Stress-Free PoE! SLOW-MO GUNSLINGER (AW): No Required Items|1-Button Play|SSF League Start-End|3.13

Hey guys so been having alot of fun with this build thanks wrecker! Progress has been smooth but i recently have been struggling on tier 13+ maps. been trying to figure out what i should focus on improving with my current set up but wanted some advice. My profile is public so if anyone could take a look and give some opinions i would appreciate it. I have the build named Shocking_Queensbury at level 88

Hey dlvbrown1969!

"

dlvbrown1969 wrote:

In terms of priority, is it "worth it" to have any modifiers which help to keep minions alive? I mean, obviously in an ideal world we would, but since we have limited jewels and modifiers on equipment, we must prioritize. My feeling is that since we constantly are summoning and resummoning the AW, we should treat then as disposable - making sure they are tough enough to inflict maximum damage before dieing. If this is indeed the case, I would choose dps modifiers on my jewels as compared to life, defense and regen. I hope I'm right about this, but since it's your build, you know how it us supposed to function better than I do.

I treat our AW as disposable as I am totally comfortable with the playstyle of summoning one every few steps.

"

In regards to my previously poorly explained questions, let me rephrase:

If I link Feeding Frenzy and Meat Shield to my Summon Chaos Golem, what happens? The former makes minions aggressive while the latter is defensive. I'm hoping that the Feeding Frenzy buff would transfer to my AW and myself while the golem itself would adhere to the Meat Shield.

So, with both of those gems, their behavior will be as if neither were equipped; they'll have standard behavior. BUT, they will taunt, give Feeding Frenzy, and get the damage perks and such.

"

Separately, if I link CWDT to Steelskin and Phase Run, what is a good 4th gem? My instinct tells me Increased Duration but I am intrigued to know if something like Contafion would be a good choice as well.

INcreased Duration is perfect for sure. I like to have Phase Run on a low CwDT and Steelskin on a high CwDT but we only have so many gems.

"

Thanks for your valuable insight.

Oh, btw - you were right (and wrong) about me switching back and forth from Blafefall and EK. I had leveled up BF and when I tried to replace some gear with upgrades, the upgrades didn't have the DeX my older gear had. So, I ungemmed BF and replaced it with EK. I couldn't even finish the map. BF is just SOOOOOOOO much better. I'd rather have a level 5 BF than a level 20 EK.

Edit: one last thought....I am wondering if you or anyone using this build has tried adding a decent amount of LoH (Life on Hit). Seeing the vast number of our projectiles and how often we can spam them, my thought is that if we could find a way to add +50 life gained per hit, that would actually be HUGE and rather substantial to our survivability. It must not work like I imagine it does else it would be too OP

Life on Hit would be a great addition for sure. It is very strong for sure. The problem with defence only supports is you just have to figure out where to put it.

"

Edit: swapped out culling Strike for blind support. Cant notice any difference in enemies dieing slower, but I am not at top tier maps yet. I do notice my AW staying alive longer which in turn means my survivability is enhanced. There are none of Trade Board to view, but a quick Google search told mr that the Anomalous version of the Blind Support gem adds another 10% to chance to blind on hit (instead of the normal increased blinding duration which the normal gem has). Not sure how long a normal blind lasts and if it needs its duration extended. Seems to me that I will be trying to acquire the Anomalous version.

Fun testing!

"

zolly90 wrote:

Spoiler

I think it's done, I just unchecked the "Hide Character Tab" from privacy settings

Awesome! Thanks zolly90!

You're missing one little mana reservation node in the top right of the screen. Under Whispers of Doom it looks like you accidentally missed the mana reservation node. After checking out things, that looks to be the only thing out of place. Let me know if there's anything else!

"

Detoxify Life wrote:

Spoiler

Hey guys so been having alot of fun with this build thanks wrecker! Progress has been smooth but i recently have been struggling on tier 13+ maps. been trying to figure out what i should focus on improving with my current set up but wanted some advice. My profile is public so if anyone could take a look and give some opinions i would appreciate it. I have the build named Shocking_Queensbury at level 88

Hey Detoxify Life!

Sorry you're having a rough time. I appreciate thanks though! You're very kind.

Everything looks legit on your build. Good gear, life, links, gems, tree...

What circumstances are you finding tough for the build? Maybe certain map mods? The build doesn't list a ton of map mods that can't be done...but that doesn't mean that there are certain map that don't suit us. Some map mods will ALWAYS destroy me because of my "zone-out" playstyle. So for example, shocked ground will always kill me because I don't pay enough attention (or can't see) the ground. I'm always standing on it and die. Or Vulnerability...I never notice on time that I'm bleeding and I simply die before I hit my flask. Those are easy mods for others, but not for me. Maybe it's something like that?

Thanks again for taking the time to educate me.

After reading and rereading the tool tip for phase run, I decided to go with withered step. Unless I'm grossly mistaken, the phase run buff immediately ends if any other skill is used. Another less helpful skill then is added. Often I cannot see ny character on screen nevertheless see that the PR buff has proc'd and then immediately stop casting anything. Withered step on the other hand might not be as good of a buff, but it lasts longer and is easier to maintain.

I ended up using scouring orbs on both my CWDT and Steel Skin in order to bring them down to lvl 15. This is roughly 2k damage threshold. Like you so aptly pointed out, it's s double edge sword. You want it to proc at a lower threshold and more often, but at the same time you want the higher benefits from the gems that are proc'd. I may lower it down more to around 1500 threshold later - not sure.

I'm still a little foggy on the whole "what if" scenario in regards to linking feeding frenzy with meat shield. Sorry. Your reply states that it will act as if neither are equipped ... but then you also state they will receive benefits and buffs. Let me try this ...

If I use the Hungry Loop unique unset ring and "teach" that ring both feeding frenzy and meat shield,

Will my AW be aggressive?

Will my AW have feeding frenzy?

Will I have feeding frenzy?

Will my golem have feeding frenzy?

Will my AW taunt from meat shield?

Will my golem taunt from meat shield?

Will my AW have increased movement speed from meat shield?

Will my golem have increased movement from meat shield?

Will my AW be defensive from meat shield?

Will my golem be defensive from meat shield?

Sorry to ask so much, but it is going to be quite a bit if work to create this hungry loop ring and I want to do it right the first time.

Thx

Hey Wrecker,

Just wanted to stop by and thank you for another super fun build. It was a little tough going in early maps until I realized I could get an ok (but not great) 6 link chest for like 7 chaos. Still felt a little squishy, mainly because I haven't had great opportunities to upgrade my gear to get good life rolls.

However! Yesterday I had Prism Guardian drop, and today I finally managed to get a Poet's Pen that I'd been deferring for a while. I've made some changes - they may not be super optimal, but it seems more effective and is definitely sillier.

* I stuck the blasphemy-temporal chains in Prism Guardian, since that's not tooooo much life to give away and Blasphemy gets the level boost. I also picked up an Awakened Blasphemy support, since they're real cheap.
* With the extra mana open, I dropped in Discipline (I know, not a lot of investment in energy shield, but also not a lot of options)
* I put Spirit Offering, Bladefall, and Desecrate into Poet's Pen, which let me drop one of the Spellslinger auras. This means Spirit Offering is up basically all the time, and also I can level it and Desecrate to 20.
* I dropped Purifying Flame (and the CwDT from it), since I wasn't standing around long enough to really benefit from the consecrated ground.
* The aforementioned Discipline and now also Blood and Sand and Phase Run went in my boots, along with an Enlighten to squeeze them into my remaining mana.



@divbrown1969 - I believe what it means is your minion AI will be as if neither is equipped, so just standard behavior, but any stat changes and such will be applied from both gems.

@laserrobotics thanks for taking the time to read my walls of text >< and replying.

So ... basically using both FF and MSS is pointless.

If I went the route I described a few posts above and used the Hungry Loop, I would want to use:

Meat Shield
Minion Life
Elemental Army
Either Minion Damage or Minion Speed

And then possibly replacing Vile Toxin as 6th Link with Feeding Frenzy ... depending on which will actually provide more benefit - which I am unsure of.

Just wanted to thank you for the build. It really didn't start coming together for me until I hit Level 75 or so, but it's been smooth and easy as advertised from there.

Quick question about Cluster Jewels and this build. I have no real concept of Cluster Jewels yet but ended up having this Medium Cluster Jewel drop.



I dropped it in my public stash and immediately started receiving offers for 50 Chaos for it, but don't want to sell it off if it would be beneficial at all to this build. It's iLevel 52.

I've been trying to read up on the Clusters to better understand, but in the meantime, just want to determine if I should sell it off to upgrade other gear or hold onto it. My best guess is that since we are running Curse Auras that I'd likely be better off selling it.

Thanks again for all the help.

"

wmbirdsall wrote:

Just wanted to thank you for the build. It really didn't start coming together for me until I hit Level 75 or so, but it's been smooth and easy as advertised from there.

Quick question about Cluster Jewels and this build. I have no real concept of Cluster Jewels yet but ended up having this Medium Cluster Jewel drop.



I dropped it in my public stash and immediately started receiving offers for 50 Chaos for it, but don't want to sell it off if it would be beneficial at all to this build. It's iLevel 52.

I've been trying to read up on the Clusters to better understand, but in the meantime, just want to determine if I should sell it off to upgrade other gear or hold onto it. My best guess is that since we are running Curse Auras that I'd likely be better off selling it.

Thanks again for all the help.

I'm sure others can give you a more detailed explanation of cluster jewels, but there are a few things that I do know about them from previous leagues.

First, as an example, a large cluster jewel can call have "adds 8 passive skill" or 9 or 10 or ... ? Small and medium clusters obviously have less passives, but each has several lower and higher amounts of passives. IMHO, the least amount of passives is best. Again, IMHO you are using a cluster in order to 1) gain a "free jewel socket" (or 2 with large clusters) and most importantly 2) gain notables that you might not otherwise have access to which can greatly improve your build.

This leads to the next point. Clusters can be crafted and again, as an example, a large cluster can have 2 prefix and 2 suffix. Now, the cluster can have no notable or it can have 1, 2, or 3. I've never seen a 4 notable so idk I'd possible or not.

This ties back into my stating that 8 passive large cluster is better than a 9 or 10 passive large cluster. Why spend 10 passives for those notables when you can get the by spending only 8. So, the minimum amount of passives for each type of cluster is "worth" more.

As to crafting, there are several sites. I personally use poe db. Depending on the item level, some notables cannot appear on your cluster. This could be bad if you want a certain notable OR it could be good if you dont want those that cannot appear because others will then appear more often. The poe db I mention tells you exactly what can and cannot appear on each type of cluster as well as the item level threshold and also the "weight" of each affix rolling. Weight is simply the likelihood or rarity.

The last thing I want to leave you with is that harvest crafting can really make some great clusters. If you, as an example, need a cluster with X, y and a notables and X and y are physical while z is life ... you can start in harvest by spamming reroll with physical modifiers over and over and over again until you get the X and y you desire. Now, hopefully you have an open prefix or suffix for your z notable. You can then use harvest to add a life modifier and hope it is the notable you desire. If not, you can soak remive/replace a life modifier until you get the desired result. Back in harvest league I made dozens of 3 notable clusters selling them for 1ex or more each. I strongly suggest googling some you tube on harvest crafting if you arent already familiar with it. Also the same could be done for cluster jewel crafting.

I hope this helped a little. Good luck

"

dlvbrown1969 wrote:

Spoiler

Thanks again for taking the time to educate me.

After reading and rereading the tool tip for phase run, I decided to go with withered step. Unless I'm grossly mistaken, the phase run buff immediately ends if any other skill is used. Another less helpful skill then is added. Often I cannot see ny character on screen nevertheless see that the PR buff has proc'd and then immediately stop casting anything. Withered step on the other hand might not be as good of a buff, but it lasts longer and is easier to maintain.

I ended up using scouring orbs on both my CWDT and Steel Skin in order to bring them down to lvl 15. This is roughly 2k damage threshold. Like you so aptly pointed out, it's s double edge sword. You want it to proc at a lower threshold and more often, but at the same time you want the higher benefits from the gems that are proc'd. I may lower it down more to around 1500 threshold later - not sure.

I'm still a little foggy on the whole "what if" scenario in regards to linking feeding frenzy with meat shield. Sorry. Your reply states that it will act as if neither are equipped ... but then you also state they will receive benefits and buffs. Let me try this ...

If I use the Hungry Loop unique unset ring and "teach" that ring both feeding frenzy and meat shield,

Will my AW be aggressive?

Will my AW have feeding frenzy?

Will I have feeding frenzy?

Will my golem have feeding frenzy?

Will my AW taunt from meat shield?

Will my golem taunt from meat shield?

Will my AW have increased movement speed from meat shield?

Will my golem have increased movement from meat shield?

Will my AW be defensive from meat shield?

Will my golem be defensive from meat shield?

Sorry to ask so much, but it is going to be quite a bit if work to create this hungry loop ring and I want to do it right the first time.

Thx

It's no problem at all.

Now, I don't remember which of your minions will be going where, so I'll have to keep it general.

- If Meat Shield is linked to a minion, only that minion gem will have a defensive behaviour.
- If Feeding Frenzy Support is linked to a minion, only the linked minion gem will have the aggressive behaviour.

Feeding Frenzy - Keep in mind, the behaviour is the only part of the gem that is link-specific. Feeding Frenzy Support does only two things: makes the linked minion gem aggressive, and gives YOU the Feeding Frenzy buff. When you have the Feeding Frenzy buff, ALL your minions have the benefits of Feeding Frenzy (Feeding Frenzy grants 10% more Minion Damage, 10% increased Minion Movement Speed and 10% increased Minion Attack, and Cast Speed). The behaviour change is limited to the linked minion.) So all minions will get the Feeding Frenzy buff, but only the linked minions will be aggressive.

So if you have a minion gem linked to both Meat Shield and Feeding Frenzy, the behaviour changes cancel each other out. So they will have the normal behaviour that they normally would have without the gems. BUT they still get the rest of each supported skill. So Feeding Frenzy Support will still give the linked skill the ability to give us the Feeding Frenzy Buff. Meat Shield will still have the linked minions take less damage, have increased movement speed, a chance to taunt on hit (unless the gem says the minion can't taunt), and grants them more damage against enemies near you.

Does that help?