VarthDaver's Flicker Ash Prolif Build




***Softcore Disclaimer***
This is a Softcore / Rampage build. While you could in theory use this build in HC, I would advise against it. Desync will eventually catch up to you, and you will die for reasons beyond your control. You have been warned.
***Softcore Disclaimer***


Updated CI Version of Build: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1089759

Herald of Ash – No Crit Wasted

I have made a lot of flicker builds before, but with 2H, the focus was always on getting really big, consistent hits, and spreading them across a large area. Using Crit + 2H often was not worth the effort as any crit done greatly in excess of the mob’s health was wasted.



Herald of Ash changes this in how it interacts with gems linked to it. I use Herald of Ash + Increased Burning Damage + Increased Area + Elemental Proliferation. This reserves 63% of my mana, for *just* Herald of Ash. This seems like a large commitment until we get into some of the mechanics involved.

Why this Guide?
I received significant interest from players on reddit and youtube, so I wanted to provide at least the bulk of the information for you. It goes over the broad elements of the build, and gives an idea of a fun way to play at a high level.

I want to level with XXXX, can you...?
I am not going to write different leveling options, this is not a leveling guide. The gear required for this begins in the late 60's. I personally leveled with 1H, then DW, then GroundSlam, then Flicker. I still use Ground Slam for groups for often than not.

Videos


Gem / Gear Links
Spoiler
Flicker - Weapon / Chest
4L

5L

6L


Leap Slam
2L

5L


CwDT


Current Gear
Spoiler


Core Items
Spoiler
Hegemony’s Era – The reason I made this incarnation of the build. It is the core reason I build around staves this time rather than going the RT / 2H Mace route. It is an exceptionally well rounded high dps utility staff that is also one of the rarest items in the game. It costs significantly less than a mirror level staff, and should last as long as you want to use it.

Do I need to have a 6L Hegemony’s Era?No. You can use any staff with a decent speed, high dps, and most importantly high crit chance. Block % also matters here, so the 18% block base is the target. The new Master Crafting options really open up alternatives.

In this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o94dFuMKP8&feature=youtu.be, I take a staff I had as drop which I crafted additional physical damage onto, and swap it for Era back and forth. They have different Mtx colors on them, to make it slightly more obvious, the boss is killed with the rare staff.

I also am using Flicker on a 4-Link in my chest the entire video. While 5L and 6L add a lot more damage and safety, nobody starts out with their endgame gear, you build towards it.

You can see that there is little performance difference between the two staves, however the innate powoer charge generation of Era will win out in the top end for total clear speed.

Vulnerability on Hit Corrupted Gloves - This is the most important gear item for overall clear speed. It is also quite rare. Since we are using multi-splash, you are applying this curse constantly and your additional hits are done at the increased damage from it. Nothing else compares.

Bringer of the Rain – You can use bringer from L67 onward, and it’s a quick and relatively inexpensive way to gear up. I would recommend using bringer until you have a solid 6L weapon or 6L chest to replace it with. You can keep the great defenses from block and blind while using this helm, and its only 30-50% weaker than Abyssus.

Abyssus – This helm quite simply will double your dps. There is no other helm as powerful in game, but it comes at a cost. Try to focus on getting on with a low (close to 40% as possible) for increased physical damage. Get the best crit multiplier after that. This helm can be had under 5c in Rampage right now, though had been 1-3ex in the recent past for good rolls. Rat’s Nest and/or Starkonja’s Head can fit if you cannot get a good Abyssus or Bringer, but the dps is significantly sub par.

Mana Leech – You need 2% roughly from somewhere. Neck, Ring, Belt, Gloves are the most common, but it’s critical to get it on one of them at minimum.
Jewelry – Accuracy, Life, Resists. These are the best slots to fill you accuracy from, so try to get over 350 on neck and both rings.

Deodre’s Elixir – This flask is amazing and has saved my ass sooo many times. It gives you one of each charge, and will frequently trigger your Cast When Damage Gem.
Remaining - For the remaining slots, focus on +HP and Resists


Skill Tree
Spoiler
I have included my most frequent versions of the skill tree. I am constantly changing it, however and would encourage you to do the same. The tree paths by increased duration nodes, and can easily add both sets without much loss of dps. Always take form DPS to add utility, never take from survival, you will regret it.

Bandits - I went with Oak (life), Talent, Frenzy respectively. Only the additional frenzy is likely mandatory of them.

Tree Breakdown

Health
155% increased maximum Life
108 to maximum Life
15% increased Life Recovery from Flasks
4.3% of Life Regenerated per Second

Mitigation
34% increased Armour
20% to Chaos Resistance
19% additional Block Chance With Staves
15% to all Elemental Resistances
8% to Fire Resistance
1% to maximum Fire Resistance

Damage
190% increased Critical Strike Chance with Two Handed Melee Weapons
170% increased Global Critical Strike Chance while wielding a Staff
150% increased Physical Damage with Staves
114% increased Accuracy Rating
52% increased Physical Damage with Two Handed Melee Weapons
51% increased Melee Physical Damage
40% increased Critical Strike Chance with Staves
40% increased Physical Damage with Maces
32% increased Critical Strike Chance
30% increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier while wielding a Staff
24% increased Accuracy Rating with Staves
You take 20% reduced Extra Damage from Critical Strikes
16% increased Accuracy Rating with Two Handed Melee Weapons
12% increased Attack Speed
12% increased Elemental Damage
8% increased Area Damage
7% increased Attack Speed with Staves
3% increased Attack Speed with Two Handed Melee Weapons
3% increased Attack Speed with Maces

Other
290 to Strength
132 to Intelligence
100 to Dexterity
40% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
32% increased maximum Mana
18% increased Power Charge Duration
12% increased Radius of Area Skills
10% reduced Mana Cost of Skills
5% increased Effect of Buffs on You
2 to Melee Weapon and Unarmed range
1 Maximum Power Charge
1 Maximum Endurance Charge

Key Nodes
Spoiler

The talent choices are rather straight forward, we want to get the most HP, physical, and crit as possible. We take the best nodes from 2H, Staff, and Melee Physical.

Enemy Crit Multiplier Reduction – With Abyssus, this node is exceptionally important to prevent large damage spikes. Every time I have specced out of it, I end up going back.

Master of the Arena – More Range is good for absolutely everything we do. On flicker, it increases the distance from which you will engage on the first “flick” or effectively you will hit them before they hit you.

Accuracy / Dex – There is an incredible lack of Dex nodes on the left side of the tree. It is also extremely important to get your chance to hit high (90%+ ideally 95%). It is dangerous when you miss with flicker in terms of charges and leech, but also how it impacts crit chance.

This is because when you crit a mob, it basically does a second roll to confirm the crit (paraphrasing). For example, if you have 50% chance to crit, and 80% chance to hit, you would land a crit only 32% of the time (.5 * .8 * .8). At 95% hit chance, 50% crit would give 45% of your hits as crit.


Raw Damage Tree

More Burn Tree




FAQ's

Did you try XXXXX? - Yes, I have played flicker for years, and used it in almost every combination. I try to the the parts that were the most fun, and successful. This is in no means inclusive of all the information.

Why don't you use Hatred? - I gear / gem / talent for clear speed. Hatred will boost your tooltip dps, but a big tooltip has never been my goal. I did quite extensive testing, and found I was consistently 10-30% slower when using hatred in addition.

I suspect the reason is due to how hatred destroys the bodies, and in my setup, if a mob is killed by Herald of Ash, the body will continue to proliferate. This does not happen with Hatred, even when using Pyre.

Wouldn't it be better without Multistrike / Melee Splash? Isn't a big hit better? - It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. I focus on clear speed, and swap these gems in and out constantly to test in between and during maps. Nothing compares to Multi+Splash.

Using Vuln on Hit gloves likely plays a large role here as your first hit curses everyone around the target and the target, the second hit is at increased damage compared to the first and the curse double dips to increase burn damage.

Try it, test it, record it, share it.
I would encourage you to post your results also in Gorge Clear Speed Thread:
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/971403



Mechanics - Coming Soon



My Other Guides (out of date)

Disfavour Blood Magic Flicker - 2H Auraless
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/981383

Low Life RF Blood Magic Incinerate
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/524282

CI Arctic Queen Kongor Flicker
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/526115

Witchslap - CI Facebreaker Death's Oath IB
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/513351

Self-Righteous Fire DPS
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/673974
Last edited by VarthDaver on Oct 18, 2014, 6:27:45 AM
reserved
Fantastic Build!

Congrats on 6l hege staff!
nice
IGN: Bleak_Grip
[1.2] Cold Snapper Build + Videos: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1042527
Hideout Tour: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1048247
Nice you came out with this guide right when i wanted to make a flicker staff build lol. Anyways awesome build and the tree looks great.

I made one of my own that is very similar to yours, but does have some differences.

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgUAhMTwH8WKr2wCcQSzogAUTaloRY6TB7dyvTnVixrkiI_9MMauPC1M_2ql-ehBh7c-7DhX4jKJkFWnhBo4wBr7i0FyvJqIOBb5nYr60maeFy9k51XWgKTjajbpFm8kqo9GHRRYrp-0W1m5Q-1ESi4n7cT2p6Vnm9SPGS7kUX_jMfubWF8_7w4nL-OfNZLYvf4KYwu1BOQiKU_-j6ZXTeM64fJFhxlsFvxLwQTa3acIvJ__00KOa9mGOzSOVtkB5wmW6wknIBiRUEcUIKcwXqUTcclninQPVERy
"
XtraSalty wrote:
Nice you came out with this guide right when i wanted to make a flicker staff build lol. Anyways awesome build and the tree looks great.

I made one of my own that is very similar to yours, but does have some differences.


In the process of getting to where my build is now, I have used every node you have on your tree at one time or another. Looks solid!

I would recommend grabbing the acc / dex nodes in templar and dropping the pure dex one to gain some points and ACC while getting the dex at the same time. When you get it all together post up how it turns out!
Last edited by VarthDaver on Sep 15, 2014, 1:46:03 AM
Im currently trying to make something simmilar with a 5L Pillar (atm leveling with leapslam/groundslam)
Spoiler
)



Do you think this would work with a pillar too?

My tree would look like this (some more raw stats compared to yours but in general it looks quite similar



as quite cheap gear i planed to use Abyssus, Astamentis/Carnaged Heat ,Meginords Griddle


Thx for giving me advice!
Last edited by KasLeberKas on Sep 15, 2014, 5:50:28 AM
Looks like a nice build!
"
VarthDaver wrote:
"
XtraSalty wrote:
Nice you came out with this guide right when i wanted to make a flicker staff build lol. Anyways awesome build and the tree looks great.

I made one of my own that is very similar to yours, but does have some differences.


In the process of getting to where my build is now, I have used every node you have on your tree at one time or another. Looks solid!

I would recommend grabbing the acc / dex nodes in templar and dropping the pure dex one to gain some points and ACC while getting the dex at the same time. When you get it all together post up how it turns out!


Sounds good.. a couple of questions for you..

how is your survivability?
Can you handle the end game bosses? 78 dom, 77 piety? Atziri?
Which master do you level first?
Die to reflect often?
How do you manage mana since you don't use blood magic?
Last edited by Pharcri on Sep 15, 2014, 4:03:11 PM
How is your survivability?
It is all relative. Survivability is lowest when desync is present. Abyssus amplifies the effect of it. THe important thing is to guage your situation and adapt. This character is a bit of a plexi-glass cannon. It can take some hits, but not a lot.

Can you handle the end game bosses? 78 dom, 77 piety? Atziri?
Downed everything but Atziri. This is really not the best build for Atziri, as you do not really want to flicker in the fight. Gotten her to about 25% on my first attempts, but I did not really push to do this.

Which master do you level first?
Eleron for personal preference. Zana a close second.

Die to reflect often?
I do if I take of Endurance on Stun. Otherwise, it snot that often.

How do you manage mana since you don't use blood magic?
My mana costs are not that high. I use 2% leech, and about 30/s regen which combined provide enough mana. It is important to spec to not have to look at your mana, else the build will feel like it hit a brick wall.
Last edited by VarthDaver on Sep 15, 2014, 5:08:12 PM

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