AsStarforge 2H Crit Lacerate 3.0

I decided to update my guide with the release of 3.0 and a new gem : Brutality which allows supported skills to do 54% MORE damage at the cost of doing no elemental damage which this build already do none of since we use the unique Starforge sword. Knowing how strong this build was without that gem, I know for sure that it's a great build now for anyone who enjoys 2H sword skills and huge bleeds!

Why should I keep reading and even play this? Well... This is a very strong build both for map clearing and boss killing. It's also fun to play and scales really well with gear investments! Finally, it's a very versatile build, you can do minor changes and use Cyclone or Viper Strike and make the build feel like a fresh one :)



Pros:
-With little changes to your gems/passives you can easily use Cyclone/Flicker Strike/Viper Strike instead of Lacerate!
-This build could compete with the strongest ES builds in 2.4 and with the ES nerfs coming with 3.0, this build is in a very strong spot being a life build!
-Fun to play
-Bosses melt in the blink of an eye
-Great clear speed
-Any map mod except reflect phys. and no leech which is a rare mod on maps.
-Easy to level up using Sunder or Earthquake
-Not Blade Vortex (2.4 reference)
-Good lab farmer


Cons:
-Expensive and certainly not a first character build for that reason.
-In other words, avoid it if you're a new player who can't generate currency to buy the required uniques : Starforge, Atziri's Acuity, Voidheart)

Playstyle:
Ranged Melee (Lacerate AoE) similar to Reave, but you don't have to worry about your stacks so you're allowed to pick up drops and even leave your map to make a trade, this is a buff!

We profit from the safety of a ranged attack and aren't scared to go in melee range since we have some insane leech with our damage!

Character:

Screenshots:
Spoiler

Keep in mind I'm only level 88 and I tested this build on softcore, so I decided to pick the Scion Life nodes once 85+ and I also have 0% Life on my Jewels since I don't feel like I need it right now, but as soon as I'll go for the Guardians, I will aim for 5.5k+ Life.

Unbuffed Offence:
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Buffed Offence:
Spoiler

A huge part of our damage comes from Poison/Bleed. Also, Lacerate has a chance to hit a target twice and our Glove Enchantment gives us another 10k unbuffed tooltip dps and it can Bleed/Poison ennemies too.

Unbuffed Defence:
Spoiler

Misc:
Spoiler

Charges:
Spoiler


Bandit:
Both Oak and Alira are good, but I think Oak is a bit better unless you use a Headhunter (HH) then I would pick Alira since she gives All Res. which is helpful to fit a HH in a build.

Pantheon:
Soul of Tukohama is a solid choice if you farm a boss that deals physical dmg since Lacerate locks you in place.

If this doesn't apply to you then I would always go with : Soul of The Brine King.


Passive Skill Trees:
Leveling Tree:


66 Points:https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAABAYBAQUtBbUHdQeZES8UdRa_IVUj9iaVJyAs-y5TMHEwfDY9OkJAoEMxR35LeEyOTP9Nkk4qUUdVS1b6WfBbr14TYeJirGVNaoxsjHTtdf1313h6eu9_K4RvhKKE2YTvh2qKIo19jb-dqqLZqSeplLDYtMW1SL02vqfApsLsyBTTb9Qj1ELawdw93ajrY_Vv[/spoiler]

Endgame Trees:
Spoiler

123 Points (2 Passive points bandit): you can use the Intuitive Leap Viridian Jewel on the top right of the tree to save 3 points:

Passive tree updated on Path of Building, here's the pastebin link:
https://pastebin.com/Jc8igVQA


Ascendancy class:
Assassin is my choice.

Ascendancy class explanation:
Spoiler

We have two obvious ascendancy choices to build a Lacerate build with : Slayer and Assassin.

I would say that your choice depends on what you enjoy and plan to do with your character
I feel like Slayer has many great Nodes that speeds up general map clearing and easier content.

Because of the leech Slayer gets I would say that it is also tankier than the Assassin, but the Assassin gets some massive damage Nodes in his Ascendancy tree and also makes crit way easier to get.

The deciding factor for me was that thought : what holds me down in this game?
The answer to that is Bosses since I already clear maps very easily I decided to go Assassin since it would really help more against bosses since you get his Ascendancy buffs even against bosses while Slayer needs to kill and stuff like that for some of his buffs to affect him!

Ascendancy points:
2 Points: Noxious Strike
4 Points: Toxic Delivery
6 Points: Unstable Infusion
8 Points: Deadly Infusion

My Gear:
Spoiler
Feel free to take Armour, Armour/Evasion or Evasion gear they're all fine for us. The only required items are : Voidheart, Starforge and Atziri's Acuity (you could do without them, but I feel these gloves offer too much to be skipped. They give a lot of intelligence which we need + the obvious nice stats on them!

Flasks:
Spoiler
You can also use :


Jewels:
Spoiler

A few examples of Jewels :

Ideally you want Life +
Anything with 2H Sword or Global
-Attack Speed
-Crit Chance
-Crit Multiplier
-Physical damage
Optional (depends on your gear) :
-Resists
-Physical dmg Leeched as life/mana


Gearing:
Spoiler

Prefered bases for each slot :
Belt : Phys%/Life/Armour+Evasion
Amulet : Onyx/Agate
Ring : Diamond or any Resist ring if needed to cap
Boots/Helm : anything with Evasion or Armour


Enchantments:
Spoiler

Helm
12% AoE Lacerate/40% Lacerate dmg/60% Lacerate crit
I'll go more in depth about those later.

Boots
Life/Mana leech, Attack/Cast Speed

Gloves
Anything with Physical dmg, avoid Elemental dmg ones since you are using Starforge.


Gem Setups:
Spoiler

CWDT setup :
RRRG

Cwdt/Immortal Call/Increased duration/Ice Golem or Blood Rage

Aura/Buff Setup:
GGGR

1. Haste/Blood Rage/Vaal Haste/Increased duration
2. Arctic Armour/Blood Rage/Vaal Haste/Increased duration

Curse Setups:
BBBG

1. Curse on hit/Herald of Thunder/Vulnerability/Blind(optional)
2. Blasphemy/Vulnerability/Enlighten/Haste or Arctic Armour
Other useful curses : Assassin's Mark/Enfeeble/Temporal Chains

Mobility Setup:
RRRG

Leap Slam/Blood Magic/Fortify/Faster Attacks

Lacerate setup:
I wouldn't recommend anything under 6l, but just in case you don't mind sucking...
4L Lacerate/Multistrike/Melee phys.dmg/Faster Attacks
5L+Inc. AoE (switch for Concentrated effect for bosses)
6L+Inc. Crit. Strikes
With the release of the new gem : Brutality, I would replace Faster Attacks for that new gem, but since I can't test that 6L setup right now I suggest you test it yourself if you have the chance and see what feels the best for you!



Videos: More coming soon!


Leveling tips:
Spoiler

Avoid Lacerate until you are level 69 I would say since at that point you will be able to use Starforge and have decent attack speed which is vital with Lacerate to feel good.

You can use Warchief Totem/Sunder then Earthquake/Facebreakers or anything that you like that scales with physical damage.

Avoid any Critical strike nodes and focus on life and physical damage ones until you are level 65+


To be tested/Ideas
Spoiler


-New weapon mods that allow you to bleed monsters and deal more bleed dmg, maybe that allows leveling with a rare sword and transition sooner to the final build just without the Starforge, but with the use you elemental damage until then.

-Belly of the Beast for more life if you feel you have enough AoE

-Brass Dome Gladiator Plate which seems very strong for bosses since most bosses have to crit you to deal a lot of damage (Try Enfeeble if you don't trust me)

-Blood magic node in the passive tree and just drop Haste/Arctic Armour for a nice increase in life, no more need for mana leech/regen and saves maybe 1 gem (Blood Magic) for the Leap Slam setup

-Transition to Flicker Strike/Viper Strike


FAQ
Spoiler
How do you generate/maintain power charges?
Unstable Infusion gives us 10% to gain a power charge on hit.

Why Lacerate?
Lacerate has the potential to hit more than once the same monster which means we can apply more than a poison stack or even generate more than one power charge everytime we hit. It also has great AoE which means that we clear maps fast and the most important : it's a fun skill!

How did you manage to get all that gear/currency?
I played more than the average player and played effectively. Also, I bought many items which had great potential (only missing 1 res or life) and then crafted the missing stat to sell for some nice profit. I played a Life BV Pathfinder Wander which allowed me to farm the Guardians and even the Shaper when they were profitable and I sold a lot of maps/fragments.

Is it possible to have a budget version of this build, I can't afford the sword...
Yes, you can adapt the tree and auras to use another weapon (high phys Exquisite Blade for ex.) than the Starforge sword which would also mean you could deal elemental damage so you would probably pick Herald of Ash/Hatred. I have to say that it would probably not be as strong since our Bleed and Poison hits scale directly from our Physical damage which Starforge is all about!

Is it possible to have a budget version of this build, I can afford the sword, but not the Atziri Gloves and sword...
I haven't tested it, but I would tell you to go Slayer and drop the Atziri's Acuity gloves for a pair of rare gloves and I would wear a Cherrubim's Maleficence for the life Leech. That Chest is really good since it offers all we need for a very cheap price, but it might be harder to color, but you can always adapt your gem setup for that!

My profile:
https://www.pathofexile.com/account/view-profile/Beastoeast/characters
Character : BeasTOD (Assassin)




Last edited by Beastoeast on Aug 11, 2017, 12:08:11 AM
Last bumped on Sep 27, 2017, 6:48:05 PM
would this build benefit from this?
Shitysushi - Arrow shooting build.
Sendeliriante - hollow palmer
Reserved
Last edited by Beastoeast on Sep 21, 2016, 6:05:45 PM
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Last edited by Beastoeast on Sep 21, 2016, 5:58:32 PM
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Really interested, mathil just did something similar can you post dps stats and so on?
LMFAO to "pro's not Blade vortex" ♥♥♥


been looking for somethign else to change my dualist to, since i am bored on EQ animation.
could this work on dualist or to low crit? i am in love with the 20% cull on boss's + the reflect reduction.


His passive tree,
Last edited by Nisseonbeer on Sep 22, 2016, 5:35:03 AM
"
Nisseonbeer wrote:
LMFAO to "pro's not Blade vortex" ♥♥♥


been looking for somethign else to change my dualist to, since i am bored on EQ animation.
could this work on dualist or to low crit? i am in love with the 20% cull on boss's + the reflect reduction.


His passive tree,


Sure it can be very good, but you 100% need the Diamond Flask if you do that and want to stay Crit or at least I feel, your other option is to drop Crit Chance and Multi in your tree and go Resolute Technique (RT) which isn't bad at all, but I think it would have some dps problems in t14+ if you did go RT.
"
demogorg wrote:
Really interested, mathil just did something similar can you post dps stats and so on?


I updated the Guide, you can now check that under Screenshots!
think the damage is quite underwhelming kinda (not offending) but other builds can easily do the same damage with the same defences, even melee for example a dagger with a shield would easily do the same damage with even better defences or am i not seeing something ?

maybe put an abyssus or rats nest on just to see if the stats are worth it (thinking of starting a new build atm doing a tornado shot with a really good bow and doing 150k dps on tornado shot with gmp and everything but i want more damage :) )
Last edited by demogorg on Sep 22, 2016, 3:09:44 PM

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