[2.5] Burning Vortex Build - Double Degen Tank Elementalist - Shaper Viable - HC or SC

Core Map - Tier 15 Boss Kill's - SC Build
This video is of my first Core map attempt in Essence league, It was a corrupted map which had 43% Monster Life, Crit chance and multi and added fire damage.
https://youtu.be/yZ4Y28027-g

Oba's Cursed Trove Unique Map - SC Build
This map scales from area level 78-83 along the way with a good variety of monster's, This was my first run at the map on this character, level 90 in ESC.
https://youtu.be/ZnQydifYXxw

Uber Lab run with Argus Kill - SC Build
Level 89 character, Uber Lab farming demonstration for gauging boss damage and also showing a method of killing Argus who can't be ignited.
https://youtu.be/SVyLEXmXvEo

Tier 12 Estuary - Double Boss Vulnerability - SC Build
Level 86 in this video, just showing some progress on the SC variant as I level up.
https://youtu.be/_WfsefBKuRs

Tier 9 Promenade - HC Build
This is a basic Promenade map clear just so people have something to look at of the guide, I will upload more in the future
https://youtu.be/s8I7brUkhCE

Tier 11 Shaped Strand - HC Build
This video is of an 80% Fire Resist map just so people can see how the build performs at such a disadvantage.
https://youtu.be/yCkXh9tFZUI

General Use of Skill's

Orb of Storms - Use this to open fight's, it will proc Elemental Overload, Elemental Equilibirum and apply Dual Curses with Curse on Hit support. With a Dark Seer the global blind is useful for Orb of Storms constant pulsing.

Vortex - This is the main AoE clearing skill, use it to ignite and chill large packs and to provide secondary DPS when using Flameblast as single target. Dropping a Vortex before opening boxes or Essences is a useful utility.

Flameblast - This is the main single target skill. Use this for bosses and strong rare's or for dangerous mob's that you want to keep range from.

Frost Bomb - This skill will lower Cold Resist and Life Regen of monster's and is a nice option to have for tankier monster's. Using for Boxes/Essences is a useful utility.

Lightning Warp - This will be our movement skill for going over gap's or avoiding some dangerous situation's.

War Cry / Decoy Totem - Any war cry or a Decoy Totem could be used here.
Decoy Totem has a very useful taunt for harder content and can make most boss fight's pretty easy.
Enduring Cry can be more useful for Lab run's for extra trap mitigation.

Below is a rough guide on building the early tree of this build.
Path 3 and 5 can be swapped around if you like. Taking the green path to Elemental Equilibrium when equipping Vortex/Flameblast is a big part of the build's damage (procced with orb of storms)

Elementalist


The ascendancy choices are the same for Hardcore and Standard league's
This is my preferred order and selection of ascendancy points

Shaper of Desolation - Rotating Ignite, Shock and Chill (100% chance to apply)

Beacon of Ruin - Elemental Proliferation

Pendulum of Destruction - 100% Elemental Damage and 25% AoE 40% of the time

Mastermind of Discord - 25% Fire Penetration (after using Orb of Storm's so 100% uptime)

I don't use Paragon of Calamity because the reflect reduction isn't enough for reflect maps and single target reflect is no issue unless I full stack Flameblast

I don't use Liege of the Primordial because I use a Chaos Golem which gain's no effect

Level with Blade Vortex or other preferred skill's until you can equip Vortex and Flameblast in Act 3. Use a Pyre ring and Cloak of flame at the required level's (11 for pyre and 18 for CoF) or when equipping Vortex.

Equip Vortex with Chance to Ignite, Fire Penetration and Controlled Destruction for a very easy leveling setup. This will work until you gain a 5 link to add Increased Aoe on Vortex.
Equip Flameblast with Chance to Ignite, Fire Penetration and Concentrated Effect.

At this point you should have or be close to the Elemental Equilibrium node, with it allocated start using Orb of Storm's to remove 50% fire resist for a huge damage boost on your burn.

Character Sheet Defense's Screenshot taken in hideout

For killing the Shaper I focus only on Flameblast for much higher damage. I don't use Pyre ring or Southbound glove's so Culling Strike can be used against the boss, and the cold to fire conversion isn't needed.
I use 8 Grand Spectrum Jewels for much higher damage
An alternative is to use Izaro's Turmoil jewel's and possibly dual wield Doryani's catalyst if needed.

When fighting Argus remember to use Decoy Totem and Frost Bomb whenever needed.
To Kill Argus (Haven't tested with Atziri) I have been swapping my gems in my 5/6 link Vortex setup to increase the damage of the cold ground degen. I can kill Argus in under 1 minute which I think is well worth it for the key he gives.
These are the gems I swap:
Chance to Ignite -For- Elemental Focus
Fire Penetration -For- Iron Will
Increased Area of Effect -For- Concentrated Effect
Cold to Fire -For- Empower (Or Increased Duration which is cheaper)

For killing Izaro or Other High Level Map Bosses:
When killing a hard boss I switch in my Flameblast to my 5 or 6 link for even greater single target damage. For running uber lab I generally leave flameblast in the chest piece for the whole run and use Vortex as a 4 link for killing trash mobs on the way.
These are the gems I swap:
Vortex -For- Flameblast
Increased Aoe -For- Concentrated Effect
Cold to Fire -For- Increased Burning Damage (Or Iron Will for less mana cost)

Q."Can I use Hrimburn gloves instead of Pyre ring?"
A.Yes Hrimburn is an option and so are Southbound unique gloves, They will give more consistent Burn Prolif's but provide much less defensive option's than good rare glove's.

Q.Why use Pyre ring instead of Hrimburn gloves?
A.Pyre ring is available from day 1 very cheap and from level 11. Pyre ring is similiar to a rare ring with no life roll where Hrimburn gloves are much weaker then rare gloves. Rare gloves can provide a life roll, armour/ES, block chance and resist's or stats.

Q.What makes a Dark Seer sceptre a viable choice vs a Doryani's Catalyst?
A.Dark Seer is my choice for general mapping because of the Energy Shield and Mana gained on Kill. Most damage i take while general clearing is topped up by the Energy Shield gained on kill effect and generally Dark Seer has been a cheap item.

Q. "The tree is very defensive, where do you get damage?
A. Damage stacks up from multiple mechanics without heavy investment. Elemental Equilibrium -50% Fire Resist, Fire Penetration gem -37% Fire Resist, Ascendancy -25% Fire Resist and 100% Elemental Damage 40% of the time, Shock is 50% increased damage taken. Another easy source of damage would be to change from defensive curses to offensive for a huge DPS boost.

Q. What about other Ascendancy classes?
A.I haven't tested this build with other Ascendancy's, if I did I think Chieftan or one of the other witch Ascendancy's would be best suited. Occultist has the +1 Curse and extra E/S related defenses while Necromancer could allow for capped block with the offering setup.

Q. Can I use Cospri's Will as a chest piece?
A.This chest piece is Evasion/Dex based and would require a large chrome investment to make it viable. If you are willing to invest the extra cost then this may be a good alternative chest to carcass jack but I have not tried this.

Q. "Can I use Rapid Decay or Hypothermia as a 6th link for Vortex?"
A. I prefer Cold to Fire gem as it makes switching to a 6 link Flameblast easier in my opinion. Increased Burning Damage and Cold to Fire can be swapped easily between Vortex and Flameblast. Hypothermia gem can be used as a swap between Rapid Decay (which doesn't effect Flameblast) to maintain more damage for Flameblast on the condition that the mob is chilled.