Spirit, Caster or Melee? (Diviner)

[qXqo]

Which is spirit? If you go melee, should you still use a staff as your second weapon?

Thanks!

[Irma2]

Spirit, like Dream and Nature, is a support mastery that can be used effectively for either melee or ranged combat.

For melee, it offers Deathchill aura. For ranged, it offers Ternion. Other skills such as Liche King, Outsider, Vision of Death, Dark Covenant, Death Ward etc are equally applicable to both melee and ranged.

You can also use Deathchill as anti-melee defense for a ranged toon (and many do), but melee fighters like Spellbreakers tend to find it more essential for their builds. It's an optional "nice to have" for a caster.

If you go melee, then don't use a staff as backup. Your main melee weapon will need Str to boost its damage, staves need Int. Trying to divide your points between the two will result in a toon that doesn't do optimal damage in either.

Also be aware that, whether you use Spirit or Nature to complement your melee mastery, you will need to pump Str as neither mastery provides Str as you level up. Instead, they offer Int, which is of little help to a melee fighter other than increasing energy regen rate. Finally, both Spirit and Nature offer less Vitality than the pure melee masteries Warfare and Defense.

The flipside is that both masteries offer Dex (for OA and DA), Energy (reducing the need to take blue pots) and better pets than the pure melee masteries. So what you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts. Or something to that effect.

[qXqo]

Are melee Diviners a good class? What two sets of weapons would I go for?

[Irma2]

Diviner is not the strongest melee class, but should be quite doable.

Regarding weapons, it's your choice. Obviously a slow high-damage weapon is better than a fast but low-damage weapon for Phantom Strike. Other than that, feel free to experiment with whatever melee weapons you prefer, or (perhaps more importantly early on) can find. Warfare prefers axes/clubs/swords, Hunting wants spears, Rogue likes swords and spears. Diviner features none of these masteries, so it's entirely your choice.

If you're going to specialise in an additional damage type (other than pure physical), then Vitality damage is a solid choice. Both Spirit and Dream get good boosts (or lowered resists) to Vitality damage.

Just don't be tempted to use a staff. If you want to use a staff, then play it as a caster.

[qXqo]

So would caster or melee suit Diviner more? Thanks.

[Irma2]

Melee imho. If you want a Spirit caster, Storm or Earth beats Dream because (besides the ranged attacks of Storm and Earth) Ternion works with both Earth Enchantment and Storm Nimbus lines. Dream doesn't offer any equivalent, because you can't use Psionic Touch with Ternion. It's one or the other.

[CookieMonster]

Well my caster diviner is in mid act4 legendary and is a lot of fun. A bit gear dependent but it starts slow...even hard to survive, but DW and DR are a big help. When you hit EPIC and start finding good gear, the diviner IMO really starts to shine. I just can't wait to get into Hades fortress and see how he will fare.

[mamba]

Definitely meleer, he just is a very mediocre mage if you go the caster route as he misses any decent damage boosts for elemental damages and I am also not impressed with the Dream electrical burn skills, DoT is just not the way to go - and that is exactly what electrical burn is.

[CookieMonster]

Well Mamba, I think that both options for a diviner are great, but the caster way is really gear dependent, but so much fun. BTW I do not use electrical burn damage at all....ternion with ToC is very good and if you add reduced resistances and life leech...well it is strong but a bit fragile.

[Bukikekh]

So technicaly a melee diviner is a better option, because dream has more to offer to a melee character and is very enjoyable as well.