[outdated] Caustic Arrow Solo Map MFer (20/300+)

I leveled Trickster to 75 in beta and got some experience to share. As i plan on playing HC i can see how life will be major concern, currently im at 3.5k(+450 items worth) at LVL 75, still missing around +30% of Life Nodes worth as well as almost all Life Jewel slots. As sad as it is, anyone planning on playing HC will most likely be forced to skip Growth and Decay cluster, as well as 2/3-Frenzy nodes in favor of early Jewel/Life nodes and drop Master of the Arena node.

Blood Rage skill with Trickster is not needed, as you can easily sustain Frenzy charges with Frenzy+GMP + Swift Killer ascendancy. Im now thinking about adding additional layer of Defense in a 4-link with Enfeeble+AoE+Blasphemy+Enduring Cry to at least somehow help myself staying alive in case of an emergency.

DPS wise with 5-link +2 bow, aside from bosses anyone pretty much gets melted, bosses (some) will take some time, but im thinking with addition of Empower and all-Frenzy charges nodes that will not be such a big concern closer to lvl 85.

i was planning on not running grace, because i dont feel it increases my evasion chance that much, assuming i have a decent high evasion chest?

i might take your advice on going shadow instead. tempting. i really wanted that 40% raider movespeed from onslaught + phasing too :/

as shadow i could get 6k hp, 400% damage, 1000 ES, 1500 MoM-mana (without grace). i think this will be it

Grace is a pretty big bonus to evasion once you factor in the evasion % from the nodes on the tree and the increased evasion % per frenzy charge node.

That said, as a MoM build, you might very well be better off without it if you can compensate with well-rolled eva gear.

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I'm adding a change log near the top of the thread to make it easier to skim the important changes on a league by league basis. Currently still ongoing but it covers the big things for this league.

Has anyone got experience at leveling this build?

How are you going to level it? I mean what skills to use before Caustic Arrow, and when to switch to Caustic Arrow.

Thanks :)

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lazycalm2 wrote:

Has anyone got experience at leveling this build?

How are you going to level it? I mean what skills to use before Caustic Arrow, and when to switch to Caustic Arrow.

Thanks :)

Literally asked just as I removed the out-of-date leveling section. You have hilarious timing, good sir.

So, pretty much any spell that deals projectile damage would be a decent option to level with as it dovetails nicely with the projectile damage nodes the end-game build picks up. I have used Fireball, Frostbolt, Magma Orb and Ethereal Knives, and enjoyed all of them but personally felt like Magma Orb worked quite well in a +1 wand, eventually switching to a 4L with Slower Proj / GMP on swap.

It's really up to you on that front, but Flameblast and Firestorm are also good options.

Before 3.0, I wouldn't have recommended switching until level 55+ to Caustic Arrow itself (in a +2 5L bow), but it's received a pretty healthy base damage buff for this patch.

In Beta, I switched to CA around level 50 in a +1 5L bow and it felt about as comfortable as level 60 +2 bow did in 2.6 and prior.

Other people have come in here reporting that while it's a bit of a slow starter, it's MUCH more comfortable to level with straight away in 3.0 than it's ever been.

Personally, I'd probably still level using a spell until you pick up two CA-related damage clusters (namely, Fury Bolts and Method to the Madness), then make the switch there if you find a +1 bow you can quickly 4L.

Hey, thanks for the quick reply! :) much appreciated
Keep up the good work

Thanks =) Best of luck!

EDIT: Thanks to ChronoExile for helping me proof the 3.0 update for this build.

Build is set and all ready to go for Friday, only thing to note is that the full Pantheon system was not available in Beta (due to A9 and A10 not being released), but I have provided Pantheon recommendations based on the information we DO have.

Otherwise, everything's in order, new trees are up, etc. Check out the new changelog near the top of the OP for information regarding things I have changed for 3.0, and best of luck in the new patch!

Hello

I'd suggest you posting a link to your build in Scion Builds List thread. I'm not going to add it to my Ranger Build List, don't want to create mess in it.

Cheers
Amongalen

I've pm'd you about this.

How is the damage on this build in 3.0? Is it capable of clearing high tier maps and bosses reliably, or is the damage kind of meh and bosses take long to kill and you get one shot in high tier maps?