[3.21] Vatinas' Spiders + HoP Guardian - CI, 70K armour, 1400 ES on block, millions of DPS

Got the double corrupt chest and helmet enchant, I now have 8 sentinels at gem level 30. Super smooth with 10k life.

I started to copy OP's the 3.10 version of this build.

Only ever played skelli necro before but had the ex to blow on trying something new. Still have to get my mind around moving INTO mobs and not worry about whether all my minions are up and running.

I love how tanky this is! At lvl 90, I survived a Simulacrum where Kosis killed three lvl 95+ Herald Stackers.

And in another run, I was the last to die to Kosis (he musta been on a roll tonight). No other mobs left, minions despawned, flasks empty, me fighting him on my measly 4-link cyclone. Wasnt gonna win, but I lasted a looooong time, grinning from ear to ear :-)

Thanks to this build, I am having fun in Simulacrum.

Hi everyone! Long time no see ;)

I have three things I want to say.

First, I'm sorry for never properly updating the guide to 3.10. I didn't really enjoy Delirium, and didn't play much at all; I spent most of the league doing IRL stuff or playing other games. I'm really hyped for Harvest though, I really love the idea of the league, so you can expect much more frequent and thorough updates for 3.11! :)


Speaking of 3.11, the second thing I want to say is that we will receive teasers for next league's balance and changes in the coming weeks, and the first major news arrived a few hours earlier: Glancing Blows is coming to the skill tree! Hooray! If you don't see why it's such a big deal, here's why:

- It makes the build way tankier without buying a Lethal Pride, making the build more affordable in early league, when people don't already farm 5-way emblem fights. It might even become viable as a league starter with a few changes here and there (like having some SRS instead of spiders until we can afford Arakaali's Fang and going CI/using Solaris Lorica until we can afford Shav's, for instance; I'll try it out myself and let you know how it goes)!

- It frees a jewel socket in the skill tree; that might not seem like much, but one cheap jewel can give us 2.5% dps and 200 ES, which is more than decent.

I'll post updates regarding the impact of different 3.11 news on the build here as they are announced. :)


Last, I want to properly comment on the difference between my LL version and the CI version that some people have been trying out.

The first difference I want to point out is the use of Pure Agony: indeed, stacking it to get multiple extra sentinels is, in terms of pure damage, better than my skill tree. But I don't see this as "balanced"; not meaning that it's OP, meaning that's it's not, in my eyes, how the jewels are meant to be used. And since I like creating "balanced" builds (once again, I don't mean "not OP", I mean "that doesn't use a mechanic in a way it doesn't seem supposed to be used"), I went the way I went. But that's only my preference; if you want to take less damage nodes in the skill tree and, instead, invest in multiple Pure Agony jewels, feel free to do so! It's perfectly viable as of 3.10 :) It's just not the build I want to show in this guide.

The second difference is the balance between ES and armour. Indeed, you can reach higher values of raw ES by going CI. However, when I tried to build a CI version, I didn't get nearly as much armour (if I recall, I reached around 35k). What is important to keep in mind is that since our build's sustain is mainly based on ES gained based on our armour, while increasing our ES increases our effective life pool, increasing our armour increases our sustain, which is, in my opinion, a better way to increase survivability (as long as you don't get one shot, which never happens with this build). So I completely understand that it's tempting to reach an ES value as high as possible, but keep in mind that it's not the only factor that comes into play when it comes to survivability. That does not mean that builds with more ES and less armour are not viable - I haven't tried one myself, but from what I've read from you guys, it seems to go just fine :) It's just that, like before, it's not the way I went, and it's not the way I, personally, feel like going.


Thank you for reading, and see you all in 3.11! ;)

"

Vatinas wrote:

Last, I want to properly comment on the difference between my LL version and the CI version that some people have been trying out.

The first difference I want to point out is the use of Pure Agony: indeed, stacking it to get multiple extra sentinels is, in terms of pure damage, better than my skill tree. But I don't see this as "balanced"; not meaning that it's OP, meaning that's it's not, in my eyes, how the jewels are meant to be used. And since I like creating "balanced" builds (once again, I don't mean "not OP", I mean "that doesn't use a mechanic in a way it doesn't seem supposed to be used"), I went the way I went. But that's only my preference; if you want to take less damage nodes in the skill tree and, instead, invest in multiple Pure Agony jewels, feel free to do so! It's perfectly viable as of 3.10 :) It's just not the build I want to show in this guide.

The second difference is the balance between ES and armour. Indeed, you can reach higher values of raw ES by going CI. However, when I tried to build a CI version, I didn't get nearly as much armour (if I recall, I reached around 35k). What is important to keep in mind is that since our build's sustain is mainly based on ES gained based on our armour, while increasing our ES increases our effective life pool, increasing our armour increases our sustain, which is, in my opinion, a better way to increase survivability (as long as you don't get one shot, which never happens with this build). So I completely understand that it's tempting to reach an ES value as high as possible, but keep in mind that it's not the only factor that comes into play when it comes to survivability. That does not mean that builds with more ES and less armour are not viable - I haven't tried one myself, but from what I've read from you guys, it seems to go just fine :) It's just that, like before, it's not the way I went, and it's not the way I, personally, feel like going.


Thank you for reading, and see you all in 3.11! ;)

I didn't mean any disrespect by posting my CI version, just giving people different options since this is a build I've played a few leagues now.

I think the point of any temporary league is to make the most OP version of a build giving the constraints and resources available, which is why I went the Pure Agony route.

I don't understand what you're saying about Armour, I'm at 40.1k currently and I'm unkillable.

I'm Level 94 and don't have Sanctum of Thought or Combat Stamina.

"

livejamie wrote:

I didn't mean any disrespect by posting my CI version, just giving people different options since this is a build I've played a few leagues now.

I think the point of any temporary league is to make the most OP version of a build giving the constraints and resources available, which is why I went the Pure Agony route.

I don't understand what you're saying about Armour, I'm at 40.1k currently and I'm unkillable.

I'm Level 94 and don't have Sanctum of Thought or Combat Stamina.

Hi, thanks for taking the time to answer! :)

I didn't take any of what you said as a disrespect! I'm sorry if that's what came out of my message, it really wasn't my intention. The way I see it, the most important thing for creating a build is experimenting; I try multiple versions of this particular build every league, trying my best to use what's being introduced, and it's an incredibly valuable thing for me to have other people bring their own ideas. So I'm really sorry if I came out as offended, I really wasn't, and I'm glad you found an alternative version that fits you! :)

I understand your point about making the most OP version of a build with the resources that are given. It's just not the way I like to make my builds; but that doesn't mean I see your way of thinking as unproductive or anything! I'm aware different people have different philosophies, and that's perfectly fine; I was simply explaining why I didn't go certain routes (the thing I had specifically in mind when writing this was cluster jewel stacking).

When I tried to make a CI version I didn't reach such values, either I did something wrong or there have been some changes that help the CI version; either way, I'll definitely look into it! If I manage to get your tree with Sanctum of Thought on top of it, I'll probably be reaching 45k (without an armour anoint on amulet too, I'm guessing), which will probably be enough to remain unkillable - and seems to be enough according to your experience. I'll definitely look more into it - I'll scroll up into the thread to find a PoB for your version, to see what differences you introduced :) If you haven't posted one, can you please either post a PoB or PM it to me?

Thanks again for working on this build with me!

"

Vatinas wrote:

"

livejamie wrote:

I didn't mean any disrespect by posting my CI version, just giving people different options since this is a build I've played a few leagues now.

I think the point of any temporary league is to make the most OP version of a build giving the constraints and resources available, which is why I went the Pure Agony route.

I don't understand what you're saying about Armour, I'm at 40.1k currently and I'm unkillable.

I'm Level 94 and don't have Sanctum of Thought or Combat Stamina.

Hi, thanks for taking the time to answer! :)

I didn't take any of what you said as a disrespect! I'm sorry if that's what came out of my message, it really wasn't my intention. The way I see it, the most important thing for creating a build is experimenting; I try multiple versions of this particular build every league, trying my best to use what's being introduced, and it's an incredibly valuable thing for me to have other people bring their own ideas. So I'm really sorry if I came out as offended, I really wasn't, and I'm glad you found an alternative version that fits you! :)

I understand your point about making the most OP version of a build with the resources that are given. It's just not the way I like to make my builds; but that doesn't mean I see your way of thinking as unproductive or anything! I'm aware different people have different philosophies, and that's perfectly fine; I was simply explaining why I didn't go certain routes (the thing I had specifically in mind when writing this was cluster jewel stacking).

When I tried to make a CI version I didn't reach such values, either I did something wrong or there have been some changes that help the CI version; either way, I'll definitely look into it! If I manage to get your tree with Sanctum of Thought on top of it, I'll probably be reaching 45k (without an armour anoint on amulet too, I'm guessing), which will probably be enough to remain unkillable - and seems to be enough according to your experience. I'll definitely look more into it - I'll scroll up into the thread to find a PoB for your version, to see what differences you introduced :) If you haven't posted one, can you please either post a PoB or PM it to me?

Thanks again for working on this build with me!

I posted it a few pages ago, here's where I'm at:

"

Level 94
8 Sentinels
10k ES
40.8k Armour

https://pastebin.com/bMHqZ6JV

I wish there was a league starter version for this build but due to the specific uniques required it cant really happen.

I was considering a Sentinal/Zombie version to league start until I could get the necessary uniques and transition/respec fully but even then I think it might be a struggle. Fang and Aegis would be easy enough to get early but Shavs are like 4ex+ for the first week and that's not even a 6L.

Will prob do a league starter then have make a new character to do this build again. >.<;

"

MajorSadist wrote:

I wish there was a league starter version for this build but due to the specific uniques required it cant really happen.

I was considering a Sentinal/Zombie version to league start until I could get the necessary uniques and transition/respec fully but even then I think it might be a struggle. Fang and Aegis would be easy enough to get early but Shavs are like 4ex+ for the first week and that's not even a 6L.

Will prob do a league starter then have make a new character to do this build again. >.<;

Hi,

Finding a way to league start with this is something that I've been experimenting with for several leagues. My last try was yesterday and actually went wonderfully: grab Smite and Raise Zombies at lvl 2, Summon Holy Relic as you get it (you can use it at lvl 4, so very early). At this point, your zombies should survive all the time except versus bosses, and your damage will be more than enough. Grab Herald of Purity after the Chamber of Sins in act 2, and then Dominating Blow at lvl 28. By this point, your damage should be pretty obscene, especially if you remember to use Smite now and then versus bosses to further buff your army of minions. I played with this and had HoP in 2L, Dom Blow in 3L, zombies in 2L and Relic in 2L until act 9, and it went incredibly smooth. In terms of skill tree, I chose to go the "long way" to see how this early build does without lots of damage nodes - I grabbed Sacrifice and Spiritual Command early on, then went to grab Spiritual Aid, and didn't take any other damage node until around lvl 40 or 50 where I took Ravenous Horde, and I destroyed everything. I haven't gone into maps, but I'm sure it's just the same.

In terms of important support gems, it's very important to use Meat Shield on your zombies when you can get it in act 6, and to use Melee Splash on Dominating Blow as soon as you start using it. It can also be useful to use Maim on Smite to increase the physical damage taken by enemies. Apart from those three, it's basically using whatever gems fit the colours you find and grant damage - like minion damage, melee physical damage, multistrike, maim, etc.

I'm probably going to write a more detailed section about this in the guide before league start, this is really fresh news as I literally finished this run yesterday, but I believe you have all you need, albeit in a pretty messy form. :')

"

MajorSadist wrote:

I wish there was a league starter version for this build but due to the specific uniques required it cant really happen.

I was considering a Sentinal/Zombie version to league start until I could get the necessary uniques and transition/respec fully but even then I think it might be a struggle. Fang and Aegis would be easy enough to get early but Shavs are like 4ex+ for the first week and that's not even a 6L.

Will prob do a league starter then have make a new character to do this build again. >.<;

I think you could do HoP/BV with Cold Iron Points and transition.

Something like Bashtart's build maybe: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2672562

Tala moana warrior. Thank you OP so very much for this super M1A1 build!

Planning league start with this old commie haha. So your league start guide would be a great help too.

Stay safe exile.