[3.16] 🔥 Bah's Ignite WoC Elementalist 🔥 | Kill mobs 2 screens away | Burninate A9 Sirus with 3M DPS

Introduction



Still sane, Exile? I'm not. I've hit my 36/40 challenges for Scourge in 15 days with this build.

I've made an Ignite build before (https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2715787), and I wanted to do it again because I got PTSD from playing true melee during Expedition League. So I've done another Ignite build, which is like the previous one, but even better. How much better? It's far more tanky, and does over triple the DPS (about 3.6 million Sirus DPS on stationary targets). I've managed to clear the Feared all released at once with this build, albeit with a few deaths.

Mechanics
Ignite takes the base damage of a hit, and deals 125% (used to be 50% last patch) of that every second, for a base of 4s. On the other hand, skills which used to inherently deal "More Ignite Damage" (like Fireball or Flameblast) had those buffs removed. This is a huge buff for skills which didn't have intrinsic Ignite bonuses.

This build uses Wave of Conviction to drop AoE Ignites on half the screen. Wave of Conviction is a physical spell that has a huge damage effectiveness of 240%, converts its own Physical damage partially to Fire and Lightning, and inherently applies Exposure, but has 2 weaknesses: 1) Only 1 wave can exist at a time, so it doesn't scale well with cast speed. Solution: Ignite builds don't need to scale DPS by spamming cast speed anyway, because you just need to hit a boss once every ~4 seconds. 2) It has mixed damage types which makes it hard to scale Penetration/Ignite/Shock/etc. Solution: Elementalist's Ignite doesn't care about mixed damage types, Elementalist's Shock has a (rather high) fixed minimum value, and Ignite doesn't care about Penetration.

It then puts spreads Ignite and Shock with Berek's Respite, burning down entire screens. Elementalist ascendancy makes any hit cause Shock for ~30%.

5 golems provide damage and defensive buffs, soak random enemy projectiles, and apply 2 important debuffs on enemies (Taunt and Combustion). Tempest Shield provides Shock immunity and some protection against spells (and incidentally has enough DPS to clear L83 packs on its own). Sporeguard adds Chaos damage, and is a livesaver during Delve, because it explodes the Unstable Wetas before they explode you.



Overview

Pros:
+ Amazingly good clear with good single-target DPS
+ Berek's Respite is just broken against the densely-packed Scourge mobs
+ Reasonably tanky with several layers of defence: Physical damage reduction, Molten Shell, Block+Spellblock, Divine Shield, Fungal Ground, Golems. 90% physical reduction for hits under 1k damage.
+ DoT gameplay (~4s Ignites) means you can focus on dodging bosses while only occasionally stopping to re-apply your Ignites
+ ~30% min Shock is great, whether solo or in parties

Cons:
- Can't do "Monsters reflect X% of Elemental Damage" or "immune to elemental ailments" map mods
- Pretty expensive to complete. The gear I'm using cost 30+ ex in total.
- Since the Great Nerf Event of 3.15, this build is stuck to using a mana flask for mana, and a utility flask for antifreeze


Videos

T14 Crimson Temple in 3+mins, clearing both the normal and Scourge realms.
Last phase of Shaper, to get a feel of boss DPS.
Demonstration of Tempest Shield and general tankiness vs L83 mobs. I didn't press any buttons.


Path of Building

Pastebin link: https://pastebin.com/GXMqcZU9

Actual Sirus DPS should be multiplied by 1.25, because Path of Building doesn't count the "25% More Damage" from Flame Surge's Burning Ground.


Pantheon

Soul of Lunaris is essential to avoid getting machine-gunned by your own Golems in maps with Chain. Though honestly everything is optional.


Ascendancy

Shaper of Flames -> Liege of the Primordial -> Elemancer -> Shaper of Storms

First 3 are core. Storms is just for a DPS boost and can come last.


Levelling

I don't know. Started with a Burning Arrow build, but it horribly sucked, and I respecced into this when I was at low red maps.


Skill Gems and links

Main skill: Wave of Conviction 6L
Wave of Conviction - Use a L21 version if possible
Unbound Ailments - More damage, increased ailment duration, and increased ailment effectiveness. Awakened if possible.
Deadly Ailments - More damage. Awakened if possible.
Inspiration - Not the highest DPS, but helps with mana management and proccing Elemental Overload. Divergent Inspiration reduces mana cost further.
Burning Damage - More damage. Awakened if possible; at L5 you get +1 to WoC's level.
Added Fire Damage - More damage. Awakened if possible; at L5 you get +1 to WoC's level.

3 Golems and Combustion 4L
Summon Flame Golem - Damage buff. Hits frequently, so it easily applies the Combustion debuff.
Combustion - Free -10% fire resistance from the Flame Golem's attacks.
Summon Lightning Golem - Cast speed buff. Gem slot is interchangeable with the other golems.
Summon Chaos Golem - Physical damage reduction buff. Gem slot is interchangeable with the other golems.

Movement (and golem)
Flame Dash - Movement. Very standard.
Arcane Surge - Might as well get some mana regen from movement.
Second Wind - For better mobility
Ice Golem - Provides generic crit chance; not linked to the other 3. Gem slot is interchangeable with the other golems.

Support Brand (and golem)
Arcanist Brand - To cast the next 2 spells. Can keep at L1 for lower mana costs.
Flame Surge - The new Flame Surge creates Burning Ground, which deals 25% the DPS of the active Ignite on the target. Basically, functions as a "25% More Ignite Damage" debuff, as long as the target doesn't move around too much. Can keep at L1 for lower mana costs.
Divergent Purifying Flame - Divergent variant creates Consecrated Ground that increases enemy damage taken by 5%. Can keep at L1 for lower mana costs.
Summon Stone Golem - Regen buff, and Taunts enemies every now and then. Basically, makes bosses deal 10% reduced damage to you. Not linked to the other 3. Gem slot is interchangeable with the other golems.

Auras
Divergent Malevolence - More damage.
Determination - Good for your physical defences, and improves Molten Shell.
Divergent Tempest Shield - Shock immunity and spell block. Divergent is optional.

Socket in a Shaper-influenced Shield for better Reservation Efficiency. If you don't have that, drop Determination.

Support skills
Cast When Damage Taken - I left it at L7. If you're feeling fancy you can use Anomalous or Divergent instead.
Molten Shell - I left it at L13. If you're feeling fancy you can use Anomalous instead.
Flammability - Self-cast curse, unlinked to the other 2.



Gear

Weapon/Shield

For weapon, +Level to Wave of Conviction, Fire Damage over Time Multiplier, Damage. Remember that "Spell Damage" doesn't affect Ignite, so you're probably going to use a sceptre. This weapon isn't optimised; ideally it should have "1% increased Elemental Damage per 2% Quality" enchant.

A shield with "Socketed Gems have 30% increased Reservation Efficiency" is essential.

Armour

Sporeguard is amazing for this build. Anointment is a free passive point. Fungal Ground gives you 10% non-Chaos as extra Chaos Damage, lowers enemy damage, and makes nearby enemies explode. Because this is a self-cast spell build, you are always stationary when DPSing.

Blizzard Crown gives free damage for no downside, because you don't care about the enemy's cold resistance for hits.

Amulet/Rings/Belt

Berek's Respite is essential for this build. The other ring and belt are for life, resistances, and other damage stats.

+2 amulet is good but not essential.

Jewels

Watcher's Eye, with the mod "Damaging Ailments you inflict deal Damage 15% faster while affected by Malevolence"

The Cluster Jewels are expensive, but they add good DPS to the build:
Large Cluster Jewel (Minion Damage) with Primordial Bond near the start
Large Cluster Jewel (Elemental Damage) with Prismatic Heart/Sadist/Widespread Destruction
4X Medium Cluster Jewel (Burning Damage) with Cooked Alive and Blowback/Wasting Affliction
1X Small Cluster Jewel (Life) with Fettle

The last one is optional and can be substituted for whatever health/utility you prefer on a Small Cluster Jewel.

Other spots are filled with regular jewels with life and damage. The Lethal Pride on my tree is pretty useless and can be removed.

Flasks

Life flask with anti-bleed.

Mana flask.

Damage flask.

Damage and anti-freeze.

Gotta go fast.
Last edited by MagosBiologis#7671 on Nov 8, 2021, 2:54:08 AM
Last bumped on Mar 7, 2022, 11:14:40 PM
Why a lethal pride without a keystone?
"
nimbus1983 wrote:
Why a lethal pride without a keystone?

No good reason. It just gives 20% increased burning damage and a bit of strength; it's not optimal.

I completed 36/40 and am too lazy to optimise the build any further, but ideally there should be a 4 mod rare jewel there.
Hello There!

I watched the T14 map run and wanted to try this out for myself. with about minimum investment for just the tabula and ring while leveling, I've found WoC with this build setup incredibly strong for leveling once you can equip the ring, and doubly so after the ascendency. With a couple of generic increased burning damage items like Ashcaller and Pyre rings making the difference along the way.

I can't wait to try it out in higher density but I just wanted to let you know that I personally believe with a very small side investment you can probably start using this build starting from level 20. Probably not to league start, but a heads up for any others who want to level and try it out.

Also as a side note, is there a reason why you did not take any of the life mastery nodes for the +50 flat or 10% life? or did it just not feel needed?
Last edited by XaalNero#1800 on Nov 10, 2021, 9:57:53 AM
Glad you're having fun! Imo at cheap gear the DPS is a bit low compared to some starter builds, but the map-clearing is very smooth because of Berek's Respite.

I had no spare points at my level; if there are spare points then the +50 life is probably a good idea. It gives me 137 HP according to PoB.

"10% maximum life/10% reduced life recovery rate" seems like a trap, because it will lower your regen, and I don't think that 197 HP is worth -55 life/s regen (the values PoB gives me).
Last edited by MagosBiologis#7671 on Nov 10, 2021, 12:05:50 PM
Still working on my build when I can, loving it. Is there a reason you did not go for awakened swift affliction besides dex?
"
XaalNero wrote:
Still working on my build when I can, loving it. Is there a reason you did not go for awakened swift affliction besides dex?


Glad to see people are enjoying the build!

Yes, for 2 big reasons. Awakened Swift Affliction causes 25% *less* duration of ignite, so that's nearly 25% less damage overall in situations where you can't maintain ignite uptime (like Maven/Sirus/The Feared because you're busy dodging), and 25% less offscreen proliferation.

And then Awakened Swift Affliction also causes 25% less skill duration, which for Wave of Conviction means 25% less skill radius, because WoC is an odd one which scales its radius with skill duration.

On a single-target ideal scenario with full uptime, Awakened Swift Affliction has slightly better DPS than Awakened Unbound Ailments (which FYI also increases Elementalist's min shock), but imo it's not better in practice, whether for mapping or bossing.
Last edited by MagosBiologis#7671 on Nov 16, 2021, 9:49:55 PM
thanks for the build i just wanna ask is this build can do simu 30 and Blight ravaged?
"
Dassort wrote:
thanks for the build i just wanna ask is this build can do simu 30 and Blight ravaged?

You're welcome. I haven't tried, and honestly I don't think so, from what I heard. This build can barely do "The Feared all at once" (I died 4 times), because it has amazing clear but isn't that strong defensively.
Thanks for the awesome build! Most fun I've had playing in a long time. Missed the Respite ring at first and was using ignite proliferation. Damn, that ring is ALL the difference. Side note, i've had no problem doing ele reflect.

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