Stat Priority
The stat priority for Mara will change dependent upon the build you are running. First, a look at each stat and what it does for us:
- Agility, our main stat has the greatest effect point for point on our damage.
- Critical Strike has the chance to double the damage of your abilities. It also gives us a chance to generate additional combo points with Mara's builders.
- Expertise is a simple stat. It increases all our damage, healing and absorption effects.
- Haste increases our attack speed, the tick rate of our DoTs and the frequency of most ppm effects.
- Spirit gives us a chance to refund combo points spent, and gives us a few spirit points when we do.
Build Based Stat Priorities
Malevolence build with Wristbands Of Vexira's Prey:
Expertise > Crit >> Spirit > Haste
Expertise and Crit are the by far best secondaries for the finisher focused build. At max item level we want to aim for around 40% Crit, around 5-10% haste and 0-20% spirit (based on desired ult timings and preference), and dump the rest into expertise.
Hemotoxin build with Assassin's Shadow-Lined Cape:
Haste >>> Expertise > Crit >>> Spirit
With new haste synergies being added in Early Access Season, 3 Haste is now the best stat for the Hemotoxin build. Take as much haste as you possibly can and take a bit more expertise than crit, with as little spirit as possible.
Spirit Malevolence build with Wristbands Of Vexira's Prey:
Spirit > Expertise > Crit > Haste
The new blessing system have some very powerful spirit synergies that we'll want to take advantage of in the end game. Take around 50% spirit, 5-15% haste depending on energy needs and about twice as much expertise as crit for the remaining secondaries.
Item Modifiers
Itemization has undergone a massive overhaul in Early Access Season 3. I'll do my best to explain the important points succinctly in this section.
Base Stats
Items can now roll up to 2 additional stats (blue stats on item tooltip) based on rarity. The first is added at Uncommon (green) rarity and the second is added at Heroic (yellow) rarity. These stats can roll main stat, secondaries and stamina, and the same stat can roll twice.
Note: Base stats cannot be changed in any way and it therefore means that it is quite important to look at them and identify if the item is usable or it is better to look for a new item base.
Modifiers
Items can also roll up to 3 Modifiers based on rarity. The first Modifier is added at Rare (blue) rarity, the second at Epic (purple) rarity, and the third at Regal (red) rarity. On a single item, you can get up to two duplicate Modifiers. The Modifier categories are Major Traits, Heroic Traits, Defensive Traits, Blessings, Stats, Set Bonuses and Imbued Essence (gem power). These Modifiers are the most important part of items for end game build optimization.
Below, I provide a Tier Rating for each Modifier, by build, and advise on the suggested 'BIS' Modifier set-up.
The stat rolls on weapons should ideally be 2 Haste rolls. The Seized Opportunity weapon trait can be swapped for Patient Soul when effective health begins to become a problem, The same can be done with 1 of the 2 emerald Emerald Judgement mods and The Subduer and monarch blessings.
Hemotoxin Build Gem Set-up
The following gem set-up accompanies the BIS set-up above, for the Hemotoxin build.
Seal of the Heskyr (+25% Bonus)
We go for 10 Sapphire, 6 Amethyst, 6 Emerald, and 6 Ruby. The color of the power you take as mod rolls instead of a tier 4 gem does not matter, you do however need all of them to be of the same color. It does not matter which slots the mods are on either.
The stat rolls on weapons should ideally be 2 main stat rolls.
Malevolence Build Gem Set-up
The following gem set-up accompanies the BIS set-up above, for the Malevolence build.
Seal of the Heskyr (+25% Bonus)
We go for 10 Sapphire, 6 Amethyst, 6 Emerald, and 6 Ruby. The color of the power you take as mod rolls instead of a tier 4 gem does not matter, you do however need all of them to be of the same color. It does not matter which slots the mods are on either.
The stat rolls on weapons should ideally be 2 spirit rolls.
Spirit Malevolence Build Gem Set-up
The following gem set-up accompanies the BIS set-up above, for the Spirit Malevolence build.
Seal of the Heskyr (+25% Bonus)
We go for 10 Sapphire, 6 Emerald, 6 Amethyst and 6 Ruby. It does not matter which slots the mods are on or which of the 3 colors they are, as they effectively replace 1 gem.
Necklace Traits
In preseason 3 defensive talents and some of the stronger defensive traits have been moved onto a new trait system on necklaces that are of Epic Quality or higher. In this section, I'll go over the most desirable traits and combinations for different types of content.
The Boar Is by far the most universally useful trait throughout progression, giving damage reduction on the hits where it is most needed. I'd recommend always taking this trait unless another combination is explicitly needed.
The Lake Is very potent, giving 20% damage reduction against AoE damage at all times. Almost all the deadly boss abilities in the game are categorized as AoE, meaning you almost can't go wrong with it.
The Mountain Is a very strong trait as well, and I'd recommend taking it alongside The Boar all the way up until dungeons become uncompletable without other combinations.
The River & The Dune Are both solid traits, The River in particular making boss mechanics like Lightning Rod, Shadowgreed Eclipse and High Tide much more manageable.
The Gryphon gets an honorable mention as it might be required for specific dungeons in very late game pushing, but probably not that useful until then.
Gems & Gem Builds
Fellowship has a unique Gem System. we obtain gems to attach to sockets in our gear while playing, which gives us Gem Power that enable Gem Bonuses. There are 4 Gem sizes that provide you with progressively more Gem Power. You can combine 3 of the same gem type and size using Gem Fusion to create a gem of the next size up.
Gem Types & Bonuses
The Gem types each follow a pattern of the type of bonus they provide, a simplification of the Gems is shown in the table below.
| Gem Type | Gem Bonus |
| Ruby | Main Stat / Boss Combat Buffs |
| Amethyst | Critical Strike |
| Topaz | Haste |
| Emerald | Expertise |
| Sapphire | Stats during Ultimate Ability |
| Diamond | Main stat & all secondaries |
Mara Gem Progression & Priority
The early game Gem priority for Mara is the following:
Up to Early Eternal, you'll want to go for tier 1 or 2 gems of different colors in your sockets, go for Ruby > Diamond > Sapphire > Emerald > Amethyst > Topaz
Gem Builds: Please see the Item Modifier & Gem Set-up builds earlier in this section for the recommended gem set-up for each build.