Help with ED contagion char

Hello

Ive been playing this game for ~2-2.5 years, and never passed lvl 87.
Havent been much a competitive player and always played fast and high dmg builds, because i had rather busy schedule and id be able to play PoE only on weekends. Didnt felt investing into currency tabs will help, and so i never had more that 4-5 exalts in my inventory. I want to change that.

So, i started playing breach with Life based Scion. Yes, it was awful. Begging for normal lvling gems, struggling early with breaches, but i made it to 59. By now i converted to ED. But i feel like i didnt quite grasp the playstyle. Can someone with expirience with ED buillds help me? Like, tips on playstyle and gearing etc. I like the builds single target and dmg overall, but dislike its inconsistency. I really want to go 90+ this league.

Thanks in advance.

Playstyle is use contagion and ed - ed does most of the damage, contagion spreads it. You need to maximise damage for the ed so ideally a 6 link (tabula rasa works) and get some aoe on contagion (aoe gem linked). Consuming dark dagger isn't a bad choice for weapon as it's cheapish. I have wither attached to a spell totem for bosses and the like to help break thru high chaos res.

I got to about lvl 75 with a 3 link ed-rapid decay-controlled destruction but I invested quite heavily into damage on the tree (projectile, spell, chaos, damage over time). The build is great for map clearing but not so great for the big bosses.

End game 6link ideally is a +1 gems chest (again corrupted tabula probably cheapest option although GGGBBR skin of the loyal is also great if you can find one. Socket colours are non-negotiable - you really want ed-controlled des-void manip-rapid decay-pierce-empower for maximum dps (and I feel it will be necessary if you have ambitions of shaper and the like).

I am by no means an expert so you might want to look on the forums or on youtube for more info and other ideas/opinions. For instance you could check out ProjectPT's youtube videos and thread here.

i strongly suggest going low life or rf with ed
i played a lot of life based rf/ed scions with armor coming from iron reflexes+grace and juggernaut/deadeye ascendancy. worked pretty well to farm t15.


https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1531854 i used this guide and changed some things to fit my playstyle

Check this build. Life based (aka cheap) + trickster (great mobility) + clears maps at very good speed:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1625254

I use a 6l armor + eva atziri's splendour for good defences (build uses iron reflexes). It brings great QOL with 100 life+mana on kill, but it works with a tabula rasa aswel.

for great spreading ability, high AoE on contagion is crucial

Im playing chaos build atm with Occultist, life based now with wand and shield, but will transform to bow CI later and will add Caustic arrow to the mix. Decay from Delirium essence can help with single targets (decay wont spread via contagion though). I have contagion od lvl 1 cwdt and use ED with 100% pierce, and most of my damage comes from abyssal cry..

As you can see from the answers, there are dozens of very different ways to play ED.. noone will tell you what is "the best"

1. Faster projectiles on ED. No exceptions.

2. Abyssal Cry + poison > Contagion for AoE. But you can use both, it works.