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The Horadrim Corner: Lightning Sweep Crusader

by - 9 years ago

Welcome to the Horadrim Corner! Come gather by the fire and talk about the builds you all want to see! Let the ancient knowledge of the Horadrim assist your quest for greatness as you slaughter the demons that stand in your way. For all that is good, build yourself into a warrior worthy of Pandemonium!


 

Come and read another edition of The Horadrim Corner! This week we shall be looking into that Holy Warrior for Akkhan, the Crusader. With patch 2.2 came a revamped Roland’s Legacy, creating both Sweep Attack and Shield Bash builds. For this one, we will be focusing on a Lightning Sweep Attack, creating great crowd control while outputting high damage. It will also utilize a number of defensive skills, such as Iron Skin,  allowing for a great balance of the two. The build will not utilize a Wrath Generator, requiring careful execution and precise resource management, however making it all the more powerful because of it. Now without further ado, here we go:

 

crusader skills

Actives

Sweep Attack – Trip Attack: Virtually the only damage dealer in the build, combined with the increased attack speed of the Roland’s Set and the damage increase of Denial, this will rip right through the hordes of demons.
Condemn – Vacuum: Being a melee/close range build, being able to gather everything close to you is essential, using Vacuum will help accomplish this.
Akarat’s Champion – Prophet: Cheat death 2.0, using this during dangerous Elite and Boss fights will give you another way to avoid the afterlife.
Iron Skin – Steel Skin: Equivalent damage reduction to the Unity combo, this will be up nearly 100% of the time as long as you keep sweeping.
Laws of Valor – Unstoppable Force: A great way to reduce Wrath costs, 100% up time is equally possible.
Steed Charge – Draw and Quarter: Similar to the use of Condemn – Vacuum, this will help group the enemies. Grouping is necessary to have enough enemies to hit to keep Wrath up.

Passives

Heavenly StrengthBeing a DPS build, two-handers are king for the Crusader, and will be needed to equip both Denial and Golden Flense.
Indestructible: Just in case the cheat death from Prophet isn’t enough, here have another.
Finery: Under normal/ideal circumstances this will give a 15% Strength increase.
Holy CauseBoth a 10% damage boost and some healing when using Condemn.

Stats Preferences

Strength>Critical Hit Damage/Chance>All Resist>Vitality>% Lightning Damage>Armor>Life Regen. Per Second> % Cooldown Reduction>Wrath Per Second

Typical stats needed for a DPS build, the only extra need is for Cooldown Reduction to help you use Akarat’s Champion and Condemn active as often as possible.

crusader gear

Items

Core:
Roland’s LegacyObviously necessary to make Sweep Attack devastating, you will utilize all 6 pieces.
Thundergod’s VigorSupplementing the lightning focus, this is one of the best belts around when it comes to damage.
Golden FlenseThe one piece that allows the sacrifice of a Wrath generator, without this the build looks very different.
Convention of ElementsEverybody’s favorite new ring, when it rolls around to lightning you can come down hard on your enemies.
DenialClearing large mob groups and bosses with adds is all the faster with this shield.

A veritable wall of wood and iron denying those who would seek to do you harm.

Optional:
Reaper’s Wraps or Ancient Parthan Defenders:
Depending on needs according to the rest of your gear, Reaper’s Wraps may be used to mitigate Wrath consumption. Otherwise the Parthan Defenders are a great survival boost with all the stuns from Sweep Attack.
Hellfire Amulet or Mara’s Kaleidoscope:
Obviously the best in slot here is a well-rolled Hellfire, but in most cases a defensive amulet will provide the best progression.
Unity or Stone of Jordan
With Iron Skin, the Unity may be swapped out here for a more offense-focused ring like the SoJ or Oculus Ring.

Legendary Gems:
Bane of the Trapped
With the melee focus of this build, you will always be able to take advantage of the slow aura with this powerful gem.
TaegukConstant sweeping lends itself to stacking this to its max.
Esoteric Alteration or Molten Wildebeest’s GizzardThe last slot is reserved for a defensive gem, choice left to your preference. 


Each week, we will be featuring a different build for a different class, rotating through to spread the love around. If you have a cool build that you are using and would like to share with the community, send it over to my email: threedaysjpt@blizzpro.com. Send me pictures, notes, items, skills, everything!


JR Cook

JR has been writing for fan sites since 2000 and has been involved with Blizzard Exclusive fansites since 2003. JR was also a co-host for 6 years on the Hearthstone podcast Well Met! He helped co-found BlizzPro in 2013.


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