[3.6] darthfelix' Arakaalis Agony Tank | MS Jugg | Uber Elder on a budget | League Starter

Some lines on myself:
I am darthfelix, playing PoE for about two years now and this is my first own build guide. I took some ideas from other players and stole some hints from other Arakaalis Fang and Herald of Agony builds, so not every thought you will read here has grown on my responsibility.

I managed to kill Uber Elder on Lvl 94 on a 4-5 ex budget, I had no problem with any Map or Encounter except my first Red Elder (shaper died, so I need to let me be killed and called for help, thanks to my good friend Hestaby :p) so I decided to share my build with the community.

I will expand the guide step-by-step, so keep calm, I hope I will answer all upcoming questions within the next weeks.

I would be grateful to read your hints, tips, questions and other thoughts about the build, so don’t hesitate to write in this thread.

I am not a native English speaker, so sorry about mistakes in grammar and spelling.

T13 Crimson Temple Map:
https://youtu.be/jNnV9JSzefc

Little Delving Depth 190+:
https://youtu.be/1RQFzKXC5Ac

Delve with Beyond Boss:
https://youtu.be/S4p09ECYRu4

T15 Lava Lake with Abyssal Depth and Breach:
https://youtu.be/KSZDe0zLpYk

T16 Maze of the Minotaur (corrupted with extra Life and Damage Mods):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Vcx3-s_xI&

Uber Elder:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRN8dK5XN3o

+ works well on a budget
+ can play ALL Map Mods (no-reg combined with hexproof is kinda annoying, but doable)
+ decent clear speed
+ sufficient Boss DPS for all content
+ decent in Azurite Mine
+ easy Lab running
+ strong defenses (7,5k+ life, Endurance charges, Acrobatics and Phase Acrobatics, Juggernaut)
+ high life sustain (Life gain on Hit + Molten Strike balls --> instant life recovery)
+ Spiders and Agony Crawler as meat shields
+ really fun to play

- needs ramp-up-time on Map Start and some boss encounters (BE CAREFUL AND USE FLASKS!)
- not the fastest mapper
- not the highest boss-DPS

The Idea is simple: You take the Arakaalis Fang Dagger, use Molten Strike with poison support and put Herald of Agony on a 5L/6L. You will raise 20 Spiders and the Agony Crawler, they will do 99%+ of your damage. Molten Strike is for delivering Poison for Agony Stacks and Life/Mana sustain. Everything else is for buffing Spider/Scorpion damage or to expand our defense capabilitys.

At the beginning of a map we need to spawn our minions, first. Just shield charge into the first group of enemies and pop up the defensive Flasks. Attack with Molten Strike. The Agony Crawler will raise up and kill the monsters. When you have some corpses around you, but no Spiders up and no enemy is left, pop Writhing Jar and attack immediately. The Spiders will spawn and help.

From this point you just shield charge into a group of monsters and use Molten Strike.

Your Crawler and your (up to 20) Spiders will deal with all enemies. When you have only a few or no Spiders left new ones will raise while killing. If you have no enemies but some corpses, use Writhing Jar again.

Press Convocation for Minion positioning and Flesh Offering for Burst Damage. Use your Flasks when facing large or dangerous groups of monsters.

Arakaalis Fang
Whenever YOU kill a monster, the dagger will summon spiders consuming corpses nearby. The "Raise Spiders" Skill is supportet by all support Gems socketed on you Arakaalis Fang. They do a really nice amount of damage and are really aggressive. On top they are immune to any damage.

Herald of Agony
Whenever you apply poison to an enemy, you will gain a stacking Buff called "Virulence". As long as you have any Virulence Stack, you will have the Agony Crawler fighting for you. The Crawler is doing more damage and attacking faster for each Virulance stack. You will loose stacks over time, the more you have, the faster they will disappear.
The Crawler does a ton of damage, using two different attacks: a projectile attack ("Tail Spike") and an area attack ("Mortar").

Speakers Wreath
While wearing this shitty Helmet your Minions won't be able to kill any monster, but they will take them down to 1 HP. Then your applied poison will do the killing blow, granting you the Kill to trigger the "Raise Spiders" Skill and other "on kill"-effects, like gaining Frenzy charges from Blood Rage. The other Stats on "Speakers Wreath" are bad, but it will give you a giant amount of QoL while mapping.

Life Recovery
We use the regular Regeneration combined with Reg from the "Unbreakable" Ascendency Note. On top we will get a huge amount of Life on hit for every enemy hit by our Magma balls (and we will throw a decent number on our enemies).
This Life gained is INSTANT and a very strong refill mechanic.
You will easy fill up your whole Lifepool in no time when hitting a pack of monsters, in a single target encounter it will take a small amount of time, but it is still faster than regular Life Leech.

Mana sustain
We need only a small amount Mana gained on hit. There are two different possibilitys to obtain: A "Poachers Mark on hit" Ring or a Ring or Jewel with "2 Mana gained for each enemy hit by your attacks". Hexproof maybe an issue, I am using Poachers Mark and a "Mana gain"-Jewel.

Writhing Jar
This unique Flask spawns two worms. Killing the worms instantly will trigger our "Raise Spiders" Skill. Use it when you have only a few Spiders up and near some corpses laying next to you.

Desecrate+spell cascade
On Single Target encounters you will have no chance to sustain your Spiders. In our second Helmet we socket Desecrate + spell cascade. Using it will spawn corpses, combined with Writhing Jar and an instant Molten Strike will raise up your mad little friends.

In a nutshell: 1. Desecrate 2. Writhing Jar 3. Molten Strike 4. Profit

Mana Reservation
We want to run Herald of Agony on a 6L and Hatred + Generosity.
A 6L Herald has to high Mana Reservation. We will need the "Circle of Nostalgia" to put the Mana Reservation down to 40% to 45% and a Enlighten Gem (2+) supporting our Hatred Aura to leave up enough unreserverd Mana to be able to attack and use our utility skills. We want 100+ Mana for a smooth playing experience.

Elemental Equilibrium
We do Fire Damage with our Molten Strike. Our Minions do Cold Damage with Hatred. On top we use Abyssal Jewels with Cold and Lightning damage for minions, never with Fire damage. This damage will be buffed via EE.

A huge damage boost for our build!

Necessary Items

Arakaalis Fang (Spiders)

Elder Gloves (Faster Attacks and Poison support)

Circle of Nostalgia (reducing Mana Reservation for Herald of Agony)


Recommended Items

Victario’s Charity (buffing our minions with Frenzy and Power charges)

Speakers Wreath

Atziri’s Steps (spell dodge)

Elder Unset Ring with Poacher’s Mark on Hit


Other Slots
Take everything you are missing on the other Items, such as Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances

Helmet
Speaker’s Wreath on Maps, rare Bone Helmet on tough/phased/long lasting boss encounters like Shaper Guardians, Kitava on Lava Lake, Shaper, Uber Elder...

Speakers Wreath will grant you the kill on the monsters because of the “Minions Hits can only kill ignited enemies”. You will gain frenzy charges because of Blood Rage and/or Poacher’s Mark (see the Ring section) and you will be able to trigger the Arakaalis Fang “Raise Spiders” now.


See Gem Section for different Gem setups for mapping and bossing on your helmets.

You can craft a good Bone Helmet using pristine and jagged Fossils:


Budget Version: not necessary. They are cheap. Speakers Wreath is about 1 Chaos, my first Bone Helmet was 5C.

Mainhand
Arakaalis Fang. Take the cheapest you can get.


Budget Version: not available.

Offhand
Victario’s charity. Look for a nice Max-Life-roll on this.


Budget Version: medium rolled Victario's charity are 1C.

Body Armour
A rare Body Armour with Life and Resists will do the job. Look for Armour and Evasion Bases, our HoA setup will be RRRGGB.


Budget Version: 5L instead of 6L.

Belly of the Beast could be a good option, too.

Gloves
We need a pair rare Elder Gloves with “socketed gems are supported by Lvl ## Poison” and “socketed gems are supported by Lvl ## Faster Attacks”. Our Molten Strike setup will be placed here.

Look on Maxlife and Resistances if you can afford.

Budget Version: Elder Gloves with either Faster Attacks or Poison support. Cut Ancestrall Call for the missing support Gem.

Belt
Take a Stygian Vise with Maxlife and Resistances.


Other Option: Gluttony https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Gluttony

Budget Version: Take a Stygian Vise with less Maximum Life or a Belt of the Deceiver.

Boots
Atziri’s Steps are the first option. They come with Maxlife, high Evasion Rating, Movement Speed and spell dodge. We are a little weak on elemental damage, so dodging nasty fire balls and other unpleasant spells will longer our life.


Budget Version: Rare Boots with some Maxlife, Resists and Movement Speed.

A good pair of rare boots will be a good choice, too and will us get rid of Resistance issues.


Ring 1
Take a rare Elder Ring with Poacher’s Mark on Hit. Maxlife and resists are the icing on the cake here.


Other Option

A rare Elder Ring with "Life gain on hit" and Mana gain on hit. Maybe expensive.


Budget Version: Rare Ring with Life and Resists.

Ring 2
We need a “Circle of Nostalgia” with as much reduced Mana Reservation on Herald of Agony as possible. “Agony Crawler deals ##% increased damage” is nice, but can be a bit expensive.


Budget Version: Circle of Nostalgia is a MUST. But without Agony Crawler Damage affordable

Amulet
A rare Amulet with Maxlife and resists is a good option here. Otherwise a “Sidhebreath” for more minion damage or a “Bisco’s Collar” are alternative.



Budget Version: Sidhebreath

Flasks
We take a Life Flask, a Stibnite Flask, a Quartz Flask and a Writhing Jar. You should have one bleeding and one curse removal Flask. My Life Flask has ignite removal on it.


The fifth Flask is your own choice. I am playing with two “Writhing Jar” Flasks atm. But Quicksilver, Jade or any other defensive Flask will fit in here well.

Jewels
You need one Wildfire Jewel, look for the 1% reduced Mana Reservation corruption.

Budget Version: Take your Quest rewarded Wildfire.


On rare jewels you can obtain missing Resistances. Good Mods are “Minions have #% to blind enemies on hit”, “2% chance to dodge attack and spell hits if you were hit recently” and “+2 Mana gained for each Enemy hit by your attacks”.

Otherwise look for maximum life, Minion attack speed, Minon Cold/Lightning/phys/Chaos Damage

Body Armour
Herald of Agony, Empower, Damage on Full Life, Maim, Pierce/Vicious Projectiles, Minion Damage

Best combination concerning damage and Mana Reservation. Vicious Projectiles for Single Target, Pierce for Mapping.

Gloves
Molten Strike, Life Gain on Hit, Ancestrall Call, Greater Multiple Projectiles

Lots of Balls, lots of Virulance stacks, ton of Life recovery.

Boots
Shield Charge, Blood Magic, Fortify, Faster Attacks
Movement Setup + Fortify

Helmet
Mapping (Speakers Wreath):
Cast when Damage taken (Lvl 1) + Immortal Call (Lvl 3)
CWDT + IC

Blood Rage
Blood Rage for Attack Speed and Frenzy Charge generation.

Convocation
Convocation for controlling Minions.

Helmet for long lasting encounters (Bone Helmet):
Convocation + Blood Rage

Spell Cascade + Desecrate
Spawning Corspes to raise Spiders using Writhing Jar Flask

Shield
Hatred + Generosity + Enlighten
More Damage for our little friends.

Ring
Flesh offering
Crack for our Minions. FREAK OUT BOYS!

The enchantments are not as powerful for our build as for others, but there are some interesting options granting QoL, some DPS or some little Defense enhancements:

Helmet:
Not really important, but "Agony Crawler fires 2 Additional Projectiles" (best DPS option), "Herald of Agony has ##% reduced Mana Reservation", "Blood Rage grants Additional 12% increased Attack Speed"(best Defense Option because of more MS-Balls) or "Hatred has ##% reduced Mana Reservation" would be nice to have.

Gloves:
No Cold or Lightning Damage here, a nice enchant is "Commandment of Reflection".

Boots:
No Cold or Lightning Damage of course.

"Attack and Cast speed if you have killed recently", "% to Dodge Attack/spell hits if you have taken a Critical Strike/spell damage recently" and "regenerate ##% of Life and Mana per second if you were Hit recently" are the best choices. "chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite" could be an issue with our Speakers Wreath Helmet, so I am not sure if it fits.

Ascendancy:
1. Unflinching (Endurance Charge generation)
2. Unrelenting (better defenses with endurance charges)
3. Unstoppable (stun and freeze immunity, immune to slow effects)
4. Unbreakable (more damage mitigation and adds some lifereg)

The order is not really important. I took Unstoppable first and unbreakable last.

Bandits:
Kill all for 2 passive points.

Pantheon:

Upgrading all used Pantheon Powers is not very difficult, but provides some welcome defensive improvements.

Major:
Soul of Arakaali (life reg using the Blood Rage + Immortal Call synergy)


Minor:
Soul of Shakari (mapping) Poison immunity and helps against Chaos Damage

Soul of Ralakesh (Lab) helps against traps

Soul of Yugul (Uber Elder) some cold damage mitigation

Early Game
Leveling with Herald of Agony is very easy. Play until Lvl 34 as a melee and buy a Mortem Morsu Claw. Put Herald of Agony (HoA + Melee Physical Damage + Minion Damage + Damage on full life) and Molten Strike (Molten Strike + lesser/greater multiple projectiles + faster attacks + Ancestrall Call /Life gain on hit) on a 4L and you will have no issues until Lvl 70. While progressing you can keep you eyes open to buy a nice 5L Chest with some Life and Resistances.

Don't forget to get your Wildfire Jewel as a quest reward in Act 5.

Skill Tree
Go to the Scion Life wheel early, but don't skill all of the Life-Nodes there. Move up and upper left to take the few Minion Nodes and take two Jewel Slots, one for your Wildfire Jewel and one for a Mana Gain on hit Jewel if you need. Move to Acrobatics and Phase Acrobatics while doing Act 5-8.

If you are lacking Life you can take more Life Nodes first, if not fill the other Nodes on the passive tree.
From Lvl 70-80 you can grab some Jewel Slots and the missing Life Nodes until your tree is completet.

Useful hint
You can craft a rare Claw with Life + Mana gain on hit with Minion Damage for better performance (use bound fossil) and use Poison support on Molten Strike.

Buy Speakers Wreath, fix your Resistances after finishing the story mode with rare Ring, Belt and Amulet and you are ready for Maps.
Start mapping and save up your currency for Arakaalis fang, a pair of Elder Gloves, a Cricle of Nostalgia and a rare 6L Chest.