[3.8] A Shocking Elementalist, Lightning Tendrils CwC Arc - All Content - Budget version included

Hey i started this build in Delve and so far it´s really really solid and strong. I just got the necessary uniques and i´m currently working towards the recommended ones.

I have two questions though:
Do you think that i can drop a few points on the skill tree to get the blood drinker life cluster and if yes which ones? I´m just feeling a bit too squishy with just 4,2k hp and 1k unreserved mana, ideally i´d like to hit 5k hp and 1600 unreserved mana.

And how do you feel about power charges? Would they improve the dps or is it too straining on the tree?

I guess this build gets compared to Mathils one a lot, i really prefer MoM and wand+shield to be safer though. And will this build be playable after the inevitable inpulsa nerf (it has to happen at some point)? The dmg is insane enough, clear will get a lot worse though.

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Mathematical_ wrote:

Hey i started this build in Delve and so far it´s really really solid and strong. I just got the necessary uniques and i´m currently working towards the recommended ones.

I have two questions though:
Do you think that i can drop a few points on the skill tree to get the blood drinker life cluster and if yes which ones? I´m just feeling a bit too squishy with just 4,2k hp and 1k unreserved mana, ideally i´d like to hit 5k hp and 1600 unreserved mana.

And how do you feel about power charges? Would they improve the dps or is it too straining on the tree?

I guess this build gets compared to Mathils one a lot, i really prefer MoM and wand+shield to be safer though. And will this build be playable after the inevitable inpulsa nerf (it has to happen at some point)? The dmg is insane enough, clear will get a lot worse though.

More survivability always cost some damage, from memory Doom Cast is the less effective cluster damage wise so I would drop this one for Blood Drinker.

Power Charges are a lot of points, 7 pts on this type of build is hard to fit in. Unless you really make use of them with like a Power Charge on Crit Staff or double Void Batteries, I can't see how it would benefits the build in a significant way.

I like the approach of Mathil on his build, coincidentally I also tried the 7/8L Staff way last League and it was really good. I still prefer my way with the virtually infinite mana and all, but it's not necessarily better.
If they decide to nerf Inpulsa it will hurt the build a lot, unless they don't touch the Shock Effect on it I would change for a Loreweave I think.

I'm absolutely loving this build, I've gotten up to level 90 or so with it and I'm staring to break into red maps - first time I've done both.

But I seem to be hitting a wall with the most difficult content. I get that the mechanic is 'constantly shock with mind of the council so you have an effectively infinite mana pool for MoM', but during most boss fights (especially ones with physical or lightning damage), it feels like I'm constantly out of mana.

I'm not sure where I'm going wrong, am I supposed to be playing this with some kind of agility/movement, ducking in, getting a few hits, and ducking out again, or am I supposed to be playing it '100% facetank and hope to kill quickly'?

"

Portalboat wrote:

I'm absolutely loving this build, I've gotten up to level 90 or so with it and I'm staring to break into red maps - first time I've done both.

But I seem to be hitting a wall with the most difficult content. I get that the mechanic is 'constantly shock with mind of the council so you have an effectively infinite mana pool for MoM', but during most boss fights (especially ones with physical or lightning damage), it feels like I'm constantly out of mana.

I'm not sure where I'm going wrong, am I supposed to be playing this with some kind of agility/movement, ducking in, getting a few hits, and ducking out again, or am I supposed to be playing it '100% facetank and hope to kill quickly'?

Thanks and congrats :)

There is indeed a lot of manual dodging to do on this type of selfcast builds. Until you reach really high DPS numbers you can't really "Spray and Pray" end game bosses. That will be the case with almost all non-attack, non-es, non-RF builds. If you are getting smacked while clearing maps it's most likely a lack of DPS because everything should be dead as soon as you hit them.

One thing I found useful to get a bit of survivability and some Mana back when I get hit : use a 3L to put Cast when Damage Taken (level 1) with Ball Lightning (level 4) and Tempest Shield (Level 7). This will give you some additional block chance when you are hit and more importantly it will generate a high number of hits that have a good chance to Shock and will refill your Mana pool.

I spied a bit on your profile to see your gear. The easiest upgrade you can make is the Wand, a well rolled Singularity would be better than your actual one. I would also recommend using the flask setup I showed in the guide, maybe skipping the Silver flask. Other than that your gear is pretty nice.
If you get a lucky Exalt drop, buy a Voice of the Storm + a Blessing of Esh to upgrade it to a Choir of the Storm, your damage will skyrocket. This should be your next big investment.
A 6L would go a long way but Fusings can be cruel sometimes.

I hope you won't get discouraged by this playstyle because it will get better and better the more you invest in the build !

Hi man,

Lvl 89, im using the Harbinger shield and your build is awesome,

cheers

i think lvling tree link was broken.

EDIT: sorry. was my fault.

hi,

i'm dying to try this build but i don't understand why hypothermia is in there.
as i have looked and see no skills with cold effects.

though i might have missed or mis understood this. kinda new to the game.

What nodes would you change if playing this on HC?

Hello, I have been trying this build out in HC Delve, and I have seen a few people asking for a HC viable version of this build.

I achieved level 94 and 300+ Delve in HC Delve and I wanted to share how I have tweaked the skill points. This is the skill tree I am using:

https://poeplanner.com/AA4AAPkADiMAAHkC4wQHBLMHHgelCPQOSBEtEZYaOBzcHYMmlScvLJwwWzLROlg62DwFRUdFnUbXSU9JUUmyTLNTUlVLVcZZ813yYeJqQ3GFcg98g3_GghCCm4PbhTKMNo8akFWVLpctmuCiAKcIrJexQryqvOrAZtAf1abaud-w6-7vfO_r8B_w1fMRrv8w-JRvZlTYJFZIbRmXlZf0IvRsC5MnnsSmvlRHNj20xWKsbIydqsLsBbWNv9QjMHHdqEt4OkJRRzB8jX0j9k2SN9TtP76KoS9Ffg5cavrjhBvIz93xij7PveZVhaXLRlJMi2t6kPrIv99t70v8TAAAAAAA


I will detail the notable changes, and the thought process:

1. Pick up Elemental Overload, and drop all the crit nodes. This allows you to have enough points to pick up more defensive nodes for HC.

2. Pick up Acrobatics/Phase Acrobatics. After dropping all the crit nodes, you will have many points to allocate defensively. An alternative to Phase Acro would be the Scion health wheel, or even more alternatively, Whispers of Doom.

3. Pick up flask nodes above Witch. These are extremely powerful for additional defenses.

4. Optional: Go for double curse with Whispers of Doom. Temporal Chains + Enfeeble makes mapping very safe (or use whatever curses you enjoy). I also used Warlord's Mark for a long time.

5. If you use Vessel of Vinktar (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED [preferably the lightning pen instead of the added flat damage]), you can get 20% lightning leech and you won't need Warlord's Mark for leech. This enables you to free up a curse for whatever you choose.

Those were the major changes, but you can check out the above link for the minor tweaks.

Here is a link to my profile so you can examine gear:

https://www.pathofexile.com/account/view-profile/SleepThieff/characters


HP Pool: 6041 HP/ 1634 Unreserved Mana

I would like to have more mana -- it's a work in progress. But it goes to show how far you can get with relatively low mana.

Note: I was able to clear all maps/bosses up to tier 15 with just a 5 link. 95% of it was extremely safe. Some map bosses are not worth the danger (Basilica, T15 Kitava, etc.)

Anyways, I'd like to thank the owner of this thread for posting the guide -- it has been a lot of fun! If anyone else has further questions about HC or suggestions for me lmk.

Good luck all~!

"

Lord_Antharas wrote:

hi,

i'm dying to try this build but i don't understand why hypothermia is in there.
as i have looked and see no skills with cold effects.

though i might have missed or mis understood this. kinda new to the game.

I was thinking the exact same thing. I'm definitely an amateur but I can't for the life of me figure out exactly what hypothermia is supporting.