[2.4] Crit Vortex Trap Saboteur
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Howdy,
this is my first build guide and also i am no native speaker, so please be gentle :) (videos are at the bottom if you just want to see some action) I decided to write this guide since several people asked me for a guide for this build when playing in a group. I started this build (in Essence Hardcore) with the idea of having hard-hitting elemental spells, ideally several spell "casts" at once when i played around with Ball Lightning Traps. Oh, and crit. I love crit, and since those are traps (no reflect issues), why not stack alot of crit multi while we're here? Idea: The basic idea of this build is to have Vortex supported by Trap and Cluster Trap. In combination with the Saboteur-Ascendancy class and its very powerful Chain Reaction node this build shatters whole packs (due to AoE "shotgunning"); if it doesnt one-shots the (whole) pack, the cold degeneration effect of Vortex will damage and chill (read: slow) the remaining monsters, which, in combination with a Blasphemy-Temporal Chains setup, makes the build relatively safe to play. The Vortex Traps are supported by a 4 link Ice Trap setup, because the base cooldown for the Trap Support Gem is 4 seconds in contrast to Ice Trap, which has a 2 second base cooldown, and is used as a supplement; basically i throw first a Vortex Trap, then an Ice Trap, then i repeat. Crit, okay, so...Power charges?
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Those are generated by using the unique Jaws of Agony: and the Blast Cascade passive which grants a 15% chance to gain a power charge if a trap is triggered by an enemy Gem Setup
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Vortex Setup 4/5/6L chest armor setup: Vortex + Trap + Cluster Trap + Cold Penetration + Inceased AoE/Increased Critical Strikes/Increased Critical Damage Swap Increased AoE for Increased Critical Strikes when you get a Carcass Jack (of course not mandatory but recommended) Ice Trap Setup Ice Trap + Cluster Trap + Cold Penetration + Increased AoE/Increased Critical Strikes Fire Storm Trap Setup (support for boss kills) Fire Storm + Trap + Cluster Trap + Concentrated Effect Supports Blasphemy - Temporal Chains Clarity Frost Bomb (used for tanky rares and bosses, use it like a curse and place it onto the mob; this will apply a debuff for additional -20% cold resistances on the mobs affected) Whirling Blades - Faster Attacks - Fortify Ice Golem - Lightning Warp ( - Decoy Totem) Leveling
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I remembered how 'painful' it can be leveling a trapper, i just totally forgot. Level with whatever spell you like (since you will pick up spell crit and spell/elemental damage on the way); support that by e.g. a flame totem. I would recommend switching to traps when you can use the Cluster Trap Support gem (level 38) as the earliest - this build really starts rolling when you get your cruel ascendancy (Chain Reaction passive).
In the tree go first for the Blood Siphon life, then crit, then path down to Blood Drinker and then up to the big trap wheel. After completing the wheel head towards the witch region, picking up the dextery node Alacrity for leveing, despec later for dex from the ranger region. You dont need the Doom Cast crit wheel at the beginning, but go grab Hasty Reconstruction for the trap cooldown. From here just go fill out the witch and templar region, picking up additional AoE, crit and life. The path down the ranger region i took last. Skill tree
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Level 87 poeurl.com/Mq4 - the jewel in the shadow area is a Hair Trigger jewel, granting trap damage and an increased trap trigger radius; not a must, but helpful Level 88 http://tinyurl.com/h6j93vm - removed the jewel and picked the Snowforged Node - currently finding out if this is better or just keeping the jewel and picking up Snowforged with the next 2 skill points (probably the better way) Bandits
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Normal Oak for juicy 40 life Cruel Kill all for skill point Merciless Alira (Power Charge) Level 87 gear
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Since this is basically my first toon this league and i havent been that lucky with drops my gear is far from perfect, but works okay
Lab Enchantment for Vortex
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I finally managed to get my hands on a helmet with "12% Increased Vortex Radius" enchantment:
Videos
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T5 Rare Dunes - killing some stuff, then heading towards boss: https://youtu.be/RIbWvjpFnkw T8 Rare Cemetry - only Boss kill: https://youtu.be/zcMYNTz3UuE History
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2016-09-18: added build guide 2016-09-18: added missing gem in skill tree and replaced leveling section 2016-09-19: added level 88 skilltree; added "shotgunning" AoE reference in Idea section 2016-09-21: added 2 videos of T5 (clearing and boss) and T8 (only boss kill) 2016-09-22: added the "Increased Vortex Radius" enchantment helmet Last edited by Xuulang on Sep 22, 2016, 6:47:41 AM Last bumped on May 31, 2018, 6:33:28 AM
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ur passive tree dont work
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" I converted the tree link to a clickable URL; it should be okay now; thanks for the hint. | |
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Was very impressive to see it action. But I'd like to see how it does with high-tier content e.g. high maps/bosses. The defenses for the build seem a bit lackluster in my eyes. Other than that, nice build :)
Dying in Hardcore Path of Exile is a sentence worse than simple death - Softcore.
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" Thank you for your kind words :) Yeah, the defense is something i was considering going Acrobatics for on top of stacking evasion (although it is not my preferred type of mitigation), since as a trapper one shouldnt get hit that often anyways i believe; so that would help alot. Other than that, the build lives abit the idea of "good offense is a good defense" when freezing/chilling/temporal chaining most of the stuff that comes your way. Still it is for sure not a build that can facetank hard content, it has to rely on swift reactions of the player to a) lay the traps where they are the most effective (monster movement) and b) dodge attacks/spells coming his way. Regarding the high-tier content i will record and post some gameplay of maps i am currently running within the next days i hope. | |
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Why not simply use Ice Trap instead of Trap with Vortex in your 6l. You gain another support slot. Plus, the base damage of Ice Trap is higher.. Granted, you lose the Dot debuff. But idk if this would be an issue.
edit: nvm, I just realized, as a newbie trapper, that the Trap support actually increases damage of the supported spell. Still, have you considered Ice Trap 6l setup? Last edited by Vafle on Sep 21, 2016, 1:00:02 PM
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" I have considered it, yes, but to be honest, the "series of icy runic explosions" which the skill description of Ice Trap talks of didnt feel as-good-as Vortex Traps. I have looked at the numbers too, but still it feels not as good - maybe it _is_ because of the mechanic Ice Trap unleashes its explosions where Vortex is just one big area hit (plus the degen) - oh and dont forget: the degen Vortex leaves is nice, but the chill effect is nicer. But yeah, judging only from the numbers Ice Trap would at least win due to the fact that you dont need the Trap Support gem. Last edited by Xuulang on Sep 21, 2016, 3:16:29 PM
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Hey, ive just started this build. Would you think its worth going CI, now that everything seems to run it?
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" Hey, nice to read you are doing the build :) Concerning CI i am afraid i have little experience playing CI builds (did only 1 or 2 CI builds waaay back), now with all the changes from ascendancy classes. I will still try to bring up some points that come to my mind concering CI: At the very least the Saboteur class doesnt offer anything that is good for CI in my opinion (well, except the smoke cloud thingy to not get hit at all) Also keep in mind if you want to go CI, you would probably want a good ES shield (+400ES), which would make you have to find another way to generate power charges (Curse on Hit + Assassin's with HoT or HoI maybe? Or Orb of Storms + PCoC + perhaps Inc. Crit. Strikes?) Currently i am using a Carcass Jack to help with the AoE, but it offers not much ES; so you would probably want to get a Vaal Regalia, optimally with the essence of hysteria craft "10% increased AoE" and a decent ES roll. Not to mention that as a trapper you cannot leech (so no Ghost Reaver) to replenish your ES (but same is true for a life trapper, so maybe this argument doesnt really apply) So yeah, if you can circumvent the mentioned points i think there is basically no reason not to go CI, because the potential higher effective life pool of course makes you more tanky. I'll be happy to hear about your results and/or give further input :) | |
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I think i'll stick with your build until end game, im relatively new to traps so i don't want to mess around too much. I just noticed that in the tree that there are a lot of ES nodes around the path you took, so i just wondered what your take on it was. Thanks for the reply :]
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