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Apr 1 2025 09:38pm
The definitive PvM guide for Mosaic
written by SinsOfTheSun



1. Intro

2. Pros & Cons

3. Skills

4. Gear & Stats

5. Merc

6. Conclusion



[1. Intro]

Known as the most devastating build in the history of D2R, the Mosaic Assassin will blind you with her power (literally). This build revolves around the use of 2 Mosaic runewords and its synergy with the Martial Arts tree. With the ability to rapidly trigger fireworks of multiple charged up skills, this build excels at clearing entire screens in a flash. Whether you're a veteran or new to D2R, this guide will walk you through the essentials of building and playing a Mosaic Assassin, from skills and gear to strategies that maximize her potential. Let's dive into the art of harnessing the Mosaic sin’s true power!



[2. Pros & Cons]

Pros
Able to do all game content, including Ubers
No problem with immunes
Great at density destroying
Ultra tanky

Cons
Requires some time to charge up skills each new game
Always on a ticking clock to prevent losing charges
Abusive visual "fireworks" will get you blind



[3. Skills]

The Martial Arts skill tree is divided into 3 comprehensive columns.
Left : charge up skills where all 3 charges stack together
Middle : charge up skills where only the current charge level is used
Right : finisher moves, those attacks will not miss once you have charges up and each hit will deliver all charges

All charges last 15 seconds, the timer is reset with each attack.

20 Phoenix Strike - PS
20 Claws of Thunder - CoT
20 Blades of Ice - BoI
1 Fists of Fire - FoF
1 Tiger Strike - TS
1 Cobra Strike - CS
20 Fade
1 Dragon Flight - DF (optional, can be a nice tool to telestomp)
1 Mind Blast - MB (optional, can be used to convert a monster before spawning Diablo or between Baal waves to have a target to keep up charges)
Remaining points into Claw Block (56 to 60% block) & to reach a number of Dragon Talon kicks based on the average player count you normally play on :
1-3 players : 4 kicks *
4-6 players : 5 kicks
7-8 players : 6 kicks

* On p1 you may actually want to use dragon claw. 2 hits should be able to kill most enemies and its faster than performing 4 kicks.

Charges to use :
PS 2 (start with this one to make sure you see 2 orbs around you)
CoT 3
BoI 3
CS/TS *

* In most cases, charging Cobra Strike to the 3rd charge should give you more than enough sustain already without the need to charge Tiger Strike.
If using low dmg boots, you may want to increase your sustain by also charging TS.
Be aware of a bug called The Leech Overflow Bug, where having too much physical dmg and leech % will simply result in no leech at all.

Do NOT charge :
FoF -> This skill is causing many problems.
It converts a portion or your physical dmg into fire dmg, up to 100% at lvl 34+, which will prevent you from leeching.
The stacking patches of fire can also cause lag and even crash your game.
Some guides may tell you to use this to reduce your physical dmg if you are experiencing the leech overflow bug. This is not a good idea... simply stop charging TS if this happens.



[4. Gear & Stats]

STR/DEX - enough for gear
VITA - all remaining points
ENE - none

The Claws.
Yes, it is mandatory to have 2x Mosaic claws, as they each give you 50% chance to not consume your charges.
Using only 1 would completely deplete your charges in an instant and the build would be practically unplayable.
Only the main hand claw base really matters, as its base speed will be used to determine your ias breakpoints for your main attack : dragon talon.
While charging up skills, the middle tree is also using only your main claw, while the left tree will alternate between each claw.
So the off-hand claw still very slightly matters while charging CoT and BoI, but in the end you should just make sure it's not a claw that requires much higher STR/DEX than the rest of your gear.
Ideally, get a Greater Talon (GT) for its -30WSM and low requirements.
The elite version, Runic Talon (RT) will also do the job as it also has -30WSM, but will require more stats to equip.

Here is an ias calculator to help you figure out how much ias you would need :
https://warren1001.github.io/IAS_Calculator/?data=1-0-Greater_Talons-0-0-None-0-Dragon_Talon-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As you can see, using a GT, with only the 20 ias that is already on Mosaic, you would be kicking at 3 frames for each first few kicks and 8 frames for the last one.
You would however need an extra 26 ias on top of that to reach the last ias breakpoint, reducing your last kick to 7 frames.
Test it out and see what happens if you use a slower claw base.

Staffmods priority on claws?
Best : PS, CoT
Great : BoI, weapon block
Utility : DF, MB (to save hard points) & Fade (only if a total of 4-6 on both claws because you already have +3 on CtA side)
Anything else is useless and shouldn't increase the claw's value, so don't get fooled when buying them.
But remember, the claw base is practically more important than the staffmods.

Other than that, you do not care about the % enhanced dmg that is rolled on mosaic.
Only the +light % really matters (from 8 to 15%), while the +cold % isn't really important and the +fire % is useless as we won't be using any of the fire charges like explained previously.

Boots?
Even tho you are mostly kicking, boots are the least important gear slot.
Common options are Gores, WarTravs, ShadowDancers, rares, etc.
They should be at least Exceptional, if not Elite, so you have enough leech (refer to section 3 if you have trouble to find a balance for your leech).

65 or 102 fcr?
Here's the thing...
102 fcr means you'll save 1 frame each time you tele.
All other "spells" are actually attacks, using ias.
On the average run, you'll perform about as many tele VS attacks.
On a 65 fcr build, it's easier to reach the last ias breakpoint, making you save 1 frame each time you attack (thus making both builds save approximately the same number of frames per run).
So I'll link 1 build for 65 fcr with max ias, 1 build for 102 fcr, and a bonus BiS expensive build reaching the best of both worlds.
I'll also link a 4th build, for ultra budget using only 2x mosaics and easy to SSF gear for free.

102 fcr standard build :
https://maxroll.gg/d2/d2planner/8p3f20ip

65 fcr build :
https://maxroll.gg/d2/d2planner/uo3fd00n

BiS expensive build reaching both 102fcr and max ias (using BoS instead of fade, need gg gear to still reach max res) :
https://maxroll.gg/d2/d2planner/ak3fq00i

Budget / ladder start build :
https://maxroll.gg/d2/d2planner/6o3f100r



[5. Merc]

The Mosaic Sin is so OP that her merc is nearly irrelevant, but still...
Use an A2 merc with either Defiance/Holy Freeze for increased protection, or Blessed Aim (if not using infinity) to help you charge up skills if you have low AR.
Infinity for increased dmg, only relevant for high player count.
Insight if you plan on doing long tele distances, rushing, etc.

*tips&tricks : Use a normal base insight. This prevents your merc from killing your targets while you charge up your skills. This also allows you to use it on a self-wield infinity Nova Sorc, or even on a Javazon merc since his dmg is also irrelevant. A single item that fits perfectly on the 3 best builds in the game ;)



[6. Conclusion]

This guide should be enough to cover all important details.
Some things, like the merc helm/armor were voluntarily ommited because there are many good options, he just needs to survive, his dmg is irrelevant.
But if you feel like I forgot a detail, or something isn't clearly explained, feel free to PM me :)
Have fun!
Member
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Apr 2 2025 01:08am
great guide wow, you've come a long way since your original account got locked

you're kinda like pinokibot except while he's dodging duels in ancient zulu click tongue you're up in here posting fcr frames in english and calling it a guide. this some hollywood shit, truly inspirational

Member
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Apr 2 2025 01:41am
A monkey with their eyes closed could play mosaic. Boring build, should never have been added to the game to begin with.
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Apr 2 2025 02:40am
A monkey with their eyes closed could play mosaic. Boring build, should never have been added to the game to begin with.


What is mosaic build do, tldr version?
Member
Posts: 8,687
Joined: Jun 1 2014
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Apr 2 2025 04:57am
great guide wow, you've come a long way since your original account got locked

you're kinda like pinokibot except while he's dodging duels in ancient zulu click tongue you're up in here posting fcr frames in english and calling it a guide. this some hollywood shit, truly inspirational


You’re the one who’s gonna be locked with your nonstop shit posting.
Take a long story completely out of context and you nearly look credible.

1. I got key logged. The events you are referring to are more than 3 years appart and in reverse chronological order for it to even make sense.

2. You then accuse me of “being poor” by linking 3 posts I made on the very first day of my join date?
I wasn’t “begging” like you say, but on the day I joined I faced a wall I wasn’t used to since I was an old user : nobody would trade with a new account, even if I was giving first.

Just take some time to think before your next attempt at a defamation post, drama queen.

Here’s the real story :
I’m known as a very helpful and appreciated user, both for my way to constantly provide guidance and freely give away my time to help in game or on this forum.
A scammer you say?
I gave more donations to help other people recover from similar situations than the person that key logged me even scammed for in the first place.

You, on the other hand, transform into a mad dog whenever you see a good nom-trolling post.
I won’t even report you, as I didn’t report the post you linked there.
No the whole community is here to back me, in a fight of good vs evil (you).
I pity you and hope you’ll get better.

With all my love,
Sins
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Posts: 35,252
Joined: Mar 29 2021
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Apr 2 2025 05:52am
No the whole community is here to back me, in a fight of good vs evil (you).


this quote smells like basement



posting faked gold logs (link above shows you not having a single forum post during the log period) because someone called you poor also smells like basement.

scamming someone for 70 dollars in an illegal fg trade while claiming to be a rich cia coder or some bullshit? that's on a different level


anyway, a "definitive" mosaic guide should probably define the very high-impact leech overflow bug besides just naming it. get back to work hombre
Member
Posts: 8,687
Joined: Jun 1 2014
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Apr 2 2025 09:07am
this quote smells like basement

https://i.imgur.com/1WGug1G.png

posting faked gold logs (link above shows you not having a single forum post during the log period) because someone called you poor also smells like basement.

scamming someone for 70 dollars in an illegal fg trade while claiming to be a rich cia coder or some bullshit? that's on a different level


anyway, a "definitive" mosaic guide should probably define the very high-impact leech overflow bug besides just naming it. get back to work hombre


Like I said already, you’re showing 3 posts on the very first day of my join date. This is months later.
Were you rich the next hour you joined?

Then this high gold log 3-4 months later is due to the fact I started liquidating in big bulk via PM all my stacked non-ladder gear, as I’m a ladder only player.
Are you jealous to the point that you now want a video of it just cuz you like to call it photoshopped?
Remember that I never bragged about anything, you’re the one who chased me asking for gold logs like it was vital for you, while nobody cared at all cuz it has no meaning anyway.

“This quote smells like basement” you say?
You’re the one obsessed freak that spent fgs and hours of your time to go gather “proofs” from over 10 years ago, just to make up this whole story, because what?… you’re mad at someone genuinely helping others for free?

Maybe you should go look at a mirror and ask yourself : How did I became such a piece of sh*t?
You’re at a very low point in your life, but I’m sure you can get back up, if you at least try.

Or even better, just ask yourself…
In a parallel universe where I would really be guilty of all the bullshit you’re saying;
What is worse, in the present moment?
Being a repented man since 10+ years constantly helping out everybody?
Or being a freaky drama queen wannabe detective with a post count that is mostly based on personal attacks and trolling?

This post was edited by SinsOfTheSun on Apr 2 2025 09:13am
Member
Posts: 8,687
Joined: Jun 1 2014
Gold: 2,765.00
Apr 2 2025 09:20am
anyway, a "definitive" mosaic guide should probably define the very high-impact leech overflow bug besides just naming it. get back to work hombre


This is a guide about mosaic, not a post to write paragraphs about a bug you can easily google.
I’ve been answering so many questions about all types of builds that I thought I should start writing guides so I can easily link them as an answer instead of typing it all over again each time.
I started with mosaic, I’ll do more, like it or not you can just ignore them instead of just polluting the discussion.

It would have been very wrong to write more about this bug than I already did.
I had to be concise, yet giving info on how to prevent/fix it :

Quote
* In most cases, charging Cobra Strike to the 3rd charge should give you more than enough sustain already without the need to charge Tiger Strike.
If using low dmg boots, you may want to increase your sustain by also charging TS.
Be aware of a bug called The Leech Overflow Bug, where having too much physical dmg and leech % will simply result in no leech at all.


That’s all the info needed for anyone with a brain to easily compute how to deal with this.
If you want, instead of criticizing my work here, go write an article about this bug and I will happily link it :)

I hope you get better soon.
Take some time to fix yourself man, you’re worth it.
I still love you even if you are lost in anger.

This post was edited by SinsOfTheSun on Apr 2 2025 09:26am
Member
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Apr 2 2025 03:05pm
Nice "build" forgot cbf lmao
Member
Posts: 8,687
Joined: Jun 1 2014
Gold: 2,765.00
Apr 2 2025 04:10pm
Nice "build" forgot cbf lmao


cham in griff?
death belt+gloves?

cbf is there in different forms lol
Just showing different possible ways to get you need on different setups.

This post was edited by SinsOfTheSun on Apr 2 2025 04:19pm
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