So, finally found a 2os pelt with +2 Druid skills.
Been wearing Jalal’s.
I do not need FCR, FHR, or Resists… and my life rarely drops below 4500 for a second or two at a time.
What to socket the helm with to add damage?
Are you melee or caster? 2x Ber is handy for any setup but:
If you’re melee; you can drop that HP a lot, and reinvest the stats into Strength, that’d potentially be a huge dps increase. If you’re wearing Raven Frost, you could slap in a cham rune and wear a BK or a rare ring with lots of base stats, AR, and min/max dmg, something like that.
If you’re caster, I’d assume the helm also has +3 tornado; in that case you can only increase dps with +skills and with faster cast rate, since they changed NHD, but you said FCR is reasonably “maxed” out. So; you could drop raven frost for a cham+SoJ, if you’re wearing one. If you’re wearing Mara’s, you could slap some all resists into the helm and switch your amulet to a blue +3 elemental skills ammy. There’s also always +3 elemental/+3 nado blue pelts that can be larzuk’d for 2 sockets. Not many ways to increase dps if all your +skill slots are consumed, and FCR is maxed.
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Caster, and thanks for your detailed response.
I was hoping the answer was %ED jewels or something I’d never heard of… but, those do not work/exist for casters is what I’m taking from this.
Oh, it’s my first ever caster build… Tornado guy.
I have a 2os +3 Nado pelt, but, otherwise it’s junk and not sure it’s worth investing 2 Ber.
I have a 2os 2/20 circlet, but, again, otherwise it’s junk and not sure it’s worth investing 2 Ber.
I can get to the max FCR, but to do so I have to get rid of my +3 Nado pelt (swap to 2/20 circlet)… and get rid of 2-SoJ’s to swap in 2-FCR rings… costing me 5 skills for 1 FCR frame… hmmm…
I’m not a “fast / zoom-zoom” player, just a cruiser, so unless 1 frame FCR is better than +5 skills damage wise, it doesn’t make sense for me.
I have a Wizardspike and a Spectral Shard on a mule (50 FCR), which would let me keep the +3 Nado pelt, but, I loose +3 skills from Hoto… and still have to swap 2-SoJ’s for 2 FCR rings…
Again costing me +5 skills for 1 frame FCR.
I’m have a real bout of 1st world problems here 
Thanks again.
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I am starting to think about a couple cold facets, or a couple Tir runes…
I have a 5/5 and a 5/4 cold…
Would help Hurricane… hmmm…
My 2/20 Ammy has some nice mana stats… Could swap that in, burn up a Token to get the strength back I’ll loose from my 2/10 Ammy… and do more Hurricane while not hurting anything else… well, life, but Oak sage kepps me up over 5000… so…
Doing it.
Holly sugar shack, added the facets to the +3 Nado helm, then DClone spawned in tristam, 6:04pm Arizona now… took him out for a JOKE!
First DClone with Windy Druid!
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Probably not at that point, I’d agree. Definitely want to save double ber for like a 5 or 6 Nado pelt. If it’s a white pelt, you could put the Lore runeword into it, effectively giving you a +4 Nado pelt
I agree; imo optimal fcr break point for Druid is 99 FCR with max + skills in all slots. When using near perfect gear, in both configs, the 142/163 fcr Druid hits for approximately the same dps as the 99% fcr setup, but each hit its self is weaker, while also being able to tele faster
I personally love Mana Per Kill, it works amazing at decent values. If you wanted to get fancy, instead of tir runes, jewels can get +3 MpK as well as another mod. Cold facets can be great too, especially if your merc is using infinity, but imo, I like too focus on the physical aspect of the druids dps by using an act 2 defiance merc with reapers toll and cure.
Defiance is amazing because you’ll go from like 1.5k-2k armor, a 70-80% chance to be hit, to like 6k-7k, which is I think about a 25-30% chance to be hit(ignoring level). And reapers toll’s decrepify curse not only increases you tornado dps by 50%, it also slows the enemies movement and aps, which severely wrecks their dps. When combined with hurricane, everything is reasonably slowed, which renders holy freeze somewhat moot.
You can use prayer+insight+cure, but instead just use def+R’s T and give yourself like 1k-1.5k mana after battle orders and you’ll never have mana issues again. And prayers healing is nice, but with your massive hp, a ton of defence making you rarely get physically hit, your cyclone armour absorbing all elemental dmg, and cure negating poison and curses, prayer just kinda becomes unnecessary imo. Also each point into energy increases the chance for your mana pots to critically hit while healing you.
If you do use reapers toll, the curse will also increase the dmg of most of you pets, but make sure you don’t summon ravens because their blind affect removes the decrepify curse.
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Sorry.
It’s a +5 Nado.
I was ignoring the +2 Druid skills as the Circlet and Jalal’s both have +2 Druid sills as well, essentially making them all the same “base”.
Merc is Act5 with Lawbringer and LastWish (LW borrowed from my Zealot/Smiter guy).
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gotcha, makes sense
Should be good then, Act 5 Lawbringer merc definitely does the trick too. My bad on assuming you didn’t know the decrp curse stuff and were using infinity
Thanks again.
Really enjoying the “bit” of extra damage from Hurricane with the facets… of course, today after I socketed the 5/5 and the 5/4 (yesterday)… another 5/5 cold drops… always the way.
Anyways, the 163rcr was cool, but even more cool is the pale blue antlers (with +5 nado and 2 cold facets)… looks are important you know :).
Anyways, “I” would never have taken advantage/utilized the 163fcr… Cruise’n like I do…
Well, that got me to thinking.
I grabbed an Infinity off my JavaZon’s Merc… and had an old Doom Axe from a failed Cold Pally build (don’t ask).
By swapping Doom/Hoto I lost +1 skills (and more good stuff) but gained lvl12 Holy Freeze and -70 enemy cold resist… oh, and admittedly lost decrep…
Thank goodness I have this stuff on other characters to steal/borrow.
Not sure if it’s better… but certainly uncommon, and the pale blue antlers look amazing with the blue aura LOL!
I have a perfect NightWings with a 5/5 cold fact I could steal from one of my Act1 cold Mercs… but not sure I want to give up the Nado damage.
Oh, added a cold sunder, but always ran a bone sunder, so, no + skills lost there.
Wonder… if I give up 1 more sill point and toss a Bone Break into the mix…
Hmm.
Well, that was fun for a minute.
Also tried the Act2 might Merc with Reapers.
And… I’m back to where I started. :).
Hoto, 5nado with cold facets and Act5 merk with LB and LW
So, couple miscellaneous ramblings above this post…
But…
What I’m trying to achieve is a balance of My power, the Mercs power, and the power of the Zoo.
Tried a Reapers Toll guy, and, his “engagement” is not the greatest, and, the Hurricane/Nada/Zoo hits hard/fast enough I was not seeing the Decrep proc… it was rare.
Went back to Act5 Merc, and put his LastWish/LawBringer on, and with even less chance to proc, literally never saw the Decrep.
So…
Stole an another LastWish from my Tesladin/Smiter…
This Gives the Merc/Zoo lvl34 Might… Charged Bolt is occurring often, and no one ever dies (life tap?) and the Merc actually gets the Fade proc, ocasionally… now.
Going to roll like this for a while.