[RIP Best build of 3.9]
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IMPORTANT NOTE: This build is now dead, since both the offensice and defensive core mechanics have been severly nerfed in 3.10!! I guess it was too good to be true and hope you guys had a chance to enjoy it while it lasted. Hi everybody, here is my take on the reworked Explosive Arrow and as you will see it has some nice twists or.. ..how to shoot more than 50 arrows (yourself, i.e. no totems, minions, mines or traps) and get 5000 energy shield and 3000 life per second. I'll try to keep it as compact and informative as possible. Let's go.. 8 things I enjoyed about the build 1. It is very satisfying to play due to the big explosions and proliferations of Explosive Arrow which deal several dozens of millions ignite DPS. 2. It was my league starter and works on a relatively small budget. 3. It can 'one shot' Sirus in any phase with one ignite easily. 4. It is a very hipster due to abusing the Corpse Pact node and it looks really fancy to shoot more than 50 arrows per second. 5. It has awesome map clear and you can easily run T16 maps (expect for elemental reflect). 6. It is very tanky due to several layers of defenses, more than 9k EHP and the insane regeneration methods. 7. It combines many different aspects of the game, which synergize really well, in particular when it comes to the interplay of explosive arrow and the necromancer ascendancy. 8. It can be played as a uniques only build, i.e. by using only unique items. __________________________________________________________________________ The concept of the build. The main idea is to use the reworked helmet Asenath's Chant to consume about 30 corpses per second, giving you a total of 240% increased attack speed. For this purpose we use Spirit Offering such that we regenerate more than 45% of our life as energy shield per second. More precisely, we socket the following gems into Asenath's Chant (in this order): Desecrate Spirit Offering Volatile Dead Spell Cascade So the following happens. With our first attack we trigger Desecrate to produce 10 corpses. Our second attack triggers Spirit Offering which consume 5 corpses and thereby gives us 15% of our life as energy shield and 10% increased attack speed for 4 seconds. Then our third attack triggers Volatile Dead which consumes the remaining 5 corpses (or up to 9 corpses if there are dead enemies neraby) for another 10-18% increased attack speed. (Note that Volatile Dead also takes care of any random white or blue mobs which have been left over by your Explosive Arrow.) Then our next attack restarts the cycle. Since Asenath's Chant has a 0.3s cooldown, this gives us about 60% increased attack speed and 45% of our life as energy shield per second. Note though that the life gained as energy shield doesn't stack, it is used solely to regain energy shield, which was lost in combat. This idea synergizes really well with the new Explosive Arrow skill as the insane attack speed lets us stack up to 100 arrows into an enemy, where we additionally profit from the increased skill effect duration provided by the Mistress of Sacrifice. Important notes. I want to point out that this guide is meant to give you an idea of the build and showcase some of its possibilities. The build is very flexible and I strongly recommend to test and adjust it on your own based on your personal taste. Subsequently I list some of the choices you will face (for more information read the guide): - should I use Thief's Torment for insane life & mana recovery or The Taming &Malachai's Artifice for much more damage? - do I want to place totems in boss fights to save a couple of seconds or does it feel to clunky? - should I use Lioneye's Paws for the quality of life features or faster boots with more life and energy shield? - do I want an offensive or defensive golem? - am I crazy enough to use Bodyswap instead of Spirit Offering for insane clear speed? All of these choices are completely viable and depend a lot on your prefered playstyle. The playstyle. In general, the playstyle is quite simple. You run around and if you see an enemy you stop and start shooting until everything is dead (or damned to death via ignite). Thereby you just tank and outregen any damage that comes your way. A small side note: For boss fights you should start attacking immediately to build up the additional attack speed. For this purpose you can also use another attack, e.g. Frenzy. Path of building. Here is a link to the PoB file: https://pastebin.com/fMBqP4wF and here is another link, which is more optimized for really big ignites: https://pastebin.com/u7GF1GyX The second setup should give us 70 mil ignite DPS!!! (The number is calculated with the help of the following google spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N1cuU38iQpCNisX7j6xUh1-gB5PnbWP866cYz0RhmLs/edit?pli=1#gid=0) __________________________________________________________________________ Brief overview:
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This is just a short presentation of my gear and skill tree. If you want to find out how exactly everything works together read the explanations below. My (old) gear:
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I upgraded my gear a bit:
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My skilltree: __________________________________________________________________________ Which items are absolutly necessary?
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This is the only unique you really want for this build to work. These items are nice to have as well:
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The Quill Rain is the perfect bow for this build, since every additional arrow we shoot adds to our damage by giving additional fire damage AND more ignite damage due to the way Explosive Arrow works. Moreover, Dyadian Dawn is a big damage boost for any ignite build and the ring Thief's Torment allows for an easy mapping. On the one hand, we get insane life on hit due to shooting about 50 arrows per second and additionally we don't have to bother with mana issues (although we regenerate about 200 mana per second anyways due to Essence Glutton, but just in case ;P). For really tough content (e.g. Sirus), the build uses: Last but not least, this is a hybrid build and for this reason we can benefit from: . But the amulet is by no means mandatory and I was running with until quite recently (note that our minions (spectres, golems,..) also profit from the insane ES regen via Spirit Offering and can basically only die to chaos damage). In addition a Tempered Mind jewel in the witch area helps a lot with your accuracy. The boots are nice to apply your curses automatically without pressing additional buttons. Of course, you could also use corrupted gloves or influenced rings. __________________________________________________________________________ Other gear choices
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The remaining gear slots (body armour, gloves, boots, quiver) should be used to get the required attributes (especially dexterity), cap your resistances, get enough accuracy and increase your life and energy shield pool. It's important to note that the build prioritizes energy shield over life, since energy shield is regenerated much faster via Spirit Offering. With my gear I have about 3.5k life and 5.5k energy shield. My (old) remaining items were: As you see these items can be easily improved if necessary. Of course, you want to have a 6-link either in your body armour or in your bow. UPDATE: I tweaked my gear a little bit. Now I use: Flasks: I recommend to use at least one life flask and one enduring mana flask for special situations. The rest of the flasks can be chosen based on your personal taste. A 60+ movement speed flask is always nice for mapping. If you have some currency, Dying Sun is a huge damage upgrade. __________________________________________________________________________ Defence & Utility
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Our best defense is our insane regeneration of both life and energy shield and our high EHP pool (over 9k). Apart from that, we use/can use several defensive layers: - Arctic Armour; - Flesh and Stone; - Chaos Golem - we have 4 endurance charges generated by using Enduring Cry on our left mouse button; - we use Steelskin; - we use Temporal Chains both for prolonging our ignites as well as improving our defence, additional you can use Enfeeble - more than 30% chaos resistance with Presence of Chayula Also I suggest to use the fully upgraded Soul of Arakaali (Pantheon) for even more chaos mitigation and shock resistance. __________________________________________________________________________ Skill-gems & Setups
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Asenath's Chant - Desecrate, Spirit Offering, Volatile Dead, Spell Cascade Explosive Arrow - Explosive Arrow, Combustion, Ignite Proliferation, Barrage, Elemental Damage with Attacks, Burning Damage For normal mapping I swap Burning Damage with Less Duration (even for bosses). For more damage you can use Deadly Ailments, Greater Multiple Projectiles or Unbound Ailments instead of Ignite Proliferation. And of course, you can also use the awakened versions for upper class people ;P Malachai's Artifice - Lightning Golem Blink Arrow and Ice Golem are also decent choices. If you use Blink Arrow, make sure that your clones are doing no fire damage! Applying Curses, etc. UPDATE: At the moment I use Lioneye's Paws to apply Flammability and Temporal Chains via Curse on Hit both for mapping and for boss fights. This allows me to always have my explosive arrow totems in my 5L quill rain. Another option for mapping is to use: - Cast when Damage Taken, Blood Rage, Wave of Conviction, Enfeeble, Temporal Chains Cast when Damage Taken is at level 1 and the level of the other gems is adjusted accordingly. Another option for bosses is to use: - Frenzy, Curse on Hit, Enfeeble, Temporal Chains and attack with Frenzy when the boss spawns to ramp up your attack speed by consuming corpses and switch to Explosive Arrow when the boss is attackable. This way you also get 3 frenzy charges in a fraction of a second. But I would recommend my new setup including totems instead. Aruas, etc. - Arctic Armour, Flesh and Stone, Discipine, Precision I have Precision on level 7, which is enough for 100% chance to hit in my setting and leaves me some mana to reserve. If you feel like you need more damage you can replace Arctic Armour and Flesh and Stone with Malevolence. Enduring Cry, Steelskin, Chaos Golem, Dash As I said, I have Enduring Cry on my left mouse button. Moreover, I haven't fully decided which golem to use yet and still switch between stone, chaos, fire and lightning golem from time to time. Totems If you want you can also use additional totems for shooting even more arrows into the enemy for even more ignite damage (3% more per arrow). Explosive Arrow, Barrage, Ballista Totem, Multiple Totems, Greater Multiple Projectiles __________________________________________________________________________ Skill-tree & Ascendancy Nodes
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Ascendancy Nodes: - Mistress of Sacrifice - Plaguebringer - Corpse Pact - Essence Glutton Skilltree: The main skill tree looks like this and can be achieved at level 89: https://poeplanner.com/ABMAAPcAEzMAAHjfiukCS64bJdlbbRkI9GpDvOpr20yz0B_v68aKRv4EB4PbVcY6WKyY8WwhsDT3l4UulPfXhEhca8Ntm6EYajlSWAePRlH7zRYfGB0U-tIWb-NqJKo26WaetzGMdqDmZ3FKn4m8EFFyD1nzGjiQVScvlG9mVHGF2rmhIzNsEmkYZXF5FxyfPi3SpwjYJFZI6-4c3I8auJMo-oLH-ehBh7c-_grYvTWS_o9N46ZXOuHyRS_aly1JT7yqMtFFR8BmBLOiAORVd-WCm_AfaPKa4EWdU1La3VfJDXwRUKcrl5WX9Ga6LOJb1VwUm4q-T0iODeIAAAAAAA== From here you can take for example: - additional jewels - increased skill effect duration - minion damage - reduced mana reservation __________________________________________________________________________ Video
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Here is a short showcase of the build. It shows: - the first part of a shaper run to give an impression of the DPS versus bosses; - the first part of a shaper run where Explosive Arrow does no damage (due to the Brutality support) to indicate the tankyness of the build; - the clear speed for a random T15 map with open layout and easy mods. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkJM3Ktt440 For the third part (T15 map) I just replaced Spirit Offering with Bodyswap. Note that I don't usually use this setup for clearing since I prefer a slower and more traditional approach so my gameplay is suboptimal. But as you can see the possibilities of the build are endless and we even nearly outregen the shaper beam ;) __________________________________________________________________________ Frequently asked questions:
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This sounds nice in theory but does it really work? Oh yes it does!! I have to say I had my doubts as well but I was really surprised how good this build performs overall. It has good clear speed with the Less Duration support and can tank nearly everything expect for really hard mods. And the damage goes through the roof ;) How should I level this build? I don't care so much about leveling, since I usually try a lot of the new league stuff throughout the first acts. But I would suggest to either level with minions (maybe take some more minion nodes and respec later) or level with some leveling spell (prioritize getting to spiritual aid and the templar cluster). Personally I used arc a lot. Is the build beginner friendly? In general, I'd say it is. However, I am a casual player and although I will try to check this thread throughout the next weeks, I can't promise to provide much help or updates, so you should be sure to understand everything on your own. How can I improve the build with my 100ex? There is a lot of room to improve. Obviously, my rares are shitty and you can easily get above 10k EHP with good ones. In addition, you can strive for more fire damage over time multiplier on your quiver and gloves and add some op jewels such as a Malevolence Watcher's Eye or Lethal Pride. The Lethal Pride stat we are looking for is: Ignites you inflict deal Damage 10% faster Apart from that the increased burning damage and most of the defensive stats are also usefull. A well-rolled Brutal Restraint can also improve the build a lot. The new catalysts can be of good use as well, e.g. abrasive catalysts for Dyadian Dawn and Thief's Torment. Which anoitment should I take? There are so many usefull anoitments, that it's hard to compare them. Here is a list of some usefull anoitments: arsonist cleansed thoughts enduring bond avatar of the hunt sanctum of thought elemental focus fending groth and decay disciple of the unyielding King of the Hill Aspect of the Eagle Master Fletcher Avatar of the Hunt energy shield nodes life nodes skill effect duration nodes This list is not exclusive and in the end it depends on your taste (and currency), which anoitment you want to take. Why do I have no damage? I don't know, but make sure that 1) your gems are at the appropriate level; 2) you have the right skill tree - in particular the ascendancy nodes are important; 3) you have NO pierce (e.g. on your gear); 4) the right setup for Asenath's Chant. PLEASE HELP TO FIGHT THE CLIMATE CHANGE! Please help to fight the climate change! Last edited by limonenovecento on Mar 11, 2020, 5:06:12 AM Last bumped on Jan 16, 2024, 2:59:37 PM
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Interesting idea. You skill gems section doesn't really make much sense though. Winter Orb and Dancing Duo? I thought this was an EA build.
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" Look again ;) Please help to fight the climate change!
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This looks exactly like the kind of crazy I've been looking for.
Do you have a POB or suggestions for which paths to take in the tree first? Been playing Storm Burst Trickster and the lack of regen/leech is killing me...literally. |
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This looks absolutely hilarious but the most important part is missing! Get a video going of you doing some content, because this sounds exceptional but I'm reluctant to fully invest without seeing it in action first.
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" I take it back, I made this in standard and effectively only had quill rain, asenaths, and the tree. My only gems were a level 19 Explosive Arrow six linked, and Malevolence, no minions no buffs and not even a movement skill. Despite the complete barebones version of the build I can clear high quant T16s, you're a savant and this build is the best thing I could ever choose to melt my PC with. Will update when I get some real gear going but this is honestly disgusting. | |
" I don't care so much about leveling, since I usually try a lot of the new league stuff throughout the first acts. But I would suggest to either level with minions (maybe take some more minion nodes and respec later) or level with some leveling spell (prioritize getting to spiritual aid and the templar cluster). Personally I used arc. I will try to add a POB later at home but be aware that the damage calculation for explosive arrow is useless. Please help to fight the climate change!
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" Yes it's disgusting ;P Nice to hear that you like it!! Let me know how it works out for you. Unfortunately, I am just casual player and don't have the setup to make a video, but if you can provide some good material, I'd be happy to include it ;) Please help to fight the climate change!
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It's cool, but if you write "infinite regen" in your title, people are going to assume that you found some fundamentally broken feedback loop that actually trends you towards infinity (modulo running into the tick limit on the server). There are builds that have done this with casts per second already, getting infinite growth rates that only taper off because of artificial limitations.
8k total regen is... good, but not close to the highest I've seen in the game (which was more like 30k). Therefore, I think your topic title is bad. The build seems cool, though. | |
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Hey wanted to know how good is the boss damage for metamorps or high end bosses? Would really like to play this build if the damage is there good too :)
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