[3.10] Death's Oath CI Occultist (RETIRED)



I'm retiring this build as of 3.10. I don't think playing DO is worth it anymore as of 3.10. Normally when a past character of mine falls off, I try and see if I can fix it, even if that means dumping way too much currency into it. Even with cluster jewels, DO isn't at par with other stuff in game. It can do all content (I don't mean deep delving or T19 maps), but when people complain that it takes forever to clear upper red maps, I don't have an answer. Unless there's massive buffs to DO and I feel upto it, this is staying retired.

Please feel free to use the template and ask questions, it's still okay for someone playing casually. If you need help, I'll try and answer.


And um, thanks to anyone who expressed interest in the guide. I pretty much wrote this for fun back in bestiary cause I thought its cool. This guide is what got me into making guides, videos, streaming and killing my GPA. ty.

3.10 changes:

-> Link second wind to flame dash.
-> Look for chaos related cluster notables (Delirium jewels). Touch of Cruelty, Unwaveringly Evil, Wicked Pall, Unholy Grace.

If you want to just boost DO damage and don't care about ED, then get the aura effect nodes like First Among Equals.

I don't really recommend this build for Delirium, even though its a good starter. Feels like delirium is going to be a clear speed build and this build does not compete.


Note: Please post all your questions in this thread or come by the stream, don't pm me in game. Make sure your profile is PUBLIC before asking for help so your character is visible. If you have issues with the trees and you're loading them into the poe website, don't. Import them into Path of Building. Please check out the FAQ section before asking questions.

I don't claim my guides to be original or super efficient. I write guides to share characters I'm fond of.

Gameplay on youtube, or if I stream.

=======================================================================

Hi, this my first build guide. If this is well received, I might make more for my other characters.

I did not make this out of scratch, I was looking to try an occultist in Bestiary and Pohx was playing a DO Occultist in Bestiary that I liked and put my own spin on it.

Pros:
Decent mapper.
Can farm uber lab comfortably.
Can do any map mod. (No regen is annoying)
Minimal effort required to play.

Cons:
Passable bosser.
T16+ bosses need gameplay. Dmg is decent but can't facetank everything due to limited ES recovery mechanics. (Chimera is cancer with rippy mods)
Strength hungry, need to prepare to get 180 str for DO.


Introduction
Spoiler

This build focuses on the chest piece Death's Oath:



It has an in-build chaos degen aura that you support with 6 support gems.

[You DON'T need it 6 linked.]

We scale DO dmg by the following ways:

% increased chaos damage
% increased damage over time
% increased effect of non-curse auras
% increased area damage
% increased damage
% increased minion damage
% to Non-Ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier

The Aspect of the Spider aura from Fenumus:


You can craft this a suffix on any non craftable piece of gear at the blood altar in your Menagerie. All you need is Fenumus, access to beastcrafting and a free suffix. It provides an aura (Aspect of the Spider), which reserves 25% mana (by default) for an aoe debuff that slows enemy movement speed by 30% and hinders them every second. Also applies 1 "spider web" per second for 6 seconds which increased dmg taken by 5% (stacks 3 times).

We get reservation, area and aura nodes on the tree to shove in 5 auras and buff Death's Aura dmg.

Can do any map mod. Swap in a mana flask for no regen ones.


PoB
Spoiler

I'm using LocalIdentity's fork

https://pastebin.com/cnhgdjYE

It still has the wither 3L to simulate the withered effect from Withering Presence.


Final Tree


Bandits
Spoiler

Kill all


Ascendancy
Spoiler

Vile Bastion > Void Beacon > Withering Presence > Profane Bloom


Pantheon
Spoiler

Lunaris and Ralakesh for mapping.

Solaris and Tukohama for bossing.


Playstyle
Spoiler

Walk through maps to clear them. We clear T16 just by walking. Maps with % more monster life and chaos res take slower walks and some blight casting on rares.

You should be casting Blight every 6-8 seconds anyway to keep 'Infused' up from the Infused Channeling support gem for 10% more damage. Flask management is important so you can keep Witchfire Brew up. Flame dash often enough to keep arcane surge up.

For T16+ bosses, you need to avoid rippy map mods and facetanking.


Current Gear
Spoiler







Jewels:



Gear slot analysis:
Spoiler

Weapon:
Spoiler

Ignore my posted wand, this method is better:

Get/craft a wand with t1 % non-chaos multi roll, 2 empty prefixes and one free suffix. Multimod the following:

-> Damage over time
-> Chaos damage, skill duration duration

If you have a good suffix like, dmg over time multi/cast speed, that's good. If you have an empty suffix, try hunter's slamming to hit Malevolence aura effect mod.


Shield:
Spoiler


Look for high ES and resists.


Helmet:
Spoiler


Has in build skill Void gaze which triggers on using any skill (2 sec cd, 10 sec duration)
gives enemies affected by it -20% chaos res.

Look for max es roll.

BIS - 40% Blight dmg.

Budget option: Anything with ES, res, dex, str.

Another option is to get/craft a hunter's crafted helm with -9 chaos res. If you can get one with 300ES or so it should be worth the swap.


Chest:
Spoiler


Core item. Don't need it 6 linked.

Check how to 5 off colors further below.


Gloves:
Spoiler


Level 22 in-built Blight, pretty great for CWC ED.

BIS - +2 duration gems corruption.


Boots:
Spoiler


Look for high ES, MS and resists.

BIS - Regenerate 2% of Life per second if you were Hit Recently.

Budget option - Sin Trek, Doryani's Delusion.


Amulet:
Spoiler


No mana reservation for Temp chains. Shaper's Presence, increases duration of Vaal Discipline, Infusion, Arcane Surge on you.

Look for max damage roll.

Anoint Corruption.

Budget option: Anything with ES, res, stats. Look for free prefix to craft % max es.


Belt:
Spoiler



Fossil craft with dense fossils on a crusader base for the % max es mod. Look for an open prefix.

Look to craft 20% increased damage or % life regenerated during flask effect.


Rings:
Spoiler


As much ES, res and strength as you can get. DO needs 180.

Look for free prefixes to craft faster start of ES recharge.


Aspect of the Spider:
Spoiler

Can be beast craft as a suffix on any rare gear if you have Fenumus.

Reserves 25% mana (by default) for an aoe debuff that slows enemy movement speed by 30% and hinders them every second.

Also applies 1 spider web per second for 6 seconds which increased dmg taken by 5% (stacks 3 times).


Flasks:
Spoiler



You don't need a legacy Witchfire.


If you're running no regen maps.


Jewels:
Spoiler


Get a combination/subset of chaos dmg, damage over time and Non-Ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier mods.


You want one of these near the melding cluster.


If you have one. Remember to use clarity with it if you do. (Level 1 clarity is fine)




Gem Links
Spoiler

Chest:

Arcane surge is required to add duration tag to Death's aura, otherwise less duration and swift affliction do not apply to it. It enables our 7L.

Gloves:


Remaining links (put them wherever you get the right colors):






Unlinked:

Clarity is optional here, only being worth it if you have a watcher's eye with the clarity bonus es mod.


Getting DO colors:


LL version:
Spoiler

TL;DR - Don't do it.

Going LL makes the playstyle rippy af IMO. You would need constant uptime of Coruscating Elixir to not die immediately, since DO deals chaos dmg to us with each kill.

Also going LL only boosts your ED and Blight dmg not your DO dmg, so the only place where it would be useful which is bosses, where you won't get flask charges consistently, but would still get chaos degen from the adds dying.


Videos:
Spoiler


3.9 T16 Carcass

Note: This might be an issue for 3.10 map clearing: "Monster movement speed now has a lower limit, beyond which they cannot be slowed further." the gameplay above is from 3.9 not 3.10.

3.6:
3.6 Shaper, guardians, Uber elder

Grey Spire:
Spoiler
Phoenix + Syndicate
Shaper
Double Beyond Tower (T15)
Vaal Temple
Double Beyond, turbo, 60% less recovery Chimera - By far my worst run. 60% less recovery + turbo is not a good idea.


3.5 videos with no Profane Bloom or Malevolence.:


3.2 and 3.4 videos with Profane Bloom and without Grey Spire:



FAQ:
Spoiler


What about soulrend/bane instead of ed? Weapon swaps?
Spoiler
Soulrend looks good, but I have to test the duration of it. You can use it instead of ED in the CWC setup. Soulrend has leech, ED has ES regen. ED lasts longer than SR so its more reliable during boss fights I think. I haven't tested SR with CwC so I'm not sure.

You can get a Bane/Soulrend/ED 6L in your weapon if you want to, for a separate 6L single target setup. That would mean you weapon swap when you need the single target and run grey spire/wand + shield otherwise for clearing.

If you use Bane as your weapon swap, you can link it to:
Efficacy > Controlled Destruction > Swift Affliction > Despair > Void Manip

With temp chains as an aura, this meaning you won't have to rely on witchfire brew uptime to have despair up on bosses. You should still be running witchfire for clearing with DO.


3rd curse? Enfeeble? Malediction?
Spoiler

It's hard to fit in another curse in the current setup without getting a Malovolence res Aul's Uprising. If you have you feel free to try it out. I prefer the damage from Withering presence over enfeeble.



Changelog:
Spoiler

Added an image.
Added a changelog. LUL
Added ways to scale DO damage to introduction.
Added a bandits section.
Added a pros and cons list.
Added arcane surge mechanical explanation.
Added dual curse to title for clarity.
Added uber lab to pros list.
Added a video.
Updated PoB.
Added a Levelling section.
Added a t14,t15 video.
Found a watcher's eye. Updated PoB.
Added 3.3 update section
Added PoBs for 3.3
Added 3.4 update section and Pob
Added disclaimer
Added an Other guides section
Updated Picture + VD
Changed a bunch of nodes and gear for 3.5
Added an LL section.
Added a 3.5 Lava Lake Video.
Updated gear and pob with good corruptions and new crafts.
Added shaper video.
Changed tree, gems, gear. A bunch. (3.6)
Added new videos.
Added CWC ed links, spiritual aid, alternate wand, shield setup.
Updated Pob and trees to reflect the change.
Optimized tree a bit. Credit to areyouabc1. Check page 20 of the thread.
Added U elder kill video.
3.7 changes.
Added apep's, flask changes.
Updated for 3.10
Retired.
I make build guides for fun.

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/cent664
Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/cent664
Last edited by cent664 on Jul 13, 2020, 3:17:02 AM
Last bumped on Jul 14, 2020, 9:48:29 AM
I'm making a character to try this build, thanks for the guide. It's just that I've never really leveled a witch since many years ago when I made my very first character with a Flame Totem. I'm not sure what spells would be most efficient to level with untill you can use all the uniques? Any advice on a leveling spell would be appreciated. :)
"
I'm making a character to try this build, thanks for the guide. It's just that I've never really leveled a witch since many years ago when I made my very first character with a Flame Totem. I'm not sure what spells would be most efficient to level with untill you can use all the uniques? Any advice on a leveling spell would be appreciated. :)


Level with Essence Drain and Contagion, you can use that setup till you find and color your DO, switch to CI and get the strength to equip it, which should be around level 65+.

ED links are in the potential upgrades section (skip empower and void manip as the last 2 links).

Contagion -> Cont > Inc aoe > Arcane surge > faster casting.

I also suggest staying away from profane bloom for as long as you're using ED cont as it will mess up your ability to chain cont to clear entire screens. Get it as soon as you switch to DO.

I'll add a leveling section soon.
I make build guides for fun.

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/cent664
Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/cent664
Last edited by cent664 on May 16, 2018, 8:04:53 AM
Thanks for that.
This build is a near point per point perfect amalgamation between FlasherCatcher's Death's Oath build and DemonicSlayer2015's, each of which were added to the listing due to being significantly different. With the exception of choosing different jewel sockets to reach for and emphasizing curse effectiveness, there really is little difference.

Skilltree A

Skilltree B

Allow me to state that I am totally aware that this may have been due to a limited number of possible choices when approaching this unique item as a build, the limitations of the game itself, or simply great minds thinking alike. I recognize that you have put forth a lot of effort to make this guide, and I would like to add it to the build guide listing as per your request. If you can pm me any additional information that I may have overlooked that distinguishes your build as unique from the aforementioned prior submissions, I will add it immediately to the listing.

Cheers
Hot Flashes: poeurl.com/bPZT
Balance: poeurl.com/btzp
Shocking EleHit: poeurl.com/bZXo
"
This build is a near point per point perfect amalgamation between FlasherCatcher's Death's Oath build and DemonicSlayer2015's, each of which were added to the listing due to being significantly different. With the exception of choosing different jewel sockets to reach for and emphasizing curse effectiveness, there really is little difference.

Skilltree A

Skilltree B

Allow me to state that I am totally aware that this may have been due to a limited number of possible choices when approaching this unique item as a build, the limitations of the game itself, or simply great minds thinking alike. I recognize that you have put forth a lot of effort to make this guide, and I would like to add it to the build guide listing as per your request. If you can pm me any additional information that I may have overlooked that distinguishes your build as unique from the aforementioned prior submissions, I will add it immediately to the listing.

Cheers


Responded via pm.
I make build guides for fun.

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/cent664
Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/cent664
Last edited by cent664 on May 16, 2018, 8:05:17 AM
"
Kwitch wrote:
This build is a near point per point perfect amalgamation between FlasherCatcher's Death's Oath build and DemonicSlayer2015's, each of which were added to the listing due to being significantly different. With the exception of choosing different jewel sockets to reach for and emphasizing curse effectiveness, there really is little difference.

Skilltree A

Skilltree B

Allow me to state that I am totally aware that this may have been due to a limited number of possible choices when approaching this unique item as a build, the limitations of the game itself, or simply great minds thinking alike. I recognize that you have put forth a lot of effort to make this guide, and I would like to add it to the build guide listing as per your request. If you can pm me any additional information that I may have overlooked that distinguishes your build as unique from the aforementioned prior submissions, I will add it immediately to the listing.

Cheers



I think I've been fiddling around with my tree lately (might have forgotten to update it.)

personally it seems unique enough to me. Just a quick glance it has 113% more (increased damage than my build, void beacon and eber's really seems to ramp up the damage though)

Tried putting an eber's on my pob character with despair enchant and end up breaking the despair gem an hour later and I still can't get it figured out. Overall the damage is definately higher, but it does lack the defensive power of a third curse and malediction. (if malediction was still just a boring +1 curse I would have gone void beacon again.

Anyways, healthy death's oath competition will be the death of me =D
Is this post or your other post the most up to date? Build looks cool, definitely going to have a crack.
"
Is this post or your other post the most up to date? Build looks cool, definitely going to have a crack.


As far as I see both of our builds at up to date.
I make build guides for fun.

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/cent664
Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/cent664
Last edited by cent664 on May 16, 2018, 8:05:33 AM
"Atziri's Reflection"
Man, r u mad???!!! Do u see a price of prophecy "The Queen's Sacrifice" on poetrade?

And u post t8 video? With 7k ES just t8? I killed Phoenix with 7k ))). It was a long fight but still...
Harvest (Жатва) - лучшее, что когда-либо случалось с ПОЕ. F*ck 3.14!
Last edited by Spooneer on Apr 2, 2018, 5:45:15 AM

Report Forum Post

Report Account:

Report Type

Additional Info