The damage on it is just really low. It takes maybe a tenth of an enemy’s HP. I’m pretty sure it does no impact damage if the target is already possessed by a previous cast. I realize it hits multiple targets, so it can’t have the damage of a single-target attack… but it’s really low even for an AOE.
Only one acolyte build on maxroll uses it, and that build uses it for its synergy with Death Seal. There may be other synergies, but it needs to be able to stand on its own, too.
I absolutely disagree, and it sounds to me like you just don’t know how to build or spec for it to be good. I use it for every Acolyte I level and it’s fantastic. It can easily be made spammable to the point of requiring no mana management and fires a ton of projectiles with excellent homing. While I’ve never pushed its limits, it carries me effortlessly into and beyond Empowered Monos with total dumpster gear and no attempt to maximize the damage from it.
I’m pretty sure it does no impact damage if the target is already possessed by a previous cast.
You’re wrong.
Only one acolyte build on maxroll uses it,
That doesn’t mean anything.
It can work very well albeit it requires 3 uniques of minimum 1 lp for good performance, these are super cheap on MG you can find a few of them in 3lp for around 40K
calamity helmet
immolator of oblivion [soulfire bastion] use of fire skills makes you on fire, allowing you to stack 99 of them for mass boost in damage with warlock
soulfire relic: comverts them to fire, and huge boost to fire damage. [Soulfire], +4 skill to profane viel [fire] recommended
laddle [spell version] stacks dots on spell hit [minimum 2lp, cache in elemental damage]
amulet: 200% of mana is converted to stun avoidance [2lp]
*weapon [Free choice]
Your allegation that I don’t know how to spec it is a tacit admission that some specs are bad. That’s a balance problem.
Furthermore, if you take the damage nodes as I have, it should do damage. That’s just basic logic. If you somehow have to avoid the damage nodes to make it do damage, that again is a balance problem.
Just take Curse of Perseverance 2h Staff and enjoy life.
…What? Of course some specs are bad. What do you even think you’re on about?
No. The potential for players who don’t know what they’re doing to make bad builds that don’t work as well as builds made by players that do know what they’re doing is absolutely not a problem with balance.
It does. If you were pushing several hundred Corruption and having problems with damage, that would make sense. But if you’re not blowing up the screen with Hungering Souls at only 61, it is 100% a problem with your build decisions.
But as I suspected, you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing and you made terrible decisions. You’ve given Hungering Souls nearly zero support in your entire build. Of course it’s not doing good damage. You should not be surprised that putting points into a large damage multiplier for DoTs when you apply no DoTs does not result in damage. You’ve taken almost no Passives that support its ability to deal damage either.
The absolute dishonesty of this “I made bad decisions, it’s the game’s fault” shtick is exhausting.
Balance in a game doesn’t mean that every single build you make up has to be just as powerful as everything else. It’s more to do with masteries being able to compete with each other and still hold their own. If you know how to make the build and use the skills. Of course some specs are bad. Some specs should be bad, if they don’t take advantage of synergies within the class and skills.
Can we take this in another direction?
Why does Possess have such low base damage that OP’s spec struggles? Even if Possess is intended mostly to support other DoTs with the Inspired Hunger node, it’s a single stack DoT that’s barely better than a single poison stack.
Obviously you should be going for ignite, poison, and/or Unholy Trinity but I think it’s weird that the built-in ailment is so terrible.
This is something I can get on board with. I have never really understood what the point of Posses is to begin with. It seems like an attempt at flavor but it’s totally unnoticeable to me as an effect.
Here is a build i threw together, if you want to run it good luck, its do able with MG good luck wifh farming on CoF.
Build has maxed resitances, strong leach, strong healing, strong regeneration, 100% critical avoidance, 550% ward retention, 200% crit chance, large increase to necrotic via uncapped necotric, dot, and spell damage, access to about 10K ward, and decent armor.
Have fun
I think yes, Possess is really underwhelming and pretty much any HS build I’ve seen straight up ignores it aside from the DoT against possessed. One simple buff would be to make it a curse (which IMO feels like it should’ve been in the first place) allowing it to benefit from flat curse damage and curse skill effects.
How do you find someone’s (or your own) build?