Clawsin

[Bcalath]

So I decided to play a clawsin this patch as I haven't played one in a long time and really enjoyed it in D2, any suggestions for what I should be doing. Right now I'm using shadow dancer, doom, maxing ways, and noctule as I'm not a fan of bat strike requiring normal attack swaps. Any suggestions for end game would be appreciated, I was considering twin terrors for weapons but how much does ways/wdm help noctule? Thank you for any ideas!

[Diaco]

You should max shadow dancer, perfect being, and only way of the gryphon (unless you go with beacon for the ms). Noctule and ways are one pointers. Some points in Shadow refuge for the phys resist are a good idea. Twin terrors are a terrible idea since you don't have claw block and the magic dmg is nothing great.

Ways are more useful for naginata, since you have a 200% WDM screen-wide AoE skill. Noctule multihits a lot but has low WDM so ways are not very useful, except gryphon for Necrobots in fauzt.

Endgame weapon is

Shark (Xis)

on an eth claw, ideally blade talons or scissors katar

[Semigloss]

I agree with the comment on Twin Terrors, only go that route if you're picking up claw block from trap tree. I would say too to not get tricked into Anethema. It seems cool, but totally kills your phys damage which is how you stay alive (via life leech).

[ChuckNoRis]

Endgame weapon is

Shark (Xis)

Shark is miles away from what you can achieve with

Legio Di Manes

Legio Di Manes
Scissors Katar (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (139 - 196) to (213 - 331)
(Assassin Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 485
Item Level: 105
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.13 per Dexterity)%
20% Chance to cast level 20 Thunder Hammer Nova on Melee Attack
100% Chance to cast level 50 Thunder Hammer on Kill
(0 to 2)% Base Block Chance
50% Block Speed
Adds (40 to 70)-(110 to 200) Damage
+(120 to 180)% Enhanced Damage
(1 to 10)% Deadly Strike
(11 to 20)% to Dexterity
Maximum Block Chance +20%
Socketed (3)

or

Judge (Xis)

. you can get Bloodlust if you equip your merc with

Qarak's Will

Qarak's Will
Giant Sword (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (150 - 163) to (233 - 246)
Two-Hand Damage: (206 - 225) to (285 - 305)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 480
Item Level: 105
Strength Damage Bonus: (0.16 per Strength)%
15% Chance to cast level 34 Spike Nova on Melee Attack
6% Chance to cast level 40 Pentagram on Melee Attack
10% Chance to cast level 36 Bloodlust on Kill
+(30 to 60)% Bonus Damage to Bloodlust
Adds 50-125 Damage
Adds 84-167 Fire Damage
+(26 to 38)% to Fire Spell Damage
+(140 to 170)% Enhanced Damage
+(100 to 250) Life after each Kill
5% Reanimate as: Random Monster
Socketed (4)

, and that's 10% ctc , compared with just 1% . Shark has stopped being a good rw many patches ago.

[akbugger]

I play my Clawsin with elemental setup :
1 point in each skill in claw tree
1 backstab, 1 shadow refuge
1 blink, 1 queen of blades, max phoenix, around 20 perfect being
max gryphon and prism.cloak
8 points in subterfuge for +3 max res
whatever is left goes to anathema

You'll be facerolling stuff in freakin claw set, which is probably the most common set there is, and arguably the best there is. You'll laugh at elemental damage coming ur way. For sustain use life on attack. Claw set has 150 loa built in (!), which is a lot considering your attack rate; + 200 Hp regen so you'll heal fully between packs. And max resist bonus on helm, which is just cherry on top.
Bhaal was easier in this setup than any other I played, you can pretty much facetank him and sustain yourself.
One problem this build has is that it is slow and requires some (not much, ways kinda cover a lot of that) -elemetal resist gear; the other is that it's very slow for farming. Fauzt is just very slow. Dunc is better, but who wants to waste time there anyway...
And Twin Terrors is total trash. There's no setup in which this is viable, it's a relic of old age when you could block by dual claws, which you can't anymore unless you're devoted to traps. Turn it into sigs when u find it, that's the only use for it.

[Crash]

I agree with the comment on Twin Terrors, only go that route if you're picking up claw block from trap tree. I would say too to not get tricked into Anethema. It seems cool, but totally kills your phys damage which is how you stay alive (via life leech).

I wish you good luck with getting dual claw block on a clawsin.

[Syphery]

Endgame weapon is

Shark (Xis)

Shark is miles away from what you can achieve with

Legio Di Manes

Legio Di Manes
Scissors Katar (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (139 - 196) to (213 - 331)
(Assassin Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 485
Item Level: 105
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.13 per Dexterity)%
20% Chance to cast level 20 Thunder Hammer Nova on Melee Attack
100% Chance to cast level 50 Thunder Hammer on Kill
(0 to 2)% Base Block Chance
50% Block Speed
Adds (40 to 70)-(110 to 200) Damage
+(120 to 180)% Enhanced Damage
(1 to 10)% Deadly Strike
(11 to 20)% to Dexterity
Maximum Block Chance +20%
Socketed (3)

or

Judge (Xis)

. you can get Bloodlust if you equip your merc with

Qarak's Will

Qarak's Will
Giant Sword (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (150 - 163) to (233 - 246)
Two-Hand Damage: (206 - 225) to (285 - 305)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 480
Item Level: 105
Strength Damage Bonus: (0.16 per Strength)%
15% Chance to cast level 34 Spike Nova on Melee Attack
6% Chance to cast level 40 Pentagram on Melee Attack
10% Chance to cast level 36 Bloodlust on Kill
+(30 to 60)% Bonus Damage to Bloodlust
Adds 50-125 Damage
Adds 84-167 Fire Damage
+(26 to 38)% to Fire Spell Damage
+(140 to 170)% Enhanced Damage
+(100 to 250) Life after each Kill
5% Reanimate as: Random Monster
Socketed (4)

, and that's 10% ctc , compared with just 1% . Shark has stopped being a good rw many patches ago.

both of these weapons r outscaled by

Shark (Xis)

by far especially an eth one, and u can get bloodlust on rare claws or crafted claws(just slap all the shrines u dont need on one) and pair it much later into the game with another

Shark (Xis)

for % bloodlust dmg

Any suggestions for end game would be appreciated

if were talking bout labs as endgame and not 69 umo based my preferd setup would be

weapon:

Shark (Xis)

(only upgrade for this is a super sick craft)
shield

Eternal Bodyguard

2%block
helm

The Conqueror

The Conqueror
Crown (Sacred)
Defense: (7341 - 7770) to (7771 - 8247)
Required Level: 120
Required Strength: 675
Item Level: 130
+1 to All Skills
Adds 25-50 Damage
-(11 to 15)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(171 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
+3333 Defense
Magic Resist +(2 to 5)%
(21 to 25)% Gold Find
Socketed (4)

Trophy Hunter
(Trophy Set)

/

Witchhunter's Hood

Witchhunter's Hood
Cap (Sacred)
Defense: (2136 - 2611) to (2161 - 2642)
Required Level: 90
Required Strength: 250
Item Level: 1
+(80 to 120)% Enhanced Defense
10% to Strength
10% to Dexterity
Maximum Elemental Resists +2%
Elemental Resists +(31 to 40)%
Physical Resist 5%
(16 to 20)% Bonus to Defense
Requirements -50%
Socketed (4)

Witchhunter's Attire
(Assassin Claw Set)

/

Endless Pride

Endless Pride
Cap (Sacred)
Defense: 1187 to 1201
Required Level: 120
Required Strength: 500
Item Level: 130
Restitution
(Based on Restore Percentage)
+2 to All Skills
+50% Bonus to Defense
Maximum Elemental Resists +3%
Cube with Trophy Fragment: Restore +20%
+4 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+2 to Mana (Based on Character Level)
Elemental Resists +10%
(1 to 50)% Magic Find
Socketed (4)

Armor

Arrogance

Arrogance
Gothic Plate (Sacred)
Defense: (8308 - 9198) to (10078 - 11157)
Required Level: 120
Required Strength: 1350
Item Level: 130
Restitution
(Based on Restore Percentage)
+50% Combat Speeds
Physical Resist +15%
Maximum Life +7%
Cube with Trophy Fragment: Restore +4%
25% Movement Speed
Adds 15-25 Damage
+(18 to 32) to Stormlord
5% Deadly Strike
+(171 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
+(40 to 50) to all Attributes
Requirements +100%
Socketed (6)

/

Natasha's Legacy (Xis)

/

Bilefroth Skin

Bilefroth Skin
Gothic Plate (Sacred)
Defense: 9198 to 11157
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 675
Item Level: 120
50% Combat Speeds
10% Movement Speed
Adds 100-150 Magic Damage
5% Deadly Strike
+200% Enhanced Defense
+5 Magic Absorb
Socketed (6)

Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)

/ Abandoned craft with flatlife and high dex/stat rolls
Boots

Wind Runner

Wind Runner
Boots
'SilElqSilGul'
Runeword Level: 100
+(0 to 1) to All Skills
50% Attack Speed
10% Movement Speed
Adds 25-68 Damage
250% Bonus to Attack Rating
(12 to 15)% Life stolen per Hit
+(171 to 200)% Enhanced Defense

Gloves

Stareye's Claws

Stareye's Claws
Gauntlets (Sacred)
Defense: 1674 to 1959
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 625
Item Level: 120
Adds 100-150 Cold Damage
+25% to Cold Spell Damage
-15% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+200% Enhanced Defense
+50 to Dexterity
15% to Dexterity
Maximum Cold Resist +2%
+5 Cold Absorb
Socketed (4)

Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)

Belt

Doomcloud Spine

Doomcloud Spine
Plated Belt (Sacred)
Defense: 4089 to 4479
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 675
Item Level: 120
Adds 100-150 Lightning Damage
+25% to Lightning Spell Damage
-15% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+200% Enhanced Defense
+50 to Vitality
15% to Vitality
Maximum Lightning Resist +2%
+5 Lightning Absorb
Socketed (2)

Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)

/

Nero

Rings

Empyrean Glory

Empyrean Glory
Ring
Required Level: 50
Item Level: 120
1% Chance to cast level 40 Singularity on Kill
(6 to 10)% to All Attributes
Maximum Life +5%
Maximum Mana +15%
15% Gold Find

Amu

Idol of Fortune

Idol of Fortune
Amulet
Required Level: 120
Item Level: 130
+(1 to 2) to All Skills
-1% Base Block Chance
25% Combat Speeds
+(11 to 30)% to Spell Damage
Weapon Physical Damage +(25 to 48)%
Maximum Life +3%
Maximum Mana +10%

Trophy Hunter
(Trophy Set)

/

Beads of the Snake Queen

Beads of the Snake Queen
Amulet
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
4% Chance to cast level 33 Scorpion Blade on Kill
Adds 5-10 Damage
Stun Attack
+(200 to 500) Defense
(20 to 25)% to Strength
(20 to 25)% to Dexterity
+100 Life after each Kill

Weaponswap as stated earlier, a rare claw with bloodlust +

Shark (Xis)

to boost bloodlust ewd.

skillplan :
max Shadowdancer , Perfect Being, Prismatic Cloak.

from here its personal preference, where you currently are in progression and what you personally want to do. if you intend to push high level rifts 8 pts in subterefuge. if not, dont skill subterefuge at all because it will remove your ability to summon meatshields. 18 pts into batstrike for 10 bat summons as they are very usefull meatshields for early/midgame boss encounters. and points into doom until you reach -20 magic resistance ( though that doesnt apply to you here since you dont want to use batstrike)

so max ways instead (Gryphon>Phoenix) remember to put 1 point into Shadow Refuge For your Physical resistance Buff. or put some of the points into blink for faster tps

As for Anathema, i didnt play around with it alot but from my experience in the previous patch its better to keep it completly off since it removes alot of ewd and on a majority of encounters doesnt affect the important stuff in regards to damage reduction. its a debuff on the enemies so everything out of range or not targetable will still deal their full damage at the cost of your ewd. didnt try it since the changes though.

Edit : twin terrors r a meme

[Bcalath]

Thanks all for the great tips, gives me plenty to think of and plan for!

[Diaco]

Endgame weapon is

Shark (Xis)

Shark is miles away from what you can achieve with

Legio Di Manes

Legio Di Manes
Scissors Katar (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (139 - 196) to (213 - 331)
(Assassin Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 485
Item Level: 105
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.13 per Dexterity)%
20% Chance to cast level 20 Thunder Hammer Nova on Melee Attack
100% Chance to cast level 50 Thunder Hammer on Kill
(0 to 2)% Base Block Chance
50% Block Speed
Adds (40 to 70)-(110 to 200) Damage
+(120 to 180)% Enhanced Damage
(1 to 10)% Deadly Strike
(11 to 20)% to Dexterity
Maximum Block Chance +20%
Socketed (3)

or

Judge (Xis)

. you can get Bloodlust if you equip your merc with

Qarak's Will

Qarak's Will
Giant Sword (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (150 - 163) to (233 - 246)
Two-Hand Damage: (206 - 225) to (285 - 305)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 480
Item Level: 105
Strength Damage Bonus: (0.16 per Strength)%
15% Chance to cast level 34 Spike Nova on Melee Attack
6% Chance to cast level 40 Pentagram on Melee Attack
10% Chance to cast level 36 Bloodlust on Kill
+(30 to 60)% Bonus Damage to Bloodlust
Adds 50-125 Damage
Adds 84-167 Fire Damage
+(26 to 38)% to Fire Spell Damage
+(140 to 170)% Enhanced Damage
+(100 to 250) Life after each Kill
5% Reanimate as: Random Monster
Socketed (4)

, and that's 10% ctc , compared with just 1% . Shark has stopped being a good rw many patches ago.

Shark on an eth claw has literally double the dmg than Legion. Judge is eye candy for sure but the procs are meaningless dmg wise. Bloodlust on Merc is unreliable at best, since he actually needs to kill stuff for it to proc. Also, you don't get shark for the proc, but for the big dmg (200% fixed ED and over 250 max dmg)