Phoenix Strike build questions

[Cantor314-1601]

Hello All!
So Building/built a full Nat’s set Phoenix Strike build but have a few questions.

1. Does % ele damage get added to Phoenix Strike I did some tests and don’t see it being added, but do see it added to BoT and others. Wondering/Hoping it is being added in the background?
2. What do people put in Nat’s set sockets, was thinking at least 2 sheal’s for FHR and 1 ias jewel (if facets don’t work) in armor but not sure/can’t find what people like to put in weapon and helm. Was thinking of Um for weapon for open wounds, merc is using obedience so have good CB, beyond that not sure. Runic Talon is off hand with some ias.

Any advise/help would be appreciated, thank you.

[TastySouP-1157]

@Cantor314-1601

Does % ele damage get added to Phoenix Strike I did some tests and don’t see it being added, but do see it added to BoT and others. Wondering/Hoping it is being added in the background?

It does not apply for Phoenix Strike, but does work with other skills.

https://www.theamazonbasin.com/wiki/index.php?title=Phoenix_Strike

• +% Skill Damage applies to none of the charges.[4]

@Cantor314-1601

What do people put in Nat’s set sockets, was thinking at least 2 sheal’s for FHR and 1 ias jewel (if facets don’t work) in armor but not sure/can’t find what people like to put in weapon and helm.

I personally think putting 3x IAS jewels is the best option, (depending on IAS else where). Your DPS is tied directly to your attack speed, so being hindered by Holy freeze, Cold, or Decrepify is extttrremely detrimental to your chars dps. For Phoenix Strike, I always use BoS and stack enough IAS to keep me at 3+ aps when being slowed. If you use Fade you won’t be able to maintain 3+ aps

I haven’t fully updated my guide yet, not sure if I will, kinda over it, but this is how I play Phoenix Strike, and I even recommend full nats set as a more “basic” entry gear setup:

Martial Arts - Phoenix Sin Guide

Intro: Hey, in this guide we will go over how I like to gear and play the Phoenix Sin in D2r. I’ve also included a section on how you can download the character file for single player so you can try it yourself. I didn’t invent the spec, but I personally really enjoy it and this is how I’ve come to refine the gear, gameplay, and skills. The build can be played with relatively cheap gear, and doesn’t require end game items, like Infinity, to be efficient, but once obtained the spec goes over th…

[DarkHelmet-1157]

As I was reading the explanation regarding Phoenix Strike, it seems %Elemental could be made to affect the Skill if Blizzard wanted to and seeing as they made a concerted effort to buff MA Skills in 2.4(notably the Attack Rating on charges, releasing 1 charge at a time, etc.) that this would be the next logical step to allow %Elemental(Fire/Cold/Light) to affect it. The discussion on Phoenix Strike went on to say that Rainbow Facets aren’t entirely useless since the -%Enemy Resistance still applies on Phoenix Strike. %Elemental works on Fists of Fire/Blades of Ice/Claws of Thunder so if I were Blizzard, I’d add Phoenix Strike to the list.

I also prefer Fade over BoS since I value Defense over Offense and especially with Natalya Set(hit 50% DR with it). That being said, I see the logic behind BoS since it counters Decrepify/Holy Freeze quite well and I agree with 15% IAS Jewels(40 ED/15 IAS or 15 All Resist/15 IAS, latter of which works extremely well with Burst of Speed). Shame FRW doesn’t spawn on Jewels… otherwise I’d recommend Burst of Speed Jewels(15% FRW/15% IAS). FRW needs to be buffed on Charms too(5%, 8%, 12% respectively).

[Bravata-11682]

why would it matter? There’s so little +%Elemental damage in the game. Can’t wear 6s phaseblade and 4s shield full of facets with this either. Seems double Plague would be BiS since it’ll prob lower resist often.

I’m just not understanding why %Elemental would make more than a tiny difference.

If anything, the gosh darn attacks should add a vengeance like elemental damage modifier on top of the spells. Or triple the spell damage. Or end the ridiculous charge factor and turn it into gosh dang on-hit, every hit, chance to cast, very high chance to cast each ability.

[Eithris-1592]

@Cantor314-1601

Does % ele damage get added to Phoenix Strike I did some tests and don’t see it being added, but do see it added to BoT and others. Wondering/Hoping it is being added in the background?

• to elemental damage doesn’t apply to the elemental charge releases of phoenix strike, but the -enemy x resistance does. so facets aren’t useless, they’re actually pretty nice. it does get added to the three base elemental strikes of the martial arts tree though.

@Cantor314-1601

What do people put in Nat’s set sockets, was thinking at least 2 sheal’s for FHR and 1 ias jewel (if facets don’t work) in armor but not sure/can’t find what people like to put in weapon and helm. Was thinking of Um for weapon for open wounds, merc is using obedience so have good CB, beyond that not sure. Runic Talon is off hand with some ias.

do NOT waste an Um in nat’s claw for open wounds. go for more attack speed or more attack rating.

for socketing in nat’s armor, that really depends on the rest of your gear. if you have enough resists from the rest of your kit, you can stick facets in there, or attack rating gems/runes/jewels. i run dual claw and i don’t use nats anymore since i upgraded, but when i still ran nats i used nat’s main hand and a jade talon off-hand for resistances, plus tal/ort/ral in the armor and a thul in the helm. a shael in both claws for attack speed.

some people will say to just use Fade to increase the resistances, and abandon burst of speed. i say screw that. maybe if nat’s set bonus gave 50% run speed and attack speed bonuses. but it doesn’t.

aside from jade talon for the resist all and decent stats, try to make a plague runeword. it’s amazing for MA assassin.