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Having looked at this a little more, and keeping in mind that I'm not an expert on the spell, I do NOT think this build is a good vessel for a Ball Lightning swap. BL might get you 20%-30% more theoretical single-target DPS, but the tradeoffs are too high. I'm just talking about it as a relatively simple swap within the scope of this particular build's archetype and not as an absolute, of course.
Thanks. This is my first league in PoE, so my perception is far from perfect, but what are those tradeoffs, since i couldn't find any ? The only thing i did is swapped Arc for BL and use slower projectiles instead of controlled destruction. This has improved my overall DPS, clear speed and especially time to kill boss.
I was assuming the use of Pledge of Hands. I'd think that'd be a must if you were using Ball Lightning, but all the extra repeated casts from Greater Spell Echo really make it feel clunky. I guess that wouldn't be an issue without PoH, but I just don't see how you could effectively do more damage with 2 slow projectiles per cast against Sirus when he's constantly teleporting around the arena. Have you tried using it against difficult endgame bosses with trickier movement patterns? Do you have to get right up in their faces to ensure BL is giving you maximum DPS uptime?
It's been leagues since I played a BL build, so maybe I'm not remembering the practicalities correctly. I'll try to see if I can get some white sockets on my body armor so I can play around with it in-game.
In terms of clear speed, at high DPS, I'm hard-pressed to imagine BL being superior to Arc in most circumstances. My experience with almost everything that isn't 60%+ delirious is that one tap clears a screen, and Arc's chaining action is both faster and more capable of navigating obstacles than BL. Maps with extremely open layouts might provide an overall exception, but I still think you'd have more stragglers to deal with no matter what.
Edit: and, as CliffAhead says, Legion encounters would suuuck without Vaal Arc. I'd probably do a gem swap just for timeless monoliths to avoid losing out on the extra loot!
Last edited by WorderMostFoul on Aug 15, 2020, 9:37:33 AM
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Posted byWorderMostFoulon Aug 15, 2020, 9:25:39 AM
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Having looked at this a little more, and keeping in mind that I'm not an expert on the spell, I do NOT think this build is a good vessel for a Ball Lightning swap. BL might get you 20%-30% more theoretical single-target DPS, but the tradeoffs are too high. I'm just talking about it as a relatively simple swap within the scope of this particular build's archetype and not as an absolute, of course.
Thanks. This is my first league in PoE, so my perception is far from perfect, but what are those tradeoffs, since i couldn't find any ? The only thing i did is swapped Arc for BL and use slower projectiles instead of controlled destruction. This has improved my overall DPS, clear speed and especially time to kill boss.
I was assuming the use of Pledge of Hands. I'd think that'd be a must if you were using Ball Lightning, but all the extra repeated casts from Greater Spell Echo really make it feel clunky. I guess that wouldn't be an issue without PoH, but I just don't see how you could effectively do more damage with 2 slow projectiles per cast against Sirus when he's constantly teleporting around the arena. Have you tried using it against difficult endgame bosses with trickier movement patterns? Do you have to get right up in their faces to ensure BL is giving you maximum DPS uptime?
It's been leagues since I played a BL build, so maybe I'm not remembering the practicalities correctly. I'll try to see if I can get some white sockets on my body armor so I can play around with it in-game.
In terms of clear speed, at high DPS, I'm hard-pressed to imagine BL being superior to Arc in most circumstances. My experience with almost everything that isn't 60%+ delirious is that one tap clears a screen, and Arc's chaining action is both faster and more capable of navigating obstacles than BL. Maps with extremely open layouts might provide an overall exception, but I still think you'd have more stragglers to deal with no matter what.
Edit: and, as CliffAhead says, Legion encounters would suuuck without Vaal Arc. I'd probably do a gem swap just for timeless monoliths to avoid losing out on the extra loot!
Basically yeah. Lemme try on some juiced up bosses and report back
edit: yeah.... no. not even close. back to arc.
Location: Singapore GMT+8 Last edited by CliffAhead on Aug 15, 2020, 12:11:40 PM
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Posted byCliffAheadon Aug 15, 2020, 11:58:59 AM
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Thank you for the great newbie build.
This is my 3rd league and 1st to ever do maps. The crafting guide and progression tips really helped me. I killed Sirus yesterday and I am super stoked.
However I am stuck in level 94, as I keep on dying to random things in high level maps (missing elemental reflect mapmod, vaal temple bosses, projectile adds, etc). I can finish all T16 maps. I have awakener level 5. I need help to progress further, farm EXP and level up? Can you suggest any build modifications or other tips?
This is my build:
https://pastebin.com/gPDG14Ld
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Posted byPerfectblue_6409on Aug 16, 2020, 1:13:57 AM
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Hello,
Brand new player here, I was recommended this build on PoE Discord and so far I'm working my way through the first act. Loving it so far. Hopefully, I'll be able to get all the way through the game and have a blast like many others that have used this build :)
Just thought I'd say hello.
Dan.
Last edited by iDanno1985 on Aug 16, 2020, 11:54:45 AM
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Posted byiDanno1985on Aug 16, 2020, 11:50:43 AM
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Thank you for the great newbie build.
This is my 3rd league and 1st to ever do maps. The crafting guide and progression tips really helped me. I killed Sirus yesterday and I am super stoked.
However I am stuck in level 94, as I keep on dying to random things in high level maps (missing elemental reflect mapmod, vaal temple bosses, projectile adds, etc). I can finish all T16 maps. I have awakener level 5. I need help to progress further, farm EXP and level up? Can you suggest any build modifications or other tips?
This is my build:
https://pastebin.com/gPDG14Ld
It looks like you're doing a pretty good job with your build.
Most importantly, drop Arcane Surge in the Flame Dash setup and run Righteous Fire. That's a huge damage boost and will help you see vulnerabilities that need to be plugged.
Generally speaking, you need to get more mana, at least double what your life pool is. Aim for 10k. It's tough without Atziri's Foible and/or Cloak of Defiance (this would also help your survivability), but the rares you're using in place of those are good enough that I think it should still be possible. I would dump the medium cluster jewel and use the skill points to take the Battle Rouse wheel, which is ridiculously good for us. Also, you really want Scintillating Idea on your large and small cluster jewels--it's basically the BiS notable for this build. If I could get a large cluster jewel with 3x Scintillating Idea on it, you'd better believe I would. I'd also hit your jewelry with some fertile catalysts (unless you're planning on upgrading), and for god's sake, hit your ring with some blessed orbs!
Also, how much is your life flask really helping you? At some point I realized that Agnostic was providing so much more life recovery than my flask that I could drop it for one that provides more damage (Atziri's Promise is cheap and great for this). If you're going to keep your life flask, at least use the exact one in Enki's guide; eternal life flask > divine life flask.
Feel free to look at my PoB and steal any ideas you want: https://pastebin.com/hzqCSSHy
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Posted byWorderMostFoulon Aug 16, 2020, 3:43:57 PM
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Thank you for the great newbie build.
This is my 3rd league and 1st to ever do maps. The crafting guide and progression tips really helped me. I killed Sirus yesterday and I am super stoked.
However I am stuck in level 94, as I keep on dying to random things in high level maps (missing elemental reflect mapmod, vaal temple bosses, projectile adds, etc). I can finish all T16 maps. I have awakener level 5. I need help to progress further, farm EXP and level up? Can you suggest any build modifications or other tips?
This is my build:
https://pastebin.com/gPDG14Ld
It looks like you're doing a pretty good job with your build.
Most importantly, drop Arcane Surge in the Flame Dash setup and run Righteous Fire. That's a huge damage boost and will help you see vulnerabilities that need to be plugged.
Generally speaking, you need to get more mana, at least double what your life pool is. Aim for 10k. It's tough without Atziri's Foible and/or Cloak of Defiance (this would also help your survivability), but the rares you're using in place of those are good enough that I think it should still be possible. I would dump the medium cluster jewel and use the skill points to take the Battle Rouse wheel, which is ridiculously good for us. Also, you really want Scintillating Idea on your large and small cluster jewels--it's basically the BiS notable for this build. If I could get a large cluster jewel with 3x Scintillating Idea on it, you'd better believe I would. I'd also hit your jewelry with some fertile catalysts (unless you're planning on upgrading), and for god's sake, hit your ring with some blessed orbs!
Also, how much is your life flask really helping you? At some point I realized that Agnostic was providing so much more life recovery than my flask that I could drop it for one that provides more damage (Atziri's Promise is cheap and great for this). If you're going to keep your life flask, at least use the exact one in Enki's guide; eternal life flask > divine life flask.
Feel free to look at my PoB and steal any ideas you want: https://pastebin.com/hzqCSSHy
Thank you very much for the help. I have completely overhauled my build.
Here is the update: https://pastebin.com/y7sjKd6d. Still a work in progress.
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Posted byPerfectblue_6409on Aug 17, 2020, 3:07:28 AM
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More maps impression: missing vaal arc is quite a pain in the ass when daing with legion. Missing a big dps burst.
Can you explain that please ? I've tried Vaal Arc and it basically has souls for only one shot. What do i miss here ?
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Posted byXevus77on Aug 17, 2020, 4:44:37 AM
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More maps impression: missing vaal arc is quite a pain in the ass when daing with legion. Missing a big dps burst.
Can you explain that please ? I've tried Vaal Arc and it basically has souls for only one shot. What do i miss here ?
You're not missing anything. I use vaal arc to pop most of the legion mobs that spawn and clean up myself for the generals. It is a major QoL, and also the reason i run legion for every map
Location: Singapore GMT+8
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Posted byCliffAheadon Aug 17, 2020, 5:04:03 AM
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More maps impression: missing vaal arc is quite a pain in the ass when daing with legion. Missing a big dps burst.
Can you explain that please ? I've tried Vaal Arc and it basically has souls for only one shot. What do i miss here ?
You're not missing anything. I use vaal arc to pop most of the legion mobs that spawn and clean up myself for the generals. It is a major QoL, and also the reason i run legion for every map
What he said. Vaal Arc is one of the single best skills for hitting every monster frozen around a timeless monolith because, unlike regular Arc, its forks can continue to chain multiple times. Its chain length is also almost 50% longer than regular Arc's, and it chains several additional times, so a single cast can hit virtually every enemy within several screens of you, provided map density is high enough.
Last edited by WorderMostFoul on Aug 17, 2020, 11:28:07 AM
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Posted byWorderMostFoulon Aug 17, 2020, 11:26:18 AM
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How tanky can this build become? I'm tired of dying with my stupid ranger and so far this build looks like it's another glass canon.
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Posted byphosTRon Aug 17, 2020, 5:46:38 PM
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