Caster CI / GR Leech Pathetic / Broken Builds

As a caster with about 7000 es, I can't leech enough to survive using Ghost Reaver.

I'm too far away from VP 8 points (don't see why I should take VP to improve survivability, that would mean two notables to sustain 1), and even when testing with Acuity's its sort of "better" but lack survivability. I'm constantly running away or around trying to get the es to recharge before fighting again, between dying that is.

I'm doing around 30-40 dps depending on the charges I've got up, and have got life leech attached to main skill dps.

How are other CI guys finding leech in general, as I find it far to weak and pathetic atm.

Edit:
From what I'm reading, it seems that Low Life has been affected by this change as well. Leech is just not working anymore for casters. But it looks like leech is a huge problem in general now.

Energy Shield is DOA in the Awakening.

Basically as ES build you are fucked. Regen and leech are both hardly existent and you also have no flasks to recover ES as the life-based chars can do. GGG genius balancing.

As a CI user (Incinerate+Scold's Bridle+Vaal Molten Shell) Im doing kinda fine. Had to invest into survivability a lot after 2.0 patch (Discipline, Chaos Golem, Arctic Armor, Endurance Charges).

I'm using Vaal Pact however. There is no reason to not use it since it no longer penalize life leech effectiveness. THing is I'm level 95 and therefore can afford to spread my talent build all over passive tree. If you can't reach Vaal Pact for some reason, you are forced to stack life leech rate as much as possible. For example on gloves. They changed the way how this stat works. It no longer reduce time you leech. It only increases rate, but overall duration of leech remains the same. This works as multiplicator to Life Leech.

It wont solve reflect however. You will die anyway when u hit too hard on ele reflect. Doesn't matter how much leech rate you will stack.

After the patch my CI Ghost reaver bow Witch is pretty much dead. I can't use Blood Rage anymore, and any other form of life leech is simply too weak to sustain me in combat. I can hit'n'run because of the lower ES recharge, but it feels really dumb.

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Perq wrote:

I can't use Blood Rage anymore, and any other form of life leech is simply too weak to sustain me in combat.

Yup, this change is rly huge for CI users. Personally I don't see much advantages in CI anymore. We can't use Bood Rage anymore (it prevents ES recharge). We can't run Blood Magic map mod, we can't use low life mechanics, we can't have more than 3 auras like other ppl. There are basically no full life mechanics. You HAVE to solve freeze and stun immunity somehow, since its duration is based on your 1 hp and therefore you can be stun/freeze locked forever.


But yaaay, we have max light radius all the time, we don't care about chaos damage and we have huuuuuuge ES nodes behind CI - 31% to max ES!!! Divided by 3 invested points. It is like 10.3% per point. I say its OP as fuck. GGG need to nerf CI asap... What a joke.

Mana on all gear and PoH. You can have 3500 mana and ofc nothing needs that much to spam even in 7L poh

So best approach is balance. Like regen and mana on most slot. Doesnt have to be T1.

PoH is huge tho it's like 10 mana nodes on tree

Co-sign about the blood rage nerf needs to be restored.

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Aim_Deep wrote:

Mana on all gear and PoH. You can have 3500 mana and ofc nothing needs that much to spam even in 7L poh

So best approach is balance. Like regen and mana on most slot. Doesnt have to be T1.

PoH is huge tho it's like 10 mana nodes on tree

Co-sign about the blood rage nerf needs to be restored.

I don't understand whats mana pool have to do with life leech issues :D

Anyway, using whole mana pool as a battery for spamming spells and avoiding mana leech issues is kinda lame since as a CI user, u cant basically use any aura.

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Aim_Deep wrote:

Mana on all gear and PoH. You can have 3500 mana and ofc nothing needs that much to spam even in 7L poh

So best approach is balance. Like regen and mana on most slot. Doesnt have to be T1.

PoH is huge tho it's like 10 mana nodes on tree

Co-sign about the blood rage nerf needs to be restored.

I've got no idea how PoH (Pledge of Hands) really helps a CI (Chaos Inoculated) build or what mana does for ES for that matter. My build doesn't really need mana as it works without it, its the leech factor that isn't working for ES with or without VP (Atziri's Acuity).

Please enlighten us.

haha I miss read. Thought u were having mana issue and life leech issue.

This is a massive problem, come on GGG you HAVE to fix this. ES characters are unplayable now.