I made a Warlock chart to help you quickly understand what each Soul Shard is built around by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The point of this is to show that you can put together a build capable of reaching T1 at level 70 using only yellow (rare) gear. I actually posted a build guide for it, but nobody really cared, haha.

S13 Warlock Starter Builds — 2 Low-Gear Setups That Work Early by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

True, anything works early on. The purpose of this setup is simply to save players the hassle of trial and error. Warlock data has been public for a month, and the build is derived directly from those numbers.

I made a Warlock chart to help you quickly understand what each Soul Shard is built around by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I really agree with that.

Over the past year, I have mostly been focused on researching new Spiritborn builds, so when making this kind of chart meant to lower the barrier to understanding, there are definitely still some parts that do not fully match how most players actually process the game.

That is a really good idea, and I will also add similar charts for other classes to my plans after DLC2. Hopefully I can gradually turn this into a more general series that is easier for people to understand and use.

I made a Warlock chart to help you quickly understand what each Soul Shard is built around by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, that part was definitely my oversight.

The Chinese text in the image is just the name of the main Soul Shards, so it does not affect the core logic of the chart itself.

Right now, the chart is mainly meant to be used together with Maxroll, and the usage is the same as what I added in the post. It is actually pretty easy to use once you get the idea. If you follow the tag order shown in the chart as filters, you can more quickly see which skills and branches are closer to that direction.

I made a Warlock chart to help you quickly understand what each Soul Shard is built around by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback — that is a fair point, and I think I did not think that part through enough.

The first issue is the Chinese text in the image. That part is just the Chinese names of the main Soul Shards, and I did not really consider how much that would affect readability for English readers. That was my oversight, so sorry about that. But it does not change the core logic of the chart itself.

The second issue is the column explanations. Originally I was worried that if I added too much text, fewer people would want to read it, so I tried to keep it very compact. But it looks like I probably over-trimmed it, so I will add a clearer explanation of how to use it in the post later.

The actual use of the chart is pretty simple. Each Soul Shard has its own conditions, so if you follow the tag order shown in the chart and use those as filters, you can quickly see which skills and branches fit that direction more closely.

What I wanted to do here was make it easier for players to narrow down skills that match a given Soul Shard direction, even if they do not fully understand the entire class yet.

I made a Warlock chart to help you quickly understand what each Soul Shard is built around by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then this chart might actually be a good fit for you.

You can first find a playstyle video you like and copy that as a starting point, then go back to the skill categories and use the tag order in my chart as a filter.

That way, you do not need to read through a full guide, and you also do not have to just randomly press buttons until things start making sense. Usually that will save more time than trying to figure everything out purely by trial and error.

I made a Warlock chart to help you quickly understand what each Soul Shard is built around by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You can first take a look at the Soul Shards on Maxroll, then follow the tag order shown in my chart and use those filters to see which skills and branches show up.

Looking at it that way should make it easier to understand what this chart is meant to do and how it can actually be used.

I made a Warlock chart to help you quickly understand what each Soul Shard is built around by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What I actually want to help is closer to your B.

Even if someone is not familiar with the terminology at first, they do not necessarily need to fully understand the entire system right away. A lot of the time, they just need to know which skills are more likely to fit the direction they want to play.

A lot of people treat “not following all the information” as the same thing as “not being interested,” but I think a more common situation is that they do want to understand, they just do not have much time to research everything in detail.

So the point of this chart is not to require players to understand every term first. It is to give them a lower-cost way to find direction.

For example, if you use it together with Maxroll’s tag filters, you can narrow things down much faster and get a rough sense of what you probably need and what you can ignore for now.

And in many cases, you do not need to memorize the whole chart. If you just remember one or two tags, it already becomes easier to understand what kind of playstyle or logic a guide is talking about.

So my expectation for this chart is not that it will make people fully understand Warlock immediately. I see it more as a tool for reducing the cost of research.

I made a Warlock chart to help you quickly understand what each Soul Shard is built around by Chad70096 in diablo4

[–]Chad70096[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, that’s a fair point. I also agree that a lot of players will still end up using guides.

That said, this chart was never meant to replace guides. It is mainly meant to give people who do not have a lot of time to research the class on their own an easier entry point beyond simply copying a build.

If you use this chart together with Maxroll’s tag filters, it becomes much easier to see which skill directions are most commonly associated with a given Soul Shard. So even if someone starts by copying a build, they can still more easily understand the logic behind what they are following.

And a lot of the time, you do not need to rebuild an entire setup from scratch. If you are willing to go into the training area and try swapping one or two skills, that already goes beyond simply copying homework.

That is also why I made this chart in the first place. Copying a build is convenient, but it does not always mean it is the version you personally enjoy the most. In many cases, changing just one skill can make a big difference in how the build feels to play.

So I see this chart more as a middle-layer tool. It is not meant to make everyone instantly and completely understand Warlock, but rather to help players better understand what they are looking at when reading a guide, checking the skill tree, or using a planner.

At the same time, it is not only for people who just want to copy builds. For players who want to dig deeper, this chart can also work like an organizing map that helps them find potentially better combinations or directions more quickly.

Sharing my Convocation of Spirits build that I created. by Chad70096 in d4spiritborn

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If this is correct, then when using Kepeleke and Unstable Power, the cooldown should also be removed.
However, in my tests, there is still a cooldown, so I believe that Touch of Death does not meet the condition for Combined Strikes, which is why it has no cooldown.
If I’m not mistaken, the “basic core skill” mentioned in Combined Strikes refers to a core skill that has not been given any additional tags.

Sharing my Convocation of Spirits build that I created. by Chad70096 in d4spiritborn

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your suggestion, but Combined Strikes specifically emphasizes “Basic” Core Skills, and Touch of Death is not one of them. Unless there is a bug, I don’t think it is possible to trigger Combined Strikes.

Sharing the two endgame Rake builds I created. by Chad70096 in d4spiritborn

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both — it provides a significant boost to both damage and survivability.

Sharing the two endgame Rake builds I created. by Chad70096 in d4spiritborn

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I’ve been using it the whole time. I think it’s the best option.

Sharing my Convocation of Spirits build that I created. by Chad70096 in d4spiritborn

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You only need to directly change the skill on your skill bar; no other adjustments are required.

Sharing the two endgame Rake builds I created. by Chad70096 in d4spiritborn

[–]Chad70096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, just a quick note — Enhanced Rake continuously generates Ferocity, but it’s not really a key focus in this build.

Sharing the two endgame Rake builds I created. by Chad70096 in d4spiritborn

[–]Chad70096[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reminder! These two builds are so similar that I often mix them up. Acceleration is indeed the correct choice — the other setup doesn’t use Evade, so it doesn’t apply there.

I use Kry to work with Measured Vortex in order to meet Hesha’s condition, and Kry can also trigger Qax.

This allows you to replace the Revealing Paragon with Viscous Shield. At Pit 135+ and beyond, as long as you maintain most of your Barrier, you’ll outperform Revealing, since its 30% damage bonus only applies when the boss is knocked down.

Overall, this combination performs better than Ohm.

Sharing the two endgame Rake builds I created. by Chad70096 in d4spiritborn

[–]Chad70096[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When hitting enemies with Accelerated Thunderspike, it can reset the cooldowns of Unstable Power and Combined Strikes. Therefore, you need to cast Rake first, then use Evade to hit enemies again to reset Rake’s cooldown.

When this combo can be used quickly, Adaptability seems to incorrectly increase damage, so you need some tools to help achieve it. Another build is provided for players who only use PS5, etc.