[3.11] Kitava's Thirst Builds - Flame Surge/Blade Vortex - Sirus /T16 Farm

Heya.

First of all: Thx a lot for posting this awsm looking build guide!

I got quite some questions and would be uber glad if you (or someone else) could help me <3

As i play HC Betrayal (on a budget, haha), i'd want to go CI in order to avoid getting all that choas res ontop. Sadly i am rather unfamiliar with scaling ES. For convinience of gearing i'd skip the malachai's artifice as well...

- What would a current Tree with good survivability for an CI ES base look like? (i don't mind less dmg, ofc toughness has a price^^)
- As i luv Glacial Cascade, is it still viable as an option in kitavas thirst?
- Which would be (beside helmet and Pledge of Hands) be the best [budget] items to start with?
- is the playstyle with new brands more cluncky compared to the older versions of the build?

Thx in advance. Really looking forward to play this.

Hi !

-The tree from my 3.2 build is still good, I'd grab Essence Surge.

And if needed :
Drop the templar DPS nodes for more ES
Get Energy from Within jewel instead of Healthy Mind (for the Melding node)
Drop Harness the Void for Patient Reaper (more leech)

Something like that (lvl 91) : http://poeurl.com/cc1w ?

-GC op

-Bated Breath is pretty good for ES, and probably cheaper than Ascent from Flesh.
Rainbowstride for boots, preferably with a stun immunity enchant.
Eye of Chayula for stuns.
Otherwise this build is flexible, go for rares with good defenses.

-Brands feel pretty good with instant Brand Recall. Basically you jump in a pack, activate Orb of Storms and Recall simultaneously. You rely less on RNG to kill mobs, so it's actually much less clunky than before.

You're not the first to try this build in HC, I wouldn't recommend it, but you can make it work with a little investment. Good luck ! :)

PS : if you really aim for surviability in HC, I recommend checking out the Life Blade Vortex version, it's really strong and very mobile, although more expensive.

"

Sarodh1 wrote:

Hi !

-The tree from my 3.2 build is still good, I'd grab Essence Surge.

Spoiler

And if needed :
Drop the templar DPS nodes for more ES
Get Energy from Within jewel instead of Healthy Mind (for the Melding node)
Drop Harness the Void for Patient Reaper (more leech)

Something like that (lvl 91) : http://poeurl.com/cc1w ?

-GC op

-Bated Breath is pretty good for ES, and probably cheaper than Ascent from Flesh.
Rainbowstride for boots, preferably with a stun immunity enchant.
Eye of Chayula for stuns.
Otherwise this build is flexible, go for rares with good defenses.

-Brands feel pretty good with instant Brand Recall. Basically you jump in a pack, activate Orb of Storms and Recall simultaneously. You rely less on RNG to kill mobs, so it's actually much less clunky than before.

You're not the first to try this build in HC, I wouldn't recommend it, but you can make it work with a little investment. Good luck ! :)

PS : if you really aim for surviability in HC, I recommend checking out the Life Blade Vortex version, it's really strong and very mobile, although more expensive.

thx for the fast answer. currently i am trying to decide if this or another build i found (https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2255574/page/1) will be the way to go. but i guess this will be easier to gear and shadow is kinda cooler anyways^^

PS. but the bladevortex one was relying on a statstick, aye? Or did i look at the wrong one?

This build looks pretty good, less dps ofc, but solid. Very good choice for HC.

And yes, if you want to maximize dps with BV you'll need statsticks, but a tankier version with a shield is definitely good too.

"

Sarodh1 wrote:

This build looks pretty good, less dps ofc, but solid. Very good choice for HC.

And yes, if you want to maximize dps with BV you'll need statsticks, but a tankier version with a shield is definitely good too.

thx a lot for your (really quick) answers so far.

after some discussion with a guildmate we came up with a different approach - an occultist. Sacrificing cast speed (trickster stuff) + dmg (harness the void) for perma stun immunity and ES recharge not interrupting (maybe more safety for HC). Ontop we get self sustaining Power charges even on bosses which is not bad.

If you are curious, the current pastebin: https://pastebin.com/jYbu8fAz

But i realized, that in order to proc EE properly, i'd have to use your prior setup

GC - Combustion - Ball lightning - Arc

correct?

sadly atm i got very little time to play, but never the less really looking forward to play it.
I am very grateful for your advise so far! Ofc i'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this variant and possible improvements...

Have an awsm day!

Occultist is really strong this patch, I stick with Trickster for the DPS, but it looks good in HC.

Try to use Wise Oak if possible, it's both good for DPS and defense.

You'll need mana leech since you're losing Weave the Arcane and playing ES (so less unreserved mana), like Warlord's Mark + CWDT, or an Elder ring. Watcher's Eye with Clarity mods helps a lot.

"

But i realized, that in order to proc EE properly, i'd have to use your prior setup

GC - Combustion - Ball lightning - Arc

correct?

Correct, you need the EE keystone with this gem setup, and orb of storms. You can also use lightning golem, and/or ball lightning in CWDT, to have more reliable lightning hits. Obviously, be careful not to have flat fire to spells on your stuff.

So, I'm thinking about jumping back into this build in Betrayal. How do you think this new brands version compares to the blade vortex alternative in Delves? When I played the older flame surge variant in Delve I felt real squishy which may have been due to going deeper than my gear allows but still. I understand that mobility is also greatly improved with the other variation but the stat stick change may have more impact than I know.

Just wondering which variation you feel fits the league better.

Thanks for the sick build I cant wait to run it again this league

Welcome back !

BV version took a hit this league with shaper mods nerf, so I came back to Flame Surge (also, I kinda missed it :) ). About mobility, I got to try the Flame Dash buff from previous league. Coupled with Phase Run, it feels much better.
Brands improve the Flame Surge version a lot, compared to BV the pros/cons are pretty much the same.

I'll be trying variations with Loreweave, maybe something without Pledge of Hands to be tankier (inspired from this), there's much less damage though. To be continued.

response to:


Every time you answer a question 2 new pop up (kinda new to playing a caster) - thx for your patience... (:

ok, spell echo won't help in the helmet, as it doesn't affect triggered spells, aye? (so sad).
BUT would something like spell cascade + shock nova make any sense? (would it make any sense on GC btw?) If yes, which links to keep? or any other ways to increase GC mayhem? xD
and wut about elemental profileration support?

about the Watchers:
- 15% chance to Recover 10% of Maximum Mana when you use a Skill while affected by Clarity
- 20% increased Mana Recovery Rate while affected by Clarity

would both be good? the 20% increased seems meh, as it is just additive with all the other gear rolls, aye? Though it will take a long time till i can afford either...

And beside warlords mark (maybe better as blasphemy and drop clarity/just lvl1 ?) i guess only uniques like thiefs torment etc. to gain mana on hit / leech, aye? honestly i don't feel like putting more uniques into it for res / ES...

Thx again!

PS. cool the build link inspired you.

"

ok, spell echo won't help in the helmet, as it doesn't affect triggered spells, aye? (so sad).
BUT would something like spell cascade + shock nova make any sense? (would it make any sense on GC btw?) If yes, which links to keep? or any other ways to increase GC mayhem? xD
and wut about elemental profileration support?

According to the wording, you should be able to use spell cascade with triggered spells, yes.
GC doesn't work with Spell Cascade.
Ele prolif could be interesting to maintain ignite in an area, but Combustion is a must have to support your Flame Surge.

"

about the Watchers:
- 15% chance to Recover 10% of Maximum Mana when you use a Skill while affected by Clarity
- 20% increased Mana Recovery Rate while affected by Clarity

would both be good? the 20% increased seems meh, as it is just additive with all the other gear rolls, aye? Though it will take a long time till i can afford either...

The first one is nice and usually cheap (relatively speaking).
The second is very strong and usually expensive. Recovery rate is a separate stat, and it multiplies with mana regen AND leech (much like increased damage taken with increased damage). Your only other source of recovery is Patient Reaper, and it only activates on kill.

"

And beside warlords mark (maybe better as blasphemy and drop clarity/just lvl1 ?) i guess only uniques like thiefs torment etc. to gain mana on hit / leech, aye? honestly i don't feel like putting more uniques into it for res / ES...

That is where Trickster is strong, Weave the Arcane and Watcher's Eye %chance to recover with clarity lvl 1 allows to regen mana without WM.
With that you can run No regen maps, and if you get fire leech (helmet corruption or elder amulet), you also can run Hexproof maps, and freeing a curse for Flammability or Enfeeble.
Thief's Torment is interesting with skills like Molten Strike, but we're far from that kind of hits. Also, it applies to attacks only. :)

Btw, mana regen from Clarity lvl 20 is irrelevant, use lvl 1 with Watcher's Eye.