Any major changes for 0.9?
No. The mechanics of the build are still the same. The changes to adaptive dmg don't force us to go for another gear setup. Since we are using PrefixElemental Damage Over Time on most of our prefix slots we still benefit from the flat cold dmg from Reign of Winter and also adaptive dmg like Elemental Arrows which will not get converted into Cold with the new 0.9 Patch.
Hail of Arrows cost less mana but received a 325% added dmg effectiveness. I tested all the conversion and the dmg output is pretty much the same compared to 0.8.5.
Hail of Arrows lost 1 point in Steady so we will lose 10% duration, which is fine.
I tested the newly added %Increased Area of effect prefix on Gloves and Amulet and it is not really worth it since the area is already big enough and doesnt count as a multiplier.
Why Cold Conversion?
You don't have to play the cold version for this build. Because of the 0.9 changes to adaptive dmg, you can simply play Hail of Arrows as a Fire or Physical version. Both versions usually allow you to spec more points into dmg for the Hail of Arrows tree.
The cold conversion allows you to get Chill on enemies, which makes survivabilty easier for arena. Also the high flat Cold Bow dmg we get from Reign of Winter will benefit from the Cold Penetration
I have problems with the high mana cost of Hail of Arrows. What am i doing wrong?
You need around 15 Mana Regeneration in your character sheet to comfortably play this build without mana generator skills. I would even recommend to go a bit higher 16-18.
Before that, simply swap Decoy with a mana generator skill like Puncture Flurry or Cinder Strike to generate mana faster.
Try to put points into Coated Blades later. Dmg should never be a problem for you with this build. Focus on quality of life features first. Coated Blades will highly increase your mana costs for Hail of Arrows!
Why no Drelkor’s Compass Bow? It has the same amount of Flat Damage as Reign of Winter.
Reign of Winter also gives Cold Penetration and Attunement which makes Mana management a bit easier.
If you stick with Physical Base HoA damage, additional Base damage that you get from Elemental Arrows (Marksman tree) will not be converted, so it’s harder to push the damage. Increased Elemental damage over time is a really good affix to buff elemental HoA damage since the numbers are higher on this affix than a regular inc dot, cold, physical damage affix for example.
With the Cold conversion in tree you get additional Chill chance, which is a good defensive layer for a build that can’t hit (missing slow, chill and frailty)
Drelkor's Compass has reduced Bow mana cost. Less Bow mana cost makes HoA do less damage. We want HoA’s mana cost as high as possible, that’s why we scale HoA duration.
Why no Sniper’s Gambit (Marksman Passive)?
Sniper's Gambit 6/6 Don’t get me wrong. 30 Flat Bow damage is an insane buff for this build. I would recommend to always take it to boost your damage while farming for gear. If you really wanna push high Arena or Corruption content i would not recommend this node because of the 12% Increased damage taken. I prefer defense over offense, that’s why i’m not using it in my Build Showcase.
How do you play in Monolith to farm you gear?
In Monolith you have to adapt your playstyle a bit. Try to attract as many monsters as possible so that you don’t have to constantly cast HoA only for a couple of enemies. Remember that each HoA cast costs a lot of mana, so you will have mana problem if you don’t kite a pull enemies. You can either push straight to the Echo Marker to finish the quest (for Boss and Corruption Pushing) or pull as many enemies as possible together for more loot drop and efficient playstyle. More info in ‘‘Build Mechanics and Gameplay’’ section.
