Lightning Archon Wizard BiS Gear, Gems, and Paragon Points

The build will be mixing the powers of two sets, taking 5 pieces from Tal Rasha and 3 pieces of Vyr. Naturally, you will be wearing (or preferably cubing) a Ring of Royal Grandeur to reduce the number of items for set bonus completion by one, thus attaining the full 6-piece Tal Rasha bonus and the 4-piece Vyr bonus. Vyr's Proud Pauldrons, Vyr's Swaggering Stance, Tal Rasha's Unwavering Glare and Tal Rasha's Allegiance are taken as mandatory, since their slots do not conflict between the two sets. Note that Manald Heal's proc curiously does not benefit from elemental damage, making the fourth desirable primary on the amulet either CDR or average damage. The remaining pieces can be distributed according to your best gear, as long as you maintain the required 5 Tal, 3 Vyr split. As a final note, you will be aiming for a 63% Cooldown Reduction goal in your sheet (prior to Gogok of Swiftness stacks) for this build to function optimally.

The cornerstone item of the build is Manald Heal — a Patch 2.4.3 rework that introduces a chance for a massive damage proc on enemies stunned by the Paralysis passive. Due to the significant range of the unique property roll (13,000-14,000%), you should cube a weaker rolled Manald Heal. In terms of game mechanics, it is important to note that Manald Heal is unaffected by proc coefficients and internal cooldowns, and can trigger multiple times during a Paralysis proc — making Attack Speed a highly desirable stat alongside the usual CDR in Archon builds. The Manald Heal proc factors in crit stats, but will not trigger area damage, further influencing itemization. Last but not least, even if Paralysis procs and does not stun due to the diminishing returns on crowd control, Manald Heal will still produce its damage, making the ring deceptively potent.

Your other staple ring is Ring of Royal Grandeur — a long-standing powerhouse in Reaper of Souls that reduces the required number of worn set items for set bonuses by one. Due to the weaker natural rolls of the item (comes with Attack Speed and Life per Hit baked in), you will ideally be cubing this item over the other rings. Its fixed bonus however will likely force you to wear it until you perfect your gear.

Your third ring will vary according to content. In speed farming (up to around GR85 for this build) the demand for burst is significantly lower, equip Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac as it allows you to re-enter Archon form quicker than the other ring variations. Read the solo and group GR pages to learn more about the other staple for the slot, Convention of Elements.

Similarly to your jewelry, your bracer choice will follow the content you are attempting. During speedfarming, no other item beats the utility of Nemesis Bracers for the slot. As previously noted, Manald Heal's proc does not scale with Lightning damage on gear, but in order to dictate the damage type of your Archon spells and proc Paralysis at all, you will need one roll of Lightning damage on gear — and it is best left to the bracer slot.

Fazula's Improbable Chain belt is tailored after Archon builds, with a BiS roll giving you 50 automatic Archon stacks when entering Archon form. Aiding you in your most vulnerable moments, this belt gets your damage and toughness off the ground quicker, making it vital for the playstyle (see this build's skills page for more information). It should be noted that this slot is interchangeable with Tal Rasha's Brace if you possess a perfectly rolled (20-second unique property) The Swami to equip.

You weapon can vary according to your better rolled item of two options. Starfire was reworked in Patch 2.4.2 to increase your Lightning damage according to your distance from the enemy, forcing a mid-to-far range playstyle that is atypical for other Archon builds. The power of this weapon works with the Manald Heal proc, necessitating its inclusion either as the worn weapon or in the cube. Its alternative is the speed farming staple In-geom for the instantaneous resets of your Archon form.

To help you with farming the gear you need for your builds, we have two very useful guides that you can access by clicking the links below: a Salvage Guide to help you quickly check whether or not you can safely salvage a piece of gear and a Legendary Farming Guide to help you efficiently farm legendaries and set items.

Gogok of Swiftness is one of your gemming staples, indirectly providing you with more damage and survivability by increasing the essential Cooldown Reduction, as well as scaling Dodge chance. Even its Attack Speed aspect is not lost, since it brings additional Manald Heal procs to the table.

Zei's Stone of Vengeance is a separate damage multiplier, whose range-dependent amplification can be easily maxed out by the long reach of the Archon beam. The level 25 property will add some minor control and safety to the build, as well as another proc for Bane of the Trapped. Keep in mind that the Hydra's distance from the enemy is calculated separately from yours for the purposes of this gem, so strive to place them at a strategic distance during a fight. As a final note, the stun of the gem is different from Paralysis and will not trigger Manald Heal on its own.

When doing speed farming content, your preferred third gem is Bane of the Trapped — since it will bring the most reliable multiplicative damage increase to the build. You will proc it through various stuns and slows, including the Slow Time in Archon form, the Paralysis and Zei's Stone of Vengeance stun procs, and a follower's Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker slows.

For more information about gems, please refer to our guide on gems.

During speed farming, the recommended power in the cube weapon slot is In-geom. Lowering remaining cooldowns with generous, flat 10 seconds cuts, this item will make permanent Archon near trivial to maintain. The slot is interchangeable with Starfire according to your weakest roll.

The Swami is an essential addition to the cube for the armor slot, as the power of this wizard hat allows you to maintain the Archon stack benefits for 20 seconds in your normal form. That window of opportunity allows you to survive and safely reset you r damage form. As previously stated, this slot is interchangeable with Fazula's Improbable Chain if you possess a perfectly rolled The Swami.

Finally, your jewelry cube slot needs to be taken up by your weakest rolled ring between Manald Heal, Ring of Royal Grandeur and Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac.

The Kanai's Cube can be used for much more than simply extracting Legendary powers from items. Please refer to our Kanai's Cube guide for more information.

For more information regarding followers, we advise you to read our Follower Guide, which contains detailed advice for choosing the skills and the gear of your follower.