pre-equipped with lots of res and block (but sadly +100% EDamage, so careful with IM if not using Wonder/Lawbringer). An Amythest in here would solve your block issues.
- Combo provides 10% absorb lit/cold/fire, and 90 mdr.

I'll let others discuss Glove/Belt/Boots. I've played with Deaths' glove/sash with Goblin Toe, as well as IK peices (lvl 40 ChainLit on attack, lots of ias, 10%life, lots of dex/str but you need 184 str to start). Neither setups are fantastic, but the CBLow on the GoblinToe is very hard to give up (it's worth switching back for boss battles or Fire/Cold immune named). But the IK's lightning is so pretty ... arrrrg.

I have a gris helm and gore boots and will send them your way if you want.

With regards to a shield, I know it doesn't fit your theme, but it might help you stay alive a bit:

Knight's Vigil (Shael, Um, Io)
+175-200% Enhanced Defense
+15-20% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Increased Chance of Blocking
+20% Faster Block Rate
+130 life
Experience Gained +5%
Damage Reduced by 15-20%
+15 Vitality
+10% Increased Run/Walk Speed
All Resistances +25%

Put this in a nice 30+ res paladin shield and it works out great. I have enjoyed it on my paladin.

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People who live in cinder block houses can throw whatever they want.

First thing that came to mind in brevans post: Does anything stack other than minus res and skill dmg on facets? like skill lvl or ctc? i would think that each facet acts individually giving me say, 10 different 10% chances to cast a lvl 40 spell. BUT i would be most excited to hear that something stacks =P

im looking at gris set and it does look awesomely awesome. i have maybe 20 pts in str =/ i really have a str problem lol. and i need 104 to wear the helm... i'm thinking of sticking a wirts in there for the str and 33% reduce.

I would love the gear blue xD.

still looking for options guys. my acct is saypawn so msg me ingame whenever u want =P.

When stacking facets, you stack the % to cast the spell. With 3 Glacial Facets, you get 30% chance to cast lvl 40 GSpike. The cap is 60% ctc, and that only occurs in weapons. Each peice of equipment can send out it's own spell (hard to test since they'd overlap each other, but I've seen a heck of a lot of Charge bolts come out of A1 norm gear (rings, gloves, boots, armor, hat, etc all proccing it on struck).

You're having trouble getting 104 str? Impressive. There's always the option of getting a couple +str charms, or just going with something easier like Dragonhelm (88 str I think). If neither of those works out, then I guess you might want to pump str a little. I know you'll lose out on like 100 life or something after +HP% gear, but if you're constantly getting killed from that loss, then something else is killing you, not a lack of life

"Knights Vigil" is a fine shield to have on-switch for bosses. Combined with Decrep from "Lawbringer" and some dr% from other gear (ShoftStop, or Glassglare with dr% hat and belt) works excellent in most cases. My pally used those setups to tank NM Mephy, and maybe Hell Toby/Andy.

I'll probably pump str... cause i figure even if i still pump life ill just have a slightly less chance of being 1 hitted=/

Knights vigil+lawbringer. i thought of that and started looking for shields in the pit lol. no dice so far.

its a pity... id rather have room for facets but i think dex is a big priority right now. 49% will NOT cut it. im thinking (if i'm max res in hell) 2 ubers emeralds in helm and one dia in shield (if needed). then i can start buying/mfing facets.

we can all get together and do some hell cows once i get up there =P. a group of trusted people would be nice so we can all toss crap at each other lol.

as for runewords...i;m thinking of not using them for endgame gear. i wanna stick to procs theme, that means open every available socket i can. i might try to craft a nice weak holy weap for the redemp. 5 socket facets in it. one day when im that rich... i can handle a4 hell lol... all i really wanna do is mf hell a3-a4. a5 is party tundra status... ill work my way up.

lol thanks again

crafts cant get 5 sockets.

really? you mean spawn with 5? or 2x X-socket works?

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People who live in cinder block houses can throw whatever they want.

key word there:

cant... as in cannot.

good lord, I must have taken a double dose of tard pills this morning, that's the second silly fumble you have corrected me on today!

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People who live in cinder block houses can throw whatever they want.

everyone has a day like that from time to time... no big deal.

really? so i cant 5soc a crafted flail?

I was thinking about that kinda char too - but i just started playing HU, so i'm kinda worried if such a char would work without superior equipment!?

Wouldn't it be a good option to also skill Vengeance and use that in combination with conviction until i got some crazy ctc-stuff?
And wouldn't vengeance be better a gainst bosses?

Vengeance is pretty mediocre against bosses unless you can afford to swing a big 2h weapon. That usually involves your paladin getting his butt kicked though. Despite the big numbers on the Vengeance skill, it has a pretty low Damage Per Second (DPS) output compared to other skills.

Not to say you can't make it work against bosses, it just doesn't work all that well.

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People who live in cinder block houses can throw whatever they want.

i already made this char .. Blue should remember.
U can find it on this strategy forums.
i made Doom for him, but later i realized that with Dream helm i should use gris caddy with 5 light facets, also tyraels might with 4 light facets.
Hes rly fun to play. i went 20 conviction 10 defiance 20 holy shield 20 zeal 20 salvation. im lvl 93 atm no tyraels on yet cos of need of lvl 95 but i already do 17 k dmg thanks to dream helm. with tyraels it will be around 25k. with holy shock and conviction i make the enemies have around -120 light rez, if not, the facets finish it. i made first doom for him cos my merc is an a1 cold merc with faith bow so i can spam zeal faster = more ctc.
Also thanks to conviction, u gona hit the mobs everytime even as i have only 5k AR
But for example against players i tried it and i couldnt hit them once.
As i said hes rly fun, he can even clear hell tundra so hes not weak .. also u can make him a good tank , mine has 90k armor with a 1200 def enigma .. guess how much will be with the tyrael he soon gets. Also i used alma negra first then changed to Exile cos of the 3 off auras ..5 ctc life steal curse and the defiance aura i got synergies added already to. the life steal curse is rly good it makes me abel to tank everything after i jumped in the fight.
Btw about the CtC s , ur screen gona freeze a lot, i mean mine does.
so basicly the items are Gris caddy wep with 5 light facet, exile shield, dream helm, tyraels, soulmancer glove belt boots , 2 pala crafted ring, and mara amu( i think theres a better amu then this though)
i rly recommend this char, its rly fun, and i think it doesnt cost much

You sir, have a flawed view on what a char that "doesn't cost much".
Dream, Tyraels, Gris caddy, an abundance of light facets, exile etc.