[3.13 UPDATED] gr0bbs | Poison Blade Vortex | Budget Viable | Endgame 50Mil+ DPS | Video Guide

been seeing alot of talk recently about flesh and stone vs skitterbots. the original guide here didnt mention flesh and stone, but i see alot of people using it in the helm.

can anyone comment on this? what should we be rolling with?

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HornedTerrorist wrote:

And that's exactly why i hate it, when ppl post such bs about cluster jewels. "Feelings" don't matter, it's simple goddamn math - you can achieve way higher damage numbers WITH a complete cluster setup (1 large / 2 medium) and even more with two cluster setups, than without it. Are the really good clusters pricy? Sure. Do you NEED them to do decent damage or do normal content? No. Absolutely not. But are they worth it? 100% yes. The math is there. Math doesn't care about your feelings or opinions. That's the awesome thing about math! It... just... works.

I don't think anyone is claiming that clusters do not boost your DPS. With regards to "feelings," I make a new skill tree in POB just about every day to continually try improving my stats and looking at different trade-offs. Absolutely, there's another 20+% DPS that I'm missing out on by not using a L+M+S. However, at least at level 95, I can't seem to work out how to include it without losing a substantial amount of life and feeling much more one-shottable, especially amidst the crazy damage that are Heists.

I hear you on the importance of validating and not just doing what seems good in one's head. But there's a clear trend among a number of players using just a M+S, and I do think it's a valid strategy if better survivability is valued. I do wish the guide would call this out as a viable strategy so players using this build don't go all the way for two huge L+M+S clusters without recognizing there's a totally other valid way to play this that may fit certain playstyles better (frankly, like I did).

Should i still get Asenath's Gentle Touch if i have an explody chest. Is it worthwhile to get different gloves since there's no point in having double explode? If so what are some good alternatives?

Or is it better to drop the explody chest and use asenath's gloves instead?

Dirty techniques is the anointment of choice? Thanks!

Is the actual base damage of Cold Iron point important or just the +3 skills mod? Just didn't know if I need to quality it for any reason? Thanks

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d373rmined wrote:

Is the actual base damage of Cold Iron point important or just the +3 skills mod? Just didn't know if I need to quality it for any reason? Thanks

The quality doesn't matter, just the +3 gems.

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WarBuffalo wrote:

Dirty techniques is the anointment of choice? Thanks!

Or Corruption, if you're going for pure DPS. Plenty of folks are using Wind Dancer, Freedom of movement, etc, for QoL bonuses instead.

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LowBudget780 wrote:

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HornedTerrorist wrote:

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AnuQeiRo wrote:

After many exalteds I find that I cannot reach a minimum of 20 million DPS, could someone tell me what I am doing wrong?

Im in 7m with poison :(

My build:
https://pastebin.com/vMfmqKtV

Please! Thanks

Can't import your pastebin, but your gear + talent tree look good so far. Probably just some configuration stuff. Did you check that stuff under "Configuration"? Like "Enemy shocked" with skitterbots, Number of poisons applied recently (30, 60 if you're self-poisoning), Unholy Might, ...

How do the poisons applied recently get doubled with self-poisoning? Is it because the poisons are applied to you as well as enemy both count? I might switch to that.

That's correct, you apply double the poison with half of it being self.

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d373rmined wrote:

Is the actual base damage of Cold Iron point important or just the +3 skills mod? Just didn't know if I need to quality it for any reason? Thanks

Weapon damage is irrelevant for spells, only the stats count.

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Kaustix wrote:

Should i still get Asenath's Gentle Touch if i have an explody chest. Is it worthwhile to get different gloves since there's no point in having double explode? If so what are some good alternatives?

Or is it better to drop the explody chest and use asenath's gloves instead?

Explode-mods do stack, but unless you're doing juiced up maps, it's not necessary.


@Cluster Jewels
Ofc you're missing out on survivability, if you're going double-cluster-setup. But the guide does mention, that this build isn't meant for hardcore. It states, that this is softcore and it values damage over survivability.

In the first few weeks of every league, i switch my talent tree at least once a day. This league, i even had two completely different talent trees + item sets - one for Heist, where i valued survivability over damage, and one "Pew Pew"-setting for the rest. For Heist, i played Apep-MoM with life armour (died like 3 times in 300 heists + blueprints). For the other stuff, it was pure damage + Carcass Jack. Difference: i had double the survivability in heist, but only half the damage. It was literally half the damage in PoB, and it would have taken me forever to do a 100% Delirium T16 map that way.

The reason i'm a bit pissed about the cluster discussion is: It comes up every league since delirium, and there are always people who just state "they aren't worth it", and other people repeating that bs without thinking. It always depends on the content you're doing and what you value more - dmg or survivability. But ppl also forget, that damage IS(!) survivability. The faster mobs die, the lesser abilites they are able to cast or the lesser they hit.

The only reason NOT to invest heavy into cluster jewels is the fact, that Heist is a hardcore mechanic.

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How do the poisons applied recently get doubled with self-poisoning? Is it because the poisons are applied to you as well as enemy both count? I might switch to that.

Poisoning yourself does count as "poisons applied recently". But you will need a Watcher's eye with "Unaffected by poison" for that, otherwise you one-shot yourself. It costs 150c-200c atm, but it's worth it. Big damage boost.

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grimjack68 wrote:

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WarBuffalo wrote:

Dirty techniques is the anointment of choice? Thanks!

Or Corruption, if you're going for pure DPS. Plenty of folks are using Wind Dancer, Freedom of movement, etc, for QoL bonuses instead.

Freedom of movement is VERY nice. I had that a week or two, and it's absolutely worth it. You might even skill right into it, if you're taking Winddancer. Just don't know atm, where i'd get that 4 talent points from to skill into it, and i don't really want to sacrifice too much damage. But it's worth it, especially if you're doing heists, with 100% phasing + movement speed bonus.