Blood mage vs Infernalist, minions
Title. Want to run skeletal reavers (+/- cleric, Archer for qol). SSFHC.
Survivability: In broad terms I see both get to use double ES with grim. BM also get to double their life with orbs. Hound is 20% less taken, but its dead most of the time. Perma enfeeble curse on bosses thanks to infinite duration. Conclusion: Survivability goes to BM.
Damage: Inf get more minions, more damage. Qol with hound to trigger armor break, saves the need of Archer. BM gets endless vurnability curse on bosses. Conclusion: Infernalist by far.
As reavers are known for their damage, I think BM might be the play here.
Thoughts?
Comments
Bro what, infernalist is the tankiest ascendancy in the game right now. If dog dies it lacks resist or proper support (meat shield/clerics). You didn't even mention altered flesh which is an insane defensive node.
Keep in mind that blood mage only really gets double life while fighting packs. I tend to have trouble with bosses, because running in to grab orbs is too dangerous.
I really wish we could respec ascendancy class.
Edit: also, leech resist still ramps up hard. I just retested my blood mage's leech, and aside from when I DD a pack, it does barely anything.
Altered Flesh is also a significant defensive boost once you cap chaos resistance, although it might be a tough ask in SSFHC.
Bloodmage seems intended for some sort of hybrid spell+minion build. Important thing is that Life Remnant doesn't proc off minion kills (At least based on description) so that node is just dead on pure minions.