[3.2] Explosive Scorching Ray Elementalist (and Friends) - cheap - Shaper viable

Clever build!
I've always liked ED/Contagion, so the multi skill playstyle actually appeals to me.
I'm looking for a new build to play (Probably last build of league as won't have much playtime) and already have a good roll 6l Inpulsa.

Couple of queries,

- You say keep ball lightning level low to avoid reflect damage, but what about the innervate buff? Is that an issue?
- Any high budget options you have thought of? I can probably invest a bit if I strip my current character.
- Do you bother swapping out stormfire for t16+ bossing?
- Was wondering if offhanding a balefire for a SR totem would add any meaningful single target damage. Probably not worth though.

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Carlovski wrote:

Clever build!
I've always liked ED/Contagion, so the multi skill playstyle actually appeals to me.
I'm looking for a new build to play (Probably last build of league as won't have much playtime) and already have a good roll 6l Inpulsa.

Couple of queries,

- You say keep ball lightning level low to avoid reflect damage, but what about the innervate buff? Is that an issue?
- Any high budget options you have thought of? I can probably invest a bit if I strip my current character.
- Do you bother swapping out stormfire for t16+ bossing?
- Was wondering if offhanding a balefire for a SR totem would add any meaningful single target damage. Probably not worth though.

1) I never had an issue with that, you can outregen a single Ball Lightning even on very large packs. The damage naturally is very low due to GMP and EE.
If you spam it you can take damage so don't do that :p

2) Not really to be honest. The damage doesn't scale well with gear because it's a degen build, although high mana/life rolls can be beneficial.
Obviously you can get stuff like 4-stat jewels but they won't be effective as on i.e. a crit build.
I can't think of any chase uniques either - I mean, you could use a Headhunter...

3) I don't. If you want to have the best chances you should swap it, but the difference isn't enormous.
You can get like 300-400 more effective life from a rare ring.
I'd definitely swap to Orb of Storms though.

4) I checked it in PoB and the damage of an extra SR totem is about as much as you'd get from a second Dyadus.
Balefire has some other benefits, but you also have to consider that you lose gem slots and need to make sure the totem doesn't die.

I wanna try some new build so I think I'm going to sell mine, this was super fun to play, ty for your idea and guide, I got up to higher contents too, with mom + 600ish regen it's tanky enough to deal most of the content.

If you are interested, feel free to add me, this is my current setup, I'm trying to sell as pack at first: https://pastebin.com/s7R2inH4

Ok, finally got a bit of playtime for the character and just got to equip the Inpulsa setup.
Really good fun (Only had time for a few aqueduct runs) - feels like a cross between ED/Contagion and an old school prolif build. And that's before stormfire.
On Low content, even shield charge does surprisingly good work (Though it does trigger EE)

Gear so far



Rings are placeholders until I get stormfire equipped, as is shield and belt - will need to work out what resists etc I need then. Boots are what I had in stash from previous build. Regen would be better but I'm loathe to remove the cast/attack speed. I'll try and sell and buy a new pair I think.

Pretty happy with the helm - cost me 5c, and has pretty much perfect rolls. I was going to try and get an enchanted base helm and roll myself, but seems like a bit of a waste now. Might get an SR damage one for my orb of storms swap setup.
Am sat at over 5k effective HP already, which is pretty unheard of for me pre-maps!

Crafted a decent ring to swap into for bossing

Would Esh's Mirror add any damage to either SR or golems?

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DothaJakeman wrote:

Would Esh's Mirror add any damage to either SR or golems?

Nope, only to Shield Charge, Ball Lightning and the Explosions.

Fun build, thank you!

Hi.
I was wondering why you picked up those area nodes, is it for the Inpulsa explosion?
Or is there some other benefit that I'm not seeing, the affect on ball lightning seems pretty low.

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Kavarl wrote:

Hi.
I was wondering why you picked up those area nodes, is it for the Inpulsa explosion?
Or is there some other benefit that I'm not seeing, the affect on ball lightning seems pretty low.

It's in the FAQ. Almost everything gets scaled by AoE which makes it a worthwhile investment.