[2.6] EK/BV MoM Pledge Kaoms Pathfinder 10k+ EHP.

obviously we have to start with the most important gear part for a pathfinder. I strongly recommend the first 4 flasks for this build. For the fifth flask i see some possible options.



Diamond Flask - since we do spend many points in life and mana nodes we do not invest that heavy in crit, we also have no dagger or shield with crit chance. With a diamond flask and power charges you get close to crit cap. I rolled bleed immunity on mine.

Quicksilver Flask - as a non attack based staff user we have to run, so quicksilver flask is mandatory. But with flask effect nodes you run pretty fast with it. I recommend the “of Adrenaline” suffix for more movement speed

Vessel of Vinktar (physical damage conversion variant) - Is there anything more to say about this flask? Tons of leech, shocks nearby enemies (50% more damage), thanks to Master Alchemist Node no downside. Use the legacy one to instantly leech back 7k life and 3k mana. Also puts you at 84% lightning resistance.

Taste of Hate (better)hatred and (better)ligthning coil in a flask. With the flask effect nodes you get 45% of physical damage as extra cold damage (hatred is 36/37%). With the regular Taste of hate you get 25% physical damage reduction, with legacy variant it is 38% (flask effect and resists included). Also puts you at 84% cold resistance.

Options for the 5th flask slot

a Life Flask - i played without because vinktar gave so much leech on both pools. It may look funny, but with a EHP pool that high, life flask do not even help that much and it even misses our mana pool.

Rumi's Concoction(my choice) - with flask effect you get some block and armour on use, with the legacy variant you are block capped at 38% block roll. A 37% roll gets you at 74% including pledge block.

Ruby Flask: - could be Dying Sun - but since AOE got nerfed it does not do that much on Blade Vortex and the 3 extra projectiles are not needed for Ethereal Knives nova. But with an ruby flask you get the elemental triple 84% maximum resistance, so it could be worth it.

Stibnite, Basalt, Jade Flask - for general defenses or smoke clouds

Sin's Rebirth - normally the unholy might should not scale with flask effect, but maybe it does due to a bug or unclear wording, but we do not scale chaos or poison, so that this is not in the top 4

Atziri's Promise - nice damage boost, should scale flask effect. If you take vaal pact this could be a good alternative for leech if the vinktar is out of charges. Also gives some chaos resistance, which is useful on a non CI build :)

This provides us with an 7-link, 100% mana (awesome for MoM) and some spell damage. Using a staff also provides some block and frees our chest sockets for using a Kaoms Heart.
Sure you could put out some more damage with dual void batteries, but then we can not wear the Kaom’s Heart

500 Life, nothing more to say. Pretty cheap in softcore leagues these days. Could get more expensive in 3.0. If you have more currency to spend than me, get the legacy version :D

Victario's Acuity - very good for EK, would not use this in the BV form of the build, genrate charges and add more projectile speed and damage.

Bisco's Collar - generally too good at the moment to left behind

Voice of the Storm - probably the best damage amulet, with vessel of vinktar we should have enough lightning resists, also added stats and inc % max Mana. I don’t think the updated version (Choir of the Storm) is needed, because our damage should be a good mix between elements and we don’t want the -lightning resists.

Rare Amulet - as high mana and life as possible. Best damage mods should be Critical Strike Multiplier, Critical Strike Chance. Essence of Insanity craft could be an option, but it is not needed if you have instant mana leech.

Essence Worm - to save our precious mana unreserved as life pool, this ring is a good option to run a single aura like hatred. it saves us more EHP a rare ring could give us. I would not pass on this one.

Rare Ring - As usual, as much life and mana as possible. Resists and stats as needed.

Essence of Hysteria - a crafted ring should be the highest damage output you could get on a ring slot.

Atziri's Acuity - I got lucky with my legacy Vessel of Vinktar, which is one of two sources of instant mana leech in the game. This is a huge advantage for MoM. The other possibility is to go with Atziri's Acuity where leech is applied instantly on critical strike. With the removal of Vaal Pact on energy shield in 3.0 i could imagine they become a bit more expensive.

Rare Gloves - In the current form i just use rare gloves with as high life and mana roll as possible and resists/stats as needed. For a small boost you could also try essence crafted gloves for inc. crit chance, more cast speed for flame dash.

Rare Helmet - For the most part go with the old school, as much life and mana as possible. Add resist and stats as needed.

The Gull - I also fitted the Gull in for some time, as it is a fun mechanic and gives you random defense or offense boosts. It also has some life and resists.
If you want to run a second aura or don’t want to play with Essence Worm you could play arround with the Essence of Loathing craft on a helmet for a bit more mana if you run a herald.

Enchants

Ethereal Knives - as Ethereal Knives is the clear speed part of this build, projectile speed is the king here.

Blade Vortex - my personal favourite is the “30% increased Blade Vortex Duration”, but use the one you like most.

Reare Boots - Stats are as always as much life and mana as possible, but also movement speed. Suffixes: go for stats and resists.

Voidwalker - With Ethereal Knives i really like the free pierce. If you don’t have them, you should skill the pierce wheel on the tree and fit in the pierce gem. The other stats like evasion, 30% movement speed and phasing are good too.

Brinerot Whalers without life and mana and as a pathfinder which is already immune to shocked ground i would only consider them as a leveling option.

Skyforth Sure they provide mana, reduced reservation and power charge generation. But the no life regen mod could be a serious downside here. And with 7k HP you do not get stunned that often. If you want to go all for damage you could consider them, but i would recommend to put your money in the other slots first.

Enchantment - For Boots, as we are not critcapped i like the “120% increased Critical Strike Chance if you haven't Crit Recently” at least with the EK Version. But movement speed is a viable option too.

Rare Belt - High Life, Strength, #% increased Flask effect duration, #% reduced Flask Charges used are the best rolls on there. fun fact: with the Arcane Chemistry Node and a descent reduced flask charges used roll on the belt, you will get 3 uses out of a legacy vinktar :D

possible unique alternatives - Headhunter(clearspeed), The Magnate(Str, physical damage, flask charges), Bisco's Leash (Rampage, Quantity), Belt of the Deceiver (Life, resist, Intimidate[10% more damage], reduced damage from crits, physical damage)

Ring of Blades for Ethereal Knives, take it, it clears the whole screen. Good spot to hit a immune to silence corruption.

The Blue Dream / The Blue Nightmare - this can be used if you lack other options to generate power charges. there is a good spot under the scion start. Nightmare also provides you with some spell block. The extra damage is somewhat small, because only a small part of our damage is lightning.

The Green Dream / The Green Nightmare - this can be used if you lack other options to generate frenzy charges. there is a good spot under the scion start. Nightmare also provides you with some dodge. The extra damage is a bit more than on the blue variant, because the portion of our cold damage should be much higher than lightning. But still somewhat questionable.

rare Jewels - prioritize %max life, critical strike multiplier for spells, critical strike multiplier also useful: %spell damage variants, % max mana, resists. If you don't want to switch consider prjectile damage and area damage as stats.

We have some options here and some are a matter of personal taste. My choice was not the option with the highest damage numbers in path of building. I chose a combination for fast clear speed and good feeling :)

EK + Crit Strikes + controlled destruction + crit damage + faster projectiles + faster casting

- In that setup you could swap out for slower projectiles or pierce if you have a tough boss fight
- you should have pierce in your setup if you don’t have voidwalkers
- crit damage gem is somewhat dependent on your jewels, gear, tree. It has some diminishing returns on higher values.
- Other options for this spot are added fire damage, pierce, a high level empower, phys to lightning(bad for high resits monsters)
- faster casting and faster projectiles are mainly for clear speed and that good feeling

This variation of the build has someone less clearspeed in maps and is more melee, but it's quite tanky, because blade vortex provides consistent leech and has good damage output on single target.



BV + Crit Strikes + controlled destruction + inc AOE/Conc Effect + crit damage + Added Fire

- if your Area is fine for you, you could run with concentrated effect and inc AOE at the same time.
- crit damage gem is somewhat dependent on your jewels, gear, tree. It has some diminishing returns on higher values. Other options for this spot are a high level empower, phys to lightning(bad for high resits monsters)
- you could consider running increased duration gem while mapping for convenience

Hatred (my choice) - placed in the Essence Worm, good damage output

Grace - placed in the Essence Worm, descent Evasion, we have some increases in the tree

Assassin’s Mark - our damage is mixed between phys and elemental, so vulnerability or elemental weakness would only buff a part of it.
Since we are not critical strike capped i prefer running Assassin’s Mark in a Curse on Hit setup. If you don’t have The Blue Dream, Skyforth or Victario's Acuity this is your option to generate power charges.

Herald of Ice - You can link your curse on hit with Herald of Ice or Herald of Thunder. Even if Herald of Ash would be better in raw damage numbers, it does not hit, so it can not apply curses. I prefer Herald of Ice for the nice shatter and the somewhat bigger area of effect you get. As the main aura goes in an essence worm, the mana reservation is a bit higher for your herald. you could compensate that with an enlighten gem.

Vaal Skill - I'm somewhat lazy using them. With Blade Vortex and the duration nodes from the tree it is easier to sustain them. I would recommend Vaal Haste for offense or Vaal Grace for Defense. You can link that with your Cast When Damage Taken, Immortal Call, Increased Duration Setup for the duration buff

Movement Faster Casting, Flame Dash. As Ethereal Knive variant you could consider a lightning warp setup, but it is bad if you have increased duration skilled in the tree.

Cast when Damage Taken - linked with Immortal Call and increased Duration. Stable in many builds

Golems - Sure you could take an Ice Golem for Crit or a Lighningt Golem for Cast Speed, but they die to much without investment, so i'll pass on them