[2.5] Slayer Blade Flurry t14+ on a budget - beginner friendly (Scaeva)

Hello, this is a budget and beginner-friendly build, which also has potential to be a great league starter. It's fairly straightforward, and can be played as any duelist ascendancy. I prefer slayer for the extra aoe and leech, but champion's fortify and intimidate is also nice. Gladiator's gratuitous violence helps with clear and block nodes are nice for extra defense.

This build is capable of comfortably farming at least T14 with rather budget gear. Not sure I would recommend this for HC, as I don't play HC at all, and I did die once in testing it.

Pros
Cheap
Reasonably Tanky
Can farm up to T14 on a budget (potentially higher, ran out of maps on standard)
Decent Clear Speed
Fast movement due to high attack speed with whirling blades.
Capable of doing your own Uber Lab (though not sure about farming max keys)


Cons
Damage starts to fall off in higher tier (t14+) maps with heavy monster defense.
Needs quite a bit of int and some dex from gear and/or jewels
Probably not great at killing guardians


Passive tree at level 87: http://poeurl.com/1e9

Bandits: Oak, Oak, Kraityn

You could also choose the passive or kraityn for attack speed from cruel.

Ascendancy
Normal: Bane of Legends
Cruel: Headsman
Merciless: Endless Hunger
Uber: Brutal Fervor


My Gear


The reason I southpaw (off-hand attack) with scaeva is because of Resolute Technique. The crit chance is useless, so I might as well take the block. Of course, you could run a shield if you prefer the defenses with minimal shifts in passive points.

Beginner Note: Since Blade Flurry can only be used with swords, daggers, and claws; axes and maces will not be used for damage (they are just a stat stick).



Until you get the culling node from slayer ascendancy, the Relentless Fury one-hand axe also works well for a main-hand.

For the rest of the gear, just try to hit Resistance caps, stat requirements, and get some maximum life. Added phys is also pretty important, as we are non-crit with a one-hander. The ming's heart could (probably should) easily be replaced with a decent phys damage rare ring. I just had this laying around. You will need a fair bit of int from gear as well for inc aoe and other gems.

When you can afford to, Carcass Jack or Belly of the Beast would be good upgrades from Tabula.

Blade Flurry Links (In order of most important to least important)
Blade Flurry(G)-Faster Attacks(G)-Melee Physical Damage(R)-Increased Aoe(B)-Added Fire Damage(R)-Weapon Elemental Damage(R)

Swap out increased aoe for concentrated effect for better boss damage. If you are on a 6-link/tabula, I also recommend swapping in Ancestral Warchief in The Weapon Elemental Damage Slot for tough bosses, and maybe even in place of added fire on a 5-link. In testing, I left my warchief in for everything and it felt just fine, but optimally you only swap for boss if needed.

Cast When Damage Taken Setup
CWDT(R)-Immortal Call(R)-Increased Duration(R)-Your Preference

CWDT Taken level depends on your preference, I like to keep the damage threshhold at around half my hp.

Suggestions for the fourth include:
Phase Run - Nice for lab since traps will make you run faster and phase through enemies
Stone or Lightning Golem - Nice if you are lazy like me and don't like to manually cast your golem when it inevitably dies
Arctic breath - Chilled ground is a nice added defense, can also replace inc duration with greater multiple proj in this scenario if you wish.
Whatever you want - The fourth link is really up to you, it could also be a vaal skill (Haste/Grace) if you wish to take advantage of increased duration (note: CWDT does not trigger vaal skills)



As you can see, I'm not even using all 6 links from the tabula. The build also performs fine with blade-flurry on a 4-link, albeit your boss damage might suffer without warchief in a seperate setup. Ignore the enlighten gem, with herald of ash and blasphemy as the only two auras, it is not necessary at all. I would recommend replacing it with vaal lightning trap, or another vaal skill if you have a Vessel of Vinktar.



Flasks
I feel that the only necessary flask in this setup is a life flask of heat. This could either be a seething (preffered for me with slayer leech), catalysed, or saturated life flask. If you use either of the latter two, choose an eternal flask for a nice added regen.



This is a nice damage boost for the cost, in addition to the extra leech it provides. This build is very capable of farming Normal Atziri, so you could even get your own if you prefer.

Vinktar is always nice for the added leech and shock aura. If you run this, be sure to have another utility flask with the "of grounding" affix. Don't worry about getting conversion, it's the shock (50% more damage taken by monsters and bosses) that we really care about here.

Jewel Stat Priorities
Any extra resistances you need
Physical damage with one-handed weapons
Physical damage with swords
Physical weapon damage while dual-wielding
Physical damage
Area Damage
Attack speed (1h, swords, dw, then flat)
Damage
Maximum life


The reason I put Max life last on the list is because I feel quite comfortable with 190% from tree even in a tabula. If you prefer more, go for it.