[3.7] Scion Power Siphon | 2-4M+ Shaper DPS | Budget Clear up to T16

DISCLAIMER:As of 3.10 pre-release we may expect some changes to wanders. However, since 3.9 there was the addition of "Barrage Support" which greatly enhances our damage.
Another thing to point out even before 3.10 changelog is the changes in Ascendancy this built has overtaken! Scion (3.7) -> Raider (3.8) -> Assassin (3.9/19);
The assassin ascendancy is just way more powerfull for using power charges and crits. This build went from 2-4M shaper DPS to 5M+ DPS with minor changes (pre-3.10). Another version of this build will be found under the Shadow category on 3.10's release. Thank you.


3.8 Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER:As of 3.8 release there were no real buffs for Scion (Ascendant) and raider got buffed just enought to make it have better DPS overall and a lot more survivability.
3.8 Build is going to be Raider League Starter with 3.5M DPS (2.5M Shaper DPS) and even more budget! Thank you for understanding, hopefully Scion will be better for this build in the future :)

PoB for the Raider version: https://pastebin.com/JJ67R95w


1 - INTRO:
Firstly, I'd like to point out that this is my first build guide on a build I've came up with, although I have PoB folders with loads of builds and clunky fun mechanics, this is the first one simple enough and easy to understand and play with and therefore I've decided to write a guide on.This build is currently a work in progress build (this guide is getting updated regularly though).
The motivation behind the making of this build is that Power Siphon has alwyas been an underwhelming skill to use as Kinetic Blast has always been the better option for every wander for clear speed (due to 4 explosions on hit). The second reason behind the making of this build is the fact that although there are great Scion builds out there, the number of scion builds is still very low and although I've made a small number of builds of my own, I felt like contributing to the Scion build pool with a different build using a lesser used skill. The third reason is that in 3.3 Power Siphon was slightly buffed while Kinetic Blast was slightly nerfed in 3.4. Finally, the last reason behind making this build is because 3.8 is likely be focused on either a Bow or a Wand rework/overhaul.
Having that said, what is shown on this post is based on the 3.7.- patch and might get better on 3.8 and worst case scenario will be the same, since Power Siphon is so bad atm that it wont get nerfed anytime soon.

This is a fun build to show some love to Power Siphon, it still should do all content in the game and have a above average clear speed while on a budget (Inpulsa being optional).

2 - PROS & CONS:
Pros:
+Satisfactory Shatters and Blasts;
+Awesome clear speed;
+Budget as League Starter;
+SSF is more than possible (w/o inpulsa);
+Scaling can reach 3M+ dps and 6k eHP;
+Somewhat beginner friendly;
+Extremely flexible & customizable;
+Smack'em with 1 click = screen clear;
+It's scion, it's sexy;

Cons:
-Single target isn't amazing;
-Survivability can be an issue;
-Not an HC build;
-KB is probably still better;
-Scaling is not top-tier;

3 - MECHANICS:
1) Power Siphon generates power charges on killing mobs and on hitting rares and uniques, benefiting from 'Elder Power' node. Therefore with this skill we always have power charges. We scale with power charges, 10% crit multi per power charge as well as 10% increased dmg per power charge and you can also get Elder wand suffix 'of the Elder' which gives us 10% increased damage per power charge.

2) Power Siphon also has integrated Culling Strike, which makes this skill essentially a 2L by itself, but there's more...

3) Vaal power siphon already was a good enough skill, it clears the whole screen and can't be evaded.

4) Power Siphon fires 8 additional projectiles at lvl 21, making it 9 projectiles effectively and therefore there is no need for GMP, saving us another useful link, unlike the Kinetic Blast counterpart.
We already have a 4L skill in a single gem (Power Siphon + GMP + Cull + PCoC), doesn't it sound good enough already?

5) With HoI shatters we enhance our clearspeed a bit, combined with Inpulsa's effect we have ice and shock explosions for that extra crispy clear experience.

6) Speaking of shatter and shock, with 95%-100% crit chance we have 95%-100% chance to freeze/chill and shock.

7) Last but not least, power siphon has another special mechanic, besides being a 4L in one gem: projectiles aim themselves at the enemies. This means that you don't even have to aim to the mob packs, the projectiles automatically go to them individually.

8) Extra: Although not intended, don't be ashamed to use Barrage with Ele Focus for single target in case you feel like power siphon alone isn't enough. Shock with power siphon and blast bosses with Barrage. If you plan on playing like this (wont Reccomend due to links and mechanics), you'll want to get some 5L Gloves with 'Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 18 Slower Projectiles / 20% Increased Projectile Damage' and Sacrifice other gem combos.

4 - GAMEPLAY / PLAYSTYLE:
This build is played like most wanders, however there are some things to keep in mind..
Point Blank- Although we have 'Point Blank' our damage is still great at the distance (unlike with Kinetic Blast counterpart) this gives us the advantage to clear yellow mobs in one or two shots at t15. We can also play bosses safely at the distance: When doing Uber Lab I safely killed izaro's last phase with 4-5 shots at the distance, dodging his first ability and the follow-up. Keep this fact in mind since while you have 'Point Blank' you might want to get close the bosses and face-tank them, this might not be a good idea, keeping the bosses at mid way from you to the edge of the screen keeps you at tons of damage while safe from melee range;
Dodging- It's in your best interest to actively dodge attacks and projectiles, this build suffers from easy 1-shots from physical damage and even some spells so always keep on moving.
Use shield charge for general movement and Flame Dash for dodging.
Click-and-run- After playing for a while you will notice that you pretty much clear the screen with 1 or 2 clicks and therefore for the best map clearing experience you want to click, shield charge, click again, repeat. We're not running 'Queen of the Forest' here, so your clear speed comes from your movement skill.
Panic button- If you accidentally find yourself between 100 mobs after teleporting or opening a strongbox, feel free to shoot up Vaal Power Siphon to instantly clear them all out.
Focus on survival- Don't worry about the damage, play safe, you will clear mob packs in 1 click and yellow mobs with 2-3 clicks, and even when you find a thougher mob, you can still spend 1 second to attack 5 times (5 aps) and he'll probably die anyways.

5 - GEM LINKS:
Main skill:(In order)
Power Siphon (21) - Added Lightning Damage (20) - Elemental Damage w/ Attacks (20) - Added Cold Damage (20) - Slower Proj. (20) OR Fork (20) (Single vs. Clear) - PCoC (20) OR Inc. Crit. Dmg(20);
Power Siphon lvl 21 adds another projectile, optional but reccomended;

Cwdt #1:
Cast when damage taken (7 to 13) - Projectile Weakness (10 to 16) - Summon Ice Golem (9 to 15) - Summon Lightning Golem (9 to 15);


Cwdt #2:
(Alternatively you can self cast Golems and add these instead)
Cast when damage taken (5) - Immortal Call (7) - Cold Snap (10)

Auras (Sorted):
Wrath - Precision (20) - Herald of Ice - Blood Rage

Movement:
Shield Charge - Fortify - Faster Attacks

6 - GEAR:

Helmet:

Starkonja, Devoto's Devotion, Rat's Nest and Crown of Eyes are good unique choices that are easy or cheap to obtain. Besides those, a good rare helmet is the best option to go with.
For the enchantment either get '15% increased Power Siphon Attack Speed' for DPS (Reccomended) or get 'Power Siphon fires 2 additional Projectiles' for smoother map clear.

Chest:

You'll want to get either a good rare chest armour or alternatively and for extra clear you can go with Inpulsa's Broken Heart.
If you're going for a cheap 6L rare prioritize by order: +#(90+) to max. life, +#(100+) total elemental resistances;

Weapons:

Prioritize:
1)Added flat damage;
2)Attack speed;
3)Increased global crit multi;
4)Increased crit chance;
5)Increased lightning damage;

If Elder wand get '5-10% increased damage per Power Charge' as a priority!

Tip: In the final Path of Building setup, swaping the almost mirror-tier wand for a Piscator's Vigil you only lose less than 0.5M Shaper DPS (from 2.3M Shaper DPS to 1.8M Shaper DPS).

Gloves:

Prioritize:
1)Life;
2)Resists;
3)Flat added lightning damage;

Gripped gloves are nice for the projectile damage implicit;

Amulet:

Prioritize:
1)Max life;
2)Crit multiplier;
3)Increased damage with attack skills;
4)Flat added Lightning damage;
5)Resists;

Rings:

Prioritize:
1)Life;
2)Elemental damage;
3/4)Flat added damage;
3/4)Resists;

Alternatively, If you have some extra exalts lying around, you can get Precursor Emblem, Topaz Ring which has 3 mods for power charges. Look for this 3 mods:
-2% Increased Attack and Cast speed per Power Charge;
-5% Increased Damage per Power Charge;
-1/2 to 20 Lightning Damage per Power Charge;

This should cost from 30 to 100 exalts to even a
so it's only theoretical for now.

Boots:

Rare boots are probably the best choice here for capping resists and getting +25% Movement speed minimum, however, there are some unique options that you may consider, such as Inya's Epiphany which give life, damage per power charge and chance to get max power charges when receiving a power charge, which may be useful against bosses.
The rares listed above (as of 15 Aug 2019) are extremely cheap and go for about 1c mid league.

Belt:

A rare belt, both Leather belt or Stygian vise are good options.
Focus on getting 120+ life as well as 80+ total ele res minimum, followed by elemental damage with attacks.

Flasks:

Diamond utility flask is pretty much mandatory, Cinderswallow, Vinktars (Attack Added), Silver and Atziri's Promise are good flasks to boost your DPS.
If taking Diamond and Silver flasks, make sure to roll Bleed and Freeze immuniy (interchangeable).

Jewels:
Prioritize:
1)Increased maximum life;
2)Global crit. multiplier;
3)Attack speed;
4)Flat Lightning and Cold damage;
5)Flat life;
6)Increased lightning damage;

[u]My Gear:[/u]



7 - BANDITS, ASCENDANCY & PANTHEON:

Bandits:
Kill all (Reccomended) or Alira;

Ascendancy:
1)Elementalist - Reflect Immune, Extra Golem, Free 10% Penetration, Shock Buff, Herald Buff;
2)Inquisitor + Templar Path - Free 6% Penetration, Crit multi vs. Shocked, Enemy debuff;

Pantheon:
Your preference really...

8 - PASSIVE TREE:

Tips:
-We go for acrobatics, therefore get Evasion-based gear;
-While leveling go for 'Hired Killer' and 'True Strike' and later on re-spec those for better nodes;
-Early on spec into 'Forces of Nature' and when your tree reaches close to 'Primeval Force', respec 'Forces of Nature' temporarily for 'Primeval Force' as it gives more damage for 4 nodes as well;
-You can spec into 'Wandslinger' early or before getting Uber Lab done, after Uber Lab, respec those 4 passives for the elemental nodes in Templar to get 'Discipline and Training' faster;



9 - POB LINK (as of 16 Aug 2019):
https://pastebin.com/4NfCdWzf
DISCLAIMER:
Build in PoB can be improved by alot! I currently have better items than those listed on PoB! (Except wand!!!)

10 - LEVELING:

Disclaimer: No game progression guide here (such as 'get Normal lab after Piety', etc..), only tree, skill gems and general stuff.

Guide:
-Stock up on leveling items such as: Goldrim, Sadima's Touch, Wanderlust, Lifespring (Swap after getting Storm Prison), Belt of the Deceiver and if you want to use a Tabuila Rasa make sure to also pick up an Atziri's Foible because at 6L you'll be mana dry very often.
-Pick up Power Siphon and socket it, even if you don't want to used it early on, just to level it (not necessary);
-Use Kinetic Blast + Barrage while leveling;
-Swap out Kinetic Blast for your Power Siphon when you get double 'Storm Prison' wands or when you feel like it;
-As mentioned above, spec into 'Hired Killer' and 'True Strike' at the beginning of the tree;
-Try to get a nice 4L in case you're not rocking a Tabula;
-Socket Power Siphon + Added Lightning + Elemental Damage with Attacks + Added Cold OR Slower Proj; (if using Kinetic Blast get LMP or even GMP as the 4th link)
-If using Barrage, socket it with the same supports as Power Siphon; (Barrage will do more damage than power siphon as Single Target at any point in the build!)
-Get jewel slot as soon as you have an 'ok' jewel;
-Get Herald of Ice;
-Only get Wrath when you can sustain your mana;
-You can spec into Acrobatics early on if you feel like it;
-If you draw a line at the center of the Passive tree, you will want to go for the lower half of the tree first, since the upper part of the tree focus on Critical Strikes mostly;
-Only get Vaal Pact when you have good enough damage and picked up 'Blood Drinker';
-You can pick up 'Point Blank' whenever you feel like it;
-When you reach the node before 'Primeval Force', Respec 'forces of Nature' and spec into 'Primeval Force' (You still spec into 'Forces of Nature afterwards when you get more passive points!!);
-Follow the upper side of the tree by getting the power charge nodes on the way. Don't go for 'Assasination' and 'Trickery' just yet;
-Pick up both power charge nodes as well as 'Elder Power';
-Now that we have 5 Power charges up and running at all times, you can spec into critical nodes such as ''Assasination', 'Trickery', 'Heartseeker' and 'Throatseeker'. You can now respec 'True Strike' as we have very high crit chance;
-You should've stopped using Barrage by now as Power Siphon should be able to quasi-melt bosses in no time, saving you a 4L and skill slot;
-At this point you can follow the tree anywhere and even make you own adjustments;

11 - VIDEOS:

Carcass T15 Gameplay sample video:
Spoiler
https://youtu.be/MP5Ei-tI2hU
This video is just to show how the build plays overall, shaper and guardians video coming (eventually, busy irl atm :C)...

? - Q&A/FAQ:
Last edited by Tegraze on Feb 25, 2020, 5:35:53 PM
Last bumped on Nov 29, 2019, 12:05:59 AM
3.8 CHANGES

1st September 2019 thoughts
With 3.8 changes to the Raider ascendancy (Still waiting for Scion changes!!), It's possible that we'll go raider sadly :( for the following reasons:
1) Exposure buff is a free 15% penetration, which is almost the same as 10% + 6% from Elementalist and Inquisitor ascendancies combined;
2) With 'Badge of the Brotherhood' unique item it can probably be possible to scale only frenzy charges and getting power charges to scale as easily;
3) Based on what's said above, it's a lot easier for a ranger to get all frenzy charges compared to scion getting all power charges (and Raider gets +1 Frenzy);
(Just as the 'Masterful form' slayer ascendancy, one caps the other but not the other way around)
4) Every ascendancy offers generic attack damage, attack speed, evasion and even free phasing as well as free dodge (combine that with both acrobatics);
Hopefully we get a buff to Scion's ascendancy as I love Scion and would like this build to continue as a Scion;

3rd September 2019 thoughts
Good news! There are going to be 'Power Charge Clusters' on the passive tree just like there are clusters for endurance and frenzy charges, this will hopefully benefit our build.
Furthermore, depending on the changes for the ascendancies on Scion, we may change from inquisitor to Assasin or Raider.

Final thougths
Unfortunately, Scion didn't get even the slightiest of buffs regarding our build. As of today, the 3.8 Blight build is very likely going to be a Raider for the following reasons:
-Ascendancies are more "direct" in terms of gaining DPS faster;
-Slightly more dps with the same gear and also having 40% attack dodge, more movement speed and other QoL benefits;
-Raider is a lot more budget-oriented. Why? Because raider doesn't rely totally on gear to get through leveling and t10-t15, while at the same time being able to scale really well with 3ex+ pieces of gear.

It's not totally out of the question to use scion, however, raider is slightly better overall now with just about the same DPS with better clear speed and survivability.


3.9 CHANGES

Most important aspect of this patch was the addition of "Barrage Support". Now our pre-awakening main link is as follows (by order):
1) Power Siphon
2) Barrage Support
3) Elemental Damage with Attacks
4) Added Lightning Damage
5) Lightning Penetration
6) Slower Projectiles

The BIS Awakening gems are the same ones but awakened!

The reason we don't pick elemental focus is because we want to shock enemies with crits

Last edited by Tegraze on Feb 25, 2020, 5:30:00 PM
Hi there! Thanks for guide, any videos?
"
jenkirymo wrote:
Hi there! Thanks for guide, any videos?

Hey! I'm working on making some end-game videos, however I'm having limited time irl but will update when they're done! :)
"
Tegraze wrote:
"
jenkirymo wrote:
Hi there! Thanks for guide, any videos?

Hey! I'm working on making some end-game videos, however I'm having limited time irl but will update when they're done! :)

Thats great, but maybe u can load some not endgame? Really need to see how character works in everyday content)
"
jenkirymo wrote:
"
Tegraze wrote:
"
jenkirymo wrote:
Hi there! Thanks for guide, any videos?

Hey! I'm working on making some end-game videos, however I'm having limited time irl but will update when they're done! :)

Thats great, but maybe u can load some not endgame? Really need to see how character works in everyday content)


Here you go! I've just added a video really quick, it's a simple old t15 Carcass map run. Could be a lot faster but was 2AM and I wasn't too worried :)
This is a nice build, but it's not a pseudo 9L, it's not a pseudo-anything. It's a straight 6 link build.

You don't look at gems and go "well this gem can do x, y and z, so it's 3 gems!" and you've gone further than that and called it 4.

Herald of Ice isn't a 2L that is also Added Cold Damage Support.

Pseudo-links are "Socketed gems are supported by level xx yyyyyyy" because those socketed gems are then treated exactly as though there is an extra slot and in that slot there is level 20 Faster Casting Support (for example), along with all modifiers that come with that gem - including the mana multiplier, additional damage or whatever else might be written on that specific gem.

That said I'm pretty sure you already know all this since you wouldn't have shoved a PCoC in there otherwise, what I'm not sure about is why you called it a pseudo 9L.
"
Yvalis wrote:
This is a nice build, but it's not a pseudo 9L, it's not a pseudo-anything. It's a straight 6 link build.

You don't look at gems and go "well this gem can do x, y and z, so it's 3 gems!" and you've gone further than that and called it 4.

Herald of Ice isn't a 2L that is also Added Cold Damage Support.

Pseudo-links are "Socketed gems are supported by level xx yyyyyyy" because those socketed gems are then treated exactly as though there is an extra slot and in that slot there is level 20 Faster Casting Support (for example), along with all modifiers that come with that gem - including the mana multiplier, additional damage or whatever else might be written on that specific gem.

That said I'm pretty sure you already know all this since you wouldn't have shoved a PCoC in there otherwise, what I'm not sure about is why you called it a pseudo 9L.


When I mention it's a pseudo 9L it's because it has a bunch of capabilities that mimic existing skill gems, those being primarily Culling Strike and GMP, with the Power Charge generation not being based on crit however. It's a fun build I made with lots of room for improvement, I didn't know 'Pseudo link' was the 'supported by' shaper/elder mods, never heard them be called or considered 'pseudo link'. I would consider a staff with 'Supported by cwc' a 7L staff not a pseudo 7L.
I called it pseudo 9L mainly for fun and since I had no name for the build itself and you're right it would be rather a pcok than pcoc ahahah. The main reason for socketing pcoc on it is for the non-scalable '4% more damage per power charge' (vs '#% increased damage) since 'more' is poe is better than 'increased' and for better sustain during boss fights. It could be changed for another gem namely 'Increased crirical damage support' OR if relying on Vinktar flask for shocking (not reccomended) you could socket Ele Focus. In the PoB, PCoC is the next gem in order of added damage after ele focus, having ticked 'enemies shocked' config.

In any ways, thank you for your feedback! if you see anything that can be Improved on the build let me know and share your knowledge! :)
There's defenetly a lot of room for changes and contributions are very welcome! Cheers.
pob for Ranger version?
"
Qker wrote:
pob for Ranger version?


Hey there Qker, sorry for the month and a half late reply ahah, will post a PoB and on the second reply on this post next monday :)
Working on a build for 3.9 as well!|
Cheers!

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