[2.0][Tempest] Voltaxic crit LA (22,5k+ DPS, 190% life, ALL map mods)

I made this build for my second char in Tempest and it turned out to work so well I figured I might write a guide. Unfortunately I died to vastly underestimating a DD Strongbox in 76 map at level 83 so now I have to start from scratch to finish the build but I have much confidence in it. Apologies if this has been posted before, I didn't really study existing builds.


Introduction

This build is based on using the unique item Voltaxic Rift together with Wrath, Herald of Thunder and Static Electricity jewels to rapidly deliver chaos attacks that are capable of shocking and critically striking. Aside from Voltaxic, the rest of your gear can be relatively cheap rare items if you're low on currency.


Why should I use this build?

You might be able to get more tooltip DPS out of a rare bow or Windripper, however using Voltaxic has a number of inherent advantages. Firstly you cannot damage yourself with reflect as chaos damage doesn't reflect, but the most noticeable aspect is that Chaos Resistance is much rarer than elemental resistances and usually shows in lower percentages. This means that unlike elemental builds, both attack and spell based, who will often be slowed down substantially by elemental resistant mobs if they don't invest heavily in workarounds like penetration and curses, you will cut through elite and magic packs as well as resistance maps without noticing any difference.

Pros:
-very consistent output
-no reflect
-high rate of shocking
-good in parties
-runs all map mods
-easy to level

Cons:
-lower potential DPS than other weapons
-Voltaxic costs several exalts, though you can manage without it
-low defenses: reliant on high HP and keeping dangerous mobs at range
-no unique model on Voltaxic :(






I've done LA builds before and I really struggled with upkeep for this build. I previously tried running EB to sustain LA's extreme mana cost but it wasn't too great, but I didn't like the idea of using Blood Magic with LGoH or high regen either. So I turned to Thief's Torment as the ideal solution, as it allows you to skip both Blood Magic and LGoH as supports and essentially socket 5 damage supports to LA without having to invest passives into sustain at all.

You might be apprehensive of losing both ring slots and not getting any offensive and very little defensive stats out of it, but for me the item has worked fantastically. You'll want to run a hybrid flask in case you do manage to run out of mana, but because we're only using HoT and Wrath we have enough spare mana to get 4-5 attacks out without running OOM even when hitting nothing. As a bonus, you can now run dual curse maps easily and even run Temp Chains maps without wanting to stab someone. And some bonus IIQ never hurts!




We don't need to invest in Aura nodes at all because we don't want anything besides Lightning damage so Wrath and Herald of Thunder fill our needs. Using 3 Static Electricity Jewels in the allocated sockets gives us a total of 3-256 added lightning damage, which essentially is like running double Wrath!



Using Increased Criticals as last link for LA to achieve more consistency and Increased Crit Damage for frenzy to score longer shocks and higher single-target DPS on bosses and high HP targets.

I'm not really fond of Chain LA any more. Pierce seems much more efficient with 50% passive pierce chance from passives + quiver, and I believe Pierce gem with Drillneck would be the ideal setup for LA because pierce works so well with LA.










TBD: Will add DPS and defense screens later. When I died at 83 I had 4,8k hp and 22,3k LA and 30k Frenzy tooltips with 4 power and 4 frenzy charges. Both were essentially 5-linked as I hadn't had time to replace my wrongly colored corrupted 6-link with a GGGRBB one.

Hello im really interested in this but im afraid i wont have enough currency for a voltaxic bow does this mean it is completely unplayable is there no work around i can do with the storm cloud to farm up currency or what not as im really wanting to play this ...

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kibbie wrote:

Hello im really interested in this but im afraid i wont have enough currency for a voltaxic bow does this mean it is completely unplayable is there no work around i can do with the storm cloud to farm up currency or what not as im really wanting to play this ...

You can make do with any 1.4+ APS Bow rolled with elemental damage and crit chance (Thicket, Imperial...). The tooltip will be similar or even higher than with Voltaxic, though your overall clear speed will be somewhat lower. And reflect might hurt. Thief's Torment isn't very expensive, but it's not absolutely required either if you have the links to run Blood Magic and LGoH.

Ok thanks a million for the fast reply... i will aim to get it though as your guide specifies but in the mean time needed a run around so i assume just play it cautious for reflect ?

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kibbie wrote:

Ok thanks a million for the fast reply... i will aim to get it though as your guide specifies but in the mean time needed a run around so i assume just play it cautious for reflect ?

Yeah, a Topaz flask should be enough. If you see a reflect mob surrounded by monsters avoid shooting LA at it as the mob in the center of the pack tends to take the most damage.

Hey there, I just got myself a Voltaxic Rift in Warbands and I plan on using your build, what kind of pathing through the tree do you recommend for someone playing in softcore?

So I have always loved Lightning Arrow's mechanics and I have started a build similar to yours. However, I went Shadow and picked up the elemental damage nodes as well as the 50% nodes above it. If you don't mind giving some feedback on this choice, I would appreciate it.

If you need a build link, its here at the bottom.

Voltaxic LA Lightning Elemental Build

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Xteria wrote:

Hey there, I just got myself a Voltaxic Rift in Warbands and I plan on using your build, what kind of pathing through the tree do you recommend for someone playing in softcore?

Hey sorry I couldn't answer sooner. For SC I think you can pass on some HP like the Thick Skin cluster and maybe the HP nodes below Duelist as well as Profane Chemistry. Instead you'll probably want to get the attack speed from Berserking and the shadow+scion frenzy charges sooner and maybe get the jewel sockets below Scion and above Acrobatics via the projectile damage nodes if you have nice DPS jewels besides Static Electricity. You could also work your way towards the True Strike crit cluster and Harrier via Reflexes. Also maxing out Acrobatics might be worth it, I didn't have time for it yet.



@MrJambi I'll have a look at your build tomorrow, too tired now.

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MrJambi wrote:

So I have always loved Lightning Arrow's mechanics and I have started a build similar to yours. However, I went Shadow and picked up the elemental damage nodes as well as the 50% nodes above it. If you don't mind giving some feedback on this choice, I would appreciate it.

If you need a build link, its here at the bottom.

Voltaxic LA Lightning Elemental Build

I think Shadow's good, but IMO Coldhearted Calculation is useless and using 5 skill points for Arcing Blows isn't worth it, you can get the same damage cheaper somewhere else like jewel sockets or Forces of Nature. Also missing out on 12% attack speed from Coordination. I'd also trade the 2 dex nodes for 2 projectile damage nodes when pathing for the frenzy charge below Duelist. The way you path dex makes the jewel socket next to Ranger not ideal for Static Electricity, but you can use a rare jewel instead.

I run this on Tempest and this is what I'd say the pro's and con's are

Pro's
-Clears really fast if you have good gear, haven't seen something faster than LA/SA builds clearing maps
-Voltaxic makes reflect not scary at all, if you don't have LC though high level phys reflect can hurt

Con's
-Expensive for high safe survival if you're HC. I run a LC and I'm thinking about getting a taste of hate for some things. You can run Queen of the forest but you're banking on evasion.

-Sucks for bosses. I imagine every bow build cept maybe? tornado shot is bad for bosses. I can kill easy bosses and with LC/eva pot I can face tank some bosses like oak etc. Regardless I kill bosses that aren't super easy slow or I skip them bc its too dangerous.

For HC I'd suggest going the high hp route. I have 10k-11k dps with auras up / no charges and that's plenty. Better off having over 6k hp in HC than having the extra dps when you already blow up most packs in 1 shot.

Also Voltaxic isn't far off windripper / good rare bows since you don't need to run LL with voltaxic.