Poll: DW Spellbreaker Or Harbinger?

[robertsmith1]

I know I know... this topic has been dealt with many times before, but after reading numerous posts repeatedly, I still can't decide. I have a level 22 Warrior with the Dual Wield tree maxed out and I need to choose a second mastery. I'm mainly concerned about damage output and survivablility in Legendary.

I was all for Harbinger last week, but further reading suggests the life leech ability of the Spellbreaker makes it a better DW character in Legendary. The Dream class still sounds more appealing from an RP sort of way (I usually like destroying liches, not partying up with them), but all the trances seem to lose their effectiveness in Legendary. There also seems to be some overlap between Warfare and Dream skills, like Onslaught vs Psionic Touch. On the other hand, the damage output from the Lucid Dream tree still looks pretty appealing, and Phantom Strike seems like a really cool skill.

In any case, please select which character you think is a better Dual Wielder in the poll and preferably state your reasons. Putting your builds up in Titancalc would also be very much appreciated. Thanks.

[Chal]

I voted Spellbreaker although they are both very close in power level.

Spellbreakers ability to leech life off of any monster in the game is the kicker for me. You also don't need mana potions since Dark Convenent refills your energy.

Sure you don't have phantom strike, but you can use Warwind to accomplish virtually the same effect. Yes it does less damage and misses sometimes, but you get your health back anyway. The bonuses vs undead also come in handy if you like to farm the dragon lich or secret passage.

BTW you don't have to use Lich if you don't want to. I skip it with my melee based spirit builds.

[redshift]

I've never played a Harbinger, but have played several other Dream Characters into Legendary (finished with a templar). I also have a Spellbreaker just starting Act 4 Epic.

Trance of Wrath remains a fantastic skill throughout, even though the burn damage doesn't keep up. You can never go wrong with lowering enemy resists. Phantom Strike is an amazing skill, and the Lucid Dream tree is very nice. One thing that has scared me about the Harbinger is the ability to take the damage in legendary, although you will have the fantastic petrify of Temporal Rift. The spec I would recommend is something like:
TitanCalc by stonedonkey - A Titan Quest Calculator - Harbinger

I'm going for a bit of a pet-spellbreaker, so my spec is building towards:
TitanCalc by stonedonkey - A Titan Quest Calculator - Spellbreaker

You could spend less on pets and go with life-drain/arcane power instead. In that case, something like:
TitanCalc by stonedonkey - A Titan Quest Calculator - Spellbreaker

If and when I get my Spellbreaker into Legendary, I'll let you know if it's effective. So far, Epic hasn't been too bad, but we'll see about act 4. Ancestor Warriors and Outsider are pretty much only used when things get out of hand. My current spec is something like:
TitanCalc by stonedonkey - A Titan Quest Calculator - Spellbreaker

[Poinas]

Spellbreaker has been more fun for me, and he is an excellent secret passage farmer. Very good survivability due to high life leech, I've been playing spellbreaker with monters x3 mod, and it has been all good so far. Just entered legendary act 4.

Harbringer is better in a way; you get more DA and good chance of dodging projectiles. My spellbreaker has horribly low DA, only 560. Doesn't matter, as long as nothing can one shot me, I'm safe. Harbringer also gets a bit more HP, and has +%damage skill.

EDIT:Triumph is bugged, doesn't have any effect.

[Wakin]

Originally Posted by Chal

I voted Spellbreaker although they are both very close in power level.

Spellbreakers ability to leech life off of any monster in the game is the kicker for me. You also don't need mana potions since Dark Convenent refills your energy.

Sure you don't have phantom strike, but you can use Warwind to accomplish virtually the same effect. Yes it does less damage and misses sometimes, but you get your health back anyway. The bonuses vs undead also come in handy if you like to farm the dragon lich or secret passage.

BTW you don't have to use Lich if you don't want to. I skip it with my melee based spirit builds.

For many of the same reasons as Chal, I voted for Spellbreaker. I love Phantom Strike and Trance of Wrath with my Templar, but Necrosis does absolute resistance reduction to life leech and vitality damage resistance, while Trance of Wrath only does percent resistance reduction. As Apocalypse noted, most mobs have 0% damage resistance, so ToW has no impact on increasing your physical damage. I have read good things about ToW's skill disruption, but I still have gotten hit by breath weapon attacks and cyclop roars.

Also, I have seen the effectiveness of Deathchill Aura and its synergies from my soothsayer -- he is able to stay at full health in the Legendary Tower of Judgement with maxed Deathchill Aura, Ravages of Time, and Necrosis using a Rapacious Staff of Feasting and a Necklace of Harmonia.

[robertsmith1]

Thanks for the input.

I ended up going with spellbreaker. To be honest, it always looked better to me on paper. Dream has many cool skills, but the defense and damage dealing potential of the Death Chill Aura is hard to turn down for a melee character.