Recently I’ve been searching for posts about the interaction of SB with bosses/RG’s and knockback resistant mobs and not only am I unable to find anything recent, but I also keep finding opposite responses.
My doubt is whether SB works against targets that are immune to knockback.
May sound like a silly question, but I’ve found responses saying that the immunity doesn’t matter and that the debuff works whenever a knockback effect is applied to the target, not when it takes effect.
I’ve found the following, relatively recent, video on YT that seem to suggest that it really is how the bracers work, but I’d still like to get direct up to date confirmation.
“Diablo 3 Barbarian Test Strongarm bracers proc on Boss”
https //youtu be/JxxN1pt7aX4
If it works on bosses, then it should be the same for RG’s and big mobs too.
Also, it should work with ground stomp and leap gather/spread runes and any furious charge rune too, right?
If it doesn’t, is there any other explanation for the thorns damage increase shown in the video? Outdated maybe?
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Like this
Strongarms can be procced on RGs but there’s not much point outside of zDPS Barb in groups (and only at the group’s request). No Barb builds currently use Strongarms as best-in-slot bracers. There are better choices for every build.
But–and this is important–the Dreadnought rune of Furious Charge is, to my knowledge, still bugged and prevents Strongarms from being procced when that specific rune is selected. The same holds true if you select the rune while wearing 4 pieces of the Raekor set.
Fun fact: The damage bonus from Strongarms is additive.
As for the best-in-slot, I play casually and just try to come up with my own builds and see how far I can get them compared to the meta ones.
I mainly visit guides to expand my knowledge on game mechanics.
So, it seems SA does increase damage on knockback immune targets.
But isn’t it a debuff on the target instead of a damage buff? Wouldn’t it be additive with Threatening Shout: Falter? Because I’m under the impression that Falter is its own multiplier and, if so, SA being in the same categoru’d be quite an increase.
Er, no. Falter and Strongarms are both additive, and neither are debuffs. They simply increase (temporarily, conditionally) the total additive damage multiplier you receive when dealing damage to affected mobs. All additive damage bonuses go into a common additive damage pool that is treated as a multiplier when all is said and done. This is why separate multiplicative bonuses are almost always much stronger than additive bonuses.
Anyway, it looks like your NA NS Barb is geared for Zodiac Rend, so if you need any info on that build, check the stickied guide at the top of the forum and ask there. If you’re wondering if Strongarms can/should be used in that build, the answer is no and no; there are far better options for any level of play/game activity. If, however, you’re just piecing together whacky off-meta builds, Strongarms is a great option (unless you can achieve perma-Wrath, in which case Mortick’s is always better).
Yes, mine is a WhirlRend Barbarian but, while I love WotB, I’m experimenting with the idea of giving up its nigh permanent uptime, which I find a little annoying to keep, in exchange for the extra passive and damage/mitigation from F&R/BoM, especially since keeping 100% uptime on either takes up zodiac’s reduction on WotB.
Also, I’m well aware we’re not supposed to keep BoM up and instead use it to get in the middle of elite density during CoE’s uptime after fishing for them during the downtime setup, but I much preffer to do no setup and just hack my way through stuff nonstop (feels more barbarian-like).
I like to think of my build as pulling a “Mystic Gohan” and bringing the power of our “Super Saiyan” transformation down to our base form. Less effective but more my style.
I think you might have a few of the build’s specifics mixed up.
If you’re playing Season and can take advantage of the Season theme, the strongest (though most skill- and resource-intensive) variant uses all three Cube slots for Zodiac, Band of Might, and COE, and you wear FnR. That also requires you to equip Ambo’s + Doom and stick to the Core build so you can wear Lamentation.
If you’re playing non-Season, you can’t fit FnR into the build because you need the Zodiac ring. 100% uptime on Wrath is, with Mortick’s bracer, a guaranteed 50% damage reduction. All versions of the build also require Band of Might. The exception to the rule is the non-Season Crimson’s variant which replaces it with Ignore Pain (which requires Zodiac and even more CDR from gear), and is only recommended to players with 5000+ Paragon.
What I’m saying is that if you’re going to push GRs and want to have enough toughness to match your damage output, 100% uptime on Wrath and Band of Might are required, and that means you absolutely have to keep Zodiac in the build. Wrath also provides a 50% damage multiplier to the build, which far outweighs anything Strongarms brings to the table.
Negative! Band of Might has to be up 100% of the time–or at the very least, any time there’s a chance where an enemy can hit you. The same goes for Wrath.
That said, all of this only applies if you’re trying to optimize the build. If you prefer to create a personal variant and play by your own rules, you can ignore what I’ve typed and do your own thing. Just be aware that deviating from the guide is going to result in a substantially weaker build. Wrath is 50% DR and 50% damage and additional healing from Life per Fury (WW and Rend) provided you wear Mortick’s bracer and use the Zodiac ring. If you drop Zodiac from the build, you’re losing a ton of damage, toughness, and healing, and your Stomp cooldown (to proc Band of Might) will take longer to refresh.
To tell you the truth, what I really don’t like is the CoE setup and burst rotation. That’s the source of all the funkyness in my build. So, I got myself an ancient pair of F&R, replaced Boon with Berserker Rage, Wrath with TS/Falter, converted all CDR slots other than the helm socket into damage increasing stats and am in the process of farming for SA, since I only currently die to packs that take too long to die (especially with a Nerves of Steel Hellfire).
But if it ends up getting me stuck I’ve got the proper gear tucked safely in my stash.
Question:
For comparison’s sake, how high should a 1000 paragon with 9 augmentations level 88 on average be able to go on GRifts with the PROPER Zodiac build and no Unity’ed immortal follower?