[3.8] Fast Storm Brand Leveling Guide | League Starter | HC/SC

Hey, I'm leveling a new char for fun and using your guide. I'm curious though, why BV? I'm in act V now, and I've found it hard to even use it. If its just for bosses, i feel like brand + Orb of storms is enough damage, and the durations on BV charges is so low its hard to use it. Granted, I'm twinked out a bit on gear, so maybe I'm over estimating the damage you'd normally do by this point in a league start or ssf, but it just doesn't feel like it fits the rest of build as well.
Plus, the thing I love about storm brand is the mobility. Trying to stack up BV charges and get any damage in with it really slows down your ability to move around.
Other than that, the guide is great. I've been through the story about 8-9 times total since starting PoE (this is my first league), and I'm already about 30 mins faster getting to Act V with this build than my previous best.

Err.. on the same note, I got to the point where you suggest getting war banner. What exactly is that doing for the build? None of the spells are doing physical damage or benefiting from accuracy, as far as I can tell?

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Kirloken wrote:

Hey, I'm leveling a new char for fun and using your guide. I'm curious though, why BV?

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Kirloken wrote:

Err.. on the same note, I got to the point where you suggest getting war banner. What exactly is that doing for the build? None of the spells are doing physical damage or benefiting from accuracy, as far as I can tell?

Hi, thanks for getting in touch with me, welcome to the game and it's great to hear you're getting faster through the acts already!

I'll answer both your questions here.

Blade Vortex is used as our single target damage option (unique bosses) from Act 1 to Act 3, at which point we aim to swap into a 3/4 link Lightning Spire Trap. I keep BV as an optional setup due to preference, it is not needed once you have the Lightning Spire Trap setup.
Lightning Spire Trap is fantastic for bosses as it allows you to significantly damage the boss while your focus is on the boss mechanics and your survival (especially for hardcore, but less deaths will mean faster and smoother story completion).

For War Banner, you are correct that we receive no benefit from the accuracy rating or that nearby enemies take increased physical damage, however we use this for the buff that it grants upon placing the banner. Adrenaline, which grants us three buffs that we can utilise:

100% increased damage
25% increased Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed
10% additional Physical Damage Reduction

Usually you'll place this for a quick burst of damage while going past tougher rares, and for a couple of seconds of burst on bosses. Another valid option is using Vaal Righteous Fire, (grants increased spell damage for several seconds) however this isn't too reliable on league start due to the potential cost of acquiring it (Vaaling Righteous Fire gems) and potentially dangerous in hardcore leveling due to sacrificing 30% of your total energy shield and life to activate it.

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xGeorge97 wrote:

It would be pretty useful if you listed all the gems used in this setup at the start so anyone with other characters could prebuy all of the gems. Otherwise 10/10 for effort :)

Thanks for the suggestion, this will be done in time for the 3.8 league launch!

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SonnyBlaze wrote:

Thanks a lot for the guide, as a new racer it's nice to have a written reference.

I have no idea on how to search in this thread so sorry if someone already asked this question but I was wondering what did you think about the Dark Arts wheel, seems like some orb of storms racers are taking it.

And I was also wondering if you had a nice racing/leveling filter for storm brand/casters in general since I can't find a decent one around.

I really like the Dark Arts wheel, but I feel this is more dependant on the runner, I personally take this around act 2. But this is usually the first thing I respec out of when I hit maps and opt for a shield.

The best filter you'll get is the one that you make! Have a look at what links you need throughout leveling and create your own filter! But if you want a ready made one, I've always been a fan of Greengroove's.

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ShermanDiablo wrote:

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mesterslagteren wrote:

Hi, lovely guide. Would love to have some timestamps/benchmarks for completion times of the individual acts.

:)

Fantastic idea! I do plan on doing some HCSSF practice again this weekend once I've got this 40th challenge done.

LiveSplit actually has splits readily available! All you have to do is select the game. There are some splits that you need to move around, but it's not too many. Also, I can't seem to get the auto split to work, so I just manually do it.

I've noticed that so much of my time relies on how well I know the layout for the certain area. I figured it would be over/under leveling or gear!

Engineering Eternity made a cheatsheet for something like this if anyone is interested! Link

Thanks for the guide! I've been looking to get faster after playing a few leagues very casual (3 days to finish acts etc) and so may attempt this in 3.8.

A couple questions:

1) Even though this still seems viable; do you think other similar builds may be better now after the 3.7 nerf?

2) This is SSF based but I wonder if you have any tips for two people fast start since I always play with a friend. Just both follow this guide? Or one plays aurabot? :)

This guide is very nice, thank you very much for taking the time to write it out. I would advise potentially changing the blue to a different shade/colour as its a bit harsh on the eyes, in my opinion.

im planning on doing another stormbrand elementalist with that guide because I just love it too much. Is it still viable in 3.8?

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FallenWars wrote:

im planning on doing another stormbrand elementalist with that guide because I just love it too much. Is it still viable in 3.8?

Definitely still viable and strong, I will update PoB and trees before launch tomorrow!