So i started to play Crusader again after a long break and i realized that i want to play the previous meta leader AoV HF Crusader and started to gear up for it.
The problem is the build is not popular nowadays, i can’t find any discussions or builds on the web related to season 27 (Except Maxroll.gg/ Icyveins). It seems like people forgot about this build or they just fed up with it and trying to find something new.
I really like the shotgun playstyle, but i am aiming for higher solo Grift performance as well. So i have doubts in my head regarding the power level of Aov HF. Am i wasting my time? I really don’t want to invest time on this build and get stuck at GR level 120-130. Is it really inferior to other Crusader options of the season (FotH, Condemn, LoD) in terms of Solo Pushing?
Thanks in advance.
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Really good question. I was looking info about this for a long time.
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Go here to see the state of set balance:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1VdMtJ_DgFlybtbF9bQ8DRn8ybiH_CdPc44sfHSpSk-k/htmlview#gid=1833265823
Akkhan is the strongest by about 1GR, even after the nerf.
My own solo pushes look like this at ~6600 paragon:
- AoV HF (Ivory Tower) GR142
- Invoker GR141
- A6 Phalcon GR147
- LoN Bomb GR146
I personally enjoy Ivory Tower more than Norvald, but Pig Sticker is okay too. I wouldn’t mind seeing Eberli Charo automatically cast Heaven’s Fury every 4 seconds, granting 50% HF attack speed when it hits an elite and an additional 3% AS per enemy hit by the beams. You’d use this with FotF and cube SoF — it will make FotF feel more like a Pig Sticker, while granting more.
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Sader has always had the issue of Paragon toughness dependent.
FoTH is def the fastest/laziest bounty build.
But the crucible power is stacked against ALL sader builds.
I dont understand why Monk WOL got a power…it was already the strongest build. WOL are now just doing GR 130+ SPEEDS!!! with their bells.
Akkhan (pre and post nerf)…I just didnt like it…you either spam all the buttons or use a macro…and its basically a server killer pushing.
FoTH…again, high Gons.
LOD Bomb, you are going to have to invest in mass time just to gear.
Sader got the short end of the stick by a longggg margin this season
I deleted my Sader rather early. I couldn’t cope with the Fist of the Heaven’s lag in solo push. The lost opportunity of S27 was the Hammers and Archangels Crucible effects. I’m not sure what happened to Archangels, it was demolishing stuff on PTR with ultralow cooldown chaining Falling Sword… then the actual release turned it into a pile of crap – really better off just making a build around Blackthorne’s and Akarat’s Champion:Fire Starter.
After I saw the Archangels doing no damage, I optimistically moved on to Hammers and immediately concluded it was better to just play a Crusader on non-season.
This Season only stuff is such a waste of resources, might as well have just buffed 3 legendary items for each class and call it a day.
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Casually pushed Akkhan once at ~2k gon 130. Its got the damage, but oh man, the spam fest. I agree, playing off-meta LOD condemn feels much better.
Only using Sader for lazy bounties when I need mats (1 click bounty build lol)
I feel all sader set are now the most unpopular…
-AOV…got nerfed like 4 times??? Its not the A-bomb nerf like Bone Spear, but AoV is almost irrelevant
-Hammer…never was popular lol. I think they tried to mimic D2 Hammerdin and failed [AGREED! I was expecting a huge buff to Hammers, something like D2 Hammerdin with the crucible Power…and demolish pulls…turned to be a nerf lol]
-Roland…a little better than Hammer…by not by much
Oh and Akkhan,I dont think anyone is seriously pushing season or Non-season. (Set needs to be reworked…again IMO)
Compared to the rework Tal Rasha, Tragoul, DMO, and Raekor last season…Akkhan is a def miss
Overall the state of Sader is very sad 
Hope Sader will get 1 good season before D4 comes out
I personally believe they won’t do anything further. But if they did, somehow lowering the amount of Phalanx on the field would help reduce the lag.
Shield Bearers is the best build to play, but it lags multiplayer.
Unrelenting Phalanx is the culprit for too many Condemns, doubling the Phalanx avatar counts. If Eternal Union did the opposite and cut back while making them stronger, I feel the build would be fixed.
That’d look like this:
Eternal Union
Increases the duration of summoned Phalanx Bowmen, Bodyguard and Shield Bearers indefinitely, while halving the number of Phalanx Avatars cast and increasing their damage by 200%.
Oh… and throw some more DR back into the build for the Bowmen version.
AoV HF is not popular now because it is clunky and damage unsatisfactory, so I always suggest that AoV 2p set can add some mobility bounus,not only FoTH can buff HF’s damage,but also we need buff the movement speed.This is not only conducive to FoTH catching up with DH Ice Swallow in the efficiency of Rift and low-GR fadt clear, but also can improve the movement ability of the Pig Sticker’s HF.