[3.9] Trickster Flicker Strike (10 - 15 million Shaper DPS) Awakening Lvl 8 Sirus Down
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1/4: Sirus down. Awakening level 8. Two portals left. Once I got through the storm phase, it was cake. 12/30: New build seems solid. The skill tree and gear set I'm running right now would work for Trickster, Assassin, Raider, and Slayer. 12/28: Gave the passive tree a pass and was able to pick up some damage at no cost. I'm also working on Raider/Assassin variations of this build. 12/7: General build updated. Rotated around some aura gems to be able to fit in Precision without needing a Rank 4 Enlighten. Dropped Endurance charges from the build as the place they are most needed, bosses, is the place they are hardest to get. I've also been running Fractal Thoughts lately. Seems like a sweet spot to me between offense and defense. I still think this build is pretty affordable for what it can do but will become much more expensive next patch. 12/5: Cortex boss down. Never done the fight before so pretty sloppy. Bottled Faith dropped! Odd having a flask that is worth more than the combined cost of my entire build. 12/3: No updates for a while. Trying out a few changes with the build. Running Fractal Thoughts helm and a Crit Multi/Precision Watcher's Eye. Rearranging gems allowed me to do this with out picking up a level 4 Enlighten. 10/29: Easily insta-phased Shaper with The Vertex. 10/26: Not much new. Using Kiara's Determination flask for mapping. Running The Vertex on juiced T16s for safety. Did another Shaper run and noticed there is no real need to spin up for charges on the sub bosses. Just melt them down with Cyclone. Saves some time. 10/13: Decided to show off a full life Shaper kill with Damage on Full Life Support. Updated gif. 10/5: Uber Elder down. First character I've attempted the fight on. Took every life. Main thing about this fight is just to be patient. Use Warchief and Cyclone the majority of the time to keep up charges and be able to do damage on the move. Nuke with Flicker Strike, but only in small intervals. Cyclone and Warchief appears to be plenty to do the fight with. Again, patience is key. 9/26: Updated Skill Gems section. Special thanks to Blackdeath911 for that. 9/20: Updated build with Tenacity, some minor Skill Gem changes and changed a single point move from Evasion and Elemental Resistances (12% Evasion, +3% All Elemental Resists) to Armour and Evasion (12% Evasion/Armour, +3% All Elemental Resists). Should break 15mil DPS just on Flicker Strike now. 9/20: Ruthless appears to be better than I previously thought. The combination of Multistrike and Ruthless is creating very large hits that allow for higher shock values. Basically it takes a 1.6million crit to apply Shock at full value to Shaper which is not possible with out Ruthless. 9/19: Tried a few Uber Elders and failed. Combination of me being new to the fight mechanics and Flicker putting me in some really bad spots. Next time I'm going to try to use Flicker Strike more sparingly and let Cyclone and Ancestral Warchief do most of the work. 9/18: Toying with Infused Channeling and Fortify on Cyclone and moving War Banner to boots. The 10% more Damage applies to Flicker Strike, Cyclone, and Ancestral Warchief. Seems to net about 1mil more DPS for 6sec, but probably not needed. I do find the Fortify/Infusion buffs on Cyclone make that part of the build more engaging. Introduction: Flickster Tricker Strike! -Whats New in 3.9: I gave the passive tree another pass and was able to pick up 8% more damage for free by dropping minor nodes and using slightly different pathng. This patch is generally a large nerf to cost effectiveness and a small nerf to DPS. Shock was changed and with the new calculations, we are shocking Shaper (68mil HP) for 25% instead of 50%. New Awakened gems will allow for even higher DPS values, albeit at a much higher build cost. -Build Goals: My goals with the build have shifted over time. Originally, I wanted a cheap, effective Flicker Strike build that scaled well off of uniques, didn't require crafting or outrageously expensive items, and utilized some unique mechanics--A goal I think I accomplished. I'm now a bit more focused on maximizing build capabilities and attempting harder content as well as balancing out damage vs defenses. -Why Trickster?: Trickster Ascendancy has tons of free stats through Escape Artist and free damage through Swift Killer. Trickster also has the unique ability of generating both Power and Frenzy charges through channeling allowing you to go into any fight full on both. Ghost Shroud--while nerfed in 3.8--still provides mitigation and instantly restores a portion of your Energy Shield when hit. Lastly, free movement skills. -How do you generate Frenzy?: This is very common question. Frenzy generation is coming from kills, Flicker Strike itself (20% chance on hit), and from Cyclone channeling. Also note that Flicker Strike only costs Frenzy when the CD isn't available, so there is no Frenzy cost every 2 seconds. For bosses, I don't consistently generate Frenzy. The idea is for the Boss to be dead before Frenzy runs out; you can always refresh charges with Cyclone channeling if needed. Gameplay Videos [3.8]: Cortex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfcBf7JAvIA Uber Elder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jszxMRy1ZYQ Shaper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3HCKZ0_wNg&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx75haC51AM (One Second Full Life Kill) T16 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FtKxOgNIGA&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08gvsANjiPE (42sec Phoenix Clear) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J58nyMe-DBE (Juiced Chimera) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izqbcGyYfPQ (5L Terminus Est Minotaur) Pros: -High DPS (Can pull 15mil+ Shaper DPS with Adrenaline) -Very mobile with exceptional clear speed -High burst for boss killing -Straight forward gearing -Scales well off of uniques -6000 to 6500 Effective HP with layered defenses -No mana costs -Innate stun immunity -Can run any map mod (Requires ring swap for Reflect Physical) Cons: -Not good for delving -Still can get exploded by strong boss attacks with the right (wrong) modifiers -Relies heavily on flasks The Build (Updated 1/5): https://pastebin.com/whErd1GP Note: LocalIdentity POB fork recommended for more accurate DPS calculations Previous Versions: https://pastebin.com/1r0auWzm https://pastebin.com/px6qUhFA https://pastebin.com/dpycu8NJ Skill Gems:
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Main Skill 6L (Chest) Flicker Strike > Multistrike > Close Combat > Melee Physical > Ruthless > Melee Splash (Clear) or Full Life (Single Target DPS) Charge Generation/Ancestral Warchief/Fortify/Infusion 6L (Weapon) Vaal Ancestral Warchief > Cyclone > Close Combat > Melee Physical > Infused Channeling Support > Fortify Support Mobility 2L + Survivability 2L (Boots) Leap Slam > Faster Attacks > Steel Skin (LVL 20) > Cast When Damage Taken (LVL 20) Aura/Ancestral Protector (Gloves) Blasphemy > Ancestral Protector > Assassin's Mark > Multiple Totems Support Auras 4L (Helm) Flesh and Stone > Maim > War Banner> Precision Gear and Explanations:
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Weapon: Starforge / Terminus Est
Only need to 5 link in the original build. Starforge is my current "end game" weapon. One shots packs in T16s and kills bosses so quickly that Frenzy generation never really comes up. Terminus Est is still plenty for Shaper and is a much better option for Frenzy generation at lower levels and when you are lacking damage. Helm: Abyssus (Offensive) / The Vertex, Vaal Mask (Defensive) / Fractal Thoughts (Balance) Abyssus is the strongest DPS option by far and is great for one shotting bosses. The Vertex, Vaal is the most defensive option and is good to equip while mapping or leveling and for maps with porcupines. It has the highest evade chance, effective life (4850 Life / 1750 ES), and strongest Ghost Shroud procs. Fractal Thoughts is the middle ground; an offensive and defensive option. If possible, grab the 9% increased Flicker Strike Damage per Frenzy Charge helm enchant. The 40% Flicker Strike Damage and 30% Increased Assassin's Mark Curse Effect are also effective choices. I've exluded the enchants from the build due to rarity. Body Armor: Bronn's Lithe (Offensive) / Kintsugi (Defensive) / Farrul's Fur (Utility) This is your 6 link slot for Flicker Strike. Having a high ES is important. Bronn's Lithe gives ~800ES from Escape Artist and a strong DPS boost. Kintsugi is decent at preventing one shots. Farrul's is an effective option for prolonged boss fights with immunity. Gloves: Shaper's Touch Ton's of free stats. Get +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges corrupted to further scale damage from Frenzy charges. Boots: Darkray Vectors Darkray gives damage and movement from Frenzy charges and +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges. Enchant with attack speed, movement, or regen when hit. Rings: Le Heup of All / Rare, Gifts from Above Basically capping out resists with Le Heup of All. A rare can fulfill the same purpose. Gifts from above provides some nice extra damage for bossing by adding crit and dropping Consecrate. Special Mentions: Sibyl's Lament / Precursor's Emblem Swap in a Sibyl's if you need to do a reflect physical damage map. Even a bad Precursor Emblem is a great, and expensive, option. Amulet: Rare or Astramentis Life and Increased Maximum Energy Shield was my prefernce. Really a dealer's choice kind of slot; pick something you like. Astramentis works well with attribute scaling. Belt: Stygian Vise / Doryani's Invitation Pretty standard. Get life and resists. Flasks: Lion's Roar, Atziri's Promise, Sin's Rebirth, Silver Flask, Diamond Flasks Just run all DPS flasks. I ran a Wise Oak for resists and a Healing flask at lower levels. Special Mentions: Bottled Faith, Kiara's Determination Bottled Faith is best in slot, but incredibly expensive and difficult to farm. It synergizes with Gifts from Above as well. Kiara's is a short duration flask but provides Freeze, Curse, and additional stun immunity. Jewels: Watcher's Eye with Critical Strike Multiplier while affected by Precision is best in slot. Generally, you'll want crit multiplier, life, ES, and to cap resists with Jewels. Gameplay: Leap Strike to control your direction and dodge large attacks. Tap Cyclone to activate the Fortify buff and hold Cyclone to generate Frenzy/Power charges and gain the Infusion damage buff. Flicker strike everything and try to keep flasks up. For Boss fights, make sure you are full on Frenzy/Power charges, run in, drop your Ancestral Warchief, Vaal Ancestral Warchief, pop flasks and place War Banner for a large burst of damage. Swap to Damage on Full Life support for difficult boss fights. Bandit: Help Alira. Pantheon: Soul of Solaris (Major) and Soul of Yugol (Minor) Solaris helps with bosses, one shots, and ailments. Yugol helps with Freeze and Shaper cold damage. Leveling: Working on a leveling build. Flicker Strike doesn't really come online until around level 53 when you have both Terminus Est and Bronn's. You can Flicker much earlier with Blood Rage, Blood Dance boots (lvl 44), but it may be sub-optimal. End Comments: If you made it this far, thanks for checking out my first guide. This is essentially my first build and character in PoE. A ton of trial and error went into getting the character to where it is today and I hope you'll enjoy playing the build as much as I have. Last edited by Spacefight0r on Jan 5, 2020, 3:20:31 AM Last bumped on Aug 21, 2020, 4:41:10 PM
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Hey i love how it looks so far, i've not played a flicker in a long while. If you could build a leveling tree set i'd give it a shot, (Since i'm really bad) Otherwise i wish you the best of luck with this.
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I agree, would like leveling tree too! I'm excited to your build! Never played flicker strike, but i'd like to try this league!
At what level approx. do you switch to Flicker? Tkx in advance ! |
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I love play Flicker Strike and have a few builds I have seen that I want to mess with. Really interested in level tree if you do so. Holding onto this so I can mess with it soon as I get my Trappy Zappy Boi through some mapping/farm stuff for the flicker build.
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Are those support gems in order of most important to least important? what would you run in a 5L. Rolling that many off colors on the armor seems like a chore
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" Flicker Strike > Multistrike > Close Combat > Melee Splash > Melee Physical > Ruthless in terms importance. Drop Ruthless for a 5 link. I will sometimes swap Melee Splash for Full Life against bosses. Off color sockets on armor was a chore. I think it took 480 chromatic orbs. You basically have to run evasion armor with this build for the synergy with Escape Artist. The chest piece was by far the most expensive item in terms of resources spent. Last edited by Spacefight0r on Sep 14, 2019, 8:06:54 AM
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How much damage are you losing if you run a 6L corrupted eva rare armor with those colors instead
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" Looks like around 14%. Bronn's Lithe is pretty much best in slot for the build. I tend to pile up Chromatic Orbs, so the off color rolls never bothered me. |
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Does close combat work with flicker?
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What about flicker strike and blight mechanic? is it possible to clear blighted maps with flicker?
---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nSKK5UeJNQ <---
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