Is Spell-based crit cheaper to build now in days?

Hello! Just a to preface this, I used to play PoE a lot back in talisman and back, but never really succeeded in trying to make my own build. Instead I would follow a guide and end up burning myself out.
This time around I want to really try and create my own build.

Anyway, I've been looking at trying to build a spell-based character, looking at skills like Shock Nova etc. However, I'm used to the idea that crit-based builds have always been on the more expensive side. With the introduction of ascendancy classes, has spell-based crit got relatively cheap to build, for example with a 1ex budget?

Honestly, I just want to be able to do uber lab. If so, which ascendency gives the most value in terms of damage gained from ascendancy? I know templar gives you a flat 100% and Resistance Pen, while witch is more flat elemental damage. Meanwhile, shadow gives you a huge amount of crit but is rather far from the good elemental nodes around templar. Can a spells like Shock Nova still be viable without crit and instead relying on pure status ailments and elemental damage +%?
Last bumped on Mar 28, 2017, 11:41:58 AM
The thing is, Shock is regarded as a pretty pointless status nowadays to focus on, it's up for trash and not for bosses. So people just ignore it completely and use Vaal Lightning trap for bosses. The most popular status is probably Ignite and you can certainly play that non-crit, it isn't too hard to get high ignite chance without ignite gem.

And if you want to cap crit easily, Assassin is your man, obviously enough as spells tend to have lower base and high percentage increase from gear so his base bonus is extremely powerful for casters.
Wish the armchair developers would go back to developing armchairs.

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last time i played shock nova it was a very good aoe clearing skill but somewhat weaker vs bosses but that was not a problem.

sure you can do that non crit. take elemental overload and controlled destruction. that's like 90% more damage from just those two and then you have a lot of passives left over for all the crit nodes you don't need to take you can invest elsewhere.

i think inquisitor is much better if you go crit. assassin is more for poison and bleed.
I am Crit shock nova this league. Not cheap gear tho. If you want to take a look at my character. Curse of the Storm.

Shock nova damage got buffed but still having tough time with bosses. Usually I rely on vaal storm call on bosses.
Crit caster is doable. Assassin can crit-cap Incinerate, let alone a spell with actual crit chance, and does so with essentially no gear investment depending on your tree. Assassin isn't awesome for elemental builds, but it can get the job done well enough. Inquisitor adds a ton of damage via resistance-ignoring crits, but it requires a heavier gear investment and/or shenanigans to get enough crit chance to be worthwhile.

Non-crit elemental builds got a massive boost in Elemental Overload, which is powerful enough that non-crit elemental is probably as common, if not more so, than crit elemental. To clarify: EO is a new Keystone between Witch and Templar that removes your crit multi, but gives a 40% More modifier to all elemental damage if you've crit in the last 8 seconds. It's beast, easily available in the mid-20s leveling-wise for both Witch and Templar, and lets those classes level mad fast. A lot of players use Orb of Storms as a secondary skill for proccing EO, which works even better with lightning-based skills that actually use Orb of Storms the way it was originally intended to as well.

Shock Nova is not a Supa Meta skill, but just about anything built intelligently enough can do all right. Would not consider it an Uberlab farmer though, you'd likely have killspeed problems against Izaro without stronger single-target options. Vaal skills don't work for Izaro (no way to charge them) so no VLT or Vaal Storm Call. You can certainly try, but there are stronger potential options for Uberlab. Are you dead-set on Shock Nova, or was that mostly a just-for-example skill?
yes and orb of storms + power charge on crit let you keep up charges vs bosses too. very nice. add curse on hit and assassin's mark and you got a pretty solid 4l.

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