[3.5] Winter Orb elementalist league starter, SSF/beginner-friendly
 Hi Everybody, I'm Vincere from France and I wanted to share my 3.5 Betrayal league starter build: a Winter's Orb Elementalist. This is my very first written build so bare with me if info is missing. Simple build, simple concept, simple gear. I'm by no means a veteran player and I made this build just to reach and farm white/yellow maps on a budget. I'm sure you can go further with the build but it's a new skill so let's give it some time to see how it goes. As I said, I'm just a regular player but I'm not much into theorycrafting so feel free to correct me if I said something wrong or if you know a better way to improve a slot/gems links. My gear sucks and I don't have all the gem setups because it's early in the league so yeah, takes time. Follow the gem links, gear and everything will be alright. ;) Please don't PM me ingame for advice, post your questions here. Someone will answer them or me if I show up. PS: Thanks for Enky's Arc build, I used his build post as a template. ;)
League Day 2 loot with this build
____________________________________________________________________ Videos Peninsula T3 showcase ____________________________________________________________________ About this build
Pros/Cons
+ Awesome clearspeed + Really budget / SSF friendly + Smooth gameplay + OK DPS + No complicated mechanics - Not many defensive layers, gotta move to avoid damage - Gotta cast WO every 7s - Inpulsa is EXPENSIVE but not mandatory
How does the build work?
Fairly easy : channel Winter's Orb, run through packs to shatter everything in sight, thanks to Herald of Ice. Assassin's Mark give us mana regen. For bosses, our Orb of Storm setup casts Frostbite for extra DPS. Nothing complicated really.
Aim of the build
This build is as stated SSF, league-starting oriented. This is a build with minimal investment and easy gearing. I'm running T1-T8 maps with a mere 17c investment. 5c for each Divinarius and 7c for the Berek's Grip. Everything else is self found. Don't expect going late endgame with crap gear though, you'll need some investment if you wanna push it. But I'll keep it a no-money map runner.
endgame MoM variation by scubastevefather
Thanks to him for putting a good endgame build with no more Acro/Phase Acro but a strong defensive MoM and a ton more damage. It is really expensive but if you wanna push to the Shaper, here it goes. PoB: https://pastebin.com/AmcjV1wY ____________________________________________________________________ Path of Building https://pastebin.com/DDJSCEji ____________________________________________________________________ Leveling
Spoiler
The PoB has multiple trees for the leveling. Look at it.
Lvl 1 - Take Magma Orb or Freezing Pulse Add Arcane surge when possible Lvl 12 - Take Arc Add Lightning damage, elemental focus, controlled destruction when possible. Level Winter's Orb on the side from lvl 28. Lvl 40ish - Switch to Winter's Orb + Herald of Ice. Lvl 55 - Add Herald of Thunder when you pick your Second Ascendancy. ____________________________________________________________________ Passive tree, ascendany and Pantheon Finished tree
Ascendancy
I'm a bit torn between Beacon of Ruin and Paragon of Calamity to be honest. Input on the matter is appreciated. For mapping, Paragon and its reflect immunity gets my vote though. 1) Pendulum of Destruction 2) Mastermind of Discord 3) Paragon of Calamity 4) Shaper of Desolation
Pantheon
Major: Soul of the Brine King Minor: Soul of Gruthkul ____________________________________________________________________ Gems links
Spoiler
Main setup: Winter's Orb + Efficacy + GMP + Ice Bite + Controlled Destruction (5L) + Conc Effect (6L) -> you can switch efficacy for add cold damage if you don't mind casting WO more often. Orb of Storms + Curse on Hit + Frostbite + Increase Area of Effect Whirling Blade + Faster Attacks + Fortify Herald of Ice + Innervate + Ice Bite + Increased Crit strikes Herald of Thunder + Curse on Hit + Assassin's Mark CWDT + Immortal Call + Increased Duration Arctic Armour or Vaal Haste ____________________________________________________________________ Gear
What to look for on rare gear?
- Life - Resistances - Crit chance / multiplier - Flat cold / Lightning damage
Suggestions of unique gear
Helmets: Starkonja, Rat's Nest, Lightpoacher Armour: Inpulsa, Loreweave, Carcass Jack, QotF Weapons: Divinarius Boots: Atziri's Step, Sin Trek Rings: Berek's Grip, Snakebite, Essence Worm
Flasks
Blood of the Karui Taste of Hate (luxury) Atziri's Promise Diamond Flask with Freeze immunity Quartz Flask with Bleeding immunity
My crap gear
Some gear to look for as example
Last edited by xVINCEREx on Dec 21, 2018, 2:45:07 AM Last bumped on May 3, 2019, 3:20:40 PM
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nm! I need to learn how to use PoB!
Think I will try this out. Thanks :) edit: when do you suggest to go for Acrobatics? Last edited by NeyNey on Dec 10, 2018, 1:40:44 PM
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Hey! Would like to give a chance to this build.
Do you think it's late game viable? Have you ever try with CWC setup ? |
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Added a showcase video.
NeyNey: you can pick Acro and Phase Acro when you want, preferably when you start going down right on the tree for some dexterity. Kikou: Never tried a CwC, but people talk about a Winter's Orb CwC Ice Spear, looks like a good setup to start. You'll lose some clearspeed but gain some single target DPS. As for the late game, I think it will go to red maps pretty smoothly but endgame bosses like Shaper, Uber Atziri and Red Tier Elder look too much of a challenge for the skill in itself. | |
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Any specific reason to use whirling blades? Is that just personal preference and would say flame dash be equally viable?
Oh, and most other builds have a golem, is there a reason not to run one? Last edited by NeyNey on Dec 11, 2018, 1:08:22 PM
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" As we're playing crit, the build uses 2 daggers so whirling blade is a given. It's one of the fastest movement skills in the game. Flame Dash only has 3 uses before reset so it's just bad compared to blades. As for the golem, I ran out of gem slots but if you make space for it, go Lightning Golem. | |
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nice build, doing it on hcb :)
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maczor: hey let me know how it's going for you in hardcore, I'm truly interested in how the build can survive.
froztyxx: I put some endgame gear at the end of the gear section. Check it out. Multiple armours are great for the build: Inpulsa, Carcass Jack, Loreweave. | |
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Added an endgame MoM variation by scubastevefather. He got great ideas and the build has a ton more DPS. Just know that this build is leagues above in term of investment. Check it out in the "About the build" section if you wanna push all the way to the endgame bosses.
Last edited by xVINCEREx on Dec 12, 2018, 5:19:35 PM
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In the POB I see that you have CWDT and Immortal Call at level 20. Is this intended?
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