[2.6] Fistan's CI || Crit Claw || Frost Blades Raider - 11.9k ES - 362K TTDps - 106 Pen [Guardian+]

Originally i wasn't going to write a guide about this character, i made this character right after a 3 month break thus did not expect it to work. As it performed much better than i expected, i started tweaking and upgrading until i got to the point where i am. Gear is still a bit mish-mash, but most of them fits what we need. So lets get to explanation.


Note : Finally hit 94, so i will be doing all sorts of challenges, eventually shaper. I dont care if i die at this point, i already tried leveling past 94 with 1 char it was torture so i will not repeat that.



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Pros

+ Extremely fast clearspeed.
+ Guardian viable.
+ Freeze-lock everything, including red map bosses.
+ A lot of fun to play!
+ Can do almost all map mods.
+ Immunity to status ailments.(blessing for CI)
+ Tanky due to well balanced defenses by the end.
+ Can get to level 100 with ease.

Cons

- Can get expensive due to chestpiece, flasks and EfW Jewel.
- Frost Blades is not the best boss-killing skill.
- Can't do Blood Magic(duh), Cannot Leech and Elemental Reflect maps.(reflect packs are ok with a bit of care).





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-- Gear --






#1 I've gone with claws because when i started the build i wanted to go with something cheap and effective, thus used Touch of Anguish which is literally made for Frost blades. I highly recommend buying that and look for cheap upgrades if you can find them. Imo at least a 320pdps and 8+ crit is necessary to justify a purchase, otherwise dont waste money. Besides the unique is perfectly capable up to T15s.

#2 Valyrium is necessery for us to handle stuns. Some people prefer to rely on boot enchants but i find them highly unreliable. Besides the stuns that come through your defenses will last a long time. Also if possible, the generally unwanted block and stun recovery mod on gear is useful in our build. Int or res is ofc better but we do benefit from it as well.

#3 The chestpiece is the only real gear check we have to pass. Since it costs about 3500 chromes on average to get those colors. I got lucky and hit it around 700, but you can get unlucky. Highly recommend Atziri's Splendour as a budget option. If you do want to color a rare however, at least use the online Vorici Calculator.

#4 We only use 3 jewels, i dont like buying rares anyways as they become useless after changing your builds and they are just one more item that you need to sell and good ones are alot more expensive than uniques. Energy from Within is slotted near melding for +800ES it gives us, and Fight for Survival 's penetration is essentially 15% more damage which is huge.(We do not need more projectile damage, build is exceptionally strong in that department especially with Touch of Anguish)

#5 For amulet, priority is Acc > Multi > Wed >= Phy > Crit. For rings, try to get Accuracy and WED, after that cover your resists.(phys is decent here as well but ring's phys affix isnt strong enough to compete with WED). You can also use the new Marylene's Fallacy as a cheap replacement. It is actually quite good amulet for us since we have relatively low crit multiplier. Switch Throatseeker cluster for something with crit chance in the tree if you want to optimize for the unique amulet. There is also The Pandemonius, it is the best defensive option due to Blind Chilled Enemies on Hit affix. This item however is completely useless against chill immune enemies, or maps with status ailment avoidance mods.

#6 For the rest of the gear, try to prioritize cold resistance over the others so we can use the OP Wise Oak Flask. We also need at least a t2 str on our belt (not necessery for it to be heavy belt), in order to use our dps gems at lvl20. If you want to use increased duration at lvl 20 however you'll need to get more strength from somewhere.

Overall, we'll hit about 8k with decent helmet and shield + Atziri's Splendour. Quite managable with low budget, and since we use so many rare items resistances will not be a problem either.(That is what my gear adds mostly, i have my resistances at 200+ which is absurd but i dont really have good alternatives atm).



-- Flasks --




#1 Atziri's Promise, rather generic. Adds a good amount of damage and the free leech.

#2 Taste of Hate is ofc here as well. It is one of the best flasks period. It is worth to use for conversion alone, and we also benefit greatly from extra damage and maximum cold resist(for reflect).

#3 The Wise Oak is a great addition to our setup. Alternatively we can use Rumi's Concoction for a defensive option but ever since the nerfs i dont think it is worth it anymore and we already have another Granite flask. Use Legacy version if you opt for Rumi.

#4 Lion's Roar is a hidden gem among flasks. It adds a large amount of single target damage and adds knockback to our attacks. This is normally detrimental to melee builds but Frost Blades is a ranged "melee" attack. Thus KB adds another defensive layer where melee mobs cant reach us while we can still hit them from afar. I fell in love with it after i started using it.

#5 For my last flask i use a Diamond Flask. It adds alot of crit chance and we do need one regular flask to remove bleeding anyways. Alternative options are Overflowing Chalice, Rumi's Concotion, even Vessel of Vinktar (though we really dont need a Vinktar, it is just an OP flask which works in any build). I'd say Atziri and Taste of Hate is mandatory, rest depends more on what you need but i do believe Wise Oak and Lion's Roar are the best options.



-- Talent Tree --

Level 89

http://poeplanner.com/AAYAAPESKAB2m43OqAG873rTfu4Ogazkaql5Vvp31xR1yMzvj99vfyv9brF8w-aNuTB8UUfnVCT9_9431O0_Ps-95o2_BbXC7LTFFf2NgcGgeBlvV2SvRfSKONYHDPKly-jWIuqbJt1GY6cRgdsaEHu-Oud0bWzDOio4m7WExbVI62MRLysKXfIqC3BSidOMNg5IEZYBCbjZ3UiTkJoXkoAHHpUu8NVJUY_60NBfauwYLL8V14auVmN_xqKjD8Q7fLjKkyfviPk3189Jsb6KoS9sCyL0bRkRUDW5pyvZWxslS67pAl9wg208vtjVFyZ6hNCtQdAAAAAAAA==


Level 94

http://poeplanner.com/AAYAAPsSKAB7m43OqAG873rTfu4Ogazkaql5Vvp31xR1yMzvj99vfyv9brF8w-aNuTB8UUfnVCT9_9431O0_Ps-95o2_BbXC7LTFFf2NgcGgeBlvV2SvRfSKONYHDPKly-jWIuqbJt1GY6cRgdsaEHu-Oud0bWzDOio4m7WExbVI62MRLysKXfIqC3BSidOMNg5IEZYBCbjZ3UiTkJoXkoAHHpUu8NVJUY_60NBfauwYLL8V14auVmN_xqKjD8Q7fLjKkyfviPk3189Jsb6KoS9sCyL0bRkRUDW5pyvZWxslS67pAnC7GYr7CfbaGo9fcINtPL7Y1RcmeoTQrUHQAAAAAAA=


Level 94 Alternative Tree(currently used)

http://poeplanner.com/AAcAAPsSKAB7m43OqAG873rTfu4Ogazkaql5Vvp31xR1yMzvj99vfyv9brF8w-aNuTB8UUfnVCT9_9431O0_Ps-95o2_BbXC7LTFFf2NgcGgeBlvV2SvRfSKONYHDPKly-jWIuqbJt1GY6cRgdsaEHu-Oud0bWzDOio4m7WExbVI62MRLysKXfIqC3BSidOMNg5IEZYBCbjZ3UiTkJoXkoAHHpUu8NVJUY_60NBfauwYLL8V14auVmN_xqKjD8Q7fLjKkyfviPk3189Jsb6KoS9sCyL0bRkRUDW5pyvZWxslS67pAnC71EKEb3X9Fr9fcINtPL7Y1RcmeoTQrUHQAAAAAAA=



By level 89 build will be complete, i didnt take the aura reservation nodes because currently i'm not using them and leveling and maps are fine. But i am planning to get them to use Grace because i would like to have that secondary defense, ES is perfect to combine with evasion as we do have the effective hp to tank big hits unlike Life-evasion. After 94, take whichever node you prefer, we do have some offensive and some defensive nodes in our immediate vicinity, i'd prefer to take some offensive ones because my gear has just too much ES. If you are below 8k prioritize ES nodes over Dps ones. Anything between 8-10k will be enough for end game(10k for the very high end).




-- Gems --



Helmet



# Current Aura Setup. We use hatred + herald of ice, as they are the only cold damage source from auras. When we finally get our Aura Reservation nodes, we will include Grace into the setup. I decided that way because we already have enough ES, around 9k with normal levels of gear. I highly prefer Curse application from HoI and the Defense we gain from Grace to 1k more ES from Disc. When we get to use our third aura, setup here will be this : Herald of Ice + Curse on Hit + Assassin's Mark + Enlighten.


Chest



# This is the only gear check we have for the build. We need these colors, easy alternative is Atziri's Splendour it is rather easy color and have 650ES on average which is decent enough.


Weapon



# Standard whirling blades setup.


Shield



# Vaal Haste is still the best despite the nerf, second vaal skill is a bit of a toss up. If you value boss killing above all, use Vaal Lightning Trap, however despite the huge nerf Vaal Discipline is still the best defensive option. Pick one and link all to Increased Duration.


Gloves



# For our remaining slots, i wanted to add something passive that would make gameplay smoother. I tried Frost Wall, as i thought it would be op if game placed it right, it didn't. Tried Frost Bomb but quickly switched out due to its horribly scaled nature. And currently decided on a Blade Vortex PCoC setup. This along with HoI+Assassin's Mark setup, keeps our power charges up at all times. You can use either Increased Duration or Increased Area of Effect gems to support.


Boots



# Last three sockets here are up to you. There are no mandatory gems here except Ice Golem, that is until we get to lvl94 with 2 Enlighten 4s and can add Grace into our setup. I did opt to use Arctic Armour however instead of Grace to save some skill points. It is not as good as Grace but still decent survivability buff. Gems used then are Arctic Armour + Hatred + Enlighten + Ice Golem.



-- Dps Screenshots --

Hideout unbuffed


Charges only


Charges + Flasks


Vaal Haste + Charges + Flasks




-- Kill Screenshots --

Chimera Deathless


Rather easy fight, just dont facetank him and things will be fine. Freeze on add phase is rather invaluable as it made them completely harmless.


Phoenix Deathless


Easy enough, as with the other Guardians. Its not a fast kill but a safe one.


Uber Atziri Attempt

Here we go.

Getting excited, first time i'm trying uber, have no idea what to expect in terms of damage.

Aand getting wrecked by the frikking Ball Lightning. Just regular hit and run tactics.

And they're down, woohoo!

So far so good, came here without dying.

Aaand i die.

What happened here was, i had a random lag spike which desync'ed my character who got owned on the other side of the screen yet my corpse stayed where i thought i've ran away to. Few seconds after this, game crashes with a bs "Game server lost contact with the realm" error, and erased all my other portals. I was too angry afterwards to try again. But i will, later.





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Build Guide in Progress...
Last edited by Fistaniderya on May 15, 2017, 10:14:03 AM
Last bumped on Apr 19, 2017, 2:14:51 PM
Nice looking forward to do this once I can afford the gear. Possible to post a video of the build in action?
Last edited by cryyyy on Mar 24, 2017, 10:33:19 AM
I would have to download a recorder first but sure, i'll try to make one. If you are in doubt, as i am red maps are piece of piss up to t15s. I only cant do Cant leech, Blood Magic and Ele reflect. Luckily only ele reflect is a common mod so it saves some currency in rerolling. I'll try to upload some guardians, i only consider them a viable benchmark. Any decent build can do t15s tbh.
Which Ascendancies did you pick up, and in what order?

Thanks
Way of the Poacher > Quartz Infusion > Avatar of the Veil > Avatar of the Slaughter.

You can change the order, depends on your preferance but Way of the poacher is always taken first.

Last edited by Fistaniderya on Mar 27, 2017, 5:49:32 AM
Bandits? :D
Ign: Delism
Normal : Eramir
Cruel : Kraityn
Merciless : Kraityn

I thought i added them to poeplanner tree. People should check that out

edit: Apparently i forgot to add Ascendancies to talent tree lel
Last edited by Fistaniderya on Mar 27, 2017, 5:51:46 PM
"
Fistaniderya wrote:
Normal : Eramir
Cruel : Kraityn
Merciless : Kraityn

I thought i added them to poeplanner tree. People should check that out

edit: Apparently i forgot to add Ascendancies to talent tree lel





ty :D
Ign: Delism
What's the leveling build like for this? I've never really leveled a physical-based character before.
Tree is going in one direction so leveling is rather straightforward. Only difference is you take the Life% nodes instead of Energy Shield% nodes, and switch them out with the respec points leveling gave you once you are 70ish and have some ES decent gear. (Roughly 1200 ES total from gear should give you enough to start with). I'd highly recommend Touch of Anguish and Atziri's Splendour as your first purchases.

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