[3.10] Elementalist Storm Brand bomber-Heralds Just Got Better!!!

Do you enjoy playing autobomber? Are you frustrated that even mirror tier autobomber build can't take on end game bosses? Do you wanna try an autobomber build that is not an assassin? Do you want to see what it feels like to dual wield Shimmerons and be like a god?

If yes, look no further. Welcome to my Elementalist Storm brand semi-autobomber build. It is an all-content build viable as a League starter. I have done >100 T16 maps, farmed Uber Elder and completed other endgame contents without any problem.




3.9 Changes
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Overall, insignificant changes. Elementalist with golemancer ascendancy is untouched and still a god. The build is fully viable and ready for 3.9.

Specifically:

1. Inspiration was nerfed a bit but the effect is insignificant. The nerf is negated by the new and power-creeping Awaken controlled destruction gem.
2. Orb of storm and onslaught support were also nerfed, but the leveling should still be very smooth.
3. None of the core uniques received changes.
4. Rare wands were buffed due to the increase in Spell Damage modifiers as well as added flat damage to spells, making this build even more favorable as a league starter when Shimmerons aren't quite available.
5. On the other hand, the "Elemental Damage added as extra Chaos Damage modifiers" has been significantly nerfed (halved), making rare wands less optimal as endgame weapons. Comparatively, our Shimmerons are stronger than ever!
6. The lower tier Reduced Reflected Physical and Elemental Damage Taken modifiers on Body Armours now grants 100% reduced Reflected Elemental or Physical Damage taken. This provides an easy solution to ele reflect maps.
7. Looks like all bosses are buffed as a result of power-creeping from past leagues. Also endgame boss encounters are RARER, which means we need to kill them when we see them. No problems, as storm brands are one of the best boss killing skills in POE.
8. We are off-meta (again). This means cheap gear/fossil, fast progression, and MORE CURRENCY.
9. Speaking from experience, no matter how strong melee or bow builds look, spell casters will ALWAYS BE JUST AS STRONG, if not stronger.



3.10 Changes
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Lots of interesting cluster passive points that can augment our Heralds damage or golem buffs. No nerfs to elementalist or this build. I will not be using this build as my league starter this league (gonna try BV poision), but this build either the 3.8 or 3.9 version should work just fine.


Game play videos
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T16 Hydra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM8Jk7pgjmw&feature=youtu.be
(Thanks to FairgravesCanSuckIt)

T16 Elder Glacier (with Headhunter)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyHtu2LtGKs&feature=youtu.be
(Thanks to FairgravesCanSuckIt)



Endgame gears changed for 3.9!!! See Gearing for more info


Change log
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12/25/19: 3.9 gear/skill tree added.
12/06/19: FAQ section has been posted.
11/23/19: Gem progressions as a League starter have been posted.
10/24/19: T16 hydra video linked, thanks to FairgravesCanSuckIt.
10/20/19: Min-maxed gears added. POB changed. Added Vaal discipline to get more ES. Currently sitting at 8.1k eHP.


Intro (Please read this first)
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What is an Autobomber build?

An autobomber build uses Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder to trigger each other and as a result, you just need a skill to initiate the process, and from then on it pretty much became autonomous, hence the name "Autobomber"

Why not assassin?

Traditional Assassin Autobomber builds are good at clearing but not so good with bosses. Also to get into T15s and up, gearing can get quite expensive, and it often feels squishy (because pretty much have to use Coming Calamity). Personally, I enjoy a somewhat budge build (below 7 ex) that can clear fast and take on all end-game contents, especially Uber-Elder, because I like farming them brothers. It can be difficult for an assassin autobomber to do that.

Why elementalist?

A. Reduced Heralds mana reservation so that we don't have to use Coming Calamity. We use a rare armour to get more life/ES.

B. Because we use two Shimmerons to give the two Heralds skills crit chance, we need high life/ES regen to combat the side effects. Golems take care of that, and they also give 40% MORE damage to both heralds, and not many ascendencies can do that.

Core Build Mechanics?

1. We dual wield Shimmerons and use 6 power charges to give both Herald skills and strom brand +3.6% crit chance and +120% crit multi.

2. To combat the degen (-600 life/sec) from Shimmerons, we use stone golem and scale the heck out of golem buff effect for being a Elementalists. We use primordial chain, anima stone and two others primordial jewels to get 9 golems total, and > %500 effect of buff granted by golems.

3. With the ascendancy "Mastermind of Discord" we get 25% reduced mana reservation for heralds. This means we can use both herald skills without Coming Calamity. The damage is lower yes, but it is enough to clear T16 maps.

4. Bosses and beefy rares won't die to the heralds. That's alright we also got storm brands. Use brand recall to recast them without having to stop in mapping. This is a semi-autobomber build but not having to stop and cast. For bosses, storm brands melt them, and you have nothing else to do besides dodging/running clockwise, making it quite easy.



Contents I have done with this build
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All guardians deathless
Uber Elder deathless
Delve 250+ (Can definitely go deeper)
T14 Blighted Maps (So easy, brand skills are perfect for this league mechanic)




Pro's & Con's
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+ Budget Friendly (3-4 ex to get started, ~15 ex to min-max)
+ Scale well into the end game
+ Fast and satisfying clear
+ 2-3 M Shaper DPS with Storm brand
+ Immune to elemental aliments
+ >30 % physical damage reduction (Chaos golem)
+ 39 % chance to block spell hits (dual Shimmerons)



- Golems die occasionally to Leagion rares/Minotaur. Kill them before they kill you.
- 7-8 K eHP, not the highest, but high phys damage reduction and spell block makes it a pretty beefy build.
- No ele-reflect map
- No regen/60% less recovery map can be annoying but doable with Cinderswallow Urn



Gearing (3.9 updated!!!)
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3.9 My endgame Gear
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Changes from 3.8:

1. Swapped Primordial Chain for Presence of Chayula since Chaos resist is much needed from now on, and golems die too often with Primodial chain. Our survivbility is improved as a result, but at the expense of lower DPS. However, it is enough for every content this games have to offer. I have tried Sirus twice but haven't succeeded. The DPS isn't the problem. His beams are.

2. As a result, we only use 1 Shimmeron now due to insufficient regen. It is not a huge DPS nerf, 15 % less damage.

3. You can use the same shaper helmet as before. Mine isn't necessary, but it saves point on the skill tree as I do not need to grab reduced mana reservation node to run both heralds and discipline.

4. Minor tree change:
https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAABAMCAAECAuMEBwceB6UI9A3RDkgPxBBYEQ8RUBGWFkAWbxo4HRQfAiAGIvQkLSSqJy8qCyoTLJww-DHvMjQyWDNsNsU6WDrYOw07Pzt8QjpJUUmxSbJMi0zfTq5QMFONVUtVxlnzWitca13yYShh4mNDZp5qQ2wLbRlwUnGFcg92EXvXfq9_xoIQgpuD24PzhEiFfYbKidOMNo0ZjmSPRpBVkPqTJ5Uum6GfSKEvogCio6VnpyusmK4Srv-xNrb6uMq7AbzqvorDE8Nt1AfVptfP2V_audte3I3djN9t37DgEuNq44Tk7O9L74jv6_DV96b3wffX-Tf60g==?accountName=wodeljn&characterName=Nitrophenolacetone

Balance between ES and DPS as you see fit. I would shoot for 7.5K eHP.

5. 3.9 POB:

https://pastebin.com/u4BSwfjF






3.8 My current Gear
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Core Uniques
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Note: Get +10% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Power Charge on both Shimmerons. They are very cheap. Get Low rolls on less life for Golems on primordial chain.


Shaper Helmet
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Note: For the Shaped Helmet, need to get +3% critical strike change to socked spells, as well as supported by Innervate. This is where we get psedo-5 links for both Heralds. Then get as much life/ES as you can. I bought mine for 2 ex. Key note: Do not get supported by Increase Area of Effect, or your mana-reservation will exceed 100%. We got plenty increased AOE from Pendulum of Destruction

Cheaper alternative: The Tempest's Binding. However, you'd have to drop Discipline as the mana reservation wont't be enough, so less eHP pool.





Unique Timeless Jewel:
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Note: 18% more spell damage, and we can't generate frenzy charges anyway. However, you can get two frenzy charges from two rings by crafting "+1 to minimum frenzy charge".


Shaped Ring:
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Curse with Assassin's mark on hit. Greatly increases your heralds' crit chance hence the ping-pong of the two heralds, so it is almost a must.


The other rare ring, body armour, gloves, belt and boots
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Stats priority: Life > ES> Resists > Dex/Strength.

Armour: 6-linked Vaal Regalia is relatively cheap due to the div card "The Ethereal". On the armour, get "Gain 10% of Maximum Life as Extra Energy Shield", amazing mod for hybrid life-ES build. I crafted mine with just dense fossil and then multimod. Offensive option would be a Shaped Vaal Regalia crafted with "supported with level 1 arcane surge" and/or "+# crit chance to spells". This can be fossil crafted with Aetheric Fossil + Dense Fossil (both are pretty cheap). However, honestly the extra damage isn't needed.

Boots: Good movement speed on boots always help with clear speed. The rests are just fill in the resist and dex that you need.

Rare rings: Can craft "+ 1 to minimum frenzy charge", decent boost to DPS.





Gem Setup
Spoiler


Armour:
5L: Storm brand- Inspiration- Conc effect - Power charge on crit - Energy Leech
6L: Storm brand- Inspiration- Conc effect - Power charge on crit - Energy Leech-Controlled Destruction



Helmets:

Herald of ice-Herald of thunder-Added cold damage-increased critical strikes


Gloves and boots:

Lightning golem - Fire golem - Ice golem - minion life support

Stone golem - Chaos golem - Brand recall - Empower (lev 3-4)

Weapons 1:

CWDT (lev 1)-Immortal call (lev 3)- Wave of conviction (lev 1)

Weapons 2:

Flame dash (lev 20) - arcane surge (lev 5), Vaal Discipline (unlinked, to get over 7.5 K eHP fairly easily)

Unset rings:

Phase run





Passive Tree and leveling tips


Ascendancy
Spoiler


Liege of the Primordial > Elemancer > Pendulum of Destruction > Mastermind of Discord




Bandits, Pantheons, Anointment
Spoiler


Bandits: Kill all
Pantheons: Soul of Lunaris, Soul of Shakari (Can use other minor gods as well.)
Anointment: I took Explosive runes to save points it is also very cheap to anoint.




Play style
Spoiler
You phase run/flame dash from pack to pack, and recall your brand as you go, your heralds/brands will shock/shatter pretty much everything. Very smooth and lay back play style.
Bossing: Storm brands are one of the best boss killing skills. You cast them onto the bosses, and wait for them to die. With 2-3 M shaper DPS coming from this build, you can easily instant phase Uber-Elder. This is the first build I did uber elder deathless


POB
Spoiler


3.8 with primordial chain: https://pastebin.com/TfuTsvw5
3.9 with Presence of Chayula: https://pastebin.com/u4BSwfjF






League Starter Guide
Spoiler


First of all, storm brand is already a very good league starter skill. So if you prefer not wasting respect points/skill gem levels, feel free to use SB as the main skill for leveling/mapping. For detailed info, like really detailed, check out this guide by ShermanDiablo

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2323815

My personal choice, however, is orb of storm/wave of conviction. This is similar to the current racing meta, where an orb of storm/wave of conviction set up is eventually achieved in Act 3, and the same gem set up can be used all the way to mapping. With some minor skill refund, you will be able to switch over to the skill tree of this build. It is faster compared to storm brand leveling.

The gem progression will be discussed since the gear is almost inconsequential here, except you want to cap your resist ASAP. Also movement speed boots won't hurt.

Video guide (Credits to CatmasterOP, this guide is amazing)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTju5TLRNYg

Racing video with similar setup (Credits to Tytykiller)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srfn1qAQReY

Act 1
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Start with a Scion first, who will act as a mule to get a free Onslaught from the first mission. After that log out and start your witch.

Gem progression:

B-B-G (Freezing Pulse - Arcane Surge (lvl 1) - Onslaught) and
B-B-G (Stormblast mine - Empty - Empty) This is your singe target DPS skill.
---
B-B-G (Frost bomb - Arcane Surge (lvl 1) - Onslaught) and
B-B-G (Stormblast mine - Empty - Empty)
B (Frost blink)
G (Smoke mine) Not required but will boost your movement speed A LOT.
---
B-B-G (Orb of storm - Added lightning damage - Onslaught) and
B-B-G (Stormblast mine - Add lightning damage- added cold damage)
B-B (Flame dash-Arcane Surge (lvl 1))
G (Smoke mine) Not required but will boost your movement speed A LOT.
---
B-B-G (Orb of storm - Added lightning damage - Onslaught) and
B-B-G (Stormblast mine - Add lightning damage- added cold damage)
B-B-B (Arc-Added lightning damage - Arcane Surge (Can be leveled up now) )
B-B (Flame dash-Arcane Surge (lvl 1))
G (Smoke mine)

Gear-wise, use the vendor recipe to get wand with flat lightning damage:

1x Magic Sceptre/Wand + Topaz Ring + 1x Orb of Alteration


Act 2
Spoiler


B-B-G (Orb of storm - Added lightning damage - Onslaught) and
B-B-G (Stormblast mine - Add lightning damage- added cold damage)
B-B-B (Arc-Added lightning damage - Arcane Surge (Can be leveled up now) )
B-B (Flame dash-Arcane Surge (lvl 1))
G (Smoke mine)
G (Herald of ice)
B (Herald of thunder)
---
B-B-G-B (Orb of storm - Added lightning damage - Onslaught - Ele focus) and
B-B-G-B (Stormblast mine - Add lightning damage- added cold damage/Trap and Mine Damage Support - Ele focus/controlled destruction )
B-B-B-B (Arc-Added lightning damage - Arcane Surge - Ele focus/controlled destruction )
B-B-B (Flame dash-Arcane Surge (lvl 1) - faster casting)
G (Smoke mine)
G (Herald of ice)
B (Herald of thunder)

4-links are not required. 3-link at this point is still plenty damage.
---
B-B-G-B (Orb of storm - Added lightning damage - Onslaught - Ele focus) and
B-B-G-B (Stormblast mine - Add lightning damage- Trap and Mine Damage Support - Ele focus/controlled destruction)
B-B-B-B (Wave of conviction-Added lightning damage - Arcane Surge - Ele focus/controlled destruction)
B-B-B (Flame dash-Arcane Surge (lvl 1) - faster casting)
G (Smoke mine)
G (Herald of ice)
B (Herald of thunder)

Note: here you pretty much have the orb of storm/wave of conviction setup done. Feel free to switch out the different damage support gem if the colors don't fit/per your choice. The damage will be there.


Act 3
Spoiler


1. Grab Conductivity curse (quest reward). Use it on bosses
2. Buy Lightning spire trap and replace stormblast mine. Or you can keep both on a 4-link, which is a huge burst of damage for boss fight, but more buttons to click.

As such, your gem setup will look sth like this at the end of Act 3:

B-B-G-B (Orb of storm - Added lightning damage - Onslaught - Ele focus) and
B-B-G-B (Lightning spire trap - Add lightning damage- Trap and Mine Damage Support - Ele focus/controlled destruction)
B-B-B-B (Wave of conviction-Added lightning damage - Arcane Surge - Ele focus/controlled destruction)
B-B-B (Flame dash-Arcane Surge (lvl 1) - faster casting)
G (Smoke mine)
G (Herald of ice)
B (Herald of thunder)
B (Conductivity)

From here and on, cap your resist, get more life and movement speed. Upgrade your wands if needed, but the truth is you won't need it until way later.

In act 4 you will get Golems. Lightning golem > fire golem > stone golem > chaos golem > ice golem. Fit them in as you see fit. Once you grab the golem acendancy nodes, you essentially enter god-mode and monsters die so fast.



Skill tree:




FAQs
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How are you summoning your golems?

Spoiler

Either 2-2-2-2-1 no particular order. Or 5 stones golems and 1 each of the rest


Viable as a league starter?

Spoiler

For sure. Check out the League Starter section


My golems die sometimes

Spoiler

Make sure the less tanky golems (ice, lightning, fire golems) are linked to Minion life support. If the issue persists you can spend some skill points on Minion life. Sometimes if the blight map has insane amount of physical monsters the golems will die, unfortunately. They are immune to elemental damage so Shaper/Elder can't really touch them. Different story when it comes to physical monsters.


Sirus viable?

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"
rogier66 wrote:
If anyone's wandering about Sirus - just killed him on A8. Until last phase the fight is easy and you shouldn't die till then. And last phase is all about knowing where the boss is and reacting to voice cues - big "DIE" line and his voice transforming from "talking through your nose Sirus" to "big edgy Sirus" are both beams you have to dodge. Best way to dodge is strafing with flames dash(moving to his sides).
Cutedog has a great vid on youtube explaining mechanics of this fight





Concluding remarks
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I enjoy building around off-meta, unpopular uniques items and/or skills. Check out my Youtube to see if there is a build you like:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKjg_P-r0IfTZwF-bp8C2DA?view_as=subscriber

Here are my other build guides:

Occultist "Triple D"- DancingDuo/Doedre' skin (outdated)
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2659375

Elementalist Storm Brand-Autobomber:
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2666929

Lone Messenger HOA Fire BV Assassin
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2821501

Poison Assassin CoC Bladefall
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2785163

Dance with Death Cyclone + Varunastra Assassin
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2809746

All U Need is One Good SWEEP: Big Sweep + Shockwave JUGG
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2817450

Impale Stone Golemancer Build
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2841742


If you like the content, you can consider buying me a coffee:)

ko-fi.com/wodekofi

Thank you!
Last edited by wodeljn on Apr 20, 2020, 9:29:16 PM
Last bumped on Jul 21, 2020, 7:55:56 PM
Build looks great and I'm leveling to try it now! How is the survivability?

Also I noticed you had pain attunement and low life in PoB but I don't see how that is enabled?
"
x23dong wrote:
Build looks great and I'm leveling to try it now! How is the survivability?

Also I noticed you had pain attunement and low life in PoB but I don't see how that is enabled?


The survivability isn't bad and I mostly die due to lags. Also tend to die when golems are killed by legion rares, just gotta kill them before they kill you. Pain attunement is transformed into Inner Conviction via Militant Faith socketed within range.
Min-maxed gears updated. Minor skill tree changes. Added discipline to get more eHP.
Can you record a movie or two? Perfect two movies that will actually close all the questions -- the rest would be just flavour -- is one non-chimera guardian to show both map clear and boss damage, and Uber Elder. The second is not needed for me, I know that storm brand Uber Elder is a breeze. But I'm very interested in looking at T16 process.

UPDATE: read that you can't go videos, sorry, didn't notice at first read.
Last edited by dim.kiriyenko on Oct 21, 2019, 1:14:31 AM
"
dim.kiriyenko wrote:
Can you record a movie or two? Perfect two movies that will actually close all the questions -- the rest would be just flavour -- is one non-chimera guardian to show both map clear and boss damage, and Uber Elder. The second is not needed for me, I know that storm brand Uber Elder is a breeze. But I'm very interested in looking at T16 process.


My current laptop won't allow me to record :( I will upload these videos once I get a new one in a few weeks. Non-chimera guardians took 6-8 seconds depending on map mods, with 2.5 M Shaper DPS this makes sense. It is not the highest of DPS but will suffice.
How are you summoning your golems? multiple stone and 1 of each of the rest?
ign Nevur
"
Dezyr wrote:
How are you summoning your golems? multiple stone and 1 of each of the rest?


I don't think it matters as long as there is at least one of each. They all got similar life pools. Stone would be the most important so having several of those would be the safest option.
G'day pal,

I did this build of yours, it's pretty spectacular. Great job on the build, and I've done a little video of a hydra kill for you to demonstrate its power. My PoB is slightly different to yours, just because of gearing mainly. I snuck Precision onto the build, no Herald of Ash. PoB: https://pastebin.com/nZTvBdVv Good stuff, once again.

Video: https://youtu.be/kM8Jk7pgjmw
"It's time to espionagerate! Espionify? Espi- Time to talk!"
"
G'day pal,

I did this build of yours, it's pretty spectacular. Great job on the build, and I've done a little video of a hydra kill for you to demonstrate its power. My PoB is slightly different to yours, just because of gearing mainly. I snuck Precision onto the build, no Herald of Ash. PoB: https://pastebin.com/nZTvBdVv Good stuff, once again.

Video: https://youtu.be/kM8Jk7pgjmw


Thanks Pal, your video has been linked in the build. Precision is good, especially if you can get the watcher's eye jewel with + crit multi when affected by Precision, would be a decent damage boost. A small tip: when fighting hydra, try to flame dash right behind her that way she can't hit you and it makes it easier to dodge the water balls, from my experience :).

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