I have been seeing a lot of activity on discord asking about builds and guides so I wanted to post my thoughts since I now have characters in all 4 archtypes leveled up. This guide should get you through to the End of Time and to your mastery quest (around level 21-22).
General tips:
- Find a skill with good, spammable aoe damage and invest in that skill to start. You can always despecialize later on. At around level 50 your skill specializations level up quickly so dont be scared to invest in something early even if you dont use it later on.
- Use a shield. Unless you have twink gear having a shield is a good idea. Craft “damage reduction on block” and “block chance”. Block protection is another must have for end game.
- Invest in void protection for the first act. If there is one protection to invest in early it’s void. So many of the monsters have void damage types and they tend to hit the hardest.
- Do all of the side quests. There are 16 extra passive points in game currently and most of them are from side quests in the Ruined and Imperial Eras.
- 0.7.6 Update: Main and side quests also provide idol slots. This is taken from wowow2264’s list. Idol Slot Quests List
- Learn to craft ASAP. Press F in game and get comfortable with crafting. Keep AT LEAST your weapon up to around your level. If you dont know how crafting works, ask or search for a basic tutorial.
Starting out:
There are a couple of good starting builds for sentinel. Warpath (whirlwind) and Hammer throw (hammderdin). Unfortunately I have not created a whirlwind build yet. I will touch on it below but my focus will be on Hammer Throw. No matter which you choose, the other skills that you will use are interchangeable regardless of what your main attack is.
The skills you will use to level are Hammer throw, ( or warpath) Lunge, Ring of Shields, Volatile reversal, X. For me hammer throw is so powerful that really you can wait on the other skills until you get Ring of Shields and Volatile Reversal which you will get a little later on. The other skills you get to start are mostly damage dealing skills you really dont need.
Skills and Specializations:
- Your Main attack is Hammer throw (or Warpath) . At level 4 you get your first skill specialization slot. Put Hammer Throw in this spot. For your skill nodes, first go Winged Hammer 1/3 - Steadfast path 1/1 - Catapult 2/2. THEN go Rabid Throw 1/8 -Weighted hammers 3/5 - Disintegrating hammers 1/1 (This gives Void Hammers) Then max out Rapid disintegration 6/6. I personally believe this is the most OP leveling build in the game right now and is so much fun.
If you choose warpath I know from reading you need to lower the mana cost until you can sustain it indefinitely. Grab a 2 Handed polearm for the Warpath build. For hammerdin there is no throwing weapon but Ill explain more below on what to use. - At level 9 you get your second skill specialization. Put Lunge here and get Tactition 2/5 -Lunging Might 4/4 - Rallying Charge 4/4 - Forge On 4/4
*** The Lunge skill level nodes really arent that great but Lunge by itself is nice to have. SO… once you get Ring of Shields (You need to put 5 passive skill points in Forge Guard to get this skill) And Volatile Reversal (You need to put 5 passive points in Void Knight to get this skill), you will remove Lunge and put in one of those 2 skills then at level 19 when you get your 3rd specialization you will put in the other.***
Passives:
- 8/8 Juggernaut
- 4/5 Gladiator (Going Hammerdin you should use a shield, going warpath you dont)
- 6/8 Relentless
- 2/5 retaliation
Note: Once you get 20 skill points in Sentinel click the button to UNLOCK the MASTERY TREES. This button is just above the passive skill tree you have been putting your points into.
Then go…
*VOID KNIGHT MASTERY- 5/10 Devouring Blade. THIS UNLOCKS VOLATILE REVERSAL.
*FORGE GUARD MASTERY - 5/5 Steel Aegis (if Hammerdin) 5/5 Prime Fighter if Warpath. THIS UNLOCKS RING OF SHIELDS.
Gear:
For a weapon you want a sceptre for Hammerdin preferably with crit and physical damage along with mana, increase stun or increase shock chance. For Warpath get a 2 Handed polearm and take melee critical strike chance and health leech on % damage done. For your other gear,***Hammerdins get their power from throwing damage on gear. Get this on your rings, amulet, shield , gloves and relic. You will need to farm Increased Throwing attack damage, +throwing attack fire damage, +throwing attack physical damage and mana cost, and throwing attack speed.
For your other slots, health and dodge are always good. Protections also help. 100% Glancing Blows are now easier to get and you should aim for this ASAP. Look for the prefix Set Chance Glancing Blows.
Uniques:
Required: none
Recommended : Riverbend Grasp, Urzil’s Pride
Playstyle:
- Lunge from mob to mob. (This is optional)
- Spam Hammer throw. The hammers will travel out of the screen so you will find you are killing mobs pretty far out. If Warpath (Just whirl around and kill and bleed the enemies)
- Cast Volatile reversal any time you are low on mana or health to restore
- Keep Ring of Shields on cooldown. The mobs attack the shields not you. Its bad ass.
Enjoy the game ! It is a lot of fun.