[3.1 AHC] Kitava's Thirst Flame Surge

First off, this thread is based off of Sarodh1's build, Martyr of Kitava, whic can be found here.

The goal of this guide is to provide an alternative meant for hardcore, prioritizing more health and defensive capabilities without completely sacrificing damage potential. As Sarod admits in his guide, his build is heavily dependent on RNG, and as such is not suited for hardcore. This guide aims to offshoot from him and provide a solution to this.

Please keep in mind, all guides should be considered bases, and you should tailor any and all guides you use to suit your playstyle.

The idea is to use the unique helmet...



...to trigger two skills: Vortex and Magma Orb. To do this, we need to bring the combined mana of our primary skill--Flame Surge--to a minimum of 100 mana, which can be difficult. To reliably do this, you will require a 5L item, and you will require at least one unique jewel...



...later on to do this. If you decide to begin using this at level 44 (when you can use Kitava's Thirst) you will need a 5L staff or chestpiece, and two Fevered Minds to make it work. You will also need to have completed your normal Lab to obtain Weave the Arcane in order to maintain mana. My personal opinion is to not do this, as you will only be hurting yourself for leveling in a timely manner.

By using burning/ignite to increase Flame Surge damage, we are allowing for maximum potential in terms of single-target and AoE damage. Flame Surge can provide both; however, it's far stronger as a single target spell, even though it does have the AoE tag as well.

Relatively cheap to begin with
Fairly straightforward playstyle
Not a meta build
Active gameplay
Excellent prophecy farming build

Endgame items can be expensive
Elemental Reflect and Reduced Regeneration maps are a no go
Considering it's an active gameplay build, you actually have to pay attention
RNG dependant, even if reduced from the original build
Can't facetank everything

Flame Surge is our bread and butter right-click spell. It deals a decent amount of fire damage off the bat, but deals more if the target is burning. Because of this, our intent is to make sure things burn as long as possible for us to maximize the power of this skill. Getting quality 20 increases cast speed. Relatively speaking, because this is not a meta build, buying a Q20 Flame Surge should be pretty cheap at all times (I bought mine in the middle of the league for 3C).

You can start using this at level 12; however, it is going to be very difficult to level with as you are not reliably burning enemies, and it has a low AoE.

Slotted in: Weapon
Gem Links: Flame Surge > Spell Echo > Elemental Focus > Increased Area of Effect/Concentrated Effect > Fire Penetration > Immolate

Flame Dash allows us to move up and down areas, across chasms and past traps. However, it's most important function is that it leaves a trail of burning ground between Point A and Point B. This makes Flame Surge deal more damage!

I decided against the usual Leap Slam movement for Fortify simply because it is slow, even with our Ascendancy. Plus, burning.

Slotted in: Gloves, Boots
Gem Links: Flame Surge > Faster Casting

The usual Immortal Call setup, this allows for some leeway in not paying attention. It is still a build requiring you to pay attention to what you are doing. Bosses telegraph, so you need to pay attention still. It's a stopgap, not a guaranteed save.



Stone Golem is useful for the HP regeneration, allowing for some more defensive tactics. You can, of course, opt for more damage in the form of Lightning Golem or Flame Golem, or go with Chaos Golem for straight physical damage reduction, but I find Stone Golem to be more useful for the taunt, as well as the HP regen in lab.

Slotted in: Gloves, Boots
Gem Links: Immortal Call > Stone Golem > Cast When Damage Taken > Increased Duration



Enduring Cry gives us Endurance Charges (for Immortal Call, or just general defense), as well as some HP regeneration. All-around a good defensive option.

Slotted in: Gloves, Boots, Ring
Gem Links: Enduring Cry

Since we're running Mind over Matter and getting quite a bit of mana in order to use this build, Clarity offers us mana regeneration for minimal reservation. We want this, level it up to 20.

Slotted in: Gloves, Boots, Ring
Gem Links: Clarity



Enfeeble provides straight reduction in damage against all enemies by reducing accuracy, damage, critical strike chance and critical strike multiplier. Overall, I find this to be preferable to Temporal Chains. Quality reduces enemy accuracy and critical strike chance by 0.5% per percentage (maximum of an additional 10%). Quality this to 20, it can be expensive to buy it.

Slotted in: Gloves, Boots
Gem Links: Enfeeble > Blasphemy

Vortex provides a chill effect, slowing enemies. Coupld with Chance to Ignite it allows you to ignite with it, causing burning and thus increasing the damage output of Flame Surge. Plus, MTX. Everyone should have it!

Magma Orb allows us to ignite directly via the triggered spell. You will need to free up two jewel slots in the tree for the threshold jewel...



...but it is well worth it. The damage can be substantial, even without direct damage amplifiers from support jewels.

Slotted in: Helmet
Gem Links: Vortex > Magma Orb > Chance to Ignite > Increased Area of Effect

To begin with, do not expect to begin leveling with Flame Surge at level 12. While you can, it is not recommended. The AoE is too small, and you lack reliable ways to maintain burning on your targets, including bosses.

20 Point Tree

Initially, we want to take life nodes in order to help us survive in early leveling. Prioritize life at this point. You can start leveling with Magma Orb > Volley > Added Lightning/Added Cold on a 3L and make good headway. Once you hit level 12, switch to Firestorm > Arcane Surge > Added Lightning/Added Cold if you want. This is probably the preferable way to level.

Alternative way to level if this is not your first league character: This build can make use of Abberath's Hooves for leveling. This is what I did, taking them along with Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ice and playing as a pseudo-Autobomber build. This was incredibly safe and easy up until Act 5. Bosses in Act 4 were a bit of a pain, but doable.

40 Point Tree

By this point you should be in Act 4 and closing it out, heading to Act 5. There's nothing really to note here: we're still getting life nodes (this is actually the weakest part of the build, the transition between Act 4 and Act 5). If you're leveling as Firestorm, you shouldn't feel like your damage is falling off.

As a Shadow, you can't get Immortal Call naturally, so you will need someone to buy it for you. Everything else you can purchase yourself.

You also should have completed your Normal Lab by now, and taken Weave the Arcane for mana regeneration. In order for this build to be viable, you must have this keystone.

60 Point Tree

By this point you should be mid-50s and cleaning up Act 7. Do as you must to keep resists capped via gear. It is still not recommended to level with the end-game build just yet. You want to remain safe and efficient, and the best way to do this remains Firestorm.

You don't have to do cruel Lab yet. If you manage to, however, my recommendation is to take Swift Killer for frenzy and power charge generation on kill (flat 15% each). You will notice the DPS increase at this point, trust me.

80 Point Tree

Again, life is good to have in hardcore. But we're not going to skimp on damage potential, and we get that here. You'll probably notice we're not taking the crit nodes just yet. That's coming up. Straight damage is more consistent, after all.

Also, at this point we take Mind over Matter, and you can now transition to Kitava's Thirst build. Look at gearing for suggestions to go with this.

You should be coming close to ending Act 9, possibly you already have. Good on you.

Endgame Tree

Let me explain what you see here.

Critical strikes allow for guaranteed status ailments against trash mobs. Vortex will freeze and ignite (thanks Chance to Ignite!) for safety, Magma Orb will ignite. This means Flame Surge will quite literally melt things thanks to the ignite on them. Against bosses, any ignite--no matter how small--will increase your damage output as well.

I opted for Elemental Overload over our critical multiplier. Yes, we get multiplier through the tree, but I felt the added elemental damage increased the ignite duration, especially against bosses. This is purely my preference and suggestion, do as you will.

Stupidly, for about three hours of mapping I had Elemental Equilibrium. However, as I will discuss in the gearing section, don't be a dumb dumb like me.

Bandits: Help Alire because we like resistances and mana regeneration.
Ascendancy Order: Weave the Arcane > Swift Killer > Patient Reaper > Walk the Aether

Note: You may need to assign skill points to the +30 STR and DEX early on. Don't be afraid to do so. You can respec out of them later!

Here I will talk about gear while leveling, and the gear I think is optimal for the build. I will also offer alternatives for endgame gear.

Leveling

Obviously, Lifesprigs are terrific for Firestorm leveling. I can't recommend them enough. Dual-wielding Lifesprigs makes leveling a breeze, even to maps (of course you'll likely get rid of them long before them). Tabula Rasa is, of course, a good addition, but if you can't afford it a Thousand Ribbons is good for the flat damage it adds to spells. I also like using Axiom Perpetuum at level 10 for crit, cast speed, and the flat elemental damage to spells (pair this with a shield such as Springleaf for defense and it's a good Shield Charge option).

If you have the currency, getting a pair of Abberath's Hooves can speed up the leveling significantly. Play as a pseudo-Autobomber (you can get some decent crit early on) and just literally walk to endgame. Bosses can be a bit difficult to kill later on, but trash will melt with each step you take.

Endgame

Here's where I sit down and list out my preferences for endgame gear. I will also offer alternatives where applicable.

Weapon:



Obtained at level 52, I prefer Martyr over any other staff. It's provides high defense via the natural staff block chance, block chance as an explicit, and some solid offensives options as well. It will combo with some other gear I recommend.

If you're going to push for a 5L, this is what I recommend doing first. If you can get a 5L or 6L you're all set. Put Flame Surge in here and that's all she wrote. Added flat fire damage to spells, as well as 100% increased fire damage if you've been hit recently makes this a solid option. While Sarod recommends Pledge of Hands for damage, this is a Hardcore build, and we need to think more defensively.

Helmet:



The crux of the build, and without it it doesn't work. Use this helmet, period. Yes, my enchant isn't the one I want, sue me. There is no other option for this.

Body Armor:

This is a cheap chestpiece to grab, and it provides defenses in terms of resistances and life. Plus, it's easy to color if you can't 5L your staff. On top of that, increased AoE and area damage makes it a good offensive choice for a Flame Surge build!

Alternatives:

Kaom's Heart: In terms of 100% endgame, this is what you want to get. Survivability goes through the roof, and increased fire damage is awesome. Sure, you lose sockets, but it's not like we're starved for them with this build. If you can afford it, get it.

Cloak of Defiance: Providing Mind over Matter, it also provides an additional 10% of damage removed from mana, providing more tank. With 1% of mana regenerated per second and +100 to +150 mana, this allows you to forgo the points into Mind over Matter itself. From a defensive standpoint, I think this is the better option. Plus, it's obtained at level 52, so you can equip this and Martyr of Innocence together!

Gloves: Any rare gloves. Prioritize resists, Dexterity, and life

Boots: Any rare boots. Once again, prioritize resists, Dexterity, and life. If you can, get movespeed as well.

Amulet: Any rare amulet. Prioritize resists, Strength/Dexterity (whichever you need), life, than cast speed. (Alternatives following.)

Rings: Same as the amulet, only forget cast speed. (Alternatives following.)

Belt: Rare belt. Resists, life. Alternatively, you can equip a Doryani's Invitation for fire damage and fire leech, as well as increased chance to ignite during flasks!

Jewels:



These are necessary. After that, you can use Stygians for flat elemental damage (prioritize life and flat fire damage to spells, resistances where you can) or normal jewels (life %, spell/global crit, fire damage, area damage, cast speed).

Combination

We are able to self-ignite with this build, to increase our damage potential. This is an end-game concept and should not be done if you are new to it. In order to do this, we need to use



and



The interaction is simple. We're constantly igniting enemies, and every time we do, we take 100 fire damage (reduced by resistances). Mokou's Embrace has a +25% chance to be ignited, so we will often ignite ourselves and stay that way as we move between packs. While ignited, we cast and attack faster, and we leech life from fire damage.

Mokou's Embrace is always cheap. Eye of Innocence, however, can be expensive. Depending on league and time, it can be upwards of 200C (beginning of AHC), though it usually comes down later on (I purchased it at 35C). This means that on top of this being an advanced tactic, it's also possible expensive, so plan accordingly.

This has been an incredibly fun build, and I'm glad I could tweak it for hardcore. Shoutouts to Sarodh1 for the concept.

11FEB2018 (1142EST): Guide finished initial draft.