[3.15]Archmage Ball Lightning Hierophant, will it work in Expedition?

Im having some problems since in the build guide you are using gems that no longer exist such as curse on hit (replaced by Hextouch) or also Proj. Weakness... Do you have replacement options for those?

I think the OP may have abandoned this thread, but the char is still quite viable for anything. It's still one of the highest DPS builds that exists in this game.

Know that this is the quintessential "Glass-Cannon" char. Especially if you're in a league and not on Standard server.

Here are the two builds that I currently play:

Standard Server PoB: https://pastebin.com/ud8qy9Ta

- requires XX/100 Fevered Mind, does not use Agnostic/RF, uses Sanctuary of Thought. MUST HAVE "ENDURING" MANA FLASK! Quite a bit more durable than the league version due to 3k+ ES, and more consistent mana regen/sustain (BL cast only costs 3200 mana per). This build (with pots & support skills activated) will do about 33M true sDPS, and around 66M sDPS per cast sequence (per 4 launched BL's and their 2s duration). It has around 80k EHP vs elemental, 22k vs phys, and 9k vs chaos.

Note: I keep shock illustrated at level 20 even though there's potential for much higher. White map mobs, for instance, easily get hit with level 50 shock, and rares likely do too. Bosses like Elder/Shaper/Sirus probably average between level 15-30 shock, with the occasional perfect juiced up crit being higher. Hence why this build uses Lightning Pen gem over Ele Focus(prevents shock).

-Sire of Shards is swapped in for map clearing. It will still do around 20M sDPS, however it shoots 24 BL's in a nova (4x6 with full Unleash). The damage to white and rare mobs is around 30M DPS. It's especially good in Blight maps and Delving due to the massive nova spread.

- If you're not bossing, then you can probably swap out Assassins Mark on the body for Temporal Chains(more defense) or Elemental Weakness(more offense). Assassins Mark is self-cast only (it is not triggered by CWDT + Hextouch) and is only used on big boss mobs. You don't need it for power charge generation as this is what Holy Flame Totem + Conviction of Power is for. HFT also helps with consecrated ground and curse strip/immunity on demand, too. However, AM is VERY necessary vs big bosses.

- If you choose to swap out Conviction of Power for Arcane Blessing (to get ele ailment immunity), just know you will HAVE to use Assassins Mark (self-cast on single target only) to generate power charges. You could also swap in different boots with freeze immunity on them and then adjust the suffixes on your flasks to cover ailments (however, you lose one curse). But, this thing kills so fast, I really don't worry about ailments, thus why I have the build with CoP.

- By the way, Phase run gets slotted in your movement key so it is constantly activated. If you don't like phase run, then I would recommend slotting Arcane Cloak in your movement key instead. You should be mashing AC every time it's up while you're fighting anything. Same with your enduring mana flask and sigil of power. And then constantly using HFT to keep power/endurance charges up if they drop, too.



League Server PoB: https://pastebin.com/D1pPNgfA

- really need to have Unnatural Instinct jewel (very expensive) so it can give you more +AoE. Less durability because no ES due to Agnostic/RF. Mana regen is difficult to sustain due to BL costing ~4200 mana per cast on top of RF running (Agnostic keystone required). You really must have +mana recovery RATE on belt and Watcher's Eye jewel. Also requires "Enduring" mana flask. Can't play without it. sDPS is around 30M, and around 60M per cast sequence. Has around 55k EHP vs elemental, 16k vs phys, and 9k vs chaos.



Both builds kick the crap out of everything with ease. The damage is beyond insane. There's very few builds in this game that can do the real damage this one can do. That said, you will die A LOT on this thing because it is also insanely squishy. The MoM and Arcane Cloak can only do so much against really big hits. And if you face anything decent size that does chaos damage, you're probably dead to a one-shot, so try like hell to avoid those types of mobs. Luckily very little does chaos damage in this game.

Don't get me wrong, though, with all the scare-talk. This is still in my top-3 favorite chars ever because it just kills so much instantly. Sirus? Easy in under 2 minutes. Juiced up Blight maps? Cake. Delving? Not it's forte, but can still go pretty deep by any casual player's standards.

I really recommend playing this thing on Standard server, though. The League version is a pain in the ass with mana sustain, and durability is even worse. Just sayin.

great write up thanks for this.

I have taken a 2year break from POE and just returned in the last week.

Am playing this build. My 2cents:

The guide has been written and changed a bunch - people need a decent understanding of POE to understand the changes and work through it

I am level 50ish now

I have decided to go the hierophant route. I can attest from a fresh start with zero currency i have never seen DPS this high before it really is insane.

The big issue with this build (at the moment for me) is dieing but the detail here is dieing becuase you have no mana. I currently only have the 10% damage to mana and am having huge mana issues. I am at the level where i can get the cloak of defiance but there is no way my mana can sustain this yet.

So im having a blast because DPS is so high but am actually thinking about not taking agnostic (becuase i have no mana anyway when im getting smashed on) and seeing if ES leech can be helpful?

if anyone with more knowledge than me comment on the possibility of using ES leech/regen to counteract and protect some of our mana?

i will write back on how the build is going when i get into maps - however i have only just started on an old league so have no currency while everything is really expensive.

"

Immortal007 wrote:

great write up thanks for this.

I have taken a 2year break from POE and just returned in the last week.

Am playing this build. My 2cents:

The guide has been written and changed a bunch - people need a decent understanding of POE to understand the changes and work through it

I am level 50ish now

I have decided to go the hierophant route. I can attest from a fresh start with zero currency i have never seen DPS this high before it really is insane.

The big issue with this build (at the moment for me) is dieing but the detail here is dieing becuase you have no mana. I currently only have the 10% damage to mana and am having huge mana issues. I am at the level where i can get the cloak of defiance but there is no way my mana can sustain this yet.

So im having a blast because DPS is so high but am actually thinking about not taking agnostic (becuase i have no mana anyway when im getting smashed on) and seeing if ES leech can be helpful?

if anyone with more knowledge than me comment on the possibility of using ES leech/regen to counteract and protect some of our mana?

i will write back on how the build is going when i get into maps - however i have only just started on an old league so have no currency while everything is really expensive.

I was running Enki's Arc Witch when I cam across this build. I had a lvl 88 Hierophant sitting so I decided to try it out. Most of the gear for Enki's is the same for this one. Helm, ring, body armor, ammy, and even boots to start. The damage is awesome and clear speed is great. I'm at lvl 98 now and really do not need to switch to slower multiple projectile unless I want to embarrass the boss. This will be my league started next season. Two big items for survivability for me was the mana recovery rate on my watcher's and belt. But please share any findings. Would love for this forum to kick back up for next league.

"

DannyNorth wrote:

I was running Enki's Arc Witch when I cam across this build. I had a lvl 88 Hierophant sitting so I decided to try it out. Most of the gear for Enki's is the same for this one. Helm, ring, body armor, ammy, and even boots to start. The damage is awesome and clear speed is great. I'm at lvl 98 now and really do not need to switch to slower multiple projectile unless I want to embarrass the boss. This will be my league started next season. Two big items for survivability for me was the mana recovery rate on my watcher's and belt. But please share any findings. Would love for this forum to kick back up for next league.

i have now just started mapping. Build is still amazing. I am running cloak of defiance easily with very little mana issues now.

One big thing is that an amplification rod has more dps than a 4 link pledge of hands. unfortunately a 6 link pledge is 4ex and i only have around 40c to my name.

my next upgrade will be a watchers eye - i will grab a bad one with around 13% recovery but i expect this to be a big upgrade. i have gone the cluster jewel route but using relatively cheap jewels. my biggest bottleneck is map sustain so will update once i have mapped higher.

Got a pretty damn good Defiance for this build. 120 ex. negotiable,

Perhaps a stupid q... If i have Awakened Hextouch Support level 5 supported by a skill that will apply 2 curses. I have + 1 to curses from tree as well, that's means it with will work with a curse on hit ring and i can apply 3 curses?

Guess not, because curse on hit from ring will always overide and check the cap limit (2)...but just asking.

wow

any update on this build? :)

I league started ritual as archmage ball lightning hierophant.

Maps felt pretty bad until I got a 6 link staff. My 6 link contains Ball Lightning, Archmage Support, Faster Casting Support, Spell Echo Support, Pinpoint Support, Lightning Penetration Support. I really like pinpoint support. It gives great AoE coverage and I don't yet have dexterity requirements for gmp or slower projectiles.

My character has a serious drinking problem. The more mana we spend, the more damage we do. How do we sustain all that mana? The solution I found was the "Foreboding" mana flask, credit to Big Ducks. You press the flask multiple times per second and then you get a seemingly endless amount of mana at a delay of the flask duration.

Demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=765&v=9kbrEZwJTGA

Current flask setup