[3.5] Wild Strike 2-hander Ascendant

Introduction and how this build came about

BACKSTORY
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I started out copying Mathil's Consecrated Path Voidforge Elementalist build https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2164070 in Delve league, and while the damage was great, I was sorely disappointed with the survivability. Because I am no Mathil, I ended up dying a lot to normal content even though I hit like a truck. One further nagging issue I had with Consecrated Path was two-fold:

a) Consecrated Path teleported me to mobs (which was both good at bad; good because it saved me walking time, bad because sometimes you'd want to avoid certain positions and Consecrated Path's teleport could put you in a dangerous position); and

b) Consecrated Path (due to us not taking Resolute Technique) occasionally left maybe 1 out of 10 monsters in a pack alive after teleporting to the pack and attacking it. This meant that if you held down Consecrated Path, you would slam the ground one more time to kill the remaining monster, before you teleported elsewhere. Not a dealbreaker, but sometimes awkward and clunky.

I wanted something with the damage of a Voidforge Elementalist Consecrated Path, without the awkwardness of teleportation and double-slamming, and preferably with more survivability. Thus, the Ascendant Voidforge Wild Strike build was born.


PROS/CONS
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PROS:
> Decent life pool (over 7k with BiS equipment)
> Slayer overleech + Vaal Pact + Arakaali/Blood Rage/Immortal Call interaction (see below for explanation) gives 4,500 life on hit, making you very safe
> Has good aoe clear (1.9m shaper DPS) and single target (3.1m shaper DPS)
> Does not give up control over your positioning
> Wields a bad-ass 2 hander sword
> Has more DPS than Mathil's Consecrated Path Voidforge Elementalist

CONS:
> Expensive build, although it can be scaled down
> Not a league starter
> Melee, and with no gap closer attacks you will have to rely on Leap Slam to engage targets/position yourself
> Clear speed may be slow compared to dedicated mappers and better aoe classes
> Requires either a 2nd Voidforge (socketed with Ancestral Call versus Ruthless), or gem-swapping Ruthless out for Ancestral Call for its AoE


How The Build Works
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Stacking Physical Damage and converting it to Elemental via Voidforge + Wild Strike


Path of Building

End-Game Level 100 with expensive jewels
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https://pastebin.com/VKDAbE7g


Level 95 with expensive jewels
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To be added


Level 95 with cheaper jewels (no Unnatural Instinct)
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To be added


Items

End-Game Items
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To be added


End-Game Items (Budget)
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To be added


Useful Leveling Items (Budget)
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To be added
Last edited by donovankkw on Jan 24, 2019, 10:37:50 AM
Last bumped on Jan 24, 2019, 10:38:07 AM
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