This is the staff I am currently running, while having Spark on a 5-Link. I do not have the budget for a 6 link yet. How is it for a starter? Should I be running Vaal Spark or just Spark? I have not been able to find real clarity on that and have been a bit confused. The build's damage is beginning to ramp up for me as I progress, although I do not have Call of the Brotherhood yet. Should that be my next priority?
Looks good! I have been playing with just spark because I could get it before Vaal Spark. The Vaal side doesn’t offer a lot but is a free spell. It’ll still crit and do thinks like freeze and shock.
For budget reasons I bought Winds or Change first, then got a Call of the Brotherhood. Focus on the lightning damage stat. Right now a 24% is around 25c.
Any specific staffs people are running for this build? I picked up The Stormheart staff but I'm not sure if this was a good call or not:
That damage is local to the staff (doesn't specify spells), so it's doing nothing for your build. It would be good for a melee elemental damage build for instance.
It's a common mistake and probably needs to be re-worded somehow to make this obvious at first glance, I know it kept me from scaling spell damage correctly as a new player many times.
As for stats to look out for:
- X to X lightning damage to spells
- % increased lightning damage
- % increased spell damage
- % global critical strike chance
- % global critical strike multiplier
- % cast speed
- +X level to all spell gems or lightning gems or intelligence gems
All are good but of course in the late game you'll get the most mileage out of crit multi and gem levels but they'll be the most expensive by far.
Here's a cheap staff to get you started if that's the weapon type you want to go with:
https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Heist/NpRvt0
This is solid advice. So I really like to use essences early to get my “adds X to X lightning damage” on my weapon but at higher levels gets a bit tougher to do.
The picture above with the 5 color rainbows is for an experimental build. The OP has a build that I’ve proven several times (all before update to the Glancing Blows node), so it is best followed if you want to make it to maps and not rely on if Crackling Lance will pay off or not.
If this is your first league I recommend doing the OP build with Spark and Storm Brand. I also think you keep Orb of Storms over Vaal Righteous Fire. There is extra difficulty in using CL against act bosses where Storm Brand will let you keep the pressure on while you learn to dance around the bosses. Once you know the fights, CL will be an option. I don’t recommend CL if you are just learning.
Please read up on the leveling tips in the post to make sure you’re getting the most from the build, especially about using the vendor trick to get flat lightning damage added to your wand or scepter. That flat damage really influences the damage you’re doing. While “adds 50% more lightning damage” looks good, the way the calculated damage works isn’t how it reads.
Thank you for your reply. So, just to be sure, should I be progressing the tree as it is shown in images under the Ascendancies?
Yeah I would keep to the photos under The Passive Tree section, not the experimental section.
I've been trying out some combo of:
Intensify
Inspiration
Added Lightning Dmg
Added Cold Dmg
Controlled Destruction
Increased Critical Strike
Spell Echo (still swap it in and out)
Still only have a 5L, but haven't landed on a set up that feels perfect yet!
This is the staff I am currently running, while having Spark on a 5-Link. I do not have the budget for a 6 link yet. How is it for a starter? Should I be running Vaal Spark or just Spark? I have not been able to find real clarity on that and have been a bit confused. The build's damage is beginning to ramp up for me as I progress, although I do not have Call of the Brotherhood yet. Should that be my next priority?
Looks good! I have been playing with just spark because I could get it before Vaal Spark. The Vaal side doesn’t offer a lot but is a free spell. It’ll still crit and do thinks like freeze and shock.
For budget reasons I bought Winds or Change first, then got a Call of the Brotherhood. Focus on the lightning damage stat. Right now a 24% is around 25c.
Thanks for the response! Could you possibly make your character profile non-private so I can take a look at your character without asking too many questions? Or do you keep it private for other reasons? That would be a huge help for me. Thanks for the awesome build!
It should be open now. I don't know why it was hidden before (I probably misclicked :S ).
For ease -- I'm adding my current gear here.
Some quick notes:
I am in T2 maps / lvl 73 char.
I'm playing around with some ideas with Assassin's Mark. I had Conductivity as an extra skill to try to help push through some damage.
Most of the gear is mediocre / subpar. I like the two Uniques I have for right now. Everything else basically gets me to capped elemental resistances in maps. I put CL on my 5L to test some things out, but normally, I would have Spark on the 5L if I only have one 5L. I really need to upgrade the belt and chest.
Tips to get your colors:
Notice the gear I have and the stats they require. Gloves are "armor" gloves, which mean they are more naturally inclined to Red than Blue or Green. It is much easier to get R-R-R-B on those gloves than B-B-B-R. That's why my red heavy link in there.
The chest is an Energy Shield item, so rolling B links is easier. While I am working towards better gear, I will tend to take ES chests so I have an easier time rolling B-B-B-B-B-R as I progress. Knowing the natural roll colors is helpful to saving some currency and rolling into what you need on a piece of gear you have or would like.
Last edited by Scary3074 on Sep 21, 2020, 3:29:44 PM
