[2.4] Great Balls of Fire || Hardcore Viable, Beginner Friendly

Introduction


Welcome to my guide on playing a Fireball Elementalist!

This build is a fun alternative for those looking to light everything on fire, and look good doing it! This build was planned out to be played as a League starting build, and is very beginner friendly. It has a really smooth leveling curve, and there is no real need to backtrack within your skill tree!

I normally play alone, so I had designed this build with that in mind - however, I do not see why the build wouldn't work with friends as well! Just don't expect to be able to carry 6 man parties with this build, and everything will be fine!



A quick word about Fireball



One of the main reasons I went into this (and making this guide) is the fact that Fireball is one of the few (or only? I'm not really sure on this one!) skills that can still shotgun! Now, keep in mind that it's not the actual projectile, but the explosion that is capable of shotgunning. This is extremely strong, and should not be overlooked!



Leveling the build


While it is quite possible to level from Level 1 using Fireball, I do not recommend doing so.

In fact, I find it to be far easier to tough out the first 12 levels until you get access to Firestorm at which you should pick it up and use that to just fly right through the leveling! Firestorm is an amazing skill to level with, and has been one of my favorites for a while now.

At level 28, you can choose to take Flameblast and use that to level, continue using Firestorm, or even swap Firestorm for Fireball!

I do not recommend using Fireball to level until you have a 4-Link and at least 1 rolling flames jewel!



Required Items


That is the beauty of this build - There is only 1 item required for this build to function, and it is extremely cheap at that!

Rolling Flames


We will be utilizing 3 of these in our build - they can be bought anywhere from 2-5 chaos each on Essence Hardcore!



Helpful Uniques to have



Now, you'll have to forgive me, but I don't quite own some of these items in Hardcore Essence (yet!) so some items will be from Standard League and some will be from Hardcore Essence!

Helpful Uniques




Links


WITH Pledge of Hands: Fireball -> Greater Multiple Projectiles -> Controlled Destruction -> Concentrated Effect -> Fire Penetration -> Empower

WITHOUT Pledge of Hands: Fireball -> Greater Multiple Projectiles -> Controlled Destruction -> Spell Echo -> Concentrated Effect -> Fire Penetration

Auras: Clarity -> Arctic Armour

Movement: Lightning Warp -> Faster Casting -> Reduced Duration -> Rapid Decay

Golems: Fire Golem and Lightning Golem. You can choose to go Chaos Golem for some more beefiness, but as it is not an elemental golem, Liege of the Primordial does not provide double the buff!



Leveling Trees


Here is a pretty painless point by point leveling guide for your skill tree - this is the one I personally follow, but feel free to make changes as you see fit!

21pts | 42pts | 63pts | 85pts | Final Skill Tree

Ascendancy: Liege of the Primordial, Pendulum of Destruction, Mastermind of Discord, Paragon of Calamity

Bandits: Oak, Kill All, Kill All

Note: Do not run reflect maps until you have completed Uber Lab and taken Paragon of Calamity!



Media


I have to apologize for not including any videos/screenshots right now! I actually died on this build (player error, the build is fine!) and have just started releveling it. As I get into maps, I will have some video demonstrations up for everyone to see!



FAQ


To be updated with questions :)
Last edited by Detrites on Sep 12, 2016, 10:16:36 AM
Last bumped on Mar 11, 2017, 9:21:09 AM
RESERVED!

Also, yes, I did post this before but it was (in my own words) a quick and dirty guide.

I felt that it needed a new thread now that I spent more than 5 minutes on it!
"




I felt that it needed a new thread now that I spent more than 5 minutes on it!


You knowthat you canEdit your post? Like with the Edit button. just fyi

Oh and at least ashort video showingthebuild in amapwould be nice.
Current Builds:
All in one Thread until i make new Guides
poeurl.com/c4vT
Last edited by ZweihundertMorder on Sep 12, 2016, 10:49:12 AM
No Retribution?
"
"




I felt that it needed a new thread now that I spent more than 5 minutes on it!


You knowthat you canEdit your post? Like with the Edit button. just fyi

Oh and at least ashort video showingthebuild in amapwould be nice.


Since I play HC exclusively, I don't have the character to mapping just yet.

I'll have a few videos up within 2-3 days of it mapping.

"
No Retribution?


It's a fine node to grab. My final tree is at level 85 to allow people to pick and choose some more nodes to fit their playstyle better.
This is an obvious noob question but, how are you dealing with single target? I think you will hit with just one fireball over and over again until you kill it?
lol @ no crit
lol @ playing this on elementalist
#31 of Rampage League after 7 days played.
Last edited by Insomniask on Sep 12, 2016, 2:40:38 PM
"
bitt_tb wrote:
This is an obvious noob question but, how are you dealing with single target? I think you will hit with just one fireball over and over again until you kill it?


Currently, I'm still doing some testing between two single target set ups. I'm not sure which one I am more comfortable with, so I haven't included it in the main guide as of yet :(

Sorry!
With the change to frost wall interaction for the spell projectiles that can still shotgun, single target for builds like this is more difficult.... and I personally dislike the alternatives that have been presented such as VRF or Flame Surge.

That being said, if you manage your positioning + wall usage, single target is still viable with your AoE skill.

I would however ask you to reconsider your controlled destruction choice versus alternatives. I'm not saying it's bad or laughable (as others have done) but I do think it warrants balancing the pros/cons of it.

I think this is the start of a perfectly fine build, I would like to see it expand a bit more though to include additional sources of damage and survivability.

Your totals from the skill tree were not listed, but using your final build, I am posting them:
337% sum increased damage ~quasi 80% (every 4 seconds, gain 100% increased)(golem implied)
24% sum increased cast speed
--
40% sum more spell damage if you crit (see: controlled destruction negative crit chance)
--
197% sum increased maximum life
80% sum increased maximum mana +145 (mind over matter)
279 mana reserved Clarity. 25% reserved Arctic Armour (MoM?)
--
negligible block, armour, evasion. No life leech component.

It seems 'ok' for an off-screen spell caster, or for heavy kiting. but I don't know how you're going to tackle any difficult content or spikey incoming damage. the mana reservations are concerning, and the crit mechanic w/ controlled destruction is counter intuitive. There were some pathing errors where points are left floating and have no destination, or could have been improved upon.

I look forward to seeing where this build goes, don't get discouraged, good luck!
Hot Flashes: poeurl.com/bPZT
Balance: poeurl.com/btzp
Shocking EleHit: poeurl.com/bZXo
"
Kwitch wrote:
With the change to frost wall interaction for the spell projectiles that can still shotgun, single target for builds like this is more difficult.... and I personally dislike the alternatives that have been presented such as VRF or Flame Surge.

That being said, if you manage your positioning + wall usage, single target is still viable with your AoE skill.

I would however ask you to reconsider your controlled destruction choice versus alternatives. I'm not saying it's bad or laughable (as others have done) but I do think it warrants balancing the pros/cons of it.

I think this is the start of a perfectly fine build, I would like to see it expand a bit more though to include additional sources of damage and survivability.

Your totals from the skill tree were not listed, but using your final build, I am posting them:
337% sum increased damage ~quasi 80% (every 4 seconds, gain 100% increased)(golem implied)
24% sum increased cast speed
--
40% sum more spell damage if you crit (see: controlled destruction negative crit chance)
--
197% sum increased maximum life
80% sum increased maximum mana +145 (mind over matter)
279 mana reserved Clarity. 25% reserved Arctic Armour (MoM?)
--
negligible block, armour, evasion. No life leech component.

It seems 'ok' for an off-screen spell caster, or for heavy kiting. but I don't know how you're going to tackle any difficult content or spikey incoming damage. the mana reservations are concerning, and the crit mechanic w/ controlled destruction is counter intuitive. There were some pathing errors where points are left floating and have no destination, or could have been improved upon.

I look forward to seeing where this build goes, don't get discouraged, good luck!


Thanks!

Regarding controlled destruction - not going to be using Fireball to trigger Elemental Overload (Orb of Storms -> Increased Crit Strikes) which procs both Mastermind of Discord and EO!

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