Season 11 | 2.6 Akkhan’s Build Guide

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THE NON THORNS HALF OF THIS GUIDE isn’t fully fleshed out yet – since it’s a sub-optimal use for the set. 

THIS PAGE IS FOR NON-THORNS AKKHAN’S
P1 is for Akkhan’s Thorns

S6 Note: If you’re looking for non-thorns Invoker – this page is it. While it’s synergistic and fun, non-thorns Akkhan is under-powered right now, but it’s an “open” set which means you can have a bit of fun with the build.

Crusader: Armor of Akkhan
Standard Build | Stat Priority & Rerolls | Playstyle | Variations | Speedfarming

Akkhan: Skills & Items Setup

TABLE NEED

Akkhan’s Stat priority & Re-rolls

Chunky unsighly table of re-rolls right below

CLICK TO REVEAL STAT PRIORITY TABLE

TABLE NEED

COOLDOWN REDUCTION vs. OBSIDIAN RING OF THE ZODIAC

(WE DO NOT spend Wrath in this setup – but this is something Akkhan’s users should know)

Ok so there’s 2 ways to keep a 100% (or close to) uptime to Akarat’s Champion. It boils down to “A bunch of CDR” vs “ORoTZ“. It can also be seen as “Losing a bunch of DPS stats” vs “1 Ring slot”. Determining if it’s worth it is another issue all together. Personally – I think CDR is better, it’s FAR more consistent, and affects all other skills equally – as such it’s what I will be recommending in this write-up. 56% Sheet CDR is needed for Akkhan’s –

56% Sheet CDR needed - click for details.
56%~ No Fervor 56%~ Fervor 56%~ Fervor Gogok
No Fervor – Fervor 15 Fervor 15
Diamond 12.5 Diamond 12.5 Gogok 15
Paragon 10 Paragon 10 Diamond 12.5
Shoulder 8 Shoulder 8 Paragon 10
Weapon 10 Weapon 10 Shoulder 8
Off-hand 8 Off-hand 8 Weapon 10
Ring 8 Ring 8 Off-hand 8
Ring 8 Ring 8 Ring Optional
Glove 8 Glove NO NEED Ring NO NEED
Uptime 95% Uptime 100% Glove NO NEED
AMULET 8  –  – Uptime 95-100%
Uptime 100+%  –  –  –  –

 

I hope you understand what I’m tryin’ to say up here, they just serve as examples. Please us a tool like d3planner to make sure what your totals look like.

Amulet and Glove are the worst places for CDR, since you can roll huge stats on them. The middle table seems to be the best balance. You will lose 2 CHD rolls on 2 rings (or glove, its okay as long as you don’t lose STR or VIT)

Keep note some of the sets “hidden properties”

Jekangbord has up to +200% Blessed Shield damage.

Playing the Build

There’s not much to say here. If you’ve watched any Captain America movie, you should have a general idea how to play Akkhan Blessed Shield…. (OK, seriously).

More enemies = More Power: Tagging as many guys as you can with Blessed Shield makes you much stronger via Akkhan’s Leniency – so try to take on the biggest fights you can manage. (Did you see that last part? “You can manage”).

All the buffs: Keep track of the various buffs you have, it’s a large part of your play –

  • Akarat’s Champion – Is the very soul of your build, do not let it fall off. You should also know if you’ve used up your Prophet free death, too.
  • Punish – increases your block chance so never let it fall off! It also gives various bonuses depending on rune, or all of them with Angel Hair Braid.
  • Iron Skin – is it up? Will you need it soon? Should I use it now?
  • Convention of Elements

Akkhan: Variations & Evolutions

Legendary Gem

Legendary Gems: Trapped > Powerful/Stricken > Defensive Gem

Trapped is your generic go-to gem here. It’s NOT easy to trigger with our build, though. So you’ll need good ‘ol Templar, or remember that being near mobs will trigger it.

Powerful and/or Stricken: are both very generic choices. You cant go wrong with either, and wouldn’t ever be sad to own a leveled gem of both of ’em.

Offensive gem possibilities: Given the large +DMG Akkhan’s has, Pain Enhancer or Mirinae become quite attractive. Time will tell.

Esoteric Alteration is your default defensive gem, as you’re resilient to physical damage. If you find that your self-healing capability is good – Moratorium might be worth a shot.

Passives

Passives: Not many choices here, but lets discuss why we chose some of them.

 Fervor (or Heavenly Strength) – Finery – Holy Cause – Hold Your Ground

Fervor or Heavenly Strength? I really think Heavenly Strength may be better, but it ultimately depends on which of the two weapons you have that has a better roll.

“Why no Towering Shield“? Surprisingly this is the weakest DPS gain – and if I’m not mistaken, still weaker than the DPS gain from the primarily defensive passive Hold Your Ground! I was surprised by the calculations, myself. It’s only useful if you plan on integrating Shield Glare into your build.

I don’t think there’s any other truly relevant passive here.

Items

Items:

Belt: Angel Hair Braid is pretty open, there are other options:

Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac: Ahhh Good ‘ol ORotZ. Even if I say CDR is better, this ring has some upsides like the uptime on Iron Skin, Laws and other cooldowns. But specifically for the Blessed Shield build, I don’t think losing Justice Lantern is worth (also, you don’t spend wrath in this setup). You can ditch CoE in the cube, if you like. Just throwin’ it out there.

There are no other meaningful changes to the build for efficiency.

Skills

Blessed Shield-Divine Aegis makes a pretty strong case here for an interesting build. 50% Life Regen and 50% Armor is quite tempting. This can further be explored in combination with Molten Wildebeest’s Gizzard. (And change elemental % to Physical).

Punish rune? Each rune has its ups and downs, if you’re NOT using Angel Hair Braid, you’re going to have to choose one. Roar probably beats Celerity DPS wise. Rebirth is your only defensive choice – the other two being largely irrelevant.

Iron Skin–Steel Skin is purely taken for highest uptime. Flash is the only other choice, really, which can get you out of some pretty sticky situations. As you get better with the build, or in higher GR’s where the longer duration wouldn’t matter – experiment with Flash.

Laws are, of course, pretty fluid. Obviously, each has their own merits –

Steed Charge–Rejuvenation is recommended above but Endurance is also a good choice.

Speedfarming? Build changes

You might want to first check out:
D3 Speedfarming (General) | Crusader Speedfarming Guide.

Main Changes:
Items: Swiftmount (Cubed), your choice 
Passives OUT:
Passives IN:

Crusader: Armor of Akkhan
Standard Build | Stat Priority & Rerolls | Playstyle | Variations | Speedfarming

Learn more of the other Crusader Sets!

For other D3 Guides, please check our Guide Directory.

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