Duelist - [WIP] [2.4] Essence Drain Champion w/ RF + Iron Will - Forum

Place to collect my theory-craft ideas.

Summary:

Life-based Essence Drain Champion (inspired from Hegemony) that uses Righteous Fire for more DoT as well as additional "more" multiplier from RF to boost ED DoT & ED hit.

Multiple layered defenses thanks to Champion Ascendancy that gives many notables to increase both Evasion & Armor, as well as, give you Fortify. More defenses can come from a utility curse linked with Blasphemy (Temp Chains, Vulnerability or Enfeeble all good options), as well as some Block Chance from RotP shield, plus Evade chance from Evasion, physical mitigation from Endurance charges & Armor. Massive amounts of Life Regen given thanks to RF-based tree, Enduring Cry taunt & regen from ED hit.

B/C we're not going LL or CI (cause of RF & currency costs of making RF work w/ ES) we're sticking to a Life-based tree which means we do not need to go Trickster or Occultist. Going Champion for use of permanent Fortify, which is arguably the one of the best classes for Hardcore gameplay. From Champion, we also get +75% increased Global Damage that affects our RF degen as well as our ED + Contagion combo.

Links: (to change as min/maxed)

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(Chest) Essence Drain + Void Manipulation (reduced Ele does not affect RF) + Rapid Decay + Controlled Destruction

(Gloves) Righteous Fire + Increased AoE + Elemental Focus + Increased Burning Damage

(Helm) Blasphemy + Enfeeble/Temporal Chain/Vulnerability + Purity of Fire + Enlighten

(Boost) Contagion + Increased AoE + Faster Casting + Enduring Cry

(Shield/Main-Hand) Whirling Blades/Shield Charge + Faster Attacks + Arctic Armor

(Shield/Main-Hand) Spell Totem + Wither + Vaal Lightning Trap

Skill Tree: (to change)

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poeurl.com/KTs (Tree that splits to Right and Left sides of tree for more Damage)
poeurl.com/LFt (Tree that focuses on Left side of tree more Defenses (Currently using this tree)

Leveling Progress Log:

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Lvl 12 (Leveling with Spectral Throw & a Unique Dagger I found until ready to transfer to ED + Contagion if I can get enough INT)

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Lvl 35 (Having swapped to ED + Contagion, the game has slowed down significantly as I struggle to find items that correctly scale the DMG as my tree is going for purely RF based as of now. I predict that the Levels from Act 4 Normal to Act 1 Merciless will be slow and harsh, but by Dried Lake Merciless, the build will be extremely powerful.)

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Level 47 (Continuing on leveling as normal. Thanks to Essences, crafting & acquiring "good" upgrades for wands & other types of gear is extremely easy & requires little to no investment. Currently in Cruel Act 3. Clearing full rooms now with 1 round of ED + Contagion, Bosses & Rares are still a little difficult.)

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Level 66 (Finally reaching Act 4 Merciless and being able to farm Dried Lake until level 65, I've gained the ability to use the Shield RotP to allow me to use RF. The build is now extremely strong as we have now (thanks to RF) a 40% increase in overall damage)

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Level 72 (And going very strong as I blaze through maps! Lots of fun clearing out full screens with 1 ED + Contagion combo. ED hit does 2.7k, while the DoT does about 10k dPS. The degen from RF is also dealing about 1800 dps per second as well. Overall strong build as I start to generate currency to min-max it with more defenses)

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