[1.3] Explosive Arrow - "The Full-Fake Evasionist" [Guide]
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"The Full-Fake Evasionist"
 (crafted for HC high level maps) (currently not Atziri tested) -Just klick through the spoilers to read more-
Requierments
Before we start i want to point out that this is in no way a beginner friendly build. It is not the highest budget, but if you don't have a good amount of currency you won't have fun with it. You need at least these items/ the currency for them:
- "Alpha's Howl" with three off colors (~1Ex) (~100Chromes) [~Current prices in BL] - "Hyrri's Irre" (~1C+) - "Doryani's Invitation (Fire)" (~2Ex) - An at least +2 to bow gems bow with at least 1.6 ats (6L is highly recommended) (~3Ex+) (~ well i needed nearly 700 Chromes... best of luck ^^) - An "Empower" gem level 3 (later on) - "Rearguard Quiver" (1 additional arrow is recommended) (Don't even want to price that!) - Some good rare items to still have caped resistances!
Introduction
On our journey through Wraeclast we all look out for that one gem, that one skill we enjoy the most. For some of us, it's all of them, for some of us it is that one skill. For me it always was Explosive Arrow, but there always was that one downside i never liked:
Everybody is playing it with Arctic Armor (Gem) and a Cloak of Flame (Unique), i don't want to criticize this in any way, since you have to find a way of mitigating incoming damage and you need a way to deal with reflect. But to be honest... i always disliked Arctic Armor and i never was a big fan of playing with absurd mana regen and eldritch battery. So here is my way of playing Explosive Arrow, the way i can enjoy the skill the most.
The Core (How does it work)
Defense:
This build is designed to be as efficient as possible in high level maps. So we need a good defense, but it has to be point efficient enough in the passive tree to still deal a good amount of damage. My favorite defense is evasion, so an Acrobatics character is the best way to go. But for a good offense we need fire damage notes and some burning notes... which are all in the Templar area.
So what i present is the "Full- Fake- Evasionist" You need a "Hyri's Irre" (Unique) an "Alpha's Howl" (Unique) and a good "Grace" (Gem). With this combination of Unique items and a really strong aura you get "Acrobatics" and about 8k Evasion without going anywhere near the actual area of those keystones. (Combine it with a Rearguard Quiver for even more mitigation!) Evasion still has that one downside... if you get hit, you get hit HARD! So besides caped resistances, how do you deal with incoming damage that does not get dodged or evaded. You need enough life and a "Cast when damage taken" (Gem) setup and you are good to go. My Character is currently level 90 and has 5.2k life, which is easily achievable without extremely expensive rare items. 
Offense
Explosive Arrow scales best with: Fire Damage - AoE Damage - Burning Damage All those are really easy to find around the Templar starting area in the passive skilltree. So we start as a Templar and go for keynotes like: "Holy fire", "Celestial...", "Elementalist", etc. (See passive tree for more information) We combine this with a 5 or 6 Linked Bow that should have at least 1.6 ats and at least a +2 to bow gems enchantment... everything else is optional, but the damage get's crazy if you get that 6L +3 to bow gems bow! Getting "Doryani's Invitation" Unique Belt gives you extra ignite chance, damage and fire leech which all really helps you getting your offense going. 
Links
Explosive Arrow - Fire Penetration - Elemental Proliferation - Empower - Life Leech (Combining it with LMP or an additional arrow on your quiver helps allot for AOE)
Manaregen
We go for a level 22 Clarity and some reduced mana notes, combined with a few manaregen jewelry enchantments we have enough to sustain the insane mana cost a 6L Explosive Arrow has.
Reflect
This is the part we really have to worry about with Explosive Arrow and the main part everybody else is playing it with AA and Cloak of Flame with Purity of Fire. It is a really effective way of mitigating the damage, but life leech with Vaal Pact is working really fine as well. We combine it with a purity of fire, just to be safe and we are good to go.
Current EQUIPMENT
Skill Tree Progress
Every 30 Points Progressing suggestions 1.http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUB-d2LjE8EQ8hboKdVfA5o8vAfogDhc5o7BLOCm-w4Jy-QVRo4wBpxhVcpRtfzEbFCZp760hZvJKrjajbp (We switch to Explosive Arrow shortly after this step, so we don't need any dex yet.) 2.http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUB-d2LjE8EQ8hboKdVfA5o8vAfogDhc5o7BLOCm-w4Jy-QVRo4wBpxhVcpRtfzEbFCZp760hZvJKrjajbpPO8YXTwF73wabJ2upwja3dgkNsUSaRhlFxxxeR8CBAeD21XGOlismPFsIbA095eFLpRMs5eVUlOX9G0Z (At this point we are playing with Explosive Arrow, make sure you use "Chance to ignite" if your EA doesn't have a good Quality yet.) 3.http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUB-d2LjE8EQ8hboKdVfA5o8vAfogDhc5o7BLOCm-w4Jy-QVRo4wBpxhVcpRtfzEbFCZp760hZvJKrjajbpPO8YXTwF73wabJ2upwja3dgkNsUSaRhlFxxxeR8CBAeD21XGOlismPFsIbA095eFLpRMs5eVUlOX9G0ZCPTAVLzqakM9X69sTP88LcT2ffU9DxzOK1ANzf5UJ-0ZLtlhrY3Pfsautz7-Cti9NZK18qluKjgXL2Tn (We have taken Vaal Pact by now to make sure we won't get any problems with reflect)
Q&A
This is my first PoE guide, so if any questions stay open please leave them in the comment section below and i will try to answer them, or include them in the Q&A. Q: 204% increased maximum life ... are you crazy or something?! A: You might think now that 204% increased life is way too much, but you always have to think about the fact that we are wearing allot of uniques that have no additional life on them and that this build is designed to survive every form of HC challenge leagues. So if you ever played Invasion, Beyond or the first weeks of BL (Order of the deadly rain!) you know why 204% is still not enough :D Q: Taking that many life notes, do you still get enough damage to clear? A: Yes, Explosive Arrow scales amazingly with support gems and with a high skill level, so ibet you could clear a map without scaling it with passive notes at all. But if you take a closer look at all the fire offense notes on the tree, we actually take most of them ;) Q: What Flasks do you suggest with this build? A: I think that everyone should find his own, but i can link my flasks here: Q: How is the clear speed? A: Solid. It is not a Flameblast GG build. But you can clear lower level maps super fast and still clear 77/78 maps in a decent speed. Some bosses are annoying, another reason to take firetrap and flamesurge to have a good single target option. But it's not always about the speed, but the fun you have while clearing a map ;) (Don't get me wrong here, it`s not like you stuck on enemies or something, but there are faster builds ^^) PS: If the request for a video get's over 9000! i'll may upload one ^^ Thanks for checking out this build, if you have any constructive critic just leave it in the comment section. Big THANKS to Jockemaan and HairYFairY for always helping out when a new build gets theorycrafted! Stay safe and have fun in Wraeclast! | |
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Great job on the guide, now I just want to see that vid of a 78/79 map cleared.
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