[2.5] CI Voltaxic Barrage Pathfinder(/Occultist)
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Update 12/30/16: Decided to try this map (see spoiler) when I hit 80, 'cause I'm suicidal. T12 corrupted Crematorium, -max res AND ele weakness AND vulnerability AND less effect of curses AND stronger boss. It wasn't a piece of cake, but the only time I died (or even came close) was by accidentally walking onto the fire pit before it fully drained. I even accidentally hit a Breach, which dropped my frames to 1FPS, but I managed to live through it just holding down the right mouse button and spamming flasks. So yeah, I'd say this build is pretty freaking sweet. Now if only I could find that last trial so I can finally do uberlab.
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 Hi and welcome to my first build guide! Before you read any further, please understand that this build is not fully optimized and has considerably more potential than I've been able to manage with it. Thus far, the character has only made it to level 72, but its performance has been so significant that I felt compelled to start the guide early. I've been running t4-6 maps with it without issue, and could likely go higher if I was a riskier player. I fully expect it to trivialize later content, and will update the thread as I progress with the character. If that turns out not to be the case, I'll be sure to mention exactly how it performed. At the moment though, I haven't even picked up half of the DPS nodes I intend to get, and yet it's clearing faster than any build I've played previously at this level. Update: Level 78 now, running t10 maps easily. Would try uber lab if the last trial wasn't so elusive. This build is partly based on two fantastic builds on this forum: The SignalShot Ranger influenced much of the passive tree and the decision to go CI, while Voltaxic Volley Fire Barrage influenced the skill and gear setup. I don't dare say this build is as good as either one of those two builds, but it does take concepts from both and uses them together to make a fun, effective character. The Pros
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-Can be played as either Pathfinder or Occultist. Same passive tree for both!
-Very active build, requiring both positioning and flask management -Safe against Reflect -Only one 6-link needed -Flexible gear and tree options: Skin of the Loyal for higher DPS and burst-tankiness with Vaal Discipline or a standard ES chest for more overall tankiness The Cons
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-Not a league starter/moderately expensive (several required uniques and high ES gear)
-Levelling pre-Voltaxic can be a pain; use Storm Cloud/The Tempest or Roth's Reach to help -Low ES if using SKin of the Loyal Occultist or Pathfinder?
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Occultist pros:
-Higher ES pool -Dual Curse, -Chaos resist and Chaos explosions (potentially more damage when not taking flasks into account) Cons: -Less flask uptime (meaning less leech uptime) -Required to use Poison gem -Slower movespeed Pathfinder pros: -Very effective flasks with better uptime -Faster movespeed -No need for Poison gem Cons: -Have to spend a lot of points to go dual curse if you want it -Lower ES pool Gear
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Weapon The absolute core of the build. A 6-link isn't necessary, and a 5-link is mostly a luxury item, but without this bow the build cannot work. Body Armor You have two options here: Skin of the Loyal or a 6-link Vaal Regalia with high(600+) ES. With the Skin of the Loyal, you can achieve greater DPS (and have an easier time levelling) than you can with the Regalia, but your base ES will be considerably lower. With Vaal Discipline up, though, you can hit higher total ES values with the Skin than all but the highest ES Regalias. Also of note, if you go Occultist instead of Pathfinder, you won't be penalized as much in your ES pool for using the Skin, so I would consider it the preferred option for that version of the build. Helm, Gloves, Boots As high ES as you can get, and fill in resists as you need them. Particularly if you go Skin, you need your other armor pieces to have very high ES. Higher than what I have, preferably. Shoot for 350+ in the helm, 200+ gloves and 250+ boots, but don't settle for less than 300/150/200 respectively. The Barrage enchant will help your damage considerably, so if you can afford it, get it. Make sure your helm has at least a little accuracy, too, but focus on the ES and resists first. On your gloves, you want Added Lightning Damage and if possible Increased Attack Speed. This can get pretty expensive, so if you need to pick between the two, either should suffice. For your boots, if you have the luxury, Skyforth is by far the best thing you can get. If you're like me and will likely never afford one, ES, movespeed and resists. The "Crit chance if you haven't crit recently) boot enchant is great if you can get it, but not strictly necessary. Jewlery Either Eye of Chayula or Valyrium is mandatory (unless you have Skyforth). Your ES pool is probably going to be pretty low if you're using SKin of the Loyal, so I recommend Chayula to be completely safe from stuns. If you're going Vaal Regalia, Valyrium and an amulet with Added Lightning, high %ES and Crit Multi is what you want. For rings, focus on Added Lightning, resists and Weapon Elemental Damage. This is potentially a good place to get Strength (which you need at least a bit of) and more ES, too. Ideally, have rings that has/can have #ES crafted onto it. Quiver You can also use Drillneck, though it'll be less overall dps compared to a well rolled crit/WED quiver. This one I found myself, and though the life isn't useful and the WED/crit rolls are low, it has exactly the resists I need. Expect to pay a high price for a good quiver. Belt Get a Crystal if you can afford it, otherwise look for high ES, some WED, Strength if you need it and resists. Flask duration if you can get it, too. Jewels You need at the very least two Volley Fires and one Energy from Within; their placement should be obvious based on the below skill tree. After that, you have a few optional slots available to you. In order of priority: -Projectile Damage -Energy Shield -Chaos Damage -Lightning Damage -Attack Speed Flasks Vinktar and Atziri's are your only sources of Leech, and substantial DPS boosts. Both are absolutely mandatory. The other flasks are personal preference; For the absolute most DPS, use both a Silver and Diamond flask. For more survivability, Granite and Basalt flasks, or Ruby/Sapphire flasks as-needed. It's a good idea to keep multiple flasks in your inventory as-needed. You don't need Freeze immunity on your flasks if you're Pathfinder (and have the ascendancy), but you need it on at least one flask as an Occultist. Passive Tree and Bandits
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Bandits: Passive - Passive - Passive (Revised) Level 93(planned) Tree:
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https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAABAIDAQHRAx4HHg18DkgPqw_EES8RUBGBEZYUdRXXFr8ZihnXGo8bJRvIHU8dgx9BIXYkiySdJP0qCyo4Kwosvy0fL28wWzH6Nbk2PTfUOdQ7fElRSbFLrlFHVmNW-luvXfJfamJaY6dtGW1scFJwu3b3d9d_K3-Af5Z_xoauhs6J04w2j_qTJ5OVlSCVLpWHlcyXBp63n22gn6EioS-iQKKjo4qkwqcrrJetM6_rtAy1SLjKvorBM8HzwzrEosrTz93Q0NN-18_ZE9lb3Ubfit-Y51TpAuq662PsGO0_7g7veu-I8NXxbfGK9Pj22vk3-WP7Cf8Q_94=?accountName=Stealthrider&characterName=StezningArrow
Level 78 Tree:
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https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAIDAAHRAx4HHg18DkgPqxEvEVARgRGWFHUV1xa_GYoZ1xqPGyUbyB1PH0EkiySdJP0qCyo4Kwosvy0fL281uTY9N9RJUUmxS65RR1ZjVvpd8l9qYlpjp20ZbWxwUnC7d9d_K3-Af5Z_xoauidOMNo_6kyeTlZUglS6VzJcGnrefbaEioS-iQKKjo4qkwqcrrTOv67QMtUi-isHzwzrEosrTz93Q0NN-18_ZE9lb3Ubfit-Y51TpAuq662PsGO0_7g7veu-I8NXxbfGK9Pj22vk3-WP7Cf8Q_94=?accountName=Stealthrider&characterName=StezningArrow
Optional paths: Drop some/all crit for Dual Curse, some more ES and Chaos/Lightning damage nodes, or add Jewel sockets and Charges, or pick up Point Blank and a bit extra Bow Crit. Update: Changed Power Charge Bandit point into Passive point, picked up Point Blank to compensate for below gem setup changes. For Ascendancies, go in this order: Pathfinder: Master Herbalist, Nature's Boon, Master Alchemist, Nature's Adrenaline Occultist: Wicked Ward, Profane Bloom, Malediction, Void Beacon Gem Setup
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Primary Attack: Barrage - Added Lightning Damage - Weapon Elemental Damage - Void Manipulation - Increased Critical Strikes - Elemental Focus (Poison if Occultist) Curse on Hit/Charge Generation Frenzy - Greater Multiple Projectiles - Curse on Hit - Assassin's Mark - Chain If 6-link, add Power Charge on Critical for a bit of extra charge generation, or Projectile Weakness if you went dual curse. Update: Dropped the CoH setup in favor of Wither - Spell Totem - Faster Casting. Less button intensive, smoother experience overall. Auras Wrath - Discipline - Enlighten - Clarity (Herald of Thunder if you think you can support the mana cost) Update: Dropped Wrath and Clarity in favor of Blasphemy - Warlord's Mark for more reliable leech. Result of this and dropping Frenzy/Power charge generation is considerably less DPS, but smoother gameplay. If you want the most DPS possible, stick with the original setup. CWDT Cast When Damage Taken - Immortal Call - Increased Duration - Summon Ice Golem Utility Blink Arrow - Vaal Haste - Vaal Discipline - Increased Duration Playstyle Pop flasks and Barrage your way through everything. With two Volley Fires active, Barrage is as good at pack clearing as it is against bosses. Make sure you always have at least one of your leech flasks up. As Pathfinder, it's especially important to always have at least one flask up so you can apply poison. Go ahead and facetank whatever you want if you're using the Warlord's setup and Point Blank, just be careful against tougher bosses. With Vinktar's up, you can leech yourself from the brink of death to full instantly, but if your ES pool isn't high enough that won't matter. Make sure you have Vaal Discipline ready for tough encounters. Damage tooltip at level 80
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 Damage tooltip at level 82
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 DPS starting to scale incredibly well. Unfortunately I play on a laptop so I can't record video. I'll try and provide some numbers screenshots once I progress further with the character. Most of my time has been taken up by my league-starter's attempts to clear everything and fund this build. Still, I hope you enjoy the build; with any luck, you'll make it a lot better than I ever could. Update 12/26/16: Improved my gloves and ring, found an Overflowing Chalice and replaced my Quicksilver with it. Build is now at 78 and comfortably running t10 maps, 6300 ES total currently (11.6k with Vaal Discipline up). Still need to improve my boots and belt, and a *lot* of DPS nodes to pick up still. Last edited by Stealthrider on Dec 31, 2016, 4:52:19 AM Last bumped on Jan 29, 2017, 3:12:56 PM
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I'm happy you made this guide as I found a voltaxic and a 6 link es chest red mapping yesterday. I'm gonna be making this build this weekend. How much energy shield do you currently have ?
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As of this writing, at level 74 the character has only about 5.6k ES with the listed gear. I did some math, and with better ES on the gloves and boots that should go up to around 6.7k.
With a 22% ES Amulet (which I was lucky enough to get) and Valyrium instead of Eye of Chayula and a ring, that goes up to 6k flat with current gear, 7.3k with better gloves/boots. Finally, switching to a Vaal Regalia with 600+ ES (any lower and Skin of the Loyal is IMO the better option) brings the total to around 8k ES, or 8.5k with the ES amulet/Valyrium. The important thing to note is that while these ES values are low, it's Vaal Discipline that makes the Skin of the Loyal part of the build shine. In order, Vaal Discipline values of ES are 10.2k, 13.3k, 11.4k, 13.6k with the Skin. With a perfect Vaal Regalia, the Vaal Discipline total is under 12k. Therefore with the Skin, you're getting significantly more burst-tankiness. Not as strong for protracted fights, but the DPS is high enough that most fights shouldn't last that long, anyway. Also note that as an Occultist you're getting an extra 100 flat ES to scale with everything. Personally I would recommend the Occultist route if you'd rather be tanky than deal raw DPS (the DPS is higher on the Occultist without Vinktar or Atziri's up, but considerably higher for the Pathfinder with them up). Bit of a build update, I've been experimenting with dropping the Frenzy/CoH setup and Wrath in favor of Blasphemy/Warlord's and Herald of Thunder, to make the build less button-intensive. The DPS falls a lot (a LOT) but I've thus far found it a more pleasant experience. Would recommend if you'd rather an easy time mapping than a super-endgame focused DPS machine. |
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Updated the OP as the character is now level 78 and comfortably running t10 maps, still with many DPS nodes left to grab.
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Update: see OP. Did one of the RIPpiest maps I've ever done, and did it at level 80, with just one completely avoidable death. Yeah, I'd say this build is pretty damned good.
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cant open the tree :(, and i tried..
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Hi there!
Just wanted to offer some feed back to what looks like a really fun build. www.poeurl.com/1Kg here is the lvl 100 tree that I think might work out to have a little higher top end damage, especially because you are leveraging poison, and increased chaos and damage over time will probably yield better results than increased lightning passives. Other than that, if you put the blue dream in the right most jewel socket you don't need to worry about power charge generation any more if you go pathfinder. An expensive option, but not totally ridiculous. Other than, I think I am going to start playing this tomorrow =) Thanks for putting this guide out there. Last edited by OakenHeart on Jan 29, 2017, 3:14:43 PM
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