[1.2.3] Sid's Ball Lightning - EB/Crit /2 Curse on hit/ 4 Auras with Herald of Ice

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Note: got this build to lvl 85 and moved on. It was THE SAFEST and most cruisy experience out of all my poe chars. The only danger to this build is flicker strike and similar instant teleports. All other stuff dies quickly and/or is knocked back into oblivion. Bosses? Some take some more time due to their sick resists (piety..) but anything that can be knocked back and/or deal one-dimensional damage (just lightning - piety etc) is not a problem when prepared.

I still have fun watching people try to make this skill work using old tricks - some never learn.

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The Spell

Ball lightning main properties:
- 20 mana initial cost (my current cost in 5 link at gem lvl 18 == 103 mana)
- basic, unaltered damage is in the mid range. Cant compete with 'impact' spells like Fireball or (currently bit OP) Arc
- hits single targets not more than each 200ms and only in range
- no target/hit limit. it is limited only by 'being in the area'
- (almost) universally proclaimed to be 'crap'

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My take on scaling it

Key to this skill is AOE. AOE acts as very effective multiplier of number of 'hits'. From unscientific observations unaltered Ball Lightning hits target 2-3 times depending on target size/position/targeting. It isnt that many times. Slapping it on a 'caster' build shall result in VERY mediocre performance. As doing 'error no1' - adding cast speed - only makes people cast more duds.

Standard ball hits lets say 3 times if aimed precisely at the target. Not a lot of times..

You can scale number of hits with:
Knockback (chance based but can knock people away from the ball)
Slower projectules (flat)
+AOE (flat)
Chance to flee (chance based. Least desirable due to rares being immune to fear)

Or any combination of these above.

My current setup hits a target ~8 times or if im lucky (chain knockback) up to ten times.

Increased Area of Effect is the key because it allows ball to hit much more targets (scaling 1) and more times (scaling 2). Non augmented Ball Lightning hardly is an AOE skill. Increasing AOE by 100% means 100% more hits on average if targeted right on the mob. But this also means that many more mobs are hit by the same ball. AOE increases alone have exponential 'real' dmg scaling effect.

Out of remaining 3 'multipliers' Knockback i think is the best:
- immense defensive quantities (some mobs wont do anything if they cannot get close enough to the player)
- at around ~50% chance it seriously increases number of hits
Cons: vs totem bosses or very slow bosses it is kinda hilarious. Some also noted that there is (unconfirmed urban story) risk of loot going into the wall. Desync reported by some does not affect me with this build (but affects me when playing other builds so Im not immune to it)

Slower projectiles are good too as this gem:
- provides flat bonus (not chance based)
- does not infuriate party members
- does not knockback mobs out of the way

Chance to flee is good at the beginning but sadly its very random nature and rares ignoring it makes it the least effective support.


Ofc the 'hit/zap' is important. It can be scaled with spell damage and/or crit. Both ways are OK, however because Im on a budget Ive selected non-crit way. Way of scaling this 'zap' is also elemental penetration and shocks. More on that later.

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So the gem setup

(quality denotes gems that benefit greatly from quality in this build)
this is the bare minimum for a 5Link. For 6th and 7th link

Why no 4Link? Because while one can level with this skill from 31 (i did it from ~40 - not earlier because this was the leftower race character) and be moderately successful the AOE passives one needs to get are simply impossible to get before ~50-60. When 5Link is very likely to be already available. If someone absolutely needs to go 4Link id experiment with droping Knocback or Penetration. However act3merc+ Penetration is mandatory so added lightning has to go. However i do not recommend playing this with 4Link.

Why no 'added chaos'? Because of shock stacking and also because added lightning helps to 'smooth out' lightning hit damage around the mid value. All lightning spells have a very high variance and it is unsatisfying when your arc hits 7 times for 200 damage (selected from 180-3000 range). Also - this build scales lightning not chaos so..

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The tree

Spoiler

LVL 85:
http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgYAAnEC4wQHBLMFWwelEZYTnhRNFecWbxcvGYUaOBpsHNwelB8CJDwkqiSwJpUnqSlPLJwtHy1HL282xTbpPAU9X0SrRtdJUUmyUEJSU1VLVa5VxlptXcZgbWe9bRlte3C7c7N2EXi6fll-r3_GgKSCEIIegpuDOIbRi4yMNo9Gj6aQVZMnl5WX9Juhna6fe5_fogCio6SRpwinXKeEtQTB889l0NDVT9gk2RPa3dsL3Ffd895337Dhc-Nq5CLsOO0g7m_vfPAf8GvxdvPd-tI=

Bandits: Life/passive/End charge (can as well be passive)

This is shadow tree (i salvaged one of my old race chars) but it is clearly visible that while shadow starting nodes are great witch start saves you one point. Start as a witch. Templar is also a possibility and provides very easy early game (and good quest rewards).

Priority:
- Life
- AOE nodes
- Static Blows
- AOE nodes
- Eldrich Battery
- Aura effect nodes allowing to get at least another one +1 to lightning resist
- Elemental Adaptation

Avoid +8% lightning nodes (like Lightning Walker or that lightning cluster above witch) as there are readily available +10% elemental nodes that are bang-per-point better. These CAN be best choices but count % carefully and consider alternatives before committing.

One can go for 4th aura (Haste or Tempest Shield) and grab more aura cost reduction nodes but I'm still not decided if it is worth it. There is also an issue of spare sockets for that 4th aura as it requires 2links minimum

This is NOT a MoM character. It is possible to do so but at a cost of 20% AOE. For tough fights however it is very easy to replace Carcass with Cloak of Defiance (assuming one has spare resist). I have 850 unreserved mana - this is enough to run MoM. Basic setup is non-MoM though.

No regen maps - no go.
Half regen maps - not fun, but doable - bring mana flask.

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The Gear

Disclaimer: this is gear scrapped from bottom of my stash. One can get a much better one (esp spell dmg on shield and cast speed/spell dmg on jewelry).

Spoiler

Do not mind the gems - most are already outdated.

possible ideas:

AA REALLY benefits from levels. as non-MoM char one can easily afford lvl22+ AA

used for leveling (healing). it cuts the DPS if not block-focused.

Culling strike has a mechanic that the faster/smaller hits the closer it is to flat ~10% MORE multiplier. also other stats are nice

Used till 75 now and then. +AOE is great. Life on kill is GREAT for sustain. Great weapon if Catalyst is unavailable.

If all other pieces are stellar one can also fiddle with Romira's Banquet for free PC generation (and bit more crits). But this is a melee ring so better not.

Avoid: projectile speed on wand!

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Gameplay and gems

Curse First
Shock Second
Kill

Curse - Conductivity. Quality highly recommended.
Conductivity + Faster Casting + AOE (covers entire screen)

Auras - Discipline/Clarity/Purity of Lightning. Pretty much obvious.
With Aura passives (or Alphas) possible 4th selections: Tempest Shield or Haste for that sweet faster casting/movement speed
Discipline + Clarity + Purity of Lightning + reduced mana

Shocking - Arc. Typical 'shock-totem' for that free 90% More damage. I also can kill something from time to time but do not count on that.
Spell Totem + Arc (quality) + Ele Prolif (+ Faster Casting).

Special move - Vaal Storm Call. Skill many people ignore and dont even know it exists. Very solid damage. Very low soul count compared to other vaal skills of similar performance.
V.Storm Call + Conc Effect + Echo/Lightning Pen.

Alternatively (and using it now): Storm Call for single target. My tree fits PERFECTLY to support Storm Call and with Echo it is simply amazing (i wonder if ggg shall nerf this interaction or not..)


CWDT setup Edited after too many close calls with on death spikes from Porcupine runners. Standard stuff:
CWDT + Conductivity + Enduring Cry + Immortal Call

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Non Measurable Benefits and playstyle tips

This is a very safe build. I have 3200 HP and dying with that is difficult. 24% block. No armor (787 currently) little evasion (1305). Safety comes from two sources:
- knockback. This practically makes one immune to melee damage as mobs are hit back each time they try to do a swing.
- leech. 2% leech my atziri (absolutely not BiS uniques! not at all.. :/) items provide is enough. it is also enough to do reflect maps without Topaz flask. For tight spots (like double reflect) pop atziri flask for that extra non-reflectable damage and extra leech (another not-BiS atziri item! go great design!)

Shock Stacks. One CAN go without ARC totem. i have checked corpses several times after encounters - and mobs ARE getting shocked by Ball Lightning alone. But why take chances. Also ARC is good as a warning so cast it ahead of you.

And the last one. Ball Lightning is a 'movement' skill. You release one, run, release another one, run, run. Consider this an indestructible totem that moves. While BL does its damage you can curse, set Arc Totem, unleash Storm Call. This is VERY mobile gameplay. Take advantage of it.

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Videos
I'm not great with videos - tried to make several but for unknown reasons 1080 and 720 versions i did got all converted by YT to potato-quality 420 that are hard to watch. The only one viewable I've made was a test run of 71 'curse immune' map with bit worse gems and few levels less (75 or 76 i think). That was still a new playstyle for me and several bloopers are clearly visible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72AtCccntYI

My biggest playstyle change since that video - do not cast TOO MANY balls. most of my engagements end up with 2-3 balls released when everything is already dead. This really helps with clear speed.