[3.14] Gryph's Thirsty Archmage Cremation Necromancer

Gryph, thanks for the guide. It helped me to tweek my build.

The DPS is very good and very tank as well. But I do not feel I'm immortal. I still easily die if I try to facetank Mino, Racecourse boss, etc.

My numbers are:
5.2k HP
9.5k Mana
8k mana regen
88% chaos resist with Divine Flesh
75/75% Block with Glancing Blows

It looks like low armour is my weakness. I may need to switch to Shield Charge + Fort and use basalt flask to help on that.

Or maybe I need to change my watcher's eye for 10% damage is taken from mana... but my mana regen will decrease to 6k. (the eye with both mods is extremely expensive)

POB: https://pastebin.com/v0BWHFQa

Any thoughts on that?

PS: I would like to test it with Kitava's Thirst, but I was not able to get it with +1 Geyser enchant yet

Gryph,

Would it be useful in any way to incorporate a conductivity on hit ring? I just recently acquired one that has good stats on it:

Not sure how beneficial it can be given that we use elemental weakness already in our helm. Seems like conductivity are lvl 5 gives about 10% less lightning resist reduction than elemental weakness at lvl 20. Would it be possible to offset that difference by using a different gem besides elemental weakness in the helm?

"

Gryphenprey wrote:

"

Ezciel wrote:

Any chance you could give your most recent POB gryph? Would very much like to save it into my POB so i can do tweaks/calcs

My character's current POB is the Level 95 one in the guide.


https://pastebin.com/b2CfYNQr

Since i'm still on a budget, what would be the 2 best notables to get on large cluster?

"

fokolino wrote:

Gryph, thanks for the guide. It helped me to tweek my build.

The DPS is very good and very tank as well. But I do not feel I'm immortal. I still easily die if I try to facetank Mino, Racecourse boss, etc.

My numbers are:
5.2k HP
9.5k Mana
8k mana regen
88% chaos resist with Divine Flesh
75/75% Block with Glancing Blows

It looks like low armour is my weakness. I may need to switch to Shield Charge + Fort and use basalt flask to help on that.

Or maybe I need to change my watcher's eye for 10% damage is taken from mana... but my mana regen will decrease to 6k. (the eye with both mods is extremely expensive)

POB: https://pastebin.com/v0BWHFQa

Any thoughts on that?

PS: I would like to test it with Kitava's Thirst, but I was not able to get it with +1 Geyser enchant yet

I cannot import your POB (link doesn't work.

That said, a few things I notice immediately.

I hate Glancing Blows. Personally. I tried it and I felt squishy AF. Constantly getting my mana drained and always taking damage. It's good if you have low base block but we have a huge amount of block already so much that it feels like a waste. And it's worse than just block capping.

I have 75/70 block with Rumis (would be 71 spell block if I got a level 21 Bone Offering) and 56/60 without it. So even UNFLASKED I am taking less damage overall than if I had Glancing Blows.

Also Racecourse boss casts reflection aura. We are not reflect immune and you will die with high likelihood if you do not kill that one first before he casts it.

Phys mitigation is a weak point of the build but you can definitely fix that with a defensive shield and Basalt Flask. +2 Min Endurance Charges and 5% Phys reduction can both be gotten on a shield. Stubborn Student on a small cluster is also a nice way to get some armour too. you'd get 950 base armour from one of those.

And then of course the biggest one is definitely the watcher's eye.

I have 6.8k mana regen. No recovery rate from watcher's eye and it's plenty. 6k is plenty. Get the extra 10% damage taken from mana.

With 5.2k life and 40% MoM effect you have 8,666 eHP
With 50% MoM Effect you'd have 10,400 eHP.

That's 1,700 MORE EHP

Needless to say, HUUUUGE.

And if you're really worried about mana regen, make room for more on gear. I could have another T1 roll on a ring for example, but I like my big res ring and don't feel I need it.

Anyway, I hope that helps a bit!

"

Roflwafflezzz wrote:

Gryph,

Would it be useful in any way to incorporate a conductivity on hit ring? I just recently acquired one that has good stats on it:

Not sure how beneficial it can be given that we use elemental weakness already in our helm. Seems like conductivity are lvl 5 gives about 10% less lightning resist reduction than elemental weakness at lvl 20. Would it be possible to offset that difference by using a different gem besides elemental weakness in the helm?

I mean you could use a different helmet if you'd like to.
Kitava's is great for frequent spell procs which is also very good for keeping EO active and the debuffs constant. If you wanted to you could use the ring and replace Ele Weakness with Culling Strike or Blind

Also the difference is:

Conductivity 5 = -29%
Elemental Weakness 21/20 = -45%
Conductivity 21 = -45%

We do our VAAAST majority of damage as lightning but there is a small amount of fire damage so Ele weakness is *technically* better if you put quality onto it.

"

Ezciel wrote:

Since i'm still on a budget, what would be the 2 best notables to get on large cluster?

If you can get Scintillating Idea and another prefix Notable (like overshock) then you can use seeds to force Doryani's Lesson (Augment Life twice)

Hey, I've been playing the build and really enjoying it. I want to move it to be more of a boss killer whilst I work on a zoomy character but my dps feels a little low and I'm not sure where my next improvements would be.

My character is MorgueMaster any advice would be appreciated! I feel like my next upgrades would be quite costly so I was just wondering what would get me the most dps for my chaos, survivability hasn't really been an issue for me as I play softcore.

"

Ninethenumber wrote:

Hey, I've been playing the build and really enjoying it. I want to move it to be more of a boss killer whilst I work on a zoomy character but my dps feels a little low and I'm not sure where my next improvements would be.

My character is MorgueMaster any advice would be appreciated! I feel like my next upgrades would be quite costly so I was just wondering what would get me the most dps for my chaos, survivability hasn't really been an issue for me as I play softcore.

Anoint Crusader -> 20% or so MORE damage for the build.
Move fevered mind to where you have thread of hope and put in Healthy Mind in its place. HM will boost damage by about another 20% and you'll gain a massive boost from the mana notables that you free from Fevered Mind. Take any additional notables in the new FM spot to get to 100 mana cost on desecrate. These are also very good for damage in general (4-5% per point for the 2 point notables).

If you don't want to lose life to healthy mind you can just put a rare jewel there instead.

You could improve the wand with a Spell/lightning damage prefix instead of the flat fire to spells (does next to nothing). Can try harvesting it or just buy one.

+2 Minimum Frenzy Charges on shield is a good damage option but that's an expensive endeavor.

+1 Cremation Geyser Helmet Enchant is also a big damage boost.

"

I mean you could use a different helmet if you'd like to.
Kitava's is great for frequent spell procs which is also very good for keeping EO active and the debuffs constant. If you wanted to you could use the ring and replace Ele Weakness with Culling Strike or Blind

Also the difference is:

Conductivity 5 = -29%
Elemental Weakness 21/20 = -45%
Conductivity 21 = -45%

We do our VAAAST majority of damage as lightning but there is a small amount of fire damage so Ele weakness is *technically* better if you put quality onto it.

I’ll level and play around with both culling strike and blind to see if they’re beneficial. I actually don’t mind using Kitava’s
for a helm. Was finally able to get the +1 geyser enchant via zealot helm and Trash to Treasure (made it an elder influence helm for good measure too lol). I’m thinking I’ll add 1-3 white sockets to helm so I can gem swap for culling on bosses like Sirus and such.

Also making upgrades to my belt, shield, second ring, and weapon:


Likely going to remove chaos and add T1 or T2 fire resist so I can remove the fire resist enchant on my shield.


After I get fire res on my belt instead, will change this enchant to either mana recovery rate or something else beneficial. Also need to keep removing/adding caster crafts until I hit T1 or T2 spell damage. Might also remove T1 hybrid at some point as well, not sure on that one yet.


Need to use remove influence modifier on this ring to free up a prefix as well, though not sure what I’m going to bench enchant or augment in it’s place.


Need to keep removing/adding lightning until I hit a higher increased lightning damage %.

Still loving this build though. Things are starting to get expensive upgrade wise though hehe.

"

Gryphenprey wrote:

I cannot import your POB (link doesn't work.

That said, a few things I notice immediately.

I hate Glancing Blows. Personally. I tried it and I felt squishy AF. Constantly getting my mana drained and always taking damage. It's good if you have low base block but we have a huge amount of block already so much that it feels like a waste. And it's worse than just block capping.

I have 75/70 block with Rumis (would be 71 spell block if I got a level 21 Bone Offering) and 56/60 without it. So even UNFLASKED I am taking less damage overall than if I had Glancing Blows.

Also Racecourse boss casts reflection aura. We are not reflect immune and you will die with high likelihood if you do not kill that one first before he casts it.

Phys mitigation is a weak point of the build but you can definitely fix that with a defensive shield and Basalt Flask. +2 Min Endurance Charges and 5% Phys reduction can both be gotten on a shield. Stubborn Student on a small cluster is also a nice way to get some armour too. you'd get 950 base armour from one of those.

And then of course the biggest one is definitely the watcher's eye.

I have 6.8k mana regen. No recovery rate from watcher's eye and it's plenty. 6k is plenty. Get the extra 10% damage taken from mana.

With 5.2k life and 40% MoM effect you have 8,666 eHP
With 50% MoM Effect you'd have 10,400 eHP.

That's 1,700 MORE EHP

Needless to say, HUUUUGE.

And if you're really worried about mana regen, make room for more on gear. I could have another T1 roll on a ring for example, but I like my big res ring and don't feel I need it.

Anyway, I hope that helps a bit!

Yeah, I removed Glancing Blows and got some block nodes... now have 75/62 with Rumi's and it made a huge difference. I also changed my watcher's eye for extra "10% damage taken from mana" and it also helped. My mana regen (6.2k now) is not good as it was (regen was almost instant with 8k), but it is not impacting. Sadly double clarity eye is very expensive (70-80ex). Anyway I was able to kill A8 Sirus deathless.

Not sure why there are so many people with Glancing Blows in poe.ninja.

Now I will work in a new shield, similar to yours, to cap my spell block as well.

Thanks a alot!

"

fokolino wrote:

"

Gryphenprey wrote:

I cannot import your POB (link doesn't work.

That said, a few things I notice immediately.

I hate Glancing Blows. Personally. I tried it and I felt squishy AF. Constantly getting my mana drained and always taking damage. It's good if you have low base block but we have a huge amount of block already so much that it feels like a waste. And it's worse than just block capping.

I have 75/70 block with Rumis (would be 71 spell block if I got a level 21 Bone Offering) and 56/60 without it. So even UNFLASKED I am taking less damage overall than if I had Glancing Blows.

Also Racecourse boss casts reflection aura. We are not reflect immune and you will die with high likelihood if you do not kill that one first before he casts it.

Phys mitigation is a weak point of the build but you can definitely fix that with a defensive shield and Basalt Flask. +2 Min Endurance Charges and 5% Phys reduction can both be gotten on a shield. Stubborn Student on a small cluster is also a nice way to get some armour too. you'd get 950 base armour from one of those.

And then of course the biggest one is definitely the watcher's eye.

I have 6.8k mana regen. No recovery rate from watcher's eye and it's plenty. 6k is plenty. Get the extra 10% damage taken from mana.

With 5.2k life and 40% MoM effect you have 8,666 eHP
With 50% MoM Effect you'd have 10,400 eHP.

That's 1,700 MORE EHP

Needless to say, HUUUUGE.

And if you're really worried about mana regen, make room for more on gear. I could have another T1 roll on a ring for example, but I like my big res ring and don't feel I need it.

Anyway, I hope that helps a bit!

Yeah, I removed Glancing Blows and got some block nodes... now have 75/62 with Rumi's and it made a huge difference. I also changed my watcher's eye for extra "10% damage taken from mana" and it also helped. My mana regen (6.2k now) is not good as it was (regen was almost instant with 8k), but it is not impacting. Sadly double clarity eye is very expensive (70-80ex). Anyway I was able to kill A8 Sirus deathless.

Not sure why there are so many people with Glancing Blows in poe.ninja.

Now I will work in a new shield, similar to yours, to cap my spell block as well.

Thanks a alot!

I have since transitioned to a different variant of AM Cremation since I used this guide, but I keep tabs on this thread from time to time. But essentially why I use Glancing Blows:
1) Less investment. I have literally no investment other than normal build and with Bone Offering I'm at 75/66. With CWDT + Tempest Shield it's 75/72 and no Rumi's. Free's up a flask.

2) Perception. It smooths out damage to be more consistent. Block is amazing, until it isn't. You can get a great string of blocks, and then curb stomped. For me, it gives a very false sense of security and makes me complacent. Whereas with Glancing Blows, I know when I am taking damage. When mods vary greatly from pack to pack, map to map, it's hard to know when you are in for a tough time. If I run into a pack and I start taking massive spikes, I know there's something going on with that pack/mods and play more defensively. With normal block, I'd run in, get some good blocks, think everything is fine then get get one shot out of nowhere. With Arcane Cloak it's very manageable.

"

Blood_Sail wrote:

I have since transitioned to a different variant of AM Cremation since I used this guide, but I keep tabs on this thread from time to time. But essentially why I use Glancing Blows:
1) Less investment. I have literally no investment other than normal build and with Bone Offering I'm at 75/66. With CWDT + Tempest Shield it's 75/72 and no Rumi's. Free's up a flask.

2) Perception. It smooths out damage to be more consistent. Block is amazing, until it isn't. You can get a great string of blocks, and then curb stomped. For me, it gives a very false sense of security and makes me complacent. Whereas with Glancing Blows, I know when I am taking damage. When mods vary greatly from pack to pack, map to map, it's hard to know when you are in for a tough time. If I run into a pack and I start taking massive spikes, I know there's something going on with that pack/mods and play more defensively. With normal block, I'd run in, get some good blocks, think everything is fine then get get one shot out of nowhere. With Arcane Cloak it's very manageable.

It's a 4 point investment to get to Glancing Blows. That's an investment. haha. I spend 5 points on the spell block cluster, but that also comes with a lot of damage % as well. Beyond that I only have the Spell Block on my shield and Rumi's and that's enough to cap my attack block and almost cap spell block.

As far as perception...I don't get it honestly. lol. I just don't know why I would want to take damage when I could not take damage at all. You're still going to "get one shot" 25% of the time with Glancing Blows, the other 75% of the time you're still taking damage.

Generally speaking the build is tanky enough to not worry about dangerous packs map to map. This may also be a case of Softcore Mentality vs Hardcore Mentality. Obviously in softcore it's far less punishing to not pay attention to what you're walking into.

I don't think Glancing Blows is *bad* but it's definitely not for me on this build.