[1.2] Rathik's EK build +40k DPS/52.3%Crit/+375% Multiplier. Anti-Reflect. "The Immortal Shuriken"

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Ewber wrote:

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toastyy1 wrote:

So I seem to have hit a wall with this build. My DPS went from great to just ok as I am moving into 70+ maps. My only (significant) upgrades seem to be either a 6L or Void Battery, neither of which do I have the currency for.

Get a 20/20 EK (and just level 20 gems in general) asap, besides that, the weapon seems to be the biggest weakness in your gear imo. You could try to find cast speed on jewelry for more dps, or take off life leech gem for an iron will gem and just use potions to heal (depending on map of course) I would say stick to lower level maps or piety/dominus farm runs until you can buy a void battery or a 6 link, shouldn't take too long to farm up. oh and try out faster casting gem instead of faster proj

I haven't followed this build to the letter, but I basically have all the summoner passives. I'm still in the level 50 range so I don't know what things are like in the 70 range. Anyway, I haven't seen a lot of talk about flasks, but I think they're essential for a summoner build. I'd recommend buying or crafting a flask that heals minions and buying a portal gem. I use two flasks to heal my zombies and keep my skeletons pounding on the front line. The portal gem comes in handy for flask refills and keeps an escape route close by if I need it (I hardly ever need it, but in HC I always prepare for the worst). Anyway, I rarely have to raise new zombies or specters.

I am pirating the skill tree of this build to use in my own EK build, since I'm new and still getting used to things. I actually ran a test character, and ran into a problem: the build, as described, is stuck with a Level 2 Ethereal Knives and basic STR or STR/INT armor (in other words, the stuff with no attribute requirements) until level 22! The reason for this is quite simple: the Witch doesn't have the STR or DEX to actually use anything with even minimal STR or DEX requirements. To me, this was unacceptable, so I modified things somewhat in order to boost STR and DEX sooner. Here's what I did:

First, as I was questing during Act 1, I kept an eye on Nessa's stock, looking for a Heavy Belt and a Jade Amulet. These don't become available for purchase until around Level 5, so you won't see them right away. However, once they do show up, snap up the best ones you can find, and upgrade them if you can as her stock updates. Best versions have +30 DEX and +35 STR. These serve as a stopgap measure, allowing us to use better armor and higher levels of Ethereal Knives before we get access to the nodes we need.

The second thing I did was to modify the initial skill tree. The first 16 Skill Points you get are spent like this.

This passes on the initial 3 Life nodes that are available near the Witch's starting point in favor of getting the nearest +30 STR/DEX nodes as quickly as possible. I also elected to continue ignoring the indicated Life nodes in favor of completely eliminating my reliance on any +Attribute gear; while I'm willing to use +Attribute gear, I prefer to do so because it makes my build better, not because my build can't function without it. That took another 8 Skill points, which looks like this.

At this point, I'm at Level 23. I have +44% Spell Damage, +55% Chance to Crit with spells, and +20 to Max Mana. The rest of my nodes give bonuses to INT, STR, and DEX. Not an ideal place to be, I know, but I don't have to worry about my stats until Level 52, and by that time, I'll have gotten at least another 29 points, so I'm pretty much going to have taken care of any other issues well before I have to worry about them. It's just the early game that presents a problem.

Also, I'm probably going to kill all three Bandits in the Normal run of the Bandits quest. As is, the build requires that you get a DEX boost from your gear in order to make use of a Level 20 EK. However, with a single skill point, I'll be able to take the +10 DEX node just south of Conditioning, which will mean that I can use whatever I want instead; I won't have to prioritize something with a DEX increase to allow me to use my primary attack skill.

Anyway, that's just what I'm doing. I don't claim it's the best, or anything close to it. I just felt it was worth noting the early-game issues that this build has, and how I fixed them.

no that was not with iir/iiq gems on. with MF gems on i'm down to around 48k

Hi guys, I've started with shadow and I took the 3nodes of increased elemental dmg, now I'm at lvl 65 and now I ask at the high level players of this build if it was a good choice instead of pick up the 3nodes of increased cast speed..because I see the build of karristo and I starting to doubt it was a good choice, I need a respec?or what?any advice?
Thank you in advance.

Hi I'm interesting in making a cast on crit flicker build... Do you think adding EK to this would work?

Thanks for your extensive post Rathik, pretty cool guide, gonna try it out in the new league :)

Hmm, I need to update this guide :).

Yes please! Would love that.

Updated, read first quote at first page.

almost exactly like my current build, there are some good tips in here, thanks.