Apolyon's Ball Lightning Shocker. Budget viable and defensive with good clearing speed. Video
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Read before trying
Well... after a lot of convincing I was convinced to turn to the dark side. I am now playing arc. On average this build will clear maps faster with arc over ball lightning, and has the added bonus of not requiring the aoe nodes.
However, BL does have certain advantages over arc. It will clear giant packs much faster, and is on par with arc in indoor maps and arguably better in ledge style maps where the mobs are all close together. Arc pulls ahead in outdoor maps where the mobs are more sparse. Arc is also extremely easy and I could see myself getting bored of it and going back to BL, (and very soon). So if you get bored of arc and enjoy lightning skills this build may suit you. Greetings exiles. This build focuses on quickly getting 3 shock stacks on the entire screen through the synergy of an extremely fast cast speed and a good amount of damage/penetration per hit to ensure long duration shocks. With 25% from the tree, 10% from added lightning damage and 13% from the curse, my enemies have a massive 48% chance to be shocked. As BL hits 5 times a second this results in extremely fast shock stacking through that beautiful gem that we all love, elemental proliferation. As 3 shocks stacks = 100% increased damage taken from all sources, this build goes well with any group. It is also great for new leagues with relatively little gear requirement.
Links and gear
This is an example of what finished gear looks like. It is not the standard. You don't need 20/20 gems or a 6 link. Important links are arctic armor + empower, POL/POF + clarity + discipline if needed + reduced mana. Add your own flavor for the rest of the links or use mine as suggestions. Cloak of defiance is the most important piece as it provides the bulk of defence in combination with arctic armor. Everything else is essentially optional. Good gear should consist of life, res and mana regen with a little bit of energy shield to boost mana. A good wand or sceptre should have high cast speed, spell/lightning/ele damage and mana regen.
I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH!
Cloak of defiance is vital to survival in this spec, its essentially 40% less damage taken. Before I acquired mine in the one month i was extremely fragile and died a lot more than I would usually care to admit (invasion bosses+exiles mostly - I'm too greedy and stubborn to leave them be!). But all my deaths were very close calls. I daresay if I had 40% less damage taken I would not have died once. If you are using this build in a new league I would suggest finding another way to be tanky until you get your cloak. I will be looking into ways to fit other types of defence into the build without wasting all your regrets on the tree.
Leveling with flameblast or searing bond for the low mana cost may be a good idea until you get your cloak. This will allow you to gear 100% defensively and run perhaps grace and a purity without any mana problems. If using a 5 link the damage is still good, relatively of course. I remove faster casting for 6 links as it gives the smallest tooltip dps boost.
Bandits
Oak - kill - kill
I chose not to take the 4% cast speed from cruel Alira as I took 12% for 3 points on the tree instead (nimbleness between witch and shadow). Its the same value I just spend more to get more. Another option is to take the 4% and spend the other 2 points on flask nodes. It depends on your goal and how far you think you can level. If I get to level 94 I will change to the cast speed from cruel.
Video -max mountain ledge map at level 74
A word on LMP
I've seen a lot of people using LMP with ball lightning to increase the area in which enemies are hit. Personally I just don't think it is worth it. Sure, I need to sometimes take a little more care positioning myself without LMP, but any time spent moving is made up with less time needed to dps. At best it makes no change in clear speed thus wastes a gem slot.
For an in depth discussion of BL mechanics including the good and bad of LMP, refer to Ziggy D's excellent guide - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2KxtC3Ks04&list=UU4mLMb49hqk4y9lVFtfanlg
Why I don't use increased aoe
First I need to stress that this is largely my own intuition and if someone can show me some cold hard numbers proving inc aoe is a stronger gem than I am using then I would change to it, but...
I have tried increased aoe in a 7 link with the pledge of hands staff. I did not feel like my clear speed improved by much, I think the reason is this: I rarely got the full use of the gem. Sometimes I would need a little more horizontal range and sometimes I would need the balls to zap for a longer time before going out of range, but rarely would I need both and it was common to need neither. Often than not my horizontal range was enough and the packs would be clear before the balls had gone out of range. In these cases the gem was a waste.
1 month character progression
This space will be used to post my gear and passive tree as I level up my new character in the month league. It can possibly be used as a rough leveling guide.
level 45
http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMAAnEC4wSzBVsHYwelCPQUTRmFGmwfAiSqLJwtHzGINsU26TwFPV9Eq0bXSbJSU1WuVytdxm0Zc1N2EXkDfq-CEIIegziLjI-mna6f36IApwi1BMBUwbTB89gk2t3bC9-w4XPjauQi5OztIO988B8=
All self found so far. Alternating between ball lightning and flameblast depending on the position of the monsters. Flameblast is still the superior boss killer.
level 59
http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMAAnEC4wSzBVsHYwelCPQRlhRNFVAXLxmFGmwfAiSqJ6ksnC0fMYg2xTbpPAU9X0SrRtdJslJTVa5VxlXWVytdxmTnZ71tGXNTdhF5A36vf8aApIIQgh6DOIuMj0aPppuhna6f36IAoqOnCLUEwFTBtMHzz2XQ0Ngk2t3bC9-w4XPjauQi5OztIO5v73zwH_rS
BL is now my primary dmg dealer with flameblast still there for the odd times I lack mana. I;m running disc and clarity + AA with my mana potion getting plenty of use.
level 72
http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMAAnEC4wSzBVsHYwelCPQOSBGWE54UTRVQFvMXLxmFGmwfAiQ8JKomPCaVJ6ksnC0fL28vnTGINsU26TwFPV9Eq0bXSVFJslBCUlNVS1WuVcZV1lcrWm1dxmTnZ71tGXC7c1N2EXkDfq9_xoCkghCCHoM4i4yMNo9Gj6aboZ2un9-iAKIuoqOkkacIp1y1BMBUwbTB889l0NDYJNkT2t3bC9-w4XPjauQi5OztIO5v73zwH_Pd-tI=
Had to sell my soul but I finally got my hands on cloak. build is starting to come together. Got a lucky rainbowstrides drop from sarn corrupted boss :) to do list empower gem +gems shield more mana regen 5-6L the cloak CWDT EC immortal call inc duration 4 link skeletons + spell totem (long overdue)
level 80
http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMAAnEC4wSzBVsHYwelCPQOSBGWE54UTRVQFvMXLxmFGmwfAiQ8JKomPCaVJ6ksnC0fL28vnTGINsU26TwFPV9Eq0bXSVFJslBCUlNVS1WuVcZV1lcrWm1dxmKsZOdnvW0ZcLtzU3YReQN-r3_GgKSCEIIegziLjIw2jRmPRo-mm6Gdqp2un9-iAKIuoqOkkacIp1y0OLUEwFTBtMHzz2XQ0NVP2CTZE9sL3YzfsOAS4XPjauQi5OzlGe0g7m_vfPAf89360vv1
Got really lucky last night and hit 6L in 100 or so fusings. GOOD GAME :)
Other ball lightning guides
Last edited by Apolyon34 on Jul 21, 2014, 2:03:06 PM
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Your vid looks nice. I would put this in the top tier of lightning self casters. The fact that you can rock it without a life leech speaks wonders for the build. I will be using yours as a basis for one of my respecs on 1.2 release.
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Hey thanks for the reply and glad I could help :)
I havn't had time to do the build justice the last few days so I decided to put the old rough guide back up. Last edited by Apolyon34 on Jul 11, 2014, 2:54:10 AM
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If you could spare your gloves slot, and have the currency for it, maybe Thunderfist gloves would be a nice addition? that 100% shock duration would definitely help the longevity or of the shocks, and a level 18 added lightning in your gloves can't hurt either.
IGN- JustaCIboy
Twitch.tv/BasedNito |
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I did consider it but I don't have a pair to play with atm. My gut feeling is that res would be too hard to come by and I would miss the life. Shock duration would be good against lonely bosses and even the stun duration would make a nice difference as I can actually stunlock the occasional pack which surprised me. Though most of the time the shock duration is sufficient.
I feeling like I;m ranting but uh.. yeah overall I don't think I would need them. | |
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Awesome, finally BL looks like a usable spell !
Have you tried using empower ? | |
" Bl is a really nice spell and it has definitely been usuable , people just dont know how to use it and the whole lmp/gmp thing makes it loook weak. Bl is strong if the right supports are used but a tiny dmg buff wouldnt hurt for sure especially for its main weak point-> single target dmg. Hey OP nice build ! Finally some kind of "proof" out there that BL really shines with increased aoe and your aoe is good enough even without any gem! Thats a nice feat but i would still keep increased aoe over added lightning any time as the effective dps is way higher that way. I tried to explain in another thread the importance of high aoe on hitting more target but you dont seem to need it now anyway , projectile weakness is also a huge + to damage and survivability , If you cant find a way to go double curse i would advice you to keep projectile weakness there for tough hard hitting mobs and bosses. Also you will notice how easy it is to shock even without ele prolif :) but i personally changed ele prolif when the gem was level 19 and i am double curse so ye i would at least advice you to test it more Cheers Last edited by MadBro_ on Jul 11, 2014, 7:55:42 AM
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" ty :) Level 4 Empower gave a lower tooltip dps than my other gems. " Definitely some good suggestions. I'd love to tes more gem combos but I'm starting all over tomorrow. Quality added cold + 3dragons is on the cards too, when I can. | |
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Can you post some more videos? A Lvl 67 map at lvl 85 with 20/20 gems, lvl 4 empower and a 6 link isn't so impressive to be fair. Also using the word budget is misplaced to me here.
Is this build viable with a 4 link when leveing? What can you do with a 5 link for end game? What can you do with lesser gems? What do you do against reflect? Why purity of fire? | |
" hahah its none of my bussines but wow did you even watch the video or the gear or anything..hahah some people.. |
