S-TIER | WARLOCK BUILD Cri ardent démon permanent (@MacroBioBoi) | SEASON 15

LEVELING | ENDGAME | PIT PUSH | SPEED FARM DEMONISTE

Build Overview: Permanent Demon Blazing Scream Warlock

Our permanent demon Blazing Scream Warlock build just passed its first Season 15 test. @MacroBioBoi had called it one of the most powerful builds of the season, played it all through launch day, and says it holds that rank. He is even thinking about moving it up in his tier lists. His proof: a solo Torment 10 Mephisto kill before the end of his stream, in gear where everything but one piece can be obtained within the first 24 hours of play.

The author was worried about the announced changes to Moloch's Beating Flame. The nerfs, really bug fixes that cut its power, cost him very little: his guide never relied on an exploited mechanic, and he had run his tests without Leoric's Crown. The build has actually become easier to play, because that crown, available from the seasonal quest, more than makes up for the loss.

Everything comes down to one skill. Blazing Scream carries more tags than any other Warlock skill: Greater Demon, Lesser Demon, Archfiend, Demonology and Hellfire. Simply casting it triggers everything the build is after, so the goal is to strengthen it as much as possible and play around each of those tags.

Pros and Cons

Recommended Gear

In this Blazing Scream Warlock build, two uniques carry the damage. Elegy gives Blazing Scream the Archfiend tag on top of its demon tags. Paired with the Skull Splitter variant, which needs no talent point once you hold the sword, it sends out seven Lesser Demon mini-missiles on every cast. Thanks to the sword's third effect, each one deals the main skill's full damage. According to the author, the buff from that effect multiplied the build's damage by almost ten.

Infernal Homunculus takes over from there. It increases the damage of Archfiend skills and gives them every Lesser Demon upgrade for free. Since Blazing Scream becomes an Archfiend skill, you pick up the powers tagged Lesser Demon in the tree: the skill generates resource on every hit, and because it is also a Greater Demon skill, it generates more for each projectile. It applies Vulnerable 100% of the time with no extra investment, and grants you Volatility.

Moloch's Beating Flame turns that Volatility into a multiplier. It checks every Hellfire skill on your bar that carries Volatility and adds a damage percentage for each one, additively. With four skills on the bar and a maximum roll, the author counts a 120% bonus, a 2.2x multiplier. Leoric's Crown rounds out the set: it strengthens the season's shards and adds two slots. Because the build takes constant fire damage, the author doesn't fill every shard slot. He keeps a ruby in at least one jewelry piece for fire resistance.

Horadric Seal S15

The build is built on the Abaddon's Flesh set, completed with charms from the Ritual of the Nameless. Phoba of Abaddon's Flesh, for example, grants 3 ranks to Hellfire skills and 30% fire resistance, two bonuses that serve the build directly. The chosen seal is the mythic Seal of the Diamond Mind: it adds a charm slot, six in total, and 15% damage reduction tied to demon form. The author's starter charms are more modest (two skill ranks and a seal bonus), since he has neither a mythic seal nor the extra slot yet.

Gameplay Tips

To play the permanent demon Blazing Scream Warlock, stack Demonology and Hellfire skill ranks on your gear. Apocalypse benefits from them, and according to the author its bonus caps around rank 40. Until you have both Elegy and Infernal Homunculus, Apocalypse in its B variant is an excellent pick, since every Blazing Scream projectile that hits or bounces resets it with no cooldown. Once you hold both uniques, switch to Metamorphosis and drop Apocalypse.

Dark Prison isn't on the bar: a runeword triggers it, but the talent points stay invested in it. For survival, the immunity version of Nether Step covers most situations. The author died only once against Mephisto, for standing too close to the attacks.

Talent Tree

Mercenary S15

Paragon and Glyphs

The author points to the planner for Paragon progression, as he does for the talent tree. One detail from that planner is worth keeping: since Blazing Scream is also a Greater Demon skill, it counts as summoning a Greater Demon for Paragon purposes.

Demon Form and Self-Inflicted Burn

Metamorphosis normally grants demon form and replaces your skills with their Archfiend variants. In the B variant, it no longer replaces them but gives 100% uptime on Volatility: every Hellfire skill you cast gains a little additive damage and unlocks your gear's multipliers. Destruction Demon keeps that form up permanently and burns you continuously, for a big damage ramp, as long as you survive the burn.

Temerity solves the problem in one stroke. The author wouldn't have switched to the Metamorphosis version before getting it. Without it, he got by with Undying Aspect and Sadistic Aspect, but eventually ran short on life and had to leave demon form. Sadistic Aspect is worth running on the amulet: it makes your demons count as dead twice, up to 75% of the time, which feeds your life on kill. Putting Undying Aspect on the amulet through Transfiguration also frees up room for extra damage reduction on the chest piece.