Help building dual shields build?

Sentinel
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My friend and I are interested in the new shield weapon, so we’ve been messing around in the planner to try to figure out a build for it. Neither of us are particularly experienced at making builds and my friend is much newer than me, so we could use some help in general.

For starters, here are the possible build planners just to have an idea of what we’re going for, then I’ll discuss my thoughts/questions:

Friend’s Build: https://www.lastepochtools.com/planner/oRzXLlNo

A bit scattershot on what he wants, but he seemed more interested in the interaction with shield throw/manifest armor. But that seems like it’d be a different build since you’d presumably need to scale it’s melee damage, which might not fit with all the block stuff and any necessary melee/throwing mods.

My builds:
No CD Shield Bash: https://www.lastepochtools.com/planner/AK0DYG0Q

CD Shield Bash: https://www.lastepochtools.com/planner/oza8DqPB

(Ignore the gear stuff on mine other than maybe the general gist of it. I know the tiers aren’t realistic.)

For me, conceptually, I’m having a hard time picturing exactly what the skill use ends up being. With the CD Shield Bash I think the idea would be to use it procced with shield rush for clear then use shield throw for more sustained damage. But not sure if that’s good enough or if I should modify shield throw to be better single target if I do this by ditching the extra bounces.

With the no CD Shield Bash, I’m even less sure since I could be using either at any time, so I’d have to figure out if one makes more sense for single target or clear.

One of the big uncertainties is the Rygar’s Fury Shield Throw node that gives way more block to damage, but stops my blocks while it flies. That seems… counterproductive, but at the same time it seems weird to do a shield damage build and not take the biggest thing that makes my shield scale my damage. If I use this do I just only use it as ranged initiation and then get in melee and use shield bashes? Do I try to reduce bounces to make it fly less time so I can no deal with the no block for that long?

Sort of related, but is trying to use the Sigeon’s Reprisal too much stuff going on? Should I just be using a better shield instead? Or even is using shield throw too much stuff going on in the first place and I’d be better off just doing the shield rush/bash stuff and using a better shield?

For Shield Rush: There are so many different more damage nodes in the tree. I obviously can’t get all of them, so which ones are best for what it’s probably getting used for, which is some initial burst damage when I go into a pack?

Any general passive tree optimizations? I think the general structure of it makes sense, but I’m never really able to get a good idea of the filler stat nodes.

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Sooo I guess with your friends build you can play minions since you are Forge Guard but thinking with this Unique you really should be playing it as a Solo brawler. Although maybe some variation with Manifest armor with new Uniques could be interesting since he techinically would inherit stats.

You seem to be on the right path and really would use this Max roll guides as the Base to iterate on.

You definitely want to take Shield Crafter last talent in Forge Guard to bolster the build. You get +100 Block effectiveness per shield. You get Auto cast Shields on block so who knows how many Shields you will have up.

Then considering the Monument Unique increases block effectiveness by 30-40% you want as many nodes and of this stat as possible. So the Shield crafter talent alone likely will provide a few 1,000.

Now in your build you should be focused on Str stacking like crazy. It’s a massive multiplier in damage and Armor which this build also gets a lot of modifiers on. Definitely want to go for 100+ str. Just stack it right from the start it will be your key to Offensive/Defensive mitigation.

Also with new nodes like Liquid Iron in Forge Guard which gives you 15% reduction from Dots (which is the main killer vs block builds) Then with your higher Armor you take Dots are reduced by a armor. So this way you can eliminate this weakness. We can’t block everything or every attack.

In the end you should be going for near Armor cap and 10k Block effectiveness with 100% block. I do like the idea of Sigeons and always wanted to make a build work with this and I might use it only as an Aoe clear. Meaning since we have 100% block this will Auto proc all the time. So I actually won’t cast the skill. It will just be something that happens to kill ranged attacking me that I block.

Your main Clear and Boss kill will be Shield Bash. These are my thoughts so far.

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Oh I don’t know why I forgot about the line about retaliating with the shield throw. I was so focused on the added damage part of it. I guess that is a nice option potentially if say, we didn’t want to deal with volatile reversal or something from that build you linked.

I’ll take a closer look at the linked build and see what we can extract from it.

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Yea I’ve run a build focused on that it does proc all the time so you can go with the nodes to maximize damage since you aren’t casting Shield throw you don’t have to worry about not blocking when it’s released. It does offer surprising clear speed when maps have ranged archers or mobs hitting you with a bunch of arrows. It procs them and richochets start bouncing everywhere. (which also is a nice armor boost passively) for the build when you take the node that boost armor on richochet.

So using Sigeon with this thought just kills the ranged with procs and can probably easily achieve Armor cap. I’m not sold on Sigeon being Thee shield but definitely can do a build with it.

It’s a solid build guide with good ideas. I’m gonna change some things with it.

They use Protective Horns of Uhkieros shield which I’ve only ever found 1 of in 600 hours soooooo. Not to mention trying to find one with LP idk unless they upped the drop rate. Although you can now add LP so maybe if you can find one but it likely will cost a ton. It might be BiS for just pure damage though for Shield Bash.

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Oh that’s how that works? You don’t get the disadvantage of Rygar’s Fury if it’s proceed rather than cast? Anything else to note about how that works? Like does it use mana cost? Or does it care about Shield Throw’s CD/throw speed?

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Correct. You aren’t casting it so there is no CD or release. Can proc a couple times per sec if you are blocking many attacks. So it’s like you are actively casting it at 100% block.

No doesn’t cost mana. When I was doing it though I needed to have the talent on my action bar to benefit from it’s talented abilities though. Since if you are using Sigeon you will be talented into it. Shame you have to have it on your bar though. This was some time ago not sure if that has changed at all since launch.

Nope it’s a proc. Just like procing smite in some builds.

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That’s amazing. Thanks.

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Random other question since my friend brought this up: Can the Ring of Shields minions be stunned? Would that even matter if they could?

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Nope and dont think so.

I’m glad they actually worked on Forge Guard and Ring of shields they were pretty much pointless before.

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Just hit level 80 Forge Guard Shield Bash build. Actually just clearing with Shield bash and you 1-2 hit everything so it feels fine and haven’t run a hybrid. I leveled with it and killed all the bosses with it.

With sub par gear I’m already at 9k+ Block effectiveness because of synergy with Ring of Shields and Shield Crafter talent. Each time a block triggers a cast of shied it does proc the talent Defensive shields. So uptime of this buff is permanent basically.

Also I’ve had upwards of 14 shields at once and when the shields heal to proc the Block eff buff I get over 9k with bad gear.

So I believe you could get closer too 20k Block eff not 10k lol.

Also I’m using the new shield Grim constitution which gives you massve Ward out of combat but you can’t generate in combat. This gives me a massive Ward shield every time going into combat but there are some interesting interactions here with Ring of shields.

If Ring of shields shields me from attacks I generate ward again cause technically I’m not in combat. So there are many instance where I’m not attacking and moving and protected by Ring and the Ward regenerates.

I’m now farming Empowered mono’s and gonna try and get some better gear tonight.

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I ended up converting my legacy forgeguard into it and jumped right into empowered monos. A bit slow, but good enough damage for how tanky it is even with pretty random gear.

You managed to level with it? Any tips for that? My friend and I are just starting now on our co-op playthrough and he wants to level with it. I figured it would be too slow before you get the shield axe.

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Hammers first skills you take and use for clearing. Shield bash after for single target and stun with Hammers. I did use Rebuke and took all buff nodes so Mana Regen/Health while channel to get mana back from Shield Bash.

I ended up taking Manifest Armor for a bit because I maxed Forge Guard skills first. (you NEED Ring of Shields and Shield Crafter last talent in FG) Then as I got higher level and unlocked Healing hands/Sigils in Pally tree. I dropped Manifest.

Mana can become an issue if you are spamming it but that does fix itself latter. I’m using the Orian’s sun seal ring for Sigil QoL and it’s amazing.

As you level Hammers will be better vs Large bosses cause more hammers hit then Shield Bash fills in vs smaller mobs. Try to get Block Eff and Block early then eventually Shield Bash takes over.

I’d grab 1-2 Idols with +300 Block eff is an easy way to do it.

My display damage for Shield Bash is 80k+ when buffs and Shields are rolling. This is with 16% crit too. So once I get gear I’m sure it will be 200-300k+

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The max roll dual shield / shield bash build is solid.

I’m farming monoliths with it currently in cycle.

It’s a bit mana intensive at first until you get the boots but certainly doable.

Leveling with forged weapons was an absolute breeze too, very smooth overall.

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Yeah. I’ve been playing around with approximately that build as well and the boots are pretty needed for any single target situation. Even then, the -mana cost relic seems like a must for this to feel good. It’s kind of a bottleneck at the moment because of just how specific what I need out of the relic is. That base + enough shield bash levels at least. Right now I’m running on just a +1 so that I can keep the mana reduction.

Currently trying to push into 200+ corruption, although I’ve never really been that good about that on any character. Hopefully the bosses will keep me motivated to continue but man farming corruption is still boring.

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An update and a question: Here is where I’m currently at with the build: https://www.lastepochtools.com/planner/B7xz1mmo

It’s been taking me a while to find proper upgrades. I just dropped something potentially crazy though: A 3 LP Monument of Protection. It’s got moderately fine rolls for everything but the added flat damage for shield bash. Currently the only exalted axe I have that I could plausibly sacrifice to it is one with T6 Crit chance but only T5 Melee Crit.

I could try to craft it now to get a power spike. According to the planner it would take me from around 25% crit to 49%, assuming I actually hit both mods. Which seems like a really big bump. But just T6 melee crit gets me to 47%, T7 on it’s own gets me to 54%, and if I managed to get T7 melee crit and T5 crit, it’d take me all the way up to 65%.

So idk if I want to just get the power now or if I want to hold off for the higher cap. It seems fairly unlikely I’ll get another 3 LP one and the most I’ve found other than that was 1 LP. I’ve never really pushed past around 200ish corruption, but I figure I’m gonna go for it this season because of the new bosses. I’m not quite sure how soon I’m gonna be running up into a wall with this gear if I can’t start finding some upgrades.

Any thoughts?

EDIT: Oh lol. Just now I found a 2LP one from a Nemesis. So I have a little bit more of a backup, although I wonder if that means I should use the 2LP one now but higher risk to not hit both or use the 3LP one now and then the 2 LP to just make it a bit easier to hit exalted melee crit when I do find it?

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I’d wait for a T7 melee crit on that item. The flat crit is too huge a multiplier with other gear in getting you too 100% Crit. Gratz on the find and it’s a good problem too have.

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Any further update?

I did notice in the passive tree you take Unflinching in FG and I know the Maxroll guide says it but I just don’t know why? I’d take Guardian node for HP, Stun and Regen. All good things we need. Also we are really stun builds.

After tonight here is where I’m at

I was able to finally get an amazing Orian ring with T7 block and some Str. Also got a huge Thorn slinger belt, I like the + skill and got Phy dmg , double health.

I haven’t switched over too Uhkieros shield the mana cost scares me but I’m also not wearing the boots either so maybe they are required for the shield.

Got 1 last timeline for Harbinger. I do want to have a perma stun build at 275% base atm. Then tomorrow gonna work on some things and hope for a few upgrades before I attempt the pinnacle boss.

I’d love for the Code erased Sentinel relic with + shield bash. I really would love to take some + stun duration then get over too the Area effect node. Might mess with some theorycrafting in the end game.

I also have a weird build I want to make this week on a new alt.

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Yeah idk either. It seemed like an odd choice after a while, but I’ve kind of just been too lazy to respec it because the respec system is still awful. I’ve gotten some minor upgrades since then, but at this point I’ve reached that part of the gear grind that kills my soul. It just feels like I’m endlessly pulling the gatcha waiting for a handful of specific upgrades. That said, idk how much more gear will help at this point.

I have gotten to Aberroth though and made some solid attempts. I’ve gotten a few abilities into the final phase, but it’s a fucking brutal fight for melee. Lots of AoE bullshit, a ton of it is DoT damage, lots of times where I can’t be leeching but I still might need to run through AoE DoTs… etc. It also doesn’t help that evade is frequently having the bug that sends me back to where I started. It makes it really inconsistent trying to use it for dodging stuff. I think I’ve reached my breaking point. Each attempt takes so long and once I ran out of keys I had to add a few minutes minimum, longer once I run out of glyphs of envy and/or if the boss doesn’t drop a key, just to make one more attempt just to try to practice the last minute of the fight.

Here’s where the build is at for reference: https://www.lastepochtools.com/planner/omlPrRnB

EDIT:

As far as the unique shield and boots go, yeah, you really can’t run one without the other. Even then it’s kind of sketchy for clear because you don’t get to stand still as often. Funny enough, I had the recommended combo of that doom belt and ring ready to go with some ok LP slams on them, but I ended up not really being able to use them, partially because it meant needing to use some worse gloves to try to keep my crit reduction up and partially because the mana regen is actually kind of load bearing. It feels terrible doing monos without a little extra mana regen to sustain you.

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I been working on getting a good Uhkieros shield I got T7 str boots now and am only using them for bosses. That is my plan. Just have a different set-up of swapping 2 items for bossing.

Respec system is awful but yea you gotta change that talent I feel. I been working on perma stun because I want to play like a D2 Uber smiter. I made a thread chasing this goal and believe it’s possible.

I can stun lock Orobyss at 300 corruption and he never does a mechanic. I can stun lock bosses and cause them to miss phases or stop their main attack. Stun I believe is the way and how stun works is the more damage you do is part of that equation. So get all our damage and crits up with tons of Stun.

In the Shield Bash tree you need to take 3/3 Concussive attacks for 240% more stun and 24% stun duration. I then have a base 245% stun. Here is the thread I might update my journey more in there.

I feel that way too at time then I discover something or some mechanic that keeps me going.

I think it will help a lot. Think we can keep scaling this very well then pull out some cheeky way for defensives.

Nice I just got to him and did 2 attempts but tried to tank everything. Honestly went way better then I thought it would. Think between stun, damage, HP regen, leech I was doing fine. I just died to the big slam he does. I think I can get gear to tank that though. Or maybe I can stun him so he doesn’t do it.

So where the ground opens up and all the balls go in. I stood right on top of it never moving and was able to sustain. I haven’t done the full fight but I’m really focusing on the idea of not moving so we can keep leeching with my set up.

As for Dots I do notice you don’t have the Code of the Erased Sentinel relic. That can give you another 20-30% mitigation vs dots. That adds up quite a bit when combined with that Oracle ammy and armor.

Final Thoughts:

I think you can make some adjustments and maybe find fun in the build. I do understand where you are at because sometimes you hit a wall with no answers which feels bad. Or a particular grind seems almost pointless. I do think we can keep scaling this build and has lots of variations for potential.

Before I make more attemps I’m going to try and get my Crit/Damage/Stun up higher and make some adjustments. I am only running 3% leech from VK tree. I think with some more EHP/Endurance then more leech everything will come together.

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On a side not planning on making a reflect build to lvl as an alt. Think it will be fun and these types of projects often clear my head and I think about new possible ways to play and gear. Sometimes on an Alt I’ll end up finding something awesome and am like oh wait I can use that on my main.