S-TIER | BUILD SORCIÈRE EXPLODE RAVEN FLOCK (@LLYD) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

The Explode Raven Flock Witch build, played in the Lich ascendancy, is a hybrid minion archetype that relies on chain explosions to devastate monster packs. The concept is simple on paper: your minions and ravens continuously curse enemies, and cursed targets explode on death, triggering cascading chain reactions that clear maps at an impressive speed. For single-target, the build relies on a dedicated raven skill that concentrates the bulk of your chaos damage.

The major change introduced in patch 0.5.2 finally makes this build viable: previously, ravens missed by Raven Flock did not count as allies, which broke the entire mechanic. The fix changes everything and allows you to take this build to level 94 and beyond, on challenging T15 content.

Be warned, however: LLYD states it clearly — this is not a budget-friendly build. The Raven Flock skill still lacks tools (few support gems available), and gear must compensate for those gaps. You will need to invest a meaningful amount of currency before it runs smoothly. In return, once properly geared, it is an absolute steamroller for farming, and particularly enjoyable to play in a group.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 1 progression step from leveling to the final build. Select a step to see the corresponding gem setup.

Default

Default

10 skills • 51 gemmes

Conspiration tourbillonnanteSpiraling Conspiracy

Présence flétrissanteWithering Presence

RefutationRefutation

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Ravageurs squelettiquesSkeletal Reaver

Incendiaires squelettiquesSkeletal Arsonist

Clercs squelettiquesSkeletal Cleric

Mages de givre squelettiquesSkeletal Frost Mage

Mages de l'orage squelettiquesSkeletal Storm Mage

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Recommended Equipment

Gear is the heart of this build: it compensates for the lack of tools available to the skill. Two axes guide every piece: maximizing mana (your source of damage AND your defense) and stacking the « damage taken from mana before life » modifier.

• Helmet: +2 minions
• Amulet: +4 minions, and most importantly the corrupted mod « damage taken from mana before life » (aim for around 70–80% total)
• Belt: +2 minions
• Rings: percentage mana and flat mana, minion damage, and a curse recovery suffix to allow spamming Skeletal Sniper
• Body Armour: maximum Energy Shield (triple ES possible), complemented by a Greater Dwarf Rune of Willpower (+15% damage taken from mana before life)
• Gloves: resistances, Energy Shield, and flat maximum mana
• Boots: flat mana and most importantly 15% Spirit to unlock a second Skeletal Sniper
• Weapon (caster): a mana and damage rune with command skills; alternative: a rune granting 50% of maximum life as runic ward protection (runic ward)
• Jewels: each with 4% damage taken from mana, mana regeneration, and minion damage. Add a jewel unique From Nothing jewel (for Whisper of Doom) and a jewel unique Megalomaniac (to gain 40% increased damage to allies — ravens now count as allies)

Gameplay Tips

• Stay at range: it’s easy to forget this is a ranged build. The ravens have a long reach — there’s no need to hug enemies every time. Step back and let the explosions do the work
• Be patient at the start of a map: until you’ve stacked up your ravens, you have neither the damage buff nor the area buff. Take your time, build up to 10–20 ravens, and then you start to « zoom »
• Manage your ravens: each cast of the single-target skill costs 10 ravens. Don’t over-spend them, or you’ll find yourself running on empty
• Spam Skeletal Sniper: it’s the trigger for Archon (15% chance). With the second sniper (15% Spirit boots), the proc rate becomes noticeably more consistent
• Be careful in Abyss: since explosions are random and uncontrollable, you can accidentally kill Abyss monsters with the Amanamu mod. Place your skill on the pit ahead of time and circle around to let them spawn cleanly
• Adapt in Delirium: incoming damage is far more brutal there. The explode mechanic is what keeps you alive, but stay very cautious — especially if your Archon proc is slow to trigger

The 0.5.2 Patch Fix: The Build Is Finally Viable

If you had tried Raven Flock before, you know how disappointing it was. The reason was a bug: ravens summoned by Raven Flock were not being counted as allies. Yet a large portion of the build’s scaling relies on effects that boost « allies » — without that recognition, the mechanic completely fell apart.

Patch 0.5.2 finally fixes this behavior. Now, every summoned raven is properly treated as an ally, which reactivates all ally-related damage multipliers (such as the 40% increased damage from the jewel unique Megalomaniac). This is precisely what allowed LLYD to revisit this build, level it to 94, and push it all the way into T15 content.

Stacking Mana: Your Defense and Your Damage Source

Mana plays a dual role in this build, and that’s what makes it so unique. On one hand, it fuels your survivability: thanks to the « damage taken from mana before life » modifier (aim for 70 to 80%), the majority of incoming damage is drawn from your mana pool rather than your life. It acts as a second health bar. The goal is not to push this modifier to 100%: you want to split the damage between life and mana, while tipping the balance toward mana.

On the other hand, mana multiplies your damage output. A leech passive increases the magnitude of unholy might per 100 maximum mana: the more mana you have, the more chaos damage your single-target skill deals. This is why we stack so much mana on rings, gloves, and boots, while stacking ES on the chest.

Sources of « damage taken from mana » are plentiful: the corrupted mod on the amulet, the Dwarven Grand Rune of Will on the chest (+15%), 4% per jewel, and a jewel socket in the Ledes that doubles the socket’s effect (giving 8% for that particular jewel).

Triggering Archon Efficiently

Archon is the build’s central buff, but it’s finicky: each command skill only has a 15% chance to trigger it. In practice, you’ll need to cast six to seven times on average to get it, which can mean several seconds of downtime.

Two levers to make the trigger more reliable. First, the double Skeletal Sniper: with 15% Spirit on boots, you unlock a second sniper, which multiplies your command skill triggers. Then there’s the anointment (a league mechanic) that removes Archon’s cooldown — at the cost of -50% buff effectiveness, which is offset with several increased buff effect nodes and an Archon buff duration node. You also benefit from electrocution immunity while the Archon buff is active.

Multiplying the Damage Enemies Take

Since the skill itself is difficult to scale directly, the strategy is to stack « damage taken » multipliers on enemies — these multipliers apply at the end of the damage calculation and are therefore extremely powerful.

On the menu: Blasphemy paired with Despair (-54% chaos resistance on the target), Withering Presence (enemies take more chaos damage), and Refutation (50% more damage). We add a jewel unique From Nothing jewel to access Whisper of Doom (and therefore Dark Entry, +1 level to all chaos gems) as well as Master Hexer for curse magnitude. The jewel unique Megalomaniac, meanwhile, grants access to the 40% increased damage to allies. If the jewel unique Megalomaniac is too expensive, a rare jewel with Master Hexer works perfectly fine.

Adapting the Build to Endgame Content

This build does not have overwhelming DPS: it relies on the explode mechanic for clear speed, which means you always need to kill a first target to kick off the chain reaction. As a result, each type of content requires a different approach.

Abyss: this is the trickiest content. Uncontrolled explosions can kill Abyss monsters before they even act. Place your skill on the pit in advance and clear the surrounding area so that dangerous rares (Amanamu mod) die before they launch their black cloud. Bonus: no need to pull, which is very handy in a group.

Citadel: the damage output remains sufficient even against bosses like Toryani. It’s not spectacular, but it’s solid and reliable.

Delirium: this is where the build shows its limits. Incoming damage is much more dangerous and you need to play very carefully, especially if Archon is slow to trigger. The explode mechanic still allows you to clear the content, as long as you play it safe.

Skill Tree