3.23 EXPLOSIVE ARROW BALLISTA ELEMENTALIST - League-Start to End-Game. Easy mode.

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Wilson_Chan wrote:

Any other suggestions from anyone most welcome.

An easy thing would be upgrading your lethal pride. Considering allocated nodes in radius :
- for more damage and ehp, 17648
- for most damage, 12824

On tree, there are 4 points you could reallocate IF you don't think you need the elemental mastery for non inherent ailments on crits. (no idea what it feels like with/without)

I haven't played the game since 2013, so the game is super overwhelming for me.
I picked up this build as it was very well presented and explained by one of the youtubers.

It just melted the campaign. Melted all the atlas maps from 1 to 16. Killed Maven, Searing Exarch and Shaper with no problems at all. First time cleared ravaged-blighted maps 14+ tier and up. Simple killing everything and starting to slowly make some divines. Currently I got 80-90d. My gear is relatively good and I'm still upgrading some pieces even though the clear speed of the T14-16 maps is fast enough for me. From 1 to 6-7 min per map with clearing the Legion/Delirium/Blight encounters. So very satisfying!

BUT the big problem came when I saw how people "juiced up" their maps with scarabs, compasses and then wisps from the Wildwood and clearing everything like it is nothing and dropping 5-10-15 divines per map. I realized that there's something more than just clearing simple t16 maps. And there're items like Headhunter and Mageblood, which completely change the power level and elevates the character to the stars. It looks like completely different gameplay and therefore completely different (bigger) amount of profit.

I've tried to collect as much wisps from the WW as possible, juiced up my maps and it was a complete disaster! The elite monsters and map-bosses are almost invincible. I mean an Elite monster in t14 map with 3-colored wisped stats is much stronger than Maven and Searing Exarch combined. I do not have MB or HH.

TL;DR - So my stupid noob question is - although I see this build is insanely strong, is it capable of farming Legion/Delirium + 4-5k wisp t14-16 maps? Do I have to get MB or HH to be able to clean such maps?
Or should I change to a different build?

Thanks!

Thanks @Headtourist. I'll keep my eye open for the Lethal Prides, but looks like someone has already cornered the market.

@Odalist This build can most definitely farm maps right the way up. In fact, it is great for it as you can be as careful as you want (cast totems, hide behind something, run away type stuff)

I'd say your "basic" build can farm T16s. Basic means res capped, spell suppression capped, able to sustain 20-22 EAs, life over 3500, and decent armour and evasion.

You have to be careful about picking some combos, for example running a +Crit map, then clicking on all the altars that reduce your defenses. You can't run "monsters avoid ailments" or "cannot regen" in regular setups, so some corrupt maps will be wasted.

But as I say, with care you can run any map. Better gear just means you can tolerate worse combos, and clear quicker...and play worse and die in my case.

Also, a lot of abyss farming is happening way below tier 16. Quicker, but still dropping lots of orbs, scarabs etc which is where the money is.

Hello, thanks for the guide.

I just started playing PoE today and decided to try witch, and this combat style looked like it could be fun. Only lvl 7 right now. I'm just a bit confused as even if I was able to acquire a short bow to use, I don't have the minimum dex to equip it, so I've just been using scepters. Is that usually how this build is supposed to start (no bow)? I understand we should get dex later on in from the passive skills, but so far I'm only at 14 dex. Thanks!

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HungryBoy wrote:

Hello, thanks for the guide.

I just started playing PoE today and decided to try witch, and this combat style looked like it could be fun. Only lvl 7 right now. I'm just a bit confused as even if I was able to acquire a short bow to use, I don't have the minimum dex to equip it, so I've just been using scepters. Is that usually how this build is supposed to start (no bow)? I understand we should get dex later on in from the passive skills, but so far I'm only at 14 dex. Thanks!

Welcome to PoE! First off, this is not a build that you get to go through all the acts with. The witch class doesn't get the gems needed until later, so you'll probably switch around late Act 3 or early Act 4.

I would actually recommend that you go look at the guide on maxroll.gg because it is more detailed for leveling. https://maxroll.gg/poe/build-guides/explosive-arrow-ballista-elementalist

The main thing right now is to make sure that you don't go too wild with your skill points and need more respec points than you have access to. Use whichever skill you enjoy until it is time to make the switch to Explosive Arrow/Ballista Totem. Pretty much every skill can be viable in the early acts, so just play with whatever suits you. Each class is given skill gem rewards from quests that are "appropriate" to the lore, but later on you'll be able to use whatever you want. Expect to use a lot of "magic" type skills and wands early on since you're a Witch.

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Dromlin wrote:

Welcome to PoE! First off, this is not a build that you get to go through all the acts with. The witch class doesn't get the gems needed until later, so you'll probably switch around late Act 3 or early Act 4.

I would actually recommend that you go look at the guide on maxroll.gg because it is more detailed for leveling. https://maxroll.gg/poe/build-guides/explosive-arrow-ballista-elementalist

The main thing right now is to make sure that you don't go too wild with your skill points and need more respec points than you have access to. Use whichever skill you enjoy until it is time to make the switch to Explosive Arrow/Ballista Totem. Pretty much every skill can be viable in the early acts, so just play with whatever suits you. Each class is given skill gem rewards from quests that are "appropriate" to the lore, but later on you'll be able to use whatever you want. Expect to use a lot of "magic" type skills and wands early on since you're a Witch.

Thank you very much for the welcome, insight, and advice. I've been following the skill points in the build completely since I've heard re-specializing is costly early on.

So I can understand some of the terminology (there's so many!): This build is labeled league-start to end-game, but what does that mean if it's not a build to get through all the acts?

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So I can understand some of the terminology (there's so many!): This build is labeled league-start to end-game, but what does that mean if it's not a build to get through all the acts?

In PoE leagues last 4 months and most people get through acts within the first couple of days, so the majority of the time spent playing the game is after the 10 acts.

A league starter is a build that does well through maps with a low currency investment. So, league start to end game would mean this build will be good for the whole league. In this case, the Ballista Totem gem scales damage very well on its own, allowing you have more options when increasing life, elemental resistance and other defenses. once you reach the end game (high tier maps) you will be finding ways to increase damage with gear upgrades.

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HungryBoy wrote:

So I can understand some of the terminology (there's so many!): This build is labeled league-start to end-game, but what does that mean if it's not a build to get through all the acts?

I only meant that you won't be able to use the skills as outlined in the build until you're already done with the first three acts. From your first post, it sounds like you're in Act 1 so you don't need to worry about using a bow or explosive arrow yet. Like Clawjob said, the acts are just a tiny part of the game for experienced players. League starter indicates a build which works well with low investment and can be used to make currency to switch to a build which requires higher upfront investment to be viable.

Thanks clawjob and Dromlin, I think I understand. So, the acts are such a quick/easy portion of the game that league-start-builds assume you're going through much or all of it without necessarily following the build (different gear/skills), then switching over after you finish the acts or once you've unlocked/obtained the skills/items to do so. Is that about right?