HC Ethereal Knives Mara Build

I'm currently halfway through normal at level 33 with my Hardcore EK Maurauder and this is my planned build for the next little while. I went back to farm Vaal several times from level 27 to 31 and i'm sure if I hadn't I would have died for sure.

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgEBAdwFLRRSG_ol3yfVKS426DpSOuE8LT38R35QUFhjWK9fP2BLYSFlTWebdO1343gNerh673y4hNmE74jxjAaMz41-pBmkrKZXqW6uPq6TtfK3Pre2ud2-ir6nxFjGrsbYzZjfv-Lq52PvDvIv8kX2SP4K

There's some cast speed/spell damage nodes in the middle of the tree that aren't too far away, would they both apply to EK late game?

So how viable do you think this build will be while using ethereal knives for end game?

What type of gear should I be looking for to support EK and which gems work best with the skill?

Thanks!

Also where should I be headed in terms of the skill tree late game?

not sure why you don't get fury bolts first. also why not the 1%reg instead of the .4$ ones

this ek build is very viable late game. would probably pickup the templar life stuff next.

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgEBAdwFLRRSG_ol3ykuNug6UjrhPC09_Ed-UFBYY1ivXz9gS2EhZU1nm3Ttd-N4DXq4eu98uITZhO-I8YwGjM-kGaSsplepbqvFrj6uk7Xytz653b6KvqfEWMauxtjNmN7G37_i6udj6mLvDvIv8kX2SP4K

For a weapon what does an EK Maurader use? Knives with crit strike chance, wands or can Quill Rain's projectile speed work with EK?

Thanks for the replies, also does spell damage % apply to ek?

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elyjah wrote:

Thanks for the replies, also does spell damage % apply to ek?

Yes, spell damage goes towards ek. I am currently making a softcore ek mara. Currently I am level 60. Using a dual wand build with switch 1 hand/shield with leap slam for travel. My wands are crap at the moment so I am only doing about 1.6k dps which is enough to get by but that will shoot up with some decent gear. My build looks like this

Current Build

My ek links setup is currently

ethereal knives------------iron will
|
|
faster casting-----------added fire damage

I want to also add life leech to that. If I ever get a 6 link I would either put fork or faster projectiles

I am also running Hatred---reduced mana cost

I currently use the Projectile Weakness curse.

The plan from here is to get 2 really high spell damage wands. Enough intel on gear to use said wands (astramentis amulet preferred). I would like The Magnate belt for the 25% more physical damage. Since we will be doing big physical damage, the added stun length is good too. If you want to get really fancy, you could find some windscream boots. This will allow you to also cast the vulnerability curse. With 2 curses on the target, you will do around 60% more damage. The boots also add an elemental boost for Added fire damage and Hatred. The rest of the gear should stack health. If I get the 3 uniques I mentioned, my final build will look like this.

Future Build

The passive tree is almost all survivability with most the damage from wands and the strength stat. Any other points after that would probably go to Endurance Charges

Pros and Cons for this build.

Pros
-High Survivability. A whopping 237% more hp bonus and 7.4% hp regen.
-Decent AOE DPS
-Resists start at +3% on Merciless
-No mana problems because of Blood Magic
-Mostly physical damage so you don't have to worry about enemy resists.

Cons
-No chaos resist
-Not great for no regen maps unless you have life leech
-Not good for boss killing
-No single target skills and EK doesn't shotgun at all (which I find stupid :) )
-Slow cast speed.
-Damage is extremely gear dependent
-Low crit chance and crit damage

Yea my planned build was something along the lines of yours, thanks for the info.

Also if I were to use a blood magic gem on EK instead of the passive node would that work as well?

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elyjah wrote:

Yea my planned build was something along the lines of yours, thanks for the info.

Also if I were to use a blood magic gem on EK instead of the passive node would that work as well?

You can use it but the gem mana cost multiplier is something like 200%. With EK already being very mana cost heavy, it may hurt more than help. Also, the gem slots are pretty important so taking one up with a blood magic gem may not be in your best interest. I am assuming you want this so you can run multiple auras on your mana. I guess running with hatred, haste, and something else would be quite nice though. Luckily, the the blood magic passive is right there along the build so if you decide one way or another, it's only like 2 orbs of regret.

Thanks for the answers!

Yeah i'll play around once I get higher level with Blood Magic gem vs. skill.

Also, i'm currently mid 40's and was wondering if I should be using EK now? or continue using melee 1 hander until I can support EK?

I know I ended up using a 2 hand mace most the game leveling up, but if EK is doing enough damage, range is probably much safer on hardcore, not that EK has great range. You may even try a bow with that iron grip passive right there if you have enough dexterity.