Builds by Varcarian

Bandits: Oak or kill all (get a jewel slot earlier for more damage - less survivability though).

Worth noting is that I go MoM on the build these days for more survivability, and as of 3.0 it is Viable; the nerf to the nodes behind MoM in 3.1 will make it weaker but I am fairly certain it will still be worth it; If not, save the points from mana nodes and go Vaal Pact + more life nodes instead, but usually the thing that kills the character is hard bursts for which I am uncertain the change to Vaal Pact will be enough.

Leveling
I level using either Blade Vortex all the way from the beginning (lvl 12) however this requires you to either mule some gems from other characters or ask others to buy the needed gems for you as slayer does not have access to a lot of the casting skill gems/support gems early on. Alternatively, you can level as 2H/1H Melee most of the way as well using Sunder, scaling your damage purely through good levelling 2-handers/1-handers.

For league start, or if you are broke and have no currency use Cherrubim's Maleficence - it is still somewhat cheap compared to other items, though more expensive than when this guide was originally written. Gives great defence when combined with the Slayer notable Endless Hunger which allows us to leech to continue after we reach full life. 2x Obliteration wand works great but you can also use Broken Faith shield, though it lowers clearspeed. If you get enough Resistance on your rares, Wyrmsign becomes a great addition to the build for added clear speed and damage from the rampage status. Also been finding myself using The Gull quite a bit lately, but it has some annoyances associated with it, but makes shrines feel soo gewd. Worth noting with the latest edition of the build (Varcarian_SlaydeIsBack in my profile) is that I decided to go with dual Ming's Heart, or that was the plan until i Id'ed a crazy good Ventors ring. But Dual Ming's with good rolls should be more than possible and would provide a good chunk of damage.


When it comes to jewels you can use anything that increases your physical damage, area damage, chaos damage, spell damage - the usual suspects for Blade Vortex and Chaos builds. For Hardcore I would recommend getting life on jewels as well, especially when/if switching to Ming's Heart which both reduces your life slightly. I am currently running with just above 6k using Cherrubim's and Ming's Heart life which feels comfortable enough for most content.

As of 3.0 this is the setup I would use:

Blade Vortex - Concentrated Effect - Controlled Destruction - Spell Echo - Void Manipulation -Hypothermia //// In that order of importance.

In case you are wondering about Hypothermia, I am running Arctic Armour which means you get the benefits of this skill gem as soon as you run "over" and enemy. And we are close to the enemies anyway, so this is fine, and it adds some good defence which is good as BV does need to be quite close to enemies. I use conc effect permanently, as I just want as much throughput as possible to kill any monster I hit as fast as possible. The general clearspeed comes from the Obliteration wand Explosions which are uneffected by the conceffect.

Other setups include:
Main Hand: Warlords Mark + Blasphemy + Summon Lightning Golem (any golem)
Off Hand: Arctic Armour + Rallying Cry + ? (Blood rage is an option or phase run)
Head: Faster casting + Flame dash + Arcane Surge + Blight (Experimental)
Boots: Faster Casting + Spell totem + Wither + Increased Duration
Gloves Cast when Damage Taken + Immortal call + Increased Duration + Vaal Haste.

Regarding the blight, I was trying to run dual Spreading Rot jewels for boss killing to add a lot more chaos damage. And while it did work, the increased damage from blight doesn't last long enough for it to be worth it in my mind - would probably do a Vaal Lightning Trap or something in the future instead and get two good damage jewels instead of the spreading rot ones.

You could also move the gems around a bit and get golem + blasphemy setup + Arctic armour setup moved away from wands so you can weapon swap to a brightbeak or something similar to move around maps faster. I will leave it up to you, the people, exactly how you want to organize it.

The build can run any golem you want, I chose Lightning Golem simply to cast a little faster when dashing and stacking the Blade Vortex. The same goes for the warcry as you can use any warcry you want as well. On HC I do recommend using Stone Golem tough for more regen and the occasional taunt to reduce boss damage.

Unfortunately, as we are using a wand and have increased duration in our skill tree, our only real option for mobility, apart from a movement speed flask, is Flame Dash - Bummer

Pros
- Can do almost all map mods
- Quite cheap
- Farms Labs and Maps really well
- 20% Cull, 20sec Onslaught on rare or unique kill
- Bleed and Stun Immune while leeching (almost always)

Cons
- A little low on health - means certain things just catch you off-guard such as really hard hitting mobs which under the right circumstances will 1-shot you (at least with the ~6k life I have when making this build)
- Can't do the following mods: Blood Magic, No Leech. Phys Reflect can be dangerous if stacked with other map mods, such as vulnerability or less recovery. Hexproof maps are a no go as well for the most part.

POST 3.0: So far I have done maps all the way up to 12 without any major issue, except bosses start to get quite tanky. Died in Turmoil league to a nasty Haast+Other Beyond mobs which burst me down in a palace map - but everything was smooth sailing until then.

PRE 3.0: Managed to kill Hydra boss on my very first try - deathless - even though it is poison immune which removes a lot of the damage the built does. Managed to kill all the other guardian's as well, not quite deathless however, but I imagine Phoenix and Minotaur could be done deathless most the time; the adds on Chimera hits so hard they almost one shot me on their normal attacks with my current lifepool. It can farm the Endgame Labyrinth quite comfortably doing 4 key runs, except for when he has charges, which tends to get a little too dangerous for the build. I would also recommend dodging his big attacks as they - when they are buffed - can one shot you when at 6k life. Generally the build relies on a combination of blind (from stibnite) block (Rumi's flask) and evasion to survive monsters that hit hard repeatedly (such as Argus which we can facetank).
At the end of 2.5 I also managed to take down Shaper with the build, however it is not great for it, but it is doable once you get used to doing the fight and get comfortable with the build. Didn't do it deathless though, but I imagine it should be possible. After 3.0 I highly doubt it could kill shaper, but might try it again at some point. Would not recommend for shaper though, nor guardians.

Bandits: KILL ALL - need the skillpoints

Leveling
I levelled using Blight and ED + Contagion. I went directly for the CI tree, which meant a lot of getting stunned and some dying here and there, but levelling with Xirgil's Crank did help a lot, but i wouldn't recommend it. The levelling tree will make it easier to level, and would still use the same skill. You could also level with Blade Vortex as pretty much any build can level with Blade Vortex. Using Blight takes some getting used to as you have to leave packs before they die which can increase your clear speed a lot once you learn exactly how much damage you need to do before moving on to the next pack. Regarding the skill tree Essence Surge might help with survival in the late game, in order to make it easier to start the ES recharge when disengaging monsters.

Quick disclaimer: You will notice my gem setup is not complete as this is a build in progress - never got to really finish it. AND CONTINUE:
You can also use Rainbowstride boots for added block with the Xirgil's Crank. You can also use an ES based shield instead of The Consuming Dark, the reason for using the dagger is to be able to use Whirling blades + Fortify and the fact that the chaos explosions we get from Occultist will poison the enemies they hit, which deals good damage, especially if you get explosions to hit a boss from e.g. a blue pack. Using a shield you can use Shield Charge + Fortify instead of whirling.

To go Lowlife, which I think would help the damage a lot, and even add more survivability through extra aura and possibly Arctic armour, you would need a Shavronne's Wrappings which would make the build even more expensive than it already is. It would however also make it clear faster.

When it comes to jewels you can use anything that increases your area damage, chaos damage, spell damage - the usual suspects for Area + Chaos builds. For Hardcore I would recommend getting ES on jewels as well, especially when switching to CI. I am currently running with around 8.5k ES which feels comfortable enough for most content. You do need one Energy from Within Jewel for the Life+ES cluster (Bet you never saw that before) - in 2.5 it is less powerful though and could be skipped for more dmg potentially

Currently not using any Cast on Damage Taken (CwDT) setup, which means that things such as Porcupines can be dangerous. The build can use any warcry you want, if you put in a CwDT setup with Immortal Call you will probably want to use Enduring Cry; personally I am using Rallying Cry. You could also use another golem, however Lightning Golem helps a lot with stacking Blight faster.

If you use Xirgil's Crank with ED + Contagion you will have to forego the setup in the gloves for Increased AoE + Contagion - Lightning Golem and Flame dash, and then take the setup from the weapon with Wither to the boots, or something along those lines. Using ED + Contagion you alternate between using Blight and/or ED depending on what you are fighting. If you see and opportunity to spread ED + Contagion you do that, else you use Blight on single packs. On bosses you keep up ED while stacking Blight as much as possible.

Pros
- Can do almost all map mods due to CI, no blood magic though.
- No reflect issues cuz chaos damage
- Good initial defence on each pack due to high ES Pool combined with the 3-curse setup which combined with Blight basically slows the monsters to a crawl

Cons
- Very Expensive around the 10 exalts mark at the end of the league - the cost per damage is not very good, but it clears fine. Any map mod that increases monster life or reduces your damage makes clearing a little slow.
- No leech which means to survive damage you have to run away until ES recharge begins and then you can run back in (Essence Surge on the skill tree might not be a bad pick up). Using Xirgil's Crank helps, but it is not 100% reliable in all situations. This interaction also makes Damage over Time such as burning a real pain in the ass.

So far I have done maps all the way up to 12 without any issues except for somewhat slow boss kills. I did clear Uber Lab in a no Extra key run, using the Xirgil's Crank + ED setup; it did not feel great and I doubt it would make a great Uber farmer, but it might be possible with some more practice with the build.

Bandits: KILL ALL - need the skillpoints

Leveling
I levelled using Firestorm and Flameblast. Can't exactly remember how i levelled this, but I assume it was like any other Firestorm/Flameblast spell caster using Lifesprig and all that other jazz. The levelling tree will make it easier to level, and would still use the same skill(s); going hybrid ES life should help you survive most things as long as you are careful with those hard hitting physical damage monsters.

You will notice that the gear is not perfect, there are some good ones and some mediocre ones, meaning this has the potential to do quite a bit more damage and it is already oneshotting most stuff. I believe someone oneshot the Minotaur with this type of build as well! H.O.L.Y_S.H.I.T!

When it comes to jewels you need to get 2-3 Sacrificial Harvest jewels (depending on rolls - 2x 30% should do the trick) in order to stack your souls faster and to be able to keep using Vaal RF throughout an entire map without Flameblasting too much to get souls. Other than that you can use anything that increases your area damage, spell damage, fire damage - the usual suspects for Area + Fire builds - in this special case getting ES on Jewel would also increase you damage. For Hardcore I would recommend getting ES on jewels as well, especially when switching to CI . I am currently running with around 10.5k ES which feels comfortable. You also should get one Energy from Within Jewel for the Life+ES cluster.

Currently not using any Vaal Discipline which could provide more survivability in some cases, not to mention more (A LOT more) damage for bosses as we get a higher ES pool making Vaal RF dish out more damage. You would likely have to forego the Cast on Damage Taken setup to make room for it however.

Pros
- Can do most map mods - ele reflect and no regen would suck (and Blood magic is impossible as we are CI)
- REALLY fun and really fast once you get the Vaal RFs charged up.
- Versatile, as you can swap the gem setup around if you need a 5link Flameblast for e.g. Lab
- Good initial defence on each pack due to high ES Pool and Vaal Pact + Flameblast tops up any damage we receive more or less
- Can oneshot bosses (when igniting)

Cons
- The built can be a little pricey to get all the items, especially a good corrupted fire leech amulet.
- Needs to ignite, meaning everything that is immune to ignite or status ailments from map mod is pretty much a no go - would feel very slow.
- Prone to dying! You have to constantly be aware of your surroundings before activating each Vaal RF, else you will likely die

So far I have done maps all the way up to tier 13 without issues, as long as you ignite everything just melts away almost instantly, even when you are enfeebled or the monsters have more life. Cleared Merci lab without issue, but never actually tried Uber - but considering the high ES pool I imagine it should be easy in a no key run, and doable in a full key run.

Bandits: Kill all, Kill all/Kraitlyn, Kraitlyn/Kill all

Leveling
Don't remember too much about the leveling process, other than I used the none-upgraded version of the claw as soon as possible and used Blade Flurry all the way from when it became available. How to get there I will leave up to you, but the claws could be used all the way without any need to swap it (using an Astramentis while leveling makes it really strong and I would recommend astramentis for early anyway).

Worth noting about the skill gem setup is that I use a standard Whirling Blades setup to get around, also why I do not have any movement speed on boots (that said movement speed on boots wouldn't be bad, but takes up a stat). I use Ice golem for added accuracy and crit, it is selfcast i.e. it is leveled higher than my CwDT setup. I have bloodrage in the weapons along with everything else that is not a buff, and I do this in order to be able to weapon swap without losing buffs. This means we can run blood rage a lot more comfortably as you can just weapon swap to get rid of the degen if you need to. Flame dash is equipped simply to get over random ledges etc. that can't be traversed using Whirling Blades. As for buffs, I use Blasphemy with a Warlords mark for permanent leech with Vaal pact while mapping (you can run hexproof maps, but they don't always feel comfortable; I use discipline for more ES and a Purity of lightning for more crit, and to help against yellow mobs with elemental reflect. Discipline and Blasphemy are linked with an englighten to leave more mana unreserved.

Pros
- Can do pretty much all the content in the game. (I found that some unique maps were the only thing that did not go well - such as putrid cloister due to proximity shielded tentacle bitches in narrow corridors, ended up permastunned too many times).
- Stacking Intelligence gives a really high ES pool without having super great gear, making a lot of nuke heavy encounters managable.
- Can nuke most content (bosses pre tier 16) really fast negating some of their more dangerous abilities.
Cons
- Elemental reflect monsters can be a little dangerous if you take damage from another source at the same time (of course elemental reflect maps are a no go).
- A bit weak when it comes to stuns - should potentially use the 80% avoid stun boot enchant instead of leech as I am using. Could also put on eye of chayula, but that would nerf the damage significantly.
- Quite expensive - the gear is highly specialised making the pieces more expensive than regular CI builds.

I have completed all content in the Game with the build (not deathless though as I am still unexperienced on Shaper and Uber Atziri - but I imagine they could be done deathless as well). All the Guardians are pretty much a joke with the build, especially when using portalt to refresh flasks to go in a nuke again and again. That is one of the strongest ideas with this build: It can nuke really hard. It does have decent sustained damage as well but it is definately stronger on single phased fights. All Tier 15 map bosses (pretty much regardless of map mods) die instantly pretty much. Uber Lab is also really smooth with this build, but okay my gear is also pretty good and I would wager that Uber lab is easy on ANY char almost with this level of progression.

Bandits: Oak, Kill all/Kraitlyn, Kill all

Leveling
I levelled using Facebreakers + Shield Charge for most of the way (inspired by Zizaran, who also has a really good Warchief Chieftan guide). For early league I would probably level as regular melee, meaning cleave -> sunder -> Warchief totems + Weapon, until it makes sense to go full Warchief totem and eventually go Facebreaker, when you have some of the other pieces you need.

For now, see the gear - Will update later with a picture of the setup and why I chose what I did.

Pros
- Can do pretty much all the content in the game. Have not tried uber Atziri with it, but I don't see why it shouldn't be able to do it, and plenty of other people have killed Uber Atziri with this type of build - Might drop the Abyssus sometimes (e.g. Uber lab) - although you can hide behind you totems for the most part
- Works from early in the league using regular weapons + shield instead of Facebreaker setup and scales really well to late game when using the Facebreaker gloves.
- Can be played really defensively making it very good at surviving, especially if using Bringer of Rain instead of Abyssus; as totems taunt and enemies around them deal 8% less damage (a total of 18% less damage) and the build has a decent life pool on top of that + Fortify is up most of the time.
Cons
- This build does not really have any cons I would worry too much about. The major thing I can think of is that to fully optimise the character, it does get very expensive towards the end - The shield I chose to use here is expensive and the rings don't come cheap either.

I have killed Shaper a few times on the build, the first time deathless, the second time I died a few times since I am still not 100% used to the fight, so I still mess up my timing now and then. The guardians feel real smooth for the most part and most maps are a breeze. It can do Phys reflect maps as well, but it does take a while as your totems will likely one shot themselves when hitting a pack of monsters. For Uber lab, I drop the Abyssus and equip Bringer of Rain instead, as the traps are simply a bit too dangerous while Abyssus is on. Only did the build on SC - but it is HC viable as well, but on HC I would probably stick to a Bringer of Rain setup for the most part - especially with the legacy version in the 2.6 Legacy League.

Bandits: I did help Oak on normal, but in hindsight, I would probably Kill Oak normal as well to get an extra skill point, and help Kraitlyn on cruel (need the attack speed). Would leave you with a little less life, but should be manageable in most layouts.

Leveling
JUST DO IT! More or less; I used the same build for levelling so nothing special there. Use any skill you want, I used Blade Flurry (BF) as soon as I got it.

You can do whatever you want for DMG, I chose the Daggers + a BF setup (see chest), I bet other options are available as well for killing him fast (Think some use Decay weapon + ED as it scales really well at this low lvl). Considering my skill tree I found BF to be a viable way of doing it.

Most important is your Leap Slam setup: Leap slam - Faster attacks (20q) - Blood Magic - Fortify. The Quality is really important as we want maximum attack speed. A trickster can use 20Q culling strike instead of blood magic thus getting more passive attacks speed that way.

Also really important is to run a 20q Blood Rage - as with the gear we want to get as much attack speed as possible. Which is why we also run a Haste aura and a Lightning Golem

So far I have done most lab layouts in about 3 minutes, with the exception of some really bad layouts. Some of the buffs are not so great for the build either e.g. Fonts, as we don't have curse immune (or well we can swap on in), so temp chains will slow down your Itzaro kill costing you time. Every single second counts when inside the Lab, so would also recommend to have an SSD at the very least to load fast. I use an M2 NVMe SSD with 3000 MB/s Read which helps. Being fast is all about practice, learning the layouts by heart which comes over time doing multiple iterations of the different layouts. After chatting with other runners and testing it as well, it seems that running on US realms is also a lot faster, as they enter load screen a lot faster. I am on EU normally but tried US Washington where I have 115 ms latency which is doable, and it definitely went faster