Lightning Strike, 1H Sword + Shield (Updated)

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Afghani84 wrote:

nice build!
don't understand why you're not picking up Steel Skin if you're going for IR...

I did, the 1st cluster on Duelist node.
As for the 2nd Steel Skin node below, there's simply not enough points, you need a high DEX for Rapiers & better life regen and damage.

Armor increase is just a bonus to have, picking another steel node is kinda overkill, well you could modify it to your liking though.

Quick question: in your single target load out you list Lightning Strike linked with WEP. Did you mean Weapon Elemental Damage or is WEP something different?

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shankthechicken wrote:

Quick question: in your single target load out you list Lightning Strike linked with WEP. Did you mean Weapon Elemental Damage or is WEP something different?

They are the same, just trying to cluster them into 1 sentence.

Thanks for posting this much needed guidance for a noob Duelist such as myself. I am looking to bring this build to a high level before open beta begins and continue it after launch if it's as fun and effective as it sounds. The passive tree looks really well thought out and I'm excited to continue following this. Thanks again!

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HunterSCtv wrote:

Thanks for posting this much needed guidance for a noob Duelist such as myself. I am looking to bring this build to a high level before open beta begins and continue it after launch if it's as fun and effective as it sounds. The passive tree looks really well thought out and I'm excited to continue following this. Thanks again!

You might not even need Celerity or Armor master for OBT since there's Quick Silver flask for movement speed.

Why start on the stren side? Does lightning strike not get dmg from projectile boost?

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQBAecFLQaiBu4OrRDwFCAUUhR1FSAXHRfcGNsZtCFgI_Yn1Si1KaUqTSzpMbAyCTJ-NDU26DpSOnE_J0CgQ5xHfkp9UEdWBFb6WkhdAGBLYIhhUmMXY6dlTWegbBZuqnRBdO108XrvfPWD24Zgh3aKIo1-l3CbLZwnnrmfy6Cdo-ekwqcwq8Wvore2vqfApsDzwQfB2MKOxFjK08v1zZjOcdRS137dDd1G37_nD-4O7hTvTu_w-KH8S_xO_MU=

Wouldn't this build provide a lot more dmg? This is 2h version, it'd be different as a 1 hander of course.

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AllGodsDie wrote:

Why start on the stren side? Does lightning strike not get dmg from projectile boost?

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQBAecFLQaiBu4OrRDwFCAUUhR1FSAXHRfcGNsZtCFgI_Yn1Si1KaUqTSzpMbAyCTJ-NDU26DpSOnE_J0CgQ5xHfkp9UEdWBFb6WkhdAGBLYIhhUmMXY6dlTWegbBZuqnRBdO108XrvfPWD24Zgh3aKIo1-l3CbLZwnnrmfy6Cdo-ekwqcwq8Wvore2vqfApsDzwQfB2MKOxFjK08v1zZjOcdRS137dDd1G37_nD-4O7hTvTu_w-KH8S_xO_MU=

Wouldn't this build provide a lot more dmg? This is 2h version, it'd be different as a 1 hander of course.

Projectile damage comes from the base damage of the skill, so increasing the base damage will be more beneficial.

From your 2h build, you will be missing defense due to not taking any evasion/armor nodes as well as Hp, 30 Str give u around 15 life.

It's hard to play 2H in HC, if you saw Krip's stream even a veteran like him faces close-call alot of time.

EDITED:
Added more Variations.

My take:



I feel like armor is overrated as the game is currently balanced. It's only advantage is that is works with Unwavering Stance. It still mostly allows criticals and high damage attacks to go through. There are items that provide stun avoidance.

Instead I would prefer buffing Evasion to a reasonable amount with the Leather and Steel nodes along with Arrow Dodging and increased evasion mana pots. Then use a granite flask that still provides 20k armor. This way you could dodge 90% of ranged attacks, while kiting melee mobs with Lightning Strike and popping the flask when things get hairy.

I also picked up Shield Mastery and a couple block nodes because block's power grows exponentially as it increases. A 2% block node will provide 4% damage mitigation once you reach 50% total block.

6L armor = LS + WEP + Faster Attacks + Cold/Fire Damage + Cold/Fire Pen + Life Leech

Cold is probably superior with a fast weapon like the Rapier but it would have to be tested and compared.

I'm not sure if you would need Blood magic in place of the penetration. One of the great things about LS is the trivial Mana cost.

4L = Anger/Grace/Reduced Mana/Blood Magic
4L = Purity/Hatred/Haste/Reduced Mana

Main Curse would need to be Projectile Weakness or a mid level Temporal Chains.

In summation,
Massively buffed LS attacking 4+ times a second.
20k armor granite flask
50% evasion
95% ranged evasion
40% block
4k+ HP

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My take:

Spoiler

Spoiler

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQBmy0XHbe2jX7NmL6nFFJlTUd-hNlY21Pf1e3STcAPapNuadX4xLgs6d0NOrM1hp2quc38xbcXOJZW-t1G_E5jp3RBpMJ3138r1oqbg4TvdO1672BLBS1AoCFgdPHUUgbul3BjF565FSDvTii1YIi_1USesHPstvH0U7sqTT8nbqoyfq6TbPZ6uLc-xq48LQz36dWvbMWK8B-iABRNqWgEszKJd-VX4qZXOuGI8f4K8kXnY2egh3ZKfcEH1340NayvYVIyCRhdKjg=

I feel like armor is overrated as the game is currently balanced. It's only advantage is that is works with Unwavering Stance. It still mostly allows criticals and high damage attacks to go through. There are items that provide stun avoidance.

Instead I would prefer buffing Evasion to a reasonable amount with the Leather and Steel nodes along with Arrow Dodging and increased evasion mana pots. Then use a granite flask that still provides 20k armor. This way you could dodge 90% of ranged attacks, while kiting melee mobs with Lightning Strike and popping the flask when things get hairy.

I also picked up Shield Mastery and a couple block nodes because block's power grows exponentially as it increases. A 2% block node will provide 4% damage mitigation once you reach 50% total block.

6L armor = LS + WEP + Faster Attacks + Cold/Fire Damage + Cold/Fire Pen + Life Leech

Cold is probably superior with a fast weapon like the Rapier but it would have to be tested and compared.

I'm not sure if you would need Blood magic in place of the penetration. One of the great things about LS is the trivial Mana cost.

4L = Anger/Grace/Reduced Mana/Blood Magic
4L = Purity/Hatred/Haste/Reduced Mana

Main Curse would need to be Projectile Weakness or a mid level Temporal Chains.

In summation,
Massively buffed LS attacking 4+ times a second.
20k armor granite flask
50% evasion
95% ranged evasion
40% block
4k+ HP

We expect that Granite flask will be nerf in obt as it already had in alpha, I thought it might be good idea to have a passively high defense.

With Leather and Steel, you probably be using a mix of armor & evasion or hybrid armor/eva gear, which probably means you have average defense & decent evasion with grace, will it work well? No idea on that.

Arrow dodging as it state allows to dodge projectiles at x2 evasion though it's very good against archers, mobs with projectile like constrictors (chaos) & mages (fire/ice/lightning) this passive does not help. Moreover Archers often have curse and added mod to increase their accuracy in maps.

I assume you are using the LS (13 mana base) you listed as a Single target.
Assume LS is 0.33 attack per second, 1s = x3 attacks.

3L - LS + WEP + Faster Atk = 23 (69)Mana
4L - + life leech = 30 (90)Mana
5L - Added Cold = 42 (128)Mana
6L - Cold Pen = 64 (192)Mana

With 100 points Build and I assume u can get 21 skill point max from quest, you will be lvl 79.

Assume with Lv20 Reduce Mana.

At level 79 with your build stat alone:
491 Mana [{(4x79)+40+5)x1.36]
10 Mana Regen/s [(491 x 1.2)/60]
74 Mana Left with Purity/Hatred/Haste with Reduce Mana [(1-(1.2x0.71)) x 491]

Which means you do not have enough Mana to sustain LS even with 3L because you are lacking Mana.

Not to mention it's better to get 5-6 link to Chain/GMP(x2 mana cost) for multi target & 4 links for single target.

So I decided to try this build out in hardcore, what side of the tree would one rush first in early levels? Or if I put it another way, what nodes to get to first, Blood Magic, IR etc.

Thanks, build looks great :)