[3.16][HC][ON BREAK] Caustic Arrow Raider, DoT Focused | Tanky | 6k+ Health | All Content | In-depth

Great guide man; love all the updates.

Would Phase Run work as your mobility skill? Or would it screw with frenzy charges?

Blink arrow isn't my favorite due to the delay; wish it was more like whirling blades or something.

Thanks!

great guide, probably going to stat with it, but i am not sure about the ascendancy yet... pathfinder seems to be the way to go, using the new herald, it looks like the better choice for me at least, unlesh the herald is not at good, but it looks good enough on paper and ont the videos.

Thanks for all the kind words! I'll be doing final touches to the guide today, nothing too much of importance. Mostly PoB once it updates (Openarl encountered some issues, but he's doing pretty good at solving them) and polishing levelling guide. I'll be limited by time today as well so don't expect miracles.

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Markuchi wrote:

Thanks for the updates!
Ive made a tree for Pathfinder without frenzy charges. What do you think?
https://pastebin.com/LX6KfVM3

It's OK, you can use it, but frenzy charges or jewels still offer more damage/defence. It's also easier to keep them up with additional duration you get from these nodes.

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Séllo wrote:

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hey i will try ur build as leaguestarter. i have one question though, u say raider is very good for this build but all the streamer ive seen and especialy one said that pathfinder is way better. can u tell me why the opinions are so different on that? and why do u think raider is best?

I believe Raider is omitted most of the because because it doesn't offer meaningful damage increase. All 4 other ascedancies do increase damage by ~20% tops with exception of Trickster (~35-40% damage). That's for base DoT scaling, Pathfinder is best for any HoAgony / poison CA build for sure.

Answer to the question is at the very top of the guide:

Starting with the most important question: "Why Raider of all classes?"
For powerful defensive abilities, QoL features and speed. When damage is not a problem, these are more valueable qualities tham slightly higher dps number. That's why i believe this is the best ascendancy choice for life base CA.

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electroretard wrote:

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Hey DankawSL, thanks for the build and constant updates over the last few days.

Currently I'm torn between using Raider or Trickster as a starter, with trickster giving heaps of more damage.
I'm wondering if it would be better to roll trickster as a league starter due to this, especially when +3 bows might be hard to come by in the beginning and now that everyone and their granny seems to be rolling CA.

I do get the QoL features that raider offers (phasing, move speed, higher dodge base), but the damage difference between the two is huge.

I've done this build multiple times as Raider without the ~125% more damage buff you get this league. It's gonna be fine to roll any ascendancy without worrying about damage. +2 gems 5-link bow should carry you up to red maps. The only issue you might find is single target damage if you don't invest into +3 6-link.

The damage difference between Raider/Trickster appears to be larger in PoB than it is in reality. Trickster's tree is 4 levels higher than Raider's and picks up his first 5 chaos damage nodes. Real difference is 35-40% more damage.

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zdupix1993 wrote:

What do You think about using Herald of Agony? or are You completly dumping it ? ( Im thinking of MF version of CA with QOTF )

Nope, HoAgony will not be part of this build. I've provided some guidelines inside FAQ in case you want to transition that playstyle:

Q: How about scaling Herald of Agony minion?
A: This build does not focus on poison and therefore Herald of Agony isn't going to be very reliable or powerful tool. In case you want to scale it, you would have to use Pathfinder ascendancy with Wither Rain setup. Additionally the setup would require Poison Support gem instead of Increased Duration.

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phocero wrote:

https://pastebin.com/icsfJuqx - what do you think of my version of CA?

I think it's fine, but i haven't really explore poison based version yet. This build focuses on DoT after all.

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ErwinCole wrote:

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I will try this in Delve League. I was thinking of going with Champion Ascendancy since I find myself dying in the past two leagues - never even beaten any major end game bosses. Is there anything I should know for playing this build as a Duelist/Champion?

Both Raider and Champion are great defensive choices. Champion is more tanky and reliable against bosses thanks to his permanent Fortify. Raider should be much better overall and uses Kintsugi for pretty much the same defence if you haven't been hit recently (relies on dodging). Both are totally fine choices.

I can't really offer advice about champion except that you might have very rough time levelling with CA in first 2 acts. The damage nodes are quite far, making the damage below expectations.

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DeadlyShooter wrote:

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Great guide man; love all the updates.

Would Phase Run work as your mobility skill? Or would it screw with frenzy charges?

Blink arrow isn't my favorite due to the delay; wish it was more like whirling blades or something.

Thanks!

Your guess is correct, it's tough to use because of frenzy charge consumption. Phase run isn't necessary at all tho. You should easily reach 80% base movement speed with Frenzy path. You get 40% from quicksilver flask and additional 30% once you start using Onslaught path. Combined 150% movement speed.

Blink Arrow is more of emergency is button, used to cross gaps and maybe used in layout like Channel when there's a lot of running. I almost never use it, but it's there when i need it.

Noice, PoB updated with the new gems now

700k dot dmg HYPE with 6+k life KappaPride

PoB code:
https://pastebin.com/s7vQSea7

This PoB is based on my character from Bestiary HC league. Some items are slightly different from the original for easier damage calculation and recommended gem setup. It also has CA+ED Tooltip bow for classic version of this build.

It features 8 different skill trees, Raider Frenzy is default. You can change them at any time for quick comparison. Number indicates required level for that tree. You have to change bandits manually, Oak is default.

In Calcs tab, "In Combat" calculation shows tooltip dps. "Effective DPS" shows fully buffed damage with 15 stacks of Wither and Despair.

Hello, thanks for the guide first of all! Second, I was planning on adapting this a little bit to use it for scourge arrow because I really like how the skill looks. Probably use toxic rain or caustic arrow till I get scourge arrow, though. Anyway, with the plan to go Scourge Arrow do you think there would be any reason to use the Phasing path of Raider instead of Onslaught path? Or should I just immediately start with something like Rapid Assault > Chase > Poacher > Slaughter?

Seems really good! I plan to start with the trickster (didn't play shadow in a loong time), is it good as a league starter? Wanna play it so bad :D

edit: sorry the question was already asked! Well see u all in the league then :)

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Redmrjay wrote:

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Hello, thanks for the guide first of all! Second, I was planning on adapting this a little bit to use it for scourge arrow because I really like how the skill looks. Probably use toxic rain or caustic arrow till I get scourge arrow, though. Anyway, with the plan to go Scourge Arrow do you think there would be any reason to use the Phasing path of Raider instead of Onslaught path? Or should I just immediately start with something like Rapid Assault > Chase > Poacher > Slaughter?

If you plan to use Scourge Arrow based on this build, you should change your passive tree a little bit to support poison. Mostly chance to poison.

Honestly, any branch combination works. It all depends what you want:

Frenzy - pure DPS
Onslaught - DPS and huge defence against attacks
Phasing - QoL and defence

For Scourge Arrow i would recommend Frenzy + Onslaught.
Order: Way of Poacher -> Avatar of Chase -> Avatar of Slaughter.

Hi Danka,

Quick question before league starts. You say level as many CA gems as you can are those quality ones or is the quality not as important as the level 21?

Thanks,