[outdated] King of the Forest (Crit version)

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cmphx wrote:

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Khalline wrote:

Hi there ! With recent rebalance, would anything change for this build as I'd like to start with it?
Thanx for sharing this fun playing build !

Hi leveling should still be same.



Guys you can expect updates for 2.6 to this build around Thursday March 2nd evening european time (or friday morning after) - thats when all the skilltree info and balance changes will have been published and I had time to look at it.

From what it looks like, the build will still be the same, maybe even with small buffs because of a nicer skilltree

Very nice, I LOVE this build and your dedication to maintaining all the info :)

Better hope some similar playing build will still be possible in 3.0 though, what with the upcoming nerf to double dipping :/...

How this build works as league starter? I'm going to make it anyway and if I can start it since day 1 i will be even happier :D

I believe this can be also played with tornado shot, right?

are there any differences between LA and TS in this build, other than most likely only needing one 5L (as TS does not need barrage for single target, it works for both aoe and single target)?

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NaneLz wrote:

How this build works as league starter? I'm going to make it anyway and if I can start it since day 1 i will be even happier :D

from the frist post in this thread written by cmphx, "Tips & Tricks:" secion, "leveling" part:

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cmphx wrote:

Easy, short description:

I tried to level spell based in Breach league and I think its better. You can read about it here:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1775830

Just follow that if you dont have good leveling gear, it can be done solo selffound if you copy it 1:1.

Or you level as Bow right away. Use heralds or wrath if you need more damage. Get a deaths harp and a drillneck it will carry you to maps. Get snakebite, Lioneyes glare and a 5L or a Tabula, that is enough for T11 maps. Fill out the tree basicly as it is, pick life whenever you feel like you want to be tankier.

Use and level a decoy totem on bosses, it is so helpful !

Equip snakebite as early as possible, its a great damage boost.

If you dont have a reach, use Lioneyes Glare it costs 1 chaos and is great damage. 5L links will be Lighting arrow - GMP - added chaos - critstrikes - pierce.
For Barrage, use Barrage - added chaos - pierce - critstrikes. 5th link if you can afford it will be slower proj.

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DeadManWalkin wrote:

I believe this can be also played with tornado shot, right?

are there any differences between LA and TS in this build, other than most likely only needing one 5L (as TS does not need barrage for single target, it works for both aoe and single target)?

i dont belive tonado shot can keep up with dps compared to barrage for bosses. so i think you do want a 6L barrage.

the writer of the guide, cmphx, does use tornado shot gem as replacement of lighting arrow gem for maps with elemental reflect.

Hey guys

So its end league and I wanted to share my experience with the build. Played it to death so I figure some people can learn from my experience.

Firstly, here's the gear:



With high end gear this build kills everything. Chimera is easily dealt with if you have bleed removal and just manage potions relatively well, and Hydra takes a bit of practice but dies every time. The fights against Hydra and Chimera take long, but they are definitely do-able.

For Softcore, this build is pretty much what you want. Easy transition from levelling into maps and can start high tier maps with relatively little currency investment. 5L Death's Opus and 5L QofT and some decent rares and you can do T12 comfortably.

For Hardcore, this build is certainly viable but you are going to have to deal with the fact that you won't be able to do some end-game content. I don't think Hydra or Chimera are safe in HC, unless you run them blue and concentrate. Other than that, the build is tanky enough to make a mistake here and there without dying. In HC, Shaper will probably be scary because you can't make a mistake or you will just brick your map or risk dying. I would say Uber Atziri is not an option in HC, but in SC she is comfortably do-able but you are going to be using some portals to finish her off.

It must be said though, that this build represents what one of the strongest builds in PoE should be like. It isn't broken, and it isn't extremely cheap. It takes off with little currency investment but it scales extremely well the more you invest. But it doesn't trivialise end-game content, and it can't comfortable do all end-game content. The meta builds SHOULD be like that, and not how it is at the moment, where builds like blade flurry, HoWA ST and Signal Shot can just facetank and destroy everything while the player simultaneously studies for an exam tomorrow and watching a stream.

If you are comparing KotF to broken ES/GR/Vaal Pact/Vinktars builds then yeah, it is not the best build you can opt for. But for the rest of my post I am going to ignore those OP builds.

Continuing, my observations are:

1) This is the strongest bow build overall at the moment.

2) This is the best bow build that balances tankiness and dps.

3) Budget viable, and scales extremely well with gear.

4) Top clear speed, maps are a joke. 1 shot per pack.

General Notes

- As has been mentioned before, if you keep moving you will not die (barring you doing content that you shouldn't be doing)

Your biggest defense with this build is firing your arrows and moving, fire arrows, move, fire arrows, move.

- When fighting bosses, do NOT forget to first generate your frenzy charges. Rather generate frenzy charge than wasting your time barraging a boss while not at max frenzy charges because the dps is not even worth it at that point.

- In my experience, staying at 3 max Frenzy charges is best. I don't like the 2 passives just to make your life more difficult. There are too many great places to invest your points like more %life.

- * SC only * Point blank is amazing for Shaper/Guardians when your gear isn't high end yet.

- If you're going for exp, avoid killing Rare monsters that are close to you - especially tanky rares like golems etc. Volatile is disgusting and hours of careful play can just fly out the window with one Volatile on a minus max res map.

- Be wary of Promenade map boss, the lightning thorns has caused a death or two that could have been avoided with some patience...

- I managed to vaal myself a +1 Power Charges RotC. I swapped some skill points around, added a Diamond ring and managed to reach about 94% crit which allowed me to drop the Diamond Flask.

I dropped the Quicksilver only because I have a Headhunter which grabs me some movement speed from the rares in the map. I usually have too much movement speed and using a Quicksilver actually became more of a hazard than a help. Since my resistance were not EleWeakness capped, I went for "Cloth and Chain" on the tree, which capped all my resistances as well as boosting my movement speed by 10%. This all synergised so well with my HH that I felt very comfortable dropping the QS and adding Atziri's Promise. And let me tell you, the Sulphur/Sin's Rebirth/Atziri's Promise is so good. So, so good. PS: I swap my Sulphur Flask for Kiara's when I do Temp Chains maps.

- Any problems with stun disappeared when I added the Stun Avoidance lab enchantment to my boots. I was using a Kiara's Determination before which worked like a bomb, and brings me to my next point

- Kiara's Determination is AMAZING. I think it should be a staple in the KotF flask lineup. It just takes care of so much - curse, freeze and stun. Before I added Kiara's earlier in the league, I was dying every now and again to random stuns. After Kiara's, it was NOTICEABLE how much less I found myself in precarious positions. Get the Flask and test it out for yourself. Replace your standard Silver Flask with Kiara's and I dare you to tell me that it doesn't just feel absolutely amazing...

- GET %reduced flask charges used on your belt. Or %increased charge recovery. We are extremely flask dependent and that extra % is a must have on your belt.

- Avoid faster movement/cast/attack speed against Hydra, Phoenix and Chimera. It would be preferable for them to have double damage boosts instead of any movement speed and attack speed bonuses. It can be done, but you're going to use a few portals...

- Avoid increased AOE map mod against Phoenix. It just sucks...

- Overgrown Ruin map boss is a pain unless your gear is very good. I would avoid it until you are very well geared.

- Don't feel bad if you die to Shaper. This build is definitely not 100% Shaper deathless. I think even the OP can admit that Deathless Shaper is not 100% guaranteed. If the wrong adds spawn during the portal phase where you have to protect Zana, then game is hard. If one of those black balls that follow you spawn during the add phase then having to move away to trigger the ball can mean loss of momentum and therefore Zana dies. From that point on luck is required in order not to brick the run.

A great tactic to get used to is tping out if Shaper does his Ultimate Chaos, and then tp'ing back in and waiting until it is over. You have like 30 seconds of invulnerability, so you can kinda wait for a good time to strike

With practice though, I would say you can do Shaper deathless 90%+ of the time.

If I think of more comments to add to my notes I will do so over the next few days.

In conclusion, I would like to say thanks to the OP for a great build. Definitely the best bow build I have played. Had a great time this league and can recommend this build to anyone.

You can do ALL content with this build, so go ahead, invest and have fun.

I got lucky and dropped all main items for this build (minus RotC) this league but focused on my EQ slayer to its limit (norse build) instead. Would you guys recommend this build in terms of budget and farmability (i.e. using the same character to farm its own currency) Thanks!

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ggsbv wrote:

Hey guys

So its end league and I wanted to share my experience with the build. Played it to death so I figure some people can learn from my experience.

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Thank you so much for your review of this build. Thats exactly what I searched for in this thread. It was nice to read and very informative.
A lot of guides here make it look like it's a walk in the park to do all endgame content deathless in their videos, so it's allways nice to read other players opinion and conclusion about a build.
Still waiting for patch notes, but this could be my next build now :)

100% Agree with ggsbv.

I also played this build to death and it's my favourite build at the moment. I love bow builds and hate melee so I am a bit biased.

Even though I died a lot of times, it's mostly because of my shitty laptop which hangs for 10 seconds while loading the textures and sprites. A very fun build and definitely not overpowered as the BF meta.

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zznaK wrote:

Thank you so much for your review of this build. Thats exactly what I searched for in this thread. It was nice to read and very informative.
A lot of guides here make it look like it's a walk in the park to do all endgame content deathless in their videos, so it's allways nice to read other players opinion and conclusion about a build.
Still waiting for patch notes, but this could be my next build now :)

Glad my post helped out... I posted because I know that when I research a build I want to play, I love reading unbiased commentary in the thread first. So for all others who post -proper- and -fair- build experience commentary, I am passing on the favour.

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Dying__Lights wrote:

100% Agree with ggsbv.

I also played this build to death and it's my favourite build at the moment. I love bow builds and hate melee so I am a bit biased.

Even though I died a lot of times, it's mostly because of my shitty laptop which hangs for 10 seconds while loading the textures and sprites. A very fun build and definitely not overpowered as the BF meta.

yep, one shotting packs in T15 maps never gets old. KotF is a great build. Especially for SC. I think it is pretty much the perfect SC build, unless you consider OP builds.