[2.6] Nextguy's Magma Orb

UPDATED/REWORKED FOR 2.6.
See the notes in parenthesis for when the league videos were made, maps were completed, and gear was used. Also, should I update the videos?
The bug with Magma Orb hitting no more than twice per cast has been fixed as well. Thanks GGG!
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Hello, this is my build guide for non-crit, non-burn magma orb in legacy league. Throughout this guide there may be things that on paper make little sense so make sure to read the explanations.

More in-depth video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj1vh9YZSEs (old but relevant)
Followup video for those interested: https://youtu.be/e9TyChySkV0 (old but relevant)
Waterways Run: https://www.twitch.tv/nextguy121/v/89975203 (old but relevant)

VERSIONS/EDITS:
Spoiler
Late 2016 --- Essence League --- Version 1.0
March 9th 2017 --- Legacy League --- Version 2.0


NOTABLE COMPLETIONS:
Spoiler
Regular Atziri
Uber Lab
Vinktar's Square
Abyss Map/ Overgrown Ruin Map/ Dark Forest Map/ Core Map
Forge of the Phoenix
Maze of the Minotaur: http://imgur.com/1ASGpuv (Essence League)
Vaal Temple Map: http://imgur.com/GfG7x2G (Essence League)

To be Attempted Eventually?:
Colosseum Map
Uber Atziri
The other two Guardians
The Shaper
Breachstones


GEM LINKS and GENERAL BUILD EXPLANATION:
Spoiler
Staff: (in order of importance) Magma Orb - Spell Echo - Elemental Focus - Pierce - Fire Penetration - Controlled Destruction
Chest: None because Kaom's Heart.
Helmet: Orb of Storms - Curse on Hit - Flammability - Culling Strike
Gloves: Anger - Blasphemy - Warlord's Mark - Enlighten
Boots: Summon Flame Golem - Summon Lightning Golem - Flame Dash - Faster Casting
Other: Vaal Summon Skeletons (see explanation)

Explanations:
Spoiler
Staff:
First off, Spell echo and Fire Penetration are a given, giving more cast speed and bypassing resistances. Also I chose to use Elemental Focus for a massive 50% more elemental damage at level 20. Next I chose to use Pierce, to which you may say "WHAT, BUT MAGMA ORB ALREADY PIERCES YOU IDIOT! THIS BUILD SUCKS!" While that may be true and I may or may not be and idiot I chose to use it because the skill basically requires a green socket linked to Magma Orb so that you can switch in Slower Projectiles against bosses. Slower Projectiles melts bosses as it makes the balls bounce very close to one another, overlapping the AOEs so the boss is hit 4, 5, 6 times by the same ball, especially as the AOE grows with each bounce due the the amazing new threshold jewel (seen below in Passive Tree). Having a green socket is a must, so I used Pierce for a nice 19% more damage at level 20 while clearing everything but bosses, as Slower Projectiles is too slow, and Faster Projectiles is too fast(leaves monsters behind) for regular clearing. Check out the videos above to see the visual difference. Finally we have Controlled Destruction. For those lucky enough to get a 6L, this gem gives ~9k more dps over a level 3 Empower in my testing, and Faster Casting is not needed as I cast exactly 4 times per second without it.

Helmet:
With the Ascendancy node Mastermind of Discord Orb of Storms is an easy choice for a lightning skill. This curses enemies with flammability providing more pen (see Ascendancy section for more detail on pen), and also has a 20q Culling Strike to beat bosses quicker and cast Orb of Storms faster after its duration nerfs.

Gloves:
I chose to run Anger for more damage and Warlord's Mark so I can leech. In my first iteration of this build I did not leech at all, but times have changed with the joy that is Breach and only flasks no longer cuts it. This 2% life and mana leech helps to keep me alive in junction with Mind Over Matter as I am restoring my health and mana at the same time effectively getting 4% leech rate. Speaking of Mind Over Matter, its 2.6 changes make sustaining the 102 mana cost of this skill easy and makes me feel better about having to get mana nodes, hurray! A high level Enlighten is ideal as Blasphemy + Anger reserves 85% of my mana, cutting into my Mind Over Matter effective life pool. For those wondering I have 519 mana(effective life) unreserved with a level 3 Enlighten.

Boots:
Golems and movement skills with faster casting. Nothing surprising here (see Ascendency section for golem explanation).

Other:
Against super difficult content such as Uber Atziri, The Shaper, or just some rippy map what I like to do it turn off my Anger aura, and replace the Enlighten with a Vaal Summon Skeletons. This increases my mana to 1535 unreserved which makes my Total life = 6795(life) + 682(ES) + 1535(Mana) = 9012 effective life. This amount is somewhat comparable to CI builds, which is awesome for a life build. I put the Vaal Summon skeletons because at level 20 it summons 50 minions to distract enemies, and Enlighten would only be linked to Blasphemy with Anger turned off.



GEAR:
Spoiler
Old Gear:
Spoiler
Version 1.0:



Weapon:

A +3 staff is imperative in this non-crit build to maximize damage, although Pledge of Hands is another option. I like the rare version better, as it can have CAST SPEED, makes it easy to get Magma Orb to level 21 where it gains an additional chain(bounce), and other nice mods such as mana regen, flat mana, resistances, fire damage, etc. 20% block staff base is ideal but not necessary. As stated in the leveling section, a nice alternative as your save up is Realm Ender.

Body Armor:

I chose Kaom's Heart for a lot of life(1.5k) but some other good options are Carcass Jack(less so after AOE nerfs), Cospri's Will, or Belly of the Beast.

Other Armor:

For the helm, the +2 chain enchant is ideal as it makes the skill bounce two additional times which is a godsend with the added increased AOE per bounce from the threshold jewel(more in Passive Tree section), because no one plays magma orb it is really cheap. I got this helm as is for 2c. Other than that just try to get a lot of life, mana, resistances, and of course movement speed on boots.

Jewellery:

The rest of my gear just gives me life, caps my resistances, gives me much needed mana regen and flat mana for Mind Over Matter, and fulfills the attribute requirements for the gems.

Flasks:

The first five are the cheap flasks to use, however if you can afford them, using the next two are ideal. Vessel of Vinktar with added lightning damage to spell is an instant heal during its duration(especially its legacy version), and Dying Sun is not a necessity but helps clear speed and is super fun. If you can get these, replace Atziri's Promise first and the eternal life flask second. Make sure to have removes bleeding and removes freezing on some flask.


PASSIVE TREE:
Spoiler
Level 60: www.poeurl.com/9k0
Level 90: www.poeurl.com/9kX
Level 92: www.poeurl.com/9kU
- To start, book it toward Elemental Overload and the grab Mind Over Matter. After that get more damage, life, and AOE as you need it.
- As for Jewels you NEED x2 Inevitability. This jewel x2 eliminates Lesser Multiple Projectiles a free gem linkOn the rare ones I prioritized
life > damage modifiers > cast speed > mana regen > stat requirements. Here are mine:

- Bandits: help oak for life, kill all, kill all.


ASCENDANCY
Spoiler
Class:
Elementalist

Order:
1) Liege of the Primordial
2) Pendulum of Destruction
3) Mastermind of Discord
4) Paragon of Calamity

Reasoning:
- Liege of the Primordial:
This one is a given because it gives 18% cast speed, 40% increased damage, and 40% increased fire damage (the 40% lightning is not used).
- Pendulum of Destruction:
This is great even after the AOE nerfs because even though it is active for only 4/10 seconds, one cast of magma orb bounces for ~5 seconds with slower projectiles up, and the extra damage and AOE is awesome.
- Mastermind of Discord:
Orb of Storms into magma orb is an easy 25% fire pen, plus I have Orb of Storms cursing Flammability which at level 20 gives another 44% fire pen. Add that to a level 20 Fire Penetration gem which gives another 40% pen, plus the 5% in the skill tree, and we get a whopping 114% fire pen! With that it is mind-blowing that I did not take this node in my first iteration.
- Paragon of Calamity:
Great for survivalability against reflect, effectively giving +2% max fire resistance and 40% damage sometimes. Overall it is nice, especially for hardcore.
- Shaper of Desolation:
I chose NOT to get this anymore because it is no longer very good after its nerfs like three leagues ago. You can still take this over Paragon of Calamity, and use Empower over Elemental Focus, but I do not think it is worth it.


LEVELING
Spoiler
Apart from the skill tree priorities above, leveling this build is fairly easy, especially with the right uniques. You can level with either firestorm or magma orb(which I recommend to better learn the mechanics); I will describe the following as if you are using magma orb. After you beat hillock, Tarkleigh will give you a magma orb. I recommend buying 6 more to level in offhand weapons to better your odds of getting a level 21 gem eventually. Use that and random wands until level 6 when you can start using 2 Abberath's Horns (these almost always go for an Orb of Alchemy). Use these along with any other leveling gear if you have it until level 40 when you can equip Realm Ender (currently 2c in Legacy). This is a great weapon to use until you can afford a +3 staff(see gem links). Some other good uniques to use are Tabula Rasa, Martyr's Crown, Lifesprig, Reverberation Wand, Goldrim, Wanderlust, Honourhome, and the newly updated Lochtonial Caress.



Well I think that is all. Feel free to leave comments/questions, or watch me play video games sometimes at https://www.twitch.tv/nextguy121.
Magma Orb Guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1735193
Last edited by nextguy on Mar 13, 2017, 8:43:11 AM
Last bumped on Sep 19, 2017, 5:55:33 AM
Will be Trying this one out tonight. Been looking for something out of the box as all the other builds are just so overplayed.
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Twelvepack wrote:
Will be Trying this one out tonight. Been looking for something out of the box as all the other builds are just so overplayed.


Sweet, let me know how it goes!
Magma Orb Guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1735193
I will be trying this build aswell.. On hc :)... Just ripped a 80 dual totem AW.. want something new and different I aint touched yet.. This Im looking forward to[Got the poison bottle skin today aswell :)]
Always looking for people to game with, Hit me up!! Thanks for the great game GGG..

As I ʜᴏʟᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴜʀᴀɪ sᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴍʏ sᴛᴏᴍᴀᴄʜ ᴀs I ᴡᴀs ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴏᴍᴍɪᴛ Seppuku, I ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ Kʀɪᴘᴘ ᴘʟᴀʏ Cᴀsᴜᴀʟsᴛᴏɴᴇ. I ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴀ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ Kʀɪᴘ ᴡᴀs Nᴏʟɪғᴇ. ɴᴏᴡ I ᴀᴍ Nᴏʟɪғᴇ. ɢᴏᴏᴅ ʙʏᴇ ᴋʀɪᴘᴘ ▬▬ι════════ﺤ
"
Got the poison bottle skin today aswell :)]


Got it tonight as well. Makes the skill a little more fun :).
Great build guide video. Well spoken and very informative.

Just curious, is it possible to increase the speed the balls move at? For example, they just bounce and move slowly can we somehow increase their projectile speed? For single target damage I assume this is good, but for trash clearing I think if we can get them to move out faster, it would be much faster :) I will try this build out though, it looks non-meta and very fun. Damage is nice too!
"Good thing they nerfed the carto, it wasn't fun to find one in every map." - Haborym
Last edited by monkuar on Sep 17, 2016, 7:08:17 AM
"
monkuar wrote:
Great build guide video. Well spoken and very informative.

Just curious, is it possible to increase the speed the balls move at? For example, they just bounce and move slowly can we somehow increase their projectile speed? For single target damage I assume this is good, but for trash clearing I think if we can get them to move out faster, it would be much faster :) I will try this build out though, it looks non-meta and very fun. Damage is nice too!


You CAN make it go farther in between bounces with projectile speed, but I would advise against it. I intentionally avoided the Sniper node near the shadow start because although it would scale the damage nicely it gives projectile speed. This build basically one shots all trash mobs with both balls from spell echo, but if you get proj speed in can lead to them bouncing too far leaving mobs in between so you have to cast the skill again. Additionally, against magic packs and rares with too much proj speed it will not be able to hit them twice with each ball if aimed correctly(overlapping the aoes by bouncing in front of and behind). However, projectile speed is fun to mess around with(accel shrine, faster proj gem). Let me know if you find a balance that is more effective.
Magma Orb Guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1735193
"
nextguy wrote:
"
monkuar wrote:
Great build guide video. Well spoken and very informative.

Just curious, is it possible to increase the speed the balls move at? For example, they just bounce and move slowly can we somehow increase their projectile speed? For single target damage I assume this is good, but for trash clearing I think if we can get them to move out faster, it would be much faster :) I will try this build out though, it looks non-meta and very fun. Damage is nice too!


You CAN make it go farther in between bounces with projectile speed, but I would advise against it. I intentionally avoided the Sniper node near the shadow start because although it would scale the damage nicely it gives projectile speed. This build basically one shots all trash mobs with both balls from spell echo, but if you get proj speed in can lead to them bouncing too far leaving mobs in between so you have to cast the skill again. Additionally, against magic packs and rares with too much proj speed it will not be able to hit them twice with each ball if aimed correctly(overlapping the aoes by bouncing in front of and behind). However, projectile speed is fun to mess around with(accel shrine, faster proj gem). Let me know if you find a balance that is more effective.


Aww I see. So you want a speed that fits at a nice balance so the balls hit them all. Very informative. You should post this on reddit if u want (build video) to try to get more exposure. I know reddit is a cesspool, but some exposure is better than nothing. Thanks a lot man!
"Good thing they nerfed the carto, it wasn't fun to find one in every map." - Haborym
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Last edited by blaady on Dec 31, 2017, 7:31:08 AM
"
monkuar wrote:
"
nextguy wrote:
"
monkuar wrote:
Great build guide video. Well spoken and very informative.

Just curious, is it possible to increase the speed the balls move at? For example, they just bounce and move slowly can we somehow increase their projectile speed? For single target damage I assume this is good, but for trash clearing I think if we can get them to move out faster, it would be much faster :) I will try this build out though, it looks non-meta and very fun. Damage is nice too!


You CAN make it go farther in between bounces with projectile speed, but I would advise against it. I intentionally avoided the Sniper node near the shadow start because although it would scale the damage nicely it gives projectile speed. This build basically one shots all trash mobs with both balls from spell echo, but if you get proj speed in can lead to them bouncing too far leaving mobs in between so you have to cast the skill again. Additionally, against magic packs and rares with too much proj speed it will not be able to hit them twice with each ball if aimed correctly(overlapping the aoes by bouncing in front of and behind). However, projectile speed is fun to mess around with(accel shrine, faster proj gem). Let me know if you find a balance that is more effective.


Aww I see. So you want a speed that fits at a nice balance so the balls hit them all. Very informative. You should post this on reddit if u want (build video) to try to get more exposure. I know reddit is a cesspool, but some exposure is better than nothing. Thanks a lot man!


Just posted it there, was waiting to be able to stream, which I am now! Feel free to stop by if you want a better explanation of the skill and how it overlaps etc. as I could talk about this stuff for hours.
Magma Orb Guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1735193

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