[2.1] Hybrid ES-Life Contagion and Essence Drain Build (WiP)

Hello and welcome to my Hybrid ES-Life Contagion/Essence Drain build, a Work in Progress. Today I hit level 80 and decided that I should post my build on here and also hopefully get some ideas/feedback. This is both my first guide and build, so please go easy on me :P

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First and foremost I apologise for the lack of a video. My current laptop can hardly even run the game, let alone record it. But I will post one at the end of Febuary when I get a new laptop (whoohoo! Cannot wait!).

My character is a Witch but as is evident on the skilltree, this can be done by both a Templar and Shadow with little to no changes. She was originally another build at level 60, but on a skilltree reset I decided that I wanted to try the new Chaos skills. So unfortunately I cannot talk too much about play at lower levels.


I can successfully clear some tier 6 maps (which can only be taken as a good sign considering my current laptop), though I haven't tried anything higher just yet. Some bosses do give me trouble due to lag issues but I would imagine they could be handled better on a faster computer - you tell me :)


Pros:
-Not a glass cannon. Maybe a Pyrex cannon
-Flexible
-Affordable gear (does not require any particular uniques)
-Enjoyable playstyle

Cons:
-Not the fastest of clear speeds
-The Essence Drain projectile is a royal pain. Slow and small hitbox
-Party play is a bit "meh" due to the way DoT's work. Abyssal Cry comes into its own here



The build 101:
The principle is simple; Put Contagion on a monster and when it dies Contagion spreads to nearby monsters and repeats. If that initial monster had Essence Drain on it, that spreads along with it (Essence Drain does not spread on its own).

Casting Abyssal cry first will help clear tougher monster packs a little faster.

When very tough monsters or bosses appear, Wither is applied via totem. Wither increases the amount of chaos damage taken and slows the monster down down.


Tooltips & Stats:
Spoiler

Level 19 Essence Drain (with Fire Golem):

Keep in mind that the 3.42 second duration is extended by the Temporal Chains curse.

Level 19 Contagion (with Fire Golem):

Same applies to the duration of Contagion.

General defence (all Auras up at Hideout):




Skilltree:
Spoiler

Current skilltree:
Spoiler


https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwMABAcEswWTBx4OSA-rES8RUBGWE20UCRZvFr8YahpsGyUdTx_HIvQkiySqJognqSsKK3gtHy2LMtE1uTbpOVI6WEJLRUdJE0lRSbFLrkyzUq9VxlgHW6BcQFxrXfJn_GjyaoxsC20ZdZ52gnwOf8aD24RIhTKFxYfLieCPRo_6kx-TJ5Uum6GdrqIAotmnCKcrp1Wnm6yYrUqw2LTRtUi3MLtNwGbDOsNtyAzIFM8V18_ZW91f34rjauZY6FrpAutj6-7viPAf8NX1b_fB99f5Nw==?accountName=physkid&characterName=FrootLoots



Planned skilltree:
Spoiler


https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwMA37DfioIQ6QKPpkuuRKsbJVWu2VssnG0ZEVAi9DW5bAunKx1PkyctH3_G74hMsyepEZb5N9AfDkgHHtfP7-td8rcwlS5JsTsNKwroWhQJ8NURDxEvJogTbY_6SVGsmOtjXEA6WPfXtUiHy1XGUq-boXaCp5utSrtNj0bIDHWeZ_zdX6cItNHPFZ2uFVDr7ha_Gmwy0ZrghTIPq2qMNun3wUVHRZ0ki_VvJKrAZlNSwzrIFBZvBLOJ4KLZ42qiAOZYyCOw2PAfkx8Fk2jySRN8Dq9sp1ULYVugxq4MXxynU6UreB_HLYs=




Gearing:
Spoiler

My current gear:
Spoiler




There is no specific gear requirements. Generally need to aim for capped resistances and for the high ES and life. A little Mana regeneration, but no need to go overkill on as we will get a lot from Clarity and the skilltree. A general but very flexible gearing guide:

Head:
ES / Life
Resistances

Chest:
ES / Life
Resistances (chaos resist here helps if you can get it)

Shield:
ES / Life (Main aim should be for highest ES)
Spell damage (Not essential and can add LOTS to the cost)
Resistances

Gloves:
ES / Life
Resistances

Weapon:
Spell damage (good place to stack as much as possible)
Mana Regeneration
Projectile speed
Cast speed

Boots:
ES / Life
Resistances
Movement speed (just nice QoL)

Rings:
ES / Life
Resistances (best place to get some more chaos resistance)
Mana regeneration
Attributes (if you need extra Strength / Dexterity)

Amulet:
ES / Life
Resistances (another place to get some easy chaos resistance)
Attributes (if you need extra Strength / Dexterity)
Mana Regeneration

Belt:
ES / Life
Resistances
Attributes (if you need extra Strength / Dexterity)


Gems:
Spoiler

Essence Drain:


Contagion:


Wither (via totem):


Cast when Damage Taken (this is my experimental setup at the moment):


Blasphemy:


General "fit them in where you can" gems:



More coming soon again :)


Updated current skilltree, again. Tried out a dual Temporal Chains + Vulnerability curse and enjoyed it so much that I am sticking with it for now. Vulnerability theoretically increased damage done from:
±12,500 → ±12,500*(1+0.33) = ±16,625
This will scale far better now for additional increased spell damage nodes. Should hit ±20,000 in the next couple of levels, greatly aiding clear speed. Now all I need is a Bino's Kitchen Knife haha. One day.

However the extra damage came at the cost of some energy shield from Discipline, which had to be removed due to reservation costs. The option is still there to run it, so it just adds a little more situational flexibility.

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As I get more time I'll continue to complete this post. Thanks for reading :)
Last edited by physkid on Jan 23, 2016, 7:04:51 AM
Updated 21/01/16

Added Essence Drain and Contagion tooltip screenshots.
Added gem links (didn't have time to add any descriptions though)

Updated current skilltree. Removed a little Increased Area of Effect nodes for Increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.
Last edited by physkid on Jan 21, 2016, 7:28:07 AM
Recorded a video of a rare tier 5 graveyard map but the video ran at about 0.5 fps (I kid you not - it was literally a slideshow). I could upload just for the lols, but it will add little to the post.
Last edited by physkid on Jan 21, 2016, 11:13:54 AM
Updated 23/01/16

Switched Discipline aura for Vulnerability curse (so now running dual Blasphemy).

Updated current skilltree to reflect the change.
Don't use added chaos damage as support for ED. It won't apply to ED's damage over time which is the main damage dealer. Use slower projectiles or empower instead (or faster projectiles for a more fluent playstyle but a lower damage boost).

BTW instead of wasting two points for +6 chaos resistance nodes in the Method to the Madness cluster you should really pick up Sniper.
Cheers for that Bada_Bing! I have a level 2 Empower that I can use. Will give that a try shortly and play around with gems :)

I'll update the guide accordingly when I get time (possibly tonight).

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